Todays Trip..

Walgreens had some super deals this week and coupled with all my coupons I scored some deals if i so myself. We found a deal on more Sunday papers so I now get three giving me double to triple on most coupons! Again a thank you to my dear husband who patiently helps me figure it out to score the best as we can, we are slowly getting better and learning more.

Okay so here it is first Transaction was...

• (2) 200 ct. paper plates
• (2) 12 oz. bottles of Dayquil
• (2) 12 oz. bottles of Nightquil
• (1) 5 oz. Eye drops
• (1) Icy hot Vapor Gel

I had a in-store coupon for the paper plates making it $5. for the two, and if you spent $20. on participating Vick's products you got a $10. RR back and I paired it with my four coupons of $1.5o/1 from 1/16 and 1/30 PG inserts making them a dollar each! Eye drops where $7.99 with a $7.99 RR equivalent of free and since I had a dollar off coupon for the eye drops I made a dollar on this deal. Icy hot was $3.99 with a $3.00 R.R and when used with my $1.oo/1 coupon it also was equivalent of free :) Coming to a total of $31.22 and I used a $4.oo RR from my last trip and it printed me off three RRs one for $3.oo, $8.00and $10. off another trip making it more like I paid $6.22.
Then we turned around and bought..

• (2)Gillette body washes 12 oz.
• (1) Icy hot Vapor Gel
• (1) Gillette fusion kit (Fusion proglide razor, sample face scrub, sample lotion and a sample body wash set)
• (5) Butterfinger snackers

The body washes where BOGO half off and we had 2 $2.oo of Coupons from the 1/30 PG inserts (this is why it's nice to get multiple papers) and another $1.oo off Icy hot (to get the RR we had to do the icy hots in separate orders) and the Gillette razors where $9.99 with a $4.oo RR making it equivalent to $5.99 and we had a $4.oo of coupon making it $1.99 and they had these sample kits with a little extra bonuses in them!! And finally the in-ad coupon made the Nestles 39. cents and I had two ecoupons that where $1.oo/2 making them well over free. And we used the $10.oo RR from our first transaction and paid only $3.25 and received a $3.00 RR and a $4.oo RR back as well!

So once you consider the RRs I got in return (not counting the $4.oo RR I used from my previous trip and the $10 off from my first transaction) I paid $17.25 for everything listed, I am giddy to say the least!!!!!!!!!! We also went through a 3rd time and picked up 2 gallons of Vitamin D milk on sale for $1.99 and we used the RR from our 2nd transactions and paid $1.10 for both Gallons!!

So I know I am really bad at putting it down and explaining it so I hope you understood it okay, Good luck to your next shopping trip :)

What ups in the Allens house??

I feel like its been awhile since I have blogged about the little things around here so here is a not so brief catch up...

After spending over two months without hot water I really learned how to make a pot of boiled water stretch and get the most use out of my work. And before we could even get that fixed we had our furnace take a vacation our washer break and our Internet crash all in a weeks time! But I am happy to report that it has all been repaired and we are back in the land of civilization and enjoying every minute of it :)

Some big changes have occurred and sent our routine topsy turvy, but we are slowly adjusting and finding happiness in the new way of things. Jayme now goes to school during the day, he goes Mon.-Thurs. taking Friday off. Two of the days he has one class and the other two he has one. It has been a challenge handling things solo so he has time for class and homework which he has plenty of and of course he still works full time. And to add to the chaos I have taken on watching my friends two little boys in the mornings Mon.-Fri. while there dad is in class. The first week was pretty horrible with the two toddlers sick (Leta and Karsin) and me still recovering from the horrible virus. Then the second week was allot of fighting to determine the pecking order as Jayme says and finally where in our third week and doing very well! Where hoping the extra money will help keep us afloat, dang economy :( Good thing I found the blogs to help save us money and keep our budget in check!

Leta has been such a blessing as I have found myself down every so often about the want of another rugrat. But she doesn't leave me much time to wallow in self pity for she is such a character she keeps us all laughing. She is a very big girl and isn't afraid to tell you. She can say her name and what daddy's and Mommy's names our, our ages as well as her own (even though she thinks it's funny to try and convince me daddy is two sometimes) and our eye colors (something she learned in nursery). We have learned her favorite color is Blue and Green mostly Green and she LOVES her veggies but not much for meat other than chicken. Shocking I know, some of her favorites..pickled beets :( olives, green beans well any bean for that matter. She has been know to eat black beans for breakfast more than once! And fruit is a close second to her veggies, I am one lucky mom to have a toddler who eats such a variety. She has even improved on her sleep habits, she got a new bed and all new Toy Story bedding and now loves bedtime and will even come tell me she is sleepy if I lose track of time. This is a feat for her she used to fight me for hours!! And as you can tell by her bedding Toy Story is still a full fledged obsession with her. We are going to be painting her room this weekend to off white and putting up a Toy Story valance on her window and her Buzz and Woody pictures she is stoked. She has gotten so much hair! Check out the pigtails (we where headed to church, and if you look close she is wearing rain boots!) Her rain boots are another obsession with her, and I pick my battles and let her strut her stuff in them. Someone this cute can pull off any fashion statement. Another thing she has picked up on is she can repeat phrases from her favorite books, I caught her "reading" her Elmo book that is super short to herself from memory.

Well I suppose I better wrap this up before I turn it into a novel. Hope all is well in your world my fellow bloggers :)

Deal or No Deal??

Okay so as most of you know I am a very frugal person and find it thrilling to save a buck! And as I follow more to the rules shown in the blogs I follow ( see side bar) and save on things to add to my mini food storage I find I am spending less since I only shop when the deals are there. Of course we stop in for our essential..milk and fresh produce. Which I learn to stretch as well, if you mix a gallon of Vitamin D (Red top) milk with a gallon of powder you can't taste it at all and you made two for cheaper than you can buy up town :)
So I have had people ask how I do it so here is a example. I have done allot better trips in the past, but I am still happy with this so I will stick with the most current shopping trip of today's.
First off we stopped in at Walgreen's and although the sale advertised in the blog didn't match ours I tweaked it where I still got a steal of I deal. I got 3 boxes of Kleenex's (110 count) for .89 cents which I had a .50 cent off 3 coupon to pair them with next was a bottle of Pedia Care cold medicine which was 5.99 with a $4.oo R.R (Register Reward: A coupon they print giving you 4 bucks to spend on your next purchase over that price on your next trip) and I paired it with a dollar of coupon making it equivalent to paying .99 cents!!! And to finish off the transaction I had a $2. R.R from another trip I redeemed. So once the coupons where used and my R.R redeemed and my new one printed I got 3 boxes of tissues and kids cold medicine for $1.68!!
Then Wal Mart...I could have saved more, but there was stuff I needed that wasn't paired with a coupon. For example the mini chocolate milks, it's a habit of ours to get it every time where at Wal Mart it is sooo yummy. And Leta got stickers for her potty training rewards and Ramen noodles for her favorite lunch. Anyway back on track, some big coupons I redeemed where BOGO free on Orange juice and Soy sauce and more on the small side .55 cents of shout and a dollar off the dressing. (Most of this went in our "storage"). And last, but not least Smiths. They are typically the ones I shop for most my deals I love there sales! I splurged here because I am taking a 11 hr. road trip in a month and will need goodies. They had get 10 items and get five dollars off at the Register. Making the Goldfish Crackers .99 cents and the Propel and Sobe .49 Cents. And we never leave Smiths without Checking the Managers table for sales and we scored a sixty pack of diapers for 10 bucks because the box was damaged ( a $7. savings) and a bottle of cleaner for $1.(it came with .75 cents off now tag on it!) and I even got Jayme his favorite slice cheese for .49 cents!
Okay so that was allot of rambling, but I hope I got the point across :)
So the total I am sure your wondering for this is....

• 3 boxes of Kleenex
• 1 bottle of Pedia Care cold meds
• 3 bottles of Propel water
• 1 bottle of Sobe
• 1 box of diapers (60 ct./ Size 6)
• 1 bottle of cleaner
• 5 boxes of Goldfish Crackers
• 1 Package of slice cheese
• Toy Story Pez dispenser (Again for the road trip)
• 2 packages of Mallow bites (.59 cents a pkg. on discount table)
• 2 containers of O.J
• 2 lg. bottles of Soy Sauce
• .99 cent stickers
• 3 cartons of Chocolate milk
• 1 bottle of Shout
• 4 packages of Ramen Noodles
• 1 box of butter
• 1 container of B. Soda
• 1 bottle of Salad Dressing

Coming to a Grand total of $39.74 :)

So the question is this a deal or no deal??

New Years Eve...

I love New Years! A way of shaking off the old and looking towards the new. This year I wanted to get even cleaner and more organized ( see last post) and so far it is going great :)

We where privileged to be included in the Mangums party (The Dear family friend who recently lost there mom/wife) and later in the night we caught the end of anther's friends party. We are so blessed to have such good friends!

Music and food the best way to party...

The Dirty Truth!!!

Okay so due to the fact that we all are finally recouping from the nasty cold/flu bug we caught. And our house is finally free of strangers doing repair work. My life is finally getting back into a routine an saneness!!
And just to give myself a little pat on the back I have stuck to the Get organized Challenge and completed ALL the projects so far :) I know it doesn't seem much, but considering I got behind when my internet went down then the construction repairs began then we got sick. So it was a struggle to stay afloat and thankfully not all the challenges where hard for me so I grouped them up and tackled it. It should be noted that I am one who tends to falter under the wieght of a large "work load".


So other then the two I managed to post on already the list included

• Tupperware cupboard (Easy peazy)
• Linen closet ( Considering we don't actually have a closet but a small shelf reserved for this, easy!)
• Under Kitchen sink (Grimy, but doable)
• Dresser Drawers ( A bit harder considering I was convincing my husband that he does not need to keep his "skinny" clothes anymore LOl)
• The pantry ( Again no pantry but plenty of kitchen cupboards I faithfully face and arrange every time I come home from shopping...that is pathetic I know!)
• Coat closet ( Other than never being vacuumed the 5 years we lived here, not bad)
• Toy organization ( Thankfully this was done after good O'le St. Nick came )
• Laundry room ( Perfect timing with the construction just being completed in there)
• Freezer
• Spice cabinet ( If your anything like me you might want to take a look, we had stuff that expired up to three yrs ago!)
• Medicine cabinet ( This one was one of my favorite refer to photos)
• Under bathroom sink ( I was on a roll so I did all three cabinets)
• Medicine Organization (this for me paired with the cabinet one)
• Fridge (Horror of all horror!!! If you want a disturbing look at where your food sits strip your fridge of all contents including the shelves and drawers. It's not pretty)
• And finally mail center (which again for me went with the computer desk one)

Okay so there you have existence of my life this month :) Sounds boring, right? It was a thrill for me almost a high! That is my personality showing through. I will post again I am sure by the time this is done so I hope your all reading this and seeing that even a clean freak who prides herself on organization and cleaning has a few "Dirty Secrets" of her own.
*Someday the pictures will actually download normal, sorry

Donations??

Okay so I am typically the last person to ask for help or peoples donations, but this isn't technically for me so it doesn't count, right? :)

We got word today that Jayme's cousin in Alaska lost his home to a fire I am still waiting for all details to come in, but from his sisters reports he his wife and there four children where not inside when the fire started so they are all unharmed! But the house was a complete loss :(

And his Sister is asking Family for donations for them to help with the obvious expenses home owners insurance wont cover and they will need. And she herself was talking about doing a fundraiser for them in her hometown in Idaho, which got Jayme and I thinking about all the stuff we have been piling up during our spring cleaning/organizing that we where going to use in a yard sale. I would like to do a giant yard sale with the proceeds going to this family in need. So that's where you my fellow bloggers come in handy! Do you have unwanted "junk" cluttering your house that you would like to donate to this worthy cause? Just email me if your interested, I am still unsure when I will be doing it. I suppose weather and finding a location will determine that :)
Thank you in Advance for anything offered :)

*We are keeping this Anonymous from the family so don't post anything on our FB homepage go through here or a private message on FB

Playing catch up!

Okay so with the Internet down I got behind on the 21 day get organized project. But to stick to the goal of a cleaner and more organized home I am going to plunge ahead and finish and since some are easy for me such as toy organization (we just purged her room after Christmas) I will be able to knock my list down quick and finish with a cleaner more organized home ( I hope).
So here I go wish me luck :)

Day 2 and Feeling Accomplished!!

Okay so I accidentally downloaded these backwards, but it will prepare you for the shock of the before. Prepare yourself now it's not pretty.

So as soon as I read the Day 2 Challenge I cringed *Clean and organize your computer desk*

It has been a sore spot with me for awhile so now I can finally relax now I have spent hours cleaning and sorting the mess we called a computer desk :) And doesn't it look awesome!!

Okay I will be posting one more challenge today to catch up so come back for another peak if it's not up yet when you read this...

I am up to the challenge!! Are you??

Every spring I want to strip my house down and scrub it of its Winter grime. This year knowing that Jayme would be away from home allot more with starting part time school on top of full time work and not being home to help I decided to start now and slowly tackle it all! I started with a few projects I had in mind when I ran across this site, http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/ and her challenge to organize your house and in turn your life in 21 days!! I couldn't resist and jumped on board.
So this first challenge seemed easy peazy...

*Clean and Organize a Junk drawer*

I stand corrected, not that it was hard by any means but embarrassing to what I found under all the junk hence the name junk drawer I suppose. Either way it was the perfect first step I needed to feel confident in my ability to follow through :) so here it is..

Little miss independence..

Tonight as I checked on Leta to make sure she was still in bed (this is the first night without the side rail) and went to start a load of her "accident" clothes (this is her worst day yet with a total of three accidents) it hit me like it does on occasion just how grown up my little peanut is getting!

It is fun to start getting a clearer picture of what's really going through that little head of hers and let me tell you she is as quick as a whip :) a few days before Christmas there was a knock on our door and I turned to Leta and said "I wonder who could be at our door?!" which she ponders for a bit before throwing back "SANTA, for Leta !" or better yet when I had Jayme take a turn pottying her the other day he reminded her if she went potty she would earn a few more pennies for her duck bank. So off she went with him and as soon as she was seated and taking care of business she slyly looks at him and says "Quarter?" Yep she has manipulation down to an art!

Though it does have a its advantages being able to now reason with my child, at a New Years Eve party yesterday a little girl wanted to check out Leta's prized Jessie doll which resulted in a mini meltdown from her so I told her " If you can't share then put them back in your bag." and sure enough she did just that, safe and sound :)

She is now actually fairly helpful when it comes to helping with chores and knows to put her dirty laundry in her basket when she shucks them for bed, that dishes go in the sink when she is done and garbage belongs well in the garbage :) She even lets the dogs in and out for there potty breaks. Although we don't always agree when they need to come in :)

Well I suppose I better go and get some sleep my BIG girl is getting her BIG girl molars leaving us all a little restless at night. So goodnight fellow bloggers...