Lindsay's Sweet World is Three!

*This post may contain affiliate links.

It’s my three year blogging anniversary, y’all!  I’m officially 697 posts deep and I’m still loving this blogging life so much!

There are, of course, frustrations that come along with every good thing, but the good by far outweighs the bad, and this little hobby of mine continues to bless me every single day so I think I’ll stick with it!  ;o)

A few things I’ve learned this year…

In 2018 it feels like literally everyone is trying to “make it” as a blogger. 

I could read other people’s blogs all day.  Seriously.  Why is it just so darn interesting reading about other people’s lives?

Blogging friendships are still some of my favorite friendships even though none of my bloggy friends and I have ever met in person.

Spam followers/commenters/subscribers are just everywhere.  Why oh why do people create so many dang spam bots?!  I can’t even tell you how many spam comments I delete from my blog every single day, how many spam subscribers I deactivate every day, and how many people I block on Instagram every day!  It’s ridiculous.

Instagram is still a tricky business when you're trying to grow authentically, but I’ve made my peace with it.  It’s better to not waste two hours per day trying to grow on there when I could be doing productive things for my blog itself.  It is worlds more important to focus on growing my blog following than my social media following.  Instagram could disappear tomorrow so all of those people who are only making money on the ‘Gram could be out of a job just like that, but my blog will always be here!

I made the right choice to grow authentically on social media than to inflate follower counts by buying followers, hosting 10 loop giveaways per week, and following/unfollowing other people.  I pride myself on my authentic following and I’m even more thankful that I chose to take that route now because it has started backfiring on so many lately.  Brands are starting to wise up.

I heart affiliate marketing!  I love sharing products that I love with y’all here on the blog, and if I can make some money doing it then that’s just a win-win situation!  I’m going to share those things no matter what, so why not?  Speaking of which, my favorite tunic ever can be found here, my exact scarf here, my exact leggings here, and my exact boots here.  ;o)

People really, really love reading about simplifying/purging/organizing.  Ever since I’ve started documenting my simplifying/organizing journey on Instagram Stories, I have gained lots of new, real followers who I can tell are following me because they actually want to and not just because they’re going to unfollow me in a few days.  My IG profile views have skyrocketed these last couple of months.

Twitter still sucks. 

Google is still and will always my best friend.  #GoogleAllTheThings

And a few accomplishments this year…

I renewed a monthly link-up with a few of my favorite blogging ladies for another year.

I have started co-hosting two new weekly link-ups and both have been very successful so far. 

I posted my first of many sponsored posts on Instagram.

My viral post is getting close to hitting the 150k mark!

I have several other posts that seem to be taking off and it looks like they could be on their way to possibly going viral. 

I worked with several of my favorite brands on sponsored blog posts this year, Ava, Shutterfly, and PlumPaper to name a few. 

I found out that one of my faaaavorite popular bloggers reads my blog and follows me on social media.  #TotalFanGirlMoment

Stats

I put my blog stats up every year on my anniversary, and although that makes me feel a little weird, I figured I might as well share them here again anyway.  Y’all know I try to be pretty transparent with y’all, so have fun snooping!  Haha. 

A couple of notes before we begin… I had pretty good growth across all areas except for pageviews.  However, I do know why my pageviews were down this year compared to last year… number one, because my viral post has finally started losing traction… probably because everybody in that niche has already seen it.  And number two, because I haven’t been pushing my content as much on Pinterest this past year.  Other than pageviews being down from where they were, I had steady growth in all other categories.  The growth might be slow, but at least it’s authentic!  There are plenty of ways that I could be inflating my social media numbers right now, but I’m just not interested in that.  I consider myself to be a very genuine person and I want this space and my social media accounts to reflect that. 

Monthly Pageviews: 11,134 24,715 18,054 (Jan 2018 stats)

Subscribers: 18 50 69

Google Friend Connect Followers: 28 42 61

Bloglovin’ Followers: 34 218 317

Google+ Followers: 11 41 50

Instagram Followers: 1,005 4,055 5,945

Facebook Followers: 12 138 293

Pinterest Followers: 351 1,248 1,381

Twitter Followers: 553 705 980

Most popular post: Olivia Cate’s Pink & Gold First Birthday with 22,984 111,748 146,997 views

Finally, the same words I reiterate in every blog anniversary post:

The sole purpose for starting this baby of mine was to start keeping a journal again – to have a place where I could jot down my feelings and document the fleeting moments of motherhood.  A place to discuss my fears and my insecurities.  A place to discuss my shortcomings and a place to celebrate my accomplishments.  A place to share the things that I love.  I kept a journal from the ages of 6 to 21 – that’s almost half of my life in old diaries, notebooks, and binders all carefully lining the bookshelves in my office – and I thought that it was high time to come back to what I love after a decade-long hiatus.  I feel like I have found my passion and I feel like I am home.  I feel like I was meant to be a blogger.  My only regret is not starting sooner.

Thank you to those of you who support me.  For those of you who take the time out of your day to read my blog, comment on my posts, click my links, like my Instagram pictures, react to my Facebook posts, re-pin my Pinterest pins, and follow me on social media channels, THANK YOU!  Every little bit of support goes a long way and I promise you it does not go unnoticed! 

Now for the fun part for ME – tell me what your favorite posts are!  Tell me what your least favorite posts are!  And tell me what you want to see from me in the future!  I would so appreciate it!

Don't forget to link up with us below!  

Your Hosts! 

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place / Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter 

Stefanie at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest / Facebook

Keri at Keri Lynn Synder / Faceobok / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

Mauri at The American Patriette /  Facebook /  Pinterest / Instagram

Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World /  Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Things Olivia Says - Volume 3

Last month I shared some of the funny things that Jacob has said during this last year and today Olivia is in the spotlight!

March 1, 2017

Conversation between Brian and Olivia:

Olivia: “I like Mommy better than Daddy.”

Brian: “Oh, well that makes me sad.”

Olivia: “No, it’s a happy thing!”

Brian: “It’s a happy thing for who?”

Olivia: “Mommy!”

Brian: “What about me?  Is it a happy thing for Daddy?”

Olivia: “YEAH!”

August 28, 2017

Olivia selects an individual Twix out of her candy bucket for her after-dinner treat.

Jacob: “Ooooh a Twix.”

Olivia: “No, that’s a Twik.”

She thought that since there was only one in the package that it was called a Twik.  Had there been multiple ones, it would be called Twix.  Haha.

September 17, 2017

One morning Olivia and I were arguing about what she was going to wear.  I finally caved and let her wear the top that she wanted to wear even though I thought it was going to be too small AND it was too hot outside for that particular top.  I left her room and headed back into my bathroom to get ready.  I’m standing there curling my hair when she walks in wearing the top and looking all happy…

Me: “Hey girlfriend, what are you doing?”

Olivia: “Looking cute!” (as she twirls in her swing top)

She then twirls again and says, “It’s just perfect!” as if to rub it in that she was right and I was wrong.  <Insert eye roll here>

October 31, 2017

We are watching our annual viewing of The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  In the movie, they draw a scary face on a pumpkin.

Olivia: “They should make it happy because I like happiness.  I don’t like meanliness.”

November 21, 2017

 While riding in the buggy through the ladies clothing section at Target…

Olivia: “I’m going to ask Santa for a bra!”

Me: <trying to figure out how the heck she knows what a bra is>

Olivia: “I really, really want a bra.” 

Me: <but seriously, how does she know what a bra is?>

December 3, 2017

Olivia was doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing, so I playfully said, “You better stop that, woman!”

Olivia: “I am not a woman!  I am a human and my name is Olivia!”

December 27, 2017

Olivia: “I want a baby.”

Me: “Like a real baby or a baby doll?”

Olivia: “A real baby.”

Me: “Oh, so you mean you want Mommy to have a baby brother or sister for you?  That type of baby?”

Olivia: “No, I want to have her.” 

Me: Oh boy.

January 10, 2018

Olivia is singing to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas, specifically the part where it says “And a partridge in a pear tree.”

Olivia: “I tee tee in a bear treeee!”

Me: “What??”

Olivia: “In that song they say, ‘and a potty in a bear tree’ so I said that I tee teed in it.”

Y’ALL. 

January 28, 2018

She is going to kill me one day for posting this online, but I laughed so hard at this I literally cried.  I couldn’t not include it.

Olivia, apparently poots silently and then…

Olivia: “I pooted.  But the poot goed quietly.  That means I don’t have to say excuse me.”

I literally cannot, y’all.

February 18, 2018

On this day Olivia was telling me how old she is going to be each year.

Olivia: “And then I’m going to be 17, and then I’m going to be 18, and then I’m going to be 19, and then I’m going to be 20!”

Me: “And when you’re 20 I’ll be old… I’ll be 51!”

Olivia: “And then you’ll be buried in a cemetery!”

Honestly.  There’s nothing like having a child let you know where you stand!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Our Weekend - Jacob’s First Soccer Game & Gorgeous Weather

It was a positively gorgeous weekend and we soaked up lots of sunshine!

Friday I had another productive day at home.  I got several things crossed off the ol’ to do list including my newest project… organizing all of the kids’ paper keepsakes that are not school papers.  You may remember my school papers keepsake box that I posted about last week?  Well, I’m making a new keepsake box for all of their other paper keepsakes like birthday cards and such.  I’m hoping to share it on the blog soon, but in the meantime, you can always follow along in real-time on Instagram stories!

Friday afternoon I picked up both of the kids and we headed to our local library to meet a couple of my girlfriends and their kiddos for the Read Across America Day celebration.  There was a fun presentation where a couple of Dr. Seuss books were read, and a few songs were sung, and then it was time to head into another room for birthday cake (for Dr. Seuss, of course!) and some fun games and activities.  The place was a zoo, but the kids had a blast, and we even made the local news that evening.  ;o)

We met up with B after that and we all headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  B and the kiddos had breakfast for dinner, but I had a hankering for some veggies and it was a good choice.  If you have a CB nearby and you go on occasion, be sure to try the Brussels Sprout and Kale salad the next time you go.  It is listed as a side so I had it as one of my veggies and OMG, y’all, it is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.  The rest of the evening was spent getting the kiddos in bed and catching up on shows.

Saturday, Jacob had his first soccer game at noon.  It was positively gorgeous outside and we had a great time watching him play.  Last season he was a bit cautious about the whole soccer thing even though he seemed to have fun, but this season we can already tell that he’s becoming more aggressive (in a good way) and getting into the game a bit more.  He played offense for a while and he also played defense some.  He was a BOSS at defense!  He knew just where to stand in front of the net when people were coming and he always knew when to go get back into position after coming out away from the net.  All of the other kids just kept abandoning the net and playing offense when they were supposed to be on defense.  Our team has a long way to go.  Haha.  They lost 7-3, but he had so much fun and at this age that’s really all that matters.

We headed home for a late lunch after that and then I spent the afternoon clearing out the file cabinet in my office to get it moved downstairs so we can try to sell it.  The thing is HUGE… it’s a full-size office file cabinet (one of the wide three-drawer cabinets, not the tall cabinets) so it takes up so. much. space. And I’m ready for it to be GONE!  I also got a huge box of yard sale stuff priced and packed up to take to my mother-in-law’s because we literally have no place else to put any more junk.  And I still have to clean out the majority of the house.  Eeks.

Saturday evening we went to church and then out for our usual Mexican for dinner.  My parents were out of town all weekend, so it was just the four of us.  On the way home, Olivia fell asleep, and I mean OUT COLD, and we couldn’t believe it.  That just never happens anymore, but I guess that’s what happens when you wake up at 6 AM… which she did that day.  Sigh.

Sunday was another gorgeous day so we spent lots of time in the back yard at my MIL and step-FIL’s house after lunch.  The kids got to help Nana pick carrots which they loved, and they also got to dig in the dirt for a good long while.  They came across a couple of earth worms and I swear I almost fainted when Olivia started playing with them.  I don’t do worms.  My skin is crawling even thinking about them. 

Since my parents were out of town for the weekend, I took on Sunday dinner so it was ready for them when they arrived back in town.  They came over along with my bro and his friend, my uncle and his girlfriend, and my grandmother… the usual Sunday crew.  I made a new pasta dish that I don’t even really have a name for because I made it up as I went, but it’s kind of like chicken parmesan.  The chicken is shredded, though, and I don’t use spaghetti noodles.  Instead I used Rigatoni and I mixed the noodles, some spaghetti sauce, and the shredded chicken altogether in a baking dish, topped it with mozzarella, and then baked it.  We had that along with roasted green beans and garlic bread, the ever present bottle of wine, and Hershey Pie for dessert. 

Momma and Daddy told us all about their trip (Nashville – SO jealous) and then after the boys were done eating I put them to work and got them to get my huge file cabinet down the stairs.  They also brought B’s old smaller file cabinet up for me, so now all I have to do is paint it.

And you can find me here doing just that all day today!  Happy Monday! 

Don't forget to link up with us... just grab the graphic and link up below!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.

An InLinkz Link-up

Five on Friday - Girl Time and Other Faves

Another busy week in the books!  The weeks seem to fly by even faster now that I don’t work.  I have no clue how I used to have time to do everything back when I had a full-time job.  I’m home without kids for six hours Monday through Friday now and I still feel there’s not enough time to get everything done.  It’s probably just because all of my free time is going towards purging, simplifying, and organizing.  Once the whole house is done, I’m hoping I’ll eventually reach a point where I have more free time. 

Also, I swear it’s like I blinked and it’s March. 

I have lots of faves today!

O N E – Pedicure with Girlfriends

Okay, y’all, I am totally getting used to this stay-at-home-mom gig.  Tuesday morning two of my girlfriends and I decided to get together because all six of our babies were in school at the same time.  My friend Jeannine suggested getting a pedicure, and I was totally on board because it’s starting to get warm here so the sandals and flip flops are starting to come out! 

We met at 11:30 and enjoyed being pampered, and we were having such a good time that we all ended up staying to chat long after they were done.  I realized, I can’t even remember when the last time was that I had a pedicure… I know my Momma and I got one before my brother’s wedding, but that was almost FIVE years ago.  I may have gotten one when I was preggo with Olivia, but I can’t even remember??  If so then that was still over four years ago.  I just can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve had one!  Anyhoo, it was such a nice little treat, and it was something that I couldn’t have done if I had been at work. 

Saying that I’m loving staying at home is an understatement. 

And I sure do love these ladies!

T W O – New Recipe to Try

You guys may remember that B and I finally started grilling for the first time last year?  (LOL.)  Well, we are loving it and we have pretty much perfected the burger.  I try not to cook with a lot of red meat, though, so I’d like to find some healthier alternatives.

My friend Emily (hiiii, Emily!) posted this recipe for Turkey Burgers earlier this week and they sound so yummy.  Once the warm weather decides to stick around, we will definitely be trying these!  And I love her idea to top them with a little bit of BBQ sauce!  They sound so flavorful!

T H R E E – Dr. Seuss Week at Olivia’s School

If you have small kids you may have heard that this week is Dr. Seuss’s birthday!  Both of our kids’ schools have always done something special to commemorate the big day and Olivia’s school decided to do some themes for each day of this week. 

Monday they were supposed to wear a mustache but we didn’t know about it because we didn’t get the memo since we kept Olivia out from school on Friday.  Tuesday they were supposed to wear stripes but since Olivia now picks out her own clothes in the morning I completely dropped the ball on this.  Wednesday was pajama day and the kids brought home some cute Cat & the Hat masks and whiskers, Thursday was crazy hair day (and I am just awful at doing anything hair related so don’t judge.  LOL.), and today is mismatched shoes and socks day.  I have no idea why she decided to hold up a brush for her picture, but we are just rolling with it.  Haha.  Also, note her hair in the last picture... she wanted it "curly" AKA to wear her hair in braids all night and wake up with crimped hair.  Like mother, like daughter.  <3

F O U R – The Kids’ School Papers are Organized to the MAX!

Did you catch my post on Tuesday?  The kids and my school paperwork boxes are DONE and DONE.  I had so many questions on Instagram stories that I decided to do an entire post just dedicated to those and I went into great detail about what categories we used and what exactly we saved.  The best part is, every single school-related paper from preschool through college fits in just one box – schoolwork, keepsakes, pictures, report cards, and awards.  Yes, I am not kidding!  #AndAllTheMommasSaidAmen

F I V E – How We are Saving Money

Finally, did you catch my post yesterday?  My handsome hubs made his debut on the blog and he wrote his very first post for me!  Since I am no longer working, we are trying to save money any way that we can, so Brian joined a few cash-back programs and we are sharing in detail how they work, exactly how much money we have gotten back from each of them, and how you can get signed up and receive cash back within minutes of signing up!  See the post here. 

Happy Friday, all!

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.

How We Save Money with Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, & Ebates

*This post may contain affiliate links.

Now that I’m jobless, Brian and I are constantly trying to find ways to save money here and there when we can.  Brian has joined a few different cash-back programs in the last few months and I wanted to let all of you know about a couple of them because we love them so much.  Since Brian is the one who uses the programs, I’m going to let him explain in his own words how each one works since he understands the ins and outs better than I do. 

Take it away, B!

* * *

Ibotta

Ibotta has tons of cash back offers for a very wide selection of stores, including grocery stores, clothing stores, liquor stores, and more.  We primarily use the cash back offers on groceries and wine which are available at stores like Target, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, Sam’s Club, and many more.  We have been using the app for about a year, and our total cash back so far is a little over $250.

Here’s how Ibotta works…

Ibotta gives you cash back for buying products that you select via the Ibotta app.  You start by finding offers/products in the app that you plan to buy.  You can select as many offers as you want… we typically select anything that we think we might buy, even if we might not necessarily end up buying every item.  They also occasionally offer cash back for things like “any grocery item” or “any brand of granola bar”, for example, where you don’t necessarily have to buy a specific product or brand.  After your shopping trip, you use the app to scan or take a picture of your receipt.  You then select the offers/products that are on that receipt and submit it to Ibotta.

Once you have submitted a receipt, Ibotta will take a short time to validate your submission and if everything checks out, they will deposit the cash back into your Ibotta account.  When your Ibotta balance reaches $20 or more, you can transfer the money to your Paypal or Venmo account.

Walmart receipts are especially easy to submit, because Ibotta reads the QR code on the receipt and automatically matches the products you bought to the cash back offers that are available to you.  Other stores take a little more time because you have to take pictures of the receipt and manually select the offers.  One example of this is Publix, and the Publix receipts are typically so long that you have to take multiple pictures in order to get the full receipt submitted to Ibotta.  For some purchases, the app also requires you to scan the UPC symbol on the product packaging itself to prove that you purchased the correct eligible product.

If you sign up as a new user, Ibotta currently offers a welcome bonus where they will give you a bonus $10 in your account after you submit your first receipt.  And we would love it if you would use our referral code because we get a bonus, too.  Who doesn’t want free money?!  (Lindsay added that.  Hehe.)

Click here to sign up.  Our referral code is subhxeh

Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards gives you rewards points for purchasing various popular brands/products.  Some examples of brands they currently offer bonus points for are Kraft, Heinz, Pepsi, Doritos, Miller, Coors, and Gatorade, among many others.  We have been using the app for about 6 months, and we have earned about $20 in rewards.

Here’s how Fetch Rewards works…

Fetch Rewards gives you rewards points for scanning and sending images of your grocery receipts.  You get a small amount of points just for submitting a receipt, and you get bonus points if you buy certain brands/products.  You can maximize your rewards by browsing the app before you shop to find the brands that will earn bonus points (and then buying those products).  We typically just buy what we always buy, and get whatever points are available on those items.  This is why we’re not earning tons of rewards, but someone who buys more of the brands that are offered in the app could earn a lot more.  After your shopping trip, you use the app to take a picture of your receipt.  The app automatically (and instantly) finds any products on your receipt that earn bonus points, and adds the points to your account.   On occasion, the app might miss something, but it has an option to submit a correction if you didn’t get the rewards you expected for an item.  This is pretty rare though… the latest app does a really good job of identifying the items that are eligible for bonus points.

Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards.  Every 1,000 points is currently worth $1 in gift cards.  Gift cards offered include Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Nordstrom, just to name a few.  You can redeem starting at 3,000 points or $3.

Fetch Rewards is very easy to use and takes very little time to submit receipts.  So although we haven’t earned a ton of rewards, it’s still worth using because it is so quick and easy.

If you use our referral code, you will automatically get 2,000 bonus points (worth $2) the first time you submit an eligible receipt and we get a bonus as well.  Click here to sign up.  

Our referral code is K5JXK

Ebates

Ebates has tons of cash back offers for a wide selection of stores.  Most offers in Ebates are for a cash back percentage on your total online purchase (not necessarily for buying a particular product ).  Examples of current online stores that offer cash back are Walmart, Old Navy, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Gap, and Carter’s, among many others.  There are also some offers for making in-store purchases at certain retailers.  Current in-store offers include Bed Bath & Beyond, Express, and Best Buy.  We primarily use the cash back offers for online clothes shopping.  We have been using the app for about 4 months, and our total cash back so far is about $20, which isn’t bad considering we haven’t been shopping as much lately.

Here’s how Ebates works…

Ebates gives you cash back for using their app to do your online shopping.  You start by using the Ebates app to find the stores/sites you plan to buy from.  You must start from the Ebates app.  If you start from the retailer’s website or app first, you won’t be able to get cash back from Ebates.  After you make your purchase from inside the Ebates app, Ebates will follow up later with an email notifying you of your cash back amount.  It typically takes anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days for Ebates to notify you.

Every three months, Ebates automatically transfers your cash back balance to your PayPal account.  Alternatively, I think you can have them send you a paper check, but we have not used that option.

Ebates is very easy to use, but the hardest part is remembering which stores offer cash back and starting from the Ebates app whenever we do our online shopping from those stores.  We often forget to do it, so then we miss out on the cash back.  Also, we have had one problem where the retailer’s website did not seem to be working correctly from inside the Ebates app.  This has only happened to us once, so it is probably very rare, but it was annoying.

If you sign up as a new user, Ebates currently offers a welcome bonus where they will give you a bonus $10 in your account after you make your first qualifying purchase of $25 or more.  We will also get a bonus if you use our referral link to sign up and make a qualifying purchase.  Our referral links are here or here if you want to sign up!

* * *

Thanks, babe! 

So friends, if you’re looking for some easy ways to save a little bit of money on stuff that you already buy, check out these three apps!

A penny saved is a penny earned, and every penny counts when you're living in a one-income household!  I'd surely like to keep it that way, too.  ;o)