19 Simple Steps To Ensure You Never Have To Pay For A Vacuum Cleaner Again

Caption SHOULD read, "Never Loses Suction...Until It Does"

1 - Have 5 dirty children (but really, any children will do)

2 - Accumulate more pets than you can count (Seriously ya'll, Josh had a dad approach him at our soccer practice the other week who said, "I see ya'll have a lot of pets at your house.  You want a couple of bunnies?")

3 - Mandate an open door policy so that you always have other people in and out (preferably ones that come with small children that can help the process)

4 - Make sure you purchase an old home with layers of filth and dust underneath your current carpeted flooring

***Steps 1-4 are only needed to ensure the overuse of your current vacuum cleaner***

NOTE - Bypass Steps 1 -4 if you are one of those rare people that actually cleans on a schedule whether your house actually needs it or not.  Personally I prefer steps 1-4, but you do you.

5 - Begin cycling through vacuum cleaners on a 6-9 month basis, no matter how hard you try to maintain them, because they CAN.NOT.KEEP.UP.WITH.THE.FILTH.

6 - Voice your frustration about how society doesn't make things the way they used to anymore (My parents got a toaster for their wedding and it lasted for DECADES ya'll! I can't even imagine!)

7 - Then mention that you are going to have to shell out a bunch of money...AGAIN... because steps 1-4 require them

8 - Surround yourself with friends in your life who can speak truth and hope in such times of need

9 - Adhere to her advice immediately by scouring Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons for the best vacuum cleaner deal you can find

10 - Purchase the beautiful machine and save the receipt and box in a safe place (because we KNOW we are going to need it in a few months)

11 - Use the vacuum cleaner as seen in previous steps

12 - Wait for the clean smell of a freshly vacuumed room to be replaced by that burned plastic/rubber smell that no candle or oil diffuser can stand against

13 - Pray that you can at LEAST get the dog hair up from the living room before your small group comes in the door

14 - Keep praying that prayer for another week or so until the vacuum cleaner begins spitting out its contents in defiance as you quietly curse at it under your breathe. (I guess I can't blame it. It has worked a long hard 4 months and 23 days *insert eye roll*)

15 - Turn your frown upside down as you walk to your shed to pull out the box and receipt.

16 - Walk into Bed, Bath and Beyond with your head held high because today is YOUR day!  It is the day you get a BRAND NEW VACUUM CLEANER FOR FREE!

17 - But don't walk out of there without your new receipt that you are going to need in another few months to repeat these steps

18 - Return home and unpackaged that brand new vacuum cleaner and realize that you probably should have returned your other one weeks ago because you really shouldn't have to empty the container 4 times with one vacuuming that was JUST completed with your other vacuum cleaner!

19 - Let your heart be happy as you make those fresh vacuum lines in your carpet once again

People, THIS is why we need each other!

NOTE - This system will work with anything you purchase from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  In fact, I texted my friend to thank her for telling me about this and she said she is just WAITING for her Vitamix to go so she can take it back and get a new one, lol. This same friend also upgrades her vacuum cleaner by paying the difference on her returned broken vacuum cleaner!  I mean, do I have brilliant friends or what?! They have a "no questions asked" return policy.  Who knew?!  Well, now YOU do.  You're welcome!
     

"Subscribe and Save" - grocery sanity for the Colony mom

Last summer my sister-in-law shared this program with me from Amazon that I had never heard of before, and I figured it was worth sharing.

It's Amazon's "subscribe and save".

It is basically like grocery shopping on-line, but the items get shipped directly to your front doorstep and the shipping is FREE.  In some cases the items are a bit more expensive, so it just takes a little time to figure out what items are worth getting through this particular program.

BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM:
There are no hidden fees
No sign-up fees
No cancellation fees
No extra trips to the grocery store where you go in "for just a couple of things" but come out with a grocery cart full of unexpected items.
Did I mention that it is a FREE program and FREE shipping!
You can get between 5% to 15% discount on items from the already discounted subscribe and save price. (the more items you get, the more you save)
You have a monthly shipping date so its easy to ration out the food for each week in the month, knowing exactly when your next shipment will be coming.
Every month you get a bunch of boxes for all your kids creative needs!  It's a win-win:)

Here's what you do.

Go to Amazon.com.  Search for whatever items you are looking for and you will see all of the different options for that particular item.

For example: we drink a lot of Coconut water, so I did a search for it and this is what came up.  Look at all your options, look for the particular items flagged as "subscribe and save" items and then compare the brands and prices.  Then click on that item's "subscribe and save", which will take you to a page like this.

This page is where you choose whether you want this just one time or subscribe for automatic deliveries.  Once you choose one-time delivery or how often you want it delivered, which can be changed at any time, you click on the "subscribe now" button which will then take you to a page like this where you will then see your savings to confirm "subscription" and click "subscribe now".

That's it.  It will sit in your "Subscribe and Save" account until your designated shipment date.  You have up until a couple days before it is delivered to change any of your settings or even cancel delivery with no hidden fees!

Click on the arrow that says "your account" and go down to "subscribe and save" to check on your statuses at any time.  From time-to-time items will be "currently unavailable".  That just means that it will not charge your card because that shipment will not be going out.  I check my items every couple of weeks to see which ones I need to replace with a different brand or size to make sure I get what I'm expecting to get.

Over the months I've been able to narrow down the exact items we use on a regular basis and how often we go through them.

"What kinds of things does your family get?"

Well, we get most of our canned goods; green beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, pizza sauce, olives, etc.  We also get pancake mix, oatmeal and some cereals.  We get almonds and pistachios, Annie's mac-n-cheese and snack bars, Josh's protein powder, coconut water, Zeke's Attention vitamins, essential oils, toilet paper and cleaners, flax seed and pasta noodles, just to name a few.

I finally feel like I am getting a handle on our grocery budget and this program has played a huge part in that.

Let me know if you have other questions about this program or about how our family does groceries.

It's A Trap

Part of having a successful outing with a Colony of children is the preparation.

NOTE: I said, "PART"!  You also have to take into consideration the amount of sleep each child has had that night, the food intake, attitudes, timing, and sometimes even the weather (ha, why not).

One thing that drives me crazy as a mom and compulsive healthy consumer is the "waiting area" at the checkout counter.    It is filled with all kinds of yummy, sugary goodness and a plethora of magazines that tell you what you need and DESERVE.

But for me and my household, we will NOT cave.  And in order to keep from caving we have to expose it for what it really is...a trap!

I explain to my kids that the people in the stores set out these things as traps to makes kids (and moms) greedy and to drive mamas crazy and eventually give into the demands of their kid's pleas.

I've found that the more I reveal these kinds of tactics the more my kids can learn to rise above it at an early age.  In fact, they see it as something to conquer!  Don't be afraid to explain it and make a game out of it!

Don't give into the trap.

Well If You're Gonna Buy Organic...

...you should at least figure out which things are worth shelling out the extra dough on!

There is NO need to go "all organic", unless you just really have a few hundred extra bucks sitting around for groceries.

In my quest to find the healthiest, most cost efficient, way to feed the colony I've compiled a list (from several different sources) of which foods to buy organic and which ones are fine to buy...uhhhh..."unorganic":)

Now, this isn't to say that we buy these certain foods organically 100% of the time.  We firmly believe that we can do the best we can, with the budget we have been given, and the Lord will honor that!

Foods To Buy Organically:

apples

celery

strawberries

peaches

spinach

nectarines

grapes

peppers

potatoes

blueberries

lettuce

kale

collard greens

fatty meats

milk (and milk products)

cucumbers

eggs

beans

coffee

wine

chocolate

There is NO NEED to buy these foods as organic:

broccoli

onions

corn

pineapple

avocado

asparagus

sweet peas

mango

eggplant

cantaloupe (try to buy this domestically though)

kiwi

cabbage

watermelon

sweet potatoes

grapefruit

mushrooms

bananas

papaya

One more thing to note - the cheapest place I've found to buy organic and healthy food is Trader Joe's.  In fact, I just got my big groceries there this week and spent $125 which is no less than I would have spent anywhere else (even with coupons) because we have pretty much cut out snack foods, boxed meals, boxed vegetables and boxed and processed foods.  If I were to spend $125/week for a whole month I would actually be staying in my grocery budget a month for a family of 7!  Not too shabby.

I also do ALDI for just about everything else on my list.

Tough Choice...REALLY?!

$.99 REGULAR PRICE at Aldi

$4.29 ON SALE at Harris Teeter

MMMM - Intro.

Minimalist Meals for Many Mouths

A family of seven.

That's what we are now.

We have also been watching what we eat in a whole different way.  Josh got this cool app on his phone to calculate his calories and it also calculates what you need more of, like protein or iron, so this has added a whole new twist on the grocery budget and shopping.

I feel as though I'm finally getting my groove back, though.  I have been cutting coupons and beginning to re-stock our pantry, but I have realized that we needed to get practical and realistic.

We are really seeing that "little" really is "more"!

We don't have to have extravagant meals to be healthy and to get in the kinds of foods that we need while still filling all of our bellies, we just have to get creative.

So, with all that said, I decided it would be fun to start a category for posts that highlight our meals/snacks/foods that make our bodies healthy, our tummy's full and our pocket-book happy:)

So, here is our first MMforMM:

Hard boiled eggs.  

Yup, that is it!  We have a family just down the road with a farm.  They have been selling us their eggs and they are yummy!  We can get a dozen, brown, organic eggs for $1.50.  We have been going through 2-3 dozen eggs a week.  We can use them in all three meals or for a simple, healthy snack.  ALL the kids love them...you can't beat that!

I usually boil a dozen eggs as soon as we get home with them and put them in a bowl in the refrigerator.  The kids will eat one with lunch, or we'll cut one up in our salad or just grab one to go for a snack.

Allowing the littles to crack and de-shell their own eggs is also a fun activity that keeps them occupied long enough for you to fix your own plate!

Health Facts:
Eggs are rich in Vitamin B (specifically B12), and protein.  They also help fight memory loss, are good for your heart and help our eyes.  It doesn't hurt that they are low-carb either.

Robbed

I have been neglecting ECB deals at CVS for quite some time.  I've barely done enough just to keep my ECB's from expiring.  I knew it was getting bad when Josh lovingly told me that our "stash", the CVS store hiding in our bathroom linen closet, was looking pretty pathetic and it was time to go score some deals.

Still, it wasn't until I saw this status on Josh's cousin's wife's facebook page, "just robbed CVS again.  How do they stay in business?"

So, thank you Morgan for re-inspiring me to get out their and "steal" those deals again!

Started w/ 9 ECB's

Total before coupons - $44.48

Total saved: $40.38

TOTAL SPENT: $4.10

Ended w/ 8 ECB's

Man, did that feel good!

Not Me Monday - Nope, There's NOT A Giveaway!

Friday night is family night!

We make homemade pizza and watch a movie.

BUT

If it's nice outside, who can give up an evening picnic under the stars pointing out constellations?!

So, if my daughter were to drop her pizza upside down on the way out the side door onto the doormat, I would never pretend like I didn't see her as she picked it up to put back on her plate.

Nope, not me!

I'd at least inspect the pizza to make sure there weren't any hairs or leaves on it get her a sanitary piece of pizza!

Speaking of my daughter...

Yes, I'm a mother.  But to a six-year-old?!

Nope, not me.

I'm only 19, in college studying music, playing soccer and looking for Mr. Right.  I would never turn 32 and become a mother of 3, much less a mother to a beautiful little girl who turns 6 years old today!

Nope, not me!

That 6-year-old would never turn into a little "me" walking around, constantly picking up after her little brothers, crying when things are out of place and arguing until her opponent tells her that she's right.

Nope, not me her!

Because if I were a mom to a 6-year-old little girl, I would be more aware of who I really am.  I would be forced to see what I am really like behind closed doors, as only a mom can see.  I would thank the Lord for His faithfulness and graciousness to me, to bless me, in spite of myself, with 3 beautiful children, who challenge me to be a better mom, wife and teacher.

Because that is what a parent is, right?

Speaking of teaching...

I always have a rhyme and reason to these Not Me Monday posts, so I'd never let you know that I was asked to Guest Post at the Internet Cafe and leave you a link to a giveaway of my book because you only have 7 more days until it begins!

Nope Not Me!


Oh...and I'd never tag a P.S. on a Not Me Monday post either...so, just pretend that this didn't happen and that you already knew that Josh is going in the studio with the guys at the end of the week to track a song to go along with each week of my devotional to help your kids remember the verses, k?!  K!  Make sure to check back here at the beginning of each week to download your song for the week:)

Snapfish - Hot Deal

I just read this post and just HAD to share it!

If you go to Snapfish.com and use the coupon code MERRY1213 you get 100 free prints with any $5 purchase.  You still have to pay shipping but it should be less than $6 for those 100 prints.


There's an added bonus if you go through EBATES.  A 10% back kind of bonus:)  You gotta love that!


This snapfish coupon code expires on Sunday, December 19th so go take advantage of this great deal.  This is how I get all my pictures to scrapbook.


WARNING:  You may be reading a lot of deals and random posts from me over the next couple of weeks as I am on bed rest and not much else to do while I...rest.  *sigh*  I'll fill you in on that little incident in the days to come.

Black Friday and New Thanksmas

It was Wednesday morning and I had several errands to run before heading up north for "New Thanksmas".  I decided to get all my deals together because Tasha + Black Friday + Way Too Many People + Long Lines All Alone = Well, it doesn't equal anything, because it just doesn't exist, ha!

But, I did decide that I have GOT to get back into the CVS game.  This decision was made after I actually had to pay for my last tube of toothpaste.  I know *gasp*...  I haven't had to do that in 3 years!  Anyway, I got my load of ECB's (I only had 3 left ya'll!) and headed out to get my pre-black-friday deals.  I scored HUGE!  I also got an amazing deal at Kroger.  I finished up my errands getting almost $100 worth of stuff from CVS and Kroger and only spending $11!  What?!  It feels so good to be back in the game.  Now, let's see if I can keep this up.

I got home and we packed up the car.

My side of the family met this year to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year all smooshed into one big holiday - "New Thanksmas".  We squeezed a year's worth of tradition into 2 days.  It was short and sweet, but man, oh so fun!

I'll be sharing more about our time with my family because I KNOW you all are dying to see String Party Pictures!
_______________________________________

So, even though I don't venture out into the world the day after Holidays, I L.O.V.E. to hear about all the deals that everyone else gets!  It's way more exciting for me than waking up at the butt-crack of dawn, or camping in a parking lot, or whatever else you crazy people do, ha!

So, let me know how your Thanksgiving was (because I missed you all, although I did enjoy the short blogging hiatus) and if you went out and scored big...on Christmas Presents, silly, this is a G-rated blog;)

Soooo, share...ready...GO!

Free Cloth Diapers

I am all about getting things for free, especially if it means I am saving money in the process.  So, when I heard about Diaper Junction's Super Stash Diaper Giveaway you know I had to share it with my readers.

There are 12 different ways to enter and a couple of those ways you can do once a day until the end of the contest, which is October 12th.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go sign-up (and like and buy and write about) to get some free cloth diapers.

You can also enter to for a chance to win AppleCheeks products on THIS SITE and THIS SITE!

Go get your free diapers!

Fun Facts For Friday - Our Playroom Just Got Significantly Smaller

Even though the twitter hash-tag looks somewhat misleading, #kidsexchange, we look forward to this semi-annual event. And it's time for the HUGE NC Kid's Exchange this week. I dropped off all my things to sell on Monday so I could get in early yesterday and get (almost) first dibs on everything on my list.

Here's what I was going for:

Cloth diaper accessories

A tunnel for Cai to crawl through, since we know he loves it so much!

Costumes

Winter clothes for Areyna

Sweaters for the boys

Drums for Zeke

Scooter for Areyna

Christmas presents for cousins and our kids

I came back home with:

Some brand new FuzziBunz for Cai - half-off

Costumes for Areyna and Zeke

A full winter wardrobe for Areyna, including winter coat, scarf, hat and glove set and shoes.

Sweaters for the boys and hat and mitten sets

A drum set for Zeke - $130 off the original price! (we'd been scouring craigslist for MONTHS looking for a set for his birthday.

A scooter for Areyna - scooters keep our kids occupied during band rehearsals! This was a smart buy.

All my Christmas shopping done for the Via cousin side of the family and our kids!

I couldn't NOT give a special thing to our kids when we got home, so I sorted out what we'd save for Christmas and decided on 1 costume for each and 1 big thing for each to play with. We took them on a scavenger hunt around the house to find their special gifts! You should have seen their faces.

Here are their favorites from the sale that we've already gotten our money's worth out of.

1 - Zeke's drum set: He went straight to his drums before even telling us good morning this morning!

2 - Areyna's scooter

3 - A bell costume for Areyna

4 - A bigger Spiderman costume for Zeke - which means an old/new spiderman costume for Cai! (you gotta love hand-me-downs)

5 - A tunnel maze for Cai - He LOVES it! How much? Well, let's just say he wanted to crawl in the tunnel before eating breakfast...and you KNOW how much this boy likes to eat!!!

I know this sounds so stupid, but I'm just being honest.

I had such mixed emotions as we gave our kids their gifts. I mean, we hardly ever buy toys, even for birthdays, much less for no occasion at all. One, they are a lot of money and two, they already have so much! In a society that is already telling them that they "need" more stuff, it is a constant reminder that we need to teach our kids gratefulness, contentment and thankfulness.

So, last night before we went to bed we asked to kids to specifically thank God for all He had given them and today we are all going to find 3 things that we can give away to someone else that may not be so privileged.

Super Doubles - Round 1

The 4 of us tracked out to Harris Teeter this morning (me and the kids that is) and did awesome. Mind you, we were in dire need of food, so we got more than my average $15 super double/triple budget allows! Since they only allow up to 20 coupons to double per day I'll be going back tomorrow.

Total Spent: $75.04

Total Saved: $69.76

***The organic milk and organic yogurt (equalling about $12), were the only things that weren't on sale and the watermelon (which was $1.47) and strawberries (which were B1G1) were bought without a coupon. Other than that, everything else was a steal!***

You can check out the following links HERE and HERE to get the best coupon match-ups for this round. Come back and tell me how you did!

Spending Freeze - AKA: What's For Dinner?

Sometimes we play this little game around here called, "Spending Freeze". Actually, it's not called that, I just made it up. As a matter of fact, it's really not a game, but I like to make it into a game...games always make life more interesting, don't you agree?

I bet you'll recognize the game after I explain it a little better.

Rules Of The Game:

1 - May not be played until all grocery budget money, or ALL your money for that matter, has diminished. Usually happens 5-7 days before payday.

2 - Everyone in the house must play. It just doesn't have the same effect when everyone isn't on board. The kids will eventually get on board, just give them some time. They pretty much won't have a choice after a day or two=)

3 - Goal of the game: not to step foot into the grocery store until you have been paid, or at least until you run out of baby food (man, that boy can eat!).

We've been playing this game for 5 days now, but praise the Lord, payday is Saturday! I thought it would be fun to share our creative meals, I mean, gaming strategies, with you in case you ever have a chance to play the game yourself!

Saturday: We had pretty "normal" meals but began realizing that we were going to have to give smaller rations of just about every staple around the kitchen. It helped that we had Journey on Saturday night and we have an AWESOME volunteer team that provides food for us!

Sunday: I always buy meat with the discount stickers on them before they expire so I had a good meat stockpile in the freezer. I pulled out a roast to stick in the crock pot with some potatoes and carrots. We also had 1 more can of dinner biscuits to make. Mother's Day Lunch was ready when we got home! For dinner, Josh finished up the last of the pancake mix for our candlelight dinner we had. Throw in a few eggs and you've got a whole meal. My man sure knows how to please:)

Monday: Finished off the cereal and then finished off the Bisquick to make cinnamon rolls for the rest of the week's breakfasts. Lunch was a conglomeration of pretzels (finished off), lunch meat, peanut butter, saltine crackers, craisins, and apples to take on our picnic. For dinner we had wonderful spaghetti and a great salad with some broiled sandwich bread with Parmesan cheese.

Tuesday: The kids are getting a little weary of our little game. We press on toward the goal though. The kids got the last 2 pop-tarts for breakfast, I had yogurt and granola and Josh had oatmeal. Lunch was at Aunt Kelly's house for play day. Dinner for Josh and I was at small group (we made out good today!) and I made the kids grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Micaiah didn't get any fruit today. Just sweet potatoes, carrots and corn.

Wednesday: Breakfast will be oatmeal or yogurt and granola. Lunch will be lunch meat, salad or soup. Dinner is going to be something with chicken, tortillas and rice. Maybe I'll post what yummy meal we get out of these ingredients. I can always go to AllRecipes.com to find a fabulous recipe.

BENEFITS OF THE GAME:

1 - You get to weed out all those little things in the back of your pantry that you forgot about.

2 - You get to be creative in finding what kinds of foods can go together

3 - We all are reminded of how blessed we are to have so much food at the tips of our fingers

4 - The kids have stopped asking for snacks since their options today were "apple or carrot, what'll it be?"

5 - Josh and I aren't snacking as much either. I mean, I would hardly call my pack of tic-tacs before bed a snack! It didn't even come close to fulfilling my craving.

So, now that you know what game I'm talking about...do you ever play?

Going "Green" To Save "Green"

Last week I posted that we had been working hard on lowering our energy bill. When we received our last bill it was $100 cheaper than the previous bill!

Now, we are far from experts in this area but, as requested by some of you, I figured I'd share the things we changed or cut back on, to lower our energy bill, and some other things we've been working on for that matter.

1 - Turn Your Dryer Off - Josh installed a clothes line outside. I love it! It actually helps me keep up with the laundry. As soon as I rotate the dry clothes and the wet ones I'll fold them and put them away. The only time I even use my dryer now is for 1 load of underwear and socks, if I don't have room for them on the line or to lay flat to dry somewhere.

And no, it doesn't take any longer on a breezy, "un"humid day to dry than in the dryer.

2 - Turn The Lights Off - We've been working hard on teaching our kids to turn lights off when they aren't in a room. It helps that it is lighter for longer outside, now that it's spring, and that we have LOTS of windows. We rarely even have to turn lights on before 8pm.

3 - Wash With Cold Water - I know this isn't always practical, but I ALWAYS wash with cold water. If there is something that just will not come out I might consider warm water, but cold is much more cost efficient and works for us.

4 - Set Your Thermostat - Keep your air conditioner set on 78*(where is that blasted "degrees" symbol?) I'm not a temperature nazi, but we are very conscience of the tempterature in the house. It REALLY makes a difference. Don't worry, if you come to visit we'll adjust it to make it a little more comfortable if you start sweating. Sorry daddy, we'll do better next time:)

5 - Get Some Fresh Air - I am a window girl and will keep our windows open as long as possible, unless their is pollen bowl sweeping in;)

6 - Turn The TV Off - We rarely watch TV around here. The only shows we watch are Lost and 24 and it's rare when we can actually catch them on the nights they air. We can watch them for free any other time during the week on our computer. Therefore, when we moved in we cut the cable (the 7 extra channels we actually had for basic cable were in spanish anyway). We got one of those converter boxes and have 33 channels now, for FREE, and I even get a weather channel with that! Did I mention that it's FREE?!

Anyway, that's just one thing you can do. We try to keep large appliances off if we aren't using them.

7 - The Rule Of One - I learned from a friend that you can cut costs by only running one large appliance at a time. For example, if you need to do laundry AND take a shower AND run the dishwasher, spread them out and do just one at a time.

8 - Wait For A Full Load - Wait to wash dishes or laundry until you have a full load.

9 - Turn Your Water Heater Down - Depending on how drastic you are with this one, you could even save on your water bill. Cold showers don't tend to be as long;)

I'd love to hear of some other ways that you and your family work to lower your energy bill.

HT Triples: I've Got My List Together

Harris Teeter triples starts tomorrow. I've got my list together. Go HERE and HERE to get yours started too!

Did You Know...

...that CVS will accept any pharmacy gift card coupons?

That's right! I never shop at RiteAid but I always look through their add every week to see if they have their $25 gift card coupon for transferred prescriptions. They usually have 2 about once a month. You don't actually have to transfer anything. Every time I have to refill a prescription I give them the RiteAid coupon and get a $25 gift card, no matter how much the medicine actually was!

Target also has $10 gift card coupons about once a month too that are good for any new prescription. CVS will take these too!

Believe me, this has been a lifesaver when we have to keep up with multiple medications, especially when we are in the middle of a sick phase in our family.

Pantry Makeover At Earth Fare

My sister-in-law, Kelly, told me about this awesome promotion that Earth Fare is offering. They are trying to promote healthier eating by offering to give their healthier food away in exchange for the food in your own pantry. Even if you already ate it all and the container is empty! If you go HERE and click on "get started" you can sign up to print off a coupon to take in the store for the switch. Then go HERE and take "The Boot Challenge" to print off a coupon to trade in your applesauce for theirs. (I took in multiples of some items but they only exchanged one of each. They told me that we could enter another e-mail address to do another makeover though.)

Here is a list of things that you can give "the boot":

Look for these items with hydrogenated oils and/or high fructose corn syrup

Cereal

Peanut Butter

Soda

Salad Dressing

Jelly

Apple Sauce

The stuff I brought in

The $16 worth of groceries I brought home

FOR FREE!

What Have I Created?!

Josh had a dream last night. Here's how it went...

Josh: I was in Food Lion with a small list of things. Joy (his sister) was with me. I got all the stuff on the list and then went to the self-checkout. I tried to scan my MVP card but it was so old and crumply (is that even a word?) that it wouldn't scan (which really IS true) so I just started pushing in the numbers on the key pad so I could get all the sales. After I entered all the numbers the cash register door came open with all the money in it. I thought, 'what in the world!' as I quickly shut the door and tried to push the 'help' button for somebody to come over and help. While I was waiting I decided to go ahead and scan my coupons. By that time I'd forgotten about my MVP card not working and swiped my debit card to pay for the groceries. It wasn't until after the payment that I realized that I didn't get credit for all the sales because I'd forgotten about the MVP card. Then Joy offered her card, I'm not sure why she didn't think of that sooner, and I tried to swipe it but it was too late! I was SO mad because I had gotten so many things on sale! Then I heard my alarm going off in my sub-conscience. I got up to turn my alarm off and I was really mad. I woke up mad because I didn't get those sales!

Thank goodness for the snooze button. I don't think he ever got credit for the sales but at least he didn't wake up mad after his alarm went off the second time, ha!=)

Gone Shopping

This is what you see when you walk in.

The place that looks like the back is really only

the beginning of the rows and rows of clothes!

A section of bouncy seats

Need a stroller...or 500?

Well, today was a first. Yes, I went shopping! Shocker, I know=) I got to experience the NC Kids Exchange that my sisters-in-law have been raving about. We dropped off our stuff to sell on Monday night and this morning I braved the crowds to find what I was looking for.

This is the first time that I actually HAVE to get clothes for Areyna and Zeke. I've had hand-me-downs since they were born which has always been wonderful, knowing how expensive clothes can be. This is the next best thing though. Gently used clothes that other people are selling.

I didn't buy any clothes over $4 except for Areyna's Easter dress which was $5 (still brand new with the tags on it). I got Rainy and Zeke's entire spring/summer wardrobe plus a booster seat for Zeke and a water floaty thing for Micaiah for this summer.

I was prepared to spend 3 hours in line but I made it out of the lines within about 30 minutes.

If I can do it anyone can. So, if you need kid's clothes, toys, books, strollers, baby items, homeschool curriculum, etc. go check them out at the Fair Grounds. They only do this sale 2 times a year!