Week In Review...So Far

Happy Thursday all! I know, I have been slacking this week and this is my first post. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, when you have 2 little kids at home with you all day you just DON'T get around to doing everything you need to. Hence why I have a list of things about 10 miles long I have been trying to finish for the past {almost} 9 months. Shit happens, we wipe it up and hope that the next day will be better.

So, I guess this is just gonna be a random post today talking about all kinds of whatever. Let's get you caught up on my SUPER exciting life, shall we?

Saturday morning I got up and went and had my hair chopped off some more by the lovely Kenzie Veurink of ImageZ Salon. If you are ever in Indian Trail and need an awesome place to get your hairs did or your nails did or whatever, this is THE place to go. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere is relaxing and it's just a great place to be. I had already chopped off all my hair earlier in April, and I just needed to get rid of the rest of the hair around my face. I LOVE my new pixie and in the next couple of months I'm going to change my color too. So stay tuned. If you don't follow me on Instagram, you can {and should}. You can find me at @thismommyofthree. I came home and Michael looked at me and said, "it's shorter than it was before! you are going in the wrong direction!" He loved my long hair, and while I admit I did too, it was just too much for me to handle with the kids and I could just never do anything with it. The good thing is, it's just HAIR. It will grow back if I want it to! That's the awesome thing about hair. It's not permanent. I'm sure someday I will want to grow it out again bc I will get tired of having short hair, and when I do, I will. For now though, I'm pretty content with it.

Mother's Day was good. I did a little more housework and laundry than I would have preferred, but when you have 3 kids, it's just how life goes. I was woken up by my sweet baby at 6:30am {but I let Michael change his diaper and get him out of bed cause I'm nice like that...} and he got into bed with us and we laid there and watching fishing with daddy for a little bit. Michael asked me if I wanted him to go out and get breakfast and I said no, even though I really WANTED a Sausage McMuffin from McD's...I was good and didn't cave. I was saving my calories for Starbucks later that morning anyway. I must confess, I am waiting for the Mother's Day when I can ACTUALLY sleep in and get breakfast in bed from all 4 of my guys. I know that's a few years away, but I'm looking forward to it! We got everyone up, had breakfast and got ready for the day. Michael got me a bottle of Duck Commander Pink Moscato. If you know anything about me, you know I am OBSESSED with ANYTHING Duck Dynasty related. So, I was super excited about this one! He did good. I told him not to get me anything but of course he didn't listen. We all got ready, headed to Starbucks and then to Target. Michael said that I had the option to either let him get me what he originally wanted to for Mother's Day or I could pick something out. I knew the moment he said that what he was talking about and we headed straight for the kitchen appliance section. We turned down the aisle with the coffee makers and I told him, "this is the third holiday in a row you've tried to get me to buy one of these, you know that right?" He laughed and said, "yep!" He's been trying to get me to agree to buy a Keurig because when I'm home by myself I always make wayyyyy too much coffee. I have every intention of drinking more than one cup, but one all the kids are up and the day is started I always forget I have made it and then it gets wasted. I don't like wasting things. So, after I stared at it for about 20 minutes I put it in the cart. I have to say it's been awesome so far! I am loving it and can't wait till our grocery store does Super Double Coupons again so I can get some cheap K-cup packs! Yay coffee!

On Tuesday morning I had to take B and C to their dentist for their 6 month prophylaxis {cleaning and exam in layman's terms...but these big words sound cooler, don't they?} B was a champ as always, let's the hygienist scrape, brush and floss with no problems. We found out however that even though he is doing better brushing and flossing, that he has to have 2 of his front bottom baby teeth extracted and a spacer wire put in. His front bottom teeth are all super crooked and so he can't get them clean the way he needs to. I am not looking forward to this but it has to happen. So, we scheduled the appointment for the week after he gets out of school so that I don't have to worry about him missing any days with the end of the year testing coming up. C....was a whole different story. The last time he saw the dentist {in November} he was an ANGEL through the whole process. This time, it's like he was possessed. He screamed and tried to claw his way out of the hygienist cleaning his teeth. I had to literally hold him down so she could brush his teeth. The same thing happened for the dentist. I was not happy. It was TOTALLY unexpected since he was so well behaved at his last cleaning. Everything looked good for him, we are brushing well and flossing. Unfortunately though, the fact that he has been chewing on his blanket "blue" for the last year an a half has caused his front top teeth to push forward a tiny bit and if he keeps it up he will develop a bad overbite. That means braces in the future, and I really want to avoid that if at all possible since B is going to need them in a few years. So, we only have "blue" at nap time and bed time. I went cold turkey with him and he seems to be doing ok so far. Its just easier to do it this way since he will be going to preschool when he is 3.

We are also still doing speech therapy for C, and it's still too early to see any difference just yet. He loves his therapist and she does a great job with him. He is trying to say words, I can tell but they just aren't coming out. He can say his entire alphabet and count to 10. We just learned how to spell our name and I am working on spelling everyone elses names too. He is incredibly smart, it's truly amazing to watch him. I really can't wait for him to be able to talk and I know the first time he says an actual word, I'm gonna cry like a little baby. I have started doing some sensory activities with him and am hoping to get a few more things made this weekend. I made sensory rice and colored it with food coloring. Today I am going to make colored sensory pasta noodles. I've been trying to get him to play with the rice in a big bowl on the kitchen floor but I need to get a tub at the dollar store so it's easier for him to play. His caseworker stopped by this morning so I could sign some paperwork to have him evaluated in August by the school system to see if we can get him into preschool for FREE when he turns 3. I hope that he qualifies because right now we can't afford preschool for him.

Noah is just about to start crawling! He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth and tries to move forward with his hands but his legs don't follow just yet. It's adorable to watch. He has his bottom two front teeth and his top two eye teeth have come in so he is my vampire baby right now. He claps and is starting to make new noises. It's just so amazing to watch him grow and change. He is still very clingy and doesn't like his rear-facing car seat but once he is big enough we will turn him around and hopefully that will make him happy {I know it will make mommy and daddy happy...}. He's a trip and I love him so very, very much.

Lastly, if you follow me on IG or Facebook {my personal page is private} I am taking part in the FedUp 10 Day No Sugar Challenge. Let me just say this now. This. Shit. Is. Hard. Not only can I not have sweets or Splenda in my coffee but I also cannot have ANY foods with sugar in them. Crackers, cereal, peanut butter. It's amazing when you actually take a second to read the labels on your food and see that EVERYTHING has sugar in it. BACON has sugar. PLAIN CHEERIOS have sugar. It's seriously depressing. I've been really good about not eating foods with sugar in them, but I have to make a confession. While I am doing my very best to stay sugar free, when it comes to dinner for my family, even though I'm trying to make foods with low to no sugar, I can't make separate food for me. For example, I made chili the other night. The tomato sauce I used had very small amounts of sugar. I don't know if that is natural sugar or processed sugar but it had sugar in it and I ate it. I washed and rinsed all the canned veggies I used to get rid of all that sugar. My problem with all these "challenges" is that even though I am trying my hardest and doing pretty well I think, is that I cannot afford to clean out my cabinets that are full of food {and not unhealthy food at that} just so I can replace it all with foods that have no sugar, real or artificial. My family is on a strict budget for groceries every 2 weeks and I can't spend an extra $200 or more just for myself. I control what my children eat and they {Noah excluded because he is still an infant} don't consume that much sugar on a daily basis. I didn't restrict them during this time or my husband. He flat out told me he wasn't going to do it. That's fine. I can control what he eats at home but as soon as he walks out that door at 6am I can't do anything. He is an adult and knows what he should and should not be eating. Yes, he came home on Tuesday and told me he had a sleeve of mini-doughnuts. Yes, he brought me home a sleeve of them and I hid them so I'm not tempted. Was I mad because he ate them? No. Was I jealous? Hell yes! Will I actually eat those doughnuts after the 10 day challenge is over? Probably not. I'm not a big doughnut person for some reason. Now...if it was a cupcake, that's a totally different story. You best stay outta mama's way if I have a cupcake to eat! So no, I'm not being 100% clean on this challenge but I am doing the absolute best I can and staying away from every kind of sugar that I possibly can. I'm not afraid to admit that. I'm not perfect. Never said I was. Never will be.

That's about it! Come back tomorrow for my Friday Fabulous! post :)

xo

Whatever Wednesday

It's that time againnnnnnn! 

What am I saying "whatever" to this week? 

1} This weather. Already. It's the beginning of May and it's already 90 degrees here in NC. Seriously. WHATEVER. Not many of you know this but I DESPISE shorts. Why? Well, first of all I am about as translucent {yet not as sparkly} as a vampire, so I feel very self conscious in EVERYTHING I wear during the summer months. I pretty much avoid the sun at all cost and even though I love how I look with a tan, I can't bring myself to get color. I want to look 50 when I'm 50 not like an 85 year old bag of leather. Second, I have some issues with my legs that have only started in the past 5 years or so. I wasn't blessed with pretty little thin ankles, no I have full on kankles 24/7 and I can't stand them. I also have problems with my circulation in my legs and I have some cosmetic issues with my right ankle that always makes me feel like people are staring at me like I'm some circus freak. I haven't worn shorts in years {well, I take that back. I wore shorts a handful of times last summer when I was pregnant with Noah because I couldn't deal with the heat, but they were maternity shorts and those don't count} and unfortunately this year is going to be the one that breaks me down, I just have that feeling. If I don't invest in a few pairs of shorts I might not survive this summer. No joke. So, stay tuned to see if I actually do this. I have to admit I am a little scared. 

2} Weird cookie flavors that look so gross but at the same time, I DO want to try. I went to Target this morning to get supplies for B's gift for his teacher this week and when I went down the cookie/cracker aisle, I saw this:

WTH is Nabisco thinking? I'm sorry but watermelon and cookie are not two things that go together in the SAME FOOD. Whatever. They play with your mind too because you know it can't be a good thing but there's that little voice in the back of your head telling you to put them in your cart because you know you want to try them. I however told that little voice to shut the hell up and put them back on the shelf for the next unsuspecting sucker to buy them. Bwahaha, take that Nabisco. 

3} Lastly, I'm saying a big ol' WHAT.EV.ER. to cooking. Apparently this week I have made some bomb ass food for dinner and I have had some requests to share those recipes with y'all so here y'all go...

Marianne's Amazeballs Meatloaf 

{it's actually just "meatloaf" but I thought the name change was appropriate}

• 2 lbs ground beef {don't use super lean or if you do, DON'T drain it because the fat is necessary to keep it from drying out and helps with the flavor}
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 cup bread crumbs {you can use regular or Italian, doesn't matter}
• parsley {i don't really measure this, just add enough to mix throughout}
• unlined muffin tin {do not grease or use baking cups}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Scoop the meatloaf mixture and form into large meatballs. Press the meatballs into the muffin pan and glaze with ketchup. Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy! 

Marianne's Super Smashed Red Potatoes

• baby red potatoes {I honestly don't know how many I used, we had a bag of them in the pantry and I needed to use them before they went bad...but enough to feed however many people you need to works haha}
• oil {enough to coat - you can use olive, but I didn't have any so I used Canola}
• salt & pepper
• garlic {minced}
• butter 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Gently scrub any dirt off the potatoes. Boil the potatoes till they are soft enough to smash but still a little firm, you don't want them to be mashed smashed potatoes. Once the potatoes are boiled enough, strain them and put them in a large bowl. Coat the potatoes lightly with oil, salt and pepper and mix so that all the potatoes are covered. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and use the bottom of a flat glass to smash. Once you are done smashing them, melt a small amount of butter in the microwave and mix your minced garlic in and pour over the potatoes {again, I didn't really measure since I was winging it...use your judgement based on the amount of potatoes you are making}. Sprinkle salt, pepper and whatever other herbs or seasonings you want to flavor your potatoes with. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake them for about 20 minutes. Turn your oven up to broil and CAREFULLY watch them so that the tops get crispy but don't catch on fire {not that I know about that or anything}. Remove from the oven and serve! You could also put a dollop of sour cream on top too and some bacon pieces to dress them up if you want. Sky's the limit when you wing it! Enjoy! 

That's all I have today, have a great Wednesday lovelies! 

xo

Friday Fabulous!

TGIF ladies! We are only ONE day away from the weekend, can I get an AMEN?

I thought I would start trying to organize my blog posts a little bit more and get a running set of posts each week. I am kicking it off with "Friday Fabulous!" in which I will showcase every Friday a few of my most favorite things, be it makeup, clothes, food, wine or whatever the hell I feel like making you fall in love with {repeat after me, "I will love everything TMOT shoves in my face"}.

Let's get this party started, shall we?


If you follow me on IG {@thismommyofthree...if you aren't you should...} you may have seen a picture of my vast array of lipglosses that I posted a while back.

I don't have a problem...I swear...

Yeahhhhh, I like lipgloss just a little bit. I may have acquired a few more since then, I cannot confirm nor deny that.

One of my most favorite glosses is NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Sugar Pie. It is a pretty nude shimmer and smells like a cupcake. I want to eat it right out of the tube {yeah, gross...I know}. The best part about it is, it's a quality, well-known brand AND it's affordable! If you have ever seen Jerseylicious, you will remember that Olivia uses NYX cosmetics. While I don't strive to look like a Jersey Girl {as gorgeous and semi-over the top as they all are}, I love makeup alottttt but being the cheapskate that I am, I cannot justify spending a ton of money on makeup {or anything else, duh} unless that shit is gonna give me lips like Jessica Alba. 

My next favorite thing is Tresemee Tres Two Ultra Fine Mist Hairspray. I have thin, fine hair and I don't like my hairspray to give me "helmet hair". I want to be able to brush it or run my hands through it to re-style it if I need to and this stuff allows me to do both! When my hair was long I wasn't a huge hairspray fan but if I did curl it or wear it up and wanted my style to stay, this was {and is still} my go-to spray! It's not super cheap but you get a huge ass can of it for a good price, it works and that's why I love it. 

My final favorite for today is Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Polish in Quick Sand. Being a mom of 3 young kids and having about 0 minutes to myself during the day, if I get the urge to paint my nails while the littles are napping I need something that dries FAST. This stuff does just that and the color is a pretty semi-shimmery sand color. It gives my feet a pretty, polished and put together look without having to worry that it's gonna be wet in 5 minutes when the baby wakes up. You get the big, flat salon brush and it coats pretty evenly so I usually only do 2 coats to get full coverage. It dries in less than 5 minutes, it's cheap and all the colors are so pretty which makes it a winner in my book!

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of Friday Fabulous! Have a fabulous rest of your day! 

xoxo

Whatever Wednesday

So, I know there is this whole "So What Wednesday" thing in the blogiverse and I know I'm not a part of it. I'm still trying to get back in to blogging after taking a hiatus before I had Noah. So, today I am saying, "whatever". 

Seriously. I'm so over today and it already started. 

Anywho, today I am saying "whatever" to....

1.} Bottles, formula, washing bottles, and anything that encompasses the realm of baby feeding with a damn bottle. What. Ev. Er. Don't get me wrong I love my kids and we have been blessed and fortunate enough to be able to afford $100 worth of formula every month for the past {almost 3 years} but DAMN. I am done with it. Noah turned 8 months old on April 27th so the countdown is 4 months until I can pack this shit up for GOOD. I'm gonna sell it, give it away or burn it. I'm not really sure which one. Might depend on how I'm feeling on that fateful day in August. Stay tuned. 

2.} I have lost another pound and am now only 9 pounds from my goal of 135. Whatever. I would love to get on the scale one day and have magically lost these last few pounds but unless a money tree gets planted in my back yard or the Advocare Fairy drops some of that shit on my front doorstep, it's gonna take me a few more months to be rid of these last few dreaded pounds and that is OK. I'm learning to accept my body and love it {ok well I don't LOVE it yet} but I'm not disgusted whenever I get dressed which is a big step for me. 

3.} I have a bug up my butt to get crafty and sewy and all that shit. I have always wanted to be that super crafty, cooking, baking, Martha Stewart morphed with Betty Crocker mom that you want to throat punch. Ugh, whatever. The thing is....I barely have time to write a blog post a few times a week {but damnit, I am doing it because I wanted to get back to blogging...and admit it, you missed my pretty face} so I have no clue when I'm gonna fit the crafty, sewy crap in....but it's gonna happen. Henry Higgins, just you wait. 

What are you saying "whatever" to today? 

My Friend Caity: Update

Sorry this post is so late in the day, I found out the hard way this morning that I am allergic to B vitamins. Yeah, had to call 911 after I took a time-release Niacin pill at breakfast. Was not fun. Anyhow, I am better now and all the symptoms should be done by tomorrow morning. 

Enough about me....

On to the point of this post. Last week or so I did a post about my friend Caity and the medical issues she has been having. I got an update from her and here is where they are now....

"I had my mrv and that came back normal so no blood clots! Doctor put me on Diamox but I experienced the most serious side effect of hearing loss. So nuero put me on Topamax. I have to take calcium and vitamin d with that to prevent kidney stones. I also I had to sign a waiver saying I had no birth plans which means my plans of having another child this fall/winter are no longer in the future since its a category d medicine. My blood work came back abnormal. I tested positive for the rheumetord arthritis so I need to see a rheumatologist. Also there's a protein in my blood called monochronal protein. It originates in your bone marrow. Usually is found accidentally. That could mean a lot of things so that's why I have to see a hemotologist. Still experiencing serious headaches and periods of blackouts of 30 seconds. If they get more than a minute I have to go in for another spinal."

She is dealing with a lot right now and also has her sweet dog Graham who has been having seizures lately and they aren't sure why. On top of everything are the bills. I started a fund page for her and if you feel compelled to give, anything will help them offset the costs of all the co-pays, the doctor and hospital visits {for example her MRV was $125 out of pocket JUST for the co-pay} and the medicines. I will post the link below if you wish to make a donation. 

http://www.gofundme.com/89akv8

Thank you and please continue to keep the Cain family in your prayers. 

xoxo

An Apple A Day

Last week I went to see my OB/GYN for my lovely annual checkup. He told me that I needed to have blood work done to check:

- Vitamin D levels

- thyroid

- cholesterol

- for anemia 

I missed the call last week because we were at the Asheboro Zoo. So, I finally had a chance to call them back yesterday and the nurse said she would give a message to my doctor. I got a call back this morning and it looks like my Vitamin D levels are below normal so I have to start taking a 2000mg supplement for that and my "bad" cholesterol is high so I need to watch my diet more, exercise more and my husband recommended that I take niacin as well. 

Now, my cholesterol levels aren't terribly high, but it was 130 and normal is 100. So, 30 points to me is a lot. This is the first time in my life I have ever dealt with high cholesterol and I know it runs in my family. I'm coming to grips with the fact that I have to lose the rest of this baby weight now not JUST because I want to fit in to my smaller clothes again, but for MY health. I don't want to get to the point where I have to take cholesterol medications because it's so out of control. However, I'm not sure what to do diet-wise other than watch the amount of fat I am taking in. 

This is where YOU come in! I would greatly appreciate it if y'all could give me some suggestions or tips on ways to lower my cholesterol. I know it's not going to happen overnight but I am starting right now, right this minute, today. Please comment below or send me an email to: thismommyofthree@yahoo.com if you don't feel like commenting below. I'm only 33, and I consider myself still relatively young and I don't want this to become a bigger issue for me as I get older. I have 3 kids and a husband to live for and I have no plans on going anywhere anytime soon. 

P.S. I know today's post was supposed to be an update on my friend Caity, but I am waiting on an update from her so that I can post it. Hopefully tomorrow or Friday! Also, for those of you reading for the couponing series, I haven't forgotten! I am working on my next post and hope to have that up for y'all on Monday. 

xoxo

Come On Y'all

Ok y'all. Trying to get some things going with this blog and I need YOUR help! Please click the "follow me" button or whatever it's called now on the right hand side of my blog so I can see who all my lovely followers are! I know this blog is new, but I know a lot of you from my old blog and I want you back! I am so sorry my posts are not as constant as they were before, but I also have 3 kids now and 0 time so getting in one post a week is gonna have to do for now and I hope you understand! I love and appreciate everyone who takes a minute to read my posts. Also, I now have a Facebook page for my blog! That's right!

You can follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/thismommyofthree

If you have IG and aren't following me, well fix that! I am @thismommyofthree

Twitter @thismommyof3

Thanks for the support and I am hoping to get this blog back in to shape in the coming months!

My Friend Caity

Today's post is one that hits very close to home for me. I have a very dear and sweet friend, her name is Caity. Caity is married to Shawn and they have a 2 year old little girl named Haley. I first met this family last February when my husband was working for the same company as Shawn. Caity and I instantly hit it off and I fell in love with her little girl and her beautiful brown curls. Since I have all boys, Haley is my little girl to spoil and love on whenever I see her. 

Caity is my best friend here. Haley and Carter are also BFFs. Though Haley might try to put a curse on C when she comes over to play and they are still learning they are ALLOWED to play together, they both love each other and I know later on in life they will get married. These people are my people and I love them all like family. So, when Caity came to me and told me that she was having some issues with her lymph nodes by her ears and throat, my freak out button instantly went off and I was praying to God she was ok. She had recently started taking some new medicine to treat her acne, it's a prescription called Minocycline. Shortly after her lymph nodes started acting up, she was experiencing all kinds of strange symptoms, including migraines, hearing loss, nausea and vomiting, body pain, dizziness and temporary blindness. She chocked it up to stress, or possibly an infection of some sort. They ruled out Lymphoma and she went back and forth to all sorts of doctors trying to get answers. No one could help. It was very frustrating for her and her family. 

Finally, earlier this week she got some answers. She has something called "pseudotumor-cerebri". Its basically fluid around the brain which causes swelling and requires her to have a spinal tap performed to remove all the fluid. She had her first one done on Wednesday and has been at home recovering since Wednesday afternoon. I talked to her earlier today and while she ventured out to the grocery store, she is still in a lot of pain and shouldn't be walking around. She has an MRV performed this coming Thursday and has a few other appointments scheduled soon. She doesn't know what the treatment timeline is, or how many times she will have to have the spinal taps performed. Hopefully she only needed the one. This has put some limitations on her life for now, she can't return to a normal exercise routine because she can't risk any head trauma that might cause the fluid to return. She has to watch her diet and will be taking medicine for the rest of her life. It makes my heart ache knowing that something so life changing can happen in an instant when all she was trying to do was get medicine to clear up her skin. 

She's probably going to kill me for this next part, because I told her I was writing a blog post about everything in hopes that awareness can be spread and maybe this will prevent others from taking this medicine. There was NO warning given by her dermatologist or her PCP regarding the risk of this condition. All of this was sudden and unexpected. They were completely blindsided. She is young, only 25 and has a young family too. Her husband is the only one who works so there is only one paycheck coming in. They have basically drained their bank account from the past few weeks of countless co-pays and will soon have to deal with the remains of medical bills that insurance will not cover. They have a mortgage, utility bills, groceries and a young child to care for.

I have created a donation page for the Cain Family {HERE} because I want to help, and I hope that you will feel compelled to help as well. They didn't ask for any of this. They didn't want the countless doctors appointments, treatments, prescription medicines, co-pays and hospital/doctor bills. If you can't donate, please take a moment to add them to your prayers. The Cains are wonderful people and I have written this post in her honor and to make others aware that this medicine can be dangerous and there are risks in taking it. If you or a loved one or a friend is on it or is thinking of taking it for acne or the other conditions it is said to help, please talk to your doctor and make yourself and everyone around you aware. While yes, it is very rare, it can happen. You always think these things won't happen to you or someone you know. 

It did happen. To my friend. To her family. 

I thank the Lord above that she is still alive and while she will continue to live a pretty normal life, she now has to deal with this, which could have been prevented had her physicians been open and honest with her about the side effects of this drug. 

Thank you. 

XO

D Family Couponing: Basic Coupon Q&A

I put up a question on IG a few weeks ago to see if anyone wanted a post from me regarding how we coupon in the D household. Well, I have had a few requests so I thought I would put together a simple {and hopefully helpful} series about the how, what and why of how we coupon. I am sorry this is so late, I can't blog on my iPhone {that keyboard drives me bat shit crazy} and our PC isn't working but we were recently gifted with a spiffy laptop by a sweet someone so that we could get back to normal until the PC is fixed! I really appreciate your patience :)

Please note, this only what WE do and I'm not trying to push my ways on you! If you don't want to do it, that's not gonna bother me one bit! I am just here to share what WE do and hopefully help others save more money in the process! 

This post is going to answer a few basic questions I get about couponing....


"Why do I need to use coupons, can't I save money just by shopping sales?"

Yes, you can save money shopping sales alone but if you are looking to seriously slash that grocery bill, why wouldn't you use coupons ON TOP of shopping sales? It's not rocket science people, saving money is SUPER easy! I really wish I had known about couponing when I was younger because I know I spent wayyyyy too much on basically everything back then and I could have probably stashed away alot more cash had I been smarter at the store.

It's pretty basic, if you need spaghetti sauce and your grocery store has it on sale for 2/$4.00 {making each jar $2.00} and you have a $.75 cent off 1 jar coupon, using 2 coupons that means you will pay $1.25/jar instead of $2.00/jar. Now, if you have stores like we do that will double coupons {meaning they double the face value of the coupon up to a certain amount like $.50, $.75 or even as high as $2.00 at some places}, then you will be getting an even better deal! So you can make the choice, spend $2 on one jar of sauce or use coupons and SAVE that money!

"Why can't I ever find coupons for things my family actually uses?"

It's simple. You aren't LOOKING for them! Coupons are made for just about ANYTHING if you take the time to look. When I say anything, I mean it. Pens, tampons, printer paper, canned vegetables, lip gloss, toilet paper and light bulbs. They even make coupons for specialty items like milk, produce or meat {I will get more into that later}. That's just a pinch of what is out there if you take the time to look. In my next post I will explain HOW you find these coupons and how to make the most of them. Most people think that the majority of coupons out there are for junk and this simply isn't true. While yes, there are always coupons for soda, chips and cookies....there are more coupons for frozen vegetables, yogurt and other "non-junk" items than you think. You just have to be willing to take the time to find them. Our family has been able to stockpile on pasta, pasta sauce, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, canned vegetables, crackers, cereal and other items just by using coupons. It's safe to say we won't need toothpaste til 2016.


"I only like to buy certain brands of things because I know I can trust them. What if they don't have coupons for those brands? Can I still coupon?"

I know that most people are brand loyal, especially to certain items like peanut butter, toilet paper or ketchup. I totally get that and there isn't anything wrong with it. I was once brand loyal too and so was my husband. We still are. Sometimes we find coupons for the brands we love and sometimes we find coupons for products we love but aren't the brand we normally use and we have to suck it up and give it a shot. Usually we find that different brands aren't that far off of what we usually buy. It's called "stepping out of your comfort zone". If you aren't comfortable trying new things and fear your family won't like Brand X peanut butter because you have bought JIF for the past 14 years, that's totally up to you and you can still save money if you find JIF coupons but you are missing out on an opportunity to save even MORE money if you only stick to one brand of peanut butter. Remember, I am not telling you WHAT to do, this is just what WE do and you can give it a whirl or not give two poops about what I am saying, doesn't matter to me!


"How do you save money on things like produce, meat and milk? I never see coupons for those items."

This is a good one. It's true, there really aren't many coupons out there for these types of things and when we do find them we grab them because as I am sure you know those items are NOT cheap! When it comes to produce, we normally buy ours from a Farmers Market or farm stand on the side of the road because we know that by the pound, that produce is not only cheaper but it's usually alot fresher and we are supporting local businesses which is always a plus! When it comes to meat, we generally use our Sams Club membership to stock up because per pound the meat is always cheaper and we have 2 fridges and 3 freezers in our house so we buy meat in bulk to last a few months. If you don't have a Sams membership don't worry! You can still get deals on meat. Comparison shopping is key with things like meat and produce because even though your local grocery store might have meat on BOGO special this week, it might be a little cheaper to buy it in bulk at a warehouse store. Now, you might not have the storage space like we do so you might not want to buy 13 pounds of ground beef and that's totally ok! We also buy milk at Sams because it's gone up to over $4/gallon here in NC and when you have 5 people who consume milk, you want to get a good deal on it. {Tip: you can freeze milk if you want to buy more than a few gallons at a time but be sure you will drink it within a few months}Here are 3 of the best ways to find actual coupons for produce, meat and milk:

1) If you shop at Target, make sure you sign up for Target Mobile Coupons and Cartwheel. To get Target Mobile Coupons, simply go to the Target web page and click on the Coupons tab on the drop down box on the top right or if you are on your phone and have the Target app, it will be under "Coupons and Deals". You simply fill out your information and within 24 hours you should receive a text message from Target saying you are ready to start receiving coupons! They usually always have some sort of grocery coupons. Cartwheel is not really a coupon, it's more of a "mobile discount" and you can stack it with your mobile and paper coupons {Stacking? WTH? Don't freak out, we will get into stacking in future posts...but trust me, it's GOOD!} To sign up for Cartwheel, simply download the Cartwheel app on your mobile phone and most likely you will need to sign in with Facebook. I used it when it was still in BETA mode so I have had it forever. With Cartwheel you can find discounts on tons of products and grocery items like meat, produce and milk. I had one last week for 5% off Up&Up brand milk!

2) There's an app for that! Check your app store on your phone for the grocery stores you shop at. Both of the major grocery stores we shop at have apps and we have our store cards linked to the app so we can use the coupons the stores offer stacked {there's that word again!} with our paper coupons for more savings. Sometimes they will have coupons for deli meat, milk or produce.

3) Register coupons or "Catalinas." No, not the Catalina Wine Mixer...just Catalinas. Those pieces of paper you get when you check out that somehow eerily "know" what items you like to buy. We get so many of them from Target, Harris Teeter and BiLo every week it's not even funny. Don't throw them away as soon as you get them, go through them and see if anything you have is an item you buy currently or might buy in the future! You can sometimes stack them with your other coupons because they are considered store coupons and not manufacturers coupons. We usually get meat and milk coupons that way.


"Is couponing REALLY worth it? It seems so time consuming and boring."

I will be very honest with you, it IS very time consuming but to nerds like my husband and I, it's not boring at all! It does take a few hours of your time each week to sit down, sort the coupons, clip them and organize them but once you start doing it and see your savings, it becomes alot more fun and rewarding than it seems. My husband and I started out doing coupons together when we lived in our first house 4 years ago. We started out small and it's snowballed into something much bigger and right now he is usually the one to do all the clipping because I am taking care of the littles and don't have the time to help him. I know he thinks I am probably glad to not help, but I love couponing and seeing all the deals that are out there! Like I said, we are nerds and saving money to us is something really exciting! Grocery shopping is a family affair for us {say WHAT?} Yes, you heard me! We all go together, all 5 of us on the weekend with our coupon binder in hand and shopping usually takes an hour or more but it's so worth it when we get our receipt and see the 50% or more savings from one shopping trip!


I know I didn't get in depth with alot in this post, but I wanted to answer some basic questions on the WHYs and HOWs of couponing. In my next post, I will talk about how to get started with couponing {don't worry it will be baby steps...} and I will have pictures to share of how we do what we do so you can see exactly what goes into it. If you have any other questions that I haven't addressed here, please email me at thismommyofthree@yahoo.com and I will put together another Q&A post. I hope this helped shed a little light into the world of couponing and I hope you will stick around for the next post in this series!

XO

P.S. I also want to thank those who have commented on previous posts, I do appreciate the comments and I apologize that I haven't gotten back to you but now that I am back in working order I will be sure to reply to everyone!!! Love y'all!

Operation Hot Mama SOS

Ladies. 

I'm 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and I am in a jam. 

I am eating ok, well as ok as I can. I'm staying away from bad carbs for the most part but tonight's dinner was pizza and since I was starving and had no other options I wasn't passing that shit up. I had 3 slices of cheese. Deal with it. 

I would love to do all the fancyschmancy cleanses and shakes and crap y'all do but I am a SAHM of 3 boys, so all my money goes to feeding them, clothing them and Starbucks {for me and the husband, duh}. I am broke. Advocare ain't happening honey unless someone wants to be a dear and gift it to me. 

I workout every other day {or at least try to} and I do my elliptical and crunches and a few other exercises but I'm starting T25 tomorrow because I need to ramp it up. 

I need your help. I need foods, workouts, cleanses, rain dances that are DOABLE. I'm so close and yet it still feels so far away. HELPPPPPP MEEEEEEE.