Looking to save a buck??

Doesn't it seem like the price of groceries keeps going higher and higher? Take heart, there are simple little tricks you can use to keep your bill down every time you shop.

First, buy your fruits and veggies from a local produce place. I get all my produce this way and it saves us A LOT! For example, I got sweet potatoes this week for $.39 a lb., extra large eggs for $1.39, strawberries for $1.99lb, etc.

Second, and this takes a little legwork on your part but could really pay off big if you invest a little time into it each week, is USE COUPONS! You can get so many manufacturer coupons online now, it is easy to print them off and take them to the store of your choice to use. If you get the paper, that is an added bonus because there are a whole stack of coupons from inserts such as RedPlum and Smart Source.

Third, know your stores coupon policy. My nearby Acme and Shoprite DOUBLE manufacturer coupons for even more savings! That means, if the coupons value is, for example, $.50 off the price of the item, the store will double its value (most stores double the value of a manufacturer coupon under a dollar) so you would get $1 off the item! Note: Target doesn't double but they do accept one manufacturer coupon and one target coupon per item. Target also has their own store coupons online you can print.

Fourth, only buy items you have a coupon for and know are on sale and a good price for even more savings! Store sales usually have cycles. That means, on week 1, cheez-it crackers are full price, week 2 they are on sale and week 3 they are marked down even more. The key is to know the prices of the main items that you purchase on a regular basis so that you will be able to recognize when it is on sale for a good price. That is when you would purchase that item using your coupon for a rock bottom price!! "How did I just find out about this, you ask?" A friend at my MOPS group (Mothers of preschoolers) told me about it and I have been researching about it ever since.

Here are some interesting websites for your reading pleasure...these sites post weekly sales of grocery stores...just scroll down the list to find the store nearest you!

http://www.couponmom.com/grocery-deals-by-state-4

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

http://hip2save.com/

http://www.forthemommas.com/

http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/

Laughing

Laughing is good for you! This warms my heart every time I watch it. Hope you enjoy!

Four Christmas's

So it has been a while since I last posted...this is going to be a long one!!

Our Christmas celebration started off with a bang at the Sherf household. We went there on Christmas Eve and hung out with Tom's Dad, grandparents and family. It was so nice to see everyone since they hadn't gotten a chance to see Kira since Thanksgiving.

Part of the Sherf clan, minus the grandparents...
The next day was Christmas, and that was spent at Tom's Mom's house (Dehart's). Tom's Mom graciously let us sleep over so we wouldn't have to drive back to our house in PA. Sleeping over made Christmas morning much more relaxing...
Kira seemed more interested in chewing wrapping paper than the gifts she got. It was funny to watch her!
Kira in her christmas dress...
A shot from the upstairs B&B as I like to call it! Tom's Mom has it all decked out up there, with a plug-in fireplace, rocking chair, soft cozy beds and a full bathroom so it is always a little treat to stay over because it feels like a vacation.
We stayed over the Dehart house most of the day, then traveled over to the Maro house (grandparents on Tom's Mom's side) to open presents there.

Saturday was the Yoder shin-dig. I had been looking forward to this party too because Grandmom and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins that I only see on a once-a-year basis were going to be there. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, hanging out and catching up.

Grandmom made her famous grandmom cookies, which everyone munched on all day, and gave all the grandkids jars of her homemade jams. Of course, Tommy had to loudly announce that Grandmom gave us the most (not true!) since we were the favorites. What a troublemaker he is!!

I was a little leery of the car ride over to the Yoder's that day. The reason was because this was going to be the longest car ride we have taken with Kira to date (4 hours in the car, up and back). She did fine on the car ride over. But the car ride back, she really didn't want to be in her seat anymore and let us know for the last 45 min. of the car ride. We stopped twice on the way home to hold or nurse her but each time she went back in her seat, the crying started again. I was glad to get home that night!

Here is a shot of when she was still happy! :)

Our last Christmas party (Wallin side) didn't happen until New Year's day this year. Mom decided to do the party on New Year's day since everybody is always so busy during the Christmas holiday and it would be something for all of us to look forward to after Christmas. What a great idea that was! We had so much fun together!

That morning, Tom and I practically ran out the door as soon as Kira woke up (that particular morning she happened to wake up at 6AM) and drove to Mom's where he dropped me off so he could drive to LBI for a quick "dawn patrol" surf. He got back to Mom's around 11AM right when everyone had just about finished opening presents. We would have driven separately but my car is broken down at the moment so we are stuck with one car until the end of January.

After opening presents and scarfing down panzarotti's and salad for lunch (yum!!), we bundled up and went to Rancocas State Park where there is an Indian Reservation with Buffalo, birds and hiking trails. We went on a short hike (it needed to be short since we had 8 little pairs of legs that can't be expected to go for long distances!) and then went back home for dinner and dessert.

Tom and I left right after dinner so we could get Kira home to bed, but Mom gave me a couple of pieces of her amazing cherry pie, my all-time favorite, to eat at home.

Some video

Tom figured out how to get the video we have taken of Kira off his cell phone so here are a few of our favorites...

These two were taken just this week. She has just started to roll over!

This video was taken when she was just starting to "talk"

This last one is of her talking now...

At the request of the Lindsay clan...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Snow Day!!!

What a weekend for snow! How fun!! Last time I remember it snowing like this, was 1996 and I spent most of the day helping Dad shovel out the driveway (this was before he had a snow blower). Well, we decided to brave the cold and wind to take Kira out to experience her first snow day.

Here she is with Daddy getting ready to go out...

"Baby it's cold outside..."
The lovely family....(Tom's got his hand over her mouth b/c it was really windy)


Playing inside...

Little cutie pie...


Christmas is coming up this week! Can't believe it's almost here. Here's a rundown of where we'll be...

Christmas Eve: Sherf family (Tom's Dad's side)

Christmas Day: Dehart family and Maro family

Dec. 26: Yoder family

Dec. 27: Hymn sing (I am running this as a senior sponsored event in my church)

Dec. 31: New Year's Eve party at Dehart's (I doubt I'll make it til midnight)

Jan. 1: Wallin Christmas

The rest of the year: recover from all the parties

Pictures to follow!!

Thanksgiving Madness

Well, thanksgiving has come and gone and it has been another year of great family gatherings! The thanksgiving celebration started the Sunday before thanksgiving with the Maros at a country club. The Maros normally have their party at the Grandparents house but Tom's grandmother has been sick so the decision was made to ease her burden and have dinner out with everyone.

The happy couple....

Grandmom Maro. Kira was getting a little tired of being out at this point, hence the lower lip.

She is thinking, "no more pictures! Take me home!!"

The ladies of the Maro family.

Thanksgiving day morning, I took Kira out to Philly for the parade with Tom's mom and step dad. She really seemed to enjoy herself. A good time had by all. The proud grammy.
Later that day...we drove over to see Tom's Dad and family. Unfortunately, this was the only picture I took that night. This is Tom's step-mom holding Kira.
The next day, we drove over to my parents house for the Wallin family gathering.
Then, on Saturday we celebrated thanksgiving with the Dehart family. The Dehart's are Tom's step-father's side of the family. Every year they get together at a bowling alley and then meet afterwards at the Dehart house for desert and fellowship.
The Dehart cousins all together for a shot.

Finally, on Sunday, Mom graciously allowed me to use her house to host the end of the season choir party. Family is wonderful isn't it? Can't wait for Christmas to do it all over again! Plus, at Christmas, we will see the Yoders (my mom's side) who haven't seen Kira yet.