This Week's Deal!

So, real quick, here's my deal for the week! How much fun is this?!?! I got all of this for FREE, plus $1.16 overage! OK, I have to go put away groceries!!

(1 loaf of bread, 1 hand soap, 1 package Kotex, 10 - yes 10! boxes of Kellogg's Cereal!)

Deals!

This month I've been trying to learn how to save on our budget while it not consuming all my time. I've had some great help from some of my friends who are truly living their lives as Proverbs 31 women. This month I've tried to just spend a couple of hours a week planning my different grocery/store trips and have limited how much time I spend surfing the net for deals. Hopefully as I get better with what I've started doing this month I'll be able to find even better ways to save money for our family! I have found it very difficult to stay in budget with food and diapers and now we are adding formula to the mix, so I wanted to see how much I could save this month by making a few changes! It's been fun for me to try to see what deals are out there and to see the savings. I actually think I'm going to stay well in budget this month! Yay!!!

So, here's where I've started:

www.moneysavingmom.com - She gives great tips and tells about a lot of deals. She posts a lot, so I just skim over it.

www.couponmom.com - She has a ton of info on her website. I haven't looked over much of it, but I have been getting my Publix list from her site and have printed coupons from there.

www.thegrocerygame.com - I subscribed to this site for the CVS list. It makes shopping easy! (Although I'm stilling trying to figure out the Extra Care Bucks!)

So, I've kept a tally this month and by using coupons, Extra Care Bucks, shopping for Buy One/Get Ones, rebates, etc. I've saved a total of AT LEAST $200.00!! And I usually go over getting only what will get us through the month. This month we are well supplied with diapers that will last us through next month (at least for Jordyn!), plenty of toiletry items, cereal, and quite a bit still in the pantry!!

This wasn't my best run of the month, but I paid $7.10 for everything in this picture!

(2 cans of Enfamil Lipil, 1 Jumbo pack of Luvs, Glade oil plug in, 3 deodorants, 1 Johnson's Buddies Soap, Travel sizes of Tide and All, 2 boxes of Pop Tarts, 2 Shampoos)

If you have any money saving tips, I'd love to hear them!!

A Rainy Fay Day!

It's been pretty rainy and dreary outside today, but inside it's been quite active over here! After dinner (thanks Mama!) we pulled out our couch bed and popped popcorn and watched Dr. Seuss videos! The girls thought it was super fun! I still can't believe it's not even 7 yet!!

Jordyn is 12 whole weeks old today! Time sure is flying by. She seemed to enjoy hanging out with us for the movie. She has been smiling and talking to me all throughout the day today. She is a wonderful baby!!

Won't You Come Out and Play with Me?!?!

Monday we met Amanda and Dena and all their kiddos to play! We met up at the mall (free air conditioned play area!) and had a great couple of hours. All of the little ones played amazingly well and us moms were even able to hold several conversations! It was so cool to me that we were able to even eat lunch with 7 children 5 and under and all the children sat in their seats and ate quietly, shared their food and toys, and obeyed so well. Amanda and Dena, thank you so much for how you are loving and training your sweet little children!

A Little Snip!

Well, with JJ heading to Wales we had to make sure the girls had their hair trimmed for the year!! I had trimmed Sydney and Reagan's hair before, but this was the first time they had a "professional" cut! Sydney did so good for JJ! Oh, and I'm so glad that the trim didn't cause Sydney's curls to disappear! I love her little curls!!

Three Nights in a Row!!!

Jordyn has slept through the night not 1, not 2, but 3 times in a row!!! Wow! It has been wonderful to sleep the entire night! She's been going to bed around 10:30 and getting up at 7! What a 9 week old!!! Hopefully she'll continue on!

Also, she's been smiling and trying so hard to make noises! I took her for her two month check up on Tuesday and she is doing great! She had 5 shots and 1 oral vaccination, but she has been such a trooper!!

So here's what the doctor said:

She is very strong and alert!

Her head size is in the 95%.

She is in the 95% for weight.

She is in the 75% for height.

She weighed in at 13 pounds 3 ounces!!

T.G.I.F.?!?!?!

What a common saying for the working world! Thank Goodness It's Friday! If I were working out there, I would have probably been claiming those words today. BUT I don't. I'm here. Pretty much 24/7. And it's been a long week. It's been a wonderful week. It's been a hard week. It's been a week that has revealed more of my weakness and more of God's strength. More of the corruptness of my children's hearts and more of the power of the Gospel. More of my sinfulness and more of God's great forgiveness. Today at 5, I wasn't leaving "my job", I was continuing in it - making dinner, setting the table, filling sippee cups. At 7:30 I wasn't vegging on the couch unwinding from my day; nope, I was tending to little girls who were supposed to be drifting off to sweet dreams who instead had to go to the bathroom one last time, were jumping on the bed, pulling covers off each other, and even trying to pull the other one off the bed. And I have no idea what time little Jordyn will decide she needs to eat tonight. And please don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not complaining. There are many times I am, but I don't think I am right now! As I struggled through wanting a break today - I mean a real break - like laying on the beach by myself with a good book, a magazine and no sand being flung on me or going and just having fun - I mean adult fun - not play-doh kind of fun, I kept being compelled to read a book a friend recommended to Steve and I last week. It's called Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. It's geared towards teens, but as I've almost read through the first 3 chapters I am well aware it is for me, too. On a side note, their brother - Josh Harris - wrote two books that had incredible influence on my life about 11 years ago and I am hopeful that this book will have the same life changing effects on my life. How kind of God to give these guys vision and the ability to communicate! I am reminded that my boundary lines have fallen in truly beautiful places. I mean, it's so fun to watch Reagan draw a picture for our neighbor who is in Alaska until October. It was so cute - a garden full of flowers, 3 clouds and a sun. Then, she turns around and draws a big scary monster for me. Her imagination is crazy! And, to see Sydney jump every time the jack-in-the-box popped open. To hear her snort because she was laughing with Reagan so hard at dinner. To be able to look at Jordyn sleeping in her swing and growing by the moment. To be able to catch her smile and coo. Truly, truly, my boundary lines have fallen in beautiful places. Do I sound like I'm trying to convince myself?!?! Well, I probably am in some ways! This week has been one where I have been even more aware of having to die to my desires in order to obey the Lord. I need to remind myself of TRUTH daily. This is my reality. My daily, wonderful, tiring, hard, sweet, repetitive, interesting reality!!!