Family Friday

Ok, still catching up! I am hoping to hear from a lot of you on fun family things you do during the summer that don't break the bank! Unfortunately for most of us, being outside without being around water is not much of an option! Thankfully, we have some great friends here in LV that have pools or family members with pools and we've gotten to swim quite a bit already this summer. Aubrey LOVES the water, especially at The Ramos pool. They have a little kiddie ledge that she likes to walk up and down and play with her water toys.

On Memorial Day, we went to the zoo with our friends Chris, Kim, and Aiden. We had been given tickets to get in free so we only paid for drinks and Subway lunch (packed in a cooler). At 9:00 it was not too bad, but by 11:00 it was HOT. So, as fun as it was, it's just not something I want to go back and do again until things cool off. Aubrey is not really cooperating in this pic :) But at least you can see the Elephant!

What fun and frugal things are there to do in the summer where you live? Hopefully you are making the most of time with your family. It's not about spending a lot of money or buying your kid(s) a lot of things, but you'll sure cherish the memories you make just being together. I know I will :)

Thrifty Thursday!

I saved my Thrifty Thursday post...yes, I do know today is Saturday and I have some catching up to do! I knew I was going to the San Marcos Tanger outlets with my friends Kim and Jennie on Friday so I wanted to be able to write about my finds! It was my first time there, and, I got some great deals!

I made purchases at Old Navy, Banana Republic Factory, Loft, Coldwater Creek (not a clothing purchase, can't wait to share!), and Victoria's Secret. I spent a total of $147.89. Here's a photo and description of what I got:

I got 3 skirt outfits, 2 pairs of bermuda shorts, a bathing suit for Aaron, 2 Victoria's Secret bras (not pictured) and the deal of the day:

I bought this from Coldwater Creek, actually having no idea at all that they even sold home goods. It was regularly priced $90, marked down to $14.99 and I got an additional 40% off so total it was a little under $10. Not exactly sure whatI'm going to do with it yet. IT is really heavy, that square on the front is actually 3D and is a piece of slate.

So my goal was to spend $100, but I'm ok with going over based on the things I found and the deals I got. Everything was on sale :) I also just sold a camera and a bathing suit on the online FB yard sale and made $50. So I guess I made my goal!

My friend, Jennie, also scored a great deal at Dooney and Bourke outlet on a cute bag that was 40% off and then an additional 25% off of all red, white, and blue purses. She got a GREAT deal and now I kind of want one!

Are you a bargain shopper? I don't pay full price for anything anymore, and it's an adrenaline rush to see what great deals I can get. I'll definitely be going back to these outlets in the future!

It's Weigh-In Wednesday! Don't worry...I'm not going to ask for your weight, just your opinion! I really hope a lot of you weigh in on this topic because I'm so curious about what you all have read and think about it. So here goes...

Television for the little ones. It can be a great "mommy helper" to get the kiddos to sit nicely in one place for a little while so we can get something done. There are some studies, however, that show the negative effects of children watching TV. The claims are that the flashing lights and pictures of the tube can damage a child's brain in the natural aspects of play and imagination. Personally, my daughter LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba on NickJr. Her little face lights up when it comes on and it's really fun to see her so happy. It's also sometimes the only way that she will sit still while I get dinner ready, check e-mails, or just sit myself :) My questions is TV or no TV? How much TV? Is TV a privilege that children must earn? There's a couple in NC that introduced me to Accountable Kids which is basically a program where chores that children do earn them tickets which they can spend on things like TV and other privileges. Too much work?

I can't WAIT to hear what you moms think. Your opinions are honestly so important to me. Help me keep things positive, though, by refraining from bashing a perspective different than your own! No judgments or haters please!!

Starting a new blog, yo!

Hi everyone! Im turning over a new leaf, I'm going out on a limb, I'm....fresh out of tree references :) But really, I decided I wanted to start writing a blog to incorporate all of the things I am newly (and some not so newly) interested in. Like...saving money, DIY-ing, couponing, making beautiful meals (and knowing what I'm going to make ahead of time!), etc. etc. etc. I am so excited about this venture to put myself and my ideas out there. I hope you'll join me. You can find the line-up of what I'll be talking about weekly on the right hand side of the blog. I realllllly hope to get around to writing each day; I have no doubt that I'll be able to come up with stuff to write about :)

So to get started, it's Tuesday. But I do want to go back and hit my Menu for the week (since I didn't do it yesterday). Do you plan your meals? I do. #1 I like to be able to make a list to take to the grocery store and have everything I need for the week. I don't stress out if one of us has to go back once or twice for something...but for the most part, I usually get everything in one swoop. #2 I like to save money. If I know what's on my list, I know what coupons to bring and I have a much easier time comparing brands. Plus, I don't put as many things in my cart that I didn't plan on buying! (Random side note: I feel very accomplished if I make it through HEB from one side to the other, getting everything I need without having to backtrack. I digress).

So here's what we've had/we're having:

Monday: BBQ Grill Pizza and salad. This is a Pampered Chef recipe.It was delish.

Tuesday: the plan was for Cuban Chicken Paninis (also PC) but we went with the HS kids from church to Sonic

Wednesday: Grilled meatloaf with bacon, broccoli

Thursday: Sweet and sour shrimp (deep covered baker recipe, I'm so excited to try it!)

Friday: (I'm going shopping, yay!) Hamburger steak with rice, gravy, butterbeans

Saturday: Bacon and eggs with pancakes for breakfast; Leftovers

Sunday: OUT :)

Aaron and I bought a relatively small deep freezer about 2 months ago so I buy meat when it's on sale and we can stock up. It's fun! But, more than that, this grocery trip I only had to buy meat for one dish: the shrimp. THAT was fun, for me and my wallet.

And, finally, it's HOW-TUE-SDAY! (GET IT?)

A tutorial on getting organized to keep your house clean. Don't stop reading! I know cleaning sucks. I mean, I might know 2 people that actually LIKE to clean. But, I have found that if I only have to do a little bit each day, it's not as bad. So, I found a list I liked on pinterest and tweaked it a little to fit my home and schedule. I'll admit, sometimes I do Monday's and Tuesday's work both on Tuesday (gasp!) and I don't do the swing day bc we're busy and I have a life. Notice that there are things that should be done everyday. I hope you've already figured this out in your house! :) Then, there are once a week chores organized by which day you do them. Finally, there's a swing chore done on 1 Friday per month, for things that only need to be done once per month, like cleaning ceiling fans, cleaning out closets/drawers, etc.  Here's a pic of the one I keep on my fridge. Want to know a secret? Once I put this up and my husband saw his name beside a chore, he actually started doing it! It was all a part of my sneaky little plan....

Ha. Just kidding.

Ok I'm going to stop for today, but you must know that I already have a GREAT question in mind for tomorrow's weigh-in on Wednesday. Don't worry, we're only going to ask you to tell us your opinion :) If you have friends that you think will enjoy the info on my blog, PLEASE share!

The "catch-up" everything in one blog

I have to admit, I was not thinking about blogging those last 3 weeks of school. It took all of me just to get through them and I am so glad that's behind me. Since summer began, however, I haven't really rested or sat still, I should say. I have been very busy. Dad came to visit so that he could help me with my classroom (packing/moving) and with painting the nursery. Then, I flew back with him to NC for a week and 2 baby showers. Since I"ve been home, it seems there's been one thing after another with church activities, dr appt, workshop for school, etc. Now, it's Friday and we leave Sunday to go to Alabama for about 10 days. When we get back on the 6th, i have a dr. appt the next day at which time I'll start going every week. Then there's also cooking club, a trip to Schlitterbahn, a baby shower with our church family, church, breastfeeding classes at the hospital and the list just doesn't seem to end! I am glad that I have the freedom to do all these things; teaching is hard, but this is one benefit that sure makes putting up with 10 months of crap worth it!


Anyhoo, I am 33 weeks now. And, like I mentioned, I will be going back to the Dr. at week 35 (July 7th) and then I'll be going every Thursday until Aubrey decides it's time! What a thought!

Here are a few photos from the showers I had and from Aubrey's room that is coming along:

Cinco de Mayo

So I've been studying Cinco de Mayo with my 8th graders at school all week. I decided to try to make some homemade "mole" sauce for them to try, so Aaron and I experimented tonight for dinner! It wasn't too bad...more chili flavorite than chocolate this time. Next time, I'd tone down the spiciness just a bit and add more chocolate, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! Here is everything before I started:

Here's what it looked like in the pan while it was simmering:

And here's Aaron enjoying the finished product:

I actually took what was in the pan and blended it to make the sauce. I'm gonna let my kids at school use tortilla triangles to dip in the sauce tomorrow, just for the experience! We ate ours with chicken and jasmine rice. I'll let ya know what the 8th graders say :)

The last of the crafts...for now

Our last 2 weekends have been pretty busy, so I didn't get any crafting done. However, Aaron had a church meeting tonight so I was able to spend some time finishing up what I've started. Here is a picture of the actual wall art that comes with the bedding we picked out:

And here's a picture of the (almost) finished ones that I did. They lack a few touch ups and the ribbons they will hang on:

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I don't think I'll ever know the difference!

Here is another small project I did. Found this as unfinished wood at hobby lobby. It is a mirror that'll look cute in a little bookcase, I think:

Sunday, Aaron and I put together Aubrey's crib. Someone found it for us at a yard sale, and it is really cute, though needing a good cleaning and a little touch up paint. I like the idea of fixing the nursery up piece by piece, but I need to get busy finding the other pieces!

Finally, it has been very strange but a few people in the last 2 days have asked me how the 1st trimester is going. Huh? I feel huge, but obviously don't look like I'm almost 26 weeks. When I tell them I'm about 2 weeks away from the 3rd trimester they are very shocked. I guess I will take this as a compliment and hope it stays this way as long as possible :) Here's a few makeshift photos (again, Aaron's not home!). Please excuse the bathroom, haha!

So what do you think? Do I look ready to start the 3rd trimester in a few weeks?