our family happenings

Traveling and Diet

2010-09-30T21:21:00.004-04:00

The primary reason that I don't blog is that I don't really know what exactly to blog about. We are no longer fostering, aren't planning on adopting right now, gave up couponing...therefore I have nothing interesting to share. I guess I'll try really hard just to write about my boring life.

We have a leave date that is coming up faster than I can believe. The preparations are crazy hard. We've gone back and forth about towing our van, trading our van in for a mini van to tow, buying a really old cheap tow vehicle, and towing a trailer. At this point we would prefer to tow nothing, but in the process of doing our due diligence to prepare for towing we discovered that our motor home is at maximum weight BEFORE loading anything into it. We still have some leeway with combined vehicle weight (motor home plus whatever it's towing) so a trailer loaded with our things will lower the weight of the motor home. See? Getting ready is going to be the death of me!

By the way, I've tried to contact the manufacturer regarding the discrepancy with the weight, and three people told me that it was a great question and promised to transfer me to someone who could answer it, but the trail ended at a machine and thus far no one has returned my call.

Everyone wants to know where we are headed first. At this point, I have no idea. Weather is going to play a huge role in the decision, as will the date that we actually leave (we just dropped a commitment that may allow us to leave a week earlier than planned, IF we can be ready in time).

The vegan diet has been going amazingly well. My food cravings have completely disappeared, and Gary and I have both lost at least 10 pounds each. I had some issues with soy so I've had to take it out of my diet (can't give up my Bragg's though!) so figuring out what I'm going to eat and what I'm going to feed the kids is still a challenge, but there is really nothing that I'm missing.

Life is good!

Traveling and Diet

2010-09-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

Recipes

2010-08-25T20:56:00.002-04:00

Gary and I have been eating vegan for the past few days. Things have been going surprisingly well. The new eating plan has been far simpler than I expected, and we have been greatly enjoying our new foods. Really!

I was typing out some recipes for a friend, and thought they were good enough to share. If you are happily consuming animal products and oil, then skip the first two.

Whole Wheat Vegan Zucchini Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups shredded zucchini (we used more)
2/3 cup apple sauce
2 eggs (we used 2 Tbls flax meal mixed with 6 Tbls water)
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Mix together, pour into two greased bread pans, bake at 350* for 55 minutes
This makes a very dense, thick and moist bread.

Black Bean Burgers
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
2 slices whole grain bread
spices to taste (We used a grill seasoning)

Grind the bread in the food processor, take out the bread crumbs and put the beans in to process. Mix together with your spices. Make into patties and fry in a little oil. We served these with sauted onions. The texture is very soft, but the flavor was really good.

This is good on anything, especially a turkey sandwich!

Cranberry Relish

8 oz (2 cups) cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup horseradish
1 Tbls lemon juice
Chop the berries in the food processor, then mix in all ingredients. Chill for 24 hours. Yum.

Snap!

2010-08-16T12:42:00.002-04:00

I feel like my house is a gigantic magnet and I am attached to it with a huge rubber band. Snap.

This summer was spent working ridiculously hard to be out. Then plans changed. Then they changed again. I'm right now in the middle of the one place I said I didn't want to be. Hmmm. Is that of my own doing? Did I create the one thing that I didn't want? I hate when I do that!

Summer Enrichment

2010-08-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Three of my kids have been attending the "summer enrichment program" which is a collaboration between the Parks and Rec Dept and the local Boy's and Girl's Club. Mostly they all love it. They can swim, play sports, all kinds of crazy summer camp type games, craft, and most importantly, socialize.

There have certainly been a few downs along with the mostly ups. It's been hard for my kids to adjust to group mentality. Running because it's time to run, sitting because it's time to sit, and not talking because it's quiet time. We have talked at length about how that is just the nature of the beast in getting large groups of children together.

There have been a lot of group punishments that my children have really objected to, and rightfully so. If they were not even present at the time the punishment was levied, it seems completely unfair that they are forced to participate. Even if they are present, it also seems unfair to punish an entire group due to a small percentage that refuses to comply.

Some of the counselors don't even seem to like children, and I have heard numerous complains from my children that this one in particular has been unfair with the group, and has on several occasion made extremely inappropriate remarks such as, "Ugh, I hate this group!" and "I can't stand you guys!" This has been addressed with the director both by me and by my children, and the response is just that this one counselor is a stickler for the rules and doesn't let any infraction slide. The director did admit that those remarks were not acceptable and agreed to speak with the offending adult, and offer her more breaks during the day. According to my kids, this stickler mentality/not letting any infraction slide doesn't seem to apply to the truly misbehaving children.

One of my kids decided today to stop attending as the negative is sucking all the positive. I feel horrible about that decision, but I totally understand. It's no fun to be punished when you are just trying to have a good time and are following all the rules set forth.

I was there this morning to drop off and observed another group without them knowing I was there. To be clear, I wasn't sneaking around, just doing a late drop and coming across the room from an angle that made me hard to see. This was a group of 5-7 years olds. They were standing at attention as a counselor lectured them. The little I heard included a threat of writing apology letters if she heard another word about misbehavior and "Child X, did you hear me!?!?"

I felt sick to my stomach. This isn't boot camp, it isn't even school. It's summer enrichment camp! And these are little kids! I thought this was supposed to be a fun experience. I honestly feel that if the adult involved were focused on having FUN with the kids, they would. However it seems that the people in charge don't seem to fond of children to begin with, and are more concerned with creating an environment of obedience, creating a negative experience for both adult and child.

My first reaction was to take my children and go home, but the two that are still there are there at their own choosing, I am not forcing anyone to stay. I did however have to speak to a counselor for one child who hasn't been feeling well and is afraid to spend the day because from past experience knows that sitting out when it's "time to run" is never allowed. Of course the adult assured me that would be fine.

Any idea how to handle this? I really want to make a stink and have some changes made, but I really believe this is just our American Culture: Children are bad, can't be trusted, and need to be reprimanded. I guess as long as they would rather go, I will send them, but I would love to hear some suggestions on how to make this better for everyone.

Where am I?

2010-08-08T23:29:00.001-04:00

My poor neglected blog. I have been wanting to write again, but I feel uncomfortable because my blog seems so scattered. Sigh. I'm going to try to just jump back into things, so if you have any questions, please ask.

Were are we right now? Still living in Maine, still in the house. We had the final, final, last lawn sale today. This time it really is the last one, because we were bought out! What a dream come true! Gary was just starting to put things out for free on the corner when a couple (regulars!) came and bought some things, then asked how much we wanted for everything. We threw out a price and they said they would think about it. They returned not much longer, bought a few more things, then gave us the difference to make the agreed upon amount and started loading up. Gary and I joked that we should have paid THEM to take everything as it really did relieve us of such a HUGE burden. So, no more lawn sales.

We took the house off the market with the goal of renting it. The timing seemed to be off for renting, and we just didn't feel good about it, so we decided for now to keep the house and re-evaluate in the spring. We literally don't have anything for winter, so we must be somewhere other than here.

This process has changed me in ways that I cannot yet articulate. When we began to rid ourselves of all worldly possessions my biggest fear was getting stuck in the middle of the process. I felt like I could stay where I was with all my stuff, or come out on the other side with none of my stuff, but I didn't want to get caught in the middle with some and not all of my stuff.

Originally we were pushing to be out of the house for the summer. It felt like I was killing myself getting things out of the house. Then everything all summer was on hold because of the lawn sale. If it was a nice weekend, we had to stay home and sell, and we couldn't make any plans. That was really hard and made me feel very out of control. The date was pushed up for leaving, but still the house was in chaos. All energy going to getting it ready to be rented or sold, getting things ready for the sale, and very little energy going toward daily maintenance because there was just no energy left over. At one point I complained that I was missing the baby days of my very last baby and I just wanted to slow down and enjoy.

So here I sit. In the middle with some and not all of my stuff. It isn't as bad as I had imagined it to be, but I still feel just out of sorts. I don't quite have my balance in this new (partially material-less) location and I just feel sort of off. The lawn sale was very overwhelming for me so I spent most of my time inside cleaning. It feels really good getting the house back into order a little bit. For a long time I was being brutal in my purging, and now I'm not really sure what my relationship to material goods is. Need it, want it? I'm figuring it all out.

Anyway, that's sort of where we are at. We hope to leave soon. Most of the major hurdles have been crossed. We have a few more project that need to be completed but they are scheduled. Right now we are hung up on a tow vehicle. There are few makes and models that can be flat towed, and so far NONE of them seem to be 8 passenger models. We aren't sure if we should keep our van and store it (probably not), trade it in (for what?), or sell it outright (not sure what we would drive around in). Everything is complicated. If you have any suggestions for a tow vehicle, PLEASE share them!

Thanks for reading!

Hotel

2010-07-19T22:53:00.001-04:00

The background: I agreed to participate in a paid focus group, that will take place later this week at a local hotel (in a conference room!)

The scene: At a restaurant with my family. Gary is just returning from the bathroom as I am giving the kids a run down of our schedule for the week.

Still standing as he begins talking, he rather loudly asks, "Oh, you're going to the hotel this week? How long with that take, like 2 hours? And how much are you getting paid?"

We both burst into hysterical laughter. The kind of laughter that is so consuming that I can't even shush my daughter as she is yelling, "Why are you going to the hotel if you aren't even spending the night?!?!" Repeatedly.

Full of class are we!

2 truths and a lie

2010-07-03T22:56:00.004-04:00

The kids started day camp last week. In an effort to get to know the kids, they played a game where you named three things about yourself, two true, one false. Noah picked the following three statements:

1.) I've been to Las Vegas
2.) I was born in Maine
3.) I plan to live in an RV

Keeping in mind that we live in a place where most of their friends have literally never been out of the state. His responses made me smile.

Here's my list:

1.) I've never been to high school
2.) I've been pregnant 8 times
3.) I maintain a very popular website under a pseudonym

Any guesses as to which is the false statement?

For Sale

2010-06-02T12:23:00.002-04:00

Finally, the house is for sale. Its official. We've been in the "temporary house" for what, eight years now? We talk about moving on every year, and never have we listed the house for sale. We came close last year, finding out the day before signing that we were expecting again, which put a hold on things. Until now. We are ready. Ready to roll!

Anybody want to buy a house?

By the way, baby number 6 was born back in February...sorry for not letting you know!

Home Sweet Motor Home

2010-05-18T23:26:00.003-04:00

Here she is; our new home:

2010-03-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

Hello Blog. I rather miss you.

Bear Reviews the Free Store

2009-04-06T08:17:00.001-04:00

In case you missed it elsewhere, below is a Bear's review of my beloved "Free Store".

Please, share the video with everyone you know. Hopefully they will take the Bear's advice, leaving more free stuff for the rest of us!

and then they came for me

2009-04-03T09:49:00.001-04:00

...

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

Translation:

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me.

...

No More Jokes

2009-04-01T17:31:00.002-04:00

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A more appropriate title for that last post might have been little pink LIES. I am not pregnant, but it seemed a fitting joke because when you have a larger than average family and tell someone you have news, the FIRST thing they ask is, "Are you pregnant?"

Do you remember that baby that I asked you to pray for? Thankfully he was released from the hospital this week and is doing much better. However his mother DIED today. She is also the mother of a two year old and a four year old, as well as the nursling. I can't even comprehend the magnitude of this family's loss. It overwhelms me. The timing sucks, but I swear this happened; local readers can look it up in the online edition.

Please keep sending thoughts and prayers their way.

Little Pink Lines

2009-04-01T10:58:00.004-04:00

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Not one, but two pink lines. Holy friggin cow!!!! I can barely breathe!!!

The past month of constant tiredness and ill feelings are beginning to make sense...low iron my butt! Now I understand why increasing my iron didn't decrease the fatigue!!!

Based on my calculations I'm guessing another early November date. Holy friggin cow!!!!! Did I say that already? 'Cause HOLY FRIGGIN COW!!!!!!

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Update on Baby Micah

2009-03-27T18:48:00.002-04:00

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I don't have a lot of news but I did hear that the doctors were "cautiously optimistic". Baby Micah had gone a whole day without a seizure but still the doctors assured the family that he had a long hard road ahead of him.

I met with my friend today and gave her a huge basket filled with books, notebooks, pencils, snacks and personal care items to give to the Mom, and a bag filled with diapers, snacks, coloring books, and small toys for the grandparents who are caring for the family's other children. I was glad to be able to do something tangible to contribute.

Please continue to think of this poor family. I can not even imagine the trauma they are experiencing; 3 weeks postpartum, confined to the ICU with a seriously ill child, 2 more small children at home separated from their mother...it's going to be a long hard road for all of them.

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The House

2009-03-24T13:34:00.002-04:00

So we went to a house auction today. It was the same house that we wanted three years ago but couldn't buy because the owner was an idiot and wouldn't budge on his price.

We didn't get the house.

Wanna know who the high bidder was? Will you believe me if I tell you that the high bidder was the former owner who let the house go into foreclosure to begin with?

Seriously. Don't pay your mortgage or taxes, have the property taken away from you, but don't fret...you too can buy it back at the public auction.

I asked him why the hell he didn't sell the house to us three years ago, we would have paid him MORE than he owed on the mortgage back then. He said, "well I guess we should have negotiated more." Yeah. Ya think?

There goes another experience with the upside down world of banking and real estate. I just don't get it.

Thought/Prayer Request

2009-03-22T13:55:00.002-04:00

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I just received a phone call about a friend of a friend. It seems her three week old baby Micah fell and has sustained a pretty serious head injury.

If you are are so willing, please keep the family and Baby Micah in your thoughts and prayers.

Filet O Fish

2009-03-14T12:32:00.003-04:00

K: Last night, at Barnes and Ovals...

Me: What did you say?

K: Last night, at Barnes and Ovals.

Me: Barnes and Noble.

K: Last night, and Barnes and Opal.

Me: Barnes and Noble.

K: Last night, and Barnes and Opals.

Me: NOBLE.

K: Barnes and Novals.

Me: Barnes. And. Noble.

K: Bards and Nopal.

Me: No. Filet o Fish.

Me: I'm having problems.

Day one. Part Two.

2009-03-09T13:51:00.003-04:00

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Driving down the strip was exciting, even during the day, but nothing looked like we expected that it would. It wasn’t grand, or beautiful, but crammed and mis-mashed, and everything was under construction.

We arrived at the hotel, and after two times around the parking lot finally figured out where we could wait for Gary to go in and register us. The plan was to check in, get the room key, then head out for something to eat. We were all tired, hungry, jet lagged, and needles to say, grumpy. Gary went into the hotel and I swear it was a week before we saw him again. I was handing out fruit snacks and granola bars, but it just wasn’t cutting it.

Finally Gary made his way back outside. I had googled directions to several key places, one of them being "CiCi’s Pizza, pasta, salad, breadsticks, and dessert buffet, all for around 5 bucks". We got on the highway and drove for three days in heavy traffic.

The food wasn’t bad, and the salad was actually really yummy. They had one made with romaine, tomatoes, bacon and ranch. Mmmm.

At one point, the kids stepped out of line for a minute, then when the stepped back it looked like they stepped in front of some people. The kids couldn’t see this from their place, but I could. The people behind them made a comment and I pretended not to hear. Later it began to bother me that WE were the rude ones, so I went over to their table and began babbling about how we had just stepped off of a plane and hadn’t slept in two days and maybe even something about medication and please forgive us for our terrible manners. I’m sure she was impressed!

After eating things looked a little less bleak, and we went back to the hotel where we took a nap. I would have preferred to sleep thought the night, but the damn sun would not give up. We woke up after at least an hour of sleep and it was only 1. I began to think that we were in hell, and that the sun never set here.

Off to the thrift store to procure appliances. I was hoping to get a griddle, but they didn’t have any. We did get a coffee pot and a crock pot. Score! Then we headed out to find a grocery store. We bought an overpriced cooler, milk, sandwich fixings, some crock pot meal ingredients, and cream for our coffee of course. We spend about $70, which damn near killed me.

We went back to the hotel and I ran up to the in house McDonalds to get us all dinner. We walked around, explored the hotel, midway, and circus a little. We tried to get our Krispy Kreme fix, but the donuts were not made at that location, and when they said HOT, they meant, “reheated hours ago”. I was not impressed.

I just LOVE this picture of Katherine. These contortionists were absolutely amazing to watch and you can see that clearly on her face.

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Another Shaw's run

2009-03-07T12:49:00.002-04:00

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It's much more fun when they pay me to take crap home!

6 Crystal Light on the go packs
1 OM Deli Selects sandwich
2 $1.00/2 Crystal Light
.50/1 OM Deli Selects
Pay $11.50, get $14.00 back
(profit of $2.50)

6 Crystal Light on the go packs
2 Nabisco 100 Cal packs
2 $2.00/2 Crystal Light and 100 Cal packs
Pay $12.00 get $14.00 back
(profit of $2.00)

When you get to Shaw's, be sure to look for the "Cool Savings" coupon book. There are many FREE items in it, including lemonade, pie crusts, vegetables, and ice cream! Most stores have them on a display in the frozen food section, but in my local Shaw's they have them under lock and key at the service desk so you have to ask for one.

Vegas Day 1 Part 1

2009-03-07T11:31:00.004-04:00

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The plane ride was uneventful. Long, but no problems. Unless you count the hot cocoa disaster.

Matthew and Katherine both ordered hot cocoa. I was sitting with Joshua, Molly, and Matthew in a row, and Gary was with Noah and Katherine. Matthew managed to DUMP the entire cup of cocoa all over himself, soaking his shirt and pants. I had that, “Oh my frigging hell, can you BELIEVE what I have to deal with now” look on my face, and I turned to show it to Gary, just as he began to sport an identical look. It seems at that moment Katherine spilled her hot cocoa all over Gary’s lap.

I brought a change of pant for Matthew, but nothing else. A flight attendant opened up her own luggage and found a shirt for Matthew to wear while we washed out the cocoa one. The pants went into a bag and we didn’t find them until we returned home, so they ended up in the trash. L Gary had no good options, so he just did his best to wash up in the one square foot of bathroom space.

(Matthew, post cocoa, wearing the flight attendant's shirt. I can't believe he could sleep in that position!)

The plane landed and everything was good. Finally we arrived. Two days without sleep and we were feeling it! But! We were in Vegas, Baby! Life was good!

We retrieved our luggage and quickly realized that there was NO WAY we could physically move this on our own. Remember we had 12 pieces of large, heavy checked luggage that included a pack and play that did not roll and a massive duffel bag containing two very heavy car seats. We had the little ones in two separate strollers that needed to be pushed, and one of the strollers didn’t seem to turn.

From where we were at baggage claim we had to go about 30 feet to the doors, then another 20 to the street, cross 4 lanes of traffic, then get on a BUS!!! to travel to the other side of the airport. From there we needed to make it about 100 feet into a building, then another 60 to a desk, then wait in line, then take an elevator down, then travel to the other side of a parking garage. Then there was the fun experiment to see if we would fit an elephant into a cupboard. By the time we were in the rental car we all felt so defeated. This sucked. It felt like a full weeks work just to get to this point, and we weren’t even at the hotel yet!!

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Update: my Shaw's trip today

2009-03-06T17:52:00.004-04:00

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I just got back from Shaw's. In the beginning I didn't really have a plan and forgot my pencil so I was just winging it. I bought:

Order #1
Nabisco 100 calorie pack 2.00
Crystal Light On the go 2.00
4 Oscar Mayer Deli Meat 3.00 (12.00)

Cost: $16.00

used
$1/2 Oscar Mayer blinkies ($2.00)
$2/2 Nabisco and Crystal light peelies

Total: $12.00
Paid with $10 coupon from yesterday and $2.00 on my gift card
Received back: $10.00

Order #2
5 Polly O String Cheese 3.00 (15.00)
Planters Trail mix 1.25
5 Quaker tortillas 1.00 (5.00)

Cost: 22.25
Used:
5 $1/1 cheese ($5.00)
5 $1/1 Quaker (5.00)
Total: 11.31
Paid with the $10 coupon and $1.31 on my gift card

Order #3
Same as order #1

Order #4
4 boxes Wheat Thins 2.50 (10.00)
2 Nabisco 100 cal pack 2.00 (4.00)
2 Crystal Light to go packs 2.00 (4.00)

Cost: $18.00
Used:
2 $2/2 Nabisco coupons
2 $2/2 Nabisco/Crystal Light peelies

Total: $10.00
Paid with my $10 coupon
Got back a $10.00 coupon

Order # 5
2 Nabisco 100 cal pack 2.00 (4.00)
2 Crystal Light to go packs 2.00 (4.00)
2 Oscar Mayer Deli Meat 3.00 (6.00)
Planters Trail mix 1.25

Cost $15.25
Used:
2 $2/2 Nabisco/Crystal Light peelies
$1/2 Oscar Mayer blinkies

Total: $10.25
Paid with my $10 coupon and $0.25 on the gift card
Got back $10.00 coupon

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Wanna buy some cat food?

2009-03-06T12:36:00.003-04:00

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I bought a lot of cat food this week. We don't have a cat. You say addicted, I say committed (and I don't mean that in a white coat with buckles kind of way!)

The house is starting to smell like cat food, and I don't really care for the scent, so I'm selling what I have before someone brings home a cat to eat it all. Yes, children are already talking about how the argument that they can't afford to buy food for a cat doesn't apply anymore.

Here's what I have:

It's all brand new, in the package unopened, and expiring in 2010.

IAMS ProActive Health Original Chicken Flavor 4 pound bags

IAMS ProActive Health Weight Control 4 pound bags

$5 per bag

5 bags (20 pounds total) for $20

The original price on these bags was over $10 each!

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Trying again to overexplain

2009-03-06T12:23:00.002-04:00

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We talked earlier about the $25.00/$10.00 deal currently running at Shaw's being 40% of the total. Another way to think about this is that the sale is 60% off, and if you can find items that will be 60% off the shelf price after sale and coupon, you have a free item (still understanding that you need to get to the $25 first!)

Example: Jello Pudding or Gelatin Snacks $3.99 shelf price. Sale price of $3.00. .60/1 coupon, doubled to $1.20. $1.80 after sale and coupon, about 55% off. Not free, but pretty darn close.

Any questions so far?

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Couponing with Kerry at Shaws

2009-03-06T03:07:00.002-04:00

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Starting Friday Shaw’s has some great deals running. Most bloggers post simple deals to help people get started, but not me. I am going to let you into my brain for a brief moment and share with you the great detail that goes into my thoughts.

Enter at your own risk, and please keep your hands and especially your feet away from my gray matter.

The deal that I am the most excited about is the spend $25.00 get $10.00 back.

This works out to 40% back. The “trick” is that the $25 is calculated on the pre-sale prices, not the prices in the add. So the game plan is to literally pay 40% of the shelf price using sales and coupons, making your purchases free.

Here is an example. The Arnold bread. Presale price varies from store to store, but on average is about $3.99. It is on sale for $2.50, and there are coupons available for .55 off one loaf that will double to $1.10, making the final price $1.40. Presale price $3.99 down to $1.40, about 35%, which is below our goal of 40%. Essentially this item will be free.

Even if the final price is above the 40% of retail, when Shaw’s is running a promotion with 40% back, most things will be a good deal. Let me give you an example without even using coupons.

Capri Sun. Shelf price of $2.79. Sale price of $2.00. Nine of them will reach the $25.00 minimum based on the shelf price and will cost $18. You will get back a coupon for $10, so you are really only paying $8 for 9 of these boxes.

These coupons can be “rolled”. That means if you happen to have 6 of the Arnold bread coupons and buy 6 loaves of bread, and one cup of Kraft Easy Mac (this is what they call a filler item*). The bread will cost $15, plus another $1 for the Kraft Cup, minus $6.60 in coupons. Total cost $9.40, get back $10.00.

Now you can take that $10.00 coupon and do the same deal over again, or buy the 9 Capri Sun boxes for $8.00, or mix it up. You can mix and match any of the items included in the buy $25 get $10 sale.

The important thing is to pay attention to the shelf prices and make sure the items that you are buying total more than $25 so you get back the $10.

* There are two kinds of filler items. The first is when you need a small amount more to qualify toward the amount needed to get the reward. Make sure you get a qualifying item (something included in the sale).

The second is when you need to use up “overage”. If you tried to do the bread transaction more than once you would owe $9.40 and in order to pay with the $10 coupon you need to add in an item for that extra 60 cents. Bananas make great fillers!

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Pre Vegas

2009-03-05T16:30:00.001-04:00

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Katherine needed a refill on her meds, so off to the pharmacy I went. The insurance is broken. I decided to go home and call, then come back the following morning.

Gary was having some issues that led him to the emergency room. After many hours it was determined that the most likely issue was a side effect from some medication that he was taking. He still had the problems, but knowing the cause was a huge relief. He was advised to take some over the counter meds.

Back to the pharmacy. Insurance still broken. Decide to come back later in the day.

Noah’s tooth pain became severe, so we got him in for an emergency dental visit. Bad news, he needs a root canal. Ugh. In the mean time we were given some antibiotics to clear up the infection.

To the pharmacy. Again. Insurance still broken. Pay out of pocket without the hope of reimbursement for his, still need to return for Katherine’s, she still has a few pills left at home.

Matthew developes an ear infection. I called the pediatricians office, but it was after “sick hour” so we needed to wait until the next day to be seen. Ugh. During the night his pain was unmanageable and we ended up in the emergency room again. They did send him home with his prescription, which was very nice.

Later that night Molly was inconsolable. We waited until morning to bring her into the doctors office because I was able to keep her fairly comfortable, and she already had an appointment scheduled. The doctor confirmed an ear infection. Plane ride in just 24 hours…what to do? They offered her an inter muscular injection to clear it up, but I was concerned about contributing to resistant bacteria so we opted for the good old liquid. If we got her started right away, we should be okay.

The pediatrician also noted that Matthew’s prescription was not enough, so she changed it. We seemed to be a on a roll with medicine, so I also had her issue a new script for Noah in liquid form.

Off to pharmacy. Again. Insurance fixed for some people, not all. Worried about having all kinds of liquids that require refrigeration. How will we get through security at the airport? Kerry comes up with the brilliant plan to get the meds un mixed. This confuses the hell out of the pharmacy people. We have the same conversation at least three times, with the added bonus of asking that all the distilled water for mixing be packaged in 2 ounce containers so we can pass through security.

I lost count of how many times we were back and forth to the pharmacy that day, but 8 seems about right.

Noah was still in extreme pain, so back to the dentist. He (the dentist) really believed that we just needed to keep waiting. Oh what fun.

In the midst of all this chaos, I threw out my back. I was in excruciating pain and pooping Tylenol and Advil like they were breath mints. I was able to get in last minute with the chiropractor and his adjustment did take the edge off of the pain, thankfully

The grand plan was to pack up the car, put everyone to bed, then wake up at 12:30 am and leave the house at 1. The actual course of events was more like excited children bouncing off the walls until being corralled into the car at 1.

12 pieces of HUGE luggage to be checked, 7 carry on bags, 5 children, and two strollers.

I brought Lysol wipes for the plane to protect us from other people’s germs. It occurred to me that I should be passing out wipes to other passengers to protect them from us. Did I mention that everyone had a cold? Oops.

The pilot was nice enough to take these pictures for us.

Same kid, different day

2009-03-04T12:49:00.004-04:00

So far we have seen what Matthew + peanut butter + apple equals.

For today's lesson in stellar parenting we have Matthew + scissors =

From this angle, it doesn't look that bad...but he had a mushroom/bowl type cut that now has a huge chunk missing. I don't know how to fix that.

We thought he was in bed sleeping. We was under the bed with a pair of scissors.

Credit Card Tricks

2009-03-03T11:00:00.001-04:00

I don't often give advice because I rarely feel like I have an original idea. However I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that you may not have heard of yet.

For many years we lived without credit cards. We had a debit card and cash. The end. Then a friend mentioned using credit cards for rewards and we began to do some investigating. Now we have several credit cards, but we have yet to pay a penny for them. Like many other things in my life, I prefer it when they pay me.

If you have any issues with procrastination when it comes to paying bill, or self control when ti comes to spending, then this game isn't for you. If those aren't your issues, keep reading.

The credit cards we have all have rewards points on them. The points can then be converted into cash at the end of the month.

We pay for everything with the credit card. Everything. Utilities, food, even the 12 cent transactions at CVS. Every purchase is recorded just as we would with a bank card, and we do not spend money that we don't have. Then at the end of the month I made a deposit into the checking account for the balance on the cards, then I go online and pay the bill.

Every so often I check the rewards, and when it reaches $50 I kindly request a check. We received $60 last month from one card, and $100 from another. Over the years we have received hundreds of dollars (Gary thinks it averages out to $800 every year)just for using the plastic instead of actual cash.

Visit We Are That Family for more Works for Me Wednesday ideas.

..

When Mom isn't paying attention.

2009-03-02T16:23:00.003-04:00

Noah was having an apple with peanut butter. I was chatting away on the computer when Matthew asked if he could have an apple with peanut butter. Of course, just ask Noah to help you with it.

Matthew didn't listen, and Noah didn't hear me.

The end result? I find him trying to stab a spoon into THIS. Presumably an attempt at a candied apple?

I am impressed at his ability to completely coat the apple in peanut butter. Well done, son. Ugh.

Las Vegas Baby!

2009-02-07T23:28:00.002-04:00

We are here in Las Vegas. I had planned to blog from the kid's Ipods, but there is no internet access in Las Vegas that doesn't require a mortgage payment to access it!

RIght now I am in the Apple store inside of Caesar's Palace, having hijacked one of their computers to post!

Vegas is nothing like I had anticipated, but we are all having a good time. Gary and I left the sleeping kids with my Dad for a bit last night to go get a late bite to eat. We never ended up getting food, but I did hit for $360 on a slot machine! WooooHooooo!

There is a CVS within walking distance from the hotel, but they didn't seem to know what a "sale flyer" was. They finally admitted that because they are on the strip they don't participate in sales. WHAT?!?!

Alright, we are off to see the talking statues!

I'm all a twitter

2009-01-26T23:18:00.002-04:00

No, not really, but I need followers. Not that any of you are "followers", of course you are all "leaders" but I'm feeling all alone over there. It would be an act of charity, and I'm sure that by following me you would get a tax deduction of some sort.

KerryInMaine

..

Honey Mustard Sauce

2009-01-26T23:10:00.002-04:00

One of my goals as a mother has always been to teach my children how to behave in a restaurant. I expect them to have good manners, sit patiently, and act appropriately. Usually they live up to my expectations and we are able to dine out on a regular basis.

The kids are all expected to clearly give the waitress their order, as well as say please when asking for something and thank you when it’s delivered to them. Again, they all typically do a good job.

Tonight, Matthew was using his manners loudly and clearly and I was feeling so proud of him.

After we were all done eating and in the process of paying the check, he announced that he needed more honey mustard sauce and wanted to know who he should ask. I pointed out our waitress, and as she walked by he yelled out, “Hey YOU! Can I have some more honey mustard sauce, please?”

I almost fell out of my chair. The shock of him calling her “Hey You” after being so polite was funny, as was her inability to understand what he was asking. I couldn’t interpret for him because I was laughing too hard. Finally she understood, and thankfully found it amusing as well. We immediately told him the correct way to address the waitress and asked him to practice saying, "Excuse me, may I please have some homey mustard sauce?"

Here’s the thing that really makes this story special; the reason that the child needed more sauce was that he had eaten all the first cup full…with a straw. Literally. Sucked it right up. He still had a plate full of untouched nuggets, which is why the request for more sauce seemed reasonable, trumping the memory of the straw in the cup from minutes before.

The really awful part? He takes after his mother. While I cannot admit to drinking sauce, I will tell you that sometimes the only purpose of a cracker in my hand is a vehicle for some yummy sauce.

This story reminds me of a picture that I had intended to share with you last week. Now I’ll have to track it down.

COLLECTIONS

2009-01-21T17:05:00.003-04:00

Gary has a medical bill that the insurance has refused to pay. In the time it took to negotiate with the company, the bill was sent to collections. He contacted the collection agency in an attempt to set up a payment schedule and they were beyond rude to him. They told him that they wouldn't accept anything other than a full payment and that they planned to send a report to the credit agency that he was in default. It was rather frustrating. It seemed there was nothing he could say to get them to be reasonable.

He sent them a partial payment, then waited patiently until they cashed his check. He then called to again attempt a formal agreement. When they answered they told him that his call was being recorded. He paused. Then stated his name and account number, and said that he was also recording the call, and could he please have their permission before proceeding. The woman on the other end paused, but reluctantly agreed.

Gary explained about his prior experiences with them, for which she profusely apologized. He told her about the cashed check and she agreed that was more than satisfactory and they were more than happy to accept his terms of the payment schedule and was there anything more they could please do for him on this fine day.

Now if only we actually had the equipment to record these calls so we could replay them again and again for our personal enjoyment, that would be just great.

KRISPY KREME

2009-01-19T12:11:00.002-04:00

Go here. Read this. Eat more donuts. hehe

LAS VEGAS, BABY

2009-01-08T12:56:00.004-04:00

Hello Blog of Mine! It seems I keep forgetting that you exist. Sorry about that. Considering that I have five children on whom I spend a great amount of energy NOT forgetting, I think I can forgive myself.

Yes, we are going to Las Vegas, Baby! I can hardly believe it. On one of my couponing sites someone mentioned that Southwest was having a 50% sale. The price to fly my entire family, all seven of us was about the price of a single ticket that last time that Gary had thought about going. So we booked it! Augh!

We had still been trying to figure out a way to head south, and were very close to making plans, but there was always something that we couldn't make fit into our plans. The idea of going to Vegas passed our lips, but we decided that it would triple our expenses to drive out. It never even occurred to us to fly! With hotel and flight we are into this trip for less than we would be to drive south. Unreal.

We are all so excited. There is so much to see and do. I'm sure that we won't be able to do it all, so I'm trying to make a list and prioritize. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to comment.

WE ARE GOING TO VEGAS, BABY!

DTVB

2009-01-04T19:24:00.002-04:00

Ten points to anyone who can correctly identify the meaning behind our chain, the acronym for which is: DTVB!!!! Followed by a WHOOOO WHOOOO! and uncontrollable giggling and shouts of "I can't believe it! Can you believe it? I can't believe it!"

CONSIDER YOURSELF INVITED

2008-12-16T15:55:00.001-04:00

I've tried my best to make it go away, but despite my best efforts it seems that there is no stopping Christmas. Since fighting it proves futile, we have decided instead to fully embrace this holiday. Therefore, we are throwing an impromptu holiday party this Friday night and hope that you will join us!

The details are as follows:

Friday the 19th
Six o'clock ish
Our house
Bring a gift or ornament with a value of around $5 (one for each member of your family) so we can have a "Yankee Swap". This is a game where each person opens a gift and admires it for a minute or so before it is possibly taken away from them and replaced with a gift that they may or may not like as well, much to the amusement of all involved.

And because I am too lazy to send out Christmas cards you know that there is no way I could possibly get out invitations, so instead I am being a lazy bum and posting this invitation on my blog. This in no way reflects on the party itself, where there will be yummy treats and a good time will be had by all.

Really.

...

I AM A WINNER!

2008-12-12T19:21:00.002-04:00

Look what I won over at Fish Mama's site!

It's a hand knit stocking that her Mom made. I don't know what mine will look like, but all the others sure are pretty!

Thank you Fish Mama!

GIANT CLAM EATS SMALL CHILD

2008-12-06T23:43:00.005-04:00

DePhoMo 6

The museum curator asked us to take some pictures of the kids in the museum to use in marketing. Here is Matthew with a giant clam.

Can you imagine finding THAT on the beach?

...

HMMMM

2008-12-05T21:44:00.001-04:00

Prop 8 The Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

BURN BABY BURN

2008-12-05T19:47:00.001-04:00

ME

2008-12-04T23:19:00.004-04:00

Here is my DecPhoMo (or whatever) pic of the day. It's actually of me, and perhaps the only photo I will post all month with the camera pointed at myself. :)

It's me. Looking worn out and tired. Because I am.

Is it still art if the artist is telling you what to see?

...

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HOMESCHOOL

2008-12-03T19:45:00.001-04:00

ANOTHER ONE CORRUPTED

2008-12-03T15:06:00.003-04:00

I just came home to find this in my mailbox. It made me laugh...I needed that!

It says: Kerry Lastname
(diagnosis immoral and unethical by CVS, M.D.)
Home address (aka Den of Sin)

teeeheeeheee

Although considering the contents:

I think perhaps the sender needs a diagnosis as well!

Thank you SOOO much my corrupted friend!

FREE CAKE

2008-12-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Molly's birthday cake, a gift from my beloved Shaw's. They offer a free cake for a baby's first birthday and who am I to say no to free cake?

Hey Shaw's, thanks for the cake!

I think she likes it.

...

DEPHOMO day one

2008-12-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

I survived NaBloPoMo, (and didn't miss a single day). Although I can't find any "official" information I'm commiting myself to DePhoMo, which means a picture every day.

This one cracks me up; really, I can't look at it without laughing.

...

AN AGE THAT THE POOR BOY WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE

2008-11-30T16:53:00.003-04:00

Some friends of ours were heading out to celebrate someone's 50th birthday.

Joshua: Fifty, huh? People always celebrate 50 as the big birthday, but really they should celebrate 40.

Gary: Why?

Joshua: Well, forty is like the halfway point. You are halfway there at 40.

Gary: Halfway where?

Joshua: You know, death. Oh. You're 40. I guess I shouldn't have said that out loud. I forgot how old you are.

...

OUR EXTRAVAGANT SHOPPING SPREE

2008-11-29T13:31:00.003-04:00

You all remember my ~~insane~~ super nice friend Gannet, right? Well she ~~stupidly~~ kindly offered to come over and watch my kids for Black Friday shopping.

We decided against a new television and a 5 am start, heading out around 8 instead. The stores were crowded, but not as bad as we expected them to be.

The plan was to buy just a few gifts for each child, nothing too extravagant, nothing bought just for the sake of buying junk, and most importantly, no junk.

We went in and filled our cart to overflowing. At checkout as the price hit $100 I almost lost it. I haven't spent that much money in one fell swoop like that since I started bargain shopping. Then the price topped $200 and I died right there.

We loaded up and drove over to McSodiumFat for breakfast and sat in the parking lot, despondent over the ridiculous amount of money we just spend. We tried to justify our purchases, but quickly realized that it was all just crap. Then Gary recounted a recent conversation with his brother who was justifying his own ridiculous purchase for our daughter. He bought a very expensive much coveted gift for Katherine, and explained that he did it because he knows that it is quality and will last for her childhood, unlike the plastic crap from the PlannedObsolescenceMart. It turns out that my mother had also purchased a similar but different quality, ridiculously overpriced coveted item for Katherine. Gary's brother went on to tell Gary how wise it would be to purchase the ridiculously overpriced electronic items that the boys wanted for the same reasons cited above.

There we sat, clogging our arteries while the plastic crap sat clogging up our van. We ran some numbers, including the very generous check that Super Generous Brother In Law was planning to send, and decided that the overpriced items made more sense. On the surface it seems more extravagant, but in reality we would most likely be spending LESS money overall if we bought them.

We drove back to the PlannedObsolescenceMart with the brilliant idea to return everything right now, because all the fools were buying today, not returning. The cashier told Gary that we weren't the only ones with buyers remorse...he said that a great many people made similar returns that morning. Hmm.

It was decided that we would buy a refurbished model of the ridiculously expensive electronic item, but with a bit of research and a bunch of phone calls it was determined that the refurbished models were all the older, original ones, not the new and improved models. However the store was running a Black Friday sale so the super-duper new and improved model only cost $30 more than the reconditioned one. Yeah!

I just checked my account of last year. I feel like this year we have way less than ever before, but seeing it in black and white helps to know that I already have enough crap. To quote myself last year,

"Overall it was a very nice holiday... I purposefully kept it very simple and we all enjoyed it, although everyone was still completely exhausted by the end of the day. I'm glad that it's over. Christmas will be here again before we know it."

It's true. The holidays are here again, and it is exhausting!

..

2008-11-28T18:39:00.002-04:00

In no particular order, here are our leaves.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

Shelter
The best husband in the world
Freedom
A big van
Life
Disney World
Heat
Clothes
Cookies
Public Libraries
Internet Access
Molly
Paint
Food
Luke Skywalker
A family with lots of brothers and sisters
An abundance of food
Storage
My mother and father spending money so we can have fun
I have a mother and father that love me
Siblings
Five wonderful children; each and every one
Family
Brothers and sisters
A lovely wife
Sports
having a good family

I AM GRATEFUL BECAUSE:
I am loved
I have a little sister
We are all healthy
I have lots of friends
We have a big family

I AM GRATEFUL FOR:
Having a mom and a dad

TURKEY TIME

2008-11-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

the following is a very original message; one that I'm sure you won't see anyplace else on the world wide web.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

enjoy your turkey

gobble gobble gulp

MILLION DOLLAR DOLPHINS

2008-11-26T07:00:00.002-04:00

OH MY OH MY OH MY OH MY

Several years ago my father handed me a stack of papers and told me to read them. It was a book that he was working on. I distinctly remember sitting on his guest bed, nursing baby Matthew as I read it.

Every so often I would get an email update and more pages to read. Then eventually a bound first draft. It was exciting as he got an agent and then it was excruciating as he waited for a publisher. Even after we knew it was going to be published shortly, there was more waiting.

And now, I can hardly believe that it is finally ready to purchase. I just did a little search and I found it HERE and HERE and even HERE.

Congratulations Dad. I'm so happy for you!

ALONE

2008-11-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Last night Gary took the kids upstairs to watch a movie that he had recorded for them. I think it was the original Superman. I told him that he needed to take the baby because I was in a grumpy mood and really needed a few minutes of calm, but promised to retrieve her after my bath.

When I went to get her she had fallen asleep, so I left her with them. I went down and finished cleaning up from supper. Then I read a little, and then I even did some prep work on the computer. It did feel as though at any point the quiet could go away, but while it lasted, I LOVED it.

It occurred to me that I haven't been alone in my house in years. Literally. I miss it a little bit. I certainly take time for myself by going out, taking baths, or even naps as necessary, but there is something so wonderful about being alone in your own house. Freedom. As I cleaned, I didn't answer question after question, as I read, an entire sentence absorbed without interruption.

I didn't realize how much I was craving some time alone. Now I need more!

IT'S BEEN A YEAR!!!

2008-11-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

This is Molly opening her very first birthday gift.

I can't believe that it has been a year. 365 days. It's amazing how it can seem like only yesterday that your child was born, while at the same time it feels as though you have been together forever.

Happy first birthday Molly-Moll!

THE STRANGEST WALGREEN'S

2008-11-23T07:01:00.000-04:00

We have the strangest Walgreen's. The other day I went in to get some small boxes of chocolate that should have been free after my coupons, however the small boxes were marked the same price as the large boxes. Despite my reading hundreds (okay, not hundreds) of accounts of people getting these chocolates, my Walgreen's insisted that the large and small boxes were supposed to be the same price. Sigh.

Then I went to get some gelatin that also would have been free after my coupon. I went though and bought 10 boxes, then decided to go back for 5 more. I had a different cashier this time and she told me that I could not use a coupon to buy them. She went over to ask the manager who agreed with her. Hello! I just bought some. The manager finally came over to talk to me and assured me that the system wouldn't allow me to use my coupon because to get the sale price I had to use the store coupon. I explained that one was a STORE coupon and the other a MANUFACTURERS coupon and that I'm pretty sure that if she checked with corporate she would find that I could use one of each. She again told me that the system wouldn't allow it so I asked her to please try. She did. It worked. She was amazed.

I explained to the manager that combining store sales (including store coupons) with manufacturers coupons was what most people do. I told her that it worked at CVS, Shaw's, and every other Walgreen's. She didn't believe me. Very strange.

THANKFUL LEAVES

2008-11-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's not easy to get a picture of a window with the sunlight streaming in!

I had everyone take a handful of these paper leaves and asked them to write in what they are thankful/grateful for. I love the way they look on the windows, and the fact that I can see them when I drive up to the house.

We plan to take them down to read aloud on Thanksgiving Day in lieu of of our standard round table "on the spot" thanksgiving list that makes me feel that I must wax on poetically.

MORE MATTHEW SWEETNESS

2008-11-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

Matthew grabbed a pen off my desk, stuck it in his pocket and said, "Look, I'm Grandpa!"

OH MY

2008-11-20T21:59:00.005-04:00

Our family happenings last night, perhaps only funny to me:

Noah, Katherine, and Matthew decided to sleep together in the playroom. After awhile there was some fighting that led Katherine to announce that she was sleeping in her own bed thankyouverymuch! This is very unusual. She doesn't like to sleep alone.

Then Noah was following her, also very unusual. Noah doesn't mind sleeping alone and one would think he would be happy to have Katherine giving up the playroom.

It turns out that after Katherine got herself settled back in her own room with her pillow and blanket, she then began to carry a final accessory: MATTHEW. Who by the way, was already asleep.

They were fighting over a SLEEPING child!

...

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT

2008-11-19T13:22:00.003-04:00

Today is the annual community Thanksgiving dinner! I can't wait.

Free food, zero cooking, zero cleaning, friends and neighbors.

Perfection!

...

DENIAL

2008-11-18T13:59:00.003-04:00

Children: LOOK! Is that snow? It is! It's snowing!

Me: Anyone who says "snow" will be punished!

Children: Look! Frozen water!

Me: Let me be more clear, prohibited words are "snow, frozen, freeze, and cold"

Children: Oh look, fluffy white stuff falling from the sky!

Me: "falling from the sky" is officially added to the list!

Children: Look! White stuff! All over the ground!

Me: I give up. We SO need to head south!

....

NEARLY FREE BATTERIES!!!

2008-11-17T10:55:00.003-04:00

Christmas is coming and if your family is anything like ours you are going to be needing some batteries. Don't miss out on the nearly free batteries this week at CVS!

The ECB deal is buy $20 in duracell, get back $15 ECBs. Limit of THREE per household!

The Duracell are on sale for $5.99 and $9.99. There are coupons out for $1.50 off and Duracell, and also .75 cents off any Duracell.

Buy a package for $9.99 and two at $5.99 = $21.99

Use three $1.50/1 = $17.47

Get back $15.

Now you already have $1.99 toward your "buy $20".

You could purchase 2 @ $9.99, use 2 more coupons, pay $16.98 and get back $15

For another $1.98 you could go one more time!

Starting with $0 ECBs you could spend $21.43 and leave with $61.93 worth of batteries and $15 in ECBs for next time!

Thank you CVS!

WOE IS ME

2008-11-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

The scene today: Molly walking briskly across the floor from the kitchen into the living room.

Child: SHE'S WALKING EVERYONE! LOOK! SHE'S WALKING!

Parent: Old news. Call me when she does a cartwheel.

October 2nd is recorded as the day that Molly took her first official step. Just a little over a month later the child is toddling as her primary means of travel. Holy crap, that makes her a toddler. A thought that I hadn't even considered until I typed that sentence.

My baby is a toddler and I am the parent of a teenager. This is too much for one week! Send more chocolate!

...

QUIZ WINNER

2008-11-15T07:09:00.000-04:00

1.) When Joshua was a baby, what did we call him?

a.) Ju Ju Bear

2.) How old was Joshua when he had his first run in with the law?
a.) 2

I wanted to take a shower, so I sat little Joshua in front of the television with Barney as a babysitter. When I got out of the shower I sang out some stupid Barney tune to Joshua, and he didn't answer. Right at that moment I could hear someone knocking on the door, but I couldn't hear the dog barking. I thought maybe it was something other than barking. Then I heard it again, distinct knocking. Hmm. I went out, in my towel to find a police officer at the door holding my small child!

Joshua had undone three separate locks on the back door to let the dog out. Then presumably he ran after her. I think he told us he was trying to get her back. A neighbor grabbed him just as a police officer was driving by. She was the epitome of a nosy neighbor. She could have just brought him back to me without the drama, but that was SO NOT her style. I am however grateful that she didn't just watch him walk by.

That day I remember feeling terrified that someone would be coming to take away my kids that afternoon. The police officer was great and told me not to worry, this type of thing happened all the time.

And it pales in comparison to the time I found him on the roof shortly after. Sigh.

3.) What is Joshua's favorite animal?
b.)Koala

Which is how he came about his favorite country.

4.) Joshua's first hospitalization was when he was 18 months old. Why?
c.) allergies

This was awful. He had severe allergies and even reacted when he was strictly breastfed. The doctors refused allergy testing stating that he was far too young for accurate results. He wasn't gaining weight well and his doctor wanted us to boost his fat by adding oil to whatever he was eating and finding high calorie foods, such as nuts. Frequently when we gave him food he would break out in a rash. It happened ALL THE TIME.

I sat little Joshua in his highchair with some Trader Joe's hot cereal with pecans. I was keeping an eye on him, but not paying close attention. Gary said, "Kerry, there is something wrong with the baby!" As he is prone to over reacting (as I am prone to under reacting) I said, "Yeah, he's getting a rash, isn't he?" "Something is REALLY wrong with the baby!" he insisted. He was right. Joshua's head had swollen up like a basketball.

Joshua was rushed to the ER and spent a night being observed. They then sent him in for a full allergy work up. He was allergic to nuts, dairy, wheat, gosh, I can't even remember now all the things he couldn't eat. He COULD eat shrimp and corn, and frozen shrimp and broccoli was his favorite meal when he was little.

5.) What was playing on television when Joshua was born?
a.) Saturday night live with Robin Williams

The doctor was watching it and talking about what a comedic genuis Robin William was. I was in no position to disagree. I also remember Will Ferrel dancing in that cheerleader bit. haha

6.) What is Joshua's favorite country?
c.)Australia

see above

7.) How did Joshua break his arm?
b.) Tripping while rollerblading

He hit a break in the driveway. He was in so much pain, poor kid. He told the ER staff that he had never been in so much pain in his life! He had to have his arm surgically reset.

8.) What is Joshua afraid of?
c.) Heights

HA! Tell that to his 2 year old self who liked to climb to the top of every bookshelf and even onto the roof!

The winner, with the most correct answers is my Dad, who entered via email. I told him that he couldn't win because he didn't leave a comment, and he pointed out that I did not have any disclaimers against email submissions. Sigh.

He answered:

Teapot

Star

Pineapple

letter M

Dad

While he certainly looses points for teapot (What the heck? Teapot? Seriously?) he did get the letter M, star, and pineapple, even if he doesn't have a clue what they mean. haha

THE END

2008-11-14T13:51:00.004-04:00

You will all be happy to know that my shopping spree has come to an end...new sales start today.

My partner in crime and I drove 30 minutes last night to the big city as our local store was all out of soup, and NO, I can't even IMAGINE who bought all the soup, why do you ask?

It turns out the big store was out of soup as well, and I hadn't even been there. :) We stood around for about 20 minutes contemplating driving even further to anther store, then wandered around for another 20 to see if we could put together a different deal. Another 20 minutes was spent dealing with the effects of trying something that didn't work, then another 20 minutes deciding to just buy some stuff and pay a little per transaction, then another 20 doing math, then another 20 dealing with a screw up, and then it was time to leave.

So maybe I kind of understand why this could be intimidating to some of you.

Earlier in the day we were able to make another donation from the cans procured the day before, so I really can't complain. Here is the picture of that donation. I believe that was 63 cans. The shelter people asked if we wanted a job. teehee

There had been a deal that gave $5 off the "gift card mall" so I was able to procure $30 worth of free apple money. SWEET! I'll be giving them to Joshua tonight at his birthday party.

...

2008-11-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW NOAH?

1.) What time was it when Noah was born?

a.) 7:58 AM

2.) When Noah was 3, what did he think his last name was?

b.) Noodle - We used to call him Noah Noodle, then Newt for short.

3.) When Noah was 2, what did he say to the baby chicks?

c.) Hi, Chicken Nuggets! Hi, Chicken Nuggets!

4.) What is Noah’s favorite animal?

a.) Panda

5.) Where was Noah born?

c.) At home - My first home birth

6.) Something on Noah is not real. What is it? His front tooth. He recently fell while "surfing" down a hill on a piece of cardboard. The poor kid had his root exposed for weeks while they waited to see if he needed a root canal before creating a false tooth.

Immediately before the fall.

7.) One time Noah cut himself on barbed wire and needed stitches. Where on his body is his scar?

a.) Knee - We had to (choose to...our babysitter would have been happy to take him herself) leave our MAPP training to take him to the hospital. That event went into our homestudy as "Could not complete training due to childcare issues".

That was fun. I should create a quiz for each kid. Maybe even with prizes from my shopping stash!

A QUIZ! WITH PRIZES!

2008-11-12T08:00:00.005-04:00

Joshua is now 13. Holy freaking cow! I am the mother of a teenager. Deep, cleansing breaths, Kerry! In and out.

(The pancakes say Josh 13 and that blob is a flower, although he thought it was a star or he never would have let it touch his plate)

In honor of his birthday I'll do another questionnaire. I will send chocolate to whoever answers the most questions correctly. And then everyone should send me chocolate because HOLY FREAKING COW I AM THE MOTHER OF A TEENAGER!!!!

Here goes:

1.) When Joshua was a baby, what did we call him?

a.) Ju Ju Bear
b.) Baby Cakes
c.) Joshy

2.) How old was Joshua when he had his first run in with the law?
a.) 2
b.) 6
c.) 10

3.) What is Joshua's favorite animal?
a.)Monkey
b.)Koala
c.)Cat

4.) Joshua's first hospitalization was when he was 18 months old. Why?
a.) broken leg
b.) asthma
c.) allergies

5.) What was playing on television when Joshua was born?
a.) Saturday night live with Robin Williams
b.) The Patriots at The Jets
c.) Seinfield

6.) What is Joshua's favorite country?
a.)Brazil
b.)China
c.)Australia

7.) How did Joshua break his arm?
a.) Falling off his bike
b.) Tripping while rollerblading
c.) Missing his landing on the skateboard

8.) What is Joshua afraid of?
a.) Spiders
b.) Fires
c.) Heights

Bonus points for anyone who can correctly identify these pancakes:

I'll post the answers to Noah's quiz tomorrow. I suppose it's only fair to offer chocolate for correct answers to his quiz as well. Good luck!

...

DEALS OF THE DAY

2008-11-11T23:18:00.005-04:00

3 boxes popcorn ($2.79 times 3)
3 cans of soup ($2.50 times 3)
4 canned pasta ($1.39 times 4)
8 jars of babyfood (55 cents times 8)
1 roasting chicken ($3.14)

Sale prices:
Popcorn buy 2 get 1 free= 5.58
Soup $1.00 = 3.00
Pasta $1.00 = 3.00
Babyfood 50% off = 2.20

Coupons used:
2 popcorn $1/1
1 soup $1/1
1 pasta $1/1
1 babyfood $1.50/8
plus the chicken filler

=$11.42

-$10.00 Catalina
$1.42 out of pocket
get back $10.00 catalina

Then I bought:
9 soup $9 - $3 in coupons
5 dog food - Free coupons
24 baby food 6.72 - 4.50 in coupons = 2.22
6 baby juice 1.49 X 6 = 8.94 - $9 in coupons (75 cents off one, doubled to 1.50) = -.06
1 light bulbs filler 3.49

= 11.65
-$10.00 catalina

$1.65 out of pocket, get back $10.00

Not pictured are some transactions from yesterday. While I was at Shaw's I noticed that they had Joint Juice on clearance for $1.25. I had coupons for $1/1 so I rushed home to get them. For those of you who have seen my coupon book, can you even believe that I have more coupons that I don't carry?!?!) I only had 11 coupons, but there are 4 in a case. We took home 44 bottles. There is also a deposit on all the bottles making them just 5 cents per 4 pack. That's just a slightly more than a penny a piece!

These are the bags headed to the food pantry in the morning. There are more that 50 cans in those bags, along with 10 jars of mayonnaise and 5 cans of dog food. Yea free food!

...

EQUAL AND OPPOSITE (REACTION BEING THE OPERATIVE WORD)

2008-11-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Shortly after the bandaids were delivered to our door I went into CVS ready to make some more deals. I had all the kids, Gary, and my visiting Dad with me.

One of my items rang up wrong. It was the same item that had rung up wrong for me earlier in the week. During that trip I removed the sale sign from the shelf to bring up to the cashier. Why she didn't go look herself at that point is beyond me. So the item rings wrong again this trip. I ask them to check, and the cashier sends a manager to do so. When the manager comes back she reports that there is no sign and wonders why I think I should get the item for less. Sigh. It's only a dollar, so I tell them not to worry about it.

As I am cashing out the manager asks me in an accusatory tone where I got my coupon. It was one of those $3/$15 that was in one of the online magazines this summer, so I told her, "Online." "I need to know WHERE online!" She said forcefully. I explained the it was from an online magazine subscription, and she then told me that CVS doesn't take any coupons unless they are printed off the CVS website or cut out of a paper. I explain that this was an ad that CVS placed, and as it was an online magazine the only way to redeem it would be to print it.

She begrudgingly agreed to accept it and told me that she would be calling to check up on the coupon. The manager then mumbled some things about fraud and the inability to identify fraudulent coupons as she walked away. The cashier asked me, "Do you know if I am allowed to take your coupons?" I told her that I was very sure that she was allowed to take them and she completed the transaction.

I went back for a few more shampoo bottles. The manager was close to the register as I approached and I decided to have a word with her. Her implications had really bothered me, and I wanted to clear the air. "Excuse me," I said, "I would like you to know that I am an honest person who plays by the rules. I have legitimate coupons and it isn't fair for you to imply otherwise. If the employees aren't able to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate coupons then that is a problem that you should address with corporate offices and not me, the customer." I had been rehearsing this in my head for the last three minutes.

She stood up strait and said, "It isn't just you, ALL of you are taking advantage and I have every right to know where you get your coupons!"

"Excuse me? You do NOT have the right to drill customers about where they acquire their coupons. You should address the issue with corporate."

It was at that moment where I saw the disconnect in her eyes I and knew that the conversation was over. She began SCREAMING, and lest you think I am exaggerating, Gary and my father, who at this point had taken all of the children with the exception of Katherine to the car could HEAR her yelling from there!

"GO AHEAD, CALL CORPORATE! YOU ARE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THEM ALREADY. YOU CALL AND COMPLAIN ABOUT US ALL THE TIME AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES ME FEEL? GO AHEAD, CALL THEM. I DON'T CARE ANYMORE. GET ME FIRED. GO AHEAD. IT'S IMMORAL WHAT YOU PEOPLE ARE DOING. IT'S UNETHICAL. YOU HAVE AN ILLNESS!"

"Excuse me?"

She was close enough for me to see the big ugly hairs on her chin. "THAT'S RIGHT, YOU HAVE AN ILLNESS. AN ILLNESS. YOU ARE SICK. YOU HAVE AN ILLNESS AND YOU ARE IMMORAL."

At this point the line behind me had grown to about 10 people and I was beyond humiliated. My blood pressure must have been through the roof. Not to mention my child was still standing by my side. I noticed that one of the teachers from the local elementary school was in line. Ugh. I tried my best to just ignore her at this point, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"YOU ARE ALL IMMORAL. YOU NEED HELP. IT JUST ISN'T RIGHT. YOU HAVE AN ILLNESS AND YOU NEED HELP!" (woa, project much?)

Not only was she screaming at me, but she was not helping to check out the ever growing line of customers who were presumably illness-free.

"YOU STARTED THIS. YOU ARE HOSTILE. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CAME OVER TO ME TO START THIS. YOU ARE SICK. GO SHOP SOMEPLACE ELSE. THIS ISN'T THE ONLY STORE, GO FIND A DIFFERENT PLACE TO SHOP! YOU STARTED THIS. YOU STARTED IT!

It took all of my restraint not to bring the other shoppers into the argument. It was very clear that I was not the one who had escalated this interaction.

She stopped yelling and I told Katherine to go put back her candy as we needed to leave right now. By this point I was done paying for my shampoo and needed to get the hell out of there.

When I left, I was shaking. I felt like I had been attacked, assaulted. And verbally speaking, I had been.

It's true. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

...

SPINACH

2008-11-10T10:07:00.004-04:00

Spinach is something that I rarely buy as a stand alone side dish because I am the only one in my family who will eat it. Sure, some of them will eat it in stuffed shells*, meatloaf, or chicken packages, but buy itself it is nauseous* to them.

However free is free, and I was willing to spend that kind of money even if I was the only one who would eat it. As dinner was nearing to a close, things started to get a little rowdy and Gary told Joshua, "Get me a clean fork!"

Knowing that something sinister was coming I asked, "Gary, are you being a positive role model for our family?" in my best Buzz Kill voice.

"Not at all" He replied with a strait face, causing all the children to burst out laughing. Even the Buzz Kill had to admit it was pretty funny.

He then filled a fork with spinach and placed in back on the table next to a dollar bill for anyone willing to swallow the entire fork full. Noah and Katherine both put their hands on the fork and yet somehow I was able to quickly wrangle it from them and wolf it down myself, grabbing the dollar bill in victory.

"Thanks!", I said, "I can shop all night on this!"

In between roars of laughter Gary said, "That's a shopping spree for your mother! That will carry her all week!"

He repeated the challenge with another clean fork. Not one child was able to swallow the spinach. Noah was able to get the spinach in his mouth, but he started to gag and had to spit it out. I suspect that lasts night dinner with be the story they tell as adults when asked why spinach makes them nauseated.

*When we were making our freezer meals last spring the stuffed shells were rather abundant. As we labeled the bags, certain friends took liberty with the Sharpie and some funny things ended up on the bags. Some bags had skull and crossbones on them, other's said, "Holy Hell, it's stuffed shells!" 'round the corner Jen had shells for dinner just recently and shared with me that her bag said ~~BACON~~ ~~MEATLOAF~~ STUFFED SHELLS!!!! Which made us both laugh, remembering how much fun we had that night, even if we did feel as though perhaps the shells would be eating us!

*Please note the correct usage of the words nauseous and nauseated.

...

INCOGNITO

2008-11-09T15:19:00.004-04:00

The other day I went into the grocery to nab some more free stuff. I didn't want to draw any more undue attention to myself, so I decided on two very small transactions, and I added some things to the order so they wouldn't be completely free.

Checking out went well, and I brought the groceries out the the van filled with my waiting family. The family reported that they were doing well and didn't mind if I ran in just one more time, with the exception of Katherine, so she came with me.

I chose basically the same foods as the first trip, varying only the "filler" items. The cashier rang everything through, took my coupons, and paused. She looked again at my food, then again at the coupons, and said, "This is really weird! There was a woman here not that long ago. She bought this exact same food, and she had these exact same coupons! She was here like, twenty minutes ago!"

"Well", I said "it is a fabulous deal!"

As my order was completed and the future coupons printed she exclaimed, "You only paid a dollar for all this food. And that is a dollar total, with two orders! And the machine printed out the exact same coupons for her as it is giving you now!"

"Yeah, wow, that is weird" I said looking at my shoes.

Katherine thankfully waited until we walked away to note, "It was you. YOU were the other woman!"

hehe

..

ARE YOU SICK OF THE FOOD POSTS YET?

2008-11-08T00:56:00.000-04:00

The first transaction I did was the one I mentioned earlier. It cost $1.28. Then my amazing friend put together a deal on the fly that came out to be FREE, completely free, no OOP at all.

5 cans of Chef Boyardee ($1.39 pre-sale)
4 Hunts pudding packs ($1.39 pre-sale)
3 cans of Healthy Choice soup ($2.50 pre-sale)

= 20.01 pre-sale

=$12.00 sale prices

Coupons:
$1 off 3 HC soups blinkie
$1 off 5 cans of Chef Boyardee (from the Sunday paper)

Use the $10 Catalina from a previous order

Total price, FREE*
Get back $10 Catalina

Lather, rinse, repeat

*on some transactions my friend had to pay 5, or 15 cents. I never did and for the life of us we cannot figure out why she had to.

The manager got mad and said we had to give them our Shaw's card first (and also said that she had already warned me earlier in the week...she had not. In fact, I had never even seen her before, and I'm there a lot! hehe). It worked just fine giving them the Shaw's card first, in fact it made no difference at all.

Everything pictured (including three bags donated and not pictured)

$1.28

30 Soups
36 Pudding
48 Pasta
2 Butter
1 Sugar

WHAT A DEAL!

2008-11-07T14:43:00.004-04:00

It occurred to me that there is a really sweet deal at Shaw's this week, starting today.

If you go buy 9 cans of Healthy Choice soups, use 3 $1 off 3 coupons (from the little machine next to the soup) the total will come to $6. Pay with $5 of your Free Shaw's Money and $1 in cash. Donate the entire bag.

Get back $10 in Free Shaw's Money and 9 Karma Points for $1 investment! How can you beat that?!?!

.

A FELLOW SHOPLIFTER

2008-11-07T13:59:00.004-04:00

For some time I have been hassling my good friend Jen about her spendthrift ways (the woman actually PAYS for things, can you imagine?) Anyway, after enough ~~nagging~~ gentle encouragement, she went out last night and got started in the world of legal shoplifting. Yea Jen!

So head over HERE to see the great deals she made! Go Jen!

MORE FREE CRAP

2008-11-07T13:22:00.009-04:00

I am swearing off shopping. Can you believe it? I am not shopping. At least not today, anyway.

We (my partner in crime and I) went again last night to get in a little last minute deal making. I tried to take a picture of what I bought yesterday, but I couldn't fit everything into one picture, so I had to take two. Oh, life is so hard.

The pictures include 8 packages of diapers purchased for $2.50 per pack. What isn't pictured is at least 50% that I donated to the local food pantry. That part was fun. I spent $20 on the diapers and less than $10 on all the food.

What is up with the 16 jars of mayonnaise you ask? Well, I intended to donate those too, along the the cocoa (I think 75 boxes of cocoa for one family's person consumption is adequate, don't you?). At the last minute I decided to donate the cocoa to the neighbors instead (holy cow, that's another story I have been meaning to share with you!) and it confused me, so I left the store with the cocoa and mayo.

Here is what is pictured. (Fifty percent of one day's shopping.)

17 rice
47 soups
17 potatoes
16 mayo
18 cake
6 diapers
6 frosting
19 onion soup
10 cocoa
9 broth
and a partridge in a peaaaaaaar treeeeeee!

Edited to add: I forgot about all the cookie dough in the fridge! hahaha

SO SAD

2008-11-06T10:28:00.002-04:00

I am sad that so many people voted to destroy families because they don't look like their own.

Can you imagine waking up next to your spouse on Wednesday and no longer being married?

It makes me ill that so many Christian groups lobbied so hard and dumped so much money into a campaign to destroy families. It makes me ill that so many people are still so filled with hate.

"Protect our children" is what we have heard so often. Protect them from the gay people. Because gay people will make my kids gay? Do they really think that? Really? Don't they know that gender orientation isn't contagious?

I'm more concerned about hateful attitudes, which by the way, ARE contagious. How can I protect my children from the hatred?

Separation of Church and State. Say it with me. Separation of Church and State.

For what it is worth, to all the gay and lesbian couples who have made a commitment to one another, I recognize and respect your marriage, even if our government doesn't.

It looks like gay is the new black. :(

A GREAT DAY TO BE AN AMERICAN

2008-11-05T12:41:00.002-04:00

Today is a great day to be am American. Thank you fellow citizens.

We took the kids to vote. Out side the polling facility were petitioners asking us to sign in support of gay marriage in Maine. It was neat because it sparked a conversation that we have apparently not had with the children as they had lots of questions. I loved saying to my children that EVERY family deserves equal treatment no matter what that family looks like.

Inside, we all sat in a circle on the floor and I shared with them what my choices were and why I was making them. I had a hard time choosing for one race, and I explained that as well. All of the kids were very interested in the proccess and remembered voting with us four year ago (and how upset the people there were that we were letting the children see our ballots). I want my children to understand how important it is to cast their vote and I don't want them to feel intimidated by the process when it's their turn to elect a leader. We explained that it's their right, privilege, and huge responsibility to do so.

We were all a little nervous last night watching CNN because for awhile there we were having flashbacks to 4 years ago when Kerry had a huge lead in electoral votes, then nothing as Bush's count kept climbing and climbing. Even after Obama took Ohio I was still nervous.

We cheered when the count reached over 270. I had such a sense of hope wash over me. I couldn't wait for the acceptance speech, during which I cried. When Obama said, "All Americans...gay or strait..."I cheered again.

I know that I'm not old enough to say this with any conviction, but I never thought that I would see the day that a black man could be president. I remember as a child being told that anyone could be president and distinctly thinking, "as long you are a white male". My children will never think that. How amazing!

I really feel that we are living in a new country. One which has greatly evolved and will continue to evolve into a great place for all citizens. YEA AMERICA!

FREE FOOD!

2008-11-04T07:39:00.005-04:00

I stumbled upon this Shaw's deal at Deal Finding Mom and had to go check it out for myself.

I bought everything in a few different transactions so that I could "roll" the free money they kept insisting on giving me. In total I paid $17.00 for everything in the picture (and a cap gun and 6 pack of flavored water not pictured). I left the store with all this loot and I still have $15.00 in free money left.

3 Golden Grahams
18 boxes of Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
8 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes
8 Better Crocker Frosting
9 Healthy Choice Soup
2 Knorr Side Plus Veggies
6 Knorr Side Rice Dishes
5 Lipton Onion Soup
10 Betty Crocker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
2 Green Giant Green Beans in Butter
2 Large Ziplock containers

Seventeen dollars!!! The price of these items ON SALE would be over $100. Regular price would be over $300!

I love couponing. Hot cocoa anyone?

Update:

I went back and did another transaction (or ten). I brought a friend and we had so much fun. It was far better entertainment than a box of popcorn and a movie!

What did I buy this time?

3 Chex Cereal
10 Betty Crocker cake mix
10 BC hash brown potatoes
16 BC cookie mix
4 BC frosting
2 Foil
1 Pillsbury cookies
1 Archway cookies
6 Healthy Choice soup
2 Progresso soup
10 Ragu Pasta Sauce
6 Swiss Miss Dark Cocoa
6 Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Cocoa
12 Lipton Pasta Sides
3 Gold Medal Unbleached Flour
5 Bananas (kept right by the checkout and make a great "filler" item, one banana at a time!)
1 Blue Cheese Dressing
$15 in "free money" still remaining

And not pictured are 12 boxes of Gogurt and 17 bags of Green Giant Veggies because they needed to get right into the freezer.

I was going to tell you my total expense this trip, but I think it will be more fun if you first try to guess. This is what I make Gary and the kids do whenever I go shopping; they guess too high and I excitedly yell out the right amount.

So how much do you think I paid for all of this?

FAIRY TALK

2008-11-03T11:31:00.004-04:00

Along with all the other fairies and mythical creatures (and lets not forget the creepy men in red suits) the Chocolate Fairy has been coming for quite some time to leave chocolate kisses on the freshly made beds of good little children.

Several years ago we thought that perhaps the boys were getting a little old to be believing in such things, so we sat down with them for a talk. Noah was devastated. It seems we are a bit too good at the make believe gig.

Katherine has a special fondness for the Chocolate Fairy. She writes her letters, talks about her often, and daily she will run up to her room to see if the good fairy has made an appearance. Recently Katherine started making special requests, asking questions, and talking incessantly about whether or not her requests would be fulfilled. We decided that maybe it was time for the talk.

Gary took her upstairs and they were there for a long time before she came down looking half devastated and said, "I've graduated".

Noah said, "So, did they tell you just about the Chocolate Fairy?"

"Yes Katherine, Daddy told you all about the Chocolate Fairy, right?" I quickly inserted.

"Yeah, but did he tell you everything?"

"THERE'S MORE?!?!?!" She yelled.

"Yes NOAH!!!!" I said in my sternest much eye contact voice, "Daddy told her everything about the Chocolate Fairy!"

We of course made a big deal about how now she can help with the magic for the little ones, but holy cow I am NOT looking forward to debunking any more myths.

For Christmas, the top item on Katherine's Santa list is an elf. That's right...she is requesting that Santa leave her an elf. I made a point of telling her that Santa wasn't a slave holder and doesn't own elves, making it impossible for him to gift an elf. Sigh.

I think what this house needs is a Vodka Fairy.

ONE YEAR

2008-11-02T12:37:00.004-04:00

Today marks one year since I last saw the girls. One year ago today they left my house with a casual "goodbye, see ya later". And I haven't seen or spoken to them since.

I am waiting for that moment when thinking about them doesn't tear at my heart.

I took this picture with the sole intention of blogging it. I didn't have any pictures of the girls that didn't show their faces, and yet I wanted to be able to share them on the blog. A year and a half later (although it just seems like yesterday) here it is.

From left to right, Joshua, Noah, Matthew, Katherine, Anna, Amy.

Goodbye girls. I carry you in my heart everyday and I will never forget you. I hope you know that we loved you.

JBOTBBM

2008-11-01T20:02:00.003-04:00

I was going to sign up for NaBloPoMo but it seems I wasn't wanted. For some reason that is beyond me I wasn't able to register. Oh well. Even so, November will be my "jump back on the blogging bandwagon month".

I will leave you tonight with a game that we played yesterday at Noah's birthday party.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW NOAH?

1.) What time was it when Noah was born?

a.) 7:58 AM

b.) 7:32 PM

c.) 3:22 AM

2.) When Noah was 3, what did he think his last name was?

a.) Smurf

b.) Noodle

c.) No! No! No!

3.) When Noah was 2, what did he say to the baby chicks?

a..) I want to hold the Puff balls! I want to hold the Puff balls!

b..) Here Squishy Squishy! Here Squishy Squishy!

c.) Hi, Chicken Nuggets! Hi, Chicken Nuggets!

4.) What is Noah’s favorite animal?

a.) Panda

b.) Moose

c.) Platapus

5.) Where was Noah born?

a.) In the hospital

b.) In a car

c.) At home

6.) Something on Noah is not real. What is it?

7.) One time Noah cut himself on barbed wire and needed stitches. Where on his body is his scar?

a.) Knee

b.) Butt

c.) Back

GOD SAVE ME FROM THE APPLES!

2008-09-17T10:59:00.004-04:00

171 pounds of apples. One hundred and seventy one pounds. That's the size of a nine month pregnant woman! How's that for a mental picture of how many apples we have? :)

In our family we don't go apple picking so much as apple collecting. To go apple picking it costs $22 per bushel, but when apple collecting it only costs $6 per bushel. They are called "drops" and that's exactly what they are, apples that have dropped off the trees. Some of them are half eaten or rotting, but most of them are perfectly good apples. We only collect the perfectly good apples and I dare say one would be hard pressed to tell that we were collecting rather than picking based on the appearance of our loot.

We collected 4 bushels. We were only going to get one, maybe two, but I have that complex that sent me back into the orchard twice for more! Of course I plan to share so I needed more and more apples!

Here is the super simple recipe that I use to make the most beautiful and delicious applesauce:

First I fill the sink with cool water and a tiny bit of bleach, because the apples were on the ground. Then I rinse them off, cut them in half, and toss them into the biggest pot I can find. A half inch or so of water goes into the pot and I set it on high. Soon all the apples are soft, and I remove them from the heat.

I get out another huge pot and put my food mill on top of that. Soft apples are scooped into the mill, given a few turns, (sugar and cinnamon added to taste) and voila, homemade applesauce with minimal effort.

The great thing about making it the lazy way is that the sauce gets a nice pink hue from the skins. This works for me. Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more great ideas!

When you have 171 pounds of apples, the next step is to can them, but for normal people (read: not me!) you could put your applesauce in the fridge, or freeze it as well.

FAIRY HOUSE

2008-09-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

Katherine and Matthew have been building "fairy houses" on our front lawn. The other day it came to my attention that a real live fairy has been visiting and leaving notes of thanks for them. How bizarre, for I was unfamiliar with this particular fairy.

"It must be our neighbor", I thought, although I couldn't remember a conversation when she would have been made aware of the fairy houses. So I asked her about it and she had no knowledge either. After asking around some more it was discovered that the "fairy" was my beloved Noah. He has been secretly visiting the dwellings to leave notes and spare change for his younger brother and sister.

Man, I love that kid!

MY NEW FAVORITE SITE

2008-09-13T22:05:00.002-04:00

THIS site is just amazing. You enter an ISBN of a book that you would like to sell, and it gives you a list what online book buyers would like to buy your book as well as how much they will pay you for it. Most will even let you print a prepaid shipping label. You can have them mail you a check or deposit funds into paypal.

We picked up some books for free today, and the very first one I entered is worth $30! WooHoo.

BookScout.com is awesome! Check it out.

DEAR "PLASTIC BANDAGE" PEOPLE

2008-09-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

A little while back CVS had bandaids for free. Better than free, in fact they paid us to take them.

When we opened one package we found that some of the bandaids were black. It was really strange, so Gary called corporate to inquire. He was told to return them to the store for a replacement, and as an apology they would be placing $3 in ECBs on his card. Free bandaids plus more free bandaids plus $3 free money. Sweet.

Today the FedEx guy arrived with a package for Gary. Inside was a letter of apology from the manufacturer stating that they have corrected the problem and changed the way they do quality control to ensure that it never happens again. Along with the note was another box of bandaids, and a big honking bag filled with bandaids as well.

Dear Bandaid People,

You are forgiven.

Seriously.

You can let it go now.

Thanks for the bandaids.

~Us

$300

2008-09-08T23:48:00.001-04:00

We made $300, which isn’t bad at all, but $300 is still not worth the price we paid. At the end of the day I was more tired than I can remember being at any other time in my life. Gary and I both fell asleep in our lawn chairs. I kid you not.

I found myself strangely attached to certain items that I don’t have any conscious attachment to. It was very bizarre. Some thing I was able to let go for a quarter, and others I refused to let go for generous offers. Things like bead boxes that I don’t use, and allergy medicine that I only bought because the store paid me to. Huh.

The most interesting sale of the day was when Gary sold a rock. If you have ever been to my house then perhaps your rear tire is familiar with the rock of which I speak. A few years ago, we were out rockhounding. Gary found a very interesting speciment and proclaimed that he was taking it home to adorn the front lawn. We all thought he was nuts, but he carried that darn rock out of the mine and the 20 hundred (give or take) miles to the car, eventually placing it at the end of the driveway. It is a pretty rock, filled with mica, fossilized coral, and pink cookite, but it’s a ROCK. Someone asked if it was for sale. I said no, and she quickly said, “I’ll give you five bucks for it!” “Sold!” Gary interjected! Who sells a ROCK at a lawn sale? With our luck it was probably worth $500.

I hated the lawn sale. I don’t ever want to do it again. If we had pulled in $1000 I would have considered it a day well spent, but $300? So not worth it. The house is trashed, it took an entire day and evening to prepare and a whole day was lost in the sale.

Gary on the other hand thinks it was a great success and wants to do it again. Sigh.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

2008-09-05T20:45:00.002-04:00

It is possible that I threw myself into this lawn sale insanity as a way to avoid the room full of laundry. The laundry would have been easier.

Note to self: Just fold the stinking laundry.

LAWN SALE

2008-09-05T14:45:00.003-04:00

At lunch time today I decided that I was ready for a lawn sale. We are busy next weekend, so tomorrow it is. Holy crap. We are having a lawn sale tomorrow.

It's better this way because I have no time to think and reminisce, and no time to change my mind. All my crap will be gone 24 hours from now.

I am ruthlessly hoeing out. My poor stuff. Adored just days ago. Today unwanted and unloved.

The first time we had a lawn sale I swore that we would never do it again. Never ever.

I said the same thing last time too. This is a lot of work. I will feel better tomorrow, right? All this hard work will be worth it, yes?

MUSEUM DAY

2008-09-05T00:40:00.005-04:00

Joshua, Noah, Katherine, and I started our volunteer positions at the museum today. We have been very excited and feel really lucky to have the opportunity. The place is just great, and the curator made it sound as though she would fully initiate each of them into the world of preservation, archiving, cataloging, and so on.

We were told that today we would start by putting together craft kits for school children. 800 of each and every little sucker. Ugh. They wanted me to cut out 800 bat wings out of felt. No thank you very much. I offered instead to take them to our "teacher's" resource center (that has generously allowed us access as homeschoolers) to use their die cutting machine.

We hadn't quite finished up with that when she asked the kids to go through the catalogs and make a list of things to order for the gift shop. She gave a very detailed lesson on how things are priced, taking into account shipping and tax (and so on and so forth).

While they were working on that there was another craft that needed to be put together, and a scavenger hunt that needed to be created, and a video that we needed to watch on proper housekeeping techniques in museums, and no, only watch half the video because now we need to archive photos and learn the 900 different fields in the computer where descriptions can be inputed and the 10,000 possible descriptions with another very detailed lesson and wait, what are we ordering from the catalogs? and someone needs to go out and check that the trail markers and maps were done properly, and the gift shop needs to be reorganized, and oh, here is another craft that needs to be finished only the person did it all wrong and it needs to be redone and what about those historical photos?

It was time to go. We were burned out and the kids didn't want to write out the rough draft of what we were cataloging anymore or do any more cutting. So we said our goodbyes, but before we could leave it was time to go into the restricted area to see how to store items with another very detailed lesson, and did we have any more ideas for some craft projects? And wait, don't forget this arm load of felt!

There is a lot to do there.

I'm still really excited that we have the opportunity. Really really. I do need to find a way to express the need to work on and complete a project before moving on. Even thought we got a TON done (it was expressed that we did more in few hours than they have gotten done in weeks) I still left feeling like I left a bunch of fires burning. It would have been nice to leave feeling a sense of accomplishment, considering how much we actually accomplished.

The biggest accomplishments I felt was "cataloging" in my brain all the various "school" subjects we were exposed to today. I could list them all, but honestly, what didn't the kids do today? We are so freaking lucky!!!

Oh yeah, we went over to the resource center later this afternoon to cut the gazillion pieces of felt. It turns out that it isn't any easier with the die cut machine. Ugh.

GREAT IDEA

2008-09-04T19:49:00.001-04:00

What a great idea!

An Elections Unit Study blog class!

This is just what I was looking for!

TODAY'S RACKET

2008-08-21T15:34:00.002-04:00

McDonalds has coupons out for a free chicken sandwich when you buy a medium or large drink. We have a stack of them to use up. The iced tea is only $1 for 32 ounces so I bought three large cups of iced tea, no ice, and a large ice coffee, also no ice. I brought it all home and put it in the fridge, and froze the chicken for use at a later date. It would make great chicken parm! mmmm

Click here for the coupon Mmmmmmm

When we pulled up to the window at McDonalds the boy was literally hanging out holding the four large beverages. He said, "I am holding in my hands enough liquid to drown you internally! I learned that in my anatomy class!"

"Okay, uh, thanks?" I said.

Then he handed us our chicken and said, "That was really creepy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, cause it was really creepy."

Yes kid, you used your OUTSIDE voice. Those are the things we say with our INSIDE voice. Better luck next time.

By the way, the whole inside/outside voice sayings is one of my favorite. I first learned it when the State Police Detective came to my house on foster care related business. He said some very kind things about us and our home, which was really sweet. Later he had some really nasty things about the then current caseworker, followed by, "Oh crap, was that my outside voice?" hehehe

FREAKING OUT

2008-08-14T15:36:00.002-04:00

My head is spinning right now. We were just out and about and ran into someone we know from the foster/adopt world. She told Gary that she had seen our girls and they were in a different office, and available for adoption and photo listed.

I haven't confirmed it yet. I am shaking and I feel like I am going to be sick. She has to be wrong. When I gave up the girls it was with the understanding that the foster home cared deeply for them, would take good care of them, and ultimately wanted to adopt all three of them. Is it possible that they have been TPR'd, moved to another office, and photo listed? I can't imagine that it is possible, but this person did know our girls.

Ugh.

If they are there, I will be so frigging thrilled to see their faces, I think I will cry. But on the other hand, if they are there, what the hell do I do?

We had talked early on of the possibility of something like this happening and realized that once they were gone they were gone, because how would they ever trust us again? By letting them go we were breaking something that could never be mended. But if they are out there, available for adoption...

Should I look? I don't know. I did talk to the agency who does the listings and she did tell me that there was a new "batch" of kids coming through, which would have happened last week.

Ugh.

UPDATE:

I looked. They aren't there. Thank God. I don't even know what I would have done. The physical reaction just from the possibility was not fun. Ouch. Note to the world: Foster Care sucks.

TIRED. CAN'T. KEEP. UP.

2008-08-13T21:11:00.005-04:00

My seventy year old mother is kicking my butt! She complains that she is tired, but she keeps going like the Energizer bunny!

We picked her up at the train station late. For some reason she opted to take the last train, arriving at 7:30 pm. Oh yeah, it's because she WORKED that morning! As I was unable to attend her fancy pants birthday celebration we decided that we would take her out to dinner when she came to visit as a substitute.

The dinner was a disaster. The service was pretty awful, and after NOT getting some things we ordered and waiting over an hour for our food it arrived COLD. I was so disappointed that I asked to speak to the manager. Then we had to wait for her as well. I very calmly described my disappointment and stated just the facts, including having to wait what seemed an unreasonable time for her own arrival. She apologized, but not before telling me how busy she was on the phone, and then offered to comp our meal. That was nice, but it let me feeling guilty, and now we couldn't really count it as "taking Mom out to dinner".

The next morning she gone when I got up. We looked around for her and found her down the road. She had gone for a WALK! And now she was ready to go out to breakfast. We headed down to our favorite breakfast spot where she can get a HUGE order of Eggs Benedict for $5. (I had hash, because I know you are all waiting with bated breath!)

Mom wanted to head up to the famous New Balance Tent Sale for some cheap sneaks. She ended up buying some of the most expensive sneakers I have EVER seen. Even with the tent sale combined with 20% off they cost more than 2 1/2 times what she normally pays! She claims they are the most supportive shoes she has ever worn, the Cadillac of sneakers.

I also went way over budget to buy myself a pair of running shoes. I didn't give into the complaints from children who wanted sneakers even though they had several new pairs at home, nor to my internal financial filter. I didn't buy the cheapest pair available, and I didn't even flinch at the price. I can't wait to go running in them. They are some snazzy shoes.

Gary wanted to drive by the auction house to see if it was on the market yet, and Mom wanted to drive by a little resort that I had told her about. It's for sale for a mere half a million. We had stopped there and walked the grounds a bit right before the auction; it really is a beautiful place.

See?

By now I was feeling the effects of running all day, but the kids wanted to stop at the museum. We have been attempting to get there for many years and something always gets in our way so we all decided just to stop in for a few minutes. Talk about a hidden gem. This museum, that I had always though of as a little dinky sweet place had the most extensive collection of ocean life, wildlife, birds, and rocks and minerals. It was mind blowing. The Maine State Museum is one of our favorite places to visit; this museum puts them to shame!

The kids and I wanted to spend more time there, so I asked if there were any volunteer opportunities and spend the next half hour hearing about all the work they would let the kids do and all the skills they would be willing to teach them. I wish I could remember them all, but they included preservation, grant writing, archiving, tours, research, organizing art, outreach, etc. She mentioned several volunteers who had gone on to do great things with the skills they had learned there, including one man who started volunteering when he was only 10!

Then it was time to eat again of course. We chose our favorite "kids eat cheap" place and had a great meal. It seemed like a good time to celebrate Mom's birthday, so we had them bring out dessert while singing to her. The look on her face was priceless!

Then there was the obligatory stop at CVS, but that goes without saying, right?

My mother has MORE energy now that at any other point in her life, since I've known her anyway. I can't keep up. Now she wants to go out to breakfast and then shopping for a new bag!

SNOWBIRDS? US?

2008-08-12T14:41:00.002-04:00

The northeast is buzzing right now with fear about rising fuel costs. It is a serious concern, and we estimate that we will spend around $5,000 to heat our house this winter if we are conservative with usage.

Gary and I thought that a better idea for my family is to allocate $1,500 towards fuel to drive south, leaving $3,500 our of the heating budget for expenses, mainly housing. Shutting down the house completely while we are gone will allow us to use the funds currently being spent on electricity, telephone, internet, etc. elsewhere.

We thought about Workamping as an option, but the places that are available to us are in areas that we could easily afford the camp fee. I have yet to find a place near that beach that is affordable or open to Workamping. So I don’t quite have a plan, but we have intentionally avoided making a firm plan, because we are looking forward to an adventure. We don't want to escape all the way to Florida only to be tied down to a volunteer position or a crappy campsite.

A few weeks ago, Gary and I were a definite go and excitedly began sharing our plans. Then friends would say things like, “We are really going to miss you!” and even worse, “But what about the chicken?” and I began to loose my nerve.

Someone else mentioned that all our food stores would certainly freeze if left unattended. (No problem! I will take it all with me! I can see my superhero cape blowing in the wind…SuperKerry, protector of the jams!)

We started brainstorming some possible obstacles, real and imagined. The first would be an inability to purchase food due to a severe economic crisis. If that happened we would high tail it home and bunker down with our community. But! What if that was preceded by the inability to purchase gas to travel? And that is where we completely lost our sense of adventure. Being trapped in Florida without food and friends does not a good time make.

We went from a 99% go to something more like a 50/50. Just thinking about it caused stress. There are still very compelling reasons to go. We still want to go. I feel very fortunate that we are even in a position to be having serious discussions about this.

What do you think? Would it be adventurous or brainless to take the family to Florida for the winter? What about our economy? Are you worried about a collapse? Does the possibility of an absence of available food or fuel scare you?

And of course, what about the chicken?

ON BEING OLD

2008-08-11T22:34:00.002-04:00

The Facebook site is seriously addictive. It's like stepping into a time machine and pulling up people that only exist in memory. Like the person you sat next to in the 4th grade.

The problem comes as you start chatting it up and soon realize that the events being recalled happened over TWENTY FREAKING YEARS AGO and you suddenly realize that you are OLD. Much older than you thought. And maybe you even have children OLDER than you were when said event took place.

After you have been thinking about it awhile it occurs to you that you are sleeping with a 40+ year old married man. Something you never thought in a million years you would ever do. Sigh.

NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU ATE FOR LUNCH (but I'm posting it anyway).

2008-08-10T12:17:00.003-04:00

For breakfast: Homemade bread smothered with blueberry jam (made yesterday with Jen and Gannet. We cooked and canned 8 pints, 21 jelly jars, 3 mini jelly jars, and froze a few gallons of blueberries that are begging to be made into muffins).

Lunch: Homemade chowder (bacon, onion, potato, and corn).The potatoes were a few stragglers from the corned beef and purple cabbage I made for Gary's birthday, which was also very yummy.

I only wish I could post my pictures. The jam is absolutely beautimus!

FACEBOOK

2008-08-09T14:01:00.002-04:00

This Facebook thing is freaking me out. I keep finding people that I haven't seen in 20 years, and then sending them a message. I can't figure out what is worse; if they message back or if they don't.

Is it worse to be remembered or forgotten?

Does anyone else do this Facebook business? Do you message people when you find them?

Is there an etiquette I should know before proceeding?

I AM NOT A DUCK

2008-08-08T08:44:00.003-04:00

Please, please, please...someone send some sunshine!

It has been raining for most of July and all but one day of August. It's wet and chilly. Little people cannot play outside and big people cannot plan fun outings.

We attempted to pick raspberries, but the plants are all dying due to lack of sun (We did get some blueberries for a jamming session, but we paid for them in dry clothing).People are getting moldy. It's dark and dreary. What happened to the global warming? Still, I think an ark is in our future. Sigh.

I am grateful for my warm dry house. I'm so glad that we are not camping.

FOLD UP BOAT

2008-08-07T11:13:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago we were gifted a boat. I wasn't going to mention it on the blog because there were some conditions placed on the gift, and it was, well, complicated and easier to just say nothing.

The boat is a fold up boat. Yes, it folds up and you can carry it ~~in your pocket~~ like a surfboard. The genius of this is that we can attach it to the crapper (what we call our beloved camper) and forgo the separate boat trailer.

Several people have asked for a picture of the boat, but it's been raining and my computer is ignoring my camera. I don't know why they can't just get along. Anyway, Joshua was able to take my memory card and slip it into an old MP3 player and trick my computer into thinking the pictures are music. Here it is, the picture you have all been waiting for. Our new fold up boat:

DARN IT ALL TO HECK! THE COMPUTER WILL NOT BE FOOLED! GRRRR. We'll keep trying. Sorry to get your hopes up!

YEA! We (Joshua) did it!!!!

Without further ado, Our new boat:

NEW SERIES-LUNCH WITH LUCY

2008-08-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

Lunch with Yondalla and her family has inspired me to post the other two people in the top three of my top ten list of bloggers I'd like to have lunch with (not have for lunch because, ewww).

TUDU is one. I love the unshakable faith she has in her family, and the unconditional love she is able to demonstrate for her kids, of whom she has 7. Go visit her here.

JENNI is another. I'm really impressed by her mega family...no, that's not it. What impresses me is not just that she is the mother of 12, but she is so humble about it; she is just a mother (and soon to be a grandmother...eeeeeek!) just like me. Visit her here.

There are all kinds of carnivals all over the bloggesphere, but nowhere is anyone doing a lunch series. I can see it now, other bloggers could travel here and have lunch with me. I could stay home and still meet everyone I've ever wanted to meet. We could call it Lunch with Kerry. No. KIBBLES with Kerry! Kibbles and Konversation with Kerry. Even better, I could change my name and have Lunch and Linky Love with Lori (or Lynn, or Lindsey, or Laura, or Lupe...someone stop me!)

GETAWAY

2008-08-05T07:45:00.000-04:00

Shortly before our anniversary Gannet suggested that she come spend the weekend at our house in order for Gary and I to leave it and the children behind.

Yes, that's right. My friend is ~~insane~~really nice. It's true. She wanted to babysit our children. I still don't know why, other than the fact that she is ~~insane~~ an incredibly generous friend.

When Gary and I first married, 15 years seemed like a really long time. I figured we would have six kids, all two years apart, and ridiculous sums of disposable income, so that by our fifteenth anniversary we would be jetting off to Hawaii for a week. Bahahahahaha

Instead we have a baby that tagged along on our romantic getaway, and enough cash for a campsite.

We brought the trailer with the idea that we would only sleep in it, saving ourselves $250. Gary also did not want me to "meal plan" or pack our food. I have never been away without a "plan".

We ate out, a lot. Something we really have never done. It was very nice, and not as expensive without all the kids. We went here twice. The first night we both ordered a dinner and I was devastated by all the leftover food that needed to be tossed. Normally I would take it with me, but there was no way to make it work (although I did briefly consider asking them to box it up, insulate it, and provide ice, and hold it until I was done shopping...you can see why this wasn't going to work!). The next time we smartened up and split a burger. And still it was more than enough food.

There was a family at the restaurant with 6 children, the oldest was six years old. Yes, I went over and asked. I only had one kid, so I could gawk like everyone else. Don't worry, I complimented them on their beautiful family and said what a great job they were doing as parents because their children were so wonderfully behaved.

We did some shopping and stopped for ice cream, and at night felt incredibly guilty about leaving the children before putting the baby to bed and playing cards. We had some really neat games to play too, because Saturday morning we had been lawn saleing without any ~~whinny fun suckers~~ children.

The whole weekend was way too much fun. And not just for Gary and I, but for the kids as well. They all had a great time ~~being spoiled by~~ spending time with Gannet and Boon.

I could get used to this getting away with only one kid business. We'll have to do it again in another 15 years!