Halloween on a "Boo"-dget

Reused firefighter costume + cardboard box = super cute!

Even though it is last minute, it isn't too late to avoid spending a frighteningly lot of money and do Halloween on a "boo"-dget. 

Search your house for parts of costumes. For children, a well stocked dress-up box may be a treasure trove of parts of costumes.  There might even be costumes from previous years that could be reused by a different sibling or adapted for use again.  Even without a dress-up box, other articles of clothing you already have laying around may give you some opportunities for great costumes without spending a lot, or maybe even any, money.  Dance leotards and skirts may be the beginning of a fairy costume, fancy dresses from special occasions may be perfect for a princess or angel.  Jeans and flannel shirts could be for a cowboy or miner.  Sheets can become togas or ghosts.  I saw a news clip about "Occupy Wall Street" being a "hot" costume this year, so you may find some inspiration there, possibly with a 99%-er sign covering most of you, or as one of the corporate "bad guys" in a suit.  Old clothes you may have been meaning to get rid of could be easily turned into a zombie costume as well.

A princess, wearing a dress from her dress-up (originally made by Renaissance Costumes and More by Lady Elizabeth, a friend of mine) and a cowboy, wearing clothes he had, a bandana from the dress-up box, and a foam cowboy hat from a dollar store)

If you don't have anything at home, check with friends.  Maybe their kids or themselves have something that could be transformed into a great costume or they might even have complete costumes from previous years that you could get for free, cheap, or trade.

The next place you'll want to try is second-hand stores.  Here you're looking for the same sorts of treasures, but with more opportunity for greater variety.  Of course this may be pretty picked over so late in the game, but more stuff may be brought in every day, so there still is a chance.  Same thing with Freecycle or Craigslist--you might find treasures, but it is awfully late in the game for finding something fantastic without a fair amount of luck.

Dollar or discount stores may present opportunities to find the crucial missing pieces to make your costume perfect for very little funds.  You can probably find makeup, vampire teeth, foam accessories like swords or cowboy hats, fairy wings, and many other finishing touches that make it look like you put a lot more money and/or effort into your costume than you really did.

An oak tree (felt applied to regular clothes), a Tootsie Roll (fabric, foam, and ribbon glued together), and Tinkerbell (dress up box treasure + discount store accessories)

As a last resort, you could actually put a lot of time and effort into a costume.  Cardboard boxes and a little paint or aluminum foil offer many opportunities, from robots, to spacemen, to fire trucks, to pizza.  Felt is another possible treasure trove; last year I turned one of my sons into a Tootsie Roll and another into an oak tree with a lot of brown felt, a little green felt, and a little foam, ribbon, and glue.  If you are good at sewing, you might be able to find a quick pattern that could be turned into a last minute costume idea as well, but that is probably your most expensive and most stressful option, so that idea might be better saved for another year, when you have more time.

My Greatest Weakness

I have a confession to make.  I'm not perfect.  Nope, not superwoman, not supermom.  In fact, I'm only human. 

My biggest flaw is that I lack the superpower to stretch time.  I do in fact only have 24 hours in the day, without exception.  I even have to waste some of that time sleeping and, upon occasion, going to the bathroom (although that is a speedy process.  Somehow, going to the bathroom is a guaranteed way to start children screaming in the other room or draw them to me.  No privacy for Mom!).

With these ridiculous time constraints, it is a sad fact that I don't get everything done.  With kids (who don't even go off to school to give me a "break" to get more done), homeschooling, taking the kids to dance or soccer or whatever, taking care of the garden, putting up stuff for the winter, taking care of the husband, dishes, laundry, and routine cleaning (oh, and there is that little blog thing I do), each day's to-do list frequently spills over into the next day.  I have to have priorities.

Obviously, the kids come first.  I have to make sure they have clothes and food daily, make sure they get where they need to go, and on top of that I'm legally required to see that they get some sort of education (well, the 6 year old I'm legally required to.  The younger ones are more of a moral obligation at this point). 

Next, I need to take care of the garden and the processing of food.  Funny thing about real food--it rots.  If you don't get to it in time, it goes bad.  It isn't like those McDonald's burgers or Twinkies that will wait for years for you to get around to doing something with them and even then would probably still be okay.  Nope.  With fresh food, you have a matter of days before you are S.O.L. if you haven't done something with it by then.  That makes this time of year super busy for me.  Being in Michigan, the growing season is almost completely over.  I have maybe another month before the fresh food is gone.  Completely gone.  Well, unless I do something drastic like set up a garden with some grow lights and space heater in the garage or something (which I'm actually considering).  So right now, for the next few weeks, I am swamped, constantly trying to defeat the evil hunger monsters, or at least poor-quality-food-we-had-to-buy-at-the-store monsters.  Yesterday, I put up 7 more quarts of pears and need to go back to the "pear place" as my son calls it today to see if more have dropped.  I also put up 7 quarts of tomatoes, possibly the last tomatoes I'll get to can (plain, anyway) for the year.  I didn't get around to the apple-tomato salsa I wanted to make or the ground cherry jam I needed to do.  Those got bumped onto today's to-do list as well (silly soccer practice seriously cut into my canning time!). 

So now what I had been planning for the day, getting the house cleaned up and get caught up on folding laundry, got pushed back again.  That's been happening a lot lately.  Unlike the kids and the fresh food I need to see about storing, clutter keeps.  Unfortunately.  No matter how much I stall on doing it, it is always there waiting.  Not only that, but it gets worse.  With three little ones, boy does it get worse!  Even in the winter, when I have far more time to clean, I can clean one room, start working in another, go back to the first room to put something away, and discover that it looks like I never did it in the first place!

Some of the other moms at my son's soccer practice were discussing how they, without there gardens and with much older children that don't puke toys everywhere, were thinking about getting a cleaning service to come in once a week or so, to do all those little things that they don't get around to.  I wish I had that option.  Life would be much less frustrating and downright depressing if I had a little help like that.  They were talking about what a great deal it would be for them to do this and it's "only" about $60 a time they come out.  I deflated when I heard that.  There is no way I could justify that in my budget.  Sometimes it sucks being thrifty.

Well, like I said, the kids and the food won't keep, but the messes will, so I guess I'll just keep plugging away and get things done when I can.  Winter will be here to let me catch up soon enough.  I guess.

The Misadventures of a Tween's Birthday Party

When thrifty goes wrong

A month ago, when we planned my oldest son's 12th birthday party and it was in the upper 80s or lower 90s everyday with nary a drop of rain to be seen for days or weeks at a time, having it in the open air at a county park that featured both a splash pad and a lifeguard manned lake for swimming seemed like a brilliant idea.  It was a free location and the kids would have lots of fun things to do, not to mention it wouldn't require thoroughly cleaning the house before and after the party.  This past week, when they started forecasting high temperatures in the lower to mid-70s for yesterday, with the increasing chance of rain as the week went on, it seemed less brilliant.

I didn't really have the option to change location, since we'd invited my son's entire baseball team that had finished up the season the month before (which is why we planned it when we did) and I didn't have contact information to let them know of the change of plans and, in this day and age of no one RSVPing, it was impossible to tell who, if anyone would be coming.  Instead, I just monitored the hourly forecast nearly obsessively for the days leading up to the party and hoped for the best.  As we were loading up the minivan, getting ready to go, it was sprinkling, but faith and the weather map on my husband's cell phone seemed to indicate we'd be okay. 

The free-to-me birthday cake my mom made for the party

When we got there, the splash pad was off and there was no lifeguard down at the lake.  On the plus side, the park was nearly deserted (other than the pavilions that would have protected us from the rain.  Those had been reserved by family reunions and prayer groups and were in full use.) so we were able to grab as many tables as we liked right between the splash pad and the building that housed the restrooms, changing rooms, and a snack bar (and a storm shelter, but I was pretending that there was no chance we'd be needing that)...an ideal location.  Shortly after we got there, the boys asked the staff mulling around if they could go in the lake (despite it being in the upper 60s.  Silly boys!) and the obliged by sending the necessary staff to open it up.  Later, when they wanted to play in the splash pad, they turned it on for them.  Meanwhile, the adults who weren't supervising the children at the lake (my husband and dad), or happily munching on the black bean and corn salsa (me), started to play the board games we brought as an alternative activity in case of rain in an attempt to thwart the weather maxim that whatever weather you are not prepared for, that's what you'll get.  I don't know if that is a real saying, but it definitely should be.

As the rousing game of Scrabble was wrapping up and the boys started indicating a desire for present time, dark clouds started rolling in.  We weren't going to make it after all.  I started letting people know that all non-essential items probably should be moved to the car and anything we still needed should be moved under the cover of the snack bar and my husband checked his phone's weather map and pronounced we had about 10 minutes before we got rained on. 

We spread blankets on the floor of the covered area and set up a picnic and present area.  The staff was very accommodating, going around our improvised party area to do their tasks (we made sure we wouldn't be too much in the way when we set stuff up) and everyone happily ate their cake and ice cream.  My son was happy with his gifts and he and his friend had a blast running around in the rain after present time.

I guess even though it wasn't the ideal party, it was fun and memorable.  After all, when the birthday boy has this expression on his face for most of the party, it was a good one:

My son's friend and my son, sporting his new official Indiana Jones hat

Gearing Up for Not-Back-to-School

This year, like every year, I am faced with the question of how do I get started homeschooling this year.  I kind of look at each school year as a separate adventure, although some of it may be similar from year to year.  I think I finally have a system down for figuring it out now though.

Homeschool central in my living room.  The top shelf pictured contains musical instruments and reference books such as dictionaries.  Next down are wooden puzzles for the younger kids (placed up high to discourage dumping, but it doesn't really work since the kids climb), math manipulatives, and other materials such as bean bags and crayons that can be useful for a variety of activities.  Next down is my son's shelf, which contains a variety of puzzle books, magazines, early readers, a binder for loose worksheets, and workbooks.  The bottom pictured is my daughter's shelf which contains a large box of paper for all the kids to use as they would like (reused paper.  The other side has printing on it already.), some high interest books to look at to stimulate her mind and imagination, her binder for loose worksheets (and coloring pages), and a stack of workbooks and coloring books.  Not pictured is the top of the shelf, which contains supplies such as construction paper, software, and "teacher" stuff and the bottom shelf, which is the toddler's and contains a variety of toys to stimulate his cute little brain.  Next to the shelf, you can see a loveseat, perfect for snuggling while studying or just reading together and an alphabet chart for reference by the kids.  This entire area is right next to the kitchen counter, where we usually do "school".

• Step 1:  Clean and organize the house.  How do I know what I need if I don't know what I have?  I might think I have something and it turns out it is broken or crucial pieces are missing, if everything isn't in its place when figuring out my plan for the year.
• Step 2:  Figure out what our objectives are.  My main objective for the school year for my 6 year old is to get him reading proficiently and writing comfortably, so most things for him will gear around this.  My main goal for my 4 year old is for her to master the alphabet, to write her name, and be able to count consistently at least to 10, so her materials and lessons will center around these.  For science, social studies, and other such subjects, I will largely be leaving it to their interests this year, so the specific objectives for those subjects will be developed in...
• Step 3:  Find out what the kids want to do.  I have a ton of books with craft and activities for kids in them, mostly from Paperbackswap.com, so I plan on sitting down with the older kid and figure out what looks fun.  I'll then use those things as a framework to figure out what we'll learn about.
• Step 4:  Find out what is going on in the community.  We live near a very homeschool friendly city, so I'll be looking into activities at the museums and other places to see what will fit with what we want to do.  I may also use some of these things, like the homeschool science days as the children's museum to figure out more lesson themes.
• Step 5:  Decide what we are actually going to do.  Being thrifty as I am, I'm not going to be buying a curriculum, so I'll be putting together a loose curriculum based on the things I mentioned before.
• Step 6:  Figure out what we need to get.  Shortly before the beginning of each school year, I post a list of the things we want or need for supplies, whether it be normal things like construction paper or unusual things like toilet paper tubes or more toy-like things like puzzles on our local Freecycle group.  I also will let friends and relatives know so they can keep their eyes out for freebies or cheapies at yard sales or whatever.  I also watch for them at yard sales, which is part of why I start thinking no later than the end of July, rather than waiting until the beginning of September when schools start up around here.  As a last resort, I'll buy the things we absolutely need, but if I can hold out until after schools start up, I try to so I can cash in on back-to-school clearance sales, rather than paying full- or even regular sale prices for things!

To keep puzzles organized, I labeled each piece and the puzzle with a number and put the pieces in a plastic bag in a bin out of the reach of the toddler, so he can't just knock the puzzle holder with all its puzzle pieces on the floor for an instant mess.

So there you have it, my thrifty guide to not going back to school.  It is not the only way to do things and I don't claim it is "the best" but it works for my family.  That's one of the best things about homeschooling: we can always do what's best for our family.

Ants on a Log

Who needs an overpriced, unhealthy Misery Meal made from questionable (to be polite) ingredients by a fat food, er, I mean fast food place, when you can make this yummy, fun, and healthy treat for the kids (or yourself) for pennies?  As an added bonus, it doesn't come with a crappy, cheap (as in bad quality) toy designed to build brand awareness in kids and make them want to buy, buy, buy more cheap, plastic crap.

I generally make Ants on a Log with peanut butter and raisins, because that's what we have on hand, but any nut butter (or even cream cheese?) and dried fruits could be substituted.  The kids love helping to make these too, especially arranging the "bugs" on it.

Ants on a Log

 1/2-1 cucumber per serving

peanut butter 

raisins

Peel cucumber and cut long-ways down the middle.  Scoop out seeds and pat dry.  Spread peanut butter in the seed cavity and top with raisins as desired.

Dirt Cake

Okay, this is not my cheapest idea ever, but it still probably way cheaper than buying a cake already made...and probably way cuter and more appreciated by the birthday boy!  I made my 2 year old a dirt cake for his birthday party today.  I used some of the gummy worms I made the other day and put it in a toy wheelbarrow that is actually his gift as well, as are the toy rake and the shovel that are being used for decoration and will be used to serve it.  So I guess if you include the price of a centerpiece, gift, and cake, all of which this cake is for this occasion, the price isn't bad for a "cake" that should (in theory) have about 16 servings to it!  I put the cake in quotes since it is more of a pudding-y dessert, but it is still called a cake and it is serving the role of birthday cake.

This is such the perfect cake for my tiny little man too, since he loves to "help" me do things with the wheelbarrow and loves sticking his hands in the dirt, enough so that I need to replant some rutabaga soon, since he's killed a number of them with his love of dirt!  He loves it when I find worms in the ground for him to visit with, so I'm sure he'll love finding "worms" in the cake to eat.  Plus, lately, he's had a thing for shovels where he'll hoist it up in the air whenever he finds one and triumphantly yells "shovel!"  He even took a play shovel to bed with him a couple nights ago.

He hasn't seen this yet, since I made it last night after he went to bed and stuck it in the chest freezer until it is time to go to his party at a park, but I know he's going to love it!

Dirt Cake

1 1/2 packages Oreo cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

16 oz cream cheese, softened

2 boxes chocolate pudding

4 cups milk

16 oz Cool Whip, thawed

gummy worms (optional)

Make pudding according to package directions (amount of milk may vary depending on brand used.  I listed the amount I used for the Dr. Oetker pudding I used, the only kind of commercial pudding I can ever find without artificial colors!).  If using cooked pudding, let it cool completely, stirring occasionally to keep a film from forming on top.

Blend together cream cheese and butter.  Add to cooled pudding.  Add Cool Whip and mix thoroughly.

Crush the cookies using a rolling pin or children smashing them in plastic bags.

In a flower pot, sand bucket, or wheelbarrow, layer some cookie crumbs then pudding mixture then cookies and so on.  Layer worms throughout if desired.  Finish with a layer of cookie crumbs to resemble dirt.  

Chill for at least an hour before serving.  May also be frozen.

Order Up!--Making special meals for picky eaters without being a short-order cook

The biggest source of food waste around here is me cooking up a great meal, serving it up to the family, then being met with a chorus of "I don't like this" from anywhere from one to three children (the toddler is a good boy and eats what's put in front of him!), frequently before they even take a first bite.  They then snub their noses at it and, either eat what's on their plates that they do like, or walk away from the table completely, only to complain about being hungry ten minutes later ("There's a perfectly good meal on the table for you.  If you're that hungry, I think you should at least try it.") and me busting them climbing on top of the chest freezer to get the cereal on top of the refrigerator as soon as I leave the room for a bit.

Knowing this is a possibility, I have several strategies to prevent it.  First, if I know one or more of the kids don't like something, I don't fix it when their going to be around.  I wait until some night they will be at a friend's or relative's house or, if it is something I could take or leave, sometimes I just don't fix it at all.  If it is a side dish that I really enjoy, I might make it, but serve it with other things that would make it a well balanced meal even without the optional side.  Sometimes, I alter the recipe so it is more acceptable to everyone.  And sometimes I make meals to order. 

That isn't to say that I make up to six different entrees in one night.  Oh, hell no!  But there are a number of meals that I prepare on a fairly regular basis that require individual assembly, so the personal preference of each family member can be accounted for.  Such meals include: tacos, nachos, quesadillas, spaghetti (choice of sauce and cheese), pizza and yesterday I added kabobs to this list. 

The procedure is quite simple.  Set out all possibilities for inclusion and either have each person put together their own, or ask what they want as I put it together for them.  In the case of yesterday's kabobs, it was the second method, since I didn't want the kids handling the raw chicken.  Pizzas are almost always done by themselves, on the other hand.

It is a little thing, but it can make mealtime a lot more peaceable and it saves on food waste, so it is one of the little things that makes life good.

What My Soon-to-be 2-year-old Wants For His Birthday

What does this have to do with the topic of this blog?  Well, a couple times I've mentioned that asking for what you want for gifts can save you a considerable amount of money, since it saves you from having to buy things you want or need.  Plus, it saves the gift giver money, since they aren't throwing it away on something you're just going to get rid of as soon as they aren't looking.  In my case, I tend to ask for things for the kids that will be helpful with our homeschooling, since that will further save us money.  I figured an example of what such a list may look like would be helpful to some people.

So here is what my youngest "officially" wants for his 2nd birthday!  Most of these are things that he's played with at the children's museum we frequent or at other people's houses, so I know he enjoys them.  (anyone that is looking at this because they will actually be getting him a present, please note:  HE DOES NOT NEED CLOTHES!  Also note that we don't care about the specific brands on this list; it is for illustrative purposes only.  We'd always prefer to support small businesses and/or products made in the USA.)

Step2 Little Helper’s Grocery Cart

Smart Snacks Counting Cookies
Smart Splash - Letter Link Crabs
Little Helper Broom Set
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Cutting Fruit Crate
Small World Living Toys My-Oh-My Pizza Pie
Alex Toys Super Cooking Set
Fisher-Price Bubble Mower
Melissa & Doug Insects Wooden Chunky Puzzle
Melissa & Doug Farm Wooden Chunky Puzzle
Melissa & Doug Pets Wooden Chunky Puzzle

Melissa & Doug Playtime Veggies
Smart Snacks Rainbow Color Cones
Little Tikes TotSports T-Ball Set 
Little Tikes TotSports Basketball Set
Melissa & Doug Stacking Train
Enesco Karina 10.5" Labradoodle Plush

If you notice, none of these toys (I don't think the bubble mower does, does it?) require batteries or promote television shows, but all of them stimulate the imagination or the body or both!  Kids don't need to be sitting around on their butts watching the toys play with themselves (yes, I phrased that the most obnoxious way possible, because I think toys that do everything for the child are the most obnoxious things out there!).  They need their little brains and their little bodies on the move and that is a huge part of how I pick toys for my kids, or any children I buy presents for.

A lot of great toys, like building today, for example aren't on this list because this is my fourth child, so we already have a lot of toys like that from the older children.  Most toys are shared between the kids once an initial "that toy is special" period wears off.  For a more complete list of wonderful toys and what makes toys great, check out this list by a localish (well, it was local where we lived before this) toy store.