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!