Fred Meyer (Keizer/Braodway)

(2) Bandon cheese $4.99 with in add coupon

(2) Organic Fresh herbs marked down 99 cents each

Croissants $1.49 marked down

Organic Kefir-Free after coupon (reg $4.39)

(2) Motts Natural 33 cents each (after 1.50 off coupon)

(4) Mom’s Best Natural Cereal 50 ish cents a box after sale and coupons

(6) Balance Bars 17 ish cents after sale and coupons

(2) Kroger bandages $1 after in ad coupon

(8) Organic Pumpkin $1.50 a can.  We LOVE making pumpkin chocolate muffins with this stuff and this is a super price!

(2) Edge gel 1@ 99 cents and 1 at $1.49 (couponing mistake on the second one)

(3) Kids Winter gloves (for upcoming trip) $5.99 x2 and $3.99 (they were marked down and an additional 50% off)

Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar $3 (the big size bottle) Great price!

(6) Towels $3.59 each. Marked down and then 50% off!

Store coupon savings $41.49. Manufacturer coupon savings $8.10. Total coupon savings $49.59

Things to check for here at Fred Meyer; clearance kids winter coats, gloves, etc an additional 50% off, clearance housewares (towles, rugs, bedding etc) and additional 50% off, the $5 off $10 Mega Event in grocery (Balance Bars, Moms Best, Edge,) and a the Bandon 2lb block for 4.99.

Target (Keizer)

(2) 264 ct Target baby wipes-$3.69 each after ($1 off a $3 or more Up&Up product) from target.com

Printer paper $$2.14 after coupon ($1 off a $3 or more Up&Up product) from target.com

(4) Method Dish Soap (3) at 99 cents and 1 at $1.99 (reg $3.99) after target AND manufacturers coupon

(3) Paper Towels FREE after $1 off Up and Up coupon on target.com (I think it is gone, but it might be back)

(2) Boys button down $3 (70% off)

Boys 3 piece set $7.80 (70% off) pants, vest, shirt.

Toddler Circo leggings $4 (sale this week). These are navy and white.

Womens Merona shirts 6o CENTS PEOPLE!!! (After $3 off Merona coupon)

Cherokee Sweater skirt $4.48 (70% off)

Cherokee Tights $1.50 (clearance) They even happen to match the skirt! Did not even notice it until I got home.

DUDE! THAT’S SOME GOOD STUFF!

Check for CLEARANCE EVERYWHERE! Tons even at 70% off.  They were marking things down around the store as I was shopping and it was like a dream! I don’t get out much people.  Sorry.

Go here to check out the Target coupons!

Michaels (Keizer)

There was no Michaels ad this week! Can you believe it??? BUT they had $2 grab bags.  The grab bag concept goes against just about every conviction I have, but they were HUGE and I could not resist.  This was at the Keizer Station store and there were quite a few more.  The lady even handed me a gorgeous wreath AND a very cool storage box to go with my grab bags that she found when she was getting rid of the last of the Christmas stuff.

Here is what was in the huge bags! Some of it was fairly worthless, but there was some totally cool stuff in there too! Have you ever seen so much stuff for $4?  It totally overwhelmed me, but I dealt with it right away and it is all stored,trashed, and organized.  There are some great things for the Littles to use for crafting too.

I want to give a shout out to Hubs for watching the kids (he had a glorious day off).  He even did school with the tots, worked on some of his stuff, did the dishes, fed them lunch and put them down for naps! Come ON?! He is just the best.

Wow! What a trip. I only do a big coupon trip like this every couple months.  It was so nice to have some time to do this yesterday!

"Maybe if we do this mom will start using a schedule"

"Maybe if we had a schedule we could do things like make bread more often?"

"Maybe she could put it in an awesome binder like ours? Nah...I bet she will just blog about it instead. That would be easier."

It is time to try and institute a schedule into our days.  I am sure we will stray from it here and there, but I think it will help our days have more purpose and organization.  I also think my house will thank me for it.  We have been improving in certain areas, but things still seem a bit chaotic at times (okay…a lot chaotic at times).  This should help a bit.

In case you don’t know us personally, I am a stay at home mama of 3 little ones.  We are slowly entering our homeschooling years.  The twins are 3 (almost 4) and our babe is 18 months.

The schedule only has a couple actual times on it.  It is more of an “order of operations” rather than a “schedule” I suppose.  I prefer to have it a bit more free-form and then make sure the main things like meals and naps occur at close to the same time everyday.

Basic schedule goal for M-F (exceptions based on the focus of the day and activities/visitors)

Breakfast for tots and I.

Read Proverbs to kids and work on a memory verse.

Clean up breakfast.

Go get little one when she wakes. Start a load while upstairs.

Nurse/feed little one.

Start school if she is happily eating in highchair and go as long as we can.

School (alphabet, writing, counting/sorting, art project, educational busy bags, flash cards etc.)

Clear her breakfast.

Get dressed with clothes I brought down after kids bed time the night before. Do this right after twins eat if little one is still sleeping.

Kids play in play area. I shower and switch laundry.

Small treat if they stayed in play area and played nicely.

Start preparing lunch at 11:55.

Eat lunch together.

1-1:30 Potty, pray, put Little Man down, Little Lady, and Sweet Baby.

Make our bed if there has not been a chance before.

Clean up any remaining lunch/kitchen mess.

Do devotions.

Check email etc.

Attempt nap if lack of sleep.

Do paper work stuff/work on project.

Cuddle with kids individually as they wake.

Give snack and let them watch shows for a bit.

Check laundry/cleaning.

4:00 Read books together

Kids play while I prepare for Hubs to come home and work on dinner if he is not cooking.

5:40ish Dinner

Cleanup

Daddy play with kids (while I sometimes work out)

Take any dirty clothes or things that need to go upstairs.

Baths if needed/get ready for bed.

Family worship time-Read Crossroads to Character, sing, read Bible. (Consider moving to right after dinner and try to find our “Truth and Grace” books).

Kids in bed by 8:00.

Bring down clothes for kids for the nest day.

Straighten up kitchen and catch up with Hubs.

Insert into day when appropriate.

Character quality flashcards. The kids LOVE these.

Children helping with chores-right now we are trying to teach joyful helpfulness and skills to complete chores.  I am hesitant to put them into the schedule.  I want to have the kids get excited about helping me throughout the day and teach them how to help (rather than assigning chores and having a specific time to do them).  As they get a bit older we will add this to the schedule.  Right now they know how to fold some clothes, vacuum with the light wt. vac on hard surfaces, scrub with a towel, pick up while focusing on one thing at a time (sometimes), lining up shoes by the door, gather dirty clothes and take to laundry room, and a few other things I forgot.

(More as I think of them)

Daily focus tasks

Monday-Coupon organization, look at ads, make lists.

Tuesday-Kids and I upstairs to do laundry and put anything clean away.

Wednesday-Bathrooms and garbage.

Thursday-Extra School or sometimes go see Great Grandma and Great Papa.

Friday-Errands (or flip flop with wed)

Saturday-Big projects, errands, and FUN!

Sunday-Church and planning for the week.

Do you use a schedule in your home?

Fingers, paint, paper.

Since I am always curious to know how other people do things and what they use with their little ones, I thought I would share what art supplies we have and enjoy.

Here is our basic stash that has slowly accumulated over time (along with an affordable source if applicable). I have included the things we use on a fairly regular basis.  We have some other odds and ends, but these are our main supplies.

• Watercolor paints- Purchased during back to school time
• Paint with water book
• Tempera type paint- Ikea
• Paint brushes- Ikea and art store clearance
• Oil paints-purchased at a local art store with a Groupon
• Finger paint and paper (paper on clearance at local art store)
• Couple canvases-Local art store sale or Michaels with coupon
• Spray bottle of water (for blurring paint and markers)
• Coloring books
• Coloring Crayons-Back to school
• Colored pencils-Back to school
• Multi colored paper-Ikea (colored regular paper) or sometimes Costco (construction type)
• White paper
• Roll of big paper-Ikea
• Large circle hole punch (great for faces, gift tags, garlands, etc)-Craft store with half off coupon
• Markers(Washable, regular, and Sharpie). -Back to school for kid ones and Costco for Sharpies.
• Kid scissors-Back to school
• Tape-Christmas or back to school
• Glue sticks-Back to school
• Stickers (The kids like to create bodies around the little smiley face stickers)-We like to get stickers at Learning Palace
• Q-Tips-(for painting or paint with water books)-Drug store sale
• Coffee filters (Usually for coloring in with markers and spraying with water)

Future purchases or birthday gifts they will be getting:

• Water color pencils
• Do-a-Dot paint (like Bingo daubers)-Michales with 50% off coupon (Thanks Lisa for the tip!)
• Some sort of clay

What are your favorite arts and crafts supplies to use with your little ones?

The Hubs has been working hard making my dreams come true the past few days.  After a trip to Home Depot he had the supplies to make 3 storage systems for laundry baskets.  I have seen these called “Laundry Basket Dressers” and have not been able to think up a cuter name.  The only thing better than one really cool laundry-basket-holder-thingy is …three!  One would not have done us much good.  We have LOTS of laundry around here and I am a bit compulsive about my numerous categories.

Here are some basic iPhone pictures to give you an idea of the process.

This sweet girl was so thrilled to help Daddy that she was on a high for hours after.

Little man testing out the “elevator” as they liked to call them.

Here is the finished dresser without the baskets and before it was painted.

With baskets…

Here is the one that is going in our room.  We did not want to buy paint for this project so we just used colors we had.  The ones for the laundry room are a soft green (but not as soft as it looks in the last picture) and the one for our room is a bit deeper green.

Here are both beasts we squeezed into our laundry room right after Hubs carried them up.

Now instead of having a huge pile of laundry on the floor in my laundry room and digging through it each time I start a load, I can categorize it perfectly and when the basket fills up I know it is time to do that load.  The set in our room will likely be used for clean laundry (per hubbys request).  Since things rarely all get folded and put away immediately, this will be a nice clean place for it to await its next home.  Maybe someday I will go into more detail about my laundry process (I won’t call it a “system” because I have in no way mastered the laundry beast around here).  I have found a couple things that save me some time…and a few things that don’t save time but do save wear and tear on our clothes and money.

The main thing we changed from other designs we found on the web was making them for the bigger laundry baskets.  I did not see a purpose in creating storage for baskets that would not really hold a full load of laundry.  The only downside is that by making them this size they really can not be stacked on top of each other and easily accessed.  They pretty much have to go side by side.  He also left a gap at the top of each basket so that things could be thrown in without having to pull the basket out every time.

Here are some basics

• Laundry baskets-Sterilite 2 bushel, shiny tan colored. Found Walmart for $8.99 each (regular price…I know.  Kinda killed a little part of me to pay for 9 regular priced laundry baskets.  Actually the lady did not charge us for the first 3 we bought….when we went back to look for 6 more they only had 5 and we had her charge us for the first 3 too…and we still need 1 because they did not have enough.  Did you follow that?)
• Wood for all 3 cost about $64.  He used (2) sheets 3/4″ plywood for the top, sides, and bottom.  (1) sheet of 1/4″  plywood for the backs.  For the rails that hold up the baskets he used (4) 8 foot  2×2′s.
• After be built them he sanded, primed, and painted with one good coat.  By rolling on where you can you will be able to paint them faster and get a smoother coat.  You can also use wood filler after sanding and before painting to get a more finished look on your plywood.
• Tools and supplies used-wood, circular saw, drill, sander, level, 2 inch wood screws, 1/4inch screws for the back, wood filler, primer (if you have it), paint, paint brushes and roller.

I am sure I totally left something out.  Just wanted to get this post up for people who were curious to see what these looked like.  Let me know if you have any questions.  I will try to get Hubs to provide me with some more detailed dimensions for this project.  Maybe even some fancier pictures of the finished product.

After a special breakfast of Daddy’s famous crispy waffles with whip cream and blueberry compote we dressed ourselves for worship and headed to church.  Kids still wiggle on Christmas Sunday, but the service remains special.  A simple lunch of leftovers, a good nap for the very tired Littles, some quiet time for us to talk as a couple, a dance party and a special present to open for the tots after the day has settled.  As the kids have grown so has the desire to handle the season appropriately.  We want them to feel the magic, but more than that we want them to know the meaning.  Blessings to your family on this very special day!

I was stoked when I found out I was chosen to review Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers for my blog through Moms Meet.  When the box arrived I was thrilled and did a definite dance for joy.

Crunchmaster Crackers are an alternative to regular wheat crackers.  They are natural and certified gluten free.  They are  made from brown rice, stone ground corn, oat fiber and a 4 seed blend.  These crackers are oven baked and have a great texture.

The verdict is in and these get a thumbs up from my family.  I love having a great multigrain cracker for the little ones.  Our family does not need to avoid wheat, but they get plenty of wheat in their diet and I like to offer a wide variety of foods (and grains).  These crackers help us to shake things up a bit.  They have the perfect crunch and and come in 3 flavors.  They come in sea salt, roasted vegetable, and white cheddar.  I think our favorite flavor was the white cheddar.  The only thing I would love more about them is if they were organic.

On to the BEST news.  They also wanted me to give away a case to my readers!!! So…just enter by leaving a comment below (make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win).  What flavor would you be most excited to try?

Giveaway closes Dec 21st.

I would also be thrilled if you wanted to become a “follower” so that I can bring you more awesome giveaways.

For more info check out Crunchmaster’s web site (they even have a coupon up right now) or their Facebook.

WINNER IS… JEN “Roasted Vegetable sounds good”

She has been notified and 48 hours to respond by email.

 Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

I am actually not sure what I think about it.  I am still trying to sort it all out.  I am sure God is trying to teach me something, so I am trying to pay attention.  Something about relying on him. Something about how I can not keep my kids healthy. Something about how he is in control…not me.  So I am just going to try and deal with it.

I have always said I would rather have it be me sick than my kids.  Well that has happened too.  The kids seem to bounce back between bugs…but I do not.  I have asthma.  I can’t eat half of the healthy things my family eats because of food allergies.  It all plays a role.  My lungs have been messed up EVERY single day for almost 4-ish months.  I am not dying. I am not in severe distress.  I am just trying to get through.  I have had 2-3 likely sinus infections, but thanks to the neti-pot and some serious steam breathing, shower taking, bla bla bla I have kicked them.  I am so thankful I did not have to take antibiotics.  Antibiotics.  They are bad for you.  Extra bad for people with a handful of weird health issues like I have.  Don’t feel bad for me. I am fine.  But yeah.  Still have the junked up lungs.

Kids currently trying to get healthy.  Thought I had this cold already a few days ago…woke up today with a more sore throat than usual…NOW I might actually have it.  Great.  Hoping that by the grace of God, this one won’t set me back much.  What has been happening is I catch a cold…kick most of it after about 3 weeks…and go back to where I was with my lung/asthma stuff.  I have been seeing a naturopath for the first time.  I know, kinda weird…kinda awesome.  I have gone twice and have a whole arsenal of things I am trying.  I am all about actually healing my body and getting it better rather than just taking stuff to mask the symptoms.  I am am also totally for “modern” medicine when it is needed.  But, I want to have a healthy body.  I want clear lungs, and I would love to eventually be off of my daily inhaler.  Because my asthma started up “randomly” after the twins were born I think it is possible to reverse some things and maybe not have to deal with it as much.

It has been a weird week.  We actually planned a couple fun things with friends and had to cancel it all.  My mom and grandma had other plans for all of this week and part of last so our “regular”  grandma times that break up the week are missing.  So here I am.  Just me and my sick kids all day every day.  And most of the time I can totally handle it.  When your kids are uber grumpy, snotty, and needy and you are the only one to deal with it for most of the day…you just do.  You are a mom and it is your job.  God made us for this.  Never easy, always worth it.

Blessings:

-Baby (17 mo) is actually sleeping through the night most nights (for the last few nights).  See how loosely I refer to all of this?  The decent sleep I am getting most nights  this past week has been a huge blessing and a large part of why I am still sane.

-my Birthday my mother-in-law is bringing over a sweet cleaning lady to clean my house tomorrow (I don’t know her, but any lady who comes to my house to clean is “sweet”).  Any guess what I have been doing for days to prepare? Clean. Nothing like the motivation of having two ladies in your home to get things moving.  Cleaning right now=killing clutter piles and half dusting so that it looks like you might actually dust on occasion.  Very excited and totally nervous.

I will leave you with some recent quotes.

“Mommy am I going to be sick on my BIRTHDAY???”  Quote from my melodramatic 3 year old son whose birthday is not until February.

“Mommy, my head hurts…a little bit all over…I think it is a headache, but I will be easy going about it (in a fairly cheery voice)”  Quote from my 3 year old Little Miss.

Hope things are well in your home!

Over and out.

When I heard about a program from Tiny Prints for bloggers to get 50 free photo cards I was thrilled.  We have never used them before, but their cards look amazing!

Here are a few of my favorites (click on images for links)…

Which one am I choosing? NO IDEA! There are too many I really love.  One thing I really liked about Tiny Prints was the number of types of cards you can choose from.  They have the traditional rectangular and long photo cards, but also adorable tri-fold folding, and round.  You can even get the corners rounded on your rectangular cards.  If you go with one of the traditional cards I LOVE the rounded corner option.  Many of the cards also have super cute printed backs that coordinate.

If you are shopping for cards their current promotion is save 20% off your entire order with the code 20SAVE (ends 11/15).  I will watch to see what their next promotions is and update this post!

What are your tricks for getting a great picture of your family? Do you just pick the best picture from the last year and call it good, or have pictures taken specifically for your cards?

About every month or so my friend and I make an Azure order. When it works out we take turns picking it up.  This is a good thing since we always magically end up at Burgerville when it is our turn.

I was especially pleased with my order this time.

40lbs of organic apples for $20? Yes please!

Here is my order so you can see how it breaks down and it includes the item number if you would like to look any of the items up.

3 cheers for good food!

I was fortunate enough to get to sample Kashi Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars (say that three times fast) .  Awhile back I was accepted into the Moms Meet program and occasionally I am chosen to try some fun products. I share them with my group, and then am sometimes asked to summarize what we thought on my blog.

Here is what Moms Meet has to say about the new bars, “Looking for a good-for-you granola bar that also tastes good? Kashi’s all natural TLC^® Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars start with a chewy granola base made with peanut butter and peanut chunks for a nutty flavor. A thick layer of real soft fruit mixed with rich, dark chocolate tops the granola along with roasted runner peanuts and dark chocolate pieces for hearty, natural goodness you can see and taste. And they’re nutritious, too!”

When the box came in the mail we were holding our big garage sale.  I was stoked!  The kids were just getting up from their naps and they saw the box.  They asked if they could try them and we handed them each a bar and sat them on the chair.  They sat in perfect silence while they chowed every last speck.  I was actually surprised at how focused they were on the bars.  When strangers are waltzing around your front yard and taking away your beloved possessions the last thing I expected was them to calmly sit and focus on a snack.  They LOVED them and have asked for them many times since.

The main purpose of the sampling is for me to share them with a group I meet with who are interested in natural/green products. This totally fits with the interests of the girls in my Bible Study and so when I get a package from Moms Meet I always take the goodies along.

Here is what one of my friends thought of the bars:

“The texture/consistency was perfect. Chewy, but not gooey. I also thought the flavor had good balance between the chocolate and the peanuts. I am not a big peanut fan, but I did enjoy these.”

If you are interested in any of their products you can check out Kashi’s website.

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Go check out Kashi’s Facebook page to stay up to date on their promotions and be alerted of coupons.  I just checked and RIGHT NOW they have  a coupon for $1 off a box of their new pita crisps! Pared with a sale this will get you a great deal!

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Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.