Interesting Comment

For several reasons I have comment moderation enabled on this blog.  One of those reasons is personal and the other is to avoid comments like the following one.  I receive the comments in my email where I can choose to publish or reject.  This one was too long and WEIRD to publish, but I saved it in my email because I was getting a kick out of it.  Today I decided to share it with you...

The first line is the kicker!!

I know a way to save more on toilet paper than any coupon or special. This covers all the bases = saves you money, helps the environment, helps your health, makes you feel better, it's so easy to do and it costs less than $50.00; Save money and the Earth and be clean at the same time! Add Bathroom Bidet Sprayers to all your bathrooms. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off” Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com with these you won't even need toilet paper any more, just a towel to dry off! Don’t worry, you can still leave some out for guests and can even make it the soft stuff without feeling guilty. It's cheap and can be installed without a plumber; and runs off the same water line to your toilet. You'll probably pay for it in a few months of toilet paper savings. As for water use a drought is always a concern and must be dealt with prudently but remember the water use of industrial users far exceeds the water use of household users and in the case of toilet paper manufacture it is huge. The pollution and significant power use from that manufacturing process also contributes to global warming so switching to a hand bidet sprayer and lowering your toilet paper use is very green in multiple ways.

This commentor's name was David.  My question to David is, how in the world did you find my little blog and what in the world possessed you to write a comment?  This goes a long way toward proving my theory that some people have WAY TOO MUCH TIME on their hands!!  Sadly, David was probably hired by Bathroom Bidet Sprayers to sift through the internet and post this comment on my blog and any others that were mentioning saving money!

 

Another good reason to enable blog comment moderation!

 

P.S. This is not a joke...I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

More Projects

So, lately I have been "in waiting"!!  Ha.  Actually, I have been waiting for some sewing supplies to arrive in the mail, which means I have been at a stand still with the apron making.  But, I had to do something so I have been busy working on these things this week.

A felt flower pin...a lucky young lady might be getting this with her new apron!!

An adorable pink felt and brown fabric that has been "roughed" up!

And some terrific little clutches! I am calling them the "carry" clutch, but Cambree has deemed them the blueberry pie clutch...she's a silly girl!

This butterfly garden clutch has a cute little felt flower that has glitter...this was a fun one to do with Cambree, she is all about the sparkle!

A more "square" size clutch.

And to give credit, where credit is due, Cambree was the one who came up with the idea to put the flowers on the front. I had been putting the buttons on the front and she had one of the flower pins and asked if I wanted to pin it on the bag! Now, why hadn't I thought of that...I tell you, that girl is brilliant. I just grabbed her little cheeks and gave them a squeeze and told her how much I LOVED her idea.

I have two of the top clutch, two of the butterfly garden clutch and one of the square clutches if anyone is interested. If you want measurements I would be happy to provide as well. Just leave me a comment. I also hope to have more pins available soon...maybe the weekend will provide time for some crafting!

Over the Moon

in love with this boy!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Kraft Coupons and More deals

Here's a link to some good Kraft coupons.

Also, here's a good blog for finding some great deals.  Lots of posts though, so you have to do a lot of sifting.  STL Mommy

Enjoy being thrifty!

Saving Time in the Kitchen & Cheap Easy Dinners

Okay, we have gotten a start planning our meals and working the sales at the store, now here are a few more ways we can save some TIME in the kitchen.


One of my biggest time savers in the evening is having my hamburger already browned and ready to go! This is another one those things that takes a little time upfront, but then saves you some stress during the crucial 5:00 meltdown. I will take 10 or so packages of hamburger (which are 1.5 lbs each), thaw them and then cook them down. I got a HUGE new electric skillet for Christmas from my in-laws and I can cook 3 packages at once...big time saver there! Anyways, once it is browned and drained, I package them up in quart size baggies, label with a date that I cooked them, and put them back into the freezer. When your Tuedsay night rolls around and you have tacos on the menu, pull one baggie out, toss into the microwave for a couple of minutes to thaw, then throw in your skillet and prepare your tacos! You have just cut your cooking time during the dinner crunch...and you will thank me later!

Another big time saver in the prep department is to have your onions and peppers chopped and ready to go. Stock up when they are on sale. Once you have them home chop them up. Use your food processor, your knife and cutting board or your Chop Wizard {yes I have one of these and I love it for this!} to chop your onions and then put in freezer bags and pop into the freezer. When you have a recipe that calls for chopped onions, grab your bag from the freezer and you are ready to go! Do the same thing with peppers!

One more thing I always have in the freezer are cracker crumbs/bread crumbs. I like to use my food processor for this to get them extremely fine and then, again, put in freezer bags and store in the freezer. Great for when you need to make a quick batch of meatballs or use them as breading for fried foods!

I got a lot of these tips from my Mom and Grandma, watching them as I grew up! I know there are more great time saving tips out there, so please share what you do in the comments...I can't wait to add a few more timesavers to my day!

Recently on I Never Grew Up, was a series on crazy, cheap, & easy dinners. I thought it was a nice addition to the topics I have been covering of late. So, hop on over & check out the recipes!

I plan to start adding more recipes to the blog, as time allows!! Maybe I'll get a few put up before the week is over!

Pantry Staples

I have another thing I wanted to share and hopefully get some of you to share as well. 

Take a look in your pantry, fridge and freezer and see what are the things that you use on a regular basis.  Make a list of those things and keep it with your notebook or whatever you make your grocery list on.  Then when you are going over the store ad, you can add any staples that are on sale to your list for the week.

Here's a few things that I always buy when they are on sale:

Ketchup
Ranch Dressing
Salsa
Spaghetti Sauce
Macaroni - Pasta
Veggies - corn, peas, green beans
Cereal
Bacon
Chicken Breasts
Peanut Butter
Grape Jelly
Sugar & Other baking supplies I use on a regular basis
Cake Mixes
Toilet Paper (if I have a coupon too!)
Paper Towels
Baggies

So, what do you stock up and save on? 

Any other money saving strategies I am missing out on?

I am off to try and update Stapleton 365...as easy as it sounds to take a picture a day, it's getting harder every day!

Heavy Heart

My heart is heavy tonight! There is so much weighing on my mind and heart.

I sit here in my comfortable chair, thinking about my warm bed when there are so many out there right now sleeping on the ground, trying to keep warm.



There are Momma's out there who have lost their babies. Mine are safe and sound in their beds.

I can't imagine what it must be like to have a such short amount of time to hold your child before they are taken Home to be with the Father.



And while I believe with my whole heart that this is all part of God's plan, it doesn't make my heart hurt any less for these people.



I have three of the best kids in the world and I am especially thankful for them. God has absolutely blessed us abundantly through our children.

Say a prayer tonight for the momma's without their babies, the babies without their momma's, those without a place to call home, people searching for loved ones...just pray for hope!

Which brings me to a heart-warming moment with Preston. We were watching the Hope For Haiti Now special and talking about the country of Haiti and ethe earthquake. Preston had some very good questions. Where is Haiti? What is an earthquake? How does it start? How many people died? Can we help them Mom?

We talked about yes, we needed to help by donating some money. Preston says to me, "Mom, we could send them food!!!" Eyes light up, full of excitement! So heartfelt from my little man. He has no idea how far away Haiti is or how extremely devastating the earthquake was, but he does know that they need food. And he then says, "and water too mom!"

Our conversation goes on a little longer with things like how the money is used to buy food and water and how those things get over there. So, Wayland if you are reading this, Preston is convinced that since you are in the army that if we send you our money, you can get the supplies and take them to the people in Haiti that need them. If it couldn't only be this simple.

Tonight I feel deeply compelled to DO MORE! There has to be something I can do...it's on my to-do list for the weekend. Be interesting to see what I can come up with...what can we all do to DO MORE?


{Here's me during one of the happiest moments of my life!}

Please spend your weekend being mindful of all the things you are so blessed to have in your life!

More Grocery Saving Strategies

A few more things to follow up with my Menu Planning post.

1. I try really hard to go to the store ALONE! This means quicker trips through the store, no distractions and no asking, "Mom, can I have xyz?" Grocery shopping has become one thing I actually look forward to because of the solitude...LOL!

2. I never pay full price for meat! Now granted, we have our own beef processed and that helps tremendously, but we do like to have chicken and pork every once in awhile. So these items are only purchased when they are one sale. And when chicken breasts go on sale I stock up big time, because they are usually about half the price. You can put these right into the freezer when you get home and pull it out when you are in the mood for chicken. Just add it to your menu...but not your shopping list for that week!

3. Paper products...always on sale and usually try to find a coupon! Never, ever pay full price for paper towels, toilet paper, etc.

4. SNACKS! This is something every household with small children needs and it can easily get out of control quickly. I buy in bulk {I like to do this at Sam's when possible} and then put smaller portions into snack size baggies. Does this take a little extra time? Yes and no. It does take a time committment at the beginning to bag them all up, but when it is time for the kids to have a snack they can simply go to the snack basket and pick what they want...needing no help from me. So you can see how this evens out. Our snack basket is located in a low cabinet where the kids can get to it on their own. It does have things in it that require some assistance, like popcorn, but that is okay with me. The kids also know that they can have fruit or cheese if they want, they just ask for help. Cheese is another thing...I always buy the blocks and cut them up. Again, not as convient as the string cheese or other, but cheaper!

5. Coupons! This is one area I am working on, because it takes a little more work than the others. Why? Well for starters we don't subscribe to a Sunday paper, so that means that I have to go online to get them. This isn't a HARD task, just one that takes some time and sometimes time is a precious commodity at our house!!  I use a couple of sites, coupons.com and redplum.com. But I just got a new copy of Family Fun magazine and it had a few more...
mysavings.com
shopathome.com
afullcup.com
hotcouponworld.com
I haven't tried any of these yet, but I intend to!   What I like about coupons.com is that you mark the coupons you want and then print...only getting the ones you want and will use!  Speaking of use, the key to successful coupon shopping is to only use coupons on things you like and use.  For example, don't clip a coupon for a type of cereal that no one in your family likes...and especially don't buy that cereal!  This defeats the purpose of using a coupon!!!

Menu planning and saving money on your grocery bill will quickly become like a game you play with yourself and you will find yourself trying to "out-do" your last trip to the store!  If you have any tips or hints for saving money on your grocery bill, please share in the comments.  Melissa, I know you have some wisdom to share...you are the QUEEN of good deals!!!

Have fun planning your menu and shopping list for next week!  Don't forget to take your re-usable shopping bags with you to the store!!

Valentine's on the cheap!

The other day I was working on making some cards and had a little extra piece of cardstock left. I knew it would be useful for something, so I laid it aside and continued with my cards. While working I had the thought that they would be cute little "covers" to Valentine's suckers.



So, here's how to do it, it you want to SAVE some money this year on your kid's valentines. Gather some cardstock, patterned paper, glue, hole punch, suckers, paper trimmer and bone folder {or something to make a nice crease in your paper}.

Cut your cardstock into 6" x 3" rectangles. Then score them in half and fold. Now make a tiny lip on each end of the rectangle.



This is where you will glue it together later.



Punch a hole in the backside of the cover. This is where you will insert the sucker stick.



I suggest decorating the front of your cover before finishing, but it's up to you. I used a scalloped circle punch and a heart die-cut from my Cricut for the front, drew a pen line and handwrote the sentiment. I curled the scalloped circle around a pencil and only put glue in the center to attach it, giving it some dimension. Then I attached the heart with foam adhesive to raise it up a bit for more dimension. I also inked the edges of the cardstock with a light pink ink. I thought that a little cirly for the boys, so I used a square punch and a star die-cut in blues and greens. Who says valentine's have to be pink?!



Insert you suckers and apply a thin line of glue to one lip. Press the lips together to seal your pocket.



{After I took this picture I decided that a glue stick was a better alternative and was ulitmately faster. They are going to get taken apart anyways, right?}

Now if my sucker sticks were a little longer I was going to tie a tiny piece of ribbon around them, but these are short and the ribbon just made them look too out of proportion.



And there you have it...valentine's on the cheap! I spent a total of $1.60 for two bags of suckers and about an hour of my time putting them all together! You can't beat that...plus they are done! Well, almost. I will have Preston write his to's and from's on white sticker paper and then we will punch out with my square punch and attach to the back.

So, how can you get creative and save a few $$ on your Valentine's this year?

Menu Planning

Almost since the beginning of our marriage I have been menu planning.  In the beginning it started out by routinely {mostly on a monthly basis} purchasing the ingredients needed to make the most common and favorite meals.  Driving 2 hours a day three days a week to school AND working two days a week didn't leave a lot of time for "gourmet" meals, so most of them were quick and easy.  And quick and easy is still what I do most of today...three kids, a husband, part-time job, etc., etc. means we have to get dinner on the table pronto!

Over the course of 9.5 years I have refined my style to suit the way we live now.  This year I am really focused on saving money and I thought some of you might be as well and would like to see how I go about saving $$ on our grocery bill!

So here's a how I do things. 
First off you need to gather a few supplies.



1) Your calendar
2) A place to make your menu
3) A grocery list - this can just be a notebook like I use or now you can find notepads that have room for a menu on one side and list on the other.  I purchased a digital download to use and I think I will like it because this way I can see what I am going to use each ingredient for...because I sometimes forget while I am at the store!

Your first step is to look at your calendar and see what things you have going on for the week and if you are going to be gone during any of the meals you are planning for that week.  For example, when I was planning this week's menu I knew that we would be going to the Christian Church soup supper on Wednesday night, so I wrote that on my menu in the Wednesday slot.  Now I also look to see if we are going to be pressed for time any other days during the week and plan those meals first.  For instance, on Tuesdays I will usually make a quick meal because I like to attend the home basketball games.  Then, I pencil in a breakfast item for our Friday Breakfast Night {we always have breakfast for supper at least one night a week and generally try to do it on Friday}.

Now is the time you want to check you store ad if you are using one.  I will say that I used to do it every single week when the ad came in the mail.  But now that we have to go and get one, I don't always remember.  Our local grocery store ads run from Wednesday to Tuesday, so I need to get one sometime between Wedneday and Friday since I usually do my shopping over the weekend {more about this later}. 

The next step is to fill in the rest of the days.  I usually plan a main dish, vegetable, bread and sometimes a salad or other side-dish.  Really there are no hard and fast rules, just whatever seems good that day.  I also only plan for dinner, because we eat leftover for lunch the next day.  Once I have all the days complete I check the pantry, fridge and freezer to see if I have the ingredients for things on the list.

Another way I sometimes do this is to go to the fridge, freezer or pantry first and see if there is something that needs to be used and will put that on the menu to make sure we use it before it goes bad.

After the check of what I have here at the house and the ad I add the rest of the things to the grocery list.  I am a little Type A and I write my list out in the order of the store.  For our store that means, Fresh fruits and veggies, condiments, dairy....you get the idea.  This not only makes my trips go faster, but generally keeps me from forgetting to get things on the list.  Here's the benefit of using the ad and a list...you won't get sidetracked by things, wondering if you could use them and if you see something that you use often/a lot of on sale, you can put it on your list.  There is something extremely gratifying about taking a list and ONLY getting the things you have on your list.

The rest of your week should run smooth because you have everything you need for your meal prep and you won't have to make 5 trips to the store for supper that week!

I also use coupons, stock up on sale items, shop alone (most of the time), and use a calculator...another post though, because I am running out of time right now....the kids only leave you alone for so long you know?!

Routine week

We have just been enjoying our routine around here! Last night it was a beautiful night and we enjoyed some time spent outside. Jeremy and the kids jumped on the trampoline, until this happened...



Preston was riding on Jeremy's back playing "bucking bulls" when J's head hit P's nose. A risk you take when you ride the bull, but painful no less! These tears were just the start of our evening going downhill!



I still can't believe how dirty their little feet get while jumping!



I set up the camera and turned it over to Jeremy to snap some pictures. Now, this doesn't always turn out the way I want...he doesn't like to use my manual settings and will often change it while I am not looking. Then I get pictures that are slightly out of focus or don't have the lighting the way I want it! But, sometimes it does turn out just how I picture it in my mind!!! {Except for my eyes..I wish I had been looking at Westynn instead of at Jack}.



Chubba sure loved being outside with us!

And my FAVORITE picture of the evening!



This one is DEFINITELY getting printed, just have to decide how big and where to put it...maybe in the boys room. Since they don't have ANYTHING on their walls, hum??? Anyone who would like to come over and help me with the boys room is more than welcome. For some reason I just can't get any inspiration or motivation to get it done. Good thing they don't seem to care!!!

We are off to the basketball games tonight so that P can help with the homecoming activities and tomorrow Papa Rusty and Jennifer will be here to finish our Christmas celebrations! I am heading to this



for now to work on a quilt for Cambree for her birthday! I have 15 blocks completed so far, but the next set of 5 is going to take me awhile...good thing I started early! 

Have a Happy Weekend!

Sing-a-long!

Yes, these pictures are over a month old and I still haven't blogged about them. But with all my December holiday posts, I just didn't get around to doing it.

This was Preston's first school program and I was so excited for it. He had been practicing his favorite song for weeks around the house.



What we didn't know was that his favorite song had choreography that involved these cute red and green mittens! It was the cutest song I have seen. Here's some of the lyrics

Tell me the colors of Christmas.
Red & Green
Red & Green
Tell me the colors of Christmas.
Holly & Ivy and Berries & Boughs.

They turned their hands from red to green on the "Red & Green" lyrics. It was ADORABLE!



They sang 3 songs only had about 10 minutes of the program, but in my opinion it was the BEST part!

Girl's Night Out

Cambree became the middle child just about 5 months ago. Ever since then it has felt like all I do is get on to her about messing with her baby brother. I know that she means well and that she loves him, but it can get exhausting at times. I often sit alone in the evening and wonder what she might be thinking about how her world has changed since Westynn came along. In five months she and I have not had any one-on-one time and she was used to A LOT of that before.

Okay, enough rambling. What I am getting at is that I felt it was time for a Girl's Night Out! We needed to get away together, have some one-on-one time and do something fun just for us.

This movie was in town this weekend...


and it was the perfect date night for us!

Earlier in the week we facebooked several friends and asked them if they wanted to join us. We were so lucky that these friends



said they would love to come over and go with us!

The only thing that would have made this night better was if Karrie and I had been able to talk and the girls could have watched the movie! Although, it was a pretty terrific movie {if you take out the black magic}. It had a great meaning and was funny to boot. It was so much fun to listen to the little girls just giggle and giggle!

It was exactly what this Momma needed to have with her baby girl! No matter what is going on in our lives or how crazy they seem I want Cambree Jane to know that she is the most important girl in my life, that I love her dearly and that I ALWAYS have time for her.



What's not to love about this girl?!

Thanks Karrie, Kinley and Sloan for coming over for Girl's Night with us. We can't wait to do it again soon. Love you gals!

Christmas Pages

One page per kid this year! Woo-hoo! I am going to supplement these pages with 6 of my favorite pictures from our celebrations with other family in a divided page protector! Still need to do a page for Westynn, but there really isn't much to scrapbook about his first Christmas.

I can't believe how freeing it is to know this one thing is complete...nevermind the fact that I am still about 6 months plus behind and still haven't done one page of Westynn's Wednesday book!!

Wednesday with Westynn!

Hey I am back!  The holidays were CRAZY around here and I just didn't have much time to blog. 

I went to  my 4 month check up last week and I weigh 15 lbs 14 oz!! Holy cow, that's a lot.  Dr. Cannata said that I look perfect...which sure made my momma feel good about the job she is doing.

I have really found my voice and my momma can't hardly read a book because I talk so much.  I like to talk when I hear her voice.  And I like to talk when I hear Cambree.  She is such a silly girl, but I sure do get a kick out of her!

2010 is turning out to be a great year and I hope that it is a great year for you as well!

$10,000 Winner

Stapleton 365

Here's a blog you are going to want to add to your blog reader.

Stapleton 365

A picture a day for the entire year of 2010!  Go there and read more about it.

New Opportunities

Well it is day one of 2010 and I have already received my first new opportunity of the year!

I ran downtown to Duckwalls this morning and while I was there ran into my mom's hairdresser. I had sold her an apron for her daughter and I was asking her how she liked it. She told me that her daughter just thought it was wonderful! I was excited just to hear that part of the story, but then she went on.

{Sidenote: Every fall they hold a craft show at her daughters house in Dodge...Mom and I have been each year and they have wonderful things!}

So, back to the story, she asked me if I would like to be part of their craft show with my aprons! WOO HOO! I couldn't say yes fast enough! Now I have visions of all the sewing and apron making that will be going on around here...

But I have a dilemma. I never really intended to start a sewing business {and I am sure Jeremy never dreamed I would when I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday last year!!}, but now that I have I want to see where this will go. I don't want to limit myself to just aprons...I would like to make other kitchen linens, towels, potholders, etc and maybe even branch out into some childrens clothing...have you see all the adorable girls twirly skirts and pants out there? Too cute!

Anyways, I also want to start putting them on Etsy, but I am going to need a name for my shop. This is the part where you, my dearest friends and family come in. I need your suggestions! Please help me here. I will do the sewing, but I need your creative thoughts on a shop name. Leave them here in the comments and we will go from there!

I can already see that we are going to have to add on to the house so that I have enough room to leave my sewing machine set up 24/7 and for all the fabric that is going to invade this house!

And just because I can't leave with out a picture, here are the new aprons that I whipped up earlier this week for me and Cambree.





They are super cute on!

p.s. Thanks for your help & Happy New Year!