Fun!

Hey! Good news! I'm starting to get over the all day "morning" sickness. It comes back here and there, usually when I'm hungry, but for the most part I feel like a new woman! I think I'm getting a little energy back too. So yay! Z has been a love today, super cuddly and lovey dovey. He laid in my arms for ten minutes after his nap today as he investigated the stitching on his teddy bear. The couple times I had to correct him today he quickly wanted to give me kisses. He did great at swim class today too and slept for three hours immediately after. All in all, it was a good day to be a Mommy!

Let's learn to drive!

I decided to change the name of this section, as I am learning new things all the time. Some of these driving tips are inspired from other drivers I encounter, but some I learned as an adult (usually from my husband). I couldn't find any text books online to support Ben's claim that you should not pass within fifty feet of an intersection, but it seems like a safe rule, and one I have been following for several years now. Hopefully, it's obvious to everyone that we should never pass or change lanes in the middle of an intersection, but in case it's not, that's what I'm here for!

Money for Nothin'

Here's one from my Grandpa J. in Tennessee. Check out Discover Card's Cash back incentive plan on their Open Road Card:

• 5% Cashback Bonus on gas and everyday auto maintenance purchases
• 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top online retailers like Target, Lands’ End and Barnes & Noble at ShopDiscover
• Up to 1% Cashback Bonus on everything else you buy
• Unlimited cash rewards

Since getting this card last November, I've made $12.15 for simply putting my gas and oil on the Discover Card. I pay it off each month and we strictly adhere to using the card for gas and car maintenance only. We usually put everything on our debit card, which makes for a lot of receipts for me to enter. I love having fewer receipts to enter, and knowing exactly how much we spend each month on car stuff. A couple details for anyone interested in doing this:
1. You can choose whether you get bills in the mail or by internet
2. You can't cash in your money until you've earned $20 or more, then you can choose whether you want to credit your account, electronically deposit the money into your bank account (you don't need to have banking online for this) or donate it to a charity of your choice, how nice!


I checked out their "Discover More" card and it doesn't look better to me, because I need gas or oil for my car all the time and you only get rewards on that certain months of the year. Here's what it said for that card's 5% cashback bonuses for 2008:
Jan-Mar: Airlines, cruises, car rentals and hotels
April-June: Home Improvement
July-Sept: Gas and hotels
Oct-Dec: Restaurants and Movies


No thanks! I'll stick to my Open Road card. I admit I don't like having a huge bill at the end of the month, but since it's money I spend anyways, I find the money carries over from the beginning of the month to help me pay it at the end!

Web World!

I actually spent a great deal of time on these two websites yesterday with a little nugget of love on my lap who was giggling most the time!The first was Disney Clubhouse where we got to click on our favorite shows like Tigger and Pooh and Handy Manny to play games featuring them. Then we went to Curious George's website and had SO much fun, mainly because my little one speaks the same language as George and they understand each other. So for those who have little ones and are worried about too much TV in these winter months with not much else to do, here ya go! They also have games for older kids on the Disney site. Just Google your kid's favorite show and there's probably something interactive on the web for them.