Ready, Set, GO!!!!!!

My Pantene coupons came today. Now comes the crazy part. I have to try to find enough Pantene in the old style bottles to use them all. That is 60 bottles folks. Wish me luck, for I will be visiting a lot of WalMarts. (shudder) I will update as I get through the WalMarts.

DeKalb - They only had 1 bottle. Coupon is for $5 off 3, one bottle does not help me.

Elmhurst - 27 bottles. The motherlode!!!

Glen Ellyn - 2 bottles, again, this does not help.

St. Charles - 6 bottles, not bad, not bad.

Batavia - 12 bottles. Good haul.

So far, so good. Only 5 coupons out of the 20 left. I can live with having to eat those if necessary.

Recurring trends and not having CPS called on me.

Will CPS take my child away if I duct tape him to his bed? This was a question that popped into my head last night. My child finally fell asleep in his bed at 11:00 pm. He goes to bed at 8:00 pm. 3 hours of having to go in and tell him to stop playing and get back into bed. I was seriously contemplating busting out the duct tape. Tonight he actually went to sleep quickly with no getting out of bed. All I can think is "Thank ya Jesus" (this being said like a faith healer) This week has been full of fun with children, let's recap shall we.

Sunday we took down the crib and now Andrew gets to sleep in his big boy bed. He was angry because he doesn't want his bed to be a bed. His toddler bed is a choo choo train and he wants it to be a train for playing on. Sunday afternoon nap was a lot of him getting up and playing. Sunday night we were out at a friend's house and he got to run around catching lighning bugs, so he passed out in the car and never woke up when we put him to bed.

Monday was a trip. I got home from work and asked where Andrew was. I was told by Justin that Andrew had been sent to his room until I got home. I inquired why and was told he locked Justin out of the house. Here's that story. Justin went to put some laundry in the dryer, to do this he has to leave the apartment for a minute. He gets to the door to come back in and it is locked. He knocks on the door and Andrew lifts the curtain. Justin asks him to open the door. Andrew tries and can't, gives Justin the "I don't know Daddy" look. Justin tells him to unlock the door and let him in. Andrew says "No" and then pushes the curtain against the door so that Justin can't see him. Justin had to take the air conditioner out of the window on the front porch and climb in that way. Good thing we bought an air conditioner. Monday night, Andrew doesn't fall asleep until late. Apparently he doesn't realize that we can hear his counting chair when he gets out of bed and sits in it. Lots of going in and telling him to get back in bed.

Nothing much going on Tuesday. Tuesday night is the same as Monday. Lots of telling him to get back into bed, lots of him trying to stall. Good times.

He is such a little character. His vocabulary is growing so fast. But last night, I seriously considered that he might really be part monkey (and not just because of the fur on his back) and I might have to tie him to his bed.

Do they make LoJack for people?

I had a horrible nightmare over the weekend about my child being taken. In the dream I saw the creep and was chasing them and screaming. I woke up panicked and 5 days later, I am still unsettled by the dream. This is all part of the paranoia that I have started to develop since becoming a parent. I have had dreams of him falling off a bridge and now this one. I know there are others that I can't remember.

The world that we live in seems more dangerous than when I was a kid. We used to go out and ride our bikes all over the place. We'd be gone for the entire day, sometimes taking snacks and not even coming home for lunch. We would stay out and roam the neighborhood after dinner until my mom called us in after it got dark. How do I give Andrew all the great childhood experiences without developing an ulcer? Luckily I have a few years before he can go out on his own, but it's coming. How do I make sure the paranoia will not rub off on him? I worry that it already has when we are outside and Andrew grabs onto me for dear life when the local homeless man walks by. (To be honest, we believe that he is homeless and he mutters to himself so he is kind of scary.)

I don't want to smother him, but I am worried about my sanity as he gets older. I already worry and he is never out of my sight. I think I need to revisit the doctor and resume the Prozac. Hopefully we can get pregnant again soon, so we can decide when we will be done having kids and I can look forward to long term Prozac usage.

I am sure that Justin would like me back on the Prozac too, right honey?

In the interest of sharing.

I thought I would share with you that my drag queen name would be Jackie Hale.

I envision some sort of Navy theme, with a cute sailor hat.

(Take the name of your first pet for your first name and the first street you lived on as the last name. Yeah I know the formula is the same or similar for other "names)

It is done.

My transition to complete dork has been completed. Following is the incident that signaled the change.

We were watching Star Wars last night. Well they cut to a shot of the Death Star. Andrew pointed to it and said "Moon". I calmly and instantly responded, "That's no moon, it's a spacestation."

Update

We have so much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it


This is gonna be quick, more to follow over the weekend or next week depending on how I feel. Vacation was good. We had a lot of fun. It was so great to spend time with Lisa and Bobby. Lisa has some pictures over on her blog if you haven't already seen them. Justin didn't clear off the card for our camera, so I have to get pictures from other people before I can really update with pictures.

We got back on Friday (the 22nd) at 2:30 am, I got up at 6 to go to work. I only lasted a few hours at work, went to my mom's to pick up Justin, Bailey and Andrew. Drove Bailey home and took a very short nap (15 min) at my inlaws. Drove us home, we had dinner, went to Jewel because I had coupons that had to be used that day for free milk and we were out, then came home and crashed. Sunday was spent mostly relaxing because I was beat.

Spent most of this week trying to get caught up on work. End of the month is here and I am a week behind. I seem to have a sinus infection or head cold. Feeling lousy, can't take a sick day from work until Tuesday at the earliest. Lets hear it for double doses of Advil Cold & Sinus.

I have only been doing the can't miss deals as far as shopping goes, and I have still managed to accumulate 40 bottles of BBQ sauce this week. Not to mention the moneymaking Boost and Glucerna cereal deals. Anyone know someone who likes or uses Boost? I am going to have my mom try the Glucerna cereal, if she doesn't like it I will donate it somewhere. If this wasn't such a monster moneymaker, I wouldn't have bothered. I generally don't buy things I won't use, well except the Just for Men haircolor and the Nice and Easy Blonde Root Kits. But those netted me a profit too.

Best shopping trip of the week was at Jewel:
12 Suddenly Salad
12 Kraft BBQ Sauce
8 Chex Mix
1# Nectarines
1# Bananas

Total spent $0.58

I think that is all for now, not sure because the sinus pain, pressure and congestion messes with my ability to think.

Florida here we come..........again.

We leave Friday morning for vacation if FL. We always go there because my dad and stepmom are there and want to see Andrew. This year there's a twist. My mom is coming too. Oh and we are taking Justin's 10 yr old sister. No problems with either of them coming along, but it will be weird to spend the day at Disney with my dad, mom and stepmom.

Thanks to my mom's timeshare, we will be staying at the Liki Tiki resort. Peep here to see a slideshow of how awesome this place will be. It is really close to Disney which will come in handy Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we will all be going to Disney. Sunday it will be me, Justin, Bailey, Lisa and Bobby. It is going to be so much fun going to the park with Lisa. We have been friends since the 8th grade and she is more a sister than a friend. The whole reason for picking this weekend to go to the park is for Star Wars Weekends. Justin made a comment last year about how he would love to attend, so I planned our vacation around it. Sunday he will have plenty of time to devote to it, since Andrew will be staying at the resort with my mom. I wish we were going next weekend though, I would love to meet Warwick Davis.

Andrew seems to be excited about the impending trip. He keeps asking for "BumpaNanaMickey" which is how he refers to my dad and stepmom. On Monday he took my hand and led me to the door because he wanted to go see them. He has recently connected with Mickey, so I think this time the park may have a big effect on him. My only worry is that it will be really hard to leave. It has always been hard for my dad to leave him, but this time Andrew may have a hard time leaving Bumpa.

We are taking my sister-in-law Bailey with us. I think it will be really cool to see the park through her eyes. She has never flown before and worries about flying because of 9/11. I hope that we can calm her fears and that she can enjoy the flight.

I raised spending money by selling off some of my stockpile. I made around $500. I called my mom and asked "Who's the crazy one now?" She always tells me I am crazy when I come home with 12 razors and 40 bars of soap. Don't worry, I still have 50 tubes or so of toothpaste. I didn't sell it all.

An example of the crazy taking over, I have decided I can't travel without my coupons. So I have been clipping everything from the last 2 months and will be getting a case for them. Hopefully I can find something suitable. We have a kitchen in our condo and I cannot pay full price anymore. So if I have to go grocery shopping, I need my coups.

I was going to post a link to or clip of Lazy Sunday (SNL skit) but I can't find a decent one. So I will leave you with this.
Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious

I've been tagged!

By Samantha (Mom in Guam)

"Rules"After posting these rules, each player proceeds to list 8 relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, leaving them a comment on their blogs to let them know.

1. I am concerned about diabetes since it runs in my family and I am overweight. The only reason I am concerned is not because of the health issues, it's that I cannot imagine not being able to eat sugar in it's worst forms. Circus peanuts, PEZ, candy corn, I love sugar.

2. I hate our current toothpaste, but refuse to open a 2nd tube. I have over 100 tubes, but can't bring my self to have 2 tubes open at the same time.

3. I wish I liked melon. Andrew likes all forms of melon and it looks so good, but I just don't like it.

4. My childhood memories begin the night my dad left. It was the summer before I turned 6. That is the first clear memory I have, I don't remember anything about kindergarten.

5. I can only buy shoes at a special store. My feet are so wide that I have very few options and all of them are expensive. Even if I lose weight, they will still be superwide.

6. I have more name brand products in my house since I started couponing. I love knowing that we will always have food and toiletries. I will never pay for toothpaste again.

7. I am terrible when it comes to being a girl. I am completely useless when it comes to clothes and makeup. Seriously, I can't seem to find a lipstick that works, so I don't bother.

8. I love Barry Manilow. I just can't help it. When he comes on my iPod, I crank it up and sing along.

All of my blogger friends have been tagged, so I've got nobody to tag.

I learned something this weekend.

I was in the shower and I decided to use my sample salt scrub from my Oprah tote. This stuff totally rocks. One problem though, I forgot I had a couple of cuts on my legs. I remembered this fact when they started to burn.

I rubbed salt into my wounds. I am a moron.

Keane!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight the husband and I are going to a show. We are going to see Keane. I LOVE this band. I discovered them on Virgin Radio in March of 2004. I have been a massive fan since then, but haven't gotten out to see them. They came through in 2004 but I was 8 mos pregnant and standing around at a show was not gonna happen. Then we had an infant and were too sleep deprived to care. So this year, we are going to see them.

Things I love about Keane:
Piano driven pop
Gorgeous melodies
Tom's vocals
Word usage - Anyone who can use "dithering" in a song rocks, it's so very English

They are the perfect marriage for someone who is both an anglophile and audiophile. That is probably why I heart them so much.

Bringing the funny to the internets.

This comes from a great webcomic called xkcd.

Comedy Gold, I tell ya.

I am checking out at Walgreens at 6am this morning and we (the asst. mgr. and I) hear a car horn blowing and think someone's alarm is going off. This woman comes up to the counter carrying a coffeemaker. She asks if it is her horn blowing, we tell her probably. She informs us that her dogs are in the car. We laugh and I leave.

I get into my car and look over at the dogs in question. They are 2 cute labs, big dogs. I watch them for a minute. 1 of them is sitting in the drivers seat, staring at the door to Walgreens. I then see the dog put it's paw on the horn and lean on it for like 5 seconds. Then it moves to the passenger seat and waits, staring at the door to Walgreen's the whole time. I sat there and laughed. I had assumed that the dog had accidentally hit the horn, but no the dog was using the horn to hurry it's owner along. Like "Hey, just get the stupid coffeemaker and let's go. C'mon. Silly humans!"

Major Score

I stopped at Walgreen's today on my way home. I wanted to see if they had any of the clearanced Aussie products. Here's the scoop. Walgreens is doing a deal where you buy 9 P&G products from a specific list of participating products and you get 2 coupons for $10 off your next order (so basically $20 in catalina coupons) I did this with Covergirl makeup, spent $16, got @ 2 $10 cats. The Walgreen's by my work had some Aussie products on clearance that worked. Total after using 1 of my $10 cats plus coupons was 3.64 and I got 2 more $10 cats.

Then I stopped on my way home at another store and hit the jackpot. Covergirl liquid liner on clearance for 1.49. I got 6 plus 2 blushes (free coupons for those) and a pack of Venus razors. Total after coupons was $0.37, and that is without using any of my $10 cats. The machine spit out 2 more $10 catalinas.

So my total out of pocket is $20, I earned $60 in cats and I still have $50 left to spend and the week is not over. I have 2 more stores to hit tomorrow.

But these go to 11.

The title of this post has little to do with the subject other than the number and it being funny.

11 years ago today, I got married. I had only known the guy 9 months. I had spent 3 drama filled weeks, yes I said weeks, planning a wedding during which time I also drove my car into a semi, completely totalling it and walking away with some bruises. That story is for another day.

I don't remember a ton about that day to be honest. It went by so fast. But the end result is all that matters. Eleven years ago, I got married to a fantastic guy. Sweet, funny and really smart. We have had some rough times, but on the whole we have had more good than bad. He is a fantastic father and husband. We are really very lucky. Last year for our 10th anniversary we were having some financial issues. We had originally planned to go to England for our 10th, and well that didn't happen. So he got Fish n chips for dinner and we watched The Prisoner. It was such a wonderful idea and we had a great time. He said if we couldn't go to England, he would bring England to us. If you are reading this honey, I love you.

I hope everyone out there is lucky enough to find someone great and has more sunshine than rain in their lives. Have a great day!

Good day / Bad day

Today is a good day, today I get paid. I return my sample deodorant to New Dimensions today and pick up my check. I think I get paid $80 (I actually don't remember the amount) for using 3 different deodorant samples for the last 3 weeks and filling out a questionnaire. So why is today also a bad day?

Today is the last time I return a sample unless I get into a quickie study. As of June 1st there will be no new studies because Unilever is closing the facility. Who is going to pay me to wash my hair or put on deodorant? Who is going to give me coupons for free stuff for smelling things and telling them what I liked? Who is going to give me $40 to circle flyaway and frizz on pictures of hair? (Seriously, that was some of the easiest money ever) I will really miss that place.

Now to find a new revenue stream to replace it. Hmmmmm.

The Great Escape

We recently added 2 new members to our family. Their names are Romeo & Juliet (Mo and Julie) and they came to via The Princess. Turns out everyones favorite Moose is allergic. It took some time, but I talked Justin into it and we took them in. I couldn't imagine giving up Felix and if I had to I would want to know where he was going. This is why I wanted to take them. Everyone is getting along pretty well. There is still some agression occasionally, but for the most part it is working out. We have learned that they are total attention whores and love to be near us. I also learned something new this weekend. We have to watch out to keep Mo from escaping. Here is how it went down.

I am asleep, it is 2am Sat night/Sun Morning. Justin wakes me up to ask me where a flashlight is. I am really asleep, so it takes a couple of tries. Justin tells me that he was going outside for a smoke before going to bed and noticed that the back door was open. He stepped out onto the porch, turned on the light and saw Mo sitting on the edge of the porch. It is supposed to be screen in, but the last tenants destroyed it. So, Justin calls to Mo and Mo bolts around the side of the house. This is when he came for me and a flashlight. So I get him one and he heads out into the dark to look for the cat. Here I should add that Mo and Julie are both 4 paw declawed and we have a lot of feral cats in our neighborhood. So we are totally worried. I grab a can of cat treats and shake them in the time honored tradition of finding cats. Out pops Mo from under our patio furniture. I grab him, yell for Justin. We are totally relieved of course. Justin comes near Mo and Mo starts shaking. The only thing we can figure is that Justin scared Mo when he came out on the porch because Justin has become fond of the new kitties and pays them lots of attention.

Thank God cats love that "shakin sound"

So excited!1!

There are reports that people are starting to receive their Oprah totes! I was one of the first 5000 and got an email saying I would be getting one. It is a tote bag full of freebies and samples and stuff. Everyone who has gotten one in the past says they rock. I can't wait for Justin to be home from school so I can call and see if my tote has arrived. This totally makes up for the CVS tote being out of stock everywhere.

This made me smile

This comes courtesy of a favorite web comic xkcd. I especially like the "Here there be anthropomorphic dragons"

Man it bugs me.

When I hear that people use "Every Breath You Take" by the Police as a wedding song, it makes me stabby. Seriously. This is not a love song, at least it's not about the kind of love I want. Listen to the lyrics people. It is about stalking.

A long, long time ago.....

I actually posted to this blog. The last month has been a serious blur. To start with, we were short a person at work for 3 weeks starting at the end of March. The solution to her absence is that I get to do her job and mine. I will be posting a lot about the last few weeks over the course of this week. But I thought I would post something for your amusement. A peek into the madness. The last time I posted pics of my stockpile it was just in my bathroom, but it has grown in many ways. We have purchased some storage supplies as you will see over the coming days. For now we will start with the pantry. This is a small cabinet with 4 shelves. It stands 5 ft tall and we have 10 ft ceilings (just to give you a frame of reference)

Warning images may disturb you and cause you to consider an intervention. Please note that we do have it under control. I give you the pantry.










This is the view of the entire thing. It is a thing of joy and beauty to behold.











This is the cereal portion of the stockpile. As you can see like cereals are grouped together. They are stacked with the expiration dates facing. This is for easier choosing of what needs to be eaten first. To the left of the cereal is a stack of Quaker Granola Bites. These little balls of granola goodness are one of Andrew's favorites.













This is a close up of the inside. As you can see we have a complement of salad dressings, rice a roni, pudding, pancake mix, tortellini, pb, jelly and granola bars. On the bottom is the Manwich and diced tomatos. There are roughly 14 cans of organic diced tomatos on the bottom shelf.











So, there is our new pantry. This has freed up other areas of storage for more stockpiling. Today I picked up 4 jars of pasta sauce and 9 toothbrushes for $1.45 oop. So, the space is going to be put to good use.

So if you feel like visiting, just remember to bring a bag.