Friday Weigh In

Unbelievable. I'm down 5 lbs from 2 weeks ago. This is frightening because I SO didn't earn these. I didn't even want to get on the scale when we got back from camping. I have only been to the gym twice this week and barely kept track of my points. Am I dying or something??? You know, unexplained weight loss. Well I'm not going to push my luck. I'm back on the wagon. I have come too far to slack off now. Not to mention I'm only a little over half way there. What is exciting is that I'm less than 10 lbs away from the weight I was most of my child-bearing years. Not that I didn't need to lose, but I've almost rid myself of all the weight I had gained over the last five years. I'm officially at 37 lbs so far! Wooohooo!

SCHOOL SHOPPING

Yesterday I took a few more kids to the mall to finish up school shopping. I'm sure some wonder how one does it with nine kids and one income of a donut maker. Let me tell you. First, go often. You can't find the deals if you are not there. Be smart. Know what things cost at different places, including Wal-Mart. I mean, why buy a plain black t-shirt for $10 when you can get one from walmart for $4. Anyway, we went to The Children's Place. Again. We made a haul. Almost never do we buy their just released clothing, barely even look at it. We bought cute shirts for $3.18. At that price you should really stock up. I bought shirts in a size up for Bo for next summer and a few basics for Katy. They also had swim wear ridiculously cheap. $5.50. So I also got swimwear for my little ones for next summer. They also had backpacks and lunchboxes for $15 and $6. That's not that great of a deal, I know. HOWEVER. what I have yet to mention is that this store has coupons and a rewards program. After all the sale prices, I also saved an additional 15%. Do you know how cheap that makes a $3 shirt??? It also brings the backpacks down to walmart prices. Much cuter! As for the rewards - I will get two $10 gift cards in the mail which will buy 2 new pairs of jeans - FREE. Some of my other deals this summer - $3 patriotic t-shirts for my boys. These can be worn all year, so I got a couple for each. My big girls and boys - Aeropostale always has clearance stuff online. This summer they have also had free shipping. Polo and t-shirts for $5. Cammis and cute shirts $6. Better than walmart prices and the kids like that they are wearing "in" clothing.
Now that I have about wrapped up my school shopping, back to a budget. I suck at that, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!