Cute Moccasins from Grandpa Avery. Thanks!

I totally tried to get a pic of Jacob in the shoes and he wouldn't hold still...he loved them an wore them out when we went to get pizza with g.ma and g.pa Avery. Love you guys! Thanks for lunch and the cute shoes!

Peter Pan for Halloween? Hmmm. Anyone have a costume? I guess I could make it. Lets see...he'll be about 5T then. I better get started now - I'm definitely a beginner at the sewing thing. Or felt, that would be cute. Wonder if he'd wear the hat?

Super Tight Budget this week....

And I totally did it! I'm so proud of myself!

So, I needed to buy Mac&Cheese for Jacob and I REALLY wanted Soda for myself (note: found out the hard way this week that Walmart brand d.soda sux) I only had $4 to spend and I really didn't want to spend all of it... So I checked my coupons and my favorite coupon sites to -stir up some overage- and POW---spent less than $2 on all this!! My boy just discovered that he loves peanuts and he calls them BEANS. lol.
Overage example: If the product is $1.97 and your coupon is for $3 then you get $1.03 towards other products on your bill!!! Yea!

Round 1I think I went to CVS 4 times this week. Oh my goodness that's embarrassing to admit. I think this picture is from my first trip. I spent LESS than a $1.00 OOP (out of pocket) and I used ECB's (extra care bucks earned from previous purchases). Overall I did EARN money on this trip. Yea! Highlights...3 24pk TP, 2 24pk water, Scented oil Candles and refills, Pull ups CVS brand. Mostly need items that I was able to get with ECS's. Yea for CVS!

Round 2 Just hanging with my buddy Cari after work~ya we shop for fun! (Oh, didn't blog that...I started working nights at Moxie Pest Control -heath's work- for some extra $. NO MOM...I don't work alone :) ...and only like 6-10 hours a week) Ok, so the deals! I spent less than $2.00 OOP on this trip :) I didn't calculate whether or not I earned money on this trip, don't think I did but I think that overall I only spent $4. I also got another Paper Towel pack that's not in the pic. Sweet huh.

Albertsons...Don't have the pics. I think they're on Cari's camera. I went to Albertson's for their super sweet deals 4 times this week. OCD - I know. I kept finding more coupons. I usually have 4+ newspapers per week from my home delivery and my secret source (lol...jk my buddy Cari is my supplier) so I have coupons commin out my ears man. Some weeks I don't have the strength to cut them all so I stash them and usually forget about them. The deals at Albertson's are still going on until Tues night. There's a list of items that are 4 for $4. GREAT deals. AND with coupons (if you have them) some of the deals are FREE...what? Alberson's...free? That never happens but I guess never say never.

Sorry that my coupon posts are boring this week - I prefer to post right after I get home from the store while I'm still excited and remember all the details. My internet trouble was a real drag this week. I'm really hating on Timewarner this week. Ugh - I've made 5 calls to them this past month and they cannot seem to get it right with my account!! Hmmm. Can I say AT&T!

We've spent a lot of time at Cari's this past week. And a few days we ate lunch there too----thanks Cari :) I love love love chillin there and it's been super fun! One of the days this week we traded kids for a little bit. I took her 6 year old Dusty shopping with me and Jacob played with Toby. Dusty, Lexi, and I went to the Post Office and CVS. Dusty was such a big helper with Lexi and I could tell that he felt super important! Love it. I can't wait until Jacob is Dusty's age. Ok - so Lexi's hair....she totally woke up one day with crazy hair and it looked soo much like my crazy hair that I had to take a picture. My little princess is such a cutie - HUGE smile huh!?

Shout out to my love...

I was in the room today when he was extended the call to serve in the Elders Quorum Presidency. It was a great experience to watch my husband accept the call and I could tell that he was excited and ready for the challenge. I'm so happy for my husbands willingness to serve in the church and I feel blessed to have such a great husband and father to lead my home. He makes me want to be a better leader and mother. I love his example for my children and how hard he works for our happiness. I love to imagine that eternity is like the path in the picture above and I'd love to hold his hand and just walk on the path together...forever. Love you Heath!

Haven't had internet for 2 days...that's crazy long for me.

I have lots to post.

But hey...check out my friends' new site:

http://www.polkadotcottage.blogspot.com/

The link is on my right sidebar too. It looks so cute and they have a GiveAway!

Check it out!

Best of luck to Jen and Sarah!

I've never been tagged before. Thanks to my buddy Shannon...here it goes. :)

How to play: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 random surprises about yourself.

3 Joys: My Princess Lexi & Little Jacob, My kid's napping - ME time, AC

3 Fears: Locking my kids in the car, Kids getting kidnapped, Forgetting I have Sharing Time in Primary

3 Goals: Plant a garden, Cook dinner every night for a week, NEVER place clean clothes on my bed - just put them away!

3 Current Obsessions/Collections: Blogging - duh, Smart Shopping w/ Coupons!, broken plates

3 Surprises about me: oh gees - I don't know. I worked for Hot Dog on a Stick from 15 years old until I was 21, Heath cooks most nights, Heath was my boss at work for 18 months (6 months of it I was pregnant!) and he still loves me.

I tag....
Tenille Moss (don't kill me :)
Cari Shumway (you love me)
Jennifer Kent (you need to blog more!!!)

Making Money!

Lol. Look at the logo I made in photoshop. Looks similar huh. Mine is the Big one. haha love it.

I made photo books at CVS again today (oh, I forgot to blog the last ones I made...I made 4x6 10 page photo books the other day - FREE of course) Today I made 6x8 books and got a SWEET deals. Here it goes:

2 - 10 page 6x8 photo books. Regularly $12.99 & on Sale $7.99 ea.

2 Extra photo pages - .79 ea

2 Gallons of Milk - $3.99 ea

1 CVS brand Lotion - $1.49

I used the following at checkout:

1 - $5 off of $25

1 - Photo Book Coupon for $3 off

1 - Skincare Coupon for CVS brand $2 off

When the cashier showed me the book and told me to inspect it I DID... and one of them was placed in the book wrong - so I pointed it out and the following happened... :) ...

$1 off of one of the books.

.79 off (one of the extra pages for free)

$2 off of the other book.

WOW! Just cause I pointed out the flaw in the book. I wasn't rude or anything and he was totally willing to give be a break on the price.

So how did I make out?

Paid with - $10 in ECB's & $4.24 on a gift card (from a tr. RX)

Check out what I scored at Target! I purchased 3 double packs of Ponds Cleansing Cloths (opened one for you to see) I think they were a total of 45 count per double pack. I stacked a Target coupon with a manufacturer coupon and paid $1.24 for each. Saved a total of $9 BUT What makes it such an AMAZING Deal... I also got 3 tickets to the movies! Value of $12 ea for ANY Universal Pictures movie. Yea! Date night - totally!

*Money Saving Tip*

So we'll be able to have a date night more often we only do Dinner OR a Movie.

If we go to the movies we try to only go if we have a free ticket or gift card.

If we go to dinner we definitely use a coupon or split. Sunday paper has coupons.

Cheesy Smiles

Walking to

FHE

at the park with the ward fam

Heath pushing my boat.

We walked to the park for the ward bbq last Monday. I didn't take any pics AT the park but remembered I had my camera on the way home. My little Jacob is getting much much better at looking at the camera (all for you mom:) My Princess Lexi is always camera ready! We ate yummy food and socialized with ward friends. Good FHE.

Funny stuff from my little Jacob's vocab:

"Oh, sorry about that"

"Whad you say mom?" (He usually says that after I say,'oh crap' or 'oh shoot') sad face.

(What are you doing Jacob?) "I'm just doing"

"Oh it's ok my Lexi, don't be sad"

$.08 OOP

$2.25 on Gift Card

Can you believe it?!

Here's the items I got:

2 - milk

1 - 12 ct eggs

2 - 3 pack paper towels

1 - 4 pk TP

1 -kraft mac&cheese

1 - welches jelly

1 - CVS Lotion (love this stuff!)

1 - Mascara

2 = Benefiber

1 - GasX

1 - CVS 8 ct tampons

4 - Pretzels

I used the following coupons:

From the paper - 2 benefiber $2 off, 1 GasX $1.50 off

Online Coupons - 1 CVS Skincare Coupon $2 off

From the coupon printer in the store - 2 Pretzel $1 off, 2 Paper Towel $1 off

Free Money Coupons (see my last post for what these are) - 4 Coupons that said $5 off of $25, 1 $4 off of $20, & 1 $2 off of $10

Payment:

Paid with $16 ECBs, $2.25 on Gift Card, $.08 OOP

Earned:

$15.49 ECBs to use on next purchase.

Also, the coupon printer in the store printed 2 more free money coupons. 2off10 and 5off25!!

So what's that? $2.84 for all that!!! Milk & Eggs too!!! Yea!!! I Saved $55.29

Early Morning - 5am as usual for Lexi and Julie. Shower Julie, Bouncer Lexi
Heath off to work by 6:45
Julie & Lexi Clipping Coupons until Jacob joins the fam at 8:05 (yes, a whole hour of clipping & watching the news...cancelled cable, ugh)
Breakfast - Pancake Jacob, Burrito Julie
Today's Activities:
Stater Bros - get cash, purchase a few 'need' items
Swing by Cari's to pile All Our kids in her Burby.
Office Depot - 5 (12ct) packs eraser tops, 5 protractors (donate to school), 5 rulers --- $0.15
We switched off going inside while the kids watched Finding Nemo.
Cari's House - kiddie pool for the kids, chatting and talking deals & disciplining. The only topics that seem to be RUNNING/RUINING our lives lately. lol.
Lunch. McDonald's - bad choice. shoot.
Home for naps. 1pm I think
Currently - kids still napping :) 3 hours 15 minutes later! (better not jinx it)
Coming up...
Clean house before Heath gets home. Vacuum, fold at least one load
I HATE LAUNDRY, think about FHE treat. Ward FHE at the park tonight, might go - might stay home. Hmm.
Do you know what's missing...???
Dinner.
Confession. I don't cook dinner. My hubby cooks dinner 80% of the time, we eat out 19% of the time, I cook 1% of the time. (lol-just estimates) If Heath is coming home too late (after 7:30pm) then I'll eat nutritious and delicious cereal and he'll just eat alone later.
Sound crazy. Yea, it is. While I'm in the confession mood...Heath cleans the bathroom too. :)
Love ya Heath!

Oh...Lexi's awake. Later

Found these pics from 4th of July 2 years ago...wow time has flown by. Can you belive Jacob is turning 3 in the fall? :)

Chick Fil A DAY!!
I was so excited for this event!!!! I recently discovered that I love love love ChickFilA. I only go for breakfast (well brunch...like 10:00) I get the chicken minis. Oooo so yummy! Jacob loves to play on the toys and ALWAYS want to go with his friend Toby.

For the promotion at CFilA if you dressed like a Cow head to tow then you got a free meal, cheesy I know. If you dressed a little like a cow then you got a free entree. So, since I'm all about the deals...

We got...

One kids meal, 2 chicken mini entrees, and Diet Coke

$1.50

Yea!! I borrowed Lexi's cow costume and made the signs for me and Jacob on the computer and using stuff around the house. Here's our signs:

Jacob's says - I love to play at Chick Fil A

It was so cute because they had a bouncer, a cow (costume:), a spin the wheel for a prize (we got a free shake & entree coupons), FIRE TRUCK, and Lowe's was there for a craft project - FREE!!!!

Playing PeekABoo with a Cow :)



Poor Toby, too scared to jump. lol.

Cute promotion, huh!

Oh the boys look so cute! Thanks for posing and showing off the project Dusty!

The only pic I have of Lexi!!! Ugh. And why can't I figure out how to flip the pic. Shoot. I'll take another pic before I return the costume and post it later.

Another Super Fun Activity in my quest for cheap entertainment. Only $1.50 + some gas. Sweet!

Princess Lexi. Good Morning!

Look at my belly mom! Can you see the phone in his hands? He's talking to my mom. Lol.

I went to CVS again today...Crazy I know. I took my sisters with me so they could each pick out a CVS skincare item for $2 or less and get it for FREE - using the coupon on my previous post.

We were there for over an hour because I was fighting with the cashier. Ugh.

My transaction wasn't working right and it wasn't giving me the deal that I wanted. The ECBs weren't printing and the cashier and I couldn't figure out why. So I said - just refund it all!!!! I didn't want the deal that bad. (Not my CVS - it was one in AZ...they are crazy!) Without going into too much detail...

They told me no - we can't refund the entire purchase. The purchase that I just made 2 minutes ago. I didn't even leave the register yet, Can you believe that? They said that they cannot refund the whole amount because I got too much savings with the coupons and wouldn't give me back my coupons either! I threw a fit - nicely - but let them know how I felt about it. We were talking about me loosing $6!! That's a lot in the coupon world. Not only was my purchase supposed to Make Me Money with my ECB's (they didn't know that) but now it was going to Cost Me Money instead. NO WAY!!!

After 25 minutes at the register I got what I wanted. AND I got the deals! (well, except one - but what's the saying, "choose your battles" ? )

Today My deals were:

4 Pert Plus - FREE (2 - $3 coupons, 2 - $2 coupons, sale price 2/$5)
2 Pretzels - .38 ($1 off of 2)
2 CVS Pantiliners - FREE ($2 coupon) + Earned $.99 ECBs
4 Olay Products - $15.50 (2 - $1 coupons, 1 - $2 coupons, 1 - $1.50 coupon) + Earned $10 ECBs.
$4 off of $20 coupon

So today's purchase...

NOT a money maker...sad face. It would have been if the Revlon deal had worked out... oh well. BUT it turned out to be not that bad - I spent about $14 and earned $10.99 ECBs. Olay products ~ pretty good deal I think. And actually I didn't spend any money OOP (out of pocket) because I had a gift card from a transfer prescription. Sweet Huh!?

I feel a little better about my fiasco now - I needed to think it through and believe it or not, blogging helps me to calculate it all out and see how I did. :) I REALLY need to go to sleep...long day. Lexi will probably be up in 2 hours, that makes me more tired just thinking about it. Almost 5 months and she's still not sleeping through the night!!! - Jacob was sleeping 8+ hours at about 9 weeks. Oh my Goodness...Jacob just started crying...poor boy, wonder why. later

Starting with CVS is SUPER EASY

Start Small....here's a great way to start earning ECBs (Extra Care Bucks) and its really easy. You can do it! You can do this deal anytime in July

1. Get a CVS Card
2. Print this coupon http://www.beautyhandbook.com/coupon_img/CVS%20Skin2.jpg (print at 50% - its really big)
3. Purchase 2 - CVS brand Pantiliners. They should have a tag that says $.99 and $.99 ECB = FREE. (Limit 2 per CVS Card)
4. At the register: Give the cashier your CVS card and your $2 off of any One CVS brand skincare coupon that you printed from the above link. It will take $1 off the first pantiliner and the overage of a dollar will automatically go towards the second pantiliner.
5. Pay with the change from the bottom of your purse - its that easy!

$$ You just earned money $$

You'll only really need to pay the tax and you'll earn $2 ECBs for your next visit. Then next time you go the goal will be to ONLY buy what will earn you ECBs for your next visit. DON'T treat your ECBs like extra cash - only use them to earn more ECBs...that will help you MAKE MONEY with CVS and get FREE STUFF!!!

The $2 in ECBs will print at the bottom of your receipt - SAVE that part of your receipt in your coupon binder or wallet - if you loose it then you CANNOT use the ECBs - there's NO replacing it!

ALL FOR FREE!!! Learn How to CVS...

( Isn't my mom's wallpaper in her kitchen cute!-yup, I'm still in AZ)

Here's the BEST deal of all Today...

I earned money AGAIN at CVS!!!!

I love love love love love CVS! Again, thanks a million more times to my Buddy Cari for getting me started at CVS!!!! (So sad I missed dusty's party today - I'll be home in CA soon - playdate Friday?) Cari is so creative, she threw a Kung Fu Panda party for her 6 year old today :)

Ok here's deal-io

4 - packs of pretzles

1 - 24pack water

2 - Revlon brushes

2 - CVS brand facial cleansing clothes

1 - Gilette men's body wash/face wash (2in1 for men..so lazy)

1 - Olay Lotion

1 - Olay Cleanser

1 - Olay Ribbons Body Wash - smells SOOO yummy

Snickers, M&M's, 2 bags CVS candy.

I'll spell it all out for those who want to MAKE money shopping...

First let me say, I accidentally gave them my stack of ECB's before I used my coupons so I needed to get the Candy to bring my total up so they didn't owe me money - not allowed. I'll explain what I did wrong (at the bottom of the post) so you can prevent doing it to.

Here's how it went down. My total was - $48.34 (including the candy)

Coupons I used:

2 - $1 off two pretzels (printed from the scanning machine inside the store)

2 - $1 off Revlon Product (newspaper)

$2 off CVS brand skincare product - http://www.beautyhandbook.com/coupon_img/CVS%20Skin2.jpg (print at 50% - its HUGE!!)

1 - Gillette $1 off (newspaper)

3 - Olay coupons, total of $3.50 off I think. (newspaper)

Pack of water was free b/c I purchased $20+ in P&G products.

Here's the best part..

Once they give you your total BEFORE you hand them ANY coupons (after they scan your CVS card) give them any coupons you have that say $4 off of $20 or $5 off of $25. I call these my FREE MONEY. I had 3 that said $5 off of $25 and one that said $4 off of $20. That's $19 off!!!! Can you believe it. They stacked them all !!! Why? Because my total before coupons was like $48 - so they scanned the $4 off first, then one of the $5 off and so on...As long as the total was still above $25 they kept scanning. Yikes!! (called stacking coupons).

Where did I get those coupons? I got the $4 off of $20 from updating my info online. Just update to a new email on the CVS website and they'll send you an email with a savings code. Print it out and you can use it as many times as you want until it expires!

The $5 off of $25 - 2 of them printed at the machine in the store. You just scan your card and coupons print out. Not sure how it works - but I love it! * The other $5 off of $25 printed out at the bottom of my receipt from a previous purchase. * Those coupons are like CASH! Remember to call these FREE MONEY!

After you give them those coupons ... give the cashier your other coupons. Watch your total DROP like crazy! Once the cashier gives you a final total then its time to pay with your "cash"

Here's your "CASH"

ECBs (extra care bucks earned from previous purchases)

Gift Card - from transfered prescriptions

Cash - you know, the green stuff.

My transaction today:

Paid: $13 in ECBs, .44 in CASH (Out Of Pocket)

Earned: $17 in ECBs + $5 off $25 (FREE MONEY)

Spent $13.44 (ECBs earned from previous transactions + .44 cash)

Earned $22 ECBs and FREE MONEY

$8.56 Profit for Smart Shopping!!!

I tried REALLY hard to spell that out so you can do it too...email me if you don't understand and I'll help you out. I took my sis in law with me to teach her how to CVS and it was soooo much fun. Thanks for coming :)

Here's the order to follow at the checkout:

1. FREE MONEY coupons - ex: $5 off of $25

2. Manufacturer and Store Coupons

3. ECB's

4. CASH & Gift Cards

*Note: If you give the ECBs before your Manuf. coupons then you might be in the negative and that would really mess up your transaction. Once they scan your ECB there's no taking it back. (that's why I had to buy the candy too - closest thing to the register to bring my total to a positive number)

Lovin CVS!

Seriously - email me or call me and I'll get you started or plan a playdate! You should MAKE money from CVS too!!!! Or if you love CVS tell me your deals!

yup - my kids are sitting on the table!

Jacob really wanted his shoes in the picture. lol

My princess Lexi :)

"Take a picture of SpongeBob Mom!"

My free stuff at Target. Using online and newpaper coupons here's the list of Free stuff I got at Target. Note: I also had overage that I used to help my sis buy Mascara.

2 - 10 ct BandAids
3 - 2 ct razors
1 - gold bond body powder
1 - travel size clean&clear
2 - travel size johnson's shampoo
2 - Johnson's Buddies Soap (love that soap!!!!)

All Free + $5.43 OVERAGE!!!
What's overage? If you have a $2 coupon and the item is only .97 - then thats $1.03 to go towards another item (and tax). Yeah!!! Note: That DOESN'T work at the grocery store, g.store computers are too smart. AND - the store won't pay you the $5.43 so you need to buy more if you don't want the $ to go to waste. BUT>>>> here's a possible loophole>>>>purchase a $10 gift card too...then your total might be a few dollars but your taking home a gift card for more! I haven't tried it - but why wouldn't it work?!

Tomorrow...Walmart deals and the Phoenix Zoo. SOOO excited.