Sunday Shopping Recap - Shaw's and Price Chopper Deals

Just a quick recap of my grocery shopping trip on Sunday.  I spent a little bit of prep time going through some coupons I had around (inserts and printables) and that ended up being great.  For a few hours, I saved over $100!  Well worth it.  The printables were all from my coupons.com widget here at Kids Meal Crowd blog and the Price Chopper SmartSource printable coupons.

Here's more details...apologies for the not-great photos, they are from my Blackberry - my camera must be at work.  Let's hope so anyway!

Price Chopper

• Boneless Chicken Breast
• PC Raisin Bran
• Stuffed Clams (x2)
• Halloween Peanut M&Ms
• Minute Main Orange Juice
• Hillshire Farms L'il Weiners
• Riccola Berry Throat Drops (x2)
• Local Sunday Newspaper
  

Savings (Advantage Card and Coupons, including Sizzlin' and Facebook Fan for the week) = $22.17
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $14.28

Shaw's #1

• Sunday Boston Globe Newspaper
• Progresso Bread Crumbs (x2)
• Cheerios
• Ragu Pasta Sauce (x2)
• Sour Patch Kids Halloween candy
• Deli counter meat, turkey and honey ham (x2)
• Fresh Express salad
• Progresso Soup (x3)
• Knorr Lipton Noodle mix
• Hamburger Helper (x3)
• Wishbone Salad Dressing (x2)
• Cocoa Puffs
• Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes (x2)
• Betty Crocker Cake Mixes (x3)
• Betty Crocker Frosting Tubs (x2)
• Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Pouches (x2)
• Progresso Beef Broth
• Fiber One Toaster Pastries
• Halloween candies (x2)

Savings (Rewards Card and Coupons, including $5 off $40 purchase from mailer) = $45.69
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $38.35
Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $31.50 ($30 from current Catalina Deal, $1.50 for buying 2 Wishbone dressings)
Rebate to Submit = $2 (for produce when you purchase 2 Wishbone dressings)



Shaw's #2

• Chex Mix (x5)
• Breyers Ice Cream (x4)
• Bottled Water
  

Savings (Rewards Card and Coupons, including $10 CAT from Shaw's #1) = $32.01
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $4.90
Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $15 

TOTALS FOR THE DAY:

Savings = $99.87

Out of Pocket (OOP) = $57.53

Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $35.00

Rebate to submit = $2.00 

 

I will definitely be planning a few more trips to Shaw's before this $15 CAT coupon deal ends.  Need to print out a few more coupons, check to see what other inserts I have that might be useful.  The stores I visited were also out of the Scott Paper Towel single rolls that I really need to stock up on, for example.


Have you taken advantage of the Shaw's deal this week?  Do you plan to?

Price Chopper Sunday Facebook Fan Coupons Now Available!

Starting today, Price Chopper Supermarkets is offering exclusive coupons to its Facebook Fans each Sunday.

This week:

• $2 off Price Chopper All Natural Boneless Chicken Breast Savings Pack (per pkg.)
  

You can find the coupon in a special tab at the top of the Price Chopper Facebook Fan Page.  If you have problems printing, here's a link to the troubleshooting guide.

And don't forget that today is the last day to use your Price Chopper Sizzlin' Coupons, including FREE Hillshire Farms mini franks!  They are no longer available online to print, so hopefully you did that earlier this weekend.  Another batch should be up on Thursday, so check back at the PC web site.  It will ask you to sign up for e-newsletters in order to print out.  Each coupon prints individually, so if you want all 4 deals, click on all 4 photos.

(Thanks to Wicked Cool Deals for reminding me about these Sizzlin' Coupons, I haven't caught up with all of my email while being sick this week.  You should also check out her posts about deals at Shaw's - a great resource!)

$5 Eukanuba Coupon by Mail

Stumbled across this $5 off Eukanuba coupon by mail and wanted to share. 

Dog food is expensive, so even if you don't have a dog personally -- consider requesting this coupon and use it to buy some dog food for your local animal shelter or pet food pantry (check with your local people food bank to see if they have an affiliated pet food bank).  My daughter, the dog lover, thanks you!

Shaw's Supermarket Coupon Mailer -- Great Timing!

I was happy to see a Shaw's mailer arrive this week with several good coupons, tips and recipes.  "Your Guide to Savings & Short Cuts" included the following:

• $1 off 3 Pillsbury Refrigerated Baked Goods Products (exp 1/24/10)
• $0.50 off any Daisy brand Sour Cream 16 oz or larger (exp 1/31/10)
• $1 off one PAM cooking spray 5-6 oz (exp 12/31/09)
• $1 off any bag of Tyson Frozen Breaded Chicken (exp 2/2/10)
• $5 off purchase of $40 or more with Shaws Rewards Card (exp 11/10/09)

The Pillsbury and $5 off $40 coupons can be used with the upcoming Catalina Promotion (spend $30, get a coupon for $15 off your next purchase) that you can read more about at Wicked Cool Deals to make it an even *better* deal!  Please share your savings in the comments section...I will plan out my shopping list and let you know how I do in the next week.

Don't forget that Shaw's also has coupons you can print out from their website each week.  Here's the link to the 11/6/09 - 11/12/09 batch.

WFMW: Halloween Clearance = Christmas Savings

One of the things I love to do, is to think of how I can use something in a new and creative way.  Especially when that means savings money!  So when I was picking up even more fever-reducing medicines at Walgreens earlier this week, I took a moment to glance at the Halloween clearance.  Candy was 50% off, but I wasn't interested in that.  I went straight to the 75% off items and scored the items below:

Now, how will I use 5 magnetic note pads and 12 plastic trick or treat bags, you ask?  Great question.

I was really careful to look trough the trick or treat bags to be sure I didn't grab any that said "Trick or Treat" or had pumpkins or anything else that would give it away.  The winners in my pile were themes like super heroes and princesses.  I thought that these would be perfect for quick little gifts that the kids may need for school or scout exchanges, or to use for kid party goodie bags.  They normally sell for 2/$1 and were ringing up at 12 cents each.  Total price for 12 bags = $1.44.  Less than two gift bags at the dollar store!

Everyone can use a note pad to jot down the phone messages or items to pick up at the grocery store.  So for 25 cents each discounted, those magnetic note pads are easy stocking stuffers.  My family knows that I am a bargain shopper, and they don't seem to mind that the header or color scheme is "off". Total price for 5 magnetic note pads = $1.25.

A few other things that I noticed, but did not purchase:

• costumes -- great for dress up and playtime fun
• wigs -- same idea
• "nerf-like" pirate swords -- also great for dress up time

Shopping post-holiday clearance bins...that's what Works for Me!  Check out more great holiday tips at We Are That Family.

SPOOKtacular List of Current Kids Meal Toys

Happy Halloween!

A busy weekend like this one meant it was time for a "treat".  Last night needed a quick dinner before going to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science "Hoots and Howls" program with Sydney's Girl Scout Troop.  Zach had spent the day with me at work and had done a good job, so I let him pick what we would have for dinner.  After a quick check at the three web sites, he decided on McDonald's for an Astro Boy toy.  Here's the full list, complete with web sites.

Wendy's
Halloween-themed Audiobooks on CD
Sneak Peak...Click on "coming soon" to see the next batch: Leap Frog toys

Burger King
Spongebob Squarepants
Extra Savings...Check the toy insert for a special Toys R Us coupon

McDonalds
October 23- November 5
Astro Boy and My Little Pony
Sneak Peek...on the bottom of the Happy Meal boxes, it lists the upcoming batch as Strawberry Shortcake and Nerf.

Toys R Us Lego Coupon Now Online

If you have kids anything like mine, or if you need to shop for a certain son of mine who turns 7 next month (you know who you are!) -- here's something that you'll want to know about.  A recent email from Toys R Us included this link to a pdf coupon for 15% off Lego sets. 

Valid this week only, 10/25/09 - 10/31/09, in store only purchases, and it excludes Star Wars sets.  It may also be something you can use at other retailers that honor competitor coupons.

If Legos are on your holiday shopping list, it may be worth it to pick up sets now and then price match it when the Black Friday deals come out.  You'll end up with better selections now, based on my experiences.  Connor's birthday is November 17th, so we are often shopping for Lego sets in early November for that and then also keep our eyes open for sales on Black Friday and December for Christmas.

Really TICKed Off Today.

Tick, side view
Originally uploaded by NH Mom of 3

This morning my little guy (who is 4 years old) said his head hurt when he lay down on one side. He pointed and I thought it looked like a scab on his head, when I asked he said he fell down. Once I got him into the light of the bathroom however, I was shocked to see the "scab" move! It had legs! And it was in my baby's head!

Yuck. A nasty little tick. In Lyme Disease country. Crap.

I did the good mother thing and stayed calm (while I ran downstairs for the camera and the tick spoon) and they took a quick photo before prying the tick off with the tick spoon. All in one piece, thank goodness. The tick was really wedged into the slot in the spoon, so I felt OK in showing it to Zach. He was a bit freaked out, but did great!

We washed up the bite with some mild soap and water, and put on some Neosporin.  No band aid as it was on his scalp.

Then I did what moms now-a-days do: I called the triage nurse at the pediatrician's office while I got online to google "found tick on my child" and "tick lyme disease" to try and identify the thing. I suspect it was a deer tick. The doctor's office had me drop the tick off for further lab testing. As my son is young, they will not treat with antibiotics unless the tick is positive for lyme. I am crossing my fingers that it comes back negative.

I'm sharing this as a simple reminder to not get complacent. I was the one who was helping Zach with his bath last night, and even washed his hair quickly. Key word is "quickly". I feel really bad that I might have missed this. I'm hoping that the tick hitched on for a ride from the pile of leaves the kids were raking and playing in on Sunday.

I will say that I was never so happy to have attended a boy scout pack meeting that had a presentation about ticks!  That's where we got the tick spoon that made it much easier to remove the tick.  Unfortunately, I handed in the tick spoon with the tick for testing.  Hope I can get another from Atlantic Pest Solutions from Maine.  

Will keep you posted. Have you ever dealt with ticks? We've found them on our dog Zoe, but never actually on a child's body.

A new academic year, and a new President at Dartmouth

Celebrating the arts at Dartmouth
Originally uploaded by Dartmouth Flickr

I wanted to share this excellent photo from one of the many events happening in the Dartmouth community to celebrate the beginning of the Kim legacy at the College and the start of the 2009-2010 academic year.

I was happy to be there, and look forward to the years ahead. And who knows...perhaps someday our children can play together. Is a Webster Avenue playgroup in the works? I'll let you know. Until then, I wish President Kim and his family the very best.

BTW: I was live tweeting during the event (twitter.com/uppervalleymom), and you can see my comments and some TwitPics when you search for #dartjyk

Coupons for Maine and NH Travel

Don't say goodbye to summer just yet!  Looking for a fun holiday weekend?  What about a fall getaway?  I've got great news:  special coupons just for my readers and friends!  Coupons are good for weekdays or weekends, your choice.


You can visit the same great locations we did on our vacation, and at a discount.  Totally cool, right?

Nordic Village -- Jackson, NH

• Finish/Supplement your Back to School shopping in nearby North Conway, NH (or get a jump on your holiday shopping while the crowds are manageable!).  No sales tax in NH.
  
• Fall hiking in the White Mountains can be spectacular - I love to see the leaves change color.  I'm such a New Englander.
  
• Enjoy family attractions without so many people in line for the rides.
• And don't forget that Nordic Village has lots of family entertainment right on site!
  

Best Western Merry Manor Inn -- South Portland, Maine

• You can modify some of the same reasons listed above for Nordic Village (shopping at the Maine Mall, take a trip to Freeport for a LL Bean pilgrimage or outing, visit some unique family attractions like a life-size moose made out of chocolate).
• Plus, Merry Manor Inn makes for a comfortable and welcoming home base for your Portland, Maine area excursions.
• They often have Spa Nights on site!  Check their Facebook page for more details on specific dates.
• Ride the ferry to Peaks Island and take a crisp fall bike ride.  Grab an ice cream cone to eat down at the beach as you wait for the ferry back to Portland.
• Enjoy the Old Port area shops and eateries.  Bon Appetit magazine recently named Portland as the foodiest small town!
  
• Take the kids to the Portland Children's Museum or a whale watch for a fun day trip.  Check out the Sept. 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine for a list of things to do in the Portland area in their "Family Getaways" section.
  
• GREAT value.
• Flying out of Portland is really easy from this location.

 

Ogunquit River Inn -- Ogunquit, Maine

• You can still do shopping from this location: outlet shopping is in nearby Kittery, Maine.
• The ocean water is always cold in Maine, but the beach is much less crowded in September.  ORI has a FREE shuttle right to the Ogunquit beach.  You really can't go wrong.
  
• Walk the Marginal Way, and enjoy the ocean air and fall colors around you.
• Play golf (or mini-golf).
• Enjoy the view from your balcony overlooking the salt marsh area, or even from a kayak. Sip umbrella drink of your choice. (Put that in-room fridge to use!)

 I know that you'll enjoy any of the hotels mentioned here, and hope that you'll consider them for your upcoming travels to NH or ME.  Please remember to use the coupons here for an extra 15% off, and let them know that you heard about them here at the Kids Meal Crowd blog!

Don't forget to follow the Lafayette Hotel group on Twitter, and become a Facebook fan for more great deals year-round.  Even if your travel will take place after Sept. 30th, please let the hotel know that you heard about them here. Thanks!