Want Free Cereal?

Now through March 7th, you can get a free box of Honey Bunches of Oats at Safeway if you buy a gallon of milk (any brand of milk). There are supposed to be coupons near the milk case for $2 off the cereal (with the purchase of milk), the cereal is on sale for $2 making it free! At my Safeway, there was the sign advertising this deal next to the cereal, but no coupons to be found near the milk. I asked customer service and he said to just tell the cashier and she would give me the deal even though I didn't have the coupon. The cashier had no problem with doing that. There is also a deal going on right now that if you buy three or more Post cereals (of which HBof Oats is) you can get a Catalina (coupon) for money off your next order. This is a great deal since you can get buy your milk, get your cereal for free and then get a coupon back for money off. I would have done this, but I don't have room in my fridge or freezer right now to store the extra milk. It kills me to pass up that great deal though.
When I bought the milk (Lucerne) and the cereal yesterday I also bought a loaf of bread (Ovenjoy). I got back two Catalinas, one included coupons for three different items, and the other Catalina was for a free can of Chef Boyorde.
That's why I love couponing and knowing ahead of time what deals are at what stores. I have heard some people say they don't use coupons or shop special sales because then they buy things they don't need or wouldn't normally buy. If I can get a different brand of something that I will use (or can donate or gift) for free then I will get it even though it's not the normal one I buy. I needed milk and bread and I could have stopped anywhere and gotten them, but since I knew Safeway was doing that promotion, I also got the free cereal and then was pleasantly surprised to get the Cat for a free can of ravioli as well! That is so fun to me! (Maybe I need some more excitement in my life!)

Holi

I love this picture from Boston.com of the Indian celebration of Holi (the celebration of colors, of Spring, and probably quite a bit of other pagan things). I obviously wouldn't agree with the Hinduism behind this celebration but someday I would love to see this live to see all of these beautiful colors being thrown about!

Best Valentine's Present

For Valentine's I got the best present, I was able to go to my sister's baptism! It has been so incredible to see how God has worked in her life and transformed her. His grace truly is amazing! It was so awesome to hear her share her testimony and to know that there were several unsaved people there hearing it at as well. We were all in tears!
The girls also enjoyed spending time with their cousin, Sawyer. Ryan and I had fun going to the brick and mortar version of one of our favorite online book stores (I got some free "damaged" books!), and we were able to stop in and see my Grandparents for a short visit.
Please continue to pray for my Grandma, the cancer has now spread to her liver and she has been unable to take chemo again. They are going to test her again today to see if they can restart the chemo. Most of all, please pray for her and my Grandpa's salvation.

On My Wish List!

I love the aprons from Flirty Aprons! Right now they are having a 30% off sale! If you want one, use the coupon code: 30Coupon. They also sell men's and children's aprons. Adorable!

Free 8 x 10 Today Only!

Today only Walgreens is offering a free 8 x 10 photo. They have a coupon you can print off and take into to the store or you can order it online and have it shipped to you for a small fee or have it sent to your local store (for a one hour pick up even!) for free. I prefer the online option, if you do too, here is the coupon code for the free 8 x 10: FREEPHOTO.

My Baby is almost Two!

Turn snack time into show and tell time!

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More Silly Girls

MRI Results

I have medical proof that my brain is normal! Thankfully, the MRI revealed no bleeds, growths, or abnormalities! The doctor said that I am just having these migraines from a myriad of different triggers and so she wants to put me on a medicine that will calm and heal the nerves in my brain and prevent future migraines. It will be a slow process, I will have to titrate up to a full dose over the course of a couple of months. I was sold though when I asked her what the possible side effects were and she said, "weight loss"! I am going back for a follow up in three weeks to see how I am tolerating it. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me and encouraging me! It means more to me than you know!

Good Deals

I love the Albertsons "Twice the Value" coupons. This is an example of how even when you have no extra money in your grocery budget you can still get food and things for your family. I had already spent my grocery money, but I had manufacturer coupons and the Albertsons doublers that were going to expire today.
This would have cost me $38, but I only paid $1.08! It would have cost be absolutely nothing if I wouldn't have bought the toothpaste, but toothpaste is something I like to stock up on since it is something we use every day and it doesn't really expire. For the Crest I paid .20 and for the kids toothpaste I paid .50. Not free, but still pretty cheap! (I also had to pay tax.)
Side note, I would normally buy Rylie toothpaste that has princesses or some other character that she likes on it. But, today I had the choice of buying Winnie the Pooh toothpaste for $3 or High School Musical (which she knows nothing about) toothpaste for .50. That's an easy choice for me. Plus she thought it was pretty cool because it had teenagers on it! The difference was that the High School Musical toothpaste was on clearance then I added the coupons on top of that. That was the same thing with the Crest. Whenever you are shopping with coupons and it doesn't specify a particular flavor/kind always look to see if there is a kind on clearance. Often times stores are getting rid of a particular flavor or the manufacturer is coming out with a new design for a product. There is nothing wrong with the product it is just being discontinued for whatever reason.
The other thing to look for on your coupons is if there is a size restriction. If it says "any size" and does not say "excludes trial size", then I would check out the trial/travel size products. For example, I had a $1.50 off coupon for any size Dove haircare product. The Walmart price for the travel size (3 oz) Dove shampoo was $1.25, so I got it for free. I had several of these coupons so I was able to get several shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, chap sticks, baby wipes, etc. for free. I got these deals last week, but was too busy to take a picture. I just wanted to pass the tip on to you!

My Silly Girl

Celebrating Valentine's

Yesterday, Aunt Becky came over for a Valentine's brunch with the girls and I. It was so nice to spend the day with her!
When Daddy came home he gave his girls cards and presents. A lion for Rylie and a monkey for Anna. They both make noise and are really cute.
Friday night we went out to dinner and a movie for our own celebration.
Happy Valentines!

Our Week

We have been having fun celebrating Valentine's this week. Rylie had a fun Valentine's party at school and came home with quite a haul!
I bought the girls heart shape baskets and some little treats. I have been putting a new treat in their baskets every night so they wake up with a surprise. It has been really fun! One of the treats I got was pink hot chocolate. The girls really enjoyed that!
We also had Abby and Luke come and play. The girls love their cousins.
I wanted to wrap my present for my best friend in a fun way, so I found this idea for putting the gift in a two liter bottle.
When Ryan came home Thursday night he noticed that the right side of my face was swollen, and my eye was all red. It turned out to be a sinus infection and I'm on antibiotics for it.
I also had an appointment with my doctor on Friday about my migraines. She wants me to have an MRI on Wednesday and she gave me a pain pill for when I do have one. She wants to rule out, "brain stuff". Hopefully I'll know more on Wednesday.

Clear CT!

Yesterday, I woke up with another migraine. As it was steadily getting worse, and Ryan was out of town speaking at a men's retreat, my Mom wonderfully came over and played with the girls so I could go back to bed. After two migraine pills, throwing up, sleep and a hot shower didn't work, we decided to go in to the ER. Thankfully, Ryan was just getting done with his retreat so he met me there. They gave me an IV with four different meds and fluids that helped immensely. They did make me feel a bit loopy and sleepy, but that was fine with me. I was happy to have some relief from the pain. They gave me a CT scan, which came back clear. We were very thankful and relieved because that rules out a bleed or growth. They sent me home with a prescription for the next migraine (which feels like it might be coming on right now). I have an appointment with my doctor on Friday, so hopefully we can determine what is triggering them. Thank you to all of you have told me you have been praying for me! We really appreciate it!

Our Week

We have had a busy week around here. I have been walking with my friend, Rachel, at the Y. She is a runner, so I have to speed walk to keep up with her, which is really good for me. I have also been biking on the stationary bike while Rylie has swimming lessons. She is doing great in those and Anna is having fun in her Toddler Gym class. Rylie is adorable in her cheer leading class. She had great fun making this dinosaur home in school. She's loving this unit on dinosaurs!
We decorated for Valentine's, which is one of my favorite holidays! I love all the hearts and mushy, sappy stuff!
Rylie and Anna have been quite busy this week too, eating ice cream, dressing up, and giggling together (especially when they are supposed to be taking their naps!)
I have been having migraines that have been progressively getting worse in intensity and frequency. Thankfully, my SIL is the nurse at my doctor's office, so I have someone to go to. When I told her about the type of migraines I was having this week (as well as some of the ones this past month), she was alarmed as they are abnormal. The doctor had me come in right away and gave me a steroid treatment and a pain pill. The pain pill worked a little to dull the headache but I had a few moments of intense pain that brought me to tears. I have a follow up appointment next week, but the Dr said if I get another bad one to go ahead and go to the ER for a CT scan. Thankfully, my head feels pretty good tonight. I'm grateful since Ryan is out of town speaking at a men's retreat.
I have to say thank you to Rachel. She took Anna yesterday for the whole day and sent her home with a wonderful dinner for all of us! I has slept horribly the night before and my head was still aching, so it was nice to be able to rest.
Anyway, that about sums up our week!

More Deals cont.

For some reason it wouldn't let me add text to my previous post.
The first two pictures are of free things that I have gotten in the mail this week! I love getting mail! I have gotten a lot of photo products this week and I have even more coming. Whenever you open a new account at any of the online photo shops (Shutterfly, Snapfish, Kodak, etc.), you get free prints and other things. Right now, Seehere.com is offering free photo cards (with the coupon code: newbaby), so I made the girl's Valentine cards. I also made some thank you cards, but they haven't arrived yet. Snapfish and Shutterfly were also offering some free photo folded cards, so I grabbed a few of those for Valentine cards as well. I was also able to score 20 free photo cards from Snapfish, so I made some that I'm going to use as stationary. You can't see it very well in the photo, but there is also a photo dogtag necklace from ArtsCow.com. They have tons of free photo gifts for new customers and facebook fans.
The third photo shows the things I bought the other day at Albertsons and Wallmart. I paid $9, and saved $50! The highest amount I paid for any one item was .94!
The fourth photo is of the free things I got at these stores as well!
I'd love to hear about the great deals you're scoring! Feel free to leave a comment and tell me all about it!

More Deals

My Cheerleader!

My Rylie girl started cheer leading class at the Y today! She's taking the class with her cousin, Abby. They are adorable! My poor girl does seem to have my cheer leading talent, and coordination! Those of you who knew me back in the day, will know what I mean! She had fun though and I could actually see her getting better at somersaults! It will be fun to see how she progresses!