Visit Disney for FREE!!!!!

Two of my favorite words! It no secret around here we LOVE Disney! And starting in January Disney is offering free admission on your birthday. Go to www.disneyworld.com or (land if you live on the west coast) and register your entire family! We are passholders, so we dont need the free day, but passholders get a special gift on their birthdays worth as much as admission! So everyone sign up even if you are a passholder!

Mashed Potato, Mashed Potato

If you are a couponer, you already know Publix had Steam and Mash on bogo this week. I was literally kicking myself for trashing my Toss for Cash books last week, I thought I wouldnt need any of the coupons...::sniff sniff:: Pulling myself together again. I ventured out last night after the kiddos were in bed at home with daddy.
deals:
8 bags Steam and Mash Potato on sale bogo $3.99
used 6 $1/1qs and 1 buy 2 get one free and 1 buy 3 get 1 free
4 bags Green Giant veggies on sale 50% off
used 4 $1/1qs
2 Totinos Pizza rolls bogo $4.19
used 2 .35/1qs
8 Uncles Bens Rice bogo $1.59
used 4 $1/1 ip
2 Good Bites dog treats
used 2 free product qs I dont have dogs but these were a free filler to get to $50
2 Nestle Cocoa mixes bogo $1.99
2 Publix Chocolate milk bogo $2.69 (the low fat one and soo yummy)
1 Nabisco Snacks Multipack $5.99
used a Albertsons q to reduce price to $2.69
Used a $5/50 Albertson q
Total OOP $12.21 Saved more than $70!!! (i cant find the reciept for exact amount)

I also went to Albertsons for a few items
the best deals:
whole chickens .79lb
Country style ribs $1.29lb
buy a Sara Lee bread for $1.99 get a 1/2 gal milk for .39!
I also got a bunch a fresh veggies and fruit
total OOP $25.99
saved only $24
But I was under my $40 goal for the week!
Let me know how you did!

Just call me Mrs. Fix-it

I have always been pretty handy. My dad is a carpenter extraordinaire; he can fix, build, or design anything! And growing up he wasnt one to just fix things for us, we had to learn how to do it too. Can I tell you how fun it is to spackle at 13? Or my absolute favorite :shuddering: popcorn-ing ceilings (if you dont know this involves shooting gooey paint with "popcorn" in it at the ceiling, while you are under it).

While those lessons were not exactly fun, I always loved time with my dad.
Flash forward 15+ years... I have three little boys who like to put things in our toilet. I have kept us from eviction or bankruptcy from plumming bills, by mastering toilet removal/installation! I can take it out of the ground, remove the wax seal, unclog, replace wax seal, and stick it back in the ground in a matter of minutes.

Well that leds me today. After the whole hot water explosion last week, I really didnt want to bug our landlord with a leaking tub faucet. Today it went from leaking to POURING out! I google leaking tub faucet, called daddy for the needed tools and some tips and I FIXED it!!!!

Oooey Gooey Fun

Caramel Apple

(please ignore the date on the pic I changed my batteries and didnt reset the date)

Those who know me, know I am not the best at the Martha Stewart type stuff. When I found out you can make caramel apples in the microwave, I was excited! I love caramel, I mean really, really, really love it.
I THOUGHT this would be a great after school activity to do with the boys, and they have a blast! But we made one HUGE sticky, gooey mess!
The boys unwrapped two bags worth of caramel cubes (Kraft and dumped them into a microwavable bowl w/ 2tbs or water. I zapped them for a minute at a time and stirred until it turned into a melted mess. While I was stirring the boys stabbed popcicle sticks into the apples. And now for the fun/disasterous part... get the caramel on the apples. We tried dipping them, couldnt get an even coat. So we used spoons to pour it over them, holy cow were we all sticky! Lastly place the apples/gooballs on a buttered wax paper lined cookie sheet and cool in fridge for at least an hour.
You made need a pressure washer to get the caramel of you, the kids, and whatever surface you did this on!
The results? OH goodness were these YUMMY!
They were quickly devoured by all of us!
I am looking for other fun fall crafts to do with a boys, any suggestions?

Cough Drop Anyone?? (CVS deals)

Today was awesome at CVS! There was something I really needed on ECB which is always a bonus. My digital camera literally eats batteries, like a pair a week (I may take a few too many pictures)and they were on sale $3 off any pack of Durecell batteries and get 5 ECB when you buy $15 of them. I had two .75 qs and thought I would do pretty good to get a couple bulk packs with the deal. I was soooo excited to find $1/1 peelies on all the 4 pack Digital camera batteries that were on sale for $2.99!!! :::happydance:::
Deals:
*6 Durecell Digital 4 packs $2.99ea
used 6 $1/1 peelies & earned 5ECB
*14 bags of Halls cough drops $1.50ea (this is a lot of cough drops!!)
used 7 bogo qs (found on tearpad in Kmart) earned 10 ECBS
*2 Four packs BIC Comfort 3 razors sale $4.99ea
used two $2/1q earned 8ECBS
2 bags of M&M funpacks sale 2/$3
used $1/2q
Also had a $10/50 CVS q (from the printer in store)
I used 15.96 & 1.98 in ECBs
Total OOP was $2.63!!!!
And I EARNED 23 ECBS, how awesome is that??
So, how did you all do this week?

Hair-cut Carnage

the carnage


Before (in their costumes this am)
I had a surge of bravery today and ran with it, time to tackle the massive mop-fros on the younger boys heads.I didnt have to do Noah's after the whole autistic-boy-gets-ahold-of-scissors incident last month, which led to me having to cut off almost all his hair to even up the BALD spots ::sigh::
I have always cut all their hair because it is free and I am cheap, I also like doing hair.
The first victim... I mean first one up was Isaiah; he was pretty good until the end when he got very wiggly. He looks sooo cute with it short.
Then Jordan, you would think a 5 yo could sit still better than the 3yo, but NOPE I had to remind him every 30 seconds. The poor boy has been sweating like a piggy because he has SO much hair. Not only is his the longest of the trio but it is by far the thickest! I literally have to DIG to find his scalp (how did that stick get there?). I dang near bawled when I was done, he looks 12! Whaaa.

My So-So Shopping Week

I was more than a little bummed that the Publix sale was a flat-line this week, but hey everyone has an off week.
So off to Albertson I went. I was extremely upset with their coupon policy and general lack of customer service on my last visit and was hoping for better luck this week.
The sale wasn't too coupon friendly but the prices were pretty good.
The best buys were:
Chicken Breasts .88lb ** I stocked up with about 12lbs
Campbells Ckn Noodle or tomato soup 2 for .88 **got 12 cans and used 3 .40/4qs
Progresso Soup .88** 8 cans used 4 .50/2qs
The rest of my groceries were mostly fruit and veggies
I was trying not to freak out that I spent soo much on food
my total opp was $45.02!!! Yikes but I bought a lot of need fresh items!

Attention Kmart Shoppers

Heck even if you are not normally a Kmart shopper, you might want to be now! Kmart is holding another double coupon event 10/25-11/1!! Last time they double coupons up to $2 making them worth $4! I did really well getting tons of stuff for almost freee! For those who dont live in Florida, double coupons are a normal thing, but here in FLA they are as rare as snow! To my local buddies both the Winter Springs and Lake Mary stores are taking part in it. For those who arent local go to www.Kmart.com and send them an email (its under contact us) telling them your closest stores and ask if they are participating, they are super fast abour getting back to you with the information! Good luck and happy doubling!

Hot Water Explosion!

So I walked out in my garage to do some laundry and stepped into ankle deep warm water! Not good esp. since there are clothes all over the floor by the washer (you tell boys to put clothes in the washer this is were they end up!)
So I open the door (light bulb is blown in the garage ugh) and see that my hot water heater is leaking form several places! I pull my washer out and find a really nasty mess of wet dryer lint and MOLD! I am guess the damn thing has had a slow leak for a while. The base board or the wall is moldy as heck. I cleaned up the mess, pulled off the base board and made the call to get it repaired. DH came home and helped me bleach the concrete walls that were already a little spotty from the summer floods. Here is the kicker we had to turn the water off to the house so it would stop pouring out. Today between 2-3 the plumber will be out here to give us a new water heater! I am so happy since we lived here the thing hardly worked.

New to Walgreens

I have only done Wags deals a few times! I have actually only been shopping very frugally for a few months and wanted to get the hang of CVS and Publix first.
Note worthy deals this week are:
Fusion Razors sale $8.99 get $4 RR use $4/1q making them .99!
(do not buy more than one at once or you will only get 1 rr!)
Pert Plus ($1 MM) sale $3.49 used $2q from paper and $2.50q from easy saver book.
Lysol Freshmatic sale $5.99 use $5/1q.
Thats all I really found, please help me out if you found other great deals!

I went a little nuts in CVS

I had a $10/50 coupon from CVS burning a hole in my pocket and it expired this week so I just HAD to use it, lol.
my haul included:
2 Pumpkin buckets .99 get .99ECB (limit 2)
2 Funlights .99 get .99 ECB (limit 2)
6 various Johnsons Products $2.99ec AND
1 Huggies pull up $9.99 get 10ECB WYB $25 of these products
3 bottles Excerdrin sale $1.99 used 3 $2/1 qs (made .03)
2 Childrens Motrin sale $6 get 5ECB WYB 2 used $2/2q
1 Power Ade $1.69 get 1.69 ECB
1 sunday paper.
Total OOP $18.64 Saved $75!
Recieved $21 ECBs (rounded up)

Transaction #2
Rolled those ECBs
Got 5 2 packs of Butler childrens tooth brushes (i know there are qs but I dont have them!!!) $3.99 get $3.99ECBs (LIMIT 5)
used 19 ECBs and paid .90 tax (not sure how that amount though)
Got Almost 20 ECBs whooo hoooo freeeeeee

Transaction #3
on a second card (DH)
2 pumpkin pails
2 funlights
1 butler toothbrush
3 pack CVS paper towels used $1/1 CVS q (these are $1.99)
used 9 ECBs paid a few cents tax and made almost 8Ecbs!!

$44 at Publix

I really splurged this week and still only spent $44. Its crazy to think that a splurge week a few months ago would have meant spending well over $100! You may have noticed I dont buy a lot of meat, I tend to buy alot at a time and fill the deep freezer when I get a great deal. I still have a pretty full freezer, so I have only been adding a little at a time.
My extras this week included the stuff I needed to make Jambalaya and caramel apples!
I picked up:
2 packs of Smithsfield Smoked sausage sale 2/$5 used 2 $.75/1q
.5lb ham chunks
1 green pepper
1 bag Mac. Apple sale $3.99 (yikes!)
2 bags Kraft Caramels on bogo $2.39
also
4 Quaker Oatmeal to Go on bogo $3.19 used 4 .55/1 qs
4 Shreaded wheat on bogo $3.99 used 4 $1/1 ip(found on HCW) I am bummed I forgot to bring the FLIPs for $1 for these too! would have made them free/
8 Better Crocker Fruit snacks on bogo $2.73 used 2 $1/3q, 1 $.75/2q, and 8 Target ip $.50/1
6 Cambells Select soups on bogo $2.39 used 1 $.72/2, 1 $1/1 peelie,1 $.50/2,and 3 FLIPs for $1/2
2 Celestial Seasonings Tea on bogo $3.49 used 2 $1/1qs
2 McCormick Chili Mix on bogo $1.39 used 1 $1/1q
2 Lenders bagels on bogo $2.09
Grapes used $1/1lb Target ip
My not so great deals:
Smuckers Uncrustables used $.55/1
doritos
juice boxes
bananas
Used a $5/50 too
Total oop $44.06 Saved $75.04
****cheat sheet****
HCW www.hotcouponworld.com
ip internet printable
q coupon
FLIP Foof Lion internet printable
Happy Shopping! Let me know how you did!
I cant wait to clean up at CVS tommorow!

Cheap dinner out!!!!!

With money tight everywhere finding a way to save and still get to splurge a little is awesome! Thanks to www.mybarginbuddy.com for this tip; if you go to www.restaurant.com and enter the code EIGHTY at checkout you can get 80% off of their already low prices! That makes $25 gift certificates $2 and $10 ones $.60!!
I will warn you to read the fine print; most places ask that you only use them on weekdays, spend at least double the amount of the certificate, and the tip is pre discount. But it still makes your meal way cheaper!

Our..uh Masterpiece

I am a bit of a perfectionist and usually create a pretty cute pumpkin, but this year I let go of the reins (I am doing this alot these days) and let the boys help with the carving. And no I have not totally lost my mind and let my boys touch knives.
I cut the top off and let the boys scoop out the seeds. Lets jusy say they did not dig the goo factor at all! Isaiah cried like I was making him commit murder, but eventually saw that it wasnt kill the rest of us so he attempted it.
Then the boys took turns drawing parts of the face and I cut them out.
While we were carving, the seeds were toasting in the oven.
I lightly coated them in oil and let the boys sprinkle salt on top. Baked them on 350 for about 15 mins and yummmy!
And our pumpkin is finshed! Although I just realized its on the 15th (lol) this thing will be a mess by the 31st! Oh well we get to carve another one!!

ahhhh Fall

I know that some people get depressed from the changing seasons, I am the total opposite! I LOVE fall. Not sure how much I would love it if it was freezing here. However I live in Central Florida and fall means that its almost cool enough to breathe outside and brings days when you can go for walks and spend time in parks. But mostly I love the holidays that are coming.
Not too big on Halloween, but we do love fall festivals and carving pumpkins to make pumpkin seeds (will be doing that today so watch for the pics and posts to come).
And of course Thanksgiving is only a month away!
I love Thanksgiving, the entire family togther in a yummy smelling warm house and stuffing their faces with awesome food. I love cooking and Thanksgiving food is my favorite to cook. I hope your familys have a wonderful fall season.

CVS...slow week

I was going to skip CVS this week since nothing jumped out at me, and frankly I am running out of places to put the stuff! But dh loves Sobe Life water so I went to pick some up with the $.50/1 peelies I found.
I scanned my card and got a huge stream of qs!!! One was a $10/50 I will use next week with the chilrens Motrin deal.. and I got a $1 off Colgate toothpaste lol like I need more toothpaste! I have so much I might hand it out to trick or treaters!
So I got:
4 Almay facial soap on bogo for .99 used four $1/1qs this was a $2 Money Maker!
2 Bags of Fun pack M&Ms sale 2/$3 used $1/1 q
1 Colgate Advanced toothpaste used $.75/1 and a $1/1 CVS made 2 ECBs
2 Revlon Polishes on bogo $4.39 used 2 $1/1q
2 Revlon nail file packs on Bogo $2.59 used 2 $1/1 qs
Used 5 expiring ECBs
total oop was $.37 made 2 Ecbs
and now I have treats to send to the kids classes! Not to bad!
**NOtice there is no SOBE??? They were sold out!!! Bummer

Publix and Albertsons Shopping

This was a slow sale week all around. I guess grocery stores dont see Columbus Day as a big sale day? lol
My first stop was Publix.
6 Barber Stuffed Chicken Breast bogo $4.99 used 6 $1/1qs
2 New England Coffee bogo $5.99 used 2 $1.5/1 qs
2 Clasico Sauces bogo $2.59 (i think I cant remember!?)bogo used a Publix $1/2q
2 Old El Paso salsa bogo $2.39 used 1 $2/1q
4 General Mills cereal: on sale $3/5
3 Coco Puffs Combos used 3 $1/1 from a GM book in Publix weeks ago
1 Fruity Cherrios used $1/1 peelie
also used 2 $1/2 Target ip for general mills cereal (found @ Www.hotcouponworld.com )
I also picked up a few things w/o coupons (which dang near killed me)
my total oop was $20.xx and saved was $64.xx
not too shabby!
Then I dragged my little guy to Albertsons, I should have picked hamburger up at Publix as its .02 cheaper a lb. but I forgot!
Picked up
5 lbs hamburger
3 packs (about 5.5 lbs) Pet.Sirloin Steaks~~ these are buy one get two free!!
Fresh Mushrooms
2lbs Black Grapes .99 lb and sooo yummy!
2 more packs of scott t.p. sale $1 used 2 .55/1 qs
total oop $24 saved $28
I went over my $40 goal for the week but I have enough red meat for a month!
So how did you all do? Any great deals I missed??

Can I just say Publix is the best??

At this point I have a pretty good stock pile of food going! We didnt need too much but I cant resist free stuff, like the potatoes!
6 Old El Paso taco kits on bogo: used 3 $1/2 qs
18 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes on bogo: used 18 $1/1 green peelies
2 Uncle Bens rice on bogo: used 1 $1/1q
8 Knorrs pasta sides on bogo: used 4 $.75/1 qs
2 Lg boxes Cherrios on bogo: used 2 $1/1 peelies
2 Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gels on bogo used 2 $1/1qs
2 Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner on bogo used 2 $1/1qs
5 lbs of red potatoes
head of lettuce
3 tomatoes (used a $2/$5 food lion ip)
And 1 frosted doughnut (little guy with me wanted one)
total spent $20.30
total saved $79.46!!!!!!
I am a little peeved at myself I went first thing Thursday morning and that afternoon I got a $5/50 Albertsons q I could have used here and only spent $15!!
Please leave me a comment and let me know how you did this week.

OBAMA!!

This may come as a shock to some, esp. my fellow christian friends, but I feel I must shout this from the roof tops....I am voting for Obama/Biden. I understand that voting for a democrat creates some moral dilemmas such as abortion and gay marriage. Though I would love to sit on my moral high horse(I am short and the climb is pretty far) and say those issues are all that matter, however our country is in need of a HUGE change. At this moment in time; the ever failing economy, the endless war, and lack of healthcare can no longer be ignored. Might I also add we have had a "moral" republican as president for 8 years who brought nothing but FAILURE to our country. He did nothing to "fix" these moral issues that concern so many, PLEASE dont fool yourself into believing McCain and the moron Palin will do any better.

Yipeeeeeeee

We have double coupons at Kmart! I dang near tinkled myself with glee when I opened my mailbox to see the flyer!
I went this am even though I had not organized my coupons, I just couldnt wait to check it out! My total before coupons was $92.xx total oop was $8.16!!
I will post details after I go again tommorow~ lol
**********also Albertsons has Scotts toilet paper 10/$10 and there are $1/1, $.50/1 and $.55/1 qs out there!***************