Update: Where the Buffaloes Roam

We took this picture last week at a park for elk and bison. What a lovely sight.


This is a short list of what's been going on:

1. Summer vacation is in full swing. The pool is open. All summer camps, gym classes, and VBS's have been scheduled. We'll be busy.

2. I've made tentative play date plans with a few nice Moms I know. It looks like my address book will soon be filling up. And that's always good.

3. At the doctor's office yesterday I learned that in the past six months I've managed to shed about twenty pounds without even noticing. I'm big so I guess it was easy to overlook. Don't ask me how. I don't know. Which is sort of scary. Now if I can just get fifty more to fall off...
I am now at my pre-pregnancy weight for both kids.. which as I said- I'm big so it doesn't much matter.

4. I'll be taking a break from blogging for the next week to enjoy my family. If you need something to read/watch then may I suggest these two-

Monica of the Homespun Heart's blogs on how she spends her days.
I struggle with time management and I don't even have three little ones four and under.

Donna Freedman has some interesting videos to watch and she writes great articles on frugality.


See you in a week!

False Economy and Selective Squeemishness

This youtube clip of "The Cheapest Man in America" shows him squeezing ketchup packets into a big bottle. Sure, it's cheap. But, it's also a lousy way to spend your time. I don't throw my extra ketchup packets out either. I just save them in a container in the fridge door and use them as necessary. Today was one of those days as I had just used the last squeeze of my free after rebate ketchup for our Veggie Meatloaf. I used four packets to decorate the top. That took about five minutes and I still have packets left over to pack into hubby's lunch box.
What is the "The Cheapest Man in America" doing with take out ketchup packs anyway?
Btw, he also separates his two ply t.p. onto two rolls. This to me is truly a waste of time and energy. If you want to use less t.p.- then just use less. Period. He'd save more money by finding something useful to do with his time rather than squeezing condiments and rerolling t.p.
Just because something seems cheap does not mean it makes sense. How much of your time are you wasting in pursuit of saving a dollar?


These apples are an example of what's been happening in my house lately. Each child wants their own apple. Neither child wants to eat the whole thing. I'm sick of throwing away half eaten apples. This honey packet was an indulgence for the kids after Little Guy came trotting up to me with it after he swiped it off of the counter. I let each kid have a taste and then I set it aside. For dessert tonight each kid is getting a bowl of stewed apples flavored with their leftover honey. I'm sick of the waste.
For me re-using their apples is ok because:
1. It's their germs.
2. The boiling will kill the germs.
Don't worry. If you ever come to my house to eat I promise not to feed you previously enjoyed food. Unless you want me to.

A Sweet Stock Up

My Mom bought me these cake mixes when Kroger had them on sale for .50 a box. For me that's cheap enough not to mess with measuring flour. They are also handy for whipping up a quick batch of cookies. It took me less than twenty minutes to mix, bake and serve fresh chocolate cookies for our playdate guest yesterday. They were a hit with the hubby and the kids. Our visitor took home a filled baggie to share with her family too.

The Simplest Things that bring a smile to my face

A decluttered laundry room and a place to hang my aprons.
A memento from my Grandma's house- A pretty age-worn flour sack that needs an ironing. Now an adornment in my laundry room.
Flowers from my yard in my favorite vase.
My best girl enjoying a beautiful day in the backyard- rolly pollies, dirt, and all.

One way to cure the shopping bug

My family spent part of last night and this morning cleaning the house (that I've neglected for too long) for a playdate. (Can you say chaos?) It always amazes me how quickly you can fill a trash can while cleaning. Before cleaning I didn't think we had that much to throw away/recycle.
For awhile I've been itching to go to Dollar Tree for fun. That urge has been slightly abated by spending my time cleaning, rearranging, tossing, and dealing with clutter.
The local charity clothing drive called and this time I picked up the phone eager to part with at least a bag of stuff if not more. I culled over half of my magazines to donate to the library sale pile. I'm ready to list my collected ebay goods, send those wayward packages to friends, and freecycle the culled toys.
Now the house is presentable but I am looking at the piles and wondering how much I can toss.
Dollar Tree? Not today.

You'll be hearing more from me this week as I try to 27 fling boogie my way to a cleaner house.
cleaning out the toy box

Menu Planning- Out of the Mac-N-Cheese box thinking

Lately I've been stuck in a rut with my cooking making the same ten things over and over again.
How many times can I make mac-n-cheese or spaghetti before my children turn into noodles?
I'm in need of inspiration. But, I need easy, tasty, and kid-friendly inspiration- not Silver Palate fifteen ingredients or more inspiration. I think I found it in the kids section of our library.
I love cookbooks that have an ingredient list shorter than my arm with pantry friendly ingredients. These are two that I checked out. I'm loving some of these recipes for a Mommy/daughter cooking time.

Wedded Bliss without the debt

It's wedding season and I just finished reading Donna Freedman's article on her daughter's debt free wedding.

My own wedding eleven years ago was very budget friendly. My husband and I were working hard at paying off our college and consumer debt. Neither one of us thought it was appropriate to ask our parents to pay for our wedding or to go into a lot of debt. I also was never a girl who daydreamed about her 'perfect' wedding day- the groom yes, but the affair- no.
I spent $100 on a white chiffon gown from The Jones Store. I wore a pair of pumps from my closet. Hubby wore his only gray suit that he wore to job interviews. We paid one hundred dollars for a marriage certificate and for the use of a Reverend to marry us at the city hall. We were married on a chilly winter Friday afternoon. Our parents were the only attendees. We did get a small bakery cake, some sparkling cider and nice florist flowers. I insisted on a real florist bouquet and boutonnieres for the groom and fathers. The Moms each got a pink rose bud to hold. We took our parents to dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory.
For our honeymoon, we booked a room in a Bed and Breakfast in Eureka Springs. The total for our whole wedding and honeymoon was under $700 I'm sure.

To include our whole family we had a separate small reception a few months later at a social hall in my home town. We designed and printed out simple invites ourselves on stationary and envelopes that were deeply discounted/discontinued at Office Depot.
One of my Mom's friends made vegetarian egg rolls and cooked them on site as her gift to us. We ordered a big sheet cake with a wedding cake topper from the Wal-Mart bakery. My Mom and I laid out a table with veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, melon balls, and other things we'd bought from Aldi. We had punch and pop on a separate table. My Mother was friends with a florist and I picked boquets at a whole sale price. I used vases I'd been collecting from thrift stores.The other decoration was fairly minimal and had been collected at discount stores months before.
My Father-in-Law read some verses from Song of Solomon and lead the prayer. I vividly remember thinking that I was so glad that I didn't have to get married and have the reception on the same day. For the hall rental, decorations, and food we spent under $300.

So, for the wedding, the honeymoon, and the reception we spent $1000. And we could afford to pay it all without going further into debt.

Since our wedding there's been a few times I've regretted our meager wedding/reception. I would do things differently if I got to do it over again. I would have gotten married in a church.
I would have bought the dress I really liked instead of the one I ended up with. I might have had the wedding and reception on the same day and just had cake and punch.
But, two things I absolutely do not regret- The man I said "I do" to and that we didn't add to our debt.

Menu Planner for the next few days

I haven't kept a planned menu for a few weeks. As a result my pantry is overfull and my fridge is growing strange new lifeforms. So, to keep me on my toes (and budget)- a new Friday-Friday menu plan.

Friday
Breakfast- yogurt and cereal.
Lunch- pbjs at the park or soup and crackers at home
Dinner- Pizza night- use up the last of feta, and chop the grape tomatoes that are starting to turn.

Saturday
Breakfast- Cereal and toast- juice
Lunch-out visiting relatives
Dinner- out probably drive thru Taco Bell

Sunday
Breakfast- French Toast, fruit, and veggie sausages
Lunch- Leftovers from freezer- make muffins for snacks tomorrow and breakfast
Dinner- Spaghetti, corn and on the cob, garlic bread

Monday
Breakfast- Oatmeal and muffins
Lunch- pbj's or nachos with freezer beans
Dinner- Garlic Lime Tofu

Tuesday
Breakfast- cereal and yogurt
Lunch- snack mix (raisins, dry cereal, and whatever else is lying around), peanut butter for dipping, juice (take crust dough and frozen pumpkin out of freezer)
Dinner- Stir fry with egg (use up crisper veggies) Dessert will be bread pudding if we have a lot of stale bread

Wednesday
Breakfast- Oatmeal packets fruit and milk
Lunch- Out with kids
Dinner- TVP Pot pie (lots of veggies so no veggie sides), butter bread, pumpkin pie

Thursday
Breakfast- pancakes or waffles, fruit
Lunch- leftovers from breakfast or grilled cheese and apple/carrot dippers
Dinner- Soup (find recipe for something Little Guy with eat (corn?) and make small pot so no leftovers), fresh bread

Friday
Breakfast- Cereal
Lunch- leftovers, pbjs, or granola bars with peanut butter dip
Dinner- out

Wal-Mart coupon deals

I don't normally shop at Wal-Mart but there has been some blog buzz on the great deals that people are getting with their coupons.

Yesterday I noticed that the Bush Grillin' Beans were $1.25 a can. I know our Sunday paper just had a few $1 off coupons.

Check out this list at Money Saving Mom for more deals.

This site has a few more deals.

Do you Netflix? Movies for the Frugalistas

The Gleaners and I

I gave this documentary by French filmmaker Agnes Varda four out of five stars. But only because I thought she spent too much time on "artful frivolities" like the way her lens cap dangled or the aged contours of her hand instead of sticking to the meat of the subject. We meet a man whose diet consists of what he finds tossed out by others. We see gleaners in a potato field harvesting the excess.


I'm a big fan of the PBS reality documentaries. These are all available on Netflix.

Frontier House

Colonial House

Manor House

1940's House

1900 House

Texas Ranch House This one is my least favorite of the PBS reality documentaries because there's a lot of conflict. But, not a bad way to kill an evening.


Pioneer Quest is not available on Netflix and my library doesn't carry it but maybe yours does?

Please comment if I've missed any. I'm always looking for a good movie to Netflix.

Reality Check, Mom.

Even Sarah Jessica Parker dresses her son in hand me downs. It's like someone hit the pressure valve. My son doesn't really need those cute socks from Gymboree. He'd rather have me sit in the floor and play with him.



Unfortunately I have no source of hand me downs but I'll take thrifted gifts from Grandma, garage sale goodies, and Salvation Army sales. Now it's time to fold laundry, change diapers, sort through outgrown clothes to freecycle/ ebay/send to friends, and take a walk with the kids.

What am I still blogging for? Last post today. Honest.

Hitting the Pause button

I'm not whining. Really. I woke up this morning with a slight cold. I don't feel awful. I just feel s-l-o-w, docile, and snotty.

I reluctantly re-rsvp'd no to the local Mom's Group for bowling tonight. I was so looking forward to it. After a major guilt tripping from the 5 year old about me going someplace without her I realized that I almost never do things without the kids in tow. And when I do it's for short jaunts to the grocery store while their dad watches them. I am in desperate need of a minute away. But, not tonight.
And right now- that feels ok.

I've been salivating over Gymboree on ebay. With the prices on Ebay I might as well go to an outlet or shop the sales online and buy new. That kind of thinking made me run for my computer as I found a Gymboree coupon code for 20% off in a magazine this morning. (28678461295- until May 31st) I filled up my cart with tees for the boy and summer dresses and hair bows for the girl. And then promptly decided that I'd better sit on it. After all, wasn't my husband just telling me not to buy the kids anymore clothes? Didn't I just survey their closets and ascertain that their wardrobe needs were minimal? Oh, those clothes are so cute. Especially that Monkey shirt. Want vs. need. I'm going to go empty my cart.
Sigh.
photo taken from gymboree.com.

Sister Swap Box

I'm finally posting about my Swap box that I received a few weeks ago.
My Sister Swap partner Rebecca sent me this great box of bloom themed goodies.





Inside the pretty ribbon decorated photo box that she decorated was:

A very feminine and Springy tea cup with a pretty herbal theme
A box of green tea
Jasmine body wash, lotion and body spray
A pink shower pouf
Floral memo pad, sticky pads, and note cards
A Muffin recipe magazine
Pastel muffin and cupcake cups
Scented candles and incense sticks

But my favorite thing was this great pink and green Spring purse

Vacations in your backyard

Gas money is one reason alone for me to reconsider those long car trips to an exotic location. Throw in restaurant meals, hotel expenses, and activity fees and we could easily spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I've been thinking about all of the activities that we could do in our own town. We're lucky to live close enough to St. Louis which has many attractions for families with little ones. My brain has been churning with how to fit all of this 'fun' in before school starts in the fall.

Here's what I've been thinking:

The Great Outdoors

Camping- our kids are finally old enough for a night or two 'roughing it' in our old tent. We're planning a test drive in our own backyard first.

Wild Bird Sanctuary and Lone Elk Park. These are close enough together that they are both easily done in one day.

Mastodon State Park- We took a picnic there last Saturday and had a great time. Besides the nature trails, picnic areas, and playground here are crystal clear streams that are shallow enough for wading and craw fish hunting. I already have a mental list of what to take next time so we can really enjoy our day. I also want to explore the museum with the kids and learn about the archaeological aspects of the park.

Cahokia Mounds- This would be a day trip but hubby and I have been talking about going for two years.

Kid Specific Fun-

The Butterfly House and Botanical Gardens. I've never been to the Butterfly house but I love the Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens also feature a free concert series with free admission in the late p.m. each summer.

The Magic House- The admission can be steep but there are coupons. This is hours of fun for the little ones.

Grant's Farm- The admission can be pricey (as well as the food) but it's not a bad way to spend a day.

The Zoo- Admission is free but parking is not. Always a good choice. We just have to remember to pack our own food.

Purina Farms- It's free but you have to make reservations.

Science Center- Admission is free but you might have to pay for parking.

Splurging-

Six Flags- If we want to get crazy we can do this big amusement park for a day. With tickets going for $30-44 per person I think we might choose to skip it. Although the water park might be really tempting on those hot summer days.

Mostly for Mom & Dad

Soulard Farmer's Market- I haven't been yet but this would be a heavenly way for me to spend a morning with my family. The webpage even lets you know what's fresh (and local) and available and how much the going rate per pound is. I'm envisioning baskets full of ripe strawberries and asparagus and maybe a handmade soap if I'm feeling splurgy.

Bride the GrandparentsWe also might bribe the Grandparents with the hobby farm and pony to take the kids for a night so we can get away for a night at a hotel.

Live on the Levee Concerts- Bring some lawn chairs, a small cooler and be entertained. There's lots of grass for the little ones to dance and play on.



This page has more ideas and printable coupons for fun things to do in St. Louis.

I probably missed many more fun things to do in this short list. If you have any other ideas please post a comment.

The downsizing daydream.

I like my house. I like my neighborhood. But I'll be honest and tell you that when we were moved across the state for hubby's promotion, we bought up. I don't regret the decision totally even though there are things that I don't like about my smaller version of a Mcmansion.

But there are times when we're driving through a neighborhood with smaller, older houses when I daydream about what it would be like to downsize. I think about how much room we'd really need to house the stuff we couldn't part with. I think about how much faster and easier it would be to pay off our mortgage. I think about putting out a clothesline or a compost pile without upsetting the homeowners association.

With a few yet unpacked boxes in the garage and many projects that have been started and planned for our current house there's no way we're moving anytime soon. But, if I had to do it over again those smaller, cheaper houses would be so much more appealing.
As it stands now, hubby and I are already planning on downsizing as soon as Little Guy leaves the nest. He daydreams about a one or two bedroom in the city with one of those rooms being an arcade/video game center. I daydream about a little house with a postage stamp backyard with a small vegetable garden, a clothesline, and a compost bin.

The Parenting Files: When your audience stinks

Ah lazy Sundays- when personal hygiene needs are sometimes pushed back in favor of leisurely french toast breakfasts, racing choo-choos and an impromptu concert in the toy room by our favorite 5 year old.


It's just after lunch and I'm cleaning our dishes up. I can hear our daughter singing and talking after she invited her Daddy into the playroom for a "Tickbuck 3" (Timbuk 3 is a favorite of my hubby) concert. After the first few songs my hubby tried to excuse himself for a shower.
"No, Dad. The audience is supposed to be stinky!"

When Quality trumps a bargain

Hubby needs a new belt. Our Goodwill frequently has new belts for $5 or less. Kohl's sometimes has belts in his size on clearance for $4-8. The only one in his size at Goodwill was priced right for $3.50 but it was a horrible cheap plastic and wouldn't have lasted. Normally I go for the cheapest price but I'd rather spend a few dollars more and get him a quality belt that will last a year or two. It looks like we'll be taking a trip to Kohl's later.

Update: the kids and I did take an afternoon trip to Kohl's and found him a nice quality belt on clearance for $5.60. So glad I passed up that first belt.

Frugal Frump Fighting, Library Fines, and Salad Dressing Queries

Frump Fighting
Last year I always kept a small cosmetics bag in the car so I could do a quick make-up session while the kids were buckled. Lately there have been too many days where I just couldn't find the time to do it in the midst of breakfast and dressing until it was time to get in the car. Today I put together a small baggie of essentials and let the kids listen to Bob and Larry sing. I felt so much better with just five minutes of glam time in my driveway.
The number one most important thing to keep in the car beauty wise is a pair of tweezers. The outside light really highlights those stray hairs so well. Walgreens freebies, BOGO's and sample sizes are a few things to put in your emergency car kit.

Library Fines- tsk tsk
With our crazy schedule the past month I just had not had time to find all of our library materials and turn them in on time. We hadn't been to a story time in four weeks. Today I got everyone dressed, found that last library book that was way overdue, and loaded everyone up. I had almost ten dollars in library fees. That's the most I think I've ever paid. I'm definitely ready to start our weekly jaunts to the library again just so I can keep the fines at bay.

Salad Dressing Query

I almost always have a stockpile of cheap/Free Salad dressing and barbecue sauce in the pantry. Does anyone have any idea how long these things are actually good after the sell by date? Any ideas/recipes on how to use up these condiments besides slathering it on salad or meat?

SAHM business cards?

The other day I ran into a neighborhood Mom I know from the library and gymnastics class. I'm pretty shy about seeking out friends among the SAHM set. But, I got up my courage and told her that I'd like to have a few play dates this summer.
She handed me a business card with her information on it and told me that she'd ordered it online. Now this is an easy option for shy me to get to know other moms. They can call me or not and I don't have to go begging for phone numbers.

I just designed and ordered 250 Mom cards from Vista Print for $6.00 shipping.

What can you put on a Stay At Home mom card if you don't have a business to promote?
Well, if you think about everything you do all day- diaper changing, toy repair, meal prep, bathing squirmy toddlers, laundry- I'm sure you'll come up with something.
Mine included my children's names and ages so that the Moms I give my 'card' to will know who/why they got it from in case it gets lost in the depths of a purse or diaper bag.

A reason to Goodwill

A growth spurt has rendered a lot of Big Girls summer dresses immodestly short. Instead of casting them out I'm going to look for bicycle shorts or capri leggings at the Goodwill. After (salivating over) pricing a few cute Gymboree summer capri sets for her on Ebay, I decided that we will just make do with what we find. Thankfully her winter clothing needs are limited because she'll wear school uniforms everyday. We'll have a few play clothes to change into after school, some nice dresses, and a few nicer weekend outfits. Most of that is already stored in her closet from years of hunting bargains.

I broke down and bought Little Guy three summer short sets at TJ Maxx for $12.99 apiece. That's a lot more money than I normally spend but I tend to buy him less clothing anyway. Is that just a boy thing? The boy clothes are a lot easier to resist. The bulk of his clothing comes from Grandma's trips to the thrift store and my scavenging the 70% off rack at Target.

I'll plan a few hours of Saturday yard saling this Saturday if I come up empty handed.
Don't worry- I haven't forgotten my previous post about resisting 'stuffism'. After spending the last few days putting away things I brought home from a few short hours of cleaning my Grandma's house- the idea is still fresh.
Still it's cheaper to buy a few capris then whole new outfits- no matter how irresistible those matching sets with bows are.

Stuffed.

I haven't been doing a lot of frugal thinking/spending lately. I don't have a lot of information to impart on that particular subject. I did get three free Budweiser Basting Sauces by combing clearance sales with a coupon this morning. Two of them will be part of a Father's day gift.


I spent part of yesterday afternoon helping my Mom and Aunt clean up in my Grandma's house. Doing that is both sad and thought provoking. The piles of dusty magazines from the 80's, the unused shampoo samples, dessicated rubber bands, bags of plastic bags, the completely worn out stuff that she couldn't bear to part with, just all of it mostly destined for the trash made my nose burn and my heart sad. My Grandma had a good life and she loved and was loved. In the midst of the piles of trash there are treasures that we are glad to find. But, oh the getting there. I am more determined than ever to actually use and enjoy the stuff I have.
In the interest of keeping my Mother happy I have to tell you that my Grandma's house was not filthy- just stuffed to the gills.

What do I want my own legacy to be? I'd rather have more friends than stuff. I have less desire to cling to every memento from old boyfriends and friends that have passed through my life. Do I need my Brownie pins from third grade anymore? What place do they have in the life I want to make for myself?

Even though it's garage sale season I have no desire to join in. I haven't been to the Goodwill in three weeks. I don't plan on going unless I have a necessary item to buy. Stuff. Stuff? Stuff is in the way of the life I want.

Now I have to go and list up some old baby clothes on freecyle.

I'm Skeered.

I told my husband that he's in charge of dinner and I haven't seen him for half an hour. I think he's cooking.

There's a weird burning smell coming from the kitchen and he's asking me a lot of questions. Questions like- "Can I use this chili tomato balsamic vinegar to put in the vodka stuff?" (What vodka stuff???!?) "Do we have more salt?" "Snap peas or asparagus?"

No matter what I'm sure it will be better than the food we had at Incredibly Expensive Pizza.

BTW, I have internet access again.

Desperation.

Gas is $3.68 a gallon here in St. Louis.

I haven't had internet access at home for two weeks.

Hubby is on a business trip.

What's a stir crazed Mom to do?

Waste gasoline in the BK parking lot (free wireless) while the kids watch a movie in the backseat.

Fifteen minutes of idling and I think I've had my fill.


At&t says it's our modem. Hubby says it's At&t. All I know is that I miss my internet. It's my phone book, my encyclopedia, my library connection, my mailbox, my diary, etc.


I don't know when I'll be back. In the meantime I'll be cleaning my dirty house, making my own dishwasher detergent, and reading to the kiddos.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

The Parenting Files: Toilet Paper as an Accessory

My Big Girl's requested dinner of Egg Drop Soup and Cinnamon Rolls required a trip to the grocery store today. Not being in the mood lately to don my Super Mommy cape- I let her wear a Burger King Crown festooned with a toilet paper garland. Halfway through the grocery store we passed another child laden cart with a Mom Jockey. A little girl who looked much like my own loudly exclaimed, "I want a crown like that one!"
You know what- me too.

Endings and Beginnings

The past month has been a whirlwind and a lot of stress. Well, now we're on the other side and things are looking up.

I spent yesterday catching up on laundry, dishes, and bought and planted a handful of vegetables for our small veggie patch. I admit it fully that I hate getting my hands dirty or doing anything 'yard worky'. However, I occasionally put that aside for the sake of a few pretty summer flowers and for the sake of having fresh tomatoes.
We now have three early girl tomato plants, a lemon boy and jet star tomato plant, three green pepper plants, a handful of volunteer pumpkins from last years jack o lantern, an onion that sprouted in my kitchen and became a garden project for Big Girl, and one small pot of mint. It's not a lot but for someone like me who doesn't like dirt it's as much as I can handle. My next and last plan for our yard is to sprinkle some marigold seeds for large bursts of color in our front and back yard. I'll put some in our garden area too because rabbits don't like it and we have a whole warren under our back deck.

Pre-school is rounding up for the year and I'm looking forward to lazy days in the backyard and a few Saturdays of helping my Mom clean out my Grandma's house. I loved my Grandma but clutter is no legacy to leave behind. After I clean out her house I've got to work on my own.

One good thing is that I received my Sister Swap box from Rebecca. It was chock full of goodies that I am so happy to have. It brought a smile on an otherwise yucky day.
That's about all I can say. Our internet connection is still not working at home. I've been kind of in a daze for the last week. I even 'washed' a whole load of whites
with bleach, detergent, and fabric softener and then forgot to put the dirty laundry in. Yeah, out of it!

But, my coupons are clipped and sorted and soon I hope I'll have internet access handy and I can regale you with tales of my shopping glories. Or maybe not. I'm kinda sick of shopping anyway.
That's all for now. I've got to finish up lunch at BK with my best girl.