Deal for the day!

We had a great T'giving. I have pictures....just have yet to have had time to post them because this week has been so busy!! But oh so fun! More to come....But instead I'm so excited because I got 6 of these:and got paid $.18 to buy them!! I had a $3 off 3 Johnson and Johnson products coupon...two coupons actually. And they cost $.97 at Target!! Hooray!! So just wanted to verify that the coupon madness has not fizzled...it fills my little bits of free time actually!! And I cringe when I have to pay full price for something! I highly encourage everyone to go buy your Sunday paper tomorrow and clip the coupons!! If for nothing else....there are TWO penny coupons in the paper this week for Publix!! Hip Hip HOORAY!! I don't know what it's for yet. I'll try and let you know when I find out. But I bought a paper today and there were two separate Publix ads in it and each had a penny coupon.
There was also a SmartSource AND Red Plum which I was happy to see as my last two weeks paper has not had the Red Plum in it and I was curious about that.....LOTS of coupons this week...so get your paper and hang onto those coupons til the stores deals help you to get a killer deal when using your coupons!!

Total Spent $75.23 Total SAVINGS: 94.29!!!

A goal I set going onto couponing was for my total savings to exceed my total spent!! You should have seen the JIG I started to dance as the clerk at Publix added up my savings and my total started

shrinking and

shrinking and

shrinking!!!!

(DISCLAIMER: keep in mind this is only my second week really using coupons..so if you are a die hard bargain shopper and you are looking at my savings saying "oh that's nothing" pass along ANY and all tips...I'm so totally new to this, but so totally addicted too!")

Oh yeah so so exciting!! Who needs coffee when you are on a savings high?!!

So here's what I bought today at PUBLIX



4 boxes of Kraft whole grain Mac and Cheese (on sale)
4 Cans Del Monte veggies (BOGO plus Mf Q)
2 large cartons all natural no preservative Swanson Chicken broth (BOGO)
2 boxes Ronzoni Lasagna pasta (BOGO)
2 boxes Betty Crocker muffin mix (BOGO)
6 boxes Uncle Bens Long Grain and Wild Rice (BOGO and 1 MF Q and 2 printable Q)
1 box light brown sugar (on sale .69 per and a mf Q)
1 box 10X sugar (on sale .69 per and a mf Q)
32 oz jar Hellman's lite Mayo (BOGO plus Q)
2 boxes sugar free Swiss Mis Hot Cocoa (BOGO plus Mf Q)
2 boxes reduced fat wheat thins (BOGO plus printable Q)
2 boxes reduced fat triscuits (BOGO plus printable Q)
2 bags Chex Mix (BOGO plus 2 printable coupon....33 a piece)
1 box Land o lakes butter (BOGO plus mf Q)
2 dozen organic eggs (full price)
2 pkgs Sargento cheese (2/ $5 plus Mf Q)
2 16 oz Breakstone Sour Cream (.99 - check the expiration date...I got a low fat and a fat free on expires n Dec the other Jan)
2 Rolls Jimmy Dean reduced Sodium Sausage (BOGO)
2 pkgs Oscar Meyer low sodium bacon (BOGO)
2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners (BOGO and 2 printable Q)
1 Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce (full price...needed and no other deals were as low as original price of Hunts)
1 bottle hand soap (on sale...needed, but no Q..ugh!)
2 bottles Glass Plus cleaner (BOGO and a printable online Q)
1 package Dixie heavy duty paper plates (BOGO plus MF Q)
1 package Dixie heavy duty paper bowls (BOGO plus Mf Q....I just used the bogo to get 1 plate and 1 bowl)
1 bottle DOVE shampoo (2 for $7 plus MF Q)
1 package 2000 flushes ($1 off coupon)
2 cans DelMonte less salt veggies (BOGO plus Mf. Q )
2 Betty Crocker mashed Sweet potatoes (BOGO plus Mf Q)
10 Martha White corn muffin mixes (all 10 totally freeuse the $5 off coupon in the T'giving Saver their regular price is only 2 for .99)
8 lbs oranges (bogo of 4lb bag...I got 1 bag of large and 1 bag of small)
2 cans Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce (2 $1 off Q)
1 carton V-8 Southwest Corn soup (1 off mf Q)
3 cans Cream Chicken soup....(4/$3 plus mf Q)
3.23 lbs Sweet potatoes (.43 a pound...more than .10 cheaper than Kroger's sale price IF you have a family savings book then you get them for free BUT i just got signed up for one so I didn't)
1 pkg Good Bites doggie treats (totaly free with a MF Q for a free pkg)
and a couple more things I forgot to keep track off....


But there you have it...my grocery list that cost me $75.23!!

I forgot to take my penny Q for my bleach bottle for a penny...URK! So I will go back plus I found 2 more Q Muir Glen Organic Tom. Q's so I will take those and get that too!

IF YOU GOT OTHER GREAT deals at Publix or other places please leave a comment so me and my friends can take advantage of all the deals there are floating out there! Thanks!!

PS...I've had a few people tell me they put me down as a 'referral' on the grocery game when they joined....THANK YOU...i didn't even know about that...way cool!! IF anyone else does this please use THIS email for me so I get the referral credit and it doesn't just float around in la la land!! I'll get 12 weeks free for every 3 referrals apparently....so so cool!! I love to save money...

so use: thadandrachelb (at) msn (dot) com

thanks friends!!

Art Show...my house: every day!!

My Mr Wonderful completed a long-awaited project today!!

HOORAY HOORAY!!

We found these frames and painted them

My sweet wonderful hubby Hung them on the walls. He hung down from the hanging nail thingy (don't you love my technical terminology) some handy dandy hooks we had (for something else) from IKEA and attached clips like this:

here's a close-up so you don't get overwhelmed by the technical mumbo jumbo

PREEESEEENTING our family art showcase!!
Totally changeable...MK drew the Christmas tree real quick while Daddy was hanging the frames so she could put it in (although she only got copy paper and quickly realized it needed a backing of contruction paper not to curl).

The great thing is we can adjust where in the frame the clip is. Anyway...I'm thrilled with it!! I love those pretty frames to put your kids artwork in, but my kids are constantly doing things I/they would love to display, so this works much better for me! Plus they get to be a part of it...even better in our house!! I just grabbed some things real quick to put up (some are a couple of years old and looking a bit sad..they didn't have a nice place to hang and are loving not being mushed in a box they tell me!!

It's an art show every day around here now and we love it!! It's so simple and well...me!

If I could choose whatever frames I wanted I would choose some funky ones and use different widths and looks, but this is what I have for now, and for now I'm just so thankful to have a wall that's all about my kids and let's them know what they do is important/awesome/beautiful enough to be on display!!

Christmas Wish

tonight was tough.... Cleaning up the kitchen from a yummy & fun relaxing dinner (a fabulous grilled pork tenderloin I bought on a good sale...ha ha!)
after a totally fun day of Christmas Crafts and T'giving fun

BAM!!

We don't know if it was the Christmas music I had playing (Thanks to online radio we've been prancing around the house to seasonal tunes a bit early around here) or what, but MaryKyle started sobbing...not just crying, but down right uncontrollable sobbing.

Apparently at that moment it hit her that Aaliyah would not be here for the holidays or to celebrate her 3rd b'day...

"but Mommy she has never done any of those things away from us!"

I of course could not contain my daily suppressed tears. Who could ??

John Mark was in the other room completing a project he'd started before dinner and he walked back into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks seeing the tears and says....

"what?!!" "Wh... What...what HAPPENED in here?!!!" (say it slowly & accentuate the 3rd "what" and "happened" a little more in your head and you've got it!)

So typical male -oh how I love that boy!

He WAS nice enough to go tell Daddy about the drama occurring in the kitchen downstairs
who was nice enough to then come and rescue me knowing how much I'm already struggling this season. Which allowed me to escape when I felt I could and get myself distracted and together before I lost it like MK beyond just a good tearfall...
I distracted myself by looking at old pictures of the last few Christmases...

I know, I know so sounds like the LAST think I should do to distract myself in such moments

But it makes me ever so happy to remember when I was truly parenting 3 children
(not just feeling like the parent of 3 children with only 2 here for me to protect).
Remembering when that beautiful little girl with the biggest most stunning smile graced the halls of this house with her whoops and hollers and giggles!!
It makes me smile...(and sometimes cry)
but tonight..tonight it made me SMILE!!

and then...at some point, the entire family ended up surrounding the laptop laughing at our little darling and her greatly missed antics! memories captured on film are such an incredible blessing!

Isn't she just the most adorable thing?

People sometimes say that "she might come back" It might shock some to know that I do not hope for that.

That would mean she would have something sad happen in her life and that is not what I want for her no matter how much I long to hold her again. This amazing child could draw all attention in a room to her...she could sing and laugh and dance and was just so full of smiles and joy!
I hope she is smiling right this very moment and belly roll laughing at next to nothing...
ooohhhh THAT's what I hope for her!!

That is my Christmas wish!

Thursday

Today I laughed (pretty hard)

I just had to call my hubby because I knew he would appreciate the humor

Today a lady chased me down in the Publix parking lot....

...to ask me coupon tips!

after being somewhere behind me in line

...watching the clerk panic she was going to have to give me money back

she didn't- Aw Shucks!

yep...today,

I laughed...at me!

and my addiction to couponing was fueled thanks go an old friend sharing with me a new site and a lady looking for lessons in saving ....to ME...ha ha ha haha!

my weekly tally of savings: $131.48

SWEET!

I am learning slowly but surely