Bargain Books at the Local Library

I'm a huge fan of books! I love them to the point that when I walk into the library I'm overwhelmed, because I'd really like to read them all! I just wanted to give you all a heads up on buying used books from your local library.

Libraries often have extra books - either from donations, or from the shelves themselves. Ask at your local library what/if they do anything with the old books. I've found that the Longmont library has a free used book area in the underground parking garage - and I've found some great books there! Our local library has a small room (that I rarely ever see anyone in) with used books and movies ranging in price from $.25 to $1.00 - and that includes hardback books and Disney movies! Some of the books I've bought there were so lightly used that they look new!

Check out your local libraries and let me know what you find. Feel free to post comments (or send me a message so I can post it as well) if you find any library bargains in your areas!

New Security Measures

I realized that I've got a lot of personal info out here about the kiddos - so I've changed the kids pages to be invite only. If you'd like an invitation, please let me know!

Are You All Signed Up?

I've been encouraging all of you to sign up for at least two of the blogs that I follow and I'm checking in again to see how you're all doing!

DealSeekingMom is a superblogger - she posts new deals on a daily basis. Occasionally she will post deals that are long term and I think can benefit everyone. Those deals I try to list here for any of you who have been checking in. She also posts deals that change weekly, some even limited to the same day. That's why it's important to sign up to follow her blog. There is a quick index inside each of her emails, so you can quickly tell if there's anything of interest to you. MomsNeedToKnow is very similar. These two gals often list the same deals, but sometimes one gets the message out earlier than the other. That's why I'm signed up to follow both.

The other major benefit to following these two blogs is that they both cover a variety of stores/brands and sometimes come up with different deal scenarios. I really love getting a good deal on the stuff that I need. I recently paid $2.22 for more than $20.00 worth of grocery items - which made it feasible for me to buy Spencer a school T-shirt!

Sometimes you find great deals on items that you may not need yourself. My thoughts on these items are this: if you don't need it, don't get it - if someone else may benefit from it, get it and donate it. I don't mind paying tax only on items that can be donated to the church, local shelters/charities or even my neighbors.

I'm going to try to get more active again on posting good deals as I come across them. If you have any bargain tips please shoot me a message!

Another free DVD for your girls!

Yay - Free stuff for the kiddos! It looks like a cute one - similar to the Barbie movies that my daughter is in love with.

Click on the following link to order your free princess dvd: http://www.fisher-price.com/pages/v6/default/preciousplaces/landing.asp

Another free DVD for your boys!

It looks like we have a new free Geotrax DVD from Mattel! This one is “Steamer & Samuel Save the Day”

Click the following link to sign up for your free DVD and allow 12-14 weeks for delivery: https://store.mattel.com/transition.aspx?TransitionID=155

Rite Aid Chocolate BOGO

Hey all -

If any of you have been getting those Chocolate Relief Act coupons from the Friday freebie (see the post in the archives) - Rite Aid has a great deal going - so it's a good time to use them! If you have a nearby Rite Aid they are offering BOGO on their Mars candy - use one Chocolate Relief coupon on the two items and you end up getting both items for FREE! Yay!

More Free Chocolate - Godiva

When you join the Godiva Rewards Club you get a free chocolate every month. I know, you still have to go to a Godiva store - but if you happen to go to a mall once a month why not grab a free treat while you're there? As a rewards member when you spend $10.00 in any one transaction you qualify to receive another gift each month (please don't take that as me encouraging you to spend money haphazardly!)

Go here to join the club: http://www.godiva.com/welcome.aspx

Free Floss

I've already printed and done this deal. For any of you who are in need of dental floss, head to www.coupons.com to print out a couple of the listerine coupons. If you read the fine print on the coupon, the last item it's good for is Reach Floss (which is only $1.00 at our local WalMart.) The coupon is good for $1.00 off - making your floss FREE! Yay! Who doesn't like free stuff? Remember, you can print the coupon two times from each computer you have access to - so stock up if it's something you use!

Free LEGO Magazine Subscription for Your Little Guys

Hey all -

I signed Spencer up for this free magazine - I thought you might enjoy it too. Here's the description directly from the LEGO site of what this fun magazine offers for your little LEGO kids:

* Stories little ones can read on their own, or with Mom or Dad
* New, simple models built with common bricks
* Fun comics, coloring pages, puzzles and games
* Sneak peeks at new LEGO sets
* Cool Creations – pictures of models built by kids 6 and younger
* And much more!

Click here to sign up for the subscription. Enjoy!

Fun Freebie For Little Girls

Here's another free dvd! This one is more girly (princesses)! Click here to be directed to the page to request your free copy. No, you don't have to pay shipping either.

Old Navy Tank Top Sale this Saturday Morning!

Hey friends! For any of you who wear tanks (I wear a ton for layering) this Saturday morning is a sale worth waking up for! Old Navy has tanks for women and girls for $2.00- limit of 5 per customer. They will fly off the shelves fast so you'll want to get there early - call your store or go on-line to find out when they'll be opening. This sale is in store only (sad times for those of us who like to shop online!)

A Way to Get Cash Back on Diapers

Amy (my sister) called me this morning to tell me about a website that helps caregivers receive money back from manufacturers for purchasing participating products. Here's the site: www.caregiversmarketplace.com I read over the site and it seems like a great deal for any of you buying diapers on a regular basis.

Here's a clip from the site: Whenever you purchase any of the eligible products, wherever they are sold, save your original sales receipts. When you have collected a minimum of five eligible products, fill out the cash back request form, attach the original receipts and send them in. (Don't forget to keep a copy of the form and receipts for yourself.) You'll receive a cash back check in 4-6 weeks.

It looks like you can get $.75 back per item you submit. Not too shabby! Let me know if any of you enroll in the program - we'll post some of your progress here on the blog! I'm not using Huggies right now, but I'm thinking about switching. I've been using Luvs - since they are always less expensive, but they don't work overnight for Ryan. We'll see - I might be enrolling soon!

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Coupon

Here's a link for a good coupon for your Kraft Mac n' Cheese (if you hate the store brand!) Give it a try and let me know how it works for you: Buy 3, Get 1 Free Kraft Mac & Cheese 5.5oz or larger printable (IE) or printable (FF). This is called a Bricks coupon - you can usually print Bricks coupons twice from each computer - it doesn't matter if they are printing from the same printer!

Free Geotrax DVD for Kids

Here's another freebie for those of you following my blog. It's a new Geotrax DVD! Spencer really liked the first one we received and I'm sure he'll enjoy this one when it gets here! It is 100% free - don't worry, they won't ask you to pay shipping or anything!

So I Went to Kmart Again

I know - you'd have thought I'd have to be an idiot to go back after the first trip. I decided I'd give Kmart one more try with the coupon doubling. It was still a hassle this time, not as much, but a hassle. I've never seen such an unhappy staff. Everyone working there looked depressed! I did end up with FREE buddies soaps (which wasn't due to the doubling), FREE shaving cream, and FREE maxi pads. I picked up a few other items for really cheap, $.29 per item. I think that's really my last trip to Kmart. The store was out of the way, the staff was unfriendly, the items I was looking for still weren't restocked, the prices were okay, but overall, it's still easier to shop at WalMart (a store that is occasionally run by the devil!) If I go again, please email me and remind me that I'm dumb!

Free Sundiwear Stickers

Here's another fun freebie - http://www.sundiwear.com/parenthood/freepack.aspx - they're free stickers that tell you when your kids have been in the sun too long! There's a limit of one free package of stickers per family! Hope you like them!

Free Chocolate Fridays

Hopefully many of you already know that Mars candy is offering free chocolate coupons on Fridays. Here's the link: https://secure.realchocolate.com/ Let me know if it doesn't work for you! You can get up to four coupons throughout the promotional period.

Enjoy!

Kmart Coupon Doubling

So, I was crazy disappointed about couponing at Kmart. First, corporate Kmart told me all Colorado locations were participating, which was apparently not true. I called the Loveland location who told me they were participating - which was only partly true. Finally, when I arrived at the Loveland Kmart - which was 30 minutes away, toting my three kids with me, they were sold out of many of the products I was looking to purchase. I settled on: six Dove deodorants ($3.99 each), two bottles of Snuggle fabric softener ($3.49 each), two containers of Wet Ones wipes ($2.29 each) and one bottle of Cascade Rinsing Agent ($3.99). I had coupons for each of the items. The store policy was that they would double up to ten coupons per customer per day (strict - and Amy had no limit at her Kmart!) The coupons did not automatically double in the system since they weren't really a participating location. The cashier had to scan each coupon twice. They wouldn't double the Snuggle coupons since they had a no doubling restriction on them, and they tried couting the couopn for my rinse agent (which was for one free bottle) which I argued should not count since it was not being doubled. The manager was very irritated with me! She missed doubling one of my coupons, and when I pointed it out she wouldn't even look at me any more! I walked out of the store having spent $5.11 - not bad for everything I got, but leaving with a bad customer service experience makes me feel like it's not worth my time. That store had a max of ten cars in the parking lot - I'm sure half of them were for employees! It's no wonder they are all going out of business! I haven't decided whether I'll go back tomorrow for another batch of freebies. I guess I'll wait and see how I'm feeling in the morning!

The Freezer Broke!

Ahhhhh! How frustrating that the upright freezer I just bought (used of course) is broken and melting all over my garage! There is a TON of food out there that was melting away. The ice cream didn't make it sadly. A friend was able to store the food for me so it's not all a waste - but what's the likelihood of my having the money to buy a new one? Hm. Maybe the money I'll be making from babysitting this week can help with that. We'll see.

Johnstown BBQ Days Parade

Our ward Primary had a float in the Johnstown BBQ Days Parade. It was fun watching so many kids, horses, tractors and more parade through our small town. I was surprised at the turn out! The kids had a good time tossing out candy and waving to watchers.

Loveland Water Play Park

This picture makes the kids look like they are the best of friends - which they are sometimes! They got chilled to the bones playing at the Loveland Water Play Park. So much fun! See the kids individual pages for more pictures.

Probably Not Broken

So I'm thinking that my toe isn't actually broken, just very badly bruised. It hurt really intensely yesterday, but the pain did finally subside and I was able to get around okay. This morning I taped the toe to my other toes and was able to go for a walk/jog for an hour. It didn't hurt too bad, but it was seeming to get darker in color. Oh well! It's just a pinkie toe after all!

A Broken Pinkie Toe

I stubbed my pinkie toe this morning while shampooing the area rugs - not to complain too much but it really hurts! I've taken some Advil, iced it and I'm waiting to see if it stops throbbing soon! I think I won't be trying to get as much done today after all.

It Looks Like Sun!

The kids woke up this morning excited by the prospect of a sunny day! I'm looking forward to the sunshine but not the heat! I think we'll try to get a scooter ride in this morning to blow some of the stink off.

Things I'll be trying to get done today:
For work - bar code inventory for the lounge
For work - 1 hour on EPIC
The new monthly menu.
Organize all the "stuff" Sydney brought home at the end of the school year.
Sweeping and mopping the front of the house.
Shampooing the area rugs (crossing fingers that they come out looking better!)
Four loads of laundry (esp. Ryan's bedding.)

Wish me luck!

Wednesday Bargain Hunting

It's Wednesday - which means I'm scouring the ads for our grocery deals for the week. I subscribe to a couple of feeds worth watching: www.dealseekingmom.com and www.momsneedtoknow.com. They both give great deal advice. For any of you who live here in Colorado with me http://simplysavingcolorado.blogspot.com is a great resource as well. I was stoked this morning when I scored a free Burt's Bees lipgloss! Yay for bargains! So far, my favorite deal is cereal at Albertsons - General Mills for $1.67, with printable coupons for $.55/1, they are only $1.12 a box (not as great as $.60 a few weeks ago - but still a great deal!)

Rainy Day Blues

My poor kiddos are struggling with the rainy day blues again. I'm so glad the weather isn't scorching hot. Poor Spencer is dying for some time out on the trampoline. I'm thinking it's a good day for us to pile on the couch and watch some movies, maybe drink some hot chocolate!

Silly Squidney

Sydney and I love taking pictures of silly faces! I think it's a great exercise in understanding nonverbal communication!

In the beginning. . .

Many of you know that I am resistant to starting new hobbies - they take up so much time and I'm already pressed for time as it is! So I'll give blogging a try, and if I fail miserably then I'll pull the page down and pretend none of this ever happened!