I spend far too much time couponing. I'm in serious need of a hobby. Or maybe a life depending on who I'm talking to. Acquiring coupons, sorting them, planning to use them, and using them somewhat consumes me. But gosh it is so exciting! I can't conceal my excitement from sharing my good deals.
Typically it's a phone call to Clark or my mom. One day my dad answered and my mom wasn't there to share with. I really think he thought I was loosing my mind as I gushed over how much money I saved. I wonder how much constraint it took my kind father from saying, "Kim, you need to get a life."
I can talk at Clark for 30 minutes about coupons. I think he bemusedly tolerates my obsession. I want to tell everyone. Wouldn't you want to share incredible deals like the one I got this past week? I got 20 boxes of cereal and 9 gallons of milk for a grand total of $12. Seriously! A friend told me she's coming to my house for cereal if there is a natural disaster.
Ok, I'll admit it, I've even dreamed about coupons. But hey, what perfectly normal person doesn't periodically dream about that?!
It's been great because I've managed to avoid Walmart (not been there since January 17) and I have saved money in the process. But when I look forward to Sunday's for the coupon inserts in the newspaper, Wednesdays for the new grocery ad, and anxiously await the mail because I know my mom is sending more coupons in the mail; well, it's time for me to find a real hobby. I mean come on, I bought a pregnancy test with a coupon for heaven's sake.
Even though you didn't say it Dad, I really do need to get a life!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Article about Social Security
My brother-in-law sent me this article today about Social Security that I found interesting so I thought I would post a link here for those of you who are interested.
So it seems the government can't rest from spending our money. I just read an article today about bailing out homeowners. I'm wondering how I can sign on and get my neighbors to pay my mortgage payments. Or at least get my mortgage company to reduce my mortgage; wouldn't that be nice.
I truly do feel bad for those people who are in this horrible situation. But I also don't believe that this needs government intervention. I mean, since when was home ownership a right. I must have missed that one in the recently updated lists of citizens rights. They may have added that to the 1,000+ pages of the health care bill. I'll have to read it when I get time, maybe after I'm done paying my bills.
So it seems the government can't rest from spending our money. I just read an article today about bailing out homeowners. I'm wondering how I can sign on and get my neighbors to pay my mortgage payments. Or at least get my mortgage company to reduce my mortgage; wouldn't that be nice.
I truly do feel bad for those people who are in this horrible situation. But I also don't believe that this needs government intervention. I mean, since when was home ownership a right. I must have missed that one in the recently updated lists of citizens rights. They may have added that to the 1,000+ pages of the health care bill. I'll have to read it when I get time, maybe after I'm done paying my bills.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
I Wanna Cat
One evening after dinner Clark and I decided to share some good news with our kids. For the most part, they all seemed to take it quite well. Jaron in particular ran immediately to Eliza who was seated in her high chair and began to chirp on and on about what we had just told him. Russell remained unaffected on Clark's lap attempting to convince Clark to finish whatever food Russell had dished onto Clark's plate. Within a few minutes, the excitement evaporated, children left to find toys to fight over and dishes remained to be cleaned.
Several nights later, after single-handedly bathing and wrestling the kids to bed a huge yawn escaped me as I was tucking Jaron in.
"Why are you tired, Mommy?" queried Jaron.
"Well, being pregnant makes me tired." I casually replied.
Jaron sat right up and exclaimed "Mommy! You're pregnant?? There's a baby in you?" Gosh where has this kid been. For a 4 1/2 year old he is typically pretty observant and usually keeps close tabs on our conversations. I'd been dropping the p-word for weeks but hoped he didn't understand what it meant.
Well . . . apparently he did. I guess telling him we were going to have a baby didn't mean the same thing to him. So the storm of questions erupted out of him.
I knew I better sit down. Too bad Russell's bed is so soft; I was tempted to lay down.
Maybe it just took a few days for it to sink in, but once it did, Jaron was bouncing-out-of-the-bed excited. He happily said to Russell, "We're going to have a baby."
Russell's quiet response, I mostly likely wouldn't have caught had I not been sitting there: "I wanna cat."
There was immediate concern on Jaron's end if the baby was sick because I had been, who will take of us when I'm at the hospital because Daddy has to go to work a lot, when am I having that baby, could I just go the hospital soon and have the baby, could he touch my tummy and feel the baby (which he told me he did), wouldn't Eliza be excited to have another baby in the house, when could he tell his friend down the street, maybe we should call Grandma and Grandpa and tell them.
Well, you get the point. This kid was excited. And truthfully, I'm so glad. Even the next morning he told Clark, "Daddy, did you know that Mommy has a baby in her?"
But I couldn't help but laugh at him but also Russell, who quiet interjected a time or two more while he lay in bed stroking his hair, "I wanna cat."
You know what Russell, I wanna cat too. But I'm sure happy we're having another baby too!
Several nights later, after single-handedly bathing and wrestling the kids to bed a huge yawn escaped me as I was tucking Jaron in.
"Why are you tired, Mommy?" queried Jaron.
"Well, being pregnant makes me tired." I casually replied.
Jaron sat right up and exclaimed "Mommy! You're pregnant?? There's a baby in you?" Gosh where has this kid been. For a 4 1/2 year old he is typically pretty observant and usually keeps close tabs on our conversations. I'd been dropping the p-word for weeks but hoped he didn't understand what it meant.
Well . . . apparently he did. I guess telling him we were going to have a baby didn't mean the same thing to him. So the storm of questions erupted out of him.
I knew I better sit down. Too bad Russell's bed is so soft; I was tempted to lay down.
Maybe it just took a few days for it to sink in, but once it did, Jaron was bouncing-out-of-the-bed excited. He happily said to Russell, "We're going to have a baby."
Russell's quiet response, I mostly likely wouldn't have caught had I not been sitting there: "I wanna cat."
There was immediate concern on Jaron's end if the baby was sick because I had been, who will take of us when I'm at the hospital because Daddy has to go to work a lot, when am I having that baby, could I just go the hospital soon and have the baby, could he touch my tummy and feel the baby (which he told me he did), wouldn't Eliza be excited to have another baby in the house, when could he tell his friend down the street, maybe we should call Grandma and Grandpa and tell them.
Well, you get the point. This kid was excited. And truthfully, I'm so glad. Even the next morning he told Clark, "Daddy, did you know that Mommy has a baby in her?"
But I couldn't help but laugh at him but also Russell, who quiet interjected a time or two more while he lay in bed stroking his hair, "I wanna cat."
You know what Russell, I wanna cat too. But I'm sure happy we're having another baby too!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Blessings for Attending the Temple
Since our move to Oklahoma getting to the temple has been more challenging for us for various reasons. It is on our mind a lot and topic of many conversations about how we can get to the temple.
At the beginning of the year we planned a small family trip to another family-friendly mid-west city. Clark, as I stated before, has limited paid time off but had a day off that we were going to combine with a company holiday. We were all looking forward to this little excursion. But through the weeks our conversations kept turning back to how and when we were going to get to the temple. The idea suddenly dawned on us to take his day, cancel our trip, pack up the family and spend the night in Oklahoma City in order to attend the temple.
The day before our "temple trip" Russell came down with a fever. I was slightly concerned but since he had no other symptoms and he seemed to be ok I figured we should still go. The next day, Friday, I must admit, I was frustrated that my prayers hadn't been answered and Russell was still sick. However, Clark and I both felt strongly that we shouldn't cancel our trip.
I won't go into a lot of detail but throughout the trip though Russell maintained though he didn't progress in getting better. I was concerned because he had lost his appetite, was losing energy (obviously) and his fevers periodically would spike high. It didn't seem that Tylenol or Ibuprofen was really kicking his discomfort.
The weather Saturday turned on us. When Clark arrived back from the temple around 10 am snow was coming down, the wind was blowing hard and weather reports were talking about terrible road conditions across the whole state. Even though we had planned more activities for the day due to weather and Russell we quickly loaded up and had an intense 3+ hour drive home. As the weather continued to worsen so did Russell.
The thought that went through my mind several times was, "Why are we not being blessed for making the sacrifice to go to the temple?"
Upon further pondering the answer came to me, "You cannot choose your blessings."
(Russell & Eliza at the hotel)
These are some of the blessings I can immediately attribute to going to the temple:
At the beginning of the year we planned a small family trip to another family-friendly mid-west city. Clark, as I stated before, has limited paid time off but had a day off that we were going to combine with a company holiday. We were all looking forward to this little excursion. But through the weeks our conversations kept turning back to how and when we were going to get to the temple. The idea suddenly dawned on us to take his day, cancel our trip, pack up the family and spend the night in Oklahoma City in order to attend the temple.
The day before our "temple trip" Russell came down with a fever. I was slightly concerned but since he had no other symptoms and he seemed to be ok I figured we should still go. The next day, Friday, I must admit, I was frustrated that my prayers hadn't been answered and Russell was still sick. However, Clark and I both felt strongly that we shouldn't cancel our trip.
I won't go into a lot of detail but throughout the trip though Russell maintained though he didn't progress in getting better. I was concerned because he had lost his appetite, was losing energy (obviously) and his fevers periodically would spike high. It didn't seem that Tylenol or Ibuprofen was really kicking his discomfort.
The weather Saturday turned on us. When Clark arrived back from the temple around 10 am snow was coming down, the wind was blowing hard and weather reports were talking about terrible road conditions across the whole state. Even though we had planned more activities for the day due to weather and Russell we quickly loaded up and had an intense 3+ hour drive home. As the weather continued to worsen so did Russell.
The thought that went through my mind several times was, "Why are we not being blessed for making the sacrifice to go to the temple?"
Upon further pondering the answer came to me, "You cannot choose your blessings."
(Russell & Eliza at the hotel)- Although the roads were bad and other drivers were clueless in how to drive in winter weather (sorry to say but a lot of Oklahomans I come across on the road are terrible snow drivers!) we arrived home safely.
- I felt a stronger guidance by the Spirit. Russell did not immediately improve. In fact, I felt a gentle yet urgent prompting to get him more help despite the fact that the nurse at the doctor's office was convinced he had a virus. We took him into an urgent care clinic Sunday morning which left us essentially with no real answers. I continued to feel that something more should immediately be done for him. Sunday evening saw us in the emergency room to learn that Russell had pneumonia.
- I felt strongly comforted. Having your child go through this type of experience and being in the hospital put through various kinds of torture treatments is intensive. But from the moment we walked in to that ER I felt enveloped with peace and comfort.
- Russell was blessed with a fast recovery. Maybe this is slightly premature to say this. He was discharged from the hospital this morning but still in need of lots of recuperation, monitoring, medicine, and sadly, force feeding (unless it is grilled cheese sandwiches or chips.) I have been under the impression however that this type of sickness tends to lead to longer hospitalization time. We are so grateful he is home. I think Jaron is too because he started fighting with Russell within 5 minutes. Boy did I miss that!
- The blessings of friends who helped out not only physically (tremendous help!) but in just a phone call of "I was thinking about you" or "You were on my mind" and "Russell and your family is in our prayers." Essentially the blessing of others being aware.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
New Wheels
I'm excited about this new set of wheels we got last week. I mean, really, it's thrilling! After years of garage sale, used strollers and one semi-nice new stroller we finally took the plunge and bought a stroller. Clark cringed at the idea of spending money on a stroller considering in the past 5 years we've spend a grand total of $43 on three strollers.
Let me tell you - I love this thing! It's a sit-n-stand stroller but apparently one of the lightest double strollers you can find out there. A mere 21 lbs. When Clark and I first read about that we thought "Big deal."
Well, actually is a pretty big deal when you are pushing a 20+ pounder and a 30 or 40 pound child. Or all three at once! Suddenly, a lighter stroller is nicer.
Anyway, I just had to share because I'm in love with it. And my kids are too and by the way, my boys who wouldn't get near a stroller really enjoy the option of riding on the jump seat in the back or standing. Added Bonus: Something else for them to fight about and at no additional cost!
So I'm looking forward to more spring weather to take out my new wheels.
What About Social Security?
I don't know about you, but all I seem to be hearing about these days is Health Care Reform, Health Care Reform, Health Care Reform. Ok, let me preface that by saying when I get around to listening to or reading the news. Don't even get me started about how frustrated I am about the whole "reform" thing. This is just a bunch of politicians attempting to push something through but really isn't going to address the major issue of health care: cost. And do we really believe that the government is all that fabulous about running any entity? Refer to my previous posts on the wonderfully functioning US Postal Service to see my opinion on that. See, I shouldn't get started on this.
What I really want to talk about is Social Security. Has anyone heard any politicians or news reporters talking about that lately? I didn't think so.
I just got our annual social security statement. Typically I flip to the page that shows our contributions and lists how much our benefit will be when Clark retires at the wonderful age of 70. But this day was different. I actually read all the mumbo-jumbo at the beginning and was embarrassingly, naively SHOCKED!
I quote: ". . . the Social Security system is facing serious financial problems, and action is needed soon to make sure the system will be sound when today's younger workers are ready for retirement [that would be Clark and I]. In 2016 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2037 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only about 76 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
And we are stressing about health care!!!! Ummmm, this is an issue that affects every American family! Working, retired, disabled, you name it, it affects them.
I'm not saying that in any way Clark and I expect or even plan on receiving social security payments. However, this is money we are forced into "saving" for our retirement that essentially we may never get back. Instead of allowing the average worker the option of investing their own money the government insists on taking a percentage of their monthly paychecks to invest in that black hole called the Federal Government's Social Security System.
Really? Really?? This is a wonderfully functioning system and we are all stressed about health care? REALLY?
I'm bothered by this. I'm frustrated about the lack of awareness and most especially the lack of action. Yes, I've heard people and politicians talking about the system being broken, needing fixing, etc. But yet, nothing has happened. But gosh darn it, let's talk about Health Care Reform. I feel really good about that system functioning smoothly for the next 75 years. (Yeah right!!)
What I really want to talk about is Social Security. Has anyone heard any politicians or news reporters talking about that lately? I didn't think so.
I just got our annual social security statement. Typically I flip to the page that shows our contributions and lists how much our benefit will be when Clark retires at the wonderful age of 70. But this day was different. I actually read all the mumbo-jumbo at the beginning and was embarrassingly, naively SHOCKED!
I quote: ". . . the Social Security system is facing serious financial problems, and action is needed soon to make sure the system will be sound when today's younger workers are ready for retirement [that would be Clark and I]. In 2016 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2037 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only about 76 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
And we are stressing about health care!!!! Ummmm, this is an issue that affects every American family! Working, retired, disabled, you name it, it affects them.
I'm not saying that in any way Clark and I expect or even plan on receiving social security payments. However, this is money we are forced into "saving" for our retirement that essentially we may never get back. Instead of allowing the average worker the option of investing their own money the government insists on taking a percentage of their monthly paychecks to invest in that black hole called the Federal Government's Social Security System.
Really? Really?? This is a wonderfully functioning system and we are all stressed about health care? REALLY?
I'm bothered by this. I'm frustrated about the lack of awareness and most especially the lack of action. Yes, I've heard people and politicians talking about the system being broken, needing fixing, etc. But yet, nothing has happened. But gosh darn it, let's talk about Health Care Reform. I feel really good about that system functioning smoothly for the next 75 years. (Yeah right!!)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Anticipation
While Clark toiled away in graduate school he frequently talked about taking a trip to Glacier National Park. I'm not sure where he got the bug to visit a National Park but I may have had something to do with (and my parents also because they gave me that same bug). However, while in school we had an excess of time but a dearth of money so the trip was put on hold. I convinced him we would take a "graduation" trip as a celebration of his completion.
Well, graduation came and went. Clark felt big time pressure to start a job and I felt generally just big being pregnant with Eliza. We talked and talked about the trip. However, we now had the reverse problem: money but now no time. What is about corporations that actually want their employees to work?! So we saved and saved our precious little vacation days.
Now the trip is planned and the anticipation has set in. I must admit the itinerary has changed a bit. We will be visiting three National Parks but none of those have the name Glacier in it. Clark had a hard time convincing me that it was a great idea to spend a total of 6 days of round trip driving.
Our boys can hardly contain their excitement. They talk about it continuously. Russell just mentioned to me that we are getting a larger van for our trip. We are hoping that way we can put the kids in the far back then a sound barrier and blissfully pretend everything is great while we drive for hours on end. Actually, we slyly invited my parents along so they can provided the in-van entertainment. I remember spending years of my childhood stuck in a vehicle with my family so I figure my parents are pretty good at it.
Tonight Jaron wanted me to save the muffins I baked this afternoon for our trip that we won't leave on until June! They wonder if they will see a monkey (doubtful in Yellowstone), if Uncle Blake is coming (he's working) and if they will be back before Jaron starts kindergarten (I think so).
I worry how we will keep the kids out of the geysers and chucking objects into the morning glory pool or disappearing on a hike in the Rocky Mountains. It feels like we talk about this trip every day. I think the anticipation is half the fun.
Well, graduation came and went. Clark felt big time pressure to start a job and I felt generally just big being pregnant with Eliza. We talked and talked about the trip. However, we now had the reverse problem: money but now no time. What is about corporations that actually want their employees to work?! So we saved and saved our precious little vacation days.
Now the trip is planned and the anticipation has set in. I must admit the itinerary has changed a bit. We will be visiting three National Parks but none of those have the name Glacier in it. Clark had a hard time convincing me that it was a great idea to spend a total of 6 days of round trip driving.
Our boys can hardly contain their excitement. They talk about it continuously. Russell just mentioned to me that we are getting a larger van for our trip. We are hoping that way we can put the kids in the far back then a sound barrier and blissfully pretend everything is great while we drive for hours on end. Actually, we slyly invited my parents along so they can provided the in-van entertainment. I remember spending years of my childhood stuck in a vehicle with my family so I figure my parents are pretty good at it.
Tonight Jaron wanted me to save the muffins I baked this afternoon for our trip that we won't leave on until June! They wonder if they will see a monkey (doubtful in Yellowstone), if Uncle Blake is coming (he's working) and if they will be back before Jaron starts kindergarten (I think so).
I worry how we will keep the kids out of the geysers and chucking objects into the morning glory pool or disappearing on a hike in the Rocky Mountains. It feels like we talk about this trip every day. I think the anticipation is half the fun.
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