Thrift Thursday -- JCPenny Trip

I absolutely love when JCPenny marks down their clearence items to 80 percent.  I earned a $50 gift card from My Points and used a 15% off total purchase survey coupon.  I was happy to stretch my "free" bucks.

Here's what I bought:
(2) 4T Pajamas -- 5.09 each
(2) 5T T-Shirts (for next year) -- one $3.05 and one $2.52
(2) Button Down Shirts for myself -- $4.39 each
(1) Pair of Jeans for myself -- $6.09

Grand total after discounts=$32.30 (a grand total of $124.36 saving off original price)

That also leaves me with $17.70 on the gift card.

Ditched the Drying Rack

I was starting to hate our drying rack in the kitchen.  We do a fair amount of dishes by hand.  However, we (both my husband and myself) got into a bad habit of leaving the dishes in the drying rack.  It would never get cleaned out until more dishes were washed and then I would get frustrated because I had to put the dishes away before (or while) I was washing the next batch.  It drove me crazy.  I also hated that the drying rack itself needed cleaning often.  It all was just becoming a ball of frustration and extra cleaning.  I decided to do without the drying rack.  Now we just wash the dishes and dry them right away.  It actually takes less time than you would think.  I like how there isn't always something that needs to be put away in the kitchen.

What's cookin' - Sun-nana Poppers

I've been a little pre-occupied lately with a few "real world" things lately.  Here's a late What's Cookin'.

I found this recipe in Hungry Girl 200 Recipes for 200 Calories by Lisa Lillien.  She has a whole chapter on using Cool Whip in recipes!  I altered this recipe a little to meet our food allergies needs and changed the name.  It's really easy to make (kids can help) and my toddler loves them.

Sun-nana Poppers

1 Medium Banana

2 Tbsp Cool Whip

1 Tbsp Sunbutter (original recipe calls for peanut butter)

1. Cut banana into slices about 1/4 inch thick. About 20 pieces. 

2. Lay half the pieces flat on a plate lined with wax paper or parchment paper.

3. Mix Cool Whip and Sunbutter together until well blended.

4. Even distribute Cool Whip mixture on one banana slice.  Top with another banana slice to make small sandwich.  Repeat with rest of banana slices.

5. Put in freezer for about 1 hour. Then eat and enjoy!

**These are best to eat right away otherwise they will get mushy.**

For more great recipes go to the Grocery Cart Challenge!

TP -- Stock up price

Ever wonder how to tell is if toilet paper is a good deal or not.  Deal Seeking Mom has a great concept to figure this out!

Father's Day Memory

The day before Father's Day, I was wrapping gifts with our daughter.  I told her we needed to hide the presents from Daddy.  I asked her where should we hide them.  She eagerly answered her room.  Okay, I told her.  We "hid" them in her room in a JCPenny plastic bag.  I gave her instrtuctions to bring the bag into our room Sunday morning after she woke up.  (She's always up before us on weekends).  I wasn't really sure if this almost 3-year-old would remember or completely understand.  But sure enough at 7 a.m. I was woken up to the rustling of the JCPenny bag as she proudly carried it into our room as she said "Happy Father's Dad."

So much fun!

Father's Day Poem

I saw this poem and am excited to use it this year on my husband's Father's Day card.  I typed up the poem on white paper and glued it to the front of a piece of scrapbook paper.  We put foot prints on the inside of the card.

Walk a Little Slower Daddy
Walk a little slower Daddy, said a little child so small
I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower Daddy, for you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be.
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy, for I must follow you!!
                                                       - Author Unknown

Here's what we did last year for Father's Day!

Fairy Dust and Glue

At our house napping and bedtime are very challenging for our daughter.  It's not that she won't sleep -- it's almost impossible for her to wind down without help.  She has always been this way.  She is just a very active little girl.  We used the Supernanny Sleep technique to get over the initial hump of staying in bed at night, which still took months to work for us.

About six months ago I added something to our night time routine.  I dig in my pocket for some (pretend) fairy dust and sprinkle it all over her body.  I tell her it special fairy dust to help her sleep.  She tells me what color it is, and we give a little to her toys she sleeps with, too. Lately the color of the fairy dust has had multiple colors.  Well, fairy dust along wasn't really working, so I now give her some glue that I rub all over her.  It's supposed to help her stick to her bed and pillow.  She tells me what color the glue is, too.  Does it work?  Mostly.  She still peeks out her bedroom window after we close the door (I know because the curtains are messed up when I check on her before I go to bed).  But she doesn't come out of her room anymore after being put to bed.  As an incentive I put a "surprise" book in her room for her to read in the morning.