Freecycling

Trying to get rid of some stuff before Christmas and some of this stuff is kind of nice, so leave a comment if you want anything, otherwise I'll bring it to Goodwill next week. Everything is in good condition with all the pieces, unless otherwise noted.

Dora Horse Trailer


Fisher Price Learning Table


Playskool Walk & Ride


Gymboree boys slip-ons, worn once sz 5


More to come!

Crazy crafting

I just threw these up here last week to show my mom so I thought I would go back and add some text. We've been crafting up a storm!

Here's the little tote bag I appliqued for Molly's birthday. I copied one that Casey made for Audrey and I'm applique-addicted! (of course hers are way cuter.)



My mom and I bought a ton of cute fabric on clearance at Hancock's day after Thanksiving and we whipped this bedskirt out in just a few hours! Audrey was so funny when she saw it, saying, "Oh my goodness, Kolby is going to love this!" Kolby lived with us last summer during his podiatry rotation at Scott & White and she still calls the guest room Kolby's room, despite the fact that both Black Sarah and Fur-fur have lived there since.


Here's a canvas totebag I did for a Christmas gift...

Extension!

They've extended the deadline for a week! Get making those photobooks!

Here's my first page.

What do you think? I think the flourish is distracting but it looked plain without. Also think I will make the text smaller.

Free 20 page Snapfish book

Click here for the link for your free book. You have to pay S&H and finish it by this Sunday. We are doing a personalized ABC book for Molly (A is for Audrey, B is for bebe, etc.).

Frugal Friday once again...

Okay you might be sick of my Walgreen's crush. But there are some really good deals to be had!
Get your printable coupon, good today and tomorrow, for $5 off a $20 purchase. When I went in they also had an unadvertised special on Blue Bell for 2/$8 (saw it at Wal-Mart today 2/$11).

So here's my total

4 half-gallons of Blue-Bell $16 (less $1 printable coupon when you sign up at www.bluebell.com)
1 gallon of milk on sale for $3.29 (2% for Molly's visit this weekend)
2 rolls of Scotch packing tape (buy one at $2.99 get one free).

Total $21.28, less $5 coupon $16.28!

Not just another list...

We meditated on this list last week in our Loving Well Bible study--and it's so powerful. Read these statements as if God is saying them to you. (cause He is.)

1. Do you realize that I came to meet with you?

2. Do you have any idea how much I love you? How taken I am with you?

3. Do you know that I have never forsaken you nor will I ever reject you? I was there all
along. I always will be.

4. Do you realize I knew everything about you the day you were conceived? I anticipated
your life and planned for it.

5. You do have an enemy, My Child. But it is not Me. He wants you to think it is.

6. I am for you.

7. Do you think you need to prove yourself lovable to Me? Deep down inside, are you trying to earn My love and attention?

8. As you strive to love Me more, do you realize the key to loving Me more is to let Me love you more?

9. Why are you resisting Me? Why are you running from Me?

10. To whom have you compared Me, and with whom have you confused Me?

11. I’m not like them.

12. I know what’s happened. I know what’s on your mind.

13. I alone know the plan for how this turns out well. I alone know how to prosper you
through this.

14. My eyes and My affections are on you right now.

15. Quit trying to be so strong. Let Me be strong for you.

16. I love you unashamedly. Even now My banner flies over you. Everyone in the heavenlies knows how I feel about you. I’d leave you red-faced over My love for you … if you’d let Me.

New recipe for cornbread

This is my first somewhat original recipe so Black Sarah's making me post it. Love me some chili and cornbread.

1 c stone ground corn meal
1 c flour (I use 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients together. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in wet ingredients and whisk together just until blended. Pour batter into a greased 8 inch square pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until it tests done. This recipe lends itself well to substitutions, I've subbed oil for butter, milk for buttermilk, honey for sugar, etc. I usually add a big handful of frozen corn at the end and sometimes a can of diced green chilies.

Does my guy know me or what?

A while ago, Josh stopped by Sam's Club on his way home to get me some things and we were outside waiting for him when he drove up. He smiled and said, "I have a surprise for you!" I figured he had gotten me some flowers (he is a sucker for the 2 dozen roses for $15 they occasionally have). But look what he pulled out from behind him instead.

Nothing says "I love you" like 30 buttery, yeasty, ready-in-10 minute Sister Schubert dinner rolls. It gets better--they were only $5.87! Pricier than making your own dinner rolls, of course, but much less expensive than buying "the Sister" at HEB. I also love that they are portion controlled--helpful for those of us (me) who, when I bake bread, eat five (+?) rolls and forget the rest of dinner. Now I bake off one roll for each of us and that's it!

What's on my bedside table

And when I say bedside table, I mean "laying on the floor next to my bed."

Food Fights. Got lots of good ideas from this one--basically the gist was not to engage in a power struggle over eating, but continue to present lots of different food varieties.

ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. This book is wonderful--there are three levels of solutions to all of the organizational problems they address. For example, if you have mild problems with hyperfocus you might try a level 1 solution, like a timer. For moderate hyperfocus problems, find a support person to disengage you. For severe hyperfocus, you might need both plus some drugs! (ok I'm summarizing the last part.)

Gorgeously Green. Lots of good information, product reviews, for the beginning granola-mom.

Checked out all of these at the Temple Public Library in the new section. What are you reading?

MOPS group

Join us next week for October's meeting!

I ♥ Amazon.

I've long been a fan of Amazon. Free super-saver shipping, great customer reviews, on-the-money gift guides, what's not to love? A few years ago I started a wish list, mostly to keep track of things I wanted to buy for the kids, but also to give Josh a few ideas because evidently I am IMPOSSIBLE to buy for. Anyway, I wish everyone had one! They're fun to shop from and just to look and see what type of stuff everyone wants.

Now, Amazon has made it 100 times better. They just released the universal wish list button, so now you can add items from any online store to your Amazon wish list! So nifty!

What's on your playlist?

I told Sara and Abbey I would share my playlist--it's always fun to see what people are working out to. This is NOT music I would listen to except when I'm running. Some of these songs are not mom-approved and I need to buy the Wal-Mart version, but they do get me going. Also, having been married to Josh for six years his emo-screamo-alt country-Kenny G tastes have rubbed off on me. He has the most eclectic music tastes of anyone I know. Ok enough disclaimers. Here they are.

The Killers, probably my favorite right now to run to (I know! it's so 2007!)
All These Things That I've Done
Mr. Brightside
Somebody Told Me
When You were young

Outkast
Hey Ya!
I like the way you move

Dropkick Murphys
I'm Shipping Up to Boston

Rage Against the Machine
Killing in the Name of

Silversun Pickups
Lazyeye

Linkin Park
One Step Closer

Prodigy
Breathe

Eminem
Lose Yourself (Geez, this is getting embarrassing)

Britney Spears
blackout album

The White Stripes
Seven Nation Army

Madonna
Four Minutes

Mariah Carey
Touch my Body (perfect for weights)

Michael Jackson
Wanna be starting something

Franz Ferdinand
Take Me Out

Tally Hall
Good Day (for warm-up)

I'm back...maybe.

Wow--two hurricanes complete with evacuees and almost a whole month later, I am back from a long bloggy hiatus. Unfortunately, the main reason I've not been posting is because I've not been doing much worthy of posts, not productive at all.

So I'm determined to get back on track with menu planning, nesting, and exercise. I completely missed my Before and After deadline--depending on how the weekend goes I might still enter a late submission.

But I'll leave you today with my Walgreens find. Printable coupon, $5 off $20 purchase, today and tomorrow. Here's my plan:

2 boxes Oreos, on sale 2/$5
1 gallon milk, on sale $3.59, plus $3 in register rewards when you buy both cookies and milk
3 boxes Kellogg's cereal, on sale 3/$7 less $1.70 in manufacturer's coupons
2 boxes Lipton tea, on sale 2/$5 less $.50 in manufacturer's coupons and plus $1 in register rewards

Grand total, $20.59
less coupons $7.20
less rewards $4.00
all of that for $9.39!

Checking in...

What a week! We had a fantastic time at Schlitterbahn, once we finally arrived. It took us almost 4 1/2 hours to get there, thanks to this mess. We were prepared for rain off and on during the day but it never came. The crowds were very small and by 4 pm we were just walking on the rides. As we were leaving the waterpark, Audrey said, "I could live here" in her very matter-of-fact way.

We ended up leaving a lot later than we wanted to so I didn't have time to check into my hotel before the Beth Moore conference. I changed in the car and then Josh suggested I take the contents of my suitcase and dump them in the totebag we had brought to Schlitterbahn so I wouldn't be rolling around the Alamodome like a (very disheveled) flight attendant. So picture me with my wet hair in a ponytail, wet spots on the butt of my cute trouser jeans from sitting on the wet towel, carrying this:

It's ginormous. This gave Candace much pleasure and she commented several times with variations of, "I can't believe you with the Ikea bag," and "You are just cracking me up with the Ikea bag." (It's 4 foot by 2 foot and is very noisy.) But I got her back when at the end of the conference Beth had us join hands with someone and look into their eyes for some good ole Stuart Smalley affirmation. You can know she was just loving that. We might make it a weekly exercise. (I can feel you squirming, Candace.)

The conference was so good--I particularly loved Beth's description of the afterlife and her assertion that we are going to live!--not just exist and be ghosts. It's called eternal life! I'd really like to get it on cd and let Josh listen to it (he has admitted that eternity kind of freaks him out).

We didn't have a ride home but in the hotel lobby ran into Amber and her friends who agreed to let us ride home. We had so much fun and ate about 3 days worth of calories at Pappasitos.

More later (this only covers Friday and Saturday), but wanted to share what we had for dinner last night. The other Cantonese Pork Tenderloin from the freezer, stir-fried in this pork fried rice. I also added corn, carrots, and peas and 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Very good and easy.

My favorite things...

Talking with Abbey yesterday I told her about the calendar my mom bought me for Christmas a couple of years ago that I can't live without now. It's a great pocket file folder calendar that hangs on our office wall. I liked it so much I bought three last year as Christmas gifts. It is just the right amount of organization for someone who likes a little order to their chaos, and that's why I think it's worked so well. Most systems I've tried are too organized and I'm not disciplined enough to keep up with it.

So here's how it works for us. When I flip to the new month I look at everything in the pocket, write little notes if I need to, and if it's really important for that week (i.e. a bill) I'll clip it to the front of the calendar. The best part of the calendar is that the months tear off into standard size real file folders, which is great if you are using it as a tax prep file or receipt tracker.

Here's what (was) in my August folder:

-the list of 19 library books I checked out due August 29 so I don't forget any
-my Gap bill of $48.54 due on August 15
-the Schlitterbahn tickets
-the Astros tickets we got in May
-Audrey's school supply list
-the adoption reference letter I'm bringing to Anna next week
-the Cub Club renewal user name and password
-my receipt to submit for reimbursement when we get the August Health Savings account statement
-a penny. no clue why.

Hope this helps if you're like me and have a million pieces of paper that have no home! And now, to illustrate the delicious irony of me giving organizational advice, a picture of the rest of my office.

Uh-oh. I think this just got added to my before and after.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

We tried these muffins last week (another winner from Melissa's notebooks) and they are delicious and a tiny bit healthy! Love them. The only downside is that they don't really dome up to give you a good muffin top. I halved the lemon zest.

Week 6: Monday Menus

I've been slacking on my menu planning and our food bill shows it.

Monday
pizza
We went to Houston for Sunday and Monday and Black Sarah was waiting for us with homemade pizza dough when we got back to Temple!

Tuesday
burgers at the French Quarter

Wednesday
Spaghetti

Thursday
White Chicken Chili

Friday
We're headed to Schlitterbahn with our free tickets from HEB and then I'm staying for the Living Proof Live conference in San Antonio.

The next time I get married...

I'm doing it here. Here are some shots from David and Sarah's wedding last weekend.

The happy couple...

Isn't this view spectacular?



The weather cooled off pretty quickly when the sun went down.


The groom's cake celebrated their first date.

Dad and me with Molly (in a taffeta dress Black Sarah made her). I'm tempted to close comments on this one in case Candace decides to gross me out.

Getting started earlier than I had planned...

Patrick decided to "help" me get started on the playroom but conveniently had to leave before his masterpiece was complete.

The before...

Here we go. This a list of super simple things about my house that have been bugging me. My goal is to get this list done by Labor Day.

How cute is this house plant Blonde Sarah bought me? I love its spikiness. Yet still it sits in its plastic container. So Task #1 will be to buy a cute planter for that.

Next will be my sad, lonely windows in the kitchen. I have some great fabric and I will probably do a mistreatment so I won't spend a ton of time or money on curtains that are very likely (okay definitely) apt to become home to some banana slices or a spray of ketchup.

Ugh. The playroom is killing me. I want to go through and box up or give away more than half of these toys and make all the grandparents solemnly swear to not give us any more. I also want to frame some big prints of the kids above this awesome chest Beth and Glen gave me.

This is the most ambitious. These bookcases are just ugly. I want to put away half the books, get some cute knick-knacks (much to Black Sarah's horror), and paint the backs of the shelves. Notice Audrey "posing like Mommy" in my before shot. I am not very skilled at making things like this look pretty so I will very likely have to call in some reinforcements.

Summer projects

Okay where did our summer go? Fur-fur and I had a long list of projects we were going to accomplish this summer. We had a lot of fun but didn't get much crossed off the list.

The whole reason I started this blog was to participate in BooMama's Before and After. Then it got postponed and a month later I still haven't finished anything on our list! So I'm determined to get cracking.

I'll start today by posting the stuff we did get done. Maybe it will inspire me to further greatness. (Stop laughing.)

Here's my favorite--we sewed on a bunch of cute ribbon and ric-rac on Sydni's curtains to jazz them up a bit.

I did buttonholes in these patio cushions so they could be tied on the chairs and not be blown all over the yard. Buttonholes are really easy on my new machine!

Here's Kendall's very belated birthday present. She's going to be weaned from the pacifier soon so hopefully this will be a good replacement. I thought this one was pretty but not as cuddly as I wanted it.

So I made this one which is super cuddly but not very cute.



So hopefully she can use the fuzzy one at home when she needs soothing and the chenille one out and about when she wants to look her best.

Last but not least, Beth helped me recover my dining room chairs. My good friend Joanna gave me this beautiful dining set but it had tonal cream on white striped fabric seats. In the two years we've had it we've managed green beans, chocolate, and maybe blood stains on the beautiful white fabric. So I found this tapestry at Hancock's on clearance for $5.99/yd and snatched it up. With the staple gun and electric screwdriver the whole thing took less time than an episode of Project Runway.

Tomorrow I'll post my before pictures for the Before and After projects.

Week 5: Monday Menus

better late than never, right?

Last night we had beef soft tacos with queso, salsa, and Spanish rice.

Tuesday:
burgers, oven fries, and Zummo links

Wednesday:
Burritos (stuffed with leftover taco meat and rice) topped with Ranchero Sauce

Thursday:
Chicken and Rice. Can I say I LOVE Uncle Ben's?

Friday:
Orzo Risotto with Buttery Shrimp. Melissa lent me 2 binders full of great recipes she's clipped from magazines and I want to try almost all of them!

I think Ella Grace likes her top...

Eating on a budget

I know my menus lately haven't been super budget-friendly, but they are improving! Believe it or not last year I was spending about $225 per week at the grocery store and I have that down to about $125 now. My vbf encouraged me to share some of my cheap eats. Last month we paid Audrey's annual preschool tuition bill so we were, how do you say?--tightening our belt. Here's what worked for us...

• Menu planning. This is the number one thing that helped immensely in keeping costs lower. It helped in making sure we use what's already in the freezer and pantry, plus also prevents that 6 pm panic that causes last-minute runs for take-out.
• Strategic use of leftovers. Monday night's roasted chicken turns into Tuesday night's chicken pot pie. Wednesday's taco filling turns into Thursday's taco soup.
• Double up. I pretty much don't make anything that I don't make a double recipe of and immediately stick half in the freezer. It's great for stretching dishes because sauces and pastas can really make things go further.
• Eggs, eggs, eggs. My favorite cheap source of protein. Quiches, fritattas, or good old "breakfast for dinner" is great. Who doesn't love pancakes? Oh, right, me.
• Go meatless. Twice a week try black bean quesadillas or briami.
• No leftovers for lunches. I got this idea from my major-mom-crush Kim R. It's much cheaper to prepare lunches (sandwiches, soups, salads, etc) than it is dinner, so the rule in their house is dinner leftovers are for dinner. So she typically cooks for two or three nights, and then has a fend-for-yourself night where everyone scavenges leftovers.
• Save fresh produce for a special treat. Frozen fruit and vegetables are excellent quality and usually are a better buy.

Any other tips?

Week 4: Monday Menus

Last week we pretty much stuck to the menu...though we did Chick-fil-A instead of red beans and rice. The roast chicken with bread salad I posted was awesome. So so good...try it! The recipe looks a little daunting (four pages long!) but it's very simple, she just explains the procedure very well.

The theme is this week is no oven again. Also a tiny bit healthy. (I have to fit into this dress this weekend!) Black Sarah will be here so grilled cheese and cereal won't do.

Here goes.

Monday

Seared Chicken with White Wine Sauce
This is basically just pan seared chicken with some white wine, butter, and chicken broth used to deglaze the pan drippings.

Tuesday

Steaks with Herbed Butter

Wednesday

Grilled Tilapia

Thursday
Red Beans and Rice

Friday
Sandwiches (chicken salad and roast beef)

Frugal Friday Edition #3

Just a couple of things for Frugal Friday...

Amazon is having a great Stride Rite sale. Check out these cute sandals for only $15 (regularly $32.95). When you add them to your cart they ring up an extra 20% off the list price, making them $12! I picked up these for Audrey for next spring (cost less than the cheap ones I got at Wal-Mart!).

Pottery Barn Kids has this stocking and it would be a great baby gift for only $5.99--I would leave it un-monogrammed so it could be used for future younger siblings.
This isn't exactly a steal, but I'm in love with this apron and it's on sale!

Target has lots of shoes 75% off. We found these for $5.50 today.

Also HEB has split chicken breasts at an almost-unheard-of $1/lb. These are skin-on, bone-in, which I actually greatly prefer to boneless skinless for the extra flavor the skin imparts during roasting and the bone during poaching.

Frugal Friday preview

Couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase, good today only at Walgreens. Not as good as the previous ones ($5 off $15) but still good.

Here's what I got.

Jumbo pack of Pampers $9.49 less $1.50 manufacturer's coupon
3 2-packs of Sharpie permanent markers (buy 1 at $1.99 get 2 free)
2 boxes Saltines (2/$4)
1 box Wheat Thins ($2) less $.50 manufacturer's coupon
1 box Ritz crackers ($2)
1 box Triscuits ($2) [buy $10 of Nabisco crackers get $3 in register rewards]
2 wireless notebooks (2/$.99) [I keep these in the car for Audrey to color in.]

Grand total before tax was $20.47, less $5 coupon left me with $15.47 plus $3 in register rewards for when I send Josh back tonight! (one coupon per person)

In my dreams...

Oh wow, got the new J. Crew catalog yesterday and I am in love.

The perfect twist on a little black dress...

In the catalog it's shown without the rosette belt which I prefer.


These shoes are adorable, I'd love them in bright blue.


I'll take this skirt in bright rhubarb,
and this bag.


Audrey would look adorable in this.



Now I just need to come up with a few thousand to blow on over-priced clothes!

Phthalates Ban to take effect in 6 months...

Mark it down, friends. I agree with Dianne Feinstein about something.
Washington Post reported yesterday:

Congressional negotiators agreed yesterday to a ban on a family of toxins found
in children's products, handing a major victory to parents and health experts
who have been clamoring for the government to remove harmful chemicals from
toys.

Senator Feinstein is sponsoring the legislation that would ban three different types of phthalates from children's products and restrict three additional types.

I started cleaning out our products with phthalates (pronounced thal-ates) last year when I read about this study of human babies with elevated phthalates levels. Phthalates evidently act as estrogenic and decrease anogenital distance and impair testicular function. Yikes! I want grandchildren, people!!

They are everywhere. Basically if a vinyl or plastic is flexible and doesn't say PVC-free and phthalate-free on the label, it's toxic. So here were a couple of the primary culprits in our house...

teethers, bath toys,

vinyl books, cute little turtles,
vinyl bibs,


and, *sniff, sniff*, nail polish.

That's right. I have to officially withdraw my endorsement of my favorite nail protein. Months ago I went to Target and stocked up on phthalate-free nail polish and it's been okay, not great--it does chip pretty fast. I guess I didn't think (or want to think) that--duh!--my two week nail treatment would be poison too.

It doesn't stop with flexible plastics. Most cosmetics and soaps that have that catch-all ingredient "fragrance" contain phthalates. So let's clean house!

Naptime Bribery

I've finally found something to help Audrey transition to nap time. I've been telling her for a while that if she goes to sleep with no whining and no crying we'll have a movie party with popcorn on the couch when she wakes up. We've done this for weeks with no luck, then all of a sudden, she got it! I think it helped that everytime she asked to watch tv or surf the web, I said, "Sure, hon, if you're sweet at naptime you can play--would you like that?" Three times now she has gladly jumped in bed for a chance for a popcorn party.

So I'm thrilled, right? You would think. But I really hate her watching a movie everyday--and there's no way she'd settle for a 30 minute TV show. I've tried 30 minutes of computer time but she still greatly prefers the movie/popcorn combination. Maybe I'll try and portion it out and the popcorn party will be 20 minutes or so of her favorite movie. Any other ideas?

Week 3: Monday Menus

Here's what's on for this week--trying not to use the oven much since it's been so SO hot.

Monday

Beef stroganoff

Yep, it's been on schedule for three weeks in a row but never actually happens. We'll try again today!

Tuesday

Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad

Wednesday

Cantonese Pork Tenderloin

Thursday

Paninis with leftover pork and chicken

Friday

Shrimp tacos

I add crumbled bacon to these to make them like the ones at our favorite taqueria.

Another cute find...

Just tried on this dress at Ann Taylor Loft and it's adorable.

It's also the softest, lightest, most comfortable garment I've tried on in a long while. But because I had a huge lunch it felt a little bit maternity, which made it easy to resist. They are evidently stocking a new designer called Trulli--it had different tags than everything else. I'd love to see what else Trulli has to offer!

Train them right...

I left Audrey alone downstairs for a little bit while I changed Clark and put him down for nap yesterday afternoon. I came downstairs and Audrey had dragged the chair over to the Kitchen-Aid mixer and pulled out the chocolate chips, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and vanilla. She has the entire chocolate chip cookie recipe memorized.


Yes, while some of you parents are teaching things like manners, ABCs, and Bible verses, we are mastering the finer art of "licking the paddle attachment." It was so cute. She said, "Mom I have an idea! Let's make chocolate chip cookies all together! I'll get the eggs." She also pulled out the cinnamon and said, "Is this for chocolate chip cookies or for French toast? I can't remember. Sorry, Mom, I forgot."


Here's my little chef stuffing her face with chocolate chips.

Yes, if you are wondering, cookies taste better if you bake them sans clothing. (Maybe this is why Natalie is having trouble replicating my recipe?)

So we made chocolate chip cookie dough for the third time in ten days. This is really not good for my waistline, but I figured it would give me a chance to incorporate some of the suggestions in this NYT article about the endless "perfect chocolate chip cookie" debate.

Frugal Friday Edition #2

EDITED TO ADD:
Christine from Michael's in Temple just called and said they are running a 60% off special on custom framing until August 2nd. Just come in and tell them that you want Christine's special! Perfect timing to get some of these beauties framed.

Check out these elephant pajamas I got at Gap Kids this week...



They are still priced high online but in Waco they were marked down to $4.89--I had a coupon that knocked them to $3.78!



HEB has a couple of can't miss deals too...



and peaches for $.77/lb. If they're ripe I'm making French Peach Pie.




Express has a printable coupon for $10 off a $20 purchase this weekend.


And there are still a few days left to use your Lowe's Visa coupon $10 off $25 purchase (sign up here).