Little Things

Do you have a spot in your house that when you clean it, it just makes the whole house feel better?  For me it's the dining room table.  It's the center of our home -- we eat here of course, but it's also the spot for crafts, talking, entertaining, and just about anything you can think of.  I'm sitting here now.

With little kids and a cat running around I've pretty much given up on any kind of knick knacks.  I do like to put out a few seasonal things on the table though.  My kids always get excited when there's something new.

P.S. I set up a facebook page if you'd like to follow me there!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread

Ever have one of those weekends?  Yup, us too.  It all ended when DS spilled a whole cup of water on me in a restaurant, so I had to walk out looking like I peed myself.  This bread is the antidote to those weekends.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bread

5 T butter, melted and cooled completely
2/3 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
1 C vanilla yogurt
1 egg
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, yogurt and egg.  Mix well.  Stir in baking soda and baking powder.  Add flour and mix until just combined.   Fold in chocolate chips.

Grease a loaf pan, and fill it with batter.  Bake bread for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

At The Car Wash

We spend a large part of Saturday morning building a car wash out of a cardboard box.

It reminded me of this book I once got out of the library.  It was a little too advanced for my 3 year old, but I look forward to getting it again when he's about 5.

This Week's Menu Plan

Do you guys have as hard of a time eating while you're away as I do?  My brain loves to travel, but my stomach not so much.  I do all of the normal stuff like packing a cooler full of healthy stuff, and cooking simple things on the road, but I still long for food cooked from my kitchen.  Anyway, I'm not complaining about having the time and money to travel; I just wish I could do better when eating when I'm away.

Here's my menu for the week:

Sat -- Baked ham, twice baked potatoes, green beans
Sun -- Chili & Corn bread
Mon -- Vegetarian sloppy joes, carrot sticks
Tue -- Ham and bean soup, bread
Wed -- Chicken a la king, rice
Thu -- Take out!
Fri -- Burlattas, corn

Breakfasts -- Pineapple, smoothies, toast, cereal, yogurt, granola

Lunches -- Baked potato soup, salads, leftovers

Freezer Cooking for Feb -- Black beans, pinto beans, white beans, pita bread, moomie's buns, ground beef substitute

Linked to: Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

Money Saving Challenge & Goals For Next Week

It's been another crazy week.  Even though staying off the computer helped, I've still been running morning, noon, and night.  Then there was the surprisingly painful trip to the dentist, and the fact that our mild winter seems to have brought on the pollen, early and strong.  I'm having fun though.  I actually enjoy cleaning closets, and organizing all of our junk.  Plus, I'm in the middle of a few hard-in-a-good-way projects at work.

{Leave it to me to get my guest post published on moneysavingmom.com on the same day I post about potty seats.  If you're clicking over from there, it's not all potty talk, I promise.  My cleaning schedule is here and my advice for returning to work after maternity leave is here.  My freezer cooking adventures can be found here, and I also have a few years worth of menus here.}

Here's what I've been doing to save a few bucks:

• We have a trip coming up, and I was brave and booked two nights of our stay through a groupon.  Once we find a hotel we like we usually stick with it, so we'll see how it goes.  If it works, we'll have saved about $100.
• I spent some time planning out our menu and freezer cooking plans for next month.
• I won a free pizza from Papa John's during the Superbowl.  We'll have that as our carry out tonight.
• I mailed a book for a paperbackswap.com credit.
• Before I went all crazy and logged off the computer for 5 days, I wrote enough for textbroker.com to get to 15% of my earnings goal.
• I have a ton of stuff gathered up for the consignment sale next month, and talked to a neighbor about doing a yard sale together.

My goals two weeks ago were to:

• Walk 5x Swim 1x {I was good one week, not so much the other}
• Give a GOOD presentation at work (I have to do this one way or the other but I want to seem prepared and confident) {This went really well!}
• Valentine's plans include a special breakfast, homemade cards and treats, and dessert after dinner.
• Get to 15% of my money earning goal
• Make a lot more progress on my consignment work
• Turn my compost

My goals for next week:

• Walk 5x Swim 1X
• Turn my compost
• Weed around my shallots and garlic and feed them
• Start tagging for the consignment sale
• Earn 25% of my earnings goals through paid writing (mostly on textbroker.com)

Things I Actually Paid Full Price For...

We took a quick trip to Cleveland over the long weekend.  There were a couple of things ahead of time that I purchased (full price, without any kind of gift card or credits) that made our trip easier.  You know if I purchase something full price and am happy about it, it must have been good.

I bought this weird looking travel bed based on review from Amazon.com (click on the picture if you want the particulars).  When I first saw it, I thought there was no way my one year old would sleep in it.  The first time I put her in it she screamed, and I thought to myself, "This is why I don't buy things full price."  I sat with her, and eventually she fell asleep.  After that, she loved this thing, and she did so much better than in the pack and play.  I think she appreciates having an actual matress to sleep on.  My favorite part was that this thing fold up to about the size of my cat.



My son has been fully potty trained for a while now, but he's still uncomfortable on a full sized toilet.  This little folding seat has saved us many, many tears while traveling.  It also folds up very small, and is easy to clean.

I'm Back

This weekend I read a good book, spent some time with extended family and saw some snow.  I should be back to myself by tomorrow.  I'm still not sure what to write about -- maybe a meal plan after the 5 am Fat Tuesday Paczki run?