Tolerance

We got quite the bit of sleet (4 inches) and snow (4 inches). The roads are pretty clear but still are a bit slick. I had happily dropped the kids off at preschool and was headed to work this morning. I sat at the intersection, waiting to turn onto a busy road. Now, I do not live in a big city. It is an ok sized city, more suburban than anything. Typically I don't mind whipping myself into the lane that I am trying to turn onto but when things are icy, I try to wait a bit. Mostly because if another car is coming, they might not get to slow down on the ice. So there I sat, waiting for a decent turn when the guy behind me LAID ON THE HORN! Let me also add that I was there less than a minute. A few seconds later a decent turn came so I took it and the guy behind me whipped out also, about 2 inches from my back end!!! Seriously, guy?

So we were at a light immediately after the turn. Half of me wanted to stick my arm out the window and give him the one finger salute. But that is just rude and I wouldn't want kids to see that but I was kind of angry. I then wanted to get out of my car in that standstill and knock on his window. "Excuse me sir, but you don't have to honk at me. I feel I waited an appropriate and safe amount of time before I had to turn. " I didn't. Just sat there.

So we turn....he enters into the other lane after the turn and takes off. What bumper sticker do I see on the back of his car....wait for it....this is classic..


TOLERANCE!

Yes, Tolerance. That is what it said. Then next to it was a nice bumper sticker with "coexistence" on it.

Nice, dude. Nice.

To Save A Dollar, A new adventure

So I am going to try something out. CVS. It's a pharmacy/overpriced convenience store. What could it possibly do for me? CVS bonus bucks. I think that is what it is called. What it is, is money that they give back to you in the form of store credit when you buy certain things. How can this work for you and me is something I am investigating.

Step 1 of this process was going to CVS and filling out information to get their card. It costs nothing to get this card. Basically they like it because they can track your buying patterns and get data for themselves. It works for US because you use it to get sale prices at their store.

BE AWARE! Sale prices at CVS are typically the price you would pay on a regular day, say at Walmart. But there are a few scattered in there where it is a good deal no matter how you slice it. The goal is to look for the deals that are equal to or better than what you pay now, easy right?

So let's take an example from last week. They had a sale 5 -12 packs for $15 and then you get $5 bonus bucks back. So 5 -12 packs for $15 is a good sale anywhere. Walmart price on a 12 pack is $4.28 and here it makes it $3. We drink soda regularly so this is a good deal. PLUS it gave me $5 on my next purchase which is also a great deal IF YOU USE IT ON ANOTHER GOOD DEAL. Use it on something that is regularly priced and you get no deal really. That day I also purchased mouth wash for $3.99 and got $3.99 back in bonus cash. So if I use that $3.99 to buy something that I normally would buy at a price that I normally pay (or less) then it is like getting the mouth wash for free, right? GOOD DEAL! So I walked out of that store spending $20-ish dollars with $8.99 for something else.

NOW, this gets better. I hope not more confusing. So let's say there is a good sale on something you normally buy. PLUS you found a coupon (online, in the news paper, etc). EVEN BETTER. you still get the same amount of bonus money back no matter what you take off using coupons. NICE, huh?

Want it even better? CVS has store coupons. They can email them to you. They have a kiosk inside the store that, if you scan your card, will shoot out store coupons. You can put these coupons WITH manufacturer's coupons (ones from the newpaper) to save even more!! In some cases you kind of make money. Example

Product A is on sale for $4 plus you get $2 bonus cash back
You have a coupon from the newpaper for $2 off
You have a store coupon for $1 off

In the end you pay $1 but walk out with $2 in bonus cash ....so really you are up $1.


OK, this is enough to make your head spin for a while. I will probably go more into detail as this works out more. But as for now, I have spent about $45 on about $100 worth of products that I USE! I also want to say that I am now completely stocked up on shampoo that unless another ad comes out where bonus bucks equals the price, I will not buy more shampoo for a while. Two back ups is all we need for a good 4-5 months.

** I really want to make the disclaimer that I only buy things that I use. I don't buy things just because I get bonus money back. That defeats the purpose. I do not want a house full of things I can't use. I really suggest only buying things that you typically buy. **

The Snow Frenzy

We (a collective "we" of the midwest) are about to experience a lot of snow/ice. It really is all I have heard about for the past 24 hours and probably all I will hear about for a week. Me? I am totally done with the snow. The first snow came early this year, the first week of December. Typically we don't see a good snow until mid January. I have seen blades of grass maybe twice since the first snow. I. AM. DONE. Yes, it is pretty. But once you have young children who are mobile, it is not fun. Why? Because your child needs to burn energy and having no place outside to do that is HARD. They get bored. They get cranky and that is contagious to parents. My kids are ready to play outside for an extended period of time, and rightly so. I am ready for the spring. Maybe constantly thinking that is just bringing more snow. My boss secretly told us to bring our computers home and consider working from home tomorrow. Hubby will still have to go in. Is it bad that I am contemplating having him bring the kids to daycare tomorrow on his way? He has 4 - wheel drive.......

I also think it is kind of funny to watch everyone run out to the stores and buy enough supplies to last until Memorial Weekend. Yes, there will be alot of snow, but the midwest is used to it. It will take 24 hours to clear the roads and everything will be fine. I did my weekly shopping yesterday and all the crazies were out. (sorry if that was you). It definitely made the trip twice as long.

Did you notice pictures are still lacking? I have two explanations for that and one is 3.5 and one is 1.5 years old. Bedtime has been less than pleasing, a post for another time...probably tomorrow. But with any glimmer of hope, there might be pictures posted tonight. Hubby if off playing basketball and the kids have no mercy on me.

Diaper Deal

Do you have one (or more) in diapers? While I am a HUGE fan of cloth diapering, I had to give it up when my son hit solids and I lived in an apartment (not washer/dryer of my own and NO WAY can I save up diapers the entire week when I would hit the laundry mat).

So Amazon has a fantastic club you can join called Amazon Mom. It is free, no strings attached. It gives you 15% off of diapers. Now get this...if you subscribe to get a shipment of diapers (one box or a million boxes) every 1, 2, 3, etc months, you get another 15% off!! Nice, huh? Want it to get better? Do you get American Baby magazine or Parenting magazine? There is a $10 off or 20% off coupon in there for Amazon diaper orders! Want it even better?? FREE 2nd day shipping on any Amazon Mom order!! So here is what I bought

120 Diapers to be delievered every two months for $23 and some change. BUT I had the 20% off so I get the first shipment for only $16!! SCORE! You can cancel the shipments anytime you want so you are not in a contract to buy for an entire year.

For some reason I can't post the address in here but if you go to Amazon.com and search for Huggies or Pampers diapers you can find the diapers you are looking for. Under the short description there will be a blue box with details.

I was "that" Mom

Hubby got a nice surprise bonus at work. Off we went to the local Mexican restaurant that we have been going to for years. When we started having kids, they would take them and walk them around the place so we could eat. They tend to hand them free things like candy or food. It is a good place and we enjoy going. Out kids PIG OUT on the rice and the chip with cheese dip. It really is a special treat for them. Like any respectable Mexican restaurant they have candy for sale in the front. If the Kait is good, she gets a piece (LJ isn't quite old enough yet but he has been known to sneak a few bites of my peppermint patty). There, the scene has been set....and some of you know where this is going.

If any of you ever had/have small children, you know that eating out can go incredibly well or incredibly not. Kait, like most 3.5 year olds who are excited, does not sit still very well. She was getting up and out of her chair and I kept reminding her to remain in her seat. So I did it, the warning "get out of your chair again, and you get no candy (laffy taffy)." I told her to look at me and said again " I am repeating this because it is important. Get out of your seat again and NO CANDY!." There, the rule was set and I was going to have to follow through, something that takes a lot of will power for me to do because, let's face it, I love making my kids happy.

About 3 minutes goes by and that girl was out of her seat. "Remember what I had said? You are now out of your seat. No Candy!!."

Enter hysterics. The lip comes out, tears well up and that long initial draw of a cry starts. "But I want candy." Stick to your guns.....stick to your guns..... "No 'mam. I said that if you got up, there would be no candy. So, no....no candy." That didn't really fix it. Instead she just started screaming, without a break "I want candy, I want candy, I want candy.." I knew what I had to do.....for the first time EVER I was going to have to remove my child from a public venue to do a tantrum.

That girl fought with all she had. Her little hands grabbed onto that door and seemed to be super glued. I had to remove each and every finger so I could get out the door, the entire time with her screaming and squirming so much I was worried I would end up just dropping her. She screamed the entire way to the car with people on the inside staring out at me... That mom... who can't control her child in public.....who has a spoiled child....who doesn't have her act together....who has a sugar crazed kid..

I placed her in the car (which was no small feat considering she was alike a cat being placed in a bathtub, arms and legs spread out so that she didn't fit through the doorway.), belted her in (in the process having to remove her shoes because she was kicking), and shut the door. I REALLY wanted to sit in the car. It was cold out...but my ears couldn't take it. I would open the door here and there to remind her that if she stopped screaming I would sit in the car with her. She didn't care for that option. Instead I stood by the door watching people walk by seeing my child screaming in the backseat of a car, and me, standing there and doing nothing but letting her get it out. I would smile as they pass, and you know what? I could tell who had child experiences, they smiled back. They knew. I wasn't a horrible mom. My kid is not a spoiled brat. She is not sugar crazed and is probably a pretty darn good kid. What I had was a child under the age of 5. Period. No other explanation needed.

I am the same way. When I see a mom struggling with a child (or several) in public and I can tell she is starting to feel stressed and embarrassed, I flash the "I understand" smile. She smiles back. Like a secret mom handshake.

Know what? That girl slept that night the best she has slept in nearly a week. As parents we felt good knowing that we followed through, she understood she was being reprimanded for her behavior, and overall, it turned out fine.

Have you had this experience? Feel free to share :)

I can't do it.

I wanted to get on here and tell you about my day. About not feeling well yesterday and the fight that my kids put up going to bed. That all changed when I turned on the computer. Another heart baby has been called home. 5. That makes FIVE heart babies called to Heaven this WEEK! WEEK! Not Months...ONE SINGLE WEEK. How do I light heartly talk about my evening when my day started like this? The tears start and will most likely continue through out today. I never held these babies. I never personally spoke with their moms. Heck, their moms probably have no idea that I sat in front of my computer rallying and praying for the little ones from afar. And yet I grieve for their loss. My heart aches knowing that they will no longer hold their child as I hold Landon everyday. Hearing the words that your child has a heart defect is hard. You feel so alone. You Google yourself to depression. You feel helpless. But then something happens. A fellow heart mom finds you or you stumble into a forum of heart moms and you realize something, you aren't alone. There are more out there like you thank you realize. They rally for each other. They pray for each other. They celebrate the good, mourn for the lost. Suddenly you feel surrounded in a tight community, most made of people you have never met and may never meet. For this I am greatful for when there are weeks like this, I know there are million prayers of peace being said.


.....I have to admit, selfishly I cry for myself and Landon. For this really reminds me of how fragile his life is. Somedays it is easy to forget it when he is full of such laughter and words. I remember he is sick but I am able to push back the possibility that he, too, may be called to Heaven before I am ready. Tears full of sadness....self-less and selfish. I can't help it. However, I think if everyone had to experience this once in their life, to know how cherished and fragile a life could be, this world would be a more loving place.

Missing Something

So this place is missing something....

.....Pictures! I really need to get pictures of my sweet little ones on here! They are, in my unbiased opinion, rather cute. The good ol' hubby is playing basketball tonight. So, if my kids are nice to me and go to bed reasonably, I will post some pictures tonight. However, my dear 3.5 year old daughter tends to be rather dramatic at night and the entire process can pretty much take all night. She is going to be a great actress one day, make great money, and support me. So I will take the abuse now so that I can be her agent later on and live in a sweet house. Dreaming? Probably but that doesn't mean she isn't a great actress right now ;)