Black Friday weekend

This weekend is a bit of a blur. The kids have been cranky. My daughter lost her "bezra", a dinky little 1 inch zebra that came in a pack of 20 jungle animals in the dollar bin at Target. This 5 cent toy has caused a good 5 hours of meltdowns and delayed naps and bedtime. Do I buy a new "bezra"? Do I hope she just forgets it and attaches to the hippo or lion? Tough call. I'm going to see how the next day goes. Of course, Target does not sell these anymore, so I'm not sure how to get a new one, but I'll think of something, if need be.

So, shopping. I went to Jo-Ann fabric store on Friday and again on Saturday. I have the cutest projects planned! I will be making burp cloths and blankets for my soon-to-be new little niece, due in February. And cosmetic bags for my sisters, mom, and of course one for me, too. Who can resist a cute little make up bag? I did great on Friday, spending $26 and saving $70. Saturday was not as great, but still pretty good. I spent $30, but I lost the receipt and can't remember the savings. My house is kind of a disaster right now. I need a day to just stay home and clean.

I did a bit of online shopping, since the kids are just too hard to take out for long times, and a double stroller is no fun in crowds. At Kohls's, I found 2 cute sweaters for my son, and a snuggie for my husband, as a gag gift. Total: $25. Kmart had kids shoes and slippers at a great price, with free shipping. My son will now have sneakers to replace the ones he put holes in within a month (!!!) and slippers. $11 total after tax.

I found some deals on amazon.com. Mostly DVDs for $1.99. I also found gifts for my dad, mom, and husband. I don't think I have ever been completely finished with my Christmas shopping before December. It's a strange feeling. I do need to order some photo gifts, using my groupon for Picaboo. And then there is the sewing and some baking. But I love all of that, so it should be fun.

Let's see... I went to Rite Aid today. I stuck to items I really need, not things that generate a lot of UPs. I ended up with 3 boxes of Splenda, 3 boxes of Puffs tissues, 4 Lysol wipes (35 count), 2 Clorox wipes (35 count), 2 Lysol Sprays, and a Secret clinical strength deodorant. I spent $1.51 out of pocket, used $15 in UPs, and earned $5 UPs (3 from the Splenda, and 1 each from the Lysol spray and Clorox wipes). Not bad in all. I wanted to get some Olay products with the great coupons from the paper this weekend, but my store was wiped out. I may try another store later in the week, or maybe not. I'm starting to burn out on Rite Aid.

I also hit the grocery store today. My $99 total came down to $62 after $15 in store savings and $22 in coupons, a reduction of 37%. And I found some tear-pad coupons for $3/3 glade products. I've been looking for these, so that was a nice score!

And now a little rant. I ran in to Target today to use my $3 Nivea body wash coupons on their 2.99 sale, and of course they were sold out. Not a huge deal, since I have 4 from the sale at Rite Aid. I have a coupon to get a free Secret clinical deodorant when you buy a Venus razor cartridge, so I wanted to price check that while I was there. There was one Secret box with a sticker claiming "$15 in coupons inside", but the box looked funny. I peeked in, and sure enough, someone had taken the coupons. Come on! It's one thing to grab tear pads, hanging tags, and blinkies, but to open a product and take the coupons? That is just unethical and, well, cheap.