Saturday Savings

A lot of shopping happened yesterday morning! First we took our once a month trip to Sam's Club and then I took Tyler for a whirlwind shopping trip to Walgreen's, Aldi, Hy-Vee and Price Chopper.

Here's what we bought at Sam's


And here's what I bought on the rest of my shopping trip



Total spent yesterday? $133.07

Once again, I spent about 1/3 (or just over in this case) of my budget at the beginning of the month. Our trip to Sam's Club is what really pushes the number high, but I only have to buy those things once a month so it's not so bad in the long run.

Sam's Club:
Goldfish
OxiClean
5 pounds of Cheddar Cheese
Box of French Toast Sticks
2 giant cans of fruit
2 giant bottles of Apple Juice
2 boxes of Instant Yeast
Total cost was $61.49

We normally don't buy OxiClean (which was $16) and instead buy a 9 pound box of Oatmeal, but lately the boys aren't interested in Oatmeal but they are interested in making serious messes of their clothes! The yeast was also a new purchase, but with all the baking I'm doing I've been buying strips of yeast all too often, so this was a good move.

All other stores:

Tide Detergent
Whole Milk - 2 Gallons
Skim Milk - 1 Gallon
Plastic Wrap
Sugar - 5 lb bag
Bread - 2 loaves
Saltines
Cooking Spray
Bananas - 3 lbs
Flour Tortillas
Disney Shaped Pasta
Mustard
Cinnamon Graham Crackers
Red Grapes - 2 lbs
Winterfresh Gum
Butter
Frozen Veggies - 3 bags
Freschetta Frozen Pizza
Hy-Vee Brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
Post Honeycomb Cereal
Hy-Vee Tomato Sauce - 4, 8oz cans
Ocean Spray Light Cran Grape Juice
Skippy Peanut Butter
Cascade Dishwasher Packs
Cascade Crystal Clear (like Jet Dry)
Aluminum Foil
Shredded Mozzerella Cheese - 3 bags (1.5 pounds)
Carrots - 2 lbs
Bag Salad - 2 bags
Red Peppers - 2
Boneless, Skinless Chix Breast - 1.75 lbs
80% Lean Ground Beef - 4 lbs
KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce - 2 bottles
Van Camp's Pork and Beans - 4 cans
Breaburn Apples - 3.8 lbs
Russet Potatoes - 10 lbs

Some of my notable "deals" include; getting the Cascade Crystal Clear for Free! Normally that product is $3.35, but I received a coupon in the mail (along with a bunch of other coupons) to try the product for free! How did I find that coupon? Sites like Money Saving Mom and Frugal, Freebies and Deals are constantly posting links where you can sign up for a special coupon, free sample or even a free magazine subscription (I receive both Parenting and Parents magazines for free every month!). Check those sites out, or better yet subscribe to their daily updates and start signing up for the freebies. I also paid only .98 for the Ocean Spray Juice - thanks to my coupon and the sale that's 72% off the regular price. Another freebie for me was the Winterfresh Gum. A few weeks ago there was a coupon in the Sunday paper offering a free pack of gum. The ground beef I bought was a good deal too at $1.49 a pound - that's almost 50% off! My last really notable deal was my 10 pound bag of potatoes for only $1.89 - normally $4.99.

Total these items would have cost at full price before tax? $95.14
Actual Paid before tax? $67.92

Be Prepared To Cry...

Bonus post here...

I just read the newest post on Tripled Pink and knew I had to encourage all of you to read it too.

I will warn you right now, it will make you cry as it talks about the 1 year anniversary of the death of one of her girls.

Add Keira's story as one more reason why I walk in March for Babies. No mother should ever have to go through that!

Tripled Pink

A Couple of Awards

First, a big thank you to all of you that left such kind and encouraging comments on my Friday afternoon blog entry. It meant a lot to me to read those!

Alrighty, on to the fun stuff now! A couple of weeks ago I received my very first blog "award". I was honored but didn't realize I was supposed to pass it on to others (clearly I only skimmed the post and didn't read the rules)! Last week I received my second blog "award" and realized then that I was supposed to pass these things on. So here we go!

A couple of weeks ago I received this award from Ethan, Zach and Emma's Mom.

So when I think of lemonade I think of a cool and refreshing drink, therefore I'm passing this award on to other bloggers who have cool and refreshing posts to read!

The Lemonade Award:

So here is the award and the rules.

#1 You must link back to the person you received the award from.
#2 You have to nominate 10 bloggers who are deserving of this award!

My top 10:

1. I've recently become a fan of "So Very Blessed". Absolutely adorable kids (6 of them!) and of course 3 of those kiddos are triplets - something I'm always a fan of!

2. Longtime readers of this blog already know I love, love, love The Meanest Mom!

3. Libby at Brossettelewis always keeps me entertained with the stories of her 4 kids, two of which are TTTS survivor twins!

4. Cakewrecks. Need I say more really?

5. This weekend I found what could be my new favorite blog to stalk. Money Saving Mom! In about 5 minutes time I signed up for two valuable coupon books, two samples of granola bars and a 2 year subscription to Parents magazine... ALL FREE!

6. She may not have a traditional blog, but boy is Brenda's little boy cute!

7. Reading "Our Ordinary Miracles" gives me a glimpse into the future I think. Laney's triplets are about a year older than the boys and they keep her on her toes!

8. Amy at Tales From the Higby Gang cracks me up with her posts. She's got 5 kids and 3 of them are triplets who are about a month older than the boys. Talk about hectic!

9. Pam at pyjammy's blog is always a favorite stop of mine... she's got identical boy triplets too!

10. My pastor's blog is always good for a deep and meaningful read. Check out "Seeing Gray".

Ok, and on to the second award!!

Amy, at Tales from the Higby Gang gave me a hug last week! Follows is a list of 5 bloggers that have impacted me lately (there may be a repeat or two from the above list - if your name is listed twice feel free to just pass on one award... doing two at once is super time consuming I've learned!).

1. This person may not update their blog very often, but he's getting better... he is a HUGE support to me though, so how could I not pass a hug on to my husband?!

2. Jen at What Really Matters is being added to my blog roll today. She's been leaving comments on my blog recently and some of her recent posts have been a real encouragement to me!

3. Ethan, Zach and Emma's Mom at The Mommy Diaries has been an entertaining read lately, and I love her Mosaic Mondays!

4. The Meanest Mom may be funny, but she's got a serious side too, as evident with this touching post...

5. Kathryn at The Indermuehle Family inspired me this week to set up the boys little table! You'll see pictures of that later this week.