Growth Charts

I decided to make growth charts for the kids.  I thought it would be a lot nicer than putting pencil marks on the wall.

I had some paper on a 24" wide roll that I cut to be about four feet.  Then I cut each one about 8 inches wide. 

I currently have them taped to my cutting board for fabric and I was able to use the lines on the cutting board along with a normal ruler to create inch marks all the way up the chart. 

We just used some regular construction paper for the letters and I hand drew them, cut them out, and then traced them with markers to give them a border.  I labeled the inches and feet, and then the kids put the stickers on.  Delaney has butterflies and flowers.  Zane has monkey pirates.  And Ryan has some sports stuff.

We are looking forward to hanging them up on the wall.  It will be fun to measure their growth several times a year until they are grown.  They go up to 6 feet, 6 inches, so I am sure none of the kids will outgrow them.  But just wanted to make sure in case any of my kids wound up over 6 feet, that we could have enough room to record it.

Menu Monday - November 14th

My menu starts on Sunday, but I'm posting today.

Sunday:  Turkey Patty Melt & Progresso Soup (We got a TON of Progresso soup really really cheap from my coupon shopping, so we are combining it with some home cooking.)

Monday:  Crockpot Chili, corn bread

Tuesday:  Sloppy Joes, sweet potato fries, veggies

Wednesday:  hamburger helper (another thing I got from my coupon shopping for really cheap -we use ground turkey), veggies

Thursday:  Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies - the meatloaf was made about a month or two ago when I got 10lb. of ground beef and ended up making 9 meatloaves.  We cooked them all, ate one, and froze the rest.  Now I just defrost it, reheat and we are ready to eat!  I will definitely be doing this more often!

Friday:  California Tamale Pie (in the crockpot), salad

Saturday:  Santa Fe Chicken Pilaf, fruit

Another week of yumminess!

Nov 12 - Day 12 A Month of Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for date nights!  Hubby and I went to see Immortals today.  We wanted to see a matinee showing because it was cheaper, but when we got there, we found out that the time we wanted was only showing it in 3D, so I saw my first 3D movie ever. It was pretty cool!  And there was a huge amount of yumminess in that movie.  :X  But there was a lot of action, and we enjoyed it, and the price at the theater we went to wasn't that expensive, even though it was a 3D movie.  It's always nice to get away with my hubby for a couple hours once in a while.

A Month of Thankfulness/Zane's Birthday

November 11 - Day 11

Today I am thankful for Zane.  He was born 8 years ago today.  Zane really is a great kid.  There are a lot of great characteristics about him that are coming to view more and more each day.  He has been one that I've struggled with parenting for a long time.  He was my spirited child, and my stubborn child.  He had certain idiosyncrasies that I and many others didn't understand.  He was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and he began medication about a month ago for it.  I don't think I posted much about this on my blog yet, but if I did, sorry if I'm repeating information.  I wasn't against medication, but I was willing to look at other options for him.   But when we first discovered that it was likely that he had it, he wanted to know if it could be fixed.  It broke my heart to know that he had been struggling so badly with it.   I know that it caused a lot of frustration between us, because his inability to focus appeared to be a deliberate refusal to acknowledge us. 

When we had his assessment and the Dr. said that we can put him on medication, she said that it was like a person with blurry eyesight.  Glasses help things come into focus, and for a child with ADHD, the medication helps everything come into focus.  We were given a prescription for about half the dosage that he would be taking, as the Dr. wanted him to ease into it.  He took that for a week and then he started on the full dosage.  He appeared to be doing very well on the medication, and we had told his teachers that he would be starting it.  At Zane's conference, they said they noticed the difference right away, and that he was doing really well, and he was able to focus much better.

Zane has always had a very active imagination.  He's very descriptive, very observant, and doesn't miss a thing.  He would tell us stories and talk about different things before he was on the medication, but it would take a very long time for him to get things out.  He would hesitate and pepper his sentences with a lot of pauses and ums and ahs.  If someone else was talking in the background, he'd lose his train of thought and get upset that things weren't quiet enough for him to talk.  Now that he's on the medication, he will tell us these grand stories with lots of detail, and I don't want to stop him, because it's just so exciting to be able to hear him talk without him getting distracted.  It's so much easier to listen to him. 

On Thursday at the Pizza Party Fundraiser for school, his teacher was there, and we went and talked to her briefly, and I told her that I was really excited about some of the writing assignments that he brings home, because they are just so detailed and well thought out.  She said that it made a big difference now that he is able to concentrate better.  (His teacher has ADHD and when I said something to her about it, she asked if I had talked to his Dr. about it, and she is the one that really encouraged me to look into it... I suspected that he possibly had it several months earlier, but since she has it, she was able to recognize it a lot better.) It makes me so happy that he's able to concentrate better, and I know he writing.

And it's good to get reassurance from his teachers that he is doing so well.  Homework has gone from a 3 hour struggle to being 15-20 minutes of homework that is done and he can go out and play.  It is wonderful!

Back in July, Target had a sale on Nintendo DS Lites.  Zane had been playing with one of his friend's, and he had asked me several times if I could just not give him a birthday or Christmas present, and save up to give him a DSi.  I decided to buy him a DS Lite.  One day he saw that the DS Lites were $100, so he begged and pleaded with me to get him one.  (The one I bought him was cheaper than that). I told him that I didn't know if we could manage it.  It came up many times over the next few weeks.  I really played it off like we weren't going to be able to get him one.  I was also able to get him a few games.  I picked up a baseball game on clearance at Target a couple months ago, and just last week, I had enough Amazon Gift Cards through Swagbucks, and I was able to get Super Scribblenauts and Plants vs. Zombies as well.  I put some Legos in the box to confuse him and make him think he was getting Legos. 

A couple days ago, he was asking again, and I told him that maybe next year things wouldn't be as tight, and we could spend a little extra money.  So, he said, "Maybe I should just be thankful that I'm getting anything."  And he said it in a way that showed he really didn't feel any entitlement.  It really touched my heart that he was able to view it that way.

Today we made him wait until after school, and after homework, and after dinner, and after Andy and the kids went to the water park, and I went to Zumba, and after I took a shower and the kids got in their pajamas.  And we gave him his presents.  We only had three wrapped presents.  I handed him the bottom one first, and he shook it, and said, "Legos."  I told him to open that last.  Then I handed him the other game, and told him to open that second.  Then I gave him the last one, which he put second at first.  I had to tell him to open it first.  He said it was heavy.  And then he opened it.  He was so excited, he did this little quiet scream.  I asked him about it later, and he said he did want to jump up and down and scream, but he thought we might get upset with him. I don't know why.  But he was super excited. 

When he opened the second present, he wasn't that excited.  He had really wanted Super Scribblenauts, and since he thought the last present was Legos, he thought that was the only game he was getting.  He didn't cry or get upset, but I could tell he was not thrilled.  He set it aside and opened his last gift.

He got to the box, which was actually the Amazon shipping box, and he said, "What kind of Legos are these?"  But when he got the box opened and peeked inside, he saw the game he wanted most in there, but then he saw Plants vs. Zombies, and he was super excited.   He didn't expect that one at all, and it's a game he loves.  So, he was extremely grateful, and excited.  It made me feel really good to give it to him. 

So, that's about it.  It can be really cool and really fun to be Zane's mom.  He's doing well in school, he's doing well in math, he just got bumped up in his reading level, so he has to take books that are between a 3.0 grade level and a 4.5 grade level.  He's really impressing me with his reading.  He has to take tests on the books he reads, and his teacher has him write a quick synopsis on the back of the slip that he uses to record his test scores, and I think that is the neatest idea.  And when I read his comments, they are really intuitive. 

Zane likes school, and this year is WAY better than last year, since he doesn't have to stay inside for recess or not participate for gym.  He is doing really cool things with his drawings and he is very detailed when it comes ot coloring and drawing.  He is pretty artistic.  He loves to help me cook, he is very independent and uses the toaster oven and microwave (with permission) to make his own breakfast (bagels, toast, waffles, etc) and sometimes lunch (tostinos, chicken nuggeets, quesadillas).  He will help me measure and pour, and he loves to try to mix things.  Which is good, because I want to teach him how to make quite a few meals before he grows up and ends up on his own.  Even though he dislikes doing chores, he understands that he is learning how to do things for when he grows up. 
 
I'm really looking forward to the next 8 years as he gets to be a teenager and starts hopefully really showing his personality and talents and starts to discover what he wants to do with his life. 

November 10 - Day 10

Today I am thankful for fun!  Tonight we went to Luigi's for a pizza party fundraiser so the Fourth Graders can go to Springfield this year.  We were going to do Luigi's on Friday for Zane's birthday, but decided to go a day early so we could benefit the school.  While we were there, they had specials on their laser tag and game room.  I was able to save 1/3 off the laser tag and 20% off the game room.  So, the kids were really well behaved while we were eating. 

After a little bit, the boys were done eating, and a boy from Zane's class was eating behind us, and they were talking, and the boy was going to look at the laser tag.  The boys actually asked if they could go, too.  I said they could.  They came back just a minute or two later and asked if they could go play.  I decided to let them go.  Delaney stayed with us, but was impatient to go to the game room.  But she waited, and I took her around.  She had some fun running around playing the games. 

When we were done, we were getting ready to head out.  We talked with the principal, and then we ran into Zane's teacher, and she told me again how much better he is doing now that he is using his medication.  I told her that I was really enjoying his writing assignments that he brought home, because they were very creative.  She reiterated that it helped that he was able to concentrate better. 

We had a really great time.  The kids had a blast, and tomorrow we are going to have even more fun when we celebrate Zane's birthday with the Water Park that we got free passes to because the gym is giving Veterans and their family a pass during the month.  The kids are excited.

This Week's Menu

I haven't been posting menus lately because it's just been really busy and my computer time has been more limited.

This is my menu for this week:
Sunday:  Leftover Spinach, Potato & Tomato Soup and I made some homemade garden herb bread that I started in the bread machine for the dough cycle, and finished by baking in the oven.

Monday:  Acapulco chicken (we double the recipe and I chunk the vegetables, and when it's all done, I add about half a cup of chicken broth with a little bit of cornstarch and a few TBSP of sour cream to make a sauce.  We serve it over rice, and we had a salad with it as well.  It is delicious, but the fumes can be overpowering when you are cooking it... just a warning.  It is really, really good, but with all the spiciness, I definitely have to use my vent over the stove.

Tuesday:  Chuck roast with a sweet n' spicy cocoa rub mixed with a little bit of chipotle chili powder, put in the crockpot that had a bag of baby carrots, 5 quartered red potatoes and one quartered onion.  I seared the roast after the rub was applied, and then deglazed the pan and added that to the crockpot and let it cook all day.  It was fantastic!

Wednesday:  Chili Mac & bread.

Thursday:  The kids school is having a pizza party at Luigi's which is a fundraiser to help raise funds so the 4th graders can go to Springfield.  So, we are going since Ryan is in fourth grade this year.  I wish we could have done this every year, but I feel particularly like I we should go to this one.

Friday:  It's Zane's birthday, and we are actually making a very simple meal that he actually likes.  We will have chipped beef on toast with some fruit.  But we will also be going to the water park at the Vaughan Center since Andy got a free pass to the Vaughan Center facility since he served in the military.  It's Veteran's Appreciation Month, and we get to benefit from it.  So, when we are done there, we will come home and have cupcakes and Zane will get to open presents.

Saturday:  Taco Soup, corn bread

Yum, yum!

Catching up on Thankfulness

Somehow, Day 4 never did make it to the blog, and I've been so busy, even though it's Day 9, I haven't gotten in the past 4 days.  So, I'll come up with 5 things that I'm thankful for today.

Day 4 - I believe I said I was thankful for Ryan running in the 5k with me.  And even if I didn't write it, I am thankful that we were able to stay the night at my sister's house.

Day 6 - I am thankful for books and reading.  I love to read and I wish I had more time, because there are an awful lot of books out there that I would love to be pouring int.

Day 7 - I am thankful that I can work from home.  It has been a huge blessing for me!

Day 8 - I am thankful for coupon shopping!  I have been saving so much money through coupon shopping, and it's been fantastic.  I wish I had really delved into this earlier. 

Day 9 - I'm thankful that my kids have Awanas.  Today all three of my kids were able to get awards.  Delaney passed a section and got her wings!  Zane was able to bring a friend today and got his wings!  And Ryan got to bring a friend today and finished his book.  I'm so proud of all three of them!  And I'm grateful that their friends could come so they could pass their sections.  I didn't tell Ryan or Zane that either of their friends could come, so they were very surprised and super excited when their friends came.  It made me very happy.

Nov 5 - Day 5/Hot Chocolate 5k

Today I am thankful for chocolate.  And running!  Because running makes me not feel guilty about eating chocolate. 

Today was the Hot Chocolate 5k in Chicago.  It's a huge event.  There were over 40,000 people running at this event.  I think there were over 25,000 doing the 5k alone.  I took Ryan with me this year.  I am not a fast runner at all and told him that I wouldn't be running very fast.  He said he was okay with that.  Last year, I completed the event in 44:17, so I went to the area where they had the 15 minute mile slots.  It was at the very end of the corrals, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot of people there.  When things started moving a little, Ryan and I did move up a little, but it took probably about 10 minutes to get to the start line.  We'd walk a little and then stop briefly and then walk some more.



As we approached the start line, we started running.  Or I should say jogging, since I am really not a runner.  I told Ryan that we would run the first 10 minutes and then we could walk for two minutes.  Right away there were people in the path that were pushing strollers.  The race FAQ specifically said no strollers.  And then there were people that were walking with 3-4 or more people abreast.  It was really frustrating trying to navigate around the groups of walkers in the middle and the strollers as well.  I really wish that the people that were walking would have moved over to one side or the other, and I wish that the race volunteers would have gone up to the people with strollers and told them that they couldn't be in the event.  Seriously.  I remember these concerns last year, but they still were a problem.

Anyway, Ryan and I ran for the first 10 minutes.  Then we walked for 2 minutes.  Then we ran again and made it 8 minutes before we decided to walk.  We had passed the 1 mile mark shortly after we started running the second time.  I don't remember how many times we ran and then walked, but we were running 6-8 minutes at a time and then walking about 2.  But then we came up to the area where they had water and gatorade.  We got our water and Ryan was saying how people just threw their cups down on the ground.  I told  him that in a race like this, it was okay, and that they had people picking them up.  So, he drank his water, and made quite a production of throwing his cup on the ground.  He looked up at me and said, "That was fun."  LOL

I don't think we got to the 2nd mile mark before Ryan was done running.  He said that his legs hurt, and he wanted to walk.  So we moved to the left and continued to walk.  We tried to weave inbetween a few of the slower walkers.  That wasn't much of a problem, except when we came across areas where there were a small group of walkers and then a larger group very close by, making it difficult to get by any of them.

We got towards the end, and I encouraged Ryan to run again, but he said he wasn't ready yet.  I actually was glad that he wasn't ready yet, because we ended up going uphill for a little bit.  I think I would have pooped out too fast if I had tried to run up the hill.  But once we got to the top of the hill, he was ready to run again.  We could see the finish line, and we had our last burst of energy.... so I thought....

About 10 yards from the finish line, Ryan burst head, crossing the finish line a few seconds before me.  Stinker!   His time is recorded at 45:05.

The course was slightly more than 3.2 miles, which is the 5k.  I believe it was 3.3 or 3.4 miles.  Like I said - slightly.  They had to reroute the course because a truck got stuck under a viaduct before the race began.

My time isn't showing up right now.  I would like to have an official time, even though I know it was slower than last time.  I do think that I could have beat my time last year if we had run a little more, but I didn't want to push Ryan too much.  He was a trooper and stuck with me.  I may have had a defective chip, so I don't know if my time will be recorded at all.  We'll see.

After the race, we got our photos taken, and got some water and chocolate.  Then we got to go to the Post Race Party and we got trays of Fondue - a pretzel stick, apple slices, half a banana, a marshmallow and a rice crispie treat with chocolate.  Then we got cups of hot chocolate.  And finally, there was a tent with squares of Ghiradelli chocolate.  Yum!

I should add that we stayed at my sister's house the night before, and we took the subway to get to the race.  It was Ryan's first trip on the subway.  My sister's race was later, so she would be leaving later than us.  She told me directions on how to get there, and said, "Pretty much, just follow the people."  And she was right.  There was almost a dozen people on the platform when we first were waiting for the train, and then there were at least 30 people on the train when we got off.  We just had to follow everyone.  When we were done, we went back to my sister's.  Despite the fact that her race was three times longer than ours, she was only about 20 minutes behind us.  We did get a little off course on our way back to her house.  We didn't get lost - I had a good idea where we had to go, but we did need to make a couple of extra turns.

It was a really awesome time.  I would love to do it again with Ryan.  I do hope that they can work things out so that the walkers can stay to the side and let runners be able to pass more easily.  Maybe next year, I will just move up in the corrals, even though I am not as fast.  I can stay to the side so the faster runners can get around me.  I think that we are going to start training a little bit at the park that is near our house.  It has a .3 mile trail, so if we go around 3 times, we'll be doing a mile.  I am not sure exactly how I'll work it out, but we'll start with 3 times around - walk, run, walk. Then after a couple times, switch to run, walk, run.  Then we'll add a lap and maybe to walk, run, walk, run, then instead of trying to add a running to that, add a 5th lap and do walk, run, walk, run, walk.  And on and on until we get to 10 laps of running.  Then maybe we can get faster and faster and by time next year rolls around, maybe I can actually get at the front towards the seeded corrals.  I know that Ryan can run.  He just needs a little more stamina, and we can build up to that.

On the way home, I really struggled staying awake. Ryan fell asleep.  When we got home, Andy took all three of the kids to the indoor water park at the gym, since we have a free pass this month (thanks to Andy's previous military service).  They went for two hours, and I took a two hour nap!  I feel refreshed now!

Nov 3 - Day 3

Day 3 - A month of Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for Technology!  Oh, there is so many reasons to be thankful for technology, from the ability to stay in touch with family and friends so easily, to keeping a budget, and making menus and shopping online, and working and catching up on the news, and waking you up in the morning, and listening to music, and tracking your heart rate when exercising, and getting you from one point to another.  It seems that almost everything that I do now is somehow connected to technology.  Even in church, the words to the songs we sing are put up on a screen with projectors that are connected to a computer screen!  When I am coordinating in early childhood, we use a digital readout to page parents if their child needs them.  My kids use computers in school to take tests.  We entertain ourselves with technology.  We remember appointments and manage our social life and schedule our workouts, etc. with technology.  And I remember when technology was pretty archaic.  My kids will never know a life with record albums and cassette tapes and games without computers or handheld devices.  There is no turning back!  And I am thankful for it.

A Month of Thankfulness

I've seen other people posting on Facebook that they are going to post something they are thankful for every day of November.  I don't often get in on those things on FB, but this is something I would really like to try.  I have so much to be thankful for, even though things are tight for us right now.  It's only money, but a lot of things are going well, so I definitely have more than enough things to be thankful for.

I don't think I'll have any trouble thinking of things to be thankful for.  I think I'll have trouble picking only one each day!  So, today, since I am starting a day late, I get to pick two!  Yay!

Day 1 - I am thankful for my husband, Andy, who among many, many other things, on that particular day, cared for our kids that evening so I could join one of my bf's to see Twilight on the big screen as we near the day that we get to see Breaking Dawn (Part 1).  Yes - we are one of those crazy Twilight people.  Sadly we will not be seeing the midnight show this time.. BUT, we have tickets to see the 1:20 show on Friday afternoon - the first show of the day, so the tickets were only $3.

So, wow. I really don't know how to keep these things brief.  I'll stop now and add day two.

Day 2 - I am thankful for my bible study group at Women, Inc. this year.  It's great to stay connected in the Word and have accountability.  We meet on Wednesdays, so I chose this first Wednesday to be thankful for it.  I'm sure I could have come up with something/someone closer to me, but I'm not doing this in order. 

Menu for the week of 9/19

I do my menus Monday through Sunday.  This week has a lot of simple meals.  I have a bunch of stuff going on this coming week, but I also am trying to eat out of the pantry.

Monday 9/19 - Spaghetti with meat sauce, bread or rolls, and veggies
Tuesday 9/20 - Hamburger Helper, rolls, veggies
Wednesday 9/21 - It's my birthday!  We are having Chinese.  We haven't had Chinese for about a year.  Maybe even longer.  Maybe less.  I don't remember, but I just know it's been a long time.  Okay, I've made my own, but it's not the same.  We've been saving up so I can order out.  Besides, I don't want to cook on my birthday.  Besides, my kids don't have school that day, and as much as I love my kids, it doesn't feel like a very good birthday present that they don't have school that day.  :X  So, Chinese will make me happy.
Thursday 9/22 - Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches in the crockpot, chips & veggies
Friday 9/23 - We are having a garage sale at a friend's house.  We will either come home and have frozen pizzas or we might have some pizza there.  Not sure.  We'll work that out.  But it's on the menu.
Saturday 9/24 - Day two of the garage sale - something easy - grilled cheese sandwiches & tomato soup.
Sunday - 9/25 - I have decided to have a pantry/leftover day.  We have plenty of party pizzas in the freezer as well as tostino pizza rolls.  We have Jello in our pantry, or I could defrost some chicken.  I might even have hot dogs or brats.  I'm not going to worry about it, because whatever we make for that day will come out of the pantry, fridge or freezer, and we'll make do.  It will work.  I'll have to post about it after we have it.

My grocery list - this is pretty pathetic:

milk
pancake mix
2lb. ground turkey (I get the frozen tubes, because they are really inexpensive, and it's just for Hamburger Helper)
wavy potato chips
fruit - this will be my biggest purchase most likely.  I'll probably get some strawberries and blueberries and maybe some mangoes or melon.
microwave popcorn
worchestershire sauce
pickle relish
2lb. ground beef
4-28oz. cans crushed tomatoes or stewed tomatoes
4 - 6oz. cans tomato paste
celery
mushrooms
ear plugs (that's for Zane - I have to put it on the list, because I keep forgetting to look for them.  We have the High School less than a mile from our home, and one night a week, the marching band practices until about 9PM.  Zane has a hard time going to sleep on those nights, because he can hear it through his window, so he's requested ear plugs.  This will stay on my list until I find some and get them for him.)

Super Couponing - 9/13

Another day with no pictures.  I only went to two stores.

Walgreens - I had a 50¢ off coupon on Chex Mix which was on sale for 99¢, so I ended up getting a 5.5oz. package of Chex Mix with Dark Chocolate for 49¢.  I also got two cans of Barbasol shaving cream for 99¢ each.  And I had two coupons for $1 off two individual size bags of skittles, and they had Skittles on sale for 2/$1, so I basically got 4 bags of Skittles for free!  My total came to $2.82 and I saved $7.88.  I saved 74%.

Then I headed over to Jewel.  I was able to stack two coupons for a 56oz. box of Tide Powder.  The original price was $10.49, my preferred savings was -$2.50, plus I had a Jewel store coupon for -$3, plus I had a manufacturer's coupon for -$2, making my total for that box of detergent $2.99. 

I also had a coupon for $1 off any purchase of meat.  I ended up getting a package of mild Italian bulk sausage.  I can make spaghetti sauce with it.  Yummy!

I had a catalina for a free loaf of bread from the bakery up to $2, so I bought a loaf of Vienna bread, which was $1.99, so I got it free.

Jewel is running a sale on Russet Potatoes.  A 5lb. bag was 99¢ after using a $1.50 coupon.

Jewel was also running a sale on Jack's Pizzas.  They were 5/$12, -$2 in store coupons when you buy 5, -$1 manufacturer's coupon, making them $9 for 5, or $1.80 each.

They had a sale on Speedstick deodorant, but I think that I messed that up.  It was supposed to be Buy one for $2.99, get one free, plus use a Buy 1, get one free coupon, and they would both be free, but I didn't pick the ones that were marked Buy 1, get one free.  Oops.  That wasn't that good of a deal.  I need to be more careful on stuff like that.

They had a sale on Green Giant Frozen Boxed Vegetables for $1 each.  I had two 80¢ off 4 coupons, plus two 60¢ off 3 coupons, which meant I could get 14 boxes at 80¢ each.  Not bad.  They are normally about $1.39 at my cheaper store, and can be as high as $2.35 at Jewel.

Then they had the "Buy 10, save $5" Instant Savings Sale, where if you buy 10 of any combination of the listed items, you get $5 automatically deducted from your total.  This one can get kind of tricky, because if they are out of any of the items that you put on your list, and matched up coupons for, then you have to make adjustments.  I had to do this, this week.

I had a coupon for 50¢ off two boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, so I bought 2 boxes.  Total of 2 items.
Then I had four coupons for 50¢ off Betty Crocker Potato Specialty Mixes.  They were on sale for 50¢ each (after the $5 is deducted), and I had 4 coupons, so I ended up getting 8 boxes for 25¢ each.  That's 10 items total, and now I have $5 off my total.
Next, I had a bunch of different coupons for General Mills Cereal Treat Bars.   I have found out that these are really yummy!  Not exactly healthy, but they DO have cereal in them. LOL.  So, I bought 10.  Most of them were 50¢ off one or $1 off two, but I did have at least one $1 off 1 coupon.  Nice!  So, there's another 10 items, and a total of $10 off my total.
Next, I had several coupons for Pillsbury crescent rolls, which were on sale.  I know I had enough coupons to match up to 8 items, so I ended up getting 8 cans. 
Next, I bought 4 boxes of Tostino's Pizza Rolls.  They were $1 after the discount, and I had two $1-off-two Pizza Rolls coupons, so those ended up costing me 50¢ each.  Now I have another 10, plus 2 left over, so there's a total of $15 off my total.
This is where it got tricky.  I needed 8 more items to get another $5 off. On sale were Yoplait Delights, Go-Gurt, Trix Kids or Yoplait Smoothies.  I had coupons for 4 packages of the Yoplait Delights, but they were out.  :(  I was also going to get 4 packages of Yoplait Kids Yogurt or Splitz, which I had coupons for.  But instead of getting 4 packages of them, I ended up getting 6 packages of the Splitz, and 2 packages of teh Trix.  I had enough coupons for 6 of the items, but I left some of my coupons at home, and ended up having to buy two of them without coupons.  But they aren't any more than the ones I would pay at Aldi, and my kids LOVE those kids of yogurt, so I decided to just go with that.  Now I've gotten my additional 8 items, bringing it up to 10 and knocking $20 off my total.

I ended up getting one more thing that was on sale, that I didn't have coupons for, and they weren't the best price either, but my kids have been asking me for Pirate Booty.  So, since it was on sale, even though I didn't have a coupon for it, I decided to get it.  Hey, I've done enough saving to splurge a tiny bit, right?

I think that I got my biggest saving this time, although if I had done my deodorant's right, I would have had even better savings.  I paid $84.29 for all those items, and saved a whopping $130.28.  That's 61% savings on groceries.  Woo hoo! 

Now I'm going to try to eat out of the pantry for a little bit.  I've already made my menu out for next week, and have a very slim shopping list.  I'll do a new post for that though.

Super Couponing - 9/6

No pictures this time.  I don't feel like I got the best deals, but I didn't do that badly either.

Walgreen's - it was a candy kinda day.  I don't need any meds or toiletries.  They had different kinds of candy on sale and I had coupons that could be combined with a sale as well as a few store and manufacturer coupons that could be stacked.  I also had $4.50 in Register Rewards from a previous shopping trip - $3 of which needed to be used today or I would lose them.  I ended up spending $14.06 and saved 22.46.  That's almost 62% savings. I did end up getting 4 three-packs of gum which were on sale for $1.50.  That's not the cheapest I've gotten them, but it was Extra, and we like it, and the kids will probably get some in their stockings at Christmas.

I spent quite a bit at Jewel.  They had Charmin Toilet Paper for $15.99, plus I got a $3 Catalina.  It was for the one that has 15 Mega Rolls - the equivalent of 60 regular rolls, so that brings the average to 21¢ a roll.  They had a Instant Savings Sale where you buy 10 items (you can mix and match), and you get $5 automatically deducted from your bill.  Included in this sale were Cool Whip (different varieties) - I got 12, including the chocolate Cool Whip, because it's a really good snack with strawberries or fruit.  Yummy!  They also had Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers on sale.  After the rebate, they were $1 each, so I ended up getting 10 packages of Goldfish Crackers.  And I had to buy 8 more things to bring it up to an even multiple of 10, so I got 2 packages of Olive Oil and Rosemary Triscuits, 2 packages of Oreo Double Stuff Cookies, 2 packages of Wheat Thin Stix, and 2 boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars. 

They also had 12-packs of soda for sale.  But you had to buy multiples of 4 to get a good price.  I got 4 12-packs of Dr. Pepper and 4 12-packs of Fresca, and they were $2 each when I got 4 of them.  Not too bad.  The prices at Aldi are more expensive than that.  The last time I bought a bunch of soda like that was probably in April, and I still have some left.  I'm going to send Andy out to get some Diet Coke at that price.

When I went to pay, I had a catalina for $10 on the purchase of $100 or more.  I hurried and gave the cashier that coupon, because if he scanned the coupons before applying that catalina, the balance would dip below $100 and I wouldn't be able to use it.  But we got it in there in plenty of time.  Then he scanned the remaining coupons and the $10 in additional catalinas, bringing my total down to $83.30.  I saved $84.95 - over 50%.  (I am happy when I can get groceries at half price!)

And my last trip was CVS.  I got 3 packages of cotton balls, 3 bottles of Suave body wash, 1 Suave Deodorant and 2 bags of Starburst (because I had a coupon for Buy 1, Get 1 Free).  I also had a coupon for a free Milky Way, so picked that up, too.  The coupon that I had for the Starburst was actually for a maximum value of $4.29.  The Starburst were on sale for $3.59 each, or $3.00 each for 2 or more.  So I ended up paying 86¢ each for 2 14oz. bags of Starburst!  Today's savings at CVS was over 60%. 

I know I could probably do without the candy, but it does help as incentives for the kids. 

So, not great, but not bad either.

Super Couponing - Tuesday 8/30

I did some super couponing today.  If you've read my blog before, you probably know I'm not an extreme couponer.  I just want to save some money to help make ends meet.  As a stay-at-home mom, it's just one of the ways that I do my part in my family to keep our expenses down, especially when we are in a season of limited finances.  I'm really glad that I got started on this.  It does take a little bit of preparation and organization, and I can spend up to 3 hours or more sometimes, shopping to get the deals that I get.  But I am seeing my expenses for groceries and household items decrease, and it's a good feeling. 

My husband actually went shopping with me last week.  I wanted to go to Menards, and there were things there that I wanted his input on, plus we were going to browse a little as well.  Since the kids were in school and he didn't have any work that day, it was a good day to do it.  Andy has a new respect for what I do when it comes to coupon shopping.  I think he's had faith that what I've been doing is a big help to our finances, but he got to see it play out in real life.

Moving on... today wasn't my best day of deals, but I did get some good ones.

First stop:  Walgreen's.  It was a quick stop with a small amount of purchases.

My deals today for Walgreens:

• Kleenex - 100ct. - 99¢ a box.  Used a 50¢-off-3 coupon for 82¢ each.
• Carmex Vanilla on sale for $1.50.  Received $1.50 in Register Rewards, making it FREE!
• I had a $4 Register Reward from last week, bringing my total down to 34¢.  PLUS, I got $1.50 in Register Rewards for the Carmex.  I made money on this trip.

 My second stop was at Jewel.  I am usually pretty happy if I can save 50% on groceries.  I am not yet at the point that I can save much more than that.  My deals for today:

• I had a catalina for a Free box of Bakery Cookies when I used my Preferred Card, up to $3.50.  I made sure I got the cookies that were $3.49 so I could get my full value and not go over.  Score.
• Ken's Salad Dressing (16oz.) - I bought 2.  They were on sale for $1 each.  I had 2 $1 coupons, so I got both bottles FREE!
• Velveeta Cheesy Skillets - They were on sale for $1.67.  I had a coupon for $1 off, so I got it for 67¢, plus I got a Catalina for $1 off meat on my next shopping trip.
• Duncan Hines cake and brownie mixes - these were on sale for $1.25 each.  I had two coupons for "Buy 2, get 1 cake mix free".  I bought 4 boxes of brownies and 2 boxes of cake mix.  With kids, they make great snacks, especially if I make them in mini muffin tins!  My 7 year old gets to bring snacks to school every day, and this is an easy thing to make for him for once in a while.  So, I paid $5 for 4 of the boxes, and got 2 of them free, which comes out to 83¢ each.  Nice!
• Blue Bonnet Margarine Quarters - I bought 4 at $1 each and got a $1 Catalina making them 75¢ each.  Not the best deal, but butter prices are getting so high, that at least for baking, I may use half margarine and half butter.  I hate to do that, but sometimes you just have to make adjustments.
• Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta - They were $1 each, and buy 4 and get a $1 Catalina.  I had a 50¢ off 2 coupon and another 50¢ off 3 coupon, so I had to buy 5, but after the Catalina, they ended up being 60¢ each.
• Gulden's Mustard & Hunts Ketchup - These were $1 each, and I had to buy a combination of 4 of these and Hunt's Ketchup.  I had two 35¢ off coupons for the mustard, so after the coupons and the Catalina, the ketchup and mustard were 58¢ each.
• Hunts Snack Pack Pudding - nice and easy snack for when the kids get home from Awanas.  These were Buy 4 and get a $1 Catalina.  I had a coupon for 50¢ off two and 45¢ off 3, so I had to get 5, but those ended up being 61¢ each.
• Hunts Tomatoes - $1 each, I didn't have any coupons, but there was a $1 Catalina if I bought 4, so I did, making them 75¢ each.
• Manwich Sauce - $1 each.  Again, no coupons, but there was a $1 Catalina if I bought 4, so if I did, making them 75¢ each.  I know that's cheaper than the Aldi brand.
• Peter Pan Peanut Butter - $2.29 each, but Buy 2 and get a $1 Catalina.  I had two 50¢ off coupons, so after the coupons and Catalina, they are $1.29 each.
• Pringles Super Stacks - My kids love these!  I only buy them on sale.  They are not even this cheap at Aldi.  They were Buy 4, get a $1 Catalina.  I had a nice combination of coupons.  I had two coupons for $1 off 2 Reduced Fat Pringles, so I was able to buy 4 cans with those two coupons.  Then I had two coupons for $1-off-4 of any other flavor, so I was able to buy 8 cans with those two coupons.  I ended up getting 12 cans at 91¢ each!  Nice!  It should take us a while to go through that many cans!!!
• No Coupons Needed - I bought 2 64-ounce containers of Minute Maid Lemonade for $1 each.  I don't normally buy that kind of stuff, but $1 is not a bad price, and sometimes I like to get a little treat for my family.  They love lemonade.
• And last, but not least - Beer, Brats, Buns & Soda.  LOL.  They had Miller Light 24-packs of beer (bottles or cans, I decided to get bottles) for $12.99, and for 1¢ more, you can get a package of Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, a package of S. Rosen hot dog buns, and a 2-liter bottle of 7-Up, Squirt, or Canada Dry.  
• According to my receipt, I saved 49%.  But I also got $10 in Catalinas and another $1 off any meat purchase on my next trip.  Doesn't come close to the $39 I had in Catalina's a week or two ago, but it's still nice.

Store Number Three.  Target.  I ended up spending over twice as much as I expected to.  Ooops!  But for good reason!  I ended up picking up some Christmas/Birthday Gifts.

• I bought two DS games.   Shhhhhh.  Zane is getting a DS Lite for his birthday and Ryan is getting one for Christmas (can't make him wait for his birthday to have one, since it's a month after Christmas, and he's going to be bummed that Zane has a DS and he doesn't).  So, I found two games on clearance.  One was $7.48 and one was $9.98.  One of them was an Indiana Jones Game.  I found out when I got home that it's rated T, so I will have to check into it.  It might be going back.  The other one was E or E10+, and it's football or baseball or something like that, so I will definitely hang onto that one.  So there's one area that I went over, but still got a good deal on something I was planning for anyway.
• Orbit Gum - Three packs were on sale for $2, and I had 3 or 4 $1 off coupons, so they were either $1 each or $1.50, depending on which coupon I used.  Either way, that's a good price for gum.  I usually pick up 3-packs of gum for $1.50, and have always felt that was a great sale.
• Axe Body Wash - I normally don't buy this stuff, because it's usually expensive, but they are on sale for $3.49 each, and I had a coupon for buy 1 Axe Body Wash, get one free.   That makes it $1.75 each.
• Axe Deodorant - Same deal.  $3.49 each, and a coupon for Buy 1 Axe Deodorant, get one free making it $1.75 each.
• Nivea Body Wash.  This was not really on sale.  It was $3.99, although some of the stores in the places I get my info from have it at $2.99.  So, I had a $2 off Target coupon and a $1 off Manufacturer's coupon, making these 99¢ each.  Since I had two of each sets of coupons, I got two of them for 99¢ each.
• Nabisco Oreo Cookies Snack Sacks - These were on sale for $1.50 each.  I had a coupon for Buy 3, Get 1 Free.  And I had another one that was 75¢-off-two.  So, I ended up getting 5, and they were about 90¢ each.
• Febreze- Target is having a big Febreze sale.  Several of their items were on sale for $2.50, and they had a promotion where if you buy 5, you get a $5 Target Gift Card for a future purchase.  I had lots of coupons.  So I got 1 Febreze Set & Refresh for $2.50, and I had a $1-off coupon, making it $1.50.  Then I got 3 cans of Febreze Air Effects at $2.50 each, and I had three $1-off coupons making each of those $1.50 each.  And I also bought a Febreze Candle, which was $5, but I had a $2-off coupon for that making it $3.  All these are in their new Pumpkin Harvest, and something that I think is called Falling Leaves or something like that.  So, once I purchased all 5, used $6 worth of coupons and got a $5 gift card, I ended up paying about 80¢ each!
• Finally, the other thing that caused me to go over on my spending - Clearance.  Oh no!  They had their children's scissors on sale for 35¢ each.  I picked up 4.  It seems like I keep buying these each year, because when the kids get out of school around Memorial Day each year, they use their scissors, but then they aren't really in a condition to take to school for another year.  If I'm wrong, then I have scissors to donate for a small amount. Or I save 65¢ or more for next year.  I also got some drawing paper.  I got 3 packs of regular size manilla drawing paper for 48¢ each and 2 packs of larger manilla drawing paper for 74¢ each.   Delaney LOVES to draw.  Tonight while I was reading to the kids, she opened up a package and drew a picture.  She is really creative.  I was glad that she busied herself with that while I read.  And the price was right.  I also ended up getting a pad of lined paper for beginning writers.  Delaney could definitely use that to practice her letters.  And I found a really cute Hello Kitty note pad for $1.75.  I also got some stacker organization bins (big surprise there!), but they were half off and only $2.50.  But it all adds up.  But that's a pretty good stash of stuff for the amount I spent.

And my last store was CVS.  I didn't get everything that I wanted here.  I might need to try to go back later this week.  We'll see.

• Puffs Plus - I bought 3 boxes for 99¢ each, plus I had a coupon for 25¢ off 3, bringing the total to $.91 each.  Not great, but better than Aldi's prices.  
• Cascade Action Plus Tabs - I love these things.  They are definitely worth paying a little more.  I'm trying to keep my cost under 18¢ a tab.  They were $3.99 for a 20ct. pouch.  I had two $1-off coupons for these, but they only had 1 on the shelf, so I was only able to get one.  But these were under 15¢ a pack.  Nice!
• Dawn Dish Detergent.  Not the best price in the world, but not really all that bad either.  It was 99¢ on sale, and I had a coupon for .50¢ off, making it 49¢ for a 10oz. bottle.
• Tampax.  On sale for $2.99 with two 50¢ off coupons, I was able to get them for $2.49 each.
• ALL Laundry Detergent.  This was on sale for $3.99, and I had a coupon for $1, so that was $2.99.  
• St. Josephs 81mg. Aspirin.  36ct. bottle was on sale for $2, I had a $1 off coupon, and I got back $2 in Extra Care Bucks, so I actually made a dollar on this.  I don't know if I will use it or donate it, but it won't go to waste.
• When I scanned my CVS card, I got a coupon for a free pack of Orbit-single pack gum, up to $1.  Most of the Orbit single pack's were about $1.57, but there was one on clearance for 78¢.  I asked if I had to buy one of the ones at regular price or if I can use the clearance one, and the cashier rang it through to check, and I ended up getting $1, even though the item only cost 78¢, so I made a few pennies off that one.
• My total savings this trip was 54%.  Nice!!  

There you have it. Today's savings.  Not to shabby.  I'm going to be making a lot of meals from my freezer and pantry this month! 

A Really Great Shopping Day

So, thanks to the rain (not to mention other lack of work recently) Andy was home for the day, so I dragged him along to go shopping with me.  Actually I didn't have to drag him.  He came willingly.  I had intended to hit up Walgreens and Jewel on my own and then take him with later, but he said he'd come if I just waited for him to grab a little bit of breakfast.

Our first stop was Walgreen's.  I had two coupons for $1.50/1 Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief Toothpaste.  It was on sale for $4.99, and you get $4.00 back in Register Rewards.  I had some Register Rewards from the previous week, so I gave Andy a $3 RR.  He had to add a candy bar to be able to use the full amount of the RR, so he ended up paying $1.65 for the toothpaste and candy bar (nice combination, right???  LOL) and he got a $4 Register Reward.  Total savings was $5.30, plus earned a $4 RR.

In the same trip, I bought a Reach Toothbrush.  It was on sale for $.99 and I had a coupon for $1 off.  Then I had a coupon for $1/2 10ct. sheet protectors.  That's a pretty good price, so I ended up getting 4 packages.  I also got a tube of the Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste and I had to add a candy bar to bring the cost up enough to use the Register Reward I had.  So, I ended up paying 89¢ for all the above, plus got a $4 Register Reward. 

Next we went to Jewel.  There was a deal where you buy 10 of a certain set of items and get $5 off instantly.  I ended up buying 2 jars of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, which were $1.49 each before the discount and 99¢ afterwards.  Then I had a coupon for $1/2, so that brings them down to $.49 each.  Then I bought 1 bottle of Wish-Bone Salad Dressing.  Original price was $1.49 before the discount, 99¢ afterward and a coupon for $.50/1, bringing that down to $.49.  Then I bought 2 jars of Skippy Peanut Butter.  They were $1.99 before the discount, $1.49 afterwards and a coupon for $1/2, bringing them down to $.99 each.  That's a great deal for peanut butter!  In the same deal, I bought one 1.5L container of Breyer's Ice Cream.  $3.49 before the discount, $2.99 after and a coupon for 75¢, bringing it down to $2.24.  I also got a package of Heath Klondike Bars for $2.99 before the discount, $2.49 after, no coupons on this one.  And to cap off the deal, I had to get 3 more items, but I didn't have any coupons for anything else, so I chose the cheapest items on the list to purchase.  We don't normally get flavored or enhanced water, but they had Propel Fitness Water for $1 each before the discount and $.50 after the discount.  So my total after the $5 discount and all my coupons for those items was $9.68.  In the same trip, I ended up getting 4 containers of Old Orchard juice concentrate.  They were on sale for $1 each and I had a coupon for $1 off 4, making them $.75 each.  I also ended up getting 2 packages of sweet potato fries.  They were on sale $2.50 each, which doesn't seem great, but I am supposed to be getting a rebate of $1.  I don't know if that's for each or just for one, but I'll take either. And lastly, I ended up getting 2 packages of split chicken breasts and 2 packages of chicken leg quarters which were $.99 a pound.  I ended up getting almost 20lb. worth.  And I had to buy stamps, so I ended up buying them at Jewel while I was there, which cost $8.80. But here's the kicker - I had $39 in catalina's (money towards your next purchase) from my last Jewel shopping trip.  So, my total after everything was $8.31.  That's cheaper than the cost of the stamps!   So, basically I paid for all my food and even a stamp!!  Of course when we were done, it was torrentially raining.  I waited under the awning with the groceries while Andy went and got the car and drove it around.

After that, we went home and put stuff away because we had frozen items.  I put dates on the things that I buy doing my coupon shopping, because it helps me take the older things first and helps me keep track of how quickly I go through different things and what I can hold off on buying and wait for free or almost free, or what I have to find on sale and buy smaller amounts of until I can get the stock up prices.

Our next group of stores was another Walgreen's, Menards, Aldi, CVS and Office Depot.  I will skip Menards for now because I have a picture of that separate from everything else, and I paid more out of pocket, but will be getting rebates.

So, on to the second Walgreen's.  Andy stayed in the car and I picked up 2 tubes of Crest toothpaste.  It was on sale for $2.50 each, but then you buy 2 tubes and get $3 back in Register Rewards.  I had two coupons - one for $.75 and one for $.50 so, after coupons, that's $3.75 and getting $3 back in register rewards, it was like paying 38¢ a tube.  I had a $4 Register Reward from the purchases we made earlier in the day, so I had to get something else to bring the total up to $4 so I could use it, and they had pencils on sale for 39¢, so  I picked up one package of pencils and my total after using the $4 Register Reward was 58¢, and I got $3 back in Register Rewards.

Skipping over Menards, we stopped at Aldi so I could pick up the ingredients to make my Spicy Smoky Peach Salsa.  I picked up 2 cans of tomato paste, 2 tomatoes, a lime and a package of onions.  My total was less than $5, but other than Aldi just being inexpensive, I didn't get any great deals... but if you factor in that the price of making my peach salsa with the 39¢ each peaches that I bought last Friday and the fact that I had all the other ingredients on hand, the 4 quarts of the most incredible salsa I've ever had is a pretty good deal!  Probably about $10 for all of it. 

Randall Road going South has been closed since April, and it was finally open today.  It could have opened a day or two ago - who knows.  But we just noticed it today.  We didn't have to go out of our way to get to CVS.

When we got in CVS, we couldn't find the Bounty that was on sale for $9.99 or the Puffs with Lotion that were on sale for 2/$3.  They did have a deal to spend $25 in Charmin, Bounty and Puffs and get $10 in Extra Care Bucks.  Since they didn't have some of the things in stock, they price adjusted the Bounty and the Puffs so that we were given the advertised price, and the cashier had to manually produce the $10 ECB.  While we were trying to figure out if they had the out of stock items in the back, the cashier told me that I could scan my CVS card a second time, as CVS card holders can scan their card twice a week, so if I only come in once a week, it will let me scan it twice.  I did so and I got a coupon to buy 1 package of Skittles and get one free.  This was for the 14-16oz. size.  They were $3.59 each or $3 each if you buy 2 or more.  So, it gave me the $3 price.  Then gave me $3 off.  And I had recently printed two $1 off Skittles coupons, and since I had two bags of skittles, I was able to use one on each, even though the second was free.  So, I ended up paying $1 for two 14 oz. bags of Skittles!  I also got 2 20-count packages of Finish Dishwasher Powder Tabs for $2.99 and I had two 75¢ off coupons, so I actually got them for $2.24 each.  They also had a sale on Orbit gum, which was Buy 1 @ 1.37, get 1 free, but I had two $.50/2 coupons, so I got 4 packs of Orbit gum for 44¢ each.  And when the cashier had voided our original transaction when we were having problems getting the items for the first deal, a coupon came out for $3 off batteries, and batteries were on sale for Buy 1, get 1 free.  We ended up getting 2 10-packs of AAA batteries (actually, each pack contained a bonus 2 batteries, so 2 dozen) for $3.79.  Probably not the greatest deal, but not bad.  So, I asked the cashier if I could use the $10 ECV that I had just gotten.  I could have used it another time, but she let me use it today, but I was about $.25 short, so I had to buy a filler to be able to use the $10 ECB.  I ended up getting a lollipop, and my total for all those things was $0.96.

So, get this!  Everything shown in the picture below cost me a grand total of.......................... (sorry for the bad picture)............................................................................................................................

$24.52!!!!   Isn't that amazing?  Now, don't get me wrong.  This isn't extreme couponing.  I bought a lot of stuff last week and that's how I got some of my catalinas and register rewards and extra care bucks, and I don't always get savings like this, but I am getting to the point that I can get a lot of things for practically free.  It's really pretty cool!

Okay, I'll include what I got at Menards.  I did spend $86, and I'll be getting back $26 in rebates, so I did spend $60.  But I am stocked up on some things that I won't have to buy for a while, and some things that were just good deals. Pictured below - I got 6 bottles of Dawn Dishwashing Detergent for $1.88 each.  Aldi's is about $1.69 for their same size, but I feel like I have to use more of it to clean the same way that Dawn does.  I did have one $.50 off one coupon for Dawn, so that brings the average down to $1.80.  I know I'll get to a point that I can get even Dawn larger sizes for less than $1, but I was willing to stock up on this, since I feel like I'm always using Dish Detergent.  I wash my pots and pans by hand so I do use quite a bit.  I also ended up buying 3 32ct. packages of Cascade Action Pack Dishwashing Tabs.  I have started using them, and have found them to work so much better than the powder or liquid dishwasher detergent.  At $5.98 I'm not sure that its the best deal, but with a $1/1 coupon and two $.50/1 coupons, I got $2 off the 3 packages, which ends up making this about 17¢ per load.  I've seen that 16¢ per load is a pretty good price, so I will take 17¢ for right now and now I have enough to hold me over until I can find things cheaper than that, and then start stocking up on that.  I also got one bottle of Lysol All Purpose Cleaner.  We just use it for the kitchen floor.  It was $1.99, no coupons or anything like that.  It was just a decent price.  I also got a hand soap and sanitizer caddy which was $6.99, but after a $5 mail-in-rebate it will be $1.99.   They had Chef Boyardee pasta on sale for 4/$3.  I had a coupon for 35¢ off 3, so 66¢ each isn't great, but not bad.  We also needed to get a level for our camper when we go camping.  They had a 9" magnetic level for $2.50, but free after a mail-in-rebate.  We got 2.  You never know when you'll lose one, or if we want one for home and one to leave in the camper.  You can't beat something that is free, so we might as well get 2.  They also had batteries on sale, and we got two 20-packs of "AA" and two 20-packs of "AAA" for $1.99 after a $4.00 mail-in-rebate.  That's a lot better of a deal than we got at CVS!  And there was a limit of 4, so we got the limit.  We will go through them, I'm sure!  Other than that, we ended up getting 2 packages of tarps at $2.99 each (we needed some for our camper, and the price was very good), two T-Shirts for Andy for work at $1.99 each, and we got 6 2-packs of decorative light bulbs for 39¢ each.  Again, not the same kind of sales that I've been seeing at CVS, Walgreens & Jewel, but we did get some good prices.  Here's a picture of what I got.  The most expensive thing was probably the Cascade Action Pack Dishwashing Detergent Tabs.

So, all-in-all, some pretty great deals.  I can't wait until the seminar on September 29th where I can learn some more tricks.  I have to say, it leaves me with a pretty good feeling when I can get such good deals for my family.  Although it does take me a little while to get everything organized and to go to the different stores, and to deal with the waiting when the stores don't have the products or ring things up the way they should, the savings are tremendous.  And it's a little bit of a thrill getting some of the savings I get! 

What kinds of savings did you get today?

Hello Kitty

Wednesday was the kids' first day of school.  Delaney went with her new backpack and her new Hello Kitty water bottle that she got for her birthday.  When we got there, Delaney did not want to go in.  I tried to extract my hand from hers, but she would not let go.  I borrowed her teacher's pen to try to draw a heart on Delaney's hand, but it didn't write on her skin very well.  I ended up having to walk with her into the school.

When we got to the door, and she still wouldn't go in.  She wanted me to go with her.  I tried to tell her that she was late and would be considered tardy, and that she wouldn't be able to play any media when she got home, and I tried a few other things to try to get her to go in on her own, but she wouldn't budge.  Finally a teacher's assistant came by, and asked if she wanted to go in.  She didn't.  But she ended up taking her hand and pulling her into the classroom with her.  I told Delaney I would peek in through the window, so I walked around and did just that.  I couldn't tell if she saw me, but she was seated at her table and was watching the teacher, so I left.

When I picked the kids up from school, I had the kids take everything out of their backpacks. I was pretty sure that Delaney had brought her water bottle home, but after a little while I couldn't find it.  I asked where it was and no one said anything about it.  Delaney said she definitely brought it home, but everywhere we looked, it couldn't be found.  I knew it had to be somewhere, so we used a different water bottle in the meantime.

On Thursday I asked again, and no one seemed to know where it was.  Delaney didn't, and we looked in her room, the boys rooms, downstairs, and even in our own bedroom.  We looked in the kitchen cupboards and in the refrigerator and it couldn't be found.

On Friday, I took Delaney to school and I went up to the teacher and talked to her about whether she had noticed it.  Her teacher said she remembered the water bottle on the first day, but hadn't seen it since.  She said she would take a look in the room to see if she had it. 

After school, the teacher motioned for me to come over so she could talk to me.  She said that after she looked all over, Delaney admitted that she had thrown the water bottle away.  I asked Delaney where she threw it away, and she shrugged her shoulders.  I looked at the teacher and said I would get to the bottom of it.  And we went home.

On the way home, I was talking to the kids and asking them again if anyone had seen the water bottle, because I didn't think that Delaney had thrown it away, and when I asked her again, she said that she didn't throw it away.  I don't know why she told the teacher that she did.  Finally, Ryan said, "Oh, I think that Zane hid it."  I asked where he might have hid it.  Apparently he hid it behind where we keep our cereal.  So, I asked Zane about it, and at first he didn't admit it, but then he did.

I told Zane that he would have water bottle duty for the rest of the month.  I decided to email the teacher and apologize to her for having to look all over for the water bottle.  I told her that Zane hid it on her, and that he did not tell me the truth about it until recently.  I then asked her if she would consider using him for some kind of task after school, and I could let the other two play on the playground while he helped her out with something.  I am hoping we can do it one day when Andy's not working and we can both be there, and one of us can be supervising Zane to make sure he does what he's supposed to do.  I really hope that she takes me up on that offer, because I would really like to see him have an appropriate consequence to that, and I think this would fit the bill perfectly.  Otherwise, I will have to come up with another appropriate consequence. 

Kids say the Darndest Things

Today something funny happened when we came out of CVS.  Delaney wasn’t buckled in her seatbelt and I was starting to pull out.  Zane told her that she had to buckle up or I would get a ticket… or I would get arrested.  And then they’d only have Daddy for a parent.  Then Delaney said, “Until she broke out of jail.”  LOL.  Then they were talking about how I could break out, and how I would have some certain guided missles or torpedo launchers or stuff like that.  Then Zane said, “Well, Mommy’s really strong.  So, she can just shake the bars…” at that point he trailed off and then started talking about a story of when Scooby Doo was behind bars, and he was shaking so hard, he shook the bars open.  I just thought that was kind of funny that he said I was really strong and was capable of breaking out of jail by just shaking the bars. 

I'm in love

I'm in love with my kids.  They just melt my heart sometimes.

Today they let me sleep in, which was great.  I had promised Delaney that we would go buy some Legos with her birthday money - she's been enjoying playing with the boys Legos, but she doesn't have any of her own, so when they place limits and boundaries on their Legos or try to give her ultimatums and use Legos as leverage, she gets upset.  I told her that she could get some, but I didn't tell her when we would go.

I told everyone to get dressed and brush their teeth.  Then I told the boys to each get $10 out of their piggy banks.  So, we got in the car and we drove to Menards.  No one knew what we were doing there.  But I found it right away.  There were boys' 20" bikes on sale for $19.97 after a $30 mail-in-rebate.  They had a limit of 2 per household. I had both boys get on the bikes and try them out, and they were excited and asked if we could get them.  I explained to them that I was asking them to each pay half of their bikes, because I felt they would take better care of them if they had to contribute some of the money towards it.  Ryan's old bike had bent the tire and although we could have shopped around to see if we could get a good deal to get it repaired, it wouldn't have been much of a difference than $20 for a brand new bike.  They were so excited!  I mentioned to them that they were going to cost more than $20, but that we'd be getting money back.  Zane asked if when the money came back if I could give them some.  LOL!  He just doesn't get it.  I'm trying to explain it him, but it's not clicking yet.

After Menards we went to Target.  Delaney picked out her Lego sets.  She got two of them.  She was so excited.  It cost a little more than the $25 that she had, so I gave her the $2.12 that it went over - but that was mostly for  tax.  

Then we went to Aldi's to do some food shopping.  Right behind us was one of the ladies that works in the childcare at the gym.  She was on the phone, but then she noticed us when she got off and the kids were saying, "Hey, she's one of the teachers at the gym!"  And she said, "Hey, you guys look familiar!"  She talked to us for a minute and then we each went on our way.  The kids were extremely good in Aldi.  After I had everything loaded on the conveyer belt, Zane asked if he could spend his dollar on some candy.  (He had asked if he could bring any money with him, and I told him yes, and since the kids were so good I said he could spend it).  So, he was looking at the different candy, and some of it was 45¢ and some was 55¢, but he saw some Take 5 bars that were 29¢ each.  He noticed that he was getting a better deal with that, so he asked if he could get them.  Of course I told him yes!  I was proud of him for finding a good deal.

Lastly we went to Woodman's and the kids were extremely good about being with me and not running around the store.  I haven't had to shop with the kids very often since being able to shop when they are in school, and I was truly dreading shopping with them, but I had a very pleasant experience with them today.

Then when we got home, Delaney let the boys help her put her Lego sets together, and they were complimenting her over and over.  They were saying how awesome she was at putting the Legos together, and they would give her pieces and show her where they go and let her put them together.  Then when she got tired of doing it, she was very willing to let them help her.  It just melted my heart to hear them playing together so nicely.

Now I'm going to go get my pizza crust going in the breadmaker for dinner tonight and start putting the boys' bikes together!  I'm hoping this won't be a huge chore.
 

Poor Delaney

What a week - and it's not over.

We went camping with friends over Memorial Day and that was awesome.  We had a great time, even though we got some rain and were all holed up in their camper with them for several hours.  It was cozy at least.  And man did that rain come down!

Tuesday afternoon I went to the gym, and Delaney was holding my hand and I noticed that it was warm, so I felt her neck and forehead, but those felt normal, so I didn't think anything of it.  After we picked the boys up from school, Delaney laid down on the couch and wanted a blanket and she fell asleep.  That was very unusual for her, so I grabbed a temporal thermometer and I got a reading of over 107!  Yikes!  But other than a high fever, she was acting completely normal.  I gave her some tylenol, and she was fine.  I checked her later and her temperature came down to about 102 - I figured even though that was high, it was a very good decrease.

She didn't eat much dinner, but she did eat a few things.  I attributed it to her eating well earlier - I think she had several bowls of cereal for breakfast and she ate a good lunch.  About an hour after we put her to bed, there was a big commotion and Delaney came out of her room and threw up.  Unfortunately she got it all over the floor.  Andy cleaned it up while I helped her.  I got her cleaned up and helped her rinse her mouth out.  I took her temperature and it was up to over 107 again.  I gave her some tylenol, gave her a tepid bath, and put her back to bed.  In the meantime, a friend called to say her husband fell off his bicycle and hit his head and had a concussion and wanted to know if I could come stay with her boys.  Then she had a friend that lived closer able to come sooner.  And then another friend and I were going to go take her car to her.  As I was getting ready to leave, I texted another friend and asked her opinion on Delaney.  She suggested that I take her in to the ER.  So, I turned around and got her and took her with me and explained that there was going to be a little wrench in the plans.

While we were waiting to be seen, Delaney threw up again.  We made it to a trash can, and the girl at the reception desk gave us a bin for her in case she got sick again.  They had cups set out for coffee and I grabbed one and filled it with water and let Delaney take small sips.  We were finally brought into Triage (about 30-40 minutes later) and her temperature there was 103.  They took her vitals and gave her some Motrin.  We had to wait almost another hour to be brought in to an examination room.

When I got to the examination room, they had turned cartoons on the TV, but they must not have been paying attention, because it was a more "mature" cartoon that was talking about anuses.  Hmmmmm.  I popped my head out after listening for another minute just to make sure I wasn't hearing things wrong, and asked them how to turn it.  I said, "this cartoon that is on in here is not appropriate for a 5 year old.  They are talking about anuses."  They came and put it on Disney, and while the shows that were on there were more for the 8+ crowd, it was SO much better.

When the nurse came in and started checking Delaney out, they took her temperature and it was under 100.  The ER Dr. that came in asked me how I took Delaney's temperature, and when I told him that I used a temporal thermometer, he said, "Oh, yeah.  Those are notorious for high readings.  It's almost unheard of to have a temperature of 107."   Well, it may not have been 107, but it was high!  At that point when we were in the examination room, her skin felt almost cool to me compared to the intense heat she was giving off earlier.  I get the impression that they didn't believe me about her temperature being high.  He checked her over, and her tummy felt fine, and he seemed like he was going to just observe her for a little while, when he decided that they should do a urinalysis on her.  Luckily she had finished the water I had gotten her, so while she didn't have to pee really bad, she had enough that she could go.  I could tell right away that her urine was cloudy.

We had to wait about an hour after we collected the sample before they came back.  They said she did have a urinary tract infection.  It made sense.  When we were camping, Delaney was constantly having to go to the bathroom.  My friend and I thought she was just fascinated with the fact that their camper had it's own bathroom.  And when we were on our way home from our camping trip, Delaney had fallen asleep and woke up urgently needing to pee.  I thought she was being difficult, and it turns out that she probably was dealing with the UTI for several days.

So, we got a prescription for Bactrim and were sent on our way.  We passed the Walgreens on our way home and I noticed that it was closed so I figured I would have to stop in the morning.  I wish they had given her something, whether it was an oral dose that night or an IM antiobiotic.  If I ever have to deal with this again, and it is in the middle of the night, I will speak up and insist on getting a treatment and follow up with a prescription the next day.

Delaney threw up several times the next day. When she woke up, she threw up in my bed.  :(  She barely ate anything at all.  We dropped the boys off at school for their last day of school and then went straight to Walgreens.  She kept having high fevers, and I would give her her medicine and alternate tylenol and motrin to keep her fever down.  They weren't getting as high as they had been.  She also slept all morning on Wednesday (we didn't get home until after 2am, and she was wide awake the whole time).  We picked the boys up at 11:20 on Wednesday since they only had a half day, and went home and she went back to sleep for part of the time.  I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch as a celebration of the last day, but Delaney took a bite of one french fry and we had to rush to the bathroom and she threw up again.  Poor baby.

Thursday she didn't throw up at all.  She did rest a lot and took another nap.  She still isn't eating very well and having intermittent fevers, but the temperatures aren't getting as high as they were before she was on the medicine.  She is not enjoying her medicine at all, and I'm having to work with her to take it.  Poor thing.  Good thing it's only a 5 day course.  

I was going to write about today (Friday), but I think I'll make another post for that.

Saving Tuesday

Today I did my coupon shopping again.  I have pictures this time!  

First I dropped my daughter off at preschool.  Good thing, or I wouldn't be motivated enough to get out of the house to do my shopping.  :X  First stop:  Jewel.

•  Charmin Ultra (12ct. Double Roll) -$6.49 - $3 off manufacturer's coupon.
• Cascade Dishwashing Detergent - (20-ct Action Pacs) for $4.59 - 25¢ off manufacturer's coupon. - Never used these before, but at this price, I'm willing to try it.
• Dawn Dishwashing Liquid - 24oz. - $2.79 - 25¢ off manufacturer's coupon.
• Tide Stain Release (34ct. tabs) - $10.99 - $3 off manufacturer's coupon.

The above was with a promotion for Buy $20 or more worth certain P&G products, and get $5 for a future shopping trip, plus 5 Redbox rental codes!  So, that's like getting 50% off.  They take into account the amount before coupons, which was $24.86, but then I had  $6.50 in coupons then subtract another $5 off for the catalina and $5 off for Redbox codes.  Total = $8.36 before tax.

The other were under different promotions:

• Sun Chips were Buy 2 and use the 2 for $4 with a Jewel Store coupon, then a $2-off-2 Sun Chips Manufacturer's coupon, and I had a coupon for "Free Sierra Mist 2 Liter with purchase of any Sun Chip."  So, 2 bags of Sun Chips plus 1-2L of Sierra Mist for $2.
• Quaker Cereals (18-22oz.) are $1.99 each with Jewel Store Coupon.  Buy 3 Quaker Cap n' Crunch or Quaker Life and use the $2-off-3 Manufacturer's coupon.  Total was $3.97 for 3 boxes.  About $1.32 a box.  I don't get that kind of deal for Aldi's and they are much smaller boxes at Aldi's.
• Finally, a deal I wasn't expecting - they had 10 bottles of Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce.  We LOVE Sweet Baby Ray's.  There were several different varieties.  They are the 18oz. bottles instead of the 24 oz. bottles I got on Thursday at Woodman's, but this is a good deal!  It's actually a better deal, because it's cheaper per ounce.  I did wind up with 10 bottles.  We WILL use them!

I also had a $2 off any purchase over $25 and I used a $4 catalina from last week.  My total receipt was $33.23, saving $43.18.  And I got the new $5 catalina and $5 in Redbox Codes.

 

My next stop was Walgreens:

• First I picked up 2 12-roll packs of Cottonelle Bath TIssue.  They were on sale for $5, but then there was a Walgreen's coupon for $1 off each.  In addition, I received a $3 catalina.
• Glade Automatic Spray Kit - I usually don't get these kinds of things, but it was so cheap, I went for it.  $8.99 with a $4 manufacturer's coupon, and $3 in Register Rewards = $1.99.
• Tylenol Precise - Product was $7.99.  Walgreens Coupon was $3, printable internet coupon was $5 so item was free.
• Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide razor on sale for $9.89.  Buy one & get $5 in Register Rewards.  $4 manufacturer's coupon made it 89¢. 
• Bic Flex 4 - 3pk razors.  On sale for $5.99. $2 back in Register Rewards.  $3 off manufacturer's coupon made it 99¢.
• Bic Soleil 4 pack razors.  On sale for $5.00.  $2 back in Register Rewards.  $3 off manufacturer's coupons made it 99¢.
• Right Guard Deodorant.  I think this one got messed up.  Ugh.  It was supposed to be a buy one get one free, then I had a coupon for B1G1F up to $4.49.  Instead, he rang it up at $2.99 each and I got one free. I did get a $2 Register Reward, so that's $1 for both of them or 50¢ each.

I believe that's it for Walgreens.  I spent $21.05 altogether, saved $39.09 and got an additional $14 in Register Rewards/catalinas.  

Finally I headed over to Target.  I always spend more there than I intended.

• I bought 2 8-ct. Giant Rolls of Bounty Paper Towel.  They were on sale for $9.99 each, and when you buy 2, you get a $5 Target GC.  I also had a coupon for a free single roll of Bounty when I buy a multipack.  I had another coupon for a free 18 or 24 oz. bottle of Dawn Dish Detergent when you purchase a multipack.  Of course I went for the 24 oz.!  So, that was $14.98 for all of that.
• John Frieda Precision Foam Hair Color.  I rarely color my hair. This pricey brand was on SALE for $11.99.  But I was able to stack a $5 Target coupon and a $5 Manufacturer's coupon to get it for $1.99.  Sweet deal!
• Aveno Naturals Sunscreen - I got 2 at $8.99 and I had a $3-of-2 coupon and a $1 store coupon, and I got 2 $5 Target GC's which makes it $3.98 for 2 Aveno 70 SPF sunscreens!  Or $1.99 each!  
• The other thing were not really "deals".  There's that little teal basket in the back that I got in the dollar section.  I also got that little teal print pail for $1, to.  The little organizer boxes were also in the $1 section.  And that funny looking thing with stripes was in the dollar section for $2.50.  They are "bottle bands".  We go camping with friends a couple times during the summer, and I thought this would be great to use on our sodas so the kids aren't wasting their soda and forgetting whose is whose.  The adults, too!  LOL.  And then I splurged a little on some pretty file folders. I've been doing so good on saving, I figure a little splurge will do me good.  ;)

My total at Target was 50.47, but I got $15 in Target GC's and I KNOW I'll be able to use thos, plus I saved $38.41 with coupons and sales.  Sweetness!

Anyone else get some good deals recently?