Today, I am thankful for quiet, loving kitties.
They are such a contrast to the intense screaming of the last few hours.
Yes. Hours.
A certain baby, who shall remain nameless, has a frequent sleep problem. Every single remedy has been tried over the last year. Books read. Web researched. Earnest prayers. Consultations. Medications. It's not every night these days, but tonight was a rough one.
Before the concert of screams that makes Carmina Burana seem like a lullaby, I grabbed the boy and we did a quick run to Target. I needed few things, so I hit up a couponing website and wanted to hone in on the deals. It was a fun mommy and me activity as we slipped through the store, examining items and discussing trends. It's fun for me to hear the things that he is picking up naturally from these trips and it's such as great training ground for "real life."
As we put our small gathering of items on the belt, we engaged in our ritual of trying to estimate the total (that's right, Common Core- I've got your predicting and estimation right here, baby!). LM guessed $9 and I guessed $11. The best part came as the associate finished ringing the items... which totaled $34.
LM piped up as she rang the last item and said, "So, Mommy, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE CLOSER TO, $9 OR $11?"
The clerk looked sympathetic and said, "Aw, well hon, it's already much higher than that." She thought my boy a fool, but soon she discovered our secret weapon...
El Coupon Diablo! Ole! *insert evil cackle here*
The final total was $14, and I received a $5 gift card, so LM won the game since the net charge was $9. The clerk looked dazed as she congratulated us. It was great.
So what did the $9.00 purchase?
3 bottles of creamer (say what you will, but it's the only way I can drink coffee at home)
1 small pack of coffee (did you read the part about not sleeping?)
1 huge bottle of shampoo (rawr! Wash ALLLLLL the hairs!!!)
1 gourmet chocolate (free/ hoarding for a future teacher gift)
1 toothbrush (also free)
1 pack of diapers
3 deodorants for the hubby(this stuff is expensive. When not on sale, it's $4.50. Ack! I remember when he ran out and just went out and bought a stick for $3.75. "It was on sale" he said as I had a mini-hissy fit. So now I stock up when I can so that he has some to fall back on. In fact, this deal worked out so well that I may have to do it again before the week is through!)
I am well pleased with the bounty. I don't got to Target very much these days. I have dramatically reduced "pleasure shopping" in my life and I don't like to tempt myself in the land of baubles and glitter. Sooooo much glitterrrrrr (drools). However, I have much greater discipline than I used to, both in terms of reducing clutter and reducing costs. And, when you combine Target's Cartwheel program with the fact that you can stack Target and Manufacturer coupons, it's a really great place to score a well-executed deal.
I could never pull that off. I'm too disorganized. To me, it's a triumph to remember my coupons when I go grocery shopping.... Kudos to you!
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