Still Picking up the Pennies

This weekend fly by way to quickly. We were able to spend a relaxing day at home on Saturday. The boys and I did a sand art project, as part of our prep for the county fair this summer. I love doing craft projects with them. I also did a lot of baking; I made strawberry cake balls, banana bread, brownies and a bundt cake. All the goodies were brought to a memorial we attended on Sunday. It was great to see people we don't get to spend much time with, we just wished it was under other circumstances. Fast-ward to this week, the meal plan looks like this: Monday- Pasta bake Tuesday: Lunch -sloppy joes Dinner -Beef barely soup Wednesday- Fajitas Thursday - BBQ Chicken Friday - HM pizza Saturday roast Sunday TBA If you notice I planned lunch only for Tuesday as there is no school. The Juniors are taking the ACTs and the rest of the kids are off. I think I may take the boys sledding. Also do a bird identification lesson. Have a great week everyone. For more yummy menus, po...

Today the boys and I had a fun frugal Friday, we made flubber (with out Borax). My boys are not in to the mucky muddy things that most boys like, but they did admit to enjoying this flubber making. First is Noah my 8 year old, next is Joel the 11 year old. I thought for sure this activity would not be enjoyed by Joel but he did enjoy it. For dinner we will have homemade pizza and our family night movie, which is Marmaduke. UPDATE on the circulating pump, the repair man was here for nearly two hours, not sure what the bill will be yet. We opted for a new pump and a bit of maintenance work be done. Here is a look at the new, quieter pump. She's sure tiny. One more thing, I am part of the Purex Insider team and I received my first product to try today. I am so excited to try the Purex Complete Crystals Softener. I was sent a sample and a freebie coupon for a full size product. I cant wait to try it, I love fresh smelling laundry. I may be given a few e...

Just when things are going blissfully well, then IT always seems to happen. We had just purchased a decent car for a good price. Decided to pay off the last bit of credit card debt we have $2300 from our tax refund. Then IT happened. I came home to this thing....... in the basement making a horrific sound, it truly sounded like it was going to blow up. I panicked, dh was not home and unreachable, I did leave a message at work. I had my oldest son bringing things out to the car just in-case we did have to leave. I grabbed our box of important papers, keys to cars, what else!? A day worth of clothes for each of us, school bags, winter jackets. THEN DH called and told me that it would not blow up {WHEW!} but a water tank may flood the basement and blast hot, HOT water every where, also to put out the fire in the wood stove. Did that. Then I had to get the kids out of here, the noise was so loud and scary. We put the indoor pets in the detached garage and went for ride. When we came back,...

I need to get my act together on many different levels and planning is one of them. I have so much sloppy Joe meat left from the party yesterday, this week's challenge will be to make new different tastes with the same ole meat mixture. Monday will be nachos Tuesday Hot dogs(also left over from the party) Wednesday Chili Thursday lasanga with garlic bread made of hamburger buns. Friday a break from the leftovers, HM pizza S&S not sure what the weekend has in store for us. We have to go to a memorial service on Sunday that is about an hour away, so we may stay at my parents or in a hotel. For more yummy meal ideas, pop over to orgjunkie.com

This entire past week has just flown by! My two boys were sick, still coughing on Wednesday, took them to the doctor for meds. Thursday, they stayed home from school also, Friday there was no school. So all the time I had planned for cleaning and cooking for a birthday party today, never seemed to happen. AND the party is today, I did manage to pull off a pretty cute cake. So the plan is to drop the boys off at Sunday school and start delivering things to the party spot. More news, we bought a new car, it is a 91 Camaro, with 37,000 miles on it.

God Gave Us So Much is a wonderful book. As I read it with my two young sons, so many of their own questions where answered. This is a collection of three different stories: God Gave Us the World, God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven. My favorite character is Little Cub, she asks questions that a lot of children would ask. The grown ups in her life do a great job us answering and explaining things on a child's level. I know I will read this book over and over to my two boys. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

I have to say this book is a great conversation starter. I read it with my two sons, age 11 and 7, afterward they were just full of questions about what the book really represented. My 11 year old, made the connection of the God creating the bears to be all special and different on the outside but still all the same on the inside. It is a great book, I can't wait to read more in the series.

I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen to host a Coffee Mate Game Night Party. My family and friends had such a wonderful time. I want to thank Coffee Mate for such a wonderful box of goodies to share with my guests. Here are a few photos I took of the fun. Here is some of the snacks I served: cake balls Fresh bread with homemade blue berry jam. Again CoffeeMate thank you for such a great time.

Romance does not have to break the bank. I am trying something new for my DH this month, the 14 days of romance. It starts today. I have made or will make little homemade cards to go with each day. Today is "a sweet for my sweet" day. He works from 2pm to 10pm, so when he gets home he will see the big cookie I made for him and open his card.