Homemade Finger Paint!

Thanks to Pinterest I found some easy to make Edible Finger Paints.

I made the paints last night and then this afternoon the kiddos and I enjoyed painting with them. They had a weird texture to them. And I don't think that they tasted very well. I managed to keep Lyric from eating it. But with Michael.... That was a little harder. He managed to sneak a little taste here and there. And he wasn't too into painting. He did stick his fingers in it a couple of times, but didn't really paint on the paper. I knew that he was getting tired because as Lyric was finishing up he was rubbing his eyes and his face. And can you imagine what happened when he started to rub his face. The paint that was on his hands went straight to his face and his eyes. I wasn't able to get a good picture of his face after he rubbed his face. 

Lyric loved the paints. She didn't want to stop. :) It is going to be another go to paint in the future. I think that she liked the feel of them. She would scoop the blob of paint up that I put on her paper and would smear it across her paper. Then she started to mix all the paints in her hands and then would go about and make her masterpiece.

The Recipe:

1/2 C Cornstarch

3-4 Tbsp Sugar

2 C Water

Mix in a saucepan over low-medium heat until it becomes thick but smooth. Let cool. Scoop into bowls or cups and add food coloring.

Homemade Pancakes

So, Monday morning and this morning I made egg-less pancakes. I wanted pancakes but didn't have any eggs. So, I got to looking on the computer for pancakes that didn't involve eggs. Well, I found a very easy recipe. And it tasted wonderful! And both the kiddos enjoyed them as well. They both out ate me. But that doesn't surprise me. Lyric ate 4 pancakes Monday and this morning and Mikey ate 3 pancakes Monday and this morning. I can see these pancakes in our very near future again. Like probably next week if not this weekend. :)

After we ate breakfast we cleaned up. Lyric wiped down their table and I vacuumed the floor, with Michael's help of course. I've got some pretty amazing kids, I must admit. Even if they don't listen to me very well. :(

Now, you probably want the recipe... Huh?

I found this recipe over at Rak's Kitchen.

I added a few things to them to make them a bit sweeter. :)

I used:

2 c flour

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp baking powder

a dash of salt

1 tbsp of cinnamon

2 c milk

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp or so of vanilla

1. mix all of the dry ingredients first.

2. add the milk, oil, and vanilla. mix well. let sit for 10 minutes.

3. heat griddle. 

4. pour batter, do not spread. heat until bubbles pop and the color changes. then flip and heat the other side until finished. 

5. serve with butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and/or syrup. however your heart desires.

6. enjoy!

"Slamming Doors"

The other night I was working on getting the kiddos ready for bed. But they had no desire to come to me to get diapers/pull ups on and jammies put on. Instead they wanted to play in their room and open and close the bedroom door. They both got a hit out of it. Michael's face was just priceless! He was having a blast!

CVS Trip of 4.8.14

I think that this may be one of my best couponing trips yet. :) I feel that I did really, really well. Although, I am still learning. :)

I think that I kept my out of pocket expenses to a minimum. 

Here is a break down of my transactions and my spendings and savings.

The diapers alone are a good deal. I got 154 diapers for $15 as where at Costco (where I normally go I can get 162 diapers for $38.99) That's saving $23.99!  

Spent: $38.08

Before Coupons/ECBs: $172.74

Saved: $134.66

Savings of: 78%

Trans #1

Gillette Venus Razor $11.49

BIC Hybrid Advance 3 Disposable Razors (6 ct.) $7.79

BIC Soleil Disposable Razors (4 ct.) $7.29 half off $3.64

BIC is BOGO 50%

Buy (1) Gillette get $5 ECB

Total: $22.57

Coupons/ECBs: $16

Out of Pocket: $6.92

Saved: $19.65

Savings: 74%

Trans #2

8 - CVS Antacid Flavor Chews (12 ct.) $1.49 ea.

Buy (1) get $1.49 ECB LIMIT 10.

Total: $11.92

Coupons/ECBs: $5

OOP: $6.92

Saved: $5

Savings: 42%

Trans #3

4 - CVS Diapers (27 ct.) 2/$10

2 - CVS Nighttime Diapers (23 ct.)  2/$10

CVS Diapers normally $9.29 ea.

Spend $30 get $10 ECB

Total: $30

Coupons/ECBs: $15

OOP: $15

Saved: $47.14

Savings: 76%

Trans #4

3 - Herbal Essence Shampoo 2/$6

3 - Herbal Essence Conditioner 2/$6

Herbal Essence normally $4.49 ea.

Total: $18

Coupons/ECBs: $19

OOP: Less than TAX! :)

Saved: $27.94

Savings: 104%

Trans #5

Zarbees Seasonal Relief $7

Normally $9.49

Buy (1) Zarbees get $7 ECB

Total: $7

Coupons/ECBs: None :(

OOP: $7

Saved: $2.49

Savings: 26%

Trans #6

3 - Bags of Brookside Chocolates 2/$6

1 - Bag of Lancaster Candies 2/$6

Normally $4.49 ea.

Total: $12

Coupons/ECBs: $12

OOP: TAX! :)

Saved: $17.96

Savings: 100%

Trans #7

2 - Nivea Body Wash 2/$8

2 - Nivea Lotions $2.87 ea.

Body Wash normally $5.99 ea.

Total: $13.74

Coupons/ECBs: $10.50

OOP: $3.24

Saved: $14.48

Savings: 82%

OOP does not include Tax.

Dancing with the Stars

Do you watch Dancing with the Stars?

Well, I do. And I am really enjoying this season. I enjoyed last season as well. But this season is looking better and better each week. This season the stars that are on the show are;

Meryl Davis with pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Charlie White with pro Sharna Burgess

Danica McKellar with Val Chmerkovskiy

James Maslow with pro Peta Murgatroyd

Candace Cameron Bure with pro Mark Ballas

Cody Simpson with pro Witney Carson

Amy Purdy with pro Derek Hough

Drew Carey with pro Cheryl Burke

NeNe Leakes with pro Tony Dovolani

Billy Dee Williams with pro Emma Slater (left show wk. 3)

Sean Avery with pro Karina Smirnoff (eliminated wk. 2)

Diana Nyad with pro Henry Vyalikov (eliminated wk. 2)

Since the Season Premier I have three or four dancers that I am really hoping to see go all the way. And they are;

Meryl Davis with pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Charlie White with pro Sharna Burgess

Candace Cameron Bure with pro Mark Ballas 

and

Amy Purdy with pro Derek Hough

But I think that it is going to end up coming down to...

Meryl Davis and Amy Purdy. I would be happy to see either of them win and the other the Runner-Up. :)

This week was the Switch-Up Challenge. I wasn't too sure about how this was going to go. I have my top favorite dancers and pro dancers and I did not want to see them dancing with those that I was not too fond of. 

This week the dancers were paired with...

Candace Cameron Bure with pro Tony Dovolani

James Maslow with pro Cheryl Burke

Drew Carey with pro Witney Carson

Danica McKellar with pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Charlie White with pro Peta Murgatroyd

Amy Purdy with pro Mark Ballas

Cody Simpson with pro Sharna Burgess

NeNe Leakes with pro Derek Hough

and the best for last...

Meryl Davis with pro Val Chmerkovskiy

I was really happy to see Meryl with the other Chmerkovskiy brother. Those two are great dancers along with Derek. :) I was also happy to see Charlie with Peta. 

I think that Meryl is rocking the scoreboard each week. And if anyone can teach someone to dance, it is Derek. :) I do feel bad for Candace though, I think that she is being underscored. :( And I think it is because she is trying to stand by her religious beliefs. And I applaud her for that. I also think that her outfits are very pretty even though they aren't as flashy and show as much skin as some of the other outfits. 

This next week I am hoping that any of these three contestants go home... I'm just not feeling them like I am some of the others.

Drew Carey

Cody Simpson

NeNe Leakes

These are my own opinions! No one elses!

Bath Paint!

After dinner the other night I decided that I was going to make some bath tub paint for the kiddos. It was very simple to make. All it was was shaving cream and food coloring. I used a six count muffin tin and put some shaving cream and different colors of food coloring in each tin. 

I put both of the kiddos in the bath tub in a diaper and underpants. And then I let them paint to their hearts desire. They painted the walls of the bath tub and Lyric painted her brother's' tummy. The first thing that Michael did was stick his hand in the shaving cream. I think he may have liked the feeling of it. He also liked to mix all of the different colors. It was so much fun watching the two play and paint. Then we took our baths.