Cans for Comments - Souper Bowl Edition

It's a Cans For Comments week here again! We're calling this one the Souper Bowl Edition. Get it? Super Bowl/Souper Bowl? I have to confess, I can't take credit for the catchy "Souper Bowl" theme - I got that from my church.

Starting at 9am CST tomorrow (Monday, the 1st), all comments left on my blog, both on old and new posts, will result in one non-perishable item being donated to the huge (I mean huge) food drive happening at my church this week.

When I ran CFC a couple of months ago, several bloggers joined in and collected comments and cans for their local food bank! Who's in again? Just grab the button below and stick it in your opening Cans For Comments post. Then, add your blog link to the Mr. Linky below so that folks know to visit your blog and leave comments!

<a href="http://threetimesthegiggles.blogspot.com/2010/01/cans-for-comments-souper-bowl-edition_31.html"><img src="http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc92/discjockeyhelen/CansforCommentsSB.jpg"/></a>

Don't have a blog? Do what my friend Stephanie did last time I did CFC and pledge to match my donation at the end of the week!

Let the fun begin!

 

Saturday Savings

Last weekend I had the privilege of going to Baltimore, MD for the wedding of a college friend and roommate, which is why there was no Saturday Savings post. This did not mean I didn't shop at all last weekend though. I actually scored big time at HyVee on Sunday afternoon when I bought $75 worth of stuff for $35! This week was another high dollar week for not a lot of money out of my own pocket. Everything you see below cost $43.

 

Price Chopper:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Crest Toothpaste

Dawn Dishsoap

Musselman's Apple Sauce - 2 jars

Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice - 3 bottles

Cheese Nips Crackers - 2 boxes

Diet Coke

HyVee:

Frozen Veggies - 4 bags

V-8 Fusion Juice - 2 bottles

Grimmway Farms Baby Carrots - 4 bags

Bagged Lettuce - 2 bags

Kiwi - 5

Red Seedless Grapes - 2.07 pounds

Aldi:

2% Milk - 2 gallons (The hormone free signs have finally appeared in the MO Aldi's!)

Bananas - 3 pounds

Hen House:

Lysol Toilet Cleaner - 2 bottles

Lysol All Purpose cleaner - 2 bottles

Skim Milk 1/2 gallon

Land O'Lakes Omega 3 Eggs - 1 dozen

Cucumber - 2

Nature's Source Shout Spray

The Deals: I stocked up on some cleaners at Hen House thanks to some coupons and sales. The Lysol was all .98 each and the "Natural" Shout was $1. At HyVee I snagged frozen veggies for .77 each, the baby carrots for .75 each and the V-8 Fusion Juice for $1.75 each. At Price Chopper I picked up a damaged box of Cinnamon Toast crunch in the clearance section. I also bought the Crest toothpaste for .25, the dish soap for .75, the Cheese Nips for .50 each, the apple juice for .99 each and the apple sauce for $1 each. 

Total Before Sales, Tax and Coupons: $83.47

Total After Sales and Coupons: $39.70 - 52% savings

Marriage Enrichment

Several months ago Nick added a new line item to our monthly budget. The line item reads "Marriage Enrichment". The amount designated? $10. It's a cheesy title and not much money, I know, but stay with me for a minute.

When we were just a couple of DINKs (double income no kids) we had plenty of time alone and even went out on dates once a week. It was wonderful and probably why Nick dragged his feet so long in the "let's have kids" department. Well, that and the road trips. I think we both miss the mini-road trips. Anyway, I have especially become increasingly dissatisfied with how often we get out. It's expensive though lining up a sitter and then going out to eat or to a movie or what have you. We're cheap. We admit it. We're ok with the cheapness though because it's allowing us to pay down debt early and hopefully pay cash (or mostly cash) for a van sometime in the first half of 2010. That's a whole separate post though.

So after many conversations and complaints about how we never do anything together, Nick came up with the Marriage Enrichment plan. I was skeptical. How would spending $10 a month and staying at home help us much? Turns out my husband is a genius.

The Marriage Enrichment rules are simple. We alternate who is in charge of the $10 and planning each month. It's an unspoken rule, but we don't tell each other what the plan is until the day/night comes. It's kinda fun!

November was our first one and Nick was in charge. He took the $10 and bought a book that we've used a couple of times. It's got some interesting quizzes that you take together about how you think things are going and how you think your spouse thinks things are going. The quizzes have led to awesome discussions and some real change in our relationship! The book link is below and as you can see, it's quite cheap at Amazon.com right now.

December I was in charge and I decided we'd have a throw back night. A night to honor all the fun we had before the boys arrived! (I know, I know - we still have fun now, but it's a different kind of fun.) After the boys went to bed I went and picked up some Chinese take out and we played Monopoly.

Last night was our January night and Nick was in charge again. He bought supplies for S'mores and we cooked S'mores on the S'more maker I had forgotten we even had! They were delicious of course and then we took another quiz from the above book and had more great discussions. 

Bottom line: If you don't get out often, or if you only get out occasionally but your marriage still isn't quite there, consider adding a Marriage Enrichment night each month. The fun of trying to come up with something creative for $10 or less, plus the element of surprise may be just what you and your spouse need!

Oh, and here are a couple of cute pics from yesterday ;)

 

Jackson & Chase

 

Tyler, Chase & Jackson

 

Jackson! Get Off Your Brother!

Yesterday Jackson would not stop bugging his brothers. He wanted to wrestle. All. Day. Long. His brothers weren't too interested. Lucky for Jackson, Tyler was a good sport about it for the first half of the day at least (Chase wasn't in the mood at all and burst into tears every time Jackson body slammed him). I think I must have told Jackson no less than 50 times yesterday to leave his brothers alone or to get off of them. Towards the end of the day, we all were losing patience with Jackson's WWE ways and I started putting him in time out for being so obnoxious.

This morning, as I was in laying in bed, trying to pump myself up for the day I could hear Nick say "Jackson, get off of your brother!". Awesome. He's at it again today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heads up fellow bloggers! I'll be running a Cans for Comments week again starting Monday morning. Consider this the Souper Bowl (get it? Souper/Super Bowl) edition! I'd love to have other bloggers join in. Look for a button and a Mr. Linky on Sunday's post and we'll start the commenting fun on Monday morning.

I Love Having Triplets

Let me be clear about my title - there is zero sarcasm in it! Last week it dawned on me that I absolutely love having triplets. Given the chance to go back in time and be told I could have just one baby or three, I totally would pick three.

My life is like a nonstop playdate. I don't have to worry about the boys getting bored or lonely. I get to sit back and watch my kids play with each other. Every so often I'm asked to join in, but usually they're content to play with each other.

Granted, the nap time and bedtime parties are getting a little old but at least they're being cute and chatting with each other.

Yesterday Tyler was on the toilet and Chase pulled the stool up right next to him, sat down on it and said "What you doing Tyler?" Stinking adorable!

I love looking into the living room and seeing the boys all snuggled up on the couch together, with their blankets, watching a movie. I love walking back to the playroom and finding them all lined up on the futon reading books together.

I love the hugs they've started giving each other. A couple of weeks ago Tyler (I think it was him) bumped his head when he tripped in the living room. Instead of coming to me for a hug, he went to Chase for one! I was delighted to see Chase give him the hug back and not try to push him to the ground in a tackle instead.

This past weekend I got to chat with a mom of 9 year old triplets (her kids were in the wedding). She agreed that having triplets is the best experience and she'd do it again in a heartbeat too. There's just something amazing about watching three little people go through the exact same stages at the exact same time.

Sure, life is challenging at times. But life sounds plenty challenging when you have just one kid too (obviously I'm not speaking from experience here). Honestly? I'd wish triplets on any of my friends :) It's an amazing experience not enough mom's get to enjoy! Life has been amazing the last 2 and a half years and I can't wait to watch the boys grow in their friendship.

Odd Mom Out

I learned a little something about myself this weekend. Unless the conversation is about bodily functions, tantrums, time outs or my awesome mom wardrobe (holey jeans and sweatshirts anyone?) I don't know what to talk about.

Twice this weekend I was seated at a table where I felt like I had zippo to add to the conversation. This was new territory for me! Granted, a couple of the conversations took turns I wouldn't have been able to make a meaningful contribution to anyway (like when the topics of Michelangelo's struggle with depression or computer software design came up) but still... I felt like I should be able to at least say something!

At first I thought "huh, maybe I do need to get out more often"! Then it dawned on me: I get out plenty (4-5 times a month usually), but the people I'm getting out with are generally moms themselves. I have no problems conversing with my childless-sister or with my friend Stephanie (also without children), but we have plenty in common beyond kids. Besides, those two like to hear about my boys (at least, I think they do) so it's not a big deal when I throw "mom stuff" in there.

I was sharing this revelation with Nick last night, talking about how I felt kind of badly that I can't seem to have an adult conversation that does not lead back to poop, time outs or the cute things my kids say and do, when he pointed out that that's ok. This is just the stage of life I'm in. There's no shame in talking almost exclusively about my kids; they are what consumes my life right now of course. I tried to argue with him, that I feel like it should be the same as the advice given to parents: when out on a "date" don't talk about your kids. He finds that silly too. If the parents enjoy talking about their children, let them talk! My husband is so smart :)

Speaking of my husband - he did a great job caring for the boys this weekend while I was gone! Really, was there any doubt though? I will say this though... there are two things he did that stick out in my mind.

1. He gave the boys Spam. For those of you who don't know my husband, you should know this: Nick loves Spam. Disgusting, I know. On Friday Nick made himself a tuna and spam sandwich (anyone throw up in their mouths a little while reading that?) and made the boys' grilled cheese and gave them each a piece of Spam to go with it. He said the boys loved it and he heard the words he's been longing to hear: "More Spam please Daddy!"

2. He taught the boys to pee standing up. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Thankfully their aim seems to be decent. It's the dribbling all over the toilet and stool towards the end that grosses this mommy out. Oh well. Each night Nick has tackled said toilet and stool with a bottle of Lysol, so at least it's being cleaned up.

Finally, a couple more wedding photos! I promise to get back on track tomorrow and get my 365 blog updated later today!

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Weekend

After two and a half years I finally got a "break" from Mommy-hood. I'm pretty sure I'm more tired today than I was when I left my house at 4:30am on Friday, but the tiredness is so worth it!

Early Friday morning (4:30am early) I left my house and headed for the airport. My destination? Baltimore, Maryland for the wedding of my friend and former college roommate Tracey! I got to catch up with a few friends, watch my friend smile and glow in a way I'd never seen her do before and, because I wasn't part of the wedding party but was hanging out with them all, I got to take some fun pictures.

Getting back home on Saturday took some luck and speedy running in some shoes that definitely were not designed for running (or even fast walking) in. My flight from Baltimore was delayed 90 minutes and my layover in Chicago was only supposed to be an hour originally. Before we took off from Baltimore I was told my connecting flight in Chicago was still on time. It was also the last flight to Kansas City for the night. UGH! My only hope would be my connecting flight getting delayed...

When we landed in Chicago I got on the phone with Nick and had him check the flight status. It had been delayed! I told the man sitting behind me (who was also trying to make the KC flight) and he told me he'd make a run for it and tell them to hold the plane for me too. As soon as we got off the plane we took off for the other terminal our connection was leaving from. We arrived breathless (the man a couple of minutes ahead of me) just as the plane was boarding. My feet were screaming at me by now! But I didn't care - at least I wouldn't be spending the night in O'Hare airport.

I'll share more about my trip and a couple of pictures in a day or two. For now, here's one of my favorites: the bride and myself at the reception!

Your Burning Questions Answered

You all asked some fun and creative questions this time around!

Charlotte asked the following:
When, if ever, do you think you will stop blogging about the boys? Do you think they'll ever want you to stop? (I hope the answer is no!) Hmmm.... That's something I haven't thought about! I imagine when they get into school my blogging will slow (but not stop). I mean, right now I have a little show happening in my living room every day and if that show is in school for the bulk of the day there goes the bulk of my "material". I bet if I was still posting pictures of feces and them wearing my sports bra when they're in middle school they would ask me to stop blogging, so I'll just have to censor myself a bit ;)

How do you imagine the boys to be in 15 years or so? Honestly, I imagine them to be a lot like their Uncle Isaac is right now. He's 18 (almost 19) and is one of the most respectful, funny and helpful young men out there. He's like a mini-Nick. I hope that because the boys have such an awesome example in Nick that they'll follow in his footsteps. I think the boys will be huge into sports, the only question is which one (and I know Nick is hoping for basketball). 

What is your earliest childhood memory? I have fleeting little memories from the first house I lived in. We only lived in that house until I was 3 and a half or so, so they're fairly early memories. I remember things like my mom putting peanut butter in my hair to try to get gum out of it, I remember playing Red Light Green Light in our living room at my birthday party, I remember the house behind ours had a fire in it and watching them throw stuff out the upstairs window during the clean up after the fire and I remember it hailing once and my dad running outside to scoop some up to put in our cups of soda at dinner (it was pizza night)! 

Mackenzine asked the following:
What (if any) were going to be their names if they were girls? We never actually thought of girl names! We knew from that very first ultrasound (12 weeks) that there was a good chance they were all boys and then at 17 or 18 weeks that was confirmed.
If no names what girl names do you like? You know, I've never actually thought about it! I'd have to say I'd probably want to lean towards more "classic" names. Even though I have a lot of friends with these names, I love names like Rachel, Sarah, Katie, Jennifer, etc. Who knows what Nick would pick though - he had some interesting ideas for the boys! LOL!

 kdliberty asked the following:
Do you think you will ever have any more children? Ahh, the loaded question! I hope that we will. Whether it's through another pregnancy or through adoption (something we've always talked about wanting to do), I hope that we add a 4th member to our family.

 Brenda asked the following:
If you could sit down and "interview" anyone famous (living or dead) who would it be? I would love the chance to interview Paul, from the Bible. His New Testament writings have always interested me. I loved his style and would love the chance to talk to him!

How's the Esty shop going? Fantastic! I get a nice mix of orders from people I know (family, friends and people I know from the internet) and orders from people I don't know. I actually just posted some fun new treats for Valentine's Day!

How far in advance do you write your blogs? Usually I write them the same morning they post. Every once in a while I'll write them the night before and schedule them to post the next day.

Do you think you'll continue blogging 6 days a week "forever"? I doubt it! As you can see from the first question today, I'm betting that when the boys get into school I'll back off a bit because I'll be lacking in material.

What countries (other than Mexico/Canada) do your readers come from? In the last month I've had hits from 36 countries. My top 10 countries (in order of readers) are: 
US
Germany (114)
Canada (93)
UK (73)
Netherlands (27)
Puerto Rico (20)
France (13)
Australia (10)
Norway (6) and a slew of others tied at 3 visits each. Kinda cool! I have no idea why I have so many German readers. I do have some cousins in the UK right now, so that explains some of that one.

Are you thinking of sending the boys to preschool at some point? We definitely will, but it likely won't be until the 2011 school year. The boys won't get to start kindergarten until 2013, so we don't want them to do 3 years of pre-school which is why we aren't going to send them this year.

What has been the most surprising thing about being the Mother of 2 year old identical triplets? The pleasant surprise of how great they entertain each other! I love watching them play together and they've been like that since they were about a year old.

When will we see pictures of the boys playing in the snow in their new boots. When we get more snow! The boots arrived just as all the snow was (finally) melting away. At this rate, I think you may get to see the boys playing in the mud in their new boots first.

Anonymous asked:
What is a typical day like? The boys usually wake up at 7 or 7:15am and Nick is already up and ready to get the day going for them. I theoretically am allowed to "sleep" until 8:15, but the boys have been quite noisy lately so I often am up shortly after they are. Nick feeds the boys breakfast and usually gets them dressed before he heads out for work. I like to try to find somewhere for us to go in the morning, whether it's a playdate, story time or a trip to the park (when it's nice) I feel like it helps the boys nap better and makes the day go by faster.

The boys usually sleep 2-3 hours in the afternoon and that's when I take the chance to catch up with friends online, do some reading, baking or cleaning (but I don't clean often). Around 4 or 4:30 I'll let the boys watch a video (usually Signing Time or Little Einsteins) while I get dinner started. Nick gets home by 5:30 and that's when chaos sets in. After a wild dinner and some more wild playtime we start our bedtime routine. We make the boys clean up all their toys, then go potty, get into PJs and brush their teeth. If they've all done a good job with that we watch 8-10 minutes of a video (either on YouTube or on a DVD). For this part they want all the lights in the house off. I don't know where they came up with this idea, but it started back in the fall and they love it. Plus it's kinda fun to all be cuddled up on the couch together. :)

After the boys go down around 7:30pm Nick and I get to work cleaning the kitchen up, vacuuming, starting laundry, etc. By about 8:30 we both collapse on the couch. 

 Brossettelewis asked:
You scrapbook, right? Let's see some pages. I do! I haven't done much lately, which bums me out. Next month though I have an all day (9am-10pm) crop to go to though, so that will help! Here are a few recent pages I don't think you all have seen.... (I am a more "simple" scrapbooker. Time is not on my side and I am trying to do 3 books at once!)

 

 

 

 

Bed Time Games - Video Clip of the Week

As promised yesterday, here is the video I took of the boys acting up at bed time. These boys have a party in their room nearly every night at bed time. Sometimes the party only lasts 10 or 15 minutes and sometimes they'll party it up for close to an hour. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have not moved them out of cribs yet! They have pretty good parties while they're trapped now, imagine the fun they'd have with the freedom of beds. Yikes.

This particular video offers nothing to look at, just some massively cute audio. Turn up your speakers and enjoy the fun!

Chase is the one running the animal quiz show and I believe Jackson is the one who shouts out all the answers. Ahhhhh the cuteness!

Today is your last day to get in on the Q&A! I'll be answering the questions tomorrow. I've had some fun questions asked already. Ask yours on this post HERE!

A Love/Hate Relationship

Have you ever had something that you really can't decide if you love it or hate it? Maybe it's because said "thing" pulls a Jekyll and Hyde act on you all the time. Or maybe it's because said "thing" one minute appears to love you and the next is screaming like you've ruined it's life. Any guesses as to what I'm talking about?

If you said teenage girls I suspect you might be correct, but I'm actually talking about 2 year olds. I'm having a love/hate relationship with this age. I can't decide if I'm really enjoying it or if I can't wait until we're out of "this stage".

The boys say and do the cutest things now! I swear, every day they do something that tops what they did the day before...

Yesterday, when Tyler got hurt bumping into something (I suspect he wasn't really hurt, because it was his fake look-at-me-now cry), he didn't come running to me for sympathy. No, he turned to Chase and Chase gave him a hug. Sweetest. Thing. Ever.

Two days ago Chase pooped in the toilet. There was a "big poop" and a "baby poop" and Chase looked down and said "awwww, a little baby poop!" and then proceeded to ask if he could hug it. (It's ok, you can laugh - I did.)

A few nights ago Nick and I listened to the boys giggling in their room long after we put them to bed. They were playing a guessing game where Chase would say "how 'bout this one!" and then make an animal noise. Tyler and Jackson would then shout out the answer. I have this one on video, and will be sharing it with you tomorrow!

When Tyler gives you a hug, he rubs and pats your back like he's soothing you. It's adorable and so endearing!

Then the other side of the coin though involves tantrums over Nick taking Chase to the potty instead of me taking him, not letting the boys play on the Wii, not letting them dunk their hands in their milk cups, not letting Jackson have his blanket at all hours of the day, not setting up the humidifier, setting up the humidifier, not giving someone medicine, not serving the "right" lunch and on and on and on.

Can you see why I would be so confused?

Q & A Time!

As I lay in bed this morning, not really wanting to move, I started thinking about what I should blog about today. Not a ton of exciting things happened over the weekend, although on Friday Tyler did get his first ever x-ray (which he did an awesome job sitting completely still for!). He has bronchialitis and is already getting back to his old self thanks to some antibiotics and an inhaler. Saturday night Jackson and I stayed home from church as he had a low fever that afternoon. Exciting stuff huh?

Obviously I don't have much to share today and quite frankly, I'm tired. So a Q&A session is my cop out for the day! Here are the rules:

Any question is fair game, except the following: What city we live in (Kansas City is good enough), middle names or last names. Just ask your question by commenting on this post.

Here are the links to answers from my two previous Q&As! Q&A #1, Q&A #1 pt 2, Q&A #2

Before I leave you to your questions, here are two of my favorite pictures from the weekend!

Nick and Tyler yesterday afternoon.

Jackson and me cuddling on the couch Saturday night. The picture was taken using the self-timer on my camera and I held the camera with my feet!

(Both of those pictures along with 15 others can be seen on our 365 Blog!)

Multiples and More QOTW - My 5 Favorite Blogs

Today the Question of the Week over at Multiples and More is a fun one for me! We're supposed to list our 5 favorite blogs!

I'll be honest - in recent months I haven't done a very good job reading other blogs and commenting on them. I used to be great at it! I think the boys are distracting exhausting me more and more lately, so by the time nap time comes I'm beat and don't feel like exerting much brain power. I really need to get back into it though, as reading other blogs always brightens my day, gives me fun ideas and sometimes make me think.

All that being said, there are a few blogs I do check on a regular basis! One that I check every single day is Multiples and More. Seeing as they're hosting this little QOTW though, I'll leave them off the list. In no particular order...

Blog #1: Money Saving Mom - I love this blog! I've learned so much about how to work the CVS Extra Care Bucks program, how to find good deals at stores like Target and Walgreens and how to sign up for freebies (food, magazines and home cleaning supplies)!

Blog #2: The Great Umbrella Heist - I love this blog about identical triplet girls. The conversations those girls have crack me up! Oh and Sarah's photography inspires me to keep improving and trying new things with my own camera!

Blog #3: The Meanest Mom - This mom of 4 kids (including a set of twin boys) always keeps me laughing! Last weekend though she made me think. She made me think for 3 days! I don't think a blog post has ever made me think that long. Here's a link to the post that made me think so much....

Blog #4: Briseno Family Adventures - My friend Brenda is from California. I met her on a Weight Watchers message board back when we were both pregnant with our "first". That was 3 years ago almost! We finally met this summer when Brenda's work travels brought her to Kansas City and I'll see her again in March when she and several other women from our board will travel to Kansas City for a big meet up! I love Brenda's stories about her son and I love her Scrapbook Saturdays posts! Always a fun place to get new ideas.

Blog #5: Cake Wrecks - Whenever I am having a bad day and just want to cry (or eat), I log onto Cake Wrecks. I could scroll through her posts for a solid hour I'm sure. The writing keeps me laughing and the stupidity of the cake "wreckerators" cracks me up!

Disclaimer - if you didn't make my list, don't get down. I probably do read your blog! You seriously should see the list of blogs that I "follow". It's a lot. I'll try to get better at commenting so that you know I'm checking you out (in a very un-stalker like way of course). :)

Saturday Savings - A Great Week!

I had a great week of shopping! As a bonus, I only had to visit 2 stores to snag all the deals you'll see below. I had quite a few free items and am thrilled with what I spent. Everything you see below cost me $55.76.

HyVee:

Tropicana Orange Juice

Barilla Whole Grain Pasta - 4 boxes

Yellow Onions - 3 pound bag

HyVee Sandwich Bread

Diced Tomatoes - 8 cans

Tomato Sauce - 2 cans

Tomato Paste - 1 can

Quaker Rice Snacks - 3 bags

Quaker Granola Bars - 2 boxes

Heartland 1% Milk (hormone free) - 3 gallons

Heartland Skim Milk (hormone free) - 1/2 gallon

Russet Potatoes - 3 pounds

Organic Golden Delicious Apples - 3.63 pounds

Beef Boneless Bottom Round Roast - 4.5 pounds

Price Chopper:

Danimal's Yogurt - 4 packages

Eggs - 2 dozen

Best Choice Frozen Veggies - 3 bags

El Monterey Tornados - 1 box

Ken's Salad Dressings - 3 bottles

Ken's Marinades - 2 bottles

Nestle Hot Cocoa - 4 boxes

Bananas - 5.14 pounds

Clementines - 5 pound box

Grapefruit - 6

The Freebies: I had quite a few freebies this week! $21 worth! Woo! The Price Chopper Kids Club got me 3 packages of Danimals Yogurt for free (they were also on sale and I had a coupon, so bought a 4th box). Also at Price Chopper, Ken's dressings are .99 each and last week there was a $1 off one coupon in the paper. At HyVee I got the Tropicana OJ for free ($3 value) because I bought 5 Quaker Items (which I paid $5.15 for total). At HyVee I also had a surprise freebie! Apparently the HyVee I was at (I don't know if others do this too) has a price guarantee. When my organic apples ran up incorrectly and I pointed it out, I was given the $7+ in apples for free. Nice!

The Other Deals: At HyVee I got the 5 pound bag of potatoes for .79 (68% off), the canned tomatoes for .39 each (56% off), the Barilla Whole Grain Pasta for .99 each (33% off), Quaker Rice Cakes were on sale for $1 each and one bag I got for only .25 thanks to a coupon, and the boneless roast was $2.29 a pound (41% off) so I bought two. Bringing down my HyVee total even more was using the $2 coupon I "earned" on my shopping trip last week!

At Price Chopper the Ken's Salad Dressings weren't the only good Ken's deal! Their marinades were also .99 each and when using the coupon from the paper last week, they end up being only .49 each (81% off). Another smoking deal was the Nestle Hot Cocoa at .49 a box (75% off) and the bananas for .39 a pound were a nice deal too.

Today and tomorrow HyVee is having a 2 day sale. There are a couple of items I just may brave the crowds for - namely the deal on Kraft Cheeses! You can see the ad at HyVee.com.

Total Before Sales, Tax and Coupons: $128.19

Total After Sales and Coupons: $52.98 - 59% savings!

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Grandma got a little tired of seeing her ragamuffin grandkids plastered on the internet wearing bags on their feet instead of boots. Yesterday afternoon, these arrived at our door!

The boys love them, and now want to wear them nonstop! Sure, technically they're rain boots, but I think we'll get more use out of them than we would snow boots.

 

 

Chase (don't let the "T" shirt fool you!)

Chase & Ty

 

Jackson