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. :)