Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I ♥ Contests !

I don't know why but, I've always loved contests! I guess it's the daydreamer in me -Thinking about winning a great vacation,a huge chunk of cash, whatever new gizmo or gadget is out there. Actually winning a $1,000 shopping spree when I was in middle school really helped boost my desire to enter contests and keep on daydreaming. Of course the plan was a bit stifled at the time since for a lot of contests I didn't meet the age requirement.

Now in my adulthood I still love to enter contests -Shhh!-Even play the lottery every once in awhile and still hold onto the daydreams. I mean it seems almost every time the Publisher's Clearing House will definitely be in my area or so they say ;) And I sure could use a nice vacation, or new gizmo. But, alas as it seems with most dreams reality kind of gets in the way. So, it's not that I really even win much of anything but you can't win if you don't play -Right?!

Well, Guess What?! -No I didn't actually win the lottery -But, I was 1 of the winners on Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect -Spring Craft Contest!! Check it out the announcement Here It's under my alter ego -Mrs_Fire_PC -Pretty Cool -Eh? -Yay!!

I guess the dream is still alive! ☺

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Beware of Skittles!

I know,I know some of you are like -Wha?! Beware of Skittles?! And no there's been no recall on them or anything. It's just that today I finally went to see the Hannah Montana movie with my daughter and my sis. for a girls day out. (Yeah we've been pretty knee deep in the Hannah Montana craze for awhile.- My daughter has her CD's,Posters, a Hannah Montana theme for her B-day party last year.-etc.) But I digress...

Back to the Skittles ... So as we got our snacks for the movie since we were pretty hungry and my daughter loves her Skittles. I was reminded of a time a couple yrs. ago where we also then had a girls day out to see a movie and got Skittles. Except for that time after the movie was over I stood up to realize there was a slightly melted/smooshed Skittle on my butt!! Needless to say after trying to pry some off we rushed home. So, I just wanted to make a quick note for all to be warned-Beware of Skittles! I think we'd all rather taste the rainbow not sit on it! ;) Consider this as my Public Service Announcement =D
Oh yeah and by the way -Today's girls day out and movie was good and fun ☺

Friday, April 24, 2009

Saving Money

In these tough economic times it seems everyone is trying to save money. There's a lot of questions about ways to save money on Mamapedia and other places.

I know for me ever since deciding to be a Stay at Home Mom a little over 3 yrs. ago we cut down costs -decreasing our cable bill and saved as much $ as we could-etc. So the economic trouble is like a double whammy! Although currently we're doing a little better thanks to a tax refund, and my husband getting a promotion/small raise. But, I'm sure like a lot of you out there we're caught in the middle class crunch. And even though I've read plenty of articles about saving money some advice just doesn't seem to apply-Once I read cut down or not take your annual vacation-to which I said HAHA! -What annual vacation?!!

So I hope this is good advice for those families like mine: One of the main cost concerns is food/groceries. And being in the middle class crunch we don't necessarily "qualify" for any assistance even though sometimes we all could use a little help-Right?! One thing we have found is the Angel Food service -where you can get a package of food at a discounted price and EVERYONE qualifies! (Check their website for more info. and see if it's available in your area.)
Another thing our family does is use a dry-erase board calendar where we write in our weekly menu before we go shopping. Of course there's also clipping coupons-Depending how much time you have you can save and clip coupons from your newspaper-etc.,the more you do the more you can save! There's also various websites you can get coupons -1 I recommend is Coupons.com. Again depending on the time you're able to spend comparing prices at different stores-etc.-You can always find good deals! If you're like me and just want to go to 1 store and be done with your shopping -Don't forget some stores like Wal-Mart do ad match prices. We've always been pretty devout Wal-Mart shoppers ever since we we're newlyweds and at the time we could utilize my husbands employee discount. :)
To close: Having a game plan by writing a menu,incorporating what we may get thru Angel Food and clipping coupons has really helped our grocery bill! Also as far as the weekly menu-Of course you can always go with the flow and switch things around. Or order pizza when you're just too busy too cook-Just be sure to be on the lookout for good discounts/deals when you do! ;)

P.S. For more money saving tips -Check out the previous post-Happy Earth Day!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Whew !!

Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month ?! I don't know about you but, it seems like just about everything seems to stress me out! Actually women can be twice as likey to be vulnerable to stress/anxiety-Go figure!!

Today was no exception to having it's own stressful moments! It was a busy day to say the least! Luckily my husband was able to be home and help me out. It's very helpful that he can do that every now and then. I try to cram as much as I can when I have these opportunities. Today I went to a new Dr. and got a little lost on the way-Eeek! While I was gone my husband was here watching my 3 yr. old son and waited for the plumber. Talk about stress! I kept envisioning the plumber busting thru a wall to figure out our leak situation. And then of course I had a PTA meeting to attend. I'm helping with the 5th grade graduation for my daughter and all her classmates. Which of course the part I'm in charge of I've been kind of putting off -Afterall -Procrastinating is my frenemy! =D

But,at the end of the day I did make it to the Dr.'s ok ,the leak situation was not that bad-Just had to snake a backed up pipe,and I was able to get a few things accomplished with the 5th grade graduation-situation. And the PTA meeting went fairly well. -Whew!!

We even ended our day by going to eat at a nice mom and pop type restaurant with some good homecooked food and also stopped by a nearby park on the way home. Unfortunately we only stayed at the park for about 5 minutes before my daughter accidently knocked my son down while swinging and he was crying and wouldn't calm down. So,we came back home with bitterness in the air -Ugh! -Enter the Mom Mayhem!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day !


Happy Earth Day!


In honor of Earth Day I wanted to share some tips that not only help save the earth but, also help save you money!

Of course we all know about recycling -Which not only includes paper products,glass,aluminium cans but, also -Clothes! -Yes all those clothes that your kids have grown out of-Not only can you give them to charities;other kids. But, you can make quilt patches-etc.,for those clothes that are too ratty you can always use them for rags. And don't forget about those socks that don't have a match! You can use those for rags,make sock puppets and all sorts of things!

In fact there's plenty of everyday things you can make into toys! You know how kids love the box sometimes more than the toy anyway =D
You can use empty kleenex boxes,cereal boxes,baby wipe boxes into big;fun building blocks or dominoes. It's always good to take a fresh look at the everyday objects around you and see what can be recycled.

If nothing else take a nature walk and see what fun things you can come up with that you find and enjoy -Earth Day!