Alive and Kicking

I'm still here.  It's a new year.  I'm thinking about renewing my interest in frugal living.  It's taken a back seat for me for the past year or two and now it's time to get back to it.

I miss scratch cooking.  I miss my freebies.  I miss posting about recycling and reusing my items rather than buying new.  I'm tired of the consumer treadmill.  I want to be a more conscious consumer.  My children need to learn from my example.  Delayed gratification is a good thing.

We're getting a late start because we took a last minute trip to Disney after Christmas.  We've been home a week and everyone has a cold.  I don't really have any good ideas for how to save money at Disney except maybe pack snacks.  Also, the kid's meals at the parks are really a decent size and easily enough food for an average adult. 

For starters, I'm going to read this list of 56 Things to do Instead of Spending Money.   I know I have old gift cards laying around that I can use when I get the urge to splurge.  And the pantry is in need of a major clean out.  Plus, I have pinterest ideas sitting around that I've never gotten around to making. 

Gonna go throw ingredients in my bread machine and get started on the after Christmas clean up.  Today is a stay home day.  Hubby starts his new job tomorrow and the kids go back to school. 

Some Good Stuff

I found our camera in the back of my car. It must have been there since we came back from Texas in July.
We had a weekend getaway at the YMCA Trout Lodge.














We had two days of rocket building and launching, rifle shooting (for Daddy), mini golf, dance partying, crafts, and playing in the lake.









In June we went to Hannibal, MO for a weekend trip. We rode on a steamboat down the river, went on a late afternoon ghosts of Hannibal tour, and explored the Mark Twain cave.



And we just went to Kansas City for the Renaissance Festival). I adore the KC RenFest. Huzzah! We watched jousting, the kids rode on the rides, we ate too much food (love love love the cinnamon almonds), bought fripperies and jewelry, and generally had a gay old time.




















I am beginning to prefer these little getaways over a week long vacation. We have just enough time to do everything fun before anyone gets bored. Plus, the kids feel spoiled because we can have more than one "be"cation.

We came back to a slightly more tidy home and I immediately unloaded our dirty clothes into the washer. No more letting the dirty laundry sit in suitcases forever. I do have some more scrubbing to do on Big Girl's white shirt where she kept wiping her tiger face paint off. Oh, well. This is a good reason to buy your clothes second hand. When you pay $2 or less it doesn't hurt as much when they ruin their clothes.

I made a lasagna and gingerbread cake with scratch frosting for dinner last night. They were good and we have leftovers. After two or three less than stellar restaurant meals plus the rather lackluster cafeteria style food at the YMCA, I am more than happy to be eating at home.

I got to pick up my Angel Food Ministries pantry and fruit boxes yesterday even though I was told they wouldn't hang on to my boxes for me. A trip to Aldi to get $20 worth of fruit, cheese, bread and veg and now my pantry is all full. And so much easier to navigate since Hubby cleaned it.

That's all.

LIfe handed me lemons, I finally have time to make lemonade

Whew! I don't know if you noticed or not but I was gone for about a month. I went to Texas to be with my Mom while she sought cancer treatment. It's too early to tell how she's doing but she seems much stronger than last month.

I drove myself to Houston. If you read my blog you know how big of a deal that was. I was so nervous the whole time. My fears were compounded by my mom and my aunt both worrying over how I would manage the terrible Houston traffic. Turns out that I managed quite well. In fact, I have to say that I much prefer traveling by myself on long car trips as I can go for hours without a potty break. Of course, now the maintenance required light is flashing on my dashboard so I'd rather not have another long car trip anytime soon. A trip to the Midas (I have a coupon!) needs to put on the agenda.

My family flew in for the last week for which I am so grateful because I was missing them terribly. I've spent way more time away from my kids this summer than I wanted or intended to. We didn't do as much sight seeing or vacation stuff as we probably should have. But, we did go to the Space Center and to Galveston Beach where we all got nasty sunburns. We stopped by the roadside in rural Arkansas to look for crystal rocks and got eaten by chiggers. I hate to say that my favorite part of being in Texas was the 99 Cent Only store but it's true. The food deals were pretty good plus they had two kinds of Mexican laundry soap bars for 99 cents!

I'm glad to be home.
School starts in 14 days so I've got a lot to do. Kindergarten immunizations, health check ups, glasses for Big Girl, school supply gathering, and any last bits of summer fun we've left undone.
This year we did not complete any library summer reading goals. We haven't been to the neighborhood pool more than a few times and my tomatoes are dead from lack of water. But, there are more important things going on than making sure my kids get free ice cream cones and having a bountiful garden.

Right now I've got an internal debate over whether or not to step up as the new leader of my daughter's small Girl Scout troop. I just don't know if I'm organized enough or even understand Girl Scouts enough. Plus, I know how hard it is to get the few of us Moms motivated to do anything. I've seen the countless emails from the last leader begging for help. Plus, I have no idea what the next few months of my life will be like with my Mom sick. I just don't want to offer myself up and then not be able to deliver. There is already a cookie mom so I wouldn't have to worry about that part though.

I'm ready to start frugal homemaking again though. I've missed it terribly.

Trips and Pantry Eating

I've been gone for the past week with Hubby on a business trip to KC. While I was gone I:

Watched way too much Bravo tv in the hotel
Swam with my boy
Spent a great day catching up with a friend and her children
Cleaned out the clearance racks at a Gymboree Outlet (lots of school clothes!)
Finished reading a book
Napped a lot
Ate at our favorite restaurant

Last night we attended a wake for a friend's grandma. I know it's wrong to have a great time at a "funeral" but there was lots of story telling and raising our glasses to the departed. I think Nana would have been pleased with her memorial.

Anyway, this morning I woke up to a kitchen pretty empty of our standard perishables. I made a grocery list but I have to say that I have not been inspired to shop at all today. In fact, it's 6:30 and I haven't showered and am still in my pajamas. I have done a lot of laundry, dishes, cleaning, and hanging out with my two men. My Big Girl is with her Grandma this week and she comes home tomorrow. I'll go grocery shopping then.

I've had to get creative with our food as we ate the last of our eggs last week, our milk was sour, and our last piece of bread was moldy.

Breakfast: Little Guy had a packet of instant oatmeal. Hubby ate peanut butter on graham crackers. I had a bowl of veggie soup and crackers.
I made a loaf of whole wheat onion bread in the bread machine.

Snacks- more graham crackers and yogurt. Slices of onion bread with pepper jack cheese.

Lunch- Mac N Cheese with four chopped up hot dogs. I was out of milk so I had to use Italian dressing for the sauce. It worked okay but I prefer milk.

Dinner- I had two organic potatoes. I cleaned out the crisper too. We had wilted celery, half an onion, a red pepper going soft, and a package of firm tofu. I chopped them all up and fried them in a little butter, water, olive oil, and seasoning salt. It made for a pretty satisfying meal.

Now I've got to finish folding laundry and work on cleaning out Big Girls disastrous room while she's gone.

A Few Highlights from Our Year

In no particular order:

My little guy was a viking for Halloween. Here he is ready to pillage with our Halloween decorations.





My sweet daughter enjoying all the benefits of her Grandparents farm.



Our family trip to the YMCA trout lodge was a blast! Here is my Mom with my kids on the hay ride.


Here we have a graduation from kindergarten and the first day of first grade.


My son gets a hair cut from his Grandma. His antics with his hair clippings kept us giggling. He learned never to put a wad of cut hair in his mouth.

In January I hitched a ride on Hubby's business trip to California to celebrate our 12th anniversary. We visited San Francisco and Asilomar. It was wonderful.


In March we left the kiddos with Grandma and had a rare night out at a Cracker concert. We left the club feeling great and not minding the rain.

My little guy and I have been making bi-weekly lunch trips to eat with his working Daddy. We've discovered what a nice little man he is when he isn't competing for attention with his sister. It's been a year full of sweet lunches with my two favorite men.

I'm back where I belong...

I love to travel. But, the best part of leaving home is getting to come home again. Our trip began in San Francisco where we stayed in a hotel near the wharf.


I got to visit with some old friends and see some redwoods. Then we went to the conference for Hubby's work at the Asilomar Conference Grounds. This was the view from our room.

On our way back to San Fransisco, we stopped by the beach and checked out some tide pools. The night before we left we took a night tour of Alcatraz.
Alcatraz is creepy at night. Here I'm in the door way of one of the solitary confinement cells. Once the door is closed, you are in complete darkness.
And this is what we returned home to. All of my old barbies were washed and drying on the carpet outside of Big Girl's room.

It's good to be home.

Bend with the wind- Dinner & Trip Packing

Grandma and kids on our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains

I haven't perfected the "go with the flow" thing yet. My in-laws will be here a day sooner than expected which I am actually looking forward to despite everything I think I need to get done.

We spent $18 on Chinese dinner last night which I don't regret at all even though our budget is spent. It was delicious and the company was fantastic. And I'm back on the horse and ready to make our food again. Tonight we're having the tacos we were supposed to be having last night.
And I have leftover rice, a lot of eggs, and leftover peas so we'll have fried rice the next night.
This is why planning more than a day or two in advance does not work for me. I can't foresee what leftovers we will need to use up. Menu planning does help keep me from scratching my head about what's for dinner though.
The Beefaroni was a big hit with Hubby. I ended up using chunky spaghetti sauce instead of adding mushrooms and he really liked it. We topped it with parmesan instead of cheddar because that's what we had.
We are taking my in-laws to CiCi's pizza buffet for dinner this weekend. We have coupons and everyone likes it. Less dishes and stress for me.
Monday morning Hubby and I are flying out to San Francisco for a business trip mixed with pleasure and visiting with old friends. It's also our 12th anniversary and we're taking a tour of Alcatraz. I'm so looking forward to it! My goal is to pack as little as possible. I'm getting good at it and even hand washed my laundry when we stayed in Rome so I could minimize our luggage. I'm thinking I'll be doing that again to save on space. I'm probably going to be packing much of the same clothing. Neither hotel has a washer. And I'm okay with that. Washing your laundry by hand is sort of peaceful and cathartic. I have my make up needs down to an acceptable minimum with just powder, lipstick and mascara. Since I go most days with just lip gloss I feel I need make up less and less. Free samples from sites like WalMart and Start Sampling keep us in mini deodorants and toothpaste so I won't be spending money on 3 oz. bottles. I'll have more room in my luggage for the books I want to read while Hubby is in a meeting.

And now I have to attend to the laundry that needs hanging to dry and folding. Today is a better day!

Home Again, Home Again , Jiggity Jig

I'm home after a long week with hubby's family.

We spent a week in a lovely log cabin in the woods of Pigeon Forge, TN. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful with abundant wildlife and wild flowers. We spent two long days at Dollywood amusing ourselves. That part was ok. But the best part was driving around Cades Cove for a whole day and soaking in the sheer beauty of it all. Plus, we saw a black bear on our return drive. It made my day.

Frugality wise, it wasn't an inspiring trip. Gas prices alone (which have reached $4 a gallon) were expensive. Add two nights in decent breakfast serving hotels, occasional gas station snacks (my weakness), a date night with dinner out (we shared appetizers) and a movie, a few outlet mall purchases and ridiculous treat prices at Dollywood and this was not a frugal trip.

But we had a good time and we're all glad to be home.
Sigh.

I'll post a few photos later. Back to laundry and unpacking.

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!

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.

How did I vacation before the internet?

I've spent the morning searching the internet for cabins large enough for ten family members in vacation spots in Tennessee. When I wasn't on the 'net I was on the phone talking to people about cabin rentals. Whew!

It looks like we'll be spending a week in Pigeon Forge.

Does anybody have any good tips on Pigeon Forge? Good restaurants- great thrift stores- activities for kids?? It's all welcome information.

And now that I have our summer vacation taken care of (what a pain to juggle three busy families calendars, work around school, and still get the off- peak price- but I did it... someone congratulate me please. Well, lest I sound whiny let me take this opportunity to also say it's a blessing to have family that wants to spend a week with you. There are worse ways to spend an afternoon than planning a vacation. Oh poor me.)



I need to get back to my chores. The dishwasher isn't going to unload itself- as much as I wish it would. (Hey, Roomba guy- invent something I could really use.)

Rome, Italy Redux

Well, we're home now. After a crazy taxi ride, thirteen hours on two airplanes, a shuttle bus to the parking lot, and a half hour drive home yesterday we've returned.
I missed home. I -missed- my kids! My wonderful in-laws just left and the house is once again ours. Whew. As much as I love to travel I'm not looking forward to leaving again soon and I'm not going anywhere without my babies for a long time.
By the last two days of our trip I was starting to sour on Italy. Oh, it is so beautiful. The people are so full of life and so fabulously well dressed. Our hotel was very nice with almost no problems except for crazy internet fees. But, I was tired of the nagging fear of pickpockets- really I think I over exaggerated the problem. There were only a few situations that seemed shady where I was worried for my property. I never feared for my safety though. Two things that I just plain
wearied of- the perpetual need to spend money and the dirt. Very few things in Rome are free. Public toilets are few and far between and not desirable. Water is not free although there are a few public fountains that you can drink from that have safe water. There are wonderful little pet Roman dogs everywhere and no one bothers to clean up their messes. Everyone smokes and drops their butts where they may- not even bothering to stub them out. So, the streets are beautiful with ruins and ancient buildings on virtually every street but the beauty is marred by dog feces, the smell of human urine (lack of toilets), and trash.
A view of the Colosseum from Across the Street.

All in all- Rome is an incredible city. Relatively safe if you're smart with your valuables and know that nothing is free there. There are the normal tourist scams (don't get your picture taken with the gladiators outside of the Colosseum unless you want to get ripped off- don't take a 'free' flower from a nice man- count your change from your taxi ride and be prepared to argue if you get shorted- which happens). Use your common sense and you'll be ok. Crossing the roads with the crazy Roman traffic is easy once you realize the trick. You either wait for the locals to cross and follow behind them or you just walk and put up your hand to 'stop' the cars from crossing. They are crazy drivers but are mostly courteous with pedestrians. I almost like the driving there better. People will let you in even if they drive like crazy around you if you go too slow. And the cars- I fell in love with the tiny little Smart Cars.
Tiny Roman car.

Walking in Rome isn't a problem if you have good shoes and a lot of time. Taxis are everywhere. This sitedoes a better job of explaining. The maps in our travel books were really poor and not helpful when you get lost in a tangle of small streets. It's best to ask for a map of the city at the hotel front desk or a tourist info kiosk. Also, most of the people are very friendly and will have a smattering of English so they can help point you in the right direction. Just make sure you have the right Italian pronunciation of where you want to go.

Here are some more pictures from our trip.

Near where Julius Caesar was killed. Now a cat sanctuary.







Eating wonderful zabione and dark chocolate with rum gelato.










Delicious street vendor panini and pizza.








Ceiling in the Vatican Museum.


Pompeian Wildflowers.
Street in Pompei.


I loved spending a precious week in Italy with my husband. It's something I'll cherish forever. Rome is a veritable treat for your senses.

But there really is no place like home.

Live from the Eternal City

I'm sitting in my hotel room outside of Rome and it's noon. We bucked up for a day of internet service so that my Hubby can do some work from our room. It will probably get reimbursed by his company so the 18 euro won't come out of our pocket. The current exchange rate puts the dollar at .60 cents so spending every Euro is like spending $1.40.


Today it's chilly and drizzling but the last two days have been sunny and only mildly chilly. It's off season so the sites aren't that crowded and it's easy to get around by walking or hopping into a cab. I highly recommend late February for a trip to Rome if you aren't a fan of glaring sunlight and heat.

People dress very well here. Most women wear low heeled or flat calf length boots in brown or black. Leather jackets and shoes seem to be the norm. The clothes are close fitting and tailored looking. Black is the most popular with brown and other earth tones following close behind. And almost no one is overweight here despite the fact that there are pastry shops and gelaterias selling their delicious wares on every corner.

The food has been pretty good although I have to say that we haven't ventured into any expensive restaurants or looked at ratings. There is no free water. If you want water you have to pay for a bottle of it and the going rate is 2.50-4 euro for a 1/2 liter. I paid 4 euro for a tiny bottle of Coke before I figured out that I should share water with my hubby. There are no refills much to my hydration junkie hubby's annoyance. We each bought bottles of water and have been refilling them whenever we get the chance. The water here is mostly potable so that helps the wallet.

There is a distinct lack of public toilets. But, when you do see one they are very distinctly marked, "Toilettes". And there is always a line so when you see a public toilet you should just get in it. Even if you don't have to go you probably will by the time it's your turn. I have not seen a pay toilet but I do think they are around. None of the public toilets I went into by the Colloseum, the Visitor Center, or the Vatican had seats on them. But, luckily there was paper and soap.
Our personal hotel room bathroom has a bidet and a toilet seat. Very nice. If you want more info and/or pictures of Italian toilets you can google "the toilets of Italy." Blogger isnt' letting me put a link in.

We've have one or two more days of sight seeing (with some business meetings thrown in for the hubby) and then we get home.
The amount to see and do here is overwhelming. There are ancient ruins all over the city. The best thing we've done is to make a trip to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. It is an overwhelming thing made slightly stressful by the amount of people crammed into the room staring upwards in awe and guards frequently shouting at people not to take pictures. Quite franky it made me nauseous as much as I wanted to lay on the cold marble floor and admire it's beauty. Now I can say that I've seen the real thing and yes, it is indeed something to behold but I'd rather admire it from a post card and not get sick turning my head upside down. The museum's sheer amount of antiquities, paitings, carvings, jewelry, marble statues, etc is just incredible. It really puts into perspective how very impermanent we are when our possessions- even our woven clothes- last longer than we could ever hope or want to.

Today we went to the Crypt of Capuchin monks below the Santa Maria della Concezione Catholic Church.. Housed in the crypt are the bones of over 4,000 monks and three children that were royal family members of one of the Popes. Most of the bones are used as decoration covering the walls and ceiling of the crypt rooms. It's creepy and it made me a bit sad really. In the last crypt there is a placard that says "What you are now we used to be, what we are now you will be." But, I seriously hope that my bones are used as some macabre decoration 400 years from now.

I think I'll end there for today. Later I might get a chance to post up some pictures. I'm having a wonderful time but I will be so glad to get home.

Conversion Fees, Sim Cards, ETC.

Did you know that Discover card is not accepted in Italy?

I don't know if I'll be posting much in the near future. I've got a ton to do before my in-laws get here tomorrow. Yes, they are staying here while we're gone. And they have a big dog.


See you soon! arrivederci

Wordless Wednesday: Vacation Photos

Back again

We're all exhausted after five days in Gulf Shores, Alabama and two days in the car to get home.

To summarize: We spent a lot of time beach combing for good shells. We went crab hunting at night with flashlights (not for eating.. just enjoyment). We ate a lot of good food including a huge birthday cake that I bought myself. We played a lot of card and board games. We settled disputes between three four year old girls. We didn't sleep nearly enough. I got to spend some quality time with a sister in law that I barely know after eight years. I got schooled in how to shop for good children's clothes to resell.

My Sil took me to the outlet mall and I learned all about the good brand names that resell really well. Strasburg and Kitestrings were two that we went into and I went into a bit of sticker shock.

But today we stopped for lunch at a place that just happened to be nearby a Goodwill. With my new name brand knowledge I combed the racks for good stuff. I did find a little Kitestrings jacket for my girl and a brand new Ralph Lauren snow suit for the little guy.

Oh well. I'm tired and I've got much to unpack. Tomorrow we renter the world of work and school again. I'll post up some pictures later.

Good to be back. Night all.

Car trip planning for kids

I've been assembling bags of small toys, snacks/candies and dvds for our long car trip.

For my big girl who loves to keep busy and who is starting the "Are we there yet?" whines I put together some stuff in an old folder to keep her occupied.


I stapled together some old scrap paper for a doodling pad. I found a notepad on clearance at Target that came with tiny markers for .50. I added some of her old baby animal magazines, a small book, and a magazine insert from Nick Jr. magazine that has a shell identification chart for some more diversion. If that doesn't work I'll blow up the whoopie cushion and see how long I can take the extended gross noise.
Last year I ordered a stuffed animal/storage lap desk that I didn't end up giving her (I overbought for Christmas and her birthday). This seems like a good time to get that out. It already has a coloring book and crayons included.

The little guy is getting a ziplock bag full of small toys collected from the bottom of the toy bin. And a pacifier.

Gone Fishin'

You won't hear from me for awhile.



We're hitting the beach!

Yippee.

It's a stay in a house on the beach with my family, my in-laws, my brother and sister in law and their twins. My generous inlaws have picked up our tab for the stay and our gas money so we only have to pay for our food and incidentals. Pretty nice huh?
I've packed my xanax just in case. ; )
Better pack.

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Our personal laptop is still broken as we haven't had time set aside for hubby to fix it.
Right now he's out with the kids taking a walk and I'm supposed to be cleaning up the dinner dishes. I'll get to that in a minute.
It's been kinda crazy around here.
Hubby and I had a great time in Florida two weeks ago. We went to the movies three times. That is something that we used to do a lot of before we had kids. We loved going to a matinee or to the drive in and smuggling in our own drinks/snacks. This time though we did pay for one small popcorn and a drink and there was no smuggling.
I'm not sure how ethical it is.. but, I hate how much movie popcorn costs.

I've been itching to get out my Tightwad Gazette again and start reading. I've been thinking about making some cuban bread. (note: buy yeast) And I need more ideas on healthy snacks for the kids. It seems the only things they will snack on are crackers, cookies, popcorn, cheese, and certain fruits.
I've been tivoing a show about a family of ten- Jon and Kate plus 8 -- that really makes me want to be organized and thrifty. I love the episode where Kate goes grocery shopping with her calculator and coupons. Now, I don't do the calculator part. Mostly because I have two little kids in tow and I need to get in and out as quickly as possible. But, I almost always have a list and coupons. I guess in some ways taking children saves us money because I don't stay in the store as long and I want to go to the store less frequently.
I also like to see how Kate runs through her daily round while taking care of six two year olds and two 6 year olds. She has to be so organized. I like seeing what she puts on their plates for lunch. I have been working on feeding my big girl better. Today she had sliced tomatoes from grandma's garden, half of a veggie chick patty, banana slices, three pickles, and a dollop of ketchup. So, not too bad. The baby is so picky though. He really only likes veggie burgery stuff, bananas, and cheerios. So, that's what he had for lunch.

We've been blessed by seeing the in-laws frequently too. They give abundantly from their garden and chickens. We get fresh eggs and produce. Right now I've got fresh corn, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and broccli sitting in my fridge. I need to make sure they get eaten before they go bad. We're still working on eating up the last clearance produce from my last Save A Lot adventure.
Tonight we had veggie pizza. I used a Save a Lot crust mix, a bag of pizza cheese (save a lot), six clearance mushrooms, half a clearance pepper, a handful of fresh spinach, the last bit of an onion from the fridge, the bottom of a Prego spaghetti sauce jar (bought on sale for 1.00) mixed with a can of tomato sauce (Aldis) and spices and a sprinkle of sugar, and three or four tablespoons of Morningstar sausage crumbles. It came out really good.
For dessert we had Marble Cake. I used a Duncan Hines cake mix on sale for .50, a can of Diet Cherry Coke, and half a container of Betty crocker frosting (on sale for 1.00). I think it's a Weight Watchers recipe. You take a box of cake mix and mix it with a can of diet soda... no other ingredients... and follow the box directions.
It doesn't taste quite as good as regular mix but, it's faster and easier.

I haven't gotten much free lately. I did call Huggies today to ask for coupons because we are running low on Overnight diapers. I hope I get some good ones.
My boy hasn't had one cloth diaper on his butt even though I have a whole trash can full of cloth diapers and supplies. I feel guilty about it. I do. But, I just really never have liked cloth diapers and my husband refuses to help diaper if I use them. Oh well. There's always ebay or freecycle if I never get around to using them.
Well, that about wraps things up.

To Do List:

Last night we had some friends over who have a girl/boy the same age as our kids. So, it was like a playdate for everyone. We ordered chinese take out (with coupons) and I made a pan of brownies. I splurged on a 2 liter of their kind of pop and I opened up our saved bottle of two Buck Chuck wine (from Trader Joe's and actually it's 2.99 a pop).
Everyone had a good time I think but, everyone was tuckered out by the time we got to bed... and we all slept in today until almost 9 am. All four of us in our king bed... cozy but, nice.
Right now hubby and daughter are at her swimmming class. Baby is playing in the floor and sorta watching Elmo do his thing on Sesame Street. I've got the Saturday paper to go through and look for coupons. I hope there are free product coupons in there today. It's been awhile since I've gotten any free stuff.
It's time to take the kids to get their pictures so later today we're heading over to Target. I've got coupons of course. I'm hoping to make at least dinner for us tonight. I'm wanting to clean our the pantry and fridge.
One of my friend/neighbor's has family that are going through major financial problems (both unemployed, don't qualify for aid and have four depedent children).
So, I cleaned out two small boxes of food for them. And I spent 40.00 at Save A Lot buying them a few supplies. I don't really know these people even though I've met them and talked with them briefly. It doesn't matter to me because they have children to feed and you don't let children go hungry.
I have to say that I'm a bit worried if they'll like or use some of the stuff in the box. I put in a small box of powdered milk and I know that I would love to have powdered milk if I were needy. At least to cook with. But, I know that not everyone feels that way. I also put in two pounds of dried beans. Yes, they are more work than canned but, they are nutritious and they go a long way to fill a hungry belly. Should I have gotten them canned? Even though I buy dried beans for myself and would be more than glad to get them if I needed food?
Why am I worried about it? I felt like I needed to tell them that I wasn't being cheap because I was giving the food away but because that is how I shop. But, I don't want to embarass anyone just because I am afraid of seeming chintzy. And why do I care?

Onto a different subject. In a few days my in laws are coming to stay with the kids while hubby takes me on a business trip to Florida. Yeah. Hubby travels quite a bit and had enough frequent flyer miles for my tickets. So, other than my food, incidentals (souvenirs for the kiddos) and an extra night in a hotel.. our trip is free. Yeah! I'm so excited. Oh, I must admit that I have bought myself and hubby about 150 bucks worth of new clothes (aome of which came from Goodwill and some I am returning because I changed my mind).
So, I need to get the house ready for my in-laws. I've been working daily at keeping it straightend up but this weekend I'm hoping to get a few hours in to scrub the upstairs bathrooms and vacuum and dust our bedrooms.
I think they'll have a nice time here. I've got them running the kids to all of their activities so they'll have plenty to do.
Speaking of plenty to do... I should probably go do something productive.