Save $1.50 On Huggies!

Potty training has begun, but I still use diapers for night time and naps. Its been hard for me to find Huggies coupons lately. Here is one for $1.50 off ANY ONE Huggie's Diapers. Better stock up!

Don't forget to check out my Potting Training Diaries!

Tax Time! I use H&R Block At Home. Its Free and Its Works.

Its tax time again. This year there are not many options. I got a call from a tax company the other day telling me that no company will be able to do the "rapid refund" this year. So they were offering me $30 off of their services. For the past five years I have used H&R Block At Home. Its free and it works. Before that, I had always gone into and H&R Block office.

You can either file yourself online with the IRS or through the mail, or you can use a well known and trusted company with a point and click interface. They will ask you all the relevant questions and there are help screens for each and every one.

No matter your filing status, H&R Block online can help you get all of your deductions. Guaranteed.

DIY Valentine's Day Gift for Kids

This Valentine's Day let's focus on what Valentine's Day is all about. LOVE. With a little bit of preparation, you don't have to spend a fortune on Valentine's Day. We all know that the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart. Here is a great DIY Valentine's Day Gift for kids!

Mod Podge a Photo onto Wood!

If your kids are like mine, they LOVE to see pictures of themselves. What better way to preserve a memory of Valentine's Day than to give them something they can keep forever?

I found these tutorials online and I hope you find inspiration from them. Think hearts and kisses!

The Photo to Wood Transfer from Whollykao.com 

This one has step-by-step photos

How to Transfer a Photo to a Block of Wood from petapixel.com

This one is a video tutorial

You can edit your photo before hand or add mod podge elements after. I made this one using PicMonkey, its free!

Remember that your words will be backwards so you'll have to flip it first! Another good idea would be a family photo or a picture of all of your kids together. Get creative.

If you want to think BIG I heard that Walgreens.com is offering an 11x14 print for .25 cents right now. I haven't checked it out yet but think of the possibilities! Update ~ expires 2/2/13

If you're not feeling crafty, you can always order photo gifts online. Shutterfly is offering up to 50% off.

Shutterfly Special Offers. Save up to 50% on selected items such as photo books, calendars, wall art, photo gifts, and more. Offers change frequently.

And you can use coupon code SHIP30 for Free Shipping on orders $30 or more.

(Why yes, these are affiliate links. Gotta make a ~small~ living :)

Ology - 100% Tree Free Bath Tissue Review

You may have noticed a new brand on the shelves at your local Walgreens. Its Ology and its available exclusively at Walgreens. 

Walgreens took note of the fact that more and more consumers are becoming concerned with the chemicals in their home products and they took action. 

The result is the Ology brand.

“Walgreens is proud to be leading the charge by providing ‘Ology,’ the first nationally accessible and affordable line of household liquid products free of harmful chemicals available in our stores,” said Joe Magnacca, president of daily living products and solutions for Walgreens. “Ology reflects our dedication to innovation, our constant drive to improve our customers’ quality of life, and our ongoing commitment to help people get, stay and live well.”

Link to Press Release

In order to get the word out about their new line of products, they sent a group of bloggers like myself a $15 Walgreens gift card in order to buy an Ology product and try it at home. I was indecisive about which product to try, but luckily fate stepped in and I ran out of toilet paper. Problem solved, I purchased the Ology Soft and Strong Bath Tissue in the 12 pack. The first thing that popped out at me is the big bubble that say 100% tree free.

Yep, I said TREE FREE. Traditional bath tissue is made from trees that can take up to 35 years to renew. The new Ology tissue is made from sugarcane husk which would have been disposed of and bamboo which regenerates in as little as six months!

Every time I see stacks of notebook paper I wonder to myself how many trees are being cut down in order to make them. I never really thought about toilet paper in that way, but the folks over at Ology did and they did something about it! 

Not only is it made from readily renewable sugarcane husk and bamboo but it is whitened with H2O2 which is a non-chlorine bleach. It is also septic safe and biodegradable.

As the package indicates, Ology Soft and Strong bath tissue is both soft and strong. I'm glad I got this opportunity. Their motto even resembles mine:

I choose to live well, therefore, I choose Ology.

Perfect!

You can buy Ology at your local Walgreens or online at Walgreens.com.

Disclosure: I was sent a Walgreen’s gift card for the purposes of obtaining Ology products to review. No other compensation was offered or received. No suggestions or requests to select specific products within the Ology line were offered. I was in no way obligated to write a positive review and all opinions are mine and mine alone.

Free Mr. Food eCookbook!

Sign up for the Mr. Food Test Kitchen Recipe eNewsletter and receive "Easy Weeknight Dinners: 20 Recipes for the Busy Cook" free.

The Potty Training Diaries

Ladies and gentlemen.....potty training has begun. Finally! My youngest just turned three. I've always heard that they will let you know when they are ready and my other two did. So I waited...and waited....and waited. She was not interested a bit. "I don't wanna go potty!" That was always the response I got when I asked if she wanted to go to the potty "like a big girl". So I stopped asking.

After two and a half years of diapers and six months of pull-ups, we have laid them aside! (cue heavenly music) We are now on day four of this endeavor, still a work in progress, but the end is now in sight! I would like to provide a run down of what has gone on so far because I wish I could find something I could relate to prior to this.

Preparation ~

While I am NOT as organized as I am about to sound, this is what I did to prepare.

Step one - Run really low on pull-ups and DO NOT go out and buy more. I live in a rural area, the nearest Walmart is 35 minutes away so we plan our trips accordingly. This was a BIG step because I recognized that I was using the pull-ups as a crutch just as much as she was.

Step two - Get the big girl panties (back) out. We bought them a long time ago but I would get so discouraged when she would pee in them almost immediately that we gave up too quickly. She didn't care a bit that she was soaking wet.

Step three - Keep the washing machine open and empty. This step is very important. You do NOT want to get caught with poopy panties and no place to put them. (On a side note, my laundry has stayed caught up all week!)

Step four - Take a deep breath and jump right in! Take off the pull-up and put the rest away, to be used only for night time.

You'll want to make sure you don't have many places to go during this transition. Staying home has worked pretty well for us. We've only had one outing since it began and I planned for that by limiting the drinks and taking her to the potty at all three stops.


DAY ONE -
The pull-ups came off and the panties went on. I have learned to tell her its time to go potty, DON'T ASK! If I ask, she says no. We went to the potty about twenty times on that first day. It seems that when she had a pull-up or diaper on she just went a little at a time. I know this because even when she peed in the floor she still had some left when we went and sat on the potty.

The times that she went when I took her was a very big deal. I am not ashamed to admit that I offered her M&M's with every success (don't judge me, it worked).

I tried not to make a big deal when she wet her panties even though I was screaming on the inside (this is never gonna work!) We just cleaned it up, sat on the potty and put on a clean pair of panties.

I waited until the evening to wash all the panties we went through but I kept soapy water in the machine so I could toss them in there throughout the day.

Stats for DAY ONE - Three puddles in the floor and a half a bag of M&M's but she pooped in the potty for the first time!

DAY TWO -
We started first thing in the morning, straight to the potty. We took off the night's pull-up and put on the panties. It was a slow start, she seemed to forget about it and reverted back to "I don't care where I pee, even if it is running down my leg."

She even came to tell me that she peed in the floor. Then she had the nerve to ask for some M&M's! Nope! "No M&M's because you peed in your panties instead of in the potty. You have to tell Mommy when you have to go". Her immediate response "I need to go potty".

We had one more puddle in the floor by the end of the day, no big deal.

What was a big deal was the POOP IN THE PANTIES! It was AWFUL! NOT like changing a diaper! Try getting FULL panties off a three year old amidst gagging and retching. She STEPPED IN IT while I was trying to carefully pull them down. I got them off, used about ten baby wipes and hosed her down in the tub. Despite all my misgivings after this horrific event, I still went and got another pair of panties and was BEYOND grateful to have the washing machine ready for just such an occurrence.

Stats for DAY TWO - Two puddles, one poop and about a quarter of a bag of M&M's (she is starting to forget about our M&M deal!)

DAY THREE -
Day three went very well. She only peed in her panties once and actually seemed upset that she did! She's starting to realize that it is frowned upon to have a pee puddle at your feet. I was actually starting think that she would never get to this point but it happened! I assured her that "accidents" were okay and we went straight to the potty where she finished her business. She had actually tried to stop the flow this time!

I caught her "I'm about to poop" face today before the horror of horrors happened again so it was a great day!

Stats for DAY THREE - ONE puddle!

DAY FOUR - The first outing
We used up our last pull-up last night so we HAD to get to the store. I made sure she hadn't drank anything for about an hour and took her to the potty several times before we left (she only went once but I needed to make sure.)

We stopped by my mom's first to see if she needed anything from town and I took her to the bathroom there. (She didn't go) We went from there to Walgreens where she did use the potty (score!) and then we went on to Kroger's. We weren't there long and she still hadn't had anything to drink so we were good. We had one more stop at my mom's pharmacy and since she went to the potty there I thought it was safe to give her a drink for the ride home. Our first outing and NO ACCIDENTS!

In fact, no puddles today at all! She was a little damp once and came to tell me she needed to go! Things are going great!

Throughout this whole experience we have made a really big deal every time she actually used the potty. When family members come over we make sure to let them know that she is "a big girl now" and everyone tells her now great she's doing. We call her daddy everyday (he works out of town) to let him know how its going and so that he can congratulate her too. I was starting to wonder if this day would ever come.

I'll keep this post updated on our progress but its looking really good so far. Anybody else want to share any potty training tips and/or horror stories? Comments are greatly appreciated!

Check out the Potty Training Diaries Part 2 for an update!

Free Nursing Cover ~ Just pay shipping!

FREE Nursing Cover from Udder Covers! Just pay shipping! I checked this out before posting and shipping is $11.90 and they are really nice! There are 6 styles to choose from and they also have nursing accessories. This would be a great baby shower gift! Click Here and use promo code "BABYSAVINGS"

Monday - Bathrooms

I currently sitting amid piles of moving boxes and general messiness. I'm still gonna keep up with my new basic lists.

I know I need to work on my photography skills, but you get the basic idea. Here are my cleaning goals for the day.

Now must get away from the computer and get some check marks on these.

Confessions

I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just go ahead and put it this way: the whole "going green" thing ain't workin out. It's just not me. While I do like the idea of living more sustainably, going completely green isn't the way I'm going to be going about it. I'll try for a little explanation on what happened..

This year was pretty traumatic to say the least. My dad was diagnosed with liver cancer and given weeks to live and my mom had a minor heart attack. During this time I had an epiphany. I did lots of research because we were so frustrated with the way the doctors handled the situations. It was nothing out of the ordinary in the medical profession really, I suppose it was just because it was my parents that I took note.

My dad's doctor basically walked in and told him (on my birthday) that he had liver cancer and should get his affairs in order. My mom's doctor did a procedure (stints) and sent her home with a standard pamphlet on how to live from now on. Really?

So I started my own research on natural cancer cures and what to do after a heart attack. I went pretty deep. So far in fact that I determined that we were going to start eating all natural, healthy, meatless, vegan even. I also learned a lot about all the dangerous chemicals that are in our everyday products such as cleaning products, laundry detergent, even bath soaps.

I got really excited, everyone was gonna change everything. I looked up new ingredients and found recipes for natural cleaning products, shampoos, soaps, everything. Then, to my complete and utter shock, nobody else was interested. I visited my parents to find my mom frying pork chops and my dad eating endless bowls of reese's cups. I was rather confused. Why wasn't everyone as excited about this as I was?

Slowly I began to lose interest too. Although I've learned alot and still have an awareness of what we're eating and using to clean, I've realized that I want to eat steaks every now and again and I want my Dawn dishwashing liquid. I will continue to look for ways to live a better life, but not at the expense of my own sanity. It really was beginning to drive me crazy.

My dad passed away on December 3, 2012. I have to admit that until the very end, I thought he was gonna pull through even though every sign pointed against it. My mom, who had moved in to take care of him, has since moved into my place and I am now living at my dad's house. I still have a lot to "process". For now, I'm going to concentrate on what I know and who I am rather than trying to be something that I am not. Life is too short for that.

So, who am I?

Part of who I am is a stay at home wife and mom. My husband works out of town (painting and construction type work) so its just me and the kids the majority of the time. We live paycheck to paycheck and have for awhile. We live in a two bedroom mobile home in a very small town in middle Tennessee. I have three girls, one of whom chose to live with her dad. They are 15, 6, and 2 years old so I get a little bit of everything. I also have an 8 year old stepson that we don't get to see very much.

My husband and I are complete and total opposites with not much in common, but I love him all the same. We got married on the 4th of July in 2009 at my sister's house.

My 15 year old, Marion, is a captain on the color guard and is a sophomore in high school. Madilyn is 6 and is a peewee cheerleader (she was homecoming princess this year :), Mya is my 2 year old, she will be three in January and is still not potty trained and takes a bottle before bed. We are working on both of those issues but I would also like to add that she is super smart, if I do say so myself, and a fabulous dancer.

I have a kitten, who has yet to be named, and a dog named Pipes that I just inherited from my dad. I think he misses him as much or more than we do.

My car is a clunker, the reverse doesn't work, the driver side window won't roll down, the windows leak and it needs new brakes. I can't remember what kind it is off the top of my head, but its red. (I think its a Pontiac)

I have a big sister who is also a fellow blogger at Down South Savings. She is much more committed to blogging than I have been, hope you'll check out her blog. She has 4 kids, all about a year apart, the oldest is 15. She has 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 hamsters, fish, frogs, horses, goats, chickens, and a husband and yet she manages to have an active blog.

I still smoke. I've tried quitting and have been unsuccessful so far.

I've gained about 15 pounds this past year (that's an estimate, I rarely weigh myself). I don't obsess over my weight but when I notice weight gain I do try to get some exercise in. On my "green" journey I discovered yoga was a pretty good fit for me and intend to work more into my schedule.

As for the other "parts" of who I am, I could go into the philosophical answer (which I intend to do here - My Journey to Spirituality) - yes I know there is nothing there, seems I'm a bit of a procrastinator.

Things that I like are entering sweepstakes and giveaways which I do more of here - Playing for Sweeps, or at least I will once I get myself back on track.

I also like organizing and am working on an updated version of my household notebook which I will be posting soon. I like gardening, I'm definitely an amateur but I enjoy doing it. I like decorating and DIY projects and will be focusing more on that in upcoming posts. I'm also very frugal (not always by choice) and I hope I'll be able to share some ideas on that here as well. You will be seeing some changes and reconstruction going on around here, all for the better (at least that's the goal).

Some of you may be asking if I feel like I've failed. My answer is a simple No. I feel many things right now and failure is not among them. One of the things that I do feel is relief after having written this post. I feel like some pressure has been taken off and it is a good feeling.

I thank you for stopping by.