Happy Holidays

I haven't been on much lately with all the holiday stuff going on, but just wanted to update that Santa was good to us all and we enjoyed Christmas with the Nugents, Wilmores, Doyles, and will have one last go round with the Ellingtons on New Years. Eli has been sick the past couple days with fever and is extremely cranky, so we are dealing with that at the moment. I have been scrapbooking like crazy, I started two new books, one is 6x12 and the other is 6x9. I'm really having fun with them both!

Corey's Christmas Wishlist (There are new blog entries AFTER the wishlists...)

iPhone




iPod-80G or 160G


an external hard drive (same as me)

Mommy's Christmas Wishlist

And Mommy would love any of THESE things...

A new flat iron. this one is at Target, it's the T3. $119



An external hard drive: (doesn't matter what brand/size really) $60-$100


http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SimpleTech-500GB-SimpleDrive-External-Hard-Drive-S500U/sem/rpsm/oid/217314/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshiba-USB-2-0-Portable-External-250GB-Hard-Drive-Red-HDDR250E03X/sem/rpsm/oid/204446/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

ANYTHING from Victoria's Secret PINK collection, like:
socks/blankets/flip flops/tote bags/hoodies. my fave color stuff is pink. $5-$50

I like this VS scent, I'm out of the spray....$10



I like these books (which are all $20 at Hobby Lobby)




And of course gift cards are always great. I like CVS, Chik-fil-a, Starbucks/Cc's Coffee and Target...or somewhere to get a manicure/pedicure/hair cut. I don't wear much jewelry. I love hot pink--bags, pj's, flip flops, whatever, hot pink everything! I always need blank cd's. I use Bare Minerals makeup. I am almost out of my mineral veil. I don't have any of the Bare Minerals eye or lip kits. I hope this list helps!

Anniston's Christmas Wishlist

Fur Real Pony:















Littlest Pet Shop Playset

Eli's Christmas Wishlist

Eli has his eye on these things:


VTech Learning Laptop

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5913448


Elmo LIVE!
http://soundcheck.walmart.com/elmo/


Backyardigans VSmile Cartridge

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9864587

He would also love DVD's (which don't take up much space) He already has sooo many toys and clothes, he will have to donate some to make room for anything new.

Have you had your CVS fix for the day?

I really miss CVS'ing. Since they closed the store here in Ville Platte I don't get to make my bi-weekly + trips. I do try to go whenever I'm in Alexandria or Lafayette. But it's just not the same as it used to be.....

If you don't get it, check out "i heart cvs" here. Prepare to be amazed and get loads of free stuff, some you need and some you don't. Last week I picked up two big bottles of contact solution, some energy drinks, more toothpaste, and 128 oz of dish liquid. FREE!

Is it fall here?

Only in Lousiana, can you send your kid outside to play with the water hose wearing shorts...no it's not "summer" weather here but it's certainly not winter. We won't be having any "white Christmas" lol. I was driving today and noticed how all the trees are orange and the highway was covered in leaves. It looks like fall! So when I got home I decided to google and find out what day marks the first official day of winter: for this year, it's December 21st. So technically, I guess it is still fall after all. I know that is it not fall everywhere, and some lucky kids up north are getting to build snowmen while mine is rolling around in the grass. I do like this weather, it's not intolerably hot so we have been spending lots of time outdoors. If it would only quit raining buckets, grrrr!

Go mom!

My mom is now a blogger! http://carolscrapquilter.blogspot.com/ WARNING: before you click, there's nothing there yet, but at least she does have her space reserved out there on the net. I'm proud of her!

it's my birthday and i'll cry if i want to

today is my birthday. i am 27 years old. my husband pointed out the fact that, in just 13 more years, i (we, since he is only 6 days younger than me) will be 40. over the hill! 13 years is not a long time you know. by then eli will be almost 15. anniston will be almost 20. and we will be parents of teenagers. it's all quite scary isn't it? birthdays used to be a little more exciting and fun than this, that is if i remember correctly. now that i'm a mom, my children's birthdays are a lot more exciting than my own. bUT i did get treated to a nice birthday breakfast (well, brunch) @ IHOP. happy birthday to me!

Give it up for new mommy blogs

I have added MORE mommy blogs to my blogroll, besides Summer, my other online mommy friends Jenn, Melis, and Diana so feel free to check them out.

Oh and when you're done reading momma drama, check out Cake Wrecks, I have been laughing for 45 minutes now. I just HAVE to find a cake to send in!

Job Interview

Ok people, cross your fingers for me: I have a job interview tomorrow. Yes, my days as a SAHM will soon be coming to an end. I have really been lucky having this much time to spend with Eli but it's time to start a new chapter. He is a big boy now and will probably love getting to play with other kids at daycare. I haven't had a job interview in a couple years so I'm trying not to get nervous or anything. The position I applied for is Project Coordinator, at Cameron. It wouldn't be a far drive from here and I hear the benefits are great. So wish me luck!

New on my Blogroll....

http://summerdream1.blogspot.com/


My online mommy-friend Summer has decided to join the blogging world. Check her out!

Long time no post

Yes we are still alive! I have not posted in a while, b/t moving and being away from my computer. I just got some free time and decided to post a pic of Eli sportin' his new buddah belly. Just in the past few days, he looks like he's gonna pop! He is a milk monster, and his pawpaw has been spoiling him with chocolate milk.

Oreos....and other news

Eli had his first oreo cookies yesterday. I gave him two, I'm pretty sure he managed to eat one of them, the other one he just got ON him lol. So it was straight to the tub!




















In other news, Corey is being considered for a new job. Which would mean moving our family to Conway, Arkansas. It's excitng for me, never having lived outside Louisiana. I feel very positive about this, I think it is just what we need--a fresh start, which will hopefully leave us in a much better financial situation. But I have unfortunately learned that the closest CVS is an hour and a half away, so driving there 3x a week is definitely out of the question. All I can hope for is that plans to open a new location are in the works, I don't know how I will survive with my CVS fix. I guess I will have to learn to like WAGS...ugh! (rolls eyes) I am not counting my chickens before they hatch, we are not 100% sure what will come of the whole situation, so I am also looking for work/daycare here in case we do stay.

@ the park

We took Eli to the park Saturday afternoon. Now that he is walking more, it's fun to play outside.





















Obviously, I did not take this one. But good job focusing on the branch dada!

BIC jackpot!

I still had 11 of the $1/2 BIC q's and I was waiting on the new Target to mark down their pens to .44 like the old Target did last week. I went tonight, and they were only .22! So I got 22 packs @ .22/ea= 4.84 total. The coupons were for $11 off. So I had 6.16 overage! I found some other really neat stuff in the back to school section:
2 zipper binders (much cooler than my coupon binder) @2.74/ea reg 10.78/ea
a lunch box 1.98 reg 7.99
2 ice packs .44/ea reg 1.79
a 10-pk of CD-R's .98 reg 3.99
3 pencil boxes .17/ea reg .69

Whoooohooooo! I love a good deal. Thanks BIC!

CVS 9/4

2 Colgates 2.99/ea
4 Covergirl lipglosses 5.99/ea
flip flops 75% off 1.25
Ped Egg 9.99
Dawn dishsoap .99
teddy grahams (filler) .99
m&m's (filler) .79
subtotal: 43.95

-(2) $2/10's
-(2) $1.50/1 colgate q's
-(2) Covergirl BOGO q's
- $1.00 Dawn
- 19.98 ECB's
paid 1.78 EBT
paid 2.21 with free GC

earned 15.98 ECB's
($4 for Colgate and $11.98 for Covergirl)
I left with $4 less ECB's than I went in with, but that's not bad since I was planning on burning $10 ECB's for the ped egg. I needed a gift for someone, and I really wanted to get the pink one. CVS only carries the white ones, so I went and exchanged it for the pink one @ Walgreen's. Gotta do what you gotta do!

Baby Cakes

Eli had his first IHOP kid's meal--Baby Cakes! 5 mini pancakes (of which he ate 2), scrambled eggs (which he hated) and a strip of bacon (which he thoroughly enjoyed) and of course I took a couple pics so I just wanted to share:

CVS 8/21

Nothing REALLY exciting....but this was all free:

CVS lotion 5.99 clearance 1.63
3 Physician's Formula makeup 7.99 clearance $2/ea
CVS lipbalm 1.99
Goody's 4pk 1.49
Eye dropper 1.99
Nivea creme clearance .25
spree: .79
------------subtotal: 14.14-

- $2/10
- $2 CVS skincare
- (3) $2 off Physician's formula peelies
- $1 CVS suncare
- Goody's 1.49 CRT
- $2 ear/eye care CRT
-------------total: -.35 + .41 tax= .06 (paid for with free RX GC)
oop: $0!! didn't earn any ECB's, but went home with some free junk lol!

Yes I realize there are CVS wipes and Pert Plus in the pic...it's very late and I am very sleep deprived. The wipes were free as well but in a separate transaction, and the Pert is from WAGS, free after mail in rebate -$2/1 q, giving me a $2 profit.

CVS 8/20

2 Contour monitors 19.99/ea
2 Colgate toothpastes 3.59/ea
2 CVS wipes 1.89/ea
----------subtotal: 50.34

- (2) $30 off Contour q's (adjusted down to 19.99)
- (2) .50/1 Colgate q's
- (2) $2 off CVS brand
- (2) $2/10
----------total: 1.36 + tax (paid with free Rx GC)
oop: $0!!
plus earned $10 ECB's for the monitors & toothpastes

Courtesy of Kohl's

So I got a $10 off $10 or more purchase in the mail from Kohl's. I thought I'd try to find something for myself for a change, but of course that didn't happen. I didn't even go in the dressing room. I browsed and never really "saw" anything, but when I got to the baby department, they had a one day sale on these mix and match outfits, regularly $10/ea, on sale $5/ea. So I got him a complete outfit (in 18 months size) for FREE! I didn't even have to pay tax. Nice huh?

CVS 8/19

Well, I made an unplanned trip to the Broussard CVS b/c I was just in the area. I didn't have anymore $2/10's with me but I did find some freebies in the clearance basket. The Olays I will keep one and give the other to my mom. I also got 2 packs of ponytail holders but they are not in the pic.

2 Olay $2/ea
Lumene Dream Lips $4.99
Lumene Travel Men's Shave Kit 4.99
2 packs rubberbands .88/ea
subtotal: 15.74
-(2) $2/1 Olay q's
-(2) $5 off Lumene CRT's
- $1 ECB
Paid .74 on free Rx GC
oop: $0!

A "Must Read"

I am stealing my post from Carlie today. She found a post from a guy who married "one of us" lol. She linked this on her blog and I thought it was so cute, I am doing the same:

http://frugalinvirginia.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-married-couponaholic-5-ways-life-has.html

WAGS/Rite Aid 8/10 - 8/16

Thanks to the $1/2 BIC coupons, I hit the WAGS sale on Bic pens, 2 packs for $1, so all those were free, and the Rite Aid Bic Mark It! markers also 2 packs for $1, so completely free also. Super One had regular round stick bic pens 3 packs for $1, so I got 3 but gave them to my parents so they are not in the pic. The highlighters were from WAGS rainchecks, .39 a pack, which I paid for with a rebate GC from some free chocolate candy last month. I still have 25 more of the coupons, so I got rainchecks for more pens from WAGS and then I will definitely be stocked up!!

CVS 8/10 - 8/16

CVS was pretty good to me again this week!

4 juices 1.49/ea= 5.96 (free plus made $2 ECB's)
2 skin effects 6.99/ea= 13.98 (-$4 in q's, plus made $10 ECB's= .02 profit)
2 advil 5.79/ea= 11.58 (-$2 in q's, plus made 11.58 ECB's= $2 profit)
2 advil FREE (my bff rocks!)
2 alavert 5.99/ea= 11.98 (-$8 in q's, plus made 6.00 ECB's= $2.02 profit)
4 CVS wipes 1.89/ea= 7.56 (-$8 in q's= .44 profit)
24.7 primer 16.99 (-$4 in q's plus made $10 ECB's= 2.99)
2 colgate 2.79 (BOGO) (-$2 in q's= .79)
-(3) $2/$10's
grand total: 8.70 profit

CVS 8/3-8/9

CVS was pretty good to me this week:

3 Colgate Total (for my mom) @ 2.99/ea
2 Children's Advil @ 5.79/ea
2 Magnetic Clips (cute filler!) 2/$1
CVS cleansing wipes 1.89
CVS make up remover wipes 4.99
Dove Soap 1.49
6 Cover Girl Makeups @ 7.99/ea on sale BOGO
3 Oral B toothbrushes @ 2.49/ea
Christophe shampoo 2.99
CVS Ibuprofen 3.29
Rolaids 2.19
Subtotal--------------69.83
-2 $1/1 Advil q's
-$2 Colgate CRT
-$1/1 Dove q
-2 $1.00/1 Colgate q's
-$2 Christophe q
-3.29 CVS pain reliever
-1/1 Rolaids q
-$2 Rolaids CRT
-3 $1/1 Oral B q's
-2 $2 CVS brand skincare q's
-2 $2/10 q's (this was 3 separate transactions)
-23.97 (3) 7.99 Cover Girl BOGO's
-$15 ECB's
total after q's 4.57 paid with FREE Rx GC
so I "spent" 19.57 in ECB's/GC, but got back:

5.79 Advil (x2)
1.50 Oral B (x3)
2.00 Colgate (x3)
$2.51 Profit <-----whoohooo!!

Playing Catch up

Target Finds

Colgate Total + 2 free travel tubes clearance $1.58 - $1.50q= .08 (gave to my mom)
Olay Body Wash Ginger clearance $3.82 - $2q= 1.82 (gave to my mom)
Olay Body Wash Rosemary clearance $3.82 - $2q= 1.82
All Small&Mighty $1 - $1q= FREE
Mr. Clean Wipes clearance $1.73- $1.00q= .73
Curious George clearance 7.48 (to entertain Eli while in the store)
used up the rest of a target GC and came oop around 7.00 for George


and some repeat items, this time including:

9 WellPatch singles @ $1/ea - (9) $1/1q's = FREE
1 Johnson's Buddy Soap $1- $1/1q= FREE

Still Alive!

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive lol. It was brought to my attention that I had been neglecting my blogging duties and that is just b/c I have a lot of ~stuff~ going on right now. I have not stopped CVS'ing, in fact I have a big bag full of stuff I need to get a pic of and post here...just need to find the time to sit down and do it. I will.....check back soon!

1 candle on his cake

My baby is a whole year old! His actual birthday was Thursday, the 24th, but his FIRST 1st birthday party was today, at Chik-fil-a, and he will have a SECOND 1st birthday party NEXT Saturday (kinda hard to get all our family together in one place)

eli in his highchair

just wanted to share this pic from a couple weeks ago. he LOVED sitting in his high chair at first, but now, if there isn't any food on the tray, he escapes.

Cheesin

This is the "momma you love me even though i'm diggin in stuff i'm not supposed to be diggin in" face!

shoes

Just wanted to brag on my new shoes. They were only $15 thanks to my mom, we saw a sale B1G1 50% on already-clearanced shoes. So she got hers for $30 on clearance and then told me to pick a pair, so mine were $15, on clearance for $30, regular price $60.00. Not bad huh?!

Menu Plan Monday

m-crawfish pie (didn't get around to making it last week)
t- WOW (going to eat with my parents)
w- hooter's wings--will use some WOW australian sauce from last night!
t- quesadillas and nachos w/ queso dip
f- roast with rice and gravy
s- frozen pizza
s- cheeseburger casserole

Go to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie and check out what's for dinner at everyone else's house this week.

More Huggies!!

As if I don't already have enough, but I just can't help myself....I was grocery shopping at Albertson's and they still have the Huggies on BOGO and I still had the stinkin' coupons in my purse....might as well get some right?

2 Huggies wash @ 3.99/ea= 7.98
-BOGO sale= 3.99
-(2) $1/1 mfr q's
$1/ea. These are lavendar, so I won't be using them on Eli. Did you know lavendar promotes growth of breast tissue in males? No man boobs for Eli, thank you. But Anniston can use them.

4 Huggies cleanteam wipes @ 1.49/ea= 5.96
-BOGO sale= 2.98
-(2) $1/1 mfr q's
.49/ea. not bad!!

I heart WAGS

This is what I got free today from Walgreen's:
7 maalox @ 3.99/ea = 27.93
-$14 easy saver q's
-$14 mfr q's
-.07 overage

6 Vive Pro Shampoos @ 4.99= 29.94
-BOGO sale= 14.97
-3 BOGO mfr q's (14.97)
FREE

oh AND btw, i also used (2) $1/1 Vive q's that were right next to the BOGOS in the smartsource....they pretty much paid for the two newspapers I bought. (I brought my scissors in with me and cut the q's out on the shampoo aisle LOL)

total: .47
tax: 2.16
----------
2.63

WAG savings: 14.97
MFR savings: 28.97
Total savings: 43.94 WHOOHOO!!!!!

Bargain of the Day

I have been wondering how Physician's Formula compares to Bare Esscentuals. I had seen this gift set in the Rite Aid clearance bin several times but there was no price on it. Today I asked the cashier, she said it was marked down to 6.97. I was like "YES!" I ran out to the truck to grab the $5 off coupon I swiped from Walgreens. Then I came back in and "bought" it for 2.53 after tax. (They actually bought it for me, with a free gift card they gave me for transferring a prescription there.) Not bad huh? Each item separately is priced around $11-$12 in the store. If you find yourself on the corner of Ambassador and Kaliste Saloom, go steal a coupon from Walgreens and then go use it across the street at Rite Aid. Hurry there's only one left!

Menu Plan Monday

m- manicotti
t- sloppy joes & bbq chips
w- spaghetti & meatballs
t- bbq pork chop sandwich
f- FREE chik-fil-a
s-crawfish pie
s-leftovers

finally found 'em!

whoohoo! today i did a happy dance in the scott cvs parking lot LOL! my mom and i were garage saleing and I ran in just to see if they happened to have any baby sticks. well, like fate, there were 2 lonely ones sitting there, just waiting for me to come and scoop them up and take them home with me LOL!

2 coppertone sticks @ 4.79/ea= 9.58
-$3 face skin care q
-$6 ECB's
paid .63 change oop
got back $10 in ECB's!!!!!!

Menu Plan Monday

m- cornbread dressing and ham
t- chicken & dumplings
w- homemade pizza--ground beef/can bac
t- nachos--leftover cooked beef/cheese/Tostitos/sour cream
f- famous pork chops w/ mac n cheese (MeMe is coming to sleep over!)
s- burgers
s- tuna sandwiches

Old Navy flip flops $1

Saturday only. All solid color flip flops $1. Limit 5 per customer.

Made my mom some ECB's last night

When my mom came to bring Eli back from the weekend, we made a quick trip to CVS. She had $10 ECB's from the Olay Deal. We got 3 Smart Rinses, I paid the extra .47 on my GC and kept them, since she didn't want them. I already had 8, but hey! they're free! So that got her 10.47 in ECB's. Her prilosec was on sale 25.99 and get back $3 ECB's. So we used a $4/20 welcome q, along with a $1 off manu. q.
25.99
.99 tea
total: 26.98
-4/20
-1
-10.47 ECB's
11.51 oop (she had another $2 ECB but accidently didn't use it. So she COULD have had only 9.51 oop but it's okay, I rolled the $2 for her in the next transaction)

she got back $3 ECB's from that. Plus she still had the $2 ECB's from before.

so I went back last night, and got her some toothpaste. Colgate Total was on sale for 2.49, and get back $2 ECB's.

2.49 (x2)= 4.98
-1.50 manu q's (x2)
total= 1.98
got back $4 ECB's-----Money Maker! (of course this is the simplified version. I got the toothpaste along with a couple other things for me, using a $4/20 and some other q's.) She left me with $5 ECB and she now has $6 ECB's. I will try to figure out a couple other things to do for her during the week.

Meu Plan Monday

Some of this was on last week's menu but my brother in law took us to Ground Pati one night, we had WOW wings Saturday, and Tsubaki with my parents Sunday. So it was easy to plan this week:

m-fajitas
t-hashbrown casserole & ham
w-beef petite sirlon, corn on the cob, green beans
t-sloppy joes
f- bertolli
s-(leftover steak) omelets & potatoes o'brien
s- fried pork chops with pasta

CVS 6/17 and free mail

(14) 1 liter Evian 1.99/ea B1G1F minus (7) -$1/2 q's from the Reinventing Beauty mag
Murine Tears reg. 5.49 on clearance for .55
Hyland's Earache Tablets reg. 8.99 on clearance for .89 minus -$3/1 q!!!
CVS brand q-tips 3.19 -$2 off CVS brand skincare q,-$2ECB received =.81 overage!!
Aquafresh 3.69 -$2 CVS q and -$1 peelie = .69
and -$3/15 of course

total: 8.56
earned $2.00 in ECB
oop: 6.56 paid with EBT/free GC

And the freemail is from walmart.com, it had a FREE sample of Huggies Cleanteam baby wash included with the pullups--will put these away until Eli is ready to be potty trained!