My First Black Friday

I never quite understood the whole Black Friday thing. My cousin Treasure goes every year, and EVERY year I wanted to go with her to see what it was all about, but I just could never convince myself to get up before the sunrise and head out into the cold to wait in line. After scouring the BF ads for the past couple years my husband decided to go it alone last year and I stayed with the kiddos. After his experience he determined you definitely need at least TWO people (you have to have a runner...which I should have learned from all my cousin's BF blog posts..sigh). Anyhow, we decided this year we would send the kids home with the MIL and him and I would go out. I have to say, I think I'm hooked.

This is going to be a LONG post so just bear with me.

This was NOT at all like I expected. I expected to see humanity at its worst, but in fact I encountered a TON of really nice people and I felt this sense of community while shopping.  It was definitely crazy but it was a LOT of fun.

After scanning the ads after Thanksgiving I decided to come up with a game plan.  I found that several of my items were similarly priced at both Wal-Mart and Target.  There were some Wal-Mart specific items, and some Target specific items.  Thankfully we were not purchasing any electronics at Wal-Mart so we could go at midnight to get the toys and other items on our list, and what we didn't get there we could make up for at Target at 4am when they opened.

We arrived at Wal-Mart around 11:15 and the place was PACKED.  We got there and there was no cart anywhere.  I grabbed myself a little basket and decided that I would use that and hand carry the rest.  Wal-Mart had all their BF ad items shrink wrapped in the middle of the aisles.  (I can see the need for this but it caused MASSIVE congestion).  There were people huddled around them and tearing into them like crazy.  All the items were marked "ITEM DOES NOT GO ON SALE TILL MIDNIGHT", but unless someone was specifically watching, people were tearing into them like wolves.  I felt kinda bad disobeying the rules, but all is fair in war, so I snagged some of my items when I saw something I wanted.  There was a girls bicycle on sale for $29, Jamin went to grab it but some lady began yelling at him that we were not allowed to pick it up until midnight.  She was watching us closely, so he just decided to park there and wait for it.  While he was doing that I decided to go try and hunt some other items on our list.  I went to the back of the store to find the $4 pajama sets and they were heavily guarded in one area.  You would think this was loaded guns or something the way Wal-Mart was guarding them.  Ridiculous that people were lining up for PAJAMAS.

I went around the corner and saw another pallet of pajamas unguarded, and people were ravaging them.  It was somewhere around this time I heard a Wal-Mart rep say that we could get into the items.  I went ahead and found PJ's for both small girls and ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while.  It was good to see her.  We both looked for PJ's together for a few moments.  I kept looking for the older kids some PJ's because they are about $5 cheaper than normal, and overall that's a savings of $20 for all for kids, so it's a pretty good deal.  I never found them for the older kids, so I gave up and went to find my husband.  This was a little after midnight.

He was in the back of the store, in gardening in LINE.  Oh.  MY.  GAWD.  I get back there and he has a $200 Kitchen Aid mixer in his cart.  I gave him a funny look because that item is NOT on our Christmas budget this year.  He smiled and pointed to a smiling gray haired man behind him in line and explained that he was sharing his cart with this fellow.  (We later found out his name was Bob.)

So there we were.  Me, my husband and Bob.  We stood there for about forty five minutes and the line was not moving at all.  I finally decided to go see what was up.  What I found was a complete and total traffic jam of carts all merging into one huge line.  People were just squishing their way into the pile and there was really NO real line.  I saw this and KNEW we'd never get out of there, so I started searching for a new line right away.  I found one that was in the gift bag aisle and I could see the register from there.  I quickly texted my husband to come find me.  He couldn't find me but ended up one aisle over in the cards.  I walked over and found him and Bob there.

Bob had found that line, went and found my husband because a nice lady saved his spot, and we all went into it.  Bob was with us for the long haul.  Our line quickly began to slow down.  Some lady at the register was causing a stink.  The manager light began to flash and the poor cashier looked like a deer in headlights.  This went on for what felt like forever.  They finally got a new cashier and the line began to move.  We were one cart away from the register and the lady in front of us saw our bike and asked how much it was.  We told her and she had that pained look on her face that she wanted one.  I told her "they are just right over there" (I could see them from where I stood).  I said "hurry, go get one".  She ran over there and grabbed the exact same bike as me.  We checked out, shook hands with Bob and said our tearful goodbyes...

Finally at 1:45am we were DONE with Wal-Mart.  We were both fading, and starving so I gave in and let my husband go to the Waffle House to eat.  (I usually don't like these places because they are dirty and scare me, but their bathroom HAD to be better than Wal-Marts bathroom and it WAS.  That's saying A LOT).

We got out of Waffle House about 2:30 and went to Toys R Us because we had time to kill.  We didn't buy anything there, just walked around.  We grabbed some coffee, and hunkered down in our warm truck in the back of Target parking lot and waited.  The line was wrapped around the store.  People had TENTS.  I wasn't about to get into that craziness for the few items I wanted.  We waited until the store opened and the line moved and we went up there.  At 3:55 "Eye of the Tiger" came on the radio...fate?  It possibly was.  It was like we had our own personal little soundtrack.  We were pumped, we were ready.  4:00am the doors opened and we filed out of our car towards the store.  Ran into the same friend that I saw in Wal-Mart on the way!  We got into Target a little after 4am.  My husband headed for the toys for one item, while I went to electronics for two other items.  We found all three items on our list and were checked out by 4:20.  Target was a dream compared to Wal-Mart.  We had successfully gotten everything on our list for the day and decided to head home.

We had gotten everything that we came for!  Total score.  We are the kings of BF shopping.

So here is what I learned:  Mob mentality CAN and WILL get the best of you.  Don't give into it.  Stay calm and you will most likely end up getting what you were after.  You have to go in there though with the notion that you MAY not get what you are after and that is OK.  You have to be QUICK and savvy, but you don't have to be rude.  People out there are also pretty nice and willing to help you, there is just a sense of camaraderie when you are out at that hour with people all on the same mission.  This whole experience was SUCH a trip.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

Sigh

Ok.  Take a deep breath.  Count to ten.

(From my daughters room) "I want to watch Max and RUBEEEEE!"

Stop crying.  Stop crying.  Stop crying.

She stopped!

Nope.  She's at it again.  I guess she was just taking a breath.

I believe she has gotten louder.

Can you tell it's been one of those days?  I know, I spend quite a bit of time on here venting.  Most people must take me for an angry person, and I guess I am to some degree.  It's not that I'm angry as much as I have a VERY short fuse.

I ventured to the dreaded Wal-Mart today to try and fix that pesky overcharge that I was speaking of in my previous blog.  I stood in line for 20 minutes at customer service, then it took them another 10 to try and figure out how to give me the return.  I finally get my $14 back (which I'm beginning to think was NOT worth the hassle) and get my items.  I then go to the "express" lane.  This takes 30 minutes, because the cashier at the register was handed a gift card that was worth $15.  The cashier thought the guy said to PUT $15 on it.  He did not say that.  I heard him loud and clear.  So then it takes another 40 employees to come over and figure out how to fix this faux pas.

I swear, one day I'm gonna snap and burn that place down.

So, I get home at 2:45 and my two year old has not had a nap.  She is in thermo-nuclear meltdown right now.  I just realized that I have to go pick up my kids from school in an hour (I normally don't pick them up, they ride the bus but I have to pick up cinnamon rolls for my daughters fundraiser).  So trying to get my two year old to nap is almost futile since I have to leave in less than 45 minutes.

I love my kids, and I do love Christmas, but I've had just about enough Holiday "cheer" this season.  I'm turing into the Grinch, and I'm ready for it to be over.  There are only so many lines, so many pine needles on my floor, only so much pushing, shoving, rudeness, and bad customer service that a human being can handle.

This is SO NOT what Christmas is about, and frankly, I'm tired of it.

Girls Weekend

So, my hubby, brother in law and my son packed up yesterday and went on a backpacking / camping trip in Tahlina, OK, which he has been VERY excited about all week long.  He asked me "you sure you don't want to go?".  No thanks, I'll be fine here with my air conditioning, soft mattress, meals that ARE NOT freeze dried, and water I don't have to filter in order to drink.

So, this was just a girls weekend.  Myah was excited because she has been begging for a girls weekend.  So, we started the afternoon off with a little nap, then off to Cici's for pizza, then a stop by Braums to get some ice cream for the evening.  We came home and did some make up while my dog almost hung himself (not kidding here, he got himself noosed around the staircase.  If I had gone downstairs 1 minute later the dog would have been dead.  My wood on my staircase now has claw marks embedded on it and the poor dog peed and pooped himself...it was REALLY sad, poor doggie).

Anyhow, after I saved our dogs life for the millionth time (not kidding I can devote a whole blog to just this dog), I came back upstairs and taught Myah how to shave her legs (wow, she is growing up SO fast I can't believe it).  Talk about a girlie weekend.

We then stuffed ourselves on ice cream while watching girlie movies.

We got up this morning early to try and make it to Old Navy by 9am when they opened for their $1 flip flop sale.  We made it there around 9:15.  I saw my cousin coming out of the store and I yelled out my window and waved.  I'm not used to doing stuff like this, I usually avoid the crowds, but I thought it would be a neat experience.  We parked at THE VERY BACK of the parking lot and walked in.  I immediately regretted not bringing in the stroller.  The store was wall to wall people.  It took us about 20 minutes to find our colors and sizes then we went for the line.  The line wrapped around the back of the store, then circled back around half way to the front it was so long.  I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it, but I was in too deep to back down now.  I was sweating bullets and holding a two year old (and I'm pregnant).  While I was in line I sent Myah to the front of the store to wait for someone to check out that had a cart and bring it to me so I could deposit Evie into the cart.  The line took about 30 minutes which wasn't bad considering there were nearly 500 people in line (I'm NOT kidding).  Myah and I each got 5 pairs of flip flops and we headed out of the store at about 10:05.

We then headed to the mall for some shopping.  I picked up some beach balls at Disney store that were 40% off, and books at Borders were buy one get one free on some, and discounted books on others, so I got some good deals at the mall!  We then headed to Snip-It's to get Evie a haircut.  She looked so cute with a little bow and sparkles in her hair when she was all done!  Then I dropped Myah off at a birthday party and it was 2pm so I stopped by Sonic for half price drinks at happy hour!

Hubby sent me a photo text of Brett wading in the lake.  I talked to him for a minute before his phone cut out.  They were wading in a creek looking for bugs.  I think I got the better end of the deal as far as weekends go!  I'll take my girlie weekend!

Coupon Mom

I have once again became the coupon mom.  I did it for quite some time, but got too busy with school, but now I'm back!  I was using them just at Crest for a while, but Homeland does double coupons up to two dollars.  Homeland was always more pricy than Crest so I just never figured it was worth the hassle.  I was WRONG.  

I made my first homeland trip the other day.  My total came to $45 (this was after store discounts).  Then she started scanning my coupons.  The price came down to $24 for all you see in the photo here.  This is all name brand stuff.  Some of it ended up being free after coupons.  

Here is what I got if you can't see it in the photo:

• Kraft Miracle Whip
  
• Kraft Mayo
  
• Two Oscar Meyer Bologna
  
• Velvetta Cheese
  
• Velvetta Shells and Cheese
  
• 2 Kraft Easy Mac's
  
• 2 Velvetta Easy Mac's
  
• 4 Jello Puddings
  
• Rits Bits w/Cheese
  
• Cool Whip
  
• 2 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressings
  
• 1 Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing
  
• 3 Two Liters of Dr. Pepper
  
• Lipton Tea Bags (24 count)
  
• A1
  
• Lea and Pearlmans Worchestire Sauce
  
• Kraft BBQ Sauce
  
• Premium Saltine Crackers
  

The game is to use the coupons when the items are on sale and at their lowest price.  Now, this is normally REALLY hard to track, but I enrolled in a site called Consumer Queen.  On their message boards other people post deals they have seen around town.  This is for ALL grocery stores, drug stores, etc...they post what coupons to use and when.

Now, I have gone a step further.  I buy two Sunday papers, double the coupons, so I can stockpile when the price is SUPER low.  Anyhow, this info was just too good NOT to share it.  

Now I'm off to the grocery store again, because the new ad came out yesterday!  I can't wait to see what my savings are!

My Typical Little Man

I noticed that Old Navy was having some good sales, and the weather was too nice to stay inside so I decided to go out shopping.

Now my oldest girl (the one who likes to shop) went down to Texas to visit some family there for spring break, so I only had the two year old and my 7 year old boy with me.  Still, he needed some t-shirts and some flip flops, so I was looking forward to picking out some shoes and shirts with him.

I quickly realized that he is your typical male.  He is following me around the store with a painful expression on his face.  You ladies know it.  That "OMG how much longer are we going to be in here look".

He could care less what shirts I pick out for him, or what flip flops.  Finally after much persuasion he reluctantly comes over and takes off his shoe to try on some flip flops.  He grabs the first pair he sees, this awful looking orange and black pair.  (There are several pairs MUCH cooler than these).  He tries them on and exclaims "they fit" and throws them into the cart.  I ask him "Brett, don't you want to look for some others?"  I begin pointing out all the different colors and styles that they have.  He barely glances my way "No, those are fine".  

I go to the fitting room and leave him right outside the door while I try on a few items.  I come back out and make one last swoop by the boys section and say "now Brett, are you SURE those are the flip flops that you want?".  He gives me a bit of a growl at this point.  Ok, I'll leave it alone.  

I ADORE shopping for my kids.  I get so much joy in being able to give them things, even if it is just little things.  He sucked every last bit of fun out of my shopping experience.  (Sigh)  At least Evie was excited to try on and buy herself a pair of flip flops.  That was my saving grace for the day.

My Furniture Shopping Nightmare

So, hubby and I got a check in the mail the other day to our surprise, and hubby looks at me and says a phrase ALL women love to hear "do you want to go buy some furniture with this money?". I  was more than ecstatic, I was overjoyed that I get to spend my day browsing for NEW furniture.  

So, I bounced out of bed on Saturday morning (nothing short of a miracle for me), singing the "Mathis Brothers" jingle while I showered and got ready.    I left the house giddy, ready for a day of picking out new furniture.

Now, first of all I've never been to Mathis Brothers before.  So walking in there was like a kid walking into Disneyland for the first time.  They have a cafe, coffee shop, and two huge levels of wall to wall furniture.  Someone walk in there on any given Saturday and try and convince me there is a recession going on in this country...it was a madhouse.

My bubble was busted pretty quick.  We spend about an hour in Mathis Brothers (with a salesguy hot on our tails), and found some stuff that would work, but wanted to look around at other stores, we came to realize quickly that there is no other store than Mathis Brothers.  We went to other smaller stores, finding out they had not only the same furniture there, but they have been BOUGHT OUT by Mathis Brothers, so you are still under their umbrella.  Store after store it was the same thing.  You see, they have become the Wal-Mart of furniture shopping.  They are huge, have the LOWEST prices for the best quality, and their customer service is TERRIBLE.  You have no choice but to shop there though.  

So, we went back to Mathis Brothers to get our furniture.  Being the nice people we are we asked for our same sales guy (since we obviously know after him following us around drooling on us like a puppy dog that they work on commission).  They sent the wrong guy up at first.  Then ten minutes later the right guy comes along.  He is finishing an order for another customer, he told us to go on up to the dining room tables and pick out some chairs and he would meet us there shortly. (Side note:  I didn't like the chairs that they had paired with my table, so I wanted different ones).  So I go upstairs and play musical chairs for 20 minutes until I find the perfect match that is NOT leather on the cushion.  Our sales guy is STILL not there.  The kids are restless, Evie is running all over the store.  We wait....and wait...and wait.  45 minutes later he shows up.  He looks at the chairs I picked out and said "you can't have those, they are part of a set and I can't break them up."  I saw red.  If my sales guy would have been there to move chairs and help me with my purchase, I would have not picked those chairs, now I had my heart set on them and nothing else would work.  I walked away.  I would not buy it from Mathis Brothers (they had the same table at another store).  I still wanted it though.  I wanted those chairs.  They were perfect.  I found a manager.  He wouldn't help.  He didn't care.  I wanted to revert to my childhood and start screaming and rolling on the floor "But I WAAAANNNT it".  

We left Mathis Brothers.  We were SO done with them.  We tried a few more stores, still nothing we liked as much.  We went home, sad, defeated.

The next morning, we woke up and decided to go back to Rooms 2 Go and get the table there, and hopefully find a sofa that would work as well. We went after church, no crowds, same furniture, same prices (since they are owned by Mathis Brothers - a.k.a. Oklahoma royalty).  It took us about 30 minutes, we loaded it in our truck and left.  Voila, no huge issues.  No hassle.  No Mathis Brothers.  

My chairs are on backorder, we will have them in three weeks, but below you can see my gorgeous table, chair, and love seat.

So, if my hubby comes and asks me in the next six months if I want to go furniture shopping, I will give him a HUGE "hell no".