I have a sick baby in the house today and will be lacking in the blog post department.

Have a picture here of our dear Little Bear sleeping on the couch to share with ya'll but for some reason my new laptop is not reading the memory card. Pooters! Maybe when DH comes home from work he can figure it out. I'm at a loss right now.

Update on the new desk.....Dh spent two hours last night and it's all assembled minus the molding. He believes it'll only take an hour tonight and it will be complete. Funny, out of 64+ reviews they all said anywhere from 9-12 hours production time. My DH is GOOD! It will only take him three by the time all is said and done. He rocks! :)

Whelp, Little Bear is coughing and due for her next temperature check and tylenol dosage...Duty calls..........

I've really been lacking in this department the last few weeks. My menu planning mojo has been in hibernation and I really need to wake it up. I've been spending more on frozen, prepared foods than homemade foods and it's really disheartening to me. I know it is not budget friendly nor is it the most nutritious for my family.

Monday ~ Chicken Pot Pies

Tuesday ~ BLT sandwiches, Curly Fries

Wednesday ~ Lasagna, Salad

Thursday ~ Beef Stew, Buttermilk Bisquits

Friday ~ Pizza Night (This is a weekly event and Dh looks forward to it every week)

Saturday ~ French Toast

Sunday ~ Loving Leftovers

Isn't she pretty? She's from the Better Homes & Garden line at Walmart.

Dh, Little Bear and I went to Walmart yesterday in search of a desk. I desperately need one for my Avon business and Home Management. As it stands now, Dh and I have a little corner desk from when we had the pc downstairs. It is small but did the job. Since moving it up into the "office" it's since started to gain tons of clutter of Dh's stuff and well, just not enough space for me to conduct my Avon business tasks or any Home Management task that I might need to fulfill. It was time that we had "his" and "her's" desks.

When shopping for my desk it had to meet two criteria. One, it had to be reasonable in price. Preferrably $99 but no more than $150. Two, it had to have enough storage that I could be the organizing queen i've grown to be. This desk managed to fit both categories!

I love the fact that it has the little cubbies up above. It can easily fit a few baskets (as shown) and I can use them for various things. Right now, I am thinking one cubbie for my coupons (that either need to be clipped and/or filed). Another cubbie for bills that need to be paid and/or filed. With the other two cubbies being designated for my Avon business. Tho I am not exactly sure for what exactly - possibly one regarding my Customers and one regarding my Downline Members.

That long middle drawer in the center is fabulous. One would think it is a drawer for pens, etc, yes? Nope. It's a keyboard drawer. The front comes down and the drawer slides out. What a great idea!!!

The pc tower cabinet is great to keep Little Bear's hands out of reach. (Tho truth be told I use my laptop now more than the actual pc tower). It also has a filing cabinet on the lower right. I plan to use this for my Avon business. I have lots of files I need to file away.

The only downside to this desk is that the drawer above the bottom right one. You would think it is another filing cabinet, yes? Wrong. It's just making you think that. It's really just a deep storage cabinet. I'm not a big fan of that idea. I was looking forward to having two seperate filing drawers - one for Home and one for my business. Now, I dont know what i'm going to do with it. As it stands now, it looks like a storage section that will end up being used for junk because things will get lost in it. That is unless I can find some way to make this into a filing drawer instead....Hmmmm........thoughts? would it be possible???

Once it's assembled (Rumor has it with the reviews it is a 9-11 hour project) and have it all organized I will take pictures to show all of you. Dh is going to do a little bit at a time. I'm hoping to have it up and ready by the end of the week. :)

Saturday nights used to be the night that Dh and I would rent movies. Over the last few months tho it seems that there really has not been anything to interest us. Well, we are now finding a selection that we can start renting again. Yippy!

This weekend we rented Transporter 3 (Dh's choice) and Twilight (My choice). I have been dying to see this movie since it was released.

I just totally loved this movie. There isn't anything for me to say here that hasn't already been said all over the internet except..FABULOUS! And yes! I must read the books now! The entire series!

I am usually the type of gal that will read the book before I watch the movie. It just so happens that it wasn't the case this time around. Now I am wishing I read it before I watched it. However, my old friend Aimee informs me she watched before she read and she actually liked that better this time around because not only did she have a face she could put to the character but it helped her to really get into the book. *shrug* In Aimee's case, she watched the movie then the very next day ran out and bought all four books. She managed to read them all in one week. I may not have the time or devotion to accomplish all of that - after all, I do have a 15 month old to tend to. But I will manage to find time to read these books. Tho I have heard that it is VERY hard to put down once you start. This may pose a problem for me in the future. I tend to get very frustrated if I get so into a book and get interrupted before I get finished. Truth be told, I have not picked up a book since pre-baby days. It's been a long time but I have missed it greatly and this series seems to be a great way to reintroduce my life back to reading. :)

So sorry for being MIA since Monday. It's been one hellofa week. Dh took a side job this week and has been working his day job then going and doing the side job right after. He normally lends me that extra hand during the evening hours to tend to Little Bear and some lead way to get a few other things done. Since that extra help is not available, I've been pretty strapped with pc time.

Work has been pretty steady this week and when I'm not doing my "day" job or tending to my family, I'm spending the rest of my free time building my AVON business.

My AVON business is doing great!!!! I now have eight in my downline!!! :) Sadly, one went into inactive state so I technically only have seven now. :( (Ah well, you keep some, you loose some.) Once everyone submits their payments next week for their previous sales campaign, I will have obtained UNIT LEADER status. Wahoo!! So excited. This means I can now start earning Bonus Checks off of their sales. SWEET!!!!!!!! I cannot wait. I actually only need two of my gals to submit their payments. You see, you need five successful recruits to obtain Unit Leader status. A successful recruit is a person who has placed and paid for their first order of $50 or more. It's pretty simple and easy but AVON wont title you until they make that payment. I'm an impatient person you know. ;)

It looks like a slow AVON weekend for me too. Thank goodness. My order delivery weekends are so chaotic. Last weekend especially since I was also appointing new recruits. The only real AVON job I have to do this weekend is to distribute next campaigns books. I might be appointing another recruit this weekend too. She hasn't called back yet tho and I don't have her contact number so we'll see what happens.

Since Dh is working the side job all this weekend, it's just Little Bear and me. If the possible recruit does not call this weekend, that's okay with me. I could use some down time and especially with Little Bear. The weather is supposed to be crappy this weekend so it will make for good indoor time spent with her. :) I've got a weekend planned full of playing "Chase", watching Disney films and playing with edible finger paint!

And on that note....I really must be getting back to work......Til next time folks!

Walgreens has a great register rewards deal going on this week for Huggies. Isn't this pefect for the Huggies coupons that were made available this week? I am going to give you my scenario on how you can get some really cheap diapers this week.

Buy 3 packs of Huggies diapers for $30.
Use 3 of the $5.00 off of Huggies coupon.
Total after coupons is $15.
Receive $10 in register rewards.
Total after register rewards is $5.

Remember those fabulous $5 and $3 coupons for Huggies that I was telling you about last week. GUESS WHAT! Coupons.com reset their system. So, for those of you that printed two off last week, you can print off two more this week! Hurry! Act now before the limit is reached!!! (Coupons can be located on my right side bar under "Print and Save")

WEEKLY ECB DEALS
Buy Crest Pro-Health 4.2 oz. $2.99, Get $ 2 ECBs (limit 1) Use $1/1 from the 2/8 PG insert. FREE or .25 cents after coupon and ECBs

Buy 3 Garnier Fructis Hair Care Products $10, Get $5 ECBs (limit 1) Use (3) $1/1 from the 1/4 RP or 2/8 RP inserts Get 3 for $2 after coupons and ECBs!

Buy 3 General Mills Cereal $10, Get $5 ECBs (limit 1) Use (3 ) .75/1 printable coupons Get 3 for $2.75 after coupon and ECBs

Herbal Essence $2.88, Get 1 ECB (limit 6)
Buy 2, use $3/2 from the 2/8 PG insertPay $0.76 for 2 after coupons and ECBs

Palmolive $1.49, Get 1 ECB (limit 2) Pay $0.49 each after ECBs

Secret Flawless Deodorant $3.99, Get 1 ECB (limit 1) Use $2/1 from the 2/22 RP insertPay $0.99 each after coupon and ECBs

WEEKLY OTHER DEALS
Arm & Hammer $6.99 BOGOUse (2) $1/1 printable coupons Pay $5 for two after coupons

Renuzit Tri Scents Starter Kit $4.99 Use $4/1 from the 2/22 SS insert Pay $0.99 each after coupon

Zone Perfect Bars $1 Use $1/1 from the 3/1 SS insert FREE after coupon

MONTHLY CVS DEALS
CVS Pharmacy Vitamin D 400, 100 ct $2.99 Get $2.99 ECBs (limit 1) FREE after ECBs

Caribou Coffee wants to help you adjust to Daylight Savings Time.

One less hour of sleep makes for a rough start to the work week! Visit Caribou Coffee this Sunday, March 8 and Monday, March 9 and receive a FREE espresso shot either solo or added to your favorite drink. Click here to find the location nearest you.

Don't forget to advance your clocks on Saturday night or Sunday morning!

Coupons.com has done it again. They have provided us with two wonderful coupons this month for Huggies diapers. Go to the Coupons.com widget to the right under Print and Save to print off:
$5.oo off of one Huggies Gentle Care diaper product.
$3.00 off of one Huggies Natural Fit diaper product.

These are fabulous coupons and they can each be printed off twice. Another tip? From Deal Seeking Mom: You’ll want to hold onto these until the week of March 8th. Walgreens will have them on sale for $10 each. When you buy $25 you will get $10 in register rewards back. Now would be the time to stockpile on your baby care items.

Coupons.com is providing us with more diversified coupons on their site. Please remember that you can support my site by printing these coupons out straight off of my sidebar by using the Coupons.com widget on the right under Print and Save. Thank you!

$1.50 off any one Dove Cream Oil body wash.
$1.00 off any V8 Vegetable Juice.
$1.00 off of one Tylenol Extra Strength product. (Excluding trial sizes.)
$1.00 off any full size Pert Plus shampoo.

Today's Redbox code is MS72K3. . This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Side Notes:
- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.
- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

Happy Freebie Friday!

Here are some of this week's freebies.

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse (Walmart)
Selsun Blue (Walmart)
Always Infinity (Walmart)
Poise (Walmart)
Tena Serenity Ultimate (Walmart)
Dove Ultimate (for bloggers/online enthusiasts)

Kashi Frozen EntreeParent's Choice Infant Formula (Walmart)
Metamucil (Walmart)
Benefiber (Walmart)

Bob Evans Free Kids Meal & Drink Offer (sent via email after you sign-up for the club)

Food freebies are so much fun!!! Especially when I need some real comfort food (Shhh! Don't tell Le' Genie! I'm supposed to be dieting down.)

If you sign up for Wendy's email list, they will send you a coupon in your inbox for $1.00 off of anything on their menu. Hello dollar menu! With this nifty little $1.00 off coupon I can score one free item off of that menu. Score!!!! Time to go get myself a junior cheeseburger. yum, yum!

As most of you are aware, I currently have one child - Little Bear at age 14 months. She is obviously still in diapers. I always knew that you would go through a ton of diapers. I did not, however, realize the amount of baby wipes we would be using. Needless to say, I ended up with quite the collection of baby wipes containers. At first, I would just toss them into the recycling bin. One day, I had come across Mount Plastic (ie the huge pile/collection of plastic grocery bags from when DH went shopping and refused to use my canvas bags). There had to be a better way to store these. After some research, I came across a Mommy blog who suggested baby wipes containers for storage. Brilliant!!! This one little idea opened up a whole world of uses for these fabulous, sturdy containers. Every since then I have yet to throw another one away. "Honey, don't throw that out. We can use that to store Little Bear's hair clips in." At first, I would receive this "are you kidding me" look but after awhile, he warmed up to the idea and I'd like to say he loves them as much as I do now.

Here are just a few ways that you can recycle and reuse your baby wipes containers......

Storing plastic grocery bags - Keep one in the kitchen or keep one in the car. They keep them neat, tidy and in a convenient location for easy access when needed.

Hair clips/bows holder - Let's face it, if you have a little girl you will accummulate A LOT of hair clips and bows. After all, we need one for every outfit. (hee-hee!) These neat little containers keep them all in one place making them easier to find. Far better than finding one on the floor under the crib and the matching one somewhere downstairs by the dog toys.

First Aid Kit - With hubby's career path, we get a lot of injuries (cuts, scrapes and burns) in our house. We were forever looking for this or that when it came to first aid. We needed a first aid kit and we needed one upstairs, one downstairs and one in the basement. Solution ---- baby wipes containers. They were the perfect size to store everything we needed.

Manicure/Pedicure Station - Little Bear recently found my pretty little blue and white basket that I used to store all of my manicure/pedicure supplies. It was the perfect size to store everything I needed and it was super cute. (Got it on clearance at Target) After she was done with it, let's just say it was no longer cute or useable. LOL!!! Solution --- baby wipes container. Let's see that little girl get access to my supplies now. bwahahahaha!

Mini Toy Box - Great solution for some small toys to keep in the car for traveling amusement. It stays in the car at all times and instead of having the toys thrown all over the back seat when you are done you just put them back in the wipes container, close the lid and walah! Instant Organization. Now that's what i'm talking about.

Missing Socks Storage - You cannot tell me you do not have Sir Lone Sock laying around in your laundry room. Well, I found a solution to the temporary home for Sir Lone Sock - baby wipes container. Looking for the Mr or Mrs in your sock marriage? No problem. Go take a look in the baby wipes container.

As you can see, the uses for this wonderful little container are endless. If you have a few empty baby wipes containers laying around your house do not throw them away. Instead, I welcome you - no, I challenge you - to take a look around your house and see what you could do to recycle/reuse that empty baby wipes container.


Do you have a TILT to share? Something you just love having around? Head over to the Diaper Diaries and join in, or just visit others who are sharing their TILT.

Last week on Works for Me Wednesday I featured Edible Playdough. This week, I want to feature Edible Finger Paint. Why? Because it Works for Me (and because it's Frugal of course)

I love Edible Finger Paint. It can keep Little Bear occupied for at least an hour. Not only that but since she's very curious about how everything tastes (she's only 14 months old, ya know) I do not have to worry about her taste testing the product. There is no chemicals to worry about!!

What you will need:
Plain Yogurt (Vanilla Pudding will also work)
Food Coloring (Regular or Gel)

Choose your painting location–preferably in a contained space. We used the high chair. Easy to clean up, and the finger paint can’t run away and paint the wall.

Just mix up some colored yogurt (We used plain, unsweetened, unflavored yogurt, so it’s not so tasty on its own that the kid wants to eat it all and not paint with it) and a small amount of food coloring in the yogurt, give the kid some paper, and let them go! You don’t need that much food coloring because when the yogurt dries, the color is actually darker on the paper than it is when it’s wet. Also, you don’t want the paint to be so dark that it stains the kid and whatever he touches. Basically the same theory applies as it does to the cake decorating food coloring - a little goes a long way.

Clean up is easy. Just use a washcloth/sponge, and soapy water. Depending on how messy the child is, you might be able to wipe them down, or you might prefer to toss them into the bathtub. I don't know about yout but I preferred the bath time after route. Yogurt is a dairy product and already a sour-smelling product as it is - I did not want Little Bear to be walking around with it left on her, if you know what I mean.

Another fun option to this fun and exciting adventure - give them the yogurt and stick them in the bathtub with no water and let them paint away - walls, tub, doesn't matter. When they are done, just give them a bath. I have yet to try this but plan to do so the next time around. Little Bear loves her bath time and I'm sure this will make for an even better experience for her.

You know, it's funny. I was thinking of buying finger paints before I tried this, but I like this more because it’s free (as long as we already have the supplies on hand) and because it’s edible and washable. The paintings look nice when they’re dry, too!


Sorry folks, no pictures for this blog entry. I'll be sure to take pictures of the next Edible Finger Painting Project and post then. ;)

For more Wordless Wednesday Photos, Visit 5 Minutes for Moms