My "baby" is 2!

My little lady had a birthday yesterday so I decided to take her outside in a attempt to get an official birthday picture. Did you know that 2 year olds are active?!? I have more blurry photos than anything else because she didn't want to sit still for me. BUT I did manage to snap this little gem of her looking up at my into the breeze. It shows off her crazy wild curls and sweet face perfectly. So, I had to scrap it, of course.

The page can be seen with credits here.

Tomorrow we are having her birthday party here at the house which will be mostly family. So, today I will be cooking and cleaning to get ready.

Walgreens & CVS Deals

I just thought I would post how I did saving money at Walgreens and CVS last week.

WALGREENS
I didn't do quite at well as I did the time before, but I bought a lot more, including diapers which are a high dollar item even with a deal.

$163.10 Total before any savings

-5.65 WAG coupons (from Walgreen's weekly ad)
-16.50 Register Rebates earned from last visit
-24.72 MFG coupons
-44.20 WAG sales

$72.03 Total (that I paid) 56% Savings
-4.00 RR earned this visit
-25.97 ESR (Easy Saver Rebates earned)
-2.60 Bonus 10% rebate for putting on gift card

$39.46

TOTAL SAVINGS
$123.64
(76% savings)

CVS

$93.41 Total before sales

-17.11 CVS sales
-24.99 ECB (Extra Care Bucks) from previous visit
-14.79 MFG Coupons

$36.52 Total (that I paid) 61% Savings

-11.99 ECB earned

$24.53

TOTAL SAVINGS
$68.88
(74% Savings)

Baby Got Book

Our family was at a wedding reception a couple of weeks ago, when the DJ decided to play "Baby Got Back." You know what song I mean, right? It the "I like big butts" song. The only people out dancing were the 6 and under set and we somehow thought it was just plain wrong that our little ones were jamming and having so much fun to that song.

It's a shame the DJ didn't have a copy of this song instead. It is a hoot and far more appropriate.

Clean!

Last week I posted an embarrassing photo of my very messy hallway. I vowed before all y'all that I would have it clean and post a new photo within a week (which was last Monday). Now, I know that I am posting this late, but I did have it clean in time. I had guests over Sunday and the can testify that my hall was clean and clear. It has been a hectic week and I had trouble finding the time to take a photo and post it. But here it is...Ta Da...my hallway.

In case you forgot what I was up against here is the "before" photo:

I can't tell you how good it feels to have my hall back! I don't think it is realistic to try and tackle any big cleaning projects this week with how much I have on my plate right now. But I have been trying to do just a little each day. Even the little bits add up.

1st Dentist Visit

I had to take my littlest one to the dentist today. About a month ago I noticed that one of her teeth was turning gray. I can only assume that she bumped it. I called our pediatric dentist and they thought he should take a look at her. So, Rachel has the honor of being the youngest member of the family to go to the dentist.

Her tooth is in good shape, but it is discolored enough that the dentist thinks she has about a 50% chance it will "die" and need to be removed. We see him in a couple of months again and need to watch it.

Rachel's strong-willed personality reared its ugly head and she was NOT cooperative about having someone poke around her mouth. It took 2 nurses and me to hold her while the dentist checked what he needed to. Thank goodness, it didn't even phase him a bit when she kicked and screamed and he was very fast. A princess sticker and a Dora toothbrush seemed to make it all better. You can see her in this scrapbook page showing the toothbrush off to her brother. Her big sister, Abi, is quite jealous and demanded to know when she would get HER Dora toothbrush.

Credits for the page and the journaling can be found here.

Walgreens Deals

I have heard from many people that you can get some sweet bargains at Walgreens, but had been totally confused as to how their deals work. I was convinced, though, that I had to give it a try after reading a bit on Deal Seeking Mom's blog.

Originally, as I said, I was a bit confused as to how the Walgreens deals work because there are several types.
There are:

• Sales - weekly deals
• Walgreens coupons that come in their sale flyer. These can be used along with a manufacturer's coupon to stack the savings.
• Register Rebates (RR). Usually you buy so many particular items to earn a certain amount. These print out with your receipt and can be used like cash on your next Walgreen's purchase.
• Easy Saver Rebates (ESR) - These are rebates on specific items each month that Walgreens sponsors. You can claim these by mail or even online. If you take the option of getting your rebates on a Walgreens gift card, they give you an extra 10%. Each month there are several free after rebate items.

After discovering that Walgreens had a $10 off a purchase of $40 coupon that was good last Friday and Saturday, I thought it was time to get my feet wet and give the Walgreens deal shopping a try. I felt like a total novice, but armed with advice from the Deal Seeking Mom and my coupons, I set out.
I purchased a handful of items:

• Dimetap
• Shout
• Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber
• Revlon Nail Polish
• Chemistry Conditioner
• Crest Pro Health Mouthwash
• Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
• Walgreens Acid Control Tablets

Here's the breakdown:

Retail price total $58.80

Total after Walgreens sales: 52.10

Manufacturers coupons -10.25

Walgreens $10 off $40 -10.00

Total after coupons $31.85

RR earned -16.50

ESR to be earned -23.56

Extra 10% earned by putting this on a gift card -2.36

NET GAIN 10.57

Isn't that awesome! I am thinking that I am loving Walgreens. There were several ESR free after rebate deals that they were out of. I am hoping that Walgreens will get them in before the end of the month when the rebate period ends. I can't wait to see what kind of deals that I can get this week!

Just Released

This brand new CD put out by our friend, Doug Hood, has just been officially unveiled. More info about the CD can be found at this website.
Does that little girl on the cover look familiar? She should - that's my daughter, Abi. I was honored that Doug asked me to create the graphics for his CD once again. (I helped him out on his first album several years ago.) As I brainstormed ideas for the cover art, this photo came to mind. It seemed to be a perfect fit and Doug agreed.

I just received my copy of the CD and it is so fun to see the finished product! Be sure to check it out at the website. You can even listen to clips of the songs. Enjoy!

Happy International Chocolate Day

Did you realize that there even was an "International Chocolate Day"?


I was searching around the web trying to find the history behind this special holiday and discovered that there are a whole bunch of chocolate related holidays.
Here is a list from Extreme Chocolate:



May 12th: National Nutty Fudge Day

• May 15th: National Chocolate Chip Day



• June 16th: Fudge Day (in fact, all of June is considered the official "candy month")

July 7th: Chocolate Day

• July 28th: National Milk Chocolate Day


• August 10th: S'mores Day



• Sept. 13th: International Chocolate Day -- that's right, a worldwide celebration



• Sept. 22nd: National White Chocolate Day



• Oct. 28th: National Chocolate Day (How is this different from chocolate day on July 7th? Beats me! Celebrate them both anyway, though).



• Nov. 7th: National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day (yes, you read that right).



• Dec. 16th: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day



• Dec. 28th: National Chocolate Day (again)



• Dec. 29th: National Chocolate Day (again)

How fun! I am all for celebrating chocolate. The curious thing is that I cannot find any information on the origins of International Chocolate Day. I am not about to worry too much about such details when a holiday about chocolate is concerned.


So enjoy your chocolate, just make sure it is an international variety!





In honor of the day, I am giving away a freebie! This will have special appeal to all of you scrapbookers out there, but it has some really fun chocolate graphics that anyone would love for their creative projects. The little chocolate thoughts never fail to make me smile!



You can download the freebie Chocolate kit here.

I'm a Gallery Stand Out!

Just had to share...the Abigail page I posted yesterday was chosen as a Gallery Stand Out at DigiShopTalk. There are so many layouts posted at this site that most do not get much attention or many views. So, it is really cool when somebody takes the time to call attention to one and show it off.

The Eyes Have It

Even though I have plenty of other things to do, I got hit pretty hard with the scrappin' bug and took a little time out to create this page.

I discovered this photo sitting on my hard drive. My daughter, Elizabeth, took it a week or so ago. I loved what she captured in my 4 year old's eyes. I decided to colorize and tint it for this page. That is the actual color of Abi's eyes; I just erased the tinting there. That is also how I did the cheeks and the slight color in the dress. Credits for the scrapbook page can be found here, if you are interested.

Proof that I am an Organized Wannabee

I mentioned that I am an "organized wannabee." I desire being organized and having everything in its place. Proof of this is some of the blogs that I love to read (which I mentioned yesterday can be seen in my blogroll on the bottom of the right-hand column).

Here are a few that are great for organizational inspiration:

I am an Organizing Junkie

Simple Mom

Small Notebook

Simplify 101

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn Kids

Ok, those last two are not blog or informational sites, but I am always inspired by Pottery Barn's furniture for storage. The image above is from the Pottery Barn Kids site. I would love to deck out my home with fun storage pieces like this. Unfortunately, these are completely out of my budget. However I can use them for inspiration.

I just have to share a few inspirational images:

So, have fun and get organizationally inspired with me!

Have you noticed?

Have noticed that you can see what blogs I enjoy reading on a regular basis and see their latest post on my blogroll which is down at the bottom of the right column of my blog? I use this for myself to see at a glance if anyone has posted anything interesting. Check it out!

I am an Organized Wannabee

I have come to a self-discovery. I am an organized wannabee. So, what does this mean? I crave organization. I love the concept of everything having a place and everything in its place. BUT...My very nature is spontaneous. I wing things a lot. And I have a large eclectic variety of interests. All this is naturally very UNorganized and cluttered.


The Dilemma
Do I remain my spontaneous, curious, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants self? Or, do I give that up for an organized and planned out life? You see, I want it all. I want my feet on both sides of that fence. However, I am finding as I get older, and as my family gets larger, and the demands on my time grow, winging it can cause quite a bit of chaos. I am seeing that a bit of organization and planning of my time can be so freeing. If my day is planned out, I do not need to spend my mental energy on deciding what the next thing to do is. When I have an organized grocery list, my shopping goes much faster (and another bonus is that I usually spend less). When everything is in its place, I save so much time NOT have to search for something.


So, I am trying figure out a middle ground where I can have the best of both worlds. I want the stress relief that organization brings, but I want to freedom to change my plans on a whim because something came up whether it be a friend needs me, a fun opportunity presents itself, or even that it is just too nice of a day to be cooped up inside.


Clutter: Enemy #1
I think one of the biggest enemies of organization and a producer of stress is clutter. I shared in an earlier post that I believe I need to declare an all out war on clutter in this house. As Flylady would say, "You can't organize clutter." It is just too much work to do so.


Clutter is the stuff that surrounds us that produces stress. It is the piles of papers on our desks, the closets over-stuffed with clothes, the toys that overflow the toy chest and spill across the floor. When is it too much? I think that varies from person to person and household to household. When you can keep control over all the stuff around you and it begins to control you, there is too much.


I believe that when I am surrounded by physical clutter, my mind becomes cluttered, too. When things around me are clean and organized, it frees me up to think bigger thoughts and be more creative.


I have shared before that I have an a pack-rat and a saver of stuff by nature. I know that there are people out there on the opposite end of the spectrum who have no qualms about pitching and getting rid of nearly anything that isn't nailed down in their house. I just totally cannot relate - they are a mystery to me. Part of me will daydream about what it would be like to live organized and clutter-free...always knowing where everything is or being able to locate it at a moment's notice. It sounds so peaceful; so freeing.


My Plan
Well, I know that I will never be one of those pitch everything kind of people, but I do realized that I have to move a bit closer to the middle of the spectrum. So, I have vowed before God and all of you that I will be making an effort to clean out and declutter some every day. Even if it is just going through one drawer or one pile of papers, I will dispose of or donate something everyday.

Accountability Time
Ok, I am going to put my self out here and share something embarrassing.
Here is my upstairs hallway:

Sad, isn't it! We have been doing some rearranging of kids' bedrooms and in the process much of the toys and laundry found their way here. The toys are in need of some serious decluttering, so I didn't want to just put them directly into their new room homes. So, I am sharing this with you to hold myself accountable. I plan to share a photo of a clean, empty hallway within a week. Through this process I plan on having a box of toys to donate and bag of trash to throw away.

So keep watching the blog...

I LOVE a Great Bargain! (I am becoming the coupon queen!)

There is something about getting a great deal that just makes me so happy. It must be a bargain-hunter gene. I have always tried to be thrifty in my spending. Groceries can be a struggle, though. I have tried to do the coupon thing before. When I did it successfully, I spent several hours each week scouring all the local stores' ads and matching them to coupons. I even kept a price book.



What I found over time was that I was getting some great deals, but on things I probably wouldn't necessarily buy otherwise. I just had my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, and she was becoming a full-fledged eating toddler. I was very concerned with feeding her healthy and wasn't thrilled about all the packaged, processed foods that the deals and coupons got me. I decided that I would be better off saving my time that I spent couponing and just buy more staples and spend that time on cooking from scratch.



Fast forward a dozen years and 5 more growing children...my grocery bill is significantly larger and the budget is significantly tighter. I have looked into couponing on more than one occasion, but saving 50 cents on a name brand item really doesn't put you much ahead of just buying the store brand or making it from scratch. It doesn't really warrant the amount of time I would spend clipping and organizing the coupons.



Recently, I read a blog post by my online friend, Carla. She talked about organizing her coupons and only using them only on items that were on sale. From my experience, I know this is the right way to go about it. She inspired me and I also remembered hearing about The Grocery Game. The "game" is "playing" your coupons when an item is at its very lowest price. At this site you subscribe to a weekly list for one (or more than one) of your local stores that highlights what things are on sale for a good price and exactly what coupon to use on them from your Sunday papers. It is a huge time saver because not everything listed in a store's ad is a great deal. You have to maintain a price book and know your prices.



I signed up for a 4 week trial at the site (for a dollar!) to try it out. It seems to be working. Now that I am building up my supply of coupons, I am getting some great deals and not spending too much time at it. My trial ended last week and I decided to continue to pay for a couple of stores.



One of the store lists that I get is CVS. If you are not familiar with CVS, it is worth doing so. You can sign up for their Extra Care Card and get extra savings as well as Extra Care Bucks. These are like a rebate that prints like a coupon at the bottom of your sales receipt. You can spend them like cash the next time you shop there.



I have to share my great bargains I recently got. I used my CVS list from the Grocery Game site. I got a nice variety of things that we will use for sure: shampoo & conditioner, deodorants, toothpaste, air fresheners, paper towels, cereal, makeup, facial cleanser, Crest Pro health mouthwash, pain relief gel, saline nose spray, and dish soap. Everything was name brand, nice stuff (better than what I usually buy without coupons).

Here is the breakdown of what I spent and saved:


Total before coupons and sales $165.51 (yikes!)

Saved by using Extra Care Card 51.43

Saved with coupons 35.06

Saved using CVS bucks from previous visit 35.00

TOTAL (before tax) 44.02

TOTAL SAVINGS $121.49



AND I generated $31.00 in CVS bucks to use next time!!! Isn't that amazing?

Now, you can certainly do this without the Grocery Game list. The list is just a time saver. I figure since it only costs $1.25 per week, it is worth it considering the savings that I am seeing, because honestly, I don't know that I could find the time required to do it without the list.



Just so you know, I am no way affiliated with the Grocery Game. I am just a happy customer. If this is something that intrigues you, it is certainly worth the $1 for a month trial. You get access to all the lists available for your area. If you do this, could you please use me as a referral by entering my e-mail address (scrappinpappyATverizonDOTnet - change the AT to "@" and the DOT to a ".") in the referral box on the sign-up page. If I get several referrals, I could get a month free. Woohoo!



I'll have to share my system for organizing my coupons in a later post. Good luck and Happy Savings!

The Taming of the Shrew

shrew
–noun
1. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant. (dictionary.com)
2. my almost two year old daughter, Rachel. (my recent definition)

Ok, so perhaps that seems harsh. Perhaps not. Especially if you have spent the past few days, weeks, and months listening to her scream, stomp her feet, whine and cry over he smallest most insignificant things incessantly. There are days I just wish I could rip my ears off so I don't have to listen to it anymore.

To say that this sweet child has a temper is a significant understatement. I saw it begin to emerge around the time of her first birthday and it has steadily increased. She turns two this month. When you add in the typical two year old stubbornness to what she inherently has, you have a monster. The word "no" sends her into a fury. There are days when a part of me just wants to give her whatever she wants no matter what just so I don't have to listen to her screaming. But after raising 4 other children past the age of 2, I know that this is the wrong course of action. I do not want her to learn that temper tantrums get results. Otherwise, they will continue forever. I'd hate to see her teenage tantrums!

So, I am daily trying to figure out how to handle this. As a parent, I need to remember that a child's bad behavior is an opportunity for training and growth. I have tried just ignoring the tantrums. This has worked with my other children. Once they figure out that the tantrums don't get them anywhere, they usually give them up. Not so with Rachel. Once she gets going, she will scream and cry for a good half hour. I don't think she even remembers what she got so mad about in the first place. So, lately I have been trying time outs, telling her that she can join us again when she stops screaming. This is tough, though, because it is hard to rationalize with a two year old.

The worst is when we are out in public or with other people. The screaming is so disruptive. I will usually try to take her out of earshot, but sometimes that's not possible because her volume is so high. This makes her such a wild card that I hesitate to take her into some public situations. The kids and I needed to get out of the house for a couple of hours last night and discussed the possibility of a movie, but I worried that Rachel would get restless and start screaming and I would be forced to spend the entire time outside the theater with her and leave my children unsupervised inside or make everyone leave. She is a wild card.

I am taking this one day at a time. Rachel truly isn't all bad. She can be the sweetest thing ever. Then something will set her off and it is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I just keep praying for God's wisdom in how to handle this and help her work through this temper that is part of her personality. Parenthood certainly is a learning experience!

Oh, the scrapbook page is one I just did. I have been so busy and mentally stretched lately that I have not scrapped in over a month. I am still busy but going through creative withdrawal, so I am back at it. We got my nephew the Hulk Smash Hands for his birthday and they seemed so very appropriate for Rachel to wear. If you haven't seen them, when you put them on and punch something, they yell. One of the lines they say I quoted in the layout, "You're making me angry! You won't like me when I'm angry!" I can almost hear Rachel saying those very words. [grin]

You can view the layout and read the credits here.

Artistic Camp

This morning I stumbled upon a blog post about a girls' camp someone put together for their daughter and her friends. ~Camp Avonlea~Artistic Camp for Young Ladies looks amazing and so inspiring. These girls got to sleep in a lovely white tent in the garden and do art. *I* want to go!

Here is a link to more photos.

This struck a chord with me and made me start thinking about my big barn. What kind of cool "camps" could we have out there? I could certainly see a "Little House on the Prairie" themed camp. All I need to do is clear out the clutter out there and it opens up a myriad of possibilities.

Speaking of clutter...I have decided that clutter is my mortal enemy. I need to declare an all out war, but struggle with knowing how to attack it. Sadly, I was born with the "pack-rat gene." I am a saver. I can see value in pieces of trash. I don't want to be like this and I fight it constantly. It actually pains me to go through stuff and give-away or pitch it. I am emotionally exhausted after cleaning out a closet. Once the excess is completely gone, I usually feel really good about it, but every once in a while I will feel pangs of loss for something that is gone.

I recognize, though, that clutter strangles the joy out of life. Clutter often steals my creativity and it makes small tasks seem overwhelming. The "barn camp" idea is a perfect example of this. My mind races into gear, filling with fun ideas, but the stopper is that I have a barn full of junk that needs to be gone through. Nothing can happen until that is done.

So, I realize that I need to change. I cannot be the person that God created me to be if I am buried under piles of stuff. I also realize the I can't change myself. I have tried throughout most of my adult life and failed miserably. I have to let go and let God be in control. He is gonna have to guide me though this. I can't wait!