the day to day....

if i would have had the time to blog on monday evening i could have shared my oh-so-frustrating walgreen's shopping trip. then again, perhaps i would have had time to blog if i hadn't spent it standing in front of the cash register at walgreens. anyway...walgreens is having a deal this week where you buy 9 participating proctor and gamble products and receive $20 in register rewards (basically a check you can use on your next transaction). not only that, but many of the items were things we actually needed--dishwasher detergent, feminine "stuffs", etc. so, while the girlies napped i spent some time matching up coupons and planning my trip...since it was a gorgeous day i strapped the girls in the stroller once they woke up, and off we went to walgreens. i found all of the items with ease...and they actually had everything i was looking for in stock (not a common occurence in my experience with walgreens). so i step up to the register to check out, hand her my coupons one by one...pay...wait for my register rewards to spit out...but they didn't...so i smile and tell the cashier, "i should have earned some register rewards".

she gives me a blank look, "sorry, they didn't print." (she doesn't make a move to check to see what the problem is...looks like she is just waiting for me to pick up my bags and leave).

me: "umm...no, really, i should have received $32 in register rewards."

cashier: "oh...let me ask." returns from conversation with manager-like person (in my whole trip they couldn't seem to locate the manager to ask him).

"manager": you don't get register rewards if you use coupons.

me: that wasn't the policy last week when i used coupons (still smiling...).

"manager": well, it must have changed since then.

we went back and forth for a bit...trying to figure out what might have been wrong....the end result...i had them void the transaction, give me back my coupons, and left for the walk home...empty handed and a bit frustrated. i wasn't frustrated with the lack of products or even the whole "encounter"...more frustrated by the waste of my time.

anyway...the longer i walked the more i was frustrated that i didn't just buy the stuff i needed without worrying so much about the register rewards. some of the stuff was a good deal regardless. so after dinner i packed the girls up (in the car this time!) while mike mowed the lawn and headed back to the same walgreens. i picked up the 4 things i really needed...presented my coupons...paid...and voila...register rewards printed out. i was just a wee bit surprised since they have spent SO much time this afternoon convincing me that the RR program had changed in the past week and absolutely wouldn't print RR if you used coupons. hmmm....why then, two hours later was it printing rewards after i used coupons.

it just happened that the cashier from earlier in the day spotted me (i should insert that she wasn't being at all difficult during the first encounter...i think she genuinely felt badly!) and asked if i was having a better trip this time. i mentioned that the RR had printed this time, and she said..."hmm...i thought what "----" was saying this afternoon sounded wrong...i know people use coupons and get rewards. hey, do you want the rest of your stuff...its still sitting behind my register in the basket." of course i did...and just 10 minutes later i walked out the door...having spent $25 out of pocket and earned $52 in register rewards for my next trip.

so today when i went to pick up my free 8x10 from the promo they were running yesterday i had planned out a couple other transactions to use my register rewards to get some diapers. the cosmetic cashier was so kind and eager to ring up my purchases (even pulling out a secret coupon stash she is allowed to keep under the counter--and finding $2 off huggies coupons instead of the $1 off coupons i had!). in the end i spent just $2 out of pocket and walked out the door with 2 jumbo packs of huggies diapers, 2 dawn dish detergents, 2 5lb. bags of sugar, a travel magna doodle (a surprise for elizabeth on the airplane!), and 3 pencils (fillers so i could use all my coupons!)...and my free 8x10, of course.

moral of the story...i did wind up coming out "ahead"...but i think i will be mostly avoiding walgreens and sticking to CVS from now on. i'll still go to walgreens if they offer GREAT deals...but you better bet i'll be looking for the sweet gal at the cosmetic counter for my check-outs! CVS's ecb program is so easy and streamlined and fun to use...walgreens is just plain frustrating.

anyway...don't mean to bore those of you who could care less about my money saving "ventures"...but thought i would share. in other news i've been spending lots of time this week organizing, straightening, and cleaning. coming home from my "vacation" and being confronted with all the "clutter" and disorganization was an overwhelming feeling monday, and it feels good to be doing some re-arranging, pitching, donating, and cleaning in hopes that i can "get on top of things" rather than always playing catch-up. i even busted out our big ol' steam vac and did the front room carpet when the girls first went down for their naps. after once again hearing elizabeth declare, "kate pee-uked!" and having to clean up the tell-tale puddle/spot, i decided it was high-time to do the whole room. (seriously...those who've had "spitter-uppers"...tell me it really will end eventually! i think elizabeth spit up twice ever in the first year of her life...kate's been lucky to have 2 hours go by without some spitting...)