"AHHH! Mr. Gumball is here!" I quickly surveyed the mall playground as my three year old clung to my leg in serious angst. A small head of thick, dark hair bounced behind the plastic turtle. When the owner of the little head popped up, I recognized him immediately.
A few days before, he had terrorized the playground with his rough-housing and tackling. Let me interject here to say that he was just being a 2 (or maybe 3) yr old boy. Boys play rough. They wrestle. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way he played earlier in the week- except that nearly all of the other children on the playground were frilly Princesses. The Princesses had decided as a group that they should be afraid of him, and he rose up to the occasion. Their screams urged him to growl like a monster. Their running brought on chasing. You get the point.
As the young boy scared the poor Princesses, a girl began to pick on her little brother, calling him "Mr. Gumball." I have no idea where it came from, but it seemed to really get under his skin. (NOTE: Mr. Gumball was not the boy running amuck amongst the Princesses.) Of course, the girl's mother told her to stop, but she kept taunting. Somewhere in the chaos, Courtney assumed the small monster boy's name was Mr. Gumball- and, so, we come to our encounter with "Mr. Gumball' at the playground today.
I encouraged her to play. She reluctantly ran around the playground with one eye on the slide and one eye on Mr. Gumball. He was at his rough antics again- only this time he had several boys to play with. He obviously made her nervous, so I asked if she wanted to leave. She quickly put on her shoes and headed for the exit. I started to put Matthew into the stroller and turned to see where she was. Mr.Gumball had her by the arm and was trying to pull her back into the playground to play. She jerked away and ran to me, almost in tears. We started walking away. The quicker, the better! I thought. I knew that if we stayed much longer I would surely have a meltdown on my hands.
As we walked, I listened as Courtney played out a hypothetical conflict to herself. "If Mr. Gumball comes up to me, I just tell him, 'NO!NO! Mr.Gumball! Go AWAY!!' Then he will just GO AWAY and I can play. And if he comes up again..." and so it went on and on. What she'd do if she ran into him again. He'd better watch his back. He'd be sorry. She'd give him a piece of her mind...
I laughed quietly to myself (because if I had laughed out loud I would have had to explain why I was laughing- and who wants that when we're all tired and hungry?). I couldn't help but think of how often I've done the exact same thing: "Oh, if that guy were to stop and get out of his car, he'd be sorry he ever cut me off! I'd tell him a thing or two!" Or, "If she ever says something like that again I'll punch her in the nose!" Of course, when those situations come up I rarely actually execute my plan. It made me wonder what she'll actually do if Mr. Gumball comes back to the playground? Will she stand up and tell him no? Band with the other Princesses in fear? Start a little Princess riot and conquer the playground for Princesses everywhere? Or will we just happen to go shopping as soon as he enters? I suppose we'll find out soon enough!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Mama Magic...
"God gave Mamas the ability to know what their kids are doing, even when they aren't watching their kids." I watched my 3 yr old's face go from dumbfounded to amazed in a matter of seconds as she realized the truth in this statement.
Then she made her way to time-out for jumping on the couches while I was in the laundry room.
How did I know? Mama Magic... and the fact that she was grinning from ear to ear, sitting quietly on the couch with the pillows and throws all out of sorts. I know her. I know her so well, in fact, that I saw the I'm going to jump! look on her face as I headed out of the living room. Amazing, isn't it?
I am often in awe of the abilities God gives us Mamas. For instance, somehow I seem to know the sound of every little thing in my house. I can't remember where I left my keys, but I distinctly remember the sound of little hands opening the pantry door. If you were at my house and we heard a large crash, I could tell you with certainty whether it was the bookshelf, the Barbie toys, the closet rod or the shoe basket. I can tell what part of the hallway the baby is in by the way his hand sounds as he taps the wall. Incredible! I could even tell you if my daughter is searching for string cheese, grapes or yogurt, simply by the way she's standing in front of the refridgerator.
We Mamas are great at predictions, too. We just know things. We know what our kids will ask, even before they ask it. We can predict (down to a second) when a meltdown is going to occur. God has even given Mamas the ability to know at what point to tell the oldest we've got 5 minutes before leaving the playground because the youngest is about to dirty his diaper (ok, so that one's not so hard to figure out). Still, it's absolutely amazing! It's all part of the package for a mom, but still VERY mysterious.
The greatest Mama Magic that I've ever had the pleasure to witness came from my own mother when my brothers and I were teenagers. I remember it like it was yesterday: My younger brother is a meat guy. Hey, he's from Texas. Meat and Dr. Pepper all the way. One summer day, while our parents were at work, my brother decided to pull out a pot roast from the fridge and cook it for lunch. Pan-fry it, if I remember correctly. I told him to put it back, but you can imagine how that went over. I gave up and went back to watching TV... a few minutes later the phone rang. I answered and heard my mom say, "Tell your brother to put the pot roast back in the refridgerator. I'm saving it for dinner!" How did she do that?!? I may never know. Mama Magic is all I can say.
If you're a mom to be, get ready! Within hours of holding that little one in your arms your senses will power-up to Ninja level. (You may not notice this, however, until you start sleeping through the night again.) If you're a mom already, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I encourage you to hone in to your gift and use it wisely. Use it often. Keep it mysterious. If you are a child, well, good luck getting past your Mama with that stunt. Just remember: even if she doesn't "catch" you, she knows what you did.
Wow, God, You really knew what You were doing when You gave Mamas eyes in the backs of our heads-Thanks for the Mama Magic. We couldn't do it without You!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Couponing Conundrum...
My first big couponing trip. More like an excursion! Oh, I've used coupons before, shopped sales and what-not. I usually end up saving about $3 or so and feel pretty good about it, but then I think, $3.00? Really? Is it even worth all of that time and effort for $3.00?!?
But this time was different! This time I went in with a mission (sort of). I went in with more coupons than I could possibly use. I went in head first. I went in... blind.
First, I printed the coupons. I am part of a group on Facebook called "Chicken Little". It is amazing- full of info on how to get coupons, free stuff, etc. It's a great resource if you need a few tips on saving money. I found several coupon sites through Chicken Little and went to printing... and printing... and printing.
I think I downloaded 4 different coupon printers! I also went online check out some weekly ads and sales. I was pleased to find that some sites also had online coupons! SCORE! I was so excited that I failed to execute the most important element of couponing: planning.
What? Me? Forget to PLAN? Yep. I thought I planned well, but I had no idea how complicated couponing can be! I thought, "I'll use these coupons at this store and get that free and double this here" and what-not, but I failed to put my plan on paper- which meant walking into a store with a purse full of coupons and no clue as to what I was doing.
So the first store: Walgreens. I was epecially excited because I had read through the weekly ad and found the soap I use on sale. Not only was it on sale, but if I got three of them, Walgreens would give me $6 in Register Rewards, which I could use on my next purchase. YES! If I played my cards right I could get my toothpaste and cereal for free! (I had coupons for those, too!) Unfortunately, I was distracted by my three year old begging for suckers and dancing around the shopping cart, so I forgot to purchase my soap first and then use a seperate transaction to pay for the rest of my goodies with the Register Rewards... bummer. But I can use the Register Rewards on another trip- and I still saved a ton! (I'll tell you how much later)
Second store: Target. I had Target-only coupons that I printed off their website. This store was a little tough because I was so distracted by all of the cute summer clothes on sale for kids! (Of course, this had to be the month I told my husband "Don't budget much for clothes- I don't plan on getting anything."- grrr.) Oh well, back to the point: Target is tricky! The coupons were great, but I kept asking myself, "Is this cheaper at Target with a coupon, or at Walmart with no coupon??" For instance: At Target I was able to get a free Jello mix if I bought three- At $1.25 a pop, I spent $3.75 and saved $1.25. At Walmart they're only $0.90 a box, so for four boxes I would have spent $3.60- so I spent $0.15 more at Target with a coupon than I would have at Walmart without a coupon... a learning experience to say the least. However, I did get great deals on BBQ sauce and several other items and ended up saving some money after all!
Third store (yes, I'm crazy like that- and yes, I had both kids with me): Walmart. By this point I was feeling a bit tired and somewhat discouraged. I had saved money, but I wasn't sure how much- and I really wasn't sure if I'd walk into Walmart and discover that I'd spent more than I should have. As I walked through the store I glanced at prices and checked my receipts from the other stores- I really DID save some money! (Aside from the Jello, of course.) I was especially pleased to find that the soap I bought at Walgreens would have cost me $4 more at Walmart- and I wouldn't have received the $6 coupon... so a $10 gain there! Of course, once I hit Walmart I realized that I didn't just need milk and juice after all- so I ended up filling my cart full of things I forgot I needed: baby food, fruit, etc.- alongside all the things I had coupons for... so I spent way more than I originally intended.
The whole way home I kicked myself for spending so much. Not that it was "alot" per se, but since it was May 31, I went over the last bit of our grocery budget. If I had shopped on June 1, when the budget was full, I wouldn't have cared at all- yeah, I'm kind of weird like that. I'm working on it:)
At home, I pulled out the receipts and did the math. Overall I used 12 coupons and took advantage of several in-store deals. When I added up my savings, they totalled $30.82! not to mention I got a $6 coupon for my next trip to Walgreens. So, for an hour of coupon printing/sorting I gained $36 in savings... not bad! I did, however learn a few lessons along the way that I'd like to share:
1) If at all possible, leave the kids at home! Need I say more?
2) Go in with a real plan. "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance," Jeannie McGinnis used to say. I agree. Next time I will make a detailed shopping list and put a little * or something by the things I have coupons for.
3) Cut out the coupons BEFORE you go. I thought, "Hey, they're all on a single sheet of paper- easy to carry & sort through- awesome!" But they were such a pain to hold on to and tear apart once I got into the store. Next time I'll definitely cut them out and organize them before I head out.
4) Know what you spend. It would have been such a great help to know how much Jello costs at Walmart before I spent the money at Target just because I had a coupon. From now on I'm going to pay more attention to my costs so I can know for sure if I'm getting a good deal.
5) Have fun! Toward the end, my attitude started turning downhill. I forgot all about how much I was saving because of the stupid Jello. Next time I'll keep a better check on my attitude. Maybe then I won't get so upset when my three year old spills sprite all over the back seat... yep.
But this time was different! This time I went in with a mission (sort of). I went in with more coupons than I could possibly use. I went in head first. I went in... blind.
First, I printed the coupons. I am part of a group on Facebook called "Chicken Little". It is amazing- full of info on how to get coupons, free stuff, etc. It's a great resource if you need a few tips on saving money. I found several coupon sites through Chicken Little and went to printing... and printing... and printing.
What? Me? Forget to PLAN? Yep. I thought I planned well, but I had no idea how complicated couponing can be! I thought, "I'll use these coupons at this store and get that free and double this here" and what-not, but I failed to put my plan on paper- which meant walking into a store with a purse full of coupons and no clue as to what I was doing.
There's something about shopping with kids in your cart that causes your brain to stop working the moment you walk through those automatic doors...
So the first store: Walgreens. I was epecially excited because I had read through the weekly ad and found the soap I use on sale. Not only was it on sale, but if I got three of them, Walgreens would give me $6 in Register Rewards, which I could use on my next purchase. YES! If I played my cards right I could get my toothpaste and cereal for free! (I had coupons for those, too!) Unfortunately, I was distracted by my three year old begging for suckers and dancing around the shopping cart, so I forgot to purchase my soap first and then use a seperate transaction to pay for the rest of my goodies with the Register Rewards... bummer. But I can use the Register Rewards on another trip- and I still saved a ton! (I'll tell you how much later)
Second store: Target. I had Target-only coupons that I printed off their website. This store was a little tough because I was so distracted by all of the cute summer clothes on sale for kids! (Of course, this had to be the month I told my husband "Don't budget much for clothes- I don't plan on getting anything."- grrr.) Oh well, back to the point: Target is tricky! The coupons were great, but I kept asking myself, "Is this cheaper at Target with a coupon, or at Walmart with no coupon??" For instance: At Target I was able to get a free Jello mix if I bought three- At $1.25 a pop, I spent $3.75 and saved $1.25. At Walmart they're only $0.90 a box, so for four boxes I would have spent $3.60- so I spent $0.15 more at Target with a coupon than I would have at Walmart without a coupon... a learning experience to say the least. However, I did get great deals on BBQ sauce and several other items and ended up saving some money after all!
Third store (yes, I'm crazy like that- and yes, I had both kids with me): Walmart. By this point I was feeling a bit tired and somewhat discouraged. I had saved money, but I wasn't sure how much- and I really wasn't sure if I'd walk into Walmart and discover that I'd spent more than I should have. As I walked through the store I glanced at prices and checked my receipts from the other stores- I really DID save some money! (Aside from the Jello, of course.) I was especially pleased to find that the soap I bought at Walgreens would have cost me $4 more at Walmart- and I wouldn't have received the $6 coupon... so a $10 gain there! Of course, once I hit Walmart I realized that I didn't just need milk and juice after all- so I ended up filling my cart full of things I forgot I needed: baby food, fruit, etc.- alongside all the things I had coupons for... so I spent way more than I originally intended.
The whole way home I kicked myself for spending so much. Not that it was "alot" per se, but since it was May 31, I went over the last bit of our grocery budget. If I had shopped on June 1, when the budget was full, I wouldn't have cared at all- yeah, I'm kind of weird like that. I'm working on it:)
So the coupon conundrum: Is it worth it to spend all of the time and energy on cutting out tiny pieces of paper and shopping at several stores, just to save a few bucks? Let's find out:
At home, I pulled out the receipts and did the math. Overall I used 12 coupons and took advantage of several in-store deals. When I added up my savings, they totalled $30.82! not to mention I got a $6 coupon for my next trip to Walgreens. So, for an hour of coupon printing/sorting I gained $36 in savings... not bad! I did, however learn a few lessons along the way that I'd like to share:
1) If at all possible, leave the kids at home! Need I say more?
2) Go in with a real plan. "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance," Jeannie McGinnis used to say. I agree. Next time I will make a detailed shopping list and put a little * or something by the things I have coupons for.
3) Cut out the coupons BEFORE you go. I thought, "Hey, they're all on a single sheet of paper- easy to carry & sort through- awesome!" But they were such a pain to hold on to and tear apart once I got into the store. Next time I'll definitely cut them out and organize them before I head out.
4) Know what you spend. It would have been such a great help to know how much Jello costs at Walmart before I spent the money at Target just because I had a coupon. From now on I'm going to pay more attention to my costs so I can know for sure if I'm getting a good deal.
5) Have fun! Toward the end, my attitude started turning downhill. I forgot all about how much I was saving because of the stupid Jello. Next time I'll keep a better check on my attitude. Maybe then I won't get so upset when my three year old spills sprite all over the back seat... yep.
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