Outdoor Play: 1

Yay Summer! I am so happy we get to play outside now. As you know, toddlers are too young for water balloons. You also spend a huge amount of time saying "don't throw that!" and teaching your kids htat throwing is not OK. I saw these Sponge Balls and thought it was brilliant!



You will need:
Large Sponges from the $1 Store - ones without any scrubby pad or soap and pretty colors look better
Two buckets of water - also found at the $1 store or use big pots/small trash cans
Zip Ties
Scissors
Nail Clippers

How To:
Cut your sponges into thirds the long way
Group 6 or so of the strips together
Tighten a zip tie around the middle
Use nail clippers to cut off the excess zip tie as close as possible to avoid anything pointy
Voila!

Play!
Stand a few feet apart and the object of the game is to get as many of your sponge balls into the other person's bucket. Riles: Get really wet and laugh alot!


Enjoy,
PlusPeace

Target.

Any Target shoppers out there?

I came upon this on Pinterest and thought I would share. The source is MommySavers. I am not certain if this is true but the source seems reliable and I have noticed that kids clothing ending 4 often disappears the next week. Hmmm...

** Clearance and Low Priced items normally hang out on endcaps and are often hidden :)

** Typical Markdown Schedule at Target (may vary but keep an eye out)

Monday Target Markdowns: Kids’ Clothing, Stationery (office supplies, gift wrap), Electronics

Tuesday Target Markdowns: Women’s Clothing and Domestics

Wednesday Target Markdowns: Men’s Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty

Thursday Target Markdowns: Lingerie, Shoes, Housewares

Friday Target Markdowns: Cosmetics, Housewares, Automotives

**Clearance prices ending in 8 will be marked down further, prices ending in 4 are as low as they will go.

**Repackaged or returned items - I know this first hand, I bought a graco changing table marked from $115 to $14.99 because there was a small knot in the wood. 

Happy Shopping!

PlusPeace

A Little Cash on the Side

So I made the post a while back on Nifty Ways to Save Big and this is an expansion on that post.

I mentioned how awesome Viggle is and I still use it daily. It's an app for free for Android and iPhone that lets you check into TV shows/movies and collect points that can be redeemed for gift cards of various kinds. I have also been lurking groupon and finding good deals for date night ($15 for $50 worth of food).  I also found shop kick that is similar to Viggle, you use your phone to check into stores and collect points that can be redeemed for gift cards.

I have found the glorious glue that connects all these wonderful apps/sites!!!  Ebates is a website created by two ex-lawyers in internet fraud. All you have to do is log in, use their website to get to sites like target.com, oldnavy.com and HUNDREDS of others.  I'm normally not a huge fan of endorsing websites but these are all super great! You go through them to shop on those websites (using the gift cards you got FOR FREE from Viggle and ShopKick) and get cash back.  Then ebates sends you a quarterly check for the amount you've earned from shopping basically for free - make sense?

Well I got a great pair of shoes from old navy with my gift cards and got 2% cash back from ebates! I am so excited!  Also if you search "ebates scam" on google, nothing comes up, completely legit.

I always spend WAY too much money when i go to Target by myself so I have decided to shop target.com got all of bear's diapers and wipes. This way i don't "accidentally" throw things in my cart and it just so happens that a giant box of diapers, a giant box of wipes and cat litter all add up to $50.66 so I qualify for free shipping.  I have because a genius!

Anyone have any neat tricks to share??

Exciting News!

Hello Mommies!

I have been so neglectful of this poor blog, but I am proud to say that my primary focus lately has been launching Monster Sillybets as a legit product. There are BIG things in the Monster Sillybet future :)

Please, please if you haven't liked Monster Sillybets on Facebook, I would greatly appreciate it if you would > HERE

I ave also finally launched our brand new store! Monster Sillybets I have yet to make our first sale but hey, I am trying!

Now for some mommy stuff:

Bear's party went GREAT! He loved it so much and had a blast with all of his little buddies. Special thanks goes out to my friend, Erin, for playing photographer for the day!

I've come across some awesome pins for toddlers and I just had to share one - photos and credit will come shortly but I dont have too much time (tackling a flea problem in our house - ick) 

Get Your Kid to Help Clean - Make a 1 foot by 1 foot square on your kitchen on wood floors out of painters tape. Tell your kiddo to sweep all the dirt into the square. Its a game. It's making them feel like they are helping. WINWIN!

Try it - Bear loves it :)

PlusPeace

DIY Workbench: Day 1

We have been planning out with workbench since Christmas and have finally started to build! This is our progress from Day 1:

Keep in mind we are not experts so I would classify this as beginner with big tools. We have a basic idea of construction but could have probably done this more efficiently with more thought or expertise. 

We made a frame (very solid) from 3 8' 2"x4"s ($1.79 each and we picked through to find really straight ones)

The top and shelf are heavier plywood that came as 2'x2' ($6.49)

Pegboard sides and doors (not yet in picture) 2'x4' ($7.99)

Honey Stain/Gloss Finish - we have this ($0)

Hinges for the doors ($4.99)

Red Spray Paint for the doors ($2.49)

this is really all we bought and used other scrap hanging around along with Tim's tools (circular saw, jig saw, nail gun, screw driver, sand paper, grinder thingy, pencil and measuring tape, rulers) 

The final size is 30 inches tall in the back, the counter is 20 inches from the floor and 2 feet wide by 18 inches deep. Perfect size for a tot!

I will post the final instructions upon completion :)

I love projects!!!

Love,

PlusPeace

Part Two of Father's Day Post

So here is the craft half of my Father's Day gift idea. I got the idea from Life in the Green House and modified it to fit my family.

I plan to make three different colored sticks Red, Blue & Green
Red - Family Outings
Blue - Mommy & Daddy Outings
Green - Mommy & Daddy Stay@Home Dates

we always drive around or see and add for somewhere and go "we should go there!" and then when we have time/money we forget and don' know what to do.

I thought this would be a good father's day gift specifically for Tim because it can be a "daddy's pick" jar and also Bear can help me paint and decorate :)

Ideas:
Family Outings - Story Land, Beach Trip, Train Ride
Mommy & Daddy Outings - Bowling & Beer, Drinks at 188, Movies, Drive In
Mommy & Daddy Stay@Home Dates - Burgers & Zombie Movies, Wii Shakes & Popcorn, Daddy Cooks & Chick Flicks

Love,
PlusPeace

Date Night - Possibly Father's Day?

So this one is between you and hubby - possibly on father's day evening?

I have made this meal 6 times in less than two months trying to perfect it and I have finally gotten the whole meal down to tasty.

On the menu: Tipsy Chicken over Angelhair with Vegetable Gratin & Crunchy Garlic Bread

Ingedients (Tipsy Chicken)
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese (sprinkle cheese)
Mrs Dash Table Blend
2 Cloves Garlic
Pinot Grigio - I get the yellowtail because it's <$6 but still a wine I drink anyways
Milk
Salt & Pepper
Butter
Angel Hair Pasta

How To: (Tipsy Chicken)
Pour 1/4 milk into a sallow bowl. on a plate (I use disposable for this) put 1 Cup of grated Parmesan and 2 tbs Mrs Dash and mix together. Wash and try chicken and cut each breast into three smaller pieces. I just them the long way and no more than 1" thick. Plunge each piece into milk and then coat in cheese mixture. In a skillet put 1 tbs butter and 1 clove chopped garlic. when pan is hot add chicken and flip as soon as the chicken is brown and coating is crispy. Begin boiling water and a dash of salt for the angel hair. Once both sides of the chicken are crispy, add 3/4 cup of Pinot Grigio and let simmer. I flip the chicken a few times until cooked through add more wine as needed. Strain the pasta and place the fully cooked chicken on top.

For the sauce leave excess from the chicken in the pan and keep the heat, add 1 cup wine, 1 tbs butter and a few pinches of Mrs Dash and whisk. Cook until wine is browned and reduced to 3/4 cup of sauce. Our over chicken and pasta.

Ingredients (Vegetable Gratin)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
Italian seasoned bread crumbs
Olive Oil
1 Zucchini
Leaks
1 Vidalia Onion
Red Pepper
Cherry Tomatoes

How To: (Vegetable Gratin)
Slice the zucchini, onion, leaks and peppers into 1/4 inch rounds. In a cast iron skillet (casserole dish will work but not as well) Layer in this order: Onions, Zucchini, Drizzle Olive Oil, half the cheese, half the bread crumbs, red peppers, leaks, remainder of zucchini and then slice the tomatoes in half and layer on top. Add remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, add a final drizzle and put in the oven at 400 F for 12 minutes or until you can easily poke with a fork. Broil for 3 minutes until the top is crispy.

For the Garlic bread i used butter, fresh garlic NOT garlic powder (ick) and put both generously onto thick cut sourdough and broil for 2 minutes (dont burn it!)

To plate this I put a nest of pasta with two chicken pieces then a slice of the gratin and toast on the side. YUMMY!

There is a craft that goes with this but Bear woke up - see ya!

PlusPeace