Friday, December 29, 2006

Chapped lips won't be a concern this winter.

I did something tonight that might seem crazy, but was actually an act of goodwill. I purchased 28 CVS brand Chapsticks. Yes, you read that right, 28. This is in addition to the 8 or so I have bought throughout the month. Now, you might be wondering how on earth this amounts to goodwill. Well, lemme explain.

Apparently my usual CVS store in Geneva is having a little contest to see who can sell the most CVS Chapsticks in December. Shannon is one of the nicest cashiers and never gives me any problems with coupons. This is a big deal because I use a LOT of coupons. Last Friday when she was ringing me up, I added 3 CVS Chapsticks to my order. This is what I have been getting when I need an additional item to bring either my subtotal or my item count up so I can use all of my coupons and ECBs. She was so happy that I bought 3. So I asked if they were having a contest and she said they were, but she was losing badly to another cashier. When I stopped in on Saturday, I found out from the Beauty Coordinator that only 2 cashiers were really competing and how it was funny that Shannon was losing because she really wants to win. Apparently she was behind by something like 30 and nobody thought she could catch up. So, I decided to be nice and blow 20 ECBs and a few coupons to help her catch up and at least have a chance. So tonight I purchased 28 of them. She was so excited and said I was her favorite customer ever. I figure it was worth the 20 ECBs because I appreciate good service. I only paid 0.73 in cash, so it's not like I am out real money.

So, don't be surprised when the Chapstick Fairy sends you a present.

I also had a rather good time shopping at Bath and Body Works. I got sucked into buying a cheesy denim tote because it came with coupons. It was only $5 with a $25 purchase. Well, I had a $25 gift card and they were having a shower gel sale. I got 3 regular shower gels, 1 CO Bigelow Body Cleanser (Lavender scent, smells awesome) 3 of the hand soap pumps, 1 2oz preview lotion in the new Midnight Pomengranate (smells great), and the denim tote w/ the coupons. Total was $33, so I only spent 8 oop. The coupons are mostly for free products in the coming year and some of them have no minimum purchase. The regular shower gels were on sale for $3 instead of 9.50 so that was a total score for me.

Target was good to me. They had some of the Glade scented oil candles (the ones with the holder that are usually 6.99) on holiday clearance for 2.49 and I had $3 off coupons. So I took the 3 they had. I love it when things cost me in negative amounts. You can get overage at Target as long as you have something to cover it. Meaning your total never goes negative. I got 2 of the Glade 4 oz candles in pumpkin pie, on sale for 1.39 and I had $1 off coupons. I got 2 turtleneck onesies for Andrew on clearance for 1.88/ea. So all told for the 5 candles and the 2 onesies I paid $4.03. Total savings of around $32.50 based on the original prices, or $11 off the sale prices.

I think it was a good day for me.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Collapsing like a flan in a cupboard.

It is finally over. The crazy mad dash of December, this year made worse by the addition of a new sport we call CVSing. Okay, so lets get this going with Andrew's birthday.

He turned 2 and we had a party. Everyone was packed into our apartment and we have realized that our apartment is not as big as we thought. Everything went well, the kids all played together with only one minor injury. I got to see friends and family and Andrew got tons of stuff. Like he really needs more stuff, he is not lacking for anything. He got a lot of books this year which is what I told anyone who asked me to get. He has tons of toys and with a birthday so close to Christmas, the toy glut is truly insane. He did get THE Tickle Me Elmo and I admit it is super cute. He actually opened presents this year and ran around screaming all day. He seemed to enjoy himself. I as usual obsessed about the amount of food and the fact that I ran out of Italian beef. I get a little whacked when entertaining, I just want everyone to have a great time.



























We went to the mall to see Santa. Andrew was very good, no crying. He is a pretty flexible kid and since he spends most of his time with Daddy, he is not afraid of men with beards. After Santa, we had "peepa" (pizza) for dinner and on the way out, he got to ride Scoop. All in all, it was a nice time.
































Christmas was the usual running around. The 23rd we went to Justin's grandmother's house. No real present opening there, just a nice evening spent with family. Then Christmas Eve was at my in-laws. We had some awesome prime rib for dinner and the boys seemed to really enjoy their presents. Then it was home and my mom came over to spend the night so she could be there early Christmas morning. The amount of stuff under the tree for Andrew was insane, and most of it was not purchased by me. We will be going through all of his toys soon because there is just not enough room in our house. He got a Power Wheels 4 wheeler from my Mom that he adores, except that he won't ride it without his helmet. That is a good thing, except that the helmet my mom got him is too small. So he puts it on and gets on the bike. Then he hits the button, goes a foot and the helmet falls off. He gets off, puts the helmet back on and tries again. It is pretty funny to watch. He also loves his Thomas pop up tent. This was a great Christmas, it really is a lot of fun when you have kids.



























Now that it is all over, it seems my body is in the process of mutiny. I have pushed myself to the limit this holiday and it seems I am paying for it. It is either my IBS acting up badly or perhaps my appendix. I have taken a large dose of fiber, so we will see. Anyone out there missing their appendix and want to share? I will keep you posted.

Monday, December 18, 2006

I can now Kitchener!!!!!

For non-knitting people this post will mean nothing, but last night I completed my first sock type object. I have a sock that is mostly made, but I have never finished the toe before. The stitch used to close the toe is the Kitchener stitch. I now know how to Kitchener.

Now to finish the mate.

Seriously, can we add on 4 hours of time in the middle of the night this week so I can get some sleep. I still have the tree to get and decorate, my Christmas boxes to find, fudge making and baking to do and finish my shopping. Plus it is a good CVS week and we have discussed how the deals never sleep. Seriously, how can I not turn $6 into $40 if things go as planned.

If I am not a drooling moron by the time this week is done it will be a miracle. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we are doing Christmas 3 times this year. The 23rd at Justin's grandmas, Christmas eve with my in-laws and Christmas at my house. Ladies and gentlemen, I have just lost a day.

On the upside, Andrew's birthday party was a good time. Stay tuned for a post and pics.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Such a busy time of year.

Wow, I feel like the 2 weeks have just flown by. I feel like I am walking around in a fog some days. Trying to keep all of the current deals straight in addition to planning Andrew's 2nd birthday party and Christmas is proving a bit of a challenge. I think that Jewel, Meijer and CVS have formed an alliance bent on my destruction. What is a girl to do when the deals are just so great? She orders a ton of coupons and starts the Great Potato and Charmin Freshmates campaign. That's what.

CVS is doing some decent deals, including one that is working for diapers. So total score there. If anyone out there would like some Cover Girl Advanced Raidiance Foundation in Ivory, let me know. I have 4 and will probably never use it.

At Meijer, I am currently getting microwavable pouches of Betty Crocker potatoes for $2.65 for 15 pouches and I get a coupon for a $10 gift certificate, redeemable next week. So, using the $20 gift card I had been saving, I am buying lots of potatoes. (I goofed my coupon order and over ordered). I will probably have 78 pouches of potatoes, 1 box of Bisquick, 4 bags of Chex Mix and 7 Jenos pizza. I will have spent $33.36 (20 of that on a gift card, not from checking) and I will redeem $60 worth of gift cards next week. Woo Hoo!

Jewel is running the catalina deal again. Charmin freshmates (grown up wipes) are on sale for 2/$4, I have $1 off coupons for these and I get a $10 off my next order coupon when I purchase 5. So, I spend $5 on the first batch and after that I will buy 5 Freshmates and $5 worth of groceries, use my $10 off coupon and keep repeating until I run out. I ordered 55 coupons by the way. Did I mention that? Those cost me about $5. I think this will return a tidy little profit. I will buy Dawn and Puffs tissues when I run out of Charmin coupons. I have until the 17th, so watch out.

Speaking of Dawn, it would have come in handy if the commercial with the penguin in it is to be believed. We discovered a couple of interesting things this week.
We discovered that even after a bath, Vicks will remain in the hair. It may not smell, but it is still there.
We discovered that Andrew can unscrew caps.
We learned that he is clever and knows when he is in trouble. It is cute to hear him say "Sorry Daddy"

Our wonderful little boy took his little chair, dragged it over to his changing table, climbed up on the chair, opened the drawer, got the Vicks out, unscrewed the cap, smeared it all over the changing table, his chair and himself. Then he goes into the living room and climbs onto the couch next to Daddy. Daddy asks him why he smells like Vicks and goes into Andrew's room to investigate. He is nearly knocked unconscious by the overwhelming smell of eucalyptus. Needless to say, everyone had clear sinuses and a headache that day. When Justin asked Andrew "what did you do?" Andrew replied "Sorry Daddy". Boy gets a bath, Vicks gets cleaned up, which is harder than it looks. He is definitely a determined young man, it was quite a string of tasks for a 2 yr old to perform. Justin called me at work to tell me about it and I just could not stop laughing. I ended up washing his hair with dish soap to get all the grease out. Good Times!

Andrew's party is coming up and I have no idea how I am going to get everything done, but I will manage it somehow. Still have Christmas cards to do, still don't have a tree. Can't find the Christmas boxes. I think most of this will get done this weekend. Hopefully. Maybe.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Deal of the year!!!!

I recently had a procedure done, but I am doing okay with no real recovery problems so far. The procedure I am speaking of is the dreaded "Cashendectomy". The process of removing a large sum of money from my checking account that is spent on an uneccessary item. I have spoken of this before.

The item this year is the XBox 360 Platinum bundle. At a retail of $399.99, this a major expenditure. But come on, you do see the title of the post and knowing me as you do, dear readers, you must realize that there is no way I am paying that much. We purchased 2 items, The Xbox and a Vonage phone adapter. Our out of pocket was $280. We have $150 in rebates to submit, bringing our total down to $130. I know that you are wondering how we did that. Well, I will tell you. Microcenter (Disneyland for Geeks) was having a special where if you buy a 360 you get a $100 rebate, they also had a promo that if you sign up for Vonage, you get $200 off your purchase of $199 or more, and there are 2 rebates for the phone adapter making it free.

I generally will not sign up for a service in order to get a discount. You end up spending more for the service than the discount and this is true with the Vonage service, it is a year contract. The only reason I agreed was because we were planning to sign up for Vonage in January. We have a cable modem already and we do not have a home phone. We are strictly cell, but wanted to finally get a house line again. So, why not jump on it now and get the $200. Halo 3 will be coming out soon and when that happens Justin will be climbing the walls to get one. So this way we save a bunch of money on something we would eventually be buying.

I was tempted to make him wait to open it until Christmas. While the thought of torturing him that way is mildly appealing, it is just too mean. So, I will be wrapping the box for under the tree and he has promised to act surprised for photos. Luckily, I still have a few little surprises for him this year.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Pooped!

Well friends, I am pooped. I think that the hectic schedule of the last few months has finally caught up with me. After shopping on Friday, I just kinda felt tired. I know that some of you are not surprised and neither am I. It has been a crazy couple of months.

So for the recap, Thanksgiving was at my in-laws. It was a fun time, but it usually is. I spent most of my time going through the ads. Andrew was a good eater and especially enjoyed the sweet potatos. We went home and my mom came over to spend the night so we can get up early and do our shopping.

Black Friday. Wow, you would think that they were giving stuff away with the lines of people. Walmart was a circus. I only needed a few things there, so my mom waited with the cart and I waded in and got the stuff I wanted. We headed to the grocery side for a cinnamon roll, got those and headed for the checkout. We didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes in line. That side of the store was dead. The lines at the registers down at the other end were huge, but the grocery side was empty. Sometimes I really wonder about people.

At Walmart, I realized that my debit card was in my other pants, so after we left Walmart, we stopped at my place to get it, then off to Target. The line there was insane. I mean, down the building and around the corner. We waited in the car and at 6 am, just walked in without waiting. Got what we wanted and were off. This was the way the day worked out. No real waiting in line.

We went to Elder Beerman (think JC Penny), Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, and Kohls. It was fun, I spent like $250 and got a lot accomplished. I got a ton of stuff, but still am not finished. I would list everything, but some family members read this and I don't want to give anything away. The best thing was I made my Mom a believer in my crazy CVS stuff. She bought a bunch of stuff and only paid $12. I use her card to get stuff and let her spend the ECBs. She was amazed. I got $177 worth of stuff at CVS for $6 after ECBs and coupons ($97 in ECBs spent) I also got $16 back in ECBs from stuff bought that day. So, I think that was a good trip. It was mostly toys.

The lady at Walgreens messed up one of my coupons so I had to ask for it back. It was for a free box of Tampax. I have 8 of them and need to use the ones that expire in Dec., so I thought I would use one while I was there. She scanned the coupon, but never entered the amount, so it didn't credit me the 4.29. So, I asked for the coupon back. She looked at me like I had 2 heads, but after explaining it twice she did give it back. So, I paid 4.29 for a box of Tampons I really don't need. I will be keeping them, since I have 2 rebate items on that receipt and have to send it in. I chalk it up to the cost of the game. Not that I am happy about it. I might still return them, I just don't want to screw up the $15 in rebates. (Sometimes Walgreens will reject a receipt if there is a return attached to it.)

I did get Andrew a Christmas romper that says HO HO HO on it and his holiday outfit. It is a cute red sweater vest with a moose on it, with a plaid shirt and brown cords. Trust me, it is so cute. I bought a couple of bras for myself. They were on sale for 13.97 and had a buy 2, get one free coupon. So 3 Vanity Fair bras for $28.

Saturday, I mainly sat around and read a book. I just really needed to unwind. Sunday, we went to my in-laws to see some relatives that were in town. Had a good time. When we left Andrew said goodbye to everyone including the pizza. Bye, Bye Peepa.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Making a list and checking it twice.

Well boys and girls, it is time for my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Yes, you guessed it.

Black Friday! (how could it be anything else.)

Every year my mom and I get up at the buttcrack of dawn to wait in the cold with the rest of the loons for stores like Walmart and Target to open. By 1:00, we are generally asleep on the couch, but until then, it is a frenzy of bargains to be had.

Each year is a carefully crafted schedule of stores to hit with precision timing. This year is no different. I really appreciate Walmart and Target staggering their opening times, as this will give me the ability to acheive my goals without any problems.

There is more that goes into Black Friday than meets the eye. Comfortable shoes are a must. My mom was talking about how she needs to start walking on the treadmill to prepare. This year I am implementing a new procedure with the addition of Poise pads. Since having a child, the urge to pee hits like a freight train. Fast and furious. There is nothing worse than doing the pee-pee dance while in the checkout line. I know this is probably TMI, but come on, you know that this has happened to you. Full cart of groceries and all of a sudden, BAM, you have to pee so bad you are afraid to take a step for fear of wetting your pants.

Anyone.....just me?......okay then, moving along.

This year, with the addition of CVS ECBs and coupons, I fully expect the bargains to be great. This year we will be branching out to new territories, the big question is which direction to go. Rockford or Geneva. Geneva has a Meijer and the CVS that I usually shop at. But Rockford has Old Time Pottery and a bunch of CVS stores. I guess we could head to Rockford and I could go to the Geneva CVS store later in the day or on Saturday. I guess we will have to see what ads there are in the Rockford paper and decide from there.

All in all, I expect this to be a great day as usual. Every year we dread getting up early and fear that one of us will have to ride on the roof because we can't fit everything into the car. Last year was a close thing. The car was packed. This year we are taking my mom's new car, which is bigger than her old one we took last year. By noon, we will be having lunch and laughing about the insanity of the day. We really do have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and happy shopping to anyone joining us crazies out there on Friday!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Picture pages

As I sit here bored at work, I figure hey why not post some pictures. So here are some shots of the boy from over the weekend.


Mommy's little rocker!














This is what happens when you realize your son is in his room being very quiet. Too quiet.





Wipe fight!
We had fun throwing the wipes at each other.














Mmmmmm. Brownies.














Worn out after all the fun. (That is my jacket he is laying on. He has taken to carying it around with him)

Monday, November 20, 2006

Surprise!

Okay, this post might make me seem like a horrible parent. There are times when I feel like I am not a good parent because my kid LOVES TV. I mean, really loves TV. So much so, that he insists on having a video running in his room at all times. We put the Baby Einstein DVD's on repeat in there. Then the TV in the living room is tuned to PBS Sprout all day. I told you this was going to make us sound bad. The TV is on all the time. If we turn it off, Andrew will stand and point to it and tell us "TV on". In our defense, we do impose some limits. He doesn't get to watch it in bed. Sleeping time is for sleeping.

Now, I need to explain some things. He does not sit there and watch TV all day. We play with cars and balls, we color, we sing, dance, play Daddy's bass guitar, we read books. In short, we do a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with the TV. But it is there, in the background. Sometimes, he will grab his juice and go sit in his beanbag chair or the couch and watch TV for a little while. So, on the average, he probably watches about a hour, maybe two hours a day.

So, we are eating dinner last week and Andrew starts playing with his corn. He picks up a piece and tells me "1", so I think cool he is learning his numbers. He picks up another piece and says "2". This continues all the way to 5. I am stunned and so is Justin. We didn't know he could count to 5. Recently, we switched the Baby Einstein DVD in his room to the counting one. He has been enamoured of the tiger in it. Absolutely loves the tiger. Looks like it worked. I will say that we read him books with numbers in them. We tell him the names for everything. In general, all the things you are supposed to do.

Although, after 5 he told us the next piece was 8, so there is work to do.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Houston, we have testicles!

Apparently the pediatrician was wrong. So was the ultrasound. I learned a lot about how testicles work today. I am a girl, what do I really need to know about testicles.

The urologist said that ordering an ultrasound to check for undescended testicles is stupid. You come at the kid with a cold probe, in a cool room, with his pants down and the testicles retract. I knew about testicles retracting. The old cold water joke and all.

We thought his testicles had dropped, but took the pediatrician at her word. I am glad that she is thorough, but you would think that she would know a little bit about this. Maybe he wasn't on the ball the day she checked him. (Sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun)

So, there will be no nuts for Christmas this year. He already has them.

More of the same.

Okay, the Jewel P&G promotion ended last night. So here is the rest of the tally. Add this to the previous post and you will get the total purchased at Jewel this week.

21 Crest Whitening Expression Gel Toothpaste
10 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
8 Cover Girl eye pencils
2 Gillette Fusion shave gel
2 Max Factor eyeshadow
2 Cover Girl nailpolish
4 Del Monte diced tomatoes
4 Del Monte corn
4 Del Monte carrots
4 Del Monte green beans
2 College Inn Beef broth
2 Black Angus Chuck Pot Roast (1.5 lb)
1 Pork Loin Roast (4 lb)
1 Red Rome Apples (1.5 lbs)
1 Family size Tyson chicken tenders
2 Jewel trash bags (10ct)
2 Oscar Mayer Bologna
1 Arm & Hammer cat litter box deodorizer
1 Jewel ketchup (46oz)
1 Jewel apple juice (64 oz)
1 Scott toilet paper (6 pk)
1 can tomato soup
1 Appliance light bulb
1 Memorex DVD-R (5 pk)
6 Kelloggs limited edition cereal bowls (clearance score!!!)

Total oop: 16.96
Total savings: 156.90

Now here is where it gets fun. I went through all 18 receipts, and added up the total that actually came out of my checking account. I used a gift card to pay for some of this, so the numbers are skewed. I also used the $10 I got from one of the stores when the coupon didn't print. So add up the last post and this post as far as the amount of stuff I bought and check out my total.

Total spent from checking: 26.13

There are a couple of things to factor in. I still have a $10 coupon for my next Jewel purchase and I will be getting a $10 rebate from Del Monte. So subtract $20 from that and you will get my actual spent money.

Total actual spent is $6.13.

Think I did okay?

Saturday, November 11, 2006

And now for something completely different.

Yeah right. Just where do you think you are. I know this may be hard to believe, but I have only been to CVS once this week. (insert horrified gasp here) You may be thinking, but Chris, what about the deals. Well friends, this week the deals are at Jewel. It is a good thing because woman cannot live on Kotex alone. So here it is, my week at Jewel:

3 Crest Toothpaste (various)
15 Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
11 Glide Dental floss
5 Cover Girl Nail polish
4 Max factor eyeshadow
1 Gillette Fusion shave gel
1 Always pads
3 Hungry Jack Potatos (2 scallop and 1 augratin)
3 Pillsbury Flour (5lb bag)
7 Pillsbury Brownie mix
23 Pillsbury cake mix (variety of flavors)
1 Apples (3lb bag)
2.15 lbs of red grapes
2 Campbells Broccoli Cheese soup
1 Jewel Apple Juice
1 Box of flat toothpicks
2 Sargento shredded swiss cheese
3 Diet Pepsi (20 oz)
6 Diet Pepsi (12 pk)
1 Diet Coke (12 pk)

Total oop: 29.93
Total savings: 201.06 (preferred savings and coupons)

Add to this the fact that the Procter and gamble promotion did not work the first 2 times I tried it. Promo is buy 5 items, get a coupon for $10 off your next purchase. So, I had to go to the service desk those times. So I rec'd a $10 gift card and $10 in cash that are not factored into the above totals, and I have a $10 off coupon for my next order. The P&G promo runs through the 15th and I have 25 crest coupons coming. So next week should be really great also.

I did however get burned on the Walgreens deal. The first time I did not get the $10 off your next purchase coupon. It is a good thing the comtrex works so well, or they would have gotten that back. I did make it work twice, so I have 2 $10 off my next purchase coupons to use. The big way I got burned was that my coupon order has not arrived yet. The order mailed on Tuesday and the last time I ordered from them it came really fast. So now I will have 20 Comtrex coupons for a promotion that ends today. Oh well, I guess that is the chance you take in this game. It is the missed opportunity that gets me, not the $2 I spent on the coupons. The Crest coupons should more than make up for it.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Pictures of the madness

So here they are. Some pictures of the stockpile. To start you off, it is a box of Pantene Ice Shine shampoo and conditioner. There are 18 of each. This box is sitting on top of my cabinet until I determine what I am going to do with it.


Next we have a shot of the top shelf of my bathroom closet. The Kotex is 3 layers deep to give you and idea of how much is in there. The Playtex is 2 layers deep.

What else can I say but Toothpaste!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A close up on the feminie hygiene sector.

This is my other cabinet. The top left is shampoos and conditioners. Top right is styling products. Bottom left is Hand soap, hand sanitizer, and deodorant. Bottom right is lotion, body wash and bug spray.

So there is a sampling. I have added 9 battery operated toothbrushes, 3 manual toothbrushes, more kotex and lots more toothpaste since these were taken, but I think you get the picture.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Drumroll please.

Here it is. Prepare to be amazed. The CVS final for October.

45 Pantene Ice Shine - 21 shampoo, 23 conditioner, 1 mousse
31 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste
30 Kotex Ultra Compact Pads
21 Colgate Sparkling White Vanilla mint
18 Garnier Fructis styling products (gels, mousses and creams)
17 Playtex Sport Tampons
12 Carefree Pantiliners
11 Samy haircare products
10 Aquafresh toothpaste
10 Oral B Crossaction Power Toothbrushes
10 Aleve (20 ct)
9 Spree candy
6 bags of Halloween candy
6 candy bars (misc)
6 Revlon 12 hr Single Eyeshadows
6 boxes of Gas-X (10 ct)
6 Dove Advanced Hair Care products
5 Halloween sippy cups
5 Bayer Low Dose Asprin (20 ct)
4 Grape Nuts Trail Mix cereal
4 Colgate Sparkling White Cinnamint
4 Poise Pads
4 2l of Diet Coke
4 12pks of Diet Pepsi
4 Snickers pumpkins
3 Robitussin (4 oz liquid)
3 Advil PM (20 ct)
3 bottles ACT restore Mouthwash
2 bottles Benefiber chewables (36 ct)
2 Loreal HIP Foundation
2 Advil Cold & Sinus
2 Schick Quattro razors
2 pks of Pampers Easy ups
2 tubes Johnson & Johnson soothing vapor cream
2 pks Huggies Pull-Ups
2 One A Day All Day Energy
2 One A Day Weightsmart
2 Purell Hand Sanitizer (8 oz)
2 CVS Babywipes (160 ct)
2 Small storage baskets
2 Pumpkin potholders
2 Pumpkin kitchen towels
1 Pumpkin placemat
1 Halloween magnets
1 Halloween activity book
1 Fall tablecloth
1 Fall jar candle
1 Sunday Tribune
1 Pocket pack of tissues
1 Crest Pro Health Rinse (trial size)
1 pk Pampers Cruisers
1 Fixodent Free
1 Scott Toilet Paper (12 pk)
1 Bic Comfort 3 Advance razors (4ct)
1 Bic Comfort 3 Womens razors (4ct)
1 2pk pregnancy tests
1 Dayquil caplets (20 ct)
1 Tylenol Go-tabs
1 bottle Johnson & Johnson Calming softwash
1 Advil trial size (6ct)
1 Advil Liquigels (20ct)
1 Robitussin Cough Drops
1 Fresh Step Cat Litter (14 lb)
1 CVS trash bags (20 ct)
1 Underbed Storage box
1 Single serve CVS Pedialyte
1 Gold Emblem Cashews (Single pack)

Total oop: $107.41
Total coupons used: $376.23
Total ECB spent: $577.77
Total ECB earned: $962.31

And somehow I feel like I could have done better. I still have 2 Playtex sport coupons that I couldn't use because nobody has those in stock. I think there is something wrong with me. The final count for toothpaste is 66 tubes. I ended up with around $277 in profit. That is after I deduct my oop. I have almost $400 in ECBs to spend in the next month. Needless to say, it is going to be a CVS Christmas. They are starting to get some cute stuff in for the holidays, including some of the toys I want to get Andrew.

Next post I will put up some pictures of the stash. We did have a minor Kotex avalanche, but not to worry, the Sherpas got everyone out safely. Now, I will be devoting the next 2 weeks to Jewel and Walgreens. Wish me luck.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

It not the news we wanted.

Well friends, the ultrasound revealed that Andrew's testes are still in the canal. There is no amount of running that will make them drop. He could run to China and they would still be in the canal. So we will be seeing a urologist in 2 weeks for evaluation and determine what we will be doing. It is mainly a chance for the urologist to confirm and see Andrew before we schedule him for surgery.

It is a very simple procedure and doesn't involve any major organs. The worst thing is that they are going to have to knock him out. If he were an adult, they could do this with local anesthesia. But there is no way a local will work with a toddler. I am sure that everything is going to be fine. It is not the news I wanted, but it could be much worse. Everything other than the fact that they are up in the canal is fine, good blood flow, everything is healthy.

So it will be a threefold for presents this year. Birthday, Christmas and the gift of Testicles.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Argh, it be Halloween...

Here he is in all his pirate glory. Argh, he be wantin' candy! Actually, before we went out trick or treating, we were eating M&M's and Andrew was trying to get Justin to give him one. Justin was in the process of asking me if it's okay to give him one, and Andrew is looking at Justin with him mouth open, pointing to his mouth. As if to say, place candy here, now. It was amusing.

Here he is trick or treating with Daddy. He was not really into trick or treating, although he does like the candy. I don't really think he quite gets it. I guess that is understandable not even being 2 yet, and he has a cold. So he wasn't feeling all that great. We only went to about 5 houses. Hopefully next year will be exciting for him. His costume is totally cute and the jacket is a size 6, so he will be able to wear it for many years of dress up play. Something to add to the crazy hat of mine he likes and the purse he took to carrying around for a while. He looked like a little German lady off to the market, with his hat and his purse. It was hilarious.

The ultrasound is tonight, so I will let you know tomorrow what we find out. Hope your Halloween was fun.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Another week at CVS

So another week has passed and it's time to type up the tally. The monthly deals appear to run through 11/4, so after that I will be posting a month long tally. I promise it will be nuts. I also promised pictures, those will be forthcoming too. So here we go:

12 Carefree Pantiliners
12 Kotex Ultra Compact Pads
11 Playtex Sport Tampons
8 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste
6 Revlon 12 hr Single Eyeshadows
2 Loreal HIP Foundation
3 Oral B Crossaction Power Toothbrushes
3 Robitussin (4oz liquid)
3 Advil PM (20 ct)
2 Advil Cold & Sinus
1 Advil trial size (6ct)
1 Advil Liquigels (20ct)
1 Robitussin Cough Drops
1 Fresh Step Cati Litter (14 lb)
1 CVS trash bags (20 ct)
1 Underbed Storage box
1 Single serve CVS Pedialyte
1 Gold Emblem Cashews (Single pack)

Total oop: $19.24
Total coupons used: $91.72
Total ECB used: $153.67
Total ECB earned: $217.75

Not the best week, but I am still rolling. I also will be getting rebates back for some items. $9.00 from Wyeth for Advil/Robitussin
$4.97 from Playtex
$5.97 from Oral B

So while it may not be the most profitable week ever, I still did okay. The Cat litter and trash bags were actual household needs and I did not have coupons for them. If Justin likes the CVS trash bags, I will be stocking up as I have coupons for CVS brand items. As the month of October comes to a close, I will be glad to get a chance to catch my breath, between the pumpkin farm and all these great deals, it has been crazy this month. I am also submitting my Walgreens rebate this week, they will be giving me back $69.33 this time. Seeing as most of that was paid for with last month's rebate of $29, I am doing pretty good there too. Seems like the November deals are going to suck though, so I am trying to roll my ECBs out past Black Friday so that I can use them on that most hallowed of all shopping days.

Stay tuned for the insanity post sometime next week when the dust settles.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Last week's CVS tally

Since I have been under the weather lately, I did not post last week's totals from CVS. This month is a unique month with all the monthly and weekly deals being so great. Just wait until I post the monthly totals, that is going to be out of hand.

So here it is:

34 Pantene Ice Shine - 16 shampoo, 18 conditioner
10 Aleve (20 ct)
5 Bayer Low Dose Asprin (20ct)
4 Grape Nuts Trail Mix cereal
3 Kotex UltraCompact pads
3 12 pks of Diet Pepsi
2 One A Day All Day Energy
2 One A Day Weightsmart
2 CVS Babywipes (160 ct)
2 Small storage baskets
1 Sunday Tribune
1 Pocket pack of tissues
1 Crest Pro Health Rinse (trial size)


Total oop - $19.47
Total coupons used - $102.97
Total ECB used - $102.28
Total ECB earned - $206.89

I am beginning to LOVE October so much more. Even with the crazy schedule. Next month the deals go back to being normal, with a few moneymakers. But October deals have afforded me the opportunity to purchase something for pennies that I would never spend "real" money on. I am purchasing this for Andrew:

It is a Thomas & friends humidifier. Andrew has been into Thomas since we took him to see Thomas at the train museum this summer. This is an item that I would never have bought without the CVS deals. It retails around $50 and even my mom thought that was too much. But with ECBs, I am okay with buying it. I have to spend them before they expire. So, this will be the image that I keep when I am crushed to death by the weight of the Pantene when my bathroom cabinet collapses.

Toot, toot!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Run Andrew Run.

Monday was Andrew's 2 year check up. I know he is only 22 months, but our pediatrician told us that we should schedule early so Andrew could get a flu shot. Well, they don't even have the baby flu shot stuff yet. He is 34 1/2 inches and 31 pounds 4 oz. He is a big boy. He is totally healthy except for one thing. His testicles have not dropped. So, we are scheduling an ultrasound to see where they are. If they are out of the canal, having him run around a lot will drop them. If they are still in the canal, he will have to have surgery. From the title, you can guess which option we prefer. Apparently this is an issue because if he gets a high fever and they are still up there, he could be rendered sterile.

The past few days have not gone according to plans. I had Sunday off to take Andrew to the pumpkin farm. I picked this day a month ago. Well, it rained heavily on Sat. night and Sunday was bitterly cold out there. With nothing to block the wind, it is colder than in town. The pumpkin farm was dead, the horses weren't even there, and Andrew was not enjoying the bitter wind. So we got our pumpkins and headed home. He was very happy to get a fresh apple from the orchard shop to gnaw on.

Sunday night I started feeling dizzy and went to bed early. Monday I woke up feeling dizzy still, but went into work anyway. I wasn't there 15 minutes before my boss told me I was scaring him and sent me home. It is a rare occasion that he doesn't let me stay to accomplish whatever task I came in for since he knows that I have a 45 mile one way commute. This did allow me to be at Andrew's check up. I asked Dr. Wildman her opinion. She suggested I go home, eat something and lay down. If I still felt off, to call and see a grown up doctor. Went home, fell asleep until 4 pm. No chance of seeing a doctor then. Called into work today and went to see my doctor. He tells me it is probably viral. This is code for I have no clue what is bothering you. He did give me a prescription for something to stop the dizziness. Which is all I really needed. I just need to function at work.

So tomorrow, it will be back to the daily grind.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Best birthday present ever.


So today is my birthday and my boys are returning from Florida today. I have really missed them, although you would think I would enjoy the break from my hectic life. I just end up wandering around the house feeling lost. It is strange to be able to watch normal TV at 7:00 at night. I haven't heard the Bob the Builder song in a week. I miss Andrew telling goodnight. I wake up in the night feeling unsettled.

It was nice to have the bed to myself though. That I did enjoy because I like to sleep diagonally, which can be a problem for anyone sharing a bed with me. I used to kick when I was younger and my mom refused to share a bed with me on road trips. I also used to sleepwalk. I could very well still kick, talk, roll around and steal the covers. Justin hasn't complained lately. As far as I am concerned, it is his problem. I offered the option of twin beds when he was complaining about being abused in the night. It wasn't a big deal to me, as I know that I am a horrible sleeping companion. I also snore like mad, but so does he.

So today they will be home and I am sneaking out of work a little early. I could care less about presents, I am getting the best gift. Seeing my little boy. (I will still accept the gifts though)

Oh yeah and I will be getting 10 more bottles of Pantene.
The sickness knows no special occasions.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

This could be bad for morale.

I know that most of the people who read this won't get this post. But it's my blog and one of my fav soccer teams is in a crisis. I am a huge fan of Chelsea FC (football club), they are the current defending English Premier League Champions. They are my English club, I also support the Chicago Fire and the US Men's National Team. I was addicted to World Cup this summer, I love this sport and can only hope that it takes hold in America.

This past weekend, Chelsea played Reading and in the first 20 seconds our keeper was knocked unconscious from a challenge. He was hit hard and taken off the field unconscious. So, when I get home from the pumpkin farm on Sat and check in for the scores and match report, I see a picture of Petr Cech lying unconscious on the touchline. He is only one of the best, if not THE best, goalkeeper in the world and he will be out for at least 6 months, if not a year. This is not good. He had surgery on his skull, and appears to be doing better. He has regain consciousness. I am glad that he is doing better, but this is a big blow.

To make matters worse, the back up keeper, Carlo Cudicini was knocked unconscious at the very end of the game and while it was not nearly as bad as Petr's injury, he may not be available for the upcoming Champions League match against Barcelona. The most amazing John Terry had to finish the game in goal.

This season is going to be a tough one.
If we can't win this season, please don't let it be ManU.

**Update** - To make matters worse there are reports that Petr was conscious and the referee underestimated his injuries and ordered him to crawl to the sidelines to receive treatment. He barely reached the sideline, before he lost conciousness. If this truly is the case, it is reprehensible. It makes me angry.

Anyone who continues to call soccer players wimps, needs a kick in the head.

Friday, October 13, 2006

It's a sickness, I tell ya.

With this blog being about bargains, I should post about my stockpile. I started my stockpile just a month ago, when I got truly serious about couponing. That is about the time I discovered CVS. Anyone who wants to learn about how this all works can email me. Lisa can attest that it is awesome. CVS ruins you for shopping at other stores. It is easy to develop a CVS addiction. I was going to post a picture of the toothpaste, but Justin is in Florida and has the camera. So, I will have to post pictures later. For now, I will just give you a tally for this week, although the coupons I ordered arrived today, so I may have to stop tomorrow for a few more things.

This week at CVS:

6 boxes of Gas-X (10 ct)
1 Scott Toilet Paper (12 pk)
1 Bic Comfort 3 Advance razors (4ct)
1 Bic Comfort 3 Womens razors (4ct)
3 bottles ACT restore Mouthwash
2 bottles Benefiber chewables (36 ct)
8 Samy haircare products (3 shampoos, 3 conditioners, 1 mousse, 1 curl spray)
18 Garnier Fructis styling products (gels, mousses and creams)
4 bottles Pantene Ice Shine (2 shampoo, 2 conditioner)
4 tubes Colgate Max Fresh toothpaste (6 oz)
4 boxes Playtex Sport tampons
2 tubes Johnson & Johnson soothing vapor cream
1 bottle Johnson & Johnson Calming softwash
2 pks Huggies Pull-Ups
1 Heath bar

Total oop : $22.88 (yes, that is all I spent of my real money)
Total coupons : $72.75
Total ECB spent: $109.28
Total ECB earned: $ 210.85

Now that is what I call shopping. This month the deals are amazing. If you pay attention and use your coupons, you can really save yourself a lot of money. Even make some while you are at it. For those of you who do not know, ECBs are ExtraCareBucks. They are part of the CVS customer loyalty plan and spend like cash at CVS. The program is funded by manufacturers to get people to use their products. Also, for people who don't know this, manufacturer's coupons are reimbursed by the company for the amount plus 0.08 cents. Stores do not lose money on them.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Walgreens again....

Are you sensing a theme?

I usually go to Walgreen's about twice a week. Sometimes more, this month it has been about once a week. That is due to the complete and utter madness at CVS this month. I am there multiple times a week, sometimes multiple times a day. Explanations and tallies will be forthcoming soon, for now we will leave it at a lot of stuff and very little money spent. But on to tonight's topic, Walgreens.

Stopped in for a very specific list and did not stray much. Here's the list:

4 bottles - Theraflu Warming Liquid (like Nyquil) @ 3.99/ea
3 nighttime, 1 daytime
2 pks - Triaminic Thin Strips @ 4.99/ea
1 bx - Playtex Sport tampons @ 4.99
3 pks - Crayola Washable fine tip markers @0.99/ea (clearance)
I had the following:
1 - Instant value coupon for 3.00 off each Theraflu (total -12.00)
1 - Instant value coupon for 3.00 off each Triaminic (total - 6.00)
1 - 2.50 off Playtex tampons
4 - 1.00 off Theraflu
2 - 1.00 off Triaminic

Total before coupons - $33.90
Total coupon savings - $26.50
Total spent - $6.18
Total rebate coming back - $5.49
Total oop - $0.69

Bonus - received a coupon with my receipt (we call them catalinas) for a free 20ct box of tampax pearl tampons (up to 4.75) and a coupon for $2.00 off Vicks Babyrub.

I think tomorrow I might clean out the supply of markers. At 0.99 for crayolas, I can't lose.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Fall

Fall is my favorite season. It's not bone chilling cold or sweltering hot. It is cool and crisp. I love the fall. There is nothing better than a cool day with the sun shining. But fall comes with it's own set of issues. In addition to the 7 day a week grind between my job and the pumpkin farm, this is the time of year when I truly and deeply miss smoking.

For those of you who do not know, I used to be a smoker. I loved smoking. Anytime anyone asked me when I was going to quit, I would answer, "When I find out I am pregnant." You all know about Andrew, so you can safely assume that he is the reason I quit. It basically came down to being a woman of my word. I had to quit, or I would never live it down. Andrew's well being had a lot to do with it, but I knew that I would be harrassed if I didn't do it. We found out about Andrew on May 9, 2004 (Mother's Day) and by the 11th I was smoke free. It sounds terrible, but I finished my pack. Through my pregnancy, I didn't miss it. The smell of cigarettes made me ill. The preganancy really worked for me with this. I didn't have the cravings or the nicotine fits. The hormones masked that. But about 6 months after having Andrew, I started to feel the pull.

I am still a non-smoker 2 and a half years later, but everytime fall comes around, I truly miss it. I am determined not to go back. I don't want to have to go through quitting again with the next kid. I know that I am better off, but I miss it. I dream about it.

Sweet, sweet dreams of nicotine .

Friday, October 06, 2006

The All-Star Hot Dad Band

Listening to XM today and The Police are on. Hearing the Police always reminds me of the band I want to put together. As the title states, it's the All-Star Hot Dad Band. The older I get, the older the crushes and loves of my youth get. Some hold up, like Johnny Depp. Some do not, I am looking at you Corey Haim, yes you. Everyone gets older and some musicans fall apart, *ahem* Jani Lane. Some however acheive what I call "Hot Dad" status. He is in his mid-forties on up , but he still looks really good. Even better if they are weathering a little gray or glasses with style. The line-up is always in flux and we are always taking suggestions, but for now here is where we stand:

Drums - Stewart Copeland (this is why the Police triggers this train of thought)
Bass - Kip Winger (Seriously, he is the total package. looks, brains, sense of humor,talent)
Guitar - ???? I am still auditioning for this position. Warren DeMartini and Ty Tabor are in very serious contention, but I have not seen Warren on TV yet to make a determination.
Vocals/Guitar - Rick Springfield. (First record I ever bought, still have it. Working Class Dog on vinyl) under consideration: Paul Rodgers

I know you are all thinking, but Chris, how could you leave out your number one? The Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar. While I love Sammy and he is the same age as my dad (eh?), I do realize that it might be a personal taste issue and a lot of people might not agree with me. Plus he does not have the "hot dad" glasses that I love.

Your mileage may vary, you might think I am crazy, but that's my list. Ideas are always excepted and encouraged. I am also trying to work out the All Short Guys Band, with Ronnie Dio as front man, and the All Hot Redhead Guys band, because I have a thing for redheads.

So there you have it, the All-Star Hot Dad Band. They could have a standing engagement at my house anytime they want.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

More deals today

I ran to Walgreens tonight at 9:45, they close at 10:00. I wanted to take care of the P & G (Procter and Gamble) rebate this week, while the Infusium was still on sale. I also wanted to get some of the Nesquik on sale. I got:

4 Infusium Leave In treatment @ 5.00 ea.
4 Nesquik chocolate milk 16 oz @ 1.59 ea.
Subtotal=$26.36
1 - 7-day coupon on Nesquik -3.18
4 - 0.50/1 Nesquik coupons -2.00
4 - 3.00/1 Infusium coupons -12.00

Total + tax = $10.71

Plus I get a $10 Walgreens Gift Card back and have 4 of 6 upcs I need on the Nesquik for the free T-shirt.

Net oop: $0.71

Bonus: the girl had trouble with one of my coupons for the Nesquik, she said the computer wouldn't take it. I was hunting for my debit card and wasn't really paying attention. She gave the coupon back to me. Walgreens ought to teach their employees to count. I realized when I got home, that she had alredy scanned it. That's why the register wouldn't take it. So, this weekend, I will have to see if Walgreens wants it back. If not, I can use it with another one I left at home to get the last 2 bottles I need for the T-shirt. It has the Quik rabbit on it, it is totally cute.

Counts and things

So the current toothpaste count is 38.

I know, it's a little nuts. I gave away 3 tubes at work the other day, otherwise it would have been 41. I have almost exhausted the clearance at many CVS stores. 1 or 2 more stops and I may be done with toothpaste for a while. We will see. I have other things to purchase this week, so it may be nice to be done with toothpaste.

My bathroom cabinet is being overrun and I need a new place for a stockpile. I may start using the top shelf of our big bathroom closet, but I have the feeling that I will run out of space soon. I am rolling though and most of this costs me little, if anything out of pocket (oop). You will see this term, so remember it.

Pay day at the pumpkin farm is Friday. So big hooray for that. I got paid for my hair care study on Tuesday. Although that means I won't be driving by the nice new CVS on Golf. Like I don't have enough of them to go to, but the people were nice. This means a lot when you spend 1.94 oop on 4 bottles of Pantene and 3 packs of Kotex. Sometimes, the cashiers act like you are stealing from them just for using coupons. I do love CVS, even the bad ones. I really wish they would build one in DeKalb.

It is nice to see the Christmas fund growing. $80 for the haircare study, 33 from the last pumpkin farm check, 15 from surveys, 20 from Pepsi for rebates, and 3 from Rayovac - rebate.

My Walgreens rebate for September is mailed in and I should receive $47 back from that. I may or may not use that and my stash of gift cards for Christmas.

Update: I stopped on the way home and picked up 4 more full size tubes of toothpaste, plus 4-3pks of trial size toothpaste. So, I guess that ups the previous count. ; )
I also got Andrew a really cute puzzle table for Christmas at Target on clearance for 8 dollars.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Pictures of Andrew


I figure that it is time to introduce you Andrew. He ruined a lot of my clothes (he was the spit up king and formula never comes out), made me quit smoking, tried to feed me poop and makes me laugh daily. We think he's pretty awesome. He is generally a happy little boy.



He is a cool dude.


This next picture is of him in his raincoat. We have had a lot of storms and rain in the last month and he is finally getting some use out it. I should let you know that he is not stoned, it is 5:45 am on a Friday morning and we are about to leave for the babysitter's. He is just half asleep.


Most people have a hard time believing me when I tell them about my 25 lb cat. He is huge!!! This next picture illustrates how much Andrew and Felix love to play, and just how giant my cat is. We joke that he is half cat/half black lab.




Most of the time it is a total blast being parents with a kid like Andrew. He has his moments, I mean come on, he's almost 2, but he is generally a great kid. We teach him weird things and everyone loves them, like...
What does a pirate say? Argh..... (He swings his arm like he's got a sword when he answers)
What does a zombie say? Brains!!! (He throws his arms in the air)

He does the normal ones. Lion, chicken, dog, cat...etc. But the odd ones are the most requested. He is obsessed with Bob the Builder and either basketball or baseball depending on the day.

So there you have it, that's Andrew.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Musings on Music

First a little backstory. Justin works at CompUSA and last year he calls me because they have this great deal on XM satellite radio. The radio was free and we had been talking about possibly getting satellite radio. I was in the don't really care/don't want to add another monthly bill side and he is in the shiny pretty new gadget/deep playlist/commercial free radio side. We talked about it and I wasn't sure if XM was the way to go, I was thinking of Sirius because of Stern and English Premier League Football (GO Chelsea!!!!!!) I thought that this was settled and we were going to wait until the new year.

Guess what I got for Christmas last year, and early to boot. XM. Justin tells me that he was thinking of my commute and the amount of time I spend in my car. I do spend a lot of time on the road, 90 miles a day, so he had a point. Needless to say, I was a little pissed. It felt more like a I want this, but need to figure out an angle to make it seem like it's for my wife kind of gift. Well, flash forward to today. I absolutely love my XM and it makes my drive so much better. It helped that they had World Cup coverage this summer, and for a month, if you got in my car it was non-stop Football. I listen at work online too. Love, love, love it.

Today, I am listening and hear a song called 3 Strange Days by a band called School of Fish. I really like this and will probably buy it from iTunes. I love that XM plays stuff I haven't heard in a while, like The Plimsouls and stuff I have never heard. I have discovered lots of new music on the international pop channel too. It has reminded me how much I really do love music.

I tend to save CD purchases for my birthday and holidays, so that my husband can buy them for me. It is kind of a joke between us that he always buys me CDs. I think it's kind of fun to perpetuate it. You would think with the CD collection we have, I would listen more at home. We passed the 1000 mark and I just can't keep straight what we have anymore. Justin knows though. I went through a period of time where I just kind of forgot that I love music. I have to thank Virgin Radio UK for rekindling my love, with bands like Keane, Snow Patrol, and Damien Rice.

I like the XM because I can expose Andrew to tons of music genres. Sometimes he surprises me with what he reacts to. He loves Mr. Big, Ozzy, in short, hard rock/metal. (No doubt that he is ours.) Then we're in the car and Joy Division comes on. Andrew starts rocking out and I am not sure how to react. On one hand it's cool that he is responding to music, but it's Joy Division. As Justin calls it, music to slit your wrists to. Joy Division can be horribly depressing, but it's got a good beat. I like Joy Division and the surviving members went on to become New Order, who I love. Still, it makes me wonder about my kid. Maybe we should stick to the kids channel for a while.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Waiting for the Great Pumpkin

So it is that time of year again. The time when I set aside my reasoning skills and work myself into the ground in order to finance Christmas. It's pumpkin farm time.

This is my 3rd season, those of you playing the home game will realize that my first season, I was 7 months pregnant. Our financial situation wasn't great at the time, so I was always on the lookout for extra income. I saw an ad in the local paper for Kuiper's and called them up. I told them on the phone I was very pregnant and they asked if I could run a cash register. Of course I can. So that's how I came to work in the "Corn Crib Cafe" @ Kuiper's. What I really liked about it was that it is a seasonal job, about 6 weeks and it's over.

But those 6 weeks are brutal for me. Esp. this year. Last season I only worked Saturdays, it's hard to work 7 days a week without a close babysitter. This year, I am working full weekends. I am not sure what I was thinking, other than Andrew's birthday and Christmas are within a few days of each other. December gets a little expensive. So, starting next week I am working 7 days a week until the end of October. The only exception being Oct. 22nd, because I want to take Andrew to the pumpkin farm. He is going to love the pony rides. My only reprieve is that from October 12-19, Justin and Andrew will be in Florida visiting my dad and stepmom. So, I will be able to veg out or see friends without taking away from time with my boys.

Today was my first full day this season and I am beat. I am fine while I am there running around, but as soon as I get in my car to drive home, it's like I have been beaten with a stick. Being on my feet like that all day is tiring, especially because I have a regular desk job during the week. But it is fun and the people are really nice. Some of the teenagers I work with actually have brains. It is fun to see all the kids running around being kids. I wouldn't go back if it wasn't fun, but man am I tired.

How tired you ask? So tired, that I was glad the coupons I was going to run to the Jewel tonight to use were already expired. I think that says it all.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Guess who's got yogurt

As I said in the first post, I will probably post about the bargains I get when shopping. I like to share the information and help others learn to save money. Eh, who am I kidding, it's brag time.

So today I bought yogurt. The stars aligned and the coupon age of aquarius arrived. (Cue the "Hair" music.) Jewel had the Dannon Lite andFit Crave Control yogurt 2/$4, I checked my Avenu (Jewel's in house coupons) to see if the Crave Control coupon was back in my offers. It was. $1.25 off each, limit 6 per visit. The thing about the Avenu coupons is that you can combine them with manufacturer's coupons. So here is what I did:

6 - Crave Control 4 packs 6@$2.00 = $12.00
6 - Avenue coupons 6@-$1.25 = -$7.50
4 - Manufacturer's coupons 4@-$1.00 = -$4.00

Total cost of yogurt $0.50 plus tax. (A less than $0.10 a 4 pack) So I gave 2 packs to my mom, and have 16 cups of yogurt in my fridge. I am thinking I might want to freeze some, maybe add some fruit and make smoothie popsicles. Not as good as the 10 boxes of Pop Tarts that cost me -$0.75, that's right I made money and got 10 boxes of PopTarts. I gave some of those away too.

Maybe another day we can have a discussion about toothpaste, although it may be when you get a Christmas package from me and it contains a couple of tubes. Current count is 14 tubes and I still have a few months left. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Oh, the things toddlers do...

We are trying to teach Andrew about picking up his toys and cleaning up. One of the things we have worked on and he loves is throwing his dirty diapers in the trash. Another thing he is really into is feeding me things. Fruit snacks, cereal, chicken nuggets. Whatever is handy. Which is okay because he is a good eater and likes to share.

Can anyone see where this is headed?

So tonight he poops, I change his diaper and give it to him to throw away. A few minutes later, he returns and puts his had up to my mouth and says, "Here mama". I am so thankful that I did not just take what he was forcefully trying to shove into my mouth. It was, you guessed it, poop. He has a piece in each hand and is trying to shove one into my mouth.

Needless to say, Justin laughed really hard over this one. (So did I, but not nearly as hard.)

Introductions

Well here I am. I have been meaning to do this for a while, but things have been crazy lately. For those of you who know me, that is nothing new.

I guess I should explain the title to those of you not familiar with me, although it should be easy to understand. I love a good bargain. I have recently stepped up my game and am on my way to being the "crazy coupon lady" I have always aspired to be. When my husband is being nice, he calls me frugal, but we all know that I don't like spending money. If it is not a bill and costs more than $100, we call it a "cashendectomy". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a nice splurge occasionally, it just hurts to do so. You may hear tales of my shopping on here. I have been told that some of my friends would be interested.

So let the fun begin..................