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Joyful Noise!

The most wasted of all days, is one without laughter!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

CVS Run

I made it over to CVS today. I got to go with no kids! Can you just say 'ahhhh!' It felt nice to not have to focus on anything but deals. So here's what I came home with for about $7.50 OOP:I'm always thinking in terms of Christmas and plan to use some of those Covergirl lipglosses to go in the teacher's bags I got last week. I also picked up all the bagged candies for $.16 a bag, and the portable charcoal grill for a whoppin' $1.79! Then I had to ask, since it was sitting right next to it, about the charcoal. It was also marked down and I got that bag for $1.25.

And if you're coming over to my house to eat anytime soon, plan on enjoying peanut butter sandwiches or spaghetti with tea, and candy bars for dessert! Ha!

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Saturday, September 06, 2008

It Pays To Be Nice

So my CVS let me know yesterday that all their summer was 75 and 90% off! They like me there... they like my baby... and that generally prompts them to let me know when things are on super sale, like diapers and in this case summer. So I went yesterday and spent more than I like to spend in an entire month! I spent about $12 and this is what I got:I picked up a few ECB items, but mostly, I spent OOP on all that clearance stuff! Even the detergeant was marked down to $1.58 a bottle. I plan to use the bags (originally $19.99, purchased for $1.99) as presents for the boys' teachers. I will fill them with items I got at CVS! And the toy items will be split between Tres's school treasure box and donated to the children's church.

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Friday, September 05, 2008

CVS last week


So, I've still managed to get to CVS even with all the business! Here's what I got last week for about $4.18 OOP. Then after I got all of this... I made it again because there were a few more things I forgot to get and I wanted to use that $2 CVS skincare coupon for all it was worth before it got gone! So here is my second trip.This trip was a total of $3.79 OOP.

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Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Speed of Life

Well, if this week is any indication of things to come for the year, I may not be blogging as much as normal! Sigh... It's been a bit hectic, but good.

Monday, Tres started back to school, while I struggled to get stuff done around the house with two extra shadows, one of whom wanted me to 'play with him' all the time now that brother is unavailable. I'm doing my best to balance that with not letting our home get completely nasty! On Monday evening Tres started soccer practice. He is extremely excited about his team, the Cobras! There are even three kids on his team from his school, so that helps a lot.Even Bryant enjoyed himself at practice! And when he started getting a little bored, I gave him a photo assignment. I'll have to post some of his assignments soon. They are always interesting.

Tuesday, I had to take Sophie girl to Children's for a sweat chloride test.

Let me explain. When I took her in for her one-year check-up, she was in the twentieth percentile, when her nine month check-up had her in the twenty-fifth percentile. So they wanted to make sure that nothing was amiss medically. And guess what??? Nothing was... she's just an itty bitty bundle of attitude! :)

Two more things were going on Monday and Tuesday. The first was my Dad and Hank began working on remodeling our front bathroom. We now have a new countertop, double vanities with new faucets, and a new paint color.
We plan to tile it soon, frame out the mirror, and add crown molding. Add that to the already updated light fixtures, painted cabinets and new hardware, and I'm pleased to say that our bath is gonna be awesome! The seond was that I began feeling badly.

Wednesday, Bryant and I headed over to his school to Orientation.
I was a little worried that since he had never been in a school situation outside of Tres's experience that he would be a little attached, but he wasn't.
He was excited and eager... breaking my fragile Mom's heart just a little more. I know... it's a bit melodramatic, but it's sort of true. I went to a parent meeting while he met his teacher and classmate. He has been talking about it ever since, and has been telling me about 'planting' a flower in color water. His teacher says it will turn his flower red. Cool, huh?
Then, I had to invest in some new clothes for myself... since I begin teaching my class next week, I want to make a good impression. The plans for my class are coming right along. I am so excited about it and keep coming up with fun stuff that I would like to do, too. The problem will be fitting it all in! Ha!
Also, on Wednesday, my brother turned 29, and we celebrated with a noisy chaotic family dinner that was great! I love those kind! The cupcakes were yummy, and the kids got to ice and decorate their own. But my brother decided to start an icing war and 4 of us (yes, including me) ended up with a face full of strawberry icing! Sorry, I did not get pictures of that. I was too busy defending myself, since my husband was being Matt's accomplice!

On Thursday, Tres had soccer again and then it was straight to Praise Team practice for me.

Friday was catch up day in our house... laundry, laundry, and more laundry. Then when Tres was home, I made a trip to CVS. The CVS's in our area are a test market and are trying out running the adds from Friday to Thursday. I don't like it. It messes up my routine, and it means that if I want a chance at getting the good deals, I gotta go with my kids. Ugh!! It was a frustrating trip. But... this is about $125 worth of stuff for right around $5.50. Then we went to Target... and that's where my frazzled nerves gave up on me. I could not handle corralling two boys overly excited about the weekend any longer. We came home.

Now, we are trying to finish the bathroom and still get in some good family time. I know that Hank plans to take the boys to see The Clone Wars at some point... and I know that I need to exchange some pants for Tres at Belk, but other than that... no set plans.

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

CVS Saturday

I don't really feel like doing the breakdown, but this is $206.96 worth of merchandise for right at $10 OOP. I had some very helpful CRT's this time... like a $10 off 24/7 skincare and $1 off Gold Emblem Candy. That and some really good MC, and this was a great day. A lot of really useful things (milk, fabric softener, sandwich bags, drinks and water. You can't beat that!

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Monday, August 11, 2008

CVS Saturday

You can't call me a wimp, Mel! I went to CVS... got $208.08 worth of merchandise. I spent a total of $4.04 OOP. Hank and I like Alavert, so I cleaned the shelves of that. Only the first box earned ECBs, but the price is low and with a coupon, you can't beat it!

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

CVS Saturday!

Today seemed super long getting through at CVS, cause I stopped by a CVS that was doing a grand opening and then went to my regular CVS too. The kids all went with me, and they did great... with a little assistance from the lovely Crystal Dawn! This is right at $135 worth of merchandise, according to CVS Extracare prices. I rolled my ECB's over and spent $51.17 in coupons. All total, I spent $5.44 OOP, which I put on the gift card I got a couple of weeks ago.
Here's what I got:

(1) 24 pk. Dasani half liters $3.99
(4) Pepsi 12 pk. 4/$11
(1) Gold Emblem White Cheddar Popcorn $1.99
(1) CVS Cheese Crackers $1
(2) Sippin Straws $1 ea.
(8) Trident Xtra Care Gum $1.49 ea.
(2) CVS Ammonia Cleaner $2.49 ea.
(4) L'orreal Shampoo $4.99 ea.
(2) VO-5 Shampoo $.75 ea.
(2) L'orreal Studio Hair Products $4.99 ea.
(2) Nexxus Comb $4.99 ea.
(1) CVS Men's Shave Gel $1.99
(1) CVS Make-up Towelettes 15 ct. $2.99
(5) CVS Wipes 80 ct. 2/$4 or 1/$2
(1) CVS Kid's Body Wash 2/$5 or 1/$2.50
(6) Johnson's Buddies $.99
(1) Aleve 100 ct. $9.99
(1) Sponge Bob Band Aids 20 ct. $2.99
(1) Ultra Strips Band Aids 20 ct. $2.99
(1) Elmer's Squeeze and Brush Washable Paints $4.89 (were supposed to be on clearance for $1.22... so there's where some of my OOP came from! Guess now, I HAVE to go back! Ha!)

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Monday, July 21, 2008

CVS Saturday-- scratch that-- Sunday

$105 worth of merchandise. My mind was in a bit of a fog, or I would have gotten a few more of the B1G1 CVS cleaner items and some detergeant. Guess I'll just have to go visit the new CVS down the street... with the handy dandy CRT machine! :)
Some really great manufacturer's coupons and some good B1G1 deals at CVS made this a great week.

Total OOP: $3.61 (put on a CVS gift card)
ECB's Earned: $24.98
ECB's Used: $5.48
Total Coupons Used: $48.03

**CVS did not issue my ECB's for getting the $15 worth of CVS brand baby items. I have to call today about that... so my total ECBs earned is REALLY $29.98

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Saturday, July 12, 2008

CVS Saturday

I didn't think this would be a good week, but thanks to that most excellent coupon... it turned into a killer CVS week!

Here's what I got!

All of this for a total of $3.13 OOP!! That's less than one of those boxes of cereal. I thought I spent more ECB's than I earned... but I actually spent the same amount that I earned... so I just rolled them over!

Can you guess how much this is all worth?

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Sunday, July 06, 2008

Oh Mel...

I told Hank what you were willing to do for some ECB's... and he told me to take a picture of him with his ECB's. Should I be worried about you two? :)

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Oh My Gosh!!

Has hell frozen over? Or maybe pigs flew?? Whatever happened... this is my Mom, organizing her coupons after I took her into CVS and showed her how she can get the stuff she wants for a fraction of the cost.

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Saturday, July 05, 2008

CVS Saturday... on the Fourth!

So my CVS trip was a day early, thanks to the wonderful folks at CVS. They sent out a coupon for $4 off of a $20 transaction on the Fourth of July only. So here is what I got: I had to go to two different CVS's to get what I had planned and to finish out the ECB deals for this week.

I don't normally break it down, but since this is a conservative trip for me, I will.

Transaction #1:
(2) Crest Toothpaste 3.98
(2) Stayfree Maxi pads 8.98
(1) CVS Pantyliner .99
(1) CVS Make-up Towelettes 2.99
(1) .5 oz. Eternity Perfume 3.25 (clearance!)

Subtotal: $20.19
-$4 off $20
-$1 WYB 2 MC Crest
-$4.49 B1G1 MC Stayfree
-$2 CVS skincare
-$2 CRT Stayfree

Remaining Balance: $6.70
ECBs Used: $5.98
Total OOP: $1.22
ECB earned: $4.49

**I was wanting to get the Physician's Formula Mascara but this CVS didn't have them. Normally, I would just not purchase and go somewhere else, but this CVS is GREAT to me, so I wanted to give them my business... as cheap as I am! :) Also, I wanted to try and use the coupon more than once, and wasn't sure I could do that at the store I was headed to.

Transaction #2:
(4) Pepsi 12 pks. 12.00
(2) Sure Deo 5.58
(1) CVS Exf. Mk-up towel. 3.49
(1) Physician's Form. Masc. 7.99

Subtotal: $28.86
**This store has a policy enforced by the manager that MC have to be surrendered first.
-$2.69 MC Sure
-$1.00 WYB 2 Dr. Pepper
-$2 CVS skincare
-$3 CRT make-up
-$4 off $20

Remaining Balance: $16.17
ECBs Used: $15.50
Total OOP: $1.02
ECB earned: 14.99

Overall, not bad for getting things that cost more (canned drinks) than they generated in ECBs.

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

What I Did While Tres Was Gone


By: Bryant

On Thursday, we had dinner with Grandma at Olive Garden, and I hurt my nose. Do you see the boo boo??

On Friday night, I spent the night at Grandma's house with Luke, Sierra, & Grandma. I watched Luke play his gameboy. We had pizza for dinner, then the next morning, Grandma made hard biscuits with jelly. I watched 'The Pink Panther' [Mom's note: the old movie, and not the cartoon] and it was funny when he said "Hamburger!"

Saturday, when Mom came and got me, we went to Target. I got an icee and some popcorn and I ate that while Mommy shopped. Then we went to the moon restaurant [Mom's note: Full Moon Bar-B-Que]. A bunch of mom's friends were there and while she talked a lot, I got to take some pictures. Mom let's me do photo assignments sometimes. My Mom's friend Ms. Traci was there, and I like to play with her little girl Bolivia [Mom's note: Olivia]. It was fun to take pictures of her. For some reason, she wanted me to quit taking pictures. [Mom's note: There are literally at least 20 more pictures of Olivia.] So I took pictures of other things...like Ms. Crystal taking a picture of me!

On Sunday, we went to church. Then we went at the mall for lunch. I got to see Bolivia again cause they came and ate with us. Mom said I couldn't ride the carasel cause she spent all her money on ECBs at CVS [Mom's note: All of my CASH!]. Then we went back to CVS again. Mom helped Bolivia's mom while I ran and laughed with her. We got in trouble a little, but not much.CVS is okay, but I liked it better when Bolivia's dad took us outside while the moms got done. We had to leave then, cause we went and saw Wall-E. I really liked it, but sister got loud and Mommy had to go stand by the door. After that, we went over to Grandma's house again and Tyler was there with Aunt Kaylab and Uncle Matt [Mom's note: That's not a typo... he calls her 'Kayleb' with a 'b.']. I played with Tyler until I was really tired.

On Monday, Mom woke me up to get ready to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, [Mom's note: He's singing this.] where a kid can be a kid!Mom & Aunt Kaylab followed us around with the babies. And we had fun!!! I really liked riding the horse and the ride with Barney.

Then we went to Toys R Us and played around a little bit. That night we went and ate at Outback with Grandma, Grandaddy, Aunt Jennie, Aunt Kaylab, Uncle Matt, Tyler, & Brody. It was fun.

Now, I'm waiting on Daddy and Tres to come home so I can play with them, cause Mommy doesn't play X-box good.

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Saturday, June 28, 2008

CVS Saturday

I just decided that since I try to go to CVS only on Saturdays when possible, that you will probably see this post every week! Here's what I got today:I spent $6.48 out of pocket for $298.67 worth of merchandise. I also walked out with more ECB's than I went in with and was able to pick up some items off of Tres's school supply list too. Then I got my mother an Acu-Check Diabetes Monitoring Kit because she is borderline diabetic. It is normally $65. It was a weekly deal of $9.99 and it generated $9.99 ECB. So that was a good deal!

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Saturday, June 21, 2008

CVS Saturday

I headed over to CVS this morning. I'm trying to make only one trip a week due to gas prices, so I had several transactions planned. While there, I ran into Ms. Vickie, her sister Renee (whom I met for the first time! Nice to meet you Ms. Renee!), and
Becca. It's nice to see everyone out working to save their families money!

Here is what I came home with today: I used mine and my husband Hank's cards. And after 8 transactions between the two, I ended up spending $12.81 OOP. It would have been less, but I forgot that when they issue the ECB's for multiples of the same item ( i.e. Oral B Cross Action Power toothbrushes), they give all the ECB's in one hunk. So I had a $12 ECB. Anyway, it all worked out fine. I got all of these items... and that is $206.22 worth of merchandise (according to CVS's sale prices)... and earned $42.29 in ECB's to carry over for next week's trip. I'll probably do the toilet paper, paper towel deal again since that never goes bad!

If you want to see how others are saving their families money, go check out the CVS Superstars at the 'Cent'sible Sawyer! I keep this site bookmarked, and check it as often as I can to see what other great deals are out there!

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

A 'Hank' erin'

Last night, Hank and I got to spend some much needed and rare time WITHOUT our children! Gasp! I know. It's horrible to admit that we might need time away from our kids, but we do. It keeps us sane and it helps keep our marriage strong. It was so nice to not have the baby girl needing me, or a son pulling at our legs!

We went and ate at Wings. We tend to do that just about any time we go on a date night. When we were dating, we went to Wings a good bit, because it was close to my apartment at the time, and Hankie loves Wings. In fact, we frequented it so much, that we had our rehearsal dinner there!

We walked around the mall for a very short time, then we decided to just head on home and watch a movie or shows we had recorded on the tivo. Something we don't take for granted is quiet time at home. Quiet at our house is usually a precurser to something wrong. Smile!

We got up this morning, and I asked Hank if he wanted to grab some breakfast and go with me to CVS. He agreed, but I don't think he knew what he was getting into! He was a little antsy, but I think he may appreciate how much effort I'm putting into saving our family money. Because after 6 transactions, this is what we had:This is $114.48 worth of merchandise. I spent a total of $3.87 out of pocket. I went in armed with coupons and $10 in ECB's. I left armed with 10 ECB's. If I do it right, I walk out with the same amount of more in ECB's as I walk in with. All for less than the price of the one gallon of milk. If anyone wants a break-down, I will happily e-mail it to you! It would take too long to detail it here and bore the rest of you to pieces! ;)

After that, Hank and I went to a local warehouse called The Loading Dock South. We found new countertops for both bathrooms... the perfect length and everything... and spent only $25. We plan to keep going in to look for other things too. If you are doing a home improvement project I would suggest looking into The Loading Dock!

Now we are at home, and gonna get the kids to rest. The boys and I have plans later to get Hank's Father's Day surprises ready while he and Sophie run a few errands.

It's been a good day so far!

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Monday, June 09, 2008

Sunday is for Resting.... Right?

Not so much at our house!

I got up at about 6:30 after crashing hard on Saturday night. So I made muffins and got myself ready for church. Then I woke the boys up one at a time, and bathed them and got them ready and fed. Then I went and got Sophie and Hank up. I fed Sophie one of the chocolate muffins......then had to give her a quick bath before she was ready! :) We were ready to go pretty early.

After church, I would love to say that afternoon naps are a priority, but they are not! With some of our yard sale money, and some money that the boys had saved up over the previous months, it was necessary to stop at Toys R Us. Tres got a new DS, and Bryant got an Indian Jones Lego set.The rest of their afternoon (and Daddy's!) was spent putting together LEGOS and playing on their DS's.

After Toys R Us, we went the longer way home, and swung by my favorite CVS. Since I had clipped the appropriate coupons from Sunday's paper, I wanted to pick up (3) Dove deo, (2) Dove body washes, (1) Schick Razor, (1) 4 Cartridge Schick, (2) Nivea Extreme Comfort Shaving Gel, (1) Nivea for Men Senisitive Skin Body Wash, (2) Smart Rinse, and (2) Brut Deodarants. Thankfully they had everything I wanted.I spent $2.34. On these transactions, I generated more ECB's than I spent thanks to coupons! So that made up for yesterday.

I plan to return at some point this week for some make-up and softlips and a couple of other things! Does anyone know where I can get a Revlon coupon?? I need some concealer! :)

Funny story... I got myself ready sporting my nice red farmer's tan from the yard sale, and I guess I didn't really look in the mirror after I got ready... cause the line for my shirt and the tan line were way off! I led praise and worship like that!

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Saturday, June 07, 2008

C'est Finis!

(That's French for "It's Done!") The much anticipated/dreaded yard sale is now over! We are, I am happy to report, $482 richer and a lot of junk poorer!

I'm tired. We started at 6 am with set-up after organizing it until 11 last night. We finished dropping off the last bit of junk at the Thrift Store at about 7:30pm.

I have sunburn.

Hank grabbed a piece of furniture to unload it and a nail went into his finger.

I hurt my toe.

I did manage to get away from the Yard Sale Extravaganza and get over to CVS to get some deals today! I got 6 boxes of General Mills cereal, 4 12-packs of Coke products (not pictured cause they were already chillin' in the fridge!), 5 bags of Chex Mix, 2 Purells, and a package of pencils (starting to gather the long list of school supplies Tres needs to start Kindergarten). I spent $1.69. I didn't generate as many ECB's as I spent, but this is stuff that we can use! So I'm happy. I have another transaction planned for tomorrow, and I will be introducing my sister to it.

I have pictures, but since my toe is throb, tHrOb, THROBBING right now... I'm not trekking upstairs to get the camera and then coming back down. Maybe tomorrow... but no promises! :)

Oh, and I sold about 7 bows today!

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