Mini Vaction #2

This year we are having our Christmas vacation over the whole month of December by taking long weekends. We didn't have a choice but it is making for some really sweet 3 day work weeks. Dakota Grace's tonsils and uvula is still swollen so it looks like we will be trying to get a doctor's appointment come monday morning. We are hoping and praying that she doesn't end up having to have her tonsils out. BJ's appointment on friday was cancelled due to the fact that the doctor has decided at the last moment to not take our insurance. It is all we can get so we are praying that Dr. M can find another specialist. There is a good chance this time it will have to be in Nashville (about 200 miles one way) from home.

I have been spending a lot time readying blogs of people who consider themselves 'frugal' and living on extreme budgets. Wow, they still live like kings. Anyway so this year Christmas is majorly frugal for us. The kids birthday are in November and January so why give them loads of gifts all in that small amount of time. I think we will spend about $60.00 on gifts. The best gifts I have been able to come up with have been bought at Lifeway Stores (www.lifewaystores.com) and if you watch the sales you can get great Christian DVD's for kids for $5 (regular $15). You just have to have a good hiding place and buy them all year long. Clipping coupons can become almost addicting. Especially now that you can print them online. The issue with coupons and deals are do you really use the product. If you don't like a product or your kids won't eat it you have wasted money even if you could get it practically for free. A penny saved is a penny earned. So a penny spent can be a penny wasted. The best deals this week was the $.78 turkey. I keep my shopper tickets from our local grocery store all year and with 160 of them I get a free 10lb turkey. All I have to do is get my WIC there plus this is where I buy my meat. I don't buy there just to get tickets I just buy whats on sale for a good price and by the end of the year I have enough for at least one turkey. Last year I had enough for 2.