Deals of the Week!

This was a big deals of the week.

My tip of the week is that you don't have to get the sunday newspaper to get deals. I got all my powerade coupons and haagan daas coupons from 7-11. They just had them on the fridge door. I still have 16 haagan daas coupons left to get free ice cream and I think at least another 4 coupons for powerade to get them at that price. You just don't buy those products at 7-11. Go to your grocery store do use them as they are cheaper there.

Free:
11 deoderants (I'm done getting deoderant now. They do expire)
9 Haagan Daas Ice Cream Cups
Snickers
Twix
15 boxes of pop tarts
2 boxes of Fruit Loops (the kids eat them as snack at church)
2 dove face bars
4 gold bond powder

Good Deal:
8 boxes of Fruit Loops - .50$
25+ bottles of Powerade - .30$
Hand Soap - .20$
6 Purex Detergent - $1
Ragu - .35$ (sorry Cheetah, we're not all authentic :) )

And I'm at a loss for the rest of my purchases. I will say that the lady behind me at Safeway today told me I was her hero. I'm glad she's setting the bar high. Although my bill did come to 65$ and I paid $3.55

Like Mother Like Children

Every since I can remember I have fidgeted uncontrollably while on the phone. I usually walk around the house with the phone to my ear. But...if I must sit down while chatting my hands are busy doodling, ripping paper or fulfilling other unproductive projects.

Yesterday Lster got the phone and asked to call his Grandma. I let him and even let him be the first to talk (a very important honor in our house). The moment the words "Hello Grandma" left his mouth he was off. Literally. He spent the entire conversation walking in circles in our living room.

Mster does exactly the same thing. As soon as she gets the phone she takes off to go pace the house and do laps in our living room.

I think its hilarious. It drove my dad crazy when I did it as a teenager and it kind of drives me crazy when they do it but there is nothing I can do about it but laugh and laugh.

Ice and a Positive Attitude

We have never had good ice in our freezer. It tasted bad and couldn't be used in any drink, flavored or not. Over the last few months we've noticed a significant decrease in our fridge's ability to keep things cold. I tried everything I could think of to avoid calling a repair man but alas on Monday I broke down and called a guy to come make my milk cold.

He came. He fixed. He didn't charge us an arm and a leg and magically we have ice that doesn't taste horrible. Its the best bonus EVER. Now instead of leaving glasses of water all over the house half drunk I can leave half glasses of ice water all over the house half drunk.

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Lster has a morning problem. He likes them. No matter what time I put him to bed he wakes up anywhere between 5:15 and 5:45AM. The other day he didn't come get me till 5:50 and I thought I was in heaven. Now most people know that I usually put my kids to bed early. Really early. They don't feel like I should complain because if I put them to bed when every other kid in the world sleeps they wouldn't wake up with the sun. I've tested it and it doesn't work. We arrived after 8 hours of driving (and Lster waking up at 5:30AM) at our friends house at 9pm. the kids didn't get to bed till past 10pm and he was still up before 6AM. He hadn't even napped in the car. Then that whole week he went to bed later than normal and every morning he was up bright and early ready to start his day (and mine). And if something fun is happening we prolong bedtime only to find he wakes up early the next morning and is grumpy all day.

This is slightly frustrating. This morning my kids were both up and yelling and crying and slamming doors at 5:40AM. I'm really trying to find a way to have a good attitude today. Its already been a long morning.

Cereal Anybody?

I probably should have taken a picture of my trunk. One of my local grocery stores was having a deal on a variety of cereal that we actually eat and is a good size box for $1.75/box. It just so happened that I have about 60 coupons for a dollar off all those cereals too. So I just bought over 20 boxes of cereal for .75$ each.

I brought my sister-in-law with me to help out since you could only buy 8 boxes a transaction and I'm going to admit that I was really tempted to fill our carts one more time and buy 16 more. But I didn't.

I guess we'll have to make do with what we have.

One year older and wiser too...

This week I turn as many weeks pregnant as how old I am. Right now I'm wishing I was a little older.

Last week I swore off all things free and cheap and couponny. I caved one day and went to a store I hate just because it was a really good deal and it turned out that they were out of stock and there was crap on the floor. By crap I mean poop. I still hate that store and wished I listened to my inner swearing off self.

This week I have to buy some stuff for our vacation next week and so I actually checked out deals and started doing some shopping. I didn't do too much because the next weeks grocery ads come out tomorrow and I'm really buying for next week anyway.

But...

Free:
2 chocolate bars
2 pineapples
1 travel first aid kit
1 travel size contact solution
1 box Kelloggs Crackers
2 Glade Candle Tins (well they were .15$ each)

Budding Biologist

Mster enjoys drawing on tissues with markers. She then gives them to me so I can have something pretty when I need to blow my nose.

Today she handed me her latest creation and announced it was a butterdeer. She explained that its what you get when you put a butterfly and deer together.

Deals of the Week

Free:
**16 Dove Facial Towellette cleaners (travel size) - she doesn't know it but I'm giving some to my mother in law for her upcoming camping trip. I'm also going to let Mster use them to wash her face since I'm sick of the wadded up face clothes in the sink.
**7 Oral B Toothbrushes

I had another week of not using too many coupons. In fact, for my main grocery run I only used 7 (all for the toothbrushes) and the rest was just me shopping what was on sale at that store. I knew we needed fruit and veggies so I picked the ones that were the best deals. Usually when I do this I get a variety every week since it differs.

I spent $30 and saved 40% (toothbrushes not included) and got:
7 toothbrushes (look to the end of the post for that story)
4 lb strawberries
10 Kiwis
7 apples
3 green peppers
2 lbs of carrots
2 cucumbers
3 tomatos
2 - 1lb lunch meat
18lb bag of charcoal
3 dozen eggs

I guess I do have to admit that I spent 135$ this week at Costco. It was mostly stock up stuff that was on sale and I can't remember the last time I spent over $100 but it still hurt to punch in my pin on that one.

The Toothbrush Story
I've been waiting and waiting for toothbrushes to go on sale because I had a .75$ off coupon and I knew that one of the stores would have them on sale for a $1. And it happened. (It usually does the week the coupon expires and mine were for 5/31). So I had over 12 of these coupons and my neighbors also had a ton too. One of them stayed home and watched kids (they took "sand baths" and are filthy and very happy) while 2 of us went shopping with all of our coupons pooled. I also had to do my regular grocery shopping so I gave my toothbrush coupons to my friend and she went off to go buy them. This store only allows 3 coupons per item so it can take awhile. She went to the self scanner, scanned 3, gave the coupons to the checker and paid the tax, repeat 7 times while I went to go pay for my groceries. We divided the toothbrushes up afterward. This was so smart. We were in and out of the store so fast. We got everything we needed. We had no kids and we all got a ton of free toothbrushes. And the kids had way more fun playing with their freinds then shopping with me. Friends are great.

Princesses

"True princesses are magical." - Mster explaining how princesses can come back from the dead to her friend today.

(PS - The end of princesses, blogged earlier, was shortlived)

A good Mom

This past weekend a girl Mster's age was eating fruit snacks outside. One of them, unbeknownst to her, dropped on the grass. I let her know and she promptly picked it up and gave it to her mom.

This morning Lster ate a cookie out of the garbage.

I Love my New Shirts

A friend of mine recently told me about a company called Downeast Outfitters. I'll post a link later. They are having a bunch of stuff on online clearance right now and have a maternity section too. The thing that is GREAT about this company is that all their shirts are SUPER long. I hate shirts that ride up and show your stomach and back and I think pants are being made lower and lower and that is not a good match. But these shirts looked awesome and they came highly recommended and ranged from $5-$10.

I sadly realized that I'm a little chicken to buy some clothes online and deal with returning them if they aren't what I want but I found out they have stores in Utah and so I went to day and I LOVE THESE shirts. They rock. They were having a special in the store too...buy 2 shirts get a pink one for $2. So I ended up getting 4 shirts (1 maternity, they are that long that they work for me) and the $2 one was a super cute cami with a lace bottom.

Check it out online.

Sister Burrito

Lster has taken to calling me "Sister Burrito*" I'm not kidding. Mster tried called me Squishy at this age but I stopped that right away. Lster is determined.

"Um...Sister Burrito...can I have a drink?"

He gets the Sister because we call each other Brother and Sister at Church instead of Mr. and Mrs. so all the kids that come over call me Sister Burrito.

Today on the way home from the park he called me "Squishy". I finally put my foot down and said "Stop it Lster. My name is Mommy. You can not call me Squishy." His response? "Um...Sister Burrito..."

This is no joke but its stinking hilarious and I can't stop laughing. But I'm trying to curb the laughter so as not to encourage. Oh my.



*and by "Burrito" I mean my real last name.

Weekend Deals

I can't find the link but I've head that Old Navy is selling their solid color flip flops for 1$ this Saturday. My favorite reebox flip flops broke this week and I really want a good pair. I'm sure these ones are the cheapo plastic kind but I might consider getting some just to tide me over till I get the more sporty kinds that I like.

Apparently Krispy Kreme is selling a dozen glazed donuts for 99 cents on Saturday too. I'm not a super fan of Krispy Kreme but I know some people LOVE them.

And for my Canadian readers I don't know if this is USA only. Sorry.

Deals of the Week!

Free Stuff
12 packs of Mentos Gum
8 boxes of Johnsons Bath Buddies (my new favorite bath product that may just get a post all on its own) - bars of soap covered in nylon material so that they don't slip out of 4 year old hands.

This week (although its only Monday) I decided that the sales weren't super great and so I was going to go to one (1) store and do all my shopping there.

I was still pretty shocked and impressed with my purchases and the money I paid at my one store for the week trip. It goes to show that you don't necessarily need coupons to be a frugal shopper. I only had coupons for 3 items (crackers, gum and cereal) this week.

Total Bill (incl tax) : 26.14

3 boxes of Kix
2 italain sausage rolls
celery
3 tomatos
1 cantaloupe
2 cucumbers
2 lbs of cherries
red/yellow/green pepper
5 boxes of wheat thins (garden sensations are Lsters and my favorite)
12 packs of Menthos gum
4 lbs of grapes

On a going green and being frugal note most grocery stores will give 5 cents per plastic bag you don't use in their store. It doesn't even have to be one of those reusable bags that you use. You can bring in your own plastic bag. 2 weeks ago there was a grand opening of a grocery store and they had reusable bags for 50 cents each. I bought a bunch and finally ditched most of my plastic bags in the recycle bin. I've already gotten credit for using them 12 times so I've gotten 60 cents off my bill in 2 weeks. That's the cost of one bag. And I don't have to feel guilty about using the plastic ones anymore.

I did however need a plastic bag on the way home to throw up in so I'm not completely green yet. :)

Things that make me happy, mad and sad

It makes me laugh that my sister-in-law assumed that because I didn't post an update to "Freaking Out" I'm okay. It is true. We are fine and nothing happened but it still makes me laugh.

What doesn't make me laugh is that a church building in her stake burnt down this morning during stake conference. That's sad.

It makes me laugh that Lster can only distinguish between 3 emotions: happy, sad and mad.

It makes me mad when I can't get internet in my bedroom.

Freaking Out!

I'm sitting here trying to figure out if I'm a criminal.

Our area has had wicked wind storms this winter/spring. Everything has gotten blown everywhere. We lost our garbage cans on one of those days. We also gained a plastic pool. One day a blue plastic pool showed up in our backyard after an extremely large bout of wind. I thought about it for a few days. What should I do with it? I wasn't going to lug it to all my neighbors and ask if it was theirs. That's a long walk (if you knew our house placement situation). I thought it kind of silly to post signs and if so where? On their doors? On lampposts? There weren't really that many options. And my indecision led to doing nothing and months went by. Eventually the weather warmed up and my kids started playing in the backyard and that pool became an important part of all things play. They filled it with rocks. They filled it with water. They filled it with everything. And it got holes. Lots and lots of holes. Last weekend Cster tried to throw it out when we were doing yard work but I wasn't ready to get rid of it yet. The kids played with it a lot.

Then tonight happened.

I'm sitting alone minding my own business when our backyard neighbors are clearly throwing a party. Cster is out golfing and the kids are asleep. Last summer they had a couple of big parties and it wasn't every weekend so I didn't think much of it. But the noise seemed to be getting louder and louder. I peaked out my back window and noticed 2 kids in my backyard right by the blue pool. I went downstairs and opened the back door and asked what they were doing. That is when I noticed 2 other kids up on the fence (between the 2 yards) and an adult male holding them up. They replied that they were getting their pool back. They saw Lster playing with the pool (had to be days ago) and they wanted it back. I apologized profusely. Explained that it blew in months ago and I didn't know who it belonged to and of course they could have it back. I showed them where the holes were and helped them carry it to the fence. At that point I came into contact with the adult male. If by contact you mean we were in close proximity to each other. He told the kids he was holding up he had to put them down. I then proceeded to repeat myself and apologize profusely while hoisting the pool over the fence. The man didn't look at me. He didn't speak to me. He didn't acknowledge my presense at all.

And now I'm kind of freaked out because I'm alone and pregnant and they are still really loud and there are a lot of people over there drinking and who knows what is going to happen in a few hours when they decide they are really pissed off that there are holes in the pool and they decide to do something in a drunken stupor. Why didn't they come get the pool when they saw it originally?

I feel like a criminal.

PS - Our calling 911 count in St. Louis was like 3 times. Our calling 911 count here has been 0 and I'd really like to keep it that way.

Actually...

Mster likes to argue everything. Unless she REALLY REALLY wants to do something she will argue a discussion until I finally scream. She used to preface everything I said with "actually".

Me: Here's your water.
Mster: Actually, I want milk

Me: Time to get in the car.
Mster: Actually, I want to play with my friend.

And the list goes on. But now she has dropped the preface and doesn't always use actually.

But...Lster has.

He just doesn't use it in exactly the same argumentative way.

Me: Do you want some water?
Lster: aaaacccttuualeeeeeee...yes.

Me: Go get me a diaper?
LSter: aaaacccttualeeeeee...no.

He draws out actually for as long as possible and I never know if he's going to say yes or no. So I have to wait for the answer to come.

Actually, its slightly annoying and cute at the same time.

Mud Fight!

Mster got a little dirty on Saturday. Instead of telling her get out of the mud we decided to let her go all out. Then Cster got involved and, if possible, she got dirtier.

Before Daddy

After Daddy

Lster loves his songs

Whenever Lster sees me on the computer he climbs up onto my lap and tells me he wants to hear songs.

He wants to hear himself sing the alphabet.

Deals of the Week

I didn't write one for last week but I did get a lot of free stuff and handed out a lot of free stuff too. One can only keep so much before it goes bad.

Free:
7 bottles of Kraft BBQ dressing
Wrigleys Gum
2 Vitamin Waters
5 bags of Snyders Pretzels
Colgate Toothbrush
1 lb strawberries

Good Deals:
3 colgate toothpaste (.25$)
12 bottles Kraft Salad Dressing ($.08)
Listerine - big bottle ($2)
Pasta - ww & reg. ($.77)

Odd Article about Twilight

I read this article today about the Twilight movie series. Apparently a hairdresser in St. Louis found some of the "top secret" scripts in the garbage can and returned them to the studio.

Umm...the movies are based on books...the story shouldn't be a surprize. We all know about the werewolves and we all know how it ends.