Logan's First Beach Trip

Last week we took Logan to the beach for the first time. We decided to drive for the first time in years because airline tickets are so expensive right now. It was a 12 hour drive, both ways, and he was an angel. We stopped in Alabama on the way down, and since he had slept most of the car ride, he didn't sleep much at all that night. Maybe an hour. It was miserable but he slept the rest of the car ride the next day. I would rather get no sleep than deal with a screaming child in the car for 12 hours. 

We stayed at the beach all day every day. He loved playing in the sand and kept trying to eat it. My mother in law got him a little blow up pool that we took down every day and he would sit underneath the umbrella and play in the water. He even liked the ocean and wasn't scared of the waves at all. 

I couldn't have asked for him to be any better. He was so good the entire time. He even took his naps on the beach most days. We took him with us to play putt-putt golf one evening and took him on his first carousel and train rides. 

He also cut a second tooth while we were there and learned how to clap. He seems to learn a new trick every week. This week he has learned to shake his head "no" (even though he doesn't know what he is doing) and he has finally started crawling up on his knees! I can't believe that he will be one in just two short months! 

A Drugstore Couponing Tutorial

I started couponing a couple of months ago and I have had a ton of people curious about how I do it. I post pictures of my goods on Facebook and every time, I get at least one person asking me to teach them. So, I decided to put together a little how-to using this weeks sales.

I go to Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid on a weekly basis. I use a mixture of printable and paper coupons. I usually go to the Krazy Couponing Lady site to match my coupons with the sales. I also can find some good deals at Kroger and Target, but the best freebies I have found are at the drugstores.

These three drugstores all have some sort of money back rewards program. Each week they run specials on certain products where you get a gift certificate type coupon to use during your next visit.

Walgreens- The trickiest drugstore to coupon at- but they have some great sales. Walgreens is the only drugstore where you can get rewards back and not have to have a membership card. This means that even though they limit the number of rewards per person, you can come back the next day if you want and get a repeat deal. Walgreens also prints a coupon book that you can pick up in store. You can combine 1 Manufacturer coupon with 1 store coupon on each item.

Heres what I got at Walgreens this week:

Mitchum Deodorant (2) on sale for $3 and when you buy 2, you get $4 register rewards. I had a bunch of 75cents off 1 Mitchum Deodorant coupons so I combined them with the sale.
I paid $6- 1.50 (2 coupons)-4.00 Register rewards good off my next purchase= .50 for 2, or .25 each

Dove Men+care soap 6 pack (2) on sale for $6 and when you buy 2, you get a $4 register reward. We got a $4 off MF coupon in the paper a couple of weeks ago, so when I combined the coupon with the rewards, I got 2 6 packs for free. $12-$8 (2 coupons)-$4 register rewards= $0 for 2

Chex mix (2) on sale for $1. We got a .50 cents off 1 coupon in last weeks paper. So I got 2 of them for 50cents each.

Schick Slim twin disposable razors (12 pk) on sale for $5.99. When you buy 1 you get a $2 register reward. You can also print a 3.00 off 1 coupon from the Schick facebook page. Combine these 2 things and pick up a package for 99 cents (12 razors!)
5.99-3.00 coupon from facebook- $2 register reward= .99cents for a 12 pack

Milka Chocolate bars on sale for $1.50. The walgreens booklet has a coupon for $1 off 2 bars and you can print 2 1.00 off coupons from bricks.coupons.com to get these for free!
I paid 3 - 2.00 (2 online coupons) - $1 walgreens coupon= free

This week they also have some great deals on school supplies... .19cent mechanical and regular pencils. .9cent folders and .9cent highlighters :)


CVS- There are a couple incentives to couponing at CVS. First of all, if they are having a really good sale, but are out of stock on the item you want to purchase, you can get a raincheck for that item to purchase it at a later date for the same price (including Register Rewards). Another great thing about CVS is the coupon machine. Scan your CVS card and get additional in store coupons that you can combine with MF coupons.

This is what I got this week at CVS:

Oral B indicator toothbrushes (2) On sale for 1.99. We got
a 2.00/2 indicator toothbrushes coupon a few weeks back in the paper. You also get a 1.00 register rewards when you buy 1 (limit 2). SO, I paid:
3.98-2.00 coupon - 2.00 register rewards = -.2cents for 2 toothbrushes!

Crest toothpaste- 1.99. We got a 75 cents off 1 crest toothpaste last week in the paper. You also get 1.00 rewards when you buy 1 (limit 2) This would make them 24 cents a tube.

Pantene Prov- on sale for 3.49. Get $2 register rewards when you buy 2. We also got a 3.00/2 coupon in the paper a while back. Combine these to get 2 bottles for 99 cents each. I just so happened to have another CVS coupon for 2.00/2 that printed at the register a while back, so I got mine completely FREE!

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes 1.99- you can print a coupon from Cottonelle  for 1.00 off and get these for .99 cents!

Rite Aid- My favorite thing about couponing at Rite Aid is the surveys. With every purchase, you get a code to fill out a survey online. For every survey you fill out (max 3 per month) you can print a coupon for $3 off a $15 purchase. Rite Aid gives "UP" rewards to use towards your next purchase just like the other drugstores.

What I purchased at Rite Aid this week:

U by Kotex liners- .99cents. You can print a 1.00 coupon from Kotex and get these for FREE!

Oral B CrossAction toothbrushes 2.99. You get a 1.50 Up Reward when you buy 1. Combine this with the 2.00/crossaction toothbrush coupon we got in the paper a while back, and MAKE .50cents on these!

Excedrin 20 ct (including Migraine) 1.99- use the .75cent coupon we got a while back in the paper and pick these up for 1.24 each.

WELL, thats it! Sounds complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it doesn't take long at all. If your just starting out, you will want to get a couple copies of the paper every week to build your coupons up. I put mine in a binder with trading card inserts.

Yeah, yeah..I know. I AM one of those crazy coupon ladies with their binders in the drugstore :/ I get a lot of free stuff though! If you all want me to keep passing along the weekly coupon deals, let me know and I will. Or you can visit the Krazy Coupon Lady website for the weekly deals.

Used Cloth Diapers: $2 Econobum's on Craigslist!

Occasionally I look on Craigslist to see if anyone locally has any diapers for sale. Not like we need any more..just curious really. A couple of weeks ago, I found a sweet deal on Econobum's. They were barely used and a lady sold me 4 of them for $10! They are the new ones with colored trim, too. Plus she gave me 5 old Bumgenius OS diapers for free! Yeah, thats right...FREE! She said that the BG's had been through 3 kids, but still had a lot of wear left in them. Perfect to use as backup diapers. I gave some to a friend who had just started cloth diapering, and kept a couple for myself.

Now, I have never used prefolds before, but I just couldn't pass up $2 diapers. And they were in perfect condition. Barely used, really. They aren't that much different to use than pockets or all in ones. You just have to fold the diaper and lay it inside the cover. I did find that it was a little difficult getting it folded right, but I think I just about have it figured out. They are very absorbent and even work well at night.

I realize that buying used cloth diapers sounds really gross, but you can clean them really well. I let mine soak overnight in Rockin Green. Then, I washed them in hot water several times without any soap. After I washed them I let them dry out in the sun for a couple of hours. If they have any stains, this will get rid of them. Then you are good to go! Buying used is a very economical way to get started cloth diapering or to help build your stash. The more diapers you have in rotation, the longer they will last.

A couple of great websites for purchasing used cloth diapers:
- Craigslist 
- Diaper Swappers 
- Ebay
- The Diaper Jungle Forum