Sorry Guys...

I got nuthin'!! I'm worn out. Summer is killing me. There are 17 days until Olivia starts kindergarten. (Not like I'm counting or anything!) And it's gonna rock our world (good and bad) in many ways. I'm sure I'll let you know how later!!!!

We had a great family "vacation" last weekend at the lake. All 17 of us! :-) It was fun. Crazy and exhausting, but fun!!

A vacation for me would be no kids. I love my kids, but they can be quiet annoying sometimes!! :-) BUT, it was definitely fun to get out of the house and away from everyday life.

I'm extremely grateful for the fact that my family is still so close!! We were blessed with the opportunity to learn a LOT about our lineage and family history. My grandfather bound a book about the highlights of his life and gifted us with it this weekend. I can't wait to finish reading it!!

Here we are all piled on our Sugar and BB's bed like we did when we were younger - except with spouses now!

Gotta get the family pictures.

And of course, the BIG family picture!
And that was our weekend!


So, now I just have to keep the kids entertained during the day without them having a heat stroke in August! Oooo..but I get to join the gym again. Very excited about that. I miss it terribly!! :-) Bring on the sweat!!!!!

You Want ME!?!?!

I had the craziest, coolest phone call the other evening with incredible potential for some really awesome opportunities!

Ok, where do I start...I'll back up a little. But I'll get right to the point. I love makeup. Yup...I do. Always have. Always will. It's fun for me and I pretty much have a least blush and mascara on ALL the time. I've even been made fun of for wearing it to the gym! (A girl doesn't need to scare anyone off now do we!) With that said, I have a special place in my heart my bathroom for all my mineral makeup. I started wearing mineral makeup over 5 years ago and haven't looked back at any other makeup since! It's so good for your skin. It was actually created for people with sensitive skin and rosacea. It's %100 natural, it's a natural sunscreen, no fillers, oils, or perfumes....and coverage is amazing. My skin has gotten even better since I started wearing mineral makeup. It's also very quick and easy to apply, no lines of demarcation, and matches skin perfectly! It's like airbrushing your face to a flawless finish.

So, my mom ordered a Sheer Cover makeup kit off late night infomercials years ago. She got me playing around with it because she could tell it was "different". I was amazed! I didn't know much about it but they had me hook, line, and sinker! I immediately got on their shipment plan.

Fast forward 5+ years. I still use Sheer Cover daily, mixed with a ton of other mineral makeup, like eye colors, blushes, etc. So a few months ago, I got a flyer in the mail from Sheer Cover saying if you send us your before and after pictures and answer 5 questions, we'll send you free makeup. Did you say FREE MAKEUP!! Where do I sign up.

Anyway, I snapped off a couple of pictures bare faced and then "all done up" and emailed them in. Got my freebies and went on my merrier little mineral makeup way.

6 pm Monday night...children hungry/whiny, husband not home yet, baby has a low grade fever (probably from teething), momma trying to cook a fancy dinner.....phone rings. We don't have caller i.d. so I pick it up. Typical "may I please speak to Lindsay?" where you totally know they're a telemarketer. I almost hung up, but decided to spare her the wrath of Lindsay for calling during "arsenic hour" in her home.

I hear "This is soandso from Lieberman Productions with Sheer Cover calling about the pictures and questionnaire you sent in!"

I perk up and put my, 'oh, why hellooooooooo......cheery, happy-go-lucky tone of voice on'!

Long story short, they liked the answers to my questions that I sent in with my before/after pictures! They continued to interview me and really liked my story. That being the whole mom/daughters use the same makeup angle and the fact that I'm a stay at home mom with 3 kids angle! COOL!! She personally emailed me asking for more pictures (close up with and without makeup on - ummm scary!!) and even some pictures with my mom and sister!!! She said I couldn't send "too many"!! CRAZY.

At the end of the conversation, she closed saying, "Now, if we wanted to fly you out to California to be in the infomercial, would that be a problem?"

With all three kids wailing in the background I said, "Let's just say, you wouldn't have to beg me!" She laughed, I told her that wouldn't be a problem, a vacation from the kiddos would be great, and we ended the conversation.

So we'll see. I'll get some more pics soon and email them in. Even if they don't follow up, I think it's pretty cool they called me personally!

But if things work out...you may be lookin' at the new infomercial girl (or girls) for Sheer Cover!! Hehe...I'd make sure everyone caught the 2am showing! Oh, and any free makeup perks would be great too.

And to think my husband wanted me to cancel my precious mineral makeup shipments...........

CVS Trippin'

Back by popular demand (again!), I'm posting my weekly CVS trips!!

First transaction:


1 Stayfree pads $4.50
1 Stayfree pads $4.50
1 Johnson baby wash $3.99
1 Johnson baby wash $3.99
1 Listerine mouthwash $4.00
1 CVS makeup removing cleansing cloths $2.99
4 Trident gum $1.49 each

coupons used:

listerine $0.50
johnsons $1.00
johnsons $1.00
B1G1 Stayfree $4.50
CVS skin $2.00
ECB $15.98
CVS $3.00 off $15.00 purchase
ECB $1.00

TOTAL out of pocket: $1.75

RECEIVED back: $14.00 for johnsons products, gum, and CVS towlettes

Second Transaction:


2 Starbursts bags $5.00 (don't tell my kids!) :-)
2 Gummi Lifesavor bags B1G1 $2.19
6 Reeses Cups $3.00 (those aren't going to last long around me!)
1 Bandaid $2.99
1 Revlon eyeshadow $9.99
NEWSPAPER (not pictured - but bought just for the coupons) $1.50

Coupons:

bandaid $1.00
Gummi lifesavers B1G1 $2.19
CVS $3.00 off $15.00 purchase
ECB $10.00
ECB $5.00
ECB $1.00
ECB $1.00

Total out of pocket: $1.95 (I basically paid for the newspaper - it would have been pennies if I hadn't gotten that!)

Received back:

$16.99 ECB from Revlon, bandaid, and candy!

I saved a total of $64.81!!!!!! And spend only $3.70 out of pocket! Pretty good, eh!?

A couple of things that I want to pass along.

1) ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPT!!! (I thought this idea was stupid at first)
I would say almost 1 out of 5 "strategic shopping" trips, something goes wrong on the receipt! Whether it's a wrong price, or a coupon that they added instead of subtracted (big one!), you want to make sure it's correct!! I usually do this in the car before I pull out of the parking lot! I had to go back in yesterday because the computer wasn't giving me my rewards for the candy! And they were more than happy to help me!

2) GET TO KNOW YOUR STORE WORKERS!!
Now that I've been frequenting a few CVS stores around town, the cashiers are starting to recognize me. Now, we're not on a first name basis (YET!), but they are getting pretty friendly. For example, one pushes coupons through for me if they've expired. I also a little short of making $30 mark so that I could use a $5 coupon and he pushed it on through anyways! WOW! They will also give me the ads ahead of time and even check in the back for items that are out on the shelves. One even gives me tips on getting the most out of my shopping trips and ECBs!


Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend and gears up for a great week! I officially have the kids home 24/7 until school starts. Pray for me! :-) I know God will give me the patience and energy. I'm just afraid other responsibilities will slip! Surprisingly, ::note the sarcasm:: I'm not perfect...and also seriously disorganized! But hey, I've become pretty domesticated over the past 6 years. Considering I never mopped a floor or ironed a shirt before I got married, the fact that I can halfway run a household with 3 small children and not lose my head too terribly often - well, we'll call that significant change!! I'm living proof it can be done!! :-)

So we'll see how often I get to post in the coming weeks!! :-) Who knows, I may have some pretty incredibly funny stories come along! :-)

My friend Annie posted this quote one time - it's pretty much sums me up!

"Keeping house is like threading beads on a string with no knot at the end."

Payback

Hermit crabs.....oh, where do I start. My parents 'gifted' us with one a few weeks ago. I mean.....they 'gifted' Olivia with one. Considering I've owned a few hermit crabs in my short life, I'm sure they enjoyed giving it to us more than Olivia enjoyed receiving it.....if ya know what I mean......

Of course my mom said, "At least it isn't a Lab!!"

:: point well taken ::

So we call him Mr. Crabby. At least that's what stuck.

He was exciting at first. It's tapered off a little since then. But I'm afraid I've he's grown on me a little. I KNOW........it's a stinkin' crustacean!!!!!!! But we make eye contact a lot, and I know the times of day he likes over others. And I'm the one who cleans his cage and feeds him!!! We've bonded. :-)


Ewe.

Robert got him out after dinner and decided to "play" with him. He was holding napkins and his cage. That little critter has some strength in that one little claw.


She was mad because we wouldn't let her touch him.



Olivia did not like us "playing" with her hermit crab. She was very concerned for him. It also could be because Daddy wanted to try and pull him out!!! He didn't, and she got over it!

So....I wonder how long he'll last???

CVS Trippin'

Since so many of you enjoyed my CVS adventures, I thought every once in a while I'd show you what kind of deals I'm getting. I know it's helpful for me because sometimes I go and buy the same group of items to get the same type of deals!

So here it is (not too much):

2 L'oreal haircare (B1G1)
1 CVS baby wipes
1 CVS baby soap
2 Trident gum (B1G1)

coupons used:

L'oreal B1G1 coupon (made the shampoo and conditioner FREE)
$2 CVS skin care coupon (made wipes FREE)
$2 CVS skin care coupon (made baby soap FREE)
$1.00 in ECBs

Total cost out of pocket: $1.07

Received back $1.00 ECB (from trident)
Basically, I paid $0.07 for all this stuff.



Also, if this makes sense, I'm working towards $5.00 in ECB from buying $15.00 in CVS baby care items. So if I break up the transactions and buy a $2.00 item (wipes/soap) everytime, and use a $2.00 coupon everytime, I'll eventually receive $5.00 in extra care bucks - but bought everything for free. (This is where I had a hard time wrapping my head around things at first!) And that, my friends, how you "make money". :-)