The CPSC Visit

Today I had a visit from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Yes, at my house. There was recently a new recall of cribs from Simplicity. This is at least the second major recall from this company. They are now out of business, but the cribs continue to be recalled. B.'s crib model was included in the latest recall but not his date code. I called and filed a report because when we purchased the crib we had issues with the crib not going together properly, and the drop-side never worked right. Our major issue was with the solid-side because the screws never really caught. After a lot of work, we got it together, and Steve was confident it was okay.

I received a phone call yesterday saying someone wanted to come out to photograph and inspect the crib ASAP. It was a priority. Since I had off today, the representative came today. I only called to file the report last week! The rep. took lots of photos, measurements, and asked a lot of questions. She even took the instruction manual to a local copy shop to copy it. She was very nice, and assured me the crib appeared sound at this point. Unfortunately, she is not able to follow up with me after this, but she suggested I continue watching the recalls to see if the recent recall is extended to include our crib's date code.

If anyone is interested in keeping current with CPSC recalls, you can sign up for recall emails here. http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCList.aspx There are several subscription options, so you can select the one that you are most interested in receiving.

-Denise

Fall Cleaning

It is fall cleaning time. Yes, most people do spring cleaning, or so the saying goes, but I like to do fall cleaning in my kitchen. This is the time of year that I like to go through our pantry cabinets and rid the shelves of expired food items and pull out items to donate to a local food pantry. No, I would never donate expired food to a food pantry. If I don't want to eat, why should I expect someone else too. Yuck!

So, I cleaned out my pantry this past week. I ended up having to throw out a large garbage bag full of items that were way past their dates. Some said 2007! I am really am not sure how those missed my spring pantry cleaning, but they did. I hated throwing out all that food. I am going to make it an early resolution to make sure to take better stock of what we have in the pantry so fewer items go to waste. We have a lot more space now, and everything is much better organized.


The good thing is I do have two bags of items for a local food pantry. I pulled out items that we had several multiples of or we had tried and didn't really care for it enough to use another can or package of it again in the future. At least the food will get used by someone before I have to throw it out during my next pantry cleaning date.

-Denise

Cheap and Free Entertainment

My husband and I love to watch movies. We will go to the theater when we can to catch a matinee, but we find it hard and expensive to go often. We have quite a large DVD library at home, but we are running out of space and videos ($) add up to over time as well. We are trying some new ways to watch movies. Maybe you are already using these services, or maybe one might help you save some money too.

1) Netflix-I purchased a 3 month subscription to Netflix for my husband for his birthday. He has gotten a lot of discs already. He is primarily watching old TV shows on DVD, and I am happy we are not buying the seasons to keep. The turn over time through the mail is very short, and we have been happy with this service. It saves us gas from having to drive to a video store, and the selection is great.

2) Redbox-We started getting DVDs from the Redbox machines at the grocery stores as well. The selection can be limited, but there are usually several movies in stock that we have not seen before. The rental is only $1.00 for a 24-hour period. It must be back though within the 24-hours to keep from having your credit card charged additional fees. We only rent from here if we know we are going to watch the video the same night. There are lots of sites online that have codes for free promotional codes listed as well, so we have gotten several DVDs for free. Even better!

3) On Demand-We have Comcast's On Demand service, so we can often find movies, TV shows, and concerts available for free through this service. Yes, we are technically paying for the service through our monthly cable bill, but we are still saving money by not paying a rental fee or gas to get to a store. There are newer movies available for a fee as well, and we have gotten them occasionally as well. The cost is about the same as going to a video rental store, but again there is no gas or time involved to get the video.

4) The Public Library-I have been checking out a lot of items recently at the library including books for me and B., audio books for my ride to and from work, CDs for all of us, and even a few videos. These are all free as long as they are all returned on time. The fines can be killer, if you don't stay on top of the due dates.

Cheap or free is one of the best ways to watch a movie.

-Denise

Free Pampers Point Code

I saw this posted on a blog I read. http://www.frugalfinds.blogspot.com/ Enter the code below for a free Pampers point if you collect them. I used other for the purchase location. It worked for me.
OHAMANDAAWGTG08

-Denise

Still sick, but I am back.

As the title states I am still sick, but I am trying to get back over here to post again. I think I am really just writing for myself as I am not sure anyone else is really reading, but that is fine too for now. I am enjoying having a place to write about things on my mind. So, I am back.

Currently football has taken over our house. My husband runs a fantasy football league, and every game seems to be important. I actually hate football season because it turns my normal husband into a crazy, mean monster when his fantasy team is losing. When his team is winning, it is like he is possessed! He cheers and jumps around the living room like he was right there at the game. I tell him every year that this is the last year for the football league because he drives me crazy with his football mood swings.

I hope football season is more enjoyable in your house! If it is, I am jealous. If you can sympathize, thanks, and I do feel your pain.

Busy and Sick

Sorry to have not posted more this week, but Ben was sick, I am now sick, and it is just a crazy week. I hope to be back in a day or two with more regular posts.

-Denise

A Trip to the Elmwood Park Zoo

I have never been to the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, PA http://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/, even though I have lived close to it my entire life. We took B. there this weekend for his first visit to the zoo. He loved it! He kept saying. "I see aminals!" Yes, he hasn't quite mastered the word animals yet, but he is getting there. he cracked us up with his pronunciations of certain "aminals". Particular favorites were the buff-a-lo (really bison, but not a big difference for him), mouse (really prairie dogs), and leopard (really a jaguar, but we were just impressed he knew what a leopard was!) The conservation playground slides were also a huge hit with B.

We spent probably spent approximately two hours there. We really did see everything. It is a small zoo, and older kids might get bored quickly. It was perfect for B. at age two. We will definitely go back again. We had a free child's admission coupon as a bonus, so we spent under $20 to get all three of us into the zoo. Food was reasonably priced as well compared to bigger zoos and attractions we have visited.

Here are a few photos.

B. and Daddy petting the goats. B. was a little scared at first.

The really cute prairie dogs. a.k.a. Mouse to B.

B. enjoying the slide at the conservation playground.

-Denise

Overdue Library Books

Over the summer I started taking B. to the library more frequently. He loves getting new books from the library. I have also been getting music on CD as well to check out some new artists before buying CDs. B. is obsessed with The Wiggles, so I like trying out CDs this way to see if he likes them before buying them. There are few artists he will listen to that he doesn't scream over requesting The Wiggles instead. (It is so much fin when you get a Wiggles song stuck in your head all day! Not!) I also have a new addiction to audio books. I never have time to read all of the books I am interested in, so audio books for my 45-minute commute to and from work gives me time to listen to books I have been waiting to read.

In the few months we have been going to the library more frequently, I have also experienced a few overdue fines for a few items. The worst was for a Wiggles DVD (darn Wiggles!) that I had a $2 fine for when I returned it. These fees can add up quickly. For some reason I just can't always remember when our books and CDs are due. When I was reading a blog last night, I read about www.libraryelf.com. (Yes, I once again can't for the life of me remember which one it was and can't give it credit again. Yes, I read a lot of blogs! Maybe my husband is right. Nah!) It is great! You create an account, enter your public library card numbers, and the site emails you reminders when items are getting close to their due dates. I am hoping this well save us a lot of pennies in fines.

-Denise

Coupons for Troops

Did you know that you can help out our overseas troops simply by sending coupons, even expired ones, to overseas bases? I happened to stumble across an article about this on a blog I was reading. I would give credit to this blog accept I can't remember which one it was. It was a blog I don't normally read, and I can't even remember how I found it. Sorry to this blogger in advance! As my husband likes to tease me, I read too many blogs!

How does it work? I am so glad you want to know! LOL Overseas bases accept current and expired coupons as long as they are only two months out of date, and the base puts them out for the families to take at the stores located on the base. The base stores will take the expired coupons for a few months after the expiration date. It is just a little way to help out these military families that are far away from home. They get to save a few dollars, and we can feel good for helping out in this small way.

I started collecting my expired coupons and even ones from new circulars for products I know I will not use. I have a large manila envelope that I have been filing these away in. At the end of each month, I will separate them and tally them as the organization requests and mail them away. Yes, I do have to pay the postage, but I am okay with this.

If you are interested in getting more information, check out the link below.
http://www.ocpnet.org/

I just adopted Alconbury, U.K., a US Air Force base. I am not on the list yet, but it is really easy to pick a base, send the adoption email, and get started. I'll post what my totals are for the first month in a few weeks.

-Denise

The New Daycare Classroom

Well, B. seems to be enjoying his new daycare classroom for the most part. He loves the new toys, special activities, and going outside more often. There was even a day this week that he told me he didn't want to go home because he wanted to play.

He is having a few minor issues that I am hoping will get straightened out as time goes by in the next few weeks. One is nap time. While B. is used to music at nap time, the music in this room is played much louder. There are also a lot more kids camped out on mats around the room. The two things together are apparently keeping B. from settling in and getting a decent amount of sleep in. Most days he is sleeping only 1 hr. when he usually sleeps 2 hrs. + at home and in his old classroom. This is causing B. to be extremely cranky when we get home. He has to get up at 6 AM on several days of the week when Steve and I work the same days. B. is jut not getting enough sleep some days and shorter naps are not helping. He already goes to bed at 7 PM, so I am not sure we really want to make that any earlier.

B. is also apparently feeling a little stressed in the bathroom department. This room is very focused on getting kids potty trained. I am glad because we have been working on it at home, but not as much as in his classroom. He has only really gone on the potty maybe 4 or 5 times in the last 2-3 months. In t his daycare classroom they sit him on the potty before every diaper change and keep sticker charts. This all sounds okay to me, but from what we can figure, the constant potty sitting and the fact new people are changing his diaper has lead him to hold his #2 and gets him constipated. Then he has a bellyache and is even crankier than before. bet that was all more than you really wanted to know! Sorry for the TMI!

As I said, I think the new classroom will be a good thing once we get a few things worked out and B. starts to feel a little more comfortable with his new teachers.

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

-Denise

Tired

It is really hard trying to get back on the school year schedule. B.'s sleep schedule is all out of whack making him rather cranky. We are trying to get him on our new/old schedule again, but it will be a few weeks before he really adjusts. Mommy is tired too! I stayed up rather late most nights in the summer, so I am having to make myself go to bed earlier even though I still have tons of work to do. Luckily, my insomnia is not an issue right now. I think this is the first year I actually slept the night before my first day teaching for the school year. Maybe that is because this is now my ninth year teaching?! I am just happy I can sleep because I am exhausted.

I hope to give a report on how B. likes his new classroom at daycare tomorrow night. Stay tuned.

-Denise

Beware when they get quiet!

I have firsthand experience that when a child gets unusually quiet, it often means that he/she is getting into trouble. If only I had remembered this a few minutes earlier today.

I was going through old coupons and throwing out expired ones before clipping some new ones. B. decided to throw all of the old coupons on the floor and was sitting there next to the dining room table playing with them. I continued what I was doing until my brain suddenly focused in on the sounds coming from B.'s corner of the floor. It was not crumpled paper that I was hearing. B. was throwing handfuls of dirt from a potted plant all over the floor in the dining room and in on the carpet in the attached living room. It took a minute for the situation to settle in before I yelled, "No! What are you doing?"

"I play with dirt Mama."

"No, no more dirt."

I then brushed him off and started sweeping and vacuuming up the mess. B. just walked away and started playing with cars instead. We chatted about plants and dirt in the house a little more later, and I am hoping there will not be a repeat performance again on another day.

-Denise