I'm not sure I've ever seen sweet potatoes this HUGE (I put the knife and potato in to give you some perspective) or bought them for this cheap!! It won't take long for Micah to eat this one up though with the appetite he's had lately!!
Showing posts with label frugal living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal living. Show all posts
Thursday, October 22, 2009
39 Cents a Pound
I'm not sure I've ever seen sweet potatoes this HUGE (I put the knife and potato in to give you some perspective) or bought them for this cheap!! It won't take long for Micah to eat this one up though with the appetite he's had lately!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
High Chairs vs Booster Seats
When Jackson was younger we asked our friends who had already had children what they recommended for high chairs and they highly suggested a booster seat with a detachable tray, so this is what we got.
When we moved to Santa Maria and Micah was ready for eating solid food Jackson was still using that booster seat. However, our neighbors (the same generous ones who let us use their trampoline) had a high chair that they said we could use. It's an older model, so I'm sure some of my qualms with high chairs may not be valid if I would get a newer high chair.
Anyway, it was free, so we used it. Here is my list of pros and cons for a high chair versus a booster seat that I have discovered in my experience with each.
High Chair:
Pros :
The trays are much larger and less food ends up on the floor.
It's easier on my back because the baby is higher up.
Cons:
They take up more room (when you're using them and when you have to store them later).
They are harder to clean.
They don't travel well or at all.
They are more expensive (the cheapest I saw at Babies R Us was $39.99, unless you can get a used one or one given to you).
Babies grow out of them quicker than a booster seat.
I've noticed it's harder for Micah to use sign language because he's much more enclosed.
Booster Seats:
Pros:
They are much cheaper than most high chairs (the cheapest I saw at Babies R Us was $16.99).
They are very portable.
You can stick most of them into your dishwasher to be cleaned thoroughly.
They are not out grown quickly.
They don't take up a lot of space.
They can be pushed directly up to the table (when the tray is removed).
I've noticed Micah signing more because he's not so confined.
Cons:
Babies tend to slouch in them at first.
The trays are smaller and more food ends up on the floor.
It uses up a chair (which is inconvenient when we have guests, but if I really had to I could just put him on the floor).
If I had to choose one over the other I'd pick the booster seat. We kicked Jackson out of his first booster seat so that Micah could use it and bought him this one for $12.99 at Babies R Us (it does not come with a tray). So far we're happy with it.
When we moved to Santa Maria and Micah was ready for eating solid food Jackson was still using that booster seat. However, our neighbors (the same generous ones who let us use their trampoline) had a high chair that they said we could use. It's an older model, so I'm sure some of my qualms with high chairs may not be valid if I would get a newer high chair.
Anyway, it was free, so we used it. Here is my list of pros and cons for a high chair versus a booster seat that I have discovered in my experience with each.
High Chair:
Pros :
The trays are much larger and less food ends up on the floor.
It's easier on my back because the baby is higher up.
Cons:
They take up more room (when you're using them and when you have to store them later).
They are harder to clean.
They don't travel well or at all.
They are more expensive (the cheapest I saw at Babies R Us was $39.99, unless you can get a used one or one given to you).
Babies grow out of them quicker than a booster seat.
I've noticed it's harder for Micah to use sign language because he's much more enclosed.
Booster Seats:
Pros:
They are much cheaper than most high chairs (the cheapest I saw at Babies R Us was $16.99).
They are very portable.
You can stick most of them into your dishwasher to be cleaned thoroughly.
They are not out grown quickly.
They don't take up a lot of space.
They can be pushed directly up to the table (when the tray is removed).
I've noticed Micah signing more because he's not so confined.
Cons:
Babies tend to slouch in them at first.
The trays are smaller and more food ends up on the floor.
It uses up a chair (which is inconvenient when we have guests, but if I really had to I could just put him on the floor).
If I had to choose one over the other I'd pick the booster seat. We kicked Jackson out of his first booster seat so that Micah could use it and bought him this one for $12.99 at Babies R Us (it does not come with a tray). So far we're happy with it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Jackson's First Big Purchase
Jackson has been receiving allowance for quite some time now. (You can read more on our views on allowance here.)
When he first began getting an allowance it burned a huge hole in his pocket every time we went to the store. It was important to have that time though. He quickly grasped the concepts of cost and payment for material goods.
Then we decided we needed to teach him a lesson in delayed gratification/saving. So Jackson picked out a toy in the fisher-price catalog and we cut it out and made a little count down calendar of how many weeks it would take to have enough money to make his purchase (9 weeks to be exact). Every week he could rip off a piece of paper and the last piece had a picture of the toy of his choice.
This week was the last week!! We are so proud of Jackson. He had many opportunities to spend his money before the end of the 9 weeks but he stuck to his goal. When he got his allowance on Saturday he and his dad sat at the table and counted out the amount he needed for his toy. (That was a good lesson too.)
All of the money he used to purchase his toy I put into an envelope and labeled it "Allowance $$" so that I could just keep using the same money over and over ... it makes it a little easier on Colin and me come Saturday (before we were scrambling around the house, car, couch, etc. for loose change because we weren't very good at planning ahead).
I pre-bought the toy (which I'm glad I did because they only had one left at the store) so that he could "purchase" it from me that morning and then play with right away (I even made sure we had batteries for it). He was SO excited and proud.
While counting what he had left in his bank I had the idea to start using dry erase markers directly on his piggy bank to keep track of his money (at least a rough amount) and it works great!
Jackson's already starting to talk about what he's going to save up for next. Did I mention that we are very proud of him? Delayed gratification is hard for most adults let alone a 3 year old.
When he first began getting an allowance it burned a huge hole in his pocket every time we went to the store. It was important to have that time though. He quickly grasped the concepts of cost and payment for material goods.
Then we decided we needed to teach him a lesson in delayed gratification/saving. So Jackson picked out a toy in the fisher-price catalog and we cut it out and made a little count down calendar of how many weeks it would take to have enough money to make his purchase (9 weeks to be exact). Every week he could rip off a piece of paper and the last piece had a picture of the toy of his choice.
This week was the last week!! We are so proud of Jackson. He had many opportunities to spend his money before the end of the 9 weeks but he stuck to his goal. When he got his allowance on Saturday he and his dad sat at the table and counted out the amount he needed for his toy. (That was a good lesson too.)
All of the money he used to purchase his toy I put into an envelope and labeled it "Allowance $$" so that I could just keep using the same money over and over ... it makes it a little easier on Colin and me come Saturday (before we were scrambling around the house, car, couch, etc. for loose change because we weren't very good at planning ahead). 
I pre-bought the toy (which I'm glad I did because they only had one left at the store) so that he could "purchase" it from me that morning and then play with right away (I even made sure we had batteries for it). He was SO excited and proud.
While counting what he had left in his bank I had the idea to start using dry erase markers directly on his piggy bank to keep track of his money (at least a rough amount) and it works great!
Jackson's already starting to talk about what he's going to save up for next. Did I mention that we are very proud of him? Delayed gratification is hard for most adults let alone a 3 year old.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Eating on the Go!
I'm sure I'm not the only Mom who makes meals intended to be eaten in the car or in a stroller. Often times, when I do, I struggle with how to make it a nutritious meal without having a million different baggies of veggies and fruit. So, I thought I'd share what we did for our meal on the go today:
Ingredients:
1 flour tortilla
1 Tbs. peanut butter (although I think cream cheese could work too if there are allergy concerns)
shredded carrots
raisins
Warm the tortilla in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Spread peanut butter on one half to 2/3 of the tortilla and put desired amount of raisins and shredded carrots on top of the peanut butter. Roll up like a burrito and serve immediately.
FYI: I actually ate one of these myself and it was really good. Jackson loved it and as long as you don't stuff it too full it doesn't make a mess at all.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Matching Outfits ... Okay PJs!
For those of you who have the joy of having little girls you know how fun it can be to find matching outfits for them to wear. The options are unlimited!
However, BOYS are a different story. Someone must have decided that it's not okay to match your sons' outfits because I have a terrible time finding them. I don't normally match my boys ... I don't normally buy brand new clothes for them either (unless it's a really good sale or I need something very specific), but on occasion (like Easter and Christmas) I think it's fun.
Maybe I'm too frugal and I'm shopping at the wrong stores? I've tried Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Babies R Us, etc. I just can't bring myself to pay the price it costs for an adult outfit for clothes my children will out grow in only a couple of months.
Anyway, I kind of chuckle at the fact that the matching "outfits" I finally got them were $7.00 pajamas at Walmart. Ah well. They're still pretty cute though.
I love that they look like they are enjoying a nice morning reading the paper (Jackson's been into reading the Toys R Us ads lately) and a book. I almost had them pose with coffee mugs.<
However, BOYS are a different story. Someone must have decided that it's not okay to match your sons' outfits because I have a terrible time finding them. I don't normally match my boys ... I don't normally buy brand new clothes for them either (unless it's a really good sale or I need something very specific), but on occasion (like Easter and Christmas) I think it's fun.
Maybe I'm too frugal and I'm shopping at the wrong stores? I've tried Walmart, Target, Kohl's, Babies R Us, etc. I just can't bring myself to pay the price it costs for an adult outfit for clothes my children will out grow in only a couple of months.
Anyway, I kind of chuckle at the fact that the matching "outfits" I finally got them were $7.00 pajamas at Walmart. Ah well. They're still pretty cute though.
I love that they look like they are enjoying a nice morning reading the paper (Jackson's been into reading the Toys R Us ads lately) and a book. I almost had them pose with coffee mugs.<
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Making Baby Food
Micah officially started solid food this month. We started out with acorn squash last week and this week I made sweet potatoes and yams.
I did the math and it's WAY cheaper to make my own baby food than it is to buy it. For example, I can get 4 ice cube trays worth of sweet potatoes out of $2.40 worth of sweet potatoes. Which is about 21 servings, bringing my total cost to about 11 cents a serving. Target is selling a two pack of sweet potatoes for 87 cents. That's 44 cents EACH! The stores are charging FOUR TIMES more than what I can make it for. CRAZY! Of course I don't buy organic or anything, but I also have peace of mind knowing that I don't have any extra fillers in the baby food too.
It's pretty easy to make most baby foods. For the sweet potatoes and yams I just peel them, steam them and then puree them in the blender. Then I put them in ice cube trays or these individual serving containers I got from my sister-in-law awhile ago and freeze them. Once they are frozen I can put them in gallon freezer bags to make more room in the freezer.
A little caveat ... there are some foods that are cheaper bought than made. I made applesauce once for Jackson when he was a baby and it turned out to be WAY cheaper to buy a large $2.00 jar of unsweetened applesauce from the store. AND there are some veggies that I haven't gotten the hang of making yet, like peas ... the shells always seem to make the texture a bit hard for a baby to eat. I think I'll give it another try with Micah, but I may end up buying the peas from the store too.
As Jackson got older and started having more and more food (particularly meats) and could handle more textures, I started feeding him a bland version of what we were having for dinner and used a food mill to grind it up (you can find them at Target or Walmart for pretty cheap). I loved the food mill because I could take it with me anywhere and Jackson had a meal.
Anyway, that's all I've got! I'd love to hear of any other ideas or things that other moms have tried concerning baby food.
I did the math and it's WAY cheaper to make my own baby food than it is to buy it. For example, I can get 4 ice cube trays worth of sweet potatoes out of $2.40 worth of sweet potatoes. Which is about 21 servings, bringing my total cost to about 11 cents a serving. Target is selling a two pack of sweet potatoes for 87 cents. That's 44 cents EACH! The stores are charging FOUR TIMES more than what I can make it for. CRAZY! Of course I don't buy organic or anything, but I also have peace of mind knowing that I don't have any extra fillers in the baby food too.
It's pretty easy to make most baby foods. For the sweet potatoes and yams I just peel them, steam them and then puree them in the blender. Then I put them in ice cube trays or these individual serving containers I got from my sister-in-law awhile ago and freeze them. Once they are frozen I can put them in gallon freezer bags to make more room in the freezer.
A little caveat ... there are some foods that are cheaper bought than made. I made applesauce once for Jackson when he was a baby and it turned out to be WAY cheaper to buy a large $2.00 jar of unsweetened applesauce from the store. AND there are some veggies that I haven't gotten the hang of making yet, like peas ... the shells always seem to make the texture a bit hard for a baby to eat. I think I'll give it another try with Micah, but I may end up buying the peas from the store too.
As Jackson got older and started having more and more food (particularly meats) and could handle more textures, I started feeding him a bland version of what we were having for dinner and used a food mill to grind it up (you can find them at Target or Walmart for pretty cheap). I loved the food mill because I could take it with me anywhere and Jackson had a meal.
Anyway, that's all I've got! I'd love to hear of any other ideas or things that other moms have tried concerning baby food.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Good Deals, Good Deals
Let me just start this blog by saying ... I LOVE a good deal! It's fun! It makes me proud to be (what I think is) a good steward of my money. That being said:
Several weeks ago I started looking for a glider for when baby boy #2 arrives ... the rocking chair we had for Jackson had a few popped springs and wasn't even worth giving away, so we trashed it before we came to Santa Maria. I looked at several thrift stores in the area and even looked at purchasing a new one, but I couldn't bring myself to spend over $100.00 on a glider (especially when you add on the cost of what it's going to cost to move it back to Omaha in the spring).
Anyway, I joined freecycle.org which is a cool internet group that facilitates the giving away of old stuff for free with the idea that "one man's trash is another man's treasure."
Unfortunately,I had no luck with a rocker at freecycle. So, I checked out craigslist.com which is basically a classified ad on the internet and I got lucky. I got a great deal on a glider for only $35.00, plus the gas to go and pick it up in SLO.
The same weekend we picked up the glider my husband got a new 4-drawer filing cabinet (the movers damaged ours and reimbursed us so that we could afford a new one). So, I put the old, functional, slightly broken file cabinet up on freecycle and got four interested takers, but none of them followed through. I also posted it on craigslist asking $20.00 thinking I wouldn't get anyone interested, but within a day or two I got a call and now the file cabinet is someone else's treasure and I have $20.00 to put toward my grocery bills this month.
Then our digital camera's LCD screen died and with a new baby on the way I was dreading having to spend upwards of $200.00 on a camera this month, but I couldn't really wait until Christmas (hoping someone would give a generous gift) since the baby is due at the end of the month. So, I got on craigslist again and (WOO-HOO) hit the jackpot with a great digital camera for only $50.00 and it's valued at $222.00 on Amazon.com! It's not top of the line by any means, but it's A LOT better than the one we have.
Anyway, I think I could totally become a craigslist and freecycle junkie if I'm not careful. It's like thrift store shopping online only better because you have the chance to bless other people, make some money and meet some really nice people in the process.
Several weeks ago I started looking for a glider for when baby boy #2 arrives ... the rocking chair we had for Jackson had a few popped springs and wasn't even worth giving away, so we trashed it before we came to Santa Maria. I looked at several thrift stores in the area and even looked at purchasing a new one, but I couldn't bring myself to spend over $100.00 on a glider (especially when you add on the cost of what it's going to cost to move it back to Omaha in the spring).
Anyway, I joined freecycle.org which is a cool internet group that facilitates the giving away of old stuff for free with the idea that "one man's trash is another man's treasure."
Unfortunately,I had no luck with a rocker at freecycle. So, I checked out craigslist.com which is basically a classified ad on the internet and I got lucky. I got a great deal on a glider for only $35.00, plus the gas to go and pick it up in SLO.
The same weekend we picked up the glider my husband got a new 4-drawer filing cabinet (the movers damaged ours and reimbursed us so that we could afford a new one). So, I put the old, functional, slightly broken file cabinet up on freecycle and got four interested takers, but none of them followed through. I also posted it on craigslist asking $20.00 thinking I wouldn't get anyone interested, but within a day or two I got a call and now the file cabinet is someone else's treasure and I have $20.00 to put toward my grocery bills this month.
Then our digital camera's LCD screen died and with a new baby on the way I was dreading having to spend upwards of $200.00 on a camera this month, but I couldn't really wait until Christmas (hoping someone would give a generous gift) since the baby is due at the end of the month. So, I got on craigslist again and (WOO-HOO) hit the jackpot with a great digital camera for only $50.00 and it's valued at $222.00 on Amazon.com! It's not top of the line by any means, but it's A LOT better than the one we have.
Anyway, I think I could totally become a craigslist and freecycle junkie if I'm not careful. It's like thrift store shopping online only better because you have the chance to bless other people, make some money and meet some really nice people in the process.
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