Jello Jigglers

So, I've never attempted to make or have the desire to make Jello Jigglers, but today was the day. Over the summer I had picked up an unopened package of Alphabet Jello cut-outs at an estate sale. We have used them before on cookie dough, but never for their actual purpose.

While surviving on our Eat from our Pantry month, I found some boxes of Jello that I had never opened. I thought that the boys would like this fun treat. I actually made the Jello yesterday, and tonight for dessert, I cut the boys names out with the Alphabet cut-outs. I think they liked them.

At least 'Pudge' had a couple of them, while Z-man only licked one and then just smashed the rest of them.

Granted, these are not the prettiest Jello Jigglers I've seen, but I wanted you to see how they turned out.

SeeHere: Free Photo Cards

I'm excited to tell you about another deal that SeeHere is promoting. If you create 29 photo cards, and type in the word newbaby at the checkout, you will get those cards for free, and the shipping is free too! This is a great deal, especially with Valentines Day coming up. So I suggest you make yours now before the deal ends.

Snapfish: Free 100 prints

Have pictures taking up space in your computer? I know I do! This is a pretty sweet deal!

Click on this link and get 100 free prints with any purchase, just use the code PRINTSNEW at checkout. When they say “any purchase” they mean it, you could buy one 9 cent print and use the code to get 100 more free. All you need to do is pay for shipping. This code expires tomorrow 1/26 though. Thanks, commonsensewithmoney!

Eating from our Pantry: Week 4

This is our last grocery trip to the store for the month of January, also know as Eat from your Pantry month. We only went to Aldi's and Walgreens. We went a little over, totaling $28.56.

I heard from my friend that the Pineapple's at Aldi's were only $1 this week!! So that is the main reason we stopped at Aldi's. We also needed some extra snacks around the house, so we picked some up as well.

Here are the items we got at Walgreens:

The rice cakes were on sale for $0.99, and we had 3, $0.75 off coupons, total was $0.75 for all 3!! The peanuts were on sale for $1.99, and with an in store coupon and a manufacturer coupon, they totaled $0.50 for both!! And the peanuts were part of a rebate, so we'll be getting that money back in the mail. Check out moneysavingmom for more details on the Walgreens items.

Can you say Free?

I have found a new place to pick up free toys/items, and it's a place that I never would've thought would have free stuff laying around. It's at my son's preschool! There is a secret shelf that had toys that the preschool is getting rid of, and these items are practically new! Here's what I found this week on that shelf:

Cranium's Super Fort, price online says it's for $45!

I also found a kid's indoor tent on that shelf this week as well! My youngest loves it!

So I've concluded that a way that I can offset costs for my son's tuition is to sell these items! Isn't that genius??

Salvation Army Finds = $9

This past week I had the chance to take my eldest to school by myself, while 'pudge' was at home with dad. What does this mean? Well, it means that I had a chance to stop by the Salvation Army store BY MYSELF on the way home! Woo-hoo!

I found a pajama set from Carters for my eldest, and I had found the exact same one earlier at our local kids' consignment shop. This time I got the set for $3. So now I feel like I have twins running around our home:

The day I stopped into the Salvation Army store, they were having a discount on suitcases. They were all 25% off. I had been looking for a suitcase on Craigslist and Freecycle for the longest time, and I was in luck that day! I got in the store early, around 9:15am, so I had a couple to pick from. I think if I had gone in later that day there might not have been any left.

Here's what I came out with, a suitcase for myself ($4.75) and a suitcase for my boys ($1.75), so with the 25% off, they totaled about $4.50.

I also snagged a pair of shoes for 'Pudge' because he's in need of a bigger size. Total was $1.50.

Great day for the Salvation Army!

Free DiGiorno Pizza from Kraft First Taste

If you are not already a member of Kraft First Taste, I highly recommend joining, because there are some good deals and freebie coupons they send you. If you are already a member, go to their website and scroll down to the Offers tab and you will have a free DiGiorno coupon waiting for you.

There is also an option to send this coupon to friends and family, so the first 5 people who would like a free coupon, I will have them send you one too! Just leave me a comment with your email address, and the rest is up to me. Thanks for reading!

Become a Fan of Walgreens on Facebook

If you become (or are) a fan of Walgreens on Facebook, you can click on the tab that says Fan Offer and there is a code there that you can use to get a free 8x10 photo today only.

Click here to become a fan of Walgreens on Facebook.

Baking Wednesday

Today we had some very ripe bananas and since my family loves muffins, I decided to go that route with the ripe bananas. I used chopped pecans because I didn't have any other nuts that could go with them. They turned out delicious! For details on the recipe click here.

I also had it set in my mind that I wanted to try to make homemade granola. I had all the ingredients and even bought some chopped pecans for the occasion! And I have gotten 2 thumbs up from the family on this recipe. I think we'll mostly use it in our yogurt and cereal. Yum! I snagged this recipe from cooks.com.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA
4 c. quick oatmeal 1 1/2 c. wheat germ 1/2 c. sesame seed 1/2 c. sunflower seed (unsalted) 1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla 5 tbsp. dry milk 1/3 c. safflower oil 1/3 c. honey 1/2 c. unsalted peanuts Roast on cookie sheet at 250 degrees, stir every 15 minutes for about 1 hour. Add raisins, grapenuts, dried fruit, etc. after roasting.

Ingredients I had on hand to make the granola:

Mixing it all together:

And the finished product:

Sears: Free Portrait Calendar

From now until Jan. 28th, Sears is having a promotion for a free Portrait Calendar (a $44.98 value). Click on this link for more details!

Thanks, Frugal Freebies and Deals!

I went over...

I am a little sad to announce to you that I have over spent this week on our "Eat From your Pantry" budget of $25. Here's the layout of what I purchased. Earlier this week we stopped in Target to get some cheap items:

The boxes of Organic Mac and Cheese were $0.50 each and the Juicy Juice was also $0.50 each. The bag of chips was free with coupon from being a fan on Facebook. Total spent here was $2.

Below pictured is a run to Walmart for also some cheap items:

Each box of Healthy Choice was $0.88, the Blueberries were $3, and the rest was free with coupons. Total spent: $7.40.

Pictured below is a trip to Aldi's, (and here is where I think I went over):

I spent a total of $27 on the items above. I wanted to get the Pecans to add to the Homemade Granola that we'll be making this week. I also wanted to make a stew this week, so I grabbed some stew meat. I guess we could've done without the rest. I just need to be patient on things we don't really need.

At Walgreens this week, you can get 2 cans of oats for $1 (for more details here: moneysavingmom)! So this is where I decided that I'd make homemade granola.

Lastly we have our WIC items for this week:

So, since I went over our weekly budgeted allowance of $25 while we eat from our pantry, I've decided to skip next week's grocery trip. And only allow WIC items to be had. Thanks for keeping me accountable!

Something for Everyone

I had been itching to get to a Thrift Store for awhile now, but never seemed to find the time. So I devised a plan. If I gathered up some things in our home that we don't use anymore, and made a pile of things for the Thrift Store, that would give me an excuse to stop there! Sneaky, I know. But at the same time it also made me work on cleaning out the house.

So today we stopped by the Salvation Army store and found something for everyone in the family. My husband found a pair of Lee jeans, and a pair of Eddie Bauer dress pants for a total of $8.

I was looking through their kids clothing because it was 50% today, so I found a warm fleece hoodie for 'Pudge', and a nice Gymboree shirt for 'Zman'. Total was $1.50.

For myself, I was looking for some workout clothing because my husband and I are still going strong on the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Micheals. So I've been running out of workout clothing throughout the week, so I found a couple pairs of pants. I also found a cute zip up hoodie! And the shoes I grabbed on the way out, because I've been looking for some dress up brown shoes. Total was $12.

Free Music Download

There is yet again another free music download today. This time it's for a workout music track from the Biggest Loser. Just click the link here and start your downloading. There are some popular artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Kanye West. So this should help you jumpstart your workouts for the new year.

Free Classical Album on Amazon

Get your free MP3 Download from Amazon of the album, I Love the 80s, Vol. 1. It is a Classical album with conductors ranging from Antoni Wit, Michael Halasz, Marin Alsop, Georg Tintner, Stephen Gunzenhauser. So click on this link to take you there. Thanks, moneysavingmom!

DIY: Clip Art Calendar

Thanks to Martha Stewart's Craft Dept., you can now make your own calendar for the year 2010. It's a pretty creative idea, if you are just in need of an actual calendar without all the pretty pictures. Just click on this link and it will give you the directions you need to make your own calendar.

More Cleaning

I don't know if I'm boring anyone with my cleaning spurts, but it's fun to post what I'm up to and to maybe even inspire you to get organized this new year.

We have had this bookshelf in the corner of the room and it's been an awful mess to look at.

I took it upon myself to re-organize that mess and to make it look more appealing to look at.

So as the new year is here, I encourage you to go through your messes and take the steps to clear that clutter out!

Morning Snow

Beautiful snow land!

When we woke up this morning, we were happy to find out that it had already snowed over 6 inches! It was a great feeling! I love to shovel the driveway, so I made sure that I beat my husband to it!

Now you all know where I live!

I love snow!

New Addition to the Family

I am proud to introduce you to my newborn niece! Ellianna arrived on January 4th, weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz. She is a beautiful little girl with brown curly hair, like her mom. We knew that we would be traveling this week down to St. Louis, because my sister had an appointment to be induced on Monday.

She got to meet some of her cousins, and my boys were very curious about this new little girl. Of course, Z-man was very protective of her, and didn't want his little brother touching her.

I enjoyed just cuddling this little bundle of joy. She was so tiny and light as a feather!

My sister is doing well and is excited to head back home to get better acquainted with her little girl. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak away for a weekend and help out a little and give her a break! Congratulations, she's beautiful!

Cheap Entertainment for Kids

I thought this would be a fun post, because I always enjoy watching my boys play and finding different things to do when they're at home. Today it was the enjoyment of bringing out the cool mist humidifier. The boys loved it, and loved the fact that they can control the mist setting.

Enjoy and let the imagination begin!

Out with the old...

I've been motivated to clean out and organize some different places in our home. So today, for some reason, I started with our linen closet. It was a mess, let me tell you! I didn't get a chance to take a before picture, but I did get an after photo. This is a small closet in our home that has not been cleaned out for almost 3 years now! Yikes!

It was refreshing cleaning it out, because there were some old sheets, pillowcases, and bedskirts that needed to go to a new home. Thanks to Freecycle, someone has already come and taken them away for me! I love Freecycle!

I also emptied an old trash can that was sitting in there. Washed it out, and now I have a new trash can that I can place right here in my office! Yea!

So off with the old, and in with the new!

County Market Grocery Trip

We are still active in the "Eat from your Pantry" challenge for the month of January. And to keep myself accountable to what I have posted earlier, I wanted to share with you what I spent my $25 on this week at the grocery store.

County Market sent out another booklet of their in-store coupons, so I eagerly set out to find matching Manufacturer coupons. The only one that I had luck finding was a $1/2 boxes of Post Cereal. Which isn't bad, so I got those boxes of cereal for $1 each. Everything was pretty much $1 or lass, except for the deli meat. Total spent was $25.26 (oops, 26 cents over budge), I'll make that up from finding change in our car!

Pictured above is what we got off of our WIC (Women, Infant, Children) coupons this week. Not bad, I might say! We now have 3 dozen eggs in our fridge. I think it would be wise to use those as meals this week. Also, I was excited to see that the Honey Kix is now a part of the WIC program!

My husband and I also took time our of our schedule to figure out what meals we can make from our pantry. So far, here's our list:

Breakfast:

Cereal

Toast

Eggs/Sausage

Pancakes

Turkey Bacon

Lunch:

Salad

Leftovers

BLT Wraps

Sandwiches

Dinner:

Egg Bake

Chicken Tetrazzini

Tuna Cakes

Quesadillas

Pasta Salad

Sausage & Rice

Tacos

Organizing Ideas for 2010

I have found that I love to read how to be more organized, especially reading Martha Stewart's ideas. I wanted to share with you some creative ideas on how to be a little bit more organized for the new year. My favorite is the metal mailbox organization idea. It would work great for us here because we are renting, and every once in awhile we still get mail for our landlords. More details here.

Another goal of mine for the new year is to have our kids books readily available to read whenever they'd like. And I think that we need a better way of organizing and presenting their books. We have them in baskets right now, and I think that they would be more likely to read if they saw the front cover. So, I guess now I'll have to keep my eye out for one of these plate displays at a Goodwill or Thrift Store. Here is a creative way of displaying them:

This last idea is brilliant! I've seen this idea a couple of times on Martha's website, but have never gotten around to it. You are supposed to flip your mattress at least 4 times a year, and I always forget when the last time it was that we flipped it. So, I think that I'll have to make time to put a label on our mattress.