My New Favorite Pizza

Since we have been trying to eat Paleo, we have cut out pizza.  The girls still enjoy regular pizza.  I don't really miss it, but I had seen many people make pizza using a portobella mushroom as the crust. I decided to try it.  It was so delicious.  Hattie now prefers the mushroom pizza to a regular crust.  First clean the mushroom (I googled how to do it).  I like to remove the gills but other people don't.  It is up to you.  I brush it all over with olive oil and salt and pepper it.  I cook it at 350 degrees for 5 minutes on each side.  I then pull it out and add the sauce, cheese, and any other toppings.  I put it back in the oven on broil and watch it.  When the cheese and pepperoni look great, I take it out.  It is so delicious you will want this instead of the real thing too.

Have you ever tried it?

Dating on a Budget

Date Night!

Eric and I love to get away and have little dates, but our budget is so tight sometimes that BIG expensive dates aren't possible.  I have to get creative.  Here are a few tips for you to get some time away with your spouse without breaking the bank.

1.  Go to a High School Football Game

Eric and I went to two different high schools.  My high school didn't even have football, and he was in the band at his high school, so we didn't get to sit in the bleachers as teenagers and enjoy a good old Friday night football game.  A few years ago, I found a babysitter and told him I was taking him on a surprise date.  He had no idea we were going to be transformed into teenagers again.  We went to our local high school's football game.  We knew no one there, so we didn't have to visit with anyone else.  We concentrated on each other and some of the game.  The game and nachos weren't too expensive.  We snuggled under a blanket and giggled like we were 16 again.  It was great!  I don't even remember who won, but I do remember looking at Eric and remembering the first time I saw him when I was in 9th grade and I smiled.

2.  Find a Babysitting Swap Family

We recently made a deal with some friends to save money on babysitting.  We each pick one day a month and plan a date.  They keep our kids for four hours and we do the same on their day.  The kids see it as a treat to have a play date with their friends, and Eric and I get alone time.  Win win!

3.  Groupon and Living Social Deals

When these first started, I went a little crazy.  I bought these constantly.  In other words, I wasted money.  Why?  I would forget to use them.  You know you did the same thing, admit it.  Well, now I am very careful about the ones I buy.  I almost always buy just restaurant deals.  We don't get to eat out too much and if we can do it for 50% off, I'm going to jump at the chance.  On one of our dates, Eric and I ate at a hot dog stand for $10 (with two $5 Living Social deals) and then because we didn't have enough for the movies, we went walking around the university lakes in our town.  It was such a nice date.  Eric called it a "fitness" date.  We had such a good time looking at the outrageously gorgeous huge houses and pointing out the ones we wanted and it was just a joy to talk.  It was a bonus that we got some exercise out of it too.

4.  Double the Movies

This is going to be silly to some of you, but on the occasion that we have enough for a nice dinner and a movie, we will sometimes skip the dinner and go to two back to back movies.  We order the refillable popcorn and drink, and we fill up on it.  TERRIBLE, I KNOW!  We get to see two movies and it is usually cheaper than going to dinner and a movie.

5.  Do the Matinee

I love having a middle of the day date.  The crowds are smaller at lunch, the movie is cheaper, and I don't wake up the next morning exhausted from being out too late.

6.  Share a Meal

The portions at American restaurants are insanely huge.  Our bodies DO NOT need that much food at one sitting.  You can cut your lunch or dinner bill in half by just sharing.  We will order a salad and one meal.  We ask for an extra plate and share.  It helps us continue to shrink our waists and keep from gaining the weight we've lost back.  I also like that if we do go to the movies after dinner, I don't have to unbutton my pants to get comfortable or fall asleep from being too full.

7.  Stay Home!

Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?  You betcha!  Take the kids to your friend's house for date swap night and go back home.  It will be free.  You can eat ice cream out of the carton together without teaching the kids a terrible habit.  You can be wild and crazy in whatever way you want.  I won't go into detail on this one.

8.  Be Sneaky

This one is a little trick I learned last Christmas.  Every year, I like to get gift cards for my kids' teachers for Christmas.  I send letters home with each student asking for donations towards the gifts.  I then call around to the movie theaters to find out which one is offering a deal for buying gift cards.  Many stores will give you a gift card for purchasing a lot of gift cards.  I found one theater that gave $5 in movie bucks for each $30 spent on gift cards.  I bought $90 in movie tickets for 3 teachers and Eric and I got a free matinee movie date.  Score!  If you like to give gift cards for Christmas or birthdays, you can do this at Christmas time and get extra in return.  Restaurants do this too.  I don't usually get all the teachers the same restaurant gift card because I get them a card from their favorite place, but it's a good idea.
I also did this for Emogene's birthday.  Instead of having a big party, she invited two friends for pedicures.  I called ahead to ask if they offered any deals for buying a big gift certificate.  They did!  I got an extra pedicure for free to use the next time.

I hope some of these ideas help you like they have helped us.  Spending time with your spouse away from the kids is extremely important for your relationship.  Now you can do it cheaply.

Getting Ready for School

This little sweetheart started cleaning all my student desks without me even asking.

Love her!

Brownie Yumminess

Eric has found one of the best treats!

It hits just the right spot when I want something sweet.

It is a brownie in a cup.  We sometimes add a scoop of ice cream on top.  

Here is the recipe.  Mix all of it in a mug and microwave it for 1 minute and 45 seconds.

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp oil

3 tbsp water

Here is the best part!  If you are on a Paleo diet, you can't eat it, unless you cheat like me.

Let me know what you think.

Mother Mary

From Junk to Greatness

You may think I found this on the side of the road, but I actually paid like $25 for it. 

I could see its greatness through the rust.

My idea was to use it as a nightstand in the girls' room. 

I was thinking, metal table to go with the metal bunk beds.  My mother was thinking, "There is something wrong with you."

I love its transformation!

 I am usually not the best at redoing furniture because I have no patience and want to just be DONE.

I was quite pleased with myself for taking the time to take it completely apart, not lose any of the pieces, and sand away most of the rust.  

I first painted everything gray.  Then I taped over the gray and painted the top orange.

I taped a chevron pattern onto the top and peeled away the tape.

Let me tell you something.  If you need to do touch ups because there was leakage under the tape, good luck.  I took a new can of spray paint that was supposedly the same color gray, sprayed it onto a piece of cardboard and used a tiny paintbrush to do some touch ups.  It DID NOT dry the same shade of gray.  I had to go back over all the gray on the top with a paint brush.  You can see the two different shades on the side table on the right.  I also picked a rainy day to do the painting.  I even went inside with the whole project for a little while to get it DONE.  

I do like the results.  Now I need to find sheets and blankets to match their room and it will be DONE.  It is only taking me a year to finish it.  That is normal for me.

What do you think?  Was my mom right?

That's What Friends Are For

I've been using Nerium for a while now.  My bestest friend Amanda came home from South Africa after being gone for 16 months.  I got super excited when she looked over at me while I was driving and said, "What have you been using on your face?  It looks angelic, artistically beautiful, and ageless!"  I may be paraphrasing just a little, but she meant my skin looked great.  I hadn't had anyone comment on my Nerium results yet, so I did feel pretty good right then.  Now if she would have only mentioned the half an inch long brown hair growing out of my cheek, she would have been completely in my good graces.  I walked around for like 2 more days until I noticed it.  I mentioned this to her and I quote her, "I don't notice imperfections.  I only see your flawless beauty."  She is back in my good graces for sure!  I

Here she is with her beautiful daughter Bella.

The word Hattie used to describe my face was "stallion."  Well there you go.  I have a horse face.

Farmer Eric

We had another interesting crop this year.  

Our cucumbers were quite odd looking.

According to Eric, his thumb is a dark brown but NOT black.

Scaredy Cat!

Someone saw a bug.  It was mommy to the rescue.

We Have Waited For This Day For So Long!

We finally have a kid old enough and strong enough to mow the yard.  We have waited over 11 years for this day.  She isn't so happy about it, but she doesn't have to worry about it too much right now.

You see, Eric and I have been borrowing my parents mower each week.  It is a SUPER nice mower with all the bells and whistles.  Lydda thinks it is lacking a little since she was wondering why daddy has to mow standing up.  My answer, "Because it is dangerous to mow while laying down."  

We recently had the chance to purchase a used mower.  We were so excited to not need to borrow anymore, except for their vacuum cleaner.  We still need that.

Eric used it yesterday for the first time.  We did go look at it and try it out a little before buying it.  I watched him out the back window while he mowed the back yard.  I noticed how easily it started.  It was great!  Then as I watched my manly man mow, I noticed something else, one of the wheels flew off.  I then watched my manly man with his vein popping out of his head try to reattach the wheel.  He was successful!  I watched him some more.  I noticed something else, another wheel flew off.  Eric also noticed a fuel leak and the lack of self propel it was supposed to have.  Now that is why Emogene doesn't have to worry about doing the yard.  She couldn't push the heavy mower.  My excitement over having a kid old enough to mow only lasted a week.

I'm telling you, we have the greatest knack at picking used items.    

Pool Time!

Sorry, the pool is closed.  We have reached maximum capacity. 

Emersyn's mom had to apologize for telling her we didn't have a pool.

We upgraded to a bigger pool! Emersyn will have to come back and enjoy it with us.

 Lydda got this one for her 3rd birthday. I finally blew it up.  

Cutest Volleyballer EVER!

The cutest and shortest member of the volleyball team is Emogene!  

I think she is going to be the secret weapon. 

Matching Weapons

For Mother's Day, Hattie gave me a spa treatment complete with matching hair styles.

  Hattie called her's a weapon, so I guess mine was too.

A Great Summertime Activity: A Treasure Hunt

For a fun day, I planned a treasure hunt for the girls.  I had started planning it around March and was super excited for summer to get started so we could do it.  My niece Emersyn was visiting, so she got to join in on the fun.  We all got ready for the day in our usual manner.  The girls did their chores.  I sent them to the bathroom to brush their teeth.  They found their first note written on the mirror.  It said, "Are you ready for some fun? Gather everyone at the kitchen table."  They read the note and hurried to the kitchen table.  I then sent them right back to brush their teeth.  

 Here they got their first clue.  It said, " I'm the color of red and full of things to view.  You always want to visit me and Mommy does too."  At this point I realized that your children are never as smart as you think they are.  I wanted to actually do the treasure hunt that day, so I had to give them some clues.  They were way off.  Farm? Zoo? Farm? Barn?  The most important clue was "view."  

 Red Box!

Eric went ahead of us and planted the clues all over town.  

They searched and searched.

 It was found taped on the back of the machine.  I had to get it because a spider was lurking nearby.

Here is the next clue, "Your mom comes here and waits in line, and money is safe until next time."

No hints needed for this one!

 I think it may be illegal to takes pictures inside of a bank.  If so, I broke the law.  Because of all of the excitement, I didn't think about it until we were done.

"You can drop a note into the box and play with the doors with the tiny locks."  We did have to discuss synonyms for "note."  They then got it!

 The post office!  The next clue was found in box #20.

 Think about it, think about it... "A creepy clown is all over the place and Mel gives you pies with a smiling face."  We had to remember who Mel was, Hattie's teacher Melody.  They then got it right away.  Melody has worked at the same place since she was a teenager, and even though she now has her teaching degree and is a fabulous teacher, she hasn't given up that job.

 McDonald*s!

She amazes me by working from 3:30am-6:30am before school.

We ordered pies.  It was supposed to be fries, but I had to change it at the last minute because it was still breakfast time. 

 They searched McDonald*s up and down.  I told them to come and enjoy their pies instead of looking.  The next clue was in Emersyn's pie box.  Only local people will get this one.  "We are almost done so let's get to the Point. You'll find chocolate milk at our next stopping point."

They needed a little help.  I had to point out that Point was capitalized.

 It was a small grocery store in our town.  I had to finally call Eric and find out where he hid this clue.  It was tough to find the next clue.

 "You better book it to your final place.  There's a Bad Kitty there.  Go to his space."

 The library!  

 Eric had gone ahead of us and planted their prizes near the Bad Kitty books at the library.

Notice how the children are almost stepping on them but not noticing them. They were looking for another clue.   After Eric and I stood and laughed quietly almost to tears, we had to point out the bags with their initials on them.

!

They found swimming gear inside.  We announced the place where we were going.  Emogene was super excited as you can tell from her eyes.  She then said with an excited grin, "I don't know what that is!"

 It was a water park!  As you can see, we almost got kicked out of the library.  Hattie was knocking books off the shelves and the rest were jumping up and down screaming.  It was exciting.  Hattie picked up all of the books, and we quieted down again.

 I of course gave them Thirty-One bags.  They loved them and now use them for travel bags.

I had such a great time relaxing by the water and enjoyed watching the girls play.  They are actually nowhere in this picture.  

Now, I do recommend every family do the treasure hunt.  These were the comments I heard from the back seat.

"Have y'all ever done this before?!" - Emersyn

"This is the funnest thing we've ever done!" - Emogene

"Why can't you be a normal person and just tell them they are going to a water park?" -Eric  

Okay, that last one was told to me the night before while I was giving Eric all of his instructions.  I can rarely claim to be normal.

Get started planning one for your kids.  You don't have to have a big thing at the end.  The water park was our one big pricey thing we did with the girls this summer.  I wanted to make it super special.

I may do it again and the end place be the snowball stand.  Not expensive, but extra fun.

Zoo Time

We bought a year membership to the zoo and a few other fun and educational places.  And since we had it for 360 days and used it a total of 1 time, we decided to use it just once more.  You know, to get our money's worth.

 I love taking pictures of Eric with his girls.

 The baby elephant statue was so cute they had to take a picture with it.

We couldn't resist either!

Lydda took a picture of us as well.  She was yelling, "I already got it!  I already got it!"  

She took it with my phone.

As you can see, she has a future in photography.  She takes the picture at just the right moment.

She took it just as we were worshiping the baby elephant statue, laying hands on it, or getting in position for the actual picture.  I'll let you decide which one.  

D.A.R.E. Graduation

Since Emogene was in fifth grade this year, she participated in DARE.  She was a very serious student and really enjoyed her instructor.

 Emogene and her friends performed a skit telling about the dangers of alcohol.

Mommy's Favorite Cheap Day!

We had a picnic!  The kids know this is one of my favorite things.  

I actually requested it for Mother's Day one year.

I try to keep a blanket in the car for spontaneous picnics that may break out at any moment.

Eric tried to convince these two that they should get into the pond.  They got their feet wet.

There were steps leading into the water.  This was the argument they used to try and get me to let them get in more.  Didn't happen!

 Emogene and Hattie harassed some geese.  Normal.

Lydda tried to avoid eye contact with me.  Such a pretty!

Relaxing 

Wow!  I see where she gets that glare from. 

The picnic was exhausting!