What a Deal!

I feel like the Money Saving Mom, posting about the deals I got, but they were too good not to share!

So check this out, I got the Meet Strawberry Shortcake DVD for 31 cents and the five  Classic Characters Golden Books boxed set for FREE!  Yeah, no joke!  I was a bit skeptical that I could get a DVD that was in the good, used condition it was described as on Amazon.com for only 31 cents (plus $2.98 shipping and handling), but I did!  Not a scratch or smudge on the DVD and the case is in great shape!  I found three other used copies of various different Strawberry Shortcake DVD's for 99 cents each from a different seller on Amazon.com that I hope are in the good condition they were described as.  I will definitely add a raving review if they are!  There are a few other DVD's I want to get for my 2-year-old (who's all about what she refers to as "Strawberry Land") that I'll be willing to purchase if their used condition is described as having no scratches on them, in a case that's in good shape, for under $1.

As for the Golden Books, since I never received the free 1-year Parents magazine subscription from the Huggies Rewards catalog I tried to redeem last August, I didn't know if I'd really receive anything for my second attempt to get an item with my cashed in rewards points.  Both times I was notified via email that it would take about 6 to 8 weeks to process my order.  So when the box my husband carried in from our mail box today contained my Golden Books order (which I thought were the other three Strawberry Shortcake DVD's I purchased), I was delightfully surprised (to get an idea of how the Huggies Rewards works, check out my post Fru-gal-ity)!  So I will definitely keep collecting those yellow little stickers on the Huggies products I purchase and submitting the points online!

I've also been getting crazy deals and rewards buying my groceries at Vons (Safeway), so maybe I'll need to post a second edition of Fru-gal-ity with an update on other ways I've found to save money as a stay-at-home mom.


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Sunday, April 29, 2012 [Edit]

So here it is - my raving review!  A couple days ago I received the three other used Strawberry Shortcake DVD's I ordered (sooner than I was expecting to get them!), the discs in perfect condition and the cases in good shape!  So I've learned from experience that it's not a too-good-to-be-true deal to receive used DVD's purchased for under $1 in the like new condition they were described to be online!  Since I had to cancel our Netflix subscription that we got to enjoy for a month, purchasing these DVD's so my 2-year-old could still enjoy watching "Strawberry Land" was worth it to me.  Plus, you don't get the bonus features on Netflix that you do when you own the DVD.

Little Treasures [Second Edition]

It's that time of year again - our church's annual rummage sale!  I was so excited to finally clear the boxes that had been lining up in our hallway tonight when I brought my donated items to the church for Saturday's rummage sale!  Of course, I had to check out what potential deals were to be had!  My attention was drawn to the part of the room where the bookshelves were holding [laughs] none other than books - surprise (it dawned on me how funny that sounded as I was writing it)!  First thing that caught my eye - the A&E VHS set of Pride and Prejudice.  I own the movie starring Kiera Knightley but I had no idea what I was missing from the story until a friend let me borrow the A&E version back in the days when I was literally sitting on the couch all day long nursing Leala when she was a baby, my mind turning to mush, bored out of my brains.  The character development is a lot better in the A&E series, though I still prefer some of the casting in the 2005 film.  Can't wait to share this with my mother-in-law (she loves Jane Austen's novels and I was telling her about this series).  Now all I need to do is actually read the novel, which, in fact, came free with my recent download of the free Kindle Reading App.  That's what summertime is good for, right?

When it comes to a rummage sale or thrift store, I'm always on the look out for good stories that I can add to my girls' book collection!  I'm really selective when it comes to what my girls watch, what is read to them and what they'll read in the future.  We're given so much time in a day and I want good quality stuff forming their little minds.  What shapes who'll they'll become someday really does start when they're little.  So when it comes to stories either shown in a movie or written in a book, I look for the ones with good moral, character-shaping lessons.  Well, I scored!  I got the complete collection of the American Girl Kit and Samantha stories.  The first one I found was Samantha Learns a Lesson on the shelf all by itself.  I was hoping that wasn't the only one and that I'd find some more American Girl books.  I came across a Mystery one, but I'm unfamiliar with those stories.  Then I found the Kit Story Collection to my delight!  After rummaging through some nearby boxes filled with books and movies, there it was - that classic dark red box encasing the rest of the Samantha stories!  Oh my, seeing that box with the ribbon tied in front brought back memories from when I was into the American Girls in 5th grade.  My favorite was Felicity.  I'm so looking forward to sharing this historical fiction with my girls that the American Girl website advertises as, "Stories from the past, lessons for the present."  I couldn't have said that better!

The last of my finds were a copy of The Pilgrim's Progress, For the Children's Sake, and one of Leala's favorite movies, Bolt.

On my mental wish list was a copy of Pilgrim's Progress written in modern English.  I had purchased a copy years ago that had claimed just that, but when my husband and I tried reading through it, we were practically looking up every other word in the dictionary!  [laughs] I double checked this copy and it really is "modern."  I look forward to reading this Christian classic.

I'm sure I had read a recommendation somewhere for the book For the Children's Sake, written by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, Francis and Edith Schaeffer's daughter.  I became familiar with Francis Schaeffer through his awesome documentary How Should We Then Live.  I think his wife wrote a parenting book that I've wanted to check out.  Anyway, this book Susan wrote seems to be a promising addition to the books I've been collecting about educating my children.

[laughs] And lastly, Leala was so excited that I had gotten her the Bolt movie that she instantly ejected the current movie she was watching from the DVD player to watch it.  From my experience at last year's rummage sale, when I spotted the Bolt DVD case, I opened it up to make sure the DVD was really in there.  It was!  Then I decided to check the condition of it - like new (not a scratch or smudge)!  This was another one on my mental wish list because when I had rented it from our local library, Leala watched it so many times!  I think one of the reasons she likes it so much is because one of her favorite animals is a "puppy."

Each of the books I believe were 50 cents and the movies $1.

To end this post that I had planned to make a short one, if you're local to the San Diego area and love rummage sales, come down to Cross Connection Escondido on Saturday, April 21st from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm to get some good deals on some treasures of your own!  All the proceeds go to funding the missions trips we have planned this year (Africa, China and Israel to name a few).  You can also contribute by donating sell-able items tomorrow, Friday, April 20th, from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Check out the treasures I found last year in my post Little Treasures [First Edition].

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Saturday, April 21, 2012 [Edit]

My husband let me go to the rummage sale when it opened this morning, before he had to go to work, and I scored more deals for $5 total!

One of the first things I spotted was a like new, 6 book Felicity box set!  She was my favorite American Girl! And after a little bit of rummaging, I found the missing Samantha's Surprise book that I noticed wasn't in the collection I bought the other night.  Thank God I found it!

I got The Rescuers book for my 2-year-old since it's one of her favorite Disney movies and was "berry" happy when I spotted the Strawberry Shortcake board book because Leala is totally into her right now!  She points out every image of a strawberry she spots, whether it's on one of her shirts or on a jar of "Strawberry Jam" and excitedly proclaims, "Strawberry Land!"

A game-lovin' friend of mine pointed out the Junior Apples to Apples to me which she had mentally noted would be something I'd like to get for Leala. [laughs] You could actually get one yourself in a Wendy's Kids' Meal.  I actually got a couple earlier this week with a $1.99 each coupon and ended up with the Flippin' Frogs game which Leala has had so much fun with (not to mention it's helped her learn her colors "yellow" and "red" and how to count up to 6!) and Pictionary Man.

FREE Francis Chan!

No, Francis Chan is not in jail.  However, three of his books are available for free* to download through Amazon Kindle:

Crazy Love:  Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Forgotten God:  Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up    

About four years ago I found out about Francis Chan from an online friend and my Christian life has never been the same!  Through listening to his podcast, I gained a higher view of God that totally revolutionized how I related to Him and changed how I worshiped Him.  I was encouraged to live more by faith in what God could do, not limiting Him to my circumstances, knowledge or experience.  I also learned the importance of being a part of a body of believers and how exciting it is to go to church with the attitude of being a blessing to others and meeting God in His house.  To sum it all up, a lot of negativity in my Christian walk was replaced with the joy of knowing God better.  I'm always blessed by pastors who preach what they practice and Francis Chan is such a pastor.

I was so excited when Francis Chan's first book Crazy Love came out!  I read most of it and then ended up lending it out to a friend.  About a year later I got it back!  Since that first book, I've been curious about the books Francis Chan wrote on the Holy Spirit and Hell.  Now I get to check them out!

OH, and if you don't have a Kindle like me, you can download a free Kindle Reading App as well!

* The three books listed above, written by Francis Chan, were available to download for free up until Easter.  However, the Kindle Purchase Price for Crazy Love and Forgotten God is only $2.24 and only $2.99 for Erasing Hell (all $2.99 on Nook).  Still a bargain find! 

Change of Seasons

What a beautiful, cool, crisp morning to begin the Fall season.  It makes me feel like having a warm mug of hot chocolate (or enjoying the next best thing I have available in my pantry: Ovaltine).  In fact "warmth" is what I think Fall brings.  The warmth of delicious things being baked in the oven.  The warmth of family and friends being brought together to celebrate the holidays.  The warmth of the season's spicy scents like apples and cinnamon, pumpkin and ginger, cider and cloves.  The warmth of bundling up in a cozy jacket or slipping your feet into a pair of soft slippers.  I love the changes this season brings.  

Q.  What does Fall bring to you?  I would love to read your comments about what traditions you celebrate this time of year!

Speaking of celebrations, a couple days ago we celebrated my daughter's second birthday.  This has been a new season I have enjoyed as well.  I love hearing the new words Leala is able to say every day or watching the things she's able to accomplish all on her own.  And speaking of traditions, I started one with Leala last year on her birthday.  She got this really cute little pink crown with one of her birthday presents and I had a 12 month size dress that I had been holding on to for a special occasion since it was given to me at a White Elephant Gift Exchange the December of the year before.  So on her first birthday, September 21, 2010, I dressed her in that special dress, put the cute crown on her head, and took the first of her annual birthday pictures.

Click on Image to Enlarge

This year, when I was shopping for notebooks for my Women's Bible Study group, I spotted these really cute princess tiaras at the Dollar Tree.  I was able to go back for it after I was given some birthday spending money.  I also had a hand-me-down dress I had in the back of Leala's closet that I had saved to be worn for her birthday.  So on Wednesday, starting at noon, the time she was born 2 years before, I shot her second annual birthday pictures.

Click on Image to Enlarge

As I mentioned in my last post, Discovering the Mission of Motherhood, I loved Sally Clarkson's suggestion at the end of chapter 1 in her book The Mission of Motherhood, to start a book for each of your children, writing their story in it and adding to it each year as they grow.  It reminded me of the opening scene in What a Girl Wants and when I found the movie stills online to give you a visual of what I was talking about, I forgot that Amanda Bynes's character, Daphne Reynolds, got dressed up each year on her birthday too.

When I finally do get Leala's little book started, I'll make sure to post pictures of it on here for you all to see.

Bargain Books

Tuesday is the day we try to reserve for family time since the only other day Gregg has off from work is Sunday which we view as a day to be given to church, for personal instruction and encouragement, service to our Youth Group, and opportunities for fellowship after the services are over at the building we meet at.

This past Tuesday we thought we'd check out the Crown Books store that opened up near our house.  It's a used bookstore and with the coupon we received in the mail, I thought we might find some good books on discount.  We only had a little bit of spending money, so we ended up going with just Hop On Pop for under $3.  The book is kind of our family joke because Leala likes to literally hop on Gregg's stomach when he's lying on the floor trying to relax, either after a long day at work, or not long after dinner [laughs].  When Leala would hop on Gregg, I'd tell him I had a book as a kid titled Hop On Pop, so it was funny when he found it in the store.  Sifting through the stacks of books, I came across several I had as a kid.  It was funny hearing other customers commenting on the books they found that brought back childhood memories.  Gregg had me read one he remembered reading in elementary school.

It's been neat seeing Leala take more of an interest in the book collection we've been building for her.  One of the books she lets Gregg read all the way through to her is Dr. Seuss's ABC which he got for free at a shelter after he volunteered there when we last had the big local wildfires a few years ago.  Watching Gregg read with Leala has brought back special memories of my dad teaching me to read when I was little.  Being parents now ourselves, it blesses me to see the things we get to pass on to the next generation. 

I love finding books at discounted prices for Leala!  At the beginning of this year, when we decided to peruse our local 99 Cent Only Store for fun, I found 1, 2, 3, Cook (Ratatouille).  I've also discovered that our local Dollar Tree store has great books too and have spotted ones my aunt has gotten for Leala as gifts like Excuse Me: A Story About Interrupting, Kid's Playtime Prayers, and Kid's Friendship Prayers.

I'm sure you've noticed that Target has a dollar section.  I found Turtles Take Their Time (Rabbits Really Rush) for $1 before the Easter holiday this year.

As I've been trying to find links to these books, I'm realizing that you really have to get these books when you see them in the store because you may not be able to get them later, and definitely not for only a dollar.

A friend of mine posted some tips about Buying Books Affordably recently on her blog.  As she mentioned, I have also bought books at a discount on half.com, in library bookstores, at thrift stores, and as I wrote in my post, Little Treasures, at a rummage sale.

Fru-gal-i-ty

"Frugal" was not a word that I paid much attention to when I learned it in middle school.  It's not one of those appealing sounding sort of words... to me at least.  But having been a stay-at-home mom for almost 2 years now, discovering the benefits that come from the lifestyle defined by that word, has definitely piqued my interest as of late.  I'm just beginning to navigate this world of frugal living and it's already paid off!

I've been looking forward to sharing with you my wealth of knowledge on the different ways to save money, but for this post I'm going to focus on the discoveries I've made on how simply being a mom pays off!

1. {amazon.com/mom} A couple months ago I noticed a 20% OFF Diapers coupon in an issue of Parents magazine from amazon.com.  Gregg and I had been talking about trying to find some way to save on diapers like looking online to see if we could buy them in bulk.  Well, I came across this coupon, went online and ended up joining Amazon Mom.  I saw a notice that said I'd save even more if I signed up for Subscribe and Save.  After reading the terms and conditions, I decided to do it.  When I went to check out on my order of diapers, I was surprised by how much I saved!  Joining Amazon Mom plus signing up for Subscribe and Save in combination with my coupon took the original price of a 140 count box of size 4 Huggies diapers from $41.69 to $16.79 and shipping and handling was free!  I picked the option of receiving a box of diapers once a month through Subscribe and Save and when I got an email notification letting me know when my next box of diapers was going to be shipped, I was given the option to move the date further back since we didn't need more diapers quite yet.  I still got the Subscribe and Save discount and without the special coupon, I pay $21.45 with free shipping and handling, saving me about $10-$20.

2. {enjoytheriderewards.com} I don't know how long it took me to notice the yellow "Enjoy the Ride Rewards" sticker on each package of Huggies diapers, but when I did, I started peeling them off and collecting them.  I finally went online today to see what the codes do.  Just for registering on the site I got 10 points.  Each code I entered earned me either 7, 9, 13 or 34 points.  Every time you enter a code, you're asked to enter in the name of the retailer you bought the diapers from.  I knew the most recent ones were from amazon.com and I remembered that a friend bought us a pack from Costco.  In my effort to be honest, I tried to remember where we first started buying our diapers before I discovered Amazon Mom, so I guessed Vons and was surprised when I received double bonus points through a Safeway Mother's Day Promotion good until May 31, 2011!  So through 8 codes plus registration, I earned myself 171 points.  You can spend your points on sweepstakes, their online rewards catalog or even donate them towards their Every Little Bottom charity.  There are also several ways to earn extra points on their site (i.e. watching videos, taking polls, etc.).   

3. {shutterfly.com} I've been using Shutterfly to make my photo books ever since I received a free 10 page photo book promotion through buying my wedding dress at David's Bridal.  I only had to pay for shipping and handling!  So a book that costs about $30 I got for about $5.  Well recently, to my surprise, I received an email notifying me that I could get 50 free 4x6 prints from them for Mother's Day if I ordered them by 11:00 pm on May 9, 2011!  So that's what I did and I only had to pay $3.08 for shipping and handling.  Now I can make my grandma the mini photo album of recent pictures of Leala I've been wanting to give her.  They offer great deals all throughout the year and if you sign up as a Shutterfly member on their website, you get 50 free 4x6 prints.

You veteran moms out there, feel free to share any money saving tips you have discovered!  And you young moms, if you've discovered ways to find affordable maternity apparel, that would be a great tip as well!  In fact, if I get enough feedback, I may combine your tips and mine in a post all its own!  =) 

Little Treasures [First Edition]

Yesterday I felt like the character, Lauren, in Robin Jones Gunn's book Echoes, excited about the little treasures I found at a rummage sale.  Unfortunately I didn't get to take home a little kitten (chapter 12).  How-ev-er, I did score 2 books plus a cool toy camera for Leala and 1 book for me!

I'm always on the look out for story books containing moral lessons to help me creatively teach Leala character building truths as she grows.  Though she's not reading yet, I see building her book collection little by little now as a wise investment into her future.

The Carrot Seed was the first book I loved!  The illustrations and story are very simple, but I think the lesson is so big!  I think this book teaches a valuable lesson about having faith like a child, especially when faced with those who are critical.  It also reminded me of this story Amber Hutchins shared recently on her blog about her own daughter's experience with planting seeds.

I think most of us are familiar with the Beatrix Potter's classic Peter Rabbit story.  I am more fond of the classic illustrations I remember from my childhood that Beatrix Potter created herself, but the story is still the same.  I liked that the book description on the back cover said the story was a lesson on obedience [wink].

I found a book for myself as well titled Wild at Heart.  It was a recommendation actually by a guy from the Young Adult's Group Gregg and I are a part of at church after sharing with him that I felt it would be a good idea to read some books on raising boys if that's what I ended up having in October.  He said Wild at Heart would be a great book to read to help me in my goal to raise a boy to be a man.  I shared my find with someone else at the rummage sale and after explaining why I was getting the book they replied, "Oh, so you're having a boy?"  [laughs] My mind has been so set on our baby being a boy that I forgot that I hadn't actually found out for sure what we're having!  We find that out June 7th.  [smile]

Before leaving, I thought visiting the children's books one more time would be a good idea since I noticed one of the volunteers still putting them out on the table.  On my way over, a toy camera caught my eye.  Now investing in my daughter's moral character through story books is one thing.  But if I brought a toy camera home too, would my husband agree that it was a necessary purchase?  Well, I came to the conclusion that investing in my daughter's creativity was important too.  Besides, Leala loves getting her hands on my digital camera.  Maybe she'd grow up to enjoy taking pictures too.  Not only that, but awhile ago I saw an ad for a toy digital camera and I made a mental note that that would be a cool toy to get Leala when she was older.  There wasn't a price tag on the camera, but my total purchase came to $3.50, so yeah, I scored a deal there!  The only thing was, I was buying the camera on faith, not knowing if it actually worked.  I sure hoped it did!

When I got home, I scrounged for the couple of AAA batteries I saw the camera took.  I tried turning it on, but it didn't work.  I checked out the camera a bit more to figure out how it functioned and discovered that it actually took a total of 4 batteries.  So I went scrounging around the house for 2 more.  I tried turning the camera on again, but nothing.  But I couldn't give up quite yet... and sure enough, it turned on!  There were about 200 "free" photos already on there from the previous owner, but the camera could take up to 1,000 and there was a handy dandy delete button.  Once Leala noticed what I had, she took interest in it and loved it!  It was so cute I had to take pictures!

Q.  What are some of your favorite children's books? 

Q.  Do you have any parenting books that really helped you out?