Caring for My Chaos

I post this every year for the new college moms. The tips I have learned about how to find the cheapest books out there are essential. There shouldn't be anyone out there paying hundreds of dollars for books that are only going to be used for a semester!

**I received this product free in exchange for my 100% honest unbiased review. All opinions are my own** If you have college students, like me, you know how important it is to make that dorm room feel like home. Anything that makes it homey and comfortable is essential. Enter these. Lava Lamp Color Changing String Lights. These are just adorable. They would be perfect to hang over your mirror or the head of your bed. They are battery operated, so it doesn't matter if outlets are at a premium. Uses 2 AA batteries not included.  And they change automatically in seven different colors. The cord measures 60 inches, so not too long. These would even be fun for little ones! These are for indoor use only. These are high quality; I was really impressed with how well they are made. The colors are bright and I like that when it changes, it's combinations. Sometimes it goes all one color, sometimes 2 and sometimes 3. These would be a cute addition to any dorm room. They also come i...

As you know, this is my college student. Recently, she received her financial aid for the year from her college. With what they were offering, she would have still owed almost 12,000$ for the year. As you can guess, we don't have $12,000 sitting around. Well, she surprised me because she took the initiative and emailed her financial aid office and asked if there was any other money that she was eligible for. They emailed her back and said that she was eligible for 8500$ more! I had heard that you don't have to accept the first offer the college gives you. Now the payments are down to where she can even cover them! And she gets to live on campus which makes her sooo much happier! So we are doing the happy dance here! So, for all you with first time kids going off to college, remember you don't have to accept their first offer!

As my regular readers know, I am a new college mom this year and have been learning as I go. The one on the right is my daughter and the one on the left is her roommate and my "adopted" daughter. This was at Halloween if you were wondering. Well, as I said, I have been learning as I go with this journey. I didn't go to college, I got married right out of high school, so I had no idea what she needed in the dorm, what to send, etc. I posted about how I didn't even think of cleaning supplies for her when she moved out here. The other important thing that a good college mom has to do, which was brought to my attention last weekend, is to give groceries. I thought that between the 3 of them that are in their dorm room, that they would have enough groceries. I was wrong. Izzie informed me last weekend that she was starving because the food on campus is "crap" and she hasn't been working as many hours so she had no money for groceries. She was literally stuf...

My daughter's roommate and best friend came over today and brought it to my attention that they had no cleaning supplies in their dorm room. This had never occurred to me to send with them. I don't know why it hadn't. So, I got to thinking what would be the most cost effective cleaning supplies to give them since they are both poor. I came up with these. Pourable Pine Sol, a reusable spray bottle to pour the Pine Sol and water in for use on tables, walls, etc. A bottle of vinegar to use with another spray bottle for mirrors and windows and an old towel cut into small rags so they don't have to buy paper towels. Now, they are completely prepared! When Doodle goes to college, I swear, I am going to know everything that she will need!

In all of my adventures as a first time college mom, I wanted to impart some of the wisdom that I have learned since Izzie first decided to go to college. Now, I did not go to college, I got married and had babies. So this whole process is absolutely new to me. Back in the day, when my older brothers went to college, the poor things didn't get to rent their textbooks. Nope, you had to buy them. But, nowadays, you can rent them and it has become a major business. There are many, many websites out there that you can rent from. It's mind boggling. One website that I wish I had known about in the beginning, and Izzie's best friend turned me to is Bigwords.com . This is the best site to start at because it searches all of the rental websites for you and shows you the best price. But you have to pay attention to the due dates. You don't want the due date to be before the semester is over! I really like campusbookrentals.com . We have gotten a few of her books from there and...