Vrooming Through Our Debt

Two envelopes came to us this week filled with two things that I had never seen before. No, in my entire life I have never held a title in my hand and I am now the owner of not one, but two old cars. This calls for some celebrating!

Just like our credit card free party, it was time to bring the kids into the celebration and share with them our great news. I decided we would have a Cars Party and hunted in the pantry for what we could fix.

Ethan worked on the centerpiece and picked his favorite cars to display. We put it out on our patio table and started gathering up the food.

No steak for this celebration? I had enough time to throw some hot dogs in the slow cooker and we put out all the hot dog fixings, a big bowl of pretzels, and cheese wedges.

In an incredible twist of good luck, Ryan had a presentation at work so he came home with a projector. I climbed on a patio chair and rigged up that old sheet from this weekend and made a very hillbilly-esque kind of outdoor theater for the kids. Yeah, you know it, they thought I was the coolest mom ever.
What did we watch? Walt Disney's Cars movie of course! They have seen this movie a ton of times, but it is like the first time every single time for Ethan.

We put our centerpiece to good use and played with our cars on the real and rugged road.


If that road feels too bumpy though, you can always use your legs for the road.

What's a movie without snacks though? I whipped up a batch of our homemade slushies and we brought the popcorn popper outside and popped a big batch of popcorn to share. Slushie sloshing and popcorn throwing were completely fine at this outdoor event.

If you need to take a nap while watching the show, seating is also available. Ethan pulled his clean blanket off the clothesline and took a little rest while he watched the show.


My liens on cars have been released. With credit cards and car payments behind us, we can start making a dent into those student loans and finally... our mortgage. Each step brings us closer to our goal and each step brings me more peace of mind.

The beauty of it all wore off yesterday as I screeched and clunked my way to stop. My car will be spending this week in the shop for some repairs. My husband's car is lacking A/C and will need a turn in the shop as well.

They might be a couple of old clunkers, but they are OUR clunkers now.

Boy, am I proud!

Frugal Family: Summertime Edition

This summer has been a quiet one for our family. Intended trips were vetoed in favor of staycations and saving fuel. Our backyard update has been just the fix we needed though to enjoy quiet afternoons and evenings in our very own space. Our sweat equity has paid off and we have felt less impacted by the rising cost of fuel because all we desire is to spend time in our fresh new space.

I plop myself into a lawn chair and I look out over our large yard. I can see two sets of feet dancing behind the sheets, as the clothes blow on our clothesline. The children are giggling uncontrollably as they play peek-a-boo and try to catch one another, flipping the sheets back and forth.

I have set up all of their outdoor toys and it is always the laundry line that is the most fascinating to them. My daughter pulls off a towel and runs over to me shouting, "Queen, Queen." Yes, she has somehow moved up the chain of royalty and no longer considers herself a princess, but who can blame her? Given the choice, I would aim for the queen title myself.

My son has wrapped a blue piece of tape around his head and tells me that he is a Ninja. I laugh to myself as I see the Ninja and Queen are holding hands and running together. Only in my backyard would moments like these even be possible.

The kids run through the sprinklers and hold their mouths open to catch the water. Drinks rest on the picnic table, but there is nothing like a cold spray of water in your face to catch a drop of water in your mouth. They are soaked, but the sunshine keeps them warm.

I bring out the popsicles- the same exact color, design, and shape so no squabbles can form. I fear what would happen if a Ninja and Queen had to battle it out for the best popsicle in town. Thankfully, they are so excited for their treat that they forget to fight. They sit underneath our small tree for shade and laugh because it is so cold in their mouth.

My queen is getting tired though and I pull her into my lap and hold her close. Her beach towel is wrapped around her and I lean in to smell her hair. It is the smell of sunshine, of baby shampoo, of sweetness that is like nothing else. I curl my fingers around her pigtails and let them go so little wet ringlets form around my finger. In my head, just one word keeps coming to mind and I quietly chant it in my head, "Blessed. Blessed. Blessed."

No matter what happens in the economy, no matter how high the groceries get, and no matter how much the gas prices increase... I am blessed. It is the first thing I think when I wake up and it is the last thought on my mind as my head hits the pillow.

I am one lucky girl!

Summertime Planning

I was really inspired by Whatever's summer list and vowed that we were going to do that this summer for our family. We headed over to the Dollar Tree and picked up a piece of poster board for $.50 and a fresh new Sharpie marker for $1. On the way home, we talked about all of the things that we wanted to do this summer and we both got really excited about all of our fun plans.

Ethan made the list with us and this is what we came up with:

Go to the beach (St Joe and/or New Buffalo)
Go to the dinosaur museum (the Field Museum)
Play Mario Kart with mommy
Make homemade slushies
Run through the sprinklers
Go to the zoo (Ft Wayne and/or Potowatomi Zoo)
Go to playgroup(s)
Go to VBS
Go to the dollar movie
Sleepover with our cousin
Have an Earth Hour family night
Make homemade pizza
Eat at the food court at the mall
Make homemade play dough
Go to St Louis
Go to Granny's house to play
Make Magic Milkshakes
Go to Grandma's house to play
Go to the park
Get our first library card
Go to the water park
Make banana pops
Wash the cars with daddy
Get out the rainy day suitcase
Watch the Car's movie and eat Jimmy John's
Have an ice cream sundae night
Buy presents for the homeless shelter and deliver them
Go to Krispy Kreme and watch them make donuts
Have a picnic in the backyard
Go to the AirZoo Museum

Ethan drew a picture of his family in the summertime to go along with our list and we hung it in our kitchen for the summer.

I love that the majority of the activities he picked didn't cost money and that the ones that he did pick that cost something could be special things that we could look forward to together. Since we have no big vacation plans, this looks like a really great round-up of activities to keep us busy this summer.

It is kind of funny though... I think my husband & I are just as excited as he is!

Rainy Day Activity: Popcorn Fun

It's raining, it's pouring...what is a desperate mom to do? My popcorn tub came to my rescue this week and I have pulled it into our guest bathroom so the kids could have a blast in it, with easy clean-up for me.

I had bought a bag of popcorn at our wholesale club and knew that there was no way we would be able to eat the entire bag in a timely fashion. This popcorn tub was my son's favorite gift for Christmas two years ago and it is still going strong.

We filled the tub with all of the children's toys from their sand box and they have a blast for hours playing in this. When they are done, I just get out a broom and dustpan and make quick work of it. I have found that my sweepers spit the popcorn back out so it is easier to just take a broom to the floors, rather than doing the sweeping and spitting bit that I was doing before.

Emily didn't get the concept of keeping the popcorn in the tub, but she soon got the hang of it after I showed her how she could fill her pails in the plastic container rather than trying to scoop and pour on the floor.

What goes better with popcorn than pajamas? Keep the kids in their "morning clothes" (as my son calls them!) and let them enjoy a quiet day of playing in popcorn.

Popcorn & Pajamas- two of my favorite "P" words especially when mommy is POOPED! Don't you love how ridiculously theme-y I am?

Update on My Nephew

I just got off the phone with my mom and Austin is in ICU. His surgery lasted over eight hours yesterday so he was under for a lot longer than they had expected. They are waiting to see if the blood will start flowing and if the blood vessels will attach and begin working before we can be sure that the surgery was a success. He has been sick from being under for that length of time and we are just thankful that he got through it. Please continue to pray that this surgery will be a success for him and for his family.

Thank you all for being so sweet and praying for him. I know that their family really appreciates it and needs your support!

Prayers for Austin

Today is a hard day for our family and I am just asking you to lift my six year-old nephew up in your prayers this week. Austin is undergoing a very intense surgery today, where they will be grafting new skin for his leg to replace the nevus that is currently there. He will be in surgery for six hours today and then will be in ICU for seven to ten days. It is hard, as an aunt, to know what he is going through right now and I sit here feeling helpless waiting for any snippets from my sister about how it is going.

We sent Austin off with a little treat- a double batch of blueberry muffins for everyone to snack on while they were waiting. I am becoming a pro at "hospital hospitality" as, I believe, we are on our eighth surgery for Austin and I try to make a little something for them each time they go. It isn't much, but these are the only things I feel like I can do right now.

Ethan is so worried about his best friend and cousin, so we decided to send pictures that Austin could open each day that he is at the hospital. My sister said she had to hide them because Austin was so excited to see what Ethan had made for him. Ethan said he made things that he thought Austin would think were "super cool" to cheer him up. We numbered them for each day he would be away from us and promised a sleepover at our house when he got better.

Please pray for a swift recovery and bless the surgeons with the skills that are needed to complete the task.

Our Debt-Free Party

We finally celebrated our debt-free party, after making the final payment on our credit cards today. I wanted to make sure that it was really special and that the kids would be an active participant in our joy and elation of all we did to work towards this day.

Above is our centerpiece for the event. As cheesy as it was, it was symbolic of the fruits of our labor. I put the amount of money that we paid off into the basket to show Ethan what a big sum it was and how excited we were that we didn't have to pay this anymore. The money came from our Monopoly game and we were able to let him count it out and also used it to show how borrowing money works. This made things more tangible for him and we tried to make this a great teaching opportunity for why debt it so bad.

What should a debt-free family eat for their celebration dinner? Steak, of course! I used this marinade recipe and marinated the steaks while I prepared the rest of the ingredients for the meal. I got a big loaf of crusty bread with oil to dip it in, I made this Creamy Spinach Ravioli (minus the dill and prepared with half & half instead of milk), and I made a big batch of brownies for dessert.


Even Emily seemed to appreciate my modest culinary efforts. Most of the ingredients came right from the pantry so it was still an affordable dinner. The writing didn't turn out on the brownies, but we devoured them anyway. That will teach me to get anxious and pipe before they are throughly cooled.

What's a party without a good toast? I got a bottle of wine for our celebration and used our cut up credit card as an accent to our wine glasses. I poured pink lemonade for Ethan in the fancy wine glass so he could celebrate a toast with us.

We clinked glasses several times to get the best shot for you! Ethan loved clinking the glasses so he didn't mind the extra takes.

I finished the evening by reading my entry that I wrote about our happy return to the land of no credit cards. It actually was quite emotional for me to read it out loud to my husband because we went through so much to get to this point.

Thank you all for sharing in our journey with us and for supporting our efforts on the site. Cheers to you!

Spring Break '08 Cost Breakdown

We did so much over our spring break, that we took the last day off to just rest. The kids were tired and so was I, but we finished the weekend off with a yummy dinner and another free Netflix rental..."Alvin & the Chipmunks."

Here is our cost breakdown for our fun & frugal spring break:

1. Local Park- Free
2. Playing & Working Outside in the Yard, Dinner & "The Bee Movie" to watch- Free
3. Zoo- Admission $12 (Side Note- We just purchased a family pass for $55, which we will use all summer)
4. Healthworks Museum- Free Admission Day
5. Ethan's First Sleepover & Dinner with My Sister- $1.50 for tolls to pick him up
6. Knitting Playgroup & a Birthday Party- $1.69 for yarn & $4 for ingredients for birthday pies

Total Cost- $19.19 for six days of fun!

We saved money by packing lunch at the zoo and the playgroup we attended. For all of the other stuff we did, we just made sure that I had something in mind for what we could eat for dinner so that we weren't tempted to eat out.

We timed a Netflix free trial subscription to our spring break and enjoyed a couple of great movies with the kids when the weather turned bad. I think we are going to keep the membership though because we cut our channels back and it has been so nice to have something to look forward to in the evenings.

I asked Ethan what his favorite thing he did on his break was and he said it was a tie between going to the park, going to the zoo, going to the museum, and going to his cousin's for a sleepover. I think that indicates that I was successful in creating some fun memories for him without breaking the bank.

We hope to share more of our thrifty experiences with you when making our summer vacation plans! After all, who says you need to spend a lot of money to have a great time?

Kid's Summer Movie Club

Cinemark has a program this summer for a fun movie club for kids! I was so thrilled to see that our area (Mishawaka- Movies 6) is participating. For us, this program is running at our second-run theater, which is normally a $2 admission. For $5 though, we could get into ten movies this summer- what a deal! Lucky for us, this movie theater is just a few blocks down from our house so it would be a great way to entertain the kids and keep cool this summer.

Here are the details from the website:

• 10 Weeks Of Fun Films For Kids •
• A Different Movie Every Week •
• Weekday Mornings This Summer •

All 10 movies can be purchased in advance for $5.00, or can be
purchased separately at the box office for $1.00 per show.

$5 Series punch cards are limited and are available while supplies last.
Admission with a series punch card is limited to one person per card per movie.

The films that have been selected are rated either G or PG

For more details and to see if your area is participating, check this list!

Spring Break Day Six

Can you guess what I learned how to do while Ethan was on break? I can hardly believe it, but I can knit now! For our sixth day of spring break, we headed over to my friend Jessica's for a "knitting playgroup," where she taught a group of us how to knit while our kids played. I never would believe in a million years that I could do something like this, but here is some picture proof that I am getting the hang of it. After struggling through her class, I came home and just kept trying and trying. Thanks to a patient teacher and great first lesson, here is how I am doing.

I realize it isn't perfect, but this is my first try and I am so proud. Does anyone have any tips for a newbie knitter? How to save money on knitting? What are the best first projects? What is the best size knitting needles? You know, stuff you wish you would have known when you first started out! I would appreciate your help!

The kids also had a great time playing with the other kids while we gabbed and Jessica helped each of us with our little knitting projects. Total cost spent on this event was $1.69 for yarn (I borrowed a set of her needles).We spent the evening at my brother's birthday party. What kids don't love a good birthday party? He turned 22 and we headed to his house for a celebration. Mom & Dad got pizza and I made two homemade Key Lime Pies for his special day. Despite the lime shortage at the grocery store, they turned out to be really yummy, although a little thinner on the filling than I had hoped! I spent about $4 on ingredients (everything else came from our pantry). Happy birthday, John!

Spring Break Day Five

On the fifth day of Spring Break, my true love gave to me....Wait! That's not how it goes! Well, on day five of our break we had my sister and nephews over for dinner. I made chicken tacos and a tray of Rice Krispie treats for dessert.

When my sister comes over it is a built-in playgroup for us. There are only six months between Emily & Jackson and nine months between Austin & Ethan. The kids play so well together that the two of us can spend a lot of time with our feet kicked up so it works out great for us.

At the end of the evening, my sister invited Ethan over to stay the night for the boy's first sleepover. Ethan goes to his grandparent's house frequently, but he hasn't gotten the chance to do a sleepover with a friend yet. We had our fingers crossed that it would go well.

The boys did good until they got up super early and were both just a mess by noon. I met my sister halfway to pick the boys up (to save us both on gas and driving time since she lives two towns away). Total cost was $1.50 to pay for tolls to get to our meeting location and gas.

We asked the two little ones to pose for a picture and this is what resulted- they both laid down and arched their backs. Yeah, this is the stage we are going through right now!

Emily loved watching the two older boys play on the Wii. They used it to draw silly pictures for her and it was cracking her up.

Ethan & Austin are best buddies! I just loved this shot of them!

I might be partial, but aren't my nephews adorable? Jackson is obsessed with playing ball right now and actually took one of our balls home because he couldn't part with it.

And what do my sister and I do while the boys play? We eat and eat and eat and eat. I don't know why we do this, but that is what we did. There were hardly any Rice Krispie treats left after all of our eating!

Spring Break Day Four

Today we went for the free day at our local Healthworks Museum. On the 8th day of each month this year, they offer free admission and I thought this would be a fun (and affordable) activity to do with the kids. Apparently every parent in our community thought the same thing because there were over 200 people in that one room museum. It was complete insanity and I was feeling a little panicky because I couldn't keep an eye on both kids at the same time. I met my friend Kyra, from Kids Around the Bend and my friend Katie, who helped me keep an eye on Ethan while I tailed Emily around the museum, but we were all overwhelmed with so many children there!

Emily really loved the food displays that shared what foods to eat and how our food is digested. The pumpkin was a definite favorite and she carried it around with her.

Lots of food puzzles were there for the kids to put together.

Do you see anything funny growing in the garden? Ethan pops up among the flowers.

They had a cute little market stand where the kids could weigh, purchase, and sell food. Emily and Ethan spent a lot of time there.

We planned to head over to the Chocolate Cafe to see the new kid's play area and have lunch there, but Emily was BESIDE herself and threw the biggest tantrum of the century in the play area. Tears were shed all around as Ethan lost his "lucky" balloon as soon as we walked outside and Emily continued to throw her tantrum all the way out to the car. I think we were all overwhelmed with the amount of people at both locations.

At least we saved some money by eating lunch at home and Emily headed straight to bed for her nap!

I am planning to head back to the Chocolate Cafe another time with just Ethan though- we have both been looking forward to visiting it and seeing the new play area.

All in all, not the best day for Emily, but Ethan had a fabulous time!

Spring Break Day Three

Today we visited the zoo. We were planning to go on our own, but I called my girlfriend and she was heading to the zoo too so we decided to meet up. We purchased our zoo pass for the year ($55 for a family pass), but we visit the zoo often and also go to other more expensive zoos, so it ends up paying for itself within a few visits.

Do you see anyone else in the picture? The tiger is in the far left, and the crazy lady with the camera is dead center. The kids loved seeing the tiger!

Ethan's best buddy, Alexis!

Emily's favorite exhibit was the monkeys. She loved making monkey sounds at them. Say, "Cheese!"

Taking time for a quick pose on the turtle.

We packed a lunch to save some money and ate at the park. I had some leftover Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad that made the perfect lunch. The kids enjoyed some yummy peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, apples, and crackers.

The rest of the day I plan to catch up on laundry and getting the house back in order since I was away. If you are looking for some fun things to do with the kids today, check out my post, "Creative Toy Replacements" featured on Blissfully Domestic!

Sound Off: Do you purchase a family pass to any area attractions?

Spring Break Day Two

Today we worked on the yard together as a family. I mowed the lawn to help mulch up the leaves, we worked on our flower beds a little, trimmed the hedges, and also laid down some grass seed. It doesn't sound like much fun, but that was what needed to be done today!

While I mowed, the kids were watching me from the window. They kept knocking on the glass to get me to wave and making funny faces.

After it was safe for them to come out, they helped rake and gather leaves with me. They also spent some time playing in the water table, blowing bubbles, and kicking a beach ball.

We headed inside for a yummy dinner- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, Cheese & Crackers, and some freshly chopped carrots. I timed a Netflix free trial subscription to our Spring Break so we watched, "The Bee Movie" while we enjoyed the yummy food.

This would have been another day of no spending, but Ethan cashed in his tickets to rent a game. Does anyone else think that $9 is a bit too steep for a Wii game rental? What in the world? My husband took him and let him pick what he wanted. Next time, we agreed that we will get a Playstation game or even buy a used game for that price (at Blockbuster). What a rip off!

Spring-y Break Day One Pt II

Emily loved the swings best of all! She spent a good hour letting me push her in the swing. We all took turns giving her a good push- even Ethan!

Ethan prefers the slides!

Complete and utter joy.

Dontcha wish your mommy was hot like this? Crazy wild hair ensues after a day at the park and there were tears all the way home from Emily. I look like I am smiling, but I am gritting my teeth because she is doing the best to kick the back of the seat because she is mad that I made her leave the park. Ahhh! Motherhood!

Spring-y Break Day One

We match perfectly! You know, me and the color red- I am enforcing the color on my kid now too!

Peeking Out

My handsome hubby!

Emily was not looking forward to her picture being taken. It was keeping her from the swings! Remember, it is painful to have our pictures done with our mommy!

A fun day at the park with the kids was how we decided to kick off our spring break! It was a beautiful day outside and we couldn't resist taking advantage of such a perfect day. I have missed the kids so much and they enjoyed a whole day of fun & sunshine with us!

We are looking forward to a fun week ahead and I have lots of ideas for fun & cheap things that I can do with them while we are on break. Ryan is back to work, after taking vacation time for my trip, so it will be just the three of us during the day this week.

Sound Off: Any big plans Spring Breakers?

Family Night: Earth Hour

I had been looking forward to Earth Hour all week and sharing this experience with my family. We talked to Ethan about why we were celebrating Earth Hour and how much fun we were going to have. Since Earth Hour was between 8-9 PM, it was a special treat for the kids to stay up late and spend the hour with us.


The kids took a bath by candlelight, which they thought was a super fun treat! We filled the tub with lots of bubbles and threw in a couple of whisks and spoons from the kitchen. They whisked up bubbles to their hearts delight and sang fun songs by candlelight.

Ethan thought he looked pretty cool in front of the candles so he took some time out of his busy schedule to pose!

After our baths, we enjoyed a yummy snack while Ryan & I made shadow puppets on the wall for the kids. They thought these were hilarious and super cool!


Ethan had so much fun, he asked if we could celebrate Earth Hour every day! This gave me an opportunity to share with him easy ways he could celebrate AND save the earth. We talked about doing our recycling, turning the lights off when we aren't in a room, and not being wasteful. Since this family night was such a hit, I hope we can do it with the kids again. Not only did the kids have a blast, but it was super frugal, while being extremely memorable for all of us!

Sound Off: Did you celebrate Earth Hour? How did you celebrate it?

Frugal Family Fun

My husband builds some amazing forts for the kids using sofa cushions, comforters, and lots of fluffy pillows. Throw on a DVD from the library and you have your very own movie theater! The kids had a great time with daddy while I was gone last night. Aren't dads just the best fort builders?



When the kids climb in bed, my husband and I pretend it is summer and sip our Magic Milkshakes. We sip these as we catch up on our work in the evening or just spend time chatting while we slurp our shakes down. The Midwest folks have spring fever so we do what we can to make it feel like it is hot outside!

Old School Momma Declares War

When I was a little girl, we had the best babysitter in the entire world, who took care of us when my mom worked. She was an elderly woman named Mrs. Davis and I worshiped the ground she walked on. She always brought with her a bag of goodies to keep us entertained. In her bag of tricks were Little Golden Books to read to us (from her own personal collection), a small bag of candy for each child, and a deck of cards to play games with us. Her deck was secured with a trusty rubber band that I loved to snap, snap, snap while she dealt the cards out. My memories of her and being with her make me a little misty eyed. Mrs. Davis passed away several years ago, but the memory of her and her bag of tricks lives in my heart.

When I visited Goodwill, I picked up a deck of cards for $.50 and have decided to begin teaching my son some of the games that were so fun for me when I was a kid. I thought I would share some of the games we tried and the rules for how to play them.

This game is guaranteed to last for centuries and was a great quiet game to keep him entertained while Emily napped. I used my popcorn popper and made us a batch of popcorn to be snacked on while we played.

We started with the game of, "War." This is an excellent game to start with because it teaches young children card ranking. A good age for this game is between 4-12 and the only equipment you need is a deck of cards...and a little stamina.

Rules for War:

Shuffle the cards well. Deal the entire deck, keeping all of the cards down and no peeking. To begin, both players turn their top cards simultaneously and place them side by side, face up, in the center. The one who plays the higher ranking card gets to keep both the cards (Aces are high in this game). These cards are added to the bottom of the winner's stack.

When both players turn over cards of the same rank (you have an Ace, they have an Ace), "war" is declared. Smaller children really get into this and we started to shout, "War!" out together. Each player then places the top three cards from his stack face down on the original card. Then each places a fourth card face up on top of the three face-down cards. The higher face-up card will win all of the ten cards. If these match you can declare a, "DOUBLE WAR!" (be sure to shout it for added enjoyment) and then the battle continues.

Whomever ends up with the entire deck of cards is the winner. A player can also win if their opponent runs out of cards in the middle of the war.

There are variations on War that I am looking forward to exploring, but I wanted to start with an easy game for a 5 year old.

You can also add in your own rules. Ethan decided that, "The loser gets lots of popcorn," but only when he lost. The winner also, "got more lemonade," but only when he won. When I lost though, I "just lost." Yes, those can be the challenges when playing with a 5 year old kid!

I tell you though... the game still hasn't lost its novelty to me and I thought fondly of Mrs. Davis and my special time with her!

Sound Off: What was your favorite game growing up?

Winter Day Activity: Pudding Paints (With Pictures & Details)

Surprise! A snow day! It truly was a surprise for me because I didn't see our school listed and so I got my son ready for his day and took him there. An empty school and a completely full day of nothing to do today. What's a mom to do?

Instead of sitting in front of the television, we worked on making finger paints and enjoyed a day of painting and then a day of bathing because we were so sticky and messy from our painting. The kids really loved these, although I think Emily ended up eating more of the paint then she did actually painting with it.

I spread out a plastic tablecloth that I had gotten with some promotional materials from a company. I would recommend using a plastic shower curtain or tablecloth (both can be purchased from a dollar store) and keeping this with your craft supplies. We also have old shirts from daddy or do the all natural look (as Emily has displayed) for the really messy stuff.

We had little finger sponges that had come with a finger paint set that I had bought from Target last year. The kids started out with these and then just begin slapping their hands in the paint. The sponges were fun for awhile, but bare fingers dipped in pudding taste much better!

Please ignore the horrible colors we made. We found green and red made mud. The yellow of the pudding mix made for some interesting colors, but my little artists didn't care!

This recipe is great because I always have pudding mixes in my cupboard. Next time I make this though, I will probably use 1 1/2 cups of water instead of two cups to help make it a little less drippy.

This is one of those fun activities for a snowy day or a rainy day that will only cost you one pudding mix!

Pudding Paint

1 package of instant pudding (3.4 oz)
2 cups ice-cold water
Food coloring

Whisk water and instant pudding together in a bowl for two minutes. Refrigerate for five minutes. Divide pudding into several small bowls or muffin tins. Add five to seven drops of food coloring to each bowl or tin and mix.

Frugal Hacks: Never Miss a Christmas Show Again

Today on Frugal Hacks, I am sharing tips for recording all of your favorite Christmas specials and movies on television this year. Who would want to miss any of their old favorites? Plus, they added some great new favorites (did anyone else love the new Shrek Christmas special?) for the year too. Be sure to check out my post so you can set those recorders for some fun family nights together!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we checked out some of our old favorite movies and I happened upon a movie that we had not seen before called, "The Holiday Inn." This has become my new favorite Christmas movie and I would recommend checking it out for your family this holiday season. There is lots of great singing and dancing in this film and although there is some political incorrectness for our time period, it is an excellent movie that really made us smile! Interesting enough, it was also the inspiration for the hotel chain name...Holiday Inn.

I am curious, what is your favorite holiday movie? Do you have any obscure holiday movies that might be overlooked by most families, but that is a favorite in your house?

WSBT-TV: Family Nights On A Budget

Here is today's segment from WSBT! We talked about family nights on a budget and discussed all of the great things you can do with your family without spending a ton of money in the process. Above the video is an email that you can use to send in suggestions for the next show. Even if you don't live in our area, I am sure they would love the story ideas!

On a personal note, I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. My mom got to come home yesterday from the hospital and is on the mend. Thank you for thinking of her.

On a lighter note, you should watch the clip so you can see my new hair cut. FINALLY got to go to the hair dresser after four months without a good cut. Only a mom could appreciate what a luxury that was! Maybe next time I will do what Meredith did and just have Ethan chop it for me...That would be a lot cheaper! Of course there is always opening my own beauty salon!

Back to the family night topic, what is your favorite thing to do as a family? Any suggestions for my next family night together?

Day 22: The Poor and the Sick

Is there such a thing as being sick on a budget? Our family seems to think so! We try to even address our budget when it comes to our illnesses in life. Here are some ways that you can save money when you are sick:

- Try home remedies before reaching for the cough syrup. There are tons of wonderful remedies that you can do that don't require a big expense. I am a big believer in chicken soup, a warm bath, hot tea, and lots of rest. The rest alone is sometimes enough for me to kick what is ailing me.

- If you need over-the-counter medications, try and stock up on these items when doing your drugstore rebates. Usually CVS & Walgreens both will run rebates on these medications and you can get them for free or really inexpensively. Other great resources are the Dollar General, the Dollar Tree, and the generic equivalents available at your large superstores. The best way to save a buck is to have your medicine cabinet stocked with these items before you are ill. A 24 hour drugstore with no sale will run you quite a bit more than what you would spend normally.

- Organize your medicine cabinet so you know exactly where your items are. We have a three drawer plastic container where we have our medications divided by ailment (cough/cold, pain relievers, stomach) and we put these in there. I get really mad at myself when I have run out to get a medication, only to find it days later in a hidden drawer. Keeping this and your First Aid kit organized are the best ways to know what you have on hand when sickness and emergency situations arise.

- When you go to the doctor, ask if they have any samples of the medications you might need. Sometimes, particularly with my children, I am able to get enough for a few days.

- If they don't have any samples, ask if there are any prescriptions that they could give you off of the $4 list or free antibiotics from your local retailers. Call around and price check before you fill your prescriptions and always ask if you can get the generic version of any medication.

- If you start to feel ill, try right away to get in the doctor for treatment. A visit during normal office hours will be a lot less expensive than an urgent care clinic.

- When choosing a doctor, ask about evening hours and Saturday appointments. Pick a doctor with extended hours and this alone can save you quite a bit. I love that our doctor's office is open until eight in the evening and that I have many more options for appointment times.

- If you do become ill, try after-hours clinics or places like MedPoint to get the care that you need (unless the illness is life-threatening). I have saved our family a lot of money by visiting these places instead of the emergency room. Just walking into the emergency room can put me in the negative, before I have even been checked, so these after-hour clinics can be a wonderful option for the frugal family.

- If your illness does require a hospital stay, make sure to check your bills. There are many expensive and unnecessary charges that can be added to your bill. This is one of those types where diligence will be your best defense in lowering your hospital bill. Don't be afraid to ask what the charges are and have them explain the vague & general charges. You don't have to be rude, but you can be very firm and polite when asking someone to explain what a "lab fee" is for. You are your own best advocate when you are educated about what you are paying for.

- Don't forget to set up your emergency account for these types of situations. Check into getting a flexible spending account for your medical expenses. Consumer Reports offers this advice..."If your company offers a flexible spending account for your out-of-pocket health-care costs, go for it--but don't go overboard." Flexible spending accounts are usually use-it-or-lose it accounts. Figure out a rough estimate and go a little under that. Don't know what to do with all that leftover money at the end of the year? Check out these 24 suggestions for spending your leftover flexible account money.

- The best way to stop yourself from getting sick is prevention. Exercise, take a daily multivitamin, and make healthy lifestyle choices. People who do these things save tons of money on doctor visits and medications. If that isn't a powerful motivator, I don't know what is!

Potential Monthly Savings: $20 or more

Sound Off: What are some ways you save money when your family is sick?

An Ideal Morning: First Day Back to School

Today was my son's first day back to school and I tried to think of everything that we would need to prepare for a smooth morning together.

Last night I preset the coffeemaker (that MUST be done first!) so that I could have my cup of coffee. Together we picked out what he wanted to wear to school the next day and we set it in a basket beside his bed. I put everything there, even his shoes and socks, and he was instructed to dress himself and put his clothes in the hamper when he woke up.

In the kitchen, I poured his bowl of cereal, laid out a banana and put a glass of water out for him. I also had a card tucked away that our Children's Ministry Director, from our church, had given to me for his first day back. I wrote a special note to him about how proud we were of him. Hanging on his chair was his new "Cars" backpack, a special treat to start his year.

We had the best morning together and had plenty of time to spare before climbing in the car to take him to school. I was worried that we would be rushing, since we were used to the afternoon time session versus the morning, but we did well.

I tried to think of everything and we had the ideal morning I had hoped for. Best of all, I am getting a little extra time with my daughter, who sometimes gets the short end of the stick since she is the second child in the house. We took a walk and played outside. It was nice to get to be just with her. Last year, she was napping during this time so this is the first time that we have had some quality time together for just the two of us.

The only thing that ended up being forgotten was the backpack, which was tucked under my son's seat in the car. In his mad rush into school, he had forgotten the special backpack that he was so proud of.

He had a great day with his class and I am so happy that he is enjoying school so much! I know that this will change so we will enjoy his enthusiasm while it lasts.

Related Readings:

Back to School
Back to School Lunch Ideas
Weeding Through Your Child's Artwork Creatively

Sound Off: What are your tricks for making your mornings run smoothly when school starts?