Thursday, May 5, 2011

10 Months of Breastfeeding!

We recently reached our 10 month milestone of breastfeeding!

Here's a recent photo of me and Peanut, all dressed up for Easter just 2 days prior to her turning the big 10 months!


I can't believe my baby has gotten so big! The fact that I have been able to provide her almost all of her nutrition during this time is amazing! She currently has chubby wrists and thighs, compliments of Mommy's milk!

She has changed so much over the past 10 months, it is just hard to believe. Breastfeeding her during this time has been challenging, but so incredibly worth it. Now that she is on the move more, the nursing sessions are much shorter, as this child doesn't have patience for eating when there is so much to explore!

I hope to continue nursing Peanut until the one year mark (which, GASP! is only 2 months away!), and after that we will take it day by day. But considering how much she loves it, I'm willing to bet she will nurse as long as I let her, whether it be one year or three!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Look what my coupons can do!

After a 4 month break, I am back into the couponing game! This past Sunday was a great week to start collecting coupons again, as 5 inserts were in the paper with many high value coupons. This is my first time couponing in our current town, so it's been a bit of a learning game finding out where the best stores are, where the best places to buy newspapers are and just sifting through a different couponing atmosphere.

On Sunday, I waited until after church to find my newspapers, and as a result, had to go to 5 different vendors before I was able to purchase all the ones I wanted (just 3!). I also had to buy 2 different newspapers (one local and two from a distant town) since all the coupons seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from the ones left. This is why I always check for the coupons before buying my newspapers - if you know how many are supposed to be in there, you won't get cut short.

Last week I shopped at CVS and Kroger. I got 4 Honest Teas and one Blink Tears from CVS.

4 Honest Teas @ 1.00 each
-Buy One Get One Coupon, 2x
= $0.50 each

Blink Tears @ 7.99
-$4/1 coupon
=$3.99
+7.99 ECBs earned

At Kroger, I picked up some cheap hummus as well as some toothbrushes and floss.

4 Athenos Hummus @ 1.00 each
-Buy One Get One Free coupon, 2x
=$0.50 each

6 Reach Toothbrushes @ $1.00
-$1.00/1 coupons, x6
=FREE

Reach Floss and Flosser @ $1.00 each
-$1.00/1 coupons, x2
=FREE
+another $1/1 Reach toothbrush coupon to use for later!

This week, I stopped at Walgreens and CVS to snag some of the toilet paper deals:

Walgreens:

Walgreens Diapers @ 5.99
-$2/1 coupon
=$3.99

Right Guard Body Wash @ 4.49, Buy One Get One Free
-Buy One Get One Free coupon, 2x
=FREE

Cottonelle Toilet Paper @ 5.00
-$0.50 coupon, 2x
-$1/1 Walgreens coupon, 2x
=$7.00
+$3 RRs earned! =$4.00

CVS:

Soft Scrub @ 1.99
-$1.50/1 coupon, 2x
=$0.49 each

Charmin Toilet Paper @5.99
-$1/1 coupon
=$4.99
+$1 ECBs earned = $3.99

Colgate Toothpaste @ 2.77
-no coupons - I forgot them!
=$2.77 each
+$2.77 ECBs earned each = FREE

And today, I stopped by Kroger for some more freebies!

Ivory Body Wash @ $1.00
-$1.00 coupon = FREE

Safeguard Soap @ $1.00
-$1.00 coupon = FREE

Crest Toothpaste @ $1.00
-$1.00 coupon = FREE

Reach Toothbrush @ $1.00
-$1.00 coupon - FREE

Brutt Deodorant @ $1.00
-$1.00 coupon = FREE

My total for all the trips pictured above was $24.21.
My total savings for everything was $108.44
Total Store Credit/Rewards Remaining: $9.54

I'd say I did pretty good! Sorry if this was a completely boring post, but I was just way too excited about saving so much money for our family again and building up our stockpile. Coupons really do make a difference!