Kristina used COUPONS!

Today I defeated my menu plan mayhem and grocery list. TODAY, I found out what all of the Walgreen's couponing rave was about! 
I DID not plan on going this far with my couponing...but after the first two toothpastes..I couldn't help myself.  The lady that checked me out helped me out a great deal and was incredibly friendly! Yay for her! :)

So, Walgreen's had Colgate toothpaste for $3.49 with $3.50 in Register Rewards. I bought 8 tubes of toothpaste and received $28.00 in RR. We also bought a Gillette Fusion ProGlide for $9-something and got 5$ in register rewards.   So, I had 33$ in RR. :) Each toothpaste had to be a separate transaction and I totally didn't mind holding up that line (for once in my life)!!!! 

-I had a coupon for BOGO Dry Idea (or Right Guard) deodorant. I have no idea how it worked out, but I paid 32 cent for TWO Dry Idea deodorant. It was a Walgreen's ad and MF coupon. (So my receipt says..but I still have my MF coupon...)

-With my RR I bought Ziploc Freezer bags x2 with a $1.00 off coupon (Walgreen's in store coupon book), Dawn dish washing liquid x3, Milo's Tea x2, BOGO AA Batteries.  I used 3 RR coupons in this transaction and paid $6.40.  Not too bad considering Milo's is $2.50 a gallon!!! :)

-My favorite of the day was the Nivea body wash. I had a coupon for buy 2 women's Nivea body washes and get 1 man's Nivea body wash FREE. So, I decided to pair that MF coupon up with my Walgreen's RR.  Thank the Lord for the sweet check out lady. She really helped me alot. She explained to me a bit how the RR worked and that I needed a "small" item to kind of balance out things and pay the least. I figured she knew what she was talking about, so I ended up getting two bottles of Dawn dish detergent as well.  Nivea MF coupon + 4 RR=$3.68 :) Umm..that Nivea body wash was $6.99 PER BOTTLE.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Below is a picture of my above deal descriptions. There is also a free bag that I got for purchasing the razor and TWO more RR coupons that I didn't use! This was my FIRST time ever using RR at Walgreen's. I think I did pretty good and was pretty please with my deals. :)

Toothpaste anyone?

Moving right along to my Dirt Cheap deals of the day.  I was in the market for new mascara. I even had a coupon for a mascara I wanted to try.  Anyone that knows me well knows that I am very particular about mascara AND what I buy at Dirt Cheap. For the longest I would not buy anything that went on my skin (aside from clothing).  I passed by the huge table with cosmetics and thought I would take a peek. Well, of course some of the packages were open..but there were a TON that were not. They were in their original packaging. So, I decided I would give it a whirl. I got a bit carried away with the mascara, but I am now the proud new owner of EIGHT, yes EIGHT different types of mascara. Hopefully, I can find one that I like within that bunch.  I also got a Loreal Infalliable Lip duo stuff (and this stuff STAYS ON..let me tell ya), some kind of Revlon foundation and a Loreal Infalliable press powder/foundation (which I have used before and it is great). All of this for $5.50.

I love flags  I love a front door flag flapping in the wind on a stormy day, or just blowing in the breeze. Unfortunately, with my attempt to be frugal, a 20$ flag really isn't in my budget. I have a few holiday flags that I have had over seven years, an American flag, and an Alabama championship flag I got at Winn Dixie for like $1!! When I saw these, I could barley contain my excitement.  These are full size flags and they are CUTE. They were a bit more expensive than I was hoping, but a steal compared to the regular prices. Hopefully, there will still be more around in a few weeks and they will be discounted even further and I can add to my outdoor flag repertoire. :)

Three full size flags $15.00

With my ever increasing knowledge of living frugally, I have become quite the busy bee in the kitchen. I am whipping up my own ranch dressing mix, taco mix, and onion soup mix. I've bought plastic containers to store them in my pantry, and that is fine. These little storage containers were too cute to pass up. They even will look really pretty on the counter to hold rice, grains and beans!

Containers: $6.00

Lastly, my Winn Dixie deal of the night.  As I picked up my two, 5lb bags of potatoes I noticed a coupon attached. Normally, I would pass a coupon by, but now I have the bug so I have to check it out to see if it is worth my time. :)  The coupon was for a FREE Marie's Classic Potato Salad Dressing. Well, of course, WD didn't have the "Classic Potato Salad Dressing". So, I asked if I could possibly get another type of dressing. They said sure and if I had a problem we could override it. :)   My experience at WD was PLEASANT. The girls at the checkout were actually friendly and helpful! We did two different transactions so that I could get both of my dressings for free and my potatoes still 2/$5.

10lbs potatoes-$5

2 Jars Honey Mustard-($7) FREE

If I actually have anyone that reads my blog, please give me tips on this couponing stuff! I really don't have time to be too hardcore (though I do have a date scheduled with a friend tomorrow morning at the dumpsters...hmm...) about it...but saving a little helps a ton. :)

No Good, Bad Day-Or Was It?

On rare occasions, I feel like I am totally rockin' the cape.....

But most days, I am so tired and it takes me forever to get my thoughts processed enough to know what I am doing that day.

Today, my cape was no where in sight (like most every day) and I was dragging. Not only was I running on little sleep, but I really didn't feel well. Last night, all three of my kids ran fever. Last night, all three of my kids ran fever at different times. It first started with M, then E and lastly N.  Not.A.Fun.Night.For.Mommy.

I am sure most would wonder why in the world I would take the time to blog at almost midnight if I am just SO incredibly tired. Well, fact is, blogging helps me clear my head. This is my form of "letting it out" for the time being. My thoughts have been racing all day, so many things have gone wrong and I have kept my cool.  Now, it is time to let it out, let it go, and move on!

Oh, let's not forget to mention I haven't been to the grocery in forever and we REALLY need some things. Fevers make it kind of hard to go to the grocery store when the only option you have is to take your kids with you. Another reason is that I STILL haven't made my menu plan for this pay period. It has taken me FOUR DAYS and I STILL haven't gotten anything accomplished really.

Menu, you will be defeated tomorrow!!!!!

A little preview of  the many hats that I wear:

Nurse, Mommy

Today has been a very, very lazy day.  With the exception of mealtime (and mealtime cleanup) we have really done nothing. Bummer, because I was really, really looking forward to going to church this morning. I missed last Sunday because I was lazy and the Sunday before I was teaching. This is the third Sunday in a row that I have missed and I really, really can tell. The kids were just as bummed as I was. We also had plans for Little River with AAA after church, but that was canceled as well.  I did get to watch most of the live feed, so that was a highlight.

Today has been one of those days that I have been attacked by the enemy on so many fronts. He knows that I am weak and a a low point and he is taking his swings. Today, has not been my day.

I did get some laundry done this evening. Amazing, when ALL of my clothes are clean aside from just a handful...my close is packed and I have NO ROOM in my drawers! And I thought I didn't have any clothes......

Moving along....:) The kids requested chocolate chip pancakes for supper.  Easy enough...or so I thought.  I have been known to not make really good from scratch pancakes. It isn't that the recipe isn't good..it's the chef. This is why I only buy pre-cooked bacon. I burn bacon..every time.

These pancakes looked fantastic. They were whole wheat (flour) blueberry chocolate chip. I was pretty excited about these.  Well, going along with the nothing has gone right for me today theme, I guess these pancakes decided to follow suite.

This is actually the SECOND cooking pan that I used. The first one I burned, too. My heat wasn't too high, I used enough butter...I have no idea what happened.

I got incredibly frustrated and just threw out the mix and put my pans in the sink. (Which surprisingly are now hanging out in the dishwasher-yes-I at least cleaned the kitchen right.)  I announced to the kids that they would be having cheese grits instead.  They were happy with that. Sweet kids (and husband), they put up with alot of flops in Mommy's cooking.

Needing to get out for a bit, after bath time we ventured to McDonald's and got snack size McFlurries. I am one that stands by the "no milk products with a fever" but they had Ibuprofen in and no fevers at the moment, so I felt after such a crappy, sickly day at least this may brighten the mood a bit...and it did. :) 

They got their last round of Ibuprofen (hopefully until morning) right before bed and tummies were happy, so praise the Lord! 

On days like this, I just want to shout "This has been a terrible, horrible, no good, really bad day!!!!"  But really, even after everything and the fact that it took me hours to upload pictures because my computer restarted :).........I still have to be thankful. Thankful that I have a God that loves me and never gave up on me, not for one second today. Thankful that even on the bad days, He is still there. Even on the bad days, He is still my Savior. Even on the bad days, on the days where I can't even think about loving myself, He loves me. Even on the days that are great and I am wearing my cape with pride or the days that I just want to stay in bed all day and shut out the world, He is with me.  It is really hard to remember that while in the moment of  anger because the pancakes burned, but that is one of many things that I am working on.

Looking back on the days events and being an exhausted nurse mommy...today really, truly wasn't bad at all. In fact, no matter how bad the days get (or how good), I am never alone.

".....And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20