More codes

Here are more Redbox codes. Write them down as I'm not sure of their expiration date.

MAYDAY

TAXES

In only a matter of minutes

This was Luke at 4:32 p.m.


This was Luke at 4:36 p.m.



Luke has a stubborn streak. I sometimes wonder if I contributed to it due to him being the second child and possibly not being quite as strict with him as with Andrew. Again...I wonder.

One minute Luke wants "this" shirt on so I put it on him. The next minute he's ripping it off in extreme anger because he DOESN'T want it on. Huh? He wants to do EVERYTHING himself so if I even remotely touch his shoes, the door, his clothes, the tissue roll, (etc, etc) to give him a start, he screams and demands he do it himself. This is especially draining and frustrating on Sunday mornings when I prepare the kids for church by myself and, usually running late (arrrrgh, I hate being late), he wants to buckle his own car seat straps. Luke even fights me on putting his shoes on the correct feet. When I say to him, "Sweetie, your shoes are on the wrong feet. Do you want to switch them yourself?", he shrugs and turns away, as if I never spoke. Totally ignoring me. He enjoys wearing his shoes on the opposite feet simply because (and I honestly think this) I suggested he switch them.

Now, I am ALL about letting my children be independent of my help. I love that Andrew can dress himself and that both boys can go to the bathroom without my help. I pray that I can encourage them to tackle tasks alone and be motivated to try new things without Mommy by their side. What I'm struggling with is my own frustration with my child who, sometimes, cannot be satisfied.

This all just affirms how deeply fallen my child is. A post-it note must be hanging on my heart today; a reminder that I'm a parent who is a sinner, parenting a child who is a sinner. A reminder that I'm to glorify God in my dealings with Luke. No matter how hot my blood boils regarding the tantrums from my two year old, I'm no more satisfied in my own daily wants. Don't you know that I can throw a tantrum, too?

Watch out!

Ladybug hunting

Andrew and Luke love hunting for roly polys and ladybugs. It's especially sweet to see them hunting together without arguing.

Redbox code

If for nobody else, I post these Redbox promo codes for my brother, Stuart, and my sweet friend, Davina.

The new Redbox code this week is:

R7234H

Free ice cream - Tuesday, 4/29

Just wanted to remind all of you out there that tomorrow is "Free Cone Day" at Ben & Jerry's. Now, we went last year to this event and stood in line for about 45 minutes but there was great conversation with friends and even some live entertainment from local musicians...so it wasn't that bad. The weather is nice and breezy here, about 78 degrees, so being outside in the line will almost be enjoyable. Try not to go between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. when school lets out since that seems to be their busiest time.

Click here for more information. Happy licking!

Feet painting

Again, the weather is too gorgeous to stay inside. While Abigail napped, I took the boys outside to do some creative painting with their feet. Directions are easy: Just dab your tootsies in the paint and march on your paper. The first two footsteps were smooth and neat. Then the colors got mixed, dirt stuck to feet, and papers started flying in the wind. Did I mention that I have a two year old? Yeah, directions not so easy.

I decided I didn't want to throw these paintings away but couldn't think of a way to use them. Then it came to me.....wrapping paper! We go to so many birthday parties that I'm sure we can use these feet paintings to wrap a small gift. Now, I just have to shake all the dirt off!

Anywho, I captured a few moments of our time.

Andrew is all wet

Andrew likes to have his picture taken (when in a good mood, of course). Since it's been 80 degrees here everyday this week, we've taken advantage of the sunshine and water toys available to us in our back yard. After coming up from underwater, I captured these two shots of Andrew. The first is kind of cute....you know...the water stringy thing dripping from his chin is kind of nasty but, at the same time, fun. The second picture looks a little evil to me. I think the details of the water sliding down his face (especially his nose) make the picture look creepy. Anyway, they will look good in his scrapbook album!

Pizza rolls for lunch

Andrew helped me make some pizza rolls for lunch today. So easy! Just take a tube of refrigerated crescent rolls and lay each out flat. Then, spread some pizza sauce on each, shred and sprinkle mozzarella cheese, and place 1-2 pepperoni on each. Roll them tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes. Viola! LUNCH IS SERVED (and your kitchen smells yummy, too!).

My sweet spirited middle child, "Luke-Duke"

Click anywhere on the picture to see larger images of Luke (in ALL his snotty glory!).

 

Freebies by calling (800) #

All of the coupons listed below are for baby items from companies via their toll free numbers.

1-800-587-3721 ~Free Diaper Rash Cream sample from Xttrium Labs
1-800-843-6430 ~Free “Diaper Genie” Diaper Pail to Multiple Birth Parents (3 months & less)
1-800-292-4794 ~Free “Lansinoh” sample - For Moist Wound Healing During Breastfeeding
1-800-588-6377 ~Free Cord Blood Banking Kit - Posters, Videos, Booklets, Stickers (x508)
1-800-962-5357 ~Free Tylenol Product Coupons for Tylenol Products of Your Choice
1-800-344-1358 ~Free $5 Rebate on a Case of “Babymil” or “Babysoy” Formulas
1-800-547-9400 ~Free Carnation Baby Formula Coupons and Free Magazine Subscription
1-800-543-3112 ~Free Carnation Baby Formula Coupons and Booklet
1-800-242-5200 ~Free Carnation Follow-Up Formula Coupons and Booklet
1-800-544-1847 ~Free Kimberley-Clark Product Coupons, Booklets and Information
1-800-523-6633 ~Free Beech-Nut “New Parent Pack” with Baby Food Coupons
1-800-222-9123 ~Free Mead/Johnson Coupons toward Enfamil, ProSobee, Other Formulas
1-800-523-6633 ~Free Beech-Nut Product Coupons, Booklets and Information
1-800-356-2229 ~Free Evenflo Product Coupons, Booklets and Information
1-800-443-7237 ~Free Gerber Baby Food Product Coupons and Information
1-800-344-BABY ~For Munchkin coupons (for bottles, nipples, etc.)
1-800-754-8853 ~Little Remedies coupons, info, and poster (Little Noses decongestant aids, Little Tummys gas and nausea relief, etc)
1-800-843-643 ~Free “Diaper Genie” for twins or more (call before the babies are 3 months old)1-800-242-5200 (ext. 291) ~Free Carnation Follow-Up Formula coupons and informative booklet (formula for babies eating solid foods)
1-800-292-4794 ~Free breastfeeding healing and soothing lotion
1-800-746-8888 ext. 715 ~Free sample of “Zilactin” Baby Teething Gel
1-800-523-6633 ~Beechnut’s mailing list, free coupons
1-800-587-3721 ~Diaper Rash Ointment sample
1-800-442-422 ~Earth’s Best (baby food) newsletter and coupons
1-800-356-BABY or 1-800-233-BABY ~Gerber prenatal pack, also call for coupons later
1-800-222-0453 ~Playtex Product Coupons
1-800-872-2229 ~Heinz Baby Food Coupon
1-888-788-8181-~Triaminic Free coupon
1-800-990-4448 ~Kimberly Clark (Huggies) huggies rebate form
1-800- 518-CLUB ~Ross Labs Similac For Canadians coupons and samples
1-800-533-6708 ~The 1st years product coupons
1-800-526-3967 ~Johnson & Johnson for “New Parent’s Pack” of coupons
1-800-962-5357 ~Free “St. Joseph’s” Aspirin Coupon and Consumer Information Line

Thanks to Handprints on the Wall for this detailed list!

And the winner of my BB&W giveaway is....

.....Audra, from Audra's Little Scraps! She mentioned in her comment that she wanted to place the wallflower in her kitchen. That's exactly where mine is! Audra, enjoy the Sweet Pea scent as you wash dishes, cook dinner, sweep the floor, and clean that fridge. Congratulations!

The random number generator that I used that chose Audra (anonymously) was "my husband". He's sitting on the couch working on his laptop while watching the Braves play ball. I peek my head around the corner and say,

"Hey, pick a number between 1 and 151."

"148", he said, never looking up from his laptop.

"Thanks."

Easy as pie! I'll be doing another giveaway in July in conjunction with The Bloggy Giveaways site.

REDBOX Free Code

I used this promo code tonight to get my free Redbox movie (I rented "Juno").

LOUZOO

FREEBIES

Wanna rent a movie for free? The latest Redbox code out there is: CLOVER

Wanna get a free reusable tote? Click here to print a coupon for a free tote from Babies R Us.

Three free 2 oz. paint samples from Freshaire. This paint is intended for painting your walls but the samples are the size of the acrylics you would buy at the craft store. Great for making crafts with your kids!

Flat Stanley

Our cousin, Emily, lives in Florida and is in the second grade. As a class project, she sent us FLAT STANLEY so he could visit with us a while before sending him back home. However, Stanley arrived naked (so he could fit best in the envelope - hee hee) so we were put in charge of clothing and entertaining him while he stayed with us over the past two weeks.

Red and blue seemed to be staple boy colors so we did some cutting and pasting (sewing like a child) from old baby clothes to form his "get-up".


Stanley has never complained. He's satisfied with whatever he's given and whereever he's taken. Today, he visited our flower garden where he and Andrew spotted a few sprouts.

Afterwards, Luke took Stanley on a shoulder ride.

We will be returning Stanley back to his home in Florida with our cousin, Emily. We have certainly enjoyed having him around - he was the perfect guest!

Who me? Shrimp?

"Oh, girl, I know you didn't.

Me, a shrimp?

No, no....I don't think so."

A Bloggy Giveaway!

Well, I'm finally joining in on the Bloggy carnival giveaway action. I've been reading many blogs and entering their giveaways and feeling it's only best that I offer one, too. It's always exciting to meet new bloggers!

Recently, I've accumulated lots of Bath & Body Works items (I wonder how that happened? Can you say "COUPON"?). I would love to share a few of these items with one person who enters this giveaway. My giveaway includes one Wallflower home frangrance starter kit (Sweet Pea scent), one emory board, and a trial size of the new scent Blushing Cherry Blossom - all NEW from Bath & Body Works.

All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment on this post telling me where you would place this scented wallflower in your home.

Please make sure you leave your email address in your comment (unless I can link directly to your blog/email through your comment) so I can contact you to notify you if you win. The winner will be chosen by random on Friday, April 25th.

Free Birthday Treats

Anyone loves a free treat....especially on their birthday! Click here to see all the free things that you, a child, or a pet can receive on their birthday.

Dorks

Can you spot the dorks in this picture? I think it's rather funny that both of the dorks in this picture are named KIM. Is that her finger up my nose? Poor Amber....she has no face. I love my dorky friends. Thanks for letting me hang out with you all Saturday night while our kids ran around like rednecks outside the house in the dark. Well, your kids....mine were at the house in the bed asleep. I'm the least dork-ish (is that a word?).

Mr. Hairy Fish

A strange craft came home with Luke from school this past Thursday. I want to think that his class is experimenting with different textures as well as motor skills (the use of glue sticks, scissors, etc), yet, I was quite baffled when I took this craft out of his school bag. Mr. Hairy Fish doesn't look too happy to have such brown curly hair attached to his...scales (where are they?). I can't blame him. Being that he's only two years old, Luke didn't give much of an explanation. I don't think Mr. Hairy Fish will be making the scrapbook....better yet, why not? It makes for a great story and one that Luke may laugh about when I'm flipping through the album in twenty years (or so) with his fiance`.

New RedBox code

Today's free Redbox movie rental code is:

6XQ15B

Want MORE coupons?

Click here to access over $180 in printable coupons!

See you at the grocery store!

Free Starbucks sample

SO SORRY! THE SAMPLES ARE ALL GONE AS OF TODAY! JUST FOUND OUT.

Want more free Starbucks coffee? First, click here. Let the page fully load, click on "Explore Our Coffees", then click on "Enjoy Your Complimentary Sample" in the top right-hand corner. The sample request form will pop-up in a new window. You can choose from Cafe Verona, House Blend, Sumatra, or Breakfast Blend and should be enjoying your free coffee in 6 to 8 weeks. Thanks to MoneySavingMom for this link!

The Park

Sorry for the lame title to this post. I couldn't really think of anything else. Hmmmm....maybe, "The park with the three story high slide" or "The outrageously huge playground" or "Possibly the best park EVER!". Oh well.....

Again, we're in the Birmingham area for four days visiting friends and just taking a break from reality and responsibility. The weather has been amazing! You can't stay inside when it's a sunny and cool 75 degrees outside. So, we ventured to the park this morning to let the boys get some of their energy out. Since we live on eastern time, the boys have struggled with the one hour difference. Going to the park helped them get through their early hunger pangs until lunch was finally served. Enjoy the pictures!

The Patricks

We love us some friends!!!! When in the Birmingham area, we take every opportunity we can to get some "friend-time". I just love John Mark and Shea. We got together tonight for dinner at Chick-Fil-A and met their new little boy tonight for the first time. Precious!

Cereal on a string

Daddy has been gone all week to men's conference so I've had some great (and exhausting) time with my three little ones. After dinner last night, we sat down at the table and made these cute bird feeder strings (yep, I stole another craft idea from http://www.unplugyourkids.com/). We only used yarn, Apple Jacks and Cheerios but any circle cereal combination will work. Just tie several knots on top of each other at the bottom end to keep the cereal from sliding off. When you get the length you want, tie it to a tree branch and watch the birds flock to the treat!

Pictures for my sister

I hope my sister is happy now. She said she wanted to see pictures of my kids rather than read about all the deals I've been posting about. She's such a hoot. So, here are some recent pics I took of Abigail (just for you, Angela). She's cute even with a boo boo on her nose. The more professional shots were taken by my sweet friend, Holly. Just click on any picture in the pile and it will enlarge.

Baby slipper giveaway

I love to lurk ("stalk" is more like it) on many blogs but I absolutely love An Island Life. She is offering a cute baby slipper giveaway by BePe Baby. BePe Baby has generously donated a pair of slippers/booties of your choice to one lucky winner. To enter, just stop by BePe Baby before April 22nd and check out all the available prints. Then go back to An Island Life and mention which one you would like if you won. That’s it! A random winner will be selected and notified on April 23rd. The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

Click here to read more about how you can win this giveaway.

Found a cute blog - "Kidmade"

I just happened up on a new blog that I think I'm going to love visiting often. It's called Kidmade and features the "things that kids make". Here's the information I found on their website.

Kidmade is all about kids and the things they make. The whole crafty blog world is such a great place to show off the sewing, knitting and other crafty projects we all do. Many of us share the projects we do with our kids on our own blogs. Kidmade is a place for kids to share their projects, whether it be art, music, poetry or just a really great block creation (there is no limit!). This is the place where kids get to tell us about their work in their own words.

Here's the vision, step by step:
Your kid makes something they are really proud of.
You say, "Hey would you like to share this with other kids?"
Your child responds "Oh, yes Mommy! That would be wonderful!" (or "Uh, okay.")

So.....
1. Take a picture [of their creation] & have your child write a nice little bit telling about what they have made. (It's okay for mom or dad to do the typing if they are not writing yet.)

2. Mom or Dad sends an email to kidmadeATyahooDOTcom and they will post it. Everyone you invite then visits the Kidmade blog where they can oooo and ahhhh about the project, leave great feedback in the comments, or just get a bit of inspiration.

Now for the fine print:
1. The artwork or invention/craft really needs to be kid made and kid inspired.
2. The post should be in their own words. We really don't care about grammar.
3. Not sure how many will be submitted so a reply will be sent to you when an entry is posted to the blog. Some sent projects might be saved to go along with a like theme. There might be cases when all poetry submissions are saved so they can be posted together in one day or in a week's dedication to the art. The same might go for photography, sewing, etc....
4. There is a 1 submission per month rule.
5. The blog probably won't be updated everyday.
6. More fine print to be added as this is all figured out. We're flying by the seat of our pants here!

By the way, they will also be having a Kidmade challenge on a regular basis! This month the challenge is a self-portrait.

Box Tops & Campbell's labels

Ever notice those box tops labels on various name-brand items in the grocery store (Ziploc, Cottonelle, General Mills, Betty Crocker, Viva, etc)? Did you know that each Box Top label is worth $.10? Many schools participate in the BOX TOP program where they collect as many Box Tops as they can throughout the year and then mail them in for a full redemption to benefit their school. My son's school participates in this program and, being that it's a very small school with only 80 students, a check was received last year for a little over $300! Just think what that money could be used for (music art, library, P.E., lunchroom, computer lab, etc.....). You can go here to find out more on this program.

Also, Campbell's has a similar program but, instead of receiving money back to your school, you can redeem the mailed labels for anything in their catalog that your school might need- from something small like a stapler to something larger like a new copy machine. The entire label on the can isn't needed (at one time, the company wanted the entire label or just the front of the label)....just make sure you clip the entire UPC code. Sometimes it's the typical white and black UPC code and other times it might be a higher value 5 points UPC, yellow in color. My son's school is accumulating their points so they can purchase something large and much needed. You can click here to find out more on this program.

If your child's school doesn't participate in any of these programs, you might want to consider clipping these items anyway and giving them away to a school (or student) who does. If you homeschool, this would be a great activity for your children to take part in as they clip and then give them away.

Freebie with purchase

I don't know if I'll get a chance to visit D.D. tomorrow to get this deal but I wanted to share it with all my coffee-lovin' friends (that would be you, Melissa, Sarah Z., and Mad).

Money Laundering

Ok, I stole this idea from Megan over at, plumpudding. Click on the collage below for a larger view with details. The boys were itching for something to do inside this afternoon since it was suddenly too cold to play outside. Their cousin, Ella, has been playing with us two days of each week so she got in on the cleaning action, too. There are two FULL piggy banks in our house so I drug out the pennies for this project. The little ones soon lost interest after the bubbles began disappearing from their containers but Andrew stuck with the entire task, rinsing off his coins, scrubbing and drying them with a paper towel, and then laying them out in a "choo-choo line-up", as he called it. He is growing up. He is focused and finishes what he starts. I can't believe he's already four years old. *sniffle*sniffle*

Coupons & info

Want some coupons & event info?

REDBOX: One free rental night/movie. Promo Code - ALVIN12 (this is different than last week's, ALVIN14)

TARGET: click and then scroll down - careful of the expiration dates!

WALGREENS: (manufacturer coupons) check the boxes on the ones you want and then click to print.

STAPLES: FREE after easy rebate on Pentel retractable highlighters or permanent markers.

PETSMART: Birthday Party for your pet (this one is for you, Tera and Chrissy M.!)

Benefiber for free

Coupon to Victoria's Secret

Ok, I'm going to restrain myself on this one and just use it once! Click here for a coupon to Victoria's Secret for a coupon for a free full size Victoria's Secret Sweet Daydream Body Scrub with ANY purchase! Thanks to the The Centsible Sawyer for such a great find!

See you at the mall, Hilary & Leslie P.!

Pizza kit & freebie picture

Dinner tonight was so delicious that I think I'm going to have to make the Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit a weekly staple at our house. Mitch and I loved it and the kids did, too! Looks like every Friday OR Saturday night will be designated "pizza night". It's cheap, quick, and simple to make. However, the kit doesn't include enough pepperoni or cheese so I just grated up some mozzerella as well as grabbed some extra pepperoni from the fridge. Now, I just need to find some coupons for this item!


Here's a picture of the free items I got at Wal-Mart today. I love the Scotch Brite wand! Also, after eating that pizza tonight, I had to pop a Zantac to heed off the heartburn I knew would be coming. Lovely. If you want to get the Zantac for free, you will need to choose the smallest package of the Maximum Strength, containing 8 tablets. You can print the Scotch Brite coupon here and the Zantac coupon here (scroll to page 3).

What we did TODAY

Walgreens had a sale on their seed packets this week (normally the retail price is 5 packs for $1 but this week they were 10 for a $1). I've been meaning to teach the boys about planting and growing a few vegetables. Well, our Walgreens only had flower seeds available so we set out this afternoon to plant our own flower garden right outside our front door. Boys will be boys....they loved the digging part. Especially when little creepy crawly bugs started emerging from the soil. They began fighting over who got which roly poly, what snail shell was bigger, and who had the largest bug collection in their buckets. As we dug deeper, we found a frog skeleton...weird. It's now in a small ziploc bag, waiting to go to school with Andrew for Monday's SHOW and TELL. Anywho, I did most of the seeding myself but they happily helped to spread the dirt and lay the border of rocks. All plants need water to live, right? What better way than to water our new patch of dirt with nothing else but....water guns! They had so much fun.




Later, we took a light dinner to the local park and ate on our huge patchwork quilt (I'm so glad my mother-in-law didn't want it and decided to give it to me. It's so heavy and large. Great for spreading out food and extending our legs while eating). After finishing, Andrew decided it was time to put his new kite to the test. I love this picture of him looking up at the kite. There was a great breeze tonight! Notice the Bath & Body Works bag in the bottom picture. I have so many of these now due to all my recent coupon transactions! They are handy for outdoor adventures and ease the haul since I usually toss them once they become dirty or soggy from the load.