Free Christmas Presents Anyone??

As a stay at home mom, I pride myself on saving us money in anyway possible. Thanks to all the discount sites and reward programs out there, I'm pretty successful at getting things super cheap or even free!! We're all starting to buy Christmas presents and plan for the upcoming holidays, so I thought I would share some of my favorite sites!

swagbucks: This site rewards you for doing different activities like using their search engine, taking surveys, and watching short videos. I mostly use their search engine, and it will randomly reward swagbucks. You can redeem your swagbucks for tons of different gift cards and even products. The best bang for your buck is the $5 amazon gift card, which is what I always use. Since we live 2 states a way, amazon is where we buy tons of stuff and use the free shipping to get it home!!

 zulily: I'm in love with this site!! It's a daily deal site for moms, kids, and household items. They post new deals every morning at 8am (central time). The items are limited quantity and only on for a limited amount of time. This is where I get most of my cloth diapers for half price. Also, where I got Asher's awesome rocking horse monkey that he loves so much!!


totsy: This site is just like zulily, except they often post deals morning and night. I don't find quite as many things that I can't live without here as zulily. However, it's still a great place to find awesome deals.

shopkick: This is actually an app for your iphone. It's my newest find and I absolutely LOVE it! All you have to do is open the app when you go into different stores and it will automatically give you 'kicks' just for being there. You can also get more kicks by scanning various items in the store. Then you can use your 'kicks' for tons of different gift cards. I've already earned $22 in Target gift cards and I've been using it for less than a month!

Well now you know all (most) of my secrets!! It can be so addicting to save money (said the nerdy stay at home mom)!! I'd greatly appreciate if you use my links above, as I would get the referral (so, I'm also shamelessly self-promoting)!

Trick or Treating at the Zoo

We're really not that big on Halloween, but we decided to head to the zoo this weekend for trick or treating. We're zoo members, so it was a fun, free way to get out of the house. I think Asher fit right in at the zoo!

 The indoor aquarium is one of his favorite parts-specifically the huge turtle.

 Taking a turn driving...or so he thinks!

 Seriously, how is he already a little toddler, fitting in with the other kids!!

Of course we had to get his picture with the real tiger!!

We had a blast and the weather was perfect! The zoo gave out candy (which I've been eating...ugh!) and one booth even gave out 100% fruit rollup that I didn't know about. Which was a great find, since I rarely give him sugar! We didn't trick or treat yesterday since Chris and I really don't need more candy to eat! Our little tiger was in bed by 7 and we watched Killer Klowns From Outerspace! All in All a good night!

No Idea Why He's Always Bruised....

Boulder Half Marathon

Sunday morning was a pretty big deal for me- my first Half Marathon! Running a half has been a  goal of mine for a while. However, there really weren't many races, if any, in West Virginia. Luckily, there's no shortage of races in Colorado!! My friend Erin has helped me train and I couldn't have done it without her!! (This would be my amazing friend adopting from Africa...Check out her blog here to see how you can support them!)

 Hanging out waiting for his momma to run by!

 Seriously, check out that view!!! It was a beautiful run!

Asher missed his momma during the run!

In some ways the race was easier than I expected, and in some harder. During the run I didn't think I'd want to run another half, but when it was done and over it seems doable to do it again! Erin joined me for the last 6 miles, which really helped to have her push me. My time was 2hrs 15min...slower than I had hoped, but not bad for my first! Now I start training for the spring half!

Starting Him Out Right!

Pumpkinfest

We headed out to the local pumpkinfest yesterday. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! It was sunny and just warm enough but not overly hot! Here's a few pics of the day:

We picked out a great pumpkin! I envision myself making a great pumpkin pie out of it, but we'll see if that really happens or if it just looks great until it rots, as usual! The festival gave out some healthy snacks, which Asher loved! They had free pony rides (the line was too long to wait for us), and had some great music! We'll definitely be back next year!

Can You Give $1?

So I have this friend. Her name is Erin and she's amazing. We met about 7 years ago at the gym we worked at. Very rarely, it's totally and completely apparent that God sends someone directly into your life as an instant and life long friend. This was one of those times. We became fast and close friends. We both got married within a few months of each other- mine a 300+ amazing wedding...hers an elopement in Colorado equally amazing. I've been blessed since meeting her to be present at each of her 3 children's births. Since Asher made his appearance early, she was there waiting the day I got home from the hospital. She moved to Colorado in 2006 and we started moving from state to state in 2008. We've often dreamed and wished we lived near each other again. In March God moved us to Denver......40 minutes away from Erin. Have I mentioned how good God is to us?? It's been so amazing to be near her and watch our kids play together. I can't explain how happy it makes my heart.

Now, this post isn't just to tell you what an awesome friend I've been blessed with. Erin and her husband have decided to add to their family, this time through adoption. As a Christian, and someone who has adopted and multi-racial siblings; I fully and completely believe adoption is something very close to God's heart. The Hansels have felt led to adopt from Africa and will be trying to do it debt-free. Please, please, check out their story on their blog here. Read their story, and if you 'feel led, please donate $1 or whatever you can to their paypal account:  erinmhansel@hotmail.com. Let's show this family some love and get them that much closer to bringing home their baby!

Bridal Shower!

Yes, I realize this is horribly late, but I'm choosing to ignore that fact! While we were in Missouri for Nicole's wedding, I had the honor of throwing her a bridal shower. It was a fun day with all her friends and family. Here's a few pics of the day!

The decorations and desserts....red velvet cupcakes and reeses cupcakes! 

Unfortunately, our camera broke the day of the wedding so I don't have any pictures from the big day, which I completely hate!! Nicole was such a beautiful bride!! We're so happy for her and everything wend wonderfully!

We've Got Snow!!

Here's the view from our deck!

Asher's Favorite Pumpkin Muffins

We've been fully embracing fall around here. We love the cooler temperatures, warm soups, and pumpkin everything. Asher has been loving pumpkin! He'll eat plain pumpkin puree as happy as can be! Yesterday morning was pretty chilly, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bake up some pumpkin bread! I took our family recipe and tweeked it so it's much healthier, but still just as delicious! Asher begs for more! Here's the recipe:

1 c Quinoa Flour
2 1/2 c Whole Wheat Pastry flour (you could use all whole wheat flour, but I like the nutritional boost of the quinoa flour)
2 t soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/3 c water
4 eggs
3/4 c oil (I'll switch this out for plain greek yogurt next time, but I was all out)
2 cans pumpkin
1 3/4 c agave (or1 1/5c honey )

Whisk all the dry ingredients, set aside. Mix all the wet ingredients, then fold into the dry. pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out crumbly.

This makes 2 loafs. I only have 1 so I made one loaf and poured the rest into cupcake liners and made muffins! As you can tell, Asher thoroughly enjoys the treat!

 Saying 'Cheese!!' while eating! He's multi-talented!

 Easier access if you lay down next to the plate while eating.

Family Pics

We had our family/ Asher's 1 year pics taken back in August. Kim Jones Photography did an amazing job!! If you're in the Boulder area; you definitely need to check her out!

I'm so in love with these pictures!! I ordered all our prints this week and can not wait to have them up in the house!!

Our Goofy Boy

I'm seriously in love with this crazy boy! I'm loving him as a toddler! He's so silly and fun! Here's a few pics of his silly-ness from the past month. 

 Asher often goes into the other room, sits in this cart, then wines until I come in and push him around!

 He found this chair from my childhood and couldn't have been happier with his little seat!

 This was a version of his cheese face when I pull out the camera...this one was a little bit sillier than usual.

Yet another 'Cheese!!'

Taste of Denver

Well....here I am again....really behind on everything!! I have had so many posts in my head, yet I haven't gotten anything down!! Asher and I spent the last 3 weeks in Missouri for Nicole's wedding. (more on that later). I plan (we'll see how it actually goes) on getting all up to date with a post a day! So here goes....

 Have I said how much we love living in Denver?? There's always some festival or event to go to! We spent Labor Day at the Taste of Colorado eating our way through the down town. Here's some pics of the fun!

 Asher thoroughly enjoyed his first snow cone; even though is was mostly ice.

Always happy to be home after a busy busy day!

Asher at 14 Months

Our little guy really isn't so little any more!! He's so full of personality and so sweet! He's on the go all day long! He literally runs the majority of the day and rarely slows down. Here's a few facts about our favorite monkey:

-He has had 2 teeth break in this week bringing his total to 4. And he has 2 more on the way, so he's finally making some progress there!

-He LOVES to eat! I think we're in a growing spell because he eats most of the day.

-He signs 'more', which he uses for food and 'I want'. He also uses it for 'help' because he hasn't completely figured out that sign yet!

-He spends a few hours every day with his monkey ears on (see pic below); which he goes and finds to put on!

-He laughs when there's a group of adults laughing. He gets a cheesy look and laughs along, as if he know exactly what's going on.

-He has finally figured out how to drink from a tippie cup! Thanks to my friend Kim suggested the Nuk tippie.

-He still doesn't sleep through the night, but we're getting close! He only gets up once in the night now, which is progress!

-He says mom, Dad, dog (which he uses for any animal), and blankie