Thomas Family Shinnanigins

My awesomely cool kids!!

2010-03-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Dear hubby and I are so lucky.

Our awesomely cool kids taught themselves how to ride bikes!

So we don't have to run half way down the street holding onto the bikes....as hubby said..."they totally saved our backs!".

This is how I discovered my kids could ride...

The kids were out front and we have a really long drive-way, they were playing with these bikes that they have had since they were 4. I was inside and was opening the blinds in the living room. As I was sliding the glass window open so I could watch the kids, I see out of the corner of my eye a red flash. I then see that little red flash was my son flying down the drive way on a bike!!!

I totally yelled out the window like some crazy lady "Owen - what are you doing? Are you riding a bike? How...when....where....did you learn how to do that?????"

"Mom - I'm riding my bike....and I am teaching Keelee how to do it now."

"But - when did you learn?"

"I just taught myself"

Wiping a little tear from my eye, I grabbed the video camera and headed outside. I still need to take some still pictures and post them...but the video is precious.

2010-03-05T13:38:00.001-08:00

I am the baby sitters club...

2010-02-28T00:15:00.000-08:00

I am watching a friends child over the weekend cause I am an awesome friend darnit! LOL.

Actually I get myself worked up for a horrible weekend, with kids that aren't getting along or having to break up a ton of fights. So when my weekend doesn't look anything like that ...I start to wonder.

Why do I always prepare myself for the negative? Instead of pumping myself up for a great weekend, I am pumping myself up for a bad weekend. Does that make any sense? Not to me!!

So not am I preparing for the bad weekend, when the weekend comes to an end I reflect back and think "Well that went alot better then I expected".

Am I preparing myself mentally for the negative weekend to just be surprised by the positive weekend? It's like praying for the worst and hoping for the best.

I am deciding this is not healthy emotional preparation. Going forward I am going to either leave things up in the air with some preparation for different activities or plan for a positive, fun good time!!

Overall - this weekend has worked out great. All the kids have been getting along great and we've been having a lot of fun.

The Sickies!!

2010-02-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

My poor baby girl.....

Her and I are both sick right now. And we are miserable. I started with an ear infection which led to a sinus infection which led to bronchitis which is now back at another infection of some sorts....along with bruised ribs/sternum from coughing so hard. This has been going on since Feb.8th! I think this month alone with Dr's visits, co-pays and Rx's I have probably paid about $500 bucks out of pocket! ARGH

My poor daughter Keelee has been sick just as long as me. She had a major sinus infection which has led to this nasty cough that has been lingering for a little over a week. She's on her second round of anti-biotic (which aren't helping). Well today Grandma (watches the kids Mon-Wed and home-schools them during that time also) said Keelee's been coughing all afternoon.

I get home from work around 6:30 pm and she's still coughing. We have given every kind of medicine imaginable but she is still coughing. I mean it's annoying coughing - no barking or anything like that - just an annoying cough. So I proceed to give her some warm lemon/honey combo to soothe the throat. She seems to get a little better and the coughing starts again.

At about 8:30 we decide we are going to have a miserable night and Hubby agrees to take her to Quick Care. Yea - did you know that there are NO MORE 24hr Quick Care's in Las Vegas?!!!!! I guess due to budget cut backs they decided that these were no longer necessary. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We are a frickin' 24 hr town...of course this is needed. So after 45 minutes of Daddy and Kee driving all over town, they come home. And what do we do?

We turn to the handy dandy INTERNET :-) Boy people have got some great home remedies on here!

So a quick Vapo-Rub to the feet, some Vicks in the humidifier in her room and some more yummy lemon/honey, the coughing finally starts to dwindle down. Huh? What's that? Oh!!
Yah - I said Vapo Rub on the bottom of her feet - with socks on of course! Apparently the feet have a million different connections to the body (Reflexology).

So it's 10:52pm here now....she came in earlier to let us know her head hurts when she's coughing. We marched her back into her room, said another prayer together and tucked her back into bed.

Hopefully this won't be a long night. Daddy's going to take her to the Dr in the morning since I have to be at work so early....speaking of..I need to get to bed!!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things!

2010-02-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

As any mother knows no matter how much love we have for our children, they also have this ability to work the last little bit of patience we have in us!!

Last night on the way home from Keelee's cheer practice we decided to stop by Big Lots to get a small treat since the kids had a great week of school. Now I let the kids spend their own hard earned money. A whole $5 bucks once a month, so they are learning about earning and how to practically spend their money as well. I started doing this about 3 months ago and it is amazing! It seems like the stuff they buy they take better care of. It's just bonus for me because I get to see them really bargain shop for the best deals, and they love handing over their money. I am trying to get them to not spend all of their money at one time, so they can "roll-over" dollars to the next month. But of course they have no patience for that....it will come though. And I am digressing here...back to the main point.

So we check out of Big Lots, it's 7pm and Owen want's to open his toy in the truck (he has asked me twice in the store).

Me - "No Owen, it's dark and you can't see since it's night time I don't want you to lose any pieces"

Owen - "But Mom, I can see just fine. See there are street lights. I can see"

Me - "No you can't. Don't make me say it again. Just keep it in the bag, we will be home in 10 minutes, you can play with it then"

Owen - "Fine"

A last minute detour and we decided to pick up Port of Subs and grab a movie. As I am pulling up to Port of Subs, the lights from the store are shining into our truck and I hear a little voice in the back "Oh goody, I can open my toy now cause there is LIGHT!"

Me - "WHAT did you just say? I know you did not just ask to open that toy, when we talked about it 5 minutes ago and the answer was NO. So please tell me what you just said?!?"

Silence....

Owen - "I love you Mom"

Me - I busted up laughing so hard that I was crying! My little jokester who has PERFECT comedic timing, had me in stiches.

This is one of those moments I look back on and I smile.

Kids - they say the Darnedest Things!

The Sickies!

2010-02-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

Poor Hubby - I hope he stays healthy!

Me and the kiddies have been sick for a week now. The kids were sick with Sinus Infections and I was just diagnosed with double ear infections!! I kept wondering why I was so dizzy and tired!

So pray for us to all get healthy soon!

Check out my new Blog

2010-02-10T23:27:00.000-08:00

Part-Time Couponing

That's the name of my new blog I will be using for couponing! Come check it out.

It's a work in progress and I don't have a ton of time to dedicate to it.

But - it's like a baby. A little love and care, pretty soon it will start cooing for me! LOL.

I know - that's corny, but I am sick and on medication....so I blame that!

Couponing around the way

2010-02-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a site I found tonight on Youtube. Absolutely ridiculous how over charged American's are for their grocery items. And why don't we get these great coupon offers???

http://mrsjanuary.com/

I am not hating at all....just insane how these coupons work around the world!!

Good Deal at Target

2010-02-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

I am at home sick today with my sick kids (they got me sick!). And of course it was raining all day long here in Vegas....but I had to get to the store for some more kids cough syrup.

Since Target is just down the road we all piled in the truck - even though I didn't want to step out of the house - we trudged over to Target.

I was fortunate to have my trusty coupon book with me.

The kids and I quickly ran into the store (darn rain) and went over to the cold medicine section. Got a good deal on some day-time Robitussin for the kiddies. I remembered my Venus and Fusion razor coupons. Also grabbed the free bottle of Olay body soap coupon with the purchase of the Venus razor. I really wished I felt better to look around and go through my coupons, but the kids are hacking up a storm and my fever just broke and I am sweating like a pig.

So I check out and got out of dodge....

Was very happy to see that I got my $5 gift card for the razors (didn't get to score the Quaker Oates deal, but that's okay). I was mostly happy that I got my free bottle of Olay with the purchase of the Venus Razor! Plus I got to use my $6 bucks in coupons for the razors.

All in all to me that was a good trip.....even though I felt like crap and suffered for it when I got home....

Couponing in Las Vegas

2010-02-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

I have been reading several blogs about how expensive grocery shopping in Las Vegas, NV is due to most stores not accepting "double coupons".

I do agree that our stores here are expensive. But there are a few of us fellow bloggers, PT,ST and Couponomy, as well as mine where we are sharing our stories of shopping adventures in the Las Vegas area and how we are scoring great deals around this valley.

It does take some work, don't get me wrong, but it's very possible to feed your family and even grow your stockpile on a weekly budget for $100 with a family of 4.

I used to be one of those shoppers that just went to the store and just bought whatever. I used to spend over $200 a week in grocery's and we ate out a few times a week as well!!

Now I set a weekly budget of $100 for my family of 4 and try my hardest to get to that goal. I have also been taking part in the 2010 challenge from Pinch This, Stretch That and have started tracking my expenses weekly (which I have never done before). See how my challenge is going so far here.

Meatball Subs

2010-02-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

The other day I posted a blog on Home Made Tomato Sauce.

This is a recipe we use when I have spaghetti sauce coming out of my ears and we are tired of noodles and spaghetti.

Home Made Meatball Subs

Ingredients

4 -6 Hoagies ( I personally enjoy French Bread, what ever is on sale)
1 Jar/Freezer Bad of Home Made Spaghetti Sauce - recipe Here
1 Bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Frozen Bag Turkey Meatballs- Already cooked (whatever you prefer, you could make them home made)

Unthaw spaghetti sauce and place in a sauce pan on low heat. Add in bag of meatballs (figure about 4 meatballs per person) and let these simmer together about 15 - 20 minutes. Prepare Hoagies or Loaf of bread by slicing in half (but not all the way through!). Add some shredded Mozzarella onto the roll and add about 4 meatballs with a little sauce. Add some more cheese on top and serve. One variation I will do is to pop these into the broiler for a few seconds to crust the bread up a little and get the cheese really melted.

There you have it.

These are super simple and filling.

Home Made Spaghetti Sauce

2010-02-05T19:33:00.000-08:00

What to do with those Tomato's before they go bad??

Have you ever thought of making homemade spaghetti sauce?

One thing I always do in the Summer time with my left over garden tomato's is make home made spaghetti sauce. It's so easy and simple!

I usually make roughly about 2-3 Gallons of sauce at one time. But you can make these in smaller batches if you don't have the same freezing capabilities. I have a large freeze that I am able to use (besides my stand by in the kitchen).

There are a couple of variations. You can use regular whole sized canned tomato's if you don't have a fresh garden, fresh tomato's from the farmers market or even tomato's purchased at the regular grocery store (on sale of course!).

I find sometimes when I have run out of garden tomato's that going to Costo to purchase the Large (I think it's 50 oz) can of whole tomato's works just as well. At my Costo this can of tomato's only costs me about $3 and it makes enough spaghetti sauce for 3 meals.

I will break down the 2 different ways to make the sauce. If you have fresh tomato's this process will take slightly longer, canned tomato's (obviously) not as long.

Home Made Spaghetti Sauce with Garden veggies

Ingredients:

10-12 large tomato's
1 stalk of celery - diced (celery leaves if you can - they have the best flavor!)
1/2 bag of carrots - diced
8-10 leaves fresh basil - julienned
Oregano = optional
1-2 Bay leaves
1 cup of good white wine ( you can use cooking wine as well)
1 large white onion - diced
6 garlic cloves (chopped) - if you are using already minced garlic this would be about 1-2 tablespoons
1-2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

The biggest stock pot you can find!

Now this is the basic sauce - you are more then welcome to add any other veggies. Depending on what's available in the garden I sometimes use zucchini, bell peppers, yellow squash. Use whatever veggie you like.

First you want to get a big pot of boiling water going (big enough to fit the tomato's submerged into water). Once the water is boiling, add a little salt. Place the tomato's (whole) into the boiling water. Watch for a few minutes until you notice the skin on the tomato's starts to split or breakaway. Once this happens remove the tomato's immediately and run under cold water. This will help pull the rest of the skin from the tomato's. Set them aside.

In the large stock pot get your olive oil going (med heat). Add the Carrots first, then onions and celery (or other veggies) last. Once those have cooked for a couple of minutes add the chopped garlic. I know that sounds backwards, but I hate burnt garlic. Since I want a stronger garlic flavor in my sauce, I don't add the garlic until I am ready to add the wine. Add in the Basil and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add about a 1/2 cup of the wine first to "deglaze" the pan. You can add as little or more as you like. I find for 2 gallons of sauce that 1 cup is good. You then let the wine cook completely out. Reduce the temperature to simmer or low.

With the tomato's from earlier you are going to want to put them into a blender or (my favorite) a hand held blender. If using the regular blender add the tomato's in with a pinch or two of salt and pepper. You want to chop but not liquefy the tomato's. You want to get the big chunks out. As it simmers it will break down additionally. If you have a hand blender, then you can add the tomato's right to the simmering veggies and then just break down each tomato. Either way is fine.

Stir everything together to combine - give a small taste test to adjust your flavors. Like adding more salt, pepper or fresh Basil or even fresh Oregano. Grab a couple of Bay leaves and throw it into the sauce, add a lid and walk away! Periodically check every 20 minutes to make sure it's not burning. You want slow bubbles, but not boiling. After about an hour your sauce may have reduced slightly. THIS IS NORMAL! It's just concentrating the flavors and making it extra yummy!

After your sauce it done cooking. Let it cool completely! I like to save a few older spaghetti jars and lids and I will fill up these jars and then place these in the freezer and a couple in the fridge. The ones in the fridge have lasted me a couple of weeks (meatless) and the ones in the freezer in the jars will last about 1-2 months. To get the longest storage and if you are restricted by space, then the best thing is to use your gallon size freezer bags. I will use a cookie sheet and add about 4 cups of sauce to each bag and lay them flat with as much air as possible pushed out of them. Laying them flat to freeze the first time will help with storing them later as you can then stack them however you like since they will be so flat! Oh! And place a piece of wax paper in between the stacks so they will come apart better after they are frozen. By freezing them this way, you can get the sauce to last about 3-4 months!

You can use this same recipe above for the whole canned tomato's as well, you would just skip the "skin peeling" step.

I hope this was useful information!

Stay tunned for idea's on what other recipes we can make out of Home Made Spaghetti Sauce!

This is what $11.46 at Fresh and Easy will get you

2010-02-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

I went to Fresh and Easy Wednesday night and got a ton of stuff! There are having a great sale right now on paper napkins, but of course I had to check all the other clearance areas.

I got :

6 packages of SuperSoft Table napkins = $.40 each

3 bags baby Roma Tomato's = $.49 each

2 Earth's First Paper Towels = $1.39 each

1 Gal Chocolate Milk = $3.19

2 Loaves White Bread = $.38 each

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

$11.46

Now that was an awesome deal! So far I have about 18 packages of the napkins ($.40 each??) you can't beat that! I am pretty much stocked up on those for the next year. On average I go through 1 of those a month!

Good night at Albertson's

2010-02-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

I had an "okay" night at Albertson's. When I got there the place was a mad house! They had no more of the cereal special's left - so I got my very first RainCheck. That was cool.

I did score on some All Detergent though!

I got 2/50oz bottles for $1.99 each! They honored the Manufacturers coupon in their add plus the ones I brought with me! SWEET DEAL!

I stocked up on deli sandwhich meat also. Got 3 pounds of meat for $9! Packed that away in the freezer last night.

I am heading out to Von's today. Looking to stock up on Oatmeal, Johnsonville Brats and Mayo.

I will also be heading to CVS today for some Mayo and toilet paper.

I will tackle Smith's tomorrow. I have to make it to Kohls today cause they are having a SUPER awesome sale.

Got Right Guard Coupons?

2010-02-02T15:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday in the mail I got my Right Guard coupons from DIAL!! They gave me 6 coupons total for $.35 off each Dial product, three were specifically for Right Guard. They don't expire until the end of July 2010!

And I can request another set of coupons in 3 months!

Write to your favorite companies! You never know what you will get!

My first Smith's Shopping adventure!

2010-01-31T22:43:00.000-08:00

WOW!

I am feeling the Coupon HIGH!!

I just got done tallying my Smith's Bill and was so excited to see my savings! Smith's is having their 10's deal where if you buy 10 of the featured item you get an automatic $5 off your bill.

And they had some great items on this "10's deal"!!

I bought 60 items and spent $81.76.

I went there for 5 specific items that qualified on their purchases:

Capri Sun

Nabisco Crackers

Fiber One bars

Hormel Chili

Kraft Cheese

Now I did stray slightly - but I had a coupon for all other items. Here is the breakdown - not including the extra items -

Fiber1 $2.49 x10 = $24.90

Nabisco $2.49 x10 = $24.90

Hormel Chili $1.29 x10 = $12.90

Kraft Cheese $1.99 x10 = $19.90

Capri Sun $1.99 x10 = $19.90

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

$101.90

-$25 (met 10's deal, got $5 off x 5)

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

$76.90

This is still a great deal - but I had some coupons to add!!

$1 off Kraft

4/$1 off Nabisco

2/$2 off 2 Box Ritz

4/$.50 off Hormel Chili

2/$.55 off 2 cans Hormel Chili

2/$1 off Capri Sun

1/$.40 off Fiber1

2/$.75 off Fiber1

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

$16.00

FINAL TOTAL OUT OF POCKET: $60.90 !!!

This totaled 50 items and $60.90 spent out of pocket = $1.21 per item!!

That's amazing to me!!

I felt my first coupon cringe this evening at the store as well - my daughter wanted some frosted mini wheat's and I only had 1 coupon! I ended up buying them, but I cringed at spending $3.31 a box! (See you are cringing while you read this ...huh?) LOL

So had an AMAZING night - as you can see from my picture my stock pile is growing!!

2010 Budget Challenge Update - Week 3

2010-01-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry this is so late and technically we are starting on week 4!

I did go over budget again this time and I am attributing part of that to eating out ($24.03). Still - I went over budget regardless.

This was a great week though for me - this is the first time I really felt like CVS was clicking for me and I was actually understanding how my ECB's work for me and how little I can come up with out of pocket. As time goes on I will be spending less at CVS. I am consistantly saving about 50% off my bill each time. So that's a plus for me!

I am still intimidated by the whole "RR" (register rewards) at Walgreen's. I will leave that to the PCC until I get more familiar with them.

The Family Budget is set at $100.00

This week I spent $145.67

So I came in over budget by $45.67

Again - can't say it enough - I used to spend $200 weekly at the minumum. So I am still a ROCK STAR!!

Contacting companies for Coupons does work!

2010-01-29T11:23:00.000-08:00

My DH is a huge fan of Right Guard. He's actually a Right Guard SNOB.

Since starting on this couponing adventure I have asked him if he's willing to be "brand" flexible. He has pretty much agreed to ANY thing I asked....with the exception of his under arm deodorant. He only uses Original Right Guard Spray - it can't be Antiperspirant! It has to be original

Not this:

But this:

After some discussion (and having to spend $4 dollars on 1 can) I decided to try to write to the company. DH has never EVER used any other deodorant. I have been with him almost 20 years and as God is my witness he's only used this brand and this scent.

So I decided to email the company after several searches for coupons turn up nothing. I am doubtful I will hear anything back from the company...but to my surprise....this is what I received the other day:

Dear Mrs.XXXXXX

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
 
We do not maintain a mailing list which allows us to

distribute coupons on an on-going basis. You can, however,

contact us once every 3 months to request a coupon packet.

The best source for obtaining discount coupons for our

products is through newspaper and magazine advertisements

as well as right on our labels.
 
Your coupon(s) will follow with a hard copy of this letter

via U.S. Mail, which you should receivewithin the next 7-10

business days.
 
Consumer Affairs

HOW FRICKIN AWESOME IS THAT?!?!?!?

So I will blog about what comes in the mail and of course keep my eye out for any coupons from (dial.consumer affairs)

If you have a favorite brand - I would encourage you to seek them out. You never know what you will get!

Fresh and Easy Coupon

2010-01-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post these coupons, but I just received this in my email and thought I would share:

Fresh and Easy Coupon

This is a coupon that expires in a couple of days but you can save 10$ when you spend $50. Some stores may even let you combine this with the $3 or $5 off coupons as well. Just depends on the store.

My stockpile is growing....is yours?

2010-01-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

My stockpile is growing! I have several bottles of body soap, shampoo, toothpaste, cleaners etc. I can't believe how quickly it's growing. I am having to make new places to store all of this stuff!

I had a great shopping night as CVS last night.

Got:

2 PLEDGE
3 AXE products
2 VIVE Shampoos
2 RENPURES *1 free!

I took advantage of the RENPURE Organics B1G1 Free. On the bottles they had a tag for sending in your receipt and you get $6.99 back! So you are getting the product for FREE!

Swiped my Green Bag towards my $1 ECB **Whoo HOO

That purchase was $36.68

Coupons:
$5.75

ECB's
$13.00

Total OOP : $ 17.97, plus earned another $5 in ECB's

Pretty good!

My second purchase I got:
2 PLEDGE
1 Tube of Crest
VIVE Shampoo

Before coupons: $11.87

Coupons: $3.50
ECB's $5

Total OOP: $3.37

I was very happy.

I did notice on my first purchase when I got home and stockpiled everything and then went through my receipts that I was charged 3 times on my first transaction for the VIVE Shampoo. Out of pure laziness of not wanting to put everything back in the bag and head back to CVS at 8pm at night, I decided it wasn't worth the $2.99 overcharge.

Lesson learned - I am double checking before I leave the parking lot!!

Also scored some great Creamers at Walgreens and some Sure deoderant.

Too bad hubby doesn't use the roll on stuff. I have asked him to be brand flexible, but he refused to use anything but Right Guard. So I will need to be on the look out for those coupons and stock up! Those cans are almost $4 a piece! ARGH!

Coupon Pressure.....anyone else feeling it?

2010-01-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong....I am really enjoying couponing....

But

I feel this pressure.

Do I buy the item now? Do I wait.

Will it be on sale again - or will a better deal come later and I kick myself for not saving my coupon?

I guess I haven't gone through enough coupon 'cycles' yet to know when the hit or miss factor's are established.

I am hitting up CVS today cause I have a great coupon for Axe and I get 10$ in ECB's back.

I will post that deal later.

Going Shopping!

2010-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

Just saw this coupon from Confessions Blog and had to share!

Extra 15% off everything at Khols...check it out!

I'm starting to feel like.....

2010-01-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

Couponing is my new BFF!

It's seriously getting addicting....

I was at the Prediatricians office the other day just thumbing through a magazine and I saw a coupon for something. Now normally I would just pass by this and totally ignore it.

But no = what did I do??? I ripped the whole page out of the magazine!

RIDICULOUS!!!

I have issues....that's all I can say!

Had to have a repeat CVS trip!

2010-01-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah - I did it again....

Totally went to CVS last night to purchase my other 6 (12pks) of soda! I think we are set for soda for the year!

I purchases 6 (12pks) for $10 (used 10ECB's)
1 bottle of Dawn Dish Detergent for $.96 (used $.50 coupon) so only paid $.46!

I paid a total of $10.54 out of pocket and received back $11 in ECB's...thanks to my Green Bag scan!

WHOO HOO

Loving this CVS adventure.

I am going to brave Walgreens tomorrow - just not comfy with the RR - Register Rewards.

Wish me luck!!

My CVS shopping adventure!!

2010-01-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

Had a great shopping adventure today at CVS!!

I spent a total of $18.82 out of pocket today and got some great stuff!

Deal #1

6 (12) packs of Pepsi product purchased (received $10 ECB's)

Coupons Used:
$1 Manufactures Coupon
$4 ECB's
$5 CVS print from iheartcvs - Thank you!

Total $10 out of pocket

Deal #2

1 Clairol Hair Coloring $5.99
2 Airwick iMotions $4.99 each
1 Nivea Body Soap $6.99

Coupon's Used
$4 ECB's
$4 Off Airwick Purchase, paid $.99!
$4 Off Airwick Purchase, paid $.99!
$2 Off Clairol Hair Coloring, paid $3.99
$2 Off Nivea Body Soap, paid $4.99

This transaction cost me $8.82, and I received $2 back in ECB's.

I was very happy about these transactions and I think I will be taking advantage of a few more items this week to build my stock pile.