Okay the blog post will probably be all over the map so try to bear with me. My coupon world is out of control...kinda. It's gotten huge! I donate my expired coupons to a military organization that gives them to military families and can be used for up to 6 months. I send an entire manila envelope every 2 wks.
With Maddie being involved in so much with the royalty court there is more people involved in our lives, which brings up Christmas gifts??. It's too hard to narrow down so we made a list of people and searched the homemade gift ideas and have included 24 people the total price for the homemade gifts was $7. (Pat Catan's had a great sale at the beginning of Nov. plus me & Heather combined our purchases to be able to use a bigger coupon.) We decided to go with clear bulbs paint their names on them and add scrap ribbon inside them. I think they turned out really cute. She is also attaching special name cards with why they are special to her. One of her teachers is also on the list. The kids don't usually do teachers at the high school level, because one there is too many teachers and two it's not cool. But this one teacher has made a big impact on Maddie and she feels it's important to acknowledge that. I found a Christmas mug on clearance for 46 cents and we filled it with hot chocolate packets (free) and some of my peppermint chocolate coffee stirrers that the kids say taste great with the hot chocolate and wrapped it in cellophane. Looks cute!!
On the line of saving and coupons Brian and Brandon love the auctions in their free time. Me and Brandon do the auctions online @ Listia, which is super cool. It's with credits not cash. The seller usually pays the shipping (postal service and the flat rates are awesome right now).
All the extended family shopping is done for Christmas and the plan is to finish my kids and the grandbaby up on black friday.
I found a really cool Thanksgiving idea on pinrest with a thankful tree and adding leaves everyday in November for things you are thankful for. The kids weren't hip on the idea at first but they've come around. I love it!! I'm thinking of doing a Christmas tree for December of giving. With the idea of giving of your time, giving a word of encouragement. That type of thing. I think it's especially important as they get older to focus on others sometimes instead of all the holiday rush rush.
An additional side note that I don't know if I previously mentioned was the weight group that I previously belonged to left our town because of a business decision. It was hard on those of us who attended regularly. We were able to form our own group that isn't as structured but helps one another by discussing healthier choices talking about different exercises yet still weighing in every week. It's completely different but is still working.
Yeah, I think I should write a book. Not one of those profound insight books, or wise wisdom books, and definitely not a fairy tale book either. I think I'll title it "Not For The Faint Of Heart" by yours truly. The book will contain the crazy things that roll into my life and I push back out of my life. It will have the crazy things that kids say and do. I know there are tons of books out there like that. Those are the cute things that children say and do that have innocence to them. Mine will focus on the crazy little stunts that teenagers try, and conversations that we have to repeating have that they should know better.
So many people say "we've all been there". I agree that anyone with teenagers have traveled down a raising teenagers path; however there are so many detours that the path looks slightly different for everyone. I've been keeping a journal lately of "conversations, stunts, moments that make me proud, moments that I want to pull my hair out, moments that make me say where have the years gone, and above all are the questions these bright minded children come up with."
As always the teens are keeping me hopping. My weight loss is back on track. My migraines have returned with their little counterpart shingle pain and I'm doing my best to deal with them and keep stress at bay. Holidays are creeping up and time seems to go by faster and faster.
It's easy to type about the festivals and I always have plenty of nice photos to go with that. This post will be about the rest of our daily activities.
Maddie...yeah her schedule is packed. She got her driver's license on her first try had more than her needed hours and had been driving on her permit for almost a year. (That being said my insurance is insane now.) Yes, I have let her drive alone since she got them. Here is how it works: she takes me on a "qualifying" trip, as long as she does fine she's aloud to drive that far without me. So at this point I let her drive to norwalk, oberlin, and amherst. Route 2 still freaks me out, and Sandusky she might have to "qualify" with her dad. One step at a time (for me). She has a full class schedule that she's struggling with, and of course let's not forget about the boyfriend.
Brandon...oh my lovely 14 yr old son. He will argue with me about anything. He has all honor classes this year. He works hard IF there is something he wants in return, any yard work or outside work he's your young man. If it's in the house forget it. He's super smart and talks over my head a lot. He started shaving, and that deep voice keeps getting deeper. He's breaking out of his quiet phase slowly. He's turning into a young man, and to be honest I'm in uncharted territory. He is my child that likes to discuss and even debate topics. He constantly keeps me thinking. He's trying out for the freshman bb team this year and has been conditioning for it for months now, we'll see how that goes.
My spouse...working, working. His new thing is attending auctions. Him and Brandon go as often as they can. I think they like being at these things more than actually buying things, which is okay with me.
Me...exhausted. The shingles returned again, and I'm just now coming off the anti-viral. They think they may have returned so quickly because of "stress" yeah okay. I was able to start weening off my bp medication, so far so good. My weight loss is maintaining nothing additional to report. My couponing is a stress release at this point. On average I'm able to save at least 50%, and have freebies rolling in the mailbox daily. I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping done, and even started wrapping already. My daily planner is full constantly, since the latest shingle out break I have entered in "rest" time slots even "rest" days.
The Antique Festival was held in Millerburg. It was on the same exact day as the Wollybear Festival. The original plan was to "split" the court, meaning half go to one and half to the other. The Wollybear is so close that the rest of the court attended that one, and Maddie, myself, and the director attended The Antique. It is located in Holmes Co. in the heart of amish country. It was a beautiful autumn day! All the colors were in bloom. The rest of the court had the float for the day, and the local car dealership was having a huge sale that day so we were out of a convertible. So in true Maddie fashion we took good ole "Bertha" the pick up truck with some hay bales in the back with a blanket over them and off we went.
We are starting to rotate the dresses...or simply put each dress speaks for itself and depending on the weather, the day, and the festival we pick. The blue dress wore only once for the basket festival has a train with it, and Maddie got sick the day she wore it (so she thinks it's bad luck for now) so it hasn't been let out of the closet. If the day has bad weather or Maddie has a lot of walking etc to do she will always pick the purple one. (She says she can move in this one) The day had lots of walking and most of the girls would be wearing "the hoop" dresses, so she going against the grain picked the purple one.
The day started with a tour of a historic Victorian house (amazing), and then we went to this ranch that reminded you of anything but a ranch. (There were no animals, only scenic views and a gorgeous lodge) One of the highlights to the food menu was this insane cinnamon roll (that I should have passed on). It tasted like a pastry. It looked like a large cinnamon roll, but didn't taste like anything I've ever baked. This festival she was able to meet royalty from more of your southern towns in Ohio.
The parade was a lot shorter than the previous ones we'd been too, which was great. This was my first parade that I've drove in. (Just my opinion, but I think throwing candy at a parade should be done away with) I've never felt that way before, but constantly stopping because children are running in front of you scared me to death. I had "the ladies in red hats" float in front of me which is always my favorite. The float behind us was comical. It was for "the rooter man" (plumbing) and it was an old fashion out house with a clothes line on it and everyone dressed in overalls doing some type of jig dancing. I had a hard time not laughing seeing them out my rear view mirror, Maddie had an even harder time keeping her royal smile and wave without busting out laughing.
Needless to say we made it back home to start resting before the wollybear parade even ended.
For some reason lately I have been going full steam ahead. I feel like I have to remind myself to breathe. With everything going on my priorities are changing, meaning that I have to get one thing done right now and push other things back. I have always been the type of person to work on several projects at a time so that I don't have things hit deadlines back to back. It has always been simpler and less stressful for me. Lately I have so many things needing the right now attention that I can only focus on literally one thing at a time. It's a very different mindset for me.
People always say "enjoy" this or that. I'm trying...oohh I'm trying. I have less time it seems everyday. I'm hitting deadlines, but barely. Everything has a calendar time and appointment expect my workouts (so I gave it a time slot on my calendar, and a nap time.) A good night sleep is great, when that can happen. I use to say when the kids were little "oh when they get older I will be able to sleep through the night" blah blah. It's not the case. They are teenagers!! They come alive when the sun goes down, so every bump in the night I'm constantly waking up to just to make sure they are sleeping etc. The weekends exhaust me, so come Monday I am wiped out.
I have so many things to blog about, hopefully I'll get to them sometime this week. (I speak as if it was Monday, and it's already WEDNESDAY). Well I'm off to spend the day in the service department, just for the standard maintenance on my car. (I'm carrying my bag of things I need to do with me) Have a great day all!!
I know I'm a little behind on this post, but sometimes it takes awhile for things to settle in. I haven't been to the melon festival in years. I'm not a big one for having little mini reunions here's why. For some reason unknown to myself I have a terrible problem recognizing and remembering people from twenty years ago. And it seems that I come off as being snobby and rude, which we all know I'm not. Usually when I run into someone and they recognize me I spend the conversation trying to figure out who they are.
So I returned kicking and screaming to the melon fest this year, because of my dear daughter. It was a very long day. The morning started off with a tour of milan for the royalty followed by a luncheon, and the parade. The surprising thing to me was the way my daughter viewed a town that I ran around in my youth. She was fascinated with Thomas Edison's birthplace, delighted to see the festival in a town square, everything seemed 'fancy' to her. (A huge sigh from me here) Are you kidding me??? So I paused, put everything I always knew and viewed this riveting town through her eyes. (I can not begin to tell you how hard this was for me.) I did get excited to see the band, but being in a different phase of my life I cheered and hollered when our school's band came through.
I'm getting some emails lately asking me how am I getting free stuff?
- Well first off I sign up for a ton of free samples and get them through the mail.
- If I really like a product I send the company an email saying just that, and sometimes they send me coupons to use on the said product.
- I belong to a few sites that I actually get a voucher for a company's product try it and send them my review of the product.
- The big question is how am I getting free things at the everyday stores. The answer is kinda simple I have coupons I know all the sale prices and coupon policies at the area stores making a lot of the products "free".
Now I'm starting to get at a point where I'm making a few cents on some of these products. At certain stores I will have a $1 off coupon and the item will be like 94 cents making a profit of 6 cents to use towards other items I'm purchasing. The other big thing right now at a few of the drug stores that have money off coupons they give you towards the next purchase. For these stores I usually have 3 different transactions and these extra vouchers left over. Today I was on my game and had $60 worth of products that I ended up paying a little over $8 for.
I know it seems hard to believe, but if you are in doubt ask my kids. For that matter mom has went shopping with me and it does exhaust her, but even she is impressed at the savings.
The other question is do I use all my coupons? Nope, not even close. When they expire I send them to military families that can use expired coupons for up to 6 months after the expiration.
I have great kids...that being said they are still teenagers. My hair has to be dyed faithfully (the hair that isn't falling out) some would say it's because of my age...I say it's because of the teenagers. I journal more now than when I was a teen, sure it relieves stress, but I also can't wait to show it to my grandkids about how their parents behaved, lol.
It was never a big surprise to me that I raise my kids differently than a lot of parents. That being said I think they tell me way too much about the teenage world. Some things I think I'd be better off not knowing. I am constantly reminding them at the start of their stories "remember I am your parent first not your school buddy". I am preparing them not just to survive this world, but to thrive in it. I'm teaching them to deal with disappointment, life's unfairness, finding balance, working hard, and about a thousand other life lessons that I never thought about.
It's easy to get swept up in their drama, life's drama, and all the other craziness of life. Usually I can keep the balance pretty good making sure to find some workout time to keep stress at bay and have some me time. Lately I got a little less me time, a little less cleaning time, and a standstill at my weight loss. I am a huge organizer and when my schedule gets out of control it shows all over my life. I was able to fill in all the calendar events times and places and said 'no' to events I just can't fit in right now, gave the fridges a deep cleaning and have started my fall cleaning. THIS has somehow put a much needed balance into my world and doesn't make all the teens drama get to me nearly as much.
The photo is a paddle-boat rental at the wellington metro park. My friend had her son & daughter in law's baby shower at the park. I was blown away with how beautiful it was. It was indoors in the air. The room had full size glass windows to see right out at the paddle-boats and the beautiful scenery. I didn't know any of the parks had a place like this, and that it was so close to us.
The last two weeks seem to be straight out of one of those old black and white Alfred Hitchcock movies. When I watched this as a kid it did a couple of things one half way through I was like "what?, huh?" or it took me to the very end and left me shaking my head. This in general, now that I think about it, describes teenagers.
We've had festivals left and right, exciting things happening at school and not so exciting, we've cried through most of the drivers ed which ended up just fine (as I said it would), we've seen huge growths and some immature moments that leave you thinking 'are you 5 yrs old again?', I've had some couponing trips that leave me impressed with myself which of course get squashed by a larger bill here and there, and we've thrown in some unexpected trips to JoAnne fabrics for sewing items that walmart just doesn't carry.
Now all of this being said I've been catching myself capturing some brief moments in time to see some great things and meet some great people that ordinary don't ever come up in the middle of crazy busy life. I met an 85 yr. old man today with his walker and stool sitting alone in the shade waiting on the parade. I stopped and took a sip of water and began talking with him. It was one of those conversations that make you stop and listen to every word like you were a child listening to a great story. The other day I got a phone call from a lady from book club asking me if I had a few hours to spare to help her set up a lunch she'd already prepared for the workers out at habitat for humanity. I went with her and was blessed from start to finish, within those blessings I met a 93 yr. old man...he asked me to hand him his pliers that he'd left on the truck...he was up on a ladder.
Through all the crazies there is a spot of shade or a glass of tea that brings time to a small stand still to let you enjoy a moment of "awe".
Yes, I know. I'm not as chubby as I once was (still have the 50lbs off, but no more than that) but I still fall in the chubby girl group. Here are some new revelations that I've observed particularly in the exercise world:
- Just because you are working out doesn't mean you can wear spandex. Here's a guideline if you can still see the cellulite pockets on your back side don't wear them period.
- If you are going to the gym wear your good bra...I don't want to keep my eyes closed the whole time I'm on the treadmill.
- Know your limits. Just because skinny girl can run 5 miles doesn't mean you can...yet.
- The floaties at the pool are for working out not to save your life. Before you float to the top chubby girl will take on a lot of water and sink.
- And basically because it bears to be repeated leave those holy sweatpants at home before going to the store.
It was a lot more trying than I anticipated. Not to mention completely exhausting. Let me try to paint the teenage picture for you from my point of view:
- Monday...no school, but no added extra break either. We did the fair thing. Now I mention this because getting her ready for any event isn't a 5 min ordeal. Yes she's older so she gets herself ready of course. My part comes in on helping find the right shoes, necklace, earring, etc. Plus me helping with the hair and still yet the make-up. For these events she wears more make-up but doesn't want it to look that way. See how all this plays out. Now after the day is done getting the teens to bed isn't even close to easy. An added bonus we got to see Heather & Gabe so it made the fair a lot better for me.
- Tuesday...first day of school. They run on pure adrenaline, I of course take an immediate power nap. They come home filled to the brim of high school "stuff" for lack of a better word. Brandon seems to have a good first day; he is my child I worry about with social skills. Maddie did not have a good first day, oh happy happy day. I had book club that night, and I couldn't have been happier to get there.
- Wednesday...the question comes up why do they have to sit us alphabetically? I have no idea. Homework starts coming in. Brandon has all honor classes so he actually pulled out books, I was impressed seeing how I've not seen him actually study before. Maddie does some hw before drivers ed and the rest when she returns. Drama has been present for two days so it didn't surprise me that she didn't want to talk about it.
- Thursday...I wanted to bury my head in the sand. I had to reschedule a driving appt. I followed all rules and gave more than a 24hr. notice but it seemed that they gave Maddie a hard time the night before and when I called they gave me a very very negative report on her driving. Now if it was her driving so to say fine, but they reported on her attitude. After they replayed the previous evening I was not convinced that it was Maddie's attitude as much as the instructor. I was polite, but it was a touchy subject all day. I explained to Maddie on what was expected of her and told her that you were going to find people like this out there in life, sadly. Then we had to quickly get ready and go back out to the fair. It was a long night and she didn't get her hw done to well in the night. Bub had spent the evening at the vet with Grammy & Lily, but his hw was done.
- Friday...everyone was super tired but quiet. We were all in bed early.
It was an emotional roller coaster ride all week. I'm hoping for better results this week. The week looks full already, but hopefully we learned some things last week that worked and didn't work. Plus I'm putting crock pot meals back in since they all have different evening schedules. Next weekend is labor day and we are packed full all next weekend with festivals, but we will have a good time. Have a good week everyone. On a side note this is our bean tree I never knew it was there till the other day, how sad is that. The kids favorite apple tree was hit by lightning the other night and had to be cut down, very sad.
Yesterday was the first day of school. I thought it would go smoother...I was wrong. I tried to be organize, but I missed the mark here a little bit. The teenagers just kept throwing one obstacle after another. By now we have a school routine in place from years and years. This year is obviously about change...I missed that memo.
My baby boy started his freshman year yesterday I was so busy that I forgot to stop and have that little moment of "where have the years gone". I don't have little kids anymore...Maddie is a junior this year, and Brandon is a freshman. It's funny how you blink and lose 5 or 6 years.
Almost every year on the first day Brandon wears a sports jersey. He's always cared about his appearance, but now he fights for bathroom time and mirror time. He is my kid that will want jeans ironed and uses a lint roller before walking out of the house. His change this year is he want up earlier....5:15 am instead of 5:45, bigger lunch, and finally after all these years doing homework right away. When he tells me about his day he goes class by class and tells me one good thing and at least one bad thing. Then right before bed any situation he encountered throughout the day and retells me and asks what would you have done mom.
Maddie will stress about any new rule that the school has added on. This year she has her first study hall. I thought with her added college class she might want it. She's not super impressed at this point. This should have been a walk in the park kind of year. So far not quite the case. She's upset that her brother has the same lunch as her, upset that over half of her friends are at ehove or bg. She is my child who likes to be super organized, and if her organization isn't just so she freaks out.
Sometimes when the kids are talking a million miles a minute, I stop them tell them to take a deep breath and continue. I found myself saying this last night, but it was me taking the deep breaths and them continuing. I did find a lovely alternative to covering the books...a roll of packaging paper. This worked out so much better. I was flying through covering them books. Yes, they should cover them themselves, but the first week of school I still do it.
After all the shopping, paying bills, etc. there is no room for the extras. (Sticking to a budget is the phrase that runs through my mind every time I leave the house) So this week is 'freebie week', only purchase the items I can get for free. Now some items of course have tax, so only money spent is the loose change. Here is what I got for free this week: 2-12pk. rolls of cottenelle toilet paper; 2 huge bottles of pert plus shampoo/conditioner; revlon nail polish; 6 protein bars; loaf of bread; osu men's t-shirt; 4 folders; 300 printed address labels from a copy place; cpn organizer; 4 sharpies; 6 notebooks; package of pb to go (loving this item); plus all my samples that are coming in the mail. Now I have some more free items to pick up, but sticking to the budget also means that I double up on gas trips. Meaning if I go into Norwalk there has to be multiply stops to make not just getting my freebie stuff, lol. So these additional items can wait.
I'm exhausted. It's been a full weekend with shopping etc. and I still have to attend a festival tomorrow.
I have two teenagers 16 and 14. A junior and a freshman. The junior has a college class this year and the freshman has expensive taste. That being said let me tell you about the school shopping part of the weekend.
Maddie I started a couple weeks ago I found great deals and purchased quality bras, undies, socks, jeans, and a few tops for $50 (I've never done that good before). Today she picked up a pr of sneakers for $18 and a jean skirt and top for $20. A book bag that I'd never seen before for $11. She needed a graphing calculator this thing has been driving me crazy looking for deals. I priced matched one from Target to Staples. $125 originally priced matched it to $90 and used a 15% off pass to make it 76.30.
All pens, pencils, folders, binders, white out, notebooks, and paper I've been watching and using coupons all summer. The total after today is $15 and that should last all school year.
Now for Brandon my expensive taste child. He hit a growth spurt mid summer and required all new jeans so for the time being he didn't require any new ones. One pair of jean shorts $7. He doesn't like fancy book bags he wanted a plain duffel bag cost $10. He purchased some jerseys this summer so I only needed to buy some plain color t-shirts cost $6 for two. Price matched and couponed undies & socks $14. The shoes which had to be bought at the mall I checked ahead of time and downloaded cpns for possible stores he wanted. Total with tax $62. Bonus signed up for email and get a $10 coupon that I can take the receipt back in w/in 7 days and use that cpn. so brings the total down to $52.
I did better this year than ever before. My kids are getting older and even though their things cost more they take care of their things and make them last longer. Growth spurts never come when their is a sale, and losing weight only makes clothes hang on you. So I do the best I can along the way.
Couponing is a staple for me as of late. I discovered a very relaxing time of day when I'm printing and cutting my coupons, lol. I'm not an extreme couponer not even close, but I do like to save at least 50% every transaction. That includes everything from groceries, household needs, make-up, clothing, and extra activities. If I don't have a coupon it usually doesn't get bought. I'm a couponer of the next generation. Yes I still get the Sunday paper and clip, but I also print them off from online. (I even coupon my printer ink) I even price match from store to store. So for example when I go to Walmart I have about 5 other store ads in hand to price match items at the register. The kids love the benefits from coupons they even want store coupons when they go to the store for themselves, but they hate going to the grocery store with me and my coupons and price matching. I do spend some time with this, but so far I think it's worth it.
I also am getting to the point where I get free samples in the mail, and by watching the ads and clipping the coupons there is a lot of items I get for free right at the store. Some highlights this month have been free full size toothpaste (I don't pay over a quarter for toothpaste anymore), free lotion again don't pay for lotion anymore, name brand make-up for less than $3, hair dye for less than $3 a box, most of my laundry detergent is free or pretty close to it, I have enough school supplies for the entire school for less than $10.
The groceries are down to 50% but I have to really watch here because I have to stick to things my family will actually eat and not be tempted by prepackaged foods.
My extended family (mom & pooh) are not embracing my couponing mind set. I call them the anti-coupon, lol. They tease me something fierce, but I keep on beating to my own drum.
There is lots going on at our house lately. I have jumped head first into couponing and freebies. Saving lots of money and loving the freebies and activities we are getting to do very cheaply. (which I will be posting about)
Brian has been jumping all over the place with different shifts so it keeps things a little complicated with time slots in family life.
Brandon is a growing teenage boy who is eating me out of house and home. He will be a freshman this year, where has the time gone. He is growing into a young man that I am very proud of. I was worried with Maddie getting queen and going to all these festivals that there may be some jealousy. It's quite the opposite. He asks like her big brother not little brother and goes out of his way to help her and me. He does a lot of observation at these festivals to give ideas and such.
Madeline well she's my busy bee right now. The tomboy is still in her, but I am seeing the lady qualities that I've tried to teach her her whole life coming out now. Besides the festivals she's working on getting her license (we are almost there w/her hours). She's also checking on different scholarships that she needs to apply for her junior year.
We are meeting all kinds of wonderful people and learning so much lately. (I feel like I'm a preschooler absorbing the world around me like a sponge.) I will be blogging much more just because there is so much to share w/my extended family, and I don't want them to miss it either.
The only ones missing in the first photo is Wendy & Dave, but I still love the photo. Heather & Casey are still working hard with their jobs and trying to finish their college degrees. They are expecting another addition to their family in September. Our little grandson is starting to grow up on us at the ripe age of 2 1/2. He is so smart. They have really worked hard with him. His vocabulary is most impressive how many 2 yr olds can point out a hexagon and get every sound correct, unbelievable. With this advanced vocab, he has picked up reasoning skills which is good and bad. He reasoned why he didn't think Santa needed to visit him this year..."why can't my family buy me gifts?"
Brandon turned 13 this year, and although he is our baby he has brought brand new teenage challenges for me. He didn't do football this year, but is still doing basketball. He decided to focus on his academics to the fullest. He has advanced classes for his last year in junior high that will transfer over for the start of high school next year. Thinking that my baby boy will be a freshman next year still takes my breath away. His voice is starting to change, peach fuzz (that I just want to shave off in his sleep) is starting to grow, he's almost as tall as me, and lets not forget the attraction to girls is starting to set in heavily.
Madeline turned 16 this year. She has her permit to drive but is still dragging her feet about leaving the driveway in the car. She decided not to do basketball this year, which I think was harder on me than anyone. She is doing wrestlerettes, which is the girls that do the wrestling stats. For the first time ever Maddie is getting all A's in school. She is my child that has to work at her grades, so this is a huge accomplishment for her. She is boy crazy as most 16yr girls are, so we are doing the screening (meet the parents, talk with parents) before we let her go out on dates. This whole process is why I have to dye my roots faithfully every 6 weeks.
Overall we are very blessed with a great family. I couldn't be happier of all of them.
