Weekend of Bugs and Art

I just wanted to share with you all some photos of our fun weekend with art and bugs. My family and I decided to go to an event from our local art museum (Krannert Art Museum), because they had an event called Kids at Krannert. It was a free event where the kids got to color, stickerorize, get balloon animals, and go on a scavenger hunt. My husband found out about this event through our local newspaper's calendar of events.

Here are some snapshots of the boys outside the Art Museum.

(little pirate)

(my little monkey, sitting by a monkey)

*****Insect Fear Film Activity******

We took our kids to an evening filled with bugs at the Foellinger Auditorium last night. They had tons of bugs, alive and dead, for the kids to interact with. It was so crowded though. That was the only downside. Our boys weren't too into touching the bugs. As you can tell in the photo above.

There was tons of artwork hung up to look at, and lots of ribbons won from contests. We only stayed for about an hour, because it was time for bed, and the auditorium was filling up with people who were staying to watch a free film, the 1957 classic Black Scorpion. We decided to skip that one! :) It was a fun filled weekend. Thanks for looking!

No Impact Man

I currently checked out way too many books from our library on my time away this week. Thanks to my husband who took care of Pudge while Z-man was in school, so that I could have some time to myself. And yes, I'm a nerd, I go to the library on my time away.

Anyway, I ended up checking out 5 books from our library:

1. Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker
2. Don't Miss Your Life! by Charlene Ann Baumbich
3. Giving - The Sacred Art by Lauren Tyler Wright
4. The Joy of Parenting by Lisa W. Coyne and Amy R. Murrell
5. No Impact Man by Colin Beavan

I love to visit the new released section of our library, where more than one book always catches my eye. I wanted to talk a little about how much I'm enjoying book #5, No Impact Man. Particularly because my husband and I tried going without using our lights during the weeks leading up to Christmas time. So I feel like in some ways we've tried saving our planet in some small ways. It was so hard to go without that simple pleasure that this book is very engaging to me. Here is a little video to pull you in as well:

May we all be more conscious of what impact we are making on the Earth we are living on.

Walgreens: Free 8 x 10 photo

Find that cute photo that you've been meaning to print out, because this Thursday (2/25) print out this coupon to get a free 8 x 10 photo at Walgreens. I love Walgreens and their sweet photo deals.

Sowing our Seeds for Summer

Today is the day for starting our seeds for our summer garden. Here's what we are starting with, potting soil from Walgreens for $0.99 and vegetable seeds at Walgreens, 5/$1.

I've wanted my kids to help me with this indoor project to help them learn about plants and how they grow. I think they will be very excited to see them grow!

First, I thought they would really enjoy digging in the dirt with their new excavators from Aunt Kissy. They were! Look at the concentration:

We've been saving our yogurt cups to do this project. We also have TONS of egg containers that we were going to save for Grandma and Grandpa G's farm, but we saved the styrofoam ones to plant our seeds in. We also poked holes in the bottom of them so that they water can escape.

I think the boys had a good time digging in the dirt in our kitchen. The only sanitary place to do this in our home. And YES, I was freaked out that they would make a mess, but I just had to overcome that fear and know that I can wash the floor later on.

Next we picked what seeds we wanted to plant early, and in they went:

(Pudge picking up tiny cherry tomato seeds)

(Older brother, Z-man, placing green beans and pumpkins seeds)

Next I told them that it was time to water our seeds, so I searched for the sippy cups that leaked! Brilliant, I know. They had alot of fun with these as well.

The sippy cups worked out perfectly!

And here is our end result. Lots of seeds planted, and now we just need lots of sunshine to help them grow. It was a fun experiment and we're excited to see if they grow. We'll post more pictures as they grow.

Potty Training the Pudge

I have decided that it's time to diligently potty train 'Pudge.' We had started about 4 months ago, but never stuck with it. So now it's time to stick to my guns and really concentrate and help him figure this out. I posted some pictures on ways that I can help him become potty trained.

First, it always helps to have a visual on other toddlers learning to use the potty as well. So we headed to our library to check out some books on little ones on the potty. This also helps when you're in the bathroom for awhile with your toddler. Here's a look at the books we have now in our bathroom:

We made a chart to hang out our wall to encourage Pudge to put a sticker on the chart whenever he goes in the potty. I picked up some $1 stickers from Target for his new adventure.

And of course, a NEW POTTY!! We decided that our older potty was starting to leak, and what's more fun than peeing in a frog?!

It is also good to have a package of training pants/undies to let your toddler know how it feels if they wet themselves. I think that diapers have allowed them to be wet, but not to "feel" wet, so undies are important. We use Pull-Ups when we go out on errands.

My friend who has successfully potty trained their two children said that she (in the beginning) would always have her child sit on the potty every 30 minutes. So that they would understand how their body was working, and to develop a routine. I found that to be very helpful.

Here's a snapsot of Pudge checking out his new stickers and chart. What fun we're going to have!

And a potty training course would not be complete without a bit of bribery:

(Sorry I couldn't get this photo to stand upright, but you get the gist.)

So off we go on our new adventure of potty training! Good luck to all you parents entering the Potty Training Stage!

Tuesday Groceries

IGA: Strawberries were 2/$3!! Total spent was $10.

(above) Aldi's: $29.

(above) Schnucks: $26

(above) CVS: leftover V-Day candies were $0.25. Total spent $3.

County Market: Free with coupons from mail!

Total spent on Groceries: $68

I figured that I would skip grocery shopping next week since I technically am only supposed to spend $40 a week on groceries. Thanks for keeping me accountable!

Sears: Free Character Collage Photo

Click here to print off a coupon to get a free 8 x 10 character collage (retails for $44.98).

Free Pancakes at IHOP today

Head on over to your local IHOP and get a 3 stack of pancakes for free. All they ask you to do is donate to the local children's hospital. This deal is going on today, Tuesday, from 7am-10pm. For more details, click on this link.

Our NEW Goodwill Store!

Our new Goodwill store opened yesterday and I was so excited to join the crowds!

My sister was going to join me, but was running last, so I asked my husband if he wanted to fight the crowds with me. And he did! (we had his brother watch the kids, thanks Bubba!)

We were very impressed with the store to say the least. It's just nice to have a new Goodwill overall, so there were no complaints here (except for some impatient people).

I took some photos of the merchandise, because I thought it'd be fun to show you all. They had some (expensive for Goodwill) leather couches and chairs that looked brand spankin' new.

They had some nice dining room and bedroom furniture:

There were also alot of new items ranging from hair accessories to sunglasses:

And don't forget the shoes (lots and lots of them!):

So you're probably wondering what I came home with? Well, not too much, because it wasn't easy getting around in the store with so many people there. But we did find some things:

(I found some dump trucks for the boys)

(Game and books for hubbie)

(found some shower hooks for our new bathrooms)

(a wall hanging for the new bathrooms as well)

Total spent $11.52.

Thanks for exploring our new Goodwill store with us! Hope you liked it!

Baby Showers and Diaper Cakes

Yesterday I had the pleasure to driving 2 1/2 hours to enjoy my cousins 1st baby shower. She is due in April and we are so excited for her little girl to arrive. We had such a good time, and I wanted to share with you a fun idea that my aunt has made for the past couple of baby showers that I've been to. She makes this very cute and creative diaper cake!

Isn't that the most creative thing you've ever seen at a baby shower? I thought it was amazing! I found a couple of websites that would help you make one if you're interested, here and here. I'm pretty sure all that you need is:

• a box of diapers
• blankets (receiving and fleece)
• toys for decorations
• baby soap bottle to hold the cake up (for inside)
• bottle of goodies (for inside)
• spoons (for inside)
• ribbon

Free Glade Pack

Right at Home is offering a free Glade pack of Hawaiian or Vanilla Breeze Plugin scented oil warmer and refill pack. The first 10,000* eligible registrants only will receive one Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil Gift Pack! Gift packs will be mailed by May 15, 2010. Click on this link to fill out your information. Thanks, Common Sense With Money!

Big Lots Coupon

Big Lots is accepting their 20% off coupon this Sunday, 2/21 from 5-9pm. So get a list together and head on over there. We usually stock up on snacky-type foods whenever their coupon comes out.

Redbox Free Code

For today only (2/18) you can get a free Redbox rental code. Just use the promo code SMRTRY3 at the checkout and you get it free!

Goodwill Findings

If you live in Champaign, IL or nearby, head on over to Goodwill TODAY because everything in their store is 50% off!! Today is their last day open at their old store, and this Saturday they will reopen at their new store just off the interstate!

I had no idea this was their last day open, so we were really in luck when we walked in the doors and someone over the microphone said that everything was 50% off. I couldn't believe it! We found some very cute sweaters and a pair of dress pants for my husband.

(Cute white sweater $1.50)

(cute blue-green sweater from Old Navy $1.50)

(dress pants from GAP for husband $1.50)

(This cup is for Pudge $0.25)

(Craft and Barrow sweater $1.50)

So some great deals for less than $8 altogether! If you're interested the new Goodwill will be located at 912 W. Anthony, just off Interstate 74. They will have a grand opening on Saturday at 9am with the first 100 people getting a scratch off card for prizes! I will definitely be there! So exciting!