Little Tikes Playhouse Makeover....Doc Clinic Edition

A few years ago, I saw this playhouse sitting on the side of the road.  I never had one when I was growing up so I whined and pleaded with Josh to get it for me.  The day he went by to ask about it, he showed up at my parents with it crammed in the back of his Ford.  Kade was tickled.  And Kyleigh couldn't walk yet, so she wasn't the biggest fan.  It was faded out, missing a shutter, and had rusted hinges and knobs that had been replaced.  But for $30, it was a steal!! I have checked these houses out now. One similar would cost us at least $150.  

This playhouse sat at my parents for a while.  When we got situated in our old house, we took it with us.  And of course, it was rarely played in.  Mostly used for sitting on the roof and watching lightning bugs in the summer.  I told my daughter back then that I would turn it into a Doc McStuffins clinic for her.  Which, a year and a half later I have come through on.  Back in May, I got tired of looking at it sitting in the fenced yard.  Faded out and rusted.  I went online, found a picture of the colors of Doc's clinic and took a trip to Walmart.  I found Rustoleum Seaside, Marigold & Apple Red in High Gloss.  Spraypainting wasn't the headache on this project, taking it apart to paint it all different colors was.  

(Somewhat finished!!)

I ran out of the Seaside Blue (which I've been unable to locate, until now on Amazon.)  I'll be posting more pictures of the finished product.  I only have the tiny part at the base left.  Then i'll be moving on to the inside.  And I haven't decided what i'll do to it.  But this is a huge improvement from the eyesore it was before.  The kids also have another Little Tikes Playhouse at my parents I'll be doing once I'm finished with this one.  I'm thinking i'll let Kade pick out what theme we will go with for it.  Keep checking back for updates of the finished outside & interior ;)

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent

Josh & I decided a little over a month ago that we wanted to do Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  We are sick of debt.  We bought our house and want to have it just the way we picture it in our heads.  Which will take A LOT of money.  I was spending $10 every 2/3 months on 90 Finish dishwashing tabs.  And that's at the local bargain store, NOT at the grocery store.  Not bad.  But I knew it could be better.  I'm on my third bucket of laundry detergent after a year of making it myself.  I found ingredients to make dishwashing tabs and got to work.  

I spent $11 on my things at Walmart.  I had the ice cube trays at home.  I made two batches, or 56 tabs this go around. 

You use:: 1 cup Kosher Salt, 1 Cup Washing Soda, 1 Cup Baking Soda & 3 Packets of Lemonade Mix.  Mix all of your ingredients into a bowl.  You CAN leave it as a powder OR add 1 cup of water, let it fizz and settle and mash the tabs into the ice cube tray.  Let the tabs dry and harden overnight before putting into the container of your choice.  I chose my now unused candy jar ;)  I have pictures of the process and end result below.  

I will keep you updated to see how far the boxes of soda and salt went.  I'm estimating that the detergent will be around $1.50 for a batch of 56 tabs. 

Hubby's New Favorite ;)

So, I joined in on the Mason Jar Salad thing.

My hubby said this is his new favorite lunch.  He loves Burger King's Apple Cranberry Salad.  I didn't have apples to make them but I improvised with what I had.

Baked Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

Grape Tomatoes

Cucumber

Lettuce

Cranberries

Hubby isn't a fan of a lot of dressing on his salads so he carried his Balsamic Vinegar Dressing with him. 

Just wanted to share on the possibility anybody's looking for some possible combinations.

Homemade Chicken Quesadillas & Hot Salsa

Quesadillas are hands down one of mine & my husband's favorite foods.  But of course, cutting back on our grocery portion of our budget isn't going to allow us to splurge to go eat mexican anymore.  So this week, I got a rotisserie chicken to stretch out over two meals for us (I will also add that this was SUPER easy to make). I decided to try my hand at making homemade quesadillas.  I SUCCEEDED! My hubby loved these more than our local mexican restaurants! And it runs roughly $10 to make 6 of them =)

To make them, I used::

1-1/2 lbs rotisserie chicken
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
1  16 oz tub of goat cheese 
Flour Tortillas

Start by dicing all of your veggies.  Then put them in a frying pan with some EVOO on medium high heat to saute.  While your veggies are on, tear your rotisserie chicken & heat up your goat cheese.  When your veggies are done, make a thin layer of them across your tortilla.  Then make a layer of chicken on top.  And then add your cheese.  I also choose to pour cheese on top of my tortilla once i've folded it up (My name is Amanda & I'm a cheese addict.) Then enjoy ;)

I also made my hubby a tub of homemade hot salsa as an added bonus!

To make my salsa, I use::

1  12 oz jar of hot jalapeno slices, not pickled!

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp cumin

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp garlic

Add all of these in your blender, mix & enjoy ;)

Budgeting Progress

This was only a little bit of my groceries I managed to get today.  I went to Aldi & got all this for $20. I got sour cream, spinach, mini corn dogs, Jif to-go cups, 2 packs of flour tortillas, Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, Baked Beans, 2 lbs onions, Cherry tomatoes, lettuce & a pack of diapers.  

I also went to Sam's and Walmart as well to get my meats & other groceries I needed for the week ahead.  I also got a rotisserie chicken to work for 2 meals, a 4 lb pack of boneless skinless breast, salmon, sausage biscuits for my princess, stuff to make ooey gooey bars, and other random things.  

I felt super accomplished when I got home and had all the groceries laid out from all 3 trips. Sticking to a $50 a week budget for my household may not be so hard after all.  And this all was with NO coupons!! 

Hopefully next week I can get pictures of my entire trip and do even better!

Success

Today I went to the grocery store to buy up stuff for a few meals this week.  I went with $50 cash in hand, rather than relying on my debit card like I normally do.  Usually, I get way too many groceries and spend way too much.  I had NO coupons (out of ink, story of my life). But I told my kids "No" several times & got out without going over =)  All this with meat, vegetables, cat and dog food.  I'm proud of myself.  Major accomplishment, maybe budgeting won't be a punishment after all ;)

Just wanted to give a mini update!

I Will Save Money.

So this year I've decided to set a pretty tight budget.  I want to have our finances under control and not to go spend just because we've had it.  Also, doing this will allow for some date nights, which we all know are essential. 

I've heard amazing things about the cash envelope system.  I'm in the process of getting my envelopes together.  I've written all of our expenses down.  IF we end up sticking to this budget or going below it, Christmas will be paid in cash that we've saved.  AND, we will also have a chunk to put back for our new home (or hopefully we will be in it by then!!)

Again, I'm hoping this won't be a NY resolution I think I can do and give up on immediately.  But so far, i've stuck to my grocery budget for the week.  And hopefully, with the help of coupons, I'll start going WAY below it.  

Anyways I'll keep you updated ;)

Resolutions.

So, I know just off the title alone, that the post is probably expected to be something I won't live up to.  I have made lists of resolutions year after year & given them up within the first week of the year.  This year is different, I have several reasons for wanting to stick to these.  I'll list them with the resolution.  And of course, I plan to blog on it ALL year.  

1) I plan to blog WAY more.  

Maybe daily.  I love interacting with mommies and getting and giving advice.  SO nice to see how we do things alike, and how we do them differently as well.  Also, I HOPE to eventually turn my blogging into writing & hopefully into an income.  My hopes are high but I have faith in myself.

2) I plan to stick to a strict budget.  

My hubby & I are trying to sell our current home & build our dream home.  I hope to be able to make these numbers work and make my Pinterest board for my home a reality!

3) I plan to coupon WAY MORE.  

As in, I hope to blog shortly with a grocery trip that I've saved 75% or more on.  Eventually I would love to ONLY be buying meat and things coupons aren't available on for my household.  Wiping that bill out of our budget or slashing it will make a tremendous difference for this household of 4.

4) I AM getting in shape.

Like right now.  I had surgery, as you know, December 2nd.  I go back to the doctor about my hernia January 7th.  I'm hoping that IF I need surgery, I can bounce back quickly.  I'm ready to be lifting weights and squatting with weight again.  

5) I plan to run my first 5K.

Today, I decided I felt well enough to add the C25K app on my iPhone again.  I started it and my legs feel just a tad like Jell-O.  Taking time off from running was silly, but necessary with all of my health issues.  As soon as I have a release from my doctors, I plan to train & make this a reality before the year is through.

6) I will attend my first (and hopefully not last) home school convention.

It's in March & it's right here at home.  I'm SO excited.  We have made HUGE progress since August and I'm hoping to continue homeschooling my babies until they reach college.  This year we picked from a few simple curriculums, but i'm hoping to find one I'd like to commit to =) Any suggestions ARE welcome ladies ;)

7) I Plan to be more organized.

Seriously, this is starting with my kids' room.  My cabinet for the kids' school is a mess however.  January 1st is a great time to start.

8) I want to stop hoarding stuff I don't use or won't need.

Craigslist, eBay, FB, yard sales.  It's going down.

These are just a few.  I have a few I'd like to keep to myself and work on without a soul knowing.  I'm just hoping I will stick to a few of these and be able to have something to show for it when December 31st 2014 rolls around ;)

We LOVE Free!!

Okay, If you haven't joined Kellogg's Family Rewards, do it NOW!!  

As a mommy of 2 (with a husband who craves sweets as much as the kids do), we have to keep sweet, sugary cereal in the house.  Pops, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, etc.  Well about a month and a half ago I saw on certain boxes of the above listed cereals a promotion for Monsters University.  You enter your Kellogg's Family Rewards codes in and after 4 codes (4 boxes) get a free Mike pillowcase.  You could also enter codes for downloads & movie tickets.  

Today, my son's pillowcase came in and was FAR beyond what I expected.  I figured it would be a regular fabric pillowcase.  Nope.

SUPER soft, SUPER comfy & Plush.  AMAZING deal and I was buying these cereals weekly regardless of any promotions that came with the boxes.  

Again, if you haven't joined, this is just one of the few perks! We get all sorts of freebies from our rewards programs.  And chances are, if you're a mommy, you'll want to snatch up every freebie you can!  

Back To Couponing!!

Okay so i'm a tad behind.  Crazy busy with moving, church, etc and i've procrastinated a tad on blogging.  So now that I've been able to print & clip coupons again rather than clipping alone, I've started saving a ton as well.  Not to mention, Publix sent out their booklets for the month of August!  So here's what I snagged this past week at Bi-Lo.

2 Boxes of Size 4 Luvs
 Reg. Price per box: $16.97; Sale Price per box: $14.97
1 Publix Coupon: $10 off 2 boxes of Luvs or Pampers
Final Price for both boxes: $19.94

2 Boxes of Poptarts 
Reg. Price for per box: $2.48; Sale Price per box: $1.66
2 Target Coupons for $.50 off each box
Final Price for both boxes: $2.32

1 Bottle of Vegetable Oil
Reg. Price: $4.49; Sale Price: $2.50
No Coupons =( Final Price: $2.50

2 Boxes Kellogg's Fruit Gummies
Reg. Price per box: $2.99; Sale Price: $1.99
1 Target Coupon for $.50 off one box
Final Price for both boxes: $3.48

1 Jumbo Pack Dora Pampers Easyups (Since my 20 month old insists on potty training 
already)
Full Price: $10.88
1 MFR Coupon for $1.50 off one pack
Final Price: $9.38

& I donated $1.00 to Operation Care

The fact that I got a buggy of groceries that SHOULD have costed $61.25 for $32.62 with tax makes me a FIRM believer that couponing is an art, not a waste of time.  Which i'm told quite often when i'm walking through a store with my huge binder.  But I know the truth ;)

Thanks again for reading!