UpCycling Creativity that Lets Parents Sleep

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Chick-fil-a soup containersAs a member of the Chick-fil-a Moms Panel, I was challenged (again) recently to upcycle the chicken tortilla soup containers.  Since I recently upcycled the salad containers, I thought this would be a piece of cake.  Or waffle fry.  😉

The challenge came at a perfect time, as it helped solve a problem we were facing on weekend mornings.  You see, my husband and I like to sleep in a little on the weekends – and by “sleep in” I mean not get up at 6 am like the kids do!  At five and seven, the kids are more than old enough to entertain themselves safely in the toy room, but recently my daughter took on the responsibility of also wanting to feed herself and her brother during the weekend mornings.  Not a big deal, in theory, because she can prepare cereal and open bananas for herself and her brother.  Boom – breakfast.

However, the issue arised when she admitted to helping herself to seconds, then thirds, then fourths, fifths, sixths, and SEVENTHS of cereal one morning.  Bless her heart.  Granted, she showed me that her second through fifth bowls were less than a quarter full, but still that was entirely too much cereal.

SO, I utilized clean and empty soup containers from Chick-fil-a.  I simply poured an appropriate amount of cereal in each container, and put the lid on.  The cereal waited for them on their placemats in the morning, and I had a cup of milk in the fridge for them to pour on to their cereal in the morning.  The containers were big enough that I could tell my daughter she only ate what was in the bowl.  Along with a banana, this was PLENTY for a meal.

As a bonus, the containers also serve as a great on-the-go breakfast.  About once a week, we indulge in sleeping in a little later during the school week.  We wake up, brush teeth, get dressed, and head out the door.  The kids enjoy a Chick-fil-a soup container of their favorite cereal, along with another container filled with fruit, and they’ve got an easy, delicious and not-that-bad-for-you breakfast.

In summary, upcycling the Chick-fil-a soup containers has allowed my husband and I to sleep more.  As parents, that is amazing.  😉

But I’m not the only one who came up with an awesome way to upcycle Chick-fil-a soup containers.  Check out these other creative ideas:

Given all these creative options, how would YOU upcycle a Chick-fil-a soup container?

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!**

Cow Appreciation Day is Coming!

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Cow Appreciation Day 2016

July is known for many things, and many occasions. Most notably, we Americans get all red, white, and blue for the 4th of July. But for the die-hard chicken lovers, we know something spectacular occurs later in the month: Cow Appreciation Day.  Around Atlanta, and across the country, folks will dress up as their favorite bovine, in order to snag some free Chick-fil-a chicken.

There are some changes this year for Cow Appreciation Day 2016, as you may have heard.  First, hours are from 6:30 am to 7:00 pm.  Second, all participants who dress up will receive an entree.  In years past, it was up to the individual location’s discretion to discern if you were fully or partially dressed, to determine if you got an entree or a full year – but this year, all locations are offering an entree for all levels of dressed-up.

It’s a tradition I’ve been embarrassing my kids with for a few years now, and I’ve no intention to stop anytime soon.  However, I’m not (totally) ashamed to admit, I am a walking, talking Pinterest fail.  So, my costumes over the years tend to lack in imagination.

A few years ago, I think I reached my creative peak, by including my son’s Beanie Baby monkey, per my son’s request in the festivities. But of course, except for the collage below, I totally forgot to snap good pics, because, well, that would’ve just been *too* easy…

 

So, I reached out to some of my blogger pals and fellow Chick-fil-a Mom’s Club members, and came up with a few ideas for you, in case you want to go beyond just pinning the paper cutouts to a white t-shirt.  🙂
Of course, Chick-fil-a has some great ideas to get you started, and this year they’ve included some creative extras.  Check out their printable cow templates!

Cow Appreciation Day 2016 costume ideas

First, Lani of Life Anchored created this adorable cow onesie.  My favorite part?  There’s NO SEWING involved!  Plus, it could easily be done as a regular shirt, not just for a onesie.

Easy-No-Sew-Cow-Costume

 

Tabitha, over at Saving Toward a Better Life, created a simple and adorable cow costume with a simple trash bag.

trash bag cow costume
And of course, Lindsey of Redhead Baby Mama, created a round-up of cow costumes, as well.

Cow Appreciation Day Costumes - Redhead Baby Mama

And then make sure you also watch this tutorial on how to make a cute cow tail.

So seriously, how will YOU participate in Cow Appreciation Day this year?  Comment below with your ideas, or with how you intend to participate in Cow Appreciation Day.

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!**

Chick-fil-A Upcycling Fun!

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Chick-fil-a Upcycling #chickfilamomsDIY

As a member of the Chick-fil-A moms’ panel, I was inspired to accept the challenge they recently presented to us: creative ways to upcycle their salad containers.  Yes, these babies here:

Chick-fil-a Upcycling #chickfilamomsDIY

I decided to enlist my kiddos, with the idea I could utilize this idea in my preschool classroom.  Since I’m teaching summer camp, the perfect opportunity presented itself for one week of camp.  Every year during the last week of June, we have a small (but fun) “parade” for the 4th of July.  What perfect way to get preschoolers involved than with making their own shakers!

Chick-fil-a Upcycling FunSo, hopefully, the ones I constructed with the kids will serve as inspiration for my summer camp kiddos, and perhaps some of y’all, as you gear up to watch local July 4th parades in your area, or throw your own with your neighborhood kids.

 

As you’ll see, I’m a big believer in emphasizing the process rather than the product, particularly in this case.  I had my kids use various fillers for their shakers: rice, popcorn kernels, and two different sizes of pasta.  I also have a tube of various sensory goods (rice, beans,noodles, etc) mixed together, and we filled one container with the mixed goods.

 

Prepping for a post #OnTheBlog about upcycling our @chickfila salad containers. #chickfilamoms #chickfilamomsDIY

A photo posted by Barbara Burns (@atlantasfrugalmom) on

The teacher in me couldn’t resist the natural science lesson here: we hypothesized over how the different fillers would sound in the containers.  After testing them out, we discovered the smaller fillers (rice) made the “smaller” sound, while the bigger filler (large pasta) made the “larger” sound.

We also learned mommy needs to buy new paint.  Apparently really old paint won’t stick to plastic.  Ok, so that’s another hypothesis, but the finished product spoke for itself.  All in all, this was a great craft, and we will add it to our arsenal of kid-friendly crafts with recyclables.

Chick-fil-a upcycling

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!**

5 Cool Facts About Chick-fil-a

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Facts about Chick-fil-a

It’s no secret I super-big-fat-puffy-pink-heart LOVE Chick-fil-a, right?  I mean, I’ve made that clear in the past, right?  RIGHT?  So I wanted to tap in to some facts about Chick-fil-a that you may not have known – be prepared.  You may be shocked.  😉

  1. Cow Appreciation Day – Ok.  So unless you’ve been living under a social media rock, you may have already heard about Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a.  It’s done every year -typically around the second week of July.  You can either dress in full cow garb, and snag an entire free meal at  most locations, or dress as a partial cow and get a free entree.  (Truth be told, depending on which location you visit, you may get an entire meal for even just a partial outfit.)  You can get your cow costume started with their cow costume starter kit – or check out these uber cute cow costumes for even more elaborate ideas.
  2. FREE Ice Cream – So perhaps “free” ice cream isn’t completely accurate.  However, did you know you can trade in a kids’ meal toy for a small ice cream?  Yep.  ‘sure can, with a choice of a cone or a cup.  And if you have an extra super-cute kid, they may even throw in extra sprinkles.  😉
  3. Recycle that Styrofoam – ….this, by far, has me the giddiest!  Around the metro Atlanta, you can recycle your styrofoam cups and other materials.  Until now, most styrofoam “recycling” I’d ever seen meant it was incinerated in a manner to release less nasty chemicals.  However, CFA actually has a company that takes the styrofoam and re-uses it to make other products!  You can learn about all the other ways Chick-fil-a is making strides in environmental responsibility.
  4. Secret’s in the Sauce – Ok, well not really a “secret”, but have you tried the new(ish) “Chick-fil-a sauce”??  It.  Rocks.  And I have it on good authority the sauce is a tasty combination of honey mustard, barbeque, and ranch.  Yeah, I would imagine some folks were playing around in the back, and *boom* concocted an -ahem!- awesome-sauce idea!
  5. Mom Valet or Mobile Ordering – Yes.  These things exist in specific locations!  For the “mom valet” you can order in the drive-through, and ask to have a table set up with your order – I’ve even heard stories of table clothes, and the kiddie placemats being in place, as well.  Then all do is schlep the kiddos inside, and *presto*, you’ve got your meal ready for you.  OR, order from your mobile phone, and pay from your mobile device, and they’ll deliver your order right to your vehicle, in designated parking spaces.  How.  Cool.  Is.  THAT!?
  6. BonusFreebies –  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t tell you how to snag great freebies at Chick-fil-a, would I?  First, make sure you “like” your locations’ Facebook page.  (You can search for your location, if you’re not sure, then find their Facebook page.)  Also, some locations offer freebies via text.  So sign up for that with your local Chick-fil-a.  You can call or ask in person for your location – OR, once again, utilize your locations Facebook page.

P.S.  Please do not bring politics in to this post.  Please believe me when I say I love and support folks, no matter whom they love.  Period.  But my Southern heart (and Southern booty) has a super-soft spot for delicious waffle fries, ahhh-mazing chicken, and sweet tea.  Plain and simple.  You do not have to agree with me, nor with Chick-fil-a’s politics.  We are all entitled to our opinions and viewpoints.  If you disagree with CFA’s viewpoints, I respect that – but I do not wish for this blog (MY blog) to be used as a soundstage for one’s political stance.  Mmkay, y’all?

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!**

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