This blog is moving.............

Yes, you saw that correctly!  I am in the process of moving this blog over to http://www.anotherdayinamomsworld.com/.  I am excited about this stage in my life and believe that it will allow me to reach more people.  Positive thoughts and lots of prayers are in my future and please be patient while I'm working on this transition.

The Holidays are Approaching and a Kindle Fire

It is that time of year again............

Time to start thinking about the holidays..........or if you're like me, you've been thinking about them since they ended last year.

I'm not as far along with my shopping as I would like to be, but I am also trying to plan my upcoming trip to Orlando and figuring out what we're doing while we're there.  (Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, the new Legoland, so many choices, so little time).  Also, my children are growing.  The older one doesn't really want toys anymore, my daughter is fairly easy to shop for clothing and accessory wise, but doesn't really want toys, and my youngest son has all of the toys from the older ones and doesn't need anymore.  However, he's not really ready for all of the expensive tech toys that my older two want.

I was just looking into a Kindle (for myself, I won't fib about that!) and saw the Kindle Fire can be pre-ordered.  I was intrigued to see what this new toy was all about???  I am truly amazed at what I found out!  Apps, email, books, movies, music, this seems to have it all!  I had originally been thinking about an ipod touch for my oldest but I'm thinking that the Kindle Fire may be the way to go.  I just wish it was coming out before my trip so I could take it on the road and well, roadtest it.  I know I would like it, hint, hint!!

Now what to get for everyone else on my list????????????

The Beginning of Fall, the Beginning of Colds

Oh, what a couple of weeks it has been......................

We got my youngest through the worst of his breathing issues and have been keeping our fingers crossed that it won't happen again.  Then this week he came home from school on Monday with a temperature.  So, I had company on Tuesday.  Not that I minded the snuggle time and the fact that I ended up sleeping most of the day! 

That is one thing that my husband cannot understand.  How can I just sleep the entire day??  I guess when my body decides that it needs rest, it need it.  I'm just starting to listen to my body more and more and ignoring what the type A me thinks I should be doing.  Like now, I should be cleaning my bathroom, but instead I'm resting on the couch writing this post.  My body doesn't really like to move too early in the morning, which is definitely hard with getting three kids out the door (well, five, with my two extras that come over). 

My list of things to do today, besides the bathroom, are laundry, dishes, general pickup of things not in there place and hopefully a little more baking, so I can warm up my house a little bit.  My long term list for this weekend is to finalize our trip to Orlando (all of the little details like transportation, who's meeting us there and is there a washer/dryer in my unit??), working on a realistic budget, so I can start setting more money aside, and paying bills.  Oh, and I'm sure my kids want their allowance from the past 8 weeks!  I really need to work on a schedule for myself as well. 

I think I'll get some worksheets going this weekend, in between playing with my crew and getting some yard work done.  It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend here, so I'm going to enjoy every minute of it!

If you have any ideas of what I can do on any of the above plans, please let me know.  Or share anything that you're trying to implement into your life.

Book Review of Unsinkable

I was asked to review the book Unsinkable by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent.  This is a book about Abby sailing solo around the world.  It was able to give be a really good idea of what he went through all of those months at sea. 

At the beginning of the book, there are 3 icons which will help you as you continue reading.  They are to let you know who the dialogue is by.  This is confusing at first but as you get into the book, it does get easier. 

I was amazed at the strength this 16 year old girl had and that she had enough courage to even want to sail around the world.  The book is filled with all of her experiences and downfalls.  There is a section of pictures in the middle of the book of her journey.  My favorite picture is the one of her younger brother, who was born just 12 hours after she arrived home from her trip.

This is definitely a must read for anyone who enjoys reading about people's triumphs in life.

 I was given this book by booksneeze.com.  All of the opinions are mine and I was not influenced in any way.

Stampin' Up! website

I just found this great website for Stampin' Up! products and ideas!  Go to http://www.gettincrafty.com/ and see what Cristena has!  She offers different classes and you can order products online.  As she puts it, you can order from your home 24/7 in your jammies! :)  What a wonderful thing.................

She has a button so you can sign up for emails or rss feeds.  You can also email her. 

I can't wait to explore more of her site!

When Your Child Is Sick..................

It has been a long couple of days, at least I think that's how long it's been. It seems much, much longer to me. Sunday morning, my youngest told me he was having trouble breathing. I listened to him and he sounded a little congested and I just thought he had a cold. After all, it is the start of fall here in the Northeast!  He played off and on throughout the day, but for the most part was quiet. Such a change from my usual moving at all times child!

Sunday night when he fell asleep, his breathing was way off. He was breathing so fast and being the mom I am, I had to make the agonizing decision to either wait it out, till we could get to the doctor or take him to the ER. I decided on the wait approach, because he was out cold. I was next to him in bed all night and I didn't sleep much.

Monday we went to the doctor and even though his breathing seemed a whole lot better to me, he was still breathing too fast.  He is now on 3 medications and had to have a chest x-ray.  He is out of school for most of the week, at least until we see the doctor again on Thursday afternoon. 

This means a rearrangement of our my schedule this week. All of the time I planned on being at school, means I have to be home.  He needs to be kept quiet all week (how do you do that with a 7 year old boy???) and I need to continue to try to get everything I need to get done, done and take care of the rest of my family.  Did I mention that I haven't really slept in 2 nights? 

Somehow I will have to try to squeeze in some take care of me time, so I don't have a flare or run myself down. I'll get back to you on that....................

Fall Fun!

The weather has started to turn cooler here in the Northeast and that means that there are so many things to do. Football has started for the kids, so us parents show up at the field with drinks, snacks, chairs and blankets (Yes, I do NOT like the cold!).  Soccer and lacrosse are also popular with some families.

Hiking, apple picking, fall fairs and festivals, pumpkin patches are other ideas, to name a few.  We went apple picking last week and made some applesauce yesterday and apple slab pie a few days ago.  LOTS of fun for the kids and lots of cleanup for mom, but SO worth it!

We have a hike planned in a couple of weeks and I know that we'll be going to the pumpkin patch.

While all of this is going on, this busy mom will be starting to do her fall cleaning, fall baking and get into gear for the holidays.  My holiday shopping is probably a third of the way done and I'm feeling a little behind at the moment.  I have a few items that I need to start making to give as gifts, because I always think it's a brilliant idea to do some homemade gifts.  Where is my brain????  I forget about the life we all lead sometimes! 

I will definitely be taking some time out to spend with my family and friends!

Price Chopper Deals for the week of 9/11

I think this is a slightly slow week at Price Chopper, but here is what I see for good deals:

Can Crazy Coupon  Buy 3 pepsi brand 12 packs get 1 Lipton Brisk ice tea 12 pack free

Can Crazy Coupon  Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies, Keebler Chips Deluxe and Famous Amos brand cookies 4 for $8

Pop Secret popcorn is Buy 1 at $3.19  get 1 free

Grande Tortilla Chips Buy 1 at $2.99 get 1 free

Spend $25 on certain General Mills products and get 20 cents off per gallon of gas


Remember, for every $50 you spend at Price Chopper, you get 10 cents off per gallon of gas (up to 20 gallons). Gift cards count towards gas rewards, with the exception of Price Chopper gift cards.  Alcohol and certain other exclusions apply.

CVS Deals for the week of 9/11

Here are the best deals that I see for CVS this week:

Mars, Wrigleys or Hersheys assorted fun size 5 for $10
Hershey Drops 2 for $5  coupon in 9/11 inserts
Irish Spring or Softsoap body wash $2.99 get $2 in EB final price $0.99
St Joseph Aspirin $2 get $1 EB use coupon in 9/11 inserts = free aspirin
RepHresh Brilliant tampons $6.79 get $6.79 in EB = Free Tampons
Huggies Jumbo pack $8.99 get $1 in EB use coupon from the 9/11 insert
Aussie or Herbal Essence $2.99 get $1 in EB

Spend $25 on certain Bounty, Charmin, Puffs and Duracell products and get $10 back in EB

Time for Exercise!!

With all of the struggles of parenting, relationships and household duties, sometimes our priorites get a little mixed up!  We often forget about ourselves and put many people first.  I know that I do that all of the time!  I feel like my family and friends should get all of my energy and don't realize that by doing that, I'm neglecting myself.  We need to prioritize and make sure that we give our bodies what it needs.

One way of doing this is by exercising.  I know, that word is not a good one.  Here's the good news -- playing with your kids outside counts!  As does walking them to the bus stop.  And all of those errands you run (you know, the ones where you are trying to find as many good deals as you can, to stretch the budget.....) park a little further from the store to get a few extra steps in.

Take 10 minutes to stretch in the morning, another 10 later in the day for walking and another 10 in the evening doing yoga or pilates.  Or throw some weight training in a 10 minute slot.  The possibilities are endless and you should never get bored. 

Try to find somewhere where you can go swimming with the family.  We try to take the kids to the Y and after swimming we hang out in the gym shooting hoops.  Get your kids or significant other to join you and get some quality time together.

You're Worth It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We Survived the First Day of School

Yesterday I sent my oldest off to middle school for the first time, while my younger two went back to elementary school.  So now, I'm going to try and balance myself between the two schools.  But that is for another day!

My oldest woke up crying yesterday and didn't want to eat anything before he left. He was all packed up and ready so the morning went fairly well (except for the fact that we have to get up so early). I got him on the bus and told him I'd see him at the end of the day.

My younger two woke up after my oldest left and I went through the same routine with them except there were no tears this time.  This was pretty much routine for them since they were going back to the same school.  Drove them to the bus stop. 

Then I went to school to help a teacher organize all of the school supplies that came in. Ran a few errands after that and then it was time to do the pickups at the bus stop. I'm beginning to feel like I'm going to be living there......................

The middle school/high school bus was about 10 minutes late. No biggie!  Came home and went through all of the papers with my son, heard about his day (with excitement in his voice) and heard about what supplies he needed.

Back up to the bus stop.........

Elementary bus was 25 minutes late. Oh well!!  Life goes on.  Came home with the other two plus my two extras and heard about their day, went through the mountain of paperwork and found out what else they needed to take to school.

And out of the mouth of my youngest was the best thing of all "My teacher is so pretty, mommy!!"

I can't wait to see what else we all learn together this year.

Hurrican Irene and a lot to be thankful for.....................

It was a change from what normally happens at my house when a hurrican is threatening to hit the U.S.  Usually it threatens Florida, where my mom and sister live. I usually call down there to make sure they're ready for it and they check in after it has hit and gone by. This time, it was threatening the East Coast and my mom and sister called me to make sure we were ready and had everything we needed to "hunker down". 

We did survive the storm with minimal damage, although some towns around us were not as fortunate.  Rivers flooded, roads washed out, houses flooded and cars were swept away by the water.  The number of people lost by this storm is not yet known, as I'm sure the number will rise for a few more days. That is definitely the worst part of any tragedy. You can survive with the loss of your house or things but the loss of life is a hard thing to overcome.

It makes you even more aware that you should be grateful for everyone in your life, even if you aren't on the best of terms with some people, you should still be grateful for them. You never know when these people might step up and help you out unexpectantly. You should be grateful for the little ones in your house, even if they wake you up multiple times overnight. Your husband's annoying habits should make you smile (after all they did at one time or you wouldn't have married him).

Don't let things be a major part of what you love. People should be the most loved in your life and everyone should learn to live with less of everything else.

A long time and one busy summer!

It has been so long since I have sat down to actually write a post and I've missed it so much!  I can't wait until school starts and I can get a regular routine going. 

We went out to my grandma's to visit and we surprised her.  She wasn't expected us and was really happy when we showed up.  It was a nice 3 days of visiting!

Right now we're trying to get all of our school supplies together and we're still waiting for my oldest sons schedule.  A whole lot of waiting................

My youngest stepdaughter just started college and today is her second day of classes.  She went to pick up her textbooks today and spent $341.  Not sure what to expect when these 3 younger ones get to college!  Hoping that everything will be electronic by then and we won't have to pay anything???

Planning on a great weekend since it's my birthday weekend and I'm hoping to order a dishwasher for my house.  I cleaned out some drawers and cabinets today so we will actually have room for it.  I can't wait till I don't have to do quite so many dishes by hand.  Now I just have to get my husband on board!  Any ideas there???

Vocalpoint Info

If you are not a Vocalpoint member, now may be the time to  join!  You get a lot of good samples, freebies and coupons.  This upcoming Tuesday you will receive a way to help your teen learn how to spend smart!  A definite must for all parents!  I can't wait to see exactly what it is and how it works......

Here is the link you will need to join and access the info:

http://link.vocalpoint.com/u.d?LYGhctg34NSrAL8Iylz0=281&s=1CE12770-8192-4A66-B981-1C2F67BA2EEB

Good luck with this adventure and have fun!  Life is always an adventure and everyone learns something new every day!

Summer Time Adventures

This summer has definitely been full of adventure!  Not so much like last summer, when I decided I needed excitement and broke my foot.  Much, much different this year.

We were able to go to Massachussetts for a week with the kids and hung out by the pool and mini golf course most of the time.  However, we did squeeze in a trip to Six Flags New England.  This was made possible because we have season passes to Six Flags Great Escape, which is close to our house.  Financially, the day didn't go as planned......When we arrived at the park, we showed our season parking pass for our park, only to find out that they no longer accepted it from other parks.  What??!!!!???  $20 later, we parked the car for the day!  I decided against packing lunches, since it would take a long time to walk back to the car during the day and since it was so hot, I knew that would just make hungry kids crankier.  Well, I was expecting high food prices but not what I found!  A meal with 4 chicken tenders and a couple of handfuls of fries cost about $15, maybe a little more. I think I'm still in shock over that.....Needless to say, we split the meal between all of us.

The rest of the day went well, the kids enjoyed the rides they went on and we left early enough to enjoy a dinner back in Lee at Arizona Pizza.  Very yummy and we all ate a nice, big dinner for around $30 (I even had a coupon that I used)!

We went to the Great Escape this past weekend and the kids enjoyed the rides, I was able to use my season parking pass and we enjoyed a little snack.  The prices were a little better, but they still seem to be really outrageous!  How are we as families supposed to go out and do things and help the economy, when prices are skyrocketing????  You can only stretch your finances so much........

With many more things on my to do list this summer, some of them I will use coupons for , some I will use passes that we got for half price and others we will have received for free (like our Enchanted Forest/Water Safari tickets I won from MaltaMama  :)  ).  The things that don't fit into those categories, I guess I will have to rethink and see if it's something we really need or want to do.  My 3 seem happy hanging out around the house and finding things to amuse themselves.  Mainly annoying one another but there are some good moments too.

All in a summer's day...........................

Summer Fun For Families

There are so many things that you can do as a family during the summer and you don't even have to spend a lot of money!  The main thing is to spend time together, have a good time and make sure you are all having a chance to do something that each of you enjoys.

Many stores have activities for children to do and they are FREE
      AC Moore, Home Depot, Lowes, Michaels to name a few

Museums and zoos have days where you can in for free.  Who wouldn't love to see art pieces or animals???

National and State parks are also free or cheap day trips.  Lots of room to play, walk and picnic!

Just about every neighborhood has a playground nearby.  It may not be in walking distance, but if it is, what a great way to get some extra exercise.  Just remember, bring snacks and lots to drink!

Libraries are a great resource.  Not only do they have air conditioning for those hot summer day escapes, they have many books, dvd's, magazines and newspapers - ALL for FREE!  And, if your library is like mine, they have a fabulous reading program for the kids (mine even has one for us BIG KIDS!).  Prizes for books read and different entertainment for the kiddos. What a way to browse for books  --  can we say peace and quiet, with no interruptions???

How about a day of fun and games right in your own backyard?

Or a day of playing chef or baker right in your kitchen?  (perfect for those rainy days)

Or scientist?  teacher? 

The possibilities are endless!

If you have any ideas that I haven't mentioned, please share.  We all need a little inspiration on occasion!

What a BUSY Day!

Today started out as a nice lazy day, because I slept in until 7:30.  Then I ate a leisurely breakfast after feeding the kids, but I ran out of time for a cup of coffee.  Then I hit the floor running for a lot of things that were hurry up and wait!

The first trip was to the vet with our cat.  Just a checkup visit, but when we got there, they were backed up because they had 3 emergencies come in.  So, there I waited with 3 kids.  What fun!  The visit went quick when we got in, so that was nice and there were no problems.

Next, we dropped the cat off at home, picked up a 4th child and went off to the library.  I signed everyone up for the reading programs for their age level and then they picked out their books for the next few days.  Easy as pie!  (hmmm, pie, might have to make one)

Then McDonalds for lunch, because we were already out.  Went through the drive thru and brought it home to eat.  And I got the leftovers that my kids didn't eat.  (Not so good for my stomach, but oh well)!

AC Moore was next since they had a craft afternoon.  We did our shopping first and then stood in line to make the patriotic shirts.  While they were drying we stood in line to get the temporary tatoos.  Did I mention the lines????  It's a popular place during these craft afternoons!  There were at least 50 kids there with their parents.  But, we managed and then we came home and the craziness is still going strong. 

Since we haven't really been home today, I have NO CLUE what we're eating for dinner, so that's next in my plan.  I'm sure since my freezer is well stocked, I should be able to find something quick and easy!  I'll get to that in my next couple of posts later this week.

I'll also be posting my savings for the year on coupons and my goals for the rest of the year!

Our Vacation Part Four - Leaving Family and Friends and Returning Home

We're back from another weekend away, while I try to finish our last vacation's post!  I'm going to have to start typing these up ahead of time, so all I have to do is hit post!

It was bittersweeet when we left Savannah.  We had a wonderful time and lots of fun, but saying goodbye is always hard.  What made it easier was knowing that we would be seeing them when they came up here in July AND that knowing we could Skype any time we had a moment or two.

We got up about 5:30 am to finish loading the van and to give out hugs and then we started out.

My husband drove the beginning of the drive, which was nice, because he was able to see how long it took to get through South Carolina and North Carolina. I had driven most of that on the way down while he slept, so he didn't realize how long they were.  He also got the Virginia part on the way back and his comment was "Does this state ever end???"  Mine was "Eventually!!" as I drifted back off to sleep...............

It took us 17 1/2 hours to get home and when we arrived, we had tired kids, tired parents and one very happy kitty, who wanted to play all night.  What an adventure and YES, I would do it all again.

Our Vacation Part Three - The Beach and Shopping

Here is the long waited for part three of our trip dpwn south! 

The beaches down there are fabulous and the water and scenery is beautiful!  The best part is that you can watch dolphins as they're going by!  I could sit on the sand, reading a book, catching some rays and watching the dolphins all day.  The kids and my husband, well, maybe not so much.......

Here is what we did at Tybee Island Beach and Hilton Head Beach:

The kids and my husband went in the water and played, swam and searched for sand dollars.  They also built sand castles complete with moats.  I sat and watched, handed out snacks, caught some rays and did a little reading.  Also, I was the picture taker. 

We found a dead jellyfish that had washed up onto the sand so we had a little science lesson (don't you love it when you can have a teachable moment  :)  ). 

When we were in Hilton Head and done at the beach, we went to the outlets.  My daughter had to go into Justice (of course) and we also went into Old Navy.  My daughter bought quite a few things from Justice, but they were all reasonably priced.  A lot were on clearance or on sale and the store was running a 40% off everything special.  Works for me!  Old Navy had a few things that I purchased for myself and a few baby items for my sister's new little one in September.

All in all, it was a beautiful, fun filled, tiring, family and friends, hanging out kind of day!  What a bonus!

Motts for Tots free product from Vocalpoint

This is an awesome deal if you have little ones in the house (or even not so little ones!).  Vocalpoint is sending out free Motts for Tots juice.  All you need to do is be a member of Vocalpoint and that's an easy thing to do!  Just sign up and you will get lots of free products and coupons throughout the year.  They ask for your opinions on products along with other feedback and you can talk to other moms out there.  It's a fabulous program.  (Can you tell I love this......?)

Here is the link for this offer:

www.vocalpoint.com/mottsfortots