my darling hubby and i have a different look on the world now… it’s no wonder.  as the walls of our tiny house encroach in on the toy box and organizer in the living room and our trusty little suv is creaking more than ever, we’re all about saving some funds and being happy with the “new to you” mentality.  hand-me-downs? yes! coupons? absolutely!  with this scrimping and saving, we’re (finally!) paying down most of our revolving debt… the student loans are forever going to stick to us like sap, so we’re doing the best we can with those, but we’re trying really, really hard to just get some down payment money for a new home next year (because, you know, the whole homeowner thing the past 6 years hasn’t been the *best* financial move ever) or our super-trusty escape(pronounced es-caaa-pay… much like target is really taaar-jjaay) bites the dust… which ever come first.

well, that was a long introduction just to say that i think our credit is getting better and we are now on some list somewhere… we get *more* junk mail and credit card offers than ever and i’m trying to figure out how to make them stop.  first, between the insurance “explanation of benefits” for the girls and bills for improperly billed medical issues (also for the girls) the last thing i need is more stuff coming in the mail.  we’re flattered, but our goal is $0 balance… and it helps that we have a little challenge going on over here that involves running, yelling and a bolicky husband… hey, it was his idea and it’s quite the incentive just to see the hill get a quick streak “a la ‘old school.’” you had best believe i’ll be out there with a lawn chair and some popcorn.

in addition to all of this stuff in the mailbox, i’ve gotten a few new catalogs.  i’m not really into catalogs and don’t think i’ve ever purchased anything directly out of one, but they are good for mindless perusing before bed…

so, i got one from boden the other day… and i am so in love with all of the stuff.  sort of defeating the purpose of the whole debt-paying-off thing.  just as well as *i couldn’t fit into a d-a-m-n thing if i used crisco.*  that’s also both an incentive and extremely disappointing.  someone said to me the other day, “oh don’t be so hard on yourself, you just had a baby.”  i’m fairly sure the girls are approaching the 20 month mark…

anyhow, i’m so loving the colors and styles at boden, including the women’s and baby things.  so stinkin’ cute!

micropreemie’s mommy first day of kindergarten outfit (ok, so i’ll just be dropping them off… and it’s about four years away, but still!) 

hey look, it’s my bottom half!  (ok, not really, but i’d dress like this everyday if i could… even if it is a lime green mini… love, love, love!)

ok, madeline and molly *need* all of these   oh, i’m so dramatic

dammit, you skinny people.  must. start. running. for real now…

so, i got to thinking the other night while i was wondering around my local walmart picking up paper towels and the like… seriously, i sometimes look *forward* to buying household supplies as an excuse to get out for awhile… in the seasonal aisle at the store all of the back to school supplies were being stocked.  how can that be?  wasn’t it just july 4th?  wasn’t the summer supposed to last forever?  i guess some parts of the country do literally go back to school at the beginning of august (we here in new england don’t go back until around labor day) but i guess that means parents can start planning ahead. 

i then saw a little girl with her mom and a “school supply list.”  we never had those as a kid, but just in passing, i noticed there had to be about 40 things on there!  the poor mom was going a bit insane… and then i noticed she had two other daughters with her!  wow… that’s a lot of school supplies!

as i was packing up the car, i started to think what my life will be like in a couple of years.  two school supply lists, two new backpacks, two new lunch boxes… two new “oh-i-must-have-that” wardrobes.  better start saving!  what about those kids whose parents can’t afford all of these supplies?  are those kids left in the dust without the fanciest graphing calculator?  i recently saw this story… what about those families… especially in this economy!

i was so glad, then, to find that i am honored to be one of 50 bloggers who had the opportunity to bag it forward this summer.

this is a great idea.  while you are shopping for your other items in the store or even your own supplies pick up a few extra for someone who can’t buy supplies for their children.  (just an aside, if you are looking to get the most for your donation, i have to say that walmart was a great place to start!  they had amazing back to school prices (hi, a notebook for 15 cents!  not kidding!) 

can’t get to the store right now?  well, there’s one thing you can do to make an impact right this minute (ok, and maybe tomorrow morning too if that works better) 

help elmer’s help adopt-a-classroom

helping classrooms in need this back to school season is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3

1.  write a post about this charity blog meme

2. send a virtual bag of school supplies to another blogger and challenge them to join the #bagitforward movement

3. link up your post at bagitforward.org

sweet!  elmer’s just donated $10 for your post to adopt-a-classroom!

ok, so here are the details of the program again:

elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to adopt-a-classroom with your participation. join now!

the elmer’s virtual bag it forward is charity blog meme, where bloggers can raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom (simply by writing a blog post and donating a virtual bag of school supplies), up to $10,000.

 you can give as many virtual bags as you want.  the elmer’s virtual bag it forward will officially begin at 12a est 7/22/10 and ends at 12p est 8/12/10.  the blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.

wait. what?  what do i do?  can you just give me something to copy and paste into my blog to make it easy?  why sure!  here you go… copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

elmer’s virtual bag it forward rules:

• copy and paste these rules into your blog post
• create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your back to school shopping trip (or trip to pick out your latest sunglasses or socks or exercise equipment) 
• link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies
• let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag
• leave your link in the elmer’s virtual bag it forward comment section. you can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
• elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the virtual bag it forward donation to adopt-a-classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by august 12, 2010).
• please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

i’m sending my virtual bag to caryanne at “about the small stuff” and am challenging her to #bagitforward with elmer’s!

i’ll admit it.  i’m kind of a car girl… i like cars.  people would be aghast to know the thought of a minivan recently entered into my mind… at some point the chaos that is motherhood rendered me to enter the ‘function over form’ stage of life.  but alas, i/we don’t want a car payment.  we’re not at the financial stage where adding *anything* to the budget (ok, the occasional lip gloss or salad or overnight diapers (expensive but totally worth it!)) is in the cards, so alas, i get to keep my little silver bullet, my toyota camry solara.  darnit {wink}

my love affair with the camry solara began in 2003 with a commercial.  it actually doesn’t really stand out too much, other than i remember looking at it and saying, ‘ooh, i want one of those.’ … and the car was red.  of course, i had just finished grad school and had a new, fancy professional job… and was living in my parent’s basement.  yup, i had a good amount of disposable income… sooo, i went and bought one.  i financed the whole darn thing pretty much and drove it off the lot. 

since then i have loved it!  the nice curves, the sunroof, the quiet, fast ride… even the gas mileage has all been wonderful.  people are always asking me what kind of car it is and a gas station attendant even went so far as to ask me how much i wanted for it as he wanted to buy it for his girlfriend.  i feel confident in it, i feel safe.  it’s curvy enough to feel young and hip and girly, but it doesn’t dissuade my husband from driving it… although he does feel like it’s a ‘girl’ car.

toyota has gotten a bit of a bum rap lately and some would say rightfully so.  i personally never felt anything but safe in any toyotas i’ve driven in… and my family has a lot of them.  my brother drives a camry, my mom a highlander and my dad a tacoma.  we’ve found them pretty reliable and safe.

the only (one and only!) thing i’m a bit bummed about is the whole two-door thing… the big honkin’ carseats the girls are in make it a little difficult to maneuver and i’ve put them in our suv… although we did put the infant car seat in the back ofthe solara no problem.  if i could just make it a four door, well, then i’d be in perfect heaven.  well, that and always driving with michelins hitting the pavement!

until then, i’ll take my rides to target and the grocery store in style, sunroof open, music loud and stress out the window!

*i’m participating in a toyota/twittermoms campaign, which inspired this post. my opinions, thoughts and feelings are my own. as a twittermom, i’m eligible for a courtesy gift

…randomness… it happens when you think an awesome saturday night consists of pajamas, the couch, the laptop, on-demand, … and patiently awaiting betty white on snl.  i’m pretty excited…

today is day 502… madeline has been in the hospital for 502 days.  i still don’t believe it.

back in january, you may remember that i was on the martha stewart show.  it was *completely* random and a most interesting experience (the green room is actually a brown room and more like a fish bowl… a glorified conference room, if you will… although i will say that they had the most yummy fruit salad (hey, i’ve been trying to eat locally more to save money than anything and i was all about it) and the heaviest silverware)… *anyhow* i digress.  so i was reading this on another blog awhile ago and getting a kick out of it.  i wasn’t getting the martha magazine at the time (oh the horror) so i couldn’t really see what she was saying… i started to get the magazine (why i don’t know) last month and i had a good chuckle when it came in the mail this week… so, martha’s calendar…  it’s typically in the front couple of pages… and seriously, it’s hilarious.  june’s calendar features a today show appearance, plowing the meadow… and baling the hay… all on june 9th!  i mean… i’m a multi-tasker and all but sheesh.  c’mon.  i must admit i promptly closed that magazine.

molly is into e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.  she’s pulling to stand, she’s scooting and cruising, she’s eating the tiniest things off the floor (i don’t believe the doctor one bit when he says she’s far-sighted), she’s wanting to climb tall bookshelfs, she’s crawling around dragging all of her medical equipment behind her like a little quasimodo, she’s cutting her seventh and eighth tooth, her hair is growing to the point it’s getting curly…

this was molly last year on this day

as much as i’m a sucker for a reality re-run, reality programming really needs to stop.  it’s not reality if it has a producer.

people who actually make kid’s electronic toys should be forced to stay in a locked room with them for 24 hours (with it stuck ‘on’)… bet you’d think twice about the creepy man’s voice that says, ‘lleeeeeetttt’s explore’ four bajillion times

my tap dance recital (because, you know, in all my spare time i shuffle to buffalo) is june 19th… you’re cordially invited 

how can intervention on a&e tape people using drugs and not turn them in to the police?  isn’t that some sort of crime?  …and moreover, isn’t capitalizing on other people’s misery just plain wrong?  (same with hoarders… i know we’re all curious, but man oh man)

i’m dying to get the new baby jogger city select… it’s a dream… it’s a tandem, but not long and awkward, the seats can face forward or back (perfect for the girls and me being able to see them ripping off/out their various preemie medical fashion) and there is a big arse basket on the bottom.  yes, yes, yes.  love it!  need it!  want it!  better start saving for it!

when do you first buy baby’s real shoes?  i’m totally wanting those little white leather shoes that i used to have as a baby… but is that totally passe?  do they even make those anymore?

family guy, while very funny, went too far last sunday night.

i’ve started up weight watchers again.  i guess it involves a little more than joining… you actually have to follow the program.  who knew?  i’m happy to say there is three pounds less of amy this week… woo hoo!

we started some nursing hours (block nursing) here at the house for molly.  after her last hospital stay, she gained yet another medication and with all of the medical equipment, we qualified.  it’s pretty darn strange having someone in the house, but i’m hoping we’ll all get used to it and we can use it to our advantage for a learning experience… and maybe the occasional break.  we’ll see how it goes.

what is with those local news stations’ intros?  all that drama and duh-duh-duh and crazy graphics… please just read the news.  k, thanks.

next monday through wednesday i’ll be traveling to south and north carolina.  I’ll be going by myself, which is totally weird (and i’ll be pretty far away from the bambinas)… and i’m going for a bzzagent project.  no really.  i’ll tell you more about it when i can, but let’s just it’s cool and i’m pretty stoked.  more to come.

damn videopress… my video flew the coop during my transition but i can sum up what i was talking about in a few words:

1) stop herding all plus size women and pregnant women to the same area… next thing you know, the “woman’s world” will be next to the snack bar

2) sewing billowy, flower’d polyester together and including leggings does not constitute style

thanks for your continued support (and mind the horrid technological difficulties)