To Deal or Not to Deal

Free items purchased with coupons.

Picture this:

Young parents walk into a grocery store on a Saturday evening dressed nicely from a church function to get the early edition of the Sunday paper, baby in tow. The mom gets the papers(she's a couponer) and is making sure the coupon inserts are inside(some crazies steal them and I don't want to buy a paper if they aren't there). The dad asks the mom what she's doing, and so does the cashier. The mom responds politely, then proceeds to buy the papers. The young mother attempts to explain why she does this to the cashier who responds with something like:

"I guess if you buy that kind of stuff."(cashier)
"What do you mean?"(mom)
"Well, we don't really eat all those prepared foods."(cashier)
"Well, we didn't used to."(says the shocked mother who really doesn't know what to say)

This was the jist of my conversation with the very presumptuous cashier the other night. I was totally flabergasted. I almost laughed out loud with the picture she must have of me at home making a frozen dinner with a side of canned soup for me and my husband while my baby watched on from a bouncer. Little does she know...

• My baby wears cloth diapers.
• I have chickens in my backyard that feed us their eggs.
• I have 2 other healthy, veggie eating children at home.
• I grind my own wheat.
• I make my own bread.
• I grow a garden and can every summer.
• We had whole wheat, chicken & veggie stuffed pizza pockets for dinner made from scratch.

And then I thought about how I used to think that was what couponing was about. Some things I have found out though, are there is more to coupons than prepared food and cereal(although my kids love eating the free cereal I get). I now can buy Gold Medal flour and C&H sugar for cheaper than the off brands. I can get Campbell's cream soups for cheaper than the off brands. I can get nicer dish soap and laundry soap and deodorant and toilet paper for way cheaper now. I got lightbulbs and pads and cleaning wipes and air fresheners for free. I even got a gallon of organic milk one time for around $1.29. I was very skeptical about couponing for a long time, but now I know that it really does work and it's not just about getting free Bagel Bites(which I now know don't even taste that good anyway).

For more info on couponing, here are the sites I use.

• www.frugallivingnw.com - matches coupons with sales for good deals
• www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/coupon.php - look up coupons for things you are planning on buying anyways
• http://athriftymom.com/ - another site to match coupons with sales

Allen's Birthday

Allen just turned 4. Only 4? and 4 already? He's a spunky kid. I hope he always keeps his zest for life and I hope I can keep up with him as he grows. We kept it low key for his birthday. He wanted to ride the carousel at the mall for his birthday, so we invited a friend to come along. They had a train too, so they got to ride that as well. Then we had some cookies and he got to play. After dinner we went to the park as a family and we had a blast. Then we went to the store so he could pick out his main present, a backpack. He wanted a motorcycle and a shotgun for his birthday, but he settled for the backpack, a balloon, and a toy sword. He had a happy day!


He's loving it!

Smile for the camera. (sorry for the blur)

Blowing out the candles.

Do you see the hands reaching for his presents?

Still having fun with them the next morning.

They Grow So Fast

I love having a baby around. Frank is a great baby. He only cries when he needs something. He smiles and laughs a lot. His brothers adore him. It's hard to believe it has been almost 4 months, and yet its hard to imagine life without him. Here are a few pics of our growing baby.

1 month

6 weeks

3 months

3 1/2 months

Happy Mothers Day

Ode to My Boys

I've been trying to figure out a balance in raising my boys. The loudness, the constant movement(running, bouncing, etc.), and then there's the dirt. I've been trying to let go and just let them be boys. Yesterday they were playing outside and I could hear them laughing so I just let them play, not knowing what they were doing. At one point it hailed and they didn't come in, but I thought I would just let them keep playing uninterrupted by my own paranoia. When I was going to make lunch I thought I would check to see what they were doing. When I opened the patio door I saw Roger elbows deep in mud. I didn't get angry(I remember the fun I had with mud as a kid) and now I know that I need to designate a mud area in the backyard so they don't play in my pea bed.

Allen's artwork.

The bathtub during cleanup.

Sometimes I get so exasperated with the never ending busyness of my boys. But boys will be boys and I love them and their energy and exuberance for life that I'm sure will fade all too soon.