Coupon shopping for the week

I ran to Harris Teeter and Giant this week.  I wanted to get another round of Super Double deals from Harris Teeter and I ran into Giant to grab free jelly beans.

At Harris Teeter:

I got:

(5) Boxes of Special K Bars

(1) Bag of Coffee

(2) 6-pack cans of Pineapple Juice

(1) Bag or rice

(4) Bananas

(2) Bags of salad

(6) Yogurts

(2) Cans of green beans

(2) Boxes of tampons

(1) Gallon of Milk

(1) Half Gallon of orange juice

(2) Boxes of ziploc freezer gallon bags

(2) 1-Liter bottles of listerine

(1) Tube of Crest toothpaste

(1) 4-count of Dole squeezies

(5) Bags of diapers

Total spent: $69.21

Total saved: $84.14

At Giant:

I got:

(2) Bags of Speckled Jelly Bird Eggs

(2) Bags of Classic Jelly Bird Eggs

I was paid by the store $0.36 to take these home.

Original cost: $6.36

Total spent: -$0.36

How I did it:

The bags were on sale for $0.40 each.

I had (4) $0.50 off coupons.

After $0.04 for tax, the store gave me back the overage of $0.36.

Happy Friday Y'all!

Nature trail

Ben took the girls on a walk on our neighborhood nature trail the other day and took fabulous, wonderful photos of the girls.

Starting the trail

 "Hey Dad!"

 I have to collect rocks and sticks.

 I bet she thinks she's sneaky

Caroline enjoyed herself too :)

Happy Wednesday!

We love Spring!

Winter was terrible.  The weather was frigid, my ankle was basically broken, and the sunny days were few and far between.  Now that it is Spring, we are getting outside and playing as much as possible.  I cannot tell you how great it is to be able to spend the mornings and afternoons outdoors with my beautiful girls.  Well, I guess I can try to tell you...

IT IS AWESOME!!!!

I keep reminding myself that these are the good days and that they will be gone soon because my girls are going to grow up fast and be into playing without me.  I am trying really hard to cherish every day and enjoy every moment with them.  Because I know... it will be over before I know it.

Our faces before we went down the slide...

and our legs before we went down the slide.

 Climbing up the ladder

 Notice the giant stick?

Yeah, she carried that around all day yesterday.

 Time to slide some more.

 After the playground, we went for a walk around the neighborhood.

This little lady enjoyed every minute.

This little squeaks didn't want to nap yesterday afternoon

(she eventually took a short nap)

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Review

The weather on Saturday could not have been more perfect.  We packed a picnic, loaded up the girls and headed to Barrel Oak Winery to do a wine tasting and enjoy lunch outside with a bottle of wine.  We enjoyed the day with Adam, Shelley, and Fiamma (and all the other people Elizabeth talked to).

 Ben and I when we got to the winery

Elizabeth refusing to look at the camera :)

We enjoyed our wine with  lunch

 Isn't he the cutest!?!

I love this family!  They are such great friends.  :)

On the way home, the girls and I slept while Ben drove.  It was nice to catch a 30-minute cat nap.  :)

Once we got home, Ben headed out to play tennis and I hung around the house with the girls.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out, taking walks, and enjoying the great weather.

On Sunday; I did our grocery shopping, Ben and I finished our three-day hand and foot game, and Ben was a reader at the 5pm Mass so we went to Church at night. 

We had a great weekend and we hope you did too!

Happy Monday!

A week of dinners...

The second* most common question I get asked about my couponing is how I plan our meals/make healthy meals/ organize our meals with the food we freeze/stockpile.

(*The first most common question I get about couponing is how long does it take me)

So, this week I took pictures of each of our dinners to break down what a week of dinners looks like for us.

Sunday- We opened grilling season with steaks, mash potatoes, and salad.

The steaks we had in the freezer, the potatoes were left over from Easter, and the salad I bought earlier that day.

 

Monday- We had grilled teriyaki chicken, honey glazed carrots, and rice.

The chicken tenders I bought in bulk from BJs.  When I get home, I open the bag and separate the tenders into ziploc freezer bags for individual meals.  I usually get 5-6 meals from the bag of tenders.
The carrots I got at the store with my Sunday shopping and prepared in the crockpot. 
The rice is a staple in my pantry.

Tuesday- Meatloaf muffins, roasted garlic potatoes, and honey glazed carrots.

The meatloaf muffins I made a few weeks ago and froze.  I made 18 in my last batch.  Ben and I eat four total a meal, so that made 4 1/2 dinners.
The potatoes were left over from Easter, so I roasted them for dinner.
The carrots were left over from Monday.

Wednesday- Homemade cheese pizza and salad.

The pizza we had all the ingredients for and the salad I bought during my Sunday shopping.

Thursday and Friday-  We had left over pizza and salad.  When Ben makes pizza dough, it makes enough for two pizzas.  We usually make pizza on Friday and have it for the weekend, but I was craving it earlier in the week.  It saved me from making dinner and who doesn't love pizza?  :)

Tasty treat-Strawberry Pudding Pie

I try to bake or make some sort of special dessert once a week. 
I do this for a couple of reasons:
(1) Who doesn't like dessert?
(2) I want to expand my recipe list/ knowledge
(3) I have started enjoying cooking and baking

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Coupon shopping for the week

Full disclosure: I did go to Harris Teeter three times this week.
Once on Sunday for my regular weekly shopping, once on Tuesday to get the last sale items that I found coupons for, and once on Wednesday because that is when Super Doubles started.

For Sunday:

I got:

(2) Boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch
(1) Box of SeaPak popcorn shrimp
(1) 10-count box of Mott's fruit snacks
(1) 4-count box of Del Monte fruit squeezies
(5) bags of harris teeter shredded cheese
(1) 1-lb. bag of baby carrots
(2) 8-count bags of Thomas' Bagel Thins
(2) 5-count boxes of special k bars
(2) 1-pound containers of strawberries
(5) bananas
(2) loafs Natures Own whole wheat bread

Total spent: $27.96

Total saved: $35.66

Percentage saved: 56%

For Tuesday:

I got:

(2) loafs Nature's Own whole wheat bread
(1) container Country Crock spreadable butter

Total spent: $3.86

Total saved: $7.61

Percentage saved: 66%

On Wednesday:
(Did I mention I had both girls with me?)

I got:

(1) gallon of milk
(1) jug of Tropicana farmstand strawberry banana juice
(3) boxes of Quaker granola bars
(1) loaf of whole wheat bread
(4) boxes of spaghetti
(1) 4-count box of Smuckers squeezies
(1) Heinz ketchup
(1) Heinz mustard
(1) Bottle of Renu contact solution
(1) Jar of pasta sauce
(2) Ziploc plastic containers
(3) yogurts
(2) cans of baked beans
(1) bag of frozen rolls
(2) large bags of Huggies wipes
(1) bag of Pampers diapers
(1) bottle of shampoo
(2) blocks of Kraft cheese
(1) 4-pack of razors
(3) Happy Tot squeezies

Total spent: $46.28

Total saved: $93.60

Percentage saved: 67%

Happy Friday!

Life Lately

This week has been a nice, non-pressure, yet busy kinda week.

On Monday morning, we built a fort and stayed in our PJs until nap time:
 

Elizabeth loved playing in her fort

One Princess Sophia is not enough, you must have two

 She would peak out and watch TV

By the afternoon, the sun was out and we enjoyed playing on the driveway:

 Caroline enjoyed watching us

 Elizabeth had a purple popsicle

 I love these girls!

Selfie with Mommy

  Tuesday morning it was rainy and Elizabeth suggested we play dress up

(Caroline's first dress up experience)

 She seemed to enjoy it :)

Tuesday afternoon smiles.

Elizabeth jumped off her chair to be in the picture too.

Elizabeth's lunch on Wednesday (I got a little creative)

Elizabeth loved the edible eyes on her sandwich.

She yelled, "MOM!  My sandwich has EYES!!! So cool!"

 Thursday morning (inside) play time

 

 Thursday after lunch (outside) play time

 Elizabeth chasing bubbles

 Making bubbles with the bubble gun

Thursday afternoon, this girl was ready for swim lessons

We have had a great week!

Happy Thursday!