How We Do: Family Date Night

Despicable Me is one of my family's favorite movies of all time. When I found out it was coming to the drive in, I immediately started planning a family date night. Although these can be as stressful as a family vacation, with 4 children plus a friend, the memories are well worth it. Of course, Despicable Me minions were the theme of the evening. Minimal prep went into this one. We picked the one night in July that the low was 56 degrees so we made sure we packed plenty of blankets. My kids and I made snacks. Throw in some lawn chairs and we were set.

The snacks were probably the most time consuming. We made minion cupcakes that I found on Pinterest and minion marshmallow kabobs.

For the cupcakes, all you need are Twinkies, candy eyes (in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart), cupcake box mix and all that goes into making those, blue icing, and icing to make the faces on the Twinkies. I got the icing pens from Wilton but they didn't make it too long before they stopped writing. So I'd recommend the tube icing that you can put a decorative tip on instead.

We cut the Twinkies in half and put the candy eyes on with the blue frosting, then made the faces with the icing pens. We made the cupcakes, let them cool, topped them with the icing, and put the Twinkie on top. FYI whipping the icing with the mixer prior to application to the cupcakes makes the icing fluffier and easier to spread.

With the kabobs, you need white almond bark, marshmallows, food coloring, and kabob sticks. I made a make shift double boiler by filling a pot half full with water and bringing it to a boil then putting the metal or glass bowl on top to melt the almond bark without burning it. We noticed it was getting thick so we thinned it with milk. We dipped each marshmallow half into a color and then put them in the freezer to make them harden quicker.

 After they are hardened, dip the other end and freeze again. Then string them on the kabob sticks and decorate. So they aren't perfect, but you get the idea. Hehe. It's the thought that counts right. They would make excellent Spongebob Kabobs as well!

Getting 7 people, 5 lawn chairs, blankets and pillows in a Dodge Journey is tricky but we managed. Loaded up for an hour drive to the drive in. We got there 2 hours early and stood in line at the concession stand for an hour, but it was worth it. We got 6 cheeseburgers, 3 hot dogs, 1 grilled cheese, a 12 in pizza, 4 bags of snack size chips, 5 -32 oz sodas and 2 waters for $42.00! Woot Woot!

To get in, anyone over 12 was $7.00. Pretty good deal! We had a great time. Half of us ended up falling asleep and we didn't get home till 1 am, but we had fun!

How We Do: Listerine Foot Soak

We see all of these at home diy beauty, home improvement, etc...ideas all over the Internet, but do they work? I am devoting my Wednesday blog entries to a "Does It Work" experimentation from Pinterest. This week it's the 1/4 c.Listerine, 1/4 c. vinegar, and 1/2 c. warm water foot soak. Several sights recommend using blue Listerine, but others have shown a result of smurf feet from this. I chose to not use blue and also to double the recipe.

BEFORE

Soak for 15 minutes. I chose to use my daughter's Orbeez Spa for this, thank you Jaime Stoops for the useful birthday present! (Also side note Orbeez smell really bad after a day or two so dispose of promptly after play).

Use your choice of exfoliator, I am using my Avon exfoliator because it has a handy dandy back on it that allows you to collect what you get off your feet. Beware, this next photo is graphic!

I got quite a bit off! Wondering if it was any more than I would have gotten if I had just soaked them in warm water.

 



I had to put my back into it to get it to look like this...and that's still not great. Disappointed in the results, but on the bright side my feet feel minty fresh and are not blue!

I wouldn't recommend this soak to the general public.

How We Do: Free/Discounted Kids Meals Every Day

I don't know about you, but during the summer and during the school year for that matter, we are on the road A LOT! Although I prefer to sit down at the dinner table as a family with a homemade meal, that isn't always realistic. We don't have a large eating out budget, so I have compiled a rather comprehensive list of discounted and free kids meal restaurants by day/night.

Kids Eat FREE Every Day- O'Charleys (M-F), IHOP (every day), Hardees $1.99 Kids Meals (every day)

Saturday/Sunday
Steak n' Shake (one of our go to places)- 1 free kids meal with every $8.00 spent, plus they always have coupons in the newspaper and also a new $4.00 adult meal menu!

Hooters (Sunday only)- Kids eat FREE with adult meal purchase

Monday
Golden Corral- Kids 10 and under eat free 5 pm- 9 pm

Burger King- $1.99 Kids Meals All Day

Tuesday
Fazoli's- $0.99 Kids Meals 5 pm- 8 pm

McDonalds- $1.99 Happy Meals 3 pm- 8 pm

McAlister's- Free Kids Meal with Adult Meal purchase 5 pm- 8 pm

Backyard Burger- Kids Eat FREE with Adult Meal purchase 4 pm - Close (Hot Dogs, Chicken Tenders, and Burgers only)

Wednesday
Sonic- Wacky Wednesdays Kids Meals $1.99 All Day

Buffalo Wild Wings- $1.99 Kids Meals 5 pm- 8 pm

Thursday
Ryan's Steakhouse- $0.99 Kids Meals 5 pm- 8 pm

Backyard Burger- Kids Eat FREE with Adult Meal purchase 4 pm - Close (Hot Dogs, Chicken Tenders, and Burgers only)

Friday
O'Charleys (M-F), IHOP (every day), Hardees $1.99 Kids Meals (every day)

 UPDATE: Every night in July 2013 kids eat for $0.99 at Ryan's!

Adult Meal Deals

These are deals that are popular now...they may expire.

Taco Bell- 2 pm- 4 pm $1.00 Medium Drinks $1.00 Grillers (Loaded Potato Grillers are AMAZING)

Dairy Queen- $5.00 Meal Deal includes Drink, Burger, Fries, and Sundae

Sonic- 1/2 Price Drinks Happy Hour from 2 pm - 4 pm every day

How We Do: Budget Grocery Shopping

With the rising cost of food, is it possible to feed a family of five 3 meals a day for a week on under $100?  Well let's just see......

1. Check your home inventory and use up anything you have on hand to prepare your meals for next week. This particular week I still had sloppy joe sauce, ketchup, mustard, cereal, oatmeal, shredded cheese, and a chuck roast left over from the last couple trips to the store.

2. Make a menu for the week.

Breakfast and Snacks- Cereal, Oatmeal, Toast, Eggs, Biscuits, Fruit, Cereal Bars, Granola Bars, etc.... nothing spectacular

Lunches- Hot dogs, PB&J's, Lunchmeat Sandwiches, Chips....It's always serve yourself for lunch at my house, so it's whatever they feel like making.

Suppers-
Sunday- Roast/Potatoes/Carrots
Monday-Spaghetti/Garlic Bread/Salad
Tuesday- Sloppy Joes/Chips
Wednesday- Cheeseburger Casserole/Salad
Thursday- Hamburger Helper/Corn/Salad
Friday- Quesadillas/Spanish Rice
Saturday- Leftovers

This isn't the most gourmet menu, but it is reality for me and my family.

3. Make a grocery list.

4. Shop at budget grocery stores, Save-a-lot, Aldi, etc... I choose Save-a-lot because they generally have all the ingredients I need to make my meals.

5. Do not deviate from the list! For example, I really wanted to pick up some apple butter, ice cream, cheese balls, and oh so many other things, BUT I didn't purchase them because they were not on the LIST.

Grand Total: $97.13

It can be done!

How We Do: Glamping (Glamorous Camping)

What is glamping? Why, I'm glad you asked. Glamping is a term used to describe glamorous camping. For an 8 year olds slumber party it is a super fun and easy theme! Think all things camping and then make them comfy and girly. We skipped the pink and purple this year, as she is now too old for that, and went for the campfire colors of yellow, orange, and red.

WELCOME TABLE:

To make sure everyone had all needed items and to make sure I had all the parents contact information, I set up a welcome table.... It consisted of a bandanna, plain white T, and an information card for the parents to fill out. We called it "Camper Registration".

FOOD:

Campfire cupcakes- They tasted marvelous! Chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow fluff injected into the middle of them and red and yellow frosting on top.

The Buffet- Hot dogs, BBQ chicken legs, baked beans, pasta salad, chips, and kool aid in a 5 gallon container...lasted all night.

ACTIVITIES:

Tye-Dying T-shirts is a cinch when you get the spray dye from Hobby Lobby! Simply wrap your rubber bands around and spray your heart away.

Flashlight Tag: Items needed....Flashlights and a yard....make sure they are coated head to toe with bug spray though.

Karaoke: Luckily last year we got a karaoke machine for her 7th birthday, but the tiny screen wasn't working for six girls. I used a projector and connected it to the computer and connected to www.youtube.com . It's amazing how many clean version songs have fun karaoke lyrics on there. We just used the machine for the microphones. Of course, this led to a dance party!

MOVIE:

We used the same projector, computer and speakers to project Camp Nowhere...the best camp movie ever...onto the side of the garage under our shelter. The girls watched from their beds and the adults chilled in our zero gravity reclining lawn chairs. Throw in some chips and popcorn and they were in heaven.

SLEEPING QUARTERS:

Tents and hard ground? I don't think so! We brought twin mattresses out under our picnic shelter and sat them on top of quilts then covered them with bedding and plush pillows. Dark of night and starlight? Uh, no! No flashlights needed, except for flashlight tag, when you have elegant outdoor string lights hanging from the rafters.

Although rain moved us inside before the night was over, a good time was had by all, especially since there aren't any bugs inside.

How We Do: Community Service for Kids

Summers get long at my house. We are always fighting the words, "Mom, I'm bored!". Although that phrase is a great opportunity for me to enlist their help in cleaning the house, I wanted to fill the time with something that was going to help shape the kids' work ethic and give them the rewarding feeling that comes from giving back to the community. Our church sponsors a thrift store called Renew. The entire store is ran on donations and volunteers. I saw a perfect opportunity to get the kids involved and help maintain my sanity through the summer. Sorting clothes and hangers, dusting items, sweeping floors, and calculating change are all kid level jobs that, with adult supervision, contribute to the success of the store.

So all summer long Thursdays at our house are Thrift Store Thursdays!

                                                                                

Some work harder than others, but getting to pick one thing to buy before they leave is great incentive.

Other community service projects for kids:

Vacation Bible School Volunteer

Sunday School Classroom Assistant

IDNR Kids Volunteer Program http://dnr.state.il.us/volunteer/kids.htm

Science Center Helpers (14 years old and older) si.sciencecenter@gmail.com

Williamson County Child Advocacy Center "Kids Got Talent" www.wcocac.org

Free Babysitting for a Parent's Night Out (13 years and older)

Toy Donations or Toy Drive

Raise money to donate to local charities

Feel free to share your kids volunteer opportunities!

How We Do: Monogram Wreaths

So, my stepson got married last weekend and I was looking for a very personal but easy gift to give him and his new bride. I saw these wooden monogram cutouts on Pinterest @ http://southernpropermonograms.com/shop/. So I ordered one of those. Took about two weeks to get it shipped to my door. When it came in, it was unfinished wood. So I painted it with white trim paint I had laying around. Had I spent more time on it, I would have gotten outdoor paint so it would survive the elements. Still wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I headed out to Hobby Lobby to get some ideas. Wreaths were on sale 40% off and I got a grapevine wreath for $6.00. Hobby Lobby also has an app that always has a 40% off one regular priced item on it. I used that on the chevron burlap ribbon and then I also got a spool of regular burlap ribbon, and grapevine twine to hold the letters in place. Altogether, besides the monogram, I spent about $20.00.

Instead of tying the bow, I made each piece separately. That way it has that oh so perfect look. I rolled out about 1 1/2 ft. of wired chevron burlap ribbon. Then folded it over about 3/4 the width of the bow, then again the same way. Then I gathered the ribbon in the center of the bow and cut off the excess.

Then I cut about a six in long piece of ribbon and folded it longways in thirds, folding the outside edges towards the  middle. I wrapped it around the middle of the bow and hotglued it in the back to secure it.

Lastly, I cut the tails for the bow by cutting two 10-12 in sections of ribbon, stacked the two pieces together and folded it in half at the bottom longways. I cut a diagonal cut from the left side up to the opposite side. Once you open it back up, it forms the iconic bow tail. Then I gathered each tail at the top and hotglued each to the back of the bow. Hot glue the bow onto your wreath.

Now for the burlap flowers. It's very simple. For bigger flowers cut a 2 ft section of burlap ribbon and for smaller flowers a 1 ft section will do. Twist the section all the way down the ribbon from one end to the other. Wrap the ribbon into a pinwheel from there slightly twisting as you wrap it around. Hot glue it together in back and then glue it in place on your wreath.



And that's all folks!