Menu Mondays

The snowstorm knocked out my internet connection, so I will be posting my menu late this week.

Throw A Child's Birthday Party For Less Than $100!

As my son’s third birthday approached I was undecided as to whether or not we would throw him a birthday party. I knew this would probably be the first birthday he would remember, but I wasn’t willing to spend more than $100 either. Two weeks before my baby’s big day the answer came to me via my email inbox.

I subscribe to iamthatlady.com’s “Daily Deals” email. One of the deals for the day was a free clinic at Lowe's where you could bring your child in to build a monster machine or a monster truck for Halloween. You get all the materials you need to build the project (wood, nails, hammer) plus a pair of safety goggles and an apron to take home. I knew this was something my son would love, so I immediately went to Lowe's website to register him. When I got to the registration page I realized you could register up to ten children! Bells went off in my head and I knew my birthday party dilemma had been solved.

I called my close family and friends to invite them and registered ten children. After doing this I saw a flyer for a culinary store in my area featuring a Cake Pop Maker (essentially a waffle iron that makes doughnut holes) for $20.00. The machine comes with recipes and lollipop sticks. There was also a 20% off coupon in the flyer, which would bring the price down to $16.00. This gave me another bright idea. After the clinic at Lowe's we could make cake pops at my house.

I spent about $50 on food, including 6 two-liter bottles of Pepsi Max and Sierra Mist for $0.50 each. I bought the birthday boy two Transformers toys from Target for $2.50 each (on sale for $10.00 – (2) $5.00 Transformers coupons – (1) $5.00 Target coupon = $5.00) and made him a superhero cape with a sheath for his sword ($3.50 for two skeins of yarn).

The children who made it to the clinic at Lowe's had a great time and all want to go back. Everyone loved the cake pops. I made chocolate and vanilla the cake the night before and chocolate and vanilla icing during the party. The guests rolled their cake in the frosting then in rainbow sprinkles. When they were done they put their creations on lollipop sticks and devoured them. I knew the children would enjoy this activity, but was surprised at how much the adults loved it.

The party was a huge success and after spending nearly $75.00 on everything I was under my $100.00 party budget!

The week of my baby’s birthday I received an e-mail from Barnes and Noble with a coupon for a free birthday cupcake. I also had enough Transformers and Target coupons to get two more Transformers for $5.00. On my son’s actual birthday we went on a birthday date after school. We went to Target where we had lunch and he chose the Transformers he wanted. Then we headed over to Barnes and Noble for his cupcake. I spent about $3.00 for lunch, which brought my grand total for this special date to $8.00. The memories my son and I will have are of course… PRICELESS!

Wisdom Wednesdays

Check back each Wednesday for insightful, thought provoking quotes and questions.

"You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people. But until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them." - Iyanla Vanzant from Oprah's Lifeclass

Making Learning Fun Again

My son has always loved to do his “homework.” However, recently he hasn’t wanted to do it. I didn’t want to force him to do it because I didn’t want schoolwork to turn into something negative for him. At the same time I knew that it was important for me to continue to do academics with him regularly. My first reactions were all negative. I felt guilty about not making schoolwork a daily routine. I also felt frustrated with him because combined with not wanting to do the work he seemed to have forgotten things he’d known for over a year. This of course lead back to me blaming myself for not being more consistent.

My husband stepped in as the voice of reason and reminded me of the excellent job I’d already done with our son. He let me know that he was very proud of the wonderful mother I am and told me that the only way I could “mess things up” now was for me to make an activity that had once been fun for both my son and I a chore neither of us wanted to do.

I tried a few educational games and my son still was not interested. At this point I was really frustrated and I felt like a complete failure. Hubby gave me one last talk and I came up with an idea. If our son didn’t want to do his homework I would do my homework. I got one of his workbooks and his pencil box. I sat down at the table and I started working on a page. I told him I was doing my homework, but I was having trouble with a few things. He was instantly interested. Of course he knew all the answers and couldn’t wait to help mommy with her homework.

It’s been about two weeks and my baby’s love for homework has returned. He’s back to asking me to do homework! I now have one more reason to conquer my time management issues once and for all.

Here are links to some Halloween worksheets and crafts.

http://www.education.com/worksheets/preschool/halloween/

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/halloween/?utm_source=EmailDirect.com&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_Creative1_Send-10-15-11

Menu Mondays

Monday: Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

• I make this sauce following Reg927's alterations

Tuesday: Meatloaf w/ Veggies

• I haven't tried this recipe, but it's making my mouth water!

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie

• My hubby loves pie crust and the boxed crust is way too thin, so I use this quick and easy recipe for a thick flaky crust:
• 4 c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 c butter
• 2 egg
• 4 Tbsp cold water
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. Whisk together flour and salt
2. Mix in butter with a fork until small pea sized balls form
3. Whisk together egg, water, and apple cider vinegar
4. Mix with flour mixture until just blended
5. Divide into two
6. Roll out dough on floured surface

Thursday: Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce & Veggies

Friday: Cheeseburgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

• I like add Worcestershire sauce and grated Parmesan cheese to seasoned ground turkey for my burgers
• Add barbeque sauce instead of ketchup
• Top with lettuce and tomato
• Serve on whole wheat buns
• AMAZING!

Saturday: I have a full day this Saturday and won't be home to cook

Product Review: Covergirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm

One of the things I love about couponing is that it gives me the ability to try new products for free or cheap. I used some coupons I had this month to get some Covergirl products free. I got eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss. Two of the glosses I got were NatureLuxe Gloss Balms from Covergirl's new NatureLuxe line.

What I liked:

• The gloss went on very smooth and my lips felt nice and soft.
• It wasn't sticky or heavy
• The color (Clove #280) looked great on me. It was a perfect everyday shade.

What I didn't like:

• This gloss rubs off very easily. It's not a long wear gloss, so I guess this is to be expected
• After the color rubbed off my lips felt very dry.

The verdict:

• This is not a product I would purchase again. I prefer long wear lip color that I don't have to keep reapplying. I also hated how this gloss dried out my lips. I generally do not use lip balm because they tend to be drying. Watch this segment on the Dr. Oz Show to see why. With that said, if you like lip balms this might be a great product for you.

Chicken Strips w/ Macaroni & Cheese & Broccoli

Menu Monday

Monday: Macaroni & Cheese w/ Chicken Strips &Veggies

• My family prefers this mac & cheese without the mustard. 
• Slice your chicken breasts into strips 
• Follow BIZZYSMOM's tip and melt the butter into the breadcrumbs before dipping chicken
• Bake chicken without frying first

Tuesday: Lasagna w/ Garlic Bread

• This bread is delish with or without the mozzarella!

Wednesday: Lemon Pepper Chicken w/ Brown Rice & Veggies

• Season chicken to taste
• Marinate in enough lemon juice to just cover for at least 30 minutes
• Saute or bake

Thursday: Black Bean Chili w/ Brown Rice

• 1 lb Ground turkey
• 1 can (15 oz) Black beans
• 1 jar (16 oz) Salsa

1. Season meat to taste
2. Saute until cooked
3. Add beans and salsa
4. Simmer until heated through

• I like to use my pressure cooker for this dish

Friday: Teriyaki Chicken w/ Brown Rice & Veggies

• I have quite a few Ken's teriyaki marinades I got on sale a few months ago.
• Pour
• Refrigerate
• Saute

Saturday: New Recipe Night!

• Every Saturday my older son and I try a new recipe together. This week's selection is Penne with Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese from the Barnes and Noble cookbook, Chicken: Over 400 fabulous Recipes For All Occasions.