New vehicle!!! Well, new to me anyway....

After 2 months of being a one car family, we finally found a used minivan that fit our needs at a price we were THRILLED at! Woot woot that we're also still a zero car payment family. It really eases the stress of a new baby on the way that we didn't need to take on a car payment to get a vehicle that works for us perfectly.

It's not my first choice in color, but during negotiations, every time the price dropped, I found that my attraction to the color increased. Interesting....I think Buzzkill was proud that a fuller wallet was more important to HotMommy than the color of the car. I also thought I wanted the 3 seat bench in the back row which this minivan didn't have. It has 2 individual seats, so instead of seating 7, it seats 6. But the more I think about it, the more I think this will work out to my benefit. Since the 2 seats need to be removed individually, I'll be able to lift them out myself, rather than need Buzzkill to lift a giant, heavy bench seat.

So, in conclusion, totally happy to be a suburban, minivan mom!

Soaking Saturday

Man, the rain has just poured buckets today! I had to do my Walgreens, Kroger, and Target deal runs this morning in the rain, but afterward I just settled into the sofa with discounted Coke Zero to watch SEC games. I literally dreamed about the Auburn game last night - that I was watching it, cheering, and teaching the Punkinhead about the game. I'm so glad fall is here. It's always my favorite season.

I'm on a "saving money" push for the next week or so to try to only buy Punkinhead's milk at the grocery store in the next week and really use the great bargains I've stockpiled in the freezer and the pantry. Let's call it Eat Your Freezer Week!

To that end, we did the ol' comfort food meal of spaghetti and meat sauce. I think I could serve this to Buzzkill EVERY night and he'd be in heaven.

So, I racked up at Walgreens today. I spent $50.65 out of pocket for merchandise that would have cost me $200.30 at full price. Plus I have the monthly Easysaver rebate items that will give me $25.76 back at the end of the month. So, really I got $200.30 worth of items for $24.89!!!!!!

I had one last 50 cent coupon for a 4 pack of Cottonelle toilet paper to use at Kroger today. It was $1.21, so with Kroger double coupons, I paid 21 cents. I'm going to miss my little stockpile of Cottonelle coupons.....

Target was good. I did some diaper and bottle scenarios to get 2 $5.00 gift cards. I also took advantage of some of this week's baby-themed sales for some baby shower gifts. It wasn't a money-maker day a Target, but some good, solid deals I'm content with. According to Penny Pinching Parent I got LUVS for 6 cents below standard per diaper cost. I don't think I'm going to be really satisfied with diaper costs again after last month's Walgreens 10 cent per diaper bargain. They've ruined me for standard, run-of-the-mill sales.

Remodeling Bug

I've caught the bug. When we bought our house a couple of years ago, we knew eventually we'd pour a bucketful of money into this place in flooring, kitchen, and master bath. But we had a live-with-what's-here-but-paint policy for 4 to 5 years.

The Punkinhead pregnancy interrupted the completion of some rooms being painted and up until now I could live with it. Unfortunately, two things have happened this summer. One, our neighbors sold their house and I saw the upgrades they put in just before. Two, a playgroup mom and her husband have done AMAZING things to a house in our neighborhood and I got to see them when I took them a post-new baby meal.

These visitations have infected me and there is no cure other than.....REMODEL NOW!

Clearly, the budget still isn't ready for a flooring, full kitchen, or full master bath gutting. But I CAN paint. And maybe a little more.

So the plan:

1. Repaint all the mismatched trim throughout the house as this bothers me every where I go in the house.

2. Repaint the kitchen.

3. Do a cosmetic update on the master bath including: rent a steamer to get the border off the walls, repaint the walls, paint the cabinets, replace faucets and fixtures, maybe replace the mirrors, and hire someone to lay down the tile left in the garage by the previous owner so that the shower room matches the rest of the bathroom Here's an inspiration room:



It's probably going to take me a full year to do all this since I'll be a DIY queen. I'm going to budget for a tile guy 'cause I KNOW that's not something I want to learn in the tiny, awkward shower room, but I think the rest is totally within my capabilities and I know it will make me happier at home.