How I Saved Our Family $1000 This Week....

I knew that title would get your attention!

(The other possibility was "Why Dave Ramsey Would Be Proud of Me. I figured the first one would get more attention.)

I was able to save our family $1000 this week, all thanks to the fine art of realizing "No" is not good enough.

A couple of weeks ago, Buddy noticed that my car was leaking something that appeared to be oil, but wasn't. It was coming from a part of my car that he couldn't identify, and neither could his dad. To make a long story short, I discovered it was the "front end hydraulic mount" for my engine. I went by the Mazda dealership where we purchased the car (brand new, by the way) back in 2007. I was panicking, since I knew my 36k warranty had technically run out. I'm at 38k, but the 3 years isn't up until August. After speaking with the service guy, I explained to him that my warranty was on the cusp of being over....was there anything he could do to help me. He went in to talk to his supervisor, and low and behold, I had a "Power Train warranty" that covers anything related to the engine, for 5 years, or 60,000 miles! I didn't even realize I had that warranty!

Three days later, while driving around town, we noticed smoke coming from under the hood of my car. A terrible noise was happening as well. The noise stopped as soon as we turned of the air conditioner. We went back to Mazda, only to discover that the air compressor had completely seized, and was shooting sparks. Ugh. I knew this would have been covered under the regular warranty, which I just mentioned had "run out." The service manager was not in, but I got an estimate of over $700 to fix the problem. I called and spoke to her when she returned and explained to her about the warranty issue. Surprisingly, she agreed to pay for the new air compressor, if we would pay for the labor costs. The part was more expensive, so we got a good deal there!

Today, Buddy was using one of his power tools and heard a strange sound. Then the tool quit working properly. He had recently purchased this tool, so we took it tonight back to the store where we bought it. After speaking to the guy in charge of power tools, we found out that there was a "30 day" return policy and of course, we were over by a few days. He said that the store could not exchange it, but we would have to take it to the closest manufacture warranty center, 30 minutes away, to have it fixed. I showed the back of my receipt to the girl at the service counter. The receipt said 90 days to exchange "if unsatisfied for any reason". The 30 day policy did not mention the item we bought. After speaking to the store manager, explaining my frustration over the policy, and explaining that the brand of tool we bought should not have broken down this soon, I asked if there was any way he could help us. He agreed to completely exchange the tool for a brand new one!

So, let me break this down.

Front End Hydraulic Mount.....over $400, covered by a warranty.

New Air Compressor....part cost almost $400, covered by dealer.

Replacement of a power tool.....$250, replaced by store manager.

While I had to pay for labor on my car, all total we saved almost $1000 this week, simply because I wouldn't take NO for an answer. If you know me in real life, you know that confrontation is not my thing. I'm not always assertive, and can actually come across as a little shy in certain situations. I'll be honest, each of these times I "stood my ground", my heart was pounding in my chest the whole time. But I politely explained my situation and each time, the Lord worked out the problem, thus helping my family save money.

And yes, Dave Ramsey would probably be proud of me. But what makes me happiest was how proud my husband was of me. He thanked me several times tonight for talking to the manager and getting his tool replaced. He told me several times over the past week how proud he was of me getting the car taken care of. Having my husband being proud of me makes me one happy girl!

Putting the advertising to the test

I am not a tree hugger, nor am I a crazy, obsessed "Save the Planet" person. But I do what I can to conserve and recycle. I've always been interested in different ways to recycle and got my family involved in recycling when I was in 5th grade. I read a book about ways kids could save the Earth, and we started recycling paper, plastics, aluminum and glass. Buddy and I still do this, but we have to take the recycling ourselves. We don't live in the city limits, so we don't get recycling pick-up. (And I have to drive over 20 minutes to the recycling center in my county, despite the fact that I live about 5-10 minutes from the recycling center in the neighboring county....go figure.)



Over the weekend, Buddy bought a bag of SunChips. I noticed that the packaging looked a little different than the last time we bought this kind of snack. We looked over the bag and realized they had changed the packaging because they have a new bag that they claim is biodegradable. If you put the empty bag in a compost pile, it will supposedly disintegrate after 13-14 weeks. After we read this, I looked at Buddy and he looked at me. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing.....


Let's try it!



So here I am with the SunChips bag.




We've got a pile of yard clippings from where we cut the grass, so we decided to use that as our "compost" pile. I'm not sure if it will work exactly, but when we scooped some of the clippings out of the way, I was surprised at how much heat was there.




Then we covered the bag up with the clippings. I'm just dying to see if this will actually work! If it does, then I hope other companies will consider using this material for their packaging as well.





The packaging showed (simulated) pictures of what the bag should look like at 3 weeks, 9 weeks, and 13 weeks. We buried the bag on Sunday night (May 2nd). Week 13 just happens to fall on Buddy's birthday (August 1st). I will post updates at week 3, week 9, and week 13. Let's see what happens when we put the advertising to the test! This will be interesting to see what happens.

It's Just Like the Book Says....

If you leave a green marker where your two year old can reach it.....

....he's going to want to color his legs (and your couch) with it.

Ok, so maybe the real book is about giving a mouse a cookie, and something about a glass of milk, but I think my version would be a best-seller! And I've got the pictures to prove it.

"Handy Buddy" is at it again!

Do you remember what Handy Buddy was up to the last time we saw him? Well, he's at it again, only instead of helping out a co-worker, he decided to make something for Quinn. He had some old scraps of wood, and an idea in his head. What started out looking like this.....







.....turned into THIS!!! A sandbox!





I am simply amazed by my husband's abilities when it comes to working with his hands. Like I've said before, he's built many other things, and never once has he drawn out a sketch or made plans, other than maybe writing down dimensions. He just gets a vision, and starts to saw the wood. I think it took him about two hours or so to creat this. And get this...he calls this relaxing! I myself would get stressed out just drawing the picture.


So after Quinn got up from his nap, we decided to surprise him with the sandbox. I ran out into the backyard, so I could get a picture of his sweet face when he saw it. He was saying "Ooooo Wow!"

Then he RAN to the sandbox to play, smiling the whole time.

And he got right to work with his beach toys. He shoveled sand, and filled his buckets and drove the trucks all over that sandbox.

And I'm not sure who was happier...Quinn, or Buddy.

Can you see the look on Buddy's face? He was so happy that the sandbox turned out, and that Quinn enjoyed it so. Quinn was clapping for joy! I love these two guys so much! I am so blessed to have a husband who is able to do so many tasks....tasks that most people would either go and purchase, or hire someone else to fix. Thank you Lord for a wonderful husband and a precious son!

The Cutest Biker Boy Ever

Every so often, a photography group comes to Quinn's daycare to take "fun" pictures. When he was an infant, they brought one of those miniature ponies and propped him up on the horse. He was dressed in a cowboy hat and chaps! Last year they brought a number block and sat the kids up on the block with the number showing that matched their age. They also come at Christmas time with "Santa" and in the spring with the "Easter Bunny".

For this year's fun picture, they brought a miniature Harley, leather vests and hats.

Have you ever seen a cuter biker boy?





I'm not crazy about motorcycles...I've been on the scene of too many motorcycle accidents with the fire department. But I can't help but love these pictures!

P.S....I've gotten behind on blogging, but stay tuned! Future posts include Quinn's cute Easter outfit, and guess who's back....Handy Buddy! Come back soon to find out what he's been up to!

Memories.....of the way we were

One day while I was at my parents' house over Christmas, I pulled out a bunch of old pictures and started looking through them. Many of the pictures were ones I had seen before. I love looking at old pictures. Buddy and I had a fun time laughing at pictures of my parents when they were dating and newly married. They got married in 1976, so you can imagine what the clothes and hair styles looked like. Some of the pictures I had seen so many times before, and since I've heard the stories, it's almost like those pictures are "memories" for me. Especially pictures of my Grandpa, my mom's father. He died when I was just a little bit older than Quinn, so I do not remember him at all. Because I've seen pictures and heard stories about him, I feel as though I have memories of him.

There was one box of pictures that we went through that I had never seen before. In this box were a lot of pictures of my grandmother and her sisters. They were all pretty close in age, so there were a ton of pictures of them as young women, looking like 1940's models! But in this box I found some pictures of my grandparents, two of which I had never seen.

This is my Grandpa, taken around 1943 or 1944. My Grandpa joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Shortly after that, he was sent to Baltimore, Maryland, and later to the Pacific. He spent the majority of his time overseas on the island of Okinawa. He drove PT boats, the little ones that take the sailors from the big ship to the mainland. When they were at the naval base, Grandpa was the chauffeur for the Admiral! This is his official Navy portrait.



This is my Grandma. I had never before seen this picture. She didn't remember exactly when this was taken, but I figured it must have been the same time Grandpa had his picture made. The background is the same, and on the back of the pictures, the name of a photography studio is the same. So this is probably also from 1943-1944.



This next picture is another one I had never seen before. This is Grandpa, on what we think is Okinawa Island, although we aren't sure. Grandma said he was on several islands, but was on Okinawa the most. You can see the palm trees in the background as well as some of the military vehicles. I cannot wait to meet this man when I get to Heaven. While I am most looking forward to seeing my Lord, I am also looking forward to seeing Grandpa! I was the only grandchild he ever met in person (another cousin had been born, but he never saw her), and from what they tell me, I was his pride! He was a good man and he loved the Lord. (And yes, he was tall, as you can see from this picture).



This final picture is probably my most favorite of all the old pictures. This picture is another one of my Grandmother. Grandpa carried this picture with him the entire time he was in the war. Grandma and Grandpa grew up together in the same neighborhood, went all through school together, and were high school sweethearts. She told me that they would pass each other love notes in the hallway at school! They were married over 40 years until Grandpa went home to Heaven. But he carried this picture with him every day that he was gone from her! Isn't that sweet?

I love learning about my family from old photographs. I love seeing what family members looked like when they were kids and young adults. I love hearing the stories behind the pictures. It makes me feel close to my family, even the ones I've never met!

We're Making Progress

We've been making progress around here lately.


My hand is all back to normal. Well, normal plus what will become a nifty new scar. Since the last time I posted, my 5 stitches got infected and made my hand swell. I ended up back at the doctor, who removed my stitches about four days early. He got all the nasty out of my finger but deemed it too infected to re-stitch. Instead, I got antibiotic pills to take for 10 days, and as a bonus parting gift, I got an antibiotic shot! I was all prepared for a shot to the arm, when the nurse turned to me and sweetly said "Honey, I'm going to need you to roll over!" Who knew they put those types of shots in your butt? Other than a scab and a little bit of tenderness, it's pretty much back to normal.

Quinn is making progress too! Potty progress that is. He will still sit on it for me and has even used it a few times. At school, though, he won't go near them! It's a combination of factors I think. For one, the potty at school looks nothing like our potty at home. We've got a cute one that looks like a king's throne and plays a magical tune when you are successful. The potty at school looks like a miniature version of a real toilet. It also doesn't have a back to it, so the kids have to hold themselves up. Unlike at home, where the "throne" has a back to it. Also, the one at home doesn't flush. The ones at school do. So up until this week he wouldn't go near them. One of his teachers is on vacation, so a teacher from another room has been pulled into his for the week. Miss Pam was not only able to get Quinn in the bathroom, but she has gotten him to actually sit on it! So, that's progress.

Quinn is also making progress on his learning. He can name a lot of colors (red, green, yellow, blue, purple, and white). He can name a lot of letters (A, B, C, D, E, G, I, L, M, O, P, Q, R, U, Y, Z). He can name some of his numbers (1, 2, 3, 5, 9). And when I say "name them", I mean when we are walking through the grocery store and he sees a number on a price tag. Or if we are driving down the road and he sees a letter on a sign. Or if I ask him what color my jacket is and he says "purple". His regular teacher Miss Michelle commented on Friday how good he was with his colors, naming some that other kids could not!! That's progress!

And finally, there's been progress on the talking front! Quinn has just started to talk more in the past few weeks. In the back of my mind, I've been afraid of the impact of all the ear infections he has had. Seven or eight in a little less than a year's time had me a little concerned. Since he's had tubes put in back in September, his talking has slowly increased. At his 2-year check up, Quinn's pediatrician didn't seem concerned. The teacher in me knows that early detection of a delay is key to helping improve a child's ability, so you can probably understand how I've been feeling. He has just exploded with words over the past few weeks. I think a lot of it may be that he's now in a class with kids who talk. Some of it may be that it is finally his "time" to talk. Whatever it is, I just praise the Lord for answering a prayer! Sure, there are times when it all sounds like babbling. Other times I can pick out a word or two mixed in with the babbles. And then there are times when I know exactly what he's saying. Either way, I'm just glad he's talking!

Progress...it's a good thing!