The Internet can be a great tool to save some money.  One thing that I use it for is to find coupons for my purchases.  I very rarely make an online purchase without a coupon code.  One site I love to use is Savings.com.  I love how it’s nice and organized and I can pick a category to narrow down what I am looking for. 

Since I have kids I am always using the Kids and Baby section and looking at the deals.  Right now there are deals for Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, Limited Too, Old Navy and so much more.  Everytime school time starts I look at the Old Navy deals.  Right now you can save up to 65% off girls clothing.  I hate spending a lot money on clothes that won’t fit next year, so I rarely make a purchase unless the clothes are on sale.  I also love the free shipping at Target on a $50 purchase.  No need to drag the kids out to the stores to get all of your back to school supplies- just order it all online and use the free shipping code.

If you’re looking to save some money be sure to search for online coupons before all of your online purchases.

How do you do your shopping?  My preference is to do it online.  It seems that these days it is actually cheaper to shop online.

For one- gas is outrageously expensive.  Driving around and going to various stores looking for good deals now costs so much in gas that is just isn’t worth it.  When you shop online you can look around and make sure you’re getting the cheapest deals. 

Second- if you have kids then you know it isn’t any fun at all to get the kids in and out of the car to go into the stores.

So, for me I do most of my shopping online.  Plus many stores will offer free shipping so you really are saving by not paying for gas.

Here are some tips and tricks you can use during your regular day to day activities:

1. To keep your plastic containers from getting stained from tomato based foods, rub the inside with vegetable oil or spray with a little Pam before placing the food in the container.
2. To clean your coffee maker: Pour vinegar into it like when you make coffee but with no filter. Turn the coffee maker on and let it run. Repeat this with a new batch of vinegar until it runs clear of calcium deposits.  Run water through for a few cycles before making your next pot of coffee.
3. For removing ink stains: Ball point pen stains can be removed by using hair spray – let the hair spray dry and wash the item.
4. Use newspaper when you clean your windows instead of paper towels.  You won’t get the usual streaks. 

We have a couple of different methods we use for our security. Neither one is a very good method- but we have what we have. One of our methods of keeping our home secure weighs about 35 pounds and is black, white and brown. She’d love to howl to scare away an intruder. Or maybe wag her tail at the intruder and give him a kiss. So- other than alerting us with her barking she’s not all that effective.

Another method of security that my husband uses is to have a golf club next to his side of the bed. He has been known to tip toe through the house after I heard a noise that scared me. Fortunately there has never been anything or anyone there because I don’t think a golf club would be all that effective.

I guess it’s probably time to invest in a real security system. Now we don’t need a small business security system but if we did- we could get a great deal using ADT to get a system for our business and our home.

For now I think we’ll just look into getting a home security system.  Do you have one?

Being a mom can be a pretty tough job.  Being a stay at home mom can be a pretty tough job too.  I know that being a working mom is also difficult.  But, from the social aspect- being a stay at home mom can be hard.  Stay at home moms are home all day with their children without much time for adult conversation.  And often times when your husband gets home- he’s been working all day and wants a little break.  So, while you may be ready to talk, your husband may be ready to relax.

The best thing to do is to find some female friends.  For me, it’s hard to find and make friends.  One thing I have done to find some friends is to join The Mom Blogs forum.  There are some really great moms there who are willing to help out with questions or concerns or just chat.  Having that female conversation and bonding time is important.  Many times other moms are the only ones who can understand what you’re going through.  For me- my husband doesn’t understand many of the things I worry about.  He thinks I overreact.  But, my mommy friends understand completely.

Since it’s online that means I can talk and use live chat software when I have the time.  I would highly recommend joining this group of ladies if you are looking for some friends!

Is it possible to work from home when you have a toddler in the house?  I know my situation is a little different than most in that both my husband and I work from home.  That does make it a little easier on us because my husband can occasionally keep our toddler occupied while I work.  But, for the most part, most of the taking care of the toddler falls on me.  So, I have come up with a few tips that work for me to be able to get my work done while keeping our toddler happy.

1. Have a schedule, but keep it flexible.  With your schedule you need to make sure to have time for several little breaks.  Stop your work and play with your toddler for 15 minutes or so, giving your undivided attention to your child.
2. Have special toys that your child can play with while you are working.  Only bring these toys out while you are working so your child does not bored with those toys.
3. Give your toddler special jobs to do.  My toddler always opens the mail for me.  She loves to do it and it’s good for fine motor skills.
4. I try to do as much communication as possible through email.  That way if my first chance to respond to someone is at 11pm, that’s okay.  A phone call at that time is not okay. Or use a mass notification system.
5. Do your housework- dishes, laundry, dusting, vacuuming while your toddler is awake.  My toddler loves to help with these jobs.  I give her a dusting cloth and she works right along side of me.  Then when she takes her nap and goes to bed I can get my computer work done.
6. Keep in mind what really matters.  Your clients or your child?  Seems pretty obvious right?  In a few years your child will be off to school and busy with friends most of the time.  So, make sure to get lots of quality time in now, while your child still wants to be with you.

In an earlier last post I was talking about using your own pictures for your Christmas Cards. Which got me thinking about taking pictures. I love taking pictures and I love that I can take hundreds of pictures with my digital camera or my camcorder without worrying about the cost of printing unnecessary pictures.

I was looking at the Kodak website and they offer 10 tips for taking great pictures. They are pretty simple tips, so I thought I would share them with you. If you visit the link about you can get more in depth information about each of the tips, but for this I am just going to give you the general information.

1. Get down on their level.
2. Use a plain background.
3. Use flash outdoors.
4. Move in close.
5. Take some vertical pictures.
6. Lock the focus.
7. Move it from the middle.
8. Know your flash’s range.
9. Watch the light.
10. Be a picture director.

I just talked a little while ago about how I am getting discouraged with my weight loss.  I only have a little ways to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  But I seem to be stuck.  Over the holidays it will be even harder to lose weight.  I was doing pretty good but Halloween started my down fall!  I’m stuck again.  I’m thinking that I might need to take some weight loss pills or something like that to give my diet the kick it needs!