My Little Tiff w/ Rite-Aid, But Problem Solved!

I went to Rite-Aid on Wednesday evening to purchase a few items with my coupons and I ended up having problems. Coupon problems that is. I was purchasing an Ace wrap for $3.99 and Rite-Aid had an in-store coupon for $4.00 off. The cashier would not accept my coupon because it was over the purchase price. I told her she would just need adjust the coupon down to $3.99. She said they are not allowed to price adjust coupons. For Peet's sake.......it's only a penny difference! Anyhow, I wasn't going to be happy being told NO, knowing that this is legit. She went to ask the manager and the manager told her it can't be done. So, I gracefully walked out after I purchased my 4 bottles of Men's Nivea Body Wash for free & just paid the sales tax. I was happy to get that, but I wasn't going to walk away quietly.

I contacted Rite-Aid Corporate office yesterday by email because I wanted to find out about their coupon policy. I was surprised to get a response back so quickly. I had the manager from Rite-Aid contact me today by phone (a different one than wed.) asking me to explain what I was trying to do. After I told her, she was very quick to apologize to me stating that her cashier's and other manager were obviously not aware of their coupon policy and they need additional training. She will make sure that this will not happen again. It's sad to see that I know more about their coupon policy than their own employees!

Needless to say, I'm a happy camper and problem got solved. You better believe I will be back there either tonight or tomorrow getting my free Ace wraps along with some other items I will be getting free along with my coupons. Hopefully those cashier's will either not remember me or give me dirty looks when I walk back in & hand them coupons knowing they have to accept it now. :)

Thank You Rite-Aid Corporate Office!

Awesome Rite-Aid Deal

This week Rite-Aid has an awesome deal going for Men's Nivea Body Wash. They have 16.9 oz bottle on sale for $1.99 each. You can go here to print out a coupon for $4.00 off of 2 making it FREE after coupon. Remember you can print out 2 coupons by hitting your back arrow key a couple times. I went tonight & bought 4 bottles. You also get $1.00 back per bottle in UP rewards which you are able to use on your next purchase.

If your wanting to partake in this deal, I would hurry & get them soon before they are all gone or before the coupon goes dead!

Cute Kids Shoes.....Great Prices!

Having 3 kids all under the age of 4 and under, I feel like I'm constantly needing to buy shoes every 6 months or less. Therefore, I'm always trying to find deals & I can't stand paying full prices on kids shoes knowing they outgrown them so fast. I was so excited to find such great deals this past week! :)



Preston was really needing a new pair of sandals. He outgrew his other pair of sandals and I was having the hardest time finding him a new pair. Every time we would find something at a decent price, they would be out of his size. I was extremely happy to find these cute pair of Buzz Light Year Light-up Sandals on Clearance at Target for $6.06. They fit great & he absolutely LOVES them! :)



My sweet little Jeremiah was in need of some new shoes because he is smaller than my other two boys at this age. I didn't have any shoes that would fit him yet.I found these 3 cute pair of shoes in his size for only $3.24 each. I couldn't resist all 3 pairs for this price!



My middle son Noah was needing a new pair of shoes for church. I found these cute brown loafer shoes along with these black converse shoes at a garage sale this past weekend. I paid only $1.00 for each pair. They are both in great shape!



I also found these cute sandals for Noah at Target on clearance for $3.24 also, so I couldn't resist buying them to save for when he needs a replacement pair.

All together, I only spent a total of $21.02 for 7 pairs of shoes for all 3 of my kids. That's still cheaper than you can buy 1 new pair of shoes. Not only did I save extra money to put back in our budget for next month, it goes to show you how it definitely pays to shop around. There are always great deals to be found!

Tackle It Tuesday

Since this week has been a little less busy for me, I decided to do a little bulk cooking yesterday so we can have some meals ready to grab when needed. My hubby was telling me the other day that he has been craving breakfast burritos and he thinks mine are the best (thanks my love). So, I decided to surprise him & make a huge batch so he can just grab them to go on his way to work for breakfast.



My assembly line of burritos. I put egg, tator tots, bacon & cheese inside. OK, so it's not exactly healthy, but very delicious!




I stuck them in freezer bags so it makes it easy for my hubby to just grab them & go. Of course, I told him he must bring my freezer bags back so we can re-use them at least a couple times so we are not being wasteful (the burritos are not that messy). :)




My kids including myself LOVE pumpkin pancakes. I made a batch so we can have a nice breakfast on the mornings I do not feel like cooking.




I wanted to double or even triple the batch, but by the time I got to the end of one, I was pooped. My energy level isn't as good as I thought. This pregnancy is wearing me out. There will be more pancake making later this week! :)

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Tempura Shrimp & Chicken Chow Mein

Tuesday: Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas, rice & beans

Wednesday: Chicken & Broccoli Casserole & Baked Potatoes

Thursday: Homemade Corn Chowder Soup, Salad w/ Homemade Italian Dressing (like Olive Garden..yummm) & Breadsticks

Friday: Going out to dinner with friends! :)

Saturday: Turkey Burgers w/ Bacon Cheddar Cheese, Tator Tots & Fresh Fruit

Sunday: Tacos w/ all the Fixings

Cute Pillows

I have several projects I would like to do, but I seem to never find the time to get them started. This weekend was the first weekend we actually didn't have much going on, so I got energetic on Saturday and broke out my sewing machine. It was so nice being able to start & finish a project in the same day. I felt so proud of myself for completing a few things that my boys have been asking me to do for so long. Even though it wasn't anything difficult, my boys were so excited when they woke up Sunday morning & saw their travel pillows completed with the material they got to pick out all by themselves.

I also repaired my son's froggy pillow he sleeps with every night. Froggy's foot was falling off & he acquired a few holes along the way. I also made two heat packs with rice for my boys. It seems as though they are having growing pains in their legs, stomach aches or something else which requires heat packs. We only had one in our household & they would fight over who would get it. Not any more.....now we have 3 to choose from in fun Thomas The Train & Disney Cars material that come in different shapes & sizes. :)



This is the pillow I made for my niece which matches the blanket I made her a couple weeks ago. I thought it turned out so cute & very girly looking! :) I'm going to get her name embroidered on the black part of this pillow case so it will be customized for her.






My son Preston is still a huge Thomas The Train fan. He has been since he was 2 years old. This is his own travel pillow that we will keep in our car. I made it with memory foam pieces inside which makes these pillows nice & squishy.




My son Noah loves Disney Cars. He picked out this material all by himself. This pillow is the perfect size for the boys to rest comfortably while traveling in the car.

Finger Puppets & Felt Stories

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop held by an inspirational teacher named Nora Sanchez. She is dedicated to educating & teaching not only just children, but daycare providers as well and showing us the passion we should have towards teaching our children. She has such a LOVE for children and it totally shines through her personality. Through all of this, she has created her own felt stories & finger puppets that she sells and I ended up buying some. Here is a couple I wanted to share:






Birds (Here is the song you sing with this felt story)

There was one little bird in one little tree, He was so all alone, and he didn't want to be. So he flew far away, over the sea, and brought back a friend to live in the tree.

(Substitute two, three and four for one as you finish the verse, adding one more bird each time to the tree)

Now there are five little birds in one little tree, they are not alone they made a family. They don't fly far away, over the sea, and live very happily in the tree.



The Itsy Bitsy Spider (This is one of my kids favorites)

The itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy, bitsy spider went up the spout again.

(You can repeat this again with the mama spider and say it in a different voice to make it fun for the kids)

Meal Plan Monday

Here we are starting a new week and it's been so stinkin hot, I do not want to do much cooking indoors. We will be using the BBQ grill this week! :)

Monday: Taco Salad w/ all the Fixings

Tuesday: Fish Tacos

Wednesday: Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls w/ Mixed Vegetables

Thursday: BBQ Chicken, Sauteed Zucchini & Red Potatoes

Friday: BBQ Turkey Burgers, Tator Tots & Watermelon

Meal Plan Monday

I had my meal plan all figured out this weekend, but I never had the chance to log it down to help me remember what I will be making this week. Now, I finally have a few minutes on the computer without interuptions from kids. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful & blessed week!

Sunday: Hot dogs & homemade spinach artichoke dip

Monday: Pork chops, corn on the cobb, broccoli rice-a-roni & grapes

Tuesday: Tri-Tip, corn on the cobb & deviled eggs

Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Wings & Buffalo Shrimp w/ blue cheese dip.....YUM! (can't wait to see how it turns out, new recipe)

Thursday: Spaghetti & meatballs, salad & green beans

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Meal Plan Monday

This week will be an exciting week for me! I am starting with a precious little 3 month old baby girl in my daycare and I will also be having my OB appt. tomorrow to check my baby's heartbeat. I just love little ones....they bring so much joy to our lives.

I will be making my dinner's simple this week! :)

Monday: Turkey Burgers, Tator Tots & Cantaloupe

Tuesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Sauteed Green Beans

Wednesday: BBQ Chicken, Salad & Corn on the Cobb

Thursday: Shrimp Stir-Fry

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Banana Ice Cream

Boy do I have a treat for you! Not only is this simple, healthy & refreshing tasting with this hot weather, but my boys just LOVED it!

All you do is take 2-3 bananas & cut them up in half inch pieces, put them in a Ziploc baggie or container until they are frozen. Once the bananas are frozen, take them out & put them in a food processor & blend for about 5 minutes or until smooth & creamy. You may need to stop it a few times in between to push it down. It will be the same consistency of ice cream.

Now that's what I'm talking about! You can have a delicious treat & not even have to make a trip to the grocery store! :)




I drizzled some chocolate syrup & put cherries on top just like they were having a regular ice cream sundae. :)

No Sew Blanket......A Gift for my Niece!

Last Friday was craft night and I had fun getting together with the girls and actually getting something done that I've had on my to-do list for awhile. Isn't this no sew tie blanket adorable? I made this blanket as a special gift for my niece who is currently being adopted from China. I can't wait to meet her! A few years ago, when my nephew was adopted from China, I made him a Disney Cars blanket and he is absolutely attached to it still to this day. That is his one and only blanket he uses all the time. I saw how special the blanket was to him and wanted to do the same for her. I sure hope she likes it as much as he does! :)

I also have a matching pillow case I will be making for her as well. Hopefully I will get to it soon and post pictures once I have it completed.




I forgot to take a picture of the back of the blanket, but it's all black!