10/14 Couponing Breakdown - Mini Pharmacy Runs

So I did something new today and tried couponing at Walgreens again. Luke says I'm a battered wife who keeps going back when it comes to them. Every time is a hassle and today was no exception. But the cashiers were super nice and worked out the issues. So here are mini hauls from today.

10/13 Couponing Breakdown - Tons of Freebies!

This is gonna be brief because I've HAVE to go to bed! But got all this for under $20 today after rebates. with several freebies and moneymakers!

10/6 Couponing Breakdown - Cheap Jeans & More

Today was an epic savings day. The main highlights were my Kohl's finds. Last night I heard there were great deals to be found on Rock & Republic jeans when you stacked a $10 off coupon with already marked clearance. I went to RetailMeNot and printed a coupon for me and my friend and made plans to run to the store today. Each coupon was good for up to 8 pairs.

10/3 Couponing Breakdown - Cheap Diapers and Wipes & Free Groceries & Johnson's

So I know I owe you guys so many posts like our most recent favorite baby gear, life update, breastfeeding update, etc etc etc. But I just haven't felt like writing those posts. What has been keeping me happy and busy though is saving money with coupons. I have created a spreadsheet to track how much I save in each transaction and if I would have bought those items without coupons or not. The results are pretty impressive and maybe I'll share at the end of the year.
To do this however, I breakdown every single transaction and post most of my deals on Instagram. However, sometimes my deals feel too long to breakdown there so on those occasions I will post here.
Today I bought all this ($82.42 retail) for $10.82 and got back $9.97 making it a net cost of only $.21. Below is how I did it:

How to Make Money on 23 Baby Food Pouches at Target

This deal was too good not to share the details. Since Minion has started on baby food, I have been looking for any good deal I could find to stock up. 

Today I was able to find a killer deal by getting 23 baby food pouches that usually retail for $1.39+/ea for only $.43 at Target. Had Luke's computer not died before I printed one more coupon, this deal would have been a money maker. 

Below is the breakdown to try to get it for yourself :)

Our Favorite Three Month Gear

Could this post be any later? We got back from our nearly month-long vacation after Minion already turned 4 months and then both of us came down with a summer cold. We are still recovering, but I wanted to take the chance to put this post together. The past month experienced a lot of developmental changes for Minion. Plus he gained tons of weight, weighing in at 15lbs 1oz for his 4-month checkup. But since we traveled for the entire month we didn't introduce too many new things. Here's what we did use:

When Breastfeeding is a Fight

You are in a busy but quiet restaurant

It's 105° outside because it's June in Texas

Try as they might the air conditioners just can't quite keep up

You try to maintain some level of modesty by wearing a poncho style cover

Your child is screaming under it

Sweat is pooling in your cleavage and on your sons brow

He thrashes his head back and forth

Pulling the nipple shield he refuses to eat without with him

You struggle to get everything back in place although it's difficult with the cover and the heat

His crying intensifies because of the hunger

You feel heads turning your way

Hear whispers pointed in your direction

You try to stay calm to help soothe him and get a successful latch

It's not working

Finally you ask your companion to mix up the emergency bottle you have in the emergency diaper bag

The second that bottle nipple his your child's lips his crying stops and he peacefully eats

Budget Diapering - Week of 7/6/14

Crazy busy week for us here! But Here are a few deals I was able to find early. Sorry there is no CVS breakdown this week. I just didn't have a chance to check the sneak peak ad :-/

Our Favorite Two Month Gear

I have a 3-month-old now. Insane! O_O This past month has been so fun as Minion has defined more and more of his personality and really started to engage with the world around him. Plus he's become a total chunk and I just can't get enough of him. I've been really wanting to write more detailed day-to-day updates on here but just haven't had the time. So, for the time being, I'll share the quick hits with the gear we've been loving over the past month.

Budget Diapering - 6/29/14

So I missed the last couple weeks, sorry! I hope though that my series has taught you guys some of the places to check for scouting your own deals. Last week was the Spend $30 Get $10 deal again at CVS so that was the same as a couple weeks before that I had posted about. But I had a minute this afternoon to share some of this coming week's deals.

Budget Diapering - 6/8/14

Another late week of posting due to out-of-town guests and 2 day trips almost back to back. But fortunately none of this weeks deals were contingent on Sunday's coupons.

Our Favorite One Month Gear

I cannot believe over another month has passed! Minion is now 2 whole months old and he has developed quite the little personality. I am loving every new stage and milestone he hits more and more. This past month was so much better than our first and we really felt like we had a system down. Here's some of the things that did and didn't help us...

Budget Diapering - Week of 6/1/14

Sorry I'm so late with posting this. After back-to-back out of town guests I got a little behind on couponing and deal hunting :-/

Citrus Lane: April Box Review

So I've been on this subscription box kick and was able to score a month of Citrus Lane for $9. I have to say I was very pleased with this box. While the monetary value of this box doesn't make it worth subscribing monthly to me (mine had a $47 msrp), I liked everything I received.

Budget Diapering - 5/25/14

There are no coupon inserts this weekend because of the Memorial Day holiday. So don't go buying your Sunday prayer anticipating coupons.

Despite that there are a few decent deals this week on diapers :)

Bluum: April & May Box Review

For a month now, I have been meaning to post my review for April's Bluum box. Time got away from me and now my May box has come in so I'll just review both at the same time.

Bluum sent me an amazing box in April! At a retail value of $57 ($49 from Amazon), this box was totally worth the $9 I had spent on it and even made up for March's box. I can honestly say I loved every item I received in it :)

Budget Diapering - Week of 5/18/14

A recent email from a cousin, inspired me to start a new weekly feature to help you guys snag cheap diapers. I've shared how we have stocked up for $500, but my goal for this feature is to help you guys spend $450 or less on a year's supply of diapers. Each week (I'll try to share this on Fridays or Saturdays so you know whether to buy the Sunday paper or not), I'll give at least 1 shopping scenario for buying cheap diapers during the next week.

Our Favorite Newborn Gear

Well we survived the 1st month. At many moments it felt just like that - SURVIVAL. Since Minion developed colic right around 2.5 weeks, we started to try everything to calm him down. Since I really appreciated other bloggers' lists of helpful baby gear when I was preparing for motherhood, I thought I'd share what was and wasn't most helpful to us during the 1st month.

ABSOLUTE NECESSITIES

1. NUK Barely There Nipple Shield with Case
2. Lansinoh HPA Lanolin for Breastfeeding Mothers
3. Huggies Little Snugglers and Pampers Swaddlers with Wetness Indicator
4. Sleeper Gowns
5. MAM Silicone Start Pacifier
6. Gerber Birdseye 10 Count 3-Ply Prefold Cloth Diapers
7. Extra Change Pad Covers and Carters Keep Me Dry Flannel Lap Pads

1. Breastfeeding has not been an easy endeavor. After latching issues, intense pain, a 10.5 % weight loss, and a bleeding nipple, I finally broke down and used the nipple shield I had ordered while pregnant just in case. Latching became super easy and my tender nipples got a break. I don't know if I would have had the conviction to continue breastfeeding without it. 2. As noted above, I definitely needed help to make nursing bearable. I put off using lanolin for almost a week because I have a wool allergy. But finally in the middle of the night I couldn't take the shooting needle stabbing pain any longer. I did a test patch in my wrist and was happy to be reaction free. It was like instant relief when I applied this stuff! 3. Because of couponing I had stocked up on thousands of diapers in advance. I was not brand loyal because I had no clue what we would like. So for the first two days we used Huggies and they worked as they should. But it wasn't until our pediatrician commented on loving the wetness indicator strips on these diapers. She showed us how they worked and knowing when to change Minion's diaper has been so easy. 4. These were my favorite thing to put Minion in for the first two weeks as we developed our diaper changing skills. His feet tend to reject socks so these were great since he could curl his feet up inside but were easy to slide up for changing without having to deal with snaps or zippers. 5. I originally planned on not giving Minion a pacifier until after the 6 week mark. Well that went out the window after that horrible second night. We had been given two newborn pacifiers (a soothie and a mam) and in a moment of desperation, I popped the soothie in his mouth and he immediately calmed down. This kid LOVES his paci. We quickly realized we need to keep one always within arm's reach, so we ended up with a dozen. He definitely likes the mam pacifiers best but will tolerate the soothies, and interestingly hates the gundrop kind which we bought a couple to try. 6. I had heard these prefold cloth diapers were great for burp clothes so we registered for a few. They are awesome! Minion doesn't spit up so we haven't had to use them for burping, but they are great for catching leaks while nursing and wiping his milk drunk face after. Plus they can double as a changing pad liner on the go and serve an infinite number of other uses. 7. I hadn't really thought I would need a backup cover or even use liners but my mom convinced me otherwise. And I'm happy she did because in the very first night we went through two sets. The liners help stretch the pad cover's use beyond the first accident but we've definitely had messes that go through both. We've found the perfect quantity for us is 3 changing pad covers and 4 pad liners with a every other day washing schedule.

GLAD WE BOUGHT/WERE GIVEN

1. Contoured Changing Pad
2. Exercise/Stability Ball
3. Rocking Chair
4. Moby Wrap
5. Ikea Knodd Bin with Wet Bag
6. Plush Blankets
7. Infant Stroller
8. Nursing Cover
9. Nose Frida Snot Sucker

1. Our changing pad had the obvious handy intended use but a friend of mine gave me another genius idea for it when Minion was super colicky ave only wanted to co-sleep. Instead of buying an expensive co-sleeper that he may or may not like and won't get used very long, we just moved his changing pad to the bed between us. The contoured sides keep him in place and are so thick that we don't have no worry about rolling over. 2. Not only was my stability ball the comfiest chair at the end of my pregnancy, but it's been great for bouncing on to soothe Minion to sleep. 3. This kid LOVES motion and only wants to nurse when I am in the rocking chair. Plus its another tool to help calm him on colicky nights. 4. Minion finds great comfort in being swaddled and wants to always be held. So our Moby wrap has been a major player. Everyone in the family has used it except for my dad and my only complaint is how thick the fabric is. Temperatures having already reached the 100's, wearing so much heavy fabric can get suffocating. I ended up ordering some gauze to make a cooler wrap. 5. We had picked up this cute metal trash can from Ikea to use as a diaper pail for when we start cloth diapering but in the meantime it has been the perfect hamper. I think I want to go ahead and get a second one to serve as his hamper when this one takes on its intended purpose.

6. We were given so many plush blankets but we've gotten to use every single one. Since the A/C is on a lot, having a cozy blanket handy has been great and it makes snuggling with minion even more enjoyable. 7. I never planned on getting an infant stroller since I didn't think we would use it enough to justify the expense. But since generous friends offered to buy one for us and Luke want completely sold on my exclusively baby wearing idea. So we accepted their offer and I'm so happy we did. We've only used it once in the first month when we went to the zoo but it was so wonderful to not have to carry my super heavy diaper bag all day. I love having a stroller just for the storage capacity of it. 8. I have a love/hate relationship with my nursing cover. While I don't enjoy the added work it adds to our feeding sessions or the feeling of a lot of fabric around me, I do enjoy being able to comfortably feed minion anywhere. I have used it everyday we've gone out, several times in restaurants, once while walking through the doctor's office, and in the evenings when we hang out with my parents. 9. I know a lot of people are grossed out by the concept of the nose frida (even I was at first), but when minion git suck and was too congested to even nurse comfortably, we had to do something. We tried the old fashioned bulb for two days and it just didn't work. The first time I used the nose frida, I got a huge boogie and minion felt so much better. We swear by it now. Every time we use it, we can control the suction pressure and we can tell that we are really clearing out Minion's poor little nose.

HAVE, BUT HAVEN'T USED/NEEDED

1. Breast Pump
2. Baby Monitor
3. Crib
4. Cloth Diapers
5. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n' Play Sleeper

WISH WE INVESTED IN SOONER

1. Rocker Recliner

I had nice detailed explanations for the above categories but somehow this post got reverted from published to draft and lost all my updates. As a new mom, I cannot justify taking the time to try to remember my explanations so this is what you get now ;)

Motherhood by the Numbers - 1 Month

I cannot believe I have been a mother for almost a month now. Where has the time gone? Since my updates have been sparse, here's the highlights of our last month...

What's on my screen? - Day 34

Finally edited all my labor and delivery photos. Now on to the hard part of choosing which ones will make the album...

The World's Toughest Job

Radio silence. Every day I wake up with plans to write a new blog post about our new life as parents. And every day I go to bed feeling as if I've accomplished not a single personal endeavor and only been half productive as a mother.

DIY Nursing Tanks

Early in my pregnancy, I came across the Undercover Mama Nursing Tops. I absolutely loved how they hooked onto any nursing bra and made it possible to nurse while wearing regular tops and tees. What I didn't like was the $25 price tag. Sometime thereafter I came across this tutorial for DIYing a cheap alternative. So I pinned it and stashed the idea away in my things to do before Minion list.

The Cost of a Baby - Budget Update (April 2014)

So at the beginning of my pregnancy, I created a Budget Goal for Minion's first year of life. It pretty much broke down to us spending $2000 for everything that Minion would need. Now that I have reached the end of my pregnancy and we have gotten everything ready for his arrival, I wanted to evaluate how we have done so far.

What's on my screen? - Day 33

Minion had his first Skype session with his great-grandpa :-)

Bluum: March Box Review

As part of my recent subscription box kick, I snagged a 3-month subscription to Bluum on LivingSocial for $28 after promo codes. What drew me to Bluum is that they offered full-size products for mommy and baby based on your child's current development stage. Each box is advertised as having "a value of $40 or more and contain 5 or more full-size products. The age range begins with our pregnancy line where products are covering the life of a soon-to-be mom and a few items for the growing child. The baby line covers monthly boxes from newborn to 12 months. Toddlers range from 13 to 36 months and are followed by pre-K and pre-school boxes for children all the way up to 5 years."
For March, I received the 3rd Trimester box and here is what I found inside...

Minion's Birth Story

I initially wrote this story just to share with family and friends who requested it. After more than 40 requests via Instagram, I've decided to share it here. It gets a bit graphic so take that into consideration before reading. But I didn't censor myself in order to help another woman who may experience similar things as me that they didn't anticipate.

What's on my screen? - Day 32

Finally finished writing Minion's birth story and made it available to share with friends and family.

What's on my screen? - Day 31

With Minion's arrival and our ever adapting nightly routine, I found this app to be a life saver :-)

We interrupt your previously scheduled programming to announce...

He was born on Wednesday, March 26 at 1:21 in the afternoon after an intense and fast labor. He clocked in at 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 in long. Everyone was home and recovering by 9:00 pm. We are feeling completely blessed.

Julep Maven: March Box Review

I love the concept of subscription boxes but haven't had the expendable resources to try too many. So when Swagbucks had a special offer for a free Julep box at the end of February, I had to jump on it.

8 Ways to Update Your Wardrobe for Spring '14 on $75

While this week took a temperature nose dive and brought on rain, Spring has definitely been in the air lately. And new seasons always put me in a mood for refreshing my wardrobe. This Spring I was inspired by RetailMeNot's The Real Deal challenge to update your makeup for spring with $150. It was fun to read all the bloggers' suggestions and got me thinking about updating my fashion for Spring since I am pretty happy with my makeup routine.

What's on my screen? - Day 30

I love using pocket for quickly saving anything I find online that I like. But every few months I then like to go through and categorize everything onto pinterest boards. I should probably do this more often so it doesn't take as long each time...

Top 12 Pregnancy Must Haves

As my pregnancy is winding down and my due date approaches, I wanted to share with you guys my favorite products from my pregnancy. I have divided these into time windows so no matter what point you are in in your pregnancy adventure, you can find something great for you.

Update on Raising Blood Count

Sorry for the radio silence on personal posts around here. I really need to work on scheduling some for my impending maternity leave but my mind hasn't been into writing very much lately. Although as the days to my due date have seemed to slow to a crawl, I suppose blogging would be a good distraction. My current distraction of choice has been couponing and I might share some of my favorite finds, maybe not, I'm not committing myself to anything ;)
Anyways, I just wanted to pop in and say that the results from my 36-week blood draw confirmed that my blood count was raised to 12.3 which means that my Iron Rich Green Smoothies worked at raising it a 1.5 points in 12 weeks. Not too shabby! :)

What's on my screen? - Day 29

Totally loving this new payment option at chili's! Welcome to the world of tomorrow :-)

What's on my screen? - Day 28

This is finally happening...

What's on my screen - Day 27

Today's the day...Think I'm gonna stream it in Amazon before reading the script :-)

What's on my screen? - Day 26

Just under 5 months to compete enough e-reward surveys to earn a $25 GameStop gift card for Luke and $25 to Starbucks for me :-)

What's on my screen? - Day 25

Super excited about this email I received today :-)

What's On My Screen? - Day 24

Downloaded The Austin 100: A SXSW 2014 Mix free from NPR today. Only hated 17 songs so not bad, went through them with Luke and added some to my labor playlists :)

What's on my screen? - Day 23

In keeping with my deal hunting prowess lately I was able to score a great deal on my first Julep box. Only $3.99 after S&H with the code FREEBOX. You can use that code to get your first box free too and if you use my referral link then you will help me earn a free 2nd box ;-) http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/663109/

February Treat Yo' Self

I know for most of the country, February is still the middle of winter. But for us, the temperature is starting to warm up and a sense of spring is in the air. I'm not sure what it is lately, but I have really been into some bold oranges and soft blush colors. I've even been considering trying some red henna dye in my hair. So here are few things that have made me want to swoon this month.

What's on my screen? - Day 22

Notice the temperature in the top left corner of my screen. We've hit the 90's in February, baby!

How to Score a Free Breast Pump

That's right, I'm sharing my tip for getting a FREE double electric breast pump. I've known about this possibility for a while but wanted to hold off sharing until I experienced it first hand for myself. A couple months ago, I found this blog post from Hellobee talking about free pumps through your insurance.
This lead me to check with our plan about coverage and sure enough, any pump valued up to $200 was free if purchased from an in-network DME. But I would not be able to receive it until after Minion's birth so I put it on the back burner as something to look into more in the last few weeks.

5 Minute Car Makeup Routine

For the last 2-1/2 years, I routinely do my makeup in the car. Now I am no makeup application expert and tend to prefer a more natural look, but my crazy skin issues mean I can't just go without makeup like I could in my teen years. Since I cherish my sleep in the morning, I have worked to finally hone my getting ready time to as quick as possible. Since Luke and I go most places together, this means I can do my makeup while he drives.

What's on my screen? - Day 21

Getting so excited for the Veronica Mars movie! Here's a sneak peak of EW's Valentine's Day cover that I got to see as a kickstarter supporter :-)

Our Summer 2013 Travel Scrapbook

I've mentioned giving up on giving you guys a complete breakdown of our world travels from the Summer of 2013. But back in November, I was able to finally finish our travel scrapbook. I shared some of my debates about how to approach this project and ended up doing a Project Life style scrapbook inspired by this baby book. In the end, it cost me about $80 since I was impatient and printed all the photos at home (ordering prints from Arts Cow would have been much cheaper and is what I will be doing for Minion's book) and took about 2 weeks to put together. I am in love with the results though!

What's on my screen? - Day 20

So today was going good and productive when all of a sudden at 1pm, my phone just loses connectivity to the T-Mobile network. I couldn't make our receive calls, couldn't text, nothing. I could connect to Wi-Fi and do everything else, just nothing network related. 4 hours later and 2 support chats later, we had tried everything including master resetting my phone which meant I lost all my customizations. My only options left as I was informed was to wait a week to get a new phone or go into a store for a replacement SIM card. Well halfway down the road, I suddenly get service back. But when I turn and and get close to our house it's gone again. Another hour support chat offered no further help. I was pretty sure it was a T-Mobile network issue and not my phone. Well my parents happened to drive by the tower right by our house later and sure enough there was a police officer parked under it. Turns out it had a power outage and they were waiting for the electricians to come out and fix it. Apparently the customer support people couldn't inform of that before making me wipe my phone so I've had to spend hours reconfiguring it to how I like :-(

Raising my Blood Count with Iron Rich Green Smoothies

At my 24-week blood test, my blood count (HGB) was lower than they would like to see at a 10.8. So the goal is for me to get that much higher for my 36-week draw. My midwives really recommended me upping my iron intake naturally and gave me a list of iron rich foods. Looking at the list, the easiest way I could think of getting my daily dose of iron was to make green smoothies.
I have tried green smoothies in the past and they are definitely an acquired taste and texture, but for Minion's sake I knew I need to suck it up.

What's on my screen? - Day 19

I've been stalking the extremecouponing hashtag on Instagram constantly looking for good deals :-)

Interviewing Potential Pediatricians

Once I had my list of potential pediatricians, I started calling each one and asking the following questions:
Is Dr. (Name) accepting new patients? I am currently pregnant and I am looking for a pediatrician for my baby. Does the doctor accept prenatal interviews? Do you charge for these appointments?

The Pediatrician Search

On Monday, I shared why finding the right pediatrician is so important to us. Today I want to share how I went about finding him or her.

While asking friends about their pediatrician recommendations is a great option and one I did use, not all people are looking for the same thing in a doctor. I'm the kind of person that wants a doctor who is very knowledgeable, a true expert in their field, but one who talks to me about everything and doesn't assume I'm too dumb to understand. This can be a challenge since most doctors either are just playing a guessing game and want to rush as many people in and out of appointments as possible or they are very condescending. So I knew the searching and interview process would be an arduous one.

What's on my screen? - Day 18

I did take a day 17 photo, just didn't post it. But today I was stalking my Amazon account to see if my pre-order of Cress had shipped yet. I'm happy to report it has :-)

Finding a Pediatrician

Every child needs a pediatrician. Because even if your child is perfectly healthy, routine checkups are vital. Plus you never know when a bug or infection might strike and having a great support system is crucial.
For us as Jehovah's Witnesses, finding a pediatrician we are very comfortable with is even more important. So over the next few days, I will be sharing with you our process for finding a pediatrician for Minion.

What's on my screen? - Day 16

Luke was complaining about my wallpaper on my phone so I went through my art collection for a replacement. This is what I came up with. It's a painting by Nina Moscrip called Riga in February. I ordered a print of it for my collection months ago and am so happy to have it as a reminder of one of our favorite places and our goal of being able to go back for a longer time.