You are not alone.

Last night, our family attended Isaac's Pre-K graduation.  You would think, having been through two prior Pre-K graduations, that I would have been better prepared emotionally by now.  But as I sat there, waiting with all the other parents for our children to file into the sanctuary of the church where they attend school, the tears started to fill my eyes.  It wasn't so much that I was sad about Isaac graduating from Pre-K, as much as I long for my baby to not grow up so fast, and not go off to Kindergarten.  So, I tried my best to think about other things.  And it kept my mind occupied for awhile, until I saw Isaac and all his classmates start to walk in.  I can't believe my baby is such a big boy!

As the class got up on the stage to sing their songs, one little girl from Isaac's class started crying.  Her mom went up to the stage to get her.  She was too scared to sing in front of so many people.

Isaac and his classmates sang several heartwarming songs.  Isaac had a lot of fun, and I felt so thankful that he was able to have such a positive preschool experience.  His two teachers are true blessings from God.  They will be dearly missed.

After the performance as we were leaving the sanctuary, Samuel asked me why the little girl from Isaac's class had to leave the stage.  I explained to Samuel that this sweet little girl gets very nervous around people... she doesn't like being in front of a lot of people... it makes her anxious and sad and scared.  I honestly didn't think Samuel was still listening to me by the time I stopped talking.  And then, from seemingly out of nowhere, Samuel said, "So, you mean she's just like me?  I'm not alone?  I'm not the only kid like that?  Wow, that's kinda cool!"

For every single time that I have tried to tell Samuel that he is not the only child who struggles socially, and for every single time I have tried to help Samuel realize that he is not alone, and for everything I've tried to do on my own to help him...  Bam!  Just like that...  God stepped in and said, "Patty, sit back and stop worrying so much.  You are not alone.  And neither are your children.  I've got it all under control."

"I have told you these things so that in me you may find peace.  In this world you will have troubles.  But take heart!  For you are not alone, and I have already overcome the world."  John 16:33

My Heart

Earlier this morning, as the clouds rolled in and the rain began to come down, Isaac came up to me and asked if we could read a book together.  He ran and grabbed one from his room, and we sat down on the sofa together to read it.  After we read the book, he climbed up into my lap, and put his head down on my chest.  We sat there for a minute, with me rubbing his back, listening to the rain outside. He finally picked up his head and said, "I'm so glad that we were home today so that I could listen to your heart. That's how I know you love me."

Over the past few months, I've made a lot of difficult decisions regarding my daily life and how exactly I wanted to spend my time.  Several different things came into my life... things I couldn't avoid... things that I had to do...  things that demanded my time and attention.  I found myself running around like a chicken with my head cut off, always feeling frazzled, always feeling overwhelmed.  Because for everything that I had to do, there were just as many other things in my daily life that were consuming way too much of my time that I simply knew in my heart that I did not need to do... things I needed to let go of.  And so, I took a long, hard look at my daily life.  And I let go...

Over the past 11 years, I've let many great opportunities with my children slip by because I was too busy doing other things.  Some of those things couldn't have been avoided.  But many more of them could have been.  I can't go back.  I can't change those things.  Nor would I want to.  They've molded me and made me the mom that I am today.

In just a few short months, my "baby" will go off to Kindergarten, and a new phase of my life as a Mommy will begin.  I will probably have more "free time" than I will know what to do with.  I'm sure that I will have plenty of time for me to be ALL BY MYSELF to do whatever I want.  No children at home asking me for anything throughout the day.

I'm so glad that I slowed down now.  I'm so glad that I was at home today for Isaac to listen to my heart.  I'm so glad that he knows how much I love him.  Listen, sweet boy.  Listen to my heart.  And know just how deeply you are loved.

May I?

Dear May,

I'm not exactly sure how you snuck up on me as quickly as you did this year.  All I know is that one minute I was thinking it sure was a mild winter, and the next minute I was sitting at my desk and realized it was time to turn the page on my Mommy Planner from April to you.  I will admit, I was hesitant to say goodbye to April and turn the page over to you.  After all, I knew what you looked like before I even turned the page.  There are only four days throughout you that I do not have something going on.  And even though you have a very special day at the end of you (the day my beautiful baby girl was born), most years I just try to hold my head above water and simply survive everything you bring along with you.  I don't understand why you have to be so busy.  And crazy.  I happen to know that it's not just me who feels this way... a lot of other moms out there aren't particularly fond of you either. Perhaps next year, you could strive to be a little less like September, and a little more like your good neighbor, June.  Just a suggestion...

Tiredly,
"Mom"

Meet Moose

Once upon a time, there was a man who owned a dog. He loved the dog, and took care of the dog for the first three years of it's life. Unfortunately, the man lost his job. After a year of trying to find a new job, and struggling to make ends meat, the man eventually came to terms with the fact that he needed to find a new home for the dog. The man tried to find a new home for the dog, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, facing foreclosure on his home and struggling to feed his family, the man decided to surrender the dog to a local shelter. When the man arrived at the shelter to surrender the dog, he asked the woman behind the front desk how long the dog would be able to stay there if he wasn't adopted right away, or just in case his circumstances at home should change and he found a job and could afford to come back and get the dog. The man was told that the dog would have 48 hours to be adopted, before he would be euthanized. The shelter, much like every other shelter in the area, was overcrowded with strays. The shelter is required to keep strays for 2 weeks, giving their owners time to find them. But with pets that come into the shelter that are being surrendered by their owners... well, they are not required to keep those pets for a certain amount of time, and more often than not, they are simply unable to keep them for a shear lack of space.

Hearing that, the man found it impossible to surrender his beloved family pet to the shelter. He left the shelter with his dog and sat down on a bench, and began to cry. And that's where I enter this story.

I know... I know... I need another dog like I need a hole in my head. I get it! But as fate would have it, the man saw me. And because he felt like he had nothing more to lose, he asked me if I would be able to find his dog a new home. I'll spare you all from the details and the 10,000 questions that I proceeded to ask this poor man. And I'll jump right to the part where I winded up bringing the dog home with me. Come to find out, finding a new home for a dog like this is pretty hard. He needs all his shots. He's behind on his heartworm prevention. And he needs his "male surgery." The first few days with this dog were rough, to say the least. He was scared, and sad. But who could blame him? He didn't know what was expected of him in our home, and quite honestly, I didn't know what to expect of him either. I was put in touch with a wonderful woman who organizes several local no-kill rescue organizations that find foster homes for pets just like this dog. The problem? Well, the problem is the same as the one most shelters are facing; there are way too many animals, and simply not enough space. And so, yes, you guessed it... I have become his foster parent.

The difficult part in all of this is that, day by day, my family and I continue to grow closer to this dog. He's becoming more comfortable around us. And we're seeing what a sweet boy he truly is. I'm not quite sure what will happen to him. But for now, he's here with us. I'd like to also add that I am fully aware of what happened with the last 2 animals I took in with the intention of finding a new home for; one was named Maisy (our dog that we had as a pet for 11 years), and the other was named Lid'l Lee (our cat that we had as a pet for 7 years).

What's truly sad for me in all of this is that this story is far too common. People are struggling financially. Shelters are overcrowded. Pet owners either don't take proper precautions or can't afford to get their pets sterilized, which often times results in unwanted puppies that also end up in shelters. And the shelters wind up euthanizing far too many pets. The shelter in my suburb euthanizes an average of 30 dogs a week. The shelter in the suburb right next to where I live euthanizes an average of 80 dogs a week. As a pet owner and true animal lover, those statistics break my heart. Those are just 2 shelters, in 2 small suburbs... over 100 dogs a week...

So, where does that leave us? Well, right here... growing more and more fond of this little dog as the days roll by. Isaac has even given him a new name... Moose! So everyone, I'd like to introduce you all to Moose!

I love freebies!

I promise that every blog post I write from here on out will not be about couponing. But this blog post will, in fact, be about couponing!

A few months ago, I made the decision to start using coupons. And not like I'd used them in the past... This time I was going to seriously make an effort to save money using coupons. I had no idea at the time just how quickly I would become hooked! I was so excited about the deals I was getting, that I started posting them on Facebook. I had several people start to ask me how I as getting such great deals. So, I wrote this blog post about couponing. But still, even after I wrote that, I had several people ask me if I thought that couponing was worth the effort. I mean, do I really think that clipping a few coupons is worth the time and effort I have to put into it?

Well, last month I got around $700 worth of items for free. And last week, I saved $102 by using coupons on my weekly grocery shopping trip. That was a personal best for me. To me, that's huge! So, I guess the answer is yes, to me it's worth the time and effort.

This month is only halfway over, and so far I have gotten all of these items for free:

3 magazine subscriptions:


1 bottle of Listerine mouthwash
2 bottles of contact cleaning solution
1 sample (by mail) of Tide Pods laundry detergent
1 sample (by mail) of Simple face wash
2 (3 packs) of bar soap
1 sample (by mail) of Tums
2 tubs of Country Crock
2 bottles of Revlon nail polish
2 bottles of Purex laundry detergent
6 Glade air fresheners
2 sticks of Irish Spring deodorant
2 sticks of Gillette deodorant
16 boxes of Paseo tissues
4 Gillette razors (only 2 are pictured because we're already using the other 2!)
3 bottles of Garnier Nutriesse shampoo (not pictured because I honestly just forgot to put them on the table!)
1 sample (by mail) of Nature Made fish oil
1 pouch Bumble Bee tuna
2 tubes Maybeline mascara
2 (5 packs) Zyrtec
AND...
1 FREE Old Navy t-shirt (that's right, it was completely free! One of the couponing blogs that I follow told me how to get a coupon for a completely free t-shirt.)

I also got 2 cases of drinking water for free, but I didn't feel like lugging them onto the table for the picture! I also got my daughter a pair of flip flops, a pair of earrings, and 2 pairs of leggings, all completely free. This month, I've gotten over $160 worth of items for free, and I've saved over $208 on other items, simply by using coupons. This is just one example of the savings I'm getting by using coupons:

Mighty Dog canned dog food is normally $0.70/can. Dollar General had the cans on sale for $0.55/can. I had coupons to get $2.00 off 8 cans. After the sale and the coupons, I paid $0.30/can. I bought 48 cans (I had 6 coupons that my couponing friend gave me, thank you AS!!!). So, instead of paying $33.60 for those 48 cans, I paid $14.40, for a total savings of $19.20. OR, it's like I got 27 cans for free. My Maggie dog IS a Mighty, Mighty Dog!

A couple of months ago, I also read a post on one of my favorite couponing blogs about all of the birthday freebies you can get. So, I registered with a few of my local favorite restaurants. And for my birthday (which was earlier this week), I got:

A $30 gift certificate to Benihana

Free breakfast at Ihop

Free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins

Free hamburger at Fuddruckers

Free entree at Houlihans

Free entree at Applebees

Free slush at Sonic

Free platter and free dessert at Taco Bueno

Free ice cream creation at Cold Stone Creamery

Free appetizer or dessert at On The Border

Free appetizer at Joe's Crab Shack

Free appetizer or dessert at Chili's

AND...

A $10 gift certificate to Maggianos

The best part about all my birthday freebies is that I don't have to use them all on my birthday. Most of them are good for the entire month.

Still not convinced that couponing is for you? Well, let me give you one quick and easy way to save money, without ever clipping a single coupon. Start taking advantage of CVS deals that earn you Extra Care Bucks. Look in their weekly sales paper. Make an initial purchase that will earn you Extra Care Bucks back, then turn around and use those Extra Care Bucks to make another purchase the following week that will earn you even more Extra Care Bucks. Keep your Extra Care Bucks in a constant rotation, and you can get freebies every week!

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

I had $10 in Extra Care Bucks from last week. I got a 5 pack of Zyrtec for $5.99, and the Gillette deodorant was Buy 1 Get 1 Free for a total of $4.59. I had a $1.00/2 Gillette deodorants coupon. I also had a coupon to get $0.50 cents off a pack of gum that was $0.99 cents. That brought my total to $10.07. I used my $10 in Extra Care Bucks which brought my total due to $0.07 cents, which I paid in cash (or in coins, as the case would be!). For that purchase, I earned $5.99 back in Extra Care Bucks, which I then turned around and used to get the laundry detergent and air fresheners for free... and so on, and so on.

Have more questions? Feel free to ask...

That's it for today. Happy Couponing!