the changes we are making...



Well, reading back, I realize it's been since summer when I last posted...and thanks to a friend, I've been inspired to catch this blog up a bit:)  This time, it won't be just about me...because frankly, that's not my life! 



I added this picture of my 4 loves because well, I'm SUPER proud of each one of them...AND because much of this post has to do with them!



I'm writing today with thoughts of our new, soon to begin, adventure in homeschooling!  It's been a process of getting to this decision, one in which perhaps I'll share another time when I'm more motivated to write 10 pages, lol:)





After today, our girls only have 10 school days left...and they can't go by quickly enough!  We are all so excited to being homeschooling.  The most immediate, yet shallow, part we're looking forward to is getting to sleep a bit later in the morning!  Currently the girls catch the bus just before 7...the alarm goes off just before 6...*yawn*.  Weekday mornings can sometimes be less than enjoyable with little grouchy grouches to arouse, get up & moving, coerce into eating breakfast, brushing teeth, getting dressed, and ready for the bus' arrival at 6:55.  While it's frustrating at times, they're lack of desire to jump out of bed, I get it completely...because I've already "snoozed" 2 or 3 times before getting up myself.  SOO, while a very minor reason of homeschooling, it sure will be a majorly joyous change.  Another reason that we're so excited to make this change, will be the great flexibility in our schedule!  Again, sorta minor in our decision...but majorly more suited to our family.



Even though I basically have little idea of what "exactly" we're getting ourselves into, I'm also not niave enough to think this journey will always be fun, easy and stress free.  I'm (trying to) prepare myself for the days when I only WISH I could put them on the bus at 6:55:)  Hopefully those days are few...

We desire a school setting like this for our children because WE can choose what they're learning...WE can teach them at their pace...the LORD will be taught in mostly every subject...certain behaviours that we deal with, can be worked on much more frequently...our children are in our care 40 hours a week, vs. the school systems care...and *hopefully* our family will just grow much more close-knit as a family unit who loves just hanging out and living life together!!!



All of the above will come at a price though.  The price will be time, patience, stress, growing pains...but our children's lives, their learning, their learning to love learning...it's all worth it...we hope and pray! 

Here are our first students...2nd grade and Kindergarten:)

And here are the 2 little monkeys....

            

                                                                                                         

                                                                                             And me, the teacher:)

                         

And my hot teacher's assistant!

...then end...











He's still working on me!

I'm sitting here thinking about "attempting" another blog post...but not so sure if I can through everything...with a fussing 2 yr old by my side.  Ironic, based on what I want to blog about (as you'll hopefully read).  I should just close the laptop and play with him, right?!  Well, he's only fussing for me to hold him and reality is that my life doesn't quite revolve around him so...I'll try moving to the floor and he can just play around me.  Or ON me, ok Judah, whatever works!:)

So I REALLY feel like I'm being worked on, changed, challenged, grown...in the way I 'mother'.  It's been a week of so many different, exciting, scary, uncertain thoughts but I sense them from the Lord and so mostly it's just exciting (ok, and scary).  *Judah is currently on my back, sticking a pen through my braid, which is pulling my hair, but hey, at least he's no longer screaming, right?  These are the things I'll be enduring, and learning to love, more often.*

Let me just start by saying, for those of you don't know me, that I have 4 amazing children.  Mayah just turned 7, Alayna will be 6 in Sept (they're 15 mos apart), Jakob is 3 1/2 and Judah just turned 2.  We didn't quite plan on having 4 kids in 5 years but hey, this is what we've been given!  *Judah's on to hammering on his tool set now, too bad Glenn's trying to sleep in prep for working all night, but it's so much easier typing sitting up, without a 2 yr old my your back!*  Where was I?  So, we've had baby's for the past 7 yrs really and just NOW starting to get out of the baby stages.  And with Jakob (finally) potty-training, we're down to only ONE in diapers...vs. having two in diapers most of our parenting years:)  All of that to explain that we've mostly been in "immediate-care" mode.  This includes all of the daily needs of dependent children:  feeding, clothing, bathing, wiping, teeth-brushing, hair-brushing and doing, playing with, reading to, disciplining, putting to bed and getting out of bed, teaching, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,....you get the picture I'm sure!  I FINALLY feel like we're somewhat getting out of that constant-ness of doing everything for everyone.  Mayah can shower herself and Alayna is well on her way so now we're mostly down to just bathing 2 kids vs. 4.  It's the little things like this that is moving us into a new stage, and me into a new way of mothering!

During most of the past 7 years, my focus (I'm saying "my" because this is my blog post, BUT please know that Glenn is right in this with me) has been the primary care of 4 kids, of their physical needs MUCH more than their other needs.  I'm so thankful that the Lord is opening my mind and heart at this very time, when it's so badly needed, to change my focus from primary care to spiritual nurturing!!!  I feel like up 'til this point I've been fairly apathetic regarding their well-being.  Like I just haven't invested ALL that they need to grow in the Lord, grow into godly characters and grow into who the Lord wants them to be. 

Believe me, I'm not claiming to know how to do this well yet...it's just what the Lord is stirring up in me, what He's giving me a passion for.  My passion in life, as a young girl, was to be a wife & mom, and a nurse.  I am all 3 of those.  My passion has still been nursing, even though I haven't worked in that field, really since Mayah was born.  During a recent sermon at church, that pastor spoke on how we should align our passion in life with furthering God's kingdom, because most likely he puts a passion in us, a burning desire in our hearts, for what we're GOOD at, for what HE can use us in to enhance HIS kingdom.  I felt so strongly that day that since my passion is, was, always has been nursing, that I should pursue that again.  I even cried that morning, having felt such a stirring from the Holy Spirit.  (And I don't often cry, since I'm on zoloft...just throwing out more honesty):)  I even went so far as a meeting with a nursing counselor at HACC, applying to and being accepted to school there, in hopes of furthering my nursing degree.  Then reality, once again, set in and I thought "how in the world can I go to school right now? with my kids in the stages they're in?"  So I decided to put that off for some more, not sure when that right time will be....
But is the Lord changing my passion?  Is HE giving me a new passion?  Is all of this part of the work He's still doing in me???  I don't yet know but I have some suspicions;)

One of the biggest things I've been pondering this week is how to be the kind of mother that the Lord is calling me to be, calling us as Christian moms to be.  There are 1001 (plus a few) ways that we can read on how to be the best mom to our kids...secular views and "christian" views alike.  There are even MORE pressures put on us as to what kind of woman, parent, wife, etc, etc, etc to be.  I feel like most of these very ideas are what causes so much of my guilt, my lack of self-worth, my frequent doubt in how I mother.  All of this is right where the enemy wants me, wants us...having a little pity-party for where we are in life.  Well, to this I have been given an idea (I believe from the Lord).  I am going to TRY to throw pretty much all of that by the way-side and listen no more!  You might be wondering what advice I'm going to learn from now then, in how I mother?  Good question and here's my answer....GOD and HIS WORD!  I'm starting to study what the Bible has to say about what kind of mother (& woman) I should be, and try to make those things my new standards, NOT what the world says, and not even necessarily what other believers have to say (especially if it contradicts God's word)....ok, feel free to gasp in horror because I said I won't even listen to christians anymore***I won't be able to hear you:)  Seriously though, while I feel like, and I know, that there are many godly woman who have MUCH godly advice to offer on this topic, even THAT adds undue pressure.  I think to myself, "well if that woman said/does/teaches/disciplines/dresses/acts/decorates/meal-plans/mothers THAT way (and she's just SO amazingly awesome) then I too must say/do/teach/discipline/dress/act/decorate/meal-plan/mother that way too!"  duh, kendra! 

That's sorta the old me.  I say "sorta" because we don't change overnight, or even in a week, but it's a process and THESE are things that are running through my mind lately.  I only have to align my mothering with what the LORD says, not what anyone else says, right?  RIGHT!  How freeing of a realization this is for me!  Now to research just what the bible DOES say about I'm to mother.  Well today is just the beginning of some of my "research" and as you can imagine, there have been just a few interruptions.  Oh well, that's my life and I'm finding JOY it in:)

One of the verses I came across this morning is Deut. 6: 6-7.    "And you commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your foreheads as reminders.  Write them on your doorposts and on your gates." 

Vinyl wall decals anyone?:)  I just picked up 3 at Berean yesterday at 50% off.  I'll share some pics in another post...

May the Lord TRULY bless each of you mother's today, in some way that's clearly evident to you!

Brutal honesty

So I have decided to change my blog, in which I've rarely written in anyhow.  My new title is "Simply Me".  You'll find out that it'll most likely be about MANY others, besides myself, but I've chosen this title because it's simply what I think, what runs through MY mind.  Perhaps sharing some brutal thoughts will encourage, challenge and interest some of you...time will tell!

Unfortunately today most likely won't be the encouraging post, this is a time where I just want to/need to journal some of my thoughts.  I could easily choose to journal them privately but I thought that since I'm struggling with MUCH, others might be as well and perhaps realizing that "we're" in the same boat could bring us some (sick sort of) comfort:)

My life is mostly crazy these days.  Glenn works 12 hr shifts, often leaving me during the dinner hour when my exhaustion from kids starts to kick in.  Afterwards I still am left with clean up, baths, bedtime, bedtime DRAMA, etc, etc....however, he DOES only work 2 or 3 days in a row so every few days I have him home for a few days!  Did I mention he works nights?:)  He's a cop too and so adds on the worry and fear of losing him some day.  It's such a dreadful, morbid thing to think about but some night when I'm REALLY tired and sad, I imagine this with such realistic thoughts, I've almost convinced myself that someday it WILL be my reality, my children's reality.  Then I tell the Lord that I CAN handle anything, THROUGH HIS STRENGTH....while also begging Him NOT to take my husband from me prematurely.  What is prematurely anyways?  I don't know, I guess while our kids are still so small and exhausting....

I think I'm having a bit of a pity party for myself today, so feel free to stop reading this at any time;)  Beyond being responsible for my kids, alone, often, there's the dreaded house responsibilities.....UGH!  I've never enjoyed cleaning, although I have heard of such people!:)  If I'm cleaning someone elses house, alone, uninterrupted and getting paid, well then I don't mind it but MY house?  no thanks!  However, after I get STARTED, it never ends up being so bad and the end result of much needed-cleanliness is a great reward.  Mostly though my house is either clean and messy, or dirty and picked-up...hardly ever clean AND picked-up though.  In some ways I'm learning to just live with/deal with/be okay with this because it's just our way of living right now.  With small kids there will by toys, and spills, and messes, and crumbs and clutter and stuff....mostly everywhere.  Currently an ant community lives on my dining room floor, due to 24/7 source of food, a.k.a. crumbs from the table!  And guess what?  I'm OKAY with that...as long as they're not venturing TOO far into the kitchen and into food and dishes.  About 2 weeks ago I decided rather than dragging the vacuum cleaner out of it's closet 3 times a day I just needed to keep it right near the dining room table, for easy & frequent access.  Although the thought of it sitting in the dining room all the time didn't sit well with me either...(extra clutter).  So I revamped a picture collage/room divider thingy and added current pictures to it.  Now it sits in the corner of the dining room, displays family pictures and kids art work, AND hides my vacuum and steam mop! 

Enough about cleaning, now on to laundry.  I think laundry is my biggest enemy of life, well fairly big at least!  I don't think I have to say much about this stressor because the work LAUNDRY pretty much speaks for itself...am I right?!:)  It might be clean but it lives folded in baskets, more than put away in drawers!

Cooking and meals is another area that gives me headaches.  I think my kids eat some combination of peanut butter, jelly, butter sandwiches about 5 out of 7 lunches a week.  I'm just thankful that peanut butter is a protein!  I've been in a meal rut for about the past 6 months.  I love the ideas of meal planning, recipes, shopping and cooking from sale flyer's, etc...but I just haven't found anything that sticks.  Yes, I've also tried E-Mealz (in case you were thinking of suggesting it).

I guess that last BIG area is finances.  Why wouldn't it be?  Not that it's out of control (yet) but bills/bookwork/budgets....it's just one more area that weighs on my mind, leading to a great sense of being overwhelmed.

And THIS is the description of ME lately...OVERWHELMED!  I've mentioned all of the above because it's these very things that make me feel this way...and it's a feeling TOO familiar, and TOO frequent.  Insert GUILT as well!!!  Feeling this way makes me feel even MORE guilty, isn't that dumb? it hardly makes sense!  As a young girl, my greatest desires in life were to be a wife and a mom!  God has SOOOO greatly blessed me with Glenn, Mayah, Alayna, Jakob and Judah....I feel so grateful and thankful that this desire is now reality.  So then I can't figure out why I struggle with the responsibilities that my dream/desire involve?  Shouldn't I be happy to be doing all that goes with marriage and motherhood?  Okay, I realize that not EVERYTHING would earn my happiness (like who would be happy about cleaning up vomit, or even being puked ON?)....but I should at least enjoy my "jobs" somewhat, right?  I think so....I wish so.....

Don't get me wrong, there are moments when I totally see and feel the blessings and awesome moments in my life, I do!  However, mostly I just feel overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed by it all.  And that's my reality right now (at least that's better than a reality without Glenn)!

Maybe I'm bipolar because tomorrow I may feel totally different......

amazing sales

Hey friends! 

Well I rarely shop at Target because there just isn't one so close to me...BUT last night I made the trip because the sales were totally worth it!
See Target's website to print coupons that you can use WITH manufacturer coupons for even more savings.  Use those coupons on items already on sale and get things for nearly free, or FREE!
For example, print target's coupon for $5 off denim, use that with a pair of women's jeans that are marked down to $4.98, and get FREE JEANS!!!  I'll post a link to Target's coupon page! 
http://coupons.target.com/mcp/pd.cfm?encp=cfByoRyWPQxIVi%2F1hNAlPuy49kdVjz3ywnAI8iBHgXV1oeQbNJFho%2FK7erILOqiFoQ9VRbZYlprX%0D%0AzJAcFHIxphipC0NzTVNPU7n72ClYF%2BzzwaGD57lfH7GF4XVNotnocJxen5EdT%2Bm4sZWq%2FLxMfiRf%0D%0AeCN6SPN9IaBzhi%2FQUy7yax0z%2B80bdrpmInQ7OHDyqSmZa6Dq4xOB4l5yPlS2PAIGBW3PrTlt%2BHMA%0D%0Ana6jyxBvY%2B1y%2Fqm3vA%3D%3D

Again, posting a link to my fav website, forthemommas, to detail great deals at Rite Aid this week.  This is another store I don't normally shop at BUT couldn't resist the FREE Johnson & Johnson baby products there, this week.  Again, with them being on sale, getting $2coupons back with each bottle AND a manufacturer/printable coupon, you can get them for free.  See forthemommas, under the Drugstore tab, click on Rite Aid.  She spells all of these deals out VERY well....
http://www.forthemommas.com/category/drug-store-deals/riteaid

So these are some of my favorite deals this week!!!
***I think I've spent about $20 this week between Target, Rite Aid and Giant...this is what I've bought:
-3 pair women's jeans
-5 bottles Tide Stain Release spray (from Giant, normally priced $3.53, used 5 $3 off coupons=$0.53/each)
-4 Seventh Generation cleaning products
-16 bottle Johnson & Johnson baby wash and lotion
-5 pack M&M's (saving up for rewards for when Jake finally decides to potty train!)
-2 Finish Automatic dishwasher dispensing systems
-4 bags Halls cough drops
-3 3-packs Dentyne gum
-2 Purex laundry detergent
-2 Old Spice deoderant
-2 packs Pepperidge farms deli flats
***The crazy thing is, at original price, 1 pair of jeans from Target would've been $20!***

big savings

well, i'm finally getting to posting again:)  last week i made out on some really great deals.  i had said that i didn't want this blog to be like the thousands of others that do coupon match-ups, and i don't...BUT i do want to link you to the site that i refer to 95% of the time, to discover many of the deals that i get!!!

http://www.forthemommas.com/drug-store-deals/cvs/cvs-deals-week-of-130#more-55292

it's called forthemommas and i happened across it last year sometime while i was searching for a site that does coupon match-ups for giant, since that was the store i did most of my shopping.  on this site, you can find match-ups for cvs, riteaid, weis, giant, target, walmart....and many more!  if you haven't visited this site yet, it's worth taking a few minutes to check out!

so last week i got a great deal on U-Kotex pantyliners and tampons.  i got them at weis and ended up only paying $7 for 6 boxes...3 pantyliners and 3 tampons....original prices were about $4.50/box.  this was a combo of coupons, i had 4 $1 off 1 box, coupons plus there was a catalina deal from the manufacturer AND weis.  what is a catalina? you might be asking?  it's the coupons that print from the register, with your receipt...like $1.50 off 3 boxes of cheerios, etc, etc, etc...for me, they're not always worth saving but sometimes i save them because they're just like any other coupon, to be used at that specific store though (i think).   ***sometimes a special deal goes on where you can get a catalina that is a certain $ amount off your next purchase***  these are the ones worth looking for!!!  with the U-kotex products i got, if you bought $20 worth, you got a $7 catalina to use towards your next purchase....PLUS i got an unexpected additional $3 cat from weis.  (the $7 cat was from the manufacturer)  SOOO this gave me $10 off towards my next purchase.  what i did was pay for the kotex products first, then used my $10 off towards the rest of my groceries, in a 2nd transaction.  ARE YOU STILL WITH ME??? :)

ok, well this is just one of many deals that are frequently available...i think 2 weeks ago there was a deal at giant with cereal and catalinas...made for some cheap cereal...i never got there so i'm not sure details BUT just saying that these catalina deals come fairly often at numerous different grocery stores!  all of this info gets posted on the website i linked in this post.

ALL of THAT to say this...while i do come across some amazing/useful deals, i may start posting specific match-ups from time to time so you get the specifics right from here...on how to get involved in those great sale prices.

A GREAT CVS DEAL THIS WEEK is dove deodorant!!!  i haven't done this yet, but plan to...it's spelled out on the above link, under CVS deals.  i think, with coupons and ecbs, it'll work out to either $0.50 or $1.00/ea. for deodorant.  i plan to stock up and buy 4 or 5, if i can :)

well that has to be all for this post, i have children literally climbing on me now:)  happy s-dealing!!!

Some of my BEST savings yet!

All of this for about $12...should have been $97....saved $85, or around 88% !!!!

OK so I finally made it to CVS this week and boy, did I ever find some S.Deal's!!!  First I should tell you what I did...I left early to pick my daughter up from preschool with plans to have about an hour at CVS to get my S.Deals.  There I am, in the store, hopes high for some great shopping, browsing the aisles, only to find out that I FORGOT MY COUPONS!!!  What a let-down!  Of course there was NO way that I would shop without those precious pieces of paper SO I made only 1 purchase (in which I didn't need a coupon for because it still ended up free) and left the store:(  My only purchase was for Chestal Cough Syrup.  It's on sale this week for $5.00 and you get $5 ecb's with that purchase.  So I paid $5 and left with $5 (ecb's) making it free.

I had planned this trip into my day so now what would I do?  I couldn't justify 20 extra minutes of driving just for these S.deals, especially with gas prices so high.  So then I was trying to figure out how I could get my shopping done today without wasting extra time and gas???  I got it!  We were headed into the city later in the afternoon for dinner with my husband's family...we could just leave early, I'd drop my family off at my in-laws and then go out (before supper) for my thrilling S.deals!:)

While Glenn agreed to this plan, he didn't want to be dropped off ahead of time, he opted for waiting in the van...with 4 kids.  "Ok honey, if you're sure...you know this isn't a quick in and out trip, and you're the one who will be in the van with the kids so...", he still agreed so in I went, this time WITH my coupons:)  I found the crest toothpaste that I would get for free and also the gum...success!

However, there was something AMAZING I was in search of that this particular store was sold out of!  This was the Aveeno products marked 75% off.  On top of the sale, I had 4 $1.50 off 1 hair product coupons.  I have to say, these were some of the best deals I've gotten to date...other than FREE products, of course!  Since this store was out of the shampoo, I convinced my husband to let my run in to another CVS...we were driving right past it, after all, and it would be foolish to NOT stop, right?  Right!:)  To my excitement this CVS had some of the discounted shampoo left...only 2 bottles but that was better than none.  They also had some curling gel (which I donated to my sis in law) and some smoothing creme that was also 75% off.  So there were my 4 hair products to use my 4 coupons with....YES!!!!  (Really, I can't relate in this blog just how excited I was at this "find"). 

Here's the breakdown on the Aveeno product:
  - shampoo, originally 7.49    75% off = 1.87    less 1.50 coupon    paid $0.37 !!!    I got 2 of those...

  - smoothing creme, orig 8.29   75% off = 2.07   less 1.50 coupon    paid $0. 57 !!!

  - curling gel     prices same as smoothing creme    paid $0.57 !!!  (donated to brie) :)

Free products, after coupons and ecbs, were 2 tubes of toothpaste, Sinex sinus relief, 8 packs of Orbitz gum and Chestal cough syrup.

***Note:  there are still some make-up products marked 75% off and if you "stack" them with coupons you can make out REALLY well!  Yesterday I got Revlon mascara AND eye shadow for $2.42 total.

Well there you have my latest S.Deals...what a thrilling week for S.Dealing!!!

Ready or not...

Hey everyone!  So here we are, into another week.  For me, this means opportunity for more deals...WOOHOO!!!  I'm bummed though because while we were out today I completely forgot to stop and buy the sunday paper.  Last week I started a new system and I plan to buy 5 copies of the paper each week...too bad I forgot today though:(  I think I'll look into the price of just getting sunday's paper delivered though, it might be cheaper.  Thankfully though, Walmart will sell the sunday news all week long, while supplies last so perhaps a trip out that way will be in order tomorrow?  It would be closer if I just ran out this evening though to the gas station nearby.  The closest place to run is 10 mins away though...pretty different from our old house where we lived less than 5 mins from THREE turkey hills...oh well!

Well here are the deals that I'm looking into for this week at CVS.  The pepsi deal is on again this week so I might grab more of that but not sure yet, I mean, how much soda does one household need?:)  I do plan to get 8 packs of Orbitz gum FREE though, and also a few tubes of Crest toothpaste, FREE. 

So, if you're hoping to get in on some of this "action" this week, be on the lookout for coupons for Orbitz gum and crest toothpaste.  Check out coupons.com...you'll find a lot of printable coupons there!  There is a print limit of 2 coupons and the sites will recognize your computer SOOO my new thing is this:  I print from 2 computers, doubling my printing limit:)  If you have access to more computers you could print even more.  Do you see how this can become quite involved, if you allow it?:)  My brother called my earlier this past week and said I had created a monster...in my sis in law...and I'm thinking "YES!!!!" :)  Way to go ames!  Apparently she's enjoying finding/clipping/organizing her coupons.  Of course the work REALLY pays off at the store when you realize how much $ you were able to save, from such minimal amount of work.

I'll try to post more specific details about the deals I find this week, after I've gotten them which, at this point I'm not sure when I'll have my chance to get out to my favorite store.

While you're there, check out the make-up clearances going on.  This time of year they mark some items 75% off to clean out their inventory...making some items around $2, without coupons!  I saw RiteAid does that for some lotions, etc too.  I don't know about CVS but I plan on scanning the shelves this week to see what other great prices they might be offering.  *** REMEMBER that when you can use a coupon WITH an amazing sale, THAT is when you can save a LOT of $ *** however, if it's not something you regularly buy/need/use, then it might not be a great deal...unless it's free!:)

Ok well that's all I'll ramble about for now...until next post...have fun S.Dealing:)

Do you follow?

Well after trying and trying and trying I gave up...I couldn't post this video IN my blog so I uploaded it to youtube and posted from there...hopefully!:)

Feel free to ask any questions.  I feel like maybe I wasn't as clear as I could have been....anyways, good luck!

***I did want to show you the ECB part of the receipt but forgot...however, it's at the bottom of your receipt and you just have to tear it off to use it for your next purchase***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kukx3We6WXY

fyi, I might put the video in a serparate post just to make it easier for you all to realize it's finally here!

my video

CVS "how-to"

SO in this post I'll write about some basic CVS terms that you'll read frequently here.  Also, I'll attempt to create, then post, video on the most recent s.deals I've gotten.  I think this might be easier than trying to type it all out...

The big avantage of shopping at CVS is their ExtraCare program.  You simply have to sign up in the store to get your card...it's totally free!  As you spend $, you earn a small % of your spending back in ECB. 
****ECB = Extra Care Bucks****

I'll post a link to CVS and the ExtraCare rewards program, assuming I'm computer literate enough to do that:)
https://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/user/extracare/extracare.jsp

Ok, so CVS will have certain items on sale and they offer ECB back.  When you use a coupon on the item also, your savings increases.  When explaining a deal, I might write something like....$3.50 after coupons and ecb.  This means that after I've deducted the amount in coupons and the ECB I've earned, $_____ would be what you can consider is the final price.

I just finished making my video and I'm sorry it's almost 10 mins...I couldn't think of a fast way to explain this.  Also I should have mentioned that the ECB that you get with a transaction is printed out on the bottom of your receipt.  Simply tear it off and continue shopping:)

I'd appreciate any feedback/comments/advice you might have too!

WELCOME!

Hi!  Thanks for coming to visit my SUPER deals blog...that's what S.Deals stands for.  It's also a little play on words that I thought of, making it sound like "steal".  While I in NO WAY condone stealing, I sometimes think to myself, "gosh, these companies might as well allow people to steal their products, for as cheap as I get them"!!!  (Just for the record, I don't steal anything.  I do the work of clipping coupons & smart planning to get these deals.) :)  If you can't tell, I'm struggling a little bit with the name of my blog so it might end up changing, we'll have to see.

So, in this very first post, I thought I'd just share with you some of my thoughts...about a variety of things, including blogging and couponing.

1.  I'm not sure how many people have suggested that I start a blog or how many times I, myself, have considered doing it.  After different questions on how I got a recent deal, I decided it's probably easier to have something like this, a blog, to spell everything out on rather than explaining it many different times:)

2.  I'm not an author, nor do I excel in grammar...this is my disclaimer for grammatical errors:)

3.  I am a stay-at-home mom of 4 children and the wife of a local city police officer.  My children are ages 6, 5, 3 and 1 1/2...2 girls then 2 boys.  They are another reason why I haven't started blogging before now because I'm just not sure how often I'll be able to update it...time will tell I suppose:)

4.  I like to use smileys, like :), in my typing....and also my favorite" ..." the dots.  So you'll be sure to see those things frequently while reading on here!

5.  I hope to mostly blog about coupon deals that I'm finding and the "how to's" and what you need to do to get in on the savings.  One of my most favorite stores is CVS so I'll often be posting about deals there.  My goal isn't to have yet another coupon blog that matches up all the current coupons vs. sales in various stores...there are already thousands of those. 
   My main purpose is just to encourage YOU, my friends, to roll up your sleeves and dig into this thrilling world of savings.  I say "roll up your sleeves" because you'll find that there is some work involved in this; however, it's certainly not hard work but at times a little time-intensive...depending on how much or how little you want to do!

***So there it is, my first EVER blog post!!!   I'll try to get a post on today yet, regarding the specific & recent deals that you all have been asking about.  I might even try to do it via video?  Then eventually I'd like to post, sometime in the near future, a few more of my thoughts on this new blogging adventure and just about me, who I am:)

Until next post....(see? there they are, my fav little dots)