Doublers!

Albertsons had a few doubler's in the paper this week. I took a stroll down to the store and was able to find:

2 Boxes Brownie Mini Mixes

2 Boxes Cheese-it Crackers
1 Box Ritz Crackers
1 Box Ritz Crackerfuls
1 Package Rhodes Warm-N-Serve Rolls

All for a grand total of about $6.50, that is less than a dollar a piece. (I left my receipt in the car and don't want to go out into the snow to get it for the exact total! Can you blame me? I can't believe it is seriously snowing! Ahh! Where did fall go?) Anyway, I saved about $15.00. Not too bad!

Crawling and Coupons!

Tayden has become increasingly mobile over the past few days. He had been scooting around for quite awhile, and then Saturday night he started crawling! Once he got the hang of it, he caught on quick. He was starting to get pretty frustrated not being able to move, but now that he is on the go he is happier than ever.

I still cannot believe that our little boy will be 8 months in a few short days. It seems like yesterday I was carrying him in my belly and now he is almost to heavy to carry in my arms. This stage by far has been my favorite. He is developing quite the little personality. He has the funniest sense of humor and is usually very pleased with himself. Occasionally he will get up on all hands and feet (stinkbug style), look around and just laugh. He thinks it is hilarious. Tayden is also catching on very quickly and is interacting as we play. I love the fact that I can actually play with him and he plays back. Its the best. Along with a personality, he has quite the temper. If I take anything away from him, he throws a fit. Literally. He will arch his back and scream. Its fairly comical. I am hoping this goes away as he learns to communicate. If not, we are in trouble.

Here are some pictures of our perfect little guy:


Tayden crawling around. I love those big blue eyes!

Finally, a smile on camera.

An awesome picture of his teeth. He has 5 (almost 6) teeth. 3 on top and 2 on bottom. Hes got a nice gap on top, but I love it. It gives that much more personality and I think its adorable! Never mind my shoe. He likes to chew on it...gross, I know!

And just a quick side note, I haven't had a super great couponing experience in a few weeks, at least none that were good enough to post on my blog. Well, tonight I finally have one that I feel is worthy enough to post.

11 bags of Lifesaver Mints
1 Box Hot Pockets
4 Boxes of Nabisco Cookies

All for a grand total of $5.26. Not to bad considering the cookies alone are around $3-$4 not on sale. Plus I saved $32.18!!! Not to shabby.

Grocery Deals

First of all, according to my husband, I need to be much more prompt in posting my couponing pictures. (Sorry Tracy!) And second of all, I need to thank my super awesome sister in law, Sharlee, for helping with this excursion. It was definitely one of the more frustrating trips and there is no way I could have done it with Tayden without her. With that said... here is this weeks trip.

4 Boxes General Mills Cereals
2 Boxes Premium Betty Crocker Brownies
4 Digiorno Pizzas For One
3 Wishbone Salad Dressings
1 Pillsbury Simply Cookie Dough
2 Best Food Mayos
3 Stouffer Frozen Entrees
2 4-Pack Yo plait Yogurt
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 Country Crock Butter
2 Chips A-Hoy
1 Family Size Wheat Thins
1 Ritz Crackerfuls

For a grand total of...$15.13(rebate included)! There is a really awesome Kraft Special going on right now. Spend $25, get a $20 mail in rebate and a $5 off coupon. So basically free. If you want more info let me know and I will email you the link.

Another Couponing Experience

I promise one day I will blog about something else besides Tayden and couponing. Give me three weeks though; I am going to Dallas, TX to see my favorite people in the world! I am so excited. I'll definitely blog about that. Anyways, I decided to only post my great couponing deals. I feel proud of this one and would like to share. On this trip I got:


3 1.5 Quarts Dryers Ice Cream
1 Box Nestle Lil' Drums Ice Cream Bars
10 Boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese
2 Boxes Capri Suns
2 Cans Manwich
3 Boxes Orville R. Popcorn
4 Snack Packs of Hunts Pudding
3 Bottles Ketchup
5 Healthy Choice Entrees
3 Packages Hillshire Lunch Meat
2 Loafs Sara Lee Bread
4 Lipton Pasta Sides
3 Boxes Crunch and Munch

A total of 45 items for a Grand Total of....$41.78. But that is not the best part! A total savings of (Drum Roll Please.....) $77.67. I bought a few more things than anticipated, but the sales were good. I'm still not a professional or anything. Some of my friends are amazing and get twice the stuff for half the price. They say it takes a few weeks to start to build a good coupon base and really see the savings. Hopefully, I get that skilled! However, I think I can count this trip successful.

* This sale doesn't require many coupons. In fact, I only used 2. Its all in the order of transaction. So, if you are interested in an order similar to this, let me know. I would love to go with you and help. It doesn't have the be the exact same as mine...there are alot of different options to get the same kind of deal!

A Learning Process

I went couponing again this morning. I didn't do as well as last week, but still not too terribly bad. This week was definitely an interesting experience, but we don't need to go into any details. Trust me, they aren't pretty. HaHa. I got a lot of cleaning products for cheap though, which was good. In fact, I was impressed with myself when I bought them . The nice cashier lady actually called it phenomenal. Yeah me! I purchased the following:

2 boxes Resses P.B Puffs
1 Bertolli Dinner
1 box Capri Sun
2 packages of Hot Dogs
4 SoBe Life Waters
2 EZ-Macs
5 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners
2 Lysol Kitchen Cleaners
2 Lysol Bathroom Cleaners
1 Lysol Disinfectant Spray
1 Lysol Disinfectant Wipes

For a grand total of $33.57 and a total savings of $47.29! Like I said, not as good as last week, but you have to keep in mind the cleaning stuff. I made a few little mistakes that would have shaved off a few dollars, but all in all I think I learned valuable lessons that are priceless:

• Just because you got up 6:30 to go shopping when your baby should be sleeping, doesn't always mean he will. In fact, chances are pretty good he will cry most the time.
  
• 6:30 isn't even necessarily the best time to go. The shelves are still being stocked and workers are everywhere. Plus, not all grocery store employees are 'morning people.'
  
• Pick out the nice cashiers...not mean cranky ones. If he looks like he straight from the movie "Grumpy Old Men", steer clear.
  
• Read the fine print on all the coupons. Then, read the super fine print.
  
• Just because they have a name tag doesn't always mean they know what they are talking about. Enough said.
  
• Don't forget your in-store coupons. The clerks will not remind you. Boo!
  
• Double check the cashier while you are checking out, not 10 minutes later in the car. If something is wrong on a coupon order, the whole thing has to be redone. Not good, not good at all. Especially with a grumpy old man at 6:30 am.

I have made a 'note to self' of all my lessons learned and hopefully won't make the same mistakes again. I love this couponing business, I think its my new favorite hobby. Hopefully as I learn more, I will get better. As with anything else, practice makes perfect. I can't wait to see what next week has in store. (Get it? In Store? haha...a little coupon humor! :)

Beginners Luck?! No Such Thing!

So apparently couponing in Pocatello is an ultra competitive sport. I have heard so many great things about it, and decided to give it a try. (Thanks to my friend Zoey, who walked me through the whole process the past few weeks and answering all my ridiculous questions.) Well, I got all my stuff together, clipped all my coupons, mapped out my plans and summoned the courage to go couponing for the first time. As I got to the store, I started doing my shopping. Turns out, you aren't supposed to go at night. Out of the 10 deals I went to get, only 4 were left! Everything was gone! There was an awesome deal on LIFE cereal, (which Scott loves) but do you think I could find even a box of it? Not a chance! Same luck with cheese, capri suns, and water to name a few. But here is what I did get:

10 Box Kraft Pasta Sides
2 Boxes of Kraft Bagel-fuls
1 Digiorno Flatbread Melts (Last box)
1 Kraft BBQ Sauce
1 Orange Juice

For a Grand Total of...$8.73! I saved about $40.00! Not super great, but not bad for my first time either. Next week, I will definitely be making a morning trip! Stay tuned to see my deals next week.

Tayden is now able to eat Rice Cereal. He loves it. Although, I'm not sure if he likes the spoon or the cereal better. Either way...cute kid!