The Birkmeyer's

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Little Mister

Here are just a few recent pictures of Little Mister at the request of his Grammy in Georgia.

Rocklin slept like a champ last night (getting up only once to eat, but that is normal for him). Adam usually gets Rocklin out of his crib and puts him in bed with me around 6 AM every morning. Today he slept in until 8:30. WOW.

Thanks to Rocklin's Aunt Katie and Cousin Luke for letting him borrow their exersaucer!! Look at that smile...can you tell how much he likes it?

Drool Much?

Hey, you looking at me?

He refused to turn his head toward the camera, but he sure does love his tongue!

Big blue eyes!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Savings Galore!

Hello, friends. It's been a while since I've posted...we've been so busy lately! Adam's been putting in A LOT of time at work, and I started a part-time job at home researching/recruiting for a game recruiting company. On top of that, Rocklin is getting so active and so fun lately! He's a full-time job alone! We moved and are all settled into our new apartment. Sooner or later I'll try to get some pictures up. It's small, but we've made it cozy and we are loving our new ward!! (And the best part is it meets at 9 AM now instead of 3 PM like our last ward!).

OK, on to the best part... Let me just say if you aren't shopping at CVS, you really should be!!! Today I went to CVS loaded with coupons and 3 different lists of things I was going to buy because they were having some good sales.

Bottom line folks... my grand total was $104.02 and I walked out spending $19.49 out of pocket!!!!!!!!! That's a savings of $84.53. Here's all the stuff I got:

No, you're eyes are not deceiving you, there are THREE packages of Pampers diapers (those alone are normally $11 or so each), a Gillette Fusion razor (normally $9.99), FOUR different packages of batteries (and who knows how much those are normally), etc. Here's everything:

3 packs of Pampers
1 9-roll pkg. of Charmin toilet paper
2 Dawn dish soaps
2 boxes of CVS bandages
1 Gillette Fusion Razor
4 cans of tuna fish
1 bottle Huggies baby wash
1 Secret Deodorant
1 8 pk. of AA batteries
3 2 pks. of D batteries
2 bottles of Listerine
2 bags of Chex Mix
2 toothbrushes
2 boxes of CVS cotton swabs

Anyways, the long and short of it is I've started playing the "drugstore game" where you use coupons and rollover the in-store dollars to make the most of your money! I bought everything in the picture in three separate transactions but all during my same store visit. The cashier seemed a little bugged, but I could care less really. I mean a bugged cashier to me is totally worth saving $84.53 in one trip!!

FYI - I've recently started participating in a program called Coupon Sense that my friend Brittany told me about. (Unfortunately the Coupon Sense program is only good for AZ & UT. Sorry my east coast friends!). It shows you where and how to get the best deals. In addition, I use this website a lot to check out scenarios on how to make the most of my CVS dollars.

I dare you to try some of these cost-saving ideas. You'll be hooked; just like me!! If you do try it out, let me know! Post a comment on my blog about the savings that you find. Good Luck!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Quick & Easy & Good

I was recently scouring the internet for some new receipes and I came across this little gem that I thought I'd pass on. (And by gem I mean super easy, fast and not that many ingredients).

Stuffed Chicken Shells

1 Bag if Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Stuffing Mix (plus water and butter as per directions on the bag)
1/2 C. Mayo
Shredded (or cubed) cooked chicken (about 2 C. more or less is OK)
1 box jumbo pasta shells
Gravy (I used canned chicken gravy)

Mix together stuffing (wet), mayo and chicken. Stuff each shell. Pour some gravy on the bottom of a glass pan, put stuffed shells on top, then cover each shell with more gravy. Cover pan with foil and back about 1/2 hour on 350 until hot through.

See...a gem. Quick, easy and only 5 ingredients. And I can't take credit for creating this little masterpiece; I found the reciepe here.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree!

When Rocklin was first born, my mom was staying with us for two weeks. During this time she was so nice to cook, clean, etc. Well one afternoon she asked me what I wanted for lunch and I said how about a grilled cheese sandwich. My mom's response? "I never know how to make those - which side of the bread do you butter?" This, coming from the woman who can cook anything and it is always delicious. I have made fun of her for this ever since.

Until today.

This morning I was thinking how good some cinnamon and sugar toast sounded. So without even thinking I buttered two pieces of bread and then proceeded to toast them. With the ding of the toaster oven, I took out my toasted and buttered bread and thought great, how is the cinnamon and sugar going to stick? Then it hit me ... DUH ... you butter the bread AFTER it gets out of the toaster so that the cinnamon and sugar will stick.

I use the simple excuse that ever since I gave birth I've lost a few brain cells and have become more clumsy then ever. (Just ask Adam...he will definitely attest!!!). That's my sad confession for today. And sorry Mom, I won't make fun of the grilled cheese incident ever again.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Rocklin Update

Rocklin is now 4 months old. Can you believe it? Maybe you can, but I can't!! I swear he's getting cuter by the day! (and bigger by the day too!!). I know that I'm his mom and I'm supposed to think he's the cutest thing ever (and I do) but seriously strangers stop me all the time to tell me how adorable he is. Hopefully our next kid is just as cute because he/she will have big shoes to fill!

OK, enough bragging about how adorable my child is and on to bragging about his recent developments. He went in for his 4-month shots a week or so ago :( and we found out he is now in the 25% for his weight - weighing in at 13.5 lbs. Not bad for a kid who came home from the hospital weighing 4 lbs. 12 oz. I think we've got a future football player on our hands!

Yesterday he rolled over from his stomach to his back for the very first time by himself! Hopefully he'll keep up the good work with these developmental milestones. He is the happiest kid - always smiling, unless he's hungry then watch out....a trait I think he picked up from his Daddy.

If I give Rock his rattle, he can hold it in his hands and shake it around.

We took Rocklin swimming for the first time the other day. As you can see by his face, he was very excited to try it out!Here he is sportin his rash guard and suit looking like a little surfer!

Overdue Picture Update! (Part Two)

As promised, here are the rest of the pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

Isn't Adam a lucky man? ;)

Uncle Kevin and Rocklin

The whole family!

Cute cousins

Daddy and Rock

Daniel, Kevin and Adam

Rocklin and his Grammy at lunch

Rocklin and his Grammy at home

The lovebirds the day before the wedding

My cute little family

Uncle Adam and Rock ready for the wedding

Adam and Kevin at the World of Coke 4D movie

AdamB, Kevin and AdamY at the World of Coke

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Overdue Picture Update! (Part One)

OK folks, FINALLY I have downloaded all the pictures from our FUN Georgia trip! I named this post Part One because there are so many pictures I wanted to share, but it's going to take another post so I'm not here all day long. I'll try to get the rest up tonight or tomorrow.

Anyway, Aaron & Megan's wedding turned out SO beautiful! They are so happy and such a cute couple! I've feel so blessed to have some truly amazing sister-in-laws! Here are some fun pictures from the wedding and reception.

Aaron & Megan coming out of the temple:

Are we having fun yet? Rock sported his yellow vest to keep in line with the yellow, white and black wedding colors.

Maryn and Brynna LOVED being flower girls! They looked so pretty in their dresses. I think we have two future models on our hands because they LOVE the camera (esp. Maryn).