The Hutchins Family

Monday, February 2, 2009

A NICE WEEKEND, AND SILLY PONYTAILS

We had a really nice weekend that went by way too fast! It was one of those weekend's that we really didn't have an agenda, which doesn't happen too often, so it was nice to just relax. It was Kevin's Saturday to work so during the day we played outside a lot and made a trip to Walmart for various items. We can back with a carton of sidewalk chalk I thought may be fun for them. They liked the chalk for about 30 seconds and managed to draw a little bit, then decided it was more fun to try and eat it and make their tongues blue (good thing it is non-toxic). Saturday night we made a big trip to the grocery store, this is now the highlight of most of our weekends. On a side note and in reference to my previous post, I set a new coupon savings record of $73.73!!! Kevin seemed to show more interest in my savings this time! On the way home we stopped and got a movie and chinese food, then put the kids straight to bed and enjoyed a quiet night.

Sunday, we skipped church (Hannah and Hunter were just getting over colds, and I wasn't feeling great). We got up late and ate cinnamon rolls, which we discovered the kids LOVE, and then later in the day went to see the fish weighed in for the tournament at the marina right by our house. I usually stay home when Kevin goes, but it was a beautiful day and the kids seemed to really enjoy being outside and seeing the fish.

Later that day I decided to see if Hannah had grown enough hair for a ponytail (I have tried several times w/ no luck) and I finally got one! It stayed up for a good 3 hours and looked like a cross between Pebbles and a little indian girl, but it was still something. Something about that ponytail must have struck a silly nerve with her, because for the rest of the day she was quite the opposite of her normally shy and quite personality-very entertaining! Kevin and I had decided in advance to record the superbowl and start watching it after the kids went to bed w/ no interruptions. Our good friends Jaime and Larissa usually have a superbowl party at their house, but were out of town-so we were feeling a little down about that and were missing the tradition of doing the whole "superbowl squares" thing. So, being the huge DORKS that we are, decided to make our own version of the game. Kevin went all out w/ his sharpie and ruler to make a grid, and we drew numbers and everything. It made watching the game by ourselves a lot more fun, but the outcome was not good, for me at least. The picture below is too hard to read, but I only won the 1st quarter which was a free back scratch. Kevin won a massage for the 2nd, no diaper changes for a day for the 3rd quarter, and a 3hour break for "whatever" for the 4th quarter. I was really wanting them to go into overtime in those last seconds, because I really wanted the "no diaper changing" prize.

I know that these small details of our life are not as exciting to everyone as they our to us, but I feel good having them for my record at least to look back on someday. Below are some recent random pics (quite a few of Hannah's ponytail) and a few new videos, enjoy!

Kevin and Mandy own version of superbowl squares

Kevin hard at work, perfecting his grid

Tons of ponytail pics

Our belated Christmas at my Dad's w/ my brothers

Opening gifts from my neices Annie and Taylor-they are twins too!

Cute hat pics

Hannah being silly watching her video

Hunter and Hannah's first Happy Meal

Monday, January 26, 2009

Another deal!!

I completely forgot about their new tent! Another thing I have been eyeing at Target was a little frog tent. I kept checking it to see if it went on sale and sure enough, it was on the clearance isle for half-price. I thought it would a good place to Hannah and Hunter to play in since they seem to like things like that. I tried to build a fort for them recently, and it didn't turn out very well. It turned out to be adorable (although a lot bigger than expected), and they love it!!

Delayed gratification saves money-who knew??

Many of those who know me well know that I am a huge advocate of coupon clipping. I am proud to say that last week at the grocery store I set a record of $62 dollars in savings (coupons alone). The cashier at Kroger's seemed to be very impressed, and I left the store with a sense of great accomplishment! Each time I get home I am so excited and can't wait to tell Kevin-I think he may think I'm a little overboard now, but I know deep down he really appreciates it - you can do a lot of things with 60$.
A few days later we made a trip to Target for various things. On a previous trip, about 2 months ago, I spotted a shirt I really liked for 14.99. I was so close to getting it, even took it out of the buggy, but decided it was something I really didn't NEED. I am really trying to buckle down with spending and think about my purchases, but I did not forget about the shirt. Each time we went to Target after that (we go ALOT), I checked to see if it was on sell. It took about two weeks for it to reach the clearance rack-it went down to 10.99, I continued to hold out. I checked again probably the next week-still the same. I really almost forgot about it when we were there Saturday. As we were getting ready to leave I told Kevin I needed to check on something and sure enough it was still on the clearance rack-this time for $2.47!! Needless to say, I was thrilled. They had it in a few different colors so I decided to get 2 of them because I liked it so much. I left Target that day babbling to Kevin about how amazing it was to just wait a while for things that you want, and that I got 2 shirts for less than 1/2 the original price! I'm not to sure he really understood the big deal, but he seemed enthusiastic. To me, however, it was a secret challenge that I had won!
I realize that many people may think I'm a little crazy for making such a big deal over a shirt for $14.99, but to me it was important ( and no, I don't have to much time on my hands). I guess being a partial stay at home mom , I am really trying make a difference no matter how small-because it adds up. So from now on, my goal is to not buy anything unless it is on sale........or I have a coupon for it....

Monday, January 12, 2009

Trying to keep them busy!!

Here are are some new pictures of me trying to entertain Hannah and Hunter. Recently, I feel like I am running out of things to do with them to keep them entertained! I guess they are doing more now and are always on the move-it's tough to keep up. They are also close dropping their morning nap and just having one single nap. I've noticed that they are sleeping less time-so I guess that's what that means????? I'm not really sure at what age that is supposed to come, but it seems to make sense to me. Point is.....I have to come up with a lot more stuff to do with them, so if anyone has any good ideas, let me in on them!

The picture below of Hunter sleeping is after Kevin's family "Christmas" the weekend after New Year's. They both wore themselves out so much, they fell asleep before we even had the car in gear to go home. Those close to us know that Hunter is not a big fan of diaper changes; needless to say, he didn't wake up at all while we transferred him inside and changed him into his pj's. They slept until 9:00 the next morning!!!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

I can't believe Christmas is already over, it went by way too fast! Despite Hunter being sick with a virus, we had a great time. Christmas Eve we spent at the house with my mom. Christmas day Kevin's family, and my Dad and Kim came over for lunch. The kids were a little more into the gifts than last year, but were still mainly interested in the tissue paper. It was really a quiet and simple Christmas compared to how we usually travel all over to see different families, so we were able to relax a lot more.

Today is New Year's Day and Kevin and I are really bored. We pondered a trip to Walmart to get some things we need, but I am too scared to bring the kids out because they will probably catch something else. I do realize that we eventually have to leave the house, but it's just not worth it right now! We have spent the day outside on the new slide that Pam and Dickey gave them, and trying to teach them how to eat with a spoon by themselves-it got pretty messy as you will see in the pictures!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

We are back...Finally!

Well-this might be a long one. As some of you know our computer has been on the fritz and we have finally gotten around to getting it fixed (some 2 months later)-I guess that tells you how busy we have been! I really missed being able to do this-I have felt a little disconnected lately. I will try to recap the past 2 months-at least what I remember of it!

October was a busy month. Dickey (Kevin's dad) was scheduled to have surgery on his back. As he was going through preliminary stress tests they found he had severe blockage in his arteries. The next day, instead of back surgery, he had a triple bypass. He is recovering very well, and seems to be getting back to his old self. It still amazes me to see how Kevin's family operates. I think Dickey surely had a record number of people in the waiting room at the hospital during his surgery. Everyone was there to offer their prayers and support for him, and I was reminded how blessed I am to be part of such a wonderful and caring family...I really think that families like that are few and far between these days. Also, on October 30, my best friend Katy had her baby girl that they named Adalee Kate! She is healthy and beautiful and they are doing very well-I am so excited to have someone else to share motherhood with! And at the last minute we decided to get Halloween costumes. Hannah was a bumble bee and Hunter was a monkey (very fitting for him). We made rounds at all the grandparents so they could see them. The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves until the ride home when Hannah got tired of her wings and cried the whole way home!

November was a little more relaxed; we enjoyed Thanksgiving over at Pam and Dickey's and went to my Dad and Kim's the day after. Way too much food for one weekend that's for sure. Hannah and Hunter both started cutting their first molars which was not fun. Hannah's teeth never have seemed to bother her, but Hunter is so miserable. I feel really bad for him, but there's not much we can do I guess. I also have tried to start phasing out their pacifiers. They usually only get them when they sleep and in the car. The car thing is more of a crutch for me, because I can't stand it when they cry in the car-I feel so helpless. Evidently day care doesn't allow binkies in the Toddler room at 18 months, so we have a few more months to kick the habit! Also in November we went to a large "mothers of mulitples" garage sale-Pam got them a huge plastic pony for a great deal, and Hannah has fallen in love with it. She rocks back and forth on it and cracks up laughing! Hunter has also developed a few new interests: the first is climbing on anything and everything (scary for me); the second is trying to fit himself into things (boxes, bowls, cabinets, etc.); the third is his new fascination with his nose. To my dismay, he really enjoys sticking his finger up his nose and keeping it there (especially when there is someone trying to take a picture of him). You will see some examples in the new pictures!

December has been wonderful so far. Kevin and I went to my office Christmas party last weekend, Pam came over to babysit. We had a great time, we haven't been apart from the kids in a while. I am thinking of maybe picking up a 3rd day of work somewhere, I am not ready to go back full time, but wouldn't mind working a few more days here and there. We went on Sunday to take pictures with Santa. We were so worried Hannah would cry, but she did pretty well. The little girl in front of us had a major meltdown, but when we put them on his lap Hunter just looked confused and Hannah just stared at Santa with a very serious look on her face.

We are looking forward to the Christmas holidays and being able to see family and friends. I have posted some pics of the last few months that I liked(some are funny, some are random). Enjoy!