Wordful Wednesday

Aren't those jars of applesauce pretty?

I have a new addiction. It is canning. This is the first year Jon and I have tried it. It was actually his idea as well. And now we love it. We have a cupboard full of canned products from this summer. The ones we have tried are pickles, strawberry jam, blueberry jam, tomatoes, peaches, andapplesauce

I want to try canning pumpkin this fall but I am waiting for pumpkins to go on sale. They are not at their lowest price yet, but with both Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up I expect the prices to fall soon.

I always freeze produce but I have found canning, while more time consuming, to be preferable to freezing. The main reason is space. I can always find shelf (or floor) space for the jars. Freezer space is a limited commodity. I do still freeze many things, but I think next year I will try canning more of my vegetables like beans and corn if I can.

I had a lot of fun canning this summer and I plan to do it again next year. We bought our canning set from Target and we chose a very inexpensive model. It works great and I have no regrets. I will admit it cost more to can than I thought originally, but part of that is because we had no jars. Now we have jars (most were bought but Jon's mom also brought us a box once she learned we were canning) and in future years will only need rings and seals, which are inexpensive. Now I have fruits and veggies that were picked fresh and canned without all the extra preservatives that many of store items come with.

What are your favorite recipes to can? What is the one thing I really have to try for next year?

A simple father's day gift

Today the kids and I made a simple father's day gift. I modeled it after the gift Madeline made for me at school last month.

This morning I did an interview with Madeline and with Owen about there dad, asking them questions and writing down their answers just as they said them, without correcting grammar.

Here are the interviews:

Interview with Madeline, age 5
June 17, 2011

My dad’s eyes are green.

His hair is black.

His age is 10.

His favorite food is chicken parm.

He really loves me.

My dad’s favorite tv show or movie is Martha.

My dad’s favorite clothes to wear are red, white and black.

He cooks the best chicken parm.

I love my dad because he is nice!
 
Interview with Owen, age 3
June 17, 2011

My dad’s eyes are blue.

His hair is blue.

His age is 3.

His favorite food is chicken.

My dad really loves Madeline and me.

His favorite tv show or movie is Toy Story 3.

My dad’s favorite clothes to wear are Toy Story 3 clothes.

He cooks the best chicken parm.

I love my dad because me love him!


Afterwards I had them each draw a picture of Jon. When they wake up from nap we are going to glue the interview and their pictures each onto a sheet of construction paper and then staple the construction papers together to make a small book. I would prefer to put both papers onto one sheet of construction paper, but I don't have paper that large and I didn't preplan enough to go out and buy paper in advance.

I hope Jon enjoys these gifts as much I I enjoyed mine last month. I plan to do this same interview each year, that way we can see the changes as the kids grow.

This is the Year for Canning and Freezing?

I have been a stay at home mom for over five years now. In those five years I have learned a lot about ways to save money while still eating healthy, and without feeling like a penny pincher. I like to be called frugal, I don't want to be a tight wad! But even after five years I am still finding new ways to save money.

This year we bought a CSA share as a way to eat more organic products as well as support a local farm. It was more expensive that if we were to buy our vegetables in the store, but that is because we are getting more vegetables then if we were to buy them in a store and all of them are organic. But I need to constantly remind myself that I don't NEED to eat all of these vegetables fresh. Instead I need to learn how to can and freeze them for the winter. If I manage to freeze some of the food we get then I will also pay less on my grocery store bill in the winter. In addition to buying less fresh produce, I will also buy less frozen produce.

This year we are trying our hands at gardening again. Last year was my most successful year, but it can still be much improved. We doubled the size of our garden this year and it still only cost about $20 to start up. It should have cost less but I cannot manage to grow tomato or pepper plants from seed. At the farmers market this week we bought 4 tomato plants and 6 pepper plants for $12.50. The other $7.50 was spent on seeds. In my garden we are growing lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, corn, carrots, watermelons, zucchini, cucumbers, beans and peas. If I am lucky I will get a good harvest from it.

While our garden and CSA share will cut the weekly budget at the store down during the summer, this year my goal is to use it to cut down my winter budget as well. To do this I need to learn to can and freeze. In the past I have not taken advantage of canning or freezing vegetables like I should. Last year was my first real attempt. I made several containers of (not so great) spaghetti sauce and I froze several bags of peppers. That was it. Clearly I can do much better! To do this right Jon and I decided we should looking into canning kits and see how much they cost. We know we will be buying many jars this year, but we also know that everything we buy this year we will be able to use again and again. So last night I spent time looking online at canning sets and we found one that we like. It has good ratings and several people say it is perfect for beginners (which is what we are!). The price is right as well at $30. This is an amount we are willing to risk in case we are abysmal failures at this canning process. But before I buy it, does anyone have any recommendations for a good, inexpensive canning kit?

I am interested to see if I am able to can and freeze vegetables and fruit (something I never thought I would be doing) and how it effects both my summer and my winter grocery bill. If you have an helpful hints, links, or great spaghetti recipes, PLEASE share them with me!

Homemade

I love to cook and bake from scratch. Yesterday I made homemade french bread. I only made half a recipe and the loaf is almost gone. I should have made a full recipe! Last week I made my own tortillas and they were fantastic. I like them much better than the ones at the store. And we have baked goods that I make several times a month. It is fun for me and it helps to keep our grocery bill down.

The problem with baking from scratch is that it takes more time. Many would think that as a stay at home mom I have more time. In some ways that is true, I am not running in the door at 5 or later to make dinner and feed everyone before bedtime. I am not gone all day at work, I am at home (most days at least). However I have a husband, three kids, a part time job and a house to take care of. This makes finding time to make things, even with being home most of the day, is not always easy. This is why I batch cook when I can. This satisfies my want and need to make things from scratch and helps with the time issue. The tortillas will be perfect for this. I have many frozen dinners from my batch cooking. These are very helpful on the nights where Ben won't let me put him down or we have been out and about most of the day. They keep me from running up the bill on fast food (which isn't healthy either!)

The positive from baking from scratch is that it is healthier and less expensive. We use less processed foods this way and my grocery bill doesn't increase as much. And many of the things taste much, much better. My kids like to help out as well. Yesterday that helped me to knead the bread as well as measure out the ingredients. They had fun and were learning about how our food is made as well.

But again we come back to the time factor. With fresh bread in the house I am reminded on how much I love it. I want to make it more often but I just don't have the time. So I am looking into buying a bread machine. If you have any recommendations please tell me. I have never used one before, and never even heard of one until about 3 years ago! But I like the idea of having fresh bread for our sandwiches and I am looking for something inexpensive but that will last.

What is your favorite thing to make?

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

For the past few years I have participated in a cookie swap at Christmas. It looks like this will be the first year I won't in but I am still baking up tons of cookies.
One year during the cookie swap one of the women made the BEST cookies I have had in a long time. She very kindly shared her recipe. They are super easy to make and everytime I make them I get compliments. I tend to eat at least half the batch on my own so I try to only make them once a year.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of flour
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 can of chocolate frosting (I used milk chocolate)
18 marshmallows cut in half
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup crisco or other shortening
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients, except sugar.
2. Mix sugar and crisco until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and milk. Mix well.
3. Add flour mixture and mix.
4. Place spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Do NOT overbake.
5. Place 1/2 of a marshmallow cut side down on each cookie. Press lightly. Bake 2 minutes longer.
6. Cool on wire rack then frost.



I made two recipes (these and peanut butter blossoms) yesterday and plan to make some sugar cookies with Madeline and Owen later this week. I love any excuse to bake and homemade goodies make for a great gift. I put together three small boxes of cookies and fudge for my coworkers.

Enjoy baking!

Homemade Wipes

I have been wanting to make my own wipes for a while. We use cloth diapers 90% of the time but have been using disposable wipes all along. I ahve read about cloth wipes and looked into buying them, but they are not cheap. And I wasn't sure I would like them.


Then someone suggested making my own out of fabric. I wanted to do something a little easier. One day I was in the dollar store and found baby washclothes in packs of 4 for $1 each! To make my wipes I bought 7 packs and then scrounged around the house for any other other baby washclothes that were old and stained (becuase they were just going to get stained anyway!). I ended up with a total of 40 (old and new). I then found two plastic containers from dispoable wipes. I made a liquid solution of 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of baby shampoo and 2 tablespoons of olive oil for each contianer. I added the washclothes and now I have wipes! They worked really well, but I didn't love the smell with the olive oil. After we finished one set I made a new solution using only water and shampoo and I like it much better. I may try adding baby oil (to keep from drying out Ben and Owen's skin) but I am not sure.


The total cost for my wipes to start up was less than $10. A box of wipes costs me $11 and we go through one every two months, sometimes quicker. To refill the solution each time will cost less than 50 cents, so I am saving over $50 a year by doing this. And since I wash my diapers I just throw the wipes in the diaper pail with the diapers. It is really easy and quick. I am being less wasteful and it costs less as well.


I will still use disposable wipes when traveling for now, but I hope to figure out a way to bring the wet cloth wipes with me.

Spaghetti Sauce

I LOVE my crockpot.

I LOVE my garden this year.

Right now I am cooking a batch of spaghetti suace (for the first time ever) that is made of tomatoes and peppers from my garden, and is simmering in the crockpot and I don't need to do anythig but stir it once in awhile.

My house smells so yummy.

And since the major ingredients are from my garden it is very inexpensive!

I am making a double batch of sauce to freeze. And I still have enough tomatoes in the fridge (to say nothing of the ones still growing on my vines) to make another double batch tomorrow.

I am so excited!!!!

Mothers Day Craft

If you read this post you remember I was doing a homemade mothers day gift this year. Sadly our flower seeds did not grow so I improvised by buying some flowers last night (just some simple flats usually used for flower boxes) and planting them in the flower pots for the grandmas and great grandmas. In the end it cost an additional $6 but still a very inexpensive project that I hope nana, grandma and great grammy will treasure! The kids are very proud and excited to bring them to the mothers day brunch at my mom's house later today. I also ordered photo albums for my mom, Jon's mom and my grammy with pictures of the kids. This is another gift that I hope they wil enjoy and treasure.


Here are the pictures of the finished pots and plants:

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms!

Guest Posting

I am a guest poster over at Make Me A Blessing today. It is the Mother's Day Craft I did with my kids a few weeks ago. If you missed it, stop by Courtney's blog and read up!

Money Saving Tuesday- crafts

I love crafts. Luckily so do my kids. Sometimes Madeline will ask "what are we making today mommy?" I love that!

Crafts can be expensive if you let them. Buying all those little kits adds up. So I try not to (even though I am tempted by the pretty illustrations on the boxes...) But where to get the ideas and supplies?

With little kids construction paper is cheap and easy. A bottle of glue, some paper, scissors and crayons (or paints if you are feeling brave)and you can make tons of things! This week in honor of Easter we are making baby chicks (I will post pics of them later), sponge painting bunnies (Ramblings of a Crazy Woman) and making an Angle Rolled Away the stone craft (www.dltk-kids.com). All are being made with things I have in my house and all will be enjoyed by kids and mama alike.

I get a lot of questions about where I get my ideas. People have told me how creative I am. HAH! I am not super creative, but I like to have fun and do creative things. So I find ideas. I used to buy books of ideas when I was teaching and had the money to do so. Now my main goal is to do things without spending money if I don't need to. So where do I go? Books at the library (my favorite place), other blogs (love you all!) and websites are a wonderful source for ideas. And when I see an idea I like but do not have the supplies for I don't run out and buy them (okay, well sometimes I do), I try to modify them. If something calls for foam and I don't have it, paper will suffice.

Another place I get ideas is Oriental trading. I LOVE their products, who can resist things that come with each project separately wrapped with all pieces included (no cutting or sorting by mom needed). But the cost adds up, plus do I honestly need 12 projects for my 2 kids? So I look through the catalogue, get ideas and often make the items myself. Or I substitute and make something similar. I saw a cute hand print butterfly idea that I simply cannot justify buying BUT I can make with things I have at home. I also saw a whale flowerpot craft that I cannot justify buying either, but can modify with a yogurt cup (tons of those lying around and free), paper I precut, googly eyes that we always have and some paint. Cute craft for a fraction of the price. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Oriental Trading, but if I were to buy their crafts I would blow my craft budget in a month instead of a year.

Some of my favorite blogs and websites are:
Kaboose
Dltk-kids
Totally Tots
The Crafty Crow
Preschool Express

And when I am looking for a craft for a specific season or holiday or letter I google it. There are so many ideas out there it is amazing!


Doing crafts with kids can be expensive and messy. But it doesn't have to be...well I can't promise anything about the messy part, that is all up to your kids but daddy's old t-shirts make GREAT free smocks! Look at some of the sites I mentioned, look around your house and see what you can do. HAVE FUN!

Friday Craft Corner

I like to have my kids make gifts for mothers’ day for their grandmothers and their great grandmother. It is fun for the kids and (I think) more meaningful for the grandma’s and great grandma’s. So this year I was looking around online for an idea. I wanted my kids to plant flowers. But more than that I want them to make or decorate the containers that the flowers will go into. After some searching I found a few ideas that I combined into one (frugal) idea.
I know it is early to get started, but if you are growing seeds and want the gift to have an actual plant then now is the time to get started!

To start I bought impatient seeds. The packet says they do well indoors as well as outdoors. Hopefully this is true! If not, at least the pot will be re-usable. I was going to buy terra cotta planters but they are breakable. And my kids are VERY good at breaking things. So we settled on some plastic containers that I found at Target for 99 cents.

All the ideas I found online suggested using acrylic paints. Those stain. Again, my kids are VERY good at staining things. So instead I came up with a compromise. We will paint with poster paints and then I alone will spray the containers with a clear acrylic, water proof coating that adheres to plastic. After looking at a few sprays I even found one that is UV protective at Michaels. That cost $6.99.

So far I have spent less than $12 dollars on the gifts. All that is left to buy is the soil which I can pick up for about $3 (and use the remainder for starting my garden!). So the total for the gifts for three wonderful women is less than $13. Not bad!

I thought about having the kids go to town with painting the pots. And while I am sure they would be masterpieces I wanted to do something a little simpler. So instead I decided to have them make handprint tulips on each pot. Two handprints per kid, and two kids= four tulips on each pot. I allowed Madeline to choose the colors for each flower pot for her hands. Then after allowing the handprints to dry I went back with green paint and added in leaves and stems. With a sharpie marker I wrote the child’s initials under each handprint and around the rim I wrote Happy Mother’s Day and the year. Jon the sprayed them with the acrylic gloss sealer to make them waterproof.

On the second day we added soil and seeds. We will water the plants and hopefully have some beautiful plants to give away on Mothers’ Day next month. My backup plan if the flowers do not grow is to go out and buy some flowers and replant them. Hopefully I won’t have to do it, but it could happen! I also plan to tie a pretty ribbon around each pot.

Come back and visit before mother’s day to see how our plants turned out!

Pot Holder Quiet Book

I just found this awesome idea for quiet books made from pot holders at Obsessively Stitching. I really really really want to make these for my kids but between the felt food I have left to make and the other stuff I need to get done I just don't think it will happen. Why couldn't I find them sooner? Oh well, maybe next year.

Or maybe these will be good big brother and big sister gifts in June...new activities, simple to make and quiet things to do while mommy nurses new baby. Hmm......

But if you are good at sewing and looking for a craft project to do you must go look at these. They are simple to make (even for me who does not sew well), inexpensive (pot holders are cheap and so is felt!) and so, so, so cute.

Gift Idea For Christmas

I am trying to get started on Christmas stuff now. I want to make some of my gifts this year. As you know from reading my blog I have great ideas. Some are wonderful. But I don't follow through with them. However one thing that I am good at is making gifts at Christmas. Not all, not even a lot. But I do make some each year (does Snapfish stuff count? If it does then I make more then several).

Anyway in the past I have made cookie tins. I love to bake, but when you start adding up how much time I spend baking it gets to be a lot. So I started thinking this year I would make breads. Then I found this post at Homemaking Fun. Snowman Soup. How fun is that? So I think instead of making cookies for everyone this year I will make these goodie bags instead. They will also be great for my co-workers. I will alter it slightly to make the bags bigger for families (enough hot cocoa packets and other ingredients for each member of the family to have their own "soup").

I am so excited to have found this idea. It will take far less time than making cookies (although I do love that) and although everyone loves cookies, you have to admit you get worried when yet another plate shows up at your house. I always think "there goes my diet, again." And for me baking this year will be dangerous since I am about to begin my gd diet. Having all that yummy cookie dough in the house is just asking for trouble with my blood sugar levels. But a few packets of hot chocolate? I can't really go through hot chocolate that quickly (there is no sneaking one or two little nibbles here and there)

Although for those of you who do bake I will share my time saving idea (that I am sure many have thought of before...) Last year I took one day each week for about three weeks to make cookies. I picked out a different cookie recipe each time and made a double or triple batch. After cooling I then froze the cookies. Then the week of Christmast I defrosted the frozen cookies and put them in tins. It made my life much easier and much less stressful. I didn't eat the cookies I had made early becuase they were frozen and I only had to concentrate on one recipe at a time.

What are your time saving tips for Christmas prep?

Teaching Math

I stink at teaching math. I just stink at it.
ABC's? No problem!
Small motor skills? Easy as pie.
Handwriting? can do.
Religion? Just got our children's bible today!

But math? boring boring and more boring

I am in a rut. One month in and I am in a rut already. This is bad. I have not been able to come up with fun ideas to teach Madeline her numbers. And to make matters worse the methods I am attempting to use to teach her are just not working.
Examples?
I made a file folder game. No good.
We work with flash cards. Nope.
We do our calendar each day. Well, that method is helping a little since she loves to stick the numbers on the calendar with velcro. But the number sense isn't carrying over to other areas.

The only thing that really works is counting candy. Now I am all for this once in a while. But unfortunatly candy is not the only thing in life Madeline will need to count. If only life were that easy!

We count whenever we can in life. Shoes, clothes, dolls, food, books, pictures. You name it and we count it. I don't want it to seem like math is only 20 minutes a day. But I also don't want to count things 24/7.

Tonight I did some (much needed) research. I found a great Montessori based activity here that I am going to attempt to replicate this weekend. I also found some great picture books that can help with teaching math. When it comes to creating activities from picture books I have a great time. So hopefully tomorrow's store and library trip will inspire activities galore. I also found some great games here that I hope to create over the next few weeks.

Maybe if I have fun with math, then Madeline will have fun with math. I honestly shouldn't say all math is a problem. She does great with sorting and with sizes and shapes. It is counting and number recognition that is not going well. She can count one and two objects. But she cannot recognize the number one. And we have been working with the number one for 4 weeks. I am not trying to be pushy here, but a month on one number? Ouch!

Any suggestions? Reccomendations? Activities?

Painting Windows

So fun and so easy! Just mix equal parts poster paint and dish soap. Give the kids paintbrushes and let them at the windows. Be careful of woodwork around the windows. And for easy clean up- a wet paper towel! Or do like I did and let them paint the windows OUTSIDE and use a garden hose for easy clean up!

Madeline getting started



Owen helping out!



Teamwork!




They had a great time and it kept us entertained for about a half hour. The clean up wasn't too bad. Or it would have been better if Madeline hadn't spilled paint(no big deal outside) and Owen hadn't fallen in it....

Homemade oversized maracas

M told me that she wanted to make something this morning. Good thing I had planned something last night! We made an oversized maraca. It was very easy and she had a great time making noice...er I mean music with it once the glue dried.


To make them you need:
two paper plates
markers
glue
popsicle sticks
something to put inside- we used seeds that are at least four years old

Color the bottom of the plates.
Put seeds or beans on one plate and place the other one over it.
Glue the two plates together. Doe this carefully so you only glue the very outer edges together.
Glue the handle onto the maraca.
Let dry (in our case beacause of the SUPER high humidity today, this took quite awhile)
Make music!

Busy Day (homemade bread update!)

Today was exhausting! I started the day at 5 am going to the gym. Yes, that is 5 am. For anyone who is a morning person this is a great time. I am not not a morning person, but I am not a 5 am morning person (except when it involves a nursing newborn). However I dragged my butt to the gym and went about 3.5 miles on the elliptical. Not a shabby way to start the day.

Then the kids were up at 7 am. By 8 they were fed and bored. So we did an art project. I found a great hand a foot project at Just For Fun. We made the peacocks since big rugrat loves to see them at the zoo. Both little and big rugrat made one and big rugrat added some feathers I had in my arts and crafts box. By 8:30 it was time for a little tv break.
We then headed out to do errands and went to the park (no rain!!!). After rugrats were fed and down for naps I MADE MY BREAD. It came out good! I didn't have quite enough dough to make a full loaf, but the small loaf I made came out good. I am going to the store tomorrow to buy more flour. All I had to do was take it out of the fridge, round it out a little, let it sit for about 1 1/2 hours and then bake it. No kneading. No mixing. All done. If I had followed the real recipes I would have enough dought for about three loaves but well, I didn't look at my flour bin like I should have! I want to try the soft crust bread, Jon likes sandwiches and said he would prefer the soft crust. It uses a little sugar and some butter in addition to the other ingredients. However it has none of the preservatives that the stuff you buy in the store has. After reading the Unhealthy Truth recently I have begun reading my labels and started slowly switching over to more organic and homemade foods. (this week we tried organic eggs, canned organic beans and organic mac and cheese). Anyway I will definatly be trying more recipes from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and I can't wait for my own copy to come in.
We ended the day with house hunting. It is getting a little discouraging. We saw a house that was in horrible repair (it smelled like my kids diaper pail) and needed WAY too much work. Then we saw an older house that was in great repair but Jon doesn't want an old house. We drove by a third house that could be our dream house but is just not going to fit in the budget. *sigh* It's not like we have to move, but it would be nice to be in a better school district and have a little more room. The hardest part for me is the interim and questions- will we find a house? will we find a buyer for our house? how much will our mortage be? is this a good idea? In the end it will all work out but since big rugrat was born and the post partum depression afterwards changes have been a lot harder for me. I get anxious a lot easier than I used to and this possible move is not helping the anxiety.

Okay, enough complaining. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with my kids and have a wonderful husband who also happens to be my best friend. We have a home we love, so if we can't find another one who am I to complain?

Off to sleep, tomorrow is another busy day!

Home Made Bread

I made my own bread!
Well, okay so far I have just made the dough and it is rising right now. But it was SO EASY. I borrowed the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from the library. I wanted to try it before buying it since it is only in hardcover and not worthwhile if I won't use it.
Anyway it is great. I am buying this book. As soon as I can.
I used the basic recipe to make my dough. The dough, that your refrigerate, is good for two weeks and makes 4 1lb loaves. So much cheaper than store bread and so much better for you.
After you make the basic recipe, and there are a few variations, you can use it to make different types of breads- buscuits, pita (this is one I want to try) pizza dough, among others.
I had to make only 1/3 of the recipe beucase I forgot to check my flour level before shopping yesterday. But it took my literally ten minutes to measure, mix and set the dough. Part of that time was waiting for my yeast (I bought live active which needs to set in water before mixing) and reading the recipe.

Stay tuned for how it comes out!