Snacks

I have this bad habit of snacking at night when the kids are all asleep. I think part of it is I can get a snack without having to get anyone else one, and without sharing with anyone! Here are my top 10 favorite things to snack on, in no particular order:
1. Cinnamon toast
2. Cereal, especially Cheerios with bananas on top
3. Hot chocolate
4. Cottage cheese with pineapple
5. Chocolate in any form
6. Trail mix
7. Tea
8. PBJ
9. Ice cream
10. Crackers and cheese

Things I got for under $1.00 . . .

. . . at Walgreens:
Halls cough drops (only $0.64, on sale and with coupon)
Three 2 packs of baby food ($0.50 each, also on sale/coupon)
Softsoap lavendar & camomile hand soap ($0.64 with sale/coupon)
Garnier Fructis shampoo (was $6.99, but will be free after rebate, plus I had $1.00 coupon so I'll actually make $1.00 on this!)
Colgate Advance Total toothpaste (was $2.99, will be free after rebate, plus I had a $0.75 coupon to make $0.75 on this)

I bought some other things and spent $28.55, but will have over $15.00 in rebates coming back.

Have you tried shopping at Walgreens yet?

Toaster Strudel

Target has grocery coupons on their website, and a couple weeks ago they had one for 75 cents off Toaster Strudel:I also found 50 cents off coupons in the Sunday paper.

My Target sells the Toaster Strudel for $1.67. After using both coupons, each box was only 42 cents. Not bad! My favorite flavor, by the way, is cherry.

Library Fines

You've heard the saying penny wise, pound foolish? Well that's how I felt today when I realized I forgot to renew our library books online last Friday, so over the past week I've accrued $25.00 in library fines! I called the library to ask for leniency and was transferred to the man in charge of collections. He was nice enough to grant me a one time courtesy and took the fees down to about $15.00. Now there's a note in my account, though, so I can never ask for a one-time courtesy again. Don't worry, I don't plan on needing it! He was nice about it, and said I wouldn't believe how many fines he's had to pay the library over time. I think I'll just have to consider the $15 payment a donation to the library.

Walgreens

I went to Walgreens today and got some pretty good deals.

Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner was on sale for 3/$20. Not a great deal, but I had a coupon to buy 2, get 1 free. So then the shampoo/conditioner was 3/$13.33, or about $4.44 per bottle. Walgreens also has something called Register Rewards, so after I paid I got a receipt for $10.00 off my next shopping trip. This is almost like paying 3/$3.33 for the shampoo/conditioner, or $1.11 each.



Next I found an Aquafresh Dr. Seuss toothbrush. The weekly Walgreens ad had the toothbrushes on sale for $0.99. I also had a coupon for $0.75 off, so the toothbrush was only $0.24.



Finally, I bought some Trident Splash gum that was on sale for $0.59 each. I had a coupon to buy 1 get 1 free, and they took $1.09 off (the regular price) for the free one, so I got two packs of gum for $0.09.



I paid first with my Walgreens giftcard that had $6.59 on it from last month's rebates (more on these in another post). After that, I only had to pay $8.62 for a bottle of shampoo, 2 bottles of conditioner, a toothbrush and 2 packs of gum--AND I got $10.00 back for next time!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

The kids and I went with my mom to a local Pumpkin Patch today. They also had a petting zoo, pumpkin painting and produce for sale. Remy got scared by a goat, but quickly recovered. Raina insisted on being the one to pull the wagon through the pumpkin patch. She's a very determined little girl! The weather was great, so when we got home we played outside in the leaves.

Soup's On

Cold air has arrived in Minnesota! We eat soup almost once a week through the chilly fall and winter, and tonight we had black bean soup and cornbread. Nothing like a bowl of soup to warm you up from the inside! Here's the recipe:

2 cans black beans, undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic (I was going to just add some garlic powder, but I forgot)
1 jar (16 oz.) thick and chunky salsa
4 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. ground cumin

Place 1 can beans with liquid and chicken broth in blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth. Coat large saucepan with cooking spray (I used veg. oil). Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 4-5 minutes or until onion is tender.

Add blended bean mixture, remaining beans and liquid, salsa, lime juice and cumin. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cover.

Cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream if desired.

The recipe is from Very Best Baby magazine, I think from when Jackson was a baby. They have many more recipes at verybestbaby.com/recipes.

On the Move

Remy is officially crawling now. The search for all small toys and objects has now begun. So far he's found Raina's snack, a plant, a pencil, the remote a couple times, and he made a beeline for Jackson's pile of cars when he saw them. I think we'll be picking up more often throughout the day now!

Princessing

Raina coined a new word today. I asked her to sit down for supper, and she said, "But mom, I'm princessing!" She had on a dress and sunglasses and was twirling in a circle, or 'princessing'.

First Post!

I'll start this blog out with a simple, kid-friendly recipe.:

Cheeseburger Pie

1 lb. hamburger
1-6 oz. can tomato paste
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tubes crescent rolls
1-2 cups pizza cheese

Brown hamburger; add Italian seasoning, tomato paste and sauce. Great 9 x 13 pan. Layer crescent rolls. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Add hamburger mixture and top with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

We had this tonight with salads and the extra 1/2 can of crescent rolls.