Super Savings Saturday

I had to do a bit of tweaking to my grocery list this week. I was planning on using some coupons I ordered to score more cheap Motts for Tots. But alas, I think the coupons got lost in the mail
:( Oh well, it's not the end of the world. Although it kind of feels like it {pout}.

Here's my grocery deals for the week. Very excited about the 2 lb frozen shrimp from Harris Teeter. Regularly priced $17.98 - on sale for $5.98!!!! Also loved the Chocolate Chex cereal only .50 at Lowes Foods after .75/1 coupon doubled!

Total spent: $80.05
Total savings: $59.06

Kroger:

5lb bag Organic carrots (sale 3.00)
1 KR salsa (sale 1.00)
2-1.3lb Shadybrook 93/7 ground turkey (sale 2.49)
2 Smart Balance shredded cheese (Manager's special 1.29)
1 Organic Italian mix salad with herbs (Manager's special 1.99)
1 Eggland's Best (2.59 - .35/1 Q doubled)
1 Huggies Pull Ups (10.49 - $2 shortcut - 2/1 Q)
bananas

Total oop: $23.85
Total savings: $10.28

Lowes Foods:

2 LF apple juice (sale 1.79)
1 LF cola 3LT (sale 1.00)
3 Chex Chocolate & Honey Nut cereals (sale 2.00 - .75/1 Q doubled)
3 Colgate Whitening toothpaste (FREE - sale 1.00 - .75/1 Q doubled)
1 Full Circle Organic Basmatic brown rice (sale 2.99)
1 Mission flour tortillas (sale 2.50 - 1/1 Q)
Jumbo vidalia onions (sale .99/lb)
fresh parsley bunch

Total oop: $13.21
Total savings: $20.25

Harris Teeter:

1 gallon Organic Valley milk (5.99 - 1/1 Q)
2 gallons HT Organic milk
2 Kraft American singles (sale 2.79 - 1/2 Q)
2lb frozen white shrimp (sale 5.98)
2 Friskies dry cat food 3.15 lb bags (sale 7 - 1.50/2)
1 Organic Valley heavy cream 8oz (1.99 - 1/1 Q)
8 jars Beech Nut baby food (sale .40 - 1.50/8 Q)
1 Nature's Own whole wheat buns (sale 1.99)
4 Hunt's tomato sauce (sale .50)
3 green bell peppers (sale 1.00)

Total oop: $42.99
Total savings: $28.53

Getting Back Into The Routine

What a week we've had! Last Sunday, I was so filled with butterflies over Ashleigh beginning the Early Start program at her elementary school. I knew Ashleigh would do well, I just didn't know if I could rise to the challenge of getting up early, packing lunches, doing homework. I kind of fell off the FlyLady wagon several months ago, so all my morning and before bed routines fell to the wayside. I became a snooze button junkie - trying to lay in bed as long as possible. My mornings became a hectic rush of me trying to get ready for work and get things going at home. And there was never enough time to do both.

So this past weekend to help quiet my nerves, I took out my once trusty Control Journal and turned to my morning, after work and before bed routines. I made some updates to include all our new school related activities. The FlyLady advises to just write your routines out by hand. But I created a spreadsheet with all three routines on one page, then printed out several copies. I needed this physical checklist to help keep me on track. Otherwise I would wander around doing a little bit here and there.

Monday morning, I got up early and on time. I worked through my list, checking off each item as I went along. I made breakfast, packed Ashleigh's back pack and lunch box and got her up and dressed so Daddy could drop her off at school. I even had time to Swish and Swipe the bathroom! And when I got home Monday evening, I went right back to my list going through the after work and before bed items.

For the first time in a long while, I felt like I was back in control and not living in chaos! That carried over into work as well. I finally conquered the huge pile of half completed projects on my desk. I filed all my paperwork away and stayed on task with getting prepared for this month's meetings. And even though this is my busiest week at work, I'm not feeling overwhelmed at all. I feel like I'm on top of things again!

I'm not the only one settling into a routine. Ashleigh & Clayton are becoming acquainted with a new routine as well - early bed time. Yes, I know at 5yo and 3yo they probably should have been on an early bed time schedule like from birth, but let me explain :D Since Dave works late hours, we always kept the kids up to see Daddy when he came home usually 8:30-9pm. And since we coslept, it just made sense for them to go to bed when we did.

But with Ashleigh starting school, the late hours just wouldn't work. And of course, they need their rest. I thought we would be in for one of those struggles like you see on Super Nanny. Sitting outside of the door, constantly putting crying child back into bed over and over again. But it was relatively easy getting them to adjust. We brushed teeth, read a story, said our prayers then cut out the light. Since they are in the room together, I think it helped them not be as afraid as they would have been in their rooms alone. And they actually went off to sleep fairly quickly.

And I have to say, it was great having a quiet house. Time to talk to Dave, to read, to unwind. I'm definitely liking the early bed time!

Getting Closer!

Time for an update on our Total Money Makeover! As I've mentioned before, we are currently working on Baby Step 2 of Dave Ramsey's plan for financial freedom. June was another good month for our debt snowball. With the extra money saved from Ashleigh not being in preschool, we were able to make another sizable dent in our van loan. So much so, that if all goes according to plan, we will have the van paid off by the end of July! And if paying off the van wasn't exciting enough, July is an extra paycheck month for me. So not only could we finish up the van, but we would also be able to put a pretty good dent in our next and last debt - our HELOC.

Of course anytime you make progress, there's always something that pops up needing $$$ attention. We thought we were going to have a pretty pricey tire replacement bill for Dave's car. But luckily, a $20 patch was able to fix the leak in the rear tire. Then I had to make a visit to urgent care since I couldn't get an appointment with our doctor for a sinus infection. Since the urgent care didn't take insurance, I had to pay for the visit out of pocket. And when they called in my prescriptions, the doctor ordered name brand only. Thank goodness for our emergency fund. We were able to pay cash for everything and quickly refilled our emergency fund back up with that week's pay!

Menu Plan Monday - July 7th

Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend! As enjoyable as the long weekend was, it's time to get back to the routine. This week begins an exciting journey for us. Ashleigh takes her first steps into elementary school! Which means I'm going to have to step up my menu planning to include lunch box items.

To get started, I made a list of all the main meals and snacks that Ashleigh would most likely eat. And as my mother used to say about me, she eats like a bird! So needless to say there were alot more items under the snack category than under the main meal category. But it's a start!

Here's our meals for the week. For more meal ideas visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Breakfast & Lunches - Items already on hand

Dinner:

Saturday - Leftover BBQ sandwiches with cole slaw, beans and corn on the cob & Hot dogs

Sunday - Spinach Lasagna

Monday - Smoked sausage with onions & peppers over brown rice

Tuesday - Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce & honey wheat bread

Wednesday - Seven Layer Taco Salad (didn't get to make it last week)

Thursday - Dirty Rice (using ground pork sausage)

Friday - Taco Style Lentils & Rice

Grocery Totals - Total spent: $85.60

For a breakdown of my grocery deals this week, check out my Super Savings Saturday post!

Have a great week!

Super Savings Saturday

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Below are our grocery totals for the week. Added some more FREE Lawry's marinades to the stockpile, as well as FREE Beech Nut yogurt juice blends. And got a great deal on apple juice this week. Harris Teeter has Mott's for Tots on sale for $2.69. Not great but when paired with the .75/1 coupons which double at Harris Teeter, that's $1.19 for a 64oz or .02 per oz!

Total Spent: $85.60
Total Savings: $64.65

Kroger:

1 Sparkle paper towels 8ct (sale 5.79)
2 Scott toilet paper 12ct (sale 6.99 - 2/2 Q)
2 Ball Park franks (sale .99)
6 ears yellow corn (sale 2.00)
3 Lawry's marinades (FREE! sale .99 - .50/1 Q doubled)
2 Smart Balance shredded cheese (manager's special 1.29)
2 Huggies Pull Ups (sale 9.49 - 1.50/1 Q)
2 Eggland's Best eggs (2.59 - .35/1 Q doubled)
stew beef (manager's special 2.09)

Total oop: $49.22
Total savings: $32.19

Harris Teeter:

3 gallons Organic Valley milk (5.99 - 1/1 Q)
3 Mott's for Tots juice (sale 2.69 - .75/1 Q doubled)
3 Beech Nut yogurt juice blends (FREE! sale 1.33 - .75/1 Q doubled)
1 Beech Nut cereal (sale 1.50 - 1/1 Q)
1 Hodgson Mill whole wheat lasagna noodles (sale 2.00)
1 lb bag HT lentils
2 HT hot dog buns (sale .99)
1 cole slaw mix (sale 1.50)
16 jars Beech Nut baby food (sale .40 - 1.50/8 Q)

Total oop: $29.00
Total savings: $21.78

Lowes Foods:

1 LF cola (sale .79)
2 LF frozen leaf spinach (sale .80)
1 LF apple cider vinegar (sale .79)
4 Carolina Pride smoked sausage (sale BOGO - 1.50/2 Q)

Total oop: $7.38
Total savings: $10.68

Kindergarten Here We Come!

Last month, Ashleigh said goodbye to the preschool and teachers she'd come to know and love. It was a sad moment for me as well. Watching my baby "graduate" and taking those steps off into the big world. Now comes Kindergarten. With larger classes filled with unfamiliar faces and making friends all over again. Packing lunches, checking daily folders, filling supply lists, this is all new territory for me. And there won't be anyone there to grab Ashleigh up as she walks into the classroom and give her hugs and snuggles like at preschool. They won't know just how special she is.

To help ease the transition into big girl school, we enrolled Ash into an Early Start program at the elementary school. It's sort of like Kindergarten Lite. It's a half day program where they work on social and early literacy skills. She'll get to know the teachers and aides and become familiar with the new routine. It will also be good practice to help get our morning routine down before school starts in the Fall.

Monday we begin this new journey. Ashleigh is taking it all in stride. She has a great ability to adapt to new situations quickly. And I'm confident she'll be successful in the classroom and enjoy going to big girl school. She's much braver than Momma when it comes to taking on new challenges. As for Dave and I, we're still trying to wrap our minds around the carpool routine - pull up, drop kid off and then drive away?!?!? Of course she'll be there with the teachers aide and the other carpool students. And they will escort them to and from the classroom. But really, leave my baby at the curb?

Watching Our Garden Grow

During the Memorial Day weekend, the kids and I started our very own container garden of tomatoes, green peppers and sweet basil. Well I'm happy to report that we have our first baby tomato! Isn't the little guy so cute?

I didn't even notice it until my Mom brought it to my attention. There are several more blossoms on the bush, so hopefully we'll get a few more baby maters!

Our other tomato plant has shot up which leads me to believe that it is not the patio variety the little tag said it was LOL. It has several blossoms as well and will most definitely need to have a support added. The basil seems to be growing okay. Although I do wonder when we can start "harvesting" the leaves.

The green pepper plants are not doing so hot. At first they seemed to be growing well right along with the others. But then I began to notice some leaves shedding. Then more leaves began to fall off. Up until now, we had just been watering the plants. I was about to go out and buy some pricey organic fertilizer for the struggling peppers when I came across this timely post at Keeper of the Home. It turns out I had to look no further than my own kitchen for safe and low cost fertilizer - coffee grounds and egg shells! The coffee grounds provide nitrogen and the crushed egg shells are a source of calcium carbonate - particularly good for tomatoes!

Since I've spread the coffee grounds and crushed shells around the pepper plants, I've noticed some new leaf growth. I also moved the pot so the plants aren't getting as much direct sunlight. So maybe there's hope for our struggling peppers - fingers crossed!