10 Random things on my brain

It's easier to list these than to think of tie ins to make paragraphs. So here are the observations from the weekend.

1. I didn't know I needed a pool until I saw one on Freecycle. Now I'm convinced an above ground pool is exactly what our mosquito infested backyard needs!

2. My dear child is simply adorable. Lately he has been making a lot of new observations. He has told me that I have brown hair, which is accurate, and that Donnie has brown hair, which is also accurate. However, when you ask him what color his hair is he says, brown. I can't convince him that his hair is red (or orange as my nephew calls it) and not brown.

3. The same adorable child decided not to nap today. Which was fine, he did amazingly well and only had one small sleep deprived breakdown regarding Playdoh. He was so cute tonight though as I read him "Cat in the Hat" for his bedtime story and he fell asleep halfway through.

4. Hoss has been talking a lot more lately and I have noticed quite a Southern drawl which must be in the blood because neither Donnie nor I speak with much of an "accent." Friday he told me that a seal was a SEUUUHL.

5. However, Hoss develops a British accent when saying "good night." It sounds more like naught. Oh he is the cutest thing in the world. My Irish-British-Southern boy.

6. Hoss is completely a different child when he is in his territory. We had some friends stop by today as they were passing through town and Hoss was quite the host as he greeted them at the front door, shouted "surprise!" when everyone came in (see #7) and even showed the kids his bedroom, all on his own without Mommy or Daddy's help.

7. Since my parents' surprise birthday party, anytime people come in our house or we go into my parents house Hoss yells, "Surprise!" Sometimes he will accompany "Happy Birthday" with the "Surprise!"

8. Hoss loves singing. He learns through music which I have made a mental note of for school days. This weekend he was stuck on the "Veggie Tales" theme song. "Brocowe," "Celey," "Veggie 'Ales."

9. Donnie has taught Hoss to sing "Icy Icy Baby, Too Cold." I'm so proud!

10. If you are missing me, check out my posts here.

Super Savings Saturday -- MEIJER ROCKS!!

The past week I have got the HOOK UP on some awesome deals! So awesome I forgot to take any pictures. I am so disappointed about that, so hopefully you all are not visual learners like I am and will stick around to read about all the things I purchased this week.

My main shopping was done at Meijer. They had a 10 for $10 Mix and Match sale and get an 11th item free. I had so many coupons for a lot of the 10 for $10 items so I was able to get awesome deals! I split the purchases into 4 different ones so I could get the best deal for my money. Meijer will not double coupons with the same barcode more than once in the same order (sometimes they will twice, but occasionally, only one will double). With the help of my mom's coupon stash and a coupon train I received from a group I am in on this site and my own coupon collection I had 20+ coupons to use.

So, here are the 4 purchase I made.

First:
2 Chex Mix
2 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes
2 Cheerios Snack Mix (which I am addicted to!)
1 I Can't Believe it's not Butter tub
5 Totino's Pizza Rolls
Grand total: $2.55
Savings: $23.46

Second:
2 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes
1 Cheerios Snack Mix
3 Grands Biscuits
5 Totino's Pizza Rolls
Grand Total: $3.20
Savings: $18.42

Third:
2 Meijer Brand Pretzels
1 Meijer Sour Cream
1 Meijer Applesauce
1 Totino's Pizza Roll
1 Glade spray
1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
1 Combos
1 Hunts Snack Pack pudding
1 Cheerios Snack Mix
Grand Total: $7.26
Savings: $9.82

Fourth:
1 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks
1 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
2 Grands Biscuits
1 Meijer Pasta Sauce
2 Cheerios Snack Mix
1 Loaf of Bread
2 Lunchables
1 Totino's Pizza Rolls
Grand Totals: $2.60
Savings: $19.65

So, I purchased 43 food items for $15.61, averaging out to 36 cents an item. My savings was $71.35. And now you all know how I maintain my girlish figure. After all, I purchased all totally healthy foods! :) To check out more fabulous deals check out Money Saving Mom!

Infomerical Extravaganza, Week 7

This is something I definitely need for work!

For Historical Purposes

Well, I am finally getting my act together and hoping to get with the blogging world again. I've been slacking folks and I apologize.

I have also finally uploaded more Easter pictures and thought you all would enjoy the wonderful events of our Easter weekend. Ok, not really, but I am sure Hoss will enjoy reading this blog in 20 years and seeing what he did the Easter he was 2. And spoiled rotten...and loved by lots of people.

Oh, and he got a late Easter basket on Monday, making the count TEN Easter baskets. We have so much candy I don't even know what we are going to do with it all. Donnie and I are both taking a huge bag to work tomorrow and I imagine the kids at church may get some as a prizes on Sunday, for the next six months.

Saturday we colored Easter eggs at my parents house. Hoss was still in his pajamas so were felt safe enough to begin the process early in the morning. He enjoyed it more than last year and was much more hands on.


After the egg coloring (and a bath) we went to his 2nd Easter egg hunt of the season. Once again it was FREEZING, but Hoss rocked out and scored way too many eggs!

And he met the Easter Bunny, who he was fascinated with!

Sunday we dressed up and attended church, as normal. Except I had purchased Hoss some super cute plaid pants. Gigi and Grandpa had helped the Easter Bunny pick out a set of golf clubs, which were very appropriate with the outfit.


And there you have it. Easter 2008 -- the year of the golf pants and the overflow of candy.

Oh my word!

Eight, no make that nine Easter Baskets.

One MILLION Easter eggs.

Enough candy for seventeen children.

Only one child (and a darn cute one at that).

Infomerical Extravaganza, Week 5 AND Sweater Day!

Before we get to the Infomercial Fun, I want to let you in on a grand occasion. Today is Sweater Day in honor of what would be Mr. Rogers' 80th birthday. I was a big Mr. Roger's Neighborhood Fan!

Sorry Mr. Rogers. I did not wear a sweater today, but I still love you!

Now, with that out of the way, on the the infomercial of the week. I am pretty sure I need one of these!

Hunting eggs...or sticks

Last Sunday our church had their annual Easter Egg Hunt. There were a few differences from last year and this year. Last year was warm and Hoss was much smaller.

Case in point:


This year it was freezing and Hoss has grown a bit.


However, the interest in hunting for eggs has not changed. Hoss would much rather do something else, like, oh play with some sticks!




He is definitely a boy. There is no doubt about that!

And the prize is....

Just a quick announcement to let you know I have decided on the prize for the Bloggy Basketball Bonanza.

I will be giving away a $20 Dicks Sporting Goods gift certificate to the winner. So, get to picking your teams.

Good Luck!

Bloggy Basketball Bonanza

Are you ready for some fun??

I've decided to go ahead and plunge in with the NCAA basketball bracket fun. If you are interested in participating, click here to sign up. You do not have to be a blogger to participate, just a basketball fan. Ok, you don't even need to be a basketball fan, just someone who is ready for a good competition!

If you need to enter a password, it is dontgivehim

Good Luck to all. And even if you don't know a darn thing about basketball it's still fun to participate! I just like to pick the teams I have heard of!

There will be a prize for the winner. What the prize will be is a surprise. To you and me! :) I'll announce the prize tomorrow!

NCAA tourney bracket competition anyone?

So I tried this last year and no one wanted to participate. At least I assumed no one wanted to participate since no one said a word. I took the silence to mean that my blog readers at that time are not NCAA basketball fanatics.

Well, I thought I'd test the waters again. I will set up a NCAA online bracket for a fun competition if anyone in interested. We only have until Thursday at noon to do this so please comment quickly if you are interested. Or even if you are not interested.

If I think there will be a few people who want to participate then I will set it up. If not, then we'll be out of luck! :)

Happy St. Patty's day everyone! :)

6, 7, 8, 9, 3, 2, 1 GO!

This week left me in the dust! I have had several things on my brain to blog about, but life has stepped in and hasn't let me write. I even forgot about the Infomercial Extravaganza on Thursday! I'm sure you are all soooooooo upset about that! :)

On a different note, Hoss has been talking a lot more lately. He is cracking me up!

Last night as I was lying with him in his bed at bedtime he was repeating,

"Coz ur eyes. Way down. Go Seep. *Snore* *Snore* *Snore*"

Yes, my lovely child was making snoring noises. We have quite the commedian on our hands here.

At lunchtime today he was looking at his placemat and was telling me what all the numbers were. He would said, "6, 7, 8, 9, 3, 2, 1, GO!" Then, "6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 3, 17, 14, 1."

I didn't even know he knew numbers higher than 10. He's showing me.

He has also been saying his ABCs, but rather randomly. He'll often start with Q or D or a random letter. But don't sing along with him; he gets very angry. He needs his own spotlight.

So I got new clothes!

Yep! Brand new clothing! All for me!

This may not be a big deal to you, but to me it's huge! We have been on an extremely tight budget since Hoss was born (2 1/2 years ago). So tight I have probably only purchased myself 6 articles of clothing since his birth. Literally, 6. Five shirts and a pair of jeans, which ended up being way too big, but I kept them because I'm lazy like that.

I was in desperate need of new clothing. I was literally down to only 5 okay pairs of pants for work and a pair of jeans which would fall down if I walked (which is typically required of me in a day).

Since I do have a dress code at work to wear "business casual" I needed clothes to look professional. Having holes in my pants does not look too professional.

Thus, when our tax return came in and after we repaired the brakes on my car I went shopping. Online that is. (Hello, I work full-time and have a kiddo. When do I have time to actually go to the store and shop?)

I do try to be frugal, so it was a little difficult to spend money on myself, but I did it. And I'm so glad I did. If you are a plus size woman and need a change from the normal three stores which carry plus size women's clothing, check out Old Navy.com. They sell plus size clothing online only.

And I LOVE THEM!

I got these pants.

And these.

And these jeans!

Oh, and I had to get shoes. Really, I needed them, I have no sandals for the summer. So far I have only purchased one pair, from Payless for $9.99! (I actually went to the store and bought these.)

Hopefully it won't be another 2 1/2 years before I buy myself clothes again.

A Snow Day

Well, the forecast was right. It snowed! We have about 5-6 inches at our house. Early this morning Hoss and I went outside and played in the snow. At that time there was probably only 4 inches.

We don't have gloves for Hoss so he had to wear a pair of mine. He wasn't too keen on this idea and we had to make a couple changes while playing.

Hoss had little interest in doing anything except going down his slide. He immediately decided he needed to dust off the snow.

Eventually he was able to slide down.

And what fun it was!

And while I'm down here on the ground I better taste this snow.

Super Savings Saturday -- Yet another CVS deal

Have I ever mentioned that I love CVS?

Oh, I have?

Well, here is just one more reason why.

I purchased the following items for a grand total of $1.46 out of pocket.


How did I do this? Well, let me tell you.

I made 2 separate purchases, on two separate days.

First I purchased:
1 Gillette Fusion Phantom razor --$9.99
1 Gillette Mach 3ct razors -- $7.99
Total: $17.98

I used the following coupons:
$3 off Gillette Mach 3ct razors
$4 off Gillette Fusion Phantom
$5 off $15 purchase CVS coupon
$5 in ECBs
Total after coupons: .98
Plus tax .48
Grand total = $1.46

I also earned $11 in ECBs PLUS my $10 ECB for the CVS advisory panel printed, totaling $21 in ECBs for future purchases

Day 2 I purchased the following:
2 Hershey Sweet and Salty granola bars --$5
1 Reeses Snack Pack -- $2.50
4 Hersheys Milk Chocolate Bunnies -- $2.76
Bounce fabric softner sheets -- $3.50
Downy Fabric softner liquid -- $3.50
Total: $17.26

Coupons used:
Downy 25cents
Bounce 25 cents
CVS $5 off $15 purchase
$2 ECB
$10 ECB

I actually lost 24 cents on this deal as my $10 ECB was adjusted to $9.76. That's a small price to pay for such great deals. Especially when I also earned $7 in ECBs.

I was hoping to make a third trip to CVS, but time ran out this week. Maybe I can find a Venus razor this coming week!

For more Super Savings Saturday posts go visit Money Saving Mom!

Ultimate Blog Party 2008 -- Welcome!

It's the Ultimate Blog Party 2008! I met some great bloggers during last year's party and I am looking forward to meeting more this year!

So, a little something about me.

I am a late 20-something mom to a fabulous 2 year old boy, Hoss. I work a full time job outside the home. This can cause some busy days, thus the reason why it's 11p.m. at night and I am just now getting my post ready for the Ultimate Blog Party!

I am also married to a wonderful man, Donnie. We have been married for 3 years. I'll do the math for you. Hoss was born exactly 10 months and one day after our wedding day. Needless to say he was quite the surprise, but a happy one!

I have been blogging for a little over a year. I began blogging just because I knew I could. Really I had no agenda, but wanted to be a part of the blogging community I had been reading for several months. And I have no regrets. The bloggy mom community is wonderful. I have learned so much from experienced mothers and I have enjoyed the internet friendships I have developed.

In my spare time (ha! ha!), I enjoy focusing on my number one hobby, coupon clipping! Yes, it is my hobby, I love it! I get so excited about saving money. I am working toward being frugal and paying off debt. It's a long road, but we are trying to focus on it a little more everyday.

I hope you get a chance to look around here at "Don't Give Him Crackers!" If you are wondering about the title of this blog, read this! And if you need a laugh check this out. I tried to straighten up the blog for you guys, but I had to do it quickly!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you stick around. I can't wait to meet you all!

Oh, and if I get lucky enough to win a prize, I'd like any of the following: #93, 1, 28, 64, 59, 60.

6-8 inches...folks, it's MARCH!

First, let me brag about my dear child. It's 2 weeks since the ear tubes were put in and I have heard more words come from that kiddo's mouth in these two weeks than most of his life. Yesterday we followed up with his doctor and all is well with the ears. The rooms of the office are decorated with kids in mind so the room we had was a space theme. We have been in this room before, prior to the tubes. This time was a little different. Hoss was talking. He immediately pointed to a picture on the wall and said "outer space." Then he pointed to another picture and said, "Planet!" (and it was a planet). He pointed to another planet and said "Mercury." I have no idea where he has learned about outer space because this is not something we have taught him. Atleast I can't remember talking about it.

Yesterday was not the only time Hoss' speech has shown definite improvement. He has asked me to "open" things, said "ouch" when something hurts, and called a circle "zero" and "o". He's a genius folks. I knew it the entire time, he just couldn't hear!

So there's my brag for the day.

On the other hand, the forecast for the weekend says we are supposed to get an estimated 6-8 inches...of SNOW! That's a lot of snow here in Kentucky. Plus, in case you haven't checked the calendar lately, it's March! If this was the forecast a month ago I wouldn't mind nearly as much. But I've written off Winter. I'm done with it. I'm ready for Spring.

UGH! I guess Mother Nature likes to play jokes on us.

Infomerical Extravaganza, Week 5

Here is yet another edition of Infomercial Extravaganza!

I'm not taking it personally or anything, but where are all my bloggy friends? I have not had a comment in days people...days!!!

No, I'm not taking it personally, I'm just sayin'. Maybe it's just that my posts are blah. I can admit it, I haven't "felt it" this week. Hopefully next week I will.

Ok, enough of that...here is the Pieceless Puzzle. Quite the concept. The person who invented this was definitely a frazzled Mama who was tired of losing all pieces... puzzle pieces that is.

Happy Anniversary Johnny and June

Sometimes I get a little "over the top" about things. If something strikes my fancy then I often will talk about it or get a little giddy, if you will.

One of these things is my recent discovery of Johnny Cash. What really led to my interest is when I found out that Johnny and June were married in Franklin, Ky. The reason this excited me is that my parents lived in Franklin, Ky at the time. When "Walk the Line" came out in theaters this story was revisited by the local newspaper in Franklin, where my dad worked at the time.

I was extremely intrigued by this. The story goes that Johnny and June wanted a quiet ceremony away from Nashville and the press (which would be impossible today I'd imagine). So they chose Franklin, about 50 miles north of Nashville in the Methodist church in downtown Franklin. The night after the Grammy's they traveled north to Franklin and got married.

I immediately made Donnie go with me to drive by the church. I'm not sure what I thought would happen or if something magical would happen, but I was very excited about this. I think I was more excited that a famous person had walked the same steps that I had, in the same town. Plus, it's kinda romantic. I liked their love story and it was neat that they said their "I do's" in a familiar place.

A couple weeks ago my dad emailed me about a celebration being held in Franklin on March 29th, celebrating Johnny and June's 40th wedding celebration. I am really tempted to go and to let Hoss wear this shirt.

However, I don't own a single Johnny Cash cd or even listen to his songs. I like his music, but I'm not much of a music peron, much to Donnie's chagrin. But I'm still considering it!

But if they have this kid there I'm there!

Spring is almost here...right?

I was so excited that the weather was Spring-like yesterday! After work Hoss and I went out to use his wagon he got at Christmas for the first time. He insisted on getting out his tricycle as well so we took it outside too.

Bless his two year old heart, he tried to get that tricycle to move like he wanted it to, but he just has not quite figured it out. He loves it though. I had to convince him that the wagon would be just as much fun (and a lot less stressfull on Mommy's back). Once I convinced him of this and we loaded up we had a nice stroll through the neighborhood.

And that is pretty much everything that is going on with us. I feel like I don't have much to say today. I did post a blog yesterday over here, so go check it out if you'd like. And if you wouldn't like to, then don't...or do it just to flatter me! :)

My weekend in chronological order

Hoss was asking to go to "Gigi and Ganpa's ouse" continuously over the past week, so it was good we had a visit planned for this weekend!

Friday evening Hoss and I headed west to visit Gigi and Grandpa. Hoss was very happy to be there. He =explored all the neat things that he is not supposed to touch and learned that if he stands on the piano stool he can reach things on the back of the piano he's not supposed to touch.

We only had one time out session.

Saturday we went to a consignment sale and picked up a lot of summer clothes for Hoss. We also got some "diny-sores." I am truly raising a country boy. Saturday also included adventures to get Hoss' haircut, which was much needed. He did okay. Haircuts are definitely not his favorite thing.

After the haircut we made a trip to Wal-Mart and then had nap time, for Hoss. I organized and patted myself on the back over our consignment finds.

After nap and dinner we went to visit Mamaw and Papaw (my grandparents). Hoss still is not too sure about the clock, but did enjoy showing how stubborn he can be.

Today we went to church and Hoss actually stayed in class and only cried a little. Then we had lunch and Hoss and I traveled home so we could meet up with Donnie and a group from our local church at Gattitown for an afternoon of fun.

After Gattitown Donnie and Hoss went to see Donnie's parents, so he could help them hook up a new TV. Donnie that is, not Hoss, although give him 3 more months and he may have it down.

This gave me time to go home, unpack, get some laundry done, organize my coupons and shopping lists for the week and even make a quick CVS run.

It was a fun weekend, but not successful in the housekeeping realm, hence the reason I am still awake at 12:15a.m. waiting for laundry to be done!