Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Found Something!

Found a vehicle today. If the tax money is in by morning, I think we'll just go and get it. Big enough for everyone, decently priced, and we can afford it. Checked the insurance, plates and registration and we'll still have enough for everything. Then we can get rid of the car that's too small!

Only thing I can think of that might go wrong tomorrow, well, few things, I should say...
  • I don't have my SS card. I may have to drive 40 miles just to get a paper that says, yes, this is my number.
  • The income taxes don't come in on time.
  • Prices aren't as they appear to be.
  • The car lot is closed tomorrow.
  • We don't get up and they've already sold it.
  • It sold in the last few minutes they were open today.
So, I want to stay up just a little longer in order to make sure the money is deposited like it should be. Hopefully no pending stuff, because that has never happened to us before with our new cards. That would absolutely throw everything off!

Hoping that everything goes right for once. Maybe DHs missing paycheck could come in as well? That'd be great since there is no paycheck this week. (Did I ever mention how much I hate bi-weekly checks?)

I would like nothing more than to post photos of a new (used) vehicle tomorrow. Maybe something else too, but I don't see that happening until this weekend... In any case, we need this week to go a lot better than all the rest of the weeks, months, past year.

Severe Weather

I'm a storm spotter. I'm also a mother. Of course, if there's any "bad" weather headed our way I'm up and tracking and worried, but also very interested. Weather fascinates me.

DD woke up before the thunder started. I managed to fall asleep knowing that it would storm this morning and not setting up any alerts first. So, I grabbed my nearly-dead phone and saw that the storms were about an hour away. I got up.

There was a report of a tornado on the ground in Harrisburgh, Illinois. Not close to us, south of us and the storm would stay that way. Still, we used to live in it's path on the south side of Evansville, Indiana, and my sister-in-law lives in a trailer park down there. I was concerned, obviously.

Father-in-law, whom she would normally call, is at work. Her mother, my MIL, has no minutes on her phone nor is it ever turned on anyway. I woke up my husband so he would have his phone on and charged in case she called as we are the only family members she'd be able to get a hold of.

I kept watching. It was headed just south of her home, so I attempted to wake my husband up to call her. She's off work today and I wasn't for sure she was even awake to know what was going on. It's a scary thought, even if we don't get along with her. I don't really care who it is, if you know anyone in the path of a tornado, it should bother you.

In any case, it seems to have avoided her completely and thankfully, though there are fatalities in Illinois and damage in both Indiana and Kentucky too. (Evansville is right on the Ohio River across from Kentucky and Illinois is just to the west.) Not something anyone wants to happen in their area. It's really depressing to know that people have lost their lives tonight and this morning.

When my mother-in-law got up, she didn't care. What? What about her daughter? Obviously she'd be fine. She did point out that she needed to get minutes for her phone. What? She informs me we have a tornado warning. No we don't, that's south of us. Oh, it's a watch. Yeah, but it's been cancelled. It's supposed to be windy. Of course it is! School is closed. No it's not, it's on a delay. They're on a delay? Yes, it was storming! Why does it even matter? Your kids are in their twenties.

I want to rip my hair out. How can you not care? It's morning, yes. It's early, yes. You just woke up, I got it. Your kid could have died tonight, don't you fucking care at all?

I want to cry.

I could barely get my husband awake enough to give a damn. He didn't seem the slightest bit concerned either because he is tired. For that matter, he went back to bed. He told me he texted his sister when I woke him up to call her (I don't have her number nor would she probably speak to me anyway), but I don't recall him ever touching his phone. He probably thought he did, because he tends to "dream" things I've asked him to do while sleepy.

His excuse? "I have to work today." So what? It's not like you can't sleep more later. I think you should care a little bit more about this. What if it was headed this way? Am I supposed to grab the kids, get them in the car, and somehow get you up and in the car too so we can leave? (We're in a modular that's really just a flimsy double-wide. No storm shelter or anything for that matter.)

I'm so frustrated right now. I went to sleep shortly before him. I got up. I've been up. Just because he works later this evening does not mean that he should be magically entitled to more sleep than me. I get to watch the kids and work online, but obviously I don't need the sleep.

Actually, he told me he was just "going to lay down" because we were arguing and he "didn't want to yell at me." Needless to say, all he did was go back to bed.

I wish people would grow up around here...

New Pampers G2G Code!

10 point code
FBLD229AWE4VB12

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

♫ Money Money Money... Moooney! ♫

Not really, well, at least for very long. We need it! No check this week, as it still hasn't come in and this is the down week for DHs bi-weekly check.
  • Made $105 on stuff posted on Craigslist yesterday.
  • Made $21 on coupons yesterday.
  • State income tax deposit came in this morning.
  • Made another $40 on stuff at the old house.
  • Someone is coming to pick up the bed ($75) tomorrow evening.
  • Federal income tax is supposed to be deposited on Thursday.
  • Still have more stuff to sell.
Found gas for only $3.56 a gallon in town right before it went up to $3.79. Filled up the tank. It only cost $51. That's been a while.

Used about a hundred so far over the past few days, mostly on gas. Really need to change the oil in the car, but we're getting rid of it! Just does not have enough room, sadly. Love the search/temp buttons for everything on the steering wheel. Very nice.


It's storming a bit here now, but nothing big. It's to the south. Just windy and hubby is out, so that's about my only concern. Hail core is staying south of us and south of anything I plan on getting soon. Don't like the idea of large hail, mainly because I've seen what it can do.

It is a pity that it isn't going to do anything. Sort of like watching storms. That's why they're no fun at night. I'm night blind and can't see a thing! Not as though a normal person would be able to see a whole lot in the dark and rain anyway...

Shadora? Let's Try It.


The Breakfast Project: Get Your Free Milk Coupon!


The Milk Mustache Campaign on Facebook is giving away 10,000 coupons a day for a free gallon of any brand of white milk with the purchase of three breakfast items. They go fast, you can only print one, but I finally managed to get one! :D

Note: You have five minutes to print and it's SmartSource. Make sure Java is updated!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Cleaning Out the Coupons!

Had a ton of formula checks, I realized today. I've already used a lot of them in the past month and I still had $54 worth of them! Around here they are used properly and not as vendor coupons, so it's not as though I can really "spend" the money on anything but formula--and our trunk is packed with infant formula and cereal.

Posted all of them online for trade. Ended up making 40% of what the face value was, minus my postage cost of course. Still, when you really need that money, it's awesome.

Working on trading away coupons we'll never use now. I'm getting so frustrated when going through and tossing ones that I forgot about or having a ton of hair product ones that don't expire for months and it's something we won't/can't use/buy. Might as well benefit someone else with them!

Being my first real experience in trading coupons and the like, I think I like it. Of course, I certainly wouldn't want to do it online anywhere I wasn't absolutely sure you could trust the people.

Have you ever traded coupons?

Urgh, Painless?

I've been doing a lot today. Maybe more than I should be, I'll admit. But, I've never been one to allow something as silly as pregnancy stop me from doing something I could normally do. ;)

I don't have any complications with this pregnancy like I did the last, so I'm not treating my body any differently. Sure, my back completely locked up this afternoon but I took a Tylenol and was good an hour later. I don't think I pulled anything, it's just that my back has been giving me trouble after having three kids in three years.

Worked a lot last night online, went to bed late, got up late (which isn't new since DH started working nights), started digging through the garage and answering so many texts from people wanting to know about the stuff we were selling I could have ripped my hair out. Managed to make $75 on a pile of stuff a guy filled up his truck with, then another $30 on a washer/dryer set that we didn't need and doesn't work that well, then another $20 on coupons.

All in all, I don't think we did bad for a day's worth of work. Plus, the kids got to spend a lot of time outside which they haven't been able to for some time, which really sucks because we're more of an outdoor sort of family anyway.

So, the guy is supposed to come back out tomorrow and help us go through all the stuff at the old house with his brother. Bonus would be getting some of the stuff out of the house we've needed to forever without having to worry about being there alone. Ever since someone broke in the front door and the place is abandoned (though we still own it) I've been terrified to go there. Hope to get something out of that experience tomorrow though.

Now, hubby is at work for the night. Kids are in bed, though not sleeping. And I'm in pain. Well, not really "pain per say, but it's those damnable Braxton-Hicks contractions and I just can't stand them. Ever heard that it feels like a rubber band around the top of your belly? That's what it's always felt like for me. So here I have a baby kicking/hickuping/something and this tightening that isn't really painful but isn't really something I can just ignore either. And my back is starting to hurt again.

Bed is broken and I'm sleeping on the floor again. That so helps my back, I'm sure. The first few nights that air mattress--only thing we have and the only thing that makes me feel the slightest bit comfortable anyway--started deflating it wasn't so bad. Then it ripped a huge hole in the bottom and now it goes from over-inflated to flat-on-the-ground in less than two hours. At least when it deflates quickly it doesn't hurt my neck, otherwise my head is too light compared to the rest of me and I wake up in this weird kinked position hardly able to move with a headache.

Right now, the floor is pretty comfy. There is a very flat, maybe half-inch thick futon mat on the floor, then a few blankets. It's better than nothing and it works for right now. Sure, it really sucks to get up off the floor, but I manage. I also passed out in nap mode from being so tired earlier while the kids watched The Chipmunks. Nothing new there honestly, because I've been doing that a lot this past month. Gotta love how my energy level goes down then up then down again at the end of pregnancy. :/

Still working on a place to stay. Currently just concerned about getting money for gas. DH was supposed to get a check in the mail on Thursday because they needed an extra week for his first direct deposit. It still didn't come in today. He did manage to get a hold of someone today and they told him they "didn't control the US Postal Service" and would send him another check. Yeah, thanks guys. I hate the places to work around here, because they all treat people like crap. Hubby wasn't the only person they screwed over with a check last week, so I can't wait for it to direct deposit so we don't have to worry about that anymore.

Just trying to wait around through this "pain" and get a call in to my DH to let him know what's going on. If it gets to hurting too much, he'll try to come home like he did a few weeks ago. That one was bad. I was counting and there were four contractions in an hour, but nothing else. When I went for my checkup a few days later, I did tell her and she checked my cervix (yuck) and said she'd call it a 2. Let me explain: At the hospital last month I was at 1 1/2. That's sort of my "base" so I'm just not dilating yet, thankfully. (Plus I've always bled when I do.)

I guess that's another good thing about having a few kids close together: You remember what it's like to go into labor. With Kal, I spotted and didn't feel that great but no contractions. With Iz, my legs turned purple from the cramping but it didn't hurt, I just felt really strange and was spotting. With DD, I was induced and it was like being in a dream. I barely remember throwing up and peeing on myself at the same time! (Thank god, that would have been so embarrassing to me!) This one is just a lot more cramping than before, but each one is different. But I've never had this many BH in any of my past pregnancies!

How much of a "pain" were false contractions for you?

Craigslist

Posting stuff on Craigslist tonight:
Will update with more, believe me. Just have to find more stuff to post.
..And take photos, but it's dark outside right now and everything is in a pole barn for storage. (I don't care enough to go out in the cold right this moment and take pictures with my phone.)

Free Burt's Bees Lip Balm!

Honey, you’re One in a Million! We’ve reached one million fans on Facebook, thanks to friends like you! Help us celebrate at our Thanks a Million tab. The first 25,000 friends to sign up will get a FREE original beeswax lip balm, a natural fan favorite. Thanks for bee-ing a fantastic friend!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Family Update

Quick run down of what's going on at "home."

The in-laws that we have been staying with have decided that we have stayed too long and are wanting us out. There is no nice way to put it, but they want us gone ASAP.

Believe me, we have not wanted to stay so long. My husband is finally working again after many days of just being sent home after driving into work simply because they don't have enough things for all the people they've hired to do. That wastes our money in gas and what little we do get to save up gets used on the "bad" weeks.

In any case, the in-laws have been getting more and more hostile and now that we are waiting for our small amount of tax money to come in, they want us gone. My husband spoke with his mother today and asked, at minimum, for them to wait until our taxes come in so we can at least afford a hotel to stay in for a bit.

You have to understand something: We lived in our car and a tent for a week this summer because of these people. They offered to help us when my husband lost his job in January and we lost our home. We had nothing and have had nothing.

It's an absolute horror to have to deal with these people, who only care about themselves and say they care about us and our children but are more than willing to turn us out in the cold for their dog. (Not joking--that's why we were homeless for a week. A dog. Seriously.)

I'm working my ass off and I'm due literally any day now. My husband was sent home almost every day last week because they didn't have anything for him to do at work. We're going to my OBGYN every Friday and the past two weeks she has figured I would go into labor before my next appointment each time--my due date is on March 14th!

So, I'm holding out hope that I don't go into labor anytime soon and that our money magically appears in our account and that something spectacular will happen tomorrow. Of course, I've been hoping for that for some time and it has yet to happen. Still, it's worth wishing for.

I have something in the works that, I pray, will fix the problem at least for the time being. I still have to get some emails back and barter and do whatever I can to make this happen today/tomorrow/the next day. I do not want to be here any longer and subject my family to any more stress and anger.

Needless to say, we want nothing more to do with these people. I know not everyone will agree that it is the proper thing to do, but you have to understand that they also just "got rid of" their niece that they were awarded guardianship of because they no longer wanted to deal with her. (She hasn't been here all week and just came out tonight to pick up her things.)

If they wish to have their house back so badly, they can have it. They fought hard for guardianship of two nephews and a niece, but all three of them are gone now. Their daughter is gone as of a few months ago and, now that we are the only ones left in their house, the pressure is immense.

It is not as though we wish to be here, to live here, but we had no other choice. There are no shelters nearby. There is no housing that would take us. There is nothing we could afford nor get because of our eviction earlier this year. We have a car and a tent and love, food and water and clothing, but not a home.

I'm working hard on it. I'm trying not to stress. My husband is too. It's hard. It's been hard, but we'll make it. I always tell myself that there are people worse off and it is very true. So I just keep on going and working and doing what I must.

The stress is a pain in the ass though. I wish it would go away and all our troubles with it, but that seems highly unlikely.

I can only hope that I can get something by tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully a better one than the day before. Hope can get you far and hope can get you to persevere in even the most bleak situations.

And the love of my family. I couldn't do much without that, no matter how little I show it.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Win Free Dove Deodorant!

Become a Dove Insider for free coupons and promotions, sent straight to your email!

Play the instant win game once a day and see if you've won!

You can also get a $1.50 coupon for being a Dove Insider!

Target Beauty Sample

  • Contents by Allegro bag ("Twirl Me" design)
  • L'Oreal Paris Youth Code sample
  • Tresemme Naturals Shampoo & Conditioner sample
  • Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner sample
  • John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo & Conditioner sample
  • John Frieda Full Repair product $2 off coupon (excludes trial sizes)
  • Pond's Wet Cleansing Toweletts sample 5-pack

Kellogg's AARP Rewards: $10 Pre-Paid Debit MasterCard Gas Card, 5 Per Household!

You could get up to $10 in gas money!* How? It’s easy–just follow these three easy steps below to get started:
  • Step 1: Clip off 10 UPCs on participating cereals.** 
  • Step 2: Print and fill out the downloadable form. 
  • Step 3: Mail in the UPCs and form. 
*To be awarded in the form of a debit MasterCard® card

**Participating Brands: Kellogg’s® All-Bran® Original cereal, Kellogg’s® All-Bran® Bran Buds® cereal, Kellogg’s® All-Bran® Complete® Wheat Flakes® cereal, Kellogg’s® Smart Start® Strong Heart Antioxidant cereal, Kellogg’s® Corn Flakes® cereal, Kellogg’s® Raisin Bran® cereal, Kellogg’s® Raisin Bran® Crunch cereal, Kellogg’s® Crispix® cereal, Kellogg’s® Product 19® cereal, Kellogg’s® Mueslix® cereal, Kellogg’s® Cracklin' Oat Bran® cereal, Kellogg’s® Lowfat Granola with Raisins cereal, Kellogg’s® Lowfat Granola without Raisins cereal, Kellogg’s® Lowfat Granola Original cereal, Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal, Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® Gluten Free cereal. (All 10 oz or larger, mix or match.)

This card is issued by Palm Desert National Bank pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated.

OFFER AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. LIMIT 5 Kellogg’s™ Gas Rewards Cards PER HOUSEHOLD. We must have your ZIP Code to mail order. U.S. Military overseas send APO or FPO address. This offer good in U.S., its territories and Puerto Rico, except where prohibited, licensed, restricted, or taxed. Kellogg Company reserves the right to substitute or limit offer. Excess UPCs will not be returned. No mechanical reproduction of Official Order Form will be accepted. Resale of Kellogg premium or Official Order Forms is prohibited. Neither this offer nor the Official Order Form may be published, posted or otherwise displayed and/or offered for sale in any electronic or other venue without Kellogg Company’s express written permission. Kellogg is not responsible for lost, late, illegible or incomplete orders or postage-due, damaged or separated mail. Additional postage may be required. Promotion ends on 4/30/2012; letters must be postmarked by 4/30/2012 and received by 5/07/2012.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ensure Coupons!

Save $3 on Ensure High Protein
Discover Ensure High Protein and snag savings on a 4-pack today! With 50% of your recommended daily value of protein, it’s a delicious way to help you stay active and strong.
And...
Save $1.50 on Ensure Multi-Packs!

Just sign up and print! Two prints for each one. Enjoy!

Coupons.com Savings Club: Free For One Year!




All you have to do is sign into your Coupons.com account and fill out your information. Like most places that have trail offers, you have to give them your credit card so they can verify by taking then giving back $1. (I've already had it taken out then readded but pending. Both happened at the same time, unlike the Android Market that took a week...)

Your bill shows that you won't be charged for one year. (Example: Mine says my next bill is for $3 on 2/22/13.) You can cancel at any time if you don't like or don't want to pay after a year, but you might as well use it for a while and get those extra coupons! I've already gotten my confirmation emails and have printed off some of the Savings Club coupons.

There's currently a Savings Club coupon for $1.50 off any one Freshchetta Pizza. My husband loves those, so I printed those out along with some others.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

New Printer! / Omg, Why?!

Finally got a new printer over the weekend. Retailed $70 at Target, on sale for $50 there and Walmart. The ink for 400+ pages is $18 at our local Walmart, compared to the 200+ pages of black ink for $15 in my in-laws printer. Yeah, I think I'm fine with the cheaper stuff.


So, no real problems installing the printer on our main laptop as soon as we got home Saturday night. Worked just fine. Awesome. Wireless ran smooth, printer is a heck of a lot quieter than the HP, etc etc etc. My husband even downloaded Epson (which, btw, stands for Son of Electronic Printer) app for his phone and printed that way. Nice right?

Skip to the next day, Sunday. We have another laptop. A broken one--


--that I use to print off additional coupons.

It's my old one that broke within the year warranty when I did little more than touch the top one day. (The plastic is pretty flemsy and bent in, cracking the screen.) The horrible customer service at Asus hardly spoke English and just had me repeat the same things over and over again until they finally told me it had to have been my fault because that couldn't have possibly happened. Yeah. Sure. Whatever...

Anyway, as you can see, I don't have a whole lot of the screen to work with. Well, today is Tuesday and I have just now gotten the printer to work on that laptop. Had to install, reinstall, update, Windows update, download, download, uninstall, reinstall, update, find, install, Windows install... It was a never-ending cycle that ended today.

I've been working on it since Sunday. I'm surprised I didn't rip out half my hair over these past few days. Shesh!

Lost several coupons in the process of getting it to work too, but at least it finally does work! I've been so frustrated with it, I've wanted nothing to do with the damn thing. Now that it works now, it's a lot better than having to hook it up on either computer just to get something printed out!



I'd also like to share with anyone that has an Asus Eee PC: If you cannot get your wireless to work at all and can't figure out why, press the Function button and F2 at the same time. It might be disabled and the software never shows that it is.

New Pampers Gifts to Grow Code!

10 point code
FBFAMDBD99KAY12

Monday, February 20, 2012

2012 Postal Holidays

If you're anything like me and love getting the mail to see what kind of free stuff (like coupons and ads) have come in, this is a handy list to have.

2012 Postal Holidays
  • Monday, January 2 – New Year's Day (observed)
  • Monday, January 16 – Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday (observed)
  • Monday, February 20 – Washington's birthday (President’s Day)
  • Monday, May 28 – Memorial Day
  • Wednesday, July 4 – Independence Day
  • Monday, September 3 – Labor Day
  • Monday, October 8 – Columbus Day
  • Monday, November 12 – Veterans’ Day (observed)
  • Thursday, November 22 – Thanksgiving Day
  • Tuesday, December 25 – Christmas Day
via USPS
I keep forgetting what days the mail doesn't come! At least after today it will be some time before the next postal holiday.

Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards

Here is the list of Pampers Gifts to Grow rewards codes that I have entered into my account. (I literally just grabbed them from the website and pasted them here.) Additional ones I'll make new posts for.

Obviously, the one-use-only ones aren't going to work (the ones from products) and the ones from years ago may not work either. If you want, feel free to give 'em a shot if you haven't already though!

Pampers Gifts to Grow Codes

2/20/12   Promotion Code   FBPRE9BD99DAY12   10
2/17/12   Cruisers   RR6TPW3DR3PPKND   54
2/17/12   Cruisers   RR6TPTYXWRWXNW6   54
2/14/12   Promotion Code   FBVAL9BD99DAY12   10
2/7/12   Promotion Code   TWITL9E8XAGTG12   5
1/23/12   Promotion Code   TWIT9PGYETBPA12   5
1/17/12   Promotion Code   FBMLKKU4RPP6P12   10
1/1/12   Promotion Code   FB2012NYAFJRYCN   10
1/1/12   Wipes   YYKWFT9J7HD3NWJ   10
12/25/11   Promotion Code   FAC1211PPXHKHND   10
12/23/11   Promotion Code   TWIT23YBYAD2011   5
12/22/11   Promotion Code   TWIT22DECBR2011   5
12/21/11   Promotion Code   TWITJBAD21W2011   5
12/20/11   Promotion Code   TWIT20XCBCA2011   5
12/19/11   Promotion Code   TWITAJEY19X2011   5
12/18/11   Promotion Code   TWIT18JPXVA2011   5
12/17/11   Promotion Code   TWIT17TEAVG2011   5
12/16/11   Promotion Code   TWITVJB16CD2011   5
12/15/11   Promotion Code   TWIT15BCJXW2011   5
12/14/11   Promotion Code   TWITAPY14CD2011   5
11/17/11   Promotion Code   HOLIDAYGIFT2011   5
11/12/11   Promotion Code   CABRANDSVRNOV11   10
11/12/11   Promotion Code   FAC1111PYWFNXRD   10
10/27/11   Baby-Dry   9XCW7NWY3PCHW43   20
10/27/11   Baby-Dry   R4RCPKTWPJJRXTH   20
10/27/11   Baby-Dry   9XCW7N9K36XTKHY   20
10/15/11   Refill   HYFWPD4DG9NTXHK   5
10/4/11   Baby-Dry   P66NCRC7CTY9RXN   42
10/4/11   Baby-Dry   P66NCPGPGRKG34J   42
10/3/11   Promotion Code   2BEGINEARNING10   10
9/6/11   Promotion Code   FAC911PTXD36Y6J   10
7/20/11   Swaddlers Sensitive   PYTK9RW4J43YHCK   72
7/20/11   Swaddlers Sensitive   PYTK9T3CC4K6JXG   72
7/8/11   Cruisers   RD7FDJFJT3WHRJR   30
7/8/11   Cruisers   RD7FDJJWDYP6NCX   30
7/4/11   Promotion Code   FAC711PHWGNXRD7   10
6/24/11   Promotion Code   TWITTERSPLASHER   10
6/22/11   Promotion Code   TWITTERCNGCLOTH   5
6/22/11   Baby-Dry   CRF6RP9J94Y4R4J   27
6/22/11   Baby-Dry   CRF6RPC4P99H6XT   27
6/19/11   Promotion Code   FXHMWY4WKHU47JD   10
6/17/11   Baby-Dry   CTCHDTWYGJHY7YF   27
6/17/11   Baby-Dry   CTCHDWPN39CW9FD   27
6/13/11   Baby-Dry   RDFHW4WYN3YXKT3   27
6/8/11   Baby-Dry   PYXDW9T3W7FXC39   27
6/4/11   Baby-Dry   RDFCJ9YK3CKD76J   27
5/30/11   Baby-Dry   RDFHWHTJHGJ7K6H   27
5/30/11   Baby-Dry   RDFHWJ4C7TDTFWR   27
5/25/11   Bonus      30
5/25/11   Cruisers   RCWCY3PCTCYRWJ3   30
5/25/11   Bonus      30
5/25/11   Cruisers   RCWCY3GNNJ6CWY4   30
5/13/11   Baby-Dry   R6DRT64P473GC3D   27
5/13/11   Baby-Dry   R6DRT4RP39JTHFC   27
5/8/11   Promotion Code   VMF776C7HMEXT4P   10
5/3/11   Baby-Dry   NRTXJKK4TJFR4W9   30
5/3/11   Cruisers   94GYG49CPFHCTHW   36
5/3/11   Baby-Dry   NRTXJK6PTPXPFN7   30
4/16/11   Baby-Dry   6FHPG9HXX39JXD4   20
4/16/11   Baby-Dry   J6NT9YXT7FWFGH3   36
4/16/11   Baby-Dry   KGRRHDGKYKWC4FY   20
4/16/11   Promotion Code   WELCOMEGTGPTS10   10
4/16/11   Promotion Code   NEWWIPESPACKAGE   10
4/16/11   Promotion Code   GTGREWARDS4MOMS   10
4/16/11   Promotion Code   GTGWELCOME10PTS   10
4/16/11   Promotion Code   PAMPERS4MOMJFM1   10
4/16/11   Promotion Code                                    CONGRATS2NEWMOM   10
10/29/10   Promotion Code 4HAPPYHALLOWEEN   5
10/29/10   Promotion Code   PAMPERSGTG10PTS   10
10/21/10   Baby-Dry   6KKXDKYY9DTWF9X   27
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In Reply To... "7 Things You Should Never Say to a Mother in Her Twenties" on Babble

I absolutely HATE that everyone assumes 1) my kids are all by different men because I am young and 2) that they were “mistakes.”
We were serious right from the start and have only spent maybe a week apart from one another over the course of six years. (We are both 25.) We didn’t get married right away while we were attempting to conceive our first, which took well over a year, because we wanted to be married on a specific day in the future that we had both picked out.
Heaven forbid, that day was shortly after finding out that we’d finally gotten pregnant! No one believes us when we tell them that we didn’t just quickly get married because of the pregnancy either, especially since we didn’t tell our families we were trying to begin with. (They are exceptionally nosy and, honestly, it’s none of their business what we do in bed!)
Since we had trouble conceiving the first time, we started trying again shortly after our daughter was born. Surprise! She was born twelve days before her big sister’s first birthday.
The plan was then to wait a few years and try for a boy. That didn’t happen and he came sooner than we thought on the day before his youngest sister’s first birthday. We’re fine with that. We love them all! They are our children and they were planned enough, because we were afraid we would never have any.
Now we’re on number four, due in less than a month. We’ll both be turning 26 afterwards. The due date is our fourth anniversary.
My doctor doesn’t even like that we have so many children, and our families are not supportive either. It’s not nice to hear these horrible things from people that don’t know us. It’s harder to hear it from people who are supposed to support your decisions like your family members.
Just because everyone else is waiting until they’re 40 to have kids doesn’t mean everyone has to. Some people really do find love and happiness at a young age. I don’t think we should be criticized for that.
The only person in my “family” that understands is my childless aunt who knows my husband and I. She doesn’t see why people would ever ask us why we have children and the horrible, “So, are they all by the same guy?” questions. She doesn’t get it because she knows how we are together. It is a pity that no one else sees it that way.
7 Things You Should Never Say to a Mother in Her Twenties

Sunday, February 19, 2012

CVS: No More Store #6876 For Me

I'm tired of them. Honestly, they have a few lovely people that are willing to learn, but everyone else that works there is rude and refuse to attempt to help anyone. I'm sick and tired of being belittled when trying to use coupons properly and being charged tax on food!

My main problem is one older woman that works at the register. No matter if she is right or wrong, she is rude and downright mean at even the best times. Yesterday when I went to her register she shouted at me, laughed at me, then got frustrated enough to walk off in front of her manager when told she was wrong, then proceeded to complain to other customers about me. How professional is that?

This is the same woman that enjoys picking on my husband and charging him tax on food if he uses coupons. I have contacted corporate about it, but I really don't want to call them while I am in her line just to get her to stop. My husband would rather pay the few cents in tax than try to fight her on it, because she will literally make a scene complaining about it.

I think I discovered her real problem yesterday though: She fought me on using coupons on a BOGO sale, because "you don't get things for free." Forgive me, but isn't that what "buy one get one" means? She laughed in my face for trying to use coupons and I was attempting to explain to her that, no, I'm not trying to get these for free. I'm trying to use my coupons to lower the price to $1.89, plus tax for this item and the free one.

She kept telling me I was already getting something for free and she wasn't going to let me get anything else free. She was being loud enough that the manager came over, thinking I was trying to get cash back because that's essentially what she was shouting, and said in a very rude tone, "We aren't like Walmart."

I told her politely that I knew that and I was not attempting to get any money back. I was just trying to use my coupons. The woman at the register showed her what she was attempting to do, said it couldn't be done, and was glaring at me in frustration. The manager said I was allowed to do that. Heaven forbid, that must of been the last straw, because she walked off from the register and left the manager to ring everything up.


Allow me to explain the entire situation:
  • I came in with 3 coupons for $5 off Nature Made vitamins 160ct+
  • I came in with 3 coupons for $1 off any Nature Made product
  • I got a CVS coupon for $3 off any $10 in health care products coupon from the printer in store
  • I picked up 3 250+ Folic Acid NM bottles priced at $6.89
  • I picked up 2 Potassium & 1 Magnesium NM bottles both types priced at $5.49
  • I grabbed 1 bag of chocolate donuts for $1.99
Now, this is how I explained it to the woman at the register:
  • Nature Made products are on sale BOGO
  • Since the Folic Acid is the most expensive they will be the ones I'd pay for, the others would ring up free
  • I want to use my $5 off coupons on the Folic Acid because it does not apply for the others because they are under 160ct
  • Since CVS has changed their coupon policy, I wish to use my $1 off coupons on the three free Nature Made vitamins (Potassium & Magnesium), dropping my price down to $0.89 for each of the 3 Folic Acid bottles that I am purchasing
  • The CVS coupon can be stacked and that will take the purchase price down by an additional $3
  • My total, before tax, should be $0.89x3+$1.99-$3=$1.66
Let me explain what actually happened:
  • I went to the register
  • She rang up everything, then scanned the $1 off coupons first
  • Since the register had already taken off the cheaper Nature Made products for the BOGO sale, these coupons went to the Folic Acid
  • When she tried to scan the $5 off coupons, the register refused
  • She attempted it several times, getting huffy (literally, she was huffing in anger) before realizing it was because there was a BOGO sale
  • Without looking at me, she informed me that I could not use the $5 off coupons on these because they were BOGO
  • I told her that since CVS updated their coupon policy, I was allowed to use a coupon for each product
  • She started laughing--not in a "I haven't heard that one" kind of way, but in a "you're ****ing crazy if you think I'm letting you do that" sort of way
  • I told her I had the coupon policy which I printed out before heading to the store in the car and I could show it to her if she wished
  • She told me to go right ahead, but I'd have to show her manager because "she's the one in charge around here"
  • I gladly went to the car, grabbed the policy and headed back in
  • It was obvious that they had been talking about me in the moment I was gone to the car because the manager had not come over and was glaring at me
  • I handed over the coupon policy to the woman at the register and she read it very quickly before pushing it away and saying that I couldn't use two coupons because that would make all the vitamins free and I was already getting enough for free because of the BOGO sale
  • I showed her the example at the bottom of the BOGO policy section that explains if you have 2 $1 off coupons for a product that is $2 and BOGO, then all you pay is the acceptable tax
  • She told me she couldn't do that because, again, I was already getting enough for free
  • I explained I wouldn't be getting them for free: I would be paying $0.89 on the 3 Folic Acid bottles
  • She started getting louder about how I wasn't going to get anything else for free
  • I knew she was getting frustrated so I politely told her that if she didn't want to use my coupons or could not, I would take them back and go somewhere else
  • She voided the transaction and rang everything up again, taking the $3 off $10 coupon and hiding it behind the register as well as pulling my other 6 coupons back from my reach
  • The manager came over and the woman at the register told her in a hateful tone that I was trying to get everything for free--which is obviously not the case from the beginning of this whole situation--and I tried to show her the coupon policy about using a coupon on each item in a BOGO sale. She (the manager) got a bit snippy and told me she could go over to the computer and look it up too and that's not how it worked, then walked off
  • At this point, I was fine with using only my $5 off coupons and explained this as I no longer wanted to fight them
  • After attempting to ring up only the 3 $5 off coupons for the Folic Acid, we went through the exact same thing once again and I carefully took the products out of the bag and showed her, by placing 1 $5 off coupon with each of the 3 Folic Acid bottles
  • Another transaction was voided in order to get the coupons to try and scan properly, but they did not
  • The woman at the register informed me that I could only use 2 $5 off coupons and 1 $1 off coupon
  • She handed me the other 3 (1 $5 & 2 $1) back and told me that if I used the $5 coupon it'd be like she was giving me $5 and that she wasn't going to do that
  • I asked her how that was the case, as I have 3 Folic Acid 250ct and 3 $5 off coupons for any Nature Made product with 160ct or more
  • She didn't answer my question, but rather repeated herself again and louder so her manager would come over
  • The manager came over, saying in a sarcastic tone, "No, we aren't Walmart--we won't give you money back."
  • I explained, with a smile and politely, I knew that and that was not what I was attempting to do--I was just trying to use my coupons properly
  • The woman at the register showed her the 3 $5 off coupons along with the products, saying I couldn't do that
  • The manager looked at her a little funny and said, "Yes she can" and started another transaction to do so
  • At this point, the woman walked off and went to the other register, all the while complaining to the other customers she was ringing up about how "we were busy" over there and not to get in "that line"
  • The manager re-rang everything up--for the fourth time--and the third $5 off coupon beeped
  • We went through the listing for a while and finally figured out the problem (which might I add only happened after the first transaction voided, because I checked that time to be sure everything rang up properly) was that the computer was taking off one of the Folic Acid bottles instead of the 3 cheaper ones for the BOGO sale
  • The manager and I honestly couldn't figure out why and I explained that I expected and preferred to pay for the more expensive item because that was only fair
  • She couldn't get the computer to scan any differently and after a few minutes, she gave up and said she would just do this to get it done with and forced the last $5 off coupon through the system
  • The price ended up being a little over $5 altogether
  • She half-apologized for taking so long but not about her attitude to begin with, nor the cashier before I left
  • The store coupon was never used or returned to me, but thrown away
  • Note: There was also a $4 off $20 on my card that is gone
Sure I'm glad I saved money, but I'm so tired of this. Does the woman at the register not comprehend that when someone uses a coupon they are not stealing? The manufacturer is paying the company back, usually with extra. I'm not "double dipping" and by keeping my coupons and charging me tax on non-taxable items, that's exactly what she is doing?


The last time I contact corporate about her was because she literally humiliated my husband by charging him $0.27 in tax on food when we had only enough to cover the exact amount of the items because we knew that there should not have been any tax. She didn't call a manager, she didn't apologize, and when he came out to the car to try to find pennies in the floorboard to pay for it, a woman waiting in line politely and quietly paid for it.

Instead of going back in and trying to get the manager, my husband just wanted to go home. I contacted corporate and was told that there was no reason to have been charged tax and if it ever happened again to call them. It has happened several more times when my husband goes in, but he doesn't want to call... He would rather just pay the change and get out. How is that fair? Where is that extra money going? Even if it's a few cents, if they do this to several people in a day they should notice but it doesn't seem to detour them. Isn't that stealing?

The managers do not care. They are more willing to listen to the cashiers than the customers. What happened to "the customer is always right" and giving us a chance to explain ourselves before automatically being accused of trying to get more than what we are allowed?

I have seen other couponers in this store. It always seems to be a hassle and takes forever, not to mention it doesn't come up right half the time. If you have coupons exceeding the price of the item, they have a hard time lowering the coupon to prevent it from causing issues on the register because it cannot give cash back.

Do they realize that when someone uses a coupon for $1 on a product that is $0.98, they get the whole amount? They aren't getting ripped off because the customer is getting something "for free" and that a coupon is just like using real money because, well, it is. (Just like making fake ones is treated a lot like making fake money.)


We have a Walgreens and Walmart in town too.

Our Walgreens works with everyone on getting their coupons to work properly. I don't have to use a card to get discounts there. Their Register Rewards scan at Walmart and I'm not forced to use them in their store. The people are polite (usually) and when they can't get something to work, they pull you out of the line and let the manager take you elsewhere so not to make a scene. They are even willing to change items if they are out of something on sale and price match stuff in their own store.

Our Walmart does price matching, uses competitors coupons or manufacturers coupons without issue. Anything that another store offers they will offer the same, reducing prices by the amount of a gift card if that is what is offered as an incentive to buy from them. Their prices are usually cheaper buy over a dollar on things in the health and beauty aisle compared to the drug stores. They will give me cash back if my coupons are worth more than the price of the product and they are more than happy to do so. They don't (usually) tell me that I can't use a coupon just because the person at the register doesn't know how to get them to scan properly.

I don't need to shop at CVS. Your sales are valid at Walmart. Walgreens lets me stack their coupons and manufacturers just like you do. They both have better hours. They have more people on registers and they aren't generally rude or angry just because I walk in the door. They don't talk about me behind my back because they have more important things to do.

Actually, both places have given me compliments on using the coupons and sales so well. When I try to do this at your store (CVS #6876), I am belittled and looked down on; treated as though I am no better than someone trying to steal off their shelves.


I am not trying to rip you off. I am not trying to be difficult and make everyone behind me wait in line for over half and hour. I'm not trying to give you a headache. I'm not using my coupons improperly or attempting to take something I have not paid for. I am not like the people you see on Extreme Couponing that take several cart loads of products for nothing and then stockpile them in my basement. We have very little money and each purchase is thought of carefully and planned so we can even afford it. If it weren't for the coupons and matching sales, we would have nothing.

I'm not rich. I'm not selling this stuff to make money. I'm just trying to get by with a large family and very little income. Maybe if you cared more about your customers you would realize that not everyone that uses a coupon is bad; some of us are just trying to survive and you are making us feel small and more insignificant than the people that come in your store and buy several packs of cigarettes with credit cards then go off to their nice new cars.

We aren't bad people just because you've had bad experiences. Not everyone in this world is trying to screw you over. Don't take a bad attitude towards someone trying to save a buck when that extra money might be the only way they are getting food later this month. Treat everyone with the same amount of respect as you would expect if you were in their situation.

If someone was shouting at you for trying to buy something, would you want to come back? Would you be angry? Would you ever willingly buy from that place again? You are going to lose all your customers if you continue to allow the people that work in your store to act in such a disrespectful fashion.

Train them better. Teach them how the system works. Get them to ask for help when they don't understand something. Get rid of the ones that refuse to step up and be personable in the customer service industry.
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