Chicago Art Institute Membership for $40

My friend Althea just let me know about this deal at groupon.com. I think they do Chicago coupons so I don't know a ton about it. But she is finding all kinds of fun night life kinda things in Chi town. Hmmmm, I'm going there real soon. Anyway, it is 64% off for a year membership at the Chicago Art Institute. Hoping this link works as it goes through facebook. Let me know.

Thursday's Table

Look what my friend Autumn got at Meijer and Target. She spent $42 and change out of pocket. Yay, her pantry and freezer are stocked. Way to go girl. Did you clean up at a store? Let us know.

Morningstar Coupons

Here is something for the vegetarian out there. I tried the Morningstar Garden Vegetable flavor since one of my myriad of nieces is a veggie. It was pretty good. So I might be heading over to check out the price at Target where they have a $2/2 coupon to use with the $1/1. If you have a Super Target, this will work out to a great discount. Thanks Money Saving Mom.

Chocolate Relief Friday is here

Click over here for a coupon for free chocolate candy from Mars. This is the Chocolate Relief Program that is going on until the end of September. Yum. You can do this four different weeks, so it may be time for you to try it again. Be watching the mailbox for your coupon and be watching your stores for Buy One Get One free chocolate by the check out.

Another Great Old Navy Coupon

Wow, I had so much fun at Old Navy clearance, that I went back with my niece. Wish I had this coupon for 30% off. But it is only good for 4 days through August 3rd. Oh, it is also good at Banana Republic and Gap stores or you could just shop online. Enjoy! Thanks Autumn and Gloria.

Coupon Coup

Well, I have been printing off a few coupons tonight. I haven't been doing this as much, because I still tend to let them expire. I usually do it when I have the sale to match them up with. But cereal we like is a definite exception. And since I loved all the free Kraft dressing last round, I liked this one too.

Honey Bunches of Oats with Pecan Bunches $2/1

$1.50 for Kraft Dressing or if you have Firefox (Basically, if the first doesn't print for you, try the second)

Thanks to Money Saving Madness.

$2.50 for Swimsuits

This is the time to buy for next summer! Clearance has begun in earnest to make room for all the school supplies. Last night our Old Navy had boys swim trunks marked at $4.99 and 50% off that. So my boys are all set for next summer. Sorry, I didn't see any girl suits, but I found a little something for Cents anyway. Don't forget the link for a coupon in the previous post about the Mall. We got 15% off the sale prices for our printing time and a free top and Christopher & Banks.

Tuesday's Table 7/28/09

My total bill for today was $48.59 and I saved $51.15. $19.64 of the savings was in coupons, and $31.51 was the sales I used them on. Half Buck went with me and thought I was a little crazy buying that much pasta and cereal. But with freezer cooking and cooking club and 7 to feed, I can use up food in a hurry around here. Plus he is my boy who wants cereal for a snack all the time.


Of course I always miss a bag of groceries somewhere when I do this. It is a mad rush with the kids to get it to the table, spread out and photoed and then to the fridge and freezer before Mite can do too much damage. When we finish that I turn around and find the bag I didn't know was missing. So you can't see my corn or my free Coffeemate Creamer - 3 of them free. I don't even drink coffee! But my boys have taken up the hobby especially when they have frou frou things to sweeten it up. So Half Buck and Buck may be enjoying a cup with The Prof today.



Obviously I went a little crazy on cereal. But I figure if you can get it for 99 cents(Honey Nut Cheerios) and $1.50 for Life, then you stock up! By the way, my goal on cereal is 10 cents an ounce or less. And for my trouble storing it I got 2 coupons for a Free Gallon of milk from General Mills. It seems they just wanted to thank me, well they are welcome. The other catalinas I scored (remember the print out at check out) were $1 off my next order for the Coffeemate Creamer,$2 off my next shopping trip and, $2 off 5 GM cereals (I had used 2 of those on my currant purchase). So that is a total or $9+ off future shopping : )

Off To the Mall

I was wondering if I would be able to line up another set of coupons for the mall again. I'm kinda itching to see what summer clearance sales will have. So here is a couple ideas I'm planning on.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Old Navy Clearance Event with 50% off. You can stop on over here and get a 15% off coupon to add to that. Just take the khakis on the right and put them on the boy in the blue sweater.

And here is a Christopher & Banks coupon for $10 off a $10 purchase. That can add up to free. You can also use this one on line.

I also got some 15% off coupons for Kohls as well. If you haven't yet, this is one of those few stores I have a credit card for. They give you several extra days of saving throughout the year and these have really paid off for me. I just pay off the card right when I check out to avoid an extra bill.

Wendy's Coupon

Click here to play a game and enter to win $10,000. And for playing you get a $1 off coupon the new Twisty Frosty to print.

Free Gretch Guitar Poster

I thought this poster looked pretty cool. I think I will be tucking it away for Christmas for Half Buck. He seems to be on a mission to help me avoid painting by covering every visible inch of the walls in his room.

The Lorax Tree

This was my favorite Dr. Suess book as a kid. Click over here for a free activity book of The Lorax Tree. It is recommended for 3rd to 7th grade. Standard shipping is free.

Backpack Ideas

Meijer has 40% of licenced backpacks this week. This would work out well if you need a pack for a little one. I might have to look for a princessy one for Cents. Just buy $10 worth of Kelloggs and the $10 should come off at the register.

Meijer Deals July 26 through August 1, 2009

$1.00 [$0.90] Betty Crocker Warm Delights
-$0.50/1 coupon (from 6-28 SS) or printables here, here, here, here and here

$1.00 [$0.90] Coffee-mate Flavored Creamers, 16 oz
-$0.50/1 coupon (from 6-28 RP)
BONUS: Buy 3 or more, get a $1.00 checkout coupon good on your next order!

$1.00 [$0.90] Chef Boyardee Cans or Microwave Bowls
-$1.00/1 printable coupon
$1/5 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here

$1.00 [$0.90] Hormel Sliced Pepperoni, 4.5 oz (deli dept)
-$0.75/1 coupon (from 6-21 SS)

$1.00 [$0.90] Dole Tropical Fruit, 15.25 oz can
-$1.00/3 coupon (from 7-19 SS)
BONUS: Buy 3 or more, get a $0.75 checkout coupon good on your next order!

Quaker chewy granola bars - 5/$10
- $1/2 from the 6/21/09 Red Plum insert
- $1/2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here

Select varieties of General Mills cereal - $1.99
- $0.55/1 Banana Nut Cheerios printable coupon here and here
- $1/2 from the 7/19/09 Smart Source insert

Bumble Bee chunk tuna - $1.00
- $1/2 printable coupon when you become a Bumble Bee facebook fan here

For more deals check out Macomb Money Saver or Cincinnati Cents. But remember, ads may differ in different regions and they double coupons in their area, so we don't get quite the savings you see on these sites.

Chocolate Relief

Okay, here is your chance again. Chocolate Relief is coming your way. Click here for your coupon for a free Mars product. Remember you can do this for up to 4 members of your household. And you can do it 4 different weeks. This is supposed to be going on until the end of September. Come on, you know you want some chocolate.

Tuesday's Table 7/22/09

I know, it's Wednesday. But it took me awhile to get my act together to try the backpack deal. Which didn't go as planned. Kelloggs was offering $10 off a backpack if you spent $10 on Kelloggs. Then Meijer was offering the second backpack for $1. Sooooo I was wanting $10 of the first and $13.99 off the second. But they took $10 off and then $3.99 off the same pack. I couldn't convince them to change it at customer service. I may try again at customer service or I may return them when I get a better deal elsewhere. The trick is I need 4 of them....hmmmm, the Staples deal is looking better and better. They are rebating the full price of any backpack this week for an instore credit.




Other than that, fruit was on great sales, everything I got was .99 a pound and the corn was 10/$2. I also blew it on the Pillsbury and Yoplait Products: I was supposed to by 10 items to get $5 off coupon, but I got $10 worth instead. Uhg. Oh well, there will be better days/deals. I did use my rain check on the Finish detergent and got 3 for .50. So I spent $47.34 and saved $57.17...not too bad. Did you find any good deals this week?

We All Scream For Ice Cream

Our week at the beach includes lots of Sherman's Ice Cream. We love it. We go to the soda bar down the beach. The soda bar used to be the Ice Cream Parlor I remember from my childhood complete with the wrought iron chairs and a huge painting behind the walls that was done by my Aunt and namesake. You see, my Grandparents used to own the Ice cream parlor!!!! Of course I thought this was pretty cool for old people when I was little. They have wonderful flavors like: Blue Moon, Peppermint, and Cotton Candy. Ice cream is just part of summer, so here are some coupons to help your summer along:

$1 off 2 Breyers here

Save $1 on any 3 individual 4 oz Haagen Daaz here

$1 off Klondike

Meijer Deals July 19-25, 2009

General Mills Catalina Deal:

**Buy any 10 items below, receive a $5 catalina good on your next order**

Chex cereal - $2.00
- $1/2 from the 6/14/09 or 7/19/09 Smart Source insert

Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mix or brownie bar - $2.00
- $0.75/2 from the 6/28/09 Smart Source insert

Bisquick baking mix - $2.00
- $0.60/1 from the 5/31/09 Smart Source insert
- $0.60/1 printable coupon here

Gold Medal flour (5-lb. bag or resealable bag) - $2.00

Betty Crocker Mini Warm Delights - $2.00
- $0.50/1 from the 6/28/09 Smart Source insert
- $0.50/1 printable coupon here

Betty Crocker angel food cake mix, sunkist lemon bar mix, or pound cake mix - $2.00

Bisquick buttermilk shake 'n pour - $2.00

Fiber One complete pancake mix - $2.00
- $0.60/1 from the 7/19/09 Smart Source insert

Yoplait Fiber One yogurt - $2.00
- $1/1 from the 7/12/09 Smart Source insert
- $1/1 printable coupon here

Yo-Plus yogurt - $2.00
- $1/1 from the 6/7/09 Smart Source insert
- $1/1 printable coupon here

Gogurt or Trix for Kids - $2.00
- $0.35/1 from the 7/12/09 Smart Source insert

Pillsbury cookie dough or simply cookies - $2.00
- $0.55/1 from the 7/12/09 Smart Source insert
- $1.25/1 Simply cookies printable coupon here

Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust - $2.00

Progresso light or reduced sodium soup - $2.00

Old El Paso dinner kits or salsa - $2.00

Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad - $2.00
- $0.40/1 printable coupon here and here

Pillsbury toaster strudels or scrambles - $2.00

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers - $2.00

Chex Mix - $2.00
- $0.50/1 printable coupon here

Cheerios Mix - $2.00
- $0.50/1 from the 6/14/09 Smart Source insert

Bugles or Gardetto's - $2.00

Remember you need to get 10 of any combination of these items to get the $5 off your next purchase to print out at the catalina at check out.

Meijer $10 Backpack promotion:

**Buy $10 worth of Kellogg's, Keebler, Sunshine, or Eggo products (in any combination), get $10 off any one backpack instantly at check-out. There is a limit of one offer per transaction. Plus, there is an additional promotion this week. Buy one backpack, get a second for only $1. But if you don't do it this week, this runs for a while, you can wait for a better sale on the food or the backpack you like. **

Here are some of the best coupon match-ups for this deal:

Kellogg's Special K cereal - $2.99
- $1/1 printable here
- $1/2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here

Special K cereal bars - 2/$5
- $1/2 from the 7/12/09 Red Plum insert
- $1/2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here

Keebler Chips Deluxe - 2/$5
- $0.55/1 printable coupon here
- $1/2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here

Keebler Fudge Shoppe cookies - 2/$5
- $1/1 printable coupon here


My thanks to Cincinnati Cents for the match ups. I have 4 backpacks needed this fall so I plan on doing this for 2backpacks this week and then watching for the sale on backpacks for the next couple. I've managed to get them for free this way in past years. I just choose $10 backpacks. I also will check out if I have enough coupons to use this to get my School for Fuel rebate of $10 plus $70 off a Dell computer. For this deal, you need 10 Kelloggs products on one reciept.

Cricut Trial Offer

If you are a scrapper or a stamper, you may be interested in this deal. Of course these refer to other addictions than my current one, but I am trying to make a scrapbook for each of my 5. I have been curious to try the Cricut cutter that everyone is so excited about. I know the folks at the crafting days at church I go to are sure excited about it. And their pages are beautiful. Here is an offer for a free trial for the CricutExpressions. You will get the Cricut Expressions Cutting Machine, 1 regular blade, 1 deep cutting blade, 1 Green Glade Housing, 1 How-to DVD, 2 Project DVD’s, 2 Over sized Sheets of Vinyl, 2 Transfer tape Sheets, 1 12″x12″ Cutting Mat, 1 Application Brush, 1 Potpourri Basket Cartridge, 1 Plantin School Book Cartridge, 1 Scraper tool, 1 Spatula Tool, 1 User Manual, and 1 set of Cricut Color Inks. Thanks to A Thrifty Mom.


Sister Mary 4 is an avid scrapper and sewer. In fact she has an Etsy store and a new blog over at Cricut Crafty Clare. You can see what she is up to with paper crafts as well as sewing. She sews the cutest covers and carriers for Cricuts. When I saw one, I thought, I want that bag. And, well, I don't even have a Cricut. If the Etsy store is closed, she should be home from vacation in a couple days and have it open again. She didn't want orders she couldn't fill.

Chocolate Day is Here Again

Click over here for a coupon for free chocolate candy from Mars. This is there Chocolate Relief Program that is going on until the end of September. Yum. You can do this for up to 4 members of your household and you can do it for different Fridays. Be watching the mailbox for your coupon and be watching your stores for Buy One Get One free chocolate by the check out.

Arby's Deal

If you are off to Arby's on Wednesday you can get a free Regual Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase on the 15th.

JULY
15 - Free Regular Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase
22 - Free Roast Burger with any soft drink purchase
29 - Free Iced FruiTea with any sandwich purchase

AUGUST
5 - Free Regular Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase
12 - Free Roast Chicken Club with any soft drink purchase
19 - Free Iced FruiTea with any sandwich purchase
26 - Free Regular Beef ‘n Cheddar with any soft drink purchase

I'm off to the beach!!! But you could and should check out here and here for the Meijer deals. They are both areas that double coupons, so the prices won't all match up. I figure time at the beach is worth some missed deals.

Total Money Makeover

I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey. I think he is one of the few people who hate debt more than I do. He has a radio program with financial advice on how to get yourself out of that really big hole. The Prof and I weren't in the hole, we just lived really near the edge of it for a number of years. Thanks to a seminar of his, we managed to stay out of it. Click on over here for a free membership coupon for a month to the Total Money Makeover website. And I would love you to leave a comment if this helps you. Thanks Money Saving Mom.

Walgreens 7/12 7/19 2009

Visit over here to look at the Walgreens deals for next week.

Kellogg's Fuel for School

The Kellogg's Fuel for School rebate is back again this year! Purchase 10 participating Kellogg's products between July 6, 2009 and September 30, 2009 and send in the rebate form and you'll receive a $10 rebate check plus a $70 coupon code from Dell.

The participating Kellogg's products are:

•any Kellogg's Cereal (10 oz. or larger)
•any Keebler or Austin Product (8 oz. or larger)
•any Sunshine Product (8 oz. or larger)
•any Eggo Product (4 ct. or larger)
•any Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar (8 ct. or larger)
•any Kellogg's Special K Cereal Bar (8 ct. or larger)
•any Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Toaster Pastries (8 ct. or larger)
•any Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats Squares (8 ct. or larger)
•any Kellogg's Fruit Flavored Snacks (6 ct. or larger)
•any MorningStar Farms Veggie Foods Product (5 oz. or larger)
•any 100 Calorie Right Bites (6 ct. or larger)

You can print your rebate form by logging into your Kellogg's account (or signing up for a new account) and then going here. Please note that all items must be purchased in the same transaction and you must send in the UPC symbols, the rebate form, and the original register receipt.

The past couple years Meijer had a deal for money off the purchase of a back pack when you bought a certain number of Kellogg's products. So be watching for that or other deals to use this with. With coupons, this could end up to be some stellar savings. There are Fuel for School booklets available at some stores full of the following coupons:

Save $2 on milk when you buy 2 Keebler Graham Crackers
Save $2 on milk when you buy 2 Keebler Cookies or Gripz products
Save $2 on fresh fruit when you buy 2 Eggos waffles
Save $2 on store brand coffee when you buy 2 Nutrigrain bars
Save $2 on 64oz Ocean Spray Juice or Craisins when you buy 2 Frosted Mini Wheats or Raisin Bran
Save $2 on store brand bread when you buy 2 Fruit Snacks or Yogos
Save $2 on milk when you buy 2 Right Bites
Save $2 on bread when you buy 2 packages of Rice Crispie Treats
Save $2 on store bottles water when you buy 1 Special K cereal and 1 protein product
Save $2 on (2) 2L or (1) 12pk Sprite or Sprite Zero when you buy 2 Cheez Its
Save $2 on fresh fruit when you buy 2 Keebler or Austin crackers
Save $2 on Dannon Danimals cups or smoothies when you buy 2 Corn Pops, Cocoa Krispies, Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes

There are also extra rebate forms for those that are having trouble w/ the online form.


Thanks again Money Saving Mom and My Frugal Adventures.

Coupon Coup

Wow, you can go here for over $16 in Pillsbury Coupons for cereal, yogurt, even some organic tomato paste. I love to print all the cereal coupons and then wait for a sale. And while I'm not quite as organic as Heidi over at 2 Thinks, I am using coupons to buy a lot healthier food. Thanks Money Saving Mom.

7-11 Slurpee

Stop by your 7-11 on 7-11 for a free slurpee. For other slurprises go to here on 7-11.

New Veggie Choices

If you didn't do this last time, you have a new choice. If you sign up for the Veggie Tales Email letter, you can get a free DVD. The choices are: Lessons from the Sock Drawer, Where's God When I'm Scared, and The Ballad of Little Joe. I'm going to move this time as they have a new one we don't have yet. There is a $2.99 shipping cost.

Coupon Coup

Just a few coupons I thought looked pretty promising.

For the health conscious:
Here is another Morningstar coupon.

$1 off Baked Lays by clicking on the floating $ sign.

$2 coupon for Pull Ups and $2 coupon for Goodnights.

Click over here for $55 worth of Nabisco coupons.

Meijer has begun the back to school sales already!! Wait, I still have a vacation, a reunion and swim lessons ahead of me. Anyway here are a couple of the deals available:

5 cent notebooks
19 cent Crayola crayons
19 cent Elmer's glue




Prices good til July 31
__________________

Fridays + Coupons = Chocolate

Okay, here is your chance again. Chocolate Relief is coming your way. Click here for your coupon for a free Mars product. Remember you can do this for up to 4 members of your household. And you can do it 4 different weeks. This is supposed to be going on until the end of September. Come on, you know you want some chocolate.

Okay, I just went over to get my chocolate and they don't open until 9:00 AM. So, you early birds desperate for chocolate will just have to wait like the rest of us.

Arby's Coupon

Here is a coupon for a free Arby's Roastburger with any size soft drink purchase through 7/12/09! One coupon per person. Thanks Money Saving Madness.

Baby Food Coupons

If you are in the season of baby food, here are some great Beech Nut coupons for you. They have some dates that won't expire too quickly and there is a total of $10.50 in coupons here. You should be able to print these off twice at each computer by using your back button or just going back to the link again. You can save the labels and use them to get more coupons here.

$1 on any 10 Jars of Beech-Nut® Baby Food
$2 on any 20 Jars of Beech-Nut Baby Food
$1 on any 8 Good Morning™ or Good Evening™ Stage 2® Jars
$1 on any Beech-Nut Let’s Grow! 7 Grain Nibbles
$1 on any Beech-Nut Let’s Grow! Yogurt Nibbles
$1 on any Beech-Nut Let’s Grow!™ Fruit Nibbles
$1 on any 2 Beech-Nut Cereals
$1 on any 6 DHA plus+™ Jars
75¢ on any Beech-Nut Juice Blend
75¢ on any Beech-Nut Let’s Grow!™ Biter Biscuits or Cookies

You can click here for Yo Baby coupon

And for a full Pediasure rebate check out this blog.

Thanks Money Saving Madness, Money Saving Mom, and Freebies 4 Mom.

GR Press

If you still take the daily paper....good for you for supporting a local business. My friend Rebecca tells me she enjoyed the coupon for $10 off $60 at Save A Lot this week. Let us know of any other great coupons in the daily paper and I will share them here. And if you become a Smart Shopper Club member with Save A Lot you will recieve a $5 off coupon in your email box. Thanks Rebecca.

Free Lipton Tea

I don't like coffee, I'm a tea drinker. Hope that isn't a deal breaker for anyone reading the blog. I know how loyal those coffee folk can be. So I loved this deal. Just call 1 -888-435-3639, enter your birth date, and say your name and address. They will send you a coupon for a Free box of Lipton tea through the Lipton SustainabiliTea Program. It should arrive in 6-8 weeks. Then we can have a little tea party.

Okay, since this deal came up with a tea party, I need to tell you about Cents yesterday. She was playing tea party with Mite and I even let them use water. I set them up across the table and all was really fine. When Cents had to go potty, she asked me to guard the full teapot. When I wasn't quick enough, she reminded me that "he's going for it." Sure enough, Mite headed immediately for the source of water. So I rescued it and returned to whatever I was doing. Within a minute there was a spill to clean up. So we cleaned and refilled before she was back and thought no one would be the wiser. Cents came back and knew immediately and came over to chastise me. "Mom, what is all this water I feel on the ground.?" So I told her "Mite just went for it."

I forgot

I did mention it was a busy week. I swear, I need to look at this blog so I remember to do some of these deal before they are gone. Click on over here to see what deals are going on at Walgreens this week.

Cheap Lunch Meat

Family Fare is running a sale on Michigan's Favorite Quincy Street Whole Medallion Boneless Ham for $1.29 a pound. I take this on over to the butcher and ask him to shave it all for sandwiches. Then I take it home and divide it into about a pound piles, wrap in wax paper and put in zip lock bags in the freezer.
Get all the air you can out of the freezer bags. Last time they had a sale I ended up with 8 bags of 1 pound wonderful ham for sandwiches for about $8! When I thaw a bag I squeeze out the excess water. My kids love this now. Now I would love to know what this saves you over what you used to pay for lunch meat : )



Oh, also on sale at Family Fare onr Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are 99 cent cantaloupe and Boneless Half Pork Loin for $1.49 a pound.

Arby's Deals

If you are off to Arby's on Wednesday you can get a free Regual Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase on the 15th.

JULY
15 - Free Regular Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase
22 - Free Roast Burger with any soft drink purchase
29 - Free Iced FruiTea with any sandwich purchase

AUGUST
5 - Free Regular Roast Beef with any soft drink purchase
12 - Free Roast Chicken Club with any soft drink purchase
19 - Free Iced FruiTea with any sandwich purchase
26 - Free Regular Beef ‘n Cheddar with any soft drink purchase

Coupon Coup

Here are some coupons on line I've found that I thought were pretty good deals.

You can register here for a $2 off Soy Milk.

School Supply sales are just around the corner. Print off some $1 off Bic coupons and see how you can stretch them at the sales. Thanks Money Saving Madness.

Free Magazine Subscriptions

A Forbes Magazine Subscription can be found here.

Here is a free magazine subscription to Muscle and Fitness.

Here is Business Week for free. Hmmm The Prof might like this one.


Golf Digest is free over here.

Or you could try Motor Trends, Psychology Today, or Tennis.

Be sure and use you junk email account so you aren't bothered by the spam. Basically open another email account that you can use for coupon and freebie sights on the Internet. Then you can try what you want without having your regular email account overwhelmed. My thanks to Coupon Cravings and My Frugal Adventure.

2009 Entertainment Book Free

My sisters like these coupon books, so I thought I would put this up for Sister Mary 7 and Sister Mary 2. If you haven't figured it out yet, I have 6 sisters and 4 bros. Were calling the bros Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; you can see what I'm calling the sisters : )

So basically, click here if you would like to buy the 2010 coupon book and get the 2009 edition free. You should be all set with lots of coupons after that.

Meijer Deals July 5 - 11, 2009

We have been pretty busy over here. I haven't had a chance to get some match ups together. We are just back from visiting The Prof's family this weekend and off to the beach next week : ) So click over here and here to see the sales at Meijer this week. Remember that both these sites list deals from a Meijer that doubles the coupons and we don't have that here.

Starbuck's Icecream

If you have a Facebook account you can sign up to share a coupon for a free pint of Starbucks icecream with a friend. You could even email yourself the coupon if you choose! This is going on through July 19 and there are up to 20,000 coupons per day. There should be enough icecream to go around : ) Click on over here for the deal. Thanks Money Saving Mom.

Red Box Code

I love the movies! Sure wish we had a big screen at home. These codes at Red Box can only be used once per credit or debit card. If you haven't noticed a Red Box in a store near you, click here to find out where one is. REDBOX FREE RENTAL CODE - July 5-7, 2009: 7HE79B

Thanks Macomb Money Saver.

Rainy Day Fun

This is our 4th day without wheels and our 2nd rainy day. Entertaining the 14 to 18 month old set can be tricky on days like today. If you are stumped today, here is Sister Mary 4's top five boredom busters: 1. Pearler beads (those plastic things you put on forms and melt with your iron), 2. button box (string them on elastic thread with girls and make letters with your boys), 3. baking, 4. stamping (my kids love my SU robot set), and 5. finally library day. Don't forget the books on CD for when the screen time has been used up.

We opted for baking. I figured at some point everyone in my house would be happy. So who knew that Buck would get in on the baking action. I am so glad, especially as this recipe calls for some by hand stirring. Two Bits got busy supervising while he did a couple of those math pages from school. Half Buck kept little Mite and Cents busy for some of the time. But of course, Mite had to come back for a couple visits, especially after he heard the word cookie. This is my favorite cookie recipe and it is that Mrs. Fields one with all the rumors about it. You know: someone supposedly asked how much they were paying for the recipe and was told $4 and then was charged $400 or something. So she shared it all around. Wonder what she could have done with it if she had a blog way back then. This recipe was one of the first to go into that brand spanking new recipe box with the cute little strawberry cards when I was a newlywed. Anyway, here is the recipe:

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies - Serves 2 chubbies (it says so, right on my card and then it has my best friend and my name on it). Cream together: 2 C butter, 2 C Sugar, 2 C brown sugar. Add 4 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together: 4 C flour, 5 C oatmeal, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda. Then mix both bowls together. By hand works best. Add 24 ounces of chocolate chips and 1 finely grated Hersey bar (optional) and 3 C chopped nuts (I use about a cup as I don't like nuts THAT much). Place golf ball sized cookies on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

Now you know that is waaaaay too many cookies for any two best friends. So here is what I do. I place several big spoonfuls on wax paper and roll them up. Then I put the wax paper rolls into a zip lock bag and freeze them. Now I can take out enough dough for a couple trays of warm, fresh baked cookies on another day. Then I bake up a whole mess of them. It is good thing I did because, Mite stole one off the tray before it went into the oven. Then he somehow got back to the cooling racks for two more! I'm telling you they are getting more rambunctious as we go on down the line. Here is my little thief.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Wow, check this out all my local friends: Celebration Cinema (including the cheap seats at Woodland Mall) has a Big Big Screen Movie Club. Fill out a form to become a member and get the card. Every 5th ticket you buy you can get a free popcorn, drink, or movie. For a limited time they are offering Sweet Tooth Mondays $1 for Raisinettes or Goobers, Double Token Tuesday (buy $5, get $5 free), Wacky Wednesday $1 popcorn, Thirsty Thursday BOGO on bottled drinks. My friend Autumn says you can only get credit for 2 tickets a day. So if you are taking the family, get a membership for you and your hubby.

Or if AMC is your movie theater chain they are offering AM movies for $4 to $6 a ticket depending on the area. Click over here for the details. Thanks My Frugal Adventures.

I shared this in an earlier post: Goodrich Quality Theaters is offering $1 movies this summer. There are 10 weeks of $1 movies in Holland and Grand Haven. There are some Illinois locations too. They are running from June 15Th to August 21st Monday through Friday at 10:30am. Here is the Kids Summer Movies.

As always, call first to make sure your theater is participating.

Baby Formula

I have been fortunate to nurse my babies. That being said, I worked hard to get it started with Buck back when everything was new and slightly terrifying (okay, really really terrifying when they send you home after 24 hours and the baby hasn't nursed successfully yet - were they total idiots or what?). And I nursed the last while it felt like he was taking everything good from me and leaving me feeling everyone of my years. As Half Buck said of me during the nursing and baby food stage: my Mom is always feeding the baby. But I do know it doesn't work out for everyone. So here is a couple things to help you along.

My friend Shauna passed along this recipe for making your own formula. She used it for all 5 of her kids. The recipe needs to be stored in the fridge and used up in 3 days (she says she never really had to throw it away).

1 Can Evaporated milk
20 ounces hot water
2 T sugar or corn syrup
1 dropperful of children's liquid vitamins

You might want to check with your pediatrician for an over the counter children's vitamin recommendation and the formula recipe you are using.

Enfamil is offering a certificate for a number of helps for nursing moms:
•A sample of Expecta® LIPIL® DHA Supplement for pregnant and nursing moms.
•An excerpt from The Nursing Mother's Companion, a useful guide with tips and suggestions.
•A sample of Enfamil LIPIL®, our closest formula to breast milk, should you choose to supplement.

Enfamil offers coupons that look like checks that you can use as well, so be sure and sign up for these. You can also go here to try Enfamil, Parents Choice, Sam's Members Mark, or Good Start with a backpack too. Thanks Money Saving Mom.

If you have a lower income, please consider WIC. WIC stands for Women, Infants, Children and according to there web page: WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. The nutritional risk is due to your income rather than what you are putting on the table. They can help you with formula, milk, cheese, high iron cereals, peanut butter. And I just heard they are adding fresh fruits this fall! This became a huge help to us when The Prof lost his job a number of years ago. Please believe me that with 5 kids, it is a challenge to get above those income lines : ) (Another reason coupons are my friends.) It is fairly easy to use now that they have a credit card to use at check out and more and more can be done online. If you have any questions about it, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Free Chocolate

Yep, you read that right. Mars is running a Chocolate Relief campaign until the end of September. I just got my coupon for a free singe pack of one m&m, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, 3 Musketeer, or Dove Bar. But here is what I didn't know, you can apply for up to 4 per household each week for up to 4 weeks. That is 16 free candies. And of course I have seen those occasional Buy one Get one sales on chocolate! That is some Real Chocolate Relief! Thanks to The Coupon Project for the info on the number of times you could get this coupon.