Electric kettle, how do I love thee....

Let me count the ways!

I LOVE my electric kettle. I never had a kettle until we went to Australia visiting Michael's family over Christmas and everyone there uses a kettle. They all drink hot tea and instant coffee all the time (all day long) and every household has an electric kettle. Not the old-school-take-forever-to-heat-on-the-stove type. No one drinks freshly brewed coffee, they all drink instant!

While we were there, we decided that we too needed an electric kettle because I could think of several other uses for it (other than tea and coffee). And it boils water (up to 60oz) in a snap!

Super Target came through. They had 3 different ones to choose from. We chose a middle of the road model and it was about $30. Totally worth every penny. I use it on a daily basis.



Here are just a few things I can think of that I do with it:

* Hot Tea
* Instant Coffee
* Fresh brewed iced tea
* Boiling water for stove top sauces (making them faster to cook)
* Boiling water for pasta (boiling it in the pot takes SO long), just fill the kettle, turn it on and turn on the eye on your stove and heat your pot while the water is heating that way your pouring the boiling water into a hot pot
* Boiling water for things like ramen noodles (boil the water, then pour over the noodles and let sit for about 3-5 min.) also works the same for bread stuffing
* Warming water to warm up your dishwater that's gone cold (instead of wasting water by running it until it gets hot - just heat it in the kettle)

That's my kitchen tip for today! If you don't have a kettle, I highly suggest investing in one if you can afford it. Visit Tammy's site for more wonderful kitchen tips.

The T-shirt thief

Friday evening we went with a group of friends to our local AAA baseball team's (the Sky Sox) military appreciation game. Active duty (including spouse and children get free tickets). Our friend didn't get our tickets early enough in the week and we got suck with tickets for the grass - which is from third base to the outfield wall on the left field side of the field. This wasn't a bad place to be sitting. We all brought our blankets and had an area where the kids (there were 6) could play without bothering others!

If you've ever been to AAA a baseball game, you know that sometimes between innings they play these silly games with either the entire crowd or just a few select people. Well, we were doing this see-which-side-of-the-field-can-yell-the-loudest type game to get t-shirts thrown into our side of the crowd. Our side won and they began throwing t-shirts up into the crowd. One came right to us and landed right in the middle of our blankets and as the kids were all scrambling and tripping over each other to try to get to it this man from a few blankets over runs up and just swipes it right off our blanket (he even had to reach over one of the kids). At that point Jacob had been the closest to the shirt and as he was going for it this man just stole it right out from under him......... SHOCK. And all the other people around us saw what happened and you could hear them talking about how awful it was.

Michael got up, but sat back down (I think he needed to calm down a little before he confronted the guy). By this time, Jacob had started bawling, he was sobbing horribly saying things like "that man took my shirt" and "That was mine, I want it back" all while sobbing VERY loudly. Michael finally said something to the guy "hey man, he's only 4" and "that was pretty rude" and "nice lesson you're teaching to your kids sitting there with you".... UGH.

I guess his conscience (or maybe the fact that so many people saw and heard what was going on) got to him and he sent his 7/8ish year old daughter to return the shirt. I can't believe he'd send his daughter to return that, but then again, I guess people like that can't stand up and admit their mistakes. Jacob was totally happy to get the shirt and said thank you to the girl and everything!

A few minutes passed and Michael went over and shook the guys hand and said something to him - I don't know what because he was too far away, but it all turned out ok in the end. I'm sad that Jacob had to learn how people can really be in such a rough way. It broke my heart to not be able to do anything about it, but I'm glad it all worked out.

Walgreens deals - May 11

Wow! That's what I have to say! I finally accomplished my goal of spending ZERO on my Walgreens trek!

Here's what I got for this week:

* 2 Cottonelle flushable wipes - on sale 2/$4 and I had a RR coupon for $2.00/2 (total $2)
* All free and clear [small one - 20oz.] - $2.99 with Q for $1.00/1 (total $1.99)
* Pert Plus - $3.49 with Q for $.99 and $2.50 rebate (total FREE)
* Schick Intuition Razor - $9.49 with Walgreens Q for $3 and MFG Q for $4 (total $2.49)
* Oral B Crossaction Toothbrush - $4.49 with full rebate (total FREE)

I used RR of $10
Out of pocket spent: $5.27
Total spent after rebates received in June: profit of $1.73

Hooray!

Cloth diapering - part 2

A few weeks ago I posted about switching Eli (and the new baby) to cloth diapers and told you I would provide an update once we had things figured out and had a few weeks to get adjusted. So, this is my official update!

I love it! It has taken Eli a little bit to adjust, but now he's doing great. I tried several different folds before I found the one that worked best and was most comfortable for him. I actually fold the prefold down a little (inward) in the back and then use a homemade flannel insert/doubler for leak protection, use a Snappi to secure and then cover with a Bummis Super Brite waterproof cover. I also include a flushable liner in every diaper - unless Eli has already pooped for the day. This catches the poop and then I just dump the liner in the toilet and flush and there's no swishing the diaper in the toilet to get the poop off!!!!

I dry pail my diapers until it's time to wash. I wash every 2-3 days because my pail is a little small (it's just the one I was already using for disposables) and only holds about 10-12 diapers with inserts and a couple of covers. Eli is currently going thru 5-6 diapers a day so I can get away with washing on the 3rd day before my pail starts overflowing and the lid won't close!

We have had very few leaks (except for nighttime - more on that in a minute). Even though all of the cloth diapering issues were discussed with Michael before we decided to do it, he is not as comfortable with it as he thought he would be, so if Michael is home with the boys, he puts Eli in disposables - I'm ok with that!

Nighttime is a completely different story. He can leak thru everything - even if we limit his fluids in the evening. He leaks thru cloth and disposables alike. Though he doesn't leak thru the disposables as often, it's still a few times a week on average..... ugh. So, I ordered 2 All-In-One cloth diapers from a work-at-home-mom on the internet. They come with a very thick, absorbant doubler/insert and are the pocket type, meaning I can stuff more into them if necessary. We are going to try these starting tonight - they're in the wash right now. I guess I'll get back to you again soon and let you know how we've been doing with nighttime.

An ultrasound! But a very long day.

I didn't have time to blog about this because by the time we got home last night I was too exhausted.

Yesterday was a super busy day for us. And add into the fun that Eli is sleep depriving himself and won't sleep enough so he's been mostly miserable for the last few days....

We woke up around 6 and I got showered and ready and the boy I take to school arrived around 7:45 and we left a few minutes later to take him to school. Then we headed to Sam's to get gas (for those of you with Sam's memberships - the one close to me usually has gas for about $.15 cheaper than the local gas stations!!). After getting gas we headed on to the dentist.

Both kids had checkups today - for Eli this was his first. Jacob is a champ at the dentist and never fusses or anything. Eli did reasonably well for his age. They had to call me back to sit with him once the x-rays were complete. He sat on my lap and once the hygienist gave him the sucky-straw-thing to do his own suctioning, he was fine. Both kids got a clean bill of tooth-health and we're scheduled to go back in 6 months.

We were there for an hour and 15 min. so once we got home it was time for me to get lunch ready while the kids played.

After lunch it was time for naps, at which time Eli decided he was only going to sleep for 1:05 and he needs 2:30 to be non-miserable. So, the afternoon was already starting out bad because we had another appointment to get to.

Snacks were served and we left at 2:50 for my appointment. I have these little bumps in the skin under my eyes and the OB had no clue what they were - the only suggestion he had was clogged tear ducts (but after research on the internet I determined that was NOT what they were as I had none of the other symptoms associated with this). Turns out I have clogged oil glands under my eyes and the only treatment is hot compresses on the area to dissolve the oil and make it drain out. This is apparently a result of the extra oil my body is producing with this pregnancy (even though I never had these in my other 2 pregnancies...) Anyway, there's nothing seriously wrong with my eyes.

Back home for about 1/2 hour, then Michael gets home and I have to leave to go get the babysitter (she doesn't drive yet, however, she is 17). Get home and Michael has fed the kids dinner - YAY! so we leave for my ultrasound.

This did not go as planned for me. The baby is perfectly healthy but we could not get a good shot of the gender..... UGH. I rolled on my side, I sat up and then laid back down and I poked on the little one. This child had it's legs closed so tightly it was ridiculous. Best guess is girl, but I'll never convince myself to buy anything unless I know for sure. So...... we'll probably pay for an ultrasound at one of the local "ultrasound places" just to satisfy our curiosity. However, my guess all along has been girl for several reasons - including the fact that my pregnancies with the boys were almost identical and this one has been very different for me and I think there is some truth to the old wives tales about heart rate.

Since we had a babysitter (who didn't have a curfew), we took some time to have a little mini-date last night after the ultrasound. We went to Carino's for dinner and took our time and enjoyed each other's company!

Must go - it is yet again time to get breakfast ready and take Jacob and friends to school.

Menu Plan Monday - 5/5/08

After a couple of weeks of Michael being gone, we are definitely glad to have him back! I'm also glad to get back into the regular routine of things and was very happy to go grocery shopping last night (after 3 weeks of only trips for fresh fruits and absolute necessities)!

This week's (and next week's) menu was planned a few days ago so I could make my huge shopping list for yesterday. We were also out of most staples, lunch foods and snacks for the kids, so it was a big one.

I'm also embarking on the wheat free and dairy free diet for Eli's elimination diet. In case you don't remember, we're trying to find out what he's intolerant to and what's causing his severe eczema and asthma.

Here's the menu for this week:

* Monday - Chicken enchiladas - Eli's will be made with corn tortillas and rice cheese (making a double batch - taking half to take to a friend who's husband just got out of the hospital)

* Tuesday - Soft tacos with seasoned ground beef and lots of trimmings (soft corn tortillas and rice cheese for Eli)

* Wednesday - Leftovers or takeout for Michael and I - I have an ultrasound at 6:45 pm!!! - We'll fix the kids and the sitter something quick before we head out. (Trivia tidbit - Did you know that when you have an ultrasound on a military instillation, you are NOT allowed to bring your children unless they are the patient.............ugh)

* Thursday - Homemade chicken parmesean (recipe below) (I will use regular milk and bread crumbs made from wheat and Eli will just eat the pasta and sauce and if he wants chicken, I have some grilled chicken strips in the freezer)

* Friday - green salad with grilled chicken breast strips

* Saturday - I have a church function that will last until around 4:30 - so Michael and the kids will be on their own or we'll go out for a quick bite when I get home

* Sunday - Mother's Day - I think I'll take the day off!!!!

Chicken parmesean recipe (note - this recipe is created by me and it's just an eyeball-it kind of preparation - though there probably is a recipe out there somewhere that you could get exact measurements/amounts for - I don't have them):

Here's what you need:

* 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; * grated parmesean; * 1-2 cups italian seasoned bread crumbs (plain bread crumbs with italian seasoning mixed in work fine also); * 1 egg; * 1ish cup milk; * oil for sauteeing chicken; * pasta (whatever kind you like - I'm using brown rice twists this time); * 1 can of healthy marinara or homemade

Here's the how-to:

* Start the water for your pasta now

* Slice 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half lengthwise

* Wrap loosely in plastic wrap (basically just put it under and then fold it over the top - no need to close it up or anything) and pound evenly to appx. 1/4" thickness.

* Set up your egg wash (I blend my milk and egg in the blender for a quick and well-blended wash) in a shalow bowl

* Pour bread crumbs into shalow bowl

* Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet (NOTE - if your pan is too hot, the breading on the chicken will burn before the chicken is cooked thru)

* Dunk the chicken in the egg wash, then coat both sides with bread crumbs, gently shake excess off and lay in hot skillet, sautee about 8-9 minutes on each side

* Once all the chicken is in the pan, your pasta water should be boiling.

* Season pasta water and place pasta in.

* Once pasta is fork-tender, drain and set aside

* When chicken is cooked, I just turn the heat down very low and add my marinara directly to the skillet covering the chicken breasts, all the marinara needs is to heat thru

* I serve one chicken breast (topped with just a little marinara and grated parmesean) and then a little pasta with marinara on the side.

Remember to hop on over to I'm An Organizing Junkie for more wonderful menu plans and lots of great recipe ideas!

Super Sample Sunday

I've joined in the Thrifty Soaper's Super Sample Sunday postings. I've been signing up for free samples and coupons online recently and have finally started to received some of them in the mail.

This is a photo of what I've receive this week.

Here are the items:

2 Hallmark cards

John Freida Frizz Ease samples

"Captured by Grace" book

You should go check out her blog if you're interested in learning the art of 'couponing' (did I just make up that word!?) or if you're interested in learning how and where to get tons of free samples and coupons for things we really use.