In case there's any confusion

I am well-aware that my blog entries for the last however many months have either been pregnancies updates or adventures in saving money. Trust me:

1. I do other things
2. God is working in my life
3. I love my husband
4. I love my kids

One day I hope to reach a point where I can blog about other things again. I probably wouldn't even find the time to post about Clara or couponing did others not ask me to do so.

Just so you know...

Our girl, 33 weeks.

I had my final ultrasound with high-risk today. Our little girl is great. In the first photo, you can see that she is, in fact, still a girl=) In the second, you can see her face- frowning. The cranial bones have formed a shadow across part of her face, but hopefully you can still see what I am talking about. Clara weighs about 5 pounds, according to her head and bone measurements. She is head down (wayyyyyyyy down) and causing Mommy much discomfort. Her fluid levels are perfect and her heart looked fabulous, according to the tech. We are feeling very anxious and excited to meet our daughter. Sammy came at 36 weeks. Noah came at 40 weeks. This leaves me feeling pretty clueless as to when she will arrive. I am working hard to be patient, however. I shopped for our little one today. I was able to get over $100 worth of items for $28 (after sales, coupons, and gift cards) at Babies R Us. They included:

1. A new (and huge) diaper bag. I haven't bought a diaper bag in 5 years
2. 4 new (PINK! and BPA-free) bottles
3. A onesie
4. Pacifiers
5. A rattle (it was $1.00 on clearance)
6. Spoons (We had lost all of ours)

I was super excited as the diaper bag alone cost $40!

I am doing okay. Verrrrrrrrrrrrrry uncomfortable, but that's just part of it =) Nothing new to report.

P.S. Sorry for the run-on paragraphs. For some reason blogger will not allow me to separate my text into paragraphs. Boo blogger.

Nearly 31 weeks

Saturday Bliss

What started out as a rocky day (after weeks of illness, stress, and confinement) turned into such a blessing! Many thanks to my sweetheart of a husband. Olive Garden, my Personal Retreat, and some window shopping. Thank you, God, for days of sweet refreshment.

Kroger deal!

Sara Lee pumpkin pies are on sale for $1.99 this week (already a great deal)! I was going to get one when I noticed that there is a peelie $1/1 coupon on each pie. I got 3 for .99 each! That is so much cheaper than making one at home.

The long-awaited "How-do-you-organize-your-coupons?" post

I was forced to move from a 1" to a 1 1/2" binder today for lack of space. I thought I would share my binder with you and show you how it is organized to get the best outcomes. First I decorated my binder. I chose one (per the advice of Stephanie and Jill) with a clearview finder. I chose to decorate mine with expired coupons and photos of my kids (I like it...maybe you don't...everyone is different). I am also hoping that there is some space left in it to slide each week's grocery list in it so I don't have to be constantly fishing for my list, like I do now. I also did something new and slid a "If found, please call Mandy at..." note into the spine. I should have done this a long time ago. I am even considering offering a reward if found. Sadly, many people are more likely to go to the effort to call you if there is an incentive (as opposed to just leaving the binder where they found it) involved. Plus, I am going to save a lot more time, money, and sanity than the $20 I would pay someone for its safe return. Make sense? Secondly, I chose to organize my coupons in a binder fashion with baseball card holder sheets. They cost more up front but the convenience in my opinion is well worth it. I did fine with an envelope system, I suppose, but a binder makes searching for my coupons much easier. I divided my coupons into categories to simplify things. The list is not exhaustive and you may prefer different categories. My list, if you are interested, is:

1. Baby
2. Bags, Foil, Storage
3. Baking
4. Batteries & Lightbulbs
5. Beverages
6. Boxed
7. Breads
8. Breakfast
9. Canned
10. Cleaning
11. Condiments, Sauces, & Seasonings
12. Dairy/Fridge
13. Entertainment
14. Free
15. Frozen
16. Laundry
17. Meat
18. Medicine
19. Office
20. Paper
21. Peanut Butter/Jelly/Syrups
22. Personal Hygiene
23. Produce/Salad
24. Restaurant
25. Snacks
26. Toiletries

Something else that I included in my new binder is a pencil pouch. It has many uses:

1. Clipped coupons that I have yet to file
2. A spot for my calculator
3. My envelopes (which if you haven't noticed are quite nifty in my opinion)

I threw in a few folders for more storage (for bigger items) and I'm set!

I hope this is helpful for anyone. The binder method sure has simplified couponing for me.

1/11/10 Savings

I know it must seem as though I have been shopping a lot lately- I have! In the past few months, my ability to get to the store has been very limited and I have been, well, tired and lazy. I am resolving, however, to stick to shopping one, two at the most, days of the week. One is almost unreasonable but it is the goal.

I also want to make another note. After looking at the my purchases today, it may appear as though we eat nothing but boxed, junk, and processed foods. That is not the case! I usually do not post produce, dairy, and meat purchases unless I got them for a discount that is post-worthy. That being said, here are today's savings.

I was very pleased.

Kmart:

4 boxes of cereal on sale 4/$6. I applied 4 $1/1 coupons, making each box .50!

***Total= $2***

CVS:

1 CVS grocery bag for .99

1 CVS grocery bag tag (which generates $1 ECB on every 4th visit) for .99

Paid $1.98

Received $1 ECB

Then made a 2nd transaction:

1 Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra for $5.99

1 box Puffs for .96

Applied $1 ECB, 1 $1/1 Puffs coupon, and 1 $4/1 Freshmatic coupon

Paid $1.41

***Total= $3.39***

Target:

This is the first time I have ever had trouble stacking Target web coupons with manufacturer's coupons. Customer service adjusted the total for me, as best he could without the coupons- and he totally took my word for it! I think I may have come out .50 ahead, but I did NOT have dishonest intention.

2 Cascadian Farms cereals at $5.40

1 Special K crackers at $2.39

1 Special K cereal at $2.39

1 Special K fruit crisps at $2.39

Applied:

2 $1/1 Cascadian Farms manu. coupons

1 $1/2 Cascadian Farms Target coupon

1 $1/1 Special K crackers manu. coupon

2 $.50/1 Special K crackers, bars, or crisps Target coupons

1 $1/1 Special K cereal Target coupon

***Total (for all 5!)= $3.36***

Rite Aid:

1 Pull Ups at $8.99

2 men's Dial body wash at $5.99 (BOGO free)

Applied:

1 $2/1 Pull Ups coupon

1 $1/1 Rite Aid Video Values Pull Ups coupon

2 $1/1 Dial coupons

***Total= 10.88***

Walgreens:

1st transaction:

2 Neosporin lip care products at 2/$8 = $3 register rewards

2 Capri Sun pouches at 2/$6 = $2 register rewards

3 Kotex at 3/$9 = $4 register rewards

3 Tresemme products (on clearance for $1.29 each!) = $5 register rewards

Applied:

1 $2/2 Kotex coupon

2 $3/1 Neosporin coupons

1st transaction total= $20.48

2nd transaction:

3 boxes Kleenex at $.79/ea. (with in-ad coupon)

1 bag Halls cough drops at $.99/ea. (with in-ad coupon)

2 Planters trail mixes at 2/$2 (with January coupon booklet coupon-found at front of store)

4 Aveeno skin care products at $23 (BOGO 50% off)

2 Lubriderm lotions at $6 (BOGO 50% off)

Applied:

1 $.50/3 Kleenex coupon

1 $.50/1 Halls coupon

4 $2/1 Aveeno coupons

2 $2/1 Lubriderm coupons

1 $1/1 Walgreens Lubriderm coupon (found in the Diabetes and You magazine at pharmacy)

All $14 in register rewards from the 1st transaction

2nd transaction total= $6.48

Now I'll submit for the J & J $10 mail-in rebate (when you purchase $30 in participating products)

***Total from both transactions (after rebate) = $16.96***

I feel like I should note the total BEFORE coupons, sales, and rebates: $96.67!

Meijer:

Total before coupons and sales = $91.63

Total after coupons and sales = $32.54

The highlights:

FREE Stacy's pita chips

12 Dannon yogurts for 12 cents a piece

Frozen corn for 20 cents a bag

Toaster Struedel for 50 cents a box

Bagel Bites for 50 cents a box

Boston Market meals for 99 cents each

Jimmy Dean sausage for 99 cents