Sometimes Love is Sweet, but Hard to Swallow

Yesterday morning, my 8 year old daughter surprised me with breakfast in bed:

Looks good, doesn't it?

That's 4 lightly toasted (aka still somewhat cold) blueberry toaster waffles each topped with a patchy layer of either peanut butter or Nutella and lightly drizzled over with maple syrup. (I added more before this pic was taken.) It was lovingly served on a paper plate and a plastic spork still in the plastic wrap (switched out for a real fork before pic was taken.)

Her reason? It was "Happy People Who Love Cats" day.

Isn't she sweet! And oh so pretty. My adorable little tree hugger.

Let's not share with her how "not so green" the plate and spork were. Or just how many glasses of milk mama needed to finish her breakfast. (3 tall frothy glasses & a cup of coffee!) We'll just keep those secrets to ourselves for now. Some day, I'll share this story with her as I beam over the pictures with pride and a warm feeling in my heart. Reminds me of the time I baked my dad a green grape pie, which he too ate every bite of. Ahhh, memories. '0)

Yup. Sometimes love is sweet, but hard to swallow.

I Got My First $5!!!

I just got my first $5 PayPal from SwagBucks! Yippeeeee!

About a month ago, I saw this ad for SwagBucks. It was promoted as being similar to MyPoints. Intrigued, I had to try it.

Wait. You don't know what MyPoints is? (Not "are". "is." I know. sounds odd. It's ok. I cringed too. Let's move on.)

I love MyPoints! I click on emails for 5 points each and after about 6 months, I get enough for a $25 Starbucks card!! (and I loves me some coffee) Ya, it takes quite some time and its only for gift cards, but hey, it's free and it's not hard. Right up my alley. ;0) Although, you can speed that time up by filling out surveys, signing up for trial offers (and get freebies for doing so, along with your points), making purchases, etc. And it's not just for Starbucks. They have over 75 different merchants to chose from including: Target, Walmart, JC Penney's, Applebee's, Hyatt, iTunes, Outback, Old Navy, Saks 5th Ave, Shell, William Sonoma, and many more gas cards, hotel cards, retail cards, restaurant cards, even frequent flyer miles and (newly added) Visa debit cards you can use on anything you want!

I know I sound like a commercial or badly worded ad. And in a way, I guess I am. But I also want to express how much I trust this site. I've been a member well over 10 years and have earned hundreds of dollars in gift cards and prizes. (from back when they did prizes)

Now... on to the reason I'm blogging twice in one day. SwagBucks! It is more search engine based and instead of "points" you get "bucks." Just like with MyPoints, you exchange your accumulated "bucks" for prizes and gift cards. Unlike MyPoints, you can redeem your virtual stash for money via PayPal! (If you don't know what PayPal is, google it... better yet, swag it on the search box to the right of this blog. Explaining it would derail my train of thought again and I'll never get to my intended destination.)

Like I said, (about a mile back up the page) I've been with SwagBucks for about a month now. About a week ago, I had enough to cash in for $5 PayPal and it came today! Now, to be fair, it may have taken a month, but most of that time, I was gone or busy doing other things. So normally, it would take a lot less time to earn. In fact, I am about half way to cashing in for my next $5 PayPal. Not enough to quit my day job (if I infact had one), but a great little savings to apply towards extra goodies here and there, Christmas items, or whatever. ;0)

If you decide to join me in the fun, please do so through my links above, the banner below or put kidlit as your referal when you sign up. That way I get a little closer to my next prize a little quicker. Thanks! ;0)

Biting Off More Than I Can Chew... Again!

My beloved son turns 5 in 3 weeks. :0)

That same week...

* I'm throwing him a birthday party.
* He's starting kindergarten.
* My darling daughter starts 3rd grade.
* I'm participating in one of the greatest children's consignment sales ever.

and
* I'm helping some of my friends prep their items for same said sale.

That's a lot to prep for. Especially when I have an adorable infant who eats at the breast upon demand, a 4 year old who creates a path of destruction where ever he goes (topic for another blog entry), and an 8 year old who's idea of helping is counter-productive to say the least.

Have I lost my mind?!?!? Well, ya. Of course. Pretty much goes with out saying, but then I seem to thrive on insanity. The downside is the stress that comes with it. I don't do stress well. Never have. Hey, that's why they created coffee, right? *slurp*

If I survive, I'll be back in 4 weeks to blog about how it all went. Here's to hopin' I get to report that the party was a success, all my items (and my friends items) sold, the kids made it to school dressed appropriately and more importantly, my son makes it to see is 5th birthday.

Dollar Tree Balloons Rock!

A couple of months ago, my brother-in-law posted on FaceBook a picture of my niece's $10 Elmo balloon. He was amazed on how well it was holding up after 2 weeks.



This sparked a conversation on helium balloons, their life expectancy and longevity. (Oh, the things you talk about once you become a parent. They are the things that make your childless friends roll their eyes and stop calling you.) I made mention on how we have had balloons that lasted up to a month and how they had been purchased at the Dollar Tree. Others said they too had purchased balloons from Dollar Tree that seemed to hang around for quite some time.

Shortly after this, my daughter Libby was born and Daddy bought her a cute pink Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger balloon from the hospital gift shop. Two days later, she came home and her God Mother purchased her 2 more cute pink balloons from the Dollar Tree. She is now 7 1/2 weeks old.

And so are the balloons. :0)

Gift shop balloon (on the floor):



Dollar Tree balloons (on the ceiling):

I'm not sure how much he purchase the Pooh Bear balloon for. Being a gift shop, it was probably somewhere around $10-15. I'm not slamming his purchase. Far from it. It was very sweet and the only gift she received while in the hospital. Once I remove the last of the helium, it will be placed in her baby keepsake box o' memories along side the other two because this balloon is special.

Now, from a frugal stand point. The price you pay for a helium balloon, (whether it be from a gift shop, grocery store or even a party supply store) is costly! I've priced them from anywhere between $3 and $35! Not kidding! Ok, so the $35 ones were huge, sang to you or had one of those recorders in them so you could add your own message, but still... IT'S A BALLOON!!! It's only going to last sooo long before it pops, deflates or floats away!! (Even if it does last 2 months) For the price you pay for one of these, you could buy several more! Or, buy the same amount you would have at the higher priced places and put the savings in your pocket. And chances are, it will last longer.

I have purchased a dozen or so balloons from the Dollar Tree for several birthday parties, used them as decorations and then handed them out as parting gifts to the little guests as they leave. The price I paid was the same some of the guests paid to gift the birthday child one balloon. ;0)

Does it have to be Dollar Tree, you ask? In my experience, I'd have to say yes. I've tried purchasing balloons from the other dollar store (who's name I will not mention because I do like them for other things... not that anyone beyond my 1 or 2 readers will ever read this. But just in case.) They charge a dollar for the empty balloon and extra to fill it!! I would not have followed through with my purchase of their balloons if they had not been ultra cute. Still not worth it! Died within 24 hours. Not kidding. :0( Since then, I have only purchased balloons from the Dollar Tree.

So I ask you, where are you going to buy your next balloon? ;0)

(Note: The views expressed in this blog are strictly my own and in no way was I compensated by Dollar Tree. However... if they want to... I'm all for it. <3 )

Sorry. I Got Nothin'.

As my days progress with my little newborn, I have less and less time to sit down and add to my blog. Oh, I think about it constantly! Topics will pop in my head, I'll think "this would be great for my blog" and my brain will run with them. That's usually as far as it goes.


Why?


Because I get here and ...... I got nothin'.


The brain does a sudden release and all I get is "poof" nothing. This is more commonly known as a "brain fart."


OR, more often than not, I get here and find myself having to type one handed beecause the little demands I bounce/hold/feed/soothe/change her. (note the latter stops me all together.) This slows down the creative flow and 9 out of 10 times, brings my thoughts to a grinding halt.


Either way, I got nothin'.