Sarah J. Doyle's Blog

Tell Me Again The "Advantages" Of Term Life Insurance!

Sarah Doyle — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:19:00 GMT

Everywhere you look there are advertisements for the best rates for the highest "death benefits" possible for Term Life Insurance. They say that "Brad is a smoker and yet we got him $100,000 life insurance for ONLY about a dollar a day". That all sounds very good when you're 35 years old, and you have a family to think about, etc etc. HOWEVER, did ANYBODY tell you what happens to those term life insurance premium rates as you get older and older and older? As you reach senior citizen ages, you STILL have term life insurance that you are paying DEARLY for - if you choose to hang on to it. And, yes, you DO still need some kind of life insurance because upon death, there will be those nagging final expenses - funeral expenses, pay off of any credit card debt and any other expenses that seem to pop up at that time.

Here's what slapped US in the face a few weeks ago! One of our sons stopped by and happened to ask if we'd thought about doing any kind of funeral arrangements for ourselves in order that OUR wishes would be granted at the time of death and not kids arguing about "not a nice enough casket" or other things that can break a family apart. After all, we DO have that "term life insurance" that sould be sufficient to cover any expenses. So he then asked what we were paying for the term life insurance policies, and I said I'd check in a day or two so we'd know for sure.

Here's the "breakdown" of that "about a dollar a day" term insurance and how it is nearly bankruptcying us in our older years to pay for it. We took out a $50,000 TERM LIFE INSURANCE policy on my husband when he was 49 years old and as they said the premium was "about a dollar a day" --- or $35.00 a month. We had the premium set up as a bank draft, so there was no way to forget to pay it, or even pay it late. Here's how those "term life insurance" premiums have gone up--------

Age 49 - wrote the policy -- $35.00 per month
Age 60 - premium jumped to $69.00 per month
Age 65 - premium jumped to $148.00 per month
in 2 years when my husband will reach age 75, the premium will JUMP to $743.00 per month

Now you tell me -- how many SENIOR CITIZENS, on a fixed income, can afford those kind of premiums?????

We immediately went down to a funeral home and made all the funeral arrangements that WE wanted, paid for it all (did you know that funeral expenses DOUBLE every EIGHT years???), then immediately canceled the bank drafts for both insurance policies (mine and my husbands). We've taken the insurance premium money, opened a money market account at a federal credit union, and are having THAT money auto drafted from our checking account, and THAT will become our "insurance" policy for those unforseen expenses at the time of our death (our funerals have already been taken care of and paid for).

It is MY opinion that if some insurance agent would have actually explained how the older you get, that "about a dollar a day" increases to "about $25.00 a day" and even MORE, we certainly SHOULD have been asking about a "whole life" policy with premiums that never go up --- and even better, the longer you have a whole life policy, you even can gain cash value with it!

Oh, and get this ------ if my husband should live to age 80 (and he's in perfectly good health as we speak) - his MONTHLY term life insurance premiums would JUMP to $1,410.42.

That "cheap" term life insurance policy might be great for those years while your kids are in school and takes a bundle of cash to feed, clothe and house them ---- but think about how those rates continue to JUMP and JUMP and JUMP the older you get and you still have nothing except term life insurance ---- nothing that would eventually be a "paid up" policy or even one that gains cash value ------- all the "cash" goes into the pocket of the insurance company.

I would suggest that you check YOUR insurance policies and if you're getting past the 40 year old age range, check what you can get for a whole life insurance policy and get rid of that term life insurance policy -- the older you get the LESS you'll be able to get for a whole life insurance policy and the MORE you'll be paying for that term life insurance policy!

Compare Sarah's Key To Pattern Drafting To.........

Sarah Doyle — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 03:32:00 GMT

I've had a few emails lately from people asking what's the difference between "Sarah's Key To Pattern Drafting" book and the specific titles -- "How To Make Dress Patterns" or "How To Make Slacks/Shorts Patterns", etc.

"Sarah's Key To Pattern Drafting" contains SOME of each of the garment types -- basic slacks/shorts, basic blouses, basic dresses, basic skirts - so that you can have a few of each of the garment types and learn how to make your own patterns for them. As you probably know, our pattern making materials are set up so you can use YOUR OWN measurements to make the patterns, therefore the patterns are guaranteed to fit your measurements. It doesn't matter if you are tall, short, heavy, petite --- because you are using YOUR measurements, everything will fit just right.

Each of the "individual" books and classes - "How To Make Slacks/Shorts Patterns ","How To Make Dress Patterns", "How To Make Blouse Patterns" and"How To Make Skirt Patterns" is devoted entirely to THAT particular topic, therefore you have a whole pattern making book of those particular garments with a wide variety of styles. Some women have said "I only wear slacks; you'll never see me in a skirt or dress", so for her, the "How To Make Slacks/Shorts" book is perfect because that's all she wants. Others may never wear slacks or shorts so really aren't interested in that, but would be interested in the skirts or blouses or dresses

Anyway you look at it, the best alternative to ready made garments that don't fit or the style is nothing you'd want to wear in public, or patterns that need so many adjustments you don't even know where to start would be to check out the pattern making materials. All of the pattern making materials have diagrams/illustrations on which measurements you need and how to take those measurements, then goes on to show you how to use your own measurements to make those perfectly fitting patterns and garments.

And speaking of pattern making for hard to fit people, be sure to check out our PlusSizeChildren website and all the patterns and classes that are available for overweight and obese children. Spring is right around the corner, so now is the time to get some sewing lined up for yourself, your children or grandchildren.

How Many Ways Do YOU Waste Money????

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:28:00 GMT

I've just found the BEST piece of information that I've seen lately! What's even better is that now at the beginning of the year is a good time to consider some of the ways you and your family or business wastes money and make a decision to change things!!

Over at Shopper Strategy, which is basically a coupon and information blog, Denise has done a post entitled "7 Fast Ways to Waste Your Money" -- and I believe it is something every one of us needs to read and see what we individually can do to cut the waste.

Thank you Denise for this EXCELLENT information!

A Trend Has Been Set.........

Sarah Doyle — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:39:00 GMT

I realize that some folks in the media, etc would like to make us believe the economy is getting better, however with the prevailing news of more and more people joining the rolls of the unemployed, that's kind of hard to believe.

I truly believe this is going to be the year that many of those unemployed or underemployed will try their hands at a home business. We've already sold more than triple the amount of our business start up manuals than this time last year. The "How To Start and Operate a Profitable Clothing Alterations Business" manual, the "Sewing Machine Repair as a Home Business" manual and the "Sewing For Full Figure Women as a Home Business" manual are the number one picks of those wanting to start a home business.

A good friend of mine who has been out of work for over six months decided to try her hand at a clothing alterations business, and she informed me that if she can make just $300 - $400 a month doing the sewing, she can help keep food on the table and perhaps pay the power bill. How frustrating can it be just worrying about where the next meal will come from and hoping some money from somewhere comes in before the power company stops by to cut off the power. Are you or someone you know in this very same boat and have no clue what to do? Think about a home business that you may be able to start -- even a few dollars would be better than NO dollars!

I Hit The Jackpot At Walgreens Today

Sarah Doyle — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 02:06:00 GMT

My husband says I went overboard with my shopping at Walgreens today --- what do you think????

Let me explain -- when stuff that you actually USE all the time is FREE, or they pay you to take it, I believe in stocking up! The Oscillococcinum for children is EXCELLENT -- it's for kids like Halls ProHealth Defense or EmergenC is for adults -- take a little extra when you know colds/flu are in the area or school, etc. These were on sale for $8.99/box with a $9.00 register rewards - PLUS I had $2.00 coupons, so I ended up making $2.00 on each one of them. The SalonPas arthritis patches were on sale for $5.99 with a $6.00 RR and the Omega Factor 3 fish oil capsules, regular price $24.95 were on sale for $10, with a $10 RR. Bad news is that when I got home with all my loot and opened up one of the Omega Factor 3 boxes, I FOUND a $3.00 coupon! Dang! They COULD have paid me $3.00 for each of those boxes. Looks like I'm gonna have to hit another Walgreens or two tomorrow to use these $3.00 coupons!!

Let me tell you a little story about the Omega 3 - when my daughter was pregnant with the quads, she asked her Dr. about taking extra vitamins - other than the prenatals, of course. He said the best thing she could take to help the babies' developing brains would be Omega 3 fish oil capsules, however, he told her she really should have been taking them the previous 6 months before getting pregnant so the omega 3 fatty acids would be in her body. She told him she'd been taking Omega 3's for nearly 2 years, to which he said "wonderful! keep it up!"

Anybody want to go with me to Walgreens tomorrow since it's obvious my husband won't go with me again.

What Do You Know About Airplanes?

Sarah Doyle — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:14:00 GMT

It is always an interesting time when our grandchildren are at our house! They all like to do different things, all want whatever someone else has, but are VERY creative in things they come up with to do and make! Take Zachary, for instance -- he LOVES airplanes, and this last week he got into my "craft stick" box (I buy boxes of 1000 craft sticks cause I know they'll be used!) and decided he needed to make some airplanes. He very carefully made each airplane different --- you know because some of the airplanes are "shooter" airplanes and other airplanes are for people to ride in. Here is what he came up with:

Can you tell which are the shooter planes and which are for people to ride in??? I can't either, but I can assure you that Zachary knows!!

Other times, they just want to play outside and get their picture taken - they love to have their picture taken and then look at it on the camera screen --- so....... boys, here's one you can look at on the computer!

I love you guys! Oh, by the way - on this day the girls were inside - didn't feel like coming out, even to get a picture taken!

OK, Now I HAVE To Have That New iphone. Know Why??

Sarah Doyle — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:55:00 GMT

I really NEED the iphone for my fabric applications and to help me get the right amount of fabric, etc etc.

However, NOW I need it for FUN!! I've just seen the funniest app yet - it is iHogCall -- and it is a hoot!! I grew up on a farm - a pig farm, so this hog call app brings back all kinds of memories. Even now at many state fairs you'll see in their list of activities a "hog calling contest". Well now you can hear all kinds of hog calls AND there's even a way to submit your own hog call for possible inclusion in the app. WHOOHOO! I'm going to practice MY hog calling so IF dear Santa brings me that iphone I've been begging for, I'll be able to submit my best effort. AND, Santa, if you bring me the iphone I'll even promise to be a good girl NEXT year!

All I Want For Christmas Is...........

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:47:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I wrote about a super iPhone App, the FabricConverter , which easily figures the amount of fabric you need if you spot something that's not listed on your pattern package. Now because I don't have an iphone, I had my daughter go with me on a little fabric shopping spree, and I'm here to tell you, with her iphone in hand she saved me a TON of money because the fabric converter app told me instantly how much fabric I needed in the various widths for the projects I wanted to get fabric for.

Now then, the greatest iphone app of all is available --iSewingRoom, which will allow me (or YOU) to take pictures of and record my fabric stash, the patterns I will be using as well as let me record the projects I'm working on and even do up a list of what I need when I head to the fabric store. But I don't have an iphone, and I certainly can't do all my fabric stash, etc on my daughter's iphone.

I REALLY need an iphone for Christmas! Please Santa, please, please, please -- I've been good this year! (Oh my, am I sounding like my grandchildren here???). And, Santa, just remember, this is something I can use every day - not something just to lay around, so if you don't mind, please exchange my lumps of coal for a nice iphone.

Rosinton "Kindermice" Float Gets First Place In Parade

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 02:35:00 GMT

As many of you know, my 5 year old quadruplet grandchildren (can't call them grandbabies anymore!) are in Pre-K this year. Their birthday is in October, so obviously missed the Sept. 1 cut off for kindergarten. They love school and simply adore their teacher, Mrs. Roland. The pre-K kids are called Kindermice, and at various times during the year they have an opportunity to wear little "mice" hats with ears and get their faces painted to look like mice.

This year Mrs. Roland decided the kindermice needed to have a float for the annual Christmas parade. One of the parents let them borrow a trailer that they could decorate. Several of the mothers pooled ideas and ended up with making little santa hats with "mice" ears for the kids to wear, and made the float into a large mouse. It was just sooooo cool! The kids (kindermice) LOVED being on the float, and Mrs. Roland had them practice how they should stand to throw the candy to the bystanders -- NEVER lean "over" the side to throw - you have to stay standing up inside. I snapped a couple of pictures - one in the parking lot before the parade started, and another as the float went by --- here you go - the first one has Jacob in front just in case somebody needed him.

The second picture had to be taken quickly because Jacob and I were busy picking up necklaces, stuffed animals and candy so we'd be sure to have enough to share with "the kids" since they weren't able to pick anything up.

Isn't this just a neat float! No wonder it got first place!

Best Office Depot Trip Ever! $193.96 for $69.54!

Sarah Doyle — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 01:21:00 GMT

Just had my greatest Office Depot shopping trip yesterday - wish I could duplicate trips like this! Check out what I got......$193.96 in products for $69.54.

ONLY 4 items you say --- and how could that be such a great trip???? Well, if any of you own an HP laser jet printer, you know the toner cartridges are NOT cheap. As a matter of fact, the black one on top sells for $93.99 and the blue on the bottom costs $83.99. Each of the 6-pack tape packages costs $7.99.

Here's what I took in with me -- an Office Depot worklife rewards gift card for $94.91, a $20/$100 coupon and a $15/$75 coupon. SOOOOOO, I had to check out twice in order to use both of my coupons. When I put the black toner cartridge ($93.99) with the two tape packages (were on sale 2/$10.00), I went over $100 so could use the $20 coupon. With tax included, my total was $90.29 - so I handed them my worklife rewards gift card which made this first order come to a total of $0.00, with $4.62 left on my rewards card.

My SECOND check out order was the blue toner ($83.99), so I was able to give them my $15/$75 coupon, and used the remainder of my rewards card, so the total of this bill, including tax was $69.54.

The next best part is that when you buy toner/ink at Office Depot and use the rewards card number you get 10% back, so I'm accumulating some more money for the next quarter's rewards total.

Well, I'm not nearly as good as the "coupon queen" - my daughter over at ShopperStrategy.com, but she'll be proud of my savings!

I Was On A "Deal" Shopping Mission Today!

Sarah Doyle — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 19:02:00 GMT

There is no way in the world I'd get out in the Black Friday crowds, however there were a couple of places I really wanted to get some deal goodies! Sooooo, today I talked my husband into going to Walgreens and Winn Dixie, where we scored some great savings! Here is a picture of my Walgreen's trip -- WHOOHOOO!

Walgreen's had 64 oz bottles of Mott's apple juice 2/$3.00, making it $3.00 for a gallon, which is even cheaper than at the Commissary. There was a limit of 4, so I got 4. THEN, the biggest deal of all was their AA or AAA 4-pack batteries "Buy 1 get THREE free" -- with Christmas coming up soon and 5 little ones under the age of 6 -- you just know I HAD to get two sets of this deal. I actually ended up with a bill of $14.58 for all this stuff, and after giving the cashier two $5 Register Rewards, my total bill was $4.58. The register receipt listed $42.30 as my total savings --- guess that's about 90% savings!!! Should have gone back in a second time for an identical order, but they only had 2 apple juice's left and 3 packs of the AA batteries. Oh well, the deal I got was SUPER for me!

Surprise Your Young Ones With Crinkle Toys!

Sarah Doyle — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:21:00 GMT

When our now 5 year old quadruplet grandbabies were much younger, I made DOZENS of crinkle toys for them. Small children simply LOVE to play with things that crinkle, jingle or make any kind of noises.

I've put together a pattern package of the 10 most popular crinkle toys I've made for the grandchildren AND I've included enough crinkle material to make all 10 toys plus extra. Here's a picture of three of the toys:

These toys were co-ordinating fabrics from my older grandson's bedroom -- then when the quads were born we used every kind of scrap fabric we could find so everybody could have toys. We put crinkle material in all of them, but some also had a little bell stuck inside with the quilt batting so it would jingle AND crinkle.

You can read more about the crinkle toys patterns and the crinkle material at SewWithSarah.com . This is a wonderful way to use up some of your scraps AND make some children very happy.

If you'd like to give the pattern as a gift to someone who sews AND you'd like one for yourself --- if you order by December 10, we'll give you the second pattern FREE - you just pay the shipping for the second pattern. Give us a call at 1-800-883-2348 and we'll take your order.

Some Little Engineers Live Here!

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:51:00 GMT

I'm really AMAZED at how "busy" our little 5 year old quadruplet grandchildren and their big 6 year old brother want to be! They LOVE to help and BEG to do stuff for us. Yesterday when the quads were sleeping Jacob, the 6 year old, pestered me to death about wanting to wash dishes. Well, I figure the younger you let kids help with things, the sooner they'll actually be able to do stuff on their own. So I put the breakables into the dish washer and left him with the non-breakable glasses, cereal bowls, some silverware, etc. He'll wash and wash then rinse them for the dish drainer. He has never yet quit in the middle of doing the dishes I've set aside for him.

Another thing these kids do is IF they start something before bedtime, they want it left alone so they can "work" on it again in the morning. They'll wake up, half stumble into the living room then head right to the place where their "work" is so they can get started again. We have a variety of blocks for them - some cardboard brick looking blocks, other medium size blocks and some that are very tiny that they build with. Check out this picture of what Jacob and Brandon built -- also check out the jammies they still have on - no time to change before starting to work!

These guys can get pretty creative with their building projects, so I really believe we do have some little engineers here!

Need A Little Help Selecting The PERFCT Gift?

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:08:00 GMT

Boy Howdy - Christmas is right around the corner! I just can't believe the year has gone by sooooo FAST! My daughter starts early in the year and when she finds things that would be suitable for certain people she picks them up, and many times gets great deals on them. This year I wish I'd been like her -- now I'm certainly NOT a procrastinator, but........... with Christmas coming along so quickly, I realized I'd better be getting in gear and finding some things!

Denise has put together a super awesome list of Christmas gift ideas over at her ShopperStrategy blog and I'm here to tell you I'm going to be putting that list to good use! She has gift ideas for nearly every person you'd be getting a gift for ---- here's the direct link to the Holiday Wish List page - the gift ideas she's put together is great.

She has spent a great deal of time - nearly two weeks putting together "just the right things" for the Holiday Wish List, so if you need a little help deciding what to get for some of your family / friends / co-workers, check out the list and see what all you can come up with.

Awesome Weekly Special At Winn Dixie

Sarah Doyle — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:24:00 GMT

I really like shopping at Winn Dixie -- they have my husband's favorite baked beans (best in the world he says), and I like the great deals that they have. This week they had a special deal where you could buy an 18 roll pack of Charmin toilet tissue and get for free ---3 bar pkg zest hand soap, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, box of Winn Dixie facial tissues, and a canister of clorox disinfecting wipes for $12.99 and have a savings of $9.66. WELL, with other sale items and BOGO's I actually got $86.69 worth of products for $49.29, a savings of $37.40 or 43%. Check out my haul:

Winn Dixie brand of peas, green beans & corn were all 50 cents/can, Ajax laundry soap was B1Get 2 free - so $6.99 got me 3 bottles of laundry detergent. Head lettuce was BOGO, and tomatoes were on sale as well.

A few weeks ago there was a segment on HLN news regarding the "store" brand of items such as canned vegetables, waxed paper, aluminum foil, etc -- the bottom line was that many of the "store" brands are made in the same factories as the NAME brands, just that today's run is "Name" brand, tomorrow's run is "store" brand, etc. That tells me that those store brand peas & other veggies are exactly the same as the expensive name brands.

Actually, while we were in the military and stationed in Taiwan, we visited a pants factory, and what I just was talking about was true there! The day we were there, the factory was making pants for a high class expensive brand of pants and the day before had made pants for one of the discount clothing stores (SAME exact pants just different labels for different days).

With as many mouths as we have to feed, wash clothes for, and BUY toilet tissue for, these savings were awesome!! If you have a Winn Dixie anywhere close by I'd recommend you grab one of their sales flyers and do some shopping there.

Statistics Show Our Nation's Children Becoming More Obese

Sarah Doyle — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 02:48:00 GMT

For the past few days I've seen several television news stations talking about McDonald's major marketing dollars intended for our CHILDREN! They're asking whether or not McDonald's should be going after the young children -- toddlers to boot - with their advertising campaigns, trying to lure the kids into their stores. They're saying that with the hundreds of "choices" of childrens meals, only 12 are even close to being healthy, which is helping our nation's children get heavier and heavier.

To tell you the truth, I'm on the side of several of those who called into the shows saying "the kids aren't getting to McDonald's on their own - who's taking them?" PARENTS! And what's up with parents who apparently are taking those children to McDonalds for FRENCH FRIES, greasy burgers, etc several times a week. One lady called in with the comment that children are getting sugar cereal for breakfast, minimal healthy food at lunch at school, then parents take them to fast food restaurants for supper -- and we wonder why they're getting fat!

Our daughter with the 5 year old quadruplets and 6 year old son COOK every evening meal. She is owner of ShopperStrategy , a blog with shopping deals and giveaways as well as information about freezer cooking, and every Monday she gives out her menu plan for the week -- EVERY meal being cooked at home! About twice a month, as we take the 6 year old home from spending the weekend with us, we'll stop at McDonalds and get supper for them. I figure a couple times a month on the chicken nuggets and a few french fries, along with juice to drink won't kill them, but I'm apalled at those parents who spend the big dollars on fast food several nights or every night of the week. Denise's kids LOVE fruits, veggies and will BEG for cantalope or grapes or bananas (cut up in a bowl is their latest craze), and only ONE of the kids will even eat candy at all -- the little candy eater is the chocoholic (like her mother and grandmother), but the others won't even take any kind of candy if it's offered to them. Or, if they take it, they'll take a lick and lay it down. These kids also drink milk, juice or water - they never have tea or sodas of any kind.

Well, I'll get off my soap box now, but I can definitely see why more and more aunts, grandmothers and mothers are checking out and buying our PlusSizeChildren's patterns and pattern making classes because there just aren't clothing garments or patterns in the large sizes that these children require. If you have overweight children in your family, check out the patterns and classes and at least help these kids look nice with clothing that actually fits them.

Great Deals At Publix This Week

Sarah Doyle — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:54:00 GMT

I'm normally a Commissary shopper since my husband is retired Air Force, however there are times when the local grocery stores have offers that can't be beat.

This week it's Publix with the super savings and coupons! I just LOVE using their Green and Yellow Advantage coupon booklets for coupons that can be used with sale items. The current yellow advantage booklet has a $2.00 coupon on any Contessa MicroSteam or On The Stove Meal - AND their weekly ad has these same Contessa meals BOGO!

I got $42.48 worth of groceries for $17.12 for a savings of 60%.

Here's my picture and the details of todays haul:

As you can see we're doubled up on the Contessa meals because my husband graciously agreed to come in with me and check out with part of my order.

Contessa Meals, reg. $7.99 are BOGO, then we each used two of the $2/1 coupons, making the final cost $2.00 per meal bag.
The Spam was on sale 2/$4.00, which is cheaper than the Commissary has right now
Mustard was regular price
One gallon of fat free milk at Publix is $3.25, which is an awesome price compared to the other grocery stores.

We had one of the Contessa meals for supper tonight and it was DELICIOUS -- and we actually had some left over. My daughter said it's too bad it didn't come with bread and a waiter! Can't have everything I guess.

Are Your Children / Grandchildren Bedwetters?

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:18:00 GMT

This is a pretty odd topic, but I do have a funny story (or two) about grandchildren and bedwetting. I know some families have problems with bedwetters way up into school years and in some families there is no problem at all. I really wonder sometimes what makes the difference. My grandson Jacob went to a "tumbling" and gymnastics class for several months and one mother who had two daughters about 2 years apart had major bedwetting problems with her older daughter (who was 7 at the time - and still wetting the bed) and the younger 5 year old who never wet the bed. She blamed it on the pull-ups she put on the older daughter which she said never "made" the girl learn control and learn to go to the bathroom when necessary and not just simply be lazy and go in the pullups. Never heard that before, but she was determined that was the problem.

Well, with our quadruplets (who are just now 5), we haven't had bedwetting problems - however an occasional "accident" is to be expected. Perhaps the child was sleeping extra hard or maybe had too much to drink before going to bed - who knows. The funny part is how children REACT to the bedwetting accident. Here's how it goes:

One morning maybe a year ago, Brandon woke up and came to me in the office to sit on my lap before heading to the living room. This boy was SOAKED, so we went into the bedroom to check out his bed. He informed me that he did NOT tee tee in the bed because he ALWAYS goes to the bathroom. So I just wondered how the bed got all wet and his jammies were wet. He let me know real quick that because it was raining last night the rain came in the window and went to the light and dropped down on his bed and made him all wet. He then wanted to move his bed a little bit so no more rain could drop down from the light. Well, guess what - his bed has never been wet again, so I guess moving it away from the light did the trick.

Sienna on the other hand wet the bed only one time in her life that I know of -- and when it happened she sat in the bed and SCREAMED -- MAMAW! MAMAW! And boy howdy at 2 am when somenbody screams like that it takes less than 2 seconds for me to get across the house and down the hall to see what's the problem. She was having an absolute FIT because her underwear was wet! After getting her calmed down and getting new underwear and nightgown and a change of sheets she went back to sleep just fine.

Sarah, on the other hand, just about takes the cake! She is little miss independent and can take care of herself. A few weeks ago she also had an accident -- and NOBODY knew about it until the next morning when Sienna told on her and said for me to be sure to wash the sheet because Sarah had made it wet. I asked Sarah about it (who by the way was out sleeping on the couch instead of in the wet bed in the morning) --- she told me she'd gone into the playroom to get new underwear, took her wet underwear to the laundry room then went to sleep on the couch. All of this was done with NO noise and nobody was aware that she'd had a problem because she'd taken care of it herself. And while we're on the subject of little Miss Independent -- can you guess what the first words out of her mouth were when the kids were learning to talk -- "I do it MYSELF!" That's the story about Sarah -- if she can't do something, she WILL figure out a way to get it done. She rarely asks for help, and if you see her struggling with something like a zipper, etc and attempt to help, she'll turn away in a flash with the same words - "I do it MYSELF!".

So much for the bedwetting topic --- I just found it interesting the way each of the kids handled the situation when it happened. Oh, and if Zachary ever wets the bed, I'll let you know what he does about the situation!

My SUPER Office Depot Shopping Trip

Sarah Doyle — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:06:00 GMT

Can You BELIEVE I got all THIS for $16.39???

I saw a great $10 off a $20 Office Depot coupon over at ShopperStrategy.com - printed it and headed over to check out their copy paper, and instead found RACKS of deeply discounted school supplies! They had 30 count box of school glue for $5.00, school scissors for .50 each, hand sanitizer and liquid soap for $1.00 each, boxes of 100 band aids for $1.00 and 4-packs of glue sticks for .50. They also had back packs for $5.00 each and other assorted duotang binders, etc, but here's my list:

1 box of 30 school glue bottles
11 pair school scissors
6 boxes of 100 ct band aids (for my 5 year old quads and their big 6 year old brother, these should last at least 6 months!)
4 packages of 4 ct glue sticks
5 z bottles of hand sanitizer
2 13-oz bottles of liquid hand soap

My total minus the $10.00 coupon was $15.50 plus .89 tax for the grand total of $16.39!

My plan is to head over there today with another coupon and see if I can stock up on some school supplies to donate to the kids' elementary school - I'm sure they could use some of this stuff!

THANK YOU ShopperStrategy for passing along this fabulous coupon!

Are You In Need Of Nursing Clothing?

Sarah Doyle — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:40:00 GMT

I've seen a LOT of tiny babies lately! Everywhere I go it seems like there are more and more strollers, babies in their mommy's arms and baby carriages. I'm wondering how many of these mothers are nursing their little ones!   If the garment industry is the same now as when my daughter was nursing her firstborn, there was NOTHING available in the area of nursing garments that she'd want to wear at home, much less go out in public with!

Being a pattern designer AND a desperate nursing mother looking for attractive nursing garments, she came up with a whole line of nursing tops, dresses and nightgowns.   These nursing garment patterns started selling like hot cakes, which means she was not the only one looking for attractive nursing clothing.

Check out the i-nursing.com site and see for yourself the patterns that are available, as well as super information on nursing and other resources. Here are pictures of a couple of the patterns to check out:



There are many styles of dresses and tops patterns available -- check them all out at i-nursing.com - pass this information along to your family and friends that you know are nursing their baby and also looking for comfortable and attractive nursing garments.