My KVOA Birthday Freebie Segment

For those of you who missed it, here is the clip from my appearance on KVOA's 4 p.m. news! Huge thanks to Paul, the amazing cameraman who helped me film the first of the clip! I also have to say that Kristi Tedesco is as nice behind the scenes as she looks on camera. What a sweet heart! I look forward to working with the team at KVOA in the future. Next appearance will be Friday, August 28th on KVOA's 4 p.m. news!

Ten Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store

1. Have a weekly meal plan. Go through the store ads and plan your meals accordingly. If chicken is on sale, plan 2 meals that week that include chicken that week. Remember all store ads can be found online.
2. Make a shopping list according to your weekly plan. Stick to the list. I allow myself 1 indulgence purchase per trip. If you stick to the list with 1 variation, you will save lots of money!
3. Track prices of items that you buy regularly and stock up when they hit their lowest prices. For example, I stock up on my favorite name brand spaghetti sauces when their price hits $ .99. I know they only are sold at that price 3 or 4 times per year.
4. Know the regular price on your favorite food items for the 3 stores you shop at most. You can find a printable tracking sheet at GrocerySavingsTips.com. To the side note the lowest sales price that you generally see on the item. Link at http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/printgrocerypricelog.htm
5. Try to limit your shopping to only one day a week. You would be amazed how much the little trips to the store add up! Also remember that most Walmarts price match when you bring the ad in to their store!
   
6. Avoid crisis shopping especially when hungry. It's 5 p.m. and you are starving, you run into the store to just grab some things. Those are generally the most dangerous events on your pocketbook. Eat before you ever step into a grocery store.
7. Coupons! Coupons! Coupons! Safeway, Bashas, and Frys double coupons taking up to $1 off. Pair coupons with sales items to get amazing deals. PinchingYourPennies.com is a free site that lists the Arizona Free/Cheap weekly deals using coupons. Using this resource and my coupons, I get free or next to free food, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, etc...
8. There are many ways to find coupons. The Arizona Daily Star offers their Saturday and Sunday with coupon papers delivered to your home for $5 per month or $60 per year. Coupons.com offers free printable coupons right from your own computer. You can print each coupon you like twice. Sign up for store mailings. I get coupons every couple months mailed to me from Frys. Most food companies have websites where you can print off coupons as well.
9. When your coupons come, do not cut them until you are ready to go to the store. Place them in a file folder noting the date they arrived and the coupon insert initials. SS stands for Smart Source. RP stands for Red Plum. Pinching your pennies lists the deals telling you which insert and which Sunday it was delivered. I copy and paste what deals I want to take use into a document. Then, I cut the coupons and place them into an envelope labeled with the store where I plan to shop.
10. Don't forget about CVS and Walgreens freebies using coupons, Extra Care, Bucks, and Register Rewards. I list the coupon deals for each week on my Savvy Savings Tucson blog. Click here for information on how to get started saving at CVS.

If you live in the Tucson area, I list all the grocery deals on Savvy Savings Tucson!

Summer Fun- Part One

You may have noticed a lack in my posting over the summer! These 4 kiddos and keeping them anxiously engaged this summer preoccupied most of my time. But now that school is back in session and I'm down to one during the day, you should hopefully hear a little more from me!

One of our favorite activities this summer was attending all the fun events at our tiny little library. The kids were able to meet Ronald McDonald, see animals from the zoo, and learn how to make pizzas all this summer at our local library.

Our neighbors and good friends, the Deggingers, moved to Alabama this summer. We have been taking care of their pool since they moved and have had lots of fun this summer swimming. It's been fun to see how much my kids swimming abilities have improved this summer.


I implemented Julie Mills' kids list this summer including chores and fun things. Liz was my multi-tasker! Here you see her playing Suduko and hula hooping for exercise all at the same time. What a woman!


Then there were the 3 birthdays blogged about below. Devan had a fun water party! He was so excited to have all his friends together. I was pretty happy about all the Lego toys he received as well.

We were also able to attend so many wonderful baptisms this summer. Danielle Westra, Donna Capman's daughter, was baptized in June. We enjoyed attending both her baptism and the celebration at Donna's. We were so happy for her.

Once I download the rest of our summer pictures, I'll post some more!

Happy Birthday, Spencer!

If you've been thinking you've seen lots of birthdays on my blog, it's because you have! Our little family has 5 birthdays between June 1st and July 26th. It's a little daunting and exhausting. Poor Emma must feel a little left out having a Christmas time birthday!

Spencer just turned 6. It's hard to believe it has been 6 years since Spencer's miracle birth. He was our only baby who almost died during delivery. He gave us a huge scare, but Heavenly Father must have had a mission for him to accomplish here on earth. He let him stay and bless our lives.

Spencer the day he was born

Spencer is a hard worker. He has had so many setbacks with his speech and motor delays, but he never quits. He keeps trying his best even when it's hard. He is an example to me that we can do hard things. Every step with Spencer has meant so much to us because we would watch him struggle to accomplish each challenge in his development. He has truly been a joy to have in our family.

Spencer is a kid with no fear. He has always been our adventuresome child. If there is a mud puddle anywhere, he is the one to find it. When he was little, he would put on his superman cape. He thought he was invincible if he had the cape on. I finally had to hide the cape.

Spencer on one of his many escapades

Spencer is one of the most loving kids I know. He is quick to say "I love you." He is definitely his mommy's boy. He loves cuddling with mom. He has the largest heart.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Spencer:

Spencer at 3 months

Spencer at 9 Months

Self Sufficient Spencer at 17 months helping himself to cereal from the 2nd shelf!

Halloween 2008

Disney World October 2008

We love you, Spencer!!

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Liz at age 3

Elizabeth turned 9 while we were on our trip to Utah and Idaho. I can't believe she can possibly be that old!

10 Things I Love About My Lizzie

1. Liz is my biggest helper. She is always helping me around the house-picking things up, tidying up her room, and cleaning the bathrooms!

2. She is quick to obey. Generally, you need to ask only once to do something. I need to be more like she is.

3. She's a good friend and an amazing missionary. Look at the previous post for an example!

4. She loves to go shopping with me. My boys and husband are all allergic to the stores! It's nice to have a daughter who likes to run errands with me!

5. She loves Panda Express. I really appreciate that she loves to go somewhere other than McDonalds! :-) She's my child who is brave when it comes to trying new things.

6. Lizzie is an amazing big sister. Emma adores her and always wants to be right by her playing. Lizzie is quick to incorporate Emma into her play. Emma always has someone to play with if Elizabeth is home.

Lizzie shows Emma the San Diego Temple.

7. She loves to read! I never have to ask her to read. Though once in a while, I have to ask her to put down a book. She is self motivated when it comes to school. I never have to ask her to do her homework. She just does it and never complains!

8. Lizzie always goes the extra mile. This summer when we made the check list, she kept asking if she could add jobs to her list that she wanted to do. Can't say no to a kid who wants to take out the trash!

9. She loves the Savior! She actively tries to follow him. She loves the gospel.

10. She brings so much joy and happiness to our family. I can't imagine life without Lizzie. She brings me so many smiles each day!


Here are some of my favorite pictures of Lizzie through the years:

Elizabeth at 3 months

Lizzie at 9 months

Devan (3) and Elizabeth (1)


Elizabeth at age 3

Liz at age 5
Elizabeth at age 6

Ivan and Elizabeth (8) on her baptism day!

Elizabeth right before she turned 9

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!!

Children: Natural Missionaries

Sometimes I wish sharing the gospel could be as easy for me as it is for my children. Yesterday, Jasmine, a neighbor girl, was over playing with Elizabeth.

Here was their basic conversation.

Jasmine: Where were you guys yesterday?

Liz: We were at church! Let me show you what I got yesterday. (Lizzie pulls out her scriptures and shows her the beautiful scripture sticker she got in class on Sunday. They read the scripture together too.) Lizzie continues, "We have extra Books of Mormon. I bet you can have one. Then, we can see if you can come to church with us. (When you bring your scriptures on Sunday, you get a sticker.) You can bring your scriptures and get your own sticker.

Jasmine was ecstatic!

I know these special scripture stickers are pretty pricey. I wonder if her teachers planned on her inviting all her friends in the neighborhood to partake in the program. :-)

I've decided that I need to be as confident in inviting people to church as my kids are! What an example.

God's Words Never Cease

I loved this video of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So grateful that God's Words Never Cease!