How to get GREAT DEALS on Sephora,Elf,Bath and Body works! (Christmas Ideas)

What is the first thing you would think of when someone is having to have bedrest for three weeks after a Pituitary Brain Surgery? Health...Rest...Recovery Right?

Well Dang it! I have become addicted to online shopping! That's what happens when you are in bed with the internet and bored out of your mind. Mind you! We don't own Credit Cards. We are all Cash and Carry so I do limit myself. My husband and I talk about what we feel is appropriate and then I don't surpass that amount. Just because I am addicted doesn't mean that I am going too crazy in the area of spending.

I am a deal girl! Its all about finding deals of the items that I want. Its all about finding coupon codes after even to make even more of a deal. Let me give you an example. I shop for my swaps and also for my family.

This 6 bottles of lotions and bath gels (which are divine I might add) were buy three and get three free! I was all over that! They are approx $12 dollars each. So let me do some math in my head.  So $72 dollars but since getting three free that brings to 36 dollars. I always wait till that sale. THEN because my stuff was originally over 50 dollars its free shipping on top of that. So you are thinking "GREAT DEAL RAE" but nooooooooooooo its not enough for me. So I look on the internet for coupon codes or I look in my basket of coupons from ordering there before and I find a coupon that is FREE ITEM OF YOUR CHOICE with any purchase of $15 up to $13 dollar value. I punch in the code and now I am paying $23. We have gone from amazing scented Bath and Body Works American Brand yumminess that started out at $72 dollars and is now $23. Looks like I am spending tons but nope....I refuse to pay full price:) I get full price worth of the stuff though for my daughter, MIL and I. Oh and get this! When the box came I got four more coupons! :) For my future swaps who might want Bath and Body Works.

Then their is Sephora! Ooooh High End Cosmetics! Goes on smooth and stays on beautifully. I love looking at the Sephora site and seeing some of the deals. Recently I got some great Too Faced Products in the cutest little doll house box ever! It is called Le Grand Chateau which is NEW and Limited Edition. Its Originally $215 dollars but on sale for $49.00 and you can add a coupon code to even lower that price. My Swapper wanted one once I showed her so I bought that for her. Its awesome when you have a price limit on your swap and are able to get them so much more bang for their buck. Its on the Sephora.com site if you want to check it out. Remember to click on the add ons and get free trials of perfumes shown below by using the code FALLFAVS

I think my biggest haul however was my ELF haul. ELF is not high end make up but rather drug store make-up. It has some great products and some that I am not that fond of. BUT!!!! My friend Lesley found me a great deal. Elf was having a sale and might still be having a sale where many of their products ranging from $3-$10 were ALL on sale for $1 each! What? Did you hear me right? YES ONE DOLLAR EACH! Well I have a daughter, my MIL and my swappers who would LOVE to have some of that. I went a little crazy and bought 90 things. Normally it would be over $450 dollars but I got it for $90. Then I looked online like I always do and found a coupon code. I ended up paying $53 dollars for $450 dollars worth of products. If you would like to do that also go to Sales  on www.eyeslipsface.com and get 50 Percent off your order with the Coupon Code "HELLO" if that is still running otherwise it will give you free shipping. I hope you go and get some too. This is my stash of stuff. 3/4 of it is already given away to my family and swappers. Like I said before though! More bang for your buck!

I wanted to share some of my secrets and get it so you guys can get some of the stuff yourself also. I am now off bed rest from my surgery. I am looking for more deals though daily on my times of resting. I love shopping for others and getting some items for myself also. LOVE it! Already finished my shopping for my nieces and nephew and BFF kids too. I feel like I am ahead of the game so far!

If you want to see my Swaps and Hauls follow me
 twitter at https://twitter.com/interswapnstuff
facebook page   www.facebook.com/Internationalswapnstuff
Youtube Videos on all my swaps and hauls https://youtu.be/i7qZLYRKMwY  Subscribe I put one out Every Tuesday!

Thank you! You can always subscribe to this blog which is about my real life :) Go to top and put your email in:) Have a blessed day

10 ways teens are like toddlers

I must admit sometimes I look at my four teens and think....why are they acting like toddlers? Tonight at dinner I told the kids what my next blog was going to be about. Some laughed, some just looked at me and some joined in on why teens are like toddlers sometimes. Mind you I have a 17, 16 and two 14 year olds. Three boys and one girl. I have the experience on the teen front ha! Here was our top 10.

We are always working on manners. Its been happening since they were well toddlers but we are still working on them. The kids are good when at other families houses but when in the home I am still saying, "Did you thank your brother for sharing?" or "Did you thank your dad for picking up the science project stuff you needed?". Little or big I still find myself asking if they said please or thank you to things.

They are easily bored. Once a project, game or event is over my teens want to know what's next. I don't accept " I am bored" in the house anymore but I still hear it every now and then. Its like when they were little and would play Legos but when they were done...they were done. They would look for you to entertain them. I don't know when I became so much fun but when one of the teens are bored they come to me to figure out what to do next.

You know when your toddler used to always graze for food. A strawberry here or a fruit snack there. They seem to always be hungry even if they ate or could have another snack. My four teens are notorious for eating. I swear they eat three big square meals a day and still when they come home from school they ravage  the fridge like they never have seen food before. Snacks to teens are like meals in themselves. I have no idea how my kids stay so thin with how much they snack. Then they have dinner like they have never eaten that whole day. Never seen anyone eat so much until they are in the teen stage. They are always grazing and want a snack.

My kids go, go, go like the energizer bunny all day long. Then once they are out...they are OUT! I could lift up their arm while they are sleeping and it would just fall down. They really should take naps because it would make their lives easier. Toddlers need a lot of sleep and so do Teens. If they are tired...man can they be cranky. You try to get them to go to bed but they fight you on it. Once their heads hit the pillow they are gone though. Funny how much Teens can be like Toddlers. I guess the one difference is they aren't wearing footed pajamas anymore ha!

When you have toddlers they are needy for attention, to feed them, to be put to bed, to make sure they are loved and to keep them entertained. I don't think that changes once they are Teens. My kids always want my attention. With four of them I seem to always be talking to someone. Even though they are quit capable of making food themselves....I still hear the occasional "Can you make me brownies?" I ask them why they cant and they swear mine taste better even if it does come out of a box. :) Teens need a lot of love and attention even if they think they don't. We always give hugs and say I love you before they go to bed. I want to know about their days and what's going on in their lives.

You have to protect them from themselves. Toddlers who want to get into everything or do things themselves that they cant yet do. Welcome to being a Parent to a Teenager. They still want to get into everything or know everything. I know my kids hear me from another room and want to know what I am talking about. Even if they only heard a word or two. They think they are adults and want to do adult things but aren't there yet. Its hard to be a teen because you aren't a child but you aren't an adult yet either. I keep telling them to not grow up too fast they have plenty of time to pay bills and be in charge of everything ha!

Clothes! I swear my kids grow out of everything so fast. I think they actually grow out of things quicker than when they were little. Growth spurts are crazy. Take one of my 14 year olds Josh. He is 6'1'' at just fourteen. I cant keep that child in shoes! Just one basketball season we had to get shoes twice. Jason my other fourteen year old I cant keep in pants. We will buy pants a little too long and I swear the next week they are high waters. Growth spurts are crazy.

Speaking of clothes I remember when the kids were little and they would dress themselves. You know the shorts with the rubber boots and t-shirt with a scarf and some crazy pok-a-dot hat. They swear that is what they are going to wear. Its cute because they are small and you can look at the cashier at the grocery store and just smile while they say how adventurous your child looks. As teens I have no idea what they think is in fashion. None of them dress the same. I have one boy who wears only skinny jeans and baseball shirts. I have one child who used to swear he could only wear grey jeans and red shirts. My daughter is into Marvel or Anime stuff and when she pulls out a dress I am like whoa where did that come from? I didn't even know you had that still. Then I have one son who will wear anything. If it doesn't fit he will wear it even. He is finally coming into his own where he is having his own style. You cant see it though because he always wears a hoodie. Uhm...Its 80 degrees outside.

Words. Remember when your kids were little and they would say the cutest words and you honestly had no idea what the meaning was. You didn't care because they looked so cute just trying to say things. Now with teens I hear all these words that apparent DO mean things but I have to google it to find out what the meaning actually is. I am going to date myself for sure here but I remember hearing my mother talk to her best friend and say, " No BAD means good. So when she says to me that's bad, she really means that its cool or good". That's how I feel sometimes with the lingo of the kids. I think I am hip to what they are saying. Ok, maybe not....since I just said the word "hip".

I want...I want...Can I have? Can I have? Remember your children in the shopping cart point at everything they wanted and getting upset when you said, "No, not right now." That doesn't change. Its kind of a joke in our family since we have four teens that one will ask for something...Lets say they ask for pizza. We say no, not today. Then the second teen comes in and asks if they can have pizza tonight. Again, we say no not today. Third child comes in and same question and same answer. THEN the fourth teen comes in and honestly didn't hear the others ask. "Hey Mom, can we have pizza tonight for dinner?" By the fourth time you swear you have lost your mind. You say, "NO!" and that child walks off like goodness I just asked for some pizza lol! This happens a lot at our house. It always happens anytime we are out at a store. Can I have? Can I have? I will pay you back! Can I have? Why cant we have? :) A temper tantrum may even ensue! :) Yes....Yes....Teens really can be like Toddlers! I am sure there are many more things but these are the ones that we came up with while we were sitting down to dinner. Plus some brain storming from my husband and I.

Lets not forget the "Are we there yet?". Yep that one still happens also. :) I am lucky though because I feel blessed that the kids aren't growing up so fast that its all business. I love that they are Teens and I love it just as much as when they were all Toddlers. I am blessed to have the kids that I have. Even if they never are full or dress like crazy people. I love them all!

Subscribe by going to the home page and putting in your email or adding yourself to Google+. Remember this is Day 2 of the 7 days giveaway. On March 31st I will be giving away 7 gift cards to Starbucks or Amazon. All you have to do is subscribe and comment to this post. If you comment or the next 5 posts and the one before this one you will get more chances to win also! Its Free so comment away and lets win something fun! Have a blessed day!

7 DAY GIVEAWAY!! Gift Cards EVERYDAY!

Giveaway. Free. Freebie. Fun. 7 days of giveaways!

I really wanted to have a little fun and do a 7 day giveaway! Its starting now! For the next 7 days we are going to be giving away something! All you have to do is subscribe to this blog and see what the items are going to be!! I will make sure I post for 7 days and all you have to do is comment on the post.  On March 31st I will tell who the winners are for each day and surprise!

I figured March 31st is a perfect day because its my Anniversary! Its a special and wonderful day to me and now it can be to all of you also!

All you have to do is comment on this post for one entry....for a

Then...the next post comment on it too...for a

Then...the next post comment on it too for another entry...

You get 7 days of being able to enter by entering a comment on the post! That's 7 days of

You have 7 chances of winning. You never know you could win more than one!

Its free...easy to do.

Ok who is interested in what the giveaway is?

Ok holding breathe because I am so excited! Its a

and

giftcard each day!! Yes you heard me right! Everyday either a

or

will be given away for 7 straight days! All you have to do is subscribe and comment below to be entered. If you comment on all 7 days that's 7 entries! If you comment on just five days its 5 entries!

March 31st I will be telling you all who won! And shipping them out the next day. It maybe April Fools day BUT its not a joke! You have the chance to win all 7 days...either a Starbucks Gift Card or a Amazon.com Gift card!

 So hurry up and Subscribe and comment! To Subscribe you can enter your email at the top of my blog. You can also add yourself if you are a Google Plus member! Just Subscribe and comment! Subscribe starting this post and comment. Keep commenting for the next 6 more posts! On March 31st I will blog a post with the winners!!! So excited and its not even that day yet. We will put all the names in a hat and one of my kids will draw it out. 7 winners....!! Never know you could be in there more than once!

Subscribe by going to everydayraerae.BlogSpot.com and put in your email at the top on the home page! Have a blessed day!

39.....a weird comical birthday.

This Birthday was so not a typical birthday to me. Usually its full of fun and lots of activities etc. I just turned 39. That means I am almost 40....FORTY! Actually to be honest I am not someone who cares about how old they are getting. I figure having four teenagers is either keeping me young or I am so old the number really doesn't matter ha! I think probably old but maybe it will make me young eventually right ha!

My birthday was Monday. The weekend before we went to a memorial for Ryan's Grandma. It was a bittersweet moment where we got to pay our respects...grieve...share stories. She is going to missed so much! My husband, my MIL and my husbands siblings are still grieving a lot so I am being respectful and not posting about it. It was really good to see all his family and have all the cousins together.

Driving home....

On the way home however after two days there we decided to stop at Cattlemen's Steakhouse for dinner. This was going to be my family birthday dinner since on my birthday we had a lot to do like sports awards for two of the kids. We don't normally do this but this time we told the kids they can order whatever they wanted. Happy birthday to me.....not happy bday to our bank account:) Its good to really treat everyone every once in awhile. Josh and Jack decided that they were going to have a whole rack of ribs. I asked if they would actually be able to eat it because I didn't think they would be able too. Jason and I had steak and shrimp scampi. Cassie had shrimp and Ryan got a big ol steak. All I have to say is the strawberry lemonade there is to die for!!! I am literally drooling thinking about it. Hold on...be right back. Need to clean off my keyboard.

Josh and Jack....one rack each

yummy

Jason and I had shrimp scampi and Steak

Its my strawberry lemonade.....it was the BEST

Josh couldn't finish

Jack swore his stomach got bigger

We had a good dinner and I was really happy we did that even though we ended up getting home at midnight from our weekend trip to his grandmas memorial. I had to hurry and sleep because I would be getting up on my birthday at 445am to leave by 515 to drive two hours to a doctors appointment. I really should of taken a different day but I wanted to get it done with.

As most of you know I am in remission from Cushing's Disease. I had a tumor removed from my brain (in my pituitary). It messes with your immune system. Messes with a lot of things. 11 hormones to be exact. So you gain a lot of weight, have low immune system, bruise, stretch marks, insomnia, brain fog etc....  lets just say its no fun! If you want to know more about it check out www.cushingstories.com. Its a site that my friend Rachel and I co-founded to help others.

Anyways...I had to go to a pulmonologist to get my airways checked. I have been having problems breathing. It wasn't the best way to start the day but it needed to be done. I would of driven 2 hours anyways because I was able to get Starbucks! Do you hear the heavens opening and angels singing? I do when I think of my iced coffee drink! ahhhhhhhhhhh....*angelic singing*

Breathing tests

I hate plugging my nose but it was still thumbs up

Once I got home I found out that my favorite lamb passed away:( I was so sad. I always love my underdog animals. Then for all of  you guys who think you have had a crappy day (no pun intended) I walked outside barefoot to grab something out of the car and stepped in some doo-doo. YEP you hear me! I screamed! I jumped up and down screaming ehw ehw ehw! I hopped all the way back in and didn't care about what it was I was going to retrieve from the car. I hopped to the shower and that was that! Then my mind kept going to how was that even in the yard...the dogs cant even get there. EHW! I am grossing myself out again ~! Strawberry lemonade.....just think about strawberry lemonade.....ahhh. Ok now I am better!

So the day wasn't going as planned but I still had a good day! We went to Josh and Jacksons sports awards. They did a really good job and won different awards for Basketball! Very proud of those two. Josh is in JV and Jackson is in Varsity. It was a good ending my night.

So proud of my boys

I had tons of phone calls and birthday wishes from friends, family etc. I opened up some fabulous presents. I did chuckle to myself because my dad, my sister and mother in law know me well. They got me exactly what I asked for...more kitchen stuff. I am going to bake and cook everything! Ryan got me some snazzy stuff too and also some dresses I have been wanting from Ross. Hey I shop at Lane Bryant and Torrid but Ross is definitely my go to store. Why pay full price if I don't have too!

I obsessed with Green and Live Love Laugh things

My friends and family got me great gifts also and I really felt loved. It was a good ending to the day.....

39! Its going to be a good year! Watch out world! Rae-Rae is getting older! I never said more mature....just older!:)

Please subscribe by going to the top of the blog and putting your email in. You will get an email every time I blog. I cant see who is subscribing but you can unsubscribe at anytime. We have a giveaway at the middle of each month. At the beginning we will tell you what it is. Love giving away stuff! Have a blessed day!

Seriously they are weird!

My kids seriously are weird! Just like Ryan and I. Today was their last day of finals! Woot Woot! I never saw bigger smiles to be done with finals this whole week. Josh was finally cleared to play Basketball after his concussion from practice so Josh went to an away game tonight. Jackson went the other way to another away game for the Varsity. When both of them are in two different places we stay back with the other kids.

We picked up Cassie and Jason and took them food shopping tonight and to do some errands. They are seriously funny kids. I am so happy they get along so well. They are always laughing and teasing each other. Just plain ol having fun. On the way to the store I said that I am kind of tired to Ryan. Cassie pipes in with "that's because you have four kids duh". Then Jason asked, "why did you have so many anyways?" I said it was because I had Cassie and Josh and then these two boys came along that I loved just as much. I love you all. Then Jason laughed and said ,"Enough to never be able to sleep again?" I just laughed and told him of course!

Jason and Cassie

Its been a kind of interesting day. I found out from my Dr that I am low on a hormone that might make me have to take shots for the rest of my life. They are really expensive too (1500 a month). Thank goodness insurance will cover it but its not something I really wanted to do. I will find out more on my next Dr visit. I am growth hormone deficient. Yes adults have this. Its from probably when they took the tumor off my pituitary they might have gotten a little too much. So we will deal with it as we go. Might help my tiredness every morning. I swear ppl think I sound like I am sleeping till like 11am ha! When in fact I get up at 445 with Josh most days for Basketball.

Anyways I have been working on my website for CUSHINGSTORIES.COM with my partner Rachel who is also a Cushie. We are almost complete although its taken us almost 3 months to get enough stories, videos, blogs....
I am rather excited about it! I think its really going to help others with this disease. Plus it gives hope with stories of remission (like me). Between having a family of 6 and everyone being pretty active it has taken us along time to finish it. This Sunday though it will be complete so check it out.
www.cushingstories.com

While I was working on the website Ryan asked what we wanted for dinner. I think that is so romantic when a husband sees you are working hard on something and instead of asking what's for dinner.....he asks what you would like:) Steak Salads it was. We love steak salads and since I am trying to low carb it a bit this sounded super yummy to me.

After our delicious dinner Ryan and I went crazy ha! Have you ever lost something that you knew you JUST had? Our debit card was by the computer because we had just finished paying off our cruise and we could not find it ANYWHERE! We both saw it at the same spot. Then you start to hypothesis where it could be. I seriously thought maybe we threw it away and looked in the trash. GAG! After hand washing and him walking around in circles looking for it. BAM....there it was. He had moved it with some of his work paperwork to his desk LOL. Seriously I think the kids thought we were crazy but we were getting more of a work out looking for it in the house than they were playing Wii HA! Thankfully we found it and all is good.

Here are Cassie and Jason playing Wii......Dancing to a song! Dance Dance 2015
click here...Jason/Cassie Dancing to Wii

The night is winding down. Jason and Cassie are still playing Wii. Ryan is working on work paperwork and I am just waiting for the phone call to go pick up the boys from the school when they get back. Seems like a normal Friday to me. Both Jackson and Josh won their games. Jackson got all 4 free throws and Josh played hard the last quarter of the game!

Jack getting ready for Free throw

Defence! Joshua

Except for this.......shhh....and its a secret. We will see how many of you actually read this but I am thinking of getting another puppy that was born 4 weeks ago. She looks like my dog growing up and is so cute! Thinking. My heart says yes and my mind says no since we already have four dogs that we love very much. Jackson has Ninja, Jason has Maggie, Josh has Jasper and Ryan has Sierra. Cassie has her cats out in the barn she is not a dog person. So that leaves me lol.....right??? What wins out? The heart or the mind. A good friend of mine once said to think with my head not my heart because I am such an animal lover.

Please subscribe. You can do it on your phone or on your computer. Go to the homepage and put your email in. Every time I write a blog you will get an email. You can unsubscribe at anytime.

Have a great evening! Thanks for following us!