Walgreens $5/$25 coupon

A friend asked me yesterday if I'd been to Walgreens lately. I told her I didn't go very much because their Register Rewards (RRs) frustrate me because of all their limitations. She told me about a Theraflu deal she had just done and was excited about. Then I came home and found out about the $5/$25 coupon good through today. I decided to search out some deals and give it a try last night with F in tow (she's a trooper!).

I saw these ideas from Deal Seeking Mom. I knew I would have to improvise, since our store is frequently out of sale items, so I searched out some more Walgreens deals as I made my list, just in case.

Here's what I came up with. I did two transactions. The first was a Fusion razor (cpn), Dentek floss picks (cpn), Robitussin DM, Halls (cpn), Emergen-C, Vaseline lotion, Chapstick, and Cascade (cpn). I used the $5/$25 coupon and my total after coupons was $22.79. I received $25 in RRs.

Transaction #2. I bought Chapstick, Dentek Floss, Vaseline lotion, Caramels, Candy Corn, and 2 dozen eggs. I paid with $13 in RRs from the first transaction, paid $4.71 OOP, and earned $13 in RRs.

My total OOP for both transactions was $27.50 and I still have $25 in RRs left to spend. I'm hoping diapers go on sale next week so I can use them all! :-)

Did you go to Walgreens to take advantage of the $5/$25 coupon and RR deals? If so, leave a comment and let me know how you did!

Great New Printables!

There are some great high value coupons floating around, and you may want to print them each off twice before they are gone! You can save ink by printing them in black and white.

• Save $1 off Cheerios (IE Link) (FF Link)
• Save $1 off Bagel Bites 9 ct or larger (IE Link) (FF Link)
• Save $1 off Pillsbury Frozen Grand Biscuits (IE Link) (FF Link)

Thanks Common Sense with Money!

• $1/1 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls printable (IE) or printable (FF)
• $1/1 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls printable (IE) or printable (FF)
• $1/1 Pillsbury Toaster Strudels printable (IE) or printable (FF)
• Get $1 off Musselman’s Totally Fruit or Healthy Picks applesauce

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Save these coupons for a sale and wait for double coupon day to maximize your savings and get FREE or nearly free products!

Coupon Matchups

Nothing frustrates me more than to read a blog post about a great deal with a coupon matchup, only to go to my inserts and find that my area didn't get that coupon! So when I do my weekly coupon matchups, I will be focusing on internet printables (or IPs), since everyone has access to these. You can usually print two of each coupon. Remember that if you are using Internet Explorer and the coupon won't print, you may need to change the link between the = signs from "wg&o" or vg&o" to "wi&o" or "vi&o".

Welch's Grape Jam or Jelly $0.98 with in-ad coupon
$0.75/1 here
Better than FREE ADC!

Special K cereal, cereal bars, or crackers $2 each WYB 5
$1/1 Crackers here
$1/1 Special K Blueberry cereal here
$1/2 Cereal Bars here
$0.75/1 Special K Chocolatey Pretzel Bars here
FREE or almost free ADC!

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, buy 4 get $4 off
$0.50/2 here
$0.40/1 here

Campbell's Soup $1 (Cream of Chicken is pictured)
$1/2 here and here
FREE ADC!

Hamburger Helper $1
$0.75/3 here
$0.50 each ADC

Dreamfield's Low Carb Pasta $1.69
$1/1 here
$1.50/3 here (some stores do not accept higher than $1 IPs--YMMV)
Better than free ADC!

No Yolks Egg Noodles $1.79
$0.40/1 here
$0.99 ADC

Uncle Ben's Rice $1.79
$1/2 here
$0.79 each ADC

Bar S Smoked Sausage or Polish Sausage $1
$1/2 here
FREE ADC!

Honest Kids Juice Pouches $3.50
$0.75/1 here
$2 ADC

Old Orchard Juice $1.79 (Healthy Balance is pictured)
$1/2 here and here
$0.79 each ADC

Colgate Total Toothpaste $2.50
$1/1 here
$0.50 ADC

Bayer Aspirin $4.99
$1/1 here
$2.99 ADC

Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags $4
$1/1 here
$2 ADC

Hidden Valley Ranch $2.79
$0.75/1 here
$1.29 ADC

Kingsford Charcoal $7.49
$2/1 here (some stores do not accept higher than $1 IPs--YMMV)
OR Buy charcoal, get free KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce here

Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers $3
$2/1 here (some stores do not accept higher than $1 IPs--YMMV)
$1 ADC

El Monterey Taquitos $6.99
$1/1 here
$4.99 ADC

Michelina's Entrees $1
$1/5 here
$3/5 or $1.66 each

Jell-O Refrigerated Pudding or Gelatin $3
$0.60/1 here
$2.80 ADC

International Delight $1
$1/1 here
$0.75 here
FREE without doubling, or better than free ADC!

They also have a promotion going where you buy $25 in P&G products in one transaction and you will get a free pink kitchenware set by mail (looks like shipping is even free). The set looks like it includes an egg timer, a spatula, measuring cups, and a frying pan, all in pink! There are lots of coupons you could match up with this promotion from the P&G brandsaver from Sunday's paper if you are interested in this offer. Ask at customer service for the mail-in form.

If you have clipped coupons from newspaper inserts or other sources (like All You), you may find more deals than this, so keep that in mind when making your list. Remember, you can double 5 coupons up to $1 per $25 transaction (after sale prices, before coupons). I usually do at least 2 transactions so I can double more coupons. And don't forget your reusable bags so you can save even more!

Mailbox Monday

Time to round up some freebies for your mailbox!

Be one of the first 20,000 to submit an after-school organizational tip here and receive a coupon by mail for a free box of Smuckers Uncrustables! I submitted my tip already this morning and will be getting my free coupon.

Get your free sample of Bear Naked Granola, your choice of a Tropical Fruit granola bar, Cranberry Raisin cereal, or Banana Nut Cereal.

Get a free sample of Kotex Ultra Thin Overnight pads with wings from Kotex thru All You magazine.

Get some samples of Huggies diapers:
Huggies Pure & Natural (size newborn, 1)
Huggies Little Movers (size 3, 4, 5)

Thanks Freebies 4 Mom!

If you haven't already, you can get a free sample of Dunkin' Donuts Coffee here. Thanks Angela!

Another Seizure

Many of you have been asking how G is doing. The MRI was clear last week, so we know for sure that she has epilepsy, and that this isn't caused by anything else like a tumor or fluid. We praise the Lord that she is a healthy, normal girl, and that we know what she has and how to treat it. She started on seizure medication early last week. It doesn't taste good (even after adding flavor to it), but she has been very responsible about remembering that she needs to take her medicine twice a day. :-) We hope this medication works for her, but she isn't on the full dose quite yet.

G had another seizure on Saturday night. I was giving her and H a shower, when suddenly she just went blank. She wouldn't answer any questions or respond when I asked her to do something. This time I knew what was happening, so I calmly told H that she was having a seizure. H asked what we should do, and I told her that we just make sure she is safe. I finished washing them both up and Ted came to help them get dressed while I washed up the other two girls. G could walk when led, and kind of giggled a little bit when I tickled her, but otherwise was unresponsive for at least 5 minutes. By the time they were all in jammies and I was brushing their teeth, G grabbed both sides of her head and started crying. She nodded when I asked if she had a headache, and was able to shake her head yes or no about where it hurt. She still wasn't talking, but she was more responsive. We finally got her talking about half an hour later. This is very similar to what happened last time.

I was glad that we knew what was happening this time so we could stay calm, and I was also glad that H witnessed this seizure. Now she knows what to expect and what to do and she doesn't have to be scared. We would like further prayer that the medicine will work for her to control her seizures. The other thing is that these are not typical absence seizures. They look like absence seizures (because of the blank stare and the lack of convulsions or shaking), but absence seizures usually only last 10 seconds and don't have a period of confusion, whereas G's episodes have both lasted more than 5 minutes with a slow recovery time afterward. Because of this, we will be asking for a referral to a pediatric neurologist, and I don't know how long it will take to get in. We appreciate your prayers and support, and if you'd like an illustration of how to explain epilepsy, go here.

Writing Your Numbers Rhymes

Princess G practicing her numbers (yes, she's a lefty!)

When I was a preschool teacher, we had some rhymes that we used to help the children remember how to write their numbers. Now that I'm a mom, I've been using them, too! Here are the rhymes for learning how to write numbers:

0- Big fat zero is a hero.

1- Straight line one is fun

2- Around and back on a RR track

3- Around a tree, around a tree, that is how to make a 3

4- Down and over, then down some more, that is how to make a 4

5- Across and down and then around, look and see a 5 you've found

6- Down to a loop, the 6 rolls a hoop

7- Across the sky and down from heaven, that is how to make a seven

8- Make an S, but do not wait, climb back up to make an 8

9- A circle and a line makes a nine.

I hope this is helpful to you and your child!

Free Penzeys Cinnamon

Remember when I told you about getting free spices from Penzeys? Their new catalog arrived last week and there was another coupon for a free spice in-store. This time I'll be getting a free jar of their delicious Penzeys Cinnamon. If you have a Penzeys store near you, go in and sign up for their free catalog--you'll be glad you did!

Free Redbox Codes!

It's been awhile since we've had a free Redbox code, so imagine my surprise when I found out there are TWO available right now!

• 9HB6MP22 – valid at all Redbox kiosks
• SMR8DVD – valid only at McDonalds

I don't know what the expiration dates are on these codes, as they weren't posted. Remember that you can use these codes once per credit/debit card. To find a kiosk, go here. Questions about the rental process? Go here.
Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

This Week's Groceries--$48 for a family of 6

I spent $31.72 on double coupon day at the grocery store (before coupon total was almost $100, after sale prices) and almost $16 at Aldi (because again, milk was on sale--and you know how we go through milk!). That brings this week's total to $47.69 for 45 items.

At Aldi I bought 4 gallons of milk, some sliced ham, eggs, 2 lbs. of grapes, bananas, salad, and 5 lbs. of sugar. I didn't bother taking a picture.

At the grocery store, I got more free yogurt (this is why I don't pay for yogurt), free salsa from the Pace sweeps, free Clorox wipes (homeschoolers count as teachers), and better than free Old El Paso taco seasoning (a $1 catalina printed out). The most expensive things I bought were coffee (still a great deal at less than $5) and 7 lbs. of ground beef (on sale). I also bought some Wasabi peas and chocolate ice cream for my husband (okay, I'll probably eat some too!). :-) Besides the produce, everything else was almost free.

This is a pretty typical week of shopping for my family of 6. If you'd like to see more of my weekly shopping trips, go here. If you'd like to see how we use this food and some ideas of some of my menu plans, go here.

Reading Rules

I posted last year about how I teach my children to read. If you missed that post, or maybe you weren't in that phase yet, you can go back and read it here. Here are the highlights of the resources I've used:

• "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann
• "Bob Books" by Bobby Lynn Maslen
• Starfall

You can read about each of these resources on my original post. All of these resources may be available to you for free through the library, though if you have more than one pre-reader, I would recommend buying them because they are worth their weight in gold! The Starfall site is free for anyone to use online.

Once your children are reading more and more and sounding out words on their own, it can get tricky to remember the rules, especially the ones associated with the vowels. As I've taught my two oldest children how to read, I've learned a few rhymes to help them remember how to sound out some words. Some I learned from the free computer games at Starfall in the "Learn to Read" section. Here are a few we use on a regular basis:

• When two vowels go walkin', the first vowel does the talkin' (boat, steam, rain)
• The silent "e" makes the vowel say its name (kite, name, vote)
• Y can be a vowel when it says long "i" in my and try, or "e" in lazy or crazy.
• Lonely vowels at the end of a word say their name. (me, she, go, no)
• Does the "c" say "s" or "k"? At the vowels we take a look. With e, i, and y use "s". With a, o, and u use "k". (ceiling, cite, lacy; cake, cook, cucumber)
• And for spelling with c or k: "K" before i and e, "c" before the other three (a, o, u). (kind, keel; can, could, cute) (This last one is from Carley!)
  

I'll also be doing a post soon on rhymes to help children write their numbers, so stay tuned!

Free Chocolate-Last Day!

It's the LAST DAY to get free chocolate from Mars! They are giving away coupons for a free candy bar starting at 9am EST. Click here for a coupon to redeem for a single-size package of M&Ms, Milky Way, Twix, Dove, Snickers, or 3 Musketeers. You can get up to 4 coupons per household, and one per email address. Don't miss out! (And if you don't love chocolate, you can give your coupons to me. . .Our 4 bars are LONG gone!) ;-)

Also, every Friday until October 23rd, enter to win a week's worth of free meals from Lean Cuisine! Just enter your email address, and each week 125 people will win 7 coupons for Lean Cuisine meals. I keep forgetting about this one, so I wanted to post it again to help remind myself. I love free food!

Apple Rhubarb Crumble

Fall means apple-picking season! The girls and I went to a local apple orchard with several other homeschooling families for a fun field trip. It was a beautiful day and we came home with a bunch of apples (and full tummies!).

I went searching for a recipe that would use some apples and also some of the abundant rhubarb from my garden. I love the ingredient search on AllRecipes.com for something like this because I could enter apples and rhubarb and several recipes showed up. A recipe for Chunky Rhubarb Applesauce came up, which I might like to try in the future, but I was looking for a dessert. I love apple crisp, so I was excited to try this one. It was easy and it turned out great, so I would definitely use it again.

Apple Rhubarb Crumble

• 3 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 2 medium tart apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine

In a bowl, combine the rhubarb, apples, egg, sugar, syrup, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into a greased 2-qt. baking dish. In another bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; sprinkle over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until bubbly.

Cold Stone Ice Cream Social Tonight

Join Cold Stone as they raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and give away ice cream on Thursday, September 24th from 5-8pm. Make a donation to Make-A-Wish and receive a 3 oz. bowl of Jack's Creation, sweet cream ice cream mixed with brownies and rainbow sprinkles and topped with caramel. Sounds yummy!

Explaining Epilepsy to Young Kids

When G was diagnosed with epilepsy, I asked the pediatrician and my mom (a nurse) how they would best describe it, and this is what I came up with, combining their responses.

I explained that everyone has electricity in their brain happening all the time (like lights turning on and off in certain rooms), but she has some extra electricity that can sometimes distract her from what she is doing (like all the lights flashing at the same time really fast) and cause a seizure. The electricity doesn't hurt (just like it doesn't hurt you in your brain), but she could get hurt when her brain gets distracted, like by falling off monkey bars or her bike, which is why she needs to take medicine to try to control the extra electricity. She can still do all the normal things that kids do and she isn't sick. She just needs to take medicine to keep her safe.

I also found some information explaining epilepsy to kids here. There are some questions on the left hand side that answer a lot of questions simply. One thing I got from that site was explaining that the medicine kind of puts your seizures to sleep, which is why you have to take it every day.

It's not scientific, exactly, but it seemed to do the job! If any of you have ideas or experience with explaining epilepsy to young kids and their siblings or friends, please leave a comment!

And just in case you were wondering, what G experienced last week was most likely an atypical absence seizure, because it lasted so long and she had a slow recovery time and a period of confusion.

Coupon Matchups

Time to get your coupons ready for Double Coupon Day! You can double 5 coupons (up to $1 each) per $25 transaction (after sale prices, before coupons). I usually do at least 2 transactions so I can double more coupons. And don't forget your reusable bags so you can save even more!
(If you are using Internet Explorer and the coupon won't print, you may need to change the link between the = signs from "wg&o" or vg&o" to "wi&o" or "vi&o")

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 3/$4.98
$1/2 here
$0.66 each After Doubled Coupon

Toaster Strudel 4/$9
$1/1 here
or $0.55/2 here
$0.25 or $1.70 each ADC

General Mills Cereal, Buy 6 get $10 off and $3.50 OYNO milk
Various coupons here
This is usually a good deal on double coupon day!
6 boxes are usually around $19-$22, minus $10 automatic discount, minus double coupons, AND you get a free coupon for milk (which usually takes off the full $3.50). I also learned last time that your coupons WILL double if your order is $25 (you might need a filler to get there), even though the $10 will come off as well. So your order will be $15 before coupons, making this a GREAT deal!

Green Giant Vegetables in Sauce 3/$4.98
$0.50/1 any Green Giant frozen vegetable
or $0.50/2 boxed vegetable
$0.66 to $1.16 ADC

Purex 3-in-1 $4.99
$1/1 Starter Kit or Refill
$2.99 ADC

Cottonelle 6 roll $3.99
$0.50/1
$2.99 ADC

Wheat Thins $2.79
$1/1 here
$0.79 per box ADC

Old El Paso Seasoning Mix 4/$3, Refried Beans 10/$10, or Enchilada Sauce 4/$5
Old El Paso Taco Shells $1.59, Salsa $1.79, or Dinner Kits $2.29
$0.60/2 here
or $0.60/2 here
$0.15 to $1.69 each ADC

Yoplait Yogurt 10/$5
$0.50/6 here
or $1/8 here
$2/6 or $0.33 each ADC

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks 4/$9
$0.40/1 here
or $1/2 here
$1.25 to $1.45 each ADC

Tree Top Apple Juice $2.29
$1/2 here
$1.29 each ADC

Suave Lotion 3/$6.99
$1/1 here
$0.33 each ADC

Happy Shopping!

Free Museum Day on Saturday

Saturday, September 26th is Museum Day, which means you and a guest can have FREE admission at a participating museum!

Click here to find a participating museum near you. Then click here to print out your pass for 2 free admissions. One pass per household, good for 2 people.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Update on G

Thank you for your prayers and concern about G. The EEG showed absence seizures with the risk of generalized seizures, so she will be put on medication for epilepsy. She is having an MRI done on Thursday to make sure we didn't miss anything else. Please pray that she does well with that, as she will be put under sedation, and pray also that the MRI is clear. She'll then have a repeat EEG in a month to see if the medication is helping. If so, she will probably be on it for at least 2 years before they consider taking her off of it. We appreciate your prayers for our family, and are thankful that we serve a God who is in complete control. Though this is a new and somewhat scary topic to be dealing with, the Lord has given us peace. G is doing very well with everything, and her faith is also strong. Please pray for her as she enters this new phase in her life.

Baby Sign Language

Even though all our kids have fine hearing, we have done some sign language with all of them. H was the first-born, so she knew A LOT of signs, like 150! Besides the basic ones, she knew all sorts of animals and toys and action words. That's what happens when you only have one child and you have more time on your hands, right?

With the other girls, they just learned the basic baby signs to help with communication and cut down on frustration before they could talk. When we discovered that M had a speech delay (which isn't caused by learning sign language), we taught her more signs than G had known so that she could communicate with us. She was able to put several signs together in sentences before she could verbalize those words, which really helped us to understand her and cut down on her frustration. She could tattle AND pray in sign language before she could talk!

F is now almost 16 months and she knows more than 10 signs, including please, up, all done, thank you, dog, kitty, milk, water, book, cheese, and food/eat. Her newest signs are H and M's names. :-) Some of the signs are slight variations of ASL (American Sign Language) to make them easier for baby hands since they have less fine motor control than adults do.

We start teaching the first sign when they start eating table food, which is usually around 4-6 months. At this young age they aren't able to imitate us yet, but they are seeing the sign and hearing the word repeatedly, and associating it with an object or action. We also start helping the baby do the sign so they can know what it feels like. After we say and do the sign a few times, something always follows (like food!). This acts as reinforcement to the baby that this action will bring about a result.

We always start with "please", because it is easy (basically tapping the chest with an open hand, fingers together), and because it starts teaching them manners. We used to teach "more", but please means basically the same thing (I want more please), and it is more polite. Gotta start with those manners early!


After please, we teach "all done", which is basically putting both hands facing up in the air and then turning them downward, or babies often do it by waving both hands in the air. This way the child can tell us when they would like to be finished eating, get down from somewhere, or be finished with an activity. Again, do it with your hands while saying the words, then do it with baby's hands while saying the words. Then follow through (like by getting them down).

Another easy one is "milk", which is one fist opening and closing while moving up and down in the air like you are milking a cow. Again, babies frequently just shake a closed fist in the air, but as long as you know what they are doing, you will know what they want. That's much better than screaming, isn't it? :-)

"Thank you" is another one to help with manners. You move your open palm (fingers together) from your chin downward. Babies often do it from their mouth, making it look like they are blowing a kiss.

"Cheese" is just a fun one. It's the only specific food sign F knows, and she loves cheese! You basically rotate your hands together with flat palms, like you are rubbing a flat piece of cheese between them. Don't ask me the origin of that sign--I don't know! But it is an easy one for older babies or young toddlers to do. F has been doing that one for many months. :-)

"Book" is easy, just like you are opening and closing a book with your hands. This way she can ask for us to read her a book, which she loves to do. "Doggy" is patting your leg like you are calling the dog, and "Kitty" is like you are stroking the whiskers on your face.

I can tell you more if you are interested, or you can check out some baby sign books or videos from your library (there are a lot of them!). You can also do a search for "baby signs" online. I found this site with pictures of several words you could start with. This site and this site have even more words and animate them as well. Here is an online ASL dictionary, also with animation, of over 5,000 words in alphabetical order. Don't feel like you need to buy anything in order to teach your child some basic baby signs. There are plenty of resources that are available for free, and I could even post a video showing how to do more signs if you are interested. If that would be helpful to you, please leave a comment and I'll get out the camera! :-)

Mailbox Monday

• Free GeoTrax DVD: Steamer and Samuel Save the Day. Thanks Mercedes!

• Click here to get a free sample of Dandy-Lyon Bites. Thanks Angela!
  

• Sign up as a member with All You here and then you can sign up here for a free sample of the new Slim-Fast 100-calorie Peanut Butter Crunch Time Snack Bar.
• Sign up here for a free Skin Discovery Kit from Pangea Organics.
• Click here for a free sample of Sun Crystals natural sweetener.
• Go here to sign up for a free sample of Science Diet Simple Essentials Pet Treats.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

The Hardest Job You'll Ever Love

A reader asked:

Lately have been finding myself tired and worn out, emotionally and physically. I was just wondering, do you feel like this? If so what do you do to get past it?

You are NOT alone! Being a stay-at-home mom is not an easy job. It is 24/7, no holidays or weekends, no sick leave, no paid time off. Mothering is a full-time job with little downtime, especially if you homeschool. Being home all day is exhausting sometimes, and can be more exhausting than working full-time somewhere else! That being said, I'm sure most stay-at-home moms wouldn't trade it for the world. Your question is a good one. Especially on those trying days (but even on normal ones), what can you do to recharge? Here are some things that help me when I am physically and emotionally exhausted:

Rest (naps if needed, but I'm not a good napper)
Down time
Creative outlet (like blogging! or something else you are interested in, like crafts or scrapbooking)
Support (husband, other moms)
Playdates (for the kids, but also for me)
Resting in HIM--going to the Lord for strength and patience

Really the last one, depending on God, is the biggest one. I don't know where you are spiritually or what you believe, but for me, leaning on the Lord for the strength to get through each day, knowing that He will give me what I need to get through even the roughest of days, is what helps me. Even with the scariness of what was happening with my daughter G last week, I know He loves her more than I do and I can trust in His plan. God has given me a peace about all of it that I can't explain. He knows what is going on with her, even if no one else does. He has a plan for her and for our family, and G is His child.

If you'd like to know more about this peace, please feel free to email me. In the meantime, I hope this list helps some, and I pray that you will be able to recharge. Being a mother is not an easy job, that's why we need help and support! :-)

Buying Coupons

Linda asked a good question:

I have a couponing question--Buying coupons from couponing services or EBay and the like. Is that really necessary? Do you do it? What are the benefits or disadvantages?

Personally, I have never bought coupons from any coupon services. Some of you probably consider me to be a "serious couponer", and maybe I am compared to others, but I'm not serious enough to buy multiples of coupons. I only get one copy of the Sunday paper, and MOST of my coupons are printed online because those are usually higher value ($1 or more). So my simple answer to your question of is it really necessary is NO, it is not necessary. You can save plenty of money on items for your family simply by clipping the coupons available to you, following sales patterns, and stockpiling when items are on sale so you don't have to pay full price later.

I know some people buy coupons online so that when an item goes on sale they are able to REALLY stock up and buy 10 or 20 of that item. Personally, I don't have the storage space to store that much. I don't have the forethought to buy them enough ahead such that they would arrive in time for a sale, either. And to be honest, I have a hard enough time keeping up with cutting and filing the coupons I do have access to.

One reason I can think of that I would consider buying coupons is because our region frequently misses out on some of the good Sunday coupons for some reason. It seems like 9 times out of 10, when I see a deal on a blog and go back to my coupon insert to find the coupon, it isn't there. This is frustrating, but usually it's not a deal I can't live without. As we said when I was a preschool teacher, "you get what you get and you don't have a fit." :-)

I'm not trying to knock coupon services, and I'm sure a lot of people save money using them. I'm just not familiar with them. If any of you have ever bought coupons online, can you please leave a comment to better answer Linda's question and educate the rest of us?

Double Coupon Day--$36

I was able to scrape together enough deals this week after all! I did three transactions and doubled 15 coupons. My total before coupons and sales was over $114. After coupons my total was $36.23 for 49 items. The cashier looked at my receipts before handing them to me and said, "You saved over $75!" I said, "Isn't it great?" and she replied, "See you next week!" You know it! :-)

As you can see, I won't have to buy pancake mix for awhile! We like to have pancakes every weekend. It's easy to use a boxed mix and then spruce it up by adding some veggie puree. Our favorites are carrot, pumpkin, and sweet potato. I paid $1.40 per box for a brand name, which is better than the generic, even at Aldi, so I did the Quaker deal on all three transactions. There's more than one reason to split up your order into separate transactions--for one, you get to double more coupons, but you can also take advantage of good deals in every transaction as well.

Do you notice anything missing from the above picture? Milk was on sale at Aldi this week, so I bought 4 gallons, as well as 4 pounds of grapes and a few other items. I spent $16 there. I also bought a dozen sweet corn from a natural farmer for $2. That puts my total for the week at around $55. Couponing and doing multiple transactions takes some patience, but when I see the bottom line, it feels worth it! I hope you all had a good week, too!

Prayer Request for G

Our 4-year-old daughter, G, was catatonic for a while earlier this week. Her eyes were open and she could walk when guided, but she was fully non-responsive for about 5-10 minutes, then had a slow recovery over the next hour. After she was able to talk again, about 30 minutes later, she could remember a Bible verse (1 John 4:10, God loved us and sent his Son), but couldn’t remember her sisters’ names. It was pretty scary.

Ted took her to the ER for a CT scan and bloodwork, which both came back normal. The ER doctor chalked it up as an “unresponsive episode”. A couple of hours later she was completely normal from what we could tell.

She had an EEG done the next day. We haven't heard official results from the doctor yet, but she seemed to have several small seizures during the study (imperceptible from what could be seen, but showed up very clearly on the EEG).

While we are waiting to hear more, we have several good elements in our favor: 1) Ted's sister is a doctor with a neurology specialty (with adults, not pediatric) so she should be able to help us with questions and treatment, 2) the EEG tech was a friend of the family, which was calming for G (and us!), and 3) we have a great God who is in control (even if we don’t understand). He has given us peace about the situation, even though we don't have any definite answers yet.

Thank you all for your concern and your prayers. They are heartfelt and appreciated.