You Get What You Get, And You Don't Throw A Fit.........

Healthy changes........................

2012-09-30T19:39:00.002-07:00

I used to stockpile and I still do to some extent, but not like I used to. I used to have 10 boxes of cereal, but now I have 1 half eaten box in the cabinet because we don’t eat cereal much anymore, we eat homemade muffins and pancakes for breakfast. I used to stock up on Lunchables any time they were on sale, but now I prefer to pack my kids lunches of sandwiches with chocolate hazelnut spread, grapes, carrots, and a few chips. I used to stock up on canned pasta and pizza sauce, now I make my own from scratch. I used to have 20 bottles of Bath and Body works hand soap and body wash on my shelves, but now I make my own body wash and hand soap. I used to spend tons of money on laundry detergent, but now I make my own and save money, it’s better than using a coupon. I used to not care what I fed my family, I just wanted it to be easy and quick, but now I am buying more natural and organic products so I know what I am putting in my and my family’s bodies. I am understanding how important it is to put quality food in our bodies, food that is free from chemicals and other additives. We buy organic when we can, we try to steer clear of high fructose corn syrup or anything with genetically modified corn in it, we drink water (yes, it is bottled water, but we are going to work on changing that too), I wash my face with baking soda and water (may start washing my hair in it too), I make things from scratch when I can, we are trying to get rid of the plastic cups and containers in our house, we use our microwave less, we aren’t perfect and we don’t have all this figured out yet, but we are making small steps to protect our bodies, so we can be healthy in the future.

Tigger goes to the park

2012-06-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

On Todd's birthday, he wanted to go to the park. So we went and took Tigger,

He played on the swing and the slide and he did some climbing.

It was lots of fun!

Tigger ran away!!!!!!

2012-05-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Emily and Mahala were super excited to see Tigger sitting on my desk at school. He had his suitcase......


and a note.

So, the dolls let him use their bed........

It sits between Emily and Mahala's.


Tigger even made it on to the awards stand at the AAU State meet. I think he's having a good summer so far.

Check back to see what Tigger does next...............

Sleepover!!

2012-01-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

We had a special guest at our house tonight. Mrs. Stickley let her pal Tigger come home with Mahala for a sleepover. He even brought his stuffed animal with him. Before coming home, we had to go to the allergy doctor for shots and a checkup. Tigger was very helpful and held Mahala's hand as she got her shots. Then we picked up Todd from track practice and came home. Tigger and Mahala played Temple Run on my cellphone and played with Mahala and Emily in their room.

Tigger ate some chocolate and shared some with the rest of us.

Mahala read Tigger a bedtime story.

Tigger had a glass of water before going to sleep. I hope he doesn't wet the bed.

Mahala cuddled Tigger and gave him lots of hugs and kisses.

By 9:00 Tigger was tucked in bed.

Goodnight Tigger, Sleep Tight!

Pizza Sauce

2012-01-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

I knew that later in the week we would be having pizza for supper one night, so I decided to go ahead and make the sauce so that it would be ready. I have created this recipe by combining several other recipes together and making a few adjustments. I am not sure if I have posted a pizza sauce recipe before, but if I have I'm sure this is a little different.

I begin with 1 1/2 cups of hot water. To that, I added 2 chicken bouillon cubes. (Anytime a savory recipe calls for water, it adds to the flavor if you use bouillon cubes or replace the water with chicken broth or stock.). From there, I added in my 6oz. can of tomato paste. I normally use Muir Glen organic tomato paste, because the taste of it is so much better, but I didn't have any on hand. At this point I also add 3-4 tbs. of extra virgin olive oil. Once you have all that blended together, you can add your seasonings. You can adjust these amounts based on your taste.
I add:
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. pizza seasoning
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Once all of your seasonings are mixed in, cover and let sit for at least an hour, so all the flavors can blend together. You can use now or refrigerate or freeze for future use. We usually have enough sauce for 4 pizzas from this.

A Morning of Baking

2012-01-16T10:44:00.001-08:00

I started my morning off with some baking. I made a loaf of wheat bread, 12 honey yeast rolls, and a bunch of chocolate chocolate chip muffins. I am slowly trying to incorporate wheat flour into our recipes instead of white flour. In the bread I used a little bit of white flour but mostly wheat, and in the muffins I used 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat.
(Not sure why some of the above writing is underlined and why some is not. Weird.)

The wheat bread is a new recipe. We will see how it turns out. Go here to check out the recipe that I used.

The honey yeast rolls came out of the oven around lunch time and now we only have 5 left. We will eat them with supper. Go here to check out the recipe.

The chocolatey chocolate chip muffins will go in the freezer and warmed up for breakfast. The mini-muffins can go in the kids lunch boxes frozen and they will be thawed by lunch. It will be a special treat for them. Go here to see the recipe.

Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits

2011-12-28T14:42:00.001-08:00

We started off the week trying some new recipes.
My first attempt turned out great and the kids gobbled them up.
I'm not sure that you would consider this a recipe, I just had to put it together.

I began by thawing some frozen strawberries and blueberries. I got out my cute little cups(?) that we have never used and began with a layer of strawberries, then a layer of vanilla yogurt, then a layer of blueberries, and so on. It did not get in the picture,
but I let the kids top them off with some granola.

The kids loved it and it was less than 250 calories.
You could make it healthier by using a different kind of yogurt.

Super easy and better than some of the other junk my kids like to eat for breakfast.

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

2011-09-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

I read an article the other day about how the hand soaps that we use have too many chemicals in them and how antibacterial soap was really not good for us to use. I checked prices of several natural soaps and they were outrageous, so I started searching the internet for a recipe for hand soap. We really do not like bar soap, it's just not convienient. So, here is the step by step directions to make liquid hand soap. Thank you to www.littlehouseliving.com for the recipe.

I started by bringing to boil 8 cups of water.

While the water was coming to a boil, I used my grater to grate 1/2 a bar of a natural soap that I purchased at the nutrition store. The bar cost me $4, so The cost for this hand soap is $2, since I only used 1/2 the bar.

When the water comes to a boil, stir in your grated soap and continue to stir until the soap is dissolved. At this point, you can add some essential oils to change the scent of the soap if you choose. I added some vanilla and a small drip of spearmint.

Remove from heat and place a lid on the pot and let it sit for up to 3 days or until it becomes thick.

When I was finished, I used some containers that I had to store the soap in. You cannot purchase this much hand soap at the store for $2, so I am happy with my results.

Milk at Kroger

2011-09-17T08:02:00.001-07:00

Super excited about the deals I got today at Kroger. I went in to get a gallon of milk and ran across an awesome deal! Horizon Organic Milk Singles on Sale for .25!!!! I got 18 of them and a gallon of milk. I had a coupon for $1.00 off the gallon of milk. I wish I had some Horizon milk coupons, but I didn't. However, I will be printing some and going back for more milk. My total came to $6.69! A savings of 21.34!!!!!

Kroger Deals! Mega Event!

2011-09-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

I went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon with 3 kids in tow to just get a few things. I couldn't pass up the Mega event. There are lots of good deals out there.

I got all of the above items for $48.79, a savings of $45.13. For coupon matchups go to www.southernsavers.com and select Kroger. The Bertoli pasta at my Kroger had peelie coupons on them, so be on the lookout!

Pasta Sauce!

2011-08-23T18:09:00.001-07:00

I saw a recipe on Food Network the other day and I had to try it. I have been looking for a good pasta sauce recipe for a while. I highly recommend this one with a few of my adjustments.

I began by roasting my eggplant and garlic. I left out the peppers, because we are not big fans of peppers. To roast the eggplant, you slice them in half and brush the cut side with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and salt and pepper. Place cut side down on pan. To roast the garlic, you cut the top of the garlic and put EVOO and rosemary on it. Wrap it in foil and place on pan with the eggplant. Cook at 475 for 40 minutes.

While that was cooking, I opened up 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes. The recipe calls for 1, but I wanted to make more sauce. I put those tomatoes in the blender and pureed them because we like a smooth sauce. I then put them in a pan on the the stove along with 2 cups of chicken stock. After the eggplant and garlic had cooled, I scooped out the eggplant and placed it in the blender with the garlic. I pureed them also and added them to the tomatoes.

Next I added the spices and let simmer. I also added 4 tablespoons of sugar.

My plan is to strain this sauce because we like it really smooth, and once it is cool put in 2 containers and store it for later. We will use it with spaghetti, lasagna, or maybe even as a pizza sauce. The total cost for this recipe was less than $4 because I had gotten the canned tomatoes on an awesome deal earlier in the year. You cant buy 2 cans of a good sauce for that! Plus, I know what is in this sauce. I controlled the ingredients.

Oh yeah, it even tastes good!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2011-08-21T12:32:00.001-07:00

It is a lazy Sunday afternoon at our house. We came home from church, ate some sandwiches, and everyone has been doing their own thing. Hubby fell asleep on the couch while watching the Reds play, Todd is playing on the computer, and the girls are doing what they always do and making a mess of their room. I was surfing the internet looking at recipes and blogs and ran across this blog post and was intrigued. The kids have been taking their lunch quite a bit this year so far and I am sick of sending the same old things already. Several things caught my eye in this post, but one thing inparticular did because I could make them right now ~ muffins!! The kids have been asking for me to make muffins for a while, so why not make them now! In years past, I would have said, "Oh no, I can't make muffins, I don't have muffin mix". Now, I would never dream of buying a muffin mix unless they were on sale and I could get it free with a coupon. It just isn't cost effective. I have everything in my house to make homemade muffins already, why go buy a mix? I googled muffin recipes and I decided on two. The first one is from Food Network and I have to admit they turned out awesome! It is Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins. Then I looked around and noticed I had some bananas, so I decided on a banana muffin recipe. It was good, but not as good as the chocolate ones. I now have 22 muffins for my kids to eat for breakfast or to take in their lunch this week. Yummy!!! Now I am off to take a nap too!!

Another school year begins...........

2011-07-31T04:37:00.001-07:00

School starts in a week and a half and we have a lot of changes going on in the Hall house this year.

My oldest, Todd, starts middle school, and I have to admit, I am nervous. In preparation for this transition, we did go out and add him to our cellphone plan. I couldn't stand the fact of him being away from me and not having a cellphone for emergencies. He is allowed to text, but does not have internet access. We also set him up email and a facebook account to interact with his friends, however it will be monitored VERY closely! Open house at Todd's school is Tuesday night and I am very anxious to see how that goes.

Emily is going into 3rd grade this year and I think she will do fine. She will be switching classes between teachers this year, so it may be a little transition. She is still as dramatic as ever and cries at the drop of a hat, so I just hope she will at least walk to her classroom by herself this year. (Working at your kid's school can be a blessing and a curse.)

My little Mahala is starting Kindergarten this year, and I know that she will do fine. She has been looking forward to this for years now. I am so thankful that I will be in the same building as her and can peek in on her from time to time.

Emily and Mahala's open house is Thursday night.

My busy time at work starts Monday. We have training all day on Monday, opening day for staff on Thursday, and the rest of my week will be full with entering new students and putting schedules in Infinite Campus. It is an exciting time and I am looking forward to it.

Tony is starting the year subbing for a 4th grade teacher at Eubank who is on maternity leave. He is pretty excited about it, I think.

Oh, and for those of you who haven't checked yet, the menu for the first day of school says spaghetti for lunch, which my kids will not eat, so I guess I will be packing lunches on the first day. Hope that is not an indication of how the rest of the year will go................

Free sample of Cheerios!!

2011-06-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Go on over here and get your free sample of Cheerios and a coupon. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Get a free sample of Purex

2011-06-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

Go on over to freesamplepurex.com and get your free sample of Purex with Zout!

Kroger deals!!!

2011-05-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

I've not blogged in a while. We have been super busy! I went to Kroger today and this is what I got.

I spent $11.57 OOP and saved $38.83 (78% savings)! Yes, I did get the milk and the kids already drank some before I took the picture.

My three favorite stores - Kroger, CVS, and Walgreens

2011-05-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

At Kroger, I spent 45.62 and saved 63.31

At Walgreens I spent 14.84 and saved 45.10. Plus I received 6.00 in Register Rewards!

At CVS, I spent 1.03 and saved 12.19. I also received 3.00 in ECB to spend on my next shopping trip.

So, overall today, I spent 61.49 and saved 120.60. I have a total of 9.00 to spend in ECB and RR.
Awesome!

Last week deals!!

2011-05-02T18:16:00.001-07:00

I had a good week at shopping last week.

CVS
3 Dove deodorants $.99 each
- 3 $1.00 coupons
= Free (only paid tax)

Blink Gel Tears $7.99
- $4.00 pealie coupon
= $3.99
and received a $7.99 ECB off my next purchase

Wal-Mart
2 Nivea bodywashes $3.00 each
- 2 $3.00 off coupons
= Free (only paid tax)

Walgreens
Stayfree pads $2.99
- $1.00 off coupon
= $1.99
and received $3.00 in RR off my next purchase

Total cost $5.98 + Tax OOP
I have $10.99 in coupons off my next purchase

Kroger and CVS

2011-04-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

My first stop today was CVS. My total OOP was $1.40. My savings were $15.78. I also received $5 in Extra Care Bucks to use off my next purchase.

My next stop was Kroger. I spent $3.37 OOP and saved $26.92!

I was happy with my purchases today. A total of $4.77 OOP and a total savings of $42.70.

Kroger and Walgreens Again

2011-04-07T18:14:00.001-07:00

Walgreens had an in ad coupon that made these 1.99 each. I then had a $1.00 off coupon for each of them, so I got these for $2.22 OOP and saved $10.00

At Kroger I got all this with the household mega event. I paid $9.60 OOP and saved $38.32!!!

Total OOP for the day $11.82.
Total Savings for the day $48.32

Kroger

2011-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Kroger has another mega event going. This one is for household items. I went today and just picked up a few things. I spent $6.30 OOP (out of pocket) and saved $25.36!
For more info on the deals go to www.southernsavers.com or www.classycouponclipper.blogspot.com.

CVS - on my birthday!

2011-03-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

I already had my deals picked out at CVS and checked my email and the deals got sweeter! I had a $3 off coupon for my birthday! I got all this today for $3.96 and received $7 Extra Care Bucks to spend on my next purchase, so they actually paid me to take this stuff! Not bad. Happy Birthday to me!
I also had an email for my birthday for a B1G1 Blizzard from DQ! I will take advantage of that later in the week!

Kroger trip #3 - Saved 81%

2011-03-19T05:02:00.001-07:00

This is my last trip on the Mega Event this week. I got all of this for $9.66. I saved $43.83. We have enough noodle now to last us a while!

Kroger Trip #2 - Saved 91%

2011-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

I got all this for $1.39, I saved $14.80! The pasta and the tomatoes were all free, so all I paid for was the bleach!

Kroger - Saved 80%

2011-03-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Awesome trip to Kroger today. I got everything pictured including a 24 pack of bottled water for $10.86. I saved $45.27! I have more pasta coupons so I will more than likely make another trip tomorrow.
For details on the kroger deals, visit www.classycouponclipper.blogspot.com or www.southernsavers.com.