Shopping!

I went on a bit of a shopping spree today, at both Walgreens and CVS. My final cost today was $7.28 and I bought a fair amount of goods.

From Walgreens, I bought the following:

3 boxes of peel and stick security envelopes, a zippered 3-ring binder (for my coupons), 2 cans of Edge brand shaving gel for Nathan, 2 deodorant sticks (ban & lady speed stick), 2 bottles of clean and clear body wash, 3 cans of tuna, and a pack of gum. I spent $6.68 out of pocket, and got $3 back in register rewards.

Next, I went to CVS, and bought these:

7 assorted boxes kraft Mac n cheese, a bowl noodles (yeah, not the healthiest, but it's a weakness of mine), 2 boxes nutter butters, 2 boxes oreos double stuffed, a box of assorted herbal teas, 10 cans tuna, and 3 cans campbells cream of soups. I spent $3.60 out of pocket.

So... That's 40 items for $7.28. Good, right?


Good times!

- Posted from iPad so forgive any auto-incorrects.

Steal of The Week - 3/27 - As Promised!

Have dogs? Need food?

Target has Pedigree dog food on sale this week. 20 lb bag for $10.99. If you buy 2 bags, you get a $5 Target Gift Card. If you have the Red Plum coupon insert dated 3/6, and its the right one lol, there is a coupon in there for $3 off a bag of Pedigree dog food. So, if you have 1 coupon, your final cost for 40 lbs is 13.98 + tax (18.98 OOP with $5 back), and if you you're lucky and you have 2 coupons squirreled away, your final cost is 10.98 + tax (15.98 OOP with $5 back). Not bad for 40 lbs of pedigree!

So get clipping, and get to Target! <3

I might post some more deals later in the week. I'm still waiting on some coupon inserts to see what else is out there. Hopefully they arrive tomorrow. <3

Off to shop!

New Coupon Day!

Hello, hello!

So, I got up way too early today after getting a late start to sleep, so I'm super tired, which usually means super cranky, but I'm not letting that ruin my Sunday. Sunday is new coupon day, new sales day, and that gets me excited. There are some really good deals this week, too! A lot of freebie offers, and a lot of ECBs and RRs out there to grab up. And a lot of great coupons to use up! Squee!

Icing on the cake? I have bout $25 in ECBs and $30 RRs already to start out with! I am going to come out like a bandit on this next run. And that is something to get excited about in our current economy.

I wish every day was new coupon day!

Okay... That's all for now. After I've gone through my fliers, I'll post a good deal for everyone. Maybe I'll do that weekly. Maybe make a separate blog for it if there is enough interest. Anyway, I'm going to try a nap. I need my energy for SHOPPING! LOL


- Posted from iPad so forgive any auto-incorrects.

Sleep is Overrated

My darling daughter decided she wasn't really in the mood to sleep last night. I spent two hours in her room trying to get her in bed before finally giving up, and she went into tantrum mode when I tried to leave and go to bed, so I spent another two hours going back and forth consoling her. Around seven a.m., she finally gave in and fell asleep. Its nice to be needed and all, but sometimes its nice to sleep, too.

Blah, meh, and feck.

Maybe I'll get a nap in today. Ha. Yeah, right...

Good Morning, Sunshine

The other day I wrote about our bedtime routine. Well, we also have a morning routine. When Fiona wakes up, and I get her from her room, and get her diapered, I will extend my hand to her, and she will hold my hand. Then she will lead me into our living room, over to my computer desk, turn the chair around to face us, pat the chair, then pull me to it, and then push me until I sit down. Then she climbs in my lap to nurse. This is one of the ways that I said she can tell us what she wants without really speaking. It's actually quite funny.

Another thing she does sometimes, if I'm holding Ferris, she will pull Nathan over to us, and put his hand on Ferris until he picks him up so she can climb in my lap. She also directs our hands to open door locks, point to objects, and unlatch her high chair tray when she is ready to get up. Like, she seriously lines our hands up right on the latches. Hehe. Also, before she learned how to scale a baby gate, she would direct our hands to the latch on that as well when she wanted to go through one. Of course now we just scale over them like they were nothing, even the tall ones.

Oh, back to the mornings. There was a perfect example of my circle-speak. After nursing for a few minutes, we're ready to get in our high chair and have breakfast while we watch The Wiggles or Play With Me Sesame.

Love this girl.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons...

I am seriously in love with couponing. I've been building up my coupon stash and week by week the deals are getting better and better. Thursday's shopping trip was quite a hit. I spent a grand total of $180 out of pocket at Walgreens and Target, and received $20 in Walgreens Register Rewards (credit for future store purchase good for 2 weeks), and a $5 gift card from Target. Should have been $10, but I wasn't paying attention and grabbed the wrong thing for one of them, but still got a great deal on what I got. So add in the rewards credit & gift card and I spent $155, which is about what I'd spend in one week on groceries before doing coupons so seriously, and this is on a budget bargain week of groceries. I have expensive tastes... If I wasn't watching the budget, a weekly expense of $200-$250 was completely normal for me. I seriously am shocked when people say they spend around the $50 mark in a week on food. My record low was still around $100 for the longest time. Again, this was before my life took the coupon detour. This week, I'm actually eating for free when you break it all down.

I bought with my $155... (full retail value or sale price in brackets)

A weeks worth of groceries. [$125]
3 Mens Gilette ProGlide razors [$10 ea sale price ($30)]
1 Gilette ProGlide razor cartridge refill 4 pk [$15 sale price]
1 mens Schick Quattro razor/trimmer [$6 sale price]
1 womens Venus Spa Breeze razor [$7.50 sale price]
1 Venus razor cartridge refill 4 pk [$15 sale price]
2 boxes L'Oreal Preference hair dye [$8 ea ($16)]
1 Method hand soap [$3]
1 Always pantyliner 40 count [$4]
2 Dove dark chocolate bars [$0.50 ea sale price ($1)]
1 Gilette fusion shave cream [$4]
1 John Frieda full restore shampoo [$6]
1 John frieda full restore conditioner [$6]
2 John Frieda full restore root lift foam [$7 ea ($14)]
2 Suave professionals dry shampoo spray [$4 ea ($8)]
2 Biore pore strips [$7 ea ($14)]
2 Biore moist facial cleansing cloths 60 ct refill packs [$8.50 ea ($17)]
Cat food [$13]
2 Crest ProHealth mouthwash [$3 ea ($6)]
3 Reach mint waxed floss [$1.75 ea ($3.50)]
1 Plackers floss picks [$2]

Okay so that's $191 of non-grocery items, $316 altogether, and $345 if you add tax. I'd say I did pretty good. I underestimated my values earlier when I just glanced at the pile of goods. Now that I actually look at the itemized list, I'm even prouder of myself.

Ahhhh... It feels so good to save money. And we are set on razors and hair products for a good long while. LOL

I'm still learning, but if you're interested in getting into hardcore couponing, I'd be glad to help you get started. It's a bit time consuming at first, but it is so worth it. And the longer you do it, and the more you learn the art, the less you actually spend at the checkout. Also be sure to tune in to TLC on April 6 for Extreme Couponing, maybe you will pick up some tips!

Happy couponing!

Progress and Hope

Every night at bedtime, after Ferris is asleep, I go sit with Fiona in her room and we do our bedtime routine. The first step of course is nursing. This is great for calming her in the evenings, and seems to reduce her stimming for a bit, which helps her to focus.

Next, we play with a few toys, usually her magnetic art board thing. She loves that, and loves for me to draw on it with her. She will take my hand, and put it on the magnetic pen, and wrap her hand in mine, it is super cute. I let her direct the pen, my hand is just there as a comfort I think. She doesn't really draw anything specific yet. She is really into lines. I think she is trying to draw the letter A sometimes.

After toys, I tell her to get a book and I will read it. She gets a book, I read and she turns the pages for me. Next, she runs for her Big Book (it has letters, first words, colors, numbers, etc.) and climbs in my lap and opens it to the alphabet page and points to the letter A, and clearly says "A"followed by the same for the letter O. Then she grabs my hand and makes me point at all the letters and say them for her. Next I ask her where some of the letters are, and sh gets them right most of the time. We only do 4-5 at a time though, because she gets bored and wants to move on.

Next is numbers, and she will point at objects while I count them out loud for her. Then we do words, and I ask her where each thing is and she points to the picture, and is usually correct.

I know for some people this doesn't seem like much, but it really is, and I am so proud of her.

Lastly, she climbs into bed and I tuck her in, with her glow worm, named Glowy, and I tell her to push the button, which she does, and I ask for a kiss. She holds Glowy up for me to kiss. Then if she is feeling nice, she will pucker her lips and let me have a kiss, other times she covers her face. Then I tell her to give Glowy a kiss, and she does. Such a sweet girl I have... <3

The World She Knows

The other day, Nathan and I were talking about Fiona, how wonderful and smart she is. We try to always focus on the positives, and how lucky we are to be her parents. We were talking about how much we love her just as she is, how her Autism actually gives her some wonderful traits and abilities. For example, she notices the most intricate of details, things most people would never notice. She also seems to have a photographic memory. Even though she does not communicate verbally, we have noticed that her memory of object placement is superb, and the way she flips through a book, methodically, purposefully, taking in each page and quickly turning to the next. We also know she is incredibly smart, and figures things out that most kids even twice her age might struggle with. Her receptive language is quite good, we know she understands most of what we say to her, she just doesn't respond verbally. She has her ways of asking for things, just differently. She is fascinated by the feel of things, textures are her passion. She will enter a room and touch everything, and this makes her happy, so happy. And this is what really makes me smile, and warms my heart. Yes, she may have her moments of upset when she is frustrated, mostly due to communication issues, but most of the time, she is such a happy little girl who loves with all of her heart, and when she smiles, you can't help but join her. And I believe she will always be happy, and what more could any parent ask for?

I love her so, so much.

Franklin Goose - Stuffed, and Roasting in the Oven

So like I said in my last post, this blog is about more than just Autism. I think I'll take a moment to talk about what's been on my mind lately.

Franklin Effing Goose.

There is a lot of buzz going around the interwebs about this company and their shady dealings, lack of ethics, and outright abhorrent treatment of their customers. Well, I am one of those customers. As if I needed something else to go wrong right now. As if I am not already under enough stress. Let me tell you, when a mother is already at her wits end, it's generally a good idea NOT to piss in her Post Toasties. Well, I guess Franklin Goose was not aware of that little fact. It's actually not really a good idea to piss in ANY woman's Post Toasties, especially not a mother, and most of all, a SAHM with a lot of time to spend on bringing you down.

I'll give you the quick rundown, in case you aren't aware of the scam they were running.

1. A company called JSA Technologies starts a natural & organic baby product internet based store, called "Franklin Goose".
2. They put up an ad looking for someone to help them come up with a viral marketing strategy and offer to pay $25,000 for the winning idea.
3. The strategy is decided on, and a promotion begins. Franklin Goose asks people to write reviews for products on their website in exchange for $5 store credit per review with no limits.
4. Some people write crappy one liners for reviews, and Franklin Goose says they will have to manually approve all of the reviews, and it may take several days for credits to post. Around this time they also start asking for people to work for them, and thanking everyone for all of the good reviews, the ones that are approved and credited.
5. Franklin Goose encourages everyone to keep up the good work and keep telling friends to come write reviews and check out their store.
6. Credits start rolling into accounts.
   
7. Some people begin placing orders with credit right away, and a few people actually get their orders, which makes the rest of us feel pretty good about trusting Franklin Goose to keep their end of the deal.
8. As the orders start to come in full force, Franklin Goose offers the option to "bank" credits for 6 months - 1 year and gain interest on the credits at a rate of 10% on 6 months, and 20% on a year. We are also told credits will be good for 2 years.
   
9. Other people place orders, only to be told that just about everything in the store is backordered. Some of us wait several months, and some of us cancel our orders, deciding to place them later when they are restocked. Some continue to wait, and wait, and wait some more, until they no longer need the item ordered.
   
10. Franklin Goose assures everyone that their orders will eventually be fulfilled, but they are focusing on credit card orders first. Most of us understand, and are patient.
    
11. A lot of us decide that we want to be nice and help this company, and cancel our orders, and bank our credits, on the promise that they will be better suited to fill our orders after they have established themselves better. We don't want to run them out of business, we respect them, and want to help them get going in this awful economy. So they ask us to bank, and we bank.
12. Those who did not bank continue to wait on orders. Those who banked for 6 months are anxious to spend the credits on Christmas gifts with the upcoming Holiday shortly after the 6 month term matures.
    
13. Just before this 6 month period, those people that banked 6 months, and those who did not bank, or had pending orders were told remaining credits would be frozen, and banked, with interest, because they were overwhelmed with orders. Some were upset, but most were understanding.
14. Just before the one year mark rolled around, they emailed their "loyal customers" explaining that all credits were being taken away, reviews taken down, and the reason being that many of the paid reviews were not honest, even though at the time they said reviews were being approved. So we're called dishonest, and punished for trying to help this new company get off the ground. But they offered us a 40% off coupon to use on a single order that does not include any sale items, which is still lower than their markup for profit margin, and inflated pricing, so it's really not any kind of bargain, and is just adding insult to injury.
15. We boycott Franklin Goose and demand they make this right.
16. They release a letter stating there are only 40 of us, and we are all the ones who scammed them and abused the terms of their promotion. So many things wrong with that accusation, I'm not sure where to begin, but well, we didn't scam them because we were the ones being scammed. We got nothing, or very little if anything, for our time & efforts in writing reviews and driving traffic to their website, providing new content and higher google ratings, and essentially built their business for them, and we were not paid for our work. Sounds like they scammed us. And abusing the terms? What terms? There were NO LIMITS. NO TERMS. Oh, and there are more than 40 of us.
    

Okay, that was a really long breakdown. If you want more information, check out Franklin Goose - You Suck. It has a really thorough report of all the events in this scam and links and screenshots to back up everything we are upset about.

So please, do not ever give Franklin Goose your money. They are crooks. No better than common thieves. They stole from thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of advertising, and written content. Countless hours of work, labor. And they think they can get away with this? They have another think coming! And I apologize if this post was disorganized, or I left something out. I am just highly angry over all of this. That's why I'm providing the link to a more thorough report of this scandal.

Franklin, your goose is getting cooked.

More Than Autism - My Sanity

I also want to use this blog to talk about other things important to me, so it isn't just about my daughter's Autism. For that is but one aspect of our lives, no matter how central, and consuming, our lives still move forward, and there is much to discuss.

One such topic is my sanity. Allow me to explain.

I often say that Ferris, my son, is my sanity. He keeps me strong and hopeful. Not to mean that I'm playing favorites or anything, I love my children equally but differently - as in, they are different, with different personalities, and so I love different things about them, not that I love either more or less than the other. They are both my life, my everything, my reason for being. I love Fiona's brilliance, and persistence, and ability to overcome nearly any obstacle or hurdle, and I love the way Ferris is able to keep me sane (Ask me if I still feel that way come the teenage years, lol).

So, since were going back in time here, I figured I would share Ferris' birth story as well. Here goes. This is another that I am taking from an old facebook post, to keep the accuracy, as memories have a tendency to transform and reshape over time.

Ferris' Birth Story

August 8, 2010 at 3:47am

Okay... Finally home for a few minutes so I guess it's time to try and write this up if I can get through it all again.

This was not at all the experience I had in mind.

We were going to try for a VBAC (and I still do not regret trying!) and were going to do an induction. We got all that started, and I spent 24 hours having still random contractions that hurt, but weren't really doing anything. They got close together, and I managed to dilate to a 3-4 depending on who was checking. I wasn't effacing any though, and he wasn't descending so wasn't engaging and it just wasn't going anywhere at all. My contractions were really odd, too. They were super strong and painful - but they didn't last very long. Most were like 15-20 seconds, a few went on a bit longer but that was the average right there. I thought they should be longer & stronger. They were coming at regular intervals but really not much was happening - even after breaking my water. After 24 hours of starting the induction, and 12 hours after breaking my water, we came to the sad conclusion that it just wasn't happening. My doctor said she had suspected for awhile that my pelvis was on the narrow side, but she was still willing to let me try and hoping it would open up more in the end. This would explain the pelvic pain I had been having (SPD) - it was trying to open up - trying REALLY hard! - but it didn't do much in the end. After a LOT of tears we decided to do a c-section. They left me to get the OR ready for me, and I had a few more tears out. Suddenly everyone ran into the room, put me on oxygen, and said baby's heartrate was not being detected anymore. They tried to move the monitor around and couldn't find anything. I honestly hadn't even noticed, I was so worked up in my own upset. It all happened pretty quickly. They said there wasn't time to waste at this point and I found myself flying into an OR and onto the table, still in tears, freaking out about what was going on.

I guess this is a good time to note, I had an epidural, but it wasn't working right. My right leg weighed a ton, was totally numb and barely movable. My left leg was fine, tingly, but I still had some feeling in it, and could move it around as well as ever. I was still feeling the pressure of my contractions, and a bit of pain on the left side of my abdomen. I had mentioned this to my doctor, that it wasn't working 100% and so the anesthesiologist said he could fix it. They messed with it a bit, not sure what they were doing but I never felt any changes. This was all being done while getting things ready, and next thing I know they are poking me asking if its sharp, and I felt them cutting my left hip. I said it hurt, and they stopped. They tried a local anesthetic over my suspected incision area (my doctor - who performed my 1st c-section - couldn't even find the previous scar!) and it wasn't working either. They made a small test cut and I flinched. Next thing I know I hear "We're gonna go general" and someone asking my permission to knock me out. I said "Just do it, get him here safely" and next thing I knew a nurse was smiling at me and telling me everything was okay and done.

Ferris was fine. 8 lbs, 2 oz, an 19.75 inches of perfection. I wasn't so good though. In fact, I was in pretty bad shape. I lost a lot of blood, they nearly lost me, and came very close to needing to do a hysterectomy to control the bleeding. Turns out, while I healed beautifully on the outside, I scarred horribly on the inside, and had major adhesions. My bladder was stuck to my uterus, and had to be cut through to get Ferris out safely. So my bladder is a mess and I'm stuck with this freaking catheter until Thursday. Yay. Probably going to have a lot of problems with it from here out, but shouldn't be too bad they say. I'm also terribly anemic right now from the blood loss and incredibly weak. It's possible for me to still have more children - but I would need a much higher incision, and honestly, I'm terrified to even think of doing this again at this point.

On Ferris' 2nd day out in the world, he started experiencing some breathing difficulties and was found to have fluid in his lungs from being born c-section and placed in nicu. We're hoping he can come home on Monday... he is doing really well.. but I was absolutely terrified when they put him in there.

Anyway, I'm out of time, gotta go feed the little dude.

And yes, he was worth every bit of the trauma.