Now it's time to clean up and put away our toys

Feeling much better this week! Yay.

The sun came out after days of rain. We needed it for our plants but I guess it does something to my psyche when the sun is hiding.

I started tackling the giant mound of plastic and litter in the toy room. I've filled two grocery sacks with trash and broken toys and I'm only a 1/4 way through the room. Someone please tell me why I found candy wrappers, rocks, seashells, and dirty socks in the toy bin. Anyone?

I'm almost caught up with laundry- and except for Big Girl's room (which is a complete pit) I have most of it put away.

I've been making dinner. Of course, it's prepackaged stuff like mac and cheese and helpers- but it's already paid for and fills a belly. I'm really not liking how salty and bland prepackaged stuff is compared to my own homemade skillet meals. I think I'll skip clipping coupons for it anymore.

The dishes have been done every night before bed. I can wake up and assemble breakfasts and lunch without a pile of dishes to maneuver around.

Today I am caving on the pantry challenge and going to Aldi to get some stuff we need. Avocados are .25 and I would love to make some guacamole. Also, Aldi's multigrain tortilla chips are sooo good. I had Big Girl make the list for me as writing practice. Here's her list:

banan
milk
bread
eggs
snaks
ovcoto


The front garden where Hubby ripped and trimmed all of the overgrown shrubs is now planted with volunteer pumpkins, squash, a rose bush, spring bulbs, flower seeds, and a few annuals I planted for color. I've kept it weeded and spend at least 15 minutes out there while the kids are playing weeding and seeding. It looks so much better than last year. I'll never have a Home and Gardens yard but I am happy. I can't wait until some of the seeds start popping up.

Gotta get going with my day.

In the Middle of Bad

As weekends go, this last one pretty much sucked. I'm not going into specifics but I can tell you that I am ready to get on with the week.

I rescheduled our morning gymnastics class in favor of snuggling, eating dry store brand cheerios, and watching Pinocchio with my boy. Since we don't have to go out, I am not doing my normal errand/shopping morning either.

My pantry is getting full again and I am thinking about a fridge clean out/no shopping week anyway. So, I'll be making dinner instead of having Hubby drag home some gross Taco Bell that I'm sick of.

What I'm thinking of making:

salsa with our two tomatoes, onion and garden cilantro
pizza with our half container of spaghetti sauce
baked apples with our wrinkling supply of fridge apples.
hamburger helper with our newly outdated box of stuff.. made with tvp/veggie crumbles mix
homemade sandwich bread

Even though I sold, gave away, and donated boxes of stuff just last week- I have started another pile that I'm boxing up and maybe saving for another garage sale in a few months.

The bright spot of my weekend was waking Big Girl up on Saturday and going out for a girl's garage sale day. I gave her $1.25 allowance a day early for spending money. She managed to come home with all of it because she is both a hound for the free box and people love to give toys away to cute kids. She did get me to buy her a vhs tape for .50 cents out of my own money but I talked her into getting rid of a bunch of tapes if I bought it. So, it worked in my favor.
My best find- a vintage Bisquick tin for .50 cents. I'm going to put my Aldi baking mix in it.

Free Mac N Cheese.

Go here.

My First Re-Selling Experience

I toted two tubs of kid's clothes, toys, and shoes to a children's resale shop in another town this morning. While they were sorted at the store I picked out two summer outfits for my daughter.

In the end, they only bought about $12.50 worth of clothes. I ended up owing them $2.50 for the clothes I picked out. I'm not sure if it was worth my time or not. I'm going through the tubs I brought home and am finding only pajamas, jeans, puzzles, and one pair of new sandals missing.

At least I got my kid's closets cleaned out. ; ) That's a big plus.

Butter, Gardens, and Selling Kids Stuff

Land O' Lakes wants to give you a coupon for a free product if you send in a UPC for another butter product. Weird, but whatever. Go here for details.

Not much here except working in the front garden patch that Hubby cleared. I planted squash in our front garden. Last night I got busy and planted tomatoes in containers on our backyard patio.
I still have more to go. I started green pepper seeds and I have one cantaloupe baby to plant. Today I might buy a strawberry plant or two for our side garden.

I've got one tub full of kids clothes, shoes, toys, books, and art to take to the re-sell shop tomorrow. And the Veteran's Association is coming by in a week to pick up our donation so whatever doesn't sell is going out anyway. I have a few stained and holey things that I don't feel good about donating. It makes me glad to see the second hand clothes that I used on two kids be too worn out to donate. I think they'll make nice rags or doll clothes for Big Girl.

Gotta go. Hubby's got a coupon for Chinese food burning a hole in his pocket.

In the Spring a Young Man's fancy turns to Yard work.

Hubby has been outside for the past two days whacking down every sun sucking, gigantic bush in our yard. We have a lot of foliage to attend to.

I am joyful! I have so much to plant outside where the bushes have been thinned. A flower garden once again is in my grasp. A vegetable garden that isn't blocked out by giant looming bushes is a possibility.

Here's what I have available to plant:

Hydrangea from my Father's funeral
Some type of evergreen bush from my Father's funeral.
Daffodils from the neighbors who gave us a pretty Easter gift
Basil that I started in an empty soup can on our window sill
Bachelor buttons the kids and I started in a pot on our window sill
A rose bush I bought at Dollar General for $4
Marigold seeds that I harvested from our flowers last year. Nothing brings that easy punch of color to our house like bright orange bushes.
Wild flower seeds that I plan on scattering under the front window where giant bushes were taking over.
Zinnia, Alyssum, Sweet William, Morning Glories and Cosmo seeds bought on clearance last year.

I have already planted impatiens, pansies, lobelia, and snapdragons in our front flower beds.

I have starts of tomatoes and squash in my windowsill as well that are ready for transplanting to pots and the vegetable garden. My vegetable garden last year was pitiful. It doesn't get enough sun and the path is hard to negotiate to weed and water. My tomatoes will be containerised and the experimental veg like squash and zucchini will have to battle it out in my garden.

Happy Garage Sale Days are Here Again.

I finally had a good reason to venture out on this pretty spring day with a few dollars from Hubby's wallet and go to garage sales. I am finishing up my shopping for the family in need.

I bought so much that I just filled up the washing machine when I walked in from the garage instead of dragging it into the house. I have more than enough now so that each child will have a full summer wardrobe, two pairs of shoes, new undies, new socks, and a swimming suit. Plus, I will fill in any gaps for my own children's summer wardrobes. We always seem to be low on shorts for Little Guy in the summer. Not this year. I did not buy any pajamas for them. It is hard to find second hand pajamas in good shape and it's easy to come up with something to wear to bed. I used to wear my dad's t-shirts as nightgowns when I was little. It worked great.

I also bought:

A Rachel Ray cookbook in excellent shape $1
A brand new big jar candle $1
A carrying caddy for my under the sink cleaning supplies .25
A travel guide for families going to Florida .50
A quaint serving platter with a turkey on it for our Thanksgiving Tofurkey .50
A new juggling guide with juggling balls for Hubby $1
Three children's paperbacks for Big Girl's collection .75
Men's khakis .50
A box full of cables and a modem for Hubby- free
Shoes for Big Girl- .50
A mini needle point stocking Christmas ornament- .25

I spent about $20 or less total.