Amateur Parenting Hour March 27, 2009

So, Andrew and I learned last night that we are not exactly well matched in a panic situation. You might want to consider this before you have an emergency with both of us around. I use the term “panic” loosely, as everything turned out just fine.

At midnight last night, Baby Girl woke up screaming and saying, ” I hurt!” Very weird. If you’ve met our child, you’ll know that I just assumed she had her head stuck in the bars of her bed, had put a tiny ponytail holder on her wrist until her hand swelled to gigantic proportions, or had climbed up on a tall dresser and gotten stuck.  Something like that. Andrew went in to check on her as soon as she started crying, and came out telling me to get up and get in the car (I think that’s what he said–I’d only been asleep about an hour and my brain was mush). She was burning up, shaking, shivering, and starting to get glassy-eyed. She was definitely still responsive, just miserable. So I stumbled into the bathroom and located FOUR thermometers, but not the specific one I wanted (sidebar: why in the world do we have so many thermometers, and why are they all the crappy/cheap ones?). She was crying as we took her temperature (the not-fun way), but still wailed “Thaaaank you temp-tur, Mommy!” This is the child who cries like her heart is breaking but thanks us for brushing her tangled hair, putting her in time-out, serving her the breakfast she doesn’t want, etc. It’s pretty hilarious.

Here’s where the mismatched parenting comes in–I think Andrew would agree that he was pretty much panicking. I mean, it was scary. However, if one parent is panicking, don’t you think it would be important for the other adult who is present to be a calm, reassuring force until the crisis passes? I’m calm and reassuring, right? Nope. I heard panic in his voice, and my brain just screeched, Oh! He sort of looks like he’s freaking out! That’s not like him. Huh. Let’s freak out! It’s freak-out time! Wheee!

The temperature read 103.5 long before it beeped, so we tossed everyone in the car and headed to the ER. She didn’t really make a sound all the way there but was looking around. We were seen IMMEDIATELY, so I guess she looked pretty pathetic. She wailed/thanked the nurse for taking taking her temperature (again, the not-fun way), and her temperature there was measuring closer to 102. Maybe my thermometer was off, maybe the fever came down on its own on the way there–who knows. I do know that her normal body temperature (like mine) is quite a bit below 98.6, so even a “mild fever” is going to make her feel just terrible.

So, after getting some some technologically advanced meds Motrin into her system, she got much better very quickly. Around 1, we headed home with a chattering girl in the backseat. She assured us that she would indeed make it by shouting out the colors at every light change between the hospital and home. She also sensed our parental vulnerability and requested a dinosaur movie (she did not get lucky on that one).

Here’s your lesson:

When you schedule your next emergency, feel free to include either me or Andrew, but not both. We’re likely to clunk our panicking heads together and need to ride in the ambulance right beside you. You’re welcome.

Adoption Yard Sale–THIS Friday and Saturday, 4/24-4/25 March 23, 2009

Okay, all you yard-salers. Mark your calendars. Our yard sale is officially planned for April 24th and 25th (7am both days). All of the proceeds will go directly into our adoption savings account. I am so excited! We have a LOT of stuff so far. If I get really brave, I might post some photos of what we have–but our garage is pretty frightening right now, and that’s where all the boxes are living. We are also planning to put in some pretty large furniture and have some “freebie” tables, so there should be something for everyone. We will have toys, kids/adult clothing, books (paperback and hardcover–probably hundreds!), household items, furniture, kitchen items, tools, etc. We still have room for donations if anyone is interested in adding to the cause–and I haven’t even done the sweep of our house yet! I LOVE a good declutter–probably to an abnormal degree. Please email me at vdh2a at hotmail.com if you need our address. Stay tuned!

ETA 4/23/09: Just bumping this up to the top of the page until this weekend. We have some new items to add: another bedroom set (queen size), remote control airplanes, a bunk bed frame (red metal), more Christmas items than I have ever seen in my life, a charcoal grill, 2 ironing boards. Here is the link to our Craigslist ad. Thank you!

ETA Update #2: Okay. I am not exaggerating when I say that we have received about 5 times the amount of donations I expected. This is great!!! Our garage is now FULL (and I thought it already was), the living room is FULL, the back patio is FULL…are you getting the picture? We got several unexpected donations tonight and have a few more pickups scheduled for tomorrow night. This includes some very nice furniture, an almost-new ping pong table, and bags and bags I haven’t even opened yet. I am amazed and will probably do a big ugly cry tomorrow. Just in case you’d like to come by and see me do so in person.

Banana Nut Cheerios March 21, 2009

Well, we still haven’t let Baby Girl (knowingly) have nuts, but we’re starting to get some strange looks. No, there’s not  a family history of nut allergies, but our pediatrician has recommended waiting until 3. I mostly do what she says. Yes, I have read about the newest study that says waiting to expose your child makes them 19 times more likely to have a nut allergy. Awesome. This child is being raised by amateurs–what can I say? The AAP recommendation has changed at least twice since she was born in 2006. Idiots.

Anyway, I think almonds are now on the safe list. My mother, who has diligently avoided nuts for BG right along with us, proudly showed me her new favorite cereal when I came home after Grandma Wednesday this week. Yep–Banana Nut Cheerios. I held up the box and made her read the title aloud at least 3 times before she got it. I mean, how was she to know it would have nuts in it? What is she, psychic? It’s really fine–I’m just glad it was her and not me.

On a related note, here is Andrew’s review of this cereal: “Coming soon to a clearance shelf near you. Save your coupons.”

Groceries, Friday Edition March 20, 2009

Does anyone really care about my groceries? I’m not sure, but I am liking this coupon thing–so you get to read about it when I have a proud moment. This keeps me motivated to keep our grocery budget low. I even had $40 left over in the grocery envelope last pay period! I totally deserve some cute shoes or something…

I did pretty well at Publix, and actually found a few good deals on clearance (that’s rare for me there). On a funny note–I saw my favorite Publix cashier shopping in the dairy aisle. She was buying the same yogurt I was, so I said hello and gave her coupons to make her yogurt $0.25/pack. She was so thankful! I did not tell her she was my favorite cashier, but I wanted to. Dork.

(BOGO = Buy One Get One Free; you can use  a coupon for each item, even the free one, so you really end up with a “double” discount on the one you pay for)

• Cantaloupe, 1.50 sale
• Smart Balance Spread, BOGO 2 /2.89 (used $1/2 coupon) =0.94/ea
• Smart Balance Spread Sticks, Free when you buy any Smart Balance Spread coupon (I had 2 coupons for this)
• Knorr Rice Sides, BOGO 2/1.59 (used .60/2 coupon) = .49/ea
• Dole Diced Pear/Apple cups, BOGO 2/2.29 (used 1.00/2 coupon and 2 .55/1 coupons) = .64/ea to .59/ea
• Hamburger Helper (because I’m a good wife and Andrew loves this crap!), BOGO 2/1.59 (used 2 $1.00/3 coupons for 6 items) = .46/ea
• Yoplait Yogurt, BOGO 2/2.50 (used  2 $1.00/1 coupons) = .25/ea
• Fusion Power Razor, clearance 4.99 (used $4 coupon) = .99
• Gourmet Coffee (total impulse buy because it had coupons ON the product!), BOGO 2/6.45 (used 1.00 coupon on each one) = 2.22/ea
• Cokes (we don’t drink these–for college group), B2G1 1.50/each (used coupon for 1 free 2-liter from DrPepper.com) = .50/ea
• Coffee-mate creamer, 3.19 (used 1.50 coupon from Coffee-mate.com)
• International Delight creamer, 2.75 (used 1.00 coupon)
• Post Trail Mix Cereal, BOGO 2/3.99 (used 2 $2 coupons from Post.com) = FREE CEREAL!

Total after tax = $30.92! That’s a savings of 74%! Very good for Publix. I don’t usually do that well there. I stuck to my rule of BOGOs that I also had coupons for.

Kroger:

• 6 Pillsbury Biscuits .59/each (used 2 .75/3 coupons) = .34/each and will recieve a “$3.00 off your next order” coupon for buying these
• Bakery Wheat Bread, 1.79 manager’s special markdown from 3.69
• Iams Cat food, 2.99 manager’s special markdown from 5.99 (used 1.00 coupon) = 1.99
• Huggies Wipes, 2.50 (used 5.00 Huggies coupon, which gave me 2.50 overage, so I just got 2 because I was tired and didn’t want to do math) = free wipes!

I used the $3.00 off your order coupon I got the last time I bought biscuits (this is the last time I’m doing this deal–I swear!!!), so my total with tax came to $4.04. That’s a savings of 80%!

CVS quickie March 16, 2009

Can I just say that I love “my” CVS? This is the one on the corner of Fortress and Old Fort in Murfreesboro, if you’re local. When I got up to the counter, I reached into my purse and found the coupon I thought I had lost (I’m so organized that I put it in my purse a few days ago, and so ditzy that I promptly forgot I had done so), so I went to go back for one more thing. The manager saw my coupons and asked if I knew that the Irish Spring body wash was free this week, too (with ECBs, which is CVS-only money). I didn’t, and I even had a coupon! How nice was that?

It’s such a different world from using coupons at Kroger, where the cashiers sometimes huff and puff about a big old stack of coupons. However, I saved about 70% there yesterday, and the very nice cashier told me he was very impressed. He even read my total out loud from the receipt! I’m a dork.

Anyway, here’s what I bought at CVS:

1 Colgate Max toothpaste (2.99, used .75 coupon)

1 Irish Spring body wash (4.99, used .50 coupon)

3 Dry Idea clear gel deodorants (2.47 each, used 2.00 and a 1.00 coupon)

Used 2.00 ECB from last week (didn’t do a very good job of “rolling” these from last week, so I did have to pay some out of pocket; should do better next week)

Total was 10.45 with tax, and I recieved 6 ECB for the Dry Idea, 2.99 ECB for the Colgate, and 4.99 ECB for the Irish Spring. So now I have 14.00 in ECB to work with for next time, which should be more than enough to keep me from paying so much out of pocket! I’d much rather spend their money than mine.

FEED me! March 16, 2009

Baby Girl, queen of the “No, thanks–I’ll just be having the ONE meal today” eating, just ate three Sunbutter/jelly sandwiches. I’m was already in shock, then she said, “I want meat, Mommy.” She meant the lunch meat we had for dinner last night (I’m a culinary genius), but meat is meat. All this from the child who eats meat about once a week. Also, she slept until 10:30 today (so I slept until 10). I’m sure the stars will never line up just right again (BG sleeping in ON my day off), so I’ll take it as a Monday Miracle. I can’t remember the last time I slept in like that. Lovely.

Growth spurt much? Let’s hope it is, so she can begin to wear pants that don’t end approximately seven inches above her ankles. Maybe capris will be in again this year.

Wordless Wednesday March 11, 2009

I could read these all day… March 9, 2009

I keep discovering that most of the people I know have blogs. Who knew? I found this site on our friend Alex’s blog. The idea is that people mail in their secrets (anonymously) on one side of a postcard. Maybe it’s the morose 10th grade girl still living deep inside me (a big fat sorry to you if you knew me then–I imagine that was unpleasant), but I could sit here and read these things all night.

A few favorites so far:

Okay, this could go on and on…I feel better now. I also feel about 15. I was a total moron at 15, just so you know. I resisted the urge to post a few that would reveal just how much of a moron. Apparently, my particular mistakes weren’t totally unique, and I found the anonymous postcards to prove it. If fact, one was alarmingly specific. Go hang out on this site for a while and relive your teenage angst. It’ll be fun.

Quick CVS stop March 8, 2009

I ran by CVS after church (with Baby Girl, always a terrible idea!) to grab a paper and a few things.

The best part about the trip actually turned out to be the guy (no CVS shirt/nametag) hovering around us with a Blackberry. I was little creeped out after I noticed that I had run into him at the end of three aisles in a row and he asked how old she was. Turns out he was taking a survey (we all just love those, right?) about…Chapstick. Well, all brands of lip-balm-type-stuff, actually. I was nice and told him that if he would follow me and Baby Girl around the store (so she would stay entertained), I would be happy to answer his questions. The poor guy looked so relieved that I felt bad for almost telling him (in my polite but firm voice) “No, thanks.” He asked me a bunch of questions about what kind of products I buy (which only took about 5 minutes, including speaking two answers “in my own words” into his Blackberry–that was a little bizarre–and asking BG to return about a million products to the shelves), and handed me a $10 CVS gift card! Totally worth it! If you factor in the gift card, I actually made a profit by stopping in there. I’ll take that! Note: Creeping around the aisles is totally the wrong way to go about this whole survey thing, if you ask me. Print a blinking button that says, “Hey! Tell me about your Chapstick needs for 5 minutes, and I will give you $10!” You’ll have a line waiting in no time. For some reason, I would be much more likely to respond to a survey if I chose to approach the person, rather than the other way around.

I started with $8.00 in Extra Care Bucks (that’s CVS “money”/coupons that you get for buying certain things and use like cash at CVS only). Here’s what I bought:

-1 Secret Flawless Deodorant, 3.99 (recieved $1 ECB for it, used $2 coupon) = .99 (limit 1)

-1 Crest ProHealth Toothpaste, 2.99 (received $2 ECB for it, used $1 coupon) = free (limit 1)

- 1 Renuzit Triscents (plug-in air freshener thingy), 4.99 (used $4 coupon) = .99

-1 Starburst, .50 (Baby Girl opened these while I was taking the survey–awesome)

-1 Sunday paper, 1.75

-2 Twix bars, 1.00 (I did bad mental math and needed to “use up” another $1 at the register–you can’t break up the ECBs and I had a $6 and a $2 to spend)

Total: I paid with my $8.00 in ECB, which left $0.44 for me to pay out of pocket. I recieved $3.00 in ECB back, plus my $10 gift card, for a profit of about $5.00! I haven’t figured out whether I should “count” the ECBs in my cost totals, so I will for now. That makes sense to me, so I will treat them like cash in my (bad) math calculations.

Related note: I was shopping at Kohl’s the other day ($4 clearance shoes for BG!), I was approached in the aisles THREE times (twice by the same employee) to ask if I wanted to apply for a credit card. I thought, “Oh, you poor thing. You have no idea, but you are so barking up the wrong tree. I will be paying with cash out of my dorky envelopes, thank you very much.” I do not like this tactic. At all. Also, they were a little huffy and pushy.

Flying solo… March 7, 2009

Andrew is on the road with the Semi-serious Worship Band (that’s what I call them in my head–I’m sure they’re totally serious…), so I’m on my own. Eeek. He’s in FL for a week, home for a night, then to a weekend conference. So, depending on how my coping skills pan out, you may see a blog every night (as I try to figure out what to do with myself) or you may not hear from me until Sunday (as I throw Baby Girl into bed each night and go rock in a corner somewhere). I used to love it when Andrew went out of town (Hello, middle of the bed! I missed you!) Now that I have a little creature who needs to be prevented from, say, using the drawers as steps to stand on the kitchen counter–not so much.  Stay tuned. Invite me out to dinner. I WILL say yes.