Picture Princess

I have long admired the Shabby Baby line of clothing.
The fabrics, the dress designs, the color combinations---someone has a great eye!
And, I just found out that they are looking for a new model for their Spring line!!
Guess who would the perfect picture princess?!?She's so used to posing for me, that it comes naturally at this point!
Storey has style.She looks good even close up-to use a favorite Clueless term, she's no "Monet".Such a smiley baby!!
And she would look so cute in this fabulous dress from the line of little girls and girls dresses from Shabby Apple.

Out of Commission

Jak and I caught the nasty stomach flu that's been going around.
I feel like I've been hit by a truck.
Thank goodness for husbands that can take time off to watch a 7 month old who likes to climb.

I did have a chance to make Storey a new outfit for church before I got sick. I was so excited to find this Robert Kaufman print I've been coveting at Joann's of all places!!
More tomorrow.

Found it

spir·ited (-id) adjective: full of spirit; lively; energetic; animated

and, it's genetic

You see that guy with the bleached hair in the skirt? My husband.
One of his prouder life moments, I'm sure.

Without doubt, Jakson inherited the enthusiastic gene.
I fully expect that during his school career, I'm going to receive numerous report cards with "spirited" in the comments.

"Spirited" is a teacher word for he never shuts up, he jumps off the windowsill, he accidently killed the class hamster, he's the class clown...

They sell books like Ways to Say What You Really Mean on Report Cards Without Offending Parents, (not the technical name) for educators.
I know because I used one.
But I am aware of the code words, so I'll read between the lines.

I will NOT be offended though because really, that.poor.teacher.

Currently, Jakson is very spirited about his goggles. He wears them to bed, when he is trying a new food that he is certain he won't like (a.k.a. EVERY new food) and, the naked kid with the goggles? My son.

It's a good look for him. Safety first. Those plastic work goggles that came with his tool set are certain to allow for underwater play without injury.Here he is multitasking-brushing his teeth and fixing things with Daddy at the same time. And wearing the goggles, of course.
I'm pretty sure that he'll grow out of the multitasking---not an adult male attribute. But when he is 30 and married, this picture will be proof for his wife that he, at one point in his life, could effectively manage more than one activity at a time.

Thankfully, I'm so boring that I totally even out all of the enthusiasm that goes on in this house.
Otherwise, I'm not sure we'd have any friends.
But, I wouldn't trade my two lively family members for ten mellow ones.

WE'VE GOT SPIRIT. YES, WE DO. WE'VE GOT SPIRIT. HOW 'BOUT YOU?

Blog.O.Rama

So, I had a really cool post planned, but then I couldn't find Zak's yearbook anywhere.
What a bust.
I even rummaged through boxes stored on the ceiling shelves in our garage.
All in the name of blogging.
When I find it (if I find it), you will thank me.
Zak may not, but you, my friend, will.

In the meantime, I thought I'd carry on in the spirit of interactive blogging (interlogging?) and give you a chance to tell me, tell the WORLD about some good blogs.

I mean we're always looking for new reads to steal ideas from, right?
Speaking of stealing ideas, I actually saw something similar on a different blog, but can't for the life of me remember where. If it was you, thank you very much. And I'm sorry.

Edited: Thank goodness for good commenters (thanks Mique!!), the mystery has been solved --I saw this idea on M. Writes. I switched it up with my own categories though. Check out all of the links there too!

BLOG.O.RAMA.
say it like, Wheel! of! Fortune!

A blog (or blogger) that has.....

a great sense of humor: I pick two-I'm counting it as one because they are in the same family. Deep Lunges and Unitards AND her aunt who writes The World Is Better Because of this Freaking Blog
fabulous decorating ideas: Paint in my Hair
awesome tutorials: Thirty Handmade Days
lots of craftiness: Joy's Hope
easy DIY projects: Ohdeedoh
funny parenting tales: Bollard Family Blog
inspiring words: Immeasurably More
style: Grosgrain
amazing photography: Matt Clayton
good eats: Cafe Zupas (there are recipes!!)
organizational tips: Organizing Your Way
giveaways: shameless plug-we've gone to TWO a week!! A Little Etsy Love
an online shop: JCasa *handmade*
fantastic coupon/money sense: *Cent*sible Sawyer
great information: Little Fun, Little Learning
been added to your Google Reader lately: The RikRak Studio

Happy Linking!

In my humble opinion

Tonight, I finally learned what the initialism IMHO stands for.
It was revealed to me in a radio commercial.
A teenage daughter was teasing her dad about not understanding text lingo.
I used to chuckle at commercials like that-silly, out of touch dad-cause I thought I could relate.
Well, I still can relate, but it's not so funny when you are coming from the opposite end.

I feel old.
BBN

Interactive Blogging

I've decided that my shop needs a face life, so I'm going to get a new banner.
This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to you.
That's because it's not.
But I'm indecisive and I like quite a few that I've found, so I am asking for your opinion.
Most of you like to opine, right?
I'm looking for something bright and cheery...

Number 1
Number 2-but in grass green

Number 3-also with a different color scheme, I'm really into green right now
Number 4
Number 5-possibly with more vibrant colors

What do you think?
Opine away!

All of the banners above are from Chokingonstatic Design or Gradybug Design.

Shop Talk

Hot off the presses. Get it here.

Pats on the back and high fives to all of my pattern testers. Thanks again.

I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!

Zak claims it might be my best idea ever.

Not sure that's saying much....

Available in the shop.

Many thanks

Due to the fact that I have many good and crafty friends,
the sling pattern will be in the shop tomorrow!!

gracias. merci. danke. kia ora. obrigada. malo.

Help Wanted

I'm looking for an experienced seamstress (not that you have to make a quilt every weekend, just have some experience with patterns and/or tutorials) to be a sort of pattern tester for me.

I just finished my first "for sale" pattern and I need a couple of people to read over it and let me know if any changes or clarifications need to be made.
The pattern is for a reversible pouch sling. I give away all of my secrets.

You get a free pattern, I get feedback. It's a win-win for all.

The catch: I need someone who can do this for me ASAP. Like now. Or tomorrow. I'm really anxious to make any changes and get it listed in the shop. Which is why I said read over the pattern rather than make something from the pattern.

If you're interested (and have the time), please email me: bethanycr {at} gmail {dot} com.
I'll be using the first couple of volunteers.
Ready! Go!

You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you

I felt it was high time that Storey be introduced to Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy.

How can a girl go her whole (albeit short) life without understanding the appeal of a man in a cravat and waistcoat?

So, using t-shirt transfer paper, Picnik, and an iron, I spent Sunday evening creating the perfect method of introduction.

I realize the picture angle doesn't provide you with a good look at the quote, but it says:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
It's so true....haven't you ever seen Millionaire Matchmaker?
And because Jakson has been having a lot of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days lately, I made him one too.
Notice his new weedwhackeresque haircut? Yeah-that was drama.

Purchase

I just bought this vintage pattern so that I can attempt to make a summer shirt or two for myself. I'll be changing it up a bit (not a big fan of the whole off the shoulder look), and won't be including a sash around the waist. I'm in hopes that it will be pretty simple-I mean, the pattern does say EASY on the front, right?

If it turns out okay and I decide I like making my own clothes, I'm buying this next!!

Food for thought

Last night as I was doing some Google research about our taxes (I realize blogs/random websites are about as accurate as Wikipedia, but it's cheaper than an accountant), I came across something that made me chuckle. Tax figuring stresses me out-I'm not a numbers person (stop laughing mom), but I'm too much of a control freak to delegate the job, so chuckling is not something I often do as the April 15th deadline approaches. But when a guy asked if he could write off his share of the $700 billion bail outs on his taxes, I laughed.

Tonight Jakson ate jelly hamburger buns for dinner (his concoction, not mine). He ended up with grape jelly smeared all down the front of his shirt. I wonder why they don't make washable grape jelly like they do washable markers and paint? Crayola really needs to get on that.

When children have a perfectly good bed, why do they insist on sleeping on the floor?

If you were hoping for real food and not just food for thought, while I was calculating last night, Zak was baking (remember my need to eat my feelings? He understands me.). He whipped up these delicious cookies (made with semi sweet chips instead of swirl). Bake them. Eat them. Love them. The trick is to volunteer to do the taxes ladies.....

And if you just read the blog because you want to see pictures of the children, here is a picture of Storey after she pulled herself up on one of the toy cubes. This is her new favorite activity. Doesn't work so well in the bathtub.

New life for an old chair

For about 6 months, we have had dueling highchairs in our kitchen.

One of them is a really nice Graco seat, but Jakson thrashed the cover and it had to be thrown away and the other is a garage sale purchase we bought to replace the Graco seat. Unfortunately, we got it home and used it a few times only to decide it wasn't as sturdy as we need since our child is rough (an understatement) on things.

BUT, I kept it around because I wanted to use the cover from the second one as a pattern to make a replacement cover for the first (you following me here?). One month passed, then two months-now six months later, I'm finally getting around to this project. I think I was putting it off because it's a little daunting and I was kind of afraid that the end result would suck, the whole thing would be a waste of time and money, etc. etc.

I completed the new fancy cover last night and I am pretty happy with the results. It's definitely going to make my kitchen a lot more "happy"!! And it's wipeable!!

BEFORE

AFTER

So I didn't write a detailed tutorial for this one because it's hard to give accurate measurements since all highchairs are different, but here are the basic steps in case you want to make your own...

Supplies:
--Oil cloth (because it's wipeable)--you can find this all over the internet, but I bought mine here.
--quilt binding (bias tape)---I used the extra wide because I'd never done this before, but I think I'd use something a little skinnier if I were to do the project again
--denim needles---DO NOT try and use regular "all purpose" sewing needles-they will break!! Take it from me, I made that mistake.
--Tips and tricks from the experts--you may want to read a little bit about oilcloth if this is your first time sewing with it. I found some helpful advice on Sew Mama Sew!
--Foam--you can decide on the thickness you want, but I used the skinniest foam Joanns' had (I believe it was 1/2" thick?)

General instructions:

1. Lay your original high chair cover on butcher paper and trace in two parts. Trace the seat as a separate piece and the back as a separate piece. You don't need to include a seam allowance when you trace.
2. Lay the pattern pieces down on your oilcloth and cut two of each pattern piece (two backs and two seats)
3. Cut one piece of foam for the back, making it about 1/2 inch smaller all the way around (this way you are not forcing your sewing machine to stitch through the binding, two layers of oilcloth AND the foam!) and one piece of foam for the seat (same thing, smaller all the way around). Use your original seat cover as a guide for the foam. For example, on mine the flaps where the child's legs stick out of the high chair didn't have any foam in them, so I cut that part off of the foam piece
4. Lay out your stacked layers on the floor---oilcloth, foam, oilcloth. Cut off any excess you see (or where they don't match up quite right)
5. Pin the bias tape to your layers. I did a section at a time, leaving the top of the seat and the bottom of the back piece raw. You will be sewing these two parts together later.
   
6. Use a zig zag stitch (very forgiving in case straight lines are not your forte) to sew close to the inside edges of the bias tape.
7. Sew the bias tape all around the back and seat pieces (leaving the aforementioned edges alone-hopefully this part makes sense as I don't have a picture of it).
8. Once the bias tape is sewn on, you only have one seam left!! Put right sides together (the right sides are the sides that you want to show when the cover is in the high chair). Match up the seat and back piece along the raw edges and use a straight stitch to make a seam.
9. Voila! Completely unique and custom high chair cover!!
   

Let me know if you have any questions!! I'll answer them as best as I can!

Escape

As Jakson was trying to scale the cinder block fence (we're high class here in AZ), in an attempt to run away today---because I am THAT mean--he fell off the industrial sized city issued garbage can onto his face.

Well, that's what you get.

The polls are in

The rest of you, as Katy would say, have all been nexted.

Something happened a little over one year ago that changed the fate of all of Jakson's aunts and uncles.He walked off a plane. And Jakson fell in love.
Jak cried when we arrived home and he realized that Tyler was not following in a car behind.
He tried to throw himself into the street.
Fortunately, we saved him.
And assurances were made that he would see Tyler in May.

You best not disappoint.

I just want you to know that in order to achieve this status, Tyler not only played chase and tackle non-stop with Jak, but had to sleep in the same bed with him for three consecutive nights (something this child's mother has not even done!!), which entailed dealing with his water breaks at 2 AM, screaming nightmares and kicking legs. Tyler is a saint.

Pack it in

Before I get to my menu this week, I have a confession. Last week's menu example was just that, an example. We actually didn't really follow it at all because we left to Vegas on Thursday. I just wanted you to see how a menu could coincide with the items on sale. I needed to let you all know so you don't think we eat the same exact things over and over every week. In other words, some of the dinners from last week, you will see again.

Menu plan this week-click on links for recipes:
Monday: Hamburgers
What I need to buy: tomatoes, buns

Tuesday: Pasta Farfalle
What I need to buy: Parm. cheese (Sargento cheese is on sale and I have a coupon-$1.50), vegetable

Wednesday: Sausage breakfast burritos
What I need to buy: nothing

Thursday: Chicken Tacos-I use this recipe, with chicken instead of fish
What I need to buy: cilantro

Friday: Ritz chicken
What I need to buy: vegetable side

Saturday: Lone Star Fondue
What I need to buy: chips, green onions

Sunday: Crock Pot chicken/salsa/cream cheese
What I need: salsa

ANOTHER DEAL ON DIAPERS THIS WEEK!! At the Albertson's here in AZ (not sure about everywhere else), Huggies Jumbo packs are on sale for $6.99. If you use the printables that I blogged about last week, that makes the Natural Fit diapers $3.99 and the Gentle Care (up to size 2) only $1.99!!! Get coupons here. You can print each coupon off twice.

And as promised---where does all that food go?

Here are some creative food storage ideas (for all those groceries you buy with coupons!) from creative and organized friends (and a few that I wish I could be friends with)....

Make space under beds-or even build your own!!
Looks like a normal loft bed...But it's really hiding a stash of food!Read more about this awesome DIY project from my friend Marcie here. I've also seen people add rolling Tupperware type containers under their beds and put the new cans (or boxes of food) in one side and take them out the other-that way the food is getting rotated.

Put up extra shelves in bathrooms or laundry rooms.
Shenna had her husband hang shelves above her washer and dryer to hold food and household items she has stocked up on. You can do something similar ANYWHERE you have extra wall space. We have a cabinet in our guest bathroom (we bought it in the As-is section of IKEA for about $5) where we store our extra bleach, sugar, flour and such.Build rotating can storage
Jayce gives instructions for creating your own rolling can storage for about $60. You could change the dimensions to accommodate the type of cans you are buying.Food Storage Made Easy has a great tutorial and printable directions for creating the same thing on a smaller scale---and from cardboard!! This is on my list of things to do. You can see them being used in the pantry below...The ladies at Food Storage Made Easy have also created a PDF full of creative food storage solutions divided according to room. There are a lot of ideas that have never occurred to me (making footstools and end tables out of food?!?) and great ways to store in small spaces. Click here to download the PDF.

Hope that helps out-and as always, let me know if you have questions or other storage ideas--I'd love to see them!!

Record Keeping

Jakson at 35 months

1. Still loves cheese best of all
2. Second favorite food? Fries
3. Thinks that every time we pass a Chick-Fil-A, we should stop and get fries
4. Will only drink water and milk-refuses juice or any other kind of beverage
5. Is a "Bobby's" boy
6. Says names of people spontaneously, without having to be asked, "Who is that?"
7. His favorite book is If the Walls Could Talk-a non-fiction picture book about the Presidents. We've read it to him twice a day for the last week or so.
8. Sings along to Primary songs
9. Is obsessed with the ABCs-likes to point them out on signs when we are driving and randomly breaks out in the alphabet song
   
10. Imitates car alarms and microwave timers
    
11. Suffers from extreme separation anxiety
12. Said "crud" for the first time this week (repeating his father)
13. Loves his Uncle Tyler

Storey at 7 months

1. Thinks it is funny when her brother tickles her
2. Loves people to look at her
3. Smiles at everyone
4. Eats lint, peas, and shoes
5. Has an incredibly long tongue
6. Is nicknamed the Book (by her father)
   
7. Likes to chase plastic balls around the house
8. Uses anything sturdy (and sometimes not) to stand
9. Sleeps through the night
10. Growls a lot
    
11. Always poops in the morning
12. Kicks excitedly when she sees food
13. Cried (like screamed) when she saw Uncle Tyler
    

First day of (tot) school

My GAM this month is to get school type activities started for Jakson. I am in hopes that it will help with his behavior (bored=naughty) and challenge him to continue learning at the rate that he has been the past few months.

I really loved the idea of putting together tray activities, like centers, that he gets to choose from. The trays that I ordered from Oriental Trading Company arrived, so I decided to experiment today.

Tray One: playdough and cookie cutters-I made the playdough. I like it so much better than store bought playdough-I think it is softer and easier for a toddler to manipulate. The recipe calls for Koolaid but I used regular food coloring instead--Jakson is already too tempted to eat it without it smelling good.

Tray Two: Transferring large craft pom poms into ice cube trays with tongs

Tray Three: Foam cubes for flower arranging and pipe cleaners for making sculptures (doesn't make sense? see pictures below)

Tray Four: Stickers and construction paper

Tray Five: Apple prints with paint

Tray Six: A-Alligator coloring page and crayons. Jakson already knows his letters, but I like these sheets for review and he loves to say "A, Alligator!!" so I thought it would be appropriate.
Things Jakson liked:

• He loved picking up the pom poms with the tongs and putting them into the little holes of the ice cube tray. He actually spent about 15 minutes doing this one activity (that's a long time for him!)
• The stickers and construction paper were also a big hit
• Sticking the pipe cleaners into the foam was a little hard for him at first, but he thought this was fun once he got the hang of it. Unfortunately, he also thought it was lots of fun to tear the foam into little tiny pieces leaving a big mess.

Jakson's favorite pipe cleaner activity? Making bracelets. Zak would be so proud.

Things that I will change for next time:

• Apparently coloring is so last year. I'll have to come up with another way to review the alphabet with him.
• Apple prints are probably cool with an older kid, but he just wanted to finger paint. So next time I'll leave out the apples.
• The foam needs to be less destructible. But it has to be pretty easy to stick pipe cleaners in. That may be a tough one.
  

I need to take some better pictures, but his school/art corner in our kitchen is now complete. I made the table out of stuff we had around the house (like a step ladder and the top of an old coffee table), had Zak put up some leftover pegboard from a garage project (for displaying Jak's favorite art), and slipcovered a few plastic crates because I have to stare at them all the time. The total for the whole project was like $5. I'm excited to get a lot of use out of it!

If you're interested in the crate slipcovers, I modified a pattern found here (though the measurements didn't work for these because they are so much smaller) or I have them for sale in the shop.

I eat my feelings

When I was single (or even married, no toddler) I wasn't this way, but I have noticed lately that when I get stressed/frustrated/annoyed beyond my capacity to deal with it, I start to eat. And normally I don't buy snack food because I don't want that kind of temptation in my house.

But this week, I have found ways around that.

BTW-I realize this post includes revealing depictions of my severely lacking parenting skills. Feel free to judge, just don't tell me. It may drive me to eat the whole pan of chocolate revel bars. I don't BUY junk food. I just keep around the ingredients to BAKE it.

Case in point:
Jakson wakes up. I ask him what he wants to eat for breakfast. He grunts and slams himself against the fridge door a whole bunch of times. Unfortunately, this is not a sign for anything that I understand, so I get out the oatmeal and ask if he would like some. Apparently, this is the wrong question because he runs at me, head down, full speed like a bull. He is sent to time out.

I grab a handful of M and Ms left out on the counter from this recipe, and watch him in time out as I eat them.

Later, (about 10 minutes) after he has eaten Dino Nuggets for breakfast (yes, this is what the child chooses for breakfast), I let him watch a little TV. I head into the kitchen to get myself some breakfast (read: something healthy), but before I can reach my destination, Jakson kicks Storey in the head. She starts hollering, he finds himself in time out again.

I realize I'm not going to have time for a real breakfast, so I grab those two cake mix cookies that Holly left at my house and eat them instead.

After Curious George, I inform Jak that it is time to turn the TV off and get dressed. Of course, this news is met with unhappiness in the form of throwing himself on the floor and writhing around in invisible pain.

I let him writhe while I eat the rest of the leftover M&Ms (hey-there weren't THAT many!).

Once everyone is dressed, the morning continues without incident. That is, until nap time.

Jakson NEEDS a nap, but he doesn't want to take one. He throws a huge fit, so I shut the door and let him get it out of his system.

Where is that piece of pie?

break it down now

It's been fun getting emails and comments from many of you expressing your desire to start using coupons and saving money on your groceries. As the Kiwis say-Good on ya!

It may be a little discouraging at first when trying to lower your bill and only seeing a couple of dollars here or there, but that is where the ever so important stockpiling (or in LDS lingo-food storage) comes into play. My grocery budget is low now because I have many of the ingredients I use a lot already in my pantry, stocked up during weeks that it was on sale.

When I first started using coupons, my bill was probably $15 to $20 more because I didn't have a lot of items stored up. As soon as you get a small stockpile, you'll start to see your bill naturally go down. For example, on my list this week, I have 10 boxes of cereal. They are on sale at Safeway and I have coupons, so I'm stocking up. Now I don't have to buy cereal again for a long time. Breakfast is taken care of (and I have good storage-that's for you Holly!).

Here's an example of a menu plan that follows what is on sale at Safeway (they are having better sales on what I need) this week . Click on each meal to see recipe (all of these are delicious recipes!!).

M: Ritz Chicken/Broccoli
What I have: chicken, Ritz crackers
What I need: Broccoli (.50/lb at Sprouts-can price match at Walmart, but Sprouts is a small store and I don't mind going with the kids)

T: Pasta Farfalle/Zucchini
What I have: diced tomatoes
What I need: pasta-1.00, cream-1.99, zucchini-.88/lb (Sprouts)

W: Italian Sausage and Penne in the crockpot
What I have: penne, spaghetti sauce
What I need: red pepper-.50, sausage (Hillshire Farm, with coupon 1.75)

Th: Spaghetti with meat/leftover vegetable
What I have: noodles, sauce
What I need: ground beef (purchasing with rain check from Albertson's for .99/lb-$10 total)

Friday: Hamburgers
What I have: ground beef
What I need: hamburger buns-1.50

Saturday: Chicken Crescent Rollup-scroll down to the very bottom for recipe
What I have: chicken, crescents, cream cheese
What I need: green onions-.50

Sunday: leftovers

Total for meals (including 10 lbs of ground beef): ~$20

Other items:
Lucerne Milk-2 gallons-1.57 each
No Yolks Noodles-with printable coupon(you can print it twice)-2 packs-.25 each
Hillshire Sausage (coupon is for 2)-1.75
bananas-1.50
grapes for freezing-.88/lb
cereal (read below how this deal works)-6.50 total for 10 boxes

Estimated Total: ~34

Hints: Safeway has a deal for $5 off when you buy 5 participating products. Includes:
Honeycomb
Life
Lucky Charms
Raisin Bran
Corn Flakes

There are two coupons for Lucky Charms (here and here) and you can print them both off twice. If you are a Mac user open the coupons in Safari instead of Firefox. The coupon generator won't print coupons from Firefox! That gives you four of the five cereals and then if you have another coupon or want to just purchase one of the others, it is still a good deal. It makes each box of Lucky Charms .99.

Deal for moms of kids in diapers at Walgreens:
Buy $25 in participating Kimberly Clark products get $10 RR at checkout (RR= kind of like Walgreen gift card)

One way to take advantage of the deal:
Print 2 $3 off coupons-buy 2 packages Huggies Natural Fit Diapers-$7 each
Print 1 $5 off coupon- buy 1 package Gentle Care Diapers-$5
Total: $19 and then -$10 RR= $9 for 3 packages of diapers
You can also fill out this Caregiver Rebate Form to get an extra .75 off each package!!

If you have a younger baby you can print 2 $5 off coupons and your total would come to only $7 for three packages!

One more deal-couldn't leave this one out because it's from Target and I LOVE Target!!
At Target you can use a Target coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. Sometimes you can get great prices on items because of it!

This week there is a coupon for Mott's applesauce (6 pack) and a printable manufacturer's coupon bringing the grand total for a 6 pack of Mott's to 22 cents!! You can only use one Target coupon per transaction, but you can always make a couple of trips this week!!

Hope this wasn't overwhelming (or boring)-just wanted to give you a little taste of how the menu planning with sales works. As always, let me know if you have questions!! I'm happy to help!! Happy Saving!

You're drooling again

This is what happens when you drool on a red pencil leftover from days of grading.

Discipline Attempt #209483457

Tonight we are regressing to Jakson's tenth month of life, the last time that he was having sleep issues, and trying the pick up put down method (probably not the technical term) that The Baby Whisperer advises using. Basically with a toddler, every time he gets out of bed you walk him back to bed without speaking or any eye contact.

Classroom management lingo would be: not reinforcing negative behavior.

We came to this decision about 5 minutes ago. Zak is currently walking upstairs to put him back in bed for the third time.

Only 323 times to go.

Aw shucks....

Throwing out the pity card works! Man, if I would have only known this secret earlier. I'm totally trying it on Zak when he gets home from work. I need a back rub.

Since you are all so nice and in a pitying mood, I've decided that I should make up for the fact that I never actually did pay it forward last time (remember? that's why you all feel sorry for me in the first place) and this time I signed up to get fun things from TWO of my friends (I was feeling rather greedy and spontaneous), so that's 3+3+3=9.

I owe 9 pay it forwards. Just call me Veruca Salt.

Let's do the math. I have 6 already (from comments on the previous post), so if there happen to be 3 more people that want in, leave a comment on this post or the last one. And then, send me your mailing address--bethanycr(at)gmail(dot)com or use the link on the sidebar. I can't promise that it will be shipped out next week (let's be honest, maybe not even next month), but isn't fun to get surprises in the mail?

Thanks to you, tonight I won't cry myself to sleep because I know that at least six people want something free and love America.

Pity Comments

There's a popular blog post going around with the title Pay it Forward. You may have seen it, you may have even signed up...

About a year ago it was making its way through the blogs as well. I signed up, posted the forward portion and waited for the comments to roll in.

And waited.

And waited.

It is slightly humiliating to admit that no one signed up to receive something from me. Not. one. person. I thought about reposting it, but I'm no masochist.

So, when my friends started posting recently with promises of a handmade gift in exchange for a comment it was tempting...but I held out to save my ego. I tried to resist forever, but there were so many and I just couldn't help myself.

This time though, I'm taking a different approach....I'm making you feel sorry for me so then you'll comment and I won't look like an idiot....again.

Here are the rules: The first three people to pity comment on this post get a handmade gift from me. Might be a flower headband, something for the kids, an apron...the possibilities are endless. THE CATCH: You must be willing to "pay it forward" yourself either by doing the same thing on your blog or, if you don't want to send a gift, you can also do service for three people, take cookies to three neighbors, etc. It's up to you how you pay it forward.

Comment to keep me from crying myself to sleep. Comment to keep me sane. Comment to get something free. Comment because you love America.

Hey, whatever it takes.

A little more

All this for $60!!

I guess I left people hanging last week with my post about our weekly food budget because I received a plethora of comments/emails asking about the way that our family saves money.

So here are a few of the ways that we save. Disclaimer: I am NO expert!! There are many many bloggers out there who are much better at this, but I do it shopping with two small (and crazy) kids and limited time:

• Join Vocalpoint- easy and free to sign up, I get a mailer from Vocalpoint 1-2 times a month. Sometimes they include dumb things I don't care about (like a magnet for my fridge), but most of the time I receive samples (I got a Venus razor in December) or fabulous coupons!! For example, in January, I was sent coupons for $1.00 off pouch tuna. Last week Albertson's had their pouch tuna on sale for $1, so I was able to use those coupons (along with some B1G1 FREE coupons from the newspaper) and ended up paying less than $5 for 12 pouches of tuna. Great for food storage and the occasional tuna sandwich (I guess I could use these for tuna casserole as well, but I'm not a big fan).



• Stock pile-Meat is usually the most expensive part of a meal. I never ever ever buy meat unless it is on sale. Some weeks, I will spend a lot of my $35 on meat, but other weeks I don't buy any and have the extra money to purchase other ingredients that are on sale for meals we normally eat. We purchased a deep freeze last year on Craigslist so that we have room frozen meat.
  



• USE COUPONS!!! I really cannot stress this enough. Anyone I know that saves on their groceries collects and uses coupons on a regular basis. We get two Sunday newspapers so that I have double the coupons to use on items. This week I will be getting 2 Aquafresh tubes of toothpaste for free because I have two coupons from the same Sunday.



• Online resources-I use the Grocery Game , but I know others that have success with Coupon Sense as well. Using one of these programs is worth the money because it saves you time and they know a lot of the insider info that I don't. For instance, the Grocery Game told me a couple of weeks ago that a particular marinade was on clearance and there was a coupon that matched it. Without GG I would not have known because it wasn't advertised in the flier and I would have missed out on a good deal.



• Don't buy things just because they are cheap. Free, yes. Cheap, no. If it is not something your family will eat (even if they were starving) don't buy it. Something might be 50 cents, but if it will just rot on your shelf than you are better off spending your money elsewhere.
  



• Get your family involved. Zak sees the money that I save and is as excited about coupons as I am. I enlist his help cutting coupons and meal planning---in fact, as I am typing this he is cutting out last Sunday's coupons. This makes the job easier for you because it is shared. Older children can be involved too-cutting coupons, or even trying to plan meals that are within your weekly budget-a great real-world math lesson!!



• I do not include formula, diapers or wipes in my grocery budget. Toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. , yes. Baby stuff, no.



• Learn to spot a good price. Just because the sale is 10 for $10 doesn't mean that is cheap. I know that buying cereal at 2 for $5 is not a great deal because every so often it will go for 4/$5 and then I stock up. As you look at prices more and more, you will be able to recognize good deals.
  



• Never pay more than 50 cents for toothpaste. EVER. If you are using coupons you should not be paying much for your toiletries.



• Pay attention to the in store promotions. Often grocery stores will have themed promotions (like if you buy certain items you'll get a set amount of money off your final bill--use these to your advantage. Usually there will also be coupons that line up with items in the promotion. That is one of the reasons that I was able to get such a great deal on the products in the photo at the top. There were two in-store promotions going on, so even before coupons, I started out with $10 off.
  

Hopefully all of this info doesn't seem too overwhelming. I was going to divide all of it into a couple of different blog posts, but I worried that some of you might want it all at once so you can get started. If it's too much at once, just read a couple of the bullets per day for a week.

Couponing is really just a habit and once you get into a routine, it is pretty easy/quick to do. It makes your actual grocery shopping trip so much faster because you are shopping from a list.

The initial set up for your coupon organization, etc is the hardest part, but don't let it discourage you!!

You can do it and you WILL save TONS of money.
Looking back, I have no idea how I ever shopped without coupons!!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or comment below.

**BTW-Wanted to clarify that the $60 I spent on the photo at the top was actually 2 weeks worth of budget because it was right after we got back from the cruise and we had been staying at my parents/on the ship. Just didn't want you to think that I can't practice what I preach :)