How my Hubby helps us save money...

We are all the time posting about how we, as wives, save money by shopping with frugality. So I thought, since Father's Day is around the corner, it might be fun to show ways that my hubby helps us save money. Everyone has a special talent and Wes' happens to be making things.

Here are some examples of how he has made things to save us money...

He made this awesome set of shelves that is usually kept in our daughter's room. She has decorated it with stickers at the bottom...but the coolest thing is that the back of it is made up of pieces of fabric. They can be changed at any time!


He made this sweet little box for me the weekend after we met. It was such a sweet gift! And the lid had this sweet inscription...
This is my bed. This was a birthday present to me several years ago. Oh, I love my bed!

I wanted a kitchen island after seeing one that my friend had. He decided that he could make one for half of the cost. It started out like this...

And now has progressed to this:



This is the bottom piece without the top or doors. It is made from scrap wood that he had in the workshop.

This is the top...beautiful walnut...
Here are two of our tables that he has made. Our house is a little upside down right now since we are putting in hardwood floors in my daughter's room. Things had to be rearranged a little...and speaking of flooring...
Here is what it looked like after the first night. Not only do we save money by buying it at a local home improvement place, we also save on labor of having it installed!

What's that weird noise...(Part 2)

We have been working, working, working on our daughter's room laying hardwood floors. My hubby and I have a great system. I lay the wood down, several rows in advance at a time, and he comes behind me and does all of the nailing. Works great for him, works great for me. We are almost all done.
God threw a little excitement into our day when the manual nailer that he was using broke. Yeah. Really happy thoughts ran through our minds. I called the local rental place and found not only a nailer that we could rent for (what I consider) cheap but it was air-assisted! Much easier on my hubby's back!
We headed across town to get the nailer and low and behold-it used the same nails that we already have! God is sooooo good.

We headed for Sonic for a quick lunch and ate in the car while enjoying the wonderful breeze that has been blowing all day. We slurped down our Cherry Limeade's and sat wishing that we had more.
"Can't hurt to ask," I said as I retrieved the cherry out of the ice, "all they can say is no."
So, the button was pushed and the worker said "Be right out."
He came out, took our cups and refilled them with the wonderful drink!
For Free!
Who would-a thunk it?

Oh, we got home, became busy bees again and suddenly noticed that our house was not cool. Ah, the A/C finally decided to stop. Well, I guess after living in a place for nine years without ever once having it serviced can do that to a machine....thank heavens it is breezy outside!

What's that weird noise...

Nothing. Silence. Quiet. How weird! Wes' wonderful parents have taken my children home with them for the weekend. Two nights. TWO NIGHTS! (yes, I know that all caps signifies screaming but it is just to quiet in here!)

I don't know what to do with the silence, the absence of "Mommy...." or "no sir/yes ma'am". The absence of Manny wanting to snuggle on the couch or Gracie girl wanting to paint or color with me...wait! This is the wrong path.

I have two days without my little ones, one afternoon to myself before my sweetie comes home from work. What to do? What to do? If only there were some bon-bons in the fridge. Maybe I need to alleviate that problem...

We are attacking my daughter's room this weekend while the babies are gone. My sweetie is laying hardwood floors and we will start painting it as soon as the floor is laid. We will be busy and are thankful that Fred and Frances were willing to help us out. They should have a blast with the babies! Just pray that the kids will go to sleep!

(I hate to use the word "in-laws" when it comes to my dear Fred and Frances. There can be a negative stigma with the term and none of the negatives have been nor can I ever see being associated with them. They love God, they love their son, they love me, they love their grandchildren...and they show it in more ways than one could ever imagine. I love them too!)

Walgreen's Deal for 05/30

There is a deal going on tomorrow for $10/$30 at Walgreens. I am not a big fan of Walgreens and don't usually shop there, so I won't even try to work up a deal.
However, if you go to Money Saving Mom's site, there is a link to be able to print the coupon for Walgreen's.
Also, if you go this site, there is a link to print another Huggies rebate for purchasing three bags of diapers in one purchase. I wasn't aware that this rebate was available and was very happy that the love was shared!

Memorial Day CVS Trip

I went to CVS today with my daughter and my wonderful stash of ECBS ($43.36). I knew that I was just going to spend those ECB's without worrying about how much I got back. So, that is exactly what I did.

First Transaction:

(1) Tide $5.99
(5) 12 packs of Pepsi $2.40 each
**They were buy 4 get 1 Free
(1) Very purply-fun girly flip flops for some sweet little feet $1.99

Total: $19.98
Coupon: $5/15 CVS
ECB's Used: $15.00
Total OOP: $3.38

Earned: $2 ECB's for Tide
$2.5o off $10 CVS Brand Purchase
$3 off any Excedrin

Second Transaction:

(1) Tide $5.99
(2) Playskool Diapers $10.99 each
(1) Bag of Bubble Gum for the owner of those sweet little feet

Total: $$28.96
Coupon: 35 cents off Tide
ECB's Used: $25.36
Total OOP: $3.40

Earned: $2 ECB's for Tide
$5 ECB's for Diapers

(Partial Picture: Too tired to lug all of the soda upstairs)

So, for next week, I have $15 ECB's!
Total Spent Today: $6.78 on $73.39 worth of stuff!
Total Saved: $66.61

(p.s. I have since learned that the $5/15 coupon that I found online should not have been used. I will go back to CVS and see if I can make it right. No need to have a guilty conscience over $5! Go to Money Saving Mom for more info on this coupon)

Does you mind ever take you down rabbit trails?

The other day I went and had my haircut. I loved it! It was good for me to have a few minutes away from my little boy who had been a tough nut to crack all morning!

Two days later, I was styling my new fandangled haircut (ok, so it's not really fandangled but how often do you get to use that word in a day?). My mind started running. Here we go...enter rabbit trail...



First...
I was thinking about a conversation with my stylist about girls having their hair done for prom
then...
I thought about my own prom. Why didn't I get my hair done for my prom?
then...
I remembered how sweet my now hubby looked in his suit. We had been dating for about 5 months and although it was my senior prom, he was a senior in college and I didn't care what he wore, just that he was there...sorry, another rabbit trail is trying to emerge
then...
I thought about my junior prom. No date. Didn't go. No hard feelings.
then...
I thought about the after prom party at my school. It was loads of fun! I remember being there with my close group of friends and just being. We weren't the "popular" crowd so we didn't gather much attention, but we were "cool" together.
then...
I remembered the gifts that they gave away if you stayed until the end of the party-somewhere around 3 a.m.
then...
I remembered all of the "popular" kids sitting up front so that they could jump up to gather their prize. The announcer had stopped drawing names because so many people had already left and would just give the prize to the first name that he heard called out.
then...
The prize was a portable CD player. Not to age myself but it was 1993 and those things were really just starting to make their way onto the scene-in a big way.
then...
I remember wishing I could get it.
then...
I heard my name called out by a guy. It was the only name called and I was floored! I got up and collected my prize.

Now this may be silly, but to this day, I never knew who called out my name. Sometimes, when I allow a rabbit trail to enter into my thoughts, I try to place that voice. Sometimes, I don't.

God is perfect in all that he does and I am so thankful that my first and final boyfriend is now my hubby of 12 years!

Wendy's Complaint

Last week, on my way home from a bible study, I stopped to get some lunch at a local Wendy's. It was just past the "lunch rush" so I thought my chances of getting hot, good food were pretty good.
I was handed my receipt which showed that cheese had been added to my burger. I destest cheese. I loathe it. So, I politely told the man working that I had not asked for cheese. He looked at me and then asked for the receipt again. He looked at me and then at the receipt. Did my head spin around? You would have thought!
He then yelled to the back that he needed a burger without the cheese. Ok. This was fixed. No big deal (except I was charged for the cheese). I got the rest of my order and pulled away.
I handed my daughter her chicken and then the fries. They were ice cold. So were mine. I sighed a heavy sigh and went back through the drive thru. I explained the problem. The man at the counter, the same one, looked at me as if my head was spinning around.
However, he did correct the problem.

Now. I don't mind giving my honest opinion to a company when I am either greatly not satisfied or greatly pleased. I am completely honest and make sure that I share all of the details, not just ones that would make my case sound better. I went online to the Wendy's site and shared exactly what happened. I even requested that they contact me if they needed to.

Several days later, I realized that I had never heard from Wendy's. First, I was a little aggravated. Then I reasoned with myself and decided that it didn't matter. I got home and opened my mailbox.

Wouldn't you know it? In my mailbox was an envelope from Wendy's with two gift certificates inside-to exactly replace the meal that I had purchased.

Kraft Food & Family Magazine (Summer 2008)

I just got my new Kraft Food and Family magazine (Summer 2008 edition) and it had some really nice coupons inside.

When the magazine originally came out, I was able to sign up for free. I receive it in the mail without having to pay for it.

The mag. sales for $3.95 and could be a filler for a CVS deal-if you could find it there.




Here are the coupons found inside...
75 cents off Maxwell House coffee
$1 off a LiveActive aproduct (Cereal/Crystal Light/Breakstone Cottage Cheese/Knudsen Cottage Cheese)
$1 off a South Beach Living Hot Sandwich Melt or Refrigerated Wrap Kit
55 cents off sugar free Rice pudding snacks (6 pack)
75 cents off Ritz Toasted chips
55 cents off Kraft Mayo

And one very nice coupon for a FREE bottle of Kraft Salad Dressing (up to $3.09) Thanks to Kim and Sherri for pointing it out! I would have missed it!

CVS Fun and a Good Kroger Trip

Tonight I went to CVS intent on spending $50 to be able to use a $10 off $50 coupon that expired today. I made a list of all of the items that I wanted to purchase and then substitutes because my CVS is famous for being out of stuff.

This is what I got:

2 Kelloggs Smart Start $2.50 each
1 Colgate Total Advanced $2.99
1 Schick Intuition Razor $9.99
1 Freestyle Glucose Monitor $10.00
1 Aquafresh Advanced $2.99
1 Aquafresh Xtreme $2.99
2 Tums quickpak $4.69 each
2 Hawaiian Tropic lipbalm $1.99 each
1 Zantac 8 Count $5.29

Total: $52.61

Coupons Used:
$10/50 CVS coupon
$5 ECB's
$3/15 CVS coupon
$3/2 Kelloggs Smart Start
$5 off Zantac
$4 off Razor Coupon
$1 Aquafresh Advanced
$1 Aquafresh Xtreme
$1 Colgate Toothpaste

Total $19.61 out of pocket
Total ECB's earned...can I get a drumroll please?....

$43.36!

This is how it broke down:
$9.38 ECB's for Tums (4.69x2)
$2.00 ECB's for Colgate
$5.98 ECB's for Aquafresh (2.99x2)
$10 ECB's for Freestyle Meter
$10 ECB's for Hawaiian Tropic
This was probably the best moneymaker. I was able to walk the aisle and find the lip balm that is made by HT. I spent $3.98 and got $10 back!
$6.00 ECB's for Schick Razor

I have never been so successful at accumulating ECB's before! I felt like I was on cloud nine for the rest of the night!

I get most of my coupons from the Money Saving Mom site and the links that are provided there. It is worth the effort to print the coupons and to read the CVS deals that other people post there.

I also did a Kroger trip this week. Ok, it was more like three, but I really only got a good deal once.

















Here is what I got:

Three packs of Huggies $9.49 each
Two Colgate Toothpastes $2.00 each
Three boxes Eggos $1.24 each
Five packs of Chicken $1.88 a pound
One bottle Pert Plus $2.50
Nine rolls of Paper Towels $1.00 each

Total Before Coupons and Card Savings: $99.95
Total AFTER Coupons and Card Savings: $41.03
Savings of $58.92

Coupons Used:
(9)25 cents off Bounty
2.00 off Pert Plus
(2)1.50 off Colgate
(2)1.00 off Huggies
1.50 off Huggies
2.50 off from Shortcuts
1.50 off any $7 frozen food purchase
2.50 off any $10 Poultry purchase
4.00 off purchase with Huggies promotion

Getting those veggies?

Tonight for dinner we had meatloaf. It is not a favorite in our house but every once in awhile, it is rather tasty. It also goes fabulous with my favorite dish of all time-green bean casserole!

My hubby likes there to be lots of veggies in it so I usually try to add sauted onions, green peppers and and celery. Well tonight, we were out of celery. I grabbed a yellow squash instead and cooked it up! Man! It was good. And my kids didn't even know that they were eating it.

Any tricks that you have?

How do you pronounce it?

A new bloggy friend of mine is hosting a game. It is so neat to have found someone who lives in "my neck of the woods" and so I wanted to join the fun!




The point of this game is as follows:

How do you pronounce the following words?

POINSETTIA: poin-set-ee-uh or poin-set-uh
EITHER: ee-ther or aye-ther
PAPRIKA: pap-ri-kuh or puh-pree-kuh
ROUTE: root or rout
GALA: gey-luh or gal-uh
CONSORTIUM: consor-shee-um or consor-tee-um
VASE: vayse or vahz
MISCHIEVOUS: mis-che-vus or mis-chee-vee-ous
KILOMETER: kil-uh-meter or ki-lom-i-ter
PATRONIZE: pay-tronize or pah-tronize
COMFORTABLE: comf-terble or com-fer-ta-ble
ASSOCIATE: ass-o-see-ate or ass-o-shee-ate
ORANGE: awr-nj or ornj
CARAMEL: care-a-mel or car-mel or kahr-uh-mel or kahr-mul
BONUS SPELLING QUESTION: CATSUP or KETCHUP

My answers:

POINSETTIA: poin-set-ee-uh
EITHER: ee-ther
PAPRIKA: pap-ri-kuh
ROUTE: rout
GALA: gey-luh
CONSORTIUM:consor-tee-um
VASE: vayse
MISCHIEVOUS: mis-chee-vee-ous
KILOMETER: kil-uh-meter
PATRONIZE: pay-tronize
COMFORTABLE: comf-terble
ASSOCIATE: ass-o-shee-ate
ORANGE: awr-nj
CARAMEL: care-a-mel
BONUS SPELLING QUESTION: KETCHUP
BONUS Word : HERB or 'ERB

You can copy the original set of words and paste them into your blog. Paste them again and give your answers. Add a new word to keep things interesting!
Then, link back to the original posting and/or leave a comment so we know to go and look!

Pity Party Update

I love my mom-in-law! She drove two hours today to watch my two little ones to give a chance to rest. And rest I did! It was the most wonderful gift that she could have ever given me.

Join my pity party!?!

Ok, so, I just wanted to take a moment and see if anyone wanted to join my pity party. I shouldn’t complain, God is SOOO good, but there comes a point where you just want some sympathy so here it goes…

I have a virus.
Can’t breathe through my nose.
Drainage makes me cough.
Coughing makes me gag.
Gagging makes me vomit.
Vomiting makes my sides and chest hurt.
Coughing keeps me awake.

Not to mention what effects the coughing is having on my bladder with me being 32 weeks pregnant!

A mixed blessing?...one of the coupons that I received from Kroger the other day was to save $20 off my groceries with any new RX filled. I went to the Dr. yesterday and he gave me an RX. So, I saved $20 bucks on my weekly grocery shop yesterday!

Every cloud has a silver lining-or in this case, an Andrew Jackson lining!

Coupon Joy

Today I received a bunch of coupons from Kroger and the thoughts of my future savings warmed my heart. Not to mention the fact that my two year old son was contently playing basketball and my daughter was content digging for worms.

Yeah.

So anyway, my friend Kim posted on her blog yesterday that she received coupons from Kroger and I was envious. Covetous. Over coupons! I felt left out. Confused. Have I not spent about the same amount of time in the store? Have I not walked aisle after aisle trying to find a way to walk out spending as little as possible? Was I not worthy of special coupons?

Here is what my lovely store sent to me...

1 Free box of special K cereal
$2.50 off a $10 fresh meat dept purchase
$1.50 off a $7 frozen dept purchase
$60.00 free in groceries with three RX transfers
$1 off two boxes of Kellogg's cereal
$1 off two Ragu pouches
50 cents off two Jet Puffed Marshmallows
$1 off any colgate toothpast
$1 off Kelloggs Nutri-grain bars
$1 off ALL laundry detergent
$1 off two Betty Crocker cookie mixes
50 cents of Palmolive
$1.25 off two Tostitos chips or salsa
$1 off two A1 steak sauces
$1 off $3 household cleaners purchase

Whew! And the best part-most of them are just "manu coupons" and can be used anywhere!