More from my little helper!

My friend, Antoinette, came over to visit the other day. She took this video of our little one. At first she said she was going to call Child Protective Services on me b/c this just shouldn't be allowed! I assured her that this was all Halley's idea and that she gets a kick out of it...and I do too!




Now, if she could just be this helpful to me when I'm in the grocery store! I took her with me to Publix today and she absolutely wore me out. This is the 2nd and last time that I wll ever get one of those big car carts. You know...the ones that are hard to steer, take up too much space, and that the kids don't even play with (even though you get them for their entertainment)! Yea, that's the one. Imagine me, with my big belly pushing that monster truck around! Ok, you can stop laughing now!

On top of that we didn't go until about 5 p.m. when the store was most crowded. I got her the free cookie from the bakery b/c I thought that would keep her occupied. Guess what...she finished that before I was out of the produce department. Then I gave her a lunchable to snack on. Mind you, she's in that dirty cart where millions of other children have done who knows what in it. But, I'm just trying to keep her quiet, so I let her have it. About 2 aisles later, she had to use the bathroom. Not to mention my phone kept ringing! So, I pushed the F150 over to the bathroom, took my purse and her bag and took her to the potty. Thankfully, she did use it...on the potty! If this were a false alarm, I think I would have screamed!


Anyway, we finished and went back out to finish our shopping. I decided to go down the dairy aisle. Of course, she needed something else to eat. Foolishly, I opened a fruit cup and poured the juice from it into the lunchable container, so that she could just fish her hands in and not make a mess! But no...sista girl, decided to take the lunchable container and dump it all over herself! Back to the bathroom we went for more papertowels! Oh, I'm getting exhausted all over again just writing about this trip!


Anyway, we finally finished and went to the checkout stand. Oh what I wouldn't give to have someone help me unload the groceries onto the belt! That was a workout...and with the Mack Truck you have to reach down further to get the groceries. Ok, the guy rings me up and there is noone there to bag the groceries. Guess who helped him do that...yes, your's truly who is carrying twins! But I was not going to carry them out on my own. I kindly tapped the bagger in the next aisle and asked him to help me out, which he did! Alas, we made it home.


But if you look down at my Publix Super Savers Post, you will notice I didn't buy any meat. So, we dropped the groceries off and went back out to Sam's! Yes, I know...I'm CRAZY!!!

Can you please leave a comment and tell me how I can train Halley to be better behaved in the store. I'm serious, I need some help. My parents told me that on one of those trips to the bathroom, I should have pulled out The Peacemaker aka the wooden spoon! They told me that as a matter of fact, someone should have spanked me for letting her control me like that! I can see their point. But seriously, what do you do to get your little one to behave in the grocery store. One answer is to leave them at home. But, I seriously believe that children need to learn how to behave in public, so you have to take them out. Let me hear from you...PLEASE!

Publix Super Savers

Look at all my wonderful deals! If you're not convinced that couponing works...check out these deals. Here's what I got:



6 Birds's eye vegetables (50% off $5.54)
2 Publix Salad Blend (BOGO $2.99)
1 Kraft Swiss Slices ($3)
1 Natural Flakes ($3.49)
1 Smart Balnace Butter ($2.79)
4 Oscar Mayer Luncables ($4)
6 Del Monte Fruit Packages (BOGO $7.29)
1 Sargento Shredded Mozzarella ($3.99)
2 Nature's Own Honey Wheat Bread (BOGO $3.39)
1 Cascadian Farm Honey O's ($2.50)
1 Broccoli Bunch ($2)
1 Green Onions ($.50)
1 Green Pepper ($1.33)
1 Ginger Root ($.24)
2 Bic Mechanical Pencils ($2)
1 Edy's Double Vanilla Ice Cream ($3.50)
1 Corn Starch ($1.49)
4 Uncle Ben's Rice ($4)
1 Can Black Beans ($1.19)
1 Publix Cream Cheese ($1.19)
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese ($2.19)
1 Wesson Oil ($3.50)
1 Pizza Crust ($4.79)
1 Pilsbury Crescent Rolls (2.19)
2 Pilsbury Recipe Creations Rolls ($5.78)
2 Vlasic Pickle Spears (BOGO $2.79)
1 Smuckers Hot Fudge ($1.67)
2 Publix Cream of Chicken ($1.90)

Coupons used
1- $2/$10 CVS Q (I called ahead to see if they take CVS Qs)
1-$0.35 Pilsbury Crescent Rolls
2- $0.75 Lunchables
1 -$1 Bic Pencils
2 -$1 Vlasic Pickles
1- $1 Cascadian Farm
2- $1/3 Birds Eye Veg
1- $0.75 Kraft Slices
2- $1/2 Uncle Ben's Rice

Regular Price Total $130.39
- $41.27 (sales)
-$12.95 (coupons)
$76.17 (oop- out of pocket) Ding! Ding! Ding!
Savings of 58%

When I got home and checked the mail, I had a coupon for $5/$30. Uggh, I could have used that too! But there's always next week. Or I just may give the coupon away to a friend b/c it expires on August 19. I may not go back to Publix before that. Also, I should have printed 2 more of the Pilsbury Qs and I could have saved $1.40 more- don't laugh, it adds up! I'm still learning about all this, so mistakes are going to be made. Also, my lunchables purchase qualifies me for the $10 JCPenney gift card. You can find out how to get your own here.

A big thanks to Sarah at Fiddledeedee for all the coupon match ups. Check out the Publix Super Savers Post on her blog to see the deals that others have found.

Faith prevails in the midst of tragedy

If you didn't get to watch Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on Larry King last night, here is a snippet. You can go to youtube and search for more of the interview. I love that the Curtis family had a chance to testify of God's grace through this trial. Though I know it was very difficult to lose such a sweet member of the family, the Lord' glory was displayed during this tragedy.

My Favorite Things

My favorite thing this week is my Zune. It's like an ipod, but not nearly as popular. Have you heard of one? I use it almost daily while I'm cleaning. I like to listen to podcasts from Revive our Hearts with Nancy Leigh Demoss, Family Life Today, Desiring God with John Piper, Truth in Love Podcast with Voddie Baucham, The Bible Experience, and music of course. My Zune seems to help me to keep moving along with my cleaning and helps me to take in the Word of God.

For more favorite things, check out Fiddledeedee!

Publix Super Savers

Halley and I made a trip to Publix this afternoon. I found some great deals thanks to Sarah at Fiddledeedee. She tells you what's on sale at Publix and also has links to printable coupons that go along with the deals. Besides checking out her blog another tip to saving is to plan your meals before going to the store. There is nothing worse than having to run to the store (with a toddler) for one missing ingrdient. I like to write our meals for the week down on a calendar. Then I look through the recipes to see what I am lacking. I also coordinate our meals around what I already have on hand and what is on sale that week.


The picture above shows what I purchased today. My total before coupons was $77.51. I had store coupons totaling $7.05, vendor coupons totaling $14.65, advertised special savings (mainly buy one, get one bogo deals) totaling $23.47, and advantage buy savings of $.87. After coupons and sales, my total was $55.81 for a savings of 30%. Nearly everything I bought was on sale and/or I had a coupon to go with it.

One other interesting tid bit...I went to the bank and got $60 cash, but I made a stop at Moe's and spent $4, leaving me with $56...do you remember that I told you my total was $55.81. Wow!

For more deals check out Fiddledeedee