I organized, I saved...

I felt like I conquered the coupon deals today!! To be honest when I first posted about Coupons almost a month ago I was really discouraged. I don't buy processed food much, no cans, no boxes, no frozen pre-made food...I make it all from scratch. So when I spent time looking at the couponing sites I saw a lot of things that we just don't eat...well we eat but I make them by buying the ingredients instead of the pre-made stuff.

I bought Sunday's paper when I remembered (twice in the last month) and clipped the few things I would use...however this past Sunday Walgreens had a huge coupon release and I felt that motivation again! Ingredients were on sale and stuff we actually used/needed...so I spent Sunday evening and Monday morning organizing our meal plan, sorting through the various coupons I'd collected and clipped and wrote it all out.

Today I had a MOPS meeting and the plan was to make 5 stops on the way home...

1.Toys R Us for a birthday gift for a little boy in Kaitlyn's class at Church where I scored a Thomas the Tank Engine for 25% off and a Candy Land game (for Kait for Christmas) for $3 with a $2 mail in rebate, yep $1 for the game!

2. Library to drop off books
3. Post Office...totally forgot my printed off label so that will have to be done Thursday instead.

4. Walgreens to take full advantage and full advantage I did..

I bought the following:

Pack of 20 rolls of toilet paper

3 Purex 2X 32 load laundry detergent

2 pledge lemon furniture spray

2 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice 64ozs

3 Dawn washing liquid 10.3oz

2 packs Jet puffed marshmellows

2 Sweet Dried Apricots 13oz

1 can condensed milk

2 5lb bags of Gold Medal Flour

1 5lb Domino Sugar

1 box light brown sugar

4 Ready Pie Crusts

3 boxes Blue Bonnet baking butter

1 Daisy Sour Cream 8oz

1 Cream Cheese 8oz

1 Pure Honey 32oz

2 panty hose

1 carmex lip balm

2 scotch tape

Total = $118.63...saved $52. 23...spent $66.40 and I will not have to shop for laundry detergent, washing up liquid, butter or flour, honey, sugar or tp for a long long time!! That was the best part for me, I am set for probably 3-6 months on some of those items now and really that's what I had to keep in mind that while it's a bill now and some of it seems a bit silly to buy 3 of, I should take advantage of the sale while it's on sale and then store it for the future!

5. Publix, I didn't feel 'as' successfull here but again since we don't buy a lot or any really pre-made foods I think I did okay...

At Publix I bought the following;

3 12 packs of coca cola products (2 coke, 1 dr. pepper)
2 boxes corn flakes
2 boxes honey bunches of oats
1 box granola
2 boxes graham crackers
1 jar of yeast
2 containers of crecent rolls
2 bags English muffins
Olive Oil
2 Jiffy Biscut Mix
2 Green Valley Steamers (peas and beans)
Beef Bacon
2 8 oz cheese cubes (Mozzerella & Colby)
1 Whisk laundry detergent 32 loads
Total= $96.69....saved $24.77...Total Spent $67.92
Publix had a lot of buy one get one today, plus manufacture coupons and my Publix doubles coupons...I think I did 'okay' here.

In the long run this is quite a bit of savings...$77 in two groceries and $82 total for the day...not too shabby for my first time at this!! I think I'll keep at it, grabbing the Sunday paper, clipping what looks good, stocking up on the Kroger deals, scouring the two sites I've come to love and buying when it makes sense!

Menu Monday

Monday:
Lunch-Leftover Chicken Casserole, apple slices
Dinner- Italian Turkey sausage in pasta with a marinara sauce, cheesy bread, steamed brocoli

Tuesday:
Lunch- MOPS brunch today
Dinner- Crock pot lasagna (I didn't make this on Friday so will attempt it tonight!), corn bread and green beans


Wednesday:
Lunch- Turkey and Cheese roll-ups, homeade apple sauce
Dinner- Easy Bake Chicken and Butternut Squash Casserole
 
Thursday:
Lunch- Cream Cheese stuffed Crossaints, grapes
Dinner- Turkey Sloppy Joes, green beans
 
Friday:
Lunch- Yoghurt parfaits with homemade granola
Dinner- Egg and Bacon pie, spinach salad
 
Saturday:
Lunch- Birthday Party!
Dinner- Chicken Pie, Cauliflower cheese
 
Sunday:
Grandparents

Awesome, not so awesome...

Thursday was one of those awesome/not so awesome days....

Started off awesome with a lovely view...

Kids played nicely-awesome
Baby stopped doing what big kid wanted so big kid threw a toy at baby's head-not so awesome

Target had a sale-awesome
Bought everything but what I actually walked in the store for-not so awesome

Cooler weather brings long pants, cute hats and sweaters-awesome
Windy days make for a whiney dog and no chance at suning diapers-not so awesome

Cleaned out kids closets-awesome
All pants fit big kid in the waist but are too short-not so awesome

Made a delicious dinner-awesome
Big kid wouldn't eat it-not so awesome

However just as it started it ended...awesome

Today is Saturday and Saturdays are always awesome! 
*****Don't forget to soak up that extra hour of sleep and Fall Back...I typed a memo to the kids, we'll see if they get it in time ;) *****

Wordless Wednesday

Do you see it? There in the branches the little red bird...he visits often and sits in the tree next too our balcony amongst the fall leaves, it's become a habbit daily to check and see and wait for him to come...assuming it's a him as usually the men are the prettier ones in nature right? 

(I hope for Christmas my husband takes the never-ending hints I give and gets me a bigger zoom lens so I can get a better pic of this little friend)

Lobsters and Monkeys and Lions oh my

Growing up we didn't celebrate Halloween with costumes and trick or treating...it's really an American holiday. The candy, parades, costumes, scariness, orange and black decor, etc.

In 8th grade, the year we moved here, I got all excited to dress up and went out as an Aussie rugby player and went trick or treating. The years following it wasn't too cool to dress up so we typically watched a scary movie (not something I enjoy) and hung out.

College brought on a whole new level of costumes combined with the rest of debauchary that college brings...we'll leave that in the past!

Then I had kids, Halloween took on a whole new meaning! How much fun is it to play dress up? combine that with everyone else playing with you and receiving a reward of candy for doing so...no wonder kids dig this holiday!

Kaitlyn's first year she was a lobster, Daddy worked in a seafood restaurant so it seemed natural...this year we tried in on Blake too just for effect...
 

Kaitlyn, 3 months October 2007

Blake, 5 1/2 months October 2010

Kaitlyn's second year of Halloween she was a monkey...she was a monkey so it was a natural pick!



Kaitlyn 15 months, October 2008



Blake 5 1/2 months, October 2010



Yes my kids are slightly different in weight and height....Kait's on the less than 3% end and Blake is on the 98% end!

 This year Kaitlyn was a lion, she 'raaaaaaaaaaaared' and all! I was suprised she didn't want to be Dora or a Princess or something else of that popular nature and quite happy actually since we had this costume in the closet...

We attended Orange Fest at our Church on Sunday night and had a ball, they had preschool appropriate games and candy, a puppet show, bouncy houses, a fire truck to explore, food, vendors with arts and crafts, hay rides, train rides and pony rides! Oh and how can I forget face painting! We arrived around 4:30pm expecting to hang out for about hour and ended up staying until they shut it down at 7pm.

           

Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween...I'm off to see if there is anything good left at the bottom of Kaitlyn's candy bag :P

Menu Monday

Monday:
Lunch-Turkey and Cheese panini's, apple wedges
Dinner- Turkey Burgers and salad

Tuesday:
Lunch- Lunch out
Dinner- Pesto Mini Pizzas

Wednesday:
Lunch- Homemade pizza with peppers, spinach and tomato
Dinner- Breaded eggplant, cornbread

Thursday:
Lunch- Cream cheese english muffins, grapes
Dinner- Chicken casserole, green beans

Friday:
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Crock pot lasagna, garlic bread, salad

Saturday:
Lunch: Sandwiches
Dinner: Terryaki chicken, spinach salad

Sunday:
Grandparents house

Internet Friends

5 years ago I broke up with my then boyfriend, now husband...moved out, got my own apartment and got bored at night. I googled, on the internet jacked from my neighbor, and looked for a way to fuel my never-ending love of baby names...I kid you not in middle school and high school I had a list of names I loved for future babies.

I found babyzone.com

(Almost) 4 years ago I became pregnant with my daughter and found a DDC (due date club -July 2007)  thought it was cool to chat with these ladies in the same place of life since my 'real life' friends were not. Little did I know I would become hooked, checking hourly, half hourly, sometimes every 5 minutes to see who was posting what and what was going on. It became a great outlet.

(Sometime around) 3 years ago I was emailed by a couple of the girls from the site looking for a buddy to lose all the baby weight with...the emails developed into more than just a weight loss discussion and check in and became a friendship.

2 months ago I met one of the friends from that email chain, we met in Chattanooga, TN a 4 hour drive for both of us and a well spent trip. We hung out at a hotel, visited the Discovery Museum, had dinner and ice cream and ventured through the Aquarium...it was for lack of a better word, AMAZING! We chatted like old friends, never a dull moment or an awkward feeling, it was as if I'd known this person my whole life. Our kids hit it off like two peas in a pod making it even more fun.

Yesterday we hung out again, this time picking a pumpkin patch in the middle of Alabama again about a 3.5 hour drive for each of us...we had a ball! We must have, I took 187 pictures...don't worry I won't bore you with the lot just a few of the fun :) oh and I tried Fried Pie, not as wonderful as it should have been according to my fabulous Southern Friend, the filling was good though...will have to try it again somewhere different this time!

talking to the geese...we laughed and laughed at them honking at the goose!

 

Posing, love this kid too much sometimes.                                         Climbing up the inflatable slide...I think they would have stayed on this all day if we'd let them!

Face painting!! She was all set on a butterfly until she saw the ballons...she LOVES ballons!


Three gorgeous kids, not one looking at the camera...


Loving the hay!


Fried peach pie...it was...different...

My husband constanly calls these ladies I've met online my 'internet' friends and thinks its a big joke...what he

doesn't get is these ladies ...while I have only met 5 of them in person, each time was a wonderful experience and we ALL chatted like grand ole friends who've know each other forever...are my dear friends, the ones who keep me sane, who 'get' me, who support me, who know me inside and out. That the friendships I've developed over the internet have been a saving grace to me.

Since the joining of babyzone to the further connection on facebook to the phone calls and texts to the face to face meetings I have bonded with these ladies, they are my real life friends.


Thank you internet for bringing me friends all over the states and the world into my living room daily, into my life!