Frugal Friday

Man, I love saving money. I absolutely love raiding the clearance rack at Kroger to find cheap markdowns. And then I love having coupons for those products and getting them for dirt-cheap or free! How do I get them free, you may ask? Like this:


You check the dairy section of your local Kroger for their "Manager's Special" markdowns on yogurt that's only a couple of days from expiring. (For me, this means checking before I clock in, on my lunch break, and before I leave for the day. But I'm obsessed, so...) Then you combine these cheap yogurt specials with your handy-dandy coupons you cut from your Sunday paper, and if you shop at Kroger, they double up to 55 cents, so...your total is $0 + tax! :)


Here's another fabulous Manager special I snagged a couple of weeks ago:

(4) Softsoap refills at $1.49 each

(2) Softsoap Hand Soaps at $0.49 each

-minus-

(2) $0.75/2 Refill Coupons

(2) $0.30/1 Hand Soap Coupons (doubled, which made these FREE)

=equals=

$4.50 +tax for LOTS of handsoap!

And the last deal for today.Who likes cheap laundry detergent?! Better yet, who likes cheap TIDE?!...
48-load bottles of Tide Clean Breeze marked down to $3.99 each! Add (4) $1 coupons, and that's some fabulously-priced detergent!

I've decided that our money is, well, hard-earned, so it's worth my time and effort to cut coupons and bargain-shop. I also LOVE sharing my coupons! It's so much fun to dig through my mom's shopping cart when I see her at the store, and say "Hey, I have a coupon for that! Here!" I may not have an extra $2 in my pocket to just hand her, but when I give her my coupons, it's kind of like I'm doing just that. :)

Wordless Wednesday

SLEEP.

I remember my Speech class my 2nd semester of college. This guy did a speech on sleep. And the proper amount of sleep. And he gave all the reasons why the adult body needs 8 hours of sleep per day. He also went on to say why our sleep requirements change as we age, yada yada. But for some reason, I always think about that speech. And I wonder where he got his information. And who has time to sleep 8 hours EVERY. DAY.

Don't get me wrong. Boy, I love some good sleep. I long for Saturday mornings, because it's the only day of the week that I get to sleep past 6:30, which is Savanna's normal time to wake up. Lee always gets up with her on Saturdays, and I. LOVE. IT.

Here's my normal day, starting with the alarm going off at 5:45:

Wake up. Drink Coffee. Shower. Get myself ready. Wake child. Dress child. Fight with child's (super curly)hair. Load up and leave by 7. Drop child off at daycare at 7:30. Clock in work at 8. Clock out of work at 5. Pick child up by 5:30. Fix dinner. Eat about 6:30. Mother daughter play time. Bath at 7:30. Child is in bed by 8:00. Clean kitchen. Laundry. Quick run to the store (sometimes). Pack husband's dinner. Check email while listening to news in the background. Wake husband up at 10. Make sure he's out the door by 10:40. Lock up. Blog if I can. Be in bed by 12:00.

So, where do you get to sleep for 8 hours on weeknights? I must be doing something wrong.

Motherly Monday

This was a very candid picture, as you can imagine. I don't normally pose so lady-like when I know my picture is being taken ;) but I like this picture because it is a constant reminder of the little set of eyes that are watching and seeing my every move. I remember the first time I ever saw Savanna make the very face I'm making in this picture. I actually said (outloud):

"Where does she learn this stuff?"

I am constantly getting after her for saying "Huh?" ALL the time! (It drives me crazy!) But I wonder how many times I say "Huh?" to her on a daily basis.

Duh. Duh. Duh. Shame on me. She is my little mirror. She does and says what she sees and hears!

Here's a little song that goes perfectly with the point I'm trying to make. Sorry, if it's stuck in your head the rest of the day! ;)

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear
O be careful little ears what you hear
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little hands what you do
O be careful little hands what you do
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little hands what you do

O be careful little feet where you go
O be careful little feet where you go
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little mouth what you say
O be careful little mouth what you say
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little mouth what you say

(You know, this is classified as a "Childrens Bible Song". How ironic is that? They should play this song on the radio for us all to listen to on a daily basis!)

Thankful Thursday

Time for a few things I'm thankful for. Today's list is a reflection of our very fast-paced lives, and the things that make the day to day a little easier.

1. Coffee. Enough said.
2. Is there anything better than laundry detergent sheets? I think not.
3. Anything SWIFFER. I'm slightly addicted. I love it all.
4. The radio. Music. The Bob & Sheri show every morning.

5. My current favorite bathtime scent :)

I hope these thankful-fors don't make me seem shallow ;) I'm truly thankful for these little things...

Wordless Wednesday

Right Foot Left Foot

Ever seen one of these before? I don't know the exact name of it...I call it a foot splint. These are what I sleep in at nighttime. No, not all the time. Not like I'm supposed to. But, yes, I sleep wearing these monstrosities. Remember my post on the old bliggity-blog about my heel spurs, and my tightened achilles, physical therapy, yada yada? Well, I opted for the less-expensive and less time-consuming Dorsiwedge braces.

These bad boys are designed to keep my foot and leg at a 90 degree angle, so when I first wake up in the morning I'm not in excruciating pain. They work. They're as uncomfortable as all get-out, but they do their job.

Waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or to comfort a crying baby is a pain, as these jokers aren't designed to be stood or walked on. Needless to say, I've become quite the pro at ripping them off in a moment's notice.

Why am I telling you all this? Good question. I'm not sure myself. I'm pretty stoked about hitting the sack, and well, bedtime gear is on the brain, I reckon.

Happy sleeping, my friends! (splint-free)

Motherly Monday

So who is ready for a Savanna update? Anyone? Ok, here we go...

The end of October marks 21 months...that means I will have a 2-year old in 3 months!
*Weighing in at a whopping 34 pounds, and 34 inches tall!
*Wearing 3T/4T size clothes and a size 6 diaper.

She became a Ladybug (18-months -2 years class) at preschool a couple of months ago, and LOVES it! She loves walking into class everyday, and tells me "Bye!" long before I'm ready to leave...

Eating off a plate with a spoon and fork has been very easy. Although she can't decide which hand she like to use, so she uses them both! She is not picky at all about food, but gets OVERLY excited when she's eating:

*macaroni & cheese
*yogurt
*strawberries
*fruit snacks
*green beans
*marshmallows
*mandarin oranges
*cooked carrots

We have been very strict about only letting her drink juice, milk, or water, and that's what she likes! (NO tea, pop, iced coffee, etc. She'll thank us someday!)

She loves books. Her favorite one is I Don't Want to Kiss a Llama! Have you ever read it? I have. Probably 500 times. I can recite it from memory. In my sleep. No joke.

We also love Dora the Explorer, Spongebob, Elmo, Cookie, and of course, the disney princesses.
Our favorite toys are babies, anything she can ride (like her Barbie Jeep, and her Dora ride-on), balls, and her Playskool ball popper.

We like horses, fountains, kitties, scarecrows, balloons, ALL music, dancing, bathtime, making funny faces, being tickled, looking at pictures, and naming everyone in the room/in a picture.
Dancing and doing hand motions to Happy and You Know it, cleaning everything with baby wipes, blowing kisses, blowing on "hot" food, winking, playing Mimama's piano, giving five, helping mama load the dishwasher, throwing away trash, smelling her shoes and saying EWW while crinkling her nose. Touching the ceiling when daddy holds her up (and not understanding why it doesn't work with mama!), waving and saying HI to everyone and everything, and trying to unlock the front door with our keys.

Amazingly enough she now loves to brush her teeth, take medicine, and use nose drops.

She does NOT like the vacuum or the blow dryer.

Her favorite songs are Happy and You Know It, We Did It! (Dora theme song), Spongebob theme song, and Rock-a-bye Baby.

Her vocabulary is expanding everyday, and she babbles like crazy. Here are a few words and phrases that are our favorites:

-Mama
-Dada
-Mimi
-Papa
-Nana
-Yesh (yes)
-Peez (please)
-Zuice (juice)
-Shoes
-Ina see (I want to see!)
-Wuzat (What's that?)
-Hot
-Trash
-Ewww
-Buh-Bye
-Rora (dora)
-BobBob (spongebob)
-Kitty
-Cookie (which sounds a lot like kitty...)
-Pitty (pretty)
-Yay!

Okay, I think that is a pretty good summary. I'm a proud mom, can you tell? ;)

Branson x2

Thanks to pouring down rain, we were able to plan a second weekend trip to Branson with the girls! Silver Dollar City gave us raincheck tickets, so we decided to not let them go to waste! We went the last weekend of September, and the weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! We stayed at the exact same hotel, and even ate the same restaurant one night. (Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?)


For some reason, I DO NOT remember how horrid the SDC mountains...err...hills are! Maybe it's because it was over 10 years ago, or maybe it's because I wasn't pushing around a huge stroller with a 34-pound little girl in it! In either case, my sister decided we needed to start working out BEFORE the next trip.


Walking around SDC all day Saturday + 6 hour drive home on Sunday = soooore on Monday!


It was definitely worth it though...I LOVE our girl trips!

Here's the pictures. Oh, and forgive blogger for not being very picture-organizing friendly. These will be completely random...

Me and sis. We decided we always look better in black & white :)

The wettest ride ever. Can you see my hand?

Thanks to the moms for letting us ride while they keep the babies and take the pictures!

An evening stroll at Branson Landing

Elizabeth is super not happy to be having her picture taken with the scarecrow

as the straw is poking her little legs!

Savanna holding her pumpkin so sweetly :)

Me and sis again. In what has become my FAVORITE fall picture!

The best oh-my-gosh-I'm-soaked picture ever!

Here is the before picture. After. Thanks blogger.

The interestingly fabulous foot massagers. I want one.

Crystal and Val on Wildfire. Can you find them?

Crystal and Val on the big girl ride. hahaha

Juice? Check. Goldfish? Check. Froot Loops. Check.

We're good.

Waiting to see Mimi, Aunt Helen and Val ride by.

Savvy May and Aunt Crystal

The BFF peace bracelets.

Who knew three grown women could have so much fun shopping at JUSTICE?!

And that was our trip! Let's plan the next one someplace very...flat. :)

4 years.

Thursday was our 4th wedding anniversary! Yay for us! I love him more today than I did then. (And that's a lot...)


*Here's to a fun couples weekend*

Frugal Friday

I know it's been a while, but I thought I'd start getting back into the "swing of blogging" by posting some recent BIG TIME savings. Since, well, I'm obsessed with coupons and stuff...

This was our big shopping spree a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, tons of clothes, diapers, and lots of Swiffer stockpiling! ;) All in all, it was well over $400 worth of stuff that cost right at $100.

Old Navy-50% off 50% clearance
Ulta-FREE John Freida Root Awakening product ($6.99 value)
Walgreens-Swiffer, Pine Sol, and Pampers coupons and register rewards

It's so fun to save tons of money...and even more fun to lay it out on the dining room table for a picture!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Motherly Monday

Today's Motherly Monday is a few must-have items for the little one in my house. These are a few things that certainly make life easier for us and her both. Without further ado, here is a *slight* product review, you might say...


Item #1: The bunny blanket


It's so funny...I remember getting several of these as shower gifts, having NO idea why or when you would use them. It wasn't until we realized Savanna was one of those kids that needed something to [hold] when she slept. She needed something to rub up next to her face. She needed a security blanket. Tada! These became our best friend. She has 2 of these now, both are pink bunnies. We never go on an overnight trip without one of the bunnies. Sometimes she will walk up to her crib and pull the bunny out between the rails, and rub it up against her face--it's her secret way of telling me she's tired.

Items #2: Sippy Cup Labels

These wonderful little inventions are called BumpyName Orbit Labels. They fit both bottles and sippy cups, they are dishwasher safe, and they label your child's cup very uniquely yet very discreetly. Perfect for daycare babies! We love ours, thanks to Aunt Lela :)

Item #3: Safety Cotton Swabs

Nothing is grosser than crusty little ear cooties. And nothing is scarier than using regular Q-tips in your wiggly baby's ears. I never even considered buying these little swabs until I had a $1 coupon for any Johnson & Johnson baby product--that's when I discovered these! It's somewhat hard to explain how they work, unless you've ever seen one. But basically they prevent you from sticking the swab too far in their ears. I might consider this a luxury item, but they are definitely worth it!

Item #4: The Snack Trap

Have you ever seen these? Savanna received one as a birthday gift. They are fabulous! There little slogan is: "Because Kids Spill Things!" These little cups are perfect for goldfish and cheerios. They are designed to let them reach in and get their own snack without making a mess. It's fun to watch her use it---she's so proud of herself!

Item #5: Sippy Cup w/strawThese wonderful little cups are another perfect thing for the do-it-themselves little ones that want so badly to drink from a straw! They oddly enough are spill-proof too! The straw is designed to stay shut until they bite on the straw and suck. I tried it at first to see how it would work, and I couldn't get anything to come out! I guess that's because I'm not accustomed to biting my straw when I want a drink! The tricky part is teaching her not to tip the cup up when she's drinking...obviously she won't get anything out!

There you have it...a few of the little things that ease our day-to-day routine, and make things run a little more smoothly. :)

And you? Have you tried/not tried these things?