Free 8 x 10 photo canvas!

a great Christmas gift!! Sign up as a member of this site and get a free 8 x 10 photo canvas, or a $55 credit towards a larger canvas. all you do is pay shipping :D
Thank you Thrifty NW mom!

we've been hit!

By the swine flu that is! It started with Bill, went to the kids, and is ending with me. Bill and I seem to have had it the worst, thankfully the kids were over it in a few days. I guess its not as bad as the TV news says it is, but it sure is kicking my butt. I havent been this sick in years!
Luckily, Bill was able to stay home from work today to help me with the kids. We've been trying to clean and sanitize today, which isnt much fun when you feel like death! Okay, that is probably a little extreme...but I told Bill I feel like I did the day after my c-section, which was horrible. But give me another day and I'll be good as new!

We're planning a trip to MI next week for thanksgiving, we're all very much looking forward to it. We will be having the boys Christmas pictures taken while we are there, I cant wait to see how they turn out! I also hope to help my mom out at her first craft show! She has a big booth at the Evergreen festival in Reed City, so check it out if you are in the area!

Free Sample of Emergen-C

Its cold and flu season, and unfortunately our house has been hit. But at the first sign of sickness, Emergen-C can be your best friend!!
Just go to www.emergenc.com and sign up for your free sample...you can send it to your friends too!

Easy (and free) ways to earn money! Check out Ebates and Swagbucks

I'm always looking for ways to save a buck, I'll admit it. Although we do just fine with Bill working and me staying at home, I sometimes wish there were a way I could contribute, or just make a little spending money for myself!
Well, just in time for the holiday season, I have two websites that you must check out!

First is www.ebates.com
Ebates says "it pays to shop online!" and it does! Sign up for Ebates and they credit your accout with $5. They provide you with thousands of stores (all your favorites, like JcPenney, Kohls, Best Buy just to name a few) that offer a percentage of cash back if you shop with them through ebates. I just bought some Christmas presents online and had 3 % of what I spent credited to my account. A few times a year, they mail you a check or you can have it deposited automatically.
So now is the perfect time to sign up, especially if you do your holiday shopping online! Better yet, if you go to your favorite site through ebates, you often get coupon codes or free shipping. Each store provides a different % of cash back, some just 1% some 12%...so check it out!
(email your friends and get them to sign up under you, and you'll get $5 for each friend that signs up! Dont worry, I wont email you, but pass it along to your friends to make some extra money for yourself!)

I recently joined www.swagbucks.com as well. Swag bucks is a site that gives you "swagbucks" for making searches. You just have the swagbucks google page as your home page, and every few searches you make you'll earn up to 5 swagbucks! If you download the swagbucks tool bar, you'll get messages about random swagcodes that you plug in and earn a few SBs. Then, you take your swag bucks on over to the swag store and you can buy clothes, posters, music, and gift cards. I think the most popular option is to buy gifts cards. You can buy paypal gift cards and have money put right in your paypal account, amazon gift cards, Wii cards, Target etc....
Go click the link i'm about to provide to sign up and get started! Its free!! http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/hls02
(get SB for refering your friends too! You'll earn SB everytime they do!)

Free Nursing Cover, just pay shipping

This site has really cute nursing covers! They had this same promotion a few months ago and I missed the chance to get one. All you have to do is go to the Udder Covers site, make your order, Enter the code: Thanks when you check out and just pay $8.95 in shipping. There are some beautiful covers there, so check them out for yourself or for a friend! They would make a great baby shower gift too :D
thanks to a few of my mommy friends for telling me about this offer!

Bath and Body Works Soap Deal and Freebie!

I'm sure many of you have been going thru those anti-bacterial soaps quite a bit this fall as the flu & cold season has hit hard this year! Well, Bath & Body Works is having a great deal on their Antibacterial Soaps - so this is definitely the time to stock up so you'll be set for the winter! These would also make great gifts to add to Christmas stocking or gift baskets. You can spend as little as $1.67 for the full-size soaps at Bath & Body Works right now, thru Sunday, November 22nd.

Here's how::

Buy 12 Antibacterial Soaps - on sale for $2.50/ea; total will be $30

Use $10 off $30 Bath & Body Works coupon here (expires 11/22)

Final Price: $1.67 each when you buy 12

You don't need to buy this many- you can switch up this deal however you'd like, just make sure to get your total to $30 so you can use the $10/$30 coupon.

You can also do this online by using the code: TENTHIRTY

While you're there, make sure to grab the latest freebie from Bath & Body Works. Get a FREE travel size item with any purchase for an extra little gift. I'm acquiring quite a little collection of these which are great for holiday gifts or throughout the year!

Go hereto get your coupon for a free travel-sized item (good thru 12/2)

special thanks to Frugal Living NW for the tip!

and to Thrifty NW Mom for the post!

Check out these awesome blogs!

So I have some friends that are doing fun things on their blogs. They work hard to find great deals, discounts, and free stuff and share them with the rest of us!

First is Rachel, she is a stay at home mom of an awesome little boy, and she posts deals, freebies, and giveaways throughout the day on her blog-Yellow Tennessee you can even find her fan page on Facebook!

Also, check out my friend Alisons blog, Being Me . Alison is a SAHM with two little boys about the same age as my boys. She also goes on the hunt for great savings and freebies, as well as blogs about her life as SAHM.

Check 'em out, reap the benefits of their work, and become fans of theirs on facebook! These are awesome ladies, who I've gotten to know over the past few (two now?) years, and I would love to help them out even a little by giving them a bit of free advertising (even if it is my measly little blog!)

Long time gone...so much has changed!

Well I decided to start keeping up with my blog again. I've got a few ideas in store as to make my blog more exciting, thanks to my friends who are doing the same, so stay tuned for that!

But for now I'm going to update you on my life :D! Well, Bennett was born on August 10th via c-section. It was a really scary, yet really emotional and happy day. Bennett was born at 9lbs 4oz, big and healthy which was so great b/c we knew he needed to be strong for his surgery. His repair surgery for his Omphalocele was two days after he was born. It was a success!! No need for more surgeries, the Dr was able to fix it in just one, really short surgery! He now has a custom made belly button as a result, which is just perfect for his unique personality!
He spent 8 long days in the NICU, while I stayed in Toledo at the Ronald McDonald house. Which by the way I recommend donating to if you are ever looking to make a charitable donation. Not that I hope you ever have to stay there, but its a great place for those who need it. They really strive to make it feel like home, it was a fabulous place to stay. Although my own home with all of my boys is truly where I wanted to be!

Bennett is thriving! No complications from his defect, you'd never know there was anything wrong. At three months he is around 17 lbs! A big boy for sure, but such a joy! Cooper loves him so much, a little too much at times :D But everyone has adjusted well, and things are just falling into place nicely.

Everyone is doing great, Cooper will be 3 in january. I cant believe it, he is such a wonderful little man. Bills job is doing well, and he/we just bought a new truck. He has been eyeing trucks for at least a year and we found a great deal so we couldnt pass it up. I've been enjoying being a stay at home mom, i wouldnt trade it for anything. I've found a few ways to make money online, its been great especially as the holidays are approaching us. I've been able to buy several gifts so far with all the money i've earned. Its great, it makes me feel good to do something to earn money again!

so I'll leave you with a few pictures...and as far as whats to come on my blog, think about: money savings, free items, and great coupons for your Christmas shopping needs!