AWESOME GARDENING DEAL

SpringHill Nursery offers $20 off $20 or more with code 414217. The coupon works on Liquidation Items as well as regularly-priced items. Shipping starts at $7.95.

I bought the package pictured above on sale for $18.95 (regularly $29.99) and only paid $7.95 shipping. I plan on ordering another garden package next month for my Mother's Day planting.

Of course, I will do a before and after picture when the first plants come in.

FREE WEATHER FORECASTER

These are on clearance at Walmart for $50 (not on walmart.com) and you can print a $50 rebate form here. I bought mine yesterday and I must say I am ecstatic, I love the 5-day (really the 10-day) forecast. Isabella is already excited about being our family meteorologist. This will help the younger kids learn about weather as Isabella teaches them using this TOO COOL FREEBIE!

Thank you Faithful Provisions for the tip!

NEW GROCERY BUDGET

Total cost $49.00

This was my first week actually withdrawing grocery "cash" and setting a "grocery budget" - it was $50. Everything in this picture was $49, so realistically I think I will increase it to $60 because I still have to get milk $1.99, eggs $.99 and bread (buy one get one free) at Publix $3.49 for two. I include personal items and cleaners in my budget, this week I bought Infusium Leave-In Conditioner for Isabella which ate up (ha! ha!) $5.

Some of my purchases were cherries, grapes, broccoli, and a HUGE watermelon. I bought two boxes of dishwasher tabs and toilet paper. Had to get stain remover and Clorox (I love me some Clorox). Toothpaste for Annais, band-aids for the car (let's see if I remember to take them back to the car). Free sample of Banana Boat sunscreen (perfect for the diaper bag). My best deal of the day - two packs of razors pictured here for $.50 (used a rain check from Publix for BOGO for $5.49 and had $5.00 in coupons).

Before Judah was born we were spending $150 a week buying these same kinds of things, so I have actually reduced our groceries 60%.

Many of you have emailed and said you wanted to do this too? Do you have specific questions that I could answer here? Anything you would like to see explained in more detail?

OUR NEW FAVORITE GAME

This card game is on the end cap at Target and sells (at my store) for $6.99 you can print a $5 coupon on coupons.com, so your out of pocket is $1.99. We have had a blast playing it! There are four games you can play, we have not moved past game #1. Would make a great party gift.

There is some more encouragement for you and your family! Makes a great addition to family game night.

CHA-CHING

I do not want this to turn into a money saving blog, but part of my mission here is to encourage. Last week at the checkout at Publix I did not pay them, they paid me...how is that for couponing? I was so excited I could hardly stand it. So to encourage you...YOU CAN DO IT! Using other money saving blogs and doing what they say (remember I do not have time or desire to reinvent the wheel) I have been able to cut my weekly food budget about 66%.

Proverbs 31:13-16 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

MY TARGET TRIP

S'mores fixins $5.07 for a camping night (indoors) I'm planning...we have a mountain lion roaming the neighborhood, so I'm not even sleeping in the screened porch this year. Oh, that reminds me...it's finished! Well finished enough for pictures...coming soon. I had too much tea today...can you tell?

$10.07 for everything pictured above. The receipt says I saved $14.32, so I saved more than I spent...which is now my goal for no other reason than I read it on someone else's blog. It just happens sometimes, I don't really plan it. It's amazing to see that on your receipt though. Remember, I stock pile, so my weekly shopping trips don't look normal. This is more stockpiling except for the Pepperidge Farm 12 grain bread...I'm completely out. Not bad for a late night run to Target. I was there three times today...two for my laundry room makeover...I'll put those in another post...it's too hard to get them at the bottom of this one.

SAVING BIG

This was my mini-shopping trip today. I purchased this:
and paid this:
I also bought this earlier in the week:
and paid $12.99 out of pocket and got $10 register rewards, which is like cash on my next purchase.

Isn't saving money fun? I'm starting to get the hang of this.

I WANT TO BE THAT WOMAN...

You know that woman on the morning news that buys $175 worth of groceries and pays $23, well I want to be her. I enjoy saving money, so did my dad, it is in my blood (I sometimes imagine him smiling when I get a really good deal).

With the rising cost of almost EVERYTHING it makes me feel like I am doing something to help my family. We all talk about wanting to be that "Proverbs 31" woman and I think more of us are closer to her than we imagine. I believe saving money is part of her character, part of how she would have looked out for her family in 2009.

My purchase today at Target

Total $101.42, I paid $47.54 - total savings $53.88, so I am getting there! Until I get to be that woman on the morning news, I am happy to save more than I spend.

Notice there are four large frozen dinners in there ($6.94 each) and two boxes of hair color (Revlon & Garnier) found them on clearance and had coupons. There are also two large bottles of Suave 2 in 1 shampoo for my kids. I did not buy anything today that I did not have a coupon for. I got four free apples too!

How are you saving money these days? I would love to hear about it...

WHAT I HAVE BEEN UP TO

First, I have been loving having an infant around (that was not always true - that is a post in itself). There are so many things I forget from baby to baby that I just love...the noises, the smells, the way they melt into you when you hold them and the promise. They are so new to the world full of promise, you have no idea yet what they will be like, what they will talk like or what they will look like. Tea & Traditions was closed for three weeks, so I did not have to worry about working when we first came home from the hospital, which was SO nice. We are still on break from school since we were so ahead for the year. Thank you Lord for the insight on that great planning.

My four week check up was yesterday and the doctor said that everything looked better than average, meaning my uterus is in great shape and that I can have more babies (not that it is up to him). He said there is also very little scar tissue. (I have much more to say on that in another post).

My other recent favorite pastime is saving money. The blogosphere makes it so easy. I googled "money saving blogs" and put them in my google reader and check them daily. Here is a picture of my purchases today for which I paid a total of $4.01. I always wanted to be that woman that you see on t.v. that gets $100 worth of groceries for $15 - thank you bloggy world for making that dream (almost) a reality. Isabella is really into this too and asks whenever I come home, what did you get for free mommy?

Some of the freebies I have gotten over the last two weeks are toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, dental floss, the candles pictured here, Walgreens shopping bags pictured here and mac n' cheese. It is very exciting and rewarding to save money.

Here are some of my favorite sites:

Faithful Provisions, Deal Seeking Mom, Good, True and Beautiful and The Freebie Blogger

These ladies do all the work, all I have to do is buy the newspaper and check their blogs, which is nice because I do not have time for much else. I feel the Lord prompting me and giving me the grace and desire to do this now - how else would I be able to do this with a newborn?