lessons in listening & shopping trips.

Thought I'd take a day to just sit back and reflect on the week so far. After a monsoon rainstorm yesterday {seriously was Hurricane Irene deja-vu}, today is bright and sunny and supposed to only reach the high 60s.
Fall, I'm in love you.

Baby girl's been testing her limits lately in the listening department. BIG time.
Like in, "I'll just pretend to throw my toy over there so I can get my hands on that power cord {wine rack/dog toys/TV remotes} without Mom noticing".
Basically she's after everything that she's not supposed to have. And she knows it, too.
Basically I'm saying "no" every other word.

I chalk it up to her being two weeks away from turning one and having the adventurous spirit of her father.
After hearing many a story of Hubs' fearless 24/7 non-stop childhood, I'm gonna need to prepare myself.
At least I know that when she's all played-out, she crashes and naps for three hours.
My little monster, gotta love her.

Gotta love this big wanna-be monster, too.

Now, about my love-hate relationship with our budget.
Today's my second attempt at buying groceries that'll last us at least three weeks.
For $150 or less, Hubs tells me. I had to hold back laughing in his face.
However I actually was successful the first time {shocking, as I'm notorious for racking up the bill in mostly everything I buy} and it felt amazing. I could just hear those pennies hit the bottom of our savings account.
See how couponing can become addicting?

So today. Round two. 
Diligently scavenged the flyers for the store deals and searched the internet for matching manufacturer's coupons. Goal: buy only the items we need, must be on sale.
It takes me a bit longer to get through the store this way, but it pays off when we're spending about $250 a month on groceries instead of $400+. Need to make up for those ridic gas prices :(
Thank goodness S couldn't be happier than when she's riding around in the shopping cart, waving at everyone. Future Homecoming Queen, I'm guessing.