Market Monday

Okay, from now on I'm planning to do my main shopping on Mondays. So here is what is intended to be the first of many Market Mondays. I'm still not convinced we're saving money, but as I total things up, compare prices to what I would have paid at Wal-Mart, and see at the end of the month how our spending match up to previous months, I'm hoping I will be more convinced! Along with my normal grocery shopping, I'm also stocking up for a week-long vacation in August when we will be staying at an extended-stay hotel with my husband's family and we will be feeding ten people each meal. So along with saving money for our household, I've enjoyed the challenge of getting food for vacation for as cheap as possible. My husband's family loves there snack food, soda, and desserts. How nice that those are typically the items you can get the best deals on! (As a side note--this is a matter of great frustration to me. Why is it that junk food, sugar-loaded cereal, and soda frequently have great sales and coupons, while healthy stuff sees fewer sales and even fewer coupons?!) We never buy soda for our home, and we rarely buy junk-food snacks, so any of those that you may see here are most likely for vacation.

So, my first store today was CVS. They had General Mills cereal 3/$10 with $4 ECB. So it made it like 2/$6 --comparable to Publix sale price.
General Mills Cereal - 3/$10
Coupons - $2.05
Spent - $7.95
Got - $4.00 ECB

Then I went to Winn-Dixie to get the meal deal, but changed my mind. I did want to get a $10/$50 print out so I bought two packets of taco season for $1 total--but sadly I didn't get a print out. So that trip was a waste of time and money. :(

Next I went to Publix. Here I struck gold! And may I just say I LOVE Publix customer service! One item I was getting didn't have a BOGO sign on it, so the guy went to check the sale for me and told me to continue my shopping and he'd find me to let me know if it was indeed on sale. When he found me he brought with him 4 bottles of the juice and asked if I wanted any more. I did, but I told him I was fine--I should have let him get me more, because when I went back to get it I had to climb up the shelves to do so! :) Later, as I was ready to check out, my toddler bumped her mouth on the cart and her lip started bleeding. So an employee grabbed a paper towel for her mouth and a sanitary wipe for the finger that my daughter would keep out of her mouth since it now had blood all over it. The employee then asked if I was ready to check out, pulled my cart up to the line, and unloaded all of my groceries for me! And of course when I was done, someone took my things out to the car and put them in the car for me while I got the girls settled in. Where else do you get such great service and still save money?! I still didn't walk away with free groceries, or getting paid to shop, but I still did pretty well I think. Especially since I'm still learning.
This may take me a while to type out as I have a six-month-old assistant in my lap!

6 Mott's Medley Juice - $3.07 BOGO - used $1/1 coupons from Publix Summer Savings
4 Mott's Tott's - $3.07 BOGO
1 Tombstone Pizza (not pictured) - $5.95 - had Q - purchase pizza and dorito's get free Mt. Dew
2 Dorito's - $3.99 BOGO
3 Mt. Dew - $1.57 B2G1 - one free with coupon, paid for one more, got the third free!
2 Almond Breeze - $2.99 - $1/1 Q from Publix flyer, $1/1 MQ
6 Yoplait - $0.50 - $.0.50/6 coupon
4 Nabisco crackers - $4.49 BOGO
6 General Mills Cereal - $4.09 BOGO - coupons
4 Ronzoni pastas - $1.39 BOGO
2 Craisins - $2.25 BOGO
1 Rubbing Alcohol - $1.49 - FREE - Baby Club coupon
.75 lb cherries - $2.36
.60 lb tomatoes - $0.59
1 cantaloupe - $1.99

Merchandise Total = $119.00
MQs = $7.55
Sale Savings = $48.88
Store Qs = $9.49
ECB's = $4.00
RR= $10.00
Total Spent = 39.08
SAVED = 79.92

Not too shabby, I think!

I Did It!

I had a successful Walgreens trip!! It took FOREVER to get through the store, but I made it out alive, and saved money! I sat in the store and made sure I had everything matched up. Then when I got to the register, they told me the one item couldn't be sold because it wasn't in their computer system. So, I had to re-work my purchases and get back in the now very long line. The trip took me about an hour. :( I still forgot my Ziplocks, but I got everything else I went for. So here we go with tonight's endeavor:


Transaction #1:
Sara Lee Bread = 0.99
Pampers = 2.50 - 2.00 coupon = 0.50
John Feida hair products 3/$15 - 7.00 coupons = 8.00

Paid: 10.81 (with tax)
Got: $5.00 RR

Transaction #2:
6 Old Spice body wash @ $4.49/ea
2 Old Spice deodorant @ 4.99/ea
- 4 BOGO coupons

Total: 18.96
Used: 5.00 RR
Paid: 16.73 (with tax)
Got: $10.00

So, to sum up: I got 13 items, spent 27.54 out of pocket, got $15 back in RR, so technically I only spent $12.54. That comes out to $0.96 and item! I'm so excited I finally had a successful trip. Now, I'm hoping to get a $10/$50 coupon from Winn-Dixie Monday so I can go to Publix and get FREE groceries! I can't wait til I can say I got free groceries!

A Bit Better

Last night we did a Publix run since the sale was ending. After a week of trying to figure out what to get here's what I ended up with. I know I still didn't do as well as I probably could have, but I'm trying to remind myself that it may take a few weeks to start seeing a cut in our spendings. Although I wish the results could be immediate!

2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter 40oz - BOGO = 4.49 (after coupon)
3 lb oranges @ .99/lb = 2.96
Almond Breeze = 2.29 (after coupon)
3 Kraft shredded cheese @ 2.0/ez = 6.00
Ritz 12 oz = FREE (with cheese coupon)
4 A&W 12 pack sodas (for vacation) = 10.00

Tax = .75
SPENT = 25.83
SAVED = 18.97

I plan to do with this as I did with my last receipts and compare it to Wal-Mart prices to help me see how much we really saved. I'll keep you posted.

Failed Attempt at Coupon Savings

I have spent over a year trying to get into this couponing madness, and come out frustrated every month that everyone around me is saving $100 or more each month, and each time I try I come out spending more than I normally do! I don't think I have had anything drive me to such great frustration in my life! I'm sick of feeling stupid because I can't do this. So each month I determine to do it, and each month I fail. This month was no different. I spent FOUR days trying to put together a shopping list with coupon matchups--and I used all of the helpful sites. I have been a neglectful mother the last few days as I set my kids aside to try to put together a list. Today I got sick of ham and rice (what we've been eating every day for the last month), and we've had not breakfast or lunch foods for a few days. Pay day came, and I decided coupons or not, I have to get groceries. Well, the girls threw a kink in our plans, so I only made it to Wal-Greens and Publix for the bare necessities, and still failed! In the end I forgot milk and bread which were two of the main necessities we needed. I was so much more mentally stable in my shopping when I wasn't trying to bend over backwards to have a coupon for everything and only buy with sales.
So, one thing I can join the club on: I did take pictures of my venture. This will be my first time posting pictures on my blog, so we'll see if I get it right.



So, Publix: Kellogg's cereal BOGO. Cereal was $4.09/box, had $3.50 in coupons, got 8 boxes. Spent $12.86, saved $19.86 at Publix. I stress that I saved that much at that store, and on store brand, because this still came out to an average of $.012 an ounce. That's approximately the same as what I spend on the gigantic bags of Malt-o-Meal at Wal-Mart. So I really didn't save any money, and got a head ache doing it.


Wal-Greens: This was my first attempt at using RR and doing multiple transactions. Didn't pan out as well as I would have liked because I wasn't able to get all of my q's printed. Then due to a mess up with the first transaction, my q didn't get processed for the Pantene, but I didn't notice that until I got home.
Transaction #1: Pantene 2/$8 w/ $2 RR (should have had a $1/2 q attached) = $8.60
Transaction#2: Nivea Men's Bodaywash BOGO ($4.99) and Dial Men's Bodywash BOGO ($5.99) Had a $3/1 q for Nivea and $1.50/2 for Dial. Minus $2 RR from first transaction = $5.31

Not as good as I was hoping, but I guess not the end of the world. Comes to $3.16 per item.

DH is at Wal-Mart now picking up all of the true necessities that had to be neglected because of tired and hungry babies. He's going to check WM prices and see how much I really saved. Considering the time I put into this, not enough.

I hate the quitter attitude I've developed toward this, but I also had the frustration that radiates my entire being when I attempt to make this work.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary! SO hard to believe. Last week I watched graduates walking all over campus and realized that I could have finished a whole other degree by now (if I'd wanted to!). Now I sit here and think, I'm working on another degree: life. I LOVE what I do. I miss working in the real world and having interaction with adults, but as I converse with other moms who work out of the home I realize that is more worth sacrificing worldly goods than sacrificing my children and my family.
I am so thankful that the Lord brought us together. We were just discussing this a few nights ago. Many people thought we were an oddly matched, and even a poorly matched couple. It brings to mind the Shania Twain song, "You're Still the One." When we first met, Nathanael and I were still trying to find ourselves, I guess you could say. We both came from different backgrounds, and came to a college that had, perhaps, some different teachings than we were familiar with. So we were still trying to find what we believed for ourselves, and not just because that's what we'd heard our whole lives, but trying to decide what our own convictions were. Somewhere along the road of "just friends," "dating," "just friends," and "no, we're dating again," we began to come to conclusions on these convictions together. Naturally, there are still things we are learning, and as each new stage come with our children there are new guidelines and convictions that we have to take into consideration and establish for our family.
I am thankful for the conservative, level-headed, common-sense husband God gave me. There hasn't been much that we've disagreed on in the last four years, and the few things we did were usually because I needed an attitude adjustment about something. I'm thankful for a man who is willing to allow me to stay home with our children, even though that has meant many sacrifices on our part...something we are still learning to do. I'm thankful for the philosophy on family-raising that my husband has. I'm very thankful for a man who agrees with and is very supportive of my birthing philosophy and who has been a phenomenal pre-natal, labor and delivery, and post-natal support person...who needs a doula! :) I'm thankful for someone who, as much as he hates to read, is willing to read books or articles that I find that can be helpful guides for us in training our children and nurturing our family. I'm thankful for a man who is willing to take a day off work so that I can have a "day off." Yes, I'm still a mom, but instead of doing housework today, I'm sitting on the computer updating pictures on Shutterfly, updating my blog, getting caught up on other blogs, snooping out deals and giveaways, looking through sales ads and coupons, and will hopefully do some other "detail" things that I never seem to get done with the girls around.
We definitely still have much growing to do and many lessons to learn. But isn't that just a part of growing old? And isn't that just one of the reasons you get married--so that you have someone to grow old with?!

We live across the street from a public elementary school. The were doing their annual carnival today, and Monkey was SO excited about the "party" going on. She watched the tents go up, the bounce house getting blown up, and the firetruck pull up. She couldn't wait to go across the street, but we had to wait for Froggy to wake up and eat her lunch.
While Froggy was napping, I took Monkey outside to play. At one point they stopped the festivities across the street for their official kick-off with the Star Spangled Banner. I made Monkey come stand in front of me and put her hand on her heart. She thought this was fun for the first few measures of the song, but then wanted to play again. I made her continue to stand there. At one point she started getting really fussy about it, and I told her, "Mommy's not punishing you, she's teaching you. This is a special song, and we need to stand still and listen." So, in the end, I wasn't too respectful because I spent most of the time correcting my child. But she'll learn. :) She's also been potty training the last few days, so about every five minutes while we were out there, she told me she had to go potty, but she didn't want to come inside. She finally did come in and go. She's doing SO well with it. I've been very impressed with her!
Well, Froggy finally woke up and ate. So, with Monkey on her monkey leash, and Froggy in the Moby, we headed across the street. We went straight to the firetruck. Monkey climbed up in the firetruck and just stood there. She didn't know what to do, but she didn't want back down either. While standing there, I mentioned that we live just across the street and that she'd been watching their truck all morning. The youngest fireman asked which house I lived in, and then said that he'd had a call at that house about a year ago. He even remembered that I had been pregnant with Froggy at the time. Here's what happened as best as I can remember:
Around 8:00 one night, Monkey wanted to go outside to watch Daddy fix the car, so I went out with her to keep her from being too helpful. I was only outside for a few minutes before I realized I was getting bit on my feet. I looked down to find an ant crawling all over my foot...the same foot that was swollen last weekend from and bites. Well, this time, I was bit multiple times on both feet. Tired of being eaten alive, I left Farm Boy to fend for himself against the car, and against Monkey.
Around 8:15, I brought Monkey in, changed her, nursed her, and put her to bed. By the time I finished feeding her, my entire body itched and I had hives everywhere. I took some children's Benedryl and didn't feel any better. Unable to reach my doctor through the emergency line, I called my neighbor who is an RN and who also has multiple allergies herself. By that time, by breathing was becoming very restricted as well. She told us to call 911 if I was having difficulty breathing.
So, around 8:45 we called 911. The volunteer EMTs arrived first and put me on oxygen. The ambulance was coming from about twenty minutes away, so we waited a while for them to arrive. By the time they arrived, I was beginning to lose consciousness. After they hooked me up to some wires, they finally got me to the ambulance, hooked me up to an IV, and gave me an epi shot. By 9:30 we were pulling away from my house. At this point, I decided I am not a fan of GPS systems. Rather than taking the interstate, we took an extremely long route, and hit every red light on the way. We arrived to the ER just after 10:00.
During this whole time, I was also having contractions. (I guess I should mention here that I was 4 1/2 months pregnant with Froggy.) So, after switching from the ambulance equipment to the hospital equipment, we got a nurse from Labor and Delivery to check the baby's heart rate, and all was well. By 12:45 I was discharged from the hospital.
Many times since that night I've wished I could thank the people who saved my life. I remember thanking the EMT on the ambulance, but by that point I was stabilized. I had another opportunity one day when the volunteer department called asking for donations. Sadly, because of the ridiculous charges for the ambulance and ER visit, I had not money to donate to the ones who actually saved my life. It was an amazing thing to me to meet today one of the first responders from that night. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't know what to say. And then all I could say was thank you. I felt like an idiot. Standing before me was a man who had helped save my life, and all I could think to say was thank you. It seemed so inadequate. But what else could I say? It made me want to come home and bake him a whole batch of cookies! As we were walking away, I told Monkey that that man had saved Mommy's life. I never saw the faces of any of the responders that night except for the lady EMT on the ambulance. Today I was able to put a face to one of my many unseen heroes. And I want to say, "Thank you."

Dairy Denied

Well, as I think I've mentioned before, Monkey has multiple food allergies. We took her to the rheumatologist to have blood work done to see if her sensitivities have changed. We were excited to learn that the numbers were lower for dairy! So he instructed us on how to conduct a food challenge at home. Well, she passed the initial test--no severe, life-threatening reaction. However, she still broke out in a rash on her chest and back, as well as blistering in her diaper area. So we waited two weeks and tried again this weekend. Again, the same reaction. So the decision now is left up to us. If we feel it's worth the rash, we may feed her dairy. We've pretty much adjusted to a dairy-free diet anyway, so we're going to keep her mainly dairy-free. As this is still considered an allergy, we are still marking noting that she is allergic to dairy. I'd rather be around any time she has it just in case the allergy should get worse, which is always a possibility.
Her count was also lower on egg, but still high enough that the doctor wants to do that food challenge in the office. Honestly, living without eggs has only been a problem in the area of mayonnaise. I love mayo, but other than that, we're not big on eggs anyway. So, I'm setting that one aside just because I don't feel like paying for another doctor appointment--especially one that may cause her to have an allergic reaction to something.
So there is some good in this, I don't have to freak out if she gets hold of dairy. But I still can't go back to using cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, or cream cheese in everything. :)