Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Piggy Tail Girl

Look at that expression!!! :) She looks upset at the cat, but she wasn't, more like startled at her noisy cat whining!!



ACK!!!!! I put the wrong picture in here!! I was trying to show you how tall she is compared to Martin's leg. But.....
Check out her adorable little piggy tails! When I first started doing her hair this way, she had just enough to pull back in 2 bands and leave a little curly bit. NOW... she has enough to put up in one pony tail!! (By the way, these are from early August)

Several weeks ago I jokingly told Steph that if Halie didn't start growing soon, we'd be passing clothes on to her rather than Halie to us!! But, that may very well be true! Emma has grown even more these past several weeks! We had moved into 18 month clothes a month or more ago and they were all loose fitting, but the onesie/romper that she wore this week just barely snapped!! Now 18 month shorts and skirts fall off of her, with her skinny little bum. Tomorrow is the day we weigh and measure, as she'll be 16 months... We'll let you know the new stats.

Today's Big Score

Today's bargains were found at Publix:
Almost all were BOGO (buy1 get1 free)

Yo Plus Yogurt BOGO 2.50, with 2 $1 coupons-50 cents
Spray & Wash BOGO 2.99, with two .50 cent coupons=1.99
Smart Balance Butter BOGO 3.49, with $1.75 in coupons and a $1 Publix dairy coupon= .74 cents
Gorton's Fish Fillets BOGO 5.49, with $1.55 in coupons= 3.94
Marzetti's Dressings BOGO 3.99, with $1 coupon-2.99
tuna 1.49, with a $1 coupon=.49 cents

I ended up spending $10.55 and saving $29.50 with BOGO's and coupons, which makes for a 74% savings!!! I had picked up the NOT ON SALE fish fillets and the Manager refunded my $ AND the coupon amounts!! The girl told him what I needed & had done and he offered to refund the amount PLUS coupons. Afterwards, Martin said "you realize that was like doubling your coupons?" :) I purchased the correct fish and came away with an extra $1.55.

P.S.
Now remember that you can use 2 coupons when you are buying a BOGO. AND most stores will allow you to use a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon. Makes for even better savings, especially when grocery stores in Florida do not double coupons!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Today's BIG Bargains

Today's Winn Dixie Bargains:
I spent $9.29 and saved $19.91!!


A picture of my purchases:

The sales included:
*buying 4 Kelloggs cereals & bars at 4 for $10 AND getting a gallon of milk and dozen eggs for free. I had $3.50 in coupons for those Kelloggs items. So, $6.50 for 2 boxes of cereal, 2 boxes of Special K bars, gallon of milk and eggs.
*Barrilla Piccolina pasta were on sale for $1 and I had a 50 cent coupon.
*Progresso soups were Buy 1 Get 1 and I had a 50 cent coupon. (Even at WD's mark up "sale" price, I still saved .70 cents over Walmart)
*Sun Crystals sweetener was on sale for $2 and I had a $2 coupon= FREE!!

So, spent $9.29 and saved $19.91. Gotta love it!!!

PS- This week Walgreens had OralB Indicator toothbrushes on sale 2 for $4 with a $2 register rewards given. I had a buy 1 get 1 coupon. So, essentially my 2 toothbrushes were free. I tell you I LOVE bargains!

P.S.S. Forgot to add, I also bought 2 cleaners at Walgreens (Pine Sol and 409). 2 for $5 (cheaper at Wal mart per item, but read on ...) I had a dollar coupon which made it $4. Add in the $2 register reward and I paid $2 PLUS got another $2 register reward for a future purchase! So, again, essentially free.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Such A Helper!!

Emma LOVES to help! She is at that age where she wants to do whatever Mommy is doing and she really does help do quite a few chores each day.



Such a ham!!!! She loves to put away the spoons and forks. It makes her quite mad when we are loading it with dirty stuff rather than emptying it!! She thinks that every time it is opened, she should be allowed to help put away!!

She can just barely reach the drawer to slip each utensil into. Mommy has to then place them in their correct place OR back in the sink, when she decides to put them in her mouth on the way to the drawer.

Here is THE fave part of the whole event... closing the door!! She gets quite put out if you close it before she gets there!!


Emma loves to help feed the cats twice a day; She helps me take the laundry to the laundry room; Puts away silverware; Gets her won diaper when it is time for a change; Cleans up her own toys after every play time; and she loves to take my shoes and put them away-even if I am wearing them!! BUT, my closet is usually closed while Daddy's is always open, so when I can't find my shoes I have to look in his closet. If I dare to kick one off for a few minutes, she is on it!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Summer Yard Sale Finds


Here are a few pictures of some of our summer yard sale finds:

Emma was so happy to see this/have this stuff that she wouldn't stay out of the way for me to take the picture!! I absolutely LOVE wood toys(part of being a preschool teacher) and Martin and I have always said that someday we were "going to have only wooden, sturdy toys. No plastic junk." Well, that 'someday' has arrived and he has no job, so we have no income and we are happy to have what we can find!

BUT, we hit the wood toy jackpot on this day!! The first sale of the morning was a boys sale with loads of boy clothes & toys. But, they had wooden stuff! I got a wood pounding bench, wood car track w/ 3 race cars, wood bead roller coaster and was thrilled! We also found a waffle maker (wanted one all summer), clothes, books, Leapfrog ABC bus, See & Say, the drum filled with musical instruments, a leaf blower for Daddy and a metal candle holder/candelabra for the porch. We ended up spending $23 this day, with the $8 blower.

On this yard sale day, we found a set of wood puzzles and the metal rack to hold them, a bread machine ($3), box full of candy making molds/colors/sticks/supplies, books,mega blocks and the rocking horse. That horse was $2 and she loves it!! I think we spent about $10 or $11 this day.

Earlier in the summer we also found a Little Tykes kitchen set that is shaped in a circle, with the kitchen on the front half and the dining room area on the back half. It has one chair and was marked $5 at Goodwill AND was on sale!! Paid something like $3.50 for it and it was in perfect shape. Not faded. The stickers and labels were all still on it. We brought it home and stuck it in the attic, as she is not quite ready for it yet. Our first big sale day of the summer I found her a big bag of play dishes and plastic foods for $2 (stuck up in the attic too) and a large back of Mega blocks for $1.

I love, love, love finding bargains! No matter where they are! Coupons. Craigslist. Yard Sales. Clearance aisles. A deal is a deal.

Another Marmite Day

Emma does love her some Marmite! Daddy says this just proves she's English! :)

Daddy also thinks that I need to offer it to her more often as part of her meal or snack... NOT!! I told him that is his thing. He is the one who eats it and he can share it with her anytime he pleases. Mommy doesn't even wanna go there!!


I know some of you have no clue what it is, but those of you who do... Some are smiling and most are grimacing!!