The Motherload Blog

Monthly Archives: September 2007

Cleaning Out the Coffee Carafe

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I love my coffee carafe and use it regularly. When we had a mommy’s helper this summer, I would pour all of my coffee into it and then take it with me into my office and shut my door. It was a great way to keep the coffee warm and also keep me from going up and down the stairs for refills while I worked.

Cleaning a narrow thermos or carafe can be difficult, but my trusty baby bottle brush has pulled through for me on these occasions. I use this to wash these narrow items and get them squeaky clean. They also are great for washing wine glasses or other dainty glasses.

Sound Off: What baby items do you still use in your house? What new purposes have you found for these things?

Frugal Hacks: A Fun Brunch Discussion

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Today’s entry on Frugal Hacks is all about why brunch can be best and this actually came from a recent brunch that I had this past weekend. It was such a fun way to entertain and the dishes I prepared were very budget-friendly, compared to a more expensive dinner option.

For this brunch, I included a fun breakfast tray for my guests. I draped a pretty red & white dish towel across the tray and then filled it with lots of fun coffee goodies. I made a good pot of coffee and then poured it into my coffee carafe (purchased from a thrift store). I also included pretty coffee mugs, sugar, flavored creamer, flavored coffee syrups, and an assortment of teas. Since my table is long & narrow, I used this as my centerpiece for this brunch. It looked so pretty and it made it easier to clear the table when were done.

A quick clearing of the table and the ultimate Turbo Edition of Cranium (purchased for $1.50 at Goodwill) and it made our time together even more fun, while still keeping it easy on the wallet.

I hope you can swing by the Frugal Hacks blog and read more on this fun entertainment option!

WSBT-TV: Getting Ready for Halloween

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This morning on our Mom’s First segment, we got the opportunity to share about getting ready for Halloween. This segment goes along with our new article, “Scary Deals on Halloween Costumes” that we had recently posted.

This year my daughter is going to be Minnie Mouse, compliments of my dear friend AnneMarie, and my son has decided to be a Ninja.

Have you seen this video on You Tube about how to make a Ninja costume out of a black shirt? I loved this idea and am hopefully going to try this for our little Ninja! This clip gets a little long near the end, just watch the beginning where he breaks down how to make a mask for your kids.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLuNfMyQW0]

Dunkin Donuts Coffee at Sam’s Club

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I have been missing my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in the morning. When we lived in Massachusetts, you couldn’t go half a block without seeing one of their locations. In Indiana, I would have to drive an hour just to get a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.

What a nice surprise to see that Sam’s Club is now carrying the Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend coffee in bulk. While a tad more expensive than my usual coffee ($15.88 for 2.5 pounds) it is still cheaper than traveling all that way for a cup of this delicious goodness.

It brings back fond memories of going to work and splurging daily on a cup of coffee. I even had a cup that I kept at work to refill regularly. They would see me coming and start adding the skim milk and sugar- just how I like it! Now I am making my own coffee amidst crying children who might die if they don’t eat breakfast right this second and my morning coffee is a bit more rushed than it once was. Maybe there were a few perks of being in the working world, but I wouldn’t trade sharing a bowl of cereal with my kids any day!

Sound Off: Is there a particular brand of coffee that you are loyal to? Any good deals on coffee that you have found?

Sour Cream Muffins

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I recently checked out a great book from the library called, “The Ultimate Muffin Book” that was chock full of awesome muffin recipes. The book contains 100 base recipes for muffins and then includes tons of variations on each recipe, boasting over 600 recipes in all. The book also had tons of great tips for good baking and how you could make your own ultimate muffin.

Last week I baked a batch of Sour Cream Muffins, from the cookbook, that were so delicious. The sour cream added a yummy tang to the muffin and I loved that the recipe didn’t require any butter or oil. The muffins were moist and chewy and I added a cup of chocolate chips to sweeten them up.

The only disappointment was that the muffins really stuck to the muffin liners and made it difficult to remove them. I think next time that I will just spray the pan really well instead of using the liners on these. My husband didn’t like the chocolate chip addition, but everyone else in the house did, so next time I will do some plain ones for him.

The biggest fan of the muffins had to be Emily. Judging by her plate, she had no problems with the chocolate chips at all!

Sour Cream Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream (regular, low-fat, or nonfat)

2/3 cup milk (whole, low-fat, or nonfat)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. To prepare the muffin tins, spray the indentations and the rims around them with nonstick spray, or line the indentations with paper muffin cups. If using silicon muffin tins,, spray as directed, then place the tins on a baking sheet. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until uniform. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sour cream until smooth then whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. Stir int he flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Fill the prepared tins three-quarters full. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned but smooth. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for ten minutes. Release muffins from the tin. If storing or freezing them, cool them completely before sealing in an airtight container or in freezer-safe plastic bags. The muffins will stay fresh for up to 24 hours at room temperature or up to one month in the freezer.

Variations:

Banana Walnut Sour Cream Muffins- add 1/2 cup chopped dried banana & 1/2 cup chopped walnuts with the flour.

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup dried blueberries with flour.

Cherry Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup dried cherries with the flour.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips with the flour.

Cranberry Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup dried cranberries with the flour.

Raisin Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup raisins with the flour.

Coconut Sour Cream Muffins- Add 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut with the flour.

Enjoying the Last Days of Summer

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We are coming to the end of the summer and it is that weird time in the season where I find myself preparing for the seasons ahead while sitting in my bathing suit in hot & humid weather.

Yesterday we enjoyed a day outside. The kids played in the sprinklers while I worked on our laundry and flipped through recipe books for the Christmas season.

I have been working on planning my Christmas treat boxes and have been hitting the thrift store often for pretty tins to put my cookies in. We had so much fun delivering to the firefighters and other people in our family, that I find myself really looking forward to our next delivery. It was a lot of work, but so neat to surprise everyone with treats from our kitchen.

Today I washed all of our fall linens for the beds and they are hanging out in the sunshine. I have a fall quilt in burgundy & navy flapping in the hot sun. My space heater, flannel sheets, and electric blanket will have to wait until it gets nice and cool.

I bought my mums to plant and a pot to put some of them on our step. Next I will be working on my fall decorating around the house. I don’t have a ton of decorations, but just a few pieces to add to the fall spirit around here.

Finding acorns lying next to my beach chair reminded me how close we are to being able to enjoy some crisp fall weather. Until then, we will be soaking up the sunshine and enjoying as much time outdoors as we can.

Have you been doing any fall preparations in your house? Are you enjoying these last dog days of summer?

Freebie Friday: September 21, 2007

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Don’t forget to mark your calendars for next Saturday- it is National Museum Day! Check the Smithsonian Website for additional information.

All Around Our House: 09.19.07

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I thought I would share what we are up to over here in our little corner of the internet. Linking will be provided through Amazon, but what I am reading/doing is usually loaned through our library and not purchased. The links will provide specific information though on what we are doing!

The kids are listening to: Justin Roberts, “Meltdown”

I am listening to: Dashboard Confessionals, “Dusk & Summer”

On my nightstand you would find, “Queen of Babble in the Big City” by Meg Cabot

I found this when I was thrifting yesterday, “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman. I paid $4 for it- a little more than normal, but it was too cool to pass up!

My children’s latest fascination is “Yo Gabba Gabba”

Fall is coming so I need to start whipping up my cocoa mix- yummy!

I am adding some of the items from the new Martha Stewart Collection (from Macys Department Store) to my Christmas list this year. I love these cake stands! I wonder if Macy’s will let me use my coupons since Michael’s would not!

Let me know what you think and if you would like to see this regularly!

WSBT-TV: Family Nights On A Budget

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Here is today’s segment from WSBT! We talked about family nights on a budget and discussed all of the great things you can do with your family without spending a ton of money in the process. Above the video is an email that you can use to send in suggestions for the next show. Even if you don’t live in our area, I am sure they would love the story ideas!

On a personal note, I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. My mom got to come home yesterday from the hospital and is on the mend. Thank you for thinking of her.

On a lighter note, you should watch the clip so you can see my new hair cut. FINALLY got to go to the hair dresser after four months without a good cut. Only a mom could appreciate what a luxury that was! Maybe next time I will do what Meredith did and just have Ethan chop it for me…That would be a lot cheaper! Of course there is always opening my own beauty salon!

Back to the family night topic, what is your favorite thing to do as a family? Any suggestions for my next family night together?

Day 29: Get Rewarded For Your Shopping

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I love shopper rewards, but not the kind that require me to take out a credit card. Yes, I know there are tons of personal finance gurus that would disagree with me on this, but I do not feel comfortable using a credit card. Call it lack of discipline, call it sheer fear…heck, you could call it pure laziness, but I am trying to avoid using credit cards for any reason.

No, the rewards that I like come from shopping that I am already doing. You can find great shopper rewards from places you are probably already visiting- your grocery store, the gas station, or doing your online shopping for the holiday season.

As someone who is frugal, I tend to overlook signs that advertise reward cards because I automatically associate them with credit cards. For example, our local Speedway had advertisements that were hanging over their pumps, advertising gas savings and I immediately got that glazed over look and would ignore them. There was no way I would sign up for a gas card, nope, not me!

Fast forward to a day trip with my sister and she whips out her Speedy Rewards Card, which credits her three cents per gallon and then gives her an additional savings on other items in their store. She explained that you could get points for buying your gas there and then you could credit those towards gift cards. This was an opportunity that I would have lost out on if she had not explained that this was not a credit card, but just a reward card. Now I happily swipe my free card and get my three cents back on each gallon. Yes, it is a drop in the bucket, but why not take advantage of it? Many of my frugal endeavors might only save me pennies, but pennies do eventually add up to dollars, and I am looking forward to putting some of that money in my secret account.

There are also rewards at grocery stores. Many grocery stores offer gas savings or savings on your groceries, just for using their free card. There could also be rewards available for your child’s school, as many grocery stores offer a percentage back on your spending for non-profit organizations and schools.

Finally, there are great rewards programs for doing your online shopping. I have always been a fan of MyPoints because I could do my shopping and use my points on gift cards for myself. I also love Ebates and enjoy getting my big fat check every now and then. I won’t go into detail, but these are two shopper programs that have some great benefits IF you are already planning to shop online, not shopping just to get points & rewards.

Since I often have that glazed over look when it comes to reward cards, what are some of the cards in your wallet that you find have been beneficial to your family? What rewards do you cash in on?