My daughter and her friend have taken up an interesting new hobby--photography and videos. This basically means no one is safe as they are always trying to snap a picture, preferably of a family member in an embarrassing position to send to America's Funniest Home Videos.  ("But Mom, we could win $10,000 dollars and all you have to do is fall and roll down that slide again!"  See the post below, in which I was not seriously injured, to understand that comment.)

Here are some of the latest shots which were taken in our neighborhood.

Another plus is that you can also see how closely her haircut resembles mine.

Her dress is actually supposed to be for "Old Fashioned Sunday," which we celebrate annually at our church. 

I'm off to hide the camera before any embarrassing shots can be taken.  Join Mary for lots of fun show and tells or to join us.

Have you ever done something that you consider not to smart just to make your kids happy?  My kids are always wanting me to spend "quality time" with them.  However, their idea of quality time and my idea of quality time are not the same.  (I mean, I think everyone could bond over weeding the garden.)

On our recent vacation in May, my husband allowed our children to search online for places they might want to visit when we were in St. Louis.  (This is a mistake. Do Not Do This!  Your child will pick out the most dangerous place imaginable.)  My daughter, who obviously has a death wish for her mother, picked out a place called the "City Museum."

Keep in mind that I do not like heights.  Of course, what is the first thing she wants to do at this museum?  Climb a metal tunnel that goes up four stories in the air!  And what does she say?  "Come with me Mom.  It'll be fun!"

Then, she asked me to climb through some sort of metal torture chamber with her.

Thankfully, my husband was laughing to hard to get a picture of me climbing to the top of the rope ladder, falling off, and rolling down the slide beneath it.  (Actually, this seemed to provide humor for most of the bystanders.  Glad I could brighten everyone's day.)

Naturally, having spent quality time with my daughter, I'm sure she'll want to spend quality time with me in the garden.     Join Amy for more Mothering on Mondays or to join us!

It feels like it has been forever since I was able to post a "Show and Tell" with Mary.  I have missed everyone!  Earlier this week I posted a column here about how my daughter and I had accidentally gotten the same haircut.  Several people asked for a "comparision photo."  So, here's my daughter and what her haircut should actually look like:

This is how she changed her hair when she got home:

This is my new hair (I noticed that I changed the part on mine without realizing it! Plus, I am not sure why photos of me always turn out blurry. Hmmm...)  My hair is always "poufy."

I think we have now changed the styles enough that my daughter should not worry we will look alike now.

Just today my husband was asking me, "What do you blog about?" My reply, "Our family and some of the things we do.  It's not exactly classic literature."
Then, when I checked my blog, I saw that Robyn had asked me to do a hubby tag.  This should provide some interesting reading for our kids, who like to read my blog.

1. WHO IS YOUR MAN ? Bryan

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER?  21 yrs. (married for 19 )

3. HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? 2years and 2months--well, it would have been two months if we'd waited eleven more days for the wedding.

4. HOW OLD IS YOUR MAN? 42

5. WHO EATS MORE? Him, hands down.

6. WHO SAID I LOVE YOU FIRST? I couldn't remember, so I had to ask my hubby. He *says* he did.

7. WHO IS TALLER? He is. He's 6"3. I'm 5"5.

8. WHO SINGS BETTER? Me. He hates to sing. I don't think I've heard him sing in twenty years.

9.WHO IS SMARTER? I asked my hubby and son and they both said me. So, I will just accept their answer.

10. WHOSE TEMPER IS WORSE? Hubby refused to answer this one, just said," Hmmm."  But,the truth is that it's me.

11. WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY? I do.

12.WHO TAKES OUT THE GARBAGE? Me. He works out of town several days a week and someone has to drag it out on garbage day!

13. WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? He does.

14.WHO PAYS THE BILLS? He does usually. Sometimes he calls home from out of town and asks if I will pay one.

15. WHO IS BETTER WITH THE COMPUTER? Me. He always calls me if there is a problem.

16.WHO MOWS THE LAWN? I usually do, but he runs the weed eater. I like to mow, I can relax with my thoughts.

17.WHO COOKS DINNER? Me. The kids hate their father's cooking abilities.

18. WHO DRIVES WHEN YOU'RE TOGETHER? He does.

19. WHO PAYS WHEN YOU GO OUT? He does, unless he's running short of cash, then he asks me for money.

20. WHO IS MOST STUBBORN? It depends on the situation. I think we are equally stubborn.

21. WHO IS THE FIRST TO ADMIT WHEN THEY ARE WRONG? I think this is equal too. We rarely argue, so I don't know. (When my husband worked five days or more out of town each week, we didn't even see each other to have disagreements!)

22. WHOSE PARENTS DO YO SEE THE MOST? My dad. He's living with us for a while. 

23. WHO KISSED WHOM FIRST? He says he did, but he is not remembering correctly. He kept trying to work up his nerve. After forty five minutes, I kissed him.

24. WHO ASKED WHO OUT? As strange as this sounds, neither of us.  We were friends who went out as a group and we just sort of separated from the group into a couple.

25. WHO PROPOSED? He says he did, but I honestly don't remember.  I think it was one of those, "We've been dating for a while, so why don't we get married?" things.

26. WHO IS MORE SENSITIVE? Me. The kids think I have  PMS all month long.

27. WHO HAS MORE FRIENDS? Me.  He has several friends, but I think I have more because I am more outgoing. He is shy.

28. WHO HAS MORE SIBLINGS? He does. He has a brother, but I'm an only child.

29. WHO WEARS THE PANTS IN THE FAMILY? Both of us. I don't like dresses.

30. HOW DID YOU MEET? We met in the most boring college microeconomic class in the history of the universe. All I remember from the class is "marginal utiles" and my hubby.

This is a neat tag. I hope the five people I tag will want to participate!  Here's my list:   (I am using blogger names of some friends in case they don't want their name posted. Plus, I am trying to get a few people I haven't tagged before.)

dcellis
Farrah
Julie
hsmomkiki
Bradford Chemist

Have you ever noticed how easily you can "ruin your child's life?" Last week my daughter asked for a new haircut. She brought pictures of how she envisioned this new cut would look and asked my opinion.  As we pored through hair style magazines, I decided a new look would not be a bad thing for me either.  (How many years can one person have the same hairstyle? hmmmm.....)
After the two of us decided on completely different hairstyles, we shared our vision with the hair stylist who agreed that both of us would look great in the new 'dos.
The hairstylist worked hard on both our styles and then looked to us for approval.  My daughter looked aghast.  "You have the exact same style as me, Mom!  Do something!  What sane teenager wants to have the same hairstyle as their mom?"  (As we both have short haircuts the only thing I could do to be different was shave my head. Not an option.) 

But this made me think. What do I give my child besides, obviously, embarrassment?
1. Unconditional love
2. Trust
3. Acceptance
4. Support
5. A secure, loving family
I hope someday my children will look back on these lessons and share what they learned from me with their children.  (Hopefully, they will not have to share haircuts! )

Join Amy  for more Mondays on Mothering or to join us!  Also, I am hosting a book contest on my book review blog to win a copy of Dr. Gary Chapman's new book, "Love as a way of Life."  Go here for a chance to win.

Several people have asked me how I am able to save money at CVS.  While I am no expert, I will share a few things I have learned to help you get started.
The first thing to do is visit a CVS store and register for an "Extra Care" card.  You can also register for a card online at www.CVS.com .  When you receive your card, register online at www.cvs.com  for the "extra care email offers." They will immediately send you an email with c oupon for  $4.00 off $20.00 purchase.  Print out the email to take to the store with you.
While you are at the store pick up a copy of the "CVS extra value book" for the month.  This book will tell you offers that will print "Extra care bucks" which can be spent like cash in CVS stores.

The second thing to do is collect coupons to take to the store with you.  You can get these coupons online or in your Sunday paper.

The "trick" to successful CVS shopping is to collect "extra care bucks" to help pay for your purchases and to combine coupons with sales.  Look for products that you can use in the monthly and weekly ad. 

An example of a scenerio you could use this week.

I found the following products on sale this week:

Pert Shampoo  2/$5.00
Honey Bunches of Oats (buy one get one free) $4.29
2 Pledge Dusting Sprays  $9.18    ---  will earn two extra care bucks
15 count CVS make up remover  $2.99 --- will earn one extra care buck

The total of this transaction is $22.46 (plus tax)

Now, I will use coupons to lower my total:
CVS $4 off of $20.00 coupon   Important note: ALWAYS give this coupon first. If you try to give these coupons at the end of the purchase when the total is lower than $20.00, the store will not accept them.   (-$4.00)
2 $2.00 off any Pert Shampoo   (- $4.00)   Coupons found in the Sunday paper on 7/6/08
2  $2.00 off Honey Bunches of Oats  (-$4.00)  Coupons found online  here  and here.
1 buy one get one free coupon for Pledge  (-$4.59)  from recent Sunday paper
1 $2.00 off any two pledge products         (-$2.00)      from recent Sunday paper
1 $2.00 off any CVS skincare product   (-$2.00) Coupon found online here.

Your total is now $1.87 (plus tax.)  You will have gotten all these products and earned 3 extra care bucks!

Use the extra care bucks to buy other good deals that you need or use.  Usually, you must make several smaller purchases than one large one to get "good deals."

  Try this transaction  (which is good the entire month of July.)

Buy two Sure deodorant for $2.69 each. 
Total should be $5.38. 
Use two Sure deodorant coupons for $1.00 off from your Sunday paper or from online  (here.) 
Total is now $3.38. 
Spend your three extra care bucks and pay only 38 cents (plus tax) for two Sure deodorants.  Plus, this deal will give you three more extra care bucks. 

You could (this week only) take the 3 extra care bucks and  buy a pack of Playtex tampons for $4.49. 
If you use a $1.00 coupon-- from a recent Sunday paper (6/21/08)  and the 3 Extra Care bucks, you will purchase the  tampons for 49 cents (plus tax.) 
You will also earn three more extra care bucks.

You have bought all this for 88 cents (plus tax) and still have three extra care bucks.

Save the reward bucks until next week and find more deals that work for you!  Extra Care Bucks will expire within a month of being issued, so be sure you use them before the month is over!


If you do not have a CVS near you, you can find some good deals at Walgreens using their "Register Rewards" program.  The "Register Rewards" can be used the same way as "Extra Care bucks."
You do not have to apply for a special card from Walgreens.  Walgreens also has their own coupon book (which you can find near the sales ads). You can combine these with your own coupons from the Sunday paper to save even more.

A recent example from a previous trip:

2 bags Hersheys's Bliss candy-- $5.98
1 Walgreens Super Saver Coupon --$1.00
1 Buy one get one free coupon from Sunday paper-- $2.99
Total : $1.98 for two bags candy

Walgreen's Register reward bucks also expire quickly, so keep an eye on the dates. 
Let me know if this helped you or if you need any more information!