Pantry Challenge - part 4

It is the end of the first full week of January and I have to say, I've done pretty well!

Last week I shared with you my goal of only spending $100 on groceries/toiletries/paper goods, etc. for the month of January.  As of today, I have $65.95 left in my budget for the month.  I have to pick up some milk this week, but other than that, I don't think I need anything on my list for at least another week.  I planned my meals for the entire month and made sure the meals I knew I would need something to complete were near the end of the month.  On the 21st I have a babysitter coming to watch the children while I go shopping and take full advantage of my brain (and coupons, etc.) while I'm shopping!!!

I managed to stick with my meal plan and actually ended up not making two meals because we had so many leftovers to use up.

My plan for this week is:

Breakfasts: Pumpkin pancakes, oatmeal, cold cereal

Lunches: Mostly leftovers, otherwise, pb&j, fruit/veggie tray, odds-n-ends

Monday: Nachos (made with refried beans, cheese, homemade salsa, black olives, served on corn chips), fruit smoothies
Tuesday: Ordering pizza for Jacob's 6th birthday (this will count as our meal out for the week) - having a couple of friends over to share pizza and cake (which I ordered from Target and will come out of another part of my budget)
Wednesday: French toast, fruit smoothies
Thursday: Navy Bean Soup, bread w/butter
Friday: Sloppy joes, fruit smoothies and veggie sticks
Saturday: Veggie soup, bread w/butter, fresh fruit
Sunday: Baked marinated chicken, steamed veggies and rolls

You can catch up with my other Pantry Challenge posts here, here and here.

Be sure to head on over to Menu Plan Monday for more weekly menu inspiration!

Pantry Challenge - part 3

I really think this pantry challenge couldn't have come at a better time (and I probably wouldn't have thought to do it if someone hadn't thought it up for me!).  With our impending overseas move in July - but we're moving out of our house and going to stay with my family in Florida sometime in mid-May - I have been fretting a little about not being wasteful with all of the things I've been stocking up on for the last year.  I'm really excited to clean out my pantry, freezers and fridges this month and begin only buying what we NEED and will eat in a 2-3 week time period.  And there are some things (condiments, baking supplies) that once we use them up, I won't be purchasing more.

So, my goals for the pantry challenge are:
::  Eat mostly what is currently in my home
::  Purchase only necessary items such as milk, eggs, cheese, fresh fruit/veggies when they are actually needed.  No stocking up - except for Eli's milk (I purchase by the case at Costco because he has a milk allergy and drinks rice milk - unless I find almond milk for a cheaper price, then he drinks that).
::  Spend no more than $100 on grocery/toiletry items for January.  I've already spent $21.53, leaving me with $78.47 for the remainder of January.  I've already made a meal plan for the entire month and have a small grocery list of a few things I know I'll need the second half of the month (other than what I listed above).
::  Continue our regular once-weekly dining out - this comes from a different area of our budget.
::  Stick to the meal plan.

Here's my menu plan for January 1 through January 10:
1/1 - Pizza, veggie sticks with Ranch
1/2 - Ate out with a friend
1/3 - Chicken tortilla soup (recipe later this week), fruit
1/4 - Tacos with lots of trimmings, fruit
1/5 - Spaghetti, veggie sticks, bread w/butter
1/6 - Meatloaf, steamed veggies, rolls
1/7 - Veggie soup, bread w/butter
1/8 - Pizza, fruit or fruit smoothies
1/9 - Eat out, possibly with a friend
1/10 - Deer sausage, eggs, fruit, toast

Lunches are mostly made of leftovers because without Michael here we typically have enough for all four of us to eat the dinner meal for the next day's lunch.  If it doesn't work out to be enough, I'll add simple things like veggie sticks, fruit, cheese, crackers, etc.

If you have no clue what this pantry challenge is, be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Swagbucks

Have you heard of Swagbucks but are still a little skeptical of the whole process?  Let me break it down a bit for you and tell you why you really should join.

:: It's a search engine (just like Google), but instead of just getting your search results, you also earn random "bucks" for your searches.  So, instead of using your Google search bar you can download either the Swagbucks search bar or the full toolbar.  I recommend the full toolbar because you can easily see how many Swagbucks you have and it has quick links to the store and your message box.  In the message box, there will sometimes be codes to earn you extra bucks.
::  These "bucks" are basically points you use to buy things in the swagstore.  There are all sorts of items in the store.  You can purchase anything from music and movies to gift cards (such as Amazon, iTunes, Starbucks, etc.) and many things in between.
::  You can also earn bucks by referring friends.
::  It's easy and requires no extra effort.  If you're searching for things anyway, why not earn points for it?

You can join today and Swagbucks will start you off with 30 bucks in your account.  Then you can start searching and referring friends to be on your way to free stuff!

One last thing - I promise there is NO CATCH.

Pantry Challenge - part 2

Today I'm sharing my pantry contents...  Does anyone else find it weird to show the whole world what's inside your fridge/freezer and pantry?  Or is that just me?

Moving right along then - here is yesterday's post of what I found in my freezers and fridges (it's A LOT more than I thought I had).

Top 3 shelves (that second shelf is baking supplies -and a jumbo container of taco seasoning- only)

Bottom shelf and floor.

Here's what I found in the pantry (tally marks indicate 1 meal of each item, unless otherwise noted):

Tuna - I

Canned chicken - I  I

Salmon - I

Rotel - I  I  I

Green beans - I  I

Peas - I

Tomato paste - I  I

Tomato sauce - I

Home canned spag. sauce - 1½ pints

Dehydrated tomatoes - 1 bag

Black olives - I  I

Home canned jalapenos - ½ pint

Home canned apple butter - ½ pint

Pizza sauce - I  I  I  I

Peanut butter - 4 jars

Apple sauce - ½ gallon

Pumpkin pancake mix - I  I  I

Italian dressing (marinade) - I

Baking supplies - PLENTY (including about 12lb of flour and ½ giant bag of chocolate chips in garage fridge)

Pasta - I  I

Corn chips - 1 bag = I  I  I

Other random items include - snacks left over from Christmas sacks, tea, popcorn, cereal, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar.

I have WAY more food than I ever dreamed I had in my house.  I managed to make an entire month's menu plan and only added a few items to my list that I'll need to buy during the second half of the month.  I picked up a few things today and I shouldn't need to purchase anything for at least 2 weeks.

On Monday I'll share my menu plan for the entire month of January and my budget for the month (including what I spent today).

Pantry Challenge - part 1

Are you taking the pantry challenge?  I am!  If you're not familiar with what the pantry challenge is all about, you can hop over to either Money Saving Mom or Life As Mom and find out more.

My first step in starting this month of eating from what we have with minimal shopping was to take an inventory of my freezers, fridges and pantry.

Today I'm sharing my fridges and freezers with you.

This is the freezer in my garage.

This is the freezer inside.

Here's my freezer inventory (each tally mark represents 1 meal worth of the item - unless otherwise noted):
Meats
Fish - I
Chicken breasts - I
Ground beef - I  I  I  I  I  I  I
Browned taco meat - I
Steak - I
Antelope steaks - I
Deer sausage - I
Whole chicken - I
Cooked shredded chicken - I  I  I
Jumbo bag of chicken nuggets

Fruits/veggies
Carrots - I  I
Pumpkin puree - 11 pints
Frozen mixed veggies - I  I  I  I  I
Frozen corn - I  I  ½
Frozen broccoli - I
Jumbo unopened bag of frozen strawberries
Jumbo bag of frozen blueberries - ½

Other
Chicken stock - I  I  I
Bread - 2 loaves

This is the fridge in the garage.

This is the inside fridge.

Here is my fridge inventory:
Grains
Crescent rolls (canned) - I  I  I  I
Pizza crust (canned) - I  I  I  I
Tortillas - 2+ packages = appx. 24
Brown rice - I  I  I  I
Quinoa - I  I  I  I

Beans
Several jars of beans in varying amounts, including - pinto, navy, red/kidney, lentils, black and black eyed peas.
Refried beans - I

Meat
Turkey pepperoni - ½ bag
Hot dogs - I  I  I
Deli meat - I

Fruits/veggies
Salsa (homemade) - 3 pints
Applesauce - ½ jar
Onions - I  I  I  I  I  I  I
Garlic - tons from my aunt's garden
Potatoes - I  I

Dairy
Cheddar - 2lb
Mozzarella - ½lb
Eggs - 2 doz.

That's it for today.  Tomorrow, I'll give you my pantry inventory and my meal plan for the entire month of January!  I'll also include my goal for how much I'll spend for the month and what I'll be purchasing with that amount.

You can follow along with Part 2, also.

Frugal Christmas for kids

As a family, we do not place a lot of emphasis on Christmas gifts the way the commercial world would like us to.  We choose to mostly celebrate Jesus' birth!  We do give gifts to our children, but they are usually small and Christmas morning is NOT an elaborate gift-opening-event in our home.  Rather, it is leisurely.  There's a fresh, hot breakfast and then the children are permitted to open their gifts.

Michael and I also typically do not exchange gifts.  Not because we're anti-gift, but simply because we have decided that if there is truly something out there we want, and it's in the budget, we would go ahead and purchase it, no need for a special occasion!  However, there are, on occasion, surprises!!

This year the children are receiving small gifts.

Jacob:
~ new pair of waterproof gloves
~ ninja costume
~ pillow case with a photo of Michael and the boys
~ stuffed animal with recorded greeting from Michael (these are provided by Airman and Family Readiness Center)

Eli:
~ new winter ha
~ Power Ranger costume
~ pillow case with a photo of Michael and the boys
~ stuffed animal with recorded greeting from Michael

Rachael:
~ Cabbage Patch doll (each child has received a Cabbage Patch doll on their first Christmas, however, last Christmas, the company only had reproduction 25th anniversary dolls out - and they were much too retro for my taste!)
~ stuffed animal with recorded greeting from Michael

Michael is deploying to Iraq on Wednesday, December 16, so the boys will receive their pillow cases this Tuesday (provided I get them finished this weekend - I've already printed the transfers, just need to iron them on) as a special gift to help them sleep well and feel like daddy is close, even though he's very far away.

Tip: I shop Target on November 1 each year and purchase a few costumes for each child.  I got both costumes this year for $15 total.  Retailers deeply discount any left over Halloween costumes starting the day after Halloween.  This year Michael was TDY for the first 2 weeks of November (he left VERY early on the 1st) and I wasn't unable to purchase any other costumes (the kids were with me even for the ones I did buy, but I *think* they've forgotten about them by now).  Rachael is still a bit young for dressing up, so she isn't receiving a costume this year.

Littles and card games

I enjoy playing card games with the boys and it's so fun to watch them learn and develop new thinking and reasoning skills.  We are currently mostly playing games like Go Fish or Crazy 8's with card sets found at Dollar Tree (but Jacob also really enjoys Uno). These are awesome and usually come in packs of two - we have one that had Crazy 8's and Go Fish and another pack that they received as a gift that had Crazy 8's and Memory and each pack is only $1!!  So far they're holding up quite nicely!

However, Jacob has finally gotten to the age where he understands that his hand of cards should be kept out of view of everyone else playing the game but at almost 6, his hand isn't quite big enough to pull of the feat of holding them all....

Enter, the card holder:

This has quickly become one of my favorite "gadgets" for having fun with littles.  It seems to be even more helpful for Eli who is 3 and is constantly fidgety and always knocking his cards off the table.  It helps him keep them all in one place and for Jacob it is helping him learn the art of keeping his hand hidden!


This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.

Advent study for young children

Once again, I waited until the last minute to try to get an Advent study together for our family...  However, I managed to pull it off without too much fuss and no money spent.  What I came up with will suffice for this year, and I WILL get my act together and create real ornaments for next year!

What I devised as an interim, until I can make permanent ornaments, is to use this devotion along with some printed "ornaments".  I opened MS Word and got busy finding clip art suitable for each ornament.  I made a document with each the clip arts sized to what I thought was appropriate and printed it on matte photo supreme paper (it's as thick as cardstock).  It's not the best thing ever, but thankfully my children don't really care about aesthetic appeal.  I have posted the Word document I created here, you're welcome to it.*

I cut out each of the items with decorative scissors, leaving enough room at the top for a small hole punch to feed a ribbon through.  Then the ribbon in a loop to make a "hanger" for the tree.  We will just hang them on our regular tree in with our regular ornaments.  You might also want to have a separate small tree devoted to being a Jesse Tree.

We were 5 days late getting started, so yesterday we covered the first three days' devotions during our Bible time.  We managed to not get any school work done today so we will try to get caught up on Friday and then do one a day as we're suppose to.

If you are looking for Advent/Jesse Tree devotionals for your family for the Christmas season, you might want to check out some of these wonderful posts:

* Keeping Christ in Christmas with the Jesse Tree from A High and Noble Calling
* Celebrate with Joy: Week 1 from Keeper of the Home
* Our Jesse Tree: A Focused Advent Celebration from Passionate Homemaking
* Jesse Tree from Rocks in My Dryer (from 2008)
* Advent Daily Dose: The Jesse Tree from Kitchen Stewardship

* Feel free to print and use the Advent "ornaments" I created, however if you link to the document on a post, I would appreciate a link-back.  Thanks.


This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.

Reusing ziploc bags

I am a big fan of reusing ziploc bags.  I reuse all of my ziplocs that have not had raw meat in them.  I use them until they simply give out and get a hole or spring a leak.

If they have held something dry (crackers, cookies, etc.) I usually just empty the crumbs into the trash and stick the bag back in my stash.  However, if they've held another type of food or something messy, I wash them by hand.

My tip for you is to hang on to your bottle/sippy cup drying rack once you're no longer using it for its intended purpose, it makes a really good baggie drying rack.  I also frequently have more bags to dry than will fit on the rack so I move my utensil bucket onto a towel and place bags onto taller spoons and spatulas to dry.  Here's what my kitchen counter looks like on those occasions.

Be sure to head on over to Kitchen Tip Tuesday for more wonderful tips to make your kitchen time go more smoothly.

I think I just might turn into a pumpkin...

Do you remember this post and my gigantic pumpkins? Well, today was the day I tackled some of the preserving.

We had a regular size pumpkin from a pumpkin patch we visited and our 2 ginormous pumpkins. I chose to take care of the two smaller ones today (and we've since decided to sell the 76lb-er on Craigslist). I started this process just after lunch today and just now (at 9pm) closed up shop and I'm not even finished yet.

The average size pumpkin was definitely nothing special, but this guy was a bit challenging to cut into, even with my very best knife.











Here's the first batch in the oven baking.









Here are the other two batches waiting.






Today yielded me 15 pints of puree for the freezer and I still have about 4-6 more pints that are baked, peeled and chopped and ready to be pureed but I didn't have any more standing up left in me today (since I've been standing for the better part of the last 8 hours).

I also have enough pumpkin seeds to be roasted to last us a long while. They've been washed and I'll roast them tomorrow.
Updated 10/11
In other preserving news, here's what I have done and still have on the to-do list:
* Apple butter - done (2 pints and 8 half-pints)
* Apple pie filling - decided to just make a few batches of apple crisp instead
* Tomato/pasta sauce - (1.5 pints done and still have lots of tomatoes ripening, will probably have enough to make a few pints by the end of next week) DONE
* Jalapenos - done (half pint)
* Tomatoes; dehydrated - (have dehydrated a few pounds and will probably do the same with the stragglers that are the last to ripen once I've canned all that I can)

Cloth diapering - an update!

Let me just say that cloth diapering is such an awesome thing! People who have not researched it probably think we're nuts, but with the options out there today, it's really not much different than using disposables.

Here is a link to all of my other posts on our adventure into cloth diapering. It is the progression of when we started with Eli (he was nearly 2) and on to cloth diapering Rachael who is now almost 11 months old. Eli is finally potty trained - though he does wear Target brand pullups at night because he refuses to wear anything cloth and I refuse to change sheets in the middle of the night since he isn't night trained yet - we're working on it.

We almost exclusively cloth diaper Rachael. The only times I put her disposables are when she will be in a nursery or someone else's care and need her diaper changed (church nursery, MOPS nursery, gym child care, babysitter, etc.). If we are going out and I'll be the one changing her, I just pack a couple extra cloth diapers and a wetbag. We go thru a little less than one small size package of disposables at month (Target brand costs just over $6).

So, here is what we currently have in rotation:
* 10 one-size BumGenius 3.0's (just yesterday purchased 6 of them from a craigslist ad and just started using them today, so we've only had 4 in our stash until now)
* 2 Thirsties pocket AIO's in size medium
* 12 diaper service quality infant prefolds with 3 Thirsties covers (size medium) - I would love to have one more cover though, because I frequently run out of covers and still have clean prefolds...
* 1 one-size Rumparooz
* 1 one-size Mommy's Touch
* 1 one-size Baby Kicks fitted (it's a fitted so I use a Thirsties cover with it)
* 12 Motherease fitteds with 2 Motherease covers (these were purchased for Eli from a craigslist ad and I only use them with Rachael if I'm doing a load of diapers and out of everything else because they don't fit her very well)

While I'm at home, I mostly use the prefolds with a cover. For naptime, I wrap a microterry doubler inside it for extra absorbency.

Night time is always a one-size diaper. My favorite for night time is the Mommy's Touch because it has snaps and she doesn't have to wear shorts over it when it's hot since she can't unsnap it, but I only have one of those, so I use whatever is clean (Mommy's Touch, BumGenius or Rumparooz). Rachael is not a very heavy wetter so I don't even double up the soakers.

Other than night time, I try to make sure I always have a couple one-sizes available for outings simply because they are faster to change. If I don't have any available, I usually go ahead and prepare a prefold in a clean cover so I don't have to do the folding with a wiggly baby (because she is VERY wiggly)!

I'll wrap this up for now and do another post on our washing routine in a few days.

**I was going to add a few photos in Rachael in some of her diapers but she would NOT cooperate with the photographing.**


Updated: Here's a subsequent post I wrote about my washing routine.

Garden update

I thought it was time I give you all an update on my garden. The following photos were taken about a week ago and everything is a bit bigger now.

* In the back, on the far left and just left of center (the tallest plants) are all tomatoes. This year I started them from seed in my kitchen window - they are all large red cherry and there are 5 plants. I started them a little later than I should have, but was still able to transplant them in mid-May. They have done really well so far and have a lot of fruit on them, I imagine they will be starting to ripen soon!
* In the back, just to the right of the tomatoes are 2 jalapeno plants but you can't really see them because they are hiding underneath the giant tomato plants. They are producing nicely and I'm harvesting about 2 peppers per week.
* In the center (the staked plants) are potatoes. I started them on my own from organic red potatoes - I did not use seed potatoes so I have no idea how they will turn out - it was more experiment than anything... They have not been hilled properly but they are quite tall and staked up to save ground/walking space.
* In the back right corner are Elite White peas that have not done well. I planted them mid-May also and they still aren't very tall and definitely are not producing. I haven't yanked them yet because I'm just waiting and I don't need the space yet.
* Just below the peas is a patch that has lettuce and cilantro. Yum! The cilantro is just about finished and I pulled up all but 2 plants today. The lettuce continues to be wonderful!
* The bushy section in the middle right in front is carrots. These are doing wonderfully, as well. I have dug up carrots 2 times since this photo was taken so they are starting to get a little sparse. I realize now that I really should have thinned them when they first sprouted because they are quite interesting looking. Some are curly and squished together and some are even twisted together because they were too close. They still taste yummy, though!
* Just to the left of the carrots is a strawberry plant. It's a bit hard to see because of the squash leaves. It's a very pretty plant that has grown nicely, but has only produced 3 strawberries, all yummy, but I'm not sure what's up with it...
* The last thing I want to tell you about is that squash plant. Here's a better photo:

YIKES! It's out of control. First off, this is actually only 2 plants. And they are from some seeds that Eli planted in a cup as a preschool activity. When he brought them home, I never in a million years thought they would amount to anything. But, then it sprouted and began to grow, so I transplanted it into the garden and apparently it REALLY likes it there! It was suppose to be a "pumpkin" plant (at least that's what the cup said), but it turns out it's yellow squash. It is producing nicely with about 10 squash on it right now. We will never be able to eat it all so we will be giving some of it away. Right now, there's one that needs picking that is nearly the diameter of a basketball and oval shaped. It doesn't have the long neck that squash usually have, but it's definitely squash and NOT pumpkin!

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this squash plant grows at least an inch a day!

Homemade baby food - price breakdown

Last week I gave you a general run down on how to make your own baby food and I'm wrapping up the subject this week with a cost comparison on conventional baby food vs. homemade.

Keep in mind, these are prices in Colorado for mostly in-season produce (typically in-season produce is less expensive, and locally grown or from your farmer's market is even better priced).

The prices below are broken down based on how much Rachael (7 mo.) is currently eating.

*Bananas: 6 semi-large @ $.69/lb. = $3.03

Total servings = 12
*Sweet pots: 2 large @ $1.59/lb = $1.87

Total servings = 12
*Butternut squash: 1 medium size @ $1.49/lb = $3.01

Total servings = 15
*Avocado: 6 semi-large @ $5.99 (bag from Costco)

Total servings = 24

Total spent: $13.90 for 63 servings

Earth's Best baby food jars (this is the brand I would buy if I bought conventional baby food, you may wish to substitute the price of your favorite brand in place of this for a more accurate price comparison):
*1st foods: $.69/jar; 2 jars = 1 serving (63 x 2=126 jars)

Total spent = $86.94
*2nd foods: $.89/jar; 1.5 jars = 1 serving (63 x 1.5 = 94.5 jars)

Total spent = $84.11

Using an average of the two different sizes of jars the difference is incredible.

$85.53
-$13.90
$71.63 (this is the amount I saved for 1 month's supply of food, it is 18% of my grocery budget!!!!)

I have not included the cost of cereal for breakfast (and to mix in when veggies have gotten too soupy from too much water added during pureeing) because Rachael receives WIC, so we do use conventional cereal because it is provided for free. For added accuracy, add in the cost of how many boxes of cereal your little one goes thru in one month and then calculate the difference. It's still substantial if you do buy cereal.

Be sure to visit Frugal Friday for more wonderfully frugal tips!

Homemade baby food

This post has been in the works for a while because I've really been wanting to share how much money I save by making my own baby food.

Jacob is 5 now, but when he was little I was introduced to Super Babyfood by Ruth Yaron and it totally changed my perspective on feeding my precious child. I also absolutely love how she lists every fruit, vegetable and grain you could possibly think up and the age at which it is considered ok for baby to eat, along with choosing and preparation instructions!!

After reading thru the sections on actually preparing the food, I was amazed at how easy it all seemed and I knew this was for me!

Jacob was in daycare at the time because I was still working (long story and I'm so glad God finally got it thru to me about being a stay home mom!) so his lunch meal was provided at the daycare center as part of his fee, so I ended up only preparing foods for his breakfast and dinner.

When Eli came along, I was no longer working and knew that the majority of his food would be prepared at home and it has been the same for Rachael. She has been eating solids for about 6 weeks now, so I'm back to preparing baby food and I really enjoy knowing what goes into her food1

I'll give you a short tutorial now and then a price breakdown next week for a one month supply of homemade food at Rachael's current appetite!

Butternut squash seeded and cut into large pieces. I believe I baked the squash at 375° for a little over an hour. The goal is to bake it until soft all the way thru - I find that the time varies based on how thick the squash is.


While the squash is baking, gather the rest of your supplies: * Food processor (this is a 3 cup version and it's plenty big enough); * Ice cube trays; * Filtered water; * Utensils for peeling/cutting and scooping


Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel and cut into chunks and fill food processor bowl approximately 3/4 full.


Begin with adding a small amount of water and turning on the processor. You'll need to add water in small amounts until you get the squash the correct consistency (based on the age and eating abilities of your child). The amount of water you add will vary greatly depending on what kind of food processor you have.


Once that batch is the correct consistency, scoop it into the wells of the ice cube trays, filling them almost to the rim (leave a little room for expansion because you added water). Then repeat the process until you have your entire squash made into baby food.

Place trays (uncovered) into the freezer overnight.


In the morning, label a large freezer bag (if you don't have a freezer bag, you'll need to double bag it) with what it is - because once you get several foods of the same color in the freezer you won't be able to tell them apart - and the date prepared. Then break them all free of the ice trays, dump into the bag, seal and place back in the freezer.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: appx. 1 hour
Work time: appx. 30 mintes
Servings: 15-16

Be sure to visit Frugal Friday for more wonderfully frugal ideas.

What to do with all my freebies/samples

I am an avid sample-requester and also play the drugstore game to "buy" things for free (though not wholeheartedly). So, I have tons of free sample packs and travel size toiletry items hanging around.

Every couple of months I usually bag up all the extras and drop them in the food pantry cart at church, but I've known for a couple of months that we were probably going to be taking a vacation to Florida to visit my family early in the year. Then, we decided to hold off on the trip until summer because of some TDY's Michael has coming up. THEN Michael found an insanely cheap round-trip fare from Denver to Pensacola (about 2.5 hrs. from my hometown), so I am leaving on Saturday night and taking ALL THREE KIDS with me (I am officially crazy!!). We will be gone for 2 weeks.

I went thru my bathroom drawer and rounded up all the free shampoos and conditioners I have and came up with enough for the whole trip!! I also have deoderant and pre-moistened face cloths. It's nice to be able to take those and not have to worry about packing my large bottles and then having to bring them back home.

What do you do with your samples and freebies?

Walgreens money maker!

Last night I was in Walgreens getting my weekly deals and I found a money maker I hadn't noticed before!!

Here's how it worked for me:
- Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber starter kit = $5.79 regular price (I thought this came from All You but it doesn't look like it - maybe it came from the paper.... sorry, wish I could tell you)
- I had a FREE mail-in-rebate form up to $5.69 on one starter kit
- I also had a $1 Q from the recent Right @ Home mailer
- AND Walgreens has an Easy Saver rebate of $1.50 on this product until August 30.

Here's the breakdown:
$6.22 = 5.79 + .43 tax
-$5.69 (MIR)
-$1.00 (Right @ Home Q)
-$1.50 (WG Easy Saver)
$1.97 PROFIT!!! Now that's what I call a good deal!

Super Sample Sunday - 8/17

Pretty slow week again this week.

* Cosmopolitan mag
* Domino mag with a free copy of Fashion included
* Playtex Sport tampons
* Gillette body wash

As a side note - I've been saving all my free magazines for several weeks now so I'll have something to read while I'm in the hospital all by myself after having Rachael. I'm sure I'll have a few visitors and either Michael or his mom will be with me most of the time - but I'm sure I'll have some down time, too (and may not always want to sleep.....though I'm sure I'll do a lot of that as well!).

Super Sample Sunday - 8/10

I had a pretty good week this week. Here's what I got:

* Cosmopolitan Style magazine
* Baby Talk magazine
* Pullups coupon book
* Sunsilk samples with coupons
* Neutrogena moisturizer
* Oatmeal Crisp
* Uncles Ben's Ready Rice - Cajun Style

I haven't posted for the previous 2 weeks because all I received during that entire 2 weeks was a Huggies size 1 diaper and wipes and a Huggies newborn diaper.......

Hooray for the Commissary!

I'm not usually a huge fan of the Commissary, they tend to have higher prices than my local Walmart, it is typically CROWDED (even on days that are no where near payday) and I do like the convenience of Super Walmart and not having to go 2 separate places to buy home goods, etc. However, today's trip to the Commissary may have converted me totally!

I went at the worst possible time, mid-day on a Saturday..... duh! and it was super crowded, which is pretty much what I expected. Being so crowded (you know, the having-to-wait-for-several-customers-to-move-down-an-aisle-just-so-you-can-get-your-cart-onto-the-aisle, kind of crowding) makes me a little frazzled by the end of my shopping trip (I only do major shopping 2x per month, so it takes me up to 2 hours each trip). Especially, when I'm actually trying to research prices and compare coupons, etc. while I'm getting what's on my list.

So, by the time I got to the cashier (and put my 4 separate orders on the belt - 3 WIC checks and my regular purchases) my brain was fried.... The cashier was super patient with having to check out 4 different orders for me and that was a relief because the cashier's at Walmart always seem in a hurry and there's always someone in line behind you making me feel rushed. At the Commissary, they don't even call the next person up until you are finished - you just wait in a long, winding line until it's your turn! The bagger was wonderful and packed all my reusable bags properly and efficiently and then when she ran out of those, honored my request for paper! And the baggers only work for tips!

Ok, back to my brain being fried..... I realized as the bagger was walking with me out to the van that I still had all my coupons (but I had remembered to make change for the bagger while the cashier's drawer was open)........... GAH! Once we got all the bags loaded, I sat in the van and called customer service admitting that it was my fault for forgetting. Guess what? The lady I spoke with said "just bring in your receipt and all your coupons and we'll verify them." Whoa! So, back into the store I went! At customer service a different lady took my receipt and coupons (and me) over to a register and scanned my receipt and then each coupon to verify that the coupon was valid for that receipt and gave me $11.05 back in CASH even though I'd paid with a credit card!!

I think I am now in love with the Commissary because, even if you're a big dork like me, you can still get your coupons honored and not have to suffer an $11.05 mistake.

Super Sample Sunday #8

I had a decent week this week. Here's what I got:
* Pantene Brunette Expressions
* Dove Pro Age moisturizer and a coupon
* Home Made Simple coupon booklet with TONS of great coupons
* Above Rubies Magazine
* Coupon from Babies R Us to get a free $10 gift card if I create a registry with them
* Domino Magazine (this one isn't completely free - the subscription was purchased for super cheap using our United Mileage account and we got triple miles for the purchase, so it was definitely worth it - we're working toward Michael not having to pay for his next trip to visit his dad in Australia!)