Choose another lane, honey!

Just want to give props to the KRAZY COUPON LADY for helping me to save over 50 bucks on my last two grocery trips! Imma krazy coupon clipping machine! It's actually fun now that I'm better at it. Krazy Lady helped inform me of little tips and advice, etc. Plus I love her blog because she has huge list of links to print coupons for 100s of brands! Hey, times are tough right now for us and saving a little money here and there is so helpful.

Here's my advice to fellow coupon clippers...

1. Plan meals

2. Eat before grocery shopping

3. Costco is a rip-off (yes I love it there, but I spend waaaay too much money in that evil place!)

4. Don't buy it just because you have a coupon for it.

5. I don't have a whole lot of brand loyalty. In fact, I LOVE generics :) I know, I'm weird. So, I print coupons online for generics at Target like Market Pantry and Up & Up...etc. You get the point.

6. Get over yourself and shop and the cheap places. Like the dreaded W's--WinCo and Wal-mart. Wal-mart will price match so if it's cheaper at Safeway (which is rare)--show them the add and you get the price and use a coupon and you've saved even more krazy lady.

Last night I saved 35 bucks in coupons at Albertsons! My shopping trip went from ~$85 to $50! I was so proud of myself :)


http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

The Mighty Beanz Challenge

HISTORY:
If you know us well, you know sleep has ALWAYS been an issue in our house. Our biggest issue. Johnny has been "co-sleeping" (I hate that term--co-sleeping--makes it sound so technical) Anyways, he's been sleeping in my bed since he was born. We had a few months here or there over the years where he has slept in his crib as a baby, and in his bed as a toddler...for a while he slept with Mike while I was nursing Jake...and yada yada yada yackidy shmackity. Jake always was a better sleeper than John, but it's not like he was sleeping through the night...ever.

PRESENT:
John and Jake are almost 5 1/2 and almost 4 years old and they are finally sleeping in their own beds! They've been doing this for a few months but it is still an on-going struggle for them to stay in their beds for the whole night. So, I decided to use the prize method once again, because it has worked so well in the past.

THE CHALLENGE:
This time it's "The Mighty Beanz Challenge" The boys received Mighty Beanz for Christmas from Santa as well as the cases to store them in. The beans are these little jumping beans to collect and trade. There are themes so of course John has a Darth Vader case, and Jake has the Iron Man case. They have Marvel heroes beans, Star Wars beans, regular funny guy Mighty Beanz, and so on. If they spend the entire night in their own bed, in the morning they choose a Mighty Bean for their case. When the case is 1/2 full (21 beans) they get to take a trip to the toy store to buy a new toy! They are sooo excited to do this! Other than super special occasions, like holidays, the boys don't get squat, so they are ready for retail therapy as much as I am!!

THE STATS:
So far, Jake has stayed in his bed for 4 nights in a row!!! And for about 12 hours each time! This is big news at our house.
...John on the other hand, has 2/4 nights. This morning he was so disappointed that he didn't make it the whole night so we made a new deal...
JOHN'S REVISED CHALLENGE:
If John stays in his bed until 5am, he will receive a Mighty Bean.

My Fancy Kid

Lately Johnny has been obsessed with dressing in a collar button up shirt, tie, and blazer. He looks so cute...except the tie is a hand-me-down from I don't know who--it's a clip on and isn't the cutest tie in the world. He wants to wear the same light blue shirt every day. And the blazer is a size 4T so the arms are a little short. He insists on wearing this every day with his plaid shorts.
Also, he must have his shirt buttoned to the very top. I think he looks like an inmate. Yesterday, while watching the movie "James and the Giant Peach," I noticed James Henry Trotter wears his shirt buttoned all the way up with a tie and jacket and shorts. I asked John if he wanted to look like James. He said, "well ya mom." Like as if to say "duhh mom!"
I just asked John what he wants from the Easter Bunny and he said, "A bow tie."

American Idol!!!!!!!!

Subway + Tweens = not a good time

Subway
I took Jake to subway for lunch. A special treat while Johnny is at school. Big mistake.
First of all there were 25 people in line. 2nd- my 3 year old was the most well behaved kid in the place. There were a few dozen middle school choir kids eating and in line. They had some concert or something.
The boys were crazy hyper. The couldn't stand still and kept bumping into me. They were all like a foot taller than me and potty-talked like toddlers. All I kept hearing was everyone talking down to everyone. Especially the girls. I would be the worlds most frustrated middle school teacher. I swear I couldn't handle not screaming at them.
The boys actually tattled on a girl telling their teacher "marys sayin bad words!" so the passive push over teacher goes to talk to Mary and while she's gone the boys talk about girls u-know-whats and "dropping it like it's hot" while they messed with the thermostat.
Then the crowd clears a little and I thought we were going to eat in peace. No. Two angry bully girls sit behind us and proceed to talk nasty about every kid that walks by, all the girls they hate and think are ugly.
At one point Jake decided to tell them when they spoke a bad word. Lol! He said "whoops! Bad word!"
I hope those girls' voice cracks at their choir concert.
Just kidding :)

Feeling Grateful

By the way.
My husband is the best man on Earth. He is a great father. All he wants to do is praise his sons and tell them how precious they are. He plays with them whenever he has opportunity.
He is an amazing role model. He rises up through the dust and shines. He never gives up. His faith is unparalleled. He is an inspiration.

Yes, Ma'am!

My little Johnny says
"I know what m is for...mmm mmm mm ma'am! Yes, ma'am!"