playday with our friends

REPOST:

Neli and Izaac came over the other day for playtime and coupon sorting time! Anele wants to start couponing and since I kinda know what I'm doing she came over for a quick tutorial. I think I helped a little. There is definitely a learning curve to the whole couponing thing! I think she did very well!
Anyway, before we started organizing and making her shopping list we had some playtime at the beach.

The water was not something the kids seemed to be able to stay out of. They had their first official swim of the season. Probably their second will be a long time from now. They were shivering after the little dip and their lips were seriously blue for a few hours afterward! It's just not quite warm enough yet for swimming!

Look how sweet Nay Nay was being to Izaac.

Marcail likes baby Izaac.

Isn't that baby a doll??

here's the thing: scribbles and masterpieces

My mom's post by the same title is the inspiration for this one. I don't have any masterpieces to share with you but I do have lots of lists and scribbles! I am a list-maker. I make lists of all sorts! I even make duplicates of lists, especially grocery lists. I will make grocery lists on my white board on the fridge, in tiny notebooks I find floating around the house. I will type them into my MemoPad on my phone and, when I have it all organized I will make my final list with the help of scissors, weekly ads clippings and tape. I have a GROCERY notebook devoted for just such lists!

This is a wishlist found in one of my little notebooks of preschool homeschool books I wish to purchase.

A menu plan from several months past.

My phone boasts several lists that I've "jotted" down as I've been out and about. I will see things or hear things that I wish to look up online when I get home. I will type out prices of things to compare at the next store I go to. I will even put in restaurants I wish to visit sometime in the future as I drive by them. My phone is one part of my brain that I rely on for more than just texting and phone conversations.

These lists below are the ones I'm most proud of but feel a little vulnerable sharing them. I know I'm a crazy person and now I'm admitting it! Yes, I do cut out the items I am going to buy at our local grocery stores from their weekly ad. I put them on the paper in order of aisle and section that I will visit first and tape them onto the notebook page. THIS is the way that I keep myself organized as I compare prices, sort through my already sorted coupons for the store I'm at and also keep my kiddos from being, well, kids in the store!

This, my friends, is my lucky green notebook that happens to be my grocery "brains" every week! Notebooks are my friends!

So, do you make lists and notes like my mom and grandma and me? Are a "crafty" list maker like I am or are you more traditional in your listing? Do you find lists that you had previously lost a few months ago? I do that too! Lists are fun to make! I love to sit down with a pen and paper and made my lists as presentable as I can. Sometimes, while I am planning out my list and carefully writing it out I wonder, if it were to fall out of the cart or out of my purse on the way out the door, would someone pick it up and think, "Wow! This person must be methodical." Or would they think, "What odd food they eat!" Yes, I do think that "deeply" about my lists. I am a crazy! I know that. But you still love me.

the past month and a half

I haven't been as diligent with posting on this here blog as I've been in the past. I guess I've gotten busy. I was going through the pictures I've taken on my phone and thought I'd share a few of them. They seem to capture well what I've been up to for the past month and a half.

1. I made my first batch ever of Cinnamon Rolls.

2. I started couponing with a fury at the end of November to save some money and to start stockpiling with the intent to make my shopping trips become fewer as my shelves and cupboards become fuller. Here are my cupboards and shelves becoming fuller as I coupon and hit great sales and deals!

3. I purchased a frozen turkey during Thanksgiving time (when they were on huge sale). Then, I baked, or is the correct term roasted? the bird, de-boned and bagged the meat and the broth and placed it in the freezer for future use. It's come in handy a few times already!

4. I took a very random and amusing (to me) picture of Rex from Toy Story with a trail of *ahem* droppings. His questioning look slays me! I can just hear him saying, "Oh dear! Did I do that?"

5. I discovered that I am growing gray hairs at an alarming rate. How's that possible? Isn't 28 too young for such things?

Can you see 'em??

6. I got this breadmaker for Christmas and use it a lot. I am concerned that it's already bitten the dust though. I attempted making dough in that machine three times in the last month (2 of them being today!) and it has failed all three times!

7. I know my breadmaker can make dough if it wants to, though, because the bread for the pizza pockets I made in the pic below was expertly mixed, kneaded and risen by it!

Yeah, my "hot pockets" haven't been perfected yet...



8. I let Henry put all the silverware away from the clean dishwasher.

9. And then, when he wasn't looking, I put them back in the way I prefer them to lay.

10. I captured this sweet moment between "Brudder" and Nay Nay.

11. Did I mention I've started couponing? Yes, I have. So, while the kids and I were taking a walk I spotted this not-yet-expired treasure in the grass! Not only was it not expired but it's for some of my favorite coffee!

12. My expression when I found the coupon lying in the grass just waiting for me to find had to look like this:

And then it turned to this:

Which can only be defined as giddy with anticipation to use said coupon and extreme excitement.

13. Wore my kids out running errands (a.k.a. Bargain Hunting)!

14. Lastly, but certainly not least-ly this doozy! What is it about those chubby cheeks being squooshed by those ridiculous goggles and the innocent dorkiness of that little girl that has me rolling on the floor laughing a.lot!! And to top it all off she told me right before I snapped this pic that the goggles were to keep the sand from blowing into her eyes. It was not windy that day, my friends. Not windy at all.

Well, there ya have it, folks. A month in the life of Tab! Thanks for hangin with me.

shopping saturday

I was able to go get my grocery shopping done today without the "help" of the kids because James stayed home with them. He is a willing babysitter and always says, "Go. You need some time to yourself." I do appreciate the thought but I miss him when I'm out getting things done. Oh, well! I am so pleased with all the cool deals I got today! Would you like to see? Ok! I'll show you!

From Target:

2 Tostitos Hint of Lime chips $3.00/each
2 Tostitos Chunky Salsas $2.50/each
2 Peter Pan Peanut Butters $1.69/each
2 Smuckers Low Sugar Grape jelly $2.29/each
2 GE Light Bulbs $1.69/each
1 Nivea Touch of Sparkle Body Soap $2.99
2 75% off Brasiers (not pictured) 1 at $2.48 and 1 at $3.24!!!
I had coupons for all of the above items except for the bras and the grand total for all was:
$29.31
Total Savings: $15.35


From Publix:

Publix Baby Cut Carrots $2.99
2 Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggies 1 at .89 and 1 at $1.19
2 Lysol All Purpose Cleaners--Buy One Get One Free $3.19
2 Doz. Egglands Best Eggs 2/$4.00
3 Dannon Activia 4-pack yogurt 3/$6.00
2 Maxwell House coffees 2/$5.00
2 Sue Bee Honeys $2.99
2 V8 VFusion juice 2/$5.00
1 King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour $3.79
1 King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour $3.79
2 Pillsbury Cake Mixes--Buy One Get One Free $1.69
I had coupons for all the above items which brought my total to:
$33.16
Total Savings: $24.97




From Winn-Dixie:

4 Winn-Dixie block cheese at $1.50/each
2 Winn-Dixie 100-count Natural Coffee filters--Buy One Get One Free $3.29
2 DelMonte Fruits $1.99/each

2 Winn-Dixie 15-count Trash Bags--Buy One Get One Free $1.89

1 Bertolli Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce $1.59

2 Friendship Sour Creams $1.99/each

Bag o' Bananas $1.46 (.39/ lb.)

6 Potatoes for $1.94 (.39/ lb.)

3 Cucumbers $1.47

I had only one coupon for this trip; for the Friendship Sour Cream. I had a $1.00 off any 2 cartons. I used that and brought my total to:

$24.88

Total Savings: $18.14

I did splurge while I was out and bought two pairs of flip-flops from Payless. They were offering their BOGO 1/2 off sale so I think I did pretty well at $11.64 for two pairs, a savings of $5!

I do, however, believe that I was in need of some new flip-flops though! Do you see my old ones below?

Well, thanks for looking at all my buys with me! I am so happy with what I bought and I still have some leftover from my weekly budget!!! Yippee!!