Not Me Monday

Taking the lead from MckMama of My Charming Kids, this is my first "Not Me Monday" post. It's meant to be a cute spin on funny or embarrassing things that you may have done but don't really want to own up to. So hear goes:

I've been fighting a head cold all week long and medicating myself to get through the days. This is true. But I most certainly did not take a drug induced nap while my two precious boys watched a video marathon! And I did not wake up to find my oldest had wet his pants and my youngest had poop in his diaper for who knows how long! Not me!

I had a wonderful time helping AJ with his valentines for school and I made a special homemade treat for his class party. This is true. But I would never take candy from a child, especially if it were an ENORMOUS chocolate bar to melt and drizzle over strawberries and eat it myself! No, not me! Who gives a preschooler a KING SIZE chocolate bar anyway????

On Valentines Day, a day that is supposed to be romantic and spent with those you love, I did not stay in bed all afternoon napping in my sweatpants and surrounded by Kleenex. Not me! (Thanks, Honey, for keeping the boys quietly entertained so I could get some much needed rest.)

And since I wasn't feeling well and barely able to keep up with the basic needs of our family, I wasn't a bad daughter and granddaughter by not having the boys make Valentines for their grandparents. My apologies Grandparents and Great-Grandparents! We will make up for that one! We love you!

I guess the worst one of all is that I'm not ready to celebrate OUR birthday tomorrow because I did not wait until the weekend to get my twin sister a birthday card. And because it didn't occur to me that this "Not Me Monday" is a federal holiday, she won't receive her gift from me until days after OUR special day! You won't hold it against me. Will you Sis??? Love You!

So that's my week. I am feeling better and starting to get caught up on things I let go this last week. If you have any "Not Me" moments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. Have a good week!

Drugstore Deals

I'm new to the drugstore coupon game, but I got some great deals today and thought I would share. In case you didn't know about Walgreens and the EasySaver rebate program, Register Rewards, and store coupon & manufacturer coupon stacking policy, I'm here to tell you that you can save a bundle with a little research & coupon clipping. Today I purchased the following:

2 rolls Bounty Basic Paper Towels for $.64 each
12 rolls Scott's TP for $5.99
5 Assorted Cleaning Products for $.50 each (after rebate)
2 cans Progresso Soup for $.15 each
2 Quaker Instant Oatmeal for $1.50 each (after rebate)
Walgreens brand contact lens solution (free after rebate)
Revlon Lip Gloss (free after rebate)
Gillette Fusion razor (free after coupons & RR)
2 Sunday papers

I bought $61 worth of products and spent only $15.14 out of pocket after my coupons and gift card (from a prescription transfer). Then I'll turn in rebates totaling $17, so my trip today will end up totally free! I'm pretty excited about that! Let me know if this sparks an interest for you.

My New Love

I have a new love in my life. My sweetie J hasn't been totally replaced, but he definitely has competition! My new love is a machine. Now don't think I'm being dirty!!! My new love is actually the opposite of all things dirty.

This is my new love. Super capacity, high efficiency, front loading washer & dryer. I did four mega-loads of laundry today in 4.5 hours! I tell you, I'm in LOVE!!!

Now I understand why Shelly said her set "changed her life" and why Leanne has been seen hugging hers!


The boys had a blast playing in one of the boxes. They turned it into their new house complete with windows. Still a little decorating left to do, but they have colored all over it.

Winter Surprises

We are three days into an ice storm that has me couped up in the house with two active boys. Keeping them entertained and not fighting can be a challenge when we don't have the option of getting outside. School has been cancelled for two days and will be closed again tomorrow. I was thinking about posting something today about longing for warmer weather & looking forward to hot summer days spent at the pool. No doubt I have been getting irritated at our weather conditions & how it affects my life!

That is until I happened to glace at some artwork that AJ brought home from school a couple weeks ago.

In case you can't read what it says at the top, it is

"Thank you God for beautiful winter surprises! Amen"

Okay, I get it. Life isn't just about me! I can find things to praise God for even in the inconveniencies I encounter. Like the extra time I get to spend with the boys, their excitment of watching the sleet & snow fall, seeing icicles everywhere, the tracks they make in the snow.

Thank you God for beautiful winter surprises! Amen.

I Should've Known Better

I had good intentions. AJ needed some gloves to wear at recess. His class goes outside to play at school even if it’s cold outside. He had complained of cold hands to his teachers on a couple of occasions. So I asked AJ if he really wanted gloves and if he would wear them if he had some. He told me that he did want gloves: black gloves, with Spiderman, and this size (he held up his hands).

I had, in fact, recently seen Spiderman gloves several places in town. We had even purchased some gloves for the church’s “warm fuzzy” project last month. I was confident that we could find a pair of gloves for just a couple bucks. This could be a fun after school outing, I decided. WRONG!!!

We started out at the mall – I had seen “Spidey” gloves just two days prior at JCPenny – Sold out. A very nice manager lady even checked the stockroom for us after AJ explained to her in detail what he wanted. We checked other stores in the mall – no luck. Kohl’s didn’t have any. Every place we went had sold out of boys’ gloves or only had baby mittens. By the time we arrived at Target we were all tired and getting cranky. But lo and behold, they had gloves – Spiderman gloves, black Spiderman gloves!! AJ was really excited. I had him try them on and guess what, they were too big for his little hands.

He was fighting back tears and told me that he wanted to give up. I was fighting back my own tears seeing him so crushed. So we gave up on finding gloves that afternoon. It was time for an early dinner and early bedtime. Our unsuccessful search for gloves had left us all exhausted.

The next day after I dropped him off at school, I headed to one more place to look for gloves. A place AJ would not have wanted to go look for gloves for himself because he is a big 5½ year old. I went to Babies R Us. That’s right, the “baby store.” Immediately inside the front doors was a display of “clearance items” including hat & mitten sets. I put the quotation marks around the words clearance items because the markdowns at this store usually do not qualify as clearance in my (pocket) book.

But they had a set that would probably work. It had mittens instead of gloves, cost more than just a couple bucks, wasn’t black, nor did it have Spiderman. But I was willing to purchase them and thought if I put the right spin on the presentation, AJ just might find them acceptable. So I bought them and hid the "baby store" bag.

Does this picture say “Mission Accomplished”?

The mittens are almost too small. After all, AJ is a big 5½ year old and the mittens are a toddler size (he will never know). But they will work for the rest of winter. Next year we will be better prepared for cold weather. And I will think twice before taking the boys on an after school scavenger hunt for black Spiderman gloves in (insert AJ’s hand) this size.

Laura

The Perfect Saturday

Last Saturday was such a great day. We had record high temperatures for January. Short sleeves this time of year is a treat for my boys! A few of the highlights included baking cookies with the boys, playing outside in the backyard and grilling yummy chicken. I also got to have some solo “mommy time” shopping some after Christmas sales. Hobby Lobby 80% off made my day! We need more Saturdays like that!

I'm blogging now!

For a while I’ve thought, Wow! What an incredible way to keep in touch with family & friends. So I’m joining the blogging community. One thing I’ve learned in reading my friends’ blogs is that by reading their entries, I feel connected to them. But unless I leave a comment or communicate back to them, they don’t feel the same connection from me. Sooo (hint, hint) please leave a comment so I know you are reading. And to all my blogging friends: I promise to start leaving comments on your blogs as well.