Why do I coupon?

A lot of my friends (or people standing in line with me) ask me why I spend the time to coupon - "Why do you waste all that time?!".  So I had to share this great shopping trip I did this month.  I purchased all of this at Safeway in one shopping trip. 

Before coupons - $121.99
After card/coupons - $10.31 <--------- WOW!!
Savings of 92%!!!!!!

So, I think it's safe to say it PAYS to coupon!  This is enough bars, fruit snacks, and rollups for Rowdy's whole Kindergarten year! The plain cheerios are going to his school for snacktime for the kids.

So that's why I coupon.  Any questions? LOL.

First Week in Bentos

So, I love Bento style lunches and have been building a great Bento supply stash the past few years.  So when Rowdy was ready to start Kindergarten I was just as excited because I could make his lunch - Bento style!  So here are some of his lunches he has taken since he started school.

First was turkey sammies using the Williams Sonoma Star Wars cookie cutters.  It's Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper.  Pretty darn cool I must say.  Babybel written on with a food marker, hard boiled egg "fish"

with the yolk taken out (Rowdy hates yolk), strawberry, grapes, carrots and ranch in the elephant.  And Angry Bird Cheez nips under the elephant.  Oh, and a reese cup for dessert. 

This was my version of a lunchable - those over priced things in the meat department that contain crackers, fake cheese and whatnot.  Rowdy wanted cheese and crackers instead of a sammie so this is what he got.  Ritz Crackers, cheddar/provolone cheese, turkey, cherry toms from Grandma's Garden, graham cracker Angry Birds, clememtine wedges, strawberry, carrots and ranch, and a reese's for dessert.

I started to get creative and steal ideas off of pinterest.  Here we have a turkey sammie in the shape of a pencil - Cheddar cheese for the "body" and provolone for the eraser and I used a food marker for the "lead".  Apples, a cookie, grapes, quakes, cukes, and carrots with ranch.  Oh and a cow's tale for dessert.

Lego!!  This turned out so cute and it was so easy to make.  It's a pb & J cut into a rectangle.  I then hand cut out circles from the bread and adhered with pb!  He loved this!  He also got grapes, butterfly cukes, babybel with a heart cut out, Angry Birds grahams, and watermelon.  He ate almost all of this lunch at lunchtime.  I think only some grahams made their way home.  Success!!

All of these lunches were made in the Easy Lunchbox.  I bought them on Amazon for $13.95 for 4 containers.  They are BPA free and dishwasher safe.  This is a plus for me as my goal is to use the least amount of waste in Rowdy's lunches. 

Rowdy's First Day of Kindergarten *sniff*

What happened to my baby??  When did he get old enough to start school?  I just wasn't sure how I was going to handle this day but I made it through without too many water works (yep, I'm lying).  Rowdy on the other hand was A-Ok and handled it like a pro.  And oh my gorsh was he just the cutest little Kindergartner you ever did see?

Rowdy is going to Liberty Traditional School so they have uniforms - YAY!  He has a choice of red, white, or blue polos to wear.  He chose red for his first day.  And he combed his hair!  I was so proud.

Mommy and Daddy walked him into his new classroom.  Rowdy was keepin' it real by sportin' some Angry Bird swag off his new big boy backpack.  Gotta show a little flare, right?!

A desk right at the front of the classroom!?  That is always the spot I say to pick first.  It shows you are confident and you will never miss what the teacher said (and you can't get away with anything either, lol!).  So I was happy when I saw this was his assigned seat. 

Rowdy gets to work right away on a picture he has to color.  He pulls out his shiny new Spiderman pencil box and gets his brand new pointy crayons out and gets to work right away.  As you can see the girls are already gossiping about how cute the blonde boy is.  That's my boy.

I give him about 30 more kisses and a few "omg I can't believe this is happening" and tell him I love him and to have a good day.  I slowly, very slowly, back away getting ready to leave but I have to get a few more shots of my baby at his desk, in his classroom, on his first day of Kindergarten.  *sniff*  Here I go again! 

One more picture on the way out the door, one more peek into the window, and I made my way to my car.  That's when I broke down and cried my heart out.  My baby started Kindergarten?  How did I let this happen?  Oh well, I will be fine...eventually.  And this little guy.........

Was A-Ok. 

A successful first day of school for a proud Mommy and her little baby boy.



And Then it Snowed

Courthouse Square, downtown Prescott

Yep, told you so.  Snowed so much some people were stuck in their homes for 48 hours.  I wish that happened to me but no of course not.  I'm smart about driving to work in these conditions and I never miss work because of snow.  Darn.  It was quite beautiful though.

Happy Spring?  Let's try this again shall we?



Homemade Face Wipes and a Little Spring

The trees are blooming here in Prescott Valley.  The weather has been strangely beautiful.  It must mean we are do for snow.  Gotta love Arizona.  They say if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes it will change.

Spring always gets me in major cleaning mode.  Cleaning the house has been in full swing here and I have become an organization fool.  But I also have wanted to try my hand at my making my own cleaning/beauty supplies and I decided to start with this great homemade makeup remover wipe recipe I found on Pinterest (oh Pinterest how I love thee).  It is via WhiteHouseBlackShutters.

                                                Even Rowdy was shocked by how cool and easy this was!
You will need:
1 roll Bounty Select a Size
2 Tbls coconut oil (melted)
1-2 squirts baby wash (I used J&J Head to Toe)
4 Cups water
2 containers (I used one rubbermaid and one generic I had laying around)

Whatcha do:
Cut paper towel roll into 2 equal parts using a butcher knife (not serrated, you get fuzzies).  In bowl mix water, melted coconut oil, and baby wash together.  Pour equally into the two containers.  Put cut paper towel roll cut end down into plastic container.  Push down in mixture and secure lid.  Flip both containers upside down and let sit for no less than 5 minutes.  Then open up and pull cardboard out from center.  Pull up center wipe and Voila!

This "recipe" was originally for baby wipes so they work for that as well.  I tried them tonight and I gotta say......my face feels clean and soft.  I think I found my solution to those expensive face wipes I always buy.  This will save me money and I know what I am putting on my face.  

Happy Spring Everyone!

Spring Cleaning Time is Here

I already started decluttering last week.  I cleaned out my laundry room (I really wished I did a before and after photo because it was a big difference), garage (a little not completely), and re-organized my pantry.  Today I cleaned out Rowdy's room and he gave up a big box of toys that he hasn't played with in awhile.  That earned him a TV in his room (thanks to Poppa) so he was quite pleased.  Tomorrow is the Craft Room again (my desk is a disaster zone!).

Anyone else want to join me in some Spring Cleaning Fun!?

Valentine's Day Candy Bar Wrappers

What a quick and fun idea for Valentine's Day!  Thanks to my friend Pam for these great wrappers she made on her computer. 

All that was needed for this project was the labels, tape, scissors, and 21 chocolate bars (20 kids in his class and of course his teacher).

Rowdy did a great job helping by cutting out the labels with kid friendly scissors.  Then Mommy wrapped them on the chocolate bars and sealed with tape.  Voila!  Another unique and personal Valentine for Rowdy's classmates.



ROWDY (Rowdy typed that himself!)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!







Composting: A New Year's Resolution Complete

I am so happy to report that I have completed a New Year's Resolution and have officially started composting.  It was so easy to get started.  I followed the simple instructions on http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/

Drilling holes was easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Using simple Rubbermaid like containers is all you need to get started.  Luckily I had 2 generic ones in my garage that were collecting dust so that is what I used. 

Start by drilling holes evenly around the lid of the container.  Maybe a few in the middle to allow for aeration.  Then flip the container over and drill a few holes on the bottom for drainage. 

Don't get too excited.  He didn't help for long. 

Next, start to add your shtuff to your bin.  Start with a layer of shredded newspaper.  Then add some dried leaves.  Water this down but don't drown it.  Finally, add your kitchen scraps (fruits and veggie bits, egg shells, etc) and put a lid on it. 

Not much but it's a start.  I need the neighbors coffee grounds now.

Make sure to turn your mixture every 3 or 4 weeks to mix it up.  It will start to turn into compost soil within a few months.  I made two bins mainly because I had two but I figured I could get one going and then go back and forth.  I don't think I will have enough soil for this year's garden but you never know.  Hopefully worms will find their way in as well.  That makes it even better!

These two frugal compost bins have made a home behind my garage.

We now keep a bowl in the kitchen for kitchen scraps and Rowdy is learning what we can compost.  Then when it fills up, Rowdy runs it out to the bin.  He is really learning alot about what we can do to lighten our footprint on the world.  That makes it all worth while.

Whew....where the heck have I been?! (Review of 2011)

I haven't posted since March and so much has happened I don't even know where to begin.  I have gone to the Olympic National Forest in Washington, Alaska (again), had an amazing summer, went to three concerts, went to the happiest place on earth, had the best Birthday week ever, have met so many great people, enjoyed every moment with my amazing son, and had a blast with my friends.  2011 has been one of the best years of my life and I did really well with my resolutions!  The biggest resolution I kept with was "Be Happy".  This was the most important and if I didn't accomplish anything else, this was the one that had to happen.  And it did.  Merry Christmas!  I will be starting this blog up again in 2012 so watch out for it!

First Beach, LaPush, Washington

Redoubt Bay, outside Anchorage, Alaska

William Fitzsimmons (most amazing song writer/folk singer of our time)

Rowdy and Mommy being silly on the iPhone

Rowdy at swim lessons this summer

Alejandro of Boyce Avenue, Martini Ranch, Scottsdale

Rowdy at Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth

Halloween, vampire and Spiderman coming at ya

The girls and the boy

Celebrating my 37th with Joena and many other friends downtown Prescott

Christmas pic taken at Grand Canyon Hotel, Williams, AZ

So many great memories of 2011.  Happy New Year everyone! 

Love, Stephanie & Rowdy

Lions & Tigers & Bears OH MY!

What an awesome trip to an awesome place - Out of Africa Animal Park in Cottonwood, AZ! 

That's Rowdy feeding a giraffe a cookie with his mouth!  He did it three times and didn't mind the slobber one bit!  He also fed a camel (from his mouth), a tiger, and some other exotic African animals.  This place was so cool.  It was pricey but well worth the money. 

It was so neat to see all these animals in their semi-natural habitat. 

Now, that's an egg - an Ostrich egg to be exact!

My Mom knew someone that worked there and he was kind enough to let us in some areas that would otherwise be unaccesable!  We were able to pet some porcupines and look a cobra straight in the eye!  And I am not kidding.  This thing was right in front of me!

They had some beautiful felines at the park, too!

A white tiger and a lioness

My brave boy feeding a tiger named Ezekial

They also has some young bears and a pair of hyenas.  The hyenas were cool to watch!  I had never seen one up close before.  They laugh when they want their food.  And they growl when they are happy and want to play! 

And let's not forget the giant python that Rowdy was enthralled with!  A Python is the longest snake in the world.  It slithered around and never fazed him!  He thought it was the coolest thing ever!

So next time you are thinking, "what should we do today?", why not take a trip to this awesome animal park.  You won't be sorry.  Of course the natives are pretty restless! 

"FEED ME!  I AM STARVING HERE!"  No we didn't feed the zebras but they sure were relentless!

Boom Boom the Rhino