A Recipe for the Perfect Family Night

Every so often we deem it "family date night." Although, we have some variation, the usual includes pizza, a movie, and a special treat (most often some form of chocolate, of course!). On this particular date night, we decided to make our own pizza.
Here's how . . .

(1) Gather your toppings. Be sure to sample them to ensure that they are of the best quality - don't be afraid to taste more if you are not absolutely sure!


(2) Prepare your pans. Generously coat them to ensure not one little scrap is lost to the pan. (Yes! That is a huge puddle of Pam!) Spread your dough in the pans, or cut out circles or other shapes for small individual pizzas.

(3) Proceed to spread pizza sauce on the dough, perfectly place each topping, and finalize the masterpiece with some cheese.

(4) Repeat the process until you have enough pizzas to feed an entire army, I mean, family.
(5) Bake until all patience has completely run out. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Don't forget! This wonderful culinary experience is best enjoyed when followed by cuddling on the couch in pj's, with blankies, pillows, and a good movie!

Andy's Web Site

Andy has set up a web site blogging about free stuff (especially for children's ministry). It is www.freecmstuff.com - Go check it out!

For Mommies

I recently read the book The Mommy Manual by Barbara Curtis. The mommy manual. Wow! Doesn’t that sound like a dream come true!? One of the greatest things about this book is that it is written by a mom who, as a parent, has truly experienced almost everything. She has twelve children (some biological and some adopted), four of her children have Down’s Syndrome, she began her life as a mom as a non-Christian but now loves the Lord, she has home schooled, public schooled, and private schooled, she has been a single parent but now has a loving husband, and the list goes on! If anyone is qualified to write a manual for moms, it must be Barbara Curtis. Her goal for this book is to give moms the following four things:

· The keys to unlock your child’s potential
· Ways to tune in to your child’s unique gifts
· Secrets of joyful parenting
· Encouragement for your journey

Trained as a Montessori teacher, Barbara draws heavily on her learning and experiences with the Montessori way of thought. As a result, this book is full of very practical ways that you, as a mom, can help your child succeed. The book is divided into three sections. The first gives 10 keys to “understanding your kids and releasing their joy––and yours,” and predominately focuses on babies to preschool age children. Barbara does a great job helping you to see the world from your child’s perspective and then gives excellent ways to put your understanding into practice.

The second section of this book focuses on “building a good work ethic and gracious character in your kids.” What?! No more “Do I have to?” “Oh, I forgot.” or “No, that’s MINE!”––sign me up! We all know how vital these attributes are to our children succeeding in their adult life. Barbara explains how moms can begin to cultivate them at a very early age.

The final section of the book gives insight on “passing on our cultural heritage and creating a rich family life.” In today’s culture, where it is so easy to “veg” out in front of the TV, this section includes ways to explore entertainment, the arts, and create family memories outside the realm of your living room (although she does give a rather large list of great family movies––divided into age appropriate categories). Two great resources in this section are an excellent “must read” book list for your kids and great ideas to create new traditions for different holidays.

As with any manual, this book is great to read cover to cover in order to have a greater understanding of our most precious possessions. However, it also serves as an excellent resource to pull out from time to time––whether it’s when you’re at your wits end (let’s face it––we’ve all been there a time or two!) or whether you are just looking for a new idea to liven things up. However you want to use it, this is definitely a “gotta have it” for every mommy! It definitely challenged me and caused me to reevaluate how I go about this whole “mommy business.”

(Disclaimer: This review isn't too specific for two reasons - (1) so you'll actually have to read it for yourself and (2) so you don't have to read 10 more pages by me!)

Family ABCs

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Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

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My New Hobby - Saving Money

Recently, I've become very addicted to using coupons. I never thought that this day would come, but I've been introduced to a whole new world of shopping that makes it all so easy. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a bargain shopper. Now, my bargain shopping for things like clothes and shoes has spilled over into my weekly grocery trips. I get such a "rush" and a "thrill" from looking at the bottom of my receipt and seeing how much I saved, and my family is constantly subjected to ecstatic phone calls from me bragging about what a good deal I got.

So, you are probably thinking, like I did, that you don't have time for cutting coupons, remembering to take them with you (isn't it hard enough just trying to find your list?), pulling them out from the recesses of your purse, and waiting for the cashier to uncrinkle them all and slowly scan each one while you try to keep your toddler(s) from grabbing candy from the aisle, climbing out of the cart, or losing a shoe or sippy cup . . . you get the picture. BUT, I had no idea how much I could save!! I have been saving AT LEAST 50% off my grocery bill total and usually it is much more than that. Plus, my shopping trips are easier because I'm more organized. Now, this organization is not something that I have to try to fit in an already too busy day - I just cut coupons and work on my list while I'm watching TV (which makes me feel less guilty about having that "down time" - I love multi-tasking!!)

Okay, here's the deal - I know that I sound like I'm trying to sell something, I'M NOT - I'm just SUPER EXCITED and want to share my findings with anyone else who is interested. Basically, there are three things that I do that gets my TONS of free or seriously discounted stuff (we're talking under a dollar here!)

#1. I joined the Grocery Game (http://www.thegrocerygame.com).
They offer a 4 week trial period for a $1, but I promise you that you'll become hooked! Basically, what they do is compile lists for each grocery store (you pick the one(s) you shop at). This lists detail all the sales that store is having and tells you which coupon to use to get the best price. That means that you don't clip the coupons from Sunday's paper and use them Monday. You wait until the list tells you to use that coupon in order to get the best deal. The list is color-code to help you make your shopping trip list. BLACK means that it is on sale and a pretty good deal, BLUE means that it is the best deal that is ever offered and you try to stock up on these items, GREEN means that it is FREE!! Last week in my grocery shopping trip I saved $140. $75 of that was JUST FROM COUPONS!!!!! Anyway, this makes cutting coupons totally worth the little extra work!!

#2. CVS Extra Bucks
This is so much fun, it is like playing a real life game. CVS offers certain items each week that earn Extra Care Bucks (ECB's). This is basically store credit that you can use on other purchases. Visit http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2008/03/cvs-101.html
to get a detailed description of how this works. ECB's allow you to get a lot of free stuff. Another trick that I figured out is that if they are having a buy one get one free sale and you have a buy one get one free coupon for the same item(s), then you get BOTH items FREE. They don't make both items half price; therefore, when you use your coupon they ring it up for the total of the item which means you pay nothing! Or, for a BOGO sale you can use two coupons since you are getting two items. Often this means that they end up paying you for the items!

#3. Rite Aid Single Check Rebate
This is very similar to CVS's reward program, except that instead of ECB's you get a check in the mail for the amount of savings that you've earned. Basically, I just use this for the items that I can get completely free. I charge them on my credit card and then pay it off with the rebate check that comes in the next 2-3 weeks. There are no rebate forms to fill out and mail in. You just go online and enter in three sets of numbers from your receipt and they do the rest. My last shopping trip to Rite Aid I got $81 worth of shampoo, hair care products, razors, light bulbs, contact solution, etc. for about $2 of tax that I paid (I used some coupons on top of their sales which offset some of the tax).

Well, there it is - my latest hobby. Check it out and let me know what you think. Email me or send me a message if you have any questions. Obviously, I like to talk about it!!! If you try the grocery game and decide you like it and want to join, you can put me down for the referral if you remember. (My email address is angelforandy@msn.com). You can get free weeks for every 3 people who say that they were referred by you. (I know - still trying to get MORE free stuff!!!!) Seriously though, it is no big deal if you don't.

Strawberry PIcking

We had a good time picking strawberries. After explaining that we really did want the strawberries and not the flowers, the girls and I began the picking. Kerri lasted for about a whole 30 seconds. After that, she took her first bite and did not stop eating the entire time. I told the people there that we should have weighed her before and after to pay for all the ones that she ate! Emma Lee was a little more dedicated in her picking, but she still took the time to eat her fair share. Somehow, between Kerri snatching them out of the bucket almost as fast as I could pick them, we ended up with 13 pounds of strawberries. Yummy! Here are a couple of pics, to see them all click on the facebook link.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20565&l=ae8ab&id=528592324