Me in Place

The other day, my 8yo daughter and I decided we’d stop at the library to get some books. But when we drove up, I noticed the place was a little busier than usual. I also noticed – being as bright as I am – that there were more picketers than usual. Picketing at the library? Using cleverly phrased signs such as, “Fair Contract – OVERDUE”, my grumpy, mean librarians seemed to be taking their grumpiness to the streets. I said to my daughter, “I seriously refuse to cross a picket line just to borrow books that will only cost me overdue fines in the end.”

So we didn’t go in. But as we drove away, I put down my window and put my finger up to my lips and yell-spered “SHHHHHH!!” at the librarians.

Okay, that last part was a lie. I’m too passive-aggressive to do that. But wouldn’t that have been funny? Oh, and “yell-sper?” that’s when you yell as loudly as you can without raising your voice above a whisper. Moms are pros at this, as in, “Get over here RIGHT NOW.” Or, just think of Jack Bauer in 24 – he yell-spers everything. 

I have to admit to a SAS (Short Attention Span) when it comes to coupons. To sit there and plan out meals, cut the coupons out, remember the coupons when you go shopping and focus on the coupons when you have little distractions children with you… it’s just too much. Then, every once in a while, I get all focused and spendthrift and decide there really is logic to using the “free” money stores are handing out. It was from a few other bloggers (like The Sparrow’s Nest) that I learned about CVS pharmacy’s cool Extra Care Bucks and decided to try it out. I clipped coupons, I looked at the deals they had in yesterday’s paper and made my list. We stopped by there last night on the way to my kids’ choir and got our deals.

I’m horrible at math, so this took me some time to figure out: If you have a CVS card, you get their sale prices on items, plus some items earn you Extra Care Bucks. For instance, this week if you spend $10 on Hershey’s Easter candies, you get $5 in ECBs. That means you have split your cost in half. Then you add the $1.50 off coupon and you have 7 bags of chocolatey joy for $3.50. Of course the ECB’s are printed on the bottom of your receipt – so they are getting you to come back in the future. So I piled up our items, using regular coupons as well to bring our savings way down. Here is most of my pile of stuff:

Isn’t that an exciting photo? Me, being new to the CVS way, watched as the clerk rang it up and it came to $5.67! All that for $5.67?? I was amazed! I was Coupon Woman! I was Mother of the Day! I was definitely bound for the blogroll of Women Who Don’t Spend Anything and Look Like It! (Sorry. Joke.)

I went to the car and checked the receipt looking for my ECBs for the Excedrin. Yes, it’s my thorn in the flesh to deal with a lot of headaches (no, none of them people you would know. Joke #2.) and Excedrin and I have been BFFs forever. So I was excited to see the deal of the week was that if you spent $20 on Excedrin products, you would get $10 back in ECBs (cutting the cost of the Excedrin to $10); plus I had two coupons for a total of $5 off of them, bringing my headache relief cost to $5 for two HUGE boxes of Excedrin that should last me through at least the first week of the Cubs’ season. The problem was that she hadn’t charged me for them. I wasn’t such a saver after all. Then there’s the momentary thought of the fact that I just got 350 Excedrin pills for free. But it was a momentary, fleeting thought (Old nature, natch.). I went back in and showed her that she hadn’t charged me for them (even though she had taken off the coupons!) and I ended up paying for them – but earned the ECBs then. Sorry, was that confusing?

However, in the grand, complicated scheme of coupons and ECBs and CVS and ATMs and ATVs and BFFs, it comes down to this: The manager came over to see what was up with me coming back in and told me he wouldn’t have come back. The clerk told me she wouldn’t have come back. But both thanked me about ten times for coming back. And when I figured it all out, I figure honesty cost me $5. But the feeling of self-righteousness? Priceless. (Ah! Can’t stop! Another joke. Sorry.)

All told, I spent $16 for my pile of loot. Who knows how long I’ll play this little game of coupons and spiritual conflict. But when I have that next migraine, I can know I paid for my right to pop those glorious Excedrin pills. I love you guys!! XOXO

Our next door neighbors have moved out and yet there is still a full-blown party going on over there tonight with flashing lights (think Disco Inferno) in the basement!

Hopefully you can see the milk spilled here. 3yo SuperBoy has gotten a little crazy with the cereal bowl spilling lately. After he spills it, he says, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m really sorry.” I have seen him spill it and yes, it’s purely accidental. The exasperating thing is that it’s accidental about three days a week. And usually before Mommy has had her Starbucks. That’s exasperation, people.

Ed. Note: The brightly colored splotches there are indeed the cereal. MIP apologizes for the obvious presence of sugar in the cereal. It was a great sale.