One thing that comes up a lot is all the apps for smart phones that are available to help save you money.  I have several of them on my phone, so I thought I’d point out my favorites to you:

GasBuddy – Put simply, you can use this app to find cheap gas near you!  LOVE it!  Many times it has saved me from spending an extra 10 cents or more a gallon by driving a short distance away.

GeoQpons– This app will help you find coupons to use in whatever store you are in!  For example, if you’re heading to the mall, just open this app up and search for the store you’re shopping at.  I’ve found great discounts to JCPenney, Children’s Place, and more right there in this nifty app.

ShopKick– ShopKick is one of my favorite apps, and my fantastic readers told me about it!  You “check in” at stores such as Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Old Navy, etc and it gives you “Kicks”.  Trade in your kicks for giftcards!  Even better, sometimes it will give you random bonus giftcards!  It recently gave me a $2 Target giftcard for no reason.  AWESOME!  Sometimes when you’re checked in, it will ask you to scan certain items in the store and you’ll get even more “Kicks”.  My kids love scanning the products so we can earn giftcards.

Ibotta– You’ve been hearing me talk about Ibotta a lot lately.  If you haven’t signed up, you’re missing out!  Ibotta is a fun and easy way to earn $20 or more each time you go shopping. The more you use it, the better and more personalized your offers become.  Before you go shopping, download the Ibotta app to your iPhone or Android.  It’s completely free.  Ibotta pays you cash for learning about your favorite products and then buying them in the store.  No points or credits – real cash!  The more you useIbotta, the more cash you can earn.  Simply purchase the items and then use Ibotta to photograph your receipt.  Ibotta works in many main stores such as Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid, Kroger, Safeway, Publix, Stop & Shop, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Ralphs, H-E-B, Meijer, Vons, Duane Reade, Smith’s, Fry’s, Pick ‘N Save, Dominicks, Pavilions, Tom Thumb, Dillons, and ShopRite.  Once you’ve redeemed offers totaling $5 or more, Ibotta lets you transfer your earnings directly to your PayPal account

Do you have a favorite app not listed?  Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Oh my gosh ya’ll!  I’ve apparently been living in a cave.  My friends over at Ghirardelli sent me a little goodie box in preparation for Valentine’s Day.  In it was the most amazing thing ever.

Chocolate.  And Strawberries.  In one bar.  OMG!

These are incredible!  I’m going to have to get some more ASAP.  So good!!  If you haven’t tried these yet, I highly suggest you do!  Ghirardelli has lots of great options for Valentine’s Day.  They still have quite a few items left in their sale section as well.

As you can tell, I took an unexpected day off today.  I may post a little more after I get the kids in bed, though.

At 7 or so AM this morning, I rolled over to check my phone and see what time it was.  I had missed texts from my mom and brother.

Mom: Call me on cell

Chip: Mom’s in the hospital.

WHAT??? WHAT?!?!?!? **Insert panic and freaking out here**

Called my brother and he answers with a “I’ll call ya back!”.  More on that later.

I call my mom and apparently she had gone to bed around 10pm last night only to wake up at midnight with chest pains.  She didn’t want to wake us up (Come on Mom, like we really sleep much with 4 kids anyways!!).  My 89 year old grandfather lives with her and he drove her to the hospital.  Yes, insert more panicking here.  Grandpa?  DRIVING???  Not for the faint of heart.

Later we find out he had gotten lost trying to get home and was driving around Athens at 3am.  Thank the Lord he made it home safely.

Anyways, I start getting ready to go up to the hospital and I text my sister in law to see if my brother is on the way to the hospital.  Her reply?  My brother was just in a wreck.  Hence the “I’ll call ya back”.

More freaking out.  Yes, I tend to freak out quite easily.

My brother was on his way home from his job at a fire station toward Atlanta when the person in front of him nearly stopped on I-85.  He slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the person and his brakes locked up.  He did a complete 360 in the middle of 85.  Someone else hit him on the front passenger side.  Thankful it wasn’t worse.  Car is being scrapped 🙁

I start heading to pick up my grandpa, pick him up, and head to the hospital.  Thankful I was able to get ahold of my bestie and she watched my crew.

Mom went through all the normal cardiac tests, was made into a human pin-cushion, but checked out A-OK.  Very thankful.  She was released this afternoon and I took them home and picked up the kids.

Now just trying to relax!  Hope you all had a great day!  We are very blessed to have my mom and brother here with us.  I think it’s time to put the kids and bed and crack open the wine!

Oh, and just for fun, here’s our “We’re bustin’ outta here” photo as we left the hospital 🙂

Hope yall are all set for Christmas! We are doing lots of cookie baking around here!

Even the pups are ready. And yes, we added to our family. We got a German Shepherd about 2 weeks ago. She’s been the perfect addition!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Recently we were invited to Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain to check out the fun for all of you.  Fortunately for my assistant, it lined up with our Disney trip, so she was able to take her family.  Here’s what she has to say:

Our family loved Snow Mountain. There was so much to do we may go back again. Not only can you ride in tubes (single riders or family tubes) down the Memorial Lawn area, there is an amazing play area with smaller slides just for kids and lots of snow to build forts, snowmen, igloos and even have a snow ball fight! Although you are given a 2 hour window to ride the large slope, you can visit the Snow Play Area all day with your pass.

Our favorite part of the Christmas village was the Polar Express 4D experience. it was absolutely amazing. Once you enter the theater and on your 3D glasses you will watch a shortened version of the film complete with special effects, including real snow. The Village is decked out in holiday decorations and lights. As you walk through at night you may even see a street performer or get a glimpse of Santa himself! There are tons of shows and activities in this area. A good tip: ride the train early in the day, once the slopes and the sky-ride to the top of the mountain close, this gets pretty busy and a long line starts to form.

For a break, try heading to Memorial Hall and decorate a holiday cookie. You get a large cookie (your choice of sugar or chocolate chip), a small tub if icing and two small tubs of candy to decorate with. This was a big hit after playing in the snow for a snack. While you’re there you can also visit with Stone Mountain’s own Snow Angel.

Looks like they had a blast and I’m slightly jealous we weren’t able to go!  If you’re wanting to go, be sure and swing by your local Kroger store for discount coupons for Christmas and Snow Mountain.

Below is a guest post from my friend Nicole from MyLoveForCooking.com.  Be sure to check out her website!  Lots of awesome recipes and tidbits.

The holidays are often a hectic time by nature and there always seems to be a never ending “to do” list. Most of the work seems to revolve around cooking. For me this is my favorite part of the season.

If you have little ones in tow it is a chance for them to be helpful and make the chores a lot more fun. Depending on the age and abilities of your child there are almost always some way they can do their part with holiday prep in the kitchen.

With my lovies (almost 4 and a brand new 2) I try to encourage their interest in helping in the kitchen. You might be surprised at what they are able to do. Here are some basic ideas for younger children to do their part in the kitchen:

3-Year Olds

• Wash fruits and vegetables
• Stir ingredients in a bowl
• Tear lettuce
• Pour liquids

4-Year Olds

• Grease pans
• Open packages
• Peel oranges or hard-cooked eggs
• Snip fresh herbs with dull scissors
• Mash bananas with a fork

5-to 6-Year Olds

• Measure ingredients
• Cut soft foods with a blunt knife
• Set the table
• Garnish food

I find cooking with them to be a great opportunity to teach them about the ingredients we are working with. They also tend to get more excited about trying new foods when they have helped prepare them. If you have a picky eater getting them involved may really help. There is nothing like seeing the pride on their little face when they see the results of their hard work.

The holiday season is a perfect time to get a little help in the kitchen while also starting traditions that can last a lifetime. I find myself recreating recipes and traditions with my lovies that I experienced as a child. Sharing time cooking with those I love has always been something that means so much to me. The kitchen has always been a safe place to make mistakes and learn through trial and error. Make the holidays the start of great memories as well as recipes. Happy Holidays!

XOXO Nicole

Here are some recipes that are sure to be a hit with the little ones:

• White chocolate dipped holiday pretzels
• Christmas tree English Muffin Pizzas
• Gingerbread Pancakes
• Snowman Cookies
• Cheerios Christmas Trees
• Reindeer Cookies

I had mentioned this to my facebook readers, but in case you didn’t know, we are in Disney this week!  My mom has been wanting to take a trip and since she recently retired after many many years of working for the public school system, she decided to take a family trip taking all of us with her!  We are here with my mom, grandfather, brother and sister in law, nephews, niece, and of course my hubby and kiddos.  We arrived last night and took today to rest, relax and tour the other fun hotels.

Here’s a photo of my kiddos waiting for the monorail with Grandma.  My youngest of course was much too busy to stand still 😉

And here’s just us girls.

I will be posting when I am not riding rides or chasing the kiddos and my assistant Edith will be posting on occasion as well.  I hope ya’ll had a great thanksgiving break!

Erin

Why oh why does my 21 month old insist that markers are tasty! ICK!  Good thing they are non-toxic!!  What was the weirdest things your kids tried to eat as babies?

Most of my facebook fans already know this, but if you missed it, The Fresh Market opened this morning in Athens.  I was very excited to be invited to the “Parmesan Cracking” ceremony this morning.  It was a great experience and I was very happy to sample all the goodies!

All in all I felt the prices were comparable with other similar stores in the area, but they seemed to have a bigger variety.

I was very pleased to see the grind your own peanut butter and almond butter stand.  That’s always fun for the kids, plus then you KNOW it’s fresh 🙂

My favorite thing of all had to be the okra chips.  They are incredible!  I first tasted okra chips on our trip to Helen and I became addicted.  They are awesome!

I was also impressed with the pink and purple yogurt pretzels.  I think these would be adorable for baby showers!

And then there was the wide variety of sweets!  Again, prices were comparable with other bakeries in the area.  And they looked SOOO good!

And OH THE CANDY!  Anyone who is watching their waist line should avoid this area completely!  Better yet, blindfold yourself!

And finally the “Parmesan Cracking”.  This was pretty neat – a different sort of grand opening celebration.  Side note that this parmesan block cost over $1,000!!!  WOW!  But was it ever tasty!

I will definitely be back to shop more!  Now for the things I’m sure you’re dying to know.  We asked the following to managers today during our shop:

Q: Do you take coupons?

A: YES!

Q: On a Buy One Get One Free sale, are the items half off or buy 1 to get 1 free?

A: They should ring up 50% off.  If it doesn’t, a manager should be able to correct this.

Q: Will you carry Limburger cheese? (okay this was my mom asking for my grandfather!)

A: YES – very soon – shipment was delayed.

And if you want to see the grand opening cutting of the cheese, watch below!