Thursday Update

I am pooped so I am just going to post a few pictures. Tomorrow is scooter's birthday and I am going to take her to the mall (ok that is more for me) and someplace where she can eat pancakes. I think a trip to Ihop is in the works :)

Lunch! I strip her down to her diaper and slippers then pin a towel to her. She is way past the bib stage when she feeds herself. She really likes things like this especially with carrots in them.

Playing with her ponies. Won't she be happy to see mama's collection My Little Ponies (yes, I am a big goober). I am going to put them in her playroom as soon as it is a playroom and not a junk room.

He said this then she said that...hello are you listening to me?
(she was dragging her toys out the door today!)
A baby for my baby!

night night!

Wednesday Update

Oops, I forgot to do an update!

Everything here is just normal. Got to love it! I have some cute Thursday pictures to post for tonight :)

Tuesday Update

Today was just a good day overall :)

Scooter had an ophthalmologist appointment today. It was the quickest visit ever, they dilated her eyes and just made sure the insides of her eyes looked ok. They do! When she is older she'll have a real eye appointment. I think this appointment was set up because the bridge of her little nose is so flat. From some angles she looks cross eyed but that is really common for Chinese kids. He also said that her upper eye lids would be less puffy as she grew, that was just baby puff. Her upper eyelids did concern me some, my family has a problem where our eyelids get stretched out or something and they are lifted by cutting in the fold. Scooter doesn't have a fold and I don't want to artificially give her one. So good news about her eyelids (eyeballs too!)

I am really in my groove with the crockpot. The baby LOVES beans. They are the perfect bite sized food and they are nice and mushy. She just plows through them, it's so cute! I had a DUH moment today. Instead of making one big pot of beans and seasoning mine every time, use the two smaller crockpots that I was given that I've never used. So I made two different kinds of beans, one for me, one for her. Mine has those white beans, taco seasoning, tomatoes, a lot of Tabasco, ground beef and a little bit of cheese. Hers are milder, white beans, ground beef, carrots and a little bit of cheese. I think she'll love it!



I had someone ask if I was going vegan. Not really, I add pork and beef to the beans. I've always loved soup of any kind but it is just too overwhelming to make a big pot of something for myself. The baby likes soups too so she is making it more fun for me to make stuff in the crockpot.


The stock market is going back up. I lost 65% of my account but it's recovered to about a 40% loss. For some reason 65% is devastating, 40% is just bad. I think with day trading I can fix the 40%. Ok, I *hope* I can fix the 40%!

My Jan project is going so slow. But I am freecycling 6 trash bags of packing supplies left over from my Ebay days. That frees up a ton of room so I can sort :)

I'd like to do a free plug for something hahah I love Natalie's baby gap jammies. Today was the first time she wore them. I didn't know how a tight PJ was going to look or feel but she danced in them so we are all good. Regular price they are $19 which is insane. I got two pair for $4 something each the other day. Well worth the $4, I wish I had gotten all the different sizes for later on. Next time I will know! :)

I got the baby's quilt on the wall finally. I wanted clips but they were $30 for the set and looked complicated. I sewed 2 loops and hooked them on nails. I stuck fake flowers on the nails to hide them. It looks a little odd, but it was cheap!



Someone asked me how often I had to vacuum in a day. It is 3-5 times a day because of the furbutts


I'll leave you with one last picture, aawww


Night night!

Monday Update

I put a pound of those white dried beans (are those called navy beans?) in with a little pork and mushroom in the crockpot. After they cooked overnight I added a stew seasoning packet.

I liked them pretty well, but not as well as Natalie!



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CVS Fix

I don't think there is anything else I can buy at CVS this week for a deal and it's only Monday. sniff sniff :(

I got two more packs of cottonelle, 4 huge Fructis shampoos and a bottle of Samucol (an immunity booster for when you are sick). The Samucol was $12.99 with a $10 ECB but mine wouldn't print so they gave me a gift card. No biggie, I'll end up spending it next week anyway :)

Also there is a mail in rebate for Sambucol here!

UPDATE
Ok, I've had a DUH moment. Why talk about printables on other blogs without providing them?

DUH!

Stayfree $1 off, prints once
soyjo $1 off of 4, prints once
Advil PM, $2 off print as many as you need
Robitussin, $3 off print as many as you need
Arm and Hammer toothpaste, I was able to hit the back button and print it twice, $1 off

Cost of Goods - $430.25
Out of pocket - $43.55
ECBS to spend - $24

Cloth Diapers :)

I think the cloth diapers are going really well. Natalie's diaper rash is gone and washing them is really no big deal. There is something fun about hanging them all up to dry, it's very Little House on the Prairie -ish!

If you want to use cloth too and you are in my situation of having to go back to work after spending 3 months with the baby I have some suggestions.

If you have unlimited funds and you are doing cloth just to save the world, go and buy Fuzzi Bunz diapers. I would order 24 so you can do laundry every three days. But that is almost $400. But if you are going to have multiple kids, go ahead and splurge, the resale value on these diapers are great (weird I know). Get the large size, you'll be able to adjust the snaps down to a size medium with no issues.

If you are limiting your purchases, I'd like to recommend Dappi wraps and prefolds. The prefolds are really easy to use I think. I am seriously using two diaper pins, nothing fancy at all. The Dappi covers are available on Ebay for $2 each. You could get by on 24 prefolds and 8 covers. Or make your life easier and get 18 wraps like I did lol and have 50-60 diapers to go in them! Since scooter has a detergent allergy, I fluff my diapers in the dryer to knock off the lint then they air dry.

Be sure to be on the lookout for flannel sheets while yardsaling this year. You can cut them up and make wipes. Might as well, you are already washing diapers, wipes take up zero room in the washer. Be sure to look for cloth diapers too, people try them, don't put them on right (like I was in the beginning) and give up. Wash them once with bleach then toss them in with your dirties to be washed again later. It's that easy :)

Sunday Update

I know its after midnight but I forgot to post these. I am suffering from insomnia, I haven't had that problem in a long time.

I started thinking of all the cute outfits that Natalie will be too big for in the summer. This kitty outfit came from Bonnie (thanks Bonnie!) and I just love it. So all the little outfits that I love, by golly I am putting the baby in them and taking pictures! lol



Can you believe what that stinker did? Last night at 11pm she screamed. I guess in her sleep she clawed herself on the forehead. I can't keep her nails short enough, it is a big issue right now. A nice big boo boo just in time for her first year pictures!


Baby all greased up in neosporin, mama wants a good party picture!

And please don't think she spends all her time in the walker, exersaucer or crib. Because I'm single I rarely have anyone here to hold her while I take pictures. When she is confined she's easier to photograph!

20,000 Hits today :)

I just wanted to mention that since June 22nd 2006 I've had 20,000 hits to the site :)

Hi everyone!

CVS Deals today

Is there a 12 step program for CVS? Sheez, I'm a wild woman!

I went there with my coupons and had it all figured out. But I forgot shampoo then saw someone I knew (hi Angie, but a different Angie than below!) and boom, mommy brain kicks in. So poor me, I have to go back tomorrow, you'd think I did that on purpose

First Transaction
4 packs of cottonelle TP (20 double rolls) - $19.96
Cinnamon spice - .88
- $4 off of $20
- $6 ECB
- $5 ECB
-------$6.38 out of pocket. Please note, this is like 160 regular rolls of TP. Heee heeee heeeee And $8 ECBs printed :)

Second Transaction
2 robitussin - $12
1 tylenol - $8
1 razor $9.99
8 skippy peanut butters - $12
1 Arm and Hammer toothpaste - $1.99
1 Stayfree - $3.29
1 more TP - $4.99
minus
$4 skippy coupons
$6 robitussin coupons
$4 tylenol coupons
$2 razor coupon
$10 off of $50 coupon
$1 toothpaste
$1 stayfree
$20 ECB----------- $6.19 Out of pocket
Normally I would of had half a brain and gotten another TP and used that $8 ECB and paid almost nothing out of pocket. But I wasn't thinking that fast!

CVS deals this year:
Cost of Goods - $348.99
Out of Pocket - $35.09
ECBs ready to spend $33 :)

Scooter's 1st Birthday!

The actual day is this Friday but we are having the party on Sunday :)

Who knew birthday parties were so expensive? If anyone had told me I'd spend so much I'd tell them - ha not me, I am smarter than that!

Let's break it down for what I've spent already. It is going to be at my Dad's clubhouse and I am serving BBQ. I figured it was better to have it at the clubhouse which is the size of my house but with tables, 2 bathrooms and a lot more seating areas. And the kitchen is way better too!

$35.00 Clubhouse rental
$6.96 Cake ingrediants (my mom's friend is making it for us!)
$5.26 plastic table cloths for the tables. I got the long ones because they were the same price as the short ones. I'll cut them in two.
$5.26 extra napkins and plates to go with my leftover shower stuff
$1.18 extra forks
$5.92 bbq sauce
$27.00 25 pounds of pork roast
$1.28 balloons
$2.19 treat bags
$3.00 horns for centerpieces
$93 the ultimate collections of Fisher price farm sets collected over the last 4 years :)
----------
$186.05

When I restarted my CVS bucks, I did the pepsi deal. I have 2-12 packs of diet Mt Dew and 2 bags of doritos (ya, I ate two bags of them oops). My dad has another 12 pack from the same deal and a couple of bags of chips. The pink M&Ms are going into the treat bags. I think I have enough ribbon and little thank you cards to finish up the treat bags without buying anything else.

I still need suckers, bowls, Styrofoam, curling ribbon for the centerpieces. I'll need more thank you cards. I also need to figure out the princess chair hehe

I'd like to keep it to $200 of less. I don't think I'll make it lol

Happy Birthday Miss Tia!

She had already turned one but was sick so they party was today. Lots of cute kids there but I'll only post Natalie pictures in case their parents don't want pics posted :)

Video of her dancing to a caterpillar that I need to buy :)


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Looking so cute in her Angie outfit! Angie call me when you read this because I won't remember later because I am a space cadet and it is too late to call right now!

CVS Fun :)

Transaction One!
20 Soy Joy bars = $20
minus
$1 off each bar
25 cents out of pocket :)
(I could of done better but I was frazzled and forgot about my $4 off of $20 coupon)
$20 ECB woohoo

Transaction Two!
20 bottle of Dawn (don't make fun of me, it made the calculation work!) = $19.90
1 box of puffs- $1.79
2 2-liters of pepsi - $2.50
a razor - 8.99
-------------
minus
$5 off of $30
$10 (50 cents a bottle for Dawn)
$2 razor coupon
$15 ECB from M&M deal
-------$1.41 Out of Pocket :) Most of that was tax on the coupons :) $5 and $6 ECB woohhooo!

CVS deals this year:
Cost of Goods - $212.89
Out of Pocket - $27.36
ECBs - $20, $6, $5 hee heeeeee :)

Friday Update

Today was just a normal day for us. Funny how normal seems so busy now?

I got one post today, boo hoo, I wanted two. Look at me being all greedy! lol

I started cleaning out the front room, holy cow what a mess. I was able to clear out some trash and collect a lot of packing peanuts to freecycle. I was also able to consolidate some rubbermaid containers and move some things from Walmart type bags to those containers.

For kicks I am going to track how much I spend on clothes to consign. I have pulled out 20 adult sized items to take in throughout the year. They are good name brands and too nice for a yard sale you know? Some of them are from Goodwill's 50 cent sale (brand new dockers with the tags? hello, yes I'll take those thanks) and some are from family members (have I ever mentioned I'm the only frugal one in my family?). I'll update ya as I go.

Let's revisit my cheap frugal nature. We had a Goody's close and they had clearanced out all their stuff. They had old men sweaters on sale.

Guess how much?

50 cents. Brand new, Ivy something or other brand old man sweaters. I got two! Those are my favorite things to wear with my jammies. That's a pretty picture huh? eck!

Next let's move to my wall. I have lived here for 5 or 6 years now, I can't remember. I have hung one picture. Just one..well until last night. This is my $16.48 beach wall, all I need to do now is upload pictures to walgreens to print. Each picture/frame was just $3. I also need to add my tiny seashell frames after I paint them. Look for an update around 2011.
God bless the makers of baby walkers. My child LOVES her walker, she flies in it. And she loves to ram me, run over cats and walk backwards in it. Tonight we upgraded it with this cute mobile. It was a freebie from the lady that sold us the exersaucer and playpen.
Oh, and playpen. I am glad someone uses it, Natalie doesn't like it at all!


Cutie is modeling two other freebies. That little Einstein book was the freebie from last Saturday. She likes how it has mirrors- she likes to lick the mirror it's gross kiss the baby. Check out those slipper boots! She dances in them, I hate to tell her that not all shoes squeak! A lady at a yard sale threw those in my bag because I bought too much, I didn't have the heart to tell her I was shopping for a girl. Good thing I didn't the baby likes them!



Tomorrow is Tia's birthday party, we are going to be stylin in Miss Angie's welcome present, a super cute blue/green carters outfit. I'll post pics :)

Night night!

January Project

I am starting something new. Every month I am going to start a new project. I'll have one month to complete it. The catch is trying to create a project that I think I can accomplish with having a baby around!

January's project is going to be short. I have a junk room, it is a 10 X 10 room that is piled shoulder high with stuff. It is all sorts of things for my yard sale, consignment sale and classified ads. I am ready to purge baby!

So right now, it's a HUGE mess. You can barely get in the room. My project for this month is to straighten that room so I won't be embarrassed to bring someone into the room to look at something for sale. I want to move the yard sale stuff (lower priced items) to one corner and put all the better things together. Anything I want to keep will go into a storage container and head to the kitchen closet.

The idea is, if someone comes to look at the extra crib, they can also see the clothes, toys and other bedding that Natalie doesn't need and buy extra things I hadn't advertised yet. I have an entire pink nursery to sell!

Today was the start to the project. I sorted through and picked out 50 outfits from size zero (premie) to size 5 little girls to put in the consignment sale. I collected all the nursery bedding for the pink room and grouped it together to take pictures for my classified ad through my bank. I've spiffy-ed up the extra stroller and found it's matching car seat cover (I told you I had a lot). I have the baby boy stuff (from a LONG time ago) going into it's own pile with the hopes of selling it as one large lot.

I think I have thousands of $$s of stuff in that room. Really, I think I do. If I had to guess, with the Disney collectibles I no longer want, as much as 3K. I want that 3k in my ING account, not in my front bedroom!

Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat - CLOSEOUT HURRY

I was playing at Amazon and they suggested this car seat. Check it out, it's a Boulevard for $229 with just $9.99 shipping.

As a comparison, this seat is at Babies R Us for $329. You can normally get $20 off coupons so let's say $309. Tax is 9.5% here so now it is $338.35

The Amazon seat doesn't have tax on it, you are saving almost $100!

I just wanted to pass it along in case anyone is shopping for a car seat. I have almost the same one, there is one different cushion and it is a different color. The baby loves it, she instantly falls asleep. It's a nice big seat too!

Thursday Update

First, thanks to everyone who has signed up to do Pay Per Post through my link! If you want to make extra cash and your blog is 90 days or older you can sign up too. You'll get $20 for your first post :)

Today was just a normal day. I wrote posts and the baby ate her weight in Cheerios!

I am trying something new around here. My heat pump is sucking all the moisture out of the air. Even with a humidifier, showering with the bathroom door open and boiling water in the kitchen. So today I cut down the heat 4 degrees and we both wore layers. She looked really cute in her ducky robe over her PJs snuggling with mama!


This is how we play at night, I decided to get some of it on camera. Nothing like video taping for a few minutes to realize what a hick you really are lol And wow do I need to work on the hall, its beat all to crud!


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Drop shots cut my video in two!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


I just saw something on the news about the stimulus plan. Natalie and I would get $900. They didn't say if it was "free" money or coming off 2008 tax return. And I wonder if we'll get it because of the adoption credit. If I do it's going into the Jenna fund!

February Walgreens Deals

They have been loaded early!

Although I own several million things of bar soap or body wash, I am going to go ahead and get more because I like how the the freebie smells :) The shampoo is a no brainer, I HAVE to get that too. Fun Fun!

Don't forget to mail off your Jan Easysaver receipts too. Last night I got in on the cold special one. Buy 5 cold items and get $10 refund. The tissues were a little under $2 each so that was a no brainer :)

I've bought the baby a V-day present :)

I did decide on a charm bracelet. For her first charm I got something very simple:

Two hearts, hers and mine, sweet huh?

It was harder than I thought finding her a bracelet and the one I got it still too big. I guess we'll just look at it until she's old enough to wear it :)


Did I ever mention I have 45 strands of pearls from China? Hehe I really do. Here is the story...
We go to the Pearl market and walk into a store. They have nice cabinets and fixtures and they wanted $90 to string black freshwater pearls. I wasn't happy with that at all :( So I went next door. Now that was fun! Pearls in huge Ziploc bags. I picked out some oval ones I really liked and she put 38 in the calculator. I was unhappy again, where were my cheap pearls? Then it dawned on me, 38 yuan? So I show her 38 yuan and she nods her head. SCORE!

I ended up with a strand of the black pearls like what was next door unstrung for 90 YUAN ($13) not $90. I got three small white semi round ($2), 38 of the ovals in pink, peach, purple, silver, white and ivory (a little over $5 each), two strands of chunky round weird ones ($3) and a dyed yellow strand ($3). Heheeeeeee

So the plan was to make the baby a piece of jewelry every year for gotcha day. I need clasps and some pretty filler beads which I am trying (of course) to find a good deal on.

I wish I had spent $500 on pearls to make stuff with for resale. Etsy is an Ebay type site where you sell home made stuff. They have things like that. Would of been a great fundraiser for Jenna.

Wednesday Update

Oops, I get so caught up in other stuff I forgot to post updates!

Wednesday was a great money day. I did two posts for PPP (and got a referral, thank you!!) for the Jenna fund. I am going to put our Christmas money in the ING account, that will give me enough for 1/3 of a seat to somewhere :)

Ford stock was really down then up. I caught a small portion of that upward motion and actually made a little when I sold it (day trade). Will miracles never cease?

We met Dad and my Step-Mom at my favorite Chinese buffet for dinner. Boy can scooter pack away the noodles!

I have video to upload as soon as my batteries are done recharging :)

CVS ECB Deals - Sales for Week 1/27/08-2/2/08

You have to love early ads :) Be sure to head to Ebay to get your coupons to mix in with everything for optimal savings :)
---------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to check out http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...splay.php?f=62 and http://deals.families.com/cvs,f533 for a more thorough list of upcoming sales and a match up to coupons out there for their products!!

ECB Specials (All limit 1 unless noted) VP = Value Pack
$5 ECB WYB $10 of Hellmann's,Lipton tea bags,Skippy or Ragu - Hellmann's 30oz,Lipton Tea Bags 100ct, decaf 48 ct, green 40 ct 2/$5, Skippy or Ragu 26oz 2/$3

$1 ECB WYB Two (2) Twizzlers $1.99
$6 ECB WYB $16 of any Energizer listed $8 hearing aid 16 pack, AA and AAA 12 pack, E2 AA and AAA 4 pack, rechargeable AA and AAA 4 pk or value charger
$3.29 ECB WYB Stayfree clean ultra thin 10 or 12ct $3.29 - limit 1

$5 ECB WYB KY intrigue lubricant 2.75 oz
$10 ECB WYB $20 of these products - Advil pain relief liquid gels, migraine 40 ct, tablets or caplets 50ct, Advil PM caplet 20 ct or liquid gel 16 ct $4 each,
Advil Cold Multi Symptom cold 10 ct or cold & sinus 20 ct $5 each, Robitussin cough gels 20 ct or liquid 8oz, asst types $6 each, and Children's Dimetapp DM cold & cough or cold & allergy 8oz $6 each - limit 1

$5 ECB WYB Benefiber or Exedrin fiber supplement chewables 90-100 ct, caplets 60-72 ct, powder 48 or 62 doses, pain reliever assorted types, 250 ct for $11.99 - limit 5

$3 ECB WYB Tylenol Arthritis or St. Joseph's arthritis caplets 150 ct or enteric aspirin 300ct for $12.99- limit 1

$4 ECB WYB Centrum Cardio 120ct - limit 1
$2 ECB WYB bengay pain relief patches 2-5 ct or cream 4 ct limit 1
$10 ECB WYB Alli starter kit 60 mg 90 ct $59.99 limit 5
$7 ECB WYB Two (2) Garnier Nutritioniste limit 2
$5 ECB WYB $20 of Preventin products limit 1
$3 ECB WYB any Skin Effects product limit 3
$2 ECB WYB Jergens lotion 7.5 - 21 oz assorted types ( excludes natural glow ) limit 1
$10 ECB WYB $20 of Nexxus haircare - shampoo, conditioner or styler psa $3.99 - limit 1
$5 ECB WYB $10 of Fructis hair care shampoo or conditioner 25.4 oz - limit 2
$2 ECB WYB Perfect 10 haircolor $11.99 limit 1
$3 ECB WYB $9 Dark & Lovely limit 5
$2 ECB WYB $10 of Smooth ‘N Shine hair care limit 5
$5 ECB WYB $10 of Soft & Beautiful, Just For Me or Motions limit 5
$2 ECB WYB Colgate Total Whitening or Advanced Clean twin pack limit 5
$1 ECB WYB Arm & Hammer toothpaste $1.99 limit 1
$10 ECB WYB Three (3) Breath RX limit 1
$5 ECB WYB $25 of Huggies products limit 1
$6 ECB WYB Gillette Fusion Phenom razor for $9.99 or Gillette Fusion Phenom manual razor for $8.99 limit 1
$5 ECB WYB Three (3) Boost 6 or 12 packs, limit 1
$10 ECB WYB $20 of participating PepsiCo products, limit 1

Buy ONE Get ONE FREE
All CVS vitamins,minerals or herbals BOGO free
All Revlon Lip,Foundation,Powder,Blush or Concealer BOGO
Hershey's candy BOGO ( kisses,kissables assorted types )
Bounty Basic 8 pack or CVS 12 pack toilet paper $4.99
Purex laundry detergent $2.99 24-32 oz
Hershey;s Pot of Gold $9.95 heart shaped box $8.95 regular box
Veryfine Juice or Fruit 2O

Buy ONE Get ONE 50% off
Household Cleaners – SOS pads, Tilex mold & mildew, Fresh Shower
Life Fitness Reparagen
Natures Bounty Red Yeast Rice, Garlic, Niacin, or Cinnamon
All Ocuvite or PreserVision Vitamin & Mineral Supplements
Reading Glass by Magnivision
ALL Revlon Eye, Nail, or Beauty Tools
ALL Artificial Nails
ALL Palmers Skin Care
Essence of Beauty Comb, Brush, Mirro, or Hair Accessories
VO5 Extreme Styling Hair Care
ALL Marc Anthony Hair Care
Ellin LaVar Hair Care
ALL Schick Disposable Razors

Other deals
Purex $2.99

Don't forget!!! When in doubt and they are out, get a RAINCHECK! they can be used at ANY store and DO NOT EXPIRE!!!

Any questions regarding the ECB program please browse through our 1st thread at:http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1378963

Abbreviations:
ECB = Extra Care Buck
PSA = Prices starting at
CRT = Cash Register Tape
WYB = When You Buy

Helpful websites!!!
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/extracarehome
http://deals.families.com/cvs,f533
http://www.terismessageboard.com/showthread.php?t=13237
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...splay.php?f=62

All information is compiled from various sources - other forums, friends, family, personal experience, and the actual ads themselves. My location is in central MA as well as others are country wide, so keep this in mind when reading posts and be sure to confirm your local ad as well before actual shopping. Happy ECB'ing!

Tuesday Update

Today I had adult interaction with an adult that wasn't one of my parents WOOOHHOOO

Chelle, the baby and I went to TX Roadhouse. She charmed everyone there and I got to gossip and have a good old time. Oh we had ribs hhmmmmmmm

Pictures from today :)

My mommy likes hats, I am not so sure.


New teeth are on the way!


My little baby, not such a baby anymore! She has gotten so big so quick, it blows my mind. Here she is in her 18-24 skinny jeans from GAP, don't you love them? Please note the hair clippie, it stayed in all night, she didn't play with it at all. Score!

(she isn't smiling because she wants out of the crib lol)

I think that's it for the day. I hope my coupons come in from Ebay tomorrow so I can go to CVS again, a girl has to have a hobby!

CVS totals

I'm a nerd, just wanted to remind you of that first.

I made a spreadsheet that tracks my CVS purchases. It's quite fancy, it has formulas and everything. It tells me how much of each item I got, how much I paid per item, how many coupons I used, what kind of coupon and how many ECBS I have cashed in. It tells me the cost of the items if I bought them straight out and how much I have paid out of pocket.

Every so often I'll be bragging --err--- posting my totals.

Cost of Goods- $107.46
OOP - $25.80
ECB yet to use - $15.00

Now ask me what I am going to do with all this stuff? The soda and chips are going to the baby's birthday party (going to make other food too!). The 10 pounds of M&Ms are going into favor bags. I am not sure what I'll do with the men's deodorant tho lol

Raise your hand if you love CVS!

I am starting back my ECBs this week :) The first deals aren't that great because you have to invest a little to keep things rolling!

Pepsi Deal - Buy $20, get $10 ECBS - 3 12 packs and 4 bags of doritos put me at $22. I used a $4 off of $20 coupon and paid $19.71. This generated $10 ECBS

Speedstick Deal - I then bought 5 speedstick men's deodorants for $19.95. I used a $4 off of $20 again and the $10 ECB. I paid $6.52 OOP and generated a $19.95 ECB.

Today I am doing the M&M deal that I didn't notice last night. I am buying 10 bags of M&MS (BOGO $3.49) for $17.45 and I am going to add in grocery items like milk and bread to bring me up to $24. I am going to use a $4 off of $20 again and my 19.95 ECB. My OOP will be just pennies :) That will generate $15 to use for next week's deals :)

Freebie

A free Frebreeze fan do hickey!

Sunday Update

Today was a whirlwind of visiting family!

First we started at my Aunt's house (Hi! I know you are reading this:) and scooter had a grand old time there. She met her first dog (that she called cat the whole time) and lived through it. She was really scared of him in the beginning but warmed up to him a little later on.

Then we went to my Great-Aunt's house. She made a quilt for Natalie and she is 90 years old! It is little triangles, I will post a picture tomorrow. I accidentally left it in the car and I think it is negative 100 out there! It is a rainbow of colors, I am going to hang it on the wall, its one of those things you don't want to mess up you know?

Then we were off to my Grandparent's house. And of course the baby was zonked out by then. So she slept on the sofa for an hour and played for 10 minutes then we had to head out because they were going to church.

A little bit of chicken and a little bit of fruit later and boom! she's out like a light again!

Keep in mind she is slouching in this pic. My child went from 3/6 month clothes in China a month ago to size 18 month today. WOW

Baggy, but the length is great.

Scooter...scooting along

Her two new friends, Mr Panda and Mr Sun!

If Mama says no and Nana says no, ask Aunt Jane! (she isn't really drinking this, she is chewing on the cold closed can).

She loves her new panda, I got it yesterday at the church. It was yucky and had a weird bow on it. I took off the bow and put it in the washer and now its very cute and fluffy! I am rather proud of the baby's outfit too, I love it! $3.25 total and it is Osh Kosh and Baby Gap. So sweet in her overalls!

Some of the best things ARE free...

And the rest is $47 :)

Today there was a really huge swap meet sort of thing at a local church. The catch? It was free. No really, it was. I wasn't expecting such a huge amount of stuff, thousands of things.

So of course I run to the baby section. Just missed getting another exersaucer (scooter gets bored I think, I am looking for another one to swap out every couple of days) but we got a walker. Remember the things before exersaucers? I didn't even think they made them anymore but after a clorox wipe, it looks new. I guess someone is still making them :)

Ok, not to sound like a major free loot hog, let me just tell you of my finds! 6 cloth diapers, 3 flannel blankets to cut up for wipes, 2 thermal blankets, a winter coat for next year (sooo cute), 2 velour jogging suits in pink, a plaid dress, a blue sweater, a gymboree by the sea dress! I about died! Ok, onward, a picture frame, a soft cloth book, a pink babiesrus bear, a baby einstein little book toy, a fisher price small toy, a frog pillow head thingy, several shirts for my dad, a frog teether thingy, a panda, overalls, a dora christmas outfit, a ralph lauren jumper, 3 three piece baby bikini set, a green summer purse, a bag of alphabet magnets for the fridge and a much needed white crib sheet!

So I start to feel guilty, but the helpers there were giving me things left and right. I guess it helps bringing your baby with you, she is such a ham. There is suppose to be another one sometime this summer and they were like come, please come! More free stuff? Ok if I HAVE to! ha!

Whew, ok so after that buzz, we went to McDs and scooter had pancakes. And charmed the whole place. She likes men, especially if they have beards. She'd take a bit of pancake, flirt, take a bite, flirt...I'm in trouble!

Then we head to the mall. I wanted to check out Gymboree and get some panda stuff (so love that panda stuff!) They just had one pair of teeny tiny shoes. So sad!

But I did get her an outfit for next year. I got a pair of jeans, a top, leggings and hairbows. $25.00 - ouch compared to just a few hours prior. The to baby gap where she got a pair of skinny jeans, two pairs of close fitting jammies and a nightgown. The nightgown and one pair of jammies were size 4, when they are just $3 and $4, you buy bigger sizes for later on. Total spent on all the clothes was $47 :)

And of course in Kim fashion, I took pictures of the new clothes!



TADA!

Friday Update

Just some pictures from the day :)

I don't think this elephant is in production anymore. If you see it at a yard sale, distract your child and run away. Far far away. It's little song gets into your mind and will NOT go away!


Hey hey hey.. I'm playing here!


HA! SHE is asleep, it's mine all mine! (BTW, Marie loves the baby, I just make her sound sinister, I have very little adult interaction nowadays)


Posin with my peeps!



This has to be one of my favorite pictures. You can see all the cat personalities. She is sitting on easy going Wookie. Marie just wants to be where she is. Jack is sniffing her (he is Sargent stinky butt, he alerts me to all things stinky) and Monkey can't stand it and has to look down from her perch to see what is going on. And before you think poorly of me for having 4 cats, don't forget that Punkin was sitting on my lap during that pic. HA!

More Deals

I promise, I have gotten other stuff done today besides being on this PC :)

I've been thinking about Valentines Day. My Dad always got me something, I am thinking about getting Natalie something too. I am considering a charm bracelet so I can add a charm each year. Maybe start with a baby version and buy a larger bracelet as she grows. Limoges Jewelry has some cute stuff. Do you think a charm bracelet is a good idea?

I found other deals online. I didn't realize there were so many coupons out there for Target. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be less expensive for me to shop online and spend the $50 needed to use a lot of the free shipping codes. No impulse purchasing plus I could shop in my PJS (and in a good way, not the I'm wearing flannel PJ pants to Walmart and it's obvious and everyone should just look away - why do people wear them in public?).

Actually they have a ton of codes Coupon Chief if you are looking for Vday presents for anyone :)

CVS Deals are Out :)

I am getting back into CVS deals. They are a lot of fun and you can get a lot of things for free!

CVS ECB Deals - Sales for Week 1/20/08-1/26/08

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Be sure to check out ttp://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...splay.php?f=62 and http://deals.families.com/cvs,f533 for a more thorough list of upcoming sales and a match up to coupons out there for their products!!

ECB Specials (All limit 1 unless noted) VP = Value Pack
$1 ECB WYB Claritin $8.99 (limit 1)
$1 ECB WYB Two (2) CVS/pharmacy Cotton (balls,pads,squares & prem round or oval (limit 1)
$2 ECB WYB Secret or Gillette Clinical Strength $9.99 (limit 1)
$6 ECB WYB Gillette Fusion Power $9.99 (limit 1)
$5 ECB WYB Gillette Fusion Manual $8.99 (limit 1)
$10 ECB WYB ACCU-CHEK Compact Diabetes Monitor $29.99 (limit 1)
$5 ECB WYB $15 of EOB Bath Products (limit 1)
$10 ECB WYB $20 Pepsi Co. products –Pepsi 3/10, Doritos or Lay's 2/$6, Gatorade 32oz or Propel 1 liter 3/$4, 2 liters 4/$5, Stacy's Pita Chips 2/$5 - this is a monthly so if you did it already you are at the limit! (limit 1)
$5 ECB WYB $20 P&G items (limit 1)
$5 ECB WYB $20 Olay Skin Care(limit 1)

$2 ECB WYB Crest Pro Health VP $7.49(limit 2)
$3 ECB WYB Listerine Whitening Strips $23.99 (limit 2)

$2 ECB WYB CVS Storage or Trash Bags Twin VP (limit 3)
$5 ECB WYB Skin Effects Skincare Product (limit 3)

$1 ECB WYB Mars Six Packs - Snickers, MilkyWay or 3 Musk - $2.99 (limit 5)
$1 ECB WYB 5 Gum- $3.99 (limit 5)
$1 ECB WYB Neutrogena VP (limit 5)
$1 ECB WYB CVS Baby Wipes 240 ct. - $5.29 (limit 5)
$2 ECB WYB Lysol Spray Bonus $6.99(limit 5)
$2 ECB WYB Irish Spring VP $4.99 (limit 5)
$2 ECB WYB Softsoap Cashmere or Nutra Oil Body Wash VP $6.99 (limit 5)
$2 ECB WYB Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap VP $4.99 (limit 5)
$2 ECB WYB Cottonelle Bonus Pack $9.99 (limit 5)
$3 ECB WYB PlugIns Scented Oil Plugins Fan or Refill VP $7.99 (limit 5)
$3 ECB WYB Cottonelle Moist Wipes Combo VP $5.98(limit 5)
$3 ECB WYB Dove Adv Therapy VP $9.98 (limit 5)
$3.99 ECB WYB Mennen Speed Stick for men 24/7 - $3.99 (limit 5)
$4 ECB WYB Four (4) SoyJoy Bars (limit 5)
$5 ECB WYB Any Rogaine Single Pack (limit 5)
$5 ECB WYB Dexatrim Max2O $19.99 (limit 5)
$5 ECB WYB Excedrin 250 ct or Benefiber 48-100 ct (limit 5)
$5 ECB WYB $15 of CoverGirl Lashblast, VolumeExact, LashExact , or LineExact Mascara (limit 5)

Buy ONE Get ONE FREE
M&M's Chocolate Candy 12.6-14 oz
Post Cereal - Honey Bunches, Shredded Wheat, Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch, Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles
Russell Stover Chocolates 24 oz. assorted types
All Watches
CVS Cleaning Pads or Cloths or duster with handle with 6 refills
CoverGirl TruShine or Incredifull Lipcolor
All Maybelline Lip Color, Eye Shadow, Liner or Mascera
All L'Oreal HIP
All Natrol Supplements
All CVS Glucosamine Chondroitin and Calcium Supplements
Life Fitness Vitamins or Supplements

Buy ONE Get ONE 50% off
Altoids Tin
Photo Frame or Album (excludes digital photo frame)
Adult & Child Sunglasses
All Befine Skin Care
Physicians Formula - Foundation, powder, bronzer, blush or concealer
CoverGirl Lipcolor - Continuous color, continuous shimmer or wetslicks lip gloss
CoverGirl Shadows, Liners or Mascara
John Frieda Frizz-Ease, Sheer Blonde, Brilliant Brunette or Radiant Red - shampoo, conditioner, styler, or serum
Neutrogena Men's - Face wash, scrub, shave cream or razor defense lotion (excludes gel)
All L'eggs Sheer Hosiery
Bic Disposable Razors - Comfort 3 Advance or Soleil 4 ct

Don't forget!!! When in doubt and they are out, get a RAINCHECK! they can be used at ANY store and DO NOT EXPIRE!!!

Any questions regarding the ECB program please browse through our 1st thread at:http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1378963

Abbreviations:
ECB = Extra Care Buck
PSA = Prices starting at
CRT = Cash Register Tape
WYB = When You Buy

Helpful websites!!!
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/extracarehome
http://deals.families.com/cvs,f533
http://www.terismessageboard.com/showthread.php?t=13237
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...splay.php?f=62

All information is compiled from various sources - other forums, friends, family, personal experience, and the actual ads themselves. My location is in central MA as well as others are country wide, so keep this in mind when reading posts and be sure to confirm your local ad as well before actual shopping. Happy ECB'ing!

2008 Savings

I know lately I've been talking a lot about money. I am not sure why, but it has been something that has been running through my mind a lot lately. I don't know if I am just circling my wagons (panicking) or what.

Or it might just be that it's one of my favorite things to think about. After Natalie of course! And the cats, love them too. And the beach. And cruises.....

Ok back on subject now. I have a goal for 2008. I want to save 50% of my tax home pay. This wouldn't be that hard (I don't have a lot of bills) except for Natalie's added expenses.

This challenge (it's more fun to think of it that way) is in the back of my mind constantly it seems. Things like cloth diapers are good for the world and good for the wallet (I am a tree hugger at heart), a savings of $600 for a year. Natalie's formula isn't really that expensive now (I'll admit it, she is drinking the Parent Choice stuff with no ill effects). I quickly figured that we were going to eat 60 boxes of cheerios a year if we both had them for breakfast every morning (I'm a creature of habit). So going generic saves $85. I switched to a store brand of milk with a savings of $70 a year. One HUGE thing, I have stopped drinking diet coke. At the savings of $700 a year. Yup, SEVEN HUNDRED dollars a year. Drinking 2 a day at work for 5 days times 47 weeks is $470 alone. Add in all the cans I drank at home and it's BIG bucks. So I'm not drinking diet crack in a can anymore.

My clothing allowance is being cut too, by $300 this year (chant with me, I don't NEED it!). I cut the Disney trip in Sept at the savings of $1500. I cut out a spring cruise at the cost of $1000 for the 2 of us. For me that is a HUGE deal, I love my ocean. But we'll do a bargain Myrtle Beach week (eat in the room, drive there, no shows and just hang out for one week is about $350). We do have the the big cruise excursion at the end of the year, we won't talk about how much that costs!

So let's do the math...
$600 Cloth Diapers
$85 Cheerios
$70 Milk
$700 Diet Coke
$300 Clothing
$1500 Disney
$650 (difference between cruise and Myrtle Beach)
---------------------------
$3905 and I'm just starting. The plan isn't to live like a hermit but just to cool it for 2008. Wish me luck!

So addictive!

Ok, I think I am getting the hang of all of this. I don't know how many of you do the pay per post thing on your blog, but it seems to be a great program.

If you want to try it you can click on the button in the upper right corner. You get $20 for your first post. Their requirements are that your blog isn't brand new (90 days old) and that you do more than post baby pictures :)

I am frustrated. I spent 2 hours (baby's whole afternoon nap) doing a video for PPP and I can't get their little snippet of an AVI attached to my AVI file. Bummer - maybe that will be my project tomorrow since it's a $50 project. No joke, I am willing to work 5 hours for $50, especially since it's extra Jenna money. Woot!

My camera is never far from me, today I took 150 pictures. Here are just a few more :) (BTW, I am so addicted to blogs right now, its not funny. If the baby is asleep, boom, I'm writing or reading blogs - it's addicting!).

YUMMY! lol


I see how it is. When SHE sits here SHE gets food. What about me??

Thursday Update

It snowed! We got 2 inches which is almost unheard of now in our area. I can't remember the last time we had snow stick around for a full day.

Scooter wasn't as excited about the snow as mama was.

I don't know, it's sort of wet!

I was right, you tricked me! This is just cold water! I hate water!