I scream, you scream...

...they scream for ICE CREAM!

You can find lots more wordlessness at 5 Minutes for Mom.



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Lucky Momma?

In case you didn't know 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting all sorts of giveaways in honor of Mother's Day. So be sure to head on over there and enter the contests. They'll be posting different giveaways over the next couple of weeks, so I'll keep their button in my sidebar for easy linking. Good Luck!

Also, you have until the 7th to enter their 2 Weeks of Toys giveaways, so be sure to check those out too.





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There can be only one...

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the giveaway for my hand made bag, and left such kind comments. However, as we all know, there can only be one winner, and according to Random.org...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
21
Timestamp: 2008-04-26 23:53:34 UTC

... that winner is commenter number 21... Katy from The Country Blossom. Congratulations Katy!



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My 2nd Bloggy Giveaways Carnival - Hand Made Bag

~ This contest is now CLOSED. I will post the winner soon. Thank you so much to everyone who left comments... you are all very kind! ~

Hello everyone! And, thanks for stopping by my blog. This is my second time participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, and I'm happy to announce that I will once again be giving away a hand made, by me, one-of-a-kind bag. This bag is a large carry all and will be perfect for books, diapers, or any other bulky things you need to carry around. The strap is adjustable and is meant to be worn across the body for the most comfort. Also, just like last time, this bag is made with recycled materials. So, if you win, you can feel good about wearing it because you will be helping out the environment.




This contest is open to everyone... bloggers, non-bloggers, US and international (one comment per person please). To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment on this post, and at the end of the week I will randomly select a winner. All I ask is that you leave a way for me to contact you... either an email address or a link to your blog.

Also, I'm starting a new business selling pre-made (and possibly custom designed) blogger templates. If you've got a minute to spare, please visit my new blog, and take the polls that I put in the side bar. This isn't a condition of entering this contest, but I would really love all of your opinions to help me create the best site possible. To go there just click on the image below, and thanks in advance for your help!




Thanks again for stopping by, and GOOD LUCK! Don't forget to head on back to the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival for lots more great prizes!

(this is a sticky post and will be at the top of my blog until the end of the giveaway which, for me, is at 11:59 EST on 4/25/08)

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Slow Posting...

For the few that visit regularly I just wanted to apologize for my lack of posting this week. I posted my Bloggy Carnival Giveaway on Monday, and since then I have been swamped with entering the other giveaways, doing mass amounts of homework (term is almost over), and we've had company this week. This all has made me pretty negligent with my blog posting, but I hope to be back to my usual antics next week. So, please come back... I promise to write more soon! :)


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Super Savings Saturday - CVS $180 for $0.81

Of course this week's greatest savings was at CVS. It kills me that everything in this picture would have cost me almost $180 if I had paid full price.

1st and 2nd transactions - $0.81 out of pocket

Sorry I don't have more to write about this week, but it was a fairly dull week (excluding CVS). We didn't need to buy a lot, which was nice, but I wasn't able to find good deals on the things we did need. Oh well, there's always next week!

Check out all of the great Super Savings Saturday finds over at Money Saving Mom.

Also, be sure to come back Monday to see what I'm giving away for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival!

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Wordless Wednesday - Finally Flowering

The flowers on our Crab Apple Tree (at least I think that's what kind of tree it is) finally opened up this week. It seemed like every other tree in the neighborhood was in bloom, except for ours.

You can find lots more wordlessness at 5 Minutes for Mom.



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Menu Planning Monday - #3

Here's what we've got planned for this week. As always... clicking on the pictures will link you to the recipes. (the empty plates also have links - except for the Friday Leftovers)


Be sure to stop by orgjunkie.com for more Menu Planning Monday.



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Super Savings Saturday - Superwoman

I seriously felt like superwoman yesterday while grocery shopping. My hubby is still out of town, so I had to take three of our kids with me... a feat in itself. We ended up going to SIX stores and I saved over $200. The amazing part was we did it all in less than TWO hours... I was flying!

Here's a pic I took of everything we got. It's a pretty even mix of things we needed for the week, and good deals that I stocked up on. The best deal was three 12pks of Diet Snapple for $6.29 at Superfresh (after buying $25 of other items). This is something I would usually never buy, because it's too expensive, so it was really nice to treat myself to this.

Here's the break down by store:

This was my first time shopping at Aldi, and I really liked it. I bought all of our produce and dairy products there. The milk was about $0.50 less than I've seen it anywhere else, and since we go through about seven gallons a week, I'll probably continue to buy it there. Also, I found some sunflower seed bread that we've been looking everywhere for, so that was a nice surprise.

All in all it was a CRAZY day, but a good day. After I got everything put away, and the kids feed and put to bed for naps, I put my feet up and had some chocolate. Every superhero has a weakness... and mine is definitely chocolate! :)

Don't forget to stop my Money Saving Mom to see other people's great savings.



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I 'Just Do It'

I just read this post over at A Peaceful Serenity, and it got me thinking about a question I get asked almost EVERY time I go out in public with my kids...

How do you do it?!

I will admit that usually when this question is asked my kids are being... well, they're being KIDS! I'm not a super strict mom, and I don't require them to march silently behind me while we're shopping. They're not allowed to touch things or yell and scream. But, they are allowed to wiggle, twirl, dance (a little), sing, giggle, blabber on (my oldest is a TALKER), or whatever else their little minds come up with... as long as they aren't in anyone's way or being mean to each other. So, when people ask me this, there's usually a fair amount of noise and movement going on around me, and I guess that's what prompts the inquiry.

Also, I think people sometimes ask this question because they think I'll have some profound insight into raising kids. In these cases I'm afraid I end up disappointing them, because the truth is no matter how many times I get asked, I still don't have an answer. I don't know how I "do it." I think what they're really asking is how do I keep my sanity, and the truth is I don't! There are many moments in my life where I, quite frankly, feel crazy. But, that doesn't mean that I am unhappy or overwhelmed. Well, sometimes I'm overwhelmed, but I usually recover quickly. :)

My hubby and I wanted to have "a lot" of kids, and we are perfectly content with our life together. Sometimes, in the midst of the chaos, we will look at each other and ask, "what were we thinking?" But, we don't mean it, and we would never change a thing. Four little darlings suite us just fine, and if the rest of the world finds that odd, well so be it!

So, how do I do it?

I just do. And, I'm so very thankful that I can!



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Is It Safe Anywhere?

I was just listening to the 5 o'clock news and heard that a loaded gun was found by a student at an elementary school in a city near us! The school is trying to claim that it wasn't a "school related incident" because it was found outside. Gimme a break! It was found on school property, by a student, at 3:30 when school was letting out!

In the same story they said that earlier in the week, at another elementary school, a student brought two guns to school thinking they were toys. Where'd he/she get TWO GUNS?!

I know that violence and guns in school is a real issue, and seems to be getting worse every day, but I felt like it was something I didn't have to worry over too much because my oldest is only in the first grade. Apparently I was W-R-O-N-G wrong!

It's just so sad! I know I can't send them out into the world in a nice little protective bubble, or better yet just keep them here in the 'nest' forever... but sometimes I REALLY wish I could. :(



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Wordless Wednesday - Neighborhood Watch

12 o'clock and all is well!

You can find lots more wordlessness at 5 Minutes for Mom.



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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

For those of you that are return visitors, I'd like to apologize for all of the changes I've been making to the look of my blog lately. I just can't seem to help myself... I love playing around with the template design, and I'm never 100% satisfied with what I come up with. I made the most recent changes because the last look was too pink for me... I'm just not a pink kinda girl.

I guess this look will stay for now, but I think I may do something different in the future. I'd like to try something without the photos, but I haven't found anything I really love yet, so the pics stay for now. Anyway, thanks for your continued visits, and I hope I'm not confusing anyone too much with all of the redesigns.



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Menu Planning Monday - #2

I'm pretty late getting this posted today, but I guess better late than never. It's just me and the kiddos this week, so I won't be cooking much... they just don't eat enough to make it worth while. Last Friday we had pizza, and the leftovers (in combination with some fruit) lasted us through the weekend. So here's what I have planned for the rest of the week. Just click on the pictures to link to the recipes.




Also, an update from last week's menu... We tried the Asian Wrap recipe for the first time, and it was pretty good. It wasn't up to P.F. Changs standards, but that may have been because I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I used leftover chicken breasts from the night before instead of ground turkey, and I didn't have any green apple to put in it. I think next time I'll change up the recipe a little and add in mushrooms and water chestnuts to make it a little more like P.F. Changs.

Be sure to head on over to orgjunkie.com for more Menu Planning Monday.


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Super Savings Saturday - Triple Coupons!

My husband is out of town this week and, since I would have to take all the kids grocery shopping with me, I had only planned on getting the bare essentials (milk, produce, some meat.) Then I got the sales papers and found out that Superfresh was tripling coupons up to $0.99! (4/4 - 4/10) I just couldn't pass up triple coupons... it's a rare thing around here. So, I went through my coupon binder, and took out everything under $1 that I thought we'd want. Then I typed out a list showing each item/coupon and how much the total discount would be after tripled. I then packed the whole herd (minus one at school) into the car and headed out. Below is an outline of what I ended up getting with the coupons and how much I saved. Just click on it to see it larger.

I was hoping to get everything for free or as close to that as possible, but as you can see that didn't happen. However, I don't think I paid more than 50% for anything (except the Nesquick), and these are all items we use regularly. I just figured this was probably the best deal I would get out of these coupons before they expire so I might as well use them up. I also bought the essentials I had originally been planning on, and that is why the total paid in the first chart is a little more.

Also, the only reason I went to Giant this week was because they were having a deal where you buy $25 worth of specific products and you get a $10 catalina back. I needed a few of the items included in the sale, and had a couple of coupons so in the end I paid $20.99 and got back $10... not too bad.

The great thing about this week is that all of the stockpiling we've been doing made it possible for me to do just this little bit of shopping, and since the hubby is gone that was a Godsend.

Now on to CVS... here's what I got this week...

1st through 3rd transactions - paid $5.49

I could have saved another $2.00 in ECBs on the third transaction, but for some reason the computer wouldn't let them enter any more coupons... it said I'd reached my limit. I've never heard of that before at CVS, but I didn't complain. I still got a great deal, and that's $2.00 in ECBs I can use another time. I also went back one more time this week and got two gallons of milk for $1.88 thanks to ECBs.

So, all in all it was a GREAT week. The ironic thing is I bought more than I had planned, and this is the closest I've ever been to my goal of $60 a week.

Check out my cool new ticker... it shows the total amount I've saved on groceries this year. :)


Don't forget to stop by Money Saving Mom's site to check out all of the other great deals people found this week.



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The Tooth Fairy

As a mother of four I can, and do, deal with a lot of gross situations; nasty diapers; gunky gooey noses, eyes, and ears; the occasional bout of vomit; etc. But, the one thing I absolutely refuse to go near is loose teeth. They. gross. me. OUT!

Right now my oldest, Deidre, is at the stage where all of her teeth are wiggling around in her mouth. YUCK! On Easter my sister in law used dental floss to help her pull out one of her top front teeth. I didn't watch. Since then the other top tooth has been hanging at a weird angle, and she's begged me every night to help her get it out (Daddy's out of town at the moment.) I love her dearly, but there was no way I was going near that tooth. No way!

So, today when she came home, and held up a little blue box from the nurse's office, I did a dance of joy. Her tooth was of course in that box, and I no longer had to listen to, "Please mom! It's easy... you just have to get some string... puh-leeeees!!" However, I now have a new problem...

When we were at Nana and Papa's house over Easter weekend the Tooth Fairy gave her $10 for her tooth. $10! The Tooth Fairy is VERY generous at Nana and Papa's. But, now what? Does she continue to get $10 for every tooth? Tooth Fairy payout was not something my husband and I discussed prior to having kids, and now we are feeling a little lost. $10 seems high to us, but we can't decide what would be a good amount. We want them to learn the value of money, but we also want them to simply enjoy these special childhood milestones. And, we don't want to be outdone by Nana and Papa's Tooth Fairy! :)

Well, I called my hubby and we decided that from now on the Tooth Fairy would pay out $5 a tooth, unless of course the tooth is pulled on a holiday, and then it would be $10. I'm sure $5 still seems high to some of you, but we figure it's not an every day event, so we should be able to swing $5 every now and then... I think. We do have four kids though... maybe we should start a Tooth Fairy fund!



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Wordless Wednesday - Messy Hands

A gooey sticky mess after eating oranges!

You can find lots more wordlessness at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Check out my personal challenge to Share the LOVE.