Saving Money & Winning Stuff

This week I've been reallllllly concentrating on saving money on the stuff we need and use on a regular basis. Cutting coupons, checking ads, checking what BargainBriana has to say, and...not eating.

Because I've had this stomach bug since last Friday. It was painful, had Sapper worried about me (while he was out of town), and has resolved itself into leftover diarrhea (blah) and a nasty head cold. But yesterday I couldn't bring myself to eat the banana I had brought for breakfast. The thought of it made me feel all gaggy. Blech. I have enough sinus drainage filling me, so I skipped breakfast. Then lunchtime came & went. I couldn't bring myself to eat yogurt - thinking dairy could upset my stomach AGAIN - so I skipped it. Then dinner was a major rush because the chicklets went to a friend's house to practice for a music presentation & I was all

• lets rush to get an eBay auction sent
• lets get the Kroger list/coupons ready
• lets put away all the stuff we just got at CVS (where I saved $11.26 using coupons AND got $16 extra care bucks, woot!)
• lets give the girls leftovers because Lord knows there are enough of them in the fridge to feed half of Kenya
• lets get out the door quickly because these grumpy kids need their sleep so I'll have to pick them up in about an hour
• bye love you, see you in an hour
• Kroger Kroger Kroger Kroger (where I saved $27 using coupons/Cellfire/Shortcut$)
• come on, we've got to go, Mattie needs to go to bed, stop singing, I heard you from downstairs, get your shoes on, lets go!
• unload the car, put away the groceries, put the bags back in the car
• Whew!

so in case you were wondering, I never had dinner.

Maybe that's why I had such an atrocious dream about one of my cousins last night? Or why I totally forgot about my chiropractor's appointment this morning? I have no idea. But I did eat my banana this morning. And I found a second one in my purse courtesy of my little Yellybird. I may eat the yogurt for lunch, but I may have the banana instead. My stomach still feels queasy, but the diarrhea hasn't come back so far today. So maybe the day off from food did the trick?

Who knows.

Also this week, I won a giveaway from TwinHappy where I participated in the weekly TwinTuesday by blogging about our choice of names for the twins. Go me!

Last, but definitely not least, today I found out I won a What's In The Bible giveaway from Mami and the Multiples. I'm thinking I may have a really cool video to share with Scooby and Niece-ling on their next visit. Shazam!

Though I still have a nagging cough and my eyes look like I've been punched in the face, I'm feeling better about life in general. Not too shabby a week (if you exclude the part where I've been working on our taxes...oi...lets just skip that conversation).

What do you think? Is the week looking better or what?

Crab and Yell, the reason behind the rhyme

Way back when...a million or so sleepwalks ago...we found out we were pregnant with twins. Twins run in my family. Rampantly. My great uncle & his brother were twins. My aunt & uncle are fraternal twins. My cousins are fraternal twins. And when my doctor told me we were having twins, I assumed fraternal.

We found out the gender of Baby A. She was very accommodating.

Her twin was not. She carefully hid her 'parts' for the duration.

So while we were able to settle on a name for A, B was rather nameless. She was an idea, a thought, a kick in the gallbladder, but nameless.

Since the babies were conceived on the date of Princess Diana's funeral, and Mother Teresa's death, I thought briefly about Teresa Diane for Baby B. A name she spurns. ::sigh::

But Baby A's name means, "Father's Joy." And that she is. No matter how grumpy she is in the morning, how obstinate, how hateful, she can wave her little finger at her daddy and be in his good graces. We chose Crab's name because we liked it, but it suits her perfectly.

Baby B, at two days old, was given the name of my sorority sister. A sorority sister who had to have a complete hysterectomy before age 25. My Chi Omega sister is unable to bear her own children, but her caring, fun, giving, generous nature lives on in my daughter. My daughter whose name means "Fierce Warrior." My strong little baby who could stand at six weeks old. My fierce little Yellybird who fights to protect her sister.

I never imagined their names could be so wisely chosen, or so special.

Beautiful Blogger Award!

I am amazed & touched to be presented with the Beautiful Blogger Award!  I received this award from Joscelyn, an inspiring bi-lingual military mom of twins.  Visit her blog here Mami & The Multiples   I wish I could have kept up my efforts to be tri-lingual with the Chicklets, however, Sapper not understanding a word of the non-English languages proved to be tres difficile!

 To pass on the love, I nominate the following as I find them to be "Beautiful Bloggers" (or just plain funny):

1. http://coxquads.blogspot.com/ The Cox Quads
2. http://kristinsfourkids.blogspot.com/ Kristin's Four Kids
3. http://ourspriggsfamily.blogspot.com/ Spriggs Family
4. http://trippin-lifewithtriplets.blogspot.com/ Trippin' - Life with Triplets
5. http://bonggamom.blogspot.com/ Finding BonggaMom
6. http://manicmommy.blogspot.com/ MaNiC MoMMy
7. http://owenplusthree.blogspot.com/ Owen + 3 apparently I'm not allowed to follow this one anymore!
   
8. http://andtwinsmake5.blogspot.com/ And Twins Make 5!
9. http://mama4real.blogspot.com/ I'm a REAL LIFE mom.
10. http://iamthatmommy.wordpress.com/ Yes, I'm THAT mommy.
11. http://www.mommyneedscoffee.com/ Mommy Needs Coffee
12. http://www.elizabethlyons.com/blog Little Humans Being
13. http://murraycrew.blogspot.com/ 4tunate
14. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cripe Cripe's Sake yes, I know it's not a blog per se, but I check on Danielle's family & pray for them frequently
15. http://www.twomakesfour.com/ Two Makes Four

Congratulations on your nomination and please follow these instructions to nominate someone else:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.
2. Pass on the award to about 15 other bloggers who you recently discovered and think are great!
3. Contact the other bloggers and let them know they have been chosen for this award.
4. Say 7 things about yourself.


7 Things About Me-Myself-and I

1. Every generation in my family has multiples.  I have a fantastic picture of 4 sets of our fraternal twins taken at my brother's wedding. 

2. I'm the oldest of five kids.  Yep, you heard me.  I'm bossy like that.  (And though my sister & I fought like cats & dogs when we were younger, she's my closest friend now that we're 'grown up'.)

3. I wanted to have two kids before I turned 30.  I didn't realize I would get BOTH the month before my 30th birthday.

4. Since having the chicklets, I have become afraid of heights & deep water.

5. The year my husband was deployed was the toughest of my life.  Yell sleep-walked her way through the year -- resulting in my not sleeping soundly for most of the year.  Fun times.

6. The Muppets/Peanuts - awesome

7. I love Italian food, but the texture of cooked onions can 'do me in'.  Thanks, chicklets, for that oh-so-pleasant pregnancy leftover!

Way back when...a million or so coupons ago...

I used to be a coupon queen. I'd cut out, sort, plot, plan, and execute my attack. I'd coordinate all of this frenzy during the girls' gymnastics practice(s). I had a binder where I'd sort my coupons (by aisle of my fave store). I'd even have contests with Miss Magina to see who could save the most money. I roll my eyes in remembrance of such organization.

Since then, my twins are in middle-school activities, I've returned to full-time work, my coupons have largely been tucked into ziploc bags and thrown on a closet shelf, and the economy has dumped a port-a-potty in my checkbook. Time for a change!

Recently, I've been following BargainBriana (because bargains don't find themselves) and she's given me a chance to share the glories of saving $ again. I'm talking about her Frugal Map.

Her Frugal Map displays a list of $avvy Blogger$ who enjoy $aving their $ and $haring their experience$ with other$. Notice the $$$? Yep, they're adding up! The frugal map links you to your own state (or whatever state you select), and lists the bloggers' site(s) in your area. It's a pretty nifty way to use technology to your advantage. Maybe couponing/savings that can help pay for your high-speed internet or wireless mobile device?

Hmm, maybe I should make my computer habits pay for themselves (as they did in the past). Definitely a point to ponder.

Since we spend a number of hours at the pool each week, I'm thinking I may be able to squeeze the couponing into the otherwise wasted time (who am I kidding, that's when I catch up on Twitter!). I'll keep you posted on how it works on our next shopping trip.

Newbies to Blogging

One of our twins has been begging for a blog. Begging as in "driving me crazy" to have her own blog. Because she is NOT 18, I'm just not ready, willing, or able to let her have her own blog-o-sphere, so she'll sometimes be guest posting (and will likely be approving) many of the posts.

Tonight I'm reveling in the presence of the overnight guest who is keeping our fraternal girls occupied. My darling husband, Sapper, completely surprised me (should I admit that?) by agreeing to take a friend's son on a Cub Scout overnight -- her husband is currently in Iraq -- and essentially I have control of both the laptop and the remote. Weirdness abounds. I haven't had this since...well, I've slept (or have I?) since the last time that happened.

Hopefully we'll be able to keep family up-to-date on our crazy lives, I'll be able to get this creative-writing-bug out of my system, and the balm will be applied to Crab's desire to have her "own blog".