Calling Any Super Coupon-ing Mamas Out There

Ok so it seems the new big thing is super coupon-ing. (maybe not new, I'm usually behind the curve) but it seems I am seeing more blogs and columns claiming that super couponing or stacking coupons have saved family budgets $800+ a month. Average food budget is around $1000 and I have read claims of dropping that to $200 or less while building up food storage. Seriously?? I usually brush it off and think ah that's nice, but today I've been thinking...does it really work? I just came across coupongals and it sounds almost too good to be true. So I want to know if there are any real life super couponers out there. I think someone we know at least started this because a while back my husband came home saying something about someone getting a load of groceries for $5.47 (or some unheard of amount) and that there were actually sites you could subscribe to that would tell you about coupons or something. I can't remember who it was though. So if you have tried this-successful-or-not, I want to hear!

• can you really save that much money?
• is it worth the amount of time it would appear to take?
• do you save enough to pay for the newspaper subscriptions?
• how many papers do you subscribe to?
• how to you even start?...it looks so overwhelming
• do you run into problems with the stores not taking the coupons?
• are coupon subscribing sites worth it?
• is it possible to process all those coupons in line with a baby and a pre-schooler or heaven forbid all 5 children in tow!?

I just want to know if you have tried it and been successful or not. For those of you that don't leave comments, email me sj_mayo@msn.com Thanks!

I Need A Break

Uggh...I am in the middle of a project that I really wish I could just run away from! I had this brilliant idea to swap the boys and girls rooms. When we moved here...Megan was our only girl (hard to believe now that the girls out number the boys) so Megan got the smaller of the rooms. Well now that we have 2 girls in that room (Dallee is in our room). Megan and Charlee seem to have more junk than the boys so I thought we'd swap out the rooms in the hopes of finding more blessed space. In the process I thought we might as well refinish the dressers. Soo now we have 2 rooms in total disarray, sanding down furniture, Charlee going through DI bags and totally throwing a fit that I am throwing out her "favorite" stuff and I've completely lost my motivation. We'll survive but not a fun spring break. Megan is feeling quite abused that this is the way she is spending her spring break. Oh well...we have been talking of putting the house back on the market so hopefully we'll do all this and then just get to move this summer...ok wishful thinking...but more space would be so welcome!

On another note...today Megan had her first drive with her drivers ed. Sounded kind of interesting. She almost side swiped a car while making a left hand turn. Almost rear ended a pick up at a stop light and the teacher had to use his brake in the parking lot so she didn't run over the parking stopper thing (what's that called???) anyways hopefully she gets these near misses out of her system before she starts driving our vehicles!! PS watchout on Blue Lakes!!!

Well back to my not so fun project!

The Beauty of Everyday Moments

Life's moments are beautiful. Life's moments pass me by in a blur. Lately I realize sometimes I let the most beautiful moments pass by without sucking the joy completely out of them. This little person has brought 5 months of pure, blessed, incredibly joyous moments. I feel those moments slipping through my hands like sands through an hour glass.



What can I do to hold onto them? We are already through the newborn phase, the baby stage is in full fledge. We giggle, we have found our voice, we roll over, we are a supported sitter...so much accomplished in such a short period of time. I had one of those "ah ha" moments early this year. I was rearranging my blog layout and off came the "baby ticker" you know the ticker that says you are 16 weeks...256 days to go. That ticker? It seems like just yesterday I put it up. Yet here each one of those blessed moments have ticked by...plus 5 months! Ticked by in a blink of an eye...just like the past 15 years!



Yes, 15 years...my oldest turned 15 years old on January 24. As I took the ticker down I actually caught myself wishing for something to "countdown" to this year. I stopped myself short and thought what? Countdown to another pregnancy?...out of the question. Countdown to a wedding day?...once in a lifetime moment. Countdown to a graduation?...biggest graduation happened 1.5 years ago when that beautiful M.S. degree arrived from O.S.U. next graduation date...Megan's....can't fathom that one. So what big thing do I want to countdown to this year? It has taken a while of me thinking of this to come up with my answer.



I want to count the Beautiful Everyday Moments of Life. You know the ones that fill the majority of our days...I in my running pants, hair in pony tail, Dallee in her pj's, Charlee's hair a mess and in mismatched clothes. Yes those moments that are also filled with computer work, cleaning, laundry. But those moments that are also filled with moments I get to sit, hold, rock, and nurse my baby. Listen to Charlee make Dallee giggle. Listen to Charlee as she talks about how she will be this and that when she grows up.



You know these moments...dull, peaceful yet the most beautiful moments in time.



Then the moments of our day when the house in clean (ok sometimes all we manage is the "quick" clean stage), laundry is going, our hair is combed, teeth brushed, clothes on and we are ready for the day. Lunch, nap, playtime. Before we know it is time to get kids from school. Then we get the moments of hearing about school days, the good and the bad. The recess and the lunch stories, the tales of friends that made us giggle and also those that made us cry. You know the moments that make up childhood. We drop kids off at practice. We may watch them play or we may watch Charlee in swim lessons. Then its time to all go home and meet daddy, fix dinner, and have our evening moments.



The moments where we do homework, share more of each days events, sit down at the table to eat and then bedtime. The moments we say prayers and I Love You's and Nighty Nights. Those are the moments!



I have realized the Biggest Moments, the ones I countdown to, well those are just moments too. They pass just as quickly as the everyday moments. The moments that nothing exciting may be happening but they are the moments that make up life. I have spent many moments of the past years "counting down" to the time when we built a new house. There was a time that I actually felt that was just around the corner, I poured over house plans, picked the best of each and combined them into the "house" I wanted. I counted the days our house was on the market with no counts of offers. Those moments turned into long months then years. Yes I would love to still build that house, but reality says it probably wont happen anytime soon. How many of life's beautiful everyday moments did I let slip by while looking for the day when that house "might" happen. Too many I am afraid to admit. I use the example of the house but how many other times have I waited for "something" big and forgot to see the beauty in the "small" things.



Yes, this year I am going to count the best moments of all...the "couch" picture moments. Those moments that may not have all the glitz and glamour of the action moments but they are "life's" moments. The moments that my fetus' turns to newborns...newborns to babies...babies to toddlers...toddlers to preschool...preschool to elementary...elementary to middle school...middle school to high school moments. The everyday moments that slip by all too quickly. I will still look forward to the "big" moments but I am going to drink up the everyday moments, the small things, the dull no...the beautiful moments.



Life is what I make it and moments are going to happen whether I am paying attention to them or waiting for the next "big" moment. I want to Enjoy the Small Things. I happened along this blog a while back and I find it so intriguing. This lady can write in such a beautiful way she makes her everyday moments sparkle. She also recently had a baby with down syndrome that they didn't know of the condition until she was born. Her entries are riveting and so full of emotion and honesty, it is incredible. To top it off, she is a photographer and has beautiful pictures. Reading her blog makes me realize, (of course our stories are all different), but all in all we are all just mamas making the best of the time we have with our little ones and tackling the curve balls life throws at us. She has inspired me to capture life's little moments. I want to see the beauty in all my moments...big and small. I want to see the magic of little things come alive in my children's eyes.

Thanks Jen for this beautiful quote on your blog..."This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now." Thomas S. Monson

Now what moments are you counting down to this year?