Coloring Easter eggs!

I feel like such a bad mom, but I've never let my kids color Easter eggs. I gave in this year because they really wanted to, and we all had a good time. I hate messes, but it actually wasn't horrible. My kids are all at a really fun age and they love to play together. In the past I have gotten a lot of comments from people about having them so close together but I wouldn't have it any other way, they love each other and I hope they will always be close.

The Princess Turned 3

Bless her heart, she did not feel good on her birthday.

She calls herself Bella Princess, and is a very girly girl. She loves to look pretty, very picky about what she wears. Usually she is in a dress when we are at home. This summer I think she'll be in a dress a whole lot more. She's loves anything to do with princesses and barbies. She is a funny girl, and she really loves her mama. I don't know what she would do if I actually went to work, she is at my side the whole day; it's ok because I secretly like it. She still takes a good 3-4 hour nap a day and as long as she keeps up with that she will remain in her crib.

I can't believe my baby is 3. It's different to not have a baby anymore, I miss it and I love it. I won't miss having my waistline and weight going up every other year, of course I blame part of that on the stress of nursing school just to make myself feel better. It's hard to lose weight and now it's finally coming off  (22 lbs in fact!) and it will be nice to not have it go back up again. I think our baby days are officially over and we look foward to the endless soccer, softball/baseball and other games, school plays, spelling bees, pinewood derbys, first and last days of school....and all the other fun that comes with having elementary aged kids. I don't want to look any farther ahead than that, it scares me.

Walgreens-not just for filling Rx's!!!!!!!!

Back in the old days the only time I would go to Walgreens was when I wanted to get an Rx filled, and I would generally go through the drive-up. Not anymore, it's not the place I do a ton of shopping, but they have some great deals sometimes.

Last week I stopped by real quick to grab something and while I was there I checked the razor aisle real quick cuz Wes was getting low on razors. This is what I found:

Gillette Fusion razors were on clearance! These bad boys are $10.49 retail, but were marked wayyyyyy down to $2.69! Each pack has 2 heads, so I loaded up and got 5 of them and also got one (so 6 total) Gillette Fusion Power razor (not pictured) for $3.11, retail $11.99! That is $64.44 worth of razors for $16.56, and this will last Wes for at least 10-11 months!  The best part is that I didn't even have to use a coupon or do a register reward for them. I'm not a fan of doing registered rewards because it's a complicated process, but I will if it's a great deal. Luckily, I didn't have to and was able to save without it!

So each razor head is about $1.34, and if I were to buy the 4 refill cartridge pack at $16.99, it would be around $4 a head and that is why I don't buy the refill packs, much more expensive. 

My sweet Bella

So by the Elk's Lodge they have that metal elk that is kind of by the road. Well, Bella saw it and she said, "Look deer............we need to shoot him!" And that is what we teach our kids, when you see an elk....you need to shoot him. She is hilarious!

Walmart really came through today!

If you know me, you know that I really don't like to shop at Walmart unless I absolutely have to. People are grouchy, cashiers like to argue about every coupon..... Well today was one of those days that I had to go, however I was pleasantly surprised by all of the deals I was able to grab.

First off, people are always skeptical when I tell them that I can get things for free and even make money off some items. Well in this picture are all of the items that I scored for free + made a little bit of money:

Here is how I got these lovely items for free:

Scrubbing Bubbles toilet bowl cleaner. these were on an end cap and if you actually walk down the aisle and get the exact same item without the yellow stripe down the box it is $9, for the exact same thing! - these were $3.97 - in Sundays paper there was a $4.00 off coupon

Reach floss - $0.97 - printed 4 coupons for $1 off

Yup that is KY jelly which has many useful purposes ; ) $2.84 - in Sundays paper there was a $3.00 coupon, actually made a little money

Glade candles - $0.25 (all Christmas items were marked down to $0.25 while I was there!) - I had a coupon that was for a $1.50 off two Glade holiday scents, so I bought 2 for $0.50 and ended up making $1.00! Not all places allow overage like this, but Walmart states they will give you cash back in their coupon policy!

Colgate toothpaste - (this was actually at Safeway) on sale for $0.99 - I had a $0.75 coupon that doubled up to a $1.00. That is why I love Safeway.


So as stated above while I was in Walmart they announced that all remaining Christmas items were going for $0.25 each. This is what I found:

Paid $2.00 for all of it. My kids LOVE to do gingerbread houses and I'm pretty sure they don't care that they are doing a Christmas one after Christmas is over. Lights, boxes, sprinkles, all I will use next year!

Sorry, not trying to make this blog all about couponing but it is really fun!

Another example of why I coupon

Sams club used to be the place I would shop, always thought they had the best deals and I was getting a lot of product. I have 3 kids that still wear a pull-up at night, we go through a ton of pull-ups so I would always just buy a box from Sams. At Sams these are $28.98 per 90 ct box (2T-3T) or $0.32 per pull-up.

Well at Target (have I mentioned my love for Target) this week they have a special where if you buy 2 boxes of pull-ups you get a $10 gift card. So I printed a $2 manufacturer coupon per box and I had a $3.50 Target printed coupon for one box and a $3.50 Target mobile coupon from my smart phone (they scan the bar code from your phone). You can use 1 manu. coupon and 1 Target coupon per item.

So the breakdown per box is:
$25.99 full price
 -     $2 manu. coupon
  $3.50 Target coupon
       $5 (half of the gift card)
 $15.49 for a box of 72 count (2T-3T) or $0.21 per pull-up

I bought 2 boxes for $30.98, $2 more than buying 1 box at sams club, but I also got 54 more pull-ups for that extra $2. Plus I pay $40 annually for a Sams Club membership! This isn't the best deal I've seen on pull-ups either but we were completely out so it had to do.

Without the coupons and gift cards, yes Sams is a better buy. But, Target has deals like this quite often.

Huggies has a new diaper called the 'Slip-on' diaper. I would probably not have used these on a baby but they are made the exact same way a pull-up is made and since they are a new product they had great sales and great coupons for them. I was able to get them for around $2.50 for a jumbo pack doing this same kind of deal and they worked great as pull-ups for my kids!

Don't get me wrong I still shop at Sams for some things but they don't always have he best deals.

Christmas clothes

In our mad rush to get ready last week we didn't get any pictures of the kids in their Christmas clothes. So in our mad rush this week I stopped everyone for a second and took a few and this is what I got. Is there ever a perfect picture where all kids are looking and smiling and being good? I don't think so, but they sure did look nice today.