My can't live without list

We all have those websites that we can't live without and I'm not different. I thought I'd share my list. Some of it is funny, money saving, crafty or down right GEEKY. But I know that's why you all love me ;)

These are in no particular order so let's start with....

Ebay
Obvious reasons here, eBay has been around almost as long as online shopping has been popular. I can remember eBay as far back as 10-11 years when I was in HS and searching for Rainbow Brite items. These days I use it to track down Gymboree line items, American Girl items and relics of my youth ALA Babysitter Club Little Sister books :D

ThredUp
If you've not been here yet, you need to go sign up now. Better yet, use my email as a referral if you want sarahughart@gmail.com. It's online clothing consignment. Boys and girls, clothes, shoes and sometimes accessories. From newborn-size 20. Almost any brand imaginable. Best part is, you can send in clothes for credit. You can turn around and use your credit there or you can cash out to your Paypal. They have great quality control, you so know you are getting good stuff. I ordered and outfit once, and was refunded the price because they didn't feel it met their standards. But they sent me the outfit ANYWAYS, and I couldn't find a single flaw.

Facebook
Rather obvious. Games, friends and photos. Half my traffic probably comes from Facebook. If' you're not on there, which planet did you come from and how long have you been here?

Yardsellr
It's a lot like an eBay/thredup mash-up. Think online garage sale. You list your own items (almost anything) and other people come and browse. You get 'points' for logging in each day and for when you refer a member through email/fb. Those points are like free cash. I think I have like $2.50 in points right now, good towards any purchase. My email is above ;)

Danny&Kate
Same basic idea as yardsellr, only it's STRICTLY kid's items. Same kind of points system as well.

Retail me not
Don't EVER make an online purchase without visiting retail me not FIRST. It is a coupon code database. Search your store and it will list any coupons that are currently active.  Sometimes they even have printable coupons. There are comments from users to tell you how much they saved, if there are any restrictions, sale policy and if it is still effective. I've saved a lot, just by going here first.

Ebates
Want to earn cash back for purchases made online? Register at eBates (again, my email is above ;) ) and you get to pick a free gift upon joining. Coincidentally my first ebates purchase was a nook, so I chose the $10 B&N gift card, of course. Then go to ebates before shopping online and search the store you'll be shopping at (online only) and if they are in their database it will give you the percentage you earn back (Last I checked walmart.com got 2% back and shutterfly was 10% back). It also sometimes lists coupons you can use. Once you click 'shop' it will open a tracking ticket and let you browse the store's website. When you check out using that window, it will credit your ebates account within a week. Payouts are several times a year as long as you hit the threshold ($10).

FanFiction
I'm nerdy and a dabbler in writing (obviously...) so I like to combine my nerdy fandoms with amateur writing.  I read Dr Who, Harry Potter, Twilight and a some Glee. I am also published there. And no. You CANNOT have my pen name. I need *SOME* anonymity :D

What would Tyler Durden do?
This one is good quasi news/funny. I stumbled upon it on accident and got hooked. I admit, I read the celeb gossip. I read this more than Perez/TMZ though, because it's like a manned up bad ass version. And that makes it feel less, stupid. I swear to god I'm really only watching so I know when to have a Bon Voyage Lilo party. I proooooomise.

Rants From Mommyland
If you're a Mom, you need to read this. It's blind-leading-the-blind Mom therapy. None of us knows what we're doing, so we all sit down with a t-box (wine) and try to survive motherhood together. Results so far, are positive :D

Insane in the Mom-Brain
I sincerely believe she is my spork-horned unicorn brother from another Mother. She's on Facebook too. You must read.

Ragestache
This has saved many lives, many a day. It keeps me from going postal. And makes me giggle like a 4th grader. I have all the faces saved on my phone, just waiting for the right moment for me to use them.

Starring Scarlett
Never before has there been such a sweet story of a beautiful little girl and fighter. I've been following this blog as long as I can remember and I love every post she does. I've never felt so emotionally invested in someone I've never met!

Little Baby Garvin
Found her on pinterest because she did a really cool chalkboard craft and fell in love with the blog. Check out her blog and on pinterest.

Pinterest
It makes me sad face that there are some people NOT on pinterest yet. It's the best. There is something for everyone. Recipes, crafts, art, tricks and tips, makeup, clothes, anything. It's so much fun, and addicting. And inspiring!

Shoprunner
It's $80 a year and I think they do free trials for a couple weeks. They have a list of participating stores and if you order from those stores, you get free two day shipping. I had done a free trial last year to get free shipping from a website and promptly canceled it so I wouldn't get charged. Then a few months later they offered me a free one year subscription. I held onto the email, but didn't do much with it. It sat there for a couple months. Then once it got to October I realized how useful it could be. I do a lot of shopping at TRU from Oct-Dec for 2 birthdays and Christmas. Celebrate express (party supplies) is also on their list, so I can get all their party items as well. Since October 2011, I have saved $224 in shipping charges. My free year expires in October, so I will be trying to get party/gift shopping done early. At least for the kids ;)

So there's my list. There are more, but these are my big ones. Feel free to share yours and any tips you have as well.

Fluffimama out!

Get ready to drool!

Now for the post that you've all been waiting for...or at least the one I've been DYING to post, the baby shower. I have this little group of friends that I absolutely adore and one of them is pregnant and due in July, so me and another friend decided to co-host a baby shower for her. I had soooooo much fun getting crafty for this and I was so lucky that my co-hostess with the most-est is an UH-MAZING cook.

So for the sake of my sanity, I am going to do this in two parts. The food part (with pictures and recipes) and the craft part. Today....the FOOD!

Butter milk blueberry breakfast cake
This was delicious and I was lucky enough
to take some home. I am now CRAVING it, and
I almost NEVER crave sweet things!

Floating Island Punch
I may have made some undignified sounds
when she showed me the recipe for this punch.
It was every bit as good as it looked!

My meager contribution to the food. I had all kinds of cool ideas
on Pinterest and they all fell flat. Oh well. Still nummy!

Broccoli Sausage breakfast bake
Soooooo good!


And.....I'm fired from baby shower food photography, because I missed  the following dishes.

French Toast Bake
Cheesy ham and hash brown casserole

I know....I know....but they were my favorites. Along with the blueberry bread. Mmmmmmm.
Delicious Flashbacks!

I included a couple photos of the cutlery spread she made, which
looks wonderful!

All our sweet pink hippo supplies were purchased at
celebrate express

I hope you enjoyed it so far, the crafty parts are not far off and I'll be compiling a list of must NOT miss websites. What's your absolute favorite websites? Will you share them with me? Maybe they'll be featured!

Fluffimama out!

Soooo today is glasses day today at our house. We got the call last night from the vision center that we could pick them up so we drove over today. The excitement hadn't waned and Sunny literally vibrated with joy when he brought them out. He had to adjust them a few times, but once we had a perfect fit she danced around like nothing had ever happened. We walked through the store to grab some lunch and she pointed out all the people who were wearing glasses.

How can you NOT adore that face!

That was at 10:30. Five hours later and she hasn't taken them off, not once. I thought for sure I'd have to ease her into it, but no. On she goes, no time to slow down and adjust. So I'll just take her lead (as I usually do) and just keep swimming. A very special THANK YOU! to member Anitadd, for telling me about zenni optical. I about died when I went to the website! I will be getting Sunny a back up pair and a pair of prescription sunglasses for about $30 shipped, so a million times thank you!

To all of you in fact...all...64 of you! You're all very schmexy and I love you hard. Thanks :)

So, say what now?!

There may have been a small (large) amount of panic running through me this weekend. Mekius and I were packing/gearing up for a night away in the city for my birthday. I had a list of places I needed to be and things to do before we left. One of them was taking Sunshine to the eye doctor. An eye exam is one of the millions of mandatory things now required before school, just after dental appt and right before fingerprint analysis. I kid, I kid. So as we buzz around, we take a pit stop at the optical center.

We get signed in, registered and I sign the form saying I will give them all my monies. Turns out she did NOT know her letters well enough to read the chart (cue THE GUILT*). He turns to me and says, this is routine for kids her age, I'm sure she won't need glasses.  So we go through one part of the exam in one room, then move to another. He has her look through a special book and asks her questions. Then he sets the big mask glasses looking thing in front of her and starts grilling me on both mine and Mekius' vision history. They finish up and he looks at me and says 'she needs glasses, she's got a double astigmatism, which is hereditary.'

And that's when the bottom dropped out. Glasses are expensive. And she's 5. They're going to break. Then I'll have to buy more expensive glasses. I'm losing my schmidt here and trying to keep a happy face, as Sunshine gives me a tentative smile. See on the way to the eye doctor we had this very same discussion and it went a lot like this:

S: I'm scared, what if I need glasses?
Me: There is nothing wrong with needing glasses. I had glasses, Daddy still wears contacts. Your Auntie C and Grandma L wear them.
S: What if they make fun of me?
 Me: No one will make fun of you sweetheart, (at this point in my head, I'm not above roughing up a small child if they think about teasing her).
S: Mom can we stop talking about glasses now?
Me: Sure sweetie, besides, I'm sure you won't need them.


And therein lies the problem. There is NOTHING wrong with needing glasses. It doesn't make you any less of anything than you were before. I reassured her of this and I am adamant in the fact that it doesn't make her anything less than perfect to me. Thing is, kids do tease. I had glasses as a kid and remember. It was horrible. I also had braces. Let's not go there.

I feel like I did not show any outward emotion beyond a bit of shock. I reassured her it was ok. I let her pick out the frames she wanted. I even let her pick out a snazzy pink shimmery case for them. It cost like $3.97 but it lit her up like it was Christmas. But on the inside I was nervous and scared. Thinking about the cost of glasses over the next 18-odd years. Thinking of the kids who won't know how special she is and tease her about what's on her nose. I also can't stop thinking of how she looked with those glasses on. Adorable. But older. Much older. I could feel the Guilt creeping in.

If you're not a Mom, you won't understand what the Guilt is. If you are, well then you know. You know why it's capitalized. As I signed all the forms to order the glasses, I wondered what I had done wrong. Was it that time I had hard boiled eggs when I was pregnant? Was it because I slept on my right side occasionally? The Guilt was overwhelming. It still is. I'm proud of her for taking it so well. She was SAD to leave without her glasses and it eager to get them. Will that change once they get here and she realizes she has to wear them all the time? Will it be hard for her? Will I be able to fix it?

So for now I guess I will do my best to not let the Guilt consume me, to reassure her and maybe to find some books at the library about getting glasses and how it's a good thing and can help you. I hope this helps any of you who find yourself in this situation and I will post a link below to a post I found that made me feel a lot better. In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed because we have our 'routine dental exam' Wednesday and it's got me feeling all kinds of nervous.

Little Four eyes

Fluffimama out!

Oh my yummmm

Today's post is brought to you today by my cousin Sara and MMMMMM tacos. We're taco obsessed in this house and our newest addition is the fish taco. I usually just use frozen beer battered nuggets or tenders, flour tortillas heated in a bit of olive oil and we top it with lettuce, cheese, sometimes corn and black beans. But the thing we ALWAYS top it with, is fish taco sauce. I'll give you my adapted recipe, and then link you to the original inspiration and let you pick which you like better :)

The line up

1/2 cup greek yogurt (plain nonfat)

1/2 cup mayo

The juice of half a lime

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

This is the recipe I typically follow, but I just made it (and took awesome pics) and adjusted the greek yogurt/mayo recipe from 2:2 to 3:1. While I respect the need to preserve SOME creamy fat, I'd love to see if I can reduce the fat/calories just a bit more while still retaining what I adoringly refer to as the 'OM nom nom factor.' Since this will sit in the fridge till tomorrow evening's dinner, I will have to hold judgement till then. But I promise to not only post my opinion of the change, but also a picture of the beautifully crafted fish tacos.

All the spices, together and looking beautiful in all their colorful

spicy glory

Measure and mix the first 3 ingredients.  Add the spice mixture and mix. I like to add the cilantro last.

It just makes it look pretty when you add it last.

Mix again and that's it. Let sit in the fridge, it gets better with time. I'd say 3 hours if you're in a pinch, but 24 hours is best. Give it a good stir before serving :) This yields about a cup (maybe a smidge more) and between Mekius and I, we usually half about 1/4-1/3 left after we're done. 

I cannot wait till dinner tomorrow.  

Here is the original recipe in all it's glory and many thank to the Soup Addict!

Also, I know I promised you a baby shower post with lots of crafts/recipes and I am working on it. I am trying to track down all the recipes used, because you're going to want them. Trust me <3

Fluffimama out.