Thursday, March 31, 2011

Wisdom from a young lady

I have a dear friend who I call "Peach" and she has a daughter whose recent blog post offers well timed wisdom to a mom of 3 like me. 
I have recently been caught up in some emotional stuff lately and reading this post this morning really helped me to step back and take a deep breath and just well...recenter. 
Sometimes we need insightful thoughts from someone else to really bring up back to reality.

Thanks Baby Peach for helping me out today...it was exactly what I needed.


Check out her thoughtful post here

Friday, March 25, 2011

Stand on your head. Drink lots of water.

My kid has hiccups really bad.

Not such a big deal except that this kid is the one in my belly that is still growing.

It's like chronic hiccups.
Poor baby.

I have never had a baby that got the in utero hiccups this early (or late?) in the pregnancy. It feels silly.

It's a quiet time just the baby boy #2 and mom can share together. And in this house that says ALOT.

Lately it has gotten louder and louder around here-between Jet noise, jet fuel, the smell of manure (yay Central Cali farmlands!), and 2 homeschooled kids who have only one volume--HIGH/11/MAX. It's loud.

So I am trying to find the small joys in the little (QUIET) things.

Like baby hiccups.

They really are so dang cute.

May needs to get here fast, I am getting anxious to meet this little smidger.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Wheel of MY Fortune

I am debating as to whether or not I should audition for Wheel of Fortune.

Lame. I know.

But I love that show.

And they are holding auditions tomorrow in my hometown. But it's supposed to be rainy tomorrow and standing in the rain for XX amount of hours as a fat 7.5 month pregnant lady--not ideal.

Plus I will want snacks.
And a chair.
And more snacks.

This is sounding like less and less of a good idea.

Now stalking Rite Aids for $3/1 RA Gain Detergent peelie coupons--that sounds like a good idea.

If only I could convince the rest of the family my idea is a good one.
Yeah that will happen.
Like. Never.
My family would rather get root canals and their toenails pulled out one by one simultaneously than hit more than one drug store at a time for me.
**sigh**

So WheelMobile it is.

Or maybe not.


Although it would be cool to win thousands of dollars, I think I could handle that. My Jet Pilot would be happy!!

Glad we had this talk, thanks for hearing me out.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Clearance shop on base

No one will be able to duplicate this shop (it's clearance and from the store on a military base) but it was soo exciting that I just couldn't help but mention it.

So pretty please just indulge me,



I bought:
1 Cottonelle 12 pack-- $6
2 Flintstone Vitamins-- $3.37 with additional 75% off (.87 cents)
1 Tylenol Meltaways-- $4.49 with additional 75% off ($1.12)
5 Blink Tears-- $8.99 with additional 75% off ($2.24)

Coupons I used:
5 $4/1 Blink Peelies that were RIGHT ON THE FRONT OF THE CLEARANCE EYE DROPS!!

Subtotal (after coupons): .05

Total OOP: A nickel!!

**There are no taxes imposed on purchases made from military exchange stores--so literally a nickel!

I am not sure why these things were on clearance, the expiration dates were still a year out so I think they were just changing the floor set and these things had to go.

And I am totally not complaining--tp is always on the stockpile list around here. Jet Pilot was glad that I spied this deal and while I know he despises waiting on me to get these shops done he loves the savings. Plus my brother and mom will totally be able to use these eye drops for their allergies!! Score all around!!

So had any good shops lately??

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Harder.


Seriously.
Vacuuming my house is giving me Braxton Hicks?

Yes it is.

My life just got that much more complicated.
*sigh*

Totally a victim of pregnancy amnesia.
What can I say I am naive-amazingly blessed, but naive nonetheless.

And now back to my saga with the Dyson and constantly flexing abdominal muscles. Or the articles formerly known as my abdominal muscles, sad but true.

Washboard abs are over rated right??


French fries would be nice right now...

Total victim of having the attention span of a goldfish.


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

What makes us #Fabulous

This post is written to receive extra entries to win an Tablet2 from FabulousSavings.com!!

The House of the Dill-io is #fabulous because:


Our van is full and our checkbook light,
but our love for each other will light the night,
we are #fabulous!

Baby #3 is on his way in May,
and when he comes- poopy diapers and all he will brighten our day,
we are #fabulous!

From our dirty socks, 
to having fun just throwing rocks, 
we are #fabulous!


We find the joy in every day
in little things for which we don't have to pay,
we are #fabulous!

We cheer our Jet Pilot in the Navy, 
his job is awesome and totally GRAVY, 
we are #fabulous!

We love to stalk the coupons and online deals,
it helps us pay for ALL our meals,
we are #fabulous!

We love our family time together,
because it lifts our hearts as light as a feather,
we are #fabulous!

Thanks to Fabulous Savings for this chance to win a Tablet2,
if you pick us we will be true and not blue and we will give many thanks to YOU!!
We are #fabulous!






Wordless Wednesday





How do they ACTUALLY sleep like that??

Bringing the deal stalking heat back!!

I have been kind of slow to get back on the deal stalking wagon.  Don't get me wrong I have been reading the message boards/deal blogs AND printing out the hot printables but I have been slow to actually go out and GET the deals.  For no real reason, pregnancy exhaustion...laziness...rising gas prices, etc..

However I am on the road to redemption.  I went deal stalking today to 4 stores after the kids and I finished school.  I hit Walgreens (a store I never shop..cuz I am not as mentally adept to conquer the coupon to item ratio rules), Rite Aid, Target and Wal-Mart (yeah I know but I wanted to test out the new coupon policy that ALLOWS overage!).

And I didn't do too bad if I say so myself.


Store/Coupon Breakdown:

TARGET
2 Up and Up brand All purpose cleaners with bleach-- $1.37 each
(this Lysol knock off is my Jet Pilot's favorite cleaner, as I try to clean with just organic vinegar--lol.  We are a work in progress!)
1 Up and Up dental floss-  .89 cents

Coupons I used:
2 $1/1 Up and Up Cleaning Product IP from Here
1 $1/1 Up and Up Oral Care Product IP from Here (this q auto adjusted to .89 cents with no beeps)

Subtotal: .74 cents
Total OOP: .80 cents

WALMART
4 Challenge Tuscan Butter-- $1.98

Coupons I used:
4 $2/1 IP from becoming a fan of Challenge Butter on Facebook

Subtotal: -.08 cents
(yes WM owed me $$ but I just wanted to see what they were gonna do once my total went into the negative.  After much ado from the cashier she just brought the CSM over and he over rode it no problem.  So it would appear that some management read the new coupon policy email-Phew!)

WALGREENS
2 Pedia Care Kids Meds-- $6.99 and $7.49

Coupons I used:
2 $2/1 Pedia Care from coupons.com
1 $5/1 Wags in Ad coupon (I read online to hand this over last because otherwise the IP's would beep and not go thru)

Subtotal: .48
Total OOP: .85 cents
** I think I am going to go back to Walgreens and get some more Tylenol because when my kids get fevers they get LIKE FEEEEVVAAHHHS!!  And this will be a good addition to our stockpile!**

RITE AID
10 cans of Sardines B1G1 50% off-- $1.29 and .64
4 Trident Vitality-- .99 each
6 AirWick Aerosol Air Fresheners B1G1-- $1.89 each
2 NYC Nail Polish-- .49 and $1.99 each
6 Jesse Girl Clearance Nail Polish-- .74 cents each

Subtotal: $1.05
Total OOP: $2.05 and $11 Ups

Earned: $18 UPs for next time!!

All in all I think it was a good haul!  I was super excited about Rite Aid and all the Ups I earned from the Sardines and Nail Polish.  I was reading on the different message boards that the clearance nail polishes were also generating the $1 UP so I hunted some up and took a chance and it paid off.  I plan on trying to make it out to another Rite Aid for more nail polish and sardines...my mom and my Jet Pilot said they would both give them a shot with crackers.
Ewww. Gross.
But if all else fails its a donate item or dog food topping.

Major props to my coupon gals Cindi and Gail for giving me the daily inspiration to deal stalk and get out there and get those deals!!


**Side Note--I also did the buy $25 of Johnson Baby Washes and get a free stroller from CVS, spent $4.24 OOP on 9 baby washes and got the umbrella stroller.  But they were out of stock and after a phone call with Corporate I found out that the store is supposed to call Online Services and mail the stroller to me. Ugh.  So we will see.**

Friday, March 4, 2011

PSA take 2

FYI...being a Jet Pilot doesn't make you any less dorky than the Computer Science guy you were in High School.

Now you just get paid to talk man stuff and geek speak.

And it's ALWAYS about airplanes/fighter jets.

And having the sense of humor of a mid-pubescent 5th grade boy is the norm. Even for the guy that runs the whole place.

As I sit amidst a sea of too high pants, khakis and polo shirts as "party wear".

Lol.

And of course the token cowboy Jet Pilot from Texas who had to wear too tight jeans, flannel and a GINORMOUS cowboy hat to the command shindig.

Whatevs.

Work it Jet Pilots.

Cuz I live for this, and there is no other place I would rather be than next to my man with a plan.

That is all, carry on.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

EcoUsable Bottles Review and Giveaway


As a progressive mother of 2 (and a half) I am always looking for to help us live as eco-friendly/eco-conscious as we can.  And since we are a family that doesn't drink soda, most juices-virtually everything except for water and token amounts of milk; a huge portion of our liquid intake comes from WATER.

We drink COPIOUS amounts of water.  And since Jet Pilot and I educated ourselves on what and where bottled water comes from-that is no longer an option for us to intake if we can help it.  So we (read-I) started looking into alternative sources for bringing our own home filtered water with us everywhere we went.

Enter EcoUsable.  From their site:
"EcoUsable provides consumers with affordable planet–friendly, reusable products that are recyclable, health conscious and designed to improve the lives of people worldwide. EcoUsable pioneered the world’s first stainless filtered water bottle, the ECH20, which includes its own portable filtration system and provides instantly filtered water from almost any fresh water source. It removes harmful contaminants as you drink through the flip top straw.

EcoUsable stainless steel water bottles are:
  • Available in an assortment of graphic prints & solid colors. 
  • Made from 304 food grade stainless steel (18/8). 
  • BPA free & Aluminum free. 
  • Non-leaching & liner free. 


Since our bottles are stainless steel we don’t have to line
them like aluminum bottles. The consumer doesn’t have to worry about scratching
the liner, which could potentially leach aluminum into their water. 
  • 100% recyclable. 
  • Half turn loop top; fewer threads mean less chance of bacterial growth. (Most other bottles require 3-8 turns to open.) 
  • Easy to clean and fits ice cubes. 
  • Exclusive skid-proof mat bottom."
Plus EcoUsable also does custom jobs/fundraising so that you can get something completely unique to your needs to promote your business/event.  They also do:


  • Custom designed hangtags
  • Download codes to feature 100MG of content such as music, videos, PDF content, etc.
  • Sports tops 
  • Bottle wrapz






EcoUsable provided me with an awesome bottle package and as part of my awesomeness I am sharing some stainless steel bottle love with you all The Dill-io readers!!  Up for grabs is the purple bottle with the screw top!!

 
 
My EcoUsable Collection
BUY IT:
You can purchase EcoUsable Bottles from here and use the CODE: ECO10 to receive 10% off your order


WIN IT:
One lucky The Dill-io reader can win the Purple EcoUsable Bottle pictured above


Required to enter:
If you would like to enter, just leave a comment!
Be sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win!

If you would like additional entries, you may add seperate comments for each additional thing you do, but you MUST do the required entry for any of the additional ones to count.

Additional ways to enter:
- Follow my blog via google friend connect
- Subscribe by email to my blog updates
- Tweet about this giveaway - this can be done once daily, for an extra entry each day - 
- "Like" my blog on facebook, left side of page
- Follow me on Twitter, left side of page
- If you have a blog, add my button and get 5 extra entries
Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, and your email so I can contact you if you win.

This giveaway will end March 10th, at 12 pm EST. Winner will be chosen via random.org, and I will contact the winner through email, and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

EcoUsable provided me with all information, and the products and I will be providing the winner with the noted water bottle prize as above.  No other compensation was given that biased the outcome of this post/review.



Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Brick wall, meet me.

So I have officially hit that third trimester brick wall.

I was kind of thinking it wasn't going to happen this pregnancy.  I have been feeling pretty good and upbeat lately, maintaining good weight gain this time around.  (Not the 50lbs+ like the first time around with Bonnie)

But it was like I woke up one morning recently and BLAM, tired, swollen and frequent potty breaks all in the blink of an eye.  Its actually amazing that fingers can swell that big without bursting.  And just thinking about waterfalls or streams makes me turn into PeePee McGee.

I think I am one of those women that gets pregnancy amnesia.
 I only chose to remember the mushy sweet parts of growing a baby, and I block out  forget about the less than ideal parts--like the frequent bathroom breaks, crampy belly and of course-labor.  So in my pregnancy amnesia I guess I forgot about the toxic levels of exhaustion and tiny bladder.

**sigh**

At least I don't have that long left,  May is right around the corner (it is close thankyouverymuch!) and then my darling son will be here and then this pregnancy will all become a distant memory as I am launched into blissful motherhood for the third time.

Its totally going to go by fast...it has too.

I wanna see his little face.

And I wanna see his big brothers and sisters love on him like I know they will.  They can't help it, they are snugglers.

Come On May, get here soon!!

BABYROCKAPPAREL.com REVIEW


For those that don't know, I am mother to a 7 year old princess/diva.  So extreme that she doesn't like to wear anything blue and like sparkles, pink and smell good girly stuff.  
And as luck would have it, I was afforded the opportunity to review a product from BabyRockApparel.com and I knew right away that this was the perfect place to find a cute tee for Bonnie. 
Diva Extraordinaire.

And I stumbled upon this lil gem....


 
Totally perfect for my Bonnie.  
The Girls Rock Tee in size 6T is a perfect addition to her wardrobe.  The tee is 100% cotton and has a nice rounded collar for quick changes and comfortable wear through out the day.  Baby Rock does warn on their site that the tee and onesie (I KNOW ONESIES--HOW CUTE RIGHT?) run small so I made sure to order a tee a bit bigger than she would normally wear.  With as much as kids grow it would have been smarter to order in the biggest size and just let her grow into it.  Oh well.

The tee/onesie is available in sizes 3months-8T, so they can definitely accommodate all the little Rockin Girls in your family!!


If you are interested in making a purchase from BabyRockApparel you can check out their full site here and HAPPY SHOPPING!!


Thanks Baby Rock Apparel for the awesome products!!

Disclosure: I received products and information from the mentioned website above to facilitate my review and that was all.  I was not compensated monetarily or in any other form for this review.