I wish I could get paid to do this...

Oh, wait, I kind of do! I mean, I don't technically get a check, but by using coupons, I do have extra money to spend!

I just had to share my recent grocery deals with you! Since my family and I will be at the beach next week, I decided to stock up on some sale items.

Okay, here’s what I bought at Publix:






8 pack Sara Lee Hamburger buns
2- 6 packs of Jello
2 boxes Entenman’s (sp??)) muffins
Nabisco 100 Calorie Munch Pack
6 boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese
3 cans of Crystal Light drink mix
1 box of Crystal Light indivial drink mixes
1 bag of........waffle fries
4 cans of Chef Boyardee pasta
3 cans Van Camps pork and beans
1 can of Publix salt
2 Taco Bell dinner kits
3 boxes Uncle Bens Country rice sides
1 tub Public whipped butter
2 bottles Hunts Ketchup
1 can Reddiwhip topping
1 Nestle cookie dough
1 can Peter Pan peanut butter
1 bottle of Publix mineral oil ( I needed for my chop block, people...)
1 MAM bottle
2 bottles of French’s mustard
1 Gulden spicy mustard
3- 4 packs of Hunts Snack pack puddings
3- 10 packs of Capri Suns
1 box of 76 Pampers diapers

TOTAL: $131.59
Paid: $ 71.06
SAVED: $60.53 PLUS I will receive a $10 Publix gift card in the mail from a rebate!!
I’m good with that!

Then, I had to go to Kroger and get a few deals there:


Here’s what I bought at Kroger:

1- 31 pack of Huggies Diapers
1- 12 pack of Huggies Little Swimmers Diapers
4- 12 packs of Diet Cokes
1 tube of Colgate toothpaste
2 jars of Gerber Graduates carrots
1 bouquet of lime green mums (love these!! Check out my post on Monday when I join Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for her Thrifty Monday Party, to see what I did with these! )

TOTAL: $46.26
Paid: $27.02
SAVED: $19.24

So now, we have Diet Cokes, diapers, Mac and cheese and condiments to last us awhile!! I mean, what else do we need??

A new old lamp

The Nester is having a party!


I bought this lamp about 3 years ago (sorry, I don't know why I didn't take a pic of it with the shade!) when my bedroom was accented with burgundy.

Since moving a few times, this lamp made it's way to the bonus room where all my unwanted burgundy decor has landed for the time being. I am almost done putting my mark on the rest of the house. All that is left is the bonus room, so I have been sifting through my decorating stash and trying to decide what things I can keep and repurpose. I hate to get rid of a good lamp just because it is the WRONG color! It just needed a little bit of paint!
I took some light aqua paint I had leftover from my living room redo and painted over all the burgundy. The, I mixed some black and brown acrylic paints to get a nice dark brown and painted the swirlies. I also mixed in some glaze with the dark brown and used it to antique it. I spray painted the lampshade brown. I already had all the paint, so I got a new lamp for free!!

(I don't recommend spray painting lamp shades. I don't have a pic, but once I turned the lamp on, you could see spots where the paint was thicker in some areas. Oh well, I guess I'll just keep it turned off until I find another shade!!)

I'm joining The Nester for her Lampapalooza party. Go check out her new old chandy and every one else's lamp projects! http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/2009/05/lampapalooza-party.html

My baby boy is 9 months old...

My baby boy is 9 months old!!! And yes, he is wearing an Alabama cap. We are NOT Alabama fans, but this is the most recent pic of him and I thought he looked cute getting "caught" wearing the wrong team's hat! I can't believe it! It has gone by so fast. It won't be long and we'll be having a big birthday bash! I've been meaning to post pics of his nursery now that I have it done, so I thought now might be a good time!

Sorry about the "ghost" in the pics. Not sure what caused that! This rocker was given to me. Man, do I wish I had a before pic of it! It was beat up oak (very technical design term, huh?). It was really awful and it had burgundy cushions on it. It looked so bad that I almost didn't take it. Man, am I glad that I did!! My grandmother spray painted it a nice chocolate brown and I made slipcovers for the cushions out of some white canvas my mom gave me. I also already had the brown ribbon I sewed on for accent. So, the whole project only cost me whatever the paint cost...so a few dollars I guess.
Most of this stuff, I already had in some other part of my house. The two fabric covered boxes, I bought at Target for about $10 each (they matched the bedding so I had to have them!). The lamp was $5 at GW (Goodwill) and the shade was $1.99 at Old Time Pottery. I had matching framed handprints of my other two kids and of course I couldn't leave my baby boy out! I was so excited to find this frame (above the bookcase) for $3.00 also at GW. So now little brother has his handprint on the wall, too.
This turned out to be one of my favorite spots in his room. The dresser used to be in the Master before we got new furniture. Lamp was about $8 from GW again. I spray painted the shade. It was blue before. I bought the "say your prayers" plaque at Ross. Can't remember how much it was, but I know it was under $10. I LOVED the brown polka dot tin on the shelf when I saw it at Target. Loved it even more when I saw the price tag that read $3 and some change. The shelf and picture frame are also from GW. Can't remember how much they were, but they were cheap.
It's hard to see this corner. Not the best design plan, but I really needed to fit a twin bed in here! This is the best I could do. The bed skirt is from Target, but I bought it NIP at GW for $10. The duvet and sham is from Target for $30. I also bought the b at GW. It was one of those gold letters that comes from Hobby Lobby. I think it was $1.99/ The canvases, I already had. I used a sticker set that matched the crib bedding to make some cheap art.
I made the valance out of some fabric I bought at an outlet and some I already had. The crib and bedding came from Target, not on sale....unfortunately! The rug came from GW and was $10.

A Day at Home

Brady had a fever last Sunday. Kris has a meeting after church, so all the kids stayed home. I was a little worried about how things would go with a fussy baby and a brother and sister that fight ALL the time. This is one of the ways they found to occupy themselves. They brought EVERY pillow in our house to my bedroom. When I say every pillow, I mean, there had to be at least 30. They added a few stuffed animals in there, too.



And, yes, that is my daughter wearing her brother's clothes. Every now and then, her brother will talk her into doing that and he calls her Dylan. Hope that doesn't affect her later on in life!

They kept wanting me to bury them in the pillows.

Somehow, all the pillows ended up in the floor. They actually took their Sunday afternoon naps piled up on these things! They had so much fun playing in them...not so much fun putting them all away, though!

I love coupons and my husband!

I started using coupons again this week and I love it!! I had to share my deals! Here's what I bought:
2 8 pks Poptarts
Little puffs
Banana Boat Sunscreen
Capri Sun Sunrise 10 pk
Electrasol
Toaster streudels
15 pk kitchen trash bags
South Beach Diet cereal bars
5- 2pks of Gerber baby food
Tonys pepperoni pizza
Kroger light drink mix
Bananas
Colgate Max White toothpaste
2 Betty Crocker Hershey brownie mixes
2 Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
5 boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese
Pillsbury Cake mix
Children's Allergy medicine
mini marshmallows

I paid $39.78
I saved $31.74
( Manufacturer's coupons= $10.59
Bonus coupon savings= $1.00
Kroger Plus savings= $20.15)

I have done better, but I was pretty excited about my savings! I'm hoping to get to where I save more than I pay!!


Not only do I love saving some money, but I looooooveee my wonderful husband!!
Happy Anniversary, Baby!

My little gymnast

Last winter, Emma went to a gymnastics class with a friend. She had so much fun that we decided to enroll her at a place that opened up here in town. She's been taking classes since January and her coach wants to move her up to an advanced class. It's hard to get great pics during class, but here are a few of her the day they handed out ribbons!

My baby crawling...

Our Yard

Join Southern Hospitality's Garden Party today!
http://southernhospitality-rhoda.blogspot.com/2009/05/may-garden-party.html


My wonderful husband has been working hard on our yard to make it an oasis for us and our family. He'd do a little and then change a few things and add some more. We still are trying to decide on whether or not to get a fence, but I think we have it the way we want it....at least for now!

I so wish we had some before pics to show you. There was nothing in the back yard and only holly bushes in the front. I need to take some more pics once everything is in bloom, but I wanted to brag on my hubby a little now for all his hard work!

The front:

We plant pansies in the fall and begonias in the spring. These look a little beat down from all the rain we've been getting!

The Back deck and yard:

My new patio set !! I picture a lot of summer dinners out here!



He alternated knock out rose bushes with a small evergreen around the deck.


A close up of the knock out roses in the back yard.


Before long, these will bloom into my favorite flower- hydrangea!!! I can't wait to cut some of those babies and bring them inside! We lined the back of the house with these.