Coupons!

Okay to be honest coupons irritate me, I mean why do I have to go through all this extra work to save money? If you're going to sell it to me for that price in the end why not just offer it at that price in the beginning? Sometimes I feel like couponing, other days I really can't be bothered to save an extra 50cents on that shampoo or laundry detergent or box of crackers...it's time consuming, something that I seem to have less and less of these days and most of all it's just annoying!
Scrolling through lists and lists, going through the cupboards and thinking of items you will potentially need in the future, stockpiling then forgetting you saved that coupon or remembering only to find it has expired! So maybe it's more of user error than anything else here...

I sit in awe of my friends that can go to the store and save 50% or some even as lucky to get 80% of savings on their purchases...but then remember how much time they spent doing so...maybe if I got into it I could be better at it? People with their billfolds of coupons marked down and organized.

I do peruse some fabulous sites from time to time and print off a few coupons, some that I have used...I will say my favorite coupons are the ones from http://www.kroger.com/ you can load up your shopper card number, look through the coupons and add them to the card...so you CAN'T forget to use them because it's automatic! Genius!

But again if you're going to offer that price to me in the end...can't we just get it in the beginning!! sigh

My other complaint about coupons is they seem to be for processed and junk food. I have yet to see a coupon for veggies, fruit, organic meat or the like...I do however see lots for PopTarts or Chips or Ice Cream. That's just encouragment for someone to buy junk food and feeds into the complaint that in this country it's cheaper to be fat than thin. In reality it's not...I can buy whole grain pasta, tomatos, spinach and low fat cheese and make a meal for 4 for under $10 with leftovers.

At the moment I do love http://www.hip2save.com/ they have some great prices on things I actually use as well.

I've been told I should buy the Sunday paper, so tomorrow after Church I'm going to find the local 7-11 or equivalent and purchase said Sunday paper and see if it's worth it!

A local/regional coupon site that has pretty decent stuff is: http://pinkcouponcafe.com/

Another great site is http://www.coupons.com/

I have a goal in Novemeber to use as many coupons as I can and take the time to do it successfully...we'll see how much I can save in a month with groceries and determine if I 'really' want to take the time to coupon and make it my thing...or not!

Wordless Thursday...

Okay I'm a day behind...I've been caught up in my sewing world and giggling uncontrollably at my kids, my heart gets bigger daily with these two!

Blake is beyond happy to sit on the floor and play with his big sis...big sis isn't as sure these days! We go from "Mum I love Blake him should stay here" to not wanting anything to do with him...I only imagine these get worse as they get older! For now I'll enjoy each happy moment...drool and all!

Did you know that a box...

Is never just a box...

But a place of ridiculous happiness...

And the giggles today continued when I remembered my Dad's gift to Blake from Belgium...

They are beyond awesome, the sunglasses fit ontop of the binky...perfect for babies!



 I mean how can you not at least smile at that...

Eyes bigger than your Belly

This is a "famous" expression...I've looked all over and can't seem to find where it came from, but I remember being told this quite often when I was younger! Usually when I put too much food on my plate and then couldn't finish it!

I was reminded of this on Monday when I ventured out to the fabric store...About 2 years ago I bought a sewing machine with great ambition, around that time I also bought this awesome grey sweatshirt material with butterflies on it and ideas of a cute outfit for K...well that material is was still in one piece 2 years later...

 Now it looks like this...the beginning of what I hope will turn into a cute warm winter dress!
Hope is the key word there as I am not by any means talented or patient when it comes to sewing. In fact at this very moment said sewing machine and I are in a fight! I have an email into the expert, aka my lovely mother, for some advice before I chuck the thing into the lake.

But back to Monday and the adventure into the fabric store...

 This is all the fun I found, everything was in the clearance section! I have discovered that 'boy' patterns are hard to come by but found two great ones to attempt to make some pants out of for B to wear to Church. I found some equally awesome fabric for Kaitlyn to make either two pairs of pants out of or a skirt and pants or maybe even another dress? The lovely red and gold holly fabric caught my eye and gave me the brilliant intentions of a Christmas dress!

I love craft stores and fabric stores, they are full of good ideas, good intentions, great ambition and wonderful, colourful fabrics and every.single.thing you could ever dream of making or doing in the craft world. Causing my mind to race, plans to unfold and amazing masterpieces to come to mind. Of course I buy all these wonderful ideas and then once they get home they tend to sit in a pile for a year or two while the reality of my skills set in and the realization of my patience level come into play. But this time I am determined, really I am...

Or have my eyes been a bit bigger than my sewing skills when I hit up the fabric store...

I have ambition, now if I could borrow someone's patience for a few weeks we might actually get a few cute outfits from this loot.

If you hear screaming and swearing and a splash, it wasn't meant to be...

Menu Monday

We eat cold ceral every morning, I offer granola with blueberries and apple, rice krispies, cheerios, honey bunches of oats, crispix or kix.

Snacks offered: yoghurt, fruit, english muffins with pb and honey, fruit snacks (one per day), frozen waffles (my child is weird and will eat them plain and FROZEN) and crackers with cheese.

MENU OF THE WEEK 10/4-10/10

MONDAY:
Lunch- Turkey and Colby Cheese lunch wraps with apples
Dinner- Homemade Mac N Cheese and fresh salad

TUESDAY:
Lunch- Church Event we'll be having deli sandwiches there
Dinner- Homemade pizza with spinach, mushrooms and cheese

WEDNESDAY:
Lunch- Eating out at Chick Fil A
Dinner- Dinner at Church

THURSDAY:
Lunch- Tuna Melts on English muffins, side of fresh peaches
Dinner- Grilled turkey, tomato and cheese sandwiches

FRIDAY:
Lunch- Waffles with cream cheese and tomato
Dinner- Easy Chicken, cornbread and green beans

SATURDAY:
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner-Breakfast for dinner, Beef bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuts

SUNDAY:
Lunch- We eat at Evan's grandparents house
Dinner- If hungry we'll make sandwiches

My slice of heaven...

We moved into a smallish home for a year while my husband works his way up the career chain, the location is beyond gorgeous and we are blessed to be here BUT with two small kids it can get a little overwhelming with toys, jumpers, swings, etc.

Last week at dance class the secretary mentioned they were getting rid of the desk in the back, well not getting rid of it but moving it to storage at her house...I said I'd take it off her hands for $20, done deal! I cannot tell you how excited I was with my purchase, unfortunately I've had to wait a week to get it since I couldn't fit it in my car with both car seats...but tonight my wonderful husband met the secretary at the dance school and picked it up for me!

So now amongst toys, arts, crafts is my little slice of heaven a brand (new to me) desk:

It very nicely fits my laptop, scanner, printer, sewing maching, photo printer, basket of crafts, school supplies for me and Kaitlyn, bills, and all the little extras...of course I still have two more boxes on the floor but it holds most of the "stuff" and gives me somewhere to sit and type and look out over the water! I'm in love...my chair is a little short so I'll need to dig out a nice comfy cushion to sit on! 

So nice to have a little corner all to myself!