My husband thought I was silly. The first month I would save over half on my grocery bill, second month I was bringing home receipts showing him how I got stuff free at grocery store. I think he must have feel out of his chair when third month came along and I came home and store actually had to pay me to shop there (sitting here laughing and reminicing all these memories while writing this).

Well friends and relatives start asking how are you doing this? So of course I got them started and then eventually started my own website online! My site started out small but quickly grew to over 2,000 people now both men and women and we are growing larger everyday.

Everything is growing so quickly that even my children have stepped into help. My children set down with me and help me sort, staple & cut my coupons. They are learning value of saving money. Of course daughter is picking up on it faster than my my son. Ryan will say mom can we get that and Taylor will say "Not unless mom has a coupon for it" LOL!! I do alot for people and Im very envolved in my childrens activities. Im one of those people who can't say no LOL and sometimes I feel stressed and under appreciated. I know there are other people out there like me and that is another reason why I started this website. Everyone I know calls me "Coupon Queen".. My husband is so proud of me that he carries a picture around of me standing next to my free stuff!!.Why even our local news station has called me to do SEVERAL interviews which you can see at http://www.channeloklahoma.com (do a search for coupon queen) My dream now is to go on "Oprah Show"!!!

Does thought of asking your child to move on to their next activity unnerve you? Picture this: Your child comes home from school and heads straight for playroom, excited to spend some time with their new Star Wars action figures or Barbie Doll. They play for an hour; you can hear their squeals of delight from kitchen as you’re preparing dinner. And then, moment you dread… it’s time to call your child to dinner. The battle begins.

You call once, no reply. You call again only to be greeted with “In a minute, Mom!” and then “Just a sec” or worse, an exasperated “Okay – I’m coming!” and no hungry child appearing at table. As food grows cold, your internal temperature rises until you swear you could reheat soup just by sticking your finger in it – and still no hungry child at table.

In childcare, transition times are when you are trying to help children finish an activity or daily routine and move on to another one. During free play, children will often be very engaged in their chosen activity and they will find it difficult to abruptly stop what they are doing. The same holds true for any favorite activity – playing piano, talking on phone with friends or even listening to new Green Day CD.

Transitioning from one activity to another is often a difficult time in child care settings. But there’s no reason to throw in towel and admit defeat. Transitions can be transformed into positive experiences by a solid upfront plan. Preparation is your best friend in engaging your child in transition activities.

Transitional activities can be positive and exciting ways of moving children from one activity to another. They can make finishing one activity and moving on to another activity a learning experience and an adventure.

Let’s look at our free play example and incorporate a simple technique to smooth your child’s transition from playtime to dinner time. You may find it helpful to give them a warning that playtime will soon be over. Instead of calling out "five more minutes,” ensure your child has heard you by going directly to them and saying “You have time for one more checkers game. Dinner is in five minutes.”

The warning serves two purposes: 1. It clearly sets a plan for your child to follow (only one more game) and 2. It shifts your child’s focus from current activity to new one.