This is one way to work the War on Terror...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/25/AR2008122500931.html
Today..
10 months ago
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
It finally happened
I hope everyone had the merriest of Christmases! We had a great time with all our family and our trips to and from Raleigh were pretty quick considering we have 3 small kids. I was able to see all my siblings, which was nice. They seem happy and doing well. Mom and Dad were generous to host us as usual-- there are a lot of us and they do watch the kids, so Ashley and I can hit the after Christmas sales. We always buy wrapping paper, tape, tissue paper and tags for next year! It save money...
Anyways on the way home Hannah had $20 burning a hole in her little pockets. She wanted more webkinz --although she received 4 for Christmas. So, we decided to stop at KB toys at Concord Mills because we had heard that they were going out of business. By the way DON'T GO THERE! It was a mad house and there was nothing good left... Anyways... as we were getting the kids in the car to leave and Ashley was putting the double stroller away he smooshed his finger in the stroller and not thinking calls out, "dammit." Now Ashley doesn't swear very often, but he does use the occasional swear word when things go wrong. I have been warning him for a long time that the kids were going to hear him and use his FUN words, but he still slips up now and again. So, immediately after he says dammit, Hannah trying to get into her seat belt screams out, "dammit! dammit!" I had to laugh-- Ashley was furious and told Hannah not to use that word and that he said it by accident. She then said it again for emphasis... I had to hide I was laughing so hard and I didn't want any of the children to see me. Ashley's only comment to me when we got into the front seat was, "Are you happy?" (He was smiling a little :) I hope he can forgive me for this post, but it was funny and kids will repeat anything-- I am honestly surprised that this is the first time she has used a choice word. Various family members have sworn around my kids before (no offense anyone--I know that sometimes they just come out). Hopefully Hannah won't use any "fun" words in school like my younger brother Shane did. In kindergarten he turned to his teacher as she passed out worksheets and said, "not this damn sheet again!" Too funny!!!
Anyways on the way home Hannah had $20 burning a hole in her little pockets. She wanted more webkinz --although she received 4 for Christmas. So, we decided to stop at KB toys at Concord Mills because we had heard that they were going out of business. By the way DON'T GO THERE! It was a mad house and there was nothing good left... Anyways... as we were getting the kids in the car to leave and Ashley was putting the double stroller away he smooshed his finger in the stroller and not thinking calls out, "dammit." Now Ashley doesn't swear very often, but he does use the occasional swear word when things go wrong. I have been warning him for a long time that the kids were going to hear him and use his FUN words, but he still slips up now and again. So, immediately after he says dammit, Hannah trying to get into her seat belt screams out, "dammit! dammit!" I had to laugh-- Ashley was furious and told Hannah not to use that word and that he said it by accident. She then said it again for emphasis... I had to hide I was laughing so hard and I didn't want any of the children to see me. Ashley's only comment to me when we got into the front seat was, "Are you happy?" (He was smiling a little :) I hope he can forgive me for this post, but it was funny and kids will repeat anything-- I am honestly surprised that this is the first time she has used a choice word. Various family members have sworn around my kids before (no offense anyone--I know that sometimes they just come out). Hopefully Hannah won't use any "fun" words in school like my younger brother Shane did. In kindergarten he turned to his teacher as she passed out worksheets and said, "not this damn sheet again!" Too funny!!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Eve of Christmas Eve
I am exhausted from all the holidaying and just getting ready for the big day. I still have food to prepare (and cook in the morning-- although Ashley does more than me!) and some presents to wrap. Overall though we are ready for "the big show" (any Elf fans out there? I can quote most of the movie! It is my favorite funny Christmas movie--Hannah and I quote it to each other.) Making and delivering cookies has worn me out, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I had to bribe the girls to go deliver the cookies with me by offering a movie! But, they enjoyed going because our last stop was at a friend's house and we went in to go to the bathroom and just didn't leave! They played and I ran my mouth for about an hour and an half-- something fun for all of us!
Yesterday was CVS day and I made out like a bandit (I almost feel guilty!), but some things just weren't in stock, so I asked for rainchecks and I will have to hope for the best when I go back. I bought 2 Loreal eyeshadows, 2 bottles of Sally Hansen nail polish, 1 package of Benefiber (I figure maybe mom or dad need it-- ha ha), 1 package of Zantac (great for pregnancy), 1 package of Exceterin (did I spell that right?), 5 listerines, 1 Right Guard, 2 bags of M&Ms, a tube of lip balm, an energy bar and some energy drinks all for under $3! Yep! CVS ROCKS! I saved over $50! Now I need to give Cadi, my Gambian (a country somewhere in Africa-- I am not great with geography!) stalker, some red nail polish for Christmas (if you don't know about her I will explain in a later post!) She keeps coming up to the door asking for nail polish! I also received my GUM coupons in the mail from ebay (I paid $3 for the lot including shipping), so now I have to get busy going to Harris Teeter to redeem all of them-- 20 in all. Let me know if you need a toothbrush--lol. They are good to have around at Christmas for packages to the troops and stuff-- But, I guess we will never run out of Listerine! I have thought about doing a mini-class on how I stretch my dollar, but would anyone really come?! Is it anything that most shoppers don't already know? And just because it works for me would it work for you and your family? And do you really want to spend the time and energy I do on shopping for deals? For me it is almost an addiction to see how much I can get for how little. I don't know. If you are interested in some of my cheapness tips let me know. It is from great cheap shoppers that I learned and gleaned so much! Ning, my next door neighbor, opened the world of CVS to me and I am so grateful. I have about 100 free Durecell batteries in my closet thanks to her! Kudos to Ning! So maybe I can pass on various tips from others and some I have found along the way--lol! Have a wonderful Eve of Christmas Eve and a more spiritual post on the morrow!
Yesterday was CVS day and I made out like a bandit (I almost feel guilty!), but some things just weren't in stock, so I asked for rainchecks and I will have to hope for the best when I go back. I bought 2 Loreal eyeshadows, 2 bottles of Sally Hansen nail polish, 1 package of Benefiber (I figure maybe mom or dad need it-- ha ha), 1 package of Zantac (great for pregnancy), 1 package of Exceterin (did I spell that right?), 5 listerines, 1 Right Guard, 2 bags of M&Ms, a tube of lip balm, an energy bar and some energy drinks all for under $3! Yep! CVS ROCKS! I saved over $50! Now I need to give Cadi, my Gambian (a country somewhere in Africa-- I am not great with geography!) stalker, some red nail polish for Christmas (if you don't know about her I will explain in a later post!) She keeps coming up to the door asking for nail polish! I also received my GUM coupons in the mail from ebay (I paid $3 for the lot including shipping), so now I have to get busy going to Harris Teeter to redeem all of them-- 20 in all. Let me know if you need a toothbrush--lol. They are good to have around at Christmas for packages to the troops and stuff-- But, I guess we will never run out of Listerine! I have thought about doing a mini-class on how I stretch my dollar, but would anyone really come?! Is it anything that most shoppers don't already know? And just because it works for me would it work for you and your family? And do you really want to spend the time and energy I do on shopping for deals? For me it is almost an addiction to see how much I can get for how little. I don't know. If you are interested in some of my cheapness tips let me know. It is from great cheap shoppers that I learned and gleaned so much! Ning, my next door neighbor, opened the world of CVS to me and I am so grateful. I have about 100 free Durecell batteries in my closet thanks to her! Kudos to Ning! So maybe I can pass on various tips from others and some I have found along the way--lol! Have a wonderful Eve of Christmas Eve and a more spiritual post on the morrow!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
My cheapness report for the week...
My cheapness report for the week comes from Harris Teeter. I have learned that if it is on sale at a good price you should get a raincheck at Harris Teeter for whatever you possibly can. So, I got a raincheck for Buy 2 get 3 Free Palermo's Pizzas at Harris Teeter a couple of weeks back (limit 10 pizzas altogether). They are a fairly good frozen pizza-- good size too and I had a $.75 coupon which was doubled ($1.50 off) for every pizza that was not considered free. So, I went in this week and the pizzas were Buy 1 get 1 Free. When HT does this the item becomes half off. So, I essentially bought 2 pizzas and got $1.50 off each pizza and received 8 free-- KABAM!!! They were each about $1.10 a pizza with tax-- usually $7.29 a pizza before tax. I will have to let you know how it goes at CVS next week. They have some awesome sales, BUT the sale starts on Sunday, so I have to go Monday (that whole keep the Sabbath Holy thing :) We will see how I fair-- I'll make a full report-- lol!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Christmas in Hilton Head
Can I just say that I really need some tutoring on how to move pictures and put things on my blog! I try to hard and it becomes a mess!!!! Anyways here are the pictures. I keep posting them on my blog and the captions come out wrong! So, I will just label everything here...
Ashley and me!
Next is Ashley with Graham (Dad to Sammy and husband to Shanna) and Jim (the sexy, single brother).
Then Brandon (cousin) and Bettye (aunt) showing off their grotesque, long tongues! (Look out Kiss!)
Here is Ellie at her dolled up best-- she loves dress up and Riley trying to ride her new car toy! We didn't even get it out of the box yet! Here is Hannah and Carlyle with their webkinz patiently waiting for more gifts. And last is Shanna and Sammy-- Mom, I have seen it all before!
We spent last weekend celebrating Christmas with
Ashley's extended family in Hilton Head, SC.
This is a family tradition and we have done it every year
but one because of me being sick.
Actually until recently the party was held in Florence, SC
where Ashley's very young grandmother used to live.
But, about 4 years back she moved to Hilton Head to sew her wild oats (just
kidding Granny!), thus
moving the party to that area.
We made great time for 3 kids and a pregnant lady
and we arrived in time for a late dinner before going to Ashley's Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Darryl's home on the other side of the island.
About 20 minutes after we arrived Ashley calls me to the
bathroom with some urgency... Hannah had thrown up! What a way to start a trip
AND with my yakking issues!
We cleaned her up and she did get sick a couple more times that evening, but
fell asleep and woke up hungry (she ate bacon!) the next morning!
No fever-- no nothing else. So far (knock on wood) no one else has had it, so I'm
hoping it was just something she ate!
Anyways... it turned out to be fun weekend and I am glad that we did not go home. I want to thank Ashley's aunt and uncle for their
incredible hospitality in letting us stay in their beautiful, movie star home. I was
terrified that the kids were going to break something as I am in most homes
that do not have children living in them day to day-- but we made it through with
Ashley the only one breaking anything. I can't take him anywhere!
Everyone in the family was so gracious and we really had a great time!
Hannah and Ellie had the most wonderful time with their second cousin
Carlyle. She is all they can talk about! They are the only grandkids on
my side of the family and Ashley's brother has one little boy who is almost three. They
are expecting their second in July! So, it is nice for the girls to have
a girl their age to play with! Here are some pics that
JEEYUM, Ashley's single, hot, younger brother, took!
(Any ladies out there looking for romance-- I'll hook you up!)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cheap, Cheap, CHEAP!!
Okay it is crazy to do 2 posts in one day, but I have 2 very different things on my mind, so I need different posts. I have a confession to make-- I am addicted to all things cheap. It is almost like a game for me sometimes-- to see how much money I can save and how cheap I can get something. Here are a few examples of my cheapness:
1. Buying my kids gifts at yard sales-- they are too little to care and people get rid of stuff that looks new! I also buy all my books used. We have a great kid's library at my house!
2. Buying most of my kids clothes at yard sales. I do buy a few things at the store for Hannah, because it gets harder and harder to find her clothing at yard sales, but it is always on sale-- cheap! I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty because there will be 3 other girls for her to pass things on to, but knowing how cheap I can find things spending more than $2 for something used or $4 for something new is outrageous to me!
3. I LOVE triple coupons! Seeing the words makes my heart flutter! Today I went to triple coupons at Bloom and spent $8.32 for 25 items. My total savings were $51.20. Most of what I bought with a coupon tripled was free-- I did splurge and pay $1.50 for Breyers ice cream and $1.35 for cinnamon rolls for the kids, but that was about it. I LOVE triple coupons (and I still have a ton of good coupons left!)
4. Looking for good grocery deals in general. Did you know that Harris Teeter has AWESOME buy 1 get 2 free and buy 2 get 3 free deals this week. You can buy Perdue fresh chicken breasts for b1g2f or Fresh Express Salad for b1g2f and I had a $. 75 off coupon for the salad that they will double! Look up the other deals on HarrisTeeter.com-- great offers!
5. Can anyone say CVS? I am so saddened that I didn't find the joy of CVS cash back bonuses before recently. Ning and the ladies on a website I visit helped me understand the joys of buying for free at CVS. Last week they had a battery special. I had a gift card for a transferred prescription (I do that a lot if I have a coupon). So, I went in and found coupons for $5 off any two packs of Duracell batteries (I should also add that the batteries were on sale from the regular price). If I spent $20 on batteries CVS would give me 15 EBCs (credit to use on anything but prescriptions in their store). So, I bought $23 worth of batteries used my 2/$5 coupons and some other random $.75 coupons I had and got 15 EBCs back to go buy more batteries. You could do the deal 3 times, so I ended up with close to 100 FREE batteries! I LOVE free. That is just one example of the many free things you can get at CVS!
6. I always go shopping right after a holiday and find things 50%, 75% and 90% off. If you go to Target about 6 days after Christmas everything is 75% off and about 2 days later they put everything 90% off. CVS is even better and will make everything 90% off just a few days after Christmas. You would be surprised at all the junk they have that make GREAT gifts on sale CHEAP!
7. My last tip for this post is that Target has 2 toy sales each year-- usually in July and January. When you see them put a bunch of toys on sale for 50% off then 75% is coming. I try to go to Target everyday up until it all goes 75% and then you can make out with some seriously cool toys for Christmas and birthdays that you paid nothing for.
So, there are some of my cheapness tips. I will pass on more with time. There are so many ways to be cheap-- I am still working on perfecting everything, so if you have some good tips to share please let me know! Happy Christmas shopping and may you NEVER pay full price!
1. Buying my kids gifts at yard sales-- they are too little to care and people get rid of stuff that looks new! I also buy all my books used. We have a great kid's library at my house!
2. Buying most of my kids clothes at yard sales. I do buy a few things at the store for Hannah, because it gets harder and harder to find her clothing at yard sales, but it is always on sale-- cheap! I guess I shouldn't feel too guilty because there will be 3 other girls for her to pass things on to, but knowing how cheap I can find things spending more than $2 for something used or $4 for something new is outrageous to me!
3. I LOVE triple coupons! Seeing the words makes my heart flutter! Today I went to triple coupons at Bloom and spent $8.32 for 25 items. My total savings were $51.20. Most of what I bought with a coupon tripled was free-- I did splurge and pay $1.50 for Breyers ice cream and $1.35 for cinnamon rolls for the kids, but that was about it. I LOVE triple coupons (and I still have a ton of good coupons left!)
4. Looking for good grocery deals in general. Did you know that Harris Teeter has AWESOME buy 1 get 2 free and buy 2 get 3 free deals this week. You can buy Perdue fresh chicken breasts for b1g2f or Fresh Express Salad for b1g2f and I had a $. 75 off coupon for the salad that they will double! Look up the other deals on HarrisTeeter.com-- great offers!
5. Can anyone say CVS? I am so saddened that I didn't find the joy of CVS cash back bonuses before recently. Ning and the ladies on a website I visit helped me understand the joys of buying for free at CVS. Last week they had a battery special. I had a gift card for a transferred prescription (I do that a lot if I have a coupon). So, I went in and found coupons for $5 off any two packs of Duracell batteries (I should also add that the batteries were on sale from the regular price). If I spent $20 on batteries CVS would give me 15 EBCs (credit to use on anything but prescriptions in their store). So, I bought $23 worth of batteries used my 2/$5 coupons and some other random $.75 coupons I had and got 15 EBCs back to go buy more batteries. You could do the deal 3 times, so I ended up with close to 100 FREE batteries! I LOVE free. That is just one example of the many free things you can get at CVS!
6. I always go shopping right after a holiday and find things 50%, 75% and 90% off. If you go to Target about 6 days after Christmas everything is 75% off and about 2 days later they put everything 90% off. CVS is even better and will make everything 90% off just a few days after Christmas. You would be surprised at all the junk they have that make GREAT gifts on sale CHEAP!
7. My last tip for this post is that Target has 2 toy sales each year-- usually in July and January. When you see them put a bunch of toys on sale for 50% off then 75% is coming. I try to go to Target everyday up until it all goes 75% and then you can make out with some seriously cool toys for Christmas and birthdays that you paid nothing for.
So, there are some of my cheapness tips. I will pass on more with time. There are so many ways to be cheap-- I am still working on perfecting everything, so if you have some good tips to share please let me know! Happy Christmas shopping and may you NEVER pay full price!
Appreciation
Can I just thank those few of you who read my blog!!! I really appreciate your kindness in listening to my rants and taking interest in pictures of my sweet little girls. It is just nice to express myself even if few are listening to what I have to say. So, thank you for your support! As some of you may know (and some may not) this has been a trying year for our family. It has probably the most trying time of my life and I know it has been difficult for Ashley. As Christmas approaches I have wanted to emphasize the importance of loving and helping others to my children. So, as part of that I have looked for free or very inexpensive ways to help those around us like: cookies, cards, small dollar store gifts or volunteering of time. This morning on Meridianmagazine.com I received an article about a wonderful organization and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. The name of the group is Reach the Children and the website is:
100% of your donations will go to the families and children helped by this organization. One of the things they do to help families is by fostering self reliance by helping them buy livestock such as cows and goats. The families can then use the money from the milk from these animals to buy seeds to start a garden and the animal waste to fertilize the plants. It is a wonderful program. Gifts can be as small as $4, so even children can participate and feel like they have given to someone who needs it. Here are some things that your money could buy a needy family in Africa:
Gift Amount
Your Gift Can Provide
$4
A mosquito net for one child
$5
A nurse's salary for one day at a clinic.
$6
A pair of shoes for a child
$15
One school uniform and pair of shoes for an orphan
$20
Two rabbits for a needy family
$25
Textbooks and a lantern for one student
$35
A mattress, sheet set, and blanket for an orphan
$50
A teacher's salary for two weeks
$60
Full immunizations for 6 children
$75
A goat for a needy family
$100
Supplies for a community garden to feed many families
$150
Vocational training for one student
$175
Funding for a micro-enterprise loan
$250
A fruit dryer for a family to start a commercial business
$325
A hand dug well
$350
A year of high school education for one student
$375
A sewing machine and fabric for vocational training
$475
A donkey or a dairy cow
$600
A teacher's salary for six months
$1,000
Stay Alive manuals to reach 10,000 families.
$1,300
Funding for a micro-enterprise association
$14,500
A water well for clean water to an entire community
$30,000
A community development center
Your Gift Can Provide
$4
A mosquito net for one child
$5
A nurse's salary for one day at a clinic.
$6
A pair of shoes for a child
$15
One school uniform and pair of shoes for an orphan
$20
Two rabbits for a needy family
$25
Textbooks and a lantern for one student
$35
A mattress, sheet set, and blanket for an orphan
$50
A teacher's salary for two weeks
$60
Full immunizations for 6 children
$75
A goat for a needy family
$100
Supplies for a community garden to feed many families
$150
Vocational training for one student
$175
Funding for a micro-enterprise loan
$250
A fruit dryer for a family to start a commercial business
$325
A hand dug well
$350
A year of high school education for one student
$375
A sewing machine and fabric for vocational training
$475
A donkey or a dairy cow
$600
A teacher's salary for six months
$1,000
Stay Alive manuals to reach 10,000 families.
$1,300
Funding for a micro-enterprise association
$14,500
A water well for clean water to an entire community
$30,000
A community development center
Thanks for listening and have a great day!!!
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