Fun with Corn

It snowed on Friday. Yes, snow. On October 10th! This is what the foothills looked like on Saturday morning.

Aren't they lovely? They look like proper mountains with a dusting of snow on them. Snow is highly unusual this time of year-- it broke the record as Idaho's earliest snowfall. So that's a relief, considering we had an Indian summer. I need my autumn fix! No skipping my favorite season!

On Saturday it was cloudy and windy, but it was not snowing. We braved the elements to go to the pumpkin patch and corn maze. Here we are waiting for the pig race to begin. I can't believe the words "pig race" are now on my blog.

You can see Iain is thrilled about being out in the cold weather. Clearly he has more sense than his Mama.

And they're off!



After the pig race, we headed over to the hayride. We were the only ones on it and there was no hay! The tractor also broke down, but they got it started up again. Iain was definitely still dubious at this point, but did show some interest in the tractor.
This is what we saw on our hayride.


After the hayride, we hit the corn maze to get a break from the wind. There were actually two mazes. One cut to look like John McCain, and the other cut like Barack Obama. I personally think the Obama maze looks more like Ronald Reagan. We ended up going in the McCain side and exiting on the Obama side, so we didn't do it right, but we just glad to be out after wandering around in there for an hour or so without a map!

After the corn maze we hit the kiddie activities in the courtyard. Iain especially loved playing in the corn pit, but at first he and this little girl stood in there like this for about 5 minutes. They looked liked little zombies!


Then we all jumped on this giant pillow. It was awesome! Definitely the highlight of my day. Though I felt a little funny being the only adult on there at first.


There was some lasso practice and yeah, that's a lot harder than it looks. They also had some animals, go-karts, and a wicked tall slide.





Overall, it was a fab day despite the winter weather.

Bargain Shopping

I've had a few people ask me how to do this, so I'll pass along a few tips. I'm no expert at this, but I'm happy to share what I know.

I always thought I was pretty good with coupons and deals, but my friend Marissa opened up a whole new world to me this summer. (Thanks so much Marissa!)

1. Get a coupon stash. To get these good deals you need to start accumulating manufacturer's coupons that you can combine with sales and store coupons to get good deals. If you can get multiple copies of the same coupons, all the better. But for our family, we just get the Sunday paper and I make do with those. I also print coupons from www.coupons.com and other places online. Make sure to check to see if your store accepts coupons printed from the internet before you get in the checkout line.

2. Watch the deals. I look through the ads and coupons on Sunday and I follow several blogs that track the sales and deals. These sites will show you how to combine sales, store coupons, manufacturer's coupons, and loyalty rewards programs. I like:

www.moneysavingmom.com
www.couponmom.com
http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

3. Read the fine print and know your store's policies. Be sure to read your coupons carefully. Check the sizes, quantities, and styles included in the offer. Sometimes it looks like you can use a coupon with a sale, but a tiny detail will make your coupon ineligible. :( Sometimes you have to buy a certain quantity of an item to get a sale price, but sometimes you only have to buy one. Some stores limit the number coupons you can use in a transaction. For instance, Walgreens doesn't allow you to use more coupons than you have items, so you may need to plan to purchase an extra small item. Don't be afraid to ask questions if a coupon is rejected or a sale price doen't ring up. In my experience sometimes I have misunderstood an offer but other times things just don't ring up correctly and my order can be adjusted. If you are using lots of coupons, be prepared to have the manager called to help with your order. Have the store ad at hand to show them.

4. Set aside some money to invest. Walgreens has a rebate program that gives you your rebates back on a gift card. To begin building up a credit on your Walgreens card, you'll need to lay out some money initially. Every month they offer free after rebate items, but it takes about a month to get that money back on the card. But once you've made that initial outlay you can use that same money over and over to buy the free after rebate items. It also helps to give yourself a little money to spend while you are starting out because it is easy to make a lot of mistakes as you begin learning.

5. Give yourself some grace.Don't fret when you do make a few mistakes. And don't worry if you miss a deal or two along the way. Just do your best and thank God for what he provides for you.

6. Don't succomb to coupon obession. The one problem with following the sales is that you become more susceptible to marketing. This can foster the desire to go shopping or to buy new things that you don't need because it is a "good deal". Limit yourself to buying things that your family needs or would use anyway. Know your prices and don't buy things that you can get cheaper elsewhere without coupons-- at a garage sale, at the dollar store, or your local discount grocery store.

Happy shopping and be sure to let me know if you get some good deals!

Walgreens 10/12-10/15

Yes, it is yet another bargain post. I'm so thankful to the Lord for providing what we need, and I'm hopeful that other people can benefit from these great sales too. Technically I got all of this for .84 cents!

I got all of what is pictured above for 18.57 out of pocket, and I'm due to receive an 18.12 credit on my Walgreen's gift card for my next shopping trip! Here is how I did it:

Transaction 1:
3 Kotex products for on sale for $9, with $3 in Register Rewards back. (Register Rewards are a coupons that print out along with your receipt after the transaction is complete.)
Minus $2.00 in coupons from the Sunday paper, but you can also print some from coupons.com.
Total $3.77
I paid that with the credit on Walgreens gift card from last time. Total out of pocket: $0.

Transaction 2:
Buy 4 Dove products receive $3 in Register Rewards.
I bought 2 bars of soap at $1.00 each and 2 deodorants at $2.00 each for a total of $6.
Then I had $1.50 coupon for the deodorants from this Sunday's paper.
So my total came to 4.97, which I again used my gift card to pay for. Total out of pocket: $0.


Transaction 3:
One package of Walgreens diapers on sale for 5.99.
Minus $3.00 Register Rewards Coupon.
Total: $3.35, again paid for by the trusty gift card. Total out of pocket: $0.

Transaction 4:
Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation 7.49 (Free after rebate on Walgreens gift card)
L'Oreal Cleanser Towelettes 7.99 (Free after rebate on Walgreens giftcard)
Minus $1.00 coupon from the beauty counter in store.
Parsley .50 Cinnamon .50 using 2/$1 coupon in Walgreens ad
Pert Shampoo 3.49, minus 2.50 EasySaver coupon, and $1.00 coupon from the paper, free
Candle $4.00, no coupons, just a blessing for me and my family to enjoy
Hershey's candy, .39 each using Walgreens coupon (I had another coupon, but I forgot to use it!)
Arm & Hammer detergent, $2.99, minus $1 rebate and $1.00 coupon, .99 cents.
Minus $3.00 Register Rewards coupon and .39 remaining on the gift card. Total out of pocket 18.96, 18.12 in rebates to be credited to my gift card.

Lovely River

I took this photo as we were out for a bike ride on the Greenbelt earlier this week. Isn't it a beautiful world that God has made? Isn't he kind to allow man the creativity to add to his works?

Woohoo!

I just got a $23.00 check in the mail from Ebates. They offer a small percentage discount at online retailers. The best part is that you can stack coupons on top of this and save even more. I'm thrilled because I only use Ebates for stuff I'm planning to buy online anyway. If you are interested in joining, check it out at www.ebates.com. And if you do sign up, can you please tell them I referred you (jordannicole20@hotmail.com)? I get a $5.00 credit and so do you!

Bye-bye, Binky!

Last night was a tremendous milestone for Iain. It was his first night without his beloved pacifier. We prepared him through the late afternoon and evening, and then when it was time for bed, Papa sat him down for a serious heart-to-heart talk. Brian told Iain that he was too big for his binky, and that he wasn't going to need it anymore. Instead Iain would get a special big boy prize. I gave Iain his binky and had him trade it to me for a brand new wooden train. He was very excited about the train, but when he handed over his binky he said "Bye-bye binky" and cried. The look on his face nearly broke my heart. I've been dreading doing this. I was so sad. I think it was as hard for me to see the binky go as it was for him. But happily it only lasted for about 5 seconds and then he was all smiles for the new big boy train!

He played with it for a while and took it to bed with him. Iain slept from 9:30 or so and slept until 6:00, so he did really well. Today he been saying "Bye-bye binky" in a very conversational way, so I think this transition is going to go pretty well. The only mark of babyhood he has left are his diapers. I don't think he is quite ready for potty training yet, but it will be very nice when we don't have to buy diapers any more.

My boy is getting so big! Praise the Lord.

Albertson's sale Oct 1-7

You can get General Mills cereal for $1.50 a box at Albertson's this week when you buy 10 boxes. The flyer says select varieties and it pictures Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Kix, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Total, and Lucky Charms. I'm guessing there are probably a few more that are on sale but not pictured. There's a coupon from the newspaper a few weeks back that is good for $1 off two boxes, and you can print some more coupons from www.coupons.com. I see .55 cents off Cheerios, .75 cents off Kix, .55 cents off Trix, $1.00 off two Chex, and .75 cents off Oatmeal Crisp. Be sure to ask if your store accepts coupons printed from the internet. With the coupons, you can get cereal for .75 cents to a $1 a box! I'm hoping to make it to Albertson's later this week, but I thought I share this deal now so you have time to grab it too!

Update: I did manage to make it to Albertson's. I got 10 boxes of cereal for 12.85! The sale is going on until Tuesday, and it is limited to the varieties listed above. I was disappointed that more weren't included because I could have saved another dollar or two!