My Frugal Quest

In the past (up until 2-3 months ago), I  always thought that shopping at Walmart and Sams Club for groceries, toiletries and household items was maximizing my dollar.  Now, thanks to my cousins Shanna and Alisa I have seen the light of coupons matched up with sales . . . which can save soooo much money!  I don't have the skills that they have yet, but I have been able to buy things for much less than I would have a few months ago w/o coupons or sales.  Here's the results of a couple of my more momentous frugal quests.

Last month, I went to Albertson's and bought 

36 boxes of Post cereal (Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats, Trail Mix Crunch, Post Select)

2lbs. of oranges

3 2lb. containers of Yoplait yogurt 

2 20 oz. bottles of Sprite 

3 candy bars

Without sales or coupons, these items would have cost me about $175 dollars.  What did I spend?  $16 dollars!!!!!!

I was so excited about this!  Cereal is one of my favorite foods, and so I loved being able to stock up on this for practically nothing!

Today, I went to Target and bought 

3 boxes of Special K cereal

2 boxes of Special K crackers

2 boxes of Wheat Thins Artisan crackers

4 Kraft Easy Mac singles

1 Dry Idea deodorant

1  14 oz. bag of Santitas tortilla chips

1 loaf of bread 

2 travel size Axe shower gel

1 16oz. sour cream 

1 box of 100 sandwich bags 

1 pack of gum

Without coupons or sales these items would have cost about $36 dollars.  I spent $10 dollars! 

Anyway, I have had to change my way of thinking about coupons and such.  I used to think it was such a waste of time for people to clip coupons.  Who cares about saving 35 cents?  Or even a $1 here or there.  I always wondered what that accomplished . . . it's not like you can buy that much more with that extra $1.35 saved.  But when you combine the coupons with a sale . . . that is where some real savings happen.   It is more work, but for me it has been worth it.   Thanks Shanna and Alisa for inspiring me . . . it is so much fun to save money!

Grandpa Norberg

My grandpa Norberg passed away  last Saturday, April 25th.  He was 84 years old and died of natural causes.  He was buried in Alpine, Utah on Tuesday, April 28th with full military honors including a 21 gun salute.  He was a U.S. Air Force pilot in World War II.

Ben, my Uncle Pat, and cousins Ryan, Shane, Dave and Kevin were the pallbearers.

Here is a picture with my Grandma, my mom Nina, my Aunt Phyllis,  and Grandpa's sisters Dorothy, Betty, Carol and Janice.   

It was so nice to get together with family this last week and remember all the happy times we had with grandma and grandpa.  I have a lot of good memories of him and grandma and their house in California.  The family reunions were always so fun and I really appreciate how they always came to any main event in our lives that they could.  We miss grandpa, but know that he is in a better place.

Thanks for the pictures Dad & Shanna!

3 Weeks Later

Well, it has been 3 weeks since our handsome boy was born.   Today was the first weekday that I have been on my own . . . a mom of 4 (doesn't that seem like so much more than 3?)  The kids are still alive, I am not crying (actually, I haven't cried at all with this little guy--he's so good!) and I feel like making dinner . . . so I guess things are going okay.

Yesterday my Grandma invited the family over for Easter Dinner.  This was my first activity out of the house with ALL the kids.  It went really well and felt normal.  Maybe I can do this!

Meet Austin and his 3 Other Moms!

We named our baby Austin Robert Fales!

Our Baby Boy is Here!

Last night my water broke around 1:45 am (ish . . . and can I just say I am so glad that happened at home and not somewhere else!). Our baby was born at 3:50 am. Talk about FAST! I have never had my water break on its own, so I didn't know if I was suppose to wait for contractions to start or just go to the hospital right away. Ben called the hospital and they said to come in right away . . . and the contractions started pretty quickly after that.


Rebekah and Doug came over in record time and by the time I got to the hospital, I was already dilated to a SIX and contractions were becoming more and more unbearable. I am a firm believer in epidurals so this wasn't the best situation for me . . . as it was looking more and more unlikely that I would be able to get one working in time. I have really little veins and the nurses were having the hardest time hooking me up to an IV . . . but luckily, the anathesiologist came in, got the IV in, and them miraculously got an epidural in me that started working fairly immediately! Soon after I was at a TEN and the baby was ready to be born, but my doctor wasn't there yet . . . so we had to just hang out. All I can say is bless that epidural!


Our baby was 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 19 inches long. This is our biggest baby yet!




He was breathing a little fast and grunting soon after he was born, which means he had fluid in his lungs. He was taken to the NICU for a few hours to have oxygen pumped into his lungs. Now he is breathing just fine.



The name is still yet to be determined!

And What is Wrong with the $3 Valentines?

Absolutely nothing!  I love those Valentines . . . especially now.  Last year during February, I was looking through a magazine which described how to make the Valentines pictured above. They're cute, right?  So cute.  I thought to myself . . . what a fun tradition to have!  Mother and daughters making homemade Valentines every year . . . and they are so much cuter than the boxed ones the girls always want.  

So I set out to buy all the supplies and  candy to make these Valentines with my kids . . . thinking it would be so memorable and fun.  WHATEVER!  

The way it really went?  I spent HOURS cutting out hearts of paper AND vinyl.   I cut ribbon the right lengths so that when we were ready to make these things . . . the kids could just put them together.  The kids were happy to put maybe 3 of them together . . . and then they wanted to go and play.  I ended up making the rest . . . meaning enough for Abby's class + extras and enough for Halle's playgroup.  It took forever and they cost around $30.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely not.  They were VERY cute . . . but . . . come on.

So this year I decided I would not make any Valentines . . . and figured the kids would be just fine picking out their favorite box of Valentines.   I have to say I was very surprised at the beginning of the month, because Abby asked me when we would make Valentines.  When I told her my answer she retorted back that she WANTED to MAKE her Valentines.  I told her she could use the construction paper we already had and cut hearts out on her own if she wanted to.

  
She did make a few of her own . . . but then after a few days decided she wanted to buy Valentines.  Homemade ones are definitely more cute . . . but I don't think the kids really notice or care . . . Abby and Halle were still so excited about these Barbie Valentines.  Happy Valentine's Day!

28 Weeks

So . . . I guess I feel like a have grown a ton this last month.  My belly is huge!   Time is ticking and I am starting to get nervous!  I really like to sleep ALL night WITHOUT interruptions . . . so I am starting to fear the exhaustion.   Can I really go back to phase 1?  Last week we put the crib away and put Gwen in a toddler bed.  I don't want Gwen to feel like the baby took her bed. She is doing okay in it, but it is different.  We will probably move Gwen out of her room next month to make room for the baby . . . which means Abby and Halle will have different sleeping arrangements also.  I really don't do to well with change . . . sometimes I am amazed I am still alive and have not died of a heart attack . . . or an anxiety attack!