Fun way to teach kids nutrition.

Here is a fun little game that I found to teach kids about nutrition, it also works for adults if you want to put your stats in, enjoy!  :)  http://www.fns.usda.gov/multimedia/Games/Blastoff/BlastOff_Game.html

American Girl Doll collecting on the cheap!



Before

Before, when her hair came down from that it stayed in that shape and you could not brush it!!



After

After

After

Here are a few tips for those of you like me that have a daughter that loves American Girl dolls, but you just cant stomach the price, I am going to let you in a a small secret of how you can collect these dolls for at lest half off their retail price. I have been buying and restoring used dolls off of the site www.shopgoodwill.com (this is also a great resource for designer bags and such) the dolls here sell for around $50-$60 depending on the condition and usually come with some clothes and accessories too! Once you successfully bid on and win a doll you will usually have to do a few things to get her up to par, I have been following the techniques on this youtube channel with good results, http://www.youtube.com/user/stephenswodadancer . I will say that some of the things she suggests are against what American Girl says you should do to the doll, but in my opinion that is because they want you to send the dolls to them for restoration instead of doing it yourself. Here are some before and after pics of a doll that I bought for my daughters upcoming birthday, mostly I sewed her a new dress and restored her hair. The dress is very simple to make from upcycled things you have around the house and requires minimal sewing, I will add directions for it in the comments.

National Pancake Day

For those of you that don't know, today is National Pancake Day! So what a great excuse to take a break from your menu plan and have some fun experimenting in the kitchen with different varieties of pancakes. If you need some inspiration allrecipes.com has 200 different pancake recipes to try out: http://allrecipes.com/recipes/breakfast-and-brunch/pancakes/ . Personally I will be making an old favorite, pumpkin pancakes and the recipe for these can be found here: http://www.momadvice.com/food/aldi_meal_plan_fall4.aspx . Of course if you don't want to cook and feel like heading out for a drive you can always visit IHOP today for their free short stack (donations for charity are appreciated) details here: http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/ .  Enjoy!

Easter Baskets on a Budget

 

The final topic I want to cover this month is the building of Easter Baskets. First of all you should have been saving your coupons for Easter Basket items, but if you don't have a stash never fear it is not too late, there will be printable coupons this month and next of course, but also check out gas stations for vendor coupons for candy. These usually don't make for a huge discount if used at the gas station but most are manufactures coupons and can be used at a discount store or Walmart for a significant savings. Next you need to pick a theme for your basket I usually do summer stuff such as flip flops, sunglasses, drink bottles, things that I will have to buy my kids anyhow. There are also a lot of great board game and movie coupons available to print that you could build a basket around. Finally you need to select your container, once again I usually try to go for something useful like a beach bag, or a sand pail but there are also some great ideas out there to make your own baskets. Here is a cute one to try if you like to sew:

Fabric Easter Basket

http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/03/fabric-easter-basket.html

Early next month I will post pictures and a cost run down for the baskets that I create showing everyone how to make cute baskets on a a budget.

Here are the topics that I will cover next month: Frugal outdoor and landscaping projects, Birthday party ideas on a budget, fun ways to get kids involved in yard work.

 

St. Patricks Day Fun

St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday this year and since I always try to cook a fun meal that day I think that this year I will try breakfast instead of the usual corned beef dinner. Here is the menu I plan to prepare:

1. Shamrock Pancakes: these are simple just prepare your favorite pancake mix either homemade or store bought and then dye your batter green. There are two ways to serve these, either use a shamrock cookie cutter and shape them after they are cooked, or a less waste full way is to make mini pancakes and then just lay them out on the plates in the proper shape.
2. Rainbow fruit tray: this is a simple arrangement, you just lay out the fruits of the appropriate color on the tray to build your rainbow. There are several options for each color. Strawberries, raspberries or watermelon work for the red section, oranges or cantaloupe for the orange, pineapple for the yellow, kiwi or green grapes for the green section, blueberries for blue and purple grapes or blackberries for the purple section, then use bananas to create your clouds.
3. Green beverages, simply add food color to juice or milk.
4. I will round the meal out with some turkey bacon or perhaps I might try to dye some turkey sausage green.

If you are looking for another fun way to celebrate then you could try this fun leprechaun hunt idea located here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2157022_hold-st-patricks-day-leprechaun.html

Spring Break Close to home

This month there are several great opportunities to be creative with your money while having fun and spending time with your families. The first area I would like to discuss is Spring Break, this is a traditional time for families to take vacations, but this year I am presenting this challenge, stay home! I have complied of list of 10 places to visit locally during this school holiday that wont break your budget and will help fuel local economies. Every year I plan out of week of activities for me and my children based on local attractions, then we pack a lunch and explore the communities around us...here are a few favorites:

1. Maggie's Jungle Golf- 7301 HWY 641 N, Gilbertsville, KY 42044 http://maggiesjunglegolf.com/ -This is a great little day trip, you can play golf and see the animals all for around $40.00, plus there are plenty of places to stop and picnic along the way there!
2. Nature Station at LBL- The Nature Station is located north of the Golden Pond Visitor Center. Travel north on The Trace about 8 miles, turn on Mulberry Flat Road and travel another 5 miles. http://lbl.org/NSGate.html This is one of our favorite places to visit, the admission is low and the staff are wonderful about taking the time to talk to you about each animal that they have at the facility, they all have wonderful stories about how they came to be there. Also check the calendar they usually have special events all the week of spring break that are included with your admission.
3. The Homeplace at LBL- The Homeplace is located in the Tennessee portion of LBL. From the Golden Pond Visitor Center travel south on The Trace about 12 miles. http://lbl.org/HPGate.html This is another great place to spend the day, there is much to see and learn on this working 19^th century farm. They also have special activities the week of spring break and I recommend the “Children's Chores” session where they show the kids they types of jobs that children would have done during that time period, there is an additional fee and reservations required for this program.
4. The Planetarium at LBL- The Golden Pond Planetarium is located inside the Golden Pond Visitor Center - the Observatory is located behind the building. The Visitor Center is located in the center of LBL, where The Trace and US Hwy. 68/80 meet. http://lbl.org/PLGate.html Compared with other planetariums in the area this cost of this one cannot be beat and the show schedule changes based on the day of the week so you have several options and a lot of variety.
5. The Clay Chameleon-4793 Village Square DR, Paducah, KY http://claychameleon.com/ Spend the morning creating and painting and then round out your afternoon with lunch out or a picnic in Nobel Park. I am sure there are other clay studios that offer this kind of experience, but this is the one I have tried so of course visit your favorite.
6. Adventure Science Center Nashville- 800 Fort Negley Blvd, Nashville TN 37203. http://www.adventuresci.com/ This is one of the more costly suggestions on my list, but well worth the visit there is so much to do here for all ages and they have weekly programs too.
7. Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Garden- 1545 Mesker Park DR, Evansville, IN http://www.meskerparkzoo.com/ While I will honestly say I have not visited this zoo I have heard good things and it is one of the closest zoos in our area.
8. Swim Night- This idea is a simple one but, I can almost guarantee your kids will love it. All you do is book a hotel room with an indoor pool, then the kids get to spend the evening swimming and you can order in some food and relax. You have several options for this and you don't have to go any further than Hopkinsville.
9. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere- http://www.nashvillezoo.org/ This is one of my favorite local zoos for several reason, first of all the size is perfect for children, you can comfortably see everything in a day! There is also a lot of history at this zoo and you can also visit the Grassmere farm while there making it a two attraction experience and very educational. Finally they have several exotic species like Snow Leopards and Red Pandas that you do not see at other zoos.
10. My final idea is let the kids plan a day, be it movies and pizza or roller skating ask them what they would like to do and depending on their age level let them be in charge of the plans. The Drive-IN at Calvert City will be opening for the season on April 6^th and this would be a great option for a movie night! http://calvertdrivein.com/

Greetings! I have taken a huge break from bloging recently, but now I am back with tons of changes and new features for my blog. It is no longer all about couponing, while this is a huge money saver, it is only one small part of frugal living. So moving forward each month I am going to feature several frugal ideas that are seasonally appropriate to help make your planning and budgeting easier and more enjoyable.