Party of 9 Grocery Challenge

With our super fun and super full house, the grocery shopping might seem like a big pain and an even bigger expense. Enter 2 great coupon-clipping minds like Jennie and I and you've got a fantastic grocery challenge on your hands! We've decided to feed all these peeps for $200 in September! We have spent $64 so far. Mostly on milk (organic 2%, regular 2%, skim and goat milk that we mix with carrot juice and flax oil for the little boy) and produce. To be fair, we do have a freezer full of meat AND the pantry is well stocked at this point. The challenge will really be figuring out what to make with all of our plenty.

We have done two things so far. The first was a baking day. We made pumpkin muffins and a loaf of bread to add to our store of already frozen banana muffins. We use these things for a quick breakfast on school days. The second thing we're trying is a neighborhood hotdish exchange. Jennie and I along with 2 other mommies will each take a Thursday this month to make 4 hotdishes. Then between 5-530PM we deliver the dish to the other families. PRESTO! A hot, homemade and ready to eat dinner once a week! I've attached a couple of pics. One of baking day (when we also made a coconut curry sauce for our dinner) and one of the preparations for the first hotdish night (which I would call a smashing success).

Everything else is going great! Ava stuck a pea up her nose last night but Aaron promptly got her to blow it out (shooting it across the room!) We're heading into the long weekend where we have plans all 3 days to eat and eat and eat with good friends! I love this last summer hurrah! More to come, stay tuned...

And then there were nine...

It's a really exciting time here at the ol' Marlowe household! By some stroke of luck, Jennie and Joe were BOTH able to transfer with their current jobs to brand-spanking new Dallas locations! So, until their house in Kansas City is sold, they are staying with us! For those who are counting, that makes 4 parents, 5 kids, 2 cats, 1 dog and 1 fish. A fine bunch if you ask me! AND, except for a yucky case of strep throat that made its way through the 3 littles, we're all doing great!

Claire (3rd grade) and Emily (1st grade) started at the elementary school and Ava (pre-k 3) started at the early childhood school. That leaves Julia and Holden home with me to play and snuggle (and wash a little laundry and make dinner when possible) and drop-kids-off and pick-kids-up from school.

The funniest time of the day, by far, is meal time. Particularly breakfast and dinner. I can't believe that everyone gets fed every time and most times the kitchen gets a swift cleaning, too! We started a neighborhood hotdish exchange to make life a little easier. The routine is settling in and now we anxiously await the arrival of our new niece/cousin, Lily. Only 4 weeks to go! For the record, Lily's family is not moving in with us, but we would love it if they could. A newborn is a little demanding, but she comes with 2 parents! That would help even the score a little bit.

That's what is going on here. Stay tuned for my next post about our "Marsen" or "Hanlowe" household grocery challenge. We're going to feed all these peeps for under $200 this month!

6 weeks and counting!

Okay, okay, so really it’s 6 and a half but still, I like the sound of 6 sooooo much better than 7! All is going well and baby girl is right on schedule according to El Doctor. It’s been ages since I last wrote. Of particular note, we have FINALLY decided on a name: Lily Marie. I love that we have decided. It is thanks in no small part to our niece Claire – who thought of this beautiful name, and to my sister, Jill, who gave me a nudge in the right direction. Thank you so much, ladies! I not only love the name but I love the fact that now when people ask I don’t have to say “oh we’re thinking of this or that.” I have learned that when you’re still thinking of something – and you’re not full committed – people see your reluctance as an opportunity to tell you what they really think about your choice. When you just tell them that her name is X, or Lily as the case may be, everyone says something nice. Whether they mean it or not. And I’ve learned that I prefer niceties to honesty in this particular situation.

Lily’s room is coming together too! It’s so cute with all of her little things. She has more clothes than I do – and that’s not easy to accomplish! And I’m starting to believe that I might not actually be pregnant for the rest of my life and that this little girl might just be born one day! Pregnancy lasts a REALLY long time for those of you not fortunate enough to have experienced it quite yet. I almost can’t believe that one day my little girl will be here! Her daddy is getting pretty excited too. He is working on car seat installations today (did you know that 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly!?!) Fortunately, there are free inspection sites in most major cities to help you get it right: http://www.seatcheck.org/

I’m working on preparing myself to let go of perfectionism after Lily is born. Did you notice that I said “working on preparing to?” I guess that means I’m at least two steps away from the actual act of letting go of my expectations of order in the household. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no Martha Stewart (although I fully admit I freaking love that lady – I don’t care who disagrees). It’s just that I have a hard time letting go. I feel better when things are in their places, when the fridge is full, and okay, I’ll admit it, when all the labels face out in the pantry. Does that make me a bad person? I don’t think so. But, it might make me a nervous wreck in the aftermath of baby girl’s arrival sooooooo I think it’s time to loosen the reigns and prepare to let it be and focus on other, more important things. Like the tiny fingers and toes and cute little smiles that are coming soon! Can’t wait! Please stay posted.

Staycation

Jill here...a couple of years ago, Aarons family decided to stop giving gifts for all the holidays that pop up throughout the year. Birthdays, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Christmas...they all pass now with an easy trip to the store for meaningful cards instead of a hectic (not to mention expensive) trip out for gifts. Instead, we set aside some money so that we can go on a family trip together. We have been to Martha's Vineyard, Grand Canyon and St. George Island Florida...all great trips and nice time spent together.

This year with so many really little kids and Brooke expecting her second baby in December, we decided to do a "Stay-cation". We spent the week at Aaron's parents place on Lake Fork. We just returned today from our week there, and what a lovely time it was! Emily was able to join us for the week and my mom, Julia and Jennie stopped in for a visit too. We had great meals (each family was responsible for 2 dinners), lots of fishing, boating, a little tubing, three birthdays, 1 trip to a tiger refuge and lots of general laziness (picture laziness with 5 kids, ages: 7 months, 2, 3, 6 and 7). Here are a few pics!

Coupon Crazy!

It’s true. I’m a couponer. Just as I once thought I’d never consider driving a mini-van. I swore I would NOT end up one of those crazy mothers with 3 kids in tow in a grocery store with a coupon pack larger than a duffel bag, but well, here I am. And I LOVE it! The days of paying for toiletries and pantry staples are LONG GONE and I couldn’t be happier.

Those of you who think you’re too busy, well, maybe you are. But I promise you, it’s worth the time and, of course, the money. Yes, I have 2 small children at home, yes my husband works 12 hours a day, and yes, I have a full-time job. I still coupon, and I am still sane. Not only that, I spend about 60% less on groceries and Target stuff than I did before but the best part is, it’s FUN!
Last year this time, we were spending about $220/week at our Target Supercenter . Now, we hardly ever spend over $80. And LOTS of weeks its less than $50.
How do you start? I’ll list the steps I took and I’ll list a few links that helped me get started.

1. First, you’re going to have to start collecting coupons. Here’s a link that will help you acquire a nice stash of coupons, but if you want to go oldschool, and just use ONE set of coupons from your Sunday paper, that will work too. Get yourself a coupon sorter, start getting the Sunday paper, and KEEP YOUR OLD INSERTS. (I put my inserts in a file folder with 12 dividers – one for each month.)

2. Second, change the way you shop. Buy things at their rock bottom prices, STOCK UP, and USE COUPONS! Learn more about rock bottom pricing and couponing 101 here.

3. Third, go the drugstore route. Some of the best purchases I make are at CVS and Walgreens. I no longer pay for razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, lotion, aspirin, mouthwash, or panty liners. These items are all FREE. This week at CVS, the free items include sunscreen and Alka seltzer. Last week it was Band-Aids, tampons, nail polish, Clearasil and toothpaste. Every week there’s something free and though you might not need toothpaste right now, you’ll need it eventually, so you might as well stock up while it’s FREE! Check MSM for your weekly list of FREE stuff!

4. Lastly, enjoy what you do! Maybe if we were dirt poor and this were the only way to eat it wouldn’t be fun. OR maybe if I hated doing it and I only did it so I could get my nagging husband off my back for spending so much on groceries, it wouldn’t be worth it. But I LOVE couponing. It makes me feel like a smarter shopper, a better wife, and certainly a better Mommy. I’m teaching my kids about the value of the items we use or consume every day and besides that, it’s fun, it’s FREE and it’s frugal!

So if you still say you’re too busy or you don’t have time to do it, then don’t. But, like Dave says, you probably don’t have time NOT to.

I’d love to hear from those of you who are just starting out, and I’d be happy to answer questions if you’re mid-stride. Couponing takes some getting used to but once you catch on, it takes hardly any extra time, and the value you get in return is awesome.
Now go out, and get yourself some FREE STUFF!

Week 22: What's in a name?

I would like to apologize for every time I’ve snickered, made a snide comment, blatantly made fun of or even thought of making a joke about some parent’s seemingly misguided baby-naming efforts. As I’ve learned over the past several weeks, it’s just plain gut wrenching trying to name another human being!!! I now understand that at some point you want to throw in the towel and just name the little darling whatever next enters your stream of consciousness. I’m thinking this may be how all of those months of the year names came to be (and don’t get me wrong, some of them are simply adorable).

Perhaps dear husband and I put too much pressure on ourselves when we decided (more than just a tad altruistically) that this baby’s name would have MEANING! We would not just thrust a darling name upon her, instead we would sift through long forgotten relatives, discuss favorite authors, consider strong women from mythology, and come to agreement on the most fitting and inspiring name possible! After several weeks of discussion, sometimes heated, and lots of time spent with books, baby naming websites, and more than a handful of Swedish baby name lists (who knew Ida was so popular in my homeland?) we’re no further along than when we started. And suddenly May and June sound quite appealing.

And what’s with everyone you’ve ever met thinking they should weigh in on your naming options? I’m considering adopting the approach of a good friend, who kept the name a secret until her little one’s birthday. Not a bad idea. After all, it’s easy to criticize a planned name like Trixie or Lolita, but if instead someone hands you a tiny newborn and you’ve fallen in love with her tiny little fingers and upturned nose just as the new parent announces that she would like to introduce you to little Lolita, suddenly the name doesn’t carry quite the same offense.

For now anyway, out little one remains nameless. Stay tuned.

18 Weeks!

That’s right, I am at 18 weeks today! It’s true, I’m no good at math and if you’ve been keeping track, I did skip a week here. But at my last doctor’s appointment, my fabulous doctor confirmed what I’ve known all along - I am actually a week ahead of his projected due date. Oh, the joy of affirmation!

And, we found out we’re having a GIRL!!!! Well, at least we are pretty sure it’s a girl. The doctor couldn’t give us an absolute answer but it seemed pretty clear. We’ll know for sure in two weeks after the sonogram.

In the meantime, my husband and I have shifted into girl-prep mode! My poor husband is only slightly terrified at the thought of a baby girl. He grew up in a very blue house. Luckily a good friend suggested a book called “Be Prepared.” Think of it as a MacGyver-esque guide for new dads. It looks FABULOUS and it’s already on the way to us from our friends at Amazon. I promise I’m not in the business of plugging anything BUT all of you first-time parents out there should check this book out. The website has a lot of very funny (and seemingly practical) advice: http://www.beprepared.net/ Plus, I think it makes my husband feel quite manly about the whole daddy thing. There are lots of pictures of dads looking like lumberjacks and several references to scouting and tools and the like. What ever it takes! I know you ladies are with me on that one.

Please keep sharing your tips and thoughts. We love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Beth from LaBump (that’s )

Weel 16

Hello friends, well I am almost all the way to week 16. Officially, the count is 15 weeks and 5 days (but who’s counting). Second trimester ROCKS!!! I have so much more energy, I don’t feel like I’m living a lie and I’m embracing wearing comfy clothes. I still can’t make maternity clothes work but I’ve just decided that it’s fine to wear the exact same 3 or 4 things over and over until they do. I’ve warned co-workers and friends to go ahead and get used to my exactly 2 dresses and 2 pairs of pants that fit. I must say, people have been quite kind.

I’m pretty much back into a regular routine now that I can keep my eyes open for more than 8 or so hours a day. I’ve even been making it to the gym in the mornings again. Word on the street is that I better enjoy it while it lasts because apparently during T3 the exhaustion will be back with a vengeance.

So here’s my pregnancy tip for the week – don’t be afraid to show a little skin while pregnant. Now ladies, I’m not talking about va-va-voom or risqué here, but seriously, why not? Especially during that time where no one can really tell that you’re pregnant (at least not until 5 seconds or so after you meet since you likely will have told them by then) and you just sort of look like you’re growing a spare tire, why not show off those shoulders or legs a little? By all means, let’s take the attention off the tree trunk middle! You are beautiful, so put on a little spray tan and grab a cute tank top or an adorable skirt (just be sure it’s stretchy).

Please share your pregnancy tips and advice here. Goodness knows we’ve all read enough about drinking 10 glasses of water and eating plenty of fiber! Let’s get to the good stuff! What are your thoughts, insights and secret tips? Please share for the good of swollen, broken out, pregnant women everywhere. We need all the help we can get!

Una Mas Bump!

Beth here,

Well friends, the cat is officially out of the bag. For the past three months I feel like I've been lying to everyone. I am not good at keeping secrets (just ask my sisters). It's not that I can't or that I don't understand the sanctity of a really big secret. It's just that I feel SO guilty NOT telling. Anyway, this baby secret has been a doozy! And I haven't done a great job of keeping it either. Included in my misadventures with secret keeping was a fairly embarrasing face book moment where I thought I was confidentially telling a good friend the news. I learned quickly that there's no such thing as confidential on facebook! I really hate Facebook! Luckily, a sympathetic on-looker pointed out my mistake and I was able to yank the post after only a few hundred people had seen it. I spent the past several weeks hoping my boss wasn't included in that group.

For those of you that don't know me personally, this is my first baby. I'm going to be sharing some of my pregnancy adventures here. I'll try to avoid all of the boring and obvious stuff - like how we're so excited we don't quite know what to do with ourselves (and we are, of course) - and stick to the more interesting (and usually embarassing) subjects like, is it possible that NONE of my pants fit me and it's only week 8???? Please share your thoughts and comments. Goodness knows, I can use all the good advice I can get.

So here I am in the middle of week 14. Okay, so according to my doctor, I'm only in the middle of week 13. I disagree with his math. He changed my due date from October 3 to October 9th a few weeks back, but ever since he's been telling me that the baby measures really big. I really love my doctor, please don't get me wrong. I think it's really just that I WANT to be further along in this little journey than I am. I think I'm pretty much the most excited person on earth about becoming a new mom. The problem is, I'm not quite so excited about the whole, pimply, bloated, headachy, fat-pants wearing journey that leads to a new baby. Am I a terrible person? I fully get that there's A LOT more physical discomfort to come when this little one is born. It's just that, at that point, I'll also have perfect little fingers and toes to look at and a little tummy to kiss.

What I'm thinking about this week:

Weight gain. That's right. As much as we all want it to be a non-issue during pregnancy, if you're like me, it's on your mind! So last week my doctor commented that I hadn't gained any weight in awhile. Don't worry - the baby is totally doing great and looks like a rock star on the ultrasound, if I do say so myself. And let me just clarify that I see my doctor much more frequently than you might expect. I had a miscarraige awhile ago and in addition to that, it's just his style to do visits every 3 weeks instead of once a month. Anyway, after that no-weight-gain comment I went home and felt I had permission to eat pretty much the entire bag of cheesy Baked Lays - next to the Dorito, these are the yummiest chips in existence, in my opinion. Plus, I like to pretend they are health food based on the whole "baked" thing. Okay, so I recognize that there's just not much nutritional value there and all that but man those chips are sooooo good! Then, I spent most of the weekend eating waffles, mexican food and cheese plates (only the hard cheeses of course). Somehow I was a tad shocked when I realized I had gained 3 pounds in just under the same number of days. nice. I'm pretty sure this isn't what El Doctoro had in mind. Perhaps I can start wearing those cute maternity jeans a little earlier than I thought.

3 Birthday parties, Camping, and tying down the Trampoline!

We went CAMPING! And by “we” I mean, Jill & Aaron, Me & Joe, Claire (7), Emily (6), Ava (2), Julia (22 mo.) and Holden (4.5 mo.). It was super-fun! We headed down to TenCamper State Park in Oklahoma for our 4 day, 3 night adventure. Though it was indeed called Tenkiller, Jill wouldn’t come along unless we called it something less scary. So . . . .TenCAMPER was born! No, I’m not pregnant – there were actually only 9 of us camping. The last time we went camping (I was pregnant) Jill didn’t seem to have any issue with Devil’s Den State Park but I guess I can see how Tenkiller is more scary than the Devil. Whatever.

Despite the State-wide burn-ban, we camped, made s’mores and Emily had her 6th Birthday Party in the woods! We “roughed it” in our 3 bedroom cabin and though we’ve had to defend our position of camping in a cabin to more folks than one, we stand by our claim! The fact is, 2 sizes of diapers, 2 sets of bunk beds, and a pink potty seat is as much camping as a family traveling with 5 kids needs. EVER. Oh, did I mention the tiny, cute infant who nurses every 3 hours? You can set your clock to it. (As long as you’re in a cabin, that is – tents don’t have clocks.)

Aaron had enough of the fun and flew home to the comforts of his own bed (actually work called, but you get the idea). Jill and her 3, and me with my 3 (Joe included) headed north to KC. Dad came down on Monday followed by Mom the next day. I left for Chicago at 4am on Monday morning and missed Emily’s real birthday – I SUCK. Luckily, she was having too much fun to notice I was gone. I got home just in time for everyone to leave. Dad whipped the house into shape just in time for Joe’s dad and Jade & Anna (2 of our 3 MN nieces) who arrived on Friday evening moments after we got home. Luckily, they came bearing gifts – about 40 pounds of Chinese food included!

Em had her third 6th birthday party on Saturday at the Roller Rink – I would recommend holding off on the roller-skating until your kiddos are a little older. Say, oh 14 or so. LOL! Anyway, thanks to all of you for coming . . .camping, cooking, skating, all of it. I love you! Oh, and I had to tie down the trampoline tonight because of the crazy strong wind! Last time it ended up in our big maple tree! Uff da!

My trip to Walgreens...saved 84%!!

Can't resist...I didn't do as well as Jennie I'm sure, but look at this!!

4 Jumbo packs of Huggies
2 packs of Huggies wipes
2 boxes of NutriPals fruit bars
5 Garnier hair products
1 RightGuard deoderant
1 French's mustard
2 packages of Revlon emery boards
1 Walgreens coloring book
1 pack of Duracell hearing aid batteries (16 count) for my Grandma
2 cans of Pringles

I paid $18.91 for all of this which had a total value of $119.66!!!

Vaccines...

As I mentioned at the end of my post from yesterday, Holden had his 4 month check-up yesterday. He received 2 shots as well as the oral Rotavirus vaccine. While I firmly believe that kids should receive their vaccines, I do understand the debate that's out there. I feel really lucky to have good health care (although we have really bad insurance that doesn't pay for hardly anything) for my kids. I'd love to hear what everyone has to say about vaccines. This is what I was thinking yesterday:

On Ava's two-year birthday last summer she got sick. It was while we were on our annual month-long visit to our family in Minnesota. She got sicker and sicker and her fever went higher and higher and she had no wet diapers for hours and hours. Finally, I was near panic and took her to the ER. Turns out she had Rotavirus and pretty much the only problem was that she was seriously dehydrated. She spent 3 days and nights in the hospital (pic of Aaron holding her in the hosp, which we did pretty much round the clock). It wasn't that scary because I knew that as soon as she had enough hydration, she'd be fine with no long term problems. After she got out of the hospital, she was fine. It took her about a week to return to her normal self. We did have 1 day in there when we thought we might have to take her back to the hospital, but she rounded the corner and recovered fully.

This long story just to say...I'm really glad Holden was able to get the Rotavirus vaccine (they weren't doing it when Ava was tiny).

I'd love your comments and viewpoints on the vaccine controversy.

Super Cheap Cereal!

Jill again...well, I know that this is not a blog dedicated to shopping tips, but I just can't resist one more entry about the great deals out there this week! I just returned from a quick trip to my local grocery store, Tom Thumb, because they sent out a mid-week circular announcing new sales that start today. Buy 5 boxes of Kellogs Corn Flakes or Quaker Life cereal at $1.99 AND receive an instant $5 credit on the shopping trip! Doing the math, that makes each box $0.99! Then I had 2 coupons for $1 off 2 boxes of Life cereal making my grand total for 5 boxes of cereal....$3.00! If only every trip out of the house could be so gratifying!

P.S. Holden went to the doctor today and weights 14.5 pounds (40%) and was over 25 inches long (70%). He's getting so BIG!!

Coupon Crazy!

Jill here - I'm fairly new to the underground world of super-couponing, but everything I know I learned from Jennie! I've learned that really there are 2 keys to successful saving: clip LOTS of coupons AND study the weekly ads from the newspaper. Here are the results from my two shopping trips this week:

Groceries: My family does a big grocery shop once a month and then we get a few things here and there as we need them (like produce and fresh bread items). I knew that we would go to the grocery on Sat morning because there was a $10 coupon in the Tom Thumb weekly circular that expired on Sat, so that was a given. I also had my quarterly $5 coupon to Tom Thumb in the passbook. With $15 guaranteed savings, I studied the circular like crazy to get the scoop on meat prices as well as BOGO or other great sale items. Then I went through ALL of my coupons and matched them up with the great deals offered by the store. In the end we spent $153 BUT we SAVED $136 (48%) with coupons and in-store sales which is FANTASTIC for us!

CVS: I was so happy with my shopping at CVS this week that I actually took a pic of the stuff I brought home! I got 6 Dawn dish soaps, 2 boxes of Glucerna snack bars, 2 trial size Act mouthwashes, a Gillette Fusion Gamer razor and a package of SweetTarts (Claire was with me). I had coupons for every item except the mouthwash and candy. I used $4 in CVS Extra Care Bucks and paid $0.02 cash for the entire purchase. In addition, I got $6 in CVS Extra Care Bucks back to spend next time! Can't wait to see what's in the CVS Sunday circular this week!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the winner of our fabulous La Bump grocery tote! The True Random number generator selected Comment 9 from our list and "TargetMom" has been contacted regarding her fabulous prize! Thanks to all of who who signed up!

Canvas Grocery Tote Give away!

In order to thank our fabulous La Bump users, for the month of February, we are offering this chic La Bump grocery tote in a FREE give away!

If you’re a first time visitor, check out La Bump while you’re here and let us know what you think! All you need to do to register is leave a comment! A random winner will be selected on Tuesday Feb 24th. Good luck, and thanks for using La Bump! (If you're not a blogger, please leave your email address so we can get in touch with you if you win.)

About La Bump: As every smart mommy knows, one of the ultimate forms of recycling is recirculating gently used items for children and mothers. We have put a new spin on typical hand me down clothing by creating a network of women in your city who can buy sell and trade maternity clothing and accessories and gently used clothing, toys, and gear for our little ones. We offer this service free to our members so there is never a fee for our new form of maternity consignment. Our goal is to make a collection of fabulously chic maternity clothing and kids items accessible for smart moms like you!

Do these kids ever SLEEP??

None of the little cousins have been sleeping very well lately...except for Claire, I guess. At my house, we're pretty sure that Ava and little Holden set up some sort of schedule before bedtime. We believe it's some version of this:

Ava: OK, little cute, cute, cute Holden brother, I'm going to fuss a lot when they put me to bed. Then I'm going to sleep until around midnight. While I'm sleeping, you scream at the top of your lungs off and on until 11PM. OK?

Holden: [Cute, cute smile at Ava.]

Ava: Good! Give daddy just enough time to get cozy, cozy in his bed. Then at midnight I'll cry and not tell them what the problem is. It'll just be that I need to go potty, but I won't say it and they'll be too dazed and sleepy to figure it out. Then I'll go back to sleep eventually.

Holden: [Repeat cute, cute smile.]

Ava: Then you get up at 2AM and 430AM to eat. And, here's the best part! You refuse to go back to sleep until 615AM. When the alarm goes off at 622AM they won't be able to believe it and they'll wish they were in comas at the hospital so that at least they could get a little rest.

Holden: [You guessed it, cute, cute smile!]

Not sure what kind of arrangement Emily and Julia have set up. Something like this, maybe:

Emily: Julia, it would be great if you could be fairly crabby this evening and demand to go to bed at about 630PM. That way we can lull them into thinking it's going to be an early and easy night. OK?

Julia: NO!

Emily: Then I'll be angelic and cute until 8PM when I should be ready to sleep but instead I'll fuss about being hungry (since I won't eat my dinner) and I'll talk on the phone to Amma and Poppy until 1130 or so. I'll finally go to sleep. Then you get up and go get in bed with mommy and daddy. Sound good?

Julia: NO EMILY!

Emily: Good. Then I'll start calling out for a drink of water and a purp around 1AM while you squirm around uncontrollably all night until the alarm at 530AM. Do we have a deal?

Julia: NO!

So you see, there is very little rest at either house, again, except for Claire who is still grumpy in the morning despite her 10 or so hours of uninterrupted sleep. Seriously.

Entertaining on a Budget

I LOVE to entertain. I love having people in my home, filling up the place with loud conversation and laughter. But, as we all know, entertaining can get EXPENSIVE fast!!! By the time you buy groceries, drinks, and (after forgetting at least twice) run back to the store for fresh flowers and more ice, you’ve spent enough to feed your family for month!

I have found some great ways to entertain on a budget. So don’t stop socializing just because you can’t afford to break the bank to do it!

First, an-old fashioned pot luck can be so much fun! A dinner party is so much more interesting if your guests bring something to share. Guests are invested in the experience and the pressure is off the hostess! My favorite way to host a pot luck is to choose a theme for the guests. Have an Italian night or a Mediteranean theme – there’s no end to the options! Ask each guest to sign up to bring something on evite or another on line forum so it’s easy for everyone to see what’s still needed (no one wants to end up with 4 plates of humus and no main dishes). Ask those that don’t like to cook to be in charge of drinks, napkins, board games for later etc.

Another great option is hosting your own iron chef competition. Jill had a mac n cheese contest at her house awhile back. Every family brought a mac n cheese entry and Jill had awards for winners in the “kids’ choice” and “grown ups favorites” categories.
Something I’m planning to try this winter (this one is really just for grown ups) is a beer tasting. I’m planning to make a big pot of chili and have each guest bring a different unique beer selection (not anything commercial). Making chili and a little corn bread is cheap and very easy, and each guest only has to spend a few dollars on beer. The taste test can be done blind by covering the labels on the beer. This kind of thing is much more fun if you create little score cards for each participant to write their notes down. Make the cards similar to those you would use for a wine tasting – because it’s sooooo funny to hear a big beer guzzling guy describe the nose on a hefeweizen or the notes in a pilsner!!

Have fun with entertaining but most importantly remember, you don’t have to have the house in perfect condition to entertain. Let go of your perfectionism – these are your FRIENDS after all! They know you’re not perfect and believe me they have pets that shed, and messy kids too.

Please share your ideas for entertaining on a budget! We would really love to hear from you!

The Grocery Challenge

A couple of weeks ago, Jan 11th to be exact, I read a great article in the Dallas Morning News about a family who is entering their second year of a serious consumer re-think. They purchase nothing new except for: food, toiletries and home repair items (like air conditioner filters, light bulbs, etc.). Everything else they buy second hand or learn a way to do without. To kick off the start of the new year, they decided to spend only $100 on groceries for the month of January. They felt they could do this because they had quite a bit of stuff stocked up over the holidays. They were going to use what they had on hand and spend their $100 on perishable items they needed along the way.

The Marlowe family decided to take the grocery challenge, too! Since we didn't read about this until the 11th, we started then but still need the challenge to end on Feb 1st because we're having some friends over for a Super Bowl/Birthday Party for Aaron and we'll need some stuff for that. [DISCLAIMER: We spend $40 on organic milk at Costco before we started, so we didn't include that cost in the hundred bucks. We drink a LOT of milk!]

It's been fun trying to think of creative meals to use the things we have on hand. One example is that we had 1 frozen chicken breast and about 12 or so frozen shrimp. Neither would be enough for us to have for a meal (since there are 4 of us who eat solid food now), but I used both of them and put them in a pasta sauce (a version of the Shady Lady recipe from a previous post) and !PRESTO!, we had a meal! Otherwise the single chicken breast and the small amount of shrimp may have shivered in our freezer, unused, until we threw them away.

The challenge is....challenging....but fun and definitely do-able, especially with the money we're saving using coupons, etc. See my receipts to see how we're doing so far.

Cheap and Easy???

I got this new cookbook for Christmas and I LOVE it! I also happen to love the name "Cheap & Easy: A Cookbook for Girls on the Go". We've tried 4 entree recipes out of this book and they're all great. Our fav, however, is called "Shady Lady Pasta Puttanesca". Here is the recipe for your cheap & easy as well as quick and delicious dinner (the following serves 2 so I doubled):

8 ounces penne pasta
3 T olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c pitted black olives, chopped
1/2 cup red or white wine (I used white)
2 T capers, drained
Generous handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 t crushed red pepper flakes (I used less because of the kiddos)
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta.
2. Heat oil in 2 quart saucepan over high heat. Add garlic and reduce heat to med. Saute lightly, adding the olives, wine, capers, parsley and red pepper flakes.
3. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 min and then add tomatoes, letting whole mixture cook down over med-high heat to the consistency of a chunky sauce.
4. Adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Pour over pasta.

Love it!!

Happy January (and Happy New Year!) to you all!

It's Jennie here, and I must say that I'm feeling refreshed! The Long holiday break was somehow relaxing and exhausting all at the same time, but it was definitely refreshing! The feeling of starting a new year with great ideas and fabulous plans brings a new bit of excitement to the air! LaBump has big plans for 2009 and we're excited that you are a part of our network!

We hope that you will remember to buy locally (as it reduces waste) and consider resale when it comes to your kiddos ever-changing needs. Recirculating gently used items is the best kind of recycling! (And it's budget-friendly too!)

Jill tried out "green" shopping this Christmas, buying as many items as she could from previous owners or organically friendly merchants. I say 'previous owners' as opposed to 'used' because the majority of the items she purchased still had the tags on! My kiddos loved their new clothes and the books were great too! What a fabulous idea, Jill - Kudos to you! :)

Beth continues her venture in helping pair those in need of an item, with someone who has it available for sale on the site! Anyone in Houston need a new booster seat? Brand new, still in the box, $10! LOL! Good work Beth - I wish I had your charisma!

I will keep closer track of my couponing in 2009 and let you know how it goes. Combining the efforts of a $40/week consumables budget (diapers, food, toiletries, household items,etc) with recycling, children's re-sale, and keeping it simple has changed my life. Somehow I feel like a better mommy, wife, and person for doing it.

Thanks for being a part of the LaBump family! Be strong, live simple, and enjoy what you do!