Archive for February, 2008

Good Pea, Bad Pea

Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 12:42 am

Sam is so funny with his food. We have had a hard time getting him to eat anything that isn’t sweet, milky, and comes from mama. He likes it when I put fruit in one of those mesh bag thingies but my baby boy cannot live on fruit cocktail alone!

So, I remembered how much some of my other kids really like peas and carrots. Ben didn’t, but he doesn’t like much of anything.

Anyway, I sat Sam down a week or so ago to see how he would handle a soft canned pea. He made a face but wanted more so I put more in front of him. Each bite produces this face of anger. This has been going on nightly for a week now and we finally decided to get pictures. Here they are.

Good pea. Just before eating the pea.
He sees it and is excited about it.

Bad pea (just after).

This happens over and over again. Good pea, bad pea, good pea, bad pea. Babies are SO funny! Well, at least my babies are.

This weeks giveaway!!! Any ONE item from our store!

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Comments (43)

Since I have been so behind for like 2 months now, and I am feeling kinda bad about it, this weeks giveaway will be for one item of your choice from our store’s in-stock supply!
It may look sparse right now but we are adding more clearance items all the time and by the time the giveaway is over you should have a decent supply to choose from!

What is in, or will be added to our store in the next 48 hours? Belly Huggers, Pedoodles, Baby Gear, BabyLegs, Squeaky Shoes, diaper stuff, and more!!!

Retail Value – Up to $40!

Now, for the rules…
US and Canada residence are welcome to enter per the rules below. Pay special attention to the closing date! You can enter twice by following the directions here by 2/24/08:

Entry #1: If you run across this blog and you want to win this item just leave a comment. Feel free to visit the store and let me know which item you would like if you are chosen as the winner – although this ISN’T a requirement and won’t increase your chances of winning!
Entry #2: Link to this entry from your blog where you wrote about this giveaway and then leave a second comment with the link where you passed on this giveaway info. This entry should be SEPARATE from your first entry.

A winner will be chosen via a random number generator on 2/25/08. We will announce it on the blog as well as TRY to email the winner. I say ‘try’ because I often get email notices returned to me as undeliverable or the winner doesn’t give a method of contact. Please make sure you check back to see if you are the winner!

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Contact me if you would like me to host your giveaway!
Visit this page to see our complete contest rules
View our privacy policy.

Are you running a FREE giveaway? Feel free to link to your ‘no strings attached’, ‘no purchase necessary’ giveaway below! All I ask is that you link back to Our Blessed Arrows somewhere in your blog.
***PLEASE ONLY ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU ARE HAVING A GIVEAWAY! IF I CHECK YOUR BLOG AND THERE IS NOT AN EASY TO FIND GIVEAWAY YOUR LINK WILL BE REMOVED!

Safeway deal today

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

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Today’s deal wasn’t as good as it could have been if I hadn’t made a little pricing mistake.

I really wanted Hormel chili, which is on Safeway’s rally deal (read more here). I was sure that when we went shopping on Saturday that I saw them at 10 for $10. I would have purchased them right then but I wasn’t sure if they were on the list because they weren’t marked.

I called today to ask about things being on the list but not being marked in the store and the lady assured me that as long as they were on our regions rally list they would show up at the register (you can get your region’s list by going here, clicking on the sale’s rally box and typing in your zipcode). But, either the sale had changed or I was mistaken about the 10 for $10 price. They were $1.66 each.

I e-mailed my husband with the rally item to purchase tonight on his way home so he just ran in, grabbed them, paid the balance of $21.50 after using my $20 Catalina from our last trip, and came home. Needless to say, I was really upset with myself when he got home and I realized my error.

Still, $21.50 for 25 cans of chili isn’t bad. When you add pasta it makes a great quick and easy lunch for the kids.

So, today’s receipt rundown:

$52.25

$41.50 after sale

$21.50 after $20 Catalina

Plus, we earned another $20 Catalina to use tomorrow on Toothpaste. Colgate is 10 for $10 and they are a rally item. Using our Catalina from today, we will get 25 tubes of toothpaste for $5 and we will earn another $20 Catalina.

Skiing Yesterday & A winner!

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Comments (2)

My sweet husband surprised our family with an overnight ski mini-vacation this weekend. We left right after church on Sunday and got back around 7pm last night.
This is why I am late posting the Pedoodles winner.

We had a lot of fun – Kait is a pretty good skiier and Joe and Gabe got out there and did really good on the bunny hill. We rode the longest Gondola ride ever – NOT my favorite thing and ate lots of yummy, really bad for you food.

It was a blast but we are back now so my attempt at getting things back to normal after a few nutty months is back on track.

And the winner is…

Rebecca R. of Bundles Of Blessings

Congratulations!!!

Stay tuned for a new Monday (Tuesday??) giveaway to be posted shortly!

My Jane Deal

Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 11:02 pm

Comments (2)

I don’t wear makeup all that often. I don’t mind it, I just think it is costly and something I don’t mind doing without. Today, however, I decided to take advantage of Jane cosmetic’s $2 off coupons. Since Walgreen’s is having yet another makeup sale and Jane cosmetics were buy 1 get 1 free I thought this would be a good time to stock up on makeup that I would never buy at full price. There are many under $4 making it totally possible to get your makeup completely free (less taxes).

I had 14 $2 off coupons that I printed last month when Walgreen’s was having a similar sale. Since the closest Walgreen’s is an hour away I didn’t make it up there. The coupons don’t expire until the end of April though so I hung onto them hoping for another Jane cosmetic’s sale somewhere closer. Today, however, we just happened to be close to a Walgreen’s and I had my coupons in my purse! Lucky me! I SO took advantage of this sale.

The coupon states that you can use one per item so there was no problem when I purchased 14 items with 14 coupons.

Here is my total without coupons or Walgreen’s discount.

$56.23

My total with Walgreen’s discount.

$28.23

My total with Jane’s $2 off coupons.

$5.32 (that includes $1.89 for tax)

What did I get for my trouble?

14 assorted Jane cosmetics! Lipsticks, eye shadows, mineral powder, etc… I only purchased one item over $4.

So go here, get your Jane coupons, and head on over to Walgreen’s. I don’t know when this sale ends so you better be quick!

My Safeway Deals

Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

Comments (1)

Today we went grocery shopping. We started out at Safeway because of the grocery Rally they are having.
Buy 10 rally items get a $5 Catalina.
Buy 15 rally items and get a $10 Catalina.
Buy 25 rally items and get a $20 Catalina.
Catalinas are the coupons the register spits out with your receipt during checkout.

Rally items can be found by looking for the little white checkered flag tags under each product or you can see your regions rally products by going here, clicking on the sales rally box and typing in your zipcode. We stuck with items $1.25 or under.

It takes about $25 to $30 out of pocket to get this deal going but once you have your first $20 Catalina you will only need to spend between $5 and $8 per order if you pay attention and only buy rally products under $1.25 each. We made 3 Safeway purchases today and saved quite a bit of money plus we have a $20 Catalina waiting for our next trip to Safeway. We will go everyday until the program is over on the 26th because Ryan drives right by Safeway on his commute home from work.

This is a run down of our Safeway deals from today. We usually NEVER buy any of this stuff but in the end it is going to mean super savings on stuff my kids will love to eat instead of the normal peanut butter and jelly or turkey and ham lunches they get.

When you go to Safeway you have to make sure that you are getting stuff on the deal by looking for the white checkered flag tags. We went all out, buying 25 products that have the checkered flags and getting a $20 Catalina to use on groceries or gas. We only purchased rally items that were less than $1.25 and then we turned around and used our Catalina to buy more $1 rally items and got another Catalina.

Here is what we got on today’s trip.

First Trip:
15 Green Giant Frozen Steam Veggies
5 cans Del Monte diced Tomatoes
1 box Rice A Roni
4 packs lightbulbs

$33.35 our of pocket. Earned a $20 Catalina

Second Trip:
11 Rice A Roni
14 cans Del Monte diced tomatoes

Used a $20 Catalina – $5.30 out of pocket. Earned a $20 Catalina

Third Trip:
25 boxes Pasta Roni

Used a $20 Catalina – $5.00 out of pocket. Earned a $20 Catalina

$83.65 before Catalinas

$43.65 after Catalinas

Plus, we have another Catalina to go do the whole deal over again later – so you can see how they build on themselves and after a few more trips we will have saved so much money and stocked our pantry full as long as we stick to rally products under $1.25 and we always use our Catalinas.

I’ll write about more savings later on. I have a party to get ready for!

His Head Is On Backwards!!!

Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

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Our little Godzilla, Ben(3) got himself dressed, just like everyday. And, just as he does everyday he put one of his pieces of clothing on backwards. However, today he put both of them on backwards – his shirt and his pants. Likely his underwear, as well.

Mornings with my children make me laugh a lot! I seriously think every mama should be blessed with the joy of being with her children every day.

Happy Birthday, Googlibear!!!

Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Comments (1)

Today is my husband’s 31st birthday.

I remember when we were married almost 11 years ago. He was so young – barely an adult. Okay, I was young, too, but we aren’t talking about me.

This man came into my life barely 20 years old. He scooped me and my 2 1/2 year old daughter up and rescued us from the devastation we were going head first in, and married me just 6 weeks after meeting us. I look back and I am amazed that I couldn’t see the danger of my life choices, and that Ryan saw me as somebody worthy to be his wife.
Read more about my past and rescue here if you’re curious.

I love my husband. As he has grown older, wiser, and more handsome he has never ceased to be the love of my life and my knight in shining armor.

He is loving, never leaving me to doubt his true feelings for me.

He is happy, keeping my side in stitches, and teaching me how to laugh easy and at myself.

He is loyal, always coming home to his family,
He is devoted, keeping a close relationship with God.

He is selfless, putting us before himself, willing to die for us.

He is giving, doing his best to making sure our needs and wants are met.
He is trustworthy, even when we are driving in a blizzard on ice-topped roads.

He is strong, able to withstand the heaviest weight for me so I don’t have to bare it.

He is Christ-like because he is loving, happy, loyal, devoted, selfless, giving, trustworthy, and strong.

He is now officially in his 30′s.

Ryan, my Googlibear,

What you have become in the last 11 years is amazing. When I first met you, you were a picture of the things I mentioned above. Now, 11 years later, you have stunned me in how much more you have grown into those descriptions, how they speak of who you are. I can’t imagine what the next 11 years will be like but I am excited for them!

You are all man. I love you.

Happy Birthday.

Love,

Your Shmoopsipoo

Reader’s Question – when toddlers whine

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

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When I get the same question numerous times in my email box and/or comments I try to answer them on the blog – if I have an answer – because it seems to be something that could be helpful or encouraging to many readers.

How do you get your kids to say “okay” and not whine at the “no candy” answer? My 2 1/2 year old (and first of two boys) is in the whiny phase, and that whining after a “no” to something must have happened at least 5 times today. I don’t give in, explain how he should answer, and tell him that whining isn’t going to help him get what he wants because the answer is no. Any other ideas?
Thanks!
A blog reader

Thanks for your question!

Toddlers will generally only do things that benefit them. Usually when whining or fit throwing (which we view as the same thing) occurs it is for one of the following reasons.

The child has learned it will get him what he wants
The child wants to make you mad as a punishment for not giving him what he wants
The child is angry because you said no and knows there will be no consequences for his whining or fit throwing.

Just like adults who must learn to control their emotions, children must learn to control their tempers, and practice makes perfect – even when that practice is forced against his will. A whining child must learn that, not only will it not get him what he wants, but it will produce a reaction that has no pay off for him. It is so much easier to learn this as a child from a parent who loves him rather than from a government system that could care less.

So, you must be careful to ensure the following during your child’s whining episode.

He must not get what he is fussing about.
He must not see you succumb to frustration or anger.
You must meet his disobedience with a swift, immediate consequence.

I can all but guarantee you that a 2 year old who whines when mama says no will whine no more in less than a week of consistency in this area, many children only requiring a day. Whining is one of the easiest areas of child training. Even my Godzilla 3 year old knows not to whine.

There is a proper way to go about this swift consequence. Here is what we do when we confront just about any issue needing training in our home.
When the child whines again we tell them in as few simple straightforward sentences as possible something like this, “Ben, what you are doing is whining. That is a no no. Next time you whine you will be spanked.”
This isn’t a threat. We only say it because we mean it. We follow through even if the whining continues immediately after the warning. There are no other warnings given although we always tell the child in simple terms why they are getting disciplined. We also ALWAYS follow discipline with an ‘I love you’ and a hug. Then, the discipline is over – not to be brought up again. Wallowing in his bad behavior and sulking over his discipline will not do the child any good, and in fact will probably produce a very dark and moody child. This is one of the reasons I LOATH ‘time out’.

To explain why…

Training your child not to whine will make him happier. It is so true that a child wants boundaries even when he doesn’t know it. We have proof!
Just as God, who loves me beyond compare, knows what I need the most and what will make me the happiest, even when that happiness was learned through pain, we need to love our children enough to provide those same lessons and help them to find true happiness.

For further, more in depth instruction, and why we train the way we do you can read our Parenting 101 series. We are still growing it but there is already good information to help parents understand the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ and why we feel that our child training techniques are biblically sound and God instructed.

This Weeks Giveaway!!! Pedoodles!

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm

Comments (134)

I am sorry for the late announcement of this weeks giveaway. We just needed to slow down for a couple of days. Anyway, here is this weeks giveaway!
This week I am giving away another pair of Pedoodles toddler shoes from our store! your choice of our in-stock selection!!!
Product Highlights:

Soft, top-grade, genuine leather construction
Exclusive PedFlex™ sandal soles provide durability and traction outdoors
Comfortable, flat leather footbed for proper foot development
Simple closures keep shoes securely on feet, no laces to tie or come undone
Super-flexible, lightweight design promotes healthy conditions around developing feet
Unique Pedoodles styling works well as a casual or dress shoe

My boys have every pair of boy Pedoodles made. They love them! They are so easy to get on, come in very unique, adorable styles, and are super comfortable on their feet. We LOVE Pedoodles shoes and, even though they are quite pricey, we will always make sure we have them for our little ones. They are just that great!

Retail Value – about $30

Now, for the rules…
US and Canada residence are welcome to enter per the rules below. Pay special attention to the closing date! You can enter twice by following the directions here by 2/17/08:

Entry #1: If you run across this blog and you want to win this item just leave a comment. Feel free to visit the store and let me know which shoe you would like if you are chosen as the winner – although this ISN’T a requirement and won’t increase your chances of winning!
Entry #2: Link to this entry from your blog where you wrote about this giveaway and then leave a second comment with the link where you passed on this giveaway info. This entry should be SEPARATE from your first entry.

A winner will be chosen via a random number generator on 2/18/08. We will announce it on the blog as well as TRY to email the winner. I say ‘try’ because I often get email notices returned to me as undeliverable or the winner doesn’t give a method of contact. Please make sure you check back to see if you are the winner!

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Contact me if you would like me to host your giveaway!
Visit this page to see our complete contest rules
View our privacy policy.