A few of my favorite things

Oprah has her favorite things and so in the spirit of that, I thought I would blog about a few of my favorite things. Things that have made my life easier and more manageable as a wife and mother!

1. Aveeno - I love love love Aveeno products including skin and hair! I had coupons for their shampoo this summer and thought I would give it a try and I was very happy with how my hair felt and as a mother I know you can relate to not being able to wash your hair every day and this shampoo/conditioner keeps your hair and scalp clean and not greasy for at least two days. I have used their facial cleanser and lotion for some time and I've always been very happy with how light and fresh they are and how my skin feels afterwards.

I always have Aveeno oatmeal bath on hand because I find that it helps when I have flare ups with my Lupus and develop skin rashes. Plus I have two little boys who are always in something out in the yard.....like Saturday when Logan was playing football and rolling around in the yard and came screaming into the house that his arms itched.

2. Tide Laundry Detergent - I know that I made my own laundry detergent for some time in an effort to save money and I just have to say that I wasn't happy with how it cleaned our clothes. I started back to detergent and immediately went for what was on sale, what I had coupons for, and scoffed at the higher price of Tide. Well, I wasn't happy with the stains that remained on our kids' clothes and one day I convinced myself to try Tide to see if I would be happy with it, even at the higher price. I was sold....the grass stains, the dirt, the random stains that seem to find our boys.....gone! GONE!

I did use the powdered version with a coupon and have been told to try the coldwater kind, which I will do when I run out because I do use warm water which adds to the electricity bill. I justify this because I would like the our clothes to last and if I have to wash clothes multiple times to get one stain out, then I think it all evens out. Plus you can't beat the smell of good laundry detergent!

3. Dryer Max Dryer Balls - I bought these with the recommendation from one of the blogs that I read on how to save money. I believe the blog was about how to save money on fabric softener, but I saw an opportunity to save money on electricity. We have an electric dryer and it just didn't seem to dry our clothes after one time, there were times when we would have to run it two or even three times. So, on a whim I purchased these and I get almost giddy when I open the dryer and find that they have helped the clothes evenly dry after one time.

For around $10.00 these are supposed to last 2 - 5 years and I am just really happy with them because they are going to save money on electricity, the wear and tear of our dryer, and eliminate fabric softeners.

4. All You Magazine - This magazine is awesome for coupons! You can find the magazine on the Wal-Mart shelves or you can visit the website All You for online coupon deals and subscription information. The magazine pays for itself in the amount of coupons you will find. I believe in August it had over $90 worth of coupons in it....plus money saving tips for beauty, home, food, etc. I don't buy magazines because you can find free magazine deals all over the internet, but I do buy this one! I highly recommend it!

5. Rimmel Make-up - I first spotted Rimmel at Wal-Mart awhile ago and I loved the products and the low cost for them. Rimmel is now at other stores along with Walgreens and can be found many times for buy one get one free or buy one get one at 50% off. AND you can find coupons for these products in the Sunday flyer of your local newspaper as well as All You magazine.

6. Tresemme Hair Products - For many years I used high priced salon hair products that I felt that I couldn't live without....until I had children and a budget. I tried a lot of hair products found on Wal-mart shelves that just didn't hold my hairstyle or provide me with the same happiness as the salon products. I felt like the pomades were waxy and heavy on my hair and the hair sprays were scary sticky and the hold was terrible. And then one day I tried Tresemme hair spray and was thrilled with how it held my style and how light it was. And when they came out with a pomade I just knew it would be good and I was right! I also use their mousse and have always been happy with how light it is and how it gives my hair volume.

They are right when they say salon quality.....it really is and it's not hard on your budget.

7. Lia Sophia Jewelry - I am not a terribly girlie girl, but I do love jewelry to accessorize with. I have bought cheap jewelry at the mall, but I wear it once and it tarnishes or breaks and it's frustrating. Well a friend of mine hosted a Lia Sophia party and when I went to it and started trying things on I fell in love! And the prices weren't bad at all, but then they had incentives like buy two get one free and then I read about the hostess incentives and was sold....I wanted this jewelry and I could get it for free!

On top of that, if you save your receipts for the items you order, there is a lifetime guarantee and you can return them for the price of the item and can use that credit for purchasing/replacing your jewelry. Go to their website at www.liasophia.com for a representative near you. **Disclaimer** I don't sell the jewelry - I am just a really big fan!

8. Arnold Bread - Bread in your favorite things? Really? Yes! I love this bread so much that I am giving it a shout out! I am a big fan of feeding my children the best things possible and in a perfect world they would get the correct serving of fruits, vegetables and whole grains....but as we know, our world isn't perfect! Arnold Bread makes a double fiber bread that is great tasting AND my kids will eat it! I get almost giddy knowing that they are eating whole grains AND fiber. I have looked up recipes for good homemade bread, but I don't have a bread making machine and I don't foresee purchasing one in the near future. I can usually find coupons for Arnold bread and I can buy a loaf of the double fiber bread for $1.78 at Wal-Mart when it's not on sale in another store.

9. Free Music and Television websites - I don't have a DVR....I know *gasp* - but I know that I can go to Hulu and catch up on some of the shows that I missed during the week for FREE. I have also found great shows for the kids that I sometimes let them watch as they are eating breakfast because we don't have a television in the kitchen.....I know *another gasp*!

Along those same lines, I love Pandora! You can create your own radio station with your favorite songs and it's FREE! I have discovered new artists and songs by using this website and if you create an account it saves your radio stations and you can just pick out what you're in the mood to listen to that day!

10. Febreze Home Scents - I really love Yankee candles and I will buy them if they are on sale or if I have a coupon. The scents are rich and they make your whole house smell so good. But they are pricey and I usually give them as gifts rather then use them in my own home.

At some point this summer I had a coupon for a Febreze candle and I gave it a shot. Boy was I happy with it! I use Febreze sprays in my home to freshen it up and really like those and I was so pleased with the candle! I then discovered the entire Home Collection products offered by Febreze - home sprays, soy candles, reed diffusers, and flameless candles. This fall when I was getting the itch for pumpkin scented candles I went with all Febreze products and have been really happy with them. I noticed the displays recently of the Christmas scents out and although I'm not ready for those yet (I'm still in love with my Autumn scents), I am looking forward to seeing what they have to offer!

You can find coupons for these products all the time and they priced for those of us that are budgeting and offer high quality similar to Yankee candles.

The Truth Police

As parents we have to come up with creative ways to keep our kids "in check". And while I was doing home daycare I dealt with a lot of lying.....nobody fessed up to coloring on my newly painted walls with red crayon, or breaking the toy, or putting a sucker in Bailey's hair, but those things happened and nobody ever came forward and said "I did it Ms. Angela, I'm so sorry". In my world that's what would have happened, but unfortunately that's not the case.

One day while dealing with my own children lying and creating a hectic situation I had a light bulb moment.....one of those parenting moments when you are reaching for SOMETHING that will work. I was tired of threatening Santa, I was tired of talking about God's rules, and I came up with a milder version of the police. The Truth Police were created by me for the sake of my sanity good of the children.

What exactly were the Truth Police, well, they were created at the spur of a moment and I kind of went with the following....the Truth Police know when someone has lied and they will make a report about it and if it's bad enough or if someone continues to lie they could take you to jail. At the time my son Noah was terrified of chickens and upon hearing this he cried and said "Are there chickens in jail", to which I shook my head and said "Yep, there are chickens in jail".

I have the telephone number for the Truth Police and I can call them any time I think the children are lying about something.....as soon as I pick up the phone one of them fesses up to things I didn't even know they did and the other one cries because they don't want their brother to go to jail. One of my kids asked a daycare parent if they knew about the Truth Police and without missing a beat she said "Yep, they hand you that number in the hospital when babies are born". ha! ha! I had an accomplice!

The Truth Police have morphed over the years and now I don't find myself threatening them so much. I look back now and think that the creation of the Truth Police was my tool in teaching my children to make good choices, at least I hope so. Or it could be the thing that lands them in therapy.....that and chickens! Sometimes you have to think so quickly about how to handle a situation as a parent that you come up with surprisingly creative things. As I go into this weekend I hope to not need the Truth Police, they have helped me many of times, but I would just like a peaceful weekend.....maybe I should create the Peace Police?

Happy Parenting!

The Reinhart Opera

I just recently read on Facebook that someone's child listened to classical music while doing his homework. I used to do this and so I thought I would give it a try with my own children. I pulled up Pandora and chose the classical music station and thought for sure it would immediately bring calm into homework time.....boy was I wrong!

I felt immediately like I was in a terrible opera....a tragic one. Picture our family in opera singing voices -

"Sit down at the table please"
"Please sit doooowwwwwnnnnnnn"
"Homework is stupid! Homework is stupid! Stupid Stupid Stupid!"

"This book is hard! Mommy this book is hard!"
"Please just try, just try just try just try"

"Please redo that one you wrote that backwards"
"No mommy"
"Yes, do it now....do it now or you will be GROUNDED"
"No No No"
"You are GROOOOOUUUUUNNNNNDED"

I don't know that it helped calm the environment at all, but I did it again tonight.....maybe it just helped me chuckle a little as we were suffering through it! ha!

Teach your children well

One of my favorite blogs to read daily is Here's The Diehl and she has encouraged her fellow bloggers to put down their shiny happy persona's for one day and reveal their flaws. Oh Lord, we could be here all day! ha! ha! I have had to come to terms with my flaws and it seems like with every stage of life there is always a moment when you figure out that you're not perfect in some way.

A friend of mine and I recently had a chance to talk to one another about things that we've been going through with our children and some of the revelations that we've had in our own lives. And I said that I don't want to protect my children from disappointment and failure, I just want to make sure that I give them the tools to handle those things in the best way possible. And I think that as a parent, you can't expect that you are going to shield your child from the rough times, but you should strive to teach them how to maneuver through them.

Our kids know we're not perfect, on occasion they have seen Randy and I have a "discussion", they have seen me break down and cry, they have witnessed us each fall in our lives, but they have also seen us work through any marital issues, they have seen us dust ourselves off and get back up, so they know that even when times get tough, that there is a way out of it.

Now, I certainly don't expose our kids to more than they can handle at their ages. I definitely wouldn't want my children to have to deal with more than they have the capacity to deal with -they have stresses at that age that they are dealing with.....they certainly don't need an overdose of adult stress. I think in life it's important to give them opportunities to be independent, to learn how to deal with life, etc., but I know of some parents that offer these opportunities too fast and that forces their kids to grow up really soon and they miss out on the childhood stuff.

So every day I strive to be real, I am going to have break downs, I am going to have challenges, and not only am I learning and growing with everything that comes my way, my children are learning how to manage as well. I know it's a little corny, but I can't help of "Teach Your Children Well" by Crosby, Stills, & Nash......

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good bye.

Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you'll know by.

Don't you ever ask them why,
if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

And you, of tender years,
Can't know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth,
They seek the truth before they can die.

Can you hear and do you care and
Cant you see we must be free to
Teach your children what you believe in.
Make a world that we can live in.

Teach your parents well,
Their children's hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you'll know by.

Don't you ever ask them why,
if they told you, you would cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

Blog hunting for deals

Since I'm a deer hunter's wife, I thought I would make a play on words to represent MY type of hunting. I am a bargain hunter and it's not because I'm cheap, it's because you can have the best in life for less money.....it just takes a little investigative work! One way that I "hunt" for bargains is by checking out blogs. Some of these women put so much time and effort into finding the best for less, that I thought it would be really cool to promote their blogs!

I am listing here my Top #5 money saving blogs - enjoy!

Consumer Queen - Melissa started her blog for fun, then it became a necessity when her husband fell ill and the medical bills were high. She has great tips, always has awesome contests, and promotes high quality items for great prices! The link I posted here is regarding a contest through Frigidaire and a chance to win a year's supply of Tide! I hope that some of my readers can benefit from her frugal shopping and enjoy her witty sense of humor!

The Happy Housewife - Happy is a military wife and mother to seven children.....I love her tips for saving money by using what you have, good recipes, and funny stories! She and her husband live debt free....something I long for - no house payment, car payment, student loans......maybe one day! The link I provided you with is regarding food storage - something I am always learning about because it pains me to throw away food that could have been frozen, canned, etc. - it's like throwing away money! I hope her household tips and humor help you in your life!

The Grocery Cart Challenge - Gayle is a home schooling mother who feeds her family of 6 on $60 a week.....I know right?! She is amazing! She and her husband left their high paying jobs and started their own business and along the way she learned great tips/tricks on how to stay within that budget and still feed their family well. The link I am posting is her "confession" of if she always stay on her menu plan or not. You must read her blog, she is so funny and gives amazing tips for everything from beauty, laundry, clothing, and of course food.

Addicted To Savings - Elisa started her blog as a way to document their journey from living with family to owning their own home. Now she maintains her blog to share some of the great deals that she finds along the way and I have found some of the best deals on her sight! The link I am posting is one for a $5.00 rebate from Real Simple magazine....and I happen to have coupons for many of the products listed! Make sure to check her blog weekly, if not daily for amazing deals at local stores!

Frugal Finds From Your Frugal Friend - Carol is a wonderfully funny lady that blogs about great store deals, recipes, and just humor of life! I have found really good deals, offers, etc. through her and know you would enjoy her blog. The link I have provided here is for natural ways to fight off the flu....tips we could certainly all use right now! Enjoy her blog!