Bedrest Week 3

Just updating everyone real quick. The ultrasound turned out great. I'm still on schedule with my due date, but she is still not going to let me go until the due date. I am going to post the ultrasound pictures when I get a chance. I am also still on bedrest, but I am not losing any more weight as of my last appointment. I think it is the first time in my life when I have actually been happy to gain weight. I also still have to go to the doc twice per week for a blood pressure check and a non-stress test on the baby. The test basically monitors how much the baby is moving and how his heart rate is when he moves. So far, he has passed the test with flying colors.

We had to put off moving into our home after I was placed on bedrest, but we have decided to go ahead and get it done this week. Luckily, Jayden is getting used to his room the past few times that we have been out there because we decorated his room in tractors and other transportation vehicles. Hopefully the transition will not be too overwhelming for little Jay.

Bedrest Week 2

As you can see from from the title of this post, I have been on bedrest for about two weeks. It has been tough adjusting to it so I have waited about posting for a while. I went in for my 31 week check up and my blood pressure was pretty high. They took it twice just to make sure. So, my doc sent me over to the maternity area at the hospital to be monitored for a while. She wanted to check my urine as well so she ordered that a catheter be inserted while I was being monitored. Unfortunately, my heart rate dropped which made me almost black out and become nauseated. This also made the baby's heart rate drop as well. It was incredibly terrifying because all of the nurses were rushing around trying to get IV's in me in case the doc had to do an emergency cesarean.

Fortunately, they got the baby's heart rate back up and mine leveled out as well. The doc decided to keep me overnight just to be sure. In some ways it was a good thing because they ended up finding out that I have preeclampsia due to the large amounts of protein in my urine. It also explains my high blood pressure levels. I was on bedrest with Jayden too because of blood pressure, but I never developed preeclampsia. I really did not know how serious the condition was until I got home. I read up on it and found out that no one really knows what causes the condition. Some say that it is toxins in the blood, others say that it is obesity or genetics. Either way, symptoms are very high blood pressure levels and swelling. If it is not controlled, then the mother's organs such as the kidneys and liver can be affected. As well as the baby's organs too. The only cure is to deliver the baby.

The doc told me strict bedrest, and after I read about the information about preeclampsia I understood why. Mothers have lost their babies to preeclampsia and it can also be deadly for the mother. Therefore, I am determined to obey and stay in the bed as much as I can. It is really difficult, especially with Jayden in the picture this time. The doc ordered an ultrasound for this Friday because I have been losing some weight, which means that the baby might not be gaining weight. Hopefully everything will turn out Ok after the ultrasound. It will be the first time that we have seen him since the beginning of the pregnancy. The doc did tell me that she is not going to let me go past 37 weeks in the pregnancy. We are basically waiting and praying.

Walmart Freebies

Playtex Sport Tampons

Glad Food Storage Bags

Pedigree Good Bites Snacks

Stayfree and Carefree Pads

Huggies Diaper

*These freebies always go fast so act quick!

Update

I realized today that I have not spoken much about how we are doing and little Jaybird. I thought I would take this opportunity to boast about my little man :) He is officially potty training. I bought him a potty off of ebay a while back just to get him used to it. I had this fear that he would be scared to death of it, due to the fact that I was when I was a toddler. When I took him for his 15 month check-up, I let the doctor know that I had introduced the potty. He said that it was a little early, but he said that with Jayden advancing so quickly with other things that he should be able to handle it.

I kept it in the bathroom for a while, but the pamplet that the doctor gave me about potty training said to keep it where the child plays. It is supposed to be their "new best friend". For a while, Jayden thought that it was a new chair, and then he started putting his cars in it. Today, he kept going over to it so my Mom(Nana), took off his diaper and sat him down. The potty has a little blocker on the front for little boys, but his was not "guarded" well enough. You can imagine what happened. Either way, he had officially used it. Later on in the day, he acted like he needed to do something else, so I sat him down and he sat on it for a good while doing his "thing". It was so cute because he clapped his hands afterwards.

Jayden has also become obsessed with tractors, mostly John Deere. Our neighbor was on his John Deere tractor out in the field one day and Jayden had a fit wanting to see it. He now says "tractor" everytime he sees one and no one can mow the yard without him wanting to ride on Poppy's John Deere lawnmower. We bought him a little John Deere tractor at Target, which his Dad said would be the most expensive car he ever got(hehe), and he sleeps with it.

On another note, we are also moving soon. Jake's papaw has a mobile home across the street from his house and the people renting it finally moved out, so he is going to let us rent it. It is taking some time because we are having to paint the walls, replace the carpet, and they added a tin roof to the top. Hopefully this baby will wait a while about coming out, but I'm afraid it is going to be pretty soon.

My best friend Clarke recently celebrated her 22nd Birthday and we were there to celebrate with her. Jayden made a new friend, whom he actually met when he was a few months old but does not remember it. Clarke has a little cousin who was born a few months before Jayden so she arranged for them to get together. Hopefully Jay can get together with Eva's little boy Avery again soon as well.

Walgreens Coupon

Click the pic to get the coupon! :)

Holiday Luggage Guide

The long anticipated Christmas holiday is quickly approaching. This means crowded shopping malls, angry drivers, and a refrigerator full of dinner leftovers. For many people, the holidays are also a time for traveling. You might be visiting multiple families, or you might be lucky enough to only have one destination to go to. Either way, a nice luggage set can be beneficial for both your personal belongings and your sanity.

It is best to refer to a luggage buying guide when you are trying to determine what styles you need for your lifestyle. There are now a whole range of products in the luggage industry that fit almost any need. You can now even purchase an airline standard pet carrier for Fido to enjoy. Popular brands in the luggage industry include Samsonite and American Tourister. They are also known as the more affordable brands.

Most importantly, when choosing your luggage style, make sure that they meet all of the necessary airline requirements in case you do have to travel by airplane. You should also consider purchasing a luggage lock. This will protect your personal items while they are in transit. The holidays can be a stressful time, but with the right accessories, you can relax a bit easier knowing that your belongings are taken care of.

GPT Site

I think I might have mentioned this website before, but I thought I would talk about it again since I have been having some success with it lately. CashCrate is probably a website that you have heard of if you are pretty active online. It is known as a GPT site, which means Get Paid To do offers, surveys etc. As with all types of sites like CashCrate, you can earn the largest amount of money through your referrals. However, I have had much more success at just doing the basic offers. I do have 2 referrals, but there is not a lot of cash generated through those.

In the past, I was a little weary of websites like CashCrate. I knew from hearing other people's experiences that you can earn the most by completing trial offers. The thought of trial offers scared me because you had to cancel before a particular date or else you would be charged. I decided to give it a try, and I have been able to cash out twice in the past few months by completing the trial offers. The trick is basically noting the date that you sign up, and keeping a reminder of when you need to cancel.

I have found that the Google Calendar is really helpful with this. I also use Paypal for all of my online transactions. They have a new program called "Paypal Plug-in", which you can access through your paypal account. From there, you can generate "secure cards". Paypal basically generates a credit card number and security AP key for one time use or multiple use. This way, you can enter a credit card number without releasing any real information. Just make sure that you take note of the credit card number, the security key, and expiration date that you use for each offer in case you have to verify this information with one of the trial offers.

Other important facts to remember when using CashCrate:

*Some trial offers will charge a certain fee, such as Shipping and Handling, etc. It is very easy to determine which offers are free to try and it will be listed in the "cost" column.

*Some websites associated with the trial will allow you to cancel your membership directly on their website, others require you to call.

*Be careful about what personal information you use when signing up for any offers. I usually avoid listing my real phone number, or I will list a cell phone number that I no longer use. The same with email addresses. If you do not want a ton of spam, then use an email that you can still check to activate the offer but you do not use frequently.

*You can cash out with Paypal or check. The minimum payout is only $20.

*You can also do "points" offers, which can be cashed out for prizes or payment.

*It takes a day or two for offers to credit to your account, and they will be listed as "pending" until they are completed.

If you want to start with CashCrate, but you are weary about the trial offers at first, then the 100% free offers(no credit card needed) are super quick and easy. The forum on the site is great if you are worried about which offers are the easiest to complete or to get tips about the trial offers. You cannot earn a regular "income" by using CashCrate, and it is by no means a real J-O-B. However, if you want an extra boost in earnings for the month then you will enjoy qualifying for payouts on CashCrate.


Inbox Dollars is another GPT site that I use. It is similar to CashCrate, with a few differences. You can get an automatic $5 just for signing up and you need $30 to cash out.

Links Worth Visiting

I thought that I might share some of the websites and computer programs that I stumbled upon this week. When you are attached to your computer as much as I am, any little website or program that makes the day go by easier is a plus.

Remember the Milk- This catchy phrase for a website truly describes the overall concept of the design. You can add and manage specific to-do list tasks. This site is especially beneficial for work-at-home-moms who are working on several projects at a time. You can classify each task under different categories, such as "work", "personal", etc. Another benefit is that you can share the tasks with other members who sign up, and you do not have to download any programs to use it.

I am still pretty fond of Google Calendar so I did not make the switch to Remember the Milk. If I had more projects or events going on, then Remember the Milk would be a great site to use.

Wowbrary- Mom sent me the link for this one. You simply input your zipcode, and sign up for weekly emails. They will send you an email with all of the new books or DVDs that your local library received.

Stock.Xchng- This is a great site if you need great desktop pictures or illustrations for your blog or website. I had fun just browsing through the pictures.

Miles of Marketing- Found this posted on the WAHM website. You can stick certain advertisement bumper stickers on your car and get paid for advertising. I have not yet researched the site or signed up, but other moms were boasting about how great it is. It might be worth another egg in your basket.

BigCrumbs- You might have seen a banner for this on another site or on the side bar of my blog. I'm loving this site right now. If you are an avid buyer on ebay, then BigCrumbs is the best way to earn cash back. You can also earn by shopping on other websites, or by earning what your referrals earn.

Shutterfly- This is already a very popular photo uploading and sharing site, very similar to Snapfish. However, they have a promotion going on right now. When signing up, you can get 50 of your first 4x6 prints for free, in addition to free standard shipping. I think Snapfish had a similar deal when I signed up for the first time, but I'm not sure what their current promotion is.

How About Orange- I found this blog when I was searching for illustrations to design my blog with. I love all of the crafts on this site. It's a great website for inspirations, or to just clear your mind.

Today's Creative Blog- This is another blog that I loved. There are some really great craft ideas on the site.

Two other things that I found were computer downloads for a free paint and editing software. I was searching for a program similar to Photoshop, but that is a really expensive program so I was looking for an equivalent free program. Both Artweaver and GIMP are similar to one another and many of the reviews stated that they were the closest programs to Photoshop. I cannot decide which program I like the best but they are great for designing blogs or editing your pictures. They are basically a souped up version of your basic Paint program.

Walgreens Weekly Scenario

Deals valid October 5th-October 11th

Register Rewards:

*Glade Plugins Fan/ Wisp Flameless Candle both priced at $5.99
-Use $5 off newspaper coupon for Wisp Flameless Candle Starter Kit
-Receive $3 register reward for next purchase
-There is also a mail-in rebate for up to $9.99 for the Wisp Starter Kit that can be found in the Sunday paper.

*Buy 2 or more Carefree Pantyliners, receive $2 register reward.
-.50 cent coupon

*Buy 2 Listerine Smart Rinse(500 ml), equals $9 for 2.
-.50 and $1 off coupon in Sunday's paper
-Receive $4.50 register reward.

Coupon Specials:

*Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner priced at $19.99
-$10 rebate in Walgreen's Easy Saver(submit them online, make sure you keep your receipts!)
-$5 Manufacture Coupon from Sunday's paper

Buy 2 of any of the following, receive $2 rebate from Walgreen's Easy Saver
*Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Cleaner
-.75 cent manuf. coupon
*Fantastik All Purpose Cleaner
-$1 off manuf. coupon
*Windex Glass or Multi-Surface Cleaner
-.75 manuf. coupon
-.75 manuf. coupon for multi-surface cleaner

*Glad Plug-ins Gel Warmer $1.99
-$1 Easy Saver Rebate
-Manuf. coupon for Buy 1 Get one Free

*Rembrandt Toothpaste Buy one Get one 50% off
-manuf. coupon $2 off

*Yours & Mine from KY $19.99
-$5 off manuf. coupon
-$5 coupon in Easy Saver Book

*Playtex Tampons purchase at $8 for 2.
-use $2 off coupon in Easy Saver Book
-$2 off manuf. coupon

*Colgate MaxFresh Toothpaste $3 for 2
-coupon in Sunday's paper

*Schick Disposable Razors priced at $6.99
-$2 off coupon in Easy Saver book
-There are 2 coupons in several of the previous Sunday's papers for $2 off.

Freebies of the Day

Encourage your child to practice good oral hygiene with the Colgate Healthy Bedtime Habits Program. After your child completes the program they can receive a free battery operated toothbrush.

Berenstain Bears Activities from Random House. Help you child set up a make-believe Bear Country savings account, and you can also print out checks to help them learn savings skills. There are also printable coloring pages and other fun activities.

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel

Scented Bookmark from Claire Burke

Redwood Creek "Chardonnay" Poster (They offer a collection of these every year, which would be really pretty framed) You will have to make an account on the site first.

Always Infinity Sample and Coupon

Walgreens had this product on sale this week but I was not successful in finding a coupon. After digging around on their site, I found their Sweepstakes and Promotions page. They have listed a free sample for the Always Infinity product and once you go to the link you will also see that there is a coupon involved as well.

I checked out the upcoming advertisement ads that i heart wags and i heart cvs posts, and the Always Infinity pads are going to be on sale again. I think CVS even has a way for you to get them free in next week's sale paper. However, I'm not sure if the coupon Walgreens will send with the sample is strictly for Walgreens or a manufacture coupon. If anyone has been able to find a manufacture coupon please let me know!

Weekly Walgreens Deals

I am always late about posting my Walgreens deals. I also forgot to print out the $5 off $20 coupon that I posted on here. Hopefully they will do the coupon on a regular basis. Either way, I did manage to get some pretty good deals.

*Aquafresh Toothpaste 2/$5 with store coupon. Use $1 off manufacture coupon(only works with 5.6 oz)= 2/$4

*Dawn Dish Detergent 10.3 oz Buy 1 Get 1 Free with store coupon. Use .50 cent coupon from Sunday's paper= $1.49

*Soft Soap Elements Hand Soap 7.5 oz on sale for .99 cents with store coupon. Use .35 cent coupon from Sunday's paper= .64 cents (usually retails for $2.79)

*Gillette Fusion Razor priced at $8.99 use $4 off coupon from Sunday's paper. Pay $4.99 out of pocket, receive $4 register reward for next purchase. Like paying .99 cents total. (I was able to get the Gillette Fusion gift pack that has shower gel and shave gel included because it was priced at $8.99. The cashier was not sure if it would work with the register reward but it ended up going through. The barcode is 47400-05998 and it is in a clear box. )

Walgreen's has tons more of great deals but my bank account would not allow it this week :)

Walgreens Weekly Special

Walgreens has another promotion this week. I sure am glad I waited about buying my items until this weekend. You can click on the picture to go to the coupon.

Walgreens Insights

If you are as addicted to Walgreens as I am, which you probably are if you are reading this post, then you need to head on over to i heart wags. It is a blog dedicated to all things Walgreens. One great tip that I just found out is that they post the circular deals that will be coming for the next 2 weeks! This means that you do not have to worry if you will get a better deal later on in the month with those coupons because you can plan ahead. The wheels are definitely turning in my head. When you get to the site, you will see "weekly deals" in the sidebar on the right. There you will then be able to click on the deals for each week, which are posted in the date format (i.e. 10/5-10/11).

Another great site that I check out often is the CouponMom. There is a variety of all things coupons and deals on the site, but the forum is my favorite. There is a separate folder for each type of store. Of course, my favorite is the "drugstore" folder where you can read what deals other people have received at Walgreens, RiteAid, etc.

Schick Quattro Freebie

I'm not sure how long this promotion will be going on, or if it is legit, but this freebie has been posted on several freebie sites. I thought it might be worth a try.

Schick Quattro Titanium Razor (for the guys)

Walgreens $5 Coupon

I just received this in my inbox from Walgreens. Unfortunately, they sent me this too late because I already purchased my items for the week. Either way, I thought some other frugal shoppers who are as addicted to Walgreens as I am, might be interested :) You can click on the picture to go to the coupon.

Goof Offs

Baby T's

I have been searching for a "big brother" t-shirt for Jayden, but I never found one that I liked. I decided to try iron-on transfers instead. On some of my consignment hunting adventures I found several blank t-shirts for a good price, so even if I messed up or made mistakes I would not be out of too much money. I tried it with felt first, which is the first two pictures at the bottom. I also purchased some computer iron-on transfer paper from Hobby Lobby for a good price(with the weekly coupon) and it came with a program to design your own shirts. I used that for the "brother" shirt at the bottom. I think this would be a great way to save money on Christmas gifts, because you can personalize almost anything with iron-on transfers. The felt gives a good effect, but it was more difficult to use.

Baby Blanket

I started a blanket for Jayden around 6 months ago and I never finished it. I finally got started back on it again, but I'm going to use it for Silas instead since Jayden is a little too old for it. If you want to get started with crochet, you can read my post from my other blog. I have not kept up with it in a while but I did post directions on the crochet basics.

Feeling Under the Weather

I have not been able to do much on the computer the past few days, including work, because Jayden has been a little under the weather. Saturday, Jayden started acting extremely gassy and he came down with a high fever. After a dose of Tylenol, the fever would break only to come back an hour or two later. Last night I was unable to get the fever to break at all during the entire night. Today, however, he seems to be doing somewhat better as far as fevers go. He has seemed a little warm, but no where near as bad as he was before.

Last night I also had to go into the hospital because I was leaking "suspicious" fluid again with my pregnancy. The doctor had me come on in to the hospital just to make sure, and it ended up being an infection. While this is still not a comfortable situation, it is much better than having my water break early. I'm also still measuring around 4 weeks farther along, but they won't change it since the ultrasound said differently. It felt so odd being in the maternity wing of the hospital again. I even heard a girl screaming for an epidural while I was there, and it brought back many memories. :)

Goodwill Auction

I just wanted to add a quick note that Charlene from Goodwill Industries International left a nice comment about my Bargain Hunting post. You can also read her comment as well, there is a link a the bottom of the Goodwill post. She told me a little bit more about Goodwill Too that I mentioned in the previous posting. Goodwill Too is a website where you can purchase items in a shopping cart format. It is actually hosted by the Goodwill Industries Suncoast, which is in Florida. Charlene also let me know that Goodwill has an auction site! Now that I am looking at my receipt from the other day, the website is listed on the receipt. I checked out the site and it looks like it will be just as addictive as ebay :) It is almost 1'oclock in the morning here so I had better hold off on this new site for today. If Charlene is reading this, thanks for letting me know about the Goodwill website!

Frugal Cat Food Deal

If you have a kitty at home, then this freebie will come in handy. The makers of 9Lives cat food are giving away a free bag of 9Lives. I'm assuming it is a coupon for the freebie. I just received a coupon for a free bag of Purina dog food today, so these freebies come in pretty handy!

Freebie from Rite Aid Drug Store

Rite Aid is giving away free 25 digital prints if you bring in the coupon at the link below. According to the coupon, the promotion is running until December 31st. Let me know if anyone has trouble using this coupon, I have not yet made it down to my local Rite Aid to try it.

Coupon for free 25 digital prints

Lowes Knows

I am happy to announce that my hubby found out this week that he was accepted into the manager training program at his work. He is the "tool guy" at Lowe's Hardware. His advancement in the company has amazed me. He recently celebrated his 1 year term at the company, but since he was hired he has went from a sales associate to a team leader, and now manager training. According to his manager, he will be placed in a manager position after the training. The funny thing is that he will have "homework" during the training, which I am eager to remind him about :)

Partnership-Plus

Now that I work from home, I'm always looking for ways to earn a little extra income from my computer. Many people who have asked me what I do to earn money have found out about the surveys that I take, and other work-at-home methods. One website that I always forget to tell people about is Partnership-Plus. It is technically a site where you take a survey, but the general concept is about clothes, so usually it slips my mind. However, earning points is very easy. You simple record your clothing purchases for the month, and then take a quick survey about the stores that you shopped. They will also reward you with bonus points if you report your purchases before a particular date.

From my experience, I have earned 200 points each time. I now have over 1000 points, and you need 3000 points to cash out at $50. Much of those points had nothing to do with clothing. If I did not purchase clothing for a particular month, I could still take a short shopper survey and earn points. They do ask for receipt information, but sometimes I do not have the receipts and they will let me continue with the survey. It also has to be clothes that you purchase for yourself, so you cannot record any bought for your hubby or kids. Either way, it is a great method of earning back on your clothing.

Does anyone know of other sites to earn money for your clothing?