I enjoyed this devotional this morning. I can be guilty of just going through the motions during praise and worship time at church and I really hate that in myself. I want to improve in that area - starting TODAY! I know that distractions are exactly what the enemy wants at church because it causes my focus to get away from the ONE who deserves all the praise.
May you and yours enjoy your day and your time of worship.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Another Step
I received some paperwork in the mail today - good news / bad news kind of stuff.
We have an upcoming meeting with the speech therapist at Big J's future school (kindergartener next year). This will be the first time we meet with this group. I say group because it looks like we meet with the speech therapist, school psychologist, and the Kindergarten teacher. The news that I reviewed was the analysis given by his preschool teacher and current speech therapist. It's filled with some nice things about my son and some negative things, but I am a realist . . . . he has things that I know are red flags. I just don't know if I am smart enough to make my voice heard as eloquently as I would like.
Part of me right now wants to say "Just home-school him and keep him away from that big, bad classroom!" One reason I start to think this way is because his preschool teacher is already saying she is concerned about how he will focus his attention on learning in a large group setting. I assume his class will be about 20-25 kids next year, as opposed to around 12-15 he has had this year.
Now couple this with the fact that we are being told that he most likely will be dropped from having an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.) --- which means no one will be giving him one-on-one time for special learning in any capacity whatsoever. That really worries me.
Well, maybe by typing that above paragraph out, I may have my start on making my voice heard. I think that is what bothers me the most. I do not want my son going through the entire day and not understanding what he just learned enough to come home and have me help him. Don't get me wrong . . . any mom would stand up for her child and say he has an amazing mental capacity, and mine does. He learns what HE wants to learn . . . . I've seen it over and over again. If you put him beside his Dad and a car engine, he will be glued to the spot for hours. If you put him in a classroom and tell him to answer a question about a story . . . . eh, you'll get an "I don't know". Lost focus.
I don't feel like home-schooling is the answer at this point. He is a loner too much and he needs socialization. I do want to be involved in his learning process though! Maybe I can partner with his Kindergarten teacher somehow if she will let me; not that I want to be in her face - just that I want her to know I'll do all the research in the world to do the right things for my son!
We have an upcoming meeting with the speech therapist at Big J's future school (kindergartener next year). This will be the first time we meet with this group. I say group because it looks like we meet with the speech therapist, school psychologist, and the Kindergarten teacher. The news that I reviewed was the analysis given by his preschool teacher and current speech therapist. It's filled with some nice things about my son and some negative things, but I am a realist . . . . he has things that I know are red flags. I just don't know if I am smart enough to make my voice heard as eloquently as I would like.
Part of me right now wants to say "Just home-school him and keep him away from that big, bad classroom!" One reason I start to think this way is because his preschool teacher is already saying she is concerned about how he will focus his attention on learning in a large group setting. I assume his class will be about 20-25 kids next year, as opposed to around 12-15 he has had this year.
Now couple this with the fact that we are being told that he most likely will be dropped from having an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.) --- which means no one will be giving him one-on-one time for special learning in any capacity whatsoever. That really worries me.
Well, maybe by typing that above paragraph out, I may have my start on making my voice heard. I think that is what bothers me the most. I do not want my son going through the entire day and not understanding what he just learned enough to come home and have me help him. Don't get me wrong . . . any mom would stand up for her child and say he has an amazing mental capacity, and mine does. He learns what HE wants to learn . . . . I've seen it over and over again. If you put him beside his Dad and a car engine, he will be glued to the spot for hours. If you put him in a classroom and tell him to answer a question about a story . . . . eh, you'll get an "I don't know". Lost focus.
I don't feel like home-schooling is the answer at this point. He is a loner too much and he needs socialization. I do want to be involved in his learning process though! Maybe I can partner with his Kindergarten teacher somehow if she will let me; not that I want to be in her face - just that I want her to know I'll do all the research in the world to do the right things for my son!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Getting ready for my nephew
We had the baby shower for my youngest sister on Sunday. She's due to have her first baby in 2 weeks. (Yeah, we waited kind of late for the baby shower, I KNOW! Spring Break and Easter kind of got in the way.) We're kind of lucky she hasn't gone in to labor yet, ha! Poor gal is getting all those nervous feelings of having the baby . . . getting everything ready . . . I wished we could have had the shower sooner for her, but it just didn't work out that way on the calendar.
So I borrowed a camera (mine is still broken) from my other sister and took some photos. These are my sisters, my sister-in-law is on the left end and my mom is on the other end. I am standing between my sister in the white jacket and my pregnant sis.
Here is a view of some of the food:
My mom did all of that (except the iced cookies). I think she should cater professionally.
Here is a diaper cake that one of my sisters made:
Here is a diaper cake that my aunt made:
It was a lot of work, but it paid off in the end. Now I just get to wait it out and see what kind of adventure brings my new nephew into this world. I'm looking forward to holding him. And I'm looking forward to seeing my sister be a mommy! We need another one in the club.
So I borrowed a camera (mine is still broken) from my other sister and took some photos. These are my sisters, my sister-in-law is on the left end and my mom is on the other end. I am standing between my sister in the white jacket and my pregnant sis.
Here is a view of some of the food:
My mom did all of that (except the iced cookies). I think she should cater professionally.
Here is a diaper cake that one of my sisters made:
Here is a diaper cake that my aunt made:
It was a lot of work, but it paid off in the end. Now I just get to wait it out and see what kind of adventure brings my new nephew into this world. I'm looking forward to holding him. And I'm looking forward to seeing my sister be a mommy! We need another one in the club.
Monday, April 20, 2009
From busy weekend to being in the dumps!
I had one of the busiest weekends I've had in a very long time. I'm very glad it was at least balanced with some family time squeezed in. But I had to do a lot of things for others, and that has drained the energy out of me. :-) It's also a good feeling, though.
Now, on to a topic that is very sensitive right now: relationships between other parents.
Yesterday our son was playing with a very good friend. He is older than our son, by 2 years in school. They get along well and have played just fine, but there have been a few times where the older one has been a little bit sneaky and I have learned he has been in trouble at school over a few minor situations, but of all things he has been in trouble with lying. At any rate, now that I have told you the groundwork, which may be at a disadvantage now: my son came up to me much later after the playdate last night and out of the blue told me about an instance that was unsettling that the older child asked him to do something that we have told our son that he is not allowed to do. (They have been caught before being ornery boys!) We have disciplined our son appropriately; talked to him about what Jesus expects from us and he understands all of this. Well he also told me that when this older boy asked him if he wanted to do this said behavior last night that my son told him "no, because Jesus doesn't like that." I think he told me this because he wanted me to know that he put his knowledge of Jesus to use. I told him I was proud of him. That was commendable for him to tell me.
So then I thought I should probably talk to the parent of the older boy because we have been through this about 3 months ago when this said behavior happened in the first place. I wanted them to know that their son brought it up again, but that my son said No, etc. etc. I wasn't mad at all. And we really are very very good friends. No harm done. Just wanted to be informative.
It was about 15 minutes later I received a phone call . . . . from the parent . . . telling me that "someone is lying". They said that they asked their son and their son didn't know what they were talking about. He has absolutely no recall of this behavior happening at all.
I was absolutely upset. I think I said something I shouldn't have. But I ended the call by telling them that I just wanted them to know what my son said and that was that.
It's just hard to know that they think my son is the liar. My son told me great details of what happened. He does not have enough social apptitude to make up a story such as that. To begin with, I did not quiz him over his evening! He brought up the incident without cause and without reason.
I guess we will have one less playmate for awhile, which is extremely sad. As I said, these are very close friends! I am at a loss here.
AFTERNOON UPDATE: I received an email from the parent. As it turns out, their son admitted to telling a lie. The incident did occur and he initially lied to his parents about it. All is well for now. I believe we have learned some lessons here and I still think it might be a good idea to keep these two young men apart for a little while :-)
Now, on to a topic that is very sensitive right now: relationships between other parents.
Yesterday our son was playing with a very good friend. He is older than our son, by 2 years in school. They get along well and have played just fine, but there have been a few times where the older one has been a little bit sneaky and I have learned he has been in trouble at school over a few minor situations, but of all things he has been in trouble with lying. At any rate, now that I have told you the groundwork, which may be at a disadvantage now: my son came up to me much later after the playdate last night and out of the blue told me about an instance that was unsettling that the older child asked him to do something that we have told our son that he is not allowed to do. (They have been caught before being ornery boys!) We have disciplined our son appropriately; talked to him about what Jesus expects from us and he understands all of this. Well he also told me that when this older boy asked him if he wanted to do this said behavior last night that my son told him "no, because Jesus doesn't like that." I think he told me this because he wanted me to know that he put his knowledge of Jesus to use. I told him I was proud of him. That was commendable for him to tell me.
So then I thought I should probably talk to the parent of the older boy because we have been through this about 3 months ago when this said behavior happened in the first place. I wanted them to know that their son brought it up again, but that my son said No, etc. etc. I wasn't mad at all. And we really are very very good friends. No harm done. Just wanted to be informative.
It was about 15 minutes later I received a phone call . . . . from the parent . . . telling me that "someone is lying". They said that they asked their son and their son didn't know what they were talking about. He has absolutely no recall of this behavior happening at all.
I was absolutely upset. I think I said something I shouldn't have. But I ended the call by telling them that I just wanted them to know what my son said and that was that.
It's just hard to know that they think my son is the liar. My son told me great details of what happened. He does not have enough social apptitude to make up a story such as that. To begin with, I did not quiz him over his evening! He brought up the incident without cause and without reason.
I guess we will have one less playmate for awhile, which is extremely sad. As I said, these are very close friends! I am at a loss here.
AFTERNOON UPDATE: I received an email from the parent. As it turns out, their son admitted to telling a lie. The incident did occur and he initially lied to his parents about it. All is well for now. I believe we have learned some lessons here and I still think it might be a good idea to keep these two young men apart for a little while :-)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
One Crazy Week
It's Thursday afternoon and that's "a good thing" (I want to be Martha Stewart).
This morning I went to the middle school to practice with some 8th graders for their upcoming Solo & Ensemble Festival this Saturday. I am accompanying 6 band students and then I have 3 piano students also performing. If you are not familiar with what this is . . . picture about 500 junior highers walking around a school trying to find their performance, teachers telling the kids to be quiet in the hallways, parents telling their kids to tuck their shirts in, stand up straight, LOL. The judges can be friendly (my favorite!), or some of them can be a stick in the mud, ugh! I hope the piano judges are nice :-) I have a student who literally has to do her vocal solo at 8:48 a.m. in one room, and then perform her piano solo in a completely different room at the other end of the building at 8:56 a.m. I'm rather upset about that since I'm her piano teacher! I really didn't want her to have to run to the piano and perform. BUT we will make the best of it. It's her first time doing this kind of gig, so she's bright-eyed and bushy tailed ;-) And she's thrilled to have her events scheduled so closely when they could have easily been spread out all day long.
OK, so back on track. Later this morning I ended up at the high school to rehearse with the ladies glee choir because they are going to the State competition in May and the choir director needed an accompanist. I told him I didn't know if I could come because I don't know if I have someone to watch my children. He told me to bring them! WOW. (So much for trying to get out of that one! haha). Anyways, Big J was in preschool, so I took Little L. He was the hit of the morning amongst all those 40 ladies in high school. Awwwww. He was Mr. Showoff! And he didn't want to leave! That was a first!! I had to lure him out with candy!
So I've had a busy morning and am glad to be home the rest of the day.
But my busy week is NOT over. I'm now working on my sister's baby shower which is this Sunday! And if you didn't already catch it . . . I'll be gone all day Saturday at the before-mentioned Solo & Ensemble gig. So I have oodles to do. And, when I get my camera fixed, I promise you'll get more pictures!
Oh yeah, and I caught a nice little cold yesterday, thanks to my Little L. I'm drinking lots of tea. Yogi Tea is awesome. Thanks to my friend!
I'll leave you all with a saying from one of the teabags: "When we practice listening, we become intuitive."
This morning I went to the middle school to practice with some 8th graders for their upcoming Solo & Ensemble Festival this Saturday. I am accompanying 6 band students and then I have 3 piano students also performing. If you are not familiar with what this is . . . picture about 500 junior highers walking around a school trying to find their performance, teachers telling the kids to be quiet in the hallways, parents telling their kids to tuck their shirts in, stand up straight, LOL. The judges can be friendly (my favorite!), or some of them can be a stick in the mud, ugh! I hope the piano judges are nice :-) I have a student who literally has to do her vocal solo at 8:48 a.m. in one room, and then perform her piano solo in a completely different room at the other end of the building at 8:56 a.m. I'm rather upset about that since I'm her piano teacher! I really didn't want her to have to run to the piano and perform. BUT we will make the best of it. It's her first time doing this kind of gig, so she's bright-eyed and bushy tailed ;-) And she's thrilled to have her events scheduled so closely when they could have easily been spread out all day long.
OK, so back on track. Later this morning I ended up at the high school to rehearse with the ladies glee choir because they are going to the State competition in May and the choir director needed an accompanist. I told him I didn't know if I could come because I don't know if I have someone to watch my children. He told me to bring them! WOW. (So much for trying to get out of that one! haha). Anyways, Big J was in preschool, so I took Little L. He was the hit of the morning amongst all those 40 ladies in high school. Awwwww. He was Mr. Showoff! And he didn't want to leave! That was a first!! I had to lure him out with candy!
So I've had a busy morning and am glad to be home the rest of the day.
But my busy week is NOT over. I'm now working on my sister's baby shower which is this Sunday! And if you didn't already catch it . . . I'll be gone all day Saturday at the before-mentioned Solo & Ensemble gig. So I have oodles to do. And, when I get my camera fixed, I promise you'll get more pictures!
Oh yeah, and I caught a nice little cold yesterday, thanks to my Little L. I'm drinking lots of tea. Yogi Tea is awesome. Thanks to my friend!
I'll leave you all with a saying from one of the teabags: "When we practice listening, we become intuitive."
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Future Kindergartener
We made another big step in history yesterday. My firstborn is now an official registrant of Kindergarten! We went through the screening process and it was something that I hope I never forget. Walking to the basement of the church on the busy corner of the downtown city . . . you would be amazed how spooky it all looked. If I were a 5 year old going into this creepy dungeon of a place, I would have been totally freaked out. It was complete with creaky door and everything. The nerve of these people to make you enter in the church basement like this. Come on church! Rise to the occasion. Let us enter through the main doors. Seriously, the door was propped open with a brick, and the hallways were DARK upon our entrance. I'm not exaggerating. Think SPOOKY!
And it was a rainy day.
And I have my 23-month old on my hip. Upon arrival, he wants down! No way does he want to be confined. Yeah, I knew that would happen. Oh, and he decided to stink his diaper . . . so the entire time I was there, I was the mom with the stinky kid.
Anyways, I had no idea that as SOON as we arrived, my future Kindergartener would be put to the test. "What is your address?" FLUNKED that one. "What is your birthday?" FLUNKED that one. "What is your mom's name?" YES, we have a winner there! Phew. He looked at me with big eyes when he said my name and smiled. Like "am I allowed to say it?" LOL
So I showed up with all of my appropriate paperwork, copied and all ready for them. But to my surprise, they had MORE paperwork for me to fill out. Oh those sneaky, sneaky people! Of course they could have sent that to me in the mail, right? But if that had done that, then they would have no reason to keep me away from my son while he was being screened. Yeah, another surprise. I didn't know that I wouldn't get to watch him during his screening process. So I get the standard "Mom, you get to fill out paperwork right here while we take your son back here to do his thing." Oh you sneaky people, you. Score ONE for public school sneakiness. I'm going to have to rise above this and get a lot smarter.
So I'm filling out the nasty paperwork. Smelling my stinky little son walking around the small room ;-) and wondering how my Big son is doing. Then one of the teachers comes out from the screening room and talks to me. I already know her because I went to high school with her. She is a possible teacher for my son next year. She mentioned that she worked with my son on sounds. No biggie.
OK, fast forward . . . now I'm getting the score. The nice gentleman is telling me the score for my son . . . it looks pretty good (better than I expected). There's no mention of him knowing his alphabet, though. Which I thought was strange! I thought for sure they test the kids on that, don't they? OK, so, it also doesn't mention anything about this supposed sounds thing that my friend just mentioned to me that she worked with him on. HELLO? Is this why they take our kids and do private screenings? Are they testing our kids and not telling us the full story? Are they giving us results that make us feel good, but it's not the real deal? Because I already know that my son doesn't know the full alphabet. I expected them to tell me what letters he doesn't know or something like that. I guess I'm just kind of confused as to why it was so private. Maybe I should have asked at the time, but I was so distracted with my little boy and his stinky diaper situation (funny, but not really!). It's just the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I don't like things being done behind my back, and Kindergarten screenings done in private and information being withheld from parents just doesn't jive with me.
I hate to sound negative. I just wish someone would explain what the privacy was really about. And does everyone do it?
And it was a rainy day.
And I have my 23-month old on my hip. Upon arrival, he wants down! No way does he want to be confined. Yeah, I knew that would happen. Oh, and he decided to stink his diaper . . . so the entire time I was there, I was the mom with the stinky kid.
Anyways, I had no idea that as SOON as we arrived, my future Kindergartener would be put to the test. "What is your address?" FLUNKED that one. "What is your birthday?" FLUNKED that one. "What is your mom's name?" YES, we have a winner there! Phew. He looked at me with big eyes when he said my name and smiled. Like "am I allowed to say it?" LOL
So I showed up with all of my appropriate paperwork, copied and all ready for them. But to my surprise, they had MORE paperwork for me to fill out. Oh those sneaky, sneaky people! Of course they could have sent that to me in the mail, right? But if that had done that, then they would have no reason to keep me away from my son while he was being screened. Yeah, another surprise. I didn't know that I wouldn't get to watch him during his screening process. So I get the standard "Mom, you get to fill out paperwork right here while we take your son back here to do his thing." Oh you sneaky people, you. Score ONE for public school sneakiness. I'm going to have to rise above this and get a lot smarter.
So I'm filling out the nasty paperwork. Smelling my stinky little son walking around the small room ;-) and wondering how my Big son is doing. Then one of the teachers comes out from the screening room and talks to me. I already know her because I went to high school with her. She is a possible teacher for my son next year. She mentioned that she worked with my son on sounds. No biggie.
OK, fast forward . . . now I'm getting the score. The nice gentleman is telling me the score for my son . . . it looks pretty good (better than I expected). There's no mention of him knowing his alphabet, though. Which I thought was strange! I thought for sure they test the kids on that, don't they? OK, so, it also doesn't mention anything about this supposed sounds thing that my friend just mentioned to me that she worked with him on. HELLO? Is this why they take our kids and do private screenings? Are they testing our kids and not telling us the full story? Are they giving us results that make us feel good, but it's not the real deal? Because I already know that my son doesn't know the full alphabet. I expected them to tell me what letters he doesn't know or something like that. I guess I'm just kind of confused as to why it was so private. Maybe I should have asked at the time, but I was so distracted with my little boy and his stinky diaper situation (funny, but not really!). It's just the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I don't like things being done behind my back, and Kindergarten screenings done in private and information being withheld from parents just doesn't jive with me.
I hate to sound negative. I just wish someone would explain what the privacy was really about. And does everyone do it?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Little Ducks
My little boy is growing up. We had our first T-ball practice last night - first for him, and first for us as parents. Welcome to the world of sports. And guess what . . . all those kids who have come to us and asked us to buy a candy bar, coupon for buy 1, get 1 free hamburger, magazine, T-shirt, coupons, WHATEVER . . . now it's our turn to ASK! The very first night of practice - we received a nice little piece of paper with all the details of a fundraiser for the team! GROOVY!!! (Sarcasm!) I'd rather hand over the money and forget about the fundraiser. Come on! We just spent $30 for registration fee and then a lotta $$ for our own son's equipment, so now they want us to help raise money for the "team's equipment"? RIGHT!
Anyways . . . other than that . . . it was a lovely, cute . . . adorable . . . experience!!!!
It was frigid outside so I sat in the mini-van with Little L for the first part of practice and watched from afar, while my husband took a seat in the bleachers up close and personal. I watched what looked like a group of baby ducks chasing after the ball when it would get hit in the outfield -- scratch that -- I don't think it really went in the outfield. We are talking about 5 and 6 year olds. But it was the darndest, cutest thing I ever saw. I was laughing!!! Imagine 5 little boys chasing after this little white ball wherever it goes on the ground . . . oh, no, they didn't actually try to catch it. (Like it really went in the air - we didn't have pop-flies. This isn't the big leagues!) Then imagine one little boy just standing there while the others chase the ball. That would be OUR SON. He was the timid one. OR, as I would like to refer to him. . . . the smart one. I think he was like "Uh, why would I try to get the ball when there are 5 guys already trying to get it?" :-) But seriously, I watched my Big J in his element. OK, so he's timid when mixed with a bunch of strangers. He needs a bit of a warm-up time. As time went on, I saw him run . . . but he was not talking to the other boys . . . . he didn't mix as much with them as I would have liked. But that's ok. We've got all season long. I am glad we are doing this before he goes to Kindergarten. It will be good for him. And the main thing is that he came home last night super excited about the evening! He had a good time.
Oh, and one more thing. . . . he was next to last in line to take his turn at the bat. (So, he had many opportunities to see the kids do it right!) The coach gave him the orders . . . . . after you hit, put the bat down, and run to first base.
I thought maybe he would forget to put the bat down.
I was wrong.
He hit the ball . . . ran with all his might . . . . to THIRD base.
There's one in every bunch, right?
Anyways . . . other than that . . . it was a lovely, cute . . . adorable . . . experience!!!!
It was frigid outside so I sat in the mini-van with Little L for the first part of practice and watched from afar, while my husband took a seat in the bleachers up close and personal. I watched what looked like a group of baby ducks chasing after the ball when it would get hit in the outfield -- scratch that -- I don't think it really went in the outfield. We are talking about 5 and 6 year olds. But it was the darndest, cutest thing I ever saw. I was laughing!!! Imagine 5 little boys chasing after this little white ball wherever it goes on the ground . . . oh, no, they didn't actually try to catch it. (Like it really went in the air - we didn't have pop-flies. This isn't the big leagues!) Then imagine one little boy just standing there while the others chase the ball. That would be OUR SON. He was the timid one. OR, as I would like to refer to him. . . . the smart one. I think he was like "Uh, why would I try to get the ball when there are 5 guys already trying to get it?" :-) But seriously, I watched my Big J in his element. OK, so he's timid when mixed with a bunch of strangers. He needs a bit of a warm-up time. As time went on, I saw him run . . . but he was not talking to the other boys . . . . he didn't mix as much with them as I would have liked. But that's ok. We've got all season long. I am glad we are doing this before he goes to Kindergarten. It will be good for him. And the main thing is that he came home last night super excited about the evening! He had a good time.
Oh, and one more thing. . . . he was next to last in line to take his turn at the bat. (So, he had many opportunities to see the kids do it right!) The coach gave him the orders . . . . . after you hit, put the bat down, and run to first base.
I thought maybe he would forget to put the bat down.
I was wrong.
He hit the ball . . . ran with all his might . . . . to THIRD base.
There's one in every bunch, right?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Random Thoughts - Saving Money
If you live in Ohio today, you probably are looking outside at some light flurry-like weather called snow. It's not sticking around on the ground, but it is definitely not rain, and it's pretty cold outside, obviously! or we wouldn't have this snow. Please excuse my description -- I'm not a meteorologist :-) But let's look at the bright side . . . we knew this would happen. :-) I look at a lot of Easter pictures and we have had a lot of winter coats on during the Easter egg hunt! So I'm not surprised that winter just can't seem to make a disappearance quite yet.
Today is the start of T-Ball season for my 5-year old! Our very first official practice is tonight. I don't know if we'll actually have it since we have this kind of weather today . . . . being new to the sports scene and all - what makes a coach call off practice? We'll just wait and see what happens.
Had a great relaxing weekend. Saved lots of money with coupons :-) That always makes me smile . . . . makes my husband smile. He likes the part where we see the sub-total, and then the cashier starts in on my coupons and it goes down, down, down. His face gets happier for some reason . . . hhmmm. I saved $60 at Walmart this weekend - and that is not easily done. The manager actually had to come over and approve something; I'm not even sure why! I guess Walmart doesn't like it when you save so much money (which is why I don't like shopping there that much - they are not coupon-friendly, in my opinion). I actually scanned the right cashier ahead of time to see who looked like they would be friendly to us. Yes, I guess it's called "profiling". I know who the slow ones are . . . and I know that there are some who will say "we don't take printable coupons" - which isn't true, and they will just waste my time while they go ask the manager who will reply "yes, we do take them" and then while my entire family waits and waits, etc. So I look for the ones who I know are friendly. I don't care how long the line is. End of story :-)
I went to CVS yesterday and I had so many coupons and Extra Care Bucks that it literally started to pay for part of my tax! I paid $1.10 cash in the end. That's the first time I've ever done that well. And I walked out with $10.00 in Extra Care Bucks for the next time I shop. If you don't shop CVS with ECB's, you really should consider it. Visit Money Saving Mom on my sidebar or Deal Seeking Mom for more info.
Today is the start of T-Ball season for my 5-year old! Our very first official practice is tonight. I don't know if we'll actually have it since we have this kind of weather today . . . . being new to the sports scene and all - what makes a coach call off practice? We'll just wait and see what happens.
Had a great relaxing weekend. Saved lots of money with coupons :-) That always makes me smile . . . . makes my husband smile. He likes the part where we see the sub-total, and then the cashier starts in on my coupons and it goes down, down, down. His face gets happier for some reason . . . hhmmm. I saved $60 at Walmart this weekend - and that is not easily done. The manager actually had to come over and approve something; I'm not even sure why! I guess Walmart doesn't like it when you save so much money (which is why I don't like shopping there that much - they are not coupon-friendly, in my opinion). I actually scanned the right cashier ahead of time to see who looked like they would be friendly to us. Yes, I guess it's called "profiling". I know who the slow ones are . . . and I know that there are some who will say "we don't take printable coupons" - which isn't true, and they will just waste my time while they go ask the manager who will reply "yes, we do take them" and then while my entire family waits and waits, etc. So I look for the ones who I know are friendly. I don't care how long the line is. End of story :-)
I went to CVS yesterday and I had so many coupons and Extra Care Bucks that it literally started to pay for part of my tax! I paid $1.10 cash in the end. That's the first time I've ever done that well. And I walked out with $10.00 in Extra Care Bucks for the next time I shop. If you don't shop CVS with ECB's, you really should consider it. Visit Money Saving Mom on my sidebar or Deal Seeking Mom for more info.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Running out of steam
The boys are feeling well, but now the mama is getting struck down! So far it's just in the throat. I hope it doesn't get further, but this is enough to make me kinda grumpy! Or is it my 22-month old who gets into EVERYTHING. hhmmm. Jury is still out on that. :-)
I've been dealing with some personal hurts this past week so I'm already kind of stressed I guess. Maybe my body is catching up with me. It's only Wednesday, yet I'm already looking forward to the weekend again. Mainly because my husband is taking Friday off from work and we are going to take Sunday off from our responsibilities at church (and there are things we both are tied to do - which often creates a feeling of burnout). Burnout is an ugly word and I really hate to use it. I never want it to happen. I want church to be a place where we always look forward to going!! So this weekend is for a time of refreshment and relaxation.
Today is a sunny day - I hope it warms up!!
I've been dealing with some personal hurts this past week so I'm already kind of stressed I guess. Maybe my body is catching up with me. It's only Wednesday, yet I'm already looking forward to the weekend again. Mainly because my husband is taking Friday off from work and we are going to take Sunday off from our responsibilities at church (and there are things we both are tied to do - which often creates a feeling of burnout). Burnout is an ugly word and I really hate to use it. I never want it to happen. I want church to be a place where we always look forward to going!! So this weekend is for a time of refreshment and relaxation.
Today is a sunny day - I hope it warms up!!
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