O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Christmas Giveaways~~WooHoo!!

My friend Brynna at Joy Filled Frugality has an awesome giveaway going on right now!  CSN Stores has offered her readers a $35 gift code to use on their site!  They have some awesome deals and some of the coolest items you can find!  It is taking me forever to look through their site but I am loving it!!  I know I will be doing some shopping here!

Please go check out and enter Brynna's giveaway...great Christmas presents!!

I'm checking my list and checking it twice...

gonna find out who's naughty or nice!  Seriously, though, this is the time of year when I break out with list after list after list...I even have a list for all the lists I need to make..LOL!  But one of my most important lists is my Christmas Card List.   I try to narrow it down each year, but it just seems almost impossible.   But even more important than the list is the Christmas Cards themselves!  I spend a lot of time taking pictures for Christmas Cards (just ask my kids!!), so I always want to find the perfect card to "showcase" my picture(s) on.  The perfect card can make a simple picture "pop", and you know that's what you want when your friends/faraway family haven't seen your children/family in a while!

So this year, I got an free holiday card blog promotion through Shutterfly.  FREE----woohoo!!  Those of you that know me well, know that I LOVE FREE!!  So very quickly I began searching through their beautiful Christmas/Holiday photo cards and man was I impressed!  There were so many beautiful styles, I wondered how I could possibly pick just one!  I began "trying all the cards out" (kind of like trying on clothes to see what fits), but in this circumstance it is to see which one made my pictures "POP"!  I had 4 pictures that I wanted to place on the card (you can even filter your search by how many pictures you have), so after looking at the styles that were available with that many pictures, I finally chose the Family Roster.  I had a very hard time choosing because they all look so good!  But I wanted a card that would let me showcase each child, then have one picture of the three of them that "popped" out...and this one just did it for me.  Shutterfly is offering 20% off their holiday cards, that's a great deal, especially for the quality you will receive!

Are you looking for Christmas gifts??  What about a calendar for the upcoming year?  Grandparents always love having a calendar with the grandkids pictures on it throughout the year.  Shutterfly has many calendars to choose from.  While you are making your cards and already have pictures uploaded, why don't you go ahead a make a calendar or two (they offer some great deals on additional purchases!)

And while I was there, I also checked out the Baby Birthday Invitations...cause a certain baby boy I know has a birthday coming up shortly after Christmas!  And as much as I don't like to think about two "special occasions" at once, I must begin to get my mind in order regarding a birthday party very quickly once the Christmas tree is down!

Go check out Shutterfly, they have so much to offer, great deals, and super quality on their products!!  I can't wait to see what you choose!!

Christmas Cards....already??? OF COURSE!!

Yep, I am getting a head start on Christmas cards....but really it is only 2 months away from Christmas (I know that cause my birthday is Oct. 25th , so it is easy to start counting down from that point!)

So anyway, I wanted to share a couple of great deals I have found on photo cards...you know me I have to do the photo card thing...drag the kids out make a few pictures...yada yada yada.  So this past week while we were camping at Fall Creek Falls I took the opportunity to get a few pics (a few...hahaha) of the kids.  I will share some of the with you, but I have to save my faves for the Christmas cards of course.

So on Vistaprint, they are offering 20 Holiday Cards (4x8 or 5x7 or 5x7 folded!) for $1.99!!!  There is an upload fee for the pictures (mine was $3.74)  With shipping my total was under $12.00 and that was for a 3 picture 5x7 folded card...not just the postcard type.  Here is the link:  www.vistaprint.com/santa7.  I am not sure how long this deal is good for.

Then Snapfish is offering 20 4x8 photo cards for FREE, you pay shipping only, which is $5.99, using the discount code BABYMAIL.  This is offer is good through Oct. 31st...so hurry!!  You can also get another set 20 for FREE, plus shipping of $5.99 with the discount code BABIES.  You can use both of these codes, but they must be done in different transactions.  Thanks FREEBIES4MOM, for alerting me of these great deals!!

Coupons...Part 2

Well, on this post I just wanted to share some of my favorite sites to check out for coupons and deals.  I know that TONS of people have blog posts on couponing, so I am not going to share the bit of knowledge I have on HOW it's done, rather just bits of knowledge on WHERE to go.

One of the best places to start when looking for coupons is your local Sunday newspaper.  Here is a link to the schedules for Red Plum, Smart Source, and P&G inserts thanks to Southern Savers.  You can purchase your paper at Dollar Tree for only $1.00!!  That is generally savings enough for most people to get 2 papers for what 1 normally cost.  And speaking of buying 2 papers..."experts" say you should purchase 1 paper for every member of your family to get the most out of couponing.  I must admit that most of the time I only purchase 2 though.

Now, there are many places on the internet to look for coupons, and I am assuming if you are reading this then you have access to the internet...LOL!  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Coupons.com
AllYou.com  (You can also purchase All You Magazine at Walmart and gets LOTS of coupons inside!)
RedPlum.com  (This is also one of the inserts that comes in the Sunday Paper, but you can get additional coupons online)
SmartSource.com  (This is also one of the inserts that comes in the Sunday Paper, but again you can get additional coupons online)
Grocery Stores (You can go to your local grocery chains website, such as Bi-Lo, Publix, Food Lion, and they have "printables" on their sites.)

Some of my other favorite websites to check offer FREEBIES and coupon match-ups (to help you maximize your savings with the coupons matching them up to the sales of the week).  A few of these sites are:

Southern Savers
Time 2 Save
Sunday Coupon Preview
Money Saving Mom

These are just a few of the MANY coupon sites out there on the internet.  Just do a search for "coupons" and you find page after page!!  And speaking of searches...be sure to sign up for SWAGBUCKS, where you can earn "bucks" just for searching online!!  These bucks can be used to purchase items in the Swag Store...items that include Amazon.com gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, Restaurant.com gift cards, Video Gaming equipment, Books, and MANY, MANY other items!!  Signing up is FREE and all you have to is SEARCH...anything and everything and it will randomly give you "bucks" throughout the day.  Use my link to sign up and get started earning!  I recently used mine to purchase a pair of $50 Red Box Shoes and got shipping and all FREE!!  How bout them apples???  Go try it!!



HAPPY COUPONING (AND MOST OF ALL HAPPY SAVING MONEY!!)

The Simple Life of a 2 Year Old

Enjoy the Colors of Fall

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Most of us have been affected by breast cancer in some way...ourselves, a family member, a friend, or just a scare from finding "a lump."  Praise God, as far as I know I have no family members who have been affected by it, however I do have a couple of friends who have dealt with it.  I, myself, recently had a scare after I found "a lump."  Thankfully I have a doctor who is very thorough.  He wanted to cover all the bases and give me comfort in whatever answer we came out with.  I had my first mammogram (I know...I should have had one several years ago, but now I have done it!), I had three breast ultrasounds, and a biopsy of the lump.  All were negative...PRAISE GOD!! 

My friend Brynna at Joy Filled Frugality is hosting "A Month of Pink Ribbons" and is sharing stories, contests, and great information regarding breast cancer.  Right now she has a great giveaway for the The Love, Life Hope Scentsy Warmer.  Check out her giveaway here! This is a subject that is near and dear to her heart and she wants to make sure others have the information they need to deal with the disease itself or to help a family member dealing with it.  Check out her sight!!  (And by the way, she offers TONS of other great information not pertaining to breast cancer also!!) 

Keep yourself healthy, get your checkups and yearly mammograms...

These are my reason to do it...what's yours?

Couponing...again...Part 1

So, I am not BAD at couponing, I am just not GOOD at couponing, like I want to be.  My friend Denise, is like the Coupon Queen.  She even taught a Coupon Class for us at my church, and I still am not where I want to be.  I want to be racking up the free stuff...not so I can be hoarder because the Bible speaks against that (Don't hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.  Ecclesiates 11:2--The Message) but rather so that I can be a blessing and share my "findings" with others who need them even more than I do!  I feel like my mother and I have a knack for finding good deals/freebies, but I really would like to kick it up a notch and be able to share those findings. 

So I am starting my couponing again, more seriously, this time hopefully.  I have tried many "systems" for coupons and have yet to find "my system", but still I press on. LOL!  I have tried the little coupon envelope size holders, and they just stressed me out, I tried a recipe box with dividers and that didn't fit in my purse or diaper bag well, so it just gave me something else to carry which I didn't need, so that just stressed me out, I tried a big binder (and boy did I work hard on organzing it and it was a beauty!!), but again, it didn't fit in my purse or diaper bag and needed to rest on the baby seat part of the grocery cart...kind of hard to do when you have a baby in that seat!!  So, here is my latest "try". 

I labeled sandwich size zipper baggies with all the "categories", then put my coupons into the appropriate bags.

Then I put the baggies inside this little zipper pouch that I got from www.artscow.com.  Artscow offers TONS of freebies or shipping only items.  If you are on Facebook, be sure to "friend" them and you get all the latest offers.  If you are not on Facebook, then go to their website and sign up on their mailing list and you will get the offers emailed to you.  This was a Large Personalized Makeup bag, but I thought it would work great for holding all my coupon bags.  I got 3 of these on Artscow for $8.99/free shipping...that was all 3 for $8.99 by the way!  That was a steal and they make such great Christmas presents too. 

Then this cute little bag fits right down into my purse/diaper bag, not taking up lots of bulky space and is easy to pull out at the grocery store and just pull out the "category" I am looking for!  I can also put the coupons I am using right down inside of the bag in front of the baggies so they don't get lost all over the grocery cart (come on...you know what I am talking about!)

Ok, I will leave you with that for now...and part 2 will be giving you some pointers regarding couponing and some sources to get your coupons.  I know a lot of you have heard this over and over and over...but if you are anything like me, it still hasn't sunk in good enough to come out of the store with $100 worth of groceries for only 25 cents!!

~~Yours Truly~~

You Can Use Anything

So we are working on numbers and letters with Hayden and I have searched the internet for good "printables"....apparently my creative juices weren't working too well, cause look what Hayden came up with to count...my "Coke Rewards" tops!!  Not only can he count them, but it is great for working on fine motor skills too!

Celebrating 11 years!!

Friday was Mari Cate's birthday. She turned 11 years old. I can hardly believe that my baby girl is nearly a teenager! I think I should hang on to these two more years very tightly!! She is growing up and beginning to mature and turn into a real "middle schooler". That could be a bad thing...or not!

Mari Cate chose Zaxby's for her birthday dinner...that is her favorite place to eat, so I wasn't too surprised! Our family and friends came with us to celebrate with us! Mari Cate gots lots of wonderful presents including new clothes, a journal, Converse tennis shoes, Bath & Body goodies, and MONEY! She may be taking us out to eat after church tomorrow...haha!!

Remember birthdays don't have to be elaborate...for a kid just knowing "it's about them" makes it special. The most important thing is making them feel special and honored on their day, that's what they will remember.

*Please click on the collage above to see the pictures close up, if you would like.*

A Chocolate Reward

I gave Hayden a reward for being such a good boy in the grocery store today.  I know that is probably not the best parenting strategy, but after I saw all the unruly children while we were in there, I just felt like he deserved some kind of reward.  A chocolate candy bar?????

MAYBE NOT!!

It's Apple Time!

This past weekend we went to Apple Valley Orchard here in Cleveland and picked up a bushel of Red Delicious Apples, a 1/2 bushel of Mutsu Apples, 1/4 peck of Red/Golden Mixed, and 1/4 of Winesap....so we have a lot of baking to do! Actually we are going to try making apple juice and cider this year also. Yesterday I went to find my Crockpot Apple Butter recipe and couldn't find it anywhere!! So I started searching the internet and still couldn't find the same one I used last year but found one that I knew was similar so I went to peeling, coring, and slicing...with the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer of course (makes it so much easier!!) And if you can pick one up at a thrift store or yard sale like I did for $5.00, then why not save yourself some time and make life a little easier!! : )

So a dear friend finally found my recipe last night and the one that I ended up using was very similar but called for 2 cups LESS of sugar! I like the thought of that...and it tasted delicious! One hint: use apples that are sweeter, not real tart apples and you will not have to use as much sugar! This recipe yielded 4 pint jars for me. I really prefer to put it in 1/2 pint jars so that I can give out to friends, but all I had were pint jars right now. Oh, and another hint: I did NOT put the butter into a food processor to make it smooth. My was already pretty smooth when it cooked down, but we kind of like the bits of apple chunks in it. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

apples, peeled, cored and cut in quarters, to fill a 4-quart crockpot to 1 1/2 to 2 inches from top

4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups sugar

4 tablespoons water

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH until hot, then turn to LOW and cook all day (7 to 10 hours). When it is done and apples are fully cooked down put small amounts into food processor and pulse until smooth.

NOTE: If you are canning this, put into clean, sterilized jars and seal while hot, then process half-pints or pints 5 minutes in boiling water canner. 1,001 feet to 6,000 feet, process for 10 minutes, and above 6,000 feet, 15 minutes.

Feed Your Kids Well~~~And You Can All Have Fun!

Well, all of us moms know we are busy...that's a given. And we all want to feed our kids well, so they can grow and be healthy, but also just be kids and have fun! But sometimes having fun for us moms means we we have to sacrifice on nutritious mealtime, doesn't it?

Well, now you can have help and not have to sacrifice on a meal! To help make sure your kids get the veggies they need (and the meals they love) Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce now has 2 servings of veggies in every half cup! Available soon in major retailers nationwide, the healthy, great tasting Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional pasta sauce that is already a kitchen staple has a new, naturally thicker recipe.

Healthy, delicious and now with a naturally thicker taste the whole family will love, Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is a perfect component to pulling together quick and tasty meals during this busy time. And Ragú® wants you to be among the first to try out their great new recipe! To be one of the first to taste Ragú® with 2 servings of veggies in every half-cup visit them on facebook.com/ragusauce for more details.

Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a Ragú® prize package in exchange for this post. No monetary exchange took place

Saying of the day....

"Momma, kiss me...right now!"

Two cuties....

first one...Hayden is playing with my phone and looks around at me and says "Hey Momma, I'm texting!"  Really...should 2 year olds even have a clue what that is??

second one...Mom and I were driving down the road today and we were talking non-stop as usual.  I could hear Hayden in the back saying the same thing over and over...I finally figured out what he was saying "Stop Please Talking!"  hehehehe!!

Let's Go To The Car

So Hayden came over and layed his head down on my leg and asked me if we could go to the car.  I asked him why he wanted to go the car and he said cause he wanted to go to sleep!  (He knows when we go pick up the kids from school he usually falls asleep---apparently he is sleepy!)

Baked Zucchini and Mac 'n Cheese

So I made this recipe tonight.  I got it from here.  It was pretty good, but wasn't quite cheesy enough for me.  Obviously when you are used to Kraft Mac-n-Cheese in a box (not the 50 cent box, but the Deluxe kind), then homemade Mac-n-Cheese takes a little getting used to.  Frank and Conner really liked it (even with the zucchini in it).  Hayden wouldn't try it, but he is on a kick of eating ONE thing on his plate and that is it, so that was the hot dog that I fixed him...LOL!  And Mari Cate slept through dinner...and is still asleep!!  She was at a slumber party last night and went swimming today, so it got the best of her.  Anyway, there was plenty for leftovers for whoever will eat them tomorrow after church.

How long??? (to be read with a very whiney voice here)

Mari Cate:  Mom, how many things do you have to buy at Walmart?

Me:  Mari Cate, if I tell you 5 things and I buy 6 you will get upset at me, so why should I bother telling you?

Mari Cate:  Mommmmm!  How long will we be in Walmart?

Me:  Two hours.

Mari Cate:  Two hours???!!!

Me:  Yeah, two hours....that way if it only takes us 1 hour, you will be happy!! 

Here I Go Again...

No I am not singing a Dolly Parton song, but I am starting another new blog.  I was so good at blogging a few years ago, but life got so busy with a new baby that I just couldn't keep up.  So I thought I would try it again.  We'll see.  I mostly just wanted a way to capture bits and pieces of my kids lives and have them recorded somewhere and share them with my family, especially those who live so far away! : (

So bear with me while I make it "all pretty", and get everything in place, but continue to check back often!

So my first "capture" was yesterday (although I am sure I will go back and fill you on many more!).  I was driving to meet my parents for breakfast and was flipping through the radio stations.  Conner and Mari Cate were in school of course, so it was just Hayden and me.  Obviously since Mari Cate is a 10 (almost 11) year old girl, she is into Taylor Swift, and I really don't have a problem with that.  So anyway, I wasn't even paying attention to the songs and Hayden yells out "that Mari Cate's song?" so I listened and sure enough it was Taylor Swift singing "Love Story"...how does a 2 year old know that???  And since I kinda like it too, I am gonna share it with you. : )