Christmas Time is Here!

Okay, maybe not yet. But there's only 130 days until the big day! Will you be ready? I will be! I'm starting the planning extra early this year and I'm taking you along with me. So to get things started, here are some things I'm going to start doing to start saving for all of those Christmas expenses!

• Purchase a gift card from my favorite store (Target) and add a little to it each time I shop there. I'm going to add $5-10 every time we're in the store. It's money that we would have spent needlessly eating out so it really won't be missed! By December hopefully I'll have saved a pretty penny (or two!) .
  
• Pay attention to grocery store fliers. Starting around Labor Day weekend, they really start to fight for our holiday dollars! I plan on picking up staples like flour, sugar, etc. while they are super cheap so I don't have to worry about them later.
  
• Designate a change jar and toss my extra change in it every day. I've been doing this pretty regularly and even though it's been "robbed" a few times, it adds up pretty quickly! And if you can find a Coinstar machine near you, you can cash in your change for a gift card to numerous different stores for no charge! I LOVE to pick up amazon.com gift cards this way!
  

What I won't be doing:

• Making my own Christmas cards. I greatly admire those of you who do this - I just can't. I don't plan well and end up scraping together a few cards at the last minute. So I'm releasing myself from all card-making guilt and letting the pros at Hallmark do the job for me.
• Worrying about the quantity of gifts I purchase. I really, really want to simplify this Christmas. I know I certainly don't want a lot of chotckies laying around my house (with two kids, do I really need more to dust and pick up?) so I am vowing to not get worthless crap for other people as well - just for the sake of giving them something. I'm making an effort to start planning early, really think about what each person likes/wants and go from there.
• Buying toys for the kids on my list (except my own). This one may be fudged a little. But the kids I know (including my own!) have so many toys. They really don't have a 'need' for any more. I always try to get books for the kids - I think reading is such an important part of childhood! - but they aren't always excited about getting yet another book. This one will take some thought, but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to.

Who's getting ready for Christmas with me?!?

Things I Love

• Purex Laundry Sheets - I was skeptical about these at first because really - who believes that one sheet can replace a detergent and fabric softener? But these things really WORK! They take up such a small amount of space, make my clothes soft and smell so good.
  
• This recipe for stuffed zucchini. Our neighbor brought us some fresh lettuce and zucchini from her garden. I made some terrible zucchini bread - but this stuffed zucchini was SO good!
  
• That Riley is so excited about starting preschool! The official start is the day after Labor Day. More to come on that I'm sure.
  
• Glade Fabric and Air Odor Elimnator - I was a big fan of Febreze but it's so stinking expensive (no pun intended!). At the grocery store today I found these Glade sprays on sale for $2.99 PLUS each bottle had a $2 off coupon attached to it! 99 cents! So I picked up a couple bottles and gave them a whirl. The scent is really nice and fresh, hides the dog smell from our beloved Lucy, and lasts a long time!
• America's Funniest Home Videos. That show never gets old. Riley especially likes the animal bloopers. Tonight he laughed so hard at a puppy clip that he couldn't breathe.
• Music by Elizabeth Balzano, the return of the Wiggles, and pretty much everything else about Sprout.
  

Menu Plan Monday

I haven't gotten away from planning my menu - I just haven't been posting it. I've been just writing 5-7 meal ideas on the dry erase board I keep in the kitchen, grocery shopping around those meals, and then checking them off once we eat them. That way we have a plan, but still a little freedom to choose each night. (I got this idea from Rachel!) So here's what we'll be having...

• South Of The Border Chicken
• Homemade Pizza
• Roast with carrots and potatoes
• Tacos
• Chicken Stirfry
• Grilled Chicken and Corn on the Cob

Our neighbor across the street brought us some zucchini and fresh lettuce from her garden. I got a recipe for zucchini cream pie that I can't wait to try! (Thanks Ashley!) I also have been working on a cool project and have a sassy new 'do...but more about those later!

Find a ton more menu ideas and other great stuff at orgjunkie!

Best Buddies

My nephew Carter and Riley sitting on the picnic table. Part of Riley's new swingset! These boys are so funny, sweet and onery. Love it when they are together!

Dooce = Hilarious

I'm a big fan of Heather Armstrong's blog Dooce. She posted one today about baby farts and Oswald the Octopus that was so funny I thought I'd wet myself.

Please, please go read this. You'll thank me for it later.

**Disclaimer - her language is a little salty, but we're all adults, right?

http://www.dooce.com/2009/07/30/jons-44th

Trouble

Today Brenna pulled all the books and papers out of our bookshelf. As I was cleaning that up, I noticed she was missing. Here's how I found her under the table - after sucking on brother's blue marker. It's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute. (No worries - it was Crayola Washables, non-toxic! It came off with a little soap, water and chocolate milk. :-D )

Old School

I had a great time Thursday night catching up with some gals who knew me 'back in the day'! Ah, high school...when my hair was much longer, skirts were much shorter (believe it or not, I was a cheerleader then!) and my occupation of choice was slinging hot dogs at The Dog Shed - good memories! I feel like I've changed so much. It's been a quite a journey going from Cheerleader B to the Mighty B I am today. But I suppose that it's also true that the more things change, the more they stay the same!

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One thing we discussed was our new found love for saving money. We're all stay at home mom's, so every penny counts! So I thought I'd share some of my favorite websites that help me make better decisions. Hope you enjoy these Ashley and Tasha!!

Hot Coupon World - This site can be a little overwhelming because it's got SO much information. Just take it bit by bit and find which forums are most useful for you - I recommend the CVS forums!

Money Saving Mom - Also has a lot of useful tips on saving!

Simple Mom - This has become one of my favorite blogs. Lots of great information on just about every topic. She's doing a series now called Back to Basics that I'm really loving.