We decided we like the 7:00 am mass because it’s just as hectic getting everyone ready and out the door for 7am as it is for 8:30 am. Sure you get to sleep in a little longer, but it’s also nice to take a little Easter nappy nap, too.
I OD’d on sweets yesterday.
Gave up all desserts and diet soda for Lent.
I must say the soda part was much harder and my Diet Coke tasted much better than my Cadbury Creme Egg did.
And guess what…didn’t lose a single pound due to giving up sweets for 40 days. What does that tell you?
A.) Made up for it in other forms of calories.
B.) Wasn’t as active as I should be.
Shame on me.
*****
I’ve been a terrible blogger lately. Please forgive me.
Hopefully this sugary sweet pic will help my cause…
Meant to sit down and do a {turn your old, outdated framed print into a chalkboard} tutorial this week, but others things happened.
On Tuesday morning I got caught in some traffic on the way to Woodland Hills…
Because of a darling striped, ruffled shirt I spotted in Instagram {thanks, Richelle!}, I went on a wild goose chase for one {or two} for myself:
{now can you see why I had to have one? I got yellow & white…the pink is for the person responsible for all this! [wink wink]}
While whizzing through Wal-mart, my no sweets havin’ self spied these…
{it’s ON after Lent}
On Wednesday morning, I started a load of laundry before walking Elliott to school. By the grace of God I was upstairs brushing my teeth when the washer started overflowing. I immediately turned off the water, placed a call to the management office and waited for the fix-it guy…
{turns out there was just a hole in some hose that didn’t allow air in for the sensor thingy to signal that the water level was high enough…or something technical like that}
Fix-it guy said we could’ve had LOTS of water damage of I hadn’t been there to turn off the machine. Phew!
{this is Rascal sitting on my lap while we were waiting for fix-it guy}
Just when I was feeling down about our WHITER than WHITE walls, I realized that I will take white walls any day of the week if the are home to my babies’ fun artwork.
Cheeseburger Chopped Salad was what was for dinner on Wednesday…
Everything you’d put on a burger, but the bun!
{turkey burger sliders, chopped romaine, cheddar cheese shreds, tomato, red onion, pickles, jalapeños, real bacon bits and avocado all tossed in a bit of ranch dressing}
It was deee-lish.
Thursday Woody went to school for share day. When the letter of the week was K. Oh well, at least he buckled up for safety.
My brown-eyed, freckle nosed, side pony wearin’ girl….
Fish sticks for dinner…
Friday morning brought this gorgeous sunrise…
Getting a quick Easter gift ready for Elliott’s sweet, deserving teacher…
{reusable tumbler with little iced tea packets inside}
A trip to the mall to scope out some Easter duds…
Found some possible options for next to nothing…
{dress, $6-something and shirt, $4 ~ The Children’s Place}
Next a trip to have a picnic and feed the {duckings} as Holden calls them…
{with Ryan stocking up on bread}
{tossing bread}
{Fought the crowds at Circle K for our chance to be gazillionaires}
{we’re not gazillionaires after all}
Hit up Mickey D’s for a cone to kill time before dance class…
*****
Not too bad of a week leading up to Spring Break!
Looking forward to a fun-filled week at home ~ visiting with friends that are moving to Australia {wah!}, coloring Easter eggs, sending off Easter greetings in the mail, frolicking with Gramma, hopefully painting a chalkboard or two and making some headway on sanding and painting my little table that I’ve been putting off for a year and a half!
Linking up with Jeannett over at Life Rearranged! Come over and say, “Hello!”
{followed the link above, but subbed almond/coconut milk and coconut extract}
Such a fun twist on regular ‘ol boring oatmeal…next time I’m adding some fresh berries to the mix.
2. We had an impromptu garage sale on Saturday morning. It was more like a rummage sale. I just threw a bunch of stuff out there and came up with a price when they asked!
Made about $20 an hour for stuff that I would have driven to Goodwill…I’ll take it!
3. Holden cried when a woman walked off with his Baby Bjorn potty chair. He said, “You’re selling all my stuff!” About broke my heart, but he wasn’t about to coax me into keeping stuff that I’m trying to get rid of, so he went inside and watched a movie while mama purged!
4. Fun bowling birthday party with this delicious pizza for lunch.
5. Little Church and my scripture study were cancelled for Sunday morning, so we went to Saturday evening mass instead.
I think I got a little too aggressive with the fillings, but they were to-die-for.
8. Kids talked me into taking them to Elliott’s new dance studio’s grand opening in the POURING rain just to jump in the germ infested bouncy….
Chaos.
Waste. Of. Precious. Gas.
9. Jay didn’t like the quote the dealer gave him for new brakes on his Jeep, so he did it himself.
{We did have to make one minor trip to a “professional” for a quick fix-it, but other than that we saved a ton of cash. Thanks Pep Boys for the parts and YouTube for the brake changing tutorial!}
10. Had the Sushi Bake again for dinner last night. We’re hooked.
The other day I was thinking back to when I started going to Starbucks. It seems like now, after almost a couple decades, that it is just part of life. Just as we drop off and pick up our kids from school, run errands, fix dinner, etc. we run to the Starbucks drive-thru or pop into a store to fetch our morning, afternoon or evening cuppa joe {or tea. or hot chocolate.}.
It’s become part of the routine. At least for ME anyways.
My first real memory of Starbucks dates back to 1993 when I worked in Hillcrest at a doctor’s office. The office manager, Susan, and I would run across Washington Street to the corner Starbucks and always get a grande nonfat no foam latte with two Equals. A half caff coffee of the day for Dr. Schmidt.
A couple years later when I moved to Pacific Beach with my best friend, Denise, our thing was the coffee frappuccino. I remember one summer when a day might consist of a morning frap and an afternoon frap!
Then around 2000, my co-worker Deb, introduced me to the americano and it was over from there. We would go down to the little coffee cart at our building in the mornings and get a hot one, but once summer came I immediately started ordering them iced. I will say that a venti extra extra ice americano with 2 Splendas and a splash of half & half is my go to coffee beverage 9 months our of the year.
Today Holden and I had a little morning adventure.
It hit me, after submitting his kindergarten registration papers to the office this week, that in just about 5 short months he will begin his academic career.
My baby will start kindergarten.
In 5 months.
5 months translates to about 2 weeks these days.
*****
I have been stashing the old ends of the bread into the freezer for the past couple weeks for the sole purpose of taking him to sit and feed the ducks down at local Bridgeport Marketplace.
What could be simpler? Stale bread and a beautiful location just minutes from our front door.
As I sat and watched him jump and climb and search out the perfect spot to toss his ripped up bread, I recalled the days when my sister and I were children growing up in San Diego and my mom would take us to Vacation Village {now Paradise Point}. We would feed the ducks under the shade of a big tree and then walk up to the top of the tower and look out at the view and down at the guests splashing in the turquoise pool.
Part of my job description of {stay-at-home-mama} is stretching our dollar. Jay works hard and I/we try to get the most out of our money, most of the time. Without cutting too much out of our lives.
I’m not going to lie, we’re feeling the results of this messed up {putting it lightly} economy, but we are still blessed beyond measure {!!!}.
I think we’ve all noticed that the cost of groceries AND gas are going up {duh!}. I tend to want to close my eyes at the pump when filling up.
So, since we’re constantly watching our pennies, I am always looking for a way to get the grocery bill down and make meals stretch. Fortunately our family is fine with leftovers! I usually will cook on Monday and Tuesday nights and then we’ll have the leftovers on Wednesday and Thursday. That way I get a break in the kitchen a couple nights a week when we have church or play dates or whatever. Fridays after dance class are either crock pot meals or Souplantation, usually.
Here are some links to marathon meals that can take you through the week {if you’re OK with leftovers!}…
Another way to save on your weekly food bill is to shop the sales. We get the ads delivered in the mail once a week and sometimes I assemble the meal plan based on what’s on sale. Also, I primarily shop at Ralphs and this enables us to rack up points on their rewards program to get the biggest rewards check after each quarter. I think their prices are better than Vons and definitely lower than Albertson’s! I also started shopping at Sprouts for produce a lot ~ again, selecting the fruits and veggies that are featured that week in the sale paper and building meals around them.
*****
I’ve also been trying to conserve gas by walking to school every day. This means I’m in extra drill sergeant mode every morning so we can get out the door in time so we’re not late. Because I don’t do late…if there’s drama and we’re running behind schedule, we’ll drive so we get there on time. Pet peeve of mine. Sorry. I may not get everything right, but I do have a record of zero tardies in the school office. I’ll take it.
I also combine errands and do them on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Holden is in school. His preschool is not real close to our house so there is no sense in me coming home while he is there. This is when I do all my running around. Mondays and Wednesdays are my at home days when I {try} to get caught up on things around the house…you know, blog reading laundry, vacuuming, Pinterest cleaning, picking up crap, etc. Yes, some days I do stay home as to not spend money! If I go out, I will spend money. Proven fact. Right, Jay?
*****
Saving money and stretching your dollar also mean saying “No!”.
This is the hardest one for me. I come from a place of “Yes!” {like my girl, Bethenny}. No, I have not read it, but want to.
We do have to say no to things and sometimes it’s not fun, but if the money isn’t there, it isn’t there.
*****
Turning off the cable.
We did this for about 6 months last year and, guess what, we lived to tell about it! NO Direct TV from February to August of 2011…I still watched all my faves, just a day behind. No biggie.
And we’re doing it again right now.
Direct TV on hold until further notice…..it’s all good.
We get a lot of Red Box movies, the kids both have iPod Touches, we have TONS of books, we live in So Cal where temps in February were nearly in the 90s……they’ll be alright.
*****
Bottom line is that we try to maintain a fine line between squandering our dollar and stretching our dollar without giving up too much. There are nights when Jay is like, “We’re going out to dinner!” because we always say we need to eat out less, which we’ve done, but I think we all know that once in awhile you need to get out and enjoy a nice family meal at one of your favorite restaurants.
This post is just the tip of the frugal iceberg! I won’t even get into how I almost never, ever spend full price on things. We’ll save that for another day!
How do you or does your family try to make the most of their money?
The circus came to town this past Saturday {Holden’s actual birthday} and it was nothing short of chaos ~ beautiful chaos.
We packed almost 60 {59 to be exact} clowns, big & little, into our circus tent and I think everyone had a grand time.
The day started off with Jay taking Holden to get donuts in the trailer…
*****
The invites were just thank you notes that I flipped over so the {thank you} was on the back.
{The cards are from Target and the stickers from CVS}
I fell in love with the detail on the envelopes.
This theme was so fun to plan ~ stripes, polka dots and LOTS of color are right up my alley. About a year ago I found these little monkey flags at Kohl’s for like 49 cents and used them to start the circus craziness.
A huge orange star greeted the guests on the front door…
My friend, Hollie, made this cute “Happy Birthday” sign for the front yard.
If you’re local, you can rent it and have it personalized for your special birthday someone. Contact me and I can put you in touch with her! So fun.
Gramma threw together this “5” banner…
I picked up a rainbow of fabrics and made a little bunting to hang across the fireplace…
{just get 1/4 yard of fabric, rip into 1 inch strips, cut those strips in half, loop around a long piece of twine ~ voila!}
My mom found some polka dot paper lanterns at Pier 1 and I hung 2 of them above our big dining room table…
I love the way they look and want to get some solid colored ones to leave up permanently!
I filled my sconces with bubble gum and stuck rolls of tickets on top…
The large ticket sign is from Kohl’s for cheap…
Gramma Kathy got the clown piñata at Party City {this was the first piñata we’ve ever had!}
{I stuffed with Dum Dums, Smarties, Mott’s Medley gummies and Florida’s Natural Fruit Nuggets}
What’s a circus without popcorn?
Circus animals with sprinkles are also a must…
I made myself a gum ball necklace based on this tutorial.
Gramma schlepped her sewing machine up here to make this shirt for the birthday boy…
Of course we had to feed all the circus-goers…
I found Cotton Candy Liqueur and made this sangria…
I made a 5-layer ombre cake in cotton candy blue…
I found cotton candy sherbet push-ups at Target {Market Pantry} as modeled here by our darling neighbor Miss Nataliyah and her beautiful mama…
Singing…
Making a wish and blowing out the candles…
I wanted to set up a photo booth backdrop in the backyard, but it was too windy…the kids bounced in the jumper, hit the piñata, played Wii and ate WAY too much sugar!
Our little clown friends were sent home with some practical party favors ~ socks! Striped for the boys and polka dots for the girls…
I also made little bow ties for all to take home…if you didn’t get one and would like one, please let me know and I will whip one up.
The bigger boys {that are too cool for striped socks} got to take home a box of Bottle Caps…
My weekend consisted of moments with and conversations about these three {things}.
I find it ironic that while Holden worked on his family flag project {a week late!} for church class, we had Lady Gaga blaring in the background. Fortunately he did not draw her into our family portrait {no offense Lady G, but that would have just been weird}. Afterall, Poker Face DID help get me through my 13.1 in Vegas! I will be ever so grateful for that.
*****
Yesterday afternoon Elliott and I took a little outing to get my car washed {needed it!} and stop by Justice to see if we couldn’t find some {hip hop high tops}. As you can see in the picture below, we found some. All I can say is that if we didn’t have that $25 dollars off $50 card she would have been wearing a different pair of zapatos in this pic. And all I can say is that these sparkly peace sign numbers best do the job in hip hop class…
While we were browsing through glittertown, she mentioned that she also needed some new shorts…”not the kind that go towards your knee, but the kind that go up towards your shirt”. Me: “Oh you mean Daisy Dukes”. Uh, we’ll revisit that when the weather gets warmer. Or she turns 25.
*****
And the gift she’s holding in the pic above…that’s for a 6:30 Sunday evening party at Chuck E. Cheese.
Can I just say it was a little weird going to a birthday party in the dark on a Sunday night…not the kind of stimulus we would normally seek an hour before bed time. Yes, we could have politely declined, but this is a little classmate of hers that she always talks about. I have always told her, she can go to any of her classmates parties {they are all sweet kids and I know most of the parents} as long as we don’t have previous engagements or are out of town, etc.
Oy.
But we made it this morning…up and out the door on time.
In, what she now refers to as, her “tenniboots” ~ half tennis shoe, half boot.
