Free @ Target (I am so there!)

Ok all you Target fanatics (I am Target's #1 fan...I can spend hours upon hours there), did you know you could get FREE (yes I said FREE) samples from Target?  It is so true.  Yeah Target!

I had no clue about this until a few days ago when I was @ ingoodcents.com.  By the way you have to check out her blog:

OK, back to Target.  They just launched "The Sample Spot" on their website.  Don't get frustrated if you go there and there are none left.  They continually put new samples up on the site, so put that link in your Favorites and check back often. 

Gotta love Target and of course FREE stuff.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

A couple weekends ago I had a garage sale to get rid of all my baby "stuff".  Well no luck getting rid of it.  I guess all the Mommy-to-be ladies were busy that day.  So I have a ton of stuff very well organized in my garage now.  I found out about this site a couple days ago.  If you just want to get rid of things you have around your house (for FREE) and want to find someone who really needs it, then visit this site.

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,864 groups with 7,603,875 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Membership is free, and everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. 

My neighbor said she posted her grandmother's old rocker several months ago and she said a brand new Daddy (just had his baby that day) came to get the rocker for his wife and new little one.  Also, several times there have been posts by people who want to give a free meal to a family in need.  What a great way to help out your community.

So check it out and see what you can give to someone or what you can get as well.

Easy Red Potato Recipe

Alot of you might already know about this easy and yummy recipe, but again I was clueless to this until my sis-in-law made it for us this past summer.  You literally only need 4 ingredients to make it and prep time is quick (depending on how fast you chop).

You will obviously need red potatoes.  The quantity depends on how many you are cooking for in your family, etc.  For my family of 4 (well OK 3...my son hates potatoes and Sophie eats like 3 or 4 wedges, but I have one hungry husband) I use about 4 good medium sized red potatoes.

Then the rest of the ingredients are olive oil, basil seasoning (or actually any kind of seasoning you prefer), and a bit of a stick of butter.

The How To:

1. Wash and then chop up your red potatoes into small wedge pieces (you can peel the potatoes if you like, but I prefer the skin to stay on).
2. Use a large baking dish.  Put in on a burner on the stove and put the heat on medium.  When the dish is warm, take your stick of butter and grease the pan all around.
3. Put your potato wedges in the dish and put some olive oil on top.  I know what your thinking...HOW MUCH.  I hate recipes that tell you...put a "smidge" of something in.  I need exact measurements!  Honestly though I just swirl the olive oil around about three times and that is it. 
4. Then sprinkle your seasoning on top as well.  Here is another no measurement instruction, but put enough to your liking.  For me, I like to really taste the seasoning so I put quite a bit on.
5. Mix everything together and then stick it in the oven @ 375 degrees for an hour or until potato is soft.

This is how it looks before you put it in the oven (oh and I made alot this time for a get together):

I use it as a side dish for just about anything.  Enjoy!

Cheap Books & Scholastic

I am mostly new to this parenting job of mine.  I have little over 4 years experience with it now and I consider myself pretty much a pro at feeding, sleeping, diapering, potty training, and time outs.  However, all the millions of little things that would make me a genius at this job are still out there for the finding. 

My son started preschool this year and has been bringing home cute little Scholastic workbooks like this one.

They are a 4 page booklet that teaches things such as opposites, fire safety, school fun and even how an apple grows (I had no clue that it is a flower even before it starts growing as an apple).  I have heard of Scholastic before, but had no clue the great learning tool it is for kids.  Now, you don't have to have a child in school to reap the benefits, the cute little workbooks just gave me a push to actually go to the website to check out everything Scholastic has to offer parents, kids, teachers and administrators.  Go ahead and click below to check it out:

I remember last year a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to order some books through Scholastic for my son (her daughter was in preschool at the time and brought home an order booklet for her class).  Honestly, I pretended to know what it was (I couldn't look like a clueless Mommy!) and ordered these two adorable dinosaur books (which Coop loves) for I believe $7.  You can't beat that, I mean when you go to Target or Borders you are easily spending around $6 for just one book!

So this year I can't wait for the ordering booklet to come home from preschool so I can get some great deals on books for Christmas.  I am pretty sure it is across the board with everyone when I express how TIRED I get of reading the same books over and over. 

What if you don't have a child in school, a friend who had a child in school, or your child's teacher doesn't use Scholastic reference materials in class?  Well go online to the website and go to the Parents section and then to Scholastic Store.  You can buy books as low as $2.97 and is categorizes by age of the child. The best part is that shipping for books is cheap and free depending on the amount of your order (as long as you choose Standard shipping). 

One last note to this feel good story...Scholastic also sells toys, games, audio, video, software, arts and crafts.

So I keep learning and hope I don't miss out on any of the great tools/deals out there that make our jobs as Mommies that much better for everyone involved.

90 in October!

Yes, it does happen but to get in the car and realize it is 91 degrees and it is October....really?  So the air was reluctantly turned on today and the shorts and t-shirts were dug out of our drawers.  Went to Dillon Park in Noblesville and had some fun.

Hello America:

Can you say static electricity?:

Splash park with no water:

Loving Life:

Oh warm weather, how I hate to say goodbye to you.  I will be counting the days until I get to see you again.  Thanks for making a surprise visit this weekend!

Decorating on a Budget

My husband Bob is a teacher and like I said before I work at home part-time.  So needless to say there is not alot of cash flowing around here.  Sure wish we could find one of those money trees, but no luck yet.  Anyways, I love decorating and have a folder full of ideas I tear out of magazines (Pottery Barn is my favorite) for when I have some extra cash to replicate what is shown in the dreamy magazines. 

Well for the Autumn season I have my good staples like wreaths and various pumpkin face holders and such, but I wanted to add to those this year.  Once again those darn kids of mine need warm clothing and coats so I had to find items on the cheap route. 

I was at Meijer today and found a mound of these cute little pumpkins, gourds and harvest corn.  The little pumpkins were $1.50 each, the mini pumpkins and gourds were .69 cents each...talk about cheap.  So my dusty wheels in my head started turning and came up with a few ideas for $10.83.

Here...super easy, just put two next to my picture in the living room:

Put a grouping of three on my kitchen island:

Put a couple on my coat hanger next to the back door:

Put some little pumpkins in a planter where my begonias had become quite sad so I ditched them for these cuties:

And finally a little dude in my candle holder outside where I usually put a candle, but instead of spending $6-$8 I spent $1.50!

So all in all, not much but it does give the house a bit more of the halloween/autumn feel and hey they should last through November too!

Pleasure to Meet You

So I am new at this.  I have been reading different Mommy blogs for the last 6 months and have gotten great ideas, advice and some good chuckles along the way.  I thought this would be something I would love to try out and see how it goes.  See I am a WAHM (Work At Home Mom) with two adorable kids under 5, a best friend for a husband and 20lb mini goldendoodle who is my shadow 24/7.  I honestly feel this time in my life is full of love and happiness, but something is missing. 

I feel like I don’t have a purpose beside the fact that I am a mommy, wife, employee, housekeeper, cook, coupon master (well trying to be) and now a professional car pooler.  With all this to do in a day I feel like I need more on my plate in order to feel accomplished.  Yes, I am thinking it too…I am nuts.  Typical type A personality I guess.

So in the end I thought creating a blog would be the perfect way to have an outlet for myself that allows me to keep going even after the kids go to bed.  Yes, again I will state the fact that I am nuts (but it runs in the family). 

With all that said, Hello I am Midwest Mama.