More shopping pictures!

I promise I won't post shopping pictures every week.....okay, I'll TRY not to post shopping pictures every week. I just love what I can get for my money since I started coupon shopping, and it's hard not to share. I'll spare everyone the elaborate details, but here is what I got today:

5 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste
2 Aveeno Baby Wash
2 Aveeno Lotion
2 Children's Tylenol
2 Tylenol PM
2 Pond's Moisturizer
4 DayQuil Sinus

4 packages Yoplait smoothies
5 loaves of Harper's Homemade bread
2 Smucker's Uncrustables
2 Corn Chex cereal
1 gallon of milk
4 packages hot dogs
4 Yoplait yogurt 4-packs
2 8th Continent soy milk half gallons
2 boxes Keebler fruit snacks
4 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
4 French's Mustard
1 box Keebler's Wheatables
1 bunch bananas
2 boxes Ore-Ida Bagel Bites
2 Dreyer's Ice Cream
5 bags Ore-Ida Fries
9 boxes Aunt Jemima Waffles (10 ct.)
2 boxes Red Baron Singles Pizza

Total Retail Value: $249.08

My total out-of-pocket cost after coupons and promotions: $113.52

Pretty good, but not GREAT you may be thinking. Well, when you consider that between Walgreen's and Albertsons (two of the stores I hit) I also received $41 in catalinas....it sweetens the deal! For those of you who don't know, a "catalina" is a coupon that prints after you pay for your shopping order, and it's good toward your next purchase of anything at the store! So basically, if you factor in the catalinas I received, it's as if I will be paying about $72 for $250 worth of groceries! I feel great about my shopping day, and am excited to have stocked up the freezer a bit!

Addictions aren't always bad.....right?

Yep...I admit it. I have a new addiction...COUPON SHOPPING! Yes, I have become one of those women who shops with a large binder full of coupons. It's as if I figured juggling a 3-year old and an (almost) 2-year old while grocery shopping wasn't quite challenging enough. A good friend swore by coupon shopping (thanks for all your help Kerstin!), and like many, I just wasn't interested at first. It just seemed so overwhelming and time-consuming, and I just couldn't see how clipping a couple of coupons good for 50 cents off was really going to save me any money. I can now shamelessly say how wrong I was, and I can't imagine shopping any other way! I got really grumpy the other day that I had to pay $3.99 for a package of string cheese....why didn't I have a coupon for that! Grrr...

I have been coupon shopping for just over a month, and really have to restrain myself from artfully arranging my purchases every week, and taking pictures. I can't believe how much I can get for how little! Here are a couple of examples. The two pictures below represent two separate shopping trips in the last few weeks. For ALL of the items in each grouping, I spent less than $50. That's over $200 worth of items in each photo. Not bad for a rookie!



In the last month, I have gone from basically NO food storage (unless man can survive on oats and rice alone!) to having a closet overflowing with extra items, that we will be using over the next several months. I have accumulated a year's supply of many items such as laundry soap, dish soap, ketchup, toothpaste, body wash, razors, and Children's Tylenol. For my entire year+ supply of laundry soap, my out of pocket cost is about $10. I LOVE IT!

I have become a total coupon dork, and have no problem admitting that sometimes I open this closet just to admire. I will also admit (since we're all friends here) that it's difficult for me to take naps on Sunday anymore. That's the day all the coupons come in the paper, and I look forward to it all week! Wow....if that didn't just make me sound like a middle-aged Mormon mommy, I don't know what will. Sigh.....

Life-SAVER????

Today was kind of a breakthrough day....for a couple of reasons. When Nathan saw Matthew enjoying some mini M&M's he started hysterically begging for the same candy. Of course I gave him one, since all Nathan ever does with new foods that he's curious about is carry them around for a while. No need to worry that he's allergic to milk....he won't eat it anyway! Wrong....he quickly ate it, much to my surprise! That is such a big deal in our house!! And he loved it! And of course he wanted more! Well, the last thing I wanted was a life-threatening allergic reaction on my hands, so I tried to find something in the pantry to distract him that he could safely have. Ahhhh...Lifesavers! He loves to hold those because they look like wheels. The most he's ever done before is lick them a time or two. So he was immediatly placated with a "wheel candy." Again, much to my surprise, he ate that too!! And of course he wanted more! So I gave him another one, and went about my business.

It was music to my ears when I heard all three kids running around the living room, playing and laughing together.....until that turned into quite a different sound from Nathan. He came running over to the room I was in making this horrible gagging sound. I immediately figured out what had happened, and tried not to panic. Fortunately, I could tell that he was able to breathe, but still turned him over and tried to beat the offending Lifesaver out of him. It didn't go easily, but ended up going down the pipe after about 10 seconds. Nathan immediately says, "There....that's better." All I could do was lock him in a tight hug and relish the feel of him breathing easily. Life-SAVERS??? The name seems a bit ironic to me.....

What do you get.....

What do you get when you cross the following:

The Couch...

The Vacuum...

And a silly boy named Matthew?

The answer is:

Is that the saddest picture or what? He honestly looks like he can't quite figure out what happened....or why his mouth feels so funny! Breaks my heart.....sigh. That's what we get when we have a little guy who watches his older siblings play and rough house with Daddy....and thinks he can keep right up! He went tumbling right off the couch, and tried to make out with the vacuum handle. Fortunately, it looked a lot better the next day! : )

Our world turned upside down...in a good way!

And this little guy is the one responsible! Nathan, our little acrobat, has thrown us for a loop since his very difficult birth. He's just always marched to his own beat, followed the path less traveled....you get the idea. Long story short, we're still trying to learn every day how to make life a little easier for him, while still teaching him that certain things aren't negotiable. To add to the chaos of life, Nathan started preschool today, and will be going two mornings a week. We're hoping that the introduction to structure and routine (by people other than Mom and Dad) will be beneficial to him in preparing him for school.

His teachers said he did very well today...Mom had a harder time. I'm not sure I'm ready to share him with the world, though I know it is the best thing for him. I spend moments of every day wishing he was past these difficult stages, but more moments in a panic over how quickly he's grown up. We'll see how he does in the coming week...it will be a good thing....I think.

Favorite Photos

I realize that I'm terrible about updating this blog. As I've been creating a new blog post for my vinyl blog every day this month, I've been inspired to be better at updating on the family. I decided to post some of my favorite pics over the coming weeks....enjoy!

This was way back when Matthew only had a couple cute little teeth on the bottom....when we first realized what a mischevious little bug we had on our hands. Always into something....and I mean ALWAYS!

A time to reflect....

This is a wonderful time of year for reflections. A time to reflect on the birth of our Savior, a time to reflect on the ways we want to improve our lives over the next year. More than ever this year, it's been a time to reflect on the arrival of our sweet little boy....exactly three years ago. Witnessing the arrival of a good friend's baby early in December, and welcoming a new neice just a few days ago has brought it all back even more. How is it possible that our little guy is three already? This miracle baby we waited over five years for...

Nathan has become such a sweet, funny, sensitive, joyful boy. We have learned so much from him, and love him more with every passing day. I sure wish he would stop growing up so fast, but I'm so excited to see who he becomes in the coming years. We love you so much Nathan....happy 3rd birthday!

In case anyone is wondering....no, Nathan still has not had any birthday cake at age 3. I couldn't even entice him with the cool cupcakes with cars on the top! Of course he wanted the cars....just not the cake.

This sweet boy opened his first gift....a toy helicoptor from big sister Emma, and was content. He was all set! It took a bit of work to get through the rest of the gifts. Note to self...next year, only one gift? : )

Matthew and Emma were more than happy to help him with the present-opening task. I think I am more excited about this gift than Nathan is. I actually found a little boy potty with WHEELS!! Is that perfect for Nathan or what? Now we just have to convince him to USE it rather than DRIVE it.

Now THIS he can drive. I think he will have so much fun with his very own car to drive. Again, demonstrating his sweet nature....he immediately wanted to have a seat for Emma or Matthew in here. Love this boy!