Educational iPhone or iPad App reviews (Highly Recommended)

Panda Daddy found a few educational iPhone and iPad apps that work quite well with the little pandas, there are some of the reviews for them.

Cheeky Panda is 2.5 years old now, here's her favorites apps:

Monkey Preschool Lunch Box (monkeypreschool.com)
Cost: $0.99 (Highly Recommended)

What the app do: It teaches the children shapes, colors, numbers, alphabets, matching, counting, problem solving and motors skill through little game tasks.

Why it works: Cheeky Panda has been playing with the game for 2 months. From the very first time, the colorful app with cute little monkey capture her attention right away. She tried to play with it all by herself since the beginning. With successful and fail attempts, she learned the shapes, colors, numbers and matching (which I tried so hard to teach her but failed) very well. Somehow she just figured out all these complicated concepts through the game herself without me explaining much. She can match and find the different object from a group easily now. At the same time, her motors skill and problem solving skills are clearly improved since she need to use her little fingers to drag and place some puzzle pieces to form some fruits' shape. Therefore, she is learning different kind of fruits also.



Monkey Math School Sunshine (http://monkeymathschool.com)
Cost: $0.99 (Highly Recommend)


What the app do: It teaches numbers, pattern, counting, concept of more or less and simple calculus (sum and minus)

Why it works: It shows the pattern along with narration, which have a blank in between, for the kids to pick 1 out of 3 objects to fill it. I found out the narration of the pattern actually help a lot for her to understand what is going on.

For counting and numbers, she has to connect the numbers dots from 1 -14 (more or less numbers) accordingly, so the turtle can cross the sea. She can count from 1 - 14 now, thanks to the turtle count along every dot he through.

There are four groups of sea creatures or objects to choose from, she has to pick the one with the most or the least.

Natural method that help heal my baby's eczema

My baby was suffered from eczema for 10 months since she was 3 months old. Thanks God, she is free from these itchy red bumps now. I have been trying all kinds of remedies, lotions, soaps and stuff that doctor, family and friends suggested. Nothing work and those cream and soap the doctor suggested were so expensive.

The brand my Pediatrician suggested was Cetaphil. I bought both the moisturizer and a bar of soap, they cost me $20. If they worked or I could feel and see the different, I wouldn't complain. I knew so many people are using these brand for the same reason, maybe it worked for them but not my kid.

I discovered a much cheaper alternative which is not a moisturizing soap, but known as purity and mildness - Ivory Soap. It was on sale at $1 for 3 bars in the store and I got a few $0.50 coupons. That made it $0.50 for 3 bars, a very good deal compared to my Dove soap, so I decided to give it a try. My husband then told me Ivory soap actually known as its purity, their commercial always have a baby in it (I never saw a commercial of the brand, didn't know about it at all). He suggested we can tried it on Cheeky Panda, the very sensitive him tried it and he was fine, so I gave her a try. I can feel her skin was not as moisturized compared after a bath using the $4/bar Cetaphil Soap. However, it definitely did not irritate my baby's skin and clean her perfectly.

And there was another discover for cheaper moisturizer instead of Cetaphil which works for Cheeky Panda. The well-known Johnson & Johnson's brand have a new product called Head-to-Toe Baby Lotion which is fragrance free. Honestly, I like it much more not only because of the price different, I actually see improvement of my baby dry skin after using it. It absorbs as quick as Cetaphil moisturizer and I can  apply it repeatedly if I wanted to. And it didn't not clog the pores like some other brands do.

Thanks God I found these products and they works so well with her. And I found one last product that works magic and it is Avene thermal water. This brand is famous for its sensitive skin products. All I do was spray this water on wherever she had eczema, mostly on face and neck. It soothed her itches right away as you can tell by her smile. I used it myself to soothe the itches from bugs bite and general irritation. I said it works like magic because I saw the red bumps faded to light pink only after a few sprays within 15 minutes (I usually spray immediately after the prior spray was dried). And I repeated it every hour or two. About half a day later, I saw her face and neck are regular skin color again although the bumps are still there. I continuously used it for a couple weeks, the bumps were finally gone and she has a perfect smooth little face again. Hope this will last and she don't need to suffer again. Wish this can help those loving parents out there seeking the method that works for their children. Good luck everyone.

Fun way to lose baby weight at home

After Cheeky Panda was born, I started doing exercise to tone the arms and legs by using Wii. Yes. the video game system. I don't like to go to gym stared by strangers or ended up staring at strangers. The EA Sports Active game actually work very good and it came with a elastic band for strength exercise. I used it for a month or so, I saw my upper arms are toned and were so happy of the result.

Honestly, I didn't really expect much in the beginning. I only want to move a little to boost the mood and feel like I am myself again while the baby sleep. The visible result was unexpected and the confident boost was just amazing. I wanted to continue but a one day break of the routine just killed it. I got too lazy to get up the couch again the next day and just forget about it.

This time, after a whole year of nursing Chunky Panda, I started to try exercise again. After all, two pregnancies have their huge effects on me. I gained 40 lbs then lost 30 lbs for the 1st one. Gain another 40 lbs and lost 30 lbs again for the 2nd one. Lucky for breastfed my babies, the 30lbs actually lost by itself from nursing, I didn't do anything extra to loose them. But also because of nursing, breastfed moms' bodies will keep the 10 lbs just to make sure there will be enough fat to product milk. I was pregnant again before I done nursing Cheeky Panda, so.... before I could try to loose the last 10 lbs, I started gaining weight again.

I was on the scale another day, 20 lbs more than I have these two wonderful kids. I think it is time to do something again. This time I am going to use XBOX 360 KINECT. Sound weird but they actually are fun and help you burn calories. The main reason I switch to Kinect is no controller, you (the player) is the controller. I enjoy the Wii but really hate to exercise with two remotes on hand, who work out like that? The Kinect make much more sense, at least for exercise purpose.

My favorite games are Dance Central and Your Shape. They are both fun and sure keep your body moving. Dance Central is more fun to me because I like dancing to begin with. It has hit songs and cool moves in the game, started from a step by step tutorial, then you can perform it and even try a dance battle. Every song have different levels, you can build up your dance skills to your favorite tunes. I have to say they do have quite different moves in different levels which keep it fun.

Your Shape is more an exercise core game, I bet you can tell by the name. It has different programs for you to choose from. The one I tried was for loosing baby weight (yes, they have a program for that). Starting the game, those exercises don't really look hard at all. But you will know how hard it is when you actually doing it, at least for someone like me who do not exercise on a regular basis. The screen will have a computerized personal trainer showing you what to do, and you will see yourself right behind the trainer. This helps you  realize how exact or how far off you are comparing to the model positions from the trainer. Since the cameras track how you move, they compare your moves to the right positions, so it is less likely you will hurt yourself by doing them wrong. It also have a calorie burning scale right there as you working out, quite motivating.

Drop my grocery bill form $90 to $70, not too bad

Couponing for a while now, had my 1st TWO Salad Dressing today. Ken's 8-9oz salad dressing was on sale today for $1. I got 2 coupons which were $1 off per product ($1/1). YEAH. I normally will not buy the flavor I bought today, but this is the only two flavor left on shelf, the rest of them were gone. So, it's free, what the heck, I will give them a try. Maybe I will like them. Or not, I don't have to loose anything. 

But there is a weird thing. HEB supposed to accept 1 Code B (Big Saving coupon) and 1 Manufacturer coupon.  I saw they have $4 off IF you buy 4 ($4/4) for Cereals, so I bought 4. I was looking at the coupon and all of a sudden I noticed it was a B coupon (they usually are marked as M which can't be combined with Manufacturer coupons). Cool, I can use my own coupons on top of that, a few extra dollars to save. But when I checked out, the cashier keep trying to scan my own coupons, they all showed as invalid. Only one of the $0.5 off Cheerio coupon scanned okay. She started to look at the coupons and said that was for a lot of cereals. I said 'Yes, I got 8 of them.' So she counted how many boxes of cereals was the coupons for, and didn't checked the computer or my cart again, she overrode it. I was glad I didn't need to say anything extra or she had to call the manager for that. I was just prepared to take those didn't scan back and forget about it. Since my girls are so tired and hungry, I just wanted to go home. 

So be careful if you are going to HEB hoping to use B coupon with your own Manufacturer coupons. It may not go as smooth as you think. I remembered the B coupon fine print mentioned "do not combined with other offer." Maybe that's why. However one of the Cheerio coupon did go through without a problem, so it is really confusing. Whatever, the transaction is done. I got my 23% off my bills. I think it is a good start. And I received a few print out coupon at the cashier. It included a $5 off next shopping for HEB (printed complimentary from General Mills, I guessed because I bought 8), $2 off 5 boxes of Big G (General Mills) cereals and $1 off any 2 Ball Park Deli Beef Franks.

My 1st Free item from couponing at Target - Cutter Mosquito Repellent

Went to Target to buy some sunscreen yesterday. It was on sale and I had 2 Banana Boat sun care coupons ($1 off 1 product). Target has a buy two specific products get $5 gift card, I got 2 for $6.92 after coupons and gift card for next purchase, it makes that cheaper than getting one.

Then I got Cutter mosquito repellent for FREE. It cost $3.99 and I have a Target $2 off coupon, and a $1.5 manufacturer coupon, so ended up I earned $0.01 to contribute for the total.  

And they have Pantene  shampoo and conditioner on sale at $3.89 each. If you buy two you can get a styling product ($3.99)  for FREE. I got a $3 off two products Manufacturer Coupon, and a $1.5 Target Coupon for the same condition. So I ended up paying less than one product and get all 3 products for $3.08. 

The pool is up, the girls love it

Little Panda Daddy came home a little early today, so we can go outside and set the swimming pool up. Cheeky Panda has been asking all day long to get the pool set up, I guess she remembered the fun from last year. As a two year old, this girl sure surprised me with her wonderful memory.

The time to set the pool up is like 10 - 15 minutes, but it take 3 hours to fill that 1000 gallons up in the 10' X 30" pool...we were playing in the pool while it was filling, so it wasn't too bad. The girls were crawling, walking, splashing, kicking and laughing so hard that I really have to ask them to quite down a bit. This is the first time Chunky Panda "swim" in a pool, she loves it so much that she laughed like screaming the whole time. Then she got so tired she looked for me to hold her so she could rest and chill. I bet she would have fall asleep if I let her. Cheeky Panda on the other hand do not want to come out for dinner. I told her I when I counted to ten, she had to get up. She said yes but when I counted to 9, she suddenly said "no 10, no 10." HAHA. I thought that was really funny she knew 10 is after 9, and asked me to stop counting. Now I know for sure she can count.

We can't find the cover in the store, so my husband ordered it online from Amazon tonight. It should arrive on Thursday (we have the Prime which give us Free-2-day Delivery from joined Amazon Mom). Hope the pool won't get too dirty in two days since there is a house building behind us. God bless.

Got my new swimming pool

Last year the little swimming pool was out in the yard for too long, all kind of dirt and bugs are collected in it (so gross). I tossed it a couple weeks ago and finally bought a new one today. The girls will be a little bigger this summer and a bigger pool will fit them better. Hopefully this time Little Panda Daddy and I can both fit in it. Before Chunky Panda was born, only Cheeky Panda and I can fit in the tiny pool, Little Panda Daddy was all left out. A good thing about that was he could hang the towels for us to dry off.

Checked a few places I usually shop, the lowest price for Intex 10' X 30" pool is $49.99 from Academy (I found that on a TV commercial and the newspaper ad., I don't really shop there typically). Now my next project is to clean up my back yard full of dogs' poop.......and wait for Little Panda Daddy to mow the yard. Hope everything go right and the pool is good. Then I can play with the girls in the new pool and have a lot of fun together.

Nursing pads comparison and reviews

Breastfeeding my girls for more than 2 years now, I have tried quite a lot of nursing pads out there. One after the other, I almost tried all of them expect the most expensive brand - Medela, which is like $3 to $4 more than the other brands. Honestly, until now I am still trying to find the best one since they all have its pros and cons.

There are two kinds of nursing pads: Disposable or Reusable. The disposable pads I tried included Johnson's Contour nursing pads, Gerber's NUK Ultra Thin Nursing pads, Avent's Nursing pads and Lansinoh's Disposable nursing pads. Reusable pads I tried Gerber's NUK Reusable nursing pads, LilyPadz's Reusable nursing pads and a little fold up wash cloth.


Compare Different Brands Disposable Nursing Pads 

Johnson's Contour Nursing Pads

Pros:

-Contour shape avoid the nipples showing issue

-Comfortable to wear

Cons:

-Not super absorbing (I had leaked a few times especially at night)

-Left linen on breasts

-Feel it when the pads got wet

Gerber NUK Ultra Thin Nursing Pads

Pros:

-Ultra Thin 

Cons:

-Without a padded bra, the pads make your breasts all lumpy looking

-Not super absorbing (Leakage happened in day and night)

-Need to be changed often due to nonabsorbent

-The sticker back is not sticky enough

-Pad move around a lot

-Feel it when the pads got wet

Avent Disposable Nursing Pads

Pros:

-Comfortable to wear

-Indent in the middle of pad for the nipple for better fit

Cons:

-The pad look like have a nipple on its own from outside (because of the nipple's indent)

-Only a tiny sticky strip at the back, not stick to bra at all

-Pad move around a lot cause leakage problem

-Feel it when the pads got wet

Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads

Pros:

-Ultra Thin
-Individual package for each pad
-Comfortable to wear
-Absorb the best compared to the above
-Bigger pad for better coverage

Cons:
-A crisp in the middle where it folded can be unattractive on the outside (usually can be solved by smoothing it out)
-The bigger size pad show outside the bra some times
-Sticky strip is sufficient but would be nicer if it is bigger


Compare Different Brands Reusable Nursing Pads

Gerber NUK Reusable Nursing Pads

Pros:
-Feel nice on skin and comfortable to wear
-Machine washable

Cons:
-Leak through easily without little amount of breastmilk
-Move around too much because there isn't any sticky part at all

LilyPadz Silicone Nursing Pads

Pros:

-Stick onto the breasts and won't move at all

-Silicone pads can be cleaned easily with soap and hot water

-Easy wipe off in between use instead of changing it out

-Reuse it up to 2 months per pair
-Prevent leakage by giving the nipple pressure directly

Cons:
-Trapped sweat in between the pads and breasts (especially summer time)
-Have to make sure the breasts are clean and dry prior to putting it on

Gerber Baby Washcloth (or any kind you have at home)
How to use it as nursing pads:
Fold it twice into little square shape, tuck it in between the breasts and bra

Pros:
-Cheap and comfortable
-Machine washable
-Absorb fast and a lot

Cons:
-Feel uncomfortable when it gets wet
-Need to change often so it won't leak through or get uncomfortable
-Not leak-proof

Right now, Little Panda Mommy latest testing product is LilyPadz Silicone Nursing Pads. I like it quite a lot. It prevents leaking. Since it sticks onto the skin, I don't need to worry about it moving around is a plus. The nipples showing issue will not happen at all because you supposed to press them in before you stick the edge onto the breasts (That's how it works). The only issue I have but not really a big deal is: every time I peel them off (it doesn't hurt at all), there is some sweat trapped in between and dripped on my pants. (I don't know is it because I am sweaty or other people have the same problem.)

My Favorite Disposable Nursing Pads Brand:  Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads
My Favorite Reusable Nursing Pads Brand:  LilyPadz Silicone Nursing Pads

Tips:
I brought both my favorite pads from Target, Lansinoh Nursing Pads cost around $7-$8 most the time, when they go on sale a few time per year, stock up. I got 6 boxes last year when they went on sales for $5.5 per box (60-count). LilyPadz Nursing Pads price is all over the place, Target is selling it at less than $6. This is so far the best price I found.

Good luck on finding the nursing pads that fit your need.

Cheeky Panda isn't happy (Tips of dealing with a naughty child)

My girls make me proud all the time. They often got compliments from people in restaurants or grocery stores or actually everywhere. Praises are not only about they are cute and beautiful, but also they are so well behaved. But this last week my little Cheeky Panda was kind of naughty, whatever you told her not to do, she did it repeatedly.

Timeout isn't working at all. She seems like enjoying the timeout and goes straight to sit down for her 2 minutes. Then she gives you a kiss and apologizes and goes on being a little trouble.

Little Panda Daddy suggested instead of putting her in time out, we should take her favorite toys or activities away for punishment. So I took her Princess dolls away for the first time and put it somewhere she could see it. It worked and she got so upset and cried. She finally started to listen again and understood if she doesn't behave herself, her stuff would be gone for a day.

I think I finally get why she has been doing all that today. These few days she has been saying Chunky Panda is happy, mommy and daddy is happy but not herself anymore. I asked her "are you happy too?" She said "no, mommy." Then repeatedly saying everyone in the home is happy excluding herself.

Today before nap time, she is closing the door on me and not listening again. I have to tell her your Jelly Bean will be taken away and she is not allow to have any until tomorrow. She broke into tears and came hugging me. I asked her again is she feeling unhappy. She said "Yes." It broke my heart. I believed she actually mean it not just fooling around like usual. I asked her why but she couldn't really tell me. So I asked "are you not happy because mommy and daddy has been punishing you a lot?" " Yes" "Do you want more attention and feel like we give Chunky Panda more attention than you?" "Yes" And she cried and hugged me so so tight.

Poor little thing, she almost made me cry. I sat her down and looked her in the eyes, explained the punishments were the consequences of being naughty. And I told her "Mommy Daddy both love you a lot and we love Chunky Panda too. I am sorry you feel like you don't have as much attention, I will pay more attention about that and make sure you are happy too. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better now?" She don't know or can't express herself. But her body language started to show me she wanted some tickles. Sounded weird but as soon as I tickled her, she laughed so hard and she was happy again. After a good 5 minutes of laugh, I asked her again is she happy now. She said "yes" and then everybody else in the house were happy too.

Time to be tucked in and she looked all happy and ready to have a good nap.

Lesson Learned - When a child not acting like their usual self, something is wrong. May be she is not feeling good physically or emotionally. Try to find out without scaring them off. Little kids this young can communicate at some level but not capable of fully express themselves. Ask simple questions like "Are you feeling okay?" "What's wrong? Can I help you?" Then if they respond as you asked, go ahead and help them. If not, you may need to get some clues around the house and guess what caused the problem. Ask more specific questions and hope you can get a simple YES or NO from them, and sorted it out from there. Such as: "Are you not feeling good? Is your teeth hurt?" or  "Do you need something? Can you bring and show me what you want?"

Just be patient and make sure not let them push your button. Continuously dealing with a naughty kid can be very exhausted and frustrated.  Every time you feel like you need to scream or yell at them (NEVER put your hands on them), take an extra 5 seconds to put them in a safe area, step back and take a deep breathe. Calm yourself down and come back to your child, sit them down and get down to their level (eye level), explain what they did wrong and tell them what is the consequence. It can be a time out, toys being put away, no outside playtime, etc. Make sure to follow through the discipline and explain it to your child. They can understand way more than you think, even they are only One or Two-year-old.

Save on Diapers - get 30% discount and 2 days free shipping from Amazon

Before my first child born, like most parents I went to grocery stores, drugstores or stores like Target. I signed up a few online websites and manufacturer websites hoping they will send me some coupons. They all did. The problem is, with the coupons I can only save $2 at most on a package cost around $18 - $20. And you won't have a coupon on hand all the time. With a tiny little baby, it is not convenience to go pick up a new package either. After trying Costco and Sams Club, which offer a lightly cheaper price (about $2-$3 off) but you have to be in luck to get the size or brand you needed.

Little Panda Daddy found out Amazon.com have a program called Amazon Mom. (Members get FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime benefits and 30% off diapers and wipes with Subscribe & Save delivery.) It is 30% saving on selected baby products included most brand names diapers & wipes, such as Pampers, Huggies and Luvs (Amazon.com for diaper) (15% from Subscribe & Save which you can cancel anytime with a button, no hassle; 15% from Amazon Mom member = 30% ) . All you need to do is take a few minutes to sign up (no purchase necessary), then fill up some basic information to receive coupons and great deals.


Examples:

Example 1:

Huggies Snug & Dry Diaper, Size 4 (140 count)
One Time Delivery Price: $30.65 ($0.22/count)
Subscribe & Save Price (15% off) : $26.05  ($0.19/count) (SAVE $4.60)
Amazon Mom Member Price (with Subscribe & Save)
(30% off) : $21.45 ($0.15/count) (SAVE $9.20)







Example 2:
Pampers Soft Care Scented Wipes (720 count)
One Time Delivery Price: $18.49 ($0.03/count)

Subscribe & Save Price (15% off) : $15.72  ($0.02/count) (SAVE $2.77)

Amazon Mom Member Price (with Subscribe & Save) 

(30% off) : $12.94 ($0.02/count) (SAVE $5.55)

Get Pet Smarts coupon for $5 off purchase $25 or more

Just got a bag of dog food from Pet Smarts today. I signed up for their loyalty program and they send me coupons through email from time to time. Also, if you are a member you get a cheaper price for a lot of products. Signing up is free and you can get a Pet Perk card when you pay at the cashier, it save you money right away. Most of the time, the coupons arrived just right after I bought what I needed. So before I went out today, I searched online for the brand name I am going to buy, the Pet Smarts website and typed in "pet smarts coupons" in Google search engine. There are so many coupons out there you can print out, just be careful to turn on and set up your printer ahead. A lot of websites generate a special code for their coupons and can only be printed from the same computer for a limited amount (mostly 2). So make sure you got everything set up right before you click the print button.

Here is the link I got the coupon: http://www.facebook.com/PetSmart/posts/10150571045800596 . You don't really need to like their link to get the coupon (I didn't click " like"  it). Just click the link they provided and  fill in your name and zip code, then print it out. Your name is going to show on the coupon that's why they needed it. It is good until May 1, 2011. Come in a first come first serve base, so hurry in and save yourself some money.

Tips for new mom about breastfeeding

Just found out a few friends is expecting, so happy for them. They have been asking me a lot of questions since I have two little one under 3. Such as the pregnancy weight gain, ways to keep fit after the baby born, is breastfeed hurt and difficult?

I breastfed my first child until she was 11 months and still breastfeeding my little 9 months old baby now. I originally planned to nurse the older one until she turned 1 year old. But I was pregnant when she was 9 months old, tried my best and my body just couldn't stand it anymore. So I gave up to make sure my little one will have enough nutrient to grow in my belly.

I told my friends nursing don't hurt at all if you do it right.It takes a little time to get use to it, after all your nipples didn't use to all that sucking. My first few attempts wasn't very smooth but with the nurse assistance, my girl got what she needed.

It is very normal for new mom to have colostrum only in the first few days. A few drops of it is all your infant needed, don't worry about it may not be enough. Your smart little one will tell you by crying or at least fussing. Usually the milk supply comes in around 3-5 days. The breasts will engorge so much more than what you think was huge during pregnancy. Some mommies may experience leakage of colostrum or even before the baby is born. Try to buy some disposable or reusable nursing pads to avoid being embarrassed, it can soak your shirt all the way some time.  This is totally normal and don't need to be alarmed, unless it comes along with pain or the color of liquid isn't a light transparent yellow or white. If that happened or anything concern you, contact your health care provider right away.

Please prepare yourself mentally and physically before breastfeed your baby. It takes patient and a healthy body to be successful on this important job.

1. Get yourself well educated about the pros and cons of nursing.

Pros like:

For Baby: Breast milk is the best food choice for baby,  it is easy to digest and has all nutrients a baby needed.

For Mommy: it helps burn a lot of calories so you can slim down faster.

Also while the baby sucking the nipples, it simulate the uterus to contract and shrink back to its original size.

Cons like:

It can be very exhausted for the new mom since new born are known for frequent feeding and diapers changing. (Breastfeed baby need to be feed every 2-3 hours compare to formula feed every 3-4 hours.)

 Attending a nursing and new born care class will help you and your partner a lot (should be easily find in your local hospitals provide birthing service). If you are not up for it, don't worry, the nurses assist you in the ward will be happy to guide you through. In my case, they marked that I was a new mom, so every time a nurse came and checked on me would ask me whether I have a question and how the nursing goes.

There are a lot of feeding positions to choose from, find one that fit you and your baby the most will help a lot. I personally like the cradle post the best, some people like the football post, some like lying down (seem like the baby will need to burp more throughly using this post according to my experience). To find more information, pictures or videos of the feeding positions, please check out  http://www.breastfeeding.com/ .

2. Talk with your partner, family and friends about your decision

No matter you are going to breastfeed or formula feed your little one, make sure you communicate with your partner, the baby's grandparents, other family members and friends that are close to you.

I had a friend was so beat up and gave it up on day 3 because all the people listed above opposed to her decision of breastfeeding. So make sure you tell them loud and clear this is your choice for your and the baby, you would like their support and understanding. Some people believe the formula's commercials so much, the baby is smarter and healthier, they thought formula is better than breast milk. My solution to that is, bring them along to a doctor visit and have the doctor tell them which one is truly the best choice. (Make sure your doctor is on the same page ahead, some doctor worries the mom have too much pressure to breastfeed so they keep telling patients they are just the same and as good).

3. Stick with it but don't push yourself

I sure know you want to provide the best for your children. But don't beat yourself up if it is not working. Keep trying and ask for help when you needed. Don't be shy or feel embarrassed, we can't know it all and especially can use some extra help when we are new moms. Some moms or babies just can't do it, and if that is the case, feed your baby formula and enjoy the longer nap time you are going to get. (Formula are more filling than breast milk)

Remember, you just gave birth to a little baby which kind of like having a major surgery. Get all the rest and help you can get, take well care of yourself is the first thing you can do in order to provide the best caring to your little angel.

Congrats and take rest.

Newbie to couponing

I guess a lot of people have been watching Extreme Coupling on TV, counted myself. Little Panda Daddy and I was amazed, so we decided to give it a try. I just started coupling in the last two weeks, bought one newspaper each weekend. It is so time consuming that I have to keep sorting and putting them in zipped bags. A very organised system truly is the key to make it work fast and easy. I found out a lot of coupon users will have a baseball holder to store their coupons, and I am looking for my own now. Still no lucky but I will keep on searching.

The first few times I brought all my coupons with me because there was not much local deals information I could find. Since the store (H.E.B) I usually go to have their own coupons (the yellow coupons - I noticed they are kind of doubling or tripling the manufacturer coupons), I have to look twice before deciding what is a better deal. The store coupons VS  my own stack of manufacturer coupons.
After a few trips, I found myself a little faster and a little more organised. A better way to shop in H.E.B. with coupons is:

1. Checked the ads before you go. It usually delivers to my mail box every Tuesday, or you can check their website (Ads sales always started on Wednesday, end on Tuesday)

2. Make a list according to the Ads (keep in mind when they mentioned "with in store coupon", most of them are manufacturer coupons [Code M at the left bottom coner] which are double or triple the manufacturer coupons you have, so don't count on using both the yellow coupons and your own)

3. Cut and bring your coupons with you. I put mine in two stacks:
 a) Must Use - Needed items or too good a deal to be missed items
 b) Very likely to be use - Items you have a coupons on hand if they are on sales
(I will browse while in the store for some household supplies, so bring along a few categories of coupons just in case they are great deals)

4. Check the HEB brand or Hills country brand, which both are the store brand for a better price compare to name brands, the later one is the cheapest (I tried a lot of their store brand stuff, they are almost half the price sometime and just as good or even better).

5. If you can find the items you needed while on sale, with store coupons and your own manufacturer coupons, that possible the best deals you can get. Good Luck.