Happy Halloween

Cecelia Hatzenbihler, 81, Bismarck, died Oct. 23, 2008, at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Church of St. Anne, Bismarck, with the Rev. Edwin Wehner as celebrant. Burial will be held at noon Monday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. today at Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan, with a rosary at 8 p.m. followed by a parish vigil. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

Cecelia was born Dec. 19, 1926, in Oliver County, the daughter of John and Eleanore (Scheetz) Hoffman. Graduating from Center High School, she went on to attend the State Teachers College in Dickinson and received her teacher's certificate. Cecelia taught country school in Oliver County for three years. On June 15, 1948, she married Monsadius "M.J." Hatzenbihler in Center.

Cecelia was a terrific listener and always made you feel important. Her sharp memory could recall details and names as if it were yesterday, and she did well when watching Jeopardy and doing cross-word puzzles. She enjoyed reading and playing card games, such as Bridge and Cribbage, and was active in the Center Bridge Club. Cecelia enjoyed watching baseball, football and golf on T.V. A talented green thumb, her gardening and canning brought wonderful produce to her table. Cecelia enjoyed spending time outdoors fishing the Missouri River and playing golf. Traveling to visit family was a highlight for Cecelia, and every fall she would travel to Washington to pick apples. Cecelia was a proud member of the St. Martin's Altar Society in Center. She was a model of encouragement and an inspiring example of generosity and love. Her legacy of love and laughter is carried in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.

Left with many fond memories and an example of a life well-lived is her husband of 60 years, M.J.; five daughters, Jill (Steve) Bosch, Strasburg, Arliss (Joseph) Mahrer, Garibaldi, Ore., Gail (Jim) Morton, Edson, Alberta, Canada, Denise (Jim) Brorby, Bismarck, and Raylene (Ernie) Vettel, Caledonia; five sons, Neal (Linda), Pine Haven, Wyo., Dean (Crystal), Salem, Ore., Kevin (Kim), Gillette, Wyo., Brian (Leia), Aurora, Colo., and Scott (Trudy), Billings, Mont.; 23 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and four sisters, Frances Kary, Mandan, Viola (Mike) Himmelspach, Jamestown, Jeanette (Myron) Brown, Center, and Beverly Moon, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Cecelia was preceded in death by her parents; one son, Keith; one granddaughter, Jodie; one great-grandson, Jacob; one sister and two brothers-in-law, Betty (Peter) Hatzenbihler and George Kary.

The family prefers memorials to the St. Alexius Dialysis Unit.

Go to www.weigelfuneral.com to sign the online guest book and view flower and tribute photos.

My Grandparents in 1947.

Grandma

Just a quick post to let you know that I've been at the hospital. My Grandma is not doing well. She's been in the hospital since last Tuesday. They are keeping her comfortable until she passes away. I will be back to post more later. Prayers for my Grandpa would be greatly appreciated. These are the same grandparents who just celebrated their 60th anniversary this summer.

Latest Savings

I have to tell you about another shopping trip to CVS. This one happened this week so these sales are still going on.

Bought:
*Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kit ($7.99)
*Swiffer Duster Starter Kit ($6.99)
*2 All Detergents (Buy one, get one free)
*Excedrin Headache medicine ($5.49)
Coupons used:
*Buy swiffer sweeper starter kit, get swiffer duster starter kit free
*2 - $1 off coupons for All detergent
*$3 off Excedrin
*$5 off purchase of $25
*$9.48 in ECB's (Extra care bucks)

Total with tax came to: $1.06!! Can you believe it?!?! And I earned an additional $5 in ECB's to use for my next shopping trip!

Do You CVS?

I have a new addiction and trust me, it's not a bad one!! Are you a CVSer? I just recently started shopping there weekly and I am completely addicted to it! I think the addiction really started when I paid a whopping 9 cents for a 44 pack of size 1 Huggies diapers and a bag of Chex mix. I saved that much by using a CVS coupon for Huggies, a Huggies manufactured coupon, a coupon for Chex that made them absolutely free and $4 in ExtraCare bucks (ECB's). Last week I went there and my subtotal was $23.72 - after my coupons and ECB's I paid $9.72. I saved over $14!! On top of those savings I received all of this:

-$11.48 in ECB's
-a coupon for a $25 g.c. with a new or transferred prescription
-save $5 off a $25 purchase
-save $3 on Excedrin
-save $1 on Children's tylenol

I'll be able to use all of these coupons on some of my next shopping trips there which is awesome! They were out of one of the items I wanted to purchase so once I buy that I'll get another $4 in ECB's. If you're interested in learning how to be a CVSer here are some sites you should check out:

I heart CVS
Mommy Making Money
My Precious Pennies
The "Cent"sible Sawyer

These websites are great about giving scenarios that help you earn the most ECB's possible and save the most money. Some of them even have previews of the upcoming ad so you can plan ahead and combine coupons and ECB's to save even more.

It took a couple of weeks for me to get the hang of all of it, but now it is really starting to pay off. I highly recommend you check out these sites if you live close to a CVS!!

Logan

These are part of his everyday clothing attire:

Snippets

-I went back to work on Monday. I was a little nervous - I was worried I wouldn't remember how to run the register. Everything worked out though and by the end of the night it felt like I had never been gone for 8 weeks.

-I managed to find about 10 books I would like to buy while I was at work.

-I don't think I ever mentioned it but Noah has a tooth! We noticed it before we even brought him home from the hospital. It's on the top right side. I had heard of newborns having teeth but never imagined it would happen!

-I almost cried when I saw Logan's haircut. Not because I didn't like it, I was so happy it actually got cut, but because he looked SO different!

-The haircut did not go smoothly and for that I am thankful that I didn't go with. Mike had to hold his arms down and then use his other arm to hold his head still while the stylist buzzed it off. Needless to say, the poor stylist received a VERY nice tip!

-I got this gorgeous necklace from Logan on Wednesday. I love it!!

-In celebration of Logan getting his haircut we will be going to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We've gone there every year since Logan was 2 months old.

-It is supposed to snow this weekend! YUCK!! I am so not ready for that!

-I made applesauce this past week. I got 8 pints made but will be making more this weekend. Why, you might ask? Well because I added WAY too much sugar and it is too sweet. After about 3 bites it begins to taste like you're eating straight sugar and cinnamon.

Before & After

Before:

After:

Haircut

A haircut has been scheduled for Logan. 6 PM tonight. Wish us luck. Actually, wish Mike luck since he's the one who is taking him.

Trouble

Last week Mike & I made the mistake of leaving Logan alone while he was in the tub. It was a bad, bad idea. In the past we have left him alone in there for a couple of minutes at a time. He's usually pretty well behaved but every once in awhile we'll catch him dumping water onto the floor. Well last week we left him alone for just a little too long. All of a sudden we heard a loud noise in the bathroom. Mike went up there and could not believe what Logan was doing. He had filled up Noah's baby tub with water and dumped that all over the floor. He was also trying to push the water that was on the floor down the register vent. SO.NOT.GOOD. Mike immediately got Logan out of the tub, dressed and sent him downstairs while he mopped up the floor. About 5 minutes later Mike looked up at the ceiling and water was dripping down. Logan had managed to dump enough water on the floor that it was coming through the ceiling. SO.NOT.GOOD. Thankfully the water stopped dripping shortly after it started. But we now have a spot on the ceiling that need to be fixed. Needless to say, Logan will not be left alone in the tub again!

*You have to look close at the picture - but you should be able to make out a crack along with water spots. That is our ceiling right now.

Good Night, Sleep Tight, Love You

That is what Logan says each night before he goes to sleep. And this is how we usually find him once he's finally fallen asleep:

My Little Man

It completely amazes me how in love you can be with someone. And I am so in love with my new little guy. When I hold him I cannot stop kissing him. I just love that newborn stage when they are so snuggly - it is simply one of the best things ever! I love his little head of peach fuzz. I'm often seen rubbing my chin across the top of his head - again, one of the best things ever!

I'm not sure if it's because he's the second child or what, but so far, it seems a lot less stressful this time around. When he cries, I don't freak out as much. And if he's been changed, fed and burped and is still crying - I still remain relatively calm.

And right now he's at the stage where he is becoming more aware of his surroundings. He will just lay there and stare - he loves to watch Logan. Speaking of Logan, he is SO good with his little brother. When I'm changing Noah's diaper, Logan will come into the room and talk to him to help calm him down. It is so cute when Logan talks to him. His voice gets really soft (which NEVER happens) and he usually says the same stuff. "Hi Noah" "I'm your big brother". And then he will go begin talking about him. He is absolutely fascinated with the size of Noah's hands and feet. He'll say, "Look at his little hands! And his feet!"

Noah seems to be getting into a routine too. Which is nice. Most nights he wakes up once, around 4 am. He'll nurse or take a bottle and then go back to sleep until around 7 or 8. I usually bring him into bed with me then (since Mike is up or at work) and just nurse him until he falls asleep again. He'll take a nap in the morning for a couple of hours, which works out nicely since that's when I get my errands done if I have any. Then he'll be up for 2-3 hours and then a nice long 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon. He also enjoys his bath most of the time too. I remember when Logan was really little he did not like the bath at all. And it completely stressed me out.