a small step forward and a huge step back

Hubby has been very busy filling in holes and taking out railroad ties that were rotten.  

 

Toby wanted to help fill in the ditch!

The front of the house looks a lot better but it may stay bare for a while.  I have trouble investing in landscaping when it may be messed up when we re-do the siding down the road...

 

Progress is good.

but here is our huge step back (to the tune of $5,000!)

an empty pool...new liner and water needed...boo!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

We LOVE St. Patrick's Day!

Everything that can be green was!  We started the day with shamrock-cakes (green pancakes and syrup) and admired the rainbow in our kitchen made out of streamers - yes we had every color!

We spent a lot of time out side and read a book about Leprechauns and how they can be found around rocks so Toby and I went on a Leprechaun hunt - in hopes that the little buggers would give us their gold!

We set up a trap...and Toby found some shiny rocks to try to draw them out of the hole with...

I made the boys Phineas and Ferb toys from disneyfamily.com Jay got an Agent P doll...

and Toby got a Phineas and Ferb playset!

At night we put on Irish music and dance a jig!  Jayden made and wore his shamrock crown but I couldn't get Toby to wear his Leprechaun hat or the beard I made.  Dad usually sits back and watches...

but he was a good sport and dressed up for Mom!

What a great day - Toby liked it so much he asked to have another St. Patrick's Day today!

Cheap Tricks

Yes, I love the 80s...


Anyways, I thought I would share some of my favorite websites for a cheaper than normal shopping experience online!

www.shopathome.com - log in to here and use this site's links to go shopping and they will pay you!  I received a $28 check for doing my normal Christmas shopping!  LOVE IT!

www.retailmenot.com - coupon codes!  When looking at your store for codes look at the comments - sometimes they have codes too!  I have found free shipping codes that way before.

www.dealigg.com - will occasionally have coupon codes retailmenot.com doesn't list

www.walgreens.com - $25 purchase gets you free shipping - I get toiletries here or www.walmart.com - Got a great deal on pull-ups last month also have gotten nylons here for 49 cents...their sales are usually good ones.

www.amazon.com - my discover card gets linked to amazon so any cash rewards can be spent once earned - hello free socks for Jay!  Best prices on batteries too.

www.plasticjungle.com - discounted giftcards

www.mybargainbuddy.com - sign up for this lady's emails - I get a few of them a week and they have awesome deals!  Because of this lady I've gotten Vera Bradley purses for as little as $10 to $15 and a Family Circle Magazine subscription for $5.70

www.commonsensewithmoney.com - another great email newsletter to sign up for - Target coupon codes, printable coupons

My most recent online experience: last month I spent $66 at Plastic Jungle for $75 in Kohl's giftcards - this is a better deal than my discover points could have earned!  Last night I got Toby shoes and socks (both on sale), two 6 pc frame sets for over my love seat (on sale for 60% off), and a $3.99 cami -- Retailmenot.com got me an additional 20% off and free shipping and shopathome.com got me an extra 5% cash back from Kohls...saved a few gallons of gas by staying home (plus Toby and I felt lousy because of our colds). I spent $70.48 out of pocket for my goodies and I will get cash back from shopathome on my plasticjungle $66 gift card purchase and my $79.48 kohls purchase!

Homemade Detergents

I recently have been cutting costs to try to move the remodel along...unfortunately hubby's truck has absorbed our savings this month (and probably next)...ugh!  Tires and other maintenance stuff...

I started making my own household detergents: Laundry, Dishwasher and Dish detergents.

Top: Homemade Laundry Soap

Left: Dishwashing Liquid

Right: Dish Washer Detergent

The Laundry Soap was the biggest pain but the payoff has been nice as I am two thirds of the way through the batch I made a month or more ago.  It works fine - just like any other detergent.  The only difference is there is no scent.  When I make my next batch I am going to incorporate some essential oils.  The texture is pretty watery with lumps of gel - this is normal.  I have a high efficiency machine and have had no problems.

The Dishwashing Liquid was not as time consuming as the Laundry Soap and has a great consistency.  The Octagon Soap used in the recipe has a nice scent but I added grapefruit essential oil too and the results are great!  Things (including my hands) definitely get and feel very clean with this soap but it does not make a good lather.  The cleaning effect is wonderful so no biggie.

The Dish Washer Detergent is SUPER easy to make and I feel like I've saved a bunch here.  Since I have a stockpile of Borax and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Detergent all I have to buy each week is 2-4 packets of Lemonade Kool-Aid which is super cheap compared to the 1-2 bottles of detergent I was used to buy.  The dishes are clean but I do use more than the recipe site suggests.  The bleaching effect is no where near as great as it was with my store bought detergent but that hasn't been a big deal.

This month's grocery budget was blown...hubby had to go to the store when we were sick and then we had a $200 family trip to Saubel's...better luck in March!