Free Stuff

I just can’t help myself. I have to post all my recent freebies. These are things I have gotten FREE in the past two weeks. The drug stores have been having some great school supplies deals and Harris Teeter is doing another super doubles weeks. This all means lots of free stuff. Check it out:

• 3 Hefty One Zip bags
• 1 50 count Ziploc sandwich bags
• 1 50 count Ziploc snack bags
• 3 15 count Ziploc gallon bags
• 3 20 count Ziploc quart bags
• 2 boxes of Success Rice
• 2 packages of Mahatma yellow rice
• McCormick cinnamon
• McCormick black pepper grinder
• 3 packages of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice
• 4 canisters of Wet Ones wipes
• 6 6-packs of Deer Park water
• 2 Johnson and Johnson baby powder
• 2 Reach dental floss
• 1 package of Wholly guacamole
• 1 4-pack of Activia yogurt
• 2 4-pack of Danimals yogurt
• 3 large bottles of Dawn Pure Essentials dish detergent
• 6 sets of Platex gloves
• 2 boxes of Blue Bunny ice cream treats
• 3 boxes of Johnson and Johnson First Aid pads
• 6 boxes of Band Aids
• 4 boxes of Pillsbury cake mix (.14 each)
• 2 school glues
• 2 5” scissors
• 2 notebooks
• 2 packs of filler paper
• 2 memo pads
• 2 10-pack of Papermate pens
• 2 24 count packs of number 2 pencils
• 2 1” binders
• 3 8-packs of pens
• 2 rulers
• 2 Mini staplers
• 2 Composition notebooks
• 2 cases of thumbtacks
• 2 2-pack of Pilot Easytouch pens
• 2 Pencil cases
• 1 5 count gel retractable pens
• Mechanical pencil sharpener
• 8 count pack of mechanical pencils
• 4 count pack of retractable highlighters
• 2 packs of Bic mechanical pencils
• 2 reams of printer paper
• 1 2 pack of Pilot retractable pens
• 1 4 pack of AA Duracell batteries
• 3 bottles of Tylenol Arthritis
• 1 bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength
• 1 Gillette Fusion razor
• 3 bottles of Listerine
• 5 bottles of Propel water
• 1 box of tampons
• Colgate Total Advance toothpaste
• 2 boxes of Kashi cereal (.14 each)

Coupons, coupons, coupons

I guess everyone knows by now my obsession with coupons.  I picked up couponing in January and have saved a bundle these past few months.  I reached my all time best this weekend.  I hit CVS, Walgreens, Staples, and Rite Aid.  I got $75.63 worth of merchandise for better than free.  I got back $4.45.  Yippee. 

I’m not sure what I have gotten myself into but I agreed to lead a couponing course this fall at WNL.  I’m pretty nervous about this.  Actually using coupons and teaching others to use them are two very different animals.  And teaching involves public speaking.  What have I done? 

Oh well, If I can jump start others to use coupons and save as much as we have, it will be well worth it.  Wish me luck.

Summertime sickness

Off to a good day.  One with a nebulizer and one with a 103.1 fever.  Poor babies.  

Loving Charleston

I so often take for granted this beautiful city we live in.  We wake up on a Saturday and decide if we want to go to the beach, the water park, the aquarium, or the endless parks and museums around here.  This past Saturday, Lily was running a little fever, so we decided on something low key for the kiddos.  We packed up the bikes and bike trailer and headed downtown for an awesome morning ride.  We rode from Waterfront Park, to the battery, to Colonial Lake, and then all around some of the most beautiful, historic neighborhoods in our country.  We ended up back at Waterfront Park for a picnic lunch.  Perfect, perfect, perfect.  

This is the only picture I have of the morning.  You would think I would have picked a better backdrop with all the great places I just listed.  

Thursday Night Out

Summer is here and that means Greg and Cole are playing again at Southend. We love going to see them. It’s a win-win for all. The adults get to hang out and talk and the kids love dancing the night away.

On our way. Cekine and her little chickies.

A night out sure is different than it used to be. Olivia enjoying the tunes. Dancing queens. Sarah Ellen and Olivia did not want to be left out of the fun.

Mommy and Me

Nancy, brave girl that she is, invited our Mommy and Me group over for an afternoon of backyard water fun.  Obviously no one could resist such fun, as it was one of the biggest groups we have ever had.  The kids had a blast in the kiddie pool, on the water slide, and on the play sets.  Nancy kept both mommies and kiddies happy with yummy refreshments.  Thanks Nancy for a great afternoon.    

Animal Fun

I just love little girls.  I set these three up with some glue, magazines, crayons, and paper, and I get a full hour.  I empty a cedar chest full of stuffed animals, and I get another hour. 

 

Busy Bug

This little girl is going to keep us on our toes.  Today Sarah Ellen, Lily, and I were hanging out in the playroom.  I realized that Sarah Ellen had been playing in the dormer area for I a while, so I thought I should peek around the corner to check on her.  I felt that she was pretty safe, because I had moved all the arts and crafts things to the center of the table.  That doesn’t stop Buggy.  I found up on a chair with a toy ring in her mouth, a glue stick in one hand, and scissors in the other.      Yesterday we found her half way up the stairs, and THE GATE WAS CLOSED.  She crawls under the gate and heads on up.  

She is sure to keep up busy.

Happy Independence Day

We started our holiday weekend with a trip out to Folly Friday morning. I’m glad we went early because the traffic going out there when we left was insane. The girls had a blast.

James insisted on taking this huge bucket. I thought he was crazy, but I must say the bucket was a hit. Sarah Ellen crawled around like a little crab and thankfully didn’t eat all of the sand on the beach. Saturday we hung out at home trying to beat the heat. The girls helped us get ready for dinner. Lily took this picture – not bad. Sarah Ellen is never afraid to express her opinion.

Saturday evening we headed down to Waterfront park to set up camp to watch the fireworks. How perfect – James’ office is right at the park so we had free, easy parking and clean bathrooms (if only we had remembered the key). We assumed that the fireworks would begin shortly after nine as they have in years past. We found out after we were settled that they weren’t scheduled to go off until 10:05. Whew, we decided to hang in there and see it through. The girls were awesome.

Sarah Ellen kept busy crawling in and out of the stroller. This child is going to keep us very busy. Lily kept busy playing night-night and doctor. Five minutes into the fireworks (after waiting three hours), Lily declared that she was ready to go home. This would be the morning after our children stayed up until 11. We might rethink the whole fireworks thing next year.