Grocery Bargains of the Week...

I found a few bargains tonight when I went to Homeland and Walgreens. I have learned to look online for printable coupons, in the Sunday paper and couple them with store coupons or "double" coupons. It takes a little time to do the research but it's worth it - and I think it's pretty fun! If anyone is interested in the particulars of any of these deals, let me know!


Homeland Finds:

Juicy Juice - 2 packages for $1.59 (.80 cents each)
Crystal Light - .99
Classico Sauce - 2 jars for $1.29 (.65 cents each)
Lunchable - FREE
Kool-Aid Fun Fizz - 2 packages for $1.00 (.50 each)
TOTAL: $4.87 plus tax!!

Walgreens Finds:

Suave Deodorant - .50 cents each

Dove Deodorant - $1.50 each

Dove Body Spray - $2.00 each

Betty Crocker Warm Delights - .25cents

Bic Razor - $1.99

TOTAL: $12.32 after I used my coupons, Walgreens coupons and my Register Rewards!!

A Crafty Afternoon...

So, Stef and I have discovered another SUPER FUN crafty project from one of our new favorite blogs - Sugar Pie Farmhouse. (There is a link under the blogs I follow). We have recently made purchases of Chalk Ink and chalkboard paint. Check out her blog here http://lifeatthetriplep.blogspot.com/ to see her projects. I haven't used the chalk paint yet - I bought a small blackboard and I already had one. I bought the chalk markers from Hobby Lobby this morning with my 40% off coupon.
These markers are really cute and work WAY better than chalk. They are chalk, though. They will wash off with a damp towel. I wrote an Easter message on my Southern Living chalkboard and I made a little board for the girls room. Then, I just used some cute ribbon I found at 50% off to spruce up a couple of containers to make them cuter. It's just so much easier to find the time to do fun crafts....if I could just find the time to clean the toilets! ;)

(The chalk is actually very vibrant - as you can tell from the smaller board I did. My flash dulled the colors of my bigger board.)

A New Recipe for Dinner....

I made a new recipe for dinner tonight called "Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie." It was found on a blog I was recently introduced to by my bff Stefanie.

Sugar Pie Farmhouse

This is the blog. I started reading it yesterday and found all kinds of neato information!! The author of the blog lives in the Ozarks and has created a very neat blog. I really enjoy reading it. Well, on the recipe section I found the Hillbilly Spaghetti recipe http://www.sugarpiefarmhouse.com/recipes You have to scroll down to the second recipe. It was really good and it made a LOT!! So we have plenty of leftovers!!

My Little Sleepy Head...

This NEVER happens...my Philip never falls asleep while playing or eating or doing anything. I tried for almost 2 hours today to get him to take a nap. No Can Do!! This boy is usually a very good napper. Anyway, I let him stay up. Around 5:00 I put him in his chair, turned on Elmo and gave him a snack. About 20 minutes later, this is what I found!! :) Too cute!

Okay girls...if you don't use coupons, you really must reconsider!! I have been using coupons for several years now. I'm not an expert by any means - I don't have the folder thing with all of the dividers. I don't show circular ads from one store at another one just to get a cheaper price. But I DO watch the circulars and try to use my coupons for items that are on sale when I can. And JUST YESTERDAY I learned that you can double your coupons (up to $1.00) at Homeland. Why didn't I realize this before? Anyway...so, with my new knowledge and my coupons I made a solo trip to Homeland after dinner. All I really needed were apples and carrots but I was able to find several other items and use my coupons. This is pretty good for a trip "on the fly" without any time to really study the circular. I use websites to help me, like http://www.simplesavingsavvy.net/ to find ways to use my coupons to get the most for my money. Plus, they post printable coupons on that website you can use too.

So...here was my great deal for tonight....

I got ALL of the groceries in this picture for only $15.53!!!! Yep!! I was so proud of myself.

Homeland had a special - 5 boxes of select Kelloggs cereal for $12.00. They had a $5.00 off coupon if you have their little Homeland card. THEN, I had two different manu. coupons for $1.00 off the cereal. So, doubled, that meant a total of $4.00 off. Which translates to 5 boxes of namebrand cereal for $3.00 or .60 cents a box!!!! AWESOME!!

Then...I got the Crystal Light for free. It was on sale for $2.00 and I had a manuf. coupon for $1.00 off...when that was doubled, it meant FREE!!

The Oscar Meyer lunchable was on sale for $2.00. With my $1.00 manuf. coupon that was doubled, that means FREE for me!!

I got the Cape Cod chips for .90 cents!!!

The other stuff was just on sale and I needed it and I didn't have a coupon. The Tummie Yummie juices are for the kids. On Tuesdays on our way to bible study I buy them one. The gas station charges .99 each. They were only .69 each at homeland.

So, I just thought I would share my deals for the day. OH YEA!! Before I forget...there is an awesome deal at Target right now. They have the game Connect 4 on sale for $7.00. There are $4.00 off coupons on this website www.playsaver.com making the games only $3.00!!!

Also, on this website you can print several other toy coupons. There is one for "Buy One Get One Free" on My Little Ponies. They are about $4.99 each - so two for the price of one!!

Even if you dont' need these toys, they are great for your gift closet for last minute birthday parties or for donating at Christmas time!

Have fun saving some $$$ !!

A Blustery First Day of Spring...

Wouldn't you know that with Oklahoma's bipolar weather we'd have a snow storm on the first day of winter??? I don't know about anyone else but this feels like the loooongest winter ever!! I'll be so happy when Mr. Sunshine decides to stay out for good and we're watching the weather for signs of tornadoes instead of signs of arctic freezes!! Well, I used the weather as an excuse to make my very first pot o' beans. Ever! Yep, my parents made these all the time when I was a kid - and I complained every single time they made them. But now, my taste buds have decided they actually like beans. So, with my friend Kelly's help (and her recipe) I ventured into the cooking of beans. They turned out pretty good -for my first time. I should've put in more bacon and a little more garlic salt. They didn't have enough "flavor" for me. But we still thought they were good!!


The beans...presoak...

Ready to soak for a while...

The secret...mash up about a cup...

My final product...with a 'tater!

Matt thought they were pretty good!!

Oh, and Susanna found her 'ga-ga' (her blankie) that she had left outside a day earlier when it was nice and sunny....poor gaga...the thing was a popsicle!!

It's a Girl!

Well...it's official...we're having a girl!! Matt and I went for my ultrasound today. Since I'm 35, I had the option of doing the "high risk" ultrasound this time and it would be paid for by my insurance. So, I decided to go ahead. For some reason, I've been really nervous about this pregnancy...maybe b/c everyone talks about all of the "worst case scenarios" when you're "high risk" or 35!! When we first went in the first person we talked to was a genetic counselor who ask us questions about our family histories. I was so nervous I was almost in tears. She was perfect, though. Just the right amount of good attitude and positivity that she really helped me feel much less nervous. So, next we went in and got to see the baby on a big fat flat screen t.v. The ultrasounds we've always had before in my regular OB's office were on a machine that looks to be as old as I am!! So, the quality wasn't as quite as....sophisticated. So, the ultrasound started and everything went well. She ask us if we wanted to know the gender and of course we said yes. She told us it was a girl and then showed us a picture (see below). I must say, I was actually a bit surprised. For some reason, I've been "feeling" like this was going to be a boy. It would've been fun for Philip to have a brother. But I'm super excited about having a girl. Susanna told me several weeks ago that God told her that my baby was going to be a girl - guess she was right! :) So, the ultrasound progressed and then the doctor came in and looked at everything. He explained to us the things they look for in genetic anomalies during an ultrasound...how many bones in the pinky, the space b/w the big toe and the one right next to it...and several others. Fortunately, he said he didn't see anything that would lead him to believe there are any genetic problems with this baby. The heart and all the organs looked great. I was SO RELIEVED to hear this news!! They even let me see 4D views of the baby - which was cool b/c I've never had any ultraounds like that with any of the other kids. I was even able to record the ultrasound onto a DVD.
So...we're having a girl. Now I know how to shop. And now we get to think of a name...we haven't really talked about any names. We always wait to see what the gender of the baby is before we start tossing around names.

Here are some pictures...they said she weighs about 10 ounces, that I'm measuring right along with my due date and that I am 18 weeks and 6 days along right now. August 12th...here we come!!

An Early Easter Party!!

We had our annual Easter Party today with our playgroup friends! We had to have it early this year b/c Spring Break was the only time that all of the big kiddos would be able to join. It was a little cool outside, but thankfully it was dry. The kids didn't seem to mind at all! We had a delicious lunch - baked potatoes, cornbread muffins and beans!! (K was an awesome hostess!) This was a record playgroup for us - we had more kids and moms than any other playgroup we've had before. The kids all had so much fun playing together - it's been so long since they've all been able to see each other. And of course, they LOVED all the eggs filled with candy. Philip got the hang of it early and found lots of eggs. We came home with plenty of candy.

A Trip to the Wichitas!

We woke up this morning and Matt had the idea to drive to the Wichita Mountains. So, we packed up a lunch and were out the door by 0900! The kids were super excited to be going to "the mountains"! We were blessed with a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the air was warm and the wind was only bad at the top of Mount Scott - not too bad anywhere else. This was the first time either the kids or myself have been up to the top of Mount Scott (that I could remember). The view was beautiful!! It was way too windy to have our picnic there, so we just walked around and took some pictures. Then we found a fun place to have our picnic lunch that wasn't windy! But there were way too many flies - perhaps b/c of all the buffalo poo! (And poor Philip - he didn't realize it was shoo-shoo and of course picked it up several times to throw it.) We fed the prairie dogs and went to the visitor center before our trip back home. Super fun day trip!!

A Trip For Mommy and Daddy!

We were lucky enough to have the chance to take a trip last weekend without our kiddos. They stayed the night with Grandma and Grandpa while we went to Quartz Mountain. We stayed at the Quartz Mountain Resort Lodge. It was SO nice and very cheap. (our room was only $59!!) We ate dinner and breakfast in the Lodge restauarant b/c it was too far to drive to town - and it was really good. We had a great time just relaxing and spending some much needed quiet time together. It's so nice to be able to talk like two adults and not have to talk in small phrases in between and over the kiddos voices :) We surely were happy to see them, though, at the end of our little trip. Being away from them overnight really made me miss them!!