Trying to be like my husband

On Wed. of last week, we celebrated Ash Wednesday at church. As we began preparing our hearts and minds for the lent season, my husband asked what I would be giving up this year. Usually I look at my life and pick something that I could give up without too much physical/mental bearing. I've done pop, shopping (window shopping- great for staying frugal!), t.v., movies etc.

This year, in response to a book I am reading, I decided to give up more of myself... my Time. In looking at my day, I don't spend a lot of time watching t.v., shopping, drinking caffeine or doing anything that would really be considered a sacrifice. The one and only thing that stuck out to me that would affect me deeply (and physically) was my time sleeping. Sigh.

If any of you truly know me, you know that I LOVE TO SLEEP IN! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! My husband is not a "sleep-in" kind of guy. He constantly gets up early to go to Panera, get ready for the day or to hang with Addie when she wakes up early. I cherish my sleep, love the fact that I am not working outside the home and therefore not bound by my alarm clock to wake up. Just bound by two little girls waking up on their own schedules.

Being pregnant, I absolutely need my sleep. So, instead of sleeping in in the morning I will typically go to bed earlier at night or take a short nap while the girls are napping.

So.. it's not just about "giving up" something. It's also about using that time that I would of otherwise spent sleeping-in to focus my mind, heart and life to prepare for Easter. So what have I been doing with the 1 1/2-2 hours that I sacrifice to get up early? A lot of reading (either the Shack that I am reading w/ my husband or the Purpose Driven Life I am reading w/ a few friends, drinking coffee (mainly decaf), getting ready for my day, visiting Panera twice a week to read (and visiting Wal-mart afterwards- 7:45 a.m. is the time to go to Wal-mart it is not busy at all!), spending time with Addie while Sophie still sleeps, making breakfast for the family (yummy bannana muffins!), get some of my computer "stuff" done (like checking e-mail, writing posts, doing research for my blog etc.) and writing my "to-do" list for the day.

Wow. I never thought I would say that I like getting up early, but I like it! I can get so much done and really prepare my heart/mind for the day. I always wanted to be like the Proverbs 31 woman, who gets up early before her family to prepare for her day, but I never thought it was possible especially while pregnant and having 2 little girls. So far I am on day 5 of my new discipline and I am realizing it is more possible than I thought. Granted, I still need to take care of my physical body by going to bed early and taking naps so that I don't turn into cranky mommy.

Pray for me that I can continue this new discipline at least through day 40... :<)

S is for Snow

The girls had fun today playing in the snow outside. It was a bit chilly and windy, so Addie and Ella only stayed outside for a short while, but they liked the little bit of freedom it offered!

Addie out in the cold! She would not keep that scarf around her face.

Addie and Ella on the front porch stomping away!

FREEDOM! It has been so long since we have been able to do any sort of "playing" outside. Addie was apprehensive at first about the snow, and towards the end she was absolutely done. She lasted about 20 minutes total. Not bad for a 2 1/2 year old.

Throwing snow is so much fun!

Sophie chilled in her Dora chair watching Elmo while I was on the front porch with the girls. She, of course, would not of liked the snow. Too cold!

Aunt Mary came over to pull the girls in the sled. Ella loved it, Addie cried the moment it started moving. Oh well, maybe next time she'll take a longer ride!

This is Addie in the aftermath. 20 minute of cold, 20 minutes of snow and 20 minutes of trying to keep that scarf off of her face and her rosy cheeks and tired eyes say it all!

Only a few hours of Christmas day left

Today was such a fun day. Starting at 7:20 the girls both got up ready to open presents. Chadwick and I looked at each other, both excited as well and got the camera rolling. We were both excited to see the girls open their presents and experience Sophie's first Christmas.

I realized a few things today:

1. This is our first and last Christmas with 2 children. Next year there will be 3!

2. Sophie could care less at this age about opening presents. She just wants to crawl all over the empty boxes and mounds of wrapping paper.

3. It is a hard thing to share new toys!

4. My husband bought me a more thoughtful gift than I expected. A thoughtful gift that took over a year of saving and planning for. I am very blessed! (P.s. It's a new green laptop!)

5. Sophie loved her "last minute" stocking gift the best out of all of them- "Mr. Giraffe"

Here is a picture of each girl and their "favorite gift" of the day.

Here is Sophie with Mr. Giraffe. She loved Mr. Giraffe. She carried it around ALL DAY! Seriously, she was crawling and pulling it along by a leg or a tail wherever she went. We would lose it admist all the wrapping paper and she would wind up finding it. She's also doing her tongue roll trick for the camera.
If you were to ask Addie what she wanted for Christmas she would always say "Baby Chou Chou!" Granted, hardly anyone could understand what she was trying to say, mommy and daddy knew what she wanted. This is not technically a "baby chou cou" doll, but I think it's even better. It talks, giggles, says words, drinks from a bottle (even makes the sounds) and cries. Chou Chou came with her own bed, diaper bag (with bottles, paci, clothes, diapers, spoon, food dish) and a pillow and blanket. Addie loves it! She even went to bed w/ Chou Chou tonight and fed her a bottle while she dozed off.

We had a great Christmas and were so thankful for all of our family and friends that we were able to spend it with. Whether on the phone or in person, thanks for taking the time to wish us a "Merry Christmas!"

And now... Merry Christmas to all, and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

Needing a bit of fresh summer air

A few days ago, a friend and I were discussing how were both are so tired of winter already! We grew to hate it even more when we realized that we still have about 3 months of winter to go. The snow, the cold temperatures, the ice sticking to your car, the gray sky and slippery ground makes me want to stay inside. How in the world, we asked each other, are we going to make it for 3 more months?! My friend, Katie, recently posted 10 things she would do to make it through winter successfully and joyfully. I felt the need to respond and create my own list.

I have 11 things :<)

1. Music- I just got 3 great new country albums from my sis- in law! Yes, country- I am trying a new genre! After all, I love country line dancing. :<) hey... that could be added to my list
2. Country Line dance in my kitchen- and teach Addie a few moves!
3. Play more music myself. I can play the piano and should play!
4. Definitely be caught with a good book. Maybe picking a book with a warm season going on would make me feel better.
5. Research and learn more about gardening, that way when spring does come around I will feel prepared!
6. Plan our family vacation for next spring/summer... wait,I will be 8 months pregnant then! Okay make that summer/fall vacation.
7. Speaking of being pregnant... Enjoy life with 2 kiddos! Try to venture out to the mall to let them play.
8. Plan my next decorating attack on our house. Will it be the living room? Bedroom? Kitchen? Or the Brabsons coming over to help us refinish our hardwood floors?
9. Absolutely take more video/pictures of the girls every day.
10. Scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook! I need to catch up, and love doing it. It's the perfect inside activity. :<)
11. Learn how to make the perfect cup of hot tea and find my favorite type of tea along the way. Speaking of cute pictures... Here are a few recent ones. Addie and Sophie playing with the nativity.

"Baby Jesus!"Addie loves to point out baby jesus whenever we drive by a nativity scene.

Sophie with a funny face.

Addie eating the icing instead of icing her Christmas cookie

Meal Planning Mommies

If you haven't checked out my Meal Planning Mommies blog yet, you absolutely have to!
I am a co-author w/ 2 other friends of mine: Alisha from Indiana and Katie from Springfield,IL.

Our blog is all about MEAL PLANNING! What is meal planning? Meal planning is basically just like is says- planning out your meals ahead of time. Meal planning is important if you are busy, but it even becomes more important when you have kids plus your busy schedule!

Here are some benefits of meal planning:

1. Stops your husband/kids from asking the annoying question over and over of:
"What's for dinner?!?"

2. Prevents you from looking in the freezer then the cabinet and back to the freezer again trying to put some kind of healthy meal together at 5 p.m. (dinner time in our house!)

3. Allows your family to eat healthier (b/c you plan it that way!)

4. You can eat on a budget b/c you know exactly what you need for each meal. You can base your meals around sales at your grocery store or coupons you have.

5. Prevents last minute spending at the grocery store.

6. Makes YOU happier! It takes away one more last minute decision and stress for the day!



On our blog not only can you learn how to meal plan, but EVEN BETTER we MEAL PLAN FOR YOU!

Each week we will post on Sunday a Meal plan and Grocery list for the week. Then each day we will post the specific recipe for dinner that night along with step by step pictures with each recipe.

If you haven't started meal planning, definitely check out meal planning mommies.
Better yet, add us to your blog roll (www.mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com)!

We've got some yummy things going on!

Thoughts from an organizer...

So, my sister-in-law, Cassie recently posted about a "color" test you can do online that is supposed to identify your career path and personality. This is what mine resulted in:

Based on the colors I chose I am described as:

• Key Words:

  Self-Control, Practical, Self-Contained, Orderly, Systematic, Precise, and Accurate

  These conservative appearing, plotting-types enjoy organizing, data systems, accounting, detail, and accuracy. They often enjoy mathematics and data management activities such as accounting and investment management. Persistence and patience allows them to do detailed paperwork, operate office machines, write business reports, and make charts and graphs.

  ORGANIZER CAREERS
  Suggested careers are Administrator, Secretary, Printer, Paralegal, Building Inspector, Bank Cashier, Private Secretary, Statistician, Operations Manager, Financial Analyst, Bookkeeper, Medical Records Technician, Developer of Business or Computer Systems, Clerical Worker, Proofreader, Accountant, Administrative Assistant, Banker, Certified Public Accountant, Credit Manager, Store Salesperson, Actuary, Dental Assistant, Business Education Teacher, Food Service Manager, IRS Agent, Budget Analyst, and Underwriter.

  ORGANIZER WORKPLACES
  Your very careful, conscientious, conservative nature gives others the confidence to trust you with handling money and material possessions. Structured organizations that have well-ordered chains of command work best for you.

  Suggested Organizer workplaces are large corporations, business offices, financial lending institutions, banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, and quality control and inspection departments.

• 2nd Best Occupational Category

  You're a DOER

  Key Words:

  Emotionally Stable, Reliable, High Energy, Practical, Thrifty, and Persistent These adventurous types prefer action-oriented, concrete problems rather than dealing with thought-provoking, ambiguous, abstract dilemmas. Fields of interest include mechanical, construction, and outdoor careers. They might also enjoy working with machines, tools, and equipment to repair or build something.

So, for those of you that know me well... I'd like to hear your thoughts. Do you think it identified me well?

The test only took about 3 minutes to complete. Try the test out for yourself!

Coupon Crazy at Walgreens

There are some incredible deals to be made at Walgreens this week. Check out all that I got for a whopping total of $7.37. No kidding. Here is the pic:




2 packs of diapers, 4 Oust Air and Surface Sanitizers, 3 Robitussin, 2 boxes of south beach High Protein Bars, 4 Heberts Fully loaded candy bars.

The total for all of these items rang up to be $50.98, I had coupons for every item plus double (wags and Man.) on some items.

I did 2 transactions: the robuitussin was first and you get $10 back in Register Rewards when you buy 3 robitussins at $3.99 each. I had $3 off coupons for each robitussin and then I got $10 back in R.Rewards.

Then I had 2 B1G1 coupons for Oust, plus 2 $1 off coupons for Oust and Walgreens had a coupon in their easy saver- making these FREE.

The Heberts chocolate bars were 2/$3. In the easysaver catalog there is a coupon for $3 off of 2- making these FREE. This is a deal everyone should be able to do. No prep work, just walk into Walgreens. Grab the coupon out of the easysaver (you only need 1 coupon... it will scan for all the candy bars you get) and how every many Heberts candy bars you want (at my walgreens they were at the front by the register). Needless to say, my husband says... "Let's go buy out the store!"

The South Beach Bars are on sale for $2.50 and online you can print off a coupon for $2.00 off each box. Making each box cost only 50 cents.

The diapers ended up costing me $2 for both packs b/c on the second transaction I used my $10 RR I earned on the 1st transaction.

Okay... I know that all sounds complicated, but it really isn't that hard! Go to moneysavingmom.com and click on her Walgreens deals. She has the links to all of the coupons you can print off to get close to the same deals I did!

Happy Shopping!

p.s. I AM GOING BACK FOR MORE FREE CHOCOLATE!

My Wild CVS trip

I went to CVS today, not expecting to get much... but I would up with a lot of great deals!

Transaction #1

2 covergirl lipgloss - $5.99 each (use B1G1 CG in today's paper as well as $1 off CG products)
4 Suave body washes- $2 each (had 2 B1G1 coupons from a previous paper)
1 twin pack "Off "bug spray- $2.25 (on clearance plus I had a 75 cents off coupon)

Used 2/10 CVS coupon

Paid $1 and some change out of pocket, sorry I don't have my reciept with me!
(plus $5.99 and $2.99 ECB)

Got back $5.99 (lipgloss) and $2.00 (for Suave) ECB

THEN- our cashier told us that summer stuff was on 75% off clearance! Whoah, I had to check it out!

I got:
1 Christmas gift- Princess tent for $4.99 (down from $20)
1 Christmas gift- remote control cars for $3.75 (down from $14.99)
Dora gardening gloves for my daughter- 75 cents
gardening tools for my daughter- $1.00
Huggies little swimmers diapers- 75 cents for 1 pack and $1.25 for the other (on clearance for $2.25 and I had 2 different coupons to add to it)

So I broke out my ECBs and used them to buy some great and cheap deals!

Check out your CVS for Summer Markdowns!

Target = Snackage!

Target has a great deal this week on snacks: Rice Krispie treats, keebler cookies, cheez-its and pop-tarts (12ct.). These items are on sale for 4 for $9. Not a great, great deal. But here is the catch- if you buy 4 of those snacks at once, you get a FREE $5 Target gift card back at the register. So it's like getting 4 namebrand snacks for $4. Also, it gets even better. Recently Kellogs had an insert with coupons for rice krispie treats, cheez-its and pop-tarts. I have a $1 off 2 pop tarts and $1 off of 2 rice krispie treats. If you use these you are paying $2 for 4 boxes of snacks! AND IT GETS EVEN BETTER! KELLOG'S HAS A REBATE GOING WERE IF YOU BUY 10 KELLOGS ITEMS IN ONE TRANSACTION, SEND IN THE RECIEPT AND 10 UPC'S, YOU GET $10.00 BACK!

HERE IS WHAT I DID:


Trans.#1

2 boxes of rice krispie treats
4 boxes of cheez-its
4 boxes of pop-tarts
2 packs of keebler cookies

Total- $28 and some change
Use these coupons: $1.00 of 2 rice krispie treats, 2/ $1.00 off of 2 pop tarts and 1/ $1.00 off of 2 keebler cookies. PLUS target has an e-coupon (go to www.afullcup.com for this coupon) for 50 cents off of a box of pop-tarts. You can print as many of these as you want. I used 2 of these coupons (i couldn't find my other ones, I left them at home!)

Total before coupons- $27.11
Total after coupons- $22.11

Get back $15 Target Gift Card to use on next transaction
Plus I have a $10 mail in rebate

I MADE $5 OFF OF THIS DEAL!

Go soon though b/c the add says "quantities limited and no rainchecks."

5 Pepsi 12 packs for less than the price of 1

My CVS deal for today was only one transaction. It was a crazy day, but I made it out to work one deal. Here is what I got:

5- 12 packs of Pepsi products (4/$12)
5- Sobe Life Waters (all free)
1 - Kotex liners (free, plus $1.00 overage)
1- Fizz Energy packets ($5.99)
1- CVS brand hand soap (free, plus $1.20 overage)

Coupons:
1. 3/15 CVS total purchase (e-mailed to me... sign up for their e-mails if you haven't already. They send you a coupon almost every 2 weeks)
2. Kotex coupon $1.00, printable
3. Pepsi coupon (buy 4 12, packs- get 1 free)
4. Used 5 Sobe coupons (buy a 12 pack of Pepsi and get a FREE sobe) * note, this coupon can typically be printed only twice per computer.
5. $2 CVS beauty coupon (no longer available)
6. Used $11 ECB

Total before coupons - approx. $30 (give or take a few cents)
Paid out of pocket- $6.40

Got back approx.$13 ECB.

Therefore I got about $30 worth of products at CVS today for about $4.40!

That's the price of 1 of the 12 packs!

Woohoo! My husband loves me, I got him Mt. Dew ;<)

Thanks to Moneysavingmom.com for helping me figure out these great deals!

Brilliant Spontaniety

Today a friend and I took our kids to the park for a picnic. It was a moment of spontaneity. The kids played, we ate, we chased the kids around the park and it was a relaxing, fun time. As I was sitting relaxing, I realized that although I like our neighborhood, It would be great to live somewhere with a nicer park within walking distance.

That- however is the wrong way to look at it. Instead I sat there with Katie and we talked about what I could do to change the park so that I and our kids could enjoy it more. My list looked like this: add mulch to the play area, clean the equipment (especially the obscene pictures and profane language so the kids don't ask- "What's that, mommy?"), and a park bench for the mommy's and daddy's, trim the trees and generally weed/clean up the area.

Often times when I have a good idea, I just sit on it and nothing gets done. My friend Katie told me, today- go home and just get contact info and then tomorrow go from there. So today I wrote a comment (on the website) for someone to contact me about the park. It looked somewhat like this:

Living within walking distance of a park is wonderful and our daughter loves to spend time there. We even celebrated her 2nd birthday at the park. As a parent, I am concerned about the condition of Oak Grove Park.
I am not writing to complain, but writing to see what I can do to make the park better. The toddler play area (near the tennis courts) is my main concern. This play area is perfect for toddlers and I would love to see it kept up. Adding mulch to the play area, having the play equipment cleaned (i.e.removal of profanities and inappropriate drawings), adding a bench and trimming the trees around the area would help drastically.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make this happen. Some ideas I had are: Organize a neighborhood park cleaning day and finding sponsorship. Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!

If you have any great ideas or would like to help see this get done, please post a comment or contact me.

Here's to making a safer, more enjoyable park for our kids to play!

Pillsbury Kroger Deal

*****
Update:
The coupon works, but the crescent rolls and sweet rolls are the small packs: 4 crescent rolls and 5 sweet rolls per pack. The pizza dough is a great deal, as it is absolutely free! Also, the coupons that said "do not double" on them, automatically doubled at Kroger. It may depend on your cashier, b/c I had had cashiers before who have adjusted the coupon b/c it said "do not double."
*****

Starting tomorrow, August 7th, Pillsbury crescent rolls, biscuits, pizza dough and sweet rolls are on sale at Kroger in a 10 for $10 special. At my Kroger, you do not have to buy 10 items to get them for $1 a piece. To sweeten the deal: there are several sites that have coupons for the pillsbury items on sale: smartsource and pillsbury are two.

If you are able to print out these coupons ranging from 35 cents on 1 crescent roll or sweet roll (if your Kroger doubles, it will be 30 cents a piece) to $1.00 for 1 pizza dough (this should be FREE!), you can get some great deal... especially if your Kroger will double the coupon.

Even though dough boy was happy. See him dance! :<)

I am going to do the deal tomorrow, check back for how it went!


Happy saving!

Walgreens Free items

This month at Walgreens, there are several excellent rebate options. Plus, Walgreens has started doing rebates online, so you don't have to mail in your reciepts etc. anymore. Still not as good as CVS, but getting better!

Free items:
2 BioInfusions Organic shampoo/conditioner or styling product
1 Walgreens brand pitcher filter (works on brita also)
4 pack walgreens soft light light bulbs
2 Living Solutions vacuum storage bag
1 Pert Plus shampoo + conditioner- coupon for $1 off
Jane Pure mineral foundation or powder

Pick up an Easysaver catalog at your Walgreens and get your free monthly items.

Children's Advil for Free at CVS

This month at CVS, Childrens and Infant's Advil is free. PLUS if you can get a $1 off coupon, making it a $1 money maker. If you are new to CVS here is how it works:
1. Get a CVS card (you can get this at the register when you check out, absolutely free!)
2. Pick up 1 Children's Advil or Infant's Advil
3. Purchase at register. Give cashier your CVS card plus the $1 off coupon you printed. You should be able to print 2 coupons per computer.
4. You will pay the cashier for the advil, $4.ish w/ coupon
5. You will get back an ECB on your reciept good for $5.79 (cost of the Advil) at CVS. (an ECB is like a coupon or gift card that prints and you use it on your next visit)

My CVS is allowing 2 advils per CVS card. So here is what you do: you buy 1 children's advil, get ECB's back and then use those ECBs to buy your next children's advil w/ a coupon (so you don't pay any more out of pocket), but you will get another $5.79 to print. Here is a small catch, the 2nd time you do a transaction, if you are going to use your $5.79 ECB AND $1 off coupon- you need to get a "filler". Meaning- you need to buy something to counteract your $1 off coupon. So, a pop or a couple of candybars. Those items will be "free" b/c you are using your $5.79 ECB and getting $5.79 back.

It sounds complicated, but really isn't. I have gotten my 2 Children's advils with coupons with no problem! If any of you(family and friends) have a CVS near you, but don't have children to get the medicine for and are willing- we would love to stock up (if you get two... buy 1 infants and 1 children's, one for each girl).

This deal is good all month! Yeah, CVS!

Even my husband was proud....

Today was a great shopping day. My incredible husband stayed home with the girls while they napped so I could go on a 1 1/2 hr. shopping trip. I printed coupons last night, researched blogs, outlined my trips, clipped coupons this morning and bought the Chicago Tribune... I was ready!

I made it to 3 different stores: Kroger, Walgreens and (of course!) CVS. I spent a total of $10.27 out of pocket at ALL 3 STORES. Here is was $10.27 bought me:



Walgreens:
Glade Fabric and Air spray
Glade Fabric and Air spray
Cherry Coke Zero (not pictured)

Spent:$1.96 Saved $8.00

Kroger

4 Betty Crocker Cookie mixes
4 Betty Crocker tubs of Frosting
1 3 pack Irish spring soap
1 box of Cheez-its (no coupon for these... but my husband loves them and they were a part of the Mega 10 deal)

Spent: $6.43 Saved $17.67


CVS

Colgate Total toothpaste (online coupon)
Infant Advil (1.00 off online coupon- get $5.79 ECB back)
2 covergirl, trueblend foundations (on sale B1G1, coupon for B1G1 in today's paper = FREE!)
1 covergirl, trueblend powder (same as above)
1 covergirl, trueblend concealer (same as above)
2 pert plus (on sale B1G1, had $3.00 in coupons from today's paper)
1 2 pack extreme energy 6-hour shots (I don't promote these, but they were $4.99, w/ $4.99 ECB back)

Spent: $4.67 (minus $2.79 ECB gained, spent $1.88) Saved: $52.74
(I used a $9.99 ECB, but got back $12.78 in ECBs... if you are new to CVSing, check out moneysavingmom.com, you can learn all the ins and outs of CVS!
Overall:
Total spent: $10.27 Total Saved: $78.41


A new coupon secret, buy the Chicago Tribune. It has 3 xs the coupons as the Herald and Review. Seriously, if you have not gotten it today- go to Walgreens (the only place I know of that carries it in town), and buy one for $2.50. Go crazy- buy 2! Then you can use your pert plus coupons (2-$2.00 coupons) and covergirl (b1 g1) at CVS and immediately get your money back b/c you will get all of your stuff for FREE!

Cheesecake and Pellegrino

If you are lucky enough to live near a Cheesecake Factory, you will want to save room for some Cheesecake on July 30th. July 30th is National Cheesecake Day. To commemorate this and their 30th anniversary, The cheesecake Factory will be offering slices of over 30 different varieties of cheesecake for $1.50 on that day. If you need an excuse to eat 2 slices, eat one for me (White Chocolate Raspberry, please!) because we are about 2 1/2 hours away from the closest restaurant.



Thanks to a mishap of my sister and a friend in my small group (yeah, Katie!), I have found a new favorite drink. It's not just an "anytime" drink. It is definitely for the times when the girls are napping at the same time or when they are in bed for the night.
Pellegrino with ice, lime and sugar. Sigh. It makes a great summer drink. My husband makes fun of me b/c he says it is just expensive Sprite/7-up. Maybe so... but to me- it is my special drink! It's great to sip on it while reading, chatting w/a friend or sitting outside. Since I am such a stickler lately for saving $$$, I haven't bought any Pellegrino. Imagine my surprise when I went to Kroger yesterday and found 2 6-packs on sale for 1/2 off b/c someone ripped the packaging. Sigh... pellegrino is my new friend.

Wal-Mart and my girls

So today was an extremely busy morning at the Anderson house. I got up early, around 7 :15 to go walking with a friend (shout out to Bobbi Jo), then came home to get ready for the day. My wonderful husband got both girls ready and then we were off to take him to work. On the way to work, we stopped by Kroger so I could pick up a movie ($1 movie rental, moviecube.com) and something small for lunch. I was so disappointed b/c the moviecube was not working... anyway. Dropped Chadwick off at work, then went to my mom's so Addie could play w/ her cousin, Ella. While they played, I made peanut butter cookies for my friend who is really having a rough time with her back during her pregnancy. Then I took the girls home and made Chicken quesadilla's for lunch for myself, the girls and my sister and cousin (who were going to watch Addie and Sophie for me that afternoon). Busy, busy busy!

I made it to wal-mart tonight and finally picked up some deals I had been working on. My total before coupons was $27.00. After coupons, drumroll please.. $12.40. Not too shabby! I had a coupon for almost everything I bought. I also price matched a couple of really great deals- If you live in Decatur, Cubs has Duncan Hines brownie mixes on sale for $1.00, if you go to this link you can get a coupon for $1.00 of 2 duncan hines brownie mixes. Making the mixes $.50 each. Also, cubs has totinos on sale for $1.00 also- there is a $.35 coupon online as well (same website, I believe). Wal-mart price matched these deals, so I didn't have to go to cubs as well. A few other things I picked up were: Bertolli pasta sauce (in the pouch), 2 bags of frozen organic veggies, 1 box of blue bunny rocket pops, 1 jar of dry roasted planters peanuts, 3 packs of Kool-aid, 1 pack of HP paper, 4 tubes of biscuits, 1 jar of pizza sauce, 1 box of Honey Bunches of Oats caramel granola, the 4 boxes of brownie mix and 2 boxes of totino pizza rolls. Not too bad for around $12!

Our Sophie Grace turned 5 months old today. Time is really going way TOO FAST! She is so big, she can sit in her bumbo now, hold onto toys, roll over, laugh, eat rice cereal. She really is not a newborn anymore. Our oldest is going to turn 2 in less than a month. That thought scares me! Each day Addie is learning new words and remembering more and more of what we teach her. I love my girls, I love my husband and our simple (yet sometimes busy!) life.

Free Playtex BPA free bottle

For those of you that have babies and those of you that don't... click on this link to get a free Playtex BPA free bottle. I did it and recieved mine in less than 2 weeks! It is a playtex drop-in system bottle that comes with everything (liners, nipple, cover etc.) you need for a bottle. We use the drop-in system and love it.

Even if you don't have a baby, get a free one for a baby-shower gift or to give to someone who has a baby :<)

Coupons, Real or Fake?

Tomorrow morning Good Morning America will be having a segment on coupons. They are talking about the increase in fake coupons. I am sure if you miss the segment on t.v., you can check out their website to see what they have to say. I have just gotten into the "couponing" thing and I am always worried about printing coupons online. I always want to make sure it's a coupon that can be used legally. Anyway, this may be a good segment to check out!

Free Date Night

Free Date Night! Well... kind of. Subway is having a promotion right now for the movie Get Smart. If you go on their website, there is a game to play to win prizes. You can play up to 3 times a day (depending on how many secret codes you find). The first time I played, I won a free movie pass. The pass is good for any movie (up to $12) at your local theatre. Chadwick got on and played and he won a pass also! We have also won about 20 bags of free chips from Subway. It seems like we always win something. It is worth a try!

You can log in with as many e-mail addresses as you have. Also, to get free codes for extra plays, click on the "rules and regulations" link at the bottom, scroll through and you will see a big "HERE" underlined. Click on that and they will send you free codes to get your 3 plays for the day! There are lots of prizes: movie tickets, free chips, $5 subway card, a vespa (motorized bike), free movie, etc.

The contest goes through August 10th.

I don't often play these, but I don't often win something either!