Babylegs 75% Off!

Babylegs.com a company that sells these utterly cute leg warmers, tights and socks is currently offering 75% off any order $75 or more when you purchase items from their Costume selection. Enter code SPOOK75 at checkout. Shipping is FREE.

http://www.babylegs.com/Costume-C673.aspx

I was very giddy when I found out and I bought 7 pairs late last night for $20.50 shipped. They had a few none Halloween looking ones which were the ones I bought. Some have sold out so the selection now is getting very limited so if interested act quickly. I think our daughter Olivia is going to love these and they well help keep her warm and protect her little legs when she starts to crawl. Shannon probably thinks I am crazy and is not too sure what to make about them but I just adore them.

Here is one of the pairs I bought called Candy Apples

I am also very tempted to try out one of these WooBee Blankets which they have on sale right now with an additional 25% off using in code WOOBEE25 and also free shipping. I really would like the Cow Pattern one to go with Olivia's new Cow Pattern Car Seat.

To See they 3 different types and determine which one is right for you go to

http://www.woobeeforbabylegs.com/which-woobee.html

Or if you are already familiar with them you may go here to shop directly.

http://www.babylegs.com/Gear.aspx

They normally range from $30 to $64 and now with the discount are going from $18 to $36.

Random Friday

It has been a busy week with a teething baby!  Olivia's very first tooth made its appearance on Wednesday morning so starting Tuesday night and since it has been REALLY difficult to get her to sleep at night.  She is so pitiful it just about breaks my heart.  We are giving her baby Tylenol and orajel, teething rings, frozen washcloths, etc. but she is in pain.  Fortunately once she gets to sleep she stays asleep but I've been getting to bed myself much later than usual so I am VERY tired!!

So, all week I've had thoughts of things I wanted to blog about but no time to actually blog so today I'm calling this Random Friday because these things are scattered like the wind....no theme at all here!

Smile.ly is a website where you can sign up to become a reviewer of new products.  I read about this on She Saved, one of my favorite websites for finding deals.  So, if you click the Smile.ly link I will get more "smiles" and be eligible for more product reviews - so go there if you'd like to sign up too!

DEALS of the week: 

• Free king-size TWIX from Murphy USA (sign up on their website to get discounts on gas)
• The Christmas address labels and homemade gift enclosure cards from Overnight Prints came in the mail and are just adorable - I only paid shipping!
• The free Snapfish photobook I mentioned here arrived several weeks ago and the very next day I spilled a bottle of water on it.  Since it was a soft cover it was ruined and I was so upset.  Mark called Snapfish and they offered to replace it at no charge - THANK YOU Snapfish! 
• Also, Snapfish currently has two codes through October 31 that will get you 20 free 4x8 photocards - you can read more here.  I hope to get some photos of Olivia in her cow costume this weekend so I can order these just before the clock expires!
• I used my extra care bucks I talked about here plus manufacturer coupons to get my shampoo and conditioner at CVS for a much lower price than usual (I have to use more expensive ones because I am allergic to so many chemicals) and got $5 more extra care bucks!  I heart CVS!  If you are not currently saving at CVS or using extra care bucks and want to learn more go to my most favorite website for deals to learn how.

Speaking of deals, I want to tell you about a new ministry I am blessed to be involved in at my church.  Clipping for a Cause is about using our coupon know-how to help others.   Did you know that every week you can get food items for $1 or less at the grocery store by combining coupons with a sale price?  Clipping for a Cause marries couponing with  helping those in need and is based on Proverbs 22:9  "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."  I am so excited for an opportunity to use my administrative and deal finding skills to help someone else.  It is wonderful to get deals for my own family but even more precious to be able to get them for someone who really needs it!

My baby's gettin' teeth!

Olivia had her 4 month appointment on Monday and I swear she was flirting with the pediatrician.  She was cooing and smiling and all kinds of cuteness....of course that was before the shots! 

Here are her stats:
Weight 15 lbs 2.5 oz
Height 25 1/4 inches
These are both in the 75th percentile.

Her doctor says she is perfect - we think so too but it's nice to get an unbiased opinion!   He also told us she is ready to start cereal and that she should have TEETH (two!) in the next week or so.  I can't believe my baby's gettin' teeth!  (Actually, I can since I'm the one who has been getting up with her in the middle of the night for the past week but I'm pretending I had no idea for the fun of it.)

The shots were traumatic as usual but Olivia did not cry quite as much as at her 2 month appointment and I think that was because Daddy came with us.  She actually starting smiling and giggling not too long after screaming.  Of course then we went home and she was all sorts of cranky the rest of the day!

Here I Grow

Olivia is 4 months old today!  This morning she woke up (very early) at about the same time we hauled ourselves to WakeMed Labor & Delivery 4 months ago so I guess she is going to be a stickler about celebrating special occasions on time!

I asked Olivia about her 4th month of life and here is what she had to say:

Favorite Food:  Formula...mmmmm, give me some more!  I get 33 oz per day and on some days I might even ask for more.  I take after both Mommy and Daddy where my appetite is concerned.  I am really getting interested in the things I see them putting into their mouths and am wondering when I will get to do the same.  Mommy gave me a wooden baby spoon this week and I stuck it straight into my mouth so she would know that I am ready for the real thing!

Favorite Games:  The one where Daddy lets me dance, the one where Mommy lays next to me and we talk to each other - I tell her about my day and she tells me about hers, and oh, my new favorite one - the one where I trick Mommy into changing my stinky diaper but I'm not really done yet!  I also like the game where Daddy takes me out on Saturdays to let Mommy sleep more - we spend a long time together and I love it!

Favorite Songs:  Mommy's made-up songs are my favorite - I particularly like the one about boogers in my nose and the other one about how snuggly I am all day long.

Favorite Toys:  I love my elephant play gym downstairs and I am really warming up to this new teething blanket toy I just got.  Oh and how can I forget Mommy's favorite toy - the Crawl 'N' Go Snail?  She loves that thing so I humor her by letting her play it over and over again.  I think I'll like it more when I can crawl after it. 

Least Favorite Thing:  My teeth are trying to come through the gum and it hurts.  I wake up early a lot and when Mommy reaches into the crib I try to gnaw on her hand.  Why couldn't I have been born with my teeth already through my gums?  I think I will ask Jesus that when I get to Heaven.

On Monday I go to the Pediatrician and get weighed and measured so stay tuned for more 4 month details.  I am also supposed to get my 4 month shots but I didn't really care for the 2 month shots so I'm working on an escape plan.  I think both Mommy and Daddy are coming with me so it's going to take some real strategy on my part.

Oh, and below is a video that Mommy took of me this week. 

FLYing....

Throughout my pregnancy I was connected HERE with a group of women who were also pregnant and due in June.  We are now very busy with our babies but still continue to encourage one another, give advice when needed and share the joys of motherhood.  One of the things we have been getting into lately is FLYing.

What is FLYing?
FLY is the acronym FlyLady uses for Finally Loving Yourself.   FLYing is really just taking care of your home using routines that become habits which enable you to bless your family and spend more time with them.

What does FLYing actually involve?
Lots of de-cluttering but in short spurts of time so that you do not get overwhelmed.  Each week FlyLady focuses on a different "zone" (area of your home) and sends out daily emails that contain the "flight plan" (list of things to do for the day).  Additionally there are daily "missions" which are emails containing additional 10 minute challenges in the current "zone".  She also sends frequent emails of testimonials from other "FLYbabies" and right now, with the holiday season approaching, she sends "Cruising Through The Holiday" emails with tasks to help you get almostly completely ready for Christmas by December 1.  She even has a Holidy Control Journal you can download.  A control journal is essentially a notebook of information about a particular subject.  Go HERE for your free Holiday Control Journal or go HERE to see if there are any other free Control Journals of interest to you.

So, Shannon, how are you FLYing these days?
Well, like any good FLYbaby I am taking baby steps.  I am not doing ALL the routines from FlyLady's FLYing Lessons but I am slowly but surely developing new routines that work for my schedule to help keep the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) from taking over. 

Here are a few things I've been doing:

• I created a list of household chores that need to be done regularly.  
• Each week I fill in a calendar for my family that lists the appointments we have and the chores that need to be done for that week.  I also use it to help plan meals for the days we will cook. 
• I have developed a routine of using my time wisely at home without compromising on the quality of time I give to Olivia.  Poor Mark, on the otherhand, might be suffering a little and I've certainly cut back on "time for myself"!  (Need to work on balance in the near future - LOL!)
• I try to put a load of laundry into wash every morning.  When I get home with Olivia at 5:15 one of the first things I do is move the load to the dryer and I do not go to bed until it has been folded and if possible, put away. 
• I shine my sink at least every other day.  I do not currently have space under the sink for the dish drainer so it stays in the sink.
• I try to do my Before Bed Routine.  When I don't I can tell the next morning!
• I have selected two areas of my home that are really bothering me (in terms of clutter) and have been working on them slowly when I have time.  I have taken before pictures and am posting them for the other FLYbabies in my group for accountability.  I will probably post them here on the blog once I have the "after" photos!!

Stay tuned for more FLYing to come.....

Holiday Meal Planning

Now here is something to get excited about!

Once A Month Mom has created a holiday eCookbook!  Isn't that WONDERFUL news?!

What is an eBook? 
It is a book in .pdf format that is sent to you through email.  You may print it out on your own or just reference it electronically. 

What makes having a cookbook in eBook format so WONDERFUL?

It does not take up space in your home unless you want it to.
If you ruin it with food, water, stains or notes while using it you can just print it again when you need it.
The grocery lists can be re-printed again and again year after year so that each holiday you have a fresh copy to work with.

What does this WONDERFUL cookbook include?

It features a holiday meal menu complete with appetizers and dessert that will feed 8 or 16 people.  Once A Month Mom, Tricia Callahan, describes the content on her website as follows:

• Step-By-Step instructions for cooking your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners ahead and freezing the items.
• Grocery lists for the 8 serving or 16 serving dinner.
• Customized labels for each of your prepared items.
• Recipe cards containing photographs and some step-by-step photos as well.
• Recipe cards for each of the following items to be made in 8 or 16 servings:
  • Veggie Pizza
  • Pumpkin Cheeseball
  • Scalloped Corn
  • Freezer Mashed Potatoes
  • Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
  • Slow Cooker Stuffing
  • Make Ahead Butterhorn Rolls
  • Turkey Baste
  • Cranberry Mustard Ham Glaze
  • Pumpkin Pie
  • Caramel Apple Pie Trifle

Doesn't that sound YUMMY? 

My frozen food group is having a Holiday Sides Swap so I have been trying to locate some freezer-friendly side recipes.  Finding out about this made my day!  I downloaded mine and read it from cover to cover!  This year I will use this to make a few sides but in the future when we start our own family Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions I look forward to using this cookbook to ensure my family and guests get a yummy meal but also to ensure that I can put the meal together in a peaceful manner so that when it comes time to eat I can enjoy the meal too! 

You can go HERE to get your very own eCookbook for $9.99 or through November 1st you can use code OAMM40 and get it for $5.99 (that's a 40% discount)!


Disclosure:  eBook link is an Affiliate Link

I love snails.....

Long long ago in a previous job we wore disposable lab coats and would write our initials on the back so we would know which one was our own when we took them off.  My initials at the time were SNL which looked like snail so I started drawing a little snail under my initials and over time the snail became my personal mascot, so to speak.  Since then I've loved anything with cute little snails on it. 

This past weekend my husband came home with the GREATEST thing ever....a snail toy for Olivia!  I have already told her that we love snails and polka dots so she was so excited to see a snail with polka dots!!  You can push the snail's tail and it rolls across the floor while playing a really cute song.  I'm not sure who loves it more, me or Olivia!

Scrabble Flash - Addictive Fun

So on TV the other day I saw an ad for a new variation of the old classic board game Scrabble. The commercial featured 5 small red blocks each with its own LCD screen displaying a unique letter that magically appear from the hands of what appears to be a magician, of which we only see his torso, arms and hands. The blocks float around in the air as he manipulates them to form various words. The letters on the blocks LCD display change allowing him to form even more words. The ad to me was very interesting and the product pitch must have been very compelling because that afternoon I went out and purchased the product called Scrabble Flash.



Well I must say the game can be quite addictive and has become so for me so much so that I was hesitant even to show it to my wife after I opened it and began playing with it.  This was out of fear that she might want to take possession of it for a while before I fully had time to appreciate and evaluate it.

Basically there are 3 different games that can be played 2 of which were designed for Single players and and 3rd that can be played by one or more players. The first game is called "Scrabble Flash" and you have 75 seconds to form as many 3 to 5 letter words as you can with the same set of 5 auto generated letters. You score one point for each 3 to 5 letter word you create and in addition for each 5 letter word formed you also gain an extra 5 seconds of play time. At the end of the game you line up the squares and you are given your achieved score i.e. how many 3 to 5 letter words you formed and the highest number words possible with those 5 letters.  The second game is called  "Scrabble Five-Letter Flash"and the goal for this game is quickly form a 5 letter word using the letters given and each time you complete a word the letters change causing to now create a new word. The play continues until you can no longer form a 5 letter word quickly enough before the timer ends at which point you are given a 5 letter word you could have created and then your score. The third type of play is "Scrabble Pass Flash"  which is vary similar except that you pass the blocks after creating your 5 letter word and each time someone fails to form a 5 letter word with their given letters before the timer runs out they are eliminated until only one player remains. The amount of time allowed to form the word shortens as play progresses.

If that wasn't enough for you or you wanted a slightly easier style of game play, you able turn off one piece and only use 4 blocks to play. This would change the would mean in the first game Scrabble Flash you would then only have to create 2, 3 or 4 letter words and for the subsequent two games it would only require you to form a 4 letter word instead of a 5 letter word.

The blocks are easily transportable in the small plastic case that is included making perfect take along capable of easily fitting in a purse, book bag or briefcase and because the game play is quick you can always find time to play during the day. 

The only real downside is the price point at around $29 and the fact that it takes 5 CR2032 batteries which is unless your me not as common to be found around the house already when they need to be replaced. The good news is that if you don't mind buying off brands then you can probably find a good deal online in bulk on generic CR2032 batteries. The last time I had to get some I ordered them online and got about 20 of them for about $5 versus the same price in the store just for 2 Duracell or Energizer brand ones.

Great deals and free stuff

I heart great deals and free stuff!  This has always been the case; however, I have noticed that since becoming a mom I am more diligent than ever about finding them! 

So, here are a few of the things I found this week:

• Free candy corn at CVS (scan your CVS card at their coupon machine to get 99 cent off candy corn coupon - the candy corn is currently on sale for 99 cent)
• 2 free 5x7 photo cards at Walmart (this coupon was in Sunday's PARADE newspaper insert)
• A coupon for a free bottle of Advil (a promotion on the Advil website last week)
• $2.50 in Extra Care bucks at CVS that I earned from my last quarter's shopping

Med Techs make interesting Mothers

For those who aren't aware my Bachelor's degree is in Clinical Laboratory Science and I am a certified Medical Technologist.  While I no longer use my skills "on the bench" I do manage a laboratory and oversee the work of two Medical Laboratory Technicians (the certification for those with a 2 year degree).   Essentially people in this field analyze body fluids and provide data to physicians.  This data is used to diagnose and/or manage illnesses.  These body fluids predominantly consist of blood and urine but actually encompass anything that can be taken from the human body - stool, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid, semen, vaginal discharge, knee fluid, bone marrow and a number of other fluids you had no idea were inside of you!

So, with that being explained it should not surprise you that I am fascinated by Olivia's body fluids.  Even before we had Olivia I was fascinated by (our dog) Buddy's poo poo.  I would tell Mark how Buddy was doing based on his poo poo from our morning walk...."I think Buddy has a tummy ache", "Buddy isn't getting enough water", "Your mom must have given Buddy table food this weekend", etc.   Now, with the addition of Olivia, I am in a Med Tech paradise.  Unlike most folks I actually enjoy changing poopy diapers and using the automated nasal aspirator to suck the snot out of her nose.  I am particularly thrilled to see a soaking wet diaper in the morning (good kidney function)!

As many moms before me have discovered, babies love for you to sing to them.  They really don't care if you are in tune or not they just love the sound of singing.  So I have come up with songs that reflect the things that are important to me.  Olivia's current favorite goes like this:

Boogers in your nose
Boogers in your nose
What will we do about the boogers in your nose?

Stinky in your pants
Stinky in your pants
What will we do about the stinky in your pants?

Spit-up on your dress
Spit-up on your dress
What will we do about the spit-up on your dress?

Lint between your toes
Lint between your toes
What will we do about the lint between your toes?

Those are the only verses I have so far but I suspect there will be more as time goes on!

October Meatloaf and Candied Carrots

All the baggies of meatloaf ready (yes, I am aware that we have a lot of frozen pizzas)

A portion of the candied carrots in progress

Savory Breakfast Muffins

This weekend I made Freeze Happy's Savory Breakfast Muffins  These can supposedly be frozen but I don't think I'm going to find out if that is true or not because we have been gobbling them up!  To me they are like a fluffy sausage ball.  I heart sausage balls!  Every year my mom makes them on Christmas Eve so that we will have them on Christmas morning.  It has been a long standing tradition in our family and one I hope to pass down to Olivia.

Frozen Food Group

I get asked a lot about my frozen food group so now that we have this blog I will start posting a few times a month about what I am making or what I receive and maybe I'll even share some recipes if anyone seems interested.  So far our blog has not received any comments so I am beginning to wonder if anyone is actually reading it (yes, this is a hint)! 

Let's make sure we are on the same page first:

What is a frozen food group? 
It is a group of families (we have 7 total) who exchange a frozen meal with each other once a month. 

What does being part of a frozen food group involve?
Once a month I make an entree (and sometimes a side dish) in multiple, package and label it for freezing and then type up and print out the directions.  Later in the month I meet with the other moms from the families and we exchange our meals.  So, for example, if all 7 families are participating in October I will take 6 meatloaves to the exchange and return home with 6 other entrees plus I will have my own meatloaf in the freezer.

How does a frozen food group handle the costs of making the food?
In our group we each keep track of our costs and submit them online (we created a "group" on google to keep track of everything).  One of the members averages them and then she determines what each person owes the other in order for everyone to have paid the "average" in the end.  Some months I don't owe anything, other times I owe someone and other times I get money from someone else.  We do not typically include the cost of staples (salt, sugar, etc) or packaging in our totals.

Where does a frozen food group find recipes that are okay to freeze?
I use the Dream Dinners and Dinners in the Freezer cookbooks alot.  Some of the other moms like to use Recipezaar which has a section on Once A Month Cooking (OAMC).  Beyond that you can do a search on google and find lots of random blogs of folks who do OAMC or other websites such as 30 day gourmet with recipes.  Also, the group I am in has been exchanging for 2 years or more so we also repeat family favorites regularly within the group.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what I am talking about. 

I made my meatloaves last weekend so I don't have any "progress" photos but I can take a picture of the meatloaves in my freezer.  I will write again later and include the photo.  Our exchange is on the 16th this month so I will plan to get some photos of what I receive.  We have 6 families participating this month and so far I know there will be a chicken pot pie, a beef and fettucine alfredo dish, a polenta casserole with sauteed peppers and sausage and my meatloaf.  There will be 2 more dishes that are currently TBD. I am considering making a side of candied carrots to go with my meatloaf but I need to add up my costs and see if that brings me closer to the average or puts me higher than the average.  If it puts me higher then I will probably hold off.  I like to be right around the average every month so I don't have to worry about taking any money or knowing that the money I receive will likely not be put back into our grocery category but spent on something else instead.   Stay tuned....

3:30 am is really early....

So, Olivia has been sleeping around 10 hrs a night for several weeks and it has been wonderful.  I was beginning to recooperate from the early weeks of getting only 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night....life was starting to look really good!  This week; however, "something is rotten in the state of Denmark"!  Three of the past six nights Olivia has woken up somewhere between 3:30 and 5:15 am.  Sleep, where art thou??

I'm not sure what is going on - maybe teething, maybe growth spurt, maybe developmental milestone coming or maybe just hungry....who knows?!  Whatever it is I hope it passes soon because I am tired.  Mark is also tired.  In fact this morning he called me to tell me Olivia's care provider was not answering her door and in fact it looked like she had moved.  It didn't take long before we realized he was at the wrong apartment building!  Sleep deprivation at its finest!

20% off Diapers @ Amazon Coupon is back!

Just got word that the November issue of Parents magazine contains the coveted 20% off Diapers Coupon which if you read my I want to be an Amazon Mom Blog post know that it can be stacked with the Amazon Mom Subscribe and Save Discount of 30% making for slick Diaper savings just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas as the coupon doesn't expire until December 31, 2010. This time look for the Bright Green Card.

I am hoping that they will have the same in the November Parenting Magazine too with a different starting Letter in the coupon code so that then will stack for ultimate Diaper savings. Remember now you must join Amazon.com/mom to get the 30% S&S savings.

Fire Insurance or Fire Assurance

Hot Topic literally.....

A City Fire Department in Obion County Tennessee let an Obion County Resident's home burn to the ground because he chose not take advantage of the City's Fire Insurance program in advance of his fire. The City offered a Fire Protection Service to County Residents by means of a small annual fee of $75 to those who normally would not have been afforded protection by the City Fire Department. Much to the dismay of some including the family who lost their home, the City chose to abide by their rules of the service and didn't respond to a non participating Obion County resident's repeated 911 requests for help with a fire on his property. They eventually responded only when neighbor called to report the fire had now spread onto his own field the City Fire Department responded only to protect the neighbor's property since he had participated in the plan and paid his fee to the City.


This situation helps remind me of another important type of "Fire Insurance" and makes me sad to think of how many people knowingly and unknowingly choose not accept a "Fire Insurance" of a different nature rather "Fire Assurance" really, that is afforded to us by God and offered by his Son's Jesus death on the Cross. The amazing thing really is that the only fee for this act of Service to us, for which we ultimately are not deserving, is acceptance. This also reminds me of the need to persist and spread the news of this gift of "Fire Assurance" until all have heard and all have been made welcome.

John 3:16 NIV
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Amazon Gift Card Savings

If you happen to have an Amazon Chase Visa Rewards Card now is a great time to stock up on Amazon gift cards for Christmas or even if you plan on making a purchase on Amazon yourself in the near future. This is because when you use your Amazon Rewards Visa card to purchase $50 or more in Amazon gift cards from Amazon.com during the month of October you will receive a 5% gift card bonus credited to your Amazon.com account in November. This is in addition to the usual 3 points reward for using your Amazon Visa Reward card to make an an Amazon.com purchase. That is like getting 8% off after rewards points and gift card bonus at Amazon.com which is very nice indeed. They have capped the max bonus at $100 per Visa Rewards card but that just means you would have to buy more than $2000 worth of gift cards before reaching the limit of the rewards available. That is a lot of gift cards which will only be an issue for folks trying to buy really big ticket items like a new 3D LED TV or prepaying for your entire year of purchases on Amazon.com or if you have a really long Christmas Gift List. I really do not have this problem but still I like the additional savings on the small amount of purchases I am going to make from Amazon.com anyways so it works out nice for me too.

Check it out for yourself if here for the full details https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000579861

Also, remember if your planning on buying those discounted diapers I mentioned in an earlier blog post by becoming an Amazon.com Mom you may want to buy a gift card first with your Amazon.com Rewards Visa and then use the gift card to pay for the diapers to get the most savings.

One word of caution. I do not recommend ever using a credit card to obtain a deal unless you already have the money in hand to pay the card off when the bill comes at the end of the month and can also afford to spend the money without harming your family finances. It is simply not worth saving 5% only end up paying the credit card company 19% interest on that purchase down the road. ALWAYS USE YOUR CREDIT CARD RESPONSIBLY.

I know we will be giving out a lot more gift cards this year to thanks to this deal on Amazon.com. I think I might be becoming an Amazon.com addict. I will have to find some deals not on Amazon.com in the near future.

Good Morning!

Morning is quickly becoming my favorite time of day simply because it seems to be Olivia's favorite time of day.  She is such a good night sleeper that she is just a little ball of smiles and giggles when she wakes up.  It is hands down the most precious thing I have ever had the privilege of seeing.

This morning was no exception.  All smiles and giggles.  But then I noticed something...  Olivia was soaking wet.  I mean drenched.  The whole back of her pajamas, the "waterproof" pad under her, the crib sheet....and I don't mean just a wet spot!  And there she was, still, all smiles and giggles.  What a sweet little girl we have.  I'm so thankful.

Psalm 95:1-3 KJV

O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Baby deals

I have never been much of a shopper.  That is a bit strange for a female but God knew I'd be paired with Mark later on and wisely made me the way I am!

With that being said, at times my husband's all-consuming quest for deals does wear off on me and I can get a little crazy with the credit card.  That happened yesterday at Walmart - those baby jeans with hearts on the butt were too cute to pass by!  I just knew Olivia would want them in her current and next size, plus the matching jacket...and those little pant sets on clearance, and some new teethers (she really wants those).....you get the idea! 

Back to deals though - I got a few good ones recently that I'm proud to tell you about.  Olivia is 3 months old and I still have not sent out birth announcements.  Seriously, who has time for such things with a newborn?  Anyway, I had decided not to bother but then I saw that Kodak Gallery was offering 20 free baby announcements and Shutterfly was offering 10 free 5x7 matte cards.  So, I designed up two announcments lickety split!  I'm hoping to get them mailed out this week to coincide with Olivia's baby dedication on October 10th.

And then, as if the announcements were not good enough, Snapfish was offering at free 5x7 photobook.  I had been wanting to make a book for my pregnancy that Olivia could enjoy looking at when she is older.  It took me 3 days of working on it here and there when I had time but I just got an email that it is on it's way and let me tell you, it is CUTE!  I cannot wait til it arrives!

So, for all three of these I only had to pay shipping so it was probably $10 or less total and I am getting 30 birth announcements and a photobook - woo hoo for deals!

My Wife's Hair Coloring

OK so I am blessed with a low maintenance wife so much so that when we got married and started looking at our our expenses she agreed to forgo getting her hair colored at a salon as she had been accustomed and to color her hair herself at home with a purchased kit. So I have been informed that when she buys a $15 hair coloring kit that includes both color and highlights and she doesn't have time to do the highlights I am not to begrudge the extra expense for the unused highlights. This is because when compared to the cost of getting it done at a Salon the extra cost for the highlights is negligible and this kit is the only one that has the color she likes and also doesn't cause a dermatological allergic reaction.



Needless to say though for me, being the bargain hound that I am, I thought there had to be a better way. So I recently began looking at a way to save money on the coloring she uses, especially since half the kit didn't get used most of the time. Through my searching on the Internet I discovered that there was a market place seller on Amazon.com called American Beauty that just so happened to sell the exact same hair coloring kit Shannon uses L'Oreal Couleur Experte Easy 2-in-1 Color + Highlights 5.1 Truffle Medium Ash Brown and for the low low price of $4.99 plus shipping. All the other hair color shades made in that brand and style were full price so I guess it was meant to be that were were to save on this particular product. The seller had 8 boxes so I pounced and purchased all 8 to help spread the cost of shipping out. The final cost for each kit shipped was $6.18 saving us more than half the retail price for this kit. So now my wife and I have found a happy medium addressing my concerns about the extra cost of the unused highlights and her needs for coloring for at least the next year.

Now we just have to decide where are going to put all these hair coloring kits. Fortunately this is a smaller item but sometimes the cost savings of buying an item in bulk doesn't logically benefit a person when compared to the cost of storage space in your home. Yet I find myself still buying Toilet Paper and Paper Towels in bulk out of fear never letting the supply dwindle as if running out of such things would upset the balance of the universe.