Avoid Pitfalls of Budgeting

Sometimes this is how I feel about budgeting. Like it's a rope walkway that I keep falling on.When you've been budgeting for a very long time, it can get so.....ugh. And when you get in that funk, it's very easy to fall off the budgeting wagon. Here are some tips to help you renew your desire for budgeting.

• Redefine your vision for budgeting You and your spouse need to take a real look at your financial situation. Why? Because you need to see that you're making progress.Gather your previous month's budget papers, the current bills due, the debt statements and the pay stubs. Then, redefine your next stage of budgeting.   
• Do you want to continue to pay off debt? 
• Can you be more aggressive about it? 
• Do you have a small credit card that you can knock out quickly? 
• Is your debt paid and you want to start saving to a certain amount?

           Renewing or redefining your purpose for budgeting helps both emotionally and mentally.

• Do sweat the small stuff- I find that budgeting is like dieting. I can deprive myself of things for a certain period of time, but eventually I'm going to go on a sugar rampage. The same is true for myself when I'm budgeting. I can cut the coffee fund, clothing, and other things that I deem unimportant when we begin. After a while, though, the kids need new clothes. Jon inevitably needs to buy coffee at meetings. I don't want to make dinner and we eat out or pick up food. If you have room in your budget from the very beginning, put a few dollars a month into the funds that you use but aren't necessary. Those funds can get out of control, so make sure you don't go overboard. Everything in moderation.

• Celebrate the accomplishments- If you pay off a credit card, validate that accomplishment! Celebrate with a coffee, or a dinner out. Make a special dessert. However you choose to mark the momentous occasion is up to you, but make sure you do it. This is a big deal. And when you're budgeting, axing a debt may come once every few months maybe even years. 

Budgeting is a lifestyle for our family. It gets boring, aggravating and irritating. But when I think of my options, I realize again the life I'm able to have because of this choice, is a very blessed one.

Happy Budgeting!

Increasing Prices

Groceries, cable, internet, water, gas...the prices of everything are going up. This is not a problem if your income is rising at the same time. If your income is not increasing, then you may be in a bit of a bind.

I just got the bill for our cable. We have basic. When we first got cable 2 years ago, we got a bigger plan. It had the Disney channel! Our bill for cable, internet and phone ran around $90. It started inching up until for some reason our bill was $120 a month.

We decided to get rid of what we didn't need. With 2 cell phones, a landline wasn't necessary to us. Then we reduce our cable to basic where it's been ever since. Then this past month, the cable bill went up by $4.

$4 is not much, but when it's a 33% increase, then to me that's a lot!!! So it's time to revisit whether cable is worth having. When deciding, you need to look at everything, not just the savings. If we dropped cable we'll save over $120 a year. We will, however, have to get a digital box (can be fairly inexpensive) and I believe an antenna because of where we live. So we need to look at the cost of that, plus installation.

I'm not sure yet, if we'll keep cable. We honestly don't watch a whole lot of TV. And the shows we do enjoy (Amazing Race & Castle) can be seen online the next day. What is hard to do is watch the news on the laptop when there's a tornado warning, but there's live streaming everything. It's nice to have the option, but if the budget can't handle the increased cost...then it goes!

Life on a budget and I have a love/loathe relationship hehe.

Stretch That Meat!

My kids are growing every day. That is more evident in how much they are eating. I send Isabella a whole lot of lunch and she's starving when she climbs in the van at the end of the day. The other night I made tacos. Usually 1lb of ground beef is enough with plenty left over. Not so this week! We ate nearly all the meat in one meal.

Of course it was super delicious.

But still.

Thanks to Taco Bell, the term 'fillers' has gotten a bad reputation. I, however, still love it! I totally use fillers to make my meat last. When making tacos, I add half and onion or more chopped fine. I also have started to add green pepper, also finely chopped. Beans are another great addition to make taco meat last longer.

When I make spaghetti sauce, alot of times I'll add pureed carrots. You can't really taste the difference and it adds more vegetables to each serving. Also, I like to add a can of diced tomatoes if I'm using canned spaghetti sauce.

There's a whole world of possibilities when you start adding little things to your recipes! What are your filler secrets? Do share!

Disney

So it's been cloudy and cold all week here. Ugh! But yesterday Jon sent me an e-mail with Living Social's Escape and it was to Orlando and Daytona.

Calgon, take me away.

The Living Social Escape is for $295 for 4 people, 3 night's in Orlando at the Kissimmee Country Inns & Suites. They offer a shuttle to and from Disney parks and free breakfast. Then, 2 nights in Daytona at Inn on the Beach. On. The. Beach. My kids would be sold. They also offer free breakfast.

So, naturally being curious, I looked into hotel prices. Of course, depending on what time of year you're looking at, the prices fluctuate. If you look for next month, they start as low as $30 a night including breakfast. That is a 1 star hotel. So 3 nights at $30 is $90 for Orlando. They do not offer shuttle to and from Disney, so if you're flying you'll need to rent a car.

Hotel prices in Daytona were a little more. $51 per night including breakfast. It was not oceanfront, though, as LS's hotel is. So then you have $102 for Daytona. That would make the total $220 for 5 nights after tax.

Here are the minus' that I can see. You'll need to rent a car, if you fly, to get from Orlando to Daytona. That may be fine if you do a day of Disney before you head to Daytona, though. Check out of the hotel, put your suitcases into the car and use the shuttle to and from. Another thing I would wonder about is how 'available' the dates are.

So bottom line, I would call the 1-800 number at the bottom of the deal with all questions you may have, and your dates in mind. I talked to my mom to refresh my memory on how much we paid for the hotel when we went 2 years ago. For 3 nights where we stayed, the LS deal is still cheaper. And you get breakfast! Remember to factor in all the costs though. The cost of the flight, the car, the theme park tickets, food and the hotel before buying the deal.

And now I'm off finish cleaning my house. The bathrooms need my undivided attention. Again.

Saving At Victory

I took Konnor and Liana with me on a jaunt this morning. We dropped Isabella off at school, went to the office and got registration paperwork for next year, went to the coffee shop and filled it out, went back to the school and registered, went to Bed Bath & Beyond, Marshall's, Ross and finally came home.

Phew!

I'm tired just thinking about it.

Plus it's cold here. Hence, chili for dinner.

Why am I registering Isabella so early? Simple. To save $125.

She goes to a private Christian school. As you can imagine when you hear the words 'private' and 'Christian' and 'school' in the same sentence, money is not far behind. And probably lots of it. Such is the case with this school. I know quite a few people that want to send their children to this school but feel it is too expensive. I'm one of them!

There are a few tricks to saving money, even at Victory. First, the General Fees. At Victory you can save 50% if you enroll by April 28th. They range anywhere from $175 on up. For Isabella's age they are $250, so we saved $125.

Tuition- Victory has discounts if you pay by the semester of the year. A 2% discount if you opt for semester, and 3% if you opt for the full year.

New Student Referral- For each new student that starts at Victory because you have suggested it to them, or given them information, you get a $300-$500 credit after their first full semester. That means if a family of 5 starts there, you get $2500 off! For this credit to work, though, the new family must fill out a certificate with your name on it. They can be picked up at the main office. Why $300-$500? Well, it depends on the amount on the back of the certificate. Maybe more is offered at different times. I'd be looking for the $500 certificates!!!

Multiple Children Discount- The first child is full price, but the second child gets a 15% discount on tuition, the third gets a 30% discount, the fourth a 90% discount and any others are free. That is pretty awesome if you have 5 or more children!

Member Discount- If you are a member of Victory, you get $100 per child voucher. Which is less than 2% for the first child, but more than 2% for the second and others.

Work the discounts that are offered! If you're considering private school, ask them if they have any discounts. What's the worst thing that can happen, they say no? It's worth asking about.

Living Out The Budget

Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? It goes 'Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong'. Maybe you've heard it as 'When it rains, it pours'. At the moment we're living inside of Murphy's law with 2 broke down cars, and a tire that blew on the driveable one. So how do you stay on budget while it's pouring?

We've had suggestions of selling both cars, buying a new one and paying payments. First, we haven't had a payment in 8 years. Second, our budget cannot handle a payment. And third, I don't like the added pressure on the budget. Eek!

What's our solution? We sold the truck. I am really sad. I love that truck. The leather interior, the cargo space, the cream color...*sigh*. I didn't love the gas guzzling, though. And the money we got for selling it will help pay to fix the van. The van's a Honda, and will go until at least 250,000 miles. We have lots of miles left!

So that's what we're doing! It's not ideal. I'd love a new vehicle. But wisdom, and budget, do not allow it at this time. This is real life in a budgeting world, folks!

Dear Secret Millionaire,

I saw your segment last night on ABC, or CBS, or PBS...whichever station you're on, and I was deeply disturbed. $55 for 5 days for one person is more than enough to eat on. Let me show you how.

I am assuming that you won't be sale shopping, so I'll put the amounts for the items at the most I think they'd be. Do not buy name brand. May be scary for you, but welcome to the real world.

Gallon of milk $4
Box of cereal $3
Loaf of bread $1.50
Peanut Butter $2
Jelly $2
Box of Ramean Noodles $2
Apples $3
Oranges $3
Dozen eggs $2
Rice $1
Whole Chicken $5
Black Beans Canned $2
Spaghetti $1
Spaghetti Sauce $2

Total= $33.50 + tax

I'm sure you're used to people cooking for you, so here's a little help.

• To make rice, the ratio is 2 to 1. Boil 2 cups of water, add 1 cup of rice and bring it back to a boil. Turn the burner on low and cover. Check it in about 15 minutes. 
• To cook a chicken, thaw it and wash it. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your chicken into a pan and cook it for about an hour, until the juices run clear and the insides are not pink. You can eat this all week. Add it to your pasta, your black beans and eat it on bread.

I hope the next time you are given $55 for 5 days, you'll stop by my sight and look at the list I made for you. 

Sincerely,
Carmen Cavanaugh

The Final Chapter

So this is the end. It's a long last chapter too. So get comfortable and enjoy!

After leaving Tennessee, we headed up to Iowa for a surprise visit to my family. They were definitely surprised. Although, my brother asked my mom if she liked her surprise before she even got it, kicking her Nancy Drewness into overdrive. My sister apparently cannot lie, so she admitted to Mom that we were in fact there. Siblings.

THE GOOD OF IOWA-
Well there was a whole lot of good. My family and grandparents were totally excited. The kids got to spend lots of time with their grandparents and at the houses' of my grandparents. I think the highlight for the girls would've been the Chinese restaurant my dad took us to Thursday. All you can eat sushi. 2 plates each. My girls get their money's worth at Chinese restaurants! The next best thing, they saw a heifer being born. Well, on Isabella. Liana saw her about 5 minutes after she'd been born. They wanted to name her Princess and Keisha. We always love visiting family.

THE BAD OF IOWA-
There wasn't any bad! There was only catastrophic, so I'll skip the bad.

THE UGLY IS EXTREME-
I. Lost. My. Phone. How I cannot tell you. All I know, is I remember reading a text from my friend Laura Mae on Saturday after we got back from the farm and then I couldn't find it. It has all of the pictures and video from the girls riding their horses. It has so many pictures from our entire trip. And no, I didn't have them backed up. We left Sunday morning late because I was still desperately searching for it.

Then, about an hour and a half from our house, our truck broke down. Brilliant. What a day. Luckily we were able to make it off the interstate and the first restaurant was Pizza Hut. I'd been craving their breadsticks for the last 100 miles. God was taking care of my smallest desire. It was perfect. So we ate pizza and waited for our ride.

THE GREATEST PART-
The icing on the cake came Tuesday when I got a text from my mom saying that my Grampsy was cancer free. It's not something I've shared freely, but he was diagnosed with it back in November. It's been an extremely tough road for the family, and was part of the decision to head up there last week. You have to enjoy the time you have left! So for him to have a scan and the doctor tell him there is no cancer in his body is a great feeling. God is awesome! And doctors are pretty cool too.

Our food total was *drumroll please* $162. Overbudget! Our meal while we were waiting actually was about $20 more than I would've spent at the grocery store on the way to the house for dinner, but whaddya do?! We are so glad to be home! I've been spring cleaning this week (ugh) and am ready for my long run (still training for my half marathon!) and enjoying time in the garden this weekend.

Recap of Camping

Before I start on our camping trip, I want to revisit yesterday's post. I was using Huggies for an example. Little did I know they actually are on sale! And there is a Target coupon for $2.50 off. Click here to print out the TQ (find it quickly under the Baby category), which you can print twice. Click here to print out a Manufacturer coupon for $2 off 1 package of Huggies which you can also print twice. That would make them $8- $2.50 TQ-$2MQ = $3.50 plus tax per package. You don't have to do different transactions either. I recommend handing them one at a time to make sure the full amount is deducted.

 Well, it was an amazing adventure. We are home, for the most part unpacked and completely enjoying the spring weather we came home to. I love the smell of spring, especially when my whole house can smell like it!

I got a lot of great photos! And I think I'm going to make the kids a small photo book of our trip. I have a credit at Picaboo that I need to use!

 THE GOOD FROM CAMPING-
We had so. much. fun. I am not one for camping, normally, but this trip changed my mind. The scenery was breathtaking, the trails were kid friendly and not one time did I ever feel unsafe. We had plenty of food (enjoyed a high fat meal of hot dogs and brauts) and drinks that we brought with. I had a whole crate of just food and utensils. Another plus, we were on the top of the mountain, so at night you could see the city below.

 THE BAD FROM CAMPING-
 Since this was very new to the kids, they were totally excited, the whole time. Which is what we want! But not around the campfire while we're cooking the hot dogs.

Another negative...I love Boy Scouts, but not a whole troop camped pretty close to us. They don't have the bedtime my kids, and even I have. They were going strong at 10 PM.

 THE UGLY OF CAMPING-
It was so cold at night. We were going to bring the hot water bottle (but I forgot) so Jon threw big rocks into the fire. They  got hot & he wrapped them in towels and put them in our beds. He's pretty much awesome! But around midnight, I hadn't stopped shivering (says he) so we got the kids and all piled into the truck for the rest of the night. It warmed up fast and we only woke up once to warm it up again, four hours later.

But look at those views!!! The good definitely outweighed the bad and ugly, such as they were. We learned a couple of things that we would do different next time, but had such a fantabulous time that I would do it over in a heartbeat!

Another Vacation Deal

Yet again, I'm going to sing the praises of a little research.

I'm sure you read my post about the horseback riding lessons for the girls. Right? If not, we'll chat later. So the very same man (my awesome hubby) that found the great deal on the girls' horseback riding lessons, struck again!

Isabella riding Imp

Liana riding Zip

It was an hour of pure joy for the girls. Apart from every couple of minutes Isabella was distracted by something, and Liana kept saying 'Ew, gross. I see it's b**t' for the first 15 minutes. Oy vay!

Konnor was feeling a little left out, because he was too little to have a lesson. I was fine with that, he can't have everything! Plus he's not quite 4, and we all know you start to get everything you've ever wanted when you turn 4 (sarcasm noted). But this is spring break and our first 'family vacation', so we wanted to do something each child would love. The girls were easy, with their horse love lately. Konnor was actually easier, but more expensive.

This past year, Konnor has become quite the tall tale teller. He tells all kinds of stories about going to Mex-i-clo when he was a daddy, and how he used to be a daddy then grew to be a little boy. More recently stories about a cat scratching him on the next and his eyes breaking out. I could write a book from this boy! But one story that has always stayed true, is that he wants to go on a train trip with Daddy across the world.

There happens to be a train ride that lasts about an hour, in Chattanooga. Which, if you don't know, is about 30-45 minutes from where we are depending on what part you're going to. It was going to cost $24 for Jon and Konnor, which isn't bad. If all 5 of us were going...well all 5 of us probably wouldn't go. Then Jon goes and searches for a coupon code and found one that made Konnor's ticket free. That bumps the total down to $15.

I am doing my happy dance right now. I'm glad you can't see it.

We're Alive!

We've always got a plan. For our trip, our plan was to camp in Arkansas and Tennessee before we hit Cleveland, TN to spend time with our friends. Thursday, due to a stellar Parent/Teacher Conference, we got a late start. It would've been too late to set up our campsite, so before we hit the road we got a hotel room. Packed up and ready to hit the road!

I'm pretty sure that I mentioned I'm not a huge camper. So I was not exactly thrilled with the idea, even though it was my idea. But my kids absolutely love nature and camping. After this trip, I will definitely do it more!

It was beyond beautiful on the top of the mountain.

Konnor loved helping Daddy pitch the tent and look for firewood.

We layered up as soon as the tent was done.

The trails were amazing. I cannot even begin to take a picture that would do this park justice.

I was given so many flowers hehe.

Our first night was a success. We had to sleep in the truck around midnight which I think contributed to the 5:30am wake up...I'm still recovering. But Jon had a strong french press coffee made on the camp fire that was amazing.

Thank you Jesus for Jon.

We had the best time. For Thursday and Friday, our food total was $52. That was for all of our meals and snacks for camping. And we have a lot left over that we'll be using while here in Tennessee. So far I've used 1/3 of my food budget. I'm keeping my receipts! Hope you're having a great spring break!

Save While Travelling

I have said over and over how planning is key (in my opinion) to making your budget work. That can be extended to almost every area.

Yesterday I posted how we are going camping, then to visit friends in Tennessee. We want this trip to be extremely fun packed, but don't want to spend outrageously. When I posted about websites I like, I mentioned Living Social. Again, a Groupon kind of deal. What I love about these websites, is they feature deals for cities all over the US. Living Social even posts vacation deals.

I have seriously been tempted to buy. $995 for 4 nights in Cancun for 2 people? Yes please!

Well, knowing where you are going to be can help you save money on the fun activities. Jon looked up Chattanooga, TN for deals on Living Social and they have a horseback riding lesson for $15 for 1 hour. Our girls have really been into horses lately, so they are going to flip when they find out they get to have riding lessons!!! And for 50% of the normal cost, I can be just as excited with them!

So if you know you're going to another city, and want to try and plan some activities, start having these websites send you deals for that city as far in advance as you can. You may just get lucky like we did!

Keep us in your prayers as we head out on our journey.

Travel Challenge- $150 Food Budget

Gosh, I blinked and it was Wednesday!

Here we are gearing up for Spring Break. Because we live so far from family, our breaks are always spent visiting family. I'm not complaining, I absolutely adore visiting our family. But this year, I wanted to do an actual family trip! So we are going camping. In a tent.

I enjoy the outdoors. I am not a super huge fan of camping after our last trip, when a bear ran through the campground just past our tent. I have never felt so completely subject to something not in my control. And freaked. I didn't sleep so well after that. But my children love it, or what they remember of it. So camping it is.

I bought a lot of food that we don't normally eat. Juice boxes, snack crackers, granola bars, hot dogs, brauts...and oh so much more in preparation for this trip. Plenty of fruit also. I think the kids may actually be more excited about the food than the actual camping.

Of course, with budgeting in my veins, I wanted to know what kind of a budget we're working with. We are only camping a couple of nights, then going to visit with friends in Tennessee. I like to get on the same page, spending wise. Jon thought we needed $150 for food. I almost choked! So I told him let me buy some food (of course we'd need to anyways for camping) and then we can talk. My total was $30 so far. There is still more to buy, but this should be good for the entire camping trip, snacks while we travel and some while in Tennessee.

I'll try to keep you updated on how our food spending is going. I cannot, however, guarantee I will post frequently because service may be spotty! I will take lots of pictures and post them when I can! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend about $20 on band-aids and first aid kit supplies. I like to be prepared.

Staying Home

Over the past month I've had a lot of people ask me about staying at home with the kids-. 2 things mostly- how can I afford it and how do I handle it.

Well, the jury is still out on how I handle it! Some days are great...some days I'm lucky I didn't gain 25 pounds from stress-eating of chocolate. Before I had babies my head was filled with a montage of photos of how blissful and carefree each day would be. In those photos my kids all looked like me.

Obviously a dream on sooo many levels since my kids look so much like their dad.

Little tricks (like making a double batch of oatmeal and eggs) help a lot in the mornings getting Isabella off to school. I get up early to workout and shower, or do it during quiet time. When Isabella & Liana were little I would put Lia in a Snugli, Bug in the stroller and I'd do my walking with them. It was great to get out in the fresh air, and they loved it!

It was so much easier for me when they were little, because we'd just enjoy the day. Playing in the yard, finger painting, hide and seek...fun little kid stuff. As they grow, play time is more complex, attitudes need adjusting and school is thrown in the mix. But with three kids, they are constantly learning and so am I.

Life is messy! It's not clean and perfect and precise. So I try to roll with the imperfections. Don't we all? I'm not nearly as together, my house isn't always clean and I forget things if I don't write them down. But it's getting better.

One book (I actually did the audiobook) that was a wonderful tool and I would recommend to every Mom at home, is 'In Praise of Stay At Home Moms' by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. It's wonderful!

As for how I can afford it? Hmm...that deserves it's own post. So I'll save that for tomorrow.

Movie Night for $9

Right now on Living Social (click here), you can buy 2 movie tickets for $9. This is a great deal!!!! I got a deal similiar to this for Jon and I to go on a date. We saw the movie on IMAX 3D which was amazing!

Details to Know:
You have to buy the tickets off Fandango.com when you go to use your deal (it is actually through them) so there can be a convenience fee. When I got this deal before, I paid $11 for the two tickets. Sometimes the total value is applied (in this case it would be $30) but not always. So be prepared to pay $2-4 more than $9.

The first day you can use the deal is tomorrow, so keep in mind you can't go tonight.

Remember, if you buy the deal then forward it to 3 friends that buy it too, you get yours for free!

Go get it!

Salad is to Men...

what Mufasa is to Shenzi. Case in point, the video below. Not the best quality, but I'm sure it would resonate with your interpretation of how it would go, telling your man salad is for dinner.

 The nutritional value alone is a huge bonus. Getting a guy to eat it for dinner...what's the opposite of huge bonus? Huge depletion?

If I lived in an ideal world, I would eat raw fruit and veggies 95% of the time. I love salads, but do get burned out after a while a take a break. We have been on a break, so now I'm gearing up to start making them again! Jon likes salad too, so having it for dinner isn't really a no win zone.

One of his musts for having a salad, though, is it needs to have meat on it. I tried getting away with veggie only salads, but was quickly rebuffed. After a couple of years, I have quite a few salads that have been winners in our house. 

• Cobb Salad- Diced Ham, Diced Turkey (or chicken), Cheese, Tomato, Lettuce, Bacon, Croutons, Dressing & Avacado (if you want)
• BBQ Chicken Salad- Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese, Grilled Chicken Strips, Carrots, Cheese Quesadilla, BBQ Ranch Dressing (equal parts bbq sauce to ranch dressing)
• Monte Cristo Salad- Lettuce, Swiss Cheese, Diced Turkey, Diced Ham, Tomato, Raspberry Dressing
• Fajita Salad- Lettuce, Tomato, Carrot, Cheese, Fajita Meat, Cheese Quesadilla, Dressing
• Taco Salad- Lettuce, Cheese, Tomato, Carrot, Red Cabbage, Taco Meat, Crushed Tortilla Chips, Salsa & Sour Cream Dressing
• Black & Bleu Salad- Lettuce, Tomato, Red Cabbage, Steak (leftover!), Bleu Cheese, Croutons, Dressing

One thing I try to do to cut down on the cost, is buy iceberg and mix it with a leaf lettuce. Lettuce (the most I've paid) is $1.90 for a head of leaf lettuce. Use half for a salad and the other half for tacos another night.

Also, if we're doing a lot of Mexican/Southwest dishes, I might keep a black bean & corn relish in the fridge. It makes a great topper. 

A little tip for adding carrots to the salad... sometimes the flavor can be too much as a slice. After I peel it and cut off the ends, I use the peeler to make small thin peelings of carrot. Or I will grate it. Make sure you start at the fat end to use  the majority of the carrot.

These salads are a great way to use leftover meats from grilling, eating out, another meal...the possibilities are endless! And it's a one pot meal. All your vegetables, protein, dairy & fat (even carbs sometimes) in one place. Hmm, maybe salads will become the new casserole!

Pepper in Some Flexibility

Sometimes, as much as you plan the day, it doesn't go like you had in mind. Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily. Friday was one of those days for me.

I blogged about JBF on Thursday. I had  to drop the clothes off on Friday (of course, the last day for drop off) which has also become Jon and I's coffee date morning with the kiddos. So there was 3 things on my radar...Drop off, Coffee & Run. What I did not have on my radar...Vehicle Maintenance Run, New Glasses, Mall & Dinner Out.

Sometimes life happens. Everything got done, and that is no small task!

When we're having a day like Friday, it's very hard to stay in budget. We actually ate out every meal, I am ashamed to say. While we had planned on eating breakfast out, we had not planned on the other two meals. So how did we do? Well, we spent about $15 for dinner and lunch.

Yumminess!

It's not easy, for sure, maybe it was a little luck even. Lunch was Chick-fil-a spicy chicken biscuits for Jon and I, while the kids had those mini-chick things. Chick-fil-a had advertised the Spicy Chicken was free with purchase. That was a great deal! $6 for lunch for 4 people. Or 3 if you figure the kids between the 2 eat about as much as 1 of us.

Unless they're a bottomless pit that day. Very possible.

When we were home for 2 hours while I ran and the kids rested, I grabbed bananas, oranges and crackers for snack. The kids eat only a small snack, but that day a big one was going to be necessary. I knew that dinner would be pretty far away with phone and glasses needing to be picked up. So they were happy and full until 6:30 when we had another phone pick up after an impromptu mall run followed previous pick ups.

We were right by Sam's and I happened to have a gift card from my mother in law that we decided to use on dinner. Pizza or hotdogs. Neither choice is healthy, but since we eat fairly healthy on a regular basis I don't mind for the sake of convenience once in a while. Total for 5 hotdogs, 2 drinks and a churro...$9.00!

Flexibility certainly helps. But one thing that you need with flexibility, is awareness. Try to know what restaurants where you'll be are kid and budget friendly. Try to throw a few pieces of fruit into your purse or diaper bag, just in case. I try to keep a pack of crackers and bring a bottle of water in the van. You never know when plans will change on a whim!

Frozen Milk

Have you ever bought a lot of milk because it was on sale, only for it to go bad before you use it all? Me too. I hate wasting.

My mother in law told me that I can freeze milk.

I was very skeptical. How would it taste once it's thawed out? Wouldn't it be bad? Would it spoil while thawing? Nevertheless, I gave it a try.

It tastes the same! It wasn't bad and it didn't spoil! And another thing that I found...I loved to drink the milk when it was still a little frozen. Of course, I like to crunch ice too. But this seems so much better for my teeth!

A tip, though. If you're thawing out whole milk or 2%, make sure you shake it up every so often while it's defrosting. The thicker part thaws last and shaking it helps it to have an even consistency.

We don't use a whole lot of milk, so one gallon will go bad unless I'm making biscuits and gravy. I like to rinse out and use my most recent milk carton to freeze half of the gallon I buy.

What made me think of this? The crunchy milk in my cereal! There's really no rhyme or reason. Have a great Wednesday!

Snow Days and Disneyland

Pshew, Monday! And a happy day it is indeed! Except for my daughter that has to return to school today.

With all the snow here in Oklahoma, we had school one day last week, haven't had any mail since Monday and have sucked the grocery stores clean. I am in awe of people. I went grocery shopping last Monday before the first wave of snow hit and people were shopping like they were going to be confined all winter. Sheesh! Plan people, plan.

It will probably be the same today, considering we are supposed to get another 5-10 inches tomorrow. We'll see!

I, personally, had a fabulous time! I made snow ice cream with apple crisp (which was A-mazing!), brownies and sugar cookies. My waistline is not thanking me. Plus lots of comfort foods! Chili, Ham & Beans, Fireside Nachos...YUM! Here is the link to the recipe for Snow Ice Cream from Paula Deen, 3 ingredients and pure delish. Here is the link to the recipe for the apple crisp, one of the best I've had!

Snow Ice Cream
8 cups fresh snow
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together and serve immediately!

Apple Crisp
4 cups sliced apples
1/2 cups light brown sugar (pack it tightly)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
4 Tbsp cold butter (Half a stick)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix with the apples and set aside. In separate bowl mix flour, sugar and oats. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Pour apples into pan, pour crumble on top. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, or until top is light brown.

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The complete opposite of cold is warm, and I was thinking about how nice it would be to visit somewhere warm. 3 years ago my parents took our entire family on a trip to Disneyland. It was their 30th Anniversary (which is the exact same day of Jon's 30th birthday!) and they wanted to celebrate! I, being the bargain hunter I am, wanted to try and save as much money as possible and ended up planning quite a bit of the trip. If you're planning a vacation to Disneyland, here are some things I learned:

**Disney Value Hotel vs. Non-Disney Hotel**
I was thinking I'd save us money by booking a hotel that has a shuttle multiple times a day to and from the parks. It was only about $20 cheaper, but with 2 rooms for 6 nights, that ends up being $240! Well, here's something you find out when you get there. You have to pay $15 a day per room for 'service charges'. There's no way out of it. There goes the big savings. The Disney shuttles came much more often, too. We'd see 2 or 3 shuttles come and go before we saw even 1 for our hotel.

**Dining Plan**
There's no doubt, it's hard to resist the temptation of buying food in the park. Disney offers dining plans when you purchase your tickets that can sometimes be bought at an extremely good rate. Unless you are very disciplined, buy the cheapest plan. We took our own food which worked out pretty great. BUT, there were a few meals that we ate in the park due to fatigue, or we were just plain hungry. What we spent in 2 or 3 meals could've bought a whole plan for half of us. If you have a stroller, it's not a big deal to take your food into the park. But if you don't, you keep the cooler in your car (if you drove) or in your hotel room. Sign up on Disney's website to get their monthly e-mails. In these e-mails you'll get information on the specials they are offering. When their meal plans are on sale, it's in this e-mail.

**Bibbity Bobbity Boutique**

Let me just say, I am frugal so this seemed like such a waste of money. But my mom wanted to do it for the girls, so I'm not going to protest! It is a fairy tale dream come true. From the moment the Fairy Godmother in Training takes your little princess to her makeover, until she leaves...it is an experience they won't forget. The bad? They are in hair, make up and dresses (optional) all day, and when it's hot that's not exactly ideal. The good? It's so amazing for a little girl. If you have $55 to completely blow, spend it on this. So. Fun. For little girls. You can bring your own princess attire so you don't spend an extra $100 on an outfit from the boutique.

**Airfare**
Make sure when you find a great price for a ticket (if you're flying) that the airport is close to you. We made the mistake of getting a great price on a ticket, but had to drive nearly 3 hours to get to the airport. Gas and parking extra cost $75. Unforseen expenses. Had we left from our home airport, we could've had a friend drop us off.

After re-hashing all of this, I want to go again!!!!! So if you're planning a trip to Disneyland, take some of these tips and have a great time!

Ugh To The Flu Bug!

My house is still under it's nasty spell. Although now it's a bit more like an intense cold. I myself and nearing the finish line, but Konnor is about 2 days behind me. Poor baby.

If I could post a mobile picture you could see how pathetic he is.

But for some reason I haven't mastered that yet.

So until tomorrow- don't forget your free Pei Wei, keep budgeting and get ready for a giveaway!