BarGaIN sHoPPinG

You know I love a bargain! I haven't posted any lately and thought it was time. I still do grocery coupons but this post is on the wardrobe shopping!

It's really fun to walk out of a store carrying a bag full of a $10 purchase that would have cost $30+ in another store. In fact I thrive off of it. I want to go bargain shopping but also need to bargain shop. Teacher's pay and part time nurse pay don't leave much left over for clothes, shoes or just anything!


So I have documented a few of this month's bargain finds!

Goodwill is where I find most of my clothes. The above picture is from the September half off day. I love these trips because I find the most at one time and get to shop with some great friends! (Which, I will sadly say, is about to change. This was the last time Meg will be with us but Arlene and I plan to go to her Goodwill with her when we can!)

Anyway.....I found the above for myself.

The breakdown:

•  one purple with flowers long sleeve T-shirt
• one purple long sleeve dress shirt with tags! (see below pic)
• a black and white patterned knee-length dress
• one black short-sleeve sweater/cover up thing...?
• one Gap knee-length blue jean skirt
• one pair of brown Gap capris
• a pink paisley skirt
• and one turtle neck purple sweater

Have I mentioned purple is my favorite color?

dress shirt with tag....only $2.15!

In the same trip, I found Garyn some items....

He got...

• an orange football shirt (pic below)
• a long sleeve gray/blue shirt (will be an RB shirt)
• a pair of blue jeans
• a Gap long sleeve dress shirt
• an Old Navy blue puffy vest
• a set of long sleeve pajamas

I think this was his favorite and daddy's since it is TEXAS longhorn orange!

I also found a working lamp...

notice it says $3.99.....only $2 on half off day!

So my Goodwill total for all of this was $29.99! That's 15 items averaging $2 each including tax. Couldn't have gotten it all that cheap on clearance with coupons! (Which I should say is the only way I buy new clothes)

Then, I had another trip more focused on Ansley (who actually doesn't need anything!) at the Kids Planet consignment store. I like to go to consignment stores and sales but don't normally get clothes as cheap actually. However, I always find a few items that are within my price range. ( I try to not spend more than $3 or $4 on the kids clothes. Shoes and jeans are sometimes more) 

Sorry this is a phone picture.....

•  one Carter's jacket (pic below)
• one Children's Place yellow short sleeve shirt and shorts
• one long sleeve Carter's pink onsie
• one pair of Gap brown pants
• one Gymboree green and red apples outfit (pic below)
• one blue jean skirt
• and one Gymboree purple outfit

Get this: all items except the purple outfit were $1 each! This consignment shop has $1 bins that she puts things that don't sell for awhile in and I plopped down with Ansley in my lap and went through them both. I was so excited to find this outfit.....

I found the pants first noticing the cute red apples but figured for $1 I could match them with a onsie with red in it. BUT then I found the hooded shirt in the other bin! Jackpot I tell you! $1 each for a cute fall Gymboree outfit!

This is my cutie pie in the Carter's jacket. It has two little ears on the hood....love it!

Ewww....I could just eat her up!

So I spent $12+ tax on her items. The purple Gymboree outfit was on the sale rack for $4. I really have enough for her, given to us from friends, for this fall but she is a little smaller than those clothes so I have been getting some things that will fit this first part of the fall season.

So the next time you see me out and about, you can ask try to figure out how much I paid for my outfit. I love to tell people but it embarasses my husband. He always rolls his eyes when I say "Oh, I got this from Goodwill!" My Goodwill shopping helps fund his eating out addiction though! :) 

Laster-day

Laster-day ?
You probably are wondering what in the world that means....
But if you were in the world of Garyn, you would totally know....

In fact, most of you moms with talking children have probably already figured it out....
Laster-day means yesterday or last week or 2 months ago...basically just past.....
Sometimes laster-year is used interchangeably with laster-day...

I love Gman's little quirky words and sayings. They really crack me up  sometimes.
He also likes to say things backwards.....
for instance... busterblock= blockbuster (which can I say vanished right before our eyes!)
another is krispie rice = rice krispies. He also says "core" for "score"
The tenses of sentences are off sometimes, too. He will say, "That's just not making me tired" or "I was just getting hungry" which means "I don't want to take a nap" & "I'm hungry". Notice the "just" use too, he typically finds a way to work those into his sentences.

(making a pattern during our learning time)

However, he has lost and is losing a lot of his baby talk. A LOT! I was reminded that he is not a baby today when dropping him off at preschool. I did just that dropped-him-off.....he walked in (with the preschool director) from outside in the car line! Yes, car line people....my baby boy just jumped out and started putting his back pack on which was when I jumped out wanting to at least get a kiss. Well, I had to ask for that kiss after he had walked up half the steps!

(Playing with his cousin at the family reunion)

I truly was excited though, remembering the many times I had taken him to Mother's Day out or church only to hear him cry and scream the whole way in and my whole way out. I want him to love it and look forward to going so I am happy that he is happily going in.

(Went to feed the ducks and had a picinc)

He is so imaginative now, too. We play games he has made up and he still has his "friends" that come around every so often to play. We make teams that include Mario, Luigi and such. He is also in love with "hide n' go seek" telling us who is going to hide and where. He likes for Ansley to play, too, and will pretend she is hiding, saying "Where is Ansley?" when she is in plain sight.

("Cheese" , note the Mario shirt with all his friends)

You can watch his little brain working while he is retelling a story. He remembers a lot so you have to watch what you say.... But he will tell us about what bible story they covered in Sunday school class or will remind us of the last time we all went to ____. On the other hand, he has started being a boy about talking to me. I have to work things out of him like what he did while at school or church. He will randomly tell us tid-bits but when you ask its always "yeah" or "no". Today, I was asking him about the spaghetti plate he had made with yarn at preschool, just trying to figure out what they were doing related to spaghetti. He told me, "Momma, it was just our craft." I am already the nagging mom I guess :)

(Banana Pudding)

One other new interest of Garyn's is helping out in the kitchen. He loves to get his chair and help make meals. He wants to put things in the toaster and help pour drinks. He has also been requesting to make desserts. We made a yellow cake with chocolate icing last week and this week we made banana pudding. He will also help fill the dishwasher! I hope this continues because his daddy is a big help in the kitchen and more often than not does the cooking and cleans up the dishes. As a wife, I love that! I want Garyn to feel comfortable in the kitchen and know how to cook! (Can I just say that gave me chills thinking one day he will be helping his wife in the kitchen!)

The present is awesome, though, having such a sweet rambunctious boy! And laster-day will forever be in my vocabulary now!

Sweet Moments

Nana's rocker

Daddy's "bicket"

pouring rain

baby girl and I

cuddled close

loving stares

precious smiles

sweet moment

both exhausted

ready for slumber

heavy eyelids

drifting

nature singing to us

reflecting

remembering God's gift

such a sweet moment

time stands still

worries gone

memories made

not only sweet

but priceless moment

September Begins....

So here are the September goals....
  (Don't forget to look at how August ended)

Fun:
-Plan SS girls dinner
-attend Girls Craft night!
-have a Jewelry party!
-go to Family reunion

DIY/Craft:
-make Ansley's pacifier holder
-work on Ansley's first year photo album
-hang some pictures
-work on wreath craft for Girls night

Cleaning:
-continue to do 1 of these cleaning chores daily
   (mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, straightening tables, cleaning up kitchen, straightening bedrooms)
-clean off desk

Cooking:
-cook one meal at home a week, & eat at home at least twice a week
-small freezer cooking day :)

Teaching:
-continue with Garyn's writing; last name and more #'s
-Bible story, Bible story, Bible story!

Budgeting:
-stick to $60 grocery budget!
-eat out only 3 times a week! (we always go out on Sunday after church, and 1 night with defense coaches, then either on the weekend or Tuesday nights at Chick fil a......and then there is that occasional "oh just meet me at _____ before I have to go to ____. I am failing to mention the Friday nights before the football game! oh, its hard people!)

Other:
-tag and take consignment items
-work on coupon book
-bathe dogs

August ends

Well there goes another month. They just fly by faster and faster!

For August, I did fairly well completing my goals considering I have another little person to tend to now.

(We did go to Coolidge and Garyn rode the carousel for the first time completely by himself)

Fun:


-Help schedule a Sunday school outing to Vandergriff park (We had a date planned then decided it was still too hot so we are postponing it for a little bit)

-Take Garyn back to the "beach" (Didn't get to this)

-Take Garyn to ride his bike at a track/park (Nor this, I think the heat keeps us inside)

-set up the inflatable pool and have a play date Yay!

And we went to the Wilderness in Pigeon Forge! We liked it so much that we will be returning in October!

(5 boys and 2 baby girls had a play date)

Cooking:

-cook at least one meal each week

-be better about having lunch options at home

I can honestly say those were both done, Tyler has no excuse to eat out for lunch!

(such cuties, Garyn was hiding from the sun)

Cleaning:

-clean something daily during the week...bathrooms, floors, tables, and/or kitchen

-stay on top of laundry (I just finished washing, folding, and putting away 5 laundry baskets!)

-disinfect as much as possible (to keep Ansley from getting a cold again)

-clean out the refrigerator

This category is always at the top of my list. I love when laundry and cleaning go smooth and don't take a whole day to complete because I have procrastinated. Oh and the fridge was awful!

(Garyn is still in the sun, but its better)

Teaching:

-do learning time with Garyn twice a week

-focus on Garyn writing and counting past 30

-get back in the habit of reading a Bible story to Garyn daily

We have done pretty well with learning time, I bought some new workbooks and he can almost count to 40. He is also doing good about being able to write 1,2, & 3. Also, has started counting in Spanish which is something Nick Jr. has taught him! We didn't read a Bible story everyday but have been reading almost every lunch or breakfast we are at home for.

( The one and only Wilderness trip picture I got! But the mini golf is definitely his favorite part)

Budgeting:

-start monthly budgeting again

-work on organizing the bills as they come in

-get back to eating out only 2 or 3 times a week

-work on organizing coupons and sticking to grocery budget


Ok this section is pretty bad. I started to do a budget but then quickly reneged on it. Then the bills are some better but are now piled on the desk rather than filed. (at least they aren't scattered around all the tables though) We won't even talk about the eating out! And the coupons are more organized but not as well as I would like. Grocery budget has improved but not back to $60 yet!