Close to My Heart

She's destined for a singing career - don't you agree?

2009-02-01T10:37:00.002-06:00

Amelia loves to sing. Sometimes it's actual songs, sometimes just random syllables to the tune of Old McDonald or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For a while she had to sing "Happy Birthday" to all of our close family members and friends, one at a time, until she'd sung to everyone.

Here's a recent video of her singing in the car on the way home from Chicago. I know the video is crappy, I was squeezed in the backseat next to her trying to get far enough away so I could get all of her face in, while trying not to crack up.

Also, I have no idea why she sings "Rockabye Baby" in such a high-pitched voice - I promise I don't sing it to her like that!

CVS January deals

2009-01-03T22:59:00.003-06:00

Each month, CVS offers monthly ECB deals in addition to the weekly ones in the weekly ad. The monthly deals can be found in an 8x8(ish) booklet that sits next to the weekly circulars in the front of the store. There are usually one or two free after ECB deals as well. This month, there are three, and two of them have coupons that can be matched, making them moneymakers:

Children's Throat Coolers Ice Pops, $4.99 (limit 2)
Get 2 and use B1G1 free coupon from 12/7 SS, or print one here.
You'll get $9.98 back in ECB.

NeilMed NasoGel spray, $7.99 (limit 2)
Use $2/1 printable coupon found here.
You'll get 7.99 back for each one you buy. There's also a mail-in rebate (MIR) on the last page of the booklet in the box, for $3 off one or $6 off two.

Nutratrim weight management chewing gum, $3.99 (limit 2)
No coupon matches for this one.

This week, Soy Joy 6-packs are also free after ECBs, limit 2.

Here's my scenarios from tonight - they incorporate a $5/25 CVS coupon that I received in an email, for registering my CVS card on their website.

Scenario #1:
Soy Joy 6-packs 2x6.00 = 12.00
NasoGel 2x7.99= 15.98
Total before q's = 27.98

Q's:
NasoGel 2x2.00 = 4.00
CVS 5/25 = 5.00
Total q's = 9.00

Total after q's = 18.98
I paid with 18.00 in ECB, leaving .98 plus tax to pay OOP, which I put on a gift card that I got for filling a new prescription. I got back a 15.98 ECB and a 12.00 ECB, making this a $9.00 moneymaker.

Scenario #2:
Sambucol 1x12.99 = 12.99
Throat Coolers 2x4.99 = 9.98
Maybelline NY lip gloss (clearanced) 1x3.99 = 3.99
Total before q's = 26.96

Q's:
Throat Coolers B1G1 = 4.99
Maybelline ($4/1 from an old insert, don't know which one) = 3.99 (adjusted down to not exceed price of item)
CVS 5/25 = 5.00
Total q's = 13.98

Total after q's was 12.98. I paid with the $12 ECB from my first purchase, and got back a $10 ECB (Sambucol) and a 9.98 ECB (throat coolers). I came out 17.96 ahead in ECBs - definitely a good trip!

Keep an eye out tomorrow for a list of this week's CVS sales. Also, tomorrow is a GREAT day to buy the Sunday paper - there are FIVE coupon inserts and some great coupons in them! Remember, if you're local, DON'T buy the Rockford Register Star, buy the Tribune instead!

My Brand of Crazy

2008-12-28T22:55:00.003-06:00

Today I didn't leave the house once, and it was so nice. I rearranged some things in the living room so Amelia's Christmas gifts will fit better, played "craft" with her and some other games, and baked - french bread and dog treats, among other things. I was cracking an egg to use for the top of the french bread when I noticed myself cringing. I realized it has become second nature to me to do that in recent years. Every time I crack an egg, I do a mental cringe and hold my breath.

No, I do not feel guilty that that egg could have been a chick, nor do I take an indignant stance to the hormones given to chickens. (I'm all for animal rights and organic food, but realistically I just do NOT have time for that in my day right now.) The reason I cringe when I crack an egg is because I fear that this will be the time.....

that someone put the wrong egg in the ones to go to the market, and inside MY egg, which should contain a relatively benign egg white and yolk, is a dead chick.

UGH. That was really hard to type. I am traumatized by the mere act of writing it. I don't know why I fear this, but there is a part of me that is certain that one day, the wrong egg is going to be in my carton and I will absolutely freak out when that happens. I have no idea where this comes from, I have never heard of that happening to anyone (and if you have, please don't tell me!). I sort of think it was borne during my biology class in college, much the same as my trepidation that someday, I may somehow ingest a tapeworm and later, after many years of unexplained weight loss, find it in my underwear when I go to the bathroom (yeah, thanks a LOT for that one, Dr. Rogers. Really.).

Anyhow, I got to thinking about other irrational fears I have, as later on in the day I prepared a turkey for roasting. Mark had to leave the room as I unwrapped the bird (he just can't handle meat on the bone, lol). It's not my favorite thing to make either, but when I found a 20-pound turkey at Hilander on Friday for $10, the bargain hunter in me couldn't pass it up.

I unwrapped the old girl (guy? IDK.) and set it in the sink. I turned it on end and peered into the cavity, noting the neck and giblets inside. Why do they have to put the neck in? There's really not enough meat to make it worthwhile, and it just makes it too realistic for my liking. I did manage to refrain from dry heaving as I used tongs to remove the neck and pouch of giblets - no way was I touching those with my fingers (see? another irrational fear. I don't know what could happen that would be so horrible if I touched them, but my mind is convinced something would). I threw them in the trash and set the bird on the roasting rack. Ugh. Now it really looked like a turkey. I really much prefer beef or pork, that looks nothing like what it came from by the time you buy it! I don't usually buy whole turkeys or chickens though, as much as I hate to admit DH is right, they do freak me out a bit, especially when you boil them and you pick through and see all the vertabrae.

Anyway, I made it through all of my cooking without coming face to face with any disembodied chickens hidden in egg shells, and without having to touch any turkey livers.

Other irrational fears:

That the oven will explode if I open it as it's relighting.
That I am going to accidently put the car in drive when it should be in reverse or vice versa, and run over someone
That I will go out to the kitchen one night and some Freddy Krueger type will be standing at the back door.
That something will happen if I reach into a sink full of dishwater to pull the plug (not sure what, mostly just that it's gross, I think). I use my tongs for this as well.
That if I eat a cough drop at bedtime, I will fall asleep with it in my mouth and choke on it before it dissolves.

So do you have irrational fears like that? Reinforced by nothing, can't pinpoint where they came from but nevertheless are here to stay? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

P.S. Not sure it was such a great idea to post this as night....am wondering what kind of dreams I'm going to have now, lol!

Go read my other blog!

2008-11-22T08:47:00.001-06:00

I just put a post up on Amelia's caringbridge page that everyone needs to read! Go check it out!

The "Cheese" face

2008-11-20T23:49:00.002-06:00

We haz it.

Hilander Mega Saver is back!

2008-11-06T10:59:00.004-06:00

Last spring I wound up with 24 free bottles of Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner during the Mega Saver sale, so I was excited to see that it was back again this week. I was counting on it coming - Ohio Kroger stores (Hilander is owned by Kroger) had the deal last week, and Kroger deals tend to travel around the country, so I was already making plans.

This sale has a lot of baking items included, so I'm focusing on stocking up for my holiday cookie and candy making. Customers of the Ohio stores had reported Carnation evaporated milk and Nestle chocolate chips on sale, both of which I'll use a significant amount of, so I went ahead and ordered coupons for those items, as well as some Bic razors which will be free after coupons. It does sound counterintuitive, but I spent about $10 on coupons that will save me $80. I usually order my coupons from The Coupon Clippers, but have also used the Coupon Master in the past. TCC is my favorite - super fast shipping, though coupons for hot items do go quickly so you've got to be on the ball. This time I also ordered from ebay - I'll let you know how that goes! (Side note: I am not actually buying the coupons - those are illegal to sell. I'm paying for the time it takes to collect and clip them. That's the official word ;))

First, a few Hilander tips:

Sales in this area run from Thursday-Wednesday - the sale flier arrives in my mailbox on Wednesday, and also goes out in the paper if you get the ~~fabulous~~ usually less than worthwhile couponwise Rockford Register Star (and don't even get me started on their "journalism"). If you don't get either you can view the ad online at http://www.pay-less.com/.
You need to sign up for the Kroger Plus card - another one of those goodies to put on your keyring. Scan it every time you shop even if you're not buying anything on the card - you can rack up points toward 0.10 off a gallon of gas if you buy it at the Hilander next to the mall. Sometimes you may also receive coupons in the mail, depending on how much you spend that quarter.
There are also websites to link e-coupons to your Plus card - Shortcuts and P&G E-saver. When you buy an item for which you've loaded a coupon onto your card, it comes off automatically at the register.
Hilander doubles coupons up to $0.55 everyday. Given the choice between a $0.50/1 coupon or a $0.75/1 coupon, I'd choose the lesser because it will actually give me $1.00 back.

So this is how the Mega Saver sale works: If you buy any ten items included in the sale you get $5.00 taken off your transaction immediately at the register. These items are sale priced from $1.00 to $3.00 - basically you get $0.50 taken off each item. Combined with coupons, especially those that double, you'll make out well on certain items. Here's a few of my scenarios for next week:

Johnson & Johnson baby wash 10x3.00 = 30.00

Q's:
Mega Saver bonus = 5.00
J&J coupons $1/1 (from 11/2 SS) 10x1.00 = 10.00

Total after q's = 15.00 (1.50 per bottle!)
-------------------------------------------------------
Nestle chocolate chips 10x2.50 = 25.00

Q's:
Mega saver bonus = 5.00
Nestle coupon $0.50/1 10x(2x0.50) = 10.00

Total after q's = 10.00 (1.00 per bag)
-------------------------------------------------------
Carnation evaporated milk 10x1.00 = 10.00

Q's:
Mega saver bonus = 5.00
Carnation coupon $0.50/2 5x(2x0.50) = 5.00

Total after q's = 0!

These can be mixed and matched as well, meaning I could buy 3 J&J, 5 bags of chocolate chips, and 2 cans of milk and still receive my $5.00 bonus. As long as I have ten items included in the deal I'll get it. One word of warning - be careful if you're using coupons that require you to buy 2 items - make sure you have an even number of those!

Some other great deals:

-Bic Razors 2.50 (use 2.00/1 coupon from 10/12 SS to make them free after Mega Saver)
-Quaker Oats 1.50 (use 0.50/1 coupon from 9/7 RP; after it doubles and the Mega Saver these are free too)
-Swiss Miss hot chocolate 1.00 (use 0.50/2 shortcuts coupon, combined with MS it's 0.50 a box)
-Domino sugar 2.50 (use 0.50/1 coupon from 10/12 RP, making it $1.00/5 lb bag after q and MS)
-Scotch lint roller 1.00 (use 1.00/1 coupon from 10/5 RP; after the MS deal this is a money maker!)

So you know where I'll be in all my spare time for the next week or so! I hope it's helpful to you to see how I work out my scenarios - it helped me when I first started couponing to see what others were doing. If you're inspired to try for yourself, leave me a comment and let me know!

Great day at Walgreens!

2008-11-05T22:50:00.005-06:00

Walgreens used to be hit or miss as far as deals, and those they did have were sometimes clunky and difficult to understand, but they've been fine-tuning their system and it's become increasingly lucrative. Combining their store coupons with manufacturer coupons and their Register Rewards deals is a great way to get things for very cheap, if not free. Their monthly rebates are also a great way to save money - I get mine on a gift card so that I can use that to pay for OOP expenses and not have to use cash.

The important Walgreens points:

Instant Value coupons (IVCs) are found in the weekly ad - they're only good for that week.
EasySaver coupons (ESQs) are from the smaller books found in front of the ad display - these are good monthly.
Rebates are also listed in the EasySaver book - often there's at least two items that are free after rebate (FAR).
Register Rewards (RRs) are coupons to use on your next order that are generated when you buy certain items according to each week's ad. They print from the machine next to where the receipt prints. You can only use one per transaction, however.
You can't have more coupons than items you're buying - sometimes you end up with 2 q's for one item because you're using an ESQ and a manufacturer q, or you use a RR and wind up not having an item to match that q with. So count your q's before you go to the register - if you have 8 q's and 7 items, grab a small filler. I usually buy the individual Crystal Light mix-ins for .59 - certainly not a bargain, but I drink them and since I save so much with q's it's not that big a deal.

I've hit Walgreens four times since Sunday (three of those times were today!). I had a bunch of RRs from a deal a couple weeks ago, so Sunday I went and bought 8 boxes of gallon-size Hefty bags, which are B1G1F with the IVC in this week's ad. After 4 0.55/1 coupons, my total was 10.96 plus tax, and I used a $10 RR. You can do the math from there :)

Today I decided to get serious about burning up some more of those RRs. I did three transactions and came home with the following items (plus the 6-pack of Ensure I got for my mom) for only $2.10 OOP, and that's only because I forgot to use my gift card to pay for the first transaction - it should have been $0 OOP.

Transaction #1:

Hefty bags 4x3.29 = 13.16
Ensure 1x6.99 = 6.99
Total before q's = 20.15

Hefty IVC B1G1 2x3.29 = 6.58
Hefty man q 2x0.55 = 1.10
Ensure 1x3.00 = 3.00 (I also have a mail-in-rebate for the full price, so I'll make 3.00 on this deal!)
RR 1x10.00 = 10.00

Total after q's = 2.10 (includes tax)

Transaction #2 (done twice):

Almay makeup is B1G1F, so there is no price for the second Almay product. I bought the Almay one coat mascara, which is FAR this month so I'll get back 6.49 twice for that.

Celestial seasonings tea 2x1.50 = 3.00
Schick Quattro disposables 2X5.99 = 11.98
Almay eye makeup 1x7.99 = 7.99
Almay mascara B1G1F
Filler 1x0.59 = 0.59
Total before q's = 23.56

Celestial seasonings ESQ ($2/2) 1x2.00 = 2.00
Celestial seasonings man q 2x1.00= 2.00
Schick ESQ 2x3.00 = 6.00
Schick B1G1F man q 1x5.99 = 5.99
Almay 1x2.00 = 2.00
RR 1x5.00 = 5.00

Total after q's = $2.72 with tax, put on a gift card. Notice that the tea and razors were free after q's!

Coming tomorrow - Hilander Mega Saver preview!

CVS - Week of November 2

2008-11-05T22:38:00.004-06:00

I was in desperate need of diapers (that's one thing I haven't focused on building up in my stash yet) and Pampers are on sale this week at CVS (2/$20 with $5 ECB) so I bit it and ran over Monday night. I had a $5/$30 q to use, so I had to add on some extras. The Crest ProHealth whitening 4.2 oz is a free monthly deal - buy one for 3.49 get 3.49 ECBs back. The limit for this appears to be 4, so you can do it 4 times. Ice cubes gum is a weekly deal - buy 10 get $5 ECB - so I threw that in too. And the Huggies swimmers - I walked in and spotted them immediately, marked down to 0.89! I had coupons that I'd left at home, but knew that the diapers wouldn't last that long, so I just bought them - you really can't beat that price!

Here's my scenario:

Pampers 2x10.00 = 20.00

Crest 2x3.49 = 6.98

Ice cubes 10x1.00 = 10.00

Lil Swimmers 3x0.89 = 2.87

Total before q's = 39.85

Q's:
Pampers 2x1.50 = 3.00

Crest 2x1.00 = 2.00

Ice cubes 4x1.00 = 4.00

CVS 5/30 1x5.00 = 5.00

Total after q's = 25.85

Pay with ECBs - 15.00

Total OOP = 10.85 + tax

Receive $16.98 back in ECBs

So I got more ECBs back than I spent, which is my goal every time! My OOP total is more than I'd usually spend OOP but we needed diapers, and I can sell the swim diapers next spring so it was definitely worth it!

Bargain Christmas Shopping

2008-11-05T22:29:00.002-06:00

Bath & Body Works is turning out to be a great place for getting some early Christmas shopping done on the cheap. There's an IP out for a free Scentport starter kit with any purchase (x11/23/08). I've been buying the cheapest item I can find in the store to go with these - a $1.50 votive candle. Total OOP is $1.61 - not bad for a little gift set!

However, when you make any purchase, you receive a coupon book that has a coupon for a free item up to $13 with a $10 purchase. I took the gift set idea a step further and used that q to buy, first, some extra votives and a set of tealights (all in the same scent as the Scentport), with a free pair of slipper socks (super soft and adorable, with nonskid bottoms). The second time I did this deal, I bought the socks with some candle holders. Combined with the free tea from my Walgreens and Target deals, these items will make great hostess or teacher gifts!

Total OOP for everything in the below pictures: $25.58.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-05T20:49:00.005-06:00

This year was the year Amelia finally understood what Halloween was all about. She picked her own costume, willingly told everyone "Trick or Treat", and was thrilled with each piece of candy added to her bucket. Halloween lasted nearly a week for her this year, starting with the RMG Halloween party on Sunday the 25th.

All week she talked about how she said "Trick or treat" and "thank you" and got candy in her purple bucket. So she was rarin' to go on Friday when it was time to really trick-or-treat. We met up with a group of friends and set out with our three pirates.

Amelia was a bit intimidated at first by all the people in "scary masks" but once she figured out all the candy that was to be had she got over that. She loved wearing her costume and said all the pirate things we taught her to say - "arrrrrgh mateys", "shiver me timbers", and "walk the plank!" And especially for Aunt E - "There's a bounty on me head!"

So now, just like the fair, Halloween is over (however, the candy does remain). Amelia's not ready to wait another year though - she keeps asking for "more Halloween fun!"

Target deals

2008-11-04T22:12:00.002-06:00

I made a couple Target runs over the weekend and found some great clearance deals, as well as some overage using coupons. (Please ignore the laundry in the background, I assure you it's clean and just waiting to be put away.)

Mitchum deoderant: 2x1.99 = 3.98
Ziploc bags 9x0.85 = 7.65
Extra gum 10x0.48 = 4.80
Lipton tea 4x1.09 = 4.36
Glade Scented oil refills 4x2.50 = 10.00
Total before q's = 30.79

Q's:
Mitchum Target q 2x0.50 = 1.00
Mitchum man q 2x1.00 = 2.00
Ziploc IP 1x0.75 = 0.75
Ziploc man q $1/2 4x1.00 = 4.00
Extra B1G1F 5X.48 = 2.40
Lipton Target q 4x1.00 = 4.00
Lipton man q 4x0.60 = 2.40 (overage!)
Glade B1G1F 2x2.50 = 5.00
Total q's = 21.55

Total OOP after q's = 9.24 + tax

Through December 15, holiday Glade products marked 2.50 are generating $5.00 gift cards, so I also got a $5 GC back as well.

Just in case, here's a quick guide to some of the abbreviations I'll be using when discussing my coupon usage:

q - coupon
man q - manufacturer coupon
IP - internet printable
B1G1F/BOGO - buy one get one free

Bargainz!

2008-10-30T22:33:00.003-05:00

Recently I've had several people say they'd "love to know how I do it!" Save so much money on our grocery bill, that is. I've been couponing since the spring thanks to my cousin's wife Daisy, who gave me the tutorial I needed to wrap my head around how it all works. With working full-time, organizing the meetup group, having a two-year-old and organizing all my deals every week (practically a part-time job on its own) I just don't have the time I'd like to pull something together. I also think it helps to see some concrete examples, so I'm going to start chronicling my bargain finds here so that anyone who wants to can follow along.

There are two keys to doing this successfully: First, you must not be a loyal brand snob. Preferring a brand over generic isn't problem - I get brand-name items for significantly less than the generic all the time - but if you want to use one specific brand you'll have to plan ahead very carefully and keep your eye out for a sale on that item. Secondly, you must get your hot little hands on every coupon imaginable. It might not be a product you'll even use, but if it's free why not "buy" it? This means buying a lot of newspapers every week (and for you locals, skip the RRStar, their coupons are basically worthless. Buy the Tribune - it's more expensive but I've gotten it at Walgreens for $2.00 lately.) and saving the entire coupon inserts. It also means keeping your eye out for coupons you can print off the internet, special offers to sign up for to get coupons mailed to you, and watching out for coupon brochures, blinkie machines and tearpads in every store you go in, even the gas station. You can also buy coupons (which seems counterintuitive but it's not always - I'll get into this later) from coupon websites or ebay.

Today I hit CVS after work. CVS has an Extra Care cards that's essential if you're going to do any bargains there - one of those tags that goes on your keychain. Have the cashier scan your EC card no matter how little you're spending because it can add up - you'll earn $1 back for every 2 prescriptions you fill, as well as 2% back on your quarterly purchases. For me I've never gotten more than $1 back because my out-of-pocket (OOP) is so low, but every little bit counts as you'll see.

With the EC card, you can also earn Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) back on certain items every week, as advertised in the flier in your Sunday paper. The ECBs print out on your receipt and you can use them on your next transaction. I took advantage of several of these deals today:

My total OOP for this transaction was $1.22. Here's how I did it:

Bic razors 2x3.99 = 4.98

SoyJoy bars 4x1.00 = 4.00

Robitussin 2x8.00 = 16.00

Halls 2x1.50 = 3.00

Hand sanitizing spray 1x1.00 = 1.00

Total before coupons: 28.98+tax (came to 32.xx)

Coupons:

Bic 2x2.00 = 4.00

SoyJoy 2x1.00 = 2.00

Robitussin 2x3.00 = 6.00
Halls 2x.50 = 1.00

CVS $5/30 purchase 1x5.00 = 5.00

Total coupons = 18.00

32.xx - 18.00 = 14.xx

I paid with $13 in ECBs that I had from previous transactions, and after that my subtotal was .98 + .24 tax = 1.22. I also got $10 ECB back from the Robitussin/Halls/hand spray, and $4 back from the SoyJoy. Had I been paying a bit more attention, I would have noticed the razors I picked up were slightly different than the ones in the ad that were giving $4 ECBs per purchase, so I should have had $8 more in ECBs, but when I was getting all that for $1.22 I didn't feel that justified in complaining - it was my mistake, after all.

Earlier in the week I had gone to CVS to use some $1/1 Quaker oatmeal coupons I'd printed off the internet from bricks.coupons.com. Sometimes you can print more than one coupon from this site by hitting "back" then refreshing the page, depending on what the site has set the limit at. As it turned out, the limit for this one was 10, so I had more than enough coupons for what I wanted to do.

Quaker oatmeal was on sale for 2.50 a box, buy $20 worth and get $5 ECBs. I grabbed 8 boxes with Amelia's help, took them up to the register and walked out paying $2.10 OOP for all 8 boxes.

I also stopped at Hilander (our version of Kroger) on my way home tonight - I had some .50/1 Purex coupons expiring tomorrow and it was on sale for $1.99. When I walked in the first thing I noticed was 4 or 5 tables with a "Markdown Mania" sign in front of them. Couponer's heaven! I checked out what was there and ended up getting a bag of dog food (marked 2.99) and a Durex 2-pack (0.79), both of which I had $2.00/1 coupons for. Hilander also has a member card, so make sure you sign up for one of those too. They also double coupons up to .55. Here's my complete transaction:

Goodlife Puppy Food 1x2.99 = 2.99
Durex 1x0.79 = .79
Purex 3x1.99 = 5.97
Franks RedHot Sauce 1x1.25 = 1.25
Nailsaver sponges 2X1.00 = 2.00
Total = 13.00+tax

Coupons
Goodlife 1x2.00 = 2.00
Durex 1x2.00 = 2.00 (I got overage here)
Purex 3x(2x.50) = 3.00
Franks 1x(2x.55) = 1.10
Sponges 2x(2x.50) = 2.00
Total coupons = 10.10

Total OOP was 2.62, a great total for all these items!

I'll post in the next couple days with some of my favorite websites that I use as resources to help me out. I've gotten good at coming up with my own scenarios, but why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to?

Just a vent

2008-08-20T22:03:00.002-05:00

Many times, I think it would be better if my husband would just sit on his sorry ass rather than try to "help".

Today is one of those days.

Smart mouth!

2008-08-20T10:55:00.002-05:00

I can just tell that's what my daughter is developing. I just can't believe how grown-up she's getting. She talks SO much now, and it's so cute. She tells little stories (sometimes I'm the only one who knows what she's talking about, but that's okay) and tells me what she did at daycare.

Everything she says just gets cuter and cuter, I swear. She's figured out how to hold up her fingers to correspond to numbers (1, 2, and 3 anyway). She thinks it's hilarious to tell me she's 3. When I call her on it and tell her she's two, she tells me, "I gon' be free on my burdaaaay". Apparently she's got her party all planned out and it involves chocolate cake, balloons, and presents. I suppose I can handle that.

Last week she was in our bedroom watching tv and jumping on the bed and she sat down and said to me, "I love you Mommy don' be scared". It was just too cute! I laughed and made her say it again and now it's all I hear. But it's so adorable, I don't mind.

Last night, though, was the kicker. She was standing by my nightstand with the monitor on it yelling so that it lit up (apparently Daddy taught her this wonderful trick). I said, "Look, Mommy can do it too," and yelled. She turned around and gave me her death look and said, "Don' yell, Mommy. Be good."

Where did she learn to talk to her momma like that?! Ok, probably from me. And I can see soon we're going to have to have the "I'm the parent, you're the child" talk. But secretly, I love seeing how she picks up on all these little things and pulls them out when you're least expecting it. And every girl needs a healthy dose of attitude in my opinion, as long as she knows when to use it. My girl's not gonna be a pushover!

Hawaiian Day

2008-06-21T14:02:00.006-05:00

Last week Amelia's daycare had Hawaiian Day. She LOVES her daycare provider and has so much fun with her. We're so lucky to have found such a great place for her to stay while I'm working.

Today we have a birthday party and tomorrow we are going to the ZOO! So I'll have lots of cute pictures from that :) Amelia's been sick but is feeling better today - I was worried that our zoo trip would have to be postponed but as of now it looks like we're on. I'll put some pictures up tomorrow (hopefully).

Visiting Nonna and Papa

2008-06-21T13:45:00.005-05:00

Just a few pics from Father's Day weekend - swimming at Mark's dad's house. Amelia's Uncle Eric brought his dog Ozzie along - he was just Amelia's size.

After a nap (with some M&Ms) Amelia was ready to go again. Lots of candy later we headed home.

Another Day, Another Picnic

2008-06-08T22:47:00.006-05:00

Today was our playgroup's start-of-summer picnic. We were a little worried it was going to get rained out, because it monsooned all morning. However a little after noon the sun started to come out and we had beautiful weather for the picnic. The kids ran around the park and played games, it was a lot of fun! Now it is pouring again, like it has on and off for the past, I don't know, four days? This is getting really old!

Here's some pictures from today:

Amelia and Haven, playing "baseball":

Getting a lesson from Daddy:

Amelia LOVES Tiffany's daughter Chloe!

Heart Institute Picnic

2008-06-07T18:37:00.005-05:00

Today was the annual Heart Institute for Children picnic. Families whose children have had surgery at Hope come back every year to see the doctors and nurses who treated them. We were so excited to go and see some of our favorite doctors and nurses. Lots of them were there and it was great to see them again, and for them to see how big Amelia has gotten.

Amelia's cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Ilbawi:

Our primary cardiologist, Dr. Husayni. There are not enough good things I can say about this man. I am so grateful for everything he's done for us in treating Amelia and in helping me stay calm and not freak out. I am so glad to have a doctor I can trust her care to completely.

Amelia had a blast - Daddy gave her lots of treats! She loved watching the other kids there and did her best with the hula hoop (which wasn't much, but she had fun).

What a great day! I'm so glad they have this picnic every year - for the first six months of Amelia's life, the hospital staff made up most of my social interactions. They are very special to us and we owe so much to them, they will probably never know. It's great to see them, to catch up, and for them to see how wonderful Amelia is doing. I just hope they realize how big a role they played in that, both by caring for her and reassuring me so much!

Pinecone Ornaments

2007-12-08T03:40:00.000-06:00

Someone sent me to the Inkspirations blog, where there are instructions on making pinecone balls. So I've made a couple and want to share them here. They are incredibly easy, a bit time consuming, but after you get all your paper folded it goes pretty quick.

I especially love the red/gold one. These were fun to make!

Pure Joy

2007-12-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

This is a layout I did for a contest on another blog, Blueprint Sketches.

No, it's not Amelia, it's her BFF Haven. All papers, stickers, and the tag are CTMH, rubons are Fancy Pants and the buttons, brads, etc. are just stuff I had.

I hope to start posting more of my work here. It is kinda why I started the blog....I need to keep up better!

Hospital adventures....

2007-10-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

So we are back from the hospital, after a week's stay. Amelia went in for her cath on Thursday, October 11. She had something of a hard time coming off the ventilator, and needed oxygen for a couple days. Then on Monday, our cardiologist discovered that his orders had been entered wrong and they had not taken her off both her meds like they were supposed to, so we got to stay a few extra days, yippee. Amelia took it in stride, though. Once she got to feeling better, she was rarin' to go and go we did. Around and around the unit, in a wagon, on a rolling chair, walking, running, any way we could. We went to the playroom and spent a lot of time looking at the murals of Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore painted on the windows at the end of the hall. As usual, Amelia charmed all the staff, and amazed me with her positive attitude. I honestly don't think she minded being in the hospital that much once she was able to leave the room when she wanted. I know for a fact she enjoyed having me all to herself - no other kids, no laundry, dishes, cooking, or cleaning to be done....we are going to have to adjust to that again! She also watched Dora practically nonstop so we are on a TV strike now.

Here's some pictures from her hospital stay:

This was in the PICU waiting for them to prep her. I was SO tired, can you tell? I went to bed at midnight the night before and got up at 3.

Friday, the day after surgery. They had to give her so much sedation to get her to sleep that it took a while to work its way out of her system. She was getting restless so they let us take her on a wagon ride.

Our favorite nurse, who has seen us through all the surgeries:

In the playroom, once she was off oxygen and a little more mobile. By this time she was rarin' to go.

She got to go outside Monday, to help with her croupiness.

I left her at the nurse's station while I went to get dinner, and when I came back she had a mohawk:

We took her froggie and baby for on a wagon ride in the hall:

She kept pulling off the leads on her chest, so the nurse made her a backpack to hold her telemetry box so it wasn't dragging behind her.

Sharing her binky with Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore.

We borrowed the nurse's rolling chair and rode around the halls:

We were ready to go home and she was no longer hooked up to the monitors, but she refused to take off her backpack. She actually wore it to bed the last couple nights, as well as all day.

Sacked out on the way home. It didn't take her long to fall asleep - I think she was relieved to be in a familiar place and know we were going home.

So as you can see, we made the best of a crappy situation and Amelia managed to have plenty of fun while we were there. The nurses, doctors, and all the other staff absolutely loved her and she had plenty of fans coming in to visit her any time she was awake. I really can't say enough good things about the staff there - even the custodial staff is friendly and asks if there is anything you need and will help you as much as they can. Hope you enjoy looking at the pictures!

The older you get, the faster time goes.

2007-09-12T23:45:00.000-05:00

I think this is unfair, because the older you are, the more tired you are. Time has just been flying by recently. With school starting back up, Haven is back for daycare full-time, and I have two part-timers as well. I'm helping to organize a Home Party Expo, for people who run home-based sales business like Pampered Chef, Lia Sophia, etc. to display their goods (have GOT to think of a better name! any suggestions?). And I've taken over as organizer of my playgroup (thank God I have an excellent assistant organizer or I'd really be going nuts!). There have seriously been days when I haven't hardly eaten a thing because I've been too busy. Unfortunately the evidence cannot be seen in my waistline.

Today we had a play date with our playgroup, and it was so much fun. The lady who hosted has a huge backyard that faces a cornfield (my kinda place!) and we all sat out on the patio in her comfy patio chairs while the 20+ kids played. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and in the 60s. I LOVE weather like this, it's probably my favorite time of year. We mommies got to chat while the kids wore themselves out, and I got some cute pictures:

Once again it is midnight and I'm not in bed yet. I really need to work on that!!

Adventures in babysitting.....

2007-09-06T23:56:00.001-05:00

Does anyone remember that movie? I swear I watched it a million times when I was younger. And I read the book too. I just saw it on TV a couple weeks ago. Just like Top Gun and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, it's so cheesy but I'll always love it. But back to my real adventures....

Thursday after Haven got here I had to go to the bathroom, and yeah, I took a while, okay? Partly by necessity, partly because I was in a room by myself and that just doesn't happen much, so I was luxuriating in the stillness. However, as my potty break came to an end, I realized things were a little too still. I walked out into the kitchen to find this:

It's not the greatest picture, but yes, they are on the kitchen table. And yes, they are very proud of themselves. So I hauled them off the table, which sent Haven into a temper tantrum while Amelia climbed back up on the table as I tried to ensure that Haven only smacked her hands and feet into relatively soft objects that wouldn't fall on her, like the loveseat and the Dora chair.

I finally realized that what Amelia really wanted was for me to put her hair in a pony like I do for Haven every morning, and she was climbing up on the table to get the comb and water bottle. The thing is that Haven's hair is much longer than Amelia's, and she can actually have real ponies. I tried once before to put a pony in Amelia's hair, and it was so small that it was just ridiculous. But she gets jealous when I spend time on Haven's hair every day, and she wasn't buying it anymore that me running the comb over her head a few times was the same. So what the heck, give the kid a pony, we weren't going anywhere today. So I did, and she was very proud of it. She showed it to everyone who came over. And of course, I've started something. I can tell that never again will I be able to get away with not putting a pony in Amelia's hair when I put one in Haven's. What the heck, just call her Alfalfa.

Friday I was cleaning and the girls wanted to "help". I actually was surprised at how long this kept them occupied.

Then they took the car for a drive....no not really. Just another place I didn't think they could/would climb to by themselves. These two are SO funny together. They are going to get into so much trouble when they are bigger! I have some hilarious videos but I can't get them to upload, so I'll have to figure that out.

BFFs

2007-08-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here's another face you'll probably be seeing on my blog a lot - my goddaughter, Haven:

Haven is six weeks younger than Amelia and they spend a LOT of time together. I watch Haven during the school year while her mom's at work, so they are almost like sisters. They fight like sisters sometimes, but they love each other too and it's so fun to watch their little personalities interact. Sunday night we went for one last hurrah at the fair and Amelia and Haven rode the little cars together. They had so much fun - Amelia did not want to get off when it was over.

Yesterday we took the girls on the Forest City Queen, the boat ride the park district does on the Rock River. Amelia loved being on the boat. Since we were the only ones on the boat (it was kinda rainy) Captain Hank let the girls "drive" the boat.

On the way home the girls read some books:

They're so literary, ha.

So summer is almost over :( We've done a lot of fun things, but there were things we wanted to do that we haven't done yet and probably won't get a chance to, like going to the zoo. Maybe we'll make it sometime this fall, and there's always next year. In a week or so, though, it's back to a regular routine. Haven will be coming back and things will be more structured, which is probably good, but I'm a little sad that summer's just about over.

More fun at the fair!

2007-08-12T11:03:00.001-05:00

It's been hot, but we've been out at the fair three of the past four days. Amelia loves watching all the people. When we're on the midway she looks at the rides and says, "Whee!". Of course she's way too small for most of them, but she did get to go on the merry-go-round yesterday.
Amelia's been sampling fair food too. We had a funnel cake one day:
And she was desperate for a drink of Aunt E's lemonade:
On Saturday, we had planned to go with Grandma Dawn, and Amelia's cousins Austin and Nathan ended up coming with us too. We looked at the animals in the barns, played a couple games, and I went on some rides with the boys (remind me never to go on the Tilt-A-Whirl again). Grandma Dawn shared her nachos and cherry limeade with Amelia, who couldn't get enough to drink. Later that night she was wired and it was kinda funny, since there was no reason she really had to go to bed.

Amelia got to play the duck game too one day. She won a princess tiara.
The winner so far, though, has been the wee farm. Amelia was not one bit scared of the goats and sheep, although she didn't want to feed them. She wanted to give them hugs and kisses and pet them instead.

It's fair week!

2007-08-08T15:17:00.001-05:00

I've lived close to the same small town all my life. When I was younger, I looked forward to fair week all year. It was pure heaven - rides, games, and I don't think I even have to mention the fair food, do I? When I got old enough to be there by myself, I would spend all day, every day there. Most of my friends did the same, so it was a social thing too.

After high school, the fair just wasn't as much fun anymore. I was gone most of the year, away at college, and I either lost touch with friends or they left the area. It made me sad that it just wasn't the same. But now, I have Amelia to share it with. It's all new to her and I love showing her everything that I remember from my childhood. The fair started yesterday, so of course we went last night and met Grandma and Grandpa there.

We went to the Wee Farm where Amelia saw ponies, donkeys, cows, ducks, goats and sheep. She loves animals and said "Hi" to all of them.

We had Mommy's favorite treat - a cream puff. Amelia loved hers (that's my girl!).

Papa took Amelia for her first pony ride!

We'll be heading back tonight for more food!

In the beginning....

2007-08-06T15:42:00.003-05:00

The blog was empty and the blogger didn't know what she was doing. So hang on while I try to figure this out, then the fun will begin.