Meal Planner Monday, er....on Tuesday!!

Sorry that there was no meal planner yesterday... I hope you didn't starve! I was busy doing belly flops into a two foot kiddie pool. I love memorial day picnics!!

Here's your meal planner!

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe for the five spice powder

or

Allspice and a pinch of ginger powder in place of 5 spice powder. 

                        

Grand Total: $57.28

When a tooth pillow doesn't cut it!

Here's what's going on at our house

.

My son's about to lose his first tooth! It should be coming out any day now and I have to say, this whole event has made me very emotional because it marks a whole new era in our lives- my kids are growing up! Though Owen is still a baby and keeps us in a reality of diapers and midnight feedings, he's our last! With each milestone there's a bittersweet realization of this is the last time...or, in the case of my oldest, it's a new beginning! Either way it's a new and exciting time for us.

I can't sit here and dwell on my children getting older. My Zoloft isn't strong enough for that! Since I want this time for Aden to be special, I made him a very special way for him to give his tooth to the tooth fairy...by the way he knows that the tooth fairy is me!

Aden has a little obsession with Mario, in case you haven't gotten that from my previous posts! He loves The Super Mario Bros! When I say he loves them, I mean he LOVES them like Sonny the Cuckoo Bird is Cuckoo for cocoa puffs! (I wanted to say like a fat kid loves cake, but I thought that sounded a little judgmental considering how much I love Heavy Whipping Cream!)

I've seen a lot of cute little tooth fairy pillows out there in blogland or Blogonia as I like to call it. Most of what I've seen is tooth themed and very cute to me, but I can just see Aden's face if I handed him a tooth shaped pillow to put his tooth in... I think it would look like this...

Yeah, he's my kid.

With his favorite character in mind, I wanted to make him a Mario tooth holder. I wanted it to be similar to those cutie tooth pillows, using the concept of making a pouch in the mouth. It's kinda weird to have the pillow eat the tooth, but whatever, it's better than the other end!

Here's what will hang on Aden's door knob when the big day arrives!

Here's how I made it.

Inspiration.

Tooth Pouch

One Lovely Blog Award

My friend Julie over at The Hopple Family blog awarded me with the prestigious One Lovely Blog Award! This was so unexpected! I didn't even prepare a speech! Julie, on behalf of all little bloggers everywhere, I gratefully accept this award!

None of this would be possible without the love and support of my husband. Chris, you complete me and your rugged good looks don't hurt either! Mom thanks for birthing me and always laughing whole-heartedly at my jokes! Chrissy, I know you like to be mentioned in my blog regularly- thank you for doing whatever you're older sister told you to do as a child, we had some good times when you did my bidding!

Thank you to Photoshop for magically giving me the body of Penelope Cruz and the Hair of Amy Adams! Not to mention, the really tan body and pale face. You're the best!

On to the real reason a gal would be awarded the One Lovely Blog Award. I have to tell 7 facts about myself that you may not know and then award this to 5 other bloggers. 


1. I'm very sensitive person without a filter. I'm very worried that I offend people on a regular basis. I probably do because I was born without a filter and I say what I'm thinking before I judge whether or not its the appropriate thing to say at the time.


2. I'm terrified of the phone. I truly tremble inside when I hear it ring! I think that I'm worried I'll be stuck on it all day or that I'll run out of things to say. Chris says I lack the ability to let a conversation naturally wind down. Instead of wrapping it up, the overwhelming fear that I'm not keeping my end of the conversation up, makes me talk a mile a minute and keeps a conversation going for waaaaaay too long.


3. I will always feel my house is a mess! Like this morning, I got up and it smelled stale in the living room, picked up, but not fresh smelling. I thought "FAIL!, you will never have a clean house!!" Extreme? Yup, but that's how I feel about myself some times...failure!


4. I have a fear of rejection. I'm not sure why, but I usually expect people not to like me and feel surprised if they do.


5. I have chicken legs and I hate them! I wish I could have more curves in the leg area, but it seems I'm one of those lucky ladies that has all her curves in her belly area. It's a lovely pot belly curve, my badge of honor for having birthed four children.


6. I have a temper. I blame it on my Scots-Irish roots! My Great Grandfather Robinson was known to have thrown a salt shaker or two across the room when he was unhappy with the table setting and I have been know to toss a laundry basket or two when I get testy and need to make a point. I've gotten much better with age, but Chris will never forget that I once hit him with a car (Oh calm down! I was backing up and I warned him to move or I'd hit him! Besides it was only at tap and I was going 2 mph!)


7. I can't stand an idle man, which is hilarious because my hubby is so laid back. It's a catch 22, because I hate that he's laid back when there's a job to be done, but his chill personality is what attracted me in the first place! It goes to show you that God loves to give you a mate who completes you and Chris certainly fills in the cracks where I'm lacking. I'm sure I do for him too! 


There are 7 facts you might not know about me and here are my five awards!


Heather at Mountain Momma Runner
Betsy at More Than Mom
Jessi at Crocuses in March
Alisha at Crafty Brooklyn Army Wife
Dana at Cookin' at Cafe' D

Giant, CVS and Rite Aid Trips

Here's another one of my shopping trips where I saved a lot of CASH!!

Giant

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Originally $2.09 each ($8.36 for 4)

Giant Sale 2 for $3.00

Manufacturer's Coupons: 2 coupons for $1.00 off 2 BBQ Sauces

2 Giant Coupon Doublers, which doubles $1.00 coupons

Total Price: $2.00 for 4 a 76% Savings

Swiss Iced Tea

Originally $2.59 each ($5.18 for 2)

Giant Sale $2.19 each, save $0.40

Manufacturer's Coupon Buy one Get one Free

1 Giant Coupon Doubler, Which Doubles $1.00

Total Price:  $1.19 for 2 a 77% Savings

Oscar Meyer Cheese Franks

Originally $4.99 each ($9.98 for 2)

Giant Sale Buy One Get One Free, save $4.99

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off

Coupon Doubler, which Doubles $1.00

Total Price: $2.99 for 2, a 70% savings

CVS

Listerine Total Care

Originally $5.79

CVS Sale $3.69 

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off

Total Price: $2.69 a 53% savings

Reach Tooth Brush Twin Pack

Originally $6.49

CVS Sale $3.69

Manufacturer's Coupon $2.00 off

 

Total Price: $1.69 a 73% savings

Oral-B Tooth Brush Twin Pack

Originally $6.49

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.50 off

CVS Coupon $2.00 off

Total Price: $2.99, a 53% savings

Grand Total: $7.51 (tax included in this number)

earned $4.00 Extrabucks

Out of Pocket Expense: $3.52 a 81% savings!

Rite Aid

2 Suave Body Lotions

Originally $3.69 each ($7.38)

Rite Aid sale $2.50 each ($5.00)

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off two 

$3.00 Rite Aid Coupon

Total Price: $1.00 for 2, a 86% savings

Vaseline Body Lotion

Originally $3.99

Rite Aid Sale $2.50

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off

Total Price: $1.50, a 62% savings

Degree Deodorant

Originally $3.79

Rite Aid Sale $2.50

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off

Total Price: $1.50, a 60% savings

3 Packs of Stride Gum

Originally $1.49 each ($4.47)

Rite Aid Sale $1.00 each ($3.00)

Manufacturer's Coupon $1.00 off

$2.00 +UP rewards

Total Price: FREE

2 Dixie Paper Plates

Originally $3.99 each ($7.98)

Rite Aid Sale Buy One Get One Free $3.99 off

Rite Aid Coupon $2.00 off

Total Price $1.99, a 75% savings

Grand Total: $6.19 (this includes tax)

Earned $6.00 in +UP Rewards

Out of Pocket expense $0.19, a 97% savings

Meal Planner Monday

It's Monday and time for your weekly meal planner. Sorry, but this week is mostly chicken. It just turned out that way because last week there was a lot of pasta!! I need to be more aware of stacking meals with diversity. Well anyway here it goes...

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

Recipe

This Week's Grand Total: $62.23

Skirt Purse Tutorial

Because you asked and because I love my followers, here is the Thirty-one skirt purse cover tutorial.

Click Pattern Here
*update 9/25/12 : Be sure to download the pattern pieces to your computer and then print them out. 

Step 1: Choose a sturdy fabric for your skirt purse, something that is washable and will hold up with time.
(*Also, I recommend washing the fabric before you begin sewing)

Step 2: Iron Fabric.

Step 3: With pattern provided, pin down and cut fabric with same sides together (meaning, printed sides together or wrong sides together)

We will refer to this as the purse body

We will call this the binding

Step 4: Pin the purse binding right side to the wrong side of the purse body.

 Step 5: Sew the pinned sides together.

Step 6:

Step 7:  Fold and iron under the bottom part of the binding.

 Step 8: sew the folded over hem down to the finished side of the purse body.

Step 9: Repeat steps 4- 8 on other purse panel.

Step 10: Pin the panels right sides together.

Step 11: After you've sewn around the body of the purse, finish the edge with a tight zip-zag stitch. This is to keep it from fraying with time and use.

Step 12: Find the gusset lines with the paper pattern and mark it with a pin.

Step 13: Measure from the end of the fabric 1 1/2 inches and mark with a pencil.

Step 14: To find the gusset, fold the body of the purse using the pin as a guide.

Find the pin.

Pinch the fabric, so the pin is at the top and the sew lines marked in pencil are on either side as shown above.

 Step 15: Pin across from line to line.

Step 16: Sew across right were the pins are pulling them out as the sewing machine needle draws near.

Step 17: Cut the excess off the gusset.

Step 18: Finish the edge with a zip-zag stitch.

Step 19: Turn the bag right side out.

Step 20: Pin the binding pattern down on top of the fabric binding and pin were each fastener will be.

to remove the pattern without ruining it, pull pin through until the head goes through the paper.

next slide the paper down the pin

carefully pull off.

 Step 21: Using fasteners like below, to sew onto the bag.

Step 22: The fasteners will go on the inside of the bag. Center the fastener over the pin and sew.

Step 23: Carefully try to sew without going through the second layer of fabric. As you sew check the fasteners on your own skirt purse to make sure that they line up perfectly. Adjust accordingly.

Attach to bag!