Sunday Shopping and my soapbox

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Sheila

As soon as the kids were all down for a nap today, I started getting ready to head to CVS. I had read on one blog that Cokes were on sale. I called my mother to check the ad because as I stopped to buy a paper yesterday, I realized I was one quarter short. I decided not to worry with the extra paper and will just use her coupons this week. Pepsi products are on sale this week not Cokes, (dang it). I was also hoping to get a 3 off $15 coupons that I had read were printing. Well I did get a 3 off $15 but it was for “facial care products.” Grrr but even tho it sounds like this would be a bust trip I was actually very pleased with the results:

I spent $2.66 and saved $34 or 93%. I actually left the store with 2ECB so that means total out of pocket was 0.66. I am really pleased with this trip I ended up doing 4 separate transactions and did start with 5ECB from completing a survey. The ThermaCare wraps were a raincheck from several weeks ago but but the other 3 transactions were all planned from SouthernSavers.

My first transaction was for the U Kotex pads and one tube of toothpaste. Total OOP was $1.01.
Second Transaction was the raincheck for the ThermaCare wraps. That I paid for the ECB and 0.39 tax.
Third transaction that I really didn’t think about or would have purchased another soda was a second tube of toothpaste and the pack of gum. I needed a 0.75 cent item and the cashier suggested gum. This transaction ended up costing me $0.66 OOP.
Finally I purchased the diapers and 2 soda costing me $0.59 OOP. The diapers were on sale for $8.49 and I had a $1.50 off coupon and exactly $8.49 in ECB to spend so without purchasing the soda I was losing money! I was really bummed at myself for forgetting my green bag because I would have earned another ECB and the trip would have been a money maker.

Now for my soap box, I am really pleased with the CVS trip especially paying 0.66 total OOP but do these items actually look like a value of $37?? The items I bought today with the exception of the wraps are necessities that would have to be purchased with or without coupons. I honestly don’t know how we could afford to live in the lifestyle we do without either my use of coupons or me returning to work at least part time to be able to buy toothpaste and diapers! I am going to post about my first real trip with coupons to Walmart either later or tomorrow so stay tuned!

Friday Facts

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Sheila

I have been able to post to my blog every day this week! YAY me! Matt says that I have too much free time but I am thinking I am finally claiming me time to do the things I enjoy!

After crying SOLID for an hour, Zach is now crying in spurts of one to two minutes at 1 hour and 30 minutes into bedtime. 🙁

This week has been rough on me both physically, emotionally and financially. But I did survive and we still have food and shelter so I need to focus on praising God for what I have not whining about what I don’t.

Matt and I were joking in the yard about “The lawn mower is silent.” I actually didn’t want to let him finish mowing because I didn’t want to come in and hear Zach cry.

If you have read much from my older post or follow me at all on Facebook you know that sleep is a precious commodity around here. I was up last night 6 total time. This week I have not been able to get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time. So I am not thinking or writing logically at some points!

We are now officially the owner of 3 vehicles that are not driveable. My van’s transmission will cost up $1300 and take 7 to 10 business days to get fixed. Thank you to our friends who have loaned us their second van most of the week! I really really really appreciate it!

Zach is finally asleep at 2 hours into bedtime. The question is how long will it last?

Cheap is Good…. Free is Better

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Sheila

DUH you say of course everyone knows this but let me clarify. I am talking about new or even slightly used items I have been able to gain over the past couple of weeks. When I say FREE, I mean with no out of pocket cost to me (this includes tax and shipping/handling). So I am really excited to report that I was able to get a Free Razor (New Fusion) for Matt just yesterday. On Sunday I picked up 4 FREE Magnets from CVS. I was not sure I would like these so I stopped ordering at 4 instead of the 6 I could have gotten. Now I am really disappointed that I didn’t get the other two because they are AWESOME! I order a photo collage today from Walgreens, my plan is to hang it in the new bathroom but if it is ugly then at least I don’t feel bad about throwing it away:). With Mother’s Day on Sunday there are several offers floating out there that I am hoping to take advantage off because FREE IS THE BEST! I have been able to “earn” 15 ECB during the past week just by taking surveys for CVS. I had signed up for the advisory panel over a month ago and these are the first 2 surveys that I have been sent. I really hope they continue to send them! They are easy and quick and I like being able to print my ECB right as I finish.

But don’t get me wrong cheap is good. For example my CVS trip this past Sunday I spent $30 and saved 77% or $102. I did start out with $2 ECB from the previous week and 10 ECB from a survey but I was excited about this trip. Highlights include Body wash for $0.60 a piece (3 total). Diapers for 0.07 a piece. With the diapers I really debated on purchasing and ended up buying a large size for Zach but the fact I had 2 coupons expiring I decided to use them. I also purchase both face cleaner and feminine products that should last between 3-6 months during this trip. Another cheap item that I have received is 2 “snowball” bushes. I have always wanted one or more of these in the yard. A nursery online was offering a $25 discount on a 25 purchase. So basically I paid 12.95 (shipping ) for 2. They arrived yesterday and we planted them at the corners of the trampoline, I hope they grow. They are suppose to have a life time guarantee with a minimum of 3 months prior to obvious growth so we will see?

Life

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Sheila

So I didn’t even remember it was Wednesday until I saw someone else “wordless Wednesday”post.
I have no picture and really don’t feel like trying to find one. Instead, I am going to explain my blah mood and headache. This week is one of the weeks that I hate. For some unknown reason a lot of appointments have landed on this week as well as Angel Food which totally eats my Thursday. Monday I was scheduled to work no big deal I thought I only had 2 patients on my schedule. That changed when 2 new inpatients arrived that had to be seen. I ended up working 5 hours on Monday and Carol called with Zach having a 102 fever around 2 pm. I called and arranged a doctor’s visit for him. So basically I left the house at 8:15am on Monday and returned at 6pm. Tuesday was not too bad except for driving Amanda too and from DCCC. Haley had a doctor’s appointment, so the little kids stayed with Papaw and Granny. Today, Haley,Lily and I had a dentist appointment. I also planned several errors like a quick trip to Food Lion and to pick up the girls new glasses. Matt came home at lunch and we decided to order Chinese that I could pick up after again picking up Amanda at school. I already had a headache from all the dental stuff this morning. Here is where Life happened:

My van’s transmission stopped working in the parking lot. I called Matt and we moved 3.4 of the stuff from my van to his and then found a place to work on the van. This sucks.. I was so excited that we were going to finish the addition and have it inspected this month. Along with sticking to budget and some extra work I picked up we should have been able to enjoy the month. NOPE not now…. everything is upside down as we wait for the total cost of the repair as well as figuring out how to pay for it.

LIFE….. it HAPPENS and we will ADJUST!

Sunday Thoughts/April in Review

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Sheila

I am SUPER excited….why you ask..I now have 2 followers!!! I know that several people read my blog on occasion but to have followers is AWESOME!! It also means that I am going to make a better effort to blog more! I just checked and I had 16 post in April which is less than March but still more than Jan and Feb. So I am going to count this as a success for my goal of blogging in March. I am getting into the swing of Monday Menu planning and Wordless (occasional) Wednesday but I need to focus on sharing more of life and couponing!

In April we had formal “preschool” on 5 days which is not a lot but I know that for several days Lily and I have worked on the computer on beginning reading skills and she is CONSTANTLY asking about what something starts with or how to write a letter. One of the major accomplishments for the month is that I order the book “Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons.” I was able to get it free using ebay bucks (1.67) and a gift card I purchased from swag bucks. I am going to count April a success in preschool even though it was 5 official days. In other news, a “School readiness specialist” will visit us once a month beginning in May to work with all the little kids. I am excited to get some new ideas and outside opinions on the kids. We have also officially decided not to send Lily to preschool next year. I am going to focus on finishing up with writing and reading during the summer! Starting in August, my goal is to take the kids to the Library for story hour at least 3 times a month and also plan a “field trip” to some local museums, farms or something to help Lily stay ready for School. We are also considering letting her do an extra activity outside of church but that is still on the table for discussion. She may do a small cheer squad ???

Budget wise April was a tough month because of an income problem but with expenses, I was able to cut our grocery bill by 50% totally from the previous 3 months. This is so exciting and I have a small stash of items such as diapers and toilet paper that should continue to bring the cost of things down! I had an awesome trip to CVS today but I want to save that for a separate post so that I can break down some of the cost per item! I have begun to see some more “free” items come in. For example I was able to use “Huggies diaper points” to purchase a bag of swim diapers for the summer! I also received cash back from bing and swag bucks! Hopefully the month of May will bring in our State Income tax return which will allow us to finish the addition and refinance the house. One of the major area that has helped our budget this month is reducing the number of times we eat out. This month with the exception of Matt’s birthday meal we have been able to limit our eating out to once per week! I am hoping to continue this all summer long and maybe even reduce to 2x a month. But that will be hard with us going to the pool this summer, hopefully frozen meals and community meals will help us stay on track!

Unfortunately, the one area that has been a complete bomb this month is my nightly devotions. I have to admit that I have only been reading maybe 2 nights the entire month. With that I know that I NEED to make this a focus this month so I hope to report a improvement in this area especially.

I am starting to appreciate blogging as a way to keep myself accountable to both my goals and budget. Honestly this is the first year that I am still working on my “goals” in May!

Club 254

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Sheila

Last night the kids club at church had a coffee and desert social for the “seasons citizens”. The theme for the night was 50’s. My friend N was so awesome in offering to make a skirt for Lily. I am not a crafty person and sewing is definitely not my thing. So I was so willing to let her make Lily a skirt. Otherwise Lily would have worn rolled up jeans!
Lily really loves going to clubs and I could not be more thrilled that they are teaching the kids from a young age that we need to be serving others. In November they did a veteran’s appreciation and they are also collect items all year to pack shoe boxes for Samaritan’s purse at Christmas. Lily loves the idea of giving and she is learning alot in the process!

Monthly Update (April)

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Sheila

I am really excited about how this month is going that I am going to update in the middle and again at the end of the month!

So far this month we have had 4 “official ” preschool days and at least that many if not more of days where I am working with Lily on Reading and Math on the computer or in the van. So this is a definite improvement over the last several months.

In the area of budgeting we are making progress. This month our grocery bills have been WAY down. It is around half of previous months and I dont plan to spend more than another 200 for the month which would be under still! We also got our electricity bill for this month today. It is down by $100!! That is awesome. I am hoping to get it down another 50 and keep it this low for at least 3 months but we will see. Hanging clothes out seems to make a HUGE difference as well as washing less!

We hope to plant next weekend! I am busy reading and figuring out which plants need to go where! The side flower bed is mulched and looks cool!

Catch up!

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Sheila

It feels like forever since I have had a chance to sit down and blog! But I am excited to say that I think***Hope**** that is going to change. So this post will be a random list what I can think of that I need to write down post! I am waiting for my tub to fill with hot water so I can enjoy a LONG LONG bath and hopefully a phone conversation (uninterrupted) with my BF.

I just checked my menu plan for the week and realized that I had Pork Chops down for Wednesday but that will not be happening as there are only 2 pork chops in the freeze. This week is a hard week because although we have PLENTY of chicken, that is about all the meat we have. Friday evening we had “Cabbage Rolls” which are by far my favorite cabbage dish and I will be making again so I am going to move the chimis to Tuesday since they will be a heat and serve dish after me working. I just have to remember to get them out of the freezer. I actually have a new cook book from Pamper chef so I may try something out of there as well.

We have decided that instead of buying a temporary sink for the new bathroom, on the day of inspection we will move the one from our bathroom to it. After the inspection is complete we plan on re-financing and buying the sink we want then. So at this point, we need $300 for a new hot water heater to be ready for our “Certificate of Occupancy.” I am hoping/praying that our State Income Tax Refund comes in this weeks so that we can get this ball rolling.

Matt and I attended a free “Financial Peace University” class today. The good thing was that it gave us some time to talk in the van. We have decided that we have to make an emergency fund a “MUST” so starting this month I am going to deposit $100 in it prior to paying bills and as soon as we get able to make the budget then we will stash anything extra in it until we have the $1000 that is recommended. We also talked at length about me working more and I think that Matt understands he is going to have to “sacrifice” some of his work time in order for it to work. This is a huge adjustment in his way of thinking but I hope it works.

I have been able to “find” some awesome deals this weekend. I made a trip to Food Lion yesterday and because of couponing I was able to purchase 1 gallon of milk and 2 packs of Oreo cookies for $1.63 but in reality I also spent $72 first to be able to do this deal. I am hoping that we can greatly reduce our food budget this month and it appears that will work but with a 5 week month that may change. Our neighbors were throwing away a dresser and nightstand that we decided to get. The dresser will end up being Zach and nightstand is ours and we may decided to go with a “wrought’ iron bed frame for the new room. The night stand is really cool so if we can find a bed to match that will be awesome.

Zach decided that sitting up was not enough of a milestone and is now able to crawl across the floor. He is also very difficult to get down for naps and bed so I am hoping that will get easier in the next few weeks. Currently he has been crying for 30 minutes. I am thinking that I will go and hold him and see if I can get him asleep before he wakes up Kendall.

Zach’s Surgery

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Sheila

I am so far behind in blogging, I can’t believe it is the 8th of April. I seriously think I have lost the past 7 days. I think this entitles me to skip a monthly recap for March, but did actually do one in my head sort of.

So I decided that I need to blog about the most important thing I should remember about this week, Zach’s ear tube. I may or may not catch up on some other things later this week but for now this is what you get. We (Zach and I) went for pre-op on Monday and learned that we would need to be at the hospital at 6:15am on Wednesday. Matt and I had been talking about how to arrange it and that was the deciding factor. Tumble Tots is closed this week and so someone was going to have to stay with Lily and Kendall as well as get Haley to school. My dad volunteered to ride with Zach and I so that made things a little bit easier.

I woke up at 5am on Wednesday got dressed and had to wake Zach up to change him. We arrived at the hospital at 6:05 and waited less than 5 minutes before they took us to the Outpatient surgery unit. Pawpaw sat in the waiting room because it was more room. The staff was awesome. Zach did not even need an IV. He was under for less than 10 minutes. Zach left me around 6:55 with 2 RNs. Erica D. came out to speak to me and the doctor was back to tell me everything was a success at 7:11am. I did have a chance to call Matt and then sent a text when surgery was over. Erica brought Zach to me around 7:30 and stay and talked with me for about 15minutes. At around 8am Pawpaw came back because he was getting worried. I had told him 30-45 minutes after surgery we could go but they made us wait an half and hour after he came back to me. We left the hospital around 9 am.

I am a little concerned as Zach has a bad cold with a low grade fever but I will watch him and see what happens. I did give him Motrin yesterday for a the fever combined with his not feeling good. I definitely think the tubes were the best choice. The MD told me that he did have more fluid behind his ear drums, so if we had not been on an antibiotic, I am sure we would have been back at the doctors. We have to put drops in his ears 2x a day for 10 days but other than that he is awesome.

Today at Angel Food we looked over and he has learned to sit up off the floor alone. He will stay sitting up for about 5 minutes before falling over. He also woke up EARLY this morning and “talked” for about an hour before crying for me to come and get him! He currently has 2 teeth on the bottom only!