Checklist For A Rainy Florida Day

Chair and blanket fort for the kiddies ... check.

Good book for me ... check.

Chocolate for me ... triple check!

What a way to spend an hour in the morning :)

Old News

Looking at my knife block this morning Hiram askes me:
"Mom did you get new scissors?"

"Yes Hiram, I did."

"Why did you need new scissors?"

"Well Hiram my other scissors broke."

"Why did they break?"

"They got old."

"Like a grandma? But they didn't even have saggidy skin."

I am sure no harm or offence was ment toward any grandmas reading this!

Lazy Mornings

Do you have a husband that goes to work before the sun, children in school or worse - Seminary!? Ok, tell the truth there are days you can't (or just don't want to) get up to make breakfast. Of course being the great person I am, this has only happened to me once or twice - and by once or twice I mean almost daily!

Finally - the solution! I have not decided on a name for this little creation yet (perhaps someone can suggest something cute), but it is so easy to make and so yummy. Preheat oven to 450. Saute 1 cup of ham or sausage with 1/4 onion in a skillet while you make some biscuits. While the meat mixture is cooking, press the biscuit dough into the bottom and up the sides of a muffin tin. Scramble 4 eggs and a splash of milk (set aside). Spoon equal amounts of the meat mixture into each uncooked "biscuit cup". Pour equal amounts of the egg mixture over the meat (so that each "biscuit cup" is about 2/3 full). Bake until golden brown. Top with cheese, red pepper flakes and parsley if desired.

We eat a couple of these with a piece of fruit and some orange juice in the morning. These can be made in advance and frozen. Happy breakfast!

When your kids are quiet ...

Just so you know:

When you kids are TOO quiet they are painting each others faces with diaper cream.

Town Hall For Hope

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!

Join this free event April 23 at 8:00 p.m. EDT in one of the thousands of venues across the country as we stand together to reignite the fire of hope!

(From the Town Hall for Hope website)

Click the picture on the left for more details.

Dave Ramsey Quotes:

“The average millionaire can't tell you who got thrown off the island last night.”

"If broke people are making fun of your financial plan, you’re on track."

"If you live like no one else, later you get to live like no one else."

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."

Tea Shirts

We are going to attend the Fort Myers Tax Day Tea Party on Wednesday, April 15th. We encourage everyone who loves their country to attend a Tea Party near you.

We had a pre-Party with our friends The Bests and made our "Tea Shirts" for the big event. Here is what we will be wearing:

The front of Scott's shirt

The back of Scott's shirt

Courtney's shirt

Kid's Shirts

Hiram colored this one himself!

Olivia's shirt

Proving two children are always better than one!

Bailey's shirt
Doesn't this just say it all?

He Has Risen!

I don't know where he comes up with these songs! They sure do make my day.

Diaper Deal!

It is finally back! The last time Walgreens ran this sale I only bought 900 diapers. Because I don't know when they will do this again I plan on buying about 5,000 this time. I figure that would be enough for a year's supply!
The Centsible Sawyer

Last night I went out for the first round.

Result: 1,362 diapers for $116.84

Translation: $0.08 per diaper

Comparison:

Pampers - $0.22 per diaper

Huggies - $0.19 per diaper

Luv's - $0.17 per diaper

Parent's Choice - $0.14 per diaper

Go to the pharmacy and ask for the tri-fold coupon booklet. It will look like this. One store had a similar tri-fold except it had no picture of the store on the front and no diaper coupon! If you don't find it at first, try a different store. And no you do not have to sign up for any programs to get this flyer.

This is what it looks like on the inside. There are lots of other good coupons but the one you want is...

... in the bottom right hand corner. Some things to know about this coupon: 1) yes, it says limit one, ignore that. 2) have the checker scan all of your diapers (I clean out the store and get about 12 packages at a time). 3) after diapers are scanned (@ 4.50 each) the coupon will be scanned taking off $2 for every package you have (ie. 12 packs x 4.50 = $54.00 - coupon $24.00, total = $30.00) 4) you get to keep your coupon! (this is not a manufacture coupon so you get it back to use again and again)

I hope this helps. Happy diaper buying!

They don't get it from their Mama!

First...

Hiram drew his first "person" the other day. He told me it is Bailey.

This is Hiram's first tomato this season. The smily face was naturally occurring, it is where the tomato was resting on the other branch of the plant.

So cool! - Literally

Two friends and I decided to try Once A Month Cooking together. I have done this on my own however it is more fun with friends. We each chose 5 meals and multiplied our recipes by 3. Most of these meals will have leftovers so we will have dinner for the whole month.

1st column (Courtney): Chicken Spaghetti, Salsa Chili, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Meatballs (55)
2nd column (Stefanie): Creamy Italian Chicken, Chicken Broccoli, Creamy Chicken & Black Bean Burritos, Meatloaf
3rd column (Jamie): Tortilla Soup, Taco Rice, Chicken Florentine, Buffalo Chicken, Sausage Casserole

And don't tell me you don't have enough room in your freezer! Currently I have 26 packaged meals and 9 bags of frozen vegetables in my freezer.

So now my dinner routine goes something like this:

1) Thaw

2) Dump

3) Heat

4) Enjoy!

Family Photos

I realized it has been about one year since our last "family photo" so I thought it was time especially with our new addition. Well, I had no idea it would be so difficult to coordinate clothes and nap times and then to try to get everyone looking (and smiling) at the same time! Oh well, they were free (thank you self timer!)

This one made the 45 minutes we spent all worth it!

Big Girl Bed!

About a month ago Olivia moved into her big girl bed. She would like to thank her gran for her mattress and The Spencers for her bed frame. Her stuffed animals were donated by Hiram from his bed, we found her cute little bookshelf and quilt at Goodwill for $3 each and Gran got the Olivia the Pig lamp.

So for those of you keeping track that is a total of $6 spent by Mom & Dad on Olivia's big girl bedroom!

Valentine's Dinner

Ok, so the picture didn't turn out nearly as great

as the food itself - let me tell you it was delish!

Steak (10 oz) - $2

Broccoli with cheese sauce - $0.50

Rice Pilaf - $0.25

Mutiply by two = $5.50

Ice cream (1/2 c) with chocolate sauce - $0.25

Multiply by two = $0.50

Put all three kids to bed by 7pm

and have Valentine's Day dinner for two

on the table by 8 pm for a Grand Total of: $6.00

(Yes, I know. I am awesome!)

Who needs to pay a sitter $20 to go out for a $60 meal?

Happy Valentine's Day

PLAY CLAY RECIPE (for 24 valentines):
3 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups salt

1 kool-aid packet
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together in a pot. Add the water and oil. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until too stiff to stir. Knead and shape into hearts using a cookie cutter. Wrap in plastic.

How to have a Fun & Frugal Christmas

Christmas was so fun this year! This was the first year Hiram really knew what was going on and Hiram and Olivia both thought that the baby was their present, they really didn't want anything else. They were thrilled however when they woke up to presents. Yes, for those of you wondering, that is our only tree. It is difficult to get into the Christmas mood when it is 85 degrees and the view from your back window consists of waving palm trees reflected in the water! Don't let my rambling keep you from shoveling snow!

Hiram's Haul:

Viewmaster and some reels (vintage) - $5, auction

Hungry Hungry Hippo & Hi Ho Cherry O - $4, thrift store

The Friend, magazine - $8, new

Total - $17

Skippy's Surprises:

Kitchen - $10, craigslist (yes, $10!)

Cooking Utensils - $3, Dollar Tree

Mr. Potato Head - $3, consignment store
Total - $16

Beautiful Bailey:
Christmas PJ's (in picture) - $3, consignment store

Total - $3 (Labor & Delivery billed separately!)

Grand Total - $36

Proving you can have a fun & frugal Christmas!

Merry Christmas

We hope all of our family and friends had a wonderful Christmas! We are still working on a name for our new baby. Hiram and Olivia had so much fun dressing up as Mary and Joseph, we thought they were pretty cute too!

It's A Girl!

We are very excited to welcome the newest member of our family! She was born on Saturday, December 20th at 6:08pm. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. We don't have a name for her yet, we just want to take some time to get to know her first. We are very greatful that she arrived with little complication. At 38 weeks she was breech and we were concerned she might arrive by c-section. Thankfully she turned on her own. We came to the hospital at 9am on the 20th with a suspected abruption of the placenta so I was given Pitocin to begin contractions. By 4:30pm I was really feeling the contractions and the midwife broke my water. From there things moved along quickly and after a few pushes we are now a family of 5!

Hiram's 3rd Birthday

All Hiram wanted for his birthday was a sprinkle donut and a balloon. He was so happy just to get them he didn't even want to open his presents - what a great kid!

About two weeks before his birthday Hiram took up watching cooking shows. He saw a whole show about cakes and asked me to make the one he wanted.

Two days before Hiram's birthday Scott and I thought of a present that he would love - a picture dictionary. So I decided to look for one. I found this one at a garage sale the next day. It is in great condition and, once we finally convinced him to open his presents he was so thrilled he wanted to read the entire book!

Hiram's other present was a viewmaster and some reels. He saw this at a toy store with Grandma. He was so good about playing with it and then when it was time to leave, he put it down, said goodbye and that maybe he would see it again at his birthday - what a happy reunion it was!