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!

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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!

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My Cosplaying Anime Daughter

I guess I should start with a definition. Cosplay is a practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game especially one from a Japanese Genre. Anime is a style of Japanese film and television animation for older kids and adults as well as children.

My daughter is a cosplaying, anime loving, Japanese art loving child. It all started when she watched the movie Spirited Away with her biological father and I when she was young. Since then she has blossomed into a HUGE Anime fan. I watch a little of it but I know her biological father is super into it so it gives them something they can bond with. Her clothes have Anime. She talks Anime. She has been trying to learn Japanese to understand it more. I don't know that many kids who love to watch animation in a different language and read subtitles but my daughter does.

What I think is cool about cosplaying is that you really use your imagination. The person also isn't afraid to just be that person who is walking around as someone else. To me its like when I was a kid and used to dress in underoos to be Superwoman. I would run around the house in my undies and tshirt and put on a towel cape and I WAS Superwoman in my own mind.

There are so many different Anime Characters that you can transform yourself into so many things. Here are just a few of them that Cassie has dressed up like just to see if she could. The last one may seem scary but really its not if you watch the show.

I am just happy that my daughter has a passion. She loves Anime and dressing up (Cosplaying). She is an artist and draws it all the time too. Here are a few samples.....

Its cool to have a child that is so into something and doesn't care if its the "thing" to be into in High School or not. Being in a small community there isn't much of that going on here but in the big cities there is a lot. Lots of Comicons and Cosplay Weekends where famous ppl even go. It can be a total family event if you want it to be. Its something we have looked into taking her too maybe this summer if there is one close by. I am glad she has a passion and is willing to explore that passion.

Wish more people would do that in life. Not be afraid to have fun and be who they want to be. Have imagination and do a little art in their lives!:) Go Cassie! Good Job for being who you are and not afraid to show it!

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