Picture Post

Adventures in Couponing

On Saturday morning, Logan and I headed out to a local Wal-Mart Supercenter in search of good deals and coupon-using opportunities. My first extreme coupon event was a success. When I went to the check-out, the total was just over $80. After coupons, my total was $29. As an added bonus, I was able to send in a $15 rebate for formula. In the end, my total out of pocket came to $14. I was amazed and had to immediately call my mom and sister.

During this shopping trip, I bought two large containers of Enfamil formula, organic milk, regular milk, cheese, Mothers Day cards, razors, three boxes of dishwashing cubes, two large bottles of All Free and Clear Detergent, yogurt and a few other items I can't seem to remember. All of this for a net of $14. Amazing, huh?

I must note that I refuse to buy things that we don't need or won't use simply because it's a good deal. In addition, I will not buy more than three months worth of anything other than diapers, wipes and formula.

I don't do a lot of coupon research myself. I simply don't have time. Instead, I take advantage of the people who do it for the public. My two favorite sites are: The Coupon Girlz and Deal Seeking Mom. Check them out. You might get hooked.

Miss Independent

At dinnertime on Sunday, Luke told Avery she needed to wash her hands before eating. The next thing we knew, Avery was dragging a chair over to the sink to, "wash hands". Since we usually hold her up to the sink and help her wash her hands, Luke and I were shocked and so proud. She's such a big girl!

A couple weeks ago, we took the kids to a local event called, Tons of Trucks. The conservation department had a boat and two fish. Avery ran right to the fish and didn't want to leave. Oh how I love our daily public fights.

This picture was taken in a school bus at Tons of Trucks. Oh how I dread the day I put her on a bus to go to school for the first time.

After we pick Avery up from daycare each day, she wants to "drive". She could sit in the driver's seat for hours. I don't even want to think of the day she actually drives a car.

Sibling Love

Five Months

Logan is five months old today. At five months, Logan:

• Loves to smile and laugh.


• Is ticklish.


• Is working on rolling over. He's so close, but his arm keeps getting in the way.


• Loves it when his sister talks to him and hugs on him.


• Wakes up to eat at least once a night. (I know, he's regressed.)


• Likes being outside.


• Takes two naps a day.


• Loves sucking on his hand.


• Likes playing with his feet.


• Is the happiest baby I have ever seen.

Extreme Couponing

For those of you who know me well, you know I hate debt and I love a good deal. Luke and I try to live as debt free as possible. We keep the house as our sole source of debt and are working to pay that off as soon as possible. In addition, we refuse to make any large purchases unless we can pay cash. I always google coupons before I buy clothes, electronics, baby items, etc. Unfortunately, grocery shopping is not my strong point. When it comes to grocery shopping, I usually make a list on Saturday or Sunday and buy what we need/want for the week. I try to make my shopping trips as quick, easy and infrequent as possible.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has clipped coupons. While my sister and I have always admired her ability to save, we often take jabs at her when she comes home with hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, thirty plus bottles of barbeque sauce or twenty tubes of toothpaste. Of course I find it most amusing when she picks up obscure items like Joint Juice, just because it was free. Although my sister and I often benefit from her couponing, I still found it strange and way too time consuming. That is, until I stumbled across the TLC show, Extreme Couponing. For those of you who haven't seen the show, it is both crazy and amazing at the same time. Each episode profiles two or three people who take using coupons to the extreme. For example, one woman bought close to $1000 worth of groceries for $12. Wow, right?

The other night, I watched an episode that inspired me to try to do a better job of couponing. In said episode, a couple uses couponing to save for their kids' college education. In a little over a year, they were able to save $40,000 for their kids' college funds. Like I said, amazing! You see, when I first found out I was pregnant with Logan, my number one fear was, "how are we going to pay for both kids to go to college?" Because of the cost of college, we had planned on having kids three to four years apart. Instead, we were surprised with our sweet Logan and had to come to the realization that we might not be able to pay for two full college educations. Now, I don't expect a miracle, but maybe couponing will help us save a little extra each month.

Thankfully, Luke is on board with this as well. Of course I had to promise to not go crazy with this endeavour. He said he will build shelves in the basement storage room, but I must limit my storage to the shelves. Last night, Luke even helped me put together a coupon binder and cut out coupons from a couple Sunday newspapers. God love him!

I'll try to update on my couponing efforts. I'm hoping for a fun, positive outcome! Stay tuned...

My Happy Boy

Quick Update

As always, we have been busy in the Musselman household. Luke is finally home for a few weeks after two months of constant travel. During this time, he did business in South Carolina, California, Washington, Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Taiwan. I'm sure I missed a place or two, but I should get some credit for trying to remember his schedule. While Luke traveled all over the world, I have been busy taking care of the kids and trying to get back into the swing of things at work.

Avery is doing great. Tomorrow, she will be 21 months old. She talks nonstop and amazes us every day. At 21 months, Avery:

• knows how to put on her own shoes and socks.
• consistently says "please" and "thank you"
• is obsessed with stamps and asks to ride the carousel at the mall just so she can get her hand stamped.
• drinks really well out of a cup.
• loves her baby and sock monkey.
• learned the word, "no". I'm not sure how we avoided it for so long, but I would like it to go away.
• still has a love affair with cereal. It is the first thing she asks for when she wakes up in the morning.
• prefers showers over baths.
• can read the words, "Elmo", "Mama" and "Daddy".

Logan has had a rough month. He cannot seem to get healthy. The doctor's office jokes that we should have a frequent visitor card since we are there so often. Today, Logan was back in the pediatrician's office with another double ear infection and upper respiratory infection. The pediatrician has recommended a visit to the ENT and told us to expect tubes. On the plus side, Logan is a trooper and has stayed a pretty happy, calm baby throughout all of this sickness.

At four months, Logan:

• is still my little man. At his four month WCC, he measured 24" (25-50%) and weighed 11 lbs, 12 oz (5%).
• wears 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes.
• sleeps eight to ten hours a night and takes two to three naps a day.
• loves to smile and coo.
• loves playing in the bath and kicking in the water.
• could look at his hands for hours.
• found his feet.
• is not a big eater. He prefers to stare and smile at mama instead of eating while he nurses.
• started rice cereal. He hates it.