Preschooler in Motion!

Motion Sickness is apparently inherited!  Braelyn's theme this week is motion, and her song is "The wheels on the Bus".  I thought since the Clemson Area Transit (CAT) bus was a free ride that it would be a great adventure for a Monday morning.

Apparently sitting on the inward facing seats causes both Mommy and Braelyn to become queasy!  We did enjoy the ride.  Our trip started at the fountain at SWU, then we rode the red route to Hendricks center for a nice brunch, a visit to the Barnes and Noble book store and a yummy ice cream.

On the return trip we decided that the forward facing seats were much better for little tummies.
 (PLEASE notice Braelyn and Natalie--her doll have matching mommy-made skirts for the trip!!)

We sang her song, counted all the things that had wheels and learned that the bus can also carry a bicycle from one stop to another.  She collected a pine cone while waiting in the shade for the bus to arrive.

We finished up our homeschooling day with a little m&m math and graphing activity!


--CHERISH the days they are young!

Giddy Grocery Getting!

I left the house with no intention of buying anything,  merely to support and assist a fellow couponer for her trip.  The deals were calling my name and I did have some cash on hand!

At Bilo:
3--Lbs apples
1-Bisquick pancakes shaker
1--1/2 fresh split chicken
4--Boxes Trix cereal
4--Boxes Coco puffs cereal
1--Lucky Charms cereal
 TOTAL SPENT (cash)  $7.18--8 items (average cost per item 0.90 each)

At Publix:

4--Lysol Kitchen and bath cleaners
6--cans Hunts Tomatoes
2--Mt Olive relish jars
4--Taco Bell dinner kits (2 have kool-aid in them!)
4--Glass plus cleaners
TOTAL SPENT (cash) $10.39-- 20 items (average cost per item 0.52 each)

Here is a visual

I only spent $17.57!!!!

Homeschooling week 3

Theme: Wheels
Letter: Ww
number: 4
Vocab word: motion
Color: green
Shape: circle
Poem/Song: Wheels on the bus


Spelling words: on,
be, he, was, who

She has finished the Dolch words list for preschool-so we are on to first grade!!

 www.catbus.com

 

I want to take her on the CAT bus--trying to figure out a good little trip.  Monday looks like a field trip day!  Not sure about all of the routes and details like her car seat-I will call them on Monday.

Hooked on Green Tea--thanks Lipton

We are hooked--not that making southern sweet tea is difficult or time consuming but the volume that we go though makes it a daunting task.  We love the Lipton green tea with citrus.  I do not let Braelyn have the diet--I still feel better with her having a plant based sweetener than an artificial one at her age. 

 

The Lipton green tea with citrus is light refreshing and yummy.  It is not too heavy like sodas or juice, but perfect, except for the price.  We do find it on sale and use CVS bucks to lessen the sting of our addictions.

Here is a recipe for a mock version-I have yet to try it but will very soon.

www.ehow.com/how_2297118_lipton-citrus-green-tea.html

Not that Leapfrog needs it but I can not stop singing the praises for the TAG system.  We bought Braelyn for Christmas 2009.  She has honestly played with it everyday.  We have added new books and she can read independently.  We have worked hard to help her learn to read, but her tag is a fun avenue for practice.  There are very few items that the children play with until they wear out.  She has worn out the Cat in the Hat and the Ozzy and Mack books, the books were not destroyed but loved to pieces. 


We are thinking of getting the Tag Jr for Tricia.  The books are board books and the reader is easier to hold!  Tricia and Braelyn already fight to the death over the Tag reader!

Last year Kohls has a coupon deal and a Kohls cash reward that made Braelyns reader a bargain!

More Crazy coupon deals

I just ran by publix for the Finish tabs deal.  The pack of 25 tabs are normally $6.99, but are buy one get one free this week ($3.49).  I have been sitting on 9 of the -$3 Q for a few weeks waiting for a sale. 

My total before coupons was over $60, then with the sale and the q it was less than $7 for all 9 boxes!!

( boxes (25 tabs each) for less than the cost of 1 box normally!

Top Mommy Tips

Here is what I did today-
to keep the kitchen cooled off I made mini meat loaves in a mini loaf pan and put it on the grill outside, then I grilled off a box of turkey burgers and a bag of peeled shrimp.

 I have minimal cooking to do the rest of the week with my major meal elements done.

I can only manage about a week at a time--the once a month thing takes a good deal of coordination.

I am looking for YOUR MOMMY TIPS-ideas time savers and tricks--I will pick the best, based on comments and reward the winner with a spa basket full of lotions, bath goodies and products!

Pass this along to your friends!  We all could use a treat or two!

The Plan

Here is the plan for this trip:
MONDAY
Drive Down Early Monday, arrive in Charleston by 11 a.m. .  Tricia has surgery at 1, then 23 hours of observation.  While she is admitted to the hospital I will take Brealyn and walk the 3 blocks to the pharmacy and get her meds filled, then back to the hospital. 

Ya-Ya plans on spending the night with Tricia (YEA no mask).  Braelyn and I will find and activity before dinner then share dinner at the Ronald McDonald house.  Braelyn and I will find another activity before bath and bed. 

TUESDAY
Then we will grab a quick breakfast on the way back to the hospital (3 block walk).  We will do lunch at the hospital.  We will hang out at the hospital until Tricia is released and plan on a harbor tour/ride.   Then dinner and a late evening beach trip for the girls (wear them out).  Then off to baths and bed.

We plan on leaving before lunch on Wednesday.

Here is the plan for the girls:
MONDAY
Early morning at Michelles house until around 4:15 (dad will pick them up)  then back home Annie can pop dinner in the oven (mommy made extra lasagna-last week).  Tim will go to work at 5, Papa will watch the girls until Tim gets off at 8.  Then bedtime at 8:30.

TUESDAY
SCHOOL---yea!!!  Then Papa will watch the girls until Amanda arrives around 5:45.  Amanda will watch the girls until 9 when tim gets home from work.

I told you all that launching the Titanic was much easier to coordinate.

Remember I said thie was the plan, now lets see how it goes!!

Home schooling week 2

Theme: Charleston
Letter: Cc
number: 6
Vocab word: harbor
Color:
Shape:
Poem/Song:

Popcorn words: little, go, big, find, run

Spelling words:  in, it, is, up, can

We will be in Charleston fro another surgery most of this week so we are going to try and make the most of it

Just Plain fun--It's a Match

Braelyn delighted at a new game I presented her from the box this evening.

It's A Match

http://www.discoverytoyslink.com




I was wondering if level 1 (ages3+) would be too hard for her but she breezed through making the matches with very few incorrect answers.  She passed up t.v. time (take that Disney Channel) and moved on to level 2 (age 4+)!!

Learning Pathways: from 3 years - kindergarten
EXPLORATION, MOTOR SKILLS, THINKING SKILLS, MATH, READING & LANGUAGE

 
She INSISTED that I order book 3.  

Homeschooling week 1

Braelyn bought a new fish this week so we started homeschooling early.

This week looks like:

Theme: Fish
Letter: Ff
number: 5
Vocab word: habitat
Color: blue
Shape: oval
Poem/Song: If I could be a Fishy

useful links:

http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp
http://stepbystepcc.com/sea.html
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/lc/activities/default.aspx

Healthier Recipes

To make recipes that Ya-Ya can enjoy we have started eating quinoia .  Quinoia is a grain,  it can be used similar to rice or couscous.  We have found that is does not impact blood sugar levels near as bad as other carbohydrates can. 

Today we are having Bargain Shrimp Fried 'rice'
Our amounts will be larger than yours unless you are feeding an army too!
nice one pot meal

2 lbs Shrimp
2 cups broccoli florets (frozen is fine)
4 eggs
2 cups cooked quinoia
2/3 cup soy sauce (to taste)
3 tbs dried onions
1 cup snow peas
1/2 cup shredded carrots

scramble the eggs, add soy sauce to taste, add chopped shrimp, broccoli, pea pods, and pre-cooked quinoia.

You can thicken it with cornstarch, and serve-YUM

we added homemade baked egg rolls filled with broccoli slaw

WELCOME

Welcome to my blog.

It is intended to share information.  I am an avid coupon-er, homeschooling cloth diaper mommy to 6.  I always have an educated opinion to share and love to express myself.  I want to help other moms "keep it together" and save money doing it!

Please share any deals and sales with all of us