My First Christmas Library

for 4.49 shipped!

My First Christmas Library with 12 holiday board books + case (Infant and up) was 13.99, now 3.49 + $1 shipping (code) $1.00 Shipping Code 10618000004With 12 holiday board books in their own carrying case, this collection offers merry reading on the go! Boxed set includes First Christmas, Christmas Kitty, Santa's Surprise, Snowman, Santa's Elves, Toy Shop, Santa, Little Angel, Counting Christmas, Merry Morning, Drummer Boy, and Holiday Fun. Ages infant and up. 6 3/4" wide x 8 1/2" high x 3 1/4" deep.

Hanes at Meijer

There is a deal on Hanes at Meijer. I know socks and underwear are included not sure about bras and pjs. If you buy three packs, you get $10 off you order instantly. Women's socks are 4.99 and men's are 5.99. I got 3 packs of women's socks for about $5, thats 18 pairs of socks!

Not much else exciting this week. It's cold and I am blah!

You can be too pink..............

So I promised The Bug she could do a little painting yesterday. She also had a stamp pad I let her play with (thanks, Linda!). She was busy with her picture so I turned around to do some dishes. Next thing I know, she is in hysterics!!! She is holding out her hands for me to wipe them off. She had gotten the stamp pad out of it's container and it was all over her hands, bright pink! She is gasping for air at this point. You know the way toddlers do...and between gasps, she tells me "IT'S TOO PINK, MOMMY......IT'S TOO PINK!!!!!!!" Like there was a shade she was going for when she coated her hands in stamp pad ink and that was just not it!

Bug-ism

So we were on the way home last night and The Bug was talking to the traffic. It is her new thing, she tells the cars to stop and go. We were in the turn lane waiting for the oncoming cars to stop so we could turn. The Bug yells "stop cars, stop!!!!!!" She takes pause for a second, gets all serious and tells me "Mommy, they must speak Spanish".

Free photo book!

This is one of the best present to give grandparents!!!!

Snapfish and Oprah are giving away free photo books!!!

Go to www.oprah.com and find the link to get yours!


Offer expires tomorrow and the book must be made by Sunday.

A holiday bargain

Identity Direct has a Personalized Santa Book & Letter for $0.01 + $3.99 shipping = $4.


http://www.identitydirect.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=p1170.html?utm_source=kaboose&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=1cxmasmab&mid=41499

Buyer beware, I don't know anything about this company. I ordered one for The Bug so we will see!

A Frugal Christmas Tip

So here is one of my Christmas schemes -
I have a prescription transfer coupon for CVS for a $25 gift card. I will save the gift card for Christmas purchases. Drug stores are a great place to shop, the have toys (for the toddler), make-up and perfume (for the teen), and all sorts of stuff. I got The Saint a beer making kit last year!
Rite Aid alway has a gift card deal so I will do it next month and have even more money to play with. I may even be able to turn some of it into cash if I can find some "free after rebate" deals!!!!
Keep an eye out at the drug stores for Black Friday deals, you might be surprised! AND they are usually way less crowded!

Am I good?

Peace

your diaper deal of the week

Edit - the coupon does not work for this deal. It is for full priced diapers only.


Walgreens has their brand diapers Buy One Get One Free. That makes them 4.50 a pack. Great deal on diapers. If you buy 4, it looks like you get 2.00 off that total. AND if you have that coupon book from the pharmacy, you may be able to take $2 more off each pack.

So depending on how daring you are and how cooperative your store is, you can get a great deal
If you buy without coupons - 4.50 per pack for every 2 packs
If you buy 4 packs without coupons - 4.00 a pack
If you buy 2 packs with the pharmacy coupon - 2.50 a pack
If you buy 4 packs with the pharmacy coupon - 2.00 a pack

Mega Fun at Kroger!!!

It is Mega event time at Kroger. I got over $60 in groceries for $16 today. I can't find my receipt but I will give some highlights -
The sale states buy any 10 selected items, get $5 off you total, you can use coupons and do the deal up to 3 times in one transaction.


10 Scotch Brite Nail Saver sponges - used $1 off printable from the site
2 Glade Candles - used 1.50 off 2 from the inserts
1 box Hefty freezer bags - used a .55 off one fron the inserts
1 4-pack Activia yogurt - used a .50 coupon that doubled
3 boxes Cheerios (they had Pampers coupon s on them!!) - used 1.00 off 3
4 can of Carnation condensed milk - used 2 .50 off 2 coupon s that doubled
4 various types of Tylenol - had 2.00 off coupons for all
1 Deerpark 3 liter
3 Johnson No More Tears for curly hair - 1.00 off peelies on the bottles
2 packs of Bic Razors - 2.00 off from the inserts

Then I got some Non-Mega stuff
Marked down pork tenderloin
2 donuts for me and The Bug, special treat. Ok, they were bribery, I admit it. I am a bad mother
2 boxes Quaker Simple Harvest - after coupons, they were 1.49. Great price!!

Peace

Cornio

SO I took the girls to Goodwill to peruse. Whatever needs sweaters and I just like to see what I can find. Well, we scored this amazing specimen!!

We saw it and immediately The Bug starts getting excited and yelling "Cornio, cornio!". I grabbed it and threw it in the cart since it was so cheap. The entire trip, she keeps petting and saying "cornio". I just figured she had named it and that was it. Then Whatever figured it all out! Whatever is in a Spanish immersion program and is fluent. The Bug was say UNICORNIO, unicorn! Apparently, there is a Dora episode with a unicorn. We have given Cornio the pink horse a very good home. He gets a blanket at night before he goes to sleep and everything!

The coolest thing about it all is that when I am trying calm down The Bug for any reason, I tell her a story about Princess Bug and her pink horsey that takes her everywhere!!!!!! Now she has one for real!

Halloween

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween! Thankfully, now The Bug does, too. We went to my Mother In Laws neighborhood to Trick Or Treat. Whatever chose to go to another event so it was just The Bug, my sister in law, and me. We took that neighborhood by storm! The Bug wanted nothing to do with her costume at first. Acted like I was putting a coat of poison on her! Being the tolerant and patient mother that I am, I forced it on her. ""You will dress up and you will have fun, dammit!" Not my exact words but you get the point. After a quick dry run at the front door, we took to the streets. It only took one house before The Bug realized that this whole costume thing was a pretty sweet deal. She ran fromn house to house and wouldn't let us carry her bucket or sippy cup for her. What a great night!

Whatever and The Saint get excited about NOTHING. The Bug gets excited about EVERYTHING! I love having someone to get excited with.

Work For Me Wednesday!

I don't do this enough but Rocks In My Dryer (http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/)
is hosting her weekly WFMW and I thought I would put my two cents in.

Lately something that is working for me is cooking more than one meal at a time. If I am already dirtying up the kitchen and taking the time to make my family a meal, I just go ahead and make the meal for the next night. It really doesn't much more time and I end up trashing the kitchen anyway, no matter how much I cook. That way, the next evening I get to relax and not rush to get dinner on the table and the kitchen cleaned. I can pop the meal in the microwave or oven and sit and relax with the kiddos.

In the same vain, if I am making a more complicated dish or a casserole, I go ahead and make 2 and freeze the second.

Last night, I made a chicken stir fry for dinner and while that was on the stove, I threw all the ingredients into a pot for chili. My husbad is going to put it on the stove when he gets home.
We plan to carve pumpkins tonight so that will be enough mess, thank you!

Spending Free Week and CVS~~~~~~~

I am broke as a joke. We have enough food for the week so I am going to try to not spend anything this week.
I have not seen any incredible deals that i might miss out on anyway!

That does not mean that I will not make a stop to CVS. I don't have to spend any actual money there anyway!!!!
There is a Spend $20 and get $10 back on cold remedies and I have Buy One Get One Free Hall's coupons and a Thera Flu rebate to work. A Neti Pot is also included in the deal so I may try to work that in, also. This deal has a reported limit of 3.
There are also Bic COmfort 3 razors on sale for 5.99 with a $4 ECB. I have heard there are $2 off coupons so these will be free.

Fall Festival

We took The Bug to her first Fall Festival last week. She had a blast! She got to sit by herself in a firetruck (thankfully, it was turned off!), she bounced in the bouncy castle, got to ride in a horse drawn carraige, and saw her first hot air balloon (which she tried desperately to ride in!).

Princess Bug

SO we are on our way home from the sitters on Wednesday and The Bug tells me that she would like to dress up when we got home. She wanted to wear her "tappin" shoes and her crown and be a fairy princess. We got very excited about this and couldn't wait to get home.

Well, we walk in the door and there is a box from Mom-Mom. I open it up and it has a Fairy Princess costume in it. The Bug screams

at the top of her 2 year old lungs "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!"

Great, so now everytime she wishes to do something, she thinks the mailperson is

just going to magically bring it!

It was too cute, though.

She got her fairy wand out and kept saying "I wish, I wish, from my little heart..."

A Few Good Krogers Deals this week.....

Annies Homegrown Macaroni is $10 for 10. That is a fabulous deal! It is usually 2.39. Also if you buy a box, go to to www.annies.com and click on OFFERS. Use the information on the box to get a free subscription to KIWI magazine.

Febreeze Noticeables are 6.99. There is an insert coupon for $5 off one. Go to the Kroger site and download a $5 off coupon from P&G to your Kroger card. THese end up being free and in some cases, depending on the cashier, you may get some overage.

Energizer Batteries are $2 for a 4-pack. There is a coupon on the package for $1 off. Remember, you will probably need a battery or two for Christmas so stock up!

Johnson & Johnson makes a kiddie bar soap called a Buddy Bar. These are 1.09. There is an insert coupon for $3 off 3 Buddies products. If you buy three, you get a catalina for $3 off 3 more! You can really stock up on these. Even if you don't need them, they are great for donation.

The new Ore Ida steam and mash potatoes are on sale for $2 and there is an insert coupon for $1 off. I am anxious to try these!

If you are in need of formula, I have see Kroger has been marking it down for clearance.


Peace

Another Little Online Dealio

Go to http://www.artscow.com/diy/mousepad

Use code - MOUSE199
And make a personalized picture mousepad for 1.99 shipped.

These deals come around sometimes and I always do one or two to have on hand for emergency gifts.

Peace

Christmas

So it is right around the corner!
I can't believe it!

I am trying to get a headstart on things and keeping my eye open for deals. I won't tell you exactly what I got as I want my family to be surprised!
I thought I would share few few that I have done so far. I can't guarantee that they will stay valid much longer, though!

The Children's Place - www.thechildrensplace.com has a large selection of kids clothes for 50% off, use promo code HAA8 to get an additional 15% off

If you register at Fortum and Mason's web site http://fortnumandmason-usa.com/My-Account/Register.aspx you get $15 off and free shipping. They have all sorts of teas and English biscuits that would make great gifts. I got 2 things for .75! Use code DCDDAUT8

Oriental Trading has free shipping right now (which is a rarity!). Use code AHW903

Footlocker.com has a great deal on Men's hooded sweashirts, they are $7. Free shipping is over, though! Sorry:(

So that is what I have so far. I will update on any really good deals I find.

Peace

The Bug met Dora Saturday!

She got so excited! We waited for over 2 hours to see her at Once Upon a Child. She walked right up to her and said "hi Dora, how are you?" like she had known her all along. She was so mesmerized that they had to physically remove her from the Dora area. She talked all day about getting to sit on Dora's lap.

Much to my husband's dismay, we also found some tap shoes so she now wants to tap her little heart out all over our house. Of course, there is more falling on her rear than tapping but it all makes me giggle and makes The Saint shudder!

Diaper Deal of the Week

Great deal on diapers at Walgreen's.
Jumbo packs of Walgreen's brand diapers and kid pants are all on sale for $5.99.

That is a great price these days but I can make this deal even better!
There is a coupon booklet at the pharmacy counter that has a $2 off coupon in it. You have to ask for it but I haven't had a problem getting one. What is even better, you ask?? They don't have to keep these coupons, you can use it over and over again. Of course, this depends on your cashier but I have had luck if I don't tear it out and just hand the whole thing over. They scan it and I just stick it back in my bag without hesitation.

I am using Register Rewards from previous transaction to pay so I am paying $2.99 a pack!

Peace

Funny Things Kids Say.....

So The Saint, The Bug, and I were sitting on the back porch. He and I were chatting about work, life, the state of the world, etc over an end of the day beer. The Bug was tromping around on the porch and playing in the flower pots. All of a sudden The Bug runs up to me and says this:

"Mommy, I want Santa to bring me a violin for Christmas!!!"
"A what?!?!"
"A VIOLIN!!!!"
"Really, a violin?!?!?!"
"Yup, and a bow!"

Let me remind you, she is only 2. A genius, I tell you!

And yes, I am getting her a violin.

I missed out on the camera!!

At Meijer on Saturday! I was totally bummed!

BUT I got 20 boxes of pasta for free!!! Rock on...........

We had a great day yesterday. I decided to skip church and go to the track! I know if I was Christian, I would be going to hell. Even more so because we took the girls! Luckily us Unitarian Universalists leave room in our beliefs for a little fun on Sunday! Not to say that church is not! I am digressing.

The girls had a blast. We met a friend with his kids out there and they all giggled and laughed and had fun (when they weren't whining and crying!). One of the girls goes to the same sitter that The Bug does so they had fun just being in a different environment together.

The Bug before we left The little girls hanging out The Bug and her buddy

Some pictures from our most recent trip to FL

Sound asleep after a long day at the beach!

The Bug at The Beach

My silly girls and serious husband

Father and Daughter
Fried chicken on the beach!

My deals this week

SO I am working on a few -

Meijer
Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta on sale for .99 and there are 1.00 off coupons. I ordered 20 coupons so I will be getting 20 boxes for free!!!
They also have a digital camera on sale (have I mentioned how much I HATE mine!) for 99.99. The ad mentions $20 in instant saving when you purchase it, plus the is a 10% off coupon and I have $40 in birthday money left.
Healthy Ones lunch meat is $1 and there are .75 off coupons
Shrimp is 4.99 a bag


KMART
Is having the Super Doubles again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They will double all coupons up to $2!
I got a lot of good deals on pet food with Goodlife recipe coupons.

Walgreens
The Revlon Colorsilk is on sale for 1.99 and you get back 1.00 in Register Rewards for each box.
There is a coupon for $1 off 2. That makes it about $1 for 2 boxes of hair color.
Nutrigrain bars are 2 for $5 with a $2 register reward on 2. I plan to use the $2 from my Colorsilk to bring this total down.

Not much else going on that I see but will post if I do.

Happy Birthday to me!

I am 38 years young today!

The Saint shaved his Fu Man Chu. He didn't say it was for my birthday but it was an awfully good present. Now I get to kiss that sexy clean shaven face!!! Yummo!

He may even quit smoking for me!!

It don't get much better than that.

I am a big weaner!

So I am trying to slowly wean The Bug from nursing. It is hard, she loves it way too much. In fact it is like having a pint sized crack addict in the bed (don't even get me started on co-sleeping, that is our next challenge!) with me. I let her nurse before she goes to sleep (and sometimes to sleep when I just need her down) and then that is it. No more middle of the night stick-the-boob-in-the-mouth-to-quiet-the-baby-and-get-some-sleep feedings. Apparently those were her favorite.
First, she starts rooting around in her sleep. Then when the boob is not readily available, a panicked fumbling begins where she tries to get work her way under my shirt, pulls on my face, scratches at my chest, and sometimes tries to suck on my nose if she is close enough. This is followed a kicking and scratching fit, where she kicks off anything that touches her legs, and scratches her belly furiously. The next step is the loud wailing and yelling, "mommy!!!", she truly sounds like she is in pain. She grabs onto my face and stares at me like she is trying to will me to release a boob. At this point, sometimes, I can get her a drink of water and cuddle with her and get her to sleep, sometimes, just touching her at this point, she starts back at the first step!!!!
This whole process can last 10 minutes or 2 hours!! We have been working on it for 2 weeks now. I can't just go cold turkey on her, I think her head would just shoot right off her body!

So yes, I am a big mean weaner.

Peace

Kroger Deals

I went today and this is what I got:

19 4-packs of Cottonelle
5 Boxes Fiber One Bars
1 box Nature Valley granola bars
12 Bottle Powerade Zero
3 cans Spaghettios
3 bags of Chex Mix

My total was over $50 I paid 9.xx!!!
AND I got $4 back from the Powerade which I will roll into more Powerade Zero!

Peace

Deals

SO I am laying low this week but I am doing a quick deal at Kroger as I have some coupons getting ready to expire.

There is a deal running at Kroger that if you buy 15 specially marked items, you get $3 off you total order. Of the items that is rumored to be working are the Cottonelle Toilet Paper 4-packs that run for about $1. I ordered 20- .50 off coupons on Ebay that will double to make the TP free! THEN when I buy 15, I get $3 off! I am going to combine this with a Nature Valley Granola bar deal (buy 5 get $3.50 off your next order and I have 2 .50 coupons). So I will get 20 rolls of TP, 5 boxes of granola bars, and 5 cans of Campbells chicken noodle soup (to make my item total 15) for 10.95 and $3.50 off my next order.

I am going to turn that around and do the Powerade Zero deal, (buy 6 and get $4 off your next order) they are .79 a piece. I have a .75 off coupon for one and will use the $3.50 off from my previous transaction so my total for 6 should be .49 and I will get $4 off my next trip. I might just roll it into more Powerade Zeros.

Peace

Douglas Williams

My Father In Law, Doug passed away early this morning. Keep my family in your thoughts.....

A little politics for ya.....

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin:

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seenone in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not. She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in His name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal-burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free, open, tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?


Eve Ensler

September 5, 2008

A quick Meijer run.......

So I hit Meijer on my lunch break today.....
2 Hunts Pudding/jello snack pack ($1 each, used a .35 off 2 coupn that doubles)
4 Bags of Combos $1 each (used 1.00 off 2 coupons)
2 Green Giant Steamers ($1 each used a $1 off printable)
4 boxes Green Giant frozen vegetable ($1 each used 1-.25 off and 1-1.00 off 2)
1 Bottle Arm & Hammer Essentials (2.69 - there is a Try Me Free Rebate for this)
1 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner (1.04 forgot my coupon!!)
3 12-packs Coke Zero (3 for 11.00, used 1.00 off coupons from Vocalpoint)
Markdown Meat, chicken and pork (12.00)
Kraft Twist Ems Cheese Sticks (3.50)
Box Cheerios (4.99 used a free coupon!)
Bananas (1.60)
Pluots (2.00)
2 dozen cupcakes (12.00, for the office, I will be reimbursed)
1 pair of sneakers (clearanced to 8.49 but free because I bought $10 worth of Coke products!!)

The grand total was 50.03
I will get 12.00 back for the cupcakes
2.69 for the Arm and Hammer rebate
AND I have a Miller Rebate slip for $20 back on a $40 grocery receipt!

Total after being reimbursed and rebates -
$15.36


Pretty Sweet!!

Peace

The Bug Before Her First Day of School (notice the clean shirt) -

The Bug After Her First Day of School (notice shirt now) -






It was a good day!

Musings

I am working on some good Meijer deals, will post when I get it all worked out. There is a 10 for 10 get the 11th free sale going on and I may try the sneakers deal one more time.


Funny Bug conversation:

Bug (pointing to her lady parts) – this my butt!
Mommy (not knowing what we want to call those parts, yet) – no that’s your vagina
(I realized that I a not quite ready to hear my 2 year old say vagina quite yet, gotta come up with a new word!)
Bug – my china?
Mommy – your VA-gina
Bug (spreads her leg and looks down “there” and looks back up at me confused) – where pandas come from?
Mommy – huh???
Bug – China?

She is too smart for her own good, I tell you!


Some Whatever logic:
The past few weeks Whatever has been wearing a heavy sweater to school. It is freaking 80-90 degrees. I keep questioning her on it and she tells me her school is freezing. I drop her off and no one else wears a sweater or jacket. Today I take her, it is actually chilly this morning, and she is not wearing the sweater. I asked her why on this day of all days, she chooses not to wear the sweater, it is actually chilly. She is stumped for an answer. After much prodding, she doesn’t like the way her polo shirts fit. She has been sweltering in the name of fashion. I am not sure I am going to live through the teenage years.

Open Letter to Jean's Companies

To Whom It May Concern:

Why am I the only one who does not want my child to dress like a slut?!?!? And why are you so hell-bent to make sure she does? I am so tired of seeing pre-teen and teen butt crack, I could throw up! In fact, I did a little in my mouth on the last shopping trip. You guys and gals are killin me! What is with the “low” and “lowest” rise jeans?? Why can’t you make a pair of jeans that falls somewhere between stripper and Mom jeans?!?! If I have to see my kid’s butt crack with her Fruit Of The Looms hanging out one more damn time, I might just go postal! I surely DO NOT want anyone else seeing her butt crack. I can’t take one more minute of the changing room discussions, tears, and frustration. Those damn rooms are hot to begin with, add teen angst, a screaming toddler, and a dozen pair of jeans on the floor, and you have a veritable sauna. You guys are really killing me! Are you perverts, do you like seeing my kid with her rear hanging out? How do you expect me to spend $30+ dollars on something that doesn’t cover everything a pair of pants is supposed to? Help me out here.



AND while I am on the subject, why on God’s Green Earth is it necessary to make plus sized jeans in “lowest rise”. Come on, really. Who wants that?!!?
I guess I should think you for making my toddler’s jean s actually cover her diaper.


On the brink of a nervous breakdown,

Charming Calamity

RUN, Don't Walk.......................

to Lexington, KY K-Mart!!!!!

They are doubling all coupons up to $2.

Just save me some stuff, I can't get there until tomorrow.

Peace

Works For Me Wednesday

So a fellow blogger, www.rocksinmydryer.net hosts a blog carnival called Works For Me Wednesdays. People post little tips that make their lives easier and might possibly do the same for you. I thought I would give it a go this week. If you are interested in seeing more, head over to her blog.

My Works For Me Wednesday tip -
When I am folding The Bugs clothes (usually on Sundays) I go ahead and piece together 6 outfits for her for the week and put them on her changing table. That way I have everything ready where I need it. I am not good at grabbing clothes that match in the wee hours of the morning so this system really helps me a lot. I get 6 outfits because I give her a choice between two every day. That way on Friday, she still has a choice. On the weekends, it's a free for all!!!!

Peace

Reflections on Nursing

As I get closer and closer to the end of this special bond I share with The Bug, I thought I would reflect on the whole experience. It has been such a blessing to have been able to nurse as long as we have.

-Nursing is not something that comes naturally to Mom or baby. It requires patience, practice, and lots of love.
-Breastfeeding The Bug required me to learn how to sit and just be. I couldn’t multi-task, I couldn’t get on the phone I had to just be. It is a lesson I will take with me long after we are done. I am able to sit and relax and let things pass. I think this is why some people stop, it is so hard to just sit there.
-It taught me a lesson in perseverance. I would sit and pump in the restroom at work and cry and cry because I didn’t make enough milk for my baby for the next day. I kept at it and it all worked out. It was so worth the tears and sore nipples
-That birth and life are truly a miracle. I carried a baby in my belly and it was my milk that nourished her for the first 51/2 months of her life.
-I really don’t care who sees my boobs!
-No matter where The Bug and I are, she is home if she can nurse.
-There is no sweeter smell than baby milk breath.

This one's for the ladies...............

So this week CVS is really looking out for the girls –
There are Maxi Pads, Mini pads, tampons, “warming beads”, stuff for the itch, pregnancy tests, chocolate, etc……

Here is what I did –
2 boxes Stayfree – 2/$9 (used a buy 1 get 1 free coupon from the inserts) - $5.00 ECB
1 box Playtex Gentle Glide (the name always makes me giggle, why?)- $4.99 (used $1 off insert coupon) $3 ECB
1 box of CVS tampons with bonus pantyliners $4.99 - $2ECB
1 box Kotex Pantyliners 1.49 (used a .75 insert coupon) – 1.49 EBC

I also had a $3 off $15 CVS coupons
The grand total after coupons was – 12.24 = tax

I used an $11 and change ECB, paid .38
Got $11.49 ECB

Some would not be too impressed as I did not make any money on the deal but I always feel that breaking even is a good deal. AND with two of us using these products in my house, it is a GREAT deal!!!

BTW - my Meijer deal was AWESOME last week. I did have to stand at customer service for 10 minutes trying ot tell them how the deal worked and that I was not trying to steal underwear! Whatever was MORTIFIED so that made and even sweeter deal! Thankfully, I did not have The Bug, that would have been disaster!


Peace

Various deals this week..............

Walgreen's is clearancing all sorts of diapers, keep any eye out. I got a Mega pack of Huggies that was marked down to $4 for $3 using a Huggies coupon! They are also marking down their brand of wipes.

Target has Luv's on sale for 6.99. There is a printable Target coupon for $1 off and some people are luck y enought to have a $5 off coupon!!! You can pair a Target coupon with a Manufacturers coupon. I will get a pack of diapers for .99!!!

Meijer has all kinds of good stuff going on!
If you buy 3 Post cereals, you get free milk. The cereals are 3/$7. There are coupons for $1 off 2 Post Cereals from the inserts. I have 2 coupons for free Honey Bunches of Oats so I will get 3 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk for under 2.50. If you don't have the free coupons, your total will be around $6.00 for all that, still not bad!

If you buy $10 in Nabisco Cookies and Crackers, you get $10 in Fruit of the Loom underwear or socks. The Nabisco 100 calorie packs are "buy one get one free" this week and there are $1 off 2 Fruit of the Loom coupons for the inserts. The free packs don't count towards your total but they are great for lunches. They are about 3.19 a piece so I am going to get 4 of those (6.38) plus a box of Wheat Thins that will end up being free with another coupon (about 2.99) and a Grab and Go thing of Ritz Bitz (1.00) to round it all up to $10.

If you buy $10 in Kelloggs stuff you get $10 toward a backpack. I hear there are plenty of backpacks that are close to that price. I am getting Eggo's, they are 1.15 a pack this week. They also qualify for a $10 Kelloggs rebate for buying 10. You just have to make sure to buy 3 of each flavor instead of all in the same flavor as the limit is 3. I have $1 off 2 Eggos products and a $1 off one SPecial K (they have Special K eggos) to use, also. So 10 boxes of Eggos will be 11.50 minus coupons, 8.50 plus I get a backpack for close to free.


There are a few other deals like buy Pepsi get a discount of jeans and buy Coke get a discount on sneakers but I may have to pass, I am already getting pretty confused with what I have going on!

Oh yeah! For the dog owners out there -
Kibbles and Bits is Buy One Get One Free at 8.59 a bag. The Wholesome Goodness is included in the sale and there are $2 off coupons. Assuming that you can use two coupons, can get 4 bags of dog food for 4.59 plus tax.


I know a bunch of you are saying "what the hell does she need 10 boxes of Eggos and all that other crap for? We have an extra fridge and it is a good sale, with 3 of us eating breakfast every day, we go through a lot of cereal and waffles! PLUS, after the Kelloggs rebate, I will make a buck or two, so why not???

Peace!!!

teenage logic and more bed time banter......

So I am conversing with Whatever, who is dangerously close to being a teenager, at dinner last night. She is giving me her side of the whole dress code issue. Her side being, "we should be able to wear what we want", my side being " be lucky you don't have to wear brown plaid jumpers like I did!". Really, they wear khakis and polo type shirts. It is heaven for me as we don't have to deal with designer/name brand crapola. Anyway, I digress. So she is WAY against the dress code thing and has many reasons for her stance, like, "khakis suck", "it's not fair", and my all time favorite "just because. ". An argument I have heard every year of middle school.
So we finish up dinner and as we are cleaning up she tells me "my friends and I decided we are all going to wear red shirts and red socks tomorrow". WTF?!?!?!?


Bug Banter

The Bug and I are snuggling in to bed last night and I tell her "night night" and she tells me "no it's lunch time".

She was giving her baby a bath and cradled her real close, rocked her, and told her "it's ok, baby, I take you to Kroger"

My all time favorite is when she wants to be held "I hold you, Mommy"


Peace Out

did someone give my toddler coffee last night?

Because she sure acted like she had a double shot of Espresso right before she went to bed!!
Let me set the scene:
It's 9:30pm.
Toddler and Mommy laying in bed, it's a nice quiet peaceful time
Toddler jumps up and out of nowhere starts jumping on the bed.
Mommy had just about zoned out
She looks up and there is toddler, jumping like a monkey all over the bed
chanting "no more monkeys jumping on the bed"
Mommy keeps getting toddler to lay down but toddler is driven by
forces beyond her control to jump around the bed like a deranged monkey.
Mommy takes toddler down like a linebacker and puts her in a stronghold
Toddler scream for 1.2 seconds and goes right to sleep.

Ahh bed time!

Juicy Juice on Sale at Kroger

There is a Nestle promotion where if you buy $20 in product, you get $5 off your order at check out.
Juicy Juice is 2/$5
You can print up to 10 - $1 off coupons on the Nestle site.
It goes a little something like this -

Buy 8 Juicy Juice = $20.00
-$5 Promo = $15
-$8 coupons = $7
We are not big juice drinkers but I am getting some at this price to have handy!!!

Peace out!

My Meijers Plan

There is a 10 for 10 with the 11th free at Meijers this week. PLUS there is a deal if you buy two Nabisco brand crackers or cookies (I know Honeymaid and Oreo are working) then you get a free gallon of milk (non-organic, unfortunately but we are tight this month so that will have to do!). AND if you buy $10 worth of Nabisco you get $10 off Hanes products (who doesn't need socks and underwear?!?!?!).
SO here is what I have concocted -
3 Totino's Pizza Rolls (use 3-.35 off coupons, 2 will double)
1 Meijers Pasta Sacue (use .50 Mealbox Meijer's coupon, does not double)
1 Hellman's Light Mayo
2 Arm & Hammer Carpet powders (use 2-$1 off printalbe coupons)
1 Whole wheat english muffin
1 Dole Mandarin Oranges
1 Country Crock
1 Hunt's Ketchup
--------Those are all in the 10 for 10 deal
Then -
4 Honey Maid Graham Crackers (2 for $5)
2 Gallons of milk
10.00 worth of Hanes products

and the cheese nips are 10 for 10 I have 1 1.00 off coupon but I will get 2

My total should be about $17 plus tax

Then I will do another transaction for more nips and sauce as the coupons I have are 1 per transaction.

Not too bad!

Peace out.

Kelloggs deal!

At Walgreens -
Buy $10 worth of participating cereals and get a $5 rewards good on your next purchase!
AND
Buy $10 worth of participating cereal bars and get a $5 rewards good on your next purchase!
You can do both in the same transaction .

This is a great deal in and of itself BUT there were coupons in the paper Sunday making it a better deal.
PLUS
There is a $10 rebate also in paper that says if you buy 10 in the same ransaction you get $10 back!!

Here is what I did -
3 Special K cereal with Berries
1 regular SPecial K cereal
2 Nutri Grain Bars
4 Special K Bars

I used 6 $1 off Spcial K coupons that I had from a mailing
$1 off 2 Nutrigrain Bars from the paper
$1 off 2 Special K Bars from the paper

My total - $17.00
I got 2 $5 rewards for my next purchase
AND I am using it for the $10 rebate
So when all is said and done, I made $3 to buy this cereal!

Yeah me!

Organic

Anyone that knows me knows that I struggle to feed my family healthy food and would LOVE to be able to go all organic. It drives me bananas (the non-organic kind!) when people offer you something and make sure to add organic to the title. Like "would you like some organic brownies?" or "would The Bug like an organic lollipop?" maybe it is just me feeling guilty but it is almost like they are rubbing it in. Like my non-organic brownies would never be welcome in their house!








And BTW, The Bug likes any and ALL lollipops!!!

Money Saving Tip that's a little green

You can wash swim diapers!!! I have tried this and it works! Just don't dry them or use the poopy ones. I washed some on warm cycle yesterday and they came out fine. I let them air dry. From what I have read, they only last 3 or 4 washings but man, will that save some money! Those suckers are expensive.

BTW - keep an eye out fr clearance deals on them. Store should start marking them down soon.

MY CVS TRIP!

Had a great day today!

I got:
1 4x6 Photo Book (did family picutres so the BUg could have it)
2 Diet 7-Ups
2 Trident Xtreme gums (I think thats what they are called!)
1 Air Wick Freshmatic Mini
2 CVS Pant Liners
2 Sally Hansen Nail Colors
2 Excedrin Migraine
1 CVS Brand Hand Wash

Used -
a CVS $3 off $15
$4 off Air Wick printable
$3 off 2 Sally Hansen
2-$2 off Excedrin
$2 off CVS skin care
$15.98 EXtra Care Reward

Total was .44!!!


I got back about $18 in Extra Care Rewards
-The Excdrin was part of a deal I started earlier in the week.


Why are so many of my friends so hesitant?!?!?!

HOUSE PARTY!

Keep your fingers crossed! I just applied to host a Fisher Price House Party. I would get all sorts of free toys and so would my guests. I would LOVE to get this. I have wanted a few of these toys for The Bug for awhile now! I read aout the pony above, it hooks up tyo your tv. How exciting!

If you are from the UU Moms Group or any of our play date friends, get ready for a PARTAY!

We would have so much fun! I will keep you all posted.

Ebates!!!!!

As you already know, I am pretty creative with money. I am trying to stick to a $30 a week grocery budget, piling every bit of extra cash into savings, etc. WELL, I might have emailed you this before but I am going to mention it again. The office has me order flowers, cookies, etc to clients and associates for special occasions. I found a way to get money back on those orders. I have $15 coming to me this month! Go to www.Ebates.com , if you make any online purchases at all, it is so worth it. If you sign up now and use me as a referral, I get a $10 bonus and you get a gift card to Target or somewhere similar, after you make your first purchase through the site. I was totally leery but after I got my first check, I am sold. You just have to remember to go to their site and link from there.

Use this email in your referral saffie23@hotmail.com

20 years later!

Two girls I went to high school with and our daughters!

Good CVS Deals

Buy 2 Coppertone items and get $10 in rewards back. There are Sunblock sticks for babies that are 4.79 each, they work!

There are printable coupons for $2 off any Kashi product and CVS has the cereals on sale for 2.50! Good deal on healthy stuff!

CVD brand Band Aids and Listerine Smart Rinse are free after Extra Care Rewards through today.

There is a Physicians Formula mascara that is free after ECR, too, this week. Good luck finding it!

Summer Pictures

OK - so it has been over a month. I have been busy.......sue me. Here are some pictures form our adventures.


The Bug Breakdancing at a wedding
The Bug Breakdancing at my parents house in FL
Whatever and The Bug crashing hard after a day at the waterpark
Water Bug

So we are in town and having a cookout for the 4th then we leave the end of the month to go back to FL. The Saint is going, too!! It will be his first time! I think we are going to have to rent a van to fit us all!

New Kroger trick!

You can go to the Kroger web site and have coupons added to your Kroger plus card! What is even better is that these can be used in conjunction with the coupons you already have! There are three companies that do this and they all link on the Kroger site. Just go to the tab on top called "in store" and click on coupons and you can link. THe P&G ones have products that are BUy one Get one, wahoo! I got two boxes of Tampax Pearls that were 4.27 a piece. I had 2 /.50 coupons (remember they double!) so with that and the B1G1, I got two boxes of tampons for 2.27. Pretty good dealio. Also, the Wisk is 3.49, there is a 1.49 through shortcuts.com and either a .75 printable or a 1.50 coupon. I used the .75 printable to get the detergent for 1.25.
Aussie shampoos are also 2/5.00 and there are 2.00 off coupons plus the P&G downloadable discounts, good deal!


THings are going well at the homestead. School is almost out, which I dread. The girls and I are headed down to Florida to visit my parents on the 31st. We are getting our roof fixed, finally! The Saint is off to Mass. for a cooking competition mid-June.
Busy, busy, busy!

Diapers!

CVS is marking down diapers. They have Pampers in sizes 1 & 2 down to 25% and 50% off and CVS brand down to 50%. I got a pack of size 6's for 4.75! Woohoo! Now I need to pull together a deal to get them even cheaper (if there are any left!).

Kroger today....

Good trip thought I would highlight......

Barilla Pasta is 10 for $10, there are 1.00 off 3 (printable) and 1.00 off 2 coupons out there for the new smaller versions.
Kikkoman Soy sauce is 1.49 and there are .55 off coupons
Strawberries are 1.88
Smart Ones meat is 2/4.00 and there are .75 coupons. 1.25 for smoked sausage and hot dogs isn't too bad.
Hamburger Helper is 10 for $10. There are .50 off 2 coupons that double.
I found a gallon of organic skim milk on markdown for $2!
Quaker RIce Quakes are 10 for $10 and there are .50 off 2 that double.

All in all a good trip. I saved 51%.

Sand Box

The Bug LOVES her Freecycle sand box. $5 worth of sand and $4 worth of sand toys = a whole summer of fun and dragging sand through my house!

Pickle Tip!!

At Kroger, Vlasic Baby Gherkins are clearanced to 1.42. If you go to the VLasci web site and play the game, you will be directed to a 1.00 off coupon in the form of a pdf. You should save this because you can print as many as you want and they don't expire until 12/31/08!!
I got 5 jars so far! The kids love pickles so I might as well stock up, right??

MY CVS trip for this week

Going this afternoon after work -
1 Just for Men Hair Color - 7.99 - 2.00 coupon (PLUS a rebate!!)
1 Bic Soleil Razors for Women 5.99 - 2.00 coupon
2 Zooth Toothbrushes for The Bug - 5.98 - a Buy 1 Get 1 coupon
1 Covergirl Whipped Foundation - 10.99 - 1.00 coupon
1 Covergirl Blush - 8.99(?) - get free with the foundation
1 Heinz Vinegar - 1.99

I have a 3.00 CVS coupon to add so my total after coupons will be 21.95 (before tax).
I will get 22.99 back in Extra Care Rewards.

Some of this stuff might not be in stock so I will probably readjust my plans but this is what I am shooting for!

There are lots of freebies in the May Book so keep an eye out! I will be going back this week!!!

Earth Day!

So we didn't do a whole lot to celebrate Earth Day but we did eat dinner outside and plants some seeds. We did sunflowers, lavender, and a couple of others that I have forgotten. The Bug was more fascinated with pouring the watering can over her belly than anything else!

Warm weather is here hurrah!!!

Some deals to make note of this week....

CVS -
The 12 count Alavert is on sale for 6.99 and producing $4 Extra Care Rewards. You can find $4 off coupons online (i think on the Alavert site) making this deal a money maker. The limit is 5.

The Skin Effects products produce a $5 reward for each one. There are cleansers for $6.99. AND there is a magazine with Queen Latifah on the cover in the beauty section that has $2 off coupons for these products, another money maker!! Limit 5

The Soft Soap Spa body wash is free after Extra Care reward, both sizes.

It is a good week to build up some Extra Care Cash if you depleted it like I did with the
Buy 1 Get 1 diapers last week!

That Bug sure can boogey...

The dissappearing middle class

I have heard this term used before thought I would have a running start before it hit me! I can see how fast it will happen, now!
My employer is going to have to start charging us for health insurance to the tune of $75 a month. Pair that with increasing gas prices and you are looking at at least an extra $100 a month expenses. Well $100 is a lot of money to my family and where will it come from?? The grocery and clothing budget. I already shop at Goodwill and the clearance aisles, what else can we do?? Thankfully, I have our cabinets stocked and if worse came to worse, we could live on Mac and cheese, rice a roni, and canned chili for a month or so.
If gas and health insurance grom faster than the rate of inflation, what is anyone supposed to do??

My CVS trip yesterday

So made a quick CVS run yesterday on the way home from work. Here is what I got:

2 packs CVS brand diapers (they are buy one get one free)

2 boxes Gas X thin strips

2 Essence Of Beauty lip balms

1 nail brush

I had a 2.00 off CVS Coupon

I used about $22 in Extra Care Rewards and paid .39 out of pocket

I got $15 in rewards back.

I will be going back for more diapers!!!

New "going green tip" combined with a good deal...

I am killing two birds with one stone so to speak.............
Kroger has GE Spiral Energy Star lightbulbs on sale for $3. If you buy one, you get a free reusable Kroger bag. Good deal to start with but wait, it gets better.........if you go the the General Electric web site and take a pledge to replace your old bulbs with CFLs, you can get a coupon for $1 off. Print the first one, page back and print another.

Also on sale at Kroger this week that I am looking at -
Bertolli Frozen Meals - 4.99 (there is a coupon online for 2.50 off)
Honey Bunches of Oats (chocolate flavor only) - 2.50 (their website has a 2.00 coupon)
Mott's Organic Applesauce has been clearanced so I will be looking for that.
Mangoes are .68
Seventh Generation products are 20% and the website has coupons so I will look into it
Brita Water pitchers are apparently 5.00 and there is a $5 coupon - FREE! I hope this works!



I will post if I find anything good!

I could be a morning person....

if they were all like this morning.....
I went in to check on The Bug after my shower, she was sitting up in bed just happy as could be. She got a good night sleep, we didn't have a nursing battle as she slept through the night, we were both rested. I laid across the bed, already in my blouse for work. She gave me a hug and touched my shirt. I told her it was Mommy's blouse. She said "Mommy's shirt" I said
"That's right" then she said, get this...."I like it". You gotta love your 19 month old approving of your work clothes!

Of course, Whatever and I just don't connect on the mornings. Our raging hormones battle against each other before we even say word one. Today wasn't very different but I do have to share this exchange:
A little background - Whatever is in a Language Immersion school. She spend at least half of her day immersed in a foreign language and is now fluent. Part of her classwork involves her reading books in the language and taking tests on them for points. These points are tallied into her report card grades. Last report card she fell short of her points and her grades really took a hit. She also has to do the same sort of reading in English. So we made her get most of her Spanish points over spring break this quarter just to knock it out.
So this morning -
Me - So where do you stand on your Spanish reading?
Whatever - I only have one more test to take, then I will actually have more points than I need
Me - That's great, so what is going on in English? How many books have you read to get that going?
Whatever - you told me I wasn't ALLOWED to read any English
Me - WHAT?!?!?! When would I possibly tell you that I was not allowing you to do your homework????
Whatever - You did, you said I wasn't allowed to do any English until the Spanish was done.
Me - No, I said that you needed to do you Spanish over Spring Break so we knew you Had it done.
Whatever - Oh, I thought I wasn't allowed to do any English
Me - For the record, I will never forbid you from doing homework.

This is what dealing with a tween is like, you never know when you say something, what they are going to actually hear. They have some sort of little decoder box between their ears and brains that totally takes what you say and turns it into what they want to hear!! It is amazing!

My soulja girl, Whatever!!!

To wean or not to wean, that is the question.........

Ok so I have a dilemma.
The Bug LOVES nursing. When I say LOVES, I mean it! When it is time to go to bed and "noorse" she gets all excited and giggly. I am not opposed to just nursing her to sleep. It is actually a quiet zen time for me. She is 18 months old and I definitely never planned on doing it this long but it's ok. Well it's ok to a point. My problem is that she want to nurse through the night. She want my boob out and ready for her at the least little stirring. I am the dairy queen and she hits the drive through all night long! I know this isn't good for her teeth and it is a bit annoying for me. I would like to be able to switch positions and be covered. She is usually good from 11pm to 3 or 4am. THEN it is an all out feed fest. Sometimes she gets all into it and gropes and prods me like a horny teenage boy. This needs to stop! Ideally, she should be in her own bed and self-soothing but that hasn't happened. I tried to just deny her Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday she cried for like 2 hours but fell asleep. Last night, she cried, screamed, and kicked. She, at one point, stopped and just stared at me with her mouth gaping open. I swear she was trying to get into my mind! "Come one you old witch, open your shirt, you know I am going to win this stand off, just bow to my will!" And for the sake of sleep, I did!

A rant

I am trying my best to be a better steward of the environment. I do what I can, sometimes it is baby steps but I am working on it. By association, I know quite a few natural, hippie-type mamas. Most are pretty crunchy so to speak. I have found a lot of them to be quite snobbish and unaccepting of any way other than their own. None of these women are really in my inner circle but they are around and very vocal about their views on recycling, buying local/organic, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, etc. I do some not all. I have made peace with doing what I can. What pisses me off is to get lectures and "helpful" suggestions and then to watch them light a cigarette up while holding their baby! Last time I checked, even second hand smoke is bad for your baby and if you are breastfeeding, wouldn't your baby be getting some of that? AND, correct me if I am wrong but cigarettes put out pollution into the air? I LOVED smoking but my kids are my reason not to.
Something that was on my mind. You are free to walk about the cabin now!

Making Butter

This weekend I have committed myself to learn how to make my own butter. I read that all you need is Heavy Cream and a jar. You just shake, shake, shake. I am anxious to see how this turns out. I might even make muffins or biscuits with the buttermilk. Sounds wonderful!! I am trying to be more concientious about what I put in our bodies. Making our own food helps that. I am having visions of making our own garlic butter, lime chili butter for corn on the cob, and honey butter for our toast. Now this is my vision, great, right?
Here is the reality - I will get the stuff to make the butter. We might actually give it a try. It will sit in a jar in the fridge next to the pickles i made no one will eat until about 5 months later when The Saint says "can I get rid of this crap? What was it anyway?".
I am trying it anyway. Sounds interesting. Who know it may work out.

My green tip this week....

Reuse!
Not just in the bins, either!
If you need something, try to find someone that has it and is not using it.
Today I found this table on Cheapcycle for $10 -

It is a little faded but a new one would get faded, too.
We also got a Turtle Sandbox for free with Freecycle.
I buy a lot of clothes for myself and the girls at Goodwill. This is not just because I am cheap. I think we have enough manufactured goods in the world, we need to recycle everything we can. We don't look like scallywags either!!!!!!! I find name brand stuff. Whatever does a lot of eye rolling on our Goodwill trips but the deal is that she can do whatever she wants (within reason) to the clothes, like cut off jeans and make bleach patterns.

I am working on reducing and recycling.........................

The Bug has a new favorite word "elmo", not the bright red character, either. It is her word for elbow! SHe walks around poointing out her "elmo" to anyone that will pay attention!

Something to think about......

My third cousin gave this speech at his high school. I am so impressed. It is a must read...............


"I want to tell you a quick story before I start. I was walking through hallways, not minding my own business, listening to the conversations around me. As I passed the front door on my way to my English classroom, I heard the dialogue between two friends nearby. For reasons of privacy, I would rather not give away their race or gender. So the one girl leans to the other, pointing to the back of a young man washing the glass panes of the front door, and says, "Oh my gaw! I think it is so cute that our school brings in the black kids from around the district to wash our windows!" The other girl looked up, widened her slanted Asian eyes and called to the window washer, easily loud enough for him to hear, "Hey, Negro! You missed a spot!" The young man did not turn around. The first girl smiled a bland smile that all white girls – hell, all white people – have and walked on. A group of Mexicans stood by and laughed that high pitch laugh that all of them have.
So now it's your turn. What do you think the black window washer did? What would you do in that situation? Do you think he turned and calmly explained the fallacies of racism and showed the girls the error of their way? That's the one thing that makes racism, or any discrimination, less powerful in my mind. No matter how biased or bigoted a comment or action may be, the guy can turn around and explain why racism is wrong and, if worst comes to worst, punch em in the face.
Discrimination against those who can defend themselves, obviously, cannot survive. What would be far worse is if we discriminated against those who cannot defend themselves. What then, could be worse than racism? Look around you and thank God that we don't live in a world that discriminates and despises those who cannot defend themselves. Thank God that every one of us in this room, in this school hates racism and sexism and by that logic discrimination in general. Thank God that every one in this institution is dedicated to the ideal of mutual respect and love for our fellow human beings. Then pinch yourself for living in a dream. Then pinch the hypocrites sitting next to you. Then pinch the hypocrite that is you. Pinch yourself once for each time you have looked at one of your fellow human beings with a mental handicap and laughed. Pinch yourself for each and every time you denounced discrimination only to turn and hate those around you without the ability to defend themselves, the only ones around you without the ability to defend themselves. Pinch yourself for each time you have called someone else a "retard".
If you have been wondering about my opening story, I'll tell you that it didn't happen, not as I described it. Can you guess what I changed? No, it wasn't the focused hate on one person, and no it wasn't the slanted Asian eyes or cookie cutter features white people have or that shrill Hispanic hyena laugh (yeah, it hurts when people make assumptions about your person and use them against you doesn't it?).
The girl didn't say "hey Negro." There was no black person. It was a mentally handicapped boy washing the windows. It was "Hey retard." I removed the word retard. I removed the word that destroys the dignity of our most innocent. I removed the single most hateful word in the entire English language. I don't understand why we use the word; I don't think I ever will. In such an era of political correctness, why is it that retard is still ok? Why do we allow it? Why don't we stop using the word? Maybe students can't handle stopping– I hope that offends you students, it was meant to – but I don't think the adults, here can either. Students, look at your teacher, look at every member of this faculty. I am willing to bet that every one of them would throw a fit if they heard the word faggot or nigger – hell the word Negro – used in their classroom. But how many of them would raise a finger against the word retard? How many of them have? Teachers, feel free to raise your hand or call attention to yourself through some other means if you have. That's what I thought. Clearly, this obviously isn't a problem contained within our age group.
So why am I doing this? Why do I risk being misunderstood and resented by this school's student body and staff? Because I know how much you can learn from people, all people, even – no, not even, especially – the mentally handicapped. I know this because every morning I wake up and I come downstairs and I sit across from my sister, quietly eating her cheerio's. And as I sit down she sets her spoon down on the table and she looks at me, her strawberry blonde hair hanging over her freckled face almost completely hides the question mark shaped scar above her ear from her brain surgery two Christmases ago.
She looks at me and she smiles. She has a beautiful smile; it lights up her face. Her two front teeth are faintly stained from the years of intense epilepsy medication but I don't notice that anymore. I lean over to her and say, "Good morning, Olivia." She stares at me for a moment and says quickly, "Good morning, Soeren," and goes back to her cheerio's. I sit there for a minute, thinking about what to say. "What are you going to do at school today, Olivia?" She looks up again. "Gonna see Mista Bee!" she replies loudly, hugging herself slightly and looking up. Mr. B. is her gym teacher and perhaps her favorite man outside of our family on the entire planet and Olivia is thoroughly convinced that she will be having gym class every day of the week. I like to view it as wishful thinking.
She finishes her cheerio's and grabs her favorite blue backpack and waits for her bus driver, Miss Debbie, who, like clockwork, arrives at our house at exactly 7'o'clock each morning. She gives me a quick hug goodbye and runs excitedly to the bus, ecstatic for another day of school. I watch the bus disappear around the turn and I can't help but remember the jokes. The short bus. The retard rocket. No matter what she does, no matter how much she loves those around her, she will always be the butt of some immature kid's joke. She will always be the butt of some mature kid's joke. She will always be the butt of some "adult"'s joke.
By no fault of her own, she will spend her entire life being stared at and judged. Despite the fact that she will never hate, never judge, never make fun of, never hurt, she will never be accepted. That's why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I don't think you understand how much you hurt others when you hate. And maybe you don't realize that you hate. But that's what is; your pre-emptive dismissal of them, your dehumanization of them, your mockery of them, it's nothing but another form of hate. It's more hateful than racism, more hateful than sexism, more hateful than anything. I'm doing this so that each and every one of you, student or teacher, thinks before the next time you use the word "retard", before the next time you shrug off someone else's use of the word "retard". Think of the people you hurt, both the mentally handicapped and those who love them. If you have to, think of my sister. Think about how she can find more happiness in the blowing of a bubble and watching it float away than most of will in our entire lives. Think about how she will always love everyone unconditionally. Think about how she will never hate. Then think about which one of you is "retarded".
Maybe this has become more of an issue today because society is changing, slowly, to be sure, but changing nonetheless. The mentally handicapped aren't being locked in their family's basement anymore. The mentally handicapped aren't rotting like criminals in institutions. Our fellow human beings are walking among us, attending school with us, entering the work force with us, asking for nothing but acceptance, giving nothing but love. As we become more accepting and less hateful, more and more handicapped individuals will finally be able to participate in the society that has shunned them for so long. You will see more of them working in places you go, at Dominicks, at Jewel, at Wal-Mart. Someday, I hope more than anything, one of these people that you see will be my sister.
I want to leave you with one last thought. I didn't ask to have a mentally handicapped sister. She didn't choose to be mentally handicapped. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have learned infinitely more from her simple words and love than I have from any classroom of "higher education". I only hope that, one-day, each of you will open your hearts enough to experience true unconditional love, because that is all any of them want to give. I hope that, someday, someone will love you as much as Olivia loves me. I hope that, someday, you will love somebody as much as I love her. I love you, Olivia."

Frozen Blueberries to the rescue......again!

So The Bug is teething. It must be a big molar because she was up for a lot of the night. Poor thing. Well, poor both of us cause I was right there with her. She wanted to be held, then she wanted nothing touching her, she wanted to hug her June (from the Little Einsteins) cup and sleep but she couldn't get comfortable. She was miserable and couldn't get situated. I tried ice, teething rings, and everything I could think of. I had The Saint go get her some Motrin and that finally calmed her but she tossed and turned all night. About 2 am, she shot up like a cannon and screamed in pain. Luckily, it had been long enough between doses and I could give her more Motrin. While we were waiting for it to kick in, we raided the freezer for cold things to chew. Low and behold, there were her blueberries. She went from crabby, fussy, and whining, to giggling in 10 seconds flat. By the light of the freezer, there we say popping blueberries into our mouths, making chomping sounds and giggling. Why do I forget about the blueberries every time?!?!?
She seemed better this morning. Hopefully she will be well enough for a CVS run!!! I haven't been all week!

Kroger rocks!

SO Kroger is having a fabulous sale this week and I am getting it while the getting is good!!! If you buy 10 of any of the participating items, you get $5 off your order. A lot of these items have coupons available for them so the deals are SWEET! You can do this up to 3 times per transaction. This trip I had 3 deals in my cart.
SO far I have gotten:
4 bags Goldfish
2 boxes Cheez Its
3 Bottle French's Mustard
1 10 ct tube of Excedrin
1 Betty Crocker Muffin Mix
3 Loaves Pillbury Italian Bread
2 Lean Pockets
1 Box Betty Crocker Potatoes
3 Small tubes Crescent Rolls
2 jars Classico Marinara
2 cans Hormel Chili
2 boxes Special K cereal
1 bottle Shout
2 Packs Kraft Shredded Cheese
1 pack Knorr/Lipton Pasta Side

I also had coupons that made the following free:
2 liter Diet 7-Up
1 bottle Propel
1 pouch Bumblebee tuna
2 bottles Frank's Red Hot sauce
1 Hillshire Farm Deli Wrap

And got 1 half gallon Kroger brand organic sou milk and 2 things of Horizon yogurt on Manager Markdown.

The grand total for everything ........drumroll please...........................

$22.31

That is 77% savings

I will be spending most of my free time at Kroger this week if you need to find me!!

MY CVS Deals Yesterday

There were a bunch of great coupons expiring yesterday so I made trips to 2 CVS stores.
This is what I got:
1 pack of Playskool wipes (240 count)
6 Johson's Buddies Bar soaps
3 Essence of Beauty gift bags
6 Essence of Beauty facial buffs
6 cans Nivea shaving cream for men
1 Softsoap Spa body wash
2 Lady's Speedstick
4 Easter gift boxes (clearance!)

For a grand total of $2.11!!!! I used Extra Care Rewards for the rest. I think I used about $15 in rewards. I ended up with over $25 in rewards when the deals were done! I am gearing up for a diaper deal next week!



I am telling you if you do not CVS, you must!

Those Buddies bar soaps are great. ou can find $1 off coupons all over and they are only .99. SO free soap for The Bug! We have probably 25 of these.

Easter Pics

Peeps! The breakfast of champions (untilyou crash and burn...at church!)What? Huh??
Sisters! Ignore the beer bottle in the background. We didn't have beer Easter morning, just Easter Eve!
Ok, I found the biggest one......what's my prize??

I thought I would post some family pics to lighten things up around here!