Wordless Wednesday - Swim Lessons

Who am I kidding?! Seriously?! I thought I could be wordless! That's a joke.

Abigail is still going strong in swimming lessons every week. She tried out for the swim team on Saturday, but was sent back to work on her breast stroke. I don't think any of us were surprised, as the breast stroke has been a tough one for her for months and months. She'll be back in the pool Thursday and will go back for another try-out in a few weeks.

(That was at least fewer words than usual. But, somehow Fewer Words Than Usual Wednesday doesn't have the same ring to it as Wordless Wednesday.)

Tuesday Treats - French Toast Casserole

This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes I was reminded of when my turn to provide Sunday School breakfast came around last week. It's so simple, but so tasty! My mother found the recipe several years ago and it has since become our Thanksgiving morning breakfast tradition.

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon

12 slices of bread

9 eggs

pinch of salt

2 cups milk

Directions

Melt margarine in 9x13 pan. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Layer bread on butter mixture. Beat eggs and salt together, then add milk. Pour over bread. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Following morning, uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cut into squares and place upside down on place so melted sugar/cinnamon is on top.

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Shopper Gone Crazy

This is a safe place, right? I can come to you, my three readers, and confess my inadequacies and ask forgiveness for my inconsistent blogging, right? Ahh..., good. Please forgive me for not being here for you. I meant well, but just couldn't get my intentions and actions on the same page.


I've found a new hobby, and can't seem to pry myself from what has now become an obsession. I'm not sure if I should apologize or just offer to share my secrets in the hopes that you can benefit from my craziness. I've told you before about my Craigslist Crazy persona, and now I've added to the craziness. I'm now Coupon Crazy!


You may remember months ago when I set out to shrink my grocery budget. After awesome tips and insights from you, I came away with a smaller budget, a great spreadsheet to use for sales/coupon comparisons and confidence in my shopping! However, I recently discovered that I wasn't even coming close to the savings potential out there. I stumbled across a few blogs that I'm now using to aid me in my couponing, and my shopping habits have now changed AGAIN!


I have a few favorite blogs that I check on a daily basis starting with athriftymom.com. This site is great because she shares great deals (especially if you are an Albertson's shopper), but also links to other blogs that share the weekly deals at CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Safeway (Von's, Kroger, and Randall's in other areas), and a plethora of other stores. Believe me, she covers it all.


I love CouponGal.net for the same reasons. The gives the run-down for awesome Target, Walgreen's and CVS deals. Plus, she throws in hints for great deals. Today, I grabbed three new Conair blow dryers for $5 each! Last week she showed me how to get a new KitchenAid mixmaster for $190 (regularly priced $500)!


DealSeekingMom.com is one of them that (I think) Amanda pointed me to. She's awesome at highlighting great retail deals at all the stores - Yankee Candle, Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, Wal-Mart, and anywhere else you can think to shop!


CouponMom.com is a bit different than these previously mentioned blogs, because it is a more in-depth site. I love to use her site because it is more like a spreadsheet and shows me which coupons to get along with the percentage I am saving. Plus, I can check off which deals I want to get and then print off a great spreadsheet that I take to the store for my list.


I've used a lot of other sites that I find through links on these sites, and I know there are many more out there. They all do the same thing in showing me where the best sales are and how to maximize my coupons, from newspaper inserts, magazines, manufacturer websites, online coupon sites, etc. I start off with four copies of the Sunday newspaper. I file away the coupon inserts, labeling them with the date they were distributed. I also print off the online coupon databases when they update at the beginning of each month. And, each day, I print off the max number of manufacturer coupons that are featured on each of the blogs previously mentioned.


Believe me, my shopping habits have changed dramatically. But, so has my budget! I still get a few deals at Sam's and Wal-Mart, but it's rare for me to go to each of those places. I did go to Wal-Mart last week to pick up a few bags of AirWick scented oil starter kits and motion detector fragrance kits for the house. Yes, my house smells awesome now! And, it will for a long time because I got 12 of these kits since they were on a great sale for $5 each. And, I paid $12 total for all of them! You may be laughing at me, because my family was laughing at me, too. But, then Daniel came to Target with me one day and saw me leave with 3 full bags of groceries and pay just 99 cents! He's so much on board that he made my weekly Target run for me last week. With an envelope of coupons in hand, he made my day by spending $30 and saving $84 for me! Now, that's a devoted husband who will even do my coupon shopping for me!


I think Target has become my favorite place for deals. Here's some of my sample purchases in the past month. On this Target run, I got these 20 cereal cups, a mini loaf of bakery bread and 6 bars of soap for the kids for free! I must tell you, that's not the only trip I took advantage of the cereal sale. Before the sale was over, I think I picked up about 60 of those cereal cups. (For the past few weeks, they've had cheesesticks on sale, and I think we have about 50 cheesesticks in our fridge - cheddar, swiss and pepperjack).

On another trip to Target, you'll see I got 1 gallon of milk, 3 pounds of bananas, 6 ears of corn, 1 loaf of bakery bread, 2 boxes of 12 Pop Tarts, toothbrushes, and a bunch of other stuff. You won't believe it, but I paid $6 for all of this. I'm serious!

This was a trip to CVS. There's the new Bounce dryer bars, 3 Dawn dish detergents, 1 Glade reed diffuser, 3 Downy fabric softeners, and 3 Softsoap body washes (their new Nutri-Serum is great!) all for $12. I'm not kidding!

To show that it's not just groceries I'm buying, here's my bounty from a recent trip to Victoria's Secret. I got a travel kit (priced at $25), a bar of (awesome) Pink soap ($5), tin of mints ($3.50), lip gloss ($7.50), and two pairs of VS panties ($17) and I only paid $9 in total! Now, that's retail therapy!

As you can see, I'm starting to get the hang of this coupon game and I hope I can put more attention back on my blogging now.

UPDATE: I used http://hip2save.blogspot.com/ for a slew of Wal-Mart deals tonight. Saved about $60 and spent just $31. Woo-hoo!

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Fierce Pierce

Almost a month ago, we finally granted a wish of Abigail's by taking her to get her ears pierced. Really, we've been planning to do this since early in the year but just never got around to it.

She was a bit scared, but that's probably my fault. I made sure to warn her that it was going to hurt. (She decided that it was going to feel like getting a shot.) I also made sure to guarantee her that if the first hole hurt so bad that she didn't want to get the other one, she still had to get it. Ha! I'm a mean mom and don't want my child going around with one ear pierced.

We lucked out and there were two piercers on hand the night we were there. Thank goodness, because the once they got her...

She wasn't too happy about it.

Fortunately, these tears are long gone, and she is very proud of her studs. She just can't wait to be able to take them out and wear different earrings.

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School Days, School Days...

I don't know who is more excited that school is back, Abigail or me. Ha! The kids have been with me at work since March, and, needless to say, we are all glad to get some time apart from each other.

Unfortunately, the first day of school wasn't one of Cooper's days, so the big day was all Abigail's, and it couldn't have been more wonderful.

Abigail's teacher is absolutely wonderful. She has her M.A. in reading and has been teaching for 15 years, and I'm already seeing evidence of her work in Abigail. They are working on vowels right now, and Abigail was so excited to take an insect to class on Friday for her "i" sound. I think she just wanted to prove to me that she is officially a nerdy Hardy instead of taking something like a picture of ice cream that I suggested.

They have a Bible verse to memorize each week, and last week were studying Genesis and what God created each day. She cracked us up when she was telling us about it. "Can you believe He just had to say something and poof, it was there? He didn't even do any magic tricks." Too funny. We start AWANA this week and I'm hoping the memory verse and lesson from that doesn't start to confuse her with what she's working on at school. No matter what, I can't tell you what a relief it is to not worry about the lessons she is learning in between the usual academic lessons. Knowing that her teachers pray for her and with her, and are working with us to raise a loving, kind, Christlike child, is priceless.

Aside from Bible and vowels, they are working on patterns, which is old hat for her so I think she's a bit bored with that, but she'll get over that. I've been trying to get out of her what they are studying for science, but haven't gotten there. We can review the teacher's weekly lesson plans online, so I need to start checking that out and having more targeted questions ready for her.

Overall, she is loving it and hasn't had a complaint. They have chapel once a week and she would probably be happier if they went every day. She says chapel is the "best thing ever in the world". And, after our experience with public school last year, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear her singing "I get down, but He lifts me up" when she comes home from school instead of "I shake my booty".

Mr. Cooper got his chance just a day after Abigail, and is enjoying his class as well. We're already hearing a bigger vocabulary from him, and aside from the first day when he was apparantly testing his teacher, we've heard nothing but good reports from her. I can't tell you how much of a relief that is. After the report I got on the first day of school, I was a bit frightened when he didn't dismiss with the rest of his class on the second day of school. I gasped a bit, and said "Oh, no, he must be in the principal's office." Ha! He was just in the bathroom. I'm sure we have plenty of those days ahead of us, but for now he and his teacher and classmates are getting along well.

As for the whole school experience for our family, I can't say enough good things about it. The schedule has been wonderful. Last year was rough on all of us, since we had to be in the car by 7:15 to make it to school on time. This year, there is enough time in the morning for the kids to have baths, breakfast at the kitchen table, they make their beds, Mommy gets a work-out in and still is ready with hair and make-up and out the door by 8 a.m. We're (or maybe just me) routine kind of people, so this school schedule, a new chore chart, and more structure was just what we needed!

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Tuesday Treats - School Lunch & Pasta Primavera

I've been experimenting with the kids' lunches to accomplish several objectives. Mostly, I want them to eat healthy foods. I also want them to not get in a rut and become the kids who will eat nothing but nuggets, pizza and sandwiches. And, I want to do this for as little money as possible. Ha! I know, I'm making too big a deal out of this, but it is very important to me that they eat healthy foods. And, I've noticed them trending towards becoming picky eaters recently, and I want to do what I can to encourage them to branch out and not be like that.

For sides, I usually send them with carrots, fresh fruits (usually grapes, orange slices or apple slices), peanut butter and crackers or a cheese stick. Last year I loved sending the organic boxed milk for a drink. This year, I've talked myself out of the pricey milk for budget reasons and have been sending Capri Suns. I'd rather send water, but haven't found it packaged in small, easy to open bottles or pouches. Has anyone seen water packaged kid-friendly? I know I could send it in a thermos, but I remember always taking a thermos in my lunchbox and how often it leaked. The last thing I want to deal with is water spilled in the lunchbox that isn't zipped up all the way and pours into the backpack.

The main dish of their lunch is the only part in question. They've taken a couple of the usual, sandwiches. And, I've sent turkey wraps. A few times I've made macaroni and cheese in the morning and Abigail said it was still warm in her thermos when she ate it. The first week of school I cooked up some pasta and was able to send that and keep it cold in the thermos. It was a yummy recipe that I will certainly use again. I found the recipe here. If you're looking for some creative pastas and sandwich ideas for lunch, it's a good website. AND, if you have some recipes for me, please share! I'd love some more pastas that could be eaten cold, or a yummy fruit salad. I like the idea of putting together a batch of something on Sunday night and it lasting through the week.

Ingredients
2 cups Pasta, small dried
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Onions, chopped finely
2 Cloves garlic, chopped finely
14 Cherry tomatoes, diced small
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Frozen peas
1/4 cup Frozen corn
1 tablespoon Fresh basil, finely chopped
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon Basil, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil dried pasta in water for about 10 minutes. Pasta should remain slightly firm. In a small saucepan, saute olive oil, onions and garlic on medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes, frozen peas, corn and water. Saute 3 minutes or until tender. Mix in cooked, drained pasta. Let cool.Toss in fresh basil, mozzarella, salt and pepper to taste.

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Farmer's Market

I absolutely love Farmers' Markets. We had yet to make it to one in the Austin area until this past weekend. And, for our weight-losing efforts, it's best we not make it back any time soon. (But, I like to think we're helping the community because I love supporting local farmers.) It was sooooo yummy!

We started off with some freshly cooked kettle corn that didn't last long. We all helped, but I think Cooper did the most damage to that appetizer.

Then, we found an Italian mother and daughter who supplied us with amazing pizzas and a strawberry napoleon. Oh, I hated having to share that with everyone.

And, when we weren't stuffing our faces, we were enjoying the live music. I was delighted there were even songs for the kids. We are big Peter, Paul & Mommy fans, so the entertainment was great!

The other entertainment came from the people. If you don't know much about Austin, the best I can describe it is full of hippies. The town slogan is "Keep Austin Weird," and they certainly do. Really, the truth is that anything goes, which always makes for great entertainment. One booth's sign cracked me up, describing their fare as "Homegrown Rationally NOT Organic." That's my kind of food! (I was shocked that people actually snatched up all the free-range eggs for $4/dozen. That's just crazy! I get my eggs at Randall's (18 eggs for $1). That's rational!)

There were so many people with Obama shirts and bumper stickers, that I was joking with my sister about it. I bet her $10 to hijack the microphone and yell something offensive about Obama. She wouldn't do it. But, we did see a guy who probably would have taken me up on my offer.

This guy was in full force with his Obama as the Joker shirt and Ron Paul signs. He didn't buy anything but just set up his signs and sat there for people to see him.

When we left, I assumed this was his truck in the parking lot. It's plastered with Ron Paul and various libertarian bumper stickers. From what he was displaying, he seemed to be a true libertarian out there trying to get conversation started. I loved it! People were there for fresh squash and okra, and he was all about Ron Paul. That's entertainment!

As if we didn't stuff our faces enough at the market, we felt the need to enjoy the fruits of our purchases that night, and it was deeeee-yicious as Cooper would say. These thick steaks are free range Bison ribeyes that Daniel cooked to perfection.

They were great when served up with some yummy grilled corn cobs and fresh green beans. Yum!

Hopefully we'll make it back to the farmer's market again soon. In the meantime, we'll be enjoying our bison jerkey, fresh tea, mint plant (that makes awesome mojitos) and agave sweetener.