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Friday, September 16, 2011

Extreme Coupons - Whole Foods

If there is one store that can blow our grocery budget, it is Whole Foods.  I love shopping there, love their products, their customer service and small size.  It is easy to spend money with all their well marketed products.  It used to be impossible for me to walk out of there spending less than $100.  That simply doesn't work with our grocery budget.  Today, I was determined to maximize my coupons and spend less.  I think I succeeded...let me know what you think.

My grocery bill total before coupons was $70.23.  After coupons it was $55.28.  I then applied a Living Social  Deal of paying $10 for $20 worth of grocery which brought my grand total to ...

$35.28!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you see me doing the coupon dance over here??

This is what I got...


Some of the higher cost items were baby shampoo, produce and tuna.  For the bars and cereal I doubled the store coupon with manufacturers.  So there it is!  Let me know what you think!

Monday, September 12, 2011

How to catch a squirrel...a 6 yr old's tutorial

I just love age six. They are so creative, so determined and so capable. Rooster, my six year old just loves to create traps for anything that moves.  He has tape sticky side up across a piece of food in his room to catch a fly, a fake pond in the backyard to catch a frog and now a squirrel trap.
Ever wondered how to catch a squirrel?  Well, according to a six year old, you start by collecting a bucket full of acorns.

Then use that same bucket for your trap by propping it up with a stick over the acorns.


Then draw some pictures of squirrels, cut them out, and use your mother's wooden clips to secure them to the ground.


Then wait... and hopefully, you'll catch a squirrel! Here is another view of the whole set up.


Don't you just love the creativity and imagination?  I wonder what he'll try to catch next?

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Reflecting on the Invisible Mother

A mother I love and respect recently posted an article called the Invisible Mother on facebook. http://www.morningsun.net/living/x934432237/The-Invisible-Mother
This was such a thought provoking article in many ways.  It really caused me to think about how I raise my children now as the pillars for the rest of their life.  It also struck me just given the state of our household right now.  We have the dreaded stomach virus taking over our house.  I never really knew how strong a maternal instinct was until the first time I dealt with a sick child. You just want them better and they expect that you will do that for them.  But what happens when the invisible mother becomes ill?  Suddenly, the things she does every day becomes very visible.  Babies melt down crying for their mother's hand, and the house starts collecting all those things mother used to put away.  Sometimes I think we get ill just so we will slow down in life and take inventory of what is really important to us.  I know for me, I'm ready to get back to being the invisible mother next week and building that important foundation for my kids.
Did anyone else read this article?  Thoughts?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Crazy kids

Now that school is in full swing, let's talk about what to do with the kiddos after school.  I don't know about anyone else's kids, but my two are just plain crazy after school.  No need to sugar coat it, they turn into little monsters I don't even recognize.  There is absolutely no emotional control.  I'm guessing this comes from trying to be good all day long and complying with strict rules.  They walk in the door and immediately start fighting with each other.  Then there is melt down after melt down.  So what's the solution?  Anyone have luck with any particular strategy?  My thought is to continue the strict schedule/rules once they get home. I'm generally a laid back, fly by the seat of my pants kind of mom but that simply isn't working for them.  I'm thinking they should get home, eat their snack, do a fun activity with mom, work on chores, dinner, fun time with dad, then bed.  What do you guys think?