how do i talk my 4 year old out of

wanting me to sew him a transformer/vampire/skeleton costume at the last minute??

I pulled out the old costumes out of storage and it was easy.

One of the benefits to having an entourage of older brothers and sisters and a cheap frugal mother:

He can go as Darth Vader,

Buzz Lightyear,

Pikachu,

Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum,

a lion,

a leopard ( hood not pictured),

or Sheriff Woody all from the comfort of his own home.

He decided on a lion at school, Pikachu at the mall, and Darth Vader in the neighborhood.

Now I don't need to learn how to sew a transformer/vampire/skeleton costume at the last minute.

And that makes me smile.

I hope the kids share more than just Mounds this year.  Happy Halloween!

giant eagle deal of the week

I don't normally shop at Giant Eagle because it's so far away but Kevin won a $200 gift card for increased support of the United Way. Since step-families more than most families need to stretch their dollars, I thought I would pass this on here.

This week at Giant Eagle you can get Totino's Pizza Rolls for only $.50 a bag. Store price 10 for $10. Use the coupon from the paper on 9-12-10 (save your coupons!!!) and save $1 on 2 bags and it will bring your price to $.50 each. Makes a nice quick after school snack.

You can also pick up General Mills Cereal for $2.06 a box . The store has the cereal on sale for 4 for $10. Using the online coupons to save $1 off 3 and $.75 off 1 brings your price down to just $8.25. Just $2.06 a box.

pampering time

and I don't mean diapers.

It's common for cash to be a little less easy to come by in a step family but everybody can benefit when we step moms enjoy a bit of "me time" at the spa. Hopefully we come back less frazzled and more willing to deal with issues that come up with a smile on our face.


Cosmetology students to the rescue! I've discovered I can get the same basic services for much less at the local Aveda Institute. Services are discounted and because they are students and not employees you are not permitted to tip them. Students do get rewarded based on successful recommendation of the product line to the customer so I usually pick up a little something if I can afford it.

So far I've had a hair color & cut session (highlight/lowlight/retouch) that lasted 7 hours, a relaxation massage and a facial. Brown Aveda is just about 30 minutes away and they can easily fit me in any Saturday morning as early as 8:30 a.m. And no, the "financial aid" link on the homepage is not for clients. I was bummed too. :(

Search HERE to find your own local budget spa experience.

Homemade Detergents

I have been making my own detergent since September. I was very intimidated with the process when I first learned of it. Visions of failed 11th grade chemistry experiments danced in my head. After seeing two young Duggars from 19 Kids and Counting making it on their own, I had to give it a try.

After a little research, I settled on this homemade laundry detergent recipe. I thought it was cool that it was posted by a guy who seemed to be having a ton of fun with this chore.

Although I have since used many varieties of soap, I've found that an entire bar of Fels Naptha soap works best. It is a soap specifically made for laundry purposes and has powerful cleaning ability.

If your family wants the fake chemical "clean" smell like mine does you can put in one capful of Suavitel fabric softener as a final step. I've tried adding a couple different essential oils instead but they don't leave the lasting impression that the fabric softener does.

I also have tried making dishwasher detergent. I see a lot of people on the web claim that one tablespoon of a powdered mixture of 1/2 Borax and 1/2 washing soda works well. I have tried this. Even when I add the recommended citric acid I do not get good results with my water. So I continue to purchase Cascade in bulk for now. I am open to any new suggestions on this though.

Now why didn't I think of that?

Looking for something to read the other day, I pulled Be CentsAble by Chrissy Pate and Kristin McKee out of my husband's pile of library books. It suprised me that they recommended using wholesale clubs to save money as I have never found them much of a bargain. I renew my Sam's Club membership every year just to be able to purchase the commercial type paper towels that I need for daycare purposes. The authors were quick to point out that just by purchasing one item(milk) there, they save over $200 a year each.

Since we go through about 5 gallons of milk a week, I thought I would try this. Knowing that multiple trips to Sam's specifically for milk would offset my savings, I planned to follow their advice for stockpiling milk in the deep freezer. Kevin raised his eyebrows when I mentioned freezing the milk (being raised on a dairy farm makes one quite particular about milk)so our initial purchase was only 6 gallons. We will see how it goes.

I'm excited because if it works, I will be saving about $5 a week or $260 a year!!

Free Fries and Frostys at Wendy's

It usually costs a bundle to feed a family of 9 fast food. We eat it once a week after church on Sunday. This gives me a nice break from feeding this crew and also our church lets out about 12:30. By then, we are all very hungry and want something quick.
The local Rally's has a .69 menu we frequent a lot. Another great buy is found at Wendy's. At Wendy's for Halloween and Valentine's Day they offer a book of 6 coupons for one dollar. There are 3 coupons for free JR. fries and 3 coupons for free JR. Frostys. If nine people order one thing each off the dollar menu and use 2 coupons each (one fry and one Frosty.) You can feed a family of 9 a fast food meal for only twelve dollars. Not very nutritious but a great bargain (for fast food.)