Mommin' It Up!

May 17, 2008

Fun With Competitor’s Coupons!

Since I found out that my local CVSes take competitor’s coupons, I had a bit of a field day, or field week this week! I went to CVS WAY too many times, but here are just a couple of my transactions. Twice the cashiers who rang me up didn’t even KNOW that they took competitor’s coupons, depsite a sign at the register that said so. Uhh…so I guess I gave them an education!

Here we have:
1 Schick Intuition at $8.88 (purchased for my homegirl Luanne)
1 pair of clogs for my baby boy Joshua $5.99
1 Colgate toothbrush $3.99
1 Bday card for my old lady friend Breck 99 cents
total =$19.85
Coupons:
$3/$15 CVS coupon
$4 off Schick Intuition coupon
$3 off Schick Intuition WALGREENS ES CATALOG coupon (woot woot!)
$1 off Colgate coupon
= $8.85, paid with $7.99 in ECBs and 64 cents cash, and got back 9.99 in ECBs. (6 for the Intuition razor, and $3.99 for the toothbrush!) Hootie Hoo!!

Next we have:
1 Gallon milk $3.19
1 Pledge $2.99
1 Advil $3.99
2 Colgate Max Fresh $5.98
1 Viactiv $5.49
total = $21.64
Coupons:
$4/$20 CVS coupon
$2 CVS Pledge coupon (emailed to me. It expired 5/4 but my CVS takes them for 30 days!)
$1 Pledge manufacturer coupon
$2 Advil coupon
Two $1 Colgate Maxfresh printable coupons
$2/$2 Colgate Maxfresh WALGREENS ES coupon!!
$3 off WALGREENS in-ad Viactiv coupon!!
$2 off Viactiv manufacturer coupon
total= $3.64
paid with a $3 ECB and some change and got back $7 ECB!! 3 for the Viaciv and 4 for the toothpaste! I got paid almost $4 to buy this stuff!!!

Finally, we have:

Adidas deodorant $4.99
Viactiv $5.49
Advil $3.99
Burt’s Bees lip gloss clearanced for $1!! Yay!
Total = $15.47

Coupons:
$3/$15 CVS coupon
$3 off WALGREENS in-ad Viactiv coupon
$2 off Viactiv manufacturer’s coupon
$2 off Advil coupon
Total = $5.47
Used $5 ECB and 34 cents cash and got back $7.99 ECB! 4.99 for the deodorant and 3 for the Viactiv!

Thanks CVS for taking Walgreens coupons!! You are my BFF drugstore!

Now on to Kroger – the grocery deals haven’t been too hot around here lately, and I made a sort-of big trip to Meijer last week, that wasn’t really worth mentioning. But finally Kroger had some good deals this week! I got all this:

For $11.59!! The total before coupons and promotions was $29.59! So I saved $18! The cereal was 4/$10 and if you bought 4 you got an additional $4 off your order. Of course I had four of the $2 coupons for the Chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats, so I ended up getting paid $2 to buy these! The Nestle Quik chocolate milk singles were free with doubled coupons, too. Yay!

Well that is all I got folks! To see more, head over to the “Cents”ible Sawyer for CVS Superstars and to our guru Money Saving Mom for Super Savings Saturday!

May 16, 2008

Like You Needed Another Reason to go to Target

Recently, Emily and I have told you about some really cool products that are working for us, Kaboost and the Itzbeen Timer. These are both part of a new line of parent-invented products that are being carried exclusively at Target. Now we all know that pretty much every woman in the entire world luuurves Target, and this Parent Inventors line is just another reason to love it! A couple of other products I’ve tried from the line are the Ribbies hair clippies and the Babylegs. These both retail for about $10-$12 and are well worth the money! The Ribbies come in a set of four – two matching pair – and $10 for four is about what I am used to paying for the clips I’ve bought for Sophie in the past.

These are an alligator-style clip and they have kind of a foam in the middle that keeps them in your little girl’s hair. I tried them in Sophie’s hair for the first time on a windy day and after plenty of outside play, the clip stayed in! I didn’t have to adjust it for several hours, and Sophie left it alone – it wasn’t bothering her at all. Here’s a photo of her playing outside that day:

Isn’t that a cute clip? I am really pleased with the quality and the cuteness!

These Babylegs are something I had heard of but never seen until I saw them at Target. They are basically legwarmers for babies. At first the concept seemed silly to me, but once I got a pair, I found them very useful! We all have those occasions where we don’t want to get baby dressed until we are ready to leave the house, just in case he or she would pee, poop, or smear food all over their outfit. On a cool morning, I let Sophie run around in a onesie and her Babylegs until I am ready to get her dressed. Since she will be two in November (ack! typing that makes me want to CRY!!), and we will most likely be potty training around that time, I am planning to get another pair or two so I can keep her in the Babylegs instead of pants during training times, since it will be too chilly for her to be in just underwear or a diaper. So, despite being skeptical at first, I loves me some Babylegs! And I am so glad they are available at (say it with me now!) Tar-zhay!

Soon, Emily is going to be telling you about some other products she has tried that are also part of the Parent Inventors Line – but until then, you can check out all the products offered here. There are tons of products invented by moms and dads that I wish I had thought of myself! And now, I must go, unless someone has invented a product to remove a screaming toddler from one’s leg while one is trying to finish a blog post!

May 15, 2008

Does anyone know how to freeze time?

Today, Sammy is six weeks old. Six weeks!! How did that happen? We just weighed him, and he’s up to 13 pounds. Where did my little baby go? Last night our pastor commented that he’s not a little newborn anymore and I about cried.

My sadness over his growth doesn’t make any sense to Andy. He looks at it as proof that Sam is healthy and is thriving, and that is great. And it is, I know, but it’s just going by so fast. So fast.

As I wrote that last paragraph, it reminded me of when Sophie turned one – Jenny was feeling the way I am, and Bobby told her that he wasn’t sad at all… turning one meant she was that much closer to turning three. Men.

They have a point, really, I suppose, and day by day things are already getting easier with Sam. Last night he slept the best yet, and hopefully that will continue. He’s so aware of what’s going on around him now, and he’s starting to think about smiling at us (I don’t blame him for taking a while on that front – we’re not very funny.) So while there is and will continue to be a bright side to his growing up, it still breaks my heart.