Whittaker Woman

Coupons

Ok here it is, THE COUPON POST! Hopefully I can answer a lot of questions for you guys out there and share the tricks of the trade. Umm, I take that back. That would be a really long and boring post. What I am going to do is give you a great list of blogs I have in my RSS that allows me to quickly see what samples, freebies and coupons sales are happening. 

Coupon Blogs I use to make my grocery list week. 

•  Southernsavers (I shop at Publix because it has buy one get one free sales. They also take competitor coupons which make some really great deals. I love Southernsavers! She has a great list making system that allows you to create your list as you plan. She also does a great list for CVS which again is something I do once and a while.) 
• I use Pocketyourdollars for my Target list. I am always in Target and I figured I might as well pick up some great deals while I am there.

Blogs I love: 

• moneysavingmom (This blog posts when a company is offering a freebie or sample, she posts great coupon sales and she also has great informational posts)
• freesamplefreak (As you can see from the blog name, she shows you where/when you can get free samples.) 
• hip2save (This blog is similar to moneysaving mom or moneysavingmom is like this blog. Either way she shares some great deals!)
• dealseekingmom (Another great blog who shares great deals!)
• sweetfreestuff (This is my favorite site for free samples. Great stuff. I always have little surprises in my mail box everyday! One little note is that I don't do any surveys unless they are super short. Its just not worth it to me.) 
• stretchingabuckblog  (Just another good one) 

 Websites I love:

• Walmart (Wali always has free samples, they range from diapers, tampons, cereal and others).

Other resourceful places: 

•  Here is a list of grocery stores throughout the country that have people blogging about their sales and coupons.  
• Does couponing only work if you eat junk food?
• Coupon organization Ideas  Coupon Binder: Here, 
• Time management 
• Hiptosave has a great Coupon 101 Section. 
• Stretchingabuck also has a Coupon 101 Section. 
• Southernsavers has a Getting Started Guide.
• Frugal coupon living has a great beginners link.  

Ok my friends, thats all I got. Hope it can help? Who coupons here? Where do you live and what stores do you shop at? H

Photo Booth Surprise!

We all know Photo Booth is one of the best things on a Mac, but what tops it even more is when I find little surprises in the archives! Check out a few... 

I love it! They make my day when I open it up and see their creations! H

Confessions Of A Mom

Any guesses on what I did to cause that? It will most likely happen to every parent at some time. We lecture and nag all the time in hopes of preventing this very thing...

The door. Little Los was going in the back yard. I slammed the door behind him to prevent mosquitoes from coming in and right at the perfect moment he put his right in the crack. Slam. Scream. Ice. 

Please tell me I am not the only one who has done this! H

Family Night... Their world

I can't tell you the amount of times I have heard... 

- I wish I had more time. - I am just not creative - I don't have the money to do a big Family Night 

There are days when I say those exact things to myself, so I understand what they mean. They mean that its not worth the effort. I get it. Sometimes life is just so crazy, but often times that is the exact time that the kids need you. I have shared this before so you can tell it impacted me, but I heard someone challenge me as a parent to not only take my kids on my adventures but to enter theirs. So often I assume my kids are enjoying life because they get to live with a family that lives for adventure. That is one of the reasons for Family Nights. They allow us to enter their world. To get out of adult mode and play with the kids. 

This is what we did this week. It was last minute. Spur of the moment. I was at the dinner table and asked "If you could do anything with Mommy and Daddy at home what would you want to do" These were our answers. 

Sohaila: Play Ping Pong  Seanna: Make a movie theater. Losiah: Cars

All of these took no time, there was no creative juices needed and they were all free. All we did was enter their world.

Poor Sohaila does this jump thing every time. She is good! 

Joy!

Joy!

We then began the Movie Theater... 

Joy!

And a little more Joy! 

Then we went off to play with cars! 

So simple, but let me tell you how full we felt when we tucked them into bed that night! H

ATL Flood

I busted my mama today for not calling/ worrying about us. We about floated away. Thankfully we live on a hill and all the water drained south. This was when I had to pick up the girls from the bus. Which was 30 minutes late because it had to go two different routes before it found roads that we open. 

This was us observing the our neighbors tiny trickle of a creek that had turned into a massive waterfall.

It is hard to tell in this picture, but the water was rushing down the street. I did not wear shoes because there was no use. I tried to pick up the girls to save their shoes and well you can see the site we were! 

This was a teaching moment with Seanna after her shoes got wet. She was crying. I could do nothing. 

Except throw her on my back. I wish I recorded it because it sounded like a huge waterfall. Not from the rain but from the flow of water going down the street. 

Then we had two days off of school because of all the flooding. We were spared but so many others were not. 

What news worthy moments have you been apart of? H

Hidden Treasure

 I told you all that I am wanting to deep clean. I began organizing the locker that is assigned to any magazine article that I find and want to keep. Recipes, house decorations, inspiration for Family Nights. I just throw it all in a pile until it gets so big that I must take action. 

That is the mess on the table, but that is not what this post is about. It's about hidden treasure! 

 Look what I found...

A hidden treasure of Mikes. 

This is how I normally look into the locker. 

But when you are on the floor looking up, you get a extra bit of love!  I love how you can use something everyday, have other families use it everyday and still treasures go unnoticed! H

Homeschool

You should of seen the jumping and screaming happening when we heard the announcement that school was canceled for Tuesday! If you have been under a rock and have not watched any news. Atlanta has been hit by some major storms. It has been raining for the past week and the grand finale was a storm that rolled through yesterday dumping massive amounts of rain. Some places got up to 18 inches of rain. CRAZY. So our sweet little creek was now a roaring river with class 4 rapids. On the way back from dropping the girls of at school yesterday there was a huge tree that fell in the road, wires were down sparks flying. At lunch time I heard a big ruckus in the backyard, only to see a huge tree had fallen down. All this to say the roads were crazy, the rivers flooded and school was canceled! 

I just walked into the girls room and saw them playing school.

I guess if they couldn't go to school then they were going to make someone go. H

I'm A Sigher

It just comes out. When something is heavy, I sigh. I remember doing some not so great things as a kid and sighing as I reflected on my circumstances. When I am overwhelmed, I sigh. When I am stressed, I sigh. I have been sitting here looking at the calendar. Looking at all the things on the to do list. Wondering how the heck we are going to get all this done with out drowning. It is hard to ask for help not because I am to prideful but because I assume everyone else has a full plate too. All this to say I have been sitting here sighing. I do it without realizing it. At first Carlos laughed at me, then he asked what all the noise I was making and finally he demanded why I was so stressed. It is our season on uncertainty. Our life has no stability. Part of me wants to take a week and try to organize everything so the control side of me feels a little more stable, then the other part of me says... You wanted to live an adventure. Hold on and have fun. 

Did you guys like that brain dump? I guess I share this to let you know we may be a little sporadic around here. I pretend to get organized a little. Sigh! 

How do you guys handle stress. Cry, Paxil, Depression, Sighs? It seems like our lives are so crazy how do you handle it. H

Little Los The Artist

Losiah was so proud of his drawing. He said it was me. 

Thanks, baby. Thanks. 

H

Interview by my Bean... Seanna

I thought it would be fun if I let my kids ask me questions... 

Dear Mommy: 

-What restaurant do you go to when you were a kid? 

 We did not go out much, but when we did we would eat at some sort of All You Can Eat place. 

-Did you dream of Flying?

 No, but I did dream you had to walk through a grocery store to get to Disneyland. This was a recurring dream until one day we went  through the grocery store to see a fire at the Disneyland door. That was the last of those dreams. 

-Did I have an American Girl Doll. 

 I can say, those little dolls were born after I was a kid. I was a child who had a Cabbage Patch Doll.

-Did I watch TV?

 All the time! Much more than you did. 

-Did I play on the computer?

 We did not have a computer till late into high school. So that answer is no. We did have Nitendo and I  played Super Mario Brothers. Back during the time when you died you would have to start at he very beginning of the game. 

-What did you do if they did not have American Girl Dolls or computers?

 hahahahahaha! 

-Did they have phones? I can't believe they don't have those computers or American girl Dolls. 

 Yes we had phones! I am not that old! 

-Did you jump rope? /// In a whisper "Did they have jump ropes back then?"

 I did! I was pretty good too! 

-Did I have fun when I was a kid? 

 I loved my life. I had a ton of people who loved me. We had a family that spent lots of time together, life was fun. 

-Did you have pluggers for your phone back then? I replied... NO. Seanna's mouth dropped open as her eyes bugged out and she said... Then what did you do if your phone got dead? 

So maybe I did not answer the phone question in full detail. 

-Did I have fun with your sister and bruder. 

I had fun with my siblings. There are 6 and 10 years in between us but that did not seem to matter! 

Flip the questions... 

Interview by me to Seanna

Dear Seanna: 

-What restaurant do you go to when you were a kid?

  When I was a kid? I am a kid! You have me as a kid so you know, Chuck E Cheese

-Do you dream of Flying? 

  Yes, with wings, where I fly to China to see chopsticks. 

-Do you have an American Girl Doll? Do you know what a Cabbage Patch Doll is? 

  Yes her name is Mina, aka Mia. I don't know what a Cabbage Patch Doll is. 

-Do you watch TV? 

  When you let us. 

-Do you play on the computer? 

  Yes, when you let us. I like PBS kids the best. 

-What would you do if you did not have American Girl Dolls or computers?

  I would just play on your phone... 

-What do you do to have fun as a kid? 

I get to go on playgrounds, ( You all know how I feel about that) 

-Do you have fun with your sister and bruder. 

Yes, sometimes. Kinda. Yes I do, I do. When they don't argue with me. 

Right Now... Where are you?

I am here...

And it looks like this...

I think technology is amazing! 

Right now where are you? 

The Traveling Musician

Having a man who travels is something I can get use to! He is playing at a conference in Scottsdale Arizona and I am taggin along! Three days by the pool updating my summer glow is like giving a toddler a cookie. I am so excited! Top that with the fact that I will be eating In N Out at some point and then best of all... Delta gave us free WiFi and look who is missing it! The last time I have been on a plane that had free internet we were going to Korea to pick up Little Los. I am glad this flight is only three hours! Random post, but I thats the excitment coming out. :)  H

How cute is my family?

Oh how cute is this... 

My Roller-coaster of Friends

Tonight I am full. I started the afternoon with my faithful Monday chat with J. Then my man walked in the door at 5pm. Which is a great feeling. With him traveling so much the simple things like him coming home at 5 is exciting. Then I had dessert with my new GA friend. Well, she is not really new. Our worlds collided on the blog world over a year ago, but I would say she is my Ga friend who knows ME. The Cali H. I can even say she knows some parts of me more than I know myself. Then on the way home I had a short but sweet call from a friend who will always be part of my soul. My heart beats for her. I have nothing to blog about tonight except that. I am full. 

I don't know what season you are in with friends right now. I have had dry lonely moments and then I have moments like tonight when I feel full and loved. This past year I have realized how much life comes in seasons. What season are you in? I think it is always so great to realize that we are not the only ones in the season that we may be in. H

PS... I love Photo Booth. I think it is well worth the price of a Mac! H

Look who else is making a record...

Resurrection

It was over a year ago when I bought this lamp at a thrift shop. I loved it and had a vision for it. A tall lampshade, possibly a darker color would be the perfect match for my new love. However the search for the lampshade came to a quick halt. Have you seen prices for lamp shades. RIDICULOUS! The materials and labor could not be more than $10, if that. Then the stores mark those bad boys up! I found a perfect one and guess the price tag... $99. For a lampshade. Geesh. All this to say I have had this lamp for a year with no shade. 

Then I was driving down my street when I saw this...

It was two lampshades stuck together and it was the right height. They were sitting on top of the garbage can, so I thought it was worth brining them home and playing with them. Then the other day I found a great piece of fabric for $1.99 and then my project began. 

A little hot glue and....

There you go... I love how it even has the line where it shows how they over lap. 

It's a work in progress, but I love it. I love how you can see the lines. I think I am going to get some black ribbon and glue it at the top and bottom just to make a clean line on the inside. But not bad for $1.99! 

What's the best piece of trash you have resurrected? H

Hot Coupons!

Just incase you have not taken advantage of this deal it is great! 

I paid $26.35 for this but I also got $15 in gift cards! So really I only paid $11.35! Which means I paid only .78 cents for each Fiber One product. Plus I got all the Cheerio bowls for free with this coupon! 

Here is the Cereal Deal, its not how I did it but it is how you can! 

-6 General Mills cereal cups--$0.95 each, used 6 $1/1 coupons here, free plus overage

-Buy 5 boxes of Fiber One Cereal $1.99 each- Price matched with Walgreens ad

  Total=$9.95
   Use 5 $0.75/1 coupons from here or here  (You'll need to login or register to access the coupon)
   Plus, use 5 $1/1 Target General Mills Cereal coupons 
   Pay $1.20
   Get back a $5 Target gift card
   Final cost 5 boxes for FREE + a $3.80 moneymaker!

You HAVE to do this today! It's the last day! 

I had some other coupons which helped me get the other things, I just wanted to share some good deals when I see it! Who says you only get junk food when you coupon! H

El Salvador

Hang tight blogging friends! We are going to El Salvador. Yep! You, me and all the secret blog stalkers out there! We are going on a trip.  I have been asked to go with Compassion to El Salvador to blog about their work their. Compassion changed my life forever when we went to Uganda with them back in February of last year. Forever changed. I am in love and sold out with this organization. I am so excited to have you guys come with me! 

When I went to Uganda I went as Carlos' wife. I happened to blog, but I was not one of the bloggers. This time I go as a blogger. I can not tell you the insecurities I have and how much this scares the daylights out of me. I am not afraid of being harmed. I'm not having issues of leaving home. I am not even worried about what I will see there. I am terrified of blogging! Kinda ironic. Yep confession is out. I am going as a blogger and am so fearful that I will not be able to express all that is in my heart. UGH! But I will go. I will blog as I do and I will pray God will lead people to fall in love with these children.

I am so excited for Carlos to come home this weekend so we can add another member to our family. We have two girls that we pray for, write to, and support. One is from the Dominican Republic and one is from Uganda. I must confess I am giddy about adding a little child from El Salvador. AND what really makes me want to jump up and down is the fact that I will get to wrap my arms around them so soon! OH, I can not wait! 

Thank you for being in this community and allowing me to share about this. Thank you for reading and allowing me to be your feet. Lets go on this journey together! H

After School Project

I ran into Target today and found these tank tops for $1.74. They were cute, but I did not want them to wear. I wanted them for a project. 

I did not have intentions on doing this project today, but Seanna looked up at me with those sweet brown eyes and I became butter. So we began...

Don't know why this picture it is purple, but I cut off the straps... 

Did some straight seems as well as a button hole...

Any guesses? 

I put the straps back on...

Had a happy helper...

Who added her own personal touches. 

Yep it's a purse! 

At some point my helper turned ugly...

She DID not want to model...

hahahahahahahaha 

I love it. Both my Bean's attitude and the purse for the girls! H

Family Photo's

Nani wanted to have some fun pictures of her and the kids. I think these pic's fit the bill... 

I love my life. H

Funky Amish

I finally got my benches! If you have been following me since last November, you will remember I ordered a bench from my Amish friend Jacob. When I ordered it, he had a year long waiting list for his work. I was not worried, I was still saving for my dinning room table so I had plenty of time.  When I visited him last month I was excited to find out that my benches were done! 

When I ordered the benches we were discussing what I wanted. He took me in his house and showed me the ones they used at their tables. I fell in love. The bench was simple, but I loved the idea that it was the style that they had in their own home. 

  a

I loved the simple style, but wanted to make it funky. I wanted to paint it a crazy color like a burnt orange, or maybe a deep purple, BUT I had an idea. I wanted to have everyone who eats at our house sign it. It's my guest book. With my new idea I knew I had to find color that would be timeless. So I chose this silver. I like the fact that it will have a newspaper look when full. 

We were testing out our idea.

Now its for real! 

I love it. The silver has some movement to it. I don't know what it's called, but I love that it is not just a solid silver. I told you last week I was feeling creative! H

Whittaker Time

I love having Carlos home! Even though I hate having him gone, it takes us out of our normal routine and helps us appreciate each other more. It allows the time we are together to be all about us!  I LOVE IT! He gets to be home for three days this week and it feels so good. We took a quick trip up to Berry to show Nani, where Carlos went to college and just the beauty of it. Here are some fun shots of the day. Hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday weekend. H

Living Your Passion

I love it when people find their passion in life. My friends Steve and Danae adopted their little girl Eva from Ethiopia. While they were there they realized they could make a difference. They started Gobena Coffee. I loved the story behind it. Even better the story about the name. Need coffee? Make a difference! H

Gobena Coffee Promo from Lifesong on Vimeo.

So I’m A Dad // Zaccheus was a wee little LAMB

Carlos made this video and put it up on his blog. Here is his post... 

"So every night we read our kids a bible story out of this rad kids Bible.

This is a great example of what goes down every night.
It’s like 5 minutes long.
If you don’t love kids, my kids, or me, you will probably wanna skip it.
But I think it’s freaking amazing.
I LOVE BEING A DAD"

My Man

Carlos turns 36 today.  I thought I'd share with you why I love him so. 

When I see this picture I see, one. We are one. I know him and he knows me. The experiences that we have lived in the past 13 years has made our love rich. Oh how I love him. 

There is no way I could have imagined his commitment to being a daddy. He is one of them. 

I once heard a wise man say... "Having your children experience life by doing the things you do is great, but going into their world and doing what they do, is life changing". 

Carlos does. He is hands on and in their world. I admire him for that. 

He also lives outside the box. It was pouring and he picked up Sohaila in the rain for fun! 

Oh i just melt when I see this picture. Its him making pasta with our friends. I love that he will do anything. And loves it. 

Then there is my saturday man. He is completly different than the weekday guy or the guy who is on stage on saturday. Saturday man wears flannel, no more needs to be said. 

He makes me laugh. 

I could spend every second of every day with him. 

There are a million other reasons why I love him. Why we are perfect together. All I know is that at 36 he is one fine, generous, funny, kind, loving man! I love you baby! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! H

Family Night... Kitty Cat Night

We got a fun gift this past week that we created a Family Night around. It was called Feed the Kitty. It is so great to have Nani around because she created some fun tails and ears for us. 

Carlos was in charge of putting whiskers on everyone. He went upstairs to do is his and came down like this...

HAHAHA! Oops, sorry baby whiskers don't come out of the mouth. 

He learned his lesson and became a great make up artist! 

Then the sound of meowing began to fill the house! 

It was snack time. 

When the milk came they all flocked to the same bowl.

  

Our table was simple just kitten place mats and our resident kitty. 

And for dinner... Fish. 

For dessert we had a special treat! 

Kitty litter. 

And finally our Feed the Kitty game. 

Guess who won. 

It really was a fun and simple night. H

Sneaky Sister

All I know is that both girls went to bed with pillows, and somehow Seanna's pillow became a bed for Sohaila's doll. 

Sneaky Sister I say. Sneaky Sister! 

I remember being a sneaky sister. Usually it was with popsicles or some kind of treat, but nonetheless I was sneaky. You? 

H

I'm Feeling Creative.

So my grandma and I went to go see Julia and Julia. Which I LOVED!  As we were walking around the parking lot after the movie, like two teenage kids waiting for daddy to pick us up. We walked up to a building that was being torn down and I found this... 

I am not sure why this caught my eye, but I have grand plans for it. 

The only problem is... I don't know what those are. BUT I know they will be grand!

I think the movie inspired me to be creative. I want to be creative I just don't know how. This is where you come in. I know there are some fun thinkers out there. Help me. I know it is a "box" which could easily turn into a recipe box, a crayon box, a jewelry box, but that is not creative. Help me get funky. Think out of the norm. Help! Whatcha think? What do you see it becoming?  H