Cherish The Moment

A couple of years ago, when Emma was in her coma, I was walking through the halls of St. Jude in my usual hurry/daze. I was always hurrying because I wanted to get back to Emma's side, but I was always in a daze because, really, I was out of my mind.

On this particular day I passed a mom and son. The son was pre-teen'ish and had apparently done somethig smart mouth'ish. His mom was letting him have it.

In that moment the desire to do anything so normal as discipline my child was so strong it was palpable. I wanted Emma awake. I wanted to see her blue eyes and hear her voice. I didn't care if she was being bad, horrible, wretched. I wanted her. I wanted things to be normal again.

Today I ate those feelings.

That's right. We went grocery shopping and a few minutes into the trip my girls starting fighting. Like hit-each-other-won't-stop-crying fighting. I was mortified and hurried through the shopping trip with little dignity. I was one of those moms, the ones with the rowdy kids.

I didn't lose my cool (good for me), but the check out lady, who was wonderful about the whole thing, told me my face was as red as Elmo. If you know me in person you know that she was correct, because I do turn VERY red when I'm embarrassed.

As soon as I was in the car I remembered that day in Memphis, and I laughed. Yep. I'm normal again, and I totally cherished the moment.

On that note, here is a picture from recently, of Emma with her first lost tooth (a very regular event). Yay for normal days!

Spend little...Give lots!

I am super excited to combine two things I love to pay it forward to those in need.  That's right, I'm talking about couponing and the Ronald McDonald House.  We recently made the decision to start buying items to donate to the RMH on our next trip to Memphis.  We wanted to help those families who were struggling, whether new, old, or just there. 

I remember all the months I spent there, and how my head wasn't quite screwed on straight.  I remember my skin getting so dry it peeled.  Looking back I think, why didn't I just go buy some lotion at WalMart?  The answer is because simple things like that didn't enter my mind--it was too full with life and death, medication schedules, and doctor's visits.  Occasionally very kind people would bring in loads of donations.  The donations varied, but usually consisted of things like body wash, deodorant, kid's pajamas, coloring books and crayons, baby diapers and wipes, shampoo, etc.

Along with my couponing sister, I decided to use stores' sales and coupons to stock up on items that will help other families who have the lights on but no one home.  This week I scored six large bottles of men's bodywash for $.46 a piece!  I spent $2.76 and will help up to six families. 

I encourage you all to do the same...spend a little, but give a lot.  You many not live near a RMH, but there are other charities that would gladly take your donations. Think of local children's hospitals, churches, food banks, or homeless shelters.  With that in mind, here are a few tips for couponing!

*Use the internet to look for sales, and then look for coupons on those items (this is how I scored the $.46 body wash).

*Use sites like The Krazy Coupon Lady to do all the hard work for you.  They list the store, what's on sale that week, and what coupons are available for those items.  Another site like this is Coupon Diva.

*Some of the best stores to get great deals (at least where I live) are Publix, CVS, and Walgreens.  They all have their sales ads online.

*Buy a Sunday paper.  They have the BEST coupons.

Happy couponing!

Do You Coupon?

Have you seen that show, Extreme Couponing? This week I made my first attempt at couponing.   In the past 6 months our grocery bill has doubled.  Our children have become human garbage disposals!  Now, I'm not complaining about the garbage disposal thing.  I have a 2 year old who weighs 21 pounds, and a 5 year old on chemo.  Them shoving their faces makes me happy!  However, it does not make my checkbook happy.

Hence the couponing.  I went to the store equipped with my shopping list, sales paper, and coupons...and I failed miserably.  My mistakes?

1. I didn't look closely at my coupons, and many of the items I grabbed weren't what was specifically listed on the coupon.

2. I took my kids with me (BIG MISTAKE IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY).

3. I didn't look closely at the sale ads in the sale paper.  For instance, I got two 2 liters of Sprite, because they were listed under a heading of "Assorted Coke Products Buy 1 Get 1 Free".  However, the Sprite itself wasn't one of those "assorted" items.


Okay, so I haven't totally given up, and I intend to do better next time.  What about you?  Do you have any tips to save money at the grocery store?  Share them, please!


And on an aside, here is a lovely little commercial that played during the Super Bowl.  It made me both happy and sad, and yes I cried.