Couponing-why it makes perfect sense

I have always been the kind of person that would run to the store every evening or every other evening if I needed a few things well not anymore, my husband would be like you just ran to the store the other night and i would say yeah your right but I forgot to grab this or this. But I have learned and trained my mind not to run to the store every time I need something, I will wait until I need atleast 4 or 5 things before I will run to the store. Ever since I have been pregnant, I have not wanted to go anywhere literally it seems, I get so tired around 6 or 7 each night and that's when my husband gets home and I don't feel like getting out, I use what energy I have to fix my lovely family a nice warm meal and, give my son a bath and then do supper dishes and chill out with my boys, and that's about it haha! I think it also has alot to do with this weather as well.

But anyway back to why couponing makes perfect sense. Stockpiling makes so much sense for so many reasons that it would take several lengthy blog posts to explore all of the benefits. Stock up when the prices are low for the products you need to live your daily life. I have just started doing this, I am stocking up on the things me and my family use the most, that way when the item is needed I have it on hand, and I don't have to make a trip to the store for one item! I think couponing is very fun, it is one of my most enjoyable hobbies, and i have met alot of wonderful people that love to do the exact same thing and we will chat about our deals and they will share tips about what works for them and vice versa!

My favorite things about couponing are Buy one get one free coupons, or getting FREE products using coupons, or getting stuff for under $1.00.

Couponing also takes off alot of stress of having to go grocery shopping because if you plan right and have the right coupons you will save over half of what you would normally spend in your shopping trip and trust me that is a huge relief. I have always hated going shopping because I think things are way overly priced and I've noticed lately that manufacturer's are downsizing there products boxes and quantities and keeping the same price as before. I hope my children learn the lessons I have learned with money, to me it doesn't matter what brand of shampoo, food, bodywash i use as long as it works in our budget and gets the job done, that's all that matters and I hope my children will feel the same way and value this like i do!

But anyway I really love to coupon and save money, you should give it a try, you will never know how enjoyable it is until you try it!=)

So stay tuned for some more tips and deals!

What about you do you agree with my post? What lessons have you learned through couponing?

Couponing-latest deals

Here are some of the latest deals I got!

Juice- 1.25 each
Triscuit,wheat thins-1.00 each
Coffee-mate-.52 each
Hot sauce-FREE
Bread crumbs-FREE
Granola bars-.94 each

I'm on the search for some good diaper,toilet paper, and toothpaste deals!

What are some deals you have gotten by using coupons lately!?

Only a few months till our 2nd bundle of Joy arrives!

Landon Matthew

Baby Landon will be here in 3 months, I know it sounds like along time but this pregnancy is flying by this time! I will be 27 weeks this week! I have not gotten anything out yet for Landon, I decided I was going to wait til' bout Feb or March to start getting things out and setup. I just cant wait! I have officially decided that I am going to breastfeed him as long as I possibly can, because breastfeeding is the healthiest and best for baby! My sister-in law let me use a really nice breast pump, and I cant wait to use it, I need to start looking into how to store breast milk and all that good stuff, my friend Megan Corral from The Corral Connection says it is pretty easy!=) I also have thought about doing cloth diapers as well but I haven't made a for sure decision on that since I am planning on working once Logan's done with his stuff and Landon gets here. But I do know that I want to get good deals on diapers. There is only a few short more months left until Landon arrives, we sure can't wait! I love feeling his baby kicks and talking to him. He seems to be more active around the evening and night hours!

Stay tuned for more about our 2nd bundle of joy Landon Matthew.

Quote of the week- Week 10

Here is this weeks quote of the week!

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.   James M. Barrie

Recipes 2

How to make delicious Garlic Bread:

Ingredients:

• 1 16-ounce loaf of Italian bread or French bread
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

How to make it:

1 Preheat oven to 350°F.


2 Cut the bread in half, horizontally. Mix the butter, garlic, and parsley together in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture over the the two bread halves. Place on a sturdy baking pan (one that can handle high temperatures, not a cookie sheet) and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
3 Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over bread if you want. Return to oven on the highest rack. Broil on high heat for 2-3 minutes until the edges of the bread begin to toast and the cheese (if you are using cheese) bubbles. Watch very carefully while broiling. The bread can easily go from un-toasted to burnt.
4 Remove from oven, let cool a minute. Remove from pan and make 1-inch thick slices. Serve immediately.

What a great way to save money, making your own garlic bread! This way is so much better than the frozen brand in my opinion, just takes a few minutes to make!


Enjoy!

~New Years Resolutions 2012~

NEW YEARS 2012

This year I have a few New Year's resolutions for 2012!

The 1st-  is to become more organized, I think I am pretty organized already, but there could always be some improvement with the organization! I like to just throw something in the closet or some random spot instead of take the time to organize it, or find a place to put it that if I were to need it I could go right to it and find it!

The 2nd- is to carry my camera around more! By this I mean to remember to take my camera with me when we go places as a family! I love to document all of the precious and fun moments of our lives together as a family and Logans sweet moments as a toddler. I want him to be able to look back at all his times well most of the wonderful times when he was little! And Landon will be here soon and ill need to take pictures of two little boys!

Do you have any New Years Resolutions you would like to share!?

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! We hope everyone had a blessed year!! We want to wish you the best in 2012!! God is soo good! May he bless you in many ways this upcoming year!

This was our Christmas card this year, I just loved how it turned out!! I ordered 40 of them but only got 20 delivered so some family and friends that were on the list to get one didnt! Sorry!! Next year i hope it goes better! But here it is:



Can't stop gushing>

This week was Logans routine chemotherapy week and the weatherman had said that we were supposed to get like 6-8 inches of snow! Well we knew we had to make sure logan got down to KC to get his treatment so Anthony decided that he was going to go with us to make sure we made it safe, since it is not good to drive in icy weather if you havent done it many times in your life and PLUS there are alot of CRAZY un cautious drivers out there! So he went up with us and logan tolerated really well as usual so thankful for that and, Anthony was so glad to be there for us to help out, So we went down monday night and came back wed night! And Logan he is just too darn sweet, i cant help gushing about how cute he is when he talks and laughs, I have got to be the LUCKIEST mother and wife ever!




Do you have anything you would like to share that you like to gush about!?

Quote of the Week- Week 9

Here are the quotes for this week  I came across two I really liked, so you get a double dose this week! ;)

1. Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.   -Khalil Gibran
2. I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.  -Audrey Hepburn

I truely believe that our attitude's toward life has everything to do with how happy we are in our lives!


ENJOY!!

Couponing- Places I love to shop at and why-1

Some places I love to shop at-

First I'm going to start off with Dillons!! I absolutely love shopping at Dillons and it is because of their customer service!! It is great! And another reason is its not too overly crowded! I can not stand to be crowded and feel rushed when I am shopping, I like to take my time and enjoy it alittle bit! I do shop at walmart if it is something I cant buy at Dillons! And a plus side is Dillons doubles coupons-gotta love that!! And also you save on your gas!

Goodys- I love to shop at Goodys clothing store! I always get coupons in the mail to shop there and the coupons help out alot with the expense!

Some coupon sites I like are-

coupon geek
mommy saves big
couponmom
surviving the stores
the krazy coupon lady
couponcuttersco
coupons.com
couponnetwork
common sense with money
the frugal girls
money saving mom
and many more!!

What places do you like to shop at!? Or sites you like to use for couponing!?

What im loving this week

What im loving this week!!

1. Here lately ive been craving coca-cola! And V-8 V-Fusion Juice!

2. Nestle cofee mate coffee creamer-peppermint mocha! mmmm tis' the season!!

3. Roasted Garlic Triscuits with Kraft colby cheese. - one of my pregnancy cravings

4. How Logans potty training is going, i hope he starts getting the hang of it soon!  Im trying to make it as fun as possible! Hes currently napping- heres a sweet picture i took!

5. my pregnancy-  im so thankful that everything is going great!

 

What are some things your loving this week!?

Recipes- Week 1

I thought each week i would post about a new recipe I tried out! Whether its a main dish, a desert, a beverage, or what not!

This week is Chicken Fried Rice!



What you need

1 Tbsp. oil

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 Tbsp.  soy sauce

2 cups frozen vegetable blend (peas and carrots)

2 cups  MINUTE White Rice, uncooked

What to do:

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through.
ADD bouillon cube, 2 cups water, soy sauce and vegetable blend; stir. Bring to boil.
STIR in rice; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 min. Stir. Season with additional soy sauce, if desired.

I am making this tonite! This is one of my husbands favorite chinese dishes! I cant wait to see how it turns out!

What are some of your favorite dishes!?



Rose

Couponing- things I dislike having to buy

Someone asked me this question not too long ago and i thought id do a quick post about it! What are some things I hate buying at the grocery store because of the price.

- fresh fruit

-coffee

-coffee creamer ( i got a great deal on this this morning)

-pizza

-milk

-diapers

-wipes

-toilet paper

-meat

-soda

-orange juice

-cereal

HAHA and the list could go on and on! But with searching for sales and using coupons you can get a pretty good deal on these item, just takes alittle time!=)

What are some things you dread buying at the grocery store because of the price!?

Happy Shopping!!

Rose

What I Love about Sundays~1

I love sundays in our household. They are just great!

Every sunday we have a tradition well a meal tradition where we make bacon, eggs, and toast and eat it together as a family, or i may do the traditional biscuits and gravy!! then we all hang out as a family since anthony doesnt have to go into work till like 1! It is very nice!

Here is Logan in his big boy underwear, the potty training will continue today =) wish me luck!

Saturday Fun

So today, logan and I hung out all day as usual, but today was different than an ordinary day! I am starting to notice Logan is not my little Logan in a sense anymore he is getting to be such a big kid it makes me sad and happy all at the same time! Logan is doing great with potty training, he loves to potty on the potty, but poo pooing is another thing. But anyway today i saw Logan trying to poo poo in his pants and i grabbed him and took him to the restroom and set him on the potty and told him this is where you poo, and i told him that if he pooed on the potty i would give him a sucker(dum-dum). And next thing i knew he pooped on the potty! I was so happy!!  He enjoyed his green apple Dum-Dum! Haha! This may be easier than i thought! as ;long as we are making progress evryday im a happy momma! Kids do things in their own time, not always when you want them to do it!;) Good thing to learn!=)

Next we played outside for about 10 min today! Logan had alot of fun burning off some of his energy he didnt want to come back in the house as usual! I got a few cute pics!!

Then we came inside and just played the rest of the day!

How was your Saturday??

Rose

IT'S a BOY!!!!

IT'S a BOY!!

We couldnt be more excited!! I had my 24 week sonagram today and we found out we are going to be having another lil Ross boy!! Im so excited for Logan, he keeps talking about the baby, and he lifts my shirt up and touches my belly, it is sooo sweet!

Im so happy to start getting things ready for baby to get her, we decided on the name Landon Matthew! It was just the name anthony and I really liked! Landon is really starting to move around quite a bit, more and more everyday, and it just gets me more and more excited to meet him!! He is due March 29th, 2012. The doc said his heart rate is healthy and that everything so far during my pregnancy has been looking great, i couldnt be more thankful!!

 Here is a pic of me @ 24 weeks along!!

latest couponing adventure

I am really starting to enjoy and get addicted to couponing, I am excited about it, and i decided once i get my stockpile stocked up I would start donating some items to some shelters to help othere in need that dont have deodorant, shampoo, food, soap, razors etc.

Here are my latest items:

 Free with save a 1.00 coupon off each and b1g1 free coupon!

.40 a piece with coupons

.80 a piece with coupons! This rice is sooo good! i will continue to get it :)

.79 cents a piece with coupons

Angel soft- .38 a pack

Carefree-Free with coupons

FREE with coupons!!

im good on razors and shampoo for awhile

.99 a piece

whats happening

So logan is sleeping and so im going to catch up on my blog posting now. I have been super busy here lately so ive kinda slacked on my blog posting. This week was logans chemo week. We went down to KC Tuesday morning for Logan to get admitted to the hospital for his monthly chemo, cycle 2 which is his longest sceduled chemo of the cycles. We stayed tues and wed night and came home late thursday nite. What a trip it was! Logan did great as usual just was alittle exhausting for him and I since he cannot move around much during his stay since hes hooked up to a machine. But the good news is its Official that his Cancer aka his Tumor is gone and all he has to do is finish up with his preventative chemo and then hes done yay! I sure cannot wait!!! He will be done at the end of June 2012!:) Heres a pic of my little cutie!!

Friday Anthony and I and Logan decided to get out and about on his day off! And we went to Manhattan and Anthony thought it would be awesome to take logan to the Humane Society to look at the animals!! Logan had a blast he loved looking at the animals and thought it was pretty awesome, i think we will have to start taking him there more often! Then we went and found Anthony some warm outerwear like a few jackets, a tie,and some other things, it was so nice to see anthony putting things into the cart for himself since he doesnt get much often hes a pretty simple guy!!:) We also got Logan some things for Christmas!!

On Sunday Anthony and I went to his work Christmas party and we had such a blast, we played lots of games and it was an overall wonderful night! I got to catch up with my friend Desiree, and it was so great to sit and chit chat!:) Heres a pic!

 This week on Friday Dec. 10th is Our Anniversary and we find out the sex of Baby Ross! Then we will top the evening off with dinner and a movie!!

And I had to share this pic since i thought it was so adorable!! This is how my little munchkin feel asleep last nite! Bless his little heart!!:)

I hope u all have a wonderful week, stay warm!!

Quote of the week-week 8

I have been super busy here lately so ive missed posting a few quote of the weeks, but thats ok heres your quote of the week!

Hope doesn't come from calculating whether the good news is winning out over the bad. It's simply a choice to take action.

Anna Lappe

So true!! Gotta love it!!

Couponing- Deals i have come across this week

I have decided here lately that I am going to start couponing... I have couponed off and on for about a year, but i have realized how much money it has saved us!:)

I want to start with a deal I picked up at dillions this week: Amp Energy Drinks
Amp Energy drinks were .99 a piece if you buy 10 and i had two $1.50 of 4 cans of amp energy drink coupons so I picked up 20 amp energy drinks. Here is how the cost ended up
.99x20=19.80-3.00=$16.80 for 20 Amp Energy Drinks
Amp Energy Drinks are usually $2.39-$2.59 a piece depending on the convenience store you get them at. :) So this will end up saving us alot of money.


The second item is Farmland Bacon @ Ray's Apple Market, my friend Megan shared this deal with me...thanks!

I bought 3 packages of Farmland bacon for $2.99. I had three $1.00 off coupons for the bacon. So this is how it went for the Farmland Bacon: 2.99+2.99+2.99=8.97-3.00 in coupons=$5.97 for 3 packages of bacon! can you say WOW!! Everywhere else had 1 package of Farmland Bacon for $4.99.


The next item was toilet paper! Quilted Northeren Soft and Strong!
I picked up 24 rolls for $4.74! Heres how: Quilted Northern toilet paper is originally priced at $9.99. It was on sale for $5.99 and I had a coupon for 1.25 off so it came to 5.99-1.25=4.74 total cost!

The Fourth item is I got this Olay Gift Set from Walmart.com Value of the Day! It was $10!! And I received it in the mail and I filled out the $10 rebate for it!! I sent in my Rebate! So once my $10 comes back in the mail I will have gotten the Olay Gift Set for FREE!!! Who doesnt LOVE getting stuff for free!!My husband was okay with it! :)I love Olay especially for FREE!!

The next item was toothpaste: Aquafresh toothpaste
I picked up 4 tubes of toothpaste for .88 each! Heres how... I had 4 $1.00 off coupons to use toward this purchase. The toothpaste was on sale for $1.88 a piece! So it went like this 1.88+1.88+1.88+1.88=$7.52-4.00 in coupons =$3.52 for 4 tubes of toothpaste!! So happy about that deal since I brush my teeth anywhere between 3 to 4 times a day LOL!

The next item was Flashlights! HAHA This one was GrEat!!
I found two 1.00 off coupons for Rayovac Batteries and I went to Walmart and found rayovac flashlights for $1.00 that came with batteries!! So i picked up 2 flashlights and this is how i saved: 1.00+1.00=2.00-2.00 in coupons=FREE

I love comments....let me know what you think of my post :)
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!! HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

Quote of the week-week 7

This weeks quote has to do with our attitudes. Only we can control our attitudes, no one else!:)

I LOVE this quote!!

"Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us." - Earl Nightingale


I Love comments....Thanks for visiting my little blog :)

Quote of the week- week 6

Here is the Quote of the Week:

Remember that it is nothing to do your duty, that is demanded of you and is no more meritorious than to wash your hands when they are dirty; the only thing that counts is the love of duty; when love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness which passes all understanding.

W. Somerset Maugham,

ENJOY!!

Logan is now 2.5 yrs old!

Logan is now 2.5 years old, I can't believe it!! Logan had his 2.5 yr checkup yesterday and he was 35lbs and 3'1" tall. He is in the 78th percentile for height and 92nd percentile for weight! he sure is one healthy boy and I couldnt be more thankful!! In 6 months Logan has grown an inch and a half :)

Here are some recent pics of him!

Enjoy!

what im loving this week{Pregnancy update}

This week I am going to share 5 more facts about me
This weeks facts have to do with my pregnancy!
Here we go!

1. This week I will be 19 weeks pregnant!

2. This week I am craving sweets...just in time for halloween, I am loving sour candy :)

3. I am already starting to nest, I canot wait to find out what we are having , only 5 more weeks left until we find out and then I can really start getting ready for this little one;)

4. I am loving my preganancy workout! I do prenatal pilates everyday! The DVD is divided into 5 workouts which are 10 minutes a a piece, and I do 1 to 2 workouts depending on how motivated I am that day! But it feels so nice to workout in my home!

5. The constant tiredness that has been going on here lately has started to cease, and I'm starting to enjoy having my energy back to keep up with our 2.5 yr old! He sure keeps me moving!=)

 Here is a pic of me!!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?cropsuccess&id=508312264#!/photo.php?fbid=10150455320327265&set=a.10150455302867265.420922.508312264&type=1&theater

Halloween 2011

The Ross halloween was very fun, I took Logan to Ashley Furniture which is where my best friend aka: "husband" works to carve pumpkins and have some goodies. logan wasnt very into carving the pumpkins but he played with his buddy Skyler for a bit, it was so adorable Logan went right up to him and gave him a big hug, he did the same for his other buddy Dane. Logan is so sweet and friendly. i think he will be a wonder pal! So we just hung out and Logan saw his daddy! Then it was time to go trick or treating, Logan was Elmo this year for halloween. He "LOVES" elmo, i dont know what it is about elmo but Logan has always loved him, which i think is pretty awsome! But anyway My husband, I, and Logan gathered for a family pic.

Here it is:

Here is Logan

Then we went trick or treating Logan had alot of fun at first but we skipped nap time and so he got very tired of trick or treating and whiny really fast so we only went for about an hour and came home, but Logan got plenty of candy for a 2 year old haha! He wanted to eat every kpiece he got! And he only took one piece of candy per house which was great! I hope next year Logan will be more into it!

How was your Halloween? What were your children for Halloween?



Quote of the week--week 5

It is that time again to post another amazing quote of the week, where does the time go!? haha

Here we go:

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?  ~Fanny Brice

This weeks quote is about being yourself. I think being yourself is very important. I wouldnt want to be anyone else but myself, i am very happy with myself and i think that if someone doesnt like me bc im being myself who cares. You will not get anywhere in life pretending to be someone else or by being jeoulous of what someone else has.

Do you agree or disagree! i would love to hear what you think about this quote!?

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed week!

Quote of the week-- week 4

This weeks quote is about acceptance. There are things in life we have to accept, because no matter what we say or do some things will never change. So i saw this quote and I thought it was true and a good motto!

 

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.

- Maureen Dowd

 

Hope you enjoy it!!

Alittle bit about me

I have been thinking here lately, and i am thinking it would be great if each week i share alittle bit about me, like things i like, or things i think are worth giving a try. So here we go:

This week I'm going to share 10 things about me you probably dont know:
Here they are:

1. My favorite kind of jeans of all time are definately-Levi's

2. My favorite ice cream is- Oreo Klondike bars

3. I love the crystal light raspberry lemonade- I think it is to die for, thats what i drink instead of alot of soda =)

4. I absolutely love to spend time with my family, it is so important to spend that quality time together. I am so thankful for life's everyday blessings!!

5. I am a wife, and a mom of one, soon to be 2 at the end of March!

6. I love to relax and watch movies with my family! we do this a few times a week in our household.

7. I love to drink french vanilla coffee every morning- it is my favorite.

8. I do coupon, I love to save money if possible..

9. I love to bargain shop, and get good deals on clothing for me and my family!

10. I appreciate the fact that i am able to be a stay at home mom during this time with our son Logan, and I am looking forward to getting back into using my CNA license here soon! =)

There you go, here are 10 things you may or may not have known about me. I would love to know about some things you love or like to do!! Enjoy!

Pumpkin patch 2011

Today my Husband, Logan and I went to the Garys Berries Pumpkin Patch and Fall festival with our friends Derek & Megan Corral, it is east of Topeka. This is our second year going together, and it is such a great and fun tradition. The boys Logan and Dane had a ton of fun! Here are some pics:

 Logan loved feeding the goats!

 They're buds!!

 Say cheese!!

 Playing with the ball with daddy!

My sweet boy & I!

 Daddy & Logan enjoying the slides!=)

 Then it was time for the balloon bounce, he had so much fun he didnt want to get off!

fun in the corn pit!!

We all had a great time, the food was delic also.  All in all this is such a great place to go! I can't wait to go again next year! 

I hope everyone has a fantabulous fall !!