get plugged in

i was reading an email this afternoon for our homeschool group. it was letting me know about a movie get together. there were several suggestions for movies. one movie we have seen, UP, and several we had not. the person who wrote the email included links to a site called plugged in. focus on the family runs the website. i remember hearing about the plugged in website long ago.

the officer and i usually try to watch every movie before we let the kids watch it. we only let them was g-rated movies, but that's not the only standard. we don't just want to know if there are cuss words, sexuality, or other inappropriate stuff like that in the movies. we also want to know, are they disrespectful to authorities, are their attitudes bad, and how does the movie portray God? there is more we look for, but those are a few.

anyhow, when i read the email today i looked at the link provided for each movie. when you go to the plugged in website, there is a list of current movies in the theaters now. there is also a place where you can look up specific movies.

in each movie review, you will get a synopsis of the movie. they will tell you the positive and negative elements of the movie, what the spiritual, language, drug/alcohol and violent content is, and give you an overall summary of the movie. they go into pretty good detail. they will tell you exactly what profane language is used. they about sexual innuendos, people smoking in the background, and exactly what kind of violence takes place.

plugged in also reviews television shows, video games, music, and movie rentals. so if you are wondering about a movie or televisions show, you can go to pluggedin.com and it will give you a very good idea of what to expect. it probably will not replace you seeing the movie or television show and forming an opinion yourself, but it will help greatly.

blog book

i know most of you who read my blog are probably bloggers yourself. otherwise you wonder why people write things where "just anyone can read it". :)

anywho.... i just wanted to let you bloggers know that you can turn your blog into a book. have you ever heard of blog2print?

"Next time someone asks "How can I print my blog?" send them to Blog2Print. With a couple of clicks, you choose a cover, the posts you'd like to include, and you're on your way to creating your own Blog Book! Nothing is faster and easier than Blog2Print." - blog2print website.

you pick your cover, images, number and order of posts, and comments. a 20 page soft cover blog book is $14.95 and a hard cover book is $24.95. each additional page is .35. the shipping is free.

if you have a blog that you kept during your pregnancy or any other significant occasion in your life, it would be great to have a hard copy of it. it would also make a great gift to a blogger you know. (hint hint, officer!)

just thought i would pass along the information.

it's time to give it up

we are "weathered-in" here in the metro. supposedly a big winter storm is headed this way, ice, sleet, snow, the whole mess. so we are stuck in the house. i thought i would be productive and blog a bit. i also cleaned out my closet this morning. since we are a homeschool family, there is a need for more space and getting rid of anything we don't really need. cleaning out my closet is my attempt to do this.

i found something when i was cleaning out my closet. don't you always? i found old pictures of nieces. so cute. i found one of my barbies i had gotten, no not when i was eight year old, but when i was a freshman in college. a special edition 1991 holiday barbie. it was still in it's box. although the box had quite a bit of wear on it. i was saving it to give to my daughter. i decided to give it to her. two years ago for her birthday, i had given her my 1989 holiday barbie. she's not into barbies as much as i was when i was younger, but i think she still likes having a toy that used to be mommy's.

1989 holiday barbie

1991 holiday barbie

brother had the barbie out of the box for her and off they went to play.

nothing like a tea party with 1989 and 1991 barbies and brother's bionicle

lemons and french fries - lovely!

all good

we went to the dentist recently. the first time my daughter went, she would not open her mouth for the dentist. he didn't even get the chance to count her teeth. however, my son LOVES going to the dentist. he looks forward to it. he talks about it. i think because the dentist told him to brush his teeth at certain times and gave him a timer. you know the 2 minute timer they give kids??? they also get goody bags with a small tube of toothpaste, a new toothbrush, floss, stickers, and a little prize. at one check up they had star shaped glasses for the kids to wear when they were in the dentist chair so the light wouldn't be so bright.

since my son loves going to the dentist so much, i thought i would take pictures of his visit so i wouldn't forget it. my daughter likes going now too. it took her two appointments to get comfortable. brother always goes first to show her it's okay.

jennifer, the hygienist, is the sweetest! we really like her.


the dentist. he's also very nice.

good report: no cavities. teeth look good for my son.

jennifer put a little toothpaste on her nose to relax her a little. it worked.

good report for sister too. yeah!

pinewood derby

it feels like i haven't posted in forever. we've been busy. last week we went to my son's cub scout pinewood derby car race. have you ever done this before? there is a lot of more involved than we originally thought. many boys put a LOT of effort into their cars (and many dads too).

we found out my daughter could make a car too so the officer helped both kids make a one. my son decided he wanted to use a lego man and my daughter wanted to use a polly pocket. little sandpaper, a little paint and glue and presto!

we went to the derby, but didn't realize they had to race each car in each lane. there were 4 lanes. it made for a long night. the kids had fun. they loved watching their cars race.

we were able to eat dinner there. the kids had a treat. soda from a can. they'd never had it before. they were very excited.

they didn't know what to expect at first - it burned!

here's the pictures from their races.

my son's car (in 2nd lane) came in 2nd in two heats and 3rd in two heats - no trophies for him.

my daughter's car (in lane 1) came in 1st in one heat, 2nd in two heats and 3rd in the last heat - no trophies for her.

at the end of the races, they passed out prizes from their popcorn sales. my son picked his prize a bow and arrows. yes, the bow is literally bigger than he is.

mixing it up

when my son started tae kwon do, we bought the kiwi strawberry 6 packs for him to take. they cost anywhere from $3.50-$4. it didn't take long to realize that was going to cost too much.

we kept the propel bottles and purchased the propel drink mixes. it was under $2.

that was fine for a bit, but then we realized we could buy the generic from wal-mart. they tasted very similar and cost even less.

that's what we have done ever since. the other day i went into wal-mart to purchase some more. i saw they were out of the kiwi strawberry flavor so i just bought the strawberry flavor.


on monday, i made one flavored water drink for my son and one for my daughter. i wasn't sure about the flavor, but they both liked it. my daughter drank about half of hers and my son drank about a 1/3 of his. when they get home, the put the rest of their drinks in the refrigerator. we ate dinner and the kids headed to bed. during dinner i noticed, the kids were bouncing of the walls being silly and telling a lot of "jokes". oy!

they went to bed and my son was awake for a while - not unusual. my daughter usually is asleep within 30 minutes of going to bed. not so that night. she was asleep for within 30 minutes for about 45 minutes. then she woke up. she didn't go back to sleep until 11 p.m. part of the time she was chatty (she can see me in the front room from her bed) and rest of the time, i watched her just lay there looking at books or talking quietly to herself. i don't know that she's ever stayed up until 11 p.m. unless she was sick.

the next night was very similar but my daughter wasn't up quite as late. later in the week, the officer and i were talking about how weird it was that my daughter had stayed up so late two nights earlier in the week. then it hit me. i realized what it could have been. the "flavored water drink mixes". i looked at the box. they looked almost identical from the ones we always purchase - except for the obvious flavor difference. however, the box on the left (which we usually purchase) says "kiwi strawberry - fitness drink mix" and the box on the right says "wild strawberry energy drink mix".


i hyped her up. it was my fault. we've thrown the box away. did you notice the difference when you saw the first picture of the two drink mixes. i know i will be paying much closer attention when i purchase things like this in the future. have you ever done things like this???

more deliciousness

i am finally taking the pictures of the rest of the felt food i have made. i am still in the process of making more, but i decided to go ahead and give them to my daughter this morning. she loves it.

i made a waffle, but i decided to make 2 pancakes with syrup and butter too.

fried eggs and two slices of bacon

cinnamon roll (mini)

i do want to make a bagel with cream cheese. i need more breakfast ideas. any suggestions.

kimbobs (which you've already seen) and an egg roll

hamburger patty

cheeseburger and french fries (yeah it's driving me nuts that this picture is sideways, and i'm sure when i have more time, i will come back and fix it.)

pita sandwich (used from the sandwich stuff i made earlier), doritos, carrot, and pickle

farfalle and penne pasta (need to make more, wasn't enough for a meal even for my daughter)

deviled egg

saltine cracker and cheese

strawberry, cherry and supposed to be a wedge of an orange (didn't turn out so great)

heart shaped sugar cookie

slice of cherry pie

pink (which you've seen before) and blue cupcakethere you have it.

walgreens trip

i went to walgreens today armed with my coupons. this is my second trip this week. they are having a great sale on their cleaning supplies. earlier this week i stocked up on scrubbing bubbles, lysol toilet bowl cleaner, and windex. i also got some theraflu (free), lubriderm lotion (6 oz. for .59), hair color (free), loreal foundation (free), and oust (free).

today i went back to finish off what the last of my cheap/free stuff i wanted to get this week. here's what i got:

2 - scrubbing bubbles
6 - oust deodorizers (there should be reason for a stinky restroom now kids!)
2 - 1 ct. thermacare heat wraps
3 - 6 oz. bottles of lubriderm lotion (my daughter's eczema often breaks out so we use the lubriderm for that).

after using 3 - buy one, get one free oust coupons, 2 -$1 off coupons for the thermacares, 3 - $2 off manufacturing coupons and a $3 off walgreen's coupon for the lubriderm, and 2 - .75 off scrubbing bubble coupons, i paid just under $4 out pocket for it. i got back $5 in register rewards.

the scrubbing bubbles were buy one get one free and i was able to use two manufacturing coupons on top of that sale, getting them both for $2.84 ($1.24/can). the lubriderm lotion was $3.99. i used two $2 off manufacturing coupon and a $1 off walgreen's coupon (it takes $1 off for each lubriderm you purchase) on top of walgreen's buy one lubriderm and get the second 50% off. so i got both lubriderms for free. the first can of oust was $4.29, but you get the second free. i had three buy one can, get the second free (up to $3.99) so i used them. i paid .90 for 6 cans of oust (.15/can of oust). the thermacare was $2.49, but you got $2.50 back in register rewards (coupons walgreens gives that you can use on anything in the store).

i know it may sound a little confusing. it probably seems like a lot of mumbo-jumbo to many of you, but you can really save a lot of money by couponing. i am slowly but surely restocking all of my different pantries (food, medicine, household cleaners, personal care items). you may say, "really are you going to use all that stuff?" i am not sure if i will use it all. i know with the officer's job there is a certain job security. i know everyone cannot say that. however, even though there is job security for him, there are rumors of possible pay cuts or furloughs. i have no idea if these are rumors or something that could become a reality, but i do know that if i can stock up now on items we could need later, it will help us tremendously if we have to cut back our budget.

again the sites i mainly use to get coupons from on the internet are smartsource, redplum, and coupons.com. the sites i follow that tells me about a lot of the sales and tell me which coupon to use are simplesavingsavvy, the frugal girls, my frugal adventure, and deal seeking mom. comment if you have a great site you like to follow or other good coupon resources.

the simple womans daybook

Would you like to linger on the simple things? Then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments.'

For Today - January 11

Outside my window... cold right now but it's suppose to get up to 48 degrees today!!! that's a heat wave for us! yeah!

I am thinking... how long the kids will play outside in the heat wave! :)

I am thankful for... my sisters.

I am wearing... shorts and a t-shirt shirt

I am remembering... i need to do the small things for the officer to let him know i love and respect him.

I am going... go to cvs, the library, the bank, the post office, you know all those usual monday errands.

I am currently reading... my new magazine subscriptions i signed up for over the holidays.

I am hoping... get a date night soon w/ the officer.

On my mind... my sister and brother-in-law.

From the learning rooms...we've been doing good staying on track with school, just need to keep on keepin on.

Noticing that... i feel a little discombobulated when my house is not at least picked up.

Pondering these words... once again in sunday school and the church service i was asked again if i am being a good steward of all God has given me.

From the kitchen... want to do something fun with the kids in the kitchen today. something easy though. hmmm..... don't know.... will have to still think about it.

Around the house... my house looks crazy because we just had our last "rescheduled due to the snow storm" christmas last night. have to get it clean to start school.

One of my favorite things... my mom!

From my picture journal...

the officer jumping into a snowdrift on christmas day

check out the simple woman's blog if you would like to read more day posts and find out how to participate in this activity!!

delicious!

i have been up late the last several nights making felt food. it is so fun and easy to do. i have not followed any patterns. i do not have a sewing machine so i have to hand stitch my stuff. my stitching is terrible so please don't look too closely at it. i have found some free felt patterns online just by googling. however, for the most part, i have just done whatever i thought i would work. there are certain things that are easier to do so that's what i've done so far. i am wanting to make a banana. my daughter loves bananas. there are pictures of a peeled banana that i would love to do, but i am not sure how to do it.

here's what i've done so far.

a bag of chips (like ruffles), a sandwich, two cookies and a carrot. the sandwich has ham, cheese, lettuce, onions, tomato, and pickles on it. i think the tomato took the longest for me to make. well the bread took the longest but it was easy. i stuffed the carrot and bread with cotton balls. the cookies have two extra pieces of felt between them to give them some depth.

i made a waffle with butter. i haven't made the syrup for it yet. i need to make eggs and bacon too.


i also made a donut. i sewed the sprinkles on the frosting first, then pink frosting onto the donut. i sewed the inside of the donut first, then the outside. when i was half way around, i stuffed it with cotton balls. i just stuffed as i went along.

i made a petit four. i sewed it like i did the bread. i got ideas of what to do when i looked at images on google.

here's a plate of the desserts i made so far. the petit four, chocolate chip cookie, peanut butter cookie (which didn't really turn out as i saw it in my head), the donut, the fortune cookie (which i watched a tutorial on youtube to learn how), and the swiss roll.
this is what i spent most of my time doing last night. a cupcake. i have to make a blue cupcake too, so my son can play too. he would be sad if he didn't get a cupcake.

of course i couldn't make all this felt food without making some kimbobs. i just rolled each individual color in the middle and then wrapped them in white and then the black.

this really has been very fun. i am trying to figure out how to make actual round things (i.e. apples, pears, bananas and such). i am plan on making a hamburger, hotdog, and french fries. also, i need more sushi food. if you have any ideas or know where i can get more free felt food patterns, leave me a comment or email me.

my shopping trip

as i told you before, i have started couponing. remember i had mentioned before thanksgiving that i went to a couponing seminar. it's not too difficult for someone to do, but i will say it is time consuming. organizing all the coupons every week, finding/printing coupons, going through the ads, and planning your shopping/couponing strategy. luckily there are a few bloggers out there that help out with some of this stuff. some of the bloggers i use are simplesavingsavvy, deal seeking mom, the frugal girls, and my frugal adventures. they have some great money saving tips on their blog. they usually post new advertised saving very quickly.

people have asked me where i get my coupons. i get them from several different places. i get the sunday paper (sometimes i purchase more than one). i print them off the internet at safe sites like smartsource, redplum, and coupons.com. if there are specific things i would like coupons for i often go to their website to see if they offer any coupons. more often than not they do. i also do a lot of mail-in rebates. i have just under $70 coming back to me in mail-in rebates. i found a lot of my rebates at coupons deals and more.

i have always clipped coupons, but i just got serious about it about a month ago. i have my three-ring binder loaded with the baseball card holders filled with coupons. yes, sometimes i buy something that i personally don't need to roll over the register rewards (walgreens) and extra care bucks (cvs). however, i have only thrown away one thing away i truly didn't think i would need or anyone else. turns out a week after i threw it away someone said they would have used it. one of the things people say about couponing/saving money is you can't be brand loyal. this is true. however, this does not mean you have to buy generic. i don't think i have bought anything generic to date. most of the savings i have had have been in the form of personal care items (shampoo, body wash, medicine, laundry soap, household cleaners, diapers, etc.). i have started the grocery shopping too but i'm not quite as good at that yet.

i still make mistakes. sometime, i don't have enough items in my cart (you have to have the same amount of items as the number of coupons at walgreens). sometimes i don't catch the cashiers mistakes of not ringing up the sale price (i.e. gum and visine last night at walgreens). other times, i read the coupon or ad wrong and either have to put something back (after i've spent all that time in the store) or don't save as much money as i thought i would. i'm still learning it all.

people also say i don't shop at walgreens and cvs because it is so much more expensive. that's true. if you don't use their rewards systems or coupons it is more expensive and i wouldn't shop there either. however, if you can utilize all the things i've talked about you will save a ton of money. walgreens, cvs and target allow you to use their store specific coupons and a manufacturing coupons at the same time. so you get extra savings.

i have also figured out you do have to have a little bit of disposable income. you do have to have a little to start out. if you don't keep the coupons, register rewards, or extra care bucks rolling, you will lose a little money. you can just set how much you want to spend on these things, but the saving can be great.

here's a picture of the things i got last night from walgreens and cvs.

there are:

3 gillette shampoos
2 johnson & johnson baby wash (with free lotions attached)
3 colgate max white toothpaste
1 ponds wet towel cleanse cloths
7 pencils
2 bags of skittles
2 20 ct. electrosol dishwashing powerballs
1 nexxus hair product
1 big pack (35 ct) of orbit gum
1 package (2 bars) of irish spring soap
1 ge fluorescent bulb
1 aquafina package (12 bottles)
1 children's tylenol
1 children's benedryl
_____________________________
TOTAL: $48.55

after using over $29 in coupons, register rewards, and extra care bucks.

i paid just over $18 and got $12 back in register rewards and extra care bucks.

so it was like getting all that stuff for $6.

once i started this couponing, the fun began when i was able to give this stuff away to someone who can use it. the officer loves all the saving i'm doing and i'm getting better at not going to the store every day. :) at the couponing seminar i mentioned earlier, the lady said we need to be a good steward of what God has given us. not to coupon to be greedy but to be a good steward of what God has blessed us with. that hit home with me and gave me a new perspective. she has a verse on her blog that says:

Malachi 3:10
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

i love it. if you have any great savings while shopping, share and leave a comment.