Why Do I Even Bother? Moment: 1 & 2

Welcome to a new series of blog posts. All too frequently I find myself asking, "why do I even bother?" Do you ever find yourself asking this very same question? If so, please share!

Moment 1: The plumber came yesterday to fix a leak in the toilet. While he was there he noticed that the tub faucet was dripping so he offered to fix it. Well, you know how plumbers are, SO MESSY!!! The boys needed a bath so I scrubbed the tub out and mopped the floor. Marshall had been in the bath for all of two minutes when I see a yellow cloud form around him and I thought: "WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?" and with that, I bring you my "Why do I even bother?" series.

Next up, Moment 2: While multitasking this afternoon (feeding Coen, talking on the phone, and looking up a number, you know, the usual) I dropped the phone book on his bowl of mac & cheese, knocking it to the floor sending the orange stuff flying. I picked it up, sprayed off the floor, and got him a new bowl, this time setting it on his tray to feed himself. He was disgruntled by my multi-tasking since the food was too slow getting to his mouth. I figured he could do better himself. Boy was I wrong! 3 minutes later and I'm back on the floor with my paper towels and 409 thinking, "WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?"

Why did I change the title of our blog?

Coen is our "Monkey Boy" and I've been waiting for the perfect moment to present itself to show his Mad Monkey Skills. These pictures prove it (they also prove we live in the dumpiest apartment on earth, the walls are still not painted a year and a half later! and we really really need to move). Anyway, in an effort to practice his monkey moves, he pushed all the toys off the toy shelf and made his way to the top with his quick monkey agility. I placed him back on the floor countless times but he kept climbing, knocking off any obstacle I put in his path. Substitute the toy shelf for any piece of furniture and this is his daily activity.
3 feet off the ground with a blind cord close to his neck...I don't like the look of this!

Here he goes...again!

I forgot to add "No climbing on furniture" when I made up the house rules!

I'm cute so what are you going to do about it?

Hmm, I think I could fit in there!

We're praying he makes it to 2 with no ER visits!

Can I just tell you...

how much I love scoring awesome deals on groceries, toiletries, and household items?! Check out my totally rockin' deal from Rite Aid today:



Transaction #1:
40 ct. Tampax $6.99
20 ct. Tampax $3.99
2 boxes NyQuil $10.98
1 box Puffs Plus $1.99
SUB-TOTAL: $23.95
-$5 when you spend $20 at Rite Aid
-$2 off NyQuil
-$2 off NyQuil
-$1.99/free Puffs when you buy 2 NyQuil
-$3.99/buy one 40 ct. Tampax get one 20 ct. free
-$1.50 sale on NyQuil
-$1.50 sale on NyQuil
-$1 single check rebate for NyQuil
TOTAL: $4.97

Transaction #2:
1 Olay Regenerist Thermal Peel $21.99
1 Olay Regenerist Pore Scrub $10.49
1 Orbit Gum $1.29 (so I could get a Game of Life Sweepstakes piece)
SUB-TOTAL: $33.77
-$5 off when you spend $20 at Rite Aid
-$3 off any Olay Regenerist
-$3 off any Olay Regenerist
-$5.24 BOGO 1/2 off Olay sale
SUB-TOTAL: $17.53
But wait, there's MORE!
-$15 mail in rebate when you spend $15 on Olay Regenerist products!!!
GRAND TOTAL: $2.53!!!!!!! Why not try new, expensive products when they're practically free?!

Transaction #3:
1 bag Stacy's Pita Chips $2.50
2 Pantene 2 in 1 S&C $9.98
1 Crest Toothpaste $4.49
2 bags Palmer Christmas chocolates $.20 (hehehe, I couldn't resist chocolate at only .10 cents!)
2 Olay Quench body lotions $14.98
SUB-TOTAL: $32.15
-$5 off when you spend $20
-$2.50/free bag Stacy's
-$1.50 sale on Crest toothpaste
-$.75 off Crest toothpaste
-$1.25 single check rebate on Crest
-$3 off 2 Pantene shampoos or conditioners
-$3.98 sale on Pantene (-$1.99 each)
-$2 off any Olay Quench body lotion
-$2 off any Olay Quench body lotion
-$3.74 sale on Olay, when you BOGO 1/2 off
SUB-TOTAL: $6.43
But wait, there's MORE!
-$15 mail in rebate when you buy any Olay Quench product
GRAND TOTAL: $8.57 I just made $8.57!!!

But WAIT!!!! There is STILL MORE!

Rite Aid paired up with Proctor & Gamble for a savings program. When you spend $25 on certain P&G brands you get $5 gift card, when you spend $50 you get a $15 gift card, and when you spend $100 you get a $35 gift card!!!

So, Transaction #1 gave me $20.95, Transaction #2 was for $27.23, and Transaction #3 was $20.23, so my total towards the P&G Visa gift card is $68.41. It goes until February 13th, so I still have a couple weeks to buy more stuff as it goes on sale! After I get to $100 and get my $35 gift card, it will totally more than pay for all this stuff! I only need $31.59 more to get there and that's really easy to do when you pair the Rite Aid sales, Rite Aid rebates, and newspaper coupons.

So, the point of this post was...

Aren't I amazing?!?!

Thanks go out to: my in-laws for letting me have their Sunday coupons, my BFF Annie (the purple text in my post is a tribute to you) for always going to Rite Aid with me (and scoring hot deals herself), my dear hubby for watching the kids while I go shopping, my friend Annalisa (at SlavetoSave), and complete strangers (at UtahDealDiva and Hip2Save) for taking their valuable time to keep everyone abreast of coupon/sale pairings, and of course to the helpful (though rare) people at Rite Aid. I couldn't have done it without you!