First Snow of the Season

 

 

This weekend has been AMAZING! and Tough TOO.. We had about 15 inches of snow fall over 2 days and we had a blast playing in it. This is the first snow that we have had this year so we were excited about it. Of course the first thing we did was snow Ice Cream…yummy and the kids loved it! I never was one for a recipe so all I did was took 4 cups of snow and added milk, sugar and vanilla extract till it tasted good. lol My oldest boy is not a sweet person so he never tried. I know weird right.. But my oldest girl and 7 month old boy couldn’t get enough.

But when there’s a lot of snow there’s not a lot of traveling..lol.. Now how to deal with Cabin Fever!?!? lol Now we wasn’t stranded that long but when u have 3 kids under 5 and the excitement of snow u have to come up with something for them to do..lol So we made Bracelets with beads and rubber bands.

Even the boys got involved. Since santa dropped them off a bracelet kit that had camouflage beads it made it a little more enticing. Now this was the first time I have made the rubber band bracelets and let me just say Shewwww… That is gonna take some time and effort to make. lol But overall we had fun and we got some new jewelry to wear out.

 We were grateful to have everything we needed before the snow hit but I heard their was thousands stranded on the interstate and some without power. That’s awful.  A couple years ago we invested in a coal/wood burning stove and thank God cause in times like this, it is worth Gold to me. I can’t imagine having kids and getting into a situation where u can’t stay warm. But for anyone around me I hope they know that I would take any of them in if it was needed. But today the snow started melting and the roads were getting cleared up and hopefully everyone will make it home to their love ones ok!

Don’t forget ur mail person for the holidays

Not alot but its the thought that counts!  🙂

DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

Today we decided to make our very own Christmas Tree ornaments with the kids. All it took was a hot glue gun and LOOOOts of popsicle sticks. I buy these in bulk anyway its a cheap way to make a few different crafts with the kids. Here is the finish product!

We of course done all the gluing I didn’t want the kids to get burned. We did some of the painting but we mostly let the kids do it. I had to try my hand at a minion..lol.. It didn’t turn out to bad. lol

Christmas Traditons

               With Christmas right around the corner I have been thinking a lot about traditions and with our children getting older I wanted to have a few more. Normally our Christmas was ordinary with us opening presents on Christmas day and then going to see our families. We never done anything the day before. But what about the day before, Christmas Eve?

                 That’s where I have been giving the most thought. I want my kids to know the real meaning of Christmas and so I decided to start this day with a reading of the birth of Christ.  I have a small Children’s bible that they will relate better with plus the story is a lot smaller and in their little words and of course with pictures. After that we might read a few other Christmas books and end the day with a movie marathon. Since we don’t have cable only Netflix I have searched and bought out favorite movies. Including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone 2, and A Christmas Story. From there i’m gonna put together a small snack mixture of popcorn, candy necklaces made with circus O’s, pretzels, and perhaps some gummy rings with of course hot chocolate to drink. 😉

             I also thought to buying all 3 some Christmas PJ’s to wear. Wrap them and let them open this one gift that day. Haven’t really decided on this yet. I’m a little afraid if I do this they may get wrapping fever…lol

           I want to start these traditions now and hopefully watch them continue with my children’s children. I see so many out there who really don’t enjoy their kids. I suppose they take them for granted. Sad, but I intend on enjoying watching my children grow and trying to make smiles on their faces…

 

Christmas Gifts for kids that are not full price

Today was cold and dreary with a few snow sprinkles through the air. Really puts u in the Christmas spirit. With 3 kids this year we really thought long and hard about what to do with presents. Our 4 year boy is into trucks and guns now and we have dozens of each laying all over the house. Lots of them are missing parts trucks don’t have tires and guns have cracks in them or have chucks took out. lol he really is hard on toys and breaks things on a daily basis so most toys that are still together are pretty study to stand up to him. It took a lot of searching and thought to find things he didn’t have and things he wouldn’t break right off. Most popular toys at stores are plastic and have all sorts little parts all of which get lost and with one throw end up handicap.  Our smallest boy at 6 months has everything he needs from hand me downs from big brother so he didn’t need anything either. We recently bought him clothes because he went up in sizes and at 6 months what else do u need. My only girl at 5 years old is easy to please at this age all she wants is make up..lol

Considering all these things and also money we decided to not pay full price for any presents that we bought. Not even down to the clothes that were bought for them. We traded a few items we had on hand, went to Goodwill and other second hand stores, and also looked at sale sites in my area. After all kids are not gong to ask u how much u paid for every item they will just be happy with presents!

A few tips to doing this

1. Start a few months earlier (I started in November and I had to constantly be on the lookout)
2.  A lot of people in my area are buying pallets of items and selling them really cheap. A lot of them have toys that are out of boxes or are returns from walmart. Either way just check it and make sure everything is there and works.
3. Goodwill is alright but I have a hard time finding clothes that are in good shape and that look good. So instead I go to Once upon a Child! Has become my favorite place to shop for kids clothes and they also have toys.
4. Also consider some toys that u can put together yourself

 Some easy toys u can make yourself right from the house

• Rubber box with a couple inches of sand and toy trucks to play in it with (just be sure that u buy one with a lid)
• A few dishes for a little girl to play house with

Just a few to name but with a little bit of time and research u can have a great Christmas without ever going into a Walmart and paying tons of money.  🙂

Cheeseburger Casserole

What better way to start my first blog than what I had for dinner today. LOL We like trying new things so after a little research I found Cheeseburger Casserole. I LOOOOVE casseroles. What mama doesn’t right. Throw it together and put it in the oven. SO EASY.  I did tweak it a little and almost doubled the whole recipe but after it was done I was shocked. It did taste like cheeseburger more precisely it tasted like McDonalds cheeseburgers..lol  I didn’t expect that. The kids sure did eat a lot of it tho  🙂

http://thriftyfrugalmom.com/recipe-cheeseburger-casserole/#sthash.DyYewBK6.A91lGTXj.dpbs

Here is the link to the recipe!