Grocery shopping on a severely cut budget

As prices keep going up, it seems like we are bringing home less and less in our paychecks.  Mike, my husband, works in sales (food sales), and as his product and gas goes up in price, his cutomers buy less and he brings home less.  I opted to pay for more insurance this year due to the number of incidents with preston that tend to cost an arm and a leg after a trip to the emergency room, and therefore I bring home less this year.  I can say, fortunately for us, this is the first time since the economy took a nose dive, that we have had to tighten our budget.  But it is difficult.  We have cut every bill that we possibly can and now it comes down to cutting when buying the items we must have, like groceries.  I have learned in the short few years of having two boys around, that i spend ALOT more on groceries than i did when it was just me!  Last week, I actually looked at the grocery ads that came in the mail, looked online for further deals, and came out spending about $100 less on the monthly items that we always buy!  I was super-excited!  And that extra savings actually gave us a fun weekend that we got to spend together as a family! 
So here is what I did:  I have three stores in very close proximity to my house, Target, HEB, and Kroger.  Walmart is close, but I absolutely hate going there (for those who love it, you can probably save more there than i do at Target).  I planned my meals for most of the month, then looked through the ads for these stores to find the best deals and split up my shopping list accordingly.  At Target, I find I get great deals on medicine and toiletry items by using the up and up(target) brand, which are fantastic in comparison to the name brand items.  Then I went to kroger.com, and they allow you to download ecoupons to your Kroger card, which apply to the amount when you check out.  The great thing about this, is that these work in conjunction with advertised deals and kroger card deals.  I got tons of cleaning supplies for more than half off the cost just by combining these discounts.  HEB website also has manufacturers coupons you can download and print out.  These along with a trip to their "coupon wall" before you start shopping are a great way to save on groceries.  They also have tons of items that you get for free just by purchasing another item.  Last week, i bought milk and got free eggs.  And plan meals according to whats on sale.  If you want steak, but there are super deals on pork chops or chicken, save steak night for when you find a great deal on those.  We need to come up with an electronic coupon card that you can use everywhere....

In further news....
I have finished another project I was working on. I got really busy and let it slide for awhile, but today I finished Preston's paper tile mosaic lamp.  I really like it, but i am considering adding something to the lampshade.  I feel its a tad boring compared to the lamp.  I will have to post pics of prestons room with the lamp in it, so that everyone can see how it works.  I love it and think i will make one for myself next.  But I may not do the whole thing.  I am thinking I want to do the mosaic in the shape of something and paint the rest a complimentary color. 



Here is a pic of what it looked like with a little bit done.....i think i like this look for a more adult contempary lamp (with different colors)

I need to start perusing the goodwill store for some more lamps.  Its amazing what you can find there....and only spend four dollars to buy and a little tlc and paint....a totally new lamp!!

Mike sent me some tulips for Valentines day, even though i was at home, he sent them to my work.  Silly, but lovable man.  They were oh so pretty and then started getting out of control!  They started growing wildly after a few days!  I had a jungle of tulips on my kitchen counter and actually had to cut them back again.  It was neat though, because I have never received flowers that just kept right on growing.  I have some pics of those too :)



Hope everyone has a great week and had a great start to march! 

Best Valentines day ever...

I am not a huge fan of Valentines Day.  I probably havent been since high school.  It is somewhat ridiculous to me and a waste of money. 
But today, I had a good one.  And I shed some tears....maybe my mind has changed in the way i look at it?
Mike sent my favorite flowers (tulips) to work today....even though I was off.  I went and picked them up and was so happy that he remembered what my favorite flowers are, I wasnt even bothered by the fact that I told him over and over that I was off today  :)

Then I got to pick my boy up from school after his valentine party.  He made me a gorgeous valentine with a picture of himself holding a big heart that says "i love you".   (well his teachers helped)  When we got in the car, he was talking about daddy. I said "you love your daddy, dont you?"  and he said " I love my mama".  OH...It brought tears to my eyes.  The first time he has ever said that.  Then he proceeded to show me where his heart was and that it made a ba-bum sound, which he did over and over.  He is so smart and sweet.  I think he learned alot today at school!

Mike finally got home and showered me with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, while I cooked him a very special meal that he enjoyed immensely.  Overall...I think with the right person and celebrating with your family, it can be a day of love.  But we should have days filled with love every day....just not chocolate, that wouldnt be good for us ;)

As some of you know, we are trying to get pregnant again.  I took a test today, but it turned up negative.  I am pretty sure its a little early to tell.  So I hope to be able to share good news in a week as we get closer to when I should know!!  Preston needs a sibling.  He really loves interacting with other kids and I think he is going to make a great big brother (even though he is jealous of anyone getting near mommy- guess that is something we need to work on).  I just hope that things work out the way we hope.  After the last pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, I hope things are back in the correct working order.  we have waited about five months to try again, but I hear many people having problems for years after.  I pray for them to acheive what they want and at the same time hope that we dont have those problems.  Its in Gods hands and all I can do is have faith.

Crafts and cooking

I have been a Mom now for over two years and I have seen some things start to change.  Honestly some of those things scared me at first, but now I am welcoming them with open arms.  Never did I think I was really crafty (creative, yes, crafty, no) or that good of a cook until I finally gave in to this overwhelming feeling to bake, cook, and make things.  Now I do something every time I have a day off.  Probably I am most proud of the nappy looking goodwill lamp that I gave new life to.   

 I am about to start a new one tomorrow for Prestons room that will be a paper mosaic tile designed lamp base.  I am kind of pumped about it but scared i am going to mess it up terribly.  I have made a few other things so far, but they were fairly easy.  I wanted to try my hand at those before i got down to the nitty gritty.  I will try to post some pics up later, due to the fact that its not working at the moment.  (ok so I am posting them now....I made a couple of frames for my neice and baby nephew and preston got his own coat hanger for his wall)  :)

I never envisoned this kind of passion coming from me.  I plan meals now and actually look for recipes of different things I want to make, all while ensuring that the family is eating healthy.  If you had told me three years ago that I would be doing these things while balancing a career, I would have laughed at you. 

I have become domesticated.  The last thing I ever expected out of me.

Not that there is anything wrong with it.  I always admired women who could do all of that.  Mainly because i thought they had a whole lot more energy that I could hope to acquire.  Now I find that this is time for me.  Its time I can set aside to do something I actually enjoy doing....and it still takes care of my family.  (of course mike gives me hell when i take cupcakes to work instead of giving them to him, but i cant let him eat 24 cupcakes)

The one thing I am hesitant to try again is sewing.  Tried that for a semester in junior high.....did a decent job, but that was a long time ago.  I dont really think my memory will serve me well on that one.  I have such a huge list of things I want to try but have no idea where to start.  If anyone has any good hints as to what kind of projects I could start off with to build my skills, please share.  

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's day.  Just found out from our banking info online that I had flowers ordered for me.  Great way to find out, huh?  So then I ask my husband what he was planning.....he forgot I dont work tomorrow and my flowers are getting delivered there.  He doesn't ever hear me.  But i love him anyway. 





saving for college...

I have spent several hours researching college savings plans for Preston (a great thing to do when its freezing outside and you are bored out of your mind).  I didnt realize how much more they say a college education will cost by the time he is 18.  Blew my mind!!  So I think i have found an investment plan to help me reach that goal, but I do want to ask if anyone else out there has done some research and opened one of these for their kids. If so, do you like it and has it helped very much at all? 
I plan (haha- like plans work for our kids)  on him getting some sort of scholarship anyway (fingers crossed) in sports or academics and i like the way you can transfer them to another sibling if that happens or ask for a penalty free withdrawal if they receive a scholarship.  Its kind of like a reward for you if your child does a great job in school or sports!!  :)
I dont want Preston trying to pay off a never ending student loan like his mama, but the cost of things is starting to scare me.  And i still have 16 years before it happens. sigh.

Dont even get me started on retirement.  Maybe if he gets a sports scholarship, he can then play something professionally, and take care of mommy for the rest of her life!  Like a good little man. lol

a few misc notes....

First of all, I wonder how many mothers lose their kids at a park every day.  I wonder if they realize that the people they pay as caregivers dont watch their child for thirty minutes at a time while they are on the playground.  Mike and I took Preston over to a playground near our house and witnessed this today.  It was not a mother, but somone employed to watch three children.  She sat on the ground, with her back to the playground and an infant near her, and played on her phone.  And i am not talking a teenager.  She was a grown woman.  The two other children, whom i dont think were related, just ran around the playground.  She didnt once check on them and when it came time to leave she just called for little tyler, not even panicking a little when she couldnt see him for ten minutes.  This is why i will never leave my child with an individual person who is not held accountable by anyone ese.  Obviously her first priority were not those children.  I wish I could find those parents and tell them what I saw.  What would that woman feel if one of those children disappeared under her watch??

On another note, Mike has decided I have landed on the key to fraud protection:  last name hyphenation.  What i have found is that everyone has a different way to enter your name when you hyphenate (guess there is still no regulation on things like that).  Meaning, it is really hard to even get through to your credit report unless you know how they do it.  It took me so long to access my own, we figure no one will be able to open something in my name because you wont be able to access a credit history.  So....my hubby who hated the fact that i hyphenated, and constantly gives me hell about it, has decided there might be something to it now.  Great Mike.  I did it all for the credit fraud protection.  Now I am brillant wife and not the difficult one that i was before. 

Preston has finally used the potty.  Probably not the best first potty memory a mom could have....but i will definitely remember it.  We sat down to eat some chicken spaghetti (little mans favorite), and towards the end of the meal, Prestons starts crying really hard.  First i pull him out of his seat and go to clean his face and hands and notice that he is soaked all over his bottom.  It looked like an insane diaper leak, so i was concerned.  I got him into the bathroom, cleaned his hands, took his pants and diaper off....and thats when he started gagging.  I dont know what was wrong, but it seemed like he was trying to get something out of his mouth.  As he had all of his clothes off, I sat him on his lightening mcqueen potty, so he could be more comfortable.  He was reaching into his mouth and still crying hard.  Mike reached into his mouth and at the same time Preston threw up all over him :(  Crying even harder now, I tried to soothe him while starting a bath for this horrendous mess.  Mike is cleaning puke off the floor, Preston is naked on the potty with vomit everywhere, I am trying to hold him and console him and get the bath going.  Hectic moment.  Daddy leaves to get some cleaning stuff and i get Preston calmed down.  The next thing i know, I look down and my boy is going peepee in the potty!!!!  Just like the song we sing :)  It was exciting,  He looked scared, I mean, he had just been through some crazy ordeal, but then when he realized why I was cheering him on, he got really excited.  We got the potty and flushed it down the toilet.  He finally got to say bye bye to his own peepee!!  :)  lol.  The best part, once i put him in the bath, he didnt freak out like normal either.  I guess he learned that there are other things that are scarier than bath time.  Love that kid.  I am so proud of the wonderful little toddler he has become.  Even his pediatrician is so taken with him, and cant believe he is two because he acts so much better around people :)  I will get some pics posted of the little monkey soon.

day one

Mike has been pushing me to start a blog for quite some time now.  I guess he thinks i have some interesting things to say.  Either that....or he just wants me to tell anyone else besides him. 
I am not going to commit this blog to be about just one thing.  I am a mom of a fabulous two year old little boy, i work in retail (which has many entertaining stories), and a wide variety of experiences and opinions that i tend to share...alot :)    I plan on being able to post here about things that aggravate me, amuse me, concern me, or basically make me feel anything besides bored.