Mama's Little Loves

King size bed...

Now I can understand why Caleb wanted to buy a king size bed. We should have bought the biggest one available! When you have two kids who want to be by you continually and/or are sick and just want to lay next to you only to be breathing their sick germs all over you, you wish for a king size bed. This is the third night in a row with kids in the bed. Ambry even brought her own pillow. Looks like she's planning to stay.

I am very blessed that I have an understanding husband =) He got home from another looong day at work, went to basketball, and came home at about 10:00 pm only to find Ambry still not in bed. Any complaining? Nope. He just asks her if she wants to watch a movie and takes her off to our room. So cute. I should have got a picture of them cuddling. Ambry's fever finally broke last night, so I am hoping that she is on the mend. Hopefully, Piper doesn't get it though. I am no good with sick kids. I go from no big deal, it is just a little fever to a burst appendix to they are dying all in a matter of a few seconds. Then when I get myself under control I start to hyperventilate because they are going to die. I just know it. They have a fever and they are coughing, I just know it is more serious than a little ol' virus! I need some anti-anxiety meds. It is terrible.

Labels: Ambry and Piper pics

Ambry came into our room at about 4:15 this morning all excited because she found her tweety bird pajama top. Then she wanted to sleep with us. She proceeded to climb up into our bed and try to lay next to me. Well, mind you, Piper was already sleeping next to me! So she told me that she would just sleep on my legs to keep me warm. What?! So with Piper laying on my arm, which had long ago fallen asleep and was even past that tingly, funny feeling, Ambry layed down on my legs just to make sure I couldn't move at all. Oh well. At least I stayed warm. It is at times like those where you just have to smile and know that someday you will treasure those moments of snuggling with your little ones.

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

Look at those huge peepers! She was so surprised when I took her picture =)

Labels: Piper pics

Piper is outgrowing her size small diaper covers(I use cloth diapers) and I needed to go and get her the medium size. Stop #1 was Target. Normally I am very happy with Target, but this time, not so much. They had plenty of cloth diapers and diaper pins. Right next to each other too. BUT no plastic pants!!! What?! They had training plastic pants for sizes 2T and up but no baby sizes. Like babies don't need them or what? Not impressed at all. So on to stop #2--Meijer. Again I found the cloth diapers and the diaper pins. But they only had sizes 18-24 mo. and up. In fact, they had all the way up to 5T. But do they also think that there are no babies that need plastic pants. I actually asked someone this time and they told me they were fazing them out. What?? Does no one use cloth diapers anymore? Oh well. On to stop#3--Walmart. Normally I will not set foot in a Walmart. The whole big super chain taking over little ones kind of stops me from going there. Anyway, they again had plenty of cloth diapers and diaper pins, but again no plastic pants smaller than 24 mo. I was so frustrated at this point and with two cranky kids, I was not about to drive out to Baby's R Us to check them out. Who knows? With the way my day was going, I don't think I would have even found them there! Not to mention I just didn't feel like driving 45 minutes to go check. Maybe another time. For now, I am just going to squeeze her booty into the size small and get by. Just felt like venting about it. :)

Labels: Piper pics

WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY...

Since we don't celebrate anything Christmas, it makes it hard when I receive things but don't give. Last night my neighbour brought over some bonket(sp?) that she made. Sooo, I broke out the baking supplies also and made my candy and fudge that I normally make. It is the easiest thing in the world to do and really doesn't take all that much time. Here are some recipes:

FUDGE
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 oz. evaporated milk
3/4 tsp. salt
7 oz. jar of marshamallow creme
1/4 cup butter
Mix these ingredients all together in a nice big mixing pan on the stove and bring to a rolling boil. When I say that...this stuff must be HOT! It should be boiling and popping every which way. Also, CONTINUE to stir the entire time or else your sugar will burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. I use a wooden spoon. When that has all come to a boil, 1 tsp. vanilla and 12 oz of chocolate. Stir together until everything is well blended and pour into a greased 12X9 pan. (Or 13X9...whatever that common size of pan is) :) Then throw it outside or if you live somewhere warm, your fridge. This can make about 88 pieces. Some variations you can do are: 6 oz. of choc. chips and about 1 cup of peanut butter. You could put almond extract in, or raspberry, or mint also. You could also use butterscotch chips instead of choc. or peanut butter chips to make just peanut butter fudge. There are so many different things you can do with this stuff. Have fun with it!

PEPPERMINT CANDY
1 pkg. almond bark-either choc. or white choc.
Peppermint candy canes-as many as you want depending on how chunky and sweet you like
I put the candy canes in a freezer storage bag, then take a hammer and beat them on my cutting board until they are all completely broken up and there are no big chunks left. Then melt your choc. and dump in your candy canes. Pour this on a huge cookie sheet that has been layered with wax paper and smooth it all out so it is nice and thin. Again, throw it outside to cool or put it in the fridge. When it is completely cooled down, simply break it into pieces and you are all done. Very easy!

BULLSEYES(or whatever you want to call them--there are so many names for these)
There are no basic measurements for these. Just take a huge scoop of peanut butter and mix it together with powdered sugar until it is no longer sticky. Form them into balls and cool them. Melt almond bark choc. and then take the balls and roll them in. Put them on a cookie tray that has been layered with wax paper and cool them. All done. Even easier.

PEPPERMINT PATTIES
Melt almond bark choc. and add a splash of peppermint extract. Take Ritz crackers(or whatever is on sale-think cheap) and dip them into the choc. mixture. Put them on a wax papered layered cookie tray and cool. All done. Again, super easy.

Once I have all of my candy done, I put it all into a tin, with a variety of everything and hand them out. Fairly cheap, and afterall, it isn't how much you spend but how much thought and effort you put into your gifts. I will usually put the candy in a tin that I get from the dollar store. So now I have something nice that I can give in return when I get things from my neighbours.

This is what Works for Me. To see more great ideas, go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful smiles...

Givin' momma some smooches...

Isn't it strange how gorgoeous and sunny it is out? It's December! There should be piles of snow all around!

Labels: deals

FRUGAL FRIDAY...

This Friday Crystal posted three questions that she wants you to answer:

1. What is the best resource for frugality you've found (book, magazine, website, etc.)?
2. What is the best deal you've gotten recently?
3. What is your best idea for a creative and inexpensive gift (I was specifically thinking this might be helpful for those who still are looking for some last-minute Christmas ideas!)?

Here is what I came up with:

1. I love Fat Wallet. You can get so many free things to try out on there from magazines to perfumes to pens, etc. You name it, I have probably been able to find it for free on this website. I gave the link to the free stuff forum, but they also have a coupon section and tons of other cool stuff.
2. One of the best deals I got would probably be when I got a bunch of Target coupons and instead of spending about $30.00 for my groceries, I spent $14.00! Way cool. I posted about that here. One other thing, which was a bonus from Fat Wallet, was that I got two free things of formula in the mail. Two nice 8 oz. cans! I don't use it yet, but it will definitely come in handy down the road.
3. Last, I don't have to worry about the whole Christmas thing, which is very inexpensive since I don't have to do anything :) But I did have Ambry draw a picture card for her Nana. I gave her glue, macaroni pieces, and marshmallows and just let her go to town. Then I wrote a note inside in "her handwriting". Just something small and thoughtful that I knew Ambry would be so excited to give her since she did it herself. EDIT:Please visit Esther's blog for why we don't do Christmas.

For more answers to these questions go to Crystal's Blog.

Labels: Frugal Friday

How cute is this picture of Caleb and the girls. It is a little dark, but I love Ambry's cheesy little happy face :)

Piper shows off her cute, droolly smile.

Ambry tries to tell Piper a secret.

Ambry comes up to me today and says,"Mom, I really need a chi-chi-chi-chia pet. PLEASE??" She did it in a little sing-song voice just like the commercial too. I think she's getting a little bit too much tv time. The things kids remember!

Labels: Ambry and Piper pics

Go to Rocks in My Dryer for more great ideas.

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

The Many Uses of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide...(I looked up uses on the internet. I don't just know these off the top of my head) :)

1. Mouthwash-gurgle with this every morning or night to kill bacteria. It can also whiten teeth if done regularly.
2. Make toothpaste by mixing baking soda with peroxide until it forms a paste. Then brush away.
3. Soak toothbrush in it to kill germs and bacteria.
4. While in the shower, mist your body down after washing. It will replace the acid mantel on your skin that soap removes. The acid mantle protects the skin from wind and pollution.
5. Use it for acne. Wash your face and neck with it to dry the oil out of your skin.
6. Add 2 oz. to dishwasher to sanitize and eliminate cold germs.
7. Use 1 pint in a gallon of water in humidifier. It helps keep mechanisms clean and cuts down on hard water build up.
8. Use to clean counters to sanitize and kill cold germs.
9. Make a 50/50 mixture with water and hydrogen peroxide and soak your feet in it to eliminate toe fungus.
10. If you have a terrible toothache and can't get to the dentist immediately, swish with hydrogen peroxide, hold it in your mouth for ten minutes and then spit. Do this a couple times a day and it will help relieve the pain.
11. You can use 10% hydrogen peroxide to kill weeds. You can buy it at a feed store at 30% and then dilute it. Be careful though, because it can burn your skin and eyes.
12. If you are a fisher, add 2-3 cap fulls to a bucket of minnows to keep them alive longer. (I suppose you don't have to be a fisher, but I don't know any other reason to have a bucket full of minnows. Maybe I will have to search that next and see if I can find other uses for minnows.)
13. Use a mixture of salt and hydrogen peroxide in chilled water to wash meat and rid it of bacteria and viruses.

There are still other uses, but those are some that I thought were pretty useful. I had no idea there were that many for hydrogen peroxide.

Labels: deals

I got lots of cool things in the mail today. My cards from Winkflash arrived today!! I just ordered them on Friday. Talk about some good service. I also signed up at Fat Wallet for free stuff, and I got two free cans of formula from Similac to try. There are all kinds of free things to sign up for at Fat Wallet. They have coupons, good deals, and a bunch of other cool things on their website. I also followed some links to some other websites--Free STuff Hunter, Start Sampling, Hampton Store, My Savings, and My Town Offers--and signed up to try stuff for free. There is no buying or sign up fee or anything like that. Just completely free! Very cool. I am going to have to wait and see what all comes from Free Stuff Hunter. I signed up to try some of the Swiffer stuff, some Tide detergent, hair stuff from Sunsilk, and a couple other things. I know from Fat Wallet, I got just about everything that I signed up for from free panties to perfume, to household cleaning things. You have to kind of pick through the junk offers, but I think it is definitely worth it if you have a little bit of free time.

Caleb and I got our car back yesterday and it looks great. The body shop that we had it at--West River Collision--did an awesome job! My car had so much junk it--I know, Mom, big surprise right?--they put it all in a bag and tied it up all nice in the back seat and vacuumed everything out. Then they washed it, which hadn't been done in probably a good 3-5 months. They even cleaned out my cup holder which was extremely disgusting! (I know Mom and Jeff you are not suprised at all by this). So if anyone ever needs body work done, this is definitely the place to bring it. We were very impressed with the job they did.

Caleb has had to have major dental work done in the last two years of our marriage and let me say that stuff adds up extremely quick. We finally just got done paying it all off--about $9000.00 worth--and it is the best feeling ever. Now we are switching over to a new dentist, a Dr. Monsma. I had my first appointment with him today and if anyone is looking for a good, and seem to be honest dentist, this guy if definitely for you. His office isn't the most up to date technological thing ever, but I think he makes up for that by being thorough and honest. His prices are great too. Now you have heard my little promotion speech, I think that is all :)

Have a great Tuesday!

Labels: deals

ONE MORE ADDITION TO THE BEST DEAL EVER...

This morning we went to Discount Foods. I can not believe how cheap food is there! We got meat, lettuce, onions, beans and tons of other stuff that can't even begin to compare to prices in stores--even to Aldi's or Save A Lot! So if anyone is looking for great deals on food or any other household item, Discount Foods is definitely the place to go!

Labels: deals

GOOD DEAL...THE BEST DEAL EVER...THE GREATEST...

So Caleb, the kids, and I made the trek up to Super Target last night. Of course we waited until about 8:00 pm to go, but, oh boy, was it worth it! I found here some coupons to Super Target and thought we should make the drive out there since we are having a small army over on Sunday for lunch. And it was so worth it! I got ten boxes of mac and cheese, three things of salsa, cheese salsa, one pkg. of lg tortillas, two pkgs. of small tortillas, one small of wheat tortillas, hot chocolate, jalapenos, a box of brownie mix(oh boy...are you so excited for bownies, Esther?), red vine licorice, cherry cordials, and ketchup. Quite a bit of stuff. It all rang up to $29.06. I handed the cashier my three pages of coupons, and the total...$14.06!!! Can you believe that? Caleb and I were amazed at how much we saved by using those coupons. The boxes of mac and cheese really were $.10 a box per that link above like it said. I am going back today to stock up. Not the healthiest food in the world, but when you're on a budget, it sure does the trick. I think I'll just throw in some brocolli and meat, and voila, we've got dinner. So if you need an awesome deal on some food, go to the link above and head on out to Super Target! It is so worth it to go!

Labels: deals

Thanks to Esther, I followed one of her llinks and am now visiting this site. On Fridays they do an activity called Frugal Friday and I thought it would be fun to participate. So my tip is about cleaning supplies. So many of your household cleaning supplies can be made instead of buying them...and you can save quite a bit of $$$ also. I make my own "windex" out of ammonia, baking soda, vinegar, and water. All it requires is some very strong nose plugs while you are making it. Take 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 tbsp. of baking soda, and pour it all into a gallon container. I use my old bulk windex bottles so they are already marked and I don't confuse them with other cleaners. Once those things are all mixed together, simply fill it up the rest of the way, and voila, you have got "windex"! Don't forget about bleach. I use that for just about everything. I use it to clean my toilets, wash out my sinks, and pour down the disposal while running to freshen things up. I also pour it into my trash cans regularly just in case anything icky spilled in there or got stuck. So if you just use bleach for those things, you no longer need to buy toilet cleaner, soft scrub or ajax (or whatever you use for scrubbing). Can you tell I love bleach?? It is also one of my mom's favorites. She always told me that if you ever want your husband to come home and think you've been cleaning all day, quick pour some bleach into your toilets, so you get that nice clean smell, and they think you've been cleaning all day even if you have stuff laying around--you just say your were scrubbing the grime off of everything!! :)

Follow this link to hear about other great ideas.

Labels: Frugal Friday

I think it was just three weeks ago that it was in the sixties to low seventies. And now check this out! There is tons of snow! Ambry is loving it, although Caleb is having other ideas. He has already been out plowing three times this week. Poor guy :(

Here is another one of Ambry eating the snow. She is such a goof. Just about every time I checked on her she was eating the snow. Maybe there is something about eating snow when you are a kid, because I don't think it tastes like I remember. Maybe it has something to do with germs or something, because I find myself checking for animal tracks or wondering what could be mixed in with the snow. :)


To Grandpa and Grandma--G. and M.--hope you enjoy Kaylynn while she is out there with you! Kaylynn, enjoy your time out there and the warm weather! You will be coming back to freezing temps! Be safe, and I can't wait to hear about everything that you did when you get back!

Labels: Ambry and Piper pics

Frugal...

So I try to be frugal and save my $$, but it can be very difficult sometimes. But there are some things that I have managed to cut out of my life in order to try to save money.

1. I use cloth diapers and until spring, I refuse to buy disposable. I figure at anywhere from $.17 to $.20 cents for a diaper, using about 8 diapers a day, this will save about $1.36 to $1.60 a day. This is $9.52 to $11.20 a week. Pretty good.
2. I make my own windex mixture out of ammonia, vinegar, baking soda, and water. For a gallon of the stuff (which is the nastiest smelling thing to make, but worth it) it only cost about $.50. Excellent savings again, considering I use windex on everything!
3. I found a mixture of laundry detergent on this website. She did all the cost comparisons already on her website, so I won't go through it again. Needless to say, I will definitely be trying this out for myself. http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/2006/01/frugal-laundry-clothing-care.html This blog has a lot of great ideas for saving $$.
4. I try to dry a good portion of my clothes on dryer racks. Both of the girls clothes get hung out, except for some undergarments and socks. After looking at how much it costs to run the dryer per load (thank you Esther for telling me about that), it definitely makes more sense to hang up my clothes as much as possible.
5. I clip coupons, which won't be happening for too much longer, since I cancelled my paper. But, I do go online to the store websites to check out ads and compare prices. You may only save $.50 by buying it from a different store, but it definitely can add up very quickly.

So, if anyone else has any great ideas to share, I would love it! It is always nice to hear about others $$ saving ideas in order to try to save more yourself.

www.frugalupstate.blogspot.com is an awesome blog to check out for $$ saving ideas.

Labels: deals

Here is one of Ambry and Piper the other day. Ambry is sharing her blanket and trying to show Piper how to use her play phone. She is such a good big sister :)

Labels: Ambry and Piper pics