Stand Up!

If you're on my Facebook, you know Maddy is really into VeggieTales. We recently got a new cd for the car and this song caught my attention. Before we can stand up for what we believe in, we have to know what it is we do believe in. Standing up for a belief is no easy task, but as the song says God will stand by you and He will back you up.

Wednesday Savings

I wasn't really sure if I was going to be able to stay home today or not...pretty much been that way all week. When I jumped on my work email I saw this lovely email stating my new computer had been shipped. I knew from that email I would indeed get to stay home one more day before having to go back to work. Knowing this was my last day off I had so much I wanted to do. I wanted to go grocery shopping, clean, and rest. I have no idea how I spent 3 hours getting all my coupons together for the stores but I did. It was a combination of figuring out what I wanted to get on top of grabbing the coupon. I made a list for Kroger, Bi-Lo, Publix, and I attempted Food Lion. By 1:00 I was ready to do my shopping. The problem is I attempted to find Kroger's in Georgia but I just could not find the location I had written down. I was so close to it but after a few tries I just decided it'd be best to go back home and do Bi-Lo and Publix. CVS was along the way and I wanted to attempt to do their $10 CVS gift card. I was supposed to get: (1) Big roll of Charmin toilet paper, (1) bounty paper towel-8pk, (2) cottenelle flushable wipes, (2) skittles, and a single mars bar. Well I was not thinking about it being Wednesday and this started on Sunday. I was lucky enough to find the Charmin toilet paper just as I was about to give up. I had to come up with a new plan on the spot and I think considering it was spur of the minute I did pretty good...but I probably could have done better lol. I ended up with toilet paper, 2 charmin flushable wipes, foundation, and eye shadow. I know that does not sound like it would cost very much...but oh man did it ever. Without any savings my total came to $51.37. I about died when I first saw that, but then I realized my card hadn't gotten scanned yet. The toilet paper was on sale for $9.99 (16 rolls). I also had a coupon for $.25 off charmin. The flushable wipes were on sale for $2.50, and the cosmetics were buy 1 get 1 50% off. The foundation was $14.99 and then I got the eye shadow half off for $4.39. My total came to $37.54. I had $4 ECB from a previous purchase which brought my total to $33.30. I received my $10 CVS cash, so it was like I paid $13.30 for everything. I did remember to snap a pic this time :)

According to my receipt my total savings for this trip was $16.63. Again, I'm sure there was a better deal but I was silly and did not bring my entire coupon book in and did not have time to figure out the next best deal. I never made it to Bi-Lo or Publix so I guess I will be going there on Sunday because Saturday I am in search of Kroger lol

Pray Carefully and Specifically

Friday around 3:30 p.m. my work computer just crashed on me. I was super stressed out because my production was really low. I tried everything I knew to do to fix the problem or get support to contact me back. I realized around 7:00 p.m. there was no hope in getting production or my computer fixed that day. I went to bed feeling really sick to my stomach for fear of what I would face the next week. I did the only thing I knew to do...I cried everything I had in me out and prayed. One thing I said in my prayer was how tired and stressed I was and couldn't take much more. Never did I imagine anything would really come from that prayer, but I've since learned otherwise. I did not have a good weekend at all. I was extremely stressed out about work and then I had some personal problems crop up that just did me in. I am beyond stressed...I am to the point that I can barely eat anything because my stomach is just in knots from stress. It is completely unhealthy to be this stressed out and I have tried my best to just pray and move on. I guess God has his own way of helping me to relax a little lol. Monday morning came and let me tell you, I was dreading that day. I contacted our support team again about my computer and they informed that they would put in another request but to wait to hear back. I sat and waited all day and heard nothing. I was still stressed because even though it is completely out of my control, we can still get in trouble...maybe we didn't call support enough or we didn't stay in contact with our manager enough...there's always something that is our fault regardless. Around 3:00 p.m. I started to relax a little. I was beyond exhausted from getting no sleep Saturday night on top of all this stress. I put what little relax time I gave myself and clipped a good bit of my coupons out and organized them. I still have some to go but that gets really tiring after a while. I have to say when I picked Maddy up it felt really good knowing I could take my time with her and really enjoy the time we had together instead of being in a rush to complete work or just being stressed out from the events that happened at work. We played, ate, watched "Bob," and went to bed. As soon as I put her to bed I ended up going to bed. I didn't mean to fall asleep at all, but I was so exhausted the minute I laid down I was out. I woke up at 9:48 p.m. only to fall back asleep until 11:00 p.m. I remembered I left Manny in the kitchen so I grabbed him real quick and then fell back asleep until 7:00 a.m. I woke up a few other times but those are minor details lol. I woke up this morning feeling really good. It's amazing what 11 hours of sleep can do to a person who has been sleep deprived for three years lol. I was dreading contacting support and my manager again this morning, but I can tell the stress is slowly going down a little at a time. It's been determined that I need a new computer (no kidding...i coulda told ya that lol) and so far my manager has been understanding. I have begun to enjoy a little bit of my day today. I pulled out my scrapbook and have been working on it all morning while watching lifetime movies :) I'm seeing this unexpected time off as God giving me a break that I so desperately needed. This year is definitely a year of learning about the power of prayer for me. I am constantly hearing about praying not just for our present circumstances, but to also pray for our future. That is a new concept to me. I hope you all are having a better week than mine has started out as :) 

Sunday Savings

I am going to start incorporating my coupon deals into my blog. I am still semi new to this whole coupon thing. I started last year, however, I focused on the drugstores. Today I included Bi-Lo and Publix. I normally spend $80 every other week and on the in between weeks I spend approximately $30. My first stop today was CVS. I wanted to take advantage of the Special K cereal deal, which was 3/$10 and then you get $4 ECB back. I don't have my receipt right in front of me but I believe my total came to approximately$10.80. I had $1 off coupon which brought it down to $9.80. I also used my previous $5 coupon which brought it down to $4.80. I received the $4ECB, so it was like paying $.80 for three boxes of Special K cereal.


Our next stop was Walmart. I will only be getting items that I need that aren't at sale from Wal-Mart. The only coupons I had were for Axe shower gel and Totino's pizza. I have also set a goal of letting fewer coupons expire throughout the year. No, I won't buy something just to keep the coupon from expiring, but if I think it's a good deal then I will definitely use it. Wal-Mart consisted of B1G1 free Axe shower gel, five pizza's using a $1 off coupon, two newspapers, 24 pack of mello yello, All You magazine, and two bottles of water. My total came to $26.46 ($4.97 savings)


 

Bi-Lo was our next stop.By this time Maddy was becoming very tired of shopping so it became a more hurried trip. I bought two boxes of zip-loc bags, a gallon of mayfield chocolate milk, birds eye steam fresh penne pasta, and jimmy dean snack size sausage biscuits. Total out of pocket paid was $18.05 (My total savings was $7.15). I messed up on the chocolate milk. I thought the coupon said $1 off a gallon of milk OR two half gallons of milk. Instead it said $1 off a gallon of milk AND two half gallons. If I had not gotten the milk my total would have been $7 something...lesson learned to look at the coupons closely!


Publix was our last stop, however, I cannot find my receipt and I have no idea what my total or savings were at the moment. Once I find that receipt I will come back and edit. I am also going to start taking pictures of my purchases instead of finding pics online because I think it looks better, but I think having pictures in general help put in to perspective just how much money is being saved. 

Courageous

This is not really a review on the movie, so if you  haven't seen it no worries...no spoiler alerts here lol. As many know through my Facebook, I have been anxiously awaiting this movie to come out on DVD. I received it as a Christmas gift (blu-ray at that), but still had to wait for them to release it. The movie came out on Tuesday, but I wasn't able to watch it until today. It is definitely a movie to check out! This movie basically deals with fatherhood. One might think oh, well, I'm a mom or I'm a woman in general so there's no need to watch it....WRONG! What I found amazing is starting at the beginning of the year I knew my focus was going to be Maddy. I don't generally pick out themes each year, but it was heavy on my heart. Every time this church makes a movie and I see it...the theme goes hand in hand with what is going on in my life and Courageous falls right in line. I'm not a dad obviously, but I am a parent and I'm going to be the best parent I know how and rely on God to guide me through this journey. I plan on finding scripture that deals with parenting and pray a whole bunch. I definitely feel God "stirring" in my life and I am very excited to see what He has planned for Maddy and me, but I must also admit that I'm petrified. Children are precious gifts from God and they are gifts we should never take for granted. We need to cherish them while we have them!
*Psalm 127:3* 

Toddler Review

I meant to post this on Friday, but I was too exhausted to do so. I wanted to talk about Crayola's Color Wonder series. Maddy got the mess free crayola color wonder paints and markers and paper for Christmas. Crayola definitely had toddlers in mind when they made this. The paint feels really weird...it's like a gel, but it truely is mess free. If she drops some on the floor...sure it may be a little sticky but after a wet towel the floor is good to go. It doesn't stain her clothes or her hands and the colors are so pretty. 

This is a picture me and Maddy painted and I took it with my phone, so the colors aren't as brilliant on the picture as they are in person. I am having so much fun with this product myself and I am not a big "art" person. I do have some complaints. I wish they would sell the paints individually in tubs so the children could use the different types of brushes. I also wish they would sell the paint individually because I don't want to pay $10 everytime she needs more paint. You have to buy an activity set that comes with a book, paper, and paint. She doesn't care about coloring in a book right now...she just wants to paint freestyle. I also wish they would sell the markers individually as well. I just found that they do sell the paper individually, but it's a little pricey. This will be the only way Maddy gets to paint/color (with markers) at home for a while. I cannot say enough good things about this product :)


*Note* In looking for these pictures I did find they do make refills on crayola.com. Now I have nothing negative to say about this product other than it is a bit pricey, but for the whole "no mess" concept...it's well worth it!

Spoiled

I tend to write posts similar to this whenever I get to spend the day with Maddy, but I can't help it. We had such a good day together. We got to sleep in till 8:42 am and mommy was VERY thankful. When I went in her room this morning the first question out of her mouth was, "Mommy all done with work?" it breaks my heart every time she asks. We had a few errands to run first thing and Maddy walked the entire time. It is a different experience with her walking and holding my hand. She is definitely growing up! After our errands we came home, had lunch, and took a nap. After nap time we played kitchen and watched "Bob" which is from Veggie Tales. Maddy is definitely getting closer and closer to watching movies. I still don't think I will attempt the movies until she is 3 or 3.5. Minus running errands I got the taste of what it would be like to be a stay at home mom. Yes, it is tiring and hard work but it is so worth it.
*note* this was started on Monday :)

Marley & Me & Randomness

I had every intention of posting my coupon post and then on to my thoughts on the show Teen Mom, but I now have another subject on my mind. I was sitting on the couch trying to get my coupons clipped out and put away and the movie Marley & Me was on. I love that movie up until the end. Tonight I decided to walk away as it was getting to the real sad part, but I don't think it helps cause now I feel a tremendous amount of sadness. I never knew how much of that movie I could relate to until tonight because for some reason I paid extra close attention to the dialogue. Jennifer Anniston's character was talking about how she didn't want to be one of those type of mother's who only see their kid an hour out of the day...she wanted to be a stay at home mom. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom as I have stated many times, but it is really starting to get to me now that one of the first thing out of Maddy's mouth when she sees me now is "Mommy all done with work?" I am one of those type of mother's who only gets to see their kid for an hour out of the day except for the weekends because my work schedule is just beyond chaotic right now. I hate seeing the look in her eye. Anyways, Marley is just one mess of a dog. Marley reminds me of my dog Manny. I definitely think Manny is much better than Marley, but not by much. I really need to take him to training classes but that costs money I don't have just yet. The movie is centered around the dog, but the whole point of the movie is that regardless Marley is still part of their family whom they grow to love and don't want to live without. So many people these days just put animals out on the street simply because they don't want them anymore. Well like in the movie, if a person misbehaves in your family are you just gonna throw them out too? I remember getting Manny. He was my first dog to take care of completely. I got him in December of 2007. I remember wondering the first night what I had got myself into because he kept me up every four hours and would bite me and just get into everything. I had to rearrange my schedule to include taking him out and trying to get him house trained. I remember his first Christmas and how I was so thankful to have him. I may not have always been happy with things he did, but we were a family. Then I got pregnant with Maddy and toward the end of pregnancy I couldn't take Manny out anymore cause he would sometimes pull you and I was scared he would hurt Maddy so he was put in the backyard fence. I remember bringing Maddy home and going to check on Manny and I just wanted to cry because I felt like I was neglecting him, but there was no way I could go get him and take care of him, plus a newborn, plus me. Last summer we arranged it to where he could come back inside and life was good again. I love Manny so much and it makes me sad to know that one day he too will pass away and to some that may be silly, but he really is part of the family. He is Maddy's first experience with dogs (along with all the other dogs that are currently in our household lol) and she loves to pet him and play with him. He is so good with her too. She's pulled his hair a little too hard before and is a little rough on his head and he just sits and takes it. I think it helps that I don't let her play with him by herself and I am always right there beside Manny to make sure no accidents happen, but Manny is very trustworthy. Don't get me wrong I know all animals can turn against their owners, but I'm just trying to say he is a really good dog. Everytime I see Marley & Me it makes me want to go hug Manny a little tighter and let him know I love him a little more. I wish people would quit throwing animals out just because and quit being so cruel to them. Just to clarify too, I'm not talking about people who have to find homes for pets because they have a new baby and it doesn't get along with baby...I'm talking about people who just don't care about the animal and just throws them on the street or something worse.

Changes

If this is going to be my year of change, then I thought I may as well list out what I would like to change and who knows...maybe at the end of the year all these things will have changed :)

• Be a more active blogger
• Update the look of my blog to start trying to become a for real mommy blogger:)
• Become a stay at home mom, but still have income coming in lol...ok this is a wish that will never happen but hey...gotta dream big!
• Get my bills paid off
• My weight/body (been working on this one with the Insanity program and Dalis Connell's workout tips
• Move into our own place
• Help/work with children
• Scrapbook more
• I won't complete this this year by any means but I would really like to finish school so I can earn my degree. I want to have a bachelor's in early childhood education so bad I can't see straight

These are by no means everything in my life I want to change...just some of the things. It'll be interesting to see what has actually changed at the end of the year...aww...I really miss Christmas lol. Forgive my continuous postings...I've had ideas all week but absolutely no time to blog...LOVE the weekend!!! 

Stress Test

I can't begin to describe how very thankful it is the weekend. This week has been extremely hard on me and I still have at least one more stressful week to go before hopefully things calm down a bit. My 2012 has not been the best in the world and I have felt very overwhelmed and defeated. I know the devil is on me hot and heavy so I know something is going on. I mentioned here about my focus this year being devoted to Maddy. I know it's still the beginning of the year, at the very beginning of the year I felt so different. I cannot describe how I felt but I liked it. I started feeling like I was accomplishing tasks that may not seem so big or important to you all, but for me it was. I had some financial stress thrown in here and there but I was able to get through it and keep on keepin on. It seems like this week a bomb was dropped because I just felt like everytime I tried to get up I'd get kicked right back down and it was harder with each kick. I definitely think this year is going to be a year of change for me and Maddy. I could be completely wrong...in one sense I hope I am...in another sense I hope I'm not. If what I think is going to happen (which we all know where God is concerned if we have it figured out it is most likely not going to happen lol), then I am very excited to get there. In the mean time...all this stress can go away!!

Reviews

The first thing I want to talk about is Maddy's pink Barbie Ford Mustang

There isn't a whole lot to say about this product. Kids are going to be happy with just about any vehicle they can drive. I absolutely love the car, but I do wish the doors actually opened. I did a lot of reviews on the different kind of cars and for the money, this car was the best. Kids are able to go frontwards and backwards (Maddy found how to reverse it on her own lol). The radio has some pretty awesome sounds that play. I noticed on the reviews a lot of people complained about not being able to go on grass. So far I've only experieneced the wheels spin out when the grass is wet or if she stops on a hill. Other than that we have had no problems with the tires spinning out. The seat is adjustable and has plenty of room to grow with her. I can't speak to the battery just yet because we haven't really had a long time to play with it. I know it takes 18 hours for the battery to charge and so far we have not ran out of battery. There is no storage which is also somewhat of a bummer, but Maddy absolutely has a ball playing in her car. Bottom line would I buy this car again? Absolutely!!! Great buy for the price :)
Oh yeah, the putting it together part lol. Well, let's just say thank goodness for help lol. It's not that bad, but it was more time consuming than I had planned. The instructions are pretty clear, however, they seem to make you do extra work by putting something together and then the next step saying oh you should have put this on prior to putting that on so you have to take what you just put on off to put the part the instructions skipped. I would imagine all cars similar to this will have the same kind of preparation time.

Maddy Facts

Today is a day I want to remember for a while. I learned that Maddy would be transitioning into her new classroom at school. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really is. This classroom she is going to begins the "preschool" phase of her daycare. They have actual centers and she will be doing lots of learning. On her sheet today it says she made a gingerbread man out of glue and stuck cinnamon on it and they talked about how it felt and smelled. I was in such shock to be picking her up from her new room today that it kinda made me do a flashback on her life lol. I know she is too young to be doing that already, but it helped me realize that her behavior has really changed...unless this is just a phase lol. I realized that her meltdowns are happening less frequently and when she has one 95% of the time it's because I have kept her up too long. Sure we have fits if she has to do something she doesn't want to or if I don't do something on her time, but they really are starting to diminish. This week she has allowed me to change her diaper and get her dressed and that in itself is amazing. She hasn't been running out the door at daycare when we leave...she simply walks out like a big girl. I feel like with her beginning her new classroom that she is no longer my toddler anymore, but becoming a little girl. I am amazed at things she has picked up on or just knows. The other day she wanted me to hand her one of her foam mats and it was the shape of a 9...she told me that was nine. I was amazed. Her vocabulary has just taken off and I get so tickled at her because she gets so excited about things and is trying to tell us but her brain is going much faster than her little mouth will go. Here is a video I made this past Sunday...don't be too surprised that she actually has pants on in this one lol

I know this post is pretty useless to most people, but it's something I wanted to document for myself. I've definitely been having mommy emotions and I really believe my little baby is turning into this beautiful little girl. 


Throughout the year I would like to work on organization within my blog. I am such a random person that I just start typing whatever comes to my mind and I'm sure it can be hard to follow. I've also decided to start doing some reviews on the toys Maddy has to share what I like and don't like about them. I hope you all are having a wonderful new year and thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

2012

As we entered into 2012 I quickly realized what my focus of the year would be...Maddy of coarse. I know that sounds really strange because as her mom I should always be focused on Maddy no matter what year it is...and I assure you she has always been my focus. I am entering in a new journey as a parent and wanted to share. As I've posted before last year my mom got me this calender that had encouraging messages on it called Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On. This year she got me a daily calender called The Power of a Praying Parent. I am constantly questioning myself...did I make the right decision, did I handle the problem ok, etc. I question myself even more when people tell me I should have done this or I need to do that. I'll never forget when I first had her and took her to Babies R Us. I had her wrapped in a blanket and then put her in my coat and the cashier told me I was freezing her. Little did that cashier know Maddy is a hot natured child and she would just pour sweat and fuss if I dressed her too warm. There was plenty of body heat to keep her warm and it really upset me when the cashier said something. Another time was at the mall...Maddy would not keep socks on no matter what. I had her in her stroller and this woman comes up to me and said, "You need to get some socks on that poor baby...it's cold!" I just kinda laughed it off but there again...what right did she have to tell me what is best for my child? I've had several people try to tell me what I need to do with Maddy and it's quite frustrating. I began to wonder if this only happened to me but apparently once you become a parent it just gives the whole world the right to tell you how to raise your child. I've decided to tune out the rest of the world and listen to the only one that matters...Jesus. I hope that I can become a consistent praying parent and I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this year. It's amazing watching Maddy grow and see her become her own person. She is so super smart and funny and of coarse she is just beautiful! She gave me a compliment the other day and it just made me want to cry.  Her exact words were, "Mama pretty" Talk about just wanting to cry lol. I am going to add some random pics of Maddy just because :)

Goodbye 2011

It is so hard for me to believe another year has come and gone. When I look back at 2011 it all seems to be a blur to me. I know I've had some lows...some of the newest ones on my mind is my transmission and IRS audit, but I can only remember most of the highs. I put on my facebook status that 2011 was a pretty good year and I quickly realized how insensitive that was of me. A lot of people in my area lost their homes and loved ones in the April 27 tornadoes. A lot of people have either lost their jobs or couldn't find a new one. I do realize the hardships 2011 has brought many people, but for me personally it hasn't really been that bad of a year. In February we celebrated my niece's 9th birthday, March we celebrated my 28th birthday, April we we saw all the damage from the tornado and I went back to school, May we celebrated Mother's Day and my sister's birthday as well as take a mini vacation down to Panama City Beach, FL., June we went to J-Fest, July we celebrated my mom's birthday and the fourth of July and went to Lake Winnie, August we celbrated my stepdad's birthday and my mom and step dad's 10th anniversary as well as go to Dollywood and Splash Country, September we went on our first cruise and celebrated Maddy's 2nd birthday, October was Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, and then there was December...lots of Christmas-y enjoyment the whole month.
As you can see from the video up above Maddy wanted to wish everybody a happy new year in her own way :) I am seeing more and more everyday just how smart she really is...and she's only two! Every New Years we have to get tiara's and necklaces to ring in the new year...is Maddy

Here is mine...

After we went out and bought our decorations we came back home to enjoy the nice weather while it was here...

How cute is she sportin her glasses lookin all grown up??? I am hoping 2012 is just as good as 2011 and would be ok if it were even better! Every year will have it's ups and downs but as long as you trust in God to take care of you, the lows are easier to deal with. Happy New Year everybody from Maddy and me :)