My boys...

My boys are growing up way too fast.....

I was at a YW retreat this weekend, and almost cried when Darrin sent me this picture of the boys. These peaceful moments with them are few and far between, but it gives me a glimmer of hope. I really hope they become the best of friends once they stop fighting over the same truck....or ball.....or chair at the table. : )

While Mommy naps....

So, while Nathan and I finished up our nap today in my bed, Emma was wonderful enough to take care of Matthew when he woke up from his nap. She got him out of his bed so he wouldn't cry and disturb Nathan and me in the next room. So thoughtful of her!! I love that girl. BUT, when I came out, I found little fragments of my packing peanuts all over the carpet. Turns out, they had been playing in my large box of packing peanuts because they were "bored." My fault for leaving them out in the living room after packing up my signs yesterday...I know. What a good excuse to vacuum, right?

Em took this cute picture with my cell phone and couldn't stop laughing when she was trying to tell me about it. They had peanuts sticking to them, and Matthew couldn't get this one off his face! : )

And yes, he IS still in his pajamas AFTER his nap today. And NO, I don't want any judgement for that!

I lied....

I know I promised that the next post wouldn't be about couponing, but I lied. I hit Albertson's again this morning, since they have week long double coupons, and I was able to get my hands on a bunch of doublers. Here's what I got this morning:

5 Four Packs of Activia yogurt
4 Reclosable Lindsay olives
2 Nestle Tollhouse refrigerated cookie dough
4 Rhodes Warm n Serve rolls
8 packages Bar-S Hot dogs
3 bags frozen Tyson Anytizers
18 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup
4 Stouffer's Frozen Meals
3 Dove Shampoo
4 Dove Conditioner
1 six-pack Dove bar soap
1 box Excedrin (with bonus Excedrin PM attached)
2 Johnson's Oatmeal baby wash
1 Johnson's Oatmeal baby lotion

My total today was about $36 for $245 worth of groceries and personal care items. When you add that to my Albertson's trip from last week, I have brought home just over $400 in groceries and personal care items, and have only spent $62 for all of it. That is an 85% savings overall. For my $62, I brought home 104 items, which means I averaged .60 per item! Plus, I earned gas rewards that will save me $5 on my next fill-up, so technically, I could take that amount off my total as well. Love, love, love it! Okay...the next post really WILL be about something other than couponing! : )

Dorky coupon pic!

Since this blog acts as a journal as well as a blog, readers have to put up with dorky coupon pics like the one below! I just had a friend ask me why I'm so into couponing. Well....here's why. This is my Albertson's trip for last week.
I purchased the following:

3 bags frozen Tyson Anytizers
10 cans Campbell's Chunky Soup
5 cans Old El Paso Refried Beans
2 bottles Kikkoman Soy Sauce
2 tubes Colgate kid's toothpaste
6 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks
8 boxes (3-pack) Pop Secret Popcorn (my nightly indulgence!)
3 Dove shampoo
1 Dove deodorant
1 head of lettuce
3 boxes Special K Cereal

Retail on all of this is about $158. I spent $26. That's about an 85% savings. It's as if I paid 59 cents per item on that list. The bags of Frozen Anytizers are $9.99 each in themselves. I know a common assumption is that you can only get items you don't really use or need for really cheap, or almost free. Not the case! Are there incredible coupon deals on things we never use out there? Of course there are. It doesn't mean I'm stuck buying those things. As you can see from the photo, I can get screaming deals on everyday products that most families can use. Do we always eat Special K Cereal? No. BUT, if I can get it for less than .50 a box, WILL we eat it? Sure....we're just not that picky! Couponing satisfies my need for retail therapy and stocks up my food storage with things my family WILL use for a fraction of the cost. THAT is why I do it.

These are pics of my food storage. In the 8 months out of the last 13 or 14 that I've had the time to coupon, I have built this up. I started with nothing. Now I have a year (or more) supply of laundry soap, dish soap, dryer sheets, feminine products, Kleenex, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, household cleaners, razors, shave gel, body wash, bar soap, band-aids, medicines of all kinds, vitamins, and more I'm sure. With the food I have built up in storage, as well as the two chest freezers we have, I could feed my family for months....easily. That's a great feeling! And I was able to do it without spending more than I would have if I was just living week to week. You know how it is...you head to Wal-Mart to get a few things for the week, and rarely walk out having spent less than $100! You can see from the photo above the kind of damage I can do with 1/4 of that amount now. All right....I promise the next blog post will be about something OTHER than couponing! : )

Back in the (couponing) saddle

I wish I had some fun pictures for this post, but I don't. While I'm still beyond excited about coupon shopping, it's A LOT of work to neatly arrange items that I've purchased in order to get a fun photo. And THEN, I still have to put it all away. Oye....there's just no time. BUT, after taking a break from coupon shopping over the busy holiday season, I'm thrilled to be back in the saddle! I don't know how I ever shopped without it! I admit, I'm a total dork, but this is how I get my thrill. I love watching how, in just one short month, I'm already running out of room in storage again. I love that I can spend a fraction at the store, get four times as much for my money, and that 90% (or more) of what I buy can go straight downstairs into the storage room. It makes me feel good to have all that stuff in there. Warning: it's a boring list from here on out, so stop reading if you wish! : )

Last night, I went to Albertsons, Smiths and Walgreens. Between the three stores, here is what I purchased:

2 boxes Raisin Bran
8 cans Hormel Chili
3 can Hormel White Chicken Chili
12 cans Ro-Tel
15 cans Hunt's diced tomatoes
2 packs Extra gum
8 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 gallons of milk
6 Skippy peanut butter
6 jars of Ragu
14 boxes (3-pack) Pop Secret popcorn
10 Snickers candy bars
8 packs of Skittles
2 Minute Maid orange juice
4 Diet Pepsi 12-packs
6 packs of Stayfree Maxis
2 Pedia Care children's cold relief
12 boxes of Kleenex
1 package of paper plates

Whew....there you go. If I had paid retail for all of these items, I would have spent close to $300. I spent $84 for everything, and saved almost five dollars on gas as well. That's a 70% savings, and I'll take that any day!

As I hand over my stack of coupons at Smiths, the cocky young (male) checker says, "Someone has a lot of time on their hands." Yep....he nailed it. I'm a stay at home mom of three kids who also runs a business from home. Uh huh...just sitting around......looking for ways to fill my time! That's what we do as moms...right? As I watched the total at Smiths go from $114 all the way down to $34, I said, "That was worth every second I spent on it." In the one hour (tops) that I spent gathering coupons for that sale, I basically made $80. Not a bad hourly wage!

I'm hooked again, and it's fun to have an outlet that is doing so much good for the family as well!

Ice Fishing!

Today was a beautiful day, so Darrin decided to take Emma & Nathan ice fishing! What a production to get two kids bundled up and out the door. They had a great time with Dallin and Garrett, and I had a great time on my own with Matthew!

Happy Birthday Naters!

We can't believe it, but our Nathan is......

yep.....FOUR! It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here this year, and since Grandpa's birthday is on December 28th, we had a joint celebration!

He tasted his frosting, but that's all we got out of him....darn it! : )
When anyone asked me what to get Nathan, I thought of one thing immediately....glasses! He has an obsession with glasses lately. We learned that we can buy them right off the display rack at the Wal-Mart vision center....that way the frames are clear. Look at how his face lit up when he opened this pair up!

He also got a fun Toy Story guitar, and a Smart Cycle! We had a great time, and love our little guy so much! It seems like he has grown WAY too fast over the last year......