CVS goodies

All this for $6.19. We're talking name brand household cleaners here!!!

I LOVE Walgreens, but I have to say CVS is working it this week. I've walked away with more stuff at CVS than from Walgreens and it's usually the other way around for me. So yeah! I have to say, the Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber starter kits that are priced $8.99 I got for $0.24 EACH!!!!! And I got the Glade Sense and Spray for $0.99, the Speed Stick for $0.49 and the Egg coloring/decoration kit for FREE after ECB!

Cheap Walgreen Goodies

Here's my latest steals at Walgreens. All of this for $7.43 cents. (I forgot to add inthe SPA bodywash when taking the picture so that's why my pic looks so wonky!!) One of the cokes was free, as well as the candy bar and the Body Wash that's $3.99. Plus I got a coupon at the register for ANOTHER Free Body Wash. So I get to go back for another.

Wedding Towel Cakes

Ok, so I don't like to give the usual 'gift' when I go to baby showers or bridal showers. I made the towel cake with the dark towel's in '07 when a friend of mine at church met the man of her dreams, got married and moved away. It was the first one I'd ever made and though it looks a little wonky on the table, I was able to straighten in out when I gave it to her. And it was the first time I had every really worked with fake flowers. My gramma was a genius when it came to flower arranging but not so much with me. So I'm very happy with how they turned out.

The one with the lighter colored towels is for my friend Briana who's shower is tomorrow. Well, today at 2:30. I see now by looking at the pictures that I need to take out the green leaves on the first tier, it's to heavy. So I'll fix that before the shower. But I just wanted to share my towel cakes. I can't decorate a real cake for nothing, I'll leave that to my BFF Erin and I'll stick to towel cakes/diaper cakes/wreaths and the what not. :)

I didn't purposely pick the same pink flowers for both cakes. Turns out Katie's flowers for her park wedding were lily's and a pink flower and one of Briana's colors is pink so it worked out well.

Noodle Rainbows

MY rainbow!

I'm slightly ashamed on how long I worked on this project and how much fun I had doing the sample craft!! It was easy to dye the noodles and fun as well. I had the girls do their crafts first while the boys finished up their dinner. Isaac is in the background asking if he has to wait 10 more minutes before he can do his rainbow with Austin! The girls had fun, they chatted and munched on some dyed raw noodles while they crafted and needed very little help from me. Aren't they cute in their aprons?

Here's Isaac's and Evan Grace's finished rainbows. I didn't get a picture of Austin and Isaac's because they were very driven to get it all done and to get to the purple noodles which were last in line to be put on. I totally forgot to get a picture because I was working hard to keep up with them and make sure they had all the noodles and glue they needed. Whew, but theirs turned out just as great as the girls did and I think they had a good time working together as well.

When we first started Austin informed us that he knew which story in the bible was about rainbows and he was right. So I gave them a mini-speech about the rainbow and why God gave Noah a promise rainbow. I wasn't even going to tie it into the bible but Austin set us straight and was very proud.

$166 Boo Boo

I'm not sure what Skip met up with but it did some damage. We thought his tail was broken, but thankfully he started moving it yesterday. He hasn't raised it to full mass yet but there's hope. Here's the wound that was infected and cost all that money at the vet's office Thursday. The vet said he had 5 wounds, including bite marks and scratches. This is the only one that was infected and had to be drained. Poor cat. This is the night after the vet visit. He had to be knocked out before the vet could work on him, yes he's aggressive when he's hurt. Poor guy has to be the laughing stock of the block I'm sure among all the other pets with the bald spot right above his tail. What bets all is that he came in today with ANOTHER wound on the elbow of his arm!!!! I think it's going to need stitches. Which will probably cost another $1oo and some.

All this for $2.87?

Yep, all the above for $2.87 at Target. The Eggos without the coupon are $1.87 each...:) so I got away with some great steals and deals. The Dr Pepper and Bread were FREE!!!!!!!

I know I'm crazy with coupons but it didn't hit me so bad until I was in my bedroom putting up clothes and my 3 year old comes running to the room screaming, "I've got your coupon! I've got your coupon!" Seems I had dropped one in the kitchen and she had rescued it for me. Coupons could very well be my one true love.

Ahhh Walgreens

If you click on the picture it should enlarge it enough to see the list of what I bought. If you would like to .

Walgreens has better savings than CVS. Sorry to say it because I do love CVS but Walgreens is betting them out left and right when it comes to producing coupons you're going to actually use and not just on Body Wash. :) So here's what my weekly savings visit to Walgreen produced this time. NOTICE that the total cost of all the items picture was $56.30.....including tax and that I only spent $27.53...including tax. That's a savings of $28.77!!!!!!!!! I was so excited when I got home and set this picture up. Matt even sat down and figured how much a single can of soda cost since I was able to buy them for so cheap. I got 2 of the 12 packs for FREE!!!!!! And the 2 pack razors were $1 for the pack. Each Yardley's soap was $.69. The Trail Mix was $.50 each....I could go on and on. I'll try not to. Just had to share the savings.

Deodorant Stone

I kid you not. I went into Pearly Gates to get the ingredients I would need to make deodorant of my own and the lady asked if I had ever heard or tired a deodorant stone. I had to stop myself from laughing at her, she was so serious. So I looked it over and though, hey you know what, why not? These stones come naked (just in a pouch) or like the one I got, with a screw lid and base for the stone to sit in. Run water over the top of the stone and apply generously to the pits. The only draw back to getting them naked is if you drop it, it's going to shatter and the ones in the base just make it easier to hold.

The lady at Pearly Gates said her mom loves them and has used them for years. And you know what. I think I'm going to have to add my name to that list. I've been using this deodorant stone for 6 days and I LOVE it! The best part is they work!! No stink whatsoever (and we've had some 80 degree weather here lately). Though my husband is tired of me asking him, 'do I smell? You'll tell me right?' lol. Poor guy has to put up with a lot doesn't he?

So if you're looking for an alternative to commercial deodorants and want something that's going to last practically forever. Try this deodorant stone. It's well worth the $7. I'll even pick it up and hand delivery it I'm so in support of these things. (My mom and sister don't know this but they are going to be getting one for a late birthday present!!!)

More bags

Yes, I'm going overboard. I wanted to make enough grocery bags so that when I go for more than just one or two things I'll have enough homemade ones so I don't end up with any plastic bags. :) So I used the material I had left over from the kids PJ pants that I made to whip up a few more. The cow print is what Mackenzie picked out for her tote. She's using it as a purse now...awwww that made me feel good. :) The sheep one is Isaac's tote and Evan Grace has the pink frog one just like her pants. And of course, anything you lay in the floor has to be inspected by Daisy!!!!

Total Cost: $.75

Ah yes. More goodies from the coupons in this Sunday's paper. I actually have a coupon for a free $6.47 mascara, that was out of stock when I went shopping (guess everyone else got the coupon and got to them first) and a coupon for a free tube of toothpaste that was also missing from the shelves. I'll just have to try again in the next few days.

The Palmolive was the ONE thing that wasn't free, it was $.75 after the 2 coupons I used for it. I also got a 20 count box of Band Aid brand Bandaids for $2. A six roll of Charmin toilet paper for $3 (which is unheard of now a days) and Aluminium Foil for $.59. Not to mention when I went to Wal-Mart and got all our groceries for the next two weeks I had $14 dollars worth of coupons that I used. Oh I love this stuff.

It's OUT!

No sooner did I post about Isaac's loose tooth than it came out Sunday night while brushing teeth. So he placed the tooth on his open palm and ran into the living room to show me only to have the tooth fall off never to be seen again. ALL of us were on our hands and knees looking for the tooth. I even rolled some hose onto the vacuum cleaner attachment and ran it over the carpet to try and find it. No luck. I hate that, and so did he. He was sure that dad and mom wasn't going to give him any money because he wasn't going to be able to find his tooth in time to put it under his pillow for bed. I told him that I would still give him some tooth fairy money because it was an accident that he lost it. So he woke up this morning to find $2 for his tooth and we took him to Dollar Tree so he could spend his money. He picked out a police set (cuffs, badge, gun, sunglasses) and a stuffed Buffalo. Go figure. It still blows my mind that he's old enough to loose his teeth. :( Bittersweet.

Loose Tooth

Did I forget to mention that we've got a little boy with a loose tooth in our house now? His first one ever. Excuse the horrible picture but do you know how hard it is to get a picture of a loose tooth with a kid who doesn't quite know how to move his lips around in order for me to get the picture?

Apparently this loose tooth comes with new eating rules. Isaac can finish off a bag of croutons but he can no longer eat Bologna because that hurts his tooth too much. Hmmmm.

PS
The funniest thing about this picture is he had just finished a chocolate pop tart and after I snapped the picture and loaded it onto the computer I saw a chunk of it stuck in a back tooth. I had to use my photo program to white it out. You can't tell can you?

There's sure to be a post when it finally comes out. So stay tuned.

Free Cereal and Toothpaste.

Ok, I've always liked the idea of coupons. And it wasn't until I moved to Huntsville that I realized coupons were a must if you wanted to feed your family when you didn't have all the money in the world to do it. The cost of living down here (even before things started going up and down) is horrendous and a totally shock from what I was use to in VA. So I started getting into coupons and then I started getting into more coupons, and more coupons......and......more coupons. Until I'm totally obsessed but I'm glad to announce that this obsession is paying off.

Just this week I was able to get a free 4 oz tube of Colgate Whitening Toothpaste from Walgreens. Regular cost was $3.49 and I had a store coupon for $2.25 and a manufacture coupon for $1.50. A free box of Reese Puff cereal from Kroger. This consisted of using 4 coupons. $1.00 off 3 General Mills cereal and I had a coupon for $.75 off each General Mills Box. As well as Dry Idea Deodorant from Walgreens for only $.29. Regularly priced at $2. 29 I had a $2.00 off coupon!!! I kid you not. I've worked up a system and had some help from some great Internet sites and it's working and I'm loving every minute of it.

I'm actually excited about getting the newspaper on Sunday and when I was in Wal-Mart today and noticed that the new All You magazine had come out a week early I nearly fainted with excitement. MORE COUPONS!!!
I'm going to work up a blog post on the ends and outs of couponing hopefully soon. In this day and age I need to spend as little money as possible on grocery's.

~Jess

Homemade Bath Fizzies

Ok, yes I know. Why would I make my own bath fizzies when I'm not going to be the one taking a bath (you are just sitting in your own wet dirt, so...ewwww). But I digress. I picked up some bath fizzies through Avon
awhile back that the kids just loved and thought why not see if I can make my own? I found a great easy recipe for them. (though a little expensive) I whipped these up, piece of cake, and they work!!!! I don't think I added enough Cocoa Butter because they came out a little dry and they are suppose to have a pretty shine to them. So for the next batch, I'll be adding more Cocoa Butter and maybe a different food coloring too. Though the yellow is nice and prefect for Spring. And if I can find my glass jar with the tight fitting lid on it, they would make for a pretty accent to the bathroom.
I think the hardest thing I'm going to have to fit with these bath fizzies is not eating my children when they get out of the bath. I mean it smells like cocoa powder and we all know how much I LOVE chocolate. Can you imagine my kids walking around smelling chocolate after a bath?

Next, I'm going to make my own deodorant....and I picked up a Deodorant stone today as well and I'm going to test out over the next few days/weeks and let you know how it goes. I'm very intrigued by this Deodorant Stone....hmmm.

More Sewing.

I've been looking at this fabric off and on for the past few weeks. Wondering if I should try and work with it. Well today I couldn't resist. There was only a yard left and I thought, it's more than I need and if I have enough I'll make a dress for Faith. Evan Grace and Faith are such big buddies and they love the Disney Princesses so why not? I'm totally surprised at how easy it was to make these dresses and how fast it went. I had two of them done in AN HOUR!!!! I think they like them.

Don't you love this phase?

Oh good grief. Lately every little event involving Evan Grace turns into the pictures on the left. It's a total meltdown. It's not an angry cry, it's a full blown, 'you've-ripped-out-my-heart-and-took-away-everything-I-love' cry. Keep in mind that before this meltdown I was snapping pics of the other two kids when something didn't go her way and I said no she couldn't play with the rubber band ball. So she melted, crawled up on my lap and in between gut wrenching sobs asked me to take a picture of her 'crying face'. So here she is...melting down for the camera. The joy of being 3!

PJ and Dress

Yes, I'm still sewing. Actually I finished these last Friday and have just now got around to posting them. Evan Grace's dress is really suppose to be a nightgown because she wanted another pair or PJ pants but I didn't have enough fabric so here's a dress I sewed up in about an hour. Cute isn't it?



Trying to get a picture of Isaac in another pair of PJ pants was next to impossible so I had him take them off so I could lay them on the new carpet and it looks like Isaac's not the only one that likes his new pants. :) (No, Daisy's eyes aren't blue I just didn't want to fool with the red eye eraser on my photo program!)

Homemade PJ pants

So I was in the sewing mood and decided to make Isaac PJ pants instead of buying PJ's at the store. He hardly ever wears the PJ shirt so why pay for an entire set of PJ's when I can make the pants for less than $4. Of course Evan Grace had to have a pair as well so we went material shopping last night and I found some cute frog material for Evan Grace and Isaac picked out the sheep. He also picked out black polar bear shadows on a blue plaid and blue pants with frogs on them kinda like Evan Grace's pair. They were super easy to make and fit wonderfully. I need to be careful or this sewing thing will take over my life again like it did years ago!!! (evan's are a little wrinkly because she wore them to bed last night)

Haircut

Isaac hates to have his hair cut but I made him go Monday to get a 'trim'. Just a few inches off for him and I think it's much better than what was going on with his mop head previously. :)

Chocolate and Lavender #2

So my sister sent me these flowers on Feb 23rd and already look at how fast they've shot up. I can't believe it. The last time I posted a pic of them you could barely see the shoots coming out of the dirt. How neat. They are suppose to be purple, but in person, and maybe if you press your face to the screen you can see they are starting to look like they might be PINK!!! I don't know too much about it so maybe instead of Chocolate and Lavender I'll have Chocolate and
Strawberry.

Seems I was right. These little boogers bloomed today (march 4( and sure enough they are pink.

Recycled Pillowcases

Ok, I'm no Lisa W (http://sewrandom.blogspot.com/) but I'm pretty proud of myself for sewing up these totes. Instead of buying the reusable grocery bags at Kroger and Wal-Mart I searched the Internet until I found a tut on how to make your own. I first came across a tut on how to use the already plastic bags I had from Kroger but didn't like the process (it involved ironing the bags together and them seeming them with the iron as well before covering with duct tape). It was too iffy and just not sturdy enough. But I did try it before tossing the finished product out.

So my search continued and last night I found a blog where a lady had used her old pillowcases to make her own reusable grocery bags. So guess what, I pulled out a crib sheet I had (the flower one)that I didn't use anymore and sewed one up last night. The blue and white ones are from a thick fabric curtain I didn't use anymore but didn't want to throw away. I got three bags out of the curtain though I only made up two for now. The red stripe ones are pillow cases. The tut was super easy to follow and had great instructions and once I got the first one finished in a little over an hour the others only took at 30 minutes each. I can't wait to go to the store and use them!!!!!

Back to Kids Kloset

The kids and I went back to the Kids Kloset Saturday for their 50% off sale along with Faith. I let them each pick out a dress or shirt and a toy and I got all of the below, plus the toys that aren't pictured for $20!!!!

I noticed there were a lot more people shopping the sale this year. Could be the economy people are trying to save money and spend it more wisely and maybe that's why. And when I picked up the few items of mine that didn't sale in the sale (I put in 67 pieces and only 10 didn't sale) I was shocked. That's the least amount of clothes I've ever had come back, so hopefully I'll get a fatter consignor check this year as well. That would be great. I love a great bargain.

Quest Force Awards

Here's some snapshots of the First Annual Quest Force Awards held Feb 27. (last Friday) Kenzie had a blast getting ready for it and just being there. She's wanted to be a part of Quest Force since we started attending The Rock and she went after it as soon as she turned 11 (there's an age requirement) and she's been faithful and committed to it from day one. I'm proud of her and her accomplishment and I'm thankful that she's found a way to plug in to her church for her age and do a bang up job at it as well. And didn't she look beautiful!!!????