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Oh the internet.... In an effort to be a better wife/ mother, I am attempting to be "frugal"...
We will see how this works out...

Anyway; yada, yada, yada I spent 6 hours today looking up every feasible website invented to make my life easier/ save me money. A lot of them were just crap. A lot of them were too hard to navigate. Most did not actually offer any helpful coupons, and the ones designed to offer money saving tips/ good mommy ideas- were just plain stupid. (I don't need step by step instructions on how to change a diaper/ or navigate a supermarket, thank you!!)
And, after all my valuable time, I did find a few amazing deals and fun stuff.
Now, because I care... I thought I would share the best sites.
ENJOY!!

I went to 41 coupon sites. Most wanted money from you, to help you save money??? hmmmm.... Um, NO!
Some wanted you to sign up for a bunch of crap, some had NO helpful coupons.
BUT...
coupons.com was by far my favorite. I was offered hundreds of printable coupons! It was easy to select the ones I wanted, hit print, and now grocery shopping this week should be cheaper!
smartsource.com was similar.

shoplocal.com allows you to see all the ads for your area (good if you don't get the Sunday paper) However, it's easy to get distracted on this site by uselessness...

thecouponclippers.com one of the nations largest online grocery coupon clipping services, has more than a million national-brand and restaurant coupons at any given time. You can order coupons and for a small fee of a few cents per coupon, have them mailed to you. (a $1 coupon for coca-cola for 20 cents, ect...)
I am mixed about this one, because some of the coupons were REALLY good. like $4 dollars off a pack of Mark's favorite razors, and lots of baby coupons. The site was also very user friendly. But this is one of those that make you pay....

Now for my favorite find of the day...
paperbackswap.com
LOVE IT! Join the club online. Easy and FREE. post the books you want to share, Then find a book you want, just click the "Order this book" button. The books you receive are free and yours to keep. When another member requests one of your books, you accept the request and pay the postage to mail the book; they return the favor when they mail a book to you. Print mailing labels right from the website. (Typically, the postage is $2.23 to send a book) Credits are the unit of exchange. When your book is received you get a credit, which you can then use to order another book for yourself.
This was fun and easy, and there are a ton of books. Website is similar to Amazon with book descriptions and reviews. So much fun to navigate and play on this site. What a great idea!

starfall.com I've talked about this one before. Fun and FREE! For kids. Helps them learn letters and learn to read. We've been using this site for years. Peyton knew his alaphabet at 2, because of this site.

I am not a saver, and I do not spend time thinking of ways to save money. I think of ways to spend it...
But, dang-it-all! Kids are expensive! Diapers, formula, baby food, preschool.... I had to do something!
So, I hope my sharing will help you!

P.S. It was near impossible for me to find formula/ baby food coupons! If anyone knows how to score Enfamil coupons- let me know!
I currently signed up for "Enfamil family beginings" under like- 4 names to get them to mail me some...
Is it just me, or do they send you tons of coupons when your baby is brand new and you are determined to breast feed for a year.... Then they expire, so you throw them away. Then (for me) reality hits, I decide I want my boobs back by around 9 months and go to bottles. BUT, by then the coupon train has run dry...
So, I re-signed up giving Ryker a new B-day.... (I may go to hell, but so are the formula makers for charging me more than a car payment every month to feed my kid!!!)

Happiness!

What is Happiness?? Some days it's a full nights sleep, a clean kitchen, a diet soda, or just finding a good parking spot at the grocery store...
This week it has been 4 straight days off work and perfect weather to play with the loves of my life!
It's no small secret, that I never imagined my life would play out like this... But these days, I wouldn't want to be anyone else. I'm not a sappy, gooey person, but, Hello! Could the boys in my life be more perfect for me?!? A husband who makes me smile daily, Kids that make me laugh daily, friends that I talk to daily, and finally.... loosing 10 pounds this month and fitting back into pre-preggers jeans will make you the happiest girl in the neighborhood!

Happiness is a day at the zoo with your friend Carson and the giant green slide your mother let you play on for almost an hour!

Happiness is being big enough to ride the carousel.
Happiness is time with mom/ time with the kids, seeing your favorite animals, having a picnic lunch, getting ice cream and then naps in the car!!

Happiness is Ryker learning to crawl and finally being able to get to those toys that were "just" out of reach!

Happiness is learning to stand by the couch so you can be tall like your big brother! Happiness is lowering the crib, and watching my boys grow up and being excited at every small milestone!

Happiness is a brother you adore, and having built in friends in your family!

Happiness for Peyton is fall preschool, and getting out of the house for 3 hours, twice a week! Happiness is mom finally getting a hot shower every day now! Happiness is the cute new fall clothes I get to buy for my boys! Happiness is Mark being back on day shift and having family dinners again.

Happiness for Ryker is his 2 new teeth and a biter biscuit. Getting all messy and then having a bath! Happiness for mom is finally having the 2 teeth come in, the 20 mins of quiet bliss the biter biscuit provides and getting all clean!
Happiness is that both of my boys sleep -12 straight uninterrupted hours at night, and they way they look perfect and innocent while sleeping.

Island Park

The yearly tradition continues... This year with 6 of the 7 grand kids-whew! Lots and lots of work, but worth it!
The first collage is Big Springs, and feeding the GIANT fish! Beautiful! Great weather too. Just like every year, we see moose, Peyton was thrilled to pose for a picture with her.

Yellowstone fun! Top left is the kids waiting for Old Faithful, and finally the eruption... Ta Da! Worth the wait kids??? I don't know... but we got ice cream after, so that was good! I should mention that Peyton and Hayley are inseparable, and even after the 5 hour car ride home today, still wanted to play together! When asked what their favorite part of the trip was?? Watching movies in the car on the drive up.... Yup, really! I should also mention, It was my birthday on Yellowstone day- I celebrated by giving Ryker a bath in a bucket in the kitchen sink! Quite redneck, Oh, but he loved it! And he got clean! Then as soon as we fell asleep in our sleeping bag together... he peed on me! Thanks for the Birthday present Ry! Just what I wanted!

This collage is the scenic hike at Yellowstone. 2 miles, with 6 kids under 3. Need I repeat that?? 2 miles-- with 6 kids under 3! Peyton learned to pee in the woods, again very redneck, but oh, he loved it! I learned I'm out of shape, Peyton also fell 3 times, and learned to "watch where you're going!!" Mark learned Ryker is heavy, and again, I learned that- yes- Peyton will pick his nose in what would have been a great photo of us overlooking Yellowstone Lake!

Just outside the cabin is Moose Creek, my favorite childhood spot! Did you know I have 4 brothers, and 2 sons of my own. My oldest brother has 3 sons, and my next brother has the ONLY girl, Hayley (I feel for her, I really do. But she holds her own- don't worry) and 1 (new) son. So we have A LOT of boys! I think that this trip will continue on forever and become everyone's favorite, just like my own.
Lots of trout, and this time of year spawning Salmon. Lots of frogs and fun! And, no one fell in this year- close- but no one fell in!


So that is it. There were a few tears (OK- a lot of tears- 6 kids under 3.) A few "Bachman breaks" taken by Mark :) . Some scraped knees, 1 sliver in a little hand, 1 box of cheese crackers ground into my back seat, 1 (32) ounce diet Dr pepper spilled (by me) on the middle seat. 1 sleeping bag full of pee. 6 headaches, 1 bottle of Motrin, 1 moose, 1 night terror (are you serious!! Now Peyton! It's 1 AM and there is a cabin FULL of people....) 1 plastic cup thrown into the river which Rob Jr. enthusiasticly waded/swam into 30 degree water to retrieve-(Bachman's don't litter people!) 6 little dirty smiling faces, and 6 exhuasted adults!

But, again, no one fell into the creek, no one fell into the fire. We all made it home alive (barely). And now I have 100 loads of dirty laundry!