Happy March!

I have to laugh. It's almost the 15th... and here I am saying Happy March!

These past few months have been so busy... By busy I mean we went to Colorado to visit CJ's grandmother, there's been teething, there's been a house to clean, friends to see and classes to go to!

Oy. I have been horrible at keeping up this blog and I apologize.

I read other mommy blogs and think to myself, "I need to manage my time better so I can blog!" And then what do I do? I look at the pile of laundry, the dirty floors from this Minnesota winter and the pile of yarn that I want to crochet with and forget about the blog... Oops.

Plus there's Rusty. He's just too cute and too soft not to cuddle with on the couch. He still needs love too.

But we put the crate out in the living room and he's loving it. So is The Monkey. She crawls in there daily and will sit and play with toys (with or without Rusty in the crate). Rusty is much happier. Though since January he has eaten a few toys plus magnets. Eep. At least this household knows that hydrogen peroxide works in a flash to get him to throw up magnets. Gross.

We cut the cable. That was a huge clutch to let go of. And we're happier. We don't watch tv as much anymore, and our pocketbooks are a little happier too!

Now it's almost time for St. Patrick's Day.

AND THEN THE MONKEY'S BIRTHDAY!!!

What a year this has been...

Wordless Wednesday

Couponing Really Saves Money? WHAT???

Ya. It does.

We went on a budget to cut down on spending and save money.

In other words, we're living within our means again. Ouch, the booze budget has been cut (let's just say that The Big Friendly and 4 Buck Chuck is back in the house) along with the food budget.

So here's the deal.. there's all these coupon sites out there and I barely understand them. But here's what I do.

I find a sale price item (like Kraft shredded cheese) and a coupon for it and voila! At least cheaper than not on sale! For Target, I print off a Target coupon and then I also hand over a manufacturer coupon (this is called "stacking" and give 2 coupons for 1 item - you can get some great deals at Target this way too!).

I regularly save $40+ from our grocery bill. And now it's super fun. Sort of, but not really.

I clip coupons from the paper and online (target.com., coupons.com, redplum.com) and look at the ads, I match up coupons to the sale price items and that's that. It'll save you at least $20 off your next grocery bill.

I suppose I could save my next grocery receipt and type everything out for you. Well, no, I would take a picture instead. WAY easier.

So I hope this helps explain how some couponers work. I am not an extreme couponer. I do not haul away $500 worth of crap food for free. Instead I find coupons for things like meat, eggs, cheese, produce, canned tomatoes, pasta and a few other items (including organic!). So it may take 35 minutes but that's 35 minutes to save us money. YAY for saving money!!!

OMG. It's Been A Long Time

I feel like this type of posts pops up a heck of a lot more often now having a child.

She's crawling. Walking behind a walking toy. Holy crap. My baby is turning into a toddler.

In any case, I've taken pictures of food since December, I promise. I've taken pictures of my crochet projects, I promise (I just made the CUTEST slippers, I HAVE TO POST THEM!!). The living room has been reorganized at least twice. The dog has chewed up toys, magnets, etc... I almost had a heart attack earlier this week giving him hydrogen peroxide to make him puke. Yesterday he went to daycare and suddenly his behavior is better. Oh, Rusty...

I started couponing more (but who really wants to read about couponing??!!???), signed up for a CSA share from Driftless Organics again (this summer we're getting a weekly one since I'll be home I will be able to make lunches, dinners, use up the veggies, etc...).

I'm pinning crochet items on Pinterest with a passion. Oy. Last night I stocked up on yarn from Michael's. $1.89 for a skein of Vanna's Choice (yup, VANNA WHITE!!! Deborah Norville also hopped onto the yarn wagon train too). And $2.79 each for Lionbrand's WoolEase. I think I have enough for at least 50 pairs of slippers, but I won't be making that many, I promise. Instead I need to think of a few other items and maybe just make slippers for friends as gifts. Not sure yet. I need some inspiration.

This week during naptimes I'll be writing, scheduling posts, and hopefully editing photos so I can share with you all that's happened in the last month. Oh, and also schedule time to actually sit and write during the Monkey's morning naps. We shall see. I may be asking too much of myself. If only there were 4 more hours in the day...

My Dog, The Fear Farter

Yes, I've called my dog an asshole. He really is an asshole though I'm sure his cute pictures say otherwise.

But there another side to poor Rusty MONSTER.

He is a FEAR FARTER.

Yup. He farts.

When he's afraid of something he just lets one rip. It's downright smelly, disgusting and gross. You can ALWAYS tell that the fart comes from the dog.

Doorbell rings.

Dog farts.

Fedex truck parks in front of the house.

Dog farts.

Snowplow goes by.

Dog farts.

Move a big box.

Dog farts.

Move the baby gate.

Dog farts.

Get the picture?

And to be quite honest, I don't think there's training to overcome fear farting. I mean, what do you do? You can't exactly train people to not let one rip (unless you're me and you hold it in until you get home and get a huge stomachache from it). So I guess we'll have to live with the stench of a fear farting dog. That's Rusty for you. The fear farting asshole.

Christmas with Santa

It didn't go as well as I expected. The Monkey is great with strangers. Usually. Apparently big bearded ones are not her favorite. She took one look and definitely didn't like Santa. She's like me. I hated Santa. All of my pictures are crying ones too. Oh, well. It's an experience, right? The top pic is our Christmas card picture because that's the best one we got!

Andes Mint Chocolate Bark

OMG. Chocolate. Add Mint. Eat. AND SWOON.

Even Bimmer Man who doesn't really like chocolate eats this. DELISH.

 Gather your ingredients.

Start a double boiler. Melt the white chocolate. Add a 1/2 tsp of mint extract. Drizzle into a parchment lined baking sheet and spread to however much you want with a spatula.

Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Just enough the let the chocolate set.

Start a new double boiler. Melt the chocolate chocolate (you know, the BROWN chocolate). Drizzle onto the white chocolate. Spread with a spatula and grab the Andes mint pieces. Sprinkle onto the still-warm chocolate and press them into the chocolate (this is so they don't fall off when you go to eat it). Then again, put into the fridge for another 20 minutes. Once set either use a knife to break apart OR just slam it against the counter a few times to break it into chunks. Whatever works.

Oy Vey.

We've got movement on the homefront.

As in I'm going to have to bring down the pack and play so I can pee type of movement.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Ups

 YUM!!!

Crescent Rolls

Cinnamon

Sugar

Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cinnamon and sugar to your liking. (I used 1/4 cup of sugar and just a little more than 1/2 tsp of cinnamon).

Unroll crescent rolls from their can (and they are WAY HARDER to open than they used to be!).

Spread a little butter on each roll.

Using a spoon, drizzle or pour cinnamon/sugar mix onto the rolls.

Roll each roll (HAHA!), starting with the larger end.

Bake for approximately 12 - 15 minutes. 

Make Your Own Baby Food - SQUASH

SUPER EASY!!

Bake/steam/cook your squash. Steam some other veggies. Put in blender. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water. Puree. Put in ice cube trays to freeze. Label your bags. Add in the cubes. EASY.

To defrost I just stick in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, taste to make sure it's not too hot.

I have the crazy kid that LOVES cold food though so I have to put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to cool it down from the microwave (even though it's room temp already!).