We lost the coupon notebook.
We had it last night at the grocery store and now we do not. I am heartbroken thinking of all of the coupons and rainchecks I had in there. I had tons and tons of diaper rainchecks that were half off (close to 100) and other staples too. I spent hours getting all the coupons, organizing the notebook and collecting rainchecks. All that work gone.
Can I equip my coupon with GPS technology?
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Costs to Adopt
It costs a staggering amount of money to adopt. It can be as little as a couple thousand dollars to adopt a child in the foster care system or up to sixty thousand dollars. Yep, $60,000. That's a lotta money.
So what are all the fees for? (I'm mostly talking about the fees for a domestic adoption that is not through the foster care system. Some of the fees overlap to other types of adoption, but not all.)
The first thing you need is a homestudy. As near as I can figure this is a social worker meeting with the potential adoptive family and touring their home to make sure that they have "a suitable environment to raise a child". Actually, it's several meetings and a bunch of paperwork. Fingerprints, criminal record checks, medical clearances and that sort of thing. This cost $1000-$1500 or so.
If you decide to use an adoption consultant their fees are generally $2000-$3000.
The adoption consultant is the person who looks out for the interests of the adoptive parents and helps to guide them through the process.
Then there are the fees to the adoption agency. This is a huge chunk of the cost to adopt. My understanding is about $13,000-$15,000. Gulp! Did you know that agencies work in the best interest of the birth parents? Now, don't get me wrong, I am glad that there is someone protecting their interests I just have a lot of trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I am paying that much money to someone who isn't even looking out for my best interest. I was really surprised to find out what these fees cover. Can you guess? Advertising. All that money for advertising. Whew.
Birth mother expenses. This varies a lot. It totally depends on the situation and what the birth mother needs. Anything from maternity clothes, to medical bills to rent so she has somewhere to live. These fees could be minor or thousands and thousands of dollars.
And then there are the expenses involved in actually going to pick up the child from whereever he or she is born. When you adopt a newborn in the US the adoptive parents go to the hospital where the baby is going to be born or is already born. After the birth mother signs away her parental rights and the child is discharged from the hospital the adoptive parents can take the child with them. But until the state the child was born in and the state the adoptive parents live in get on the same page, the adoptive parents cannot leave the state with their child. So this is usually about two weeks in a hotel, plus airfare and any other travel expenses.
The cost is overwhelming. There are no guarantees. We could spend thousands of dollars and still not have another child. I cannot think of a single way to raise the kind of cash needed to make this happen. Well, I could think of a couple of ways but other than winning the lottery none of them are legal.
So we are at a crossroad. Do we go for it? Do we wait until we can save more money? Do I get a job to help with the expenses? There don't seem to be any good answers. There sure as heck aren't any easy answers.
So what are all the fees for? (I'm mostly talking about the fees for a domestic adoption that is not through the foster care system. Some of the fees overlap to other types of adoption, but not all.)
The first thing you need is a homestudy. As near as I can figure this is a social worker meeting with the potential adoptive family and touring their home to make sure that they have "a suitable environment to raise a child". Actually, it's several meetings and a bunch of paperwork. Fingerprints, criminal record checks, medical clearances and that sort of thing. This cost $1000-$1500 or so.
If you decide to use an adoption consultant their fees are generally $2000-$3000.
The adoption consultant is the person who looks out for the interests of the adoptive parents and helps to guide them through the process.
Then there are the fees to the adoption agency. This is a huge chunk of the cost to adopt. My understanding is about $13,000-$15,000. Gulp! Did you know that agencies work in the best interest of the birth parents? Now, don't get me wrong, I am glad that there is someone protecting their interests I just have a lot of trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I am paying that much money to someone who isn't even looking out for my best interest. I was really surprised to find out what these fees cover. Can you guess? Advertising. All that money for advertising. Whew.
Birth mother expenses. This varies a lot. It totally depends on the situation and what the birth mother needs. Anything from maternity clothes, to medical bills to rent so she has somewhere to live. These fees could be minor or thousands and thousands of dollars.
And then there are the expenses involved in actually going to pick up the child from whereever he or she is born. When you adopt a newborn in the US the adoptive parents go to the hospital where the baby is going to be born or is already born. After the birth mother signs away her parental rights and the child is discharged from the hospital the adoptive parents can take the child with them. But until the state the child was born in and the state the adoptive parents live in get on the same page, the adoptive parents cannot leave the state with their child. So this is usually about two weeks in a hotel, plus airfare and any other travel expenses.
The cost is overwhelming. There are no guarantees. We could spend thousands of dollars and still not have another child. I cannot think of a single way to raise the kind of cash needed to make this happen. Well, I could think of a couple of ways but other than winning the lottery none of them are legal.
So we are at a crossroad. Do we go for it? Do we wait until we can save more money? Do I get a job to help with the expenses? There don't seem to be any good answers. There sure as heck aren't any easy answers.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Cutting Hair at Home
I started cutting Doodlebug’s hair when he was about 6 months old. He had this little patch on the top of his head that was about 3 inches long. It was very cute until he got fitted for his helmet. It stuck out and he looked like a rooster, and not in a flattering way. So we went to Target, bought a mustache trimmer and started trimming.
I bought a mustache trimmer instead of a hair clipper because it was smaller and I wanted to have more control over it. It turned out to be the perfect size.
Since Doodlebug was not yet sitting up on his own I stripped him to his diaper, put him in his Bumbo and started clipping away. He did great, never even flinched. Not that he was still, he squirmed away but never even noticed what I was doing with his hair.
I started with the longest setting on the trimmer and for this haircut that was all I needed. Now that he has more hair to work with, I leave it a little longer on top and trim the sides a little bit shorter. And just a helpful tip, if you put the trimmer down during the haircut always make sure that the guard is still on the setting you thought it was. I don’t know this from experience. And especially not the experience of moving the guard from the longest setting to the shortest one without noticing the day before his first birthday. Because I would never do that. Oh no, I would never do anything like that.
Now when I get ready to cut his hair I put an Elmo DVD in and sit him on a large towel in the family room. It works great. He is mesmerized by Elmo and I just buzz around him trimming him up.
I am linking up to We are THAT Family and the Works for me Wednesday posts.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Frugal Gift Giving-Stop Giving Gifts
The easiest and most economical way to deal with gift giving is to stop giving gifts. I know, sounds so simple, but it is so hard.
I hate that Christmas is so focused on gift giving. I never know what to ask for. I often don’t have any good ideas for other people and I spend lots of time running around town trying to find presents, wrap them and get them where they need to go. Instead of celebrating the peace and joy of Christmas, I end up boycotting Walmart (have you seen their lines in December???), trying to find parking spots at other stores and griping about having to go out in the cold. I wanted something different, something better.
The economy was hard on several members of our family this past year so we broached the subject of cutting back on Christmas gifts. We suggested only giving gifts to the kids, each adult picking another one’s name out of a hat or having a ‘dirty Christmas’. This is the game where every person brings a wrapped gift under a set price limit (usually about $20). Everyone draws a number out of a hat. The person with the lowest number gets to pick and unwrap the first gift. The next person can either take the first person’s gift or get one from under the tree. It can be a lot of fun with some gifts being passed from person to person throughout the entire game.
Our family chose to just give gifts to the adults this year. Suddenly our Christmas list was cut in half. It was much easier financially as well as logistically. I found that since I didn’t have to go out and buy and wrap so many gifts I had more time to do the things I enjoy at Christmastime. I baked cookies, sat by the fire and decorated our tree with my guys. I really hope this is a tradition our family carries out year after year.
I hate that Christmas is so focused on gift giving. I never know what to ask for. I often don’t have any good ideas for other people and I spend lots of time running around town trying to find presents, wrap them and get them where they need to go. Instead of celebrating the peace and joy of Christmas, I end up boycotting Walmart (have you seen their lines in December???), trying to find parking spots at other stores and griping about having to go out in the cold. I wanted something different, something better.
The economy was hard on several members of our family this past year so we broached the subject of cutting back on Christmas gifts. We suggested only giving gifts to the kids, each adult picking another one’s name out of a hat or having a ‘dirty Christmas’. This is the game where every person brings a wrapped gift under a set price limit (usually about $20). Everyone draws a number out of a hat. The person with the lowest number gets to pick and unwrap the first gift. The next person can either take the first person’s gift or get one from under the tree. It can be a lot of fun with some gifts being passed from person to person throughout the entire game.
Our family chose to just give gifts to the adults this year. Suddenly our Christmas list was cut in half. It was much easier financially as well as logistically. I found that since I didn’t have to go out and buy and wrap so many gifts I had more time to do the things I enjoy at Christmastime. I baked cookies, sat by the fire and decorated our tree with my guys. I really hope this is a tradition our family carries out year after year.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Frugal Gift Baskets
I’ve talked about making gift baskets. This is one of my favorite ways to give gifts. It’s a great way to stretch a gift budget without being obvious about it or having a skimpy looking gift.
A movie themed gift basket is pretty easy, usually a winner and easily customizable for just about anyone. Here’s how to do it.
Decide on the main part of the gift. Are you giving a gift certificate to Blockbuster, gift passes to a movie theatre or a favorite DVD? This is where the bulk of money on the gift will be spent.
Next you need to find a container to put your gift in. For a movie gift I really like to put them in popcorn containers that you can typically find at the Dollar Store.
Now, what kinds of other movie type things can you find to fill out your basket? Some of my favorites are candy, popcorns or sodas. In the past couple of weeks I have been able to get both candy bars and popcorn for free at some local stores. If you don’t have any freebies handy, you could buy both of these at the Dollar Store or a bag of unpopped popcorn is an inexpensive option.
Other gift theme ideas:
A an easy kid’s gift this time of year would be to buy a beach bucket and fill it with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, bouncy balls, small books, sand shovel, blow up beach toys and towels that expand in water. (I see these towels routinely at the Dollar Store. They are a little smaller than a deck of cards and expand to a full sized towel in water. Kids think they’re cool.) The buckets can be dressed up with stickers to personalize it with things the child likes. And a balloon tied to the bucket handle is almost sure to be a hit as well.
You could adapt the beach bucket idea for a baby shower as well. Instead of toys add baby wash, wash cloths or towels, lotions, wipes, baby Q-tips, diaper rash cream, and finger nail clippers.
Have you ever gone to look at someone’s wedding registry and there is almost nothing there that’s under $100?
If there are any cooking gadgets left you could try a food themed basket. Spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce placed in a colander could be a good gift as well. Depending on how much you would like to do you could include a stirring spoon, dish towels, oven mitts or an apron.
Another option could be a bath basket. Buy a towel or washcloth (or as many as your budget will allow). Other accessories that you could add to the basket could be soaps, lotions, nail brushes, bath pillows or body sponges. I’ve seen all of these items at the Dollar Store or you might even have some sample sized soaps tucked away that would be appropriate. You have some options to wrap this gift. You could buy an inexpensive bath trash can, a basket at Goodwill or simply roll the towels, tie with a ribbon and tuck in the accessories.
A coffee lover might appreciate a mug with a selection of sample coffees and hot chocolates. Tuck the samples inside the mug and it is its’ own gift basket.
Once you have your gift picked out, arranged in its basket (or mug, or bucket, or colander…) you will probably want to wrap it. Sometimes it’s simple to just to pop the array in a gift bag, but often that just makes the gift look like a bundle of ‘stuff’. Not what we’re going for here. Typically what I do is buy large rolls of transparent gift wrap. It looks a lot like a roll of Saran Wrap the size of a roll of wrapping paper. It’s often on sale right after Christmas. Clear is always in season and often plain colors can be used year round. Unroll a section of the wrap, place the gift in the center and cut the wrap long enough so you can pull both sides up above your package and secure them with curly ribbon and voila, it's a gift basket.
A movie themed gift basket is pretty easy, usually a winner and easily customizable for just about anyone. Here’s how to do it.
Decide on the main part of the gift. Are you giving a gift certificate to Blockbuster, gift passes to a movie theatre or a favorite DVD? This is where the bulk of money on the gift will be spent.
Next you need to find a container to put your gift in. For a movie gift I really like to put them in popcorn containers that you can typically find at the Dollar Store.
Now, what kinds of other movie type things can you find to fill out your basket? Some of my favorites are candy, popcorns or sodas. In the past couple of weeks I have been able to get both candy bars and popcorn for free at some local stores. If you don’t have any freebies handy, you could buy both of these at the Dollar Store or a bag of unpopped popcorn is an inexpensive option.
Other gift theme ideas:
A an easy kid’s gift this time of year would be to buy a beach bucket and fill it with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, bouncy balls, small books, sand shovel, blow up beach toys and towels that expand in water. (I see these towels routinely at the Dollar Store. They are a little smaller than a deck of cards and expand to a full sized towel in water. Kids think they’re cool.) The buckets can be dressed up with stickers to personalize it with things the child likes. And a balloon tied to the bucket handle is almost sure to be a hit as well.
You could adapt the beach bucket idea for a baby shower as well. Instead of toys add baby wash, wash cloths or towels, lotions, wipes, baby Q-tips, diaper rash cream, and finger nail clippers.
Have you ever gone to look at someone’s wedding registry and there is almost nothing there that’s under $100?
If there are any cooking gadgets left you could try a food themed basket. Spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce placed in a colander could be a good gift as well. Depending on how much you would like to do you could include a stirring spoon, dish towels, oven mitts or an apron.
Another option could be a bath basket. Buy a towel or washcloth (or as many as your budget will allow). Other accessories that you could add to the basket could be soaps, lotions, nail brushes, bath pillows or body sponges. I’ve seen all of these items at the Dollar Store or you might even have some sample sized soaps tucked away that would be appropriate. You have some options to wrap this gift. You could buy an inexpensive bath trash can, a basket at Goodwill or simply roll the towels, tie with a ribbon and tuck in the accessories.
A coffee lover might appreciate a mug with a selection of sample coffees and hot chocolates. Tuck the samples inside the mug and it is its’ own gift basket.
Once you have your gift picked out, arranged in its basket (or mug, or bucket, or colander…) you will probably want to wrap it. Sometimes it’s simple to just to pop the array in a gift bag, but often that just makes the gift look like a bundle of ‘stuff’. Not what we’re going for here. Typically what I do is buy large rolls of transparent gift wrap. It looks a lot like a roll of Saran Wrap the size of a roll of wrapping paper. It’s often on sale right after Christmas. Clear is always in season and often plain colors can be used year round. Unroll a section of the wrap, place the gift in the center and cut the wrap long enough so you can pull both sides up above your package and secure them with curly ribbon and voila, it's a gift basket.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Storing Your Frugal Gifts Purchases
If you are giving frugal gifts you will be on the lookout for gifts all year round. When you get them home you need a system to store them so you can find all your good buys when you need a gift. In our home we designated a dresser drawer for all of our gift finds. The most frugal gift will do you no good if it gets broken or if you can’t find it when you need it. If you don’t have an extra drawer you could put a box in a closet or a shelf in the laundry room.
One other thing we do is keep a list of gifts we have that are intended for specific people. I bought some stickers for Doodlebug’s stocking for Christmas this year at last year’s Christmas clearance sales. I made a note in my notebook that looks like this
Doodlebug * Stickers * Stored with Christmas decorations * $.64
I know who it’s for, what it is, where it’s stored and how much I spent. That way I will remember to give everyone everything I bought and not break the budget by buying more stuff than I thought. When you do Christmas shopping over the course of a year it’s really easy to forget what you have and you can go over budget by buying duplicate items or more than you really need.
One other thing we do is keep a list of gifts we have that are intended for specific people. I bought some stickers for Doodlebug’s stocking for Christmas this year at last year’s Christmas clearance sales. I made a note in my notebook that looks like this
Doodlebug * Stickers * Stored with Christmas decorations * $.64
I know who it’s for, what it is, where it’s stored and how much I spent. That way I will remember to give everyone everything I bought and not break the budget by buying more stuff than I thought. When you do Christmas shopping over the course of a year it’s really easy to forget what you have and you can go over budget by buying duplicate items or more than you really need.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Frugal Gift Giving From Unusual Sources
Look for gifts in unusual places. Some of my favorite odd places to gift shop are Goodwill, garage sales, grocery stores and the Dollar Store.
Now I know that some of you are thinking, Come on, what the heck can you buy at Good will and give as a gift? Who really wants a used t-shirt for Christmas?
But Goodwill is my favorite source of gift baskets. They almost always have one that’s the size I need at a price that can’t be beat. A lot of baskets aren’t ever used, so they appear to be new. And I love to make gift baskets, but if I have to pay $15 just for the basket there might not be a gift to go in it. Goodwill often has an interesting selection of glass containers too. They can be used as gift giving containers, vases for flowers, candle holders etc.
Garage sales are so variable I never know what I might find. I keep my eyes out for kid toys (for Doodlebug’s Christmas or birthday gifts), scrapbooking stuff and picture frames. Last year I was able to buy a huge box of mega blocks for $2.00 at a garage sale. This was Doodlebug’s Christmas gift; he mostly was interested in the wrapping paper anyway. I just found a cool looking bowl at a garage sale last week. I know just the person that would love to get it and so her birthday shopping is done. Here's a picture of the bowl.
I already mentioned using things you can get for free from the grocery store to make gift baskets. After a holiday grocery stores are often a great source of inexpensive items. Bags of candy are marked 50% off all the time just because the colors of the wrappers are considered seasonal. For example, after Christmas bags of Hershey’s kisses and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups are sold at a discount because the candies are wrapped in red, green, silver and gold. But the outer plastic bag is the only part that has a truly seasonal theme. Buy the candy, give all the gold ones to your dad for his birthday, give the red and silver ones at Valentine’s day and eat the green ones yourself. Win, win, win! I have also bought things like stuffed animals at grocery stores after Easter clearance. I was surprised to see stuffed dogs, turtles, frogs in addition to bunnies this year. They were all cute stuffed animals and were marked down 75%. I bought them to use for gifts for kids birthday parties since there was no indication that they were Easter.
I love The Dollar Store for finding little things for presents. One of my recent favorites is the Mylar balloons they sell there. They have a ton, they look so festive and Doodlebug just loves them. They last a month or so and then Doodlebug loves to play with the deflated balloon after that. This is what we gave out as favors for his birthday party and the kids loved it. They were also decorations during the party. It’s usually a bit hit and miss there, but I can usually find picture frames in a variety of sizes and I often popcorn containers like this one there. The popcorn containers may be in cardboard or in plastic, but both are the perfect containers for movie themed gift baskets.
Other dollar store purchases are mugs, scrapbooking stickers and paper, and bath accessories like sponges, good smelling soaps, and bath pillows.
Now I know that some of you are thinking, Come on, what the heck can you buy at Good will and give as a gift? Who really wants a used t-shirt for Christmas?
But Goodwill is my favorite source of gift baskets. They almost always have one that’s the size I need at a price that can’t be beat. A lot of baskets aren’t ever used, so they appear to be new. And I love to make gift baskets, but if I have to pay $15 just for the basket there might not be a gift to go in it. Goodwill often has an interesting selection of glass containers too. They can be used as gift giving containers, vases for flowers, candle holders etc.
Garage sales are so variable I never know what I might find. I keep my eyes out for kid toys (for Doodlebug’s Christmas or birthday gifts), scrapbooking stuff and picture frames. Last year I was able to buy a huge box of mega blocks for $2.00 at a garage sale. This was Doodlebug’s Christmas gift; he mostly was interested in the wrapping paper anyway. I just found a cool looking bowl at a garage sale last week. I know just the person that would love to get it and so her birthday shopping is done. Here's a picture of the bowl.
I already mentioned using things you can get for free from the grocery store to make gift baskets. After a holiday grocery stores are often a great source of inexpensive items. Bags of candy are marked 50% off all the time just because the colors of the wrappers are considered seasonal. For example, after Christmas bags of Hershey’s kisses and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups are sold at a discount because the candies are wrapped in red, green, silver and gold. But the outer plastic bag is the only part that has a truly seasonal theme. Buy the candy, give all the gold ones to your dad for his birthday, give the red and silver ones at Valentine’s day and eat the green ones yourself. Win, win, win! I have also bought things like stuffed animals at grocery stores after Easter clearance. I was surprised to see stuffed dogs, turtles, frogs in addition to bunnies this year. They were all cute stuffed animals and were marked down 75%. I bought them to use for gifts for kids birthday parties since there was no indication that they were Easter.
I love The Dollar Store for finding little things for presents. One of my recent favorites is the Mylar balloons they sell there. They have a ton, they look so festive and Doodlebug just loves them. They last a month or so and then Doodlebug loves to play with the deflated balloon after that. This is what we gave out as favors for his birthday party and the kids loved it. They were also decorations during the party. It’s usually a bit hit and miss there, but I can usually find picture frames in a variety of sizes and I often popcorn containers like this one there. The popcorn containers may be in cardboard or in plastic, but both are the perfect containers for movie themed gift baskets.
Other dollar store purchases are mugs, scrapbooking stickers and paper, and bath accessories like sponges, good smelling soaps, and bath pillows.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Frugal Gift Giving with Freebies
I use freebies as gifts. Some people think that’s tacky. Maybe it is. But it allows me to give bigger and better gifts that My rule is that I don’t give someone a gift just to use what’s in my stash of free stuff to give away. Usually the freebies I get become part of a larger present and are not the sole present itself.
Where do I find freebies and what sorts of things am I looking for? I am so glad you asked.
Local drugstores and shutterfly.com routinely have offers of free photo prints. All the grandparents are thrilled to receive pictures of Doodlebug and all we pay is a couple of dollars for shipping. If we can pick up the photos and skip the shipping costs, so much the better.
Free candy is another one that I have been seeing a lot of lately. When combining coupons with small candy sizes or sales I can often get candy for free or close to free. While 9¢ for a candy bar is not exactly free, it’s pretty close.
With coupons, sale prices and triple coupon days sometimes groceries can be free. While I wouldn’t normally give someone a gift of groceries some free pasta could become part of a spaghetti themed basket, for example. Other free groceries that could become part of a gift would be popcorn (movie gift basket), pasta sauce, candy, baby products, baking products and gum. Use your imagination and be creative with this. Some products like toothbrushes and toothpaste can make a great addition to gift packages for Operation Christmas Child or other charities.
Samples can be another source of freebies. These can be great to round out gift baskets. I have used baby product samples for baby shower gift baskets, hotel soaps (nice ones!) to dress up a simple wedding gift of towels and seeds to go in a gardening gift basket.
There are all sorts of ways to find out about these deals. Last week I found out about one because it printed on a Catalina coupon at my grocery store. Odd, but effective. Another good way is by signing up for emails from companies that provide the deals. The upside is you will always know about the deals, but the downside is that you will get a lot of extra and junk email. I have a separate email address for all of my coupon, email alerts and sales alerts. I usually check it weekly.
Another way to find out about freebies is by checking on local chat or message boards that feature frugal information. There is a mommy board locally that I frequent and often find out about deals that I would have never known existed. Some are freebies, others are just good local deals. Either way it helps out my bottom line.
Some of the drugstore chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid have websites that show how to pair coupons and sales to get deals that make some products free every week. This information is also available on other coupon sites such as couponmom.com. Other people have done the hard work of figuring out where the deals are, how to match up the coupons and some will even let you print personalized lists straight from the site to take to the stores with you. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Where do I find freebies and what sorts of things am I looking for? I am so glad you asked.
Local drugstores and shutterfly.com routinely have offers of free photo prints. All the grandparents are thrilled to receive pictures of Doodlebug and all we pay is a couple of dollars for shipping. If we can pick up the photos and skip the shipping costs, so much the better.
Free candy is another one that I have been seeing a lot of lately. When combining coupons with small candy sizes or sales I can often get candy for free or close to free. While 9¢ for a candy bar is not exactly free, it’s pretty close.
With coupons, sale prices and triple coupon days sometimes groceries can be free. While I wouldn’t normally give someone a gift of groceries some free pasta could become part of a spaghetti themed basket, for example. Other free groceries that could become part of a gift would be popcorn (movie gift basket), pasta sauce, candy, baby products, baking products and gum. Use your imagination and be creative with this. Some products like toothbrushes and toothpaste can make a great addition to gift packages for Operation Christmas Child or other charities.
Samples can be another source of freebies. These can be great to round out gift baskets. I have used baby product samples for baby shower gift baskets, hotel soaps (nice ones!) to dress up a simple wedding gift of towels and seeds to go in a gardening gift basket.
There are all sorts of ways to find out about these deals. Last week I found out about one because it printed on a Catalina coupon at my grocery store. Odd, but effective. Another good way is by signing up for emails from companies that provide the deals. The upside is you will always know about the deals, but the downside is that you will get a lot of extra and junk email. I have a separate email address for all of my coupon, email alerts and sales alerts. I usually check it weekly.
Another way to find out about freebies is by checking on local chat or message boards that feature frugal information. There is a mommy board locally that I frequent and often find out about deals that I would have never known existed. Some are freebies, others are just good local deals. Either way it helps out my bottom line.
Some of the drugstore chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid have websites that show how to pair coupons and sales to get deals that make some products free every week. This information is also available on other coupon sites such as couponmom.com. Other people have done the hard work of figuring out where the deals are, how to match up the coupons and some will even let you print personalized lists straight from the site to take to the stores with you. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Frugal Gift Giving
Lately we’ve been doing a lot of frugal gift shopping. We haven’t had a lot of gift giving occasions, but we have had a lot of good deals. I don’t wait until the last minute to find gifts, because the more time I have the more opportunities I have to find good deals.
Here are some of the best ways to cut gift giving costs.
1. Take advantage of freebies. This is one of the most economical ways to give gifts, but only if you are giving something that the other person really wants or needs.
2. Look for gifts in unusual places such as Goodwill, garage sales and grocery stores.
3. Maintain a gift shelf/closet/drawer. This is a place that I store all the gifts that have no specific recipient as well as gifts I have bought months in advance of needing them.
4. Make gift baskets. This is a great way to make an inexpensive gift look bigger or to unify several smaller gifts.
5. Stop giving gifts. This is hands down the most frugal option.
Giving gifts the frugal way certainly allows for more creativity than just your average gift. It also allows me to stockpile gifts, which comes in handy when we realize we need to have wrapped gift ready to go by 10:30 the next morning. At least that’s what I would think since that’s never happened to me. (You do believe me right?)
Collecting gifts ahead of time allows me to give nice gifts without violating my budget of $5 per kid for birthdays. Whenever I find a coupon for 20% off of any item for Gymboree I save it and use it to buy bubbles at the Gymboree store. After the coupon it is $4.80 and kids love it.
This little bubble wand blows hundreds of tiny bubbles which kids really love. It’s really sturdy and doesn’t take up much room which moms tend to like. And let’s face it, you can never have too many bubbles.
Come back and join me as I go through each of my five gift cutting cost strategies in greater detail and feel free to leave comments on how you save money on gift giving too.
Thanks to Kristen at wearethatfamily.com for hosting Works for me Wednesday on her blog. If you have never been to her site check it out, she has lots of great tips.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Teaching Babies Sign Language
I have always planned to teach my son a few sign language signs. Babies can sign much more easily than they can verbalize words. In fact, children being raised in a home where sign language is used can start to sign around 6 months of age.
My goal is to teach my son simple words so he can communicate a desire to eat, sleep, drink, use the bathroom…. If he is able to communicate his needs more clearly to me it will reduce the amount of frustration on everyone’s part.
One of the great things about using sign language is that you are able to take the child’s hands and move them to make the sign. It’s not possible to make a child repeat a sound after you. Sometimes the parent physically guiding the child to make the sign helps the child to understand what is expected of him or her.
We worked on this concept with Doodlebug for months on end. He just wasn’t getting it. He understood when I signed to him, but did not know what I wanted him to do. Finally one day he took my hands and guided me through signing the word “book”. Progress! Within a few more days he could sign “book” when I showed him the sign and verbally encouraged him to sign it. And a few days after that he started signing the word spontaneously.
He was reading books by himself shortly after that. He looked down at his book, signed “book” (to himself) and then picked it up and started to read. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
My goal is to teach my son simple words so he can communicate a desire to eat, sleep, drink, use the bathroom…. If he is able to communicate his needs more clearly to me it will reduce the amount of frustration on everyone’s part.
One of the great things about using sign language is that you are able to take the child’s hands and move them to make the sign. It’s not possible to make a child repeat a sound after you. Sometimes the parent physically guiding the child to make the sign helps the child to understand what is expected of him or her.
We worked on this concept with Doodlebug for months on end. He just wasn’t getting it. He understood when I signed to him, but did not know what I wanted him to do. Finally one day he took my hands and guided me through signing the word “book”. Progress! Within a few more days he could sign “book” when I showed him the sign and verbally encouraged him to sign it. And a few days after that he started signing the word spontaneously.
He was reading books by himself shortly after that. He looked down at his book, signed “book” (to himself) and then picked it up and started to read. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
How To Teach Your Baby To Drink Through A Straw
I have been wanting to teach Doodlebug to drink through a straw for a while now. But when I asked friends how they taught their kids to do this, they all said they didn’t know. Hmm…that’s not so helpful.
So in case anyone else is wondering, this is how I taught Doodlebug to drink through a straw.
Remember when you were a kid and you would dip your straw in your drink and put your index finger over the top? When you pulled your straw up out of the drink the liquid would stay in the straw until you took your finger off the top. This is exactly what you do. I drew up only a small amount of liquid and offered it to Doodlebug. When he closed his lips around the straw I took my finger off the top of the straw and let the liquid go.
Then I repeated this about 100 times. We did this after every bite of food 3 meals a day and one snack a day for about 4 days. As he got used to this I let him suck on the straw a bit to help draw out the liquid before releasing it.
After he had that down, we graduated to a juice box. I placed the straw in Doodlebug’s mouth and squirted a small amount in. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Once he could seemed comfortable with that I just let him suck on the straw and he figured the rest out on his own. We just moved him up to a slightly wider straw and keep on practicing.
Ta da! The whole process took less than a week.
So in case anyone else is wondering, this is how I taught Doodlebug to drink through a straw.
Remember when you were a kid and you would dip your straw in your drink and put your index finger over the top? When you pulled your straw up out of the drink the liquid would stay in the straw until you took your finger off the top. This is exactly what you do. I drew up only a small amount of liquid and offered it to Doodlebug. When he closed his lips around the straw I took my finger off the top of the straw and let the liquid go.
Then I repeated this about 100 times. We did this after every bite of food 3 meals a day and one snack a day for about 4 days. As he got used to this I let him suck on the straw a bit to help draw out the liquid before releasing it.
After he had that down, we graduated to a juice box. I placed the straw in Doodlebug’s mouth and squirted a small amount in. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Once he could seemed comfortable with that I just let him suck on the straw and he figured the rest out on his own. We just moved him up to a slightly wider straw and keep on practicing.
Ta da! The whole process took less than a week.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Big Week for Doodlebug
Doodlebug had a big week this week. If you will allow me to brag on my little boy for a moment....
First he learned how to drink out of a straw. Yay! He's been a bit behind in hitting his developmental milestones and one area we've really been struggling in is to get him to drink out of a sippy cup. He either could not or would not do it. I finally asked his speech and feeding therapist to tell me how to teach him to drink out of a straw. She gave me a couple of pointers and in less than a week he was doing it on his own.
We have been working to teach him sign language since September. That's eight months people. We want to teach him a few signs like "more", "finished", "eat" and "potty". Since he has no spoken words yet this would really help us out a lot if he could tell us some of these things. This week he finally got it! He only has one sign "book" but he uses it consistently and without prompting from us. He loves to read and we've been reading to him even more than usual this week.
And he took his first step. He's been pretty good about waiting to hit new milestones until both Chris and I are with him and he that for us again. One minute he was cruising along the ottoman and the next he let go and took a step towards me. What a sweet baby boy.
Dear Doodlebug,
I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished in one short week. It's so much fun to see you conquer new things. Remember, you are my favorite baby in the whole wide world.
Love you,
Mommy
First he learned how to drink out of a straw. Yay! He's been a bit behind in hitting his developmental milestones and one area we've really been struggling in is to get him to drink out of a sippy cup. He either could not or would not do it. I finally asked his speech and feeding therapist to tell me how to teach him to drink out of a straw. She gave me a couple of pointers and in less than a week he was doing it on his own.
We have been working to teach him sign language since September. That's eight months people. We want to teach him a few signs like "more", "finished", "eat" and "potty". Since he has no spoken words yet this would really help us out a lot if he could tell us some of these things. This week he finally got it! He only has one sign "book" but he uses it consistently and without prompting from us. He loves to read and we've been reading to him even more than usual this week.
And he took his first step. He's been pretty good about waiting to hit new milestones until both Chris and I are with him and he that for us again. One minute he was cruising along the ottoman and the next he let go and took a step towards me. What a sweet baby boy.
Dear Doodlebug,
I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished in one short week. It's so much fun to see you conquer new things. Remember, you are my favorite baby in the whole wide world.
Love you,
Mommy
Friday, May 14, 2010
Pizza in the Crock Pot Results
Doodlebug and I went out for a playdate today and when we came home the heavenly aroma of pizza filled the air. It was wonderful. I love to stick stuff in the crock pot and then come home to a great smelling house and dinner all made. Can't beat it!
And it tasted pretty good. Not exactly like pizza, but I have a feeling that had a lot to do with the fact I used spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce. Maybe next week I can get my act together and buy the correct ingredients to give this crock pot pizza a real trial run.
I think with a little more tweaking this recipe is gonna be a great one. It was super easy and I actually got to have pizza on pizza night.
And now I gotta run, a second helping is calling my name.
And it tasted pretty good. Not exactly like pizza, but I have a feeling that had a lot to do with the fact I used spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce. Maybe next week I can get my act together and buy the correct ingredients to give this crock pot pizza a real trial run.
I think with a little more tweaking this recipe is gonna be a great one. It was super easy and I actually got to have pizza on pizza night.
And now I gotta run, a second helping is calling my name.
Adoption-Here We Go
Remember those Fisher Price little people? I had those and I loved to play with them. I think I had about 20 or so and they all lived in a four room house. With no bathroom. I'm not sure how that worked, but I don't remember it being a problem.
I spent a lot of time playing with them and making up stories about their world and what they did. This is where I created my first adoptive family. Granted back then I was a little confused about the subject because I had triplet girls, two of whom I declared were adopted and one who was not.
I always knew I wanted to adopt and always thought I would adopt my kids. I never expected to give birth to a child, but life's full of twists, turns and surprises, and of course, my Doodlebug.
Going through pregnancy with Doodlebug was not a fun thing. At all. About 5 minutes after I got the positive pregnancy test I got queasy and it didn't stop until he was born. From May to January I fought to get down and keep down every single bite of food I ate. I was miserable and I am never doing that again.
So we are starting to get serious about adopting. We want to wait until Doodlebug is around 18 months old or so. That way if we get a child really quickly the kids will be at least 18 months apart. Any closer and I think I might lose my sanity. Well, I might lose it anyway, or it could be gone by now for all I know. My sanity I mean.
This past fall we went to an adoption expo and learned about Adoption Consultants. They are people who work for the potential adoptive parents. From what I understand their main purpose is twofold.
One they provide education. There is a lot to learn and navigate in the adoptive process. Domestic or international? What race(s) are you willing to accept? What age(s)? Will you accept a child whose mother used drugs? Which drugs? Recreationally or a hard core user? How do you market your family to a potential birth mother?
The second main purpose is to help you match up with a mother who is giving her baby up for adoption. Did you know that adoption agencies work for the birth parents only? I didn't. It is their interests that are being protected, not the potential adoptive parents. I had no clue.
So, we called two adoptive consultants today to make appointments. We need to know if it is realistic to think that we can adopt based on the budget we have. And where do we go from here?
I am excited. And terrified. After all, with a second child I'm going to be outnumbered during the day. Yikes! And I'm wondering about this little baby. Will we have a boy or a girl? When? What will his or her personality be like? By this time next year will our family be complete?
I spent a lot of time playing with them and making up stories about their world and what they did. This is where I created my first adoptive family. Granted back then I was a little confused about the subject because I had triplet girls, two of whom I declared were adopted and one who was not.
I always knew I wanted to adopt and always thought I would adopt my kids. I never expected to give birth to a child, but life's full of twists, turns and surprises, and of course, my Doodlebug.
Going through pregnancy with Doodlebug was not a fun thing. At all. About 5 minutes after I got the positive pregnancy test I got queasy and it didn't stop until he was born. From May to January I fought to get down and keep down every single bite of food I ate. I was miserable and I am never doing that again.
So we are starting to get serious about adopting. We want to wait until Doodlebug is around 18 months old or so. That way if we get a child really quickly the kids will be at least 18 months apart. Any closer and I think I might lose my sanity. Well, I might lose it anyway, or it could be gone by now for all I know. My sanity I mean.
This past fall we went to an adoption expo and learned about Adoption Consultants. They are people who work for the potential adoptive parents. From what I understand their main purpose is twofold.
One they provide education. There is a lot to learn and navigate in the adoptive process. Domestic or international? What race(s) are you willing to accept? What age(s)? Will you accept a child whose mother used drugs? Which drugs? Recreationally or a hard core user? How do you market your family to a potential birth mother?
The second main purpose is to help you match up with a mother who is giving her baby up for adoption. Did you know that adoption agencies work for the birth parents only? I didn't. It is their interests that are being protected, not the potential adoptive parents. I had no clue.
So, we called two adoptive consultants today to make appointments. We need to know if it is realistic to think that we can adopt based on the budget we have. And where do we go from here?
I am excited. And terrified. After all, with a second child I'm going to be outnumbered during the day. Yikes! And I'm wondering about this little baby. Will we have a boy or a girl? When? What will his or her personality be like? By this time next year will our family be complete?
Pizza in the Crock Pot
I am so excited I am practically shaking! Guess what's in my crock pot right now. You'll never guess. Okay, if you read my title you might guess.
Pizza! Yep, pizza.
Friday night is pizza night here. About half of the time what that means is that I skip dinner and my husband eats frozen pizza. It makes you want to come over for dinner doesn't it?
Sorry, I am a little punchy today.
The rest of the time I make my own gluten free pizza, but that gets time consuming and by Friday I just dont' ususally have the energy.
But this week when Stephanie posted a recipe for Puffy Pizza Casserole I knew what would be for dinner Friday.
For some reason I cannot leave a recipe alone. I have to modify it in some way, shape or form. And then when I went to make the recipe while Doodlebug was asleep I realized we were missing tomato sauce. And the rest was history. This is what I used.
1/2 jar Prego spaghetti sauce (1 lb 7.5 oz jar)
For the puffy topping
1 cup Jules Nearly Normal Flour Mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 T Good Season Italian Dressing dry mix
I used my 5 1/2 quart crock pot and layered the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of it. I mixed all the other ingredients and poured on top of the sauce. I took a spoon and spread the doughy mixture as evenly across the top as I could.
Want a peek? Here it is.
I cannot wait to try it for dinner tonight! I'll be back to let you know how it turned out.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
How To Start Eating Gluten Free-Traveling
Eating out is the area I struggle most in with eating gluten free. Well, and not being able to eat Krispy Kreme donuts. Or Oreos. But I digress….
I am very sensitive to gluten and I just don’t trust other people not to accidentally contaminate my food. I am always afraid that they will put my hamburger on a bun and then remember I ordered it without a bun and just take it off and serve it to me. I always wonder if chicken nuggets or onion rings have been cooked in the same fryer as the french fries.
When I was in the hospital to have Doodlebug I was offered fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, neither of which was gluten free, even though we specified all food had to be gluten free. My salad arrived with croutons on it too.
All said, I am very suspicious and always concerned when I have to eat out. I have found a couple of tricks that make traveling a little easier though.
Before going on any type of a road trip I make sure I know a few things I can eat at several fast food restaurants. I know I can walk into any Wendy’s order chili and a Frosty and my food should be gluten free. If I know things I can eat at several places it give me, and those traveling with me, a lot more choices. Most fast food places have menus that list food allergens online and I check these to make sure I am up to date. I have also printed out a few and stuck them in the car so I have the information when I need it. Although it’s available online I have not had much luck in getting this information while actually in a fast food restaurant.
I also make note of chain restaurants that have gluten free menus. Bonefish Grill, Carrabas, Outback Steakhouse and P.F. Changs all have gluten free menus if you ask for them. I personally feel more comfortable eating in places that have gluten free menus as the staff seems to be more knowledgeable of gluten and how to avoid it.
My other traveling trick is to carry my own food. I don’t always need it, but if I get caught somewhere I feel a lot better knowing that I have something that is safe for me to eat. In a restaurant a plain baked potato or a salad without croutons and dressed with vinegar and oil is usually available and is enough to get me through the meal, but I will probably want a little something later.
In my view, eating out is generally not worth the risk and I almost always choose to eat at home instead, but there are a lot of people who do eat out on a regular basis and are much more adept at explaining how to handle their food to the restaurant in such a way as to not contaminate it with gluten. If any of my readers fall into this category and have tips to add I would love to hear them.
I am very sensitive to gluten and I just don’t trust other people not to accidentally contaminate my food. I am always afraid that they will put my hamburger on a bun and then remember I ordered it without a bun and just take it off and serve it to me. I always wonder if chicken nuggets or onion rings have been cooked in the same fryer as the french fries.
When I was in the hospital to have Doodlebug I was offered fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, neither of which was gluten free, even though we specified all food had to be gluten free. My salad arrived with croutons on it too.
All said, I am very suspicious and always concerned when I have to eat out. I have found a couple of tricks that make traveling a little easier though.
Before going on any type of a road trip I make sure I know a few things I can eat at several fast food restaurants. I know I can walk into any Wendy’s order chili and a Frosty and my food should be gluten free. If I know things I can eat at several places it give me, and those traveling with me, a lot more choices. Most fast food places have menus that list food allergens online and I check these to make sure I am up to date. I have also printed out a few and stuck them in the car so I have the information when I need it. Although it’s available online I have not had much luck in getting this information while actually in a fast food restaurant.
I also make note of chain restaurants that have gluten free menus. Bonefish Grill, Carrabas, Outback Steakhouse and P.F. Changs all have gluten free menus if you ask for them. I personally feel more comfortable eating in places that have gluten free menus as the staff seems to be more knowledgeable of gluten and how to avoid it.
My other traveling trick is to carry my own food. I don’t always need it, but if I get caught somewhere I feel a lot better knowing that I have something that is safe for me to eat. In a restaurant a plain baked potato or a salad without croutons and dressed with vinegar and oil is usually available and is enough to get me through the meal, but I will probably want a little something later.
In my view, eating out is generally not worth the risk and I almost always choose to eat at home instead, but there are a lot of people who do eat out on a regular basis and are much more adept at explaining how to handle their food to the restaurant in such a way as to not contaminate it with gluten. If any of my readers fall into this category and have tips to add I would love to hear them.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Cleaning Small Vases
I love having fresh flowers in the house. I hate the clean up.
So I tend to leave them in the vases a little too long. Unfortunately this make clean up even worse.
Have you ever tried to clean the inside of one of those small vases? No bottle brush will fit down there. Shoving a paper towel inside with a chopstick seems like a good idea until it disintegrates inside the bottle and you have to figure out how to get all the little pieces of paper towel back out. And the paper towels don’t scrub too well anyway.
So here is the solution. It’s super easy, it’s quick and I had the stuff I needed on hand. Perfect!
Take a little bit of uncooked rice and pour it in the vase. Add a little water. Put your hand over the top of the vase and shake it. I found it worked best to hold the vase horizontally over the kitchen sink and swirl the water around in it. Pour the water and rice out and rinse. Voila! A clean vase.
The rice acts as a scrubby and does the hard cleaning work for you.
Come and check out all the other Works for me Wednesday tips on Kristen's blog. This post is also linked up to I Dream Of Clean.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Book Review-The $64 Tomato
I love good books. Going to the library is free and supplies me with endless amounts of entertainment. Of course, it’s tough to know which books are going to be the good ones, and which are not. I find myself trying to tell by the jacket covers. Sometimes it works, but not very often. I usually read a couple of sentences before I toss it in my bag to take home. If it start out “Blanch DeFrufru yearned for a new life. Little did she know that crossing paths with Lance Malcom, the handsome gardener would provide such a change for her.” I put it back. Every once in a while I find one I really enjoy. Some are quirky. Some are deep. And some are just fun reads.
I just read a great little book called The $64 Tomato. Actually the whole title to this book is The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden. I knew from the title I would have to read it.
I love people who kind of bumble around a bit in life, laugh and themselves and live to tell the tale. It comforts me to know that I’m not the only one. I love that at the end of this book I feel like I have seen Bill’s garden, sat with him in it and had a chat. And any guy who names his archenemy in the garden Superchuck feels like a friend to me. Because, why wouldn't you name the woodchuck who is systematically destroying your garden?
Oh, and just so you know, I linked to the book in Amazon. Not because I care if you buy it, or because I will make any money if you do (I won’t) but merely to make sure that I give you all the proper information so you can find the book. The full title, the author and all that jazz.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
How to Start Eating Gluten Free-Medical Providers
***Disclaimer: I am not a medical profession. These are my opinions and experiences only unless indicated otherwise in this article. Do not use this information in place of doing your own research on these issues.***
Until recently, med students were taught that Celiac disease was very, very rare. General practitioners expected to see approximately one patient with it in their lifetimes. The education they received about Celiac and eating gluten free was minimal at best. Now, Dr . Alession Fasano with the Center for Celiac Research says As many as 1 out of 133 people in the US have Celiac Disease. Of these 3 Million people in the US who have Celiac Disease it is estimated that 97% are undiagnosed. It is way more than the medical profession realized. And then you add in people who are gluten-intolerant or following a gluten free diet as part of a treatment for Autism or eating gluten free for any other health reasons and the numbers multiply exponentially.
That said I have to say I have been seriously underwhelmed at the knowledge within the medical community at large about Celiac disease and eating gluten free. Why you ask? Oh, let me share some of my experiences. Where to start….
When I started having GI symptoms over a prolonged period of time, I knew I had developed Celiac. I had several of the more classic symptoms and my mom has it, and Celiac does have a genetic component. I went to my primary care doctor, told her about my symptoms and family history and requested a blood test to begin the process of formal diagnosis. At first she told me I couldn’t have the test, I did not have Celiac. When I pressed her she told me my symptoms did not match with Celiac and that family history did not really play a role. What???????? I finally insisted she give me the blood test. She was surprised it was positive. I was not.
Just before I gave birth to my son my nurse called down to get me a dinner plate for after the delivery. When she told them I had to have gluten free food they told her I could pick from fried chicken or macaroni and cheese. Neither of those were gluten free. I was also served toast, croutons and oatmeal before I finally told them to just stop bringing me food. Thankfully we had thought ahead and brought some food from home with us so I knew it was gluten free.
A physician assistant working in at my gastroenterologist’s office told me medication never has gluten in it. Actually she laughed at me when I questioned whether she had verified a medication she was trying to give me had gluten in it and then told me that no drugs contain gluten. She was wrong.
My son’s pediatrician and my pharmacist were shocked to learn some medications do contain gluten.
If you are diagnosed with Celiac or decide to go on gluten free diet for any other reason know that you are going to have to be your own advocate. Know that you will have to do lots of research. Know that you will have to ask lots of questions and educate many people, some of whom will be in the medical field. It is frustrating, and can be exhausting. Right after being in labor for 12 hours, up for over 48 hours in a row, having just had a c-section and trying to learn to nurse was not when I wanted to educate the head of the department that prepares all the patients’ food. But that’s when the opportunity came, so I did.
I have actually found that in questioning medical professionals about being gluten free I can learn quite a lot about them and how they practice medicine.
My son’s pediatrician, who is wonderful, was very receptive to me bringing him information on research studies on Celiac. He also did some research on his own after I told him that some meds contain gluten. When he prescribed meds to my friend’s little boy (who is gluten free) a couple months later he mentioned to her that some meds do contain gluten and to have the pharmacist double check before filling the prescription.
I gave my son’s former gastroenterologist a summary of a research report on introducing gluten to kids who may have the gene for Celiac and he glanced at it, shoved it back at me and told me he would get all the information he needed at a conference that fall. I was pretty surprised because the study was the same information I had asked him about on our last visit, and he had no answers.
The pediatrician listens to patients, learns from patients and does research on things he does not know about. The gastroenterologist does not think patients can bring him any knowledge and that he already knows it all. I know which doc I want to work with and which one needs to go.
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