Couponing, Part Two

In order to answer some questions about my last posting, I am doing another post on couponing :) This time I will share with you my online coupon sources and some blogs that are particularly helpful to me when it comes to finding a deal.

For what we buy at our house there are always lots of coupons in the sunday city paper that we can use. I have also asked my mom to save her coupons for me so that I have more than one of the really good ones. Usually the stuff I save the most money on aren't always groceries but dishwasher detergent, laundry deterdent, paper products, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. My grocery store (Giant Eagle) doubles coupons and sometimes the local KMart does too (watch for your fliers to alert you to these sales...somtimes that SuperKMart does it and not the regular ones....I am usually alerted by some blogs that I read). Target lets you 'stack' coupons...meaning they will let you use their coupons and a manufacturer coupon together on one item. Target coupons can be printed out online, printed at the cash register when you are done with your purchase and sent to you through the mail. So, you just need to shop around sometimes and see what you can find. I should also mention that most of my blogger friends know how to get things really cheap or free at Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid...but I just don't have the time or energy to add those stores to my shopping day. This does take a lot of time, but if you enjoy it like I do then it isn't a big deal.

Here are my online coupon sites:
www.coolsavings.com
www.coupons.com
www.afullcup.com (these are where you can find Target coupons)
www.smartsource.com
www.slickdeals.net (lots of stuff on this site, you have to look around)

Here are my favorite deal-finding blog 'friends':
www.freebies4mom.blogspot.com
www.moneysavingmom.com
www.babycheapskate.blogspot.com

Hope this helps get you started. If any of you decide to develop your own coupon book, I would love to hear about it!

Couponing

I have a new hobby...couponing. I have always cut coupons in the past but since I decided to stay home with Sam, I have made it my job to get us the best deal I can on whatever we buy. Grocery shopping is my biggest struggle...no matter how much planning I do (cutting coupons, menu planning, etc.) I still end up spending more money than I want to...but I am working on it. I have come to the realization that I have to do my shopping at three stores: Aldi, Walmart and Giant Eagle (only shop here for the things that I have coupons for...which they double) to get the best deals out there. I should also mention that my older sister shares this hobby and it has given us something fun to do together. I can't tell you how many times a day we call or email each other with deals we found. Just today I called her to complain that the cashier at Giant Eagle didn't double some of my coupons! And when KMart is doing double coupons up to $2...watch out...we are like kids in a candy store.

For the longest time I stored my coupons in a small plastic coupon holder that I found in the dollar section at Target. However, it was getting way too full and I could never find the coupon I was looking for. I researched some coupon storage options (there are lots of blogs dedicated to coupons and saving money) and decided to make a coupon binder. I bought a thin (1/2 inch) binder at Target and then bought dividers and plastic baseball card pages. Pretty simple and probably cost about $12 to make (I am sure you could do it cheaper if you look for the stuff at dollar stores). My hubby who supports my obsession...um I mean hobby, came up with a cool design to make my plain white binder look a little cooler. So now that you know way more about my couponing than you ever wanted...here are some pictures!

Complete with my name...in case it gets lost!

In the front I keep a pen and paper for shopping lists

I organized my coupons according to what made sense to me
and I separated them with colored dividers so that I can easily locate a coupon.

It took me almost a whole day to get organized and put this together but it was worth it. I took it with me to the grocery store for the first time today and I located the coupon I was looking for in seconds! Hope this inspires some of you to get really serious about your couponing. I am not contributing financially to our family right now so this is how I help out and it makes me feel good when I score some stuff for free or really cheap. I will never pay for toothpaste or toothbrushes again!! Anyone out there have some good couponing tips to share?

Deep Creek

We spent this past weekend with my family in Deep Creek, Maryland. It was great to be in a cabin in the woods enjoying the snow and beautiful scenery. This was Sam's first time sled riding (which he didn't really like) and my first time walking on a frozen lake (which I did like). Luke and I also spent some time skiing at Wisp which was so much fun. Thanks mom and dad for such a great weekend!Sam prefers his Pap Pap over anyone, even his parents! Here they are playing pool.

Luke and I at the top of the mountain.

Sam sled riding...doesn't he look thrilled?

Walking on frozen Deep Creek Lake.

12 Months

Sam got a good report at the doctor today. He is still a little peanut at 18 lbs 11 oz and 28 in. long...his head is still big at 47.2 cm! Sam is learning new things everyday and he is keeping me busy. I am constantly chasing after him as he is always getting into something he isn't supposed to (touching pictures, pulling books of the bookcase, throwing food on the floor!). The toddler years have begun. I am trying really hard to be consistent with him and sometimes it pays off. There are days when he will actually stand at the end table and look at the picture without touching it! That means he is actually obeying me when I say "no touch, just look" a million times a day! Then there are other days when he touches them over and over. It is a lot of work, but I love my little boy and every time he smiles at me and gives me lots of kisses I know that I have the best job in the world.

On a sad note, Sam's great-grandpa Stafford (my mother-in-law's father) passed away this morning and our hearts are heavy. Please keep the family in your prayers.

More Party Pictures

It turns out that Sam has croup (as we found out last night from his barking cough). Thankfully we were able to control it with a steamy shower and the cold air from the freezer (figures that the one night we need it to be freezing outside it is mild). We would appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery...croup is always the worst at night and if we can't keep it under control we will have to pay a visit to the ER for steroids and breathing treatments! On a lighter note...here are some more pictures from the party. After looking through my pictures I realized that I didn't take hardly any of Sam with his guests...we don't even have a picture of the birthday boy with his parents! Not to mention that because he wasn't feeling well, my usually camera-loving boy was not cooperating...we could barely get him to look at the camera and smiling was out of the question!

Pap Pap Galand

Grandma Galand

Grandma Good

Great-Grandma Stafford

It's My Party...

On Saturday we celebrated Sam's birthday with a party at our church. Unfortunately, the night before the party he woke up coughing and just not feeling well. Thankfully he seemed better the next morning and although he was just not completely himself, it was a great party. Like most moms I have been so excited about the moment when Sam can make a complete mess eating his first birthday cake. I had visions of him smashing the cake with his hands and smearing it all over the place while laughing with delight. Well, that was not quite what happened...almost the exact opposite happened actually. Sam was pretty scared of his "smash" cake and wanted nothing to do with it. Now, to give Sam some credit...the cake did have a face on it that could resemble a scary clown, not to mention that thirty people were staring at him, encouraging him to have a taste. We removed the clown face and he still didn't want anything to do with the cake...he would touch it with the tip of his finger and then quickly turn away. Finally, we just gave him a piece of the cake and that seemed to do the trick. So much for that moment that I was anxiously awaiting but Sam still was able to enjoy his cake...and really, isn't that what that moment is all about anyway?!

Looks pretty harmless huh?! Well not to a 1 year old I guess.

Not sure about the cake...it got worse once we made him touch it.

The crying starts and I had to pick him up out of the highchair.

Much happier, eating his slice of cake...with no evidence of the scary face

Walk then Crawl?

So Sam is clearly not doing things in the order that most kids do them... This week he has decided that he wants to learn to crawl after mastering the art of 'cruising' and pulling himself up. He has not crawled more than a few feet or so, but he is getting there. Because he never crawled, he also never figured out how to get from laying down to a sitting position. This resulted in a lot of moments where he would lay on the floor and cry until I picked him up. Well, those days are gone because he has finally learned how to sit up all on his own. It is so funny how he has learned to do things in his own time, not mine...a lesson that I know God will continue to teach me throughout Sam's life.