Why didn't I start earlier??

Start couponing earlier I mean! :) Eli and I got into Shelby around 7 pm Friday night and surprised Mom and Dad with an impromptu trip, so Mom's first thoughts... "Let's go to Harris Teeter for Triples!" I have to admit that I was excited that I might get a few deals, but still a little irritated that I missed out on quite a few because the shelves were already bare! Anywho, here are some of my crazy savings from Harris Teeter, CVS, Food Lion, and Ingles... Hope this makes sense...

I'll start with the smallest...

Ingles

Mom got a bunch of stuff, and I just threw in my Excedrin's that were on sale for 1.98 and I had 2 - $2.00 coupons, so they were free... she may have paid a few cents for tax, but she should have gotten .04 overage for the rest of her order...

Here they are!

Food Lion
We really needed another Sippie Cup since we are transitioning away from formula and ended up getting this for $.99 which is great deal for a sippie! :)

Total Shelf...
$8.31

OOP...
$1.87

Food Lion Stash

As you can see Eli is already utilizing his new sippie cup!

CVS
Went to CVS 3 times...
Total Shelf...
$46.50

OOP
$4.45

ECB's remaining after rolling...
$12.98

Had some issues with some of my coupons not showing up, so I plan to take the Life Saver Gummie Savers and one of the Mentos back tomorrow, which should be about $2.69...

CVS Loot

I got 16 more packs of Gum because a Gas Station on the way to NC had TearPads with the BOGO free coupons! Yay!

Harris Teeter
I went 2 times and my totals were...

Total shelf
$63.12

OOP
$2.66

-The kicker with this is that the Total cereal I thought was on sale for $2.00 and would be Free with overage, rang up full price at $4.79, which I didn't realize till I got home... :( So, Mom and I went back out tonight to get a refund, and the manager gave me $4.89 back in cash, told me to keep the Total and apologized for the inconvenience!! Now this is how Manager's should treat their customers! So actually, HT paid me $2.23 for $63.12 worth of groceries! So I actually made a $2.23 PROFIT doing Triples!! I couldn't believe it!

Harris Teeter Madness

ALL Totaled together...

Shelf...
$125.89

OOP...
$4.09

Plus I have $12.98 in ECB's left! Who WOULDN'T want to do this?!

Disclaimer... I KNOW I did better because Mom went with me, but I still think I would have done pretty good, but Mom is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to getting a bargain! Thanks Mom! :)

Also, about half of this I'm gonna sell to the discount store in the area, so don't worry... I'm not keeping all that CVS candy! :)

A few random pics... :)

I didn't want to just have grocery posts for days straight, so here are a few pics of Eli and Haylee since we shot up to NC for a couple days because Ryan had duty this weekend and will be gone on TDY for the better part of next week, so here you go... Hope you enjoy! :)

Some more deals... Kroger style! ;)

Well, after my succesful CVS trip yesterday, I was more than ready for some "real" grocery shopping...

Kroger has this buy 10 get $5 off Mega sale going on with items from $1.50 - 3.00, so essentially if you buy 10 items, you'll get $.50 off each one... This may seem like a pretty good deal, but when you match the items up with coupons, you can maximize your savings even further... You can read an even better explanation along with a list of available deals here, but suffice it to say, there were plenty of good deals to be had! I didn't get quite as good of a deal as I had hoped since the lady that compiled the list was from Ohio, so her Kroger sale was a little different on a few items, so I was thinking I was getting an item for free and then I ended up paying $.75 for it, 4 times over... :( I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's barbecue sauce, and I already have like 4 bottles waiting to be opened! So, needless to say, I plan on returning it later today... :(

Anywho, onto the savings! :) I'll just list the final price I paid and spare you the boring details of which coupons, etc... ;)

10 - Kroger Apple Juice $1.00 each

2 - Rice Krispies w/Strawberries $1.00 each

2 - Irish Spring soap 3 packs $1.00 each

1 - Keebler Fudge shop cookies $1.50 each

2 - Lysol All purpose cleaner $.50 each

1 - Lysol Toilet bowl cleaner $.50 each

1 - Betty Crocker Warm Delight - Free

1 - Betty Crocker Warm Delight $.50

1 - Betty Crocker Cookie Mix - $1.00 (supposed to be $.50) :(

1 - Betty Crocker Frosting $.45

1 - Edward's Pie Singles - $.75

3 - Franks Red Hot Sauce - Free

3 - French's Spicy Mustard - Free

1 - Huggies Baby Wipes - Free

1 - Hunts Ketchup $.60
4 - Cattleman's Barbecue sauce - $.75 (supposed to be free) :(

Total Before sales and coupons was $82.14

Total Out of Pocket $27.42, even with the unplanned overages! :) Even less once I return the goofy Barbecue sauce!

Getting the juice alone would be a great deal since Eli goes through about a bottle and a half a week! ;) I'm honestly thinking about signing Ryan up for a card since I've reached my limit, and then getting 30 things of juice to stock up with! It's good for a year and a half and we normally spend about $2.50 a bottle, so we really would be saving money, so we'll see if I have the time tonight... Just have to figure out where to put it all!

Anyways, that's my savings, what about you?

A few CVS deals...

I don't know how much I've talked about it, but I started doing the Grocery Game a couple of weeks ago purely because we can't afford not too! I have my good weeks and bad weeks, but today was definitely a good CVS week! ;) I haven't been getting soda lately since we are trying to get healthy and cut back, but a couple days ago Ryan tried Diet Mt Dew and absolutely loved it, so he asked if I could look for it if it was on sale... Well, CVS had a deal where you buy 4 packs for $11 and then they give you a $3 Extra Care buck back, so it was really like 4 for $8, which is a pretty good deal when it comes to sodas. I also got some All 3x concentrated detergent that was buy one get one free, and I had 2 $1 off coupons, so I spent about $2.25 on each which is pretty good for detergent. Got Colgate toothpaste B1G1 free and had 2 $1.50 coupons, so I spent about $.50 on each. Also got some Loreal Conditioner that was B1G1 and I had a B1G1 coupon, so got that for free... Also some Trident gum that was B1G1 and also had a B1G1 coupon, so I got 4 of those free since I had 2 coupons, plus you got a $1 ECB when you bought 2, so they paid me $2 to buy 4 packs... Pretty cool if you ask me! ;) Plus I had a $3 off $15 coupon and a previous $7.99 ECB, so walked out with $56.46 shelf price and spent $6.97 out of pocket and got $5 worth of ECB's for a future purchase! So I essentially spent $1.97 for all of this stuff! I wish I could do this everytime, but when I can get deals like this, they are sooo worth it!

You think you can tag me?!?!

Well, you can. ;)

Okay... I believe I've done this before, but I am gonna try again...

8 quirky/odd facts about me...

1... I CANNOT stand it when my Mom or anyone for that matter, pours a Pepsi and loses all the carbonation because they just dump it in the glass and they don't pour it slowly! My Ryan kinda mocks me for this, but I can't help it... Makes me go nuts!

2... When I was younger, I had a bit of OCD about counting a lot of things out by 10... If we were driving on the highway I would HAVE to tap my foot 10 times between each light pole... I remember it so vividly... (said very fast) 12345678910...12345678910...12345678910 Oh the joys... ;)

3... I have an addiction to Bunny Tracks Ice Cream... It is physically impossible for me to walk past it in the store and not buy it! ;)

4... I get super annoyed when people say Always and Never when they are trying to prove a point.. I mean, really do I NEVER say Thank You, and do I ALWAYS slam the door? (Of course these are examples, not actual statements...) ;)

5... It really annoys me when people write emails, posts, blogs, etc... and there are horrible, glaring spelling errors all throughout them. I'm not talking about the run of the mill misspelling or occasionally forgetting a punctuation mark. It's mainly those who never attempt to use spellcheck or even proofread their work.

6... I'm a mocker... There... I said it. Although I think this is often a character flaw, not a quirk... ;) Whatever the case, it is very hard for me to control the urge of pointing out other people's flaws, usually when someone misspeaks or does something that I think is hilarious, and not mock them or make a joke of their perceived indiscretion... I mean, I don't make fun of something you were born with that you cannot change... I don't walk around making fun of the handicapped or mentally impaired, but I still think maybe I should tone it down a little... ;)

7... I don't know if this is a quirk, but I HATE scary/horror movies... My Ryan of course loves them and cannot understand why I don't. Why do people like being scared or horrified? I like action/thrillers, but they are different... Also, movies that could actually happen, i.e., someone breaking into your house and killing you, scare me a lot more than movies where aliens invade the planet... You get my point. Scary movies stink... bottom line! ;)

8... Whewww... I was beginning to think I wouldn't make it... :) Lastly, this probably isn't a quirk, but I HATE doing laundry... There are other things that don't bother me, and I don't mind loading the washer and switching things to the dryer... It is folding and putting everything away... I HATE it! I know this may sound stupid, but it is my most dreaded chore and one I pretty much do every weekday, so you would think I would get over it, but I don't... I guess it is so boring and there always seem to be piles and piles... Oh well... I guess I'll live. ;)

Alright that's it... I think all my friends have already been tagged, but if you haven't and you want to play along... Help yourself! ;)

Brace Face!

This is a name that I WISH I would have been called as a child, because that would mean I wouldn't have to go through this now, but seriously, I am SO VERY GRATEFUL to be able to finally have this done (Thank You Ryan!) and be one step closer to having straight teeth and not be embarrassed to smile in public! Yay! :) You will definitely be seeing many, many more full teeth smiles in about 2 years! ;)

Anywho, I'm posting this because as I was brushing my teeth tonight, which by the way is like a 15 minute process to get all this metal cleaned, I noticed that I was seeing more of one tooth than normal... (If that makes any sense!) I have one tooth that is usually almost completely hidden behind one of my "2 front teeth" and I could see almost all of it! I took a picture and compared with a pic I took before I got braces, and sure enough, it has already started shifting! I still have a LONG way to go, but I am so thankful that God gives us little encouragements along the way through this somewhat painful process! :)

Under Construction...

As you can see... I've been changing a lot of things as of late, and I'm still not quite happy with it, but this is at least presentable for now... I had created my own background, but just didn't like it after it was all done, so this will have to do for now, but hopefully in the next few days I'll be putting one together that I really love... So, if you don't recognize the blog everytime you come to visit, sorry... :) Soon enough I'll settle on a background!

Unfortunately, you can't shield them from everything...

Well, one of the many joys that comes with your child learning to walk is their attempting to run, and in turn falling on their face a few times... :( Normally it isn't too bad, and Eli just hops right up and tries again. Well, last night Eli wasn't really wanting to go to sleep, so I thought I would let him run around a little to maybe burn off his last reserves of energy and then he would fall right asleep. Unfortunately, that entailed running towards the cofee table, (we put it away in the office fearing this exact situation) tripping before making it and falling headfirst into the sharp corner edge... You guessed it... the coffee table won. I run over to pick up my screaming baby thinking maybe he hit his chin and his mouth might be bleeding, but no, he hit just above his right eye and he was "bleeding like a stuck pig". I scoop him up and head for the kitchen as I yell to Ryan to come help me... We make it to the kitchen and I get a paper towel and try to hold it on there to stop the bleeding, then Ryan comes over and he takes the job... Of course Eli did not agree to our switch, so he starts panicking even more because Daddy holds him a lot tighter than Mommy can... So we talk and Ryan told me to call my Mom to see what she thought we should do... I almost told her that we already had a wet paper towel on there, so she better have another solution, but I didn't! She said you might as well take him to the ER since we couldn't get the bleeding to stop and it was a pretty good size gash, so off to the ER we went, but not before I crafted an awesome bandage from some leftover gauze and medical tape I had lying around... He looked like a wounded war veteran for sure with all the tape I used!

We got to the ER and didn't wait too long until we were seen and the Doctor took off my wonderful bandage, and I had succesfully stopped the bleeding (Yay for Mommy!) but the Doc decided to open it to see how deep it was and then it started bleeding again, :( so he said it was too deep and we had to have stitches! :(

After waiting what seemed like an eternity, we had to lay him on the bed, and I pretty much laid down on him and held his hands and feet down while Ryan had a vice grip on his head... This in itself brought panic mode on and when the doc put the first shot into his boo-boo it was all over! He was screaming louder than I've ever heard him and he got 3-4 shots to numb the area and then he had to start the stitches and it was so awful! I just felt so bad for him because he just didn't understand why Mommy didn't pick him up and protect him from the mean man poking him. :( He of course bled everywhere and after it was finally all done, Ryan had to hold gauze on it to try to stop the bleeding while I laid with him and sang and tried to soothe him... He basically calmed down and when they didn't come back in to tell us anything, I just picked him up and basically all was well with the world! ;)

I have to change his bandaid and give him antibiotics, but otherwise you would never know it happened! He is playing, sleeping and eating fine, so that is a relief! We have to go back in 5-6 days to get the stitches removed, Oh joy, but we are just happy he is doing so good now!

So that is our latest trauma! Here are a few pics of our battle scarred baby!


Still looking adorable even with his boo-boo

Showing off his hospital ankle bracelet!

Close-up of his boo-boo! :(

This was this morning when he first woke up... He's still got the hospital bandaid on and his bloody shirt. :(

This is the bear the hospital gave to him and he kept hugging it the whole night! :)

My Georgia Pirate Party...

Woo-hoo! I am really starting to make headways with all the pictures, Yay! ;)

We had so much fun at his Georgia Party, and I think the pictures really show it! It was so nice of Gramma Leigh-Leigh and Granpops to host the party, and everything looked great, especially the massive Pirate Ship cake that we got at Publix! We were originally going to get something relatively simple, but a certain favorite MIL of mine let the crazy bakery lady talk her into this huge pirate ship, and I'm really glad she did cause it really added something to the party, so Thank you Gramma Leigh-Leigh for being crazy! ;) j/k about the crazy part! ;)

Anyways, thanks everyone for coming and for the awesome gifts that you brought... We really do appreciate you spoiling our baby, so... Thank you! ;)

Hope you enjoy the pics of our crazy son! ;)

My Alabama Party...

Yes, I have to say "Alabama Party", since the kid had 3 parties! ;) I am starting to whittle away my pile of photos to edit, so here you go... A few pics of Eli's first experience with a birthday cake... :)

Hope you enjoy...

Curious George Lights up our Lives...

Eli received this awesome Curious George doll...excuse me, Action Figure... for his 1st birthday from his awesome cousins Haylee and Wade, and until now, he hasn't shown a lot of interest in it... That was until he figured out it lights up! ;) Tonight Mommy and Daddy were watching TV while Eli played with his toys until all of a sudden I see him hugging his Curious George action figure ;) and it lit up and he just beamed, well, he couldn't manage to get it to work again, so he brought it to me. He got so excited when it lit up, that I thought I would video it, so all of you crazies could see... ;)

Oh yeah, hugging is his newest trick... ;)

A few fireworks...

I know I am still behind on a few blogs, but I have A TON of pictures to edit and that has to come first, so sorry if you are going into withdrawl, but oh well, you'll deal! ;) j/k!

Anyways, I didn't really have to edit these, so I thought I would share a couple of my fave fireworks pics...

Hope you enjoy!

Love y'all!

part of the finale

my fave boys

I stinkin' love the colors in this one...

What I should have said...

...was "I don't think my bottom jaw is completely numb"... (as the dentist comes at me with the extraction tool)... Oh wait... That IS what I said!! I cannot quite explain the pain that followed as he yanked and pried and pulled on my poor unsuspecting bottom teeth... I pride myself on "acting" brave when I am at a doctor, dentist, etc... I mean, I ALWAYS got a sticker for not crying when I got a shot as a child. I am tough, not to be messed with, or so I thought. The whole time he was yanking, and I do mean "whole time" because it must have been a good minute on each tooth, I was wincing and making pathetic sounds which one would think would cue the guy to stop, wait, take a minute and let me recover, but no, he continued to pry all the while telling me how "good" I was doing! I wasn't doing good, I was in agony, but apparently dentists have a different measuring stick of good then the rest of the sane world. I still can't believe I managed to let him continue onto the 2nd tooth knowing full well the pain that was sure to follow. I guess the knowledge of my beautiful straight teeth (2.5 years later I might add) was the only thing spurring me on, and the consolation that my top jaw felt much more numb, assuring me of a much more, I hoped, manageable experience. Thankfully the top two teeth, yes that is a total of FOUR, brought the typical strong pressure feeling that usually accompany teeth being pulled and was quite bearable. Really, should it worry me that when the doctor sees me, he starts beaming while saying, "Oooo, you're the 4 extractions!" or after yanking my poor teeth, state, "What large teeth you have?" Or, "Wow, that was really hard?" So after him assuring me that I was a very good patient, and I could call him at home if I have a problem, I exited the office with the greatest relief of all... a prescription for powerful pain medication and no bill to pay! ;)