Adventures in Couponing

I was pretty stoked about my purchases this time around. As you can see I only had two "off-brand" items. I had a ginormous basket full so I was feeling a little nervous about what my total was going to be. Plus when I started to check out, I didn't see any of my favorite checkers! Haha! I resorted to a lady who had never checked me out before. She started laying coupons aside as she scanned them and I thought, "Oh great!" but she went back through each one to make sure I purchased the items and we didn't have any problems at all!



1 Comforts baby wash
1 Johnson baby lotion
2 Degree deodarants
2 Suave men's shampoo
1 Vaseline lotion
2 pkgs Nestle Toll House cookies
1 Country Crock butter
2 Raisin Bran
2 Crispix
2 Honey Nut Cheerios
1 Plain Cheerios
2 Mini Wheats
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars
1 Yoplait yogurt (random I know to get only one but I had a coupon for a free one!)
1 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
1 Marie Callender's homestyle bake
3 Campbells' Cream of soups
2 Ronzoni pastas
3 Rotels
1 Whole Grain Chef Boyardee (again another freebie!)
3 Hunts tomatoes
2 Minute Maid orange juice
1 Snuggle softener
2 Ragu spaghetti sauce
1 Kroger apple juice
1 All detergent

Total: $55.60
Total Savings: $67.38

Thankful Thursday

Today I came across a friend's blog and it was "What I'm loving Wednesday." I love the idea but I didn't want to completely steal it so I thought I'd start a "Thankful Thursday." When I say that about the stealing thing, don't think you can't steal my idea. Please feel free! I think it is something we should all do more of. We have so many things that God has blessed us with that we certainly do not deserve. Things that we so often overlook and don't thank God enough for. So with that said, I encourage you to start a "Thankful Thursday" blog. I encourage you to do less complaining about the petty little things you go through and focus more on all the good in your life and what God has done for you.

1. Our women's bible study. I can't say this enough! That class and the women in it are such an encouragement to me.

2. Lunch with my bff, Chelsea, today and her yummy soup she brought.

3. The strength and ability to work out this week.

4. Living in a country where we have the FREEDOM to worship an awesome God. We are reading "Radical" in our Sunday bible class and it has been eye opening for me for many different reasons. In the book, it talks about different people in other areas of the world who risk their lives and sometimes their own family's lives just to learn more about God. People who are being persecuted for trying to learn more about God or who are trying to spread the gospel to others. This week it has really been on my mind and I have thought about how lucky I am to not have to go through that. We have no idea how blessed we are. We have the bible to read at anytime, we can go to God at any point in the day and talk to Him, we have a building that we can go worship at on Sundays and Wednesdays. All of these things right at our finger tips and yet, we take them for granted.


5. Finally and most importantly, God's forgiveness when I do take all of those things above for granted. Thank you Lord!

What are you thankful for this Thursday!

Adventures in Couponing #6

Here's my latest couponing adventure. Special thanks to Kroger and their sale on P&G products! I am no longer giving detail for detail on my adventures because it takes to dern long! I am super excited to say that the "coupon queen" will finally be visiting Goodman Oaks to teach us a thing or two about saving money! Let me know if you are interested and I will give you more details!


1-12 Double Roll Charmin
1-8 Roll Bounty paper towels
2 Herbal Essences Conditioner
2 Herbal Essences Shampoo
1 Aussie gel
1 Aussie hairspray
1-10 pk Duracell batteries
1 Downy fabric softener
1 Crest toothpaste
2 Bottles of Dawn

Grand Total: $21.11 :)

Adventures in Potty Training

Warning: One might get grossed out from the picture in this blog. If you think you might, do not read any further!

We started "potty training" about a week ago. I say that in quotes because I haven't actually started hard core potty training. For about a month or so, Brylee has been saying "I poop" either before she is about to do it or after she has done it. Which the latter is more often the case. Since she's been doing that, I thought she might be ready. Plus I want to get her familiar with it. We don't have a potty chair right now so I decided to borrow Ben's old school one from when he and his siblings were little. This is actually the seat I am wanting to get. ::Potty Seat:: Ben isn't too keen (and I'm really not either) on paying 50+ bucks for a potty seat but it's the only one I can find with a tray. I can just put snacks or little toys there to occupy Brylee while she tries to "poo poo" or "pee pee" and I can leave the room if I need to without her getting up and running around naked tail! My mom used one with a tray when we were little and oh how I wish we still had it! I can still remember the picture of me sitting in it, fast asleep, with a Burger King crown on my head!

Anyways, about the third day, I put Brylee on the potty first thing that morning. That's when she tends to do "her business." Well by golly as soon as she sat down:


Why yes, I took a picture of my girls' ginormous turd! Just call me Kate Gosselin! Hey, I've got to have something to turn the boys off of her some day! She chose to do it the one day Ben took off work too! We were so excited.....and a little grossed out! Mommy, of course, had to clean out the potty bowl, and I really came close to gagging. Not sure why because I've changed hundreds of diapers. I thought, "Why is this using the potty stuff so exciting because it's no better than changing a diaper!" It made me second guess on that potty chair real quick and maybe consider getting a seat to put on top of the toilet so I don't have to worry about that mess! That same day I was good about putting her on the potty quite frequently. ::and the discouragement begins:: One of the times Ben took her. As soon as I entered the room, she wanted to get off. I fought her for a second to stay on there until Daddy says, "Aw Mommy, she doesn't have to go! Let her get off!" So I did, and started a bath for her. Not even 10 seconds later, she wets all over the bathroom floor! Because of my hubby's comment right before that, I let him clean it all up!!

She hasn't done anything since. We have spent lots of time on the potty and we get nothing! Until we get off and 20 minutes later it's in her diaper! I guess that's partly my fault because I haven't been consistent in taking her. I need to read up or ask other mommies because I have no clue how often to take her, how long to keep her on there, etc. I do know that Mommies deserve a crown though because this is way harder than I ever thought!

One and a half!

Well I officially have a one and a half year old. Brylee turned 18 months last Friday and it's crazy. I remember just taking pictures of her when she turned 6 months. I know I say this in just about every blog but I really wish time would slow down! I only have 6 months to plan her 2nd birthday!! Haha, I know, I know I have plenty of time but when it comes to making her photo book, I really gotta get on the ball! Here are her 18 month updates. This is probably something no one cares about but I like to add these things so I can look back when she's, oh 18 years old, and read these kinds of thing. Lord knows I'll forget them!

Here she was on her half birthday!


And now 1 and 1/2!



-Her vocabulary is just growing! She is amazing me everyday. Her vocab now includes: Momma, Dadda, Hi, Hello, bye, Nana (my mom), Papaw (my dad), Mimi (Ben's mom) Dadoo (Ben's dad), baby, thank you, bath, whoa, shoe(s), no, eyes, eat, more (more-more), night-night (she learned from her sing-a-ma-jig!) keys, bible, sock, boot, cup, two, corn, bow, teeth, toes, I poop, I toot, clap-clap, book, hot, cold, when we ask her who made mommies and daddies she says "God did", and when we say "Jesus loves..." she'll point to herself and say "Me!" Lately, she has liked adding the artice "a" to words. She's so funny!
-2 of our New Year's resolutions for her were less bottle and less passy. She is only taking a bottle at bed time now and it's been quite easy. Come February we are going to try just a cup at night. We'll see how that goes. She is quite attached to the passy and at times I found myself just giving in. Just when we're out in public though. She only takes her passy when she lays down for nap or bed time though sometimes she'll find one sitting somewhere and the next thing you know she's walking up to me with a passy in. Like I said, she's quite attached!
-She has started saying "I pooped" when she has pooped and sometimes before she does it. I started putting her on the potty yesterday but so far, nothing!
-She is down to one nap a day.
-She's up to 24 pounds now. She is like picking up a ton of bricks it seems like. She is so solid! She is in size 18-24 months and yesterday she was actually wearing a 2T shirt! She is in size 5 shoes. Size 4 diapers.
-She pats anything leather and says "bible." ie: Her uncle's wallet. It was the cutest thing.
-She discovered oranges a couple weeks ago and LOVES them. And orange juice too.
-She loves to dance.
-She is becoming such a loving little thing. She'll just come up to me and lay her head on my leg and pat me. I eat that up!
-Her favorite thing to do here lately is stick her booty up in the air and put her head on the ground...kind of like she's doing "down-dog". We call it her yoga move so whenever I say "Do yoga!" that's what she does.
-Whenever she sees a number she says "two". Every number is two in her book!
-She started using a spoon the other day and did quite well! There is a video at the bottom.
-She is still a mommy's girl 100%!!!