Mom/Bloggers Block
Post Published: 06 September 2011So I guess you would say I have been MIA from Mom Speak. I can’t believe it has been 6 months my last post. It is amazing how time gets away from you. While I don’t want to just start making excuses, the facts are as such. I balance being a wife, mom, part- time job, super coupon lady, and a chronic illness (diverticulits). The combination of those things tend to keep me very busy as well as zap my energy level. The good news is that I am keeping up with the above list very well other than with this blog. I do however, want to continue blogging here so I hope you are forgiving and ready for some new posts. As I have said before, I welcome your comments and any suggestions for what you would like to read about on here. As the new school year started today, I would like to start with a new series of posts and hope you are excited to read them!
When Mom Goes Away….
Post Published: 21 February 2011This past week I had the opportunity to go to Nampa for a conference for work on Thursday and Friday. This meant I would be gone overnight on Thursday night and that on Thursday and Friday my husband would be responsible for getting the boys dropped off at school/daycare and dinner on Thursday evening. For me this meant leaving on Thursday morning at 4:45 am and a night away from everyone. The last time I was away without my husband and boys was when I was in the hospital last spring break. So what kind of excitement did this mean for everyone?
When I got out of the conference at 3:45 I needed to go to a meeting I had scheduled at 4:30. I couldn’t believe that when I got out of my meeting it was already after 6pm. I called to check in with my boys to see how everything was going only to find they were just getting done at the Rocket Car Wash where they had gotten my van cleaned and my husband vacuumed it out for me. To the boys, going through the Rocket Car Wash is almost as fun as going to an amusement park! My husband informed me they were headed to the drive thru at McDonald’s and so I said I would call back to talk to the boys before bed. I certainly didn’t want to interrupt all of their excitement and this seemed like an opportunity to decide where I would go for dinner. I decided on a restaurant and figured I would enjoy a quiet dinner. What a concept, a quiet dinner without arguing about eating and not playing with food and goofing around. I was actually done eating in about 15 minutes because it is amazing how quickly one can eat when there aren’t any distractions. At this point it was only a little after 7pm so the thought of being able to go to the mall and do a little shopping was tempting. However, I have to admit that I was a little tired. I struggled with the fact that it was rare to have an opportunity to go shopping without kids. I don’t think it should come as a surprise to anyone that little boys don’t exactly like to hang out and be patient while mom looks at/tries on clothes.
It was on my way to the mall that I missed my turn and not wanting to deal with a GPS recalculating my route, I decided this was my queue to just head back to the hotel for an evening of opportunity to catch up on some blogging as I had brought my laptop. I got checked into my hotel and into my room in time to call home to say good night to the boys. Then I decided that a nice hot bath sounded good before I turned on my computer. As I soaked into the tub, the exhaustion from getting up at 4am started to set in. Needless to say, my laptop never even came out of it’s case, and while I struggled to stay awake to just hang out and watch some TV, I will have to admit that I believe by 9:30 I was asleep. Yes, that is just how exciting my night away turned out to be! I did manage however, after the conference the next day to make a stop at the mall for about an hour and pick up a few pieces of clothing at Macy’s for 70% off with an extra 20% off with a coupon I had so it was all good!
As I arrived home Friday evening, my 8 year old admitted he did miss me a “little bit” which is something for him, my almost 6 year old was full of hugs and kisses, and even after they were tucked into bed for the night, my 2 year old just couldn’t stay there because all he wanted to do was cuddle with me!
Going Gourmet…..
Post Published: 28 January 2011Last night you would have thought I had become a gourmet chef with the way my boys ate. They cleared their plates like never seen before and as my 2 year old was chewing he couldn’t stop saying “Love It”!!! Unfortunately I have to tell the truth and admit there was nothing gourmet about the meal, but in their eyes that does not matter.
So what did I make you ask? Spaghetti tacos. Some of you may have heard of these already from “ICarly” and an episode of “The Doctors”, while others of you are asking what they are.
First, let me say they are super easy to make. The only ingredients are: spaghetti with spaghetti sauce, hard taco shells, and cheese. I broke the spaghetti in four before I cooked it to make it more managable. Once the spaghetti was cooked and drained I mixed in the sauce. Then I simply put spaghetti in the taco shell with cheese on top. Now how could this be healthy and your kids like it? Use whole wheat spaghetti and sauce with chunky vegetables (as recommended on “The Doctors”). The other thing I really liked last night was that the taco shells contained the spaghetti so that there wasn’t spaghetti all over everyone and everything. There is also flexibility built in with these because I decided I didn’t want a taco so I had spaghetti and vegetables.
Have you tried spaghettie tacos before or will you after reading this post? I know we will definitely be having it again. The other thing was that this was a really cheap meal for me to make with my couponing. The spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, and cheese were free, and the Taco Shells only cost me 75 cents for the box.
Bad Behavior………….
Post Published: 14 January 2011So I am sure you are thinking from the title of my post you are thinking you are about to read about some type of bad behavior I am having to deal with from one of my boys. Actually at this point, I wish that was the case, because we expect that from our children and part of our job as moms is to teach our children good behavior. This is where this post turns into me getting onto my soapbox and sharing and experience that I had here in Twin Falls yesterday. Many of you have read my posts on saving money and couponing. Part of saving money and being frugal involves shopping ahead for things when there are sales. Every year after Christmas there are sales that can be a mother’s dream in saving money on such things as winter clothes and toys. Reading coupon blogs you can read advice on how these sales occur. One such series of sales is Target’s annual toy sale/clearance after Christmas. The toys start out at 25% percent off for a week or two, then are marked down to 50% off and then down to 75% off. Because you don’t know exactly what day these markdowns will happen, many mothers go into the store a few times a week checking for these markdowns until they occur. I had been doing this as have many other people I know.
On Wednesday morning I had to go to Target with my 2 year old to get a new humidifier as he developed croup the night before and meant a trip to the ER for us. As I was making my tour through the toys to check the markdowns, another mother told me to come back the next day as she had heard from a friend that the next day (Thursday) was going to be the morning the sale went to 75% off and to come back at 8am when they opened. So Thursday morning I dropped my boys off for school and headed to Target. As I pulled into the Target parking lot I saw a trailer parked out front. I went into the store, grabbed a shopping cart and headed back to the toys only to find other mothers back there with their carts being blocked off by a group of men with about 10 shopping carts clearing the shelves. The men were there from a local “toy store” buying all of the toys to take back to their store of which I am told they also have an online business selling toys. They proceeded to check out with all of these toys and load up their trailer.
A friend of mine decided when she got home to go to “Thrifty And Thriving’s” facebook page and “Fabulessly Frugal’s” facebook page to post about what had happened, only to receive responses from women in Utah that had gone to their Target’s sales only to be met with men with trailers and U-hauls that bought all of the toys for their “toy store in Twin Falls” and to be met with empty shelves. While what they did is not illegal many of us question the ethics of their behavior. All of us are just mothers trying to budget our money and put gifts away for birthdays and Christmas. While I love to support local and small businesses, this a store I will not go into now as was the sentiment shared by the other women I spoke with yesterday. It is also sad to see Twin Falls gain this reputation in other towns where this business represented themselves as they cleared the shelves.
Starting The New Year Off On A Healthy Note
Post Published: 05 January 2011For any of you out there starting the new year off on a healthier note, it can often be a battle getting the kids excited about eating vegetables. I don’t believe in making separate meals and here is a way that my boys love, yes LOVE, eating salad! In fact this is what we are having for dinner tonight and everyone gets to create their salad just they way they want it.
What Is A Face Salad?
Can it actually be fun to eat vegetables? Isn’t that what it is all about? My boys love a good face salad and they are really easy to make. All it involves is getting together salad fixings that the kids can pick and choose from (gives them a little control while also providing a healthy meal) to make a face out of on their plate.
Here are some of our favorite things we like to use:
Lettuce/Fresh spinach
Hard Boiled Eggs (sliced)
Chicken (Either grilled chicken breast sliced or Crispy Chicken Tenders sliced)
Sliced or cubed Ham or Turkey
Tomatoes chopped
Baby corns
Black Olives
Cucumbers Sliced
Avocado sliced/chopped
Green Onions
Mushrooms sliced
Green Peppers (or any other color of peppers)
Grated/shredded cheese
Salad Dressing of choice
The list can go on, but basically anything your family would like on a salad. I put the lettuce on their plate and then they choose what else they would like to create their face. The sliced eggs make excellent eyes, a black olive for a nose, baby corns or peppers for a nice smiley mouth…… I think you get the idea. There is something for the whole family. The kids have fun and my husband finds it a fulfilling meal too. I have also done this when I have had mom friends over for lunch. Us moms who are concerned with eating healthy or wanting to lose some extra weight can eat and hang out and visit too!
Holiday Treats
Post Published: 21 December 2010
As I mentioned last year, I am not a “Martha Stewart” when it comes to baking so I like to keep it simple. This year I made candy cane bark and pretzel treats. The picture above is the candy cane bark. I used chocolate bark, vanilla bark, and crushed candy canes. I melted the bark in the microwave. I melted the chocolate first, poured it and let it cool in the freezer while I melted the vanilla. Then I poured the vanilla on top of the choclate and sprinkled the candy canes I crushed on top. Very simple and delicious!
The pretzel treats I read about on a coupon blog. You set out pretzels on a cookie sheet and then place a Hershey’s kiss on top of them. I used chocolate and candy cane kisses. You then place them in a oven heated to 170 degrees for about 5 minutes, pull them out and push a M&M into the softened kisses. Our favorites were the ones with the candy cane kisses and peppermint M&M’s.
A Thrifty Thanksgiving
Post Published: 18 November 2010
Does anyone out there still need to get their turkey for Thanksgiving? Here is a very thrifty deal until November 25th. Walmart has their Butterball turkeys on sale for 98 cents a pound. A few weeks ago there was a coupon in the Sunday inserts in the paper for $4.00 off a Butterball when you buy 4 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing. If you go here, you can print off 2 coupons for $1.00/2 Stove Top Stuffing. Then grab your Albertson’s flyer and you will find a coupon for $3.00 off of a Turkey that you can clip and use because Walmart takes competetors coupons.
So this is how the deal worked for me: 4 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing at $1.25 per box with the 2 $1.00/2 coupons and my 22lb Butterball Turkey at .98 cents/lb using the $3.00 Albertson’s coupon and the $4.00 off manufacturer coupon. This gave me $9.00 off in coupons so that I paid $18.41 for my turkey and stuffing. As a side note, I will not be using the Stove Top for Thanksgiving as I will be making my own stuffing. The Stove Top will go into my stockpile for future meals so I can do my meal planning from the stockpile I have built up!
I Held Off On This One As Long As I Could……
Post Published: 29 October 2010This is a post I almost wrote about in early September, but decided to do some nice deep breathing and hold off. Well now it has built and after much pondering here it goes. When I took my oldest son to his open house the Friday before school started, I was given a list by his teacher for additional school supplies that weren’t on the original list. So much for my couponing and budgeting! The thing that got me though, was that on the list was “a large bag of individually wrapped candy”. When did candy become part of a school supply list was my thought at this point. I understood that this was probably going to be part of some type of reward system, but I didn’t think that a teacher would want kids to be eating extra sugar. This is where my deep breathing came into play. Not wanting to rock the boat at the beginning of the year, I decided to go ahead and get the candy.
Then my son brought home a fundraiser for school. He was to sell Butter Braids. I have never had one, but they are a pastry that can be ordered with all sorts of fillings such as Bavarian Cream, Cream Cheese etc. More sugar. In fact, we couldn’t ask the majority of people I know to buy them because of them watching what they eat. It was funny that at about that time, there was an article in the paper about these types of unhealthy fundraisers. We are constantly hearing about unhealthy hot lunch programs and taking soda machines out of the schools aren’t we? So here is my next thing: snack sales. Every week on Friday lunch hour, my son’s school has a snack sale to raise money for the PTO. The second or third week into school I let my son take 50 cents to buy a snack as he had been requesting. When I picked him up from school I asked him what he had purchased and he said he had bought 2 suckers. I thought a snack sale would be some type of baking or food item. He told me that everything at the snack sale was candy: suckers, chocolate bars, oreo cookies, and the list went on and on. Basically all junk food. A week ago he informed me that they had taken the suckers off the snack sale because kids were running around with them in their mouths. Gee, imagine that. He also told me that some kids were buying boxes of candy, not to share, but all for themself. So this week I happened to be talking to a friend of mine that helped at that snack sale last Friday. I was hoping that what I was hearing from my son wasn’t as bad as it sounded, but in fact when she told me about it, it was even worse. She listed of an unreal amount of junk food that was sold. She said she couldn’t believe it so at that point I knew it wasn’t just me. She told me there were kids with 10 and 20 bills that spent all of their money on candy.
Don’t get me wrong. I let my kids have treats from time to time. Sugar is not banned in our house. I believe everything in moderation. However I think this is crazy. I did not think that teachers would want their students totally hopped up on sugar. I personally know how my kids get when they have too much. When I was in for my teeth cleaning earlier this week, my hygienist and dentist almost blew a gasket when I told them about candy being on a school supply list. Then my son’s weekly letter from his teacher about class came home on Tuesday. Guess what was in it? A reminder that the day after Halloween candy goes on sale and that would be a perfect time for parents to buy candy and send it to her for class. Are you kidding me? I will donate items, help out a teacher when I can and support them as much as I can, but there will be no more bags of candy being sent in.
Does anyone wonder why we have a problem with obesity and excessive dental work with our kids these days? Not me. Candy does not need to be a reward and it is definitely not a snack, but a treat. It is the Friday before Halloween and there are Halloween parties at school with candy today. I am fine with that, but guess what? There is still the weekly snack sale as well as well as the candy rewards in class. Isn’t this a little excessive? We need to think about the message we are sending to our kids.
Worms’N Dirt!
Post Published: 25 October 2010
This weekend, my oldest son had a few boys over to celebrate his 8th birthday. This year I came up with an idea instead of birthday cake as you can see in the picture above. I mixed crushed oreos and chopped brownie chunks into chocolate pudding (dirt) and inserted gummy worms and placed eyeballs on top. You know how boys love slimy, dirty things! They were a hit and the boys had fun eating their Worms’N Dirt!
Who’s The Daddy?
Post Published: 29 September 2010So my two year old is going through a couple of phases. The first one being tantrums, that while I was hoping would pass quickly, do not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. The second one is him identifying any woman he sees as “mommy” and any man he sees as “daddy”. This means that any woman or man he sees, he points to and calls them mommy or daddy. Women tend to think it is cute when he calls them mommy. However, when he starts pointing at men and doing this, we get really bizaare looks. So now imagine us in the store, him strapped into a shopping cart freaking out “stuck, stuck, stuck” as I explain to him that he is supposed to be “stuck” and combine that with a man walking by and my son (still screaming and crying) points to him yelling “daddy, daddy, daddy” and let me tell you it makes for quite the scenario. Remember that “slow deep breathing” I talked about in an earlier post?
