Thursday is my SITS Day!

Howdy, SITStas! I just want to thank y'all for stopping by my blog for a look-see. Please make yourselves at home and feel free to look around.

Here are a few fun facts about me:

• I have 3 blogs! I know - it's alot. But I've split up my blogging so that people can read what they wish. Besides this blog, I have a knitting blog and a digital scrapbooking blog.
• I just launched a social network for moms -also called Momma 'Tudes. It's in it's infancy and I hope that I'll get oodles of members! {Hint, Hint}
  
• In conjunction with my blogs and social network, I've launched the Momma 'Tudes Weekly Radio Show. It's live each Monday @ 1:30pm EST. We chit chat about knitting and crafting and some mommy stuff. Those who listen LIVE on Blog Talk Radio can actually call into our show and talk w./ us or enter the show's chatroom and chat with us DURING the show!! (If you can't listen live, you can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes - search for 'Mommatudes' under podcasts.)
• I married my HS sweetheart and we've been together a total of 19 yrs, 12 of which we've been married.
• I have 2 kiddos, 1 of which has Asperger's Syndrome. Our story is HERE.
  
• I'm new to this SAHM thing and hope to get better at it!
• I'm an avid knitter. I also crochet, scrap, and craft.
• I joke ALOT. I have alot of serious challenges in my life with DS having special needs - so I love to joke and have fun with life.
• We just moved the entire family from the Buckeye State to PA for their autism services. We still can't sell our house. But our son is so much better off.
• I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE Twitter and am a social media addict. I'm known all over social media as KnitPurlGurl or as simply, Karrie
  
• I'm a complete goober - In my spare time, I LOVE reading & writing Twilight Fan Fiction. I write at Twilighted.net
  

If you're just popping by my blog and you have NO idea what SITS is - let me explain. SITS is The Secret Is In The Sauce. It's a bloggy support group of sorts. It's an awesome place where bloggers go to meet new bloggers and find new and interesting blogs. It's AMAZING! If you get a chance, pop on over to SITS and join in the roll call!

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to meeting all of you! Please visit again soon! :)

Thursday is my SITS Day!

Check Out These Giveaways

Check out the AWESOME Clarisonic giveaway (as well as the other terrific giveaways) on Things Moms Like!

Be sure to check out the Platinum Collection Cyclonic Bagless Upright vacuum giveaway over on MomDot.com!

Check Out These Giveaways

Pinching Pennies

Catch the weekly recap of the Mommatudes Radio Show HERE.


Ever since my husband & I decided that I would become a Stay-At-Home-Mom, I've been looking for more ways to save money to close that gap between what I used to bring home in my paycheck and our current budget. And it's starting to pay off.

A few things I've done to save money are:

• Cut cable tv subscription from oodles of channels to the lowest subscription (just enough to get a signal - we can't get any local channels without cable due to our location)
• Cut out mag subscriptions. Most magazines have online editions now. Our local library allows you to borrow magazines and has a great selection. Friends of mine have subscriptions and will typically let me borrow their mags for a few days. In that time, I scan the recipes or patterns I like (or write them down) and put them on my hard drive for personal use. I DO NOT COPY them for anyone.
• I borrow books from the library for the entire family instead of buying them. I find ALOT of new recipes from oodles of books I check out.
• I borrow music from the library instead of buying it.
• I do all of my shopping on the same day. I utilize every available store and sale and only buy what is on sale + what I have coupons for. It has to both be on sale AND I must have a coupon before I buy it. That way, I save the maximum.
• I am not a brand-snob. I buy what is on sale. Giving up brand preferences really eliminates alot of expense.
• I plan my meals around what is on sale at the grocery store that week. If it's not on sale, it doesn't go into the cart.
• I shop at stores that double my coupons. Between the store sale + my doubled coupon, I get alot of things free or nearly free.
• I have made home economics my job. I research all of the money saving sites and blogs every day to obtain the best sale and freebie info.
• I buy second hand, from discount stores, or I make it. My kids do not need Ralph Lauren polos and Tommy Hilfiger shorts. This is just stupid. They can look nice in gently used brand name clothes or in discount retailers clothes. I also participate in clothes swaps in my area - the moms put out their unwanted clothes on a table and swap with each other. I get rid of the kids' clothes that don't fit anymore and pick up some gently used clothes that do fit.
• I cook almost every meal, 3 times a day. This is such a cost savings and my kids are eating healthy foods. -Not prepackaged meals. REAL, made from scratch, meals. Plus I always have leftovers which carry us for lunches the next day or another meal.
• Every one in the family is allowed one splurge. Something once a month that they enjoy. For me, it's yarn. For DS, it's a book. For DH, it's car-related or tool-related. For DD, it's a Barbie. This way we don't feel deprived, but limit our splurge spending.
• I regularly use The Grocery Game, Coupon Mom, Money Saving Mom, Penny Pinching Diva, Consumer Queen, Coupon Saving Family, We Use Coupons, Smart Source, Red Plum, and Coupons.com. You need to check in with these sites/blogs anywhere from daily to weekly. And it needs to be consistent. If you are persistent and consistent, you WILL save money.

This week: I shopped at Giant Eagle. I only bought things that were both on sale and I had a coupon for. I got 4 free items. Before coupons and in-store savings & bonuses the total was $206. After all of the coupons, in-store savings and bonuses, I ended up spending $113. I saved a total of $93!!! I almost saved as much as I spent. This is only my 2nd month collecting coupons and working on this. I hope to see a much bigger savings in another month.

Are you doing something to pinch your pennies? Have a tip you would like to share with us? PLEASE leave a comment below.

Pinching Pennies

Mother's Day Bliss

I HAD a fantastic Mother's Day! For the first time in our married life, we didn't run between 2 families, kids in tote, to celebrate Mother's Day. Now that we live 140 miles away, it's not easy to hoof it back to OH every weekend. And since we were in OH the weekend before and plan on being in OH for the Memorial Holiday weekend, we stayed home. It. Was. Heaven. - let me tell you!

Not only did I not have to try to bathe, corral, and drive with 2 fighting kiddos - but the kids and DH pampered me. They made me lunch and dinner. They curled up on the couch with me as we watched some TV together and just had "US" time. (And I got to wear my sweats and fuzzy socks the whole time!) It was truly the best Mother's Day present I have ever gotten: peace, quiet, and time with my own kids instead of rushing around trying to make others happy. It was selfish and lazy and just plain great!

I hope all of you mothers out there had a terrific Mother's Day and enjoyed time with the kiddos - they are only small once. :)

OH - I forgot to mention the VERY cool Mother's Day gifts I won this week!! Oh my goodness! I am NOT a lucky person. For those who know me personally, they know that life is not usually easy for my little family. We have a LOT of challenges right now. (Of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world because my hubby and kiddos are everything to me.) So I didn't expect to win so many amazing prizes on Thursday's Moms Nite Out on Twitter. I thought I'd meet some cool Tweeters and socialize (and I did) - but never imagined I'd win the prizes I won!

I won an iPod Touch from Newbaby.com and a 4 GB SanDisk Memory Card from 5 Minutes For Mom! Separately, I won a 3-DVD set of Romantic Movies (Fox Entertainment) from Mom Logic and a Cinderella Princess Costume (for my little 4 yo princess) from Mormon Mommy Blogs!!!

It really has been such an unusual and incredible week! I would like to thank all of the sites that gave away these incredible prizes and all of the really cool mommy tweeters I got to meet!

Thought for the week: Life is not easy. Life is messy and difficult and sometimes painful. But if you can still enjoy it despite all of that, the most rewarding gift - the gift of true love, happiness, and appreciation will come your way. (And I truly love, appreciate, and am incredibly happy with my DH and kiddos. That's better than any prize out there! Of course, I'm not turning down the iPod ;P )

Mother's Day Bliss

Mother's Day Giveaway Winners

And the winners of the Mother's Day Giveaway via random number generator are:

KindNotes: Bovee Brigade

Polished Two Earrings: Martha

Mimi & Friends Gift Cards: Rachel

Mama's Magic Studio Birds Nest Pendant: Sara

Congratulations to the winners! Thanks to all who participated and to the generous sponsors! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Due to a power glitch during the editing of my blog, I have lost the original blog post with the winners' email addresses attached. PLEASE email me if you are one of these winners: knitpurlgurl [at] gmail [dot] com

Mother's Day Giveaway Winners

Win $1000 for Groceries!

Pop over to MomLogic and enter to win! Who couldn't use $1000 in free groceries?

Win $1000 for Groceries!

5 Minutes for Mom Giveaway!

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away some AMAZING prizes for Mother's Day - Contest ends May 9th - so hurry and enter!

5 Minutes for Mom Giveaway!

Winner of the Fused Glass Pendant

And the winner of the Dye Lot Collective Fused Glass Pendant via Random Number Generator is..

Little Ms. S.

Congrats!! Thanks to everyone who participated! A special thanks goes out to Maggi of Dye Lot Collective for sponsoring this beautiful giveaway. Please be sure to stop by Maggi's Etsy Shop for more goodies!

Winner of the Fused Glass Pendant

Mommatudes Radio Show Debuts Today!

The Mommatudes Weekly Radio Show debuts today on Blog Talk Radio. I hope you'll tune in and even chat with us or call in.

Want to listen, but not sure how? Here's the skinny:

• Go to Blog Talk Radio and register (FREE) as a listener.
• Become a 'friend' of the show.
• Log into Blog Talk Radio and listen in to our show. You can also chat in the show's chatroom during the show.
• Feel free to contribute via chat or call in. We'll announce when the lines are open! (646)200-0060

Our weekly radio show is comprised of 4 chatty and crafty moms who will discuss a weekly topic and so much more. Our show airs live every Monday at 1:30pm EST. If you aren't able to listen live, you can listen to the show at your convenience via Blog Talk Radio or on iTunes (- look for the Mommatudes Podcast).

Please spread the word and tune in to support the show! :)

Mommatudes Radio Show Debuts Today!