Spent 3.19...

and saved $50.93 on groceries.  Gotta have extra eggs and vinegar for dying!  We do have a cat, but the cat treats were a money maker.  That is why we have so many and I will probably donate these since we already have treats.  That is another thing about couponing, you can donate what you don't need/use.  The rest is just stuff we need!

...  and now for baby pics

She is listening intently to his story.

They even tilt their head the same way.

$43 in groceries, paid $4.19 and getting a $10 MIR giftcard!

Took baby Ashley to Publix tonight.  I am discovering that she hates the carseat... or maybe the car.  Unless she is totally passed out asleep before I load her up, she screams the whole time.  Tonight she cried for 15 minutes and when we got to the store, she went to sleep after 2 laps around the store in the shopping cart. 

Anyway, ConAgra had a $10 rebate deal and this is how I did mine.  After coupons, I paid $4.19 and will get $10 back.  Nice money maker and I have 6 bags of chicken.  Wa-hoo!  Oh, and no I don't have a dog, but I know people who do.

This was $43 before coupons. 

Baby pic of the day...  Uncle Todd and Aunt Michelle came for a visit.

Easy car seat cover.

I finished another copy craft today!  Amazing, considering I am extra sleep deprived thanks to those thunderstorms last night.  It was musical beds with Josh in bed with Andrew and me in the boys' room in a twin bed.  Anyway, I saw this and thought it was a great idea.  I saw one on a friend's facebook page and she gave me the link to the tutorial here.  It is a car seat cover or deterrent for strangers wanting to touch your baby.  I thought it was practical b/c on several occasions I have placed a blanket over the car seat to keep wind or sun out of the baby's eyes...  even rain.  I love that this will stay put and also leaves space to grab the car seat handle.

I picked fabric to match the car seat, but in hindsight this might be a little busy.  I don't think it really matters but if I could go back I would do a solid gray on the inside.

Miss Personality

Newborn babies are great and all, but when they start reacting to you the real fun begins.  Now that Ashley is having more alert time, the boys are more interested in her.  She has started smiling when she hears you talking to her and the boys just think that is so exciting.  She was on the floor being quiet and Alex just plopped down on her pillow for some "pillow talk." 

Sweet...

She's got my finger!

Ashley's thinking "Mom, did you get the shot yet?"

Big smile for brother!

Easiest thing I have made in a while.

I love this passie clip and it is just 2 pieces of grossgrain ribbon I personalized with elastic on one side and a mitten clip sewn on the other.  I whipped this up in no time.  Nothing fancy but super practical.  The hospitals give you those soothie passies that have a small hole for a passie clip.  Well, most passie clips I see in the stores won't fit in that hole and this is a universal clip.  You can also put toys and other objects on it that you don't want to lose or fall on the ground and get dirty.  I also used my super-duper embroidery sewing machine to personalize it. 

Now when we take her to church, the nursery people will know it is Ashley's passie.  Then we won't be called out of service b/c someone took our baby's passie and our baby won't stop crying.  Then we won't have to leave and stop by Rite Aid to buy new passies immediately b/c our infant is screaming as if he was on fire. Yes, this happened with Alex.

BTW, she turned 1 month old on Sunday and her brothers adore her...  mostly.

More produce for cheap!

For those people who shop the "outer aisles" and claim "there are never coupons for healthy food,"  here ya go!  All of this for about $2.  I even did this trip at the Publix that is not very coupon friendly at all (the one by the G-Braves stadium).  I used no competitor coupons, just manufacturer coupons and Publix store coupons.  It was a small trip but I got some stuff I needed.

216 diapers for .27 and a $100 gift card!

Yes, baby Ashley has arrived and I am quickly remembering how many diapers a newborn goes through a day.  Not to mention I am paranoid she will get a UFO (that is what my friend Jenny and I call UTIs b/c the bacteria are alien invaders down there).  Anyway, my diaper stockpile is running low so I scored a box of 216 size 1 Pampers Swaddlers for .27!  That includes 2 day shipping to my door.  How did I do it?  Well, a thoughtful friend of mine signed me up for a free subscription of Parents magazine.  These magazines have 20% off coupons and $10 off coupons for anything in the Amazon.com baby department.  Add in some other discounts offered by Amazon like "Subscribe and Save" and a couple free $5 Amazon giftcards from Swagbucks and voila...  huge box of Diapers for pennies. 

Then to make my day today, I get the mail and discover I won a $100 Rite Aid gift card just for shopping there.  Every purchase was an entry into a sweepstakes and I actually won.  I seriously walk away from that store with free stuff every week and just for going and getting my free stuff, I won a gift card.  

So, I am not bragging but just sharing some of the advantages I have received from couponing.  I honestly get super irritated when people say there are no coupons for stuff they need or it is just too much work.  Well, gas and grocery prices are rising and couponing is a great way to cut those costs back down.  Now, if you just don't want to spend the time couponing, that is fine.  Just don't whine to me about your grocery bill.  I bought 2 packs of yogurt, gallon of milk, strawberries, grapes, 12 pack of toilet paper and some cough drops for less than $2 this week.  Vent over.  Here is a sweet pic of Ashley: