A bargain?

Saturday, October 25, 2008
I had to get gas for the car last night on my way home. In order to save those precious dollars, I try my best to run out of gas in front of the Kroger gas station so I can save an additional 10 cents a gallon with my Kroger card (with about a 10 gallon tank I save about a buck every time I fill up). As I cruised into an open spot I was overjoyed when I saw that unleaded gasoline was selling for ONLY $2.37 a gallon so I was going to get it for the BARGAIN price of $2.27!

But as I was pumping the gas and reveling in my awesome deal on fuel, reality set in... I can remember a time not very long ago that $2.27 was a ridiculous amount to pay for a single gallon of gas. But when the prices were cruising up well over the $4.00 mark a few weeks ago it makes you feel like you're getting an awesome deal when they bring it back down to $2.27. How easily my simple mind can be fooled!! (Oh and I noticed tonight that the QT by our house has gas set at $2.26 without the use of a Kroger discount card in case you'd like to rush out and take advantage of such a great gas bargain!)

I guess the principle the gas price setter people use (who ever they are and however they make their choices) could be applied other places in my life: parent with the bar set as high as possible and then lower it to a more realistic place so it will seem easy for Kate to obey because I'm not asking near as much at the end; make myself workout three times a day for a week and then just once a day to make exercising so much easier to fit into my schedule; keep my house totally spin and span for a month and then ease up so it will be simpler to keep things in order; etc.

In some ways I guess that logic makes perfect sense and would seem to be an effective way to accomplish goals, but in other ways it seems overly extreme and sort of unfair to Kate, me, and all those drivers out there who have been tricked into thinking $2.27 a gallon for gas is a bargain! Your thoughts?

2 1/2 years vs. 4 months...

Thursday, October 23, 2008


Our dear friends Laura & Baby Caroline came to visit yesterday from Massachusetts. Kate cherishes every opportunity that involves friends sleeping in the guest room at her house, but she's especially enjoying her time with sweet Caroline! She tickles her to make her smile, tries to share her food with her, took a bath with her, kisses her every chance she gets, and wants to hold her or help with her as often as possible. Looking at Kate next to a four month old makes me realize just how far she is from being my baby... she's definitely a little girl these days! Seeing the differences in the pumpkin patch pictures from the past three years earlier this week along with seeing my big girl next to baby Caroline has really driven that important point home in my heart. Some days Kate tells me in a very authoritative tone that she is a "BIG GIRL, NOT A BABY," but other days she insists that she IS a baby - so she's not sure what she is or what she wants to be, but the reality that there's a little girl living in my house is quite evident. In many ways I'm sad we've outgrown the baby phase of Kate's life, but I'm so thrilled to get to know this imaginative, loving, artistic little girl and can't wait to see the wise woman she'll one day become!

Just One More!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

One more precious set of shots from the pumpkin patch's bench in '06 & '08!

Pumpkin Patching with Friend Luke




Today Kate & I made our 3rd annual visit to the pumpkin patch with the McCulloughs. Luke is Kate's longest friend her age and it's so sweet to see how they've grown up over the past 3 years - from wiggling around on the floor together before they could even sit up to running around making pretend tents in closets now! Every year I think Kate is such a big girl - until the next year when I look back at last year's pictures and realize how little she was. And that realization motivates me to cut my sweet two and a half year old girl some slack sometimes because she's just a toddler. Next October I'll be looking back at this year's pictures (like I am this year with last year's pics), and I'll be thinking about how young she was this year and how easy I had it!

Pumpkin Carving with Toddlers

Monday, October 20, 2008



How to Carve a Pumpkin When You're Two:
1) Invite a dear friend over to share the mess (i.e. FUN) with you - these sorts of occasions are much more fun with friends (i.e. someone else's mom who can call 911 if necessary)
2) Have your momma lay out newspaper on a sturdy work surface and gather supplies
3) Have this momma try her best to cut a circle about 2 inches around the stem at slant so the lid won't fall through whenever you try to top off your masterpiece when it's finished WITHOUT severely impaling herself, her friends, or the kitchen table
4) Have momma clear away the knives and any other toddler dangers from the table, call you to the table, attach a bib around your neck to protect your clothing from pumpkin gut spatter, and help you to take the "lid" off your pumpkin
5) Take a few moments to inspect the innards of said pumpkin with appropriate awe and a little disgust mixed in for good measure
6) "Stir" the pumpkin insides around and try to get some seeds or pumpkin goo on your spoon without getting your hands dirty (despite the fact everyone knows you thoroughly enjoy a good mess on your hands)
7) Instruct your momma to finish the clean out job, get the knives back out, carve a design on the pumpkin (again, without the spilling of anyone's blood), put candles inside, and clean up the mess
8) While mom is up to her elbows in pumpkin slime, take time to bask in your freedom to do as you please for several moments
9) Have your momma clean up whatever mess your unattended freedom may have unintentionally resulted in
10) Have that Momma do you one last favor by lighting the candles and ENJOY!

CVS Bargains This Week...

Sunday, October 19, 2008
Here's the loot I scored at CVS today -- I know this hodge-podge is an odd collection, but the best part is that I didn't pay anything for any of it (and I'm going to send off for a rebate so I actually EARNED $8)!

Here's the scoop:
Just for Men Hair Color: cost 7.99, generates $7.99 ECB + $8 rebate mail-in rebate
Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste: cost 2.99, generates $2 ECB and used $1 CVS coupon from magic coupon machine
2 Pumpkin pails: cost .99 each, generates two .99 ECBs
2 Glow Lights: cost .99 each, generates two .99 ECBs
Colgate Max Fresh Toothbrush: cost 2.99, generates $2 ECB and used a $1 CVS coupon from magic coupon machine
Powerade: cost 1.69, generates a $1.69 ECB
2 pack GUM Crayola toothbrush: cost 3.99, generates $3.99 ECB and used a .75 manufacturer's coupon

I paid for my awesome CVS stash today with the ECBs I'd already earned in the past, left the store with the same number of ECBs since each item I "purchased" was generating it's total worth in ECBs, and still had a profit of .77 (plus the $8 rebate check that will be in my mailbox in 6-8 weeks!). Since they won't give you that precious 77 cent profit back in cash I decided to add a Sunday paper to my loot (not pictured because it's already been gutted for it's coupons and recycled). This week the Star Telegram offered double coupons in one $1.99 paper, so for a grand total of $1.22 I escaped from CVS feeling like a true bargain shopper!

CVS lingo for those new to CVS who might be confused by the above info:
ECB = Extra Care Bucks (they come out at the end of your receipt and you can use them like cash on your next transaction - even if it's the same day)
Magic Coupon Machine = when I go into a CVS, I search for their price scanner because when you scan your Extra Care Card's barcode (which you can sign-up for anytime you enter the store and receive at that moment) across the beam, the price scanner in most stores will spit out 2-6 store coupons).

If you're interested in CVS-ing or have any questions on how you can score these great deals or any others please don't hesitate to ask! I LOVE CVS and would love to help you save money so you will love it too!!