New Years Resolutions

Another year and another list of resolutions. I normally make a few but don't take them to seriously. This year however, I sat down when the house was nice and quiet and made a list of things I want to accomplish this year. The list is a bit long but full of things very important to me. So, I thought I would share the list here, so I feel like I am held more accountable for achieving these goals.

1. Quit smoking completely. I am down to just a few here and there and no smoking has been allowed in the house for several years so I'm hoping this is an easy one to accomplish.
2. Get back to church. My goal is to be there at least two times a month. This is a family resolution the kids and Lenny all agree this is something we will work on this year. We have found a church we like and feel comfortable in, so it should work well.
3. Exercise more/ lose at least 30 lbs this year
4. Be more organized
5. Be LESS stressed. This has been an ongoing resolution for a few years. I am making progress!
6. Save more money--use more coupons
7. More dates/time with Lenny. I see him all the time but what I mean is to go out and do things just the two of us or with friends. This rarely happens but this year I hope that will change!
8. Visit friends more..get out and about..live a little! The last year was rough being so sick but now that I am feeling better I should be able to achieve this goal.
9. Be happier... do away with those that cause drama and people that bring me down.
10. Just to maintain my health. Now that I know the main problem I can work on getting the other smaller issues addressed and fixed.

Deals, deals, deals :)

So, recent deals... App. $86 from Office Depot but after coupon codes, free gift cards and free next day shipping it only cost me $4.32

Kohls.. $40 hoodie for $4.14 shipped.

Am I crazy to not pay full price for anything unless absolutely necessary? ;)

I plan to tally all savings at the end of each month and report here. Should be interesting to see what that total is at the end of the year. Maybe I'll start putting the money saved by coupons, etc into a vacation or "rainy day" fund.

Contacting preferred companies for coupons

For the last hour, I took time to send messages to companies (with the letters beginning with A-C) of products that we use often. Did you know that the companies like to hear your feedback of their products and most will send you coupons in the mail for doing so. I had done this with just a few companies before the end of the year. I was reading on Couponing to Disney on her 5 a day. She suggests you contact 5 companies a day and it generally takes less than 10 minutes of your time. She has a database with all companies and you can simply click on the name and be taken to their site. I have decided to not contact all of these companies but instead just the ones of products I use. I do not make purchases of products I dont use. I see this as wasteful. Now if I know someone that uses the product and it free or next to free, I will pick it up. I love couponing and hope that when I post info on this blog it will be able to help someone else save a little money!

Start of a new year

With the start of the new year, I've decided that I want to blog more. Kinda funny trying to remember how to get back into this site to even post this. I'll get the hang of it I'm sure. I'll probably blog about how I juggle being a mom,wife, student and of course how I love to get a good deal.

Kids and Kittens

The kids came into my bedroom this morning so excited almost yelling saying that our cat had kittens. They had heard them meowing from the front porch. So, sometime between midnight and 10 am she had them. I'm guessing she had them during the storm last night. My kids are huge animal lovers so an addition really made them happy. The two cats we already have we saved. Oreo, (the black one) was about 2 weeks old when his momma was hit and killed by a car. So, I bottle fed the 3 kittens and he was the only one that made it. Then Cocoa, (the striped one--and new momma) was found in a litter abandaned on a country road near our house. My mom found all of them homes. She was about 3 weeks old and she was bottle fed as well. We didn't get her fixed because we had read she was too young and thought we'd wait til she was old enough.Well, guess what.... she WASN'T too young and now is momma to three adorable kittens. Since we live in the country we will probably keep all three of them. They are soo cute. But, she will be getting fixed just as soon as its safe to do so!! Will post some pics of the little cuties later.

Silly/Funny Memories

I'm all about creating memories with my kids. In this blog, I wanted to share a few of the more silly memories captured.(Top left- Kaitlynn getting purple kool-aid "highlights", Top right- kids "hitting" me with snowballs, bottom left-is what happens when you let a 6 year old perform makeovers.)

First post

I've decided to take up blogging. I do have another site for couponing and money saving deals but I will start that one back up once I am well again. Just thought it would be neat to follow in some friends footsteps and update things on here about Joshua and Kaitlynn and the things we face as parents. I love reading about friends kids and the funny and thoughtful things they do. So, for all of you out there with kids younger then mine, here is where you will find the things to look forward to. lol. :)