Swagbucks

I got this from one of my new favorite blogs.... moneysavingmom.com

Quoting from her site, because I can't say it better (and I'm too lazy!):

"I don't know about you, but I do a lot of searching online. If I need to find the answer to just about anything, Google is my best friend.

So when Lavonne told me about Swagbucks--an online search engine that rewards you for searching online--I was all ears. Especially when she told me she had earned enough in Swagbucks in the last four months to receive hundreds of dollars in gift cards.

I did some investigation and learned that Swagbucks is very simple to sign up for. In fact, it takes all of about one minute. There are no fees, no credit card required, and no phone number or address requested.

After that, you are credited 3 points to your account and then download the toolbar and every day as you're searching online, you earn a few more points. After only 45 points earned, you can get a free Amazon gift card. Or at 50 points, you can get a Starbucks gift card. There are dozens of other prizes, too.

Now, you might be thinking, "What's the big deal if I only earn a $5 gift card every month?" Well, you're right, $5 isn't that exciting. It's something, but that's only the beginning. You see, your earnings will exponentially multiply when you refer others.

Do you know anyone else who searches online? I thought so. Well, tell them about Swagbucks, send them your referral link, and you'll not only instantly earn more points when they sign up, you'll also earn points for the searching they do online.

Tell lots of folks and you're well on your way to funding your entire Christmas budget with free gift cards from Swagbucks. I'm not kidding you, that's exactly what Lavonne did. See her post here with the details.

For those of you who have blogs, you'll especially want to jump on board with this. It's free, it won't take much of your time to do, and it could generate a nice stream of gift cards in your mailbox.

I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty sweet to me! So what are you waiting for? Go sign up here." Click on any of the 'swagbucks' links in this post and I'll get credit for it too!!

More snow days

Over New Years, we had some great friends from Kentucky (who have since moved to Montana) come visit for a few days. It was like a little slice of Kentucky was here with us *grin* Tina took some cute pictures of Bryson when they were playing in the snow-Gotta love the UPS hat- funny enough, we didn't get it in Kentucky, we got it here in Washington
This picture doesn't do justice to the real size of the piles of snow on either side of our driveway- it is at least 6 feet tall.... really fun when you're shoveling snow to throw it over this mountain!

Lets see if I can remember how to do this...

Every night when the kids go to bed, after I've finished 'everything else' that I didn't/couldn't get done while they were awake, I generally hop online with the intent to blog..... the internet is a black hole for time! Before I know it, it's 11:30 and I didn't do any blogging- just a lot of couponing (I am SUCH a coupon dork now!) So I'm going to break one of my rules right now (not blogging while my kids are awake) because I really want to get this caught up! (And my kids are playing nicely and I'm caught up on most everything else!)

Hibes

None of my kids have ever had an allergic reaction... I take that back, Eli was sensitive to lotion and baby wash when he was a baby ('cause he's not a baby anymore??? well, when he was more of a baby than he is now anyway!) but nothing major- he just had a little eczema from it. But one morning, mid-December, I noticed that Bryson was rubbing his face on the couch- huh? I mean, he does do some weird things, but....  I asked him what he was doing- when he turned to me, the expression on his face was a little frantic, and his lips were doubled in size (if not tripled), one ear was at least three times it's normal size... (his other ear was normal....) and he says, "MOM, MY LIPS ARE BURNING!!" I'll be honest, I freaked out. Mostly because I was watching a neighbors two kids that morning, and I had no way of going anywhere- and because I couldn't find any benadryl. NO BENADRYL!! I called my mom who was fortunately very close to the Albertsons by my house and she brought some over. By the time she got here, I noticed the huge hives covering his abdomen, back, arms and face. When asked, he said his throat felt a little scratchy, but not big. He eagerly gulped down the benadryl and the swelling went down rather quickly... the "hibes," as he called them,stuck around for a little over an hour...

I called his pediatrician, and they weren't too concerned. But I was still a little freaked out so I called an allergist who (of course) recommended we do allergy testing. A few hours later, he started up with the hives again, but no swelling (the same reaction can keep occurring for days) so I redosed him with benadryl. And actually took a picture this time....
At his appointment the next day, the allergist suggested maybe it was the cinnamon (cinnamon is actually quite allergenic) in his breakfast that morning because I have no idea what else it could have been that he ate.... we scheduled to come back for testing.... but in the meantime, he's had cinnamon several times by accident, with no reaction! I'm pretty sure I'm cancelling the appointment- if he's not going to react, what is the point? Right? RIGHT?!? Any thoughts?

Look what I can do!!

Now, how do I get down??

I've lost that blogging feelin'

I haven't been updating much recently... and it's not that I haven't been online either! I've have been busy saving tons and tons of MONEY!! It's from a combination of grocerysmarts.com (use passport g84cso) and pinchingyourpennies.com Grocerysmarts (as far as I can tell) is based out of Utah, so all the grocery stores are Utah stores- but here in Washington, we have Albertsons, Walmart and Walgreens in common... which is fine with me- I really don't want the temptation of going to 10 different stores for great deals- and Albertsons has plenty for me. I literally have shaved my grocery bill from about $150 per week to $40-$50 per week while stocking up on food storage!!! It's been amazing. Many times I get things for free! Like yoplait yogurt or toothpaste or Grands biscuits.... and really, getting juicy juice at $.40 each when they're normally $4.59 each is pretty much free....

So sorry about the hiatus, I really do want to update, but with the holidays and my new hobby (saving moolah), I've been a busy mama!!