God is just so good! This past weekend was just awesome for the Clarke family…and I just praise God for it!

It all started on Friday when Eleanor had her 4 month check up. Even though we had to drive about an hour and a half to our doctor’s, Eleanor had to get 3 shots, & Lilli & I got flu shots (Corinne was over my good friend, Rachel’s, house playing with her future husband, Ethan), I was thankful for all of it! There are millions of people who have no medical insurance & millions more who die due to the inability to receive life saving vaccinations (Click here to see how you can help change the life of a child in poverty). It turns out that *little* Eleanor weighs 15 lbs, 7 oz - 85th percentile - and is 26 inches tall - 95th percentile (I wasn’t shocked by this, since all my girls have been in the higher percentiles, although proportionate). To treat ourselves for being so brave, Lilli & I ended up having a McD’s hot fudge sundae (off the dollar menu - woo hoo!) on the way home. That evening, we had dinner over our other good friends, Mandi & Sean’s, house, which is about a half hour west of us…we saw so many deer! I really enjoyed catching up with our friends & especially loved when Mandi showed me what she included in her Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes….she’s so creative! Meanwhile, the girls (yes, they have three girls, also) had fun dressing up and running all over the place!

Saturday was a lazy day spent putzing around However, that evening Ethan spent the night at our house while his mom & dad celebrated their 27th & 30th birthdays together - Happy Birthday Rachel & Nathan!

Sunday always comes too soon, but I was excited to get to church to catch up with more familiar faces. Pastor Mike was really rockin’ out and it was fun watching Eleanor take it all in! I was so encouraged to hear that Sandi, who is in charge of outreach ministry, started the Meals on Wheels and served 75 hot meals to people in our community last week! Wow! That evening I served up the usual “Sunday Spaghetti” and we all put our feet up & relaxed - the girls watched a Little Einsteins movie & Michael & I worked on that “exciting news,” which should be allowed to be revealed within the next few days.

To top it off, I was the winner of TWO giveaways:

* The Chocolistas‘ “Name that Dessert” - my name “Raspberry Snuggles” won me Chocolate and Roses Cupcake Gift Tags from Elegant Snobbery & Special Dark Chocolate Petit-Four Candy Piece Scrabble Pendant from ImJewelee (Thank you to everyone who voted!)
* Christian Women Online CD giveaway - Fransesca Battistelli, “My Paper Heart”

Next weekend should be fun too since we’re changing our assisted living visit from Wednesday to Saturday. This way, Michael can join us AND I have an extra pair of hands to help me with my oh-so-lovely-but-oh-so-all-over-the-place-two-year-old, Corinne.

Here are some pictures of Eleanor at 4 months:

“Tummy Time” has turned into trying-to-roll-over-time.

Happy “Ewon” (thank you, Corinne!)

Biker Baby…it’s just in the genes…

“I love my Poppa!”

Clarke Family Cirque du Soleil!

“So my heart will sing to you. I can’t keep silent.
Lord, my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
~Psalm 30:12

Hooray! I didn’t have to cut and paste my items this past week! However, I did find a good Carefree deal at Walmart (they were $1.08 each and I had (5) $1 coupons, making them just 8 cents each!!), so I included that in my CVS picture:

Total Out of Pocket: $10.50
Total Savings (including ECB’s, coupons, & specials): $27.47
Total ECB’s earned to use on a future purchase: $4.00

Michael was excited about the Pepsi deal and I was happy that I got to grab Triaminic for $4 after the sale price and a coupon! We’ve contracted the cold that’s been going around - well, everyone except Lilli & Eleanor - so I was happy I didn’t have to pay full price on that.

If you want to know how to get the most from your money, check out Deal Seeking Mom’s CVS 101 for Newbies. Have fun!

I haven’t made a CVS trip in quite a while, but when this past week’s circular came around, I jumped at the opportunity to save some $$!

Here’s what I got (and don’t laugh at my attempt to cut and paste from two different pictures. I made two trips and added the Excedrins - which are completely not to scale -in on the first picture. I guess that’s what I get for missing a great deal on the first trip!)

Total OOP (out of pocket): $4.06
Total Savings (including coupons & specials): $15.09
Total ECB’s earned to use on a future purchase: $4.27

Oh- and I didn’t buy the Pepsi 3/4 empty…someone (ahem, Michael) had to satisfy their Pepsi craving

I was out grocery shopping last week and noticed that the granola bar boxes only contained 5 bars. Same price as before, but one short. When did this happen? I remember there used to be 6 bars (easy to remember because I could equally divide them between Lilli & Corinne). I was happy that I had my coupon for $0.55 I’m not cheap, but I like to consider myself financially conscious I do the CVS thing, clip coupons, breastfeed, use cloth diapers, and even eBay (I got Lilli’s brand new Stride Rite sneakers for fifteen bucks the other day!! I was excited about the deal I got, and she was excited they light up…woo hoo!). As I checked out, I noticed the customer in front of me was purchasing infant formula and disposable diapers. I wonder how much she spends on formula and diapers in a year?

My curiosity led me to look online - here are my findings:

According to Natural Family Online, the total estimated average cost is $2,694.54 for 7,349 disposable diapers. Here is how they broke it down (excerpt courtesy of Natural Family Online):

Based on two of the most popular brands from a store known for its value pricing:

The newborn package (up to 10 lb.) contains 48 diapers at $16.23, or $0.34 each . The average number of changes for a newborn is 12 to 16 per day for the first two weeks.

14 diapers x 7 days x 2 weeks = 196 diapers at $0.34 each = $66.64

The infant size 1 package (up to 14 lbs.) contains 104 diapers at $ 0.22 each. An average baby requires 10 to 12 changes per day for the first three months.

11 diapers x 30 days x 2.5 months = 825 diapers at $0.22 each = $181.50

The infant size 2 package (12-18 lbs.) contains 88 diapers at $0.26 each. An average baby who is three to six months old requires 10 to 12 changes a day.

11 diapers x 30 days x 3 months = 990 diapers at $0.26 each = $257.40

Mega-pack pricing was used for the balance of the packages, because mega-packs are the least expensive. Each mega-pack was $28.92 + $2.02 sales tax, for a total of $30.94 per package.

The infant size 3 package (16-18 lbs.) contains 96 diapers $0.32 each. A six- to nine-month-old baby requires eight to 10 changes per day.

9 diapers x 30 days x 3 months = 810 diapers at $0.32 each = $259.20

The infant size 4 package (22-27 lbs.) contains 64 diapers at $0.37 each. A nine- to 12-month-old child requires eight changes per day.

8 diapers x 30 days x 3 months = 720 diapers at $0.37 each = $266.40

The toddler size 5 package (over 27 lbs.) contains 58 diapers at $0.41 each. The average 12- to 18-month-old child requires six to eight changes a day.

7 diapers x 30 days x 6 months = 1,260 diapers at $0.41 each = $516.60

The child size 6 package (over 35 lbs.) contains 48 training diapers at $23.00, or $0.45 each. An average 18- to 30-month-old child requires six to eight changes per day.

7 diapers x 364 days = 2,548 diapers at $0.45 each = $1146.60

WOW! What about the cost of electricity to wash and dry your cloth diapers? They cover all of that, as well as how the cost of cloth diapers pay for themselves within about 6 months, in their article The True Cost of Diapering: More Than Money

Now infant formula. According to my doctor, babies up to age 2 months should be eating between 2-4oz every 2-4 hours. Those amounts increase as baby gets older. Based on those figures, you could be spending anywhere from $40.00-$70.00 on infant formula per week (depending on brand and formula type- soy, organic, etc.). That equates to up to $3,640.00/year on formula!!

So by my using cloth diapers and breastfeeding, we’re saving over six grand per year - one just one child alone! KA-CHING!

Thankfully, Michael has been blessed with a great talent in computers and I am able to stay at home to care for the girls. I don’t even want to think about how much money we’d be spending on daycare….shudder!

So the ever cool Tara over at Deal Seeking Mom is having a YUMMY giveaway in honor of the debate. No - not about the economy, or the presidency, or any other political issue - it’s the Pillsbury dessert debate. Which does America like more: cake or brownies? I voted cake…chocolate…with LOTS of chocolate icing! (I feel my hips getting bigger just thinking about it ) Tara is giving away an awesome Pillsbury Sweeter America Prize Pack that includes:

• Pillsbury Stars and Stripes Cake Mix and Frosting
• Brownie Mix
• Quick Bread
• Pillsbury Apron
• and a Pillsbury Doughboy Doll that giggles (folks, this is what it’s ALL about )

So how can you enter? Tara’s site has all the details, but in short: first, go vote, and then visit her site and leave her a comment about how you voted and why. Then, to get another entry, subscribe to her feed via RSS or email. Finally for a third entry, spread the word about this giveaway in either a blog, forum, etc.

Good luck!

Again, I don’t have time to break down the transactions, but this all came to only $6.67, which was paid for by a gift card Michael’s Gram had sent (what a sweetie she is!!!)

My total savings (including coupons, specials, & ECBs): $27.47

Did I mention I love CVS?!

I don’t have time to break down the coupons & transactions…but I just had to share my savings!

I got everything at CVS, with the exception of the bread and rinse aid (both of which I got for free with coupons!)

I got all of this for $9.31!

Now for the savings (drum roll please….)

My total savings was: $27.24!! Wow!