Extreme School Couponing!

Ok so let's just say I went a bit overboard on Tuesday at Staples. Here's what I bought 2 packs of copy paper, 50 packs of index cards, 25 highlighters, 50 packs of pencils, 3 rolls of tape, 3 packs of glue sticks, and 1 pack of pens. Are you ready for the grand total?? I spent $25.88 total....but it gets better! I will receive back $9 for the copy paper and $4 back for the pens. That made the copy paper only $1 and the pens free. Pretty cool! I mailed in the rebates today and will receive the check in the mail from Staples in 4 weeks. So when you factor in all of the rebates the GRAND TOTAL will be $12.88!!! Wow thats cool! I never knew that couponing could be so rewarding! 

Later that day, I went to another staples and purchased a pack of 6 expo markers and 25 more packs of pencils for $2.82. I also continued my couponing at Office Depot. I brought two manufacturers coupons for post-it note labels for $1. The sale price was $0.99 for the labels. Therefore Office Depot paid me two cents to carry the post it notes out of the store. Yipee! I didn't even scan a debit or credit card. Ahhhh....I love the rush you get from coupons! 

Now if only I could find notebook paper and composition books on sale! Hopefully Staples and Office Depot will have more great deals. The deals start on Sunday and end on Wednesday! Look in your local stores for great deals :)

Gymboree!

Today we played at Gymboree and Bailey absolutely loved it. She is such a little performer when we go there every Wednesday. Our teacher, Ms. Jessica is wonderful :) Bailey loved the bubbles, climbing singing and dancing! She is so excited for each activity! Her sequels and giggles bring so much happiness to the group! It has also made me realize how verbal she really is- she talks all of the time :)

Down the slide she goes! "Weeeee!"

Climbing across the walkway! "Whoa!" 

I love Gymboree and I love being a SAHM! well at least for the summer :)

Father's Day Gifts

This year I tried to be creative for Eric's 2nd father's day! I found some really cool ideas for fathers day on the Tip Junkie website... http://www.tipjunkie.com/fathers-day-activities/

I really wanted to get Bailey to hold the D A D letters and take pictures....but unfortunately trying to get her to hold the letters in the perfect position and also a cute pose is much more difficult than I thought it would be. Oh well....we can try again next year!

Here's what we came up with for Eric instead:

It has the lyrics to "I love you this big" around the outside of the photos of bailey. We also painted him a canvas for his office for Father's day and made him a stepping stone for the backyard. I am going to make the stepping stone a yearly tradition. I am big on traditions and think that every family should have lots of traditions. I am trying to come up with new traditions for Bailey. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Twix Bars

I was in the baking mood and craving something chocolate-y! So I decided to quickly whip up some Twix Bars :) You can make them too! It's easy and here's how: 

1) Layer a 9 x 13 baking sheet with Club Crackers.

2) On the stove melt together the following ingredients:

1 cup Graham Crackers crushed

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

3) Boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly

4) Pour mixture on top of the crackers and then layer with another round of crackers. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

5)Pour 1 cup milk chocolate chips and 3/4 cup peanut butter together in a microwavable safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and spread on the top of the crackers. Place in the refrigerator until chocolate has hardened. Enjoy!!!!

 Soooo.... that I would not begin to eat the entire pan of these all by myself, I decided that it would be best to package them up immediately. I packaged them in 3 containers: home, friends, and Georgia Tech. I did eat two and they were delicious! Eric got home and told me that we had to get them out of the house because he was going to eat all of them. LOL!

Make a pan for yourself and enjoy!!!

Painting with Picasso!

This morning I woke up in a creative mood...I just wanted it to be a "stay-home" kinda day for Bailey and I! So I needed a plan....what to do?? So many things on my summer list to still check off! It is so depressing to me that my stay-at-home mom business is only for another three weeks...boo! Summer goes by too quickly!

After Bailey woke up at the crack of dawn, we headed down stairs for homemade grits and pancakes...mmmm! She loves taking the pancakes and dipping them in yogurt...gross to me, but delish for Bailey! After the pancakes were demolished then she moved onto the blueberries :) She is an eating machine these days.

What to do now?? Paint!! Picasso began painting and this is how it turned out...

Picasso worked hard not to completely cover herself in paint :) hehe....tried to take some video, but I needed more hands to do that!

Hugs, 

Heather

Coming Soon: Making homemade TWIX bars! 

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

This weekend, Alison and I made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted! We figured that anything with vanilla instant pudding in them sounded simply scrumptious! Curtis and Eric thought they were delicious too!

Here's the recipe from kevinandamanda.com:

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3.4 oz. package vanilla instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.

2. Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slight golden and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.