Super Spring Savings

Today, just for kicks, I came home and added up how much money I saved on groceries by using coupons and price matching. This week I saved $17.06! I've only calculated my savings a few times, but on average I tend to save about $20 a week. Sure, $20 a week isn't that much, but with 52 weeks in a year, the savings comes out to $1040 for the year. I think that pretty good. Anyone else have any other ways they save money on groceries?

My Great Garage Sale Getaway

this morning, I got to spend a few hours garage saling (without the kiddos), and I hit the JACKPOT. I came home with 2 trashbags full of stuff! The items value at roughly $500.30 and I only spent $30 for all of it! My estimates show that I saved over 80% off the retail prices. My purchases included kids clothes, a Halloween costume for Ava, 2 portable kids chairs, games, books, DVD's/CD's, a comforter for JG's big boy bed, and much more.

My top deals:
Lands' End twin comforter retail: $109.50 GGP (great garage sale price): $5
Leap Pad with 6 books/cartridges retail: $144 GGP: $6
2 portable kids chairs retail: $40 GGP: $1 (for both chairs!)
FeltKids Interactive Book: retail: $24.99 GGP: $0.50

My cheapest items were $0.25 and my most expensive one was $6.

I had such a great time... Any one want to join me for my next garage sale getaway? Trips are available most Saturday mornings (weather permitting) and departure times vary between 7:45-8am.

Sippy Cup replacement parts

I saved this post from cheapskatemama.com and thought it would be a great resource for all my mama friends. I copied her page exactly and posted it here for safe keeping. I knew I'd been saving all my random sippy cup parts for something! (and it's green!)

From cheapskatemama.com:
Here's where you can pick up replacement parts for your bottles and sippies.

If you can get free shipping, you'll really be saving money:
Playtex:Playtex Bottle Replacement PartsPlaytex Cup Replacement Parts (spouts, valves, straws, etc.)
Gerber:Gerber Bottle NipplesGerber Replacement Valvesalso, 1-800-4-Gerber
Avent:Avent Bottle NipplesAvent non-spill cup parts
Born Free:Trainer SpoutsTrainer spouts, handles, drinking cup spouts
Dr. Brown:Bottle Parts: KidSurplus, Babies R Us, Drugstore.com, other locationsTraining Cup Replacement Valves
Foogo (Sippies and Straw Bottles):Thermos Customer Service: 1-800-831-9242
Kleen Kanteen:Kleen Kanteen Replacement SpoutsMore Kleen Kanteen Accessories & Replacement Parts
Munchkin:Replacement StrawsReplacement Valves
Nuby:Nuby Replacement SpoutsMore Nuby Parts
Sigg:Sigg Sippy Replacement Top
The First Years Take & Toss Cups:Replacement lidsWhen all else fails, check eBay for replacement parts.



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JG gets creative

Tonight when I was playing with JG, he gave great names to 2 of his little people. He named the Chinese man with mustache, Nini, and the Hispanic man, Mano. Awhile back his named his stuffed white bear Wooly and his brown one Woody. Pretty cute to see what names a 2 year old can come up with...

Do your kids have any silly names for their animals/people?

No Easter Cake

So, tonight at 10pm, I started baking the cake I'm suppose to bring for Easter lunch tomorrow. I made this wonderful 3 layer sour cream almond white cake with homeade buttercream frosting for another family party a few months ago and it turned out great! Everyone loved it and that means a LOT coming from a family of chocolate lovers. Tonight, however, things didn't go so well. I made the recipe as stated and poured the huge amount of batter into three 9in. cake pans and put them in the oven. About 20 minutes later, I smell something burning and peek in the oven to find 2 of the 3 cakes have overflowed all over the bottom of the oven. Hmm, why did this happen you ask? I forgot to 1/2 the recipe.... I put enough batter for six 9in. cakes into only 3 pans.

So this morals of the story:
read directions over and over
turn on brain when baking a cake
don't wait upntil 10pm to bake special Easter cake

and the list goes on and on...

Do you think we'll survive Easter without a cake? I hope so, because I'm not going back to the store at 11:30pm to start over. (I don't think there was a cake at the first Easter anyway). Oh-- and anyone have any suggestions for what I should do with enough butter cream frosting to paint a small house?

New Speech Technology

I thought all of my speech friends would be interested in this new technology for people with neurological disorders.

Demonstration of a voiceless cell phone call at TI's Developer's Conference this year (click the 2nd video at the bottom)
http://www.ti.com/tidc08multimedia

The company that is developing this:
http://www.theaudeo.com/

Pre-spring Fun

My friends Christy and her daugther Katherine took us to the Arboretum on Friday for some pre-spring fun. JG and Katherine had fun running around and holding hands while Christy and I tried to catch a few moments for a meaningful chat. We didn't get a chance to talk very deeply, but it was fun trying. Thanks for a great time Christy, and the great pic of my kiddos!