A chapter of my life closed tonight unexpectedly. I'm no longer working from home. I was completely blindsided and it was very unexpected.
It's no secret that I've had a sharp tongue in the past. It comes from years and years of having sharp tongues modeled for me. It's a product of being quick-witted. Growing up, I was the queen of getting the last word.
But it's not who I desire to be.
Here's a little of what the Bible says about it:
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. ~Proverbs 14:29
Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. ~Proverbs 16:32
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. ~Proverbs 12:18
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. ~ Proverbs 21:23
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue [is] the law of kindness ~Proverbs 31:26
I'm a work in progress. I'm not going to lie. There are times that my tongue (and flesh) wins. And oh boy... do I have to repent and then go right the wrong. But tonight, I handled myself with grace. All the Scriptures that I've poured over during my time of repenting, were running through my head as I formed my response. My time in the Word was fruitful.
I'm amazed at the growth. Still hurt and confused but amazed.
As far as the adoption... have no fear! When God called us to adopt again, He knew all this! And now we are on the edge of our seat, waiting to see the provision for our adoption unfold.
~Steph
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Spinning Plates...
WOW! I've been walking in quicksand this week! Brandon had a special training he had to attend this week, so he changed shifts. This changed his days off and had him going into the office more than 3 days a week. I was reminded why I love his three day a week schedule. It is ROUGH. (And I've only done 3 of the days, two more to go!)
Tuesday I spent time trying to find a family doctor. We would like to see a family practice that can treat ALL of us. Several offices only see patients over 2. That means we can all be seen except Solomon. Since we've not had any luck finding a pediatrician that we can tolerate, that wasn't going to fly.
I got desperate and called a pediatrician an hour away that came highly recommended. She isn't taking new patients.
And then I remembered that my homeschool email group had recently discussed docs. I found the message about a dad of 6, family practitioner, and his kids are homeschooled. So I called.. and he treats patients from newborn on up. I made two new patient appointments for the girls. We ALL need physicals for the homestudy. I hope his office works out!
The rest of the day was spent filling out homestudy paperwork.. I have an exploding file folder of documents that I've collected so that the social worker can verify the things we've put on the forms. I still have lots of blanks to fill out but I've done a ton. The TO DO LIST is still growing on my white board though.
Tuesday, we will go to the DMV to get a 5 year driving record. Not sure what exactly I need but when I tried the website it was $8 to look at it... and I wasn't sure if I could print it from there or not, so we'll just go pull a number and camp out.
I need to buy some money orders for some of our fees (CPS registry check for VA.) I have some papers that need notarized. Brandon has to write his autobiography. I cheated and found my old one and just added the last 2 years to it. (Ahhh the joys of being organized!)
Wednesday is our homestudy appt and then fingerprinting at the Virginia State Police Office.
Tuesday I spent time trying to find a family doctor. We would like to see a family practice that can treat ALL of us. Several offices only see patients over 2. That means we can all be seen except Solomon. Since we've not had any luck finding a pediatrician that we can tolerate, that wasn't going to fly.
I got desperate and called a pediatrician an hour away that came highly recommended. She isn't taking new patients.
And then I remembered that my homeschool email group had recently discussed docs. I found the message about a dad of 6, family practitioner, and his kids are homeschooled. So I called.. and he treats patients from newborn on up. I made two new patient appointments for the girls. We ALL need physicals for the homestudy. I hope his office works out!
The rest of the day was spent filling out homestudy paperwork.. I have an exploding file folder of documents that I've collected so that the social worker can verify the things we've put on the forms. I still have lots of blanks to fill out but I've done a ton. The TO DO LIST is still growing on my white board though.
Tuesday, we will go to the DMV to get a 5 year driving record. Not sure what exactly I need but when I tried the website it was $8 to look at it... and I wasn't sure if I could print it from there or not, so we'll just go pull a number and camp out.
I need to buy some money orders for some of our fees (CPS registry check for VA.) I have some papers that need notarized. Brandon has to write his autobiography. I cheated and found my old one and just added the last 2 years to it. (Ahhh the joys of being organized!)
Wednesday is our homestudy appt and then fingerprinting at the Virginia State Police Office.
For DeLainey's adoption, I have to have a paper notarized with both of our signatures which means bringing The Bunch to the bank. Maybe I can bribe them with lollipops!
Homeschooling: We've been done with the 2nd grade curriculum for a few weeks. We started 3rd grade and kindergarten since we intend to school year round. The only thing Lainey has left for this year is her standardized testing which I'll order when I get a moment to breathe.
Side Job: An amazing side job fell into my lap a few weeks ago. I do my work at night after the children are sleeping/naptime/etc. It's amazing and it is where our adoption fund is coming from. I had a HUGE assignment and it's taken me about a week to finish it. But as of tonight it is DONE!
House: I've ALSO been bitten by the nesting bug. I've done the nursery, the linen closet, the kids' closet, and the basket in the foyer. The nesting will get more furious as the date of our home visit portion of the homestudy comes closer.
The Name Discussion: It's always hard here. Brandon always has some story about the little boy in 3rd grade that picked his nose that had that name, or whatever. It's tough. We were one of thousands of Brandons and Stephanies in the 80's so we like things a bit different. We went back and forth and FINALLY found names. Stay tuned!
Shopping: I've been looking at carseats. Julianne's is about to expire and Solomon needs to move up... especially if we are going to use the carseat for our new wee one. We also will max out the seats in our van with a new addition.
Diet: We've cleaned up our eating ALOT in the last few weeks. It all started when I stopped drinking Pepsi/Sweet Tea. It's getting a little redundant so I really should sit down and write out all the meals that we eat now and so I have a cheat sheet.
Maybe when some of the plates slow down.
~Stephanie
Friday, February 18, 2011
Food Waste...
I've shared before that I really make it a priority to use up the leftovers we have. This hasn't always been the case. It hit me tonight as I was cooking dinner how much I've grown in this area.
You see, last Saturday we had another family over for dinner. The mom and I became fast friends through our MOMYS group and when they come to Richmond, I practically beg for them to come for dinner. The Dad of the family and Brandon get along great and so do our combined eight (soon to be nine because she is expecting in May!) children. It's a wonderful time of fellowship for us.
Anyhow, Brandon grilled chicken and I prepared corn on the cob and baked potatoes. We had cantaloupe for dessert. There was quite a bit leftover (no one leaves my house hungry!) and we had leftovers on Sunday, eating the remaining chicken and potatoes. We still had quite a bit of corn left.
The next day, I heated just enough corn to have as a vegetable side dish with our dinner. And we still had some corn left. I cut the corn off of the cob and froze it.
Thursday, I combined it with black beans, diced tomatoes and other seasonings and we had it over rice, with chicken breasts and greenbeans as well.
At the end of that meal we had rice and the black beans, diced tomatoes, corn leftover.
Tonight, I mixed the rice and the black bean mixture with another can of corn, ground beef, onions, seasonings, beef broth and more diced tomatoes and made a mexican soup. (I also used a small portion of frozen baked beans from the freezer. I mashed them to make the soup broth thicker..)
The rest of that soup will be eaten tomorrow for lunch.
In the past, I would have been sick of looking at corn and I would have wanted something else. At some point, I was convicted and felt that simply wanting something else and therefore wasting perfectly good food wasn't the best use of our God-given resources.
Here's the good news: You don't have to eat leftovers the same way you made them the first time! Sometimes we do.. we call it Leftover Buffet or Mismatched Meals and I let everyone pick a few things. Sometimes we have the leftovers for lunch.
Sometimes they turn into "do-overs" like a casserole or a soup.
But I've decided to be the best steward I can be of even the little things... like a few extra pieces of corn on the cob.
~Stephanie
You see, last Saturday we had another family over for dinner. The mom and I became fast friends through our MOMYS group and when they come to Richmond, I practically beg for them to come for dinner. The Dad of the family and Brandon get along great and so do our combined eight (soon to be nine because she is expecting in May!) children. It's a wonderful time of fellowship for us.
Anyhow, Brandon grilled chicken and I prepared corn on the cob and baked potatoes. We had cantaloupe for dessert. There was quite a bit leftover (no one leaves my house hungry!) and we had leftovers on Sunday, eating the remaining chicken and potatoes. We still had quite a bit of corn left.
The next day, I heated just enough corn to have as a vegetable side dish with our dinner. And we still had some corn left. I cut the corn off of the cob and froze it.
Thursday, I combined it with black beans, diced tomatoes and other seasonings and we had it over rice, with chicken breasts and greenbeans as well.
At the end of that meal we had rice and the black beans, diced tomatoes, corn leftover.
Tonight, I mixed the rice and the black bean mixture with another can of corn, ground beef, onions, seasonings, beef broth and more diced tomatoes and made a mexican soup. (I also used a small portion of frozen baked beans from the freezer. I mashed them to make the soup broth thicker..)
The rest of that soup will be eaten tomorrow for lunch.
In the past, I would have been sick of looking at corn and I would have wanted something else. At some point, I was convicted and felt that simply wanting something else and therefore wasting perfectly good food wasn't the best use of our God-given resources.
Here's the good news: You don't have to eat leftovers the same way you made them the first time! Sometimes we do.. we call it Leftover Buffet or Mismatched Meals and I let everyone pick a few things. Sometimes we have the leftovers for lunch.
Sometimes they turn into "do-overs" like a casserole or a soup.
But I've decided to be the best steward I can be of even the little things... like a few extra pieces of corn on the cob.
~Stephanie
Sunday, January 16, 2011
It's that time of year...
When most people plan resolutions and fall off the wagon quickly. A few years ago, Brandon and I decided that we really aren't resolution kind of folks. We decided that each year in December and January we'd reminisce, dream and then make (or update) long term goals.
We also project the budget out another year on our spreadsheet so that we stay 2 years ahead. Of course things change, but we like to see when our projected finances meet with our future goals.
For example, with another addition we'll max out our vehicle, so we have a goal to save for our next vehicle so that we are able to pay for it in cash.
We are also getting around to thinking about buying a house so a house down payment of 20% plus closing costs is a long term goal too.
It's been interesting to watch our spreadsheets and goals change. We've had to majorly edit a few things.... like our family-growing plans. We were actively trying to add to our family in 2007 and 2008, but that didn't happen via adoption or birth. I never had on any list to move to Virginia. In 2009, we were matched with Xander much more quickly than we ever dreamed. And right as we were gearing up to adopt again.. Solomon made his presence known via morning sickness.
I chuckle when I think of how things have worked out. Sure, I thought I had it all planned out in such an ideal way, but when I look around me and then look at my lists... God has planned our lives far better than we ever hoped or dreamed. I still continue to hope and plan, but in a much more relaxed way than I once did.
If only I could go back and tell that Stephanie that things were going to work out and that things would be far greater than she ever imagined...
We also project the budget out another year on our spreadsheet so that we stay 2 years ahead. Of course things change, but we like to see when our projected finances meet with our future goals.
For example, with another addition we'll max out our vehicle, so we have a goal to save for our next vehicle so that we are able to pay for it in cash.
We are also getting around to thinking about buying a house so a house down payment of 20% plus closing costs is a long term goal too.
It's been interesting to watch our spreadsheets and goals change. We've had to majorly edit a few things.... like our family-growing plans. We were actively trying to add to our family in 2007 and 2008, but that didn't happen via adoption or birth. I never had on any list to move to Virginia. In 2009, we were matched with Xander much more quickly than we ever dreamed. And right as we were gearing up to adopt again.. Solomon made his presence known via morning sickness.
I chuckle when I think of how things have worked out. Sure, I thought I had it all planned out in such an ideal way, but when I look around me and then look at my lists... God has planned our lives far better than we ever hoped or dreamed. I still continue to hope and plan, but in a much more relaxed way than I once did.
If only I could go back and tell that Stephanie that things were going to work out and that things would be far greater than she ever imagined...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Searching for Annalise
I've been quiet on the blog... things have been very fast paced around here. I'm not complaining when I say that, I'm stating the well... obvious! And I love every single second of it. All I've ever wanted to be since I was a little girl was a wife and mother. I can't imagine my life without Brandon and each one of my special blessings.
The call to adopt again has gotten stronger and stronger in my heart. I've read until I can quote facts and statistics. I've researched until the wee hours of the morning when I can barely hold my eyes open any longer. I've looked over photolists for waiting children so much that I can tell when they change the order or someone disappears. I can pick out the faces of children that are placed on the list as new additions. I've looked at several special needs and researched resources here in the Richmond area. We have amazing resources here!
Some nights I get a handful of hours of sleep before I get up to tend to the children we already have in our home. Some nights I'm laying in bed with my eyes closed but I never drift off... I pray for our Annalise often... now we just have to find her.
My dream last night had me so disoriented when I woke up. I had to walk through the house to check on the children.
In the dream, Brandon and I were walking down a long hallway. We could hear a little girl calling for us "Mama... Daddy?" over and over. Sometimes her voice was very loud and other times it was very muffled. Brandon and I walked down this corridor trying to open doors. Some doors opened easily, but our Annalise wasn't behind the door. Some of the doors opened and revealed another corridor with more doors. Some doors were locked. Still Annalise called to us. And we became more frantic the longer she called. We started running down the hall checking doors while we called out "Annalise!!! Talk to Mama and Daddy! Hang on, we are coming!"
I started crying out to God to show us where she was and finally the right door opened but the light was so bright we couldn't see her. And then I woke up, shaking and disturbed.
Brandon and I will continue to cry out to God, asking Him to show us where we can find our Annalise. In the meantime, we continue to save and earmark funds to bring our girlie home.
We are coming,
~Steph
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sickness and The Mouse
WOW! The month of October really got away from us.
It hasn't been a great month healthwise at the Bee House.
The last time I posted Xander was cutting teeth. This has been a continuous process. Those two are in and now he has more coming. He's had all the usual symptoms that accompany teeth: runny nose, fever, congestion, etc. It's getting old.. quickly!
Julianne has some mild coughing and congestion. I'm amazed at how mild this has been for her. She used to be my child that caught everything to an extreme-- especially if it was respiratory!
Lainey had a mild cough for a few days but quickly recovered. Once she got tubes as a baby for her multiple ear infections, her health really turned around and she has been very healthy since.
Julianne sneezed in Solomon's face as I was holding him. *sigh* It was one of those things I saw in slow motion but couldn't make stop! And now Solomon has a little cough. No fever, no congestion. Ahhhh.... the blessing of a breastfed baby! Solomon is also drooling pools worth of saliva requiring multiple shirt changes now as well. Guess what I found? Two little white knots on his lower gums. And he started chewing his hands like they were just the most delicious things ever!
Then, I came down with a headcold. Since I have no spleen, when I am hit with sickness I go down hard and fast! I went from sinus drainage down the back of my throat to barely being able to swallow and a fever in the matter of a couple hours. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Finally, the next day (on Sunday, doesn't it always happen that way?) I decided I needed to go to Patient First and found out I have a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am prone to sinus infections but I'm thankful that I haven't been very sick like this since I had my tonsilectomy in 2008!
So, if you are still with me after that laundry list of ailments, BRANDON is the only one that has been well for the month of October.
He also celebrated his 29th birthday this month! We managed to celebrate his birthday in between illnesses. (I'm very mindful about exposing others to germs since I have no spleen!) We went to Maggiano's and had a yummy family style dinner and I stopped at Frostings, a gourmet cupcake shop, and picked up a half a dozen. Brandon had 2 red velvet cupcakes, one with buttercream frosting and one with cream cheese frosting and the kids and I had American cupcakes (vanilla) with chocolate frosting.
Solomon did not enjoy any cupcakes during this celebration. Poor fellow.
Brandon and I have also been planning for Christmas. This has involved code words and late night chats because the children do not have any idea that we are....
FLYING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
We did not take a family vacation this year other than a brief visit to Augusta in September so we are combining our vacation budget and our Christmas budget to make this possible. I'm so excited. I'm the only one in our family that has been to Disney before but there have been alot of changes since I went in highschool with our band. (What year was that? My freshman year? So Spring of '99? Erika, you'll have to be my fact checker!) For example, Animal Kingdom wasn't there when we went and many rides have been added. More importantly, I'm excited to see the reaction that the children and my husband have.
Brandon and I have talked about a Disney trip for years. It's been postponed due to pregnancy, school, careers, babies being too little, our adoption, etc. We finally just decided to go. Hopefully we can go back in a few years so the boys will remember a trip.
We've also been plugging in at church. We are still attending the *tiny* church and we are finding it more and more comfortable each Sunday. (We've also missed quite a bit due to sickness this fall.) Our Sunday School class has an email group so we've been in touch and we continue to get to know the other members. Our church also recently changed the schedule. Now it is Sunday School, a fellowship time and then worship. They usually serve snacks and juice during the fellowship time and people intermingle. I've met quite a few people this way and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know people more in depth this way. I have a feeling we'll be talking about joining the church soon. It's starting to feel like home.
I have a few other events to post about, but this is getting long and the tribe is getting restless.
It hasn't been a great month healthwise at the Bee House.
The last time I posted Xander was cutting teeth. This has been a continuous process. Those two are in and now he has more coming. He's had all the usual symptoms that accompany teeth: runny nose, fever, congestion, etc. It's getting old.. quickly!
Julianne has some mild coughing and congestion. I'm amazed at how mild this has been for her. She used to be my child that caught everything to an extreme-- especially if it was respiratory!
Lainey had a mild cough for a few days but quickly recovered. Once she got tubes as a baby for her multiple ear infections, her health really turned around and she has been very healthy since.
Julianne sneezed in Solomon's face as I was holding him. *sigh* It was one of those things I saw in slow motion but couldn't make stop! And now Solomon has a little cough. No fever, no congestion. Ahhhh.... the blessing of a breastfed baby! Solomon is also drooling pools worth of saliva requiring multiple shirt changes now as well. Guess what I found? Two little white knots on his lower gums. And he started chewing his hands like they were just the most delicious things ever!
Then, I came down with a headcold. Since I have no spleen, when I am hit with sickness I go down hard and fast! I went from sinus drainage down the back of my throat to barely being able to swallow and a fever in the matter of a couple hours. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Finally, the next day (on Sunday, doesn't it always happen that way?) I decided I needed to go to Patient First and found out I have a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am prone to sinus infections but I'm thankful that I haven't been very sick like this since I had my tonsilectomy in 2008!
So, if you are still with me after that laundry list of ailments, BRANDON is the only one that has been well for the month of October.
He also celebrated his 29th birthday this month! We managed to celebrate his birthday in between illnesses. (I'm very mindful about exposing others to germs since I have no spleen!) We went to Maggiano's and had a yummy family style dinner and I stopped at Frostings, a gourmet cupcake shop, and picked up a half a dozen. Brandon had 2 red velvet cupcakes, one with buttercream frosting and one with cream cheese frosting and the kids and I had American cupcakes (vanilla) with chocolate frosting.
Solomon did not enjoy any cupcakes during this celebration. Poor fellow.
Brandon and I have also been planning for Christmas. This has involved code words and late night chats because the children do not have any idea that we are....
FLYING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
We did not take a family vacation this year other than a brief visit to Augusta in September so we are combining our vacation budget and our Christmas budget to make this possible. I'm so excited. I'm the only one in our family that has been to Disney before but there have been alot of changes since I went in highschool with our band. (What year was that? My freshman year? So Spring of '99? Erika, you'll have to be my fact checker!) For example, Animal Kingdom wasn't there when we went and many rides have been added. More importantly, I'm excited to see the reaction that the children and my husband have.
Brandon and I have talked about a Disney trip for years. It's been postponed due to pregnancy, school, careers, babies being too little, our adoption, etc. We finally just decided to go. Hopefully we can go back in a few years so the boys will remember a trip.
We've also been plugging in at church. We are still attending the *tiny* church and we are finding it more and more comfortable each Sunday. (We've also missed quite a bit due to sickness this fall.) Our Sunday School class has an email group so we've been in touch and we continue to get to know the other members. Our church also recently changed the schedule. Now it is Sunday School, a fellowship time and then worship. They usually serve snacks and juice during the fellowship time and people intermingle. I've met quite a few people this way and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know people more in depth this way. I have a feeling we'll be talking about joining the church soon. It's starting to feel like home.
I have a few other events to post about, but this is getting long and the tribe is getting restless.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday Savings
This morning, I did something I've never done before. I woke up, nursed Solomon, grabbed my list and Solomon and I went shopping alone.
The three older kids stayed home with Daddy.
I went to the bank and made a deposit through the ATM. Have you ever done that? It's amazing! I typically don't use "self scan" anything because I don't want to put people out of work. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, I did today. It's a huge deal to make a deposit into our checking account because I don't have any deposit slips. Since we started our account in Georgia, I need an out of state deposit slip. Of course, the teller never believes that I know what I need and insists they handed me the right one. I fill it out and hand it to them and then they say it won't work. I need an out of state slip. I look over both shoulders expecting Candid Cameras and there is nothing. I usually sigh heavily and fill out the next form.
So today I skipped all of those steps and deposited a check at the ATM. The receipt has an image of the check I put in on it. Brandon has done this before (to prevent the above mentioned scenario) and we've never had any issues before. I also withdrew cash for our envelopes.
Then, I drove to the consignment store. I noticed when I walked in that there were signs everywhere that they were having a sale. 60% off of all clothing sized 24 months and under. I quickly thought through the closet inventory I took and realized that the only thing I really needed was a coat for Solomon. As they were looking over the clothes and preparing the offer, I checked out my usual area. I found a coat for Solomon for $2.60. They offered me $34.77 and so my total net was $32.17. (This check will be deposited via the ATM too!)
I drove through the drive thru at the newly opened ChicFilA and used a coupon I had for a free 4 piece kids meal. Total cost $0.00
I drove to Martin's. I chose Martin's today because they sent me a fabulous coupon flyer this week. There were three coupons on it: A free $25 giftcard for having a new or transferred prescription filled and two $10 off a purchase of $50 or more coupons. Each of the $10/$50 coupons dated differently.
I walked straight back to the pharmacy and asked if they had the supplies for the prescription that was new to us. They checked and said they didn't. So I had them call another Martin's for me. They had what we needed at the other pharmacy. While I was waiting I spotted a clearance rack. I got two large bags of Kingsford charcoal for $5.24 each, a container of lighter fluid $1.85 and a bag of cat food for $.99. Total cost: $13.99
I drove to Martin's #2. Picked up the prescription and paid with our Flexible Spending Card and picked up my giftcard from the pharmacy and took my list to pick up the 14 things I planned to buy. My Subtotal was $54.31. Then the $10 off, then the giftcard. Final Cost: $19.55
At this point, I drove home and unloaded groceries. Then I nursed Solomon and laid him down for his nap.
Then I went shopping completely alone. *giggle*
I went to CVS and that was a bust.
Then I went to Walmart and made a small return and bought lunchmeat for Monday and Baby Vicks for our congested Xander. But they didn't have any nasal aspirators. Out of pocket: $0.00
On the way home I passed a Babies R Us/ Toys R Us. I ran in, got two nasal aspirators and a travel package of baby wipes. Used my $5 reward card. Out of pocket: 18 CENTS!
Not bad for about 5 hours total! And I walked in the door just in time for Solomon's next feeding!
~Stephanie
The three older kids stayed home with Daddy.
I went to the bank and made a deposit through the ATM. Have you ever done that? It's amazing! I typically don't use "self scan" anything because I don't want to put people out of work. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, I did today. It's a huge deal to make a deposit into our checking account because I don't have any deposit slips. Since we started our account in Georgia, I need an out of state deposit slip. Of course, the teller never believes that I know what I need and insists they handed me the right one. I fill it out and hand it to them and then they say it won't work. I need an out of state slip. I look over both shoulders expecting Candid Cameras and there is nothing. I usually sigh heavily and fill out the next form.
So today I skipped all of those steps and deposited a check at the ATM. The receipt has an image of the check I put in on it. Brandon has done this before (to prevent the above mentioned scenario) and we've never had any issues before. I also withdrew cash for our envelopes.
Then, I drove to the consignment store. I noticed when I walked in that there were signs everywhere that they were having a sale. 60% off of all clothing sized 24 months and under. I quickly thought through the closet inventory I took and realized that the only thing I really needed was a coat for Solomon. As they were looking over the clothes and preparing the offer, I checked out my usual area. I found a coat for Solomon for $2.60. They offered me $34.77 and so my total net was $32.17. (This check will be deposited via the ATM too!)
I drove through the drive thru at the newly opened ChicFilA and used a coupon I had for a free 4 piece kids meal. Total cost $0.00
I drove to Martin's. I chose Martin's today because they sent me a fabulous coupon flyer this week. There were three coupons on it: A free $25 giftcard for having a new or transferred prescription filled and two $10 off a purchase of $50 or more coupons. Each of the $10/$50 coupons dated differently.
I walked straight back to the pharmacy and asked if they had the supplies for the prescription that was new to us. They checked and said they didn't. So I had them call another Martin's for me. They had what we needed at the other pharmacy. While I was waiting I spotted a clearance rack. I got two large bags of Kingsford charcoal for $5.24 each, a container of lighter fluid $1.85 and a bag of cat food for $.99. Total cost: $13.99
I drove to Martin's #2. Picked up the prescription and paid with our Flexible Spending Card and picked up my giftcard from the pharmacy and took my list to pick up the 14 things I planned to buy. My Subtotal was $54.31. Then the $10 off, then the giftcard. Final Cost: $19.55
At this point, I drove home and unloaded groceries. Then I nursed Solomon and laid him down for his nap.
Then I went shopping completely alone. *giggle*
I went to CVS and that was a bust.
Then I went to Walmart and made a small return and bought lunchmeat for Monday and Baby Vicks for our congested Xander. But they didn't have any nasal aspirators. Out of pocket: $0.00
On the way home I passed a Babies R Us/ Toys R Us. I ran in, got two nasal aspirators and a travel package of baby wipes. Used my $5 reward card. Out of pocket: 18 CENTS!
Not bad for about 5 hours total! And I walked in the door just in time for Solomon's next feeding!
~Stephanie
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Looking for Fundraising Ideas...
Brandon and I have been discussing adding a #5 to the Bee Family! We were actually getting ready to update our homestudy to add #4 last October when I found out I was expecting. So little Solomon snuck in and became our fourth.
It looks like we can start the process again when Solomon is 6 months old. Hopefully, we'll be able to confirm that this week.
In the meantime, I'm looking for fundraising ideas. Any thoughts or suggestions?
A few ideas that we've come up with include using our tax return. Also, if Brandon does indeed get this promotion, we'd save his raise each paycheck. And we already save all our change and don't spend it...
I hope to have more information soon and be able to make an official announcement then.
~Steph
PS: Brandon's interview is at 12 noon tomorrow!
It looks like we can start the process again when Solomon is 6 months old. Hopefully, we'll be able to confirm that this week.
In the meantime, I'm looking for fundraising ideas. Any thoughts or suggestions?
A few ideas that we've come up with include using our tax return. Also, if Brandon does indeed get this promotion, we'd save his raise each paycheck. And we already save all our change and don't spend it...
I hope to have more information soon and be able to make an official announcement then.
~Steph
PS: Brandon's interview is at 12 noon tomorrow!
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