Pledge Fabric Sweeper

I am a BzzAgent and every so often I am able to join a campaign that allows me to try out a new product, tell others about it and share how much I like the product. This time it is the Plege Fabric Sweeper.

When we first got the product, we were headed out of the house..I was anxious to try it, so I tried it on my hubby's coat which had a tiny amout of cat hair on it. The sweeper did not work. Hmmm...perhaps it needed to be tried on something bigger.

So, I tried it the next day on my couch...nothing...maybe one piece of hair-that was it! Nothing...I thought maybe my cats do not lay on my couch as much as I think (they really do not-they lay on the blankets on the couch, or our laps :)

In come the kids! "I want to try it! "Let me do it!"  I sent them off...Katy was first. Her loft was a favorite place for one of our cats. She came back to show me the sweeper and WOW!! I was amazed. It was atleast 1/4 full of hair! Then, it went off with Josh to his room-another second favorite cat place--he came back with it filled even more! It was working-you just have to find the areas which have cat hair ;) They said it did a great job cleaning up the hair. Obviously, it was easy to use-just slide it back and forth in small movements.

Jessica tried it the next day-on her black clothes (she is into wearing black right now-thank goodness she looks cute in it with her red hair). It really did an amazing job at cleaning cat hair off her shirt and pants... and she used it, so it was easy for her.

So, if you have cats or dogs, it might be a good little gadget to have in your house. I know there are other things you can use, but it is hard to vaccuum a comforter-lol! And, this did work easier than say tape wrapped around your hand or one of those lint rollers.

Here is a link to Pledge where you can learn more about the Fabric Sweeper and other Pledge products (you might even find coupons ;)

Curtains...

I was actually able toi finish Katy's curtains yesterday and I also whipped out Josh's curtain in no time (it was just one straight stitch across the top to make a pocket for the curtain rod).

This is Katy's curtain. This cost me 75 cents for the material and it was just enough to make a cute ruffle on the top. Very easy to make--I just hemmed the top about 2 1/2 inches, then, used the rod I was going to hang it with to measure how big the pocket needed to be...and straight stitched across that...Of course, I hemmed the sides and the bottom.

This is Josh's curtain...the one on the right is a panel I bought at Walmart for $4.50-a sheer curtain that was too sheer for him to have by itself...so I was on the look out for a darker curtain he could hang over the sheer and use for privacy (atleast until we get some mini blinds a friend has for us). The curtain on the left is the one I made from a clearanced black linen table cloth (this was one of the $2 ones I found at Garden Ridge). All I did was straight stitch about a 1 inch hem across the long end (to make it long enough for the window) and hung it on the curtain rod (honestly-it took me more time to hang the curtain than it did to make it-lol). It doesn't look like a darker curtain in this picture, but I assure you, it is. One great thing we found when we hung it was when the sunlight shines through, there are red highlights in the material...his room has a red curtain and his comforter on his bed is red on one side and black on the other...pretty neat!

So, all together, these two curtains probably cost me under $5 to make :) Nice since it can cost more than that to buy one nice sheer panel from the store!! Not only that, but Josh will not need mini blinds which saves me even more!! Very Nice!!

Freezer Cooking

My good friend has turned me back on to freezer cooking. We don't do alot of outside activities here right now, but there are those days where I am so worn out, I really do not want to do anything-especially cooking! So, to have something in the freezer I can just pull out and heat up is wonderful-I know this, I do...lol! I did this with my last two pregnancies and it worked wonderfully! It never seemed to fail, that as I was making dinner, the baby would want to eat...then the other kids would be grouchy because they were hungry--or they would want to snack...so I made sure I was ready with the last two babies after they were born.

It doesn't take alot and no, you do not have to have abig deep freeze! It is nice to have that, but if you plan things well, you can easily do this with just the freezer above your fridge! Putting things in baggies and getting all the air out, then laying them flat to freeze helps to make alot of room.

I don't have time for this? You don't? Sure ya do! You can start small with Freezer Cooking, or Once a Month Cooking, and work your way up if you want :) Or stay small-doesn't matter :) I used to just make a big batch of spaghetti sauce. Im already makign sauce, so to just triple the recipe was no big deal--and when I was done, I had atleast 2 more meals to put in the freezer. This can be used for whatever you use your sauce for-spaghetti, an Italian cassarole, lasagna, etc...
Make an extra lasagna or two. SOme folks even make it in a container that fits their crockpot. Line your container with foil or plastic wrap, then place your lasagna in there and freeze. When frozen, take your lasagna out, wrap it well and place back in the freezer. On the day you want it, remove, place in crock pot, and go :) Of course, use the recipe you usually would use for your lasagana.
That is the beauty of freezer cooking...you can find many things you already eat to double or triple and, then freeze for another meal. I am even instilling this idea into my kids for when they are on their own--as well as the beauty of crockpotting ;)

Some things I have done in the past and plan to start up again are :
precooked hamburger meat
burrito/taco meat
ranch chicken
boneless skinless chicken breasts in marinade (buy during a good sale)
sloppy joe meat
meatballs
meatloaf
muffins
pancakes
Chicken BBQ
pizza dough
precooked rice/fried rice
sticky chicken
precooked shredded or cubed chicken
precooked turkey
tortilla soup
chicken chili
regular chili

Im sure there are other things I am leaving out, but you get the idea :)

There are lots if sites that deal with freezer cooking-and many blogs. You can find two in the cooking section of my blog roll on the right. Here are a couple more if you are interested in learning more:
http://organizedhome.com/freezer-cooking-guide (this has a start small section)
http://www.momsbudget.com/freezercooking/index.html
http://www.dinnersinthefreezer.com/
http://snider.mardox.com/OAMC.htm (tons of recipes and great info to get started-plus a YahooGroup to joinand learn more!)
http://www.freezersmarts.com/index.php?pr=Recipes

In my freezer right now, since Im just getting back into this, is a meatloaf waiting for some day this week to be cooked up (I just made the mix with the hamburger and put it into a baggie for another day), lots of shredded turkey, turkey broth for soups, and some beans that I cooked up for chicken chili-I made a big batch of beans, using some for dinner that particular evening and the rest to be saved for future meals.

Goal Setting Sunday-a day late...

I didn't get all my fridge cleaned out..will finish that sometime this week, I hope :) It is packed pretty full from our shopping this weekend, so it might be next week.

I have lots of little messes around the house that need to be straightened up, so that is my goal this week. I also need to make curtains...I need to finish up Katy's which I only have a panel to go and thenhang them. But, on Saturday, I went to our local Garden Ridge and they had tons of great linen table clothes on sale. I got some 52 x 72 sized ones and will use them to make curtains for our front window, our bathroom window, and my sons' bedroom window :) They were only $2 and $3 each, so you cannot beat that for curtains! Then, on Sunday, at our local Walmart, I was able to find some pretty beaded trim which goes perfectly with my front window curtain material--I will use that as a tie back. It will add soem neat interest to the material-it only cost me 63 cents for a yard --they are in the process of getting rid of all fabrics and trims, so this was 75% off! YAY! Now, I need to get these all sewed and hung!!

Applesauce Muffins

I made these this week Delightful Apple Spice Muffins and the kids loved them! I doubled the recipe and 1 cup of my mixture was made up of whole whet flour, ground flax (about 2 TBS worth of the cup) and oats. When I make these again, I will try it with brown sugar instead of white. Also, I was running out of applesauce (which I made from some apples ONE of my kids -won't say which one-did not eat-take a bite and decide they do not want it-nope-not gonna fly...I cut out the bitten part and used the apple to make applesauce quickly in the microwave) so I added in one banana.

This recipe made us lots of muffins-I have about 18 regular sized muffins and 24 mini muffins :)

Good Deal at Reasor's

If you like A&W or other 7-Up products, Reasor's has them on sale 10/$10...but, some of the bottles have coupons-$1 off either a 12 pack or 2 2-liters :) That is like B1G1 Free on 2 liters or 2 for $1 :) However you want to look at it ;)
Also, once again, the Food Pyramid on 51st and Memorial still has lots of markdowns...I got 2 packages of Almond Bark (Best Choice) for 50 cents each-they had alot left-both chocolate and white..think that type is called white-lol!

Adli Lowered Cheese Prices

Aldi has lowered the prices of their cheeses--YAY! I estimated I could save atleast $6 per shopping trip. I usually buy the big 2 lb bags of shredded cheese for about $7.18...this was the ebst price I could get for awhile around our area unless there was a good sale-which I really have not seen in a long time :(
But, Aldi has beaten that. I just can't wait for my next shopping trip-just to save on cheese (Im weird, I know-but we eat lots of cheese here!)
Here is a link to the sales ad-Aldi

Sliced American or Swiss cheese (individual wrapped slices)-was $1.99, now $1.49

16 oz bag of Shredded Mozzarella-$3.29 (I do not rmember the original price because I have not purchased this cheese in awhile from Aldi, but a 32 oz bag from Walmart was $7.18 here, so that is a savings of 60 cents when I buy two bags of the Aldi cheese)

Deli Slices-was $2.09 and are now $1.69--savings of 40 cents

Food Pyramid and Reasor's Sales this week

Remember to check out their weekly ads yourself, before heading down, as I could have missed something or my sales are for the Tulsa area only :)

Food Pyramid:
3 lb bag of frozen b/s chicken breast or tenders-$4.99
red or green seedless grapes-89 cents/lb
Lots of b1G1 on front page and page 2 - http://www.foodpyramidonline.com/pages/adscroll.php?sid=&store=61&percentx=100&percenty=100&quality=90&dir_name=2009-02-18/&theFile=pg1_all.jpg
Ground Chuck-$1.99/lb
Check through the ads in the B1GO areas and look through your coupons-FP doubles up to 50 cents, and I know there are coupons for General Mills or even Cheerios in previous coupons from Jan and even Feb :) Im sure you can find coupons for some of the other B1G1 items too!


Reasors:
Tony's Pouches-4 for $5-about $1.25 each
Nectarines and peaches-$1.29/lb
zuchinni-99 cents/lb

Wow--pretty short list for us-lol! Not a whole lot that I saw...I usually hit Reasor's anyway to buy cat food (they have a brand my cats will only eat now since I started getting them that free cat food-lol) and our dog food. Also, I am usually able to buy bags of bananas that are marked down to $1.39 per bag (and when I weigh the bags, I usually am able to get a bag that weighs a good 5 lbs :) These are still good to eat, the skins are just speckled, so they mark them down! And, if the kids don't eat them quick enough--in the freezer they go for banana muffins, bread, or even smoothies :)

Walmart Giveaway

Go to $5 DinnersWalmart Giveaway and enter to win a $25 gift card to Walmart :) Who couldn't use an extra $25 at Walmart?! I would love to win this prize...I think I would use it to buy me a special little treat for my b-day and stock up with the extra money left over :) What would you use it for? Head on over to enter and share :) Also, don't forget to check out all the good vittles you can cook up for $5 or less! I have gotten many yummy recipes :)
Also, $5 Dinners also has a terrific once a week post going with Bargin Meal of the Week -each week the best deals for dinner using store sales ads are posted..there are several stores posted so you are sure to find atleast one in your area!

Homeschool Freebie Of The Day-Great Resource

I have been on this email list for quite a few months now--once a week, they send out a "Heads Up" which alerts you to freebies they will have during the week. You head to their website on the day (or days) you wish to get the Homeschool freebie and follow the link to the download :) I have had atleast one good freebie each week that I have downloaded to use or save for our homeschooling! It's terrific!! Here is a list of this weeks freebies, as well as a link to their website, so you too can sign up! It is worth it to sign up, because they will also send a great freebie to their subscribers-only members of the list (which is free, don't forget) are able to get this bonus freebie :)

Monday, Feb 16th:


Great President's Day Resource Links! (links)



Want to make the most of President's Day? Check out these

Lesson Plans, virtual tours, poetry & the actual papers

of presidents Washington & Lincoln!





Tuesday, Feb 17th:

A Chinese Wonder Book (PDF ebook)



This fascinating collection of Chinese stories and legends,

edited by Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, is a great

literature-based introduction to the rich history and

culture of China. Includes a read-aloud guide.





Wednesday, Feb 18th:

"Harriet Tubman & the Railway to Freedom" (MP3 audio)



A classic old time radio dramatization of the story of

Harriet Tubman and the activities of

the "underground railroad" during slave years.





Thursday, Feb 19th:

Blessed Is The Man: High School Unit Study Sampler (PDF ebook)



"Blessed is the Man" is a wonderful High School Unit Study

geared to Christian young men, and based on Psalm 1.

Today's resource is this extensive 74 page preview

of the complete four year curriculum - normally $10 on the

publisher's website - but yours to download today!

If you have growing boys in your household, DON'T MISS THIS!





Friday, Feb 20th:

Creatively Simple: How to Make Butter in the Blender (PDF ebook)



Learning to make butter is something everyone should do at least once.

This simple ebook by Penny Raine can teach you how, using items you

probably already have in your kitchen. Detailed instructions and lots of

pictures.



You can get all of these on their respective days at



http://www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com/



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Goal Setting Sunday

I made my goal this week as far as staightening up some of the books--as I said earlier in the week, I found my bookshelf to be too small to set the books straight up, so I had to make them lay down instead...Once I am able to get a bigger bookshelf, I will have all the books organized :)

I also got the Christmas boxes put up in our bedroom closet. Now, my hear husband needs to get the tree put away :)

This week, I plan to clean out our fridge...not just of any old food-lol-but scrubbed down and clean :) With kids, there seems to be a never ending 'something sticky' spilled in the fridge...so that needs to get taken care of. I also want to get into the freezer and clean it up, as well as organize it.

I told my hubby he made me miss getting online this morning to post my Goal Setting earlier...he got online first thing today :) He promises he is going to get me a license plate for our Durango that says "BLOGGIN" :) I think that sounds just fine ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

My daughter, Laura, loves her Play Dough and she made this for Valentine's Day for my blog :) Wasn't that sweet?

Another Great Homeschool Resource!

Donna Young
I love Donna Young's site. I know I can go there and print out the right size graph paper I need for my child who is learning a new math concept and needs to have their rows lined up perfectly :) I know I can go there and find a good schedule for my kids who are doing Apologia sciences. I know I can go there for advice on homeschooling my high schooler! And, all for free, from a veteran HS mom! There are tons of terrific resources from Donna Young...I suggest you check it out-and even if you do not need anything on there today, keep this site in your favorites to refer back to later on...You won't be sorry!

Spring Fever!

Yesterday was gorgeous! It seemed so much warmer than what the Weather said it was..lovely! And there was a nice breeze going. So, about 11 am, I hung out my laundry on the line...I made myself a goal to get two loads hung and dry before any rain set in (storms were forcasted later in the day) or before night came :) I did it! All by about 4 pm--that is how nice of a day it was!

I also got some other things done, even after doing school work with the kids! I started on the school books and quickly discovered their books (most of them anyway) were too tall for the shelves..so I need to get a different bookshelf and use that one for other, shorter books...not a big deal. But, I did get that side of the room more organized anyway ;)

I also got the kids to clean the playroom-it was a mess! Not sure how, since the kids rarely play in there. But, there was a lot of cumbled paper, some stuff from my sewing at Christmas (it was in a bag to be thrown away, but someone knocked it down and the scraps get tossed around), and some other things...it just needed a quick clean. So, I told the kids "Let's see how much of the playroom we can get cleaned in 15 minutes. I will set the timer and we will all work together..when the timer goes, we will stop no matter what is left to clean up". The kids thought this was great! I think given the option to stop no matter what made them happy. They worked hard, so perhaps they even wanted to 'race the clock". Some complained, but mostly they worked very hard. We got the room picked up, swept and some things put away, all before the timer even went off. My oldest son did the math on how much time was left on the timer--we had 1 minute and 46 seconds :)

Yes, I think I had Spring Fever yesterday...but, it was wonderful! Now, we will not be that warm for the next week, but atleast I took good advantage of my restlessness (if I could have planted a garden, I would have done that all day instead ;)...

Great Homeschool Resource-Clickschooling

I have been a member of Clickschooling for a while now. I really love the different links Diane Keith sends out. She also has other informational emails for homeschooling-like Carschooling (ideas for learning while in the car-great for homeschoolers or those families who take car trips alot :), curriculum ideas, etc...
Here is a description to Clickschooling from Diane Flynn Keith:

ClickSchooling <http://www.clickschooling.com/> - Get free,daily, web-based curriculum ideas that save you time and moneyand boost your kids' knowledge of the world. The free reviewsare sent in a daily email, Monday through Saturday, that arefocused on a specific subject as follows:* Monday = Math * Tuesday = Science * Wednesday = Language Arts * Thursday = Social Sciences * Friday = Virtual Field Trip * Saturday = Electives: Music, Art, & LanguagesThe sites include excellent information delivered in astudent-friendly, multi-media format, and often contain freeinteractive games as well as printable lessons and materialsthat can be tweaked to your needs and interests whether youare homeschooling, unschooling, or after-schooling. Manyteachers use these recommended resources in the classroom aswell. Most of the sites are suitable for a wide age range.Subscribe to ClickSchooling (by visitinghttp://www.clickschooling.com/) and start getting the latestreviews for free. You can also search the content-rich ClickSchooling archiveshere: <http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/archive.asp>

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If you are a homeschooler (or perhaps, you are interested in learning more about homeschooling, how to get started or you are a parent/grandparent who enjoys doing fun things with their kids) please check out this site and sign up for the newsletter!! You won't be disappointed!

Valentine's Day Ideas

Need some inspiration for the upcoming LOVE holiday? Maybe your kids need some inspiration. I just saw a brief article on a local news cast in which a whole town makes the week of Valentine's Day a week of giving to others...doing something nice...How sweet is that? It can be driving courteously, holding a door for someone, doing something good for the environment, donating clothing, etc...If a police officer sees you driving politely, you might get pulled over--not to be issued a ticket, but a gift certificate-how cool is that? Of course, these are practices we should keep in mind all year long, but it helps when your whole town is giving you the reminder :)

Here are some links for some really cute Valentine card holders:
Thrifty Fun
Valentine Box Ideas For Kids
Creative Valentine Boxes
Conversation Heart Mailbox

Craft Ideas, Card Ideas, well, Other Valentine's Day Ideas :)
Valentine's Day Chocolate Curriculum-YUM!
Family Fun's Valentine Section
The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Valentines-Day All Recipes
Dollar Stretcher Save On Valentine's Day Articles
Betty Crocker  (they have a Valentine's section and a For the Love of Chocolate section-yum!)
Very Best Baking from Nestle
DLTK-Kids Valentine's Ideas

Shopping Notebook Pictures

Here ya go...This is the front-basic lil binder from Walmart (or any other store :)

This is the inside-front...This particular notebook has two pockets in the front and back insides of the binder. I like this better than the ones with the single pocket. It allows more places to put things like my pen, my coupon cutting scissors, and any other things I might need. I also like to keep calendars for the current month and the next to keep up with planning meals, special days or even keeping track of paydays.

Here is my paper-pretty basic here-lol! This is where I write my list (on the right paper) and make my menu for the two weeks (on the left paper). I accidentally purchased a small notebook than my first one. My old notebook was a 2 inch binder. This new one is 1 1/2 in. Not a big deal, but I did discover that the 70 ct notebook I use to plan in was too big to fit in the new binder. I like to use the 70 ct notebook because it holds the paper and I don't lose pages. I often like to refer back to previous menus to keep track of what we have eaten recently and mix things up a bit. I am noticing, even already, that just using paper (notebook paper or, as I did, ripping the pages out of my 70 ct notebook) can leave you with weak pages as you go along with your planning down the road. So, if you plan to do this, I highly suggest at least a 2 inch binder...This allows you a good amount of room to hold your paper and your plastic trading card pages...

Below is a picture of the sort of trading cards pages I bought. Each page has nine pockets. I only use the front of each page-this, to me, makes it less hard to pull out a coupon that I do not intend to come out...does that make sense? If I put the coupons back to back in the pockets, I might accidentally pull out the other coupon when I am only intending to get the one on top...
And, lastly, here is a picture of one of my coupon pages-sort of a close up to show how I just slide the coupons into the pocket...Coupon won't fit? Fold it a bit to make it fit. Some coupons, even when folded, are a bit long...that's ok, place them into a pocket within the 2nd or 3rd rows. Doing this means they will not hang out of your binder and get ruined. I was worried the coupons would not go in and out easily, but after my big coupon shopping trip to Walmart yesterday, I have to say I was very pleased with my new set up :)

Goal Setting Sunday

I enjoyed my week off :) It was not a complete week off as I still had laundry mountains to maintain, dishes to wash and food to cook :) But, it was wonderful to not have to worry about a goal I had made and getting it done!

I plan to work on my bedroom this week. Especially our school books and the clothes sitting upon my dresser. I also still need to get the Christmas boxes put away!! I am probably going to put them up in our closet--all but the tree which is too heavy for me to pick up-lol! But, the boxes are driving me crazy and my hubby keeps doing other things, so he never gets to helping me with this...imagine the gall-doing other things and not helping me-geesh! :)

I also promised pics on my blog...I promise to post pics of my shopping notebook right after this post. I also promise that next Sunday, I will have pics of the cake balls I make for Valentine's Day...these won't be as pretty as Bakerella's because I know my lil (and big) kids will want to help out....They won't be beautiful, but they will be made with love and they will be making a memory :)

Great Mark Downs at a Food Pyramid

If you live in the Tulsa Area and can head over to the Food Pyramid at 51st and Memorial, you might want to go check out some baskets of mark downs they had. These are products they are discontinuing in their store...I was able to get two Glade Scented Oil Candles for $2 each--and I had two $3 off coupons-so they paid me ;) The store also had bags of candy melts marked down to 50 cents-I think there were only chocolate and red, but there might have been white as well. Great deal! I also got some hair products (shampoo, conditioner, kids' 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, and other things) for 50 cents-$1 :) These are all name brand products, not store brand, so a terrific deal! Their milk is on sale right now too-not hormone free, but if you don't mind that-it is $2.59 per gallon :) I did notice Aldi's milk, which IS hormone free, has dropped under $3 now :) I think the price was 2.83 (wish I had written it down but it was right around that at my local Aldi). Nice to see some prices dropping!! Can't wait to see cheese come down!!
Oops--quick edit to this posting...I found all these mark downs right by the pharmacy, toward the back of the store. Thought that might be helpful so you are not wandering all around-hopefully they are still in that area ;) There were many items (many I have not even mentioned above) so I do not think they would be sold out today :) Have a blessed day!

Shopping Notebooks-again

I mentioned before how I use a binder to make my shopping list and hold my coupons, scissors I use for coupon clipping (so I can hide them from my kids-lol), a calendar of the current and next month, and my menu ideas. It also holds some recipes I look back at so I can remember the ingredients.

Well, yesterday I treated myself to a new binder!! Yes, I did :) It is my favorite color-purple. I got a 1 1/2 inch size, but after I got home, I was wishing I had bought the 2 inch...but I will keep this one :) I also purchased some trading card pocket pages. These are the plastic sheets with pockets that usually you would use for trading cards...there are nine pockets on each side of the page....

Why, you ask? I am using these pages to hold my coupons. I was concerned the coupons would not go in easily, or that they might get stuck, but I have to tell you, it works wonderfully! I can see my coupons easily and flip through them without worrying about dropping any as I go down the isles shopping! I haven't tried it out yet, but will get he chance today at Reasors.

My husband made a comment as I was organizing my notebook to be sure I remember where I placed them...had that covered, Honey! For me, it is easiest to remember the set up of Walmart's isles...and since that is the place I use most of my coupons right now, I arranged them all according to the way my Walmart is set up and the way I take my trip through their store. It would be easy for anyone to arrange these pages in any way that would help them.

Also, I love to keep the coupons I plan to use for that particular shopping session (my shopping is usually made up of two days-one day to Aldi, Reasors, Food Pyramid (if I will hit the sales at those stores) and the bread store. Then, the next day, I go to Walmart. It is less stressful for me if I have the kids and easier on them as well :) So, I might as well call these trips as a shopping session ;) But, I took two empty pocket pages and placed them before all the other pocket pages. Inside those pockets I placed all the coupons I plan to use, including any Register Rewards I might have for Walgreen's. Some coupons in there are for products that might be new and I want to check out--if the savings are good enough. This way, I don't forget the coupons and lose out on what might have been a good deal for a new product :)

I will take some pictures soon-camera batteries are charging again...gee, you would think I would treat myself to some new batteries too!!

Unplanned Shopping Trips

You know those trips, right? The ones you take to the store to get a couple things and end up leaving with way more than you planned. We ran out of coffee quicker than usual this pay period, so we took a quick trip to the store. I was tired yesterday, too, so I wanted to get something I really would not have to make for dinner...heh-cereal-lol! Ok, don't tell me you have never done this...ok, maybe you haven't-lol! Daddy's home this week, so this was a fun, silly meal...but mostly, because mommy was tired :/

So, coffee, cereal, and milk...that turned into some cough syrup too (the kids have a cough)-no big deal...but, then it turned into Hot Wheels for the boys-even Daddy... and then a treat for the one girl who came with us-the boys got something, so she wanted something...ugh!! Then, Mommy wanted something-lol! Ok, not for me but for someone else and I cannot say what it is because that person reads my blog...

Unplanned trips can SO add to your budget-or, I guess, take away! We didn't need those Hot Wheels, or other treats. Yes, I had leftovers in the fridge that could have been eaten last night--we should have eaten those instead. Perhaps, then, it would have only been the coffee we would have come home with and save over $20!

Cake Balls

I made Cake Balls for the Super Bowl on Sunday. I used this recipe: Cake Balls

I made a dark chocolate fudge cake (using cake mix-I think it was Duncan Hines) and I used Pilsbury's Chocolate Fudge frosting. To dip the balls, I used almond bark from Aldi. This was a really easy recipe and made a ton of balls! The almond bark melted nicely in the microwave and I used pretty much all of the blocks-I have one left over. The recipe calls for one whole can of frosting, but I tell you, I read through the reviews on this recipe and decided to try just a half of a can. I pretty much eye-balled it and when the cake/frosting mixture got to where I could easily mold the mixture into balls, I stopped adding frosting. Then, I put the mixture into the fridge for not quite an hour (I was not being patient-lol). After the mixture was cooled sufficiently, I started making my balls, placing them onto wax paper which was on a cookie sheet. I also took a tip to put toothpicks into the balls. Then, after they were all balled out and toothpicked, I placed the cookie sheet into the freezer for about an hour (again, not being too patient-lol). I melted the almond bark when I was ready to dip and started dipping-not tips here...just get in there and do it. I did find that using s spoon to pour the almond bark over the balls worked nicely though.
I placed these back in the freezer to harden the bark quickly and then I took them off the cookie sheet, placed them into a container, covered them and placed them in the fridge until half time :) My family loved these! They could not get enough...there were even enough left over the next day for the kids to have one at lunch and for us to have a treat that evening!

You can make these balls using a multitude of different combinations! I have seen red devil's food and cream cheese frosting dipped in white. How about strawberry cake with maybe strawberry or vanilla frosting with chocolate almond bark or candy melts. You can even tint your almond bark if you wish :) My combo almost tasted like an Oreo cookie :) Next time I think I would like to add a tad bit of almond extract to the cake before it bakes to up the flavor of the chocolate a bit.

I never thought to take a pic before these got devoured...But, I can assure you, I will be making these again and I will take a pic. My 2nd oldest dd wants these for her birthday, and I think she wants the strawberry mixture. I think there might be a chance I will make these for my b-day this month ( I will be 29 again-how about that?!) and try a chocolate mint mixture of some sort since I love chocolate with mint!!

By the way, I have to thank my friend for turning us on to these :) She saw them on Pioneer Woman and on Bakerella-both of which you can find in my blog lists to the right.

Goal Setting Sunday

Well, my desk is still badly neglected :( I did make big batches of muffins and waffles, though. Eric is off this week, so I am not sure I will make any goals this week. We do not have much in plans, but I would like to just enjoy his time off...so, I guess my goal is to enjoy my husband's vacation :)