Getting Things Handled

Three months ago tomorrow my little guy came into the world and since then a flurry of insurance explanation of benefits and bills from my doctor and the hospital have arrived in my mailbox. Included were bills for a day-long stay I made a few days post-partum for some complications.

What a mess!

First of all, I had prepaid an estimated amount to both my doctor and the hospital in the previous months. But with both accounts neither had acknowledged this and I was being billed my portion after the insurance had been applied as if I had never given them a dime. And trying to read through the explanation of benefits and decipher the intricacies of the billing gave me a headache a while back so I simply collected each document in a folder and ignored it all.

I finally tackled the pile -- systematically sorting by dates of service. Today, I finally felt confident in calling the various accounts receivable departments to find out just what happened to my prepayments and what my final balances were.

End result: I'm getting a refund of about $200 overall!

Not only is this quite an unexpected bonus (likely to be put towards new tires on my car) but even better is the weight of the lingering nag notes and paperwork.

One less matter that I have to worry about was a nice jolt of freedom.

Morning All!

What a week this is turning into! Some of the highlights:

• The baby has started teething! Yikes. Early (just turning 3 months) but not unheard of. Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets already have become a godsend.
• I have started exercising again. Monday I hit the gym at lunch (the only real time to myself each work day) for 30 minutes on the elliptical. Tuesday I mowed the yard. Yesterday was a great walk pushing the little guy's stroller on a local walking trail.
• Tonight I leave work early for the monthly lab for my online Anatomy & Physiology class.
• My work computer took a dive but there is plenty there to keep me busy.

Whew! I've been going to bed not long after BG's hit the hay each night -- with his better sleeping I am getting enough rest which is key to sustaining a very busy schedule with a small child in the house.

That and ample amonts of coffee.

Giveaway #2 -- Pampering Package O' Goodies -- WINNER

From Random.org:

Here are your random numbers:

13 

Timestamp: 2008-09-29 14:43:09 UTC

Lucky # 13 -- the winner of the pampering goodies and a free book from PaperBackSwap is the mysteriously named gpd628. Congratulations!

An email has been sent and you have until tomorrow, 9am CDT to claim the prize or I will draw another name.

Also, big thanks to all that commented -- some great book recs in there and I plan to mine that list for future library trips!

UPDATE: I never heard from gpd628 so moving on to another winner:

Here are your random numbers:

     34 

Timestamp: 2008-09-30 15:44:27 UTC

Congrats JanetFaye! Email on it's way and you have until 11 am tomorrow CDT to respond.

Bumbo Seat Cover Giveaway @ Sweet Cheeks

My little guy is just starting to use his Bumbo a lot -- he loves to be sitting up watching the world...well the exciting world of our house anyway) -- and already I find that the rubbery material of the seat is a bit annoying.

Bumbo seat covers to the rescue! Boutique Sweet Cheeks is giving away any monogrammed Bumbo cover from their store. I find myself particulary drawn to this one:

Saturday Shopping -- Kroger

The weather is absolutely gorgeous today -- perfect blue sunny skies and temps in the 70's/low 80's. There was a crisp chill in the air this morning when I loaded BG up in the car for a trip to the library and Kroger.

After grabbing books for the both of us and a few DVD's to watch (Junebug and Hitchcock's classic Notorious), we headed over to Kroger. I knew there weren't too many deals to be had but my pantry and freezer are still fairly well stocked with meal basics after the stock-up trip two weeks ago.

My main goals for the trip were:

• Soy milk and fresh/frozen fruit to make smoothies this week in my new blender (birthday gift)!
• Perishables -- fruit, lettuce, milk
• Tortillas to make ahead a stash of breakfast burritos for easy breakfast on the go
• Pita bread and tuna for work lunches

Here's what I got for $34.09 :

I only used a few coupons but did grab some manager specials and other sales.

Highlights:

• Silk soy milk (vanilla, with fiber) for $2.79 closeout (last carton)
• Free toilet paper with $0.50 coupon
• Big bag of apples for $2.50
• Great catalinas after the fact including a $1.50 off Pampers and $2 off Folgers Gourmet Selections coffee

Did I say the total came to $34.09, a savings of 22% with sales and coupons?

Not exactly. I actually paid $37.09. When I got home and reviewed my receipt I found that I was charged twice for the bag of spinach, which had been on sale for $3.00. I've never gone back to a store to fix this kind of a problem, but I decided to call and see what could be done.

The manager said it would be no problem for me to bring the receipt in and get the money back for the item I did not buy. I haven't gone yet -- but will tomorrow. Had the overcharge been just a $1 or so, no doubt I would skip it. But $3 would negate the coupons I *did* used and honestly, money is tight enough right now that it's worth it for me to run over there tomorrow when I'm out.

Would you go back to a nearby store for $3?

Giveaway Roundup

Some great giveaways happening around the frugal/healthy/mommy blogosphere...

Gift cards and subscriptions

• Thrifty Mama is giving away a 2-year subscription to All You magazine -- chock full of great coupons each month
• $10 Amazon gift card from Financial Learn. Holidays and gift-buying are just around the corner...
• Free year at Pear Budget from Gidget Goes Home. I've been wanting to try this simple budgeting software for a while.
  

Kid's and Kid-friendly Products

• Want to try cloth diapers? Thrifty & Chic Mom is giving away a $50 gift certificate to FuzziBunzOnline!
• Over at Mamas Little Bears you can sign up to win some teething bling (jewelry that's safe for the little ones to gnaw on, very cute stuff!) from Smart Mom Jewelry
• Wash those little ones with a set of Kiss My Face for Kids natural products, from Common Sense with Money
• Have fun spending a $30 gift certificate to Wild Dill (earth-friendly toys and clothes for babies and kids) from Centsible Mommy
• Adorable Zosephine diaper bag from The Giveaway.
• Very cute onezies up for grabs for Soul-Flower over at Nurse Mommy (love the Bob Marley one!)
  

Homemade Household Products -- All-Purpose Cleaner

This is the first in an occasional series of posts about homemade household products that I, myself, have tried and use daily. Making your own household products from basic ingredients used for generations can not only have a great impact on the overall health of your household, it can also save you big dollars in the household budget.

Using common sense and some reliable folk recipes with versatile basics can revolutionize how we relate to houshold cleaning -- lessening the toxic load in the place we call home.

So let's start with one that I use every day, all over the house.

All-Purpose Antiseptic Cleaner

Ingredients:

• Washing soda -- 1 tsp


• Borax -- 1 tsp


• Liquid soap -- 1 tsp


• Hot water -- 2 cups


• Antiseptic essential oil (thyme, sweet orange, lemongrass, rose, clove, eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary, birch, lavender, or tea tree) -- optional

Combine the ingredients, including up to one teaspoon of one of the essential oils, in a spray bottle and shake to dissolve and blend the minerals. Makes 2 cups and has a long shelf life.

Easy right?!

I love this cleaner. I like to use Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap with lavender essential oils added to the cleaner. These can be found online and at any health food store. The borax and washing soda are available in the laundry section at the grocery store.

It works just as well as basic commercial all-purpose cleaners -- I especially like to use it in the kitchen. Spray it and leave it on the stovetop for 15 minutes and the grime wipes away easily.

Feeling Blerghy

Blergh -- feeling under the weather, also known as feeling ookie.

I'm home sick today. Not terribly sick, just cold-ish and tired. The baby seems fine so I'm simply enjoying some extra free time with him and lazing around. If my tub were cleaner than it is, I might even enjoy a nice hot bath right now while he naps -- trying to pull together some energy to give it a quick scrub.

I'm not up for writing much today but I will leave you with a link to one of my favorite freebie websites -- Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder. It's an aggregator that collects items from the top freebie websites.

I can't get enough of free samples in the mail and if you're like me, you'll want to check it often as the sites updates frequently throughout the day.