2011 Walgreens 100 Dollar Challenge: Week 1

This is week 1 of the 2011 Walgreens 100 Dollar Challenge.  For those of you who did not follow as I did this on the Frugal Farleys site, the idea is simple:  See how much you can purchase at Walgreens for 100 dollars (or less) in one year's time, using coupons, sales, and Register Rewards.  I got this idea from a blog that ended their challenge due to being in a Walgreens Rewards test area.  I contacted the blogger, who said I was free to use her idea and host my own challenge!

So...who wants to join me?!  Send me a message if you would like to participate. 

Here is an example of savings you can find at Walgreens.  (Visit the sidebar on the right:  Walgreens Challenge for examples from last year.)  My deals were not that great this week, since I was beginning with 0 register rewards.  Next week will be better!

Week 1:

1 Finesse Shampoo

Price:  $1.99

Mfg coupon:  none

Store coupon:  none

Final price:  $1.99

RR earned:  none

*Rebate on bottle submitted - awaiting $1.99 from Finesse.

1 Nivea for Men Arctic Freeze Wash and Shave Gel

Price:  $3.99

Mfg coupon:  $1.00

Store coupon:  none

Final price:  $2.99

RR earned:  $3.00

(2) Finish Dish Detergent (Purchased in 2 transactions in order to print 2 RRs)

Price:  $3.49 each

Mfg coupon:  (2) $1.00

Store coupon:  none

Final price:  $5.00

RR earned:  $3.00

RR Used:  none

Subtotal before coupons:  $12.96

Subtotal after coupons:  $9.96

Sales Tax:  $.78

Savings Percentage:  23%

(Note:  Since I have no control over the tax rate in my city, savings percentage are calculated prior to tax.)

RRs in hand:  $3.00 Nivea, (2) $1.50 Jet Dry

*****

Yearly Totals

Amount Spent (including tax):  $10.74

Amount Remaining:  $89.26

(Awaiting $1.99 rebate from Finesse.  This will be added into my amount remaining once I receive it.)

Amount Saved:  $11.00

Tot School: Colors and Shapes

Our princess is currently 23 months old.

I recently became a Melissa and Doug fan.  After seeing their products in the store, I began to wonder if they truly were worth the investment.  Yes, they are wooden toys and should last longer than most plastic ones.  But were they really worth the extra money?  I read many product reviews and asked questions of Facebook friends, and I finally decided to put some Melissa and Doug items on my daughter's Christmas list.  I am glad I did!  These products are fun, versatile, and seem to be durable.  I am excited about putting them to use for Tot School!!

This week we used Princess' new Melissa and Doug toys to work on colors and shapes.  My parents got her the geometric stacker, which is a toy that she will grow into.  For now, she enjoys sorting and stacking by shape.  She does not quite grasp the concept of stacking by size, and the square stacker is too complicated for her.  But she gets the correct shapes on the correct peg every time!

My husband's parents got her the sort and snap color match.  She did not show much interest in putting the correct colors on the picture (as seen below).  She tolerated this for about 2 minutes before deciding her baby dolls looked like more fun.

I took the picture off the board, and she had a great time sorting and lining up the snappers by color.  She still does not say the name of colors, but she followed directions and handed me the correct colors when I asked.

My in-laws also got her the stack and sort board.  This toy is a bit simple for her - she sorts the colors in no time.  I like that I will be able to use this later to teach shapes and counting.   

I got this next idea from a Clariity blog post.  I had posted a long time ago about using cookie cutters and dollar-store foam to make fun shapes for learning.  What I never thought of until reading the Clariity blog post was that these shapes stick to the wall when wet and can be used in the bath tub!  For my daughter, who is currently anti-baths, this is a brilliant idea.  She LOVES her shapes, and she loves to sort them.  I just trick her into doing this activity in the bath tub, and then I can get her clean at the same time!  She did a fairly good job of sorting by color.  This activity was also useful for teaching her "above", "below", and "beside" as I gave her verbal direction for where to put each shape.

Then this picture is just too cute.  I love her pigtails.  But I also love the "uh-oh" expression on her face as she shows me that her foam airplane ripped.  :)



20 Weeks

I cannot believe I am already halfway through this pregnancy.  Time has gone so quickly!  We have been busy with holiday planning and preparation lately, so things have seemed to move even faster the past month or so.  I have been doing some prepartion for this little one though, and I wanted to share.  First, I bought Baby's first outfits about a month or two ago.  I found a good clearance deal at ToysRUs and just couldn't resist.  Of course, not knowing the sex of the baby, I had to splurge and get two outfits for each.  (Did I mention what a great deal I found?!)

My belly is enlarging.  This picture was taken the day after Christmas, and I believe my husband worked some magic camera angles to make me look better than I do in real life!

I saved the most exciting part for last.  We had our ultrasound yesterday.  We had decided to go ahead and find out the sex of the baby this time around.  We waited and were surprised with the princess, and we loved that decision.  This time, I wanted the experience of knowing beforehand and being able to plan.  Here are some pictures:

 

Face profile - face on left, pointing up



Very clear shot of the spine



Both forearms - belly on right



Foot - lower left



Head on left, belly on right, hand by head



Both lower legs



It's a.....BABY!!!

Notice what's missing?  That's right, no gender-shot.  This is a very active baby (which I have realized since about 16.5 weeks), and he or she did not slow down enough for us to get a good look!  We do have an idea of what sex this baby is, but since we are not sure, I am choosing to keep that information off the internet at this time.  The ultrasound tech also was not able to get good film of the morphology of the baby's face, so I am holding out hope for a second ultrasound in a few weeks.

Oliver's Labels (Product Review)

I have a two year-old daughter. She does not go to daycare or preschool yet, but she is in the church nursery every Sunday.   Many Sundays when I go to pick her up, I find her holding another child's sippy cup.  This is nobody's fault; this is simply the life of a two year-old.  As flu season approached, I decided it was important to label her sippy cups.  I cut out pieces of paper, wrote her name on them, and fastened them to her cups with clear packaging tape.  This worked well until the day the tape became dirty and I tried to remove it.  Much scrubbing was needed to remove all of the adhesive residue.

That is why I was excited to learn about personalized kids' labels from Oliver's Labels.  I browsed their website and was impressed with the selection of label designs.  I chose the polka dots design, thinking that would be cute on my daughter's belongings.  Oliver's Labels provides a "preview" function, so you can see exactly what your labels will look like before you order them.  Since my daughter has a common first name, I decided to have her last name included on the labels as well.  I also requested the optional "Found-it" code.  I love this idea:  The Oliver's Labels website is printed on my daughter's labels, along with a numerical code.  Oliver's Labels then acts as an intermediary between myself and anyone who may report a missing item they have found.  This provides a sense of security, in that none of my contact information is actually provided on my daughter's labels, yet missing items can still be returned to my possession.

A few days after I placed my order, my labels arrived.  I received the rococo design rather than what I requested.  However, since this design was too cute to resist, I did not contact the manufacturer.  I was immediately pleased with the design of the labels, and I was anxious to put them to use.

I read the enclosed, easy-to-follow instructions, and fastened the original and mini labels to my daughter's sippy cups.  After almost two weeks of daily washings, wear and tear by a two-year old, storage in a refrigerator and diaper bag, my labels still look brand-new.  I tried to peel them off (out of curiosity), and they do peel...without sticky residue!  They also reapply nicely and stay in place after reapplication.  I took my nail and tried to cause scuffs, to no avail.

 

I applied a stick-eez clothing label to my favorite pair of my daughter's jeans.  This no-iron, no-sew tag is perfect for a two-year old's clothing.  The label has stayed in place throughout 3 wash and dry cycles, yet peels cleanly so these jeans can be passed to another child later.  These labels are perfect for one who is in daycare or even going away to summer camp for a week!

Finally, my favorite:  The shoe labels.  I love that these are shaped like footprints.  How adorable.  But also, they do not bunch or slide around!  Even after playing for hours, my daughter's sweaty feet did not cause any damage to these labels.  They are durable, just as claimed! 

Overall, I am very pleased with the personalized kids' labels from Oliver's Labels.  The shipping time was excellent, and the product exceeded my expectations.  Head on over to Oliver's Labels and take a look at their great products and designs!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and sponsored by Favorite Wigs Shop Name Brand Wigs at Low Prices! Large Wig Selection of Estetica Wigs, Quality Wigs. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Merged Blogs

I finally did something I have been thinking about for awhile now:  I merged my two blogs.  Now all the content from my "Frugal Farleys" blog is available on this one.  This news really isn't all that exciting, considering I have not updated the Frugal Farley blog in a few months.  However, I do plan to restart my Walgreens Challenge in January, and I plan to post my deals on here every week.

What is the Walgreens Challenge?  It is a challenge to see how much stuff you can purchase at Walgreens in one year's time for 100 dollars or less.  I participated for a few weeks last year, but I gave up after awhile because I did not seem to be getting the deals I wanted.  (My cupboard was stocked full of free contact solution and toothpaste.)  I am ready to start again in the new year.  Is anyone else up for the challenge?  Let me know, and I will get you the details!

More details to come!