Huggies Snug and Dry on Amazon- $0.15/ diaper

If you like Huggies, Amazon has a good deal for you. Here is a link to explain how to get a box of size 4 Snug and Dry 140 count for $22.14 shipped. That's $0.15 per diaper after taxes. To compare, you would have to get a 31 count Jumbo package for less than $4.65 (after taxes) in order to match this deal in the store.

Beckman eyes

I have blue eyes, and I like having blue eyes. My parents and siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all but a small number of cousins have blue eyes. It's in our genetics. Somehow we have kept that recessive gene going.

In spite of my blue eyed pride (just kidding :), I married my husband knowing outright that our children would likely have his brown eyes. Brown is dominant over blue. Sure enough, both Austin and David have brown eyes. It seems that the line of Beckman blues ended with me.

Not to worry, though, because it seems that I have passed on a different family trait- Austin is color blind.

My Dad is color blind, so I am a carrier, which means my boys have a 50/50 chance of being color blind. I've suspected that Austin was colorblind for awhile, but the eye doctor confirmed it today. Basically, imagine turning the color knob on an old model TV, and all the colors come out distorted and changed. That's how color blinded people see. It shouldn't cause much trouble for him unless he wants to become an electrician and has to sort out wires of different shades of the same color. My Dad is color blind, and he doesn't have much trouble that I know of. I guess they just learn to adapt. (FYI- 1 in 10 males is color-blind, so it is actually pretty common.)

I really like Austin's eye doctor. He is an older, very experienced opthamologist, and he is so good with little kids. Austin has been seeing him since he was three years old.

It seems that I have passed on another eye trait as well- Austin is slightly near-sighted. The doctor gave me a glasses prescription and said I could decide whether or not to get it filled. Austin would only need the glasses for seeing board work at school, and if the teacher lets him sit in the front, he could do without the glasses for now. I'll have to talk to Joseph to see what he thinks.

Joseph got glasses at 4 years of age, I believe, and I was in the first grade when I started having trouble seeing the board at school. Dr. Douglas says that it is inevitable for Austin to have poor eye sight. Just like how a tall child usually has tall parents, if both parents have poor vision, their children usually end up wearing glasses, too.

Austin's vision isn't too bad yet, but he will likely need glasses for sure by next year. Hmm... I bet they have lots of different options for glasses than they did when I was a kid. My first pair of glasses was pink plastic. Maybe I can dig up a picture one of these days :)

CVS- diapers, razors and more

I just got back from CVS, and I wanted to brag about my savy couponing trip. The trick to shopping at CVS is to "roll" your Extra Care Bucks. You can do this by dividing up your good into separate transactions. Here's what I got for $21.35 (before taxes):

Transaction #1:

Skintimate shave gel $2.19- used $1 off coupon
2 Schick Quattro 3ct disposable razors $8.99 (used B1G1 coupon)
(There is a deal for shave products- buy $20 worth, get $10 back in ECB.)
8 ct pens $1.99 (free after ECB)

Spent $7.17, received $11.99 back in Extra Care Bucks

(The math doesn't add up right on this because the B1G1 coupon scanned as the full price of $13.99. I just noticed when I got home.)

Transaction #2:

3 pk Brita filters $14.99 (used $2 coupon I printed on their website)

minus $11.99 ECB I received in Trans. #1

Spent $1, received $5 back in Extra Care Bucks

Transaction #3:

Crest toothpaste $2.99 (used $0.75 coupon)
2 pk Opti-Free contact solution $14.99 (used $3 coupon)
Kotex $3.49 (used $1 coupon)

minus $5 ECB from Trans #2

Spent $11.72, received $9 back in Extra Care Bucks

Transaction #4

Huggies jeans diapers $8.99 (used $4 CVS coupon that printed when I scanned my card at the entrance +$1.50 Manufacturer's coupon)
Pampers sensitive diapers (on clearance for $5.50 minus $1.50 coupon)
Ludens cough drops (on clearance for $0.54)
Mucinex for children (on clearance for $2.44)

minus $9 ECB from transaction #3

Spent $1.46 out of pocket.

So, I spent $21.35 out of pocket for ALOT of stuff. I mean the contact solution and Brita filters were $14.99 a piece regular price, and those are things that I would eventually buy anyways.

There were lots of good clearance items throughout the store today. I left Austin at home to watch Spiderman with Joseph, and David and I were able to browse around. It was so nice. David is a good little coupon shopper :) Austin isn't so patient with my 45 minute shopping trips. I guess that's why I don't make it to CVS every week!

If you want to try these CVS deals for yourself, here is a good link to a blog that lays out the deals for you.

About Group Deal Sites

I've gotten hooked on the Group Deal movement. Sites like Groupon and Plum District, Living Social and Totsy. There are some really good deals to be had on these sites. You just have to read the fine print. Sometimes they expire within a few months. You might have to pay additional shipping costs. Or, the coupon might only be valid at certain store locations. I've also gotten hooked on Amazon diaper deals. I don't think I will ever buy diapers at the store again when I can get them cheaper shipped directly to my doorstep!

Here's some of the good deals I have gotten lately:

$40 worth of Discovery Toys for $15
$20 worth of food at a local cafe for $20
$15 worth of toys for $5 at a local toy store
$75 worth of toys for $25 online

I've also used these sites to get discounted CiCi's Pizza and Papa Murphy's and half-off on Amazon.com.

I think I'm set for birthday and Christmas shopping for the boys. $130 worth of toys for $45- not too bad :)

Disclosure: The links above are my referral links. If you sign up and buy something through these links, I will get a credit on my account.

Got the camera out today