Finding harmony in family, finance & military life

I am really getting excited about Brent's home coming. Getting into "routine" has never been a problem for us after a deployment or long separation. I have noticed so much emotional and relational growth during this deployment for both of us and that is what I am excited about the most. I want to see how all of this positive change and maturity sets a path toward the next step in our life. I can see a curve in the road ahead and instead of fearing it I am running toward it with my eyes wide open. I almost feel like yelling grab your helmet baby because we are in for a wild ride! Almost, to actually do something like that would be completely out of character for me. The return home always holds so much emotion. I can only speak from my personal experience and I am sure it is different for everyone but in the past it has always been a mix of elation, excitement and fear. So many questions would fill my mind before Brent even stepped off the plane. What will he look like? ...

I completed five days of kick boxing! It was so much fun I am going to do it all over again. If you need a short, sweet and intense work out to do that will fit into the busy mom schedule check out 10 Minute Solutions DVD series. I get most of them through Netflix.com streaming and watch it right through my Wii on our family room T.V. Doing it that way there is plenty of room for me to move, kick and collapse when it is over. I also love, love, love Mari Winsor Pilates which has several 10 and 20 minute work outs to choose from. No matter what you choose to do the key is to just get moving. Sweat is ok and 10 minutes a day will not kill you so just do it! There is no excuse not to. Eating right helps too just keep in mind it is not so much what you eat but how much you eat. Even if you live off of salad you can gain weight if you are eating more then your body needs. If you are looking for a good resource on how to loose weight and eat right check out the book The Eden Diet written b...

I did a quick run to the commissary this afternoon because I wanted to drop off a bunch of coupons I was not planning to use that expire before May 15th. I had three coupons that I planned on trying to use next week and just decided to use them today since I was there so this is what I got. 2 Dark Chocolate Dove Easter Eggs the 8 oz bags were marked down to $1.26 and I found another $1 off two coupon Breakstone Sour Cream I had a .50 cents off coupon and it was priced at $1.29 Reach Dental Floss I had a $1 off coupon and it was only .80 cents so I got .20 cents overage woo hoo 1 lb carrots on sale for.69 cents 2 Reynolds baking cup liners that were on the dent and ding shelf marked down to .45 cents each which was a .07 cents saving on each one. My total out of pocket was $4.01, my kids were well behaved and there was no line! It would have been a perfect trip until I checked my receipt and realized they charged me the full price for one of the baking cups along with the discoun...

This was my freebie today!! Today was my mega commissary shopping trip with all 5 kids. I admit it was a little crazy, the focus was not there. Apparently my older three children do not share my love for shopping with coupons. I did pretty good though so I am happy. I bought 86 items including a Smithfield spiral sliced ham and used 54 coupons. I had a coupon for everything that I purchased on this trip and I only bought what was on my list. My out of pocket was $123.26, I saved $49.94 which was 30% savings off my entire bill. I also tipped my bagger $3. Good deals and freebies that I got include that great big Nestle Coffee Mate marked $3.89 I used the free coupon I got last month in the mail to get it for absolutely nothing. I also got free Duncan Hines cake mix, Hot Dogs for .25 cents a pack and a 40 ounce bottle of Heinz Ketchup for .59 cents. I did have to consult the manager at the end of my trip because of a rebate form that was being offered by our Commissary or so I t...

My children are on Spring Break this week and when asked what they wanted to do they chose a long list of restaurants to eat at instead of activities. So being the crazy mom I am I put my menu for the week on hold and joined in the fun. It is Tuesday and my hands have been swollen since Monday from the rich salty food. How much longer is Spring Break? Yesterday was IHOP a very enjoyable meal too and today was focused on Pizza. Do not worry I had fruit and veggies available and they were eaten. We still have Cook Out, Zaxby's and Chick-Fil-A on our list of places they want to eat. I am not sure I will survive this week! Don't worry though I have one of my ingenious plans KICK BOXING! So I tried it Sunday night just the simple TEN Minute Solution series and I loved it. I felt great after those ten minutes other then a painful twinge in my left leg which is to be expected when you have a metal rod so I was pumped. Last night was a little harder ok a lot harder. I could not kee...

My son just celebrated his 9th birthday and for his party I had a Pizza Cake custom made. Oh my gosh this cake was awesome! If you live in the North/South Carolina area you must check out Margo Smith's Cake Creations at www.mscakecreations.com It was as good as it looked!

My trip to Walgreens after Military discount, sale prices and coupons I paid $4.59. I bought the 22 count Purex 3in1 sale price $3.99, 2 16 oz bottles of Gillette Body Wash for $4.99 each and one 4oz Gillette Deodorant priced $4.99. I used the $1 off coupon for Purex, the $1 off Gillette Deodorant coupon, the buy one deodorant get one body wash free coupon and the buy one body wash get one free coupon plus Walgreens has Gillette Body Wash and Deodorant on sale buy one get one 50% off and I got a 15% military discount.

So now that you have started to figure out how to use coupons to get cheap or free things I bet you are noticing your stock pile starting to grow. That stock pile is a good thing. In the Bible it says In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20 And in the book of Genesis Joseph prepares a store house full of food for the famine he knew was coming. That Biblical stock pile fed Egypt for seven years! Every community across our great nation has a place to stock pile food and house hold goods for those in need. They are run on a limited or non existent budget and rely on the donations and helping hand of others to operate on a day to day basis. When our economy suffers so do they. If a disaster natural or otherwise strikes they are some of the first on hand to offer help no matter what state the economy is in. I would like to encourage you to give to your local food pantry or shelter. I know that giving can be very ...

My shopping adventure today! I took all five of my children to Walmart, Target and Rite Aid and yes we survived. I bought nothing at Walmart very big accomplishment but they had nothing I needed so we left. At Target I was looking for the Lysol disinfecting wipes that they have on sale but my Target was out. My husband called me though right as I got into my parking space so we wandered around and I found Purina Beggin' Strips marked at 2 for $5 and I just so happened to have a $1 off when you buy two coupon so my dog got a treat. Zeus is very happy and I enjoyed the chat with my husband. Then we went to Rite Aid, now my children seem to have a thing against Rite Aid because it is the one store that they just can not behave themselves in for nothing. They did do great in Walmart and Target so I will give them props for that. At Rite Aid I got 2 boxes of 16 count Always Infinity Pads marked at $4.99 with a buy one get one 50% off sale going on and two of the $2 off coupons and a b...

                    Happy Resurrection Weekend everybody!!! I plan on spending the day with my children and my friends hunting eggs and going to church. Tomorrow is our day of rest and possibly a Rite Aid shopping trip. You have no idea how long it took to get this picture! Enjoy it :~)

So as you know I have five children and am currently the only parent in the home. Every day is an adventure but here lately I have felt like I am living on my own personal survival show. I am desperately trying to find balance in my daily schedule and there does not seem to be any. Now I am sure that there is time wasted somewhere likely between the 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the morning hour but even I need rest.  I try to keep things realistic and realistically speaking that is the best time to just drift in and out while you enjoy the silence or in my case the ringing in my ears but it is all the same thing. Yesterday I decided to start tackling the mounds of laundry overflowing out of three large laundry baskets in my office. I also really needed to clean my kitchen and get my three year old in to see a doctor. Somehow I thought all of that would get accomplished before noon, not sure why but that is what I was aiming for. Well I got most of the laundry done by noon and t...

To me there is a very clear difference between hoarding and stockpiling in the coupon world. The dictionary defines hoarding or to hoard as accumulating items in a hidden and carefully guarded place for preservation and future use. A stock pile is defined as a large supply gathered and held in reserve for use during a shortage or during a period of higher prices. Having known hoarders and couponers alike I see the difference being when you hoard you are less likely to use what you have as apposed to when you stock pile you fully intend to use everything you buy. When stock piling non food items such as cleaners, paper items, plastics and personal hygiene products I suggest having about 4 to 6 months worth. If you have the space and it makes you more comfortable stock up to one year worth of non food items. Watch for sales so that you can match your coupons to the sale and get the lowest possible price when you are building up your stock pile. You can often get tooth paste, floss, deo...

I finally got to pull a new menu card. We were blessed with a great meal by a good friend from church after Liberty spent the night in the hospital so a new menu card was not needed until now. Sorry to keep you all waiting! The kids and I spent several days eating leftovers too so they would not go to waste and a fun indoor cookout was added to last weeks menu as well. Baked Chicken Nuggets with rice and mixed vegetables This is such an easy meal when you have small children that I love having it on the menu. I got a great deal on chicken nuggets this past month so I am taking advantage of it. Rice is a great healthy side dish. My children love brown rice and white rice and are happy eating it plain so that is how I tend to prepare it for them. A large bag is so cheap that it is a good idea to keep it in bulk in your pantry. As for the vegetable I stocked up on some bags of frozen vegetables so that is what we will be using with this meal. It is not what we prefer but I want to emp...

The coupon class at Seymour Johnson AFB last night was a wonderful success! I admit  I was a nervous wreck up until the moment it started. I had a lot of encouragement though which really helped and I know there were a lot of prayers going up for this class as well. Twenty-one women showed up to learn about couponing. These women were from all walks of life not just military spouses and they were all focused on how to provide for their families better by using coupons.I must say they were a loud bunch, but that is to be expected when you have a large group of women together in one room. I know they all left knowing a little bit more about how to save money with coupons then when they came. Topics covered were Hoarding vs. Stock piling, Giving and Donating which is really needed right now, Catalinas, Stacking, Doubling, Sorting and Binders, Menu Planning, Budgeting and sticking to it, Store Coupon Policies, Ms  Melissa's Extreme couponing trip and where to find your resourc...

Donations needed!!! If you are a crazy coupon lady or if you simply have the heart to give please take a moment to fill a box and donate it to the tornado relief effort. There are donation centers all over the state of North Carolina. We gave our donations to Whitley Church in Princeton, NC and they will be distributing everything collected this Thursday and Friday.  Clothing and basic household items are needed as well.

It was a crazy weekend at our house! My oldest two had their first karate competition ever. It was fun watching the different styles of fighting and I am hoping Hunter and Skylar learned a few things while we were there I know I did. Skylar got first place in sparring and Hunter got a medal! They both did their best and really kicked butt, we are so proud of them. Saturday afternoon and evening tornadoes ripped through our state. We were very lucky in the fact that we suffered no damage or loss. I had to clear out a closet just in case we needed to hop in and we spent close to 30 minutes hanging out in the hallway just waiting for the all clear. Our dog Zeus dodged into the closet the second I opened the door and refused to come out until much later that night. On Sunday I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast then we went to the Air Show on base. It was a lot of fun walking around looking at the different planes and watching them in the air. The kennels put on a demo of their...

Hunter with his medal. He did a great job but still has a lot to learn. He is determined to come home with a trophy next time!

Skylar with her first place trophy!

Hunter and Skylar at their first Karate Competition!

 With my first coupon class only a couple days away I decided to edit and share a note that I had posted on facebook a few months back for all of my friends. Please make sure you check in next week as I will post a lot of great resources, questions and answers from the class! First off the secret to being a great couponer is spread the love and share the knowledge so be sure to pass it all on! To get all the great deals like me you have to subscribe to all the great blogs like www.thekrazycouponlady.com , www.moneysavingmom.com and www.forthemommas.com they post links to great printables and where to use them to get the best price. The Krazy Coupon Lady has a beginner section that really is a must read she explains how to get the most out of using coupons. Sometimes I get the best deal sometimes I don't the trick is to not let it bother you. Manufacturers will often post coupons on there web sites too. Sometimes I buy coupons from www.thecouponmaster.com when th...

 My list was a gallon of milk and three packs of Keeblers cookies. I had coupons I needed to use from my last shopping trip when stuff was out of stock and I was hoping to find more coupons while I shopped so I left my list open to add on items. In the end I left with 2 Gallons of milk @ $3.46 each 6 packs of Keeblers cookies @ $1.99 each 1 pack of Nabisco cookies @ $1.70 4 DiGiorno Pizza with Bread sticks @ $5.50 each Coupons I used: I had 2 coupons for free milk with the purchase of three packs of Keeblers cookies, a coupon for $1 off Nabisco cookies with a milk purchase and 2 coupons for $4 off with the purchase of 2 DiGiorno Pizza with Bread Sticks. So my after coupons the total was $28.77 I saved $15.92 with my five coupons that equaled a 37% savings!!One package of cookies included $4 worth of coupons that I will be able to use in the future for even more savings! I must say God was watching out for my family this month. Last month I missed my WIC re-certification b...

I was introduced to the Couponizer by another shopper at the Commissary on base. She was easily flipping through it as she walked down the isle grabbing what she needed, checking it off her list and moving the coupon over to the check out spot with ease. I was trying my best to sort through an envelope full of loose coupons that kept dropping to the floor as I tried to find the right one since at that point I was leaving my other coupon sorter at home. I walked right up to her and asked her where she got it, I loved the size and the style was perfect. That was the beginning of my Couponizer journey and I have loved it ever since. It is an excellent tool for the busy coupon mom. Not only does it come with it's own handy little storage bag containing scissors and a organizer mat it also fits in my purse with no problem. I shop with small children so the size was very important to me. Trying to hold on to a big binder and my Houdini's trying to climb out of the cart was going to...

Liberty took a trip to the ER on April 10th and was admitted for observation. It started out as a possible bladder infection, then possible kidney stones, then they realized her intestines were swollen to twice their normal size. Poor baby was in terrible pain! She is feeling much better now and will hopefully be back to school tomorrow. They think that the virus that had already passed through two of my other children was not passing through her so easily. I am so grateful for my wonderful church family and military mommy friends. A quick phone call and post on Facebook brought all the help I needed to get us through a 24 hour hospital visit. My other 4 children were provided for and I had friendly support during the waiting game of nearly 8 hours in the emergency room. I also had the chance to go home and catch a few minutes of sleep, shower and hug on my baby while my friend stayed at the hospital with Liberty. As a military spouse it is vital to have a strong support group in your ...

Wow, hard to believe 10 years ago Brent and I eloped! A lot of people and I mean a whole lot of people did not think we would see this anniversary. Brent and I had only known each other for about 6 months when we got married so I am sure all of those people had a very good reason for having their doubts. We had our rocky moments, we both had a lot of growing up to do and a lot to learn. It took a lot of hard work on both our parts mixed with determination and my stubborn streak to get through some very hard times but the good times always met us right around the corner. Our marriage has never been stronger, never been happier and has never been more fulfilling then it is now and that rocky path is what got us here so I am grateful. Now for the fun part looking back over those ten years! At our reception about a month after we eloped Brent sang to me and while I know this is bad I can not remember the song. I do remember him clearing his throat before he started singing, I remember hi...

This has been a very interesting week. Last Saturday started off great the kids and I got to spend part of the day hanging out with friends. We went to a park where the kids got to get in some inflatables and play games, they all won a prize. Then it was off to a flea market for some shopping fun and lunch. That evening we went to church and the sermon was just phenomenal. The main passage was Jude 1:1-4 Jude 1   1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,    To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:   2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.   3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, ...

Hooray our pay on the 15 of April will not be changed! I am so glad our government was at least able to come to a temporary agreement and keep our military families out of a financial mess. The threat however still lingers as our country gets deeper into debt with no real fix for the budget in sight. Did the idea of not getting your full pay scare you? While we knew it posed no immediate danger for us it sure got us thinking. Brent and I took a look at our budget and our savings and decided it was time to double our emergency fund. We already have about 6 months worth of expenses saved up and ready to use in case of an emergency. We started saving our emergency fund the minute we paid off our last debt other then the mortgage back in December 2009 and we have already had to dip into it once to replace our leaking and rotted out roof. For our family the magic number was $12,000 we knew that would cover our four walls for about 6 months easily. We were also sure it would cover any insu...

It was only a couple of hours after my first post about military pay that I got the real answer. A friend texted me that her husband's LES was up and they were getting half pay. I had Kadynce in the tub so I sent a quick email by phone to my husband so he could check his LES and sure enough we are getting paid on the 15th just at half our usual pay. Again let me say I am so thankful we have been able to live off of half our income since my husband deployed! Are you ready to live the last two weeks of April with only half of your pay? If not do not panic! Sit down right now and write out a new budget. Prioritize prioritize prioritize I can not stress that enough! The very first thing on your budget should be food for your family. You might need to take a peek in your pantry, fridge and freezer to see just what you have and if there are any items that you will have to replenish to get you through the month. Keep your menu simple and remember beans and rice goes a long way. Next on ...

My husband got me these beautiful roses! Our ten year wedding anniversary is this Sunday. He is spoiling me rotten with gifts since he is gone and I love it!

Well will we or won't we? That seems to be the circulating question with about a hundred different answers! One source says we will get paid just not on the 15th of April it will be posted on May 1st as back pay. Another source says we will receive half of our pay on the 15th of April and the rest will come after the budget is hashed out. Yet another source states only those in a combat zone will get any kind of pay on the 15th of April and someone else believes there will be no change to our pay at all.Some are also saying nothing will be affected until May. I do not claim to know which answer is right, frankly I don't think anyone knows which answer it is going to be at the moment. Right now I am just so thankful that we are able to live off of the pay we received on April 1st. We wrote up our budget so that our mortgage and all of our utilities along with our food budget and blow money were covered by what we get paid on the first. The give portion of our budget is also c...

Since I usually do one or two big shopping trips each month I always try to write out a month worth of dinner menu at one time. This month I decided to use 4 index cards with 5 different meals on each card so that I could easily pick a different card each week depending on what I had planned or what I felt like cooking. I then placed the cards in my Couponizer so that I had them with me while I shopped just in case I needed to improvise. On the menu card for this week I have Chicken Nuggets, French Fries and a vegetable Spaghetti with sauce, garlic bread and a salad Broiled Salmon, steamed rice and broccoli  Spaghetti with sauce and a salad Turkey Chili with beans over steamed rice and cornmeal muffins on the side Left overs are always an option as are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I just don't worry about writing them on the menu. We eat a lot of spaghetti at our house. I recently had coupons that allowed me to purchase 100 one pound boxes of Muellers pasta for free plu...

Well it looks like I am going to be leading a coupon class on April 19th! This is my very first coupon class so of course I am nervous but excited. I have led a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class which was a 13 week course with a group of people who started out as complete strangers to me so I know I can handle it. My biggest concern is the unknown. What if someone asks a question I can not answer? Or worse what if I answer it and it turns out I am wrong? Ugh Ok I have got to pep myself up I can do this, I love coupons, I love saving money, I love helping others save money this is going to be great! Plus I have great women helping me out so everything will fall into place just as it should. Once I have finished the class I will be posting all of the fantastic resources, notes and policies I have gathered up to share with the class on this blog so please stay tuned!! I wanted to add that I did get my coupon class binder all put together today. I have note paper so that I...

It is a part of military life more now then ever. We are on our third deployment since 2006 and contrary to popular belief they do not get easier, they also don't really get any harder. Each deployment has had different circumstances some good some bad with the end result always the same and for that I am thankful. If you are new to military life or maybe not so new but have never been through an actual deployment go ahead take a deep breath and say it out loud DEPLOYMENT! There ya go not so scary is it? I will not even try to rehash our first deployment five years ago with three children all under the age of four. Even I have no idea how I managed that one! Then the second deployment came way to soon after the first I was pregnant with our fourth child and due right around the time he was scheduled to come home. He made it thank goodness by not even two full weeks but at least he was home. Two months later my husband went remote and well that is a whole other story completely. ...

Hello, My goal for this blog is to help knit together the somewhat chaotic moments of life, my life while providing useful insight for my readers. My life revolves around my five amazing children and my husband who I love very much. Our dog, our home, our finances and "what's for dinner?" will all be a part of this blog. I will share my shopping adventures and the amazing to me deals that I get with coupons. My flops and triumphs in the kitchen as well as the joys of potty training a three year old boy! I hope that I am able to enrich your life as I share mine. I will always be honest and am going to tell you right from the start I have never done this before so mistakes will be made but I am going to do my absolute best. I will leave you now and I hope you have a great rest to your day! What is next you ask? Dinner of course tonight I need to get a salad made before my vegetable become inedible!