http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 10 May 2008 22:22:00 -0500 Sat, 10 May 2008 22:22:00 -0500 I am participating in The Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars!! Make sure to check out other great finds and share yours too!   Here is everything I got this week:   My total out of pocket was $14.97 I earned $10 in register rewards from Walgreens (which I spent already) & $52.70 in ECBs from CVS (I spent some of these this week, I have $31.23 left over to spend next week!!)   Transactions are as follows:   Walgreens I had 3 coupons for free 8x10s, so I used those. The pics are great.   Transaction 1 1 CoverGirl foundation, 1 CoverGirl pressed powder, 1 CoverGirl nail polish & 1 CoverGirl blush ... Total out of pocket after coupons $8.38, received $10 back in register rewards. Transaction 2 2 Cascade dishwasher detergents, 1 CoverGirl eyeliner, 1 CoverGirl concealer Total out of pocket after coupons and register rewards 24 cents Total price of both transactions before sales, coupons, rewards: $45.11 Total Saved: $36.54, around 81% !!   CVS First Transaction Adidas Deodorant 4.99 minus coupon for free deo. (4.99) only paid taxes Total Out of Pocket: 46 cents earned $4.99 ECB Second Transaction Adidas Deodorant             4.99 (-4.99 coupon) Aquafresh Toothpaste        2.79 Colgate 360 Toothbrush    3.99 (-1.00 coupon) Venus Embrace Razor       9.99 (-4.00 coupon) Total Out of Pocket after coupons & ECB (spent 4.99 ECB): 90 cents ECB Earned: $16.77 3rd Transaction: Tums Quick Dissolve Packs $4.69 Adidas Deodorant $4.99 Always Pads $2.99 Breathsavers 3 Hour Mints (x2) $3 Total Before Coupons & Tax : $15.67 Total Out of Pocket after coupons & $6 in ECB: $1.80 Total Earned in ECB: $11.68 4th Transaction Photobook 7.85 (minus $3q) Venus Razor 9.99 (minus $4 q) 2 Ice Breaker Mints 2/$3 1 Milky Way Candy Bar 50 cents (filler) Total out of pocket after coupons and 6.69 bucks back, 35 cents! And I earned $5 in ECB and got lots of new photo coupons 5th Transaction 2 Reese's Pieces $1 (filler) Colgate 360 Toothbrush $3.99 (minus $1 q) 2 Orapik Travel $2.79 each Tums Quick Dissolve Packs $4.69 6 x 8 Photobook (minus $3 q) $7.99 {not sure why it rang up this way, but manager said we weren't going to argue ;) } Total out of pocket after coupons & 9.99 in ECB, $2.84 And I earned $ 14.26 in ECBs!! Total cost for all items before coupons and ecbs, $82.02 Total out of pocket, $6.35 Total Savings $75.67, nearly 93% !!! I peeked at next week's flyer while I was waiting for my picture book to be put together (which was gorgeous by the way!!) and there are some good deals for next week too. Don't forget to share your finds! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/530357/ Sat, 10 May 2008 22:22:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/530357/ Another great week!!!! Here is a picture of everything I got. It took 6 transactions and a grand whopping total of $1.45 out of my pocket!!!! I also used a $25 gift card that I got for having a prescription filled. If you count the cost of the prescription (17.50) I spent $18.95 out of pocket.       So, I had a plan all layed out and I wasn't able to find the stuff in my plan. I gave up and started a new plan.   Transaction #1 Nexxus Shampoo (the big bottle)      $16.99 Nexxus Shampoo (the small bottle)   $  4.49 minus $4 on $20 purchase              - $  4.00 Total with Tax                                $19.10   (used gift card) Extra Care Bucks (ECB) Earned      $10.00 (purchase $20 in Nexxus get $10 ECB)   Transaction #2 CVS Rapid Release 24ct                 $3.99 CVS Rapid Release 24ct                 $3.99 Essence of Beauty facial buffer         $1.49 Essence of Beauty facial buffer         $1.49 Essence of Beauty facial buffer         $1.49 minus $2 on $10 CVS purchase    - $2.00 minus ECB from previous trans      - $10.00 Total with Tax                               $0.47 (out of pocket) ECB Earned                                    $12.98 ($3.99 ECB for each Rapid Release, $5 ECB for when you buy 3 Essence of Beauty products)   Transaction #3 M&Ms                                          $3.29 M&Ms                                          $3.29 Essence of Beauty nail brush          $1.99 Essence of Beauty cosmetic puffs   $1.99 Essence of Beauty q-tips                $1.99 Colgate 360 Sonic toothbrush        $6.99 Colgate 360 Sonic toothbrush        $6.99 minus $4 on $20 purchase           - $4.00 minus $3.29 BOGO M&Ms       - $3.29 minus $1 on 1 toothbrush            - $1.00 minus ECB from previous            - $12.98 Total with Tax                             $ 5.84 (gift card) ECB Earned                                  $14.00 ($3 ECB w/purchase of 2 M&Ms, $3 ECB for each toothbrush, $5 ECB for when you buy 3 Essence of Beauty products)   I was not super happy with transaction 3 b/c I spent more out of pocket than I wanted (even though it was on the gift card), but I had the girls with me and they were begging for the M&Ms and driving me crazy but when I went and made my next transaction I hit the jackpot (this next trans was my original plan but I couldn't find the stuff).   Transaction #4 7 Essence Beauty gift bags@ $1.49 $10.43 minus $2 on $10 CVS purchase     -$ 2.00 minus $8 ECB from previous          -$ 8.00 Total with Tax                               $  0.47 (out of pocket) ECB Earned                                    $10.00 ($5 ECB for when you buy 3 Essence of Beauty products, so 6 of the 7 bags made $10 ECB)   Transaction #5 (this one was gold!!) SoftSoap Spa Body Wash               $ 4.99 M&Ms                                            $ 3.29 M&Ms                                            $ 3.29(free) M&Ms                                            $ 3.29 M&Ms                                            $ 3.29(free) Colgate Toothpaste                          $ 1.99 Colgate Toothpaste                          $ 1.99(free) Arm&Hammer Detergant                 $ 5.99 Arm&Hammer Detergant                 $ 5.99(free) Arm&Hammer Detergant                 $ 2.99(b/c they only had 3 I got it half off) Essence Beauty gift bag                    $ 1.49 Essence Beauty gift bag                    $ 1.49 (these 2 finished up 3 of EB deal) minus $4 on $20 purchase             - $ 4.00 minus $1 Soft Soap coupon           - $ 1.00 minus $1 Arm&Hammer coupon   - $ 1.00 minus $1 Arm&Hammer coupon   - $ 1.00 minus $1 colgate coupon                - $ 1.00 minus $1 colgate coupon                - $ 1.50 minus $16 ECB previous trans        -$ 16.00 Total with Tax                                $   0.53 (out of pocket) ECB Earned                                     $ 15.99 ($3 ECB w/purchase of 2 M&Ms times 2, $4.99 ECB w/puchase of Soft Soap Spa, $5 ECB Essence of Beauty by combining the 1 bag from transaction 4 with the 2 from transaction 5)   Transaction #6 Soft Soap Spa body wash                $4.99 minus ECB from trans 5                 - $4.99 Total with Tax                               FREE!! ECB Earned                                     $4.99 ($4.99 ECB w/puchase of Soft Soap Spa)   So I ended with $ 15.99 in ECBs and still have 6 cents left of the gift card. The total for all products before coupons, etc  $139.45 (including cost of prescription).... total savings of $120.50   **Great Deals this Week** M&Ms are buy one, get one free & you get $3 ECB when you buy 2 Arm & Hammer is buy one, get one free .. you can print $1 coupons from www.armandhammer.com Colgate toothpaste is buy one, get one free .. you can print coupons from www.colgate.com Soft Soap Spa body wash is $4.99, you get $4.99 ECB with each purchase (up to 5) and you can print $1 coupon at www.colgate.com (its in the personal care section of the coupons) Want to see more great deals?? Check out The Centsible Sawyer!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/518636/ Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/518636/ You may remember me helpingMelissa celebrate her birthday a while back. Now its time to help Marsha celebrate her birthday with a Bloggy Bash. It will be next week, April 21-25, with prizes every day. Stop by and tell Marsha "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/517799/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:58:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/517799/ Copyright 2008, Do Not Use Without Permission http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/517202/ Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:13:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/517202/ I am trying to clean out my cabinets & freezer. I am also trying very hard to not eat out any until we head off for vacation a couple of weeks. And, at the top of the trying list is saving money. We are on a very tight budget this week. The first of the month always drains us, and this month was no exception. So, I am going to only use what we have around here this week and try to limit my trips to the grocery store. Monday: Breakfast Stromboli - egg/cheese/turkey sausage Grits   Tuesday: I will be going to play softball so DH will have frozen egg rolls & rice, the girls will have frozen mac & cheese   Wednesday: Appetizer Night - boneless wings, chicken fries & cheese sticks   Thursday: Beef & Bean Enchiladas   The menu ends there. That clears out alot from the freezer/cabinets and we will have company this weekend due to DD's ballet recital.  This week seems to be relatively calm. No plans for today other than a trip to the credit union, and no plans for Friday. Tuesday DD has PT & we will go to the library story time after that. Wednesday DD has ST and we have church/cubbies as well. Thursday I have a doctor's appointment & DD has ballet. I will drop the girls off with DH on Thursday. That way he can take DD1 to ballet and watch the little one & I can make it to an appointment all alone! Woo-hoo! I am working out scenerios for CVS shopping this week. Check out Centsible Sawyer for links to more scenerios. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/515972/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:14:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/515972/ Last night I saw a post on here from someone linking to Centsible Sawyer, I meandered on over and what I found was amazing! I stayed up until 4 AM reading about all the steals people found and trying to figure out just how the Extra Care Bucks worked. I made my first trip to CVS just after midnight where I earned my first ECB. Here is the breakdown. Transaction 1   2 packs of Huggies Diapers 1 pack of Huggies Pull Ups ====================== $4 in manu coupons $4 on $20 purchase found here Total out of pocket $20.79 Earned $10 ECB   Transaction 2 5 Bottles of Exedrine 3 Bottles CVS Rapid Release Gel Tabs 1 Bottle of Sunsilk Shampoo ============================= $2 off Excedrine (times 5) found here $1.50 off Sunsilk found here $4 off $20 purchase $10 ECB from previous purchase Total out of pocket $0.97 Earned $16.97 in ECB   Transaction 3 1 pack of Huggies 1 pack of Huggies Supreme 1 pack of Good Nights ========================= $5 in manu coupons $4 off $20 purchase $16.97 in ECB from previous purchase Total out of pocket $1.56 My grand total for all 3 transactions was $23.12 for $110.65 in products. Total savings was $87.53 or just over 80%!!!!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/515379/ Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:44:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/515379/ I mentioned a while ago that I was going to have an Usborne Book Party. It turned out to be a great party and I got tons of free and very reduced price books.  In fact I was able to get over $200 in books for only $40! My girls love every single thing we got and I am in love with the new books as well. One of the books we got is The Complete Book of First Experiences. What a great book! It has going to the doctor, the hospital, the dentist, the new baby, etc (9 different titles in one). I was so glad to have it before we made our trip to Vanderbilt. It really helped DD1 to understand some of what would happen when she went to the hospital. Even though she has been to the doctor a bazillion times she really enjoyed reading about other kids going to the doctor, too. I am very impressed with this book and totally recommend it to anyone looking to add to their library. As a free gift for hosting a show, my hostess told me I could pick any kit up to $75. I picked the Learning Palette Set 1 which included the following sets: Counting , Rhyming Words, Alphabet , Beginning Consonants , Beginning Vocabulary  and Vowels. If you have never heard of these learning palettes you should most certainly check them out. It is such a neat idea and so easy for kids to use. My 4 yo loves it already. We are just now working through the Alphabet pack. Right now we are still working on recognizing letters. She recognizes all capital letters but still gets some of the lower cased letters confused. You would think I sell the books (and I used too!) the way I am so in love with them, but really are great treasures! One day, time permitting of course, I would not mind getting back into the business, but for now I'll just continue to host great parties!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514912/ Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:12:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514912/ You know, just last night dh and I were talking about how DD2 would for sure be our first trip to the ER for a broken arm. She is such a little dare devil, always leaping without looking. DH actually calls her a cat because she always lands on her feet and she has this very annoying habit of trying to squeeze through your legs if you are standing somewhere. This morning I hear DD1 listening to T.J Bearytales and I wondered to myself exactly how she got him down from the top of her closet. Exhibit A   Maybe she will be the first with the broken arm. How did she not take a tumble? Do you see how she has the two chairs stacked and used her rocking chair to scale Mt. Rushtothehospital?? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514544/ Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514544/ There is a very fine line between trusting God and tempting God and I am not sure where the blur ends from one side to another. I feel like I trapped in this line and if I move one way I am blessed and if I move the other, well, not so blessed. Our pastor preached a while ago about tempting God and it has made such an impression on me and yet leaves me second guessing everything I do. Our pastor has had diabetes for a very long time. He made the example of saying yes, he could and does trust God for his healing, but he is not going to tempt God by saying "Alright God, heal me. I'm not going to take any of the medicines you have provided me with but I have faith that you are going to heal me." I totally see the line there. He could very well not give himself an insulin shot every day with complete faith that he would be healed, but more than likely he would not be here. God has provided us with wonderful medical technology. God expects us to do our part in protecting His temple. Here is my predicament ... I have two very lovely children. I had a third precious daughter that went to be with her Creator 19 weeks into my pregnancy. I had the same problem in all three pregnancies, failure to dilate. Not just getting stuck at 2 or 5 and never progressing any further. When I say I had failure to dilate I mean there was no dilation at all! Not at 41 weeks, not at 38 weeks and not even after 4 days on induction meds at 19 weeks. I must always have a c-section. I am very thankful to God that someone  many, many years ago learned out to cut babies from the womb that they might live. If it were not for that person, and God's never-ending grace,  I would not have any children. So here I am walking this very blurred, fine line between temptation and trust. Part of me says that I have two beautiful children, two more than a lot of people are blessed with, and for that I should be entirely thankful (and I am) and be done; nurture the two I have in my presence in the admonition of the Lord and be the best mother I can be by God's grace. The other part of me says that I have the ability to make and carry babies (there was no reason found at all for me losing Joslyn) and that for that very reason alone I should keep adding to my quiver. Its just such a struggle in my mind and it is totally wearing me down. I have wanted children as long as I can remember ever thinking of having kids and I think I was like 2 days old when the thought first occurred to me. I am at a point now where I am "allowed" to start trying for another baby. The thought scares me to death. There are many complications that can arise from having a c-section. Would I be tempting God to try again, or would I be trusting Him to protect me and my family? Such a grey line. A fuzzy line of black and white bleeding together and muddling my mind. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514055/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:52:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/514055/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/513100/ Tue, 8 Apr 2008 22:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hereiam/513100/