Curse you Pinterest!!!

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here it goes:

My name is Anna and I am addicted to Pinterest!!  HAHA!!!  I can't believe such a simple sight as www.pinterest.com could consume so much of one's time!!!  These are the things I have found recently that I had to keep:

These are the cutest little butterflies that are made out of children's feet pressed onto small canvases.  I am going to have to do this with either my son or my class!  I have always loved artwork like this!!

I really liked this creative way of creating storage out of baskets.  They said that they just hung them with nails!  I have a small master bathroom, so doing something like this can be decorative and functional.  I wish I would have thought of this when I was in college and living in apartments with tiny bathrooms!!

I can not wait to try these!!!  I found this on Pinterest, but it comes from the cute blog Texas Cottage.   Here is the recipe:

S'more Cups

7 whole graham crackers (1 cup finely crushed)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

4 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy, divided

12 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place graham crackers into a large resealable plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
Place 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini muffin pan. Press crumbs to form shallow cups. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Meanwhile, break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.

Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Remove pans from oven to cooling rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Cool completely.
Break remaining candy bars and place in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand 40 to 60 minutes or until set. Makes 24 cups.

Note: Store the cups in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freezing is not recommended.

For a richer chocolate flavor, substitute dark chocolate candy bars for the milk chocolate.

Each cup has 100 calories and 6 g fat.

Home Depot Kids Workshop

After our amazing trip to visit Santa on the train, we made our way to Home Depot for their monthly  Kids Workshop.  The first Saturday of every month, Home Depot holds a free Kids Workshop that is targeted for kids between the ages of 5-12.  Each child gets their own orange Home Depot apron, a free craft to build with real tools, a certificate of achievement, and a pin for their apron.  Truett absolutely loves attending these!!  This week he was extra excited because two of his friends were able to do it with him!

Truett getting ready to build his Snowman Napkin Holder!!

Truett using his screwdriver to assemble his snowman.

This is the completed project.  He called this side his "Mr. Snowman side".

This is the other side of his completed project.  This is the side he called his "Mrs. Snowman side".

We had such a wonderful day with the Brumback and Linson families!!  Later that day at home, Truett said he had so much fun that he thought he was going to pop!! 

All Aboard the Children's Christmas Train!!

We were invited by the amazing Brumback family to join them on the Children's Christmas Train that runs in Springdale.  We were also joined by the wonderful Linson family! We had a very nice morning filled with many fun filled activities.  After the train ride and activities, we all went to Home Depot to make a craft at their Kids Workshop.

The boys pre-train ride.  Santa waited outside his workshop handing out presents and taking photos.  This was Truett's first time ever meeting Santa, and he LOVED it!!

The boys eagerly waiting for the train ride to begin and for Santa to come visit.

Here comes Santa Claus!!!

Truett talking Santa's ear off!!  HAHA!!  Tru had a list a mile long of all the things he wanted.  He made sure to get all the details in too!!!  HAHA!!

Checking out all the scenery on the train ride.

Painting gift bags after the train ride...

Truett getting his face painted.  Only my son would choose to have a butterfly painted on his cheek!!

Bouncy house time!!!!

Truett's first ever pony ride!!!

The morning was so wonderful!  Truett really enjoyed himself!  We really appreciate the Brumback family for inviting us!!!!  After all of this we went to Home Depot to make a snowman napkin holder....those pictures to follow soon in another post.  To think, all of this done by noon!!  When we got home a nice warm grilled cheese sandwich and a relaxing Christmas movie was just what the doctor ordered!!!

 

Let the good deals roll!!

I said a while back that I thought Tuesday was my lucky day when it came to the surprises in my mailbox, but here recently, Monday has been the day when most of my goodies arrive!  This Monday in the mail I received a travel size Secret deodorant, several feminine products, and feminine product coupons all from P&G.  I also received Aveeno shampoo and conditioner samples from Wal Mart and Lacoste cologne samples.

Also this week, my coupon book from Home Made Simple arrived.  P&G supplies this and it is full of wonderful coupons for Febreeze products, Cascade products, and Swifter products just to name a few.  These books are wonderful because this is where you get your high dollar coupons!!!  Also this week I received John Frieda shampoo and conditioner samples along with a coupon.  The Sonic coupons came from one of the pesky mailbox fillers you get randomly in the mail.  I always encourage people to actually sort through these because many times there are some wonderful coupons hidden inside!!  Last time there were buy one, get one free Sonic Blasts.  In the past I have even found high dollar juice savings!

This, I will have to say, is one of my favorite bargains yet!!  I was able to get our Christmas cards for free!!  All I had to do was pay the shipping and handling of $5.99.  That isn't a bad deal for 20 cards and envelopes.  I created these on www.snapfish.com and used the code HPHOLIDAY11 during checkout.  I am not sure if this code is still usable, but check it out, you may be able to get yourself a great deal too!  After paying the shipping it came out to about $0.30 per card!!  Keep your eyes out this time a year, it is amazing all of the places that are giving out great deals for holiday cards!  If you look, you should be paying next to nothing for your cards!!

Christmas on a budget

So, now that I am forced to face the world as a single mother, a lot has changed in my life...especially my finances!!!  I have had to adjust from a fairly comfortable lifestyle to one where I have to get pretty creative, or rely on the generosity of my parents, to make sure our needs are being taken care of.  So, as you can imagine, this Christmas has presented itself to be a bit of a challenge, but I think I have actually figured out how to make it work, and most importantly, have a happy little man at home as well.

Starting several months ago, I started preparing myself for Christmas.  I started hunting down deals and finding coupons.  So far I have spent just over $35 for Truett's "Santa" gifts, and his gifts from me as well.  I only have one gift to go!!!  Not only has this Christmas been fairly budget friendly, but I have a lot to show for what I have spent as well!!  Here's the run down of what I have found for Tru, and how I managed such good deals:

   Candyland $3.88- Tru has developed a love for board games.  I was able to pick up this game for so cheap at Wal Mart's Black Friday sale (my first and last Black Friday experience I might add!!)

Chutes and Ladders $3.00- This board game usually runs for $7.00, but before Halloween, there were many board game coupons available for $4.00 off!!  I had tried to purchase Candyland at this time as well, but of course Wal Mart was out of stock until after the coupon had expired!!

  Ninja Turtles Costume $9.00- Truett loves playing dress up, so when I saw this for 50% off during Wal Mart's post Halloween sale, I knew that it would make a wonderful, and cheap, Christmas gift!

FisherPrice imaginext Joker toy $0.97- Can you believe it?!  This little gem that I found runs for $5.97 at Wal Mart.  Recently I can across the opportunity to get a $5.00 off coupon towards any FisherPrice toy.  I used it towards this because Tru has really gotten into Batman and Joker and I think my parents will be getting him the playhouse that goes with the action figure as his Christmas gift from them.

Batman Slippers $3.47- This was another item I picked up at Wal Mart's Black Friday sale.  Oddly enough, Tru has been begging for slippers!! 

2 Scholastic Books FREE- Through work I was able to use a few of my teacher points to grab these books.  In the past I have purchased things for my class, so I used a few of those points towards these books.  While I understand that not everyone has the benefit of this, you are able to get this for as low as $2.00!!  Scholastic carries many great books every month for as low as $1.00.

4 Disney Movies $1.00-  This great bargain I was able to grab by joining the Disney Movie Club!  You can do so by visiting www.DisneyMovieClub.com.  You choose any four adult or child videos for $1.00 and then you purchase 4 more movies over the next two years to fulfill your membership.  This is a really neat program because not only do you get first dibs at the newest Disney movies when they come out, but they also have many great sales and you can find some of the classics for $10 or $12!!

Tom and Jerry Movie $1.87- This too was a Black Friday find.  Truett loves him some Tom and Jerry!!  This is a sure fire hit with him!!!

Captain America Shave Set $10.00-  This is clearly the most I have spent on a single gift of his!!  I know it seems so random, but when we came across it at Wal Mart he thought that it would be so neat if he could pretend shave.  The set comes with a pretend razor, kid's shaving cream, a mirror that sticks to the shower, body wash, and shampoo.

Transformers Action Figure $2.99- I luckily came across a coupon for $5.00 off any Transformers: Dark side of the Moon toy.  I found this action figure at Target for originally $7.99.  I know that "Santa" will hit a home run with this find!!

The last gift Truett will be getting has yet to be purchased.  I am still searching to see if I will be able to find any deals for it...and for the extra cash to spend on it.  He will either be getting the FisherPrice Batman car with action figure or a large Power Rangers toy he is wanting.  Both run in the $15 dollar range...so if no deal is found that will be my "big splurge" for his Christmas.  If I am forced to pay full price for Tru's final gift, that will bring my grand total to just over $50.  Not bad for 15 items, especially when some would spend this on one item!!!