Color Run Fun!!

This past weekend, my boys and I had a wonderful new experience!  We participated in our local 5K Color Run.  At the age of 41, I can now say that I have done a 5K and say that my boys have done their first 5K with their mom!  When I heard about this event and read that it was an untimed, non-competitive 5K in which you could walk or run, I saw it as a perfect opportunity for us.  Not to mention the fact that you get to be sprayed with color.  When I told the boys about it they became excited very quickly and agreed to join our "team".  In fact, after I signed us up about a month prior, every week my youngest 2 kept asking when it was over and over because they could hardly wait.

As the day approached last week and I checked the weather report, it looked like we might be in for some thunderstorms and rain.  The day before I prayed that the weather would at least hold through the event.  Fortunately, while it did rain for part of it, the rain was light and not pelting down and did end part way through.  As you can see from the picture above, I made and wore my first ever tutu for the event and found colorful bandanas for the boys to wear.  Our shirts along with a color packet came with our registration.  The boys had so much fun throwing and smearing on their color packets before we started the 5K that morning.  Then there were 4 color stations that sprayed more color on us throughout the 5K.  The rain just added to soaking the colors in and making them a little more vibrant.  We had a blast and just used the rain and cool breeze as an excuse to stop for hot chocolates (ok, yes that did mean coffee for me), before heading home.  I had brought towels along to spread on our van seats to help keep the color from transferring.

The boys were excited to wear their shirts to school on Monday to show their teachers they had participtated in a 5K and already are talking about us doing it again next year.  My oldest son is even wondering if we might be able to find a local zombie run 5K to participate in.  I think that this experience has been great for our family to promote physical activity and look forward to having many more experiences with my boys like this one!  I would greatly encourage anyone who hasn't participated in an event like this to consider it.

Sometimes It The Little Things.....

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it the little things that can make your week or leave you feeling great?  Sometimes as women and/or mothers we can get so caught up in our daily routines and our busy lives that we don't get a chance to do something for ourself and enjoy it. This week I had 3 things that kind of made my week that I wanted to share.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love my daily coffee.  That doesn't just mean getting to drink coffee daily, but means that I love to stop by our local Moxie Java that was one of the first coffee places to open up in Twin Falls, Idaho and getting to drink/savor my coffee while looking at the daily newspaper and chatting with many of the daily regulars that I have gotten to know over the past 14 years.  What a better way to start my day?  It helps me start my day on a positive note every day.  I love their dessert blend coffees that have a flavor baked right into the bean.  This way I can go out for coffee without ordering a drink with tons of added calories and because it is brewed by the pot it is very budget friendly.

However, this week I had a new coffee experience.  A new Starbucks opened in Twin Falls that has a Clover machine.  Many of you may be asking what that is.  The picture below shows what it looks like.

This lovely machine brews each cup individually with the help of the barista that grinds and measures the coffee for each cup and stirs it in delicately to the water that you see come out of the tap.  The machine then works like a reverse french press and it is really neat just watching the whole process.

I have to be honest.  I have never been a big fan of Starbucks.  I love my dessert blend coffees and anytime I have gotten a coffee at Starbucks I have always found it to be quite bitter.  However, I like to try new things and wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the "Clover".  I ordered a Clover Venti Pike's Place with a shot of sugar free cinammon dolce syrup (to give me some of the flavoring I enjoy with a dessert blend).  I will tell you that it is without a doubt the most amazing cup of coffee that I have ever had!  It is so smooth and creamy (remember I don't add cream or mild to my coffee)!  I felt like it was an experience.  One that I thought about over and over this week.  This will now be my "treat" every now and then in the afternoon when I either want to meet a friend for coffee or just take a few minutes for myself to sit down and truly savor a cup of coffee.  While you can go through the drive through and order one (I am not a coffee drive through person),  I highly recommend going in and watching them make it.

The next thing I want to share about my week is a new bra.  Yes, you heard me right, a new bra!  Remember I mentioned how busy we are with life?  How often do you get a new bra?  I know it is not a top priority on my list usually.  This week I got a new perfect shape t-shirt bra at Victoria Secrets.  Again, being frugal, bras at Victoria Secrets aren't usually in my budget.  However I had a coupon!  The salesperson made sure I truly got the right size for me (a different size than I thought I was) and I have been amazed at what a new, well-fitting bra can feel like! Definitely better than the last bras I purchased at Costco!  

Now for the third thing.  Some of you may have heard of 3-D fibre lashes/mascara.  Again, not something top on my priority list.  However, a friend was having an online party a few weeks ago and top support her I purchased a set of Younique.  While I received it last week, I just finally took the time to try it our a few days.  Wow!  I definitley like it has "opened" my eyes literally.

In the picture above, my right eye just has my regular mascara on and my left eye is done with the Younique.  Seriously check out the difference!  Look at how blue my eyes look and it really opens up my eyes!

So as I sit here drinking my Friday morning Moxie coffee taking a few minutes for myself, I encourage you to think of the little things that can make a difference.  You have to take care of yourself too!  Take time each day to reflect and some time for spirituality.  Take care of yourself physically and find time to share and fellowship with others!

Happy Friday everyone!

Is Comparison Robbing You Of Joy In Your Life?

I'm sure that many of you have heard this saying before, and if you haven't this may just give you a whole new perspective.  I have been wanting to write this post for a while talking about this as a woman and mother and how comparison can affect our lives.  What happens when we start comparing ourselves to others?  I do not believe it is a healthy thing and believe that the only comparison we should be making, is to ourselves and the progress we are making personally.  Everyone out there is living in a different situation and stage of their life.  How many single mothers are out there?  How many divorced women are out there?  Then there are those that are re-married and may have a blended family?  Who is in a more traditional situation where you have been married to the same person and have children with your spouse?  Who is a stay at home mom?  Who is a full time working mom?  Who is a part time working mom? There are so many scenarios out there that we may be living in and the last thing we should be doing is comparing ourself to others.  I could go on with the list, but I think you get the idea.  What happens when you see other women and compare yourself or situation to the one you see or perceive them to be in?  Did you notice that I said perceive?  Quite often our perception of things isn't even accurate.

When you see another woman/mother and think they have got it all together, is it based on the pictures you see on their "highlight reel" from Facebook or a blog?  Maybe what you perceive as being so amazing and perfect in someone else's life is simply a picture they are painting.  Do you see behind closed doors what their life is like or hear from them how they feel things are going?  These may be things that you are comparing that make you feel inadequate in your life and shouldn't.  We all have strengths and weaknesses.  You may see strengths in others that you feel you don't have, but what you may not recognize is that you have other strengths that the person you are comparing yourself too sees in you and wishes they had.  We were all made to function differently and chose different paths in life and that is ok.  I believe that everyone needs to base their decisions on what they think will work best for their family in their situation, not based on a comparison to others, and that as women we should be supporting each other along the way. 

As mothers/women we are faced with so many decisions.  Are you going to breastfeed or formula feed?  Do you use cloth diapers or disposables?  What type of sleep training are you using or are you (because you know you should be - note my sarcasm here).  Do you put your baby in their crib to sleep or do you co-sleep?  Regardless of what you choose or sometimes have to do when one doesn't work out, people will always have an opinion about it.  Are you doing what is best for you and your child in your situation?  Then move forward with it and be confident. Then comes the comparison of what your baby/toddler is or isn't doing yet compared to others.  Infants and children develop at a different pace.  Is your baby sleeping through the night yet? Is he/she rolling, crawling, walking, talking........  Have you started potty training yet?  Don't let someone else make you feel inadequate.  Are you a stay at home mom and loving it?  Embrace it, but don't judge others that choose a different path.  Are you a mom that works full time either based on desire or necessity too?  If it works for, or is necessity for your family then feel confident in that choice.  If you are a stay at home mom, don't make someone else feel guilty because they have their children in day care and are working.  It is very hard for working women to decide what type of child care is going to work for them.  I see women struggle with this all the time and it only adds salt to a wound when someone judges them for how they are doing things.  Where are your kids going to go to school?  Private, public, charter or Home School?  The list of comparisons can go on and on and what is truly accomplished?  Understand, that there is no one absolute right or wrong way of doing things.

Do all of these comparisons leave you analyzing yourself and situation constantly?  Do we really wonder why depression and anxiety in today's society are so high?   When you are constantly comparing your situation to how someone else's appears, the joy in your life will always be on a constant drain.  Even when you are using these comparisons to make you feel better about how you are doing things compared to someone else's mess you think you see are you really just building up a false sense of having your life in perfect order so that when something doesn't work out, your whole world comes crashing down around you?  When you are doing that, how are you making the person that's in the situation that you perceive as being a mess feel?  You certainly aren't building her up and encouraging her that she can move forward.  You could be distancing yourself from people that you are misjudging so that you build yourself up at the expense of another.  What if you stood by that woman and encouraged her through (not told her how she should be doing things)?  You might surprised because someday she might be your best ally and supporter when you are in a difficult stage or situation.

I have never believed in comparing myself to others.  I am fortunate that my dad instilled this in me at an early age.  So much so, that whenever I have been in a group where this goes on, I separate myself from it.  We need to be women that support each other and help each other grow.  Grow from what?  Whatever point you are at in your life.   If you are the woman that does not have any children yet, but when you see how other women are raising their children stop at the second you start to think "I would never.............. with my child".  Anyone with experience will assuredly tell you that will only come back to haunt you.  If you are the mom with a baby, don't compare to the mom who's kids are of a different age such as teenagers.  If your are now a grandmother, don't focus on how differently your children are doing things and tell them how they should be doing things based on how you did things.  Times change and how things are done change.

 

Instead, could we all agree to stand by, and be a blessing in each other's lives?  I think if we all did this, we would be amazed at the things we would notice in our lives.

 

I would like everyone know that a great amount of thought and time went into my writing this post.  In fact I spent weeks.  I would to hear your comments and apologize for my lack of posts while I have worked on this one.

Unplanned Blogging LOA

Looking at my blog for the past month, it kind of looks like I abandoned ship doesn't it?  What started out as a road trip to Canada for a family reunion (where I did actually manage to write my last post), turned into an unintended, month long leave of absence from Miss Mom Speak.  For those of you that have liked my page on Facebook, I did manage to share some great fellow bloggers post that I felt were worth the read.  Upon returning from our 2300 mile long road trip, I found us busy getting caught up.  While I had managed to buy almost all of our back to school supplies before we left, upon returning we had back to school eye appointments, well-checks, my oldest got braces, middle school registration, elementary school open house, and getting 4-H projects ready for/and our local fair.  It was a busy month to say the least!  Actually, I think it was our busiest summer yet and seemed like it flew by!

However, I am happy to say that we have 2 weeks of the new school year under our belts and I think it is going to be a great school year.  My oldest has started middle school and thinks it is great.  His maturity is amazing me and he has taken on many new experiences.  He has mastered the lock on his first locker, has learned busing to and from school (something we didn't/don't have available to us for our elementary school), is working serving lunches at school, has learned how to text and is doing great on communicating with me as needed, is currently trying out for and hoping to make it into the robotics club at school, and attended his first youth group at our church last night.  I am amazed and so proud of the young man he is growing into!

My middle son has taken on the big brother role of helping my youngest adapt to his first year at elementary school in the first grade.  My youngest moved from the daycare/school he had gone to since 12 weeks old where there was maybe 150 kids, to the school my older 2 have been at that has around 650 kids!  My middle son is showing him the ropes of eating breakfast at school, finding his way around, and taking the bus after school to Boys & Girls Club a couple days a week.  My youngest is done with day care!  He loves his new school and both boys love their new teachers!  My youngest even talks about all of the new friends he has made.

My role in all of this has simply been talking to them about their new experiences, preparing them, showing them around and walking them through the anticipated changes ahead of time.  The other thing that I always try to be conscious of, is if there is something new that I am nervous about, I do not share or discuss that with them.  I feel that really helps prevent them from becoming nervous about something new that they don't need the added worry about.

So while I was absent from blogging over the past month, I can happily say that we are well into a new school year that I think is going to be great!  Hopefully over the next few weeks, I will get caught up on some great new posts.

Feeling Fabulous In My Forties!

Last August I turned 40 and today I am moving forward to 41! Yes it is my birthday and I am excited about it.  To me aging has never felt like a negative, but always a positive.  I like to embrace each year as it comes and make the most of it.  As I was approaching 40 last year I really wanted to celebrate.  I was blessed to have family/friends from Texas fly in just to help me celebrate and then was able to go up to Sun Valley with my husband's family and spend a wonderful day riding the gondola, having lunch at The Roundhouse, and walking around doing a little sightseeing.

One positive of aging to me, is that with each year I believe that I am taking better and better care of myself.  I think that every woman should be comfortable with her body, know her body, and take care of it.  I want to get the most out of my years and so there are many things that I make continual improvements with.  One is taking care of my body physically and healthwise speaking.  I try to do my best to eat a healthy diet.  I joined Weight Watchers in 2000 and received my Lifetime Membership in 2001.  The only times that I have not attended since has been during my pregnancies.  This helps me to keep a weekly focus on eating healthy and maintaining my weight.  I take a multivitamin daily and try to drink lots of water.  It is no secret that I love my coffee.  However, I choose to drink a dessert blend coffee which has a flavoring baked into the beans.  This means that I am not drinking drinks that have a lot of calories.  A few years ago for our anniversary, my husband bought us a wonderful espresso maker.  If I make myself a coffee in the afternoon, I use sugar free syrup with skim milk.  By mid afternoon I avoid caffeine for the rest of the day.

Last year a few months before I turned 40, I went to donate blood and found out I was anemic.  This was surprising to me at first since I had been taking my multivitamin and eating healthy.  Then when I stopped to think about it, I realized that was probably why my energy level had been diminishing so greatly.  Especially before, during and right after my cycles.  That's when I had to look at how my cycle had changed to every 3 weeks instead of 4 and was lasting a few days longer than previously and was getting heavier.  This is why I think it important to listen to what your body is telling you.  I hope you have a good relationship with your Dr and his/her nurse and go in for your annual checks.  I do and so I had a conversation with them and together we decided that the best plan for where I was at was to consider a uterine ablation.  I moved forward with this and will say that it was a great decision.  I have not had a period since, my energy level has been great since and it has not affected my hormones in a negative manner.  

In the fall, my husband and I surprised our boys with their "dream" vacation and took them to Disney World.  It was the best family vacation we have ever gone on where we made many family memories. The boys talk about the trip constantly and I know it will be hard to ever top the fun we had there.  

In January I went ahead and had a mammogram and found it to be a very educational and positive experience.  The testing was not nearly as uncomfortable as I expected and I was re-taught how to do my breast self exams. It really showed me the significance between discovering a lump at one month of growth verses 3 months.  I will definitely be going in again as the time comes up for my annual mammogram.  Last week I was surprised and encouraged by my health insurance calling and encouraging me to go in for my annual preventative checks.

Also, in January I started wearing my Leopard Spirithood that I got for Christmas and quickly found out how fun it was as a 40 year old to wear and did not find a single person that said I was too old or ridiculous for walking around in it.  To the contrary I have had many compliments and inquiries as to where I got it.

In February, as I have previously posted, I was chosen as to be part of Tria's Ambassador program for their new Age-Defying Laser.  I am in the middle of my second 12 week cycle of treatment.  My skin feels and looks great (I think).  I even brought my laser along on the road to Canada!

In March I made the decision to go back to a passion for blogging that started a few years ago and re-define my Mom Speak blog that originated from a time I wrote for our local newspaper here.  I really hope that what I share here can help or inspire others that chose to read my blog.

I am proud that my boys know my true age and see a woman/mother not trying to hide it.  When I went to "Muffins With Mom" at my youngest boy's school in May and showed me the paper he had made me with his answers about me, by age was correctly filled out as 40.  I witnessed another little boy say to his mom "I didn't know how old you are mom so I put 30".  This woman was obviously a little older than myself and she said to her son "That is just fine sweetie, you just keep telling everyone that mommie is 30!".  Honestly this broke my heart just a little.  The example I set for my boys is very important to me.  I want them to learn honesty and integrity from what they see from me.  I also want them to see a woman that is comfortable and proud of who she is.

My husband, boys and I are currently visiting my parents and other family where I was raised in Canada.  We just finished a long weekend family reunion where I was able to see family in which some I hadn't seen since the last reunion I attended in 1989, and some I had never met in person, but had a connection through Facebook.  I don't know how many years it has been since I was able to celebrate a birthday in Canada and so I know today is going to be great and the next year is going to be even better!

I truly believe that my 40's are going to be fabulous and that I hold the key to that.  I can say that I am comfortable in my own skin and know that those who love me, love me for who I truly am.  

Is It Ok For Kids To Drink Coffee? - Caffeine and Kids

This is a post I have been mulling over for a few months ago.  Why?  Because I have been seeing/hearing of more and more parents letting children drink coffee with them and even ordering them coffee drinks at their favorite coffee spots.  I even had one woman tell me that she was told that coffee was good for children.  My first thought was: "Has something changed that I don't know about?".  So this is where I started last winter.  I asked 4 different pediatricians that I know proffessionally if something had changed and was it ok or even recommended now for children to drink  coffee or have caffeine.  I received a plain and simple answer from all 4 "no".  I then asked if there were any situations medically speaking that they would recommend to a parent that they give their child coffee or caffeine and again received the same answer.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my morning coffee.  However, that does not mean my children ever get it even watered down with milk.  If I go out for a coffee, they may share a juice and sometimes as a treat they get a steamer (steamed milk with a syrup flavoring) or a hot chocolate.  My oldest will be 12 in October.  Even on the rare occasion that they get soda as a treat, it is uncaffeinated - Root Beer, Sprite, Orange Soda...... 

I do want to debunk one myth that there is no evidence to support - coffee does not stunt a child's growth.  However, there are many other reasons as to why it is bad for kids to drink coffee.  In fact, the AAP (American Academy Of Pediatrics) makes it clear that they do not support any amount of caffeine as being safe for children's consumption on a daily basis.  The FDA is currently investigating products that contain caffeine with a focus on products aimed at children and adolescents.

Did you know that in healthcare and hospitals that caffeine is used as a drug?  In both kids and adults, too much caffeine can cause jitteriness and nervousness, upset stomach, nervousness, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure.  In young children it does not take a lot of caffeine to produce these effects.  Their bodies and brains are developing and vulnerable.

I have talked to many of our local Emergency Room staff that tell me it is amazing the number of children and teens they see and the results of their EKG's just from caffeine consumption.

So let's start out with insomnia.  Children ages 5-12 need at least 11 hours per day and teens need 9-10.  Caffeine in the body can last up to 8 hours.

Next, how about cavities?  Coffee is acidic and acidic drinks weaken teeth by ruining tooth enamel.

What about bone loss?  Coffee is a diuretic that increases urination which causes a loss of calcium and thus can lead to bone loss.  For every 100mg of caffeine ingested in a child, 6mg of calcium is lost.  Calcium is necessary for bone growth and development.

Then there is hyperactivity, restlessness and an inablility to concentrate that can be caused.  This can affect your child's whole school day where they are required to pay attention to focus, pay attention and sit still.  Could this lead to over diagnosing of ADD?  Just some food for thought.

Like I said towards towards the beginning of this post, I spoke to 4 local pediatricians,  Emergency Room staff, and have done extensive reading before writing this post and felt that this was a time when this information should be shared.

Summer Camp - Letting Go As They Grow

This week, my oldest son is at Boy Scout camp.  He will be 12 in October.  This is his first time away from home for more than one night.  So what were some things I took into consideration before deciding he was ready for camp?  I thought about his maturity.  Not just taking into consideration if he was mature enough to go, but also how this experience would help him to develop and gain more maturity/independance.  I think it is important for children to be able to grow and develop their sense of identity as they mature and are ready.  With my son being the oldest of 3 boys, I also saw how he deserved this experience this year.  He does very well at school, has been taking on more and more responsibilities and functioning well with those, and also puts up with a lot from his little brothers.  While his little brothers will tell you that they think he is an awesome big brother, I think he deserves a little break and some time to do something on his own while having some fun.  

I also want him to start to trust himself to start making some decisions on his own and have confidence in those decisions, while he knows he can come to us if in need of advice to make some of the more difficult ones.  Sunday as he got ready to depart I helped him check all of his supplies to know he had all of the essential items for the week.  Upon taking him to where the group was leaving from, before we got out of the van, I told him we would pray for his week at camp.  We prayed for safe travels and experiences for all throughout the week along with asking for the boys to have lots of fun.  I helped him unload all of his stuff to take and as the group prepared to leave, I said a meaningful, but not overly emotional goodbye.  Quite often as parents I believe that we need the objectivity to not transfer our concerns/emotions to our children too much as we consider how this can increase anxiety and fear in them about what they are about to embark on.  Did I have concerns?  Of course!  However, I have to believe that if I have done my job as a parent, and that I have prepard him well.  I think it is important for him to see that I have confidence in him while reinforcing that if he needs me, I am there for him.

Monday night I did receive a phone call from him at about 10:00 pm.  This showed me that he heard what I told him when he left that if he was unsure about something he could ask to call me.  I was very fortunate that one of the adults that went had texted me a picture earlier in the day and let me know that he had done and passed his swim check.  I was able to share this with him and tell him how proud I was.  Then he was able to share his concern with me - bugs in the shower.  He is afraid of bugs.  I told him that he could wear the water shoes he had with him in the shower.  He then shared with me a situation with a peer that he had to make a decision about.  Since I could see that decision put him in an awkward position with his peer, I simply took the burden off of him and told him that he should simply say "My mom and dad said no".  This allowed it to be mine and my husband's fault for saying no and not his.

I am happy to say that the next morning I got a text from the leader what a great time he is having along with another picture.  This reassured me that he was able to move on and is having a great week.  I have to say that I am so appreciative of having technology and leaders that allows me to share in his week at a distance.  

Busy Summer Days, Hot Weather & Dinner

From time to time I will try to post a recipe that my family really enjoys and that is really easy to put together. Whether it be a day that I am at work or one where we are busy running around until right before dinner time, it is always nice to have something that is quick to get on the table.  Add in the hot summer weather and not wanting to heat up the house and a crockpot is wonderful.

One of my family’s favorites is Chicken Salsa Quesadilla’s. This is a recipe I made up.

3 or 4 frozen chicken breasts

1-16oz jar of La Victoria Cilantro salsa (can be substituted with any salsa of your choice) Flour Tortillas – Regular or Burrito sized depending on your preference (I use a whole wheat high fiber tortilla for myself)

Shredded Cheese (I use Colby Jack for the kids and Pepperjack for the adults)

Place the frozen chicken breasts in crock pot. Turn crockpot on low heat if early in morning or on high if noon or later. Pour jar of salsa over chicken. The chicken will cook in the salsa. If you are around at all while cooking, break apart chicken in salsa so that the flavor cooks through. If not around while cooking, break apart when you get home and scoop into separate bowl to soak while you get your griddle ready. When your griddle is heated up, spray Pam across griddle or whatever oil/butter you use. Place tortillas on griddle and scatter cheese. I use a pretty good layer of cheese. I like to buy my cheese in 2lb blocks and grate with my Kitchen Made attachment on my mixer so that I always have some cheese on hand.   If any of the kids don’t want the chicken with salsa on their quesadilla they get just cheese. For the rest of the family, when the cheese is melted, I place a layer of the chicken salsa mixture on the lower half of the tortilla and fold the top half over. I place cooked quesadillas on a cutting board while I start the next ones. Once they have cooled a minute or two I cut into sections with my pizza cutter. I place on plate and cover while finish making the rest. If my cheese is already grated, the total time I spend is about 15-20 minutes from the time I start placing tortillas on the griddle.  Super easy, fast and delicious!

Why It Is Not Too Soon To Get Ready For "Back To School"

Last night I ran into a friend at a local store where they were showcasing their "Back To School" section.  Her question to me was: "Don't you think it is crazy they are already pushing shopping for back to school?".  I told her not at all and went on to explain why.  

Each year I inevitably hear a couple of complaints from parents in the week before school goes back.  One is how they are scrambling to get everything.  They have waited until the last minute and now are trying to get a household of anywhere from 2-6 kids ready to go back in a week. This often means finding stores out of items and also tends to be very overwhelming.   

The other big complaint I hear is how much it costs to get their kids ready to go back.  While you have the school supplies, you often hear about new clothes, shoes, and backpacks to add on as well.  I have had parents tell me that just for each child's school supplies they have spent a couple of hundred dollars.  I will be honest in telling you that this blows me away!  Before my kids started school I was totally freaked out by people telling me about their kids school supplies.  Now I know different and would love to help others. 

While I coupon and their are coupons that come out to help with school supplies, you don't have to even be a couponer to buy school supplies on a tight budget.  If all you do is get the Sunday paper, look at the weekly flyers and stop at 2 stores a week, you will be amazed at how well you can do.  Each week starting from a couple of weeks ago, store flyers start coming out with weekly deals just to get you into the store.  Office Max is one example as they come out with deals like what you see in the picture below.

Last Sunday, their flyer came out with deals where the pencil erasers, index cards, and pocket folders were 1 cent each with a minimum $5 purchase.  This meant that I bought the package of glue sticks, package of blue pens, and package of red pens (items on my oldest son's school list), as the items to give me the minimum of $5 and then was able to get 30 pocket folders, 9 packages of pencil erasers, and 9 packs of index cards for $7.78.  This week they have the scissors for 25 cents each, sharpies 25 cents each, and packs of 4 glue sticks for 25 cents each, which made my total $3.18.  I then went over to Fred Meyer's where the binders are on sale as well as buy one get one free, filler paper 79 cents each, bottles of Elmer's glue 59 cents each, Ticonderoga 24 packs of pencils $2.99 (half price), Crayola crayons 59 cents each, Crayola crayons 59 cents each, package of highlighters $1.00, and a package of 2 erasers for 49 cents.  All of the extra items that won't be needed for the boys this year, will be stored away in my plastic totes for when they run out or for next year.

Each year I stock up on these items when they are at their cheapest price point so that we are prepared.  Last year I had very few items that HAD to be bought.

If you start doing this, it can make it very easy and less stressful to be prepared as well as much easier on the pocket book.  I would tell you that with 3 boys in school, our school supplies come to maybe $60 a year if that.

What if I also told you that I have their pants and shoes for school next year?  This was done a few months ago when there was a sale on jeans on for $8.88 a pair as well as a clearance on shoes.  Believe me, with 3 boys, we wear through jeans and shoes so it would be insane to pay top dollar for these items!

An App/E-Mail Everyone Needs - Alert ID

I first heard about this a few weeks ago when a friend posted on facebook about a peeping tom in her neighborhood.  It is called Alert ID and is a website that also has an app that can be downloaded to your phone or tablet.  It allows you to see a map of your neighborhood or area you are in and all the incidences that have occured such as a peeping tom, suspicious vehicle, burglary etc.  It is a online neighborhood watch that will alert you and send you an e-mail whenever there is an incidence and also sends an alert whenever their is a new registered sex offender in the area.  So your are probably wondering how much this lovely little service costs right?  Guess what?  It is free!  It is basically a free neighborhood safety network, public safety database and sends out public safety alerts and more.  In just the past few weeks I have received alerts about sex offenders and suspicious vehicles.  It basically allows me to keep an eye on what is going on in my area and hopefully improve the safety of my family and home.  You can go to their site and sign up for e-mail notifications, but if you do have the ability to put the app on your phone, you will receive alerts right to your phone.