Giveaway Alert!

Over here at an awesome blog, she is giving away a swag collection of various items!


There's a few ways to get entries so hop on over there and get to it so you can have a chance at winning some awesome stuff!

Cheap Kid Entertainment

So my daughter has been expressing that she would like to do more crafty things (she's 3 1/2 now) and I find when I let her do these things she's calm, quiet, and listens to me.




We've painted with washable paints TONS:

And I had tons of lunch bags from a craft fair I did so I cut 2 and then taped them together since we were running low on white paper (plus she then gets to actually use the white paint and it shows up)

Well last night I wanted to try play-doh with her.  She had some we had stashed above the fridge in a box that came with some other toys with it. When I opened the box I found one cup of it had fallen out and was hard as a rock and the other batch was seriously dried out as well.  Well she was content with painting most of the night and so i was determined tonight to try and make Homemade Play-doh.

Once Alex went to sleep I looked up a recipe and although VERY vague to me I figured I'd try it because with the comments many people had said it went well and I knew I had everything it needed already in the house.

RECIPE:

1 c. flour
1 c. boiling water
2 tbsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. salt
1 tbsp. oil
Food coloring

Mix and knead together. This playdoh is not sticky and does not dry out.

She was so excited to mix it.

I used 1 packet of Kool-aid instead of food coloring since someone had said it made it smell nice, and we had tons since I only use the clear kind for the kids to actually drink. After pouring in the boiling water I stirred it...I didn't know if this was what I was suppose to do or not and after I poured in the oil I added more flour and just kinda rolled it into balls and added flour as needed to the parts I was working with in my hands.

I then gave her cookie cutters

Then just out of curiosity I tasted it, since I knew eventually my son would take a bite out of it....let me just say it tasted like I had taken a huge mouthful of seawater....so salty!  The final test will be to see if it actually doesn't dry out though.

This was an awesomely cheap craft to do with my daughter and if it dries out it's fine I'm not out a lot of money at all!

If you have fun and creative crafts you do with your little ones feel free to email pictures and recipes to monikarclark@yahoo.com

 

A blur

   ***This is a picture I caught the night that Joplin got hit with the F4 tornado*** (5/22)

Well living in tornado alley you have to expect tornadoes every spring/summer. Well even knowing this I still didn't expect them, always being naive thinking they would never be this bad.  After seeing Joplin, MO get demolished by a F4 tornado I was freaking out as were others.  We live in a modular home, which is a total no-no during tornadoes. So with 2 small kids my husband I were scrambling, well to be honest just me as he was playing xbox the whole time...I KNOW RIGHT. In his defense he was born and raised in this so he's use to it.

I wish I had thought to take pictures of the outside sky but I was too terrified and too scatter brained to even think about it. Our local community building was opened for residents who had no other form of shelter as this building withstood the tornado that hit back in 1942 I believe(where as it wiped the rest of the downtown out).  So right before the storms really hit Tulsa, OK we headed there. It was hot and sorta crowded but I can't thank the men from the Mayes County Emergency Management enough for opening the building and giving us updates as they got them.  I felt safe there during the storm.  Luckily we were missed by any tornadoes.  So a little freaked and with tired kids (around 9:30pm) we headed home.

On a separate altogether subject, I have been overwhelmed with coupons that I can't/won't use so I started using my favorite website for coupon trading again, couponmom.com

I am literally sending someone $20. That's what these coupons will pay for if they use them $20! I am getting coupons that I will use out of this, so this is a WIN-WIN for me.

Homeland Ad 5/25-5/31

Meat Coupons

-Hormel $1.00/1 need to register

RRR coupon is not on their website anymore as of today (5/23)

Oscar Mayer Wieners, Meat Bologna, or Cotto Salami 16oz 2/$3

-$1/2 5/15 SS(hotdogs)

=$1.00/2

12pk Pepsi-Diet Pepsi or Mt. Dew (Limit 5) 5/$13 ***Good deal***
They come out to be $2.60 each!

Kraft American Cheese Singles 12oz $1.59
-$1.00/2 (Homeland Fundraiser Book)
=$1.18/2

Blue Bell Ice Cream-Half Gallon or 12pk cups $3.99
-$1.00/1 Half gallon  must join the website
=$1.99/1

-Kraft Mayo or Reg or Light Miracle Whip 30oz 2/$5
-$1/2 5/15 SS
=$3.00/2

-Kraft Salad Dressings 14-16oz 3/$5
-$1.50/2 5/15 SS
=$3.50/3

Chinet Casual Plates 2/$5
-$0.55/1 4/17 SS
=$1.40/1

Hefty 30ct Easy Grip Cups $2.19
-$0.55/2 5/22 RP
=$3.28

Raynolds Aluminum Foil 35-75ft $3.49
-$1/1 4/17 SS (Would have to use on 75ft)
=$1.49/1 75ft

Vlasic Pickles 16-32oz 2/$4
-$0.55/1
=$0.90/1

Hormel Chili 4/$5
-$0.55/2 5/8 SS
=$1.40/2

Mt. Olive Sweet Relish 10z $0.99
-$0.50/1 4/17 SS
=FREE/1

Lawry's Marinades or Seasoned Salt 14-16oz 2/$4
-$0.50/1 Spice Blend or Marinade 5/15 RP
=$1.00/1

Johnsonville Fresh Brats or Italian Sausage $3.99
-$1/1 Italian Sausage
=$1.99/1

Velveeta 32oz $4.89
-$1.00/1 (Homeland Fundraiser Book)
=$2.89/1

Edwards Singles 2/$4
-$1/1 4/10 SS
=FREE/1

Zatarain's Dinners $2.49
-$1/2 4/17 RP
=$2.98/2


Lipton Family Size Tea Bags 2/$3 24ct
-$1.00/1 (Homeland Fundraiser Book)
=$1.00/2
-$0.40/1 5/22 RP
=$0.70/1


Aquafresh Iso Toothpaste $3.69
-$1/1 5/15/ RP
=$1.69

Keebler Town House or Club Crackers $1.99
-$1.00/2
=$1.98/2

Busy Day

Well after last nights storms this morning was a rush of gathering information to inform everyone about what had happened.  89 people have lost their lives in the tornado that hit Joplin, MO.  This being fairly close to us people are rushing to donate items, time, and blood now. So I spent the morning finding about a local drop spot for donations and calling Red Cross to find out about their donation spots because they were said to be short (less than a days supply) of ONeg blood.

My breakfast this morning was:

*Dr. Pepper inside the cup*

On top of all that my kids were both awake and running around screaming and I instead of losing it kept my patience and dealt with it without freaking out and having an anxiety attack like normal.  I was able to start laundry, feed them, organize stuff and inform people online about events for the donations etc.

Then it starts to rain here and I'm eagerly waiting my mail lady to deliver the mail so I can rescue it from the rain. Finally I hear her coming down the road and rush out to get my mail:

I got my CoinStar Bag from a FB offer they had. Earthbound Farm Organic has a quiz about Organic farming on their website and if you get all the questions correct you get a $1.00/1 coupon, so I got that in the mail as well as a "WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER" bumper sticker and a PUR water sample to do an experiment with that I plan on trying later.

I got my local Homeland ad today and plan on doing a match-up in between the kids playing, eating, and my cleaning and laundry tasks that I WANT to get done. We shall see how much actually does get done.

Shopping Trips 5/20

So today being Friday I kinda expected it to be crowded but it's always a surprise to see the masses when you actually see them and the lines. I made my trip to Wal-mart for my price matches (this is almost as good as using coupons for me)

 1-Angel Soft 18dbl rolls-$8.96=$8.96
1-Plastic Storage thingy-$8.67=$8.67
1-Cottonelle wipes-$2.87-Coupon for free(From their fb)=FREE
2-Spam $2.29(Price Matched for $1.99)=$3.98
2-15oz Country Crock Butter $1.98(Price Matched Dollar General for 2/$3-Coupon for $0.40/1 x2=$2.20
3-82oz Bleach $1.98 (Price Matched Target for 3/$5)=$5.00
1-Bic Soleil Razors $4.27(Price Matched May's Drugwarehouse for $3.99)-Coupon for $3.00/1=$0.99

Total:$33.09
Saved:$6.29 16% Savings
***Buying this much bleach at one time was well worth it because it will last me at least 6-9 months***

Ok now while in Homeland when I was picking up my meat I noticed another couponer there and asked her if she knew about the new coupon policy they were enforcing and I explained it to her.  She was very greatful as she had planned on doing 2 transactions and thanked me because had I not told her she "woulda made a fool outta herself" were her words. This was the first time I took advantage of all the meat coupons out there and was really happy about it.

1-RRR Steaks $8.42-Coupon for $1.00/1 (Doubled)=$6.42
1-Hormel Porkchops $10.03-Coupon for $1.00/1(Doubled)=$8.03
1-Pilgrims Boneless Skinless Breast $5.91 -Coupon $1.00/1(Doubled)=$3.91
5-12oz Bologna $5.00=$5.00
2-16oz Bar-S Hotdogs $1.49-Coupon $1/2= $0.98/2
2-Borden Shredded Cheese 2/$4=$4.00
5-Always Save(store brand) mac n cheese $0.39=$1.95
2-Sugar $2.79(Raincheck for 2/$3.98-Coupon for $0.50x2(Doubled)=$1.98/2
1-Dozen Eggs $0.99-Raincheck discount $0.50=$0.49
1-Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter $1.99-Coupon for $0.50(Doubled)=$0.99
1-On Cor Salisbury Steak Entree $1.99=$1.99
1-State Fair Corn dog bite thingies $2.99-Coupon for $1.00(Doubled)=$0.99
3-Tony's Pizza $1.00-coupon for $0.50(Doubled)=$2.00/3
2-Edy's Shake things $2.00-coupon $1.00(Doubled)=FREE
1-Zest 3pk $1.99-Coupon for $1.00=FREE

Total:$37.88
Saved: $35.18 48% Savings

Wal-mart Haul 5/18

3-Boxes of Capncrunch $3.00(Price Matched Walgreens for $1.75)-Coupon for $0.50=$3.75
2-Half Gallon Milk $2.27(They wouldn't price match the Walgreens ad because it just said MILK not a brand)
3-Breakfast Packs $2.98-Coupon for $1.00=$5.94
2-Cherry Coke-Coupon for $1.25-Coupon for $1.00=$1.50
2-Simliac Spit Up Formula $3.84-Coupon for $5.00=Free +$2.32overage
1-Box of Whales (Generic for Goldfish) $1.84=$1.84
4-3pk Ivory $0.97-Coupon for $1.00=Free+$0.12overage
5-Reach Floss $0.88-Coupon $1.00=Free+$0.60overage
5-Pert Plus 2-1 Shampoo Trial Size $0.97=Free+$0.15overage

Total before coupons:$56.42
After coupons: $24.12 55% off!

This is the aftermath of the kids finding out that mommy had bought the Whales