User List - Girls - Dracodrake | Nameberry.com

User List - Girls - Dracodrake | Nameberry.com

Older & Wiser

So...Watching 16 & Pregnant on hulu, ( My 1st mistake..I know.) & the girl gets asked by her friend, " Are you going to have a natural birth?" She responds, " Would you? I can't even stand a papercut." Giggles erupt.. Ugh. I hate the term natural birth-all birth is natural. It's vaginal &c-sec, medicated & unmedicated, assisted & homebirth, etc.. Gah. I've had 3 hospital births, 2 unmedicated-not even Tylenol. While it'd be great if every mom could experience unmedicated birth , I really appreciated my epidural on the 3rd go & in fact wonder what the big deal on shaming moms who get one is. It was awesome. Granted I'm 20 yrs older now & arthritic, so having the pain relief was amazing. :) Also-really hate that the show trivialized even trying for unmedicated. I cheered last week when the teenaged mom breastfed. Later in the episode, formula was being made, so not sure if she supplemented or wasn't supported in breastfeeding(always sad & unfortunately too common), but good on her for trying! I gave birth to my first child 2 weeks before my 19th birthday. I am an only child of a single mom whose extended family lived across the country, so I didn't have any real knowledge of how to birth. I gave birth unmedicated & managed to breastfeed for 12 months. I was told that milk lost its benefits at a year. it sounds so ridiculous now, but wikipedia wasn't around then. :) I mabaged 15 months with number 2-He self weaned then, & my baby turns 17 months tomorrow & we're still going strong. He loves the boobies & his relationship with them & me. It's a little odd to be considered a different entity from your breasts, but sweet nonetheless. My older kids did it too-would pat, stroke, kiss the boobie, but be mad at mama & give me mean looks. Funny, I have one about to be a junior in high school, one graduating in a week, & one that tugs enthusiastically on my shirt & gets upset if he sees me latch my bra. Somewhere in there, there's a fantastic observation on life.

Great freebies from Vocalpoint

If you haven't signed up with Vocalpoint, you should! They give you lots of free samples & great high-value coupons. Next week they're doing a promotion for Del Monte Fruit Naturals in juice, not syrup. That means you'll be able to score some free most likely. I love being a Vocalpoint member. just copy & paste the link into your browser to register & then check back here on Tuesday to get the exclusive savings code.
vocalpoint.com/registration/screener.aspx


Here's the savings link:
vocalpoint.com/FruitNaturalsCoupon

Labor Day Marsh Haul

Marsh again tripled coupons to 99 cents this weekend. Tomorrow's the last day they're doing it. So, quickly-here's what I got: (No pic this time as I split it between 2 trips)
6 4 packs Hunts pudding
3 bags PB & Choc Bugles
6 boxes Quaker chewy granola bars
1 Clif Mojo bar
2 jars Mt. Olive dill relish
2 cans Dole pineapple juice
2 jars Planters pb
6 lbs Domino sugar
1 sm box Bisquick
1 jar Barilla sauce
4 bottles Kraft dressing
1 can Red Gold tomatoes w/ chiles
2 lg bottles Heinz ketchup
2 bottles French's honey mustard
1 gallon milk
4 cans Dole tropical fruit salad
2 bags Rhodes frozen rolls
1 box Honey Nut Cheerios
2 boxes Totinos pizza rolls
2 32 oz Yoplait yogurt
1 4 pack Yoplait original
1 pack Yoplait parfait cups
1 Gerber toddler meals
1 bag Chipotle Chex Mix
4 cups Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt
2 cups Yoplait Greek yogurt
2 bags Temptations cat treats
1 sm bottle original Dawn
2 2 packs Gum Crayola toothbrushes
1 Gum toothbrush
1 sm bottle Tabasco
2 50 oz Era
1 Choreboy scouring pad
1 Suave deodorant
2 packs Sargento sliced cheese
Total before coupons: $193.03
Total after coupons: $53.03
Close to 75% savings!!!!

Meijer Haul

This is a few days late-we've been pretty busy this week. The boys had an old friend come over for the weekend & they went back to school this week. Felix is practically crawling, & spent 4-5 days rocking back & forth before learning the army crawl tonight. No cats are safe now. :) Amongst all the business, we managed to get a bit of shopping done. We shopped Meijer's special Saturday sale. We didn't get as much as we could have, because we had to run to Greenwood to pick up some stuff my mother-in-law bought off Craigslist & Joel had to work that afternoon, so we were pretty rushed. Here's what we managed to get though:

2 lbs local green beans

1 pkg Smart Deli fake lunch meat

1 box cornstarch

6 nectarines

1 lb tofu

3 lbs apples

4 tubes Nivea lip balm

1 lb sour cream

2 lbs Oscar Mayer lunchmeat ( for Joel)

1 cucumber

8 oz portabellas

5 bags Meijer brand chips

4 bottles Lysol all-purpose cleaner

4 bottles Lysol toilet cleaner

1 lg tub organic salad greens

1 bottle hoisin

2 gallons milk

3 sm tubs margarine

2 lbs sliced Kraft cheese

1 lb Philly cream cheese

2 containers Activia yogurt

6 bottles Suave shampoo

2 4 pks parfait yogurts

1 bunch green onions

3 coloured bell peppers

1 local cantaloupe

1 lb hummus

4 Suave deodorants

1 other produce item I can't remember

Total spent: $85

Total saved:$86

Right around 50%-not as great as my other hauls lately, but not too shabby, especially considering there were several stockpile items. I was able to pass on some of my stockpile items this week to my oldest son's girlfriend who just got her first apartment & enrolled in college. It didn't even leave much of a dent to help her out, which is pretty cool.

Triple Coupons at Marsh

Marsh is tripling coupons today & tomorrow. There's a limit of 2 identical coupons for 2 identical items & they triple up to 99¢. A lot of great deals out there to be had. Here's our Marsh haul:

Included herein aside from Gwen the kitten-
2 loaves Sara Lee wheat bread
2 Yoplait Greek yogurts,
2 4 pks Yoplait
2 4 pks Yoplait parfaits
2 bags peanut M&Ms
2 8 pks Keebler cracker sandwiches
2 sm boxes Bisquick
2 boxes Betty Crocker cake mix
2 tubs BC frosting
2 jars Smuckers jelly
4 boxes Nature Valley granola bars
3 boxes GM cereal
2 boxes Nature Valley granola thins
12 rolls Angel Soft toilet paper
8 rolls Paseo paper towels
1 half gallon Silk coconut milk
2 bunches collards
1 tub Land o Lakes cinnamon butter
1 tub Helluva Good sour cream dip
2 boxes Cheese Nips
2 boxes Triscuits
2 Degree deodorants
2 St. Ives body washes
1 box Barilla pasta
2 French's dijon mustard
2 Dial handsoaps
1 Philadelphia cooking cream
2 bags Yoplait frozen smoothie fruits
4 boxes Totinos pizza rolls
3 boxes Toaster Strudels ( I haven't bought them in years-so terrible for you-but I'll let the teens eat them once in a while for the price I paid.)
All of this rang up to around $171. I paid $57. I saved $114 on this trip, for a 67% savings! I love to save at least 65%. It's such a great feeling getting so much stuff for so little. Even my husband gets into it, happily searching for coupons online & anticipating how much we save. I don't bother using a calculator; he's great at math & does complex problems in his head. I love going grocery shopping with him. Tomorrow, Meijer is having a special Saturday sale I'm hitting up. I'll report back then with pictures.

Best Haul Yet!

Went to Meijer & took advantage of the weekend BOGO sales, along with a great deal featuring Kelloggs products. They gave you $10 off 3 packs of Fruit of the Loom, meaning I got all 3 packs for $2 total. :) This was my best haul yet. I spent $55 & saved $83! The rundown:
14 boxes General Mills cereal
4 boxes Post cereal
1 dozen eggs
3 packs Fruit of the Loom tube socks
6 boxes Nature valley granola bars
2 boxes Snackwell bars
1 bottle apple cider vinegar
3 regular sized jars Skippy peanut butter
4 boxes Keebler cookies
3 botttles Wishbone dressing
12 rolls Quilted Northern toilet paper
2 boxes fruit snacks
1 lb raw blanched almonds

Kitten was not included as a premium...definitely didn't get a new CATalina! ....ba-dum-bum! rimshot! :)