Triple Clicks

Monday, September 17, 2018

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning September/October

Ok so here we go, another month. 

Baby came August 26th, so little Elijah was 2 1/2 weeks old when we went.. and he wasn't a fan at all of this grocery shopping stuff.  But he didn't do too bad for being so tiny.  

We were able to reuse some recipes since we had freezer meals, plus we also have a church preaching conference in October that will put us in the city for basically 3 straight days..  We might be making a trip back to Aldi for some snacks and things to bake with to help with potlucks during the conference... We'll see what they need vs what I have.  

I do have some diet challenges for me we need to figure out.  Elijah is having issues with dairy and tomato ( well.. one or the other), so I have to quit both of those for a week or two.. That gets the majority through my system and his system.. If you eat a lot of dairy, it can take at least 3 weeks to get it through, then another 3 for the baby...  But since I've been cutting back since July for dairy, it's not that bad. So..  I bought some extra sandwich meat and when we have  a meal that has cheese I'll eat a sandwich and salad instead.  

So.  The meal plan.  

Pizza (Hawaiian, cheese, pepperoni, chicken alfredo)
Tator Tot Casserole (this will be in the form of freezer meals for Sundays)
Pork loin and veggies
Garlic Knot Pizza
Breaded Tilapia and veggies (we found a coupon for fish breading)
Simple Mexican chicken and rice
Pineapple Chicken Tenders, peppers and pineapple
Chicken Fajitas
Teriyaki chicken and potatoes

For breakfasts we have eggs, bacon, cereal, cinnamon rolls, monkey bread, country hash, omelets..  The bigger meals we do on Dennis' typical days off (Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday).  Sunday is our cinnamon roll/monkey bread day with omelet.   

Lunches we'll have leftovers, peanut butter jelly, chicken sandwiches with avocado, cucumbers and fruit.   

Simple things, but filling.  

So our shopping went pretty awesome.   We reused some of the meals from last month, so that helped the budget a bit..  Although we did get some treats based on coupons we found... so how much it helped the budget?.. lol  It's good to  get treats sometimes, though.   We were also able to cash in a gift card through the Walmart Savings Catcher-which gave us $10, though we had to use the phone to pay which made receipt scanning a little interesting for the apps.. 


Sam's.. We spent $292.81, saving $14 on the instant savings.  
Aldi.. we spent $211.93, we did grab a new pizza stone ($10). 
Walmart.. we spent $170, we did some extra from coupons.. candy bars mostly.. And grabbed some baby items.  We saved $9.50 with the coupons..   

So in total we spent $676.74.  That's about $170 a week for 3 meals and a snack for the week for 6 people...  But that number also includes household.


Have a good week!

~Tabitha


Monday, August 13, 2018

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning August-September

It's August!  How can it be August already?  We are anxiously awaiting baby... Whose decided that teasing mommy with practice contractions is the way to go.. Hannah must have been coaching it.  I'm utterly exhausted today.  

I do have some freezer meals in the freezer just sitting and waiting..  This month I'm sticking with easy meals that I can just put together and then put in the oven..  Hubby is planning on cooking eggs and bacon the first few days, so we're getting the precooked bacon he can just throw in the toaster oven for a few minutes... or I can just throw in when I'm up and around.   

So the meal plans for breakfast really isn't changing that much.. Still eggs, bacon, yogurt, cereal, juice...  Coffee of course.  Sundays we'll do cinnamon rolls or monkey bread with omelets or scrambled eggs.  Saturdays we'll do waffles and eggs. Wednesday is cowboy hash.  We are buying a case of pop tarts for something to go with eggs when baby comes. 

Other than when the baby comes, we don't have any special meals planned except for a potluck with our church on labor day.. I have a dessert planned. 

Dennis is switching up his work lunches.. He's going to try chicken sandwiches instead of salads for a month, along with a pickle, nutty bar and avocados are cheap right now so we're doing avocado with some salt and some lemon juice. 

Our lunches are pretty much the same.. Pizza pockets, peanut butter and honey, peanut butter and jelly and mac & cheese.  I eat leftovers most of the time.  

Wednesdays will either be leftovers or chicken strips and homemade fries. 

Saturdays we're doing hamburgers, hot dogs and fries or potatoes on the grill. .. Both of these are easy meals also if we need something easy for right after baby comes.  

Sundays we have pita bread sandwiches and our homemade snack mix... It was pretty good last time, we'll see what we find at Aldi this time.  

As for the other meals... 

Pizza (Hawaiian, cheese, pepperoni and chicken alfredo)
Hawaiian Fajitas 
Bacon Parmesan Garlic chicken and Potatoes 
Pork Loin and potatoes and broccoli
Taco Bowls 
Chicken Parmesan Bake (freezer meal!) 
Teriyaki chicken and fries
Tator Tot Casserole
Caprese Chicken
Pork chops and evggies
Simple Mexican Chicken and rice
Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Casserole (freezer meal!)
Mexican Lasagna (freezer meal)
Five Spice Tilapia and Rice
Pineapple Chicken tenders with grilled pineapple and peppers 

The chicken parmesan bake, cheesy chicken casserole and mexican lasagna all have shredded chicken.. And I found chicken in the bottom of the freezer-so that's being used up that way.   I finally figured out how to premake the pizzas so I can have them in the freezer and ready to go...  So I'm working on those as I get the chance.  Hoping to have 3-4 of at least pepperoni, hawaaian and cheese in the freezer by the end of the week. But we'll see how that goes.   

We are also trying shopping a different way this month-as long as baby isn't here anyway...  For one, instead of having my shopping list by store, I'm going to have it by department (chip, produce, meat, dairy, baking etc)..  We're starting at Aldi instead of Sam's and we're going to get what we can at Aldi, then move on to Sam's and Walmart.. I'll have a list of prices for things at Sam's and Walmart to make sure we are getting a good deal..  We've been noticing a lot that when go to Aldi, they have some things for cheaper than what we can get at Sam's... But we've already bought it at Sam's....  


So... Shopping that way saved us money.. We started at Aldi where I was able to get pork chops and ground beef for half the price per pound of Sam's or Walmart. Filled in at Sam's and finished at Walmart..    

At Aldi we picked up a few extras. They had kids' tennis shoes for $10-$15, but the only one with small enough feet was Hannah... We have her next size up,  Paw Patrol tennis shoes for $13, I can handle that price!!!  We had coupons for fruit roll ups and fruit snacks, but they were at Aldi and cheaper than with a coupon so we grabbed them there.  The kids will love the treat. We also grabbed a 15 lb bag of charcoal for 5, I had priced it at $15 at Walmart. Oh, they also had hamburger and hot dog buns for $.75 a package!  That's a win!!  Total on food was $193.98, then $20.42 with the non food...  Making a total of $214.40. I figured $220, so we saved $5.60

Sam's it didn't seem like we got as much-but most everything is about $10 an item because it's bulk.  The only extra we grabbed was meatballs... It's not always a guarantee they have Italian meatballs in the frozen section and they make really good meatball subs..  So now, because I have leftover hoagie rolls from last month, we either have some easy lunches for when baby comes, or we have them for the next few months.. One bag lasts us about 6 Saturdays of lunches (8-9 subs with 5 meatballs each).  Food was 295.64, non food was 33.22.. making a total of $328.86. I figured $380, so we saved $51.14. 

Walmart we grabbed a few extras again along with supper..  So let's see if I can decipher the receipt.   Dennis and I grabbed a couple smoothies (Bolthouse Farms), we also had to round out the last of our snack mix for Sundays as Aldi didn't have the coconut clusters this month.  He found a coupon for candy bars and decided that would be a nice treat for everybody, so we grabbed some of those.  Walking down the isle he saw one of those kindergarten workbooks they always have..  Grace is working through her lessons very quickly, so we grabbed one of those for when she's done with what I have.  So.. Food was 140.85, non food was 23.53.. Making for a total of $163.38.
I figured $145, we went over by $18.38 (supper is usually not figured into groceries which is around $13 for 7 of us with grandma and our smoothies we picked up). 

So we spent $706.64 this month, from my guess price we saved $32.76... No, not much saved, but a little.  I'm just resigned that's the new normal.  We did go back to Aldi on Sunday and grabbed a much needed step ladder for the kitchen.. Now I can actually use all of my kitchen cupboards. It was $18, and came with a 3 year warranty.   So just on food we spent $630.47.  Now I know some of that will be carried over into next month.. because I am doing some freezer meals (doubling recipes that I'm making and putting one in the freezer) and ladies at church are helping with some freezer meals for after baby.  But I'm not counting those extra freezer meals into my meal plan, I'll just make a list of what meals we don't use and I have either those meals, or those ingredients to make different meals.   

So.. $630.47 for 5 weeks.. That's $126 for 3 meals+1 snack (ish.. lol) a week or $105 a person a week.   

A feature on the price tags at the stores I'm really loving is the price per unit they have already figured for you.  It's great to have that math already done when comparing brands especially with 4 kids in tow.  Having my list, I was quickly able to know that while the price of laundry soap per ounce was actually the same at Sam's vs Walmart, the container is bigger at Sam's, so we don't have to buy it as often.   I was also surprised to find out that about a lot of things we buy, the price per unit was within a few pennies of each other, but containers are bigger at Sam's.  

I think that's all I have for this post.  (Hannah is currently throwing a fit because I gave her almond milk in a big girl cup-it's the end of the world. lol) 

Have a great week! 

~Tabitha

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Preparing for a Home Birth Getting Ready for Baby 2018!


I'm getting closer to having baby.  So it's time to set things up. 

We are having baby at home, so instead of packing a hospital bag, I put everything I need into the baby's bed.  In this case, it's our playpen with the bassinet in it.   I tuck a crib sheet around the "mattress" part of the play pen..  Downstairs we have the bassinet, so I can move baby around with me into the kitchen if needed.  




Miscellaneous birthing supplies...  Sometimes it's just the little things you have to think about that you don't think about if you're in a hospital-because the nurses take care of it.  On the left, we have new scissors for cutting the umbilical cord, a few plastic table cloths to help protect the mattress (dollar store!), along with a few extra sheets ready to throw on the bed to make quick bed changes after wards...  When I go into labor, I'll do a few double layers on top of our clean sheet..  Chux pads, sheet, tablecloth.. Then when one layer is soiled, all we have to do (ok.. all hubby has to do) is strip off a layer and throw what's washable in the laundry and what's disposable in a trash bag and the bed is all ready for me to lay back down on.   I'll only need a few layers to change every few hours or so right after baby comes.  Not in this pile is a container and a baggie for the placenta along with the cord tie..  It's up there now, but I forgot that when I took pictures.  In the next pile is a whole bunch of chux pads.   Just another layer of protection.   And last (but not least).  A package of depends.  Don't laugh.  I didn't have these when I had Hannah... I have them this time and it will help so much..  that and I'm told these are more comfortable than those mesh panties and huge pads that are the norm. (don't mind the hangars on the bed, the girls were cleaning their room...) Also not in any of my pictures is towels. Those are easy access in the bathroom so not in with the rest of the birthing supplies.







A few more miscellany..  Shepherd's Purse tincture and all purpose nipple ointment.  The shepherd's purse is a just in case measure.  You take it right after the placenta delivers to help prevent any hemorrhaging.  The APNO..  I was introduced to this stuff when I had Andrew.  This bottle is leftover from when I had Eva.  SO much better than just lasinoh-especially when you have issues, but it's really expensive and you need a compound pharmacy. 




A few more miscellany..  The blanket I made, and a lighter blanket made by a lady at church. 





Everything is all organized so it's easy to get to.  I have the diapers and clothes in the baby's dresser just across the room.. but for the first few hours at least, it's best to be skin to skin with no clothes.. We'll lay a prefold or flatfold diaper around baby's bottom and a shirt or blanket over both of us for warmth and privacy as the kids meet baby.  But that's it.  Skin to skin is so beneficial for momma and baby.   It helps regulate baby's blood sugar and body temperature and gets the hormones going that are needed for milk production.  Also missing out of this that I have added today are my nursing night gowns.  A friend purchased them from GVS and I have been wearing them, but I want to make sure they are clean, so since we are getting close, they went in the bassinet as did my nursing pillow when I pulled the bassinet out of storage. 

When I had everything packed in, I covered the top with another crib sheet to keep out curious hands and keep everything clean for baby.  Last night the dog managed to pull the top sheet off, drag it downstairs, and cover it in pizza sauce from the one crust Hannah gave her. :/  Because. Life happens. lol 






A few more baby items.   These are not for our baby, but for a friend and for a cousin.  I knew if I didn't get them done before our baby came, they wouldn't get done at all-even though these two special ladies are due a few months after us.   A blanket, burp clothes (triple layered fleece) and some precious little booties.  




So we are all set up for baby.. We just wait on baby to make it's appearance. 

Check out my other posts on getting ready for baby. 
Cloth Diapers
Quilt Making


Have a great week! 

~Tabitha

Thursday, August 2, 2018

It's Time for School!

For a few years now, we've been starting school in July when it's so hot out they can't go outside...  We usually get done about April, so I can deal with this schedule.  


I put off my school organizing waaaaayyy too long this year. So here's the rundown..  Andrew is going into 2nd grade.  He tested awesomely when we did the placement tests to switch him over to ACE Paces.  Eva is going into 1st grade with Abeka.  Grace is still having fun with another round of preschool.  Hannah is along for the ride, I'm still hoping to get some ABC toys for her that only come out during school.. but we'll see.  

So let's start at the top.   

We found an awesome church home and family last fall.   It's such a blessing to have a church to call home.  I must admit I'm still getting used to having like-minded moms I can physically talk with.  So much of my mom interaction has been online for so long, I've almost forgotten how to act.   Anyway, the church has it's own school... As much as I love having the kids home and teaching them myself, I would LOVE to  be able to send them to the church for school.  I would still be a big part in their schooling as parents go in and help out at least once a week.   But for now, it's not possible... So we decided to start the kids on the curriculum they use, which for now (they use a variety in older grades)is ACE.   

We had looked at ACE when we first committed to using a set program.  But it was too expensive.  Thanks to the Lord we can afford it now.  We're getting the books through the church every quarter.. For the base curriculum it was $25.20 for the first quarter.   So unless we go with electives, we're looking at about $100 for Andrew for the year.  

I'm still figuring everything out, but it seems like it will be mostly little to no planning for me (WOOHOO), and it also looks like he'll love it.  The work pages are about what he was doing per day last year, the reading (so far) is  A LOT LESS, although we have been told it's a lot of reading-so we may be in for a suprise in the next set of books.  I will definitely be doing a blog post-and maybe even a vlog on ACE after the baby comes..  We're 3 weeks into school now and he's starting to finish up some paces..  We're loving it.. Most everything is review, but the math he is already getting into some new things..  But I can deal with the review while we're getting used to the new curriculum and review is never a bad thing. 

When we had talked with the pastor who heads the school, we had wanted to start both Eva and Andrew in ACE...  After considerations on the cost, we decided to just leave Eva with Abeka since we have everything.  So that's what we did.  You can see that book haul from last year here.  I am doing more phonics with Eva than I did with Andrew last year because the reading just hasn't "clicked" with her yet.  But that's ok, she'll get it.   

I also ordered the next level of cursive books from Abeka for Andrew and Eva and the Letters and Sounds 1 Test book that I forgot last year. That order was $50.  ($150-$170 for a whole school year for 3 kids' curriculum!!)  

For Grace's school, I had all the papers (or files saved on my computer), I just had to copy and organize. I also realized I need to reorganize the folder I keep those in.. because..it's a mess.. 

So I've been organizing and copying as much as my swollen feet can stand it for the first 2 weeks of July.  I still need to figure out how I'm going to keep grades this year.. I didn't like how I did it with Andrew last year and I have no idea how I'm supposed to do it with ACE-but I have at least until he gets done with the first set of books and help is at church.   I'm sure Dennis can help me figure out something on a spreadsheet if I can find something close to what I'm thinking.   For now, I just have everything in my notebook..  Sort of like a homemade bullet style journal.  I have calendar pages (which isn't working out that great... I need something bigger for next year), and grading pages.  I am going to get together with the second grade teacher at church to make sure I'm grading and recording grades correctly.  

So we're started school Monday, July 16th.  I spent about an hour going through Andrew and Eva's to get the first few weeks planned out.  I really want to get a few weeks under my belt before baby comes.  I know from last year the more we get into the school year, the faster the planning will go.  Grace just does one lesson a day (one letter a week).  


Eva's planning.. My bullet style planner (which I already know WON'T WORK).. And of course the doll photo bomb...because... kids.

Andrew's planning.  Those are homemade goal cards... We make a plan for each subject for them to get done by the end of the week... Pretty sure I'm doing this right... Something to ask about.  I also have the same lesson plan in my book. Andrew gets the goal cards in his stuff.




So yeah, week 3 into our school year and I think we have a good routine down.  It still only takes us about 2 hours, after baby comes and we get back into school we might increase work a little bit, but we'll see how things go.  For now, at least, we are taking things slow and getting into the routine.  

Have a great week!! 

~Tabitha

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning for July/August

I've come to dread this time of the month... Making sure we stay under budget while also making sure everybody is fed is hard.  

Right now I'm also trying to balance getting all the baby sewing done, getting some furniture rearranged before baby comes, getting school stuff ready.. Add in all the regular household chores and having to rest.. There's not enough hours in the day.  Thankfully the grocery list is something I can do while resting.  

We aren't doing too many new meals this month..  Just felt like I needed a break from the new.. We're still working on trying some freezer meals out so I can have some things in the freezer...  Even if we don't use them until after Dennis goes back work, it will be a good tool to have in the freezer.  As for the breakfasts, I've decided we're just going to grab a box of premade breakfast sandwiches, a package of precooked bacon, and a box of poptarts..  As for suppers we are seriously considering ordering a week's worth of from Blue Apron or something like that..  

So, onto the meal plan...  Breakfast is the usual...  eggs, bacon, yogurt, cereal, juice, almond milk, coffee of course..  We added cinnamon monkey bread to the mix this month, it was REALLY yummy so definitely keeping that around.  

For Dennis' work lunches he's sticking with the salads.. Avocados are cheap right now, so we're mixing up the boiled eggs with some avocados instead.  
For our lunches the kids are requesting mac and cheese... I've been doing sort of a meatless goulash (noodles and spaghetti sauce), I'm going to see if Sam's has the cheese sauce in bulk... Not the best, I know, but I just want something easy-and they don't like my homemade mac and cheese.   I also did some homemade hot pockets that went over great, I didn't have enough cheese to make more than one batch, so we're getting more cheese this month and I'll make enough to throw some in the freezer.   Chicken strips and fries, leftovers, meatball subs (mini hoagie rolls, Italian meatballs, mozarella cheese and spaghetti sauce).  Sundays we're sticking with our pita sandwiches, but we'll probably end up doing a different meat this month just for some variety.  Also, instead of chips we're going to buy some of our favorite snacks and make a homemade snack mix along with something sweet (case of individual cookie snack bags or something from Dollar Tree).  

For the kids' snacks, I'm hoping to get some goldfish while they are on sale at Sam's.. They also really like the homemade trail mix I did with peanuts, raisins and m&ms.  Mix that up with fruit and we'll be good to go.

Dinners..  We decided to add in a few casseroles this month.  I'm still working on getting the freezer pizzas figured out (the middle doesn't like getting done).. I was told to mummify them in seran wrap before freezing.. So we're going to try that.. If that doesn't work, then I definitely thawing before baking should do the trick.. 

So.. 
Tator Tot Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Chicken Parmesan Bake
Shrimp and Kielbasa
Hamburgers and hot dogs 
Dorita Taco Salad
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Five Spice Tilapia and Fried Rice
Smithfield pork loin with potatoes and broccoli
Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches and fries
Homemade Pizza-Hawaiian, cheese, pepperoni, pepperoni and veggies
Honey Mustard Chicken Avocado Salad
BLT Salad
Pineapple Chicken Tenders with peppers and pineapple
Chicken and Veggie Baked Egg Rolls (also a freezer meal)
Caprese Chicken
Simple Mexican Chicken with yellow rice


Well... Post Grocery shopping.  We're worn out, van has a flat tire in a town where the town shuts down for the weekend at noon.  Thankfully it kept air in it enough to get us home.  

So..Sam's.. We didn't find the meatballs for meatball subs, so Saturdays might get interesting.  We are making a homemade trail mix for Sundays to go with our sandwiches, so we grabbed some m&ms from Sam's.  We spent $292.86 at Sam's. 

Dollar Tree.  We didn't need too much at Dollar Tree, but stocked up on what we did need.  Spent $25.56. 

Walmart.  That's always the one that seems to put us over.  We had a ton of cereal coupons, so the kids got to pick some cereal out, we also got some poptarts-which I'm debating if we should wait until baby comes, or just have a treat and eat them.  We spent $207.90

Aldi.  Aldi usually helps us out a little here.. BUT.. we found a few deals we couldn't pass up.  They had a 10 pack of kid's underwear for $10, and a 3 pack of activity books for $2.49.. So we grabbed though.  We also grabbed most of the ingredients for our trail mix from Aldi.  Banana chips, sesame chips, raisins, peanuts, and a few versions of granola.  We spent $175.64

So in all we spent $701.96.  


What was I saying the bacon saving us money?  I do expect the homemade trail mix  to last us more than one month... And we will get some extra meals for the freezer out of this month for when baby comes.   So that will help in the long run, too.  


Have a great week! 

~Tabitha

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Grocery Saving Apps for Your Android

I know I've mentioned we are trying out some grocery saving apps... I didn't want to share them until I knew how they worked... So now that we're getting to know them, how to use them and have even cashed out on a few of them- here is me sharing. 

I'm also going to share a referral code for those apps that have it, if you want to put it in, then that helps us out.   If you don't want to, then don't.  Most of the apps we went through and found a goal we wanted to work for-usually an Amazon gift card.  My husband has a spreadsheet on his computer for his survey sites and the money saving apps.  We have also found out that we have to look for coupons FIRST online, then go into the savings apps and "clip" the digital coupons, or we can't print off the online coupons.  


IBotta 
This one is one I've heard about from many different bloggers..  Now while it does have a few generic "carton of eggs", "gallon of milk" ".25 off grocery receipt".. Most of Ibotta is very brand and very store specific.   So we don't get much out of it, but we are getting some.  For Ibotta there is a $20 threshold to reach to cash out.  You go through the app and find whatever you have on your list for each store, then "clip" the coupon.. Once you get home from the store, you have to scan the receipt and sometimes the bar code-that depends on the item I'm finding. Just like the paper coupons, it really depends on what's loaded on as to what you find. It does have more than groceries, but we only use it for groceries because that's all we ever buy lol. If you want to use my referral code and try it out the code is "gwwaqep". After 3 months, we have $8.60 on the app.  Now, if you can get to $10 in the first 4 weeks, you get $10 from the company (apparently), we didn't get there..so I can't confirm that, but that's what it says when you sign up. 

SavingStar
This one is even more brand specific.  Although we are seeing a lot of offers that are basically "buy 2 of your choice from Kelloggs (or another brand) get so much back".  Instead of a specific item, although it has those too.  This one I sometimes leave until after we are done, then go through and load the offers.  I've had to scan the barcode on the box and the receipt for proof of purchase. In 3 months we've earned $.82. LOL You need $20 to cash out. 

Receipt Hog
This app you can load almost any receipt into and get something..  I do everything BUT gas receipts.. it will tell you if it can't give you anything.  You do have to answer a few short survey questions with some of them-every receipt asks you who went, how was your visit.  I did earn about 100 coins last week because of a few brand specific items we bought.  Receipt Hog also lets you connect to Amazon and your email to scan for receipts.  In 3 months we've earned 866 "coins", we need 1000 to get $5 on Amazon. 

Walmart App
The Walmart app has the savings catcher... Since I always look at all the ads anyway, it usually doesn't do us much good.. But we have earned $.45 on it. You need $10 to get a Walmart gift card.  I figure since I'm scanning receipts, it can't hurt to take a picture of one, one more time.  

Fetch Rewards 
Fetch is one of my favorites. The only thing you can't redeem through them is restaurant receipts.  We've tried. lol.  It just tells you unable to process.  Even the little local shops we get something for it as long as the app can read the receipt.  We have cashed out on Fetch once already, and we're already back up 2,162 points. We need 5,000 to get $5 Amazon gift card.  This is one you can go in and find the digital coupons... or you can just let it find the coupons for you.. It takes a little longer to process when it has to find the coupons, but we're in no hurry, so we just let it. If you want to try this out with my referral code, the code is "T4PVA".. It says you get 2000 points and I get 2000 points when your first receipt is approved. 

ShopKick 
We are still trying to figure this one out... I'm adding it to my list in hopes somebody uses it and can tell me how to. LOL It says you can earn from walking in the store, scanning your receipt or scanning bar codes.... It's very brand and item specific... But we have yet to figure out how to earn just walking the in the store... So there it sits in hopes we can figure it out. lol If you are interested in trying it out my code is "MALL688333"..  It says "when someone accepts your invite and gets their first Walk-in or Scan (within 7 days of joining) you both earn 250 kicks.   Sooo... if you think you want to figure it out.. It does sound like a good 
app... I just can't figure it out. lol

Checkout51
This one is worse than SavingStar when it comes to being brand specific.   We bought a certain brand of toilet cleaner last month simply to get the $5 cash back on it (making it free once we get enough to cash out).  You have to go in and load the offers before you scan the receipt... and it has to be clearly labeled on the receipt.  We have to get to $20 to cash out. 

ReceiptPal 
Another of my absolute favorites.  The only thing it won't give me points for is.. no wait restaurants do go through... You can upload any receipt on this and get some points.. For every 4 receipts that are completed, you get an extra 100 points. You need 2000 to get $5 on Amazon, we have 1650 after 3 months. You have 7 days from the date on the receipt to get them scanned in, but other than that, you're good to go. 

We print almost all of our coupons through a survey site we both use called MyPoints.  For each coupon you print off and redeem, you get 10 points.. There's also different coupons and things to do on the website to get points.   Along with a lot of different cash out gift cards.   

Keep in mind that although I kept saying how many points you need to get an Amazon card, there are many other options for cash out on each app.  

I think that's all the apps we use... It sounds like a lot.. but it's stuff we are buying anyway, so to me it's worth it to take 15 minutes and scan stuff in.. Each different app will walk you through how they want you do it.  


Have a great week! 

~Tabitha


Thursday, June 28, 2018

Cloth Diaper Love!! Getting Ready For Baby 2018

Today, we talk cloth diapers. Fair warning-this is a long post-but there is pictures!

We've been cloth diapering since Andrew came in 2010... 

My sister got me started on it, you can check out her business and blog here.  She's a doula in Nebraska, she's also done a guest post for me.  

When I first started looking into it, she told me she could tell me all about it, but it might be simpler to just read about it at my own pace.  Believe it or not, there is A LOT to learn about cloth diapers! So my sis sent me to Green Mountain Diapers.  They sell all kinds, and they also educate the buyer on what it is they NEED, what's "fun", what the different kinds are, what's different about them... You get the idea?  Now, there's awesome resources.. There's places on Facebook and in a lot of major cities where you can buy used diapers.  

My personal favorites are All In One One Size Pockets (I think I have that name right).  They have your protective (water proof) cover, they have a fleece pocket, and they come with microfiber inserts.  You stuff the diapers with the microfiber..  Now, you can always buy more microfiber inserts, or you can go to your local Dollar Store and buy car washing microfiber rags.... Or you can just get a pack of Gerber prefolds and have extra stuffing... Which is extremely helpful for days out and overnight.  Also with this kind, they come with (what seems like) about a million snaps.. You can put baby in them from about 7 lbs (my 6 lbs newbies didn't fare too well with the legs fitting.. and trust me, you want the legs to fit) to about 25 lbs was when mine grew out of them. 

My personal favorite diapers are Kawaii.  They are less expensive than most, but just as good in my opinion. We were given ours as baby presents when Eva was born in 2012.  They finally wore out last year-but just the covers, I still have ALL the inserts. 

Or, if you want to go with the old fashioned diapers, you can do that!  Gerber has those at any retail (though I personally wouldn't buy Gerber ever again, I know price is a huge factor.. and they are cheap).  My sister has used bamboo prefolds and LOVED them.  There's also flat folds-and YouTube videos to show you how to fold them... I always need a refresher course. I prefer using the prefolds with no cover while babe and I are laid up in bed for the first couple days.. They are more gentle on their skin and I'm holding baby pretty much 24/7 those first few days at least anyway, so with no cover it's fine.  Now, if you choose this way, you don't have to stress over the old fashioned pins, they have new covers that will hold the diaper in place without needing any type of pin, or they have this awesome little gadgets called Snappis that aren't poky, but hold the diaper on simply and pinless.. They have the little gripper like things the ACE bandages use to come with.  

Now, there are a ton of pictures and I will try to explain as much as I can.  





My leftover inserts, a flat fold, a few homemade prefolds, fleece linings and a few covers and the awesome little things that replace diaper pins!  Keep scrolling. (Just think Dory from Finding Nemo lol)

This is a closeup of the microfiber Kawaii inserts.. There are two kinds hidden in this pile.  There's regular and there's heavy wetter. The heavy wetter ones have more layers.  Now, you see that blue cloth at the bottom? That's a microfiber rag from a store..  Just tri-fold it to fit in your diaper.  You do not want the microfiber up against baby's skin,  which is why they are best used in pockets-you'll see that later... be patient. There are also fleece pieces, they are cut roughly the size of a baby's bum.. I mostly use these with the prefolds, the fleece wicks the moisture away from baby's skin.

These are those pin replacement thinga-ma-jiggys.  They look complicated, but they aren't. I promise.  They are called Snappis. I found them at Green Mountain Diapers. 


Here is one of my cheap pockets... Only used in a time of distress! LOL ... or for potty training ;) 

This is a BubuBibi cover.  No, I have NO IDEA where I got it from.  I have 5, and I bought them 8 years ago.. I have had to restitch some of the edging back on..  I should have unsnapped this all the way...  That whole double row of snaps makes it adjustable-like the velcro on disposable, the flaps on the side also have a double layer of snaps to make it smaller.. There's snaps (that are snapped) to make the butt part smaller... Now (I just learned this when Hannah came 2 years ago), you see that lonely looking snap in the middle?  That's to snap the middle of the diaper down to keep it off the umbilical cord.  All of the One Size diapers have it. 

Cloth Diaper love!!!  A cool thing about cloth?  Fun designs usually don't cost extra, unless it's personalized..  Some of this stack are Kawaii Minky-the outside (attached to the waterproof lining) is the minky fleece!! <3 Love me some minky fleece!! These are all, All in One One Size Pocket Diapers.

I didn't have specific newborn cloth until I had Hannah-and those were a few hand-me-downs from my sister.  These are specific newborn All in One Pocket Diapers.  They will go from about 6 lbs to 10 lbs.  There are a few covers hidden in there... I think I got a picture, stay tuned. 


This is a pair of wool "underwear"..  Those times when baby is getting a rash but you REALLY don't want to (or can't afford to) go buy disposables ('sposies)... Put babe in a prefold, pull these up over.  They let baby's skin breath while you still have that extra layer of protection.  I've never actually used these before, but I've seen my sister use them. 

This is one of those newborn covers.. See all those snaps!!!  You just put a prefold or flat fold in the middle and snap it on babe just like a disposable

The inside of a pocket diaper.  That's all fleece to make it nice and soft for baby's skin.  There is a pocket between this layer and the layer of waterproof to stuff it as thick as you can. 

Microfiber inserts for the newborn diapers. They are about half the size of the inserts from above.

Prefolds. These are not your momma's prefolds!!  Prefolds can now come in different sizes.  (Seriously.. I had no idea until my sister told me! lol).  There is at least two sizes.. maybe 3 in this picture... I've seen as many as 5 sizes on websites.  There is barely a difference between each size, but they sew them with different colored thread on the end so you can tell.  

Homemade prefolds... Are now becoming burp clothes... Because my sister is awesome.  Even if you don't want to cloth diaper, buy a pack of prefolds for burp cloths. They are inexpensive, absorbent and easy to tell from your towels. ;) 

Flat folds. These are your momma's diapers.  Or grandmomma's diapers... Depends on the family lol.   This is also a reason why I say I wouldn't buy Gerber again..  On the right, is a Gerber I bought with Andrew... On the left is a (I have no idea what brand or how old...) but it's one I got from my sister. You see that size difference?!?!  All that "extra" is that much more absorbency.

Right now, almost all of the diapers are in the baby's dresser.. Simply because I wanted them out of the tote that was in the way... But they will be finding a new home soon-in the bathroom on the shelf.. When baby's clothes come out of storage.  

I am slowly getting things out and ready for baby.. Obviously, I can only go so fast-which is a slow pace right now lol.  But baby will be in our room for awhile, then move into a bigger kid room depending on girl or boy.  So we can't just take up a whole corner (or two) of our room for a long time before baby comes.  So, a little bit at time, we'll get things out.. and share with you.

See my first post about getting ready for baby here.   


Have a great week! 

~Tabitha