Wouldn't You Like To Be a Pepper Too?

Grocery bargain update! Sixteen 12 packs of Dr. Pepper for $12.32! Jeff loves Diet Dr. Pepper so this was a great find for us. How did I get this deal? Albertson's is having a sale this week where you buy 2 get 2 free. Plus when you buy four 12 packs of Dr. Pepper a coupon prints at the register for $10 off your next grocery order. So, you can turn right around and use that for another four 12 packs, pay $.58 and then get another $10 coupon back. I paid $10.58 for the first four and $.58 for the next three sets of four. Pretty good deal! Plus, with another sale they are having this week I was able to get three 4 packs of Angel Soft TP and three rolls of paper towels for $3.50.

HOWEVER, I must say that I am sort of getting disgusted with the extreme hording that goes on with these great grocery deals. In observing some of the other shoppers, I can see where this can get out of hand. Just because they can get something for free or almost free they take as much as they can possibly get. It makes me think that I really need to focus on buying only things that we will really use and need. I don't want to be the one to deprive someone else from getting a great deal, especially if they need that particular product more than I do. I wish other shoppers would have given me the same courtesy last week when the ice cream was on sale. I mean really...who needs ice cream right now more than me?! :)

I sort of feel guilty now for buying so much Dr. Pepper! I justified it because I went to a couple of different stores to get it and when I was there, they were restocking the shelves so I knew I wasn't taking the last of it. But, I don't want to let this get out of hand or anything. So from now on I am going to be more mindful of the things I really need and don't need.

There. That is my couponing confession for the night.

Does someone need a hug?

Lizette has a good sense of humor. She seems to know just when to drop those one liners that make us laugh so hard. Lately, I have been getting so frustrated with her at meal time because she will almost never eat more than three bites without a ton of coaxing. The other night at dinner I had finally had it and said "Fine. Don't eat then." I proceeded to do what any wise and mature mother would do and gave her the silent treatment for a few moments. Finally, she said "Does someone need a hug?" How could I stay mad at her? So, we ate ice cream together and that was the end of my fuming.

A couple of weeks ago she went through a few days of getting so hyper at night. She was acting so crazy and it was hilarious. I asked her one night if she was drunk. She said "Not enough...but just a little." Where she came up with that answer, I have no idea.

My Grocery Bargain Frenzy

$40.65

Since I am taking the time to blog about this, you can tell that I am slightly proud of myself. Yes, I am proud of myself! Who ever thought that little materialistic, shop 'til you drop me could actually catch on to saving money on groceries?!

I have to say that this couponing thing is a lot of work and some days I wonder if it's really worth it to put all the time in to cut and print coupons, match up the good deals, read the coupon blogs, and make extra runs to the grocery store. But this week, I definitely think it's worth it! The thing I like about all of my bargains this week is that it's pretty much all food that we would buy anyway. (Okay, maybe not this much ice cream, but it was such a great deal and hey, it's almost August and I'm pregnant!)

Also, these were not my only purchases for the week. I did get milk and cheese at Costco and a few non-grocery essentials at Wal-Mart. But I am getting to the point now where I am pretty well stocked on lots of essentials so that I can focus my budget on stocking up on whatever is on sale for a great deal. It's a completely different way of shopping for me, but I'm really starting to like it and see the benefits of it on our grocery budget.

The pictures above are not the best because my photography skills were not able to fit everything in and get a very good photo. So, here is the breakdown:

For $40.65 (including our 6% sales tax) I purchased
4 12 oz. bottles of Spray-N-Wash Max stain remover
2 15 oz.cans of Dole Mandarin Oranges
2 boxes of Raisin Bran Crunch (18.2 oz.)
2 boxes of Raisin Bran Extra (14 oz.)
1 box of Special K pretzel bars
2 boxes of soft pretzels
1 box of Eggo Bake Shop pastries
9 pints of Breyer's ice cream (chocolate, vanilla and butter pecan)
2 packages of Klondike bars (6 to a package)
3 packages of Jet Puffed marshmallows
2 boxes of Ritz Crackerfuls
1 32 oz. jar of Miracle Whip
2 16 oz. containers of sour cream
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
7 containers of Nesquik chocolate milk (5@16oz., 2@32oz.)
1 bunch of bananas
4 peaches
4 nectarines
1 11oz. container of blueberries
2 bags of Fresh Express salad

This was all purchased at Albertson's and compared to their normal prices, I saved about $100. However, I would never pay Albertson's normal prices so I like to compare to what I would have spent at Wal-Mart. Based on years of shopping at Wal-Mart and knowing their prices pretty well, I am estimating that I saved about $50.

$50 isn't a huge amount of money, but over the course of a year, that could add up to a whole lot! Now, I just need to find some really good bargains on diapers and formula and we'll be set!

:-)

Trip to Oregon

Well, after a long sabbatical from blogging, I am finally back! It's been a busy few weeks.

Last week, Lizette and I took a road trip to Oregon to visit family and friends. We had a great time and I am very glad we made the trip. We drove through John Day and Redmond going over, and the windy roads made for a bit of a long drive. Lizette threw up somewhere between Sisters and Sweet Home which was traumatic for both of us! It was worth the drive though. It was beautiful! And, on the way we were able to stop in Redmond to visit my Emerson cousins, Les, Kari and Kim and their families. We rarely get to see them and it was so fun to catch up.

After making it through the long drive from Boise we ended up in Albany, where we stayed with my stepsister, Chris and her daughter Ashley for the week. Diane, Phil and Hailey were also there for the week and it was so great to see all of them. Hailey and Lizette played (and fought) and played (and fought) all week. It was cute to see them interact and have fun together. The funniest moment came when they almost got into a knock down, drag out, brawl over whether or not Lizette was a 'big girl'. Hailey insisted that Lizette was not a big girl and this really upset Lizette. They were screaming at each other and the moms had to intervene before any blood was shed. I was laughing so hard.

Hailey and Lizette in their snazzy new OSU t-shirts purchased by Uncle Phil

Investigating Stella the kitty.

Lizette and I made it over to Lebanon and Corvallis to visit friends which was also a treat. We went to the cemetery to visit Grandma Jackie and Uncle Andy. We took them some silk hydrangeas and gladiolus. I think they would have liked our choices.

We drove back through Portland and the Gorge and the drive was beautiful. On the way we stopped at the Enchanted Forest, an amusement park just outside of Salem. Lizette loved that and could have spent all day. It wore me out because it is pretty much all on a hill and my out of shape, pregnant body could barely push the stroller around! However, I survived and it was well worth it to see Lizette have so much fun. We stayed in Portland that night with our cousin, Amy. It was great to see her too. Lizette was a little freaked out by her dog, Cy, but otherwise loved staying at Amy's house.

Lizette in the bumper boats at the Enchanted Forest.

It's so great to stay in touch with family and friends. I want my girls to grow up knowing about the people who have had such a big impact on my life. I hope we can always make these trips to Oregon.

Happy Father's Day!

Jeff is an excellent father.

I love that he loves to spend time with Lizette. He teaches her something new all the time and she loves it. She loves to impress her dad! She lights up when he is around and is so excited to share everything with him. As soon as he gets home from work and she hears the garage door open, she makes a fast bee line to the door screaming "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" When he is at work, she continuously asks when he will be home, what he is doing and where he is. And, I love that he gets so excited to hear about all of the new or funny things she does while he is at work. He lights up hearing me tell him anything about Lizette.

Not to mention that she is exactly like him in so many ways! She obviously looks like him. She is very inquisitive which she definitely gets from him. She has the same tastes in food. She could live on chocolate milk, pizza, cereal and mac-n-cheese. (Yes, those are some of Jeff's favorite foods.) She loves to tease and laugh. Dare I say this on my blog? She is slightly gassy just like him and likes to laugh about it. :) She also seems to love gadgets. Cameras, phones, computers, anything electronic. This could be scary. She'll be wanting an iPhone before she turns 12! Lastly, she is already a Fox News fan. She could probably point out Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly on the street if she saw them. Oh my.

It means so much to me that Jeff is the kind of father he is and that he already has a close relationship with Lizette. Both of our daughters will be forever blessed to have a dad like him.

Swimming Lessons

Here is a fun picture that Lizette's swimming instructor took of her last week. Happily, she does not scream and cry when we dunk her under the water. However, she has almost pulled off my swim suit several times as she holds on for dear life (as you can see above)! It has been fun to see her have such a great time in the water. She is very proud of herself for learning new tricks each day. And rightfully so...she is doing great!

My coupon deals

I know this is probably silly to post a blog about the good deals I found at the grocery store, but I'm going to anyway!

So, I've been clipping coupons from the Sunday paper and also printing them from online coupon sites. I had a bunch of cereal coupons this week and Albertson's is having a pretty good sale on General Mills cereals. If you spend $25 on General Mills products, you get $10 off your next grocery purchase. So, I went in, used the coupons I had and loaded up on cereal along with some frosting that was on sale that I had coupons for. I bought 12 boxes of cereal, 4 containers of Betty Croker frosting and a large jar of Best Foods mayonnaise for $25. And, I was able to get the $10 coupon. Not too bad, but it gets better...

I went back the next day, bought $25 worth of cereal and frosting and was able to use more coupons and the $10 off coupon I got from my first $25 purchase. My total for 10 boxes of cereal and one container of frosting was $10.98, including tax! Plus, I got another $10 off coupon that I can use on my next purchase. So, I spent $36 to get all this, plus I get the extra $10 off, which technically brings my total to $26 for 22 boxes of cereal, 5 containers of frosting and a jar of mayo.

I know...some of you may be thinking, what are you going to do with that much cereal?! Cereal has a pretty long shelf life and it's all cereals that we like to eat. So, I've basically just stocked our pantry for the next several months. Mayo and frosting are always nice to have on hand too, so I felt good about buying those items.

I was pretty excited about this deal, but I've read posts on other coupon clipping blogs where shoppers have gotten even better deals than this. $.25 or $.50 for cereal in a lot of cases. I hope as I go along with this and continue to accumulate more coupons, I'll be able to cash in on even better deals too!

Okay, I'm done. :)