Frugal Friday!

Okay, I missed Frugal Friday last week, shame on me. I did not, however, miss any frugal opportunities. I will just add them to this week’s posting.

Monday, May 25th: I went to Don’s Fish Camp, just outside of San Marcos, to float the river with a couple of my friends from high school today. If you’ve ever floated the river, you know that there isn’t much you can do if you need to go to the bathroom. In order to make sure that I had everything out of my system before my trip, I headed to McDonald’s with my parents to get Mother Nature’s best laxative – coffee. I walked into McDonald’s and saw a big stand with a sign that read “Free Mocha Monday.” Well anything with the word “Free” in it catches my eye, so naturally, I inquired about the sign.

Me: Free Mocha Monday… What does this mean?!
Man at McDonalds: It’s Free Mocha Monday. You get a free mocha coffee, iced or hot.
Me (waiting for the catch): Seriously? Do I need to buy something to get this for free?
Man at McDonalds: No, it’s Free Mocha Monday – it’s free…
Me: What a blessing! This is the only reason I came here this morning and it’s FREE! Awesome!

Well, the coffee did what it does best – it woke me up and ensured that I was not miserable on the river. Best of all – it was FREE!

Original Price: $3.00; My Price: FREE. Total Savings: $3.00 or 100%.

Saturday, May 30th: I went to Sprout’s with Ali today to get some chicken. I’m a serious fan of chicken, but especially theirs. We walked up and saw a huge trailer with incredibly large plastic avocados, at least 20 feet high. Apparently, there are people who travel all over the country giving away FREE chips and guacamole. What an awesome job. I want to do that. So not only did we get FREE chips and guacamole, but they also had a special on the guacamole – 2 packs for $5. The goodness does not stop there. We were also given a “buy one get one free” coupon. So I got 2 packs of guacamole for $2.50.

Original Price: $10.00; My Price: $2.50 Total Savings: $7.50 or 75%.

Wednesday, June 3rd: Sonic was offering FREE root beer floats tonight from 8 to midnight to promote the fact that they are open until midnight or later all summer long. Ali and I went after we worked out and we weren’t ashamed at all.

Friday, June 5th: Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut today in honor of National Doughnut day! Go get you some!

Original Price: $0.90; My Price: FREE. Total Savings: $0.90 or 100%.

Total Weekly Savings: $11.40

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Brittany resides in the DFW area and loves to write about her penny-pinching adventures at It’s a New Day! When she’s not out haggling prices or looking for loose change, she can usually be found hanging out with her family or friends.

Friday – Drinks

So I have this obsession with healthy food. I love finding creative ways to make things like fruit and veggies taste good enough that everyone will want to eat them. Personally I need no coaxing – yes, I was that child: I loved all things veggie and fruity. A couple of years back I discovered that if I acted really excited about some food I was preparing that I could usually peak the interest of at least one of the boys. And so it came to be: Bianca’s dinner time smoothies (previously known as Bianca’s Banana Drinks).

Recently while making the drinks for the boys I told Ryan he should pick out some fun glasses for us to enjoy the drinks in. Here’s what he came back with:

I had to snap a pic because words alone cannot explain the fact that 3 children under the age of 10 are all holding mixed drink cups full of an unidentified (other than it looks like a frozen mixed drink) substance. To which I feel I must say: Yes, parents, this is my secret to getting your children to sleep through the night! You can thank me later! Mwahahhahahaaha!

Can I cut your meat, dear? My glimpse into emtpy nest-hood.

The girls are off at “Camp Grandma” this week. They head out-of-state for a week each summer to spend time with grandparents and cousins, without the watchful eye of old Mom and Dad.

They sent this picture yesterday of them riding a horse. I know they are thrilled! (So, I guess I can overlook the fact that they went horseback riding in the dresses I sent for church, and flip flops??)

All of the sudden, there’s only one load of wash a day, one load of dishes, and no one begging for snacks. Yesterday, I forgot about lunch because no one said “Mom, I’m hungry.” I still make up silly songs, dance around the kitchen and tell really bad jokes (to myself). Only no one “Maaaooooommmmmm!..” And no one giggles.
The Polly pockets have sat in their box, not once escaping to make a mountain out of the ironing board. The dog hasn’t been in trouble once for chewing something that was forgotten and left out.
So I suppose I should be at the spa or lunching with friends. But mostly? Mostly I’m wandering around wondering what I’m doing with myself. Wishing they were here. Stunned at the silence. Missing them.
My husband and I find ourselves refering to “K would have loved this” or “Just like K!” — it’s tough to turn that parenting stuff off.
I hope your having fun girls, but hurry back. Your Dad isn’t going to tolerate me cutting his meat into tiny pieces much longer.
Mary Kay is a fabric-stashing, song-making up, mostly stay at home mom in Flower Mound who blogs about her adventures on theykeepmeinstitches.blogspot.com

My Kayaking Adventure

Part of the whole goal The Adventure Project is for me to find adventure on my OWN, not just with Tammy and Kelli. Last night I had an amazing adventure, and I want to share it with you.

I apologize for the lack of pictures. I am having so much fun experiencing all this that I am forgetting to take pictures. I promise to work on that, and my new flip camera is on its way to me now, so I will start to get you guys some real video of the adventures!

Here’s an email of thanks I sent to Tammy and Kelli that I wanted to share with you.

So, in honor of my new adventure woman self, I decided to get on board with my
husband’s latest hobby–kayaking. We found the cutest ever little
light blue one for me, and I had a blast learning how to use it this
evening. It was waaaay better than forcing myself to walk around the
block again tonight and I exercised for about an hour longer than I
would have!

A month ago, if someone had said to me that I would spend my Friday
night taking my family on a hike at dusk to watch the fireworks over
the lake and my Saturday on a kayaking date with my husband I would
have laughed in their face, but it totally happened!

I am not even sure how you begin to thank someone for something like
that, but seriously– thank you!

Jamie Harrington is an aspiring author that spends her days frantically writing about super heroes and band geeks. She’s married to a pretty cool guy, and has a beautiful three year old daughter that’s the topic of most of her blog posts at Totally the Bomb.com. You can also find her mindlessly chatting away all day on twitter. She’s currently working with Tammy Kling in The Adventure Project.

Thursday – Books

My husband and I went to a sponsored event at Lone Star Park about a month ago.

We love Lone Star Park – the horses, the excitement, the losses…

Yes, we don’t really have much luck with the horses.  We accept this fact and place very small bets due to this obvious inadequacy - familiar with the 10 cent superfecta box?

The good news that night was although we had run out of our horse betting budget, I won the big door prize which was a Kindle.

I was jumping up and down and happy screaming amidst questions of…“what did she win?” and “a KEN DOLL?”

Once the word spread what it was there was an overwhelming agreement that it was super cool.

I am an avid reader so this is something that I will use.  I started by reading through the manual and then shopping at the Kindle store…

*screech*

It was then I realized that the Kindle was not made for me.

It is not that I don’t LOVE it.  It is not that I didn’t buy a super cute lime green leather cover for it.  It is not that I don’t lovingly embrace it.

It is just that…

I read in the tub.

A Performance Fit for a King

Sunday afternoon we went back to the

The King gave an extraordinary performance!

Butter Bean loved meeting the actors after the show.

Anna and the King were pleased to pose for another picture.

A favorite of the audience was this young actor

Butter Bean loved “Tuptim“, the young woman that

10th Annual Summer Musical Season!

Wednesday – Sunscreen

I’m on a budget. These days, who isn’t?  The other day I went to Wal-Mart in Highland Village to pick up some essentials.  While I was there I passed the aisle and decided to invest in some sunscreen – one because you can never have too much, right? And secondly, I’ve reached what I like to call my-maximum-brownness for the summer.  With a trip to Puerto Rico coming up in less than 3 weeks, I need to make sure I don’t get any more tan than I am, or else I will not be able to fully enjoy the sun and beaches there…but alas, I digress.

First, when did sunscreen start costing an average of $10 a bottle?  Oh, maybe it was once the companies realized they could cash in on cancer. Hmmm, something about that is just SO wrong.

ANYWAY – I was perusing the aisle trying to find the least expensive brand, but one I still had some confidence in.  In the end however, cheap won over brand name and I went with Wal-Mart’s Equate brand, which I was to compare to: Coppertone SPF 30 Continuous Spray.

I will compare.  First, is sunscreen supposed to sting when you put it on? Hmmm, didn’t think so.  Secondly, should I have had to double check the label because I thought maybe I had accidentally bought a can of OFF Bug Spray? Because I did check it. Twice.  Thirdly, can’t you usually feel the barrier created by sunscreen? I usually can – with this stuff I can’t – I don’t know if that’s a plus or if maybe it really didn’t create a barrier?

My final verdict? Pay the extra $4 and put your mind at ease. Sheesh.

Guided Imagery Sparks Child’s Imagination

Use Guided Imagery to Spark Your Child’s Imagination

You can give your child a marvelous art education experience that can take your child on a journey of creative discovery. Your child does not have to visit an unusual location in order to illustrate his or her vision of it. An adult can lead this imagination-boosting activity. First, you’ll want to set up an art activity area. Don’t forget a protective table covering, depending upon what kinds of art supplies you plan to make available to your child. Have different sizes of white paper with lots of paints, markers and/or crayons and tools to draw and create. Guided imagery helps children tap their mind’s eye. Speak slowly with inflection as you read the passage below, and then see what blooms from your child’s imagination.

A Rain forest Adventure

Let’s visit the rain forest.

Close your eyes. Grab your pretend camera and let’s climb aboard a magic carpet and fly over our neighborhood and out of town and though our country until you reach a tropical rain forest far, far away. Hold on tight as you swoop down through the dense grove of trees. You settle down upon the soft earth below. Keep your eyes closed and let your senses explore your environment. Smell the rich scent of tropic flowers and moist earth. Do you feel the sticky, warm air? Hear the buzzing of insects, whirring of small birds flying nearby, as well as the rustling of animals in the high tree canopies. A snake is lazily coiling around a nearby tree trunk. Is that a monkey overhead?

Let your imagination capture what you see. Snap a few pictures of the amazing scenery. Perhaps it’s a colorful flower, a vast tree canopy, a tropical bird, a big bug, a slithering snake, or a long-tailed monkey swinging from the high branches. One thing is for sure: these are not sights you see at home!

Now, open your eyes and draw some of the pictures taken by your inner vision. Add color and detail that brings the images to life.

Courtesy of Abrakadoodle Remarkable Art™ © 2008 – visit us on the web at www.abrakadoodle.com.

Toughen Up Cupcake

The lifestyle food change has been great. When we started this the “baby” was 2 and I had hit my all time Non baby Holy Cow I can’t believe it weight after New Years of 170 pounds! That was when I decided it was time for a change. I weighed in yesterday morning at 153 and I am excited to say that those numbers on the scale just keep dropping! I am now a small, still slightly round, still 13 more pounds to my first goal, kickboxing (I hate to admit it but I was REALLY terrible at the kickboxing in all honesty) , spinning machine and I am proud to be a

Now Really – don’t you want to be a Cupcake too????????

Holly is a former teacher now loving life as a stay at home Mom married to the Best Daddy (nicknamed BD for the purpose of posts). I get to hang out every day with my two bowhead girls – My Ladybug age 7, and My Noodle age 5 and our Little Buddy age 2. Go check out more adventures.

Project Baby Surprise: First Comes Love…

Today Project Baby Surprise is getting to know John and Kaysie better.  They have been married 11 years and are expecting their third child.

*If you are new to Project Baby Surprise, then please click here for Project Baby Surprise:  Introductions*

Here is the interview I did with Kaysie:

Where did you and John grow up and where is your family now?

I (Kaysie) was born in Dallas in 1977, and grew up in the Plano/Allen area. Almost all of my extended quirky family (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) are all in the Dallas area as well, which makes for really fun (and crowded!) holidays. John was born in El Paso in 1972, and spent parts of his childhood in Waco and Alaska. His extended family is split between Waco and Dallas. We both attended Allen High School, but not at the same time. Missed each other by one year… Actually, that’s probably a good thing because he was kind of a scuzzy rocker guy in high school (sorry, babe!).

How and when did you and John meet?

John and I met at Garden Ridge in Plano in 1994, where we were both working part-time. I had a boyfriend at the time, and he had just ended a relationship, so we were not romantically interested in each other at first. We started out as friends, and John would go with me to see girly movies that my boyfriend refused to see. He said he knew I was the girl for him when we met at the theater after work one day. After the movie started, I leaned over in the dark and asked him in a whisper if he was hungry. I then proceeded to pull Big Macs, Dr Peppers and french fries out of my purse! The rest is history… I dumped my boyfriend and we dated for about a year before he proposed. We were married in April of 1998.

How long were you married before you had your son, Luke?

We were married for three years before we had Luke. Not because we had any problem getting pregnant (trust me! I just have to think about it and it happens!), but because John was smart and said we needed time to enjoy each other before adding a baby into the mix. I would have been all for having a baby right off the bat, but I’m glad we (John) decided to wait. Luke was born in 2001.

How did you find out you were pregnant this time?

It was sooo an accident! We thought we had the perfect little family with Luke and Emily, and were not planning to have any more children. I began to think that I might be pregnant around the middle of February, but I didn’t want to say it out loud for fear that it would make it true. We couldn’t afford to have another child in daycare, we didn’t have an extra bedroom, we were just now paying off massive amounts of debt that we had accumulated when John had been out of a job… It just wasn’t a good time for us to be having an unexpected baby. I voiced my fears to my friend Cindy at work, and she said we should go get a pregnancy test at lunch. I told her I just wanted to wait a couple more weeks. That night when I got home, John asked nonchalantly, “So… think you’re pregnant?” “I don’t knooooww…” I moaned, and started to cry. He was so sweet and told me that everything would be okay, that if we were pregnant we would make it work, that God has an ultimate plan… He bought the test the next day and it was positive. And John was right (he always is), things have just seemed to fall into place as we prepare for our new babe, due in great part to Peekaboo!

Do you have a term of endearment that you use to refer to baby?

Does “baby” count? That’s what John usually uses… in babytalk. I have used “punkin’”, “charmed child”, and “demon spawn” (affectionately of course!) when the baby kicks me in the ribs!

Whose idea was it to keep the surprise?  Who is more likely to peek?

It was a mutual decision to keep demon spawn’s (just kicked me in the ribs) gender a surprise. We figure that the pregnancy started off as a surprise, so it should end that way too! I wish that we had kept the surprise with Luke and Emily too. It has been much more exciting and special to keep that wonder and expectation alive. And working with Peekaboo has been double the fun, since we get to look and dream about both boy and girl nurseries. I have become so attached to both of our nursery ideas that I think I will feel somewhat sad to let the other fade into oblivion after the baby is born… *melancholy sigh*. I love both of the nurseries just as I love the thought of having another baby boy or another baby girl in our family. I don’t think either of us will try and peek at the nursery, but if I have to choose one or the other, I’d probably say me. I’m weak.

What is something that you could not live without when Luke and Emily were babies?

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste! A mother’s best friend… Also, Mylicon to help relieve baby gas. We went through so much of that stuff! Not sure why our babies were so gassy….? The most important thing in our nurseries was the glider. There’s just something about rocking a sleepy baby in the middle of the night… When Luke was tiny, I was so tired all of the time. I remember getting up to rock him back to sleep in the wee hours of the morning and just wishing he would hurry up and sleep through the night. And then he grew up… (And I’m making myself cry) And I missed my tiny baby boy… and wished I could have one more night when just the two of us were awake in the quiet dark house, with his warm breath on my neck and his soft breathing in time to the rhythm of the rocking chair…

When Emily arrived, I was more aware of how quickly time passes and I tried to enjoy every minute of her babyhood. I know I will cherish each second of the charmed child’s, especially knowing that he/she is the last…

Tune in next week when we find out the plans for both a boy and girl nursery and have an exciting and unexpected behind the scene story…

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