A great Meijer trip

Tonight, I went out to grab up a few more deals, as well as pick up a birthday present for a party tomorrow. I was so excited by my buys, I just have to share. I'll keep it down to just my Meijer trip, though!

Alpo wet dog food 3 x .64 (1.92)
Pur water filter 3-pack 18.99 - 3.00 (mfr coupon--P&G insert) (15.99)
20 oz soda 1.39
Meijer bodywash 1.79
BC Warm Delights 2 x 1.00 - 2 x .50 (mfr coupon--coupons.com) - 2 x .50 (double coupon) (FREE)
Grands Biscuit 2 x 1.00 - 2 x .35 (mfr coupon) - 2 x .35 (double coupon) (.30 each)
Velveeta Shells and Cheese Bowls 2 x 1.00 - 1.00 (free item) - 3.00 (BOGO coupon*) (made 2.00)
Land O Lakes butter 1.00 - .50 (mfr coupon) - .50 (double coupon) (FREE)
Dole Tropical fruit salad 4 x 1.00 - 2 x .55 (2.90)
CoffeeMate creamer 1.00 - .50 (mfr coupon) - .50 (double coupon) (FREE)

*I used the self check-out, and the attendant put in 3.00 for the BOGO coupon rather than 1.00. The coupon itself had a maximum value of 1.34, so this was just a big stroke of luck!

With tax, I spent a grand total of $24.48. Considering the filters alone are $23.99 when they're not on sale, I thought I had a pretty good trip!

Shopping trip 7/28

Last night, I made a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip. CVS was having a 3-day sale, and it ended last night, and I wanted to get a few things from Kroger and Meijer. Here's the run-down:

CVS

I spent $7.27 out of pocket and got...

candy bar .67
Schick Quattro razor 8.99 - 4 mfr coupon
Herbal Essence 2-in-1 2.99 - 1 mfr coupon
Neutrogena foundation 11.99 - 3 mfr coupon
Neutrogena concealer 8.29 - 8.29 bogo sale - 2 mfr coupon
Composition notebook .99

I also had a CVS $4 off of $20 purchase that I used, along with $4 worth of Extra Care Bucks. I got 3.99 ECB back, so I came out fairly even with those.

Kroger

This was my most exciting stop of the evening. They're still having their mega sale, so I picked up 10 items and only spent $8.42. That included...

Fiber One Yogurt (4 pk) 4 x 2.49 - 4 x .50 (mega sale) - 4 x 1.00 (mfr coupon) - 1.00 (cellfire coupon) - 2 x 1.00 (Shortcuts coupons) ,96 total (.24 each)
Smuckers Natural PB 1.99 - .50 (mega sale) - .35 (mfr coupon) - .35 (double coupon) .79
Chex Mix 4 x 1.99 - 4 x .50 (mega sale) - .50 (mfr coupon) - .50 (double coupon) - 2 x .50 (shortcuts) 3.96 total (.99 ea) *Note...there was another .50 off coupon that should have been taken off, but I didn't notice it wasn't until I got out to the car*
Simply Orange Juice 2.99 - .50 (mega sale) 2.49

Meijer

I spent the most here...$13.54. I got...

Alpo wet dog food 2 x .64
Stickers 1.99
Crayons (24 pk) .19
Gluestick (2 pk) .19
20 oz root beer 1.39
Renuzit air fresheners 3 x .99 - .99 (11th item) - .55 (mfr coupon) 1.43 total (.47 each)
Warm Delights Cake 1.00 - .50 (mfr coupon) - .50 (double coupon) FREE
Easy Mac cups 2 x 1.00 - 1.00 (mfr coupon) 1.00 total (.50 each)
Celery 1.00
Land O' Lakes Spreadable Butter 1.00 - .50 (mfr coupon) - .50 (double coupon) FREE
Dole Pineapple 2 x 1.00 - .55 (mfr coupon) 1.45 total (.73 each)
Dole Salad Mix 1.00
Meijer Organics Salsa 2 x 1.00

I had a bunch more coupons to use at Meijer, but they were completely out of some of those things. They would have been free after coupons, too. Guess I'll have to go back later this week!

So, I bought a total of 35 items and spent a total of 29.23...technically .84 per item.

Glimpses of God

There are days when I get so incredibly frustrated with Little Miss. It seems to be happening more and more since she turned three. But, today, as I was working through my frustrations, I caught a glimpse of what God must be seeing in me.

It was one of the million times that Little Miss wasn't obeying. I threatened to take her videos back to the video store, which usually does the trick. She got very concerned over the thought of losing her videos and quickly said, "I wanna obey, Momma!" And, of course, I was so frustrated that I came back with, "Well, if you want to obey, just do it! Obey!" And, almost instantly after the words were out of my mouth, this thought hit (which had to completely be the Holy Spirit)...God must be saying that to me constantly! I have been in a spiritual trough lately, and so often I think, I want to be closer to God. Or, I think I should do this or that, which I'm sure is the Spirit's prodding. But, like Little Miss, I'm too busy doing what I want to do or too stubborn to bend to the will of another that I continue in what I've already been doing. And, when I'm pushed more, I cry and say, I want to obey! Or, I want to be closer! So, now I'm thinking that God has been crying back (maybe more in love than in frustration), "If you want to, then, by all means, do it!" What a fool I am! Apparently, I am currently comparable to a preschooler spiritually.

You know, when that thought hit me, I didn't have the time to really think it through. It really wasn't until I got into the car to do some grocery shopping that it struck a deeper chord. I thought then that I needed to blog about it when I got home, just to flesh it out a little bit. It's amazing how clear things become when you see them in black and white. There was another thing that struck me when I was thinking about it in the car, but it must not have been quite as deep at the time, because I couldn't remember it ten minutes later. Maybe, once I get this one all mulled through, that one will come back to the forefront of my mind, and I'll be able to gain even more insights from my sweet Little Miss.

Naptimes

It's amazing the difference a schedule (or lack of schedule) can make on your mood. Today started out fairly normal; I woke up, fed Baby Girl, then got Little Miss a bowl of cereal while she watched a movie. Then, we all got ready to go to the gym. Today was my training day, so I wanted to get there when the gym was still pretty empty. The gym was fairly uneventful; I just did my running and some lifting. The difference in our schedule came when we got back home.

Baby Girl seemed to be hungry, so, while Little Miss did some vegging in front of the television, I fed Baby. But, she fell asleep while eating, and it was a pretty hard sleep. So, I decided to just lay her down for naptime right then. Unfortunately, it was only 11:30, and she doesn't normally go down until 1. But, still, it was nice. I could fix Little Miss lunch, then take a shower, which I was thankful for (I hate the gym showers...they give me the heeby jeebies). Actually, one of the funniest moments of the day happened at the end of my shower. Little Miss came into the bathroom to go potty. "I've gotta go poopy," she declared. Then, she took turns talking to me and grunting. She likes to wipe herself, but I always do a spot-check to make sure the job was done right. It was quite fortunate that she came in at the end of my shower, because I was able to get out right after she got done and do the spot check. After we finished that, she looked into the toilet and said, "Look, Mommy! There's a big poopy and a little poopy." After looking a little closer, she finished with, "The little poopy is playing hide and seek!" It was so funny!

So, after I got dressed, it was time for Little Miss to go down for her nap. She's been taking naps in our room, because there are no toys and fewer distractions in there. Just about the time I put Little Miss down, Baby Girl woke up. ARGHH! You mean I don't get some down time without children?!! So, Little Miss was NOT falling asleep, and Baby Girl was crawling all over the house, getting into who knows what. It was not what I wanted to have happen. I tried to get Baby Girl to go back down to sleep, but she would have nothing of it! Little Miss also never went to sleep, which meant the loss of her movies that she got at the library yesterday. It's been a long day, and I'm ready for bedtime to come!

Listening to Dave

So, it's late, and I should be going to bed. However, I just finished watching The Dave Ramsey Show on hulu.com, and it got me thinking about being debt free. I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in March, and we started our total money makeover in April. Thank God for our tax refund and budgeting, because at the end of next month, we'll have paid off around $8000 in debt. We're close to halfway on our road to debt-freedom (with the exception of our mortgage). It's thrilling to think of how we can use our money when we don't have to worry about debt. We're hoping to be debt-free by May or June of next year. I'm hoping we can kick it a little more into high gear to get it done faster, but we'll see. How great would it be to pay off everything by the beginning of next year, and then be able to use our tax refund to pay ourselves (into our emergency fund) rather than pay a debt?! Watching or listening to Dave gets me pumped about it; I really should start listening to him more often!

So, if you wonder why I've become a coupon nerd, this is why. If I can cut down the money we spend on food, that's more money we can throw at our debt, which means that's less time we'll owe on our debt. Not to mention, we really want to be saving for cars (so we can pay cash for a nice car), get a bigger house (and only be paying for it for 15 years or less) and get our kids' college funds totally funded so that they can choose whatever college they want to go to when the time comes. I have huge dreams! My hubby, who says he's a realist, hasn't dared to dream those big dreams yet. He's just now realizing that it truly is possible for us to be without my school loan. That's been a monkey on his back since we've gotten married. But, we're getting there!!!

Recycled Meals

I was making supper this evening and thinking of how proud I am of myself for this week. With the exception of Monday, this has been a Mexican themed food week. It wasn't that because I necessarily love Mexican that much. It just happened to work that way with leftovers and such. After our visitors left, we had tons of leftovers--or so I thought. My plan for Tuesday was just to eat up the leftovers. So, imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge and found no leftovers. Fortunately, I checked on this long before dinner time. I ended up finding a recipe for Simple Beans and Rice; I had everything I needed to make it, so that's what we had. It was more like Spanish rice than anything. So, that was Tuesday. Wednesday, I made a massive amount of real beans and rice (pinto beans and brown rice, with a little chili seasoning, garlic, onion, salt and pepper). We had that along with a nice salad for supper. Last night was tacos, which I used the beans and rice as refried beans, then cut up some tomato and onion for. Tonight, then, we're having kind of enchiladas. I used the leftover taco meat, the leftovers from Tuesday's meal and Wednesday's meal as toppers, along with the extra tomatoes and onions that I had chopped for the tacos. I'm quite excited about the fact that I've put my leftovers to use. We still have an immense amount of beans and rice left (from Wednesday's meal), but maybe I'll have some bean burritos for lunch over the next few days!

Tricycles and Care Bears

I wish I had had my camera today when I went on a walk with the girls. Little Miss wanted to ride her tricycle, so I pulled it out. She also insisted on bringing along her Care Bear that Grandpa L had gotten for her. Oh, and she had a box of raisins in one hand. So, there we were, going along. Little Miss had the Care Bear sitting in front of her on the tricycle and could barely steer because of the raisins. But, she was happy, as only a child can be as they head to the park with their closest stuffed animal friend. It just made me smile.

When we got to the park (which we decided to go to as we walked), she decided that Care Bear wanted to swing. She tried so hard to get the Care Bear to swing on the big swing; it just didn't work. Poor bear fell in the wood chips and got dirty. Finally, Little Miss gave up and set Care Bear on the bench to watch. It was just too cute!

Coupon-Obsessed Nerd

Lately, I've been trying to really cut our grocery budget down. We're working on getting debt-free, and that's one area that I can really control. So, to aid me in that plan, I've been learning all of these coupon secrets. I follow blogs, check out all the ads, get multiple papers a week, print coupons from the computer, and sign up for all sorts of things just to get the coupons! This week, it really payed off. I went to Kroger this morning; the picture above is everything I got. And the amount I spent on all that? Well, I spent a total of $46.87.

Here's the run-down:

Kleenex (6 x 1.49 - 6 x .50 (mega sale) - 2 x .50 (mf coupons) - 2 x .50 (doubled coupons)) 3.94
Colgate Max Fresh (2x2.50 - 2 x .50(mega sale) - 2 x .75(mf coupons) - .75(cellfire coupon)) 1.75
Colgate Total (2.50 - .50 (mega sale) - 1.00 (mf coupon)) 1.00
Huggies (8.99 - 1.50 (mf coupon) - 1.50 (shortcuts coupon)) 5.99
Brawny Paper Towels 8 ct (5.99 - .50 (mega sale) - .50 (mf coupon) - .50 (double coupon)) 4.49
Quaker Chewy Bars (2 x 1.99 - 2 x .50 (mega sale) - .75 (mf coupon)) 2.23
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (2 x .44) .88
Real Lemon Juice (.99)
Kraft dressing (1.72 - .50 (mega sale) - 1.00 (mf coupon)) .22
Jiff PB (1.99 - .50 (mega sale)) 1.49
Sargento Salad Finishers (2.49 - .50 (mega sale) - .75 (mf coupon)) 1.24
SoBe Lifewater (4 x .99 - 4 x .50 (mega sale) - 2 x 1.49 (BOGO coupon)) -1.02
Vitamin Water (4 x 1.00 - 4 x .50 (mega sale)) 2.00
Quaker Quakes (2 x .99 - 2 x .50 (mega sale)) .98
Tyson chicken breasts (2.62 - 1.00 (mf coupon)) 1.62/1.4 lbs.
Tyson chicken breasts (2.51 - 1.00 (mf coupon)) 1.51/1.34 lbs.
Daisy Sour Cream (1.99 - .50 (mega sale) - .50 (mf coupon) - .50 (double coupon)) .49
Philadelphia Cream Cheese (3 x 1.29 - 3 x .50 (mega sale)) 2.37
Smart Balance Margarine (1.99 - .50 (mega sale)) 1.49
Organic Carrots (2.08)
Dole Salad (2.50)
Bananas (.44)
Frozen Spinach (.89)
Stoplight Peppers (3 x 1.00) 3.00
1/2 Gal Skim Milk (.99)

Really, I didn't need all that this week. But, I figured with such good deals, I know what meals I can make in the next couple of weeks with some of what I got, so it was worth picking it up now.

I went to Cub earlier in the week, and I got some good deals there, too.

Poptarts (2 x 1.56) 3.12
Hunts Spaghetti Sauce (.67)
Peter Pan PB (1.48)
Dozen eggs (.88)
Prairie Farms OJ (1.09)
Electrasol Finish (2.97 -2.50 (mf coupon)) .47

So, with tax, that was $8.01!

Okay, so I know I'm a nerd. It's just that only 2 or 3 months ago, I was spending $125 on groceries a week. This week, I've spent $54.88; I'm planning on spending about $10 more at Cub and Target. Half of what I used to spend. I've got meals planned through next Wednesday, but based on what I got today, I actually can tell you what we'll be having probably through next Saturday. My goal is to get stocked enough that I can seriously only spend $25 or $30 a week and be completely stocked up!

Splash Park and Naked Baby

I was running errands this morning with the girls. Unfortunately, it had completely slipped my mind that I was supposed to meet up with a friend and her boys at a local splash park. So, when I got the phone call, we were nearby; so, I went through the drive-through for lunch, then headed to the park. Little Miss was so excited to get out and play in the water, so it was like torture when I insisted that she eat her lunch before she played. After much whining and complaining, though, she finished her burger, and I excused her from the table. My friend and I were talking as I was cleaning up, when all of a sudden, my friend informed me that Little Miss was naked. I pushed Baby Girl to a spot where I could still see her, then ran around the bushes to see Little Miss standing amongst the sprinklers, completely buck naked. Laughing and whispering could be heard from many of the kids and adults around the park. I was mortified! I was calling Little Miss, and met her halfway.

"Where are your clothes?" I asked.

Pointing to the sidewalk, she said, "Over there!" Poor thing had no idea what the big deal was.

I carried her over to her clothes, and insisted that she at least wear her underwear. All the while, I hear these kids saying, "There's a naked baby in the water!" Did I mention that I was completely embarrassed? Oh, well! We survived; no harm done. Maybe I should just start keeping an extra suit in the car at all times!!!

Inspiration

My husband is such an inspiration to me. I don't tell him that often enough, but I'm so proud of him. Today, he ran in the Park to Park 5 mile run. His goal was to run it in under 45 minutes; he ran it in just over 42 minutes. The girls and I picked him up at the second park, and we passed him along the way; he was running so well, and we got to cheer out the window at him. It took a lot of looking to pick him out of the crowd, and I tried to enlist Little Miss' help. However, she proved to be unreliable, since she was pointing out women as daddy. But, as I said, we found him and cheered for him. He beat us to the park, so we didn't get to see him cross the finish line. I was somewhat disappointed in that, but he just appreciated the fact that we came to get him.

After watching him run, I started thinking about running. Early this afternoon, he got online to check out his time, and while online, he checked out other races to run in. He mentioned the Jingle Bell Run, which is a 5K, and, after a little talk, I've committed to running in that. He just inspired me so much. So, I found a plan online that will get me running a 5K by the beginning of September. I figure that if I get up to running that distance by September, that will give me the rest of September and all of October to increase my speed. Hubby averaged close to an 8 1/2 minute mile on the 5 miler, so I know that he could go faster for the 5K. I also know that he would stay with me, so I don't want to slow him down too much. That means that I have to get to a decent time, maybe even a 9 minute mile (might be setting my sights a little high, but we'll see).

So, after we picked him up, we decided to go to the gym to go swimming. We had so much fun with the girls. Baby Girl started swim lessons last week, and she's learned to love floating (while being held) and kicking her feet. I've been trying to get her to blow bubbles, and, even though she doesn't actually blow bubbles, she thinks it's fun to put her face in the water. Today, she got a mouth full of water when she dipped her head and spit it out, just like a big girl (rather than aspirating on it). Little Miss has been our little water girl since 6 mos., when she first went swimming in a hotel pool. With her floaties, she is very good at getting around the pool. She is also in swim lessons, and she's learning to kick and blow bubble under water, too. She keeps talking about kicking like a mermaid (or was it moving her arms like a mermaid...I can't remember). She also loves to jump in to the pool. Today, she thought about going off the diving board, but changed her mind when she got right up next to it. Instead, she jumped off the side of the pool. The first time she jumped in to me, she pushed me underwater. She had her floaties, so she just bobbed right back up; I, on the other hand, came up spluttering. She just laughed at mama. Hubby and I both took our turns in the hot tub, which was fabulous. We ended with some play time in the "tiny pool", as Little Miss calls it. Both girls went to sleep easily, a feat that hasn't been accomplished in weeks. In fact, as I write this, Little Miss is still sleeping (almost 3 hours after going down). Baby Girl has been up for awhile, but she is happily playing with an empty box. Life is great! I love holidays!!

First Fireworks Experience

Tonight, we attempted our first 4th of July celebration that included fireworks. It was a bit of a last minute arrangement. My husband learned about the fireworks at a local country club while he was at work today. So, when he came home, he informed me of his plans. Since it was a bit last minute, I didn't think through what we would need for the excursion.

We started out with a trip to Walmart for fireworks, then stopped by Culver's for ice cream. Next stop--the park across the street from the country club. We decided to play at the park for a bit, which was tons of fun. Both of my girls LOVE to swing. But I tire quickly of the monotony of pushing swings, so I suggested that we cross over to find a seat as soon as it appeared to be getting the least bit dusky. Even the walk across the way was enjoyable, watching Little Miss try to catch lightning bugs and laughing at hubby as he tried to keep up with Baby Girl, who was attempting to take off her diaper. As we got closer to the crowd, I became painfully aware that we were under-dressed. Then, Little Miss decided to take a walk by the lake (which was littered with duck poo). Unfortunately, with this birthday, she also seemed to forget how to obey. So, when she ran away from me, I had to pick up my screaming, kicking child to take her back to her daddy. My hubby took over watch of Little Miss, as we walked around. As we're walking, I mentioned to hubby that we didn't have any chairs, a blanket, or bug spray. We were totally unprepared!

Fortunately, we were on a golf course; on golf courses, there are sand traps. Sand traps have sand, which 3 year olds love! Little Miss and hubby played around a sand trap and caught lightning bugs, while Baby Girl and I listened to the music and danced. But, it was getting past Baby Girl's bedtime, and she was indicating her need to eat. My feet were starting to hurt, and my imagination was going wild with thoughts of contracting the West Nile Virus from all the mosquitos that seemed to be out to get me. It was pretty dark when I suggested we leave. My hubby was all for leaving, since he is running a 5 mile race in the morning. He wanted to go to bed so that he was rested for the race. By the time we were almost back to the street that we needed to cross to return to the park, the first warning fireworks were sent off. So, we quickly found a spot and sat down on the grass, anticipating a great show. Now, I love fireworks, so I couldn't wait for the show to start. However, when the first real set went off, the boom scared Little Miss. It was actually a little funny; as long as Baby Girl felt my hand on her, she was fine. She was mesmerized by the lights. Little Miss, on the other hand, kept hiding her face in her daddy's shoulder, announcing that she scared and wanted to go home. We quickly picked everything up again and walked to the car. I was sorely disappointed to miss the really good portion of the fireworks. Once we got safely into the car, Little Miss commented on how pretty they were. "They won't hurt me; they're just loud," she said. I'm sure my sadness was easily seen when I heard the finale from inside my house.

Maybe next year we can enjoy the fireworks. I certainly hope so!

Kids' Music

I've never been a huge fan of kid's music; those songs drive me insane. In the car, we always listen to the radio (which happens to be tuned to a local christian radio station), and I've always thought it was sweet when Little Miss started singing along to the radio. Listening to her sweet little voice lilt out "How Great is Our God" just melted my heart.

This year, though, we got introduced to SteveSongs. I had seen him on PBS, but just thought he was some random character on there. I had no idea that he actually had cd's. That is, until I went to pick the girls up from the sitter one day. They were listening to a cd, and my sitter and his wife were telling me how much Little Miss loved the song "Fast Monkey". When they played it for me, I was hooked! Who knew that I would actually like kid songs. They don't grate on my last nerve like most kid songs do. For Little Miss' third birthday, her grandma and grandpa sent some money specifically for a SteveSongs cd; the cd came in the mail yesterday. I ordered Marvelous Day, and I like every song that I've heard so far! If we weren't on a fairly strict budget, I'd order more. He's got a knack for writing songs that are fun but also have little lessons.

So, need a change from the ordinary kids cd? Look into SteveSongs!

Snapshots of Life

Last night was a long night. I stayed up later than normal, checking out blogs and looking for coupon deals. Just when I was planning to head to bed, Little Miss came out of her room, crying that her leg hurt. After determining that it was either a charlie horse or growing pains, my husband came out and laid down with her until she fell back to sleep. Shortly after we were both in bed, while I was feeding Baby Girl, we heard the cry again. My hubby looked at me (fortunately, Baby Girl had just decided that she was finished), and I joined Little Miss in her room. Sitting propped against the wall, massaging her leg to make it feel better, I started thinking about how much I want to remember about these days. I never take the time to journal the things that I want to remember, and I'm so afraid to forget. The days are passing too quickly.

There are some snapshots that I just want to keep in my mind forever, some feelings that I want to remember when I'm old. Like yesterday, when I woke Little Miss up from her nap. Sometime during that period of time when she was supposed to be sleeping, she changed into a dress, put on her snowboots, sprayed detangling spray into her hair, and put on her Snow White dress to top it all off. When I went in to wake her up, she was lying horizontally across her bed in this outfit, sleeping peacefully. It was one of those pictures I want to always remember.

So, thinking about this last night, I decided that blogging was the answer. Which leads me to right here, right now. My oldest, Little Miss, is completely and utterly enthralled with princesses. When she pretends princesses, I become "Princess Mommy". I love that title; it comes directly from my Little Miss. When I speak of my girls, I'll be referring to them as Little Miss and Baby (or Baby Girl). That's what I lovingly call them in real life. And that's what I plan to talk about--real life. So, welcome to my blog; I hope you enjoy.