The Fair's A-Comin'!

I had quite a few people ask me this morning about our frugal experiences at the Pima County Fair.

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The fair runs from April 15-25 this year.

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We generally buy the 10 Rides for 10 Dollars coupons from Fry's.

It's the cheapest way to get those kiddos on the rides.

I called Fry's this morning & they ARE selling them again this year.

They will be on sale there until the day before the fair starts.

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If you combine those coupons with the family night where admission & parking are only $2, you can have a lot of fun without breaking the bank.

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So if you're excited for the fair, or just curious, go to the Pima County Fair website & check it out.

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See ya at the fair!

Gross, Seriously Gross

People have asked me why I sometimes take Jack's hearing aids off when we eat.

I won't even bother to explain.

Emma & cohorts trying to "catch the rain!"

I was OK with it until they started licking the window.

Kids are, as Frank says, dis-GUS-ting!

Cheap, Cheap Games

I'm going to have to find some time to get to Toys R Us this week.

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This deal looks like a great way to stock up on games for birthdays this year.

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Go here for the scoop.

I HATE Wal-Mart!

And the best part of couponing is that I don't have to go there. Ever.

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For real, I haven't been to Wal-Mart in 7 weeks.

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Hip hip hooray!

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Safeway today:

Grand Total: $6.32

I've been taking pictures like this for the past few weeks, mostly to document to Andy how I'm spendin' his cash.

I want to document it here for myself.

Now I just have to find a place to put all this stuff. I've been stocking up the last couple of weeks, & I'm officially done buying cleaning products for the forseeable future. Does having a year's supply of deodorant & toilet cleaner make me weird? Oh, & shampoo too.

Well, I guess I'm weird then.

Stealth Shopping

Picture this:

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1 Mommy

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3 Crazy Kiddos

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1 Day to Get it All Done

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This last Friday I needed to go to Home Depot, Fry's, Safeway, Kohl's, & the Post Office. Wonder of wonders, Daddy's actually working a DAY shift right now (knock on wood). So with the big guy unavailable, I have actually had to run errands & work my life around having 3 kids with me ALL DAY LONG.

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Not something I'm exactly used to. Let's just put it this way, in the almost 10 years I've been married, Andrew has worked a "normal" day shift job for exactly 6 months. I'm used to him being around during the day & gone all evening or night. Our family is totally accustomed to working around a Daddy that sleeps all day & works all night, but errands on my own? What kind of world is this?

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I will skip past the total disruption of our dinnertime, evening, & bedtime routines (we love having Daddy home, by the way) & get on to the shopping escapade.

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I am not ashamed to say that I dumped some inappropriately postag-ed letters in the drop box outside of the P.O. because I didn't want to go in with the kids. They haven't come back & my water is still on, so I'm calling it good.

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We raced through Safeway with the little ones hanging onto the cart for dear life. Home Depot was just as frantic & even faster. Just imagine me, 3 kids, 1 cart, & 6 10-foot sections of PVC that wouldn't fit in said cart. Classic, for sure.

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Now we come to the "stealth" part. I needed to get outfits for the kids for Easter. Kohl's was having one of their super-sale, e-mail coupon, manic type of sales that I usually avoid with all my might. But, I also have a "my kids won't match every other kid in Tucson for the holidays" mentality that I myself don't even understand. Any other day- who cares? But for some reason, if it's a special day, no matchy-matchy for me.

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Kohl's isn't exactly exclusive or special, but they sell out of stuff so quickly that almost no one gets the same thing as anybody else. And hey, I had a coupon! I actually went to Kohl's on Thursday with no kids, but the coupon-abiding staff wouldn't let me use it. However, the wasted trip did let me scope out the landscape & make a plan of attack for Friday.

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On Friday morning, in the door we come like we're on a mission for the military. Right to the rack & BOOM! My plan is destroyed. They're all out of the outfits I had picked out for the boys. Seriously, less than 18 hours later. Crap. OK, moving on to Emma's dress while I regroup.

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"Emma, what's that over there?" I ask as I snatch the last size 6 off the rack & stuff it in the shopping bag. Whew!

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And then I did something I've never done before. I turned my kids loose in the toy section to play to their heart's content. Luckily the boy's racks were between them and any exit. I quickly match up some shorts & tops & then head for the customer service desk next to the bathroom.

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"No, kiddos, don't follow Mommy, keep playing!"

I am cringing even as I type this.

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Miracle of miracles, there was no line & I convince the bored sales girl to check me out while enduring a lecture about how the CS desk is not for this purpose, but she can do it just this once, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Who cares, girl! I'm on a stealth mission.

Pick up the pace & stuff that dress in a bag already!

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I am keeping an eye on the Merriman maniacs the entire time, so please don't think that I was totally remiss in my Mommy duties.

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And then comes a problem that I didn't anticipate. They've been playing with toys. The toys are clearly marked "SALE" & my 6 year-old has learned to read. Knowing her Mommy, she knows that I never buy anything unless it's on sale, & the toys are on sale, so this must mean that Mommy is going to buy them toys! Yea!

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Crap.

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What to do? What to do? OK, here's the plan- Burger King!

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I'm a bad mommy to bribe my kids, but desperate times call for desperate measures, & 2 kids meals cost a lot less than a Cars super-duper race track & a wedding day Barbie horse & carriage set.

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So we hit Burger King for a quick lunch (that later gave me food poisoning, FYI) and zipped through Fry's just in time to head home for nap time.

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I'm tired just recounting this story. Maybe next time I'll just pay a babysitter.

For the Anti-Couponers

OK, girls. Here's a deal that even people that despise coupons can score on.

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Go HERE to see how you can get FREE Oscar Mayer hot dogs at Fry's this week.

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I just tried this out today & it worked like a charm. I did the hot dogs in 1 transaction & then turned around & used my $8 in Catalinas (& a few other coupons) to help bring my next order from $64 down to $2.68.

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And by the way- you can freeze these hot dogs for like, forever. So don't worry about them going bad in the fridge.

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Good luck, frugal sisters!

Daddy's Boys

We LOVE our Daddy!

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If Daddy is around, we have to be as near to him as possible.

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He plays games with us.

He reads to us.

He lets us eat his ice cream sandwich.

He takes us to Monster Jam!

He even lets us help with the manly task of grilling.

We can't wait for the Father/Son campout in May.
Boys Rule!

Follow The...Wait, What?

The Primary was learning "Follow the Prophet" today in singing time.

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This is Frank's interpretation:

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"Emma's Not a Prophet. She Doesn't Listen!"

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A Primary classic for sure.

I Need A Raise

What is the going rate for nurses these days?

$20 an hour?

$40 an hour?

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Well, however much they get paid, I need a little slice of that pie.

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I feel more like a medical worker than a mommy lately.

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Just a little glimpse of my day:

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8 PM:

Emma:

Eye Drops

Pulmicort

Cranberry Juice/Pills

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Frank:

Eye Drops

Albuterol

Pulmicort

Prednisolone

Amoxicillin

Triamciniolone Ointment

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Jack:

Eye Drops

Ear Drops

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Andy:

Eye Drops

Cold Medicine

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You don't even want to see what the rest of the day entails.

I actually just got done drawing up a dosage calendar so that I don't miss anything!

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If you can't tell, we had pinkeye at our house. E & Dad actually got it, F & E are being medicated to prevent it.

Yippee.

(Don't worry friends & family! We were past the contagious stage before we saw anyone last week/weekend!)

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And both of the boys have ear infections. Frank's was diagnosed at his appointment today with his new asthma doctor, who was also concerned about his eczema, hence the cream. Then she submitted 6 new prescriptions to the pharmacy to get his asthma under control & hooked us up with a brand new shiny nebulizer. How many of those things do I need?

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Looking at this list, it seems clear that this winter has been hard on our family. And it also makes me look like a crazy, medication-addicted maniac. I promise that I'm not worshiping at the altar of prescription meds. I'd like to have some all-natural home remedy that would magically help my kids feel better. But the fact is that they're sick & I haven't found any good homeopathic ways to get them better.

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I have had all sorts of natural remedies proposed to me & none of them have worked so far. So we'll stick with the good 'ol tested on lab rats, made in a lab, synthetic stuff that heals what ails us. (Unless you all have any better ideas?)

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I guess the silver lining to all of these clouds is that Mommy is actually well enough to make sure everyone gets their proper doses of medication. I have managed to remain infection & cootie free, even though my hands are cracked & raw from washing them so much.

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Who needs health care reform? I'm supporting the entire system with my co-pays alone!

Winter in AZ

I love this time of year.

I can start kicking the kids out of the house in the afternoons.
No, not to get jobs, to play of course! This was them saying "Mom, can we go out & play soccer?"
And Mom says "Sure, you can go play soccer!"
HOLD IT!!!
Upon closer inspection I see a problem with Emma's shinguards. What a goofball.

Tag-Team Tickling

This is a common occurence at our house.

The pure joy on their faces gives me the warm fuzzies.

Oh, to be a child again.....

"Language Development"

We are constantly counseled to sing, label obects, identify people, and basically just talk, talk, talk to help Jack build his vocabulary.

Uh, why? This kid has well over 100 words in his vocabulary. (They make me count them all!) Obviously I'm not too worried about his development at this point, but it's still fun to play games & sing the old favorites.

Jack's favorite part of this song is the "tall, tall, tall" right in the middle. I like how he yells "tall!" all on his own toward the end of the song.

Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry it's so dark!

Memorable Moments

This just happened about 3 minutes ago, and I'm posting it now because I don't ever want to forget my son's great faith at such a young age.

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Frank has been struggling with having nightmares at night. It's been going on for weeks, but he usually crawls into Emma's bed at night to be with her, so we don't find out until the next morning that he had a bad night.

This morning:

Mom: Frank, why were you in Emma's bed this morning?

Frank: Because I had a bad dream last night.

Mom: What was your dream about?

Frank: I don't remember, but it was scary!

Mom: I'm sorry, baby.

Frank: Mom, remember when I got a cough drop & I was coughing & Dad blessed me? I think he should do that for me.

Mom: Why Frank? What do you think that would do for you?

Frank: It would make me feel better & I wouldn't have bad dreams. Maybe he could bless me with his hands on my head.

Oh, the faith of our little ones.

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I also just remembered that a friend used lavender on her daughter's pillow to quell bad dreams. We'll try that tonight, too & let you know how he does.

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Somehow I think that he'll be just fine.

These Latter Day souls are amazing, aren't they?