Giants Victory Cupcakes

Sadly, football season has come and gone. For some women this is a relief because for the first time in months when we ask our significant others a question, we get more than a grunt or a head bob. For the other 5% of women who actually enjoy football, we are deeply saddened, and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new season. I am part of the 5%. Because I am a member of the Women who Enjoy Football club, the other day, I decided to create some yummy Giants cupcakes for me and my sweeties to enjoy.  As a bonus I tossed in some wings.

Not too bad for a spur of the moment treat. Enjoy :)

-Reese

Laugh of the Day

 

I just couldn't help myself. I kept seeing these pop up on facebook and they were hilarious. So since they didn't have one for Public Relations, I took the liberty of creating one for us PR people. Enjoy :)

-Reese

Anatomy of a Super Doubles Shopping Trip

As a mother, I’m quickly finding that there are certain instincts that just come naturally. Like, for instance, loving my daughter without reservation, changing explosive diapers at 2:30 a.m. and couponing.  While the first is, without a doubt, the easiest thing I’ve ever done, the other two are taking some getting used to. Nevertheless, I am managing (quite nicely might I add).

Most of you are probably already aware that Harris Teeter is currently doing Super Doubles.  For mothers, Super Doubles is the equivalent of Christmas; only it comes 5 to 6 times a year and there’s no jolly guy in a red suit and a white beard…most of the time.  And like Christmas, when it comes to getting the best deals, couponers are willing to go to great lengths to make sure that they get what they want.  Like staying up all night clipping coupons and tossing back coffee the same way an alcoholic tosses back hard liquor after a rough day on the job.

Anyhow, while most of the world was fast asleep this morning at 4:30 a.m. recovering from their post- valentine’s day bliss, I was hunched over my coupon binder frantically re-organizing my coupons in preparation for my attack.  Although there were quite a few deals I missed out on (My free Nivea lip gloss and 99¢ Maybelline Mascara grrrrr) I managed to snag quite a few sweet deals, the most impressive being the Neutrogena Acne Concealer, Smithfield Bacon and Cereal. I even managed to grab rain checks for the lip gloss :) So after more than an hour in two different stores, I was quite happy with my loot. 

  

Here’s the rundown of my first trip:

Oscar Myers Bacon

Original price 3.69

 I paid .69¢

2 Smithfield Bacon

Original price $5.19 each

I paid $1.50 each

4 Hamburger/Chicken Helpers

Original price $1.89 each

I paid .50¢ each

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Original price $3.69

I paid .50¢

Lucky Charms

Original price $3.75

I paid $1.00

Honey Nut Cheerios

Original price $4.15

I paid .50¢

Corn Chex

Original price $3.59

I paid $1.00

YoCrunch

Original price $2.95

I paid .95¢

2 Granola YoPlait

Original price $2.69 each

I paid .89¢ each

Mrs. Dash Seasoning

Original price $1.62

I paid .52¢

2 Welch’s Grape Juices

Original price $4.59 each

I paid $1.00 each

2 Deep Park Sparkling Waters

Original price $1.25 each

I paid .25¢ each

Texas Pete Hot Sauce

Original price .99

I paid .44¢

Welch’s Grape Jam

Original $2.69

I paid $1.59

Honey Wheat Bread

Original price $3.39

I paid $1.69

2 Stride Gums

Original price $1.26

I paid Free

2 Hefty Ziplock Bags

Original price $3.35 each

I paid. 32¢ each

Glade Scented Plug-in Warmer

Original price $1.79

I paid Free

Bic Mechanical Pencils

Original price $2.49

I paid.49¢

2 Packs of Advent Pacifiers

Original price $3.99 each

I paid .99¢ each

Pampers Little Cruiser Diapers

Original price $9.99

I paid 5.49

Neutrogena Acne Medication

Original price $9.45

I paid $1.42

Got 2 Be Styling Gel

Original price $6.39

I paid .19¢

Got 2 Be Body Defying Spray

Original price $6.39

I paid .19¢

Total saved with e-vic= $41.62

Total saved with paper coupons= $49.42

Total saved with online coupons=$ 4.30

Total Saved= $95.34

Total out of pocket= $37.37

I plan to make a few more trips throughout the week, but nothing too major since I was pretty satisfied with my stash. I’ll be keeping my eyes out for impressive deals, and if you guys happen to see something pretty sweet, please leave a comment so I can spread the word. Until then, ladies start your engines. 

-Reese

Facebook Parenting and Corpral Punishment for the Troubled Teen 101

The only words that come to mind right now are “Good job.” I know I know there are some people out there who are just absolutely appalled at his horrendously poor parenting skills. And I’m sure that 50% of people who feel this way either do not have children, or teenage children for that matter, 25% grew up in homes where the only punishment they ever received was having to stand in a corner for 10 minutes to mull over whatever bad decision culminated with them having to go to timeout, and the other 25% remain convinced that their particular brand of parenting is so spectacular that their children would never dream of disobeying them.

When it comes to giving advice on how to punish your unruly children, no matter how gently you try to approach the topic, it’s like skipping through a minefield. I’ve seen some of the sturdiest friendships crumble at the mere mention of corporal punishment. And heaven forbid you have the audacity to mention that you were spanked as a child and you turned out fine.

Now that I’m older and wiser (for the most part) I’ve had time to reflect upon my youthful indiscretions. By no means was I a bad child. To this day I’ve never even attempted to smoke a cigarette. I’ve never participated in any illicit drug use (yes even marijuana). I didn’t go to wild parties and drink until I passed out (although I will admit I went to quite a few clubs when I was in high school, but I was living in Germany at the time so that was pretty normal). I didn’t and still don’t cuss. I never yelled, “I hate you” at my parents (probably more so in fear of what would happen to me if I even dreamed of doing something so foolish). Mostly I just read my books, played in trees until I was about 15 and fought like the devil was after me whenever my mom tried to get me to wear a dress. I have no illusions that my daughter will be like me. Don’t get me wrong, I pray that she’s a good kid and will do everything in my power to try to mold her young impressionable mind so that she behaves like a sweet young lady, but realistically I know that there’s a 99.9% chance that she’ll do the complete opposite of what I tell her to do. Which means I have to prepare myself for the fact that I may have to “whup some behind.”

It sucks, but that’s life. Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t necessarily want to. In fact, it was not until recently that what my father used to say while I was getting a spanking made sense to me. He used to tell me, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Of course at that time I was thinking, “Yeah right, you’re the one with the belt buddy. How ‘bout you hand that over so I can hit YOU with it a few times so we can compare notes.” Flash forward 15 years and it makes total sense. I really don’t want to have to spank Jasmine, but I know it’s a possibility. I will, however, look at other options first. One of the things that I respected my parents the most about was how they chose to punish me and my sister. When we messed up, they didn’t automatically pull out the belt and start swingin’. In fact, most of the time the belt was a last resort. The most common form of punishment that we were subjected to was having to copy the out of the dictionary or write an essay about what we did, why it was wrong and why we would never do it again. Let me stress that when it came to spankings, my parents NEVER hit me in the face, punched me, or shoved me. They were pretty standard when it came to spankings. Turn around, hands out in front, and if you were smart, you wouldn’t even think about running.

Watching this video, I felt that this father was well within his rights to do what he did. Ultimately it was his money that purchased and paid for the repairs on her computer. The complaints that she had were ridiculous. There are starving children living in third-world countries that would do anything for a meal. There are children living in poverty here in the US that would do anything for a roof over their head. She appears to have a stable home and a loving family, but instead of being grateful (I didn’t even have a laptop until I was in college), she blames them for having to do chores. You should have to do chores, and if you parents choose not to pay you for them, then it is their God given right. They brought you into this world. Changed your poopy smelly diapers. Took care of you when you were sick. Put food on your plate. Purchased expensive toys to make you happy. Celebrated Christmas, Birthday, and every other gift-giving holiday with you. And yet you mock them and cuss at them behind their backs. Sheesh. I’d make her spoiled, indulgent, self-entitled, disrespectful little behind volunteer at a soup kitchen and orphanage every weekend until she graduated from high school. *Sigh* but what do I know???

I cannot stress enough that I am not trying to tell parents how to discipline their children. How you do so is entirely up to you. Your child, your choice. Until I became a mother I didn’t understand how annoying it is to have people try to tell you that they know how to take care of YOUR child. What some people have to understand is that even though something worked on your child(ren) it does not guarantee that it will work on another. Unless someone is beating their children, then you need to step back and realize that they are doing what they feel is necessary. I just hope that the people can understand it the way I do.

-Reese

Crock-pot Chili for the Tired Mom's Soul

So in an effort to combat another six weeks of winter as predicted by that annoying little rodent Punxsutawney Phil, I’ve been working on perfecting my heart pounding, gas inducing, seriously awesome chili. This time I decided to put a little spin on my usual recipe and use beer, and I’ve got to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Personally I’m more of a wine girl, but after this chili I may have to rethink some things. 

This recipe is very simple but has a really deep flavor, probably partly due to the fact that I used my awesome crock-pot. In the past year, I've learned that it is essential for every household, especially ones containing small children, to have a crock-pot. Seriously, if the apartment were on fire, I would run back inside to grab my crock-pot...and the Godiva bar that I've hidden behind the bookshelf for emergencies, but I'd go for the crock-pot first. This thing has seen me through some pretty rough times. In fact, I've almost come to think of my crock-pot as a dear friend. When I'm having a rough day, I can toss a few ingredients into the pot and sit back and let her handle everything else. 

Anyhow, enough about my crock-pot, let's get on to the yummy stuff. I will give you guys a forewarning though, lately I've been deviating from my recipes. So if you held a gun to my head and asked me to re-create the same meal that I cooked last month, I'd be SOL. I'll try to get as close to the recipe as I can and let you be the judge.

Reese's Yummy Chili

1 bag of dark red kidney beans

1 bottle/can of beer of your choosing

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup of chili powder

1 package of ground turkey or beef (cooked and drained)

2 tablespoon of Paprika

2 tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper

1 diced onion

1 12 oz can of diced tomatoes

A pinch of salt and pepper

and a dash of love :)

Combine all the ingredients in the crock-pot, occasionally stirring and tasting to see if more ingredients are necessary. Allow the chili to cook until the beans are nice and soft. Now enjoy your tasty chili and drop me a comment to let me know how awesome it tastes.

-Reese

Something to make you smile

So here's a little something to make you guys smile. I cannot stress enough that the girl pictured below is not my daughter. Although sometimes I live in fear of the day when I come home from class and walk to this. Enjoy the giggles :)

LOL, these posters crack me up.  If you guys can find some funnies, do me a favor and post the link to my comment section. I'm always on the hunt for something to make people smile. Thanks 

-Reese