Date Night

DH and I have been talking forever about how we need to alternate date nights with the girls so that they each get a lil one on one time with us. Tonight, DD1 and I did just that and we had a great time! First stop was to the movies to see Kit Kittredge, An American Girl. What a great movie! It was very cute and taught a great lesson about helping others and being thankful for what you have. DD loved it and couldn't stop talking about it.
After that we made a quick trip to the mall to pick up something and then we went to Starbucks. She had a chocolate milk and lemon cookie, I had a mocha frap and cream cheese danish -- YUM! We talked more about the movie and shared our desserts.
Talking to DD1 is something I try to never take for granted. Two years ago we wondered if we would ever be able to sit down and have these candid conversations with her. This is about the time 2 years ago that she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She had very few words at the time and understanding basic requests was such a challenge. Frustrating for us to stay the least, but much more so for her. She works very hard in therapy though and has made dramatic improvements. Her speech therapist was very, very pleased with her last therapy session. Though we still don't understand even 80% of what she says it is truly a blessing to be able to hear and understand all of her innocent little 4 year old thoughts.
Tomorrow she is planning on sharing the rest of her lemon cookie with her little sister and telling her all about the movie. That is what it is all about ....

My baby is turning 2

It amazes me how quickly time goes by. My youngest DD will be 2 in just a couple weeks. I've had in mind a zoo party for a while but I have just gotten on the ball about getting things together. She loves elephants and so I had planned on centering the theme of the party around those ginormous creatures. I was browsing Target the other night when I found the cutest plates and napkins in the baby shower section, they have little elephants and giraffes with a blue/pink/green/yellow color scheme. Very cute. So then the rusty creative wheels in my brain started turning. She would need a dress to wear for her birthday. First I checked GAP where I found that once upon a time not so very long ago they had just what I needed. I found cute things on EBAY but wasn't willing to pay those high prices. So I headed to Hobby Lobby, bought material and made the perfect party dress!





I learned how to make pillowcase dresses last spring. I love how they look and are so simple to make! This was my first attempt at embroidery and sadly you can tell, but I am so very happy the dress.

So is DD!

2 1/2 Weeks Behind, Will I Ever Catch Up??

Life has been awfully busy here. I am ready for it to slow down, way down. I have been shopping with the best of you but unable to keep up with how much I spent where and when. I do have a few pictures but without all the details they would be awfully boring. Here are a few highlights. Last week I bought $200 in groceries for $59!!! That is quite possibly my best deal ever. Here is the greatest part in it, I was able to get 56 bottles of Sobe Life Water FREE!!! Well, a few cents in tax, but free!! How you ask? Well, Bi-Lo had them on sale for 10/$10. The wonderful Pepsi guy so kindly stuck 50 cent coupons on some of the bottles. Bi-Lo doubles coupons up to 60 cents which means those coupons equalled $1, the cost of the water!! Yay for DH!! He has lots of work water for these hot, hot days we are in the midst of!
Also in the list of greats, I made $7 in ECBs at CVS on the last day of June! I forget all the logistics, but here is a pic of my bargains, costing me less than $1 out of pocket!

Those Dora vitamins were just 82 cents!! I love CVS clearance carts! More great deals to come, I plan on hitting CVS one more time this week!

How I've earned $100 in free gas!

By shopping at Bi-Lo! Yes, simply buying groceries has scored atleast $100 in free gas or more, I haven't been keeping up with it very well.
Tonight I earned 7 gas tokens in one trip, here's how:
I spent $58 in groceries, that earned 4 tokens (its in the sales paper), I bought 2 packs of Southern Home (S.H) cheese (1 token), 2 jars SH peanuts (1 token), & $10 in Suave body wash (1 token). The great part is I really only spent $5.27 on 5 bottles of Suave because of coupons. I added one more token from a previous trip to get a $25 gas card.
All together I bought $104 (pre-tax total) for $52 (pre-tax) for a savings of exactly 50%, plus $25 in free gas!!

Here is what I bought:
15 bottles of Power Ade
5 bottles of Suave body wash
1 gallon milk (earned a milk token)
2 bags of SH cheese
2 jars of SH peanuts
1 african violet
2 boxes reese's puffs
1 box cinnamon toast crunch
2 rolls of sausage
2 chuck roasts
1 box of toaster struddles
1 tub of whipped cream
1 gal oj
2 lbs organic bananas
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread
1 motts tots apple grape juice
2 12 packs of diet Dr Pepper
1 johnson's baby shampoo


Are you earning free gas???

CVSin'

No pictures again this week. I have been slacking in the department lately. I'll do better next week. Good week at CVS. I made extra ECBs and have plenty left for next week's deal, though they are currently not looking too promising. Anywho, on to the details ...



Transaction 1

2 Oral B Toothbrushes
1 Scotch Tape Pop Up Dispenser
4 Scotch Tape Pop Up Refills
1 CVS Cotton Swabs
1 CVS Band Aids

-$4 off $30 purchase
-$5.99 (BOGO toothbrush)
-$6.99 ECB

OOP $1.80 (on gift card)
ECBS earned $9.99

** I had gotten 2 of the oral b stages electric tooth brushes and then realized my q was for manuel so I was still able to use the $4 off $30.

Transaction 2

2 6 pack hershey bars
2 bags MMs
1 bag of Twizzlers
2 Oral B replacement heads
1 Listerine Smart Rinse

-$1.00 listerine
-$5.99 oral b (BOGO)
-$16.00 ECB

OOP $3.10(on gift card)
ECBs Earned $14.49

I love having that $25 gift card! I still have over $9 on it and have been using it since the beginning of June!

I also transferred a rx to Rite Aid on Friday and got a $30 gift card!

Everything is Blooming!

After reading Jen's blog about all things plum I decided to head out and check on our apple tree. While admiring all the apples that are not ready to eat yet (just ask my 4 yo, not too tasty) I walked the yard and admired all the other reminders of just what an awesome God we serve.

Some apples on our apple tree .... You know, ripe or not, I don't think we will be eating them. I think the tree is diseased but all the same it is rather lovely.



Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. I used them in our wedding!



Daisies .. I think these are "Becky" daisies like the ones we saw at Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach. Correct me if I am wrong.



Last summer we bought 18 impatiens to line our driveway with. We thought that they would not come back but we have been pleasantly suprised to find atleast 24 new plants growing in the bed where we planted them last year.



And lastly, the mums are all about to pop. There are hundreds and hundreds of little buds on our plants but this one has already began to display its beauty.

I Don't Usually Shop on Tuesdays

But today it paid off. CVS was good to me but I will save that for Friday's CVS Superstars. I did well at the mall too but I won't go into that.
WALGREENS
Crest Radiance
on sale for $7.99
- $3 WAGS coupon
- $3 manu coupon
Total OOP $2.37

Bi-Lo
I spent $35 (pre-tax) on $78 (pre-tax) worth of grocries and earned 8 tokens that I can cash in for a $25 BP gas card.

16 Yoplait yogurts
3 lbs grapes
3 lbs bananas
1 bag oranges
2 boxes sh vanilla wafers
6 boxes toastee tarts
2 bags sh cheese
2 12 pack diet dr pepper
1 5lb bag sh flour
1 jello pudding
1 mayfield ice cream
2 boxes totinos pizza rolls
2 potatoes

And I forgot to get a loaf of bread :(

I need to sit down and make out a menu ... that will be posted later!