Insider info about me

So, I figured it was about time that I share a little bit of info about me - as it seems all my favorite blogs are doing it and I don't want to be left out! ;) I mean, I think of this as my new community of girlfriends all connected through this fabulous world wide web - so I figured you should know more about what makes me tick!!

• I am an old soul. My perfect night is sitting on the couch with my hubby crocheting and watching tv or a movie, sipping a glass of wine.
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• I love all things crafty - I taught myself to knit by looking at instructional books and videos and it was the hardest, most frustrating thing I have ever done in my life. It literally had me in tears at times - but I'm glad I stuck with it because I cannot sit and watch tv without knitting or crocheting anymore. (It drives my husband crazy, but if you knit or crochet, then you know what I mean!)
• I tried to teach myself to crochet after knitting and it took me a long time to get past making a starting chain row - so I stopped for awhile and then got back into it and have not stopped since. I literally have made one item a day for about 2 weeks now - it's somehow soothing and fulfilling and there is nothing better than when Katie wakes up to find a new treasure I have made and she actually likes it!
• I'm an entry level technology nerd. It all started at my last job where I got more and more involved in the technology set up in our company and I really took to it. Katie clearly takes to it too as she's playing on my Ipod in the picture above while I finish crocheting her wheels for her blue car.
• I have to multi-task. My brain simply cannot focus on one task at a time. Right now I have One Tree Hill streaming in the background on my Mac while I post this, and eat my lunch before logging in to work.
• Speaking of One Tree Hill - I like teenie bopper television. OTH, Gossip Girl, MTV Reality TV, Bravo Reality TV, Greek, Glee.
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  However, I draw the line at American Idol and Survivor - my reality TV loyalties are mostly on cable.
• I love the library - I usually have an average of 3 books out at a time and use it to get movies and tv shows on DVD all the time! I even joined a knitting/book club at a local library and I love it.
• I love building Ikea furniture - there is something about those non-gender specific characters in the instruction booklets and their refusal to include any words!!!

• I love a challenge. Over Christmas break, my cousin and I spent over an hour trying to transform a level 5 transformer kids toy and it was lots of fun, especially when we got it done. Full disclosure - we are both well in our 20's and it was his son's toy hahaha
• I overuse the exclamation point - I apologize to you readers for this as I actively try not to and it doesn't really work - so unfortunately I still overuse it.
• I think every person that drives a car should know how to change a tire - yes I know that there are people you can call for that - but while you are waiting for 2 hours on the side of the road waiting for AAA, I could already have already driven to get a new tire on the donut that I changed by myself in 10 minutes... I don't like having to rely on other people.

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• Lastly, I must have a cup of coffee in the morning. Even if it's just decaf - there is something about the ceremony of sitting down with a strong, sweet mug of coffee that makes my morning complete. Some mornings, I only drink 1/2 a cup - but it still does it's job of making me feel like I can start my day. And it has to have half and half in it... milk doesn't have the same effect unless I'm desperate:)

So!!! That is a little bit of background insider information on me... share some fun facts about yourself in the comments, we might have more in common than you think!!!

Happy Wednesday!

TV TIME

O.k. I have taken a bit of a break the past few days to enjoy my peace and quiet while Katie was at my parents house.
I figured I would do a quick blog post off of one of the suggestions you all gave me and I figured the TV one was a good one and a quick one that would get a discussion rolling quickly:)

No TV until 2.
We have all heard it and I honestly don't know anyone who has actually abided by that.

For me, I was excited to see how Katie would react to television shows for kids - so we started showing her Sesame Street. (I think that was the first show anyway)
It was interesting to see how she would only watch the Elmo's World Part and didn't stay interested in anything else at first.

Then slowly, she picked characters and segments that she liked ok and started watching those too.

As a Full time stay at home mom, I couldn't do certain basic things if it weren't for the tv. Call that a cop out if you want - but I get to shower, use the bathroom, make a meal or organize a closet thanks to those 20 minute shows she likes.

It's also the only time Katie will cuddle on the couch with us - so sometimes in the morning when we wake up - we all sit on the couch as a family and watch a show while Katie has her morning juice and we have our coffee.

Plus, we used to travel a lot in the car for at least 2 hours and we got portable DVD players/tvs for the car for one of our big trips to Maine which is a 6 hour drive - and we still use them if we are going to be in the car for over an hour.

Now, I will admit she was becoming a bit TV obsessed and asked for it a lot - but I have noticed that since we have re-organized our apartment and put her toys away - she doesn't ask for the tv as much.

Now... for the positive aspect of Katie watching tv. She learns from it. Especially a few months ago when her language was really bursting - we found that the characters and things she saw on the tv would translate well with her books and we could use them as language/talking/learning points. We even had this elmo dvd that came with flash cards that we could play with her while she watched it and use the flash cards on their own and she learned a TON of words from it.

So, I can see both sides of the argument and I think that every parent knows their kid best. I believe that some kids can't handle watching tv because they just completely zone in and tune the rest of the world out - and I can see the negative to that. However, I also think that used in moderation and used interactively, TV doesn't have to be as poisonous as some people claim.

Please comment away and remember - we are all parents here and deserve respect from each other - so no judgement - just personal experience and ideas:)

AND THE GIVEAWAY WINNER IS

Congratulations!!!!!
Katie Power Kessler Santos!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I used Raffle King to enter all the names and it randomly selected the winner for me)

I have your prize - I just have to get off my large pregnant butt and waddle to the post office to stick it in the mail to you. Promise it will be soon! Inbox me your mailing address please so I can send it off:)

I will have more giveaways soon - cause I think they are just so much fun!

Thank you so much for entering and for all your awesome comments and suggestions. This is becoming one of my main social outlets and it makes my day to post and get comments back and to be a part of this awesome dialogue that we are all able to have now.

I am making a list and will start working on the suggestions soon as they are all very interesting.

Happy Saturday everyone and Happy Parenting:)

BURTS BEES GIVEAWAY

I wanted to get more followers before doing a giveaway but I am so happy and thankful to have you all as followers and readers that I decided that I am going to go ahead and do one for you all now!

I'm new to this Giveaway thing and was inspired by Katiedidablog.blogspot.com when she gave away some very adorable baby legs leg warmers that I had the privilege to win.
(THANKS AGAIN KATE - They are SO DARN CUTE and I can't wait to put them on brother baby)

So - for my first giveaway - I offer up a yummy Burt's Bees prize package including;
A Beeswax Lip Balm, Lip Shimmer in Nutmeg, Peppermint Shower Soap, Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar, and a Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate oil.

Now, to enter the giveaway - I would like you to leave a comment below and tell me
1. what your favorite posting on this site has been so far
&
2. a suggestion for a topic you would like to see posted soon

I will leave the giveaway open until Friday night at 9 pm - then use a randomizer website that will choose a winner for me.

Goodluck - I look forward to your entries:)

Diaper Disappointment

We are a Luvs family. I discovered them when I got fed up with throwing away broken Pampers and Katie leaking through them after she moved up to size 1. They had a money back guarantee and I thought... sure let's try them - and FELL IN LOVE!
They never leaked, they were never broken, they didn't smell funny and they didn't give her rashes.

So, last weekend we bought a few cases during a Target deal where you got a GC if you bought 2 - we figured - of course we'll need nothing but diapers for the next few months, so let's stock up on some bigger sizes and get the GC. We saw that the package said NEW DESIGN - so we got kind of excited.... cause we're lame like that and it was monkeys which are a huge hit in this house.

So, Dave being awesome specifically picked out the new design cases and we stored them away.


Then I randomly checked the Luvs website and saw that people were totally trashing the new design.

Apparently it's not just the monkey they changed. (I never minded the Blues Clues they used to be - I mean they are meant to catch and withold poop and pee right?) Apparently the whole diaper is different and leaks now and smells funny and is just plain junk.

I'm talking the entire comment section on their website is people trashing the new design and saying how disappointed they are in them.

So, now I have to go out and scavenger hunt for the OLD LUVS with Blues Clues on them and hope that I find them. I also have to take 2 huge cases back to Target and swap them as well because I am not opening them up based on the sheer consistency of the reviews I have read.

Here is my thought on this... If it ain't broke - don't fix it... I know it's a small thing, but we really liked these diapers and they were cheaper than Pampers. I have heard good things about Target brand at a baby shower so I will try those... but I was happy to stick with Luvs until they ruined my diaper nirvana....

So.. be warned... and PLEASE TRUST ME. Don't even buy a costco sized case of diapers unless you have tried them first - I know a diaper should be a diaper but babies have weird reactions to things and there is nothing worse than opening up a $35 box of diapers to find that after 3, the baby has a diaper rash or they smell or they leak and you want to try a different kind. I always suggest trying different brands in small batches first - then stock up through Diapers.com or Costco :)

Happy Diapering!!!!!!

Drug Store Shopping

O.k. something I just learned that I love passing around!
Most of the drug store chains will PAY YOU TO SHOP THERE.
I swear to god... I didn't know how it worked either and was skeptical, but after reading books and blogs, etc... and trying it for myself.... it's AMAZING.

Here is how it works.

All of the drug stores require you to sign up for their little discount card... it's the future baby - get used to it. They need to track your purchase electronically, and these little cards let them do that and much more for their marketing/consumer teams.

In return, you get awesome sale discounts AND REWARDS.

Each drug store has a different policy so it's worthwhile going to their website and reading about it so you fully understand how it works. I will use Rite Aid as my example as that's what's across the street and what I use the most.

I mentioned in my previous post how I had a B1G1 Free coupon for Special K and then one of my fave blogs told me Rite Aid was having a B1G1 Free sale on Special K - so I was super psyched because I was able to PRINT 2 of these coupons, which meant 4 FREE BOXES OF CEREAL!

So, I went over and got my stuff and then looked at the bottom of my receipt and saw that for each box of cereal I had "bought" Rite Aid gave me $1 to spend on a food item the next time I went in. So, not only did I get 4 free boxes of cereal - I got $4 to spend on a return trip.
(consequently, I went back and got 2 more boxes of Special K the same week using my FREE $4 and they were still B1G1 -so I spent like, .50 at the end of the day for 6 boxes of cereal.

Seriously, how can you beat that?

The money they gave me was in the form of an Up Reward. If you look at their website or browse their flyer you will see that they often mention up rewards. If you buy a certain item (regardless of whether you use a coupon or not) the store will give you a credit to use within a certain time frame to come back and buy something else.

Most of the time it's 1 or 2 dollars in up rewards (FOR EACH ITEM YOU GET - so if you get multiples of that item, you get multiple credits)
Once I bought my hubby one bottle of cold medicine and got $4 in up rewards which I was able to use the next time I went in.

I read a book written by a couponing mom that said you should do as much shopping as you possibly can at drug stores because between sales and the fact that they take manufacturers coupons, and give you reward money, you save tons of money. Now I see her point and am all about it.

You have to know how these rewards work in order to take advantage, because they certainly aren't pointing out to you that you have free money on the bottom of your receipt... so that's why I say go to the stores website and read about their reward program so that you know if your favorite store offers one.

Depending on how hard core you want to be, you can shop around and make multiple shopping trips to different grocery stores, drug stores, etc... and use up your coupon stash while doing it and end up paying almost nothing for everything you buy. It takes some adjusting and discipline, but it can be done. For those of us who just want to save some extra money every week - start out by just matching coupons to sales at ONE STORE.
See how you do with your stash of coupons and the sales flyer - use the blogs and do your shopping and tell me that it isn't addicting knowing how much money you AREN'T spending!

By the way... the way coupons work is that the manufacturer pays back the retailer- so it's not like you are "screwing" the retailer out of money - they will still get paid for the item you are buying, only it's the manufacturer that is paying them, not you.


Another good experience I had using Rewards was at a CVS on a super fancy spin brush that costs like, $23 - I had a $10 coupon making it $13 and then the store gave me a $13 credit to spend in the store. So, I bought my spin brush for $13 and then turned right back around in the store and bought another $13 worth of stuff that I didn't have to pay for!

I hope this info helps you understand the rewards a little better. I know it's annoying to have all those cards on your keychain - but it's worth it. And if you really don't want to carry your card, you might be able to sign up and then use your phone number every time you go in versus carrying that card with you all the time. (I do this at Rite Aid)

Happy Wednesday!

Couponing Tips and why you should clip them!

Yes... I'm sort of obsessed. It all started when I came across a blog called www.hip2save.com while working one day. (I do internet website rating type work)
I flagged it to go back to once I was done working for the day and found TONS of helpful information and LOTS of good coupon codes and deals for all my Christmas Shopping.
(which I did mostly online and never paid full price for anything except my husbands I-pod shuffle for the gym - but Apple NEVER has good deals....)

Anyway... armed with this website and a few links to other websites such as
Thefrugalfind.com
Pennypinchinmom.com
totallytarget.com

I decided one of my new years resolutions would be to REALLY make an effort with couponing.
Here are some things I have come to realize and that I wanted to share with you.

1. It's free money. Literally. I know, I know you think who wants to sit down and spend a half an hour each week going through the flyers and cutting coupons... here's what I say - grab a cup of coffee or tea, grab your scissors and do it. Try it for a month and see how quickly and easily you create an efficient system for yourself and you will realize just how much FREE money is out there for everything you could ever possibly need to buy on a weekly basis.
2. Don't buy things you don't use or need - UNLESS there is a coupon and sale match up that makes an item entirely free which you could then donate to your local food kitchen or animal shelter - then BUY AWAY! it will only cost you the half a second it took to cut out the coupon and the 5 seconds it takes to locate the item at the store and put it in your cart. Charity is a wonderful thing and in these times, you never know when something like this could help you greatly - so think about all the people out there who can't even afford to buy a paper to cut coupons from.
3. don't use a coupon, just because you have a coupon - Sometimes coupons are not the better deal - in the beginning I used to have them burn holes in my pockets so I would rush to use them and not pay attention to other brands pricing, etc... Sometimes even if you have a High Value coupon ($1) the generic is still cheaper...
   
4. If saving money is hard for you in general, make a plan for what to do with the money you save every week. I heard of a woman once who, after every shopping trip transferred the amount of money she saved with coupons and buying sale items into a savings account. INSTANT gratification/rainy day/emergency fund. (possibly vacation fund for some????)
5. You have to be patient and create a stash of coupons before it gets easy. After a few weeks you will have a very decent stash of coupons to use to match up to what is on sale at your grocery store. This will mean that you can take advantage of not JUST using the coupon - but STACKING it on top of a sale at the store. An example of this was a Special K coupon I got online (printing coupons is also AMAZING) it was Buy one Get one Free - then one of my favorite blogs pointed out that Rite Aid had that cereal on sale for Buy one Get one Free - the coupon STACKED on top of the sale meant I got 4 boxes of Special K cereal for NOTHING.
   

Total time spent - maybe 4 minutes - total savings - about $18.

5. For maximum benefit, use coupons on top of sales. The best way to do this is to never buy anything when you NEED it. Once you create a good stockpile of basic supplies in your pantry, you will have more leeway to wait a week until your favorite ice cream goes on sale AND then you can use that awesome $1 coupon on top of it - making it cost only $2 instead of $5.

Now I'm not talking about extreme couponing where people buy 500 candy bars with coupons - I'm talking about taking some time every week to organize your coupons and grocery list - create a meal plan based on sale/coupon stuff and saving TONS OF MONEY for you and your family.

Every weekend I get a paper and I cut out the coupons. The websites I have mentioned as well as many others do a GREAT job of matching up the weeks coupons to what is on sale at local grocery/drug stores. So, you don't even necessarily have to spend lots of time matching stuff up - which is a huge time saver! To be honest, It's kind of one of the favorite times of the week for me, because as a Full time SAHM, I feel like I am actually doing something for our family bank account. Every week I get so excited to see how much money I have saved at the bottom of my receipt and my husband entertains and encourages this obsession.

I am committed to continuing couponing for the entire year. I have found coupons for everything from Fresh Produce, paper products, dairy products, and medicines and diapers for the kids. I have also committed to keeping track of how much money I save every week at the grocery store on an EXCEL spreadsheet so that I can have my instant gratification.

So far in January I have saved $158.57 on grocery/household products - with my biggest save being $49.68 last week in one trip at Shop Rite.
(I'll admit, that receipt was hard not to put on the fridge)


One of my favorite things about coupons is that most stores and now ONLINE stores accept them. For all you new moms or veteran moms out there who are sick of running to the store for diapers... I HIGHLY recommend Diapers.com - you order a stockpile of diapers (cause seriously... why bother buying a million small packages when you can buy them by the case) you get free 2 day shipping to your door! AND they accept coupons. You just send them into the company ahead of time and the next time you order, they will apply whichever coupon you like to your order. How easy is that? I'm creating my stash to send to them for the baby as we speak! AND they sell other things like toys, bottles, books, even stuff for mom like toiletries... check it out - you might become a huge fan! Also, their sister site Soap.com which is everything drugstore you could need!

It's time to feed my bottomless pit of a daughter her favorite breakfast (special K with milk and a spoon as she requests it) but I will be back later with some tips and tricks about shopping at drugstores and how to MAKE money after coupons and sales.

Happy Reading!