March for Babies

http://www.marchforbabies.org/autumntottle

I signed up for this fundraising event over 6 months ago and I just now am realizing that it is THIS Saturday! I had all these plans of really going all out and collecting money for the March of Dimes but obviously I failed miserably. I really want to go do the 3 mile walk with the double stroller and both my kids but I feel pretty embarassed going without having raised any money. Do you think that's seriously rude? I mean I'd like to get out there and see what the event is like and hopefully it will inspire me to raise money for next year, plus I'll get a workout in on Saturday. Also, registration is at 7am, which means I need to seriously hustle to get me and the kids up, fed and out of the house by 6:30 at the latest! We don't even wake up that early, well Keaton does but me and Autumn don't!!! Lol. He comes in and watches cartoons on my bed til I get up around 7. So I'm going back and forth on whether or not I'm going to go. I still really want to go except for the aforementioned reasons, so what do YOU think?

Should I just go or is it really awkward that I've raised no money and therefore I should stay home in shame?

Stellan Post-Surgery

Is this not the cutest patient, or what?

Go here to read what his mom had to say.

Sweet Stellan's Serious Surgery

Praying for Stellan as he may still be in surgery, check out MckMama's Twitter account for updates.

Check out everyone who's wearing ORANGE today to show their Stellan support!

This had me literally laughing out loud!

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall.By Shannon PopkinMy little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?''At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh...Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!''I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!''''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies...Oh! Mommy!''He started to gag at this point.''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!''As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing thesubject.. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!''He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. ''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?''More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door. ''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!''I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud.My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three She lives with her family in Grand Rapids , Michigan , where she no longer uses public restrooms)

CVS Deals 4/5-4/11

What I got at CVS this week for $2.75

2 Easter baskets
2 bags of Easter grass
2 cans Pringles
2 Revlon Matte Eyeshadows
1 Skintimate Shave Cream

How I did it:
Easter baskets $1.99 ea, you get $1.99 Extra Care Buck, limit 2 --$3.98 oop, $3.98 ECBs

Easter grass $0.79 ea, you get $0.79 ECB, limit 2 -- $1.58 oop, $1.58 ECBs

Pringles on sale $0.88 ea, mfcg Q save $1 on 2, $0.38 ea, $0.76 for 2 cans

Revlon cosmetics on sale B1G1 FREE, Eyeshadow $4.99, second eyeshadow FREE, mfcg Q $2.00, mfcg $1.00, total for 2 eyeshadows $1.99

Skintimate shave cream $3.49, you get $3.49 ECB

$11.80 oop, $9.05 ECBs

To get more deals, visit Money Saving Mom

Walgreens Deals 4/5-4/11

All this for $7.43

This is how I snagged these deals at Walgreens:

3 Puffs Tissue boxes for $2.72
>regular price $1.49 ea
-- WAGS coupon $0.99 ea, limit 3
-- mfgc $0.25/3

Palmolive 10 oz for $0.74
>regular price $1.99
-- WAGS coupon $0.99 ea
-- mfgc $0.25

Colgate Total 4 oz for $3.49
-- received $3.50 in RR's (Register Rewards)

Betty Crocker Frosting 2/$3.00
--mfgc $0.55
--mfgc $0.50
--received $1.00 RR's

2 Glade Lasting Impressions kits $5.98
>on sale $5.99 ea
-- mfgc $3.00
-- mfgc $3.00
-- $2.00 Easy Saver Rebate

Total $15.93

I also used a --$2 RR that I had received from a previous trip making my total oop $13.93

$7.43 after $4.50 RR's and $2 Easy Saver Rebate

To get more deals, visit Money Saving Mom

The deals I plan to go back for spending $4.73 oop (out of pocket)

Colgate Total 4 0z $3.49, earn $3.50 RR's (you can pick up one of these on each trip)

3 boxes Multi Grain Cheerios for $4.75 ($1.58 per box)
GM cereal is on sale 3/$7
--three mfcg $0.75 off Multi Grain Cheerios

Gillette Series Shave Cream $0.99
>price $1.99
-- mfcg $1.00

Total - $9.23 (use $4.50 in RR's) making total oop $4.73