Blogging Update

I am SO excited! I haven't posted in awhile because I am working on a new blogging project. I plan to launch a whole new blog September 1st! I'm taking the month of August to read, research and start writing as well as doing the web design for the blog. When it launches I will be posting the link here and then I will be using this blog only for family adventures :) This blog will also be linked in my new one so that those of you who want to keep up with my personal adventures can do so :)


Also, I am taking a Facebook break for awhile, but I'm currently exploring twitter and how I can best utilize it for my blog :)


Follow me Alli's Twitter :) 


Also, if you need to contact me feel free to shoot me an email alli@greatlakeschurch.net

My Coupon Binder

I found this binder on sale at Walmart for under five bucks. If you're going to sort coupons with a Binder, you definitely want something with a zipper and that is heavy duty. I take my binder with me into the store and the zipper makes sure nothing falls out. Mine has some cool pockets on the inside too so I can store inserts, pens and all that jazz. I use the pocket on the front for my list. I wish mine had a handle or a shoulder strap, I'm thinking of getting crafty and making one :)

This is what the inside looks like. I use baseball card sleeves and organize with categories. I also have a sheet in the very front that I put my coupons in for that particular shopping trip. 


I really like this method, but there are some downsides. We'll look at both. 


Pros: You can see all your coupons without having to rifle through them. This is great if you do a lot of unplanned shopping and you see a great deal and want to find the coupon that goes with it. It's also good because the coupons don't really fall out and you're less likely to lose coupons. 


Cons: It's time consuming. Clipping the coupons to fit just right takes extra time. Also, going through and taking expired ones out and putting new ones in takes time. It can also be pricey to start with since you will have the cost of the binder and the sheets. 


My Fix: I was exclusively using the binder but now I'm also using the box :) (I also use file folders for whole inserts that I haven't clipped or that are duplicates of inserts I've already clipped...more to come on this in another post)

What I started doing is clipping my coupons and putting them into two piles. The box pile is all the coupons I want to keep but I know I'm not likely to need them in a store unless I've read about the deal online in which case I can pull the particular coupon out before leaving my house. The other pile is for coupons that I want to put in my binder, that I know I may come across an unexpected deal in the store and need to coupon.  This has saved me an incredible amount of time and it has also kept my binder clear of coupons I might not be likely to use.


As you can see there is no right or wrong way to organize your coupons. It all depends on what works best for you. I've tried pretty much all the methods now and am getting a better idea of what works best for me. I also know that it might change down the road. I'm cool with that :)


What method works best for you?

Just a Short List for Thursday :)

1. Yay! For babies! My friend Roslyn gave birth to Baby Jade last night :)


2. Katie and I took Klaeyton to the lake the other day and man did I get burnt. Thankfully I only burn the first time I'm in the sun in the summer. Sad part= I wasn't in the sun until July. 


3. We're busy busy with summer fun. Zoo. Lake. Books. It's a blast. 


4. I'm redoing some couponing things so that I can post about my binder and my newly revamped coupon organizational system. 


5. I'll be posting that today :)


6. Jules is almost crawling. She gets on all fours and then rocks back and forth. She tries to scoot forward and always ends up belly flopping. It makes me smile. 


7. Yesterday Klaeyton was building a train track in the living room and Jules kept taking the pieces of the bucket and trying to put them together. Watching them play together warms my heart. 


8. So yeah I'll admit that I'm totally stoked about the last Harry Potter movie coming out next week :) nerd? me? yes. 


9. I keep feeling these urges to make some changes, like God is trying to tell me something...now if I could only figure out exactly what it is :)


10. Oh lists...how I miss you :)

Klaeyton's Conversations

Ok so you know how as an adult, people look at you funny when they catch you talking to yourself. Ok ok I do it all the time, but yeah I know it's not nearly as precious as overhearing your two-year old talking to himself. 


Klaeyton says some funny things when he's talking to us (See list below :), but yesterday, Matt and I overheard him in the playroom by himself talking to his trains. To be honest, I can't even remember what he was saying, all I remember was the feeling I had sitting there on the couch peeking in on him. It was like a punch in the stomach and a hug all at the same time. When did he get so smart that he could not only carry on conversations with me, but with himself too? And yes a toddler talking to himself is actually a good sign. It means he can invent ideas and has an imagination and sadly the culture we live in today doesn't always encourage these things. We were just so proud. 


Now that we've covered that Klaeyton can talk to himself :) I'd like to post some of our recent conversations. 


Scene: Matt and I are getting ready for bed when we find that Klaeyton has already managed to crawl into our bed and take over Matt's spot. As Matt is getting ready to put him back in his bed, he gripes about Klaeyton stealing his pillow too. I laugh. 


Klaeyton rolls over and says, "It's not funny!"...Well then...


Scene: Klaeyton is standing by the back door and I'm telling him to come into the living room to pick up his toys. 


Klaeyton turns around and says, "Mom you need to go fix the lawn mower."
Me: "Oh I do, do I?"
Klaeyton: "Right now."....Well then...


Scene: Klaeyton and I are at Target doing some shopping and I give him the play by play that we're going to Giant Eagle next. 


Klaeyton says, "Umm no mom I don't want to go to Giant Eagle"
Me: "Why not?"
Klaeyton: "Because I want to go home."...Well then...


Every day this beautiful little blessing makes me laugh. Watching his thoughts unfold into words is simply amazing...and no I won't lie...it's totally entertaining. 


Go out and have a conversation with a two-year old. I promise you'll leave smiling :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Tigers

We made another zoo trip today. Matt got to go with us and Klaeyton just loved that he got to walk around with Daddy. He talked about seeing the giraffes and elephants all morning but when we got to the zoo, he really wanted to see the tigers. We've only been to the zoo twice this summer, and K has expressed interest in the animals and says they look cool, but he hasn't really lingered to keep watching any particular animal...until today...until we saw the tigers. 

Klaeyton watched the tigers in awe and I stood there smiling at him. He just thought they were so awesome. We had to tear him away and I promised him we'd go back to see them. I even told him I took some pictures we could print out. 


Now my little man is asleep on the couch, but I know when he wakes up he'll be talking about tigers. 


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

The File Folder

This was my first method of storing my coupons and in fact I think I might combine it again with my binder method (which I will post about next week...promise :) Anywho, you can pick these plastic file folders up just about anywhere. You can use small ones if you want to clip the coupons or you could even use a larger one to store whole inserts. If you store by insert, dating the sections (Last week, two weeks ago, etc) would be best. If you store by category you could use ones like these:

Once again, it all really depends on what works best for you. Obviously, if you don't have a child in diapers, you probably wouldn't have a diaper section. I don't do as much couponing for groceries as I do for household items, so my grocery categories aren't as specific. 

The thing I like best about this method is that most small to medium sized file folders will fit in your purse and you can take them anywhere. It's easy to just clip your coupons and stick them in each section. Once my coupons started accumulating, it got harder to find a specific coupon I wanted. If I was in the store with Klaeyton and saw a great deal, it took me quite a while to dig through and find the coupon I thought I had. If you don't plan on finding your own deals and only plan on getting them from websites, so that your shopping trips are pre-planned this method is great to start with. 

Remember if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. You can email me, facebook me or comment here :)

Summer Has Begun!

Summer is in full force and you know us...we're busy busy busy. The weather has been kind of crazy but we've managed to keep the summer spirit in motion :)

We went to the Lorain County Speedway for the Faster Pastor race and naturally Tan Tan (what Parker calls Klaeyton) and Parker were busy stirring up trouble.

Here's my little princess with her awesome ear buds in at the races.

This was our first zoo trip of the summer. We have passes so we plan on going a lot, hopefully tomorrow in fact. I love this picture because Klaeyton's face is so priceless.

We've had a few rainy days already and this seems to be one of the favorite inside activities. Even Jules tries to join in :)

Katie's recital was wonderful. I absolutely love watching her dance. I think I cry every year. 

How could I leave this picture out? Jules is ready for church and well...you can tell how happy she is :)


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom.

The Coupon Box

Thank you all so much for being patient with me :)

The Coupon Box

I haven't used this method, but I do hear really nice things about it. Actually, Crystal from Moneysavingmom.com just posted a video about how she uses the coupon box as part of her method. You can view her video here. 

Basically you can use a shoe box, or a plastic box with a lid. I bet that would work better. You can use dividers and store the coupons in envelopes or you could even sort by whole insert. It all really depends on what works best for you. 

I believe the box method would have to be used with another method, such as the small file folder, because I'm sure if you have small children, you wouldn't want to lug the box into the store and have to dig through it for a coupon you think you have. I do think that it's a great idea in storing coupons at home, especially if you collect multiple of the same coupon or if you're holding onto expired ones.

Up next: The File Folder 

Welcome Baby Israyel!

My blogging plans for this week got pretty skewed. But for an awesome reason. I became an Auntie yesterday :) Lana gave birth to Israyel Alexander at 10:31 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful. Lana was amazing. And being on the other side of childbirth was a very emotional experience for me. It's different when you're giving birth. You're so emotionally and physically exhausted by the time the baby is born (not to mention the hormonal mix your body is blending together) that it's hard to see things from the outside, to really see childbirth as the miracle it is. 


I didn't watch either of my births (I didn't use the mirror, but now I kind of wish I had) and compared to Lana's mine were pretty easy. She pushed for almost four hours and to watch her in so much pain and to see her want to give up, to be mad, sad, frustrated, so tired, yet so determined was so hard but it was amazing. Nothing short of amazing. Despite the pain of childbirth it is truly only a miracle God could create. I am so proud of Lana. And I already know she is a great mommy. 


I took tons of pictures, but this one is pretty much my favorite. There's nothing like those first moments when you truly become a mom :)

As for my couponing posts, I promise I will get back to them, it won't likely be until next week, but they will be there :)