MomAdvice Weekly Recap: 02.29.08

Another week and another month behind us! I just want to thank everyone who continues to support my efforts here. Your comments and emails totally make my day.

This is what I have been up to for this week:

Featured Article:

Spring Cleaning for Todays Mom- With spring comes all of the beauty of the changing season. We finally began to see our grass; we enjoy seeing the new buds on our trees, and the sweet smell of a good April shower. What also comes along is the dreaded ritual of spring cleaning. Maybe you went through this awful experience as a child. Your mother would be pulling all the linens, washing the drapes, deep cleaning every nook and cranny of your home and then collapse after a full day of cleaning. I don’t remember this as being a fun ritual for our family and have decided to try a different method of cleaning in our own home.....Continue Reading

Blog Entries for Fun & Discussion:

Staying Fashionable Through Ebates- I love to be fashionable, but I just don't have the money to keep up with the trends. I share some thrifty spots to visit for your fashion needs and an easy way to earn money towards your clothes (or shoes!) ...Continue Reading

A Sad Life for the Clark Kids- Lots of Chores! - Do your children lead as sad of a life as mine? We are having such a fun discussion on what chores you do in your house and rewards that you offer for good behavior...Continue Reading

Baby Steps: Storing Your Stockpile- We continue our series with a fun discussion on how to store your grocery stockpiles... Continue Reading

Testing the Grocery Game: Week One- Watch me make mistake after mistake trying to figure out how to use coupons. How entertaining does that sound? Continue Reading

Don't miss a single entry and subscribe to my feeds! We have made it easy for you to do it- you are just a click away!

Giving Away the Mother Load!

Hurry-don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted.

We will be offering another AMAZING giveaway on Tuesday and adding a fun new feature to our site. I am bursting- can't wait to share it with you!

Featured Recipe of the Week:

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Forum Discussions:

Have any of you taught your babies sign language? If so, was your experience positive? Are there specific web sites or books you would recommend? I am working with my daughter on a few signs, and sometimes she makes the signs for "eat" and "more". I think it would be helpful if I had some good resources...I love the idea of teaching her to sign words before she can say them, so she can tell me what she wants. She has just gotten to the stage where she points to everything and is starting to get impatient when I don't understand what she wants... Join the Discussion

I was wondering if anyone has had any success at earning a little extra income with Online Surveys? I've been checking out a few sites, but I really have no idea where to even start.. Join the Discussion


Play it Again, Momma! (A Spring Cleaning Edition)

Did you miss these posts the first time around? Here they are for your reading pleasure!

Washin' The Washer

Washing Your Child's Lovie

Organizing Your Laundry Room

Caring for Your Table Linens


Not enough of me yet?

WSBT: The Art of Stockpiling
Frugal Hacks: Spring Cleaning & Organizational Hurdles

Freebie Friday: February 29, 2008

A big hug and thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping us compile our list this week. You don't have to wait to get your freebies on Friday, she will keep you supplied until you can get a freebie fix here.

Don't know what to do with all your freebies? Check out some of Heather's excellent recommendations for what to do with all of your free loot. Thanks, Heather!

Health & Beauty

Sunsilk

Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-Lift (Walmart sample)

Colgate's Healthy Bedtime Habits log (earn a free toothbrush)

Lacoste Essential men's cologne

ZingiberRx Joint and Muscle cream

Food

Celestial Seasonings Book Club Starter Kit (with 2 tea box UPCs)

True Lemon

Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles

Garlic Gold

Wyeth S-26 Gold Toddler (milk drink)

Steeped In Style Tea (you do not need to put in a company name or telephone number)

Full Size Box of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta (Note- To take advantage of this, you have to buy a box TODAY and send in a rebate form. Receipt must be mailed in by 03/15 for the refund)

Entertainment

"Beautiful Children" novel by Charles Brock (free download Friday only)

Home & Garden

Pledge Multi Surface Wipes

2X Ultra Tide with Dawn (P&G sample)

Green Engine Oil

Microsoft ebook on starting your own business (download is on the left-hand side of the page)

Sprout Smart Child's Tableware Set (page is loading a little slow)

Pet Care

Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness (Walmart sample)

Purina Cat Chow Healthful Life (Walmart sample)

Zootoo pet community (members get free samples)

The Pet Pantry

4everPets Dog and Cat supplements

Have a Blog? Need Some Fuel?

Mashable shares that Joffery's Coffee & Tea company is offering bloggers a chance to sample their new coffee flavor... for free. 10,000 spots are available to "beta test" their new flavor. Not only that, but you can add a link to your blog on their site. I was number 399 when I signed up so there are definitely spots still available. Read their post to get the full scoop.

Thanks to my hubby for sending this freebie my way! He knows how happy coffee makes me!

Practically Free Breakfast

Be sure to hit your local McDonald's for breakfast this morning or tomorrow morning. In honor of the Leap Year, they are giving away free McSkillet Burritos with the purchase of a medium or large drink.

I went over today and although their advertisement said that they were offering only the sausage variety for free, I got a steak one for free (never hurts to ask!) Pair your free burrito with a $1 large sweet tea and you have a deliciously delicious and fattening breakfast.

I just polished off the burrito and ohmygoodness...it is truly heaven! Honestly, it was the best breakfast burrito I have ever eaten. I am not a breakfast person, but this really hit the spot.

Enjoy!

Amy's Notebook 02.28.08

I love this step-by-step tutorial for roasting a chicken. I want to try her seasoned rub- it looks tasty (@ The Sparrow's Nest)

This one hour project for making a bag looks great! (@ Ric Rac)

This milk jug chandelier is amazing- I would have never thought to repurpose these in this way (@ shelterrific)

I bet my children would love these sesame fish sticks (@ Simply Recipes)

I love this idea to turn your yogurt containers into sippy cups (@ Life Hacker)

I love the photography tips in this post and can't wait to try some of them (@ Dutch Blitz)

This post on food brand loyalty really got me thinking (@ Cheap Healthy Good)

This bagel recipe looks delicious. Must. Make. Bagels. (@ My Paper Crane)

I need to make a clothespin bag for the spring- these free patterns are great (@ Tip Nut)

These toilet paper race cars look like a fun craft to do with my son (@ The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman)

I want to try this homemade banana ice cream recipe- it sounds delicious (@ Blissfully Domestic)

I love these gift ideas- especially the newspaper one (@ Ohdeedoh)

I need to try this recipe for lemon poppyseed scones (@ Be It Ever So Humble)

I love this allowance idea (@ Free Money Finance)

This 20 minute apron is too cute (@ the Loria Family Dialogues)

I am going to be adopting this birthday party table in our house (@ Like Merchant Ships)

I love this idea for making a utility tub skirt. It would certainly mask the paint drips in our tub (@ shelterrific)

This homemade bowling pin set sounds like a fun activity for these long winter days (@ Chocolate on My Cranium)

I love this idea for learning how to draw dinosaurs with your kid. Guaranteed a cool mom award if I learned this (@ GoodyBlog)

I think I might make some Easter gardening baskets this year (@ The Felt Mouse)

Homemade Hostess Cakes? These sound amazing (@ Smitten Kitchen)

Testing The Grocery Game: Week One

This is my first week trying out the Grocery Game and really working towards building our stockpile through coupons and sale prices. I promised to chronicle my efforts here and I really appreciated all of your ideas and feedback on your coupon usage and what has been working for you.

Here we are in week one of my Grocery Game membership. Frankly, week one with this membership really stinks. I feel like I do when I go on other websites that offer a "free basic membership," but then they only extend certain offers and the premium members get all of the good stuff. The reason is, of course, because I have none of the coupons that are listed for these good deals, not because I don't have access to seeing the deal.

This week I diligently cut my coupons and then explored the official list of deals. The CVS listings were nothing new and were things that I could find elsewhere on the web. The deals for Kroger & Meijer did offer some insight into great deals that I could take advantage of...if I had coupons from January. I took note of some of the sale items that I had overlooked when I had flipped through my flier though, and decided to stock up on the items that were the best deals for the week.

A local supermarket (Martin's Supermarket for the local folk!) had a 12 for $10 sale advertised this past week so I took advantage of that as well since I am trying to build my stockpile.

In the interim, I cleaned out my purse and gathered up all of the receipts from past grocery visits and put them into my price book (Side Note: We offer a free printable one here!) It had been awhile since this had been updated and I happened to have a few receipts from Aldi to input. I put these in, since ultimately this is about whether or not I do better with coupons or with Aldi.

For this week, I stocked up on:

Martin's Supermarket:

(6) Aunt Millie's 100% Whole Wheat Bread
(6) Store Brand Frozen Vegetables (baby peas, broccoli, corn)
Total Cost: $10

Meijer Supermarket:

10 pounds of apples- $4 (Side Note- This should have been six pounds, but I thought the bag I picked was the smaller bag and told them that the price was wrong. Oops! I ended up with an extra four pounds of apples for the advertised price. I was a little overzealous in my flier efforts, not attempting to be dishonest.)
13 pounds split chicken breasts bone on- $.99 per pound
Total Cost: $17

This first week I did not use coupons, but did take advantage of listed sales that I might not have seen as an amazing deal without the assistance of the list. The coupons that I could have used for this week were for items I would not typically buy (convenience foods, frozen foods, crap foods) and I plan to stick with what I feel is in the best interest of our family's diet and what we would normally buy.

I am looking forward to week two on the program, and feel very good about updating my price book and starting our stockpile. I also am looking forward to making some great dishes with the chicken breasts. I have to also sheepishly admit that the apples look much better than my past couple of bags I have gotten from Aldi (which have went bad in just a couple of days). The kids kept saying, "They are so pretty and shiny!"

If you would like to join me in exploring the program, my referral id is amy@momadvice.com!

Staying Fashionable Through Ebates

I have had an obsession with Ebates for a long time and lemme tell you that I am doing the happy dance every single time I get my check from them. Each person I refer, I get a $5 referral fee and, in turn, the person who signs up also gets a $5 credit into their account. I won't go on and on about it (you can read my experience here if you are interested or just sign up for one of your own accounts- amy@momadvice.com for the referral id), but I have been really happy with the program. This is one of the rare times where I really appreciate the referral programs because it is truly rewarding for me.

A few days ago, I got an email letting me know that another big fat check was on its way. This is my fun money that I get to spend on stuff I want, but don't necessarily need (To date, I have received almost $250 with the company!) . As soon as that check hit the mailbox, it was deposited and spent within two days. Yup, that is how I roll!

What does a girl like me spend her fun money on? SHOES! Oh yeah! And a new SPRING COAT! Neither were necessarily needed, but they really make me happy.


I found this coat at Forever 21. I am not impressed with the quality of the clothes usually, but I inspected this coat throughly before purchasing it. You can usually tell if a company backs the work that they do up with a good return policy. They don't take returns- they will only exchange the merchandise with the tags still on it and they will never ever refund your money. Just to make sure I didn't miss this, the girl circled the return policy on the receipt. This is a red flag to me about companies, so just a warning...check your loot before you leave that store, otherwise you are stuck with it. I will be discussing this option more next week when I share tips for being fashionable in our Baby Steps series.


This coat covers my less-than-desirable assets, as it hits about mid-thigh. It has an empire waist, but doesn't balloon like a maternity top. The arms are the cutest part about it as it they flare out a bit. I also love the cute lining (not that anyone sees the lining), but I adore details like that.

A company that gets an A++ for great quality is Payless Shoes and their styles out for spring are super cute. If it has been awhile since you have been in there, it is worth the trip. They carry a line of American Eagle shoes that are so cute, I can hardly stand it. Try and go when they have their buy-one-get one sales and you can come out with some amazing deals.
I needed to replace my black flats from last year and I loved this style with a little side buckle. They are almost identical to my flats last year, but I couldn't resist another pair. They go good with everything and they are super comfy too.

These shoes are the cutest shoes ever. Red flats, cute ribbon, suede toe...what's not to love? They make me so happy and are my one pair of fun shoes for spring....oh, and they match my coat too! Gotta love that!

These are my "Sporty Spice" shoes. My husband says they look like the first pair, but CLEARLY these are entirely different, and only resemble the first pair because they are the same color. These are my momma-had-a-hard-day-and-is-running-children-everywhere shoes. They have a rubber heel on the bottom and offer great momma-had-a-hard-day support.

All these were free thanks to Ebates and my big fat check. I thank them for keeping me fashionable and keeping me on budget.

Top 100 PF Blogs

FIRE Finance has released a new list for the top 100 PF blogs. We didn't get on the list last time, but had hoped to be included in this round. As I hunted towards the bottom of the list though, I didn't see us and was really disappointed. I didn't even think to check towards the top, but after scanning the page for awhile I finally found us listed. We are listed as #8 on one list and #12 on another. Sweet! Check this list for some of the best bloggers in town and add them to your feeds. We humbly bow and congratulate Get Rich Slowly for scoring the top spot.

Currently FIRE Finance is running a contest for a giveaway of Robert Shemin's book "How Come That Idiot's Rich & I'm Not?" This title will be released on March 4, 2008. So this is a fantastic opportunity to win this book totally free. Head over there and get your entries in!

Many thanks to FIRE Finance for including us!

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Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted. Much luck to everyone!

Baby Steps Series: Storing Your Stockpile

Awhile ago we had a fun discussion on what you consider to be a small space and it was a great glimpse into what everyone's space challenges were and how much space each of us were taking up. I love to see how big people's homes are in relation to their family size and also the satisfaction that they have with the space they already have.

Just to make the story a little more fun, I had mentioned that I thought our home was 1,800 square feet because that is what my husband kept telling me. When we would flip through the home catalogs everything was in comparison of what we had ("Oh, that house is only 2,000 square feet? Well, that is only 200 square feet bigger than what we already have").

As we were working on our office organization though, we came across some paperwork from buying our house. My husband had a shocked look on his face as he flipped through the paperwork. "Our house isn't 1,800 square feet....it is only 1,500 square feet." Suddenly the walls were closing in on us and we huddled together in our teeny tiny office space in our teeny tiny shack of a house and shuddered in disbelief that all this time we only had this amount of space.

Of course, that is all melodramatic and I continued to pat ourselves on the back for making this amount of space work for us. No, we have no plans for moving into a bigger space, but I just wanted to use this point to illustrate that our house is not large, nor is it small. In this area of town, our house is considered on the small end. When we lived in Massachusetts, we would have felt VERY blessed to have a home of this size. Space is all relative!

Regardless of size, I have true storage dilemmas with my home, in general, due to the tri-level floor plan of this house. The house is broken into three levels and we also have a basement (in some parts of the country it is referred to as a quad). A broken floor plan like this leaves me with zero storage space and small rooms so stockpiling can be difficult in my space. I do have a basement and a garage though so feel that I am at an advantage compared to someone who might be renting a space or live in a home without these two luxuries. And yes, I do consider having my basement and garage to be a luxury as we have lived in spaces without either of these blessings.

I am going to share some ideas for ways to store your stockpile and am opening the floor up to you to share what your storage dilemmas have been and ways you have (if you have) overcome those dilemmas in a creative way. It should be a fun discussion and I am looking forward to sharing with you!

Today we are talking about how to store your stockpiled groceries. In future discussions, I would love to share about what to do with other stockpiles you might be storing in your house (children's clothing, toiletries, etc...), but today we will focus on the grocery aspect.

Here are some ideas for ways to store your stockpile:

- First, begin by organizing your pantry and getting rid of the items you are not using. Too often, there is space for stockpiled items, but they are being used by items that are wasting your valuable space. I have found that grouping items in totes makes it easier for me to pull out what I need when I need it, keeping the like items together and preventing items from getting lost in the shuffle. Organize the space you have to create space for all that you want to stockpile.

- One of the first places to look is at the closets that you already have in your home. While not all of us are blessed with a closet in the kitchen, some closets that are not being used can be repurposed into a more usable space. Walk around in your house and really take a look at the closets that you have and see if they are being used to the best of their ability. Try and see if there is another place for the stuff in your closet (or get rid of items that you do not use) and measure the inside of it to see how many shelves you could fit into that space. If you head over to your local hardware store, you should be able to find wired shelving that can be cut to match the size of your closet. Durable wire shelving inserted into a rarely used closet can equal an affordable solution for storing your stockpile.

- Look at the doors to your closet as a place to also store items. Hardware stores offer units that can be mounted on the door for storing your canned goods. This space is rarely used, but is an excellent place for you to store items that you are stockpiling. Likewise, the dollar stores offer over-the-door storage with plastic pocketed units that can be great for storing spices, spice packets, trail mixes, nuts, etc...

- Basements and garages are ideal spaces for stockpile storage, particularly for families who are lacking space in their kitchen itself. Try to pick a space that is easy to get to so that you can make the most of your stockpile. In a basement, for example, putting your stockpile at the bottom of the stairs so items can be grabbed easily rather than a far off or less lit corner in your basement. For a garage, storing items closest to the kitchen instead of having to walk the length of the garage would be more ideal. You can use wired shelving in these spaces, bookshelves, mount 2x4's- whatever is cheapest and easiest for you to use.

- Under your beds can be a great storage spot for stockpiles. Although it certainly isn't ideal, it is a more creative way to use space that is rarely used. If your bed is too low, you can purchase bed risers to raise the bed to give you more space underneath. You can purchase under-the-bed storage containers and fill these with canned goods or other items that you like to stockpile or tuck items in your rarely used suitcases or bags for a free storage solution.

- A freezer is a wise investment for anyone who is looking to stockpile their groceries. In some cases, such as rental space, a freezer might not be an option, but if it is, I have found it to be a very smart investment. If you do not think you have the space for a full-size chest freezer, Sears carries a model that is half the standard size and perfect for smaller spaces or for small families that would not need such a large freezer. We purchased this freezer for our small townhouse and we love it. Less seems to get lost in the bottom depths, but we are also able to keep it filled with stockpiled items that I have gotten from the grocery store. Consider buying one of these to help save your family money.

- In smaller spaces, it might be necessary to split your stockpiled items up in various areas around the house. A shelf in the basement, a little space in the garage, a corner in a closet, stuff under the bed...it can spell a recipe for disaster if you don't have tight tabs on what you have stockpiled. Try keeping a list of all of the items that you have and tacking it on your refrigerator. Periodically, do an inventory of the items you have so you don't end up repeatedly buying diced tomatoes, for example, when you already are storing forty cans. An inventory list can help decrease some of the confusion and be a great way to help you decide exactly what you will be eating in the coming weeks.

Sound Off: Where do you store your stockpiled groceries? What else would you like to see covered in our "Baby Steps" series? Help us keep this going!

A Sad Life for the Clark Kids- Lots of Chores!

Chores are an important task in the Clark household and one of the benefits about our children getting older is that they can pitch in more. Since most chores seem to fall in the lap of mommy, I am thrilled that chores haven't lost their novelty yet and that my son loves to help mommy get things done around here.

Do I know that the novelty will wear off soon? Of course! I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Here are some reasons why chores are important in my house:

- I am grooming my child to someday be a self-sufficient adult. I don't want my kid going to college and not knowing how to make himself/herself a sandwich, do a load of laundry, or have to be dependent on the people around them.

- I want my kids to know that we are a family unit and in a family unit, it is important for everyone to pitch in. Occasionally, I will hear my son say that he is "bored" with chores or "too tired" to help me out. That is tough luck in this house because everyone has to put forth an effort so that we can ALL enjoy having a clean and organized home.

- Chores are a great teaching opportunity. Sorting clothing by colors teaches your child to group colors together, folding clothing helps them build fine-motor skills, working at a fast pace (setting a timer for completing certain tasks) can be a fun way to exercise.

- I want my son to be a catch someday. Yeah, I am looking waaaaayyyy down the road, but that is sometimes in the back of my mind. What girl would not want to marry someone who knew how to wash his own laundry, could whip up a lovely dinner for her, or who picked up after himself? Those are attributes that would have been on my list when choosing a mate and I want my son to have those kind of attributes too...not only for himself, but for whoever he might end up with someday.

Here are what chores we do in our house:

- My son ( 5 yr old) has to get himself dressed in the morning, put his pajamas in his hamper, and make his bed before coming downstairs.

- He helps me prepare the evening meal and helps set the table for our dinner.

- Emily (2 yr old) & Ethan both have to help pick up their toys before they go to bed in the evening. We put on fast and crazy dance music, set the timer for ten minutes, and the whole family pitches in to pick up the playroom.

- On house cleaning day, Ethan is responsible for picking up his room for me to vacuum and dust it and he has to make sure the playroom is in order. We typically clean while my daughter lays down for her nap so this is a solo operation. I have moved my cleaning day to coincide with our Friday night family night. Basically, it is total bribery and we have to get the playroom picked up so that they can have a pizza and a movie with mommy and daddy. It works out really well.

- Ethan sorts our laundry. I line the hampers up and the baskets and he sorts the laundry for me. He also helps fold the laundry when I wash it.

Here is what I had to overcome in order for this to work in our house:

- Teaching chores is a tedious process, but it is worth the time and effort spent. It took him awhile to get the hang of sorting the loads so we would start with a "question" pile which saved us all time. If he didn't know where something went, he would put that in a separate pile and we would talk about each item as we threw it in the correct basket.

- Things will not be done perfectly and I needed to get over that. When my son helps fold the laundry, it is not going to look like I folded the laundry, or like when I set the table, or have all the toys exactly where I would have put them. This is when you take your "mommy dearest" issues down a notch and enjoy being a mom and having someone to help you.

- I try to use our chore opportunities, not as a time to direct, but to talk with my kids. As we work on putting dinner together and setting the table, we talk about our day at school. It isn't always this way, but I try to reserve this special time with them.

Sound Off: What chores do your children do and what are their ages?

WSBT-TV: The Art of Stockpiling

Today on my Frugal Mom segment on WSBT, I wanted to chat a bit about my Baby Steps series and our first topic that we tackled... the art of stockpiling. I wanted to illustrate some of the ways that people can begin making progressive steps towards saving their family money in their weekly grocery budget. If you missed this first post in our series, you can read it here!

Continuing our written series here, tomorrow we will be discussing how and where you can store your stockpiled groceries. Be sure to check back for another riveting piece on groceries.

And if you aren't tired enough of the grocery topic, we will also be watching a mom who hates to cut coupons, cutting coupons and attempting a fun four week trial of the grocery game.

Who needs television when you can have all that entertainment? And I also wonder out loud...does the topic of saving on groceries ever get old? I hope not!

Frugal Hacks: Spring Cleaning & Organizational Hurdles

Today on Frugal Hacks, I wanted to explore what might be preventing people from entertaining in their homes. I reflected that if people were anything like me, it might be because chaos and disorganization can rule the roost and I am too embarrassed to have anyone over. Does this ring true with anyone else?

Please head over to Frugal Hacks and share what your biggest challenge is in your home! I am going to be working through these issues in my own home and try to share some helpful tips for creating a space that you would want to entertain in. As I tackle my spring cleaning, I can share my experiments through embarrassing photos and wordy descriptions. Who wouldn't come back for that?

It should make for an interesting month!

Redbox Code 02.25.08

Today's free code for a Redbox movie is 26LBYS. This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight. Enjoy a free family movie together!

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different accounts to charge to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.

Saturday Morning Treat: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday treats was a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll. My mom would make these for us on Saturdays and we always fought over the ones that had the most frosting. Sadly, it was such a thrill when my dad worked in the mornings because that meant that there would be two extra rolls for us to fight over. Who could resist those rolls and the simple pleasure of having a sweet treat once a week?

I still love those cinnamon rolls, but at $1.69 a roll, they are an unnecessary addition to the grocery budget. What I do have though is flour and sugar, purchased in bulk, and a bread machine that can turn out cinnamon roll dough like nobody's business. I figured I was on to something and decided to give it a shot and figure out if I could replicate my Saturday morning experience. It took a couple of Saturdays to tweak this recipe, but I finally am satisfied with the results. Lucky for me, my family didn't mind being the guinea pigs so I have gotten this down pat for your dining pleasure!

To make my dough, I used the recipe from the homemade hamburger buns, except that I increased the sugar to 1/3 cup. I ran the dough cycle on my bread machine and when it beeped, I had the perfect dough for rolling.

I rolled the dough out into a 12x15 rectangle and then spread it with the following filling:

Cinnamon Roll Filling

1/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Spread the softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this all over the dough and then use your hands to gently press the filling in. Take the edge of the dough and begin rolling it up. Roll it tightly and slowly, being careful to keep all the filling inside. At this point you should have a long log that you can cut your rolls from. You can wrap the dough with plastic and store in the fridge overnight or you can slice your rolls (should make ten large rolls) and put them on your cookie sheet or pizza stone. Store in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pull the rolls out and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, immediately drop the temperature to 375 degrees and put the rolls in the oven. Cook these for approximately 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the rolls are cooking, I just make a frosting out of powdered sugar and water (I don't measure this, but approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar to 1-2 tablespoons water mixed together should do ya!) When the rolls are done, drizzle your frosting over the rolls and serve them warm or room temperature (although they are best warm)

Amy's Notes-

- The first time I made these, I put them on a pizza stone and they cooked very evenly. The second time, I popped them in a 9x13" pan and only the ones on the outside got done. I would recommend placing these either on a cookie sheet (with a nice lip) or on a pizza stone.

- When you slice the cinnamon rolls, you can slice them with a knife or you can use dental floss and cut them that way. I find the dental floss to be a little more tedious so I stuck to slicing with the knife and reshaping the dough afterwards.

- The best part about making these cinnamon rolls is that you can vary the sizes and I can make mini-versions of the rolls for the little kids and tuck these in the center of the batch so that they don't get overdone. The kids love these mini versions and I control the amount of sugar they are getting. Just give them a teeny drizzle of frosting and they will be set!

- You can reheat these in the microwave for a nice snack in the evening or for breakfast the next day. Place on a microwave-safe plate and zap for about twenty seconds. Makes a great mommy snack with a cup of coffee!

Sound Off: What is a favorite Saturday morning treat in your house?

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Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted. Much luck to everyone!

Testing the Grocery Game

Our discussion on stockpiling really got me thinking about ways that I could continue to save our family money on our grocery budget. I had been wanting to test the Grocery Game program out ever since I read a story on it in a Mary Hunt publication years ago, and what better time than now to test it?

The Grocery Game is a paid membership to receive a weekly list of groceries to buy, combining rock-bottom sale prices with your coupon cutting from your weekly newspaper. "Terri's List" has a list of everything you should be stockpiling and her personal software tracks the trends of sales for each grocery store, alerting you when you should be stockpiling certain items. They offer a weekly list that tells you all of the advertised and unadvertised sales that are occurring within your local stores. This paid membership supposedly makes it easier for you to track the deals and cash in your coupons at the absolute best time.

I think it is important for me to be honest about what I am going into this program with though so here are a few known truths about Amy:

- I am not a coupon-clipper, except for the occasional CVS trip, and prefer living my life without cutting coupons. For me, I have not seen the value in it because I do so well with our money without coupons.

- Coupons, in the past, have lead me down some destructive paths and have actually ended up costing me more money than saving me. I would see a coupon for, "Hamburger Helper," for example, and then buy it...even though we didn't normally buy this product or really have a need for it in our pantry. What was supposed to save me money, actually ended up costing me more money and I came home with products that I would not typically buy.

- I am an Aldi shopper. Most of my regulars know this, but I thought I would mention it. This would mean that I would have to venture out of my safety zone and excuses that you can't beat their prices, and actually explore some other supermarkets. Aldi does not take coupons so I have never felt the urge to clip.

Now that you know what I am going into the program with, you will understand that I have some low expectations for how well I will do, but I thought it would be some great entertainment to see me struggling with my coupons and lists, trying to buy groceries practically for nothing.

I began by signing up for my membership. They offer a $1 trial program for four weeks so I signed up for that (Referral ID should-you-so-chose is amy@momadvice.com). I was a little worried how many stores they would offer in our area, but they did have listed Kroger, Meijer, Walgreens, & CVS. I signed up for those stores and got all of my information plugged in to begin my account.

The cost for a membership after the $1 deal is broken down by the amount of lists you would sign up for. The pricing is, $10 every 8 weeks for the first store list you choose, and $5 every 8 weeks for each additional store list (if more than one store list is available in your area). Example: 1 store list: $10 every 8 weeks, 2 store lists: $15 every 8 weeks, 3 store lists: $20 every 8 weeks.

It begins with an introduction to the program and basically states that it will take approximately 12 weeks for you to really build your initial stockpile. It also will take 12 weeks for you to be able to cash in on all of the coupon deals because they will be referring to coupon packets from the months previous, so when you begin you don't really get the full benefits of the program. You are just supposed to keep clipping and clipping each week and stockpiling what you can through those initial weeks until your coupon file is as fat as it needs to be and you can really begin cashing in on the program.

I plan to primarily shop at Meijer and CVS because our Kroger was shut down. There is one nearby, but it would require more of an effort on my part. My new list will be published on Tuesday so today I clip all of my coupons, in preparation of my first list.

I am dusting off the old coupon organizer and getting my trusty scissors out- let the games begin!

Sound Off: Do you have any experience using a program like this? Do you coupon?

MomAdvice Weekly Recap: 02.22.08

Keeping up with everything can get overwhelming for me, so I imagine that as a new visitor, the site can put a person on overload.

I am going to start a weekly recap of activity on here, that might get missed in the shuffle, and highlight everything we have been up to.

Of course, no recap would be complete without a few highlights from our archives so I will include a couple of those too.

Please let me know if you find this helpful and if you would like me to continue this each week- I would really appreciate it!

New Article:

A Frugal Mom's Guide to Coffee- I have a hard time resisting a cup of coffee at a coffee shop. It isn’t just the coffee itself, but it is the act of going to get a cup of coffee, the soft music, and the break away from it all. If I am having a hard day with the kids or I just long for a small treat for myself, the first place I think of is the coffee shop. In some ways I have replaced my desire to shop with a desire to just have some quiet time alone with a delicious cup of hot coffee and a book....Continue Reading

Blog Entries for Fun & Discussion:

The Art of Stockpiling- I have started a series featuring baby steps that our readers can begin taking to work towards saving money. We begin our series with a discussion on stockpiling groceries...Continue Reading


Disney or Bust- We are asking for reader tips on how to save money on your Disney vacations. We share a site we found for doing Disney on a budget and we are asking for your help...Continue Reading

Giving Away the Mother Load!

Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted.

Featured Recipe of the Week:

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Forum Discussions:

I have been looking for a storage ottoman to keep games and books in our living area, but they seem to be on the expensive side. Any ideas of where to look or about restoring one? Join the Discussion

Do you have a daily schedule or do you just wing it?? I have a "flexible" schedule... don't have things broke down to the minute, but have a routine of things that I do each day. It really helps! I would love to see your plans. Join the Discussion


Play it Again, Momma!

Did you miss these posts the first time around? Here they are for your reading pleasure!

Foamy Soap

Broken Crayons Equal Good Fun

Sam's Club Click 'N Pull Review

Wholesale Club Shopping

Freebie Friday: February 22, 2008

Thank you to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping us this week! Heather was featured on Frugal Hacks this week in an interview with Kim and she talks about her Frugal Hacks experience here. Visit Heather's site throughout the week to get your freebie fix!

Health & Beauty

Dove Therapy Shampoo & Conditioner (Costco sample)

DentaBurst

Little Eyes Gentle Cleansing Wipes

Focus Dailies Contacts (Walmart sample)

Kotex Lightdays (Costco sample)

Brut Shave Free for Men

Boss fragrance for Men

Natural Solutions Magazine (samples for natural products)

6 Coty Fragrance Samples (from Walgreens)

Food

Stevita natural sweetener

WomenHeart $1 Donation (w/ Cheerios or 8th Continent codes)

Free chocolate fondue for two when you register with The Melting Pot

Entertainment

Canon Try Me Photo

Redbox Code: PRESIDENT for one free rental. Expires on 2/25 (I haven't tried this one).

Yes Magazine for Teachers (one year subscription)

Tennis Magazine (one year subscription)

Track Record Magazine

2 Plain White T's Downloads (click mp3s and then download the songs)

American Baby & Baby Talk Magazine (one year subscriptions)

Home & Garden

Ecover Washing-Up Liquid

Pet Care

Cesar Supreme dog food

Mark your calendars!! Between February 22-24, you can swing by ULTA and redeem a printable certificate for a free blush brush, blush, and a sample of foundation from Smashbox.

Mark your calendars!! Crate & Barrel Wedding Party Events – 1/27, 2/10, 17, 24 & 3/2, 9-11 a.m. Crate & Barrel introduces The Wedding Parties. If you’re about to be married, we’re throwing a party in your honor. Bring your partner or your friends. Our store is yours. Enjoy great food, drinks, music and our expert advice on registering. Our knowledgeable staff will be there to offer insight, support, plus home entertaining ideas for newlyweds and our newest registry guide. You’ll also receive a brilliant hand-blown glass bowl as our gift. To RSVP today, call a store near you.

Here's to the Heroes!!
Complimentary admission for active duty military representing all five service branches, active members of a reserve or National Guard unit, and/or up to three direct dependants. Valid for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year, to one of the following Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks:
o SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio
o Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg
o Sesame Place
o Aquatica
o Adventure Island
o Water Country USA
Offer valid between 1/1/2008 and 12/31/2008. Operating days and hours vary by park.
Please check with specific park for current operating schedule. Visit their site for more details!

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Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted. Much luck to everyone!

Amy's Notebook Q & A

Q: I love that you post these notebook entries every week, but I'm wondering what you do with them once they're compiled on your blog? (So many recipes and craft ideas that I wonder how you file them to be used)?

A: I started my notebook entries as a way to highlight some of the great sites on the internet and a way to track things that I would like to do. I don't anticipate ever doing all of the things in the notebook entries and some of the things that I highlight are really cool for other people, but not for me. For example, I love to see knitting projects, but I don't knit... yet! I just love to look at other people's great ideas and it inspires me to have a list of great crafts to try, recipes to use, and other inventive ideas of saving money. My notebook was a way to decrease linking to favorites on my browser because I was getting really overwhelmed with that. Now I can just go right to my virtual notebooks and find exactly what I am looking for.

I remember almost everything that is highlighted in my notebooks, but sometimes I like to just page through them to remember things I would like to do. If you click on the label at the bottom of the entries (Favorites or Notebook), it will bring up all of the entries that I have ever put together. This is a great way to just browse through all of the entries and have them all in one place.

If I want to do one project in particular I use the Ctrl + F and type in the project or recipe I am looking for. I find it to be the fastest way for me to search through the entries. You could also use the "search" on the left-hand side of our page and type in what you are looking for and it will bring up the entire entry that a particular project was featured in.

Q: Do you have a nifty blogging trick for posting lists of links like this? I'd like to do this on occasion, too, but find it so time consuming. I keep thinking there's got to be a better way...

I will not lie at all, these are INCREDIBLY time-consuming. Each of these entries was handpicked very lovingly and was included because I loved each of them so much. There are no bad eggs in these batches and I always try to highlight things that I think everyone will enjoy and include the things that are important to me. I try to pick a good match for our readers too- crafts, organizing projects, parenting ideas and projects, ways to save money, and thrifty solutions for your home.

What I do is start a notebook entry as soon as a notebook entry is done. I title a post and then I start literally the next day. I have found the easiest way to browse other blogs is using a feed reader. I add tons and tons of blogs to my feed reader and I read many religiously. If I see something that I think would be a good match for my notebook entry, I add it to the next week's entry. I basically compile all week long until I have a nice full notebook of ideas at the end of the week.

It is time-consuming, but I hope it is worth it! I also get lots of new readers through these entries that might not have found us otherwise. They have helped me build some great friendships and have been a fun way to highlight some of my favorite people in the blogging world!

Thank you for your questions!

Amy's Notebook 02.21.08

I am going to start saving my tin cans to organize my craft space (@ Laissezfaire)

I like these tips for information to leave for your babysitters. Great advice and something that I will need to work on (@ The Family CEO)

I want to try this homemade laundry soap recipe (@ disdressed)

This super hero book is too cool! (@ CraftyPod)

These button-tab hats are beautiful (@ I Like Lemons)

Now I am hungry for some homemade biscuits (@ Shelterrific)

I love these Scrabble Coasters- they would be a perfect addition to our family game nights (@ Craftzine)

I love this patterned key rack (@ Design*Sponge)

These bedside pockets would be great for some of my reading material (@ Knitty Vintage & Roses)

This idea for veneering an old table is so inventive (@ Daily Danny)

I am going to have to try this homemade finger paint recipe (@ ohdeedoh)

These brownie cups look delicious (@ The Sparrow's Nest)

I am going to have to make some Chicken Piccata one night for dinner (@ Simply Recipes)

Making homemade dog food in your slow cooker? That is something I would have never thought of (@ Wisebread)

I love this piece on voluntary simplicity- what a great reminder (@ Millionaire Mommy Next Door)

This homemade bread recipe looks divine (@ Money Saving Mom)

I want to try this raisin bread recipe too (@ INNside Innkeeping)

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Don't forget to enter our Ann Taylor LOFT Giveaway on The Motherloot! One lucky winner will win a beautiful maternity outfit of her choice. Please enter our giveaway by letting us know what your favorite outfit is by Monday, March 3rd at 8PM. Make sure that you provide a valid email address so you can be contacted. Much luck to everyone!

Baby Steps Series: The Art of Stockpiling

I decided that I would begin a series on our site sharing baby steps that you can take towards learning how to save money and I am answering your questions. If you have something that you would like to see featured on here, please drop me an email at amy@momadvice.com or mention it by leaving a comment. This series will run as long as I have questions from all of you and I hope to provide lots of valuable information for ways to begin to save.

Money Saving Mom is offering a similar series, but focusing on creating and sticking to a budget. Read Crystal's first post here and share with her your budgeting challenges.

As requested by our readers, I wanted to begin our series by tackling the topic of stockpiling. I hope that you will find this post helpful and I thank each of you for giving me an opportunity to share in this way. We will be adding these posts to our Money section of our site for future reference!

The Art of Stockpiling

There are many ways to begin tackling the grocery budget and one of the most popular ways is the art of stockpiling items when doing your grocery trips. This method, also known as the “pantry principle” by loyal Tightwad Gazette readers, is a method of shopping that is meant to give you the best bang for your buck.

Let’s begin by discussing the methods that are commonly used when people are trying to save money on their grocery shopping and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The Planner- I feel that this is the first place to start when you begin learning how to save money on your groceries. This is for shoppers who are going from shopping whenever and for whatever they want, to accomplishing a more disciplined form of shopping for only what you need and shopping with a plan. This shopper sits down and menu plans for the amount of meals that they will need and makes a list of the ingredients needed to accomplish their task. The amount of meals planned depends on the amount of times they shop per month and they buy only what they need to accomplish their menu plan goals for the week. This is an excellent place to start and a great way to learn how to buy only what you need and to avoid impulse shopping. Being a planner myself, this method fit our lifestyle for a long time and served its purpose in helping our family save money. Unfortunately, planners focus more on the plan than the sale so this can sometimes be the most expensive option next to shopping without a plan at all. While this shopper has great meal ideas, they buy the ingredients possibly at premium prices and pay more to accomplish their plans then other types of shoppers.

The Flier Shopper- This method of shopping is the next step up and is another great way to save money. This shopper is excited when their weekly fliers and coupons arrive because this determines exactly what they will be eating for the week. Let’s say that chicken is at a bargain-basement price of $1.19 per pound. This shopper will plan a meal around everything they can make with that chicken and out of other ingredients that are featured in the flier. Their meals will consist of items made mostly from sale ingredients and they keep their grocery budget low by planning meals that fit with the sales advertisements and the items that they can get with their coupons. This shopper is still a planner, but their menu plans are created solely around sale ingredients.

The Stockpile Shopper- This way of shopping requires less initial planning and more planning after your food has already been bought. This shopper focuses on stockpiling their pantry with food purchased at the lowest possible price. Grocery shopping then becomes all about keeping your pantry stocked and not about a menu plan really at all. Let’s say that diced tomatoes are marked down to $.29 a can. This shopper would run out and buy twenty cans of diced tomatoes because they know that this is the lowest possible price based on their price book. This shopper has carefully tracked prices and they know that this deal only comes around every three months so they stock up until the next sale, calculated to happen three months later. This shopper looks at all the items that they have bought and figures