A new obsession

I don't know how or when but this baby needs to come live with me. I haven't bought an "expensive" purse in nearly four years, so maybe I've got an itch to buy a new one. This one is definitely my new obsession.


I'm attempting my first Halloween costume this year. I had found this costume in a catalog and was seriously thinking about ordering it....



it was going to be around $120 by the time I ordered the costume, petticoat and headpiece. My cheap side said this was too much for a costume even though I knew she'd wear this everyday and even try to sleep in it if I let her.
So we headed to Hobby Lobby and got a pattern and fabric. It's turning out okay so far and is a lot less than the one pictured above.
I'm actually pleased with the way the bodice has turned out. I'm worried about my zipper skills. I may have to take it to the tailor for some help.

Peace

We have spent the last month in a crazy, chaotic, dog filled house. There has been lots of barking, fighting, and screaming (from Abby). We made the decision to find another home for the last dog we "saved". She just was not working well with others, mostly Corgan. Abby was kind of afraid of her.

This morning I realized we made the right decision when Abby went outside to play with Winni this morning. She hasn't been able to do that since we had Lolli. There is definitely peace in the house....no barking. While I wasn't sure about the family who now has Lolli, I hope they will love her a lot. For now, we will be enjoying our crazy dogs.

Friday window shopping

I'm doing a little window shopping this morning while listening to Diego...

I am really liking these shoes:

They remind me of the Holly Hobby bedding I had in my room when I was a little girl.

This would be my dress up tee for work :-)


My goal this fall is to not look as though I've been in my pajamas all day long. I will get up and get dressed...........most days.

Abby starts fall ballet classes next week. These classes begin at 10:45 in the morning, so that will get me up & ready in the morning.

chaos

I know this isn't the best picture of my Winni girl, but it cracks me up. This shows her personality. For the past month we have had a third dog. She's a crazy lab mix, however her type of crazy is of the psychotic type. I've made two trips to the vet for stitches in the last month and have paid around $600 in vet bills. I knew I'd become the crazy dog lady at this point. We've also decided the third dog has got to go. For the longest time we thought Winni was crazy and there were MANY times I wanted to pull my hair out b/c I thought Winni was the worst dog in the world. I've now realized I was totally wrong and she's turned out to be pretty close to perfect, that is if you count eating dog crap as a characteristic of a perfect dog. I will be glad when there is peace again in the house once the third lab has another home.

What we've been up to lately.....

Building lots of towers




Trying to cool off


...hard to tell from the photo, but this is the new addition to the Lab trio! She and Winni are best buds. Corgan watches them from the air conditioned house.

It's too hot to do anything around here. We stay inside most of the day and go to the pool as much as possible.

And another for good laughs!!!!

This movie cracked me up!!!! I swear I still get tears in my eyes from laughing at this one!

I love Will Ferrell

FREE Chocolate Friday

Mars chocolate is giving away candy again to the first 250,000 who sign up today. So hurry and go HERE to get yours.

Put on a little makeup

Earlier this year I signed up for BzzAgent. I filled out a few surveys and they've sent me some products to try. It does take some time before you will start to get stuff to try, but be patient....it will come.

Recently, they sent make up to try. I got some mascara and lipstick. I'm not a fan of lipstick so I didn't use that, but I've used the mascara and looooooooooooove it! I've tried tons and tons of different mascaras, but this one is pretty good! I can put it on and it doesn't clump or look like I have tons of goop on my eyes. This is so easy to wash off too. You don't special makeup remover just for eye makeup. I love this stuff and will definitely buy again.

Terrible 2's

The person who coined the term "Terrible Twos" was obviously not an expert on child development. This person had obviously NEVER been around a 3 year old. The 2's were a breeze compared to the tantrum filled days we sometimes have. Don't get me wrong, I love my munchkin, but sometimes I wish she didn't know the words, " I don't want to!"
Don't be deceived by the angelic looking kid pictured above, she sometimes seems as though her body has been taken over by an alien. Lucky me, she saves that kind of behavior for home.

The picture above shows Abby arranged the "guys" on top of N8 so they could watch TV.

Deal of the Day

This is an eco bag you can have shipped with an additional free item for $.45!!!!!!
Go HERE
and add it to your cart. Select your free item and enter this code NEWEB10OFF
to get all for $.45. I figure its good for shopping at CVS or Walgreens. We'll see how it is when it arrives.

Free and Cheap stuff for next week

CVS:

Dawn, $.99 - $.50 manuf q = $.49 ea

Kellogg's cereal 3/$10 - (3) $1.50 manuf q = $5.50 get $5 extra bucks

Sally Hansen nail pen - buy one get one 1/2 off - buy one get one FREE manuf q = $3.?? for 2 nail pens

Werther's Candy - B1G1 $2.19 - (2) $.55 manuf q = $1.09 for 2 bags

Not too much that I can't live without this week. We'll definitely be buying more cereal. We go through tons of the stuff.

Guess what's coming to my house?

I know the pic is hard to see, but this is another fabulous movie to add to the collection. We love chick flicks and other really dorky movies. I couldn't rent this or find it in the stores, so I had to order it on Ebay!!! I swear you can buy ANYTHING on ebay. I cannot wait to see this.

Conversations

Each night before bedtime, Abby has to try to go potty. Last night while in the bathroom she says," I can't go potty. I"m falling in the big potty.....I don't have a big booty!"

It's like your own personal magazine stand.

Imagine getting the magazines you want, when you want them, for one, low monthly fee. MAGHOUND delivers the magazines you love straight to your door. Swap your selections whenever you choose and cancel anytime. Try it for free!

View >>


This is such a great idea! You can change your magazine selections monthly if you want.

She's 3!

I can't believe she's 3 today. She suddenly seems so big and has become very opinionated and independent. Yesterday she demonstrated the beginnings of great negotiating skills. Today, we're just hanging out and enjoying lots of new toys.
They both did a great job finding Easter eggs. There was some pushing and a little yelling, but all eggs were recovered.

Save Your Coupons!

If you happen to be a coffee snob or have one living with you, Dunkin Donuts coffee is on sale this week at a lot of stores. The best deal I've seen is at Target. It's on sale for $6 - $1.50 manuf Q from this past week - $.75 Target printable Q = $3.75! We happen to drink lots of coffee and this is one brand we like @ our house so we stock up when the price is right.


There are some good freebie deals at CVS next week( April 12-18)!

The Nabisco/Keebler cookies and crackers are 5/$5. If you still have the manuf Q's for $2 off of any 2, you'd get these FREE!

Pepsi 12pks are 5/$10. If you got the coupons from the SuperBowl promotion for $2 off any Pepsi, these are also FREE!

These aren't free, but pretty cheap...Kelloggs cereal is 2/$4. Use your $1 off any Kelloggs manuf Q from this past weekend and each box will be $1.00.


Walgreens has Scunci hair elastics for $2 and then get a $2 register reward on your next purchase.

*****I must have looked at a really early CVS ad or one from a different region b/c the Pepsi isn't on sale for $2 ea. ******

Price is Right

Guess how much I spent on this?

$1.08!!!!
I had Staples rewards cash to use. If you recycle your ink cartridges at Staples, you'll get $3 a cartridge with a max of 10 a month. You can use it on ANYTHING in the store (except the gift cards). They have lots of kids art supplies and cleaning supplies too. I got the art stuff for church and the swedish fish for the house. FYI, they also have natural cleaners and recycled paper towels.


CVS:

This was $8.?? We love our coffee and had to get a couple of bags while it was on sale. The bags were $5.99 ea and used (2) $1.50 manf Q. Abby wanted the egg dyeing kit. The razor refills were buy one get one free at $10.89. I used (2) manf q for $4 ea = $2.89 for two pkgs. I also got two of the Nivea lip care which was $2.99 and buy one get one free, then used (2) manuf q for $1 ea = $.99 for two. I had a couple of extra bucks that were expiring this week that I needed to use too. I think the receipt said I saved about $40 that I ended up spending later at Petco on dogfood! I guess you save where you can, right?

Fabulous Friday*sort of*

Freebies to grab this week at Walgreens:
Mentos gum: on sale for 2/$2 and use 2 manuf q for $1 ea = FREE
Skintimate Shave Cream: $2.99 and get a $3 register reward for next purchase
Chapstick 100% Natural: $1.99 and get a $1.99 register reward for next purchase



Today was actually a beautiful day outside, unlike some we've had lately. We were out running errands today and went to Target for a return. You can't just go to Target for a return and not look at clothes! So we looked for a bit and of course they had cute stuff. Abby requested we look for dresses for her b/c she's obsessed with them lately. Seriously she's sleep in the dress if we let her. They had some cute ones and she liked a navy one with huge polka dots on it.
We also stopped at Walgreens for some freebies. We also ended the trip at WalMart.

I've been battling the sprinklers lately and trying to replace some heads. There's one that's just pissing me off since I can't seem to get the new head screwed into it. Today I had water everywhere and tons of mud. What I really love is seeing the landscaping guys drive by and stare at me doing this. Abby told me I was really dirty and needed a shower.

While I was battling the sprinkler and mud, the dogs were in the back muddin'. What a treat for me to see my blonde dog now a nice shade of chocolate brown. Lucky me, I got to bathe both dogs and enjoy the smell of wet dog for a few hours!

Deal of the Day

I got a great deal on some typically expensive office supplies that I use for scrapbooking. I've been looking for white sharpies for some time now and they're usually around $4 each. I got two of them, refills for my label makers, metal rimmed key tags and some other labels all for $8 with shipping.
I got all this from shoplet.com I put a little button on my blog and they gave me $25 to spend in their store.
Albertson's had a couple of great deals this week too. I got 2 four pound bags of sugar for $.90, six jars of spaghetti sauce and two bottles of handsoap for a total of $4. I think my receipt was two feet long b/c of all the coupons!

What's wrong with this picture?

Last fall I was very ambitious to be planting tulips in the backyard. I planted LOTS of them in the backyard and my favorite dog, Winni, decided they weren't planted in the right spot so she ate some! I was so mad! I wasn't quite sure how many were still planted and I even went out and bought more to replace the bulbs she ate. I had a color scheme planned...dark purple tulips and white tulips with white alyssum.

Well, the tulips have grown and are just starting to bloom. I was so excited to see this....


It is beautiful! After this started blooming, I noticed more were about to bloom too. Look closely at the next picture. Look closely to see what's wrong with it.
Do you see the YELLOW flower? It wasn't suppose to be yellow. I was ripped off by Target! Oh well, it may not go with my color scheme, but atleast it grew! Next year I guess I better get bulbs from an actual nursery or reputable source.

Questions heard around our house.....

As the days pass, the vocab of the toddler grows a LOT! She asks the most random questions throughout the day too.

While I was getting clothes from the dryer....."Mama, do your armpits stink?" to which I reply, "ummmm, no. Do yours?" And she'll smell them and say, "nope" Since we use natural deoderant in this house I guess its an occasional concern?!?

Another great thing she does is clean her eyes and offer me the eye crusty. Let me tell you the gifts you receive as a mother are fabulous!

She also frequently looks out the back door to report on Winni. Abby will tell me, "She's not eating poop, she's being good."

Obviously we have strange conversations in our house. Especially over breakfast!

We've also introduced the whoopee cushion to her courtesy of Peter Piper Pizza. She's definitely my daughter as she enjoys it as much as I do! It cracks me up to watch her try to sit on it b/c she doesn't weigh enough to get the full effect of the noises.

Freebies and Cheapies next week!

Walgreens:

Hunt's tomato sauce: Ad coupon for .39 cents each. There's an Easy Saver rebate for $5 when you buy $10 worth of Hunts.(11 cans which don't all have to be purchased in the same transaction)

Gillette Fusion Razor: $8.99 - $4 manuf Q = $4.99 and get a $4 register reward

Kellogg's cereal is 4/$10 - (2) $1 of two pkgs manuf Q from coupons.com = $8 and get a $2 register reward


Target:
Buy 2 Women's Schick razors(Intuition plus, Quattro Plus or Quattro for Women) at $6.99 ea and get a $5 Target gift card. Use (2) $4 manufQ from this coming Sunday paper and you will pay $5.98 total and get the $5 gift card in return.

Which one?

Which one of these beauties is going to come live with me? The time has nearly come to order one and I can't yet decide which color I really, really want. I can't wait till its here!!!! Which color do you think I should pick?

Freebies and Cheapies next week!

WALGREENS:

Trident Xtra Care gum 2/$2 - (2)$.75 manufQ = $.25 ea pack
Duncan Hines Brownie Mix $1 - $.35 manufQ = $.65 ea
Reach or Listerine 3/$9 - (3) $1 manufQ = $6 >get $6 register rewards = FREE


CVS:
Colgate MaxWhite toothbrush $2.99- $.75manufQ = $2.24 > get $2.99 ECB
Keebler or Nabisco Wheat Thins 5/$5 - $1/2 manufQ = $.50 ea
Band Aid & Neosporin spend $7 get $3 in ECB's

I've got some ECB's that expire this week so I have to use those. Not really sure what I'm gonna get with them just yet.

More window shopping

All the dreary rain has me window shopping for spring clothing.

I really want all the shoes pictured above, but I'm narrowing down the choices to the silver and black ones. It's too bad I can't figure out how to get these nearly free!
I don't know when clothes/shoes got so expensive or when I got so cheap. Maybe Target or TJMaxx will have some nice stuff in my price range. I love to wear dresses in the summer, but it seems like every dress I find is about $100. I'm not paying that much for something to run to the grocery store in. Where can I find cheap dresses?

Playhouse

This playhouse is the cutest thing I've seen. I would love to build one for Abby! It reminds me of a playhouse my dad built for my brother and I when we were kids. It was HUGE! It was yellow and had a little porch with railings. I can't remember too much about the inside. I'm sure my mom has a pic somewhere in her box of pictures, but I'm not about to volunteer looking for that one. Maybe we can build one of these to go in the backyard at the new house someday.

Eye Candy

I am LOVING these necklaces. I would love to have these for this spring/summer. I came across these on etsy. The shop is Candysart

I love this time of year when the spring clothes are out and everything is bright and cheery. I love buying clothes for the spring rather than fall/winter. I missed out on the coat I posted about last week. It seems as though they ran out of stock so I'm suppose to be refunded. Maybe if I save up a bit more I might grab one of these necklaces.

The pack and play I ordered for Abby came in and I can't wait to have a look at it before I wrap it. It looks pretty cute!

Her latest favorite is Olivia, probably because I like it a lot more than Dora! We've read an Olivia book we got at the library every night so far! I love hearing her sing the song to Olivia. It sounds like, "Go 'Livia! Go 'Livia!" over and over again.

Get Ready for Spring

Spring is right around the corner which has me thinking about the plants in my garden. The tulips will be blooming any day now. I can't wait to see the flowers and have the plants start growing like crazy again.

I found a great deal on plants to get started on your spring garden. Springhill Nursery is giving $20 in free plants and all you pay is shipping. I ordered a couple of plants (some of the columbine pictured above) and paid $7.95 for shipping. Go HERE for the deal. The web site says the offer is ending soon, so hurry up and get your plants before they run out of what you want.

Freebies and Cheapies at Walgreens next week!

Garnier Fructis Shampoo or Conditioner $2.99 - $2Q Easy Saver Catalog- $1 manuf Q = FREE
Glade Lasting Impressions Fan Powered Fragr $7.99-$4Q Easy Saver-$4 manufQ = FREE
Glade Motion Sensor Sense & Spray $7.99-$4Q Easy Saver-$4 manufQ = FREE
Colgate Total Toothpaste $3.49 -$2.50Q Easy Saver-$1 manufQ = FREE

I'm also going to buy the M&M's I posted about earlier and some starbucks truffles. Walgreens usually has them priced at 2 for $10 and there is a $6Q off two Easy Saver and also $1 manuf Q that are hanging in the aisles with the candy making them $1 a box!

I better stop in early Sunday before church to make sure some of the stuff isn't gone already.

Something worth Trying

Last week I signed up for a site called YouData. Its a marketing site and all you have to do is click through a few adds....it takes about 3-5 minutes max a week and you get money for each ad you have viewed. The money ( not a lot) is deposited each week in your paypal acct on Friday. Last week I think I got $5. I know its not a lot, but hey its money I didn't have before. What do I get for telling you this?.....basically a penny, but who couldn't use $15-20 a month? So go here and start earning your pennies!!!

Walgreens Deals 3/1-3/7

I went to Walgreens today since they had a couple of good deals. I got this for free.....

It's a homeopathic treatment for cold & flu. It's priced at 11.99, but there is a $10 coupon in the Walgreens Easy Saver book and you can go here to get another coupon for $4 off. Use both coupons together to have $14 off. They may give you the overage, but today they just adjusted it down making it free.
Another deal I plan to take advantage of before the end of the week is the Easter M&Ms. They're on sale for 2/$5. There are coupons in this last Sunday's paper for $1 off 2 bags and there is also a coupon in the Easy Saver book for $1 off 2 bags. My plan is to buy 4 bags use 2 coupons from the Easy Saver and 2 coupons from the paper making the total $6 after coupons. Then I'll submit it for an offer in the back of the Easy Saver for the M&Ms plush as well!

I figure the plush can be an Easter gift if it gets here in time and the candy will be put to good use, I'm sure!

Shopping for birthday gifts

We don't really think its necessary to buy lots of gifts for birthdays, but we wanted to buy a couple of small things. I was really excited to find this on sale!

I got it for $10!! I can just see Foxy and the gang all snuggled up in this pack and play. I'd also been eyeing this cute little dress for a long time. It's something she can wear for a long time....now as a dress and as she grows, it can be worn as a shirt with jeans.
I think we may have a couple of other things planned too, but I was so proud of the pack and play....I can't wait for her to use it.

for my new coat

Banana Republic has some beautiful jewelry out now for spring. I'm thinking the pinkish brooch in the center photo would look great with my new coat....just a thought. Maybe I'll have to wait for a good sale.

Deal of the Day

This is one of the best deals I've ever taken advantage of! I know its hard to see the picture, but this is a wool pea coat. TODAY only it is $5.99 plus $4.95 shipping!!!!!! I ordered one in cream b/c I had the money available in my paypal acct. This is seriously a great deal and they have lots of colors here: Tulle 4 Us pea coat

Seriously, if you can take advantage of this, I suggest you do so b/c a deal like this won't be around again.