Saturday Family Fun Adventure

This Saturday Family Fun Adventure took us to Saratoga Park, a small park smack dab in the middle of a nice little neighborhood.  This cute little park only had 3 parking spots :(

Other than the parking issue, Saratoga Park did have its advantages.  This park has fitness stations and a cute walking path.

The best part of the park according to the boys:

The best part of the park for mommy was not only the playground that wore out the boys but this breath taking view we had for our picnic lunch~ love it:

Even though it was a much smaller park than we have been to, this park had the necessary playground that is a must for my boys.  We couldn't have asked for a more peaceful beautiful picnic lunch :)

We all had a blast and can't wait to see where our next Family Fun Adventure takes us :)

December 2015 Goals Update

How did we do with our December goals?  Let's see:

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.
Doing fabulous with this goal.  

2) Pay off our last credit card
Still chipping away at this.  We are very thankful that we were able to make another nice big dent in this credit card balance :)

3) Not to use any of our credit cards for 2015. To pay cash for everything.
Doing great with this :)

4) To maintain our grocery budget. Our current grocery budget is $400 month for our family of 6. Our goal is to use up to that amount to feed our family healthy nourishing meals.  If we are lucky enough to come under our monthly budget, we will save that amount.
We did great and had $28 left over :)

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 fabulous with this.

6) Lose weight- My goal is to lose 10lbs this year.
I am still working on this.

7) Complete the Couch to 5K with hubby
Did not complete any of the Couch to 5K program :(

8) Morning devotions, prayer time and more bible reading
Doing great with our church's website, which will read the bible verses to you :) 

9) Monthly date night with hubby- whether we go out or stay at home, pop popcorn and rent a movie
One of my hubby's clients was so sweet and gave us a Bonefish Grill gift card.  It was super yummy and was nice to have a date night :)


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.  I think we are going to claim Saturday's as family fun day:)
We had a nice outing to Bass Pro Shops to meet Santa, followed by a nice lunch at Red Robin's, a trip to a nice small park.


11) Not to use our dryer to save on electricity and lower our electricity bill
Doing great with this~ Electric bill going down :)

12) To do 1 project a month and blog about it
With everything going on, this just did not get done :(

13) My older boys want to run a 5K~ a color run to be more specific.  So, I am jumping on board with them, after I finish my Couch to 5K program :)
Finally got a date for a color run but am so not ready for it yet.  We are hoping to catch the next one.

14) To make and use more non toxic cleaners
I am still researching and working on this one :)

How did you do with your December goals? 

January 2016 Monthly Spending

Here is where I will keep a list of our spending for the month of January.  This month is going to be a little different as far as the amount we have budgeted.   We are still budgeting $400 for this months groceries.  We are very blessed hubby got more in commission than expected.  We decided to use $100 just for Farmer Market and Co Op purchases.  We did great last month and had $28 left over.  I can't wait to see how we do this month :)

01/03/2016
$3.18- Dollar Tree
$3.00- Winn Dixie
$4.28- Publix
$14.36- Ada's
$15.15- Save A Lot
$73.42- Walmart
$87.32- Sam's Club
$25.00- Farmer Market & Co Op

01/10/2016
$2.80- Save A Lot
$19.42- Walmart
$20.52- Sam's Club
$21.99- Winn Dixie
$26.00 Farmer Market & Co Op

01/17/2016
$4.98- Save A Lot
$21.87- Walmart
$56.71- Sam's Club
$24.00- Farmer Market & Co Op

01/23/2016
$0.50- CVS and got $2 ECB
$2.00- Save A Lot
$5.57- Dollar Tree
$7.25- Publix
$13.04- SAm's Club
$22.64- Walmart
$25.75- Farmer Market & Co Op


$400.00- Running Total 

$0.00- Left to Spend

$100.75 out of $100 Farmer Market & Co Op Purchases

I can't believe that I stayed with in budget to the penny :)  I have never had that happen before.  My Farmer Market & Co Op purchases came to $0.75 over but I had $0.75 in change :)

Our Shopping Day~ 01/03/2016

We took the boys to a cute little park on Saturday.  We had a lot of fun.  By the time we got home, we were all too exhausted for grocery shopping.  Especially, beginning of the month shopping :)  Sunday became our big shopping adventureday :)

Here are the details of our shopping trip:

Dollar Tree
$1.00- Shampoo
$1.00- Trash bags
$1.00- Toilet paper
$3.18- Total after tax

Winn Dixie
$3.00- Eggs

Publix
$1.59- WW Penne
$0.00- WW Penne
$2.69- Ragu sauce
$0.00- Ragu sauce
$4.28- Total

Ada's Natural Market
$3.99- Pumpkin Spice Almond Eggnog
$4.99- Blue Cheese dressing
$5.38- Goat Milk Yogurt
$14.36- Total

Save A Lot
$1.00- Bread
$2.00- Lemons
$3.58- Pizza Rolls
$1.58- Pretzels
$1.99- Rope Sausage
$5.00- Ground turkey
$15.15- Total

Walmart
$2.97- Cashew Milk
$1.87- Mushrooms
$2.94- Frozen veggies
$10.00- Shrimp
$6.17- Whole Chicken
$2.98- Ground Sausage
$1.00- WW Linguine
$3.96- Italian dressing mix
$2.38- Dark Chocolate chips
$0.94- Cinnamon
$0.94- Chili Powder
$4.00- Cashews
$2.88- Molasses
$3.48- Vegan Mayo
$1.44- Cannellini beans
$4.68- WW Egg Noodles
$2.98- Honey Nut Cheerios
$3.28- Honey Bunches of Oats- hubby just had to have :)
$1.77- Sugar
$1.42- Panko bread crumbs
$2.93- Mouthwash
$7.76- Cat Food
$73.42- Total after tax

Sam's Club
$39.94- BLSL Chicken
$1.98- Coleslaw Mix
$4.78- Milk
$6.98- Grapes
$7.68- Raisins
$13.98- Honey
$11.98- Walnuts
$87.32- Total

Farmer Market & Co Op
$25- Cucumbers, Zucchinis, Cherry Tomatoes, Cherries, Bean Sprouts, Apples, Lettuce, Strawberries and bananas

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

Menu Plan for the week of 01/04/2016

Happy New Year :)  We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  We didn't do much over the weekend.  We did visit a new park and went grocery shopping~ nothing too exciting :)

Here is our menu plan for this week:

Breakfast
Banana Muffins with fruit X2
Waffles with fruit X2
Oatmeal with nuts and raisins X2
Cheerios and Fruit

Lunch
Salad with homemade dressing and a banana for myself and hubby
Sandwich with carrots and grapes for everyone else or leftovers

Dinner
Sausage Bean Soup
Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken with potatoes and green beans
Chicken Stroganoff with peas
Whole Wheat Macaroni Casserole with zuchinni
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole with zucchini
Ground Beef Lo Mein with green beans
Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Penne with peas

Snacks and Desserts
Apples
Grapes
Bananas
Clementines
Roasted Carrots
Popcorn
Cucumbers
Hot chocolate with marshmallows
Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats

Walgreens deals for the week of 01/03/2016

Things to keep in mind when shopping at Walgreens:
1) You must have as many items as manufacture's coupons
2) Register Rewards (RR) are considered manufacture's coupons
3) You are allowed 1 manufacture's coupon and 1 store coupon per item
4) When redeeming a Register Rewards against the same offer may not receive another RR
5) 2 coupons can be used with Buy 1 Get 1 FREE Sales :)

Check out Walgreens Coupon Policy here:)

Walgreens has a program called Balance Rewards. You earn points you can later redeem. Click here to read more about this program.

All or Snuggle- Buy 1 Get 1 FREE
$1 All cpn- 01/03 SS
$0.50 Snuggle cpn- 01/03 RP 

Spend $15 on Nice nuts and get 5000 points

Hershey candy- $7/2 and get 1000 points

Nature Made Vitamelts- $4.99 and get 3000 points
$2/2 Nature Made cpn- 01/03 SS

Nature Made gummies- $14/2 and get 2000 points
$1 Nature Made gummies cpn- 01/03 SS
$2/2 Nature Made cpn- 01/03 SS 

Boost- $6.99
$3/2 Boost cpn- 01/03 SS

Spend $15 on Dove, Degree, Axe dry spray, St Ives bodywash, Axe shower gel, Axe detailer, Suave hair, Tresemme, Dove hair, Dove, Degree, Axe deodorant, Vaseline lotion, Dove Men body wash, Suave lotion, Dove body wash, bar, Degree or Dove Clinical and get $5 RR
$2 Dove dry spray deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Dove deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Degree dry spray deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Axe dry spray deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 St Ives body wash cpn- 01/03 RP 
$1 Axe body wash or detailer cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Suave Professional Gold cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave Professionals cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave Men hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave kids hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$3/2 Dove hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Vaseline lotion cpn- 01/03RP
$2 Dove Men body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave lotion cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Dove body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men bar cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Dove bar cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Clinical cpn- 01/03 RP 

Schick disposable- $7.99 and get $1 RR
$2 Schick disposable cpn- 01/03 SS
$2 Dove disposable cpn- 12/13 SS 

Loreal Advanced hair- $8/2
$4/2 Loreal Advanced cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Loreal Advanced cpn- 12/13 RP 

Scunci elastics- $2.99
$2 Mail in Rebate in package

Revlon ColorSilk Buttercream- $4.99 and get $1 RR
$2 Revlon Buttercream cpn- 01/03 SS
$2 Revlon Buttercream cpn- 12/13 SS 
 
Spend $10 on Listerine and get 5000 points

Qtips- $6/2 and get 1000 points

CVS deals for the week of 01/03/2016

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

To view CVS Coupon Policy- click here:) 

Spend $15 on Maybelline and get $5 ECB- Limit 3

Spend $10 on Revlon cosmetics and get $4 ECB

Spend $15 on Loreal cosmetics and get$5 ECB- Limit 3
$2 Loreal face cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Loreal face powder, blush, concealer or primer cpn- 01/03 RP 

Loreal Advanced hair care- $8/2
$4/2 Loreal Advanced hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Loreal Advanced hair cpn- 12/13 RP 

All detergent- $2.99
$1 All detergent cpn- 01/03 RP

Spend $15 on Olay face care and get $5 ECB- limit 2
$1.50 Olay Total Effects or Age Defying cpn- 12/27 P&G
$2 Olay ProX, Regenerist or face hair removal cpn- 12/27 P&G
$1 Olay moisturizer or cleanser cpn- 12/27 P&G 

Spend $15 on Simple or Pond's face care and get $5 ECB

Spend $15 on Gold Bond and get $5 ECB
$1.50 Gold Bond lotion cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Gold Bond Diabetic, Eczema, Rough & Bumpy, Strength or Dark Spot cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Gold Bond Anti Itch cpn- 01/03 RP

Irish Spring body wash or bar- $7/2 and get $2 ECB- Limit 4

Spend $15 on Sally Hansen nail and get $5 ECB- Limit 3

Spend $15 on Burts Bees lip color and get $5 ECB

Spend $15 on Cover Girl foundation, powder, blush, concealer or lip and get $5 ECB- Limit 3
$2 Cover Girl eye or lip cpn- 12/27 P&G

Spend $15 on Dove bar, body wash, lotion, Vaseline lotion, Tresemme Premium, Suave, Dove Advanced hair, Axe hair, shower gel, Tresemme, Dove hair, Suave, Caress, Lever, St Ives, Noxema, Dove Men Care, Dove, Degree or Axe dry deodorant and get $5 ECB
$1 Dove bar cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Dove body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Vaseline lotion cpn- 01/03 RP
$3/2 Tresemme cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Tresemme styler cpn- 01/03 RP
$1.50 Suave Professionals Gold cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave Professionals cpn- 01/03 RP
$3/2 Dove hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Axe hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Axe body wash or detailer cpn- 01/03 RP 
$1 Suave men hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave kids hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$0.60 Suave Clinical deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$0.75 Suave body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Suave lotion cpn- 01/03 RP 
$1 Caress bar or body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 St Ives lotion cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 St Ives body wash cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men Care hair cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men Care face cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men Care dry spray cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men Care body wash or detailer cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove Men Care bar cpn- 01/03 RP
$1 Dove deodorant cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Dove dry spray cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Degree dry spray cpn- 01/03 RP
$2 Axe dry spray cpn- 01/03RP 

Revlon ColorSilk color- $7/2 and get $1 ECB
$2 Revlon Buttercream cpn- 01/03 SS
$2 Revlon Buttercream cpn- 12/13 SS 


Bic disposable- $6.99 and get $2 ECB
Buy Bic disposable and get 1 FREE cpn- 01/03 SS

Star Wars gummies- $6
$1 Star Wars Vitamin cpn- 01/03 RP

Colgate 360 toothbrush- $3.49 and get $2 ECB- Limit 2
$0.50 Colgate toothbrush cpn- 01/03 SS

Spend $15 on ProHealth or Clinical toothpaste, rinse, brush or Glide floss and get $7 ECB- Limit 2
$0.25 Crest toothpaste or rinse cpn- 12/27 P&G
$0.75/2 Crest toothpaste or rinse cpn- 12/27 P&G
$2/3 Crest toothpaste or rinse cpn- 12/27 P&G
$1.50 Crest mouthwash cpn- 12/13 RP
$0.25 Oral B Glide floss cpn- 12/27P&G
$0.75/2 Oral B Glide floss cpn- 12/27 P&G
$2/3 Oral B Glide floss cpn- 12/27 P&G 

Excedrin- $20/2 and get $10 ECB- Limit 4
$1 Excedrin cpn- 12/13 SS

Spend $15 on CVS, Gold Emblem, Total Home, Beauty 360 or Pet Central items and get $5 ECB

Dulcolax or DulcoEase- $6.99
$6.99 Mail in rebate at cvs.com/Dulcolax
$1 Dulcolax, DulcoEase or DulcoGas cpn- 01/03 SS

Zantac- $8.99
$8.99 Mail in rebate at cvs.com/Zantac
$3 Zantac cpn- 01/03 SS

Zegrid- $24.99 and get $8 ECB- Limit 3

CVS batteries- $5.99 and get $2 ECB

Progresso- $3/2 and get $1 ECB
$0.50/2 Progresso cpn- 12/06 SS

Spend $10 on Hellman Mayo or Lipton Tea bags and get $3 ECB
$1 Hellman Mayo cpn- 01/03 RP

Colgate Max, Total or 2in1 toothpaste- $2.99
Use $1.50 CVS Coupon Center cpn
$0.50 Colgate toothpaste cpn- 01/03 SS

Campbell Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup- $1
Use $0.50 CVS Coupon Center cpn