If you haven’t purchased your February issue of All You magazine, there’s still time!  Use today’s $.50 off All You magazine coupon to buy it at a discount.  Click on the coupon below to print it. 

$0.50 off All You February Issue GET COUPON

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

The minimalist purge continues, and I tackled the coolies (baby teething toys).  Now only does my youngest show a very uncommitted interest in chewing on these, but we had so many you’d think she used them 24 hours a day!

Before Minimalist

Before the minimalist teething toy purge we had 16 coolies (only 14 are pictured because 2 were in the dishwasher). Several in the photo are duplicates of the same exact toy!

During the Minimalist Process

I pared it down to what I thought would be a smaller but functional selection of 6 coolies and, satisfied with the elimination of 10 unneeded teething toys, I took this photo:

After Minimalist

One thing about minimalist purging, however, is that the more you let go of, the easier it is to get rid of a few more!  After I took the “after picture” I got rid of the 2 green ducks that made up the middle row.  yes, that’s right, our final statistics are as follows:

Before – 16

After – 4

Total eliminated – 12 items (75%)

We eliminated 75% of our coolies and still have more than my daughter will want!  Start purging today if you’re still toying with the idea of going minimalist.  You’ll see right away how freeing it is to live with less stuff!

If you’re still searching for the perfect way to get your online life organized, then clipix might be it.

Clipix is an online clipboard center where you can clip your links, blogs, pictures, plans, and more.  You group your items into separate boards that each have their own names.  You can also share certain boards (called syncboards) with other people so you can both clip to them in real time and see what the other has added!

You don’t have to register with a new username and password either, since it allows you to set up a new Clipix account with either your facebook or twitter login.

You drag the bookmarklet button up to your toolbar and then you can use it anywhere online.  When you click on the Clip button, if there is more than one picture on the page it will show you all of them and let you choose which one you want to clip.  From that screen you can choose to share on facebook as well.  If you can’t visualize how it works, check out the Clipix YouTube video below.

Here is a screenshot of my boards so far (minimalist, cupcakes, blogs to check out, tablescapes):

You can see that I have a board called “cupcakes” now.  I could also create a multiboard called “food” and move in the cupcakes board, as well as one for dinners, cakepops, and other recipes to keep them all organized.

Here is my “tablescapes” board, which can be rearranged from the individual board’s screen:

My favorite idea so far is for planning a family vacation using Clipix. You could create a multiboard called “Disneyland Vacation”.  Inside that board, you could create “other area attractions”, “restaurants to visit”, “souvenirs to buy”, etc. If you share that board as a syncboard with your husband, he can add things to it as he thinks of them also.

To make Clipix even more portable, they made an iPhone app where you can take photos on the go and clip them!  I love sharing my clips on facebook so my readers can get links to useful sites I find when I don’t have time to blog about it. 

Go register for your free account at Clipix so you can start organizing your boards now!  How would you use it to get organized and streamlined?  What would you use Clipix for?  Let us know in the comments below.

Promoted Post

We’re going minimalist, and there is a common misconception that babies ‘need so much stuff’.  How many times have you heard (or said) that very phrase?  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and if you believe that babies need lots of gear, all the extra stuff will find it’s way into your house. 

Trust me, you’ll look around one day and wonder (if you haven’t already), “Where did all this baby stuff come from?  Some of it has never been used…”  You can , in fact, be minimalist with babies!

Our minimalist switch has continued to every member of the family, and that includes the babies.  We were supposed to have enough bibs in these two kitchen bins for our two youngest toddlers.  What we really had was enough to outfit an entire daycare!

Before Minimalist

Here is our baby bibs supply before we went minimalist:

What a mess!  We had 2 bins for 2 kids, and on top of that, both of them were overflowing.  We cut down over 50% of the bibs we own.  After purging half of the clutter, we had one nice and neat bibs bin that everything fit in nicely. 

After Minimalist

Here is our baby bibs supply after we went minimalist.

You know our minimalist overhaul is almost done, but I’m still working around the clock for the next few days to rid our lives of all the clutter.  Stay tuned for more before and after pictures during our minimalist journey!

For more before and after projects, visit Delightfully Inspiring, Metamorphosis Monday and Tackle it Tuesday.

It’s true- we’re getting rid of everything.  Well, almost everything.  My minimalist processes over the last year had finally come to a brilliant eruption with our new circumstances of selling our house and moving out of Alaska. 

I’ve found each day of decluttering during the last month to be challenging and liberating at the same time.  I’m going through every single box, every drawer, even paperclips- I’ve decluttered paperclips.

I keep pulling out my bible for every-few-hour inspiration to keep my focused and full of decluttering steam.  I keep reciting the “sell your possessions, donate to the poor” (Luke 12:33) bit and “a time to keep and a time to throw away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6) to keep me moving forward.  Every time I fill up the minivan, I leave and drop everything off at a local charity, even if it’s 11 o’clock at night!

I’m almost ready to show before and after pictures.  We are on the last few days of this purge.  The goal is to be finished by February 21st.  I can’t wait to share our results!

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Prescription cost is something every frugal family has to deal with sooner or later. Some people play the game of transferring prescriptions from one pharmacy to another to try to get the cheapest price and get transfer discounts. It makes much more sense to find a good pharmacy that offers you discounts and savings on your medicines and gives you rewards for using them.

Walgreens Prescription Savings Club is a discounted prescription program (it is not insurance). Basically, it is a program that lets you buy your prescriptions at the non-insurance price for a discount.

The Walgreens Prescription Savings Club lets you get prescription savings on over 8,000 brand name and generic medicines, so you can be sure most of your family’s needs will be met at a discount! When you join the Prescription Savings Club, Walgreens also gives you discounts on other things like seasonal flu shots for your family, nebulizers, prescriptions for your pets (yes, you can get them filled at the same pharmacy as your family’s medicines!), and diabetic supplies.

The Prescription Savings Club also qualifies you for bonuses towards Walgreens own branded products in the stores and their photo services.

The best part is the price for joining the club! Walgreens has a discount on annual membership for the Prescription Savings Club and you can set it up at the level that’s right for your family. Plus, if you’ve already signed up for your annual membership, you can manage and even renew it online.

The price for a family is only $35 a year and the price for an individual alone is $20 per year. If you get the family plan, it will cover not only you and your spouse, but also all dependents 22 years and under and even your pets! You can sign up today for coverage in the informational page on their website for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club.

You can keep up to date with all the ways Walgreens saves you money by following them on your favorite social media site! You can like Walgreens on Facebook or follow Walgreens on Twitter.

by Chris Molnar

Traditionally Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romantic love, yet that’s not how Valentine’s Day originally became a holiday. It was in honor of the martyr Saint Valentine who was beheaded for not renouncing his faith on February 14, 269 AD. It is said that when he was imprisoned, he sent a letter to the jailer’s daughter and signed it “from your Valentine.”

It actually did not become a celebration of love until the Middle Ages. Since then, the holiday has grown into an enormous celebration of love, where people offer gifts and confessions of love. But it doesn’t have to be simply celebrated for romantic love; it’s also a great time to shower your children with love, fun, and attention (as if you don’t already do that!)

Here are 14 ways to celebrate this holiday with your children.

1 – Heart Hunt

Buy foiled wrapped chocolate candy hearts or other individually wrapped candies and hide them all over the house and allow your children to find them, like an Easter egg hunt.

2 – Valentine’s Day Photo Book

Kids love to look at pictures of themselves and their family members. Use a fabric or rough surface photo album or scrapbook. Allow your children to cut out and glue their school valentine’s cards and glue them to the front and back. Break out all those pictures of everyone in your family and help your child decorate the inside with photos and valentine’s décor.

3 – Treasure Hunt

Finding hidden treasures can be very exciting, especially for children. There are always hidden treasures in every corner of your neighborhood. Check out local garage sales, antique shops, and second-hand stores to find a treasure of value.

4 – Host a party

A Valentine’s day party is a perfect way to celebrate this holiday with your child, whether you are hosting one for your family or your child’s classmates. Decorate the house in fun valentine’s décor, include crafts, cookie decorating and fun kids games.

Steal my heart is one game you can play if you are having this party for your child’s classmates. To play you’ll need a bowl of candy conversational hearts and a set of chopsticks for each player. Set up a timer for about 2-5 minutes and have the children use the chopsticks only to get the hearts out and place them in front of themselves. The child with the most hearts wins the game.

5 – Make Valentine’s cards

Homemade Valentine’s cards can be a treat for kids to make and a treat for their receivers. You can use either foam paper or construction paper along with some fun valentine’s decorations. There are a number of templates and ideas you can use online; a great site for this is Disney’s Family Fun.

6 – Storytime

Reading stories to your child that are valentine themed is a great way to help your child learn about Valentine’s Day and to bond with your child. Children love to hear personal stories about their family members so, if you have a great story about how you and your spouse met and fell in love, or your parents, share that with your children

7 – Decorate the House together

Decorating the house with Valentine themed decorations is perfect for children to kick off a love for the holiday. Put on the love songs and make a tradition out of singing with your child and decorating the house pretty in pink.

8 – Balloon Fun

Make candy in a balloon by stretching out the top of the balloon and dropping down small individually wrapped candies. Your kids can play with the balloons and then pop them to get out their special treat.

9 – Poetry time

Write poetry with your child, this is an amazing way to teach your children the art of poetry and having a little fun. Make your poetry funny and take turns with your child writing them. Start if off so your child will have an example of what to do. Write rhyming poetry as this would be more fun for your kids, start with something like:

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

You have a stinky shoe

10 – School Time Valentine’s Card Holders

Crafts are fun for kids and a great bonding experience for the both of you. You can make a few different types of cool Valentine’s Day card holders. You can make a backpack card holder, or a mailbox, or even a suite case Valentine holder. We decided on a tote, which is simply two foam cut-out hearts sewn together, with a cute ribbon as the handle. Have your child decorate the sides.

11 – Visit a Local Art Museum

Museums have a rich array of history that can teach children quite a bit about various people, places, and times in history. You can also get a guide to take you and your children through the museum for you both to learn a few incredible facts about the art housed there.

12 – Learn about Nature

Go out to your local forested parks or reserves. Visit the information center before going on any trails to learn about the nature occurring in the park. They usually have brochures that introduce you to the park and everything that resides there. Using your brochure walk through the park with your child and see if you can recognize the trees and surrounding plants.

You can also review the various classes or guided tours that many local parks have during the year, they should have something of interest to you and your child.

13 – Baking fun

The kitchen is a perfect room to share a delightful afternoon of baked goods and the company of your child. Make some Valentine’s Day cookies or cupcakes that you and your child can decorate together.

14 – Plant an Indoor Garden

If you live in a warm climate you can make an outside garden of herbs, vegetables and/or flowers. Or if you live in a colder climate start your garden on the inside. Go to any local green house and allow your child to pick out the plants they would like to watch grow or that they like to eat. Plant the garden and watch with your child as your garden grows. Make sure to have your child water them so they can feel the joy and responsibility of taking care of something. Once spring breaks you and your children can transfer your garden to the great outdoors.

Hopefully these ideas will help you and your children have fun, laugh and create a lifetime of Valentine’s Day memories.

Article by Chris Molnar, a father of two whose kitchen table is full of scraps of red construction paper, foam hearts, stickers and glitter glue. Chris is editor of Themeaparty.com, a blog full of party ideas, games and crafts.

Redbox Free Movie Monday Promo Codes: Join the Redbox text club by clicking here and get a Redbox promo code for a free rental the 1st Monday of each month.

If you love getting things for free, especially free movie rentals, we’ve got some free Redbox DVD rental promo codes just for you! This is a perfect way to have a quality family movie night and still keep things easy on the budget. We’ve also got a list of the new releases at Redbox today.

When planning to use these free DVD rental Redbox promo codes, keep in mind that not all Redbox codes work all the time or at all Redbox machines.  As far as we know, these codes are working as of February 4, 2012.  If you have Redbox promo codes that we don’t have listed, please leave them in the comments section below and we’ll add them.

First time renting from Redbox? Click on this link and they’ll give you a free 1 night Redbox rental credit (plus they’ll give me a free rental too if you reserve your movie with my link – isn’t Redbox great?!).

Free Redbox promo codes when you search with Bing Rewards.  Details here.

Redbox Freebie: Get a free 1 night rental when you reserve your first DVD online.  Get details here.

Redbox Promo Codes for Any Location – Valid as of 2/4/12

• REDBOX (new customers only)
• DVDONME
• BREAKROOM
• NEW! RENT225
• NEW! 1231
• NEW! DVDATWEG
• Back again! DVDATKROGER
• Back again! DVDONUS

Redbox Promo Codes for Specific Locations – Valid as of 2/4/12

• DVDATWAG (works at Walgreens only)

Possibly Expired Redbox Promo Codes

• DF7E3OW (Removed 1/2/12)
• W3V6X32 (Removed 1/2/12)
• 92801 (Removed 1/2/12)
• GKWZ4WH (Removed 1/2/12)
• 12345 (Removed 1/2/12)
• REDBOXNOW (Removed 1/2/12)
• TWR73W5 (Removed 12/22/11)
• NVMCDBR (Removed 12/22/11)

Redbox New Releases for February 4, 2012

Eager to use your free redbox codes for some free rentals for a movie night?  Here are some of the new release movies you’ll find in a Redbox machine right now on Blu-Ray and DVD.

• Contagion
• Drive
• Shark Night
• Ghost Rider (back again)
• 2 headed Shark Attack
• Diary of a single mom
• Dog Jack
• The double
• Texas killing fields
• 50/50
• Final destination 5
• A simple promise
• Fairy dancing
• Flypaper
• In the name of the king 2: Two worlds
• Perfect student
• Dolphin tale
• The ides of March
• Courageous

Here are the new release games for Xbox, Wii and PS3 available at Redbox kiosks this month:

• Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PS3 and XBOX 360
• Soul Calibur V for PS3 and XBOX 360
• Power Rangers samurai for Wii
• WWE ‘12

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when affiliate links are used.

Last year at Valentine’s Day, I had just gotten home from the hospital from having my daughter, Prynne, and having emergency surgery right afterwards.  We obviously didn’t have the time, energy, (or health in my case) to shop, make, or do anything for Valentine’s Day. 

My husband used some Valentine heart candies I had gotten for a Home Ever After centerpiece to make me a beautiful “ring” out of a candy wrapper!  The silver folded part in the middle is the “diamond”!   It’s the thought that counts, and it was the most perfect Valentine’s Day gift I ever received!

Get more Wordless Wednesday at WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have always shied away from planting bulbs for flowers since I assumed they were complicated and you had to know all kinds of specifics about each different kind.  After all, I don’t know anyone except retired people who spend a lot of time gardening that plant bulbs.

That’s when I found out how wrong I was from the site DigDropDone.com!  It’s all about how easy it is to use bulbs for your flowers, whether you’re an empty nester, a single city girl, or a supermom in suburbia.

Surprisingly, some of the most beautiful and most expensive flowers from your nursery and florist come from bulbs and are very easy to grow yourself.  You just dig a hole in your soil (3 times the diameter of the bulb), drop the bulb in pointed side up, then fill back in with the soil you removed.  Done!  When you plant in the spring or  fall, you’ll have wonderful pops of color after you’ve forgotten about planting them.

Dig Drop Done also has other bulb tips to make your growing even easier, like raking your autumn leaves over your just-planted bulbs to use as extra bedding and insulation from the cold.

Although I’ve never used bulbs before, I’d love to give them a try for tulips in decorative pots for Mother’s Day gifts.  Just tie a pretty ribbon around the pot once the flowers have bloomed, add a handmade card signed by the kids, and Grandma’s Mother’s Day gift is ready to deliver!

Bulbs are great for gift giving, flower gardening, and even inside décor to spruce up your house.  You can visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more about how easy it is to get started with bulbs!

Garden Guru Bulbs Tool

The Garden Guru tool on Curbside Chaos shows how to plant which bulbs are right for where you live.  You’ll see a map of either the United States or Canada in the lower left corner.  To use it,

1. Choose your country

2. Find your location, then note the color.  Don’t click on the map, nothing will happen.  Instead, match your city’s color to the colors on the right and click the square.

3. Choose what month you’d like your bulbs to bloom in to see your available bulbs.

3.  Read your planting guide for step by step instructions for your location.

Here is my planting guide for growing bulbs in freezing cold Fairbanks, Alaska:

Oh no!  I guess I’m stuck with planting my bulbs in pots indoors and moving them outdoors during our very short summer time here in Alaska.

$5,000 Yard Makeover Contest

Dig Drop Done is runnng a $5,000 yard makeover contest at CurbsideChaos.com to help you spruce up your boring yard with help from Taniya Nayak ( @TaniyaNayak).  The contest is easy to enter.  You just upload a photo of your ugly or boring yard on their site – you can even see the entries of your competition.

Visit Curbside Chaos to enter the contest with your yard photo.

If you win, you’ll get a home visit from Taniya Nayak to help you design an all-new landscape for your yard with bulbs!

Plus, if you share about the contest on twitter with the hashtag #CurbsideChaos, you’ll help earn money for Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit focused on affordable homeownership.

Of the Dig Drop Done ladies, I relate most to Marcy, The Super Mom because we have almost the same life!  She is a married mom of 3 who loves homemaking and also works a job, just like me.  Specifically, when she talked about color coding her children’s household items and matching them to the bulbs each child planted in the back yard, it sounded just like something I would do!

Go enter the contest at Curbside Chaos (and don’t forget to tweet) for your chance at a yard makeover, courtesy of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done!

Holiday craft projects don’t have to look like kids’ stuff!  Our fantastic Valentine gift bag mail boxes (pictured above) are a perfect fit for your home décor.  This row of Valentine card holders has been hung on the living room wall with 3M command hooks.  They are ready for your family to put their Valentine’s Day cards, candies, and treats in for a fun holiday exchange.

When Valentine’s Day comes, just take the bags down and pass them to the appropriate person so they can open their loot!

Here’s how we made them.

DIY Craft Project: Easy Valentine Gift Bag Mail Boxes

I purchased 6 Valentine’s Day gift bags at the craft store.  Yes, these are meant for gift giving, but can be used for so much more!

Make sure to pull the back handle up, so the bag can hang by it.  Next, pull the front handle to the inside, so it lays flat (as shown at left).

Next, you’ll need decorative letters.  If you’re great at calligraphy, you can write your script by hand onto the bags.

However, if you need a little help in the lettering department, there are two options.  Either buy scrapbooking stickers like I did (pictured at left) or buy a stencil of a script font and red glitter glue pens.

To write the names on the bags, center your name in the middle of the bag.  Do the middle letter(s) first, then work outwards to either side.

This will ensure you get the names placed evenly in the middle of the bag.

At left, you can see one finished bag.  It has been hung on the wall with a 3M command hook, which are perfect for holiday decorations since they are removable and won’t damage walls.

Finally, here is the finished product: a whole row of Valentine Gift Bag Mail Boxes for my family.

You can not only enjoy them as holiday décor until Valentine’s Day, but also slip in cards, stickers, candy treats and even roses on the big day!

We originally published Valentine Gift Bag Mail Boxes on February 8, 2011.  It is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and 11th Heaven.  Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

All this cleaning, selling, and packing has brought on a whole new level of decluttering.  I’ve found lots of things I thought were lost forever (and things I didn’t even know we had), like Seven’s sunglasses.  At least she’s keeping a sunny attitude this winter by wearing her sunglasses indoors!

I had a pair of heart sunglasses when I was a kid; one side was pink and the other was blue.  Looking back, I probably looked as much like Elton John wearing them as Seven does:

Get more Wordless Wednesday at WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

We have enough free and cheap stuff to keep you busy this weekend!  Even when we’ve cut back to the bare necessities (like right now preparing for our move), my family still gets treats like free Redbox movie rentals. 

Free Magazines and Books

• Free 1 year subscription to American Baby magazine.
• Free 1 year subscription to Babytalk magazine.
• Free Travel Alaska guide book.
• Free 1 year subscription to Family Circle magazine (first 2500 people only).
• Free 1 year subscription to Martha Stewart Living magazine.
• Free 1 year subscription to Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine (digital).
• Free 1 year subscription to Primal Muscle magazine (digital).
• Free 1 year subscription to 4 Wheel & Off Road magazine.

Free Items & Samples

• Free Lettuce Wraps from PF Changs with newsletter sign up.
• Free sample of Firecracker Chicken Breast from Panda Express on January 23rd.
• Free sample of Stayfree Ultra Thin Regular Pads.
• Free James Allen(r) plastic ring sizer.
• Free sample of Downy(r) Unstopables.
• Free samples of Prilosec OTC heartburn medicine.

High Value Printable Coupons

• $3.00 off on Florastor probiotic
• $2.00 off Florastor probiotic
• $1.00 off Blink Tears or Blink Gel Tears
• $5.00 OFF one TRANSFORMERS RESCUE BOTS FIRE
• $3.00 off TRANSFORMERS Deluxe action figure
• $1.00 off ON ANY ONE (1) GARNIER FRUCTIS STYLE
• $1.00 off ON ANY ONE (1) GARNIER FRUCTIS SHAMPOO
• $5.00 off one POPPIN’ PARK BOUNCE ‘N RIDE toy
• $5.00 off when you buy one PLAY-DOH MEGA PACK
• $8.00 off when you buy one BABY ALIVE MY BABY ALIVE
• $8.00 off when you buy one PLAYSKOOL SESAME STREET
• $5.00 off BOP IT! XT game
• $8.00 off SCRABBLE, SIMON, or YAHTZEE FLASH
• $5.00 off when you buy one NERF VORTEX PRAXIS blast
• $3.00 off Spongebob Squarepants or Dora Explorer
• $1.00 off any Glade Scented Oil Candle holder
• Coupons for free

Huge Sales & Deals

• Curves guest pass for only $10

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

Tax time is creeping up on us and you must have seen the H&R Block free filing commercials on TV by now.  Just in case you haven’t started to file your taxes for free yet, you can can click to file your taxes free at H&R Block now.

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

If your New Year’s resolution included losing weight, toning up, or getting into shape, you sound like me!  Use this free 7 day pass to 24 Hour Fitness gyms to get a free jump start on a healthy new you.

Click here to print your free 7 day pass to 24 Hour Fitness.

The free 7 day pass allows you to use the free exercise classes and you can workout at any of their club locations.

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

I was so happy to review my friend Crystal’s new book and give away 5 copies to our lucky readers!  If you missed the giveaway, you can see it here.  The winners of the drawing for our The Money Saving Mom’s Budget book giveaway are…

#163 Sari Berry

#53 Evangeline Rodriguez

#52 Shaylin Morgan

#6 Elena Istomina

#137 Randall Beita

Congratulations!    If you’re one of the winners, please email your mailing address to winners(at)homeeverafter(dot)com within 3 days (we’ll email you a reminder too).  Below is the random number drawing, provided by Rafflecopter and Random.org.  If any of the winners do not respond within 3 days of notification, we’ll draw a runner up.

Life in Alaska is much different than anywhere else (except Antarctica, or course, but no one tries to live a normal life there).  Our poor frozen car (pictured at left) finally started yesterday after we had it plugged in for hours. 

Have you ever wondered what our limited daylight looks like in Alaska?  It’s only light for 4 hours a day right now, and the light looks like the dreary gray ice fog you seen in these pictures.  Not unlike a Tim Burton movie, I must say.  Maybe he should move here – he’d love it! 

Some days blogging is hard.  Some days living is hard.  Some days all you can blog about is what you see around you.  That is the snapshot of our life.

Snapshot of Our Life: January 17, 2012

Where are we?  We’re still in Fairbanks, Alaska.

What is the temperature?   Cold!  It’s 37 below and no warm up predicted in the 3 day forecast.

What did we do today?  Michael and I have been waiting for it to warm up so we could go do some business errands.  Unfortunately, it’s been 2 weeks of this weather and we couldn’t wait anymore. So we bundled up the kids and headed out to do the errands. 

When we got to the bank, it was dark and freezing cold, but we had to haul everybody inside because we both needed to sign for a new account.  The kids were restless, crying, whining, and bored.  Don’t get me wrong – they were really well behaved for their allotted time of behavior.  The woman helping us took so long for everything that we were there for an hour and a half.  There’s no way I expect the kids to stay occupied and quiet for that long! 

Truett crawled under her desk and cracked his head so loudly on the desk that it seemed to echo through the whole bank!  He had a giant lump on the top of his head after that and cried a lot.  Then he stuck his fingers under the cubicle dividers and found a penny.  I’m glad he didn’t get his fingers stuck under there, but he was just glad to be a penny richer!

Seven wouldn’t keep her boots or socks on in the bank.  She’d take them off and throw them over and over again.  It was quite obvious that the employee didn’t have children as she laughed nervously and (I’m sure) wished someone else had gotten our transaction!

When we had to run (as fast as I could sprint pushing 2 babies in a double stroller) all the way from the doors to the car in almost 40 below temperatures, my face was frozen.  The girls’ faces were mottled red and white and they were cold to the bone.  Tears were streaming from Seven’s eyes even though she wasn’t crying – it was just the cold making them water. 

We buckled everyone in as fast as we could and Michael dismantled the double stroller and packed it in to the car while I started the car and wished it would get warm faster.  Seven wouldn’t leave her mittens on and was yelling to me, “Fingers cold! Fingers cold!”

This is our street in the afternoon:

How was I frugal today? We planned a splurge for our outing of McDonald’s since we were out and had coupons to use. Michael went through the drive through to use our meal deal coupon while I went inside to get our free chicken McBites with a coupon that came in the mail. I was surprised when they rang up the freebie that it would have cost $2.40! I’m so frugal that I looked through the recycling bin at the post office and found another set of McDonald’s coupons that someone had thrown away. So you guessed it – we’ve got one more freebie for a rainy (I mean snowy) day.

How am I feeling today?  I feel better knowing that we won’t have to take the kids out for any cold weather errands hopefully until this cold spell breaks.  I’m a little down that I didn’t work out today and ate McDonald’s as a splurge.

What does our living room look like?  It’s clean and neat, as it usually is.  We make the kids put away all the toys before they leave the room to do anything else.  Today I arranged the floor cushions into ’stairs’ so the babies could climb up them.

What is planned for tomorrow?  Tomorrow is the SOPA blackout, so a lot of websites will be shut down for the protest.  We’ll do work for clients, but not much else can be done until Thursday.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

In case you haven’t heard about what’s going on between Walgreens and Express Script, you can read it now.  Express Scripts, a prescription middleman used by a lot of employers and insurance companies, has dropped Walgreens from their pharmacy provider network effective January 1.  Walgreens tried to work out a deal with Express Scripts for the past year, but it still didn’t work.

This means that if your company uses Express Scripts and you have your prescriptions filled at Walgreens, you’ll now have to deal with the hassle of moving all of your family’s prescriptions to another pharmacy.  You can’t even choose the pharmacy you like best, plus you may have to drive further or switch to a pharmacy that isn’t open 24 hours!  (I love Walgreens the most because they have a drive thru, which is especially helpful if you have sick babies in the car and don’t want to go inside to pick up prescriptions.)   Unfortunately, without Walgreens in their network, the Express Scripts charges for prescriptions might even go up.

Prescription customers like me and you might be feeling caught in the middle between their health plan or employer and their favorite pharmacy over this whole dispute because we don’t really have a say.   

Many active duty military members, retired military members, and military spouses who use Tricare are affected by Express Scripts pulling Walgreens out of their network.  Not just military are involved though, and if you use Walgreens or Duane Reade pharmacies in New York City, you’ll need to find out if this includes you.  

How to Tell if You’re Affected

You can tell if your prescription insurance plan is involved in this change by looking at the back of your prescription insurance card.  If the back shows the Express Scripts logo or says the Express Scripts name, you’ll need to talk to your pharmacist and pay special attention to the next section. 

If you’re still not sure if this affects you, talk to your employer’s insurance contact or call your insurance company directly with the 800 number on your insurance card.  Make sure you have your plan number and company ID number available when you call.

What Can You Do If You’re a Walgreens Customer?

If you are linked with Express Scripts through your insurance company’s choice, you may still be able to keep your prescriptions at Walgreens without having the prices go up (or not go up as much).  This will vary depending on what your medications are and if they’re generic or brand name, of course.  The way you will be able to do this is to enroll yourself or your family in the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club.

To help customers with the Express Scripts transition, Walgreens is offering a special discount to enroll your family between now and January 31.  As long as you sign up before the end of this month, the enrollment fee for the whole year will be $5 for one person (normally 20) or $10 for your family (normally $35), which includes you, your spouse, all your dependents under 22 years old, and your pets. 

Being a member of the Prescription Savings Club will let you get discounts on your prescriptions, discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, diabetic supplies, and more.  Many of the generic medicines are available for less than $1 a week for a 3 month supply. 

You can get in touch with Walgreens on Twitter or Walgreens on Facebook to tell them what you think about the situation or ask questions.

Our best friends, Barb and Jerry Chasteen, were lucky enough to get transferred out of Alaska last month and back down to the states.  They’re in Wisconsin now and boy are they happy!  We got to have them over a few times for coffee and dinner while they were packing to leave, and the kids were so glad to spend time with their 2 little ones.

Pictured above, left-right: Michael Simmons, Danelle Ice, Barb Chasteen, Jerry Chasteen.

Barb blogs over at The Forever Neighbor and it was actually through our blogs that we met before Barb came to Alaska 2 years ago. 

Now, we can’t imagine life not knowing them.  They’re godparents to our children and our best friends in the whole world!

A few weeks ago, Truett got to play Scrabble Junior with the kids:

And, of course, we got the “goodbye” group photos:

We can’t wait to go visit them during our RV trek across the country!

It’s the daily life that gets lost and forgotten over the years.  I want to remember these in-between times, not only for the little memories that might not seem significant now, but to be able to have these stories to share with our kids in the years to come. 

Some days blogging is hard.  Some days living is hard.  Some days all you can blog about is what you see around you.  That is the snapshot of our life.

Snapshot of Our Life: January 16, 2012

Where are we?  We’re living in Fairbanks, Alaska in the first house we ever bought.  We are moving away and planning to sell the house soon. 

What is the temperature?   The temperature in Fairbanks is 40 below zero today.  It’s been between 35 below and 50 below for weeks straight.  I’m cold and I just want it to warm up.   It’s cold and dark every single day…  Every morning we all guess the temperature before we check it.  Truett sings a song called “40 below, temperature low”.  You guessed it- those are the only words in the song!

I took a picture of the thermometer on our front porch yesterday.  It’s hard to see through the snow and ice fog:

What did I do today?  Today was a holiday (MLK day) so most businesses were closed.  We stayed home and I posted items for sale on Craigslist to get ready for our move.  Grandma Carolyn (Michael’s mom) came over to visit tonight and bring Seven a birthday present.  Here I am with the kids (time for a touch up on the old roots, I know!).  

How am I feeling today?  I feel down today.  There are only 4 hours of daylight each day and I’m really feeling the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this winter.  I’m tired and not feeling well.  Plus, we called Hannah today and that always makes things a little sadder… lots of crying.  She dumped us.  She dumped our family. 

Poor little Truett talked to her tonight too.  He asked Hannah why she didn’t have a “date” with him.  He used to ask her on a date, which to him meant she would walk down the hallway with him, holding hands, and play a board game together in his room.  The last time he asked her (the week before she left us), she told him no. 

After we got off the phone tonight he cried and cried in his room and asked me why she didn’t want to come back.  He asked me why she didn’t want to be part of our family anymore.   He’s still crying in his bed now, and it’s been 2 hours since we hung up.

What does our living room look like?  The floor cushions get reconfigured every day for loads of fun (today they were just for sitting, but some days they are a train track, some days they’re stacked up into “stairs” for climbing).  The supergate around the perimeter still keeps the babies from messing with the baseboard heaters. 

What did the kids do today?  They visited with Grandma when she came over.  Seven opened her presents (a shirt, glittery skirt, and super fancy dress) and modeled them all for us!  Truett was wearing his Scooby Doo shirt for the second day in a row.  We should have just bought him 7 Scooby shirts and left the wardrobe at that!

Prynne is trying to walk.  She stands up with her toy stroller and pushes it along, walking while holding on across the whole living room.  Prynne also “drives her car”, or walks in her walker in the kitchen.  Unfortunately for our cabinets, she can only drive in reverse!

Seven is daring and practices her balance and somersaults, even on uneven ground.  I love those polka dotted tights!  They’re so cute I wish she could wear them every day!  The windows are also completely iced up, which is why you can see towels in every window sill.  Seven’s talking is better every day.  Her favorite sayings are, “Hep you,  Daddy”, “ope it peese” (open it please),  and “meeeeeee?!?!”

All three of the kids are able to play together now.  It’s fascinating to watch.  Today, all 3 were playing in the toy tent:

What is planned for tomorrow?  I plan to get up early and pray a little harder.  A little hard work and prayer never hurt anyone!

You know I recommend doing frequent grocery shopping fasts during which you don’t buy any new groceries and simply use up everything you have on hand.  This is called using up the pantry or the pantry challenge, and if you haven’t done it before, it’s about time you started!

We’ve vowed to use up the last of our pantry stockpile to start off the new year (which I’ll admit is pretty meager at this point) before we buy any new groceries.  The exceptions to this off-limits grocery shopping are milk, baby food, baby formula, and diapers.

Most of the time we only do a pantry challenge for about 2 weeks, but other times I challenge both my family and our readers to see how many weeks you can go without doing grocery shopping and just living off of the food in your cupboards.  This is one of those times, especially because we have a deep freezer we’re planning to sell and we can only do that once it has been emptied of all the food inside.

Ice-Simmons Pantry Challenge 2012: Week 2 Update

I plan to take it all the way this time and really empty the fridge, freezers, and pantry before shopping again.  Can my family really bear with me through these menu plans to the very end?  I really think we’ve got at least 3 more weeks on our current supplies.  More empty packages keep hitting the trash can as we use up little bits of this and last crumbs of that.

My family is truly a strong group of troopers, that’s for sure, because we’ve now gotten into the ingredients that most of us don’t like eating with very little complaining.  Tonight for dinner we had:

• A very tough cut of pork chops that I got on discount (and have been sitting unused in the freezer for quite some time).  I got them to be more “edible” by offering ketchup to dip the meat in, which did make it better…
• Hamburger Helper (without the hamburger) as a dinner side (because I have about 20 more boxes to use up that I got on a coupon/sale matchup).
• Cooked shredded spinach that had been frozen (my husband got a good deal on it and bought about 5 bags).  We have yet to use up even 2!  This spinach is honestly a better ingredient than stand alone veggie, but we powered through it tonight as the veggie on our plates, and jokingly made our Popeye impressions and muscles as I tried to keep my spinach from coming back up!

Pantry Challenge 2012: Just Do It!

We all have those food items hanging around at the end of the pantry inventory that we keep passing over.  We might even go buy new groceries just to avoid cooking those things that we wish we hadn’t bought in the first place!  If you’re not a big fan of food wasting, which I’m not, because it’s just not frugal, it’s time to get over your taste buds and just cook the food you have.

So knuckle down and join me in using up what you’ve got.  Can you imagine the nice little savings in your monthly budget if you don’t have to do grocery shopping for 2 weeks?  Or 4 weeks?  If you’re not sure how you’re going to pull this off, read How to Use up Food in a Pantry Stockpile and Recession Proof Your Pantry and Food to get you started.  You’ll love the feeling you get from seeing your shelves dwindle as you use what you’ve got and start over fresh for a new year!

If you’re joining Pantry Challenge 2012, feel free to leave a comment below and let us know your strategies or how your challenge is going along the way.  We’d love to hear from you!

We’re giving away 5 copies of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by my friend, Crystal Paine!  This giveaway and review will be in full swing tomorrow, but you can get in your early bird entries right now!

Win The Money Saving Mom’s Budget Book!

You can enter once PER DAY, so enter every day! This contest is open to USA shipping addresses only. By entering this contest, you agree to our Giveaway Terms and Conditions.

To Enter: Get your daily entries in the Rafflecopter widget below between today 1/8/12 and 1/19/12 at 12:01am EST.  Winner to be announced on January 20, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Review} The Money Saving Mom’s Budget Book

I was very excited to review The Money Saving Mom’s Budget book by Crystal Paine, not only because Crystal is a friend of mine, but also because her book is a long time in the making.  The great frugal information she’s been sharing with the blogworld for these last years has been in need of collection into an all together resource.

The book follows a very natural progression and covers all the bases from the hopelessly lost and brand new to managing their finances all the way through to the savvy frugalista who wants to polish up her skills with extra tips.  Here is the roadmap that the book takes readers through.

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget:
Slash your spending, pay down your debt, streamline your life, and save thousands a year.
by Crystal Paine.

Publisher: Gallery Books / Simon & Schuster
Buy at Amazon for $11.20 paperback or $9.99 on Kindle.

Absolute beginner.  In the beginning of the book, Crystal explains why you need to get your financial life together, what it can do for you, how to change your mindset about money, etc.  She gives her family’s history of lean times and their strategy to get through law school and buy a house with no debt by using their determination, frugal lifestyle, and making wise financial decisions.

A work in progress.  Around the middle chapters of the book, the reader is on board with why budgeting and managing money is important.  They’ve learned what couponing is and how you can actually give yourself a raise by saving money instead of looking for a higher paying job.  The reader is convinced of the how, now they need to learn the why…

Advanced saver.  The reader at this point is hungry for the advanced information about what makes financial freedom possible.  What are the end-game strategies?  What are advanced couponing methods?  What are money saving tips that you may have never thought of before?

All throughout the book, Crystal gives real readers’ stories as examples that finely illustrate her points.  While all of the readers had very different backgrounds, the principles applied and were able to help them get control of their financial futures.

She has included a section of blank worksheets at the back so that you can have a starting point if you’re an absolute beginner and need to set up your first budget, first priority list, etc.

About the Author

Crystal Paine is a married mom of 3 young kids.  She’s a busy entrepreneur, wife, mother, blogger, homeschool mom, and Christian.  She blogs at Money Saving Mom.  You may remember my interview with Crystal on Balancing Computer Time and Family Life as she shared her tips for making the most of your business/work time as a busy parent.  Her tips are invaluable in all areas as a blogger, a mother, and keeping a Christian perspective first and foremost.

Recommendation

I recommend The Money Saving Mom’s Budget highly!  Anyone who’s looking to start from scratch and overhaul their finances in 2012 will want to get on board with Crystal’s plan.  Luckily, the book is available for the first time today (January 10, 2012) on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats!

Click here to buy The Money Saving Mom’s Budget at Amazon or enter our giveaway in the Rafflecopter above (we’re giving away 5 copies)!

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Disclaimer:  This article has no material connections.  A copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget Book was provided to IS World Media (ISWM) at no cost to facilitate the review process. This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you an avocado lover whose Guacamole recipe has gone legendary amongst your friends and neighbors?  If so, that guacamole recipe might just get you more than legendary chip and dip status – it could win you an iPad 2 or a $200 grocery gift card!

From now until January 20, 2012, The Avocados from Mexico Guac Off Recipe Contest is looking for the best guacamole recipe around so they can give away these 20 amazing prizes:

• 3 grand prizes – iPad 2 and autographed cookbooks signed by celebrity chef Roberto Santibanez
• 7 runner up prizes – $200 grocery gift cards and the autographed cookbook
• 10 other winners – $100 gift cards

How to Enter

If you’re the party food whiz for the big game every year, you may as well whip up a batch of your best guac now, snap a picture, and head over to Avocados from Mexico on Facebook to enter your recipe.  They’ll be judging winners in three categories: the most popular recipe, the best recipe and the most creative recipe.  They’ll pick the top 10 recipes to be posted to the Avocados from Mexico page.

If your guacamole recipe makes the top 10, you’ll want to get all your friends to vote for it for a chance of winning for popularity.  

Small print: USA residents only (except Florida, New York, and Rhode Island) and must be 18 years or older.

Bite Ya Back Guacamole Recipe

I entered the following guacamole recipe in the contest too, so may the best dip win! My husband is the spicy king, and he couldn’t wait to taste this batch of Bite Ya Back Guacamole which permeated my kitchen this morning with spiciness and tears of Scoville joy!

Scoville is the “hotness” measurement for how spicy peppers or hot foods are. Not only does this guacamole recipe contain one whole jalapeno pepper (2,500-5,000 Scoville Heat Units), but it also has a whole Serrano pepper (6,000-23,000 Scoville Heat Units) as well. Talk about heat – your chips just might run away from this spicy dip!

Without further ado, feast your eyes upon our Bite Ya Back Guacamole recipe and make it – if you dare…

Ingredients

• 1 Jalapeno pepper
• 1 Serrano pepper
• 1 tomato
• 1/8 onion (1/4 cup chopped)
• 3 avocados
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 clove of garlic
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Spray a small pan with cooking oil.
2. Cut up the peppers (do not remove the seeds) into 1/4” thick slices and fry in the oil for 2-3 minutes. 
3. Transfer peppers to a food processor.
4. Chop onions and add to food processor. 
5. Add one whole clove of garlic to food processor and pulse the first 3 ingredients for 20 seconds.
6. Cut tomato into quarters.  Add tomato and salt to food processor and process for 15 seconds.
7. Add avocado and process for 30 seconds.
8. Serve with chips and enjoy! 

So many milestones are emotional for us parents but really won’t mean anything to our kids until they’re grown up.  My youngest baby, my almost-1-year-old Prynne, just got her first haircut. 

This event wasn’t something I got emotional about for the other kids, but Prynne is bringing up the end of the parade as the last baby in the family.  Therefore, her first haircut is the last first haircut there will be… until grandkids, that is.

Before

Prynne still doesn’t have much hair, since she’s only 11 months old.  However, she had grown hair to a point down the center of her forehead which made her look like Kenickie from the movie Grease!  Clearly, it was time for Prynne’s first haircut.

I took on the huge project of the 1-snip baby bangs trim!  I combed her hair point together:

Next, daddy took pictures while I made the first and last snip of the baby haircut:

After

With her greaser hairstyle gone and baby bangs finally where they belonged, we jazzed up her hairdo with a pretty pink headband!

Ta Da!  Prynne shows off her new bangs for the camera!

Of course, Prynne took the headband off right after we snapped the pictures, but now she has bangs and not mis-matched hair lengths growing at different speeds!  And now that the last first haircut is behind us, we’re dreading the emotions of the last first birthday next month!

Prynne’s First Haircut: The last First is linked to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes 4 Mom, A Renaissance Woman, A Work in Progress, Barefoot Mahala,  Be There 2 Day, Brookie’s Baby Bargains, Busy Working Mama, By Word of Mouth, Carrie with Children, Crazy About My Baybah, Create with Joy,  Frugal Plus, Frugality is Free,  Gaynycdad, In Him We Live,  JaMonkey, Kibitz Spot,  Letters From Momma, Making Mama Happy, Mama to 4 Blessings, Mom Caboodle, Mom’s Own Words, My Thoughts and Ramblings,  NYC Single Mom, One Smiley Monkey, Parenting by Dummies, Princesscj Haven,  Sakura haruka, Saving with SaveOne, Shasher’s Life,  Terri’s Little Haven, Thriving Despite Us, Toronto Teacher Mom, and Tots and Me.

Today we’ve got new freebies from FreeFlys.  You’ll have to register for free at their site if you haven’t already to get these great offers, including the 1 day free Sam’s Club pass.

• Print out a free One-Day Pass to Sam’s Club.
• Free sample of Benefiber
• Free bottle of Marietta MAX Gellification
• Free sample of Rachael Ray Nutrish

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.

Get a $10 rebate with $30 Neutrogena purchase with a mail-in offer.  This Neutrogena mail-in rebate deal requires you to keep on top of your purchases and your mailed in rebate request. 

To get the $10 mail in rebate, you have to purchase $30 worth of Neutrogena products between January 8 and February 8, 2012.  Download the rebate form here, print it, fill it out, and mail it in with original receipts.

Love Deals? Subscribe so you don’t miss our money saving deals!

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links and readers may assume that HomeEverAfter.com receives compensation when my referral links are used.