Busy Busy Busy!

We have been so busy with summer I haven't had much time to blog. Of course I've been doing a lot of couponing and snagging tons of deals! I also have been entering giveaways and have won several diapers and some other fun things! We are actually going to take a vacation in a few weeks so I'm hoping I can do some fun posts while we are there. Stay tuned!

Who says nothing in life is free?

There is a common misconception that nothing in life is free. NOT TRUE!!!! You can get all kinds of things for free, you just have to know where to look! A lot of people will come across free samples or giveaways and pass them up thinking it isn't worth their time. Freebies are awesome! Not only do you get something FREE (even if it is just a small sample), but they often include high value coupons! Freebies are also fun, who doesn't love getting mail!?!?!

In the last year alone I have gotten more samples of shampoo/conditioner/body wash than I can count. I have also gotten samples of snacks, candy, diapers, etc. I have also signed up for and received coupons for free products such as cereal, macaroni and cheese, milk, BBQ sauce, hot dogs, baby food, Oreo's, wrinkle release spray, and many more!

Another way to get things for free is by using coupons and shopping sales of course! I have posted numerous times about awesome deals where I have either gotten things for free, or MADE MONEY buying things. There is nothing like going to the store and getting paid to take things away!

Lastly I just want to mention a new way I have been getting things for free. GIVEAWAYS!!!! In the last week I have won a six month supply of organic baby/toddler food, a $200 Target gift card, and just today I won a free toddler bed! Instead of spending my free time playing games online, I am now entering giveaways. It only takes a few minutes, which is good because I don't have a lot of time to put into it. I think it has really paid off!

Some people say that these things aren't free since it does take a little bit of time to sign up for things and go get the deals. Well being a stay-at-home mom is certainly the best and most important job, but since it doesn't pay in dollars, my time isn't technically worth anything. So when I have some free time and I get something for it it is like making money for me!

So keep your eyes out for freebies, deals, and giveaways; they can be very worth your while! If I come across anything amazing, I'll post it here for ya! Now I just need to win $25,000 on Wheel of Fortune. I figure if somebody has going to win, it might as well be me!!!!

Cloth Diapering

In the last 11 months I have thought a lot about cloth diapering, because I know a lot of people who use them for their kids. At first I thought it was a crazy thing that poor people do, then I thought it was a weird thing that hippies did, then I started thinking it was fun and got interested in it. A few weeks ago I started thinking more about it, and doing some research online. After wading through TONS of information, I came to a realization that cloth diapering is awesome. So I talked Ben into giving it a try!

Our initial reason for switching was cost. Disposable diapers cost about $800 per year. Although the start up cost for cloth diapering can be significant, we were able to get some awesome deals! So far I have gotten four packages of disposable inserts for free, and 3 free all-in-one diapers. I also got a few things on sale or in package deals. I did splurge on two diapers that were so cute I just couldn't help myself, and we did buy A LOT of diapers so I won't have to wash all the time. Our cost so far has been around $400. That may seem like a lot to some, but when you compare it to the cost of disposables over time, it is quite a savings! Also, most of the diapers we got are one size, so they fit Z now and would also fit child X (his future sibling).

The next reason that moved me towards cloth was the environmental factor. Every year approximately 18 BILLION disposable diapers are put into landfills. Those diapers take an estimated 500 YEARS to break down. I really don't understand how people can look at those numbers and not think that this is a huge problem!

And finally, what put us over the edge was looking at what is actually in a disposable diaper. They have various chemicals, all of which are not good for cute little babies! To read more about the reasons to choose cloth click here.

My dipes came last Thursday and Friday and I was so excited! After carefully washing and preparing everything, we finally got to give them a try. (We did have a little bit of trouble getting the diaper sprayer hooked up properly, but after a quick trip to Target for the right tools it works beautifully!) So far, I am absolutely loving it! It is really easy, and they are SO CUTE!!! Before we started cloth we had switched to Luvs in an effort to save money. He got such a terrible rash from them, and I am happy to say the rash has cleared up completely since switching and we haven't had to use any cream!

Cloth diapering is awesome, so don't be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone and give something new a try. You will be glad you did!!!

The beginning of the stash!

Keeping House

I swear, keeping a clean home is a a full time job! I have been trying to do a little 'spring cleaning' the last few days and it is a LOT of work! It seems every time I get one mess taken care of, there are two more to tackle.

Today I have been trying to finish my ever-growing pile of laundry, and clean the kitchen and dining room. I decided the high chair was long overdue for a cleaning, and man was I right! That thing was CAKED with crumbs and spills! Luckily I could just toss the seat cover and straps in the wash so that was easy. It should be in fine shape when I put them back on!

I'm hoping to give the floors in the laundry room, kitchen, and dining room a thorough scrubbing, and finish off the laundry and dishes. We'll see what Zander will give me time for! It sure feels good to get so much done!

Also I have been trying to catch up on 'paperwork' lately. This morning I had to call a magazine company who keeps billing me for a magazine I don't get, the insurance company about a dental claim (which turned into me calling a dentist I went to LAST year because they billed my insurance for something they didn't do), I also had to pay the bill for Z's 9 month check up and pay for the doctors portion of my colonoscopy! I also called in a refill for Z's reflux medicine and this afternoon I need to call the lady at the bank to go over some of the terms of our mortgage. Can I just say that buying a house is an exhausting process, and we haven't even found a home yet!!!!

Now I just need to figure out if I want to keep getting the newspaper or not, since my subscription is about up. I like getting the coupons, but I usually throw the rest away so it is kind of wasteful. I probably will go another six months, then we can re-assess when we get into a house.

March To Savings Smith's Promo

Smith's has been having a big promotion the last two weeks where if you buy 8 participating items you get $4.00 off your total, which essential equals out to a $0.50 discount per item. I have been sick (again) and haven't been doing much couponing, but I got a little caught up earlier today so I wanted to go in tonight since it was the last night of the promotion. I got some great deals! I did get majorly ripped off on one item, which is REALLY irritating, but life goes on. I did have to buy a few non-promotion items, but I just want to highlight my big deals.

Promotion Items:

• 3 Pop-tarts (reg. $3.79) $1.99 each after instant savings, $1.57 after coupon
• 2 Bumblebee tuna (reg. $1.49) $0.49 after instant savings, $0.12 after coupon
• 1 Wesson Canola Oil (reg. $5.89) $1.99 after instant savings, $0.99 after coupon
• 1 Aquafresh toothpaste (reg $2.99) $2.00 after instant savings, $0.50 after coupon
• 1 Irish Spring body wash (reg. $3.60) $2.50 after instant savings, $1.50 after coupon
• 1 Softsoap body wash (reg. $3.60) $2.50 after instant savings, $1.50 after coupon
• 2 Speed Stick deodorant (reg $2.46) $1.00 after instant savings, $0.75 after coupon
• 1 Simply Orange juice (reg. $4.59) $2.99 after instant savings, $2.24 after coupon
• 1 Kroger ice cream (reg. $2.99) $1.99 after instant savings, $1.39 after coupon
• 1 Steamfresh veggies (reg. 2.69) $2.18 after instant savings, $1.83 after coupon
• 1 Vitamin Water (reg. $1.39) $0.75 after instant savings, FREE after coupon (should have had $0.50 overage on this but they entered my coupon wrong)
• ***1 Maxwell House coffee (reg. $11.99) SHOULD have been $5.99 after instant savings, and $4.99 after coupon. HOWEVER it did not ring up as one of the promo items and so the cashier had to manually give me my second $4.00 off. I should have known at that point that the price would be wrong, but when I looked at receipt it was still $11.99! GRRRR!!

I had a coupon for a free bag of cough drops too, so I got those. Another great deal I got was on Snuggle fabric softener. It is regularly $5.29, but was on sale for $3.99 and I had a coupon for $3.00 off, making it only $0.99!!! WOOT!!!

I was really excited to go get some deals, but I am bummed that $6.00 worth of my savings was basically negated by the fact that the coffee rang up wrong! I know I had the right item, I double checked! I know that in the grand scheme of things $6.00 is really trivial, but when some of your coupons are only 35 cents, it takes a lot of 35 cent coupons (17.14 to be exact) to add up to $6.00! I guess I should have paid just a smidge more attention, but I didn't realize it until I had left the store and after having to sort out the $4.00 off thing I really didn't want to go back and have to have them fix this too. Especially since there were only two cashiers and lots of customers.

I did get some great deals all around, and even with the coffee fiasco I still saved 51 percent on this trip! The dollar savings amount was $41.35, which is pretty good payoff for only 45 minutes at the store!

...many things worth doing in life are not easy

I've been a little slow on the blog here lately. I had my wisdom teeth out so I haven't been doing much at all, let alone any couponing or serious cooking! I have been reading a lot of blogs, and tonight I came across this blog post on Woman, Uncensored. I really like her blog and I really love this post!

Here is a paragraph I like from the post Who is the Expert?

"It’s time for the madness to stop. Women are not weak. We are not stupid. When we take the time to connect to ourselves and our babies, we are capable of making the absolute best decisions for our pregnancies, labors, and births. Natural birth can be difficult, but many things worth doing in life are not easy. It’s time we started taking offense to those who would sabatoge our efforts and undermine our incredible inner strength. It’s time for us to realize that we’re tough and capable and we know what’s best for ourselves and our babies."

**************************************

I dream someday about being a home-birthing midwife. Most people I know think I am nuts. They thought I was nuts when I attempted a birth without medications or interventions. They think I am nuts for practicing attachment parenting, for not giving my baby infant formula, for not circumcising him, and for pretty much every mothering and parenting decision I make. No matter how much research and information I have done to validate my reasoning I still get hassled a lot. Most of the time I just don't talk about my philosophies on parenting.

I hope that I will be fortunate enough to be pregnant again, and to have a natural childbirth. I feel so much more confident in myself than I did the first time around. I know it won't be easy, my first labor was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I know I can do it! I also know how rewarding it will be. Next time I plan to take control of my own birth and of my own child, and I am not going to allow any medical staff to belittle me or try to take control of me or my baby. I know I won't be able to have a home-birth myself, but that doesn't mean I can't someday help someone else to do that!

Diaper Deal!

Wow am I behind on posting anything!!! I came across a really sweet diaper deal today and want to share it, I was able to get size four Pampers Baby-Dry for 5 cents apiece! Here is how it all worked out.

• I signed up for a new account at Diapers.com (this deal is only valid on a new account)
• I added one box of diapers to my cart ($44.99 after $1.50 e-coupon) and one tube of diaper ointment. My total was $49.98, which qualified me for the discount, the rebate and FREE SHIPPING!!!
• I applied the $10.00 gift certificate I earned with my Pampers Gifts to Grow points
• I applied the $10.00 discount code SAVEMOM
• My total out of pocket was $29.98. Once I get my diapers (tomorrow!) and have the receipt I can submit this for a $14.97 rebate, making my total cost $15.01!!!

When you break that down it is about $0.054 per diaper which is incredible!!!


I took advantage of this deal last year when I was pregnant. I was really happy to come across it on moneysavingmom.com since I had the $10.00 gift certificate! My sister did the deal twice last year by signing up for one account for her with their address listed, and one account for her husband with my parents address listed. So even though I did it last year, I made a new account for Ben and used his parents address. I think you are only allowed one account per household so if you create a new account you must have a new address with it.

I love getting a good deal on diapers, I don't want to pay any more than I have to for them since they just get pooped and peed in!!!

Unbelievable Chicken!

We started grilling a lot this past summer and I came across I great recipe for chicken. The marinade is really easy, and the ingredients are pretty basic. We decided to have it for Ben's birthday and despite some issues from the propane being so cold it still turned out great! Everyone asked for the recipe so I thought I would post it here. I found it originally on allrecipes.com, which is a great site! Enjoy!

Unbelievable Chicken

1/4 c. vinegar
3 tablespoons mustard
3 cloves garlic, pressed (optional)
1 lime juiced
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

In a large glass bowl stir together vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime and lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add chicken and marinade overnight.

Preheat and lightly oil outdoor grill. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, turning as needed.



It is so easy, and it always turns out good! Sometimes we use chicken tenders, which is nice because they cook faster. If you are short on time, you can prepare this the morning of and allow to marinade at least 6 hours.

Johnson and Johnson Deal, 96% off!!!

Right now there is a great deal available on Johnson and Johnson products! There are $2.00 coupons available for several brands including Aveeno and Clean & Clear. Also there is a $10.00 rebate available if you buy $30.00 worth of participating items. Now lots of places around town are having sales too which can make these items free or almost free, however due to the popularity of Pinching your Pennies, everytime I go for sales like this they are out of the things I want.

So I came up with my own sweet deal! Right now there is a coupon for $10.00 off a new or transferred prescription at K Mart. I needed a refill on Zander's reflux medicine, so I was able to take advantage of that, and here is how my deal played out.

• I bought 6 items for a total of $36.49
• Some items were on sale, saving $3.00
• I had a $2.00 off coupon for each item, taking $12.00 off
• I used my $10.00 gift card

This brought my total from down to $11.49. After the $10.00 mail-in-rebate, my total out of pocket will be $1.49, for a total savings of 95.92%!!!!!

Not quite free, but close enough!

Birthday Cake!

Yesterday was Ben's birthday but since it was a work-day, we celebrated with our families on Sunday night. We had everyone over for dinner and cake, and had a really good time!

A few weeks ago I asked Ben what kind of cake he wanted and he told me he wanted a Reese's cake or Butterfinger cake. I'd never made anything like that, so I hit up Google for some ideas and recipes. This is what he decided on.

Reese's Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 oz. melted and cooled chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

For decorating

1 1/2 to 2 batches peanut butter icing

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. heavy cream

Enough halved miniature peanut butter cups to decorate
1/4 to 1/2 c. melted and cooled chocolate

Directions

For the cake, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large stand mixer beat butter on medium until soft and creamy. Add sugar and beat for about two minutes until mixture is thoroughly blended. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed between additions. Add vanilla. On low speed alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix each addition only until blended. Scrape down the bowl and fold in cooled chocolate. Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until cakes are springy to the touch. Allow to cool on five minutes, then gently run a knife around the sides of the pan. Unmold them and remove the paper liners, then allow to cool right side up on cooling racks until they reach room temperature.

To prepare the icing, on medium speed mix confectioners sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt until creamy. Scape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer to high and slowly add the cream. Whip until light and smooth. Now you are ready to assemble your cake!

To assemble, place one layer of the cake flat side down on a cake plate and frost the top. Place the second layer flat side up on top. Frost the top first and then the sides. To decorate place halved peanut butter cups around the top and bottom of the cake. Put the melted chocolate in a sandwich bag, cut off a tiny bit of one corner, and you can write on top of the cake, or use the chocolate to drizzle over the top and sides.






This cake was a lot of work! It turned out really great though, so it was definitely worth it. The trick with this one is to be sure to allow the mixture to beat the appropriate amount of time between each step! Also, you need to scrape down the sides of your bowl regularly. Be sure to allow the melted chocolate you are using to decorate with, to cool properly or it will be really runny like mine was. I made two batches of icing, and had a lot more than I needed for this cake. If you have left over frosting you can either eat it immediately, or put it in the fridge or freezer. It tastes great on just about everything!

2010 Savings Tracker

After several attempts to create a functional spreadsheet to track our savings, I came across this free downloadable one! I've already entered a few receipts and I love it. I am so excited to have an easy way to track my spending, and see how much I am able to save this year!! Check it out!

Caramel Rolls

This summer Ben's grandparents came to visit from North Dakota, and I had the opportunity to learn how to make Florence's famous Caramel Rolls. It took me a few tries to really get the recipe down, but I think I've finally got it. (I keep getting requests for them all the time, so that is a pretty good sign!) I use my bread machine to make the dough, but I'm sure you could do it by hand or with a stand mixer.


Caramel Rolls

Dough
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. milk
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. dry milk
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 stick butter, softened
Caramel
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. brown sugar

You will also need enough butter to spread over rolled out dough, and cinnamon and brown sugar to sprinkle on top.

Directions
First put water, milk, and eggs in bread machine. Mix together dry ingredients (sugar, dry milk, flour, salt) and add to bread machine. Next put add the yeast, and put the butter on top. Start machine. While dough is mixing, begin the caramel sauce by heating the cream and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool. When the caramel has cooled, pour it into a greased 13 by 9 pan.

When the dough is ready, roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll up and slice into 12 rolls. Place the rolls in the pan on top of the caramel.

At this point you can either allow the rolls to double in size and then bake them for 20-25 min. in a 350 degree oven, or you can cover them and let them rise in the fridge overnight. (I usually like to prepare these the day before.) When you are ready to bake your rolls simply take them out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature while the oven heats, then bake them for 20-25 min. at 350 degree oven.

The rolls are done when they are golden brown on top, and have a hollow sound when you tap them. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before flipping the pan over onto a clean cookie sheet.

I was going to take pictures of the different steps along the way, but I forgot. Here is a picture of the rolls fresh out of the oven and after being flipped over. I hope you give these a try, and enjoy these as much as we do!