I will No Longer Shop Wal-Mart!

As ya'll know I didn't get to do much "Black Friday" shopping on my own as I can't deal with the crowds and apparently it was much worse than I thought. But I can still take advantage of the offers that don't all expire on that same day. I still did some shopping on Black Saturday I guess I'll call it because Toys R Us had their Black Friday deals for Friday and Saturday out here. I knew my Wal-mart as well as most other Wal-Marts price matched, so I took my paper down and got the toys. But this is where it became horrible.

Scene:

I'm nervous as heck just like every time I use coupons. Why? Simple some cashiers are nice about coupons and others aren't. Some like to hold up the line and beep the machine 100s of times before calling for help. I've had both the nice ones and the nasty ones, but only at Wal-Mart, never anywhere else that I shop. Okay, before I even loaded in the toys I asked a manager in the back by them if they were the same as the ad, he said yes and to make sure to show the ladies at the register before they rung it up. I did, but this turned horribly long.

"Hi, do ya'll price match?"

"We sure do as long as it is exactly the same as the ad."

My first thought was ugh oh, these were different items (same brand but different colors). I knew the manager in the back said it was fine but maybe now it wasn't. She insisted on looking for the exact phrase on the box, when she couldn't find it on any of the 6 boxes she called for help. Yes, there were 6 of the exact same box but different color characters inside. She stayed on the phone for 5-10 minutes (I kid you not). I don't know if she was talking with customer service or the toy department but they looked it up, finally it came back that these weren't the same. Okay if you already thought this, as I had told her we could've done without the call. I told her I didn't want them then but I wanted my other items. She rang them up and I left.

Okay, I still wanted the items in the ad, but at this point I was too embarrassed to go back to toys and look. I wanted out of there. I called Wal-Mart back about 15 minutes after I got home. I wanted to know if they had the certain (can't say name on here as I have a daughter that would know what I was looking for if you get the drift) toy and the homes to go with. The customer service transferred me to toys, but no one was in toys so I got sports since it is the closest department. haha, try explaining to an older gentleman what you are looking for.

He said he'd help but ended up having to call customer service and got the register lady I dealt with and this was the response, "Tell her we don't sell ANY of the brand here." (brand was the actual brand name, as in any of it at all) I knew this was a lie as they have an entire section devoted to these items. I understand that I made an error earlier getting possibly the wrong ones, or maybe not the same pictured ones, but to lie and say you don't sell any, not the homes, dolls, toys, etc is wrong.

I asked to clarify, "You don't sell any of them at all? Not even the homes?" He replied, "I was told to tell you that." I thanked him for his time and hung up. I was FURIOUS. but I wasn't giving up, Target Price Matches too, I just don't normally go there as it is on the other side of town and Wal-mart is literally down the road. I called them, got a customer service that first answered all my coupon questions and my price matching. She transferred me to toys and a guy went looking and found the items. (there were two) I hurried over with the hubby, poor guy was shopping all over town Thanksgiving week. hehe.

TARGET is better Than WAL-MART:

I've discovered Target is better than Wal-Mart.

1. Employees will ask if you need anything, not Wal-mart they transfer you to someone else or pretend you don't exist.
2. It doesn't stink, I don't know what it is but Wal-mart always has a smell to it.
3. They are kind and understand embarrassment.

I went directly to the customer service to see if they had a spare ad, but they didn't but the lady behind the desk let me look at her ad. Same as the one I had at home so I went to toys, once there I found the same items that were at Wal-mart and I wasn't going through what I did earlier. I thought, "Great the guy mistook these for them."

I found someone to help me, "Joe." Joe quickly looked at the ad and typed something in to his machine in his hand. He did it twice for me as I wasn't believing it. "Ma'am the only thing I can find with that phrase are these, you can grab them and take them to customer service. I promise they will either say yes or no but not do what Wal-mart did." I had explained about the items at first and what Wal-mart did and how I felt bad at first. That's why he looked it up again.

I happily walked to customer service, out here (not sure if all) you have to go to C.S. to get price matched items. Now I did do a bit of shopping with hubby first and by the time I was done and going to C.S. I find Joe behind the counter. He rung it up and instead of paying 20-40 for these toys I got both for $6 and some change. Woo hoo! He even gave me back the ad in case I wanted to come back later.

From here on out I will only shop at Target, not Wal-mart. I figure the prices are the same, and Target price matches too but they have a friendlier staff. By the way I shop in Lees Summit.

Black Friday Shopping Failure

Well, this morning we woke at 4 am, got the hubby up at 4:30am and we were off. We had all intentions to do Black Friday shopping, course by the time we got to Wal-Mart he had to find a spot so he dropped me off up front. I went immediately for the toy section, now what I did not know was they would move all the toys that were in the sale ad to the food section. So I searched and search, by the time I left the toy section and had almost given up hope I saw people with items from the ad and asked them. They told me it was on the other side by the food, however it would be a nightmare getting things.

They weren't kidding, by now everyone was cart to cart, for a person that can't be in a crowded place this was probably a mistake for me. I decided I'd do it anyways, the hubby was in another section trying to find stuff too. I quickly called the hubby to tell him my plan, he headed that way too. I ended up stuck behind people and as I stated before I'm not the pushy type, so instead I got pushed into a spot I couldn't move, I called for my re-enforcement that came to my rescue. He grabbed my car, which I had thrown a few toys into but I still couldn't find the items I really wanted. Eventually I would but it was just the box. By the way, I never made it to the movies, people were loud, rude and arguing.

Within 30 minutes the hubby called me. Where are you? I replied on my way to find you but I couldn't make it back to the toy, toy section. We reconnected I tossed what I had in the cart, but by now my breathing was bad and being him he knew right away. "Let's go cash out." So we headed to the registers but due to the way they had it set up there was no telling if the line we were in was to get a ticket for a camcorder or a register and no one else knew either. We weren't going anywhere and I couldn't breathe. He said, forget it, we'll shop online, I don't want you hyperventilating in here because of this. So he guided me out of the store, where we left my cart with all the savings. Inside the car I grabbed my inhaler and off he went to McDs and Starbucks.

People I learned today that I will no longer be able to take part in shopping in the real stores on Black Friday anymore. From now on we will only due it online, in the safety of my home where I won't have to fight crowds, get cornered or have a hard time breathing. Hopefully ya'll don't have to deal witht that.

By the way, don't worry.... the hubby decided after looking online and spotted everything sold out online he'd run to the stores for me. Target he couldn't get in so he drove 20 miles away to another walmart to get my items. He's currently in line now, but has made me promise not to go out next year and just do it online. He says you may have been able to do it once or twice before but you know now you can't deal with the crowds and I don't need anything happening to you.

Happy Shopping ya'll!!

Black Friday Plan of Attack

Am I going shopping on Black Friday? Of course I am, I have four kids and know when you need to shop for bargains. This is the best and worst time of year to shop, best because of the deals, worst because of the rude behavior that will surely be displayed.

Twittermoms asked the readers: "What is your form of attack on Black Friday?" So here it is:

1. Buy a paper today, which is Thanksgiving in order to look one more time to see what might be out there that I am not aware of.

2. For a few weeks now I've been reading the Black Friday ads in at BlackFriday.info/sales so I know what the deals are.

3. Cut coupons and bring them with and I have already printed off tons of toy coupons just in case. Hey you never know if one of the toys you have printed off will surprise you and be cheaper than they have been. Sure they may not be part of the "Black Friday Deals" but it can be a rollback of some sort or even in the clearance aisle.

4. I already made a list of all the Black Friday Deals for under $5 over at Walmart. For those that would like to take a peek here it is: Walmart $5 Black Friday Deals. So I've printed off my list of $5 deals and I'll be purchasing most of the items from it. I may, depending on cost go and grab one or two more things depending on cost.

5. I'm only walking in the store with $100 in cash, which means I won't be able to spend anymore than that. I'm not bringing any credit cards or a checkbook just to make sure I don't think, well I can go over slightly. Since I'm bringing coupons I'll lower the price more and be able to purchase more items.

6. The husband is coming with which means I'll be able to tackle just as much ground in a short amount of time. Our plan is to go in and out, even CouponMom says never linger in a store or you'll spend more than you want. So I'm giving him half the list and I'm headed for the toy section. This means that he'll quickly grab everything, find me, help me and then get me through the crowd. Oh did I forget to tell you I get really dizzy in crowded spaces. Yeah, thankfully I have someone that won't fool around and while I may be polite and quiet as a mouse trying to push my cart ever so slightly, he'll grab it and magically part the crowds. He also has to be at work by 8, which means we have a time limit.

7. The plan is to just hit up Walmart since it is down the street and I'm still sick. We know how crazy the people get on Black Friday, two people were hit last year just outside walmart so we aren't playing around. We may stop by Hy-vee as they have a sale too but we also need last minute stuff before he goes to work.

8. I'm leaving the kids at home with a sitter so I can go with no worrying about where they all are. Last year the hubby took the girls with him and I took the boys, boy was that not fun. Sure for me taking the oldest was a piece of cake, he helped out, but taking the youngest and having him want all the presents was rough.

9. I may bring sale ads as I spotted people doing that last year, I'm not sure though as I know what a hassle that can be on Black Friday. If I do I'll be bringing it from Target and Toys R Us as I don't plan on running there for their deals.

10. Once I'm done shopping and run upstairs to hide all my loot I'm going to relax with a nice cup of hot chocolate with tons of mini marshmallows and then sit on the floor with the kids watching Christmas Movies.

What's your Black Friday plan of attack? If you want to join in you must sign up to be a member of Twittermoms (don't worry it is FREE) and write it up, leaving a link on "What is your Black Friday Plan of Attack?" There will be 12 winners randomly picked that will each get a $75 Gift card to Target. I love Target, I just wish it were closer.

No School

Kids had no school today, so what did that mean? It meant no one slept in, not even mommy. Oooh, and here I thought I'd get to sleep. However, SoccerBoy did decide to make HUGE pancakes for me and his siblings to eat. They were good and fluffy, I think he's turning into a fine chef but I won't tell him that just yet.

The kids quickly cleaned the house so we could do some arts and crafts, after that it quickly became a wreck as they played with the toys. I swear it can be clean and then a few minutes into playing and it looks like a tornado hit it.

I've had a lot of giveaways and reviews to post and I'll do an updated list later so you can enter all of them. I think there are at least 4, at the least.

Yes, I'm still sick and so is Little A. Hoping he gets over it sooner than me as I hate when any of the kids are sick, but worse when wee ones are.

The tree is still not decorated but it is up, we'll probably decorate tomorrow or on Black Friday. Will you be doing Black Friday? I will be going to walmart but that's it, I made a $5 or less list of all the deals for Black Friday for Walmart over at Sales Weekly (www.salesweekly.blogspot.com). I've tried hitting amazon for theirs but I'm not doing good at it, I'll get it in my cart and by the time (5 minutes later) I check out it goes back to the original price.

We ordered a Hy-vee cooked Thanksgiving meal....ummm paid too much for it. We got it today and aren't thrilled, I don't recommend them and will do a review later. Hubby is so upset right now over it, thinks he ruined Thanksgiving as we paid a bit much for it and he says for the price he knows we could've bought a lot more. Course we both pictured this hot dinner that was maybe wrapped in aluminum foil or something, not a ham that came from the fridge shelf.

So no school day went good but hoping to do more with them next time.

Have you heard of Automated Man?

Okay first I'm not trying to say there is an automatic man out there that'll do everything for you that you could possibly think of. Get your mind out of the gutters, you know they won't scrub every dish for ya. hehe. A friend of mine introduced me to a new site, "The Automated Man" that I think I'd really use once the kids get a bit older. But I know I have a few friends out there that could probably use this now so I'll mention it.


First, I know some of you super shoppers would probably get this for much cheaper but for those of us just starting off this would be a great deal. The price is $39.99 and you get an entire month's worth of products for MEN. Yes, I said men and not women, I wish they had one for us ladies...I'd probably buy it right now if they did.

What's in it?

- Gillette Fusion Razor handle (1), blades (4), Shave gel, after shave and full size deodorant
- chapstick because they never like putting it on it seems
- condoms (package, it's better safe than sorry)
- tons of other stuff


I believe the handle is just about $10 in the store, condoms are at least $11 and the rest definitely would pass $30. There are over 15 items that will come to them. I think this would've been perfect while the hubby was in Iraq, I could've had it sent to the house and once a month or more mailed him a shipment...that is unless they'd send it to him. I doubt that though.

Who would this be good for? College students (sorry but we all know they always run out of money), boot camp, men in the military, kids going away to camp, your man in general, etc.

By the way moms can send their sons stuff over at Automated Mom, but don't think you can send yourself one unless you want men stuff. Hope this helps someone. Yes, I am getting paid for this but I still thought the deal was pretty good.

Wordless Wednesday: Boy & his Puppy

Little A got this is in the mail from IKEA, you can win one if you head over to Babylune and enter the IKEA Soft Toy Giveaway. Ends Dec 5, 2009. HURRY!! Happy Wordless Wednesday!

5 Holidays Activities To Do with Your Kids

Oh I love the holidays, especially the ones in fall and yes I do mean from Halloween on. It seems like such a magical time of year. Doesn't it? Twittermoms and Nickelodeon want to know what are some of your 5 activities you do for the Holidays with your kids. The contest, for those that want to take part is part of the Dora Christmas Carol Contest. Got any special traditions?

1. Get a form of holiday pictures, I don't care if it is taken at a store or some picture of the family around the Christmas tree. I want something where the kids are all together and smiling and not fighting.

2. Decorating the Christmas tree. This is normally done the day after Thanksgiving, however this year the tree is already up in the living room. The only thing it is missing is decorations so we still may just keep our holiday traditions. Each year the youngest has always got to pick out the Christmas ornament for that year. This year Little A picked out Santa carrying a shotgun, I couldn't help but laugh.

3. Making those holiday arts & Crafts that they get to hang everywhere around the house, this includes the countdown chain, toilet paper santas, candy cane reindeer, etc. Oh and never, ever forget the cookies we bake at least once a week.

4. A few days before Christmas we begin opening presents, each night the kids get to open one (only one each) gift until Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve all gifts must be opened because Santa comes that night. This began with our oldest because back then we just couldn't wait for him to open them, well it became a tradition. This is begun on Winter Soltice. (sp)

5. The first real day is snows we must all have hot chocolate and sit in the living room together watching Christmas movies, that is after the kids get to play in the snow a bit.

6. (yes I know I past 5) Christmas Eve we must make Christmas cookies for Santa, leave a glass of milk and of course carrots for the reindeer. That night the kids will sprinkle their Reindeer food out front, but by morning it is gone.

What do you do? For those that want to take part in the Dora Christmas Carol contest hurry over, the first 30 get nice prizes, including the Dora DVD. For those that have television the Christmas special will be on Nickelodeon on 12/6 at 8 pm EST.

Watch Dora's Christmas Carol Adventure Dec. 6 on Nickelodeon

Favorite Holiday Activities with Kids

The YoBaby Winner is...

I used the random.org to pick my number and the winner is.......#9.....

When my son was six months old, the entrie car of people had to sing
"Bingo" nonstop on a four-hour car ride. Every time we stopped, he cried!
#
posted by JulieMoe : 7:11 PM

Congratulations Julie, I'll be emailing you in just a moment please watch for homemom3@gmail.com

Build-a-Bear: Frosty the Snowman Giveaway

I have always loved watching the old classic Christmas Cartoon, "Frosty the Snowman." You know where the kids are all building a snowman and find that black hat and placed it on top of the snowman and he came to life shouting, "Happy Birthday!" Remember it? I have that movie now and every year (currently every day) my kids watch it, some even cry during parts because I have a few that are really sensitive. :) Course now my kids get to watch the beloved movie with the Frosty the Snowman Build a Bear. Well today, with the help of Build-a-Bear I get to give away one FROSTY the SNOWMAN Build a bear.

Frosty is not the only Build-a-bear available for the holidays, there are many other Christmas Characters to choose from: There's a Holiday Elf or Bear, Holly and Hal Moose and many others.

GIVEAWAY:
PRIZE: (1 lucky winner) Happy Holidays Frosty the Snowman.

You will get the Happy Holidays Frosty the Snowman doll, the pipe, the broom (my 2 year old pretends to sweep with it) and of course his scarf and hat. When the hat is opened and then closed it will light up and make a magical sound for you.

RULES:

1. Visit the Build-A-Bear and tell me another product your child would love this holiday season!

Additional entries

2. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Life of a Home Mom.

3. Follow me (@homemom3) on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway.

4. Subscribe to my blog.

5. Become a Build-A-Bear on Facebook.

Deadline: December 5, 2009, winner will be announced that night and they will have 24 hours to respond to my email.

Disclosure: Buildabear did send me the Frosty the Snowman to review and keep, they will also be sending out one to a lucky winner.

Weekend Round-up

Went Out Drinking
Okay first, the hubby and I went out Friday night to a local bar and I must say we rather enjoyed ourselves. It's a quiet little place that doesn't hold very many people and most of those that go seem to be the older crowd so you don't get a bunch of loud people. The music they had there was country, which fits me perfectly. I had two beers and a white russian, but I noticed a new drink he was making for another woman I may try next time. We decided that since kids were sleeping and the oldest is at babysitting age he could play on facebook as we went out. Perfect remedy and he loved it. We also did a bit of shopping and grabbed some presents.

Still sick:
Some have asked and yes I am still sick, however I no longer have the constant fever that went along with it or the night sweats. I have a very bad cough that has seemed to stay with me and a hard time breathing. I'm using my Vick's humidifier every night and trying to get better, but I noticed Little A now has the cough. I'm hating this season already and it has only snowed one time. Keep good thoughts headed our way that the bad germs leave and only good come into this house.

Deals, Deals, Deals:

Did a bit of shopping Friday at Hy-Vee and was very proud that I used $12 in coupons. Now to actually break down the grocery bill in half, that's the goal anyways. I recently got a book to review in the mail called, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills In Half by Stephanie Nelson (aka Couponmom.com) and I'll be reviewing it very shortly. I must say I have learned a little reading this book and have slowly started saving a bit more.

College Started Back up:
That's right, I'm back in yet another college class...this time it is accounting. Wish me luck, math has never been a strong suit of mine. Currently I have all A's in all my other classes and would like to see this continue.

Blogs:
Many of you already know I write at about a dozen blogs, okay not really I've cut it down by a lot since 451press went under. But I have started writing at a few others to write about celebrities and of course since MomGadget is back up I'm a reviewer once again for her too as well as my own site. Oh and the best one, to me at least, is my http://www.salesweekly.blogspot.com/ because it lists all the deals for the week. I'll begin posting all those black friday ones in the next few days so pay a visit and possibly drop a comment.

Giveaways:
I have a few giveaways going on and a few more to be posted:
- $35 Gift Card to Jiffy Lube
- Pampers Diaper Clutch

Will be announcing a VeggieTales, Build a Bear and a few other giveaways.

So what have you been up to lately? The round-up of those that comment here and a few others I follow:

- Elizabeth over at Table4five celebrated her little girl, Katelyn's birthday. It seems Elizabeth is going through something right now and it would probably be nice to see some friendly comments, head on over and tell her hi.

- OC Mom Activities is holding her very first giveaway where some lucky winner will get a PSP game called, "PES 2009 (Pro Evolution Soccer). Head on over and enter to win.

- Kris over at Quilted Simple has been knitting away this week, but I must say I just adore her quilted pillows. But she is one of those people that spots something she likes and makes it herself instead of having to buy it. WOW!

- Jerri Ann over at Blogalogues has not only been sick but having a bad tooth problem. Hopefully it will be better soon.

Jiffy Lube Gift Card Giveaway

How many of you know what it is like to have something go wrong during a road trip or even just driving to the store when the weather has changed and become all snowy? I remember the first time moving out to North Carolina we went to visit family and of course we moved during Christmas time which meant hitting all types of snowy weather. We learned how NOT to put chains on a tire and there were different things people actually did put on tires.

We also learned how the snap of one of those tire things could throw the van into a spin and land us in a snow bank. We learned what it was like to drive in a "white out" and how when you finally found a place to pull over and camp so did about 100 other people.

Moving to Missouri was about just the same thing, except we did stop at more hotels and this time we planned it a bit more since I had a laptop. We still learned that you had to have a lot of windshield wiper fluid even if it wasn't snowing and how your wipers could freeze to the windows or worse your windshield would become too hard to see because it keeps freezing up. Got any stories for me?

GIVEAWAY:

PRIZE: (1) $35 Jiffy Lube Gift Card

RULES: Write in stories about breaking down during the winter, or your worst winter driving experiences (frozen wipers, doors frozen shut, heaters not working, etc.)

extra entries for those that come back here and show me a link if you:

stumble upon this post

tweet this post

blog this

DEADLINE: December 5, I'll announce the winner on December 6

US ONLY please

Bringing the Holidays Home

Okay, it's officially winter and I don't care if anyone wants to argue it with me. We had our first sighting of snow, yes it actually snowed Sunday Night and blanketed the grounded, ever so lightly with snow on Monday morning. Even SoccerBoy went to Facebook and hoped/wished that they could have a snow day, course I was really hoping for NO SNOW DAY as I've been sick and trying to get caught up. Thankfully they had school, it would sprinkle snow off and on all day. Now it is simply cold and a chill is in the air.


So what goes with a chill in the air? Chili of course and I've never made any but finally decided I'd try my hand at it. My first experience was making White Chili beans and I think they turned out great, but it was a bit too spicy for the kids and hubby so next time I'll do less chilis. Yes, I used fresh chilis and I did 1 1/2 cups full as the Paula Dean recipe called for. But now I'm confident that I can make any chili and will try my hand at others that aren't so spicy. Course I know now that if I wanted to sign up for a chili cook off I could do it for the spicy type. hehe. But now I have a huge pot and only me to eat it.


We brought the Christmas tree up last night, now to decorate it and put up the lights. Kids are going to freak, we bought a few gifts already and I'm debating on putting them under the tree or waiting. I know we aren't the type that make the kids wait, that's why we begin opening gifts 5 days before Christmas, it just happened with SoccerBoy and we kept the tradition.

How do you bring the holidays home before they are here? Oh we are eating lots of pumpkin pie and apple crumb pie already too, with lots of cool whip. YUMMY.

3 Things I could Not Be Without While Sick

Well I've been sick now for what 3 1/2 weeks, so what are the three things that I could not live without during this time? Simple answer: H2O, pillow and blanket. But lets get a little more specific than that.

Nestle Water to be exact and no I don't mean I mix Nestle chocolate or anything in it. There is just something about this bottled water though. I've been drinking water nonstop since I got sick, which I guess is also a good thing. But I have learned there are only a few bottled waters I will drink and many I won't. We normally buy a case of these from Walmart, so far this is the cheapest place we've found this brand at and as you know I won't drink anything else. Oh, the good news is I no longer drink soda pop.

Okay the next thing on my list is my very soft, yet firm Sleep Number Pillow. I got this pillow as a review product earlier this year. This is the same pillow that drove all the way down with me to Ohio when my Nanny passed away. It is so comfortable that it makes it comforting as well. I'll actually review this pillow in my next post because there is so much you should know about it, I swore I did this before but I can't seem to find the review. Knowing that time period I did write it up and saved it somewhere and it never went to publish post. But I tell you this pillow is the one thing that helps me go to sleep, not even the hubby will fight me on it while I'm sick. Oh yes he normally steals it from me any other time. Oh with these pillows you get to design the type you like. Take a look at the pics.

Finally, the last thing I can't be without while being sick is my Lands' End Sleeping bag. I can't seem to find it anymore on Lands' End, however I reviewed it for them last year and I can tell you it has went to everyone's room...until now. The inside is made of super soft cotton which makes it almost feel as if it were made of down. This is definitely a comfortable blanket/sleeping bag. I use it more as a sleeping bag by unzipping it and tossing it over the person. Lately it has been wrapped around me or Little A who just happened to end up with my cough. :( Poor thing.

So what are three things you desire when you are sick?

3-in-1 YoBaby Giveaway

My son absolutely loves YoBaby, actually since that first time we reviewed a YoBaby he got hooked on them and now anytime we go down the yogurt aisle of Walmart we have to pick him up a few. So when I was asked to try the 3-in-1, well not me but Little A, so of course I said yes.

Now at first Walmart didn't carry the 3-in-1 so I had to wait until they had it in stock, finally they did so I took my coupon and got to use them. Of course he loved them too. He acted as if he didn't even noticed that it was more than just one flavor. See for those that don't know the 3-in-1 has yogurt in it, a veggie and a fruit, stir it together and you have a 3-in-1. I did try a taste and I couldn't taste the veggie in it.

GIVEAWAY:

PRIZE: (1 winner) YoBaby reusable bag, an organic YoBaby bib, a travel YoBaby bowl with lid and utensils, 5 FREE YoBaby Meal Coupons, and an Eric Carle Growth Chart.

RULES: Tell me one story about traveling with your child.

Extra entries: Stumble upon this, tweet this or blog it.

Deadline: Saturday, November 21, 2009 midnight. I'll announce the winner on the 22. The winner will have 24 hours to respond.

Loading up on Vitamins

Well, I'm still sick and now we are going to try loading me up on vitamins and seeing if that does the trick. I'm guessing by now I should've been better even if it was that swine flu crap that I keep hearing about. Either way, this stuff sucks and makes it hard to breathe so we are going to try yet another method.

I tell you one thing, the moment I'm better I don't want to hear a single sniffle coming out of one of my kids.

Bring Home a Mr.Potatohead For Christmas

This month Little A was sent two Mr.Potato Head's to review, one was the Mr Potato Head - Fryer Fighter and the other was the Mr. Potato Head Pirate Spud - Captain Potato Chips. I'll just say that Mr.Potato Head is definitely a toy that is still loved in this house and always will be. The Mr.Potato Head Captain had a bit of a hard time as there is a boot for the leg and it tends to be difficult to keep him upright. Other than that both Mr.Potato Heads were a ton of fun. I believe he liked it best because he could change his expression and make him right or silly.

Inside Fryer Fighter, they get a little fireman's helmet (red in color) and of course his little fire extinguisher. Hopefully you can tell them a little about how to use it if one was ever needed in that house. My little man just loves pretending it has water in it and shoots me with it.

In the Captain, you'll get the captain's hat, one boot, an eye patch because we know there is know captain (pirate) that has two eyes and of course his faithful parot.

Do you remember Mr.Potato head as a child? I remember having a ton of parts for mine and we use to love storing everything inside Mr.Potato. My son, he does not, in fact he gets mad when I try and then the butt doesn't close right. "Mom, butt broke." I will state these pieces will need to be played with a lot in order to get the wear and tear like when you were a chidl and the pieces would fit right in. These do take a bit of pushing in but only because they are so new. Thank you HASBRO for making yet another toy that'll make my kid's christmas wish list. He may have these two but I have seen there are plenty more where these two guys came from.

Mr.Potatohead sells for around $9.99.

(we were sent the toys for free and yes if you click my link and order it I'll get a few cents.)

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween 09

This year I basically slept through Halloween, but the kids didn't. Here's a sneak peek at them: (little A is a hippo)


Cute Hippo right? Well the hippo got the witches hat and boy was she trying to get it back. Below is a pic of all four kids, that's Soccerboy slouching down and pushing the stroller. I was upstairs watching them all from my bedroom.
Happy WW and Halloween!!

Still Sick with an Update

Well I am still sick, doc continues to give me tests and still states before they come back they'll be negative because basically I took too long to come in. Thankfully I have a box of movies that a PR lady sent my way a little while ago, which I'll be reviewing in the next few days.

I do have a bit of good news to pass on. Apparently while I have been sick I got on the Honor Roll for my As in college, now I did have to miss the dinner as I am currently sick but I thought it was too important not to mention to my fellow bloggers. See, us moms really can do it?

In the meantime I'm trying to save my sanity by not watching the same movie and find it hard to stay awake all day with a 2 year old. Medicines are not meant for moms with kids. Oh for those curious the doc is treating me for influenza, bronchitis, sore throat and a few other small things.

Sick and not Getting Better

In case you hadn't noticed i've been a bit absent for a while, i was and still am sick. At first it started off with what i thought was a tummy thing this last two days, the third day i was tossing my cookies with a fever as the kids would call it. from then on i've had a figh fever from anywhere 100-104.

i didn't go in right away and apparently you really should withink 48 hours after your FIRST fever, otherwise they can't test what you have for anything or it comes back negative. but they are going to try treating me for bronchitis and influenza. ikkk. in the meantime i feel dizzy and weak but thankfully i've got a swell family helping me get through this and friends that continue to write guest posts for me to help me there. i'm staying awak emore today but i think that's because it is just me now and hubby is at work so i know there is no one for our young one to watch after. I'll probably make lunch, give him a small bath and send him for a nap before i take mine since they put me out. he sleeps for three hours, just in time for his brother to be home, just in case i need it.

just giving you an update where i've been.