Just Smile

Ok....i realize this is how this will go down, but even so, i need to rant for a sec...ok 3SECONDS;)...Do u ever think God couldve made our lives just ALITTLE easier?? I mean just a smidge?? Mayyyyybbbee?.....listen, it sounds bad, i know, and im even the type of woman, where i wouldnt even go there, but im also human.....and ii have needs.....and struggles.....and frustrations.....and just,,well,......INSECURITIES.... OK, I KNOW WHAT YOURE PROB SAYING.....Lady has 4 kuds, has it all together, well im here to tell u, that aint correct! Lol....Im a work in progress, we all are, right? :-)....He didnt promise EASY, UNHURTING, grapes and bon bons being fed to your face....lol... God only promised to BE THERE....like many of us should b for ea other, but in this crazy, unpredictable life, its easy for us to forget,,sadly....but u know what? Life is good, and its the crazy and the insecurities and the HARD TIMES that makes it .......WELL...... LIFE its crazy and sometimes disapointing, but its still.....life, God is good :-)

He is near

Im not gonna sound all "spiritually with it" tiday,,,im not.....sorry,,,its just been one if those days where everything seems to just be, well, crappy...im not gonna lie or sugar coat it :/....ive been dealing w some things that are out of my control, not very fun, NOT what i planned and just plain SUCK....yeah, i said it;).....BUT....Im still wanting love and nurturing and someine to just hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay...but i dont have that just yet....maybe it will come with time, with God from whom all blessings flow....some big cganges are abt to happen with our family, so i would covet your prayers still....but for now, i will wait on the timing, wait on a winderful love and more importantly wait on God...love you all thank u

FAITH

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. BUT go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice..For i have not come to call the righteous, but sinners"...matthew 9:12-13...."Ask and it will b given to you, seek and you will find

QUOTES from the heart

"Hope anchors the soul"...."Its hard to beat a person that never gives up"...."All of us find ourselves broken at some point, true strength is found in picking up the pieces"....."Good things come to those who are patient, better things come to those wait and the best things come to those who DONT GIVE UP"...."Love before you trust"....."there is always time to do it right"...."If you dont have time to do it right, how are u going to have time to do it over"......These quotes have gotten me thru a very rough time in the last 3 mos and have filled my heart w love and thankfulness.....thank you , you know who you are and my heart swells :-)

A Fleeting Moment

As i sit here sick today, feeling kinda crappy, tbh;/,,,i still felt like writing about something.....Have you ever had one of those days where u had EVERY intention of being productive, thorough, and complete in your day, getting things lined up, that need to be done??...(yeah,,me either)...school starts back tomorrow and i dont feel as prepared this year...and it got me thinking...are we ever really prepared for what life throws at us??...i mean,,REALLY??....the answer to this question is a big resounding No!!....lol sorry for the dramatics, but i figure you should hear it for what it is right?....So i think God prepares us for things that are out of our control, but also gives us dicernment to make the right choices too...i recently have been faced with this...there is something (or if im being honest, SOMEINE) that i have no control over what they do, what they say, how they act, and it did drive me NUTS for awhile now...but...not anymore cause i figure, (in Gods timing), they will see how much time they wasted not being who they were called to be, so much precious time just WASTED....ugh, just makes me sad i guess:(....the point im trying to make is this...YES, life is hard and things arent always fair when "life" gets thrown at u, and YES People should just b who they are, themselves and be happy in their own skin, and share themselves with others, without holding back....afterall, life is short, people are worth loving, and time is never wasted, if we see how precious it really is :-)

Fun with Candyland

Sometimes its just fun to have a lazy day and play some candyland...we often forget how precious these fleeting moments are with our children, and how one day it will all be gone in a flash...LITERALLY, a Superman, lightning bolt flying thru the air, gone in a FLASH........ SO let me ask u this............. Whens the last time you played Candyland with your kids??.... Oh......and let them win this time :-)...youll thank me later Its worth it :-)

Keeping it Real

You know those people who act like they have it all together, go to the right church, the right stores, dress perfect every.....single....day....blahhhh...well im hear to tell you, they dont have it perfect;) (sorry to burst your bubble, im abt to get real up in here...lol) The truth of the matter is, we alllll have our junk to deal with...some may have more than others...and believe me when i say,MY junk is rating up there in the high thousands;/....(as many if you already know)...but thats ok,,,were alll ok...the best part abt our "junk", is that we all have ea ither in this crazy, and sometimes, messed up life...There is still a BLESSING in the spilled milk on the floor, to teach ur children abt working together to clean it up...There are blessings in KNOWING a full pile of laundry will....be....waiting...on...you ....APPROX. 30min after you washed it all....lol;) What my point is, is this...no matter what your going thru or what im going thru, we have a God who loves us, we have ea other to lean on,,,and we have a good cup of coffee (or other beverage of your choice;),to get us thru..:-)...God never promised this life would be easy, but he DID promise he would get us thru the junk...one....day....at....a.....time Love you all

A New Perception

My God has a plan......He always has...a plan to bless, a plan to teach, a plan to wither the storm....a PLAN... I think we always assume His plan will be OUR plan eventually, but thats not always the certainty, or even the case..Our plan says we want and need it right NOW.... BUT....... Gods plan says we can have it at just the right time,,,not too soon,,,,not too late....just right on time...if we really knew that, and rraaallly listened to that, we might find we will be happier, in that moment of waiting, than we EVER couldve been just doing it on our own, without him :-) As much as i hate to admit it,,,PATIENCE really IS a virtue...hope you agree too

Introducing Molly Kate Lonas...6/22/11

TODAY-7 MOS OLD


1 DAY OLD

OK, OK.....I know, this is a looooonggggggggg time coming...;)....Well, I finally updated my blog to include, not ONLY a new title (THE LONAS 6), but to also include our sweetest, newest addition....Molly Kate....who just turned 7 mos old...my how time flies by...Its hard to believe 7 mos have already gone by and she's closer to being 1yr old, than newly born.........ugh, [cue tears].....

Anyway, she has been the BIGGEST blessing in the Lonas clan....The kids ADORE her and Jake is the most adoring...(And this comes from a kid who DID NOT want another sister, but is totally in love w/this little baby, kisses her ALL the time-even when she doesnt want it ;)..........Audrey is like a little extra momma, changing diapers when Im not looking and taking her on Saturday mornings (occasionally) so mama can sleep in..:)...I have been blessed w/GREAT kiddos..

Lastly, if you notice under her picture and caption, it says "our little turtle".....She has ALREADY been given a nickname by our family of "turtle" because not only was she my smallest baby (6lbs 12oz), but she is JUST NOW accumulating enough lucious baby fat around her body/neck to be dubbed an actual "LONAS" baby ;)....but she's a turtle, because she has the longest neck Ive ever SEEN on a baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL....


Well, that was just an update, hopefully I'll be better about updating more!! God Bless you this week :)

FREE at Kroger, Ingles and Walmart this week!

I got ALL THIS FOR FREE at Walmart, Ingles and Kroger this week!!!
I EVEN got paid alittle to take the Easter candy out of Walmart last night ;)


---If you havent already, Easter candy is 75% off right now, which makes for some
GREAT deals, if you have coupons to use on top of it! Walmart was about the only
store that still had a great selection (and shhhh,,they even took my expired coupons)
(For those of you who dont know this, alittle inside secret,,Kroger will take your expired coupons for up to 2 mos, before the register will actually boot them out).I learned this recently :)----

Well anyway, I realized I havent written in awhile about my deal shopping because life has been alittle hectic trying to get ready for this baby #4 in the Lonas bunch!! Were so excited to be bringing ms Molly Kate into our fun, sometimes crazy family ;).....But today were talking about ..................... FREE GROCERIES!! WOO HOO!! You didnt think I'd forget to update my blog, now did you?? lol...Ive started something kinda new,,,I now have a $50 grocery budget per week,,Ive been buying for 2 week intervals recently and found it works great! Between my drugstore, grocery, and last minute deals, I stick to my budget of $100 for 2 wks....:)....

First stop was Ingles--I was visiting my grandma (GG) in Powell, and since Maryville doesnt have an Ingles, I decided to stop and get my deals I'd seen advertised...Walked out w/7 packs Rayovac batteries, 16 packets Weber seasoning and 2 boxes Raisin Bran (paid $1.14/box for these), but the batteries and seasoning were ALL FREE!! Who doesnt like free batteries?? Spent a total of $3 OOP

Next was Kroger--I must admit, its getting harder to coupon at K these days, with all this new policy on ecoupons and everything..I even had a couple paper coupons they wouldnt allow, cuz I had already had an ecoupon for them...geez...but, nontheless, still got 5 Crest tp FREE and only spent $72 OOP there...

And on to Walmart---Im slowing liking Wally-world again!! As far as i know, they are the ONLY store left that will give you overage on a coupon, meaning, if you have a $2coupon for a $1 item, you make $1 to put w/the rest of your order, and actually Walmarts new coupon policy actually has to PAY YOU BACK this amt, if you want, so you can, believe it or not, make an income shopping w/coupons AND get free stuff too! Who'da thought? I believe I did the best here, got (5) Nivea bodywash and several Easter candy items, which were all free and I believe I actually made a couple dollars on some of the candy, and few other grocery items...Spent $15 OOP

So my Grand total for 2 wks before coupons: $240.00

Total paid OOP: $ 90.00 !!!! I still have $10 left, I think Im going to Target now to get some more diapers ;)

The BLESSING of having a stockpile :)

Heres my current stockpile-Including 7-8 boxes of cereal,
9 boxes of spaghetti noodles, several cans of veggies
and enough beauty/healthcare items to last us a year!


I know I dont usually go around taking pics of my pantry, but I wanted to get down on a spiritual note, for a moment, and thank God for the blessing of a stockpile, as you see here.

I think its important, in times like these, to have enough groceries to last you at least 3 mos, and our family QUICKLY becoming a family of 6 soon, I wanted to have this simply for that reason....You never know what can happen to this ecomony or your family even, in the blink of an eye, so its always best to be prepared....

Im so grateful to God for allowing me stay home now--fulltime--and succeed w/my couponing to provide for our family (probably more than enough), and saving more than 50% on the groceries that I used to buy, and pay FULL PRICE FOR!!! never again! lol

So, for those of you who think couponing is "silly", "too time consuming", or even "hoarding" sometimes, just think of where our country might be in 5-10 yrs, I dont know about you, but the thought kinda scares me ;(.....Thank you for always reading my blog and I hope you can get a good stock going to....just in case of a "rainy" day :)

FREE at Walgreens!! (Our laundry should be VERY clean for awhile ;)

Somewhat PROUD of my laundry stockpile!!!! WOO HOO!


FREE at Walgreens this week-only paid tax!!

I really just got my deals at Walgreens this week, and I just have to say, Kroger is on my nerves!! All this coupon policy change has me frazzled, but oh well...

Walgreens- Got 3 Tide stain release for FREE- you got $3 RR when you buy $12 worth of these products,,,,I had (3) $3 off Tide stain release coupons, and $3 (from previous wk), put them together, got them free, plus $3 RR for next wk!!
Got (2) Airwick scented warmers FREE ....I had a raincheck for these (btw-rainchecks are the greatest thing ever invented, cuz it allows u to STIll get the great deals, possibly w/better coupons later, AND they never expire!!)...They were B1G1 free-$7.99,,,I had (2) $4/off coupons,,,FREE!!

Disney "Tangled" movie practically for FREE~~!

Target AND CVS both pictured
Liz Lange maternity shirt-paid $1.98 !!
Huggies diapers-paid $2.14 !!!!!!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, its kinda nice to venture from my "free food finds", and to something much more fun, like a movie! (Lets face it, it may be free food, but eventually...... ITS GONE! :)

My Target and CVS trips today, made it very, very easy to get out w/a 2 yr old in this cruddy weather we were having today, to get a great deal....

1st stop was CVS-I didnt list everything I got here, but in the pic I did get the "Tangled" movie for a really great price,,I was so excited,,,after my coupons and some CVS ecb's, I only paid about $4!!! ($9 was OOP, but I have a $5 rebate coming also!) and not to mention, I also got $3 back in extra care bucks to spend next time, so in reality, I got this movie regularly priced at $24.99 this week, for $1 !!!!!!!!!
Other items from CVS were-Skintimate shave gel-55cnts, Mars easter candy-FREE, Thermacare heatwrap-FREE, Palmolive dishsoap-38cnts, Kelloggs cereal-$1.20/ea


2nd stop-WAGS (what the coupon "pros" like to call Walgreens, I just learned this recently-;)---------Got (2) Folgers coffee canisters for 79cnts/ea with coupons


3rd stop-Target--still had $8.60 left to spend on my free giftcard, so I was able to find Huggies diapers on clearance for $7.64!!!---used $3 manf cpn and Target store cpn for $2.50-got them for $2.14!!!!!!!!!---also got (2) Frosted flakes-99cnt/ea, Liz Lange maternity shirt-on sale for $4.98-used $3 off LL cpn, got it for $1.98!


So, as you can imagine, I was super excited over my deals today!

Oh and to see how many of you ACTUALLY read this, Im gonna let you in on a little secret "sale" going on at Target today...remember the Circo socks I got for free w/my $1 coupon?? WELL, their clearanced even MORE, now 70cents on sale!!, so if you got to Target.com and get the Circo $1/off coupon, you can STILL get them for free and make 30cnts profit to put w/the rest of your order!!!!!!!!!! Do me a favor, lets make it fun, if your reading this, go back to Facebook and just put "WOO HOO!!" in the comment part, I'd love to know who actually reads this and gets the same deals as me!! GOOD LUCK!


Next stop-

FREE baby items at Target!!!

CVS shopping trip-Only spent $10.54 OOP!!
And I still have $5 extra care bucks to spend next time!



Got ALL this free at Target today :)

Well Im starting to notice a trend w/myself,,,I tend to go to CVS and Walgreens to get my freebies and deals on Wednesday's, and Kroger to get my grocery deals on Fridays....I decided to try my hand at Target today, for the first time (hard to believe, I know ;) to get some freebies I was after....Turns out it was a good trip!!!


Regarding Target trip:

(I have to mention though, all this "free" was from my free $20 gift card for a baby registry, so this deal wont be available to everyone, but I did get another $5 gift card for buying the 2 Venus razors!! You can too, you need (2) $3/off Venus razors, pay $10 OOP, and get a $5 gift card, so its like getting them BOTH for $5!!!)


Next stop: CVS

PICTURED: (8) PineSol bottles
(8) Nabisco crackers
(1) Allegra allergy med
(1) Arm and Hammer power tb
(1) CVS jelly beans (note to self-quit taking 2 yr old w/you, these things end up in the cart ;-)

Unexpected Walmart trip!

Got ALL this at Walmart-FREE, plus $4.18 OVERAGE BACK!!!!

Yes, again, thats right I got everything you see pictured, and they gave me back $4.18 after my coupons!! (which I used toward the purchase of some other things).

I went to Walmart tonight to just get a few things I needed for a consignment sale Im getting ready to do, like tape and safety pins, and of course my hubby wanted me to get a steak to grill also for dinner,,much to my surprise AND excitement, I had some coupons that were about to expire and thought I'd use them,,and couldnt believe what I made out of Walmart with! Most of these were "travel" size, but who cares!! They were FREE, plus I made $4.18 to go toward our steak dinner!! LOL....Heres what I had:

(2) $2 off Dove deo- travel size was 97cnts, made $2.06 for 2 deodorants!

(2) $1 off Purex 3in1 laundry sheets-97cnts made 6cnts

(1) $1 off Pert shampoo-97cnts made 3cnts

(1) Nature Made vitamins-this was the real $$ maker, had a $5 coupon (It was only $2.97!)-made $2.03


I also made a quick trip to Kroger, to get a FEW more Powerades (ok, maybe more than a few), and some other "freebies" I knew they had this week



PICTURED: 45 Powerades, 6 Heluva dips, 5 Maries glazes-Paid $9.54!

$116 in coupons!!!! my BEST shopping trip EVER!

EVERYTHING in this picture was FREE, FREE, FREE TODAY!!!


Yes, I said free....I had my BEST shopping day so far yet..I couldnt wait til the end of the blog to tell you how much it actually was after discounts/coupons, so here it is:

KROGER-

TOTAL BEFORE SALES/COUPONS- $209.78

TOTAL SPENT OUT OF POCKET---$86.45 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (OK, I have to say this total should have been ACTUALLY lower than this, because I bought a few things for my MIL(that I ended up just giving her-I love that I can help family too by getting cheap food!), also got a $5 off my next shopping trip for buying Kraft products AND $2 from my previous trip that they overcharged me, but forgot my reciept to get the credit back---DUH!--So after this my total SHOULD have been $76.45!!!!!!!!!

Im hoping this will last us for 2 weeks, but if it doesnt, ok!! I mean I only would have spent $38 for a weeks worth anyway!!!!
So I know your dying to know what I got....HERE IT IS!!!!



FREE ITEMS: (20) boxes Ronzoni pasta-(49cnts/ea w/the mega sale Kroger's having, had (10)-$1/2 coupons) = FREE!
(1) Box Kleenex
(1) Breathright nasal strips
(1) McCormick taco seasoning
(1) Gillette mens body wash --------ALL FREE :-)

Now, okay, I know you all arent going to believe this, but Kroger actually paid ME 0.72 cents to take all this!!! haha, yes, I had whats called, overage, in my coupons that allows me to use whatevers left over on something else (ex-had $1 off coupon for McCormick seasoning, was only 55cnts-added w/other coupons, made me 72cnts!,,unbelievable I know :)

Heres some more good deals:

Dannon light yogurt-49cnts
Kroger frozen veg-40cnts
Lucky Charms cereal-$1.13
Powerades-16cnts/ea
Dr Pepper-34cnts
Honey Bunches/Oats cereal-75cnts
Chips Ahoy cookies-99cnts
Gortons fish sticks/fillets-$1.99
Dole fruit cups-49cnts
Nestle 24-pk water bottle-$1.49
Tyson pack split chick breast-$1.80 (these were a GREAT SALE)
Sargento cheese slices-99cnts
So, had a pretty good week.....................:))))))) I love helping others try and save this good every week, let me know if you ever have any ??..I'd love to help!

My big girl is growing up :)

Audrey has had a writing assignment at school, the past few weeks entitled, "How (blank) changed my life".....Every week she has to fill in something new in the "blank" spot...well, this week my sweet 9yr old wrote this one, and I teared up reading it, it took me by surprise, just going thru her weekly work, as I usually do...grab the kleenex....my big girl is growing up :(....



"HOW CHRIST CHANGED MY LIFE" BY AUDREY LONAS


"In summer, 2008 on Monday morning Christ blessed us with a baby girl my sister Emma. I'd been wanting a sister since I was two and finally I got one. In one year she started to walk it was a miracle." (I have to admit, this part made me giggle)

"Me and my cousin were playing with her and she began to walk it was cute. In 2009 she changed my life, I looked at her Sunday morning and said Im going to get saved because of you, you changed my life. A few months later I actually got saved it was cool. And thats how Christ changed my life."


So, as you can imagine I was a little weepy after reading that....Praise God he still gets thru to ALL of us, ESPECIALLY his little children....Amen

Shopping trip 3/11

This was the Kroger trip

Walgreens trip
Well, I decided to go to Kroger, Aldi, CVS,Target AND Walgreens this week to get some great deals, but I actually spaced it out in the matter of a week (You wouldnt actually think I'd drag my preggo belly AND my 2 yr old to ALL these stores in one day, would you???? LOL

Theres quite a bit to post, so lets get started...I also have to say, when I started this blog, it was to document my kids as they grow (which it still is), but now Ive been able to help many of you who say they cant believe their saving so much $$, even calling me on my phone for couponing advice....I LOVE IT!! anyway-here goes:

KROGER

The only freebie I got here today was: Dial soap 3pk

heres some of the rest:(2) Tide laundry det-$2.99, (2) Tide stain release-$2, Huggies diapers $4.43, Bounty 8pk papertowels-$3.99, (4) Yoplait Delights yogurts-.99cnts, Fiberone bars-.99cnts, Thomas english muffins-.84cnts, NatureValley granola bars-.80cnts, (6) Betty Crocker fruit snacks-90cnts/ea, and some others

Total before: $123.38

Total out of pocket: $55.41 !!! (I had (3)-$3 off next shopping trip from previous week)


Then on to....................


ALDI

got: produce, 5 meals planned for the week, and other "staple" items

Total: $25

Lastly on to Walgreens, where I thought I did the best, even if it was only a few items:

(2) Pediacare childrens bottles
(1) Always pads
(2) pantyhose...............only paid $2 !!!!

so, got my groceries for the week (plus a pack of diapers and Bounty pt 8pk) for.........$80 !!


CVS

Did pretty good, got: Revlon nailpolish, colorblast lipgloss, Schick hydro razor, 3 Benefiber products, 1 Ajax dish det, 2 Wisk laundry det, 4 packs Trident gum and 2 bags CVS candy

Total before sales/coupons/ecbs: $73.95

total after: $30.26 (well, this would have been alittle better, the cashier forgot to ring up another $2 coupon)-Also got $10 ecb to use next time!! so, really got all this for about $18.26!

Character day at school-2011

Well, I thought I'd take a small break from posting JUST about my great coupon finds, for the moment...(Dont get too excited, Im going to post about todays shopping trip, tomorrow...hee hee)...Today Jake and Audrey dressed for Character day, Audrey being Malificent from Sleeping Beauty and Jake being Snake eyes from GI Joe.....they were too cute, getting ready this morning, Jake was showing me his kung-fu, Jedi knight moves, and Audrey just wanted me to get her makeup and hair done the right way...:)....It will be a fun day at school for sure...So glad to have a blog to document times like these cuz we forget how cute they are, when they're little :)