Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, has gathered up a fantastic freebie list for us this week. I am so excited, in particular, about the Dunkin' Donuts Coffee and all of these upcoming freebie events. Make sure to check out Heather's list of recommended money-making opportunities to earn a little extra cash for the back-t0-school season! Thank you, Heather!

While you are browsing around for freebies, be sure to visit our Apron Full of Giveaways to find all of the great contests that are happening this week. If you need a little blueberry inspiration in the kitchen, be sure to visit our recipe for blueberry pancake syrup, a sweet little blueberry iced tea recipe, and we even share our day of blueberry picking with our readers.

Health & Beauty
Food

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee
Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal
True Lemon
Schwan's $10 Free Food for new customers (starts Aug. 1)
Jack in the Box 2 Free Tacos Tuesday
Kraft $25 Free Food after rebate (starts Aug. 7)
Mars Free Chocolate Friday

Entertainment

AUGUST
Staples Teacher Appreciation Days free gift bag to first 100 teachers
1 - Lakeshore Free Kid Crafts make a friendship frame 11-3pm
1 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a message center 9-noon
1 & 2 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
3 - McDonald's Free Mocha Monday 7am-7pm
4 - Jack in the Box 2 free tacos Noon-11:59pm
4 - National Night Out
8 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a powerboat 10-11am
15 & 16 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend
22 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a schoolbus 10-11am

SEPTEMBER
5 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a bean bag toss 9-noon
26 - Free Museum Day

Labels: Freebies

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~Celia Thaxter

Blueberry picking was a huge success for our family. I can't recall ever picking blueberries before and I think we all marveled at how beautiful these berries were and the amazing abundance of them on each bush.

We headed to the Organic Blueberry Ranch in Mishawaka, Indiana. It is one of the largest in the Midwest, but their latest claim to fame is that they only sell certified organic berries. What a treasure this is to our community and it is only fifteen minutes from our house!

If you want a sweet little adventure with your children, make sure to take advantage of all of the berry picking. I was fortunate to have one child who doesn't like berries, who could assist me with filling our pail, and one child who just sat down and consumed berries the entire time. In my opinion, that makes for a perfect team!

We only filled a small pail, but it was enough to have a little fun in the kitchen with and eat by the handfuls. I hope to return again before the season is over so that we can create a few more dishes with this summer treat!

I hope you are enjoying some of these sweet and simple summer pleasures too.

Labels: Family, Frugal, Parenting, Things To Do

One of my dearest friends and I built our relationship up through daily email exchanges about our lives. We started emailing when my husband and I were just newlyweds and she was in a committed relationship. Our emails continued as we journeyed to Massachusetts and settled down in our first home, through my pregnancy, her engagement, her marriage, and her first baby, my second baby, her second baby... each email carefully documented our daily joys and struggles. When I became a mother my emails were full of joy, but a lot of whining about sleep, difficulty transitioning into motherhood, problems nursing, and general woes. Her emails were filled with encouragement and hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. When she wrote about motherhood though, she rarely complained but just reveled in the joy of being a mother. She was like that, she just enjoyed life.

Whatever she wrote about though, I seemed to want. It wasn't belongings, but a sense of peace and of tranquility that she seemed to capture, that I had never had. I was always running, always going, always busy...I now realize that I didn't take the time to enjoy the simple things, the simple life, and the simple goodness that could be created by being still for a moment.

I am trying to transition out of the busy bee world and into a more quiet time with my children. Perhaps it is melancholy because my firstborn will be attending first grade next year or perhaps it is just the realization that I don't need to be running or constantly entertained to enjoy a quiet spell in my life.

Today was just one example of what a quiet day for us is like. The windows were cracked and I could feel the fresh air blowing into our house and the smell of freshly cut grass. I look down at my daughter as I feel her deliberate and persistent tapping on my leg. As I look down at her, I smile because she is wearing a pair of my shoes on her chubby little feet. Of all her toys, it is these shoes she loves and she calls them her "tap shoes" as she scoots the sandals across the floor. I look over at my son who is curled at one end of our sofa with a book. I can hear him as he sounds out each word very carefully and slowly, just as he has been taught in school. I revel in his growing vocabulary and how much he has learned this year- he has grown so much.

The smell of fresh muffins travels through the room as I wrap up my baking for the week ahead. This batch of muffins is stuffed to the brim with oatmeal and a little bit of chocolate, to balance out the heartiness and make them more appealing to my children. The muffins smell like freshly baked cookies and the kids begin to count down the minutes until they will be cool enough to handle.

I hum a little bit as I tidy up the kitchen, from the day spent baking, and fill the sink with the dirty dishes. The suds and warm water fill the sink and I dip my hands into the bubbles to finish the day's dishes. As I scrub, I look out the window at our sweet little garden that we planted together. I recall the tender way my son wanted to help plant each and every plant, asking each time, "What can I do, mommy?" He was there for each step of the process and helped to water our finished product. He was just as proud and dirty as me that day.

I then sit at the other end of the sofa with my son and the sound of my knitting needles, Emily's tap shoes, and my son's quiet readings are all you hear. We enjoy the quiet of this day and look forward to our idyllic summer together. This stillness is what I need and I see our children growing from it. Not from the organized activities, the well-thought and well-executed organized crafts, the busy running. No, they thrive in the quiet and stillness...and so do I.

Do you see how the mundane can be made to sound lovely? Just as advertisers would have us believe that a new car will give us this amazing life we have always dreamed of, simple writing about simple pleasures may invoke that same enthusiasm. Suddenly baking muffins, knitting, quiet moments, a tiny garden, and doing dishes sound lovely...and you begin to want that. Imagine if the whole world returned to these simple pleasures- joy in the laundry hanging on the line, kids playing in sprinklers instead of with electronic gadgets, freshly baked goodies straight from your own oven, an appreciation for the beauty in nature instead of the beauty of our exterior selves...I would imagine that it would put a lot of companies out of business.

Today I challenge you to a day of simplicity and I look forward to hearing what special and simple things bring you the most joy in your life.

Is it your children's laughter? Is it a freshly cracked library book? Is it the quiet time you spend with your spouse after your children have went to bed? Is it that first cup of morning coffee with a dash of cream? What are some simple pleasures that bring you happiness? Revel in those things, bring those things into your life, focus on those simple and amazing pleasures and see if it doesn’t bring into perspective the beautiful life you are already leading.

What simple pleasures in life do you enjoy the most?

Labels: Frugal, Motherhood, Simplify

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

This anti-boredom kit is a great idea for the kids (@ Instructables)

This strawberry bread pudding would be a wonderful brunch dish (@ Baking Bites)

I love this tip on keeping sports bottles in the car (@ Parent Hacks)

This knitted cupcake hat is amazingly beautiful (@ A Purse Full of Cheerios)

I love these eight helpful tips for food photography (@ Pioneer Woman)

I like this ideas for throwing a circus birthday party (@ Let's Explore)

I need to learn how to knit on double pointed needles so I can make these knitted coasters (@ do stuff!)

Setting a tantrum timer is a great idea for parents (@ The Toby Show)

This homemade wheat waffle mix looks so yummy (@ giver's log)

I am going to have to remember these tips for freezing summer fruit (@ Cooks Illustrated)

These alphabet block magnets are so inventive and adorable (@ plum pudding)

This knitted guest hand towel is beautiful (@ 3 Sleeves to the Wind)

These knitted leg warmies would make a wonderful baby gift (@ Sew Liberated)

I am going to make some of these little homemade make-up kits for my daughter (@ Parent Hacks)

I love this thrifty & pretty solution for earring storage (@ Teresa Franco)

My children would love this homemade moon sand (@ ohdeedoh)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Experiment: Is WHO bread really and truly delicious?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.14.07

Materials Needed: Please see SouleMama for the complete recipe and instructions.

Results: I have had this recipe bookmarked for a very long time and have finally replaced my bread machine so I can test another fun bread machine recipe.

We grilled out last night and I thought I would make a loaf of this bread and (just because I am over-the-top kind of gal) I decided to make a batch of my Honey Butter to spread on top.

This bread is delicious and smelled like heaven as it baked. It has all of my favorite elements in it- a dash of brown sugar, honey, oatmeal, and cinnamon. I did substitute one cup of the white flour with whole wheat flour, which gave it a deliciously chewy texture with a nice firm crust.

Conclusion: I would definitely make this bread over and over again. It is such a perfect balance of flavors and adding my addition of the honey butter really made it even more delicious. Every single person in the family loved this bread and I look forward to smearing some jam on it for toast in the morning.

If you don't have a bread machine, don't despair because Soule Mama also has an acoustic version for those without bread machines. Many thanks to Soule Mama for generously sharing her wonderful recipes!

Labels: Notebook Experiments, Recipes

Making homemade syrups for drinks is something that I love to keep in our refrigerator to fancy up a glass of iced tea or a mug of coffee. Making homemade syrups does not take a lot of time, but it can make a regular glass of iced tea go from a standard glass to a fantastical gourmet treat.

Today, I wanted to share with you a fun recipe for making Blueberry Drink Syrup that can be added to your iced tea, your coffee, or even your margarita! Whatever gets you going in the morning, I promise not to judge!

To begin with, you will need four cups of fresh berries and two cups of water. Put these two ingredients into a pot and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, you can turn it down and let it cook for ten to twelve minutes on the stove.

While that is boiling away, grab a glass bowl (or something that won't stain easily) and put your strainer on top. Line your strainer with a square of heavy-duty paper towel or cheesecloth.

Now bring your berries over to your bowl and pour them over the strainer. While you are doing this, stand way-the-heck-back because you will get splattered and it will be difficult to get those stains off of everything.

Once you have all of the juice strained, put it back on the oven and add one cup of sugar (or a 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of juice that is strained). Reheat for two minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.

Now your syrup is all done and you can pour it into a clean jar. This can be stored in your refrigerator and you can use it whenever you feel like a little blueberry pie in your coffee or tea.


Add two tablespoons of blueberry syrup to your drink and please sit back with your feet up when you drink this! It is that kind of drink that speaks of summer and laziness to me. If you add a little cream to your coffee, I bet it will taste just like that slice of blueberry pie you have been craving!

This would also make a lovely summertime gift for a friend or loved one. Add a bowl and a label to the front with the instructions. I bet your friends will think you have truly risen to Martha Stewart status with this one!

Blueberry Syrup for Coffee or Iced Tea

4 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

Place blueberries in a saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Set sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth or paper towel over a bowl and pour in the blueberry mixture. Gently press out the juice with a spoon or by twisting the cheesecloth. Discard the pulp and measure the juice into saucepan. Add 1/2 cup sugar for each cup of juice and cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Chill and pour into covered jar. Store in refrigerator. Add two tablespoons to each glass of prepared iced tea or coffee. Stir well.

Labels: Crafting, Frugal, Recipes, Things To Do

Welcome to our Apron Full of Giveaways, where we round up all of the best giveaways on the web. This is the spot where you can share your blog contests or where you can find fantastic stuff to enter.

I am still recovering from BlogHer and came home to two sick little children so we will not be running a contest this week. I do, however, want to still offer you a chance to list your giveaways so please link up!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren't giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, "MomAdvice (Children's Movies)."

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

Labels: Giveaways

I sincerely hope you love blueberries because I am afraid it is blueberry week on my blog. We brought home a ton of fresh berries that were dying to be poured on top of some deliciously light waffles this week.

I love making pancake syrup, but this is my first attempt making a berry syrup. It is amazing how sugar, water, a little vanilla, and fresh berries make such an incredible difference on a plain old waffle.

The burst of flavor, the happy dance in my mouth, and the smacking of lips at the table make me so incredibly joyful. The berries coat the waffle perfectly and add a little sweetness to my waffle without a sugary overkill.

This is really and truly a fantastic indulgence that takes about the same amount of time to cook as it does to make up a batch of waffles. Fast and delicious!


Fresh Blueberry Pancake Syrup

1 pint (or two cups) fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Allow it to cook for 12-15 minutes and give the berries a little smash with your wooden spoon to break them up into the syrup. This syrup can be served warm over The Best Waffles Ever or you can serve the syrup cooled.



1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg whites

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy). In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up). Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, Do not overmix. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it. Side Note- I doubled this recipe for my family of four and we had enough for three extra Belgian waffles.

And what did my children think of the new blueberry addition to their plate?

Labels: Kid Recipes, Recipes

Happy Freebie Friday! A huge thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for sharing her weekly dose of freebie goodness with our readers. Be sure to visit her post on tripled grocery savings. Please visit her site all week long for fantastic freebies!

I am here at BlogHer for the weekend so if you are here too please try and find me to say hello or send me a message on twitter (@momadvice)!


Health & Beauty
Food
Mars Free Chocolate Friday
Caribou Coffee Cooler or Brownie (Facebook fans)
Splenda

Entertainment

JULY
25 - Lakeshore Free Kid Crafts make a buggy welcome sign 11-3pm
25 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a helicopter 10-11am
27 - McDonald's Free Mocha Monday 7am-7pm

AUGUST
Staples Teacher Appreciation Days free gift bag to first 100 teachers
1 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a message center 9-noon
1 & 2 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
4 - National Night Out
8 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a powerboat 10-11am
15 & 16 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend

Labels: Freebies

We have now lived in our little home for six years and I am so proud of all of the changes we have made. Two of our major projects that we did ourselves were our kitchen update and our do-it-yourself patio renovation. Both of those projects were a great deal of work, but the spaces seemed very separate from one another.

We have been trying to take the 1960's look out of our tri-level home which is no small task in itself. We have done all of the projects ourselves (with the exception of a new roof) and now we are coming to those projects where we need a professional's help. This, of course, takes money so we are doing these projects little by little.

What better way to update our space then by replacing our tired screen door with a new patio door? This screen door was an eyesore to our space. It came complete with a grandma-ma warning security tag and the door was falling apart. More than that though, it was difficult to access our new patio and hard for me to watch my kids when they were playing outside.

We decided to hire Champion Window to come out and put in a new door for us. After measuring our space, we could accommodate an eight foot door, which would take out our old window and the rickety screen door that had been previously occupying the space.

This is our kitchen after the installation of the door. All I can say is, WOW! This door completely opened up our kitchen and brought in more natural light for our space. It has made our space feel more modern and having a view in the morning of my patio and the yard has just made such an incredible difference in our space.


This is my view in the morning. I can actually see almost every square inch of the entire yard so when the kids are playing outside, I can really keep an eye on them. I can also close just the screen portion and feel like I am outside with them when they are playing on the patio.

The best part though is that we can actually open the door with ease when grilling outside or heading in and out. The kids can open it themselves, but it is secure enough that I can lock it so they can't get out unless we want them out there.

I feel like we got an addition to our house by just doing this little makeover to our door and I feel like it makes our kitchen renovation complete! Next up will be replacing the garage door, pantry door, and on-its-last-limbs refrigerator to modernize our space.

Labels: Decorating, Homemaking

Experiment: Can I make my hotel stay better?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 10.30.08

Materials Needed: Please see Digital Bliss for the full instructions. This post was written by Angie, over at Blog Coach, so please be sure to check her site for additional great blogging resources!

Results: While I am off traveling, I wanted to share with you two of my favorite sites to use while I am away from home. If you are ever away (with kids or without), give these sites a try... especially if your room comes with free Wi-Fi!


iSerenity was perhaps my favorite resource on that list because I hate all the sounds from my neighbors and out in the hallways of hotels. In our house, each of us has a sound machine in our rooms so I really love having some type of white noise when I sleep. I tuned into the sounds of the ocean and it helped so much to cut down on the background noise so I could get some sleep. This would have been a great resource too when my children were smaller to help them sleep better too.



The other site that I used was Kukuklock. Is it just me or does anyone else have trouble figuring out how in the heck to set these alarms in the hotel rooms? A little manual would be helpful! I set my alarm on my phone in my room, but I like to have a back-up alarm just in case. I went ahead and set it to the rooster setting and it was as easy as pie to set.

I headed to bed and woke up to the sounds of the ocean with roosters crowing over the waves. Yeah, it was pretty freaky and I thought I fell into an alternate universe for a moment there, but it worked like a charm.

Conclusion: I plan to use these sites every time because it helped me sleep better knowing I would wake up on my time and I could eliminate the background noises in my room. I hope you can check these out on your next trip!

**********************


I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original craftster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Notebook Experiments, Travel

My kids would love this glow-in-the-dark slime (@ the idea room)

I will have to remember these great tips for getting rid of wasps (@ Tip Nut)

These chocolate wands would be great for a Harry Potter screening night or Harry Potter themed birthday party (@ Hello My Name is Heather)

These sweet and salty peanut chocolate chip cookies look delicious (@ plum pudding)

I love these summer sweaters that are really t-shirts because there is no sewing required (@ angry chicken)

I like this tutorial for making a simple reversible tote bag (@ Skip to My Lou)

I love this thrifty tip for what to do with those cut-off bread crusts from your child's sandwiches (@ Parent Hacks)

These are cute ideas for what you can do with those recycled baby food jars (@ homemade by jill)

I love this ideas for traveling with kids (@ Craft)

I can't wait to try this recipe for macaroni salad (@ Simply Recipes)

These little homemade stamps would be a fun and easy craft to do with the kids (@ Mel's Own Place)

These broccoli, cheddar, & sausage muffin pull-a-parts would be a fun breakfast with my family (@ Picky Palate)

This playroom organization is so brilliant and beautiful (@ stephmodo)

This cranberry pecan chicken salad looks like a delicious lunch (@ Annie's Eats)

I want to knit some of these sock slippers (@ Polar Knit)

This craft car caddy would change a crafter's life (@ Craft)

This DIY lighted paper pennant garland is incredibly cool (@ Once Wed)

This sweet little centerpiece would be an adorable addition to our house (@ Living With Lindsay)

My kids would love these homemade yo yo balloons (@ zakka life)

These are 5 peanut butter recipes that I would like to try (@ The Kitchn)

I bet my family would love these Rice Krispies Cookies (@ Amber's Delectable Delights)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Summer is a time for knitting dishcloths for me. They are a perfectly portable project and can be whipped up from all of the scraps of yarn that I have leftover from past projects. They give me an opportunity to play with pattern without being committed to a large project. Best of all, they are completely useful and make a fantastic gift.

My dishcloths are threadbare and looking pretty worse for wear. I decided to replace them with my little homemade ones and it has been a welcome distraction between knitting baby blankets for friends.




Circle Dishcloth

Pattern: Circle Cloth Pattern (this links to the free PDF version)

Needle Size: US 7 Needles

Yarn: Peaches & Creme in various leftover colors

Notes: I don't know if I will ever knit another type of dishcloth again after making these. This dishcloth is so pretty that I don't think I even want to use it.

After seeing the pattern on Ravelry, I knew that I had to try it, just to figure out how it was done. The cloth is almost three dimensional and looks as though you are knitting in two layers. It really is just slipped stitches that keeping moving on the needles to make the impressive circles on top.

I almost want to make a scarf out of this and am already thinking what a great little hostess gift these would make for the holidays in festive colors.

I flipped them over so you can see what it looks like on the back. Obviously, the front of the cloth is the pretty side, but I love seeing how smooth the pattern looks on the back despite the intricate front.

This pattern is still easy enough for beginners, you just need to know how to slip stitches and how to switch colors. I will provide a You Tube video below for switching colors below!



Chinese Waves Dishcloth

Pattern: Chinese Waves Dishcloth (this links to the free PDF version)

Needle Size: US 7 Needles

Yarn: Peaches & Creme in various leftover colors

Notes: These little dishcloths knit up so fast and have a cool little wave texture to them. The only stitch that you need to know for this one is how to knit and how to slip stitches. There is no purling so you don't even need to know that! The slipped stitches make a nubby texture to help get your dishes clean and they also add a little bit of thickness and softness to the dishcloth.

If you are looking for a project that will knit up quickly, these are super fast and fun to make!

How to Switch Color (A Fantastic Tutorial):

Labels: Crafting

This week we will be closing out our Kodak Easyshare Z1015 camera giveaway for one of our lucky readers. This giveaway will end at 8PM EST tonight so be sure to get in your entry.

Since I will be heading out of town tomorrow, we will be taking a week off from giveaways until I can get back in the swing of things. Lucky for you, there will be many giveaways to enter through this link list so I hope you will be able to visit all of the great giveaways that are being offered to get your entries in!

Please follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren't giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, "MomAdvice (Children's Movies)."

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

Labels: Giveaways

It is the berry season and nothing says summer to me like a big blueberry muffin. I am hoping to make it over to do a little berry picking with the kids this summer. This batch of berries was bought at our supermarket for only $.99 a pint. When berries are in season, they make a budget-friendly addition to the grocery cart.

I wanted to share with you my favorite little recipe for Blueberry Muffins. Growing up, my mom bought the Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mixes. Did anyone else grow up on these? We always thought my grandmother's blueberry muffins were so fancy because they were homemade. It is times like these when I reflect on how far I have come in the kitchen and the ease and pride I feel when making things myself. I will say though, those Jiffy mixes aren't too bad, but to have the fresh blueberries makes all the difference in a muffin!

Lemony Blueberry Muffins

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
4 t baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 beaten egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (I like canola oil)
1 lemon (zest & juice)
1 pint blueberries (two cups)
Sugar for dusting

Mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together beaten egg, milk, and oil, lemon zest, and squeeze in the juice from one lemon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just moistened. Try not to over mix your batter- I know it's hard! Fold in blueberries. Place in prepared muffin pan and sprinkle the tops with a little sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 22 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Be careful not to overcook these- they cook quickly!


What is your favorite berry recipe? I would love to get your favorite recipes!

Labels: Recipes

Another Friday is here full of great freebies courtesy of Freebies 4 Mom. Be sure to enter Heather's e.l.f Cosmetics Giveaway to upgrade your make-up and take advantage of her exclusive coupon code. You can also read her great piece on being an empowered consumer!

To kick your weekend off right, don't forget to visit our 9 unique ideas for frugal date nights, visit the Apron Full of Giveaways link list, and get your entry in for a Kodak Easyshare Camera!


Health & Beauty
Food

Mars Free Chocolate Friday
Starbucks Ice Cream (coupon for free pint on Facebook)
Tyson Skillet Creations (free after rebate)

Entertainment

JULY
18 - Lakeshore Free Kid Crafts make ice cream cone pencil holder 11 to 3pm
18-19 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend
19 - Bruster's National Ice Cream Day
20 - McDonald's Free Mocha Monday 7am to 7pm
25 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a helicopter 10 to 11am

AUGUST
Staples Teacher Appreciation Days free gift bag to first 100 teachers
1 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a message center 9 to noon
1 & 2 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
15 & 16 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend

Labels: Freebies

This week I really need to do a deep cleaning of my fridge. The science experiments that are growing in there are quite shameful. Now that you know what I will be up to, I wanted to share with you some tips for cleaning out the refrigerator.

I do not enjoy cleaning out my refrigerator, but it one of those things that must be done. I wait until the day before grocery day to do it though because this is the day where there is the least amount of items that need to be moved around. It is also a great time to check my inventory before making the shopping trip to see if I really do need half the things on my list.
Tips to Keep White Appliances from Looking Yellow (Warning: This does include bleach so be careful with your floors and clothing!)

Refrigerator Repair & Care

Do you have any tips for cleaning out the refrigerator? How often do you do this task in your house?

Labels: Cleaning, Cleaning Recipes, Homemaking

I love this knitted twine dining set (@ design sponge)

I want to try this recipe for homemade chocolate syrup (@ Small Notebook)

My son would love one of these homemade light sabers (@ zakka life)

These blueberry sweet rolls would be so yummy to eat using those fresh picked berries in the summer (@ Food Blogga)

This coffee can made into a shell vase is just beautiful (@ Firefly Hill Style)

This is a great tutorial for making easy homemade lollipops (@ the decorated cookie)

I like this sweet little Kindle storage bag tutorial (@ Junie Moon)

These bacon barbecue burgers look delicious (@ Coconut & Lime)

This kitchen remodel is incredible and so inspiring (@ Flower Patch Farmgirl)

I need to find one of these bags so I can make a simple yarn project travel case for my next trip (@ Craftzine)

My kid would have a blast with these scooper balls in the summer (@ Scribbit)

I love this cute corsage t-shirt (@ Enchantresses)

I want to try this apple cider syrup with my waffles this fall (@ goodLife {eats})

I love this idea for creating a family mission statement (@ Simple Mom)

I want to sign up for this free subscription to My Total Money Makeover (@ Money Saving Mom)

Did you see this great tutorial on how to make homemade root beer? Really incredible! (@ Robinznest)

I am so wishing I had a summer porch after seeing this porch makeover (@ Inspired Room)

I think I could even eat this baby food- spaghetti bolognese (@ Annie's Eats)

I love this idea for creating a Chinese buffet at home (@ Blog Chef)

Painting these wood floors white was a brilliant and thrifty solution (@ Like Merchant Ships)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

I don't know about you, but I never knew how creative I would have to be in order to squeeze in a little alone time with my spouse. We don't get to escape as often as I would like and it is hard to find people you really love and trust enough to watch those that are most precious to you. Not only that, but teenagers sure seem to be a lot busier than they used to be! I am so thankful for the grandparents who offer to take our kiddos time and time again so we can get that time away.

With that in mind, I wanted to share with you some creative ideas for dating that will cost you little/no money and won't even require paying a babysitter. These are the ideas that have worked for us through these years and I hope you can share some ways that you have found to creatively date your spouse when you are low on cash and sitters.


Book Club Night- My husband and I have started, what I jokingly refer to as, our "magical book club" together. I have been dying for him to read the Twilight series and he has been dying for me to read the Harry Potter series. We made a deal to exchange books and talk about them each night. Obviously, this is not intellectual material we are talking about, but I have to say that I am so enjoying every moment of this exchange.

You could also read the same series together or tackle a literary classic together. Better yet, reread those amazing books from your childhood. Have a book club night together instead of a night parked in front of the television.

Once we have finished the books though, we plan to have a screening night of the movies together too. I am wondering if I am pushing the envelope too much if I make my Edward cupcakes?

Engage in Conversation Starters- I think I know just about everything there is to know about my husband, especially since we have been together since we were teenagers. Conversation starter questions though can sometimes lead to some beautiful surprises of happy memories that we had never heard before. Look at these unique conversation starters, these sweet conversation starters, or this list of fun questions to get the ball rolling. My husband & I sometimes just ask each other questions in Facebook quizzes. Anything that gets you talking together is a great investment of your time!

Late Night Dinners- When our kids were really little, our time alone really felt few and far between. We would sometimes shift our dinner hour until after the kids went to bed to enjoy a romantic and quiet dinner together. I would put table linens on the table, break out the beautiful dishes and stemware, and make a fancy dinner that the grocery budget would not be able to normally accommodate. After all, you are still staying in so there is still a great savings in that!

Don't be afraid to move your dinner somewhere else in the house. Sometimes I would set up a folding table and chairs and dress it up in a different area of the home or put a fancy spread out on the coffee table with a fun movie. In those long days of newborn feedings and diaper changes, this little change in location was really something to look forward to.



Game Time- My husband & I are both very competitive so we love to play games together after the kids head to bed. For outdoor games, we love a good badminton match and for indoor games we love a good board game challenge or a fun game of Wii bowling. Challenge each other to a match and feel free to indulge in childish behavior to escape the reality of adulthood.


Dollar Store Extravaganza- This is something that I have planned for the two of us as a fun date night idea. Just make a small budget of $10 or less and challenge each other to a contest to see who you can come up with the most creative gift from the dollar store for each other. You can really put a lot of creativity into this and it will be a fun exchange to do after the kids go to bed. See if your husband really knows what your favorite candy in the world is and he can see if you know how to pick a great book for him or what type of puzzle book would be a fun one.





Enjoy Some Time By the Fire- After the kids go to bed, we love to start a little fire in our fire pit and sit by it together. We are finding it is a great way to unwind and have some time to discuss the day together. Make some s'mores and snuggle up under a blanket together. If you have a fireplace, you can do the same thing with some cocoa in your warm house on a wintry night.

Plan an Anniversary Getaway- I decided awhile ago to begin putting money into a separate savings account for our ten year anniversary. At the time, we were really penny-pinching, but $25 a month didn't seem like a ton of money so it has been automatically transferred every month for our anniversary getaway.

I swear that we talk about this (at least) once a month. Even though there is just $1,000 saved, we have come up with a zillion places we could go to and have been number-crunching to see how much we will have from making this tiny investment each month.

Sitting around and just planning a vacation can be so much fun together. It is such a fun way to spend your time, imagining the places you will go and talking about how quickly we are approaching our big anniversary.

Make it more fun by challenging each other to plan the best anniversary getaway package. You could each research and put together your own vacations and then sit down together and see who came up with the best ideas for the least amount of money. File it away for future reference when you actually do to get to go on that getaway.

Exchange Babysitting With a Friend- I am really lucky because if I really want to go out with my spouse, I can call up my sister and ask if we can do a babysitting exchange. If you have a good friend that you can exchange babysitting with and trade nights out, then you get great care for your kids without having to shell out any money.

While you are enjoying some time alone, you can still enjoy the frugal things in life. Some of my favorite date nights are hitting a movie at the second-run theater, packing up a picnic dinner and taking it somewhere with a view, lounging around Barnes & Noble looking for home improvement inspiration, or even enjoying an evening at home without the kids.

If your spouse can take off work, use a vacation day and try and plan your date during the day. You can take advantage of cheaper matinee rates and even affordable meals out at restaurants because of the earlier hour.


Start a New TV Series- Now that I have given you lots of ideas that don't involve the television, I think I can bring up an idea that does. I love to pick up a new television series together, particularly in the summer months when nothing good is really on television. You can rent these using a movie membership or check on Hulu or the network websites to watch a series. Try looking for an older series that you have never seen before and watching it for the first time. On our list of never seen television- Lost, 24, and House. We also love to watch rerun sitcoms and relive all those funny moments all over again and watch Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, & That 70's Show just for laughs.

I don't mean to brag, but this man of mine is awesome! He works a full-time job AND manages to run all of the programming on this website too. I am willing to set aside as many fun & free nights as I can to hang out with him. Even when times were very lean, we have found creative ways to spend time together. I know we both benefit from it and so do our children!

What is your favorite budget-friendly date night activity? Please share your creative and unique ideas for keeping the romance alive!

Labels: Budget, Frugal, Marriage

Labels: Giveaways

I love making homemade dressings and it truly takes so little time. It is always funny how impressed people are about something that takes two minutes to whip up in the kitchen. The taste transformation that it has in your mouth though is considerable and worth those two minutes of effort.

I had to run a meal to a friend and wanted to bring her a side salad to accompany the dinner. I thought this thrifted sugar canister would be cute to put the dressing in and also make it easier to pour on her salad. I will say that you want to have an extra tight grip on the pour spout when shaking and it might not be ideal for transporting, but it certainly did look cute tied with some gingham ribbon.

Basic Vinaigrette (courtesy of, "How to Cook Everything")

1/4 cup good vinegar (you can use sherry, balsamic, red, or white wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced shallots (optional & I leave these out)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Briefly mix the vinegar, salt, and optional mustard with an immersion blender, food processor or blender, or with a fork or wire whisk. Slowly add the oil in a stream (drop by drop if whisking) until an emulsion forms or just whisk everything together briefly. Add the remaining oil faster, but still in a stream. Taste to adjust salt and add more oil or viengar if needed. Add the shallots and pepper. This is best made fresh, but will keep, refrigerated for a few days; bring back to room temperature before using.

To make a small amount of Basic Vinaigrette: Combine 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon mustard, 3 to 4 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon minced shallots as above. Add pepper, then taste and add more vinegar, salt, or oil as necessary.

Labels: Recipes

I can't believe that it is already Friday again. I don't know about you, but my summer is definitely flying by! A huge thank you to Freebies 4 Mom for sharing freebies with our site each week. Be sure to enter Heather's YoBaby Meals giveaway this week and visit her site all week long for the scoop on the freebies throughout the week. Her site is an invaluable resource for moms on a budget!

We also are hosting a giveaway this week and giving away a $50 gift card to a grocery store of your choice from Playtex to throw a patio party. You can see our Patriotic-inspired birthday party that we threw with lots of thrifty tips to make the party more affordable and enter to win. Enjoy!

Health & Beauty

Murad Acne Complex
Nivea Active 3 Body Wash for Men (Walmart)
Food

Mars Free Chocolate Friday
Starbucks Ice Cream (coupon for free pint on Facebook)
Fiber One Cereal & Bar
PediaSure (full rebate by mail)

Entertainment

JULY
10 - Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day
11 - 7-Eleven Free Slurpee
11 - Lakeshore Free Kid Crafts make a jolly jellyfish 11 to 3pm
11 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a pirate chest 10 to 11am
13 - McDonald's Free Mocha Monday 7am to 7pm
13-17 - Baskin-Robbins Free Ice Cream for teens
14 - Long John Silvers Free Baja Fish Tacos open until 2:30pm
18-19 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend
19 - Bruster's National Ice Cream Day
25 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a helicopter 10 to 11am

AUGUST
Staples Teacher Appreciation Days free gift bag to first 100 teachers
1 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a message center 9 to noon
1 & 2 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
15 & 16 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend

Labels: Freebies

I made piggy pancakes for the kids and they were a huge hit! I wasn't sure if they would be able to figure out what they were so I let them guess. They decided these were cow pancakes instead so who knows what animal your own kids might pick?

I made a batch of this pancake batter. It is my absolute favorite because it doesn't require any fancy ingredients and can be made out of everything in your pantry. The pancakes remind me of the McDonald's pancakes and I absolutely could devour a few stacks of those in one sitting.

To save a little bit more money, I make a batch of powdered milk to mix into the pancakes. It isn't a huge savings, but it saves me from making multiple trips for milk throughout the week.

You will want to make one large pancake and two silver dollar sized pancakes. When you see the bubbles bubbling up on top, give them a flip and cook until they are cooked through.

I used kitchen scissors and cut one of the small pancakes in half and slipped it under the large pancake, to make the ears. Plop a small pancake on top for the snout and use blueberries or chocolate chips for the eyes.

For preschoolers, you could tie in any good barnyard book or my personal favorite..."If You Give a Pig a Pancake."

Labels: Kid Recipes, Recipes

These pizza idea boxes are genius (@ the giver's log)

I am going to have to try this creative use for mason jars for our next get together (@ A Soft Place to Land)

I want to make this thrifty canopy bed for my daughter when she gets a little older (@ HomeSpun Threads)

I am planning to try this sight word game with my son this summer (@ Craft Nectar)

This is a great tutorial on teaching kids to finger knit (@ Craftzine)

These Oreo Bonbons look delicious (@ Grace Violet)

This chocolate banana split ice cream would be a hit in our house (@ Hello My Name Is Heather)

This child's travel pillow tutorial makes me want to whip out my sewing machine (@ maya made)

I love this cool summer days paper calendar for a fun way to incorporate summer activities (@ Chocolate on My Cranium)

I am going to have to remember these fourth of July rockets for next year (@ alpha mom)

We will have to try making spinning fireworks this summer (@ scrumdilly do)

I love this repurposed dresser drawer idea (@ The Farm Chicks)

We will have to have our breakfast alfresco one day (@ plum pudding)

I am going to have to look through this great list of 50 summer crafts for things to do with the kids & make these adorable firefly jars (@ the long thread)

This mini art museum is absolutely adorable (@ No time for flash cards)

This refashioned ceiling fan is a brilliant update (@ Keeping the Faith)

This Mr. Man birthday party is the cutest thing I have ever seen (@ Full House courtesy of Design Mom)

I love this crocheted basket for your yarn stash (@ the purl bee)

These rag quilt letters would be so fun to keep little ones busy (@ Happy Together)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

I am bringing back this little post today as I am heading out of town. Between packing and throwing our birthday bash, I am tapped out for the week!

Money-free weekends are one of my favorite ways to get our budget back on track and I hope it will inspire you to take a weekend off from spending. Take a peek at our No Spend Challenge or visit Rachel, at Small Notebook, and join her in her family's challenge to not spend. There is so much inspiration there and it is always fun to have a virtual friend to take a challenge with you!



Experiment: Can our family survive a money-free weekend?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 07.24.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Simple Dollar for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. Since it is a money-free weekend, you can bet that all those materials need to be free and laying around your house.

Results: I will admit it, we have the most trouble with our spending on the weekends. All of the leisurely free time just makes me think of all the things that I could be buying. It really doesn't help that we live off the main drag for shopping either!

For this experiment though, we made a commitment to have a money-free weekend. I had withdrawn our grocery money earlier in the week though for our grocery shopping, but that is where our spending ended.

What did we do on our no spend weekend? Well, we played board games in the evenings and caught up on our favorite shows. I spent some time working on knitting some washcloths for my grandma's birthday. I cleaned out my closet and took a load of stuff over to Goodwill to make a donation. But our favorite no spend idea that we did... well, maybe our kid's clothing choices might help you guess!


No, we didn't get to see a free game, but my husband's work throws an amazing tailgate and we thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate not spending that weekend.


And you know what is free at those events. Yup, tons of free food! My kids gorged themselves on a plethora of sugary treats and salty snacks. We all ate until we were in food comas and then swung by to see the local radio station all set up and distributing stickers and football necklaces for a special little treat for the kids. We threw our name in a raffle and chatted for a bit at their table. We watched all of the craziness that ensues for Notre Dame games and just drank in all the fresh air and sunshine.

"How convenient," I exclaimed to my husband, as we walked over to our car! "We just so happened to have parked right next to the Starbuck's. Momma could go for some delicious coffee." My husband just grinned at me and kindly replied, "Oh wait! Didn't you say we were having a NO SPEND weekend? Awww, too bad!"

I think one of us took this no spend thing a little too seriously!

Conclusion: I really loved having a money-free weekend and I plan to do this more regularly in our house. Thanks to Trent, at The Simple Dollar, for encouraging families to save instead of spend!
********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Budget, Frugal, Notebook Experiments, Things To Do

I don't know why it has never occurred to me before, but we decided to have a patriotic themed birthday party for my son's birthday this year. His birthday is just a few days after the Fourth of July and so we decided to host a backyard barbecue for our family and friends.

We kept the decorations simple and I tried to buy a lot of things that we could reuse for future parties. These paper lanterns offered a little festivity to our space and I found blue star garland to decorate around our patio doors.


To save on drinks, we used this tin bucket and filled it with a huge batch of birthday punch instead of cans of soda. For each of the kid's birthdays, I try to do a festive punch to go along with our food and a batch of strawberry punch was a perfect accompaniment to our fun little barbecue. I filled this tin clear to the top and my husband laughed and told me there was no way all of that punch would be drank. He was wrong and we had enough for one glass left at the end of the day. It is always amazing how quickly you can go through things like that!

Instead of buying paper cups, I got plastic cups in red & blue that we could use for all of our parties. The price was right at Walmart (in their summer supplies- only $1 for six cups). They will definitely come in handy for playgroups and future birthday parties.

I rolled all of the silverware in paper gingham napkins. I had yarn leftover in my yarn stash to use for tying the rolled silverware sets. When I hosted my last party, I found inexpensive sets of silverware at our wholesale club in the restaurant supplies. They aren't the best quality, but they work so wonderfully for occasions like this. Thrift stores also sell silverware and you can often find bags of it very inexpensively. Rolling these into sets made it easier for everyone to grab what they needed and kept the line for the food moving a little quicker.

Each year I make a little slide show for the kids that the family can view before we cut into the cake. Amazon sells songs for $.99 and I try to pick one great song to go along with their three minute movie. This year one of our son's favorite albums is Justin Roberts, "Meltdown" and his, "It's Your Birthday!" song fit the bill perfectly. The grandparents love this and I think my kids watched this movie sixteen times before the guests arrived. There is nothing like seeing tons of pictures of themselves set to their favorite tunes to put a smile on their faces. I recommend saving this and putting it on when you need to get your party preparation done- it works like a charm!




I found these adorable mini burgers at Walmart and they had 24 in a package for $7.00. I got wheat and white rolls in the bakery and got a variety of cheeses and toppings to make a little burger buffet for our guests. We also grilled hot dogs for the kids, but I have to say the mini-burgers took center stage. People could really load their plates up with the sides or have a burger and a hot dog on one plate.

I served that Pesto Pasta Salad which was a hit again at another get together. I also found an amazing recipe for Hot Potato Salad from French Knots (hat tip to Make & Takes for sharing this one) that had everyone talking because it was so different. I followed her recipe, but omitted the green onions and substituted those with fresh chopped flat leaf Italian parsley from our garden. I also added 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese on top before I baked it and substituted the regular sausage with Italian turkey sausage to cut down on the fat a bit. By substituting with these flavors, it gave it more of an Italian flair and everyone really seemed to enjoy it!

In case you missed the post yesterday, this was the big birthday cake- an Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake. The patriotic pinwheels were a steal at the Dollar Store. They had six in a package for $1 so I used three of these as a cake topper for his cake and cut them in different lengths to add a little pizazz to the cake. The best part about these is that when Ethan blew out the candles all of the pinwheels spun around too. I wish we were able to capture that in motion because it was really cute.
As our party favors, we gave each of the kids a bag with a pinwheel, glow-in-the-dark bracelets and little patriotic bracelets, and some candy all courtesy of the Dollar Store.




Recipe Highlights From Our Patriotic Party:


Pesto Pasta Salad (courtesy of "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen") and you can visit The Farm Chicks Blog too!

3 cups bowtie pasta (about 8 oz)
1/4 cup pesto (Sam's Club has pesto for really cheap, if your garden isn't ready for pesto-making yet)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (about two medium)
1/2 cup halved pitted black olives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Cook pasta as directed. Drain and rinse under cold running water and let cool. Place in a salad bowl. In another bowl, mix the pesto and sour cream together and add to the pasta, tossing to coat. Add the tomatoes, olives, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts and toss to mix. Serve.


Patriotic Strawberry Punch

1 (2 liter) bottle strawberry-flavored soda (I found this at Walmart)
1 liter (half a bottle) Sprite or 7-Up
1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 (12 ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
2 (1 liter) cans pineapple juice

Mix all the ingredients together for the punch. This will fill one large punch bowl or two smaller ones.

Playtex Gloves wanted to share about their products with us and offered to help us host our patio party if we would give their products a try. This year , Playtex gloves introduced three new gloves that help with everything from grilling burgers to cleaning up dirty dishes. The best part about all of this though was that they offered to host a patio party for one of our readers and send them their products too! I loved all of the products they sent, but have to say these purple gloves took the cake!

Playtex will be sharing with one of our readers a $50 gift card to any grocery store of your choice and a set of their gloves for you to try! To enter, please leave a comment and tell me one way you make preparing for your parties easier. Not required, but you could also share what you loved from my party...because I truly would love to hear your thoughts on our little traditions. Please leave your comment by Tuesday (07/14) at 8PM EST!

Editor's Note- I hope that it won't bother you that I am now putting our name in the corner of our pictures. For some reason, it has always felt conceited for me to do this because I just didn't think my photos were worthy of crediting. Unfortunately, I have started to see my pictures being used without credit and it has become necessary to do this. I hope you understand!

Labels: Giveaways, Holidays, Recipes

We celebrated another birthday in our family this week and my summer child always seems to get all of the fun cakes for the warmer season. We made this same cake two years ago and I decided to dust the recipe off again for another fun celebration.

This cake is just as good as those DQ ice cream cakes for a fraction of the price. The ice cream sandwiches help eliminate the need for cake leveling and provide a smooth and crumb-free surface to swipe with the whipped cream layers.

The best part about this cake is how forgiving this cake is to being adjusted to accommodate your party size. We have celebrated this cake with ten and this time we celebrated with thirty and you just add an extra batch of ice cream cakes to feed the extra mouths.

This cake pictured had 36 ice cream sandwiches and we ate almost all of it. The original recipe says it will feed twelve people, but you would be surprised how quickly this gets consumed!



Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) chocolate instant pudding
8 Oreo cookie sandwiches (approximately 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup whipped topping. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies. Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half the whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet. Freeze (at least) four hours.

Amy's Notes- One year I had difficulty with the tin foil sticking to my cake so this year I prepared the cake in a cupcake tote container with a lid and that worked much better than wrapping in tin foil and was easier to stack with other items in our freezer.

Labels: Holidays, Kid Recipes, Recipes

Freebie Friday comes to you each week courtesy of Freebies 4 Mom. Be sure to visit Heather's site because she has gathered up a great list of sweepstakes to enter and highlighted some of the best printable coupons that are happening right now!

While you are here, don't forget to browse our top ten articles of the month and check out the Apron Full of Giveaways for more great contests to enter!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend spent with family & friends celebrating this great holiday!

Health & Beauty
Food
Mars Free Chocolate Friday
Nakano Rice Vinegar (when you join Recipe Club)

Entertainment

JULY
4 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a picnic caddy 9 to noon
4 - Lakeshore Free Kid Crafts make a firecracker 11 to 3pm
4 & 5 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
4 & 5 - Bass Pro Shops Family Summer Camp birdhouse Noon to 6pm
10 - Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day
11 - 7-Eleven Free Slurpee
11 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a pirate chest 10 to 11am
14 - Long John Silvers Free Baja Fish Tacos open until 2:30pm
18-19 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend
19 - Bruster's National Ice Cream Day
25 - Lowes Build and Grow Kids Clinic make a helicopter 10 to 11am

AUGUST
1 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop make a message center 9 to noon
1 & 2 - Museums on Us (free admission for Bank of America customers)
15 & 16 - National Parks Fee Free Weekend

Labels: Freebies

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 that they can have a delicious spaghetti sauce, a pizza with a homemade red sauce, and the family’s favorite casserole…that all just happen to use diced tomatoes in their recipe.

Do you want to be a stockpile shopper? Here are some steps for beginning this process:

1. Sit down and make a list of the foods that you eat regularly. If you were formerly a planner, you should have some menu plans that you can take a look at. Write down these ingredients into a notebook and the prices that you normally pay for these items.

2. Cut coupons to go along with your items to gain even more savings to your stockpile. Utilize a free service like CouponMom.com to learn when to use your coupons and to help you find the best deals to apply your coupons towards.

3. Next, begin tracking the ingredients in your sales fliers and begin stockpiling the items when they go on sale. Continue writing and tracking the prices as you go along and when you see a large dip in the pricing, stock up, and up, and up. Stockpile only as much as you can afford in the grocery budget to spend and what you really can eat. The first few weeks will be difficult and you may need to allocate some money to set aside for beginning your stockpile. Understand though that each week will get easier and allow for more breathing room in the budget. As the weeks progress, you will have built up the beginnings of a pantry and will need less and less ingredients, allowing for more room in the budget to stock up on future good deals.

4. Only stockpile what you truly can eat. Even if tuna is marked to a quarter a can, if you spend ten dollars on tuna and no one really likes tuna, you are wasting money and you are wasting space in your pantry. If you find you overbought on items, consider donating them to a food pantry or a shelter so the food is not wasted.

5. If you end up miscalculating how much of an ingredient you will need, you will have to plan your dinner around that missing ingredient. A Stockpile Shopper will refuse to buy spaghetti sauce, for example, unless their store runs that item on a buy-one-get-one free sale. If the shopper runs out of that ingredient, her family won’t eat spaghetti until the next sale or they will find a way to make sauce from other ingredients that have been stockpiled.

6. Some items just can’t be stockpiled like fresh fruits and vegetables. This is where I rely on my Flier Shopper instinct. If bananas are $.19 a pound, I would scoop up ten pounds for my family. I would eat them fresh until they got ripe and then mash the ripe ones for banana breads and muffins. Applying my good shopping instinct, I would pick the sale items and also pick fruits and vegetables that offer longevity over produce that only lasts a few days or could not be used past their duration (like in the bananas example). This is why I tend to gravitate towards carrots, celery, potatoes, bananas, and apples to fill the majority of our fresh fruit and vegetable quota. Once these run out, I would rely on my stockpile of dried fruits, canned fruits, and frozen vegetables to make up the difference until my next trip.

As you can see, stockpiling can really extend your grocery dollars and can be a fun way to approach grocery shopping.

Next week we will be discussing creative ways to store your stockpile! Many of us live in smaller spaces so we have to be more creative with storage.

Which type of shopper do you identify with? Do you stockpile?

Labels: Baby Steps, Frugal, Grocery Shopping

Experiment: Will my family love oven fried drumsticks?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 06.03.09

Materials Needed: Please see Simply Recipes for the full instructions on this task. I followed the recipe except for using Italian breadcrumbs instead of regular and I omitted the chives.


Results: I was looking forward to having a picnic night with the family since we had that on our summer list of activities. The weather was extremely hot this last week though and no one was ready to brave the heat again for a picnic. We ended up having a picnic night indoors instead and I prepared these yummy oven baked chicken drumsticks for our main course.

Even if you are not a mayonnaise or mustard fan, this blend of the two ingredients seems to take away the strong flavors and creates a really yummy place for the coating to stick. The meat remained moist underneath because of this layering of ingredients and the coating stuck easily to the meat when preparing it.

Conclusion: The entire family loved this recipe and I will definitely be adding it into our rotation. It was an easy and economical dish to prepare and was a hit at our indoor picnic complete with a pasta salad, biscuits, and cheese and crackers!


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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Kid Recipes, Notebook Experiments, Recipes

One last request for a quick vote for me today! I feel as though I am borderline harassing people, but have a strange desire to win. Will you bear with my silly whining? The BlogLuxe Blog Awards end on July 6th and I would so appreciate your vote of confidence for, "The Cleanest Blog" and/or "The Blog You Learned the Most From." It would truly mean the world to me and I have greatly appreciated all of your votes so far. Thank you, thank you! One thing I know I have is fantastic readers and I really appreciate it!

I hope you enjoy the notebook this week!!

I love this idea for creating summer journals with the kids (@ Let's Explore)

This is a great idea for busting that summer boredom (@ The Idea Room)

These breakfast cookies look so delicious (@ little momma & company)

These patriotic pinwheels would be a fun addition to a 4th of July bash (@ Pepper Paints)

This crocheted ripple blanket is beautiful (@ Attic24)

I will have to remember this idea for a teacher gift next year (@ marytree)

These blueberry & mint cupcakes look like a wonderful summer treat (@ Coconut & Lime)

I love this idea for turning t-shirts into dresses (@ Adventures in Babywearing)

This firecracker bean bag toss is so cool (@ How to Be Domestic!)

These pantyhose corsages are beautiful (@ Craftzine)

This placemat turned into a bib is thrifty and chic (@ luvinthemommyhood)

This personalized "I Spy" book is a brilliant idea (@ Brassy Apple)

I am going to have to add some of these board games to our Christmas list (@ ohdeedoh)

These red, white, and blue ice cream cupcakes look delicious and festive (@ Annie's Eats)

This embroidered headboard is so beautiful (@ design sponge)

I want to make some of these garden markers for my garden (@ The Stories of A to Z)

This is a great tutorial for making flower headbands (@ homemade by jill)

I am going to try this recipe for cold-brewed coffee (@ NY Times)

I love this idea for repurposing newborn hats (@ Parent Hacks)

My children would love these giant vanilla sugar cookies (@ Joy the Baker)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

I just want to say a special thank you to each of you for visiting my website and sharing it with your friends, family, and your own readers. We had another great month and it is all thanks to you. I hope to continue offering support through our site, lots of giveaways for our readers, and a place where you feel valued and cared for. If there is anything you would like to see on here, please contact me (amy@momadvice.com) and let me know what you would like to see in the upcoming year.

Don't forget, you can subscribe to my feeds and never miss another thing on our site again! We have a landing page where it makes it easy to subscribe to our blogs and you can even subscribe to my article feed.

This month's top referrers were:

1. Freebies 4 Mom
2. Baby Cheapskate
3. Nesting Place
4. I'm An Organizing Junkie
5. Facebook
6. Twitter
7. A Soft Place to Land
8. Feels Like Home
9. Deal Seeking Mom
10. Swagbucks

Please take some time this month to check out each of their sites. They are amazing at what they do and we are thankful that we have such great supporters!

This month's top articles & entries were:

1. Homemade Wendy's Frosty
2. 35 Ways to Reduce that Grocery Budget
3. Simplifying Your To-Do List
4. Planning a Staycation
5. Six Easy Ways to Save on that Weekend Getaway
6. World's Greatest Homemade Slushies
7. Notebook Experiments: Can I Craft Some Bath Toys?
8. Whole Wheat Cinnamon Waffles
9. My Favorite Zesty Chicken Marinade
10. Notebook Experiments: Can I Craft a Cool Dad Gift?

Labels: Monthly Recaps