Ok, I'm a sad, sad person. I've spent way too much time online-shopping lately (and shopping deals in brick-and-mortar stores too). When you're at home all day with 4 kids... it's my release in the evening! But can I just show off some of my amazing scores?
- A $100 Anolon saucier pan for $12.50 shipped (and it's WONDERFUL... I love it... I now want more Anolon!)
- 8-9 gifts apiece for Tommy and Gracelynn at $90 apiece total! Mind you, $60 of that was for a Leapfrog TAG reader device and books. So, I'm nearly done with Christmas shopping for those two!
- A cool Zathura shadowbook for $1.00... we recently watched the movie and although Mike and I thought it was a little lame, Ben loved it. It's a hardback book that you shine a flashlight at to show shadows of the film on the wall. (Also got Tomie dePaola books...my favorite children's author... and chapter books for $1 apiece too... even some with a Christian basis.)
- Thrillville for the Wii for $10; Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii for $25; Luxor for the Wii for $15... guess how busy the Wii will be after Christmas.
- TONS of goodie-bag things for Gracelynn's birthday party. Granted she isn't having a party till December, but I bought so many things at Target, I'm set. Love Target's 75% off sales... especially in the dollar spot!
- Hannah Montana and High School Musical dolls (barbie-style) for less than $5 each... future gift ideas.
- Dinosaur documentary-style DVD's for $5 each.
- Some church-shoes for me (I'm usually in flip-flops or sneakers) for $20 apiece at Marshalls.
- TWELVE pairs of summery shoes for Reagan, Grace and Ben for $27 total at Target! I bought the next size up, so we're good for next year (hopefully). Most were for Reagan, so if she grows too quickly this year (not normal for her), I can pass along to Grace later. Again, love those 75% off sales!
- In the spring, I bought Reagan 11 Limited Too sweaters for $77 shipped... and got some "Too Bucks" for later purchases. We later bought a dress, pajamas, 2 shirts, a High School Musical DVD, 2 HM stationary sets, a set of "bling" headphones for her iPod and some candy... we used the Too Bucks and a $25 giftcard leftover from her birthday and STILL had money left on the card. Woo-hoo! I would never shop at that ridiculously priced store if it weren't for the amazing clearance deals you can find in the back of the store and online.
- An eBay lot of 39 "bottoms" for girls for $95 shipped. Only 2 pair fit Reagan now, but she is set once she grows to a size 8 and up... even brand-names, mostly jeans.
- ... and that's not to mention the amazing things I've picked up along the way from Freecycle, when I am *chosen*.
How do I find these things? A few places. For one, I check out amazon.com from time to time in the toy section. I click on "Toy Outlet" and then on the left click on 70% off or more. The listing is not always accurate to be 70% off, but that's how I found a bunch of nice things (like from Learning Resources, my favorite catalog for preschoolers). You can also check out the 50-70% off. Like I said, not all listings seem to be accurate, but you never know. I became a prime member, so on Amazon-shipped items, I can usually get free 2-day shipping on any order.
Another site? I hate to squeal this one away in case people jump on the goodies listed before I get to it. LOL But, maybe you'll also POST some good deals too? It's http://forums.gottadeal.com . This link takes you to the online forums, but you can also check out the offline deals at B&M stores (Brick-and-mortar). This is where I found all of the Wii games, the Anolon pan, and much more. Be patient... something cool will come up.
I also joined Freecycle in my community. If you go to Yahoo Groups, you can search to find a local Freecycle community for you as well. It's a group where you can post WANTEDS or OFFERS on things you'd like or things you have to give away... ALWAYS for free. I usually do a yard sale a year, but it suffered greatly this year. I had given away TONS of stuff as I came across stuff in the house throughout the year. Much better than piling it up in a spare room for 12 months. It felt good. That way I won't feel guilty snagging something nice for us, too. We've gotten clothes, shoes, toys, food, candlesticks, and much more over the last 10 months or so since I joined. I've also found takers of our things: some cute unused things of the kids, our crib and changing table, shelves, toys... even unopened pantry items that I know I'd never use. I LOVE FREECYCLE! When I was in PA, my mom handed me bags of boys' clothes. Much of it was too big for Ben and Tommy now, but it'll be great for next year. She got them all from a lady on Freecycle. Do you know how hard it is to find nice clean boys' clothes used? These were all big-name shirts and in impeccable condition. I gave some to a friend to use with her son till mine grow into them. I sent the lady an amazingly gushy thank you note. People on Freecycle are usually so awesome. In the last 2 weeks though, I was chosen to get two things from two different ladies (shoes for the girls). Both had to write to apologize because someone else stole them off their porches. What? Who would do that? Granted, it's usually on the honor system with stuff being placed on porches with no one watching. Ugh... so not EVERYONE is awesome. But most are! If you are a fellow Freecycler, thanks so much for making our county Freecycle group awesome!!! I'm off this afternoon to pick up a hose reel from a sweet lady down the street. Two days ago, Gracelynn finally got a soccer/camping-style fold-up chair of her own from another lady down the street... great way to meet neighbors, eh? Freecycle rocks!
Pfaltzgraff.com has a neat clearance section to find little dishes or pots or such. They make great gifts for teachers and coaches to stuff with candy or cookies at Christmas. I've done this in the past. Right now, I'm not sure I need to do it... I may have enough gifts for teachers already from other deals I've found.
Good magazine/book sites:
www.lowpricesubs.com I got Rachael Ray, Shape, Parent and Child, and Family Fun magazines for $2/subscription! Granted, they haven't arrived yet (still in the middle of the 8-12 week wait period), but others on gottadeal said they were good.
www.sortfloorbooks.com Great cheap deals. A little annoying to navigate, but search for authors or titles.
www.bookcloseouts.com Found lots of $1 books here. Check out August Promotions to find the link to the $1.00 summer sale.
Good photo-product site, similar to Shutterfly or Snapfish:
www.artscow.com The location of this printer is in Hong Kong, so shipping is a little high and delayed, but if you sign in, you get lots of coupons for FREE products. We got a nice little hardbound book of the kids' summer photos for $11 shipped. Also got 200 free prints... just paid shipping. They were nice photos too. Guess who developed our China trip photos!?
www.disneyshopping.com If you come at the right time and shop in clearance and sale sections and have a coupon code at the ready, you can get great deals. I got a CARS floor coloring pad for $6, an R/C Cars car for $4, PJs for $3.99 each, and more.
www.childrensplace.com Again, if you come at the time of their big clearance sales, as I did, you can get unbelievable prices. I bought tons of sunglasses for $.99 each, matching clothes for Reagan and Grace, slip-on Vans-style shoes for $5, boys' khaki pants for $5, jeans for $5 and much more. They had similar deals in store, too. I just glanced online... they still have summer clearance with $.99 tanks and $3.99 tees if you are ready to stock up for next summer. With two boys and two girls, I love that I can match their clothes... occasionally!
www.silverjewelryclub.com Everything listed on this site is free. All sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious gems. The catch? Only 4 things are offered at any given time... and only for 15 minutes apiece. You cannot double up things in one shipping... everything is shipped separately. And shipping is $6.99. So basically every item is $6.99 shipped. If you are looking for some cute earrings or a nice gift pendant for Christmas, it's a good spot. I got one pair of dangling earrings. They are smoky quartz (brown) ovals on a silver chain with posts. Cute! But I won't be shopping here as much as I originally thought. I can get silver earrings at Kohls when it's 50-70% off for less. No gems, but I prefer simple anyway.
A new favorite store is Five Below. One went into the next town over. I found lots of Cranium books and games (normally $12-$20) for $4-$5 apiece! Cool!
Well, that's enough for now. If anyone knows of great forums pages to find great deals, please let me know. Can't beat $12 Anolon pans and $10 Wii games when they pop up, y'know?
Ever since school was let out, I've been trying to figure out a way to get back to walking. I've finally gotten to a point where my foot doesn't kill me to walk on it, at least not in the same way, thanks to two cortisone shots and more physical therapy. But how does one go walking around the neighborhood with four kids in tow. And after Tommy caught got second-degree burns from the treadmill once while I was on it, I am terrified to use the treadmill in the presence of the kids. I've managed to get out a couple of times in the evening, but that's always a mess with taekwondo schedules and dinner and our family-time. Julia, a friend, suggested going to the track. Yes! It works! Thank you Julia! Our elementary school put in a new big playground last year and a 1/8 mile track the year before that. So, I gather up all four kids... two in a stroller, two on bikes, two scooters folded in the back of the stroller... and water bottles and head up to the school. I believe it's about 1/4-1/3 mile up to the school. Then I walk 16 laps (2 miles) while the kids do whatever. They can play on the playground, bike or scooter around the basketball courts, bike or scooter around the track, walk around the track with me, or just sit and relax. For half of the time I'm walking, I'm facing all four kids. I just keep one ear open for any tears or yells. So far, so good. No one is there when we are and things have been going great! I think maybe we'll take a basketball next time too. Anyway, in the course of one hour, I get in 2.5 miles of walking while the kids get their playground time. Reagan has become quite the pro on the bike, and Ben did really well today! We just have to be sure to leave before 8am or else the humidity and heat is too intense. Plus, a bonus with leaving so early? Half the track is shaded by trees! Not to mention I still am home and showered by 9:30 with the whole day ahead of us. :-) Yes!
Another bonus to our new plan? Not only do the four kids get in a lot of physical activity and play time in the mornings, but in the evenings these next two weeks we have swimming lessons for the older three. They should sleep well these next two weeks. YAY!
Now, with the above title, how many would've guessed I was referring to the Dentist office?
Last Friday, I took all four kids to the dentist. 8am in a town 45 minutes away (with traffic). Of course, in rush hour, heading toward DC, I hit traffic. So, we left at 7am. I expected an easy-breezy visit with Ben, Reagan and Tommy... not sure what to expect with Gracelynn. Before we left for China, I called to add her to the checkup visits. They could fit her in at 8:40, so I felt happy to have her first dentist appointment scheduled. Then, when we first got Gracelynn and realized she had NEVER brushed her teeth in her life, we panicked. Our first instinct was to immediately call and cancel her appointment. However, as weeks went by, we realized she was the one child in the family that LIKED to brush her teeth. So, I kept the appointment. I'm glad I did.
The reason I travel 45 minutes to get to the dentist is that it's the coolest pediatric dentist's office I've ever seen. In the LARGE waiting area, there is a tree (fake, but real sized) that houses a kitchen area, an air-hockey table, a video-game center with four stools and PS2's, a large-screen plasma TV with theater-style steps to watch movies under a ceiling of white starry lights, huge bean-bag chairs to pile up and jump on, and many books to boot... and that doesn't include the adult area with a TV and comfy chairs and magazines and a coffee station. The bathroom is completely automatic... toilet, paper towels, soap and trashcan. No touching anything but the toilet paper. :-) Then, before you head back to the huge office (with at least 12-14 seats), you pick your DVD that plays on the movable TV screen at your chair. If the DVD isn't enough to distract you, perhaps the big train track attached to the ceiling above will keep your attention while the hygenists put their bubble-gum flavored gloved hands into your mouth while you wear cool sunglasses under the light. To say the least, it's VERY VERY VERY child friendly. Plus they do the orthodontic work there, so no extra offices to worry about.
I watched Ben, Tommy, and Reagan all head back with their movies. My goal was to have Grace sit with me while I watched Tommy. He has had his teeth injuries (fell on them on the concrete driveway and shifted two front teeth out of position about 1.5 years ago and now has two brown teeth), but the last couple of dentist visits went smoothly. Friday, however, he decided to have a meltdown. The Thomas the Tank Engine movie wasn't good enough. He wanted nothing to do with the super-sweet hygenist who kept playing games with him. I was so worried that Grace was getting a bad impression of dentists, so I had her look over at Reagan and Ben who were doing well. Eventually I had to hold Tommy on my lap and hold down his arms so they could briefly clean the teeth. Grace watched the DVD instead.
Then, after Tommy was done, we sat... and sat... and sat... and sat. How the one dentist could get stalled with her first appointment of the day, I don't know (our hygenist for Grace was held up because of the dentist). So, eventually I found myself chasing both kids around the office... basically saying, "Don't touch that", "Close that drawer", "Put that down", "Don't touch the dentist's tools", etc. Fortunately Reagan and Ben could sit in the waiting area on their own. Tommy was done at 8:40. Grace wasn't seen until 9:15. Ugh. I felt for sure that we were in for a huge meltdown, since it was obvious she was impatient. So was I! I almost never complain in doctor's offices... but that day I did.
Ha! She sat down, said, "cheese" and did everything the hygenist asked!!! She even had her X-rays taken beautifully!! I was astounded. First dentist visit and she loved it. Well, all four kids earned their prizes that day (... Tommy, well... at least he didn't injure anyone during the fits.) Bouncy balls and tattoos around!
Ok... one bad incident. Just as the dentist was making her way over to check over Grace's teeth, Grace and Tommy were fighting over the TV and who it should be pointing towards. Grace hauled off and kicked Tommy in the mouth. Geesh... At least we were at the dentist in case another tooth came loose. (He was fine... actually, she barely brushed his cheek, but she was in "timeout" with no TV screen for a short bit.)
Diagnosis? Ben comes back in 4 weeks to get the front teeth all "braced" up, in addition to the lovely appliance already in his mouth. Hopefully he'll be able to stop the face-mask at that point. Reagan was told another year till she begins orthodontic work. Tommy was fine, but since the two teeth did discolor, we now need to pay close attention to make sure they don't abscess and get infected. Grace has one tooth that is dysplastic (is that right?) where the enamel is thin and thus the tooth is more translucent and susceptible to cavities. It's a front tooth, and I did notice it being more yellow... I just assumed it was because of plaque.
Anyway, everyone now has shiny white teeth. :-) And Mommy made the next appointment in January with all four being seen at 8:00am (first appointment of the day) in side-by-side chairs! Woo-hoo! I get to sit back and watch and not chase anyone. Of course, I did tell Mike on my way home that he gets to take them next. LOL
This was bound to be a long summer for all of us. Other than the scattered camping week, VBS, tennis lessons, a quick trip to PA, and a few weekends of company, we really didn't have anything BIG to look forward to. No vacations. I was worried what I'd be doing with four kids all summer long... one of whom was brand new to the family and didn't speak much English. :-)
At the end of the school year, I read online a bunch of people's idea for keeping kids busy all summer. I found several lists of dozens (even hundreds) of ideas. So, I created an index box full of cards with suggestions of things to do.... most of which do not require my involvement, especially with my two oldest. So, not always daily, but when I see the kids bored or fighting or getting on each other's nerves, I pull out the box. The rule is they can pick three random cards out and choose one. And yes, it's usually Ben and Reagan that do the picking out... Tommy and Grace just follow along.
So far, they've done several cards.
1. Some of the things they've chosen so far include making paper-bag puppets. Reagan made an astronaut and Ben made an alien. They began making a play for them too... but somehow that got sidetracked. Dang it... forgot to take a photo.
2. Another idea was to create a journal of the things they did this summer. Our Brownie troop was asked to do this too, so that jogged Reagan's memory and she rushed off to begin the journal. We even took a photo of her in the shirt she made at camp along with her hat full of SWAPS (her first entry was about Girl Scout camp). 
3. Another recent card from the idea box had the kids draw their silhouettes on white kraft paper and decorate them to look like themselves. After I traced each kid in a silly pose, I then outlined the silhouette in black marker (washable marker doesn't bleed through like Sharpies) and added edges of clothing, bangs, etc. Then I taped each kids block of paper to the hardwood floors with painter's tape and let them at it with crayons. Grace colored her face green; Tommy colored his legs black; Ben made silly eyes and went fast; Reagan took her time and colored for well over an hour. Over the next couple of days, I cut out the designs and then hung them on the downstairs wall near their craft table and craft cupboard.
4. One day they spent hours creating their very own menu for their own restaurant. The idea was to decide what options they would include on a menu at a restaurant of their design. Not only did they make a menu, but Ben created a kids' menu complete with games and puzzles. Then the four kids spent awhile playing "restaurant". I threw this idea back in the box since they did so well with it. I think next time I'll challenge them to be very careful in the design of their menu and find foods for all sorts of people, not just kids. Maybe even a theme to their restaurant. Plus I forgot to take a photo!5.
This morning, Tommy and Reagan picked out the one to create a train track. The card said to make a big train track and use our wooden blocks to create buildings around the track. They raced off to the rec room to get started. It kept them busy for about an hour or two. The track looked great, but they must've run out of fuel by the time the construction of the buildings started. The huge box of wooden blocks was spilled everywhere, but no buildings. Oh well, they got half of it done, and Tommy (a Thomas train fanatic) was happy.6. Another idea was to make puzzles. I allow the kids to then take photos of the completed puzzles. I started this idea last summer with them when it dawned on me that we had DOZENS of puzzles of all sorts of sizes, many boxes of which were never even opened. Taking the photos gives them a goal... try to collect as many photos of completed puzzles as possible. They did these three puzzles today after the train track. Reagan took these photos... she did a nice job of staging the photos with the puzzle boxes, too. Maybe a digital camera for Xmas is in her future... I may buy a $1.99 photo book for the photos at the end of summer too.
Hmmm.... what card will they pick out next? What does Mommy do while they work? Today I got 80% of the quilt book for Gracelynn completed. :-) What is the quilt book? Check out this.... 100 Good Wishes Quilt.Daddy was also very busy. He installed a light between our closets in our bedroom (only took us 5 years to do that one... and the plate was there... just no light fixture.) He also fixed a lightswitch in our master bathroom that's been sparking! Yikes! At least Daddy fixed it! Now I get to go buy more lights to install in the halls to replace all the ugly brass cheapies in our house now. Right, Mike?!
Yeah, what was it I was saying about summer vacation before... I enjoyed it? Ha!
Only kidding. Life is still much easier these days, but I'm beat. I have two little ones that just pick, pick, pick at each other. Whatever one wants, the other needs too. So, we've had a lot of rivalry these days. It's funny though... one minute they are fighting, the next they are best buddies playing nicely. Right now they are drawing on the garage floor with sidewalk chalk (hmmm... how will I get that off without rain and no drain?)
One cool thing happened last weekend though. Yep... we are now owners of Guitar Hero III for the Wii. Mommy is officially addicted and will play the Wii a lot now. :-) My parents were visiting us and brought the game. They're already addicted. (Ok... my DAD is addicted... my mom likes it too though.) Oh, the songs running through my mind these days.... I think Barracuda, School's Out for Summer, and Talk Dirty to Me are most often. I beat "Lou" during the cool Devil Went Down to Georgia song... but of course, that was on easy. I don't care... I don't think I'll ever figure out the fourth button anyway. I'll stick with easy. Anyone out there addicted too?
We are also now the owners of a new dishwasher and microwave. Cool, huh? Yeah... this was just one of those purchases that didn't excite me. :-) It is nice that we have a working microwave without cracks in the door and condensation building up in between the glass panels. We also have a dishwasher whose wheels haven't completely fallen off the bottom rack and can hold more dishes without the middle sprayer taking up so much room. And... for the time being... they are both remarkably clean. LOL In fact they were so clean looking in our kitchen, I felt bad and got down on my hands and knees to scrub the ceramic floor so that it was equally as clean. (I don't scrub floors using my hands often!)
What a crazy couple of weeks. Last Wednesday was supposed to be our last Brownie meeting, complete with parents and the ceremony. The other leaders and myself had just finished setting up the cafeteria with chairs, computer, gifts, etc.... when the dismissal announcements included the phrase, "Kids are to remain in their classrooms" and we got word of the TORNADO warning. Just then, boom... lights were out. So, I gathered Tommy and Grace and sat in the lobby with the other moms as the kids were being filed out into the hallway with their teachers to sit in tornado positions. Forty-five minutes later, we were still unsure of the future of the meeting. I figured let's just do it and get it over. But, as expected, the school said no. With the power outage and the craziness of finding routes home for the kids, it was way too chaotic. So, we packed it all up, froze the cake and went home. (The cake, by the way, was awesome... a sheet cake designed like a Brownie vest with all the girls' names on the patches!)
Our power was out for 9 hours that night.
Then on Tuesday of this week, storms began to hit just as I was to take Ben to taekwondo. I waited out the storms and left in the car for the next town with all 4 kids. We got to the TKD school with no issues. But coming home... HAILSTORM. Ugh. I finally made it back home with Reagan, Tommy and Grace. Mike was heading from work to pick up Ben from his class. Somehow that storm swung north, and Mike missed it entirely. Whew! But, sure enough... I returned home and clicked the garage door opener. Nothing. Dang it... no electricity again. It's beginning to become WAY too often. Our town loses power if someone exhales too fast, I swear. Fortunately this time it was only out for 3 hours... long enough to drive me nuts in bathing 2 kids by flashlight (who makes a 3.5 bathroom house with NO WINDOWS in any of the bathrooms???) and serving peanut-butter sandwiches to the same two kids before bedtime. Mike and Ben arrived home after several errands... 5 minutes after power was restored. Thankfully they brought dinner for Reagan and I.
Now, I say all this knowing full well that we are very lucky people. Some of the storms and flooding going on in this country have been awful. I suppose we can survive 12 hours with no A/C. What is going on though.... I don't remember having so many power outages growing up as a child? And as Ben would say, "What? You had electricity all of your life?" No kidding... he thought electricity wasn't around when we were kids.
