Frugal » Frugal and Fun Mom/ Mom Blog, Reviews, Giveaways, Family Fun

Frugal Living Tip, The Weekly Dinner List! A Way To Get The Family Involved in Meal Planning!

Apr 262013

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

O.K., I have to admit it, I have been a bit of a frugal slacker.

Since the birth of baby #3 we have been eating out a little more, and although it was yummy on many occasion, we have been spending money that we could have been saving. I don’t mind going out for a treat now and again, or taking advantage of a kids eat free deal, but the reality is I could have been duplicating many of these meals at home for a fraction of the cost.

So to help get us back on track to eat at home, I enacted the Weekly Dinner List. This is not a new idea and I’m sure you have seen it other places. This is not high-tech by any means either, I just jot it down on a piece of paper and hang it on the fridge. You may have even done this yourself. Don’t get me wrong, this is not set in stone either. I have changed the menu up a few times when I realized I was missing an ingredient.

Kids Salad Bar 003

I also got the kids involved in this process. On the car ride home from school we brainstorm for meal ideas, and I then write it down. My 7 year old son is really excited about this since he gets to help choose dinner, and after we eat, he even makes sure to scratch out what we had (just in case I forget what day it is). He told his grandma one night, “I have to get home, it is Meatloaf night and I love Meatloaf”.

This has also put me on a personal mission to try new recipes. I even tried my own version of a few I saw at the Publix Aprons display in store. In the process, we have also had the Kids Size Salad Bar one night and Spinach and Apple Salad as a side. Plus, the list allows me to plan in advance, which makes me more likely to stick to it.

What are your children’s favorite recipes? Is there a restaurant favorite that you have learned to duplicate at home? (Feel free to share the recipes below.)

We only went out for pizza once so far, so I think it is working. I’ll just have to keep at it.

FFM

Snowman Craft With Cotton Balls and Construction Paper! Easy and Fun for the Kids!

Dec 082012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

I wanted to do something fun with the kids this afternoon, so I put together this Snowman craft. I had seen something similar to this as a free craft event and thought, I bet I can I figure out how to do that myself at home. It was really easy to implement and the biggest part was cutting out the pieces to be glued onto the body of the snowman.

All you need for this craft is:

scissors
pieces of construction paper in orange, brown, black, and red. You can use any other colors as well
cotton balls
glue
hole punch
craft sticks (aka popsicle sticks) and if you don’t have craft sticks try using pencils or sticks from a tree.

I went ahead and made an example in advance for my kids to follow. I simply glued three cotton balls to the top of the popsicle stick and attached the various items for clothing to the cotton balls with glue. After this, I then cut out some more scarfs, hats, skirts, and arms from the construction paper for the kids to use. However, I let them use the hole punch to make circles for buttons, mouths, and eyes.

I had to supervise my 4-year-old with the glue, but I did let my 6-year-old do it all by himself. They each made a Snowman and a Snow-woman. Both kids had a blast making this craft.

As a suggestion, you could easily turn these Snow people into magnets by gluing a strip magnet to the back. Also, they could be an ornament by tying a ribbon on before you put all of the parts on the stick, or gluing a ribbon to the back. I think my kids are going to use them as puppets. They’ll probably end up in a potted plant for me to enjoy.

I hope you and your family enjoy this craft, and Happy Holidays!

FFM

.50 off Coupon for Bar Keepers Friend! Plus, Frugal Ways I Use It For Home Improvement!

Dec 042012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

I am a huge fan of Bar Keeper’s Friend when it comes to cleaning my home. It has a light smell, and it is extremely effective. I use it to scrub the shower, my sinks, and I even use it on my kids play table when they get crayons and markers on the surface.

Right now there is a coupon for .50 available for print! If you are a fan as well, I figured you might be interested! FYI, they carry it at Walmart and Target.

CLICK HERE–>$0.50 off ONE (1) BAR KEEPERS FRIEND Cleanser. Only available while supplies last.

Plus, check out these ways I Use It For Home Improvement!

I Got My Grout Clean Today! A Frugal Living Tip!

I Got My Smooth Top Range Clean Today! A Frugal Living Tip!

FFM

I Got My Grout Clean Today! A Frugal Living Tip!

Nov 042012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

Before

We moved into our house back in October, and one of the challenges I have faced is keeping the almost white surfaces, almost white. Off white tile, grout, and white Berber carpets would not have been my first choice of colors with the traffic we produce, but the house had so many other great features I was willing to deal with it.

Well, it is almost a year later and needless to say with 2 dogs, a cat, 2 mobile kids and 2 adults, the grout is not as pretty anymore. And since I really don’t want to pay a professional to come in and clean it unless absolutely necessary, I figured I would give it a try.

Not to long ago, I had tried using Bar Keeper’s Helper on my Smooth Top Range, and it did wonders, so I figured I would try it out on the grout.

So first off, I tested a small area with the Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polish, to verify that I would not ruin it, but it worked fine. I also checked their site to see if they recommended it for this surface, barkeepersfriend.com/tile-and-grout, and they did.

Here are the tools that I needed to complete the task; A thin scrubbing brush, a cup with water, Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polish, and paper towels.

How I did it:

I poured a little bit of the Bar Keepers Friend on the grout, wet the brush, scrubbed until clean, and then used a damp paper towel to clean off the dirt and the left over cleaner.

After

It did an awesome job and Hubby even mentioned how nice it looked. I am really excited about this outcome! Now, keep in mind this may not work for everyone’s surface so I definitely recommend testing a small area first.

Do you have any tips as well for cleaning a Grout? I would love for you to comment below, so it can be shared with others.

FFM

4 Fun Crafts and Activities to Do with Froot Loops! Frugal and Fun Child Activities!

Jul 242012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

It is nearing the end of summer and my pregnancy, and I am getting the “I am bored” looks from my kids, so I decided to come up with a couple activities using Froot Loops to keep them entertained, at least for a little while.

FYI, depending upon your child’s age, you may need to monitor them with these activities to avoid choking and making a mess of the glue. Use your best judgement.

1. Rainbow Craft -

This is a great way to teach colors and hand-eye coordination.

They are ready!

All you need is paper, glue, and Froot Loops. Plus you need to either write out the order of the colors, or use crayons to show the younger kids what order they should go in.

Then let them go to it. I had to help my 3 year old with the glue, but my 6 year old knew exactly what to do.

2. Edible Froot Loop Bracelets or Necklaces -

Again, a great way to teach hand-eye coordination.

All you need is Froot Loops and fishing line or yarn.

Let the kids string on the Froot Loops. Helpful hint: Tie the bottom Fruit Loop to the string so the others don’t fall off.

The reward of course is eating the bracelet.

3. Counting the O s -

This is a great way to teach numbers and hand-eye coordination.

All you need is to print off these sheets at First- School.ws , crayons, and Froot Loops. I use First School as a resource for kids activities all the time.

Have them color the sheets first, trace the numbers or words, and then count out the number of Froot Loops they are learning.

Again, the reward is, they can eat them.

4. The Froot Loop Toss Game -

All you need is markers, some type of container or containers, and Froot Loops.

I used some packing material I received (FYI, a great way to up-cycle), but you can use cups or other containers and just color code them with either the markers or strips of paper.

The object of the game is to try to land as many of the Froot Loops into the correct color. Who ever gets the most, receives a reward. In our case, we used 10 Froot Loops for each child and the winner got the left over Froot Loops that I had poured into the cups.

The kids had a great time with all of these, and hopefully you will find them entertaining as well! Of course the best part of these activities for the kids was they got to eat as they played!

Looking for Froot Loops coupons? Check these 2 pages.

Printable Froot Loops Coupons (under foods) or Kelloggs.com.

Enjoy!

FFM

My 4 Chairs Got a Quick Makeover with Fabric And I Only Spent $9.00! DIY Frugal Living Idea!

Jul 222012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

I have a set of 4 chairs that are family heirlooms which were handed down to me by my Mom 10 or so years ago. These were the same chairs that we used at our dining room table when I was a little girl.

Every so often, my Mom would remove the covers on the seats and with a staple gun replace the fabric to give it an updated look or to match a new piece of furniture or decorating she was currently into. I have continued this tradition, and every couple of years, I get new fabric to go on the chairs.

Well in the past few weeks, I went to Joann Fabrics and picked up enough material to cover all four chairs for around $9.00. They happened to have some really pretty striped material at a great price, and were running a coupon for 50% off.

For some reason, I thought it would cost much more than this, but to recover 4 chairs for only $9.00 was a great deal!

So my Mom came over yesterday and brought a staple gun to help me recover the chairs (actually she did all the work since I am about to have this baby any moment).

My Mom did a great job and I think the colors look great in my home. Now, I just need to have this baby, so I can start working on some other home improvement projects. :)

The before

The after

You would be surprised how many dining room chairs you can do this to for a quick updated and refreshed look.

Have you done this before? I would love to hear about your own projects as well.

FYI, if you are looking for fabric, make sure you grab an ad when you head into the store or check out the online coupons like these at Joann’s Fabric Coupons before you make your purchase. Why not take advantage of a discount!

FFM

Frugal and Fun Decorating Idea! Frame Your Child’s Original Themed Artwork!

Jul 182012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

When we moved into our house back in October, my son’s bathroom had a border with a beach scene and some beach related decor over the toilet.

My son wanted to keep with this theme, and in the meantime, my sister-in-law gave the kids some sea shells. So, I went out and bought a glass vase from Walmart for $3 and put the sea shells in it, and I asked my son if he would like to paint an original water-color picture of a beach scene to decorate his bathroom as well.

Of course my kids jump at any opportunity to paint, so I gave him a little direction of what I was looking for and he painted original artwork for his bathroom. In addition, I picked up a distressed looking picture frame from Michaels for $5.00 to place it in.

I already had the supplies on hand, so for $5.00 I now have an original priceless piece of artwork hanging in my son’s bathroom.

I had him sign it as all artists do, and I put the date and his full name on the back of the picture. Of course he is extremely proud of this accomplishment and I think it is beautiful!

Have you done anything similar to this with your own children? I would love to hear your stories.

FFM

Do It Yourself Spa Night! A Frugal and Fun Activity!

Jun 272012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

Since the baby will be here soon, I figure if any pampering is going to be done, it better be done now.

I said to the kids, why don’t we have a spa night? Of course, they thought it was a neat idea and were totally on board. Dad decided to pass on this one.

I happen to have a Dr. Scholl’s Foot Spa similar to this–> Dr. Scholl’s Foot Bath Plus with Acupressure Massage Center that I received a few years back as a gift, so I got that out, white towels, foot pampering stuff, lit a candle, and I set up a station for us to relax.

Each one of use took a turn soaking our feet in the warm water. I scrubbed the kiddos feet, and they played in the water and used the scrubbers on their feet as well. They both wanted to work on my feet, and so I let them take turns. Of course, I had to do the real work when they were finished. Afterward, my daughter and I painted our toe nails.

This was such fun activity, and definitely cheaper to do at home versus going to a salon.

Have you done anything similar to this at your own home before? If so, was there anything special you would recommend for the next time?

FFM

I Got My Smooth Top Range Clean Today! A Frugal Living Tip!

Jun 182012

Posts may contain affiliate links, for details visit Site Disclosure.

Like this post? Make sure you Share it or Pin-it!

Thanks to the advice of Home EC 101, I was able to get my dirty and dingy looking Smooth Top Range Clean.

Since we moved into this house back in October, I have been puzzled on how to get my Range back to looking as pretty as it did the day we moved in. I had tried 409, dish soap, and just wipping hard with a paper towel, but none of my efforts paid off. I just figured that at some point, I would need to purchase a new top if I wanted it to look nice again.

Before

So today I was cleaning my counter tops and decided to do some website surfing about my problem. I came across an article by Home EC 101 called How To Clean a Smooth Top Range/ Stove. One of the recommendations was to use Bar Keepers Friend, and since that is a staple in our house, I crossed my fingers that it would work.

First off, I made sure the stove was cool (This is so I don’t burn myself or crack the stove top). Then, of course I tested a small area first with the Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polish, to verify that I would not ruin it, but it worked fine. And, after some scrubbing with a paper towel and water, the stove now looks brand new. FYI, I made sure all of the product was removed after by wetting another paper towel and wiping it clean.

After

I am really excited about these results! Now, this may not work for everyone’s surface so I recommend testing a small area first. If this does not work for you, check out the other ideas at How To Clean a Smooth Top Range/ Stove.

Do you have any tips as well for cleaning a Smooth Top Range? I would love for you to comment below, so it can be shared with others.

FFM