I happened to catch a few daytime shows mid last year about these stay at homes moms saving TONS of money off their grocery bills. We just moved to Bend in August, and there is NO WINCO FOODS here! I was lost. I HATE spending money on food. Seriously...hate it. I avoided the big shopping trips for a few months. We shopped on a whim, and only as needed. So we were constantly running out of milk, bread, and other staple foods, just because I didn't want to pay full price. My poor pantry looked so lonely, and we actually talked about turning 1/2 of it into an office storage area.

My friend, Thea, told me about thegrocerygame.com. I checked into it, and decided to try out their offer of a $1 trial for 4 weeks. It took me a few weeks to figure it out, but I was quickly walking out of Albertsons and Safeway with 50% + savings. My best trip was getting $106 worth of groceries at Safeway for $8! I used to do a weekly/biweekly trip to Wal-Mart for household items, and wasn't too excited about that either, since our store here is teenie tiny, and always super busy. Since I started the grocery game in October, I think I've been to Wal-Mart 2-3 times (not counting Christmas shopping).

I am also now following a blog that I stole from my cousin's blog, Being Frugal is Fabulous. She does a lot of footwork for you, showing you how to save at multiple stores, and how to get free items. My latest trip from to Rite Aid, I spent $26, and have $21 in rebates coming back to me, thanks to her blog.

I used to avoid coupons completely, but when you learn how to use them with items that are already on sale, you can save so much! We now have over 40 boxes of cereal in our pantry (all of which I paid under $2 each, mostly from $.50 to $1.50, and most are name brand). I now also have a small collection of toothpaste (we use only a certain brand that goes for about $3.50 at Wal-Mart, but I paid anywhere from $.50 to $1.50). As for disposable razors, David only likes certain ones, like the 3 and 4 blade, also name brand, and I am now running out of space to store these (these can run anywhere from $6 to $10 full price, and I haven't paid over $3 a package since I've started coupons). My latest is $2.50 for 3 name brand creamers!

These are just a few examples of the crazy deals I've scored. It does take some time, but since I don't work, I've started to look at this as my part time job to contribute financially. It makes shopping more rewarding, and I don't dread it anymore. I've actually turned it into one on one time with Austin or Ethan. They alternate taking turns going shopping with me if I go on Sundays, and now Kellen gets to go with me while the boys are at school.

If you think this might be something that could work for your family, its so worth the $1 trial for 4 weeks! If it doesn't work for you or your schedule, its super easy to cancel. Also, for each person you refer, you get a free week....so don't forget to say I referred you. ;) You'll need to enter my email address, dtsgirl325@yahoo.com to give me credit.

Austin and Ethan have been going to public school since the first day that was just supposed to be a *trial* day.

I was so nervous for them on that day. I think I probably felt all of the nervous, excitement, and anxiety that they did. I felt especially uneasy when I drove to pick them up. I was so afraid that they'd had a difficult day.

Kellen and I stood just inside the front doors, waiting for them to walk up from their classrooms. It seemed like it was taking FOREVER! I expected Ethan to walk up from his wing on one side of the school, and Austin's class was on the other side, so he would have come from the opposite direction. They ended up walking up together....Ethan had asked his teacher if he could go meet his brother at his classroom (Ethan is not one to do anything indepentently with new things)! When they spotted me, they ran up to Kellen and I, gave us huge hugs, and immediately started begging me to let them go to that school from that day on. I almost started crying right there in front of all of the other students, parents, and teachers. I realized how long it had been since I've seen those smiles on their faces, and this excitement coming from them. I was so thankful that the staff had been so great about allowing them to do this trial day.

Before we were able to even walk out the front doors, I was hearing from both of them about all of their favorite parts of the day. They were talking over each other, and couldn't hold it in. Within minutes, Austin was asking to go on the snowshoeing field trip the next day. After talking it over with David, we decided it was time and that this would be just as good of a time as any to ease them into public school. I had originally wanted to finish out the year at home, but after such a great day/experience that was so fresh in their heads, I was afraid that it would be harder, the longer we waited.

I walked them to their classrooms for a few days (Austin actually let me know when it was time to stop taking him), and then I picked them up everyday last week. This week, they started riding the bus home, and today they rode the bus for the first time in the morning. I still had to drive them to the stop and wave them off (mostly for Ethan's comfort), but we are making leaps and bounds of progress, which tells me this was the right decision.

Kellen hasn't had one, NOT ONE, potty accident since the day before their *trial* day. He is getting so much more one on one attention, and some of his own quiet space. He still misses the boys though. He is usually happy to see them go, and is content for about 1-3 hours, and then starts asking me, "Is it time to pick my boys now?" I know he'll get used to it though....probably just in time for summer to start. :)

As for me, I handled those first few days better than I thought I would. I found myself spending less time on the computer (it was so easy to waste time on the computer when their curriculum was online), and more time thinking about and doing things that I felt had been at least somewhat neglected for awhile now, like keeping up on housework/laundry, getting on a routine, and thinking ahead for errands, dinner, and how to spend some good quality time with the kiddos. I did realize that making/eating lunch had been a big part of our day together. It was our time to take a break from school, and just relax. I really missed making lunch for four of us for a couple of days.

Anyway, we are all liking our newest adjustment, and I feel like I'm already getting closer with my boys again. This last year of school at home has been an awesome experience for all of us, and we've learned so much about each other and ourselves, but I'm glad its behind us. I would still be open to trying it again once they get a little older, if that's what they want, and I would still recommend it to other families who are curious about it.

Man, OH, MAN! These blogs get looooong! Sorry!