BLACK FRIDAY SALES

Hey Guys here is a link to the Black Friday deals at Usborne Books! I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Enjoy shopping! Also, we really like the "That's not my..." series. You might enjoy some of them too! But we haven't really found much at Usborne Books that we don't like. The only thing we have not liked is the Bible stories. Feel free to email me and we can talk about that, if you have questions.

HERE is the link. Happy Shopping!

A few things to tell you about...

Well, first and foremost I don't think I have mentioned that I sell Usborne books. Well, I do, and they are having some REALLY cool deals come the day after Thanksgiving. The sale begins at Midnight on the 28th and runs through Dec. 1. It will only last 4 days. So, stop by and see what great books they have HERE! I LOVE Usborne books and I think you will too! PLUS, what a great gift. WE all love Usborne books and enjoy giving and getting them :)

Also, if you haven't seen them yet there are some SMOKIN' HOT DEALS at CVS for black Friday. The big secret is that THEIRS starts THURSDAY! YAY! I plan to get up at 7am and go! I can't wait! Check it all out HERE!

Finally, there is a new blog in town. Go here to enter her giveaway. She has some really cute stuff. I think you might find a few things you like! Go on over and check her out HERE! Oh, and tell her Jess sent you ;)

Okay, well I may be somewhat quiet for a while. The family comes in tomorrow night and I can't wait to get my hands on my niece! The goal: to teach her to walk! I actually expect by the time they leave that she will be running (away from my boys!) :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For REAL?

Okay, well lets just keep things real here. What is a mom to do after one of the WORST days in recorded history with her children? Who can she really vent to that may possibly understand? Well, you of course. THAT is, after all, why I am here. To share my life with you. I don't even have time to share this on the phone with a girlfriend and I think they all read this now, so here we go.

First off, lets just say I have bitten off WAY more than I can chew. One thing I love is to be a host. Having people in my home is one of my favorite things. So, my Daddy, Sister, Brother-in-law, and niece coming into town Wed. night is VERY exciting to me. That said I have totally BLOWN my budget. I honestly don't even know where we are in the month or in my spending. I simply have not had time to take photos of EVERY purchase that I have made to post it here. I am sorry. I really didn't think about this before I took this project on. SO, I have decided to admit to you, the WORLD wide web, that I failed and fell flat on my face in the dirt (as one of my sweet friends would say)! I am going to try to post about the REALLY good finds that I find AND about life. Because, I really wanted to post more about life anyway. Maybe in Feb. when things slow down (lol, I will be back in school then) I can do this month by month challenge thing. I do plan to get back on schedule with my $160 a month. It is killing me that I don't know what I have spent and where. So I will try to let you know where we are and what good deals I find, but if it is nothing special I probably won't post about it :)

THAT said, I have a real question. HOW DO MOMS DO THIS? Today had to be the hardest day I have had in a long time. There were times today where I honestly thought, "Can I quit?" Don't get me wrong, I love my children. However, the age span, the gender differences and just plan being busy make some seasons VERY hard.

My middle child (22 months), ran a 104 fever for four days. Yesterday was his first fever free day. So, I had big plans for today. However, I failed to take into account all that had happened in the previous four days. Like the fact that we had watched BOAT LOADS of tv. We don't usually watch much tv at all. I also decided last night when the kids didn't eat their dinner that we were NOT wasting it any more. After all, there are starving kids in Africa, we know some personally ;)...and my kids need to eat their food and NOT waste it. SO they now have to eat their food or see it at the next meal.

SO all that said, we started the day with leftover spaghetti for breakfast. That did not go over well at all. However my oldest (3 1/2 years) decided to go ahead an quickly eat the leftovers and move on to the nice warm usual breakfast. I could only wish that my middle child would have done the same. It was almost 2pm before I finally got the last three bites in him (and it was not a lot to start with maybe 5 bites). Stubborn child. Must take after his daddy. Just kidding, I think that was what made the day even harder is that I was just stubborn enough to insist that he eat it.

All of that while I "secretly" wondered if this by chance had anything to do with the sickness that we had experienced earlier. Clearly he isn't still sick. He was FINE tonight with his daddy.

And while he was screaming his head off, he decided at 11am that he would rather go to bed than eat the left over spaghetti. Which was fine, he went right to sleep which was nice. UNTIL his sweet three year old brother decided to jump off their play table while pretending to fly. WHY DO THREE YEAR OLD BOYS THINK THEY CAN FLY? Needless to say, he fell HARD on his bottom and it hurt bad. So he screamed VERY loudly waking up his brother, but thankfully not his sister (my five month old). Where was the mother during all of this?....I figured you might ask. I had retreated to the office so that I might post my "great deals" for the world to see. It was not worth the effort.

And somewhere in the mix of things I let them write in their notebooks with a pencil. Yeah, another BAD idea. Usually this goes well, but not today. No, today my middle child decided to draw all over my table (those marks are still there) and then he went to his sister to um, decorate her face. HER FACE WITH A PENCIL. I remind you that he is not even two and he had a pencil on her face, and she is only five months. Poor child.

Which brings me to a question. WHY? Why did God choose to give me a girl? She rocks. She is so funny and cute. BUT we are SO protective of her. All of the sudden I cringe when I see my boys go near her. I never did that with the first and second. We are questioning the vaccinations more and nothing is easy. I promise we are treating her like most do their first. SHE is my third. I am supposed to be much more laid back.

Well, okay. I think that is enough ranting for today. Oh, I am sure I could tell you more and that I left out some hair raising part of this story. Like all of the discipline issues I had because I chose to let them watch only one hour of tv today. GASP. Only an hour. Oh, I am sure our sweet friends in Africa (the ones who are starving) would love an hour of tv ;).

Geez. All of that to say that at the end of the day when things are quiet and I finally get to sit and vent all of this to you, I am thrilled to be their mom. It makes me smile to think about the few fun things we fit into the day (and even a few of the rough moments make me smile, eventually, I mean who wouldn't think that the three year old superhero isn't cute). And I am so thankful that God has blessed us with three precious children. We have friends who would love just one, and for some reason God chose to give us three. I praise Him for that. My three year old is in Awana and has been learning Scripture like crazy (and praying daily for our friends). It is totally awesome to hear him quote John 3:16 while I am raging with anger about some silly toys in the floor. He just sits quietly in the mix of them all, playing and saying his verses. It truly blows my mind that he is even meditating on the Scripture. Maybe that is the whole point. Maybe that is what I should be doing. No maybes, that IS what I should be doing. WOW! Maybe that is why God gave me my precious children. When God uses my children to convict me of things in my life that need improving, sometimes that stings and sticks more than anything anyone else could say. They are just so real.

CVS ROCKED!

Okay well, as it turned out I was VERY impressed with the CVS finds this week.

I bought:
4 Complete Multipurpose Solutions (looks like I could still get more, according to my receipt) (8.99)
2 Maybaline Mineral Make up (8.99)
1 3 pack dial soap (1.99)
2 8 pack Reese's Peanut Butter cups (1.00)
1 Maola Chocolate Milk (1.39)
3 candy corn (.12)

I used:
1 $1 off coupon for the Complete
1 $2 off coupon for the Maybaline
1 $3 off coupon for the Maybaline
1 .30 off coupon for the Dial soap

$15.99 ECB

I did 4 different transactions and rolled ECBs. The soap, candy and milk were all fillers.

TOTAL I spent .82 :)

Please let me know if you have questions, I am very overwhelmed with family coming and a sick baby, but I will tell you more if you want to know! I love sharing, but I don't know how much you want to know!

WALGREENS

Okay well I had a blast at Walgreens too!

I got:
5 Venus Razors
6 tins of Altoids
3 packs of paper plates
4 rolls of paper towels
1 8 oz cream cheese
1 string cheese
3 sure deodorants
1 Gallon Milk
1 Creamer

I used
5 $4 coupons for the Razors
6 $1 coupons for the altoids
3 .50 coupons for the paper plates
4 .25 coupons for the paper towels
2 $1 coupons for the Sure deodorant
1 .75 coupon for the sure deodorant
1 .50 coupon for the creamer

I used 2 $7 Register Rewards
Total I spent: 30.56
19.58 of that was Gift card
12.05 of that was out of pocket

BUT I have $30 in RR for later :)

Again let me know if you want more details!

WALGREENS HERE I COME!

Can you tell I am more than a little excited about Walgreens this week! WOW! My head started to spin when I was looking at coupons and their sale paper!

I plan to buy the Venus Razor for 9.99
I have 5 $4 mc coupons from being a member of VocalPoint
You get $6 in RR each time you buy one, so it should mean 5 free razors for me!!!
~please note, I will do 5 different transactions so that I will get 5 rr. Otherwise that won't work!

I am also planning to buy sure Deodorant. It is on sale for $1.49.
There is a $1 coupon in the Easy Saver book
I have several coupons, .75 from the paper and then 2 $1 from a rebate that I did with them a long time ago.

This will be a small money maker, with the .75 coupon, it will be a .26 profit and then with the $1 coupons, it will be a .51 profit...I will use those profits to purchase:

Basic Paper towels .89 (with in ad coupon)
4 .25 mc coupons

Vanity Fair Plates 1.99
3 .50 mc coupons

I am also thinking about getting some of their Christmas cups which are 8/$1 those are GREAT for Sunday school gifts (for our 2 year old class)

The other thing that is good, but I don't think I am doing is the Skintamate Shave gel, it is on sale for $1.99 with a $1 RR, that is a GREAT deal, I just can't find any coupons for it...

I will be back Monday to tell you what I got...OOOH, I just can't wait!

CVS finds....

I am excited this week. I don't have much money to spend, since I have already blown my monthly budget. (I can get carried away with Thanksgiving, it could just be my favorite holiday, after Christmas of course!)

So I am going to use my $15.99 ECB and buy

Mayballine Mineral Power Liquid foundation- 8.99 with 8.99 ECB
~I have a $3 mc on that

I also plan to buy Complete Multipurpose Solution 8.99 with 8.99 ECB
~I have a $1 mc on that

I will have to find something else to stick in there because the total should be 14.98

I will use the $15.99 ECB and receive two $8.99 back! That should make for a $2 PROFIT in my ECB stash!

The other deals I saw that were looking good, but not good enough for my budget at the moment...
Right Guard Professional Strength Deodorant 7.99 w/ 7.00 ECB
Dial/Coast bar soap 1.99 w/1.00 ECB (though I may use this one as my filler!)

I will let you know what I find :)

Budget Update!

Okay, well as I suspected, this month will be harder to judge, since we will have company, and next month will likely be the same. Then January is when we usually take our family trip to Alabama to see our family. SO...I will do my best to keep posting just to show you what frugal finds I found! BUT it may honestly be a little later before I can show you how we do $160 a month. The MoneySavingMom breaks hers down and tries to only spend $40 per week. That is always my goal, but it usually works better for me to look at it on the one month scale. We also have a few rules that I may not have shared with you just yet about our grocery budget:

1. It is not a do or die type budget. We do understand (take this month for example) that things will change.
2. I get my grocery money in cash and I try VERY hard to stick to that budget. It usually works well. We had two very successful months before the holidays hit!
3. Any refunds I generate with my grocery budget get added to the grocery budget. For example, the turkey I bought during triple coupons, had a free after rebate offer on it. And the Just for Men, that $7 rebate, both of those will go into my grocery money. Also, any purchases I make at Walgreens I use my gift card. THAT means those don't come out of my grocery budget. Which is why I do often buy sugar, cream cheese, milk, etc at Walgreens.

I think that covers most of our rules. I will let you know as this keeps up how we have done. I went to Aldi's, Lowes Foods, and Walmart last night, but I don't have my receipts handy, so I can't tell you how awesome we did...I will tell you when I can though! I am thinking that even if I can keep the budget under $200 that would be good...what do you think?

Oh, and do you have questions? I would love to answer any questions, just let me know :)

A Really Cool Idea

Hey Guys! I just read about this on Money Saving Mom. I signed up and it seems really awesome. It appears that you get these "bucks" when you search for something on the internet. So instead of using yahoo or google, you can use Swagbucks and they give you rewards just for searching! Then of course, the more people you get to sign on the more great stuff you win. Lots of gift cards available! It looks really cool and honestly there is nothing to lose! You can join by clicking here and then you can start earning your own "bucks." The best part is that you can add the search box onto your tool bar so it makes it very easy and convenient. Finally, all you have to give when you register for free is your name, the city, state and zip code where you live. NO credit card, address, phone number! It is really interesting. So why not try it? Interested click HERE!

Walgreens

I Got this:


I bought:
1 Just for men 7.00
1 Sauve Shampoo 1.12
1 Sauve Conditioner 1.13

=9.25
-2.00 mc Just for men found HERE
-1.00 mc Suave (on 2)
=6.25
+.62 tax
=6.87

I got back:
$1 Register Reward for the Suave
$7 Register Reward for the Just for Men

I plan to submit THIS rebate form for a $7 rebate!

For spending 6.87, and getting $14 back, I think that will do :)
I got some help with the Just for Men thought from Money Saving Mom! Thanks! If you haven't checked her out she is really cool!

CVS Findings!

Okay well, I seem to have spent a little more than I intended, since we are trying HARD to stay within budget while having family in town AND hosting Thanksgiving dinner! However, I am still really proud. I made three trips and these are the results:
Trip 1

I bought:
4 Glade Glass Scents 2.50 each (10.00)
1 bag Peach Gummy Rings my favorite! (.50) ~they were 90% off!
1 Peeps Halloween candy (.09) ~again, 90% off
1 Brach Autumn mix (.13) ~finally, 90% off

that totals to: 10.72
I used these coupons:
2 Buy One Get One free for the Glade (so -$5)

That bought my total to: 5.72

I then used 5.29 in ECB's
=.43
+.37 tax

Total-$.80

I earned $5 ECB's on the Glade

TRIP 2

I bought:
4 4-pack of AA batteries (5.29 each)
total 21.16

-$1.75 in mc (I had a $1 and a .75)
=19.41
-$14 ECB's
=5.41
+.48
=5.89 TOTAL

I earned $15 ECB's (all in all this isn't bad, but I sorta regret this purchase...it is more than I ever like to spend Out of Pocket (OOP) at CVS, however, Matt really encouraged me to get the batteries with Christmas coming!)

Finally
TRIP 3

I bought:
1 Loreal Age Prefect 15.99
1 print .29 (for my application to school YAY!)

Total = 16.28
-1.00 Loreal mc
=15.28
-$15 ECB
=.28
+.09
=.37

I earned $15.99 in ECBs

Over all I am very pleased with the weeks purchases at CVS I can't wait till next week. They have some awesome deals to bust up that $15.99 ECB I am stuck with!

Week Walgreens....

Not to much that I see again this week at first glance. But I am very tired and may be overlooking some things...
So far here is what I see:

Skippy Peanut butter (with in ad coupon) 2/$3

Scotch tape 2/$2 (after Easy Saver Rebate)

Suave products are 25% off and:
when you buy 2, you get $1 Register Reward (RR)
when you buy 3, you get $2 RR
when you buy 4 (or more) you get $3

This is a deal with some dove products (which there are nice coupons for), Lever 2000, Caress, Q-tips, Ponds, Vaseline, Degree.

I think that is what looks good, lets see what the paper has in the morning. Maybe there are some better coupons! Happy Shopping!

CVS sightings...

Well, here is what I think I will do at CVS tomorrow...

Loreal Age Def. 15.99 w/15.99 in ECB
($2 mc)

Glade Plug Ins buy $10 get $5 back
4/$10 (w/2 BOGO coupons)
should be free after ECBs & coupons

I MAY do the Duracell deal, where you buy $20 and get $15 ECBs back.

The deodorant deal Right Guard, Soft & Dri, Dri Idea
2.99 each with $2 ECBs
(.50 mc)

I will keep you posted :)

About that meat ...;)

Well, since you asked about meat...I went to Kroger tonight. I had two things on my mind. The 39 cents per pound turkey AND the $1.67 per pound Boneless Skinless Chicken breast. This is what I got:


1 21 pound turkey! YAY! (8.31)
6 8 oz packages of cheese (3/$5) (Remember all that pepperoni?)
1 Oscar Myer Bacon (1.69)
1 Ham lunch meat (1.29)
1 Coffee Mate (1.99)
3 cloth napkins (.25 each) ~ For a kids craft project
1 bag of fall candles (.97)

Total-$25

- .50 mc on the coffee mate (doubled)
+ .58 tax
=24.58

NOW in all the excitement about that HUGE turkey (anyone want to join our "misfit Thanksgiving" I think we have enough turkey!) I forgot to get my rain check on the chicken. I may just pay the 1.99 at Lowes Foods this week.

Just to show you what a 21 pound turkey would normally cost...

Walgreens Take TWO! (Made some money!)

So I made some money at Walgreens today...and honestly it just makes me smile.

I bought-
2 5lb bags of sugar (3.49 each)
1 Loreal Age Perfect (14.99)
1 Blue Bonnet Marg (1.35)

Total-23.32
-$5 off $20 purchase*
=$18.30
-$3 (in ad coupon for the sugar, making it 1.99 each)
-.30 Domino Sugar mc
-.30 Domino Sugar mc
-.50 Blue Bonnet mc
-$2 Loreal mc
=$12.22
+.78 tax
=$13.00 (gift card)

I will get a 14.99 (+10%) rebate for the Loreal on my Walgreens Gift Card. Making my profit at least $2

*The coupon is supposed to be $5 off a $20 purchase, and that meaning $20 AFTER coupons, however, I have talked to the manager and several clerks and they don't go by those rules. I even had a manager helping me tonight and we talked about it. So, just an FYI!

Whew...

Well, I clearly bit off more than I could chew this morning. I had been wanting to finish cooking the last pumpkin I cooked and I did this morning. We made a "fluffy pumpkin cheesecake pie" 2 dozen muffins AND 2 batches of cookies. The kids did GREAT while I was busy in the kitchen. I must honestly say I am very surprised. I am even almost caught up on the dishes. We have several busy weeks (who doesn't) ahead and I am trying to get the house in order, so I have many more projects to do today.

I wanted to share with you all something somewhat interesting. I got (like I am sure you did too) an email last year or maybe the year before about Vick Vapor Rub. The email suggested putting the rub on your child's feet when they can't sleep due to coughing. I have tried it a couple of times (including last night) and it really works! Just thought I would remind you of that since the season is right for all those yucky things. I just rub some on there and then put there socks on. Then you don't have to worry about their clothes sticking to them or any of those unpleasant things.

Okay well, I am off for now. I need to work on some laundry, finishing the dishes and cleaning out a cabinet.

New Crayons

I am so excited. This blog is not solely for my frugal finds. It is also supposed to be about all the cool things I am doing! SO, lets get off topic for a moment and talk about the rest of life! We made some really cool new crayons earlier this month. It was a project I had been dying to do and it proved to be well worth the mess and time!

I decided to do this because I remember coloring with these as a kid (at Ms Molly's I think) Then I ran across the instructions as I was working on stuff for my kids Sunday School class. I decided that since we had more broken crayons than whole, it would be a good project. SO, I sat at the table and pealed all the broken crayons and divided them by color. Which was great fun and learning for the kids as we talked all about colors, matching, trying SO hard to get some of that paper off!

Then I baked them in the oven at 250 for just about 10 maybe 15 minutes. They melted, but still seemed to have chunks.

My husband wanted so bad to stir them, but we resisted the temptation and when I shook them a little as they came out the remaining lumps disappeared.

They cooled very well and pretty quick, within 20 min I am thinking. Once they felt hard on top and pretty cool on the bottom, we popped them out.

It wasn't long and the kids were coloring and having a blast! It was fun! AND the kids still LOVE playing with their "new" crayons. YAY! I am thinking about talking to our Preschool Director at Church about doing this with some of those broken crayons...not sure if I am really up to that just yet though.
-There were a few lessons I learned. The muffin pan does not really want to let go of the left over wax, so I will just use this pan for craft stuff from now on. (which is okay, since I still have my stone pans I always use)
-The cheap crayons, seemed to have LOTS more wax and left a yucky clear residue on the tops of some. If/when I do this again, I may try to shave that part off sometime during the cooling process.
Again, overall it was a LOT of fun!

Left out a Kroger

Okay, So here is a recap of where we are this month and what I have spent and what we have left!

I now have $71 and some change.

I think I left our a trip to Kroger where I bought this:



For the grand price of 6.67.
I had coupons for everything except the Oats. But we will use those, and I think they ended up being $2 each!

I also went to ALDI's last night with the kids. We spent $30.30 and got:
Potatoes
2 bags Tortilla Chips
2 loaves bread
1 gallon milk
2 dozen eggs
3 8 oz chunks of cheese
2 packs hot dog buns
1 bag brown sugar
1 pack coffee filters
1 2 lb carton of red grapes (which I am enjoying now:))

SO...we will see how the rest of the month goes with what I have left...do you think I can do it? I am having my doubts! I am ready to see!

Can you say tired?

Okay well deal hunting can be a bit tiring. Let's see, since Thursday, I have been to Harris Teeter, 6 times. I added a Kroger in there. Then of course yesterday I went to CVS and Walgreens. I finally was done with the triple coupons at about 11:30 (hmm, that was a little too close to the end at Midnight) and crawled into be at about 1:30 am. After taking lots of photos for you of course!

So, I have been talking to many several people lately and, you all (at least I hope you are reading this) seem to want to know how I can provide our family with groceries and such for $160 a month. SO, what I am going to do (at least try to do) is post every purchase I make. That way you can see how we make it work!

That said, the next few months may be somewhat trying...with the holidays, my Daddy and Sister are coming in November! Then my Mom and Step Dad in Dec, finally in January, we will attempt to drive home to let our sweet Lydia meet the rest of the family. However, though all that I will try my best to keep my budget of $160 a month. We shall see.

To be able to easily follow this I will put a label on each post that goes with a certain month. For us, our month started on Friday (well I cheated and "borrowed" to make it start Thursday! So this month the post label will be "month 1" Let me know if you are really interested in this...I don't want to put the effort out there if there is no one to read it...

Well below you will see the beginnings of the month. We started strong!

Triple Coupons Sum Up-

Six trips, and here is the summary...
Trips one and two are here
TRIP 3-12.22

TRIP 4- 7.08 (and I should get a rebate mailed to me of 4.49!)

TRIP 5- 9.63

TRIP 6- I am still looking for this total, but it was closer to $25/$30


No great detail, since it is over...let me know if you want more info! I am missing some receipts, I will update this when I have them!

CVS

What a great week!

Trip 1:



I bought:

1 Loreal Anti Wrinkle cream 11.99
1 St Ives Body Wash 3.99

I used these coupons:
- $1 mc for the Loreal
- $2 mc for the St Ives (here)
- $1 Store Coupon for any full size body wash

I then used $11 ECBs (extra care bucks, from previous trips)

Toatl OOP- $1.25

ECB's earned - 11.99 (for Loreal)
3.00 (for St Ives)

earned $4 YAY!

Trip 2


I bought:
Huggies Diapers $9.50
Peeps (clearance) .25
St Ives Body wash 3.99
Listerine Agent Blue 3.99

I used these coupons
- $2 mc for the St Ives (here)
- $1 mc for the Listerine Agent Blue (here)
- $1.50 mc Huggies Coupon

I then used the $11.99 ECB from the first purchase

Bringing my total to 1.24
+.52 tax
=1.76 OOP

AND I earned $3 ECB for the St Ives AND $3 ECB for the Listerine!

Neither store had the water :( I may try for it later, but not really needed, so probably not...we will see!

Week at Walgreens

Well as I said, Walgreens had some cool deals this week. Combine that with the great coupons and you had a really good week.

Trip 1:


On this stop, I got:

2 papers (more coupons) .93 each
3 tissue papers .99 for all three
1 can Progreso Soup 1.25 (with in ad coupon)
1 Blue Bonnett Marg .67 (with in ad coupon)
2 Reach Floss .99 (with in ad coupon)
1 Corn Starch .50 (with in ad coupon)
1 Baking Powder .50 (with in ad coupon)

I then used:
-$1.10 Progreso mc coupon HERE (final - .15)
- $1.00 mc coupon for corn starch and Baking soda(Sunday's paper)(final-FREE)
- $1.00 mc coupon for Reach floss (final-FREE)
- $1.00 mc coupon for Reach floss (final-FREE)
- .50 mc for the Blue Bonnett Margarine(Sunday's paper)(final- .17)

tax on that was .39

bringing my total to - $3.54 (on gift card)

Trip 2


I bought:

4 baking powders - .50 each (with in ad coupon)
3 Blue Bonnett Marg - .67 each (with in ad coupon)
1 Sunkist - $1.29

Then I used:
2 - $1.00 off 2 Baking soda(Sunday's paper)(final-FREE)
3 - .50 mc for the Blue Bonnett Margarine(Sunday's paper)(final- .17)
1 - $1 off Sunkist Soda (printed from the register in a previous trip)

My total was then .79
+ .17 tax
=.96 (on gift card)

Walgreens.....

Well it looks like there are some pretty good grocery deals at Walgreens this week. I see at first glance:

With In-ad coupons:

Domino Sugar - 1.99
.55 mc

Coffee Mate - 2.49 BOGO
.50 mc (you could use 2)

Nestle Toll House Morsels - 1.99
$1.00 off 3 mc
(if you bought three that would be - 4.97, which would be 1.65 per bag)

Corn Starch, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt all 2/$1

Blue Bonnet Margarine - 3/$2
(that is about .66 each)

Reach Dental Care .99
$1 mc

Progresso Soup 4/$5
$1.10 mc HERE

Finally they have tissue paper Buy 1 (.99) get 2 free, with Christmas just around the corner I think I may do that!

Well, that is all the deals I see for tonight! I will let you know when I find more. I am sure there are more out there! I also went to Harris Teeter 2 more times (with my friend Jessica) and I want to share that with you too. But all that will probably have to wait until Monday! Goodnight!

CVS this week....

I am planning to buy:

Sunday and/or Monday only:

L'Oreal Advanced Revitalift anit-wrinkle cream
11.99 with 11.99 ECB
$1 mc

St Ives Body wash
3.99 with 3.00 ECB
$2 mc (I am going to try this one, not sure if it will work)
if not, I still have a $1 off any full size body wash, that printed with one of my receipts (it expires tomorrow).

Then all week long they will have these deals that look really good to me!

Smart water 1 liter
1.59 with 1.59 ECB

Listerine Agent Cool Blue
3.99 with 3.00 ECB
$1 mc coupon HERE

I don't think I am doing this deal, but they have:
Palmolive Dish detergent
1.49 with 1.00 ECB

Not a bad week! I think it will be fun! Now, what about Walgreens, hmm, let me see...

Kroger!

All these goodies cost me 19.46! Not too bad, I have seen better, but this is not too bad!

This is how it worked:

CoffeeMate - 3.19
mc .50 off 1 (doubled)

4 Carnation evaporated milk 1.00 each
(.50 off each, b/c I bought 10 of the products listed and saved $5)
2 mc .50 off 2 (doubled)_

2 Quaker Oats 2.50 each
(.50 off each, b/c of the $5 off 10 deal)

Cheerios 2.00
(.50 off b/c of the deal)
mc .55 off

Domino Sugar 2.50
(.50 off b/c of the deal)
mc .50 (doubled)

Nestle Chocolate Chips 2.50
(.50 off b/c of the deal)
mc 1.50

Welch's Grape Juice 3.00
(.50 off b/c of the deal)
mc .50 (doubled)

2 Gold Medal All Purpose Flour 2.00 each

2 Country Crock Honey Spread .50 each

Kroger bread 1.19

Kroger Brown Sugar 1.25

Beechnut Rice cereal 1.29
mc 1.00

Like I said it could have been better, however, I knew I needed the flour, brown sugar, bread, we love doing lots of different things with the oats and the juice was a special treat, just like the Honey butter, we love that on homemade bread! So why not go ahead while the price was decent!

My Week at Walgreens

What a fun week at Walgreens, at first glance it didn't look to be that great, but Thanks to some help from my good friend :) Salee (are you there, I am waiting patiently to hear from you!), and Money Saving Mom I had a great trip.

That picture you see there, I paid 8.53 (on gift card) and I should receive 6.99 + 10% back on my gift card. Did I hear you ask how? I am so glad! I was dying to tell someone!

2 Cream Cheese - 1.79
on sale Buy One Get One (BOGO) Free

Final cost 1.79 for 2 (.90 each)

2 Ricola - 2.49 each
in ad coupon - .99 each
manufactures coupon - $1 off 2

Final cost .98 for 2 (.49 each)

2 Boxes Tea - Sale price 1.50 each
Easy Saver November coupon- $1 off 2
manufactures coupon -$1 off 1

Final cost $1 for 2 (.50 each)
Could be free if you have 2 manufactures coupons!

2 Alamay Mascara - 6.99 each
On Sale BOGO Free

Final Cost 6.99 for 2 (3.50 each)

Rebate 6.99 (November Easy Saver Catalog)

4 packs Extra Gum - 1.19 each
in ad coupon BOGO Free
manufactures coupon BOGO Free (used 2)

Final cost at Walgreens totally FREE!

3 Bumble Bee Tuna cans - 1.29
in ad coupon - .69 each
manufactures coupon $1 off 3

Final cost 1.07 for 3 (.36 each)

2 Quattro Disp Razors 5.99 each
manufactures coupon BOGO Free
manufactures coupon $2 off

*Final cost 3.99 for 2 (1.99 each)

I also used a $8 Register Reward that was to expire this week.

All of that totaled 8.53!!! YAY Esp when I plan to get 6.99 back on my gift card and there are a few grocery items in there!

*As I typed this up, I realized that I forgot to use a coupon from the November Easy Saver Catalog, that was $3 off one Quattro Razor. Therefore, I didn't post it when I planned. I waited till today, and I went back, talked to the manager and he gave me the $6 on my gift card!!!

That means that in the end, I used 2.53 on my gift card, but will get 6.99 back! That is exciting to me! YAY!

One fun and late night!

Well as I mentioned earlier, it is triple coupon time at Harris Teeter! Well, this is what happened tonight. I went to two different stores. Here is my cheat sheet I made that helps me when I am in the store.

The second store I spent (tax and all) 6.25, used 6 coupons and walked out with all this:


The FIRST store I spent (tax and all) 8.61, I used 18 coupons and I walked out with all this:


I proudly piled all my groceries into my car, along with my very organized coupon box and drove home to share the goodies with my sweetheart. (and you too, of course) When I got home, I jumped out of the car, ran around to the passenger side, opened the door and THIS is what happened...



Not exactly the way I had hoped to end the night, but it was fairly easy to pick up, and stayed somewhat in order. I am praising God that He blesses us the way He does. Through His provisions, for two months now, we have totally fed a family of 5 on $160 a month! That includes EVERYTHING! He is awesome!

Until tomorrow night, when I will likely go back :)

TRIPLE COUPONS

Well, today starts Triple Coupons at Harris Teeter, however, I haven't had the time to go through my coupons. I am very discouraged and sad. But I still have today to do that, though, I will be with my kids all day and that is not the easiest thing. Maybe I can get some done. I am really excited. The pantry is getting low and this is the best time to restock. I will try to let you know how it goes. I am looking forward to some sweet deals. We will see.

Well, I am off to start the day with my sweet kids. I hope I don't get too distracted in the laundry, dishes and baking...our days are so much better when I love on the kids all day. However, I am going crazy with the current state of our house. It is a disaster zone. Is that just how it is supposed to be with three? Gracious. I seem to get nothing done.

Banana Bonanza

Okay well this post is LONG overdue. But as I think I told you earlier, when I was supposed to tell you about this the "B" key and the "N" key went out on my computer keyboard. Making it hard to tell you about bananas...

So after LOTS of mashing we made the following recipes...


BANANA BREAD

I used this recipe to make 2 big loaves and 8 mini loaves of banana bread. One recipe makes either one loaf or 4 mini loaves.






2 tsp butter
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C oil
1 C sugar
2 eggs beated
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs milk

Mix together the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate, larger bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in the eggs, bananas, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean...maybe 1 hr, 15 min ish... If you make the mini loaves, they only need about 45 min to bake. Very good frozen!

And what in the world would I do with 8 mini loaves in the freezer...can we say Christmas gifts for Sunday School, Awana and Choir teachers. Joshua was thrilled to know what he was making would be a gift for his teachers! FUN! (the big loaves we are/have eaten)

We also made:

BANANA PANCAKES

(this photo is not behaving)





1 c all-purpose flour
1 Tbs white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c milk
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed


Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.

Stir both the banana mixture and the flour mixture, batter will be a little lumpy.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the griddle using about 1/4 cup per pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides (like mine, hahaha ;))

The boys loved this recipe. I loved it b/c I could give them something good for them, and they never even asked for syrup. YAY! That is a nice low mess breakfast...which is always the goal in my house :)


Finally we made

BANANA-PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/3 c firmly backed light brown sugar
1/4 c creamy or chunky peanut butter (we used creamy)
1/4 c margarine
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl. In a med mixing bowl beat together banana, brown sugar, margarine spread and peanut butter until light and fluffy (using an electric mixer on med speed). Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until dough forms. Shape into 1 inch balls, place them 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Use a fork and make the cute little criss-cross pattern. Bake at 375 for about 10 min.



Again the boys LOVED these. And I didn't feel too bad about letting them enjoy, since they weren't overly sweet.

I Spy With My Little Eye

Okay well, at first glance, I saw NOTHING this week. Well except the Dawn for .99, which is the case the first week of every month. So, I plan to get some, since there will likely be coupons for .25-.50 off in the P&G coupon section in the morning. (it .99 at CVS and Walgreens)

I have not seen anything more at CVS, though I am looking at a partial ad, for whatever reason, it is not the full ad, so I am not 100% sure I have seen everything.

SO...at Walgreens this week, I plan to get the .99 Dawn, since it will be cheap, and for some reason we always have dirty dishes.

I also see that they have Schick Quattro razors, they are on sale for 5.99. The Easy Saver Catalog has a $3 coupon. There are two manufactures coupons I see that will work with this deal. One is a BOGO free coupon. The other is a $2 off. My suggestion is :

Buy 2 for 11.98
use one BOGO -5.99
use ESC coupon-6.00 (should double automatically)
that would give you 2 for free!

Sometimes in some stores, they will let you use another coupon with the BOGO coupon. So what I would do is give them the BOGO coupon first, then the Easy Saver Coupon, THEN the other $2 MC. That way if they decide not to take it, no loss.

They also have cream cheese 1.79 each, but they are BOGO, so when you buy two that is roughly .90 cent each, that is not bad.

This is all I see at the moment. However, I am VERY tired and ready for the bed. I have some pumpkin to tend to and then I am going to CRASH. I will share more a little later. Goodnight ;)

A Good Deal at Target!

Well, much to my surprise today I got a really good deal at target. Those seem few and far between for me, however, it was a good day today! As you can see in the photo above, we got a new keyboard (which was $29.99) It was a HUGE splurge for us, but something we have really wanted. So here is the rest

3 Green Giant Carrots 1.69 each
2 Fiber One Yogurts 2.49 each
2 Starkist Tuna pouches 1.40 each
1 TGIFriday frozen Quesadilla 1.84
1 Market Pantry Applesauce 1.79

I had $1 off manufacture's coupons for every item except the keyboard and applesauce.

We saved 10% b/c of Matt working there that was $4.35

After tax-2.06

I spent 36.18

I was very happy with that considering the cost of the keyboard. YAY for Target.

I'm Back!

Well, now that I know you are not really there :) I am back! It has been a crazy week at the Chilson house. The keyboard on our computer decided to turn against us earlier in the week, mainly just the B and N, which made it very hard to post about the Banana Bread...so I just decided to wait on that. My sweet husband had his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday and now my precious three year old has pink eye. I look forward to catching up this week and telling you all about the bananas, and maybe a little about some deals. I have truly missed blogging this week. I know now that even if there is no one out there reading this, it is good for me!