10/30/10

So, is it really necessary that I start every post with an apology about how long it's been since the last one? If you read this regularly at all you know that I'm a sporadic writer. And I really don't know who reads this anyway. So maybe I'm apologizing to cyber space...which is ridiculous!

Moving on...This is the second installment of how to save money at the grocery store. We'll title it coupons. Now if you just rolled your eyes or are contemplating not reading further, please reconsider! I'm not a coupon maniac but by taking a little more time I regularly save $10-$25 on our groceries. Yes, in addition to what I'm already saving by shopping sales. This is how we are keeping our grocery budget in line.

I keep my coupons organized by month so I always look at what's about to expire. I shuffle through them all to see if there are coupons for anything I'm planing on buying that week. I also pull coupons for things that I saw on sale or for things that I might buy if we have excess grocery money after buying the necessities. I keep these coupons out and look through them at the store just to remind myself what I've got coupons for.

So where do these coupons come from? I periodically buy a Sunday paper. That is great for coupons for toiletries and household products. Also, I almost exclusively shop at Target for groceries. And their website has great coupons. I've also learned that most brands have coupons on their websites. Many brands even have email lists and periodically send high value coupons.

If you do decide to get a paper, cut the coupons that you think you will use. Then look at the circular for the store where you normally shop. Often times coupons are released the same week as a sale on the products featured. (Does that make sense? I hope you get what I'm trying to say.) You can save extra by using a coupon when the product is already on sale. So...I think that sums up couponing. I have an actual receipt and pictures from a recent trip to the store. I'm hoping that will help give you a better idea. Hope that helps! Happy Sunday!

As always, this post is late!

It seems as though time is flying by faster and faster! Each month brings more milestones and is more fun than the last. Blythe is still the happiest baby around. She is super smiley and loves to be with people. She continues to easily go to anyone and loves all the attention that she often receives. So here's what we've been up to this month:

• Blythe has started solids! I'll do a post about that soon. It's safe to say that she LOVES food! We have yet to give her something that she won't eat. She's not a fan of apples but even those she will tolerate.
• We had some issues about her not gaining enough weight. Our doctor recommended that we double all of her solid foods. Blythe has started eating up! She loves variety and at our next weight check we were so excited to hear that she is back on track with weight gain.
• We got to go to her first play this month as well. She got to see our friend Maddie in Charlotte's Web. Blythe sat still for the entire hour performance and watched the entire play. Like I said, she's a super easy baby!
• Another BIG event was that I left Blythe overnight for the first time. I went on the Women's Retreat with church. She and Currey had a blast together and I enjoyed myself immensely! But I loved getting home and loving on Blythe.
• Blythe is scooting like a champ! She will get up on her hands and knees and rock but then she flops down on her belly to army crawl. She is getting into everything!!!! It's so fun to watch her see something she wants and then scoot to it. She is one determined child.
• She has also gotten to start BSF with me. I love knowing that she is already learning truths about scripture, is listening to hymns geared to babies and kind women are praying over her each week. It's such a sweet blessing that we get to spend time together each week at Bible Study Fellowship.

Blythe,
It continues to bring us such joy to watch you learn and grow. Your smiles are endless and your giggles are contagious. You love your world! You love Moose, especially when he wants to give you kisses. You take out your paci every morning after breakfast so you can get his kisses! Neither you or Moose agree with Mommy and Daddy that this kisses are a bad idea. You are easy going and always go with the flow. You bring us more joy than we could have ever imagine. We love you like crazy!
Mommy and Daddy

9/25/2010

As promised, here is my first money saving post. I have no idea how many posts this will end up being but I'll start with this. There are literally hundreds of blogs that list deals, give tips on using coupons and share tons of money saving help. I had several sites on my Google reader but easily became overwhelmed. I've found that I can look at what works for someone and figure out which pieces work for me.

Here is what I know DOES NOT work for me.

1. I'm not a several store shopper. I do most of my shopping at Target and do a little shopping at Whole Foods.
2. I don't do the drug store game. If you read many money saving blogs they often talk drug store deals. At this point, it's not something that I have time to figure out and we are using more and more natural toiletries. There are rarely deals on these products and I have no desire to add another store to my route.
3. I don't use coupons to purchase products I wouldn't normally buy. I found that I spent a lot of money to save $0.25-$0.75 on products.
   

So, now that I've got that out of the way here's how I get prepared for the store. It seems really simple and it is but it does take some time. I normally spend 30 to 45 minutes on this but at this point I'm saving $20+ on groceries a week. I see it as working for 30 minutes to save $20 which in my mind is a great use of my time.
First, I look in the fridge and see what's there. I know it seems like common sense but I do it every week. I can't tell you how much money this saves me. I forget week to week what I've purchased and I often forget that I have the ingredients for at least one meal left over from the week before. I also see what ingredients I have and might only need a few things to make a complete meal.
Next I look at what's on sale that week. Once I have an idea of what I have and what's on sale I create a menu plan. A lesson that we learned early in our marriage is that if we don't have food at home that we are excited to eat we will avoid it and eat out. I make it a priority to change up our meals every week and use our tight budget to create exceptional food. This helps us save money as well which has allowed us to drastically cut our eating out budget.
Once I pick the meal plans, I create a grocery list. Once that list is created I double check that I'm not buying anything I already have by checking the fridge again. I know that sounds ridiculous! But after seeing that I had 6 boxes of butter because I kept buying never remembering if I had already purchased it, this became a mandatory final step!

I think this post is long enough! I'll post soon with the next steps. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend!

9/24/2010

Although I've missed a couple of weeks, I got it together this week for a Favorite things Friday. There's no theme this week, just absolute randomness!!! It's just how my brain is working these days.

I'm currently obsessed! Well, we've been in love for quit some time but there is one right by work so it's a Friday morning treat. I love Asiago with garlic herb cream cheese. SO YUMMY!!!


Peanut LOVES her pacifier. Her Munchkin pacifier clip is priceless. We've been through several as the velcro wears out but they are worth every penny.


Gift cards. Oh how we love them. There is something so great enjoying a night out together especially when we can use gift cards for it. We've been enjoying lots of fun treats thanks to the blessing of others.


Iced coffee. It's been my favorite all summer but I'm trying to enjoy it to the fullest as cool weather is quickly approaching.

So there are my random favorites. I promise grocery posts are coming. Happy Weekend!

9/10/2010

So here's the second installment of Favorite things Friday! And as I'm about to start working in a cloth diapering store, I thought I'd share my current favorite diapering products!

9/9/2010

Thanks for all the feedback on the last post. It got me really excited so I think I'm going to do a short series on grocery/budget/coupon stuff. But Blogger has hated me this week! I couldn't sign in, I've gotten a million error messages and it just hasn't been cooperative. This does not help my motivation to blog but EXCITING announcements do make me want to blog!

So before you can ponder any of the possible exciting scenarios that just went through your head, I'll share my news. I'm returning to work. Yep, it's true and I could not be more excited! Starting next week I will begin work at our cloth diaper shop. They posted on facebook that they were looking for help. I excitedly told Currey thinking he might tell me I'm crazy but as always he shared my enthusiasm and encouraged me to apply. I went in the next morning and then went back today to work on scheduling stuff. It will be part time and around Currey's work schedule so Peanut will still get to spend her days with me or her Daddy. I LOVE the store where we buy diapers and I honestly can't believe that I get to work there. It's one of those amazing God things were I was handed an opportunity that I never even thought about but is absolutely perfect. I'm excited to be able to share my love of cloth diapers with others and get paid for it. It really doesn't get much better than that!

8/24/2010

Blythe's 6th month birthday was extra special as she will always celebrate her half birthday on my mom's birthday. It's hard to believe that in just 6 more months Peanut will be 1 year old. I can't even wrap my mind around that! Here's what we've been up to this month:

• My dearest college friend, Celeste came to visit. The fact that Blythe got to spend time with my dear friend is so special to me. Great memories!
  
• Blythe also got to meet Auntie J. We loved spending time with J in Dallas. It was a week of being spoiled and loved on. Blythe loved meeting J and I think she really enjoyed her first trip to Texas!
  
• Getting to Texas was an event! Blythe took her first flight. She did outstanding. I think I was much more stressed than she was. The other passengers were very gracious and we all survived.
  
• The flight was interesting because Blythe began teething this month. All I can say is WOW!!! Our sweet, calm baby has been really fussy. It's the worst feeling in the world to not be able to comfort her when she's in pain. Thankfully for now she is back to her usual happy self.
  
• We all got to experience our first flood at our house! Blythe slept through a lot of it but it was an adventure for sure! Hopefully it will soon get it's own post.
  
• We went to the doctor on her half birthday and Blythe weighs 15 lbs 2 oz and she is 25 inches long. We also got the go ahead to start rice cereal.
  
• Roger and Terri also came for a visit. Blythe enjoyed the extra love and attention! We enjoyed some great food and just quality hang out time together. Blythe got to go shopping for new fall clothes which she always enjoys. She is one blessed baby!

Peanut,