Sweet Deal at Walgreens!  

Posted by: Julie

Well, I came across a good deal at Walgreens today. I went in to get the Jumbo packs of diapers that were on sale for $5.99 (Reg $7.99). I had my $5 / 2 WAGS coupon from the EasySaver book so I was good to go.

When I went in, they had a $5.99 tag in front of the Mega packs. The tag said it was for the 40 count jumbo pack. Well, the ones I picked up had 40 diapers in it, but said Mega pack.

I went to the cashier and she rang up the first package and it rang up $10.99. I asked her about the tag saying $5.99 for 40 diapers. She nicely called the manager and we walked back to the diaper aisle. I showed him the tag and he said that they had placed the tag in the wrong place but it was their mistake and they would honor the $5.99 price.

I then asked him about the $5 / 2 coupon since I was getting the Mega pack instead of the Jumbo pack. He said it would work no problem. Well, when the cashier tried to use the Q it wouldn't work. Instead she voided out one of my diapers and re-rang it at $0.99 which saved me the $5 the Q would have.

I wasn't able to get the $5 register rewards because of buying a mega pack instead of a jumbo pack, but I still got...

$34.97 worth of diapers for $13.75!

I'll take that deal and be very happy about it! I do plan on going back to WAGS to get the Jumbo packs since you can use the $5 / 2 Q and get the $5 register rewards. It's a good week for diapers!

Got my $1 flip flops at Old Navy  

Posted by: Julie

Thanks to The Centisible Sawyer, "J" and I headed out for $1 flip flops! We got there at 8:55 AM and the store opens at 9:00 AM. Well, they were already open and just about out of the $1 flip flops. I was able to get "J" 2 pair, "K" 2 pair and 1 pair of men's for me since all of the women's were G-O-N-E!

I have 2 complaints about my experience today:

1.) The AD said there was a limit of 5 per customer. Well, let me tell ya, that wasn't the case at my Old Navy. There were ladies buying 10 or more at a time. Greed just kills me! What about the folks that didn't get there before 9 AM? If they got there after 9:15 there was nothing left but men's shoes. I believe if they advertise a limit, they should enforce that limit.

2.) They had patterned flip flops on the same rack as the solid colored ones. The solid ones were on sale for $1 NOT the patterned. No problem, except they were on the sales rack. Doesn't that mean they are on sale as well? I was going to purchase a pair for "J", but when they rang up $3.50 I had them take it off my order. Personally, I think they mislead on purpose. I wonder how many people bought those flip flops that weren't on sale and didn't realize it?

Oh, well...I was able to get my 5 pair and I've been wearing my pair all day ;-)

Thanks, Old Navy, for the great, inexpensive shoes.

Thanks, Jack!  

Posted by: Julie


Thanks for the free tacos, Jack in the Box!
The older 3 kids went to Bible school then my mom, "D" and I headed out for free tacos!
I didn't plan on mom going (it was a nice surprise) and I only had 2 gas receipts so I ended up buying a kids meal for "D". Turns out that was a good idea.
The tacos were good but much to hot for my 2 year old.

I love free food, don't you?

Happy 5th Birthday, K!  

Posted by: Julie

Our sweet little girl is 5 years old today.
"K", you have been such a blessing to our family.
Our beautiful little girl with a great big smile!
We love you and wish you the best birthday ever!

Internet Down  

Posted by: Julie

My interntet is down and I won't be blogging for a while. Just thought I'd let you all know ;-)

My grandmother is doing very well. She did not have to go into the nursing home and has been having therapy at the hospital. She will be home on Thursday!

Thank you all for your prayers.

I'll be back soon...

Frugal, Fast Lunch  

Posted by: Julie

Today has been "one of those days" with the kids. Ahh...summertime! Don't you just love the sweet sound of fighting children? LOL
I tried to do my grocery shopping with the kids, but due to misbehavior I walked out of the store with nothing :-(

I really needed to buy lunch stuff because I'm VERY low on several things. Since I didn't buy anything, what was I going to do for lunch? I (jokingly) told the kids that because they didn't allow me to do my grocery shopping that I had nothing for lunch and they would have to wait until dinner. Bad mommy!

What I did was get creative. I rummaged around and found all the makings for homemade chicken noodle soup. Perfect! Here's what I did:

2 cups of chicken broth (found in pantry WAY in the back)
1 cup of egg noodles (left over from a chicken casserole from last week)
2 cups of cooked chicken (also left over from chicken casserole from last week)
2 carrots (last weeks salad)
2 celery stalks (last weeks salad)

It all went in a big pot and brought to a boil. I cooked it for 10 minutes and lunch was served.
The kids really enjoyed it. Was it because it was good? Was it because they were grateful I actually did feed them after all? Were they just really hungry? Who knows, but they ate it and even said "Thanks, Mom!"

Now it's time for little "D" to take a nap.

Maybe I can get everyone else to take one too and I can enjoy a small bit of quite today.
Guess that one is just wishful thinking :-P

Line Dry Clothes  

Posted by: Julie


I have begun hanging my clothes outside to line (or in my case, fence) dry.
It has been so sunny and hot I couldn't help but think of how much energy
I was waisting drying the clothes in the dryer.

I found a formula that helps you figure out how much it costs to run your dryer per hour:


An electric dryer uses approx. 4000 watts per hour. Therefore it uses 4 kilowatt hours multiplied by your local rate of electricity per KWH (kilowatt hour)


use this formula to determine how much your dryer cost to operate:

Volts x Watts x $per kilowatt hr.

Ex. If your dryer is 240 volt and it is rated at 20 amps then it will use 4800 watts per hr or 4.8 kilowatts per hr. And if you pay .10 per kilowatt hr then the cost will be $0.48 per hr.
You can find the Amps and Voltage on the back of the dryer


If I did my math right, based on my normal usage of my dryer, I could save a little over
$200 per year by line drying instead of using the dryer.


What do you think about line drying your clothes? Do you already? Would you consider doing it?

For more Frugal Friday, visit Biblical Womanhood.

Free Donuts!  

Posted by: Julie

Good Grades + Krispy Kreme Donuts =

Free Donuts!

Two of my children are in elementary school and every year they have made the All "A's" Honor Roll for having straight "A's" in every class for the entire school year.

Well, I just found out that Krispy Kreme Donuts will give every child a Free donut for every A on their report card (with a maximum of 6 per child).

Yesterday the kiddos and I needed to run to a few places and I knew we'd be out at snack time. We grabbed those last report cards and headed to Krispy Kreme.

We were able to get 1 dozen free donuts! These would have cost right at $12.00!
I picked up 2 milks for us to have with our snack and we just had ourselves a grand time eating those fresh made, still warm donuts!

You can be sure that next year we'll be hitting Krispy Kreme Donuts every nine weeks with those report cards to grab some free goodies!

It's Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom. Don't miss it!
There's lots more Frugal Friday Fun at Biblical Womanhood!
For more Thrifty Thursday ideas check out Comical Coupon Cents.

Have you ever been to the "Flea Circus?"  

Posted by: Julie

Praying for my grandmother!
(more information HERE)


Summer fun at the the Alberti Flea Circus at the Greenville Library!

Grocery Shopping Tackle  

Posted by: Julie

Please say a prayer for my grandmother
(more information HERE)





This weeks Tackle it Tuesday is Grocery Shopping!!!
There are TONS of things I need to do around the house. I REALLY want to "tackle" my closet but grocery shopping must come first.

I've made my menu for the week and tonight I'm making the shopping list.

The three older kids will be in bible school from 9 - 12 tomorrow.
"D" will have speech therapy from 9 - 10 AM.

That will leave me 2 hours to get the shopping done and
the items put away before the kiddos are back home.

That is why this is my "tackle it" project for this Tuesday.
I want it done when I don't have to take all 4 kids with me.

They can be a budget buster if I'm not careful and really,
who wants to spend the whole trip saying "No, not this time" ?

Are you working on a project this week? We want to know about it!
Visit Tackle it Tuesday to post your "tackle" and to read what others are doing this week

Praying for my Grandmother  

Posted by: Julie

This is my lovely 95 year old grandmother, Ouida or as she is known to us, "Nana".
In the wee hours of the morning on Sunday June 7 she fell and broke her hip.
She has had surgery and seems to be doing well. She will be in the hospital for about 7-10 days then will most likely be moved to a nursing home for about 20 days while she goes through therapy. Please, if you would, remember my Nana in your prayers.

I love you, Nana.
Get better soon!

Menu Plan Monday  

Posted by: Julie in



Please remember say a prayer for my Grandmother!
(Click here for more information)


Take a minute and visit Orgjunkie for more Menu Monday


Monday:

Breakfast~Waffles
Lunch ~ Chicken Noodle Soup and Cheese Quesadillas
Dinner~ Breakfast ~ eggs, biscuits, bacon, grits
***
Tuesday:

Breakfast ~ Donuts* (recipe to follow)
Lunch ~ Left over Sloppy Joe's (from dinner Sunday)
Dinner ~ Baked Teriyaki Chicken , rice, glazed carrots
***
Wednesday:

Breakfast ~ Biscuits and Eggs
Lunch ~ Turkey Sandwiches, Pretzels, Fruit
Dinner ~ Taco Salad, Yellow Rice, Black Bean Salad
***

Thursday:

Breakfast ~ Cinnamon Danish
Lunch ~ Hot Dogs and Chips
Dinner ~ Chicken Casserole, English Peas, Cheese Biscuits
***
Friday:

Breakfast ~ Waffles
Lunch ~ Egg salad or Tuna Salad
Dinner ~ Homemade Pizza, Bread sticks, Salad
***
Saturday:

Breakfast ~ Kids Fix ~ Pop Tarts or Cereal
Lunch ~ Left Over Pizza (from Friday's dinner)
Dinner ~ Hamburger Steaks, Potatoes, Broccoli

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Easy Biscuit Doughnuts
The Deen Bros. Cookbook Copyright 2007

½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 12-ounce tube buttermilk biscuit dough

1. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Fill a wide, shallow pan with 1 inch of oil. Heat the oil to 370 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet. Using a 1-inch diameter round cookie cutter, cut out the center of each biscuit.
4. Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown, turning doughnuts if necessary. Transfer the doughnuts immediately to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Serve warm.

Makes 10 doughnuts.

I make a few changes to the above recipe. I do not cut out holes. I simply poke my finger through the middle of the biscuit and stretch a hole into it. Personally, I love the cinnamon and sugar topping but my kiddos prefer powered sugar. I toss the donuts in powered sugar until they are covered. These have become a favorite around here. "A" says they rank right up with
Krispy Kreme ;-)

Hot Yard Sale  

Posted by: Julie

Note to self....

Do not have a yard sale in June
when it's 99* outside.

Why?

It's miserable hot that's why!

The deal I didn't do :-)  

Posted by: Julie


I decided to skip the CVS diaper deal this week.
  • First, I did get the CVS Q to print, but it looked faked and I didn't even want to try that.
  • Second, I was racking my brain to do this deal just to get back $5. With school ending, kids awards days, graduation and getting ready for a HUGE yard sale this weekend, it just didn't seem worth it.
  • Third, "D" just turned 2 so it is now time to begin potty training (I began training at 2 with all my kiddos) I'm now going to focus on picking up Pull-Up type diapers so we can begin the transition to big boy underpants.
I guess I chose NOT to spend money instead of choosing to spend a money for an okay deal.
That is still saving, too, right?

Thrifty Thursday  

Posted by: Julie in

I found this idea in my "in box" this morning and I think it is too cool!

In today's world, everyone is concerned with our environment. One small change that can make a BIG impact is to reduce or eliminate our use of plastic bags. A lot of the stores are now selling their reusable bags for about $0.99 each. That's really not so bad BUT...how can we be more thrifty? Here's how:
Make your own T-shirt bag out of your old t-shirts!
Isn't this neat? You can find the directions on how to make your very own HERE

I think this will be a little summer project for me ;-)

For more Thrift Thursday ideas, check out Comical Coupon Cents!

Asking for help  

Posted by: Julie


There are a few CVS deals I would like to take advantage of but I'm lost on the best way to work it this week. I guess my brain has just shut down ;-)

Here are the one's I'm interested in:

Buy 2 Dawn Dish Soaps (11 oz.) at $1 each, Get $1 ECB (Limit 4)
Use 2 $0.25/1 coupons from 06/01 P&G insert
$0.25 each after coupons and ECB

Buy $20 worth of Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers (on sale for $7.99) or Wipes (70-77 ct. on sale for $2.99), Get $5 ECBs
Use $2/2 coupon from 06/01 P&G insert


Buy 1 Huggies Lotion or Wash (15 oz) at $3.49, Get $2 ECBs (Limit 5)
Use $1/1 coupons from 05/18 insert
$0.49 each after coupons

Buy 1 CVS Cotton Swabs (500 Count) at $3.19, Get $2 ECBs back (Limit 5) Maximum $3 value.

I do not have any ECB's right now. I don't have the $3/$15 Q either (I can't get it to print unless I print the whole page and then it's very small).

I am open to purchasing other items to go along with this, but these are the items I could really use.

Are you willing to share your ideas?

Mom, I'm bored!  

Posted by: Julie

I'm not totally sure if this fits the "theme" of the week but here goes:

This summer we are making a "Count Down to School" calendar.
The idea is to plan something "fun" to do each day until school starts.

  • Every Tuesday we plan to take advantage of the Free Summer Movies, so that goes on the calendar.
  • We will also participate in the Summer Reading Program at our library. As you read books or long chapters you can earn prizes. So each week we will make a trip to the library to check out more books and get our reading list stamped. Babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers can participate, too. This goes on the calendar.
  • Vacation Bible School. We live in a wonderful area FULL of fantastic churches that do great vacation bible schools. We go to 3 -4 of these each summer. These also get put on the calendar.
  • Of course we won't leave the house every day so there must be fun things to do here. We have one of those pools you put up and take down each year. Many of our at home days will be swimming days. I'm thinking of getting a "slip n slide" and put out the sprinklers and make our own "water park" We may plan for a special lunch those days or making a special treat.
  • We have a Monkey Joe's in our area. It is not a cheap outing but I do plan to take the kids twice over the summer. Because we own in ice company, Dad is gone much of the time during summer and we don't usually take any type of vacation. Monkey Joe's will be a big treat for me and the kiddos.
  • We have one of those free splash fountains in our downtown area near the Reedy River Falls. This is a great outing! We get to walk around in a beautiful park, cross over a gorgeous bridge and cool off in the fountain! If we want to splurge, there is a Spill the Beans right across the street where we can have ice cream!
  • Roller skating is on the "to do" list this summer. We have a rink just a few miles down the road that my grandmother used to take me and my brother to. I'm gonna give them a call and find out the rates and best times to skate with younger kids.
  • One of the bowling places in our area has a special $1.00 per game on Sundays. The shoe rentals are $1.00, too. Two games is plenty, so for three kids that would be an ounting for under $10 (2 year old won't be bowling with us because...well, he's 2 and that's a lot of work for mom LOL!)
  • Of course there will be days of working with dad and visiting with family.
I know it sounds like we'll be busy, busy, busy but we will only do ONE activity per day and some of these planned activities will not take more than 2 hours. That leaves plenty of time for those lazy days of summer!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rocks in My Dryer is hosting Works for Me Wednesday. She chose a theme this week..."Mom, I'm bored" For more ideas on how to be a "Bored Buster", be sure to visit her blog!