The last month of my life has been a whirlwind for a variety of reasons and I don't see it letting up anytime soon (both the good and the insanity-inducing). And so, in an effort to be all reflectivey and to give you guys a little peek in to my non-couponing life (which you may or may not want) I'm jumping in to my friend Jo-Lynne's weekly "What I learned this week"
1. Rain + Halloween = quite a bit of leftover Halloween candy. From now on I only buy candy that I do not like because the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are calling me!
2. Any cold that my children have will be multiplied by ten and passed on to me. Oh - and migraines suck (had my first migraine ever this week. Thank goodness for all the free Excedrin Migraine that I had)!
3. It is ok to ask for help when you need it. It does not make me weak to do so. (this is extremely hard for me).
4. Baseball can actually be a little exciting (go Phillies!)
5. I am going to need a Home Equity Loan to make good on all the promises of toys and goodies that I have made to my 3-year old daughter if she would only start using the potty!
6. Don't feed the trolls. Just delete their hateful comments/emails and keep dancing. (edited to add: unless they are stupid enough to post things like "I hope you die" from their workplace twice in less than 18 hours. Then you call their company and report them!)
7. My husband is going to lift the crockpot lid to peek, no matter how many times I threaten to remove his liver with a pickle fork if he does. I need to either start duct-taping the lid shut, or get over it.
8. I was very smart for refusing to throw away all that jewelry from the late 80s and early 90s because most of it is back in style. The ripped acid-wash jeans? Not so much!
9. I need to "man up" and finally get a mammogram.
10. Preparing the house and family for me to be away for 3 days will take 6 days to do.
Did you learn anything this week?
Be sure to check out Musings of a Housewife to see what other people learned this week. And make sure that you read her epic battle with a lobster and the resulting recipe for Lobster Corn Chowder!
Jolene
I LOVE this! It's nice to know that we're all going through similar trials. We can help eachother 🙂 Life is good and when we stop to count our blessings, we realize that the little things that bug us just don't bug us quite as much.
Melanie
Migraines are terrible - sorry you had one! But Excedrin is also my pain killer of choice for them. "Man up" and get that mammogram! I had my first one a couple years ago, and despite the horror stories I've heard, it really wasn't THAT bad. Not something I'd want to do for kicks, but not as bad as a pap or a dental cleaning!
MommaLove
Thanks for sharing this list! 🙂 LOL at #3! That has been exactly my struggle this week... especially since the TRU book came out in the paper and my DD found it while I was fishing for the coupon circulars. She has her "potty wish list" now... yikes!
MommaLove
Oh... so I forgot to say that what I learned this week is to hide the TRU ad before looking for the coupons! 😉
Heather
If you don't take a multi-vitamin now is as good of a time as ever to start. I used to get sick at the drop of a hat, now not so much.
Has anybody else found potty training to be awkward? I felt a bit ridiculous cheering and making a big deal out of my son going to the bathroom on the toilet instead of in his pull-up.
Jan
Re: #7, my crockpot has a clear glass lid, very handy! (I have that peeking impulse, too.)
I recommend using a neti pot regularly ... has really helped me avoid colds (or shorten them if I get one) and clear up sinus issues. Oh, and they're on sale this week at CVS! 😉
Marcy
Kudos for #9 and thanks for sharing. Hopefully it will nudge a few people who need to 'man-up' as well 🙂
Musings of a Housewife
A big fat UGH to #6 and #9.
Kellyn
Man up! It's not bad at all, no pain!
Potty training bribes are awful! We ended up spending a day at a theme park...not my idea of a good time at all.
My hubby has the same issues only with the oven. So glad ours has a light now, he stopped opening the door every 5 minutes.
Bonnie
I like seeing this little peek into your life outside of couponing! Thanks for sharing and I hope you feel better soon!
Terra
I didn't know you played along with this game! I am a subscriber to your blog and LIVE by your posts! I love JoLynn as well...AND - I have a crock pot peeker in my house too...ARGH!
brandito
Why in the world would anybody send you mean emails? I'm new to the world of (serious) couponing and rebating and you and your blog are a major God-send to me and my family! People can be sooo stupid! BTW I stopped bribing my 3 yo son to go potty, had decided we needed to take a break, and one day (literally)last spring he potty trained himself. We went from pullups to going 1 and 2 in the potty overnight. Don't ask me how, I can't take credit for it!
Heather
My son did the same thing. He took longer for it to click but once it did he only needed pull-ups for a while there while napping or sleeping. It was amazing when it happened.
kim
what a great post. Just what I needed today.
You rock mindi
Krissy
I learned how exciting baseball can be too!! LOVE THE PHILLIES!!
Janet
Go Phillies indeed! It was so exciting last year when we won... I want to be able to dance in the streets all night again this year again!
I LOVE your blog! It was refreshing to stumble upon one that is based out of this area, other blogs are good and all... but I always felt I was missing out on certain valuable regional information, you definitely help fill that gap!
Meghan
I thought my 3+ year old was going to take forever to potty train; he had no interest until he told me "I'll go potty when we run out of diapers." Well, I called his bluff and we "ran out" of diapers later that week; the first day he had multiple accidents but he was completely potty trained (day AND night) in less than a week! My favorite potty training mantra is "If you start at 2, you'll finish at 3; if you start at 3, you'll finish at 3". It was true for our family, at least.....and it did finally happen!
Diana
I enjoyed this post--I totally wouldn't mind if you did it again sometime. I learned that if I yell my almost 4-year-old daughter learns to yell, too. 🙂
Oh, and of all the 30 or 40 frugality blogs I read daily, yours is the go-to for the weekly Rite Aid deals. They're great!
Talya
This is going to sound crazy (or maybe not!) but the one thing I have found to cure/prevent migraines is peppermint essential oil. If I feel one coming on (I usually get aura and then the pain hits), I will get a cold washcloth, add a few drops of peppermint oil on it (can be found at health stores or online), then use it as a cold compress and rest. I can usually ward of the migraines this way. I know others whom this works for, so give it a try!
Tammy
Uh, I learned that having PMS around Halloween is a very bad thing. I have inhaled every Snickers and Reese's from my kid's Halloween candy and just can't get enough. I just moved on to Butterfingers and Lord knows what will be next. Is there a way to schedule hormonal cravings for a less dangerous time of year???
Deb H.
Oh Mindi, you make me laugh - and that is wonderful. I am dealing with menopausal hormones and I needed to lighten my mood. I also think it is hysterical that you included something about your beloved crockpot. I need to look for your e-mail and send you a massive amount of crock pot recipes that someone just sent me.
About potty training - my oldest child is 15 and took 10 months to potty train. I considered myself a huge failure in this area and so for the next two children I waited until they were about a week from turning 3. Wa-lah, they each potty-trained in about 1-2 weeks. They WILL potty train, they WILL NOT go to college in diapers and THIS TOO SHALL PASS!
Love your site! I am so sorry you have to deal with terrible e-mails. I wish you could know how many of us are encouraged by your work!
Sarah
Mmm Peanut Butter Cups!
Swedish Berries are a weakness of mine as well.