October 2nd, 2013 - Family Fun Time - Writing in shaving cream

Are you a parent? Are you on the lookout for fun ways to interact with your kids? What about hands on ways of teaching? Or teaching by integrating play?  Today's post is on a very simple, cost effective way to accomplish these things.

Ever had one of those nights where all you want to do it cook dinner, eat, then read a book in the tub?   Yeah. That was me.  I was so drained, and my toddler, who apparently is NEVER drained just wanted to play. Mama, wanna have a dance party? Wanna jump rope? How about we put on our boots and play in the snow? After explaining to her 654,646,546,546,543,266,978,984,165,461,887 that mama needed to make her some dinner, I finally said the magic words.

Izzy…How about we do something MESSY?

She loves those words.  She stopped, and cocked her head to the side, and said, what mama? So I thought for a few minutes, and decided to put two of her loves together – ‘snow’ and her letters.  

I grabbed a bottle of papa’s shaving cream, a baking pan, and sprayed a copious amount into it.

Then I let her go to town. She showed me all of her letters, and chatted me up while I made dinner.  It was a great solution for both of us since she was itching to physically do something rather than just sit and talk with mama, and I was physically exhausted! 

She was very impressed that mama let her get dirty, and it was a sneaky way to help her enjoy practicing her letters.  And it is a great way for her to learn - she LOVED the hands on method of physically making her letters. At the same time, she loved the ease of just running her palm across the pan when she made a mistake to rectify it.   

What methods of learning, and teaching do you employ? 

Enjoy.

~Danielle 

September 25th, 2013 - Family Fun

Hello families!  Simple easy family time ideas today!

For free, or cheap, family fun time dates!

Summer

 

 

 

1.  Have a picnic

2. Head to the beach

3. Play in the park

4. Go for a walk

5. Go to a nature center

6. BBQ together

7. Make smoothies

8. Have a lemonade stand

9. Have a water fight

10. Lay out in the sun

 

Spring

 

 

1.  Visit a local farm, and enjoy the new babies

2.  Go for a brisk walk - without a jacket!

3.  Plant some flowers or vegetables in your backyard

4.  Go for a bike ride 

5.  Enjoy family time while tackling spring cleaning

6.  Get outside and clean your car - inside and out

7.  This is the perfect time to open the boat, or rent a paddleboat!

8.  Have a slumber party

9.  Stay up and watch the sunset

10.  Chalk on the walk

 

Winter

 

 

1.  Go sledding

2. Grab a compass and learn orienteering

3. Walk or drive aroun town and look at Christmas lights

4.  Find a holiday festival

5.  Go ice skating

6.  Have a snowball fight

7.  Make some homemade cutout snowflakes to hang up at home

8.  Build an indoor fort with all the blankets you can find

9.  Fill a spray bottle with water and food coloring, and let the littles paint the snow!

10.  Make a gingerbread house

 

Fall

 

 

1.  Rake leaves

2.  Take a walk to the local coffee shop and enjoy some warm drinks

3.  Have a bonfire - complete with s'mores

4.  Go for a hike and check out the fall colors

5.  Go to the orchard and pick apples

6.  Jump in the leaves you raked

7.  Carve a pumpkin

8.  Host a tailgating potluck for the weekend ball game

9.  Make caramel apples

10.  Read Ghost stories

At our house, we like to put them all in a basket, and then draw one out one the weekend as a surprise. My little giggles like crazy, and we enjoy ourselves every single time!

~Danielle

September 18th, 2013 - Family Fun Time (Movies/Bread)

Family fun time this week comes with a free way to enjoy each other as a family, then a fun activity. 

Last week, we posted a deal for eating out for free.  This week, we are staying in. It's starting to get cooler out, and kids have more going on with school...I think a movie night is just what the doctor ordered!  A movie night is useful whether your children are toddlers (and maybe you snag a movie for mom and dad, for after the little is asleep) all the way through teenage years, where you might be able to convince your kids to hang out at home and watch a movie with you!

Now, I am going to go out on a limb, and ASSUME you have redbox.  This might not be true, but even in rural SD and in Nebraska, we had red box.  Listed here is a series of codes for you to use to grab a free movie - Enjoy!

REDBOX (new customers only)
MCPC213S (expires September 25, 2013 and is only valid at the kiosk)
DVDONME
BREAKKROOM

DVDNIGHT
DVDATWAG (good only at Walgreen's locations)
WALGREENS (good only at Walgreen's locations)
RDBOXHEB (good only at HEB locations
DVDATWEG (good only at Wegman's locations)
DVDKROG (Good only at Kroger locations)
DRIVEIN (good only at Sonic locations)

Now, for a family activity - one of our favorite activities to do in the kitchen is bake bread.  There is something so soothing and simple about mixing, kneading and baking bread, and your home will smell like heaven!

I have a pretty standard recipe that is simple, and easy to use - once you get it down you can modify it however you want!

5 1/4 cups white bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast - I like Red Star

1 1/2 Tbsp. oil

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 cups warm water - just over 100 degree F

1.  Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Add the water and oil.  Mix another minute and check the dough. It should be sticky - you may need to add a bit more water

2. Mix for another 5 minutes or so, and don't add anymore flour after dough is done mixing.

3. Spray kneading surface with cooking spray and put dough on sprayed surface.  Knead dough briefly until it has a smooth even consistency.

4.  Divide the dough into a few pieces - 2+, and shape them how you like. Place them on a cookie sheet, cover and let rise for about 20-25 minutes.

5.  While rising, preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Before you put the loaves in, make a few slashes in the top of the loaf.  This just makes your bread look pretty - it prevents the bread from tearing itself open as it cooks.  

Cook until they are golden brown - about 25 minutes.  When they are golden, take them out and enjoy - we like to eat our bread fresh with a dab of honey on it!

Hope you enjoy this!

~Danielle 

September 17th, 2013 - Frugal Living (Economical Party Favors)

Frugal living today is on economical party treats! I know many people who read this blog are having or hosting showers for babes to be rather soon, and this is a GREAT (and CHEAP) party favor!  Pink or blue is probably a better choice for a shower, but my little loves colors, so rainbow it was for us!

We are always looking for treats at our house. One day, I came across this pin and thought, yes. That is EXACTLY what I would like to do.  So, I texted my mom friends to see if they thought it was safe to put a baby food jar in the over, and then figured, either way, its a win. I'll have cupcakes in a jar, or get a new oven!

First thing I did was pick up my girl after work, and go shopping. We got a cake mix with vanilla pudding in it (because this project was about ease, not betty crockerin' it up!), ten jars of baby applesauce and headed home.  Had I been more proactive, I would have also gotten more food coloring, but oh well. Live and learn and have pink instead of purple. We mixed up the batter, and I separated it into 6 bowls.  You have to use a LOT of food coloring to get the bold colors...we ran out of red. Which explains why purple looks like that!

Next, we spooned them into the baby food jars - we tried different heights, and different designs. We mostly did whatever we wanted, since who really cares what color a cupcake is? You are still going to want to eat it!

We DID learn that it is important to fill them about half full...

Otherwise, they spilled over. A lot. Sort of a fail there, but what can ya do!?!

We just chopped off the top, and put some frosting and sprinkles on - delicious! We also put whip on some. My daughter did not have a preference - she loved them both equally!

Perfect size for one serving, or a guest to take, eat and mingle at the same time!

I hope you enjoy this economical party favor, and I hope you have a ton of fun with it!!

~Danielle 

September 11th, 2013 - Family Fun (Ihop/Volcanoes)

Afternoon.  Today's post is about family time, and an economical way to do enjoy it.  But first, before we jump into the fun, lets take a moment to remember the events that happened on this day 12 years ago.  It was a shocking moment in United States history, and while it does no good to dwell on it, it should always be remembered.  As a country, we will never forget the lives that were affected in any way, large or small, and the devotion we have to this country.  With flags at half staff, our hearts remember, and acknowledge, the terror that reigned that day, and united our country, and support our citizens.

Now - to the fun stuff.  Today I have one 'deal' for you, and then a fun family activity that is SO cheap, it's almost free!  First off, what better way to celebrate family, than with food? I think there is no better way - breaking bread together is something that solidifies friendships, and love, and is often considered a gesture of love and communion.  AND, going OUT to eat is usually a treat for the littles!  So, for this first part of the post, I wanted to share a link with you from IHOP.  Just click on the link, fill out the information, and wait for your email.  By signing up, you get a free meal (the Rooty Tooty Fresh N Fruity) or a meal/menu item of equal or lesser cost.  And its not just one meal - you get one now, one for your birthday and one on your anniversary.  At our house, I did it for me, then had my husband do it for him, with his email.  Our little is only four, so she just shared dinner with us.  We spent about five bucks on our meal, then tip. (Don't forget to tip on the PRE COUPON cost!)

Lastly, a fun activity to do at home after you break bread with your loved ones.  This activity is one of our favorite ones - and all you need is some flour, vinegar, baking soda, and an empty water bottle.  Optional ingredients are dish soap, a cookie tray and red food coloring.

Directions: 

1.  Take two cups of flour, and mix some water in.  There is no real requirement, you just want a good doughy texture.  This will be the volcano!

2.  Mold the dough around the bottle (and make sure it is set on the cookie tray!).

3.  Fill the bottle with warm water about 3/4 full. 

4.  Add red food coloring, about one spoonful of dish soap, and two tablespoons of baking soda.

5.  Pour vinegar until you see the eruption!

**DO NOT, ha ha, believe your spouse when they say....hmmm....I can make this better.  If you do that, I guarantee you will be cursing that decision when you are scrubbing red volcanic insides off the far wall, ceiling and carpet.**

I find this experiment usually takes about 30 minutes, and we chat about our day, and important mama/daughter things in this time.  Something fun we like to do is go through the scientific method as we create - R loves to play, and doesn't notice the learning we sneak in.

The basic scientific method guidelines are: 

• Ask a Question
• Do Background Research
• Construct a Hypothesis
• Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
• Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
• Communicate Your Results

So, we will define a question (in this case, usually, what will happen when we pour in the vinegar), talk about chemical reactions (I leave this part to daddy - he's a scientist), and then we come up with our best guess.  We test our guess by doing the experiment, then we discuss what happened (LOTS of bubbly insides) and why (Acid (in vinegar) reacts with sodium bicarbonate (in baking soda) and makes a new acid.  The new acid is weak and fall apart and escapes.  The bubbles are the acid, escaping in gas form.)

Eventually, everything you do, will be put through this process, and the basic fundamentals of chemistry are easily absorbed by a curious child.



I hope this inspires you to go out and enjoy your family, and do a little learning together!

I would love to hear how the experiment works out for you!

~Danielle 

                                For more great deals, samples, giveaways, and other frugality ideas...

August 29th, 2013 - Canada

Morning Canadian friends!

Its been noted on Facebook that sometimes, this is an overlooked area.  So, once a week, we will publish an extra post, just geared towards our friends in the north!

Canada is a different ballgame, it appears, in terms on freebies/samples/and coupons.  It has taken some work and effort to put together a list for you this week, but here it is! We will start with freebies.  :-)

Just click the link, auto fill (if you are using Chrome!) the information and await your freebies and samples! 
Stickers for the little from PETA kid

Nestle Baby samples

A Mama package from Jean Coutu - Quebec ONLY

This might be rumor only, but I hear if you sign up for the Canada Moms club with Fisher Price, you get an infant toy mailed to you!

If you are pregnant, or planning to get pregnant, check out Sobey's - they will provide prenatals for the entirety of your pregnancy!

Do you suffer from migraines? Here is a free awareness bracelet! Or maybe, you just want a cute little pink bracelet to tuck away as a surprise for when your daughter is behaving particularly well - check this out!

Safety Latches - this was posted for the US folks yesterday, but is also good in Canada!

Next up....Coupons! 

PJ's Pets - BOGO for bird or small animal food - exp 9.1.2013

Save $5 off any $50 purchase for Sears Beauty - Coupon code: 941612933

Join the Nestle Hydration movement, get a $1.00 coupon 

New La Vie En Rose Coupon - 50% off, exp 9.1.2013

Nathans hotdogs - BOGO - exp 12.31.2013

Hydrasense

Lastly, Companies you can write to for coupons!

Lansinoh - will send samples

Check these out - let me know if there are specific coupons, or items/brands/stores you are looking for so I can put alerts out for them.  Let me know if these are helpful, or no!

AND....drumroll...winner of our mini contest this morning is...the 3rd comment, per random.org.  So, Mrs B, please contact us at TheFrugalMamas@gmail.com to claim your prize in the next 24 hours, and let us know if you would like a gender neutral prize, or a boy or girl one - today's prize is an adorable infant hat, perfect for a gift to a new mom, or to snug on your beans head when your bring them home from the hospital.


Stay tuned for a second post today for new moms or moms to be!

~Danielle