outnumbered

I usually wake up at 3 am, so it all depends on how early I can get to bed. I usually get about 4-5 hours--I have to try to get some, because I don't get to come home and crash like I'd prefer to.

Yes, he was gone Feb 03 to Feb 04 and has been home since. Now we are waiting to see if he goes back next year or not. Thanks for your support :) It's good to hear.

Toys R US

Thanks genoandkiddo :) We're military (dh is Army) and dh spent last year in Iraq.

LOL about the Jeep. I'll be taking the minivan...but with no kids in it, so I can pack it as full as I want to. Won't be as easy to find parking spaces, but I'll probably be out early enough for that not to be a problem. I don't mind walking, anyway. I'll be too happy to be out without the kids (3 under 5) to care how many miles it is from my parking spot to the mall entrance!

I will be going mainly to Sears too. I've actually never hit them on BF before. This year is different for two reasons: I have a Sears credit card (and no others, so I can only use credit at Sears) LOL; and there are some great deals there on a variety of things, so I'll be able to shop for a lot of people at only one store. Can't beat that. I used to hit TRU and Target...I'll probably skip TRU this year and I'm waiting for Target's ad to decide if I'll bother with them or not. If I have success at Sears I may not go anywhere else--other than to buy that portable dvd player. In the past, BF was a way for me to get the "cool" toys for the kids at affordable prices. This year I did the toy shopping early so now I only really need to buy for the grownup relatives--I think that is the main change.

Wow! Could this be the first year EVER that I actually skip TRU on BF? I don't see much for 1-year-old girls, and my boys are all bought for already. As shocking as it'll be for me to not be waiting outside TRU, I don't think I'll miss the absolute madhouse it turns into inside that store. Hmmm...now I get to decide which store to camp out in front of instead: Sears, which has a bunch of things I want, or Radio Shack, which has that $130 dvd player w/LCD?

I have an EasyShare too, not sure of model number. I love it! I don't have the docking station. For my needs, the camera is great. If I want actual photos, on film, I use a regular 35mm camera and get film developed (for photo albums, etc). For sending pictures to family (2000 miles away) I use the digital. Also, my 4 y/o son loves to have pictures of himself to carry around and look at, and for that purpose any old color printer and paper (like my $30 Lexmark cheapie) is just fine. As long as he can recognize himself in the picture, LOL, the quality is OK. What I print out isn't a substitute for a "real" album-worthy photo, but it serves its purpose. So depending on how you'll be using the camera, it could be a great one for you.

Kohl's is notorious for marking their prices up before the 1/2 off sales. I think Kmart has done the same thing though. And then Toys R Us sends out sale flyers with lots of regularly priced items advertised--it doesn't say "sale" for those items, but it's still sneaky. You think everything in the flyer is on sale and some of it isn't. I think you have to be careful regardless of who the retailer is.

All of a sudden the "member exclusive" thread is empty...are the scans gone?

Walmart was doing the 75% off still today, and surprisingly still had things left. I got a vinyl tablecloth for 65 cents, packs of napkins for 25 cents, even 10 cent cookie cutters. And one of those was a pumpkin that I can use for Thanksgiving too. I have a feeling we'll be semi-Grinchified this year at Christmas, too, and then I'll hit the clearance in Jan. This year we don't appear to be much in the holiday spirit, but next year we'll be set!

LOL, um, running shoes? Getting up that early, I'll be lucky to be wearing clothes and not pajamas.

Most of the paper ads are in the newspaper either on Wednesday--the day before Thanksgiving--or on Thanksgiving itself. They don't tend to give you a lot of time to look them over, which is why this site is so great! You can find out what will be on sale ahead of time, and make sure not to buy something now that will be much cheaper on BF.

I'd like a portable DVD player for our minivan (w/pouch to hold it in place)...there'd have to be a really good deal on it for me to get it though (like $100 or less, so I'm doubtful). Will be getting some Craftsman stuff from Sears, probably some movies from whoever has them cheapest. Also hoping the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Home will be on sale. I try to get as much Christmas shopping done as possible on BF...it's the only way we can afford to give decent presents, LOL.