You know they're sick......

if they fall asleep sitting up! Brody doesn't take naps very often anymore and it's usually a fight when I do make him. Poor little sickie! He was burning hot when I put him in bed. I probably should have given him some more Ibuprofen, but he was was so tired and out of it that I didn't bother. It's a gorgeous day outside, but we will be indoors watching movies. I hope he is feeling better tomorrow. I hate when the babies are sick. (Yes, Brody is still my baby!)

Potty Training??

Brody wanted to go on the potty today. Yay, right? He got naked and put the stool up the the toilet. I went in the other room to grab some clothes for him to change into. I figured he wasn't actually going to go potty because he never has before so I didn't really pay attention to him. I came back to this:


So funny! Good news is that he actually went! His idea and he actually did it! Keep your fingers crossed that we keep this up.

Month in Review

My goal (unrealistic) for June was to spend $40 per week for groceries, not including diapers. Well I definitely went over, but I still did awesome. I spent $231.33 for the month of June! That is amazing! I used to spend more than that in 2 weeks AND not have any food storage to speak of. One thing that I did to help with the cost of diapers this month was to use my Register Rewards from Walgreens to get them cheap. I spent $24.23 in diapers for the month of June! That is so awesome. Although I do need another pack of diapers tomorrow so add about $10 to that total. I can't wait to be done with diapers. Brody went on the potty today!! I think this was the first time! So awesome!! I am not going to be quite so cheap during the month of July, but it is realistic to plan on $60 per week for groceries and household items. My budget includes toiletries and cleaning supplies. It's almost a new month so I am challenging everyone to set a grocery goal. Pick a number try to stick to it. $40 a week didn't go so great for me, but it was awesome to try to save every last penny. I can't complain, that's for sure!

Free Pasta Salad

Look at all that Kraft Pasta Salad! Everything pictured was $36.18 if you can believe that. I am calling this weeks shopping list: Hubby Stock Up Week. Darrell was home this past weekend and there were no snacks here for him. I usually like to keep frozen appetizers and things like that around so that we can curb the fast food urges. So I got frozen pizzas, both large and personal size, pretzels, tortilla chips (since I am up to my ears in salsa), and steak sauce. Also I treated myself to some Limeade. Doesn't that sound like the best summer drink?
Now getting to all that pasta! It was free. I only paid tax for it!! It was part of a deal where if you buy 10 certain products (about a hundred to choose from) you get $5 off automatically at the register. The salads were $1 each and if you buy 10 you get the $5 off. Plus on the box there was a coupon for $1/2. So 5 of those makes it FREE! I got 20 of them. They are not my favorite thing so I gave them all to my parents. I think that I am going to go back and get some more and donate them to the food bank. What a great deal!

Mommy Advice Column

I have always wanted to write a book about kids. Not necessarily child raising, but specifically traveling with kids, considering I have done so much of it. But I do have a few other ideas or little sayings for day to day mommyhood as well. One of them is "Only give a child as much to drink as you are willing to clean up." Also my motivation for getting kids to clean up is so simple and obvious, but I totally missed it as a first time parent. I heard it on a morning show back when I had time to watch TV during the day. If you want your child to clean up, then clean along side him as well. If your child knows you are working together or even if you are doing your mommy jobs in the other room while they clean up their toys, it makes it easier for them to stay motivated. It's a family affair. I always do a load of dishes while the boys make the front room vacuum ready. They know I am working and that they are not being punished, but rather doing a family activity even if it's just cleaning up together. By the time I am done with the dishes the front room is clean and I am ready to vacuum. Sometimes we race each other too. Boys love a good race. Anyway, that is my parenting advice for the day. I really need to write that travel book though. Someday.

I am SO in trouble!

This is week 2 of babysitting my sisters kids full time. Arien, her 3 year old, is used to being the boss, but it's kind of hard when you have my kids around too. I told her she had to share her Cheerios with Brody and her sister Kymberly. This is a picture of her being mad/me being in trouble. She sat silently with arms folded for about 10 minutes. Hmm.....punish me some more! I wish MY kids threw tantrums like that.

Collin Chatter

The boys and I went shopping for some Father's Day gifts yesterday afternoon. After shopping I figured I was just too exhausted to cook. (It's a rough life.) I asked Collin what he wanted for dinner, thinking he would suggest some type of take out food. He said he wanted Macaroni and Cheese. (We always make homemade and it's the best!) I said, "Don't you want to take Dad out to eat?" He said, "Oh yeah! Sure! Let's go somewhere that has macaroni and cheese." Needless to say I got some tacos and he came home and ate some leftover mac 'n cheese. Everybody wins!

Stock Up Sale

I had a great time at Albertson's today. I took Darrell and the two boys and we tried out a different Albertson's. What a miracle! They had everything that was on sale IN STOCK! Can you believe it? I have been having the worst shopping experiences at my store so I drove about 5 minutes farther to a different Albertson's. A complete 180! Everyone was so nice. Everything was in stock! I couldn't believe it. Worth the drive. Darrell likes to go with me too, just to see how much I am saving. Kinda funny. Total out of pocket on the trip - $44.80! Wowsa! Total savings was over $100!! Can't beat that. Yum! Another fresh pineapple. I am obsessed. :)

Diapers at Walgreens

I got a steal this week at Walgreen's!! I will tell you my two transactions
#1
3- John Freida Conditioners at 3/$15
1 - St. Ives body wash for $2.99
1 - Pack of Oreos as filler, plus there are no treats in the whole house!!

- 3 $3/1 of Root Awakening Line of John Frieda
- $10 Register Reward (RR) from last weeks Dove deal

Total Out of Pocket (OOP)with tax = $1.51
Received $5 RR from John Frieda and $3 RR from St. Ives
Would have been better, but I couldn't find my stinking $1.50 off St.Ives coupon!!

#2
Pampers $10.99
3 pencils at $.09 each
- $1 off pampers coupon
-2 $1 RR from 2 weeks ago (can't remember from what)
-$5 RR from Transaction #1

Total OOP with tax = $4.03
Not bad for a pack of diapers!!

So everything pictured was $5.54!! How sweet is that! Plus I have that $3 RR from #1 to use next week!! What deals can you make at Walgreen's this week??

Friends!!

After a long rainy week of being stuck inside we went out to lunch with friends at Arctic Circle (world's best fries and fry sauce.) It was nice to let the children run wild and play. Some day the rain will let up, but for now we will stuff our faces with fast food and gossip while the kids play. :)

Weekly Trip

Here's my weekly shopping trip. I skipped Albertson's this week, although some people are going completely nuts over their stuff! There just wasn't that much that I wanted and I didn't want to fight the crowds. I went to Smith's and got some basics. They had 50% off all Lysol products so I picked up a few cleaning items that turned out to be about a dollar after coupons. Brody has already eaten two of those yogurts so I guess that didn't last as long as I thought. The Rice and Pasta sides worked out to be 52 cents each after coupons so I got 10. They are a nice quick side dish to have around. I spent $24.88. Headed to Kent's tomorrow to get chicken nuggets and then maybe get something at Walgreen's next week. By the way, I count my shopping week as Wednesday through Tuesday since that it's the same as the shopping ads. Happy shopping! And I swear my next post won't be about food!!

Daddy Daughter Date

I took my dad couponing tonight. I wasn't going to go back to the store, but I did have a couple sets of double coupons for Albertson's left. Plus my dad needs help to do his coupon shopping. He is helpless without me. :) For everything pictured, plus one more mustard I gave to my parents, I spent $1.01 in two transactions, which was actually $.66 on my Free cereal cash card and $.35 from change in my the bottom of my dads pocket. Yay! So really it was FREE!! I was low on cheese too so I am glad that I went back. The new sale starts tomorrow, but I don't think that I am going to Albies. Perhaps if they do double coupons again then I will, but there isn't anything that I really want. I am going to Smith's to get some eggs, milk, yogurt, bananas, bread and maybe a couple of other essentials, spending about $20. Then I am going to Kent's which ALWAYS has the best prices for meat. They sell bags of chicken nuggets in 4-5 lb bags for $1.49 a pound and they are such a good quick food to have around. One bag lasts at least a month around here so it's a good investment. Keeps us from eating out too. That's all I am going to buy at the grocery store this week!! We will see if Walgreen's has any good deals because I have 2-$1 and 1-$10 Register Reward just burning a hole in my pocket.

Quick Trip, Sweet Deals

I still have some of Albertson's infamous Double Coupons left from Sunday's paper. Collin had tumbling which is pretty close to Albies, and I had to kill some time, so why not? I needed bread anyway and this brand had a $1 off coupon on the outside, which I doubled, making it $1.29 for pretty good bread. Then I got 4 boxes of Ronzoni Pasta which was $1.29, but actually rang up $1.09. I used two coupons for $1 off two and doubled them. So $.09 per box which are 14.5 oz, almost a pound. Not bad. My total with tax was $1.79! Not bad for a quick bread run.

Also my goal for June is to spend only $40 per week! This does not include diapers though. Can't get around that bill for a little while. My real goal is to spend closer to $30, but I think that might be impossible. I will let you know how it goes.

Help me!!!

I am being stalked by a Mary Kay lady. Help!


The reason this first comic is so funny to me is that I went to meet my Mary Kay lady (who gave me an unexpected facial attack) and the first story she tells me was not exactly G-rated! It makes me blush to think about it, let alone share it with you. Use your imagination. :) I do not know this girl very well at all. She worked at the gym daycare so I would say "hi" when I dropped the kids off and that's about it. I guess I look like someone who would want to hear a personal story like that. Just for your information I am not!

I went to her house Tuesday last week and she has called me 7 times since then!! I finally told her today that I am not interested in ordering right now and I definitely don't want to sell the stuff. I have a feeling she will call me in a week or two to see if I am ready to order. Someone help me!! I don't want to be rude, but I just want her to leave me alone!
P.S. Do any non-stalker people sell Mary Kay cuz I really do want to order some foundation. :)

Preschool Graduate

Collin graduated from preschool last week! I can't believe it. I really thought that I was going to cry at some point during all the proceedings, but I didn't. I think it's because I am just so proud of him and so excited for him to go to Kindergarten. I have really, REALLY enjoyed having a 5 year old. It is probably the most fun age so far. He is really learning and growing and I love to hear all his crazy thoughts and ideas. He's very artistic and creative, and I love having our little craft area to let him display all his work. He is also very athletic and coordinated so it's fun to see him do his tumbling, soccer, and even riding his big boy 2 wheeler. I love his sense of adventure. I love that he asks a million questions. He pays attention to everything even if it doesn't seem like it. I love that he can make friends so easily. Everybody likes Collin. His teacher gave each kid a little Thank You card and she said that Collin was a leader and was friends with everyone. What a great compliment!
Congratulations, Collin!! Off to Kindergarten! You will love it!

May Food Budget

May was the first month that I kept EVERY receipt to see how much I spent in a month. I knew I was saving and stockpiling food, but I wanted to know exactly what I spent. At the grocery stores (mostly Albertson's) and Walgreens I spent $333.89 and I got two produce baskets that totaled $38.50. Grand total = $372.39!!! I know it still might sound like a lot to some of you, but that includes DIAPERS, cleaning supplies, a large fruit tray we brought to a party, an evening run to buy ice cream not on sale, and a few other little luxuries all while building our 3 month supply. I love it. I used to spend about $125 a week and run out of food by the end of the week. Now I spend less than that and have food storage and tons of fresh produce around!! After I feel like I have a complete stock pile of food then I will only buy things on super duper sale! Can't wait to get to that point. Maybe a few more months. Plus I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to be done with diapers (about a $50/month bill) by the end of the summer. We will see. I challenge everyone, especially those of you who have already started couponing, to keep track of all your expenses this month. I just put all my receipts in a pile and added them up today. Easy! This will help you track your spending to see how much you are really saving. Plus it gives you warm fuzzies at the end of the month when you save a lot. ;) Good luck and happy couponing!!!
P.S. Although Spell Check says "couponing" is not a word it really is. Especially on this blog. :)