March savings and another couponing tip!

I can't believe we're 4 months into 2012! How crazy is that? I always like the end of the month though, because it gives me a chance to total up my savings for the past 4 weeks.  This time I was really excited because I knew I had snagged some really good deals.

First off, Harris Teeter had triple coupons (which I indulged in three times...using 20 coupons each time).  Also, I had a very successful month with retail store coupons.  I made 2 trips to Bath and Body (they had there special event where if you buy a home fragrance you get a free hand-soap and reusable bag, and I also had a coupon for a free signature item if you spent $10), had an extremely productive trip to Target (they had a lot of toys and games on sale that matched up with their online coupons and coupons from the paper.  I'm talking $2 Candyland and $3 Disney Princess doll deals), and gave my husband a $10 off anything coupon to Kohls and Hi-Ho Silver to use for my Birthday (an extra perk was him winning me a $100 Chamilia necklace in their raffle).

So, what did I save in March? A whopping $377.02 (bringing my yearly coupon savings to $764.05)! Keep in mind, that's just with coupons that I clipped, got in the mail, or printed offline.  That doesn't include store promotions, sales, or using any loyalty card.  I am so excited because this month I was able to add a lot of items to my church's food pantry, as well as my own, get about 10 Christmas gifts under my belt, indulge in a little home and body fragrances, and my husband is already finished with my Birthday shopping...from my favorite stores, nonetheless (that's probably what I'm the most proud of...he's a Walgreens at the 11th hour shopper!).  Also, in case you're curious, we spent about $600 this month on all these items, but they were worth close to $1,500 if regular price).

Now for another couponing tip.  This one's actually for how to score the coupons in the most cost efficient way: Buy your paper from the Dollar Store! We have the Sunday and Wednesday paper delivered (ordered off promotion) and any extra Sunday papers I want, I get from the Dollar Store.  This saves me about half of what I would pay for each paper.  Also, I only buy 2 extra papers, and that's only if there's coupon inserts that week (some weeks there aren't any, so don't go stocking up and then check).  I stick to 3 papers total because most store have a "3 like coupon" policy, so if the deals really good, by the time you go back to get more, the item's already gone anyway.  So, just get 3 and leave the rest for others.  Hope this helps and have a great April!

Couponing Ain't for Sissies.

If you're trying to get into couponing, there's one thing you should put in the front of your mind or you won't be successful.  You have to to let go of embarrassment and speak up, if need be.  It can be hard to bring a mistake to a cashier or manager's attention, especially if there's a long line behind you or if it's an error that "only" costs you a few dollars, but you have to remember that the purpose behind couponing is to save money. You're not going to save money if you're not willing to speak up when an error occurs.  Nearly every time I checkout there is an issue with either a coupon scanning or doubling, or an item ringing up at the incorrect price.  If I were to let it "slide", then I wouldn't be saving at my highest potential, and essentially I'd be doing the extra work for nothing.


The other day I went to Harris Teeter to with the intent of scoring a second round of "triple deals".  I made sure that all my coupons matched up, and that I had no more than 20 total (their limit).  I had to do self-checkout because it was close to closing time, and all of my items scanned with no problem.  Before taking my coupons up to the cashier at the podium, I counted them again to ensure I had exactly 20.  My numbers were correct, and I proceeded to checkout.  


As the coupons were scanned in, I watched the screen and counted each one off.  It took about 5 minutes for the cashier to finish, with the help of the manager on duty.  When 14 were scanned in, they told me I could then pay.  I told them that I only counted 14 coupons and that I was absolutely certain I had 20.  The manager then told me he would put a $6.00 discount on my transaction.  I don't know where he got $6.00 from, but I believe he just guessed a number to get me through the line.  

After completing my checkout, I then went to my car and took a closer look at my receipt.  I went back, item by item, and tallied up how many of each coupon I had and should have received.  There should have been (8) $.50 coupons, (3) $.60 coupons, (8) $.75 coupons, and (1) $.55 coupon.  I only had (5) $.50 coupons, (3) $.60 coupons, (6) $.75 coupons.  That means I was missing (3) $.50 coupons, (2) .75 coupons, and a $.55 coupon- totaling $10.65.  Therefore, even with the $6.00 the manager tacked on, I still came up short $4.65.  

I went back into the store before leaving and told the manager about the error (I realize that it's only $4.65, but it's more of the principle for me).  The manager made a note of the error on my receipt, but told me he couldn't take care of it at the time because Customer Service was closed.  

Later when I got home, I wrote an email to the store manager telling him what happened (If you have an issue that is not solved while you're in the store, I highly recommend contacting the store manager.  They want to keep their customers happy and will appreciate your feedback).  My email was professional and kind, despite my frustration.  Remember, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar! Don't be rude, mean, or nasty (although I know y'all wouldn't be!) because it will just make them defensive.  Also, don't put down their employees because that doesn't make you look good.  Point out the error, but stay as positive as possible.  

Today I got a response from the manager, not via email, but by phone.  He sincerely apologized and thanked me for writing in.  He also said that he was going to mail me a $20 Harris Teeter gift card for my trouble.  I told him that I greatly appreciated it and we went on talking about the absurdity of gas prices (he was such a nice guy!). 

So, the moral of this story is, whatever you do, don't be afraid to (kindly) speak up for yourself! It definitely pays off in the long run!

More Complete Randomness, Via Pictures...

 First off, a fish update: 

Thirteen days after we got our fish (I know that it was that many days exactly because we just barely made the two week "return policy") William's fish, "Diego", died.  We took it back to the store that evening, and he picked out a cute little striped Molly that he named "Zebra".  I decided to pick out a replacement fish too.  This time I got a sweet little "Bleeding Heart" Molly that I named Anderson (ahem) Grouper.  Yes, I realize I'm crazy.

Madelyn's fish, "Nemo", was not loving having the new company, and he died two days later.  He got flushed, and Madelyn will still look in the potty saying, "My fishy?". 

And then there were two....until today.  Anderson Grouper was stuck to the filter, barely breathing, all morning.  Here he is: 

No, I didn't take a picture of a dead fish.  He's still alive here.  I'm not that morbid.  He's just almost dead.  

 I think "Zebra" is on his way out because he's not eating and has white spots on him.  The culprit may be Ich.   Listen to me, sounding all knowledgeable on fish (I may or may not have spent the morning with my friend Google).  Anyway, it's a parasite that causes white spots on the fish (which all the fish but "Dora" had).  I think I'm going to hold off and talk to the fish guy (yep, official term) before getting anymore.  

 See the white spots on "Zebra"?

Moving right along...I made a new letter/number game for William (courtesy of Pinterest of course).  He really likes it, and it was super easy to do! We played it this afternoon and I think it may become a "quiet time" tradition:

Finally, this picture sums up about how much privacy I have around here:

Yep, my bra was Madelyn's toy of choice this afternoon.  Lovely.  What's even better is that while I was attempting to take a shower, William came in and said, "Mommy is it ok if I go potty while you're in the shower? I'll let you know when I need you to wipe me, ok?" Can't a girl even shave her legs in peace?

Normal?

I got a call from the pediatric ENT's office today: William's sleep test results were normal.

You'd think I'd be ecstatic that my child is normal, fine, and healthy on all accounts, but it's hard to celebrate when I still don't have answers.  He is sleeping better, but I certainly wouldn't call it "normal".  He snores.  He wakes up...a lot.  He cries.  His tonsils are still huge.  He gets into our bed almost every night (he only sleeps in his bed the entire night when he doesn't wake up at all- this happens about 2 nights a week.  An improvement, but still frustrating compared to his sister's sleeping 12 hours straight all night, every night).

Now what?

Well, they want his ears rechecked for fluid (there was some at his last appointment) to make certain his ears are draining fine.  I plan on just having his pediatrician check them on Thursday at his check-up.  I am also having the results faxed over to her office so we can discuss them then.  The nurse with our ENT said that if sleep results are normal, but the patient is still having problems, they usually recommend seeing an allergist (there could be some sort of trigger that is causing him to sleep so poorly).

Other than that, I plan on cutting out his afternoon naps because we are in a vicious cycle.  He sleeps horribly, I let him take a nap the next day, he wants to sleep for 3 hours, then he doesn't want to go to bed at night so he stays up late, sleeps horribly, and then is tired the next day.  See? It's vicious.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.  I ask that you pray for answers and a solution to his sleeping issues.  I am very thankful for them, as well as the fact that my baby won't have to undergo surgery though, so I'm going to try and focus on that for now!

4 Years Old.

I'm sittin here I'm one day old.

I'm sittin' here I'm two days old.

I'm sittin' here I'm three days old.

I'm sittin' here I'm four days old.

One day I'll be a year.

Then I'll be two.

Then three...

Then four...*

Happy Birthday, Sweet William! I can hardly believe that you've been in our lives for 4 years! You are such a miracle and and I am so thankful that you are my son!! I love you!

Mommy

*Lyrics from "5 Days Old" by Laruie Burkner

The post where I take a picture of my groceries

Triple coupons started today at Harris Teeter, and I went in at 6:00 when the store opened snoozed my alarm multiple times and wound up getting up at 8:00.  Madelyn and I headed to the store once we dropped William off at school and still managed to get nearly everything on our list.  I was pretty excited, needless to say.

Our haul:

$73.39 worth of groceries for $14.85!

Also, I forgot to post last month's coupon savings.  With online and paper coupons, I saved a total of $232.44 during the month of February.  That brings my savings for 2012 to $387.03 (not including anything saved in March, thus far).  

Get out there before next Wednesday and use your coupons $.99 and below! There are some really good deals going on (hint: If you are registered through E-Vic, you can use 2 online Fiber One Cereal coupons and 2 paper coupons, to get the cereal FREE!).  Have fun!!

Complete randomness, via pictures.

William's first soccer game of the season was this past Saturday, and afterwards we spotted a few yard sales that just couldn't be passed up.  Sean and I went a little crazy at this one moving sale- buying 2 tables, an antique piano bench (nope, we don't have a piano!), a shelf, a Pier-One appetizer set, and an ab-roller (completely random, but he's on a fitness kick).  Here's one of the tables we snagged (for $5!):

 I decided to put it in our bathroom to help spice it up.  I absolutely despise my bathroom because it's small and random.  The tiles are a "once-pink-turned-terracotta" color and nothing matches them! However, I do like how the table looks in there.  Sean's next project is to sand it and refinish it a dark brown.  

Onto the next bit of randomness: Madelyn's self-comfort technique.  For over a year now Madelyn has done this odd sort of "comfort mechanism", and we've finally figured out that that's what it is! 

 ...She holds her own hand.  At first, we thought she had hurt it because she held it all gimp-like, but she started doing it more and more frequently until we realized it's just how she comforts herself (aside from the help of a paci).  

 It's actually kind of funny because she does it ALL THE TIME now.  She'll do it when she gets tired, when she's relaxing, when she's hurt, and especially when she's riding in the car.  Sean and I joke that it's probably a pressure point and she's releasing some progesterone (aka "the calming hormone") into her system! I think we stress her out! Ha! Ha! 

 Finally, I have to share with you my latest obsession:

 Laundry detergent "pods"! These things are amazing! It's ridiculous how much easier they make doing laundry (I mean, seriously, how hard is it to pour a cap-full of liquid detergent in your machine??).  Most of y'all know that I make my own detergent,. which I usually use unless I can get the manufactured kind on sale (I got this with a coupon for $2).  Still, I have 26 loads already in a little pouch for me...plus they feel really cool! Ahhh...it's totally all about the little things!

p.s. Scheduling a sleep study two nights before Daylight Savings Time was so dumb.  So, so dumb.