Mama to 6~The Large Family Logistics

It has been a while since posting on Homestead Blogger.  I might just come back from Blogger.com!  I have not blogged on Blogger.com in quite a while, so I think I have lost of my readers anyway!  

Homeschooling 6 kiddos has taken a lot of my time, that really is a good thing!  I was looking at some of my pics on here and the kids have gotten so much bigger!

I am transitioning completely over to blogger.com.  I am still in the process of learning blogger.com, so bear with me!  I won't be posting on homestead blogger anymore, so please take note of my new site.  I don't want to lose any of my readers here on homesteadblogger, so please move with me!  Soon you won't have to type in the blogspot part, but until I switch completely over, this is my site:  

http://thelargefamilylogistics.blogspot.com/

I posted quite a while ago on blogger but I was not quite ready to make the full switch, that is why I have some old posts on there.

Thank you so very much!

***UPDATE:  I did the switch, you only need to type in www.thelargefamilylogistics.com

Yeah!!!

Get the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold Card and buy first purchase, then cash-in your rewards points for a $100 worth of Rewards Points!

The first year is free, so if you cancel before hand you won’t have to pay a fee.

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• Global Assist® Plus Hotline and many more benefits included.

Money Saving Mom:

Through August 8, 2008, you can order anything for $5 or less from Borders.com and get it for FREE!

Go here and you can search through the products they offer which are $10 or less. Find something for less than $5, add it to your cart, and proceed to the checkout. (You can checkout as a guest to speed things up if you don't have an account with Borders.)

When it asks for the promotional code, enter: BR41925. Choose to have it shipped to your local store and your total will be $0!

Have fun shopping! And, if you could, help us out in the comments section by sharing what items you find for less than $5.

I just ordered a bunch of books that Sonlight recommends for cheap!!!  Be patient though, it took me a while to put my orders in!

****Borders.com has a new Coupon - 30% off one item - use Coupon Code FF0608 at check-out (expires 7/27).  Let us know if you can use it on top of the $5 off.

At the event, you'll get a beautiful tote bag filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies. There are also doorprizes and coupons!

I must admit I had a rough day yesterday.  We went to look at a house last night that we were really interested in.  The house had 5 bedrooms and the whole upstairs was brand new!  After coming home last night we really thought this house might just work for our family!  The problem was we did not go to an online mortgage calculator beforehand.  The taxes in NYS are very high.  This house had taxes that were 5,200 a year!  That is over 400.00 a month on top of a mortgage payment.  We realized that there was no way possible we buy this house unless we offered much less than the asking price.  Our realtor seemed to think that there was no way we could offer less.  So...that was the end of our thinking this house might be the one!  I really had myself convinced last night that life is too hard, and it is never going to get any better!  After trying to convince Joe to have the same conclusion that I had I realized that I had an awful attitude!  Joe reminded me that God is in control of our lives.  We have so much to be thankful for.  We have a very nice home that we own in a nice neighborhood, plenty of food in our fridge, clothes to wear, no debt besides our mortgage and my student loans, and we are most thankful for the gift of our children.  Being home with them all day makes it possible to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  I am so very blessed to be able to teach our children at home with Christ in the center.  There truly is nothing more important. 

You know what?  This house did not have at least an acre of land that we have been praying so fervently for.  And it is further away from Joe's job, with the rising cost of gasoline it probably would be a dumb move on our part!    I believe in due time the Lord will show us clearly if it is His will for us to move.  Like I just read in The Newharvest Homestead newsletter, you can have a homestead in the city.  I know the Lord is in control of our lives and He is the One who has given us the home we have now.  Our taxes are dirt cheap!  He has had His hand on our lives from day one.  What have I learned?  I need to humble myself before the Lord on a daily, if not minute by minute basis.  If not, my wants will rise up and devour the humble nature the Lord wants me to have. 

"Humble Yourselves before the lord, and he will lift you up."  ~James 4:10 (NIV)

From Freebies 4 Mom:

Yes, you can get a great treat for under $1! Introducing "Waffle Cone Wednesday" at TCBY, a summer promotion where you can get a waffle cone filled with frozen yogurt for just 99 cents. This treat would normally cost over $3, so just be sure to ask for it on a Wednesday and get it for the change in your pocket. This is a nationwide promotion, but as always please call your local store to confirm that they are participating.

In the 7/20 SS insert you will find a mail-in rebate form to get a FREE Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber starter kit. Click here to print a $2.75 off coupon to make $2.75 after your rebate and get a free Scrubbing Bubbles kit!!  You make money on this deal!

Lactagen - Are You Lactose Intolerant?- Free Trial of Lactagen for Lactose Intolerance.   They do require you to pay for shipping on the free trial.

Money Saving Mom:

Kroger:

Kroger is having a 10-Item Mega Event at many stores around the country right now. They have a number of items on sale for $3, $2.50, $2, and $1.50. For each combination of 10 participating items you buy, you'll get an instant $5 off your purchase (with a limit of 3 discounts per transaction).

Melissa posted the sale flier for her area here. And Marcy shares a large list of deals with coupon match-ups here.

You'll definitely want to especially take a look at the items which are $1.50. If your Kroger doubles coupons and you have $0.50/1 coupons on any of these items, you'll get them free if you buy 10 and get the additional $5 discount. Free items include: Betty Crocker Cookie mixes, Cattleman's BBQ sauce, Frank's Red Hot sauce, and Daisy sour cream.

Click here to see the list of all the deals to be had and be sure to check your store's flier to see if they are participating in this great deal!

Publix:

If you buy $50 worth of groceries and four participating Kraft items at any Publix store by August 22, 2008, you can receive a free $10 gift card to JCPenney. If you still have any of the $3/1 Planters coupons, this may be a great way to maximize your savings!

You can do this deal up to three times per address. Go here for more details on what qualifies for this promotion and print the downloadable form.

I ran to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up dinner for the next couple nights.  I have not been very good lately planning our meals!  I found some sausage on special, so I picked up some rolls.  I also thought it sounded yummy to have peach pie and vanilla ice cream for desert.  I bought a pre-made crust since I don't have a lot of extra time today.  Here is the recipe with some pictures.

As you can see I don't cut peaches very well.  Am I the only one?  Also my top crust fell apart!

Old Fashioned Peach Pie

1/3 to 1 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. cinn.

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

6 cups peaches (about 10 or 11 peaches)

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. butter

Mix peaches in with brown sugar, flour, cinn., and nutmeg.  Pour into pie crust.  Sprinkle lemon juice and dot with butter.  Put top crust on top.  Poke a couple holes on top. 

Bake at 450 degress for about 45 minutes.

Here is my continuation for home education in the Hall household.

Nicholas-Grade 6

Saxon Math

History: Veritas Press-Egypt

Science: Reader's Digest, How the Body Works, and Reader's Digest, How Nature Works (You can borrow these from the library!)

Spelling: Spelling Power-still need to purchase

English: not sure yet (presently having a refresher using Easy Grammar)

Foreign Language: Song School Latin

Art: Feed my Sheep

Music: Piano

**Again, any recommendations or comments welcomed!

• $0.05 - Staples cap erasers (Item 167601) - Limit 2
• $0.05 - 2 pocket paper folders (Items 430421, 430579) - Limit 10
• $0.05 - Staples 6″ plastic protractor - Limit 2
• $0.25 - 1/2 and 1-inch simply plastic assorted binders - Limit 4
• $0.99 - Pentel RSVP Ballpoint pens, fine, assorted (Item 474028 ) - Limit 2
• Free after rebate - Zebra Cadoozles 0.7 mm mechanical pencils - Limit 1

also, remember that you can price-match both stores' deals at Wal-Mart, if that's easier for you. Just bring the ad with you.

Bic Highlighters 5-pack are on sale for $0.39 at Walgreens this week with the in-ad coupon. Use this $1/2 Bic coupon to get them for free. (Use the manufacturer's coupon first then the Walgreens coupon in order for it to ring through correctly.)

Buy 1 get 1 free 1 oz Corazonas chips.

Also, a while back I posted a coupon for free bag of Corazonas chips  , I believe the link is still working if you have not already printed.  Please let me know if it works for you.

Click here to find out how to get a free box of Cheerios sent to you!

Money Saving Mom:

Here are the best deals I see this week:

Diapers are on sale for $5.99 again this week. If you are able to garner the Prescription Savings booklet coupons, you should be able to get them free! Here's how the deal works:

Buy 3 packages of Walgreens diapers at $5.99 each
Use $2/1 coupon from the Prescription Savings booklet (should take $2 off each pack)
Use $5/2 coupon from EasySaver July booklet (should take $2.50 off each pack)
Spend $4.47 plus tax
Get $5 Register Reward (this is advertised in the July EasySaver booklet so if for some reason it doesn't print, be sure to politely ask them to re-ring your order or give you the $5 on a gift card)
Free after coupons and Register Reward--Yay!

Dixie Plates are on sale B1G1--Buy 2 at $3.79 and you'll get a catalina manufacturer coupon for $3/2 Dixie plate purchase. Repeat the deal again and you'll get 2 packs of plates for $0.40 each and get another $3/2 coupon! You can continue to roll this again and again and again until you are well stocked up. Note: The $3/2 will only be printing through 07/24, though, so stock up at the beginning of the week!

5-Cent School Supply Deals:

2-pocket folders - $0.05 each with in-ad coupon (Limit 5)
5-pack Paper Mate mechanical pens - $0.05 each with in-ad coupon (Limit 3)
Mini composition book - $0.05 each with in-ad coupon (Limit 4)
Highlighter - $0.05 each with in-ad coupon (Limit 3)

There are also quite a few other school supplies on sale for $0.19 to $0.99 so be sure to check the ad!
**I couldn't quite make out the limits on the ad I saw posted only, so I be mistaken.

Crayola Washable Markers - on sale for $2
Get $2 EasySaver rebate
Free after rebate

Stayfree is on sale B1G1 50% off
Use B1G1 coupon from recent insert
Get two for 50% the price of one!

Pantene Beautiful Lengths - on sale $4 each
Buy 2 and use 2 $2/1 coupons
Get $4 EasySaver rebate
Free after coupons and rebate!

See the ad scans for this week here, courtesy of Hot Coupon World.

JULY MONTHLY REBATE DEALS

Buy 1 Nature Made Rx Essentials at $9.99, Get $9.99 rebate
Use $1/1 coupon from 04/20 or 06/01 insert*
Free plus overage after coupon and rebate!

*From Bethany:

If you're a Nature Made member and have points banked, request your own $5 or $7 coupon from their website.

Buy 1 TheraBreath Starter Kit at $10.99, Get $10.99 Rebate
Free after rebate

Buy 1 Hebert's Fully Loaded Chocolate Bars (2.75 oz.) at $0.99, Get $0.99 Rebate
Free after rebate