Yummy!

I asked Rob to stop at the Retro Bakery on his way home from picking up Emma on Monday. He brought us each a doughnut sprinkle cupcake. We of course waited until after dinner to completely eat our dessert.

I know for certain that one cupcake was taste-tested by Emma. I don't know for certain who got the other.

Little slice of Heaven

For the sake of keeping a family record, I wanted to include our Valentine celebration on our blog. It is noteworthy because Rob and I have not been away from our children overnight in years. There have been the occasional sleep-over at Grandma's but, YEARS. I will spare the mushy details as much as possible.


Rob and I had a stay-cation. We spent the weekend at a hotel in town. It was incredible to have absolutely no obligations for a weekend. WOW! Re-entry to reality was a little tricky but, we managed and we recommend getting a way even if it is in town.

My First Time

I spent the greater part of Wednesday night preparing and planning for my big trip to Albertsons. I really spent more time than I thought it would take but, hey, it was my first time. There are passwords and registrations to be entered on several sites.

Thursday morning, I dressed in my sportiest, ready-for-the-groceries gear. I dropped the older two at school, and Ridge and I set out about 9:30 for THE shop. I followed my list, divided my cart, and matched my coupons to my items. Thankfully, the lines were non-existent so I didn't feel bad about monopolizing a checker for a bit. Little did I know....

I started my check-out at 10:30 (printed on the receipt). I divided my purchase in to groups so I could make sure I received my $10 reward for each. The first one worked, the second, not so much. I had to have a refund that only the customer service professional behind the big booth can do. Wouldn't you know that She couldn't refund with coupons so, we escalate. The store manager is now involved, we solve the issue and still no reward but, she credits my purchase for what I should have gotten.

At 11:20 I am in the car, groceries loaded, and headed for home. I did do a great savings for a first time out. I purchased $222.58 worth of items for $82.19. That's right, 63% off!! Because this was a 2 hour experience, I didn't take photos of the bounty (milk spoils, meat gets stinky...)

The best part of the whole entire experience was my sweet, patient, 2 year old who, while eating some M&M's looks at me and says, "Mom, wook at dis". I look at my baby with a blue M&M placed neatly in his nostril.

I LOVE MY JOB!!

Let the coupon-ing begin

My BFF has been saving an incredible amount of money on her weekly shopping. I decided it was time to step up. I have been watching the store ads and collecting coupons. Today I put it into action.

CVS was offering Madagascar 2 for $4.99 when you spent $20 on Proctor and Gamble products. So, I bought Pampers, Bounty, and Crest mouth rinse and Madagascar2. My total before savings was $53.86. After processing it all, I paid $25.94. That's a savings of $27.92 or 51.8%!

Who is it?

What do you call this guy?

When Emma called him P.P. Pan, Ridge quickly corrected her and said, "not P.P. Pan, Petey Pan!"

Whoever he is, we like him.