Is it worth it?

Lately I have joined the throngs of thousands of housewives throughout Utah in clipping coupons and rushing grocery stores for amazing deals. I have never done this but my mom started doing it a little while ago and I was amazed at the deals she was getting. I had also read several articles in the paper about how much money people are saving and what a blessing it is for them because they are able to build their food storage at a fraction of the cost. I started out with my pinkie toe in the water- a few Costco coupons. It felt good to get $8 off a box of diapers. Then I started to pull the Sunday coupons and snip out a few here and there. Well- here it is a few months later and now I am a maniac. I anxiously await the Sunday paper wondering what kind of surprise I will find, I love Tuesdays when the grocery stores send out their new ads for the week, and I LOVE to brag to Jake when I get a box of cereal for .30. I have heard stories of women being banned from stores, women actually making money doing this, and women who feed their family on close to $50 for a month. This all sounded crazy but I found myself aspiring to be like them. All that changed Saturday. I was thrilled to walk into Smiths that day because I had my list, my coupons, and a bright hope that they were going to somehow pay me to take the groceries out of the store that day. I had carefully calculated and knew the exact brand, ounce, and quantity of each item on that list. As I made my way to the check stand I started to scan the lines trying to find one on the end that was not too long. I usually go for the end hoping that not too many people will line up behind me. I always feel bad when I hold people up while they are scanning my coupons in but it normally only takes about a minute. I looked and looked and there was no short line to be found. That is what I get for going to the store on the Saturday before memorial day. Everyone's cart was loaded with beer and hot dogs and here I was with baby food and ranch dressing. When I finally got to the lady, there were 4 people waiting behind me. As the checker finished scanning my items, I handed her my stack of coupons and I got a look that I thought only the devil could throw out. Along with look of death I received behind the stand, I also received three very loud sighs behind me in line. I had officially become that women. The one that people avoid at all costs. The one that people will opt to put their food back instead of having to wait in line behind. I was immediately embarrassed and just hoped she would hurry and scan my coupons and I could be on my way. Things never work out as we hope, do they? I don't know if she was an inept checker or it was her first day on the job but she could not get the stupid coupons to scan in. She kept trying and she finally gave up and started to manually type in each coupon. Imagine my horror- manually typing each one! I could see the people behind my start to shift with impatience and with every shift came a new sigh of impatience. I kept praying that her fingers would sprout wings and start to fly about the keyboard but the more I hoped the more it seemed her fingers were weighed down with bricks. I was just waiting for the annoucement to come over he intercom- "Attention shoppers, for your time and conveinence, please steer your carts away from lane 10 while we sort out a coupon fiasco with one of our more difficult shoppers. We appreciate your business and thank you for shopping at Smiths". I wanted to make all the pain stop and tell her not to worry about it but I did not want to let all those coupons go. There was about $25 in savings total. So, I settled in and let her type. I just kept telling myself that this comes witht the territory and I should have expected this eventually. She finally finished, totaled my groceries, and let me leave without any further incident. I grumbled my way out of the store and swore to myself that I would never use coupons again- then I looked at my receipt and smiled. Oh, I will use coupons again. I certainly will continue to "clip and save", I get too much of a thrill from it. I will just not clip and save on a Saturday afternoon before a holiday.

The fruits of my labor. Total??? $4.63!!!!

Memorial Day weekend

Congratulations to Chad. He graduated from University of Utah med school. He is officially a doctor!

It was fun to see aunt brittany!

Mason loves aunt kelsey!

Visiting grandma Larue's grave. This is a tradition that I look forward to every year!

Grandma's favorite past time.

Kari- you still have the touch

It was so fun to see Ethan and Garrison

And of course, Brady.

Medicine anyone?

Have you ever felt like you are in one continuous battle that no matter how hard you fight you always turn around just to be faced with another nemesis towering over you? Or have you felt like it took everything you had to climb up a hill and just when you start to rejoice, you look up and see a Mount Everest blocking your path yet again? This is how I have felt this last week and today I feel like I have hit the peak of frustration. I have been terrified ever since this "swine flu" has made it's rampid presence in our state. I felt ok when it was confined to the mountains of Park City but when I heard that it had hit a few Lehi schools, just a few miles away from me, I was ready to barricade myself in my house and start to live off the food storage that I have been trying so hard to gather. Even though I wanted to start searching my house for plywood and nails, Jake calmly reminded me that I was being ridiculous and we just needed to be more diligent in washing our hands and staying away from places we know are germ cess pools (i.e nursery/primary). I had just started to calm down when Mason came down with this deep cough and was tugging on his ears constantly. I took him in to the pediatrician and was reassured that it was only ear infections and a cold. Nothing that good ole amoxicilin won't remedy. I had that doctor check Tylie too and he said that it looks like she had it but was battling it on her own and was already well on her way to recovery. A few days later, Jake came home late at night and started a hot bath at 1:00 in the morning. Jake is not the type of man that enjoys long soaks in the tub so I knew that something was up. He came to bed with a raging fever and a headache that kept him up all night. He stayed home from work the next day hoping that this would pass quickly. Everybody seemed to be feeling a little better by Thursday until Tylie decided to roll around on our fresh cut loan and broke out into hives all over her body. I was able to give her some allergy medicine to curve the itch and anxiously watched her to make sure that nothing would start swelling and no new growths would start popping up. By this time, I was worn out. After administering antibiotics, benadryl, Excedrin, and a lot of extra hugs I felt like I had put out every fire that could pop up. Yeah right! I was so tired from several nights of both kids waking up at random times that I could not wait to climb in bed and get a solid nights sleep. I rocked Mason to sleep and got him snuggled down, I read Tylie her stories and sang her songs and tiptoed out of the room with a beeline straight to my bed. AHHHHH!! There is nothing like your bed after a day like this. The smell of your pillow, the weight of the blankets on top of you, the soft hum of my husbands breathing as he is peacefully dreaming. I leaned over to click off the light and there is Tylie standing in my doorway, crying. She wants me to sing another song. Sigh. Ok, one more song then no more. I don't think I have ever sang "I love to see the temple" faster in my life. I kissed her goodnight one more time and took that beeline that I had just taken a few minutes before. I snuggled back down,clicked the light, and went to sleep. About one hour later, I woke up with a hand on my face and a foot in my stomach. Somehow, Tylie has slipped into my bed without waking me up and there she was dead asleep, sprawled out in all my comfortable, personal space. I picked her up and put her back in her bed. Then she woke up. I hushed her back to sleep and then Mason started crying. This is when I start to lose it. I feed Mason put him back in bed, climb in bed, and there Tylie is, in my doorway yet again. No, I am not kidding. Believe me, I wish I was. I have tried to bribe her with treats and prizes if she would just stay in her bed but no amount of sugar was working this night. As I stared at her little face thoughts start to race through my head. "Is it considered child abuse if I super glue my daughter to her sheets?" "I know it is child abuse to beat my child but maybe I could just beat on Jake for a minute and then I would feel better because he wouldn't be sleeping soundly as I was dealing with this dilemma." "Maybe they won't notice if I just grab a blanket and a pillow and go sleep in the car, I would probably get more sleep." After all these thoughts ran through my head I decided that none of them would work so I would just shew Tylie back to bed one more time and pray that this time would be the last. Why is it that the night I give my child Benadryl she is up more than she ever has been? Isn't that stuff supposed to knock them out? Maybe Benadryl should consider upping the dosage on the drowsy stuff because it ain't working so well! Tylie continued to get up about 4 more times that night so I think I got a total of 20 minutes of sleep and I never got deep enough to dream. When my alarm went off this morning, I was greeted by complete body aches and a sore throat. AWESOME! Could it get any better? I decided it was time to head back to the doctors. I loaded the whole family in the car and we headed off. We walked into the doctors office looking and feeling like a bunch of homeless bums. Actually that is the way I looked but Jake was complete with cuff links and gelled hair. No matter how bad he feels, he will never go out into public "dressed down". We received a fresh round of antibiotics and hope that we would see another day. After taking a day of rest, I think that things are looking up. I am about to go to bed and I can only hope that they antibiotics will have more of an affect on Tylie than the Benadryl did!


Tylie kept telling me that she needed the car keys because her and pink baby were going to for a ride. I asked her who was driving. She stopped and thought about it and told me she was because pink baby is too little to drive. Of course!










Mason loves to be outside! And daddy loves to be with Mason.






Mason will pay Tylie back for this in a few years. I think she is just enjoying it while he can't do much about it.

Swatters away Please!

Drop the fly swatter and step away from the computer! It is only me. I know that I look like a giant fly ready to leap out of your screen and start buzzing around your head but I promise, no buzzing will be coming your way. This is just another classic case of my idiocy and how I don't learn things very quickly. Most people make a mistake once, learn from the mistake, and move on. Not me! I love to make mistakes, get disgusted and want to beat my head against a wall, get up, dust myself off, and run right back into the ring to make the same stupid mistake that I just made. Case in point: I still say yes to Mary Kay and Pampered Chef parties, I still pick up the phone when a member of the bishopric calls, and I still wash my car in the middle of winter and the cuss my way to work through the middle of a slushy snow storm. My latest hair brained move was to purchase these stunning sunglasses off the Internet. It is a fine tradition that I have made for myself every spring and it seems to get better each year passes. Jake and I used to treasure our sunglasses and have had a few pairs that the price tag would make some people faint. I don't know why I thought is was a good idea to spend hundreds of dollars on silly things that you only wear in the summer, but I did and so we would indulge ourselves while living in California. When we had kids, all that changed. Tylie loved to get into my purse and find the one thing that I didn't want her to find. Every time she would destroy a pair, I wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cry because I could almost hear the money flushing down the toilet. I decided the days of glamour were past and it was time to go for the "cheapies". I got the brilliant idea of logging onto ebay and buying sunglasses and I found an aw some site where they were only about $10 a pair! TEN DOLLARS??!!! And they weren't that bad looking either. I thought I had come to the end of the rainbow and discovered the pot of gold that everyone else had been missing. I quickly ordered about 3 pairs and anxiously peered into my mailbox waiting for the day that they would arrive. When they came, I ripped the box open, ran to the bathroom, put them on one by one, and to my surprise- that feeling of wanting to curl up in a ball and cry returned. I LOOKED RIDICULOUS (see pic above)! All of them were either too big, too wide, smashed to my eyelashes, or fell off my face. Jake just laughed at me and told me that is what I got for buying something off the internet without trying it on first. That was three years ago and yet about a week ago, I found myself peering deeply into my mailbox hoping to see that little cardboard box I was expecting. I have continued this trend each year since and am surprised each year when I find a giant insect staring in the mirror back at me. I couldn't help but laugh at myself this year and hope that the 4th time is the charm and I won't repeat next year. So please, tuck your fly swatters safely back on top of the fridge and put the bug spray away. Who knows, maybe I will wear those stupid sunglasses through the summer and the humiliation might stick with me until next year when I sit down at the computer, pull up ebay, and start the process all over again!

Photo post

We went to the Zoo for Luke's birthday and had a blast! Thank you, Luke, for being born so we had a great excuse to spend some time with you. We loved every minute of it.



Well, at least Tylie and I loved every minute of it. Mason was not so thrilled to be there for some of the time. He is cutting more teeth and only wanted to be held.




















There is nothing like an ice cream cone to go with our adventurous day

























I don't think they liked riding on the carousel. It is just another one of those "rough" things that Tylie has to deal with.













She has not stopped talking about the snakes. I think Jake has heard the same story about the same snake about 10 times now

















Curtis and Levi really liked the cougar- and that is putting it lightly!




































On the train ride































Mother's Day!


Playing Settlers of Catan. This has been a weekly thing for quite some time. We have finally found a game that Chad can play over and over again and never get bored with it. Chad usually wins, Jake and I sneak a few wins in once in a while, and mom- well she is just there to play because she loves games!

We have moved our little plants into the big garden where they can really thrive. We are so excited to see them start to produce.

Tylie's favorite "jumpy thing" at grandma's house.

This used to freak me out when grandpa would do this with Tylie. Now I just think it is cute.

Sometimes I stress myself out because I have these great pictures on my camera but no funny story to go with them so I feel that they are not worthy to be on the blog. Well, as I have said before, I have figured out a way to turn my blog into my own "scrapbook" so unfortunately there are going to be some post just full of pictures and not much of a story. This would be one of those.

The perfect gift

Mother's Day has crept up on me this year and has caught me completely off guard with what to get for the special mothers in my life. I have always struggled with Mother's Day and this year is no different. I do not struggle because I don't want to honor and adore them as the angels they are, I struggle because I have concluded that finding the perfect mother's day gift is nothing short of impossible.When I was a teenager I felt a constant weight on my shoulders from the beginning of April until the day after Mother's day because I felt that if I didn't get my mom something that she would faint at when she saw it, then I had failed. I tried the approach of sneaking around and trying to catch any small little hint that she would throw out weeks before "the day." That never worked because I would often misinterpret these hints and end up buying something that got placed on the top shelf of her closet and became nothing more than a dust collector. Then I took the approach of throwing my hands in the air and just coming out and asking her. I always got the standard mom answers that went against everything I believed in. She would say things like "all I want is for all you kids to get along" OH PLEASE! or something like "all I want is for my kids to remember what I have taught them and be the best that they can be." At this point I was walking out of the room, trying to hold back my gag reflex, and grabbing my keys so I could head off to the mall yet again to wander aimlessly through shops praying that something would jump off the shelf at me. In recent years, I have attempted the gift cards (I know, completely impersonal and easy way out), the hand written cards, and the sentimental things of old memories when we were kids. I have even got Tylie in on the act hoping that she could scribble some gorgeous fridge hanging that would take grandma's breath away. All of these attempts have come to no avail and here I am yet again staring down the barrel at Mother's Day with empty hands. Tonight I loaded up the kids and headed off to the store where every cliched mother's gift is held- Deseret Book. I had an hour and a half until they closed and I planned on using every precious minute and not leaving until I had something, ANYTHING in my hands. Tylie quickly found the children's book section and quickly nestled down at a small table with a stack of books. So, there I was. Left to battle this daunting task by myself. Just me and my little 20 pound beef cake, Mason, that I got to haul up and down each aisle. I looked and I looked and I looked some more. I picked up each book soaking up each synopsis and trying to picture my mom snuggled in a blanket with each book. As each one failed to make the perfect picture in my head I got more and more discouraged. How in the world I am supposed to pick out a physical thing that symbolizes to my mom how much I love her. This woman has given my life and now I am supposed to thank her by giving her something that I can pick up off a shelf. What a disaster! I finally settled on an inspirational book that I had heard several people recommend and prayed that somehow my mom would appreciate it. I guess I will never know because you know how mom's are. You could give them a basket full of rats and they will act like it is exactly what they have been dreaming about. I know that my mom will never read this because she doesn't do computers so well but I hope that Jake's mom will and that they will both know how much I appreciate and adore them. My mom has taught me how to be the woman I am today and she will never know the profound effect that she has on my daily life. I distinctly remember coming home from school everyday looking forward to seeing her. I knew that she would be there ready to ask me how my day was and if I did not immediately respond with some story or explanation- she would be there to push me for details until she knew about every minute since I walked out the door that morning to the minute that I walked back through it. Back then I sincerely believed that she cared about what I ate for lunch but now I realize that she just wanted me to talk. She wanted to establish that communication with me and it did not matter what it was about. I would be so disappointed on the days that I would come home and she was not there. As an adult, I find myself still calling her sometime during my day just to check in. I adore her in every sense of the word and pray that I can be like her. That woman is filled with child like faith, hope as bright as the sun, and a love for her Savior that I feel radiate from her daily. She keeps us all on track which is quite a task considering how different we all are and the work it takes to keep us there. I would also feel very amiss if I did not mention Jake's mom in my writing. I have heard many people complain about the "mother-in-law" and having to "deal" with all that comes with it. I can honestly say that I have never looked at Jake's mom as my "mother-in-law." No, she is just my mom. She has accepted me and loved me from the day I met her and has never wavered in her support of Jake and I. She had the ability to raise Jake and that is really saying something. I unfortunately did not know Jake when he was growing up but I have heard stories, oh, have I heard stories. Dennis the Menace paled in comparison to some of the stunts that Jake pulled off. The amazing thing is, is that his mom was able to keep him alive, keep him in church, get him to graduate, and loved him through it all. She has always made me feel like one of her daughters and because she established that love with me right away, I have always loved to call her and talk to her just as I do my own mom. She is one of those people that you call because you know that they will sit and listen, not interrupt, and then build you up and you leave feeling like you are a superstar. I love my mothers. I appreciate my mothers. I appreciate that they accept me with all my flaws and one of my flaws is mother's day gifts. So- to the mother's in my life- on this mother's day when I give you a gift that is not near what you deserve, please understand that it is my flaw and that I feel completely inadequate to show you how I feel. I will just continue to pray that one day I might be able to serve you in even just a small fraction of the service that you have given to me. Happy Mother's Day!

5th Hancock member

Here at the Hancock household, we have a 5th member of the family living in our home and we didn't even know. We didn't know what she ate, where she slept, what she did to entertain herself, when she took a bath or if she even needed a bath. Nobody even knew she existed.... except Tylie. Tylie has had her around for a while now and we are adjusting quite nicely to this new addition to our family. Her name is "pink baby" and Tylie is the only one that can see her. She is only around at random times when tylie chooses. She likes to sleep a lot because tylie likes to make us whisper so we won't wake her up. She often "needs" a treat and Tylie "needs" one too because pink baby likes to share. It has been very entertaining to watch as Tylie goes through the phase of an invisible friend. At first it kind of freaked me out because she would be having random conversations with no one in the room and I could never figure out who she was talking to. When I would question her about what she was doing, she would just look at me and turn away like she didn't want to be bothered. As time has gone on though, I think that I realize that she is coping with things in her own way and I just need to step back and let her work it out. Mason is 7 months old now and my attention has been split in two. She can no longer grab my attention the second she wants it if I am with Mason. And as hard as I try to play with her, I realize that I just don't get to play with her as often as I used to. I understand that she is used to have attention and she is coping with it by creating someone that will never interrupt her, never get mad at her, and never leave her. Pink baby is there whenever Tylie feels like she needs to be and I guess that is ok. Pink baby will disappear in time and Ty will never talk to her again so I hope that I can remember that she is three and let her have her fun while it lasts. After all, pink baby never makes messes (at least ones that I can see), she never leaves dirty dishes in the sink, and she never whines or cries. I think that this is one family member that I can handle!













Was Mason even wearing a diaper when this explosion happened??? If I hadn't been there myself I probably would not have believed it but I was, and yes, he was. All I can say is I hope that the kid feels better!




I have this totally adorable bed that we got for Tylie right before Mason was born but since we got her a new bed, we don't know what to do with this one. We got it at Ikea and it is like brand new. We paid over 200 for it but we are willing to get rid of everything ( bed, matress, bedding, throw pillows) for $75. The matress is not a regualr matress. It sits a lot lower that a usual one. We did that because we were worried that she would roll out and this had some decorative bars in front that would stop her. If anyone is interested please let me know.


We also have this cute kitchen that is in great condition but just don't have need or room for it any more. We will give this to who ever wants it!

Rough Life

Yesterday Jake was trying to help Tylie to understand how many blessings she has on a daily basis. He was explaining to her about the swine flu and how many people are getting sick throughout the world. He was telling her how a lot of people are having a "rough time" right now and we need to pray for them so Heavenly Father will help them get better. At the time she was completely disenchanted by the whole conversation and told him that she did not like that story and told him she would rather hear a princess story. Sigh!!! We are going to have to work on her compassion for others. At the time, Jake chalked it up to a waste of breath but she somehow internalized some of what he told her, the concept she caught on to is still questionable. She came up to me the next day and told me that she was having a "rough life." I laughed, rolled my eyes, and told her to go play in her room while I finished scrubbing the toilet. Yeah, whose having the rough life now??? The one complaining about a rough life with a balloon and baby doll in her arms or the one elbow deep in toilet water with an itch on her nose? As I was watching Tylie throughout the rest of that day and thinking back on some of the things that she had to put up with this last month, I began to think that she has a point. She has had to tolerate quite a few things this last while that only a special person could handle.

Helping dad with the daunting task of blowing out his candles on his birthday. It takes a lot of work to breathe in and out on a daily basis and to freely give up some of that precious air for her daddy is selfless beyond words!


Wearing grandma's glasses so papa wouldn't feel alone in the fact that his eyes were not as good as they were many years ago. Tylie will go to great lengths to make others around her feel comfortable. You can clearly tell that she does not enjoy playing with grandma's glasses- this is obviously solely for grandpa's feelings.


Sleeping in her brand new "princess" bed that she got. She is so sharing that she does not want to leave mommy out so she invites me every night to sleep in her special bed because she knows what a privilege it is. It can get a little squishy with two in a single bed but she doesn't mind. And believe me, she takes up her half ( or three quarters) of the bed.


Playing at the park with friends and getting a small hint of a sunburn on her shoulders. Don't worry- we have worn a band aid on the tops of our shoulders for several days and I think we should be over this drama soon. Kat- You were right! I should have remembered the sunscreen. Next time I am just going to turn back and get it!

Soaking our feet in a warm bubbly foot bath after being on our feet all day at the park. She was able to pass the time with cartoons though so the experience wasn't too dreadful for her.

And finally, wrangling up some of the local wildlife that roams our little part of the country. We are sure glad that Tylie and Mia were there because I just don't know what we would do if they weren't there. That barb wire fence can only go so far.


I am really starting to get worried about her. Today she went to the park with aunt heather, made cookies, played with daddy, got a special treat from uncle Josh. She was so worn out from all the excruciating work that she finally just passed out in my bed, my hair in her hand stroking her face, and fell asleep. I carried her to bed hoping that maybe tomorrow would get better. If any of you have any suggestions for her we would sincerely appreciate and advice you can give us. At this rate, I just don't know how much longer she will last!