What could possibly be better?

COUPON GIVE AWAY!!!

There are only a few things I love more than coupons.

1-ETHAN
2-Uuummm...

Ya, that's basically it...

OH WAIT... I thought of another one

4 WEEKS OF FREE COUPONS FROM MAD COUPONS!!!

Yup, you read that right. ilovebeingfrugal.blogspot.com has a give away going on right now and the prize is 4 weeks of inserts from Mad Coupons.

If you haven't heard of Mad Coupons yet here's the scoop. She distributes sets of intact inserts for a great price. You get 10 sets of inserts for $5 if you are local or $10.50 shipped. Now that may not seem like such a great deal but it's not just 10 inserts, it is 10 copies of each insert that came in the paper. So let's say there was a Smart Source insert and a Red Plum insert for the week, you would get 20 inserts (10 of each) On the weeks that there are 3 inserts you get 30 for the same price! For me this is a huge money saver simply because Sunday papers around here run $2 each. I get $20 worth of inserts for only $5. That is a 75% savings and I'm doing the environment a favor by not throwing 20 newspapers in the trash since my apartment complex doesn't have recycle bins.

I'm getting as many entries in for this give away as I can. You should do the same!

Meet Stinky and Monster

Ethan liked Stinky so much that I had to buy one for myself. It's a throw from Target and not only does it match my accent color for my bedroom, it looks great on my black couch. I love it almost as much as he loves his.
This is Monster. We went to a yard sale at Mindy's and Ethan was immediately hooked. He pretty much forced me to buy it. I wasn't too hard to convince though. I could see he loved it, it matched his new big boy bedding, and best of all it was brand new with tags for $3. Thanks again Mindy!

Meet Stinky. There's a long back story on him that I won't get into right now but he is Ethan's main love. I swear he loves him more than he loves me. Grandma Brenda bought it in Leavenworth and gave it to me at my baby shower. Around 4 months old Ethan "found" it and has slept with it almost every night since. I can count on one hand the nights he' missed and those were unavoidable and part of the novel I'll tell another time. This was Easter morning. He put on one of my shoes, laid down on the floor with Stinky and passed out.


This is how he sleeps most of the time. Monster behind his head, Stinky either like this, totally covering his face or clutched in his left hand while he sucks his right thumb with total abandon.

As I was writing this Ethan climbed up on the couch and kept pointing to the pics and saying "That's my Stinky. That's my Monster." I'm sure he'll sleep with them for many years to come. He gets that from his momma. Not only do I still have my baby blanket but I still sleep with it when I'm sick. I even had it spread over my pillow during labor and delivery!

I found an original Cabbage Patch Kid, circa 1980's at Good Will a couple weeks ago. Ethan's entourage has grown! He now takes Stinky, Monster, Benny (his CPK), and Benny's Stinky. I still have to upload pics of Benny but I will post them when I do. In all his original clothes including shoes! I was SO excited by $1.99 thrift store find. Now I have to dig my childhood doll cradle out of storage so Benny has a special place to sleep.

Thanks Mindy!

Ethan has two girlfriends. Miss Rylee just turned 3 and her birthday party was last Saturday. Ethan had so much fun and Mindy got some really great pictures of them. She has an AMAZING back yard. It's large with lots of great grass for the kids to run and play on, a jungle gym that Ethan claimed as his "house", a swingset, and a playhouse for the kids. For the big kids *AKA adults* she's got a veggie garden growing, a beautiful secret garden, and a beautifully landscaped pond that flows perfectly with the neighbor's yard. When Kayia goes off to college I get her room, right? Ethan and Rylee can share a room. Oh, wait. That probabky won't work. Tween boy and girl sharing a room? Maybe not such a good idea. Ron better get going on the next addition!

Peach Cobbler anyone?

I found this recipe for Dump-it Peach Cobbler on another blog and, oh man, does it look delicious or what? It looks so simple too which is totally my style of baking. I think Ethan might even be able to help me. He absolutely loves to help me in the kitchen. I won't be making it tonight since I'll need to buy the self rising flour, unsalted butter, and peaches but I'll do that soon so I can throw it together. MMMMM

BTW-Do I HAVE to use unsalted butter? Would it hurt anything if I used margarine? I have a ton of margarine and don't normally by butter. Hhmmm...


Dump-it-in Peach Cobbler
1 stick unsalted butter
1C sugar
1C self-rising flour
1C milk
1 large can of peaches (syrup drained)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a small-medium baking dish (I use my square Pyrex), place the butter in the dish and put it in the oven. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, milk and self-rising flour (must be self-rising). Pull the dish with the melted butter out of the oven, and pour in the flour mixture. DO NOT stir. Pour drained peaches on top. Bake for 60 minutes. The crust should be golden brown.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
CREDIT: The Small World of Cooking (Favorite Recipes Press 1984)
Thanks smart cookie for the recipe

Ordering coupons?

Today only manufacturerscoupons.net is having a great sale. All coupons are only $.05 each! And even better for me, they are LOCAL! Based out Marysville, WA. I'm considering ordering some Pull-Up q's. If I order them today they should get here Wednesday or Thursday at the latest so I can get in on the Target Pull-ups GC deal.

Albertsons Doubler ideas 5/30-6/1

Albertson's had doublers in the paper this weekend. For those who aren't familiar with the Doubler coupons they are a store coupon that double the value of any manufacture coupon up to $1.00. So, if you have a $1.00 is it worth $2.00, a $.55 coupon would be worth $1.10 and so on. The put them out in the paper and some stores will even have a stack at the customer service counter. Every once in a blue moon the print them in their weekly sales ad that comes in the mail. Those are the weeks I like the best since I can scavange the ones that other apartment tenants just toss in the garbage by the mail boxes. Every tuesday I check my Albies ad while I stand there to see if they printed doublers so I can "dumpster dive" for them right away if they did. HEHE

Here are some ideas for this weeks doublers. I will be getting some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce free and I'll be doing the S'mores deal. Oh how I wish I had ink for my printer right now so I could get in on the IP q's.

Snyders Pretzels $2.49
Double the $1.00/1 Snyders of Hanover Pretzels, 8 oz. or larger from SS 5/23
Final Price: $0.49

Sweet Baby Rays, 18 oz $1.00
Double the $1.00/2 Sweet Baby Ray’s from SS 5/23
Final Price: FREE

Crystal Light 10-12 qt $3.99
Double the $1.00/2 – Crystal Light Products – (bricks.coupons.com)
Final Price: $2.99

Nabisco Ritz Crackers $2.79
Look for $1.00/1 Peelie Coupons
Final Price: $0.79

Crystal Light On the Go $2.50
Double the $1.00/1 – Crystal Light Pure Fitness Drink – (bricks.coupons.com)
Final Price: $0.50

Buy 1 Jet Puffed Marshmallows $1.00
Buy 1 Nabisco Honey Maid Grahams $2.49
Buy 1 Hershey’s Chocolate Bars $3.00
Save $2 Instantly when you buy all 3
Double the $1.00/1 Hersheys Milk Chocolate, 6-pack AND Honey Maid Grahams, 14 oz. or larger AND Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallows from SS 5/16
Final price: $2.49 for all three!

Buy 4 Solo Patriotic Plates and Cups, 16 – 20 ct $1.50
Buy 4, Receive a $4 Catalina!
Double 3 $0.75/1 – Solo Cups, Plates or Bowls – (bricks.coupons.com)
Final Price: $0.38 each after coupon, $2.50 Money Maker when you buy 4, after Catalina!

Black Forest Gummy Candy $1.00
Double the $0.55/2 – Black Forest Gummies – (gummies.com)
Final Price: $0.45

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $2.49
Double the $0.70/1 – Pillsbury Crescent Rolls – (bricks.coupons.com)
Final Price: $1.09

Buy 6 Kraft Salad Dressing $2.19
Buy 4, Receive a $3 Catalina
Buy 6, Save $3 Instantly
Use 6 $0.55/1 Kraft Dressing, 14 or 16 oz. bottle from SS 5/2
$0.55/1 Kraft Dressing – (bricks.coupons.com)
Also use 3 Doublers
Final Price: $0.87 each after coupon, $0.37 each after Catalina

Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady

Potty training SUCKS!

So a few weeks ago while at a friend's house Ethan decided he didn't want to wear his clothes. Mia didn't either so they both stripped down and were playing happily in the living room. We look up and see Ethan standing at the potty chair. I asked him what he was doing and he said "I go pee." I jump and to see and sure enough he is going pee. Standing and even aiming! He got every drop in! I was SO proud and I decided right then and there that we would do a "Naked Potty Training Boot Camp" at home Memorial Day weekend. Three days of staying home with him naked and hopefully going potty either in the toilet or his potty chair.

Fast forward to the big weekend. Saturday morning started out well. Naked from the time he got up until he wanted to play outside. I put a pair of undies and babylegs on him and sent him out on the deck. He came inside and within 2 minutes he peed his undies. Aawww man! Accident #1. No big deal. We clean up the carpet and take the undies and babylegs off. Shortly after he toots. Again, no big deal. I ask if he has to go potty, of course the answer is no. Nect thing I know he has crapped all over the living room floor. Not jsuta ny old poo either. This was NASTY loose, almost diarrhea. UGH I drop him in the tub and leave him there while I try my best to clean up the carpet and the throw pillow. Now I need ideas on how to get the stain out of the carpet. He went down for a nap, with a pull-up, shortly after that and when we got up we went to the mall. I know, I know, it was supposed to be 3 days of naked minus naps and bed but Old Navy had a sale I couldn't pass up!

Today he has been naked since waking up at 9AM. It's been 4 hours and he has not gone potty AT ALL! Not in the toilet, potty chair or on the carpet. I have this sneaky feeling that as soon as I put his pull-up on for nap he's is going to release the flood gates and go. I know he's holding it, I just know it!