Not Too Shabby!

Yesterday I got 370 dollars worth of groceries for 62 dollars! Wooohooo!!!!!!!

I am bummed that I was a day late to get the free tubes of colegate, I could have gotten 10 of them. Also a day late for SUPER cheap Lysol kitchen and bathroom cleaners. Oh well.

Now I need to clean out the spare room and add some shelves in there. I have food and things coming out of my ears!!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

So my sister in law is in town working on a project she has to do for school. She is almost done with getting her cosmetology licence. So, we did the kids hair. She did highlights and then added fun (permanent) colors to the girls hair. Then I taught her a few styles that she had been wanting to learn.

Aspen

Sage

Sage

Sage

Aspen

Aspen likes it, but Sage thinks she is Hannah Montanna and puts one hand on her hip, one on the side of her head and shakes her butt. Too stinkin funny.

Ugly Shoes

Aspen needs shoes desperately. I have NO idea what happened to one pair, and her other ones she wore in the snow with no socks on. They reek beyond belief. You cant even sit at the bottom of the stairs to put on your shoes without gagging.

So I tossed them.

I am trying to find her new shoes. I usually love Target's shoes, but they were all ugly today. The toddler sizes were super cute, but she is too big for that. I checked Khols and didnt like any, and none at Payless either. What is it with ugly shoes? They were all awful, and I am NOT that picky. The ones that weren't just ugly, were way too old for her. She is 6, she doesnt need Hooker boots and she doesnt need heels higher than any I have worn in my entire life. But, at the same time, I refuse to let them wear character shoes. We WILL find shoes.

Usually we go to the Sketchers store, but I just don't have the time to drive that far. I think tonight we will hit shoe carnival and see what they have.

My kid is at school in church shoes because she has nothing else.

On a different note, while I was at Target this morning I got a GREAT start on Sage's spring/summer wardrobe. She will need a few more tops and lots of bottoms and shoes, but I found about 8 cute tops for her. She is my kid who needs everything for this coming season. Aspen will need tops and shoes, but has plenty of bottoms from last year that still fit. Kyson, well, he hates what I like and I hate what he likes. So, thats Farrens job. Of course, a lot of that is pleasing his Dad. If I tell Farren to point it out to Kyson, then Kyson will like it (usually) but if I point it out, Kyson hates it.

Chocolate and Vanilla

This is a conversation Sage and I had today while I was making lunch.

Me: Sage, do you want spaghetti for lunch?

Sage: No, something else. A Sandwich.

Me: Okay, ham or peanut butter.

Sage: Peanut Butter. But Mom? Can I have it on the vanilla bread?

It took me a second to realize she meant white bread. We recently switched to whole grain whole wheat bread.

I make her sandwich and she is eating it while I make my own lunch. After a moment she says Mom? I like the chocolate bread too, I just wanted vanilla today because it shines like the sun.

He's Just Not That Into You

My friend Mary and I went to see this over the weekend. It was pretty good. We were cracking up though. There is a "sex scene" in the movie, nothing too graphic, in fact, it isn't even a sex scene, its a make out scene, clothes were on. Anyways, a group of very elderly people stood up as soon as that started and left. What did they think the movie would be about?


Thanks for the fun Mary!

Thanks Mom!

A few weeks ago my Mom told me about Grocery Smarts. It is kind of like Grocery Game, but its totally free! I started saving my coupons, but never had utilized them yet. Today I did. I got:

26 boxes of Wheat thins/Triscuts (I know thats a lot but with how many kids come in my home they will be gone in no time)
16 boxes of Kellog's cereal

My total for that came to 39.64

Then I headed to another store and I got:

5 pounds red grapes
2 gallons milk
2 gallons chocolate milk
4 4packs of Yoplait Yo Plus
4 packs of lunch meat
12 boxes of Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks/Fruit Rollups (Yes I let my kids eat that crap. Sometimes I eat it too )

My Total there was 30 and some change.

According to my reciepts, my total savings today, was over 180 dollars! Woohoo!!!!!

I am shameful

:) Today I broke my no spending. I splurged and spent 1.06 on a drink. Horrible I know. :) Otherwise doing well.

I think its official. This is my shortest blog entry ever.

I am so ready

for the kids to go back to school. Its quite the catch 22. I LOVE having them here, but, 8 kids makes for a huge mess. I feel like I do nothing but pick up after them, yet nothing is ever clean. ARGH. Its frustrating! I try to just do it at night, so we can play games during the day. Today we played Sequence, did puzzles, and things like that. I think Saturday Farren will take the kids to a movie or something so I can catch up on my neglected house.

This morning I went to make Zane a bottle. I opened the fridge to get his milk out, and one of the kids had placed a full 2 litre bottle on some chicken I had thawing. The pressure of the bottle pushed the juices EVERYWHERE. Needless to say, for at least today, I have the cleanest fridge on the planet. Its kinda funny, all week I have opened the fridge and thought I have GOT to clean that out, but kept putting it off for another today. Today I got the message loud and clear!

So far things are great on the financial front. Still no spending, though I am sure having more kids than seats in my car is helping with my self control! I haven't left my house in days! That's okay though, less temptations that way!!!!

Today

I have nothing else to title my post, so I will keep it simple.

With my goal to avoid ALL unnecessary spending, so far so good. Yesterday Farren had to buy the van I new battery, but, considering it owuldn't start, I consider that I necessity! Today I took the little girls to preschool and then headed to Walmart with the 5 kids I had left. I did VERY well, only buying fruit, veggies, milk and bread.

A movie I wanted to see, The Secret life Of Bees, came out today, and I didn't buy it. Anyone who knows me knows that I buy movies left and right, we have hundreds, many unopened. So, I am doing well so far. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

I also wanted to take a moment to wish my dear friend Tiffani a VERY happy birthday!

Pay It Forward

So I got this from Tiffani's blog. Thanks Tiff, love the idea!


The Rules:
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!.
2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER... it is good... :) Pass it forward.

February!

Kysons back! I missed him like crazy, though we enjoyed having absolutely NO sibling rilvalry while he was gone. He had a blast and was able to meet many new friends. He LOVED skiing and said he only fell 3 times. Not too shabby at all! Im glad he is back!!!!!! They are already looking forward to summer camp!

Yesterday my mother in law took my girls to the Draper Temple Open House. My neice Lexi went with them. They all said it was neat. While they were doing that, Farren and I went couch shopping. The couch he LOVES, just happens to be the couch my neighbors bought last week. We may end up copying them, which is kinda funny because the couch we have now, use to be theirs.

Last night I took Aspen and Lexi, along with my sister in law and her family, to the movies. Most of the kids saw Hotel for Dogs and liked it lots. The Adults and Lexi saw New To Town. The adults liked it, but Lexi was bored stiff. I think it was just too old for her.

My goal for February is to be more Frugal. My plan is to not buy ANYTHING extra. We shall see how it goes. Today I did have to get Sage some new shoes, we could barely get her foot in hers last night, but that was obviously a necessity. So, no movies, books, treats or anything for February. Farren doesn't have faith in me. In fact he laughed when I said I was going to try. I think I can do it.

Farren says if I do it, then by March I should be able to get the camera upgrade he wants to buy me. Im not sure if I need such a huge upgrade, though I certainly won't complain. I need some new subjects to shoot. My kids are sick of me! I will try and update each night, to see how the money thing is going. There are some things that I HAVE to buy this month, like a baby gate, since cute Zane is getting so fast, but, otherwise, this should be a budget friendly month!

Wish me luck!