Summer is here! My Summer To Do List

Although the calendar says summer is still a few days off, the weather says that summer is officially here, with temps in the 90's all this week.

I have a list of annual things I need to get done to prepare for summer living. Here's my list:

1. Wash down all outdoor furniture*
2. Sweep back deck and patio - done
3. Bring stack of firewood to outdoor firepit - done
4. Blow up Brayden's pool - done
5. Put flowers in planters and place around deck - done
6. Put covered trash can near barbeque area.
7. Hang hose reel and hose. Make sure nozel doesn't leak, buy washer at hardware store if it does - done
8. Clean out fountain and put on timer - done
9. Wash patio door - done
10. Check grill propane tank - done
11. Check grill grate - buy new one at Lowe's if needed - done
12. Put up canopy on back deck - done
13. Hang patio lights in canopy roof
14. Put candles on patio table
15. Hang windchime in canopy structure
16. Sweep front sidewalk - done
17. Use Roundup or other weed remover on cement spaces in driveway
18. Sweep front porch, including under porch roof (spider web patrol) - done
19. Shake and sweep Welcome Mat - done
20. Wash front door windows, front door hardware, doorbell - done
21. Polyurethane front porch wicker furniture
22. Plant geranium in gnome - done
23. Paint mailbox (?new color?)

That's all I have for now, but I may think of more as I go!

A helpful hint if your GRILL is looking old and sad. Go to the hardware store and buy a can of black spray paint made for hot surfaces. Tape up any handles and knobs, then spray paint the exterior of your grill. I swear, you will think it's a brand new grill when you're done! And do you know you can buy a new rack for your grill for just a few dollars? I replace mine about every two years just because it starts getting rusty and wearing out in places. You can also buy new lava rocks for your grill at any hardware store. It's easy and more cost efficient to restore an old grill before throwing it away and buying a new one!

Is your OUTDOOR FURNITURE looking tired? If you have resin or plastic furniture, go to any hardware or WallyWorld store and buy a can of spray paint specifically designed for plastics. In just an hour or two you can spray paint life right back into your furniture! We went from tired old green plastic chairs to bright and cheerful yellow and blue (2 of each) for under $10 (3 cans of spray paint).

Frugal trips to CVS and Kroger

Around 2:00 today the weather finally broke for awhile (though we got hit by a really severe thunderstorm again this evening), and I decided to get my shopping done. I have Brayden Thursdays and Fridays from now on, and I needed to get some fruit and lunch items in before he arrives tomorrow. I went to CVS first. I am SO catching on to this whole ECB program, though I'm still a novice and learning. Today I purchased: 1 8 count package of Bounty papertowels - on sale for $5.99, less .25 coupon 2 pgk CVS brand bandaids - $1.99 each = $3.98 1 Old Spice deoderant - on sale for $2.99, less $1 coupon from Sunday's paper 1 bottle of Bayer Heart Healthy aspirin - $6.99, less $2.50 coupon (get coupon here) Total amount: $19.95 Less mfg coupons $3.50 Less $3.00 off $15.00 CVS coupon Total after coupons 13.45 I used $11.00 in ECB's from my last trip. I actually had another $4 ECB, but didn't realize they wouldn't give you cash back or another coupon back for your change (I'm new at this!). So if I'd spent another $1.55 I wouldn't have had ANY out-of-pocket expense, but I elected to take my $4 ECB back and pay $2.83 (including tax) out-of-pocket. However, I received $10 ECB's for the Bounty (it finished the needed quantity from shopping earlier in the week), plus $3.98 ECB's for the Bandaids and $2.00 ECBs for the Bayer aspirin, for a total of $15.98 new ECB's. So, for $19.95 worth of merchandise (and that's sale prices), I paid $2.83 cash, and received $15.98 back. Yeah baby! Next, I headed to Kroger for my weekly grocery shopping....which you know I've been trying to cut from an average of $140 a week to $60 a week. The first thing I did when I arrived was purchase their $300 gift card to receive the additional $30 bonus. Once again, Kroger had sent me some great "customer loyalty coupons" for items that were on sale this week. For example, they sent me a .60 cent egg coupon, and eggs were on sale for $1.00, so I paid .40. They had Chef Boyardee items (which Brayden likes for lunch now and then) on sale for $1 and I had a $1/2 coupon and a .75/3 coupon, so I bought 5 cans for $3 (Kroger up's all my coupons to $1.00). I purchased $77.60 for $50.27 when all was said and done. I used the gift card to pay for the groceries, which included the bonus $30.00, so I see it as spending $20.27 for $77.60 worth of groceries, including several "stock up" items. A side note: Every blog I've read infers that you can purchase only one of these Krogers gift cards. I talked with our store's customer service manager and she told me customers can purchase up to FOUR. They need to be in $300, $600 or $1200 amounts. This is the second $300 card I have purchased since the beginning of their offer, and I plan on purchasing two more. If you shop Krogers, this is a no-brainer. Pay $300 for $330 Kroger gift card -- instant 10% return on your money. By the time I've purchased my other two, I will have made a profit of $120 just for buying my groceries in the store I always buy my groceries!

Scarey weather here

I'll be on the computer just a short time today, as we're under yet another tornado watch and severe t-storm warning here. It's been a nervous 24 hours, but everyone here is fine and no major tornadoes have hit in our area. This is what the weather map looked like at about 9pm last night:


If you look in the center of the screen you can see "Hamilton" where my daughter and grandson live, with a tornado just above in the bright bright pink (the white "spots" are lightening ground strikes). Then if you follow the red and blue diagonal lines for about 10 miles, that's where we live. The lines were the direction the tornado was going. It was NOT a full-scale tornado -- no structural damage at all, just trees and power lines down. It never arrived here, but we did get the signs of tornadoes in the area -- a very jumpy cat and pea-green skies.


It was pitch-black during the storms last night, but I managed to catch the above picture just as lightening was flashing -- look at those ominous clouds and the weird colors.

These storms are "freight training" right across our area today, meaning they are just lining up one after the other after the other. Here's what our 8am weather looks like. I assume the Hamilton thermometer got hit by lightening last night -- because it's been reading 150 degrees all morning! It's hot and steamy but not THAT hot and steamy!

I'm home alone today, but have my cell phone charged up and a little "emergency" kit ready to take to the basement with me if necessary. We've had very very heavy rain this morning, and it's very dark outside despite being 9:30am. We're under a tornado watch until 4pm, so it will be a long day!

To friends and family reading this, PLEASE don't call me until after 4pm. I hate talking on the phone during these storms!

My May Spending Fast - Update

Thanks to Beth Dargis of My Simpler Life blog, I have been on a "spending fast" since May 1st, with the object of not spending any unnecessary money. I thought I'd update on how the month went.

I've actually learned quite a bit this month. First, I have a tendency to order things online -- mainly fabric but also computer games and "gadgets" that appeal to me. I did buy myself two birthday gifts -- first was James Frey's new book, Bright Shiney Morning, but I'm not counting that against my spending fast, since I pre-ordered it last March when I first heard it was coming out in May. On the day of my birthday, I bought myself a computer game for $9.99.

I've really tightened up on my food spending, and have spent this month learning how to work the Walgreens and CVS coupon and rebate/money back programs. At this point I am getting all our personal care items, cleaning supplies and paper goods for free or nearly free. It took me awhile to get this process organized, but I'm feeling confident now and can see the advantages every week when I check my bank balance.

My weakness is yard sales. Last week I spent about $8 at yard sales, for clothes and toys for Brayden. I didn't buy anything for myself, but then again, I didn't see anything I wanted! I think I need to incorporate yard sales into my monthly budget, and designate an amount I can spend and not go over.

Jeff had a week off this month, but we spent all but one day doing yard and garden work. I purchased my vegetable plants at the flea market this year, and saved about 1/2 of what I normally spend. If I was truly frugal, I would have started them all from seed back in January, but it didn't occur to me then. We did take the last day of his "staycation" off and went to a movie (matinee, senior rate (!) $6.50 each) and dinner. However, I used a 60% off coupon from Restaurant.com , so a nice dinner cost us less than $15.00. (I don't think we'll ever eat out again without checking out that web site. I love the fact there is no membership fee. You just go on the site, type in your zip code, pick a restaurant and purchase a "Gift Certificate". The day I checked there was a 60% sale going on, so I paid $4 for a $25 gift certificate!)

I driving far less these days because of the cost of gas. I try to incorporate all my driving into one day specifically for errands. I'm hoping a tank of gas will last me 6 to 8 weeks, since everything I need is within 3 miles of my house... grocery stores, department stores, bank, post office, office supply store, etc. Walgreens is about 1/4 mile away and CVS about 2 miles. Last week I did buy gas but I first used gasbuddy.com and got gas for $3.86 by driving 2 miles, instead of paying $3.99 at the three gas stations closer to my house.

Jeff and I sat down and talked about our budget and about getting prepared for prices of everything to go up even more in the near future, and where we could cut back to prepare for it. Jeff went into work the very next day and approached his boss about working from home 10 days of the month! This would be a tremendous savings on gas, cut down on mileage on the new car, and cut down on buying new clothes for work so often. He's still waiting to hear if they're going to approve it.

We received several checks this month, including our federal tax refund (the regular one, not the stimulate-the-economy check), a bonus from Jeff's work, and some rebate checks. We have decided to use Jeff's bonus to replace the skylights in our master bedroom and Jeff's bathroom with more energy efficient units, plus put a timer on our electric water heater. All other checks went towards the principle of our home improvement loan we took out two years ago to re-do the kitchen and exterior of our house. I learned if I make additional payments on the loan, I need to do it on THE DAY the loan is due, otherwise, part of it will be applied straight to interest, not the principle.

So it's been a learning experience for me. I've always thought of myself as a frugal person, but this month has helped me examine where I can make long-term changes that have a positive effect on our budget. It's been an education!

Rainy Day Activities for Toddlers

Anyone who reads my blog knows I adore my 2 1/2 yr old grandson, Brayden Lee. I babysit for him two days a week, from 7am to 5:00pm. We spend about 50% of our time outside, 15% of our time doing some kind of activity or game, 25% of our time doing "chores" including both housework and gardening, and 10% of our time with Brayden playing quietly on his own with whatever he wants to play with. But then, there are rainy days and I suddenly have to find new things to do with the 50% of our time that's normally spent outside. I thought I'd share some of the things we do. I found age-appropriate computer games at our local library. One in particular that Brayden has enjoyed for several months now is called "Giggles Baby - Animals and Friends". (You can find more info here - no affiliation!) He can make mice race or kitties meow or gophers pop out of holes. I put his high chair right up to the computer so he can easily access the mouse and keyboard. He will sit for 20 or 25 minutes playing these computer games by himself, and sometimes 20 or 25 minutes of a two year old playing quietly by himself is a Godsend! We have visited a few web sites on the Internet -- Noggin and Mickey Mouse Club House, for example -- which Brayden really enjoys. For both these sites I sit with him and and he can point to what he wants to do and I click on the mouse for him. Attention span on each site is about 10 minutes. Another great website we have tried is called TumbleBooks and it is online animated storybooks for little ones! You'll need to have a flash player installed to view the books, but it will be well worth it! If you have a little one that loves books, these are just perfect. They page through automatically, with an audible reader, and each page of the storybook is animated. I loved the AbraCadabra and the Tooth Witch story, myself. Once you get to the initial screen, click on "StoryBooks" to find the books for younger readers. They also have several "Caillou" animated books, which always have such a nice "message" to the story. If you have a little one in your life, you won't want to miss this web site. Oh, and there ARE books for older children here as well! Another cute site for older toddlers and pre-schoolers is the ABC site at StarFall. You click on any alphabet block, and a little animation comes up about that letter. Cute way to introduce your toddler to the alphabet! Think it's impossible to play "peek-a-boo" on the computer? Babies and toddlers will love this web site! Check out the entire Kneebouncers web site while you're there -- lots to do for babies of all ages! Non-computer things we do: Cooking - Brayden likes to dump things into a bowl, so I take advantage of it and we sometimes cook something as easy as cupcakes, or as difficult as homemade soup. Anything that needs to be chopped with a knife is done beforehand, so there are no knives in the area. Crockpot recipes are as good as homemade soups. You need something with 8 or 10 ingredients that can be "dumped" and stirred. And don't forget to have them SMELL -- spices, onions, everything! Explain what it is they are smelling. The Missing Game - I get any four objects I know Brayden can identify verbally. Last week we used a ball, a block, a marble and a gyroscope (he says diediscope). I line them up on the coffee table, and have him say the name of each object. Then I cover them all with a cloth, grab one item and pull the cloth off, with the item hidden in the cloth. Then Brayden tells me what object is missing. He loves playing this! The Front Door game - We have a glass storm door on our front door, so we can do this in any weather. Our staircase is just a few feet from the front door, so I open the door and we sit on the stairs together and talk about what we see. First, I'll say, "Oh, I see so many things! I see..." trees, grass, flowers, a neighbor's truck, a school bus, etc. Then I ask him what he sees. When he tells me something he sees, I'll ask him what color it is... We try and cover blue skies, green grass, yellow flowers -- just to reinforce his colors and his verbal skills. Music - If you have a toddler in the 2-5 year old bracket, you need to have them listen to the music of Laurie Berkner... great stuff! Some of Brayden's favorite songs -- Drive My Car, The BumbleBee Song, Laurie's Got a Skunk on Her Head and more. Check your local library -- they may have it and you can copy it on your PC :) We sing, we act out the music...we chase each other to "I'm gonna get you so you better run..." Good stuff. Sandbox - I took a medium sized cheapo clear plastic storage container that's about 2 feet long, 18 inches wide and 8 inches deep, and bought some sandbox sand ($3 a bag) and filled the container with sand down in my basement. I brought down some kitchen utensils and a dump truck... and away we go. Brayden will play in this little sandbox for at least an hour. Go the the Library! Our public library is one of my very favorite places, so I was overjoyed when Brayden was finally old enough to attend weekly Story Hour, but that's stopped for the summer. So we just go to the library to enjoy ourselves. Our library has board books and toddler books in boxes on the floor, and Brayden picks out 3 or 4 and we sit in the tiny sitting area in the Children's Room and read. He is allowed to take 2 books home with us (one book for each year old is a good rule). If you go to the library, please be sure and teach your child library manners - no pulling books off the shelves, no running, no talking loudly, etc. As someone who has worked at the library, I know that a large majority of parents forget that step and it makes it difficult for everyone. Grocery Shopping - You CAN go grocery shopping with a toddler, honest! I don't do a two-hour monthly shopping marathon, but I can definitely keep Brayden happy for 30 to 45 minutes in the grocery store. Just as we're about to enter, I give him two "jobs" -- "Brayden, your job today is to find Bananas and Yogurt" for example. I choose foods that he eats on a regular basis and knows by site. As we move through the aisles, he's doing his job -- trying to find yogurt and bananas. We talk about things we see, especially in the produce aisles. I let him smell things -- apples, oranges, cantelope, flowers, spices, air freshener, etc. Every once in awhile I remind him of what his job is and ask him if he's found them yet. I generally go to other aisles for 5 or 10 minutes, then go down the aisle that has one of his foods and let him find it. I make a big deal about what a great job he did -- and remind him of his next food to look for. That usually gets me through another half of the grocery store while he's looking. When I'm almost finished we go down the aisle where his last food is located and he's happy all over again. Then we're ready to head to the register and go home. Grocery shopping done, toddler happy, and he wasn't focused on what we weren't buying (junk food, toys) because he was too busy looking for the things we did buy. Completely avoid aisles that you know are going to cause confrontation (candy aisle, toy aisle). When we arrive at the check-out I pull out any "squishable" food and then put Brayden in the cart and have him help me put the food on the check-out counter. This keeps his eyes in the opposite direction of the candy at the check-out lane! We do lots of other things -- coloring, "writing", reading, play-doh and if I'm terribly tired or if he needs something to quiet him down before naptime -- Baby Einstein DVD's. Very rarely do we turn the TV on and very rarely is Brayden ever bored!

Training them young

I had two full days with Brayden Lee this week. My daughter went to a Reds baseball game with friends on Thursday night, and since Friday is my normal day to babysit, I offered to just keep him overnight. (My purely selfish reason was that if she picked him up at 11pm to take him home, he'd be wide awake and not get much sleep, and I'd be stuck with a cranky child on Friday!)

On Thursday evening after dinner (he ate spaghetti - yay! Something other than chicken nuggets!), Brayden and Jeff went out for some hot tub time. (We turn the temp down to 96 and I set a timer for 15 minutes.) How sweet is this photo of Umpa (Jeff) and Brayden? They have such a wonderful relationship -- you can see it in both their eyes!

After the hot tub, Brayden played with his garage and cars for awhile (which is a very calming and quiet activity for him), then it was off to bed to read a story. I have a book called "Ten Little Monkeys" which has been his favorite book at my house since he was old enough to read to (6 months). We hadn't read it for at least a month, so he was happy when I pulled it out. Each page has a little monkey poem, plus a number 1 through 10. On each page, he pointed to the number and asked me what it was. When we got to the page with the big green 10 on it, Brayden said, "Umma! Two Number 10!" and pointed at the page, then flipped the book closed to point at another number 10 on the cover! I thought that was quite clever :)

Brayden hadn't slept at our house for several months, so his "big bed" (our guest bed) was a little strange to him (he naps in my bed normally), so it took him awhile to fall asleep -- about 11pm! He slept until 7am the next morning, which is really about 2-3 hours less than he'd normally sleep.

We decided to clean house before going out (I do try to teach him that we have to do our work first), so Brayden vaccuumed the family room and kitchen for me. How's that for big help?

The most fun we had, though, was when we went to a yard sale I'd seen advertised in the paper (because it had his size clothes and toys). We arrived and walked up the driveway, and Brayden timidly held my hand as I looked around. I did find some great clothes (nearly new Children's Place and OshKosh clothes for 50 cents each!), and asked Brayden if he saw any toy he'd like and he said.. "Ummmmm....... noooooo....." I chose a Hot Wheels Steering Wheel for him to play with in the car, and I found an age-appropriate battery-operated race car for him. He was so excited to play with the steering wheel when we got back in the car! I said to him, "Do you want to go back to Umma's house and play with your race car?" and he said... "One more yard sale!" LOL So off we went.. to one more yard sale...

At the next yard sale, Brayden had the hang of the whole thing. He walked into the garage like he owned the place. I told him to look for a toy to buy, so he began looking at everything around. He walked by so many things I thought he'd like, but about half-way around the tables, he suddenly said, "Umma! Red Elmo cup!" and sure enough, clutched in his little hands was a great plastic cup shaped like Elmo's head... for .10 cents. "Do you want to get that?" "Yes!" and then he kept looking and found a very small toy watering can for another .10 cents. And look what I found for him -- for $3 (it sells on Amazon for $55!).

When we got back to my house, the first thing Brayden wanted to do was have some applejuice in his Elmo cup. He's used to Sippy Cups, so when he took his first drink, he dribbled a bit. He took a look at the cup and said, "No top! Big boy cup!" and was so proud of himself.

We actually had a thoroughly enjoyable day together (which is pretty standard). We cleaned house, went to two yard sales, Brayden had some Umpa time, and we spent time reading, drawing, and playing outside. Brayden is officially the flower-waterer now with his new little watering can, and the morning glory seeds I planted on the back deck have suddenly sprung out of the dirt and are two inches tall since Brayden watered them. It must be the love and absolute joy of a little boy watering his first flowers that made them grow like that.

Walgreens $10 coupon - today only

Head to this website and pick up a $10 off $30 purchase good at Walgreens today only.