The Longest Thursday

I went to bed last night with such great expectations for today.  I had the Longest Thursday planned: Cleaning everything that became a mess during my 2 days of clinicals and 1 day of school, then I was going to make breadcrumbs for this Aldi Meal Plan I have been experimenting with so I could make Turkey Meatloaf for dinner tonight.  Somewhere in the day, I wanted to tackle some homework because I have 6 assignments, 1 exam review, and a 4 page surgical procedure record to do this week.

It’s the days that you have planned down to the end of the day that end up going haywire.. Poor Kennedy has a 102 temp that started in the middle of the night.  So duty has called.  The craziest things about these 2 year old girls is that for some reason if their medicine is of a pink variety they will take the entire syringe and push it in their own mouth.  The Children’s Motrin that we have on hand is dye-free, so I added a pen point drop of neon pink food coloring and WA-LA!  I don’t know why I haven’t thought about food coloring before!

Now, she’s laying on the couch all snuggled up watching Dora the Explorer with Haven.  Haven is being such a good ‘big sister’ (she was born a whole 1 minute before Kennedy) and it makes my heart happy.

I may not get the Longest Thursday to-do list accomplished, but the snuggles, cuddles, and time spent making 1 sick baby girl feel better is SO MUCH MORE worth my time.  Everything always gets done eventually! 🙂

Plan Your Week, Shopping List, & Meals

Planners are so expensive and usually, they lack the layout you like.  You’re never able to fit everything you want on one page… Well, I found a crafty website, Artsy Fartsy Mama, that posted an awesome printable weekly planner!  The best thing about printable planners is that you don’t have to bind them to anything, so if you’re on the run, you can just grab your page for that week and have your shopping list, menu, and to-dos with you!  Or you can post them on the fridge so your family can keep track of your plans and the menu.  So awesome!  Click on the planner image to be directed to the webpage related 🙂

 

I Dominated Today With 1 Coupon

 

Today, I woke up feeling… AWAKE for once!  I had energy and the motivation to go with it.  That motivation took me to my computer where I printed off one simple coupon that led me to saving about $75  in one stop.  The coupon was only {and I use only lightly} 40% off from Hobby Lobby but this coupon got me out of my house.  I saw sunlight, I breathed fresh air, I got dressed, I… was unchained from the bindings from this house! 🙂  All kidding aside, I got to use a gift card that I received for Christmas combined with this coupon to total over $100 stuff for $9 from my pocket.  I’ll call that a WIN 🙂

This one coupon also got me back on the printing coupons online kick, again.  To coupon effectively, though, you need to be aware of your retailers rules and regulations when it comes to coupons.  You can find a good list here.  Just scroll down to find the list of retailers and click on the appropriate one.

Once you have the rules down, it’s time to print!  Here are some good coupon printing sites:

• Target Coupons – Note these are NOT manufacturer coupons, so they will stack with any manufacturer coupons you have.
• Coupons.Com – Loads of manufacturer coupons
• SmartSource – Loads of even more manufacturer coupons
• CVS – While these aren’t necessarily printable coupons, CVS has the best deals for ‘bang for you buck’.  It also has the most lenient couponing rules, as they allow you to use a BOGO Free coupon on their BOGO deals to get both items free, in example.  That paired with CVS bucks and you are getting back what you spend.

I also added a new page ‘Printables‘ to my blog, under the ‘Resources’ tab!  There you will find more printable jewels for living, crafting, budgeting, and more!

If you have any couponing advise or additional places for online printing, let me know!

Turning Insanity Into Sanity

You wake up and everything gradually tumbles downhill.  No matter how positive you try to be, everything ends up negative.  Everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong.  Your house is a disaster, your kids are making messes faster than your tired hands can clean them, and objects are broken.  You try to unwind from the tornado, but nothing you attempt seems to make you happy or make things better.

Does this sound like a day you have had lately?  If you’re a mother, I’m willing to bet that it is.  And I’m willing to bet that you probably went to bed with the frustration of the day still hovering over you.  I have gone to bed like that several times, and why?  In the midst of the crazy you need to remember that YOU matter.  Even better, your SANITY MATTERS.

I’m going to share with you 4 simple things that make me feel more like a human, less like a robot, and SANE.

1- My first resort: PERFUME

My favorite scent right now!

It’s amazing what a good scent can do!  Not only do I spray some perfume when I need to calm down, but I also use it before studying/taking exams, and it makes all the difference in the world.

2- My second resort: SWEATPANTS

Nothing is better than your favorite pair of comfy sweatpants!

I don’t know about you, but the first thing I do when I get home is throw on some comfy sweatpants.  It makes me feel like I can breath.

3- Thrid resort:  MAKEUP

When you feel attractive, your attitude is attractive!

Even if you are not the ‘makeup’ type {and by that, I mean the type that prefers not to wear eye makeup, blush, or things that make you look like you have make up on} you can’t deny that a little coverage on your discolored spots, blemishes (or any thing that you want to conceal ) can make you feel a little sparkly.  Especially when you’re a mother, it’s a rare occasion that you get to throw some makeup, get dressed up, and feel like yourself.  So even if you don’t have anywhere to go, DO IT!

4- Fourth resort: When all else fails.. pull out the comfy footwear! In my case, TOE SOCKS!

I’m not normally a ‘sock’ person {I prefer bare feet}, but toe socks hit the spot when I’m down in the dumps!

If none of these things are your normal ‘go tos’, I would say try them {there’s nothing to lose when you’re already having a terrible day, right?}. Or maybe you should just utilize those things that you DO love more often.  Take the time to take care of yourself!  Even if it’s something as little as smelling good, dolling your face up, or wearing comfy clothes.

What do YOU do to turn your insanity into sanity? Let me know!

Getting Over the Hump

By ‘Getting Over the Hump’ I was referring to hump day. This has been the longest day that I’ve had in quite awhile! Only having 4 hours a sleep probably didn’t help.. But when the girls are sick it’s my turn to be the super hero that they have taught me to be!

I’ve learned from the best..

Today was an 11 hour class day.. That started off with my phone getting misplaced into my bag, so I ran around the house for 30 minutes looking for it in pure panic. I eventually gave up, and I concluded Sean or one of the girls made away with it. This caused me to be late to class {resulting in point loss} what a good way to start the day.

Post traumatic beginning, an 8 hour lecture followed by a 3 hour lecture. I was asleep {in the front row} of the 3 hour lecture for 90% of the class. When I finally got out of school, it was raining {I mean POURING} tidal waves.

Even though everything about this day truly sucked, it was all erased emotionally when I got home to my family. Hearing my girls squeal in joy to see me makes this hump day seem more like a tiny bump!

[Disclaimer: forgive me if there are mistakes, I’m trying out posting from my phone since I’m too tired to be anywhere but my comfy bed!]