I Won ... Thank - You!!

During the blog party I found mountainrailwayblog.com.

Her post was really cool as she shared 25 facts about herself! She was also doing a giveaway so of course I left a comment and entered the giveaway!

Guess what????? I won!

My kids were especially excited when they found out it was a Toys R Us gift card! ha... then I informed them it was mine!!! AHHHH!!!....What?? No I'm not being selfish... But....Fine, maybe I can find something the whole family can enjoy! Happy!!! (man they get everything)

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Thank you Carrie! Be sure to check out her blog as she's eating from her pantry this week! She also has, as she puts it, 2 little guys and a surprise teeny princess, sooo cute!

Thanks again, Carrie

BTW- Be sure to enter lots of giveaways. In blog land your chances of winning are really good. There are sooo many giveaways! You can go here to see a few and get started signing up. Even people who say they never win...win!!

CVS 4-5

It's a better week at CVS this week... YAY!!

**Mon. & Tues. only**
Bamboo Easter basket - $1.99 get 1.99 ecb = FREE - limit 2
Easter Grass - .79 - get .79 ecb = FREE - limit 2
*** All Week**
Dawn dish soap - .99 -.25MQ= .75
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Excedrin -$1.99 -$2.MQ= FREE
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Skintimate Cream Shave- $3.49 get 3.49 ecb = FREE- lmt 1
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Coke 3/$11. get 3 ecb - wyb 3 = 3/$8. - limit 1
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Pringles .88 -$1./2 MQ= .38 cents each
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Mentos Gum $1.69 -$1./1MQ= .69 get 1 ecb wyb3 = .36 cents each
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Colgate Toothpaste $2.99 -.75 MQ - get 2 ecb = .24 cents - limit 1
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Schick Intuition Razor - $9.99 bogo use 2 $4./1 MQ = $1.99 for 2
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Gold Emblem spices - .88 cents each
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Baby Products pictured - get 10 ecb wyb $25. -- might be able to work up a great deal if you have any $5. or $3. printables left from 2 weeks ago.
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MQ= manufacturer coupon
WYB= when you buy
bogo= buy one get one
ecb = extra care bucks
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To see more deals and ad scans go here!
Please leave us a comment if you see another great deal!

Walgreens 4-5

Here's what is going on at Walgeens this week...**

Colgate Total $3.49 get 3.49 RR back -- use .75 MQ to make MM
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Glade Lasting Impressions Kit - $5.99 -4 MQ= $1.99 send in for $2. rebate #18--limit 2
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Oust $2.99 -$2.MQ= .99 cents --send in for $1. rebate #20 = FREE-- limit 4
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Visine $3.99 - $3MQ= .99 get $2.RR - WYB 2 = FREE
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Betty Crocker Frosting - 2/$3. -.50/1MQ= $1. each -- get $1.RR- WYB 2 = .50 cents each
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Mars Candy Bars 2/$1.
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24 pk bottled water - $2.99 - Camping season is soon!!!
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If you're wondering
MM= Money Maker
RR= Register Reward
WYB= When you buy
MQ= Manufacturer coupon
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To see more deals and the ad scans go here.
Leave us a comment if you see another deal or if you have a question!

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians Chapter 11

Verse 3

Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Walmart Freebies!

Freebies from Walmart!!

I didn't do any normal grocery shopping this week. If you missed my new grocery challenge you can read about it here. I am skipping 1 week each month to reduce my monthly grocery budget even more to $175.

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I had to get some birthday presents, so we went to the town only 7 miles from us to do a quick Walmart run! Before we left I checked Hot Coupon World here to see what's free at Walmart.

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I got the gum free with MQ

The Band aids were $1.24 -$1.MQ = .24 cents

Dove trial deodorant was .97 -$1. MQ (didn't specify size)= FREE

Kotex 1.00 -$1.MQ= FREE
Baby Wipes $2.28 -$3.00 MQ= .72 overage!

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So with the overage to pay for the band aids I still made $1.02 for these items!!!

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Skipping a week went well and I'm ready to hit it again next week. I hope Meijer has some good sales, I think they're due for a good one!

Loving Our Husbands

Every Friday Shannon is doing a linky for Loving our husbands!

I am going to be listing general ways we can love our husbands each week.

If you missed the first 3 go here.

Here is the next 3...

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4. Show interest in his friends and give him some time with them if they’re trust-worthy.

5. Let go of the small stuff. We all have annoying habits and preferences that are different from our spouse’s.

6. Tell him you both love him AND like him

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For more ways to Love our Husbands and to link up go here.

Spring Cleaning -- Failed this week!

Yep I'll admit it... I didn't get done this week with the laundry room. Okay Okay I hardly got started!! I got 1/2 of the big closet done (the easy side) and I got the tops of the washer and dryer cleaned (I know whoopee). Yea I officially failed this week.

Oh well there's always next week right????

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Go here to see how others did and to link up!

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians Chapter 10

Verse 13

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

I Did What....

It's funny how Shannon at the Peer Review just did a post on what she calls "Baby Haze". She explains it so well. Be sure to read it here!

Well as I read it, I could relate to a tee. I don't have any babies, my youngest is almost 3, but for some reason I still have the haze. Only maybe worse than most. I like to call mine "Kid Fog"

Anyway here's a great example of my "baby haze" or Kid Fog".

I made spaghetti bake for supper tonight. I made it on the stove and then transferred into a baking dish covered with foil and popped it in the oven....right...that's what I thought I did. I went about my business and came back 20 min. later to check it. I found....
Yep an empty oven. My mouth dropped wide open...what I thought... I looked deeper (yea like it shrunk or something duh). I looked on top of the stove, on the counter. I thought how did the kids get that out of there...where did they put it???? All the sudden I remembered putting something in the fridge... I looked...

My mouth dropped open again...How on earth did I put our supper in the fridge before we ate it??? I couldn't believe the fog was that thick tonight. All I could do is laugh and laugh HARD!! Well supper's going to be another 20 min. Hun!!!

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Is that what you're talking about Shannon???

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Hope that made ya laugh tonight!!! I know it did me!!

Taco Dip Recipe

Last week I shared the recipe for a Nacho Meat Sauce to serve with tortilla chips. So this week I thought I'd share another recipe to go with tortilla chips.

This one is Taco Dip. It is delicious! You only need 3 main ingredients and then you can use no toppings or as many as you want. I usually make the dip and then put lettuce, tomatos, and cheese on top. It looks so inviting when your done. And it really is fast and simple to make!
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Here's how you make it...
8 oz. cream cheese softened
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. taco seasoning
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*In bowl combine these 3 ingredients. Mix well. (some like to beat cream cheese first).
*Spread in 9" round serving dish.
*Top with any or all toppings. (Lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, green bell peppers, black olives)
*Serve with tortilla chips.
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Enjoy!!
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To see more recipes visit The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Wow! 5 Inserts in Sundays Paper!!!

Wow!! Be Sure to check out the coupon inserts for Sundays paper here. They look awesome!!! There is supposed to be 2 Smart source, 2 Valassis, and a P&G. That's 5 inserts, be sure to pick up some extra copies on Sunday. You can order the big city inserts here if you live in area that gets puny inserts (you'll have to wait until Monday). You can also pick which coupons you want and order them here!

This is a few of my favorites...
I can usually get all these items free or nearly
free after doubled or tripled and a sale!!
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Betty Crocker Cookie Mix --.40/1
BC Frosting -- .50/1
BC Potatoes -- .25/1
BC Warm Delights - .50/1
Daisy Sour Cream - .50/1
Green Giant boxed veggies - .50/2
Kellogg's Cereal $1./1 -- awesome
NY Texas Croutons - .50/1
Country Crock butter - .45/1
Skippy Peanut Butter - .40/1
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I felt like my coupon stash was getting a little weak, this should boost it back up!!
Have a great Day!

Things I Love Thursday

Very simply I love grilling (okay hubby does the grilling) but I love the grilled food.

It just tastes better!

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We also love to marinade our meat. You can see one of my favorite marinade recipes here. We also love Lawry's Caribbean Jerk. Last Spring I was able to get a bunch of them free at Kroger. I am hoping and waiting for the sale this year!

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What's your favorite marinade for meat?? If you have the time and energy, I'd love for you to leave me the recipe. I'm always looking for something new to try!

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You can either leave it in the comments or post it on your blog and leave me the link!

Either way thanks soooo much!!

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To see more Things we all love go here

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians Chapter 9

Verse 19

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

Verse 23

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

P&G Coupon Booklet

Money Saving Mom found that you can get another Home Made Simple coupon booklet by going here! This booklet is from P&G. Even if you've gotten this before you should be able to get another one! It has lots of coupons and usually has one for a free product.

It's easy to sign up and only takes a minute.

In His Word Wednesday -- Patience...

This week I think I'm working on Patience! If you haven't read I'm potty training... Even tho he is doing remarkably well. It still seems to take lots of patience! Like when I have to stand in the bathroom with him for 1/2 an hour while he says he has to go, but doesn't! And patiently clean up wet pants... You know the drill!

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Well here are some verses on patience...

1 Thessalonians 5:14

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

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Romans 12: 12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

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Eph. 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

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Of course there are many more verses in the Bible on patience. Be sure to look some more up!

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So how has God been working on you lately? Do you have any prayer requests? Do you have any simple words of encouragement? Does a Bible verse stand out to you this week??

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If so do a post on your blog and come back here and link up. This way everyone will be able to find you and pray for you, read God's word, or be encouraged!

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You can also leave your Bible verse, encouragement, or prayer request as a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

btw if you do a post on your blog, feel free to use my banner at the top. Just right click to save!

Target Deals 3-29

I rarely get to Target but thought I would start posting a link in case some of you are lucky enough to have one close by. It seems you can really get some good deals there.

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I just came across this website tonight and she does a really great job of coupon matchups for Target. Be sure to check it out. You can also go here to print Target Coupons that can be stacked with Manufacturers coupons. This really makes some sweet deals!

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You can also check out Money Saving Mom for Target deals.

Homemade Playdoh

Sarah is doing a series where she is exploring making things ourselves!

I will definitely be trying out this weeks. She tells us how to make homemade play doh. Surprisingly with 4 kids you'd think I would have tried this before. But I never have! That will change soon, my 2 yr old loves playing with play doh. Oh who am I kiddin' they ALL love playdoh, even my 10 yr old!

Be sure to go here and check it out...Thanks Sarah!

Potty Training update!

Just in case anyone was wondering, the potty training is going exceptional!! Almost too easy that I wonder what tomorrow will bring!!

He had 3 accidents total all day and no poo poo accidents. Those are the icky ones!

Here is the method I'm using in case you are ready to potty train too.

**When he woke up I put him on the potty right away. He actually went so we were off to a great start.

**Then I put regular undies on him (I know kinda brave but he loves them). We made a potty chart...he colored it...we put up stickers each time he went and then he got 3 m&ms or choc. chips. That of course excited him!

**I set the timer for 1 hr. -- he did have an accident so I reduced the time and took him every 45 min. I would just announce "It's Potty Time"... He did great! If he didn't need to go, I then took him every 10 min. until he went. This happened in the afternoon.

**That's it!! I think since I have undies on him and not a pull up, I was more disciplined because it there is an accident then there's a mess. With a pull up the mess is easy so it's easier for me to forget to take him or get lazy. But that's just me!
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He even woke up dry this morning (surprise)... I think it's only going this well because he kinda was potty trained before. But I'm excited!!

I'll update again at the end of the week. Hopefully it will still be good news! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Kroger 3-31

Kroger doesn't look real great to me this week. But there may be a sweet milk/Quaker deal in your area. Be sure to check your ad. This is from a southern Michigan ad and it doesn't have the sweet deal.
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Milk $5/7 -- Kroger that I actually shop at (ad comes out Thurs) will probably be 10/$10 or 4/$5.
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Idaho potatoes -- .99 cents/ 5 lb bag
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Eckrich hot dogs -- $1.66 each
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Kroger frozen pizzas -- $2.50
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Ham Shank - .77/lb
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Strawberries - 2/$4.
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Oscar Meyer Deli thins- $1.66 -$1/2MQ= $1.15 each
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This milk/Quaker deal may or may not be in your area...
If it is, it's sweet!! Hot coupon world talks about it here
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5 free 1/2 gallons milk free wyb 4 Quaker selected items (shown are life cereal, cap'n crunch, oatmeal to go, chewy granola, true delights) $2.50 each
deal:
$10. buy 4 boxes true delights @ $2.50
-$4. use 4 - $1/1 MQ
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$6. for 5 - 1/2 gal milk and 4 boxes true delights.
You could use this $1./1 Life Cereal MQ and work the same deal

Sounds too good to be true. I'm hopeful Central Indiana ad will have it but I doubt it.
Does your area have this deal??

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians chapter 8

Verse 6

yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and or whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

The Laundry Room

Well It's Spring Cleaning Week 5 and we're tackling the Laundry Room. I really considered skipping this week as I thought this area was under control... Then I looked, yep I better participate. It looks a little more scary than I thought! Especially the closet!!

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Be sure to go here and get your assignments and link up.

Hopefully I will get some time between potty training to dig into this closet! I love it because it's so big but I really have to keep on top of it or it can really get a mess!

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Sarah found that the average family does about 8-10 loads of laundry per week! Well I'm proud to announce that we're an above average family! HaHa ..At least in the laundry category, okay maybe that's not a category to be proud of... anyway I do closer to 15 loads a week for family of 6!

I'm curious how many loads do you do? To be fair mention how many people there are in your family too?

Remember go here to link up!

Potty Training...Yikes!!

Yep I'm taking the plunge. We're potty training! I have a son who is going to be 3 in May...Yep it's time. I'm gonna do it and I will not quit, I will not quit, I will not quit. Sorry I gotta syke myself up. You see I have to tell ya I have started and quit before...I know big no no, right!!!

Well actually I have already potty trained this kid...let me explain since I'm sure you're wondering why I'm doing it again>> hmmm I ask myself the same question.

Well I started training him when he was about 27 months, even tho I knew I probably didn't have enough time before we took a 15 day working camping trip. I know I should have know better. But I did it anyway and he was doing so well... but he wasn't totally trained and it was time to leave for our trip, uh oh.

Well imagine camping in October-- never being at the camper--doing laundry once in 15 days, and me working while hubby took care of the kids-- yea you get the picture. To avoid messes the diaper went back on and the pooh pooh went back in!! Oh how depressing it was but I didn't even have time to think about it until we got back home and I was the caretaker again. Yep totally untrained.... I mean totally untrained...

So since I did it once, did I have to do it again?? Well 5 months later it's still not done...so I guess I'm doin' it again!

I'm very hopeful that it will go easier since he knows the concept. Then again he also wants his way and has a little 4th child I want my way attitude. But I will not quit, I will not quit, I will not quit.

That's where you come in and why I'm blogging about it. You guys do something to me. You motivate me to succeed. It's just like the spring cleaning segment has been, never in a million years would I motivate myself to clean (really clean) 1 room each week and not skip out. but since I'm blogging about it I have.

Pray and think of me often this week as I'm probably cleaning up doo doo from all corners of the house. Well lets hope not!! Just remember don't let me quit, don't let me quit, don't let me quit...

If you have any tips or encouragement be sure to leave a comment. Let me know I'm not allowed to quit!!! Thanks you guys are the best!

BTW -- having potty trained 3 kids already you'd think I'd have a great method....Why is it that each kid is sooooo different. Potty Training should be one of those things that God made each kid the same... I'm pretty sure He didn't ...

My first seemed so easy - done in 5 days- no more accidents-- then again with one child I had nothing else to do except wait until potty time!

My second (girl) was terrified of the toilet. Smart little snot but terrified she'd get flushed down. One day I knew she had to go, it was 1 PM and she was still dry from morning. I held her down on the pot screaming...she couldn't hold it any longer and went. From that moment she realized it wasn't going to eat her and NEVER had an accident. Yep that was easy...

My third...I have no idea... really I don't remember doing it at all... maybe the potty training fairy waved her magic wand or something.... I don't know maybe I should wait and see if the fairy will come for my 4th... No! now come on guys I'm not goin' quit!!!

Weekly Menu

I won't be going to the store this week, but our menu doesn't look any different than normal. We'll see how we do!

Monday-- Mini Meatloaf, cheesy potatoes, and veggies
Tuesday -- Marinaded Grilled chicken, fettuccine noodles, and veggies
Wednesday -- Grilled sloppy dogs, macaroni salad, apple slices
Thursday -- Spaghetti Bake, cheesy bread, Mandarin oranges
Friday -- Birthday Party
Saturday -- Homemade pizza
Sunday -- Birthday Party
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We're trying the mini meatloaves for our new recipe. I think it sounds interesting. I am still debating whether I should use oatmeal like the recipe says or substitute crackers like I usually use. Have you ever used oatmeal in meatloaf? How was it different? Should I try it??
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For more Meal Plans go here