Archives for November 2013

Healthy Organic Kid-Friendly “Fast Food” for Pennies

11/27/2013 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

I am super-pleased to have Robyn, founder of Active Mama’s show you how to create healthy organic fast food for your kids. Also, find out how to win a munchie mug (see below) from Active Mama’s.

It’s possible to feed your children healthy organic fast food that has no hormones, no steroids, no pesticides and no refined sugar for just 61¢ per meal. Yes, you read that right, less than one dollar a meal.

Put your preconceived notions to the side. I have only 3 disclaimers:

Your meal size should depend on how much your child eats. My child is 2 years old. It generally takes him two sittings to finish one of my meals, but if he’s in a growth spurt he wolfs it down in one.
How many vegetables you need depend on the size of your vegetable.
You know your kids allergies. Don’t use an ingredient if your kid’s allergic to it. (Okay, I know you know that… just saying).

Just try this plan once, you’ll be delighted.

Here are my tips for healthy organic fast food for your kids. [Read more…]

Keep on saving! :o)
--Barbara
**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Filed Under: Frugal Parenting, picky tot pleasers, recipes

Fun Family Things to do In Atlanta this Winter

11/22/2013 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Don’t be -um- left out in the Atlanta cold this winter! There are so many fun family-friendly things to do in Atlanta. Here’s some of my favorites:

Go Ride The Pink Pig – Seriously, it’s one of Atlanta’s oldest holiday traditions. If you haven’t ridden The Pink Pig, go! We took our daughter (then 3) last year for the first time, and she thoroughly enjoyed it! I have a feeling, after a trip to Disneyworld under his belt, my son will enjoy it, too! For $3 a ride (and discounted repeated rides), you will take a train ride through a life-size story book. The best part? A portion of the proceeds benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Goes November 1, 2014 through January 4, 2015.Located at Macy’s at Lenox Square Mall, Upper-Level Parking Deck, 3393 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326Did you know, you can also have “Breakfast with Priscilla”? Saturday mornings, through December 7, 2013, and Sunday, December 15, 2013, you can make reservations to have breakfast (adults $16.99, children $9.99), enjoy face painting, and then ride the famous Pink Pig! Call 1-877-556-2297, or go here for more details.

Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain – This is Atlanta, so snow -for the most part- must be made by artificial means. And what better place to do so than at the largest piece of granite around? Stone Mountain’s “Snow Mountain” is has something for everyone: tubing -even a tubing carousel for little tots, open space for snow play, and warm and toasty treats to warm your insides. Be sure to call ahead and make a reservation, since space is limited. Check out special deals here. Located at 1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd; Stone Mountain, GA 30083 Call 770-498-5690

Fun Things to do in Atlanta this Winter - Stone Mountain

photo courtesy of http://www.stonemountainpark.com

Global Winter Wonderland – Well, one thing you can do at Turner Field, even amongst the chaos and confusion about a certain team moving to a certain county, is enjoy this extravaganza! I’ve shown you all its amazingness here – and you can grab discounted tickets here. Located at Turner Field; 755 Hank Aaron Dr SW; Atlanta, GA 30315 Call 404-314-1994
[Read more…]

Filed Under: around town

Potty Training Essentials & Tips

11/11/2013 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

It’s been almost two and a half years since I potty trained my daughter in four days at 26 months. Once we finished those four days, she never ever looked back! With that total success, and with my son (22 mo) on the brink of being ready, I’ve devised and revised some of my favorite potty training tips for other parents.

Here’s what I consider potty training essentials and/or what I’d recommend when undergoing the process:

Foam hand soap – it just makes hand washing more fun, and makes hand-washing easier. You can always check for coupons to print before you head to purchase! 😉
Keep towels for drying hands on counter in reach, if your towel holder is too high; I still keep hand towels on the counter for my now 4.5 year old daughter.
Potty seats for the big potty, as well as little portable potty chairs, because you never know what might interest him most! When you’re on the go, consider a foldable potty seat.
Step stools — for the sink, for the potty, for each bathroom he’ll be using; some portable potties double as step stools. If your child uses the big potty, you’ll definitely want something to plant his feet on, to make going a little more comfortable.
LOADS of paper towels. No explanation needed.
Throw in a good pair of gloves, preferably disposable.
You’ll want to invest in at least a few packs of toddler underwear. I think I started with three packs for Carol: one with princesses, and two generic packs. On the first day, I constantly reminded her to keep the princesses dry. Here are some girl panties and here are some cute boy undies.
panty liners – yep. You read that correctly. Place one towards the back of the undies (where the fanny lies) to help minimize -um- skid marks. Thanks Lady Poppins for sharing this tip!
Lots of fresh, juicy fruits. We lived on cantaloupe, watermelon, and milk that week! This is essential if you utilize Three Day Method.

Not necessarily things you’ll need, but my additional two cents on potty training essentials and tips:

Make sure your child has the physical skills. Well before you start potty training, begin working on, and encouraging child to pull pants up and down – when undressing and when changing diapers. Getting them involved in the steps also helps her feel more independent and in control of the process.
Keep your laundry room available. You WILL be washing those cute li’l undies at least a few times during the process. This means you may need to shuffle your laundry schedule a bit.
Have as much prepped ahead of time as possible. On day one with Carol, I turned my attention to preparing our (simple) lunch, and that’s when she stood on her little chair in the kitchen and peed all over the seat, because she couldn’t tell me in time, and because I didn’t pay attention to follow her cues. (Remember what I said earlier about paper towels and gloves?)
If you use the Three Day Method, you’ll want fun activities, but you can’t get *too* involved in activities because they’ll forget to go potty! Pull out puzzles she hasn’t seen in a while (or new ones), introduce new library books, dolls, trucks, etc – things that could even be brought in to the bathroom while she goes potty.
Incentives. Of course, it’s always best to start something like this with non-tangible rewards (verbal praise, high fives, phone calls to loved ones, “happy dance and song”, etc.), but just in case that doesn’t fully motivate your tot, have small tangible rewards at the ready. M&Ms are popular, as are animal crackers, stickers, and other small trinkets. Consider creating a rewards chart. Sometimes, the simple act of placing a sticker on a chart is rewarding enough, but pair it with an additional small prize after so many stickers, and you’re golden! Check out these cute potty training charts here.

Keep your eyes on the prize: no more diapers!! Commit to ditching the diapers, and don’t look back. Investing in this time with your child, in taking this big step will pay off HUGE in the end!

Got any additional tips to add on potty training essentials? I’d love to hear from other seasoned potty trainers what’s worked. Leave a comment here on the blog, so others can see. 🙂

Filed Under: diapers, Frugal Parenting, parenting, potty training

I Was Going to Give Y’all A New Recipe Here, But… {How to NOT Make Meatballs}

11/11/2013 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

*sigh* This was supposed to be a post about a new recipe for meatballs — a take on my “better for you meatballs” — but instead, I bring you a lesson on how to NOT make meatballs.

First, here is the quick recipe for how you’re SUPPOSED to make these meatballs, using Kraft Fresh Takes breadcrumbs and cheese, and ground turkey:

How to NOT make meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)

1 pkg Kraft Fresh Takes Four Cheese blend

~1-2 cup minced onion, celery, green pepper blend (I use a frozen variety from Kroger.)

1-2 cup finely chopped spinach

Preheat oven to 350. Sautee veggies if desired, then using a mixing bowl gently fold with spinach and Fresh Takes in to ground meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (This allows for easier “scoop ability”.) Using an ice cream scoop, place 1″ meatballs on pan, sprayed with cooking spray or brushed lightly with EVOO. Place in oven for 20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160.

How can something look so good, but go so terribly wrong?!?

See? Seems easy. And if I hadn’t missed one crucial step, I’m sure this would’ve turned out well. But -well, that would’ve been WAY too easy! And y’all know by now, I don’t do “easy”….

I placed my scooped-and-balled meatballs on to pans, and placed in garage fridge to chill. And then -through a series of events I no longer even fully recall!- I forgot about them. For three days.

Yeah, ground meat just doesn’t do well out in the open like that. SO, I went ahead and baked them as the recipe called for, sans EVOO, and fed them to the dog. Then I stuck a new box of baking soda in the garage refrigerator. *sigh*

So, if someone ends up making these, and actually follows the recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out. In the meantime, just have a good chuckle on my behalf.

Filed Under: random ramblings, recipes Tagged With: evergreen

Go Experience Global Winter Wonderland + Discounted Tickets

11/08/2013 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

I am so excited about the latest thing to hit Turner Field, and it has nothing to do with baseball! Global Winter Wonderland is coming to Atlanta, and you have a chance to win tickets for your family! Growing up in Atlanta, a “winter wonderland” was but an alliterative term, not a concept I actually understood. Snow?! But with the Global Winter Wonderland, the abstract can become more concrete for y’all. Seriously, this is one event you don’t want to miss!

What IS the Global Winter Wonderland coming to Atlanta?

Global Winter Wonderland, a spectacular lantern festival and multicultural theme park, will allow guests to travel the world in one visit while viewing the larger-than-life lantern designs of landmarks from countries all over the globe.

Global Winter Wonderland features giant illuminated lanterns depicting creatures and scenes that include a Christmas holiday village, animals real and imagined, and people and scenes from around the world. Highlights include recreations of some of the world’s greatest architectural achievements, including the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, Chichen Itza, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The eco-friendly lanterns, some of which tower more than 50 feet high and span nearly 100 feet wide, are illuminated with low voltage LEDs and fluorescent lights, and several structures are powered by solar panels. The family event of the holiday season also features numerous carnival rides and games, international cuisine, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and celebrations of holiday traditions and various cultures from around the world.

When?
November 21, 2013 – January 5, 2014
5 – 11 PM daily

Where?
Turner Field
755 Hank Aaron Dr SW
Atlanta, GA 30315
404-314-1994

Tickets:
http://www.globalwonderland.com/
General Admission Adult $24.99
General Admission Senior (65+) $18.99
General Admission 5-12 $16.99
Children 4 and under are FREE
Season Passes are available

Grab discounted tickets here at Goldstar for Atlanta’s Global Winter Wonderland.

Not signed up with Goldstar App yet on your phone? Go here to sign up, then download the app.