Frugalicious Mommies

ATTENTION MOMMIES!! How many of you have a stockpile of body wash, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, toilet paper, etc etc? My family lives in Cullman, Alabama and there are A LOT of people there that will be in need of these things now. If you would like to donate a flat rate shipping box full of toiletries, please let me know and I will get you an address of where you can ship it to help out those in need. *BP*

My husband has been on vacation this week, so we had a rare opportunity to do something as a family in the middle of the week, instead of on the hectic weekend. Today we took the kids to the Children's Museum here in Portland, OR. They currently have a Curious George exhibit that runs through June 5th, and I actually learned something interesting about the authors of Curious George! Hans Augusto and Margret Rey fled the Nazi invasion of Paris in 1940 on bicycles that they made themselves, carrying the manuscript for Curious George with them! Being as how my Monkey is only 2, he was more interested in the rotary phone on display!
 For such a little room, there was quite a bit to do in the Curious George "wing" of the museum.

We moved on to the room that looks like a grocery store, while my husband and son played in there, I took our 6 month old to the "Baby Garden" which is specifically designed for kids 0-3. Honestly, if your child is between 0-3 months old, there is nothing for you to do in this room that you can't do in the rest of the museum. There is a little water bed bench that the babies can lay on and get wiggled around, Dee almost laughed at that. What she was enthralled by was the fish tank, which I could have taken her to PetSmart to see for absolutely nothing.

I don't recommend the museum if your children are under 2. There is nothing for them to do there, and Dee actually had a melt down because she was tired of being in her stroller. We had to find a semi quiet place to let her get out and stretch. This was in the "Tree House Adventure" room. When we got there, no one else was there.
We were able to let Dee wiggle around on the floor (yes, that is face paint, I'm getting to that.). Then all of a sudden a wild child with absolutely no supervision at all came running full speed around the corner, through the middle of the carpeted area where Dee was playing and he almost stepped on my baby! Not even an excuse me or anything! I realize that we are in a children's museum, and yes I know that there will be kids running about. What I don't understand is you popping a squat somewhere and not watching your children in a building full of strangers and lots of little places to hide.

So, as you can see above, there is also a place for face painting, but not by a person skilled at the art of face painting, no, your kids do it.
You can see the light bulb blowing out in my husbands head as he decides to draw on my precious sleeping baby girl. I even got in on the fun!
 As you can see, it doesn't matter if an adult does it. I may as well have drawn this with my left hand.

My sons favorite part of the whole museum was the "Vroom Room". They had a bus and a bus stop set up, as well as an ambulance, where the kids could get in and pretend to drive.

They also had a huge wooden train set to play with...like he has at home. He did spend a lot of time driving the bus though, much to his fathers chagrin. He drives a bus for 10 hours a day so the thought of his son taking after him is less than thrilling.

Now, the very best part of the entire museum...
A GIGANTIC LITE BRITE! I sat in front of this thing for about 30 minutes by myself, no kids even wanted to play with it! Weirdos. 660 glowing peg holes, just waiting for the lucite pegs to bring them to colorful life. I actually require this in order to live a happy life now and would gladly pay $8 to sit in front of this thing all day long! It is by far the coolest thing I have ever had the opportunity to play with. I honestly don't think it would cost that much to build one.

Overall, it was a lovely day. My Monkey man had a blast running around and not being told NO NO NO NO over and over again. He could touch everything. He could do everything. He could play with everything. We're thinking of becoming members so we can take trips down there a few times a week in the mornings and he can run around and play and be a kid...that and I need to see my lite brite again. Seriously.

     We all love the little Hummers, but did you know that the sooner you get your feeders out the more likely you will have "regulars"? They will build their nests closer to the most reliable food source they can find. The first ones they find typically fit the bill. The males come first to find food for their mates, they are the flashy ones, typically green or reddish with a red neck that shines in the sun. 


Recipe to make your own Hummingbird feed:


4 cups water ( get the water to a rolling boil)
2 cups sugar (stir in until mixed completely)


     You do not have to add red dye, its a fable, most Hummingbird feeders are attractive enough to catch the attention of the Hummers no need to add more chemicals to the mix. Wait until the mixture cools, pour into the feeder, ( I have noticed it's easier to use a measuring cup then to just pour, or if you have one a funnel would work great ) before you know it you will have lots of Hummingbirds, but if you want multiple families to come to your back yard, make sure to add multiple feeders to your yard, since they are very territorial and the males ( who come first ) will fight off other males. So have different feeders spread about the yard. Try placing one in the front yard as well. 


FM Brandy Hayward 

The dreaded words every experienced parent loves to hate. Family Vacation/travel.

Every now and then growing up my parents got the itch to pack up and head out for the weekend. I loved heading to the mountains, the beaches and to visit family in California. I love to travel I couldn't sit still and to this day my pore husband has to deal with it. I think there is maybe one day a week if he is lucky that I just want to sit at home and do nothing.

From the day my little girl was born she was destined to be well traveled. Every summer my husband and his fathers side of the family pack up for a weekend and head to the Sisters Rodeo. The heat, the dust and might I mention the cowboys wearing Wranglers. We love going and our little girl was 2 1/2 months old when she went to her first. She was so cute. Watching the rodeo and yes she was checking out the little cowboys her age. Mommy was so proud. :) First camping trip and rodeo was down all at once. The whole trip cost us less the $200. We camped in the back of our SUV. It fit all 3 of us perfectly. No one got cold.

Just a week later my parents decided to do a little road trip to Cali. Baby girl and her cousin just 4 days younger (that's for a different post.) had to go visit their great and great great grand parents. My mom and dad along with me in the back seat of their Buick between two infant car-seats. That was a long ride. Headed down I5 to sunny California. Between breastfeeding my girl and bottle feeding my nephew I was ready for some sleep. We made it and might I mention I only spent 50 bucks most of which was on trinkets with my little ones name on them. She got to visit the whole family and meet one of my best friends since I was 5 years old.

To top it all off she was 3 months old and had her first air plane ride. Baby girl got to go to Reno Nevada to watch her daddy bowl in the National Bowling Tournament.  She slept the hour and 20 min ride. From take off to landing. On the way home she ate pretty much the whole time. Now there really isn't much you can do in Reno with an infant but we made the most of it. We only spent $200. Most of which was on snakes and playing the slots. Being part of the Bowling tournament we got booklets filled with coupons for free play, food and other stuff. I even got a booklet to play the kids games at Circus Circus and tried to win her a stuffed animal. I did not so I ended up going to the gift shop and buying her one with a coupon a lady gave me because she felt bad I didn't win. Needless to say I bought her the cutest stuffed pig I could find and she loves it still. The flight and hotel room were Christmas gifts from his mom. So that is how we got away with the whole trip costing only $200.

This is just a tidbit of my Family Friendly Travel, Frugalicious Style. I will be posting local area attractions and places to visit. Ways to save money when taking the family out and how to make the most out of what little money you have to spend. We have done so much more and the stories are worth telling another time. I hope that you enjoyed our first post of Family Friendly Travel, Frugalicious style. Tell next time.

Kelly

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Did you know that crock pots aren't just for stew? Recently I have been discovering all kinds of recipes to make in the crock pot, in part because of free ebooks from Amazon. I did not get the recipe I used today from a cook book, I was just inspired by a recipe I saw in one.


Bacon  and Mushroom Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. groundbeef
8 slices of bacon (chopped and cooked)
1/4 cup of diced onion (cook with bacon)
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup ketchup
1 egg
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 
salt, garlic, and pepper to taste

"glaze":
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients for loaf together and press into a crock pot that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

Make the glaze and brush it on generously

Turn crock pot on low and cook for 8-9 hours.

I haven't had this recipe, so I can't tell you how it will taste, but it smells fantastic!

*BP*

Chenille Blanket!

                                               
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