Hilarious!

http://kristyglass.blogspot.com/2008/07/video-friday-glass-girls-gone-wild.html

watch this video, much better than my nap requests!

It totally worked!

On Friday I was at Mary Ann's house for Cole's piano lesson and there was a Parent's magazine there and on the cover was..."The best discipline trick ever" (or something like that). I immediately turn to that article and there's a picture of a child with post it notes all over them with different praising phrases on them. After a quick glance it's basically saying to give praise to a child, give HUGE kudos for doing the good and not so much for the bad. I was like I've heard this before. I read on a little bit then I needed to lend my attention to my kids destroying Mary Ann's house :). So I thought about it as we drove around that morning and knew that I do say more often, "Laura, stop that" "Cole, don't do that", "Hannah, no!". So I decided to give put a whole hearted effort into this. After I put Hannah down for her nap the kids had started watching a movie and they had left their shoes out. I twice asked Laura to put her shoes in the cubby and got nothing. Typically I would repeat myself say pause the movie or some other negative reinforcement. Instead I saw that Cole got his shoes, cause he knew the movie would be paused otherwise and I said "Cole, thank you so much for putting away your shoes, give me five". He was so proud of himself and then....I waited, biting my tongue and within two minutes Laura averted her attention from the movie and said, "mom, was their something you wanted me to do? What was it?" She got her shoes and came to get her high fives.

I used this extra cheesy (to me) praise (I believe in saying thank you or good job, but not so laviciously as this article suggested or that I was doing) and it worked up until bedtime then they were just giddy and tired and not much would've worked. I wasn't with them yesterday and there didn't seem to be as much of an opportunity today for some reason, so we'll start again tomorrow and see what happens. I could tell that variety will be key, too many high fives and they'll be done with that, but the shoes are up.

If you have lifelong experiences with this I'd love to hear about them...or one week experiences :)

Cheap Movies

We are probably the last to get these in our area but I'm lovin' the Red Box movies at Walmart. They started out in McDonald's but they're in Walmart now too. It's a machine (red box) in their store entry full of new releases that are only a buck to rent. You have to return them by 9pm the next night or you get charged another $1. Even if you keep it for 3 nights, it still beats Blockbuster or On Demand prices. I just found out you can go online and reserve your movie at whatever location you'll be picking it up so you can be sure they have it. Cool!
And since we're talking about movies. I'm sure you all are taking advantage of the free summer kids movies offered at your local theaters. One of our theaters even has a coupon on their website for free popcorn!

Helloooooo Summer Sales!

I have stumbled across some good sales the past few days:

Last week Jake and I got a date night (due to my mom being in town) and we stopped by Belk. They were having a huge sale! 50% off most Clearance items! We spent $60 on over $300 worth of clothes.

Then tonight, I went to pick up some pictures at JCPennys, and meandered through the baby section.... holy jeez! They had over half a dozen racks/tables, that hadn't been picked through, dedicated to just the 12-24mo clothes that were all $1.97!

I got Kaitlyn the cutest pair of pink sparkly mary janes! Not to mention 2 sweaters, 2 dresses, 2 casual outfits, a onesie and another pair of shoes for $21! I didn't move around to the other departments in fear of completely destroying our budget but gracious! What great deals!
(JCPenny also had a tag at the end of their receipt saying I had saved over $132 in merchandise. I don't think they realize you don't really save money if you weren't intending to buy the items in the first place..... but it's a nice thought.)

Cnn article on part-time work

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/07/17/skilled.temp.work/index.html

Beauty and the Beast in Tally

http://www.chswolfpac.org/events.htm

I sent an email and this is what I got back...

Thank you for your interest in attending the Leon High School Choral Department's 2008 Summer Musical, "Beauty and the Beast." Pre-register if the group you are bringing is 10 or more people. 9 or fewer people - just come to the show without pre-registering. Call 590-6163 to pre-register. We welcome ALL persons to THIS show, however the cost is $5.00 per person. The show begins at 2:00, and ends at 4:30. There is a 15 minute intermission between acts. If you wish to bring a small snack and drink for your kids to help them make it through the afternoon, that is great, you can serve them outside under one of the covered areas. No food or drink can be brought into the Chiles Auditorium! We accept cash, and checks made out to Leon Friends of Music, INC. No credit cards for the Children's Matinees. Welcome - and enjoy the show! Pat Pattison Leon Choral Parent For information about our other shows, please go to our website: www.leonperformingarts.org

A Great Tip Site

I don't think I've seen you guys mention this one before. It's got a little of everything... free patterns, how-to's, money savers, and video demos. Have you ever seen how to fold a t-shirt in 2 seconds? I love that one... scroll down and watch.

http://tipnut.com/

Make a Little $ at Publix

The next time you go to Publix,
pick-up their July Savings Flyer from the front kiosk.
Inside you will find this coupon:

There are a few different Revlon products that are priced under $2. This means that when you go to check out, you basically get the item free PLUS the left over change OFF your total!

The offer is good until July 25th.
So far, I've picked up a couple pairs of nail clippers and emery boards.

Disney Sale

40% already discounted summer stuff
beach towels for under $4
swim suits $6
tshirts $3
pj pals under $5

then $5 shipping if you order over $50
double check all of this but I think I'm right
http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&categoryId=13593&langId=-1

Found this idea on Tip Junkie and thought it would be a lot of fun.

(Plus, paper is on sale this week at JoAnn's 6 for 96 cents!)

Super easy and super cheap?!?! Now that's my kinda craft project!

My new addiction.... COUPONS.

So, I stumbled upon these CRAZY couponing websites last week. I have been completely baffled and mystified as to HOW they can buy a cart load of groceries for chunk change they scrounged out of the bottom of their couch. (Personally, I am a moron who has previously ignored the benefit of coupons. However, I have been rehabilitated and now realize that THEY ARE MONEY! Companies are printing up money and giving it away in the Sunday newspaper each week! I can buy multiple newspapers, get multiple sets of coupons and save much, much more than the cost of the multiple newspapers combined! What have I been doing the past 25 years?!)

Anyways, my new past time is scavenging coupon websites looking for coupons and deals that suit my needs, clipping those coupons, organizing them and creating my plan of attack for my upcoming shopping trips to make sure I am getting the best deal possible. As I have previously stated... I am completely addicted and consumed. (I cancelled a trip to KMART the other night after church because I left my $1 coupon at home.)

I have discovered this website titled, iheartcvs.com . I love getting tips on how to work the Extra Care Bucks and coupons for CVS from this site. Here is one that I picked up for this week. (When I went in to do this my adrenaline was running as if I was doing something illegal when I approached the register to do this):


First of all, I have 2 CVS cards; one in my name, and one in Jake's name. For this deal the maximum purchase of CVS Cleansing and Make-Up Removal Towelettes was 5 per card.

First Transaction, First Card
Purchased:
(2) CVS 15Ct. Towelettes - $2.99 each
Payment:
(2) $2.00 off CVS Skincare Coupon (from iheartcvs.com)
Cash - $2.13
Earned:
$5.98 Extra Care Bucks

Second Transaction, First Card
Purchased:
(3) CVS 15Ct. Towelettes - $2.99 each
Payment:
(3) $2.00 off CVS Skincare Coupon (from iheartcvs.com)
$2.00 Extra Care Bucks
Cash- $1.05
Earned:
$8.97 Extra Care Bucks

First Transaction, Second Card
Purchased:
(2) CVS 15Ct. Towelettes - $2.99 each
Payment:
(2) $2.00 off CVS Skincare Coupon (from iheartcvs.com)
Cash - $2.13
Earned:
$5.98 Extra Care Bucks

Second Transaction, Second Card
Purchased:
(1) CVS 15Ct. Towelettes - $2.99
(2) CVS 15Ct. Towelettes (exfoliating) - $3.49
(1) Viva Paper Towels - $1.89
(1) Orbit Gum - $1.19
Payment:
(3) $2.00 off CVS Skincare Coupon (from iheartcvs.com)
$5.98 Extra Care Bucks
Cash - $1.16
Earned:
$8.97 Extra Care Bucks

All in all:
I spent $6.47 out of pocket.
I Saved $27.98 using coupons and Extra Care Bucks.
I Earned $23.92 in Extra Care Bucks (I had $2 in Extra Care Bucks to start with.)

P.S. If you try to do this at the CVS on the corner of Fred George and Monroe, hopefully, they will have restocked. I cleaned them out.

Happy Shopping!

Just a sampling of some of the good deals from this week:

CVS-
If you have a family member or friend on a mission that uses phone cards for calls home, CVS is selling B1G1 Sprint Phone Cards.

Walgreens-
24 pk. of bottled Walgreens Brand Spring Water $2.99, good for food storage.
Scotch Tape (Tagged as $1.39, but rings up $1.29) B2G2
Milk, $3.29 a gallon.

Wal Mart-
Sargento Cheese Advertised as $2 a package.
Fresh ears of corn 4/$1.

K Mart- Has 2 REALLY good deals this week!
General Mills Cereals 4/$1.50 (Not to mention all of their coupons in the newspaper recently).
Pepsi Products, 12 can pk. 4/$11 G1Free!

Target-
Dorritios $1.88 a bag (Cheaper than all of the B1G1 deals this week.)

Toys'R'Us-
E-mailed Coupons (If you'd like 'em, let me know and I'll e-mail them to ya!)