A Frugal Adventure and More

Shutterfly Christmas Cards!

2011-11-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

Once again, I am here to rave about and give ten thumbs up to Shutterfly and their awesome holiday card collection. And, of course, all the other fun stuff like calendars, photo books, photo gifts, and more. I must say again, I love their photo books. People rave about them when they come over and see them on display. The custom path options, allow you to customize every aspect of each page. It is incredible!

Now back to the cards....I was at a Shutterfly HouseParty today (thank you Meredith) and got to see, first hand, real samples of some of cards in the new collection. I love all the beautiful, clever, cute, fancy (all of the above) designs. There has to be a perfect card for everyone out there. And, you can customize them too, with options like changing the amount of pictures, the text, and the layouts. I discovered last year, that they offer "story" cards, where you can actually write your Christmas letter in them. I am hoping to find another one like that this year! I browsed the website recently and have come across some fun ones...the problem will be narrowing it down to one (or two)! Here is a look at a few that caught my eye...now, if I could only get my pictures to look this good too!
Hearts and Home 5x7 Folded Card (this could be a "story" card for those letters you like to write)

Here is a religious one that has a nice design:
Blessing of Christ

And the flat cards are really nice and are available in a variety of sizes, styles, and designs. You can even put pictures on the back!
Top Ten Reasons Card

And here is another option for those who like the Christmas letter idea, but don't want to include an extra piece of paper...do it all on the card!
Holiday Letter Christmas Card

I hope you enjoy browsing the website too and can find the perfect holiday card for 2011. Check out Shutterfly for all your holiday photo wants and needs. You will not be disappointed! Oh, and right now, the cards are 40% when you use the code CARD40 (not sure when it expires).

I must also let you know that Shutterfy's customer service is top-notch. I tell you that from experience. I have called them at least a dozen times for as long as I have been a customer and they have always been very friendly and have taken care of my issues promptly and to my satisfaction.

(By the way, these opinions are all my own. I am entering a promotion to see if Shutterfly likes my blog review of their holiday cards. If I am chosen, I will get 25 free cards. I was not otherwise compensated for this review).

Photo Cards from Shutterfly

2011-10-30T18:38:00.001-07:00

Faith Love Family Religious

Unique designs that are as unique as you. Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Free Chick-Fil-A Breakfast Entree on Saturdays in October if you wear PJ's

2011-10-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday this month, wear your pajamas, and stop by your local Chick-Fil-A for a free breakfast entree! I went this past Saturday with my boys and we got $10 worth of food for free! Gotta love Chick-Fil-A for their great food and excellent customer service!

How does your garden grow?

2011-07-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I have posted anything on here, but I am very excited to say that we have another wonderful garden this year! My boys have been very excited about the garden and actually enjoy going our with me to check on our fruits and veggies and to help me pick them. We always are amazed at how big some or our zucchini get. My zucchini and yellow squash have exploded even more so than last year. I realized this year that they don't need much water and I definitely don't water at night or on top of the leaves. This was a big mistake last year. I have already harvested at least 4 dozen and have given many away. We have made several loaves of bread, 4 dozen muffins, over fried zucchini, and Poor Man's Crab Cakes (I posted about these last year...they are delicious and very easy). I have also shredded some and froze it for future use in breads and muffins.

My tomatoes and peppers are doing well too. Last year, my peppers never made it, so I am happy that all four of my plants are doing fabulous. New this year...cantaloupe...and we have one that should be ready by the weekend! My boys are very excited about it. I planted a small strawberry plant that was on clearance for only $2 at Lowes. I got a couple strawberries from it, but look forward to it doing better next year.

And I am super excited to report that my raspberries are AMAZING!!!! I have probably triple the plants I had last year (they spread like crazy and I must give some away) and half of them have already started harvesting. I have picked a small container of raspberries everyday for about the past two weeks already....and we still have the rest of the summer and fall to enjoy them!

This year's garden was very simple to put in since I did all the prep work last year when we started. My neighbor picked up all my plants for me (except the raspberries since they were already there) for only $7! Another friend gave me her left over manure, so I used that along with the soil from last year. All in all, everything is going well. I just need to make sure the tomatoes and peppers stay watered since they seem the most sensitive to all this heat. How is your garden growing? What are you most excited about? If any of my local friends would like to swap crops I would be very up for that!

Shutterfly: Free Cards for Father's Day!

2011-06-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

I love Shutterfly so much...I think most of you know that by now. They have the best deals/discounts, best quality for prints, books, and gifts, and great customer service. I just got done making several photo gifts, cards, and collage prints to give out to our family members for Mother's Day (very late) and Father's Day. Right now, you can also get 5 free photo cards just in time for Father's Day (or any other occasion you may need them for). Use the code DADCARD at the checkout to get your free cards. Shipping and handling will be extra, unless of course you spend $30 or more at use the copse SHIP30 to get free shipping! Both of these codes expire on June 9, 2011. (I just posted a sample of the card I made).

I just love Shutterfly to pieces!!! Free Cards!

2011-06-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Free Ebook: 31 Days to Clean (today only).

2011-04-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

I just found out about this free ebook offer that ends at midnight tonight. The book is called 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way. I am very excited to read it as I can use a lot of help in this area....managing a home in a God glorifying way. It looks really good! The author, Sarah Mae, has a really inspiring blog too that I look forward to exploring more.

If you want a copy too, just Twitter, Facebook, or blog about this new ebook by tonight at midnight and let Sarah Mae know you did through email with your link.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Frugal Birthday Cakes: Part 3-The best frosting!

2011-04-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

I started this series on frugal birthday cakes a long time ago. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 if you would like. Part 1 shows you some of the cake I have made in the past. The most recent one, is the Spaceship cake you see above that was for my oldest son's 5th birthday, Toy Story party. Isn't it great? More details on that one later.

I have been meaning to post this recipe for frosting for a long time. Sorry. This is a recipe my family has been using for years and we even know the baker who invented it. She is the one who made many of our cakes for various birthdays, showers, and even rehearsal dinners for our family's weddings. This frosting is very smooth and creamy and not too sweet. It works great for decorating cakes. The key to this recipe is to make sure that the evaporated milk is very cold and that you beat the frosting for a good 10 minutes (or even more). I also put the frosting in the refrigerator at various times while I am decorating a cake to make sure it doesn't get too runny. It freezes well too and tastes great with animal crackers! I don't know about you, but our family loves to dip animal crackers in frosting! Yummy! Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup Crisco

1 cup (2 sticks) Blue Bonnet or Parkay margarine (cold)

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup very cold canned evaporated milk

Blend Crisco and margarine together. Add powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Gradually add the 1/2 cup of evaporated milk and beat on high for at least 10 minutes.

ACME deals get even better!

2011-04-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post real quick that the cereal and milk deals at ACME just got even sweeter. Now, you can get fee, or really cheap fruit too! I was there yesterday picking up my Kellogg's cereal and free milk and discovered that some of the boxes of cereal had "peelies" (sticker coupons on the boxes) on them for $1.00 off fresh fruit purchase when you buy two participating boxes of Kellogg's cereal. So I picked up 4 boxes of Pops and 2 boxes of Froot Loops since they were are included in the deal. I got four of the peelies, but only used three yesterday. SO, for only $7.97, I walked away with 6 boxes of cereal, 2 FREE gallons of milk, a 4 pound bag of navel oranges (sale price $1.99) and 3 bananas with all the sales, deals, and coupons. It was like getting the fruit for free too! Yeah for ACME!

DIY: Family Handprints Wall Hanging (final picture)

2011-04-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my family handprints wall hanging I showed you how to make last year. I got them hung up about two months ago...finally! They are hung in my homeschooling classroom. Don't you love the green walls too! I love it! It was a great upgrade to the room and makes it so cozy!
Check out my post from last year on how to do this easy, creative, inexpensive, family handprints wall hanging. It will make for a great decoration and a great keepsake!

Well, I just copied my post from last year to make it easier for you all to read (from March 2010):

I am super excited to share this "Do It Yourself" project that I just finished last night. Well, almost finished. Now, they just need to be hung on the wall. I take no credit for this idea though. Back in November, I was at a friend's house (she did it herself too) and that is where I got the idea. And she found the idea from here. So, what is it? You take blank, framed canvases, paint them a solid color-use acrylic paint, and then do a handprint of each of your family members on each one. My boys were so excited to help me with this project. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been painting the 5 canvases with 2-4 coats of paint, depending on the color. I picked bold, bright colors, since I will be hanging them in our classroom. Last night, we had a great family evening together, painting out hands and then doing our handprints. And if we messed up, baby wipes worked great to repair them. I must say, I think they turned out awesome. What do you think? So you're probably wondering the cost...well, here it is...$2.79 for each 8 x 10" canvas (about $14.00 total) at Michaels and about $0.75 per small (not the smallest) bottle of paint and I have a lot left over. I did get the canvases in a 3-pack that was on sale and during a sale when I could use an additional coupon. So under $20 for a beautiful wall display and great family memory! It would have been $39.99 for the kit from the site I referenced above and that's only for four. I am so thrilled about it! Hopefully we will get them hung up soon for all to see. Even our cute little 6 month old got to participate.

Cereal Deals and FREE Milk!

2011-03-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Our local grocery stores here in the Delaware Valley have been having some great deals on cereal and offers for free milk when you buy a certain number of boxes. Today, I just got back from Giant with 4 boxes of General Mills cereal and a gallon of milk for only $4.36 total! Here was the deal:

Purchase 4 boxes of GM cereal, any variety/size and get $6 off instantly at checkout.
I had 4 coupons (one per box) from online (coupons.com) and from the Smart Source section (or smartsource.com) of the Sunday paper (it was either this past Sunday or the one before), that were all doubled, giving me another $4.20 off. I tried to pick the best coupons for the least expensive cereals.

It was like getting each box of name brand cereal for $1.09/box and a free gallon of milk. In case you can't make it to Giant tonight before the sale ends, no worries, the deals continue this week at Acme, starting tomorrow, April 1.

Select Kellogg's cereals (and Pop Tarts) are on sale, 3 boxes for $5, and on top of that you can get a FREE gallon of milk with every three boxes purchased (note: any variety of Kellogg's works for the milk deal, but only a select few are on sale). Kellogg's coupons are a little bit harder to find than General Mills ones, but I just signed up today on the Kellogg's website and found some coupons on there. I printed two of the ones for $1.00/3 boxes because it looks like that coupon includes the same ones on the Acme deal (3 boxes for $5). So, starting tomorrow you should be able to get 3 boxes of cereal for $4 and a free gallon of milk (or 6 boxes and 2 gallons of milk for $8 if you print two coupons). This deal will make each box only $1.25 and you will get free milk!

In case you didn't know this trick, just click the back button after you print one coupon and then you can print your second one. There are other coupons available on the website too for other Kellogg's varieties. Anybody know where there are any other Kellogg's coupons floating around?

Parents Magazine for only $1!

2011-03-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Barnes and Noble (bn.com) has PARENTS Magazine on sale for only $4.97. Use this code: K4M8W9D and get it for only $1. This magazine has had some hot coupons for Amazon.com lately, so it is well worth the $1 investment. And don't forget to order through Ebates.com and get 4% cash back. Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads-up!

Homeschool Freebie of the Day!

2011-03-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Are you homeschooling your children? Do you plan to homeschool in the future? Do you love free stuff? Well, I have a site I want to tell you about. I recently discovered Homeschool Freebie, a site that offers free homeschool resources to homeschooling families. They offer a "Freebie of the Day" each and every day of the week, Monday-Friday. The best way to find out about the upcoming freebies is to be on their email list. I get an email every Sunday with the upcoming freebies. You can read more about this site here and join the email list here. If it is something you are interested in, you need to download the PDF that day, as it may not be offered as a freebie again. I have already downloaded some great resources to add to my own collection. I am excited about this week's freebies of the day, The Big Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (Part II--bird study and fish study is also available for download today). And I am pretty sure that each day this week will be a new freebie in this series. This looks like it will be very helpful for future science lessons with my boys! Happy homeschooling!

Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos

2011-03-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

As promised, I wanted to share this recipe that I made up a few weeks ago with Quinoa with all of you. You can read more about this nutritious stuff here.

Here's what you need:

1 cup Quinoa

2 cups of water

1 beef bouillon cube

1 Tbsp. oil

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, minced

approx. 1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 Tbsp. cumin (give or take a little)

salt and pepper to taste

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

6-8 tortillas

Cheddar cheese

Salsa (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Soften the veggies in the oil. Add water, Quinoa and bouillon cube. Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the Quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat.

Mix in spices and beans. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds or in a large frying pan with cooking spray over medium heat for a couple of minutes until warm, turning once. Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of Quinoa/bean mixture (give or take) and add desired toppings. Wrap it up and enjoy!!! (This mixture can also be combined with ground beef or turkey to stretch your meat, but it if very filling without the meat). We actually prefer it without meat.

And I am very happy to report that you can freeze them and use them for later meals. They are great for lunches too. After you fill the tortillas, wrap them in a paper towel and then a piece of aluminum foil. Place in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, unwrap the foil, but leave it in the paper towel. Microwave on High for about 60-90 seconds. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try them and what you think!

New Rite Aid Surveys: $3 off/$15 purchase

2011-03-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

If you are a Rite Aid shopper you will be happy to know that there is a new customer satisfaction survey that prints on the bottom of some of your receipts. When you complete this new survey online, you will be eligible for a coupon for $3 off a $15 or more purchase. Usually at the bottom of the receipt there is a code for a phone survey that enters you into a contest to win $10,000, but occasionally you may get this new code for the online survey. Honestly, I rather do the online survey and get the coupon. In my last three visits to the store, I got two opportunities for the coupon survey. You must complete it within 14 days and use your coupon within fourteen days of completing the survey. I don't know for sure, but I think you are only eligible for the coupon up to 3 times per month. Have you gotten any yet?

Quinoa-Gluten Free and Very Nutritious!

2011-03-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of it? Well, it is our family's new favorite side dish and is a great alternative to rice, pasta, and couscous. My husband has had to make some significant dietary changes lately due to some health issues and we were very excited to find Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) at our local Costco. We were hesitant to buy this highly nutritious, gluten free seed because of the price, about $9.50 for a 4 pound bag. (The are 42 1/4 cup dry servings per bag making it about $0.22/serving). But after trying it for the first time back in January, we are hooked. We are big fans of this yummy stuff. Yes, you can probably get a 1 pound bag of non-instant brown rice (instant stuff is quite a bit more) at Walmart for about $1.50 (about 7 cents a serving), but it probably doesn't expand as much as this Quinoa does nor can you say that it is a great source of protein (5.5 grams per 1/4 dry serving), contains all 8 amino acids which is very good for you vegetarians out there, fiber, B vitamins, and iron (18%). I couldn't believe how much the one cup expanded the first time I made it. I made it into a pilaf with some veggies and walnuts and there was probably enough to serve 6 adults a nice size serving. You get a lot of bang for your buck! It is well worth the investment for a healthier alternative to rice and such. And the taste....so good! It is very filling and has a "nutty" kind of flavor. My husband actually frowns now when I make rice instead of Quinoa. You can serve it as a side dish with veggies, with soup, add it to chili, and mix up for a filling for your burritos and tacos. I am so excited to say that I actually have made up my own recipe for Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos that I will be sharing soon. Have you ever heard of Quinoa? Do you like it?

Homemade Ice cream/Snow cream

2011-02-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

Last night, we finally made homemade ice cream out of snow. It was super easy, fun, frugal, and quite tasty. It was a great thing to do as a family as well. My boys loved it! Here's the recipe:

1 large bowl/pan of fresh, clean snow
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp. of vanilla

Mix everything together (pour milk in last) and eat immediately.

Walgreen's Diapers $1.50/Jumbo Pack!!!!

2011-02-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Get them while you can! I just got back from Walgreen's and I couldn't wait to post about a deal going on right now (today is the last day) on diapers. You can get jumbo packs of diapers for only $1.50/pack. That's 5 cents/diaper for size 5 and about 4 cents/diaper for size 4. It would be even less per diaper if you get the smaller sizes. So here's what you do...go and pick up two jumbo packs of the Walgreen's diapers, they are on sale for $6.99 AND are but one get one free. Next, go to the pharmacy counter (that's where to go at the Main St. Walgreen's in Middletown) and get the "Infant Care" coupon booklet. Inside you find a coupon for $2/pack of Walgreen's diapers. Give it to the cashier with your diapers and you will actually get $4 off because you have two packs. Yeah! $2.99 out of pocket for at least 54 diapers (size 5). I got four packs today (did two transactions) and only paid about $6. And, by the way, if they are out of the size you need, get a rain check and save your coupons. They don't expire until 12/2011. I ended up getting a rain check too, so I can go back and buy some more size 5's soon. If you can't find the "Infant Care" coupon booklet ask an associate/manager for help. Even though I use cloth diapers most of the time, this deal was well worth it for me for the times I do use disposables (i.e. at night, trips, etc.). And I don't know much about Walgreen's diapers, but again, at that price, if I use more than usual, I am fine with that!

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

2011-02-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

Cookies are one of my weaknesses, especially delicious sugar cookies. Well, after several years of trying different recipes, I think I have a favorite and I want to share it. I found it last summer on a recipe forum website from a fellow "Yinzer". It didn't call for vanilla though, so I changed it, because other recipes that I have tried have vanilla in it. They actually remind me of Eat 'n Park Smiley Face Cookies. Some of you may not know what those are, but they are some of the best sugar cookies in the world from a restaurant chain in Western PA. I had so much fun making Valentine's Day cookies with my boys on Monday and then giving them away to a bunch of people at our local YMCA. Sugar cookies are great year-round, not just for Christmas. I prefer them with icing too, but you can leave that off and just decorate them before you bake them. And do you know the secret to shiny icing? Corn syrup! Enjoy! Save yourself some money and make cookies and give them away as gifts (or to cheer someone up) instead of buying something. Your kids will love having some special treats around too!

Yummy Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)

1 cup milk (I used whole this time, but any is fine)

2 eggs, beaten

4-5 cups of flour (I started with 4 and then added more since the dough was still sticky)
6 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons vanilla

Cream sugar, shortening, milk, vanilla, and eggs. Add flour and baking powder. Chill dough for 30-60 minutes to make it easier to work with. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and use cookie cutters for desired shapes. Place on un-greased (they work with greased too) cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 13-15 minutes, don't over-bake. Let cool completely on wire rack before icing and decorating.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. milk (I tend to use a little extra, if it seems to thick)
2 tsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp.vanilla

Stir powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla until smooth and glossy. (I usually double it).

Homemade Pizza Perfected

2011-02-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry it has been awhile since I have posted. Not so sure anyone even stops by, but if you do, thank you! Life with three young boys is really keeping me busy! Anyway, a long time ago, I think back when I started this blog, I wrote a post about homemade whole wheat (not entirely whole wheat) pizza. Oh, here's the link for you to check out, in case you missed it before. I am happy to say that after over two years of making this pizza, I have some tips to make it even more delicious. We eat it almost every Friday night and we never seem to get enough of it. Seriously, try the recipe from Cooking Light .

Tips for a perfect pizza:

1. The recipe says to have the "warm water" be between 100-110 degrees. Yes, I actually use my candy thermometer to measure the temperature and make sure it falls within the range. That is the best temperature to activate the yeast properly, at least I think so! My friend laughed at me when she found out I did that, but then she tasted our pizza and agreed it tastes quite good.

2. If using a pizza stone, heat the stone in the oven before baking the pizza. I usually leave it in the oven for at least 5 minutes. I don't heat up my cookie sheets though, just the stone, since it seems to take a little longer to get hot.
3. Sprinkle some corn meal on your pizza stone and/or cookie sheet, before putting the crust on it.
4. Try to roll out (or do the fancy hand thing like they do in the pizza shops) the dough as thin as possible for a crisper crust--that's what we prefer.
5. Be careful not to use too much sauce as it will make the crust mushy...just a light/thin layer.
6. I bake the crust first for about 7-9 minutes and then I take it out, put the toppings on, and place it back in the oven for another 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted completely.

Enjoy! I really hope you enjoy this pizza as much as we do. If you get in the habit of making homemade pizza you can save so much money and you realized it tastes so much better.

I recently made my own version of a white veggie pizza and I thought I would share that with you too! I follow the same recipe for the crust. For the sauce I used about 4 small cloves of garlic (minced), 3-4 Tbsp. olive oil (give or take a little), 3-4 tsp. Italian seasoning, and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Mix together in a small bowl and brush over the pre-baked crust. Add any veggies you like. I used steamed broccoli and spinach. Next, I sprinkled with some mozzarella and feta and baked it for an additional 7-8 minutes, or until cheese is melted. I just made another tonight and it was great!

Do you have a pizza recipe you prefer? Any tips for a great pizza?

$20 Amazon gift card for only $10!

2011-01-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

I just read about this deal, thanks to Money Saving Mom! You can get a $20 amazon gift card for only $10! What a great deal! Here is my referral link if you would like to use it. If three people order it, mine could be free! There is only 1 hour left. Offer expires at 8:00 AM EST. You can also shop through Swagbucks and earn 280 Swagbucks. Just think, more ways to earn Amazon gift cards! Enjoy!

https://livingsocial.com/deals/21336?ref=conf-jp&rpi=5146749

The Old School House Magazine Subscription Deals (and offer for free 6 month subscription)

2010-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

I have not subscribe to this magazine yet, but have been meaning too. I have heard great things about it and now that I am homeschooling, I am sure it will come in handy with lots of tips, ideas, and encouragements for me. I just found out that they are offering a free 6 month subscription to their magazine if you share about the current deals they have going on right now on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and/or email. I have also posted the deals for you below to read about. They sound really good! (If you are interested in finding out about the free subscription deal, check out their Facebook page with all the details). Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the tip!

Current Deals:

"The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine has been a favorite resource for homeschoolers for years. The pages of our magazine holds informative and encouraging articles written by homeschool educators and parents like you. Because we want to spread the news far and wide about homeschooling, we are on a quest to reach 25,000+ paid subscribers by the year's end. We have three fabulous options for a REALLY great deal on our magazine, as well as some freebies, until January 2nd!"

Will you choose option A?

Option A is a one year subscription (normally $25) for $7.95 to anyone in the U.S. or Canada. What a great gift idea for only $7.95! Consider buying several subscriptions for friends and family members. AND, any $7.95 purchase will result in a GIFT for you--choose any digital TOS Planner-FREE.

Will it be option B?

We have lowered the price on the ONE YEAR subscription with the Cranberries & Cream tote and the E-Book: Cranberry Christmas, all for$19.95., U.S. and Canada only.

Or will you choose option C?

Finally, we are offering our two-year subscription (U.S. and Canada) on sale for $37 with Cranberries & Cream tote, a Schoolhouse Planner of your choice, plus the E-Book: Cranberry Christmas.

Whatever option you choose, you get freebies and a great deal! So which option, and freebies, will you choose? A, B, or C?

All subscriptions will start with our beautiful, 200 page Winter issue. Offer good on new subscriptions, renewals, and gift subscriptions in both the U.S. (overseas military included) and Canada.

And remember, shipping is always free at the Schoolhouse Store! (U.S. only)

Scotch Thermal Laminator for $16.99 shipped from Amazon

2010-12-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hey homeschooling moms! This is for you! I just found out about a great deal, I mean, fantastic deal, from Amazon for a Scotch Thermal Laminator for just $16.99 (regular retail price $80.49). It is the deal of the day for today, so act fast. I know this will be very handy for all my homeschooling needs. I am so excited! I guess it is a Christmas present to myself! And if you have an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom membership you can get free, 2-day shipping! Thanks Money Saving Mom!

My free cards from Shutterfly

2010-12-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Shutterfly! Have you figured that out yet? Well, I just ordered my 50 free folded 5x7 cards (so excited they were included in the deal) and it was a savings of $71.50! I was so excited about the card I picked out. It is one of their new "story" cards, so I was able to write my Christmas letter right in the card. What a fabulous idea! No extra printing this year so I can save on printer ink and paper. I'll be sending this particular card to friends and family who are far away. And I also got a promo code for free shipping, so that saved me a lot too. So it was a $0.00 total! Just what I like! If you need cards, take advantage of the deal for bloggers. Read about it here!

Holiday Cards from Shutterfly

2010-12-04T18:06:00.000-08:00

I know I have been talking about Shutterfly a lot lately, but I can't help it, it is by far, my favorite photo processing company. I have been a customer for over three years and have been so satisfied with the quality of the prints, photo gifts, photo cards, and photo books. The customer service has always been top-notch. If I have ever had a problem the customer service team has always handled it quickly and to my satisfaction.

To all you bloggers out there, Shutterfly is offering you 50 FREE Holiday Photo Cards for submitting a review about their products. The offer ends December 15th.

I just started purchasing photo cards from Shutterfly over the past year, and the variety of designs and layouts has impressed me a lot. They are very easy to make (less than 5 minutes sometimes), yet the beauty of them makes people think I spent hours putting it together. The quality is like none other I have seen.

We had our family portraits taken a few weeks ago, and I was able to purchase the CD with all the images. It was very easy to upload them to my Shutterfly account. I am very excited to make my Christmas cards over the next few days. You can easily search the hundreds of designs by size, price, number of photos per card, and even style. There are so many to choose from, that I may have to make more than one! A few of the religious styles I am interested in are Blessed Elegance, In His Name, The Three Wise Men cards. They all will work great with our photos and include messages about the true meaning of Christmas.

So check out Shutterfly for all of your photo card needs, you will not be disappointed!

Disclaimer: I received a code for 50 free 5x7 folded or flat cards from Shutterfly for writing this review on my blog. All opinions are unique, honest, and my own.

I got my $25 credit for Shutterfly!

2010-12-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

Did you read my post about the free $25 credit from Shutterfly for sharing a project on your blog? Well, I just got the email giving me my special offer code for the $25 off one order. Yippy! Read the post and try it for yourself!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T20:29:00.001-08:00

Festive Family Fall Greeting

Unique party invitations and greeting cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Free $25 credit from Shutterfly!

2010-11-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

Do you have a blog? Well, I just found out (thanks, Freebies 4 Mom) about a great and super simple way to try to score a $25 credit to your Shutterfly account. All you need to do is share a photo card that you made on your blog and then email the link to Shutterfly. Did you see the Thanksgiving card I posted? That's part of this offer.

Here are the steps:

1. Log into your Shutterfly account.
2. Click on "My Shutterfly"
3. Next, click on "View My Projects" (if you have them, otherwise you'll have to make a card).
4. Click on the dot/circle underneath the card you would like to share. Don't click on the card/picture itself.
5. On the next page follow the prompts to give a title and description.
6. Click on the "Share Project" link on the right hand side.
7. You can then either share through Blogger or embed a widget to your blog.

It's that simple. You will get a message that it has been shared. And then don't forget to email shareproject@shutterfly.com and let them know you posted it and give them your actual blog link. I just got my email back from Shutterfly and they will process my entry and let me know if it qualifies.

I hope it works for you!

Cheap (nearly free) Christmas Cards

2010-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

So, I was debating if I should wait to see if Seehere.com would offer free cards again like last year, but I had heard about some good deals from Snapfish so I went ahead and ordered some. If anyone does here about the Seehere.com offer, please let us know. It was in November that they came around last year. Not sure if any of you acted on the opportunity to get a $10 credit last week from Snapfish, but you can use that money for your card orders. I used these two codes, BABIES and BABYMAIL, in two separate orders to get a set of 20 4x8 cards, $14.99 value, for free. You just have to pay for shipping which is $5.99/set. I believe these codes expire on Oct. 31st. Thankfully, my $10 credit applied to the shipping charges, so after each order, I only paid $3.48 out of pocket for 40 Christmas cards. Yeah! I am also going to use many of my Pampers points from the Gifts to Grow Rewards program to get a free set of 25 cards from Shutterfly too. So I will be well on my way to having my Christmas cards taking care of for less than $5! Not bad!

Frugal Birthday Cakes: Part 2-Free 1st Birthday Cake

2010-10-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some of you may already know this, but you can receive a FREE cake for your child's first birthday from Acme! Thankfully, I have known about this for the past four years and have gotten free cakes for all three of my boys. You usually need to give the bakery at least 24 hours notice and when you pick up the cake, you show them your child's birth certificate. You can get a free 1/4 sheet cake, or use the coupon (I think it's for about $15.99) towards a larger cake or a cake with a photo on it. I prefer to do the photo cakes, so I usually get a 1/4 sheet cake with a picture of my child on it, and pay only $7. Not bad in my book. And for a grocery store cake, I think Amce makes the best...if you get the whipped cream icing!

Frugal Birthday Cakes: Part 1-Homemade Cakes

2010-09-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but I am just getting to it now. Over the past few years, I have learned to love making homemade cakes for my boys for their birthdays. I consider it one of my "labors of love" for my boys when it comes to their birthdays and parties. Birthday cakes can be very expensive if you want something fancy to go with your theme, but I have found many ideas and tips online to help me make some adorable cakes over the past few years. Yes, I'll admit they are probably not as cute or perfect as a true baker or cake decorator would make, but my children would never know the difference. They are always so excited to see the special cake that "mommy made" for them. :) And, yes, they are time consuming, sometimes very time consuming, but to me, the delight and excitement on their face when they see the finished product makes it well worth it to me! I have found that Betty Crocker cake mixes are the best and they taste so delicious, if you follow the directions, exactly. My husband taught me that. If it says beat for 2 minutes at low speed, you should literally time it for two minutes. My husband's cakes always turn out so good, and I asked him how he does it, and he tells me, "I follow the directions." Go figure! Sometimes its worth it not to cut corners or improvise. I probably spend less than $5-$7/cake (maybe less, rough estimate, depending on what ingredients I have on hand at the moment), but sometimes a little more, if I purchase a special cake pan or need new colors for the frosting. Definitely less than a custom made cake from a bakery or even a grocery store. Cakes at Costco are about $15.99 (1/2 sheet cake) and about $14.99-19.99 (1/4 to 1/2 sheet cake) at Acme. I like having some special Wilton cake pans on hand for future cakes and to let other people borrow if they so desire to try to make their own cake. At some point I think I will use a 50% of coupon at Michael's and get a pack of 10-15 colors/dyes so I have a nice variety on hand for my frosting. My decorating skills continue to improve each time I try it. I have a great recipe I will post soon of the butter-cream frosting I use. It works great when chilled a little.

I thought I would show you some pictures of the cakes I have made for my boys over the years.

This was my first attempt at a cake for my first son's second birthday back in 2007. An Elmo cake. I did need to purchase the Wilton cake pan for this one. My mom helped me a lot with this cake.

I will always cherish this picture! He ALMOST bit off Elmo's nose that night! :)

This one below was for EVB's 3rd birthday. He wanted a "James" cake instead of a "Thomas" cake. With the Elmo cake we learned that the red icing can taste a bit bitter, so we used some spray red dye for this cake, but it did not work out very well at all. I would stick with regular frosting. We also made some cute cupcakes to go with this cake. Again, my mom helped me with this. It was pretty tough decorating it. We used a Wilton cake pan that is very difficult to find. I don't think they sell it anymore at the craft stores. Thankfully, she had a friend who let us borrow it.

These were the James and Thomas cupcakes. My mom found these adorable, eatable eyes!

This one below is a dinosaur cake, actually a "Buddy" cake from the PBS show Dinosaur Train. We didn't have a big party for my son's 4th birthday, but because of this cake and some decorations from the Dollar Tree he told me "this was the best birthday ever." He made me feel like the best mom in the world! See, birthdays can be frugal and lots of fun!!!

I used two round cake pans and when the cakes were cooled, I cut out pieces of the dinosaur and put it together like a puzzle. We made a really cool orange color by mixing red and yellow food coloring and used peanut M & M's for his eyes, mouth and toe nails. My son was so excited that it was the same color as "Buddy."

Doesn't he have the best smile?

The cake below was definitely the hardest and most time consuming cake, but well worth it. All those little stars! It took forever to ice it that I thought my arm was going to fall off! My second son loves, loves sports, especially basketball. He had asked for a basketball cake for almost a year! I got a Costco cake for him for his second birthday (too pregnant and tired at that time to make one) and ever since that time he wanted another basketball cake for his 3rd b-day. I discovered that Wilton sold a sports ball cake pan. I found it at Michael's and had a coupon for it. I think I paid $5-7 for it.

I can't remember.

I thought it was a great thing to buy since I have three boys and they all love sports and balls. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity to make soccer balls, baseballs, golf balls, etc. in the future. Practice makes perfect right! I made this cake twice for two separate parties. The second time was a little bit easier. You make two halves of the ball and then you put them together with frosting in the middle. I found that making a

9 x 11 iced cake to put underneath it helped relieve my fears of it "rolling" off the table. Warning, it is very unstable! I do love the way it turned out though and NVB was thrilled to say the least!

Now, this cake below was the simplest one I have made so far. It was a last minute decision to put together. I had a cake mix and chocolate frosting in the pantry, so that made it even easier. I made a batch a cupcakes, then once cooled, I arranged them into the shape of the number one, and iced it. It made for a perfect first birthday cake for our third son when we had a little celebration on his actual special day. My big boys helped me decorate it. He then got a free cake for his party the next day.

Homeschooling has begun!

2010-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is our first official week of homeschooling at our house! I'm so excited for this new adventure for our family. I'm so aware of my need for God as I take this new step of faith. I feel very unprepared and inadequate, but I know He will help me. I'm going to try to share my experiences with you as the year progresses. I am very new to all this and have so much to learn. I hope my experiences may help you too. I've found some other helpful blogs and moms along the way that I will share with you in future posts. Pictures of my boys may be an added bonus too! Anyway, I wanted to start off this series by saying I HIGHLY recommend The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell.

This book is for anyone who is even thinking about homeschooling or is just getting started. It was recommended to me, and I am only about 4 or 5 chapters into it, but I think it needs to be on everyone's shelf. It has been so helpful in answering the questions/concerns like "why to homeschool," "the pros and cons of homeschooling," "having a vision/goals," "setting up a daily routine/schedule," and so much more. I think it will be a great reference book as time goes on too. It has been so helpful to me especially since my husband and I have no experience with homeschooling. I honestly wish I would have purchased it last year, so I could have had a year of so to prepare mentally for what we are doing now. But I guess better late than never. So, even if you only have kids under three at home right now, check out the book. I don't think you will be disappointed. The $20 investment is well worth it. I wish someone would have told me about it when my first was only three! More to come soon....

Delicious Black Beans and Rice Recipe

2010-09-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'm always trying to find new ways to eat even healthier and be more frugal with my cooking. A dear friend was visiting a few weeks ago and she shared with me her experience with going gluten-free because of some food allergies she has discovered. She shared with me that her and her husband were making some "beans and rice" meals and were realizing how much they could save eating more like that. My husband and I love black beans, so I was on a mission to come up with something. I knew cumin worked well with black beans from my black bean burger recipe. I've been buying red peppers from Costco lately and thought those would go nicely too. A little onion, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper too. I'm excited to say I actually made up my own recipe and I paid attention tonight so I could share it with all of you! It is delicious, very filling, nutritious, gluten-free, and so cheap to make. It could be a main dish or used as a side. My youngest son loved the mashed black beans and rice with the peppers too! If you try it, please tell me what you think!

Black Beans and Rice

1 cup uncooked brown rice (following package directions for preparing) (not the 10 minute, instant stuff)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 of a medium onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. cumin (more or less depending on how much flavor you want-I actually used a tiny bit less than two full tablespoons)
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Prepare brown rice according to package directions. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat up 1 Tbsp. olive oil on medium heat. Once oil is hot, add onion, garlic, and peppers. Saute until tender. Remove from heat and wait until rice is all done. Mix the veggies in with the rice and add the drained black beans. Stir in cumin, salt, pepper, and an additional 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Enjoy!

HOT! Amazon Diaper Deal! Diapers for 2 cents each!

2010-08-11T04:53:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard about it already, I will tell you about a fantastic diaper deal at Amazon.com! If you get Parents magazine and/or Parenting the Early Years magazine you can look for the 20% off coupons in the August and September issues. They are orange post-card like coupons. I found three different coupons in my three magazines (each one starts with a different letter, W, A, and X). You can actually stack all three coupons!!! To make the deal even sweeter, join the Subscribe and Save program to score an additional 30% off plus free, 2-day shipping! The Subscribe and Save program is free to join and you can cancel at anytime. Unless of course you want to get diapers from Amazon on a regular basis. I plan on canceling mine after my first order is delivered. What's even cooler about this deal is that my magazines were free too! Do you have these magazines laying around in your house? Do you need diapers? Let me know what kind of deal you get? I think there is even a Pampers coupon floating around on Amazon.com, however, I really rushed through my order and just went with the Luvs. You may be able to make it an even sweeter deal with the Pampers. And remember to use an Amazon gift card if you have any from Swagbucks!

Here's what I got:
Luvs Diapers, size 4, 180 count

Item(s) Subtotal:	$35.54
Shipping & Handling:	$22.56
Promotion Applied:	-$10.66
Free Shipping:	-$22.56
Promotion Applied:	-$7.11
Promotion Applied:	-$7.11
Promotion Applied:	-$7.11
	-----
Total Before Tax:	$3.55
Sales Tax:	$0.00
	-----
Total for This Shipment:	$3.55
	-----

A big thank you to Money Saving Mom and Babycheapskate for this deal. This is a great way to stock up at only 2 cents a diaper. Even for us that use cloth diapers, you can't pass this up!

Price Adjustments

2010-08-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Is that a familiar term to you? Well, I have known about price adjustments for years and its another way I try to save some extra money while shopping. A price adjustment is when a store will give you money back (one time per receipt) when you bring in your receipt, usually within a specific time period, if any/all of the items have gone on sale or even further sale. For example, all of the Gap affiliate stores (Gap, Gap Kids, Baby Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic) will offer a one time price adjustment within 14days of the purchase date for any item, regular price or sale. I was so excited when I went to Old Nay a few weeks ago, showed the associate all the receipts that happened to be in my wallet and found that some of the items I purchased while on vacation had been reduced further. I was just under the two week time frame too and I got $9.99 back! The Gap stores are my favorite places to get price adjustments because I love that they offer it on sale items too and you can almost guarantee that within two weeks they will mark things down again. Now, is it always convenient to drive back to the mall to get the adjustment, that's for you to decide. Here's a tip, give the store a call ahead of time and go over your receipt with the associate in order to find out if anything can be price adjusted before making the trip.

Kohl's and The Children's Place are two other stores that I have experienced price adjustments. However, their policy is a little bit different than Gap. These stores offer, one-time, price adjustments within two weeks of the purchase date on regular price items only (not clearance). I do believe though at Kohl's if an item is on sale, not clearance, they will offer a price adjustment if the price changes within the two weeks. For example, you buy a picture frame during a 40% of sale, and then it goes to a 50% off sale, I do believe you can get the price adjustment, if its within two weeks. Kohl's has excellent customer service. They always want to make you happy and get you the best price. But remember, if an item is on clearance, I do not think you can get a price adjustment. At The Children's Place, the item has to be a regular priced item that then goes on sale in order for it to be eligible for a price adjustment within two weeks. No sale or clearance items are eligible.

A new store I found this summer that offers a great price adjustment policy is Dick's Sporting Goods. A few weeks ago we purchased a new tube for our boat that retailed $150.00. I know that sounds like a lot, but they are expensive and the one we got can fit up to three people and seems very sturdy. And let me tell you, its awesome and had made for tons of fun memories already for our family...even for our three-year-old! Anyway, this one was actually mis-marked and they honored the advertised price of $124.99. While we were checking out, I remembered that I had a $20 off/$100 or more purchase coupon in our Entertainment book. However, I didn't have it with me. I asked the manager if there was any way I could apply the coupon to this purchase at our local Delaware store once we got back from vacation. He told me yes and that I would have 30 days to bring in my receipt for the adjustment. Well, I went back to our store, explained I had made the purchase in New York, but now wanted to use my Entertainment coupon. They said no problem. Score! So, the cashier proceeds with the transaction and tells me I'm going to be refunded like over $50. I was a little confused because my coupon was only for $20. She told me the raft was now on sale for $99.99 and because I was in Delaware now, the computer would also automatically refund me the New York state tax. I couldn't believe it, and all I had to show her was my receipt and the coupon and we ended up saving $75.00 off of the original retail price after it was all said and done. I asked what their price adjustment policy was and they said 30 days. Good to know!

Do you know of any other stores that offer price adjustments? What has been your experience? These have been my most recent experiences at these stores. I may of may not have the most accurate price adjustment information for each store. If you know of any other helpful information about this topic please do share.

More Tomatoes--Homemade Salsa!

2010-07-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes just keep coming and coming. I bring in 20-30 everyday! Its quite overwhelming. My mom just told me last night that her neighbor actually freezes whole tomatoes to use them in the winter to make sauces. Apparently after they defrost the skins peel right off. Anyone try that before? I think I may try it because I really don't have time to make homemade sauce every week. But homemade salsa, that's a different story. Its much easier and for hot summer days, chips and salsa is a refreshing snack. Over the past few months we have been enjoying a delicious and all-natural Garden Salsa from Costco, but its not exactly that cheap. I can now make my own and its quite delicious too! Its a friends recipe. Here's what you need (what I used):

15-20 diced Roma tomatoes (or a combination of different kinds)

1/2 bag of frozen corn (about 8-10 ounces)

1 small jalapeno pepper, diced (more or less depending on how much spice like)

4 gloves of garlic, minced

1/4-1/3 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 12 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1/4 fresh lime juice (or lemon)

1/2 large onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the above and enjoy! You can change the amounts above according to the taste you like. I actually put most of the stuff (except the corn) into my awesome food processor (picture on the right from Amazon) and it made it so quick and easy. It yielded about 8 cups for me. I put it in Mason jars and its kept for over a week now in the refrigerator.

TOMATOES and my homemade sauce experience.

2010-07-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, my....my garden is doing fabulous! I have harvested over 100 Roma and regular tomatoes in the last week and there are loads and loads more to come! I can't believe it! And you know the really funny thing? My husband and I don't even like them very much. We better start liking them right?!? Don't get me wrong, I love them in sauces and salsas and they like, but not raw in a salad or on a sandwich. I made my first batch (well more like 2-3 times the recipe) of my own sauce on Saturday. It turned out quite tasty, but it was really labor intensive. Peeling and seeding 40-50 little tomatoes took quite some time. For a mom of three young boys I can't make that a regular thing on my "To-do" list. I used some last night and have frozen the rest. This is the basic recipe I used, but I didn't have the Burgundy wine. I will try to add it next time. I realIy enjoyed all the different types of veggies in it. I may try to post more pictures and details at another time (haven't uploaded them yet). I would love to learn how to do some canning so I could make some more sauce and also can some salsa for the winter months. Tonight, I am going to make some homemade salsa that a friend made on Sunday (with some of our tomatoes). I just got her recipe. Itw as delicious and I have been craving it all day. I'll let you know how that goes! How's your garden? Any ideas of what I can do with all these? And I will pass them along to any of you local gals if interested. I'm still up for that veggie swap! I have found so much joy blessing others with them!

Here's some pictures from the sauce making:

Placing the tomatoes in boiling water to be able to peel and seed them easily.

The ice bath to cool the tomatoes prior to peeling and seeding.

All the other veggies used for the sauce, diced and ready to go in the food processor.

The pureed veggies starting to simmer in the pot.

The finished sauce after 4 hours of simmering. Yummy!

Poor Man's Crab-cakes

2010-06-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Since I have an abundance of zucchini I was very excited to get this recipe from my neighbors a few weeks ago. I love crab-cakes and I love zucchini. So, this is a recipe for zucchini crab-cakes, minus the crab. I have made them twice already, and the second time I made them, I quadrupled the recipe (I have tons of zucchini). They are sooo delicious. Two big thumbs up! They are very easy and freeze beautifully, so now I have about 6-8 meals in my freezer. Its a great addition to my freezer meals collection. I am loving my food processor. It makes shredding all this zucchini a cinch.

I ended up shredding 10 cups of zucchini when I quadrupled the recipe!

After all the zucchini is shredded, you mix it with breadcrumbs, a beaten egg, melted butter or margarine, Old Bay (this is what makes them soo good), and some minced onion.

Next, I formed the patties/cakes and placed them on a tray and put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set. If freezing for another meal, just keep them in there a bit longer, before placing them in a Ziploc bag or wrapping them in plastic wrap. They do not need to be cooked ahead of time if using as a freezer meal. Otherwise, take out of freezer after 20 minutes and put in frying pan with a little oil to cook.

Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until browned on both sides.

DELICIOUS!

Here's the recipe details:

Poor Man's Crab-cakes

1 beaten egg

2 1/2 cups grated/shredded zucchini (leave skins on)

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp. melted butter/margarine

+/- 1 Tbsp. Old Bay

1 Tbsp. minced onion

a little oil for frying

Mix together and form patties. Chill for 20 minutes in the freezer. Pan fry in frying pan for about 20 minutes, until browned well.

Acme Trip: $15.56 OOP, 90% savings

2010-06-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I got all of that for only a $15.56. I think it should have been about $115.00! I only paid 10%! Wow! This trip to the Acme included 19 packages a yogurt multi-packs, 6 boxes of cereal, and, well, you can see the rest. There were some incredible Catalina deals going on at Acme this past week (ended yesterday) and the two different offers could be combined. That's never happened to me before, at least not the kind of sweet deals like these were. If you spent $20 worth of General Mills products you got $5.00 taken off instantly. And they also had a "dairy deal" going on. If you bought 5 of the eligible products (which almost all were GM products too), you got a $5 Catalina certificate to use toward your next purchase. I did my own version of the dairy deal twice in two different transactions, which was also a GM deal yielding me $15 each time. I carefully planned all my three "deal" transactions with all my necessary coupon match-ups (there was a coupon for every single item). Then my 4th transactions was a few miscellaneous things, i.e. grapes, bananas, salt, and the bagged cereal. They ended up over charging me for the grapes and when I went back to the store, they refunded me, so they were free. I rolled each Catalina into the next transaction as well. My boys were very helpful. It was so cute. My oldest son carefully picked out all the GoGurts and would ask, "Mom, is this on one sale?" He then helped me count them all out to make sure we had the right amount for each of my transactions and we made sure all the coupons were there. All three boys did very well for me, and the 4 transactions went through perfectly. Yeah! Very satisfying! I am looking forward to sharing some of this yogurt with two families we know.

Thanks goes to Mindi at Moms Need to Know for posting about these great deals and including the coupon match-ups. Its so easy, if you know where to look. There are sooo many people out there who do the hard-work for you. When I want to do an Acme trip, after I have taken a look at the circular myself and reviewed what coupons I have, I always check Mindi's site, put Acme in her search box, and find the weekly deals and coupon match-ups that she has put together. Then I print any other coupons I may need, organize my specific transactions, and off I go. Its great!

How does your garden grow?

2010-06-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I just had to do a quick post and show you all what I picked in my garden today. I had not checked on it since Friday afternoon and I went out today and found all this:

Isn't that quite amazing! 10 zucchini and 6 squash! Zucchini bread, Poor Man's Crab Cakes (new recipe that I will be trying tomorrow), oven fried zucchini, and grilled veggies here we come!! I love it! My $30 investment has definitely been worth it! Oh, and we have a few red raspberries already!

FREE books for children in the MOT area!

2010-06-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

That got your attention right? Well, today I was driving through town with my boys and passed the Millbranch park where there was a large crowd of adults and children hanging out. Of course, my oldest son's interest was peaked and he begged me to stop to see what was going on and why all the kids had popsicles. I really didn't want to stop, but I was feeling bad that they had been in the car for awhile and I wanted them to get their "60 minutes of physical activity a day." To my surprise (it always seems like the Lord wants to bless me when I least expect it), there was a "Book Mobile" going on sponsored by Silver Lake Elementary School. The women leading it said "2 books for everyone!" They gave me 2 colorful library book bags and we (even the baby) got to pick some books...for FREE! I found 8 wonderful children's books, including a new copy (large version) of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", one of our favorites. I also found about 4-5 that will be great home schooling story/educational books, like one about penguins, sea turtles, science on the earth and sun (it had the wrong cover on the outside), trucks, and one about the Wright Brothers. I thought these ones would be great additions to our library for when we start home schooling more seriously in the fall.

So here's the scoop for you my dear readers in my area...apparently this has been going on for several years. Some local school teachers (I think) go around to 4 different parks in the area a few days each summer and give away books. The books are donated by other people in the community. I believe most of the books are used, however some of the ones I got today look almost new. I told the ladies that I know lots of moms with small children, so she said she would pack up a lot of board books for next week's "Book Mobile."

The four parks are:

One on Lake Street

Millbranch Park

Middletown Village (the park near the daycare)

Silver Lake Park

Dates/Times:

Tuesday, June 22

Tuesday, July 13

Tuesday, July 20

I know they are at Millbranch at 1:30 on the dates above and then they head to Middletown Village around 2:00, and end at Silver Lake Park.

They also have free popsicles for the kids to enjoy! It was awesome! I plan on going again if anyone wants to join me and make it a play date at the park.

How does your garden grow?

2010-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning for several weeks now to post an update about our garden. You can see the beginnings of our garden here from late April. It is now doing fantastic! Way better than I ever imagined! I really think a lot of our success has to do with the heat we have had and all the tips from my neighbors, like using the organic manure. Just last week we got home from vacation to see all this:

The yellow squash and zucchini are exploding...literally! And my pumpkins and butternut squash, that I started from seeds, are doing so well too. The peppers are holding on and look like they may bloom in the next week or so. The tomatoes are blooming and our first ones have started. I added some mulch around the raspberries and I think it gives an overall cleaner, nicer look to my garden. Watering is key. Hopefully our well won't dry up this summer with how hot it is already. My boys loves checking out the plants each day and seeing how much everything has grown. I am looking forward to being able to bless our friends and neighbors with some of these veggies as well this summer.

Our peppers:

Pumpkins or Butternut Squash--I'm not sure? I mixed them up!

One of my proud gardeners admiring the tomatoes!

I was so excited to pick these today and I look forward to making some oven fried zucchini tonight with our pulled pork!

I love gardening! Anybody want to have a veggie swap this summer with me?

Snapware Glasslock Containers

2010-05-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the containers I was telling you about in my post about Make-Ahead-Meals. I highly recommend them! They are great because they can go from the freezer, to the microwave, to the oven! The lids are great too, since they snap so tightly. I found these at Costco about 3 months ago for around $20-22 (with a coupon). If they still carry them, I think they retail for around $30.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend making memories with your families!

Strawberry Picking (Part 2) and Strawberry Pie!

2010-05-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

My family and I are so excited about the strawberry picking season that is in full swing here in Delaware! You can read about our first u-pick adventure at Filasky's here on my family blog. This local farm is open from about 7 am each morning until 7 pm each night and if the weather stays just right, we have about 6-7 weeks left according to the guy I talked to last week. The boys and me and some friends went back this past Friday and the strawberries were even sweeter and better than the week before. I got about 5 pounds at $1.85/pound. They are a little cheaper at the Giant this week ($1.66/pound) and Walmart, but you can't beat picking them yourself, making memories with your children, and supporting the local farm. I consider it money well spent. I have frozen most of them for using in smoothies and one of my favorite desserts, strawberry pretzel salad!

I was so excited though to try to make a version of the classic Eat N Park Restaurant Strawberry Pie. (A favorite for the Pittsburgh, PA folks!) My friend and I decided we would do it together that afternoon while the kids played. I found this recipe and I think it turned out great! It was soo delicious! I bet it cost me about $3-4 at the most to make.

Here are some pictures of some of the steps in the recipe:

Half of the berries arrange in the pie shell.

Mashing the second half of the berries.

The strawberry/sugar mixture and the cornstarch mixture.

After pouring the glaze over the strawberries.

After being chilled (not long enough) with yummy cream! It was sooo good!

Strawberry Pie II (Allrecipes.com)

1 9 inch pie crust, baked (I used a deep dish and would recommend that)

1 quart (4 cups) fresh strawberries

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

3/4 cup water

1/2 heavy whipping cream (I just used regular whipped cream)

1. Arrange half of the strawberries in a baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of chilled pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

My tips for success:

Though I wasn't planning to use it, the 9-inch deep dish pie shell worked great as there were a lot of strawberries and strawberry mixture. I think it would overflow more easily in a regular pie shell.
I did use whole strawberries as shown in the picture, but I think I may slice them at least in half next time to making it a little easier for the kids to eat.
Make sure you chill it for at least 3-4 hours. I was so excited to eat it, that after about 2 hours, I cut into it and it wasn't solidified enough. Oooppps!

Health Alert: Pesticides linked to ADHD

2010-05-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, did you hear about this is the news last week? A study just came out saying that pesticides are being linked to ADHD in children. If you didn't see the news or read about it online, you can check out an article here on MSNBC. My husband and I were very concerned after listening to the report, especially because detectable concentrations were found in 28% of the frozen blueberries tested. We love frozen blueberries, especially the ones we get at Costco (Wyman's Wild Blueberries--from Maine). We, and our children, eat them a lot (in smoothies, pancakes, desserts, on cottage cheese). Wild blueberries from Maine are the best in the world--at least I think so...I have even picked and eaten them from the sides of the mountains there!

I was wondering, are my kids going to have ADHA (probably like many parents who heard this last week)? I know my kids are ultimately in God's hands, but there are things we can do to protect them from harm. I decided to contact Wyman's and ask them some questions. It looks like we are ok to continue to eat frozen WILD blueberries and give them to our children without concern. I was pleased to have heard from them right away.

Well, I tried to copy and past their response, but its not working. If you want to read it, let me know and I can send it to you. Apparently, the blueberries that were tested were "cultivated, high bush" ones, and these are different from "low-bush wild ones." They are grown and harvested differently. The Wyman company claims to use very safe practices when using pesticides and they only use them selectively and only when completely necessary.

If you are concerned about pesticides, I recommend you buy some organic and/or from your local farms. And be sure to thoroughly wash all your fruits and veggies (even the ones that say pre-washed and the frozen ones). Here's a list of fruits and veggies and whether you should get organic or not.

Freezer Cooking/Make Ahead Meals Part 2

2010-05-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

A friend left a comment on my first post about make ahead meals and she asked the following questions:

"I had never made a meal to freeze before and didn't known the logistics...like are you supposed to cook it first? and do you just take it out of the freezer and cook or reheat in the oven? "

I will try my best to provide some more details on how I do my make-ahead-meals for the freezer. If any of you have any more questions and/or your own tips, please leave a comment for all of us.

For each meal that I make to put in the freezer, I do cook the ingredients and assemble the dish ahead of time, but I don't bake it. For example, when making baked ziti, or any pasta dish, I brown the meat with onions and garlic and add the sauce, cook the pasta, and arrange in a freezer safe baking dish or container, then mix in some mozzarella cheese and Parmesan. I do not bake it. I then cover it very tightly with aluminum foil and freeze. When it is time to bake, I will either pull it out the day before and begin thawing in the refrigerator or if its last minute, I will thaw in the sink with warm water or place in microwave to defrost (if the baking dish can be put in there). Once it is thawed, I bake accordingly, sometimes adding a little more cheese on top. Even if its not completely thawed, you should be fine to bake it, it just may take a little longer. I have done lasagna before too and I have actually put a frozen one in the oven, however it takes almost 2 hours to bake. Make sure it is very hot and completely heated all the way through!

One thing I had concerns about was if I had frozen meat, say chicken, can I defrost it and cook it for a casserole, and then freeze the casserole. And I have found out, yes you can, and there are no health risks. Its when you have raw meat that was frozen, and you thaw, and then don't cook all of it, that you don't want to refreeze that remaining raw meat. There is a higher risk of bacteria contamination. (Disclaimer-this info. is not researched, just from my scientist husband. We do not claim to be experts on the subject). We have not had any problems cooking our meat that was once frozen and then mixing it with all the other ingredients for a meal, and then freezing again.

For my meals like sloppy joes, pulled pork, turkey burgers, black bean burgers, I prepare these all ahead of time, cook them, and then freeze. At Costco, I have found these wonderful heavy-duty glass dishes that are microwave, oven, and freezer safe. They come with nice lids too. The lids can't go in the microwave or oven. I will try to post information on these sometime in the near future. For my burgers, I wrap each one in some plastic wrap, then place 2-4 in a Ziploc freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. Then I can pull these types of things out of the freezer, pop in microwave to defrost and then heat. Sometimes, I will put the sloppy joes or pulled pork into a sauce pan/skillet and heat up on the stove top.

I make pancakes ahead of time and then place 4-6 in a Ziploc quart size bag and freeze. These are great to then pull out and heat up in the toaster. I made a triple batch on Friday of the whole grain ones and now we have a bunch in the freezer to use for breakfasts. Like I mentioned in my first post, I have had great success making chocolate chip cookies ahead of time and freezing them. I have never frozen the dough, though I know people who have.

For my wheat pizza dough (which I have nearly perfected after a year now of making), I mix the ingredients, knead it accordingly, and spray a Ziploc bag with cooking spray, and place the ball of dough in there and freeze. When I want to make it, I defrost for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then place in large bowl, cover, and then let it rise in the oven (not on), for 45-60 minutes. Then I roll the dough out and make it according to the directions. (I will be doing a post about my homemade pizza again soon for those of you interested--its delicious!) Some people have told me they let theirs rise before freezing and have had success, but that is not what I do. Any thoughts?

I hope this is helpful information for any of you who are interested or new to freezer cooking. If any of you have experience, please leave your tips and/or suggestions in the comments section. Oh, if you like my blog, you can become a follower by clicking the link on the home page. Happy cooking!

Acme Trip: $18.59 OOP....85% Savings!

2010-05-17T20:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I just got back from another late night trip to Acme. Actually, its been awhile, since I've done a trip like this. Thankfully, all 4 of my transactions were planned out, and all my deals worked out perfectly. Did you read my title? I only spent $18.59 for all of that! Looking over the receipts fairly quickly, I think the total for all this stuff would have been about $117 or something like that. I know, some of you must be cringing as you are looking at the 13 boxes of cereal and 28 Yoplait yogurts, but oh, well. We love yogurt (stay tuned as I am now going to be trying Milk Kefir/Yogurt and possibly trying to make my own real yogurt) and we do the not-so-healthy cereal thing every so often. Just this past weekend, we had house guests and my husband asked them what they wanted for breakfast. They said cereal (little did they all know I already had their breakfast planned), and I was a little embarassed to tell them I didn't have any cereal in the house--except some crumbs left in the Cheerios box. Thankfully, they were happy with what I did have for them.

Lucky me, this is THE week (well, not really, there are always sales), to stock up on cereal and yogurt at Acme. Thanks to Mindi at, Moms Need to Know, and looking over the circular myself, I got all the coupon match-ups and deals that worked for us. And I got a few odds and ends that we needed. For those of you interested in hitting the $5 Catalina deal with $20 General Mills products purchase, you'll be happy to know that I got another $2 Catalina for buying the Yoplait yogurt. I was very happy about that!

I'm not going to go over all the details of my transactions, but if you do have any questions, let me know. People often ask me how much time to I spent couponing and planning my trips, and is it really worth it. Of course its worth it! Hands down--its worth it! I probably spend 1-2 hours at the most over the course of a week (not all weeks) researching, planning, clipping, printing, etc., and the savings in money is huge!!!! There are SOOOO many blogs out there that do all the hard work for you. It is all at our fingertips, if you're willing to look. I have about 4-5 blogs that deal with saving and thrifty shopping/living that I check when its time to go shopping. For example, the one I mentioned above, I only check when I am looking to go to Acme because I know all the good coupon match-ups will be listed. So, for example, I looked over the Acme circular over the weekend and began my plan because we were out of cereal and getting low on yogurt (knowing there were great Catalina deals for this week). I then looked over Mindi's blog post, and made sure I had all the coupons I needed and printed any additional ones. I sat down with my calculator and planned out each transaction to maximize the deals in order to have the lowest OOP scenarios. I knew I would roll each Catalina I received tonight into the next transaction. It worked great, no beeping or manager over-rides. I did feel bad because there was an older couple behind me waiting for awhile. But I apologized that I took so long and they were very kind and understanding. I am making it more of a habit to do these kinds of involved trips without the boys. So much easier and everybody is happier.

Have fun shopping! I am looking forward to some happy boys tomorrow when they see the "fun" cereal I got...I still can't believe it...13 boxes! They are not all bad and hopefully if I have any house guests in the next couple of months, we'll still have some!

Freezer Cooking/Make-Ahead-Meals

2010-05-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

You know I am always trying to find ways to shave my grocery budget. I'm sure many of you have heard of freezer cooking and have followed various blogs out there promoting the subject. I wanted to share my experience with freezer cooking or make-ahead-meals. Who hasn't had some extra meals in the freezer (i.e. leftovers, extra meals for when the new baby arrives, etc.)? Isn't it great, when 5:00 rolls around faster than you expected, and dinner plans hadn't crossed your mind yet, to be able to grab a meal from the freezer (rather than ordering out). If you have had one or two meals on hand in the past and enjoyed it, why not make it a regular thing? I really believe anyone can take advantage of this method of meal planning and prepping and reap the benefits of saving time and money in the long run (and the joy of being able to bless others). It really doesn't have to be that difficult or time consuming if you have some resources on hand, a little bit of time, and some creativity (I love to experiment with recipes). Oh, and I guess freezer space is important!

I was inspired to do more make-ahead-meals after reading about it over the past year on several blogs and then getting some tips from some local friends. I have been purposefully making meals for my freezer for about three months now and am loving it. Unfortunately, I am not like some of the moms out there who dedicate a whole day or two and make their meals for an entire month. That is great that they can accomplish that. I don't have anyone in the area to take care of my kids for that length of time and I don't want to use the time my husband is home to be locked in the kitchen while he watches the boys.

So what do I do to fill my freezer with yummy meals? When I make a certain freezer friendly meal (and I have enough ingredients on hand) I go ahead and double, triple, and even quadruple the recipe. We eat the given meal that particular evening and then I freeze all the other meals. Or, if I am using some similar ingredients (i.e. ground beef or turkey, celery, onions, garlic), I will go ahead and make two different meals at the same time, freezing the one we didn't eat. I did this with two recipes from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook that had some of the same ingredients. If I'm spending time 30-60 minutes in the kitchen, I want to be as productive as possible. For example, if a recipe calls for sauteed garlic and onions (and some times celery) and some sort of ground meat, I can double or triple this and make a baked pasta dish along with my Turkey Meatloaf (I usually always yield two of these). If I am going to go ahead and clean, chop, steam, and puree veggies, I might as well do a whole bunch at a time. This helps me make more meals and use up the ingredients that may get wasted. Any its easier to have all the supplies out once, make one mess, and get a lot of veggie prep work out of the way. For example, I buy a huge bag of broccoli from Costco. I might as well, steam a whole pot, and then use some for 2-3 batches of a chicken and broccoli casserole or broccoli quiche and then purree the rest (to be frozen), so I don't end up wasting it. If I am going to make pizza dough, why not triple it!

I'm the type of person who has a pretty stocked up refrigerator, freezer, and pantry since I do a lot of bulk shopping. This really helps when I want to pull off my freezer cooking times. You may or may not have that same experience. I'm sharing what works for me.

As of last week, I had about 15 main dishes in my freezer, about 45 Energy Bars, 2 batches of cookies, some muffins, a loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and a ton of veggie purees stocked up for future recipes (I do a lot of recipes from the Deceptively Delicious and Sneaky Chef cookbooks) and for baby food. That's a great feeling. If I were to get ill, I know my family would be set for awhile. Yes, you do need extra freezer space. I am thankful, we have an extra freezer in our in-law suite that is not being used by anyone other than me right now. I seem to be using the meals as needed since I am naturally program to "cook a meal every night." Though, I am trying to plan to use 1-2 a week along with my regular cooking that then adds more to my stock-pile. It has been so nice having the option, when my "meal-plan" falls through on a particular day. For example, this past Saturday, was a very busy day (I had to work and it was my birthday) and when dinner time rolled around we ended up just pulling out one of my meals. It was a huge blessing. We were tempted to pack up the kids and go out (at 6:30), but instead, decided we would stay in, eat a nice meal together, enjoy my birthday cake, and then go out on Mother's Day (to a place I had a coupon for!)

Benefits or Make-Ahead-Meals:

1. Saving money in the long run--not tempted to order out if I am having a tough day, using up ingredients that may get wasted, stock up on staple ingredients when they are on sale, don't have to buy baby food

2. Saving time--I don't have to cook every night.

3. Eating well--my meals are wholesome and healthy, not a lot of prepackaged stuff.

4. Bless others--I have been able to provide meals to others last minute who had a need, makes hospitality even easier

5. Desserts-Its fun having some goodies in the freezer for after-meal-treats

6. Purees-I have a lot more veggie options at my finger tips

7. I love having pizza night and not ordering out, especially on caregroup nights! I host a meetings twice a month and cooking is usually not on my to-do list that day, so having my yummy pizza dough ready makes dinner a snap!

8. Don't have as many messes in my kitchen to clean up on a daily basis.

Meals that have worked well in my freezer (several of these recipes are from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and the Sneaky Chef cookbook--these links aren't for the recipes, just info on the cookbooks):

1. Pizza dough

2. Black bean burgers

3. Spaghetti sauce

4. Bolognese sauce (DD)

5. Turkey meatloaf (DD) (any kind of meatloaf for that matter)

6. Pulled Pork

7. Turkey burgers (DD)

8. Chicken and veggie Primavera (found this recipe in the AllYou magazine)

9. Chicken Tetrazinni

10. Quiche (various types-this is new for me (to freeze), they are in the freezer now, but we haven't tasted them yet)

11. Sloppy Joes (DD)

12. Chocolate chip cookies (I make them ahead of time and freeze them--other people freeze the dough) (Sneaky Chef recipe)

13. Muffins and breads freeze very well

14. Whole wheat pancakes (Sneaky Chef recipe)

15. Chili

16. Baked Ziti/Lasagna

Ok, that's enough for now. I think I will do Part #2 of this series at another time and go over some more "how-to" tips.

Happy cooking! Do you do freezer cooking? Do you have any ideas/tips to share about freezer cooking/make-ahead-meals? What about recipe ideas?!? Please leave a comment. Also, please let me know if you have any questions

I love my local library!

2010-05-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

I already told you about my local library in this post. But, I wanted to write about it again, to encourage all in the area to stop by and check it out. The Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library is located in the heart of Odessa and is part of the New Castle County library system. My boys and I are continuing to enjoy the weekly story times on Wednesdays at 11:00. Please come check it out. The past three weeks there have been guests. We saw a wonderful magic show from a well-seasoned clown, learned about Earth Day and composting from a lady from the University of Delaware, and today, there was a physical therapist (how ironic--that's my background) there who talked to the children about posture and having a healthy spine. I have been so impressed by how educational and fun these times are for my kids and me.

Last week, I checked out their rack of books for sale and found 9 books for $0.25 each. I couldn't believe it! They were in great shape too. A couple of them looked brand new. Yes, books that are free are probably the best, but really cheap books that support the local library I love are really great too! I am a big fan of having a nice library in my home, especially of children's books. I know we will use them over and over again. I don't hesistate too much to make an investment with books. They can be soo expensive to buy new from the store, so I was excited to find some gently used ones for only $2.25 total.

(Oh, by the way, do you know books make great gifts for baby showers and for the family with that new baby? I will never forget how grateful I was for the gift of books I got when I was pregnant with my first son).

So here's what I got: (I was really excited to find the Cheerios book, a Curious George book, a Dr. Seuss book, "Are You My Mother?", and a cool book where my sons can practice writing their letters with a dry-erase marker).

Support your local library. Maybe you'll find some great books to take home too!

DIY: Homemade "Soda" or "Fizzy Juice"

2010-05-05T10:09:00.001-07:00

So did the title of my post peek your interest? I hope so! When I first heard about Kefir Grains and using them to make soda from my husband's co-worker, I thought that sounds interesting and a bit weird. We don't give our kids juice (well very rarely) or soda and only my husband drinks diet, caffeine free soda (I'm still trying to get him to kick the habit), but we thought we'd give home "brewing" a try, as a nice, healthy alternative to the usual water and milk we drink in our home. "So what the heck are Kefir Grains" you ask? Well, I'm not quite sure where they come from, but they are healthy little bacteria--kinda like the bacteria in yogurt--that have those things called probiotics in them. Those things that help keep you "regular." You can read more about it at Wikipedia. Also, this woman, The Cheeseslave, blogs about it here.

She writes: "Enter homemade soda pop — made with water kefir grains. Not only is this homemade soda pop delicious and refreshing, it’s so easy to make. Oh, and did I mention that it’s healthy? Healthy soda pop? Could there be such a thing? Yes! This is a probiotic drink. The kefir bacteria eat the sugar, which makes the soda pop less sweet and it is filled with good bacteria (like the kind you get from yogurt or other probiotic foods). Kefir soda pop is a great option for kids instead of giving them juice. My two-year-old loves it. Homemade soda pop made with kefir grains is also super cheap to make. It’s just made from water and a little sugar, plus some fruit flavoring. You’ll save a ton not buying sodas or juice. Not only that, but as you use your kefir grains over time, they will grow and multiply. When you have more grains, you can make larger batches at a time."

So, a few weeks ago, my husband came home with these little cute things (thanks to his co-worker). (I guess these Kefir grains are hard to come by--but it seems like there are people out there who just pass them along--keep reading and maybe you can get some too!)

Our very own jar of water Kefir Grains to get us started on our very own home science project of making soda or "Fizzy Juice" as I like to call it.

These are what they look like when they are out of the water, but "hydrated."

So, we started our science project(s) with the help of my husband's friend and this is the recipe we are following. But, I have also tried the one found here, which is pretty similar. The website I just referenced has a lot of cool, helpful information about all this. And of course, I have tried some of my own adjustments as well over the past few weeks making our own "soda/juice" as my son calls it. But I will stick with the facts that I received as I have been told it is an "exact science." (Hahahaha!)

1. You will need several quart size Mason jars (I found them at Walmart) with plastic lids to get you started. You cannot use any metal/silver stuff in this whole process. Or you can use a 1/2 gallon size glass container or Mason jar. (This recipe will be for if you use a 1/2 gallon container)

2. 1 cup of hydrated Kefir Grains

3. 1/2 cup Organic sugar

4. 1 teaspoon black strap unsulphured Molasses

5. 6 cups un-chlorinated water (thankfully we have well-water here)

6. 1/4 teaspoon clean, sterilized crushed egg shell (or 1/2 whole egg shell)

(If using pieces of egg shell, wrap them in a sterile 4x4 square gauze pad and tie them up to place them in the liquid)

7. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

First dissolve the sugar in the jar in a small amount of the warm/hot water. Make sure all sugar is dissolve and then add the remaining water (cool or room temperature) to the jar. Be sure the water has cooled completely before adding the Kefir grains as they are very, very fragile. I killed some already.

Next, add the Molasses, baking soda, and egg shell. Stir these ingredients and finally add the Kefir grains last. Give a quick stir with a wooden spoon. Cover loosely with the plastic lid, or use a coffee filter with a rubber band.

Let ferment at room temperature for 48 hours (no longer than 72 hours). After the 2-3 days, drain off the liquid into a clean jar, and add your desired flavors and ferment for one more day. I have tried 1 tsp. pure vanilla (to make "cream soda"), frozen blueberries, dried cranberries, frozen mixed berries, and just left it plain (which actually tastes good too). If using fruit, use about 1/4 cup or so. If frozen or fresh fruit is used, you must change it after 24 hours.

Here is a picture of all the varieties we have tried already. We have enjoyed the blueberry juice/soda the best.

See the "fizz"?!?!?

This is our blueberry soda.

So, there you have it. I am still learning about all this, but here's what I can share with you at this point. Are you interested in trying to make your own, healthy juice/soda? Well, if you are in my area, I have some extra Kefir grains I can give you. Don't bother buying them online. That would be silly. They multiply like crazy and my original cup has now turned into about 5 cups and I am not quite sure what to do with them. I would be happy to share them with you. Let me know.

Homemade Energy Bars

2010-05-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

So I just got done making these and was so excited to share the recipe with you! I have been making them for two years now and just love them! These make a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert. They are a great alternative to granola bars or nutrigrain bars. My boys consider them a special treat...but they are so good for you! They are my favorite!!! I got the recipe from CNN-accent health. They freeze really well. I usually freeze 4-6 in a quart size Ziploc freezer bag. There is a lot of prep involved, so they are probably best to make during nap times or in the evenings. I get a lot of the ingredients in bulk at Costco. They are probably not the most "frugal" bars to make, but considering they would probably cost $1-$1.50 each at a health food store or coffee shop, the $5-$7, I may have spent on ingredients (gross estimate) to make a double batch (55 of them), I consider them well worth it. Actually, I didn't have to buy anything this time because I already had the stuff around the house. I do make them more like large cookies, rather than bars.

Homemade Energy Bars

Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup (1 stick) butter
½ cup sugar (I've used Splenda too)
2 eggs
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small apple; peeled and chopped
½ cup dried goji berries or raisins (I use Crainsins)
½ cup chopped, dried dates or apricots
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
1½ cups coconut
3 cups old fashioned oats
¼ cup applesauce

Procedure

Stir together dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, and spices).
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars.
Add in honey, eggs, and vanilla.
Slowly add in dry mixture and beat together.
Stir in oats, applesauce, coconut, fruit, and nuts.
Drop spoonfuls onto baking sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes at 350°F.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 bar)

Calories:	218	Carbohydrate:	34g
Calories From Fat:	72	Dietary Fiber:	4g
Fat:	8g	Cholesterol:	28mg
Saturated Fat:	5g	Sodium:	77mg
Protein:	26g

DIY: Our Fruit and Vegetable Garden!

2010-04-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to report that my fruit and vegetable garden is in! Some of you may know that are new home came with a garden, but it was very overgrown. Last summer, it was so overgrown and disgusting that I couldn't even bear to look at it. It was embarrassing to me for others to see it. I was very pregnant last summer and very busy with other house things, that we never got around to planting a garden. But, finally, this year, with the help of my wonderful neighbors (who have quite the green thumbs) and our lawn guy who tilled the soil for me after I removed 3 loads of weeds, we have our plants in. My boys were great helpers last week too. I probably put in about 5 hours of labor over a few days and I am so pleased with the results. I wish I had a before picture-but unfortunately, I don't.

Here are my little helpers ready to work (or watch)!

My boys were excited about their new gardening gloves. I bought a nice pair too. (They were mis-marked, so I got $11 gloves for only $3.39!)

Total cost for gloves: $9.77

My neighbors recommended I buy this stuff, "organic hummus and manure," and work it into the soil that was already there. When I opened the first bag, and poured it over the area, my middle son said "that's horse poop!" I had to laugh! Its actually cow poop, but close enough!

Cost for 8 bags: $11.68 (after MIR)

My neighbor picked me up 8 tomato plants, 4 green peppers, 2 yellow squash and 2 zucchini. He also got me this black stuff, a very heavy duty, weed preventer cover. I am told this stuff "will last a lifetime." Cost for all this: $13.

We rolled out the black stuff and I used a box cutter to make an "X" in each spot where we would put the plants. I followed the directions for each plant on how far apart they should be.

The raspberry bushes!!! I was so excited that there were two raspberry bushes already in my pre-existing garden and then my neighbors were so kind to give me 10 more! I couldn't believe it. Last summer, we enjoyed picking their berries, daily, now we will have our own!

The completed garden! I did buy 5 packs of seeds for about $5 that included watermelon, cantaloupe, some pumpkins, and winter squash, but I am still deciding whether I should go ahead and plant those or not. I don't have that much space. I am hoping to make this garden even bigger next year if all goes well.

Total cost breakdown:

Gloves: $9.77

Manure: $11.68

Plants/cover: $13

Extra seeds: about $5

Raspberry bushes: FREE

Total: $39.45

(possibly less if I take the seeds back)

I am participating in DIY Tuesdays here.

FREE Starbucks Coffee--Today only!

2010-04-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

Today, April 15th, you can go to Starbucks with your own travel coffee mug and get a free cup of coffee. I just got back from our local shop and they are participating. They filled up two mugs for me too! One for me and one for my husband. Its in honor of Earth Day!

Enjoy!

(I still prefer Dunkin Donuts though, but you can't beat the free factor).

Black Bean Burgers

2010-04-14T19:53:00.001-07:00

Are you looking to eat healthier food, need variety, save money, or consume less beef, then you have to try this awesome recipe my husband actually found in my ALL YOU magazine. We've made them twice now and I even made 6 extra ones tonight and I am freezing them for future meals. They are delicious!!! Full of good protein, easy to make, and great on the budget (about $0.67/serving according to the recipe). Here it is, let me know what you think.

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 large egg lightly beaten

1 Tbsp. cumin (this makes them taste soooo good-I found it at the farmers market in town)

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I always used seasoned)

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet

2. Warm oil in skillet. Add celery and onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

3. Pour beans into a large bowl and mash with fork or potato masher into a thick paste. Scrape vegetables from skillet into bowl. Stir in egg, cumin, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties. Place on baking sheet and bake until firm and set, about 10 minutes on each side.

Serve just like you would a hamburger with all the fixings. This evening we tried them with salsa. Cheese tastes great on them too! Enjoy!

Rite Aid Trip: All free items + $0.55 Money Maker!

2010-04-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, you must know by now how much I love shopping at Rite Aid. I just got back from another very successful trip. If you're still not convinced that couponing is really not that difficult and you can save a ton of money with not too much effort (I mean almost every mommy blog tells you exactly what to do), I suggest you read this post.

You can see what I got in the picture. Now here's how I got everything free (after my SCR's) and even made $0.55.

Always Maxi Pads, Ultra Thin Jumbo packs, liners or Tampax Pearl, $6.99
Get a $2 Single Check Rebate when you buy 1 (limit 1)
$1/1 Always Product 3/7/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
$1/1 Always Pantiliners 34 ct+ 3/7/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
B1G1 Free Always Product 4/4/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
B1G1 Free Always Pantiliner 4/4/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
$2/1 Tampax Pearl Tampons 3/7/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
$1/1 Tampax Tampons any 3/7/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)
B1G1 Free Tampax 4/4/2010 P&G Insert (exp 4/30/2010)

Deal Idea:
Get 2 Tampax Pearl (one large box and one small box)
use the BOGO coupon and the $2/1
Pay $4.99 OOP and get a $2 SCR
Final price: $1.50 each after coupons and SCR

AMO Complete Multi-Purpose Solution, $7.99
Get a $7.99 Single Check Rebate when you buy 1 (limit 1)
Use $2.00 printable here to make it a money maker!
Final price: FREE after SCR +$2.00 overage
(The one I got was a 2 pack BOGO free also. It was the last one at our store).

Post Cereal – $1.88
Use $2/1 printable
Or buy 2 and use $1/2 from the 3/14 SmartSource insert
As low as free after coupon (I got $0.12 overage).

The other couple items were things we needed and they were on sale this week. My goal was to hit the $25 total so I could use this $5/25 total purchase coupon. Remember, always have them scan this coupon first before your other coupons. This is a PDF that can be printed multiple times.

So, the bottom line tonight was I spent $9.20 OOP, but will get $9.99 back in my single check rebates so everything was free and I made a couple cents!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom and Moms Need to Know for the tips and coupon match-ups!

Rite Aid Shopping Trip-week of 3/21: Only $9.95 Out of Pocket!!

2010-03-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

Do you see all those different things I got in the picture? Yes, 4 packs of Huggies diapers and Pull-ups, Kotex products, fancy, Organix Shampoo/Conditioner, and some Johnson's baby wash, all for only $9.95 out of pocket! The retail for all this stuff would have been about $72 and if I only got them on sale it would have been about $52. With a well, thought out plan, I used a variety of coupons from the internet, coupons from the mail/paper, Video Values coupons, "try me free" rebates, store sales, and Single Check Rebates to get the price down as low as I did. I did do 2 different transactions in order to use two total purchase coupons. Pretty impressive don't you think? Especially with all those diapers! Yes, I do use cloth diapers most of the time, but I also keep disposables on hand for the YMCA trips, long car rides, night time, etc. Good news though, my middle child is doing fantastic with potty training. I am hoping that by summer I will only have one in diapers!

This is the week to hit up the diaper deal at Rite Aid. There is a fabulous $3.00 off/1 pack of Huggies/Pull-ups that is floating around here. Print two of them and then combine it with the store sale, $8.99/jumbo pack. You can stack it with the coupon you can find on the Video Values site here for Huggies and Pull-ups. And they are offering a $1.00 single check rebate too ( limit 1). You can get one pack for $2.99 and additional packs of pull-ups for $3.99 depending on how many coupons you have!!! What a steal! Don't forget to earn 20 credits to also get your $5/20 purchase. You can get diapers for about 13-15 cents (well, actually only 8 cents for size 3 Snug and Dry) each depending on the size and even less if you use your total purchase coupon.

You can also find a Kotex coupon on the Video Values site. I won't give you ever detail about my deal, unless you really want it. If so, let me know. Here is another total purchase coupon you may like. I do want to thank my friend BA for letting me know about the BOGO deal on the Oragnix shampoo. I was able to combine it with the "try me free" manufacturer rebate making them both free. I am excited to try this new stuff. What do I mean by "try me free?" Well, sometimes products have a little tag or peelie sticker on them offering the item for free after mail in rebate. You just save your receipt and mail it in with the form and in about 2-3 months you get a check back for the purchase price.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2010-03-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend BA who blogs at Thrifty Living, I have decided to give homemade laundry detergent a try. (BTW-she has a great blog-I recommend you check it out!) I'm a person who uses cloth diapers so making my own laundry detergent seemed to be the next step. Most people who use cloth diapers also like to be thrifty and earth minded in other ways too (if you haven't noticed?!?!). I must admit, I was quite skeptical of the whole idea though. How could three simple ingredients really get those cloth inserts clean? I had been using Nellie's washing soda since I started cloth diapering in the summer and have been pleased with it, however you have to buy it online and it costs about $9.00 per 50 load bag. Awhile back, my dear friend, had very detailed instructions on her blog about how to make your own laundry detergent. A few weeks ago, I got the ingredients and made my own too. It is unbelievably cheap and unbelievably simple. You have to try it! I even made some for a friend and sent it to her earlier this week. I am looking forward to hearing what she thinks (hint-SB-leave a comment!)

I have been using it for several weeks now and I am very impressed with the results. Very clean and fresh smelling cloth diaper inserts. And then I thought, if I am using it for the dirtiest and stinkiest items in my house, why not use it for all my laundry needs. So, I have been using it for other stuff too and I do think it works very well.

So what's in it:

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 bar of soap (Yardley Almond) chopped

(To wash laundry you only need to use 1 Tbsp./load!!!!)

Place the chopped bar soap in the food processor and blend to fine pieces.

Add other ingredients and process until it is a fine powder. Make sure the bar soap pieces are nice and tiny to make them easier to dissolve in the washing machine.

I keep the detergent in a plastic container with a tablespoon measuring spoon right in my laundry room. I found the Borax and washing soda at Acme and got them for free with some Acme catalinas I had, but it will cost you about $5.00 and should last awhile. Oh, please note that Borax is an awesome laundry detergent enhancer. I have been using it along with my Kirkland liquid detergent and it is getting my husband's T-shirts (deodorant stains) much cleaner than ever before. I wish I knew about this stuff years ago. I found the lovely smelling Yardley soap on sale at Walgreens for $.79 each.

If you try it, let me know what you think! Thanks again BA!

Free (treats) and Family Fun to Celebrate the first day of spring!

2010-03-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

This is a fun post that I am sure you will apppreciate. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 20th, you can go to your local Bruster's (well, at least here in the MOT area), wear your pajamas, and get a free waffle cone. Its for real, because I saw it on their sign last night as I was driving through town! I am so excited about this. Wouldn't it be fun to get all "dressed up" in your jammies with your family and enjoy free ice cream? That is my kind of fun! Great family day/night activity.

And, if you're not the type to go out in public in your jammies, the fun doesn't end here.....go across the street and get a free medium water ice at Rita's. It appears that all of the Rita's are participating as they are all celebrating the first day of Spring. You can read about that promotion here. Thanks goes to Deal Seeking Mom for letting me know about it.

Should I do both? Oh, would my boys love that! This would also be a great way to go out with friends and/or neighbors too as a way to fellowship and have fun! Anybody wanna go?

Happy Spring! Isn't this weather soooo lovely?!?!

DIY: Family Handprints Wall Hanging

2010-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am super excited to share this "Do It Yourself" project that I just finished last night. Well, almost finished. Now, they just need to be hung on the wall. I take no credit for this idea though. Back in November, I was at a friend's house (she did it herself too) and that is where I got the idea. And she found the idea from here. So, what is it? You take blank, framed canvases, paint them a solid color-use acrylic paint, and then do a handprint of each of your family members on each one. My boys were so excited to help me with this project. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been painting the 5 canvases with 2-4 coats of paint, depending on the color. I picked bold, bright colors, since I will be hanging them in our classroom. Last night, we had a great family evening together, painting out hands and then doing our handprints. And if we messed up, baby wipes worked great to repair them. I must say, I think they turned out awesome. What do you think? So you're probably wondering the cost...well, here it is...$2.79 for each 8 x 10" canvas (about $14.00 total) and about $0.75 per small (not the smallest) bottle of paint and I have a lot left over. So under $20 for a beautiful wall display and great family memory! It would have been $39.99 for the kit from the site I referenced above and that's only for four. I am so thrilled about it! Hopefully we will get them hung up soon for all to see. Even our cute little 6 month old got to participate.

I am a newbie, but I am participating in DIY Tuesday here:

Homemade Play Dough

2010-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

I have a new blogging friend who happens to be one of my husband's co-workers. She is a fabulous photographer and also a mom of boys. She referred my to this blog, Little Hands, Big Work (by a home schooling mom of boys) and I got the idea and recipe from the blog to make homemade play dough. Thanks CG!!! My boys love play dough and were so excited to help me make our own. It was so easy and the results were great, soft, not-too-messy dough, that made for lots of fun. The boys played for nearly 40 minutes with it at the kitchen counter and played with it while I made dinner that night too. I must admit, I was quite happy it kept them occupied for so long. We used some real cookie cutters and my potato masher to make it even more fun. I will be posting more pictures here. Here's the recipe:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 Tablespoons Cream of Tarter

1 cup boiling water

1 Tablespoon oil

1 packet of Kool-Aid (I used food coloring)

Mix the dry, add wet, and cook on medium heat in a pan until it firms up into a ball. Let cool (though it is fun to roll it around when its warm). Knead and play!

Mixing in the food coloring...use baggies to protect your hands....

Excited about the creation.

Enjoying the play dough....a lot!

Best kept secret in the MOT area (or at least I think so!)

2010-03-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

So, do you have small children, and need something fun, and free to do each week? Well, head on over to my new favorite library in the area on Wednesdays at 11:00 for story time! And, no, its not the Appoquinimick library on Broad Street that I'm talking about. I am referring to the super cute, small and quaint, and very antiquey (if that's a word) library in Odessa called the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library. Since moving to our new neighborhood last summer, I have been checking out things on "this side" of town and discovered this great, little library off of Main Street in Odessa. What I love about it....the staff is so friendly, the toy area is very organized, the toys are unique and different, the play area is very spacious given the size of the library, good selection of books and DVDs (great to get kids videos from the library if you of the frugal and thrifty type), and the story times are very fun and educational. We really enjoyed ourselves last week and we are going to try to go every Wednesday for it. Hope to see you and your kids there too. Oh, yes, there is a nice story time at the other library too that we used to go to, but I just like this one better....I think its the atmosphere. It reminds me of walking into a piece of history!

Hot! Free Shipping and 15% off code for The Children's Place

2010-02-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

If you have read this blog long enough, most of you know I am a big fan of The Children's Place. Well, just in...you can score free shipping AND use a 15% off code! The free shipping is just for today and tomorrow (Friday). I have never seen free shipping before, nor have I been able to combine codes, but tonight, it happened. I am excited to say that I found out about this deal all on my own too, no other mommy blogs told me, though I am sure every other blog has this posted. I haven't checked. They have very limited quantities of their Monster Sale clearance stuff, but I did find 6 items and only had to pay a little over $15!!! Yippy! They have a lot of spring stuff on sale too, but I didn't look at that yet. You know me, I don't like to spend more the $3-5 per item when it comes to children's clothes. If I get a chance, maybe I'll glance over the spring things to see if there is anything cute for my three boys...maybe an Easter outfit or something. Anyway, here are the codes: FSFEB2010 (free shipping), C99AA (15%), and if you haven't done so already, please, please sign up through Ebates, and get another 3% back. How many of you shop through Ebates? Please let me know if you do or if you decide to sign up. It is soooo worth it and it is so easy and there are no catches, just free money! I just got another "Big Fat Check" in the mail. So far, I have earned over $40 in less than a year, just by shopping online like I normally would. If you sign up, you get a bonus $5 after your first eligible purchase. If I have convinced you, I really encourage you to sign up and if you would be so kind, use my link above, or the button on my homepage, and I get a referral bonus too. Thanks in advance! Happy shopping and let me know if you get any great deals at The Children's Place.

Great idea for Home-schooling moms.

2010-02-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

So, I just came up with a great idea on how to use all my free magazines I am getting from free subscriptions. I get Babytalk, Parents, and Parenting the Early Years, which means lots of pictures of things related to kids! I am home-schooling my two oldest boys (4 and 2 1/2) and just last we started something new. Each week we study a new "Letter of the Week" and now we go through my magazines that are stacking up (I don't have time to read all of them!), and find pictures that begin with the letter we are studying. Then my oldest and I will cut out the pictures (his scissor skills are outstanding) and the youngest will paste them on a piece of paper. Then we review all the pictures and show is to Daddy. Its very fun, creative, skill building, and puts all those magazines to good use. My favorite from today was a "Dirty Daddy" (bonus, 2 "D" words)!!!

Great New Olay Rebate

2010-02-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! Olay has been offering great rebates lately. So here's the latest one. Get $15 back when you buy 3 qualifying products (i.e. facial lotions, body lotions, body washes, soap, etc.) by March 12, 2010. FYI: This week, these qualifying Olay products are on sale at Rite Aid for 3 for $18. If you submit for the rebate, you can score great products for only $3. And then if you use some P and G coupons from one of the January inserts you can save even more. Sorry, I don't know the date off hand of the insert, but I did find a $1/1 facial lotion, and $1/1 body wash. I wish I would have had more, but I didn't feel like bothering anyone for their extra coupons. So, tonight, my bottom line was 2 Ribbons Body Washes (18 oz. bottle) and 1 Facial Moisturizer (6 oz.) for only $1 after the rebate and coupons. Check out the rebate form and details here. The regular price of these three items would have been $27! Pretty good bargain in my book! Oh, and if you haven't used your video values coupon yet ($5/20) you could have a money maker here. I used mine last week when I was working for my $35 Visa Gift card deal. Which I did earn! Yippy!

Free Cereal at ACME

2010-02-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

I just realized this deal, so I wanted to pass it along to all of you. You can get 2 free bags of Malt-O-Meal cereal at Acme this week. They are on sale for $1.49 a bag and go here, sign up, and get $.75/1 coupon that you can print twice. Acme will double it and that means two free bags! We just tried the "Fruit Loops" type last week and DVB said it tasted just like the real stuff. Yeah--good find!

Hot!!! Free 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk with purchase

2010-02-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

Go here to enter to win milk for a year, plus print out a coupon for a free half gallon of chocolate milk when you purchase a gallon of milk. Fun, free treat for the kids. Push the back button to print two! (The site was a little slow when I was on, but it did work). Enjoy!!!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

What is your favorite online photo processing site?

2010-02-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

So, do you prefer, Shutterfly or Snapfish? Or maybe SeeHere or is there another site your prefer to get your pictures and photo gifts from? My vote is definitely for Shutterfly. I am so thankful a friend referred me to Shutterfly about two years ago. Why do I like them so much...let me tell you. The quality is top-notch. I just got my free 100 prints from Snapfish yesterday and since I haven't dealt with them in awhile, I must say I was a little disappointed in the quality compared to Shutterfly. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful to get the free prints, but it did make me realize even more why I stick with Shutterfly. Customer service is also great. Any time I have had an issues with anything, they have always been easily accessible and have taken care of the problem. For example, several months ago, I got some prints and enlargements delivered and quite a few of them were bent from the packaging and delivery. I called the company and they replaced all the ones I told them were damaged for free with free shipping and I didn't even have to return the old ones. They also have deals running all the time, whether its sales on prints, photo gifts, free shipping, etc. I can always find some sort of discount code on Ebates or retailmenot.com. For two years now, I have also had the annual print savings plan which gives you 30% of all prints, enlargements, and collages and this discount can be combined with other deals. You pay $29.99/year for the plan and they also give you an 8 x 11 photo book for free! I LOVE their photo books. Most of you know, I love to scrapbook, but with three children, I can't do the traditional scrapbooking anymore. Photo books are the way for me now and Shutterfly has the best quality and options. Shutterfly is also is affiliated with the Pampers Rewards program, so I have also scored free prints and photo books by using my Pampers Rewards. Not familiar with the Pampers Rewards....those little peelies on the diaper packages have codes that give you points to get free stuff! Don't throw them away. I can also get free stuff with my VISA check card through PNC bank. Again, another rewards program, you get points for purchases, and then you use the points to get stuff. I use my points for $25 Shutterfly gift cards. And another reason I like Shutterfly is that is works great with our MAC. Very streamline and simple. So who do you like and why?

Attention all Moms! Great Nursing Bra!

2010-01-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

I know, funny heading, right? But, I do need to tell you all about this fantastic nursing bra. I am now nursing our third child, so I think I am a little experienced in the area and can recommend a good bra when I find one. I didn't find it on my own, a dear friend told me about it. Its the Bravado Designs Body Silk Seamless Bra. Most of you know, that your body is never the same after pregnancy and nursing, but this bra really helps. I started wearing it at the end of my last pregnancy and loved it. It is now my go to bra. I need to order another one because my old ones just don't match-up to the quality and comfort of this one. You can find it at Diapers.com. Great website, great prices, and fast (2-day), free shipping with orders of $49 or more. If you order the bra, and a pack of diapers, large or small, you can save $10 on your first order if you use my referral code: MVAN3355. Or you can use my gmail address. So all you new moms, moms-to-be, or moms who plan to have more kids, get it. Its pricey, but every penny worth it! If you get it by January 31st, you can try this code, though I don't know if it will work or not, to score and extra 20% off.

(20PCTTY) UPDATE: Sorry, you won't be able to combine discounts. But, you can use the 20% off and I believe still get free shipping-so great bra for $39.80.

Hope you like it! Oh, and don't forget to shop through Ebates to earn cash back and check Retailmenot.com for more coupon codes.

Its been awhile...

2010-01-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delays in posts, but the holidays and two vacations nearly back to back, kept us quite busy over the past month. We are well though and hope you are too! So, I have yet another Rite Aid deal to tell about...

I don't have my receipt in front of me...because I had to send it in for a rebate, but I will try to remember as many details as I can.

I decided to take advantage of the "transfer your prescription " incentive this month. It seems like all the pharmacies are trying to get your business, so they offer gift cards if you transfer your prescriptions to them. My parents have been pharmacy hopping for years and always tell us about this $20 gift card or that $25 one. So, Rite Aid was offering one $25 gift cards per prescription per person. I am very happy with the service we get at Walgreens, but I wanted to take advantage of the deal to use the money to get some odds and ends we needed. Two of my boys each take a daily med, so thats two scripts, $25 gift card each....$50 total! Woohoo! There are quite a lot of good deals going on at Rite Aid this month between sales, coupon match-ups, SCR, manufacturer rebates, and the new deal...spend $25, $50, or even $100 worth of Proctor and Gamble products and earn a $5, $15, or $35 Visa gift card. That's a pretty sweet deal. So you guessed it, I used my Rite Aid $50 gift cards to buy some of the eligible products (i.e. I got Pampers, Duracell batteries, Olay Quench lotion, and Tampax tampons). It ended up being over $50 worth of stuff (retail, before all discounts) that I already earned a $15 Visa gift card. And the promotion goes through early February I believe.

OK, some other details of this shopping trip. I mentioned I got Olay lotion. Well, most of you know that Olay was offering a rebate of the full purchase price of up to two Quench body lotions. So I took advantage of that and got two great lotions for free! I had the $5/25 purchase coupon that is floating online and the $5/20 coupon from Video Values and those lowered my total costs-yes, you can use both. I had quite a few manufacturers coupons for the items mentioned above. And I snag some clearance Christmas items like wrapping paper that was 90% off. Even though the retail cost of everything was probably $70, I only paid about $36 (used gift card) and still have $14 left on the Rite Aid gift card. So, lots of free items, and qualified for the Olay rebate and the Visa rebate! Hopefully, I will use the last $14 wisely to qualify for the P and G Visa rebate of $35. It will be a huge money maker!

More tips on saving on the grocery budget...

2009-12-15T14:32:00.001-08:00

I wrote my last entry so quickly that I forgot to include some other thoughts...Here are some more tips on how I was able to slash my grocery budget nearly in half!

--Try to stock up on freezer and pantry staples when they are on sale and you can combine the sale with coupons. i.e. Green Giant frozen veggies are only $1.00 this week at Acme and there is a Catalina deal, get $5 on your next order when you spend $15 and there are tons of coupons either online or from the paper.

--Always check the weekly circulars and look for coupon match-ups.

--When I say I shop at Rite Aid, I mean I shop there when I can get stuff for free or even make money on various items. Check my other posts to learn about shopping at Rite Aid. I have learned there are many toiletries you can get for free through their SCR program.

--Try cloth diapering...I use G-diapers with Bum Genius inserts. Good results!

--Look for great diaper deals at Rite Aid or Walgreens when you have coupons too.

--I have also tried doing some make-ahead-freezer meals.

Ok, that's enough for now...back to my boys.....Happy Saving and of course Merry Christmas! What a wonderful time of year to meditate on our Savior's birth!

$200 Grocery Budget for Family of 5!

2009-12-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been meaning to post this for a few days now, but only getting to it today. Remember back in March I had the March Challenge to see if could keep my monthly grocery budget at around $400? Here were the results of that. Well, I have been reading so many frugal blogs over the past few months and thought it was time for a new challenge. I guess there are a lot of families out there who try to keep there grocery budget to $30/week. Well, I thought I would try for $200/month for the month of November. I had gotten away from really tracking how much I spent on groceries, so this challenge help me track all my purchases, coupon like crazy, eat out a whole lot less (haven't eaten out but 2 times since number 3 came along), and be more creative with food we had on hand. So for the month of November I actually only spent $220!!!! I was so pleased. And we still ate pretty well and have a fairly stocked-up freezer and pantry. The only that was really missing by the end of the month was the perishables. I actually tracked the purchases from Nov. 10-Dec. 10. This week I did go to Costco and Acme to stock up again and already spent about $200, but I'm hoping to not spend more that $50 until early January. We'll see how I do. I was quite please with November's results given I had a birthday party for my son, celebrated two Thanksgivings, and a few other hospitality events. Some of ways I have been able to cut our grocery budget nearly in half since last spring would be due to cloth diapering 2 children about 80% of the time, coupons, shopping at Rite Aid, and checking frugal blogs like Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom....they do a lot of the homework for you. How do you save on your grocery budget? Any tips? What do you spend each month? How do you incorporate bulk purchases into your budget?

Great Stocking Stuffer idea for toddlers!

2009-12-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (12/16): Well, just checked Walmart and the DVD is $13. Sorry. Just checked the blog I got the info. from and everyone else is saying its $13 too. If I see it on sale any where else I'll let you know.

I just read on the Deal Seeking Mom blog about a new $3 off coupon for the new Curious George movie- A Very Monkey Christmas. We just watched this movie last week as a family on PBS and it is super cute. This week the movie is on sale at Walmart for just 5 bucks. So with the coupon you can get it for $2! Yeah! I just printed it from Red Plum here. This will make for a great stocking stuffer for my boys. I'm going to go out tonight to snag it before they are sold out.

Great Deal on Dunkin' Donuts Coffee

2009-12-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE coffee. I would even go so far to call myself a bit of a coffee snob. One of my favorites is good ol' Dunkin Donuts regular coffee. For nearly 3 years at Costco, I had been buying it for $16.99 for the 2 1/5 pound bag. In an effort to cut back on our grocery bill as of late, I started drinking Eight O'Clock coffee...quite surprised how yummy it is too. Actually, the Columbian is rated #1 on Consumer Reports. Well, today I needed an afternoon pick-me-up while I was out with the kids, so I stopped by D and D for a splurge cup of joe. To my surprise, they are running a sale all month long...buy 4 1 pound bags of any flavor of coffee for $19.99! That's $5 a bag...one pound bags that is. You can't touch that kind of price at the grocery stores or even Walmart. Those places only sell 12 ounce bags and the best price I usually see is $5.99. And this price is a little better than the price of Eight O'Clock too. So I was quite excited! I bought 4 bags for now and will probably hit up the sale again. By the way, these make great gifts for the coffee lovers out there on your list or for grab bags.

Free Calendar, Clutch Photo Book, or Photo Cards

2009-11-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

Today only! Another free photo gift deal is out there. Oh, by the way, I got my 100 free photoe cards that I told you all about and they are awesome!!! I still can't get over that deal! How many photo deals have you scored over the past few weeks. This is my fourth one. Starting now, December 1st (yes, I stayed up to do it at midnight!), go to the American Greetings website and click on the Photoworks icon. I think it was in the middle right-hand side of the page. You'll be asked to pick your gift and enter your email address. Hurry, they are only giving away 20,000. I just made an 11 x 8 calendar and it was also shipped for free. ($25 value) Yippy! Its going to be a Christmas gift for DVB since I still have him on my list. Hope you get in on this deal. Thank you Common Sense with Money!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

2009-11-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

I love to shop during Thanksgiving weekend. I love the chaos, adrenaline rush, and of course great deals in the middle of the night (while the kiddos and hubby are sleeping). I didn't camp out this year, like I did last and I'm glad because it was cold, windy, and rainy. It has been my tradition since I was a young girl shopping with my mom to go out on Black Friday to get great deals. I used to work Black Friday at the Gap for a season while in high school and college. I now love to go out since I can't make it out much with 3 little ones and DVB usually always takes the day after Thanksgiving off. He is glad to watch the kids for me. (I was thankful my newborn took a bottle for the first time while I was gone). I prefer going with a shopping buddy and for the past few years its been my sister-in-law Lindsay and this year it was Chanda. We first went out Thursday night to Michael's for about an hour to get 30% off our entire purchase, but I was disappointed as they no longer carry toys. No more Thomas the Tank Engine trains there. I did find some cute kiddie art sets though and some other things and got good deals. I slept from 2-3 am since I was up late researching the best deals online and in the circular. With water, coffee, snacks, layers of clothes, coupons, and circulars, Chanda and I first hit Kohl's for when the opened at 4 am. We got some great toy deals (50% off) there including a Leap Frog Tag system for only $29.99 and it went towards Kohls cash. Then we stopped by Walmart at 5:15, just to turn around and walk back out the door. What we wanted there was not worth waiting in the HUGE lines. I actually went back there late Saturday night and got what I wanted at the same Black Friday sale price. I used 3 of those handy dandy Hasbro and Playskool coupons that are floating around online to get 2 games and a toy for more than 50% off retail price! Food for thought- I read somewhere you should never pay more than 50% of the retail for a toy. Back to Friday...we then headed up to the mall. Some of the highlights: $207 worth of items at Bath and Body Works for $46.50, 25% off entire purchase at the Children's Place (bummed they didn't let me use the 20% off coupon in addition like they did last year) and socks were on sale 5 for $5 so they ended up being 75 cents each...I wish I would have gotten more, that's a better price than clearance; and my gift to myself, my Pottery Barn desk!!!! Pottery Barn, never, ever has good deals, except on Black Friday and the weekend following. The deal was get a $20 gift card for every $100 you spend. And we had a New Mover's coupon from our move this summer for 10% off any purchase. We had been holding onto for nearly 5 months now and I am so glad we did. It was due to expire on Nov. 29th and we were able to use it with the Black Friday deal to save extra money on our favorite desk. I am so excited about it! And now we have $120 PB gift card to use after Christmas. I was so thrilled they let us use both deals. Chanda and I avoided Toys R Us on Friday too because the lines were so, so long...people were lined up outside to get in at 10 pm on Saturday night. We started at 4 am and got back by 10 am...and I was pleased with the deals. Last year was a bit better, but that's ok. I only had so much time before I had to get back for the little one.

And now today's Cyber Monday deal. I got 6 great Leap Frog items from leapfrog.com on super sale (way, way, better prices than the same items at Kohls) and I signed up to be a Learning Path member and saved an additional 20% plus free shipping. The retail of the items would have been: $96.85

I got them for $41.60 shipped!!!! The order included 2 Tag books for my sons new Tag Reader system.

I got nearly all my shopping done over the past few days. The kids are all done and so are the nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. All that's left on my list is hubby and mother-in-law.

FYI: If you are in the market for Hasbro games, perhaps look at the prices at Toys R Us as they are on sale again this week and there is a Hasbro/Toys R Us specific rebate available for a lot of those games. I got some two weeks ago when they were on sale and giving away gift cards and I am eligible for $13 in rebates. The final price on some of them was $1.99.

What were some of your best deals if you ventured out for Black Friday????

Free Photo Cards

2009-11-19T04:50:00.000-08:00

So, I have read several blogs about this fantastic deal, and it may sound too good to be true, but it is absolutely no joke. This is just in time for Christmas! You can actually score 100 FREE PHOTO CARDS with free shipping too. The website is SeeHere from FujiFilm. Its actually a really great site. You can completely customize your cards. After looking over the different blogs and people's comments I went ahead and made mine. You have to do two separate orders to make the codes work. The first code is "newbaby" and the second is "freebies4mom11-09." Please note, you have to type in the codes, rather than cut and paste them. Also, the website is getting sooo much traffic that it is very slow. Everybody is jumping on this deal. I tried many times yesterday to do my second order, and couldn't get the site to work. This morning it worked like a charm. So, I got 50 super cute Christmas cards in my first order and then my second order included a variety (yes, you cam make different types-as long as the total is 50). So, I made 30 more Christmas cards, 12 holiday thank-you photo cards, and 8 birthday thank-you cards for my son to give out from his 4th birthday. Enter the code at the check-out and the discount will be reflected. I also appreciated that they didn't gather any credit card information since it was a free offer. $49 worth of great cards for free and free shipping. The first order I placed two nights ago, and I got my email that it shipped already. So, act fast, the freebies 4 mom code expires November 30 and it is now only good for the 4x8 size. Not sure when the other code expires. Have fun making some great cards! Also, don't get discouraged if the website is slow, expect that. Wake up early to make them for the site to work the best. Thanks, Money Saving Mom, Freebies 4 Mom, and Thrifty Living.

Oh, and you can get 100 free prints for signing up with SeeHere. I haven't made those prints yet. I understand they have to be in a separate order.

Walgreen's Money-Maker Deal

2009-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

So, which store do you prefer...Rite Aid or Walgreen's? I am still a big fan of Rite Aid, mainly because they have so many total purchase coupons out there and they can be used AFTER all other coupons to maximize the deal. I had a not so successful trip (well, it wasn't too bad-but not has sweet as I would have liked) earlier in the week to Walgreen's, so I was just about ready to stick with Rite Aid only...until I found out about this deal.

Walgreen's had Glade aerosol sprays on sale for $.99 this week with in-ad coupon. Plus, there was another coupon in the November savings book for $1.00/2. And I used two manufactures coupons, one from Right at Home-an SC Johnson website (I recommend you sign up so you can get great coupons in your email) and one from the paper that was BOGO free. I purchased 6 sprays (all the coupons worked beautifully) and they ended up costing me only $.44! Yes, you read that right...44 cents! I don't even use Glade room sprays, but I will have fun giving them away to friends and family. And now the best part of the deal....I can now submit these purchases for the SC Johnson rebate that you can read about here. (Thanks again BA for the tip!) Because I purchased 6 qualifying items I will be eligible to get $10 back ($5 back for every 3 items you purchase-need to be separate transactions...thank you Walgreen's manager for printing me a second receipt for the deal). I will have made $9.66 on this purchase! Money for our upcoming Disney trip!!!

$.47/ pound Turkeys at Giant

2009-11-10T14:54:00.000-08:00

This is the week to pick up your turkeys. I already got one and will be getting the big one in the next day or too. This is a great price for a frozen turkey. Save even more with this coupon.

Acme-Best shopping trip yet!

2009-11-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Last night, I headed to Acme, with my circular, coupons, and calculator to take advantage of the great Catalina deal ($15 off next shopping trip with $30 purchase of select items). Thanks to the internet and blogs, you can literally find some many coupons and people who do the homework for you as far as coupon match ups. These two sites are helpful to me, Thrifty Living and Deal Seeking Mom. And of course, you can find tons of coupons on the internet from various sites like Coupons.com. Check out this post for match-ups. And I actually found there were two more match-ups as well. I found a $.75/1 from the Wish-bone website for dressing (printed two) and there was a $.75/1 for Breyers ice-cream a few weeks back in the Sunday paper coupons. (I had two of those as well). So after 4 transactions (I did the Catalina deal twice so I could use the $15 - 2 of them- for the rest of my purchases), I got all that you see above. There was a cereal deal too, if you buy three Kellogg's cereal-Mini Wheats were on sale and I had coupons-you got a free gallon of milk. Apples were on sale too.....6 pounds for $4!

I got $132.84 worth of groceries and only paid $22.50 out of pocket....a savings of 84%!!

I was very pleased with this trip as I was able to stock up on some items like chicken broth, cereal, flour, dressings, cake mix, and some other items are pantry was needing. I don't usually buy stuff like boxed potatoes, but they were virtually free and with lots of hospitality happening I thought it might be nice to have these on hand. We don't eat white potatoes here much at all, but other people like that stuff, so I purchased them. I can't make super gourmet meals all the time with 3 little ones at home, so sometime boxed stuff is nice to have on hand. :)

And, best news, everything worked out perfectly! I didn't have my kids with me, which made it go much smoother, since my cart was filled...thanks DVB for watching the boys! No trips to customer service this time. Yeah!

Acme is great because they double all coupons up to $.99. Even the ones from online. I literally had some many coupons for this trip to make it such a sweet deal. It definitely takes time and energy to pull this off, but its worth it if you can save quite a bit of money for your family.

Pumpkins!

2009-11-10T05:00:00.001-08:00

I had several pumpkins left over from our Harvest Party that we hosted on Oct. 31st. Thanks to Money Saving Mom (highly recommend this blog), I got a great idea on how to use these cute little orange things...make my own pumpkin puree!!! I was so excited about this idea, as I love everything pumpkin, cookies, breads, cakes, etc. And to buy canned pumpkin can get expensive. So last week, with the help of two of my little ones, we set out to make our own pumpkin puree.

First, we cut them in half, and removed all the seeds (saved them for roasting and for planting next year).

Then we placed each half upside down in a little bit of water. I covered each baking dish with aluminum foil or a lid or dish towel (for microwave). I either baked them in the oven at 350 for over an hour, or put them in the microwave for 30-40 minutes.

When fully cooked, the skins literally slid right off!

Next I scooped out the pumpkin.

We put the pumpkin in the blender with a little bit of water and blended for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Final results: 18 cups of pumpkin puree!!! After it cooled, I put two cups in each Ziploc bag and put them in my freezer.

That same day, I used some of the puree and made these delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! Now, can I go the whole winter without buying canned pumpkin? I hope so!