Following God is not always comfortable or convenient....

Today, I was trying to get my Bible reading in over breakfast.  (I pick breakfast because the kids are usually distracted with their food and I can focus.)  I am currently in the beginning of Luke.  To sum things up:  Mary is pregnant, the census is called, and now she 9 months pregnant and has to travel VERY uncomfortably on a donkey's back miles and miles to Bethelham.  They get there, there is no room at the inn.  They are forced to stay in a stable.  You know--a barn--full of cow poop and smelly animals.  And in that dirty place our savior is born.

Well, during this story Alaina is throwing food, Ky is screaming, and now Alaina is trying to stand up in her highchair.  ARGH!  I just want to finish my BIBLE READING KIDS!  So I take away Alaina's food with a swipe of the hand and then hold on to her leg as she continues to scream at the top of her lungs and stand up.  I continue my study and read my Bible footnotes.  (I just need another minute and I will be done!) 

The footnote points out that this was all apart of God's plan for Mary.  She may have been miserable in the time being, but it all had a purpose.  What if she had said "NO" I am not going to Bethelham--the prophecy could not have been fulfilled!  Her dedication to God's plan helped to bring forth my salvation!

That was when I looked up to see my daughter's screaming face (as I am still holding on to her leg).  It may not be comfortable or convenient for me to put my "God" time in, but it is also a part of his plan.  And who knows--maybe somebody else's salvation depends upon it....

Saving at Walgreen's

So I mentioned in my last blog that I was going to do this blog.  I typed up a note during the process to keep track of how profitable my ventures were at Walgreen's. 
Just a brief summary--if you didn't read my last blog--I discovered a new website called www.pocketyourdollars.com (listen up Wisconsin & Minnesota residents!)  This website has been AWESOME in helping me save money.  Anyway--this blog summarizes my 5 week venture to Walgreen's.  I will start with my final summary (if you want to be saved all the details) and then will have each week summed up.  Enjoy!

Total Walgreen's Money spent in 5 weeks: $31.85


What did I buy for that much?

2 Jumbo packages of Huggies diapers
Dove body wash
2 boxes of Kotex
2 HUGE things of honey
2 boxes of raisins
1 Magenetic white board
Hair rubberbands
5 packages of vegetable seeds
3 deodorants
1 box of dried apricots
2 Colgate Total toothpaste
1 dish soap
4 Frappacinos
1 package of paper plates
1 package of Peeps

If I had purchased the above on my own (I will take out the frappacinos, apricots and body wash--since theser are things I would not normally buy) I would have spent about $50 without tax. Hmmm....I think I did pretty good saving about 40% and getting some add'l goodies I would not normally buy. I think I will keep up the Walgreen visits.
 
My Game Plan
 
I do not shop at Walgreen's. However, Pocket Your Dollars is challenging me to try it out and see how much free stuff I can end up getting from Walgreen's. Like all things, you must invest first though.


It actually turns out that going to Walgreen's is pretty convenient for me since it is right next to the library. So after or before our library time we walk over to Walgreen's and make our purchases. I am excited to see how I do and plan to keep track of it in this note to make sure I am getting good return for my investment.

Week 1

Investment $22.60

Item & Price Coupons & Rewards (Ultimate Price)

Purchased Dove's body wash for 5.99 minus $1 coupon received $6 in rewards (+ $1) -I made $1!
Huggies Diapers for 8.99 minus $2 coupon received $3 in rewards (-3.99)
Kotex 2/$6 minus $2 coupon received $3 in rewards (-$1)
Honey $3.99 (Awesome deal!) minus $1 coupon (-2.99)

Went back next day and bought more diapers

Huggies for 8.99 minus $2 coupon minus $6 in rewards (-0.99)
received $3 in rewards
Raisins for $1 purchased b/c 1 coupon per item limit (-1)

So for $22.60 in week one I bought 2 packages of diapers, 2 packages of pads, honey (and this was a big THING OF HONEY!), body wash and raisins AND I have $9 in rewards to spend next week. Hmmm...This is looking pretty good!

Week 2, We were sick, blah blah blah--and there weren't very many good promos. However, I did go in and buy a white board i needed with surprisingly competitive pricing to Walmart/Target

White Board $4.39 minus $3 in rewards (-1.39)
Total spent at Walgreens 24.22 and still have $6 in rewards

Week 3

I discovered http://www.iheartwags.com/ which gives you fabulous ideas on rewards money AND previews the next month of fliers--so now I can plan ahead on what weeks to use rewards and even skip weeks! WOO-HOO!

Today I spent $0.79 total and received $2 in rewards for....

Hair rubberbands 2.99 (I needed these!) minus $3 in rewards (+0.01)
PLUS received $2 in rewards
Vegetable seeds 5/$1 minus another $3 in rewards (+2.00)
Right Guard Deodorant 2/$3.39 minus $2 coupon (-1.39)
Dried Apricots Bought as filler to exceed rewards (-1.00)

Total spent at Walgreens $25.01 with $2 Rewards to use.

Week 4

2/28 Did a quick run to Walgreens because i had a coupon that expired today and I couldn't pass up getting Toothpaste 25 cents and I needed dish soap. Today I spent $1.39. I have to say I am very excited about my trip on Tuesday b/c I will pick up two things of floss for FREE! YEAH!

Colgate Total Toothpaste 2.99 Had 75 cent off coupon minus $2 in rewards (-0.24)
PLUS received $2 in rewards
Dish Soap 0.89 in store coupon (-0.89)

Total spent at Walgreens $26.40 with $2 in Rewards to use.

3/2 Looking back, I should not have bought the deodorant--it was not a wise purchase--though it was an investment for my future purchases--however, I usually do better. Despite this, I did well--and even splurged buying Rob 4 Starbucks Frappacinnos for $1. I also learned that I cannot use coupons that exceed the purchase price of an item (which seems odd to me, since most stores will let you do that...) Oh well--I guess I will have to get my 2 free flosses at Walmart. :)

Today I spent $4.05 and received $3 in rewards.

4 Frappacinnos $5 I also had 4 $1 off coupons (-1.00)
Paper plates 0.99 This was my filler item and as good as I normally pay! (-0.99)
Lady's speed sitck $1.99 had a 0.50 Q and used $2 in rewards PLUS earned $1 rewards (+1.50)
Colgate Total T-paste $2.99 had a 0.75 Q and earned $2 in Rewards (-0.25)

Total Walgreens Spent: $30.45 and I have $3 in Rewards

Week 5--Final week.

This week is my final week in this note because I did not get any rewards. There just wasn't anything good or what i needed, so I did not buy those items. This also gives me a good last tally to see if this is worth it. (Especially since next week I can get Colgate Sensitive toothpaste for better than free with Rewards! and start all over again.)

I spent a total of $1.40

GIANT Honey 3.99 -$1 Q -$3 rewards +.01
Peeps 0.39 Filler Item & Ky's Easter basket! -.39
Raisins 1.00 Filler Item and I needed them. -1.00

Ky's Education & First Valentine's Day

Where do I begin.  Well, good thing I have all these pics to help me remember what the kids have been up to.  The first pic is of Alaina with Bears dog collar aorund her neck.  Yeah--I am not too happy about this.  She figured out how to take off Bear's collar and put it around ehr own.  Hmmm..Can we say choking hazard? 

I have a lot of pics of Ky and his schoolwork in this blog.  He works so hard at his projects and learning things, I just don't want to forget these moements.  Also, it makes me feel a little better when I have to toss alot of the theing  he has worked on.  I can't keep them all! 

February was a rough month.  Ky got sick the first Sunday night, so we ended up taking care of him all day Monday.  A little side note to this.  He woke up in the middle of the night (on his own) and ran to the bathroom and puked in the toilet-BY himself!  and it is not often this little guy gets sick.  Rob and I actually woke up to the sound of him puking.  What a BIG KID!  (However this trend did not last...)

Then the following Sunday Rob got sick, then that night Ky got sick and then that morning I got sick.  We were quite the hosuehold.  None of us had gotten sleep except Alaina who was rearing to go.  AND on top of all that they were working on the house so it was constant banging.  It was a rough day for all of us.  BLEH!  Then shortly after that we found out Alaina had RSV...but I will get to all those fun details soon enough. 

Ky attended his first official Valentine's party.  We bought dinosaur V cards and everything.  He had lots of fun signing his name on them all (though we could only sign it "KY" because the cards were so small.)  I also had him write his friends' names on the cards.  It was great writing practice for him as well as figuring out what letters went in each name.  I was very proud at how well my boy did.   BTW--did you know that valentine cards no longer come with envelopes?  I thought they were missing when I brought home the box.  But nope--I guess that is the thing of the old days.  Perhaps we are trying to save paper, or maybe the companies are cheaper? 

The Valentine's party was at Chuck E Cheese.  What better place to have it!  Ky had a blast, and Alaina enjoyed herself too.  I had called the doctor that morning for Alaina though--the last couple of nights she had woken up trembling.  And it just seemed like she was having a hard time breathing.  I thought she might have illness induced asthma (my friend's kids has that) since she was dealing with a cold.  She was very tired at Chuck E (you can see from the pics), but I also just figured it was from being up at night.  The doctor couldn't get me in until after the V day party, so I figured we would just go and then go to the doctor after that.  Well turns out my poor girl had RSV--which is pretty serious and contagious.  It is a respiratory illness which can be very dangerous for children under 2 since their lungs aren't fully developed (tubes aren't as big.)  I guess older people will get it, but it will just be a cold.  Anyway, the doc sent us home with a nebulizer and we had to fight with her four times a day giving her breathing treatments.  Poor girl!  It was rough.

Back to Chuck E....My kids were so funny when Chuck E came out.  Alaina just stared at him.  She did not want to get too close, but she wanted to keep an eye on him.  Maybe she was making sure he didn't come too close to her.  Ky kind of just stood there.  He eventually did wave to Chuck E, but that was it.  Very cute.

You will notice that I have the kids "working" in some of my pics.  I have been really trying hard to come up with things that Kylan can do to help around the house.  Responsibilities just for him.  A couple of his responsibilities include helping to empty the dishwasher.  He does silverware (and Alaina likes to help hand him the silverware) and tupperware--two things I don't have to worry about him breaking.  He also is in charge of laying out Alaina's diapers for me so I can easily put in the liners and fold.  I have tried to get him to help fold the laundry--but right now he just makes even more of a mess for me to redo.  He will match socks and help put away his and Alaina's clothes.  He is doing a really nice job with these new chores--AND I have yet to hear him complain.  I have let him know that these are his special jobs, and they are ways for him to help out in the house, and he has PROUDLY owned them.  Let's just hope things stay this way! :)

The Wednesday after we ALL got sick, Ky was invited to a birthday party for the neighbor boy.  He was very excited, and had been acting fine for the 24 hours prior, so we let him go.  I gave him the presents and he happily walked to the neighbors house by himself (3 houses away.)  It was a party that no parents were needed.  This was a VERY big moment for me, watching my little man walk by himself to a party.  Yeah--you see the pics I took.  What's even worse is that during this sappy mom moment, I managed to shut poor Alaina's fingers in the door, but instead of quickly running her to the faucet, I kept snapping pics of Kylan and watching to make sure he made it to the neighbors house.  (Now--I'm not that terrible, I was holding Alaina and apologizing the whole time.  And I made sure they weren't bleeding or anything...She was fine....I ran water over her fingers after that and she forgot about the whole thing.)  Sorry Laina!  Love you!  You will understand someday when you have kids of your own.

So Ky went bowling at this party--and daddy actually ended up joining them late to help out.  It turns out, Ky started feeling sick at the party and didn't tell anyone.  I got this worried call from my neighbor because she thought he was going to puke.  By then Dad got there and Ky pulled it back together.  In fact he pulled it back together so well that he waited until 10PM that night to vomit all over his bed and the floor.  UGH!  I think he just ate the yummy birthday food too quick.  We had been having a pretty bland diet until that party.  Poor kid.  He was fine the next day though...However, I will say my laundry pile has never been higher OR stinkier!  I am so glad we have several extra sheets and stuff.  Not to mention a carpet cleaner!  YUK!

I have started to let Alaina play with play-doh.  She does pretty well--Even better when I give her a nuk--then she doesn't normally eat any.  She has been doing a lot of things lately showing how much she is growing.  She loves to play with her baby dolls.  One of her favorite things to do with them is snag some rags/towels from the kitchen and then cover the babies and tell them "night night". 

She has become a big fan of reading certain books.  "Don't cry big bird' (used to be one of Ky's favorites) is now her favorite book and she wants it read to her every night.  She also likes "Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now" (also used to be one of Ky's favorites.)  She is really funny because she will point out the book and then grab your hand and put it on the book if you are not fast enough. 

She loves singing "ABC's, Twinkle, Twinkle, and Over, Under"  I gotta get her on tape soon and post it.  Too cute! 

In my last blog, I told the story about Alaina stealing an apple off the dining room table. Well that has become a regular occurrence. So of course I have some lovely pics of her with her apple. You can just see in her eyes how proud she is of herself. I also have pics of her trying to get on the computer. The little booger! She works hard to get what she wants.

She also has started dressing herself. (I am serious).  She can put on her socks and as of the other day, she put on a pair of pants--but just didn't get them pulled up all the way.  It was funny, she walked in the room with these pants up to her knees.  She was so proud of herself.  She also can partly put on her coat and can easily put on her hat.  I have some pics of her in Ky's coat and hat and boots--she did that herself and was telling us "bye bye".  I guess she had plans to be somewhere.

Ky has really been working hard on learning.  We have done opposites--which he did GREAT at, shapes, a brief overview on plants (notice the celery in red water), and weather (this of course has been my FAVORITE theme.)  We had a lot of fun doing various experiments with weather.  His word recognition is really coming along and he can spell some simple words--Mom, dad, cat, train, etc..  I think I mentioned in my last blog that we have stepped back from reading with the BOB books--though the boy is so close that I it is hard for me to contain myself.  He will sound out words--but if it is more than a couple--he is done.

Grandpa and Uncle Ry came at the end of February for a train show.  Ky had a blast--an afternoon with the boys and trains--what could be better?!  Dad forgot the camera so I have no pics :(  However I did get pics of Grandpa's tea party with Alaina!  Too cute! 

Alaina and I were blessed to have a girl's day so what did we do?  SHOPPING!!!!  Okay--so here is my quick spiel on my latest shopping adventures.  I have discovered a new website called pocketyourdollars.com (listen up Wisconsin and Minnesota residents.)  This lady has the ulitmate way to SHOP!  She has your local grocery store fliers ( and department stores) and then she lists the great deals and hyperlinks coupons so you can print them out and SAVE money...So I have been tinkering with this site since the end of January and I have been saving LOTS of money.  I have a pic listed of a Target run....one of my first ventures using her site...I got all the clothes on clearance racks (so they were a majority of my $8.85 purchase).  I had a coupon for the eggs to get them free and then the crackers were less than $1 each, and the tuna was free with a coupon.  OH YEAH!  This site is awesome.  Now whenever I know I have to run to Walmart or Target, I just simply look on her site and see what the good deals are and print out coupons.  After this post I will post my new experience with Walgreen's, my other money making/saving adventure.  I have also started buying my groceries at the local store instead of Aldi.  (Though I still purchase a majority of our produce at Aldi.)  I am getting so much for free that it is worth it (in my next blog with pictures I will show you the 18--yes 18 boxes of cereal I got for $1.50---yes you heard me right $1.50  and those 18 boxes of cereal got me 3 free gallons of milk and 3 free dozen eggs!)  Thank you Pocketyourdollars--you are really saving us money and changing our spending for the better!

And since I am telling you all my money savings...I should just reiterate SWAGBUCKS one more time.  Rob and I have now made $50 in gift cards to Amazon.com in about 3 1/2 months.  I have bought a book, a magazine subscription, and Rob will be purchasing a DVD player (ours broke) with this money.  I can't believe how nice it is just to simply do my google searches on their site and then be rewarded with "swagbucks" that accummulate.  I then can redeem those swagbucks for gift cards at many different stores.  (Rob and I like Amazon since it has EVERYTHING and many different sellers to choose from.)  Anyway here is my promo code--sign up under me and we will both get extra swagbucks.  I love this site!  http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Ravenjet  or you can click on the banner below.



Well, I am going to end this blog here...I gotta get working on March!  YEAH SPRING!  It has been TOOOOO long!