One mom sharing her life with.....

100% Whole Wheat Bread

2011-08-03T08:02:00.001-04:00

Do you make your own bread? Do you want to? Well, as I think I have shared before we grind our own grain, and I like to make our own bread. However when I make my own bread I like to use all whole wheat, that I have ground. MOST of the recipes I have found are not what we want....they include a different kind of flour, or they are way to thick and crumbly. It has been driving me crazy!

But now....I have found a recipe that we really like and is really simple! Want to see it?

100% Whole Wheat Bread

ingredients

1 3/4 C warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 C honey
2 tsp. instant yeast
6 C Stone ground whole wheat flour
6 T Vital wheat gluten
1 T Flax seed
1 T Flax seed mill
1 T rolled oats
1 T sesame seed
1 T quinoa (I use some type of substitute)
1 T Sunflower seeds
1 t salt
2 T coconut oil, melted

Directions-

Pour warm water and honey into a large bowl, and stir to dissolve honey. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the liquid and let stand until the yeast bubbles and forms a creamy layer.

In a bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, gluten, flax seed, flax seed mill, rolled oats, sesame seed, quiona, sunflower seeds and salt until the seeds are dispersed evenly. Pour the flour mixture into the yeast mixture, add the coconut oil and mix everything together. Scoop the dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and springy (which I would just say need for about 15 min). Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes and then knead for another 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, and turn the ball over several times to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30-45 min.

Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. Punch down the dough, and cut into 2 pieces. Form each piece into a loaf and place into the loaf pans., seam side down, and cover the pans with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 30 min.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake the loaves in the preheated oven until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. 30-35 mins. I brush mine with coconut oil after they come out of the oven....mmmm...

I love that my children are growing up with the smells of freshly baked bread. THAT makes me smile!

Okay now I am off to bake! I am planning to make at least a double batch of this today. Four loaves should do it.....hmm....maybe I will make six.....

Sweet Old Lady

2011-08-02T09:21:00.000-04:00

There is an image. A lady you have known forever. She has "always" been old. You don't remember her without silver hair. You probably remember her in your home church. In the same spot she had held for years. Right? Do you see her?

I do. I see that precious lady. I am reminded of her this morning. This woman loved the Lord. She was precious. I don't really remember not knowing her. She has always just been a part of my childhood memory. Her grandchildren were my friends. They are just mixed in my memory like so many other familiar things. I can't tell you about anything from my childhood that she did that was extra special, but she was just there.

What I can tell you is that, this morning that sweet lady is dancing at the feet of her savior. For those of you who know who I am talking about you are now smiling. Can you see her? Dancing? I don't think I could have ever imagined her dancing here. But I can see her this morning and it brings a smile to my face.

You see, this woman really stamped a BIG place in my heart almost 8 years ago. I was married and had moved a LONG way from home. My husband had decided that he and I would go on a mission trip, and we would need to raise funds to go. We sent out TONS of letters and told people about what we were doing, we begged them to pray and if God led, help us fund the trip. My church back home knew what we were doing and obviously announced it in church. I really don't know the details....they really don't matter. What I do remember is that I did NOT send this sweet old lady a letter. Never really occurred to me to send her one. But I got an envelope from her. There was a hand written note and a $10. She wrote about how she wished she could give more, and how she hoped that what she gave would help. It brings tears to my eyes even now to remember that gift. I know, I know, $10 isn't what bought the airline tickets or even breakfast one day, but $10 is what she had to give and she gave it. She reached down deep and gave what she could. Sure others gave more money, and likely some gave only a fraction of what they could. But God truly blessed my heart more with that $10 gift than with any other gift we received. She had heard about us, and what we were doing and she chose to give.

God blessed that trip, we were given all the money we needed and even extra we used to buy supplies for the missionaries that were there. God truly was glorified through His children, both old and young.

I just read on Facebook where that sweet old lady left her earthly body and stepped into eternity last night. I can only imagine how hard that is for her family this morning. I have only lost one grandparent and it was HARD. HARD, hardly describes it. I still miss him terribly. I know they are mourning their loss. However, I know that this sweet old lady, just like my grandfather, has reached a place of no more tears, no more pain, and no suffering. They can spend their days worshiping our Heavenly Father and for that I am so grateful and jealous! :) Their days are spent with endless praises to our Father! What a wonderful thing to remember!

Tuesday Treats

2011-05-24T23:32:00.000-04:00

I ALMOST forgot to post today! Checked my sweet friends blog and remembered I was TRYING to keep this Tuesday Treats thing up! :) I will take every chance I get to BRAG on my sweet hubby! SO....today I called him at work and begged for him to bring home some boxes for VBS, he pulled in with a TRUCK FULL of boxes AND helped me cut them tonight! No matter WHAT I get myself into, he is ALWAYS there to help me get it done! He NEVER complains about what I get us into, he is one AMAZING man!! I LOVE YOU MATT CHILSON!

Peaches and Cream

2011-05-23T07:57:00.000-04:00

We LOVE pancakes in our house. And just so you know.....they are not always a breakfast food around here. We had them for dinner last night. Honestly, we have them for dinner about once a week! Yesterday at Whole Foods they had peaches on sale for .99 per pound! We stocked up ;)

So last night with our dinner we had peaches and cream on top. They were SO good! I made pancakes as I normally do, and I did this-

chopped up about 2 cups fresh peaches and mixed with 1/4 cup sucanat. I heated them for a while (while I was cooking the pancakes)

I poured some whipping cream in the Kitchen Aid mixer while the peaches were cooking and the pancakes were going, added a little bit of vanilla and let it whip us up some yummy cream.

Before I knew it we had pancakes with peaches and cream! WOW. That was EASY!

Do you "spice up" pancakes at your house? If so, what do you use?

Homeschooling

2011-05-21T07:56:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, we are a homeschool family. We have enjoyed having our babies at home with us (most days) and are just finishing up our first "real" year. Not sure that it was a "real year" but we are counting it!

Homeschooling can cause me a LOT of anxiety. What should our days look like? What curriculum should I use? What about my kids? Will they turn out okay? Should we join the local co-op? WHAT IN THE WORLD should I do with the other kids while we are "doing school"?

I recently read this note from a special friend, who is a bit further down the road. I can NOT tell you what an encouragement this is to me and how much I value her advice! I hope you find it helpful!

My friend writes-
We are gearing up for high school, so I am reaching back a while for some of this, but I can share a few lessons learned (some gathered from my education and experience as a teacher before becoming a mom, but mostly learned the hard way with our children).

First of all, the only specific curriculum I would recommend whole-heartedly for anyone and everyone is Explode the Code (phonics). It can be used along with any other program and is excellently organized. Otherwise, you have to find what fits your situation. Just be honest as you consider your actual, current lifestyle, not the lifestyle you aspire to have.

(1) Pray more than you plan. The Lord's hand of blessing and your walk with Him is more important than your academic choices. Think of homeschooling as a 24/7 discipleship program. The foundation you provide for your children has to be based in your relationship with the Lord, so keep that relationship fresh and growing.

(2) Keep your marriage as your top earthly priority; the man/wife relationship is the most important part of your home and school. Invest in it daily. If your spouse is not your best friend and the one person you’d rather be with than anyone else in the world, then you need to spend some time seeking the Lord and fix that. No curriculum produced will make as much difference in your child’s life than the comfort and example of parents totally committed to the Lord and each other.

(3) Attitudes and behavior matter more than education. Anytime you feel it is necessary- whether your kids are in preschool or precalculus) put school on the back burner and straighten them out. Academics are easier to restore than rebellious hearts.

(4) Choose your curriculum based more on personalities (yours as well as your children's) and lifestyle than on scope and sequence, especially in the early years. If you prefer a school-like atmosphere and are going to stick to a regular schedule, that’s fine. If you’re more likely to want to do hands-on stuff and have a little more freedom, that’s ok, too. If you want a little of both, that is do-able. Just be honest and find what suits YOU, not your friend or neighbor.

(5) Academically, I strongly recommend that you carefully select a math program and commit to it through at least 3rd grade, then if you need to make a change, do it and commit again through 6th grade. For preschool thru 3rd grade, do the same for reading and phonics. The program doesn’t matter as much as the continuity; this way you don’t let anything crucial fall in the gaps.

(6) Include Dad in your homeschooling regularly no matter what his schedule. Make a point of having your little ones share what they are learning with him, whether it's dinner conversation or a weekly show & tell before family movie night. However it happens, he needs to stay up to date and they need to see his interest.

(7) Consistency matters more than content. Make a schedule and make it work for you, but don't be a slave to it. I encourage you to get and use Managers of Their Home and other books from the Maxwell's at titus2.com, but use them as a guide to create what will really work for your family. If it takes honing your plan a dozen times until it’s right for you, it’s worth the investment of time to do just that.

(8) Make chores, personal hygiene, and manners part of your routines. Don't forget music lessons, either. These things will have as much (or maybe more!) to do with real success in life as academics.

(9) Make read-aloud time a priority every day. (My teenagers still love for me to read to them!) This is a great time to read things that are beyond their ability to read by themselves but are within their ability to comprehend. Stop and talk about new words, help them remember details of the story, and ask questions the next day while you’re driving to “test” their comprehension. We started reading chapter books (The Boxcar Children mystery series) during preschool and there are lots of classics you can include that they will remember fondly and want to re-read on their own when they are capable.

(10) Finally, make homeschooling fun for the kids AND for you! If it feels like drudgery, change something. They grow up too fast to spend every day feeling like it’s a burden.

I am certainly not an expert on anything, but I love sharing our journey. It would be my honor to communicate with you if you have any questions or comments about homeschooling, marriage, etc. I also consider it a privilege to pray for those whose paths cross mine, so if you have specific requests, please let me know. Beyond my family, my “favorite” ministry is to young wives and mothers who are walking the paths I have been down. If I can make it easier for you than I had it, then my trials were worth it!

As a homemaker, pastor’s wife, and homeschooling mom, I may not always be able to respond immediately, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.

With joy from Jesus,

Mrs. John (Tracee) Young

jtncmyoung@aol.com

What's for dinner??

2011-05-20T06:40:00.002-04:00

I absolutely HATE that question. I do NOT like making that decision. EVER. Honestly, I don't really even like deciding where to go out to eat. But it must be done. Matt and I have started making a monthly dinner menu, and it is amazing!! All month long I have KNOWN what we are going to eat and when/how to prepare for that! It has been wonderful. We took into account when we had things going on that would make dinner rushed and when I would really have time to do dinner prep! SIMPLY.AMAZING. I find it very amazing that for almost three weeks, I have known what we will have for dinner and not had to stress....AND we have NOT eaten out! Well, we ate out for Mother's Day, but that was on the plan ;)

Do you make a menu? Do you do a week or a month? Do you plan breakfast and lunch too? Do you stick with it??

What a day!

2011-05-19T08:20:00.000-04:00

Whew! Yesterday is one of those days where I can easily say, I am glad that is over! SIGH. What a crazy day! As you know, Matt started the day very EARLY by taking the two big boys fishing. They had a great time! Asher actually caught his first fish! I wish I had the picture to post for you! He was SO proud! What a special blessing that HE got to catch a fish!! While they were gone, they two little ones and I ran out to Harris Teeter's triple coupon event and scored some great deals there! Great fun was had by all ;) Lydia was THRILLED with her free balloon and princess bandaids (which were on sale and with a coupon).

Later we all met back home for a few minutes before running more errands. We needed to leave the house around 10:30 am in order to pick up David's three month photos and make another appointment we had and be home for yet another scheduled visit! As we climbed into the van, I looked at Matt and said, "whew, it has been a day and a half" to which he smiled and said, "its still just morning sweetheart".

We ran out to North Hills and I ran in and picked up the photos without and issues at all. Climbed back into the van and off we went to our next stop...only for some reason we kept hearing a clicking sound. Pretty clearly coming from the tire. Matt was hopefull when we stopped to check it that he would find a rock. Not exactly. He found a rusted old bolt...right.in.our.tire. We pulled over to the side of the parking lot, pulled the kids out of the van and began to wonder what we would do to keep them busy while Matt changed the flat. At which time I realized it was 11 am.

Since the morning had begun SO early and been kinda crazy everyone had eaten early and some of us VERY light. So I pulled out the blanket we keep in the van and the lunch we had packed and fed the kids while Matt changed the tire. SWEET. Perfect plan, the kids would be fed and would likely fall asleep in the van, which would be great b/c they were SO tired!

Matt took the ruined tire OFF the van and went to the back to get the spare. Enter problem. SO, you know this van, yeah the one we just bought that is 20 years old? YEAH...well, apparently the spare had never been used and was also 20 years old. SIGH. You know what that means, right? yeah. It was useless. This is where we began to see God's hand in things. We were sitting in a Target parking lot. So Matt and the three big kids ran into the store while I sat outside with our stuff holding David. They were after fix-a-flat and maybe a pump. I walked around and tried to help David go to sleep. Countless cars drove by, MANY starred at us....MANY. But NONE stopped. NONE. It was FINE that they didn't we were perfectly fine and didn't need a thing, but I am FLOORED at all the "gawkers" who were admiring our vehicle but didn't notice the mom with her baby sitting there. Now this is where I began to wonder what in the world is wrong with this picture. Seriously. Who wouldn't stop to help a mom and her baby with a flat. Enter conviction. I then realized that many times with my four kids in tow (who am I kidding, I sometimes didn't with only two) that I see someone in need on the side of the road and didn't offer any help at all...I mean seriously, it is a dangerous world that we live in. Who knows if it is a trap or not...me with little kids, I certainly can't stop. Maybe that is true, and possibly wise, I am not sure....BUT it gets worse. There have been times when my husband stopped and what did his precious, loving wife do? Oh, she pitched a GRAND GLORY fit. Don't you know the baby has to eat? or we will be late? or fill in the blank. I have not been to thrilled when he was late coming home from work b/c he stopped to help someone in need. SIGH. No wonder no one would stop. If I, a believer in Jesus Christ can NOT take time out of my busy schedule to allow my hubby to help, then why would I expect someone else, likely a lost soul, to stop and care? Did Jesus not say, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:39-41

Seriously, I am amazed at how God used our day to show me His hand in our life. There are SO many details that He worked out. I had already canceled one thing we had planned (that we totally would have missed) due to grumpy kids. Matt was with us, which the original plan had him riding his bike while we were gone. We were in the Target parking lot, which meant we could get what we needed (at a discount ;) )....AND it wasn't raining!! God made a potentially horrific scenario (me alone with four kids and a flat tire, with basically no spare) a wonderful teaching time.

I am glad yesterday is behind us. We now have four new tires on our van and we made most of our connections for the day! But, I have a lot to reflect on and learn from our day....

Triple Coupons!!!

2011-05-18T09:14:00.000-04:00

Matt has been itching to take the big boys fishing....and today was the day. So while he and the older two were out trying to snag some fish, the younger two and I snagged all this for only.....$11.03 Twenty two things we bought....most of which are normal purchases!! :) We saved $48.84 with coupons this morning!

Tuesday Treats....

2011-05-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

I am learning from a friend here, and I am going to TRY to share something special about my hubby on Tuesdays here....

This week, I am particularly amazed at my hubby...on Saturday, he got up EXTRA early to help me set up a yard sale, before he rode his bike with some friends. He also has done almost ALL the dishes this week and helped tremendously with the laundry! He is ALWAYS willing to "take one for the team" and help out!

Thanks Candace, for challenging me to do this...even though you may not have realized that you did! (I am just really late doing it) I look forward to sharing what a wonderful hubby I have with you all!!

Strawberry bread

2011-05-17T08:59:00.000-04:00

This time of year one of our FAVORITE things is strawberries! We recently got 10lbs really cheap and ended up eating all of them, with the exception of the few I spared to make some yummy strawberry bread!

Strawberry bread-

3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 c sugar (we use sucanat)
1 1/2 c oil (veggie or coconut)
1 c nuts, finely chopped (we use pecan)
4 eggs well beaten
2 c strawberries mashed with their juice (can use frozen)

Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil, strawberries, and nuts. Stirr until all ingredients are moistened. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 for one hour.

This recipe along with several others can be found in the cookbook Recipes for Redemption. Our friends the Roberts produced this cookbook as a way to raise funds for the adoption of their precious baby boy, Ezra! I still have some of these books for sale if anyone is interested, just let me know! :)

PLEASE keep praying for Ezra and the Roberts family as they wait to be with their son! It shouldn't be long now :D

Peanut Butter Granola

2011-05-16T09:54:00.001-04:00

Our family LOVES this recipe! We eat it like cereal and sometime we mix it in with some vanilla yogurt....YUM! SO EASY and SO good!!

6T oil (we use coconut)
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
7 cups oats
raisins (optional)

Melt the oil and peanut butter together. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Pour over oats and mix well. Spread into a LARGE cookie sheet, I usually use a couple and bake at 350 for about 18-20 mins. Add raisins, if desired, in the last 5 mins of baking.

We like this SO much I have been known to double and even triple the recipe!

Black Bean Tostados

2010-11-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

This is one of our favorites! Again it is taken from the recipe in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook....

Black beans (3-4 cups) cooked
Tortillas
tomatoes
avocado
brown rice
cheese

For this recipe, very VERY simple! When I am making tortillas, we just don't cook them, we fry them in olive oil! Then we top them with brown rice, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, and serve with sour cream and salsa!!

YUMMY!

Black Bean Burritos

2010-11-04T14:52:00.000-04:00

Here is my Black Bean Burrito recipe, adapted from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook-

I use-
3 cups black beans (that I cook)
3 cups brown rice
1/2 onion finely chopped
green chiles (I usually use one small can)
ground cumin (I just guess about how much of this I use)

I just mix all of this up together, then throw it into some homemade tortillas...Bake it until it is warm all the way through. I serve it with sour cream and salsa! It usually last at least two meals in our house! The night we made these we ended up with a few extra kids for dinner and I wasn't sure about serving them to six kids! (One had a wheat allergy, so it really wasn't an option!) Since I already had them made, we just stuck them in the freezer!

Enjoy!

Trying to Menu Plan

2010-10-26T15:42:00.000-04:00

So...I have tried this before, and it usually works very well! Usually only laziness gets me off track! So, here I go trying it again!

26th-Tonight-breakfast burritos-homemade tortillas from the freezer, with eggs, sausage and mushrooms, maybe even some salsa and sour cream.

27th-bfast-brown rice pudding (brown rice with cinnamon and honey, my kids LOVE it)
lunch-corn dog muffins
dinner-pancakes (Church night)

28th-bfast-Breakfast bars (Same recipe, I am just too lazy to make cookies, so I put it in my bar pan!)
lunch-homemade mac-n-cheese
dinner-black bean burritos- from the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

29th-bfast-cinnamon swirl bread
lunch-pizza pockets
dinner-potato soup

30th-bfast-banana muffins
lunch-homemade pizza
dinner-spaghetti

31st-bfast-oatmeal (likely blueberry)
lunch-turkey sandwiches
dinner-carrot raisin apple muffins with eggs and bacon

1st-bfast-breakfast cake
lunch-mini pizzas
dinner-black bean toastadas from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook

2cnd-bfast-sweet potato muffins
lunch-corn dog muffins
dinner-quesadillas

3rd-bfast-baked oatmeal
lunch-cheesy bread
dinner-Italian roast wraps

4th-bfast-cinnamon apple toast
lunch-pizza pockets
dinner-pancakes

5th-bfast-banana bread
lunch-baked potatoes
dinner-black bean burritos (from left overs put in freezer)

6th-bfast-breakfast bars
lunch-corn dog muffins
dinner-

7th-bfast-oatmeal
lunch-
dinner-chicken nuggets

8th-bfast-cinnamon raisin biscuits
lunch-
dinner-pancakes

ideas....

2010-08-27T14:09:00.002-04:00

Hey there! Just so you know, this blog is on my mind and I have a post coming soon...not sure when, but soon :)

Alternative Sugars

2010-02-20T21:30:00.003-05:00

Another thing we have been trying to do differently is less SUGAR! We have cut the sugar intake of our family drastically! It makes me happy to know that my kids consume MUCH less sugar than they used to! The only things we use sugar in now are coffee, and sweet tea (which we are also drinking LOTS less of these days, less tea, more coffee-which is probably not good)

SO, what are we using? We have been using mostly honey and sucanat. So far we have been pleased. Sucanat is dehydrated sugar cane juice. We have used stevia just a little, in baking. I have been searching for a good sugar substitute in coffee. Agave Nectar is good, but seems rather expensive. This week at Harris Teeter, we were able to get a few things with their Super Double Coupon deal. As you well know I LOVE coupons and thankfully just because we are eating different, doesn't mean I have to give up coupons! I was able to score some really sweet deals!

One thing I got was Sun Crystals. It is supposedly a natural sweetener that uses only stevia and sugar cane juice. Matt and I tried it in our coffee, but we really didn't like it! :( I wanted to share the idea with you though because I thought someone else might like it! If you go to the link above you can find a free sample of them and I think it is for sure worth trying! I do not regret my purchase at all, and I hope to try the sweetener with something else soon!

Laundry Detergent

2010-02-17T15:01:00.002-05:00

Well I tried the laundry detergent again and it went really well! We have used all of the first batch and we were very satisfied with it! So when we finished the first 2 gallons, I was really excited to make more! I made a double batch the second time and I am VERY happy to report that I now have 4 gallons of laundry detergent that cost me MAYBE $4-5!! YAY! I highly recommend this to EVERYONE! It is SO easy!

Vitamins

2010-02-17T14:23:00.003-05:00

So one of the many changes that we have made recently is that we have chosen to TRY treating our kids with vitamins and herbs before rushing to antibiotics! So far it has gone REALLY well! We are enjoying it! I am really happy about that, since it is SO much better for them than the antibiotics!

The down side is that vitamins and herbs can be VERY costly! I have been shocked by how much they can cost! SO, I was THRILLED when my friend introduced us to VitaCost. We can order most anything we want from there at almost half the price of local retailers!

Now, most of you started following me b/c you knew of my LOVE for coupons! Well, I have FINALLY gotten my coupon-ing back together and I have been dabbling a bit here and there! Thanks to Money Saving Mom I found an AWESOME deal on vitamins this week! Nature's Bounty vitamins are on sale at CVS Buy One, Get One for a penny! (there were a FEW exceptions) there are also, $2 off Manufacture's coupons here. All you need to do is fill out the registration form and print the coupon! I believe you can print two from each computer you have access to! To print two, you just need to hit the back button! You will also need a CVS card, but those can be gotten at the store!

I was REALLY excited about this because, we have been taking a LOT of probiotics. We were actually needing to order more! I was able to get two bottles (200 wafers) for less than $3! HOW?

They were priced at $11.49 each. I bought two, which was (with my CVS card) $11.50. I was then able to use my two manufacturer's coupons, which was -$4. Bringing my total to $7.50. I then used $6 in Extra Care Bucks (that expired today) bringing my total to $1.50 plus tax!! I think my total was $2.39 or something close to that! It was AWESOME! Even if you don't have any ECB's you can still get two bottles for less than $8 and that is STILL a great deal! If you are after any other vitamins, you might find them cheaper and an even better deal!

Just a couple of warnings-this deal will expire Saturday! So hurry :) And also, the first store I tried this at, would NOT accept two coupons, they said that one bottle was only a penny so they couldn't accept it :( Good new is, the store in Wake Forest, didn't hesitate! They had NO problem accepting it and were happy to do so!

If you need the vitamins I hope you enjoy this sale!

Another Change

2009-12-10T14:14:00.002-05:00

This didn't really fit with the previous post, but it is a new change none the less. I made our own laundry detergent! It was SUPER easy to do and I have now washed two loads of clothes in the "new detergent" and so far, I am very well pleased! It was VERY cheap to make. And it makes a TON! I am super excited about this since it is something I can do that is quick and easy, and cuts down on the budget just a bit! Interested? I used this link which I found very easy to follow and when it talks about grating soap, I used a whole bar of ivory soap. It was what I had on hand! Feel free to ask any questions! Not sure I can answer since I have only done it once, but I will be happy to try!

Changes

2009-12-10T12:57:00.002-05:00

WOW! It has been a LONG time. I have not forgotten this blog at all, it has just been a bit removed from the front page of our lives. We are beginning a whole new "diet" at our house which really is nothing like what we have done in the past. We are trying to eat only whole foods, mostly organic, and raw.

Our oldest child has a few digestive issues, that most doctors want to treat medically. They have suggested putting him on medication indefinitely, which honestly just scares me. He is only four. I can't imagine starting him on a medication that I am not sure when we will stop. We have some "other" options. And one is to change our diet. That is where we are. This has been a gradual process. Well, I suppose it has. It seems very all of the sudden, but at the same time a long time coming.

If anyone is still interested, I think I may start "venting" here. Sharing what we have change and what we are trying to do. I would love questions, as they help me to figure out what we are doing and why!

So for now, we are working to only buy whole foods (which is HARD) and rid ourselves of the non-whole food items in our home. We have begun to buy only raw milk, eat beef that has come from the people who raised the cow, not the supermarket. We are trying hard to eat mostly organic fruits and veggies, meat and dairy too for that matter. We have just bought a grain mill attachment for our kitchen aid mixer. We will be getting wheat berries to grind and make wheat flour. We also bought a bunch of whole oats.

I have no clue where this is leading, or where it will end. I suppose we will see! Are you interested in reading and walking this new road with us?

What could possibly make me post??

2009-05-08T19:59:00.006-04:00

Well I do suppose there are a few things that would make me take the time to post...BUT I can't think of many that are more important than giving a shout out to some of our best freinds in the whole wide world! One of my best freinds and her husband are living their lives fully to the glory of our Lord. They are serving Christ in Kenya! That to me is one of the most awesome things in the world! I love them and am so thankful that they were obedient to the call of Christ. I miss her greatly and I am longing for November when we get to see them again! I can't wait to hug her neck, and snuggle her sweet new baby. I highly recommend you follow their blog and see all that they are doing there in Africa. They have three beautiful babies and lots of interesting stories to share. It is so much fun to see their lives unfold as they serve Christ. If the excitement of life in Niarobi was not enough Nathan and Candace have recently decided to start giving away things from Africa. How cool is that? They are currently giving away an African bowl. You should really go check it out. It is neat. Enter to win! You have nothing to loose, and while you are there...read a bit, see what God is doing in their life!

Now the other thing...free chocolate! I am not sure how long this link will work...BUT you can get a free candy bar, one per email address, four per mailing address. That rocks! I hope you get yours quick! Check it out here!

TARGET!

2009-04-08T09:15:00.001-04:00

I went to Target today and had NO IDEA what I would find! I am so excited to report that I found some SMOKIN hot deals! They had:
Pineapple on sale for 2.99
Asparagus on sale for 1.49 a pound
Eggs on sale for .99 a dozen
Strawberries on sale for 1.99 a pound

About a week ago, I received some several Target coupons in the mail. All of them were grocery related. There was a

$2 off Pineapple (making that .99)
$1 off Asparagus (making that .49)
.50 off Eggs (making those .49)
$1 off Strawberries (making that .99)

So that photo was about $3 at Target (if that had been all I bought!) I was thrilled to make such wonderful purchase. YUMMY!

Also, I read over the $5 off a $50 grocery purchase and it doesn't say that it must be only grocery. We did make a $5o dollar purchase so I tried it (I had some items other than grocery) and it worked. I then gave the cashier several other store and manufacturer's coupons and finally my gift card from a prescription...I ended up spending $22 on a $50 purchase! YAY!

I wanted to let you know since many of you should have gotten these coupons. These were deals to YUMMY to pass up! Happy Saving!

Back again :)

2009-04-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! I know it has been an EXTREMELY long time since I last posted. I miss this so much. I am done making statements like "I will get better." I am just going to try and we will see what happens! I will say that I am not doing so well at school and I am really praying about whether I should even go back next semester. It is such a hard call. I love school and I really want to be there, but I may be in a new place now. :( However, God created me to be my husbands helper and that is my greatest calling. Right now I may be a better helper if focused my time and energy more on saving money than in school. He needs my help at home, with raising his kids and buying his groceries! I would love your prayers as we are working towards making some decisions for the next several months of our lives. For now I will just post when I can...so stay tuned...there is a great post coming about a great deal at Target!

Where have you been :)

2009-03-02T23:19:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! I have missed you! Where have you been ;) I know, I have been gone for a long time...I am sorry. I do miss this blog. I SO wish I had more time to blog.

Life has just gotten a little crazy lately. Hopefully since this week is spring break, things will sorta level out and we will find a groove for our family. Not really sure that will happen but, hey, a girl can dream right?

Well...a couple of you have asked me about things I do on-line to earn a little extra. There are two things that I love that I would love to share with you because they really do not take any extra time.

I want to start by saying that I have an email account specifically for these type things...that way my personal email does not get bombarded with "junk". I highly recommend this!

So, the first thing I want to tell you about is Swagbucks. I LOVE SWAGBUCKS! I like to search for things online and have always just used Yahoo, or Google now I use swagbucks! IT ROCKS. As you search you earn more bucks and they can be redeemed for gift cards and such. It is awesome. You should check it out!

The other thing I like to do is called InboxDollars. This is really cool because you simply earn CASH by checking your email. You have to click on the emails and you only earn .02 per email, but when you hit $30, you get a check in the mail! You can also earn more by participating in surveys or taking an offer that they give you.

I really enjoy these and they don't really take any time. Have you tried them? Do you like them? What has been your experience?? Do tell!

Can't seem to keep up...

2009-01-31T21:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, well I had planned to get back into this pretty steady, however it just doesn't seem to work for me...I guess I should just be happy to post when I can. I am thrilled to say that we have about two weeks left in our "month" and I still have about $75 in grocery money left, that is only $5 less thank I am supposed to have! (Now mind you I did get a little bit of refund money in (rebates on products I have bought) So that has helped, but we seem to be staying on task this week. But this is the first time in over three months that we have even attempted to stay within our budget. I am very excited to be working on it again!

I had hoped to post about all the great deals I am planning to do, but honestly I just don't have time. I do hope to show you what awesome deals I got, assuming I get some!

For now, I am off to read, being back in school is more challenging than I expected...:)

Because I know you will understand and laugh...

2009-01-28T07:28:00.004-05:00

Well, we are trying to teach our children (the boys) not to come out of their room until about 8 am. This is because Mommy really needs this time to get awake, read for school, spend some time with the Lord, exercise and get some housework done. Not that I would do all of that in any given morning but those are all options that I "need" right now :)

So in order to do this, we put a digital clock in the boys room and told them they could not come out until they saw an 8. (I am quite certain Matt showed him where the 8 needed to be) They are more than welcome to get down and play with their toys or whatever they so choose so long as they stay in their room. Joshua assured us that he understood (which is important, because HE is the one who can open the door).

Well, I removed Lydia from the room when she started crying around 7 this morning. Nursed her and put her in her pack n play in my room. Then went back to my studying. Then sometime around 7:15 I heard the boys. I thought this would be a good test. We really didn't expect that it would work on day one, but I was willing to try. Work with them and help them learn.

Joshua and Asher came running down the hall at about 7:20, I was shocked. I really thought this would have lasted a little longer. I was even more surprised to hear Joshua saying, "Mom, my clock has an 8 on it" followed by the words "and a 7, and a 1" Yeah, it was 7:18...

Oh well. I did get some studying in this morning. And it was a good learning experience for me. Tonight I will make sure that Joshua knows where the 8 needs to be on the clock!

Do any of you do something like this? If so how does it work? Have you always done it? If not, how long did it take to get it in place? I would love any advice on this!

KROGER AGAIN!

2009-01-26T10:48:00.002-05:00

That great Kroger sale I told you about last week...well it seems like they are doing it again!!! YAY!!! I will be there Thursday night after class!! I can't wait! If you go, tell me now you did! Have fun!

More on the Sweet Potatoes

2009-01-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

I really got tired of every Sweet Potato recipe calling for brown sugar and cinnamon. Don't get me wrong...I like those two ingredients, but we needed some variety. SO I found this recipe! It was pretty good, nothing GREAT but not too bad...
Sweet Potato Wedges, serves 4

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
freshly ground pepper

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
2 Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise into six wedges.
3 Mix with remaining ingredients in a bowl.
4 Toss gently to coat potatoes thoroughly.
5 Place wedges on a baking sheet without letting them touch and bake for 25 minutes or until very tender.

I doubled it and did not have cloves, so it was a little different, but I don't think it changed it too much.

CVS

2009-01-26T09:50:00.000-05:00

SOY JOY!!!

I initailly made three transactions, that were basically all the same...

I bought:
1 head and shoulders 4.99
1 box Soy Joy 6.00

I used $1 mc coupon on the Head and Shoulders
then $9 ECBS (the first time I only used $7)

I then payed teh remaining, using a gift card for all but 0.15!!!

Then I realized that I could get more Soy Joy and went back and did three more transactions...
1 box Soy Joy 6.00
1 $6 ECB
Total 0.00

That was fun! May even go back for more Soy Joy, it says I have not met the quantity!

Walgreens

2009-01-26T09:43:00.000-05:00

Well as you can see I had lots of fun at Walgreens this week. I was able to transfer a perscription and score an extra $25 gift card too! That was fun!

So in the photos you see:
1 Ink cartridge refilled $5.00 ($5 rebate in Easy Saver Catalog) FREE
2 Reynolds Wrap Aluminum foil .89 each ($1 off mc)
8 Hersheys candy bars BOGO (4 BOGO coupons) FREE
1 Colgate Toothpaste $2.99 ($1 off mc & $2 RR) FREE
2 PreSchool Workbooks $2.99 BOGO
1 Spill Proof Tumbler $1.09
1 Book of Stamps $8.40

I also used a $10 Register Reward from last week.

Therefore my total off the new gift card was $11.83!

AND I will get $5 back on my Gift card!!

I am very happy!

Sweet Potatoes

2009-01-24T17:05:00.005-05:00

While in Alabama Matt's grandfather gave us a 20 pound sack of sweet potatoes. There is no way we can eat all those sweet potatoes before they go bad, SO I decided to peel, cut up and boil about 20 potatoes this morning. I then added a little bit of brown sugar, a stick of butter and divided them into four dishes and stuck them in the freezer. We ate some prepared this way last night and we all really enjoyed them, even Lydia!! More homemade food for her! Tonight I am making sweet potatoe wedges...trying to be creative and think of new ways to eat sweet potatoes! (Though these are not really new, I usually add a ton of brown sugar, pecans, eggs and other things to the sweet potatoes and we haven't ever tried the wedges, I have heard of them but not tried them!)

Apples!

2009-01-24T16:52:00.004-05:00

Well, I am not sure if you noticed or not, but in that last trip to Kroger, I bought a bunch of apples that were beginning to go bad...I had muffins in mind. I have a yummy recipe that has oatmeal, apples, and raisins. Well on the third batch, I ran out of raisins. SO, we ate a dozen this morning, then I put two dozen in the freezer...yummy for later.

However I still had some apples left. I really didn't want to wast them, and they didn't seem like they would be good to eat raw (they were browning just a little bit), so I made applesauce! YAY! Espcially since Lydia eats applesauce and oatmeal almost every morning. HOMEMADE applesauce! I am thrilled. And I must tell you that I have tried this before and FAILED miserably, but this time I simply peeled and diced the apples, added a LITTLE water and then put a top on them (in a sauce pan) and let them cook on low for a little while. OH how easy! I am so excited!

KROGER!!

2009-01-23T13:52:00.004-05:00

I am so sorry this is taking me SO long to get everything up. I hope you all read this and get to take advantage of the awesome sale at Kroger this week (this ends today...SORRY)! I had a BLAST...here's the deal...they have LOTS of items that are included in a special sale. And when you buy 10 of those items they subtract $5 from your total bill. That is like getting an extra .50 off each item you buy. You can do that as many as three times per transaction. On Wednesday I bought 30 items in the sale it was SO much fun!!!

I do not have time to list all the wonderful things I got at all the wonderful prices. BUT you must go and enjoy the sales...it was GREAT! I even went back LAST night after class and got some more great deals!

If you have questions I would love to help! Just let me know :)

Walgreens...

2009-01-23T13:31:00.005-05:00

I did two transactions at Walgreens and spent a bit more money that I would normally, however I bought lots of grocery items as you will see...

On the first transaction I bought:

5 Pepsi product 12 packs 3.00 each
1 Tostito Queso dip 2.50
Doritos Nachos 2.50
2 Orval Popcorn 1.50 each

that totaled $23 dollars
I used a $1.50 off 2 mc coupon for the popcorn

total after tax was 22.67 (used gift card)

I got $10 Register Rewards back(for the soda and chips and dip)...

I then bought:
6 jars Ragu Spaghetti sauce-1.99 each
1 jar Skippy Peanut butter 1.99
1 box Lipton tea bags 24 ct 2.99
2 dawn dish soap .99 each after in ad coupon
2 Reese whips candy bars 1.59 for both
3 packs Wrigleys gum .33 each after coupon in Easy Saver catalog

I used these mc coupons:
2 - .50 Dawn
2 - 1.00 off three on Ragu
1 - 1.00 off two Reeses whips candy bars
1 - .60 off Skippy Peanut butter

I also used my $10 RR from the previous transaction.

My total after tax was 7.09
I ues a gc for 2.14
so my OOP was 4.95

YAY! And I got a $10 RR for my next trip!

CVS

2009-01-23T13:05:00.003-05:00

Okay FINALLY here are the details!

So when I arrived at CVS I found some really good deals! Here is what I bought:

2 Tylenol Severe Allergy 24 ct 1.82 each (clearance)
1 2 pack wrapping paper .49 (clearance)
2 CVS brand Allergy Meds 3.79 each (Free after ECBs)
3 Hallmark Cards .99 each ($3 ECBs when you buy three)

Total = 14.68
-2.00 2 $1 mc on the Tylenol
-10.00 ECB (from previous purchase)
New Total = 2.68
+.32 tax
Final total $3 on Gift Card YAY

AND I got 10.58 in ECBs back!!!

I am coming back!

2009-01-22T07:27:00.004-05:00

HEY! I have missed you so much! I have thought about you often. I have wanted to blog here...it has just simply been CRAZY! We are now done with our travels and back home settling in, so I hope to begin something more regular here! I did get to go shopping yesterday and I scored some SWEET deals! Just to give you a quick summary I got everything in the photo below for about $45! I hope to come back and give some juicy details a little later today...we will see :)

All this came from Kroger, CVS and Walgreens.

HAVE to tell you

2008-12-21T14:56:00.003-05:00

Again, I am not doing great posting here, but I have to tell you,there are some ROCK'N deals at CVS this week (well they are for two days only, Sunday and Monday!). I was there at 7am, then again at 8, since the store manager was late morning...anyways...I got LOTS of free stuff spent about 5 dollars AND walked away with a TON of ECB's, like I started with 16.59, I know have almost 30!!! YAY here is my loot~ AND I will be going back tonight, just waiting for my sweet husband to get home :)

QUICK!

2008-12-12T18:29:00.002-05:00

HEY! All you Raleigh area people. My friend Terra is giving away some really cool packages. She has four of them, you should go here and here to enter to win them! I am excited to try this stuff out. Maybe if you win you can tell me about it! Anyway go here and here and check her out! Tell her I sent you :)

Time for a Schedule

2008-12-08T13:47:00.007-05:00

Well, I have no excuses for why I haven't been posting. It makes me sad to look and see that I had been posting almost daily (sometimes more) and now it has been a week. I love this blog and I love to post, hopefully I will be more regular soon. I may just have to begin scheduling my day so that I can do this. I am not and have never been a schedule person. We (my family) have always just done what we needed when we needed, but with all that is going on in our lives and the ages of our children, I think it would be good for us to start some sort of schedule. I plan to start working on a schedule this month with the plans to actually START the schedule in January, when we are done traveling and my husband and I are back in school.

Why do I think we need a schedule?

Well, I think it would be better for my kids to have some sort of idea as to what to expect. Maybe some of our behavior issues come from not knowing what is next and too much free play time. Hopefully with some structure and planning they will be more content and less likely to find trouble.

I also need to find time for homeschooling my 3 1/2 year old. No, he doesn't have to be home schooled yet, but he really enjoys it and I think it would be good for us. I would also like to know if homeschooling is really an option for our family before it is time to actually do it. I have wanted to home school for a long time, but if I can't be organized enough to do it,then I need to know sooner verses later.

Finally I need to get a routine in my own life so that I can manage the basics of housekeeping. You know, laundry, dishes, floors, all the things mommies are supposed to do. I feel like I work all day and get nothing done. Maybe that is how it is supposed to be but I need to see some sort of progress. We have also discovered that our 3 1/2 year old (my oldest) can be quite the helper here around the house. He can clean off the table (complete with wiping it off and wiping off the chairs), he can help with sweeping the kitchen (he uses the small dustpan and broom), he can help collect the trash, and he can make his bed (okay, well we are still going to have to work on that).

I think my oldest is bored (though he doesn't know the word, so PLEASE don't teach him). I think with some structure, chores and discipline (from our whole family) that we could really improve on some things in this house.

What suggestions do you have? Do your kids help out? If so what are there ages and what can they do? Do you have a home school plan for preschoolers?

I saw a really interesting schedule here of one lady. I think that some of her ideas are great and some are great since she has girls, but some wouldn't work for my boys. Her blog is what got me thinking about the fact that we really need some structure around here. There are some ideas I would love to borrow from her. She seems to be an awesome woman with her act together. I could really stand to take notes!

I really would like to hear from you (if I didn't lose you while I was being lazy and not blogging). What works for you?

Whew

2008-12-01T14:45:00.001-05:00

Wow! What a weekend! The holidays are here and we are busy! The calender is full. I am overwhelmed, must be that time again! I do love this time of year.

Okay, well the truth is we are extremely busy. I have more going on this week than I care to think about. I will try to post some here and there. I am not overly impressed with CVS or Walgreens this week. I did do a little bit at Walgreens, but only because my Register Rewards were about to expire. I may not even go to CVS this week...gasp...this could be a first in a really long time!

Also, K-Mart is doing a double coupon deal, where you can double coupons up to $2. I stopped in there tonight on our way home and I was not overly impressed. The best deals I got were Kelloggs cereal for .50 a box...that is good, but that was about all that was good.

I will be back. I will get better! I miss talking to you all. I hope to get more regular here closer to the end of the week.

BLACK FRIDAY SALES

2008-11-28T08:13:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-11-25T21:56:00.005-05:00

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?

2008-11-24T19:07:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-24T08:48:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-24T07:21:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

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....

2008-11-22T13:17:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-19T13:38:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-17T20:21:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-17T13:42:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-17T13:21:00.003-05:00

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....

2008-11-15T17:13:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-11-15T15:47:00.004-05:00

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 ...;)

2008-11-14T23:00:00.007-05:00

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!)

2008-11-14T22:43:00.004-05:00

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...

2008-11-13T14:32:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-12T13:56:00.010-05:00

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

2008-11-12T13:44:00.003-05:00

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?

2008-11-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

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-

2008-11-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

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

2008-11-10T15:38:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-10T15:15:00.003-05:00

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.....

2008-11-08T21:45:00.003-05:00

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....

2008-11-08T20:47:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-07T13:55:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-07T13:49:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-11-07T00:37:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-06T07:13:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-04T15:01:00.010-05:00

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

2008-11-01T22:47:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-11-01T22:02:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-11-01T21:55:00.002-04:00

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!

Welcome, continued

2008-10-28T14:22:00.006-04:00

Well, okay, now that I have been at this for just over one week now, it is time to "relook" at things. Here are my thoughts after a week...
My purpose here is to talk. I really shouldn't talk on the phone much. I am not a good manager of my time and when I am on the phone, it just gets worse. I love most of you that read this, and I have been friends with you all for a very long time. I wish I could talk to you much more than I do, however, with where I am in life, I am not able to do that. Therefore, this is my way to tell you what is going on in my life. This is the stuff that I would tell you if I could talk to you more!
My purpose also is to be connected with you. I want to tell you what is going on with me, but I also want to know about you. Feel free to talk to me! Be that in a blog post or whatever. I love you and I want to know what is going on with you.
I look forward to this being a lot of fun. Now, that I have said that, I feel better. I hope you understand my purpose here more. Later tonight, probably after bed time, I plan to share with you what happened to all those bananas. You may be a little surprised! But for now, I have dishes, laundry and three sweet blessings (I am reminding myself that they are blessings :)) to attend to. I will talk to you again in a little while.

My Generous Friend

2008-10-27T22:41:00.003-04:00

Well my friend Terra Jones is giving something else away! She has a really cute onesie! I think you should go over there and leave a comment and win it, then you can give it to my Lydia ;) (Just kidding).

CVS Steals

2008-10-27T22:36:00.002-04:00

Well, I did make the run yesterday with my screaming kids in tow! I went to two different stores. The store I use most didn't have but one pack of the razors AND they didn't want to use both of my Soy Joy Coupons, so I went to another store after I bought the razors :)

So first transaction was...

Bic Razors 5.99

-$2 MC Coupon

3.99

-3.99 in ECBs

Total with tax .14

ECB earned $4

Second transaction-

5 Soy Joy bars $5 (Matt has already eaten one, that is why there are only 4)

-$3 off 5
-$1 (Buy two get one free)

1.00

-.99 ECB

Total with tax .04

ECB earned $4

So, if you don't consider the .23 cent I spent out of pocket (oop), I earned $3 in ECB's! YAY! I plan to go back for more razors, my store should get another truck in on Tuesday, so that would be good! AND just for the record, Matt said the Soy Joy bars really aren't that bad :)

Fun Night Out

2008-10-25T22:28:00.004-04:00

Well, we had great plans to go to a Harvest Festival tonight. However, they got rained out. So my sweet husband decided to make a night of it anyway! We went to Triangle Town mall and ate Chick-Fil-A (with coupons of course). We let the kids play on the indoor playground. We went to Barnes N Noble and got FREE coffee! Go here to get your coupons! They were free, we gave them the coupon, they gave us the coffee, nothing more or less! We also went to Bath and Body works and I got a free Wall Flower with any purchase by using a free with any purchase coupon! YAY! Dinner out, happy babies, and a little shopping. What more could a girl ask for ;)
So, in the end I got to come home with this:

for $1.60, I think that will make a great gift for someone!

Not too much at Walgreens

2008-10-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

So I just scanned the Walgreens sale paper for the week...I am not seeing LOTS to get excited about. They will have some FREE AFTER REBATE Alamay one coat Mascara and then they will have L'Oreal Age Perfect Pro-Calcium Radiance Perfection (19.99) also free after rebate. I know there is a $2 mc coupon to be used at Walgreens for L'Oreal face products, so that will be good. But those will be all month long. I need to wait till I have more on my Gift card for those...

They do have an in-ad coupon for Campbells Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup .59 a can. At first glance I don't see a coupon for just the plain Chicken Noodle Soup or Tomato Soup...maybe there hasn't been one lately?

Really that is all I see. Is there more?

Snooping for CVS deals

2008-10-25T13:41:00.001-04:00

Okay well I was just looking around at other blogs and I found a sneak peak at CVS deals for the new week! I actually laid my eyes on the sale paper! YAY! I am excited. Looks like it will be another good week for CVS'n. Thanks to The Thrifty Mama for helping with some of the coupon links.

Soy Joy bars will be on sale for a $1 each. When you buy 4, you get $4 ECBs. That is cool right? Well if you buy FIVE, you could use this coupon and get $3 off. So, you could buy 5 Soy Joy bars, spend $2 out of pocket and get $4 back...that sounds good to me! I think there are some mc "Buy one, get one free" (BOGO) coupons too, I need to check. You can only do this deal once.

Also, Bic Razors are on sale for 5.99! When you buy one of those you get $4 ECB's back. That means after ECB's they are only 1.99...HOWEVER, there are $2 coupons floating around out there...(the two I have found so far in my stash expire tomorrow, so I will have to use them both tomorrow!) I think there are more. That means they are FREE. YAY! You can do this deal 4 times as long as you have that many coupons!

There appears to be another deal where you buy $20 worth of health products and get $10 in ECBs...that could be worth it. With the right coupons and such, I will let you know if I find something really cool about that...however the items on that are found from pages 12-15 of the CVS ad, and really that seems like a lot of work...esp when I just got all those free cold meds from RiteAid!

It also appears that there is a deal with Speed stick, Irish Springs, SoftSoap, Colgate. That is a buy $10 get $4 in ECB, again, that looks good, however I am not really sure how sweet that could work out to be. I will let you know what I find.

The last ECB deal that might be worth checking into, is if you buy $20 worth of Pepsico products you get $5 in ECB back. Like I said in the other two, I am not sure the coupons are good enough to make this really good. It does have Orange Juice, Quaker Oatmeal, and Quaker Granola bars in it. I'd love to know what you think about it.

Not ECB related at all, there are Advil liqui-gels 8 ct, and they are on sale for .99...there are internet coupons for these here.

Finally they will have Arm & Hammer Laundry detergent on sale 5.99 and BOGO. You can use 2 of these coupons and get two for 3.99.

Well that is all I see at this point. But it doesn't look to bad! I will most likely get the Soy Joy and Bic Razors. Not sure if I will do much more. I will let you know if I find more!

Have you seen anything? Let me know! I would love to hear from you!

What about that pumpkin?

2008-10-24T22:44:00.001-04:00

Okay so I know you are wondering what ever happened to all that baking I was planning to do. Well I finally got to it yesterday, well some of it. Baking all day with three kids is not always as fun as it originally sounds, just in case you were wondering. I am convinced that in three years, this would have been a really fun day...but not now! It was so exhausting that I didn't even have the energy to tell you about it yesterday.

ANYWAY! So to cook the pumpkin I just cut it in half, took out all the seeds and such, and then placed it on baking pans cut side down in the oven at 350 for an hour...fyi it is good to use a pan with sides! This is what it looked like in the oven:

This is what it looked like when it was done:

While it was cooking I rinsed the seeds and laid them on a stone to dry for 48 hours.

I used a sugared pumpkin seed recipe to cook them. They are pretty good. We had never eaten pumpkin seeds before so this is new to us. I took other recipes and made my own... I used:
1 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

I then baked them at 275 for about an hour and 15 min. I stirred them every 15 min or so. They were goody until I let them sit and then they were really yummy.

Oh, and by the way, you should try halving the white of an egg...it is fun...really...

I made two trays of baby food. That was really exciting.

Then I made pumpkin bread. Two loaves. The recipe was for one loaf, so I made it twice and baked them at the same time. YUMMY! The recipe I used for that was:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c pumpkin
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c buttermilk
1 egg
2 tbs butter softened

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg. Then add pumpkin, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and butter until well blended. Pour in loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

Then I made a double batch of pumpkin muffins. I used this recipe for those. Now those were some nice big muffins. However that recipe called for pumpkin pie spice? I don't have that and really don't have a use for it. So I used a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ginger. I didn't do this but I think it might be nice to add in some raisins, maybe 1/4 or 1/3 cup. Also, that streusel topping, I think it is enough for 24 muffins...just my thoughts on that!

Finally I made a batch of chocolate chip (well sorta) pumpkin cookies. They were fantastic. (if I do say so myself!) I used this recipe:

1 c pumpkin
1 c white sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 c semisweet chocolate chips, umm, we will talk about that later...
1/2 c walnuts...not at my house!

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. You are supposed to dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir it in...I forgot that part, so I just sorta went with it and added to baking soda, then the milk. Then you mix the flour mixture with the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Finally you add vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts (if you so choose). Drop by spoonfuls (i used the small scoop) onto a greased cookie sheet (or well seasoned stone) and bake at 350 for about 10 min.

These are awesome cookies! However when I went to add the 2 cups chocolate chips, well I didn't even have a whole cup. OOPS! SO, I used what I had and substituted for what I needed...so I added about 1/4 c white chocolate chips, and about 1/4 cup of those white chocolate/semi sweet swirl. They are awesome. AND are not lacking in chocolate chips at all!

I finished the night by baking a couple of loaves of banana bread (I will share about that later), just because I wanted to at least try it. I still have lots of bananas to bake with I hope to do that tomorrow maybe? Oh who knows. But one thing I do know is, we want another pumpkin! That was fun! (well at least looking back it is fun to have all that stuff from just one pumpkin, I can not believe we threw it away last year...what a waste!)

Walgreens Double Dippin!

2008-10-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well today and tomorrow are my two favorite days of the month at Walgreens. Double dipping days are when the Easy Savor Catalog sales overlap. So for two days at the end of every month the deals are even sweeter! So here is what I scored:

SO here are the details:

3-Benefiber Strawberry Kiwi Sticks 7.99 Each
2-Campbells Soup Cups 1.25 each
3-Hershey candy bars (should have been .50 each, but I notice now one was .89)
1-Airwick Freshmatic 5.99 each
4-M&M Halloween 2.50 each
1-Rimmel Foundation 7.49

That totals-$51.84

I then used these manufactures coupons:
3-$2 for Benefiber
1-.50 for Campbells soup
1-$5 for Airwick Freshmatic
2-$1/2 for M&M

That bring the total to-$38.34

I then used these coupons from the October Easy Saver Catalog:
$5 off one Benefiber, which automatically tripled since I bought 3
$1 off 2 M&M bags of candy, which automatically doubled since I bought 2

That brought the total to: 21.34

I then used a $5 of a $20 purchase (you can get that here)

That brought the total to: $16.34

I then used a $10 Register Reward from a previous purchase

That brought the total to: $6.34

When you add the tax: 9.32 with my gift card!

I also got $8 in Register Rewards for the Benefiber (that was a $5 money maker)

Not bad...HOWEVER, I should get these rebates:

$7.49 for Rimmel Makeup (making that free)
$5.00 for M&M candy (making those .25 per bag)
$3.00 for Airwick (making that a $2 money maker)

$15.49 in Rebates + 10% for using the gift card...

bottom line I got paid $4.17 for all this stuff!!! YAY

Confessions

2008-10-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, well last night was a total flop! Honestly I never even got the dishes done so that I could start cooking. SO I woke up this morning planning to throw together some pumpkin pancakes for the boys and much to my surprise, I am out of baking soda and brown sugar. Things needed for every recipe except one. (I had just enough, to make banana pancakes, well not really but it worked anyway) What a bummer. On the bright side of that I did get some recipes from the internet of things I am looking forward to trying. BUT the good news is...I had called a friend yesterday, who I knew baked and froze a good bit, to see about freezing cookies once they were baked. She didn't call back till today at lunch. She casually mentioned baby food! WOW I can make (well I really already did make) pumpkin baby food! Okay, so honestly, pumpkin cookies, muffins, bread or pancakes sound much better than baby food. BUT I know I will need some soon and I will still make all the other stuff...just add baby food to the list! YAY! I am excited. I have always wanted to make my own baby food and I already have, I just need to freeze it! Now that is something to get excited about!

So the confession is...I was so looking forward to telling you all what wonderful things I accomplished last night, you know, I really wanted to look like I have it all together here...truth is I don't. I really thought I had thought of everything to look like I was getting my money's worth from that silly pumpkin, but I had not even considered the baby food part. That is why I am blogging. To get ideas, share ideas and well, learn from each other. Maybe I will get some baking done tonight. Then maybe I can tell you what I accomplished. BUT even if I don't that can still be okay! Right?

Exciting Afternoon!

2008-10-21T14:49:00.000-04:00

Well, I am trying hard to stay within a REALLY strict budget this month. We are trying to save as much as possible to pay for a few things coming up. Matt and I had agreed to a very SMALL budget and I am trying to stay within an even smaller budget, so that I can contribute more to the savings.

That said, Nanna sent Joshua some money to pick out a pumpkin. (it was sent to Joshua b/c Nanna is proud of Joshua for learning scripture in Cubbies) However with the money she sent the boys BOTH picked out a pumpkin AND mommy picked one for cooking! I am so excited! I have about 2 quarts of cooked pumpkin in my fridge waiting for me to bake it into something yummy! Goal ONE for the afternoon.

Goal TWO...While at the grocery store a few moments ago, I found that they had bananas (the over ripe ones) on sale .29 per pound! YAY! So I will bake those into some yummy things when I am done with the pumpkin. I will wait to do them second b/c if I run out of time (don't know why that would happen since daddy is at school and I am home alone for the evening with the kids) they are much easier to freeze (at least I think they are!)

Stay tuned...I think there will be another post or two telling you what happened this afternoon! My goal is to do as much as possible with what I have. I am thinking breakfast foods for a REALLY long time. Pancakes (in both flavors), muffins (in both flavors), bread (in both flavors) chocolate chip cookies (in both flavors)...YUMMY

A New Friend

2008-10-20T15:17:00.001-04:00

Hey Girls, I have a new friend to introduce you to! Her name is Terra Jones. She has a blog too! You should go visit her and enter her drawing. She has posted 200 times and is giving away a cool little prize! Plus she is a cool friend to talk with. I feel like I am chatting with her each time I read her blog! She is cool!

Just a little more info about that trip

2008-10-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

For those of you who might want to know HOW I got all that stuff at that price, here are the details...
First trip

GUM Thingy .34 (90% off) (.55 Manufactures Coupon (MC))
2 Cans powder formula 1.38*2=2.76 (90% off)
3 cans liquid formula .73*3=2.19 (90% off)
2pack GUM kids toothbrushes 3.99 (earns $3.99 ECB)
bag Brach Autumn mix 1.29 (earns 1.29 ECB)
32oz PowerAde 1.69 (earns 1.69 ECB)
Funlight Glow stick .99 (earns .99 ECB)

then I used $6 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks, basically store credit from previous purchases)

My total was then 6.70

I gave the girl two formula checks which totaled to $10, she said she couldn't use the full value since that was not what I had spent on formula, so she used $6 (which was still more than I had spent on formula)

SO after taxes I gave her .96!!!

AND I got 7.96 Extra Care Bucks back!

Trip 2

Mylanta - $6 ($1.50 (MC) & $3 Store Coupon(SC))
Tylenol - $6 ($2 MC)
Brach Autum Mix 1.29 (earns 1.29 ECB)
Funlight Glow Stick .99 (earns .99 ECB)
GUM toothbrushes 3.99 (earns 3.99 ECB)

The Mylanta and the Tylenol together earned $5 ECB

I used $13 in ECBs

My total out of pocket (oop) was 1.77+.36 (taz)=2.13

I earned 11.27 in ECB

Trip 3

Excedrin 1.99 ($2 MC & $3SC)
2 Huggies Diapers 9.99 ($2 MC)
Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste 2.99 (.75 MC & $1 SC) (Also Earned $2 ECB)
Huggies Wipes ($1 MC)
Gerber Cereal 3.36 (.75 MC)

I used 12.28 in ECBs

My total oop was 5.36+1.42(tax)=6.78

I earned $10 ECBs for the diapers, wipes and cereal + $2 for the toothpaste, which totals $12 ECBs!

Trips 4-6

GUM 2pk Kids toothbrush 3.99

Used 3.99 ECB

Total OOP 0.00!

Earned 3.99 ECB, did that 3 times!!!

So, does that make any sense at all? Is that just very confusing? Let me know if it makes sense! I will talk to you soon!

Today at CVS

2008-10-19T21:40:00.000-04:00

All this for...$9.87 YAY!

This was 131.60 before sales and coupons! I am excited!

That is:
2 packs of Huggies Diapers
3 cans of Enfamil
2 cans Similac powder formula
1 pack wipes
2 bags candy corn
2 funlight glow sticks
1 powerade
1 GUM tooth thingy
10 toothbrushes
1 box Gerber Oatmeal
1 Tylenol
1 Excedrin
1 Mylanta
1 Colgate Toothpaste

Welcome

2008-10-19T21:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I have talked about it for quite some time now...and here it is! My own blog, my thoughts shared with the world. Why? Well because I love to read other blogs, I get LOTS of advice from them, they are so helpful I am so thankful that those women chose to share and honestly, I want to share too! I am not 100% sure what all I will be sharing with you. Probably what is on my mind. Things about my life. CVS, coupons, cloth diapers, fun stuff with my kids, maybe even a little about my husband...just my life. I do tend to get a little excited sometimes about my deals. I hope you don't mind, I love to talk about them and share them with others. I think you might even get inspired to do a deal or two yourself. I hope you enjoy. I also hope you will leave me some feedback and let me know what you think. Tell me if you would like to know something, especially if you think I know something about it. I can't wait to talk to you. I am really thinking about this as my living room, filled with my friends, sitting back and talking...maybe even having a cup of coffee. Things may get a little crazy at times, but hey its just us right? Join me, will you?