Get that money, honey.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by katehannan

Soooo, I have a little tiny online shopping problem. No. I take that back. I have a little tiny online shopping issue. I used to have a brick-and-mortar store shopping issue. And then I had a toddler, who wasn’t a “problem” or “issue” so much as a deterrent. And buzzkill. Still, I would not be stopped.

So I started shopping online. For everything. I order milk delivery, I order groceries. I order diapers, wipes and books about preschool, I order clothes for Colin and maternity clothes for me. Every day, I squeal with delight when I spot a brown UPS truck pulling up outside the house. Sometimes, I even forget what I ordered, and it’s a nice surprise when I cut open the box. “For me? I shouldn’t have!!”

Kase? Thinks I really “shouldn’t have.” I believe he told me I had a “problem” rather than an “issue” and that the first step is admitting it. HA! As if. I don’t have a problem spending money. I just have a problem with spending money. See the difference there? I don’t like to spend money, but I like to shop. It’s why most of my clothes are from Old Navy.

But I’m married. Or so the certificate says. So I need to make compromises. Compromises, rather than statements. Statements like, “The only problem I have is YOU thinking I have a problem!” That, as it turns out, is not productive. Instead, I signed up for Ebates.Com. Have you heard of this?

There’s no catch, guys. If you shop online pretty much anywhere on the internet, you earn money back. Depending on what online store you frequent, you can earn anywhere from 2% to 10% cash back. I think they cut checks every other month. The other day, Banana Republic was having a 25% off sale, AND Ebates was offering 10% cash back. Stupid Banana not having maternity clothes. WE DEMAND MATERNITY!

The point is, I can online shop and “earn” money. I may have stopped taking math my junior year of high school, but I’m pretty sure that makes sense. Besides, they always say, “you gotta spend money to make money” and I couldn’t agree more.

If you are interested in signing up too, I read today that as a “blogger” I can earn referral points, which is money. Other more popular bloggers have sponsored posts and ads on their sites and all those bells and whistles and make money off their ramblings. I don’t. I’ve never been offered sponsorships. I named my blog, Didn’t I Tell You That? for exactly the reason I am writing this today. Because I like to share cool things I’ve found. So while Ebates is not sponsoring this post, if you sign up through the link, I’ll get money. I’ll just put that all out there. I’m including this fun referral link to make money off of my friends and family and any other poor soul who stumbles upon this blog. Yup. Ain’t too proud to beg. Please remember my growing family at this time. And Happy Thanksgiving. By the way, you look really pretty today.

Have you discovered any cool sites lately? Any money saving tips? Besides, “save your money, Kate. Stop shopping.” Cuz that? Not gonna happen.

The Second Annual “Sisters are Doing it For Themselves” Challenge [Kraft Paper Box Advent Calendar]

Posted on November 15, 2012 by katehannan

Okay, so truth be told, I haven’t had as much time on my hands lately to peruse Pinterest and pin stuff I won’t ever do make eat cook wear buy. Sadsies. But! I’m not in as bad shape as I was last year at this time. Still. I want to tackle something holiday inspired on my Pinterest Board. Since Thanksgiving is already upon us, I’m just pretending it’s passed. That’s just too much pressure for this chick. I still have entire rooms with boxes in them that haven’t been touched. I just pretend they aren’t there. The power of denial is really something, let me tell you.

So for this year’s “Sisters are Doing It For Themselves” challenge, I’m focusing on Christmas. I didn’t really get to last year since we moved the week before the holiday. Sure, that didn’t stop me from buying a bunch of kitschy crap from Homegoods and plastering it all over the place, and buying a tree the day we moved in, but still: I never did an Advent Calendar. (I will wait for you all to stop screaming in terror.) I am all too aware that this makes me a Bad Mommy Blogger. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that there is a list and this item is on it. There isn’t? Oh well. I won’t be delinquent this year. Oh no. And since I pinned approximately 526 different options, I took my pick, ordered my supplies on Amazon and here I am, tackling this bAd-vent boy:

via

Oooh, pretty. I like how simple it is. And that if the mood strikes me again, I can re-use it year after year. I’m not making any promises, but you know I love me some brown paper packages during the Holidays. Kraft Paper All The Things!!!

I changed it up a bit from the original inspiration. Instead of using a cork board and tacks, I decided to add magnets to the back of the boxes so I could use our fridge. To that end, I bought 24 kraft covered jewelry boxes (at 30 cents a piece), 250 self adhesive mini magnets (not the number I needed, but the amount they offered) and some Avery mailing labels. I broke out the Apple OpenOffice and wrote out a bunch of numbers, 1-24 (*not 25, like I originally thought, but yeah, I guess that makes sense.) I magnetized (using 4 mini magnets) and then labeled the boxes. And I placed them on the fridge, like so:

I never said it was rocket science. I just wanted to get something done. Total project time: 20 minutes. That is about my limit at 8pm at night with Love It Or List It vying for my attention..

Since Colin is still pretty young and doesn’t understand the concept of anything but bribes and treats, I decided to go with small ornaments, some activity cards, like reading a Christmas Book, or helping to make ~~eat~~ Christmas cookies, and little “treats” like matchbox cars. Mostly small ornaments though, since he enjoys “helping” me so much, and we plan to put a fake tree in his playroom. His very own tree to decorate. He’s lucky it’s not a real tree: it’s never too early to learn how to sweep up pine needles. Really, he’s the perfect size for reaching under the tree. I’m pretty sure that was one of the reasons my parents had children. To water and clean up after the Christmas tree. And do the dishes. And change the channel. But I’m dating myself.

So do you plan on making an Advent Calendar? Or are you old school? Pop open a cardboard window and eat a chocolate kinda old school. Mmmmm, chocolate…..

Thankful Thursday

Posted on November 15, 2012 by katehannan

We have a week to go until Thanksgiving, which has put me in the mindset of being grateful for all I have.

Thankful for cozy nights, lying in bed, reading my Kindle with this on in the background:

(Sure, our bed is still on the floor while we sort out what kind of frame we want, we have cable wires strung along the floor and my clothes are still in a duffel bag, but even with all that, I have so much to be thankful for.)

I am thankful for a beautiful new home.

I am thankful for a husband who changes out toilet seats and rakes leaves with me at 9pm on Sunday nights because “it was depressing me.”; who wakes up at 5am to take a train to work, comes home at midnight, and who spends the better part of his weekend building a toddler bed that resembles a boat. And procures 9 pumpkins over 5 weekends. Just because.

I am thankful for a sweet dog who is always up for a cuddle, even when I’m not quite up for it.

I am thankful (most of the time) for a toddler who gives me hugs and kisses, on demand and not. But mostly on demand. I am thankful he is healthy and happy, and even that he is wild and crazy.

And I am thankful for a healthy baby, no matter how much he kicks me or indigestion he creates. And I will be really thankful if he is a little more relaxed than his brother. But I’m thinking not. Which is okay.

I am still thankful.

Project Naptime: [Chalkboard Train Table Top]

Posted on November 12, 2012 by katehannan

Guys, we’re still kicking here. And how. Our weekends have been consumed with unpacking boxes, getting rooms set up and safe for Colin, and cleaning up dust, dust and more dust. Our painter, who we will refer to as Eldin (from Murphy Brown), only finished last Thursday. I’ll just say I am glad I chose neutral colors, because we are never having the whole house painted again. EVER.

But anyway, sometimes when you just can’t scrub any more toilets or unpack any more boxes, you like to take on a simple project while your husband builds a toddler bed and said toddler is napping. Tackling a quick project is referred to around here as “Project Naptime”. I usually get about an hour and a half to two hours to myself per day. Well, every other day. Colin doesn’t like to nap on school days; too excited I guess. So these kinds of tasks stroke your ego and make you feel useful in those times you can’t remember your own phone number. You know what doesn’t? Your toddler napping for THREE AND A HALF HOURS when your husband is home. And then him joking around that if he had three hours a day to himself, he’d be really happy. Yeah, so would I. SO WOULD I.

Anyway, back to Project Naptime. Colin has a train table. He likes it. I hate it. It’s big and bulky and well, quite colorful. And with about 800 train pieces on it, it can be what I like to call, a hot mess. One side of the table top is a little scene of roads and landscape, etc. The other side? Is electric blue. I guess it’s the ocean? I don’t know. It’s very ugly. We don’t use that side. It’s pretty useless.

So I was thinking about how to neutralize the blue side of the train table top a little tiny bit while also making it something Colin wants to play with. we would still have use of the landscape side, but make the blue side a little more fun. I didn’t want to alter it permanently. I’m not that crazy. I don’t go around spray painting my kid’s toys so they match my decor. When you have a kid, you need to embrace the primary color wheel. It’s happening. Deal with it.

And then I discovered Chalkboard Contact Paper. And for $15 (two packages), I updated and improved the train table. It only took me about 30 minutes, which meant I had approximately 800 hours until Colin woke up. According to Kase, anyway.

It’s a pretty straightforward project. I’ll let the Pics school you:

Before.

Chalkboard Contact Paper

Go slowly. Then use your husband’s work ID to work out the bubbles. I found going in a diagonal direction to work best.

Before and During (Kinda). This is obviously not the blue side. But that would have blinded you. You’re welcome.

And “season”. I don’t know if you need to season contact paper, but I did it just in case. Which is all to say, rub a bunch of chalk all over that bad boy.

Done. Let’s Play. You know, when you decide to wake up. In four hours.

So, tell me. Have you taken on any “Project Naptimes” lately? We are making excellent progress on the house, but it’s nice to tackle something quick and painless every now and then.

Cable Coziness and CVS Goodness

Posted on November 5, 2012 by katehannan

I love a cozy cable knit. When the weather starts to turn chilly, there is nothing like snuggling up under a soft cable knit throw. And I have to say, I’ve been loving those cable knit pillows you see all around this time of year. But I’m on a pillow budget. Only budget pillows for this chick. So I got some wool-feeling chevron pillows in the clearance section at Target for $5 a piece and called my fall decorating done. Until I went to CVS.

That is not a typo. This cable knit lovely is from CVS. And I paid $8. That is also not a typo.

So you know how CVS has all their holiday type tchochke crap like holiday makeup bags and dancing Santas lining the tops of their aisles and whatnot? Well, I was looking for diapers, and spotted a red cable knit pillow up on top of the shelf. I was all, “oh too bad it’s that bright red. WAIT A HOT MINUTE!” And I scooted to the cash register to pay my $9.99 STAT for my new ivory pillow. When they scanned my CVS card, it rang up with a 20% off coupon. And then the lady in line behind me was all, “Did you get that here?” And I tried hard not to laugh my evil laugh and be all, “IT’S MINE! ALL MINE, SUCKER! MWHAHAHA!” Really, I just shrugged and said, “Right?” Cuz who buys pillows at CVS?

Apparently, this girl does.

Which is all to say, if you find yourself at CVS buying aspirin or what have you, you may want to put pillows on your list as well.