The Christmas crowds

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but walking through the aisles of any supermarket, I am alerted to Christmas’ near presence by the abundance of displays filled with Santa Claus, advent calendars, stockings, and tree ornaments.  Alright, most people aren’t expats, so they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving over here anyway.  But I’m sure even over there in the U.S., aisles are filled with Christmas stuff.  And Thanksgiving stuff.  And probably bargain priced Halloween stuff that didn’t sell out in time.

Daniel and Hannah on Christmas morning last year.

Last year I left my Christmas shopping until the last minute and had to go out two days before Christmas and brave the crazy Christmas shopping drivers.  Seriously, stuff gets wild that close to Christmas.

This year, I have a new plan.  I’m going to shop online – starting at Quicksales.  I’ve already ordered some of Daniel’s beloved Thomas the Tank engine characters.  That way, I don’t have to take the kids shopping with me, ruining their surprise on Christmas morning, I don’t have to buy everything all at once (which is good for the budget, obviously), and I don’t deal with crazy Christmas drivers.

For their main present, the kids (and I…) are getting a puppy. I’ve researched the best breeds for kids, and I’m getting very excited.  I grew up surrounded by animals, so it seems natural to me.  We were thinking about getting a cat, but settled on a small dog because they are less likely to scratch and bite when you pull their tail or annoy them.  Kind of important when you have a two year old and a four year old.  Even puppies I can shop for online (crazy, right? But breeders have websites, and since we want a particular kind of dog, that’s the way to go), from the comfort of my own home, while the kids are sleeping and won’t have any idea what their present will be.

I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they come out of their room on Christmas morning and see a puppy with a bow tied around her collar.  This is the first year that Daniel is old enough to understand what’s going on at Christmas time, so I’m even more excited about Christmas this year. Plus this is the first year we will be waking up to Christmas morning in our own house. Hannah is going to be so excited about the puppy, but I wonder which Daniel will be more excited about, the puppy, or more Thomas trains.  He does love Thomas trains….

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Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Rather be Shopping

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I love coupons.  Especially the sort you don’t have to actually spend time cutting out whilst the kids are yelling and screaming because they want to use the scissors too.  This weeks post is sponsored by Rather-Be-Shopping.com, and has made my mouth water at the mention of Quizno’s.  Yummmmy….

The holiday shopping season might have passed, but frugal consumers are still looking for deals. Fortunately, Rather-Be-Shopping.com has a perfect tool for bargain hunters who want to keep saving big bucks in 2013: a free mobile coupon app.

The new app allows shoppers to search and redeem hundreds of in-store coupons directly from their iPhones. Rather-Be-Shopping.com, already a leading online discount destination for savvy shoppers, added a mobile app for the consumer who arrives at the mall or their favorite store without a coupon.

The app is simple to navigate, enabling shoppers to search a store for coupons by store name or product category. Once the coupon is displayed on an iPhone, the cashier directly scans the phone and the user collects the savings.

“With the new year upon us, we couldn’t be more excited with the launch of our mobile app,” said Kyle James, owner and president of Rather Be Shopping. “Now whether you’re at the mall or surfing the Internet, you’ll be able to find the latest bargains and save your family hundreds of dollars during the holiday season.”

Searching by category gives thrifty consumers a chance to see if another retailer has a better deal at a competing store. But the deals aren’t limited to retail stores; the mobile app also has coupons for restaurants such as Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Chuck E Cheese and Quizno’s. The app also lists all of the online coupons on the Rather-Be-Shopping.com website, giving consumers the option of doing all of their holiday shopping from their iPhone.

An Android version of the Rather-Be-Shopping.com coupon app is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2013.

Learn more about the new Rather-Be-Shopping iPhone coupon app at http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/mobile_coupons.

Find the latest coupon deals every day at http://www.rather-be-shopping.com.

About Rather-Be-Shopping.com
Rather-Be-Shopping.com is a leading destination for savvy shoppers looking for online coupons, printable coupons, and free shipping offers. Since 2001, online shoppers have made the website their hub for coupons to over 700 top national retailers like The Home Depot, Lands’ End, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart, Dell, and American Eagle Outfitters. Rather-Be-Shopping.com also has a popular blog offering tips on other creative ways to save money in everyday life. For more information, please visit http://www.rather-be-shopping.com.

If you enjoyed reading this, please vote for my blog. All you have to do is click the link below. That’s it… Clicking the link brings you to the Top Mommy Blogs home page. You don’t have to do anything else. Any clicks from my site to theirs is a vote.  THANKS!

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Copyright 2013 Sheri Thomson

Butt shorts

I was in desperate need of some new shorts. I owned exactly one pair. And that pair is too big. Sigh. No, I lie, I own two pairs, but the second pair even bigger on me than the first pair.

So, I went to the the shopping centre in search of some new shorts. Easy, right? Wrong. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find shorts that cover your entire butt? It’s hard. 

I haven’t been clothes shopping in a while. A long while. Apart from those jeans
I bought a few months ago. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of bright, neon colours that were on everything. Including the shorts. It was like a psychedelic rainbow threw up. And not just in a couple shops. That was how all the shops were. Sigh.

It was hard enough finding a pair of non rainbow puke shorts (which may look fine on tweens and teens, but on someone approaching 30? Not so much. Ok, fine, I totally would have worn a pink or purple pair, but they were all orange, yellow, and green), but non rainbow puke AND non butt showing shorts? Almost impossible. No one should wear butt-showing shorts. No one. They are not hot. They are not flattering. They are not appropriate. And they sure as heck shouldn’t be worn by a mother of two who has short legs and cellulite thighs.

Seems the fashion these days is to have the waist of your shorts nearly up to your boobs and the bottom of the shorts half way up your butt, with the bottom of your butt blowing in the wind. Ugh.

The in fashion butt shorts. It’s hard to find shorts that don’t look like this!

I’m sorry, but I would rather the general public not see my butt, thank you very much. I would rather walk around happy in the knowledge that my entire butt was nicely covered by my shorts. I even wear stretch shorts under my skirts and dresses just in case my dress/skirt flies up in the wind or I have to bend over to pick up kids. Or the more likely scenario of the kids pulling up the skirt/dress to see what colour underpants lies beneath.

My preferred length of shorts (not that it’s easy to tell how long/short they are on a stick figure…)

Maybe I’m just stuck in my generation of fashion because I really don’t like what the kids are wearing these days. Not that today’s fashion is anything new, it’s just the ’80s recycled. ’80s fashion didn’t look good then, and it doesn’t look good now. It’s likely possible that I’m just getting old and and am completely fashion retarded.

After going in many stores, I finally managed to find some shorts that don’t show my butt. They stop just after my butt, and are way shorter than I’d prefer, but they are the longest of the short. It’s getting hot, so I’m not about to wear jeans all summer. Australia is too hot for that! I did find one pair that goes nearly to my knees. That’s a bit longer than I’d prefer (because I’m short, I have short legs, and shorts to my knees just make them look shorter. That is, however, better than my butt hanging out. Plus they tend to make me too hot in the summer)  but you know, limited options.

So I came out with 3 pairs of shorts, and now I have to start riding the bike and doing more squats at the gym so I don’t look so ridiculous in them. I am small, yes, but I’m also pear shaped and have short legs.  I carry all the weight in my hips and thighs. Gotta tone them up. Sigh.

A couple inches longer would have been nice….

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Copyright 2012 Sheri Thomson

Wanted: Pretty dresses

The other day, Hannah and Aaron were playing in the car.  She likes to play in the car, pretend she is driving, turn the steering wheel and honk the horn.  She climbed to the back and into her car seat.

“Daddy, back.”  She said.  Aaron joined her in the back seat.

Hannah: “Hannah buckle.”  She tried to do up the buckles on her car seat.  “Daddy drive, go.”

Aaron: “Do you want to go for a drive?”

Hannah: “mmmm.” That’s Hannah for yes.  Yeah, she got that from me.  I think.  Aaron says it too though.  Maybe we all got it from him.

Daddy: “Where do you want to go?”

Hannah: “Shops.”

Daddy: “What do you want to buy at the shops?”

Hannah: “Clothes.”

Daddy: “What kind of clothes?”

Hannah: “Dresses.”

Daddy: “Will they be pretty?”

Hannah: “Pretty dresses.”

The poo incident

Hannah:
Mommy has been trying to teach me to clap. Ok, I should say trying to get me to clap because I learned how to a while ago. I just haven’t had anything so good that I needed to pull out my new clapping trick for. Until today that is.

Sheri:
I have been trying to find a good pair of black shoes for a while now. Well, I found lots of them, but finding them in my size is another story. Needless to say, Hannah has been bored out of her mind in the stroller for a couple of shopping trips now. Today I finally found a good cute little pair of black flats that actually fit me. They even have some sparkles on them! Just as I picked them up after trying them on, Hannah clapped! I got so excited that I dropped everything right there in the middle of the aisle and loudly said “Yay!!!” while wildly clapping myself. I’m sure I looked a little looney to everyone around, but I don’t care, my baby clapped and I was going to encourage her no matter what.

Hannah:
Mommy had been trying on shoe after shoe while I sat there, watching, bored bored bored in my pram. “This is the one Bubba, it’s cute and it actually fits!” Hallelujah to that Mommy, let the boredom end! Now that was a reason to clap!
“oh, these ones are cute too,” Mommy reached for another shoe. NOOOOOO!! In my disgust, I cried. And you know what? Mommy didn’t try on any more shoes.

Sheri:
Every Saturday I get to sleep in. Aaron gets up at 7ish when Hannah wakes up, changes her nappy, gets her dressed, and then plays with her until 8, when I get up and feed her. I love my Saturday morning sleep ins, and look forward to them every week as only a sleep deprived first time mom can. Then on Sundays, Aaron gets to sleep in while I get up at 7ish when Hannah wakes up. Good deal I think. This Saturday, however, something disrupted my little much needed sleep in.
“Boo!!!” I heard Aaron calling me from Hannah’s room. Hmmm…Should I pretend to be asleep? It is my sleep in morning after all.
“Boo!!!”
“What?” It must be urgent, he knows I love my sleep in. I got up.
It was the smell that hit me first. I always know when Hannah has done a poo, but usually the smell seems to be a little contained at least. This time it seemed to be everywhere, seeping into my nostrils from all directions.
“I need some help.” Aaron said. I looked down. There she was, stark naked, Aaron holding her armpits so she could stand up. I looked down further. I wonder if my face gave away my surprise, horror, bewilderment, and ultimately the sense of ewwwww that I felt right at that moment. She was wearing a nappy when I put her to bed. Unfortunately, she seems to have found a way to take it off. I have no idea how, she was wearing a sleeping bag after all. I guess she wanted both Daddy and Mommy to pay her some attention that morning. Did I mention she always does a poo when she wakes up? Hannah’s feet were COVERED in poo. Aaron called her “Poo Shoes.” Next to her little cheeky feet was the nappy, freely sitting at the bottom of her sleeping bag. All over her sleeping bag…poo. Everywhere. Yes, this was definitely a 2 person clean up job. I had a look at her bed and sure enough, a little turd and it’s poopstreak friend sat there, patiently waiting to be cleaned up. I had only put those sheets on the day before! When we got her new pink soft sleeping bag for $20 at Target, I thought the slit in the front and back so you could put them in their sleeping bag and then strap them into the pram or car seat or what have you, was a fantastic idea. Now, not so sure. Safety belt slits are apparently good de-nappying and poo escaping holes.

Hannah – other stuff this week:
We went to Grandma’s house on the weekend, and I got to play with the little walker thing that Grandma bought for me. It was so much fun! It has 4 wheels and a handle so I can stand up, hold on, and then walk, walk walk! Mommy sat at one end of the hallway, and Daddy on the other. I couldn’t figure out how to turn the walker around, so I would walk down the hallway, then Mommy or Daddy would turn me around and I’d walk back the other way. I wish I had one of those at home!
One day I was in the bath, and I grabbed the side of the bath and stood up. “oh, there’s a boat,” I thought. I grabbed it, held it in both hands, and put it in my mouth. I always have to see if something is edible. Of course, Mommy tells me that lots of things I think taste perfectly fine aren’t for eating. Like the other day. I found a nice looking hair ball under the tv stand and put it in my mouth. Mommy said it wasn’t edible and pulled it out of my mouth, but I got to eat some of it. Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, so I had the boat and was trying to eat it when Mommy said “What a clever girl, you’re standing all by yourself!!!” Oh, wow, I really was. But then I realised and couldn’t balance anymore and sat down. I can stand for about 5 seconds now all by myself!! Mommy and Daddy get so excited when I do, so I’m going to try really hard to stand longer.
My mouth really hurts. I try to sleep like a good girl, but it’s really hard because my gums are so sore. My top tooth is trying to grow, but it’s being really mean to me and taking a long, painful time. I have a cold too, so I keep coughing and waking myself up. I don’t like teeth.