Aug 18 2011

1st Day of School – My baby is a big girl!

Today was the 1st day of school for Lulu and Coco. I’ve been waiting for this day for 5 1/2 years – LOL! Coco started kindergarten today and Lulu started 2nd grade. Although Lulu is an old hat when it comes to starting school, they were both new students today since we’re in a new school district.

What was funny to me was that, as I was getting in the shower they both woke up (in my bed!!), and hugged each other and started talking excited about school. When I got out of the shower and was getting dressed, Lulu was getting dressed and Coco was back asleep! That cracked me up since she’s the one who was the most excited. She’s a lollygagger when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. She is slow. Super slow. She wants to talk and stops getting dressed to talk. But once she got going she couldn’t wait.

They wore their school ribbons with their braids, their new shoes and new clothes, and their new backpacks. Oh, and did I tell you their classrooms are portables. As in trailers. Little did I know that my kids would be going to school in trailers. Apparently their school is old as dirt, they are rebuilding, and the new school isn’t finished.

I put the girls on the bus then met them at their classroom for a quick photo with their teacher. And a big hug. I didn’t cry. I was too excited to cry.

The verdicts:

Lulu’s teacher told her a secret: She’s in the best class because she’s special.

Coco’s teacher sent her home with a coupon for a free meal at a local restaurant because she was good today. We went to dinner at that local restaurant and they served the best spicy macaroni and cheese! Um, um, good!

Coco has her first vacation day on Friday and will return on Monday – she’s looking forward to it.

Lulu had a good day too.

And this mama couldn’t be happier. My girls are growing up.

Aug 17 2011

My New HTC Evo and a cool app

This post brought to you by Sprint. All opinions are 100% mine.

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I’ve had a smartphone for years, but smartphones have gotten even smarter. I was slow to jump on the bandwagon. I’m with Sprint and I was able to get the HTC Evo 4G for $40 about a month ago. Out the door! But I know that if I lose this sucker, it’ll cost more than $40 to replace it. More like $449. So about a week and a half ago, I signed up for the Sprint Total Equipment Protection App.

Coincidentally – I got a phone call last week that I thought was from my sister. Instead it was from a guy who found her phone in the parking lot at her apartment building. He was nice enough to try to track her down. She said that she wouldn’t paid almost $500 for a new phone or $100 for here deductible. While even that $100 wasn’t sounding great, it was much better than the $500! But my sister didn’t have the app. I do. And I’m only spending $8/month for that peace of mind. Especially after seeing what happened last week with my sister – I know it’s worth it.

Go to and enroll. You can enroll before August 30th and add coverage to your existing phone. With TEP you can locate your phone, sync your contacts (very important when you change phones often), remote wipe your phone when it’s lost for good, lock it, and sound an alarm. Pretty cool, huh?

Oh, and if your phone is damaged, lost, stolen, or malfunctions when the warranty ends. What more could you ask for?

But don’t forget – the opportunity for coverage for existing cell phones ends on August 30, so hurry up and sign up! Now.

Aug 17 2011

Guest Post: What to Expect during Non-Surgical Disc Treatment

Guest post by: Cathy P.

Patients can benefit from several types of non-surgical disc treatment for the temporary pain relief of spinal conditions that are usually accompanied by acute and chronic neck or back pain. The following are common methods to expect from non-surgical disc treatments. Pain medications are the most common, non-surgical form of treatment. It may come in the form of acetaminophen, NSAIDS, muscle relaxants, anti-depressants or oral steroids. Heat and cold therapy are also effective relievers for spine-related symptoms. Cold therapy helps to reduce swelling and inflammation, slow the never impulses, and numb the sore tissues of the body. Heat therapy on the other hand stretches the soft tissues, increases blood and oxygen circulation to the muscles, decreases the transmission of pain and accelerates the healing process of the body. Another option is physical therapy. This is a treatment highly recommended for spine conditions characterized by impaired movement or flexibility. A physical therapist guides the patients and teaches them how to utilize their muscles, resulting in increased flexibility, and strength. Exercise is a non-surgical treatment that effectively rehabilitates the spine while reducing neck and back pain. Consulting with a doctor is highly advised before taking any exercise regimens. A more aggressive form of medication would be injections. These injections are used for pain relief and for allowing patients to be more capable participants of the rehabilitative program. Examples of injections that may be used for non-surgical treatment include medial branch nerve blocks, epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency neurotomy and prolotherapy.

Aug 16 2011

$175 Visa Gift Card Giveaway Winner!

Congrats Colleen Boudreau!

Thanks everyone – for all your entries!

Don’t forget that we still have other giveaways going on!

kindle 3G – Ends 08/18 – Worldwide!

Coca-Cola Park Kit $50 Value – Ends 08/25

$20 amazon.com gift card – Ends 08/31

Aug 15 2011

Review: Topricin and Topricin Junior @Topricin

About Topricin

Classic Topricin features a soothing combination of eleven homeopathic biomedicines to safely and effectively treat pain associated with arthritis, carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia, back, neck and shoulder pain, sports and trauma injuries, muscle strains and sprains and first aid for inset bites, bruises, scrapes and minor burns. Topricin reduces swelling, stiffness, numbness, tingling and burning associated with soft tissue injuries and more. Odorless and greaseless, Topricin is now patented for the treatment of neuropathy.

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About Topricin Junior

Topricin Junior is pediatrician-recommended and formulated for a child’s delicate skin. Topricin Jr. won the 2010 Parent Tested/Parent Approved (PTPA™) Seal of Approval. Whatever the mishap, bump, scrap, bruise or boo-boo, this paraben and petroleum-free formula treat pain associated with a wide range of children’s injuries and delivers quick and rapid relief. Gentle on skin, it is effective for treating minor burns, bug bites, and skin conditions, including eczema.

Topricin Junior’s convenient 1.5 ounce tube (MSRP $12.99) is just the right size to keep on hand when boo boos happen and can be easily stored in the medicine cabinet, first aid kit, glove compartment, sports bag or purse.

Our Thoughts on Topricin

My back hurts. Not all of the time, but often enough. I’ve been using Topricin almost daily and having my daughters rub it into my lower back. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work for the pain. BUT, I do understand that this product was likely not meant for the constant pain I have, and instead was meant for occasional strains. I haven’t had any occasional strains to try it on.

For the Topricin Junior – the girls love it. They come to me whenever they get a scrape or a bug bite. It’s almost like they want to get a new scrape or bug bite so they can use it as a remedy. They do stop complaining shortly after using it though. It’s pretty funny because you can almost set a clock to the relief they get.

I love natural remedies. Love them. These are products I’m glad to have in my emergency and first aid kits. Personally, I don’t think natural remedies relieve pain as quickly as an OTC or prescription drug would, but that’s okay. For minor scrapes, bruises, burns, and insect bites – I’d rather wait a little bit longer than use chemicals and get more immediate relief.

Coco scraped her knee tonight. The scrape was about the size of a quarter and all you could see was white – which meant that the scrape was about to turn bright red with blood really, really soon. She was hysterical, and I was on the phone with AT&T trying to get my phone bill corrected. It’s been 7 weeks since I moved and I was still being billed for services at my old address, while also paying for service at my new address – so I was NOT in a good mood to begin with. My first reaction was to grab the Topricin and smear a think layer over the scrape but after reading the directions I did not. There’s nothing on the instructions which lead me to believe the product is okay for deeper scrapes, so I used another remedy. So, Topricin isn’t an all-purpose remedy, but when it’s a minor ailment or or pain, we’ll reach for it first.

Disclosure: I received review samples to facilitate my review.

Aug 11 2011

Budgeting Question: Cash or Debit Card?

I’ve tried many different budgeting techniques over the years. I’ve used online programs, a number of manual systems using paper and pen, and some combinations of both. The envelope system is what works best for me.

Basically, there are 2 parts. The first part is the actual budget. I take a look at all of my monthly expenses – the minimum amounts that I can pay towards my bills, add them together, and make sure they are less than my month income. This is the hardest part since this is where I had to take a good look at how I was spending my money and how long it would take me to get out of debt by paying only the minimums on my credit cards. This is where you get real with yourself and agree to either change or habits or agree that your financial status will always be messy.

The second part breaks down my bills into separate budgeting categories. For example, rent, car payment, credit card bills, student loan payment, utilities, cell phone, etc. are all budgeting categories. I even have categories for gifts and miscellaneous. What I don’t have a category for is savings . Some of the bill payments I make I schedule from the creditors’ websites, others I schedule using online bill payment, a few I use cash for.

Since my paycheck is direct deposited into my checking account, I have some of my bill payments auto debited right out of my account by either providing the creditor with my routing and account number, providing the creditor with my debit card number, or by using online bill pay in which my bank is the initiator of the transaction instead of the creditor. All 3 methods work well for me, although I tend to use my debit card as a credit card so I can get a few reward bonuses deposited to my account each month. Most banks, like www.aurorabankfsb.com, will allow all 3 options I’ve described above. I hardly ever write checks, except to the school or church.

For categories where I can use cash instead of credit like gas for my car, groceries, clothing, school supplies (including school lunches if I choose to go that route), etc, I literally go to the ATM every payment (or shortly after) and withdraw cash. I have actual envelopes which are labeled and I sort the cash into the envelopes. When the money in the envelope is gone, I can’t spend on that category anymore, until it is replenished again.

Basically, my paycheck is direct deposited into my checking account, some of my bill payments are automatically withdrawn from my checking account, and then I do have a few categories in which I withdraw cash from my checking account in order to keep track of those expenses. Overall, I do more transactions through my checking account than by using cash.

What do you prefer using? Your debit card or cash?

Disclosure: Brought to you by your friends at www.aurorabankfsb.com.

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