Things My Kids Say

* Josh has all of a sudden started calling Papa, Pop.  It made me smile to hear him say, "Hey, Pop, I will shine that flashlight where ever you need me to." or, "Pop, let me help you carry that desk."   Why, cause I've called my dad "Pops" forever so it all fits right in :-)

* I bought the boys some new PJ shorts on clearance the other day since they.  When I showed Josh his, he said, "Mom, those are the exact shorts I've wanted for 100 years!".  Yes, prone to over exaggeration, that kid.

Family Fun - The Fair

I've mentioned a few times in past posts about our local Free Fair.  It is the largest Free Fair - but I recently asked Darryl how it was free.  We had to pay to park and pay for every single thing in the Fair.  He pointed out that it is the fact that there is no fee to get into the Fair - I guess I never realized that you normally paid to get into a fair! 

We went to the fair two years ago with the boys but they were both still so young they were very limited on what they could do.  Last year, Darryl was in the midst of recovering from his back surgery so we didn't go.  The boys started asked several months ago about going so we knew we had to take them!  It was awesome.  They are at the perfect age and were able to ride just about every ride they wanted to because they are just barely tall enough.  I was pretty impressed with all they did!

 This was their very first ride (Josh is on the yellow slide and Nate is on the Green).  We arrived at the fair at about 11:00 on Saturday morning hoping to beat the heat.  Thankfully it was cloudy and breezy which helped alot!  We bought the boys each a ride bracelet which gave them unlimited access to all of the rides.  We probably made our money back 4 times over with the amount of rides they rode! 

 Because we came in at the front, they started on these little "kiddy" rides.  They are the rides that they were able to ride two years ago. 

 This car ride was hilarious.  It had really hard turns and the first time the cars came around the turn, the boys screamed and then, couldn't stop laughing the whole ride.

 There were two roller coasters - this "little" one (the boys are in the yellow shirts) which they were not impressed with at all.  Why?  Because there was a big one that they were not big enough to ride without an adult.  Darryl and I did not have tickets to ride so they have to wait until next year to ride the big one!

 Nate went on this ride by himself the first time.  I can't remember where Josh was at this moment but . . .

 It didn't take him long to make his way over to ride again with Nate!

 The "Cliff Hanger" was a favorite ride.  This is a ride that Nate was barely able to ride - good thing his hair was standing on end ;-).  It was actually one of the more peaceful rides since all they did was glide through the air!

 This huge pirate ship was a favorite.  They rode it five or six times ending by sitting in the very back row where it went the highest.  Nate claimed this as his favorite ride.  It was about this time that the sun came out and we were all ready for a break not to mention that the sun came out and it got HOT!  We headed back to the truck and went to McDonald's for a snack before heading home to relax in the cool house.

 After dinner, around 7:00, we headed back to the fair.  We really wanted the boys to enjoy the fair at night because of all of the lights.  They didn't disappoint, it wasn't long after we were there that the boys noticed, and talked about all of the lights!  This time, when we got to the fair, the boys wanted to ride different rides so Josh with with Darryl and I took Nate.  Nate had been waiting to ride the swing - he was so serious the whole time watching everything about the ride - I think trying to figure out how it worked.

 This was one of the "extras".  We gave each of the boys $5.00 to try out the bungee.  I didn't get a photo of Josh but he had more success than Nate - Nate's little legs got tired and he ended up stopping before his time was up yet he talked about how much he loved this activity.

 This was the final ride of the night - it was a HUGE ride that went up super high and yes, that is Josh sitting in the seat.  I was amazed he went on it by himself.  He was sitting next to the nicest lady who he talked to a lot HA! 

Look how high this ride goes!  Whew!  Josh loved it though and Nate said he won't be scared to ride next year :-)

The fair was a total success.  We are already looking forward to next year :-)

Weekly Menu - Our Anniversary Weekend

We are continuing on the whole Spending Freeze idea but this week we have a few planned times to eat out.  Planning is always the key!  The kids will also be gone for a few days with my parents and I really don't like to cook when they are gone - or cook as little as possible! 

Saturday - Darryl is working today and I plan on working on two main things - the garage and getting the boys desks set up so I don't want to plan dinner.  It's usually cheaper for Darryl to bring something home then for us to go out so maybe he'll bring home Tacos from our favorite place in Grand Rapids. 

Sunday - Today we are going out for our anniversary.  The plan is to go to a brand new BBQ place that has opened in the Downtown Market for Lunch.  Dinner is still up in the air :-)

Monday - The kids will still be gone so we are going to go to Applebees to get their 1/2 priced burgers so we can both eat there for about $10.00. 

Tuesday - Everyone is back home!  It's burger time - Hamburgers on the Grill and French Fries

Wednesday - Crock Pot BBQ Chicken, Mac and Cheese, Broccoli, and Garlic Bread

Thursday - Pork Chops on the grill, Corn on the Cob, Amish Butter Noodles, and Crescent Rolls

Friday - You guessed it . . .Tacos!!! 

Spending Freeze - What we did and How we "survived"

Darryl and I put ourselves on a self-imposed spending freeze somewhere around mid-July.  Now, this isn't the first time I've done this but we did it differently this time.  A little background.  I've read many blog posts and articles about taking a break from spending and they all have had great ideas, hints, and strategies.  Everyone has a different take though.  Some people set a specific budget for things like groceries and, if they hit the last week of the month and have $2.00 left, they survive on $2.00.  That's not for us.  Instead our spending freeze was just that - spend nothing on anything that isn't 100% necessary.  It also meant using up some food in the fridge/freezer to keep the grocery budget down; not going anywhere to keep the gas budget down; not eating out to keep the unbudgeted spending down.  I think you get the idea.

So why did we do this?  Here are some key reasons:
1) We chose to go camping once a month this summer.  Camping costs money.  I will say that our last camping trip in July was the cheapest camping trip we've ever done.  The campground offered so much to do (swimming, playgrounds, bike riding) that we never left the campground which meant no eating out or stops at overpriced ice cream shops.  Instead we ate the food we brought, enjoyed the campground, enjoyed the campfire, and treated ourselves to an ice cream bar from the camp store.  BUT, camping still costs money.

2) Loss of Income.  This came in two parts.  One, the above mentioned camping.  Darryl is self employed and I babysit so neither one of us gets vacation days which means when we take a day off we don't get paid.  Yes, I planned for this but it still hits the budget :-)  Two, Taxi Driving usually takes a hit in the summer.  We are aware of that after this many years but, in the past few years, July has been profitable.  This is because the drivers have to renew their licenses by the end of June and normally many drivers miss the cut off which means instead of 40 cabs on the road, there might only be 15 for at least 1/2 the month.  Well, this month, that didn't happen so we've been running behind average.  Added to that are things like a root canal for Darryl and car repairs on Darryl's car . .well, you can see what happens!

3) Self Control - I mentioned in a previous post how easy it is to go out to eat or just "grab" something.  A spending freeze breaks the habit on all that spending.  From dinner out to buying books (for my Kindle) at the drop of a hat.

Our original goal was just the last two weeks in July in order to try and catch up a little but, it was such a good test that we decided to carry it through into August. Plus, since July was so extremely tight, we need to continue to work to catch up! 

July went really well.  We ate at home, and didn't buy anything unplanned without some serious thought.  Our pool pump died during the third week of July.  We have a small Intex Inflatable Ring pool so it could survive without a pump for a little while but we noticed it was starting to turn green so we knew we couldn't wait.  Thankfully the pump was already marked down at Meijer so it didn't break the bank :-)  We had planned to attend the Ionia Free Fair and attend we did!  We knew ahead of time about what we would spend and we stuck to that budget.  The boys aren't into Fair Food yet so that saved us a lot of money.  I took water/Juice Boxes in a small cooler and other than getting Josh a $1.00 ice cream cone we spend no money on food.  Instead, we went to McDonald's after the fair and got us all a good snack for 1/4 of what food would have cost at the fair.

August.  Besides using the freeze to help us catch up a little on some bills there are a few other items on the list that have to be taken care of.  Darryl has his last (hopefully) dentist appointment for his Root Canal and we need to pay that off; We are signing the boys up for Tae Kwon Do through our Local Homeschool group which requires a very small fee; Of course, we are camping near the end of the month so we have to put money aside to finish paying for our site and for a couple day outings on this trip.  I have one other activity I really want to take the boys to at the end of the month but, that will all depend on funds.  I have quite a few things I'm working on selling on our Local Garage Sale Facebook site which will be used to help with these out of budget items.  Our main goal in August is to end the month ahead so that as we enter September we can begin saving for Birthdays and Christmas! 

What We're Eating - Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp Tacos
adapted from The Cooking Jar
and The Pioneer Woman 

As you probably know from reading this blog, we love Tacos.  A few weeks ago I found a recipe for Honey Garlic Shrimp and was going to make it but it never happened.  In trying to save some moeny at the store, I've been using up food in the freezer so, for Taco night, instead of buying meat, I decided to use the recipe but make it into Tacos.  I then went in search of a recipe for the topping and found a great Shrimp taco Recipe over at Pioneer Woman - I used her coleslaw and Pico de Gallo recipe.  This recipe was a huge hit with even Josh :-)  He asked me the following day if I had any of that shrimp left because he loved it so much! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. shrimp, skin off and tail on

Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon ginger, minced
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

 

Instructions

1. Combine the sauce ingredients and divide into half
2. Marinate the shrimp with half of the sauce for 15-30 minutes. Discard marinade
3. Over medium high heat, pan sear the shrimp on both sides in batches of 2 until browned, about 1 minute per side
4. Using tongs, rub the shrimp into the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan
5. Dish and serve hot drizzled with the remaining sauce

** To get the recipes from Pioneer Woman, just click HERE!


 

Teaching Tuesdays - Look what Arrived!

So this arrived this week:

What is it?  School!  Our computer arrived followed by a box of school stuff for Josh and a box for Nate.  We are all very excited! 

We are now waiting for the delivery of two desks on Friday then I will set up their new school area.  The desks are great - one is a desk that was my mom's and then has been passed on through several of us (I used it through 4 years of college in my dorm room) and now gets to be used by my kids.  The second is one my mom picked up at a garage sale a friend was having.  I can't wait to get their little desks all set up!

Make It Monday - Strawberry Shortcake Scones

I love Facebook for many reasons but one of those reasons is that friends post recipes that they find and either want to try or, even better, have already tried!  I mean, whats better than a recipe tried by a friend who you trust to actually have tastebuds :-)  So, when I saw a friend post this recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Scones (adapted from Very Culinary) I knew I wanted to try them.  Originally I was going to make them for our camping trip a few weeks ago but I ran out of time to get them made so one day last week, on a whim because there was nothing sweet in the house to eat, I made a batch. 

They turned out pretty good.  A few things - They were actually better cold rather than still really warm.  There is something about the glaze that adds a lot of flavor once it had hardened.  They are even better the second day, heated up in the microwave for just about 20 seconds.  The dough, at least from my experience, was a lot looser than other scone dough I've worked with so I'm not sure if that was just caused by the juice in the strawberries or if I needed to add more flour.  They still cooked up well.  Also, I never, hardly ever have half and half in my fridge so I just used the fat free milk that is always there :-)

Here's a recipe for you to try :-)  These would actually be great to take to a brunch because, as I stated, they are better cold/at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 12 strawberries, hulled and diced
• 3/4 cup half and half

For the glaze

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender (or your hands) until mixture resembles crumbs.
3. Toss in strawberries and coat lightly with the flour mixture. Add half and half and fold together gently until the mixture just begins to come together and form a soft dough. (Do not knead or over mix the dough.)
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 6 squares, then cut the squares on the diagonal to form 12 triangles. Place scones on prepared baking sheet and bake 16-18 minutes or until cooked through and golden.
5. Place a sheet of parchment on a work surface, then place a cooling rack over top of parchment. Remove scones from pan to cooling rack. Cool about 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, vanilla, and half and half until smooth. (If glaze is too thick, add a bit more cream. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.)
7. Generously drizzle scones with the glaze. (Glaze will firm up when scones are completely cool.) Eat and enjoy!