Tightwad Tuesdays

I posted before about saving $27 using coupons for my big grocery shopping trip (2 weeks of meals and sundry items.) I thought this time I'd share a bit about my "system" and how I "do" coupons.

I actually don't do anything extraordinary with regards to coupons. I won't follow any "system" or method of money-savings that require large amounts of time or effort on my part. If it is easy and part of my plans anyway, I'm there lol. That's why I have yet to jump on the CVS or Wal-Greens "bandwagons" so to speak. I don't have the time or energy to spend going to two or three different stores and going through two or more transactions to get a bunch of shampoo and toothpaste for free. I pay 99 cents for it at Wal-Mart and I'm done. I'm not knocking those who do do this...I admire their efforts to save money and their shopping savvy.

So what do I do? I buy one Sunday paper and clip any coupons in it for products I need (and read the paper lol.) I check the Orlando Sentinel paper online and follow their link to grocery coupons and "clip" any I need there. I go to Betty Crocker and Pillsbury websites and get any coupons I need there. And that's about it. I shop almost exclusively at Wal-Mart because it is less than a mile down the road. I used to get the Wednesday ads, go through them and price match, but it isn't worth it anymore (except when milk is on sale.) Just with these simple steps I have been able to reduce our grocery bill by 10% (that's saving $20 on a $200 trip.) I only buy what's on my list and that's it. It's hard to resist some of the deals and specials, but if I wasn't going to buy it anyway, it's not a savings.

I used to have the problem of forgetting to bring coupons, or not using them before they expired. Now I have one day a week where I set aside time to organize my coupons. It really doesn't take long at all. I go through my coupon holder, section by section, and review what I have, take out what has expired, and add any new ones. This is the only time my coupon holder comes out of my purse! I bring it with me all the time so I never forget to use a coupon.

So there you go...the lazy mom's way to save on groceries lol. And it's a good excuse to be on the computer (I know you want to play your game, honey, but Mommy is busy saving money lol.) To see more great ideas for holding on to your hard earned money, check out Tightwad Tuesdays, hosted by Mary a.k.a. Canadagirl.

Tuesday Reviews: Fur Fighter Hair Remover

Angela at Homeschooling and Loving It hosts Tuesday Reviews, where we can share our reviews of just about anything! I love seeing what products have worked for other moms and their families...talk about saving time and money! So please, join in today.






This week I am reviewing Scotch Fur Fighter Hair Remover. My kids and I both love this product...and my husband loves the results lol. We have 4 cats, three of whom spend at least some part of the day inside. Their favorite hangout?

My furniture, of course. But come on, how cute is that? How can I say no to these two buddies? They play together all day and then nap on the couch. The little black one, Mimi, even licks Winston's face while he sleeps. But of course, they are cats and they leave hair and dander behind. And with summer coming on quickly, they are shedding even more, getting their summer coats. How have a tackled this cleaning chore in the past? With the heavy, loud vacuum. With expensive and ineffective lint rollers. With inexpensive but cumbersome tape. Well, no more! The Scotch Fur Fighter worked great, was easy to use (all of my kiddos fought to take turns with it lol) and really did a thorough job. You just put on the little grippy sheet and brush the furry area in any direction. When you are done, toss it. This thing picked up more hair and dander than I even realized was there...besides Mimi I have another all-black kitty and sometimes it's hard to see her "contributions" to my upholstery lol. My only complaint about the product...there should be a pic of a kitty on the packaging lol! If you follow the link I provided there is a coupon for $4 off the starter kit...great deal.

Exercise Challenge 5/19-5/25

Rebecca at Mission of Motherhood hosts this challenge, a true help to me in my quest to make exercise and fitness a part of my daily life again. It's been wonderful to have a place to post my progress each week, to keep me accountable, and to find support and encouragement. Thanks Rebecca!

So last week I did okay. I got in my 5 days of aerobics and 2 days of weight lifting, keeping with the 5lbs. I am happy to report that I kept up even though there were a few obstacles of early appointments and poor sleep (I exercise right when I get up in the morning.) Normally I try to keep the mornings somewhat free so I can get my workout in, but the kitty had to be at the vet by 7a.m., no excuses lol. So I had to exercise when I got back, and that of course put the rest of the day behind, as well as meant I had an audience of my normally sleeping children. Well, that just proved to me why I workout before they rise lol!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Curriculum Planning 2008-2009 a.k.a. Where's the Tylenol!

Well, I have officially begun the wrapping up of the school year and the planning of the new year. This is actually new for me, as I have put off the planning until the end of summer most years (okay, every year.) I am feeling bittersweet about our upcoming school year...it will most likely be my last year of homeschooling ds2! After 8th grade we let ds1 choose whether or not to attend public high school, and we will let ds2 choose as well. He is leaning toward public. I will miss him greatly...he is my talker, my clown, my sweet boy. We can talk about anything (and he does lol!) Ah, well.

So, on to the planning. I have started with ds2.

• For math we will stick with Abeka. It's a wonderful program and ds has done well with it.


• For reading I choose about 6 "classic" books for him to read and study, then end the year with poetry. Here's what I am considering for this year; The Diary of Anne Frank, The Hobbit, Gulliver's Travels, Maniac Magee, Huckleberry Finn and The Secret Garden. I also have a "backup" list of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler, Dear Mr. Henshaw and The Old Man and the Sea. I learned this year to have the "backups"...a few of the books I picked just didn't "agree" with ds lol.

For just about everything else I'm stumped. I'd like to cover some chemistry in science this year, and world history for social studies, but have yet to find a program we both liked. I also need a good spelling program for ds, as this is the subject he needs the most help in. I would also like to introduce him to some famous artists and musicians (something all the boys could be part of in some way) and keep up with our nature study. He is an excellent artist himself and I'd like to encourage that. For Language Arts I'd love a program that emphasizes writing and just kind of reviews grammar...he's proficient in that department.

So, any and all advice is appreciated! I know my fellow homeschooling moms will have super ideas that have worked for them. And coupons for Tylenol. Thanks in advance for any help.

Getting It All Together Update

My planner arrived! In a priority mail box no less. I like it, it's just about what I envisioned. Now I have that "sitting in front of a blank planner with no clue where to start" thing going on lol. I did make other progress in my attempt to become more organized...I kicked the kids off my desk. Whoo hoo! Let me explain.
We homeschool in the dining room. The poor little room (well, it's not really even that small) is filled with the computer desk and our dining room set (a large table with 6 chairs.) We had to take out the matching china hutch to make room for the desk. And it's a very nice desk, several shelves on the hutch, a drawer and cabinet for the computer tower, just lots of room. That is until you put the 8 year old dinosaur of a monitor on it lol. Add in 3 children on it all the time and you have a mess. I was so frustrated, spending precious time clearing off and organizing the desk only to come in to use it and find the kids' stuff everywhere or that they had moved my stuff to make room, you get the idea. Also, with 4 people using one computer, the memory and hard drive were getting full...to the point where I lost two different homeschool tracking programs and all the info from the year! So my wonderful dh stepped in and bought me a laptop. Even though I don't like laptops. But I like mine, and am getting used to it. :)
This solved my computer problems, but I still had no desk. And I need a desk. You know, to do all the planning? To put my new planner? To sit at and run the home? So today, I kicked the kids off my desk. I put the desktop computer in ds's room temporarily until we can get a small computer desk for them to put here in the living room. And I now have sooo much room! (But I'm typing this out with the laptop in my lap to ds's dismay lol.) Now I will have my own space which will stay clean and organized for more than 1/2 a day after I clean and organize it. I have a place to put the laptop and connect it to the printer. I just have space!!
The journey continues...

Getting It All Together (Can you really do it?)

I have not been posting regularly lately. I want to, and I feel like I have plenty of computer time to (well, let's say enough computer time lol), but I just keep forgetting to post! I blame disorganization, and I am working on that. I have memes and such that I enjoy participating in...exercise challenge and Homeschool Hi-Lights on Mondays, Tightwad and Review Tuesdays, etc. But the day will creep on me and I will realize I never posted. Or I remember and realize I haven't prepared a good post and sit there staring blankly in front of the computer (don't worry, the kiddos are used to it lol.) You know what the worst excuse is? I go about my day composing a post in my head, but never post it! Like I guess my brain figures I've thought it all out and the deed is done. I am behind reporting on two Green Hour challenges we have completed, I have tons of recipes typed up in drafts, I have neglected to update my book shelf and post reviews on what I have read. It's just a mess and I'm tired of it.



I am actually a pretty organized person. It just seems that this year, homeschooling 3 children at 3 different levels, and running the home, has just gotten the best of me. I went to address my ds1's graduation announcements and found my address book sorely lacking. My brother moved over 3 years ago and I still hadn't written down his new address! How sad. I think my main problems are as follows: lack of adequate planning materials, not using my time wisely, and not planning far enough ahead.

Now my plan of attack to solve these problems? Well, let's review the first one, my lack of adequate planning materials, emphasis on adequate. I have a weekly planner that I have been using for 2 years now and really enjoy, Amy Knapp's Family Organizer. This planner has been great for me, and I do recommend it. It has weekly and monthly pages, menu and grocery lists you can tear out and take shopping with you, inspirational quotes, and sections in the back for addresses and babysitter info. As I have begun blogging in earnest, and have 4 children to track, however, it lacks enough space to list out my daily goals or to-dos. I researched other planners and decided to try one that has two pages per day. The Franklin Covey line of planners is super, but also super expensive. I found a wire-bound two page per day planner from Rediform on Amazon and ordered it. Hope it gets here soon.

Problem #2, not using my time wisely. I am actually a great multi-tasker. Especially in the kitchen. During the "dinner hour" I'll have dinner cooking, be emptying and refilling the dishwasher, folding and putting up clean clothes, even making a dessert and monitoring the kids with a craft. During the day I'll have the kids busy with school and still fit in making the beds and cleaning the bathrooms. But then I have those days...oh, those days. I get absent minded and distracted for some reason. I'll put in laundry and forget about it. I'll make a few phone calls and suddenly dh has walked in the door from work and nothing's done! And the aforementioned problem with remembering to post. I am hoping the new planner will help with this, and other than that I really don't know what to do.

Problem #3, not planning far enough ahead. Here's the deal with that. For some reason, my brain lives in this dream world where all events and holidays are far in the future lol. And then one day I ask the cashier what the date is and realize it's my Mom's bday. BAAAAD. Really BAAAAD. Or St. Patricks's Day pops up and I have no neat plans or lessons for the kids. This will only be resolved by setting aside time, at least once a week, to get out the calendar and "just do it!" Again, I'm hoping the new planner will help with this. And I just realized I am putting a lot of hope into this new planner lol!

Okay, that was like a big old rant there, but I feel better for articulating the problems I'm having and setting goals to solve them. I am not pressuring myself, but hoping to sort all this out over the summer and start good and organized by the new school term. Yeah, dream big. :) Until then, please forgive my spotty posting.

Green Hour Challenge: Week 5

A fantastic woman named Barb hosts this "challenge" which is really a nature study, on her website Handbook of Nature Study. We have greatly enjoyed following along (at our own slow pace lol) and I encourage you to check it out for yourselves. It'd be a cool summer project to keep the creative juices flowing, no? Anywho, this week (well, the week we are on, which is week 5) we ventured outside of our own yard and neighborhood for our walk. After a trip to the library we headed to a nearby park. It's actually one of those "exercise parks" where there is a jogging trail and stations where you stop to do situps and such, but it also has some playground type equipment for the kiddos. After the kids played a while, we walked the jogging trail.

This is ds next to some giant roots from an upturned tree left from hurricane Ivan. Our community lost a lot of trees in that one, big and old trees. We personally lost all but 2 trees in our own yard.

We found this stuck to one of the workout stations. We were thinking it might be a cocoon?

Ds4 holding a seed pod from a magnolia tree.

Our assignment this week was to make a list of subjects in our focus area. Our focus area is plants, and we listed those we have (or will have) in our own yard: Sunflowers, azaleas, roses, hibiscus, hydrangea, jasmine and elephant ears. We will study one item from our list during the week, taking a pic and writing down facts to make our own nature fact book.

Exercise Challenge

Well, I had a good week of exercise. Not a great week, but okay. I feel a little like the "honeymoon" is over in a way, and that the "challenge" part of this has kicked in lol. I don't wake up itching to exercise anymore and some days I skip it. I'm not sure what to do, maybe the new dvd's I ordered will help mix things up a bit and get me excited about it all again. I did upgrade to the 5lb weights for my T and Th weightlifting, and did just fine with them. I dread the summer and the heat...even though I get up early and exercise right away, here it can be in the 80's at sunrise during the summer, so there is just no escaping the heat. I sure sound like a whiner this morning lol. I'll blame it on Monday. To join in on the exercise challenge, or to just see what others are up to with their fitness, see Mission of Motherhood. Hope everyone has a good week!

Homeschool Hi-Light 5/12-5/16

Ellen at Fun Learning hosts Homeschool Hi-Lights every Monday, giving homeschoolers the chance to share some highlight from their week of schooling. This week our highlight was beginning our study of the cell and getting to use this neat microscope!

That's ds2, my 12yo, getting up close and personal with a blood cell. My dh is a lab engineer and had this microscope and some slides he uses at work that he passed on to ds for his science studies. Ds has had so much fun this week! Imo, it's kinda gross lol, but neat to look at. His favorite was finding a flea on the cat and looking at it up close...it still wriggled! Hope everyone has a great week.

A Handy Giveaway

The Homeschooling Blog is celebrating a change in web address by having a giveaway. Isn't that tote cute? I love advertising that we homeschool, and we use totes all the time for carrying library books, going on picnics or hanging out at the beach. In other words, I'd love to win that tote lol! Check out The Homeschool Blog, not only for the giveaway (which ends tonight...sorry for the short notice) but also because it's a cool site.

Exercise Challenge

I had a so-so week with exercise. I kept on track from M through W, but just couldn't get out of bed and do anything Th, which led to skipping F too. It was "that time" for me last week and I have at least one day of just being exhausted, so I was kinda expecting not to be able to do anything one day. I should have tried to "catch up" last weekend, but no excuses I just didn't. I'm back on track for this week so far...got up and did a 2-mile walk this morning, including using weights. I'm thinking of upping my weights from 3lbs to 5lbs for my T and Th weightlifting routines. Wish me luck!

Destination Disney: Disney On A Budget

Jennifer at Snapshot is hosting this super fun carnival to share our tips and tricks for making the most of a trip to Disney World. Previous posts have been about Disney magic and tips for planning. This week we share about how to "do Disney" on a budget.

Disney World is an expensive vacation, no doubt about it. But there are ways to save money. First off, be prepared. Work out a budget before you go, knowing just how much you have to spend on each category: transportation, lodging, tickets, food and souvenirs.

• We always drive so I have no advice on other transportation methods.
• For lodging the best savings are at a value resort. Our favorite is the Pop Century, as it is the newest one.
• For tickets we save by buying seasonal passes. If you are planning on going to Disney more than once in a calendar year (say March of this year and Feb of next) compare the costs of buying annual passes vs other tickets. Also check AAA for special deals on tickets.
• Check allearsnet.com for menus and prices at the parks and resorts. This way you will have a clear feel for how much food is going to cost. We always save by eating breakfast in our rooms (except our last day there, when we go to a character breakfast!) We also bring our own bottled water ( $2 or more a pop in the parks) and snacks. Even if you aren't driving you can find less expensive snacks and grocery items at the resorts, or grocery stores around Downtown Disney and in Kissimmee.
• Shop for souvenirs on your last day. This way, the kids (and adults lol) will have had a chance to see everything Disney has to offer, and won't blow the budget on the first item they fall in love with. We also stress to the kids that their items should be ones they can only get from Disney World...nothing we could just pick up from Wal-Mart or something. There is a difference between a shirt that has Mickey on it and one that has the Magic Kingdom or Epcot Logo.

If you are staying at a resort on property, one way to save $ and get a neat souvenir is to get the refillable mugs. They are about $12 but you can fill them with soft drinks for your entire stay, and they are now good at all resorts...neat if you are staying at one but eating at another (something we love to do!) We have acquired quite a collection of mugs over the years and they are cool reminders of our trips.

Just a side note, Travel Channel ran a series on Disney World called Season of Disney. Last month they aired an episode called Disney on a Dime. Didn't really have any tips we didn't know about already, but still neat to watch. Here's the link to a list of the tips they offered.

I probably have more tips and tricks for the budget, but it's getting late and my brain is tired lol. Be sure and visit Snapshot for more ideas.

Spring Reading Thing Update

Katrina at Callapidder Days is hosting the Spring Reading Challenge and reminds us here that we are halfway through already! It's gone by quickly and enjoyably for me. Looking back at my original post with my goals for the challenge, I've done well and would say I'm a little more than halfway through. I had 9 books already on my shelf and have read 6 of them so far. Of the 6 other books I intended to read, I've read 3 and have two waiting in the wings so to speak lol. I need to catch up on my reviews posts...I'm sure everyone is just so curious as to what I think of the books I read so far lol. Well, I sure hope there is a Summer reading challenge, because I went to my library's book sale and now have many more books on my shelf. Happy continued reading.

Tightwad Tuesdsay

Mary a.k.a. Canadagirl hosts Tightwad Tuesday where we can share our tips for frugal living. This week I don't really have a tip per se, but I just have to brag a little about my last big shopping trip. I shop every two weeks for groceries...paper goods, toiletries, cleaning supplies and food for the 3 meals a day for two weeks. Of course I have to go back often for fresh produce and milk and bread, but the big shop at least stocks us up. This past trip I saved $27 using coupons! That is the most I have ever had in coupon savings. I know it's not much compared to those who go and buy $100 worth of groceries and spend only $5 lol, but it's a lot of savings for us.
The thing I want to stress, and I guess you could call this my tip for the week, is that I only used coupons for items I normally buy. I did not buy anything that wasn't on my list just to use a coupon or get a good deal. I am not dismissing those who scour the Walgreens and CVS ads and get lots of deals there. It's just that right now I have a strict grocery budget, and I can really only afford to get what we truly need and don't have any extra for "stocking up." So I was truly happy to get the savings I did last week. I get my coupons from inserts in the Sunday paper (only one paper) and off the internet. Simple as that. The biggest coupon I had was for the buy one get one on Dove chocolate (a necessity for mom lol.) Otherwise it was just .50 here and $1 there. Now, I may have to switch brands every now and then to use a coupon, but if it winds up costing less than my normal brand it's worth it. It takes me a good 1 1/2 hours to shop for the two weeks, making sure I compare prices and utilize my coupons, but the savings is so worth it.

Sketch Tuesdays

Barb at Harmony Art Mom hosts Sketch Tuesdays. Each week she gives a suggestion for something to sketch and shows the results on a slideshow on her site. It's open to anyone, any age, and there is no signing up. This week's sketch assignment was to show the view outside your window. Here is my ds's contribution.

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Tuesday Reviews

Angela at Homeschooling and Loving It is now hosting Tuesday Reviews. This week I want to share about the Scotch Brite Disposable Toilet Brush. I don't normally go in for disposable cleaning tools as they usually cost more money. But I was having a horrible time with the old toilet brush and cleaner routine, mostly that the brush would not last long before it rusted or got super icky...and just how do you store those things? I lucked upon a coupon (I think it was in one of the paper inserts a while back) for a free Scotch Brite Disposable brush system. I'll try almost anything for free lol, but the brushes aren't even all that expensive (under $4 and they come with 4 refill pads.) I liked the brush so much I bought another one for the other bathroom. It's easy to use, small and easy to store, and you never even have to touch the cleaner. Plus the cleaning pads are textured and really scrub well. They don't fall apart like some of the other brands I've tried in the past. And I like that the cleaner in the pads has bleach for disinfecting. The site I've linked to has coupons to try it out yourself...I hope you do, it's a great product imo.

Homeschool Hi-Light 4/28-5/2

Ellen at Fun Learning hosts this meme for homeschoolers to share their highlights from their week of schooling. This week one of the highlights for us was completing our first lapbook. Ds4 (3yo) and I worked on a rainbow lapbook for the Little Laplinks group. It was great fun and a wonderful way to spend quality school time with ds. Another highlight would have to be (as usual) our nature walk. These are always great fun and we see something new every week. This week we found a dead butterfly and got to really examine him up close. We also had a tree frog visit and had fun with him as well. I can't wait to visit and see what everyone's been up!

Rainbow Lapbook

Valerie at Lapbook Lessons hosts the Little Laplinks group. Every month they pick a theme, share links to resources for the lapbook, and then post the results. This is not only my first time joining in, but my first attempt at a lapbook! I am actually a little late posting this, as it's April's theme, but better late than never lol. The theme for the lapbook was rainbows...I used resources that group members linked to, as I am such a newbie at all this and am still learning and trying to understand the "concept" of the whole lapbook thing.



I have to say, though, that this was so much fun! My 3yo and I worked on the project together. I let him do as much as possible (or as much as he wanted), even practicing his cutting skills. He played with all the little individual books and projects over and over before we even got them in the folder.

Here he is with the completed lapbook.

He enjoyed me singing the color songs book on the left, and doing the color mixing activity shown in the middle.

That God Made Rainbows minibook is his fave. To the right of that, I just folded a piece of construction paper in quarters and on the front wrote "Things that are red, blue, etc. As you open it up...

You see that he found pics of things that were the color and cut them out and pasted them on the correct section.

Our first little lapbook was fun and we will definitely do more. They are a lot of work, but well worth it to spend such quality time with ds. And the ladies of the Little Lapbooks group are so creative they make it easy for me to do so. Many thanks to them all.

Exercise Challenge

Rebecca at Mission of Motherhood hosts this wonderful challenge, giving us a place to come every week and share about our experiences exercising...the good, the bad and the ugly lol. It's been a wonderful incentive for me to keep up my exercising goals.
This week I experienced a little of good and bad. I kept up with my exercising schedule and even added in a little extra. Aerobics all days M thru Sat, and weights T and Th. I've still been experiencing a lovely increase in energy...last weekend I did yard work with my dh, this weekend the kids and I washed my car! But I got a bit of a wakeup call about my fitness, too. I hopped on my ds's bike and did fine going down the hill but struggled BIG TIME coming back up. I had to stop three times and actually walked the bike back up the rest of the way home! I'm not as fit as I thought. I am challenging myself to get on that bike every night (too hot during the day here) and hit that hill until I can make it all the way back up.
On another good note, I found two Leslie Sansone walking exercise tapes at the library book sale this weekend! Only $1 each, too. I love having a variety of workout tapes/dvds to choose from. Hope everyone has a great week!