New Do!

The Parents and Kids Blog has gotten a new do!

Please go to www.theparentsandkids.com to visit the new site.

See New Posts Such As,

Gum ball Flowers

Make Your Own Magazine Artwork

and so much more!

 

Using What You Have to Make Trail Mix

Erin at $5 dinners had a great idea using leftover grocery items that you have in your pantry for trail mix.  I ventured out to find what I could mix together from my pantry to make my mix.  Here is what I had…

raisins, chocolate chips, cheerios, and peanuts.

I then mixed all the ingredients together and placed in resealable baggies so that my could have a good snack on the go.

Johnson & Johnson survey

Johnson & Johnson: Product Testing Opportunities

Sign up to join the Johnson & Johnson Friends and Neighbors program here. If you’re accepted, you’ll receive opportunities to try out full-sized products, give your feedback, and possibly even earn money for your time.  I took the survey and it took me a couple of minutes. 

Thanks, Money Saving Mom

Veggie Tales Website

We love Veggie Tales in our family and when I found this new website we got really excited.   There are tons of fun games and also a section for the parents to download fun imaginative guidelines.  Visit The Big Idea Website and see if your children enjoy it as much as mine.

Free Milk

FREE MILK!!   Go HERE to enter to win FREE milk for a year and just for entering you’ll be able to print a coupon valid for a FREE gallon of milk (any brand) with a $100 grocery purchase (Before coupons–Nice)! You’ll see this coupon offer advertised in the bottom left hand side after you find out if you’ve won or not. You’ll also receive this coupon link via email after entering.

Thanks, Smart Shopping 2009

Smithfield Menu Planner

 

My favorite recipe in this weeks Smithfield Menu Planner is the Italian Meatloaf and Italian Style Roasted Vegetables.  If you would like to see the other recipes included in this weeks planner click here. 

Italian Meatloaf with Italian Style Roasted Vegetables 

1.  Italian Meatloaf - 

2 pounds of lean ground beef 

3/4 cup tomato & basil pasta sauce 

3/4 cup bread crumbs 

Salt and pepper 

2 eggs 

1/2 cup onion, minced 

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix meat and next 8 ingredients. In a 13 x 9 baking pan, 

shape meat mixture into a loaf. Bake for 1 hour or until done. Let stand 10 minutes before 

serving. 

Servings: 42.  Italian Style Roasted Vegetables - 

1.5 pounds of fingerling potatoes, cut in halves 

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces 

2 Vidalia onions, cut into quarters 

3 tablespoons olive oil 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 

Kosher salt 

Freshly ground pepper 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine potatoes, carrots, and onions in a large bowl. Toss 

with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until all vegetables are well coated. Spread 

the vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet. Place on medium rack in oven and bake for 

35 to 40 minutes. 

Servings: 4 

 

 

Grandparents Guide: 100 free activities

Here is a great free guide for fun free activities to do with your family.  I am not going to become a grandparent for a long time but I printed this guide because it has some really great ideas for free family fun.  Anything that gives us free fun makes my new budget plan smile.

Great craft sites for free ideas:

Birthdays On A Budget

I have been so guilty of spending way too much money on birthday presents and parties for my kids.  This year we are on a budget and we are not going to spend as much money on presents and parties. 

Here are some easy money-saving ways to have a cheap birthday party while still making it memorable.

1.  Make it a Brownie/ Ice Cream buffet party.  Have a table set up with brownies/ice Cream and all the available toppings such as, ice cream, sprinkles, whip cream, chocolate syrup and let the kids decorate their own brownie/ice cream.  Use what you have and try not to buy these toppings.

2.  Create a banner that says happy birthday by printing out the letters from your computer and gluing them to construction paper.  Connect using a thin string and then hang it up for everyone to see.  If you have scrapbook paper that you aren’t going to use then place the letters on the paper for a creative background.

3.  Go to Kaboose and click on the printable birthday invites for a tutorial on how to print your own birthday cards.  Lets just admit that the cards are great reminders but after the party we throw them away.  There is no since on spending a lot of money buying invites.

4.  Have the party at home.  Yes it is a lot of work to have a party at your house because of all the clean up work but I get motivated to clean if I am having a party.  Sometimes my husband wishes we had more parties at the house for this reason.

5.  Grab bags or treat bags.  Use candy instead of toys.  The cheap toys that we put in these bags will end up being left in the car or thrown away because they didn’t last long enough.  You can also give good treats such as Cheezits or other snacks.

7.  This isn’t the perfect party guide but it is a way to save money.  If you have other ideas I would love to hear them.

His Favorite Boot

My youngest son is three years old and absolutely loves to pretend.  He could play by himself all day long and come up with several different characters such as, a hunter, a police officer, a kitty, and so much more.

When he pretends he also has to really get into the story.  One specific character is a cowboy who hunts deer.  He explores the living room and hides behind the couch just so he can sneak up on a deer he to  kill to eat for his camp out meal.  He will come to us and ask if want to join him and of course we play along.  He has a wonderful imagination!

Here is a short story about this little cowboy…..

This cowboy not only loves to hunt but also loves cowboy boots.  One day the cowboy boots disappeared and were lost and so the cowboys parents  resorted to purchasing his other favorite boot, John Deere.

Time went by and the cowboy’s favorite boots were still lost, until one day one cowboy boot surfaced.  The little cowboy came down from the steps with this one boot on his foot showing his family what he had  found it.  He was so excited to have found this one cowboy boot.  He would put on one John Deere boot and one cowboy boot to walk around the living room woods. 

Even though this boot was his favorite, he had to let it go.  The other one was nowhere to be found and his family honestly thought he looked silly walking around with two different boots.  His Dad took the one cowboy boot and tossed it into the trash. Never seen again.

The little cowboy wasn’t too upset because he knew he had to let it go and hunting deer could be done just as good with his John Deere boots.

****

The other day we heading out the door to take the boys to AWANA’s, which is a church function that we take the kids to so that they can learn more about God and the Bible.  We were in such a hurry because I had let time pass and we were late.

We rode to the church while trying to rehearse their Bible verses for the evening.  We arrived and walked up to my youngest son’s class (the cowboy’s class).  We walked in the door and everyone one welcomed him with loving smiles.  I started to get him comfortable by taking off his coat so that he would be ready for the class. 

I looked down and with my amazement I said, ” OH MY GOODNESS!”  My son had two different boots on.  He had one that was the John Deere boot and the other that was the favorite Cowboy boot.

I looked at him and said, ” Col, you have two different boots on, baby.”

He said, “  I know I found the other one.  Don’t throw this one away Mama.”

I then looked down at my other son’s shoes to make sure that he had on two of the same and yes he did.

I laughed and smiled and tried to explain to the teachers the situation.  I knew that when we walked out  of the door he had shoes on and that was what mattered.  I never would have imagined he would have two different shoes on and especially that particular boot.

Everyone laughed and thought it would be a good to remind him of this memory when he is older.

****

The whole purpose of me telling you this story was because for one, it was funny and for two, to show you that I’m not perfect.  You don’t have need perfect to be a parent you just have to try to do the best you can.  Laugh about the funny things and create wonderful memories along the way.

 

By the way!  I didn’t go back home and get him another shoe to match his John Deere boot.  I think that it would have broken his heart if he would have had to change out his favorite cowboy boot.

Free Udder Covers

Udder Covers is offering one of their nursing covers to you for free. All you have to pay for is the shipping. Use code “2010″ at checkout to get your discount.

These are so cute and such a great idea. I have a few nursing moms that could use this for themselves.

Thanks, frugalistacafe

I also posted this at Smart Shopping 2009 but I thought it would pertain to this website too.