Kids
Book: “Never Sniff A Gift Fish” by Patrick McManus
I was thinking about the books I have read over the past few years and decided to chose one that is a little more “unique” from some of my other recommendations but nevertheless I have really enjoyed reading Patrick McManus books. Never Sniff A Gift Fish by Patrick McManus is one that we have at our house. The author has a way of making you laugh sometimes until your sides hurt. He is funny and his short stories are great to read. We have had his books in our magazine racks for years and I cannot count the number of times people have borrowed or taken the books for a short period of time to read them. I am looking forward to reading them to the girls soon too. A lot of his stories have to do with outdoor adventures, kid mischief, and fun. Each chapter is another short story. Some are more hilarious then others but there have been times I have had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard. Life is short so why not have fun. If you haven’t read one of his books you really should, you’ll enjoy some extra chuckles reading the adventures in his books. As the warmer season comes upon us it makes me think of camping and reading his books around a camp fire, great memories! Patrick McManus actually has several books if you prefer one of the other ones instead:
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
RiteAid and Walgreens It was my third week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4. Although it has been a learning process the last two weeks this one has gone pretty well so far. I have to admit, honestly, this week we stocked up on some good deals on special treats and items for road trips for the family. It is always a learning and growing progress for our family. We are continuing to utilize the food we already have in our pantry and freezer. Here is my grocery spending for the week:- $2.29 at Walgreens for 3 boxes of Sugar Free Jello Pudding and 1 M&M Cookie (see picture below)
- $9.99 at RiteAid for a 3 Mountain Dew ThrowBack (12 packs) and 1 free Diet Pepsi (12 pack). Jake really likes the Mountain Dew Throwback and recently I have been having a hard time finding it even on the shelves so we stocked up this week.
Mommy was a softy since the girls were home from school on Monday and helping me run errands. I bought the girls a giant M&M Sugar Cookie that was on sale for 50 cents. Brina and Karlie were more than happy to share the monster cookie! =) It was great having my two little helpers along for a ZoobaLoobaDoo errand! The errands were not quite as “efficient” but they did help and were super good during the trip!
SaveALot | RiteAid and BiLo Groceries from SaveALot | RiteAid and BiLo:
- $8.14 at SaveALot | RiteAid for 2 gallons of Milk, Popcorn, and Sugar Free Candy
- $5.54 at BiLo for 2 packs Eggs (Dozen each), Gatorade Orange, Gatorade Fruit Punch, and Fresh Cabbage.
RiteAid, Dollar Tree, and Winslett Groceries from RiteAid, Dollar Tree, and Winslett:
- $7.99 at RiteAid for 3 (12 packs) Mountain Dew Throwback and 1 free (12 Pack) of Diet Pepsi (We are not Diet Pepsi drinkers, but since it was a free item we have reallocated it to someone who does! I wouldn’t have done this deal again but I had 2 – $1 off coupons for Pepsi products so the packs were less than $2 each). Jake should be set for quite awhile after this week’s stocking up on the Mountain Dew throwback!!!
- $3.03 at Dollar Tree for 3 bags of Sugar Free candy
- $2.00 at Winslett’s Produce (a family store with fresh produce) for 2 bags of Gluten Free White Cake Mix (we have several friends with Gluten allergies so this comes in handy for hosting and sharing)! The bags were marked down to $0.99 from $4 each!!!
It was our third week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 and we spent $38.98 so we were close to going over again, but thankfully we did better this week . I was able to stock up on some items for my man this week; Mountain Dew Throwback, Gatorade packs, and Sunflower seeds are perfect for traveling! Do you think I missed him a little bit while he was gone on a work trip, ha!? I am still trying to work out all the details of how to make the budget most effective for our family and I think some weeks will be easier than others. I used some coupons, bought clearance items, and utilized weekly ad discounts to help save us a little extra on our grocery budget. I hope to do better next week now that we have replenished Jake’s drinks! We’ll see how I do!
I hope to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Academy Sports & Outdoors: Clearance Sale – 88¢ (Over 700 Items)
Academy Sports & Outdoors is having an online clearance sale!
Over 700 items are priced at $0.88 each plus clearance on over 2000 other items. If you are looking to get a birthday gift or stock up on outdoor clothes or items this is a great time to do it. Click on their “Clearance” tab and sort by price “low to high” to see all the clearance items. The shipping rates are a little high but if you are ordering a handful of items at $0.88 each it will offset the delivery charges.Limited supplies so stock up while you can!Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points
Receive 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!
This code is different from the previous codes I have given.
Use Code: FollowPampers10
You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!
For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!
Twice as Fun: A Visit From The Tooth Fairy
My little Karlie is growing up! Karlie recently lost her first baby tooth which was an exciting day for the whole family. It marked a new stage in her life which means my baby is growing up! Although our girls know the “tooth fairy” really doesn’t exist it is fun to celebrate a new milestone in the lives of our kids.
Brina was excited for Karlie too and shared in the celebrations but is now ready for her baby teeth to start falling out as well. That is one hard part about having two at the same age, they are excited for each other but are ready for their turn too. Each of us is made uniquely so we let Brina know she will have a chance to celebrate too when her big teeth come through. I told her teeth will come in when it is perfect for her. Those who know me realize that I have been dreading this stage of Motherhood because I just don’t like wiggly teeth. I have to say it is amazing how much you can actually handle once you are going through it with your child.
Here are some pictures from Karlie’s First Tooth Fairy Celebration:
Karlie's Dollar from the "Tooth Fairy" for losing her first tooth! We put $1 Dollar in a butterfly Ziploc bag for Karlie losing her first tooth! She was super excited to see cash under her pillow the next morning. Karlie was up before the sun came up because she was so excited about losing her first tooth!
A Special Note from the Tooth Fairy The front side of her present had a note from the Tooth Fairy that said – “Congratulations Karlie on getting your 1st big girl tooth! Love, Tooth Fairy” She thought it was super silly especially the “eyes” on the word tooth!
A Note from the Tooth Fairy to Karlie! On the back side of her gift there was another note from the Tooth Fairy – “Karlie, Congratulations on losing your 1st baby tooth! You are growing up to be a beautiful girl! Love, The Tooth Fairy” Karlie thought it was great getting two special notes from the Tooth Fairy!
Karlie's Tooth Fairy goodies - $1 Dollar and 1 Book! Karlie was super excited to find her treasure under her pillow the next morning. I picked out shiny “star” wrapping paper for Karlie because she enjoys rockets, planets, and science. She even kept the paper for several days after opening the gift!
Karlie showing off her new book from the "Tooth Fairy"! Karlie was super excited to get a new book! Both girls love horses so they had fun reading this book together several times over the last few days.
Karlie's baby tooth in a little treasure chest! The dentist gave the Karlie a cute little yellow treasure chest to put her baby tooth in. She was super excited about the mini treasure chest!
It was a lot of fun celebrating the loss of Karlie’s first baby tooth. Karlie knows that there is no such thing as “The Tooth Fairy” even though we call it the Tooth Fairy. She was thrilled to get something special either way even if Mom and Dad are the Tooth Fairy. As parents we feel like it is okay to celebrate the monumental moments with your kids, however, we chose let them know if something that we celebrate such as the “Tooth Fairy” is really imaginary. We don’t want our kids growing up thinking we lied to them about something that isn’t even real. Every family has to make a decision about what is best for their family.
Please share with us your ideas on what you do to celebrate your children losing their teeth and what the “Tooth Fairy” brings for special goodies!
Twice as Fun is a series on raising Twins and all the joy that comes with it. We have been richly blessed to have twin daughters in our lives and want to share with you our thoughts, challenges, wisdom and love for raising multiples. Our girls have different interests and hobbies but they both know how to add excitement to our lives and make us chuckle.
Family Celebrations: Happy Birthday Skipper!
Best Buddies - A Girl and Her Dog (Brina and Skipper) The fifth member of our family is full of energy, a loyal friend, loves to play outside and adds a lot of laughter to our family…….Skipper! She is our sweet black lab who the girls absolutely adore! Our little Puddle Skipper Hayes was born on March 14, 2010 and she had fun celebrating her 1st birthday with us! It was a busy day full of a lot of activities but ended it with a little celebration for our furry family member. The girls were so excited to celebrate Skipper’s birthday.
Here are a few pictures from our fun together!
Brina and Karlie wrapping Skipper's birthday gifts! The girls wrapped Skipper’s gifts in newspaper and A LOT of tape! They even had tape on the floor when they were done (you can see a pile in between them on the carpet). They were so excited and had a blast doing the wrapping for their furry sister!
Skipper's Special Birthday Meal! The girls thought it was hilarious putting Skipper’s candle in her special meal. They thought it was funny she would rather have a special birthday meal with “bacon” then a birthday cake. The girls were worried that Skipper was going to burn her nose so she barely got close to the bowl until the candle was blown out, glad they were looking out for her. It was great watching them trying to keep her away from the candle while we sang Happy Birthday!
Skipper eating her birthday treat! The best puppy birthday meal you can ask for – Meaty and Moist, simply delicious! Plus she got to eat her special birthday treat all by herself (no one was wanting to share it with her).
The unwrapping part of the birthday celebrations was exciting and confusing for Skipper, good thing the girls were there to help! Skipper was very excited to get new bones and a toy! She immediately took one bone into the yard, then realized the other one was still on the porch so went back for that one. I really think she stayed up all night playing and eating her bones!
Happy Birthday Skipper! Hope you enjoyed your play time with the family, your feast, bones, and toy! The girls had fun picking them out, wrapping and celebrating with you!!!
Curious Kids: Triangular Vacuums
The neat part about having kids is that they notice the small things, the stuff we take for granted as adults. A few months ago one of my girls wanted to know “Why does the vacuum leave triangles on the carpet?” It perplexed them when they were watching me because the vacuum itself is a rectangle yet somehow it manages to spit out triangles onto the carpet when I vacuum the floor. Although the triangles are not necessary I let them know that seeing the triangles indicates to Mommy that the carpet has recently been cleaned and makes the room look nice.They had been learning about patterns at school and this strange occurrence at home captivated their attention one day. The triangles are created in a pattern by the way I steer the vacuum cleaner over the carpet. It helps me know that I have cleaned the entire floor and adds an extra reward at the end. It is the little things that you do that the kids pick up on and want to learn more about. I don’t know for sure if they will do the same things once they are grown but at least they know why Mommy creates triangles on the floor and how to do it with a rectangle shaped vacuum. I am thankful for kids who have the desire to learn, explore, and try to figure out how things work. Their curiosity keeps me on my toes and allows me to continue finding ways to teach them about life. As a Mom love this day to day education opportunity with my girls.
Family Celebrations: “Welcome Ranch” Birthday Party
This year did the girls birthday party celebration at Welcome Ranch. It was our first year doing their party outside of the house and after calling several locations we made the decision to do it at Welcome Ranch. Brina and Karlie’s personalities and tastes are very different (one of the many joys of having twins), however, they both LOVE animals especially horses. Jake and I booked the party and when we sat down to tell the girls they were thrilled. They were okay that we wouldn’t be decorating the house since they would be riding horses for entertainment this year. I think every day after telling them they would ask “Is it this week?” When the day finally arrived they asked every few minutes “How much longer until we can ride the horses?” Thankfully we had another activity planned with friends earlier that day so that distracted them for a couple hours. They were very excited when we were on our way to the horse ranch to celebrate. Here are a few pictures from our day at Welcome Ranch:
The sign at the entrance of Welcome Ranch said "Happy Birthday Karlie 6 & Brina 6" The girls were thrilled to see their names on the BIG sign at the entrance of Welcome Ranch! “We have never had such a BIG sign to wish us Happy Birthday!” They were pleasantly surprised and excited!
Brina and Karlie listening carefully to Ms. Lisa's instructions! Lisa did a wonderful job of getting the kids (and parents) attention while making the whole experience fun for everyone. She even got a few laughs when explaining the rules. Brina and Karlie were listening carefully so they wouldn’t miss out on anything! They picked out their ranch hats earlier that week at Wilson’s Five & Dime store on Lauren’s Road. I was surprised they wore the hats the entire time!
Karlie and Brina leading the way with Ms. Lisa to the horses! On our way to ride the horses! Karlie and Brina led everyone with Lisa to the horses. They were ready to ride!
Brina talking and riding Montana! Loving it! 
Karlie all smiles riding Chocolate their miniature horse! 
Brina having a blast at Welcome Ranch! 
Karlie riding with Daddy on Montana! Hang on tight kiddo! 
Brina LOVING her time with the horses! 
Karlie riding on Mickey! 
Brina riding like a pro on Mickey!!! 
Brina and Karlie riding together on Montana! 
Karlie riding on Chocolate! 
Mommy and Brina riding Montana! 
Karlie volunteering to ride again! Always ready for another turn on the horses! 
Brina going for another ride on Mickey! 
Brina and Karlie on top of the Firetruck!!! 
Karlie putting out the fire! 
Brina putting out the fire! 
Firetruck at Welcome Ranch 
Daddy putting out the final flames! 
One of their signs at Welcome Ranch, love it! 
Happy Birthday Brina and Karlie!!! 
Karlie and Brina taking the candles out of their cake! 
The birthday girls enjoying a slice of delicious cake - Brina and Karlie! 
The girls liked their cat - Supervisor! They thought his name was very funny! 
Karlie had so much fun she crashed in the van on the ride home, too funny! 
Brina playing with her toys on the way home, love the crazy hat hair! 
Skipper joining in the birthday fun by wearing Karlie's hat! The girls had a wonderful birthday party at Welcome Ranch! Lisa, her Mom, and the crew did an amazing job. The kids loved riding the horses petting the animals (goats, donkey, dogs, cats, etc…) eating pizza, drinking ice tea, koolaide, a delicious cake and enjoying time with their family and friends. Thanks to Welcome Ranch for making their birthday extra special and memorable. We had a lot of fun celebrating with everyone that came to their party.
Happy 6th Birthday Brina and Karlie!
WE LOVE YOU!!!
Book: “Green Eggs & Ham” by Dr Seuss
In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday this week the girls have been celebrating by reading his books at home and with their class at school. One of our projects earlier this week was to pull the Dr Seuss books we have in our home library and take them to school so they could read to the class. After gathering all our books together I was surprised to see how many we had accumulated over the years but after much exploration I realized that we only have just a handful of the ones he wrote. Since Dr. Seuss has been on my mind this week with all the celebrations and he was a successful children’s writer I want to highlight one of our family favorites by Dr. Seuss – Green Eggs and Ham. We have read this book so many times over the last 6 years I think we have it almost memorized. One of the reasons I like this book is because it teaches a valuable lesson, sometimes we have a preconceived notion that something is bad or that we won’t enjoy it but unless we try it we will never known. Taking the opportunity to try something different (it can be as silly as a strange looking meal as illustrated in the book) can often lead to a pleasant surprise and had we not tried it we would have missed out on fun, excitement, blessings, or even the simple pleasure of eating strange looking food.
We have several other Dr. Seuss books that we read quite frequently but “Green Eggs & Ham‘ ranks pretty high up there with my girls. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss thanks for writing some amazing books that we can read to our children!
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Now that I completed 9 weeks of my No Grocery Shopping challenge I want to share what is next on my agenda as far as grocery shopping is concerned. I would LOVE to live off my pantry and freezer for the entire year, however, it is getting lower and I need to start shopping for some additional items. I learned a lot from the recent challenge and want to keep my family fed while staying within our budget.Explanation: For the first time ever I am going on a strictly cash system for our groceries. It is my desire to spend no more than $40 per week for my family of 4. I am sticking to just grocery and food related items at this time since I have a separate budget for household, health & beauty. If I find that I still have extra consistently I may decide to roll the other items into this as well. As an additional bonus if I have more than a half of week of “extra” money remaining at the end of the month I want to contribute that money towards my Creative Cash. Although I know I will have days and weeks with hiccups like with any challenge it is my desire to be more accountable with what I have been given. I perceive this budget change to have many benefits over the past systems I have used for example it will allow me the opportunity to buy items on sale but not over do it plus makes me more responsible with the money we have been given, and helps control the spontaneous purchases. Only time will tell how well it works for our family.
Every family is different so you need to decide what is best for your specific family and situation. I am starting this endeavor after several months of thought and prayer regarding our family finances. On a side note I do want to let you know that just because the title says Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4 that does not mean we will never host guests in our home or take a meal to someone in need. Our guests and meal deliveries throughout the month are also included in this budget so the actual number will vary from month to month regarding how many people we feed but for simplicity sake it is Groceries $40 for 4 due to our family size and budgeting.
I hope to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. I hope by taking the extra time to watch my grocery spending it will allow us to feed our family, enjoy life, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Photo by MoneyBlogNewz
