Wise Spending

I would probably use our fake Christmas tree and fake wreaths this year rather than buy fresh ones. Every year we buy fresh Christmas tree and wreaths from Boy Scouts in town to help them with their fund raising campaign. This will save us between $40 and $50 at least. But I have to see if the fake tree is still ok in the attic. We stopped using it since I moved here in 2003. Hopefully it's still in good condition otherwise I might end up buying fresh one too. I can not overemphasize how tough time is and until when the bad economy will last, so I guess wise spending wouldn't hurt.

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Fulfill Holiday Wishes For Military Families

How would you like to make a difference this Christmas season? Instead of being just so focused on making a long list of expensive material gifts for ourselves and family, we can also fulfill simple wishes for the family of men and women in uniform who were left behind by these heroes fighting overseas. Check out Sears.com and read through all touching stories and wishes for the 'real' heroes, the families of soldiers who will be celebrating the holidays without their loved ones as they are deployed somewhere defending our security. I was particularly struck by a story of wife and mother with five kids whose husband was away for more than a year. Imagine the sacrifice of having to be the mother and father at the same time raising their kids on her own. She's the real hero, the hero at home .

There is a very noble endeavor by Sears to help the real heroes at home, it is called Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry where you can choose from a wish list and contribute the corresponding cost of the gift or just donate any amount you can afford. The contribution will not go to a specific family but Sears will distribute them equally to all registered families in the form of Sears gift cards. I'm sure material gifts will never replace the actual presence of the soldiers, but knowing that they are still able to send their families some gifts for the holidays will mean so much to them.

Make a difference and make donations to Heroes at Home Wish Registry by visiting Sears.com and make the wishes of the soldiers for their families come true this Christmas.

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Potty Training Milestone

When my son turned 2 1/2 years old last week, I started sitting him in the potty for training. He thinks that it is just one of the games we play so he's always excited. He will willingly sit there with a book or a toy but nothing is happening. One time as soon as he got up from the potty a stream of pee just squirted out and wet my leg, ooops. Anyway, despite not being successful I still sit him in the potty as soon as he wakes up in the morning and from his afternoon nap and before he goes to bed. It's really a good time to train him at this point because he can control wetting already. During the day, I would sit him if it's been two hours already and his diaper is still dry. I bribe him with a sticker which is actually a boo-boo band-aid.

But today my son had a milestone, finally he was able to pee and we both got startled when the potty played a music. I got this new potty that plays music as a reward when the sensor comes in contact with something. My son exclaimed "I did it, I did it!". I praised him for a job well done and gave him a sticker as reward. Hopefully this will be the start of more successful trips to the potty.

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The Mother of All Best Offers

Ok if you have not gotten over black friday deals yet here is another great offer that is not worth forgoing, the Charter's Ultimate Bundle. The Charter Ultimate Communication Service Bundle will only costs you $165.97 per month for 12 months and it includes a whole bunch of great features like HIGH SPEED INTERNET: 10 Mbps High Speed; HD TV: Digital Home, Charter HD, Sport View, Digital View, HBO/Cinemax, Starz/Encore, Showtime/The Movie Channel; and PHONE: Unlimited Calling. On top of that you will also get $250 gift card with purchase and a chance to win an Xbox 360 game console. If that is not an awesome deal, I don't know how else you can call it. After you purchase any of the Charter services or the bundle, the gift card will be sent to you and at the same you are automatically entered in their contest to win one out of 45 X-box 36o consoles that Charter is giving away.

You can also opt to get any of the Charter services separately and still enjoy free gift cards. If you buy one Charter service you will get $25 gift card; if you buy 2 Charter services you will get $75 gift card; if you buy 3 Charter services you will get $150 gift card and if you buy the bundle you will get $250 gift card. Don't pass up on this wonderful offers, visit http://connect.charter.com/landing/cpg/learnmore_PPC.asp?ID=197&OriginatingID=420136 and order online before December 5 and get the best price available on communication services.

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Toy Hunt - Toys That Talk

This is Sponge Bob Square Pants. It talks when you press the nose and the hand and it makes funny noises when you tap the mouth. My son had this when he was 13 months old and he gets to play with it once in a while. It makes loud noises that it gets annoying after a while ;-) so I usually just limit the time for him to play with it.

Toy Hunt is played every Saturday and if you want to join the fun just visit JoyD of When Mom Talks.

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Hand-Me-Downs

I'm grateful to have good friends with much older kids because my son gets to receive a lot of hand-me-downs from them like clothes and toys; even crib with baby bedding; high chair; car seats and strollers. Imagine not having to buy all these things anymore, what a huge savings. Over the weekend I got the chance to sort through my son's closet and cabinets and clear them with clothes that don't fit him anymore to give way to more hand-me-down clothes that are still too big to wear. There are too many clothes to giveaway, some of which have not been worn yet. I will pay forward this nice gesture of sharing baby stuffs by passing on these clothes to a girlfriend with much younger son.

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We Survived the Week Without Eating Out

Weekends are family days and we love going out to eat in restaurants. We love to try new cuisine or go back to our favorite restos to eat the same old food that we love. So now you know why I sometimes complain about gaining weight, lol. But last week was different, we didn't go out at all to eat. Well we kind of made a decision to not eat out anymore to save money. Imagine spending at least $50 when we eat lunch at Friday's or Bristish Beer Company and about $30 when we eat dimsum at China Pearl. And those are not the only restos we frequent and we eat out at least twice a week. I would say we saved around $100 last week for not eating out, big savings! Whatever your circumstances in life, splurging money at this time will become the last thing on your mind because we are in a very scary place right now.

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Beat the Holiday Rush at Sears Pre-Thanksgiving Sale

I don't like the hassles of going into a crowded mall when everybody else is doing exactly what I am doing, making last minute shopping. If you want to beat the holiday rush like I plan to do, now is the time to do your holiday shopping at Sears Pre-Thanksgiving Sale. Sears offers great savings on all appliances; Kenmore cookware, bakeware, kitchen appliances and grills; digital cameras and so much more. Whenever I go to any store, I can't help but detour to kitchenware and appliances section. No kidding, I feel like my feet have minds of their own making their way to that section. Now it gives me more reason to navigate my way to great sales on kitchen appliances.

Aside from kitchenwares, I also fascinate on digital cameras. I love taking pictures and chronicling them in scrapbook pages. I always have my digital camera with me anywhere I go so it is really overused. I feel like I can use a new digital camera with higher megapixel to take even more high quality pictures. Imagine the $50 savings I can get on Sony 7.2 megapixel digital camera? At this tough economic times, any amount I can save is a big deal.

The convenience of shopping at Sears.com is you can shop online at the comforts of your own home and opt to pick up the item at the store if it is eligible for pick-up. So you not only save more on shipping charges, you also won't die waiting in anticipation for your order to arrive in the mail. Shop conveniently and get great savings at Sears.com.

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Toy Hunt - Multi Colored Toys

This is Fire Engine Mega Blocs, one of the Christmas presents that my son received last year. He enjoys connecting legos and building towers out of mega blocs. Here's my entry to Toy Hunt with this week's theme - multi-colored toy.

Please visit JoyD of When Mom Talks if you want to join the fun.

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Freshpair Coupon Codes

Are there really 35 days left before Christmas? Wow, November is quickly sliding away. Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Well, I haven't started mine yet but at least I have started making a list and checking them twice. Because of financial constraints due to economic downturn, my shopping list will be different this year. I don't like to go overboard again just like last year and I need to find great discounts and deals to stretch my holiday shopping budget. I get a lot of catalogs at this time of the year and I wont let the promotional codes that come along with them go to waste if I can use them. You won't believe how much savings you can get out of these coupons. And since I do my holiday shopping mostly online, I also browse for great deals and discounts available in the net. Great deals for me is when you can not only get great items at discounted prices, they are also shipped for free. There are great deals and discounts on underwear and more from top brands like Calvin Klein, DKNY, Hanes and the likes when you use Freshpair coupon codes. These great money-saving deals you can only find at Savings.com.

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Wordless Wednesday - Ooops!

Ooops, I only need one sheet.

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Pig Out Now, Diet Later

Thanksgiving will officially kick off the party season and party means pigging out. There will be parties left and right to attend to again and lots of food to enjoy. I'm the kind of person who doesn't have self control when around good food. I don't want to be a kill-joy and watch my food intake when everybody else is enjoying their food, no way, lol. But come January I should probably be prepared with diet pills to help me get back to shape. This is just a vicious cycle of pigging out now and diet some later.

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Like We're Not Feeling Lousy Enough.....

......from cough and cold, here's another 'happening' yet again, *sigh*. I took my son to his regular class at Gymboree. We were late for a couple of minutes and the session has already begun. But my son, instead of joining the group detoured to a bunch of play equipment and climbed up on one of them. He was probably attracted to their new arrangement. The play equipment at Gymboree are rearranged every two weeks or so, depending on the theme of the class.

Anyway, I followed my son, scooped him up and turned around to join the group. But my left foot caught against a play set, I lost my balance and we fell on the floor. Actually, I must have squeezed my son too as my arms were wrapped around him. But I couldn't break the fall so my son hit his face first. I hit my left knee and leg hard enough to cause bruising right away. I felt so bad when I saw him crying so loud with his lower lip bleeding from a cut. The left side of his forehead and cheeks were very red, I was not sure if he's got bruises too or they're just red from crying. Anyway, the session was momentarily interrupted by our little commotion. The art teacher was quick to give us wet napkins and ice for cold compress. After few minutes, my son was ok again and played some.

After the session, I noticed a portion around his left eye was still red and bruised and his right cheek was prominently red. I felt sorry for my little boy. My left knee is sore and it hurts when I climb up the stairs. Oh geez, what else can I say but that's the story of my life, lol.

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Perfect Gifts For New Parents

I love throwing surprise baby showers for expectant girlfriends. It is a great and wonderful feeling to share in the exciting emotions of becoming new parents. And don't you just love giving away cute and innovative baby products to help welcome their new bundles of joy? Aside from being very useful, it's amazing how baby products are becoming more and more stylish these days. And I just saw a great site called DueMaternity.com that offers wide selections of new parents gifts at very affordable prices.

At Due Maternity you can not only find the best pregnancy and baby gifts but also great gifts for new moms and new dads. There are various gifts that will certainly help out first time parents most especially. I do most of my shopping online and I am always on the look out for great discounts and deals. In times like this we have to be very frugal without taking away the excitement of gift giving. Since Christmas is just around the corner, it is great to get gifts at Due Maternity because it offers free shipping for the holidays. To take advantage of this great deal, just visit DueMaternity.com and use 'BLOG1' as the checkout shipping code. Do your holiday shopping online and find the perfect baby gifts for new moms and new dads at DueMaternity.com. If you can not decide on what gift to get, Maternity Gift Certificates are also available for your convenience.

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Not Getting Any Better

I called my doctor today to complain about not getting any better from the antibiotic and inhaler he gave me. I am miserable every night. I've been wheezing a lot when I inhale deeply and triggers incessant coughing. But last night was quite different. I got the same wheezing sound even while breathing regularly and I coughed almost all night, I couldn't sleep. It was like having asthma attacks, I was really gasping for air. I stacked up two pillows so I can breathe comfortably. I really wish this virus will take its course completely already. I asked my doctor if its possible to acquire asthma at my age and he said yes. I was just worried because I had a bestfriend who died from complication of asthma and she was in my thoughts the whole night I was suffering. I really wish my condition won't get into a full blown asthma. I hope my new medication will get me out of this misery completely.

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Deter Theft Using Security Camera System

I saw in the news the other day about a family of three shoplifting at a very popular grocery store for baby formula and other infant's needs. They were caught red-handed by the surveillance camera installed in the store, so it didn't take long for the police to pursue them. Time is really tough nowadays and some people are compelled to do something foolish like robbing convenience stores, stealing and shoplifting to support their needs. For businesses, It always pays to invest on security camera system to protect their assets. Visible security systems should be installed in and around an establishment to capture any untoward incidents if not deter commission of such all together. IT Planet is a great source of Security System equipments and supplies at guaranteed best prices. Not only does IT Planet provide a large selection of security cameras and systems, it also offers discount hardware like bar code label printers, bar code scanners, and touchscreens for POS.

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Some Random Facts About Me

I've been tagged by Imitation Angel of WTF Do You Blog About!?

The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself. (See below)
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. (See further below…)
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My Random Facts:

1. I am a crammer. I work best and finish a lot when I cram.
2. I was very career-oriented. I worked hard and paid attention to details. I rose from the ranks.
3. I love to dance ballroom. I used to dance with my best friend every Friday night until 2am. My mother always scolded me for driving home alone and very late.
4. I love good romantic-comedy movies. I can watch Pretty Woman, American President, Sabrina and While You Were Sleeping over and over.
5. The books I love to read are mostly inspirational and religious. I love stories about angels, near-death experiences and miracles. I also read fiction and informative books.
6. I collected angels when I was younger. Now I'm collecting bells from every countries and states we visit.

I'm passing this tag to my fellow MBC blogger mommies:
Allison @ Mommy to 2 Princesses

Channah @ Get a Grip Mom

Kelly @ The Neurotic Mom
Petra @ The Wise Young Mommy
Jaime @ Just Add Laughter
Alyssa @ Keeping the Kingdom First

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Trust Your Car Repair to the Experts

If you ever figure in a car accident and need to have body repair done, CollisionRepairExperts.com is a place to be to find an auto body repair shop for all your collision repair service. Just visit their website, type your zip code and find the auto body repair shops close to where you are. You are assured to get only the excellent expert service that will transform your car back to its pre-accident condition. You wouldn't want to compromise your safety so better trust your car to the experts at Collision Repair Experts.

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My Big Brave Boy

I took my son to his pediatrician today to get a flu shot. I thought it's gonna be a struggle again because first my son always cries just at the sight of a person in white robe and second, who likes to be poked by a needle? Anyway, we went to the clinic just when he got up from his nap so he was well rested. When the nurse called us from the waiting room, I told my son to follow her. So he walked behind her and followed her to a room. The nurse asked him to get on a scale to measure his weight and he willingly obliged. Then we were told to go to another room and wait for his doctor. The nurse asked my son to sit on the table, she got his temperature by putting a thermometer under his armpit, and surprisingly, he didn't complain. Wow! And the best of all, the nurse gave him the flu shot, and he didn't cry! Wow, I was so proud of my son, he's a big brave boy now.

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Can't Keep Hands to Himself

I was going through our photo albums the other night and was looking for nice snapshots from our out-of-town and overseas trips that I can scrapbook with. My son was beside me watching me the whole time. While I flipped through the pages of the album, he was also pointing and labeling them, it was so cute. But when he saw pictures from our Orlando vacations, he couldn't keep those tiny hands to himself and flipped the pages back. He was fascinated by our photos taken with Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters at the Disney World. Hopefully in two more years when he's old enough to appreciate Disney World, we can take time off and travel back with him.

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Toy Hunt - Toys with Legs

It's Saturday once again and it's time to play the Toy Hunt game. This Spider Man toy actually sings and dances too at a press of a button on the shoes. It sings the Spider Man theme song from that animated show on TV. He was still very little maybe about 15 months old when he saw this while in the cart at Costco and got fascinated. I just played it to him and he didn't want to let go of it anymore. I guess he was crazy with it for a month and then shifted his fascination to cars and trains.

Toy Hunt is being played every Saturday and if you want to play along please visit JoyD at When Mom Talks.

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WOW Gaming Accounts and Characters

If you are a big fan of online games specifically WOW gaming accounts and characters, there is a website called BuyMMOAccounts.com that is a great resource of World of Warcraft gaming accounts. Buy MMO Accounts is the leading account retailer for WOW gaming accounts and it provides 100% WOW account guarantee that covers all purchases from them. The main concern of people buying WOW accounts that are previously owned by another person is the fear that it might be reclaimed or disabled by the previous owner. And this is where the 100% WOW guarantee comes in, where buyers are assured that the account they purchased will no longer be reclaimed or disabled by previous owners so that gives buyers the peace of mind to totally enjoy their online games.

When you buy wow characters, you are provided with the full name, secret answer and email for the account that will serve as your proof to claiming ownership of a new account. Buy MMO Accounts has 30 minute delivery on all orders, so expect to play with your new wow account in less than half an hour. If you experience any problem while playing with the WOW accounts, you can call Buy MMO Accounts' live customer support and service 24/7 and speak with a representative who is willing to help you with your concern. So if the reclaim and ban issues are the things stopping you from buying WOW accounts, just go to BuyMMOAcconts.com and forget about those concerns. At BuyMMOAccount.com you get 100% WOW account guarantee - no reclaims and no bans.

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Barking Like A Dog

I was so miserable last night with my cold and cough. I was so congested the cough syrup didn't seem to have any effect on my phlegm (pardon me). I felt like I was having asthma attacks gasping for air (I don't really have asthma condition, just know how it's like). Whenever I inhaled, I've got a wheezing sound from my chest to my throat like there was a big lump stuck in there but I just couldn't cough it up. I had headache and was sort of barking like a dog in bed, I couldn't sleep. I woke up feeling very sick but it's still business as usual for a mom with a toddler. Waah, I wish I can take a day off and call in sick. Hb is working from home today but he is swamped with projects so he's busy in front of his laptop. Once in a while I can ask him to watch Michael but after a while this tiny creature is all over me again. Anyway, I just loaded a basketful of my lower PJ's in the washer, I was coughing so hard last night I couldn't control my bladder ;-). I was even wearing sanitary napkins already, I wish I had the adult diapers, LOL.

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We Are All Sick

It's official, I finally caught it! I thought I was so strong that despite my two 'boys' having cold and cough for three weeks, I was still standing tall and strong till Saturday. We even attended a birthday party of a girlfriend's son Saturday afternoon, then I took a nap when we came home so I'll have energy to do my online work at night. Then I woke up with a sore throat and I struggled to talk audibly. Yay, I didn't have any symptoms at all. I usually have itchy throat and achy joints before a cold. Anyway, over the weekend I cleaned all the bedrooms throroughly, changed all the beddings, disinfected all area possible and put humidifiers in place. After doing home remedy for my son, yesterday I decided to take him to his doctor and found out he's got sinus infection, what a bummer! It is a bit dangerous to give cough medicine to kids these days after seeing news after news of small kids that suffered reverse reaction after taking them. Anyway, I will skip all his activities for today until he gets really well. And hopefully we'll all get rid of this pesky virus soon.

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Of Long Plane Ride and Cold Weather

My husband and I have been trying to convince my parents to visit us here in US but they're not too excited about coming here. One reason is, they don't like the long trip on the plane and another is, they won't be able to stand the cold weather. They are willing to come over if I will fetch them and bring them back, oh what a hassle. But just so they can come over and see how I live here, I am willing to do that for them. But about the cold weather, well I guess I can't control that for them ;-) especially here in New England state where the weather is always so unpredictable. They might come in a very nice weather only to be welcomed by a blizzard, who knows? Anyway, good thing I have a stand by electric blanket that will surely keep them cozy and warm like a tropical-weather-like temperature, so they won't miss their bed and pillows back home. Hopefully soon they can visit us already because I've got so many things planned for them.

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Toy Hunt - Stuffed Toy

My son is actually not a big fan of stuffed toys, unless they are interactive. This is an interactive stuffed cow from Tiny Love that comes with a DVD. When you play the educational DVD you should also turn on the stuffed cow and keep it a certain distance from the tv. And that tiny button on the cow's belly will light up and when you press it will say phrases as they are being shown on DVD, so its really great for learning toddlers. That was one of our Christmas gifts for Michael last Christmas.

Toy Hunt is now being played every Saturday and if you want to join the fun please visit JoyD at When Mom Talks.

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Shopping For Gifts For My Family and Friends

I'm so excited about our plans to visit the Philippines in February. Hopefully all the paperwork and travel documents of our son will be processed smoothly in time for our trip. The last time we were there was in June 2007 when our son was so little and still couldn't walk. I'm sure my family will enjoy him more now that he can actually communicate very well too. I'm already buying here and there some gifts for my family and close friends and I found these online store that sells wholesale fashion jewelry. Their items are very pretty and adorable and most of all affordable. I'm sure everybody will enjoy my pick for them. Now I also have to look for what to give to the guys.

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Top EC Droppers For October

The time is here once again to acknowledge and give thanks to my 10 EC droppers for the month. Thanks so much guys for always visiting and dropping here.

As a token of my great appreciation, here's some linky love for you guys!
cheapdanny
The Shutterbug
Slow Streamyx
Re-financing
Tuition Place
Credit Card Lab
MoneyOnlineGuides
Babette's Definitely Maybe!
Help Yourself
My Point of View

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