Free Jewelry

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So I've been packing all week. That's right, we're moving again! The fourth time this year. Maybe I make it seem easy since I do it all the time but moving with a preschooler, a toddler and an infant is no joke. We've only had "school" once this week, I've been packing and talking to movers, lenders, etc. all week. It's just been crazy.

Dollar Tree

I think I am single handedly keeping Dollar Tree alive with the number of pregnancy tests I buy. I love that everything in the store is only $1! I mean toliet paper, snacks, toys, you name it, they have it for a buck. You can't beat that unless you can get it for free. I'm going to be stopping by there tomorrow or Monday to pick up some Easter supplies. I <3 Dollar Tree!

Weekly To Do List

I thought I'd share my to do list this week. I can't get it to copy properly so I can only share my Monday to Sunday list. On the top of the page I have a chart 8 columns by 8 rows. Across the top I have the days listed Monday to Sunday. Down the side I have the things I need to get done every day listed. If you decide to make your own just add or delete rows depending on how many things you have to do every day. My list includes make beds, get dressed, take vitamins/meds, laundry, dishes, general pick-up, & homeschool. Then below that I have a list of things to do for each day of the week. It stays the same each week except that I add 2 or 3 chores that need to be done once, twice or three times a year. Each day I focus on a different room as well as chores that need to be done throughout the house. For example, on Mondays I clean the kitchen but I also sweep & mop all the non-carpeted areas in the house. This week my extra chores are to thoroughly clean the microwave, disinfect doorknobs & phones, and clean & flip the mattresses. Here is my complete list (without the chart to check off daily chores):

Monday, March 30, 2009 - Kitchen
- Clean out fridge
- Grocery shopping
- Wash & put away all dishes
- Scrub sink & counters
- Sweep & mop all floors
- Clean appliances
* Clean microwave

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 – Family Room
- Declutter
- Vacuum house
- Library
* Disinfect doorknobs & phones

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 – Bathrooms
- Clean sinks, toilets, tubs, showers
- Windex mirrors & faucets
- Empty trash cans
- Wash all windows

Thursday, April 2, 2009 – Play Room
- Organize toys
- Dust house
- Weeding/yard work

Friday, April 3, 2009 – Upstairs
- Clean bedrooms
- Wash linens
- Finish all laundry
* Clean & flip mattresses

Saturday, April 4, 2009 – Dining Room
- Clean off table & desk
- Polish furniture
- Sort mail

Sunday, April 4, 2009 – Office
- Prepare for weekly homeschool activities
- Organize school items
- Make menu & grocery list

Yearly Fashion Show

Around here the weather is finally starting to get warm! Now is about the time that I have my yearly fashion show. I try on every piece of clothing that I own. Anything that I haven't worn since last year's fashion show goes straight to the charity box along with anything that doesn't fit anymore. Anything that needs to be mended goes into the basket. Then I pack up all my winter clothes to store until next year. Everything that's left gets organized by type. Personally I don't go crazy and organize things by color or by outfit. I like to mix things up so I don't find that helpful. All the tops go together, sorted by short sleeve, long sleeve, & jackets. Then I have bottoms organized by skirt, shorts, capris, and pants. And of course the biggest section of all: dresses. Then I do the same thing with all of my shoes and socks and underwear.

I love an organized closet and dresser :) It makes getting dressed so much easier and faster. You'll have no excuse to lounge around in your jammies anymore!

Montessori N Such Recall

Due to lead paint, Montessori N Such (http://montessori-n-such.com/) has recalled watering cans, basins, pails, and vases. So sad because they are so cute! Here are the details: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09729.html

I was actually thinking about buying some pratical life supplies from them and when I got on their site I learned about the recall. Now I'm wary of buying anything from them. I mean, if they didn't test those products for lead how can I be sure they tested the other products? Bummer.

Montessori Sale

Adena Montessori (http://www.adenamontessori.us/) is having a 45% off sale until the end of March. I got a set of upper & lower case letters for $30, a globe for $20 and some other things I needed at great prices. Once the materials are here I'll be sure to add a review of the quality, but I didn't find anything negative about them online so far.

Sleep Laughing

All of my babies have smiled in their sleep. I love when they do that, it's so precious! I could just hold them all night and watch them do that. *Big grin* - serious face - *Big grin* - serious face. But tonight the baby broke out into full on laughter while she was sleeping. I have no idea what she was dreaming about but apparently it was hilarious. And she wasn't just making a little noise like they usually do, it was a hearty HAHAHAHA. And then she woke herself up with all the noise. She did that six or seven times before she finally stayed asleep. It was so cute! I guess she's going to take after her daddy's sleep habits. He talks in his sleep all the time. I can't even tell you how many times he's asked me for the license plate number while he's asleep.

I've only heard her laugh once before. Last week my oldest was making funny faces at her and she started laughing. Kind of loudly. It was adorable, but we hadn't been able to get her to do it again. I can't wait until that baby laughter is filling up the house everyday.

Kids Eat Free/Discounted

Some restaurants offer days when kids can eat for free. This is pretty much the only time we take the kids out to eat. In our area the Denny's offers this on Tuesdays 4-10 p.m. and Saturdays, one free kids meal per paying adult. Chik-Fil-A is Tuesdays 5:30 to 7:30 with purchase of a combo meal, but not all branches participate. Kids eat free everyday at Cici's if they are under 3. At Fuddrucker's kids eat for 99 cents 4-9 p.m. on Mondays & Tuesdays. IHOP offers 1 free kids menu item per paying adult on Mondays through Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Kids under 3 always eat free at Golden Corral (I love this place!) and under 10 are free from 5-9 p.m. on Mondays (2 kids per paying adult). Kids eat free with adult purchase on Tuesdays at Bennigans. Lonestar - two kids eat free per adult on Tuesdays, all day, & Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., drinks included. Kids eat free all day on Tuesdays at Perkins. Damon's lets kids eat free on Wednesdays (one per adult). Kids eat for $1.99 on Wednesday evenings at Rainforest Cafe. On Sundays kids eat free at Hooters from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (although that's probably not where I'd be on Sundays. . .). Some Applebee's let kids eat for 99 cents on certain days but it varies.

I'm a winner!!!

Wow, I can't remember the last time I won anything but I won the free subscription that I blogged about yesterday! I am so excited, I can't wait to try it out with my oldest.

I also wanted to share this cuteness I got in my email. The picture with this post is a Rufflebutt Bloomer. If you buy the set in the picture you'll get an additional bloomer free. Details are here: http://www.rufflebutts.com/catalog.php?item=152&catid=7&ret=catalog.php?category=7

I also got some information about Seize the Day offers from Ikea. These deals last only for the day(s) listed only so get there while supplies last:

Sunday, March 22, 2009
IKEA 365+ 11qt stockpot w/lid $9.99 (instead of $34.99)

Saturday, March 21, 2009
DROPPAR jar w/lid 99¢/ea (instead of $2.99-$5.99)

Friday, March 20 - Sunday, March 22, 2009
INGOLF bar stool $19.99/ea (instead of $59.99-$69.99)

SAVE 20%
Friday, March 13 - Sunday, May 3, 2009
GRUNDTAL integrated lighting

Free Breakfast & 20% Kitchen Offers (information & pictures on website)

Happy Shopping!

Giveaway

I know this is last minute but Moms By Heart is giving away a 3 month subscription to Jumpstart Learning here:
http://www.momsbyheart.net/2009/03/last-day-to-enter-giveaway.html
I checked out the website for Jumpstart Learning here:
http://www.jumpstart.com/
It looks like a fun and educational video game for kids. I hope we win, I know my oldest girl would love it!

Gifts

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday and since he is working tomorrow we celebrated today. It feels so weird to buy him gifts. I mean he's the one that gives me the money that I spend on them. And you know you always rip off the price tags before you give anyone a gift because it's awkward for them to know how much (or how little) you spent on them. It's the same thing here, it's weird that he'll know exactly how much I spent. I spent a reasonable amount so it's no big deal but for some reason it bothers me. I also felt bad because we didn't get to go out today. We had a lot of things planned but the kids were too sick for us to do anything. So it was a very low key day for him. I asked him repeatedly if he wanted to go out with friends or go visit his family (alone) but he wanted to stay home with us. And now he's caught what the girls are sick with and he fell asleep 5 minutes into American Idol. Poor guy!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day!

Pantry Cooking

Until Justin starts his new job we are uber short on cash. And now we need to get some money together to move back into our house. To save money this week I decided not to go grocery shopping. I have a gallon of milk, a gallon of orange juice, and a gallon of iced tea (for the adults). If there is no drink specified we are drinking water. The only fresh produce I had in the house was a red pepper, a bag of baby carrots, and a bag of celery. I don't have any fresh meat in the house, but I do have 18 eggs (well 14 as of this morning) and some bacon. We will be making due with some seafood I have in the freezer, peanut butter and canned tuna/salmon. We have plenty of canned and frozen vegetables as well as frozen, canned and dried fruit. Everything I planned for a week's worth of meals is coming out of things I have on hand. I think the most important part of being frugal with food is having desert everyday. It keeps you from feeling deprived.

Saturday –
Breakfast: Bacon, Cheerios, Raisins, Milk
Snack: Fruit cups
Lunch: Tuna & celery sandwiches, carrots
Dinner: Grilled cheese sandwiches, sliced red peppers
Dessert: Popsicles

Sunday –
Breakfast: Eggs, Toast, Orange juice
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Mexican rice (rice with tomatoes & seasonings)
Dinner: Steak (from freezer) & cheese sandwiches, green beans, Milk
Dessert: Berries (from freezer) with Cool Whip

Monday –
Breakfast: Oatmeal, Milk
Snack: Dried apricots
Lunch: PB & J sandwiches, carrots
Dinner: Salmon (from canned) Patties with Biscuits and Lima beans, Milk
Dessert: Brownies

Tuesday –
Breakfast: Raisin Bran with Milk
Snack: Fruit cups
Lunch: Canned soup
Dinner: Tuna & mushroom casserole with Peas, Milk
Dessert: Leftover brownies

Wednesday –
Breakfast: Pancakes, Orange juice
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter, raisins)
Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatballs (from freezer), Milk
Dessert: Jello-O

Thursday –
Breakfast: Hash browns, Eggs, Orange juice
Snack: Crackers & cheese
Lunch: Any leftovers, remaining celery/carrots/dried fruit, Yogos
Dinner: Shrimp (from freezer) Fettuccini Alfredo, canned corn, Milk
Dessert: Cinnamon sugar toast

Friday –
Breakfast: Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (from freezer), Milk
Snack: Fig Newtons
Lunch: Souped up Ramen
Combine 1 package Ramen noodles, 1 can condensed mushroom soup, 1 can water, 1 can tuna (drained), 1 cup peas, & ¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper (or to taste). Cook on medium-low until noodles are soft & everything is warm. Remove from heat & stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Dinner: Tilapia filets (from freezer), Broccoli & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes (boxed)
Dessert: Graham crackers

Hallelujah

Justin got a new job!!! The pay and benefits are so much better than what he is getting now. We are going to go over our finances and talk with our lender but we are thinking about moving back into our old house. That will be my fourth move in one year! I need to look up the Guiness record on moves in one year. When he lost his job we put our house on the market and moved into the city where he got his new job because they required him to do so. Then our house was condemned because the landlord refused to fix the heating system. So we moved into the first place we found that would take us and it is very small. But our house never sold, as I'm sure plenty of people in the country are currently going through. So if we can afford it I don't see why we can't live in the house that we had built for our family. However we are currently a few months behind on the payments and we don't have the money to pay them for those missed months. Hopefully we will be able to work something out. I do miss that house and all the space to run round and spread out.

WAH Job Opportunity

I know of a job opportunity with Babytobee.com (the opening is not listed on the website but you can check it out to see what their business is all about). If you'd like information set up an email account that is your first and last name at hotmail or gmail (I used ashleyfishbein@gmail.com), if that is taken add a number to the end of your last name. It cannot be an yahoo address or anything else. Then email Jessie Sconzo in Human Resources at jessie@babytobee.com telling her that you are interested. You need high speed DSL or cable internet (NOT wireless) and you'll have to have Windows XP (NOT Mac) and a headset to use. The pay is $10-$13 per hour and you'll be eligible for bonuses. You have to work a minimum of 10 hours per week from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., no scheduling neccessary. Just log in whenever. You are paid for the time you are available for calls, not just when you are actually on the phone. You'll have to pass a background investigation which costs $25 but there aren't any other costs.

Save Money With Redbox

Every Wednesday you can find a code for a free nights rental from Redbox at http://blog.redbox.com/redblog/ . You can also sign up for a text message of a code for a free nights rental every Monday here: http://www.redbox.com/Help/Signup.aspx

We use this service atleast once a week. Justin happens to have Mondays off so it works out well for us to get the movie on Mondays. This way we get to do something special without having to spend money and we don't feel deprived. It's nice to do something special and it gives us something nice to look forward to.

What a blessing

Today I want to take some time to talk about what a blessing my mom is. We are so grateful to have her in our lives! She is constantly thinking of ways to help us or encourage us. She is always there for me, supporting my decisions and not judging me. It doesn't matter if she's at home, at work, or in the grocery store, she always takes the time to talk to me when I call her. She finds time in her schedule to visit us several times a month and her doors are always open for us to come stay at her house, even if it is a last minute decision. She is generous and thoughtful and incredibly loving. She is forgiving and understanding and lots of fun! Whenever the doorbell rings my girls run towards it shouting "Nana! Nana!" hoping as hard as they can that it's her. And today they were so thrilled because it really was her. She heard that we were sick and she came over bearing movies and food and cleaned up the house for us. We love you Nana!!!

We were so close!

Well we finally got sick. We haven't been sick all winter and I thought we were actually going to make it through the whole season healthy. We have been sick for several days and I'm hoping it won't last much longer. We are having house guests this weekend and I feel so bad for them. They'll probably leave here with an awful cold. I did forewarn them but they insisted on coming anyways. I'm also getting way behind with school work with my girls. I know I don't feel like teaching and I can't imagine that they feel like sitting and trying to concentrate. They don't even feel like playing, they just laid around all day drawing and "reading." Someone shared this recipe for frittata muffins and I can't wait to make some for breakfast:

INGREDIENTS:
8 eggs
2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesean or asiago cheese
1 clove chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Combine ingredients in large bowl and pour into large muffin pan (the kind of pan that gets 6 jumbo muffins instead of 12 small) filling cups all the way to the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy."

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=293286.0

The woman who shared this with me used a regular-sized 12-muffin/cupcake pan and baked them for about 12-13 minutes. She also sprayed the pan. You could probably adapt this to use with any frittata recipe that you like.

Undershirts

Today I noticed that I could see through my eldest daughter's shirt alittle bit. Not so much that I would call it see through but still. I found this kind of disturbing because I think that modesty is important no matter what age you are. This has me thinking about finding some undershirts for my little ladies to wear. The ones I saw at Target look much more like a negligee than I comfortable putting my small child in. I mean they look like something my DH would like to see me in after the girls are in bed! I considered buying an assortment of tank tops to put under the clothes but they are thicker than I'd like (so the outline would show under the clothes) and alittle more expensive. I'm hoping to find something more like onesies without the snap close bottom. Preferably some in short sleeves and some in tank top style. Does anyone have any suggestions? Does your child wear undershirts? All the time or just when a shirt is a bit tight or thin?