Atlanta's Frugal Mom

The folding, padded potty seat As you may recall, I just recently finished a successful (and short) stint potty training my two-year old daughter  back at the end of May.  She took to the task like a pro, which gave me the confidence *I* needed to take her out and about, and know we could minimize accidents.  However, my biggest hang-up had long been the dreaded public restroom. Need I say more?  A curious toddler’s small hands simply can’t contain themselves in a new environment, and -well- the nastiness that you likely conjured up at the mere words “public restroom” are enough to send one sprinting for a can of Lysol, right? The bulky “on the go” potty seat — BOO! Furthermore, any mother will attest to the amount of STUFF one must lug around, even with a potty-trained child: your own purse, a (former) diaper bag, and miscellaneous other bags, depending on the occasion and the circumstances.   For me, shopping entailed the addition of my bag fu...

The folding, padded potty seat As you may recall, I just recently finished a successful (and short) stint potty training my two-year old daughter  back at the end of May.  She took to the task like a pro, which gave me the confidence *I* needed to take her out and about, and know we could minimize accidents.  However, my biggest hang-up had long been the dreaded public restroom. Need I say more?  A curious toddler's small hands simply can't contain themselves in a new environment, and -well- the nastiness that you likely conjured up at the mere words "public restroom" are enough to send one sprinting for a can of Lysol, right? The bulky "on the go" potty seat -- BOO! Furthermore, any mother will attest to the amount of STUFF one must lug around, even with a potty-trained child: your own purse, a (former) diaper bag, and miscellaneous other bags, depending on the occasion and the circumstances.   For me, shopping entailed the addition of my...

I wanted to remind y'all of two awesome companies that can help you keep your coupons organized , as well as remind you of a fantastic giveaway, too! Double-sided coupon binder insert pages - The Coupon Magic Organizer exclusively carries 3-slotted, and 9-slotted DOUBLED-SIDED inserts!  Both pages are $9.99 for eight. These are highly durable sheets, that will last for many, many shopping trips!  Click here to order yours now.   The Coupon Clutch - Simply put, it's the most fashionable option available for organizing, storing, and toting around your coupons!  There are dozens of patterns to choose from, OR you can simply purchase the plans (if you're the sewing type), and can personalize your Coupon Clutch even more.  Go here to get your Coupon Clutch today! Win your very own Coupon Clutch!  My friend Heather, over at Family Friendly Frugality , is hosting a giveaway for a Coupon Clutch .  Head over to her Facebook page here , and ent...

When you use coupons, it's important to understand how sales tax works with manufacture and store coupons. Consider the following points: 1)  A store is reimbursed by the manufacture for the value of a coupon used. Thus, the store still generates revenue from the couponed item. Therefore, sales tax IS applied to the amount of the coupon.   2)  When you use a store coupon, OR when a store doubles the value of a manufacture's coupon, the store is NOT reimbursed for that amount. Therefore, the amount for which the store doubles a coupon or the amount of a store coupon is NOT subject to sales tax. Make sense? Let's set up a scenario, with easy round numbers. Let's say you are able to take advantage of a 10 for $10 sale at Publix. Each item is thus priced at $1.00. Let's further say you are lucky enough to have matching manufacture coupons worth 50 cents for each item. That's $5.00 in manufacture coupons. If your Publix DOUBLES those coupon...

Disclaimer: The following is my account of potty training my daughter, using a particular method*. I am not claiming to be an expert on the subject. However, in 30 years, I’ve 20 years experience with working with kids, including two degrees in education. I’ve taught in middle school and elementary schools, and just finished up my first year in preschool. Again, I am NOT an expert in the matter, but I do feel my combined education and experience makes my account worthwhile. :o)   During the third full week in May, I undertook the daunting task of potty training my daughter, who was 26 months at the time. She was ready; she was more than ready, and I knew it. This just happened to be the first block of time where I could set aside to truly devote to the task. School had finished up the week before, and we had nothing critical that needed to be done. (Gym, schmym – we’re ditching diapers!!) So, I began hyping up going on the potty even more, leading up to that week.   She’d be...

Ditching the Diapers: Potty Training in 3 (or 4) Days Disclaimer: The following is my account of potty training my daughter, using a particular method*. I am not claiming to be an expert on the subject. However, in 30 years, I've 20 years experience with working with kids, including two degrees in education. I've taught in middle school and elementary schools, and just finished up my first year in preschool. Again, I am NOT an expert in the matter, but I do feel my combined education and experience makes my account worthwhile. :o) During the third full week in May, I undertook the daunting task of potty-training my daughter, who was 26 months at the time. She was ready; she was more than ready, and I knew it. This just happened to be the first block of time where I could set aside to truly devote to the task. School had finished up the week before, and we had nothing critical that needed to be done. (Gym, schmym – we're ditching diapers!!) So, I began hypin...

I am just so excited about this, I had to go ahead and give y'all a sneak peek!  I will be conducting a full review later, but I just have to share a little bit with you all NOW!   I recently got a foldable potty seat, from My Precious Kid , to replace my non-foldable potty seat I've been sporting around in a plastic reusable shopping bag for the last three weeks.  The order was finalized on Wednesday, June 8 and arrived today (Monday, June 13) via regular ol' USPS.   Good-bye bulky potty seat! Hello, foldable potty seat! You'll fit nicely in my daughter's bag!  :o) I must admit: I am quite impressed.  Not only with the speediness of the order, but with the product as well.  Although my husband and I hadn't planned on venturing out tonight, I insisted  we go somewhere, just to try it out!  We ended up eating at Target (my love!), and -low and behold!- my little monkey had to go potty.  (Never have I been more excited to hear her u...