catching up

well, it's been a while since i've written about the general goings on around here. while i've got some free time (waiting for jon to get off work and get on the computer so we can talk to him), i figured i'd do just that! :)

trevor's started to really love building things w/ his blocks - in fact if he builds something he's really proud of, he yells "no!" if you talk about knocking it down! strange, since most kids his age find that part to be the most fun. . . santa had good timing when he was gathering presents this year, since trevor's getting a set of megablocks! anyways, here's one he did all by himself--

after i took the picture, he tried to add another block to the top and it fell over; pretty good though, considering his age. . . anyways, b/c of this, jon took to helping trevor build REALLY tall towers out of blocks the last couple weeks before he deployed. this is one they did together--

we opened a couple of our christmas presents early this year, since jon won't be here for the holidays and have been putting those things to good use. . . my dad got us a wii, and even trevor likes to play w/ it--

he likes to help daddy stear his car right off the course in mario kart! :) i got another baby carrier, a mei tai, as a gift from jon. i got to design it myself, which i was really excited about. here's me wearing trevor on my back w/ it--

it's reversible too (the other side is a large black and white floral print - not super girly though, which is good considering we'll have 2 boys soon!), so that makes it that much more fun! i haven't used it much b/c the day after i got it, my back started to hurt like crazy, so i've been using the stroller more or just having trevor walk. once the baby comes though, i intend to make VERY good use of my new mei tai! :) (and for anyone who's wondering, it's a babyhawk)

we took trevor to see santa at the squadron's children's christmas party and were surprised to find that trevor was the ONLY kid there under the age of 3 who didn't scream his head off when he went near santa! he was a little worried at first, but once he saw me w/ the camera, he flashed a huge grin, so i got a really cute picture--

he didn't have QUITE the same reaction to the santa at the mall, but then again, that one didn't have combat boots - maybe that made all the difference! :)

a few days after the visit w/ santa, we had family pictures taken and they turned out REALLY well! here's the one of trevor from last month, as well as the family picture--

we all needed haircuts, so that came next - trevor wasn't as brave as the last 2 times, but in his defense, he'd gotten his flu shot just 2 days beforehand, so i can't say i blame him for being a little fussy. i didn't think to take the camera for that, since it was his 3rd haircut, but i was able to (kinda) get a picture of MY haircut. . . the last one i got (in may), the girl totally butchered my hair, so i got a complete overhaul on the style. i dunno how well you can see that in this picture, but oh well--

the last pictures i have are from the day jon deployed. he cried before he left, which made me cry (of course) and confused trevor. here are the pictures from his departure (it was a commercial flight, so we couldn't wait w/ him like last time)--

the 2nd picture is really distorted b/c the guy we asked to take the picture apparently didn't bother to get us out of the sun enough before snapping a picture. . . i did what i could to fix it, but it'll never be a GOOD picture. oh well, it's better than nothing, and you can at least tell who it is, so it could be worse.

since jon's been gone i've immersed myself in various projects. i'm finishing up the christmas shopping and trying to organize my house (not really cleaning so much as decluttering). . . the other night i started working on the rag quilt i'm making for nudger, and after christmas, i'm gonna get started on his room. we decided not to paint, but i wanna get some posters on the walls and get everything set up while i still can. trevor will be getting his big boy bed as a christmas present, so i'm hoping the transition will go smoothly for us when we get back from visiting my mom for the holidays. once i'm sure he's doing well w/ that, i'll set up the crib in nudger's room and get to work! :)

in all, things are good here. we miss jon immensely, but are trying not to think about it too much b/c that just makes it harder. i try to keep myself busy and set goals to keep myself positive, and we talk to him on the internet via webcam as much as we can. the timing is hard b/c of his shift, but we're making it work the best we can. trevor has been amazing so far w/ his daddy gone. i expected a week or 2 of tantrums galore and he hasn't really had many issues. he fussed alot the first night, whining for his daddy and not wanting to come near me, but after that, he seemed to "get" it and calmed down alot. he cries in his sleep most nights, but he doesn't wake up, which i take to mean that he just misses his daddy. during the day he's a happy boy. he knows we talk to daddy on the computer, so whenever i'm on, he asks me "dada?" about every 2 minutes. it's cute, and he gets SO excited when i finally tell him yes, it's time to talk to daddy. he doesn't talk for very long, but he's all smiles, giggling and babbling away, and when he's done he tells daddy "bye bye" and waves, then gets down off my lap and does his own thing. :) he's adjusted much better and MUCH more quickly than i ever could have dreamed; when jon deployed in january, it took a week or 2 before the fussiness stopped, so i was expecting the same thing again this time. i was happily surprised and am DEFINITELY not complaining! :)

gender ultrasound - FINALLY!

so i think it should be termed cruel and unusual punishment to make a pregnant woman wait this long (21 1/2 weeks) to have an ultrasound when she wants to know the baby's gender, but whatever. i guess i already knew military docs were sadists, right? so yeah, they made me wait till i was 21 1/2 weeks for this u/s even though their guidelines say they'll do it anytime between 18 and 22 weeks. nice of them, huh? oh well, what's done is done. . .

SO, we got to see our little one for quite a while, just relaxing in there - even had one foot propped on the opposite knee - just like trevor does all the time! must be comfortable in there! :) the baby is doing really well, everything looks great! however, this kid is BIG - measuring a week ahead of schedule, so either my due date is wrong (unlikely) or this one will be MASSIVE (likely, especially considering that trevor was 9 1/2 lbs.). . . also, i'm going back for another u/s in a month b/c my placenta is low, and they wanna make sure it moves up. they're confident that it will, as am i, but please keep us in your prayers for that anyways. if it doesn't move, i'll have to have a c-section, and i wanna avoid that if i can! like i said, they aren't worried, and neither am i, but let's all hope my placenta moves up a little higher to avoid that issue entirely. . .

and NOW the news you've been waiting for, the reason i'm sure you're reading this post: it's a. . .

BOY!

we were surprised, we (and everyone we've talked to) were sure it was a girl. but there was NO mistaking it on the u/s. the picture they printed of the boy parts wasn't the best view we got, but that's ok, you can still see it. . . we got 10 pictures total, so here they are, the "boy parts" one first. . .

my favorites are the ones where he's rubbing his eyes (#8 in the lineup) and where he's just relaxing w/ one foot propped on the other (#9). . . at one point he had his feet like that and his arms behind his head! they didn't get a picture of it, but it was so stinking cute!

we haven't come to an agreement on any names yet, but we're working on it. we've still got plenty of time, so i'm not too worried. it seems harder this time than it was w/ trevor, but i'm sure we'll have one chosen before he arrives. till then, we'll just keep referring to him as nudger. . . :)

don't know how i forgot to post this. . .

. . . but jon's deploying again. we found out last week on tuesday that's he's leaving on 12/15 for 4 months. it's short, and the timing is pretty good, but he's sad he's gonna miss christmas, and we're both nervous that he won't be back in time for the baby to be born. . . i'm due 4/19 and that's about when they'll be sending him home (we hope). HOWEVER, it's better than the alternative, which was that he'd deploy on 4/26. . . yeah, i'll take this over that option ANY day of the week! :) he may miss the birth, but he won't miss the first 4 months of this baby's life. we both agree that we like this better. oh yeah, and i have friends here on base who are willing to help out if needed, including giving me a ride to the hospital when the time comes. :)

anyways, he'll be pretty safe where he's going, so i have every confidence that he'll make it home in 1 piece. he'll be doing his actual job this time instead of baby-sitting tcn's, so he's happy about that at least; tcn duty is super boring, from what i understand. so yeah, he's happy he'll be getting to do a job that he knows and enjoys, even if he has to be away from us for so long. we're also glad it's only 4 months, many of our friends and family have MUCH longer deployments b/c of having chosen to join the army or marines. even those in the navy are gone longer most the time.

this way too, there's almost no chance of him deploying again before his contract ends in a year. that means the largest space of time possible for him to look at his options for when that happens. it'll give him a chance to job hunt, apply to grad school, take the officer exam, and apply for ots. PLUS the extra money he'll be earning from being overseas can help fund any trips he has to make for job interviews, as well as hold us over financially if it takes a month or 2 before we find something that works for us. so, like i said, it'll suck to have him gone and possibly miss this baby's birth, but it really is the best timing we could have hoped for. :)

fighting the masses

so i decided to brave the crowds and fight the black friday masses at walmart, aka friday morning smackdown. i hadn't been able to fall asleep the night before until about midnight, so i already knew i was gonna be tired. i set my alarm for 4:30 so that i could still get there before the sale started but still get the maximum amount of sleep possible. what i didn't foresee was one of my friends calling at 3:55 that morning to see if i was up for the sales yet. it woke me up enough that i had no hope of falling back to sleep for another half hour, so i dragged my pregnant self out of bed and got my butt to walmart by 4:10

i spent the next 40 minutes trying to find the kitchenaid stand mixers that were supposed to be on sale for $130, and found basically everything else but them. i finally tracked down a manager to ask where they were at. turns out i'd passed them several times b/c they were on the same palate w/ a bunch of microwaves and i'd only walked along the microwave side. so at 4:50 i FINALLY figured out where i needed to be to get my hands on one of these things. there were 4 other women there for the same mixer. there were 5 mixers. seems cut and dry to me, each of us should get 1, right? well. . . not so much. one of the women decided she deserved 2, and b/c of where she and the other 3 were standing and how she'd angled her cart, there was no way i could wedge myself in there (even if i had NOT been twice my normal size thanks to baby and company) to grab "her" 2nd mixer, and none of the others could get out. ugh. i tried anyways, but didn't get one. i decided that it wasn't worth starting a fight in walmart over, so instead of yelling about the injustice of my being tired and pregnant and her getting my my way, i trucked it across the store to grab one of the portable dvd players and cases they were selling. i thought for sure they'd be gone by the time i got there, but i was pleasantly surprised to find at least 15 of them still there! happy day! the only other thng i'd planned to brave the sales at walmart for was a set of mega block for trevor. of course, that was on the OTHER end of the store. i swear, they must do these things on purpose. the 3 things i wanted were almost as far apart from each other as they could be. the only way they could have made them FARTHER apart would have been to put one of them in the automotive department. anyways, i figured out really fast that since all the sale items were in the main aisles, it was MUCH faster to go as far as i could through smaller aisles. well, i got to the point where i HAD to go through the main thoroughfare and got stuck. of course, being slightly cotton-headed from the lack of sleep, i'm still pushing my cart around, even though i only have 2 small boxes in it. DUH! i finally decide to ditch my cart in an empty aisle and carry my purchases the rest of the way. smart move on my part. it took me less than 2 minutes to get to the blocks and find my way to the check-out line (oh, and there were plenty of blocks, just as i'd suspected; apparently they weren't THAT hot a seller). i left the store at 5:20 after having to wait for a manager to come void the sale before mine b/c some guy was trying to pay for a $900 tv w/ a CHECK. um, yeah, not so much buddy. they made him go to customer service instead of dealing w/ him there though. that was nice, it could have been a much longer process.

once i was in my car and on my way to target, i called my dad. he lives in utah, so it was only 3:30 in the morning there. i begged him to go to his walmart and try and get me a mixer and i would pay him back. he said ok, so i was happy once again. i made awesome time getting to target, somehow managing to catch EVERY SINGLE LIGHT green! :) very happy evelyn! the only times i stopped were at stop signs, it was wonderful. and b/c it was so early, there were no slow people on the roads. target didn't open their doors till 6, so i stood outside in line w/ a couple hundred other people, wishing desperately that i'd thought about this part - i was wearing a sweater, but i was still cold. it's been warm during the day down here, but i don't go out in the middle of the night much, so i hadn't really thought about it. i survived though. . .

when the doors opened at 6, there were a few people who tried to jump in at the very front, but only 1 actually managed to get through. we were all tired, cold, and cranky and no one was gonna let anyone butt in front of them, not even friends. everyone was told to go to the end of the line, and they grudgingly complied. once i was inside, i knew basically where the things i wanted were located, but i was glad to find that the atmosphere was downright RELAXING after the madhouse they disguised as a walmart. anyways, i found the doodle pro i wanted to get for trevor and madgab for jon and myself. . . the rest of the things on my list weren't on sale, but i figured i'd just get them now to get it over w/. i found the side rails for trevor's big boy bed, as well as a comforter and 3 sets of sheets. i also grabbed a set of towels for our 2nd bathroom b/c up until now, all we'd bothered to buy was the rug and a hand towel. i grabbed a few of the dvds they had on sale (i hadn't planned to get any of those, but they were REALLY cheap, so i figured what the heck; i ended up w/ 5), as well as some infant tylenol and motrin too. i paid and went home after that.

jon was awesome and let me sleep in that morning. i was exhausted, and ended up sleeping till 11:30, late for me these days (usually, even given the chance to sleep in, i'm up by 9 or 10). while i ate breakfast, i looked over my receipts from my early morning adventures only to find that target had charged me $22 for the doodle pro that was advertised for only $10. we needed to go pick up some things from circuit city anyways (already paid for online), so we agreed to go back to target to fix the issue too. well, it turns out that the model i got was NOT on sale, but it had been the only one in the entire area. i was not happy. of course, i didn't think of this possibility, so i hadn't brought it w/ me to return. i looked to see if they had any other models, but to no avail.

i went back to walmart to see if they had a better price b/c $22 really is too much for a toy that's sure to break when trevor decides to stand on it the day after he gets it. i found a much more age appropriate model there for $16, as well as a nearly identical set of sheets to one of the ones i'd gotten from target (target sold them to me for $15, walmart only charged $9). i bought those, along w/ an ornament for trevor for the year and a few other things we needed that were not christmas related. i then returned to target for the THIRD time that day to return the doodle pro and 1 set of sheets.

one of the additional things i'd gotten from walmart was a set of towels. i figured we already had the bath mat and hand towel from there, so it made more sense to get the remaining items from there as well. individually they cost less than at target, again for a practically identical item, and we had fewer things we'd need to buy. of course, i hadn't thought about this until i was already out, so i had to make yet ANOTHER stop at target on saturday to return the towels i'd gotten the day before. oh well. . . oh yeah, and on saturday too, i got the crayola ultimate art supplies kit from walmart. . . jon's got to do this under-priviledged youth mentoring thing and he was told to get a gift for a 3rd grade girl. we know nothing else about her, so it was hard coming up w/ something that would fit in the $10 maximum price limit they set and be universally appealing. in the end, i figured this was a safe bet b/c even if she doesn't like to draw or color, most kids need crayons/colored pencils/markers for school.

oh, i almost forgot too, the whole thing w/ my dad and the mixer. . . so my dad called me while i was at target the first time to tell me that there were like 9 or 10 mixers at his walmart w/ at least 15 people in line for them. this was at 4 am his time! i told him thanks for trying, but no big deal. well, once i was home and trying to fall back to sleep, he called again to tell me he'd found one for me! :) it turns out that sears had them on sale for $199, but you ALSO got a $50 mail-in rebate. that was only $20 more than i'd intended to spend, so i was ok w/ it, especially after my dad offered to pay the additional cost. so yeah, i was WAY happy about that, and i can't wait to get my mixer! i have a feeling i'm gonna be doing a LOT more baking in the weeks and months to come. . . :)

so yeah, the experience ended on a happy note, but i'm not sure if i'll ever brave walmart on black friday that early in the morning again. although, next year i won't be pregnant, so maybe it won't be as bad - i'll be smaller and less tired and irritable. . . and i'll already have my mixer, so i won't be tempted to give anyone a beat down over that either. . . :)

snapfish deal!

ok, so i was looking for some discounts for things i needed to get online when i came across this deal from snapfish: if you use the code DAILYDEALSNOV, it'll give you $10 off $25. the code is good till 12/5/08, according to what i read. i haven't tested it out yet, so i don't know how reliable it is, but i wanted to let you all know about it either way. if you try it, let me know if it works!

taking advantage. . .

so, i was excited to find out that cvs was actually open on thanksgiving day. i took full advantage as soon as my turkey was in the oven! here's what i got--

1) clairol hydrience haircolor (on sale for $8.49; earns 5 ecb's), 2 aussie conditioners (on sale $2.99 each; earns 2.99 ecb's; used $1 off any aussie hair care product coupons for each as well), johnson & johnson soft lotion (on sale $5.69; earns 5.69 ecb's), 2 l'oreal color juice sheer lipgloss (on sale $6.99; earns 6.99 ecb's; used $1 off any l'oreal product coupons for each as well), oster 10-cup rice cooker (on sale $19.99; earns 10 ecb's) maybelline mineral powder liquid foundation (on sale $8.99). paid $63.54, got 40.56 ecb's.
2) sonicare essence 5300 toothbrush (on sale for $49.99). used ecb's from previous purchase, paid $9.99.

so, i paid $73.53 and saved $89.95. that means i saved 55.02% on $163.48 worth of stuff. wahoo! i would've saved more, but for some reason, even though the maybelline foundation tag said limit 2 ecb deals, the register only gave me 1 deal (that was on monday; the ad says limit 1 too, which is why i didn't make a fuss when i realized it didn't give me any ecb's for it today). oh well. so i was out an extra $8.99. . . if i'd gotten that, i'd have only paid like, $1 or so for the sonicare. . . but still, $10 is a great deal on that, considering the original price was $82.99. happy evelyn and happier evelyn's dentist! :)

cvs again! :)

ok, so i'm back at it, full strength now. i went to cvs again today and will be going back this weekend for the AWESOME deals they're gonna have for black friday. :) here's what i got today--

1) 9 monster energy drinks (should have been 10, but i missed 1 in my cart, oops!; they're on sale 2/$3), 12 oz. complete multipurpose solution (on sale $8.99; used $2 off coupon), maybelline mineral powder liquid foundation (on sale $8.99). paid $30.87, got 21.98 ecb's.
2) my missing monster energy drink, 2 scotch magic tape 3-packs (on sale 2/$5), 2 boxes of candy canes (on sale for 88 cents each), 8 herbal essences anti-dandruff shampoos (clearenced at $3.69 each; used 4 coupons for $3.00 off any 2 herbal essences products), tic-tacs. used ecb's from previous purchase, paid $4.25. got 1 ecb.

here's the obligatory picture--

so, in total, i spent $35.12 and saved $61.74. so i saved 63.7% on $96.86 worth of stuff. happy day! :) i haven't reached my limit on a couple of things, so i'll likely get more when i go back this weekend. :)

excited about this

so we decided to make it a family tradition to have the missionaries over for dinner on christmas eve. i decided that this year, in addition to dinner/dessert, i wanted to put together a missionary-friendly care package for them, especially since i've gotten such great deals on things and we have more than we'll use in the next few years. so yeah, here's what they're getting: toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, chapstick, gum, hand sanitizer, a couple candy bars, a tube of orange rolls, a couple candy canes, and some cookies. i still have to get the orange rolls and candy canes and make the cookies, but other than that, we've got everything. the only things i paid for out of pocket were the chapstick, sanitizer, and candy bars! i know it's not alot, but from what i've heard about cash flow (or lack thereof) on the mission, anything useful is appreciated by these guys. :) so yeah, i'm hoping they'll enjoy it. i'm thinking about getting them each a stocking to put all this stuff in, but i dunno; if not, i'll just put it in a gift bag or something like that. . . any opinions? any suggestions for what kind of cookies to make for them? anything else that's small and affordable that i could include?

it's been a while. . .

well, it's been a while since i posted anything, even longer since i've posted about any deals i've gotten. . . i figured it was time i finally got back to cvs, so after TWO MONTHS of not going or even bothering to check their ads, i got up off my lazy pregnant butt and found some pretty great deals. so here i go. . .

1) 3 packs of 4 AA duracell batteries, 1 pack of AAA duracell batteries ($5 off duracell cvs coupon). saved $5, paid $17.29; got 15 ecb's.
2) 2 crest 4.2 oz. prohealth whitening toothpaste ($1 off coupon for each tube); 1 right guard deodorant (75 cent off coupon), 3 soft & dri deodorants (had 55 cent peelies on each one, yay!). used ecb's from previous purchase. saved $25.14; paid $0.14; got 14.98 ecb's.
3)10 candy bars (on sale 2/$1), 6 suave body wash (on sale 3/$5), 3 suave deodorants (on sale 3/$5), 2 cover girl mascaras, 2 cover girl eyeshadows (4 coupons, each for $1 off any cover girl product; deal on these was buy cg mascara, get eyeshadow or eyeliner free), 2 chapsticks, 2 pen-size hand sanitizing spray, 3 orbitz gum 14-ct. packs (coupon printed from previous transaction for buy 2, get 1 free orbitz). used ecb's from previous purchase. saved $43.96, paid $30.18.

here's a picture of today's spoils:

so, in total, i saved $73.10 and spent $47.61. that means i saved just over 60% on $120.71 worth of stuff. happy day! :)

dang it though - i just was looking at my receipt and it seems for my 2nd transaction, i ended up LOSING money! grr! i had $18.94 worth of stuff, but $19.95 worth of coupons, if you include ecb's. ugh! i lost a dollar that i could have used to buy something else. . . poop on them for not telling me and double poop on me for not noticing! :*(

ultrasound!!!!! :D

ok, so i went for my first ultrasound today and it was AWESOME! :) we got to see the baby moving all over the place, as well as hear the heartbeat (171)! i'm measuring right on schedule, so that's good to know, and there is DEFINITELY only 1 baby in there. i had to put that in print for all the nay-sayers out there. :P anyways, everything looks good and the baby is doing well. here are the pictures they gave me b/c i know everyone is dying to see! :)

next ultrasound will be in december sometime - hopefully the liitle one will cooperate and let us see if it's a boy or girl! we're hoping girl, but would love another boy too - send all your pink dust our way!

cvs again!

ok, so dh decided to help cash in on the savings, so we got him a card too. . . i wasn't sure if it'd work, but it did, so happy day! so, between the 2 of us, here's what we got--

dh: 1 trip to the register - 5 bottles propel (1 liter), 2 crest pro-health rinse (250 mL), 1 adidas men's deodorant. used 75 cent off coupons for the mouthwash and $1 off for the deodorant. paid $14.29 and saved $8.45. got back 11 ecb's. (saving them for another trip to the store)

me: 2 trips to the register--

1) same as dh's trip, only i also used a $2 off $10 cvs coupon (they were suspicious about it and weren't sure if it was legit, so dh didn't wanna push it by trying to use one too). i paid $12.15 and saved $10.45. got back 11 ecb's.

2) 1 bottle selsun blue, 2 vaseline intensive care body lotions, 3 reese's fast break bars. used $1.25 off coupons for lotions, plus another $2 off $10 cvs coupon. also used all my ecb's from the previous order paid 8 cents, saved $18.17. got 1 ecb to use next time. :)

here's my stuff--

we did pretty well, imho. we have $12 between the 2 of us that we can use next time, and we got stuff that we'll definietly use in the future. :)

triple coupons = happy evelyn!

ok, so this weekend harris teeter is tripling coupons worth up to 99 cents! i've spent the past week getting organized for this and it's paid off! i still have to go back for a few more things, but i did very well today. i thought their policy was that you could only use 20 coupons at a time, but you could go through the line as many times as you like; however, it turns out that you're limited to 20 coupons per household per day at each particular store. . . i found this out on my 5th trip through the checkout. oh well. anyways here's what i got and how much it cost--

1) 4 mrs. dash marinades, 10 canisters oatmeal (18 oz.), 8 lipton/knorr sides, 10 oz. bottle french's worchstershire sauce, 1 box pillsbury brownie mix. used these coupons, all of which were trippled: 75 cents off mrs. dash marinades (4), 50 cents off quaker oatmeal 18 oz. or larger (10), 60 cents off 2 knorr sides (4), 35 cents off french's worchestershire sauce, 40 cents off pillsbury brownie mix. oatmeal was on sale 2 for $3. i paid $7.99 and saved $51.25.

2) 4 betty crocker cookie mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar cake mixes, 2 pillsbury reduced sugar frostings, 10 packs always pantiliners (20 ct.). coupons: 40 cents off betty crocker cookie mix (4), 40 cents off pillsbury reduced sugar cake mix OR frosting (4), 50 cents off any always pantiliner (10). i paid $6.84 and saved $21.50.

3) 1 smart balance cooking spray, 2 hungry jack pancake mix (32 oz.), 17 g.u.m. toothbrushes. coupons: 50 cents off any smart balance product (1), 55 cents off any hungry jack pancake mix or syrup (2), 75 cents off any g.u.m. toothbrush. i spent $3.92 and saved $43.05

4) 8 boxes quaker chewy granola bars, 2 boxes nature valley granola bars, 10 bottles dawn direct foam, 8 cans ortega diced green chilies (4 oz.). coupons: 75 cents off any 2 boxes quaker chewy granola bars (4), 50 cents off any nature valley granola bars (2), 50 cents off any dawn direct foam or dawn simple pleasures (10), 75 cents off any 2 ortega products (4). the quaker granola bars were on sale for 2/$4. i paid $25.45 and saved $70.19.

5) 4 hunt's snack packs (4-packs), 10 wishbone italian salad dressings (8 oz.), 8 pillsbury crescent rolls (4 oz. packages). coupons: 30 cents off any 2 snack pack products, 60 cents off wishbone salad dressing (thee were specific dressings, i just got the cheapest one allowed by the coupon), 35 cents off any pillsbury crescent roll. snack packs were on sale 5 for $5. i paid $ 5.86 and saved $31.32.

in all, i spent $51.06 and saved $217.31. i got $268.37 worth of stuff, meaning i saved 81%!!!!! VERY happy evelyn! here's a picture--

the best part is that now we have a really good supply of non-perishable foods in case we ever need to live off what we've got in the house. i'd been feeling the need to have food storage for the last few months and was worried we wouldn't be able to fit it into our budget, but we have! we have enough stuff in there that i feel ok about not buying stuff for it every paycheck now. i'd like to get some more protein items in there, maybe a few more fruits and veggies, but it's sufficient for survival and that's what's important.

when i'd finished putting things away today and was looking at it, i got all teary-eyed! it surprised me. . . it feels good though, to have done something so simple to be prepared and to know that we've followed the prophet's counsel. and since i won't be buying as much stuff for our food storage now, our grocery bills should decrease dramatically - and that'll help IMMENSELY. we want to start paying on my student loans before they begin to collect interest, and this is gonna be a huge help it getting us there. i know it won't get paid off before i start earning interest, but every little bit will help.

the kmart here is also running a special till next weekend - they're doubling coupons worth up to $2! i went the other day and was pretty happy w/ my "purchases". . . i put it in quotes b/c i didn't pay anything. . . i got 4 bottles of dove conditioner and 1 bottle of sunsilk gel, but w/ the coupons i had, i ended up owing nothing. it was pretty sweet. i'm planning to go back again, maybe this afternoon. . . i'm hoping they've restocked their pert plus b/c those will be free as well. . . and they have cascadian farms frozen veggies for $2.23, but w/ my coupons for $1, when they double, i'll only pay 23 cents per bag! happy day! anyways, i'm pretty excited about all the deals that i've gotten this week. . . i probably won't post about the rest of the stuff i get, but you get the idea. when i go back to harris teeter tomorrow, i'm planning to get 3 boxes of smucker's uncrustables, 2 packages of dannon activia yogurt, and 2 tubs of land o lakes margarine. . . at kmart, i'll get whatever i can for less than $10 total. . . it'll probably be mostly toiletries and frozen veggies, but that's ok. . . anyways, my hands are starting to hurt and i should get some lunch into myself and trevor. . .

hit cvs - it's been a while. . .

ok, so it's been a while since i've seen any deals on anything we needed and had coupons for AND had the money for me to get extra stuff, but i finally got back to cvs. i did really well this time! here's what i got--

1) 5 right guard xtreme, 6 progresso soups. 5 coupons for $1 off right guard, plus 3 peelies for 55 cents each; 3 coupons for 50 cents off 2 cans progresso soup. (right guard got $2 ecb each; soups were b1g1) paid $16.83, saved $29.56. got $10 ecb.
2) 10 tubes colgate toothpaste (various types, i just got what they still had on the shelf), 10 lady speed sticks (also various kinds, again, i got what was available). 10 coupons for 75 cents off colgate; 10 coupons for $1 off lady speed stick. (colgate toothpastes and mennen deodorants on sale b1g1). used $10 ecb from previous purchase. paid $6.51, saved $54.80.

it totaled $23.34 out of pocket w/ a savings of $84.36! so i got $107.70 worth of stuff! :D and we'll SO never have to buy toothpaste again! (b/c in addition to what i bought today, we already had like 15 or 20 tubes at home. . . ) anyways, here's my haul--



also, i was kicking myself afterwards b/c i had $4 off $20 coupon for cvs at home, plus the $2 off $10 you can print off. . . poo. . .

new house

ok, so i finally got around to taking pictures of our new house to post. . . here you go!

front yard--

living room--

dining room--

kitchen (still messy b/c i don't have enough cabinet space to put everything)--

trevor's room--
(from doorway)

(from corner w/ chair)

trevor's bathroom (love, love, love the shower curtain!)--

master bedroom/bathroom (sorry about the mess, i took these in the midst of my hurricane packing panic)--

there's also the 3rd bedroom, but it's still a mess w/ boxes that have yet to be unpacked. it'll be the new baby's room when spring comes, so once it's done, i'll post pictures of it too. . . but that probably won't be till after new year's. . .

not as great savings, but savings nonetheless

ok, so the things i got at cvs today weren't THAT great of deals, but it was mostly stuff we needed. jon hurt his back during pt today, so he wanted stuff to help it feel better. . . so anyways, i only made 1 trip to the register today b/c nothing i bought got ecb's, but whatever. . . here's what i got--

2 60-ct. boxes puffs plus tissues (on sale for 88 cents each, plus i had 25 cent off coupons)
2 20-ct. packages of cascade 2-in-1 action packs (on sale for $3.49 each, which is $3 off the regular price; i was disappointed here b/c i HAD coupons for these, but they expired a month ago. . . sad day)
cvs brand heat wrap 2-pack for backs (on sale for $3.99)
cvs brand 30-ct. nasal strips (like breathe right)
0.63 oz. tub tiger balm

i also had a coupon for $4 off a purchase of $20 or more, so i used that too. i spent $27.54, but saved $14.54, so not terrible, but definitely not my best either. oh well. . . they haven't had many good things on sale the last 2 weeks, so unfortunately, i haven't had much cvs-inspired fun. . . hopefully the week after next will be better. i'm actually kinda hoping next week's sales suck b/c i won't have time to get there most likely (b/c we're moving), but we'll see. if they have good deals, i'll find a way to get there anyways. :)

ok, so as always, here's a picture of my loot--

baby #2 on the way!

so we found out yesterday that i'm pregnant again! yay! i'm really happy that the timing on this worked out so well. we were hoping that i'd be able to get pregnant soon so that i wouldn't have to miss my brother's wedding at the end of may b/c i was too pregnant to fly. it'll work out well b/c i'm due april 19, so i'll have a baby somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks old by the time we need to get out there. also, if we end up being able to afford to go to hawaii for new year's as planned, i'll be done w/ my 1st trimester and the morning sickness i'll inevitably get. anyways, i'm really excited, as is jon, even though he's annoyed w/ the fact that we have to move. . . 2 bedrooms is fine, i just don't think any of us would get any sleep if we had to share a room w/ a newborn, you know? so yeah, besides that minor annoyance, we're both really happy and excited about this. we're hoping for a girl this time around, but i guess we'll have to wait and see.

anyways, for those of you who want to see, here's my pregnancy test; the 2nd line is faint, but it's definitely there--

holy coupons, batman!

ok, so i'm a little obsessed. er. . . ALOT obsessed. . . it's like a disease, really. i jumped in the recycling dumpster again this morning and TOTALLY hit the jackpot! my entire backseat was full of newspapers w/ coupon sections hidden w/in their folds, so i enlisted the help of some friends who are just as ill as i am to help me sort through the mess and we ended up w/ some AWESOME deals! b/c of this, i went to cvs tonight and saved SO much money! :) i only made 2 trips to the register this time. . .

1) 2 colgate toothpastes (on sale for $2.99 each) and 5 crest toothpastes (on sale for $2.49 each). i had a coupon for $1.50 off colgate, plus another for $1 off. for the crest i had 75 cent off coupons for each one. i paid $13.47 and saved $10.75. i got 11.5 ecb's (4 for the colgate, 1.5 each for the crest)
2) 18 dawn dish soaps (11 oz. bottle were on sale for 88 cents each), 9 pert plus (would have gotten more, but that's all they had; were on sale b1g1), 2 orajel training toothpaste (also b1g1). i had 50 cent off coupons for every bottle of dawn, $2 for each pert plus. those, in conjunction w/ my ecb's got me down to a grand total of $1.10. but here's the kicker: i have a mail-in rebate for $1.50 for the orajel, so it's like they PAID ME 40 cents to take all that away from the store!

here's my haul--

so, today i spent $14.57 (minus the $1.50 'll get back from the rebate), and i saved $90.68! i SO TOTALLY ROCK! i was so excited as we were walking out of the store, i couldn't stop smiling and giggling!jon totally thinks i'm crazy, but he's happy w/ today's little shopping trip anyways. happy day! :)

rite aid, walgreens, and cvs oh my!

ok, so i went deal hunting again this week and got better deals at some store than others. i still have a couple more places to hit. . .

ok, so first off, i'd never neeb to rite aid and i had an old circular (like a month old b/c i wasn't paying attention), sad day. i still got some stuff, but i ended up paying more for it than expected, as well as getting different things than i'd intended. i ended up getting 3 cans of pringles and 3 lady speed stick deodorants. . . i had coupons for them all, so like i said, i still got good deals, they just weren't as good as i'd expected. the coupon i THOUGHT i could stack was actually expired. sad day. . . anyways, i shredded the receipt before i had a chance to get on here and brag about the deals i got, so all i remember is w/ the pringles, i got 30 cents off 3 cans total (so it was like buying them at 89 cents each; the coupon that had expired was to buy them for 89 cents each, THEN i was gonna use this one to get them for 79 cents each. of well), and the deodorants were on sale for 99 cents each, but i had coupons for like, 50 or 75 cents off, i don't remember. whatever it was, i paid less than $5 total. . .

ok, so walgreens was a new experience for me as well. i did a little better there than at rite aid though. i got 2 boxes of fruity pebbles (they were b1g1, plus i had a coupon for $1 off when you buy 2), 5 boxes of kraft mac & cheese (stacked the walgreen's 69 cent a box coupon w/ a $1 off when you buy 5 coupon so it came out to 49 cents a box), 2 adidas body washes (on sale b1g1, plus i had a coupon for $1 off 1), and 3 oil of olay body wahses (on sale 3/$10, plus i had $2 off coupons for each one, so i got 3/$4 yay!). my total ended up coming out to $14.82, but i got $41.71 worth of stuff; that means i saved $26.89! yay! oh, and i have $3 in register rewards i can spend next time around!

cvs, of course, wasawesome as well, although i have to admit walgreens was the best deal this week. i made 8 trips to the register in 2 days. . .

7.31.08--
1) bandaid brand bandages 40 ct. i paid a whopping total of $3.20 and got 2 ecb.
2) clairol hydrience hair dye. on sale for $4.99, plus $1 off coupon and 2 ecb from previous purchase gave me an out of pocket total of $1.20.

8.1.08--
1) 4 3-packs of ivory bar soap. i paid $5.95 and got 2 ecb.
2) 2 40-ct. packs fo o.b. tampons. used 2 coupons, each for $1.50 off, plus 2 ecb from previous purchase. paid $10.46 and got 5 ecb.
3) 3 balmex (4 oz. size). used 2 coupons each for 75 censt off, and a 3rd coupon for $1 off, plus 5 ecb from previous pruchase. i paid $12.98 and got 6 ecb.
4) 1 e.p.t. 1-ct. pregnancy test. used $3 off coupon and 6 ecb from previous purchase. paid $5.23 and got 4 ecb. (only way to beat that price is to get the $ store ones. i was pretty proud of this purchase b/c it was like getting it for $1.23 after you factor in the ecb!)
5) 2 palmolive dish soap (b1g1), 2 flintstones vitamins (b1g1 50% off). used 2 coupons each for $1 off flintstones vitamins and 4 ecb from previous purchase. paid $7.22.
6) 24 ct. cvs brand ibupofen. at some point in all my transactions today, they printed me out a coupon for a free cvs ibuprofen up to $3.49, so this cost me absolutely nothing, not even coupons or ecb! :) i saved $3.39 here.

so, over the past 2 days at cvs, i spent $46.24 on $91.67 worth of stuff. i saved $45.43.

to date i've spent $96.00 on $220.82 for a total savings of $124.82!

jon thnks i'm crazy, but whatever, if i can get good deals this way. i'll do it! i'm still trying to get my hands on a few things from cvs, but i'll get there. later today i'm gonna stop at k-mart and target to take advantage of some deals they've got going too! :)

save a ton at cvs!

ok, so i have FABULOUS news: i've saved SO MUCH MONEY in the past week! wahoo!!!!! first of all, click here for a free sample of ob tampons, and click here for a $1.50 off coupon as well. ok, so that aside, now let me let of my adventures at cvs. . .

my friends have been telling me that i should really get into couponing and cvs's ecb deals, but i wasn't sure and neither was jon. well, i decided to give it a try and here's what i ended up getting and how much i paid for it all:

7.24.08 i made 3 trips to the register--
1) 5 glade scented oil candle refills, 2 coupons for said candles ($2 off 2 and $3 off 3), and 2 boxes of 135-count kotex pantiliners. i paid $20.09 and got $7 in ecb's
2) 2 cvs brand 375-count cotton swabs, 2 cvs brand baby lotion, 2 cvs brand baby oil, and 2 cvs brand baby shampoo. used $7 ecb's from previous purchase. paid $7.49 and got $5 ecb.
3) 3 bottles clean & clear morning burst facial cleanser. used $5 ebs from previous purchase. paid $13.88 and got $5 ecb's

7.25.08 i made 4 trips to the register--
1) 3 l'oreal vive pro hydra gloss shampoo, 3 l'oreal vive pro hyrda gloss conditioner, 3 buy 1, get 1 free coupons for shampoo and conditioners (plus they were one sale for b1g1, so they were all free), 2-pack crest w/ scope toothpaste. i paid $6.92 and got $2 ecb's
2) 2 cvs 22-count pantiliners. used $2 ecb's, paid nothing, got $2 ecb's
3) 2 blade 12 oz. body wash. used $2 ecb's from previous purchase, plus $5 ecb's from yesterday's last purchase. paid $1.07 and got $2 ecb's
4) 2 crayola 24-count crayons (on sale as b1g1). used $2 ecb's from previous purchase. paid $0.31

i added it all up and here's what i came up w/: i spent a total of $49.76 on $129.15 worth of stuff. that means i saved $79.39 or 61.47%! it's like christmas only better b/c it doesn't cost as much! :)

here's my haul--

i'm way excited too b/c later today i'm gonna go dumster diving at the recycling center w/ some friends to get massive stacks of coupons for when i go grocery shopping on thursday. happy evelyn! :)