Daily Essentials and Deals

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-05-21T07:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Sign-Up Saturday!
If you are having a giveaway on your blog, link up below!!
Link directly to your giveaway page. Please make sure it's family friendly!
***
Also if you've found a good deal or a freebie

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Shad!!!

2011-05-13T21:11:00.000-04:00

I can't believe My Baby is 5...

Happy Birthday, Shad!!

We love you very very much!!
You are such a blessing from above!

Have a great 5th birthday!!

Learning Link Technologies

2011-05-12T21:20:00.000-04:00

I started an ongoing review of Learning Link a few months
ago. You can check out the first post here.

We're still plugging away at the levels. We are doing level 3
right now. I'm not sure there is much progress to report
yet. I think the program says that it could take 6 months or
more to start to see results.

I did want to pass along to you that they
have updated their free online assessment tests
for Dyslexia and for Dyscalculia.
You can access them here and here!

I will be reporting again in a
couple of months!

Mushroom Hunting!!

2011-05-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

Last week we took a morning and
went to find mushrooms!!
The kids love tromping through the woods!!

We found around 40 mushrooms, which I
found most of... or was that none of...
Oh I can't remember!!!
Okay I'll admit it I found none, zilch, nada, ZERO!

Anyway I "accidentally" forgot to take
a picture of the mushrooms, but let's just say 40 sounds
better than it looked! They might have been a
little on the small side!!

We mostly found spikes which I'm told
means we were a little early.
Maybe we'll try again next week.

The spoonful I got sure was good!!!

Growing Garden!!

2011-05-08T20:37:00.008-04:00

Northern Indiana has had a COLD spring.
We've had a few good days sprinkled here and there so
a couple weeks ago I was able to plant
peas, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage.

The strawberries I planted last year grew like mad!!

Hopefully in a month it will grow tons of strawberries and
I can restock my freezer...
I'm almost out!!

I planted 2 rows of peas and they came up nicely.
Be nice and stop making fun
of my crooked row!!

I had 4 very nice cabbage plants until 2 days ago when
the 4-H goats found them and ate 2 1/2 of them...
GRRRRRR......
no seriously I mean,
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

And my carrots. I planted 2 1/2 rows of it. It's so hard
to see when it's little but I think most of it came up.
Last year I thought carrots were REALLY hard to take
care of so I'm not sure what I was thinking when
I planted so much...
I guess I was thinking it tasted really good out
the the freezer last winter!

So that's it on the garden for now.
I bought 10# of potatoes 2 weeks ago and
they're still sitting in the canning room. I'm REALLY hoping
to get them planted this week.
Then I'll probably wait another week or so to get the rest planted!

Oh I just remembered I forgot about the lettuce I planted.
It's up too, but I forget to get a picture...

Anyone else have a garden going yet?!?!?!?

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-05-07T07:01:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Halee's new Toy!!!

2011-05-04T21:04:00.006-04:00

My daughter has wanted to learn sewing for a long time!
Last week we ordered her a sewing machine (because
I have never owned one) and it came today.

She was very excited!!!

She finished her first project....
A little pouch!

The boys were lined up to get her to sew them a pouch too.
So, now she's charging .15 cents each....
"The Bop" has begun!!

("The Bop" is the name of Halee's designer line/store.
She named it years ago and it's kinda her dream!)

I'll try to keep you updated
as she finishes projects.
Good Job Halee!!!!!

Why, Why, Why...

2011-04-26T18:47:00.005-04:00

Can you tell how wet they are??

Can someone please explain to my children that
rubber boots only work when the water level is
below the top of the boot...

I guess at least they had fun!

(And if you were wondering, yes
my 2 oldest were just as wet...)

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-04-09T08:51:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Yay for garage sale season!!!

2011-04-08T12:19:00.005-04:00

I went to my first garage sale of the year this morning.
so I thought I would share my goodies!!

I actually went because they had advertised that they had
canning jars and freezer containers!! Yea, they
were already gone at just after 8am. I figured...

Anyway I thought since I'm there I'd look around...
Glad I did....

I got 3 pairs of much needed, really cute shorts for
my 10 yr in her exact size for .50 cents each!!

I also picked up 2 pairs of jeans and 2 jean shorts for my 4 yr. old.
also .50 cents each!!
(he wouldn't take the pair off so I just put him in the picture)

AND....

A pair of barely worn boots for MEMEMEMEMEME!
They are my EXACT size!!!!
I've been wanting black boots, and for $2.00
now I have some!!! These were still in the box from Kohls
with a sale sticker of $50.00 on them!

Grand Total...
$5.50 for 5 pair shorts, 2 jeans, and pair of boots

ahhhh I love it!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-04-02T07:03:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Purse Addiction...

2011-04-01T19:28:00.005-04:00

Hello, My name is Halee and
I'm addicted to purses...

Nope, there is not 1 of these that she can sell
at our upcoming garage sale...

HELP!!!!

Feeding their 4-H babies!!

2011-03-26T10:39:00.001-04:00

They bottle feed their babies 2 times
a day and are lovin' it!!

Chi's is 4 weeks old and
Halee's is 5 weeks old!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-03-26T07:02:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Talk about silly!!!

2011-03-23T21:40:00.006-04:00

I think this was Shad's
first time doing hair...

Ouch...
Halee was such a good sport!!

The final product...

And of course ... Halee's turn!!

Just thought you
might need a laugh too!
(I can't stop laughing at the first pic)!

Our Cute 4-H goats!!!

2011-03-21T18:01:00.009-04:00

My 10 and 12 year old kids are doing
4-H this year for the first time!!

They're SO EXCITED!!
Today we went and got their goats!!

Here is some pictures of the Cutie Pies!!

Halee named hers "Cody"

Chi chose to name his "Maple"

They like to eat shirts too!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-03-12T07:06:00.000-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Learning Link Technologies -- Learning Disabilities - Review

2011-03-10T08:56:00.002-05:00

I received the opportunity to try out
Learning Link Technologies brain retraining program!
This program is for all sorts of learning Disabilities.
From their site...

1 in 5 has dyslexia
1 in 100 has autism
There are over 1 million diagnosed with ADD/ADHD
There are over 2.9 million students in Special Education

And this was a wake up call to me....
You Can’t Fix Poor Academics with More Academics.

Did you know that the brain can be rewired for learning? Which in turn leads to academic success. And this is all done through simple, repetitive exercises that build new neural pathways in the brain.

***
My 12 yr old son is my main target with this program.
I do believe that he has Dyslexia.
He is not a great reader, often switches letters around,
hates to sound out words, several other dyslexia symptoms,
but probably the biggest one is VERY POOR spelling skills.
I gave him their assessment test here (pdf form here)
and he definitely missed more than he should have
and there was several signs that made it obvious!

I have only used the 1st month of this program, so
I've not seen much of an improvement yet.
The company says is usually takes a good 3 months to see results.

I am hoping to be able to continue to use
this program and give you updates
every 2 months or so. If you have a child
that is struggling with learning, I would definitely
recommend visiting their site here and checking it out.
They have tons of info on there that might shed some
light on a way to help your child out too!

I can't wait to see these results... (from their site)

When you sign up for the Brain Training System
and follow the simple directions given, your child will experience:

Increased self-confidence
Higher test scores
Grade level achievement
Increase in reading comprehension and fluency
Grades that soar
Writing that becomes legible and organized
Increase in focusing abilities
The ability to understand and perform math equations and problems
The ability to spell words correctly

Disclaimer -- I was sent a free copy of this program... All
opinions in this review are my own!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-03-05T09:14:00.002-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Homemade English Muffins

2011-03-03T08:05:00.000-05:00

I'll be honest... I'm SHOCKED this worked so well!
But I'm very excited that it did.

We used to buy english muffins quite often from the
store, but when I started making our bread I
stopped buying them.

I honestly forgot all about them until
Money Saving Mom posted this link....
Which led me to this recipe on King Arthur's Flour website.

It was really quite simple for a bread recipe!

The entire process was done in about 2.5 hours including rise time.

I won't rewrite the recipe because I didn't change anything,
but check it out here!!
If you like english muffins, TRY THEM!!!

These turned out just like the store boughten only
fewer and better ingredients!

Boating and Fishing!

2011-03-02T20:06:00.005-05:00

Crazy kids!!

If you can't tell, in the top picture my daughter is
rowing as her brother pulls her through the mud on a sled!

And in the bottom picture they are fishing!

Hmmm... they might have gotten
a little bored that day!
But, they ended up having a lot of fun in the water!!

Spring Fever Garden Giveaway

2011-02-28T14:31:00.004-05:00

Hurry on over to 8-Muddy Boots where
Sarah is giving away
two $5.00 gift Cert. to
Pinetree Garden Seeds!

Go here to enter!
Giveaway ends Wednesday!

Speekee Online Spanish Program Review

2011-02-28T07:46:00.004-05:00

I was offered the chance to review the
Speekee Spanish Online Program!
I jumped at the chance since I've been looking for
a way for my daughter (10) to begin learning Spanish.

She is only on lesson 2 (ready to start lesson 3).
We have been doing 1 lesson per week.
There are 10 lessons total.

She simply sits by the computer and watches an online video
for around 15-20 minutes. I have her repeat the same
video everyday for a week.

She's really loving it, and reminds me that it's Spanish time.
Along with each video there are anywhere from 2 - 7
worksheets that you can print out to reinforce what she
is learning on the video.

From their website here is 10 reasons to use it...

Great fun and extremely effective
Created by specialist linguists and musicians
Accelerated learning methodology for natural success
100% in Spanish (English and Spanish subtitles available)
Simple presentation style
Lively, engaging characters
Real Spanish children in real Spanish locations
Concise, essential Spanish vocabulary, with lots of repetition
Catchy songs
Highly acclaimed by our customers!

******
You can also get the program on DVD.
The cost is $95. GBP
(Not sure of the exact price in US dollars)

You can also check out the online program
FREE for 2 weeks to see if it works for you.

Normally the online program is $7.95 per month.

Overall we really like the program, but are undecided as
to whether we will pay to continue after
our 2 month review period is up.

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-02-19T10:33:00.003-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Country Life Magazine FREE!!

2011-02-18T11:11:00.005-05:00

Sign up here to get a FREE 3 yr. subscription to
Living the Country Life magazine!

thanks Money Saving Mom
and The Freebie Blogger

Pictures!!!

2011-02-13T13:52:00.010-05:00

Here are a few pictures from the first couple
of days of our Disney Trip!

The Whole Gang!!

Everyone liked the airplane ride, but
everyone was a little tired from not getting
much sleep in the hotel!

Halee didn't like that it hurt her ears...
I didn't either...
It took Shawn and I 2 days to get our ears
to pop and feel right. I think it was
a little worse because we were still getting
over our coughs from the flu...

The kids loved the Character
Breakfast and we thought it was
actually worth the money!!

The house was Awesome!! Except for the T.V...
Ha! The colors didn't match up so you actually saw
3 of everything! They replaced it 5 days after we were there!
That's okay though cuz we didn't watch it much anyway!

The pool was 86* WOW!!

***
Well I know I hardly scratched the surface, but that's
all the time I have for now.

BTW -- I took about 541 pictures for the trip!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-02-12T09:42:00.004-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Can you believe this....

2011-02-07T19:28:00.006-05:00

We flew to Orlando! When we landed and were exiting the plane,
the pilot asked the boys if they wanted to see the cockpit...
Uh, yea we do!
I grabbed my camera, of course, and the boys checked it out!

The pilot put his hat on Micah and showed Chi how the
seat moved back and forth!

After this picture the pilot even showed Micah how
pilots wear their hats and pulled it way down in front on him!!

He had to be the coolest pilot ever to give that
experience to the boys and me the awesome pictures!

What a way to start the week!
Anyone ever see a passenger pilot do that??

We're back!!

2011-02-06T16:49:00.002-05:00

I love this picture!!
Pure JOY!!

Everything was AWESOME and the
sun felt soooooo good!!
Too bad we had to come home to shovel 20" of snow....

More pictures to come in the next few weeks!
For now I'm busy making a Blurb book of the trip!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-02-05T07:02:00.001-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

What we're doing...

2011-01-31T15:45:00.001-05:00

Remember if you want to see what we're doing
each day visit here (i.seekissimee.com) where my SIL Sarah is
blogging our vacation day by day!
(She normally blogs at 8 muddy boots)

See you in a week!

Happy Birthday, Halee!

2011-01-31T07:02:00.001-05:00

Happy 10th Birthday Halee!!!!!

We are very proud of you and
LOVE you very much!

Hope you're having a great birthday
at Kennedy Space Center and
lunch with a real Astronaut!
Now that doesn't happen every year!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-01-29T07:09:00.001-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

A week of firsts! part 2

2011-01-25T10:15:00.000-05:00

If you missed the first 1/2 of
our trip plan see it here.

Ready for Monday and one of the highlights of our trip!
A day trip to Kennedy Space Center!
In our homeschool this week we've been doing Activities to get ready!
You can see the resources on their site here!
We've been busy with the Grades 3-5 section.
We're lovin' it!

Along with this Hubby and my 2 oldest are
going to be having lunch with a real Astronaut!
I believe it's going to be Ken Cameron.
He has been on 3 missions, born in Ohio, and has 2 kids!
Kennedy will be a first for all the kids!

Kennedy Space Center is on the Atlantic Coast so we'll
also likely visit Cocoa Beach for a bit (depending on weather, time, and energy!)
This will be a first for my youngest to see the Atlantic Ocean.

Monday will be a Big Full day....
Followed by Tuesday, another Big Full day...

Tuesday we will be visiting Disney's Magic Kingdom!
We've been researching, making our plan, and
checking out all the attractions!
We'll only be here 1 day so we'll likely be here open to close.
It will be a long day but hopefully a really fun day!
We're most excited about...
Swiss Family Treehouse
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tom Sawyer Island (we just watched the old movie)
Haunted Mansion
Space Mountain
Stitches Great Escape (not sure on this one but it's one of their best show/rides)
We'll see when we get back what our favorites were!

On to Wednesday...
A day of rest?
A day of shopping?
A day of Swimming?
A day of relaxing in the Hot Tub?
A day with a nap?
A day of whatever feels right!
No plans....

Then another Full Busy day...
We plan to go to
Disney's Hollywood Studios on Thursday.
We think we're going to LOVE this park!

Can't wait for...
Indiana Jones show
Rock n Roller Coaster (the only thing my 4yr can't do)
Journey into Narnia
Tower of Terror
Lights, Motors, Action Stunt show
Great Movie Ride
Backlot Tour
and esp. Toy Story Midway Mania
***

Not sure what else we'll see and do,
but we're ready for it all!

Friday we'll have to leave the house by 10am but
don't fly out until 6pm.
Not sure what we'll do, but it'll be fun I'm sure!
****

I'll be back the next week starting a full
review of everything we did complete
with lots of pictures!
if fact....
I'm guessing I'll take 596 pictures for the trip.
How many do you think I'll take??

Oh, one more thing...
You can check out our day by day activities as
my SIL Sarah Blogs the trip here at
i.seekissimmee.com (starting Sat. 1/29)

If you can, we'd love prayer for
safety, staying healthy, and great weather!!
See you all soon!

WOW...Free Book by Dr. Dobson!!!

2011-01-24T17:58:00.004-05:00

You can go here to get a free copy
of Dads and Daughters by Dr. James Dobson!

Thanks Money Saving Mom and Mojo Savings

A week of firsts!!

2011-01-24T00:19:00.000-05:00

Our Disney Trip!
(part 1)

It will be a week of firsts for many of my kids
especially my youngest!

We'll be staying in a hotel before we fly out.
This will be his first time ever in a hotel.
(remember we have a camper and camp alot!)

We will be flying to Orlando in an airplane.
(Please Lord, Let security be a breeze...)
This will be the first time in an airplane for all but my oldest.
(He flew when he was 2). They're so excited!
Me not so much the last time I flew, um 11 years ago, the pressure
was off and I had serious (in tears) ear pain for over an hour...
(and let me just say I'm not like my daughter, I can take pain)
My daughter is reading over my shoulder and having a fit! HEHEHEHE

This will be the first time for all my kids to be in Florida!

We'll be staying in a huge house in Orlando with
my Parents, Brother and his family, and my Sister and her family.
The house has 4 MASTER Suites with bathrooms, 3 other
bedrooms, 2 other bathrooms, a POOL, HOT TUB, and a huge gameroom!
Assuming there are no bed bugs (yuk) it should be AWESOME!!!

On Saturday we'll be going to a Character Breakfast. My SIL
has been to these and says it's great! And the food spread
is unbeliveable!!! I love Breakfast!
This of course will be a first for all of us!
The kids made autograph books at Christmas
and are anxious to fill them up!

We will be eating out a lot! Very little cooking for me!
We'll be visiting the Rainforest Cafe, T-Rex, and Planet Hollywood
in Downtown Disney!
The T-Rex will be a first for all of us.
Some of us have been to the Rainforest Cafe in Chicago.
They're really fun and unique!

While at Downtown Disney, we'll be sure to visit the big LEGO store!
(Yeah we love lego's here!)
Downtown Disney Marketplace looks like a really cool place to visit...
lots of shops and photo spots..and best of all it's free to check out!

Okay so now we're ready for Sunday...

Sunday we're planning on visiting the Beach!
It looks like it might be sunny and 70*
A little cool for the beach but since we're used to 15* it will be a dream!
Madeira Beach on the Gulf side is where my SIL suggests going.
she's our guide since she's been there a gazillion times!!!
It has shops and other things to do too.

Oh, this will be a first to see the gulf for our youngest!
the others have been to the Alabama coast!

*****
Since this post it getting a little long and we're barely 1/2 way thru the trip,
I think I'll finish up tomorrow in another post!

Hope your week is going great!

Heading to Disney.... Only 3 days left!!!!

2011-01-23T19:18:00.007-05:00

My kids can hardly believe it, it's almost here....
They've been counting down for months....

Yep, we're heading to Disney World in Florida!
It will be a week of firsts...

They're SOOOOO Excited, we're all so excited!
We leave Thursday afternoon and return the next Friday night late!

=
So where are we visiting? How are we getting there.
Where are we staying.
I'll try and write another post tomorrow to fill ya in...
gotta go for now...

We've been sick since Thursday... fever, chest congestion, cough, ect.
Well we're better now, BUT now my 4 and 8 yr. olds
have WAY toooooo much energy!

My new nephew!!!

2011-01-21T10:06:00.007-05:00

Our new nephew was born this week!
Welcome Alexander James!

He has beautiful hair.
Such a cute baby!

Congrats Aaron and Shannon!
Thanks for the photos Debbie, of course I forgot my camera...
Yeah, how can you go see a new baby and forget your camera?!?!?!? Only me!

Tassimo Coffee Brewer Winner!!!!!

2011-01-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

And the Lucky Winner is......

#198
Missa (sweetmissa@)
CONGRATULATIONS on winning
the Tassimo T20 Coffee Brewer!!!

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-01-09 20:36:33 UTC

I have sent you an email. If you did not receive it then please
email me at dailyessentialsanddeals @ gmail. com

Thanks to all who entered!
Have a great week everyone!

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-01-08T07:04:00.000-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Free Reading Program! And Starfall!!

2011-01-05T12:28:00.006-05:00

WOW!!!

Funnix is offering their $249. Reading program for free!
This is from the same author that wrote
"Teach your Child to read in 100 Easy Lessons"!
Since I love that book and this is free, I figured why not give it a try!

You can go here to download it onto your
computer and to read more info!

This will be perfect for my 4 yr. old!
Thanks Money Saving Mom and
My Litter

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

BTW -- I just rediscoverd Starfall last night and
introduced it to my 4 yr. old! He wanted to play all morning!
Best of all he can do EVERYTHING by himself including
going to a new alphabet letters and different games!
Check it out here!

Anyone else use a great website that preschoolers
can play and learn things without a lot of help??

Sign Up Saturday...

2011-01-01T07:07:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!!!

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Be sure to sign up for my current giveaway...
One lucky winner will win a
Tassimo Single Server Brewer

Go here to enter!! (ends Jan. 7th)

Have a Great Weekend and
Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Luke 2:11-12
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-12-25T06:57:00.000-05:00

Have a Great Weekend and a
Very Merry Christmas!

Winter Wonderland

2010-12-23T07:07:00.001-05:00

This was the kids a couple weeks
ago during our first "real" snow!

Very little new snow this week, but we'll still
have a very white Christmas!!

Easy Chocolate Pretzels!

2010-12-22T07:12:00.000-05:00

Cute EASY way to make
chocolate pretzels without dipping them!

Best of all the kids can do most of it!
If they don't eat them all!

Spread regular pretzels on a cookie sheet.
Open Hershey's kisses and put one on each pretzel.

Pop in the oven at 275* for 2-3 minutes (until starting to melt)
Take them out and pop a M&M on top!

Put them in the freezer until hard and then
transfer to container or Ziploc bag!

One more treat
to put on the cookie tray!

Tassimo Coffee Brewer Review and GIVEAWAY!!

2010-12-19T14:29:00.002-05:00

Giveaway is now Closed...
I was blessed with the awesome opportunity by the great
people at Bosch to test out one of their
Tassimo T20 Single-Server Brewer.

This brewer is unique because you don't have to know
anything about coffees and how to make them!
The machine does ALL THE WORK!!

You use what they call T Disks, insert them
into the machine and the machine reads
the bar code on the disk and makes exactly what you want!

It can make over 40 varieties of hot and cold drinks including
coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates,
espressos, teas, and crema coffees.

All you ever have to do is fill the water holder, insert the disk,
and push 1 button! It was so EASY!
Oh and I should mention - ZERO CLEANUP!!

The only down side I see is that the T Disks are not
exactly cheap, but that also depends on what you
compare it to. You can see in the picture that
The Tassimo Machine makes Starbucks!

You can even get inserts to change up the color of your
machine!! They sent me a cool red insert!

So how would you like to win one of these
fabulous Tassimo T20 machines?!?!?!?

This Giveaway is open to
US entries only.

To enter you can do one or
all of the following.
(Leave separate comments for each one)

1. Visit Tassimodirect here and tell us
what kind of drink you most want to try!

2. Blog about this giveaway
3. Tweet about the giveaway (can do once per day)
4. Tell your facebook friends to come sign up!
5. Follow my blog (or tell me you do)
6. Subscribe to my blog (or tell me you do)
7. Just for fun - tell us something special
that's going on for Christmas!

Remember to leave one comment for each item you do --
up to 7 comments (or more if you Twitter daily).
Also please don't forget to leave me your email!

This giveaway will end January 7th at 8pm
One winner will be chosen using Random.org!
Good Luck!!!

Disclaimer -- Bosch/Tassimo provided me a new
T20 Machine to try out free of charge!
All opinions are my own.
Thanks Tassimo!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-12-18T07:04:00.000-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Get to Meijer for CHEAP Olive Oil!!!

2010-12-16T15:54:00.003-05:00

We try to only use olive oil, butter, or coconut oil at
our house. None of which is cheap...
So when I saw that Meijer (yea I still keep an eye on them esp.
when I'm going to be in town anyway!)
had their Pompeian Olive Oil on sale 50% off ($2.99)
stacked with a Mealbox $2. coupon (unlimited prints)
Makes them .99 cents for a 16 oz bottle of
Extra Virgin Olive Oil!
AWESOME!!

And if that's not cheap enough you
can print this coupon and get 1-2 for FREE!!
with the $1./1 MQ
For that price I'll even overlook the plastic bottle (grrr)

I had 1 - $1. MQ and 6 Mealbox coupons
so I paid $5.00 for 6 Olive Oils!!

Also in picture is Campbells Mushroom soup
on sale for .59 use $1./4 MQ printable here.
Total for 8 was $2.72 (.34 each).
I don't use these very much but they're handy in
a few meals I occasionally make!

Oh and the Red Wine Vinegar was on sale for $1.89
use a .50/1 Printable here, doubled made it .89 cents.
I love to use this in one of my chicken marinades!

Not pictured was 2 - 3 packs of yeast
On sale for .99 cents - .40 MQ doubled = .19 cents each!

Total at Meijer was around $9.00
It felt pretty good to use some coupons today!!

If you want to see all of their deals this week
Visit Bargains to Bounty!

Parchment Paper for Baked Potatoes!

2010-12-16T07:14:00.007-05:00

Quick easy money saving tip!

Use parchment paper to wrap your potatoes!
I bought a roll from Pampered Chef about 3 months ago
after the lady saying that you can wrap your potatoes in
parchment paper and REUSE it!

I know you can just bake potatoes with nothing but we
really like how they turn out using foil. But then you
throw the foil away and it wastes ALOT when you do
10-12 potatoes at a time!

I'm excited to report that I have now used and reused the same
parchment paper for about 8 times and it shows no signs of
needing to be replaced! At this rate my roll I bought will
last years and years! (It's big)!!

So if you're interested, all I do is wrap them up just folding the ends
in and rolling. Put them on a baking sheet and bake as normal.
When you get them out unroll, stack up the papers, and put
them away until next time. I don't even see a reason to wash them
since there's never anything on them!!

Anyone do this too???
What's your secret to baked potatoes??

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-12-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Free Excedrin!

2010-12-06T18:54:00.003-05:00

Go here to request 2 free bottles of Excedrin!
The coupons are mailed to you in a few weeks!

Thanks Money Saving Mom
and Coupon Pro

Baked Donuts!

2010-12-06T10:00:00.006-05:00

Have you ever made donuts at home??

These were a huge hit last week!
I actually made 2 batches and yep, they're all gone!

While I wouldn't say these are healthy,
they are at least baked not fried!!
And in my opinion that makes them lots easier too!

I picked up these cute donut pans at a
store for only $1.49 each!!

Here's what I did....

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Mix together, then add
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T butter
mix and put in greased pan...
Only fill about 2/3 full.
I think it made about 15-18 donuts!

Bake at 325* for 8-10 minutes

Take out of pan, cool then frost with favorite recipe!

I used
1 cup powdered sugar,
2 T milk,
1 T butter,
1/2 cup melted choc. chips
I had to add a little water or milk because it was a little thick.

I also frosted some with a cinnamon roll glaze
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 T. milk
Powdered sugar to make right consistency

Next time I'm trying something I like, like caramel!!!
You can also make them a little healthier by using better
sugar (sucanat) and maybe some ww flour!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-12-04T07:03:00.001-05:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

It's good to be back after a long bloggie Break!
Enjoy entering some great giveaways!
I'm hoping to have a few for you in the coming weeks!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Awesome Shutterfly Christmas Cards... and for FREE!!

2010-12-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

So, do all of you have your Christmas Cards yet??
Yea probably because you're all on top of your game!
Me?... Well nope not yet!
But soon very soon I'll get that done...
At least I hope, because did you realize Christmas is
only about 24 days away?!?!?

Have you checked out Shutterfly this year?
I discovered that if you're a blogger and blog about
them that they'll give you 50 Christmas Photo Cards for FREE!!!
Turns out that's just what I wanted to pay!!
If that's what you want to pay too, check it out here.
But, HURRY there's not much time!

Even if you're not a blogger you really should check them out.
They have some SERIOUS Holiday Card choices. I'm really not
sure how on earth we're expected to choose just one.
I seriously love over 100 of them!

Here's two of my favorites...

I really love the scrapbook look where you use
more than 1 photo. But why is it sooo hard for
me to get one photo let alone multiples? One of these years
I'm actually going to get several good pictures to use.... I hope!!
So how do all of you do it?????

I really Love this card! I took the picture of my kids
vertically this year so I don't think I can use it, but I love it!

I'm off to search for my perfect Christmas Cards
come on over and join me! We can both get this
crossed off our "To do List"

Oh yea, don't forget to do a search for a coupon code. I've
seen several for Shutterfuly floating around the web!

I'm still here!!! Are you????

2010-11-29T18:29:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone!!!
Thanks for being sooooo patient while
I enjoyed a LONG blogging break!!

While I enjoyed taking a break I also
missed all of you here in cyber life!

So I'm back.... while things here won't be the
same as when I left I'm hoping you'll still enjoy stopping by!
I won't be posting daily but more like 1-2 times a week.
I wish I had time to post daily but realistically weekly is
going to be challenging enough!!

In the last 12 months my kitchen life has changed
dramatically! Here's how.....

I rarely clip coupons (I know you're gasping in disbelief),
I rarely buy anything boxed or premade,
I make everything I can from scratch,
I haven't been grocery shopping at Meijer in 6 months,
I try to use a lot less sugar (and more honey),
We rarely buy pop/soda/whatever you like to call it,
I've banned HFCS from my kitchen (there are a few stragglers!),
I eat an apple and banana EVERY DAY,
Oh and not kitchen related but... I no longer use hairspray or mousse.

I don't tell you this because I have things figured out... No way...
while I feel like I've went miles in another direction, I
feel like I have thousands of miles to go...

I tell you because if you feel like you can't begin to make
healthy kitchen changes, YOU CAN!!!
Babysteps is the name of the game!!!

Hmmmm... I didn't intend for this post to get sooooo long!
I guess I'll see you soon!!
Before I go, Here's a current shot of my munchkins!!!

Happy 12th Birthday, Malachi!

2010-08-31T07:08:00.001-04:00

Today my oldest turns 12!
**Yikes teenager fast approaching...
Man how time has flown by!

We're so proud of the young man you're becoming.
You have such a compassionate heart and a great love for Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Malachi
We love you!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-08-21T07:08:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Making a club with pallets!

2010-08-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

Hubby rounded up some free pallets from the area
and the kids dreamed up a club.

I'll post new pictures in a few weeks. The clubs have
already expanded. They've worked really hard and
gotten LOTS of poison ivy. YUCK!!

But the work is paying off and
they're spending a lot of time in their cool clubs!

Canning Tomato Sauce - The EASY way!!!

2010-08-17T20:02:00.018-04:00

I read how Heavenly Homemakers did her tomato sauce
and I adopted it!!! Be sure to read her post here.

This works so great. I've done it about 6 times so far
and have about 32 Quarts of tomato sauce and 35 pints.

I'm over 1/2 done but, I'd like about 15 more quarts
and maybe 20 more pints. Then I'd also like
some salsa and tomato soup.
Come on tomatoes keep turning red!!!

Start with tons of tomatoes! Simply wash them and take off the tops.
Some I take off the bottoms and some I take out bad spots. Take out
the core if it's big. My tomatoes are Roma so most of the cores are tiny.

Cut them in half or fourths.
Leave the peel on and leave in the seeds.
(how easy is that!)

Next take your tomatoes and put them in your blender.
Smash them down a little with a big spoon.
Start it up and it should look like a big smoothie!

You can even add in some zucchini. Just cut it up and
blend it with the tomatoes. I peeled mine so that
there weren't green pieces in the sauce.
I added 1 zucchini per huge bowl of tomatoes.

Heat it on high until it starts to really cook. At that point I turn
it down to a strong med. It will begin to froth up so if your
pan is too full it will run over. I sometimes prevent this by
dipping out some of the froth before it goes overboard!

When the froth is gone you have tomato juice. I let it cook
about an hour longer and I have tomato sauce.
Total cook time is around 2 hours give or take!

After that, dip it out and put it into your jars.
Make sure and sanitize your jars, lids, and rings.

I water bath my sauce. Be sure to follow your water bath
or canning instructions. I did mine for around 40 minutes.

Pull them out and you're done!!!
Add them to your stash after 24 hours.

I use tomato sauce for all my
pasta's, pizza, and chili.
I just add different spices when I pull it out!

Anyone else use this simple method for tomato sauce?

Winner of Rubbermaid Mop

2010-08-15T18:03:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone!!! So sorry I've been gone so much lately.
The garden is hogging all my free time, but I'm loving it!
My pantry and freezer are FILLING up with wonderful produce
from our garden!! More on that soon (I hope)!!

For now the winner of the Rubbermaid giveaway is
#30
Tina!!
Congratulations!!!!

Here are your random integers, generated with replacement:

Timestamp: 2010-08-15 22:03:39 UTC

I sent you an email, if you didn't receive it please contact me!

Have a great week, I'm going to try to post an update this week! We leave Friday for a week of camping so this week is going to be CRAZY!!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-08-14T07:05:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-08-07T07:05:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Don't forget to enter my
Rubbermaid Reveal Mop Giveaway -- Ends 6/13

Have a Great Weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday -- DUNK TANK!!!

2010-08-04T07:48:00.000-04:00

The Kids in the dunk tank!!

A few weekends ago we had a big family reunion know as
"Christmas in July". This year they rented a dunk tank
and the kids had a blast with it!

Yes they did talk me into trying it too! Sorry
no pictures though. I have to admit it was
pretty fun even though the water was REALLY MURKY!!

Anyone else ever sat in a dunk tank???

If you're wondering... YES we threw balls and dunked
our children... and YES they had fun dunking me too!

Rubbermaid Reveal Mop Review and Giveaway

2010-08-01T20:33:00.003-04:00

I don't have an actual mop. My mop involves my
daughter to take a bucket of water and get
down on her hands and knees and scrub away.
I know, how mean am I!?!?!?

I've owned mops before, but thought they were
worthless and messy plus before this house I
didn't have much hard surface.

Well we were BOTH overjoyed when Rubbermaid
contacted me and wanted me to review their brand
new Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop!!

(picture not me! It's from their site)

We love it! I'm sold!! If it broke, I'd go buy another one!
Things I like...
1. REUSABLE PADS! Just throw them in the washer
and they last around 100 washes each!

2. You can use whatever kind of cleaner in the bottle.
Just pull the knob and it sprays out in front of you.

3. Works on all type of floors.

4. The pads just velcro on to the bottom and stick hard.

5.. Nothing more to buy...
Just keep refilling the cleaner bottle and washing the pads!

What took my daughter about 10-15 minutes
took me about 3 with the mop!

This picture is the bottom of the mop
and how the pads velcro on!

(Sorry it's hard to see)

Would you like to win a mop kit?!!?!
Rubbermaid is generously giving away 1 mop kit
to 1 of my wonderful readers!!
If you don't want to wait and see if you
win, you can go here and buy today!

This giveaway is open to US and Canada Entries.

To Enter do one or all
of the following.
(leave separate comments for each)

1. Tell us how much hard surface you have in your house.
2. Blog about the giveaway
3. Follow my blog (or tell me you do)
4. Twitter about giveaway (daily if you'd like!)
5. Subscribe to my blog (or tell me you do)

Remember to leave one comment for each item you do --
up to 5 comments (or more if you Twitter daily).
Also please don't forget to leave me your email!

This giveaway will end August 13th at 8pm
One winner will be chosen using Random.org!
Good Luck!!!

Disclaimer -- Rubbermaid provided me a new
Reveal Mop Kit to try out free of charge!
Thanks Rubbermaid!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-07-31T07:09:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Kids at Camp!

2010-07-28T07:42:00.006-04:00

We dropped our 2 oldest babies off at
Church Camp on Monday!

They went last year and had such a blast!

Halee on left, cousin Brie on the Right

Malachi wasn't alone!
2 of his cousins are in his cabin too!!!
(sorry I didn't get their pic, they were on the other side)

It's only Wednesday and it feels like
they've been gone FOREVER!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-07-24T07:01:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

We're having fun camping this weekend!!
Hope you have a great weekend too!

Summer Sleepover!!

2010-07-22T07:04:00.001-04:00

Note -- I know you are about to fall over in shock...
that's 3 whole posts in 3 days from me.
I guess I'm an overachiever this week!!! ha or something like that!
ANYWAY....
My daughter (in the red and blue dress)
had 3 of her cousins over for a night!

They had a blast (or at least it looked like they did!)

Art projects!

Pizza for dinner (of course)
Complete with goblets of root beer!

Dress up and
makeovers!

Lots of swimming!

And of course Ice cream SUNDAES!!

Next week, boy sleepover.....
Do you think it will be LOUDER!!

Zucchini in excess!!! Freeze it!!

2010-07-21T21:11:00.003-04:00

If you have a garden chances are you have excess zucchini.

Did you know you could just slice it up, blanch it and freeze it??
Then in the dead of winter when the snows a fallin' pull it
out and enjoy some garden zucchini!
Fried in a tiny bit of olive oil... Yum!!!

Check this link for more details or just do a
simple search for freezing zucchini.
I read that unblanched zucchini will last 4-6 months
while blanched will last 10-12.

Of course don't forget to shred some for the
WONDERFUL Zucchini bread.

Oh and don't forget to leave the peel on!!
It's got the good stuff!

What's you favorite way of eating zucchini??

Ranch Dressing Recipe.. NO HFCS!!

2010-07-21T07:20:00.005-04:00

Have you ever looked at the
ingredients of your salad dressing??

Besides having about 40 of them it includes
high fructose corn syrup (3rd ingred.)

Why they have to put all that junk in our food is beyond me...
But the good news.... We don't have to buy it!!!!

Here is a easy, quick recipe for Ranch dressing from
Heavenly Homemakers.
I love her site and have been getting soooo many
recipes from her!!

I tried the dressing this week and it's a keeper!
I even put it in our mashed potatoes last night!!

Anyone else sick of HFCS
in ALL our food?!?!?!?

I've been working on HFCS for around 4 months and
I'm excited to say that we're about 90% HFCS FREE!!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-07-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday!!! Garden Salad!

2010-07-14T07:01:00.001-04:00

I LOVE Summertime Produce!!

Everything on this plate came directly from our garden!!
Including....
Lettuce, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and peas.
I guess the sprouts were actually grown in the house!

We are soooo blessed to
have an abundant garden!!!

Does anyone have an idea of what to do with excessive
cucumbers that does not involve pickling them???
I'd love to preserve them for the winter!!

$60. Gift Certificate Giveaway!!!

2010-07-13T20:18:00.004-04:00

Danielle at the Gaerte Gang is having another giveaway!!

This one is for a $60. gift certificate!!
Gotta love that!

Hurry and go here to enter!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-07-10T07:08:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Garden Update!!

2010-07-08T07:07:00.001-04:00

The rain has stopped but thankfully it keeps growing!!

Here through June we have been getting some serious rain...
But in July someone shut off the water!!

I'm hopeful the forecast is right and we get some today!!

Part of my corn didn't come up the first time so I replanted it.
That's why some of it is much shorter!
The taller stalks have big corn cobs on them!
My son, Malachi, is so excited

I've been able to eat a few cherry tomatoes and the
Roma's are looking good and loaded!!

I Pray the tomato worms don't visit!!

The potatoes plants are dying and getting
ready for us to enjoy some yummy potatoes!

Oh my, what can I say about the zucchini...
It's large, In charge, and Taking over!!!

Poor beans getting bullied by the zucchini!!

Here's a tally so far.... I've gotten several cherry tomatoes, about 15 cucumbers, around 8 zucchini, tons of lettuce, 4 bowls of green beans, 2 bunches of broccoli (more ready), a couple bags of peas, and 9 big bags of carrots.

I've gotten a whole lot more by July than I did last year!! The work of is really paying off and my freezer is going to be really full of yummy veggies!!

Leave a link, I'd love to see your garden!!
What have you been harvesting???

Giveaway!!!

2010-07-07T19:03:00.003-04:00

If you're looking to enter a great giveaway
go visit Danielle at the Gaerte Gang here and check
out her great giveaway!!

Ends July 23

Awesome Granola Recipe!!

2010-07-06T08:33:00.000-04:00

I found an AWESOME granola recipe the whole
family LOVES!!! You can even make it into granola bars!

We eat this in place of breakfast cereal
and/or just a snack!

I love it because it's fortified with wheat germ and flax!
I figured out that it has around 6.5 grams
of fiber per 1/2 cup serving!
WOWOWOWOWO!!!

Mix in bowl...
4 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup flax seed (ground)
1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups mini chocolate chips (opt.)

other options (I don't use these)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup almonds

In another bowl mix
1/3 cup canola oil (maybe I'll try applesauce next time!)
1/4 honey (I've been using maple syrup)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup water

Then put wet ingredients
into the dry and mix well.

Preheat oven to 300* and spray pans with cooking spray

For this batch I spread 1/2 onto
a cookie pan loosely for cereal

and pressed the other 1/2 of the batch into a 8 1/2 x 11 baking dish.
press firmly to make granola bars.

bake the loose batch until lightly brown on the bottom.
around 25 minutes for me. Lightly stir one time

For the bars in the baking dish leave in a little longer
around 35 minutes. Until lightly brown around edges.
Once the bars cool, just cut and store sealed!

Keep an eye on it since all ovens vary.
I use a 30 year old oven!!
You can see the original recipe here!!

Have a great week!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-07-03T07:01:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Quick and Easy Summer Pizza

2010-07-02T07:05:00.000-04:00

Are your kids tired of the same
ol' pb&j, mac and cheese, and leftovers for lunch?!?!

If so try this!

Take a piece of bread (I use homemade, any should work)
toast it in the toaster.

Spread some pizza sauce on it.
Pizza Sauce recipe..
1 can tomato sauce (8oz)
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
mix and serve
(double for more)

Add toppings... my son loves pepperoni

Top with a little cheese.

Put in microwave for about 35 seconds
or until cheese is melted!

I can't tell you how many times my son told me how
much he LOVES the pizzas!
Simple and easy and since I load my bread is loaded with flax
and wheat bran it's even fairly healthy!!

He's a tough kid to feed so I was
super excited that he loved this!!

What's your favorite lunch time meal?????

"Staycation" Pics!!

2010-07-01T21:41:00.018-04:00

Last week we camped at my parents house for
our family "staycation" this year!

We're planning on going to Disney at the end of January so
we decided we needed to go cheap this year.

Turns out it was a really great time!
You definitely don't need to spend a lot of $$
to have a great time!!

Here's some pictures!

I just love this picture!!

The kids (especially Micah) lived in the hot tub, that is
when they weren't in my sister's pool!

We went to the zoo and
had a picnic one day!

Pa had lots of fireworks and Malachi
(my 11 yr. old "the Pyro")
lit most if them off!

Sunday morning we didn't go to church so the kids
had a church service. Malachi preached, my nephew led
prayer, and the girls led singing! They all did an awesome job
and had so much fun doing it!

The girls also taught Sunday School class for the younger
ones! I see some new teachers in our future!

We also went biking and hung
out a lot at my sister's pool.

The 4 days went really quick of course!

So what's your summer vacation plans??????

Menards 6-27

2010-06-28T14:19:00.004-04:00

4 free after rebate items this
week at Menards!

This ad is good through July 11

Interior Flat paint -- FREE after $11.00 Rebate -- limit 5

Window squeegee -- FREE after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Genius Mop -- FREE after $4.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Shopper's Bag -- FREE after .98 cent Rebate -- limit 10

Other Deals
Square or level -- .99 cents after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 2 total

Insect Repellent -- .99 cents after $2.00 Rebate -- limit 3

Garbage bags -- .99 cents

House Wash -- .99 cents after $7.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Transplanter -- .99 cents after $1.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Alkaline Batteries (48 pack)-- $6.99 after $4.00 Rebate -- limt 2

Microfiber Towel (8 pack)-- .99 cents after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 2

*****
When you purchase the freebies, you must purchase an additional $10. of non-rebated items per transaction to qualify for the rebate. You can get as many freebies as you want per transaction with only one $10. additional purchase. ((**You can get a $10. Gift card if you don't need anything right now!**)) Your rebate will come in the form of a Merchandise Check. Which means you must spend it at Menards, (I just use mine for more freebies!)

***

It's been reported that you do not have to spend the $10. and you will still get your rebate. Since the ad says you're supposed to I still think we should as to not take advantage of the program. You can use your own judgement! Thanks for letting us know!

******

You do not need to purchase any additional $$ if you are only getting the rebated items that are not free.

**********

To learn all about Menards and how to send in

their rebates go here!

Just leave a comment if you have a question

or see another good deal!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-06-26T07:07:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

My Week (Day) in a nutshell!

2010-06-22T20:59:00.010-04:00

Here's my week in a nutshell!
(Actually all this happened today!!!)

Watched a few (one not pictured) of my nieces (2 on the right)!
Actually they just played with my kids, very
little watching involved!!
My daughter LOVES to have girls over since she's
stuck with 3 brothers!!

Picked lots of produce! I'm still loving the lettuce and
I enjoyed my first cucumber last week. It lasted 1 meal!

Pictured is 3 big bags of lettuce (had 4 but gave one to my MIL),
4 cucumbers, and a few straggling peas!

Sprouting my next batch of alfalfa sprouts!
More on how to do this coming soon!
These are SOOO Nutritious and Delicious!
Oh and EASY too!!

Figured out that the bees were huddled outside the hive because
we needed to add super to our beehive!
YAY! We might actually get some honey from this hive...
Our other hive is nearly dead...
But Hey 1 for 2 the first year... we'll take it!

Made MORE Granola.
Last Thursday I discovered a granola
recipe that Everyone not only likes but LOVES!!
I've made 4 batches in 6 days!!
I don't have time now, but I'll share the recipe next week!

We've also been spending tons of time in the pool. The
lowest high for the coming 7 days is 85*
Sorry no picture... I guess I haven't taken any pool pics
this year yet... What is wrong with me!?!?!?

And we're packing up the camper! We'll be going to my mom's
tomorrow for a sort of "Staycation"!
My mom has a hot tub and tons of room to run and play
and my sister who lives next door has
a pool with a ginormous deck.

What more could we want on vacation!!!

Have a good week everyone!
See you next week!

Menards 6-20

2010-06-21T20:52:00.004-04:00

Menards has a few freebies this week.

This ad is good through June 27

16' Chrome Tape Measure -- FREE after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 2

14 LED Flashlight -- FREE after $6.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Strip and Clean Sanding Pad -- FREE after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 3

****
When you purchase the freebies, you must purchase an additional $10. of non-rebated items per transaction to qualify for the rebate. You can get as many freebies as you want per transaction with only one $10. additional purchase. ((**You can get a $10. Gift card if you don't need anything right now!**)) Your rebate will come in the form of a Merchandise Check. Which means you must spend it at Menards, (I just use mine for more freebies!)

***

******

You do not need to purchase any additional $$ if you are only getting the rebated items that are not free.

**********

To learn all about Menards and how to send in

their rebates go here!

Just leave a comment if you have a question

or see another good deal!

Finally a Garden Update!!

2010-06-15T20:44:00.014-04:00

Wondering where I've been?!?!?!?

Half the time I've been in the garden!
The other half!
Havin' FUN in the POOL with Hubby and the Kids!!
(I suppose I should add another half in the kitchen doing my baking...
wait is that possible?! can someone please clone me??)

And I'M LOVIN' EVERY MOMENT!!

Disclaimer.... Please look past the weeds. I decided NOT
to keep a weed free garden cuz.. well.. I need to sleep
and I like my family!!!
A garden this size (for me) is IMPOSSIBLE to keep
totally clean (unless that's all I do... EVER!!!)

BUT I'll take the weeds cuz I want LOTS of produce!!!!

Clear to the left where you see trenches, I just planted
another 2 1/4 rows of potatoes (today)!
This time I tried the Kennebec variety!
I planted another 10 pounds

Next to that is Sugar beets-- A post for another day!!
Then I have almost 3 rows of corn.
For some reason part of the corn came up and the rest didn't.
I replanted it and you can see it but it's still small.
Inbetween the corn rows I have pumpkins, watermelon,
and muskmelon!

The plants with the white sticks are tomatoes.
We drilled holes in pvc pipe to tie the tomatoes to. It's working
really well so far. I think I have 16 Roma plants
Next to those I have brocolli, peppers, cherry tomatoes, beans, and zucchini
Then I have a whole row of bush beans
By the hoses I have a row of carrots.

My cabbage is on the left and then you see
my Yukon Gold potatoes. 3 1/2 rows of them!!!
We love potatoes!
We just had a major spout of potato bugs last weekend
and it killed me but I used Seven.
Anyone have a better idea??
BTW - this was not a small outbreak that you can pick
by hand, I'm talking a MAJOR plants covered with little
tiny bugs EVERYWHERE..... It all happened in about 7 hours.
Seriously I left the house in the morning and saw NO bugs and when
I came home 7 hours later they were everywhere and 1 plant
already had Major damage.....

Strawberries I just planted 2 months ago.
They are spreading really nicely!

One of my prize items -- Cucumbers..
Last I counted they had 44 flowers on them.
Um yea from 4 plants!
They must like alot of RAIN...
We've been getting TONS of rain here in the Midwest.

Here is our biggest one. I can almost taste him...
But I'll have to wait a few more days!!

On the left is our leaf lettuce!
LOVE IT!
It's going crazy. So far I've gotten 6 huge bowls of lettuce
from them. If you didn't plant leaf lettuce look into it next year!
My $1.xx seeds have produced a TON of yummy eating!
You just break off the outer leaves and it just keeps coming!

You already saw my carrots and beans from the other side.

On the right is my 2 zucchini plants. They've gotten really big
and I should get my first one next week!!
This year I'm NOT peeling them. Last year I peeled and then
shredded them for bread but I've since learned that like much produce
the nutrients are in the peeling. SO DON'T peel!!

I had to throw in this picture of my sugar pumpkins.
I used to work in a "sweet shoppe" and in the fall they
always had iced pumpkin cookies. I'm hoping I can come close
to duplicating them this fall. They were AWESOME!!

So How's your garden doing???
If you want leave your link in the comments and I'll come visit!

Have a great week!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-06-12T07:04:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

A few pictures and Hubby's taking me away!!

2010-06-10T13:14:00.005-04:00

Hi Everyone! Thanks for being so patient with me
as I continue to take a little (or long) bloggy break!!

We took the kids camping last week, here
is a couple shots I got of them!!

AND Today, Just moments away....
Hubby is taking me away for 3 blissful
wonderful kidless nights!!

We celebrate our 14th
wedding anniversary next Tuesday!
Are we getting old?!?!?!?!

I don't think the kids mind since every couple minutes I hear...
"Are you leaving yet? Can you just go now!"
HMMMMM!!!

Hope you all are having a
wonderful summer too!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-06-05T07:05:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Menards May 30

2010-05-30T19:59:00.003-04:00

Here are the Free after Rebate items at Menards.

This ad is good through June 13

Deck Wash -- FREE after $3.00 Rebate -- limit 4

Brush Set -- FREE after $5.00 Rebate -- limit 2

Battery Storage Rack -- FREE after $8.00 -- limit 2

Safety Glasses -- FREE after $3.00 -- limit 2

20" Hand Saw -- FREE after $10.00 Rebate -- limit 2

***
When you purchase the freebies, you must purchase an additional $10. of non-rebated items per transaction to qualify for the rebate. You can get as many freebies as you want per transaction with only one $10. additional purchase. ((**You can get a $10. Gift card if you don't need anything right now!**)) Your rebate will come in the form of a Merchandise Check. Which means you must spend it at Menards, (I just use mine for more freebies!)

***

******

You do not need to purchase any additional $$ if you are only getting the rebated items that are not free.

**********

To learn all about Menards and how to send in

their rebates go here!

Just leave a comment if you have a question

or see another good deal!

Meijer 5-30

2010-05-30T19:56:00.002-04:00

Check out the Meijer deals here at
Bargains to Bounty!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-05-29T07:11:00.001-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

I'm still here and Our Meal Plan!!!!

2010-05-24T08:40:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone!! I'm still in the living and our family is
doing just fine!! (well as fine as we get!!)

I appreciate you all being patient with me while I take
a bloggy break!! There just isn't enough hours in the day
to do it all! Blogging was becoming more like a job than a
hobby and I never wanted that!!

I enjoy blogging very much and am hoping to get back on
some sort of schedule soon. I'll probably never post daily like I
used to but I do hope to at least post several times a week!

So here's our meal plan for the week.

Monday -- Pancakes and smoky links

Tuesday -- Meatballs, potatoes, green beans, applesauce

Wednesday -- BLT's and Fruit Smoothies (YUM!!)

Thursday -- Grilled chicken, potatoes, veggie, and applesauce

Friday -- Birthday Party for my youngest! -- hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, pasta salad, mac and cheese (his favorite!), and chips-- Homemade Chocolate cake with homemade icecream (YUMYUMYUMYUM!!)

Saturday -- Homemade Pizza

Sunday -- Not sure??? Leftovers??

For more menu ideas visit orgjunkie.

Have a great week!
It's going to be a HOT one around here!

Menards May 23

2010-05-23T13:43:00.004-04:00

Menards has several free after
rebate items this week!

This ad is good through May 31

Freebies...
Automotive glass cleaner-- FREE after $2.50 Rebate -- limit 2

Car Wash mitt -- FREE after $1.50 Rebate -- limit 2

Terry Cloths -- FREE after $1.50 Rebate -- limit 2

*****
When you purchase the freebies, you must purchase an additional $10. of non-rebated items per transaction to qualify for the rebate. You can get as many freebies as you want per transaction with only one $10. additional purchase. ((**You can get a $10. Gift card if you don't need anything right now!**)) Your rebate will come in the form of a Merchandise Check. Which means you must spend it at Menards, (I just use mine for more freebies!)

***

******

You do not need to purchase any additional $$ if you are only getting the rebated items that are not free.

**********

To learn all about Menards and how to send in

their rebates go here!

Just leave a comment if you have a question

or see another good deal!

Meijer 5-23

2010-05-23T13:35:00.003-04:00

Check Bargains to Bounty here for
all the Meijer Matchups this week!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-05-22T07:01:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Meijer 5-16

2010-05-16T13:29:00.002-04:00

Visit Bargains to Bounty for the
Meijer Deals this week!

Sign Up Saturday...

2010-05-15T06:56:00.000-04:00

link up for that too. That way we don't miss any great deals!!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Shad!

2010-05-13T07:26:00.000-04:00

My baby turns 4 years old today!
How can this be?!?!?!?

Here he is 2 days old
with his proud siblings!

And here is my big 4 year old!

Shad is such a joy and always has us laughing!
We love you very very much, Shad!!

Homemade Pancake Syrup

2010-05-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

Here's another item crossed off my list.
Another item that I won't buy from the store
EVER AGAIN!!!

Seriously do you know how EASY it is
to make your own pancake syrup???

Here's the simple recipe I used and best of all
it only takes 4 ingredients plus water...

Homemade Maple Syrup
(makes about 1 pint)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup hot water
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring
1 tsp corn starch

In saucepan boil 1 cup water.
Add both sugars and cornstarch.
Return to a boil stirring often with a whisk.
Remove from heat and add maple flavoring.

That's it!!! I put it in a quart jar and dip it
with a ladle. Works Perfect!!

My daughter of course thought she wouldn't like it because
it was "homemade" So I gave her a taste test....
SHE COULDN'T TELL which was which and loved it!!!
Hubby said it was very good and basically
tastes exactly like the store bought.

I'm so excited that we can say goodbye to
another store product that has high fructose corn syrup
and 10 other ingredients that I can't even pronounce!
I love HOMEMADE!!