Another successful trip to Target.

My mom and I went shopping today after meeting a friend for lunch and getting Kimber's pics done. If you wanna check out her pic. you can look at the post after this one. So anyways I just had to say I have been doing some research online and printing online coupons and found some AWESOME deals today. I shopped at Target today and I bought some food items that we normally don't get to have but after the coupons I didn't spend more then .50 on any of the items. I was able to find 2 new pairs of shoes that Kimber was in desperate need of. lol I had let her other shoes get way too tight and felt bad. So I bought her a pair of shoes to wear with her Easter dress since that is next week already and a pair of tennis shoes to run errands around town in and for daycare. Plus I picked up another package of diapers:) Always buying diapers...We are still working on the potty but it has not been as consistent lately. :( We have not been home as much to be consistent with it either and that does not really help. Anyways I was so proud when I came home and realized that I had bought her 2 pairs of shoes, a pkg of diapers, and only spent $5.oo on everything else I found!!!! YES!!! I am getting better at this!!! For those of you wondering I mostly just look at moneysavingmom.com and click on the grocery coupon and the coupon button on top of the page that is black. You have to install a coupon printer the first time you try to print coupons but I have not found any problems with installing this program. She also tells you what deals are where for the week. I check out other sights but this is the one I have had the most luck with. If any of you have found other really good sights please leave me a message. With that I will sign off saying I am posting this pic so you can see the deals I found today.

1 scrubbing bubbles shower starter cleaning kit~Free after coupons I am so excited about this since hopefully it will help me not have to clean the shower so often. Plus it was free.
Eggos

Kotex

Shout

Bagel Bites

Scotts t.p.

Diapers

2 boxes of safety swab Q-tips

pkg of Resses pb cups

dole fruit cups

Betty Crocker Warm Delights

Box of fruit snacks

2 pairs of shoes for Kimber

1 bottle of baby soap.

Total Today: 39.99

Total Savings34.06

I have to say I was shaking when I handed the cashier all the coupons thinking she is probably going to tell me I can't use that many but she smiled and scanned them all threw. I finally walked out of a store thinking I would have spent over $40 on Kimber's shoes and diapers alone! I read on another mom's blog somewhere along the way that she felt like she was stealing and in some way that is kind of how I felt. Even thought I know the coupons are all good, I still feel kind of funny in some odd way. I am sure in time I will not be so unsure of using coupons but it is still pretty new to me. :) Any advice from other coupon experts out there or any other good coupon websites I would appreciate the tips. This is all so new for me. Hope all is well with you and God Bless until next time. Have a wonderful day. Easter is on the way! That is something to be excited about and thankful for. Good night.

Kimber being Kimber.

Our Family pic for 5 yrs!!! This was the only pic she would take with the #1 prop. Not my favorite pic ...but still cute. I think this pic is SO SWEET. :)

Kimber's baby blue eyes. Her in her Easter dress. So the only way she would smile for any of the pic today was if I would let her hold onto these Easter eggs. hehe oh well.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Mommy signing to me.

Grandma, Mommy, and me.

Big smile.

I would not let mommy go so we just took a pic anyway.

Here is one thing I love...to look at books.

Me and Daddy holding hands.

Mommy and me holding hands.

This is our life!

Kimber has been teething for what seems like forever. She is so sad in these couple of pic I thought they were cute. I wish they would hurry up and come through she is working on the canine teeth on the top and I can tell her gums are getting white on the bottom so I am sure as soon as the top ones are through we will start on the bottom ones!!! yeah. :) Poor little girl is so miserable and sad ...you know its gotta hurt. She is normally so happy. I miss her smiles. I took this pic for 2 reasons. One I said I would not put Kimber in bibs until she was able to walk. I just think they look too hard to crawl and roll around in. And second of all...she has the green magnet on the fridge that sings the alphabet and we have been signing the alphabet to her and she is look at her hands and trying to move them to the letters in the song. She is not really close to any of the real signs yet...but I still think it is cute how hard she is trying to accomplish it. She is so memorized with signing. She can totally be mad or upset and if you sign something to her she calms down a lot faster. Love the bare feet! She refuses to wear socks. haha On our way home from town last week Kimber and I stopped on the side of the road near our house because there was a bald eagle in the tree. I had to get a picture and Kimber thought it was pretty cool because as we were leaving the eagle flew over the car and I am not sure she had ever paid attention to a bird before and how they can fly. So the rest of the way up the driveway she kept saying...bird, bird, bird, etc...

Here were my purchases from the other day that I told you about.

When I laid Kimber down for nap one day she decided she was going to go to the bathroom in her pants...I guess she decided she would try and get out of it because she stripped all the way to her undershirt before I heard the cute giggles coming from her room! I love her smile in this pic. Lately with her teeth bugging her she has cried so much I can't wait for her to get them in and be back to her happy self. When a child gets the giggles it is contagious.

I know this is a beautiful pic and it reminds me of how God makes everything beautiful. Yet deep down I can't help but wish it was spring. I know the calendar says it is spring but the weather outside didn't get the memo I guess:) For now I will have to be content with a warm house and a wonderful family and look out at the coldness and pray for spring ...soon! Until then this is the view from the kitchen window. :)

Kimber loves music and art. She was interested in mixing all the colors together. I wanted to keep this pic somewhat nice...so when I took the paper away and gave her another piece of paper to do whatever on she cried. I think she thought she had to be done. I just didn't want the whole picture to be brown though.

Her cute little hand covered in paint. How sweet.

Here she is hard at work.

Well we should sign off for now. Not much is new here. We are planning on going to story time on Fri at the local library and then going swimming on Sat at the pool. Maybe going swimming will make me forget that it is still winter outside for a couple hours:) Eric and I are on the count down now to 5 yrs. 17 days. It seems just like yesterday that we got married. Does not seem possible that it has been 5 yrs already. Hopefully the next 5 will be just as wonderful as the first 5 were. I am looking for ideas as to what we should do. If you have any ideas that are close to home and inexpensive leave me a message. Have a wonderful night or day...depending on when you read this. Until next time, God Bless and stay warm.

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back...Do you ever feel like that?

Ok So I hope I am not the only one who feels like they take one step forward and then two steps back. Lets start with the good news for the day. Here is my list of things I purchased with coupons and things that were on sale!!!
2 pkg of huggies wipes
1 pkg of pampers diapers (unfortunately Kimber is allergic to everything else)
4 boxes of Fruit Snacks
2 boxes of Yogurt Fruit Snacks
1 pkg of cough drops
3 (6cups in ea) pkg of applesauce~ These are nice for traveling or going to grandmas, its an easy and healthy snack
2 sippy cups
1 suction cup plate for Kimbers food
1 box of Borax (so I can start making my laundry detergent and not spend so much)
1 Bottle of Shout Stain Remover
1 pkg of underwear for Kimber (since she is about 75% potty trained I figured this might be the motivation I need as mom to finish getting her to be 100%. My goal is by 18 mo. we would be done with potty training so we are headed in the right direction)
and 2 shirts for mommy! and YES they were on clearance for $3.24 ea. So not too bad.
I will post a pic of my good deals when I get time. For now Drum Roll Please...
Grand Total Before sales and coupons:$88.16
GRAND Total After Sales and Coupons: $44.81
Saving Today: $43.35
Not to bad for my first time shopping with coupons! I had one mom ask me if I was ashamed to shop with coupons. I told her if anyone looks down on it they have not truly been put in the position to have to try and learn how to save money! I am not ashamed to shop with coupons...I just think wow look at my total going down! NICE!!! Then the person paying full price behind me ...lol I think poor them! When they maybe thinking the same about me...oh well. They don't know me and I don't know them.
Now on to the next topic of saving money. As of April 3rd we will no longer have TV channels in our house! Wow...prayer does work and sometimes really fast. Well?? fast this time...I have been trying to get Eric to agree with me for about the last 6 mo to cancel the TV. I guess it was finally time...or maybe God was just tired of me praying about it! hehe. I prayed right before I brought this topic up to my husband again and surprisingly he said as soon as his season of LOST is over we can cancel it and I think it ends Apr. 1 or 2. I am so excited!!! That is going to help a lot. One less monthly bill and we can always rent from the library. It may take a while to get the movie in but hey, its free that way!!! Double bonus.
I am truly motivated by my little girl to get out of debt as much as we can by the time she is 3. So in 2 yrs the only thing I want to have left is my student loan. I am not sure how that would be able to be paid off. Yet I know God is mysterious and has a way of working things out. So even a miracle that big could happen. For now I would be content not to have any credit cards (we have 2 we still have to pay off), not have a 4 wheeler, or car payment! We will keep you posted on the progress. I just pray God gives me the wisdom as to how to spend what he provides us with.
Kimber is out of the teething stage again...for a few days at least. The top canine teeth finally popped through so I think that gave her some relief today. yeah! She is her happy self again.:) She has gone through another one of those stages where I feel like she knows too much for her age. When giving her a bath the other night I asked her to hand me the colors yellow, blue, green, and purple...and she did!!! She would find all the yellow ones and say yellow as she handed them to me. When I would ask for another color she would hand all of that color to me! Ugh. She is growing up too fast. I am glad she is interested in learning things though. She has been trying to sing the ABC's and so as she and I sing together we are practicing signing the letters as well. So I will be interested to see how old she is when she can sign the whole Alphabet by herself:) You probably think I am a pushy mom and am overdoing it but my philosophy is if they are interested in it then you might as well expose them to it. They are like sponges and soak everything up so fast...we need to find ways to keep them interested or they get board with learning. I want learning to be fun for her so I am doing a lot of exposing her to new things as we have the time. Seriously how hard is it to count the snaps on her pants or the steps. When your cooking to point out the shape of the plate or pan you are using? Shapes, colors, numbers and letters are on pretty much everything. It is not like you need to invest in a bunch of toys just to practice these things. Hopefully she will continue to have fun with it. I know I have fun watching her learn and figure things out on her own.
Well I better sign off this is turning into a book! Good night and God Bless!!!

Make some Noise~Red Envelope Day! March 31st.

Ok So I know I just posted about trying to save money and then I received this email. I plan on having Kimber color with marker or crayon 3 white envelops red. One for each of us and then mailing them. This will only cost us a little time and $1.26. To me that is worth the cause. I am tired of not speaking up for what we believe in. It took us so long to have a baby, thinking we would never have the joy of a baby, it makes me sick to hear of abortions. Please consider taking a few min. and we can make a difference together. If you would like please post this to your blog if you are interested in others seeing as well. The more people that speak out maybe it will leave a lasting impression and change a heart in the process. thanks.
Please visit our website:http://www.redenvelopeday.com/
When: March 31st, 2009
Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to
President Barack Obama
The White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500
On the back, write the following message.
This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.
We will mail the envelopes out March 31st, 2009.Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S.] before having a chance to live..It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it's shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard.Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children.Barack Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That's the first thing that I'd do."An empty red envelope will send a message to President Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue [The Freedom of Choice Act, which will essentially “undo” every law currently in place to limit abortion in the U.S. (i.e., parental consent laws, parental notification, waiting periods, prohibition of transporting a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion, etc.)]. It will be quiet, but clear.Please read more about The Freedom of Choice Act here:http://www.lifenews.com/nat4359.htm%20lhttp://www.barackobama.com/2008/01/ 22/obama_statement_on_35th_annive.p hphttp://www.jillstanek.com/archives/ 2008/07/one_year_annive..htmlhttp://www.redenvelopeday.com/

living on less

Hello! I do not have any pic to post tonight but they will come... I just wanted to say I have really enjoyed some recent blogs I have been reading through and some of the helpful tips people have given me. You may not even know you have ... but you have:). I have been on this kick to get out of credit card debit this year and YES I KNOW we should have never put money on there to start with. This is no excuse but being in school and only having one income when we first got married was not smart. I am taking responsibility for this since it was me in school and I was not helping pay the bills but now that I have a job and am able to work I am determined to cut cost where we can and not indulge in convinces all the time and try to live a little simpler life style. This does not mean I am going to go all country on you but there are a few fun things I am excited to start trying.
*First I am going to start using coupons. (I have already contacted the local grocery store and they said I can have any left over papers that have coupons in them from Sun on Mon when my mom goes to work there) hehe.
*Second I am going to try and make laundry soap. (If you have any tips...bring them on!!)
*Third I am not buying anything for myself that is not on the Clearance Rack for the rest of the year. (I have to put this in writing or I know I won't stick to it. I was so excited this past weekend I have to share my good finds. I was given a birthday gift and so we went out to eat and decided to mostly go window shopping (but if we found something that was fine too) since my husband and I try not to go out much because when we do we spend money not in the budget. So anyways I took Kimber into Penny's to look at Clearance Racks and to my delight...the Clearance racks were ...drum roll...$1.97!!!! YES!!! Jackpot. I found 2 new sweaters for the rest of this lovely Northern Minn winter and for the fall. And one turtle neck. Not normally a fan of turtle necks but it was hot pink and looked cute under one of the sweaters. Plus it was under $2!!! When I went to the register the girl was like is that ALL for you?? I said Yes proudly with my 3 new shirts in hand all for under $6. Total savings over $75.00)
*Fourth~and for those of you who know my husband this may be the most challenging one of all! I am going to try and convince him to let us cancel our TV for the next year. I know people out there who do not have a TV other then to watch movies on. When I look at the $75 a month it is not so bad but when you think that is $900 a year that is money wasted for me. I am tired of the TV shows that bleep out every other word. That is not something I was raised to listen to. Now as a parent I do not want my toddler picking up bad words at a young age. I do not think it is cute at all when I hear a 2 yr old swear! I would rather rent a movie or two once a month and have family time rather then try to entertain Kimber in another room so the TV can be on in a different room.
For now those are some goals to work on. We will keep you posted on how this is all working out. God is faithful and I am excited to see where we are in 6 mo.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hats off to you all. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Not sure what happened. Silly camera...the date is wrong on the pics again. They were taken today 3-17-09. We made a St. Patrick's day headband and played some music. Kimber is not really a fan of playdough but we tried. Have a great day! Spring is on the way:)