Menu Plan for the week of 04/30/2012

This week is going to be a busy one.  I have to take my dad to a doctor's appointment on Wednesday.  On Thursday, I am going to Washington DC with Nathan's 2nd grade class- that should be a fun and very long day.  And on Saturday, I have the pleasure of photographing a dear friend's wedding:)

This is our menu plan for this week:
Breakfast
Pancakes X2
Egg Burritos X2
Banana Baked Oatmeal X2
Chocolate banana bread

Lunch
Sandwich, carrot sticks, popcorn

Dinner
Stroganoff with green beans
Chicken, chicken noodles with corn
Tilipia, brown rice and peas
Waffles with homemade syrup and fruit
Chicken soup with grilled cheese
Spaghetti, homemade rolls and corn

Snacks
Apple slices with PB
Banana
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies- subbing the butterscotch chips with chocolate chips:)

Walgreens deals for the week of 04/29/2012

Things to keep in mind when shopping at Walgreens:
1) You must have as many items as manufactur's coupons
2) Register Receipts (RR) are considered manufactur's coupons
3) You are allowed 1 Manufactur's coupon and 1 store coupon per item
4) Cannot use RR printed from item to pay for same item and get RR's again~
For example- If you were to purchase Colgate for $3 and get $3 RR, if you purchase the Colgate again and use the RR's earned from the 1st Colgate purchase you will not earn the RR's again

Spend $15 and get $5 RR on the following:
Planters nuts- $8/2
Nabisco crackers- $5/2
Nabisco cookies or Belvita- $6/2
Maxwell House Instant- $5
Gevalia Coffee- $7
Crystal Light or Country Time Lemonade- $4/2

60pc Trident White or Dentyne Ice or Trident White Pouch- $2.49 and get $1 RR
$1 Trident or Dentyne 60ct cpn- 04/01 SS

Spend $15 and get $7 Hershey cpn on the following:
Hershey minis, nuggets or kisses- $6/2
Hershey pieces, drops or Reese's minis- $5/2
$1/2 Hershey drops, rolo minis, Reese's minis or pieces cpn- 04/15 SS

Old Spice bodywash- $6.99 and get $2 RR

Clean & Clear skin care or bodywash- $10/2 and get $4 RR

Spend $25 and get $5 RR when you buy ROC
$3 ROC anti aging cpn- 04/29 SS

Dove hair care- $15/4 and get $5 RR

Colgate SonicPower MaxWhite or 360 toothbrush or refill- $6.99 and get $3 RR
$2/2 Colgate powered toothbrush cpn- 04/29 SS

Colgate Optic White toothpaste- $7/2 and get $3 RR
$1 Colgate Total Advanced, Optic White or Sensitive Pro-Relief cpn- 04/15 SS

Gillette Fusion ProGlide- $10.99 and get $4 RR
$3 Fusion ProGlide razor when you buy Fusion ProGlide refill cpn- 04/29 P&G

Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler- $18.99 and get $4 RR

U by Kotex sleek tampons- $3.99 and get $3 RR
$1 U by Kotex cpn- 03/25 SS

Miralax- $19.99 and get $3 RR
$3 Miralax cpn- 04/29 SS

Omeprazole or Omeprazole Magnesium- $18.99 and get $6 RR

Bayer- $8.99 and get $1 RR
$2.50/2 Bayer cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Bayer cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Bayer cpn- 03/18 SS

Claritin- $19.99 and get $3 RR
$5 Claritin cpn- 04/29 SS
$5 Claritin cpn- 04/15 SS

Depends Real Fit or Silhouette 3pk- $4.49 and get $3.50 RR
$1.50 Depends Real Fit or Silhoutette cpn- 04/15 SS

Noxema disposable razor 4pk- $3.99 and get $2 RR

CVS deals for the week of 04/29/2012

Don't forget to....
1) Go to cvs.com/email and sign up for the ExtraCare email and receive a $4/20 cpn
2) Stop by the Red ExtraCare coupon center and get CVS cpns
3) You can use a manufacturer's cpn along with a CVS cpn
4) You can use a B1G1Free cpn along with a B1G1Free sale to get both products for free:)

Get $5 ECB when you buy 2 Nivea body lotions
$2  Nivea for Men lotion cpn- 4/29 RP
$2 Nivea hand or body lotion cpn- 04/29 RP
$2 Nivea for Men lotion cpn- 04/15 RP
$1 Nivea hand or body lotion cpn- 04/15 RP

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB when you buy Maybelline face, eye or lip
$1 Maybelline New York mascara cpn- 04/15 RP
$1 Maybelline New York lip color cpn- 04/15 RP
$1 Maybelline New York eye shadow or liner cpn- 04/15 RP
$1 Maybelline New York mascara cpn- 03/04 RP

Spend $10 and get $3 ECB when you buy Rimmel cosmetics
$1 Rimmel mascara cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Rimmel eye, nail or face cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Rimmel cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 Rimmel cpn- 03/11 RP

Spend $10 and get $3 ECB when you buy CoverGirl lip or eye
$1 CoverGirl cpn- 04/29 P&G

Olay Regenerist facial care, Total Effects Tone or UV moisturizer- $20.99 and get $2 ECB

Olay ProX kit- $62 and get $7 ECB

Olay ProX or ProX Clear acne- $42 and get $7 ECB

Olay Facial hair removal Duo, Regenerist kit or treatment- $23.99 and get $3 ECB

Axe shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant or body spray- $9/2 and get $3 ECB

Gillette Venus razor or refill or Fusion ProGlide razor or refill and get $5 ECB
$3 Fusion ProGlide razor when you buy Fusion ProGlide refill cpn- 04/29 P&G

Spend $20 and get $10 ECB when you buy AcneFree

Pantene- $6.97/2 and get $1 ECB
B1G1Free Pantene cpn- 04/29 P&G

$3 ECB when you buy Crest or Oral B Clinical Gum protection- Limit 2
$0.25 Crest toothpaste cpn- 04/29 P&G
$0.25 Crest rinse cpn- 04/29 P&G

CVS Jumbo pack diapers or training pants- $6.99 and get $2 ECB

Oral B Power toothbrush or refill- $19.99 and get $5 ECB- Limit 2

Crest 3D White Professional Effects, Intensive Professional or 2hr Express kit- $52.99 and get $10 ECB- Limit 2

Colgate 360 SonicPower, Spongebob or 360 Whole Mouth Clean toothbrush- $5.99 and get $2 ECB- Limit 2
$2/2 Colgate power toothbrush cpn- 04/29 SS

Colgate 360 SonicPower 2pk toothbrush-$9.99 and get $2 ECB- Limit 2
$2/2 Colgate power toothbrush cpn- 04/29 SS

Spend $30 and get $10 ECB on the following:
SlimQuick, Applied Nutrition Bootcamp, NV, TrimSpa, Fastin, Lichi or Lipodrene- $19.99
Slimfast shake, bars or powder- B1G 50% off
Kellogg's Special K Protein shakes or bars- $12/2

Aleve, Bayer, Low Dose or Advanced- $8.79 and get $1 ECB
$1 Aleve cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Aleve cpn- 03/18 SS
$2.50/2 Bayer cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Bayer cpn- 04/29 RP
$1 Bayer cpn- 03/18 SS

Metamucil- $25/2 and get $5 ECB
$1 Metamucil cpn- 04/29 P&G

Align- $28.99 and get $5 ECB

Prilosec- $24.99 and get $5 ECB
$2 Prilosec cpn- 04/29 P&G

Blink, Blink-A-Clean, Revitalens or Complete- $8.99 and get $3 ECB
$1 Complete Blink-N-Cleanor Blink contacts cpn- 04/29 SS
$1 Blink tears cpn- 04/29 SS
$1 Revitalens cpn- 04/29 SS

Select NatureMade supplements- $7.99 and get $4 ECB

$8 ECB when you buy Claritin 30ct or Bonus size
$5 Claritin cpn- 04/29 SS
$5 Claritin cpn- 04/15 SS

Spend $20 and get $5 ECB when you buy Hallmark cards or Blooming Expressions

Kellogg's Special K bars, Multigrain crackers or cracker crisps- $10/3 and get $3 ECB

Spend $20 and get $5 ECB on the following:
Poland Spring water 3L or Gerber Pure Water 1 Gallon- $3/3
Lean Cuisine, Stouffers or Hot Pockets- $6/2
$1/4 Lean Cuisine cpn- 04/29 SS
$1/2 Stouffers meals cpn- 03/18 SS
Nestles singles- B2G1Free
$0.60/3 Nestles singles cpn- 04/29 SS
Fruit bars or Skinny Cow- $4
Nips- $0.88
Nescafe Tasters Choice Instant coffee- $6.99
DiGiornio Pizza- $10/3
Powerbar- $10/10
Boost- $6.99
$1.50 Boost cpn- 04/29 SS
Friskies car food can- $5/10
$0.50/6 Friskies plus or indoor can cpn- 04/29 SS
$0.50/4 Friskies plus or indoor can cpn- 03/18 RP
Purina dog chow, cat chow, Friskies or Kit & Kaboodle- $4.49
$1.50/3 Friskies dry cat food cpn- 04/29 SS
$0.50 Kit & Kaboodle cpn- 04/22 SS
Colgate MaxClean, SmartFoam, MaxWhite or MaxFresh toothpaste- $2.99 and get $2.49 ECB

Kellogg's Special K cereal- $10/3 and get $3 ECB

Nathan & Little Michael

I thought these pics were just too cute not to share.  With all the pictures of Chris and Kevin and their JROTC accomplishments, Nathan and Little Michael need some blog time too:)

Nathan

Little Michael just hanging around:)

Too adorable:)

So proud:)

I am one proud mama:)  Both Chris and Kevin came home smiling~ it was a good day.  They both ranked up.

AFJRTOC 2LT

AFJROTC Staff Sergeant

I am so proud of my boys.  They have worked hard to get the ranks they are now.  Chris went from Master Sergeant to 2 Lieutenant.  Kevin went from Airman Basic to Staff Sergeant:)

Air Force JRTOC Change of Command Ceremony

We had the pleasure of attending Christopher and Kevin's last AFJRTOC Change of Command Ceremony.  As many of you know, I am very sad about the Air Force pulling the JRTOC program from our high school. This program has done so much good for so many cadets.

We had a nice light dinner and talked with several of the cadets.  Many thanks to my mother in law for babysitting little Michael and Nathan so we could enjoy this last ceremony. 

Here are some pictures of the night:

Kevin at dinner

Christopher

Sgt Harris & Col Whitaker

Color Guard

POW table

Kevin receiving a trophy

Chris receiving a trophy

Change of Command- Chris was the Guidon Bearer

We had a great time at the ceremony and were happy that both Chris and Kevin were recognized.  We will continue to support all our cadets and will make this last year the best for them:)

Lowes Build & Grow Clinic- 04/28/12

Mark your calendars. Lowes is hosting a Build & Grow Clinic for April 28, 2012.

If you are looking for a great free activity that you can do with your kids- you should check out the Lowes Build & Grow Clinics. Michael and Nathan love them. They love being able to do hands on projects with our help.

This Saturday, the Lowes Build and Grow Clinic is to build a Terrarium.

To sign up for this Build & Grow Clinic simply go to the Lowes Build & Grow Clinic website, which they have redone to make it more user friendly. I am loving this new website. You register all your information. Then when you visit the website to sign up for an upcoming clinic, all you have to do is sign in and check which kids you are signing up. Don't forget to print and sign the waiver. And you and your child(ren) are ready for a really cool hands on project.

Once you and your child(ren) complete the project they will receive a neat patch to put on their Lowes Build & Grow apron. If this is your first clinic, your child(ren) will receive a free Lowes Build & Grow apron and goggles:) The more clinics you do, the more patches you get to put on your kids apron and they can show them off with pride:)

My Shopping Day

Due to a very busy Sunday and Michael working out of state this week, we decided to go grocery shopping on Saturday for this week.

Here are the details of our shopping trip:

Food Lion
$0.50- Bread
$0.50- Bread
$0.50- Eggs
$0.50- Eggs
$2.05 Total after tax

Food Lion
$0.50- Bread
$0.50- Bread
$0.50- Eggs
$0.50- Eggs
$2.05- Total after tax
**These prices at Food Lion were great for bread and eggs so we went to 2 different Food Lion's

Kroger
$0.99- Pepsi Next 2L
$15.27- Comforts diapers
$16.26
-0.99 Kroger e-cpn for Pepsi Next
-15.27- Comforts diaper/training pants free cpn
$0.00- Total after tax~ I was suprised I didn't even have to pay tax

Walgreens
$0.78- 2 pkgs Royal Gelatin
$6.00- 2 pkgs Lysol Wipes
$3.00- 2 containers Lysol toilet cleaner
$0.99- Pepsi Next
$10.77
-1/2 Lysol wipes cpn
-1/2 Lysol toilet cleaner cpn
-1.00 RR
-2.00 RR
-4.00 RR
$2.26 Total and got $2.99 RR's

Dollar Tree
$1.00- small container for crayons- Michael is ripping into the packages and the dog is eating the crayons left on the floor
$1.00- Shampoo
$1.00- Shaving Cream
$2.00- (2) small gift bags
$5.25 Total after tax

CVS
$3.99- Act Sensitive
$3.99- Act Senstitive
$7.98
-2.00 Act Sensitive cpn
-2.00 Act Sensitive cpn
-2.00 ECB
-0.99 ECB
$0.99 Total and got back $2 ECB

Walmart
$5.84- Whole Chicken
$1.98- Frozen corn
$3.92- Frozen green beans
$1.98- Frozen corn
$1.52- 2 lbs carrots
$2.84- Frozen OJ
$3.48- Lunchmeat
$3.28- Coffee Mate coffee creamer
$2.18- Heavy whipping cream
$11.16- 4 gallons skim milk
$1.22- Tortillas
$2.42- Cocoa Cool cereal
$1.48- Pretzel sticks
$0.96- Marshmellows
$1.24- Baking Powder
$2.28- PB
$0.50- Onion
$3.96- Chocolate chips
$1.00- Drink boxes
$1.07- Bananas
-3.28 Coffee Mate coffee creamer cpn
$52.39 Total after tax

This shopping trip has been added to our April Monthly Spending post, where I keep track of what we spend for the month of April.

Menu plan for the week of 04/23/2012

This weekend was a super busy weekend.  Most of you know about my friends Scentsy fundraiser party to benefit Mental Health wellness- well that was yesterday.  I thought I had everything taken care of, labled and ready, but I seemed to find things I had accidentally forgotten.  It was a busy weekend just trying to get prepared for the party.

Luckily, my friend lives 20 minutes from my dad because I do not like driving in the rain.  Thankfully, the rain was not heavy, so we made it to her house safe and sound.  Kevin was my Scentsy helper yesterday afternoon.  We set up and my display looked so cute- sorry forgot to take a picture.  But it did look good~ I was proud of myself. 

I think the rain scared everyone off because no one came to her party.  She was sad but we still did have a great time.  The food was amazing and my dad came with us.  We were able to catch up with our friends and share wonderful stories about my my mom.  This is the first time my dad has been able to share about my mom openly without breaking down in tears.  So, even though no one came, we still had a great time and I think it really helped my dad. 

We didn't get home until almost 10pm- that is why the store deals are just making it up today.

Here is our menu plan for the week:
Breakfast
Donuts & fruit- Thanks to my wonderful friend for those yummy, delicious donuts
Egg sandwiches
PB Banana Toast
Banana Bread oatmeal X2
Banana Bread muffins X2

Lunch
Sandwich, popcorn, banana

Dinner
Bean & rice tacos with corn
Garlic chicken pasta with green beans
Creamy chicken with rice with corn
Pancakes with homemade syrup and fruit
Homemade chicken noodle soup with bread
Pasta Bake with green beans
Spaghetti with peas and bread

Snacks
Carrots sticks
Apple slices
Strawberries from our garden

Walgreens deals for the week of 4/22/2012

Things to keep in mind when shopping at Walgreens:
1) You must have as many items as manufactur's coupons
2) Register Receipts (RR) are considered manufactur's coupons
3) You are allowed 1 Manufactur's coupon and 1 store coupon per item
4) Cannot use RR printed from item to pay for same item and get RR's again~
For example- If you were to purchase Colgate for $3 and get $3 RR, if you purchase the Colgate again and use the RR's earned from the 1st Colgate purchase you will not earn the RR's again

Spend $10 and get $2 cpn on Nice products

Brita- $16.99 and get $3 RR

$2 RR when you buy 3 of the following:
Fantastik, Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, Shout, Glade fabric and air odor climator, Tough odor solutions, Surface disinfectant and air sanitizer- $2.99
$0.75 Scrubbing Bubbles Fantastik all purpose cpn- 03/25 SS
$1 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner cpn- 03/25 SS
$2/2 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner cpn- 03/11 SS
$1/2 Windex cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.55 Shout cpn- 03/25 SS
Drano, Glade Expressions, Scrubbing Bubbles 6pk toilet gels, Auto Shower refill, Foamer, Extend a clean, Pledge- $3.99
$2.50 Glade Expressions oil difusser kit cpn- 04/22 SS
$1.50 Glade Expressions mist starter kit cpn- 04/22 SS
$2/2 Pledge furniture products cpn- 03/25 SS

Sparkle paper towels or Angel soft- $5.49 and get $1 RR
$0.45 Angel Soft cpn- 03/25 RP

Spend $15 and get $5 RR Tresemme- $15/4

Spend $20 and get $5 RR Burt Bee's

Spend $15 and get $5 RR Garnier hair care
$2 Garnier Nutrisse foam cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 Garnier Fructis styling cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 Garnier Fructis shampoo or conditioner cpn- 04/01 RP
$2 Garnier Nutrisse foam cpn- 03/04 RP

Dove bodywash or 6pk bar- $18/3 and get $6 RR

Spend $25 and get $10 RR on the following:
Banana Boat or Hawaiin Tropic- $8.99
$1 Banana Boat cpn- 04/22 SS
$1 Hawaiin Tropic cpn- 04/22 SS
Schick Quattro or Intuition- $8.99
$1 Schick razor or refill cpn- 04/22 SS
Schick disposable razors- $5.99
$1.75 Schick disposable razors cpn- 04/01 SS
Edge, Skintimate or Schick Hydro shave cream- $1.99
$0.55 Edge/skintimate cpn- 04/22 SS
$0.55 Edge cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.55 Skintimate cpn- 03/25 SS
Wet Ones- $4/2
$0.75 Wet Ones cpn- 04/22 SS
Playtex- $6.99
$1 Playtex gentle glide, sport or personal or sport wipes cpn- 04/22 SS
Buy Playtex 36ct and get 20ct free cpn- 03/18 SS

Schick Hydro- $8.99 and get $3 RR
$2 Schick Hydro Silk cpn- 04/22 SS
$2 Schick Power Select, Hydro 3 or 5 cpn- 04/22 SS
$4 Schick Hydro Silk cpn- 03/25 SS

Prilosec- $18.99 and get $3 RR
$1 Prilosec cpn- 04/01 P&G

Zegrid- $22.99 and get $4 RR
$6 Zegrid cpn- 04/22 SS

U by Kotex sleek tampons- $3.99 and get $3 RR
$1 U by Kotex cpn- 03/25 SS

$5 RR when you buy 2 or $2 RR when you buy 1 Mucinex- $19.99

Psoriasin Psoriasis relief- $5 and get $5 RR

 i-Cool+D Menopause relief- $10 and get $10 RR
$2 i-Cool+D Menopause or i-Cool+D Menopause+Bone Building cpn- 02/19 RP

CVS deals for the week of 04/22/2012

Don't forget to....
1) Go to cvs.com/email and sign up for the ExtraCare email and receive a $4/20 cpn
2) Stop by the Red ExtraCare coupon center and get CVS cpns
3) You can use a manufacturer's cpn along with a CVS cpn
4) You can use a B1G1Free cpn along with a B1G1Free sale to get both products for free:)

Pepsi 12pk- $12/3 and get $2 ECB

Gatorade Prime, Amp Energy or Double Shot- $3/2 and get $1 ECB

Spend $12 and get $4 ECB when you buy Oust, Glade Fabric Spray, Sense & Spray refill, Candle refill, Plug in refill, candle, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, Fantastik or Windex- $3
$1.50 Plug In refill twin pack or 2 single packs cpn- 03/25 SS
$1/2 Glade candle or scented oil candle products cpn- 03/25 SS
$1 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.75 Scrubbing Bubbles Fantastik all purpose cleaner cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.55 Shout cpn- 03/25 SS
$1/2 Windex cpn- 03/25 SS

Duracell- $11.99 and get $2 ECB
$0.75 Duracell cpn- 04/01 P&G

$3 ECB when you buy 3 Hallmark cards

Spend $10 and get $4 ECB when you buy Revlon cosmetics or beauty tools
$2 Revlon face product cpn- 04/01 SS
$1 Revlon color cosmetic cpn- 04/01 SS
$1 Revlon beauty tool cpn- 04/01 SS

Spend $10 and get $4 ECB when you buy Almay

$7 ECB when you buy Physicians Formula cosmetics
$1 Physicians Formula cosmetic cpn- 03/18 SS
Spend $25 and get $10 ECB when you buy Loreal cosmetics or hair care
$1 Loreal EverStyle cpn- 04/15 RP
$0.75 Loreal Vive cpn- 04/01 RP
$0.75 Loreal Studio line cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 Loreal eye shadow or liner cpn- 03/25 RP
$4/2 Loreal Excellence cpn- 03/25 RP
$1 Loreal eye cpn- 03/25 RP
$2 Loreal Preference cpn- 03/18 RP
$2 Loreal Sublime Mousse cpn- 03/11 RP
$1 Loreal Ever series cpn- 03/11 RP

$3 ECB when you buy Essence of Beauty eau de toilette fragrance- Limit 5

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB on the following:
Dove hair- $6.97/2
Dove or Degree bodymist, Ultimate, Ultra, Clear, Adrenaline or Dove Men Care deodorant- $6.97/2
Dove Men Care bodywash- $4.97
Caress, Dove, or Lever bar, Dove bodywash or cream oil lotion- $6.97

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB on the following:
Jergens Natural Glow- $8.50
$2 Jergens Natural Glow & Protect cpn- 04/22  SS
$1 Jergens Natural Glow cpn- 04/22 SS
Jergens moisturizer or Curel- $7.50
$1 Curel cpn- 03/04 SS
John Frieda hair, Biore cleanser, scrub, towelettes or pore strips- $6
$2 John Frieda cpn- 03/04 SS
$3/2 John Frieda Root Awakening cpn- 02/12 SS
$3/2 John Frieda cpn- 02/12 SS
John Frieda hair treatments- $8
$3/2 John Frieda Full repair cpn- 03/04 SS
$3/2 John Frieda Root Awakening cpn- 02/11 SS
$3/2 John Frieda cpn- 02/11 SS
John Frieda Precision foam
$2 John Frieda Precision foam cpn- 03/04 SS

Dial for Men speed foam bodywash- $6.49 and get $2 ECB

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB Simple Skin care

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB Nuance Salma Hayek cosmetics, body, facial or hair

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB Clearasil Ultra, Perfectawash kit or refill
$1 Clearasil skin care cpn- 04/22 SS
$3 Clearasil Perfectawash cpn- 04/22 SS
$3 Clearasil Perfectawash cpn- 03/11 SS

Spend $25 and get $10 ECB on the following:
Schick Slim twin pack, Hydro 5 or refills, Intuition, Quattro for Women razor, Quattro, Xtreme 3 disposables- $7.99
$1.75 Schick Disposables cpn- 04/01 SS
$2 Schick Hydro Power Select, Hydro 3 or 5 razor cpn- 04/22 SS
$2 Schick Hydro 3 or 5 refill cpn- 04/22 SS
Energizer batteries
$1 Energizer cpn- 04/22 SS
$1 Energizer cpn- 03/25 SS
Hawaiin Tropic- $7.99
Playtex Gentle Glide or Sport- $7.99
$1 Playtex Gentle, sport, personal or sport wipes cpn- 04/22 SS
Buy Playtex 36ct and get free 20ct cpn- 03/18 SS
Edge or Skintimate shave gel or cream- $5/2
$0.55 Edge or Skintimate cpn- 04/22 SS
$0.55 Edge cpn- 03/25 SS
Banana Boat- $6.99
$1 Banana Boat cpn- 04/22 SS

Head & Shoulders- $14/3 and get $4 ECB
B1G1Free Head & Shoulders cpn- 04/01 P&G

Spend $30 and get $10 Fekkai hair care

Clairol Nice & Easy non permanent- $6.99 and get $1 ECB
$5/2 Clairol hair color cpn- 04/22 SS
$1 Clairol hair color cpn- 04/22 SS
$1 Clairol hair color cpn- 04/01 P&G


Crest Pro Health, 3D white, Outlast, Clinical, Pro Health rinse, or Scope Outlast- $7.98/2 and get $2 ECB- Limit 2
$0.25 Crest rinse cpn- 04/01 P&G

Oral B or Crest Pro Health Clinical gum toothpaste twin pack, Pro Flex toothbrush 2pk, Pro Health Wintergreen or Deep Clean rinse- $6.99 and get $3 ECB- Limit 2
$0.25 Crest toothpaste cpn- 04/01 P&G
$0.25 Crest rinse cpn- 04/01 P&G
Arm & Hammer spin brush or refill- $6.99 and get $1 ECB- Limit 2

U by Kotex- $3.99 and get $2 ECB
$1 U by Kotex cpn- 03/25 SS

Tampax Radiant or Always Radiant- $3.99 and get $1 ECB
$1 Tampax Pearl, Pearl Compaq or Radiant cpn- 04/01 P&G
$1 Always Infinity or Always Radiant Infinity cpn- 04/01 P&G

Zegrid- $24.89 and get $8 ECB
$6 Zegrid cpn- 04/22 SS

Zantac- $17.99 and get $3 ECB
$5 Zantac cpn- 04/01 SS
$2 Zantac cpn- 02/12 SS

Dream Water Snooze Berry- $5.79 and get $5.79 ECB

Clear Blue pregnancy test 2ct- $12.99 and get $6 ECB

Blink- $8.99 and get $8.99 ECB

Bausch & Lomb Renu, Bio True, Boston or Soothe- $8.99 and get $1 ECB
$3 Bausch & Lomb Soothe cpn- 04/22 SS
$3 Bausch & Lomb Soothe cpn- 03/18 SS
$4 Bausch & Lomb Soothe dry eye cpn- 02/26 SS

Pantene- $6.97/2 and get $1 ECB
$1/2 Pantene cpn- 04/01 P&G

Keebler Club crackers, Nabisco cookies or crackers- $4/3 and get $1 ECB

Spring Break fun

Last week was the boys spring break from school.  They were excited to get a week off from class and homework:)  We had a great time~ here are some pics of our Spring Break fun:

Getting a shoulder ride from daddy

Nathan just hanging around :)

Well if Nathan does it little Michael has to do it too with a little help of course

Playing soccer

Little Michael learned how to swing all by himself:)

Happy Happy Joy Joy:)

Today is a fantastic, awesome, great day.  I am doing the happy dance ~ WOOHOO:)  I can barely contain myself.  You are probably asking why I am so cheerful on this dreary, rainy, wet day?

I am super excited for a couple of reasons:
#1~ My cousin Brittany and her hubby welcomed a brand new baby boy into their lives late last night.  I wish them all the best on this exciting life changing new journey:)

#2~  We just wrote a wonderful, nice check that just paid off one of our credit cards- YEA!!!!  I have become very excited to see what our financial future holds for us thanks to reading Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover.

And to make things even more happy happy joy joy, we were able to finish funding our emergency fund Monday from Step 1.  I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing if an emergency pops up, we can take care of it without needing to use our credit cards or trying to figure out which credit card it will fit on. 

So,  now that we have paid off credit card #2- it is time to use the same gazelle type intensity to pay off credit card #3- which should take us 5 or 6 months to complete.  And that means that we will succeed with our 2012 goal of paying off 2 credit cards this year- YEA!!!!!

It feels so freeing to watch our debt shrink:)  Which baby step are you on?

My Shopping Day:)

I am finally back to feeling 100%- YEA!!!!  I love shopping, whether it is grocery shopping, clothes shopping, shoe shopping, etc.   But shopping when you don't feel good- just plain awful.  But I needed to go shopping yesterday as Michael is working the week out of town.  So, I had to drag icky, definately not feeling good self to the store to grocery shop so we could eat this week:)  The boys are happy I did- LOL:)

Here are the shopping trip details:

Kroger
$2.76- Whole Wheat White flour

Martins
$0.54- loaf of reduced bread
$1.09- Bread
$1.07- Bread
$2.77- Total after tax

Dollar Tree
$2.00- 2 boxes Kettle Corn
$4.00- (4) 2pk baskets for a fundraiser party this weekend
$6.25- Total with tax

Walmart
$2.94- (3) pkgs frozen green beans
$1.98- Frozen peas
$1.98- Frozen corn
$2.32- Lunchmeat
$3.34- Fishsticks
$1.28- Lettuce
$1.52- Carrots
$2.44- (2) pkgs Tortillas
$13.95- (5) gallons skim milk
$2.00- Shred Cheddar
$2.53- Cheese slices
$2.68- Apple Juice
$2.98- Canola Oil
$2.42- Cocoa Cool cereal
$2.00- Pasta
$3.08- Sugar
$1.24- Diced tomatoes
$0.94- Pens
$0.92- Bananas
$1.28- Brown rice
$1.00- Brown lunch bags
$3.38- Cat litter
$2.32- Allergy med
$1.00- (2) Easter Tootsie Roll banks
$0.84- Cola 2L
$0.84- Dr Thunder 2L
$0.88- Gallon spring water
$1.98- Grape Jelly
$1.04- Baking Soda
$1.74- Pink Lemonade water flavoring
$1.00- Really cute purple calculator for fundraiser
$3.88- (2)pk Clipboard for fundraiser
$3.88- (2)pk Clipboard for fundraiser
$79.83- Total after tax

This shopping trip has been added to our April Monthly Spending post, where I keep track of what we spend for the month of April.

Menu plan for the week of 04/16/2012

This weekend has been the craziest, busiest weekend we have had in such a long time.  I spent this weekend getting the paperwork ready and stuffing envelopes for a fundraiser.  I had to write my name over 120 times- boy did my poor hand have a cramp in it Friday night when I was doing that part.

On Saturday, we went to the Lowes Build and Grow Clinic and built a Game Show Chip Drop- think kid size Plinko:)  After that we spent the afternoon having a picnic in the park and walked a couple of trails.  We had a blast and the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Sunday, our church packaged 40,000 meals to send overseas.  We had lunch at my dad's house and then it was off again.  I had a Scentsy team meeting that afternoon.  I am so blessed to belong to such a great and loving Scentsy team.  I can say that we are more than just teammates, we are family:)

For some reason, last night little Michael decided he didn't need or want to sleep much.  I got about 3 hours total sleep.  And to top it all off, this morning I wasn't feeling well.  Thankfully, I am feeling much better now- lets keep our fingers crossed it stays that way:)

Here is our menu plan for this week:
Breakfast
Waffles
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins X2
Egg sandwiches
Scones
Baked Oatmeal X2

Lunch
Sandwich, popcorn and banana

Dinner
Coconut red beans and rice with green beans
Bean & Rice tacos with peas
Crockpot beans, tomato and rice with corn
Fish Stick, Mac & cheese and green beans- for the little ones- JROTC Change of Command ceremony with dinner with the oldest 2 boys
Taco beans with tomato over cornbread with peas
Pasta with sauce and corn
Leftovers

Snacks
Popcorn
Celery
Carrots

Total Money Makeover ~ Dave Ramsey

I was able to finally be able to check out the Total Money Makeover book by Dave Ramsey and here is what we thought of it:

My husband and I went into debt to survive when my husband switched jobs.  It was my plan when we got married to switch jobs and start a family.  Well, the switching jobs part didn't quite go the way we had planned.  We had decided that it would be better financially for me to stay at home with the kids instead of paying the crazy high daycare rates and with the cost of gas and a long commute- there was nothing left of my little check.  And this started my stay at home mom adventure.

My husband was later blessed with a better paying job but the mountains of debt were stilled there.  We paid of one credit card and rolled that amount onto the next credit card.  Well, we have been plugging away for a year now with no real results.  It is amazing the "emergencies" you have when you head is not in the game.  We thought we had everything figured out.

I had visited Dave Ramsey's website and saw the 7 baby steps.  But we were not prepared to do them in the order Dave Ramsey specified.  And to show for that we are still paying off the same credit card from last year that we had hoped to have paid off by now.

I borrowed the Total Money Makeover book from the library- what did I have to loose except debt.  I don't even know where to begin~ this book is amazing and so addictive.  I had a hard time putting it down.  I read every chance I got- I read at the gym- I read before going to bed (which I don't recommend, will explain later)- I read while cooking dinner.  A couple of nights our dinners were well done- oops.

I became so excited by what I was reading.  This book gave me the hope I thought we had lost to climb out of debt alot faster than our previous method.  The bottom of every page it is written: "If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else."  Love that saying:)  I mentioned that I don't recommend reading this book before going to bed and here is why~ I became so excited about our getting our debt journey, I got so pumped up, I couldn't get to sleep.

My husband and I are finally on the same page about our debt.  We sat down and reviewed our debt- which is something we had never done before.  Normally, I write all the checks so I have control of all the money.  But I didn't want all the control.  I was so happy to sit down with my husband and review our debt and make him see we were in our debt.  We looked at our budget with new eyes and decided to follow Dave Ramsey's plan to the letter.  We reorganized our budget and found that very soon we will be able to pay off the credit card we have been pounding away at for so long- YEA!!!!  And the other credit card, will be paid off in 5 months- I am so excited:)  I almost can't stand it.

If you are nervous and scared to get on this debt reduction journey, don't worry, Dave Ramsey will take you by the hand and walk you step by step and you will get out of debt.  Dave Ramsey explains that personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge.

If you are in debt- no matter how small or how large- and have a desire to live debt free, please look into getting this book.  Borrow it from the library, borrow it from a friend or ask if your library can interloan the book from another library.  Read this book, learn from this book and become encouraged at the stories in the book.  Be in control of your money and tell your money where you want it to go.

I was very encouraged at the end of the book Dave Ramsey writes, "God has a plan for your life and that plan isn't to harm you, it is a plan for your future to give you hope."  So true:)

If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.  Sounds like great advice to me.

So, who is ready to start their Total Money Makeover with me?

Adventures in Gardening:)

I'm so excited:)  My small garden is coming right along.  I didn't have any luck last year with lettuce or broccoli.  I didn't do enough research and later discovered that both lettuce and broccoli are spring or fall veggies and not summer veggies as I found out.

As soon as spring hit, we got our garden ready and bought lettuce and broccoli plants.  With this crazy weather, one day it is 50 and one day it is 80, I was afraid of how it would affect my plants.  I am happy to see that they seem to be adapting quite well.  Look:

My Lettuce

Broccoli

Grapes- little teeny tiny grapes:) They are so cute

More red strawberries

I am so happy to see more red in the strawberry baskets, teeny tiny baby grapes on the grape vines, lettuce looking like it is trying to form a head and not sure about the broccoli yet- it isn't doing anything yet.

We are hoping for a great garden this year.  Even though we had a few hiccups last year, we had a pretty plentiful garden and were so blessed to be able to share.

How is your garden going?  If you are planning to plant a garden this year and just haven't had the chance to start one yet~ what are you planting?

Air Force JRTOC Military Ball

Chris and Kevin were so excited to go to the Air Force JRTOC Military Ball.  This is Christopher's 3rd and Kevin's 1st Military Ball.

Aren't they handsome?  My boys look so handsome in their uniforms.  They had a great time at the Military Ball.  They ate, danced and had a great time with their JROTC classmates.

It makes me sad to think that this will be the last Military Ball they attend since the JROTC program was cancelled at their school.  They have worked so hard for all of their accomplishments.

We are looking into alternate programs to allow them to stay in an JROTC program setting and to receive their credit for their military or college future.

I am so thankful for all the JROTC program has brought to our family:)

Lowes Build & Grow Clinic- 04/14/12

Mark your calendars.  Lowes is hosting a Build & Grow Clinic for April 14, 2012. 

If you are looking for a great free activity that you can do with your kids- you should check out the Lowes Build & Grow Clinics.  Michael and Nathan love them.  They love being able to do hands on projects with our help.

This Saturday, the Lowes Build and Grow Clinic is to build a Game Show Chip Drop.

Reminds me of Plinko on The Price of Right- LOL:)  I haven't seen that show in years.

To sign up for this Build & Grow Clinic simply go to the Lowes Build & Grow Clinic website, which they have redone to make it more user friendly.  I am loving this new website.  You register all your information.  Then when you visit the website to sign up for an upcoming clinic, all you have to do is sign in and check which kids you are signing up.  Don't forget to print and sign the waiver.  And you and your child(ren) are ready for a really cool hands on project.

Once you and your child(ren) complete the project they will receive a neat patch to put on their Lowes Build & Grow apron.  If this is your first clinic, your child(ren) will receive a free Lowes Build & Grow apron and goggles:)  The more clinics you do, the more patches you get to put on your kids apron and they can show them off with pride:)

My Shopping Day

Here is our shopping trip details:

Martins
$1.59- Chicken & Wild Rice soup
$1.00- Smartwater
$2.18- (2) loaves bread
$2.00- Martins OJ
$6.77
-1.00 Canned soup Martins catalina
-1.00 Bottled water Martins catalina
-1.00 Refrigerated juice Martins catalina
$3.94 Total after tax

Target
$1.28- Foil

Dollar Tree
$1.00- Sandwich bags
$1.00- Zip sandwich bags
$1.00- Trashbags
$1.00- Tissues
$4.20- Total after tax

Food Lion
$1.03- Bread
$0.88- Celery
$1.96- Total

Walgreens
$2.50- Lucky Charms
$2.50- Trix
$8.99- Gillette Venus/Olay razor
$2.99- Reach toothbrush
$16.98
-5.00 Venus/Olay razor cpn
-3.00 RR
-5.00 Walgreens certificate
$4.71- Total- Paid $0.00 out of pocket with Walgreens gift card and got back $7 RR's:)

Walmart
$4.90- (5) pkgs frozen green beans
$1.98- Frozen corn
$2.84- Frozen OJ
$2.32- Lunchmeat
$1.00- (2) Green Peppers
$13.95- (5) gallons skim milk
$3.48- (2) boxes flavor packets
$2.00- Shred Cheddar cheese
$2.44- (2) Tortillas
$1.02- Bananas
$3.00- (3) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
$1.68- Applesauce
$3.24- Rolled Oats
$0.98- Skittles for Chris
$1.48- Pretzels
$0.98- Corn Chips
$2.18- Canola Spray
$1.78- Brown sugar
$1.72- Ramen 6pk for food pantry bag
$0.98- Vanilla
$5.29- Nature's Way Vitamins
$3.98- Gummy Vitamins
$3.56- Cat Food
$2.56- Peanut Butter
$1.88- (2) cans spaghetti sauce
$4.48- Eggs
-1.00 Nature's Way Vitamin cpn
$77.94- Total after tax

This shopping trip has been added to our April Monthly Spending post, where I keep track of what we spend for the month of April.

Menu Plan for the week of 04/09/2012

We had a very busy Monday.  Chris and I drove to a family friends house to show her all my Scentsy stuff and organize a fundraiser for the organization that she is very passionate about.  We had a great time catching up.  We made it about 10 minutes from her house to discover that I left my purse at her house- oh my. Uturn and go back.  We made it to my dad's house with enough time to throw all my Scentsy stuff and 1 of the carseats in his house, made a sandwich to eat on the way and away we drove to the airport to pick up my dad and 2 of my aunts.  Picked them up and drove back to my dad's house, he fixed my busted headlight and loaded up all the Scentsy I had brought with me and the carseat.  We finally made it home about 2 hours passed when we normally eat dinner.  I had a very nasty headache- combination of sinuses, being tired and not eating on time.  Thankfully it is Spring Break here- no set alarms.  Hoping to sleep in.  After a good nights sleep, I woke up this morning refreshed and hope to have a nice relaxed week.  We shall see how that goes:)

Here is our menu plan for this week:

Breakfast
Banana Chocolate Chip muffins X2
Breakfast Burritos
PB Banana Toast
Banana Bread with Pear Butter X2
Cinnamon Sugar Toast with fruit

Lunch
Sandwich, Popcorn & Apple slices

Dinner
Homemade Mac & Cheese with green beans
Black & Kidney beans tomato chicken corn taco bake
Italian black beans & rice with green beans
Waffles with homemade syrup
Rice, tomato & sausage with green beans
Alfredo noodles with corn
Spaghetti with green beans and bread

Snacks
Apple Slices
Celery with PB
Banana
PB Crackers

Walgreens deals for the week of 04/08/2012

Things to keep in mind when shopping at Walgreens:
1) You must have as many items as manufactur's coupons
2) Register Receipts (RR) are considered manufactur's coupons
3) You are allowed 1 Manufactur's coupon and 1 store coupon per item
4) Cannot use RR printed from item to pay for same item and get RR's again~
For example- If you were to purchase Colgate for $3 and get $3 RR, if you purchase the Colgate again and use the RR's earned from the 1st Colgate purchase you will not earn the RR's again

General Mills cereal- $5/2 and get $1 RR
$1/3 General Mills cereal cpn- 03/11 SS
$1/2 General Mills cereal cpn- 03/11 SS
$0.50 General Mills treats, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Golden Grahams, Chex, Milk 'N Cereal bars cpn- 02/26 SS

Keebler, Kelloggs Special K cracker crisps, Nutrigrain bars, Special K bars, Rice Krispies treats or Cheez-Its- $10/4 and get $3 RR
$0.55 Keebler Fudge Strips dark cpn- 02/19 RP

Finish dishwasher products- $3.99 and get $1.50 ECB
$0.75 Finish Jet Dry cpn- 03/11 SS
$0.50 Finish dish washer cleaner cpn- 03/11 SS
$1 Finish Quantum cpn- 03/11 SS
$0.75 Finish Powertab cpn- 03/11 SS

$2 cpn when you buy $10 Nice products

Glade air fresheners- Plug In, Sense & Spray, Candle, oil candle, Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator, Relaxing Moments spray, Decor warmer or 2pk Decor refill- $6/2 and get $1 RR
$1.50 Glade Plug In twin refill or 2 single packs cpn- 03/25 SS
$3 Glade Sense & Spray kit cpn- 03/25 SS
$1/2 Glade jar or oil candle cpn- 03/25 SS
$1 Glade Plug In warmer cpn- 03/25 SS
$1 Glade Decor holder or 2 Decor refill cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.55 Premium Room Spray cpn- 03/25 SS

All- $11.99 and get $1 RR
$1 All cpn- 04/01 RP
$1 All cpn- 03/04 RP

Luster toothpaste- $4.99 and get $4 RR
$0.75 Luster White cpn- 03/18 SS

Reach Total toothbrush- $2.99 and get $2 RR
$1 Reach toothbrush cpn- 03/04 SS

Spend $30 and get $10 RR when you buy Secret Clinical deodorant, Venus Embrace, Gillette deodorant or Gillette Fusion ProGlide refill
$1/2 Secret cpn- 04/01 P&G
$5 Venus/Olay, Embrace, Breeze or Bikini cpn- 04/01 P&G
$2 Venus razor, refill or disposable cpn- 04/01 P&G
$1 Gillette bodywash or deodorant cpn- 04/01 P&G
$3 Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor when you buy Fusion ProGlide refill cpn- 04/01 P&G

Gillette Venus/Olay razor- $8.99 and get $4 RR
$5 Venus/Olay, Embrace, Breeze or Bikini cpn- 04/01 P&G
$2 Venus razor, refill or disposable cpn- 04/01 P&G

Schick Quattro or Intuition razor- $8.99 and get $3 RR

Similac- $24.99 and get $2 RR

Spend $15 and get $4 RR on the following Walgreens brand:
Sinus, Allergy or Cold, Wal-Phed or Soothe- $4
Ibuprofen or Jr, Pain reliever, Childrens or Anti-Diarrheal- $5
All Day pain relief or Reusable cold compress- $7

CVS deals for the week of 04/08/2012

Don't forget to....
1) Go to cvs.com/email and sign up for the ExtraCare email and receive a $4/20 cpn
2) Stop by the Red ExtraCare coupon center and get CVS cpns
3) You can use a manufacturer's cpn along with a CVS cpn
4) You can use a B1G1Free cpn along with a B1G1Free sale to get both products for free:)

Gatorade Recover, Starbucks double shot or Frappiccino- $4/2 and get $1 ECB

Spend $25 and get $10 ECB Loreal cosmetics or hair products
$0.75 Loreal Vive shampoo or condition cpn- 04/01 RP
$0.75 Loreal Studio Styler cpn- 04/01 RP
$4/2 Loreal Excellence cpn- 03/25 RP
$1 Loreal eye liner or shadow cpn- 03/25 RP
$1 Loreal eye cpn- 03/25 RP
$2 Loreal Preference cpn- 03/18 RP
$2 Loreal Sublime Mousse cpn- 03/11 RP
$1 Loreal EverStyle cpn- 03/11 RP
$1 Loreal Ever Series Treatment cpn- 03/11 RP
$1 Loreal Ever Series hair care cpn- 03/11 RP

Spend $25 and get $10 ECB Beyonce, Halle, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Shakira or Heidi Klum fragrances

Speed Stick- $2.99 and get $1.50 ECB
$1 Speed Stick cpn- 03/25 SS

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB on the following:
Curel or Jergens lotion- $7.50
$1 Curel cpn- 03/04 SS
$3/2 Jergens cpn- 03/04 SS
Jergens Natural Glow- $8.99
John Frieda hair care
$3/2 John Frieda Full Repair cpn- 03/04 SS
$2 John Frieda cpn- 03/04 SS
$3/2 John Frieda Root Awakening cpn- 02/12 SS
$3/2 John Frieda cpn- 02/12 SS
John Frieda Precision Foam- $11.99
$2 John Frieda Precision Foam cpn- 03/04 SS
Biore- $15/2
Buy Biore Pore Strip and get free Biore cleanser cpn- 03/04 SS

Spend $30 and get $10 ECB ROC skin care

Spend $15 and get $5 ECB on the following:
Caress, Dove or Lever bar, Dove bodywash or cream oil lotion- $6.97
$1 Dove bodywash cpn- 03/25 RP
$0.75 Dove bar cpn- 03/25 RP
Dove Men Care bodywash- $5
$1 Dove Men Care face or bodywash cpn- 03/25 RP
Dove or Degree body mist, Ultimate, Ultra Clear, Adrenaline, Dove Men Care deodorant or Dove hair care- $6.97/2
$1 Dove Men Care deodorant cpn- 03/25 RP
$1 Dove hair cpn- 03/25 RP
$0.50 Degree Adrenaline cpn- 03/25 RP

$10 ECB when you buy Crest 3D Professional, Intensive or 2hr- Limit 2
$1 Crest 3D Professional, Intensive or 2hr cpn- 04/01 P&G

Spend $10 and get $5 ECB Crest or Oral B Clinical Gum Protection- Limit 2
$0.25 Crest toothpaste cpn- 04/01 P&G
$0.25 Crest rinse cpn- 04/01 P&G
$0.50 Oral B Clinical Pro Flex toothbrush cpn- 04/01 P&G

Efferdent or Effergrip- $3.99 and get $1 ECB- Limit 2

$3 ECB when you buy Colgate multipack manual toothbrushes, Regular, Total or Advanced Whitening toothpaste twin pack- Limit 2
$0.75 Colgate toothpaste cpn- 03/25 SS
$0.40 Colgate manual toothbrush cpn- 03/25 SS

Venus, Hydro 5, Hydro Power, Quattro Men or Hydro 5 or Quatrro Men refill- $9.49 and get $4 ECB
$5 Venus/Olay, Embrace, Breeze or Bikini razor cpn- 04/01 P&G
$2 Venus razor, refill or disposable cpn- 04/01 P&G

Radiant Tampax or Radiant Always- $3.99 and get $2 ECB
$1 Tampax Pearl, Compaq or Radiant cpn- 04/01 P&G
$1 Always Infinity or Radiant Infinity cpn- 04/01 P&G

Spend $20 and get $8 ECB when you buy Dr Scholls foot care

Duracell- $11.99 and get $2 ECB
$0.75 Duracell cpn- 04/01 P&G

Spend $25 and get $10 ECB Neutrogena skin or sun care

March 2012 Goal Update

Lets see how we did with our goals for the month of March:

Here are our 2012 Goals: (in no particular order)

1) To not eat out or at least to not pay out of pocket, with the exception of tips. If we want to treat the family to a meal out, we will make sure we have a gift card to cover all of us.
We did fabulous with this goal.

2) Pay off 2 credit cards
We are so excited that one of our credit cards will be paid off next month- so close and so excited- will explain tomorrow:)

3) Not to use any of our credit cards for 2012. To pay cash for everything.
We did great with this and used cash for our purchases in March.

4) To lower our grocery budget. Our current grocery budget is $400 month for our family of 6. Our goal is to lower that amount and to save the remainder.
We went over last month by about $25.  We are working hard this month to stay below budget by having alot of bean and rice meals, which the boys love:)  Plus we hope to stay below budget even helping our church stock the food pantry.

5) To create a monthly meal plan for our family, to use leftovers more efficiently and to make use of everything in our pantry and freezer.
Doing great with this for March- use leftovers wisely and wasting less. With 4 boys, leftovers are not being left over as much.

6) Unclutter the house and become more organized:)
We are doing great with this.  I consigned alot of baby stuff in March.  Still have alot of baby stuff that will go into the fall consignment sale.  I have made a list of must declutter areas and have broken them down into smaller jobs. That makes me feel not so overwhelmed. I have a tendency to look at my massive to do list and have no clue where to start and then nothing gets done. So, I have made a big to do list and broken it down into smaller chores for myself. So far so good.

7) Lose weight- I need to get motivated to lose this baby weight- my goal is to lose 20 lbs this year.
I was excited last month when I thought I lost 4 pounds- wrong.  Someone messed with my scale- so not nice.  But I am happy that I have lost 2 pounds.  I also have found a kick boxing video and an exercise dance video on Netflix that I am loving and am doing everyday, along with going to the gym 6 times a week:)

8) Morning devotions, prayer time and more bible reading
Doing great with this:)

9) Monthly date night with hubby- whether we go out or stay at home, pop popcorn and rent a movie
Didn't do so well with this in March.


10) To spend quality family time together. With everyones schedule and us running all over creation, I would love to spend more quality time together- no tv- us playing games, talking, enjoying each others company.
Not so great with this goal- will make more of an effort to make this happen.

11) Not to use our dryer to save on electricity and lower our electricity bill
Doing fabulous with this goal and when our electric bill came in it was $15 lower- YEA!!

12) To make a better effort to blog more regularly and to make a blogging schedule
Started out doing great with this but then surgeries, doc/dentist appointments, etc came up and made blogging more difficult. But everything is quiet so far, so I have been consistent in blogging:)

13) To make much needed house repairs
Making a list of house repairs to do when the weather warms up

14) To fix the car that is sitting in our driveway so that whoever gets their drivers license first will have a car to drive or share if they both get their license at the same time
We are actually going to nix this goal as we are going to sell the car.  My father is going to sell me my mom's van.  It is too painful for him to have around the house, so we are not going to need the car after all.  We soon will have 2 vans:)

15) To do 1 project a month and blog about it- will post the list of projects soon
Doing great and having a blast with this.  March project done and successful:)

Monthly Spending for April 2012

Here is where I will keep a list of our spending for the month of April.  Remember our monthly budget is $400 for everything for our family of 6 and 2 pets, not too mention our 2 bird feeders outside. We didn't do that good last month. The money we don't spend out of our grocery budget gets put aside and saved. We were able to save $0 from last month (we kind of went over budget last month). Lets see how much under budget I can get for this month.

03/31/2012
$124.14- Walmart
$2.16- Martins
$5.50- Kroger
$12.40- Dollar Tree
$9.49- Food Lion
$1.27- CVS and got back $5 ECB's

03/10/2012
$3.94- Martins
$1.28- Target
$4.20- Dollar Tree
$1.96- Food Lion
$0.00- Walgreens and got back $7 RR's
$77.94- Walmart

04/16/2012
$79.83- Walmart
$6.25- Dollar Tree
$2.77- Martins
$2.76- Martins

04/21/2012
$4.10- Food Lion
$0.00- Kroger
$2.26- Walgreens and got back $2.99 RR's
$5.25- Dollar Tree
$0.99- CVS and got back $2 ECB
$52.39- Walmart

$400.88- Running Total for April
Well getting better, only went over $0.88 this month.  Will be working harder next month to get this down.

My Shopping Day

Due to having to get up super early and taking my dad and 2 aunts to the airport and Michael having to work out of state this week, we went grocery shopping on Saturday. 

I wanted to post this yesterday but for some unknown issue my computer was having issues and I couldn't even access the Internet.  It looks like all is fixed now:)

Here is our shopping trip:

CVS
$1.00- (2) Milky Way bunnies
$9.99- Hydro Silk razor
$10.99
-.25/2 CVS Milky Way cpn
-4.00 Hydro Silk cpn
-0.99 ECB
-5.00 ECB
$1.27 Total and got back $5 ECB's

Kroger
$0.39- Bananas
$2.98- 2 dz eggs
$2.00- (2) pkgs Sausage links
$1.49- Stride gum
$4.89- Ben & Jerry ice cream
$11.75
-1.49 Free Stride gum econ from Kroger game
-4.89 Free Ben & Jery ecpn from Kroger game
$5.50 Total

Martins
$2.16- (4) loaves bread at $0.54 each

Food Lion
$3.00- (2) pkgs Strawberries
$4.00- (2) bags apples
$2.26- Grapes
$9.49 Total

Dollar Tree
$1.00- Easter egg dye kit
$1.00- Quick eraser
$1.00- Tissues
$1.00- Freezer bags
$1.00- Shampoo
$6.00- Easter candy
$1.00- Qtips
$12.40 Total

Walmart
$11.16- (4) gallons skim milk
$11.98- (5) lbs ground beef
$3.92- (4) bags frozen green beans
$0.98- Frozen corn
$1.42- Frozen OJ
$1.36- Frozen Breeze juice
$2.32- Lunchmeat
$4.00- Shred Cheddar cheese
$1.38- Lettuce
$2.14- Coconut milk
$1.48- Coconut milk
$2.00- (4) boxes Mac & Cheese
$1.92- (4) boxes pudding
$2.44- Tortillas
$6.67- Nosestrips
$1.00- Whole Wheat Penne
$1.68- (4) Strawberry Gelatin
$1.68- Tortila Chips
$0.97- Paper Towels
$1.00- WW Elbow macaroni noodles
$1.00- WW Penne
$1.00- WW Spaghetti
$4.76- (2) pkgs Chocolate chips
$4.96- (2) big bags Black beans
$1.48- Kidney Beans
$0.97- Batteries
$2.56- (2) bags brown rice
$2.98- Mouthwash
$6.00- (6) boxes WW pasta
$1.00- Onion
$2.44- Ketchup
$1.24- Tomato sauce
$4.70- (5) cans Spaghetti sauce
$2.00- Juice boxes
$1.68- Cheese sauce
$0.60- Diced tomatoes
$1.76- (2) boxes Crackers
$1.12- Cornmeal
$1.24- Tomato sauce
$0.60- Diced Tomatoes
$1.98- Mild Salsa
$1.68- Alfredo sauce
$1.98- Mild Salsa
$1.24- Tomato sauce
$3.08- Sugar
$0.77- Bananas
$2.42- Cocoa Cereal
$124.14 Total

**With our Walmart trip, you probably notice alot of boxed items we normally don't buy.  Our church has asked us to fill a paper grocery bag full of non perishable items to stock the food pantry.  We bought alot of items with this trip and have not filled the bag to the top so we will be buying more food items next week.**

This shopping trip has been added to our April Monthly Spending post, where I keep track of what we spend for the month of April.

Menu Plan for the week of 04/02/2012

This morning started out way to early.  I had to get up at 5am to get myself and little Michael ready to go and pick up my dad and 2 of my aunts and take them to the airport.  They are visiting my other aunt in Florida.  I am happy that they are going.  I think spending time with my mom's sisters really helps my dad deal with my mom's death.  They are all leaning on each other which makes a huge difference.  I am glad that they have each other:)

With Michael gone for work for the week, it is hopefully going to be a nice calm not too rushing around kind of week- at least lets keep our fingers crossed:)

Here is our menu plan for this week:

Our yummy homemade yogurt with rolled oats and honey

Breakfast
Banana Bread X2
Homemade yogurt, rolled oats and honey
Pancakes X2
Banana PB Toast
Egg sandwiches

Lunch
Sandwiches, Banana & Popcorn

Dinner
Bean & rice tacos with peas
Pancakes with homemade syrup
Mexican Lasagna with corn
Pasta with cheese sauce and green beans
Chili
Haystacks with corn
Leftovers

Snacks
Strawberries
Grapes
PB Crackers
Apples