Nursery Projects

After the initial shock of baby #5 news wore off, we had to start thinking about how we were going to handle the sleeping situation in our house. Right now, Ethan has his own room, Morgan has hers, and Hannah and Bella share a room. We decided to put the 3 older girls in the larger room and change Morgan's room to Emma Kate's nursery.

Next was the furniture. We had sold Ethan's crib just months before we found out (along with all of the other baby stuff!) so we had to figure out what we wanted. I also wanted to keep the shabby chic look I have going in Morgan's room, for 1)I don't want to paint again and 2)I really love the blue color. I searched store after store, Baby's R Us, Baby Depot, JC Penny, and online and I just wasn't finding what I was looking for.

So I started searching resell shops. Then I found it! A dresser with a mirror, chest, and crib.

You wanna know what I paid for it all??

Dresser, Mirror, Chest: $90 Crib: $25

WOW! What a steal! Add the cost of paint and I got it all for 1/2 of the cost of a crib!

Ok, will show you some pictures of it right now, but you REALLY have to use your imagination! The previous owners painted the furniture black and red crackle. OH IT IS HORRIBLE!!! The crib is yellow right now, not too bad just worn. Like I said...

Imagine the possiblities...

Dresser:

I am going to use this as the changing station by adding a changing pad to the top

Mirror:

Chest:

As you see, it needs paint, hardware, and lots of TLC

Here is the crib:

Very Shabby Chic. Now on to the bedding...I will keep you updated! Be sure to check out my May To Do List to the left. Lots of projects planned for Emma Kate's nursery and the older girls' room. Lets see how much I get completed in May. I am almost 20 weeks. It's all downhill from there! September 19 will be here before I know it! I can feel the clock ticking...

Quick Monday Deals

I ran into Target today on my lunch break looking for a few things and I came across these great deals!

Huggies Clean Team Flushable wipes: $1.99 on sale
$3.00 Off on 2 Coupon from here

$1.99 x 2 - $3.00 = $.98 or $.49 each

I printed two coupons out the other day so I don't think there is a limit on these. (let me know if that's wrong) I may try to do this again before they go off sale.

O-Cell-O Expressions Sponges: $.98 on sale and $1.14 on sale
$1.00 Off from here EXPIRES 4/30/08

$.98 + $.98 + $1.14 - $3.00 = $.10

Too bad they only had 2 of the $.98 ones left at my Target! I could have gotten three for free plus a $.03 overage! BTW, when you go to print the coupons, you can enter in the number you want to print and they will all print on 1 page.

Other deals: I found two rugs (a red one for the foyer and a pink one I am going to use in Emma Kate's room) marked down to $.98! There were alot of things marked down, but I have to tell myself not to buy it just because it's on sale!

Today's Spending: $4.02 for 2 rugs, 4 boxes of wipes, and 3 sponges

CVS Sunday Deals

After clipping coupons, going through the sunday paper, and of course checking out Money Saving Mom, I decided to get out (in the rain) and make a trip to CVS. I don't think I did too bad on my 2nd time at this! Check out everything I got! Well, worth the trip to me!

Transaction #1: Essence of Beauty(EOB) Money Maker-Buy 3, Get $5 in ECB's

Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49 (rang up B1G1 50% off)
$2.00 ECB used

$.50 OOP
$5.00 ECB Earned

Transaction #2

Softsoap Body Wash: $5.49
Toe Divider: $.99
$1.00 Off Coupon from here
$5.00 ECB from Transaction #1

$.51 OOP
$5.49 ECB Earned

Transaction #3

Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divder: $.49
Men's 24/7 Deodorant: $3.99
$5.49 ECB from Transaction #2
$1.00 Off Coupon from here for 24/7

$.49 OOP
$8.99 ECB Earned ($5 from EOB and $3.99 from Deodorant)

Transaction #4

Bic Soleil Razor: $5.99
Bic Soleil Refills: $5.99
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
Toe Divider: $.99
Toe Divider: $.49
$2.00 Coupon on Bic from here (printed twice)
$2.00 Coupon on Bic
$8.99 ECB from Transaction #3

$2.09 OOP
$16 ECB Earned ($10 from EOB, $3 from Bic Razor, $3 from Bic Refills)

Transaction #5 (I was able to get NEEDED items in this one)

Clorox Bleach: $.99
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Softsoap: $.97
Colgate MaxFresh: $1.97
Palmolive: $1.59
Palmolive: B1G1 Free (1.59)
All Detergent: $6.49
All Detergent: B1G1 Free (6.49)
Men's Speedstick: 3.29
Lady's Speedstick: B1G1 Free (3.29)
L'Oreal Vive Pro Conditioner: $4.99
L'Oreal Studio Style Gel: B1G1 Free (4.99)
Tostitos Scoops: $3.79
Tostitos Salsa: B1G1 Free (3.29)
CVS GelCaps Pain Relief: $3.99
$.55 Coupon Tostitos (old coupon from paper)
$.75 Coupon Colgate (4/20 or 4/27 paper, can't remember)
$1.00 Coupon L'Oreal Vive Pro (4/27 paper)
$1.00 Coupon L'Oreal Studio (4/27 paper)
$1.00 Coupon All Detergent (4/20 or 4/27 paper, can't remember)
$1.00 Coupon Lady's Speedstick from here
$3.00 CVS Coupon from here
$16.00 ECB from Transaction #4

$3.91 OOP
$3.99 ECB Earned from Pain Relief

WHEW!!! The cashier didn't seem too happy with having to ring up 5 transactions, but OH WELL!! I spent $7.50 Total OOP for all transactions and earned $3.99 ECB to use for next time!!

All of the items would have been $94.96 and I only paid $7.50! That is crazy! Seriously you have to try this!!!

BTW, I have NO idea what I am going to do with all of the Toe Dividers :) But, hey, I ended up making $10.12!

Frugal Friday

With the cost of fuel increasing rather than decreasing, we have had no choice but to lower costs in other areas. Rather than it be getting my nails done or hair done (which are the first things many websites say cut out first) I have decided to try to cut grocery expenses. For the last month I have been reading this blog and have gotten SO many tips on coupon clipping, ad watching, and CVS. More on CVS later, let's start with coupons and ads. And to add, the lady that writes Money Saving Mom spends only $35-40/week on groceries. OMG!! Last month we averaged $150 grocery trips at Wal-Mart A WEEK!!

There are TONS of sites to find coupons to print, not to mention the ones in the Sunday paper. Don't forget to ask friends, family or neighbors for theirs if they don't clip 'em. Now I will be the first to say there can be alot of coupons in the paper that you don't use, but I clip every one of them. You never know when you will come across something on sale and want to try it or someone you know could use it. Oh, and it seems to me that 2-4 weeks after the coupon comes out, you will start seeing it on sale. Now this may not be everytime, but I am just using coupons that I clipped from the 3/30 paper.

The next thing I did was find an organizer (happened to come across one in the Target $1 aisle). I organzied it in sections that would be easy to follow in the store.

Last but not least, the weekly ads for grocery stores come out in the Wednesday papers and the sales will run through the next Tuesday. CVS, Rite-Aid, Target, Etc. comes out on Sundays.

One vow I have made to myself is not to shop at Wal-Mart. I know, you are probably thinking what I did...Wal-Mart matches any stores prices. Right? But, how many of you can honestly say you were able to walk out of Wal-Mart without buying something that you didn't go into the store to get? I know I can never do it! So I have decided to not do grocery shopping at Wal-Mart UNLESS I know its cheaper and I have a coupon for something.

Kroger has been my store for the past month. There have been so many 10/$10 deals and I have been able to stock up on frozen veggies, canned veggies, cereals, and so much more!

So you wanna know how I did this month? I have not spent more than $100/week. Usually before coupons and Kroger sales, my totals have been about what we normally spend, $150. It's such a great feeling to watch that total steadily decrease when the cashier scans your Kroger card and coupons!!

My best week yet was this past week. I only spent $85!! Now I am nowhere near money saving mom, but I am getting there!

And the 2nd best thing about shopping at Kroger? For every $1 you spend, you get 1 point towards gas purchases. Earn 100 points and you will get $.10 off per gallon!!!

CVS 101:

(I am still learning CVS shopping and still have so much more to learn!!)

I have been researching CVS shopping through money saving mom and have learned that this is the best place to buy shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and so on. From the paper you can find deals and which items will generate ECB's (Extra Care Bucks) that you can use towards future purchases. For more info on learning the CVS game, read here. It can seem complicated at first, but once you get it down, you can save LOTS of money!

I made my first trip tonight and this is what I came out with:

1st purchase:

2 Colgate 360 toothbrushes: $3.99 each and $3.99 ECB each
Total OOP (Out of Pocket): $8.54
Total ECB: $ 7.98

2nd purchase:

2 Airwick Oils refills: $2.99 each and Coupon for free plugin (.99 value) with purchase:
Herbal Essance Shampoo/Conditioner: $3.99 each and B1G1 Free and $3 off 2 Coupon
2 Oral B Power Toothbrushes: $5.99 each and $1 ECB each and 2/$1 off Coupons
2 Crest Toothpastes: $1.88 each and $1 off 2 Coupon
$7.98 ECB from 1st purchase
$2 ECB from old purchase during winter season
$3 off $15 purchase (this printed out when I bought milk a couple of weeks ago)
$4 off $20 purchase (signed up online to receive ads via email)
Total OOP: $2.92
Total ECB: $2.00

So I basically got about $45 worth of stuff for only $12!!! And we wont have to buy toothbrushes for the rest of the year! And maybe toothpaste too! Along with air fresheners that smell so good!! PLUS I got $2 in ECB to use next time!!! This bargain shopping is so much fun!!! You should try it!! Good Luck! Let me know how you do!

Prayers Needed

Please add the Ginn Family to your prayer list. I grew up with this family and this is just a horrible thing that has happened. Mr. Ginn has not been seen since April 14 in Raymond/Clinton. He had open heart surgery on April 3. Mr. Ginn is the bank manager at Bank Plus, so the FBI was brought in to assist local police. His wife Regina and children, Matt, Marcus, and Marianne need all the prayers possible.

From the Clarion Ledger:

Missing Man's Family Makes New Plea


The family of a missing Raymond man is speaking out.

Mark Ginn, 52, has been missing since April 14. Family members made an appeal at the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Jackson on Monday to ask anyone with information on Ginn's whereabouts to contact the sheriff's department.

Ginn's wife Regina said she's especially concerned about her husband's welfare because he had open heart surgery on April 3.

Sheriff Malcolm McMillin refused to answer any questions about the ongoing investigation. He also said he knew nothing about reports that Ginn was last seen in Clinton driving his 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee. He said Ginn was last seen at Ginn's home in Raymond.

Family members say they're just hoping the Hinds County School Board member returns home safely.

A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can locate Ginn or his SUV.

Baby Update 18 weeks

I haven't been doing well with blogging lately! I have been meaning to update everyone on the baby, but I have been sick and extremely busy, not to mention TIRED all the time!! We did find out the sex...I will make you wait til the end so keep reading...Boy or Girl???? What do you think??? Here is a picture of me this week. Maybe you can guess from the way I am carrying...
Any idea? What's your guess???

So, wanna know what we have been up to? T-Ball and Softball...2-3 nights a week we are at the fields with the girls. They both are doing so well this year! It's so fun to watch Hannah keep up with all the boys (she's the only girl on her team!) We have about a month left so I'm sure May will go by just as fast as this month has! I can't believe April is almost over. This pregnancy has seemed to go by so fast...I am almost half way there!

Back to the baby...here are a few pictures from the sonogram we had two weeks ago.

More Young Family news: I am going back to school!!! What!!?? That's probably what you are thinking. That was Alan's first reaction! I really have been thinking since I left my job at the apartments about what I really want to be when I "grow up" so to speak, and I came to the conclusion that I want to give back, really do something meaningful each and every day, and I have decided to go to nursing school. Well, back to it so to speak (I made it through 1 semester and ended up withdrawing in 2002.) I wasn't quite ready. Or maybe He had other plans for me at that time, I'm not really sure. I do know that this is where I am being led right now and I couldn't be happier! Of course I am going to have to work around the baby since I am due in September, but I will start on June 2 with an 8 week summer class of Human A & P I and lab. (I have to retake it because it has been over 5 years). Then College Algebra and Sociology the first 8 weeks of the Fall and Human A & P II and lab the last 8 weeks of the Fall. Which puts me at starting nursing school in the Spring! If I get accepted!! Hopefully I won't have anything to worry about!

Ok, enough with me, on to the baby right??!! Drumroll.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Another girl!! Poor Ethan! And Alan! We are very excited to be welcoming another child into our family! We have also decided on a name...

Emma Katherine, Emma Kate for short

So, the Young Family children will be:

Morgan Olivia, Anabella Corrine, Hannah Elise, Ethan Taylor, and Emma Katherine

Whew...did I miss anyone?! Hahaha! The kids are so excited it's a girl! They all agreed (me included!) we couldn't handle another Ethan!

Well...more updates to comes as the due date approaches!!