Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Back up first

Before I post about our vacation, I need to back up a bit.  I realized I didn't post about Mother's Day.

It was nice, quiet, and laid back.  Exactly the way we like our days.

Mason made Grammy a card at one of our play dates.  He did a great job.  He was so excited since this was the first time using finger paints. 




Uncle James got a new truck so we all took turns sitting in it and checking it out.
 

Everything is electronic.  I'm surprised it didn't drive itself! HA!



PawPaw found a bike for Mason and fixed it up.  Lori had fun riding it, but Mason just wanted to look at it first.  

 



Of course there was food involved too!  We had BBQ ribs.  One of Daddy's favorites. HA!



It was a nice day!  Oh! And I got some perfume.  Happy in Bloom! 
 


 Happy Mother's Day!



Saturday, May 26, 2012

Home {Sweet} Home


We are back from our VA Beach vacation.  I'm so glad to be home.  There is nothing like your own bed, your own shower, ...

This is where we stayed for the week.


And Kevin enjoying our view. Not bad HUH?


More details coming soon!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tuesday's Tip


~Couponing: Price matching~

A couple of weeks ago, Melinda and I went to a coupon class taught by the WRAL SmartShopper. If you are new to using coupons and live in my area, you may want to check out her blog.  She offers a ton of ideas on how to use your coupons effectively.  Poor Melinda was probably bored out of her mind.  She knew about 90% of the class, but I'm glad she was there to help me and keep me company.  :)

Here is a picture from inside the TV station where we took the class.  I thought this was so neat.




One of the tips I found interesting was price matching.  She didn't talk much about this, but Melinda and I talked about it quite a bit.  I always knew Wal-Mart would price match, but I never used it to my advantage and I never thought about food.  This tip will help you avoid going to different stores each week.  Some of the deals that we have price matched lately have been produce.  Wal-Mart had pineapples for $2.99 and I price matched them to $.99.  A 3 pack of tri-color peppers were $3.88 at Wal-Mart, price matched to $1.29. Grape tomatoes from $3.99 to $.69!  And so on....


You will need to keep your grocery ads through the week.  I don't always get all of the ads, so I go to the stores website and print out the list.  The BEST prices I have ever seen on produce is at Aldi.  Take the ad with you to Wal-Mart, pick up your items, and price match them right at the register.  Make sure you let the cashier know what items you are going to price match.  She/He will need to adjust the price right away.  Can you believe it?!  You tell them how much you want to pay!!  WOW!!


Yes, this does take time and yes, it can be a lot of work, but look at the money you are going to save.  You should be able to save at least 50 to 60% each week.  If you are Melinda, you are saving 80% +. HA!!  

Friday, May 11, 2012

A Sneak Peak




My little baby boy will be 3 in less than a month.  *Sigh*  I've been planning his party for the past few months and this year we are doing a bug theme.  He loves so many different things and characters so it was hard to decide.  

Here is his shirt made by My Kid's Laundry.

Isn't it the cutest?!  The awesome thing about this company is you can design pretty much anything and Sandy will create it for you. You pick the design, you pick the colors, you pick the font, .... etc.  GREAT!!

We're looking forward to a creepy, crawly time this year celebrating Mason's 3rd birthday.  Hope you can join us!  :)




Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Tuesday's Tip

~Front Load Washers~
 
A couple of weeks ago at one of our playdates, the Moms and I were talking about our front load washersWe all said the same thing,  "it stinks".  Literally, it gets smelly over time and the smell can get into your clothes.  There is a reason for this and I figured it out with the help of one of my friends.  The smell is in the crease and crevices of the rubber that seals the door closed.   This is gross!  When you pull back the rubber piece, you can see all of the mold and mildew that has built up during the washes.  The problem is, not all of the water is draining out completely and it pools into this piece.

Basically, you have to clean your washer.  Not just with the Tide front load washer cleaner (which I don't use), you have to wipe out the washer to prevent the mildew from building up over time.  The cleaner is not going to stop this from happening.  This is why I don't waste my money on buying it.

I have recently opened a pinterest account. You can follow me here. Super neat site with tons of ideas.  I'm probably spending too much time on it already.    I found a great site through pinterest that explains in detail how you should clean your washer. She has also posted pictures to show the details of where to find the mildew.  You can find the tutorial here.



Happy Cleaning! 

Monday, May 07, 2012

Is it summer?

Yep, we're still here.  It's hard to keep up with everything, you know?  It's either the pantry that is lacking or laundry or cleaning, but lately, it's been the blog.  Oh well!  I'll catch up.  

Lately, it has felt like summer already.  Well, at least, last week it did.  In the 90's! Yes!  Now this week, we are back to the mid 70's.

It was so warm, we decided to have a backyard fun day at our house. 

We played with beach balls and bubbles. 



We had a picnic.

  

We played in the pool.


 

 

 Mason had so much fun!  He took a 3 hour nap! WOW!


We have been spending more time outside.  Just messing around.  Yard work or sitting on the porch listening to the birds.  Fun!



Well, we try to hear the birds, but Mason doesn't quite get the idea of  "SHH, Listen to the birds".  HA!



 We've even seen our hummingbirds already.  We put out our nectar too!




  

 UH OH!  He's getting pretty good at opening and closing doors.  Gotta watch him! I'm a nervous wreck the majority of the time!

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Tuesday's Tip



~Couponing~

I must first say, no, I'm still not an expert on this subject, but I've learned so much in the past few months.  I'm also going to a couponing class this weekend, so I plan to learn much more.  YAY!  When it comes to coupons, to me, it's just a game that can pay you big bucks if you play it correctly.  You have to be at the right place at the right time.  

I owe this tip to my friend, Melinda.  She has helped me with some of the in's and out's.

Recyclebank is a website where you can learn about recycling and make eco-friendly purchases.   This site offers quizzes you can take and pledges you can make to earn points.  In return, you turn in those points for higher $ coupons or other rewards.  So far, my favorite coupon is $10 off of $50 at Harris Teeter.  This coupon only requires 100 points to redeem.  To earn 100 points doesn't take long at all and it's totally worth it.  The rewards are not just grocery coupons, but gift cards, coupons for other items, clothing, gifts, etc.  All for FREE.  There is no cost to you to join except for your time to do the quizzes. 

If you are interested in joining, click here

Just check it out, you might be surprised.