Wordless Wednesday: Isaiah's first day of preschool

The Back to School Edition

Today was the first day of school round these parts. Noah woke up in a nervous tizzy, sobbing that he didn't want to go to school today. Jordan was all, "MOOOOMM I am not a baby, you CAN'T walk me to class." He informed me if I had to walk in at all I was only to walk him to the front door. I hid my sobs and let him walk in alone. Dude he is only in the 1st grade.

Now back to Noah, he was a tip toe walking/ hand flapping/ pterodactyl shrieking mess. He has been such a cool little man all summer, I am really praying the stress of school doesn't steal that part of him again.

Both boys ended up making it into school, with little fuss in the end. Next Monday brings another first day of school, this time for Isaiah. I am hoping and praying for an excellent year with very little stress for all of the boys.

Six. More. Days

In six days the kids will be going back to school. I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand the boys are starting to get on each others' nerves and grate on mine with all the "he shoved my head in the toilet/he farted on me" whining. On the other hand, this summer we met a new Noah.

Noah is happy, talkative, relaxed and damn near a typical kid. Maybe it is because he is getting older or maybe he is just more relaxed here at home. Either way, I am scared to lose this happy Noah, when the stress of going back to school return.
The other two boys are more than ready to go back and are actually looking forward to it.

Though I worry about them too. This whole "we are all gonna die!" panic from the media about the swine flu has me concerned. They seem to think it will spread very fast once school starts. Jordan is very asthmatic and any flu could be very dangerous to him.

Perhaps I am just paranoid.

The preparations are pretty much done. Bags of supplies are sitting in my kitchen, but I still need more.

Anyone want to front me a loan so I can buy 3 cases of printer paper? It seems our county is too broke to by copier paper. I am guessing we will be paying for ink next year, might as well throw in the power bill as well. I also need 540 containers of Clorox wipes, dry erase markers/erasers, and a pallet of Kleenex. What the hell ever happened to crayons, paper, pencils...DONE. Speaking of pencils my first grader needs two jumbo packs (close to freaking 50!) PRE-SHARPENED pencils. I am going to sit and sharper for hours one night this week.

On the supplies I already have I picked up for pennies by shopping sales. I also got their shoes and clothes all for about 90% off and they are all brand name.

Did I also mention Noah and Jordan's first day back to school, is my first day back too!?

I don't wanna go back to school mom! Wait... I am the mom. DAMN.

More Cheap School Supplies

Starting tomorrow Staples will have packs of filler paper for $.01! There is a limit of 5. If you need more give your kids each a nickel and let them cash out themselves!

Also starting on Sunday Office Depot is offering:
pencil pouches $.05
Pencil sharpeners $.10
pencil 10 packs $.25

Walgreens is offering several $.25 items
Papermate highlighters
2 pack pink erasers
paper clips
pencil top erasers
rulers

Also at Walgreens 4 pack Expo Markers $1.99

If you are not in a position to run around to ten different stores, Wal*mart has consistently low prices. I am lucky that most of these stores are pretty close to me and it is easy to stop by them through out the week.

CVS Deals for This Week

Once again there are some great freebie school supply deals. While most of them have not been items on the kids school lists, they have been great for mommy's back to college list!
This is a 3 day sale after Tuesday there will be no ECB issued. Limits are 2 unless otherwise noted.

Caliber 10 Pk Pencils 99¢ Earn .99 ECB
Caliber Academic Book Covers $1.99 Earn 1.99 ECB
Poly Portfolio 49¢ earn .49 ECB
Caliber 20 ct Pens 99¢ earn .99 ECB
Caliber Academic Scissors $2.99 earn 2.99 ECB
Caliber Academic Compass/Protractor $1.99 earn 1.99 ECB
Caliber Academic Flexi Ruler 99¢ earn .99 ECB
Caliber Note/Glue stick/Pen Eraser 99¢ earn .99 ECB
1 Softsoap Nutri Serums 15oz 4.99 earn 4 ECB Limit 1

Also there is a $5 ECB when you buy $10 worth of a list of items: Limit 1
Stayfree $5 is on the list
you can use Stayfree Product bogo coupon and get both items free after coupon

I plan on getting all of the above, depending on store stock. Unfortunately, I have run into a lot of issues finding the items for these deals. I also received and email with a coupon for $5/30!

Be on the look out for penny sales at the office supply stores, I hear rumors they should start tomorrow!


****Ended up spending $1.60 oop today, after coupons and 19 ECB. Had to get a rain check for the soft soap, but was happy to get everything else on my list. Earned 22 ECBs to use next week.****

Back to School on the Cheap

Last year


This summer is flying by at lightning speed and before I know it, school will be starting again. For the first time, all three of my boys will in school 5 days a week. (wait! whats that sound? Oh just me sobbing again.) I want my boys to have all the "cool" stuff for back to school that I never had, but could never afford to do it all at full price. So as they get older and need more, I am looking for ways to save money and get quality items.

Last month I scored huge at Old Navy getting almost all of the boys clothes for $103. Before savings it was over $400. I happened to get lucky and catch a 50% off of clearance sale AND had a $45/100 coupon from OldNavyWeekly.com.Have I mentioned that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Old Navy's kids clothes?

Using Kohls rewards for signing up all of my email addresses, I managed to get 10 packs of socks for the boys for free! They were on clearance 90% off for $1.10.

In the past I shopped penny sales for supplies like pencils and glue sticks (why the hell does each kid need to bring like 30 glue sticks?), but so far this year I have not seen any penny sales. While I wait for those sales to pop up again, I am shopping at CVS and Walgreens for freebies and super cheap items.

I found great deals on backpacks and lunch boxes last fall at Target at 75% off and put them away for this year.

The only thing I left til the end of summer is shoes for the boys, their feet grow so fast it is impossible to purchase ahead.

I am always looking for new ways to save, what are your back to school money saving tips?

CVS and Walgreens Deals: Back to School

Both drugstores were featuring back to school items this week. I now have enough pens to last 3 years. Or a few months, since I lose several a day.

First stop CVS

2 Packs filler paper sale $2 each
Earn 2 ECBS on each limit 2
2 PaperMate 1.2 Pens 10pk sale $.99 each
earn .99 ECBS on each limit 2
2 24 count pencils sale $1.99 each
earn 1.99 ECBS on each limit 2
2 memo books sale $.99
earn .99 ECBS on each limit 2
1 Huggies wipes tub $3.49
used a $2 off CVS q
1 Mens SpeedStick sale $2.99
used $1/1 CVS q
earn 2 ECBS
Paid with 16 ECBs
14 ECBS
There was a freebie on binders as well but they were out of stock.
Another notable deal Kodak Picture DVD sale $9.99 earn 9.99 ECBS

Now on to Walgreens

Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils sale $.19
Plastic folders $.19
Bic Highlighters $.49
poster board $.09
erasers $.39

I also stopped by Target for

Crayola Markers $1
Rose Art Color Pencils $.99
Crayons $.22
Glue Sticks $.20 2 pack

We still need more supplies, so keep watching for next weeks deals.

Mommy's not ready

It seems like only yesterday I had three in diapers, but today my youngest Isaiah went off to pre-school. He is only going two mornings a week and I miss him already (its been an hour since I dropped him off). Last week Noah and Jordan went to big boy school and Isaiah has been going out of his mind waiting for his big day! He dressed himself and had his bag ready at the door before I was even dressed. I told him repeatedly that he didnt have to go (bad mommy move, I know) but he was sooo ready. He told me he was going to make tons of friends and that his teacher would love him! He is not lacking in the confidence department lol. So as soon as I finish this, I am going to clean my carpets and they MIGHT stay clean for 4 whole hours. That is if I dont leave a trail of tears!