I Thrive on the Chaos

Violet has a recent obsession with rocks.

That's an odd way to start my blog, isn't it? Well I have an endgame with this, I promise.

Anyway, her recent obsession with rocks led to a very terrible, very long and very frustrating battle with getting her in her car seat today so she could go drive someone else crazy for a few hours, and I could go to work.

Chris was trying to strap her in while at the same time trying to take away the two giant, yet swallowable rocks that she had her tiny fists coiled tightly around, and she was not. having. it. Those rocks meant everything to her. She wanted them forever and ever and ever. She wanted to carry them around into her teens and room with them in college, and have them in her wedding and make them her kid's God parents. At least that is how she was portraying her relationship with them to me.

But, being the paranoid person that I am, I insisted she give them up for the ride.

Did I mention right before this she squatted in the garage and clearly pooped her new, fresh diaper?

So after the struggle died down (mostly because I put Garfield on the backseat DVD player for her), we went along our poop-smelling merry way to her daycare. Even though she was in good spirits when we pulled into the parking lot, she decided it would be best to make it to the first steps that she usually is more than anxious to climb up aaaaaaaaaand freeze. No talking, no walking. No paying attention to anything but the golden flowers just within in her reach that she HAD to mush. So I pick her up and force her into the door, and we start the walk down to her room. She spies a large pink sparkly pillow on a couch just outside her door, and as she has done every day for the past two weeks, grabs it to take it to her room.

I just let her do this. Fighting her over a pillow she'll forget about doesn't seem worth my time, and her teachers let her do it, so why not? Today, though, she decides that a good place to plant herself and poop filled diaper down is right OUTSIDE the doorway of her room, and she was going to "noodle" her body into a deadweight limp toddler before I could get her up. So I pick her entire body up (and the pillow) and hand her over to her teacher, apologizing for her obvious foul smell and then peacing out as quickly as I could.

About 5 minutes later I am pulling into the parking lot of my work when I see I've missed a call from Chris. I call him back, hoping what he'll tell me is that the plumber who visited our house for 2 hours this morning magically fixed everything and all of our laundry problems are solved.

Nope. Instead it's a message of how he had to write a $217 dollar check and that now when we do laundry, it will just flow into our basement AND into the gaping hole in the front of our house.

I take a deep breath. I am NOT letting this defeat me. I am NOT letting this stress me out. Despite everything that happened in the short first half of my day, I smile as I think about adding to our family. I can handle this. Hell, I can handle anything. Violet is a mess. A HOT mess. Terrible twos have hit, and it has been some kind of ride in our home lately. But I don't care. I wouldn't have it any other way. Never a dull moment.

Sometimes I have days where I think I am absolutely crazy to want to add to the chaos. But I think growing up in a large family of seven people has prepared me well, and almost made it impossible for me to enjoy the quiet. And one day it will be quiet, and I know I'll want all of this back. My greatest adventure.

And I'm happy because tonight I'll go home, I'll feed and bathe my inevitably filthy toddler, and then I will settle down with a glass of wine and watch the Auburn Tigers defeat Kansas State. It's a good day. War Eagle my friends!

This Underground Money Saving Mom World is INSANE

Good afternoon and Happy Monday!


Being married to a man who loves a deal has made me think that I, too, have become pretty darn savvy when it comes to saving money on the products and foods we use the most in our house. But lately, with the thought of baby number 2 bouncing around the books, I decided that maybe it was time to up my game a little and venture into an otherwise unknown world to me.

What I have learned and seen will SHOCK YOU! Just kidding. But it may be surprising some of the methods and lengths people will go to to literally save a buck. But the most surprising part? It works.

So here I am to impart what the month of August, in all of it's hotness and glory, taught me about how to live like the queen of England on the salary of Prince George's nanny. (if you can get good enough at it.)

1) Couponing. Couponing sounds simple enough, right? You clip a coupon here and there and you squeal as the register discounts it from your item. WRONG. That's how sissies do it. Real couponers know that if you want the most bang for your buck, you collect as many coupon inserts from as many sources as possible, you get organized, and you get BOGO.

There's a lot of math involved in couponing, which makes me hate it a little bit. But, in the interest of saving money on one of my biggest vices (groceries), I took the plunge and went to an actual couponing class. What I learned there:

A) there are so many more sources for getting coupons than you may think. It's not all about sunday papers and physical clipping anymore. There are people you can PAY to do it for. Why pay for coupons? Simple. You don't have the time to gather and clip them yourself, and the benefit outweighs the cost. I went to the website www.thecouponclippers.com, searched their inventory, and ended up with about $40 worth of coupons (for stuff I do and for sure WILL buy) for $4. They arrived, clipped and neatly with a personal note within a few days. I went on my first shopping trip after trying this to walmart and was delighted to find out I had used $20 worth of my coupons. That and the savings catcher (more on that later) brought my savings to a total of about $30. Not bad.

B) Bogo is your friend. Buy One Get One Free deals (combined with couponing) is the best way to get the cheapest price for your items. Sales run in a 6 week cycle, and coupons will last anywhere from one month to three, so you have a good chance of catching your stuff that can wait on sale.

C) Rainchecks. Because of the crazy couponers out there, the best stuff usually flies from the shelves. But don't be sad. Simply ask for a raincheck for the item, and when it is back in stock, you get it for the sale price.

D) APPS. The new walmart savings catcher does a lot of the work for you. If you shop there, dl the app, scan your receipt, and it searches all of the competitors adds for sale prices. The best part? It refunds you the difference in the form of an e-gift certificate. The first time I tried it, I got $7.36 back to use on my next trip. Another good one? Target Cartwheel. Add the special deals right to the app, and when you check out, they scan a bar code that takes all of your coupons. No hassle.

Now that we've covered the basics of couponing, let's move on the next greatest underground mom trick I have tried this summer. Consignment.

If you live in a place with one million churches, like I do, you are most likely going to have one -two consignment sales pop up in your area. These often benefit the church in some way like funding missionaries or youth groups or something, which I personally have no issue with, so it's fine for me. The other part of the proceeds of course go to the consignor themselves, so everybody wins.

Here, there are about 10 different consignment sales that run in the beginning of fall and then again in midwinter to early spring for the different seasons. I've hit up two already, and both experiences were interesting to say the least.

Here's what you need to know about consignments:

A) They usually run two days (for the public) If you volunteer, or are selling, you may get to shop these early. But, if you're like me and you aren't ready to get rid of your precious little clothes, then the public sale it is. The first day is going to be crowded, and everything is going to be "full price." Now keep in mind that I didn't pay more than $5 "full price" for anything I bought, which is why this is such a good deal. The second day is usually a half price sale, but be prepared for it to be pretty picked over.

B) Read the rules before you go! Most of these sales have a name and website (Giggles and Grace, Wishes and Wonder or some stuff like that) and they will have ground rules about what and even WHO you can bring. Some don't allow young kids (liabilities), some don't allow strollers and some will provide bags while others say you're own your own. But you may also have to be specific with your choice of carrier. The last one I went to specified all baskets had to have towels taped to the bottom to prevent floor scraping. These people don't mess around.

C) MOMS BE CRAZY. The dirty looks and crazy eyes you will see a consignment sale will make you never want to venture there again. Also, watch where you put down your stuff. I thought I'd take my haul over to an empty place in a corner just to add up what I was spending and before 5 minutes I had two moms come up to me, and start looking through my pile AS I WAS COUNTING IT, and asked me if I was getting stuff. Uh, yes. Hence why I have it all in my possession. Back off.

But is it worth it? Sure. I'm saving as much as my time can allow right now with little effort. $30 or so on groceries here, and $50 for some really nice warm play clothes for V when the weather turns cold. Some of it from places we never venture into, like Children's Place, or fancy local boutiques. (We're a Carters Outlet/target kind of fam)

Anyway, I know this was the longest post ever, so I will leave you with this pic of Violet in her new (used) Auburn cheer outfit that we score for $4.


Happy hunting!
Love,
Dominique