Through the couponsense blog I discover Blogging for Books. I just signed up to receive Dragons of the Valley by Donita K. Paul. I don't really know what it's about but on goodreads it's rated 4 stars so it must be somewhat good.
Anyways, I don't know much about how this works but from what I have gathered you sign up for free and then they have a list of free books to chose from in all sorts of categories. They mail it to you within 10-14 days. You read it and within 30 days have to write a blog post reviewing it (I'm not sure if you write it on your own blog or to their's or what, I'll figure that out when that time comes!). Once you do that then you can get another free book, and so on. They are yours to keep.
There is a lot more invovled if you want to get really into it to win prizes and what not but for now I'm just going to try it out. If you want to try it go here. If you aren't into reading longer books they had lots of children's books to offer also, which I am super excited about for Axton!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
CVS
Just got back from CVS. I got 6 bottles of Lysol all-purpose cleaner, 3 tubes of maybelline mascara, 6 packs of trident gum, and 6 first aid kits for ..... $9.06, that's $0.43 a piece and we know a pack of gum costs more than that!!! I also got $8 back on my next trip.
Seriously why wouldn't you use coupons and better yet, use couponsense.com! If you say I sent you then I get rewarded and you do too by saving tons of money. I've saved almost $5,000 this year and spent less than $1,500 on food and household items. That's a 77% savings. Some people have saved over $15,000, but I'm only feeding 3 people and I have so much extra stuff that things are expiring before I can use them. Thank you holidays for helping me clear out my inventory before it goes bad.
Seriously why wouldn't you use coupons and better yet, use couponsense.com! If you say I sent you then I get rewarded and you do too by saving tons of money. I've saved almost $5,000 this year and spent less than $1,500 on food and household items. That's a 77% savings. Some people have saved over $15,000, but I'm only feeding 3 people and I have so much extra stuff that things are expiring before I can use them. Thank you holidays for helping me clear out my inventory before it goes bad.
I LOVE COUPONS!!!!
I didn't do as well as others this week but that's because 1. they were out of a few things that were free, 2. I refuse to print internet coupons unless I absolutely want/need it (even if it makes the product free) and 3. I had to buy a few things for dinner that weren't on sale. Some people were saving over $200 and only paying $2 out of pocket! I LOVE COUPONS!!!
What I got today:
1 French Bread (not on sale)
1 Regular bread (not on sale)
6 boxes of jello
3 Colgate toothpaste
1 bag of Tortilla chips (not on sale)
1 swanson broth (all they had left, got a raincheck for more)
3 shower poufs
2 clorox bleach
2 boxes of pasta
3 frozen mini pies
24 cans campbell's cream of chicken soup
6 stouffer frozen meals
4 jars of fruit
7 boxes of cereal
2 boxes of hot chocolate
3 colgate toothbrushes
6 yogurts (not on sale)
6 cans of pringles new multigrain ones
1 container of whipped topping (not on sale)
1 4-pack of tp
Paid $19.89
Saved $142.75=88%=83 items for $0.24 a piece (including my nonsale items!!!)
Had I not bought the things for dinner/lunch that weren't on sale I would have only spent about $8, but I'm not complaining! And because of my pre-coupon total they told me that I can take my receipt back in on my next trip and they will give me a free turkey up to 15 lbs (they were out). I probably won't because we won't be here to cook it and we still have 2 from last year in our deep freeze (oops!).
Shopping trip from yesterday:
3 muffin mixes
4 boxes of fruit snacks
1 4-pack of tp
1 grinder of salt
2 grinders of pepper
2 dozen eggs
3 dial hand soaps
3 zone nutrition bars
6 bags of croutons
Spent $4.17
Saved 41.08=89%=25 items for $0.17 a piece!
Stocking up on things saves me soooo much money and I don't think I can ever go back to not using coupons!
What I got today:
1 French Bread (not on sale)
1 Regular bread (not on sale)
6 boxes of jello
3 Colgate toothpaste
1 bag of Tortilla chips (not on sale)
1 swanson broth (all they had left, got a raincheck for more)
3 shower poufs
2 clorox bleach
2 boxes of pasta
3 frozen mini pies
24 cans campbell's cream of chicken soup
6 stouffer frozen meals
4 jars of fruit
7 boxes of cereal
2 boxes of hot chocolate
3 colgate toothbrushes
6 yogurts (not on sale)
6 cans of pringles new multigrain ones
1 container of whipped topping (not on sale)
1 4-pack of tp
Paid $19.89
Saved $142.75=88%=83 items for $0.24 a piece (including my nonsale items!!!)
Had I not bought the things for dinner/lunch that weren't on sale I would have only spent about $8, but I'm not complaining! And because of my pre-coupon total they told me that I can take my receipt back in on my next trip and they will give me a free turkey up to 15 lbs (they were out). I probably won't because we won't be here to cook it and we still have 2 from last year in our deep freeze (oops!).
Shopping trip from yesterday:
3 muffin mixes
4 boxes of fruit snacks
1 4-pack of tp
1 grinder of salt
2 grinders of pepper
2 dozen eggs
3 dial hand soaps
3 zone nutrition bars
6 bags of croutons
Spent $4.17
Saved 41.08=89%=25 items for $0.17 a piece!
Stocking up on things saves me soooo much money and I don't think I can ever go back to not using coupons!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Bounce Jungle
I bought a groupon probably six months ago to a bounce house and so we decided to go on Axton's birthday with Brooklynn and JJ. It was the first time we had been to an actual business to do it, but he's had practice at other places like birthdays. I definitely think it was a success and look forward to doing it in the future. For videos of it check out Kim's blog here because my camera died after about 5 minutes!
Axton
Brooklynn
Kim and JJ
Climbing up, by the end of it Brooklynn would "help" Axton climb to the top, which if you know the two of those and the weight difference it's kind of funny!
He looks a little scared but he wasn't, the boy was actually a little crazy and daring!
Axton
Brooklynn
Kim and JJ
Climbing up, by the end of it Brooklynn would "help" Axton climb to the top, which if you know the two of those and the weight difference it's kind of funny!
He looks a little scared but he wasn't, the boy was actually a little crazy and daring!
Cowboy Boots
When we leave from Idaho we have to fly out of Salt Lake City and it just happened to be that greg's cousin got married in SLC the day before we were flying out so we went down a day early to go to her reception. Greg's dad was there along with some of his siblings. Don loves to go to CAL Ranch and get overalls and this time he was there to get cowboy boots. They had found a pair for Axton and so when we got there Axton got to try them on and see if he liked them. It was pretty comical watching him walk/run in them since they have a little bit of a heel. Needless to say he loved them so Grandpa Leavitt bought them for him. He couldn't wait to show daddy when he got home. He wears them all of the time, no matter what the outfit. The best though is definitely the whitey tighties and boots!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Axton's 3!
I'm only a month late in posting this but what can you do? Over labor day we decided to celebrate Axton's birthday with everyone. With 2 cousins having their birthday's within weeks of his he gets to watch and then when it's his turn he has it all figured out!
He was so excited for the candles, not the cupcake, he didn't even eat one (he must be ours).
Telling us how old he is
Logan helping him out, how kind (and it's Logan's tie that he's wearing, guess he'll be getting one for Christmas?)
Logan also taught him how to lick off the candles!
Opening his presents from G-ma and G-pa.
I found him a bunch of Take-along-Thomas train sets for extremely cheap. He is obsessed with Thomas lately, we watch Thomas and the Runaway Kite every morning!
The trains set up and for once all of the kids are playing nicely together, shocker!
When it was his actual birthday on Sept 17, Greg had a campout that night, and some of his cousins were out of town so we held off on the birthday cake for another week. But we let him open his presents in the 15 minutes that Greg was actually home, and those pictures are on our video camera that I've forgotten how to work so yeah! He got more Take-along-Thomas train sets, some Lightning McQueen dominos, a McQueen shirt, and the car play mat.
Here's the cake, Axton got to pick out the pan. I need more children just so I can decorate cakes, (or friends who want me to make them one!)!
Next year instead of cake I think I'm going to do brownies or rice krispies instead for the base. We aren't cake people.
I've decided I'm really bad at getting lots of pictures. I have the very basics and nothing else. We waited so all of Greg's siblings and their families could be there and then we got no pictures of any of them. Oh well, I'll try to be better next year.
Things I love about Axton:
1. When he doesn't want something he always says, "No danks" ever so sweetly.
2. If you ask him to say ok he will only say alright.
3. He loves cars and trains, they are the fastest way to his heart and a full out melt down if someone else touches them. He hoards them in nursery, at home, and at other people's home.
4. He loves to be scared. He turns the lights off down the one hall and then Greg hides in one of the 4 rooms. Axton goes and finds him and gets scared out of his pants. It's great fun.
5. He loves to be chased. He is always begging one of us to chase him around the couch.
6. He loves his daddy. When ever Greg comes home the first words out are, "I missed you." He recently said this to Brooklynn who responded, "I know", what a stinker!
7. He gets so animated when he talks or reads a book. I love the faces he makes without knowing it, I need to get those on camera.
8. Even though it is actually really annoying I love it down deep when he says, Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy...... I usually say what and he just keeps saying mommy, mommy, mommy..... Every once in a while I'll say what and he's saying ummmm I'm thinking as he taps his finger against his cheek/temple.... mommy, mommy, mommy. That's when it starts to get old!
9. He's a cuddler, although he saves most of it for dad. He will say I go na-night with you on the couch, which means he wants to lay down and cuddle with one of us.
10. I love his crazy curly hair even if I do cut it off on occasion, I can't wait for it to grow back.
If he is meant to be our only I'll take it. While I'll never stop wanting more children he is everything we could have asked for all rolled into one. He is a wonderful little boy who is so independant and yet such a lover too. I'm trying to cherish every moment with him and every phase, even the obnoxious ones, because I realize that I may never get to do this again. While he may be missing out on a sibling he is getting so much more time with just Mom and Dad and getting more attention than he otherwise might have. No sharing the spotlight for this one! I'm just sad that he won't always be little enough to hold down and smother him with kisses and tickles.
He was so excited for the candles, not the cupcake, he didn't even eat one (he must be ours).
Telling us how old he is
Logan helping him out, how kind (and it's Logan's tie that he's wearing, guess he'll be getting one for Christmas?)
Logan also taught him how to lick off the candles!
Opening his presents from G-ma and G-pa.
I found him a bunch of Take-along-Thomas train sets for extremely cheap. He is obsessed with Thomas lately, we watch Thomas and the Runaway Kite every morning!
The trains set up and for once all of the kids are playing nicely together, shocker!
When it was his actual birthday on Sept 17, Greg had a campout that night, and some of his cousins were out of town so we held off on the birthday cake for another week. But we let him open his presents in the 15 minutes that Greg was actually home, and those pictures are on our video camera that I've forgotten how to work so yeah! He got more Take-along-Thomas train sets, some Lightning McQueen dominos, a McQueen shirt, and the car play mat.
Here's the cake, Axton got to pick out the pan. I need more children just so I can decorate cakes, (or friends who want me to make them one!)!
Next year instead of cake I think I'm going to do brownies or rice krispies instead for the base. We aren't cake people.
I've decided I'm really bad at getting lots of pictures. I have the very basics and nothing else. We waited so all of Greg's siblings and their families could be there and then we got no pictures of any of them. Oh well, I'll try to be better next year.
Things I love about Axton:
1. When he doesn't want something he always says, "No danks" ever so sweetly.
2. If you ask him to say ok he will only say alright.
3. He loves cars and trains, they are the fastest way to his heart and a full out melt down if someone else touches them. He hoards them in nursery, at home, and at other people's home.
4. He loves to be scared. He turns the lights off down the one hall and then Greg hides in one of the 4 rooms. Axton goes and finds him and gets scared out of his pants. It's great fun.
5. He loves to be chased. He is always begging one of us to chase him around the couch.
6. He loves his daddy. When ever Greg comes home the first words out are, "I missed you." He recently said this to Brooklynn who responded, "I know", what a stinker!
7. He gets so animated when he talks or reads a book. I love the faces he makes without knowing it, I need to get those on camera.
8. Even though it is actually really annoying I love it down deep when he says, Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy...... I usually say what and he just keeps saying mommy, mommy, mommy..... Every once in a while I'll say what and he's saying ummmm I'm thinking as he taps his finger against his cheek/temple.... mommy, mommy, mommy. That's when it starts to get old!
9. He's a cuddler, although he saves most of it for dad. He will say I go na-night with you on the couch, which means he wants to lay down and cuddle with one of us.
10. I love his crazy curly hair even if I do cut it off on occasion, I can't wait for it to grow back.
If he is meant to be our only I'll take it. While I'll never stop wanting more children he is everything we could have asked for all rolled into one. He is a wonderful little boy who is so independant and yet such a lover too. I'm trying to cherish every moment with him and every phase, even the obnoxious ones, because I realize that I may never get to do this again. While he may be missing out on a sibling he is getting so much more time with just Mom and Dad and getting more attention than he otherwise might have. No sharing the spotlight for this one! I'm just sad that he won't always be little enough to hold down and smother him with kisses and tickles.
Idaho Trip
I went to Idaho to see the fam for the first two weeks of September. We didn't do a whole lot which is nice once in a while. We were just trying to get away from the heat and we accomplished that, it was really cold almost the whole time I was there but it was heavenly.
Greg was able to come up half way through our stay for Labor Day. All of my brother's and their families were there too. We got to go to the Idaho State Fair which was fun since I've only been to it 2 other times. We started off the day letting the kids have a little ride.
Axton's ready to go!
Ryleigh getting buckled in.
Off they go
After the rides were done we were off to the petting zoo. Axton loves animals and so this is always a must. He loved feeding any animal that would let him and even got brave and let a goat eat from his hand.
They have lots of little "shops" so of course we have obligatory cowboy hat trying on.
Then we were off to find the food! I don't know how I missed it but I have no pictures of us with our huge tiger ears (aka scones bigger than our heads!), navajo tacos, corndogs, deep fried candy bars, funnel cakes, and anything else we might have got. So instead of the food I have us all relxaing after we ate it all!
Jeanine, Derek, Ryleigh, Brantley, Steve
My mom, Logan, Heidi, Lydia, and Theron
Then it was off to the big rides, only paying $5+ per person for a ride is a bit ridiculous for us in this point in life so we went on ONE ride, the ferris wheel. Greg took Axton and I went with Ryleigh. I was actually very sad that we couldn't do all of the other ones but Greg was thankful, he gets sick rather easily these days. Maybe we'll save up our pennies so we can give the carni's our life savings next year!
After the ride we all went out seperate ways, Theron and his family went home to put the kids to bed, while Brantley and Greg went home to play basketball, my mom went with them with Axton and Ryleigh to babysit so that Derek, Jeanine, Steve, and I could all stay behind and watch the hypnotist show. It was one of the better ones I've been to, and the only one I haven't participated in! Maybe that's why I enjoyed it?!
Overall it was a good day at the fair and I was glad that Greg was able to come up and do it with us.
Greg was able to come up half way through our stay for Labor Day. All of my brother's and their families were there too. We got to go to the Idaho State Fair which was fun since I've only been to it 2 other times. We started off the day letting the kids have a little ride.
Axton's ready to go!
Ryleigh getting buckled in.
Off they go
After the rides were done we were off to the petting zoo. Axton loves animals and so this is always a must. He loved feeding any animal that would let him and even got brave and let a goat eat from his hand.
They have lots of little "shops" so of course we have obligatory cowboy hat trying on.
Then we were off to find the food! I don't know how I missed it but I have no pictures of us with our huge tiger ears (aka scones bigger than our heads!), navajo tacos, corndogs, deep fried candy bars, funnel cakes, and anything else we might have got. So instead of the food I have us all relxaing after we ate it all!
Jeanine, Derek, Ryleigh, Brantley, Steve
My mom, Logan, Heidi, Lydia, and Theron
Then it was off to the big rides, only paying $5+ per person for a ride is a bit ridiculous for us in this point in life so we went on ONE ride, the ferris wheel. Greg took Axton and I went with Ryleigh. I was actually very sad that we couldn't do all of the other ones but Greg was thankful, he gets sick rather easily these days. Maybe we'll save up our pennies so we can give the carni's our life savings next year!
After the ride we all went out seperate ways, Theron and his family went home to put the kids to bed, while Brantley and Greg went home to play basketball, my mom went with them with Axton and Ryleigh to babysit so that Derek, Jeanine, Steve, and I could all stay behind and watch the hypnotist show. It was one of the better ones I've been to, and the only one I haven't participated in! Maybe that's why I enjoyed it?!
Overall it was a good day at the fair and I was glad that Greg was able to come up and do it with us.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Baseball
Last post for today! Some friends in our ward, thanks Teerlinks!, gave us 3 tickets to see the D-backs play, can't remember who though! So we decided to take Axton and see how well he'd do and if he'd enjoy it. Greg bought him a glove a few days before we got the ticket so Axton was really excited that he got to take it with him to the game.
Dad and Axton, his hat is way to small for him but he insisted since it was a baseball.
The only picture of the 3 of us, what can you do?
The view from our seat.
Watching the game.
About half way through Axton started getting really bored and climbing over the empty chairs
So we brought out the big guns and bought him (and me) cotton candy.
We ended up leaving shortly there after though.
It was a good night overall and hopefully starting next year he can be Daddy's baseball buddy while Mommy gets some alone time!
Dad and Axton, his hat is way to small for him but he insisted since it was a baseball.
The only picture of the 3 of us, what can you do?
The view from our seat.
Watching the game.
About half way through Axton started getting really bored and climbing over the empty chairs
So we brought out the big guns and bought him (and me) cotton candy.
We ended up leaving shortly there after though.
It was a good night overall and hopefully starting next year he can be Daddy's baseball buddy while Mommy gets some alone time!
Swim Lessons
Axton got to take a 2nd round of swim lessons in August too. This time he was on his own, no mommy! It was so much better, the first wasn't too bad but this one was heavenly. He was so excited to go and see the other kids and just much better behaved, thank heavens!
My Turn
Learning to float on his back.
Making new friends.
Learning how to kick with a board.
Learning to swim on his back with the board
The hardest part about the swim lessons was that they were in the middle of open swim time so there were tons of kids playing in kid zone and he would get so mad when we wouldn't let him go down the water slide. So at the end of the first week we stayed until it closed so he got to play afterwards for a few hours and then the next week to finish of the swim lessons the kids got to go play for a few mintues. Here is Axton enjoying the slides, he is fearless when it comes to this stuff and just takes off.
What a splash!
I'm excited to see how he does next year!
My Turn
Learning to float on his back.
Making new friends.
Learning how to kick with a board.
Learning to swim on his back with the board
The hardest part about the swim lessons was that they were in the middle of open swim time so there were tons of kids playing in kid zone and he would get so mad when we wouldn't let him go down the water slide. So at the end of the first week we stayed until it closed so he got to play afterwards for a few hours and then the next week to finish of the swim lessons the kids got to go play for a few mintues. Here is Axton enjoying the slides, he is fearless when it comes to this stuff and just takes off.
What a splash!
I'm excited to see how he does next year!
Projects
This summer has been crazy busy for us, hence the lack of posts and major catching up to do. We were gone at least half of the summer and just finished our last trip. Hopefully we'll only leave 1-2 more times for the rest of the year. But I'll just start with the oldest pictures on our camera and work our way through them over the next few days, or weeks!
In August I was really tired of the set up in our toy room. When we moved in their were some extra bathroom cabinets in the garage so me trying to be thrifty kept them and moved them into the toy room. Biggest problem, they didn't hold much because of the lack of space and shelves, 2 of the 6 drawers didn't open, and 1 more drawer was missing the bottom of it, so unusable too. Plus it collected a bunch of random stuff on the counter. Then when we bought the new couch our old ones got put in the toy room until we got rid of them, so there was very little space left. We cleared it all out and I asked Greg to build shelves on either side of the entrance so the toys would be hidden from the view of the living room. He doubted me at first but I think he was very impressed with how it looks. We painted them dark brown to match our living room and still need to add baseboards so that they flow with the walls. They are so much sturdier than anything we could have bought and in the end, were cheaper too!
Don't mind all of the clowns. I have collected them since I was little and finally after 5+ years was able to get them out of the boxes and find them a somewhat permanent home. I am afraid when the toy room gets converted to an office, many years down the road, that most of them will have to go bye-bye since I'm just not that into them, and they creep out the guests!
The other project for the toyroom, we did a week later and Greg refuses to build anything else for a while, was a table for Axton. You see the train tables and stuff that cost over $200 and I just couldn't do it. Plus we bought Axton this little town set 2 years ago that the base is a puzzle. So we built the table to it's measurements, about 4 1/2 x 5 feet. It's pretty big, and only cost us $50 to make! Once again this thing is sturdy! Axton loves it and we have since bought a couple of chairs from IKEA to go with it.
I love the toyroom, if only we could keep it clean now!
In August I was really tired of the set up in our toy room. When we moved in their were some extra bathroom cabinets in the garage so me trying to be thrifty kept them and moved them into the toy room. Biggest problem, they didn't hold much because of the lack of space and shelves, 2 of the 6 drawers didn't open, and 1 more drawer was missing the bottom of it, so unusable too. Plus it collected a bunch of random stuff on the counter. Then when we bought the new couch our old ones got put in the toy room until we got rid of them, so there was very little space left. We cleared it all out and I asked Greg to build shelves on either side of the entrance so the toys would be hidden from the view of the living room. He doubted me at first but I think he was very impressed with how it looks. We painted them dark brown to match our living room and still need to add baseboards so that they flow with the walls. They are so much sturdier than anything we could have bought and in the end, were cheaper too!
Don't mind all of the clowns. I have collected them since I was little and finally after 5+ years was able to get them out of the boxes and find them a somewhat permanent home. I am afraid when the toy room gets converted to an office, many years down the road, that most of them will have to go bye-bye since I'm just not that into them, and they creep out the guests!
The other project for the toyroom, we did a week later and Greg refuses to build anything else for a while, was a table for Axton. You see the train tables and stuff that cost over $200 and I just couldn't do it. Plus we bought Axton this little town set 2 years ago that the base is a puzzle. So we built the table to it's measurements, about 4 1/2 x 5 feet. It's pretty big, and only cost us $50 to make! Once again this thing is sturdy! Axton loves it and we have since bought a couple of chairs from IKEA to go with it.
I love the toyroom, if only we could keep it clean now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)