Pamida Freebies

Last week, Pamida had double coupons up to and including $1.00. I decided to check it out to see what I could get for cheap or free. Here's what I found:
Two 6 packs of Nestle hot cocoa for $1.19 each, $1 coupon doubled to $2.00, $0.19 per box
Suave deoderant for $1.29, $0.75 coupon doubled, "got back" $0.21
Suave shampoo and conditioner (family size) for 2/$3, $1.00 coupon doubled, $0.50 per bottle
Pop Tarts 8 pack for $2.19, $1.00 coupon doubled, $0.19 for the box
No Nonsense black nylons for $1.69, $1.00 coupon doubled, got back $0.31
Life Savers Gummies for $2.09 and $1.79, $1.00 coupon doubled, got back $0.12 for the two bags.
Net total was under $1.00 for all of the above.

Then I went next door to Super One for a few groceries and got:
One pound butter free for buying 5 Pillsbury biscuit/roll products (which were $1.28 each after coupons)
Marshmallows free for buying 2 boxes of Swiss Miss hot cocoa
Cool Whip for $0.55 (on sale for $0.88, plus coupon for $1 off 2 Jell-O pudding and 1 Cool Whip)
Jell-O pudding for $0.59 each (on sale for 4/$2.50, plus above coupon)
Green Giant Steamers free (on sale for $1.00 each, had 2 $1.00 off coupons).

Halloween 2008

Here are the kids dressed in their Halloween clothes:


and in their costumes (Jackson as a MN Wild player, Raina the Vikings cheerleader, Remy the duck or chicken--you decide).


We had mummy dogs and witch fingers with gloppy dip, plus spider cupcakes to eat before we went trick or treating at the AmericInn. Local businesses set up stations in the motel rooms, and the kids just go from room to room collecting candy. It's a nice way to do things, so we don't have to drive around and have the kids outside walking door to door. It seemed like the whole town turned out for the event!


The Halloween candy is dwindling. I'm sure we've all eaten too much this week, but soon all the best stuff will be gone and it will be forgotten.

Baby Update

I had another prenatal check and ultrasound this week. Everything continues to look good. The baby's about 4 lb. 10 oz. and still has a hand up by the face. The ultrasound tech is very good about asking if I know if it's a boy or girl, and since I don't, she tells me when to look away so I don't accidentally see something that would give it away.
I'll go to the clinic in Two Harbors in two weeks, then back to Duluth 2 weeks after that. When I made the Duluth appointment, the date will be December 2nd--just a little over two weeks until the due date! That's coming very quickly.
In case you need some interpretation: you're seeing the side of the baby's face, one eye clearly, and the nose, with the arm/hand in front of the face.

Kiblin

The other night before bed Remy and Raina were playing with the play food and kitchen. I noticed Remy unzip his jammies and put a piece of the play food down the leg of the PJs. I didn't think much of it until I picked him up and felt lumpy legs. I unzipped the pajamas and proceeded to pull out no less than 20 pieces of play food, a crayon, and a fast food bobble head toy. I can't imagine he would have slept well with all that stuff in there.
And Kiblin? That's Raina's second name for Remy.

Parmesan Drumsticks

Now, I don't really like chicken dark meat, but sometimes legs and thighs go on sale, and it's hard to pass up a good deal. I found a really good recipe for Parmesan Drumsticks in my Saving Dinner cookbook (by Leanne Ely of Flylady fame) that the whole family likes.
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 T. olive oil
12 chicken drumsticks, no skin (I usually leave the skin on as it's too time consuming and tedious to remove)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper.
Line shallow baking pan with foil.
In a small frying pan, melt butter and oil together (I do this in the microwave). Dip each drumstick in the butter mixture, then in the cheese mixture, and place on the foil-lined pan.
Bake drumsticks for one hour or until chicken is completely cooked.
The outside comes out nice and crispy while it's moist on the inside.
We usually have mashed potatoes and a veggie with this.

Family Movie Night

This weekend we had a family movie night. Since most of us were either coming down with or getting over a cold, it was a good night to stay in together. The kids watched some episodes of Curious George while we got the "Nacho Bar" ready. Our toppings included taco meat, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole dip, black olives and sour cream. While we were eating, we watched Bee Movie. Then the kids went to bed and Barry and I watched Cleaner (well, I tried, but kept falling asleep).

Fall

Fall is definitely in the air. Highs have been been in the 60's, Jackson started school last week, the trees are beginning to change color. We dug out the long sleeves and sweatshirts. Today, Raina started preschool. Here are their "First Day of School" pictures:
I'm not sure about the look on Jackson's face. I think he just wanted to get going.


After I took Raina's picture, I asked Remy if I could take his picture, and he ran over to the same spot Raina had been standing in. Funny boy.


This picture is on my September calendar--the kids (especially Remy, of course) have changed in the last year!


One more: Do you think he enjoyed the pudding? At least he didn't smear it in his hair.