Buckle Buddy...(or Fine Motor Friend...or thing with face and buckles)

I have fallen in love with pinterest! SOooo many great ideas and inspirations!! Most recently, I was inspired by a picture of a buckle toy.
Since buckles are one of my 17 month old's current fascinations, I decided to give it a try. (Disclaimer: I am NOT a seamstress...I'm happy to sew a straight line!) I used fabric I had on hand and cut buckles off of a backpack headed for Goodwill. I reused plastic grocery bags for the stuffing- makes a nice crinkly sound! Anyway, it turned out ok, but Shayde cannot undo the buckles himself at this point...Only buckle them back. He does enjoy the keys! Oh, and I thought it needed a head and arms ;)

Baking Bread and Saving $Dough$!

The boys and I like cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast. After seeing the $3.69 price tag at Target and not having any coupons, I just couldn't buy it yesterday. Instead I grabbed a large conatiner of raisins for around $3 and decided I'd try and bake my own. I had all the other basic ingredients on hand. I haven't done an exact price break down, but I know it's A LOT cheaper to bake our own. I got a 5lb bag of flour for $1 in November (recipe uses 8 cups). The recipe used maybe 1/5 or less of the raisins. Add a few eggs, little milk, yeast, etc...Surely under $1 for the ingredients used...And it made 3 LOAVES! Turned out pretty tasty too! :) I used this recipe.

We devoured half of the first loaf this morning (with a bit of butter!), so I'd rate it a success! Changes: I may add some cinnamon to the dough next time...not just in the swirl.

Let Them Play!!

I was inspired by a blog I came across recently :
http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2011/10/find-it.html?spref=fb


It was water for my early childhood education roots! After reading through some posts, I put in my teacher eyes and began observing my children and looking around our environment with fresh perspective.


For several months now, Shayde whines and cries whenever he sees one of us with a water bottle. Is he oh so thirsty?? No. He wants to take the lid on and off the bottle...which he needs help with and which makes a huge mess unless the bottle is empty. We've had some pretty good fits in the middle of a store...and also a really wet baby a couple times when a weak mommy gave in.


He also loves the Desitin tube. Diaper changing time became much more pleasant once we had an empty tube to give him. He likes to open and close the cap.


It occurred to me the other day that he is showing us an area that he is ready to explore and develop further. Hence, the container box was created!

Putting foam shapes/stickers into the containers is even more fine motor practice! Even big brother got in on the fun! ;) A Welch's squeezable grape jelly container has the perfect lid for older children to practice inserting objects. **Note: We did have a couple glass containers in the box. It seemed safe enough on the carpet...until Shayde threw one of them into the kitchen and it shattered on the tile. RIP salt shaker. We now have only nonbreakables!

I'll be watching for my children to tell me what they are ready for next!

Squeezing in (or blending, mashing, hiding) our Veggies

I'm on a mission to get more veggies into my family's diet. My oldest eats most pretty well...save squash or peppers. My 15 month old, however, pokes at and smashes peas and carrots with his chubby little finger like I've served him worms! Fresh, canned, or frozen: doesn't matter. I keep serving a required vegetable and sometimes he'll eat it...sometimes he won't even eat mashed potatoes! Since he's allergic to milk, the doctor suggested I serve him plenty of high fat foods- like avacado- Hah! You should see how he pokes at that green slimey goodness!

The rest of us don't eat many vegetables outside of dinner either, because we prefer cooked to raw and that takes time. So, I'm researching practical ways to get more veggies in. (The fact that I'm pregant with our third child makes it even more important...Can I eat peanut butter toast all day and just take my prenatal!?!)

Smoothies: Our saving grace! I started making smoothies for the boys and my after school/ afternoon snack. I've been playing with different mixtures, but I've found that fresh spinach and carrots are good add-ins to the usual fruit cocktails. The spinach can make it an unappealing color if it's not balanced with brighter fruits, like dark berries. Although , I served a bright green smoothie and called it "The Hulk Smoothie" and my 6 year old gulped it down ;).  I've also found that a scoop of sherbert sweetens up the smoothies and makes them really creamy! Sometimes I add in soy yogurt instead.

The Hulk Smoothie:
1 can pineapple and juice
1 large banana in chunks
2 large handfuls fresh spinach (stems and all) torn into smaller sections
1 cup ice
1 scoop orange sherbert
1 cup cold water if needed for consitency (or milk/ soymilk)
*Makes 3-4 small glasses

My latest experiment was More-Veggie Spaghetti sauce- attempting to get in some less-than-kid-favorite vegetables. It tasted like veggie lasagna! Yummy!

Chop and cook 1 squash, 1 zucchini, 1 bell pepper, and 1/4 onion in a skillet with a little cooking spray until tender.

Put them into blender with 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce. Blend until smooth.

Pour back into skillet and stir in other 1/2 of jarred sauce.

Add seasoning to your liking. I added basil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Serve with spaghetti noodles and lots of grated Italian cheese. Delicious!

I've also been adding more veggies to my sandwiches at lunch...Cucumber and avacado are my current faves.

Couponing= Clutter!!!

I began to notice rather quickly that as my couponing "hobby" was growing,  so were my piles of clutter: Papers, ads, Sunday coupons, printed coupons, mailer coupons....and the stock pile itself! In a perfect world I would have hours to browse deals, organize ads, sort, file, clip, shop, and put each item purchased neatly in it's row. Well, that's just not happening!

To Address the Paper Clutter:

Previous idea: Coupon binder. Although I love the organization of it, it's just not practical for me to clip and file each and every coupon. So, I now use it for clipped coupons that need a home (ones I clipped and didn't use, mailers, ones from magazine ads, register coupons, etc) and items that I always need to buy (like diapers, formula, and protein bars). It is a great tool, and I still carry it with me for unadvertised deals and I have gotten some great savings with it...Just too time consuming.
*Tom Thumb has a clearance section (at the back behind all the aisles near dairy usually). I have gotten AWESOME deals there (by having my binder handy) on everything from Gerber products and formula to canned black beans!

 A plastic divider with pocket for each store. Put list, ads, and envelope with specific coupons for a trip here.

 I removed the pages from a photo album for large coupons or store coupons that print out at the register to keep behind the plastic divider for each store.

 Clear page protectors for large coupons or fast food coupons that I always keep in my binder in the car.

 And of course the baseball card pages ($1 at Dollar Tree for pack of 10) labeled with categories for coupons. Categories are: baby, baking, batteries, bread, candy, canned, cereal, cleaner, condiments, dairy, eggs, frozen, fruit, hygiene, jelly/peanut butter, meat, medicine, paper, pasta, pet, salad dressing, seasoning, snacks, target, toothpaste, toys. ( I cannot remember which coupon site I adapted these from, but I'll add it later!)

Current Idea: I write the date the coupons came out on the front of the coupons as soon as I get them. I then file them in file folders labeled with the date and store them in a sterilite container. (Idea adapted from Couponmom.com) The majority of coupon sites do the major work of matching deals with coupons for you. They list the date the coupons came out and from what source (smart source, red plum, etc.). No need to spend hours clipping and filing...just file them by date and clip it when/if you need it for a deal!

  I also have a file for:
-Store ads
-Target coupons (the ones that come randomly in the mail. I put the ones that print out at the register in my binder)
-All You Magazine (great coupons and Couponmom lists these deals also)
-Food
-Fun
-Car, home (like oil change coupons, floor cleaning, etc...)

 

I reused file folders by placing address labels over the old writing.

Now all those ValPak coupons that I save have a home. (Which means I can actually locate one when I need it!)

To Address Product Clutter:

If you want to save the most money, you have to buy in larger quantities than you normally would when things are on sale or at their "rock bottom price". It's a lot of work in planning and storing, but it really pays off! You don't have to go crazy...Just enough of a product for your family for a few months (when the product will most likely go on sale again). I shopped A LOT the first couple of months, but I have just been filling in with perishables and freebies for quite a while now. Average savings on trips is 50%. Sometimes everything is free...Sometimes I only have a couple of $2 off coupons, but I just need something.

Now to the storage...
The grocery stores are on to something! I organize my food like a grocery store...In rows in my pantry- by expiration date (aka ones that expire sooner in the front)
Patrick (my wonderful husband and handy man) added shelves to the coat closet to turn into a linen/storage closet for hygiene items.

**My rule of thumb (and to avoid becoming a hoarder) is to stop buying when pantry and/or linen closet is full. If I just can't resist freebies, they go directly into the charity box or to family and friends! A free bag of food and hygiene products can really help out sometimes!

I hope this is helpful to someone! Happy Couponing! =)

BOGO Sales and Coupons

I've been trying to figure out how to use coupons with Buy One Get One Free sales... Can you use a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale? Can you use a coupon for each item...One for the item you pay for, one for the "free" item??? I found 2 good articles that address this:

Consumer Queen: Lesson-8-buy-one-get-one-free-sales-coupons

http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2011/03/bogo-sales-and-coupons-questions-answered.html

Some More Aquired Coupon Knowledge

So, I've learned a couple more things in this crazy coupon game:

1. Many stores (Kroger, Wal-Mart) will allow you to use the "overage" from your coupons to pay for other items in your cart. For example, if pasta is on sale for 50 cents and you have $1 off (or a .50 that doubles!) coupon, you'll have 50 cents overage for every package of pasta you purchase. Awesomeness. Check your store's coupon policy.

2. So, there's a great deal on an item and you have a coupon that makes it free or better...The trick is FINDING IT!! It can be difficult to find the "hot" items b/c of the other couponers out there. Solution= Rain checks!! You can get a rain check for an item at the sale price (good for 30 days usually)...Just hope your coupon hasn't expired by the time you can actually find the item!

Sites I use to check deals:

http://www.southernsavers.com/

http://moneysavingmom.com/

http://www.couponmom.com/

2 Kroger Trips Today... $30 (Including: Over 20 packages of pasta, 6 boxes baby cereal, 20 jars baby food, 9 boxes of cereal). Easter merchandise is marked down 90%. Baskets were $1.00!!!  (Two for us and two for our neighbors) An employee at Kroger gave me coupons for FREE packs of diapers and a container of formula. (Maybe this is God's way of telling me it's OK to completely wean Shayde)   1/10 to the charity box!

Great Deals: Mega Event at Kroger going on now. But 10 participating items, get $5 off at register. Check the coupon websites for deals and coupons. Happy Couponing!!! =)