Along with everyone else, I've made my New Year's resolutions. Be more active, exercise a little more (Wii Fit!) etc. But the next one may seem a little odd. I resolve to go to the grocery stores only once a month! In between I will get veggies from the farmer's markets and milk from places like CVS and Walgreens.
Strange I know, but I have finally realized that I have no self-control in the grocery store and fall prey to those sales every time, even if I already have the items on hand. "It's such a good deal," "I had a coupon for that," have been my mantras, which wasn't a bad thing, except I had been going way too often and now our shelves overflow with food that needs to be eaten!
So between Ruel and I, we will come up with meals using ingredients we have available, supplementing with fresh fruits and veggies. I am proclaiming now that I will not shop for groceries again until at least 2/9/10 or later. It would be interesting to see how long I could really go...
But let me tell you about my couponing. I save a lot of money on basic staples, if only I could stick to just those items...I'll share some tips.
1) If you have a coupon for something that you always use, hold onto it and see if you can wait for a sale, otherwise, make sure to use it, don't let it expire even if you don't need the item right away, it's a savings! Especially true for baby items like diapers and baby wash. If you are worried that the tot will outgrow a size first,get the next size up!
2) Use baseball card holders to display your coupons in a 3 ring binder and organize the way your grocery store is laid out.
3) If the store will allow it, combine manufacturer coupons with store coupons. Make sure to check and see if your store will take competitor coupons (Publix will here in the south)
4) If you see a BOGO (Buy one get one free) remember that if you have a coupon that allows you to get X cents off when you get two, you are saving!
When I go once a month this year, I will have all of my coupons ready and probably shop Wal-Mart for utility stuff (paper goods, cleaning, non-perishable), shop Publix for those that I have coupons to combine, and then Winn Dixie for their meat section BOGO's. Today, I was able to get 2 boxes of Huggies diapers for the price of one, along with a host of other deals.
Now to Christina.
She's doing so well and has not been sick for almost a month now (knock on wood). Not quite sleeping through the night yet, but the time she gets up is creeping later and later. We went from 2:30 to 3:30 and this morning it was 4:30. I'm holding onto the hope that 12 hours straight is around the corner. She still goes down around 6:30 though, so it's going to mean early mornings!
Her hair is starting to fill in and is now just starting to grow over her ears. We don't think it's going to be raven black like Ruel's, but aren't sure yet what to expect.
Christina absolutely loves bath time. She has ever since the day she was born. I think it's because I really enjoy baths myself. At Christmas we bought her a small inflatable tub that looks like a giant rubber ducky. This transitioned her from the cradle type tub. She loves being able to kick the water and slap her hands down. I think we could leave her in the water all night! She just contentedly plays.
On January 21, she will be 6 months old. She continues to eat like a fiend and we are talking about when to introduce that 3rd meal (lunch). It's hard to get in dinner some nights because we pick her up aroun 5:00 and by the time we feed her at 5:30/6:00 she's getting really tired and can be fussy some days.
Life has reached a new normal here and Ruel and I love it. Christina is a shining light in our lives and each day there are new joys to behold.
We hope everyone is well and staying warm in this very cold winter.
Love, Kaycee
4 comments:
Wow! Christina is getting so big and cute! 12 hours of sleep is pretty ambitious, though - my boys still don't sleep that long. They go 10.5-11 hrs but they do take great naps every day.
Your resolution is inspiring. One thing that has helped us is a weekly menu plan - we got a magnetic dry erase board and write up what the main dish is for each night. It's easy to come up with side dishes if the main dish is decided! We did it so I wouldn't get so stressed out every evening trying to decide what to make (and fall back on chicken nuggets...) but I could see it helping you with shopping!
Way to be thrify, Kaycee! I'm impressed!
Kaycee, glad to hear that Christina is doing better with sleeping. Hailey usually goes down anywhere between 5:30 and 7:00 sometimes later and regardless she always seems to be up between 5 and 6:30. We have never made it 12 hours though either. We still take the 10-11 hours happily :-)
I also just started coupon stacking as much as possible. Not sure if you knew but Target allows you to coupon stack. You can print coupons off their website and then use manufacturer coupons too.
Interesting idea with the grocery shopping. We have tons of food here also but always have to go back for the meat, milk, bread, etc. and end up buying all the other junk. You'll have to let me know how it works for you!
Thanks for all those coupon tips. I have a hard time using coupons when I am with the kids. It seems to take too much time to find the right coupon when I am with them. I've gotta try and go on my own.
We had that duck bathtub too. It was great for everyday and travel too!
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