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19Dec

Thirsty for a Refreshing Change?

Cheap Thrill of the Moment, Health and Well Being, Tips and Tricks 498No CommentsThirsty+for+a+Refreshing+Change%3F2009-12-20+02%3A45%3A00Heidi

I’m never without a beverage, and I’m still always thirsty.

I love water, but sometimes it’s just – well, boring.

At Mother’s Day brunch (at Roots, Milwaukee) a couple years ago, I took a sip of my water glass and was met by a surprising kick. I looked at the glass and saw a lemon wedge and a slice of cucumber floating in it.

Even in harsh winter conditions, this blend can take you back to summer.

Instantly, I was hooked. I am sure I can’t accurately describe just how refreshing and hydrating it is.

Every now and then, I forget and then remember how good it is and go on kick.

Drink your eight glasses of water a day, and have more fun doing it with these two inexpensive items!

(P.S. It looks “frou-frou” and stylish to layer crushed ice and your lemons and cukes. It’s a cheap way to make your table look awesome, and looks especially cool in a pitcher!)
30Nov

Quick and Easy Treat – Frozen Go-gurt!

Money Saving Mama, Product Reviews 4761 Comment2009-12-01+05%3A03%3A06Heidi

I have to thank my neighbor Michelle for this one.

Buy a pack of Yoplait Go-gurt, or for even better value, Moo Tubes from Aldi.

Put the box in the freezer.

Give your kids a tube of frozen yogurt in lieu of a straight-up sugar-water pop! (You may want to wrap the yogurt tube in a napkin to protect small hands.)

My kids love these things!
19Oct

McDonald’s Cone in a Cup Trick

Cheap Thrill of the Moment 450No CommentsMcDonald%27s+Cone+in+a+Cup+Trick2009-10-20+00%3A55%3A53Heidi

The other day, we drove through McDonald’s to get some vanilla ice cream for our apple pie. I like their ice cream, because it’s much lower in fat than custard, and it is CHEAP.

I learned a little trick on this visit.

Ordering a cup with vanilla ice cream costs $1. (He told me it’s “technically a sundae.”)

Ordering a vanilla cone costs .49.

Ordering a cone in a cup costs .49.

I don’t know what they’d say if you asked for a cone in a cup minus the cone, however!
14Oct

Cheap, Awesome and Fun

Money Saving Mama 4462 CommentsCheap%2C+Awesome+and+Fun2009-10-15+00%3A40%3A27Heidi

Last night, I reached out to my facebook friends/fans for some ideas about cheap, quality fun with kids. I got a GREAT response, and some really creative ideas!

Cha-Ching! Hear those savings rack up!

Here was my question: Answer this: What’s the cheapest, most awesome activity you’ve done with your kiddos? C’mon! Give me “bang for the buck!”

Rob said: “Mid summer, indoor snowball fight with lots of balled up paper…lots of paper. Ambushing the first person to come into the house from behind the couch is priceless.”

Totally fun! What a way to help recycle last week’s newspaper, and you can be sure the kids will love it.

Catherine offered: “Mancala or connect 4 tournaments because they turn fast and nobody gets bored….and I have a hard time dealing with Monopoly:) The fire pit is great, but that’s not till winter. Sometimes we just put on iTunes and dance which is probably very entertaining for my neighbors…”

We haven’t broken out Mancala yet, but we just tried Connect 4 and while we’re still in the early stages of learning, it offers GREAT potential and really gets the wheels turnin’. I got mine last Christmas season at Walmart, and I think it was only $5 or so, too! I absolutely love dance-a-thons, and chuckled about her comment regarding the neighbors. I’ve had that very same thought, many times myself!

Mary Kaye suggests (for those in Wisconsin): “An inexpensive summer outing is to head up to Bay Beach in Green Bay. Tickets are 25 cents and most rides are 2 tickets. The park is right on the shores of Lake Michigan. It’s a little gem.”

I’ve not yet been there, but have heard only great things about Bay Beach. Throw in a visit to Lambeau Field, and any Green Bay Packers fan-in-the-making will get their proper introduction to some serious state heritage.

Erin and Amy both offer different spins on scavenger/treasure hunts:

Erin (Tireless mother of four boys!): “For lunch or dinner when I’m home alone with the kids, I make a scavenger hunt for the boys. I hide clues around the house and they have to find them and head on to the next clue. Depending upon what we are having for dinner, they either find part of there dinner at each clue or play money. their food or money and meet at the final resting place… Read More. (If it is money, they then have to use it to buy their food at the “restaurant”. They love picking off the menu. ) At the end, we sit in front of the fireplace for a living room picnic.”

Amy: “I love the scavenger hunt idea too!
never thought about having them collecting anything along the way.
i do treasure hunts, and the girls love them. i have both hand drawn (therefore sad looking) clues on notecards, as well as pictures i took of somethings in the house and in the yard. the last clue usually leads to some special treat – like ice cream cones, or a small prize.
they love both the end result and the journey!”

Seriously, my friends… The above suggestions are all amazing, and times your kiddos will cherish forever.

Join the discussion and meet these fantastic parents on Facebook!

SingleWorkingMama on Facebook
13Oct

One Woman’s “Fat Pants,” Another Woman’s Treasure

Cheap Thrill of the Moment, Money Saving Mama 4363 Comments2009-10-14+01%3A28%3A15Heidi

I haven’t done a post recently about money saving techniques. Thanks to a very generous coworker, I will do so now.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am lucky to have colleagues who have also become friends.

Some of the ladies I work with and I have started a “goods exchange,” which includes clothing for children, various household odds and ends, shoes and clothing for us.

Yesterday, I was griping to my friend that in addition to hating all of the pants in my current repertoire, that suddenly almost all of them seem faded or damaged in some other way.

Pants! New pants for me! (Still working on those abs.)

Today, I am happier than a baby in a candy store, as that very friend brought me about 20 pairs of VERY gently-worn pants that are too roomy for her.

I have the bottom half of an entirely new wardrobe! (I’m thrilled that she and I share a similar fashion sense, which is key in this kind of arrangement working out, of course…)

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

When my kids grow out of their current sizes, I always love to share with friends. It’s fun and nostalgic to see a pal’s little tyke romping around in something your very own kiddo once wore.

I encourage anyone who isn’t too proud to trade pants with their friends to do so. Even the cheapest clearance items are more expensive than free!
15Sep

Getting Ready for Disney

Money Saving Mama 414No CommentsGetting+Ready+for+Disney2009-09-15+23%3A58%3A01Heidi

I’m two days away from going on a dream trip to Disney with my kids, Mom, Dad, Sis, Bro, and Sis-in-Law.

Welcome to the height of anxiety for me.

This trip has been planned for months and months, and it seemed pretty unreal until last week, when Drue got a mysterious fever and pains in her abdomen. As the possibilities emerged (mono, strep, appendicitis!) the trip became very real, and I am so very happy that she mended over the weekend. Now, as long as Boo doesn’t get it for the trip, we’re good.

I had a vivid dream the other night that my Dad called, waking me up, and said “Hi! We’ll see you at the airport in an hour!” and hung up. I realized I hadn’t even started packing, and that the kids were asleep, and that it would take about an hour just to get to the airport. It brought me out of my slumber and into a cold sweat awfully fast, that dream did!

When I was at Wal-Mart on Saturday trying to tie up some loose ends (Neosporin, Band-Aids, etc.) the thought crossed my mind: “Hey – don’t they carry Disney stuff here?”

Sure enough, I found two t-shirts for me (Cool, distressed-looking Mickey and Tink shirts) and a Tinkerbell hat and shirt for the redhead. Little Boo was not so lucky, as they seemed to specialize in such characters as Spiderman and Transformers. I grabbed him a $1 clearance Spongebob hat for consolation, and he loves it.

Yeah, baby! We're going to Disney!!!

So, for $18, I got each one of us something to wear on the plane. I already told the kids that I bought the Disney stuff here to save money. We’ll see where that gets me.
09Sep

What Would Your Action Figure Say?

Cheap Thrill of the Moment 4081 CommentWhat+Would+Your+Action+Figure+Say%3F2009-09-10+02%3A51%3A56Heidi

Last week, the SuperManny somehow stumbled upon a very interesting topic with the kids.

Somehow, someone posed the question: What would Brett’s action figure say? If you had a doll that looked just like Boo, with a string to pull… What would come out?

SuperManny and Drue both immediately agreed it would be “For REAL.” (Based on a chain of statements, and basically, the addition to any opinion he expresses, several times each day. Example: “Mom. If a lion bites you, you will die. FOR REAL.”) When I got home and heard about this game, I added “I have a GREAT idea.” (This is his term for “Even though you’re saying no, I’m going to do my level best to negotiate with you…” It is also stated multiple times daily.)

Imagine my non-surprise when the SuperManny told me what the kids speculated my action figure to say:

“I’m gonna be late for work! Ahh!” (At least I’m consistent.)

After hearing that, I took it a step further in my illustrative mind. What accessories would my action figure come with? Oh yeah. Multiple bags, knitting needles and a ball of yarn, and of course the tiny Diet Redbull, Karuba coffee mug and Pepsi Max!

Suddenly, I’m the action figure on clearance at Target, aren’t I?

Play the game with your family. Learn about yourself.
23Aug

Dollar Store Mini Bowling

Cheap Thrill of the Moment 3771 CommentDollar+Store+Mini+Bowling2009-08-24+01%3A34%3A10Heidi

Today, at the Dollar Tree, I found a new cheap thrill of the moment – Mini Bowling!

Both kids loved it, and we were able to set up an alley using shoes.

I already learned that it hurts like hell when you step on one of those little pins, and that a marble to the arch of a bare foot can bring tears to your eyes, but aside from that, this is a good tool for hand/eye coordination as well as counting (setting up the pins) and satisfaction. (Getting a strike is pretty easy.)

$1!
20Aug

The New Basketball Hoop

Cheap Thrill of the Moment, Kids 3741 CommentThe+New+Basketball+Hoop2009-08-21+01%3A19%3A53Heidi

About 2 weeks ago, Boo approached me without a shirt. I asked him where his shirt was, and he said “in my new basketball hoop,” then ran away.

Since I was in the middle of nine other things at the moment, I didn’t think twice about it, and haven’t thought about that shirt since.

Tonight, as I was cleaning the kitchen and hanging a clean pot on my above-island pot rack, it all came together for me…

Note: I am not responsible for any dust that might be evident in this picture. (Okay, yes I am. However, I will once again use the "This is my blog" clause and deny any responsibility for it.)

Oh, how I love a creative description.
25May

Baking Fool

Money Saving Mama 272No CommentsBaking+Fool2009-05-25+14%3A35%3A44Heidi

Don’t ask me what got me on a massive cooking and baking kick, but I have to say I’m happy to get back into what used to be one of my favorite pastimes.

After my “Big D,” (divorce) I just kind of took a break from it, since my kids generally prefer plain noodles. Making a whole meal for myself isn’t that practical, and I get bored quickly with leftovers!

I saw my bread machine sitting, sad and lonely, in the bottom of my pantry recently and hauled that behemoth out to make a pizza crust. Just for kicks, I Googled a recipe for white bread.

The recipe is easy to follow, and contains exactly six ingredients: Water, oil, flour, salt, sugar and yeast.

It probably costs 25 cents per loaf, too.

I throw all of these things into the machine, and put it on the bread dough cycle. I’ve never been a fan of the bread baked right in the machine. 1 hour and 30 minutes later, I have perfect dough. I throw it into my stone loaf pan, let ‘er rise, and bake it for 26 minutes at 390 degrees. The result is a delicious white bread with a crusty… Um.. Crust.

Yum. It tastes even better than it looks.

Behave yourself and let it cool completely before cutting. If you do it too soon, your lovely loaf will be smooshed flat. Never fear, because even flattened bread can make good french toast!

The best thing since...

Speaking of french toast, I have been making huge batches of it, then freezing the slices we don’t eat right away. It’s a quick and easy breakfast for weekdays! From the freezer to the microwave, it tastes almost as good as it does the first day.

Easy French Toast Recipe: Whip together 3 or 4 eggs, some milk, a dash of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon. Dip your bread and fry it up in a skillet of hot oil. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and top with maple syrup!

Don't forget the bacon!