Sunday, July 24, 2011

Deals today

Today was AMAZING at CVS. I got there early enough (6:45 AM) to get everything on my list AND to see my friend and fellow couponer Lindsey. It was fun shopping together!

I went in with $3 Extra Care Bucks, a 25% off coupon CVS emailed to me, and a big ol' stack of coupons and walked away paying $12.50 for everything here. I browsed around to see if we needed anything else and ending up leaving with $7 in Extra Care Bucks that can be used like cash for next time. Woo hoo!! I may go in later this week and use the $7 to get laundry detergent and soda. I'm so excited about these good deals this week :-)



-3 boxes Kleenex with lotion
-2 boxes Great Grains cereal
-1 Skintimate cream shave lotion for me
-1 Edge shaving gel for Nate
-2 Schick 4 packs of XTreme 3 blade disposable razors
-1 box Kotex U tampons
-1 5 count package Zyrtec
-3 large size Softsoap pumps
-2 jars Almay eye makeup remover pads
-2 bottles Aussie curl mousse
-1 package Oral-B Satin floss

Fun weekend!

We have had such a fun weekend so far. On Friday night we went to Food Truck Friday in Tower Grove Park. There were almost 20 food trucks lined up and we enjoyed some really tasty food! We had crepes, Korean bbq tacos, Cha Cha Chow short rib tacos, and Vi even had strawberry ice cream. It was hot out but everything was in the shade so we were fine. They even had a sprinkler set up for kiddos. We can't wait to go again next month!



You can see a couple food trucks here.



We love summer!


Making friends at the sprinkler


Saturday morning we left Violet with Theresa and we headed to Ste. Genevieve to use our Groupon for Crown Valley Brewery. We got to tour the brewery, sample several brews, and take home a growler of our favorite. It was a fun little getaway!

Every time I tell the hubs to look excited for a picture, this is what happens.


Or this.


Or this?

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Love and Science

Something wonderful happened at the Science Center yesterday. It seemed like just another fun day out. We met up with some friends from our playgroup. We went somewhere fun, free, and air conditioned. I was worn out by the time we got home.

Sometime during the course of the morning I fell head over heels in love with my toddler. I always LOVE her, but sometimes I feel IN LOVE with her right where she's at. Not a tiny baby wrapped close to me, not a clingy 9-month old who only wants mama, not an unsure 1-year-old still a little unsteady, but a confident and fun-loving toddler. I'm loving her right where she is and we had SO MUCH FUN together. Sure, I didn't get to hardly say more than 10 words to my mom friends and I didn't get any "me" time. I decided to let her show me what was fun and to just follow her to what she wanted to do and it was so nice. We ran up and down a big ramp playing "get you, get you" nearly 50 times. Let me tell you that her giggle was contagious! We sat on the bridge and looked out the window to see cars going down the highway for 45 minutes! We found trucks, cars, and motorcycles. I made myself look silly playing "slow, fast" with her where we hold hands and walk slow then we walk really fast. She thinks it's the coolest game ever! I cherish these pictures because it reminds me how special this time is and how much fun my little toddler is!

She can climb up all by herself


Trying to build the Arch out of blocks (can you spot the Yo My Goodness tattoo on her arm?) This girl loves frozen treats!


I like this one because you can tell she's in motion because everything is blurry behind her. She's too busy to eat the snacks that she's carrying around because everything else is way too fascinating.

Beating the Heat

Since it's been way too hot to go play outside lately, we've been doing some unusual things to keep busy.

Hanging out in the bathtub. (No water)



Reading in the tub



Trying on the Moby wrap to see how it works with a toddler. The wrap works great but wearing it makes me a horrible photographer.



A fun afternoon at The Magic House



Walking down the ramp like a big girl

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Deals this weekend

After hosting a coupon class this weekend I was particularly motivated to go out and find some deals this weekend. I did find some free Sharpies, Papermate pen 10-packs, and tape for free at Target. Check the Target website for good coupons to match up with the school supplies sales they have going on now!

I went to CVS and Walgreens this afternoon and paid $7.50 out of pocket. I did have some Register Rewards and Extra Care Bucks leftover from last week I used to bring the prices down. If I don't need anything immediately or nothing is really at a "stock-up price" I save the Rewards and Bucks for the next week.

I got:
-2 12 packs of Cottonelle toilet paper
-1 bottle Simply Orange juice
-2 big Milka brand candy bars for the Mr.
-2 mini highlighters (filler items at Walgreens)
-3 assorted 12 packs of Pepsi products


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Remodel

We've been talking about remodeling our bathroom for a while and we finally decided to just go ahead and do it. We are lucky to have a friend who very successfully flips houses and knows how to do great work on a tight budget! The DiMartinis came over and spent the day helping us. The bathroom got a major facelift: new paint, new vanity and sink, new medicine cabinet, and new light fixture. It looks great! The guys spent the day working while the girls went to the pool :-)


Old bathroom - hollywood lights, oak finishes, and a shell sink.





Demo! The guys discovered a recessed spot for a medicine cabinet which saves a lot of space.


New bathroom! Crisp white paint above the tile, smaller white vanity really makes the room feel bigger, smaller and recessed medicine cabinet, and new square brushed nickel and white light fixture.


Gorgeous!


Thanks to Contractor Michael and sous Contractor Nate, this project came in under $200 and looks fantastic. Great work, guys!

Fun week

For the Fourth of July our tradition is to make homemade ice cream. We've recently discovered that Violet LOVES ice cream!

It was a little too hot to be outside, so we had an ice cream and applesauce party. It was messy and fun!


Yum!


Reading a book in her big chair


At the Botanical Gardens again! And then the pool in the afternoon...


We've been worn out!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Deals

I went to CVS this morning and scored a pretty good deal. I paid $30 out of pocket and got:
-2 16 double rolls packages of Charmin
-2 bottles of Head & Shoulders shampoo
-2 boxes of Kashi crackers
-1 box of Puffs kleenexes
-1 bottle of Dawn dish soap
-1 Oral-B cross action toothbrush (free)
-2 Orbit 3-packs of gum
-1 big pack of Twizzlers nibs
-1 Air Delight chocolate bar (it was free!)
-The best part is 1 $10 Shell Gas Gift Card that I got for buying specially marked products

The Charmin is $15 each usually, so I'm thinking of it like I paid for the Charmin and got everything else for free plus a $10 gas card!




Now that I'm getting a little bit more coupon savvy, we've really been saving money on personal products. Last week I went grocery shopping at Sappington Farmer's Market and Target and we needed a LOT! I spent $98 and saved $36 so that's like everything was 36% off. Definitely worth the little bit of time it takes to clip coupons, check ads, and get organized! Come to the coupon class I'm hosting on July 15th so you can start saving!

The website I use most often to find deals and help get organized is: Clippin' With Carie

Friday, July 1, 2011

Random

Doesn't this look like some lame senior picture? Why do photographers have you stand somewhere weird like next to a fence, on a hay bail, or next to your car? And she clearly does not think it's a cool pose!


We had this pizza for dinner tonight. It was amazing! The balsamic drizzle (on half, the Mr. likes the "purity" of the other toppings) made it ridiculous. Maybe I'll make this for you next time you come over?



One of my favorite signs: Airplane! Ok, so, this is not the official sign. But we were outside recently and she heard one fly over us and wanted to know what it was. So I started waving my arms around and she just put her arms up like this. Hilarious!