5 reasons Emily will love our plane ride to Mom 2.0

This year we're hoping to get a picture taken in a celebrity's basement
This year we’re hoping to get a picture taken in a celebrity’s basement. It will be hard to top the shower!

Eeep! Exactly one week from now Emily and I will be on our way to our very favorite social media conference, the Mom 2.0 Summit, thanks once again to our amazing and generous sponsor, Lands’ End. To say we are excited would be the understatement of the year. We are looking forward to hanging out with each other, wearing fabulous clothes, meeting  up with some of our bloggy BFFs, connecting with some great brands we hope to work with, and learning a ton to help us along our bloggy way. Last year’s Mom 2.0 was pretty life-changing for both of us and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us in beautiful Laguna Niguel, California next week.

But before we can start the fun, though, we have to get there. And getting there involves me doing one of my least favorite things – flying. And one of Emily’s least favorite things – flying with me. But little does she know that this year’s super-long plane trip is going to be oodles of fun. Best ever! Why, you ask? Let me count the ways. Specifically, let me count all five ways.

5. I hurt my back in January and it just won’t get better. I start physical therapy the day before we leave. Sitting is one of the very worst things for it, so I’m sure my normal sunshiney personality will be, um, just BURSTING forth after sitting for four hours.  Also, I’m going to wear a Ben Gay patch on my back to help alleviate the pain so I will smell awesome. Emily will spend the whole flight breathing in the comforting menthol vapors of my geriatric pain aid. No more cozying up to a strange elderly passenger on the plane to get your menthol fix! I’ve got that nursing home smell right here.

4. I also hurt my tailbone and it flares up on and off. This week it’s ON! So I am going to spend the whole flight trying to sit on one butt cheek which means I’ll be leaning into Emily for four hours straight. She loves getting cozy with me (and everyone, let’s face it, she’s a hugger.) so I know she’s already giddy about this.

3. Due to the conditions mentioned in #4 and #5, and thanks to my new doctor who actually listened to me and tried to help with the problem, I have drugs. A few different kinds. This is  bound to make the flight more enjoyable for not just Emily, but everyone on board.

2. I’ve been working on a pep talk to give Emily about not being socially awkward at the conference. So far I’ve got it timed at about 3 hours and 32 minutes, so it will take up most of the flight. This way she won’t get bored, and will be really motivated to win friends and influence people when we get off the plane. Part of this is teaching her and rehearsing a comedy bit we can do when we meet someone, you know, to really impress them with our wit (if they can stop gawking at our beauty). YOU’RE WELCOME, cousin!

1. I’ve had “Call me Maybe” in my head for about two days. It typically has a 10-day life span so Emily is going to get a *real treat*. I only know like two lines so I think I’ll probably throw in my funky arm-dance moves and make up verses that apply to the conference. Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my biz card, tweet me maybe? Ooh, and here’s one for my favorite stalkee, BossyBefore you came into my life, I stalked you so bad, I watched you so bad, and now I know that, you like your coffee black… 

Well there ya have it, T-minus seven days and counting, cousin! So brace yourself start getting PUMPED UP! I don’t want to over-excite you so I won’t tell you what else (besides our comedy intro bit) I have planned for you AT the conference. But don’t worry, you’ll love it. Have I ever led you astray?

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Happy (Belated) Birthday, Kate!

photo (47)

Kate’s 9th birthday was Monday.

Ninth.

That seems so old. She’s halfway to 18, a thought that’s quite disturbing to me.

Andy and I were reminiscing about her first few days, and it seems like yesterday and forever ago all at the same time.

“We had no idea what we were doing,” I told Andy, as we remembered.

In a lot of ways, we still don’t. But we’ve wound up with one amazing kid. She’s smart and kind and funny and I am so, so proud of her.

Happy birthday, baby girl.

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No, YOU’RE a hoarder!

I mentioned awhile back that thanks to the TV show “Extreme Couponing” and well, let’s face it, blogs and the internet, it is now hard out there for a pimp a lot more difficult to get good coupon deals at the drug and grocery stores. This week I went to CVS, Walgreens, AND Rite Aid just to get some good deals on things we need – but that is not exactly convenient! I rarely ever do that, though, so I let it slide.  And I’ve been alternating between ALDI and Kroger (even though they took away double coupons which I’m still mad about!!!), because there are things that are unique to both stores that we use a lot as a family. I’m still spending more than I’d like, but lack of coupons is not the only big factor in the inflation of the Rapson family grocery budget. The other big factor?

THIS GUY!

jonah yogurt

This child eats more every day than his big siblings combined. I typically have to go buy bananas and grapes for him twice a week, since bananas go bad quickly, I can’t buy enough for the whole week in one sitting. It’s crazy! When Joshua and Sophie were toddlers, they both ate barely enough to stay alive. Jonah eats enough for about four grown men. Keep in mind that he is also on a gluten-free diet, so I have to get creative with his snacks. Dried cherries, Pirate’s Booty rice puffs, and raisins are his current faves. The dried fruit can be really pricey! (I get the cherries at ALDI).

Besides snacks, Jonah’s three favorite foods are grapes, bananas, and yogurt. He eats yogurt for breakfast every day since he can’t have wheat or oats, and he usually eats two cups.  And he also usually has a cup for snack after his nap. Plus, the big kids like yogurt a lot also. So I am constantly on the hunt for yogurt that is on sale. That is why, after the last Kroger Mega-Event, I had about 20 boxes of go-gurt in my fridge. It is also why I went to our local Kroghetto yesterday in search of a “Manager’s special” deal on yogurt – praying for markdowns because nothing was on sale! And oh, how my prayers were answered!

yogurt
Got yogurt?

WHAT?? It’s perfectly normal for someone to purchase 53 cups of yogurt in ONE shopping trip! You’re just JEALOUS!! (I was especially excited about all the Chobani! I love it and so does Jonah. P.S. the coffee-flavored Chobani is for Bobby and me.)

So there ya go. I’m that crazy person getting weird looks from all the people at Kroghetto who shop in their pajama pants – and the sad part is – I DID leave some on the shelves, and I really want to go back and buy them! But I’m controlling myself…and besides, some other savvy shopper who scours the ghetto grocery for markdowns probably got them by now, anyway. *Sigh*.

These are the lengths I will go to to keep my family fed for less! Desperate times call for desperate measures…but you can’t accuse me of hoarding because we go through the yogurt so fast!

What crazy savings schemes are you into these days?

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