The Parenting Files: The best freebie of all

Hugs from someone you love are great.

They don't go bad. They don't cost anything. They don't take a lot of time. And you can give one almost anywhere.

Checking the Mail is a joy when...

There are free samples in the pile.

One of my favorites is free samples of laundry detergent/fabric softener.

For a free sample of Purex go here.

I'm a Wal-Martian.

I've been to Wal-Mart more in the past week than I have in three months put together. It's the coupons... free bars of kids soap and cheap dishwashing packs have got me.

Then I found out that 18 ounce jars of Peter Pan are now only $1.00. Well, who can pass that up?

As I was leaving my cart at Aldi I noticed that someone had left an entire coupon insert in a cart. It was obviously abandoned as it was all rumpled and had other bits of paper stuck along with it. So, I grabbed it up and riffled through it in the parking lot. I found the $2.25 Electrasol coupon and $1.00 Peter Pan coupon and my mind was made up. I had to go back to Wal-Mart (which happens to be right behind Aldi).

I bought:

A replacement Christmas tree stand (our is sure to break again after two consecutive attempts at supergluing) (75% off)

Green paper plates for preschool snack days (.75 cents apiece for two sets)

Electrasol tablets (.41 cents after coupon.)

Peter Pan peanut butter (free after coupon)

Men's shaving gift set ($2.00 - to be set aside for father's day)

The total for all after taxes and coupons was $5.99

I think I'm done with Wal-Mart for awhile. Unless I find more coupons.

The last/first place I should have looked.

Well, my husband was all prepared to help me tear apart the house/car last night and then five minutes later he comes back from the car chuckling.

Mind you, I had been out to the car at least three times looking for keys. But, they were on the dashboard all along. And turns out that my car battery was not completely dead like I though it would be. I guess I just needed to stay home yesterday even though I feel like a fool. ; )

Yesterday I was more productive though. I made pumpkin muffins, tidied up some gathering piles of clutter (looking for keys), did my mending while watching tv, played with the kids, bathed the kids (especially after Big Girl used her markers to make her brother's face and arms look more 'cool' and then he went and stuck his foot in the toilet water), and helped do bills/rebates. That's a good thing.

But, now it's time to leave the house to drop children off and I have my grocery and errand list made. Things are looking up.

Stuck at home frustrations

I don't know what's up with me. This isn't the first day I've spent at home with the kids. Maybe it's the fact that I'm stuck here with a dead car battery and missing keys. I feel panicky. I hadn't realized how much clutter we have been amassing since our last freecycle donation go round.

Doesn't help that hubby brought up all of our old baby gear (swing, exersaucer, bouncer, etc) after he took the Christmas decorations downstairs. Yes, it is time to get rid of them but the previously empty space if filled with never to be used by us again remnants of our children's previous infancy.

So, I freecycle listed the stuff that we researched and found we couldn't sell well on Craigslist. That should get rid of half of it.
I also listed up extra throws that we were storing that never get used. Seems like someone gives me a throw for a gift every year. Unwanted Christmas decor and two outgrown jackets of Big Girls are one their way out too.

I guess I'm never going to have the patience to save for a garage sale. Oh well.
It's not finding my keys but it's doing something productive.

Oh, someone just emailed me about the baby stuff for a low income woman's group. Yay!

Double Whammy no spend day

Well, I had planned on taking the kids to the library for storytime and then running to the grocery store for produce, bread and milk.

But, I seem to have misplaced my keys. And I only have one key to my Pilot since it's one of those clicker things and I have to have another made at a dealership. Now it's apparent to me that not getting another key yet made was not a good idea. This is one instance where being frugal was a bad idea.

Add that to the fact that the Pilot has the annoying habit of not turning off the inside lights after a while so it runs the battery down. I have called AAA at least three times to come and jumpstart my car because someone (most of the time Big Girl) pressed a light on and left it on after we exited the car. Last night the culprit was me.

I guess I'm supposed to stay home today. I'll just have to make do with powdered milk today.

I even asked the 2 year old if he had my keys. You never know.. he might have delivered.

The Parenting Files: Too Much of a Good Thing

You know it's time to make the pacifiers disappear when one isn't doing the job.


**I just noticed the dirt behind my back door. Ignore it if you can. I've tried everything but Scrubbing Bubbles which are supposed to work wonders on nasty stained linoleum floors. That's next.**