When you don't always have the words...

This is not the "come back" story I was planning for my blog. It's really not even a story...tonight I'm just venting I guess. I have had MANY happy times I could have hopped on here to share...and I promise to do that & share more of those moments in the coming months (still waiting for my camera software to be installed.by my IT guy...). But, today was different. Today was a turning point in my parenting journey & I think I'm quickly learning the real meaning of the phrase: "Let go & let God".

Today, I spent a lot of time crying for my son. Today, I didn't have any answers. Today, I had to put my faith into practice & simply pray when I didn't know what else to do. I wished so badly I could swallow up all of my child's pain and bear it for him...but I knew the reality of it was that I was going to have to give this one to Jesus & leave it there

It was a little over 5 years ago that Jon and I were given a diagnosis for our non-verbal, tantrum-throwing 2 year old...."PDDNOS". It stands for "Pervasive Developmental Delay Not Otherwise Specified". PDD is an autism spectrum learning disability & my Channy was diagnosed with this just before his third birthday.  I've shared on here some of the ups and downs of our journey as we've dealt with behavior therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and special education classes. In so many ways I feel blessed to be able to say that Chandler has done remarkably well in school & he continues to progress every year, which is a huge blessing.

However, as my little guy grows & matures one aspect of PDD that has been especially hard to overcome is the social development challenges. Simply put...Channy has a really hard time making friends. Social situations are often the hardest part of any situation for Channy to navigate. I've seen him overcome SO much, but watching him struggle though the social/emotional stuff in life has often been the hardest part of all, because I feel so helpless. Today was just one of those days where the "helpless" feelings overwhelmed me & the rest just kinda spiraled downward from there.

Recently, Chandler has become (painfully) aware that he has no friends. :-( Today, it all started when I had to discipline him for being mean to his sister. I sent him to his room to think about it & when I came into his room to talk to him about it he burst into tears! I was shocked because he usually just tells me what he did that was wrong & then he will apologize and move on. But...not today!  Today, he started crying and said "he hates his face" (?)..."he hates that he is 'a mean kid' "... and, "he hates not having any friends that like him"! Wowza! Where did that all come from??? I could tell these were the things he must think to himself & say to himself when he is all alone, and right then and there my heart broke for him! I knew there wasn't a whole lot I could say to him in that moment to make it all better, so we just prayed together & I tried my best to say as many encouraging  things as I could.

Friends have never been easy for Chandler to come by & it's heartbreaking  to watch him muddle through the world of social experiences. It's one of the most painful things to watch your child struggle with their differences, especially when they become more aware of how others see them, talk about them, and treat them. There is nothing I can do to "fix" that & I HATE that more than anything!

Today Chandler was basically trying to say he doesn't know why he is the way he is....but that he still needs/wants a friend! What's even more tough is that Jon and I can't do much to soothe that hurt in his little heart. He wants to know that someone besides mom & dad like him & want to spend time with him. We tried asking people close to Channy if they could spend a little time just hanging out with him to let him know that someone outside of his 4 walls cares about him...but that ended in a sad way too. :-(  We just wanted Chan to know someone else besides us cared about him, and liked him just the way he is!

I'm out of ideas. Out of people to ask. I don't want anyone else thinking I'm too "lazy" to do my job as Chandler's parent either. I could spend 1,000 hours one-on-one with him...but I'm still his "mom" & Jon is still "dad". He needs to know he's good enough for someone else to want to spend time with him! I'm just hurting for my little boy that falls asleep at night feeling like he's not good enough for friends...

I know Jesus sees my little boy & that He has a plan for Chandler's life that is good, even if I can't see it right now. But, I've seen him struggle with EVERY facet of his little life & some days it gets to be too much for my heart to bear. Some days I wonder what God sees in me that he picked me to be Chandler's mom. Most of the time I feel weak and unprepared for these kinds of struggles & today...today I didn't know what to say, so we just prayed & then I cried alone in my room. I always knew there was going to be challenges in raising my kids, I just never knew it was going to look and feel like this. I guess in my naivety I always thought I'd have some idea what to say, or what to do. It just seems like it's too soon for my little boy to feel this defeated.

Jesus-be close to my little boy & surround him with the love & comfort that only YOU can give!

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ&feature=related

So Much......

I've been on a blogging break for almost a year, but it's certainly not because I've had a shortage of things to share! No, there has been PLENTY to talk about, blog about, and share with you in pictures and songs....but the one thing I did lose was my drive to do that! Since my last blog entry we've completed another school year, graduated one from preschool, had birthday's, holiday's, and  anniversary celebrations. We've made some small life changes, and even had a new family member join the ranks of our extended family (a new cousin!).  We've laughed, cried, and been blessed beyond measure...and I let it all happen without blogging about it!!!

Every time I sat down to share something on my blog I kept letting other things get in the way of completing my goal of blogging about it. Facebook is partly to blame because it's so gosh darn quick to just spit out a line or two status update & be done with it. My desire for a little more anonymity was probably just as big a factor too. I realized I was letting a lot of myself hang out there & while I stand by my "heart-on-my-sleeve" mentality, I have to admit it got to be too much sometimes. I realized it was a lot easier to say things on my blog that maybe I wouldn't really say in "real" life. Hence the LONG break... until now!

One thing I love about myself is that I'm honest, but often times that quality can work to my detriment too! That also happens to be one thing I hate about myself....I'm too honest sometimes! I let people see the good, the bad, and the U-G-L-Y sides of me! Ugh.....why do I have to have so much ugly in me!!! I think that's one thing I need to learn to let the Lord have more often. Sometimes I'm so proud of my honesty that I don't always let the Lord humble me with that like I should.  Sure, it's my strength....but it's a pretty bad weakness too.  I can cut people with my words so fast they don't see it coming & then I realize; "Oh...crap...I should have kept my mouth shut"!!!   Do you ever do that? Please say you do! Be honest....ha!

Anyway....I'm back! And I'll have pictures, kid stories, and recipes to share very soon! WooHoo! Sadly,  I don't have very many good running stories to tell because it was a long, cold winter & I let the hot coffee & warm covers keep me from running too often this winter (and now it shows!). But, never fear....there will be more running stories coming your way this summer!  I think I will also start a new sub-category on my blog called: "Adventures at the Westport Flea Market"...only a few of you out there will get that joke right now, but soon ALL of you will understand!

To end on a more serious note, I'd like to thank all of you that have come up to me over the last couple of months and said, "Hey, Amber....I miss your blog!". That makes me smile to think that anyone misses my non-sense rambling, or my Patty McFatty recipes...but, "thank you" for pretending like you care :-)!  I'll try my best not to let you down this time. But, right now it's 1:00 am & I've got a load a laundry to change out & kids that have school in a few hours, so I'll just leave you with this beautiful song that I've had spinning in my head for the last couple of days.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t16b2yMqME&feature=related

Golden Friendships!

There's a saying "Make new friends, keep the old, one is silver, the other is gold",  and last weekend on our little vacation to Minnesota I felt every bit of those words! Jon and I have been going through some "trying" times in the friendship department & it started to feel like we were never going to make any new friends, much less keep the old ones! To say things felt "depressing" would be an understatement!

I actually spent a lot of time pouring out my heart here on my blog & when I went back and re-read those words it just seemed like I sounded whiny and "Woe is me-ish". Blah! That's not what I was trying to portray, but it probably sounded like that.  So, I stepped back from doing much blogging and instead poured myself a little more into running again (thank God for my running girlfriends that stick by me even when I quit running for months at a time!).  I love running because it gives me the space and time to just clear my head sometimes. While I was "clearing things out" of my busy head I also prayed that God would give me a fresh start  this year & maybe,  just maybe give me one opportunity connect with an old friend (or two!) to bring a little bit of hope back into the picture. 

Man, am I glad I asked God for that little blessing! I love it when God proves that He not only cares about the big things in our lives, but that the little things matter too! Shortly after asking God for an opportunity to re-connect with old friends we got that opportunity & spent a wonderful evening over at an old friends house for dinner. It felt so refreshing to spend time with people who know you & have a little "history" with you. Shortly after that little "re-connection"  we were  making our plans for our MN trip we found out that another good friend was going to be able to fly home to MN while we were there! WooHoo! Things just kept getting better! I thought those two things were pretty awesome, but it just kept getting better!  I had re-connected with my running girls, had an awesome evening spent with old friends, and found out that another good friend was going to be able to hang out with us during our trip (where we were already going to stay with old friends!) to MN! I love those kinds of happy surprises!

Then, as I was washing clothes and packing for our trip to MN I thought "Hmmm....I wonder if I should contact Kevin and Gina & see what they are up to since we will be in their neck of the woods this week". "Kevin & Gina" are old friends of Jon and I that go WAY back to the days before Jon and I were even married. They were the cool young married couple that Jon and I looked up to & hoped to be one day! ;-) They are originally from MN, but Kevin is a Dr & they spent a few short years in KC during Kevin's residency. After KC they moved to Indiana & we never got a chance to see them again. We kept in touch a little bit over the years through Christmas cards and an occasional e-mail, but they were busy, we were busy, we lived several states away...you know how it goes. However, last year Kevin and Gina moved back to MN to be closer to their family & suddenly the idea of maybe seeing them again one day didn't seem so far off!  

So, as I was packing I posted something on facebook about getting ready for our trip to MN & that's when Gina beat me to the punch! She saw me post that & sent me a quick message that said "Are you guys coming to MN?". From there we made plans to have dinner together & I laughed at all the wonderful surprises that just kept rolling in for this years trip to MN! 

We arrived in MN on Thursday evening & our fantastic friends/hosts Bob and Irene were waiting with open arms to receive our wild crew of 6 for the weekend! Everyone should have a "Bob & Irene" in their lives, because they always make you feel so special & so loved! I count them as one of the greatest blessings in our lives....and that's not an exaggeration! We come up to MN every year over Labor Day & they always go above and beyond to host our family & each year it just gets better and better! It's become one of our family's favorite traditions & I LOVE that my children will always have these years to look back on and remember with fondness. 

One little "gift" that Bob and Irene wanted to give Jon and I this year was a "date night" since they knew that was something that doesn't happen too often in our world!  Because of their sweet offer we were able to go out on a double date with Kevin and Gina on Friday night. I should mention here that Kevin and Gina have 6 children, so the fact that both of us could manage and evening away was a bit of a miracle in and of itself! So, with babysitters secured we made reservations at a fun downtown Minneapolis restaurant called "Hell's Kitchen" & embarked on our journey to re-connect! We had a lot of  catching up to do too since it had been, oh... 13 years or so since we had last seen each other! 

Once we hugged each other and sat down something amazing happened....we started talking and never stopped! There was almost no unfamiliarity  in the air even though it had been so long since we had seen each other! Our waitress stopped by our table several times to try to take our order, but it took us about an hour to even start looking at the menu! Instead, we ordered drinks and appetizers & told our poor waitress that we hadn't seen each other for 13 or so years....so we were gonna be awhile! :-)  We laughed, swapped stories about our kids, we pulled out cameras and phones to share pictures with each other, and we then we talked some more! We talked about the good stuff, the bad stuff, the happy times, the hard times, the things that have made us who we are today & and how blessed we each were for the very unique stories we have to tell.  We even went to a second restaurant for dessert since we had been at the first one so long! We closed down the second restaurant & kept talking all the way out to the parking garage! Now that's what I call a great night! When Jon and I drove away that night we both smiled & then talked about how incredible it was that we were able to just pick right back up where we had left off some 13 years ago! Now that's a golden friendship & one I KNOW I'll keep forever!

Thanks for the great memories!

First Day of School.

The two older kids went back to school August 16th! Can you believe that?!! That was way, WAY too early in my book  & I'm not ashamed to admit I was the one with a bad "back-to-school" attitude this year.  I just miss my kids so much during the school year!  The kids always enjoy getting new school supplies & clothes, so that's what gets them through those first few days.  But, me....I just pray a lot!  It's just that I enjoy summer SO much & I dread the feeling of "heaviness" that each new school year brings.  However, I tried my best to put on my positive "happy" face & tackle the first few days of the new school year with as much "go-get-em" energy as I could summon.

Here are few cute pictures of my kiddos on that first day back at school.

Cute little posers!

All set! But those bags with school supplies are HEAVY!

My sweet little 2nd & 3rd graders.

Chandler is SO stinking excited to see that brick prison school house once again.

"Uh...Mom...can we go into the school now...it's kinda bright out here?"

The cutest boy in the the whole 2nd grade!

Right after this picture he said: "So as soon as I'm done taking pictures we can go to the pool...right?"

I know...I know...she will never need mascara! So not fair!

The Fantastic Fifth Birthday!

My baby girl is no baby any longer! Miss Maya turned the big 5 back in August & it was a little bittersweet. I love 5!  My kids seem to "blossom" a little more at 5 & because of that I am able to forgive them for the 2's, and the 3's, and the "awkward-in-between" 4's when they were a little harder to love.  I call those years the "survival years", because that's what it feel like much of the time.  I'll bet if you can make it through those years with a scrap of patience remaining & a few good brain cells you just might be able to handle the teen years without losing your mind completely! Yes, in my book 5 is a great age! However, it seemed a little strange to me as I was watching Maya blow out her 5 candles on her Barbie cake that I swear just yesterday I was snuggling that cute little newborn girl in my arms . It's weird how our minds don't like to catch up with the present day sometimes! In so many ways I still think of her as my "baby", because it's still hard to grasp that time has flown by so quickly. Makes me want to go give her a few extra snuggles as she sleeps right now because I'm kinda scared I'm going to wake up and find a teenager in her bed tomorrow!

Here are a few pictures of Miss Maya Moo's BIG day!

Here Are A Few Fun Facts About Maya:

-She was my fastest & easiest labor and delivery (less than 2 hours!).

-She was born with BLACK hair...but it didn't stay that way for long.

-She can recite entire blocks of Disney movie dialogue & not miss a beat.

-She also has the lyrics to many songs fully memorized.

-She LOVES to sing & dance. She is our little "performer".

-She RARELY tells a lie. She may be my drama queen, but this little sister can tell it to you straight!

-She "loves" lots of things & "hates" very few things (with the exception of veggies!). 

-She is my curious one. 

-She is also my "risk taker" & my bold one. She fears very little & I love that about her so, so much. This quality will take her far in life!

-She knows no stranger.

-Her favorite breakfast is....pb&j or grilled cheese & applesauce!

Weekend Deals & A Update

It was a good weekend on the savings front. I'm only including the stuff I bought in my trip yesterday, because I'm lazy and I didn't want to gather up all the school supplies I bought on Friday & Saturday. We won't mention the 6 jars of Skippy PB I snagged for $3 either ;-). Anyway....it was a good shopping weekend & I continue to learn new things every time I shop. 

Here is what you are looking at:

(2) Diet Pepsi 2 liters (BOGO coupon off facebook)

(1) Doritos Snack package (free with Pepsi purchase...tear pad at CVS )

(2) Betty Crocker Warm Delights (2 x .75 cp from 8/08 paper)

(1) Air Wick iMotion room air freshener ($4.00 cp from 8/08 paper)

(3) Colgate Toothpaste (3 x cp from 8/01 paper)

(1) 9 roll Angel Soft TP

(1) 24 ct Zyrtec Liquid Gels ($4.00 cp from website)

(2) 24 ct Benadryl Products ($2 and $1 peelies from CVS)

(2) Kleenex Tissues

(2) Schick Hydro 5 razors ($5.00 cp in 8/08 paper)

(2) Schick Shaving Cream (FREE peelies on razor package!)

(1) 4 oz Bio True solution ($1.00 cp from website)

(1) Dulcolax Balance ($4.00 cp from website)

(1) Dial body wash ($1.00 cp from website)

(2) Walgreen's hand sanitizer

(2) Soft Soap hand soap (2 x .35 cp from 7/25 paper)

(4) Bic Grip pens ($1.00/2 coupon from 8/01 paper)

Like I said, I'm lazy today, so I don't feel like linking to all the coupon sites where I got the "website" coupons from. However, the girls over at Sam's Secrets & Coupon Mom will get you all the info you need if you want to save on any of the above items :-) I bought all of these items at Walgreen's and CVS. I had $10 in RR at Walgreen's to use & I still have $2 in RR left. I had $3 EB from CVS to use & I do not have any more EB's left over.  I will also get $8.97 back in rebates! My total oop was $15.65, but with the $8.97 rebate from the razor that drops my total drops down to $6.68!  Not too bad considering the sale price on the Zyrtec alone was $18.99!  In total, I got $111.89 worth of products for $6.68!!!  Oh, and I am donating several of the products you see to charity. That is one of the best perks from doing all this coupon shopping. Now I can afford to help other people out, while I continue to shop and save on items my family needs ;-).  Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you enjoy finding your own deals this week!

*In other news.....I finally got to run this weekend! It was so refreshing to get back to doing something I love. I'm doing the KC 1/2 in October, so I figured I better start getting serious about running again. 

*Miss Maya will turn 5 this week! Can't hardly believe it! Stay tuned for pictures of her birthday at the T-Rex cafe :-).

*This is the kids last week of summer vacation (sniff....sniff!). They go back to school on Monday! Can't believe my summer flew by like it did. I'm gonna miss them, but I think I'm ready to have a little more of a routine back in our life. McKenna will be in third grade & Chandler in second grade. Miss Maya missed the Kindergarten cut off by 11 days, so she will have one more year of Pre-K.  Mr. Judah never wants to go to school because he wants to be stuck like velcro to his Mommy's side until he is 10! No, really...I'm a little worried that's how it's gonna be with my little buddy! I love him so much, but he can drive me a little nutty sometimes with his clingy-ness. He is adding new words to his vocabulary every day & we think he has a bright future as a guitar tech since he routinely gets into Daddy's pedal board & "rearranges" all Daddy's guitar equipment! 

So, there you have it...a small "update" of sorts on what we are up to. Hope you are enjoying your end-of-the-summer fun & are all geared up for fall. I'm looking forward to sharing  more recipes with you in the near future, and having more "running stories" to tell. It's been a LONG time since I did those two things on here, but as soon as the kids go back to school I'll have a little more time for those kind of blog posts. Stay tuned....

Give it a try!

This is a good week for anyone who is new to the "Drug Store Deals" game to give it a try. :-)

I followed the scenario listed on "Little People Wealth" and this is what I walked away with for $3.22 oop. I also walked away with $9 in RR!

(2) Kellogg's Cereal ($1.00/2 internet printable cp or 7/25 RP)

(2) Dawn Dish Soap (.25 x2 8/01 P&G)

(1) Complete Contact Lens Solution

(1) Nature's Way ALIVE multi-vitamin ($1.00 mnf cp)

(1) Visine Eye Drops (used $2 cp from Wags Aug coupon book at front of store)

(2) Crayola 24 ct Crayons

(1) Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide Men's Razor ($4 P&G 8/01)

(1) Highlighter 6 pack

(1) 10 ct pencil pack

(2) Reeses Pieces (filler items)

*I DID NOT have the mnf coupons for the Complete Solution or the Visine coupon that the "Little People Wealth"  sugested in the Low oop scenario, but I did have a $5RR from my previous visit. I bought all these items in three separate transaction & I used the 15% friends and family coupon from facebook. Good Luck if you give this week's deal a try. :-) 

*RP = Red Plum Sunday Paper Insert
*P&G Proctor and Gamble Insert

Coupons!

Over the last month I've been trying my hand at this thing called "couponing". I've learned so much over the last couple of weeks that I thought I'd share a little of what I'm learning with you guys.  I decided to gather up everything I bought just over this weekend & add everything up to see just how much I am saving by using these coupons. I'm new to this "coupon" thing, so I was curious. Now, what kinda bums me out about this example is that I have a few "high dollar" items in there that drove up the out-of-pocket (oop for future reference) cost for me this weekend, but they were items that I bought in bulk because I got such a great deal on them this time & they earned me some pretty sweet "Extra Bucks" (we will get to what "extra bucks" are in a minute). I have not been buying things in "bulk" lately because it's usually cheaper for me to buy them in smaller quantities so that I am able to use more coupons per item to save more money. However, my diaper and wipes purchase(s) this weekend ended up helping me come out on top even though I had to pay a little more money out-of-pocket this time. I'm still learning how to do some of this, so I'm sure I'll get better at spending even less oop in the near future!

First, I'll show you everything I bought & then I'll break it all down for you. :-)

OK...Here is what you are looking at:

(1) Bottle of Downy Fabric Softener.. ($1.00 cp)

(2) Special K Protein Shake 4 packs..($1.00/2 cp)

(1) Celsius Green Tea 4 pack.............($2.00 cp + $3RR)

(1) Box of Act II Mini Bag Popcorn...(.40 cp)

(3) Gillette Pro-Fusion Men's Razor(s) ($4.00 cp + $5RR x 3 = $15RR total)

(2) Packs Of "Little Swimmers" diapers ($1.00 x 2 cp = $3EB)

(1) Box of Pamper's Cruisers Diapers.. ($2.00 cp + $10 EB)

(1) 240 ct. Pack of Huggies Baby Wipes ($2 MFR cp + $2 CVS cp. Coupon "stacking" = 2 cp for 1 item)

(1) 62 ct Box of Pampers Baby Wipes. (FREE with coupon for "buy one box  diapers get wipes free!)

(1) 2 oz. Bio True Contact Len's solution ($2.00 cp + $2.99 EB = $2 money maker)

(3) Band-Aid Brand boxes of band-aids ($3 cp + $5 EB)

(2) 4oz Colgate "Total Advanced" toothpaste ($1 and .75 cp + $2EB)

(1) Nature's Way Brand "ALIVE" multi-vitamin (no cp...but $10 RR)

(3) Papermate Brand 6-pack multi-highlighters (no cp...on sale with rewards card)

(2) 10 ct Penway #2 pencils....................(no cp...on sale with rewards card)

(2) 2ct Penway Pink Eraser sets...............(no cp...on sale with rewards card)

(2) 16 oz bags of Twizzler Brand Licorice (no cp...on sale + $2RR)

(2) Snicker's Candy Bars.........................("filler" item to use up RR)

(1) 9.9 oz Bag M&M Pretzel Candy........($1 cp + used as "filler" item)

(2) 10 pack Kit Kat "Fun Size" Candy.....(no cp...on sale...used EB to buy for free!)

(1) "Fun Size" Laffy Taffy" (.10 filler item so that 2 cp could be used for one item *Rule at Walgreen's).......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Amount Paid Out-Of-Pocket for All Items  = $59.95

Total Value Of Goods Purchased  =  $176.71!

Savings Of = $116.76

Now, one of the main ways I was able to save so much money was by utilizing the "store rewards" programs offered at Walgreen's and CVS. Most (but not all) of the items I purchased were either on sale, or the store was offering "extra bucks" (CVS = EB), or "Register Rewards" (Walgreen's = RR) for those items. EB's and RR are used very much like cash when you go to purchase item's at these stores. The only difference is that you are not allowed to receive cash back from EB's and RR's, so you must use the full amount of the stated EB or RR when you go to check out. For example, if you have a RR worth $5 then you must purchase another item worth $5 or more to cover the full value of your RR (because you cannot receive cash back from these rewards). If the item you are wanting to buy with your RR only costs $4.50 then you must find a .50 "filler" item so that the full $5 RR can be used up. My last little "trick" is that I also try to combine manufacturer's coupons on almost all of the items that I purchase that offer EB's or RR's. 

 In this case, the bulk of the money that I spent out-of-pocket (oop), ended up being the purchase I made for all of the Diapers and wipes that you see in the picture. The total for that transaction was $56.33 before my coupons and EB's. I paid $37.49 oop for that transaction, and I got $15 EB's back from that transaction that allowed me to purchase more of the item's that you see above for next to nothing!

The second store I shopped at was Walgreen's & I used the same "formula" at that store by combining manufacturers coupons with items that were also offering "register rewards" (RR). The only exception I made to this "formula" was the purchase of the women's multi-vitamins. I was out of my regular vitamins & I saw that Walgreen's had these vitamins on sale for $10, & when you purchased these vitamins you also earned $10 in RR! I used the $10 in RR to purchase the Special K Protein Drinks that also earned me $5 in RR! 

I paid .15 for the "Special K Transaction" that also included some school supplies for the kids!

In all, I made 2 trips to each store (1 trip on Sat & 1 on Sunday) & divided my purchases up into separate transactions according to which transaction would earn me a specific amount of EB's or RR's to use on the following transaction. In the end I STILL walked away with $12 worth of EB's (CVS), and $5 worth of RR's (Walgreen's). I'll use those EB's and RR's later this week to either purchase grocery items we need, or to buy more items that will earn me more rewards! I don't plan on spending any more money oop though....just the EB's or RR's! Pretty sweet, huh?

This is what my receipts will look like for the rest of the week!

*I'll be posting more stuff like this on my blog from time to time to break down specific deals that everyone can go buy for next to nothing! However, if you are interested in trying your hand at the "Drug Store Game" then you'll need to start buying the Sunday paper & saving the coupon inserts from each weeks paper. The only other thing you would need to do would be to sign up for these "Rewards" programs at your local CVS and Walgreen's. Maybe next time I'll teach you about "internet printable coupons"...those three words have become very important to me!. Can't wait to share more money-saving deals with you all!