I'm Getting Old and Terrified of Being a Mom

Great title huh? Well, here's lemme explain:

So, Saturday night, DH and I decided to hit up our church's carnival. The weather had been bad Wed-Friday and Saturday it was supposed to rain, but it held out and off we went. My nephew's were there (12 and 6) when we arrived and saw my mom and sister selling 50/50's. It was after 930 and the carnival ended at 11. I saw my dad who works in the beer garden, and he was almost taken to the hospital because he had crushed his finger between two full kegs (OUCH). It was all black and blue and bleeding, but he didn't want to go to the hospital so the EMT's wrapped it up. He had to one up me. I was in the ambulance at the carnival last year when my brother in law shot me in the eye at point blank range with a toy gun...I thought I was going to be blind....so not fun.

So, after we did our rounds, my youngest nephew wanted to go on rides and his father was drinking in the beer garden and you can't take the beer outside that area, so DH and I decided to take them on some rides. My mom gave me 15 tix for the youngest one so off we went. Well, the two boys wanted to go on the ferris wheel together. My oldest nephew, I call him Satan Jr. I have ever since he was a baby...he was a bad baby, never slept, cried, the works..and he still does...he's the typical 'bad boy kid' So the two of them get on the ferris wheel and DH and I wait by the exit. It was 10 ticket's for the 2 of them (5 each). And the tickets were $1.25 each...so that's $12.50 for ONE ride...that's a lot of money! Anywho...before the ride starts, my oldest nephew starts shaking the ride. I told him before they even went on not to do that....because the younger nephew will be too scared, and because just a few weeks ago a child died on a ferris wheel by falling out, probably from doing something she wasn't supposed to do. And I'm the one that's going to be responsible for them if something happens. So of course, the guy saw it and told him not to do that. So they go around one time and towards the top, I see their cart moving around. I tell DH and he's like 'Calm down, everyone does that'. Hmph. Yes, he's right, I used to do that. My mom was TERRIFIED of ferris wheels because her father fell out of one years ago (he lived)...but when my sister and I were kids, we'd get her on the ferris wheel and move it all around to scare her. Now, if I go on and someone shakes it, I may kill them LOL. So the guy sees that, so when they come down by him, he stops the ride and tells him if he does it again, they are off the ride. So I walk up to him, and I'm like 'Yes, please, if he does please yank them off...don't feel bad.' Guy smiled. So they went around two more times, then off they came. My younger nephew was terrified. So my older one comes off and I gave him lip. He just wasted $12 of his grandmother's money (who hasn't worked in 2 years b/c she got laid off) and his brother didn't even get to enjoy the ride and they were HIS tickets. So off we went back to their parents and I told them. My brother in law laughed. My mother yelled at him. My sister was oblivious I think. So the younger one has 5 tickets left and didn't get to enjoy the ride. So DH and I go buy more tickets and he wants to go on the scrambler with DH. Then the older nephew talks to him and then he says he wants to go on with his older brother. Told the older one, fine, they go buy your own tickets. hahaha (I'm such a brat!). Told him the sign says if he's a certain height, he has to go with an adult and his brother isn't an adult, so the older one storms off. So DH and my younger nephew go on the scrambler and I stand and watch.

As I'm watching, I glance over at other rides. There's the Buccaneer. It's the one that just goes high in the air, like a pendulum. I love that ride. Always did...even the last time I went on it, I went w/ a friend. And the bar never latched...I was terrified...I thought I was going to fall out. I'm tiny and when that thing goes in the air, I was airborne. But now when I see the rides, I get scared. Maybe I watch too many movies (final destination anyone?). I'm always afraid that ride won't stop and go upside down and people will fall out. Then the scrambler. I'm standing and leaning against the rail. And the carts are coming awful close. So I start to look at all the mechanics behind it, thinking "I hope everything's screwed in tight" And then I back away from standing so close to the rail, just in case a cart comes off and hurdles itself at me.

When did I become so, scared? I used to love rides, now I'm second guessing even my nephew going on them. So off they come and he wants to go on the ferris wheel with me. It's not a big ferris wheel. Shoot, I've been on the one in wildwood, in a thunderstorm, stuck at the tippy top. I should be fine. So we got on and I'm terrified! We get to the top and I'm like 'I hope this cart is fastened' LOL. What am I going to do when I have kids? and if I have a boy with no fear that wants to go on the biggest and highest coaster? Dear old mom ain't going on!

And when the kids act up, like my nephew, then what? I will be looked upon as a bad parent b/c the boy don't listen. And you can't give the kids a good whack anymore. I used to get hit when I did something wrong. I'm not condoning it, but that's why I'm such a goody goody. I knew right from wrong early on. And I knew if I did something wrong, I was getting hit with a hand or a belt (or both!) so I learned pretty quick. Nowadays, you can't hit your kids...but boy did I want to give a good slap in the rear to my nephew that night!

I LOVE CVS!

1st transacation (DH's card)
3 Motrin PM caplets - 4 each ($12) Used 3 $1/1 Q = 9 OOP (Get 3 ECB for each one you get, limit 3)
1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch for DH - 1.00
Total was 10.00 OOP, used $9.99 ECBs from yesterday, paid .01! That's right, 1 PENNY! And I got $9 back! That's an $8.99 profit!

2nd transaction (my card)
2 John Frieda products - $5 each ($10), used a $5/1 q and a $2/1 q. Paid $3 OOP and got back $3 ECBs for buying $10 in JF products
Hydro Razor - 8.00-4q = 4. Buy one and get 4 ECBs back. Pay 4, get 4 = FREE!
Wet Ones Wipes - 1.99
Used 5.99 ECB from the Zyrtec yesterday so I paid $4.26 OOP and got back $7!

3rd transaction (bonus card DH got me last Sept!)
Zyrtec - 5.99-4q = 1.99 OOP and got back $5.99 in ECBs!

Now I got THREE cards I'm rolling on!!! YIPPEE!

So today I paid OOP $6.26 and I got $21.99 to spend! Total profit of $15.73!

Can't wait to see the deals for CVS next week!

Outside Looking In

So, yesterday, I had to babysit my youngest nephew (he's 6 and the cutest kid you'll ever meet, seriously, and I'm not saying that b/c I'm his aunt lol) and I took my best friend with me to keep me company and he obliged. So we pick up the little guy and off we go to his last t-ball game. Ah, memories. I played t-ball when I was a little youngun and my mom helped coach. Wow, my mom? Coaching a sport? I know it's true though, there's pics to prove that she was on the field with us, not just watching from behind the fence. Wow, I need to go off on a tangent here. I don't think my mom knows much about sports...but when her daughter (me) played field hockey, all I remember was her yelling out my name at the top of her lungs...'Go Beth Go!!!!' I could hear her above ALL the other mothers and I was sooooo embarrassed! I don't think she understood the specifics of the game, but knew that I had to get down to the offensive side and score a goal, and also play on defense and make sure the other team didn't score (I was a midfielder, so I did both offense and defense). But I digress. I was a tiny little kid playing...the helmet was bigger then my body and I'm sure that by looking at the pics that I couldn't see a damn thing with that huge helmet on my head. lol

Anywho, so off we go to his t-ball game. He's in the backseat of my mustang. I didn't think he needed a car or booster seat, but as soon as we went outside, my sister gives me his booster seat. "He still needs that? He's six!' She said 'Yes', then explained but I was too busy trying to get the damn thing in the backseat of my car. I remember my oldest nephew. I was with him a LOT when he was a baby. I did a lot of baby sitting and driving my sister around (13 years ago!). I had gotten my Mustang 11 years ago, and had a small car before that (1990 Celica) so getting the HUGE car seat in was a problem. Even with my little nephew, I still had to get that car seat in the back of the Stang...such a pain! So I get it in, get the directions to the ball field and off we go. My nephew was so cute! and my best friend is SO awesome with kids...he's a big kid himself! So off we go and my bff says 'I'm going to play on your team today, my uniform is in the trunk, I'm going to change when we get there' and they proceed to have a conversation...I don't remember what they said b/c I was trying to turn left onto a major road, but I remember smiling inside listening. Then I put on the radio and a new song comes on. don't know the name of it, but Pitbull's in it singing about drinking too much tonight cuz we might not get tomorrow and he's singing it!!!! It was ADORABLE! We pass my dentist and we talk about that. I tell him my bff needs to go to the dentist so he tells him to go. I ask if we can stop in now and have him see the dentist and he goes 'okay' he's so cute.

So at the ballfields (I'm getting to the point of my blog now) we watch him play (hit and play the field). Since the kids are so young, some are sitting not paying attention, some are playing in the sand and some are just standing looking into thin air. They run around the bases, catch and throw the balls, it was fun. Just not all the gnats...ugh! So, we are standing by 3 mom's and one has a little boy, maybe 3. And they are talking about mom things, like their hectic schedules, the schedule for t-ball, something about wearing extra protection because a boy got hurt somewhere else, etc. Total mom brain. What do I talk about? How much work gets on my nerves, trying to find a new job, my latest trip to AC, when I'm planning my next trip to AC, what new movie to see, etc. Total non-mom brain. but watching them watch their kids and talk about mom stuff totally made my heart hurt. I want that. I want a kid. I want to watch my kids grow up. I want to have a hectic schedule taking them from here to there, dance, ballet, sports, etc. I want to be a MOM. I ask my bff if I should have one, if he'd be happy to have a 'buddy' and he's like 'No, b/c you will complain the entire 9 months you're pregnant' Hmph...thanks. My parents say the same thing..."When you get pregnant, we're going to Aruba for 9 months' Hmph. Thanks for the support guys! LOL.

We've been talking more and more about it, and I think it might be about time. I don't know. I'm still iffy about the money and day care thing, but I don't want to wait too much longer because I don't want to be too old of a mom....so who knows.

CVS Rolling 6-15-11

not pictured: 12 pack of Pepsi

Since I was out on vacation last week, I missed all of last week's deals, but I'm back! I had to clip 2 weeks of coupons last night AND for my upcoming coupon class, I decided to show both the binder method and box method of organizing coupons, and I started it last night while clipping! YIPPEE!

Today at CVS:
1 12 pack of Pepsi: .99 with coupon from the big red machine! Scan your card and out pops the coupon!
1 5 pack of Zyrtec: 5.99-4Q=1.99 OOP but got BACK 5.99 in ECBs! ($4 Moneymaker!)
1 Hyrdro Razor: 8.00-4Q= 4 and got back 4 ECBs = FREE!

Used a $3 ECB and paid $4.67 OOP and got back $9.99!

The above deals were limit one per househould, but I have DH's card and an extra one he got me last year so I'm going to do the rest on separate cards and start the rolling on ALL three cards! The one I went to had no more regular Pepsi and I gave up Diet soda for lent and haven't had any since, so I don't want the diet to tempt me at home, so I need to figure out where a CVS is by where I'm going to be tonight :)

Parenting In These Times

I'm terrified to be a parent, a reason why I'm not expecting yet. I see such bad parenting day in and day out....it's like parents don't parent anymore. They are too busy on their IPAD, IPOD, IPHONE, Droid, etc to watch their kids. Or they are after their own agenda (filling their calendar's, etc). Here are two things in the news and from what I hear that caught my attention.

First and foremost is this article http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/123895319.html?jCount=2#comments. A tragic accident had occured in Wildwood, NJ where an 11 year old girl was riding the ferris wheel by herself during a trip to the shore for having good grades. It was a school sponsored trip. She was alone in the ferris wheel which climbes to 150 feet. She fell out of her gondola at about 100 feet and tragically passed away. It is such a shame that this happened. There was no witnesses or anything so they have been investigating the cause since the beginning of June when it occured. Everything is pointing to the girl causing it, by either kneeling in the gondola or leaning out to talk to friends, etc. At this point, the parents are hiring lawyers to investigate further. In the years that Morey's Pier has been in operation, no such accident has occured before this one. Yes, it's sad, but your little girl was just buried and you're worried about money? Nobody hires a lawyer to investigate and expects not to receive any money. It seems the amusement park is not at fault and there was no negligence on their part, but yet the parents are already thinking lawsuit. They want it to be mandated that you cannot ride alone and that there be seatbelts. Okay, what about the poor single guy that goes to Wildwood alone to see the sights and would like to ride the ferris wheel....he can't if they pass this because you can't ride alone. Or even the third wheel in a group outing...guess that person will just have to ride in the gondola with the happy couple and watch them make out, or wait for them on the ground. Sounds like fun.

And seatbelts. I can see that, maybe. The gondola from what I remember is pretty much enclosed, but there are bars that you can peek your head/body out of and you can get out if you wanted to....WANTED to. When I rode that thing (it goes high) I didn't move an inch from where I was, in fear that if I did, I'd tip it over. I know now that can't happen, but whatever, that's nor hear nor there. But do parents teach their kids that when they are on a ride to sit still or follow the rules? I'm sure in this day in age, there's signs everywhere by rides saying to keep your hands and feet inside at all times. In Great Adventure, there's signs AND they are on the PA system by the ride explaining such things. But I bet you even with all those as precautions, if someone were to jump off a ride, the parents or family would sue.

Accidents happen..that's why they are called accidents. This shouldn't be a way for the parents to hit a jackpot. They should be mourning their loss of their child, and if they were serious about seatbelts, not riding alone, they should be talking to their congress people, not a lawyer.

I also heard on the radio that a friend had emailed the host about having a fight with the teachers at her child's school. Her son had taken a test and the teacher graded the test with a red pen...so if you got a question wrong, it was marked with an X or whatever with a red pen. She says that color is too harsh, like the teacher is yelling at the child and wanted the papers/tests to be graded in purple ink.

REALLY? What are we teaching kids at this age? In BOTH scenarios. And what are parents doing? Making it easy on them AND their children. These kids are growing up thinking they are entitled to this and that and the parents ENABLE them. Even on the Suze Orman Money Class show...she had interviewed kids regarding allowances. The kids that she talked to received allowance and when she asked what they did to get their money (thinking, dishes, laundry, chores, etc) she got answers like 'Well, I was born wasn't I?" and when asked if they got more then their younger siblings "Well, yea, I'm older, so I should get more money". Wow. These kids are in for a rude awakening when they grow up. Parents now make it so easy on little Johnny and Mary that when they don't get a job what are they going to do???? Even a guest on the Suze Orman show last week got to me. They were 28 years old, newly married. She has a master's degree and he had a JD. They had a lot of student loan debt and felt they deserved x, y, and z because they have worked so hard....at 28???? really? You went to school and just started working....yet you've 'worked' hard? What are they going to be thinking in 30 YEARS when they've worked for 30 years, not 1 or 2? It's really sad to see what people think and how skewed everything is.

I may take my parents for granted at times, but you know what? They raised me and look how I turned out? I think I turned out pretty damn well if I do say so myself. I may think they didn't parent me well growing up because I didn't always get what I want, but I have a friend that always got what he wanted and he's sooooo messed up it's not even funny. But me, who got grounded, told I couldn't have brand new clothes every year, couldn't have any new gadgets, etc grew up to have a great head on my shoulders. I just don't know if I can or could be half as wonderful as a parent that my parents were to me.

The Joneses Are BROKE

Hate to tell everyone, but the Joneses are broke!

Seems today, that all anyone is trying to do is keep up with the Joneses. It's really sad that we're still in a recession, yet people are out buying the next big thing, moving into larger homes, signing up for expensive gym memberships, yet have no 8 month Emergeny Fund or any retirement savings. What's going to happen to these people when heavens forbid something happens to them, or they become too old to work....how will they survive? Will their 5000 square foot home pay the bills? Nope. Will their brand new car bring in a few extra bucks? Doubtful. Will their IPAD 251 get a job? Nope. Yet people live this lie just to show off and I just don't get it. People think they are entitled to things just because they were born and are breathing. They are teaching their children the wrong things to do, and those children will be the ones to suffer because the children will have to take care of them when they are too old to work and have no retirement to live off of....and who knows if Social Security will even be around....and Social Security was not meant to be lived off of.

This is an epidemic I'm seeing day in and day out, and granted, I do 'fall' for some of the hype, but we live very frugally and can afford a splurge now and again. It scares me though seeing people that I know that cannot afford these things buying them, whether they are charging on their credit cards with huge interest rates, or even cash, which maybe the rent won't get paid this month.

Maybe I'm just venting here, but does this scare anyone else? It's almost like I can foresee a similar housing crisis happen but with people in retirement can't afford to live and the government will once again bail them out and give them money? And what would happen to those people that lived below their means, scraped to get by to save for retirement and save for splurges? I guess I get discouraged because of the housing crisis. Yes, I understand that bailing out the people that got in way over their head helped stabilize the economy, but do people have no morals anymore? The majority of the people around here that I know of bought a house they couldn't afford, bought 'stuff' to make them 'happy' then got a bailout. Yet, I bought a house (condo) and when I thought we couldn't afford it, I put a halt to all outgoing money, wrote out a budget, started couponing, stopped going out all the time, cut back on eating out, etc to make sure my mortgate note got paid on time. But other people just don't care it seems....but this country enables it and bails them out....but what about those that did the right thing? Our hands are never out and yet nothing ever gets given to us. It makes me feel that doing the 'right' thing isn't always the 'right' thing to do.

Taking a Break from Poker

Yes, you all read that correctly. As of June 9th at about 4pm when I busted out of yet another tournament without cashing, I made the decision to not play poker for awhile. I'm taking a much needed break from the game. I have had only one, yes ONE winning session so far in 2011...the rest have been losing sessions. Now, don't jump to conclusions and think that I've been losing a ton of money, because I haven't. For the most part, if I lost, I made it back playing slots or Let It Ride or even Blackjack. And at times, when I lost DH won, so we broke even or came home winners (together). But I'm talking about ME...I've only one one time this year and that's a sign that perhaps this is not my poker year, or that the beginning half of the year wasn't for me.

SO, I'm not giving up on AC. I will still play slots, LIR, BJ, etc. while DH plays poker or he may even join me. I will miss the game and of course all the wonderful people I have met, but I'll still show my face around the poker room to say hello to all my friends in there, but I won't be playing for awhile.

Is this going to be hard? Hell yes it will be. Especially with Borgata tempting me with wonderful tournaments and blogs, etc. My plan is to sit back, maybe get coached or take a WPT Boot Camp or something and see where it leads me. I would like to play the ladies event in the fall open at Borgata, but we'll see. They only got about 90 players in yesterday's event, so we'll see how I feel.

Besides, you get the most out of the comps at the slot machines....and I found a new gambling love...the American Idol slot machine :)

Keep It Rolling - Shop Rite 6/3/11

I just HAD to go back to Shop Rite to use up the coupons I had for the AWESOME deals Shop Rite was giving away this week! I went to my BFF's shop and printed out 4 SOLO coupons for .75 each (doubling to a dollar). I just googled 'Solo printable coupons' as I wasn't sure where i found the others I had printed at my house. So here's what I did:

4 Solo Plates 2.99-1 = 1.99 each -.75/1 q (doubled to 1.50) = .49 each. Solo has a CAT deal where WYB 4, you get $4 CAT OYNO. So I paid out of pocket (OOP) 1.96 for these plates and got $4 back!!!!! That's a MONEYMAKER (MM)!

2 Hefty Trash Bags 2.69-1.35 = 1.34 each. Used .55/1 (double to 1.10) = .24 each

2 Resolve 2.99-1.20 = 1.79. Used .75/1 (doubled to 1.50) = .29 each

4 Nexcare BandAids - 2.49-1.50 = .99. Used 3 .55/1 coupons doubled equals 3 FREE. One I paid .99 for. I thought I had 4 .55/1 coupons, but I had 3 and the 4th was $1/2. So I just had her give me the one back, but still got all 4 (we need band aids here!).

4 Reach Crystal Clean Toothbrushes - 1.19 - 2/2 q's equals .19 each. WYB 4 of these, you get a $4 CAT OYNO. So I paid .76 and got back $4!


I noticed that the Reach and the Resolve coupons are NOT going through the register, so they have to manually do them. I went to the express lane and there was NOBODY around, so I went there. And of course, as soon as the coupon issue happened there was a HUGE line behind us. All well. All in all, I paid $1.89 OOP and got back $8 to use in my next order. I plan to use more of the Reach coupons I have to keep rolling this awesome MM deal. Before the coupons, the order was $27 and change, and I paid less then $2 OOP!

Rolling at Shop Rite! 6/3/11

It's too nice to stay inside at work today, so I took my lunch break and went to Shop Rite. I got this all for $.56 out of pocket (OOP) and got back a $4 Catalina (CAT) to use on my next order...boo ya!

4 Resolve 2.99 - 1.20 = 1.79 each. Used 4 .75/1 Coupon (doubles to 1.50) = .29 each
2 Chinet plates 2.69 - 1.35 = 1.34 each. Used 2 $1/1 coupons = .34 each
4 Hefty Bags = 2.69 - 1.35 = 1.34 each. used 4 .55 coupons (double to 1.10)= .24 each
4 Nexcare - 2.49 - 1.50 =.99 each. Used 4 .55/1 coupon (double to .99) = FREE!
4 Reach Crystal Toothbrushes 1.19 each. used 2 $2/2 coupons = .19 each. When you buy (WYB) 4 of these toothbrushes, you get a $4 CAT to use on your next order! (OYNO).

All in all, I used a $4 CAT from the previous Reach deal I did, so I ended up paying .56 OOP and got back ANOTHER $4 CAT!

I bet you are all wondering 'What's she gonna do with ALL them toothbrushes?' I donate them! My dentist has me only using the Sonicare mechanical toothbrush, I am not allowed (nor is Hubby Mike) to use the regular ones. And I have a HUGE stockpile of them, and I'm adding 4 at a clip with this deal. So I'm donating them! Yes, DONATING them. You may not see it on the Extreme Couponing show, but when I do massive shops like that, more then half of my stuff gets donated! What are the two of us going to do with 50 things of deodarant, or 100 toothbrushes? There are those that need these items so I like to give whatever I can.