My Amazing Old Navy Opportunity

I am a member of a website called Crowdtap.  It is a great place to give your opinion about things and to earn things for yourself and for a charity of your choice.  I was recently picked to become a member of the Old Navy Style Council.  I was sent 2 coupons for a free pair of jeans.  One for myself and one for my friend.  Considering my mom is my best friend, I gave her the other coupon. 

On a rare girls day together, mom and I headed up to Old Navy.  I immediately went to the jeans section.  My absolute favorite pair of jeans that I own is from ON.  They are the Sweetheart Flare style. Sadly, ON does not make these anymore L  I was amazed at how many different kinds that they do offer.  I grabbed everyone that I could find in my size and headed to the dressing rooms.  Ok I actually browsed the rest of the store and found several more things to try on as well. 

I am a big girl.  I am not going to say what size I wear exactly, but I am very excited that Old Navy does carry my size! 

Now, I am very particular about my jeans.  I want my jeans to feel like I am wearing sweats.  I want them to be that comfortable.  Nobody likes a pair of jeans that is so uncomfortable that the first thing that you do when you get home is get those jeans off!

Let me tell you that I found myself a pair of jeans that are super comfortable!  They are called The Flirt.  They are boot cut.  Love them.  They seriously felt like I was wearing sweats, but I with the look of jeans.  I went for a super dark pair so that it goes with anything.  Super dark is also great to pair up with something dressy to wear out for a night on the town. 

My mom got The Dreamer boot cut and loves them as well. 

I’d like to give a great big thanks to Crowdtap and to Old Navy.  This opportunity was wonderful and I’d love to participate again!

Crappy Morning

How did you wake up today?  Did you hit the snooze button?  Did you jump up raring to go?  Did you sleep in? 

Me?  I woke up at 5:03 am this morning to the sound of E's voice saying to me, "Mommy!  Mommy, wake up!  Mommy, I need new underwear!"

I went to bed a little after 1 am, so at 5 my brain is just not registering that it is time to wake up and function.

After a few huh and what's, I get up out of bed to find out why he needs new underwear.  I'm thinking I need to strip the bed.  I'm thinking, I told him to go potty before he went to sleep.  I'm starting to get upset when he proudly says, "Mommy, I went pee pee in the potty!  But I missed a little and got my underwear wet.  And I got the floor wet.  And the toilet wet.  But it was an accident."

I don't know about you, but missing a little compared to how he missed....  Trust me that if you have boys or a husband- you know about cleaning up a "little" miss.

I grab a towel and start to clean up when I realize that it was not just a "little" pee that missed the potty.  There was some #2 as well.  I turn to him and ask him if he went #2.  I know, dumb question but it was still way too early for me.  I have to ask him if he wiped.  Another dumb question because I know the answer to this one too.

I clean him and the potty up and head back to bed.  Needless to say, it was a pretty crappy start to my morning   ;)

Where Do I Go From Here?

As a mother of a newly diagnosed child with Autism, I have a ton of questions.  How did this happen?  Was there anything I could've done?  And most importantly, what now?  What do I do? 

My son who is going to be 3 tomorrow, Lo, was already accepted into preschool under the premise of a developmental delay.  He's going to be getting speech therapy because he's got 2 spontaneous words under his belt, Hi and NOooooooooooooo!  He also has an array of sensory issues so he is going to be receiving occupational therapy.  He is already seeing a feeding specialist because his sensory issues prevent him from eating any solid food.  At 3 he still eats baby food. 

We were given the official diagnoses last week and I am still overwhelmed with my options.  The best option would be to put him in a school that specializes in teaching kids with his challenges.  Out of pocket, I am looking at $70,000.  Does insurance cover any of it?  NO.  Why?  What is so special about Autism that insurance companies feel the need to either not cover it or cover so little that it puts people in positions where they have to choose how much they can afford to be able to help their child succeed?  What other options are out there?  Where do I go from here?

I don't get very good answers from anyone.  The doctors give me names of people to contact.  I leave messages and get nowhere fast.  I know I am not alone in this journey, but how do I find out who I can commiserate with?

Drug Mart Deals 08/03/11- 08/09/11

I know that we all love to save money.  I have 3 kids so money pours out of this house like it's water.  So when I see some good deals, I am going to post them.

I did my own Drug Mart matchups this week mostly because DM is a local store to those of us in North East Ohio and because they do have some awesome deals!  I am going strictly by the ad and I am not sure what varieties and types are included in the sale other than what is mentioned.  When you go to the store there are usually stickers showing what is and what isn't included.

If you got a Sunday paper with coupons, you are good to go.  

I am going to be using a few abbreviations:

SS- Smart Source

RP- Red Plum

PG- Proctor and Gamble

You will always get your SS/PG in your Sunday paper.  The RP always comes in the mail.  Usually Tuesday or Wednesday with some of your sales papers.

Here we go:

Number one best deal of the week hands down:  Dawn Dishwashing Soap on sale 88¢.  
             Coupon in the PG (07/31) is for 50¢ off one!  You can stock up on your dish soap for 33¢ !  

Sticking with the PG (07/31) deals include:

Downy Fabric Softener Sheets 2/$7         25¢ coupon off1
Swiffer Dusters also 2/$7             75¢ - $1.00 off depending on specific Swiffer product
Bounce Dryer Sheets 2$/4        25¢ off of 1
Gillette Body Wash for Men 2/$6   $2 off of 1
Gillette Deodorant/AP for Ment  2/$6  $3 off of 2
Crest Whitening Rinse  $3.99   $2 off of one (coupon shows ml but ad says oz.)
Crest Vivid White Strips 10ct  $21.99        $5 off of 1
Fixodent Denture Adhesive 2/$7        50¢ off of 1
Fixodent Denture Cleanser 2/$4     75¢ off of 1
Pampers Diapers Baby Dry Jumbo Pack  $8.99       $1 off of 2 bags
Pampers Wipes 64-77ct  2/$5    Coupon for 1 diaper and 1 wipes is for $2 off.  That might be the better deal.
Pringles Super Stack (not fat free) 3/$4  $1 off of 4


Clean and Clear Facial Products are on sale for $1 off.  There is a coupon in the 07/31 SS for $1.
Seventh Generation Products are all on sale and there is a $1 off in the RP.

They are also offering a $5 DM gift card with $20 in school or office supplies purchased.
I have seen better deals on school supplies elsewhere, otherwise I'd break them down.

Hope these help you guys especially if you are brand loyal to some PG products, like I am :)