Something worth reading...

I have purposefully not mentioned anything political during the last few months. I am simply not qualified to discuss these issues. I enjoy hearing the opinions of those I trust, but I am not one to give my opinion for all the world to read because I would quickly be put in my place with no way to respond.

All of that to say...that I did think this was worth passing on. I saw the link on Girltalk: Biblical Womanhood. I read the article, and I find it extremely helpful in knowing what we as christians need to do now that the election is over, however we voted.

Read if you wish. I personally think it's worth your time.

We survived another visit to the Pediatrician

Today was Ada's 15 month well baby visit at the Pediatrician, and it was, as usual, rather traumatic. I did not even realize the appointment was coming up, but thankfully I received the helpful reminder call yesterday to let me know that we did, indeed, have an appointment at 10 am this morning.

The morning did not start out well because I was scrambling around trying to get both myself and Ada ready, and in the mean time, I noticed an entire bottle of milk turned upside down on the dining room carpet. As I was attempting to clean that up, I heard a knocking coming from the guest bedroom, where Ada had closed herself in. When I opened the door to let her out, I was greeted with a very unpleasant smell, and as I was dealing with that situation, Ada decided to pull out every single wipe. I couldn't really stop her because as soon as I move my hands from her legs, she wiggles away, dumping the contents of her diaper onto the carpet. So... I thought the wipes were the lesser of the two evils. As soon as Ada was wearing a clean diaper once again, I remembered that I had not finished cleaning up the spilled milk in the dining room. Just living the dream, folks, living the dream.

We finally made it to the doctor's office, and on time, I might add. I pulled out my wallet to pay the co-pay and realized that my debit card and driver's license were sitting back at my house. I looked at the receptionist, pleading with my eyes not to make us reschedule the appointment. It was a miracle that we made it there. She took pity on us, and she told me I could come by tomorrow morning to pay for today's visit. Thank you, thank you, thank you kind receptionist.

Well...we went through the general unpleasantness of Ada being weighed, measured, poked, and prodded, and she screamed so hard she couldn't breath. (She still weighs in under 20 lbs, but the doctor isn't concerned). But that was not the worst part. The worst part came when the doctor asked me if there were any concerns. And I said, yes, there is a concern (I apologize to non-parent readers for the following content), Ada continues to be constipated. She has been constipated since she was five months old. This is a significant part of our lives. So much so that I have been known to call Scott at work just to tell him that Ada had a dirty diaper because he is probably the only person on earth who will be as excited about it as I am. We have entire conversations about her dirty diapers, and this has become the norm in our marriage. Serious conversations about the contents of Ada's diaper. So... the doctor wants more details about her constipation, and I provide them, and he says to me in a very concerned tone, "Well you need to fix this." He said it as if it had never occurred to me that it was a problem. I really thought I might scream. I have been telling doctors since she was 5 months old about this problem. I have called nurses after hours when the doctor was not available to ask for advice. And I have heard the words peaches, prunes, and pears so much that I probably say them in my sleep. Doctor, believe me, I know!!!! He then tells me that she shouldn't be eating bananas and cheese. Again, I know...SHE DOESN'T!!! I said, I know it needs to be fixed, can you please tell me what to do to fix it. He said I would have to pay attention to her diet. Oh goodness, I thought I might scream again. I said I have been paying attention to her diet since she was five months old. I need more info. than that. And here is what he said, give her straight apple juice. Don't water it down, and give her a lot. There is something I can work with, ya'll. I have limited her juice intake, and I have watered it down when I give it to her. So from now on, Ada will be getting straight juice. Apparently the sugar will get things flowing. If not, we are headed back to the doctor.

The good thing about today's visit was that a doctor finally listened to me when I told him about Ada's constipation. The bad thing is how he spoke to me as if he was the one who first noticed the problem.

Just another day of motherhood. Just another day of motherhood.

This morning in the Moore house

This is how today is shaping up...

I was in the kitchen doing a little "straightening," when I heard the distinct sound of liquid. I turned around to find Ada with a half full can of diet coke, gleefully holding the can upside down as it poured onto the kitchen floor. Then before I could process what was happening, she eagerly began to stomp on the brown puddle. Picture the image of someone stomping on grapes to make wine--she was as eager as those stompers. Oh dear.

Thank you, Lord, that she chose to pour it out on the kitchen floor instead of the dining room carpet. I am counting my blessings.

How's your day going?

I will be back later today to answer coupon and CVS questions.

This week's menu

It's Monday, which means it's time to post the menu. Scott says he looks forward to this day when he gets to see what he will be eating all week.

Remember this menu is based on what was on sale and what was already in my freezer and pantry. It made for a GREAT week a the grocery store. Around 60.00, I think, including Thursday night's Kroger run. Kroger was having a one night sale due to Halloween, and I bought a few things at rock bottom prices. By the way, Kroger was INSANE. I am not sure it was worth it. The sale was from 4 pm to midnight, and people were going crazy over it. It was a mad house.

Thursday night at Kroger, Oscar Meyer hot dogs were around 2 dollars (I think), Kroger hot dog buns were .50, Tombstone Pizza was 1.99, and Frito brand chips were 1.27. Other things were on sale, but these are the items I purchased. You will see these things show up on the menu over the next two weeks. Here you will find what else was on my list, with a combined total of 60.00 I think. 40.00 less than we have budgeted--woo hoo. Hence the dinner out on Friday night.

Here goes
Friday: dinner out with Scott and my sister, Kate
Saturday: frozen pizza
Sunday: whatever we can find
Monday: Pork Tenderloin (thanks for all of the wonderful advice and recipes!!!!), rice, and peas
Tuesday: Grilled Hot dogs, baked beans
Wednesday: Chicken and rice, broccoli, rolls
Thursday: leftovers, cereal, whatever causes the least mess in the kitchen

Breakfast: oatmeal breakfast cookies, south beach bars, whole grain waffles, cereal
Lunch: grilled cheese, bean soup, pasta, lean cuisine pizzas

As always, find more menu ideas at Organizing Junkie

Hints for starting the CVS game

okay...I have to share these thoughts and then I promise to post on a few things that are non-money related, so that I don't lose the few readers that I actually do have. Stick with me; you really might benefit from what I am about to say.

If you have never played the CVS game, I am going to walk you through how to get started. Once you start, you will be addicted.

First you need to sign up for a CVS card. You can do this online or in the store. If you do it online, it will come in the mail in just a few days. Once you have a card, you need to pick up a circular (the little booklet with the list of sales) from a CVS store, or you can find it in the Sunday paper. Each month there is one item that you can purchase and receive that same amount of money back in Extra Care Bucks (ECBs). This month you can purchase a tube of Crest Pro-Health toothpaste for 3.49, and you will receive 3.49 back in ECBs. For new players, your ECBs print out with your receipt. They are at the bottom. DON'T LOSE THESE. I suggest keeping an envelope in your purse where you can automatically put the ECBs. Now, you can leave the store at this point, and save the ECBs, or you can roll the ECBs. To roll the ECBs, you pick out something that costs about the same as your ECBs. For example, Ivory soap is on sale this week for .99. You could purchase 4 packs of Ivory, and pay only .50. Does that make sense? So, you would leave the store having purchased toothpaste, and 4 packs of Ivory for 4.00. Not bad...it could be better though.

Let's say you used that 3.49 of ECBs to purchase something that earns more ECBs. For example, always infinity pads are on sale for 4.99, and you earn 1.00 ECB when purchased. So you would pay 1.50 out of pocket (OOP) for a pack of pads, and you will have 1.00 ECB good towards your next purchase. And it just keeps going. The CVS game really helps add room to the grocery list, because you can purchase most of your toiletries from CVS for only a few dollars. My goal is to never spend more than 5.00 a week at CVS. I just keep rolling ECBs. I do suggest going during a time when not many people are in the store. I go fairly early in the morning, so that I am not holding up the line when I ask the cashier to do 4 separate transactions. And the cashiers are used to this. Those who play the CVS game are dedicated, and the cashiers typically do not mind doing separate transactions. I have even had a cashier help me figure out how to make the most of my ECBs. I think they find it fun as well.

Again, I welcome any questions!! And there are blogs out there that do a much better job of explaining this than I do. Just google the CVS game, and I am sure you will find what you are looking for.

p.s. if you use coupons, your prices will go even lower. I have a coupon for Crest Pro-health, plus I already have 4.00 in ECBS. I will be getting my toothpaste for almost free, and I will be receiving 3.49 back in ECBs.

Grocery Game Thoughts and Tips

I have had several people mention in the comment section that they are interested in trying the grocery game, including my little sister, Sarah, college senior. And so I thought I would share a few more thoughts about the ins and outs of the grocery game.

First and foremost, once you sign up, you have to give it time for it to work. That first week after you sign up, you won't have the majority of the coupons. This is quite frustrating, actually. My suggestion is that you spend 6 weeks cutting and collecting coupons every Sunday. Then once you have the coupons collected, sign up for the free six week trial. It's hard to try the grocery game without the coupons. I didn't like it during my trial period because I wasn't saving money. Now that I have a coupon collection the size of Mt. Everest, I am liking the Grocery Game.

Next tip--save every coupon. There are a small handful of coupons that I throw away--pet food, hair color, and contact solution. These are three things I will never use. If I knew someone who would use them, I would give them away. Other than that, I save every, single coupon because often times you can get things for free. For example, a few weeks ago, I got two free bottles of Pert Plus shampoo + conditioner for free. I doubt that I will use this, but I am thinking that somebody somewhere can use it. A charity of some sort, perhaps? It was free. Why not take it?

When you begin clipping coupons, you will notice that they add up quickly. There are many ways to organize them, and there are many blogs that tell you how to do this. I personally have a clear rubber maid box where I file all of my coupons. The box is filled with alphabetized envelopes with categories such as baby, bathroom cleaners, dish detergent, etc. Then, when I am planning my grocery trip for the week, I pull up the grocery game list, I sit with my box of coupons, and I pull out the ones I will need for the week. I then put them in a little organizer that I keep in my purse. I have a section for Kroger coupons and a section for CVS coupons.

Finally, the last thing to understand about the Grocery Game is stockpiling. This also takes a while; in much the same way that it takes a while to collect the coupons. Let me explain this by example. Last week Kroger had a sale on chicken breasts for 1.99/lb. They are normally like 4.99/lb or something. I designated about 10.00 of my grocery budget for chicken breasts, and my freezer is now well stocked with chicken. There was also a huge sale of frozen vegetables, so I came home with 12 boxes of green giant vegetables for nearly free. My freezer is very full. Over the next few weeks I will plan my meals around these things. During that time, the things will most likely go on sale again, and I can stock up at the low price, never having to actually buy at full price. Does that make sense? These days, now that I have been grocery gaming for a while, my grocery list is only made up of about 1/4 of what we need for that week, the rest is for stocking up on things that are at rock bottom prices. If I do have a week where there are lots of necessities on the list, I just resist stocking up, in order to stay within budget.

Sarah specifically asked if this would work for a college student, and my answer to you, Sarah, is that you should at least start "CVSing." You can do that without the grocery game, and you can save INSANE amounts of money. One more example, today I bought 4 packs of disposable razors, always pads, and a bag of snack size kit kats for about 6.00 Out of Pocket (oop). The total price of all of that should have been about 35 dollars. On top of only paying 6.00 OOP, I walked away with 4.00 in Extra Bucks to use towards my next purchase.

I don't know if any of the above makes sense, but it's just some things that I have found helpful as I entered the world of couponing. I guarantee that once you start, you will never be able to shop without coupons again. Feel free to ask any questions, and there are so many blogs out there devoted just to this. It's how I learned the process.

A Dissapointing Halloween

This is my third year to "celebrate" Halloween with Scott, and it is my second year to prepare for trick-or-treaters. Last year we lived in an apartment complex with lots of children, so I anticipated many trick-or-treaters. Sadly, not one child rang our doorbell.

Now, we live in an actual neighborhood with lots of children. So many children, in fact, that they crowd the streets every afternoon when they gather to play basketball at the house next to ours. I thought to myself, surely we will have lots and lots of trick-or-treaters this year. I, being the frugal girl that I am, waited until Friday morning to purchase candy, hoping stores would mark it down even more. AND anticipating the large number of children that I pictured in my head, I decided to buy tootsie rolls because it was the only kind of candy that came in large bags. I know that tootsie rolls are not the preferred Halloween candy, but the bags of Reeses and Twix seemed so small compared to the bag of tootsie rolls. So tootsie rolls it was. Besides Scott promised that later in the night when the kids were going through their goods, they wouldn't know I was the house with the bad candy. Ya'll, I purchased two giant bags of tootsie rolls, and I poured one bag into a bowl to keep by the door. I was very excited about it being my first Halloween at my first house.

Well...we did have some trick-or-treaters. Some being the key word. Our doorbell rang maybe five times, and I barely even made it through one bowl of tootsie rolls. Where have all the trick-of-treaters gone? I could have bought the good candy if I had known. And to make it even worse...I heard one child say when they saw what was going in their bag, tootsie rolls?!!!! Clearly, the child did know that I was the house with bad candy. Maybe next year guys, maybe next year. One October it will all come together--lots and lots of trick-or-treaters will ring my doorbell, as I pour handfuls of Reese's and M&Ms into their bags.

Never again will I purchase tootsie rolls, that's for sure.