a day in the life....

WOW, your hands are full...

2011-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

How many times have I heard from a stranger walking by, "WOW, your hands are full!" when they look at me with my three children (under the age of 5).

I smile and then wonder how to respond... I usually smile and say "yep :) we have fun" but inside I want to yell something like...
"Yes, I have three kids. I am out numbered. BUT I am not out of control, loosing my mind, or unhappy. I CHOSE this people! Each one of my children was a gift from God to our family and I am blessed by their presence in our family".

I am very aware that choosing to be joyful about having children is going against our culture, going against what people think is normal.
Sometimes I forget that being a mom is battling. Yes, I said battling.

I CHOOSE to stay home with my children and raise them myself. I am battling against the idea that I NEED to have my own career and make my place in the world.

I CHOOSE to trust God & my husband to provide for our family. I am battling against the idea again that I have to take care of everything, I must do all the work and make it happen.

I CHOOSE to have children, yes, more than one, more than two, yes, I have 3 AND guess what!? I WANT MORE! I am battling against the idea that children steal your time, your life, your identity. And that there is an reasonable number of children (normally less than two).

When my husband and I have time without the kids do you know what we do? We talk about the kids, how much we love them, what they are learning, what we are learning, how we are all growing as a family. Without our children, yes, we would have fun, probably go out more and have nicer things... but since when do things make you happy?! I love my leather ottoman, but I am pretty sure it's not going to love me back, smile at me, or tell me thank you for a yummy dinner.
The joy and deep love that I was introduced to when I met my daughter is more that I can explain, it's a different love. Yes, I love my husband, but this love is different. This love cost me something from the very beginning, it cost me discomfort, sleep-less nights, my body changing, pain, fear... the list goes on. I had to work for this love and still now, I am daily living for this love.

Daily I am loving and battling. When I go out and people make comments, my children see my reaction, am I going to treat them as a burden, or the loves of my life? When people look at my like I'm crazy or I must not have any applicable knowledge to offer because I stay home with my children instead of work, I am battling. Laying down my life daily & my children need to see me doing this with JOY, not out of duty or with a bad attitude. I choose this, I choose them, and they need to know I live happily & joyfully with my choice! Luckily I have a wonderful group of mothers and friends around me that are standing with me shoulder to shoulder saying the same thing, "I will lay my life down for my children"!

Today I read a post that was encouraging and reminded me that I am exactly where I want to be. I am a Mother. It is not easy, nothing worth doing is... but I choose to lay my life down daily for my children joyfully.

Read and be encouraged: Motherhood is a Calling (And where your children rank)

2011-08-09T08:13:00.001-07:00

I was almost laughing reading my previous post, my massive collection of magazines was a bit out of control! It took me until JULY, count that, Feb, March, June July, yes, four months, before I got around to getting rid of my Real Simple Magazines. I attempted to start flipping through them, and then remembered, RealSimple.com, duh! I don't need to save anything! I can go find it online :)

Which brings me to the most amazing site, which my sister Carey turned me onto, Pinterest.

Remember how I said I had a file folder of all the magazine pages I kept, full of wonderful ideas? Well I think I have looked at ONE of those pages, and did NOTHING with it! Stella always seems to find them, when the drawer is open, and throws them all over the floor, needless to say, they are turning out to be more of a trouble than a treasure. SO, Pinterest is so wonderful because... It's my new "file folder" online. I can find something that I like, and "pin it" to a "board" that I have created. For Example:

for the kids board

I love the idea of first day of school pictures AND I love those sandels for little girls! So just wait another month and you should see a picture very similar to this for Eloise's first day of kindergarten :)

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Angela on Pinterest

Garden Dreams board

I just did this to keep my plants watered while we were away on vacation, it worked!

Source: re-nest.com via Angela on Pinterest

And do you know what the greatest part of this is, when you click on the image it will take you to the website where you found it! So this means, no more searching for that one idea or recipe you found on, which site was that again?!

So, no more file folders full of magazine clippings that I will never look at, instead, I'll just "pin it"!

Magazines Everywhere!

2011-02-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I tend to keep things for a LONG time. Vincent recently asked (or told) me to get rid of the growing stack [mountain] of magazines in the closet. I've been keeping them, Martha Stewart & Real Simple, because there are lots of great ideas, recipes, projects... that I MUST do [someday].

So finally last week I started, I pulled out all of the Martha Stewart magazines, I looked through each one, pulling out every good recipe, great flower arrangement and entertaining idea I came across (I did have to keep to issues that were just so jam packed there was no reason to pull pages out). When all was said and done I had two stacks, 1. recipes and 2. projects/inspiration, both stacks about as thick as one magazine (much better than my very LARGE stack). Did I mention I had issues as far back as 2001 :)

Now I have a file folder full of great craft ideas [I am going to learn how to knit], entertaining ideas [I have Stella's birthday theme all ready], and decorating ideas all in one place all neatly organized. I think I will have to get some clear page covers and put them all neatly into a binder or something :) Just thinking about it makes me happy.

So next I will have to tackle the Real Simple magazines... which seems much more daunting than the M.S., sorry Martha but Real Simple seems to have more great ideas, tips etc.... so maybe I'll see if I can [hide] put those aside for a little while :) I have plenty of great material to work with already!

As I work on projects I will post :)

Life... it changes

2010-06-11T12:06:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that tomorrow my first baby girl is turning 4 years old!!! FOUR! She has changed our lives so much and we feel so blessed to have her! She is full of joy, full of creativity, full of life. She definitely has more style than I do :)

Last night, while the kids stayed with Tia, Vincent and I went shopping for her birthday party. While we were sitting in the car, I started remembering after she was born. I was working at a great job, making great money, and learning alot, AND on the verge or making HUGE commissions. But my little Eloise was there and I knew that it was more important to me to be her mommy, than to be successful in business and make lots of money. The biggest blessing of my life, my husband, left the decision in my hands. What decision you ask? The decision to stay home or to keep working. He told me whatever I decided he would stand by me, and he would make it all work.

Obviously I decided to stay home with my baby girl, a decision I will NEVER regret!

I am now home with THREE, yes three kids, and I am still brought to tears everytime I think about the night we made the decision for me to stay home. We prayed, asking God to meet us, we were stepping out in faith believing that if we put of family and children first that He would help provide for us. AND HE HAS.

so all this to say... Thank you God for Your provision - work for my husband, etc. Thank you Vincent for being a hard worker and a wonderful provider!

I am so blessed to have been able to be home with my babies every day, to see them grow, to teach them, to love them!

Kmart Day 4

2009-07-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

Kmart Day 4

Barilla Pasta (8)

Sale: 4/$5

KettleCorn

$2.99

Tapatio Sauce

$1.09

Total: $14.08

Used: $14 Catalina

OOP: .08 cents!!!!

*I couldn't combine the Catalina Coupon with other coupons, so I decided to stock up on something we like to eat... PASTA!!!!

The Barilla & Tapatio were on sale so I saved $2.32 which helped keep my price low :)

Kmart Day 3

2009-07-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Kmart Day 3

Starting Price: $53.34

Pampers Cruisers (3) ***P&G product

Reg. 9.99

(3) $2 off coupons from 7/5 P&G

$5.99 ea.

Pampers Baby Fresh Wipes (3) *** P&G product

Reg. 2.99

(3) .50 coupons from 7/5 P&G

$1.99 each

Pringles (2) *** P&G product

Sale: 2/$3

(1) $1/2 coupon from paper

.50 each

Arm & Hammer Detergent

3.99

$1 coupon from internet... don't remember where i found it.

$1.99

*This also has a peelie on the lid for a mail in rebate when you buy the dryer sheets!!! So I will get free dryer sheets (plus I have a coupon for dryer sheets, so I will make a few dollars!!)

Smart Water (4) 2 not shown

Sale: 10/$10

(2) $1/2 coupons from 6/28 paper

FREE

Used a $5/$50 Coupon

OOP: $25.34

Savings of $28

Received the $10 store coupon to use because I purchased $40 in P&G products :) *FREE DIAPERS for next week!!!

And the pringles were for my sister, so she gave me $1 for them!!! So with coupons and money back it was like paying $14.34 :)

Safeway Savings

2009-07-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have not been happy with my local Wal-Mart so I am trying to shop at Safeway & Raley's, watching the sales and using coupons and see if I can get the same savings.

Here is my first day...

Without my Safeway Club Card and my coupons I would have paid: $69.53

Snickers

.99

Coupon from Here - Thanks for this tip Coupon Clippin Mama!!!!

FREE :)

* I love that every week I have been able to get a FREE snickers while grocery shopping!!!

Starbucks Ice Cream (3) - single serve size

10/$10

(3) $1 off coupons from paper

FREE

*Not pictured... this was my thank you to my dad and sister for watching my kids while I got to shop by myself!!!!

Ball Park Hotdogs (4)

Sale: .99 cents

$1/2 coupon from 7/28 paper

.49 cents each

*I am stocked up on hotdogs for the rest of the summer!!! perfect for those last minute BBQ's

Evergood Smoked Hot Links

$5.99

*** If anyone knows where I can find coupons or a better price PLEASE tell me, cause we love these!!!

Ranchers Reserve - New York Strip Steak

Reg. $11.45

Sale: $7.86

50% OFF Clearance Meat - At the end of the meat section they have all their meat that is close to it's "Sell By" date and they are marked down 30-50%!!! This is where I am shopping now, you can stock up on good meat... I love the freezer :)

$3.93

Foster Farms Chicken Breast, bone in w/skin (3)

Reg. $2.99 per lb.

SALE: .99 per lb.

$2.67 each

This will help with dinners over the next 2 1/2 weeks!!!

*These also have a peelie: $1.00 OFF Foster Farms when you also purchase Reynolds Wrap.

Fresh Express 50/50 Salad Mix (2)

Reg. $3.29

Sale: B1G1

$2/2 coupon from store last week (I grabbed a few!)

$1.65 each

OOP: $21.34

Total Savings Value 69% = $48.19

Kmart Day 2

2009-07-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Shopping Day #2

Okay... so i am kinda bummed about my second trip... I spent way more money than I wanted to!!!! My original plan didn't work because my store is already out of so many things!!! There are alot of ladies out there saving money, it's awesome (although it did mess up my trip) ;)

Total before coupons: $50.64

Scott Toilet Paper - 12 roll (2)

Reg. $7.49

(2) $1 coupons

$5.49 ea.

Axe Shampoo (4)

Reg. 4.99

(4) $2 coupons

$0.99 ea.

Axe Shower Gel (2)

Reg. $4.29

(2) $1.50 coupons

$1.48 ea.

Dove Deodorant (2)

Reg. $2.33

(1) $1.50/2 coupon

$0.83 ea.

Lipton Tea

Reg. $1.99

(1) .50 coupon

$0.99

Used $5/$50 Kmart Coupon

Paid: $22.92

Savings of $27.72 & I got a $14 Catalina!!!

So after that I paid $8 *not the best deal ever... but we really needed toilet paper!

Here's to a better day tomorrow!!!

Buy One Get One FREE x2

2009-07-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

I love the Buy One Get One Free sales ESPECIALLY when you have a Buy One Get One Free coupon for the same item! You all know how this works right?

If you find the sale & you have the coupon you get both items FREE!!!!

I did two transactions like this on Saturday before our 4th of July celebrations...

::Rite Aid::

B1G1 - Stay Free pads (4) FREE!!!

coupon from sunday paper

Saving: $15.96

::CVS::

B1G1 - Lay's Chips (2) FREE!!!

coupon from CVS .... if you have a CVS Extra Care Card scan it at the front door and it prints out coupons to use!!!

Saving: $7.98

Kmart Day 1

2009-07-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Day One!!!

*** This was supposed to be a transaction for later in the week... but alot of stuff was gone or wrong prices so I had to make up a new shopping list, I am glad I brought all my coupons and my strategy for the whole week with me!

Beginning Total: $27.37

Cherrios (4)

.50 each

Starbucks Double Shot (3)

FREE

A1 Steak Sauce

FREE

Smart Waters (4)

FREE

Aquafresh Toothbrush

1.19

Aquafresh Toothpaste

.69

Grand Total with tax & crvs = $4.77

Savings of $22.60

for some reason there was an error at the register and it was ringing up at $10 something and I told them that wasn't right (I figured out before I went how much I was spending including tax *before coupons) I knew I was around $4 NOT $10... so they had to re-do the entire purchase AND sure enough... $4.77, they don't know why it rung up that way. But make sure you check your total!!! Because of an error I would have spent $6 more!!!

More deals to come! :)

There are coupons at The Coupon Exchange that you can use this week, so check them out!!!

Target Savings

2009-07-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

My First Trip to Target with coupons...

For what you see here $23.57 (with free products attached & sale items)

But here's how I did it...

Fructis Shampoo

Sale $2.99

*Travel size shampoo & conditioner attached (reg. $1 ea.)

$1 coupon from sunday paper

$1.99

Fructis Conditioner

Sale $2.99

*Travel size shampoo & conditioner attached (reg. $1 ea.)

$1 coupon from sunday paper

$1.99

Bounty Basic - Single Roll

.99

.50 Target Coupon

.25 coupon from sunday paper

.24 cents!

Cottonelle Wipes - Travel Size

.99

$1 Target Coupon

FREE

Pitureka Card Game (2)

Reg. $6.99

Sale $6.64

$5 coupon put 90210 as your zip code (they had some good coupons for this zip!)

$1.64 ea.

OOP $9.13

Savings of $14.44

Raley's Savings

2009-06-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Here's my recent shopping trip to Raley's

For what I paid I should have gotten this...

But instead I got this....

Pepsi (2)

Reg. 1.99

Sale .88 cents w/ store coupon

.88 ea.

Buitoni Pasta (2)

Reg. $4.29

Sale $2.99

(2) $1 off coupon from paper

$1.99 each

Tony's Pizzas (4) Not the best deal in the world... BUT we LOVE these pizzas! They are the best cheap pizza out there, we add our own olives, bell peppers & other stuff & they are great!!!

Reg. $3.50

Sale $1.99 w/ store coupon

(1) .50 off coupon from paper

$1.88 ea.

AND there are coupons for FREE bowling inside each box!

Santa Cruz Organic Lemonades (8)

Reg. $2.79 (at wal-mart these are $3.50-4.50)

Sale 2/$3

(8) .75 off coupons

.75 ea.

Malt-O-Meal Cerals (2)

Reg. $3.49

Sale $1.99 w/ store coupon

$1 off coupon HERE (take the quiz & earn a coupon)

.99 ea.

My total should have been $56.53

I paid $23.35

I saved a total of $33.18 - That is a 58% savings!

Safeway Savings

2009-06-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Sobe Elixir!!!! and I wasn't finding any coupons for them, so I emailed to company, they mailed me 6 coupons for .50/1 before the week was over and just in time!!!

Safeway Special right now... purchase any 10 drinks and they are .80 each. (expires 6/30)

So here's what I did....

Sobe Elixir (6)

Regularly $1.79

Sale (buy 10) .80 each

(5) .50 coupons from company

$2.30

Sobe Life Water (4)

Regularly $1.59

Sale (buy 10) .80 each

B1G1 Free Coupon (online coupon) --- *Now check this out!!! I just realized this.... the checker when he did my B1G1 Free coupon he used the REGULAR price, $1.59 - not the sales price

So really I got all of my LIfe waters for FREE!!!!

My total ended up being .... OOP $2.82

I saved $14.78 - an 84% savings!!!

Wal-Mart Savings

2009-06-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Small Packages of Kotex Pads (4)

$1.00

(2) $2/2 coupons (printed 1 from two different computers)

FREE

*my goal now is to never pay more than $1 for feminine care products! Imagine how much money I can save!!!

French's Mustard

$1.00

(2) .50 cents coupons from Sunday's paper - OR- Online Coupon

2/$1.00

Dawn Pure Essentials - Dish Soap

$2.25

$1.50 coupon from Sunday paper

.75 cents!

Total: $8.25

OOP $1.90

Saving: $6.35

CVS/Longs Savings

2009-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

I did two transactions at CVS the other day...

*I registered my CVS Extra Care Card online this week and I got $4 off a $20 purchase store coupon!!! So make sure you get your card and register it!

Transaction #1

Soy Joy Bars (20)

Reg. $1.29 / Sale: 4 for $4 w/ $4 ECB's (Extra Card Bucks) Limit 5 - So... basically FREE!!!

$1/5 Coupon I printed 4 (2 from my computer & 2 from my husbands)

Yes... we are stocked up!

$16

Always Pads

Sale: $4.99

$4 coupon from paper

.99 cents!

So here's the "magic"... The Break Down....

The Total: $24.99

- $4 0ff a $20 purchase

- $4 Soy Joy coupons

- $4 Always coupon

OOP $13.36

Savings: $20.20

Plus I receive $20 in ECB!!!! for.....

Transaction #2

Huggies Jumbo Pack (2)

Reg. 11.99 / Sale: $8.99

(2) $1.50 coupon from paper

Pull-Ups

Reg. $10.99 / Sale: $8.99

$2 off coupon from paper

There are (4) $2 off coupons at The Coupon Exchange

Total: $26.98

- $3 huggie coupons

- $2 pull-up coupon

- $20 ECB

Drum Roll Please.......

OOP $2.58!!!! (this is with tax)

Saving $33

Plus when you go into the store there is a little machine at the front door where you scan your Extra Care Card and it prints you out coupons... I now have a $2 off a $10 purchase to use for later!

So in all I spent $15.94 on $69.14 worth of stuff!!!!

Walgreens Savings

2009-06-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Trip #2 to Walgreens for the week.

Aquafresh Toothpaste

$3 on sale

$1 off printable coupon

Hershey Bars (8)

Reg. .89 cents (7.12)

.49 cents on sale (Wag - Walgreens Coupon)

Snickers Bar - As you can see from the picture... the snickers bar didn't make it home :)

Reg. .89 cents

.69 cents on sale

The Break Down

Total: $11.29

- $1 coupon

- $3.20 (hershey bars on sale)

- $5 Register Rewards from my last shopping trip

OOP $1.89!!!

Saving: $9.40

AND I got $3 in Register Rewards!!!

I made money in this transaction.... LOVE IT!

Pomo Canyon Camping!!!

2009-06-24T14:45:00.001-07:00

We are going camping! I am really excited, Pomo Canyon is the best place to camp.. it's close to the ocean but you are still in the red woods.

This is Ella and Hansel's second camping trip... but this time we don't have grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins to help. You have to pack so much stuff when you are taking kids!!!! What if it's hot.. or cold.. or they get really dirty and need to change 3 times a day!!! I am trying to pack light... you can't drive up to your campsite you have to walk in. So the least amount of trips the better!

I'll post pictures when we get back!

Wal-Mart Savings

2009-06-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

Joint Juice

$3.18

B1G1 coupon join the 30 day challenge for your free coupons - you can print 2

Out Of Pocket: $3.18

Savings: $3.18

Walgreens Savings

2009-06-23T15:42:00.001-07:00

I am learning the ropes! Here's what I did today...

*bottled water not shown

Original Cost: Transaction 1: $9.99 Transaction 2: $30.37 = $40.36

The Break-Down

Transaction 1:

Purex 3-in-1

Sale: $6.99

$2 Off coupon from paper

$4.99

Plus - $2 Register Rewards

AquaFresh Advanced

Sale $3

$1 Off printable coupon

$2.oo

Plus - $3 Register Rewards -- I made a dollar!!!

Out of Pocket: $6.99

Savings: $3

Transaction 2:

Zyrtec

Sale $18.99

$4 off coupon - paper

$5 Register Rewards

$9.99

PLUS - $5 Register Rewards & $2 off *Peelie - on the bottle- for next time!

Because you have to have an item for each coupon, example I had 3 coupons & only 1 item... I bought two cases of bottled water that we needed.

Bottled Water

Reg. $5.19

Sale $2.99 + crv $1.20

$8.38

Out Of Pocket: $18.37

Savings: $12

So the final for my shopping day....

Total Out of Pocket: $25.36

Total Savings: $15

Total Register Rewards: $10

I now have $5 in Register Rewards for my next shopping trip!

Wal-Mart Savings

2009-06-23T15:27:00.001-07:00

Here are the deals from my recent Wal-Mart trip!

Original Cost: $7.98

The Break-Down

Small Packages of Kotex Pads

2, $1 off from Smart Source 6/14

FREE!!!

Playtex Cleansing Cloths

(look in the travel section)

$1 off from Paper a couple weeks back

.98 cents

Yoplait Yogurt (8)

Sale: .47 cents

$1 off 8 from coupon

.34 cents each!

Out Of Pocket: $3.70

Savings: $4.28

Time vs. Money **** Strategic Shopping

2009-06-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

I can't take credit for this post, I found it HERE, take a look at the other great tips.

Why Bother?

Is it worth the time and energy to clip coupons? Is it even worth the cost of a Sunday paper?

Attempts to save money by using coupons often result in frustration after hours of clipping, searching the store and shopping result in total savings of $5-$10 dollars which seems small even viewed on an annualized basis of $260 - $520. But coupons are one key piece of a larger puzzle - Strategic Shopping. Strategic shopping combines multiple promotional marketing elements to realize the greatest possible savings. The ultimate goal is to purchase any given item at the lowest possible price which is often free and occasionally profitable.

Making Coupon use effective aka clipping your way to a great annual vacation

The most effective way to balance the time vs. money equation is to focus on saving significantly on key household and grocery staples. Select 25 - 30 items you purchase on a regular basis it is helpful to be brand flexible but not required. Assuming these items are purchased at a rate of four per month = 48 units of each focus item per year and a total of 1200 (48 x 25) total items.

How much can you save per item? Obviously the rate is variable and dependent on any individual's shopping list but here are some common examples with five items in the categories of grocery, home care and personal care: *

ITEM	AVERAGE COST	ANNUAL COST	TARGET PRICE	PER UNIT SAVINGS	ANNUAL SAVINGS
Apple Juice	$2.50	$120	.99 cents	$1.51	$72.48
Cereal	$2.99	$143.52	.75 cents	$2.24	$107.52
Instant Oatmeal	$2.99	$143.52	.99 cents	$2	$96
Granola Bars	$2.50	$120	.75 cents	$1.75	$84
Crackers	$2.50	$120	.75 cents	$1.75	$84

Spray cleaners	$2.50	$1.20	.75 cents	$1.51	$72.48
Laundry soap	$5	$240	$3	$2	$96
Dishwasher soap	$3.99	$191.52	$1.50	$2.49	$119.52
Liquid dish soap	$1.99	$96.52	.49 cents	$1.50	$72


Toothpaste	$2.99	$143.52	FREE	$2.99	$143.52
Floss	$2	$96	FREE	$2	$96
Mouthwash	$4.50	$216	.50 cents	$4	$192
Shampoo	$4	$192	.50 cents	$3.50	$168
Deodarant	$2.99	$143.52	FREE	$2.99	$143.52

		$2086.12			$1547.04

* prices are based on Brand Name items i.e. Tree Top or Motts Juice, Windex, Tide or Gain detergent, Crest or Colgate toothpaste etc.

The Coupon Exchange

2009-06-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Trial Run for The Coupon Exchange.

We are going to test run an idea, to share those coupons you'll never use!

Check it out at The Coupon Exchange

www.TheCouponExchange.blogspot.com

Happy Saving!

- Angela

FREE Chocolate Fridays!!!!

2009-06-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Don't miss out on your Free Chocolate!!!

Every Friday Mars is giving away a coupon good for one free Mars product! It is for only the first 250,000 people so make sure you stop by HERE first thing in the morning to see if you can get one.

*If you don't get one this time, that's ok....try again next Friday!

Which will you get with your coupon?
me... I'll get a Snickers! - Good luck!

Wal-Mart Savings

2009-06-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

Original Cost: $10.66

The Break Down:

Reach Floss (2)

2, $1 OFF coupons in 6/14 Paper
FREE

DenTek Floss Picks (2)

2, $1 OFF coupons
FREE

Banana Boat Sun Block (2) *the ones up at the register

2, $2 OFF coupons

FREE

Bumble Bee Pack (2) Albacore Tuna
2, $1 OFF coupons from 6/14 paper
- There are two different types:
- Tuna $1 - this would be FREE
- Albacore $1.27 - and this .27 cents!
.27 cents each

Yoplait Yogurt (6)
Sale: .47 each

.45 OFF six coupons
.39 each

Out of Pocket: $2.88

Savings: $7.78!

Walgreens Savings

2009-06-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Original Cost: $62.18

The Break Down:

- Schick Quattro Titanium (2)
Sale: $9.99 BOGO

2, $4 OFF coupons from 6/14 paper

.99 each

Schick Quattro Titanium Cartridges (2)
Sale: $10.99 BOGO

2, $4 OFF coupons from 6/14 paper
and lucky for me.... the package had 2 extra blades in each!!!
1.49 each

Dry Idea Deodorant (4)
Sale: .99 cents each with Walgreens coupon

2, $2 OFF coupons

FREE
and because the coupons were for more than the deodorant they only used two of the coupons and gave me the other two back... so with those two extra coupons I can go back and get 4 more for FREE....

Out of pocket: $7.20

Saving: $54.98

Saving Money

2009-06-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

So as you may have read before I've been hooked into the whole Coupon Clipping world... and I must say... it's paying off!!! I am going to keep you updated on my savings and all the tips that I am learning along the way.

Coupon Clipping :)

2009-06-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am sure that most of you have thought about coupon clipping at one time... but it seems like something that your mom or grandma did! But really there is an art to it... an art that I was not willing to take the time to develope. BUT I know someone who has and it's very fun to follow her on her adventures and LEARN!

Check out: www.CouponClippinMama.com

It's awesome, she tells you where great deals are AND posts links to good coupons! It saves so much time when you have someone else pointing you in the right direction!!!! It has inspired me to learn along with her!

So thank you Coupon Clippin' Mama! I look forward to saving money with you!

Update: Sadly Coupon Clippin' Mama isn't posting her deals anymore, so now I follow,

My Frugal Adventures she does a great job posting deals & she is local!

2008-08-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Nolan is here!!!!

Here is my newest nephew....

Nolan Canaan Sandvos

He was born August 21, 2008 at 1:21 pm

He was 8lbs 3 oz & 9 3/4 inches long

He is a very sweet little boy, he's got his daddy's eyes & his mama's nose & lips! :)

Amy & Eli are doing very well, tired, & very very happy!

Ocean Cove Camping 2008

2008-08-19T22:21:00.001-07:00

We did our First family camping trip on the coast!

Ella & Hansel absolutely loved it! as did Vincent... he comes alive when he's at the ocean :)

Mineral Genesis

2008-07-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here's our New Skin Care Line with Sensaria!!! Check it out. It's amazing!

2007-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hansel is wearing his sisters hat... don't let his dad know!

2007-11-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Ella and her friends: Ethan & Logan

2007-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

always smiling

always laughing

this baby is my joy!

2007-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

2007-11-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

"I think I look great in grandmas hat!"

2007-11-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Ella Bella - look at that beautiful smile!

and Hansel - he's as big as his sister!

Let me show you...

2007-09-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ella is showing baby brother how this thing works... he was very interested. This is the first time that they actually seemed like they were interacting with each other. Ella loves her baby!

bathing babies

2007-09-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

babies bath time... this way I can wash them at once! Ella enjoyed having her baby brother in the tub with her :)

Beautiful Ella

2007-08-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

this is my beautiful girl...

we were at the hospital after Hansel was born, she was looking up at him. Isn't she cute!

First Vacation

2007-08-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

We recently had a family vacation in Tahoe! It was so wonderful, we got to go up with the whole family, grandma - grandpa - aunts - uncles. It was the first vacation for Ella & Hansel, the first time they left the state (Nevada), the first time playing on the beach. I will try and post pictures soon, mom took tons, I just got to get copies of them all!

2007-08-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

And now we are four!

Angela, Hansel, Vincent & Elosie (Ella)