Grown up cupcakes

I love cupcakes.  I think they are my favorite indulence even more than chocolate and alcohol.

I found four delish looking cupcake recipes at Bettycrocker.com  Sign up on the site and score some awesome coupons at the same time.
I tried to get the pics to transfer over but I couldn't get it to happen  So click the links and let me know which one you are making first.  I am going to make the Champagne Cupcakes.
Champagne Cupcakes

Zinfandel Wine Cupcakes

Sauvignon Blanc Cupcakes

Rose Wine Cupcakes

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Stock up on games for Christmas

$3.00 off one CHUTES AND LADDERS game

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new savings from disney

amazing few days

We have had such wonderful weekend with one day to go.  My pseudo parents Peg and Allan Hazlett have been visiting. Last night we took them to our favorite Korean restaurant.  We are so much we waddled out.  We love the ability to cook on the table grill and share family time.  It is our "special Occasion" go to place.  I think the next time we will be there is when Phil and Betsy and our former Korean exchange student, Hae "Aaron" Chung are all here for Christmas.

Today we took them on a tour of the orginal gold rush area.  We were in the Sierra Nevada foothils.  We wanted to go to the outlet mall in Folsom on the way back but there was no parking and the lot was fuller than "a Superbowl Sunday" so instead we came home and took naps.  For dinner? We headed to TOPS Yogart and ran in to homeschool friends.

Tomorrow Scott has to work - everyone one say "POOR SCOTT" Drew is cutting class - every one say "POOR DREW"  and we are doing the one thing Drew wanted to do while Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Allan were here.  We are going to the Jelly Belly Factory.  We will take the regular tour and then sample popular flavors like Diaper wipe, grass and vomit flavored Jelly Bellys.

Tomorrow in the late afternoon we will end their visit with a trip to SQUEEZE INN. It is a Sacramento landmark that has been featured on Diners Dives and Drive Ins.  We take all visitors there for one meal when they visit.  Make sure you visit the website and check out the pictures of the burgers with their cheese skirts.  I get mine with mushrooms and sour cream.  If I am going to blow it I am going to blow it right!!!!

They leave Wed morning to head for Carmel for a wedding.  The next time we get to see them is when we head to Kansas next summer for our son's wedding which Allan will officiate at. I love their visits and they are too few and far between.

Next time old town sac and the train museum will be on the agenda.

Amazon give a way.

I promised that once I had 200 fans I would give away a 5.00 Amazon gift card.  Since I have not been approved by Rafflecopter yet I have to do this by hand.  AHH the joys of a new job.

So here is the deal.  I will use Random.org to get my winner but you have to leave a comment as to when you start Christmas shopping.  Me? I start in July. You also have to be a fan of my FB page.  Contest ends September 12, 2011 at 11:59 PM Pacific time.

Ready go.

NO MORE RACK

NOMORERACK is having a wonderful LABOR DAY SALE

My friend Fran gives me a hard time because I start Christmas shopping early with deals like these how can I not? Find a deal you like and once you register they will give you a 10.00 credit towards your first purchase.  What is better than FREE????????

Free Candy Coupons

Add caption

I found this and thought it was worth a big share.  Next week Mars candies will be having some yummy give a ways.  Go to each of the following Facebook pages and press like so you will be ready for the give away.

Twix

Snickers

3 Musketeers

Milky Way

M&M

my Fan page on Facebook

I started a fan page on Facebook earlier this week to promote my blog and upcoming give aways.  I hooked up with Quiet Tagging PArty to get some exposure.  I couldn't believe it.  Before I found them on FB I had about 10 fans. After their first Stroll I had about 90 fans.  When I woke up this morning I had 175 fans!!!! Can you believe it?  I couldn't.

I posted on my FB page if I can get 200 likes by the end of the day I would give away a 5.00 Amazon gift card.  Want to be a part of it and be updated on give aways and coupon deals - as well as the hysterical things that happen in my family.  Go to Rantings of a Mom and hit like.  Once I hit 200 fans I will post the give away on here.

visit to the vet

Never gets old.  I am sitting here writing a paper for my Social Pshyc class at 620 in the morning.  Everyone who knows me KNOWS not to call me in the morning.  I tend to get grumpy.

My eldest was lucky I was awake.  Betsy, his fiance had taken my new fur Granbaby Daisy out for a morning walk and there was something white in her poo - daisy not betsy.

Phil called me in a panic on the way to the vet.  They have only had Daisy a week and she has some worm.  Phil is flipping out.  So what does he do call me and make me look up dog worms on the internet as he describes what it looks like.  JUST WHAT I WANT TO DO ON A SATURDAY MORNING.  I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee.

I do not want to see him when I have actual grandkids.

Breakfast time?

cold and flu

As we enter the beginning of September and with Fall right around the corner.  I got an email reminding me it was about time to get our flu shots.  It also reminded me it was time to stock up on
cold and flu meds.  I won't do it with out this coupon.  I will hit CVS with the next sale to use this one.
$3.00 off Two (2) Triaminic OR Theraflu Products

Coolest Diapers

When my boys were babies disposable diapers were the "in" thing.  But as the world has become more eco consious cloth diapers are all the rage again.  I would have loved to have these. 

 I follow Sweet Beginnings Boutique on Facebook.  I asked her and she told me that she could do other schools including KU.  Is there any other University?  Please  contact
 jennifer.keith2010@yahoo.com for other schools.  She also makes car seat covers.  She is really reasonable with prices ranging between $10.00 - 30.00




I recieved nothing in return for this promotion.  I just love her stuff and wish I had grandkids so I could spoil them with these goodies.  Some how I don't think my fur grandbaby would stand for me sending her this.  Sorry Daisy Mae - gramma will find you something else - may be a yellow collar with rhinestones?

free woman stuff

love

I love the ideas in here. Click and get your own copy NOW

Great coupons for the weekend from red plum

Redplum Grocery Coupons


SuperPretzel® - SAVE $0.50

YourRxCard.com - Up to 75% OFF

Ultra - $4 off

L’Oréal® - SAVE $1

Ferrero® - SAVE $0.50

BC® - SAVE $1.00

Nicorette® - Save $7.00

jasmere contest

I need your help.  As you know I am a HUGE fan of Jasmere.  I am in a contest with other Superfans. I am trying to win a 100.00 gift certificate to the site.  That would come in VERY handy with Christmas coming.

I have a friends and family type code  SF20100DBE7D it will get you 20% off one daily special between now and September 17.  The person who gets the most friends to use the code will win.  


Some daily sites include
www.baggu.com
http://www.terrapinridge.com/
https://www.sweetsallys.com/
http://www.themonkeybed.com/
http://www.nahuiollin.com/
http://www.bungalowco.com
Bungalow is my all time fave site and I know they will be featured in the next few days.

let me know if you use my special code and please help by writing a blog of your own and publishing it there.

Thanks
Cathy

My first give away

I am late getting this out to everyone.  I have my first give away.  IT is for a fantastic hand santizer called PREFENSE.  I was to have this out a couple weeks ago but had the perfect place I wanted to try it.  CAMPING!!!  We went to Samuel P Taylor State Park with 5 other families so germs abound.  

I had all the moms' turn in their regular sanitizers and use this one.  We are what Phil calls "granola moms"  so this was right our alley.  Overwhelming positve response.  I will admit there was some hesitation that it only needed to be used once a day and a couple times we did add an extra squirt,have you ever seen camping bathrooms?????  Reasons to love Prefense:

No alcohol! Prefense is made of all-natural ingredients and has absolutely NO alcohol in it!
    •    The  technology protects you for 24 hours or 10 hand washings!
    •    Prefense is non-toxic and safe for kids! It will not hurt you if swallowed!
    •    Prefense is silica based which means it doesn’t dry out your hands like traditional alcohol sanitizers.  It actually smooths and softens your hands. You can totally see this when you apply it!
    •    Prefense protects against staph, strep, E.coli, drug resistant MRSA strains, and more. We fight germs that other hand sanitizers can’t.
    •    Because “one spray lasts all day” the 1.5 oz Prefense Foaming Hand Sanitizer offers 120 applications, costing only $.08 per day, compared to $1.20 per day with alcohol hand sanitizers. 

Sponsored by Tomoson.com
Prefense just came out with their  first ever Combo Pack!  It's only available on our website (http://www.prefense.com/products) and the price is the LOWEST price ever on Prefense products -- $7.99!  Considering that both items in the combo pack are $6.99 by themselves, it's like you're buying one and getting the other for a dollar!


To get your free bottle leave me your name and email so I can contact you if you win.  And let me know where you would keep Prefense.I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

new direction

Hello my readers.  Life certainly throws us some doozies doesn't it.  I am finally taking stock in what is going on and where I want to go.  In addition to using this blog to update people about what is going on in the Anderson household I am working with a couple companies to start having giveaways and increase my readership.  We all know how entertaining my family can be.  But things are a changing and I am realizing it is time I step up and do what I love.  And that is write.  I want to be able to give reviews of products I love so you can find out about them as well.  Hopefully the two sites I have contacted will feel this little old blog is worthy of some new blood and I can bring some new ideas to you.

I promise to get here more often and let you know what is going on in the Anderson household.  Now that Drew is back in school, and Phil is finishing up college and getting married it is time for me to pursue what I want to do.

Cathy

it is official

We don' know the date yet but Phil proposed to Betsy a couple weeks ago at the Omaha zoo.  I am finally getting a daughter.  We couldn't officially tell anyone because Betsy wanted ( and deserved) a ring ceremony with her sorority sisters.  that was held today so now I have permission to tell the world.

Just one more thing

I was added to Google+ this week. While this is great - it will qualify me to test more products in turn which will help my readership. I am getting more traffic on here which is great.

My problem is this. I can't figure out how to add the little icons at the bottom of my posts for FB, Twitter, G+ etc. If there is someone who can help me I would greatly appreciate it.

C

Wildtree

Two friends of mine started selling Wildtree products. I tried them and was very intrigued. I started researching them and found this was a company I could truly get behind and support. All of their food products are natural, no preservative, no dyes, no additives, no MSG. I can read EVERYTHING on the label. Scott and I have been working on eating healthier and we find when Drew doesn't have additives, dyes and wheat his behavior improves.

Wildtree is cutting edge and SO appealing! Here is the July Customer special. If you have allergies or kids with food allergies this might appeal to you. Coming in August there will be Certified Gluten Free products as well.

The company was started by a Pharmacist whose kids had food allergies and related issues. She couldn't find foods that were free of the harmful additives her kids couldn't eat so she started (with the help of her parents) experimenting. Soon her neighbors were asking for her goodies and she and her mom started taking them to local farmer's markets and trade shows. It caught on and had a great following. It is now the 4th fastest growing Direct sales company in the country. It is unfortunately a well kept secret that more people need to know about.

They also have a wonderful program called the Culinary Club:

A Culinary Club Member receives a 20% discount off every product they purchase online through. The cost is only $25.00 to sign up. you can go through my link to sign up for culinary club or to read more about the wonderful foods. This month they are having a great special for anyone who wants to become a rep. 49.50 for the starter kit. that is half off. It is 285.00 worth of products and starter items. Try it and if it isnt' for you then you are out nothing and you get to eat your way through the kit. This promo only last until the end of July so let me know if you are interested.

Who would you visit?

I have been very nostalgic for family and friends who have gone before me. This song resonates very deeply. If Heaven Weren't so Far Away who would you want to see and what would you do?

Me? I would want to dance on the daisies with my mom, make fudge with my mooma, rub my poopa's little bald head, and just hug my aunt Doris.

Unstoppable

I have found the best product for the wash. I am one who likes to know laundry has been washed and there is a hint of "clean" smell to it when I take it from the drawer or linen closet. I got a sample of an item that is not in the stores yet the other day in my mailbox. Try it and blog my opinion. Those who know me, know that I have opinions on what i like and don't like so this is my totally unbiased opinion of Downy Unstoppables.

The little pellets look like smaller versions of "button candy" I ate as a kid. When I opened the bottle to smell - it smelled like Downy - sort of. According to the directions add a little or a lot to the water before you add the clothes. I sprinkled some in and threw in some jackets I was getting ready to put away for the season. Put in detergent and downy softener and let it do it's thing. After it came out of the dryer I thought I was imaging things. It smelled good. But I wondered if I was wanting it to smell good.

Do you remember the Brady Bunch episode with the laundry detergent? Where they were deciding which one they liked best? That is what I did. I took out a measuring cup and did 2 loads with Unstoppables and 2 loads without. I wanted to ensure they all had the same amount so I could ensure the validity of what I was dong. Scott folds laundry so I asked him to take notice of the differences in the loads. That is all I said. After he had folded the laundry he told me that the green baskets smelled better - and had a stronger scent than the others. yes those were the ones with the Unstoppables. My nose hadn't failed me the first time around.

I have yet to wash sheets with it but that is next. I love climbing into bed with clean sheets that smell wonderful after a shower. I think that is the best nights sleep you can get.

I will use Unstoppables in the future and I can honestly reccomend this product based on the smell test I did.

Vocalpoint.com supplied this full size sample free of charge and requested that I give my honest opinion of it.

rite of passage

Last night was a rite of passage for my youngest. He was allowed (under VERY strict supervision) to like actual fountains. He was so excited. Took me back to when Phil was allowed the privileged.

There is something about seeing that sense of entering the realm of tweenhood and the pride both boys felt when we told them we felt they were responsible enough to start lighting fireworks. Drew asked if I was proud of him for being responsible. My heart was busting at the seams when he actually gave me a kiss (not something done often by Andrew)

It was a good Fourth but like always something is missing when Phil and Betsy are not here. They had their own fun with Phil's biological grandparents in Topeka. They move in to their new house this month. Another rite of passage.

I use to dread these moments when I realized my boys were moving on to a new milestone, but anymore i embrace it and smile at what Scott and I have done as parents.

Help the Troops

I learned something today. Did you know that overseas military PX will take expired coupons? They will take them for 6 months after the expiration date. My friend at Penny Pinching Mom put up that post today.

I signed up for a family today through Coupons Through Troops . Another organization is Couponing Over Seas. With this group you send your coupons to a base not a family and they are distributed to everyone who wants them. I personally wanted to connect with a particular family which is why I chose the first one.

Even if you don't clip coupons this is a wonderful idea. Just bundle up the coupons in the paper - set them aside and once a month mail them off to a family helping our country. If you do coupon, send the expired ones as well as the ones you don't need. Don't let free money go to waste.

Faith Trust and Pixie Dust is what it is all about my friend. Help our service families.

summer vacation

means mom is on the go. Drew and I have been having fun so far this summer. We are only 2 weeks in and have managed to keep busy and I have not heard the words all moms dread in the summer. You know the ones I am talking about so I won't jinx it by saying them here.

We painted pottery, went camping, and yesterday we saw CARS2. Today we are hitting my knitting group. He gets soup so he is happy. Starting tomorrow I will be working the church firework booth in the AM. I have to find time to hit the gym. I already miss not going. Drew loves going so that helps the motivation. We had a freak rain storm yesterday and it was cold. It should be warmer tomorrow so maybe after an appt in the afternoon we can go.

I have still been couponing. The one thing I have found is all the bloggers of couponing post the same things. Not that it is bad because sometimes I miss what one posts and pick it up somewhere else. I ordered a coupon binder/organizer yesterday. I am hopeful this gets this stack of paper off my desk and in some semblece of order.

OOOHHH I won another contest. Remember these? yes they are still around. It should make for a fun afternoon this summer with Drew - don't you think?

I am trying to find some half pint mason jars cheap. I found a way to send phil and betsy cupcakes. But I don't want to spend a fortune on getting the jars because shipping the goodies to phil and betsy will be bad enough. I found a recipe for oreo cookie cupcakes. I can't put my hands on the recipe right now but the looked so yummy. Wonder if this could be a business venture - shipping cupcakes??? Probably too expensive. Oh well,.

till next time - Faith Trust Pixie dust.

back in action

We are back from a wonderful weekend camping trip. It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday. It was relaxing. If you had told me years ago that I would be happy spending my birthday camping with a bunch of scouts and sharing an ice cream sundae with my husband I would have thought you were crazy and told you so. But you would have been right.

I am way behind on stuff now. I haven't even opened yesterday's paper for coupons. I have lots of scout stuff to get done this week. Did i ever mention I took on the daunting job of Advancement Chair for our Scout pack? Not a simple job. Can't believe all the paper work. I am sure in a month or two it will be easier.

Here are a couple deals for you. Living Social has a deal where you can buy a 10.00 voucher and recieve 20.00 of name brand cleaning products from Soap.com If you spend 25.00 you will get free shipping. I know I can always use another container of Tide. It is only a 24 hour deal so grab it now

Also, McDonalds has a great promotion right now. BOGO on their summer drinks., Frappes, frozen lemonades and smoothies.

That is my weekend in a nutshell.

Faith Trust and Pixie dust.

not sure which is worse

I came upon this link and had to share.

First we wonder why the nation is so over weight but I am trying to figure out which is worse Fried Kool Aid or Fried Jalapeno with Baby Ruth in the middle. Then there is fried butter- waiting for someone to explain that one.

playing catch up.

I am hoping things are back to normal around here - what ever normal is. I can't beleive being busy from 4-830 every night last week put me so far behind. I have a list of phone calls to return. I found time to contact the insurance agent to change some coverage and sent off graduation presents to two very special young ladies. What did I do before Amazon when it came to ordering presents?

We had a great weekend -did the shopping and worked on getting the van up and running. I will be glad when that process is finished.

Today's CVS run: Had coupons for Shick Quatro Razors - 2.00 off (and 4.00 back in ECB)as well as 5.99 Extra Care Bucks (ECB) from my Zyrtec purchase last week. I bought 3 packages for razor blades and also bought 2 tubes of Hawaian Tropic SPF45 lip balm. CVS had a deal where buy any 2 HT items and get 10.00 in ECB back if you bought 2. the lip balm was 2.99 each. So I spent 24.00 saved 10.00 at the register and also got back 14.00 in ECB. Not bad for a days shopping.

Camp is over

YIPPPPEEEE SKIPEEEEEE! Done with Twilight camp for another year. It isn't a horrible experience it is just HOT and the boys get cranky because they are hot and tired. I have found the best way to keep their spirits up is to eat snacks. They do bring snack dinner but in between events we would pull out licorice, fruit snacks, oreos etc. The boys never knew what was coming out of Cathy's magic bag next. The excitement of the mystery also helped. But herding 8 boys in a sea of 300 boys is like herding cats thru kittens. Nearly impossible because every time we think we are on the move to an activity invarialby one kid has to go to the bath room - which means 2 kids have to go because they have to use the buddy system. Then another will see a friend from school in a different den and HAVE to go talk to him (worse than girls) Then another wants to go fill a water bottle so off go another 2 and by this time we have 2-3 boys left and they are bored waiting so we start hearing "NOT IT" over and over as they start to run the quad to play tag. Quite the experience.

But at least now that camp is over things can get back to normal. Did I say that? Drew gets out of School on Tuesday so there goes MY normal until August 16. I don't know how many mom's I talked to at camp who were acting as leaders talking about the state of affairs in their homes. Telling their husbands it will get back to normal once this week is over. We go to camp from 430-830. You would think that would leave plenty of time to get things done. For some reason nothing gets done. I was glad to hear I was not the only one with an island full of stuff that had not been put in its place in several days. that the news papers stacking up inside the front door looked like they had been on vacation for 10 days. Desks were covered with mail and bills waiting for a moment of the mom's time so the cable didn't get cut off. For some reason Comcast doesn't take " But I was herding cats at Twilight camp" as an excuse for not paying the bill on time. The towels were stacked by the washer but they hadn't been kind enough to jump in and wash themselves. The nerve of the towels.

BUT in the midst of all this chaos I did manage to SCORE a great deal at CVS yesterday. I thinkk CVS is becoming my favorite store for couping.

I think CVS must have tiers of shoppers and the higher teirs get more and better coupons. I got one in my email on Thursday for 30% my entire purchase. We needed a new Igloo cooler. I went and found one for 50.00. I had 2 4.00 off a 20.00 purchase as well as my 30% off so my cooler ended up being about 24.00. I also used a zyrtec coupon that was buy a 5 count for 5.99 and get CVS ECC for 5.99 in addition I had a 5.00 off coupon so my zyrtec was 5.99 less5.00 so I paid .99 but then they gave me a coupon for 5.99 a future purchase. You do the math!

Rango Movie Code

I just found this code - haven't seen it anywhere else yet.

IF you preorder Rango off of Amazon and use code: RANGO5GO you will get 5.00 the movie making it 11.99

CVS Run

First let me say this couponing thing is addictive. If I am going out for something specific I check all sorts of sites on line to see if there are any coupons or discounts available. I was told once I started it would kill me to pay full price for anything ever again. I understand that statement now.

Today I actually made a trip to CVS. They had a one day coupon for 0.99 for a 12 pack of Pepsi product. I firmly believe that you can never have enough soda on hand for an impromptu party or taking to a party. So I grabbed that. I also had a coupon for .75 off of TICTACS. CVS had them buy 2 get one for a penny, Drew loves them so I thought he would like a treat. I also found today a coupon for CVS specific for a New Hershey Aerated chocolate bar for free. I spend 3.09 and got 3 large tictac mint boxes, a 12 pack of pepsi and a candy bar. California adds a tax for the cans so it was 2.43 before the CVR tax. Works for me.

new sites

As I have been finding new fun sites I have been putting their links on the right. I have to say these are 2 of my favorites. Krazy Coupon Lady has great ways of saving money via couponing and other links.

A to Zebra Celebrations have fantastic giveaways. today I won a life time membership to a new site called FOJOMOJO. Great place to store pictures and make and print cards or send them email.

Also check out Saving Star. Their site is a little different. You load the coupons on to your loyalty card - in my case CVS. when you go in and purchase those items it doesn't get deducted like a regular coupon. It goes in to a cash account that you can choose to cash out to your paypal or checking account I am saving mine - might buy a christmas present or 2. At CVS today I earned 5.00

Today I went to CVS and using the information the the internet and my coupons I total before coupons was 67.00 I spent 32.00 not including get 8.00 Extra Reward bucks and the 5.00 that went into my SS account. Sorry Charlie Sheen but I am the WINNER this time.

todays frugal

In my quest for frugalness, a website I follow had this offer up today. So I got to send my dad a Father's day card for free and it will be there on time - shock of all shocks. I am sure it will shock my dad. USE THE CODE FREECARD at checkout and they will mail your card for free. You can even add a picture of yourself so if you life far a way like in my case your father can remember what you look like.

Drew and I do have to have a little talk. I came down to my desk this morning and discovered one of my coupons ripped in half and Drew had written a Lego wish list on the back. There is plenty of scrap paper in this house. Mom's coupons are OFF limits.

I have to go back to Bed Bath and Beyond. I forgot my coupon this past weekend for 20% off and they told me if I brought it in they would credit me back. AWESOME!!! I also found out that even if the BBB coupons says expired they will still allow you to use it. That may come in handy during the holidays

And speaking of Holidays - It is official Betsy and Phil are coming in Christmas afternoon and will be here for 11 days. Still trying to figure out the logistics of it all present wise but it will work out. We are having an open house while they are here. I am excited about that. Plus we will go to San Fran for a day and take the jumbo tour of the Jelly Belly Factory. Phil wants to eat at OZ and Squeeze Inn as well as In and Out.

Busy week ahead last full week of school, scout camp every night, plus our normal weekly things. Best get at it.

Frugal

My word for the second half of the year is FRUGAL. I am making a game of clipping coupons and now seeing how much I can save. I will only be going to4 stores. I don't think you save money if you drive all over and spend as much in gas as you save. I am choosing CVS, Bel Air, Target and Henry's. We are also going to start getting our veggies from the farmer's market. I actually pass all the stores (except the farmer market) almost everyday on my way somewhere so I don't think it will be wasting gas because they are on my direct route. I figure if I make it a game to save money then it won't be so hard and I will think twice or three times before I buy something. I am using Krazy Koupon Lady and Penny Pinching Mom to help me understand the finer points of couponing. I even found out that our local paper if you are a subscriber to the Sunday paper will deliver last Sunday paper for free so I will get 2 copies for the price of one The SacBee has a special going right now where I can get the Sunday only for 20.00 a year.

We have lived in this house almost 3 years now and I have yet to put much on the walls. Drives my Mother in Law nuts. So I am looking for some great ideas. I joined Pintrest to get ideas.

I have really gotten hooked on blogs lately that have cool (easy) crafty things. Like this one, isn't this the neatest idea? Scott would probably have a fit if I did something like this but oh well.I want to do lids for several events so they will be useable more often.

So if you want come on my journey to learn how to be frugal and not pay full price for anything. It should be an adventure. Who knows I may put all my savings in a special account to pay for a trip to Disney since I can't seem to win one.

give aways

Did you know about all the amazing contests on people's blogs? I wish I was good enough to be able to have give aways and go to places like BlogHer. But I don't have enough readership and I don't know how to build it so that I can become more successful.

I have been entering give aways on Blogs for a while. And on Facebook. I have actually won a few things.

Today I got an email saying I won this http://www.cookiesandclogs.com/cooking-with-coke-t-fal-steamer-giveaway-ends-65.

One of my favorite sites Jasmere has a daily give away via facebook. I won some great note cards from that give away.

My fave fiber site Phatfiber has a give away almost every day. I have been very fortunate to win several of those give aways.

I also won a 250.00 gift card to Toys R Us just in time for Drew's birthday this year. I had forgotten I had even entered that and was shocked when the gift card showed up. I had to go back and research what it was I entered.

There are some amazing give a ways out there and it takes a minute to enter so I figure why not. It is nice to win and get something other than bills in the mail. I will post give a ways as I find them. If only I could win a trip to Disney give a way.

making a come back

When I lived in Kansas I had a little side business. Some may remember Cups of Chocolate. I really enjoyed it. It was lots of work but worth the effort. Scott and I have been talking and I am seriously thinking about bringing Cups back to life. Looking at what is on the internet I was a trail blazer all those years ago. Bite size treats are all the rage now. I can start locally. Already have a bit of interest from a friend.

I have also learned about the power of networking via internet and blogs. So I am working that aspect of it.

Just have to get supplies again and start mixing.

for the love of chocolate *update6/10/11

DEAR GOD I am in heaven. I love give aways and have i got one for you. Actually it is about fair trade but it is also chocolate. Someone's Gotta Pay has been doing some wonderful give aways.

There have been 3 so far.

1 - Coco zen it is one of my favorite fair trade chocolate companies. There truffles are to DIE for

2 - pranagourmet - If you win you have to promise to share the box (with me of course)

3 - cupcakes - I am a sucker for cupcakes and I think I could get addicted to these.

4 - spa items - I bet these work as good as they smell

5 - truffles - I want those chocolate chip cookie dough truffles so badly. yum

Make sure you enter for each give away - even if it means i can't win. Just remember my finders fee. Good luck.

I will add to the list as they add more give aways. All entries must be in by June 14. And remember if you win you owe me a finders fee!!!!

new family member

a few months ago we lost an important part of our nuclear family. Doris the hamster died. Proper burial ensued. Drew within 10 minutes wanted know when we would be getting a lizard. He had been asking for a while that if when Doris died if he could have a lizard. I am not sure where he picked up the name Doris but it bothered me that he named his hamster after my favorite great aunt. But I digress

Scott had an all day meeting today. And seeing as how last year when Scott was at this same meeting we became the proud owners of Skippy, it seemed fitting that the lizard joined us today.

The weather here has been horrible. It is usually in the upper 80's and we are all in shorts and t shirts. I still haven't put my sweaters away this year. We haven't even set up the pool yet and the season is starting to get short. Today it rained all day and maybe made it up to the mid 50's.

Tomorrow will be the same. Scott has to be in Davis to work a State Championship bike race. I went out today and bought him a golf umbrella to help keep him semi dry. I got the biggest hand held umbrella I could find. it is 68" across. Drew and I will be staying home and dry, cuddled in my bed wathcing movies and eating whatever junk food we may have in the house and that isn 't much. Scott will have the car so we can't even go get goodies.

Back to our new family member. So this morning drew and went on our search for a bearded dragon. Not my choice but in my research it would be a good first lizard. I got to talking to the nice young lady named Stephanie about what we were doing. She could see that I had reservations about the bearded dragon. She showed Andrew a leopard gecko and he loved it. We bought all the stuff and took it home and got the tank set up. We had to run a couple errands after that then back to the pet store to obtain our new friend, and crickets, and meal worms. I will be obtaining crickets every couple days for the next few years from what I now understand. The meal worms live in hibernation in the fridge - I only have to get hem once a week because they are sold in bulk of 50.

We are now the proud owners of CAMO the leopard gecko. Drew and Scott wanted to name it Phil but I nixed that one. Feeding it crickets isn't as bad as I expected. I just open the plastic bad and dump. I can do that.

On the way home from this adventure I told Drew I needed to rest because it had been sucha busy morning and I was getting tired. He told me "well I guess that can be your reward for being such a good little mommy today." GEE THANKS

adoption and other stuff

It has been an interesting week around here. Drew and I have some real heart to hearts. We are seeing more normal 9 year old mischief. YIPEEE!!!! He tried to juggle - with rocks and broke a porch light. He is riding is bike without training wheels and is starting to build ramps to jump off of. Yesterday is my favorite. He put on is army camo jacket and hat, took brown acrylic paint and painted his face and climbed a tree to see how well camo techniques really worked. They did. I was so busy trying to get dried acrylic paint off his face I forgot to get a picture. his therapist is wanting us to attempt to put him a regular class room next year for 2 hours a day 2 days a week. That is HUGE!!!! He is about to graduate from OT. He is trying new foods on a daily basis. Another HUGE!!!!!

We were driving to therapy the other day and he started asking about the difference between birth mom and mom. I explained that a birth mom is just that someone who gives birth to you BUT a mom is the one who takes care of you, stays up with you when you are sick, goes camping - even when camping is not her favorite thing, buys pet lizards and feeds them crickets even tho she hates both, cooks, cleans, reads, hugs, does homework, kisses scraped knees, puts up with Disney channel, and a million other things. He seemed to grasp that. we talked a little more about what I do as a mom. several times during the conversation I reiterated that his Birthmom did love him because she chose to give him to us because she knew she couldn't do all the things that we do. He said I know A***** loved me but it still hurts.....

WOW. I assured him that he is not alone in that. I told him it was OK to have those feelings. Many adopted people feel some hurt. It may not go away but how he chooses to deal with it is key. I can see how far his thought process on the adoption issue has come in a short time. All we can do is be as open and honest as we can be. That will get harder with time.

homeschool

Bet you didn't think I would be writing about this topic again for a long long time did you? On the way to school this morning Drew told me we needed to talk. GREAT I thought not knowing what was going to come through that little mouth. He asked when he could go back to home school. You see, he explained he is bored. The things they are doing in his class he has already done. In fact, He has lost some of the skills I taught him about writing paragraphs because those aren't topics until third grade and giving presentations (like we do for International day) is not even broached until 5th grade.

Drew asked if I could supplement what was going on in school with some things at home. He misses ancient history. So I am frantically searching for copies of Surley English grade 2 and 3 as well as Teaching Textbook unit3. He also wants to find Story of the World and our Bible pack and start those again. HE told me this way he would have the best of both worlds.

I did tell him we would not revisit homeschooling on a permanent basis until he was ready for 4th grade or until his therapists felt he was ready to handle it again. I would give anything to start now but I want him to be a little more ready to understand and handle it.

So now Drew is a schooled/homeschooled kid.

Gotcha day

In the adoption world there are celebration days that don't exists for other families. Families celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter etc. In adoption families we also tend to celebrate Gotcha day. This is the day when we got the call and our son or daughter is placed in our arms for the first time. Kind of like saying "everything will be Ok. I gotcha now" That was yesterday for us. We were fortunate that Drew came to us the day after he was born and so we celebrate these together.

For families who adopt thru the foster system or over seas Gotcha days are a separate day. The day is still very important to the family. I know one family who goes for Chinese on that day of the year only. It is marked by a family celebration. For us- this year we are headed to 6 Flags. The three of us. Wish phil was here to join us but he isn't.
This day means ususally means a lot to an adoptive family similar to Christmas, birthdays or Easter. We don't give presents but we celebrate being a family.

progress

We are making progress in the foods Drew eats. For the longest time it was only carbs. It got to be very challenging and VERY unhealthy. In working with his OT, she came up with a way for him to try new foods. He gets to be a scientist. When he is introduced to a new food he gets to examine it for color, textures, smells etc. Then he has to try it. In some cases the first try may only be a lick but he is not allowed to say he doesn't like something until he has journaled about a food 10 times. I am happy to report instead of just potatoes and corn on the cob he now eats dried bananas, snap pea crisps, sweet potatoes stawberries and blueberries. He has ruled out for the time being freeze dried mango, kiwi is iffy at best. He has licked broccoli and asparagus and the jury is still out on those but in our eyes that is MUCHO progress.

Another Tuesday

Drew is at school. Scott is at work. I am at home. I have been weighing my options as to what I could do today. I think some washing of sheets is in store for me. May be washing a couple dishes. Then I plan on knitting and maybe some online retail therapy.

Drew this morning was listening to a song and to give you an example of how his mind works - the lyrics were "she's a good bass fisher and an dynamite kisser...." Drew looked at me and asked "why would anyone want to kiss dynamite?"

I am taking a class right now on moral and social ethics. in his world everything is black and white. But when talking about morals there are many grey areas. I am still trying to help him understand Ethics on an 8 year old asperger level. All I can say is it is not easy.

MIA

WOW Have I been MIA for a while. Sorry all. Lots going on. Some good -Some great - Some not so great - some I am not ready to talk about.

When I think about it I would have to say it is all pretty great. I had a wonderful time in Topeka. I came back refreshed in many ways. Scott and Drew survived very well with out me. I came home to a clean house, laundry done, Scott even cleaned out my second pantry and it is very nicely organized. He found time to trim a big over grown tree in the back yard. Now I know what he CAN do. LOL

I spent time with many of my wonderful friends. Had a slumber party with one - but we are old we were in bed by 10:30.

I spent one evening with a dear friend Anna. She is an amazing fiber artist and I learned how to spin. Not very easy. I also got to play with her drum carder and learned how to make batts. I am getting a drum carder for a Mother's Day/Birthday present. I am so excited. Plus I will now be scouring the internet for some wonderful rovings and wool to begin to create. I have tons of ideas for my CHILL kids for the next two semesters as well.

Phil and I got to spend lots of time together. I managed to surprise him with a cake for his fraternity. I have made sure he has had a cake with his fraternity brothers every year of college and I managed to surprise him this year. He was also very surprised to find out he had a party at chuck e cheese on his birthday. THey even had someone get in the mascot suit and come out. I have to figure out how to get the pictures from my phone to my computer so I can get them up.

The biggest news I am allowed to reveal is that we had Drew's IEP meeting yesterday. Very positive outcomes. Lots we knew about Andrew - several concerns that we need to watch but I am happy to report that Drew will be in a brick and mortar school 4 days a week and will continue to do CHILL/Independent Study on Fridays!!! I can't believe the are making that consession. He will however no longer be getting speech and OT out of school but the have promised to try and make arrangements for his old OT who was at SLTA and went to work for the district to take on Drew because she knows him and vice versa so it will make the transition much easier.

I AM

I look around and feel off balance in my life. I look around at everything we HAVE and it doesn't feel right. Why do I need 2 boxes of yarn? Why do I need 4 TV's. There are only 3 of us. We have as many computers as people this house. I am feeling bogged down by all the STUFF that we feel we have to have. I look back at the small house we had in Kansas - it wasn't that small it was 2200 square feet. I wanted more. Now I want to get rid of so much of it. I am tired of stuff. I feel like there has to be more than stuff.

Why do humans always want more? I have jackets I haven't worn in years but I don't get rid of them because some day I MIGHT need one of them. I look at my youngest and I am realizing I am setting a bad example for him. I lost my cell phone and after not finding it in 4 days I had to go buy a new one. I didn't need it. Drew found my phone a couple days later. I am part of the NOW generation. I never WANT for anything. If I want something I go buy it. I am realizing that is not the way to live.

As I have lived in California for the past few years I have realized that so many people have a sense of entitlement. I am one of them. I want to be someone who sets a different example for the world. I don't know how I am going to do it but there is a path I feel I am being called to walk and changing my thinking my step is the first step. Wanna walk with me?

Go to the Oprah site and watch and read about Tom Shadyak and who he was and who he has become. Also learn about what 3 guys have done in Uguanda for the invisible children. After reflecting on how I want to live my life and know I am not fulfilled and it is time to make the changes and follow my hearts desire and give back to this glorious Earth.

65

Yesterday, my mom would have been 65 years old. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her at least briefly. I think anyone who has lost a parent does.

I wasn't sad yesterday, just kind of melancholy. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I would have marked her 65th birthday.

As Scott was leaving for Vestry last night I looked at him and said "She would have been 65 today" HE hugged me and said he saw my tweet and knew she had been on my mind.

Andrew was standing there and asked who was 65. I told him that his Grammy would have been 65 if she was still alive. He said "well she still is 65 today. Just because someone dies doesn't mean that people can't celebrate."

At that point he said " where is the cake and candles?" Scott went to Vestry and Drew and I had a cupcake to celebrate my mom.

Like my friend Elaine said "sometimes it just takes a kids perspective" I think Drew just started a new family tradition.

new obsession

Still waiting for some tests to come back. So far everything has come back negative EXCEPT I barely had Vitamin D in my system. I just wish the one test that was sent away would come back. That is the one everyone is hanging their hat on.

Since Drew is back in school I find I have more free time on my hands. I have been perusing the internet and have found some amazing sites. I thought over the next few days I would share some of my favorite ones.

My first site is jasmere . I have never found a more wonderful company. Their customer service in INCREDIBLE. It is similar to groupon but on a more broader scale. Jasmere seeks out less known specialty shops on the internet and then using their bargaining power negotiate great prices. The more people that buy the bigger the discount. You are then mailed a voucher # at the end of the 24 hour period to use on a specific website. You have 3 months to use the voucher.

I have made 4 or 5 purchases from Jasmere and have yet to be disappointed. Several of my friends have been giving me a hard time about Jasmere because I am already buying Christmas presents. Yes I know it is April and Yes I know I shouldn't mention the C-Word until at least July but with the things I have gotten I can't help it.

I have bought baked goods, purses, reusable shopping bags, 6 months of recipes (gluten Free) YEsterday I was the customer of the day and I won a gift card to a stationary store. I can't wait to use it.

If you are interested in Jasmere let me know. If I refer someone to the site and they purchase something I get a 10.00 referral fee to use on future purchases.

Next I will be talking about phatfiber and their wonderful fiber giveaways

Please note I do not recieve anthing from these companies. These are just my opinions on sites I enjoy and hope you do to.

poked prodded and drained

Saw the new neuro doc today. WOW. I have found the older Asian version of House. Found out this is the number one person in the area for neuro disorders. He reviewed old records, found things we didn't think we significant. Ordered another MRI - this time of the spine. I had so much blood drawn to day that I am feeling a little pasty. Trying to get authorization for another test.

I feel like this doctor is listening and trying to figure this out. That is such good news after all the road blocks. I go see him again in 6 weeks and hopefully we will have some answers.

So now we wait.

I don't remember much

I know many of you have seen posts on FB as well as here that my dad was here for a week babysitting me. Here is what happened

I went in for my lumbar puncture as planned - however the aftermath was totally unplanned. The lumbar puncture went fine but when I was in observation afterwards is very fuzzy. I remember them telling Scott that I had to wait 2 hours in observation because of being prone to migraines. I remember telling Scott I was getting the worst migraine ever. I remember someone loading me in to the car and being rushed 2 blocks to the hospital. I remember a really nice security guard staying with me while Scott parked the car. I remember after sitting in a wheelchair for a while Scott grabbing a nurse and telling him that I had had a lumbar puncture and I had to be laying down. Then I was on a gurney in a hallway.

I was eventually put in a ER room. At some point some point I got an IV. No clue when. I got a CT scan to check for a stroke - no clue when. I lost the ability to swallow. Remember a nice nurse taking the water from me when I started choking. I was admitted to the hosptial. Scott knew I could not stay alone with Drew for a week - heck we didn't know when I was going to get out of the hosptial. SCott had to go to Dallas on business that could not be postponed in anyway. The government doesn't put off meetings.

He called his mom first but she couldn't get out here till Tuesday. So SCott called my dad. The next thing I remember being told that Dad was coming to stay and take care of me. Thanks to Andrea for arraging everything and sacrificing a week with out dad during the rainy season and the crack in the wall. Thanks to Mary Lou for not being able to come.

What I do remember is having the best week of my life with my dad. It was the most wonderful theraputic week. Lots of talking laughing crying loving healing. What we both needed.
Dad met my friends, went to Dr.appts, pack meeting, knitting group, DRew's OT and speech and so many other little things. IT meant the world to me.

We see a new neurologist on Wed. We now have more questions then answers. No one can explain what happened after my puncture. It was scary. I have so many holes in my memories but I think that is probably a good thing. But not as good as having my dad to myself for a week.

Raising a child with a disabilty

First let me say this week has been incredible. THe lumbar puncture not so much. I will explain what happened in the next few days. But until then let me say my dad saw Holland this week and has a new appreciation for it's wonders, beauties and difficulties. And I have a new appreciation of my dad as well

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

today is the day

I have so much to blog about about. the kid who hit drew but didn't get suspended. I am still fighting that battle. Teaching others about Tourettes. Teaching Drew about Tourettes. Deciding to take my life from what ever this damn thing that is making my life a living hell. Getting ready for my hubby to leave for a week in Dallas. My upcoming trip back to Kansas.

But today is my lumbar puncture. I will be strong because I have God on my side as well as wearing my 2008 Jayhawk National Championship Tshirt.

Back soon.