Other Mom Stories

Recently, I've come across a couple of fun articles about mommy-hood and the stresses and joys that come with it. First, my mom sent me the link to an article about how to land your child in therapy. It was really interesting to hear another view on over-parenting and the problems it can create much later in life. You can read the entire article here.
The second article I came across was today on KSL.com. It was written by a woman, who delighted to discover the perfect parking spot was quickly dismayed when it turned into an awful situation. But, by thinking the situation through before speaking or acting, she was able to diffuse it by acting as a grown-up and caring. This made me think, when we as adults are confronted and attacked, how quick we can jump to the defensive and overreact. As mothers we need to remember that, when dealing with other mothers, there is most likely a legitimate reason for their feelings and reactions, and we don't know the whole story. If only we could all just take a quick 10 second breather when being confronted to think what to say before actually saying it, the world could be so much more pleasant to live in. You can read Susie's whole article here.

A change is gonna come...

The older my kids get, the more I realize how beneficial it is for both them and me that I am a slacker mom. Yes, I am a slacker mom and proud of it. I was raised by a slacker mom (and she's proud of it too, so don't worry that I'm "outing" her). I've struggled to come up with posts for this blog, so I've decided on a theme to help me out: Life as a Slacker Mom. I would like to post on the day to day activities that showcase my life as a slacker mom, with both successes and failures. I also consider part of being a slacker mom as being thrifty, so I will continue to post on home cooking, amazing shopping deals, and crafts that help me to save money.
First of all, to define slacker mom, so that no one thinks I'm just a lazy mom. 2 very different things. Slacker moms are moms who reject any over-parenting models that involve children being sent to every possible after-school improvement option, with mom staying up till dawn baking homemade cookies before rushing off to work or starting the day's tasks.
Come join me in my adventure and mistakes in parenting!

Happiness Is.....

Reward certificates in the mail...
After a month of all my grocery money going to holiday parties and holiday cooking, it is so nice to have that extra money to help rebuild my freezer meals. Now, to get my butt out of the house and grocery shop...

Artificial sunlight...As I mentioned in a previous post, I was drowning in winter depression and needed help! I got my light therapy device yesterday, have only used it for two days now but feel a world of difference already! In fact, I feel almost giddy! I hope this doesn't wear off. I feel like dancing in the streets, but, as I alluded to in a Facebook status, it is freakin' cold out there! So, I'll dance around my house and get way more accomplished in one day than I have in the last month combined. Sad, I know...

And getting to see this face every day...
I am so blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, and I'm going to enjoy every minute with my cuties for as long as I can...

That is happiness...

Oops!

Soooo, last night I had a headache while trying to fall asleep, so I got up to get drugs. I accidentally took Excedrin Extra Strength (which has caffeine) instead of the Advil PM I had intended to get. Oops! It then took me two hours to fall asleep. Luckily, with my new Christmas toy, the Roku, I had the entire Netflix watch instantly library at my disposal and watched "Chaos Theory." It was funny and sad and cute all at the same time. I wouldn't watch it again though. I was just desperate. Now, I'll be more careful about which drugs I take at which time of day. Imagine if I accidentally took Advil PM in the morning! I would crash and wake up to a destroyed house!
In other news, I've suffered from severe Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues since I was a preteen. I always just struggle through it, getting more and more miserable every year. The years I would get a winter tanning pass would really help, but I'm now a million miles from a tanning salon. After reading some recent news stories about the disorder, I decided to try to find a light therapy device to help me with this crippling winter disorder. Unfortunately, most places have devices in the hundreds of dollars price range, which is way out of mine. Then, at Target, I found one for $45! Using a leftover Christmas Target gift card along with 2 $10 e-gift cards I'd purchased through DealPulp when I was able to get each for $2, I was able to get the light for basically free! I just ordered it today and it should be here next week. Most people say it takes a couple of weeks of using it regularly to notice a difference, so I'll post again with results, but I'm hoping and praying this works for me!

Deal of the Day- III

I love free stuff! In this week's coupons there were two coupons that, when used at Wal-Mart, got me free stuff. I had 2-3 sets of the coupons, so got even more free that way. First, there was a $.50 off 1 Maruchan Yakisoba meal. These are made by the same company as Ramen Noodles, but this is a Japanese version with Japanese noodles and Teriyaki sauce. I'm pretty excited to try this, as I am always looking for single serving meals I can have on days that I just don't want mac & cheese or spaghettio's, etc. Since I had three of these coupons, and the price on them was only &.48, I made 2 cents on each of the three packages I got.
Next, I had 2 $1 off 1 Gain Dish Soap. These are priced at $.97 at Wal-Mart, so I was paid $.03 for each of those two bottles. I've been in love with Gain products for years since I first discovered their Apple Mango Tango laundry detergent. When I heard that they were now making dish soap I went nuts! Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the Apple Mango Tango in the store to buy more, but I did get a free bottle through a Facebook promotion about a month ago. So yes, I have 3 free bottles of super yummy Gain dish soap under my sink! Although this dish soap doesn't clean any better than its competitors, I must say that the scent is certainly better. It's like an air freshener for the kitchen! When I clean off the counter and kitchen table with it, I can smell it lingering (not too strong) for hours. MMMMM....
What a day of fun freebies!

Fun New Project

I'm so completely addicted to anything crafty, and like to spend my free time hunting down craft ideas. I've found several fun crafty blogs, but this one really caught my attention this week. When Tattoo was a baby, he had the cutest onesie with a necktie printed on it. I was so sad when he outgrew it, and never found another one. Dummy me, I also never thought to try to make one, until I came across this post...a tutorial for making that exact shirt! I printed her template for the necktie, which is about just the right size for Tattoo. On Kaiden it would have only come to the top of his tummy, so I modified it for him, making it a couple inches longer. I found the long sleeve tees at Walmart for $3.50 each, and the fabric and wonder-under for the ties was only $3. So I was able to make both shirts for $10 total ($5 each) when I would have paid at least $10 for a similar product at the store. I had so much fun making them that I went back in search of more materials. I found a superman-blue shirt on clearance for $1 that is Tattoo's size and I got a navy shirt for Kaiden (not on clearance). Now, I'm going to get over to Joann's in hope of finding a Superman-print fabric for the ties for the new shirts.

Deal of the Day-Part II

Kaiden is super hard on his jeans. When looking at his pants in preparation of the chilly season, I realized that he had holes in the knees of every single pair he owns! So off to the store I went to get some more. I had previously printed 4 $2 off coupons for any children denim item at Target. I found Kaiden's size of pants for $4! So I was able to snag 4 pairs of pants for $8 total!!! Unfortunately they only had 2 colors available, so he has two pairs of each color, but pants are pants, right? The quality of Target pants isn't that great, so I'm sure they won't make it to hand-me-downs for Tattoo, but considering that cost was lower than Kid to Kid or D.I., who cares!? Anyway, I'm excited about my deal of the day. Now, all we need to make it through the winter is a coat for PJ. And on I go, hunting for another deal on that!....