Fun deals to share!

I'm so excited about a few money saving deals I've found- so I'm passing them on to you!

First, today I spoke with someone from Arquest about participating in a diaper study. Arquest makes store brand diapers and frequently provides samples and a small stipend to people who are willing to test them out. They especially need little ones wearing size 4- just Little Sister's size! Of course, we like to use cloth when we can, but I'll use these since they're free!

If you're interested in checking into Arquest, call 1-888-342-7372. When you have to enter the three digit extension, either enter 634 for boys or 646 for girls. I left a voice mail and didn't hear back for almost a month. I was getting ready to call again when they called me first! I'm super excited to receive three free packs of diapers in the mail, to offer my opinions to help develop quality (inexpensive) products, and get paid for it too!

Next, I placed an order today on Graveyard Mall to get 10 pairs of women's sunglasses for $15.95 (including shipping). They are "namebrand" glasses with regular retail values of around $20 each. My glasses have gotten so scratched I can't see well enough to wear them when I'm driving. I figured I could pay $15-20 for a replacement pair, or I could pay that amount and have 9 back-ups! It's a bit of a gamble to see what they all look like, but I've seen mostly positive comments from people on the bargain blogs where I found this deal.

Thanks to Couponing to Disney and Engineering A Debt Free Life for the info!

*Updated: the sunglasses deal says it ships on Friday, so I don't think it will be available much longer. But it comes back every few weeks, so check back if you're interested!

Love is a battlefield...

*not pictured: about two dozen deer we saw but of whom we have no evidence. It's okay. That's the way most magical things work...

It ain't Mother's Day anymore!

Ten ways you can tell Mother's Day is over until next year:

1. Your lovely sunset trip brought an unexpected "gift": ticks! Ew! (Fortunately, only the grown-ups seem to be the victims. But we're checking over & over in true KM paranoid fashion.)
   
2. Sometime during the night, a shelf in the laundry room snapped, fell, and knocked a large hole in the wall. Oh yeah, and you know where you stash all of the cleaning supplies, rags, extra shopping bags and any other random stuff you'd like to hide? Yeah, it's that shelf, and it has dumped it's contents all over a clean basket of laundry.
3. Every time you reach for the dustpan, a dog eats something out of the dirt pile.
   
4. The potty-training toddler who insists on getting down from the toilet (because she's done, don't you know?) pees on your kitchen floor.
   
5. You can only find one coupon insert in your Sunday paper, and half of the pages involve mail order plants or magic arthritis gloves.
6. Little Sister's favorite morning activity is pinching people.
7. Little Sister's second favorite morning activity is aggravating dogs.
8. The (naked) princess dolls in the living room are becoming nearly as high-maintenance as your children. "Snow white needs a blankie." (How about we just keep her dress on, huh?)
   
9. You keep heating up your cup of coffee and then leaving it in the microwave, forgetting all about it until you go to do something else several minutes later, at which point you start the process all over again.
10. You're pretty sure there is a floor to your minivan, but you can't seem to find it.

The truth is that while I had fun with this list, I really can't complain. Little Sis slept 'til after 7 again this morning, and Hubby kept the girls occupied while I cleaned up the laundry room mess. The truth is, I've needed to clean out that room for a loooong time (and I found lots of things I didn't know I had!) Little Sister did have an accident, but then she went #2 on the potty! The girls are content to have a lazy morning, so I'm getting a few things done, and I just looked at the clock and realized it was nearly 11!

It's not so bad, after all. It's all about perspective. I've been reading an awesome book/Bible study by Lysa Terkeurst in the mornings that has helped me adjust my perspective tremendously.

I'll try to upload some photos from our trip to the battlefields last night. Right now, I have to heat up my coffee again...

Mother's Day

It has been a busy, wonderful day!

Little Sis slept in until after 7:00 for the first time in two weeks, giving me my first gift of the day.

Big Sister's preschool choir sang in church, and I visited Sunday School classes to find sponsors for my remaining Compassion child packets.

We came home and my fantastic husband made pancakes, bacon and eggs for brunch.

Big Sister gave me some great artwork she made at school. Little Sister decorated a precious flower pot. I also had some beautiful gifts from my garden!


Everyone took a long afternoon nap. SO nice!

We went out to eat for dinner. We couldn't decide on Chinese, Italian, or Mexican, so we went to Applebee's. The fact that we had two coupons was also a deciding factor. (On a side note, Little Sister was obsessed with our server, Holly. All during the meal, she'd ask, "Where Holly go?")

After dinner we went somewhere I've been wanting to go as a family for a long time. I'll share pictures tomorrow! The girls were worn out and ready for bed when we got home, which is another gift in itself!

To my mom, my "other mothers," my grandma, and all of my mommy friends out there, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you too had a wonderful day. You deserve it!

Song for Sunday: All I can say is thank you, Mom

A Mother's Day
by Jim Brickman

Mom and Dad were reading in the den
Mom said, 'I'm gonna go to bed, it's late.'
She went to the kitchen to make three
School lunches another night in a mother's day.
Put the cereal bowls out for breakfast,
Set the coffee maker for 6:00am;
Sewed a loose button on brother's shirt for him;

Checked sister's math homework, sent a note to the teacher,
Added eggs to the grocery list;
Started a load of wash, made sure the doors were locked,
Put water in the puppy's dish;
Wrote a check to the children's piano teacher,
Turn the dishwasher on;
And Dad called out, 'Honey what's takin' you so long?'

Have I ever thanked you for everything you've done?
Now all that I can say is, 'I love you Mom.'

Hung some art on the refrigerator door and
Headed up the stairs;
Kissed all the children and helped Sister comb her
Wavy golden hair.
Washed her make-up off and turned on the bath;
Lay down in the moon soft light
And kissed dad goodnight.

Have I ever thanked you for everything you've done?
Now all that I can say is, 'I love you Mom.'

Thank you for nursing me through all those colds and fevers;
Thank you for believin' in me when they were no other believers.

And it's never too late to say, 'I love you Mom.'

I DO love you, Mom! (and my "other mothers" too!) I'm late as usual getting something in the mail to you, but it doesn't mean I'm not thinking of and missing you today!

Probably too much excitement over coupons...

... but I don't care!

I just went to CVS (most non-24 hour stores start their Sunday sales on the Saturday evening before) and cleaned up.

I got Crest pro-health mouthwash and toothpaste, two (sticks?) of Right Guard deodorant for Hubs, Pantene shampoo and conditioner, aspirin, two boxes of Kellogg's cereal, a 12 pack of Cottonelle, Kotex (sorry for TMI) and Huggies diapers (yes, we still try to use cloth at home, but day cares in our state require disposables. Boo!) for a grand total of about $15 before tax. Plus I have $2 in Extra Care Bucks to use next time. My CVS receipts say that I saved $55. That's almost 80%.

Then I went to Publix and I got two big reusable bags full of groceries. I spent $33.95 and I saved $24.84. I would have done even better if I had gone earlier in the week, but instead I have a raincheck for some things for next time.

When I was in the store, I remembered that I needed butter. Since I hadn't planned ahead, I ended up rummaging through my coupons to see if I had any match ups. Two different ladies said something to me about how awesome they thought it was that I was using coupons and that they wished they could just get started. It blows my mind to think about NOT clipping coupons! I haven't paid for a tube of toothpaste in over a year. Sometimes, the store even pays ME to buy it! That alone is enough incentive to sit down with the Sunday paper and a pair of scissors while the girls watch Dinosaur Train.

My only reservation is from the way couponing sometimes directs my shopping choices. I buy the brands with the best deals sometimes, and it is a lot harder to find coupons for green or organic choices. But I am able to save a lot of money for my family as we try to pay off seminary and car loans. It's a hard balance, but the sense of accomplishment I feel when I get deals like today tells me I'm doing okay.

How about you? Do you coupon? What are your favorite stores, or tips, or savings sites?

Well rested children get to go to the zoo

She did it!

Little Sister went to sleep without fussing and slept through the night.

She still woke up early, but I went in once to remind her that the sun wasn't up, and then left her in her crib until it was time to get up. She wasn't happy, but quickly got over it when I finally came in and opened the curtains to let in the morning light.

Since neither of the girls had gone back to sleep, they were both a little crabby. BUT, this was the most rest they've gotten in at least three days, and I wanted to wear them out so they would nap well, so we decided to head to the zoo. Plus, on Wednesdays admission is just $1.

We had a great time!

And before you ask, it was Big Sister's idea to wear matching outfits.

We saw quite a few animals...

Some more up close than others...

(This capybara was one of the girls' favorites. He came right over to us. Some of the other moms were uneasy after they read it was a giant rodent. Guess their kids don't have hamsters. And guess who's kids (mine) are pretty much going to be asking Santa for the biggest hamster he can find?)

The prairie dog liked us a lot too. Can you see it trying to climb the glass? He was even jumping up in an effort to get to Big Sister and another little girl next to her.


The more I think about it, I wonder if the other little girl was sneaking it some food... oh well. Here's another cute little shot of our friend.

We waited for a while trying to see the cougar as it rested and chewed on a water bottle between some trees. As soon as all of the kids around us left, the big cat got up. He (she?) carried the bottle over to another (much closer) spot and started rolling around, wrestling with it- just like our Sophie or Keaton would do! We were by ourselves in a caboose-turned-observation-area taking in the magical moment.

Of course, there was a petting zoo. I don't know why they don't just call it a "goat farm." We got a little food for them and were immediately surrounded by the rude little guys. Except this one below. Big Sister still feels guilty because she didn't save him any food. We didn't see him until after the crowd of greedy goats dispersed.

Oh, yeah... there was a pig too.


I thought it was cute. Until it bit my arm!

It didn't hurt. (I'm remembering the moment in Babe when he first tries to be a sheepdog and "bites" a sheep. "Ya got any teeth in that mouth?") But it was GROSS. I had this crescent of mud & slobber & snot caked on my arm until we left the petting area and while we waited in a long line to wash our hands. Not the most glorious moment of the day, but definitely a memory!

As was this moment when the girls happened upon this African Crowned Crane.

As soon as anyone got close to the glass, he pecked!


Big Sister thought it was hilarious. But Little Sis was not so sure.

After we visited all of the animal exhibits, we rode the carousel and had a healthy snack of goldfish, hot dogs, and funnel cake. I know, mother of the year, right?

We stopped at the playground one more time before we loaded up the car. You know, just to be sure they were good and worn out...

And it worked! Both girls napped! And, as much as I hated it, I woke Little Sister after two hours so that she would sleep tonight. So far, so good...