My Lowest CVS Trip So Far

I had a great CVS trip today for several different reasons

1) I spent a grand total of $.04, and I got back exactly the same amount of ECB as I spent.
2) I got some water bottles that I needed for the kids' birthday party this weekend and some very useful sunscreen sticks (as well as deodorant, mascara, and baby hair/body wash).
3) I finally saw and used a card scanner at CVS for the very first time, and it printed me some fun coupons.
4) I got several CRTs on the bottom of my receipt. I hadn't gotten any of these in a long time, and now I have gotten some on my last 3 trips.
5) The first CVS I went to had everything on my list, and I didn't have to drag the kids to more than one store.
6) I had a nice cashier.

Roaring and Walking

Here are some cute videos we got of Caleb and Alexa today. In the first two, they are roaring like lions, and in the last one, Alexa is walking!

More Alexa Pictures

One Year Old

Alexa turned one year old today. Here are some new tidbits about her in the last month.

1) She got in her top right tooth, and her top left tooth is about to break through any day now for a total of 6 teeth.

2) She has taken several steps here and there, although she still prefers crawling as her primary means of locomotion. When she is outside on the grass or is wearing a skirt that gets in her way she walks on all fours with her rear end up in the air.

3) Some of her new favorite activities are playing in the sandbox and going down the slide. She loves to be outdoors.

4) She still has not slept through the night, but she has slept several 8-9 hour stretches in the last month.

5) She still prefers to feed herself, but she will let me feed her things like yogurt, applesauce, and rice that she can't pick up on her own.

Happy Birthday, sweet baby girl!

Menu Plan Friday

Well, I printed off a July calendar and was going to work on my menu plan yesterday, but instead I ended up making dinner for my parents and hanging out with my mom while my dad fixed our wireless networking. Thanks Dad! Anyway, here's all I have at this point. I'll post the rest of the week when I figure it out.

Tonight - hotdogs, mac and cheese, applesauce, carrots and dip
Saturday - out to dinner with my family for Alexa's birthday
Sunday - lunch at Molly's house
Monday - chicken and yellow rice casserole, green beans, rolls

Alexa is still napping right now, and we are going to open presents when she gets up. Pictures to come!

Alexa's First Taste of Cake

We had some friends over for dinner before prayer meeting last night, so I took the opportunity to make a cake for Alexa's birthday, which is tomorrow. I figured that she neither knows nor cares that she ate her birthday cake 2 days early. Here are some picture. She had a quizzical look at first, but she eventually dug right in.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Catechizing and Memorizing

I have attempted on and off for the last several months to begin teaching Caleb the Catechism for Young Children. For those of you unfamiliar with this, a catechism is a series of questions and answers about what the Bible teaches. The Children's Catechism starts out with the very basics, the first question and answer being, "Q. Who made you? A. God." Well, like I said, I have asked Caleb the first question on and off with little success. Well, he has FINALLY started answering me this week, and he has also learned number 2, "Q. What else did God make? A. God made all things." In addition, he can fill in the blank on 2 Bible verses. Your word is truth, and the Lord is my Shepherd, although I will admit that the word shepherd is barely recognizable by anyone but me. It is so exciting to watch him learn and develop each day, and especially to see his spiritual development. My hope and prayer for him (and Alexa, too, of course) is that he will walk with Lord every day of his life and love and serve Him faithfully.

Watching a Movie With Mommy and Aunt Molly

Aunt Molly came to spend the night with us tonight while Uncle Nick is away playing golf. Caleb climbed right up to watch a movie with us. Aunt Molly was also cutting out coupons, and Mommy was playing on the computer.

95% Savings at Target

We got some great Target coupons in the paper on Thursday for $5/3 items including Bandaids, Johnson's, Stayfree, Carefree, Neosporin, Neutrogena, and Tylenol. Using these Target coupons as well as a TON of manufacturer's coupons, I got everything pictured above for $4.98, and $2.49 of that was tax. My total was over $100 before coupons. It was SO fun that I may have to go back next week and try it again.

Here's what I got -
2 packs Ziploc bags
7 Reach toothbrushes
8 Oral B flosses
6 Carefree pantyliners
6 Stayfree pads
1 Pampers Splashers swim diapers
6 Johnson's Head to Toe body washes
2 Neosporin tubes
13 boxes assorted types of Bandaids

Menu Plan Friday

Here's what we are eating this week -

Tonight - Grilled pork chops, brown and wild rice, corn
Saturday - Chicken Cordon Bleu, noodles, salad
Sunday - Egg salad sandwiches, fruit, chips
Monday - Grilled chicken, oven roasted potatoes, green beans
Tuesday - Bacon cheeseburger roll up, corn, salad
Wednesday - Not sure yet, depends on how many people come for dinner before prayer meeting
Thursday - ?

Hmm, maybe I need to work on my plan a bit more. :)

My CVS Haul for the Week

So I waited until today to go to CVS because they usually send out coupons by e-mail on Thursdays. But of course I did not get a CVS e-mail today. Oh well. I did stop in to two stores anyway, and I got two manual toothbrushes, 4 battery powered toothbrushes, 1 bottle Tylenol, nad 8 Dove deodorants. I spent nothing as I still have money on my CVS gift card. And I will smell nice and have clean teeth for a very long time.

Need Some Pasta?

I spent $18.32 at Publix today, saved $50.29, and got a lot of pasta! Here's what I got.

1 2 pack ceiling fan bulbs - no coupon
8 boxes Barilla pasta - 8 $.50/2 coupons which doubled to $1.00
2 packages Buitoni whole wheat cheese tortellini - 2 $1 coupons
4 boxes Barber chicken breasts - 4 $1 coupons
2 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks - 1 $.50/2 coupon which doubled to $1.00
1 Texas Toast croutons - $.55 coupon
1 Dark chocolate Jello pudding - $.50 coupon which doubled to $1.00
2 Lenders bagels - $1.00/2 coupon
2 Kiwi fruit
2 Wishbone dressings - 2 $.75 coupons
1 box Honey Bunches of Oats - free item coupon
1 package Kraft American cheese - no coupon
2 boxes Zatarains jambalya mix - 1 $.75/2 coupon

I also used a $5/$35 purchase coupon that was on the front of the ad this week.

Alexa News

1) She got her 5th tooth in this week, the one on the top left.

2) When I turn on the CD of Clap Your Hands, she claps her hands and raises her arms just like we do in Sunday School.

3) She took her first steps today between Mommy and Aunt Molly. She probably took about 6 steps in a row at one point.

Over 60% Savings at Target...

..and it could have been more, but I didn't use 3 coupons that I had planned to use. Oh well!

Anyway, we don't have a Super Target near us, so I don't get there very often. I took advantage of being near one today to stop in a get a few deals. Here's what I got along with the coupons used for anyone who is interested. I spent $18.79 for a savings of just over 60%. No picture as everything needed to get in the fridge right away since it had already been in the car for awhile.

Athenos feta cheese (actually make that 4 extra coupons I should have used. I'm pretty sure I have one for this somewhere) - on sale for $1.77
6 32 oz bottles of Powerade - $.79 each - $.75 coupons = $.04 cents each
1 bottle Joint Juice - $.99 - $1.00 coupon = -$.01
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 strawberry banana yogurt
2 bags Dole salad - $1.50 - $.55 coupon = $.95 each
1 banana - added because I had more coupons then items, which the cash register frowns upon
4 Oral B floss - $.97 - $1.00 coupon = -$.03 (accidentally only used 2 coupons instead of 4)
1 Fur Fighter - $9.99 - $4 Target coupon - $4 manufacturer's coupon = $1.99
4 25 pack Ziploc sandwich bags - $1 each - 2 $1.50/2 coupons = $.25 each
4 slices each of Havarti, Gouda, and Asiago cheeses - around $1 each - $1 Target coupons (The Asiago ended up only being $.72 so I did not use a coupon on it. Oops)
2 boxes Morningstar Farms Chick'n Nuggets, 1 box broccoli cheese nuggets and 1 box veggie burgers - prices range from $2.99 - $3.29 - used $2/2 Target coupons and $.75/1 manufacturer's coupons

Sleep Success and Setback

Last night Alexa slept for 9 hours straight. That is the longest stretch that she has ever slept in her almost 12 months of life. And the best part is that I was asleep for almost 7 of those hours. That is the longest stretch of sleep that I have had in a year. And after tending to her, I got to go back to sleep for a total of 9.5 hours of sleep last night. I feel like a new woman.

So, what does she do tonight. Wakes up crying around 9:30, less than 2 hours after she went to bed. Daddy went in and told her who was boss, and she went right back to sleep. Hopefully we won't hear from her again until morning, but I am not holding my breath. Actually, she just let out a scream as I was typing this. Oh well!

Alexa's First First Birthday Present

It's hard to believe, but Alexa turns one on June 27th. She got her first present in the mail last week from Aunt Andrea. It was an adorable dress from Baby Gap, a pair of pink sandals, and a sun hat (not pictured). Thanks, Aunt Andrea!

CVS Redeems Itself

Alexa and I headed out this morning to CVS to use a $3/$15 purchase coupon that expired today. Guess what we bought. NOTHING! They were out of everything on my list including my plan B items. So during naptime this afternoon I ran to another CVS, which fortunately had everything on my list. I also got a CRT (cash register tape) coupon for $1.50 off pain reliever. I haven't gotten a CRT in a very long time, so I guess CVS has redeemed itself for being out of everything this morning. Anyway, I spent $10 in ECB, $.78 on a gift card, no cash, and got back $10 in ECB. Here's what I got.



2 bottles Fab laundry detergent
2 bottles Powerade
5 Atkins advantage bars
2 Garnier mircobead face washes

Menu Plan Friday

Here's what's on the menu this week -

Tonight - Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, homemade macaroni and cheese, pineapple, frozen fruit salad, lemon pudding souffle.
Saturday - Grilled chicken, oven roasted potatoes, green beans, fruit salad
Sunday - Frozen pizza, salad
Monday - Eggs, bacon, biscuits, fruit
Tuesday - Pizza pasta, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - Spicy baked chicken, shells and cheese, broccoli
Thursday - Grilled pork chops, brown rice, carrots

Georgia Aquarium

I realized the other day that only kids under 3 get free admission to the Georgia Aquarium. Since Caleb turns three in a month (hard to believe, I know), we decided to squeeze a trip in before his birthday. I mentioned this to Molly and Nick the other day, and they said they'd like to go with us. Really I think they just wanted to hear Caleb say, "Firsh," a thousand times. After the aquarium, we let the kids play on the playground at Centennial Olympic Park and then had lunch at the CNN center.

Cookies

Inspired by my mom's post yesterday, I have oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the oven. Yumm! I will admit, though, that they were from a (free) Betty Crocker cookie mix.

Cooking

0 Kids, 60 minutes, 6 errands

Anyone who has ever done errands with kids in tow will appreciate how much faster it is to shop without them. The kids were napping this afternoon (or refusing to nap in Caleb’s case), and I headed out to run some errands. I was able to make six stops in just over an hour. No way I could have done that with 2 kids in tow.

#1 – Blockbuster
I ran in to return Bella (which was okay but not great) and pick up Hogfather for Dave (which I hope to not have to watch). This was free because we have Blockbuster Total Access and can return movies we got by mail and get a free rental from the store.

#2 – Walgreens
I picked up my ink cartridge refill that I dropped off a few weeks ago. It cost $5 instead of the $25 a new cartridge would cost. I paid with a Walgreens gift card and $1.02 in cash.

#3 – Bank
I cashed a check to use for lunch money when we go to the Georgia Aquarium tomorrow.

#4 – Aldi
I spent about $30 here. Aldi has the lowest prices on several different things, so I try to stop in there every week or two. Some examples are Beef Bologna for $1.09, 1 dozen eggs for $1.25, a gallon of milk for $2.49, strawberries for $1.99, hamburger and hotdog buns for $.79 and a whole pineapple for $.99. If you have an Aldi near you, you really should check it out.

#5- Taco Bell
I had a coupon for a free Fruitista Freeze, which I thought would be perfect for a hot day like today. Unfortunately, the machine was broken, but they gave me a free drink instead and let me keep my coupon to use another time.

#6 – Publix
There are a few things that I can’t get at Aldi or can get for cheaper on sale with coupons, so I stopped in to Publix as well. I spent around $30 there, too, and I saved $30. Some of the good deals I got at Publix this week were:
Hebrew National hotdogs – B1G1F, 2 $.75 coupons
Europe’s frozen berry mix (I use this for smoothies) – B1G1F
Glass Plus cleaner – B1G1F, 2 $.50 coupons that doubled
Popsicles – B1G1F
Freschetta frozen pizza – B1G1F, $.75 coupon
I also had a coupon for $5/$35 purchase, but the cashier gave me the discount without me actually having to give him my coupon. So, I get to keep my coupon to use another time.

All in all, it was a very successful trip, and it was good to get out of the house by myself for a little bit.

Pool Time

Val and his mommy invited us to go swimming at their neighborhood pool today, and Aunt Molly came, too. Caleb had lots of fun splashing in the baby pool, and Alexa played with Val.

Just Can't Stay Away From CVS

Here's what I got today for $0 out of pocket since I paid with a CVS money card.
1 Nivea shave gel
3 32 oz Powerade
1 CVS band aids
1 Huggies hair/body wash
1 Fusion razor (I had to go back specifically for this, as they are Dave's favorite razor and I forgot my coupon yesterday)

Can You Guess What He's Been Watching Lately?

Some of Caleb's favorite new words are Elmo, Oscar, Grover (which he uses for Grover and Cookie Monster), Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird. Really he just watches the whole Sesame Street show waiting for Elmo's World to come on at the end.

Just Chillin'

Playing in the pool on the deck

Alexa has learned how to get on the futon by herself, and she loves sitting up there reading books. Caleb is watching an Elmo movie, his favorite.

CVSing Again

Well, it was not an amazing day at CVS, but they did pay me to take home 6 cans of men's shaving cream, 2 bottles of mouthwash, and 2 men's deodorants. Hopefully the men's shaving cream does not smell too strong because I am almost out of my shaving gel and will be using it soon. :)

Deck Building Day 3 and a Finished Play Set

Dave and his dad worked hard today and got the deck finished before lunch. After lunch, they got to work on the new play set, which they were able to finish before dinner. The kids had fun swimming in their pool on the deck, and we all ate a yummy, hot, fly-infested dinner outside. Now everyone is relaxing, and Dave's parents are packing to leave in the morning.