getting the hang of it

Today was a great day of savings and I'm sharing it with you.  :)

My 1st stop was at CVS, I was able to get 2 full size Tresemme products for....$1.50!!

I was able to get these 3 items for $5.49.  :)

Then it was over to Walgreens, where I got the best extreme couponing deal, so far!!  :D
Would you believe I got 3 pantene products and a candy bar for....wait for it.....$0.20!!!!  :O

Yep, $0.20, I still can't believe it, I was SO excited!!  :D
This is everything I bought from Walgreens and it only cost me $11.91!!  :)

I LOVE COUPONING!!!!!  :D

I am sooooo excited, this is my 1st 'extreme' couponing deals!!  :D

I was able to get 8 tubes of toothpaste for.....drum roll, please.....

$4.00!!!!!  :O

Plus, to make it even better, I got $6 worth of coupons to use on my next transaction!!!!!

Woo Hoo!!!  :)

extreme couponing?

While in Missouri, we had no way to get local stations on our tv, so we signed up for direct tv.

You'll never guess what one of the 1st shows I recorded and started watching....yup, you guessed it...Extreme Couponing!!!  :)

All I can say is WOW!!!  I was shocked at how the people were able to get cart loads of groceries for free or really close to it!!  :O

I was hooked and in May of this year, I officially started couponing...not just using a coupon here or there, but actually clipping multiple coupons and organizing them into my new double binder.  ;)

I have been doing it now, for 2 months and am still learning, but have saved lots of $$ and am getting more confidant at what I'm doing.  I do not claim to be and am no where near being an 'extreme' couponer, but I would say I am deffinetely addicted to couponing, lol!!

So, I am hoping to share with you some of the best deals that I make and give you a little of my own cou'poe'ning advice.  ;D

I'm amazed at how you try to get on and blog and WHAM

the kids are hungry
then you go to get the mail and find that the package was ripped open and some of your mail is gone!!!  :O
a few phone calls later...
then it's naptime and they don't want to go down
now hubby will be home soon, and guess what??  no blog post written!!  :/

Guess I'll try again tomorrow, lol.  ;)

Making Herbs Simple winners

Well, since I could give away up to 5 DVD's and only 3 people entered, they automatically win!!  :)
Congrats Heather, Nicole and Sherri!!  :D

Making Herbs SIMPLE vol 1 *Review & Giveaway* ~ CLOSED

I LOVED watching the Making Herbs Simple dvd, even though I already knew how to make the tinctures and poultices, watching it gives you a renewed want to get up and make some tinctures!! :)

I picked up a few new things about herbs that I will be using for myself and kiddos. Every summer, we get sugar ants that like to come into our house, unwelcomed!! In the past I have tried finding their home and drowning them with boiling water, but can't find where they are coming from!! Next I heard of laying cheyenne pepper where they come in. I wanted them out of my house, so I laid it on thick, inside and out, but that didn't stop them, they just found a different way to get in, aaugh!! From the dvd, I learned that dried peppermint is an ant deterrant!! You can bet that I will be laying dried pepperment wherever they're getting in. :)

This next one is one that I am probably going to end up using a lot this spring, while we're here in Missouri. A plantain tincture, made with apple cider vinegar, is great for insect bites!! Since there's a lot of spiders and other bugs here, I am convinced I'm going to need to make some to have on hand, just in case any of us get bit!!

All my close friends and family know that this next one is a HUGE need right now!! My lil guy who's 5 months old, has decided that sleep isn't that important and that mommy and daddy aren't going to get any either!! A chamomile tincture, best made with food grade glycerine for lil kiddos, helps you relax and sleep!! :D We deffinetely need to make some so that we can get our lil guy to sleep!!

I am very hands on and loved seeing the actual herbs in the wild and watching how they prepared the herbs and how they use them in poultices. There is a BIG difference in how much information you retain and how it makes you want to get up and start using herbs when you watch someone show you, compared to just reading it in a book. Even my 3 yr old watched the dvd with me, twice!! :D

We got a food dehydrator last year and I am hoping to dry some fruits and try my hand at drying herbs, too. It's the same concept as drying it in your oven, but a lot easier.

The Companion Guidebook is great to have on hand, it gives you all of the herb info thats on the dvd and also has great pictures!! Mine will be going in the car, so I can use it if I happen to find some herbs while we're out in the wild.

I hope to instill the love of herbs to my kids and that they will learn how to identify and use herbs. :)

Now for the BEST part...Bulk Herb Store is gracious enough to let me giveaway 5 dvd's!! :D

Be sure I have a way to get your email address so I can tell you that you won! If I don't have an easy way to get it (in your comment, google profile, etc) I will automatically choose a new winner. A new winner will also automatically be chosen if any of the entries are not followed specifically (such as doing the mandatory entry). Also leave a SEPARATE comment for each additional entry that you do! One comment = one entry! Open to the US only and 18 years or older.

Mandatory Entry

This must be done in order for any other entry to count
Follow Me on Facebook

Additional Entries

1 Entry ~ Follow me through Google Friend Connect

1 Entry **Daily** Follow Me and @bulkherbstore on Twitter and Tweet.
Be sure to leave me the link! You may copy/paste the following:
Win one of five Making Herbs Simple vol 1 dvd's! @poek4 Ends 3/18 Pls RT! #giveaway

1 Entry ~ Follow Bulk Herb Store's YouTube channel, they have a lot of great short videos to watch.

1 Entry Each ~ 'Like' Bulk Herb Store, and Shoshanna on Facebook

1 Entry ~ Blog about this and be sure to link back to this post and leave me the URL to the post.

3 Entries ~ Buy something from the Bulk Herb Store and let me know what you got. They have some great tasting teas!! :)

1 Extra Entry ~ Have you ever used herbs to cure an ailment or made your own tincture?
Tell me about it.  :)

This Giveaway will end 3/18/11 at 11:59 p.m. EST

I will choose the winners via random.org and contact them via email and post them on this blog. They have 48 hours to claim their win before a new winner is chosen.

Good Luck!!!

Thinking Positive

Wow, February FLEW by, or is it just because I'm severely sleep deprived!?! ;)

Well, today is the last day of Mami's & Papi's February "LOVE" & Happiness Challenge. Even though I didn't write much here, I was constantly reminding myself every day to think positive. I will admit there were times that I told myself, 'I don't care, I don't want to be positive right now'. That's ok, because I realized I can feel that way, but to get over it and move on. :)

I would like to thank Mami's & Papi's for everything they do, for us their customers, and also those of us who consider them a friend. I have been able to come to them with my night time cloth diaper delema and they have been there to give me suggestions. If it weren't for them, I never would have met a wonderful mommy who is helping me figure out how to solve my heavy wetting lil boys night time leakings. Thank you Ashley, you have been a great help and friend. :D

I would like to say that this month has had a lot of ups and downs for me, but I have also grown in a way that, if it weren't for Mami's & Papi's challenge, I wouldn't have taken on my own. Thank You Mami & Papi!!!! :D

Positive thinking, you haven't seen the last of me!!! ;)

night time cloth diaper woes

For a couple months now, I've been trying to completely switch over to cloth diapers. Day time, no problem, but night time has been very challenging!! :(

Gavin is 5 months old, tomorrow, and gets up 4-5 times a night. :/ I have been using disposables, but end up changing him once a night and he tends to leak with those almost every 3rd night. gah!!!

So I have been hearding that hemp is great for heavy night time wetters, pair that with wool covers and it've heard it's bullet proof!! So I bought some Hemp Babies Diaper Doublers and Hemp Babies Little Weeds.

After the hemp arrived, I first tried a flat wrapped around a hemp doubler, topped with a flip cover, it held, but was WAY too bulky!! Then I tried a hemp prefold stuffed in a Rump a Rooz, which didn't last the night.

So I asked, on Mami's and Papi's facebook page, and a sweet mama, Ashley, did a blog post for me!! :D you can read it here

So I promptly ordered some Babykicks Prefolds and Sustainablebabyish Organic Bamboo Fleece Doubler. Then I waited, impatiently, for the package to arrive!! :)

When it arrived, I promptly threw them in the washer and prepped them, about 4-5 times in hot water. I was excited to use them that night, so I diapered my boy, just like Ashley did and covered it with a Flip cover. During a couple of the late morning feedings, that I could feel something damp on my arm, which was resting on his side. I thought nothing of it, and figured he was swetting.

When I changed him in the morning, I noticed that the prefold was peeking out of the Flip cover on his sides, where I had felt the dampness!! Even though it was way too bulky and ended up peeking out of the cover, it kept his pj's and sheets dry. My lil guy seemed uncomfortable with the bulkiness of it, so I decided to try something different the next night.

Last night, I decided to try a Hemp Babies Little Weed prefold folded around a Sustainablebabyish bamboo doubler and cover it with the Flip cover. Making sure to tuck the cloth under the flap on the Flip cover. Well, half way through the night, he had soaked through the front of his diaper. :(

So, right now I am frustrated and not sure where to go from here. So I am asking/searching for more ideas, so hopefully the next time I write, I will be able to tell you what combination works for us!! :)

pre-review, a lil history into my interest in herbs

I can't remember a specific date when I became interested in herbs, I'll have to ask my mom about that. ;) I think I was in high school and I think it all started when I started having back issues, which my mom thought was just me wanting to get out of doing the dishes, lol!! My mom had started going to the chiropractor and decided to take me with her and see what the chiropractor thought, whether I was just faking it or if I just happened to really have problems. Everyone was so skeptical that I almost chickened out, but I'm so glad I didn't!!!

The chiropractor took x-rays before he started working on someone. Well, imagine everyone's surprise when he brought the x-rays into the exam room. My spine had s-curves starting from my neck all the way down to my tailbone, which was also 'out'!!!! I think I had a total of 4 curves in my back, and you would never have known it from the outside!!! :o

Once I started going regularly, I started feeling a LOT better. My mom and I then started looking into natural ways to 'cure' colds and minor ailments. My mom and I also went to a herbalist who ran a test on us that showed what areas our body was overfunctioning, underfunctioning, or was normal. (I still have those results!!) :)

Needless to say, the herbal remedies we had to buy to help correct our bodies was pretty expensive, no big surprise there!! So we started looking around and researching more herbal cures that we could easily get or make ourselves for a lot less.

Researching information has changed a lot!!! When I started researching herbs, I had to go to the library and check out books and spend hours reading. I don't think I reatained much, considering I either didn't understand it or it just didn't pertain to our situation. Today I can Google an ailment or herb and get all the info I need, have it ordered and know how to prepare it in under an hour!!!

So where does my review for the Bulk Herb Store fit into all this??

Well, about 10 years ago, my mom started getting "No Greater Joy" in the mail and we started following their family. When they started the Bulk Herb Store my mom and I started ordering herbs from them. We knew they had pure and natural herbs and trusted ordering from them. You can read about how the Bulk Herb Store got started and how Shoshanna took over the business, here. My mom and I order herbs from them a couple times a year, they have a lot of great herbs, books, dvd's and more.

I admit, I love making tinctures, salves, poultices, etc, but am reserved about jumping into it like I would like to. I am just unsure about which herbs are best together and which should NEVER be combined, and when making your own herb mix, is more better or less?? There is SO much to absorb when it comes to herbs and their healing properties, how to extract those properties without destroying the beneficial properties, and how to store them to retain their benefits for their full 'life' span.

This brings me to my review of 'Making Herbs Simple' vol 1. I have wanted this dvd since it first came out and I can't wait to watch it and soak in all the valuable info!! :) They also have a vol 2, which I also want and will probably end up buying after I finish the review!!

Whew, that was a lot longer than I expected!! This is my story, in a very big nut shell of how I got my love of herbs. I will be surprised if anyone reads this whole thing, but if you do, let me know what you think!! :)

Thinking Positive??

Ugh, I hate to admit, this has been a LONG and DIFFICULT week. :/

Even though I haven't been doing so well in the positive thinking department, I have been dealing with 'speedbumps' with a MUCH better attitude!! :)

I had a good dose of 'this is what it looks like to be impatient' moments. I was at the PX the other day getting some infant tylenol, which is impossible to find!! There was a lady infront of me with quite a few items and she seemed in a hurry. The cashier seemed to not be feeling well, so she was moving slow. Well, the lady, checking out, was antsy, she kept looking at her phone, and at one point, I noticed her 'lip speak', "come on hurry up"!! I felt really bad for the cashier, because I could tell she wasn't feeling well.

I noticed that when you are impatient or upset with how someone is doing something, it takes away your feminine beauty and glow.

So, aside from being good for your health, having a good attitude and patience is also good for your looks!! :D

My 1st review showed up!!

Now to just find some free time to watch it... lol

I'm so excited, I've wanted to get this dvd for months now!!! I can't wait to watch it and gain more knowledge in a big interest of mine...herbs! :)

Keep checking back and I hope to have it up soon!!

Thinking positive #2

This one came as an utter surprise to me.

I never would have imagined that sleeping on the floor and getting up every 2 hours for a month would be a great thing!?!

Ever since having Gavin, I abhore mirrors... They remind me that I STILL have my girls gift of twin skin and muffin top. :/ I don't have the drive to work out every day...or is that just a side effect of exhaustion?? hmmm ;)

Well, I just happened to glance in the mirror last week and my muffin top is almost gone!!! Woo Hoo!!!! :D

So, yes, getting up about 6 times a night and doing a form of stomach crunches to get myself and a sleeping 13 lb boy off the floor and into his bed, will help you tone your stomach!!! :)

Thinking positive #1

So far, I have done horribly at the whole thinking positively, but I knew it wouldn't be easy!! lol

Today I had to call our realtor, who is very nice, and we were reminiscing over the weather. It's has been VERY cold and we had 2 whole 'snow days' earlier this week, which has been interesting, here in Missouri. The realtor said, "well, you shouldn't complain, we have had worse weather.." and I said, "I'm just glad I'm not at home, in Montana, it's FREEZING there!! It's much warmer here." She said, "That's a very good way to think about it!!"

I am truley very glad that it's warmer here, I'm a chicken for cold weather and am always freezing, lol!! So, I had my 1st true positive thinking, wonder what the next one will be about....

A February "LOVE" & Happiness Challenge

The challenge is from Mami's & Papi's. They are a military family that carries cloth diaper and baby items and are a lot of fun. ;)

They have a monthly contest for their followers to do and they get entered to win some really great prizes. Here's parts from their post off their Facebook page, so go check it out for yourself here.

"So what is the M&P challenge all about? Every month we do something a little "more" to challenge ourselves. It could be a special request challenge (a sister or brother is dealing with some challenges and needs support) or something that is just lots of fun to see if we can DO IT!

The month of February is the "Valentine" month. The month of love!! But this is not a love your spouse or love yourself challenge.... NO, this is a love your Life challenge!

For the month of February ---- EVERYTHING that happens .... you will think positively! Need some explanation and examples --- here goes!"

"EVEN if you are happy person --- all it takes is one negative unloving second to let our day go to the pot. Negativity can eat us alive!

Everything gets on your nerves. Your pizza came cold, your husband or wife hasn't paid "enough" attention to you, your kids drew on the wall, your fluffy package came in and was missing something (LOL), your life is falling apart, the bills are piling up to the ceiling, the cable went out, the internet is to slow, the mom down the street "MUST" be talking about you, the play group is too unorganized, it's the teachers fault, the doctors a goober, the police officer was speeding too, she thinks she's so awesome, I can't do anything right................. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

The challenge is simple ---- each time a negative thought crosses your mind --- YOU STOP IT! You tell yourself NO. I am going to think positively and nothing is going to let me down. NOTHING! It profits ZERO to have ANY negative thoughts. Sometimes negative situations happen --- but our attitude can either make us survivors or sufferers.

If possible --- try and keep a HAPPY diary of how life is awesome.... even when it's not! :-)"

Now if you know me, you already know that I'm a 'pessimist, glass is half empty' type of girl!!! So this challenge, even if I don't win, which I REALLY do, will, I hope, help me get away form my negativism and focus on all the POSITIVE in my life!! :D

1st FTX

The Army LOVES to abbreviate everything!! So, I will fill you in on what it means. ;) I believe FTX means, Field Training eXercise, I'll have to check with Mat on that. It started on Wednesday and ends...who knows, the training schedule isn't very clear on it.

So, how did it go, you wonder?? HORRIBLE!!! :(

1st: I was NOT ok being alone!!! Now I am used to being by myself at nights, Mat just got off graveyards at the SO, so I was doing 3-4 overnights by myself, so why did I have such a rough time?? Well, I'm in a new town, new house, with all it's new noises, and it's a condo, so if the neighbor makes noise, it sounds like it's coming from your house!!! The 3rd night, I'm positive someone banged on our door about 10p!! It was a very unnerving 4 nights, to say the least.

2nd: At the beginning of the week, I was told it would only be 2 overnights, on Wednesday it became 3 nights, and by Thursday, it became 4 nights!!! WHAAAAA????? I was only mentally prepared for 2, so 4 nights just pushed me over the edge. :( Thank God for Mom's and cell phones!!!! I spent a lot of the last 5 days talking to my mom, she's the best!! :D

3rd: Saturday was a, I'm not going to nap, day for Gavin. By 3:30p I decided we'd go for a drive and get Gavin to nap. We stopped at Wendy's for a snack and I just started driving. Now, this is only my 2nd time ever driving in Saint Robert and get lost VERY easily, so glad we own a GPS!! Well, I'm on this road, no idea where I'm at, so I'm driving just under the speed limit, surveying the area. I found a HUGE park, by the way!! :D Well, I'm driving along and of course everyone else is going over the speed limit and passing me. Well, this truck goes around me and ALMOST sideswipes me!!!! :O I quickly took in the vehicle placements, thinking he was trying to avoid someone, and realized he hadn't, so I did what anyone else, like me, would do and I honked my horn at him!! What was his response?? I'm pretty sure I got the 'finger' and lots of cursing and shaking of his fist and just all out PISSED at me!?!? That did not help my nerves or overall well being, so I decided to go back home, it would be the safest option. :/

3rd: I just found out that Gavin is going through a sleep strike for, possibly, the next 4-6 weeks!!! Which means, he will only take about three-45 min naps, and between the night hours of 8p-7a, he will get up every 1.5-2 hrs and nurse for about 30 min each time. What does this produce?? An EXTREME state of exhaustion.......

4th: I was just looking at Mat's training schedule and am pretty sure, military time is still slightly confusing, and it looks like he has ANOTHER night training on Tuesday!!!! :O I'm soooo tempted to get a hotel room, which feels safe, is WARM (that's a whole nother story), has a real bed, a pool, and the best part...CABLE TV!!!!! :D

Well, there you have it, my 1st FTX experience and I am so ready to put the whole situation/memory behind me!!

But....this isn't the last you'll hear about this, he has 2 more FTX's. One is only 2 nights, and the last one, right before graduation, is..........

wait for it...........

7 days and 6 nights!!!!!! :O

Who wants to come visit for a whole week???? ;)

A new year, new state, new, temporary, home.....

Whew, it is only January 14, but soooo much has already happened!!

This is going to be the biggest year of first's for us. Mat was scheduled to go to BOLC, the last part of his officer training, which is located in Missouri. Neither of us have been there and we had no idea what to expect, we've lived in Wyoming and Montana our whole lives, what can you expect?? lol

So, the 1st week of January, we temporarily packed up our house, just enough to survive 5 months, and fit it in a 5'x8' Uhaul trailer!! Yep, I packed our family of 5 into that small trailer, whew!! :) Then we traveled 1300 miles and about 30 hrs in 2 days!! With two 3 yr olds, who did quite well, considering they were strapped into carseats the whole way, and a 3 month old who had to nurse every 3 hrs, was awake for 1 and slept for 2 and then repeated it all over again, who also did a LOT better than I expected. Guess what??? WE SURVIVED!!!! :D

We were able to find a 3 bedroom condo that fits us nicely, well, to be honest, we don't even come close to filling it up!!! The only furniture we have is a table, 4 folding chairs, a crib and dresser/changing table and 2 cots!!! No couches, or end tables, or entertainment center, or beds, nada. Although we're praying we can find these used or free, considering we won't take them back with us. ;)

The girls have done well, they haven't gotten 'home sick', of course they are with us, so just the location has changed. Gavin is too young to know any better, he has mom and that's all that he needs, lol. I am having a lil harder time adjusting than I had expected, but I just have to get into a new groove and hope that the weather warms up, NOW!! lol

So, stay tuned, I hope to keep everyone updated, at least weekly, with pictures, crosses fingers, but we will see, life tends to get hectic with 3 kiddo's, lol. ;)

Not so fat Wednesday, er Friday

Well, here I go, I've finally started my pp workout, of course it only took me 11 weeks, oops. :) I have a 10 min pp workout that I'm following, not too long, so it's easy to stick to, and after we move, Mat and I hope to start working out together. :)

Here's a few pics to show what I used to look like. Oh, Nicole, I have a pic of us at my 16th birthday party, years before we were even married. :)

2006, our wedding, pre kids


2009, 2 yrs after the girls were born (I know I was sucking it in, too :o)


2010, 6 weeks pp, 3 kids later :)


So this week has been pretty stressful and had a health issue, too and found out that I lost 3 lbs because of it. :/ I weigh 122 lbs. I am hoping to regain my flat belly and loose my mommy pooch. I just want to tone and strengthen my body and also eat healthier. :)

I combined three cards into one!!! :D

This was an exciting year for us, we added another addition to our family, Gavin!! :D

He arrived October 1st and by November I realized I hadn't gotten his birth announcements done!! I started looking around and made the family/friend list and found out how expensive it was, yikes!! I realized I also needed to do Christmas cards on top of birth announcements and my family/friends list is in the 70's. So the $$ for almost 150 cards is way more than we can afford, so I decided to combine them. :)

I also haven't gotten my thank you's sent out, so I'm looking to get the folded greeting cards, to get that done, too. I'm, in a sense, killing 3 birds with 1 stone, as they say, lol.

I'm looking at using the layout of this card.



I have always wanted to put together a calendar. Shutterfly has an awesome selection and might just do one for ourselves. :) Mat really likes the calendar posters.

Well, since I'm combining the birth announcement with our christmas card, I'll show you the one I was going to order, isn't it adorable? :)



A big thanks to Shutterfly for allowing me to blog about their 2010 holiday collection and giving me 50 free cards!! :D
Both pictures were taken from their website, so go check them out for yourself.

Hevea review

After trying 3 different pacifier's and having Gavin not like any of them, I started looking online. I stumbled upon Hevea Baby pacifiers and was interested in them, because they're all natural and I was also drawn to the color. ;)

I 'liked' their page on facebook and saw that they were looking for bloggers to review their pacifier. I was excited to get chosen and couldn't wait for it to show up in the mail and see if Gavin would like it.

When I recieved the Crown Orthodontic Pacifier, I opened it immedietely and my first thought was, 'wow, this is really soft'!!! :D





I really liked the look and feel of the pacifier. I was happy that when Gavin used it, it didn't leave any marks on his face. I really liked everything about it, except I didn't like the strong rubber smell. That might be why Gavin wasn't into it, but I'm sure the smell can't be helped, since it goes with being all natural. :)

Gavin isn't too into pacifiers right now, but I will deffinetely be keeping it around just incase he decides to!! :)



A big thanks to Hevea for allowing me to review their pacifier! All opinions are my own and a few from Gavin. Both pictures were taken from their website here.

I've been converted!!

Yep, it's official, I've switched over to cloth diapers!!! :O

We lost sooooo much money in diapers. Especially considering the girls just recently potty trained at 3 years 2 months!!! That is another story that you will get the pleasure of reading.

I have done a lot of research and made the decision when I was a couple months prego. Switching to cloth would save us a lot of money, it's healthier, especially considering the girls and I have a sensitivity to anything not natural fibers, it's easy to fit into my almost daily laundry and they're totally cute!! :)

I tried him in flats and a snappi, but they're a bit bulky on him, so I will probably use them when he's a lil bit older and after I hopefully get some wool soakers and longies knitted. :)





Right now he's wearing BumGenius Elements, they're a 100% cotton inner and water proof outer. It's just as easy to use as disposables, the only difference is that they get put in the wetbag, instead of the garbage, and get washed every or every other day, by themselves. Then I dry them, in the dryer in winter and outside during the summer, fold them and they're ready to use. :)

I've just started and got the 5 BG elements used and am planning on buying some more and really want to try the Rump-a-rooz, too. :) I will get some action shots put up after I get some taken.