Tis the Season for some Saving!

It's been a while since I've shared my accomplishments.  Where to even begin?

First off, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve one of my neighbors.  She recently had back surgery so I offered to prepare her a meal.  A few days later, she called and said she got a free turkey from Winco (they were giving away free turkeys with $100 purchase) and asked if I would like it.  I gratefully accepted it and it was a huge 25 pounder!

Thanksgiving Day, we did our traditional buffet meal with my in-laws then watched movies at their house in the afternoon.  I made 2 pumpkin pies a few days earlier and we had one that night.  Friday morning, I made the turkey.  We had turkey dinner with the other pumpkin pie on Friday night and had the church missionaries over.  The leftover turkey gave us meat for sandwiches all weekend, meat for 2 large pots of soups, and there is still some in the freezer!  I made a turkey vegetable soup and white turkey chili.  I baked four loaves of bread and sent 2 quarts of soup with a loaf to my neighbor who gave me the turkey.  The remaining bread and soup was served at my son's family birthday party.

This year we decided to do a simple family party for Austin.  He wanted a Monster's Inc theme.  I made a chocolate cake and used green frosting to make a Mike Wazowski and also made frosted sugar cookies that looked like monsters with candy eyeballs.  Austin saw a "Pin the eye on Mike Wazowski" game at Party City and said "we can make this" and so for $1 worth of poster board, we made our own game to play with his cousins.  We got plain green goodie bags and Austin drew on them.

 Austin was sad he couldn't invite his school friends, but it seems the trend is to invite the whole class so no one is left out.   So I asked his teacher if I could do a story with the class on his birthday.  Austin chose the story "Mouse Paint" which involves a little magic trick of using a paper paint pot to change the white mice to different colors.  The kids loved it!  We ended the activity with cookies, juice, and a goodie bag for each student with a poem, some white cardstock, and a mini set of watercolors!  Afterschool, I took him to King Putt mini golf with his cousin and 2 friends from church.  Even by doing all this, I still spent only about half of what I have had to spend in previous years for his parties.

I did not shop Black Friday this year!  Instead, I used the time to make several gifts by hand which I will share in another post.  I ordered a few Christmas gifts online from independent crafters on Etsy and Facebook.

Vegas Ultimate Holiday Fun Guide 2013!

It's the most wonderful time of the year......  Here is your guide to all the Southern Nevada holiday fun!  Click on the title to link to the websites!  Feel free to comment with any events I may have missed.

Magical Forest  6300 W Oakey  Open nightly Nov 22- Jan 6  5:30-9 pm (10 pm on weekends) website has promo calendar for ticket discounts (passport tickets which include entry and rides are 19.99 adults and 17.99 children) Mondays are buy one child get one free.

Boulder City Santa Train December 7,8,14,15,21,22 hourly departures at 10 am- 3 pm $5 per person 600 Yucca Stree Boulder City, NV

Ethel M Chocolate Lighted Cactus Garden  2 Cactus Garden Dr  open through Jan 1 5-10 pm nightly.  Free admission which includes the factory tour and a free chocolate sample!  Santa visits 5-9 pm on Nov 29-30, Dec 1, Dec 6-8, and Dec 13-23.

Glittering Lights at the Speedway  Las Vegas Motor Speedway off 95 N of Vegas  5:30-9 pm, til 10 pm weekends through Jan 1.  $15 per vehicle weeknights, $20 on weekends.  ***December 10th is a FREE admission night!!

Live Nativity  6050 S Buffalo, Dec 11 6 pm, Dec 12 6 pm and 7 pm, Dec 13-14  6 pm, 7pm, or 8 pm.  Free admission

Cowboy Christmas and Car Show  Floyd Lamb State Park, December 7th 10 am -2 pm, farmer's market, entertainment, hay rides, games, visit from Santa.  Free admission!

Santa's Sleigh Rides  Gilcrease Orchard 7800 N Tenaya, Nov 29-Dec 24 $12.50 per person, online reservation required.

Springs Preserve Train Rides with Santa  It looks like the Springs Preserve is not doing a Holiday Spectacular event this year.  They are having train rides with Santa on Dec 23/24 hourly 11 am - 3 pm.  $5 per person with general admission or $3 for members.

Michael's Holiday Crafts  December 7 Ornament, December 14 Wintery Art.  $2 per child, classes offered every 30 min 10:00 am-11:30 am.

Home Depot kid's workshops  Saturday Nov 30 Toolbox,  Saturday December 7 Tic Tac Toe game 9 am, register online  Free!!

Lowe's Build and Grow  Saturday December 14th, 10 am, Christmas Train Engine.  Register online, Free!

Tuacahn Christmas in the Canyon  If you want to take a drive up to the St. George area, this looks like a really fun event with a Live Nativity, lights, music, and train ride.  Free admission to stroll the area or $2 per person for the nativity or train ride, $15 max charge per family.

Polar Express Train in Ely, NV If you really feel like taking a trip, you can head up to Ely for their Polar Express train.  It takes about 3-4 hours to get there.  We did this last year and it was really fun (dress WARM).  I've heard the Polar Express train ride in Williams, AZ is amazing but this one is much more affordable and a little closer drive.  If you did an afternoon train ride, you could make it a day trip.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, I hope you are blessed with love, laughter, friends, and family and filled with joy and peace as we celebrate the true meaning of the season, the birth of our Savior.

Our Christmas card from last year!  Can't believe how much the kids have grown!

Rethinking our Holiday Spending

Last year, my sister told me she was going to give handmade gifts because she was tired of the commercialization of Christmas.  I took her words to heart and did a combination of gifts handmade by me or someone else and bought at the store last year.  The other thing I did last year that really helped my budget was I bought the kid's big ticket items early and shopped around for the best deals online. This year, I got their gifts in September, free shipping to my mom's in Montana where we are going.  The gift I got Amilia was listed for $34.95.  Yesterday I saw it at Walmart for $39.97.

My kids are getting very few things this year.  Thankfully the baby doesn't have an opinion yet and I limited Austin's gift requests to less than 5 things.  I also avoid the toy sections when we are in the stores this time of year and DO NOT WATCH LIVE TV with your kids between October 31-December 25!! The commercials are everywhere!

Another gift to consider for yourself or others is the gift of time or experiences. This year I asked Ryan for a gift that will keep on giving, a membership to houseseats.com that offers free tickets to a variety of local shows, concerts, and other events.  Ryan bought the membership this month because of the 2 for 1 special.  I got 2 years for the price of 1 and got the 4 ticket membership so we can take the kids or friends with us.

Here is my challenge to you!  If you can, consider purchasing gifts from independent business owners or making some of your own handmade gifts.  If you can't (you have a family member with a specific item request) shop around online for the best deals.  Walmart is not always the low price leader!

Below I have compiled a list of my favorite handmade businesses and local independent consultants.  Together, we can put more money in their pockets this season rather than corporate America. Click the underlined words to link to their websites.

Little Ragamuffin Boutique Tule dresses and skirts, bows, and other handmade clothing items.

 Metal Stampin Mama  Custom metal stamped jewelery and ornaments for a variety of occasions.  I have ordered gifts from her several times and they are beautiful!

Handmade Crocheted Hats  She makes hats, braids, and finger puppets!

Once Upon a Costume  Beautiful custom costumes, princess dresses.  She is also selling stick horses to raise money for her daughter's trip to Washington DC!

Patty's Perfectly Posh Bath and body products, Patty Munch

Patty's Jamberry Nails  Nail art without a bottle of polish, Patty Munch

Mary Kay Barbara Peterson, independent beauty consultant in Las Vegas.

Scentsy  Wickless candle warmers and home fragrances.  Kathi Torres

Lia Sophia  Beautiful jewelry, great specials!  Kimberly Hirsch

Lula Roe   Maxi skirts and more!  Melissa Everett

Etsy  Online market place for handmade, vintage and craft products.

Pampered Chef  Stephanie Yenchek  Yenchek@cox.net

Stampin' Up stamps, paper, craft products  Terri Green  rtkj@cox.net

Las Vegas Craft Show on November 23rd  Click this link for the upcoming local craft show at Lummis ES.


Please submit a comment to add additional independent businesses!

November shopping deals and events!

November brings some great shopping deals!  Now is the best time to stock up on baking supplies and of course, hams and turkeys!
I was happy at some great deals over at Winco today and will post some of the other grocery deals as the month goes on.  Here are the Winco deals as of Monday, Nov 4!

Gala Apples 58 cents/lb, celery bunch 78 cents, 5 lb potatoes $1.78 (has been cheaper before), snack pack puddings 68 cents, brown sugar or powdered sugar 2 lb bag $1.28, baking chips (they had white choc and butterscotch) $1.88, Stove Top stuffing mix 2 packs $1.98, mini marshmallows 88 cents, Crisco veg oil $2.18, Winco mac and cheese 28 cents, evaporated milk 78 cents, Winco whip topping 78 cents.

November Events in Las Vegas

Lowe's Build and Grow Free Kids Clinic Saturday, Nov 9 10:00 am register online (lowesbuildandgrow.com)

Michael's Kids Crafts $2 per child 10:00-11:30 am every half hour: November 9th-snow globe, November 16th-reindeer craft, November 23rd-felt stocking

Artful Potter free painting nights with purchase of pottery piece, Mondays 5-8 pm, Fridays 6-10 pm.  Rainbow/Smoke Ranch.  This is a fun place to take the kids to make a gift for someone.

Centennial Hills Library Thanksgiving activity for school aged kids 6-11, Wednesday, November 27 4:30 pm.  Passes given out 30 minutes prior at the children's desk.

Craig Ranch Regional Park-This park is now open!  I have seen some great pics from friends who have been there so far and I can't wait to take my family.  It is located on 628 W Craig Road (old Craig Ranch golf course).

Looking for some variety in your weekend activities?

Fall Bird Watching!
Henderson Bird Sanctuary, open 6 am - 2 pm daily in November more info here
Wetlands Preserve open dawn to dusk info here

Shoot for the Stars!
CSN Planetarium-Mystery of the Missing Seasons presentation, Fridays 6 pm, Saturdays 3:30/6 pm.  $6 for adults, $4 for kids.  3200 E Cheyenne

It's November now!?!

I can't even keep the days straight anymore!  Between work, church responsibilities, home projects, and October events (including our family Disneyland trip) I have been pulled in a million directions!

After the second Halloween event we attended in October, I seriously thought Halloween was already over!
We went to a Trunk or Treat at Austin's school and also to the Springs Preserve Haunted Harvest event, which was very inexpensive due to our family membership.

We enjoyed our Disneyland trip over Nevada Day weekend with Ryan's parents.

Ryan's office had their annual cubicle trick or treat afterschool on the 31st which was great fun. Then we got some take-out dinner and Ryan spent nearly 2 hours carving our enormous pumpking that Austin picked out at the pumpkin patch.
We had very few trick or treaters as compared to last year, but Austin still had a nice time going around our neighborhood.  Our cul-de-sac was definitely the most festive!

I spent Halloween night getting ready for a women's craft night at church the following day.  I donated supplies and volunteered to do handmade cards and gift tags for a free craft.  I made soup to contribute to the dinner, made cookies for the goodie table, and brought some of my handmade gifts to display.

My inspiring friend, The Prudent Homemaker was there working on some of her projects and had many of her beautiful sewing and embroidery items on display.

Here are some of my latest savings:

Savings at Disneyland:
*We carpooled with Ryan's parents to save on gas.
*I packed snacks and drinks to take in the park and made a large batch of rice krispie treats that I wrapped individually for our breakfasts along with some bananas.
*I used 2 $7 off Enfamil coupons to get 2 FREE packs of toddler milk drinks to take for the baby.
*For some meals I ordered the kids meal (which is still pricey but less than an adult meal that's too much food anyway).
*I took the baby to the room to nap every day, so I also had lunch in the room one day from food I brought from home.
*For the first time ever, I did not buy anything for myself at the shops! Each kid got $20 to spend this year.

Savings at home over the past few weeks:
*Made breakfast muffins and granola bars
*Made a double batch of dry pancake mix rom a new recipe found here and stored it in mason jars. It requires water, oil and one egg for every 2 cups of mix.  I made several pancakes to freeze for the kid's breakfasts.
*One morning when we had french toast, I made extra to freeze as well.
*Trimmed my own bangs and waxed my own brows/facial hair
*Took a friend to a free show on the Strip and my hubby to a free UNLV game with my free Fill A Seat membership from teacher appreciation week.
*We ate out on very few occasions in October.
*I hosted a Lula Roe maxi skirt party a few weeks ago.  I got a free skirt just for having the party and another free skirt for selling the minimum at the party.

I'm getting ready for my favorite time of the year and looking forward to some of the great handmade projects I have prepared for my family!

Fun and productive week!

This was my kind of week!  Fun, free events and it was General Conference weekend for us LDS folk.  That means there is no church on Sunday, but rather, a conference session broadcast live on TV full of inspired talks from various leaders in the Church.  So while I listened to the talks, I was able to have a baking marathon in the kitchen!

Here's what I was able to accomplish and save this week:

-Made some baby food peas (she needs some veggie supplements as she is still quite picky)

-Made my weekly breakfast banana muffins!

-Peaches were on sale, so I made a peach cobbler for Sunday dinner at the in law's!

-Made 3 large loaves and 4 mini loaves of french bread.  The mini loaves will be used for french dips later this week with a double duty roast.  Aren't they cute?

-Made a large batch of cream of chicken soup mix.  Used two servings of it as part of the ingredients to make a crockpot potato soup with the last of my potatoes in the fridge that needed to be used up.  We had the soup for Sunday lunch and then I was able to bottle up a serving for my lunch and a quart to freeze for another weekend lunch.

-Made a quadruple batch of pancakes!  Two batches I mixed up to make pancakes for breakfast and some to freeze and the other two batches I mixed the dry ingredients only in a quart size mason jar with the directions for adding the wet ingredients for a future baking.

-Made a double batch of chocolate pudding mix, used part of it to make frozen pudding pops.

-Made a batch of homemade dishwasher detergent.

-Austin and I worked on some handmade cards and gifts for Halloween.  I found some cute glass jars at the 99 cents store, we added washi tape, ribbon and a tag and filled them with candy.  He is giving one to his teacher tomorrow!

-Ryan was able to spend his week of government furlough to help his dad with their house renovation project.  He has been doing this on Friday nights and Saturdays for the past few months, so he skipped this past Saturday so we could spend a nice day together as a family.  We took the kids to the Free Home Depot Kids Workshop/Safety Day.  They had a wooden plane kit to build and paint, free Lego sets with safety information, a fire truck and ambulance to tour, and other fun activities.  We then headed to Michael's where I paid $2 for the Scary Jewelry class and Austin made several fun bracelets and got his face painted.  We hit the park before going home to enjoy a the picnic lunch I packed for us.

Austin is sporting his pink and red face paint hearts! I love that he is such an individual! We had sandwiches, walked around the duck ponds, and Austin played catch with his dad while Amilia chased after the dogs.  Gorgeous Fall day in Vegas!

-I got free tickets to Gordie Brown at the Golden Nugget with my free 6 month membership to Fill A Seat I got for teacher appreciation week last Spring, so Ryan and I went out on a date for the first time in awhile and had a great time!  

-We did not eat out this week, but I went to an afterschool get together with teachers on Friday and had a soda and shared an appetizer.  It was fun to get to know some of the teachers at my new school.  Ryan and I also enjoyed some Cold Stone creamery for the first time since before the baby was born.  It was splurge well worthe $ and calories!

Hope you are all having a terrific October and enjoying the cooler weather!  

October Family Fun!

It's October 1st in Washington DC, and even though the government has "shutdown", Viva Mom Vegas is still going strong bringing you all the awesome Vegas events for October!

I love October, the craziness of school has settled down, the air is cooler, and the excitement and joy of the holidays are near!  The kids' Halloween costumes have already been purchased (thank you to my mother in law for her kind contribution) and I will have a cute Pirate Jake and Tinkerbell to show off soon enough!

Free Events:

Saturday, October 5th Home Depot Kid's Workshop (Fire Rescue plane project) 9 am- noon, register at www.homedepot.com/workshops

Saturday, October 12th Lowe's Build and Grow (Spooky Stacker project) 10 am, register at www.lowesbuildandgrow.com

Saturday, October 19th Free Kid's Day at Discovery Children's Museum!  First 1000 kids 17 and under will be admitted free to the children's museum starting at 10 am.  Adult fee is $12.00

Saturday, October 19th 10 am - 2pm Community Safety Saturday Spring Valley HS 3750 S Buffalo.  Car seat inspections, safety demonstrations, free fingerprint kits for kids.

Saturday, Octboer 19th  10 am - 2 pm  Ward 2 Trunk or Treat/Car Show, Veteran's Memorial Leisure Services Center 101 N Pavilion Center Drive (Summerlin), free fun activities for kids plus Trunk or Treating through the cars on display!

Saturday, October 26th 10 am - 2pm.  Halloween Spooktacular free event for all ages at NW Career and Technical Academy 8200 W. Tropical.  Trick or Treating, Costume Contest, crafts, and more.

Inexpensive Fall Fun:

October 11-13, 18-20, 25-27  5:00 pm-9:00 pm Springs Preserve Haunted Harvest, trick or treat stations, crafts, carnival games, entertainment, haunted house, etc.  This is one of the best events in Las Vegas!  We love going to this every year!  Admission $8 for adults, $5 for kids, 5 under free.  Members receive 1/2 off!

**If you go to this event, GO EARLY so you can get a better parking spot.  I also recommend getting advanced tickets from their website www.springspreserve.org (they charge $1 fee for each online ticket).

If the Spring's lot is full, park at Meadow's Mall and walk across the street.

Stu Miller's Pumpkin Patch (various lots around LV, including Centennial Center and Flamingo/215), they have a few kiddie rides, bounce houses, and slides along with a petting zoo that is fun for kids to do.  Buying a mini pumpkin here won't break the bank, plus it's cool to go to the "Pumpkin Patch" when you're little!  Their website is www.seasonaladventures.com for more info.  They also offer preschool field trips so mom groups can take their little ones for a small flat fee for (last year it was $6 per child). I'm guessing they will be open by this weekend (Oct 4).

Saturday, October 5th 1:00-3:00 pm, Michael's Great Pumpkin Event, purchase a 9" pumpkin for $5 and use their supplies to decorate it!

Saturdays in October, Michael's Kid's Club 10:00-11:30 pm (can sign up for a class every 30 min), $2 per child, register in-store.  October 12-Bandana Masks, October 19-Duck Tape Costumes, October 26-Treat Bag/Face Painting/Parade.

**I was not able to find any info on a "Treat Street" or other safe trick or treating venue for October 31st, so please comment or email me if you know of anything going on so I can update this post!  I know many churches also sponsor "Trunk or Treat" events, so please share so everyone can provide safe Halloween fun for their little monsters!

Back in the Savings Game!

I got really sick last weekend, so all my savings goals went out the window.  I spent my Saturday night at the 24 hour clinic, but once I got some antibiotics in me, I was back to my savvy self!  I'm still hacking occasionally and the wind has kicked up some nasty allergens, but I was able to accomplish most of my goals for the last weekend of September!

*Made homemade granola bars
*Made a dozen breakfast muffins
*Got some Yoplait Pumpkin Pie yogurt and used it to make a yogurt pie with homemade graham cracker crust!
*Baby is down to one bottle in the morning, so we are saving a ton on formula cost!
*Cleaned toilets with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.  Scoured my sink with baking soda.  Hubby cleaned the floor with my new O'Cedar pro mist refillable floor cleaner using 50/50 vinegar and water cleaning solution.
*My mother in law watched the kids Friday night while Ryan helped his dad and I ran errands and met a friend for dinner at Chili's.  Ordered from the happy hour menu and water to drink for an inexpensive dinner out. One of my errands was collecting the McDonald's Wizard of Oz Happy Meal toys.  I wanted the whole collection to put in a cute container as a gift for the baby.  With a little networking and a few stops at 4 McDonald's in my area, I was able to get all of them!  I contemplated ordering the set on Ebay, but by asking around and buying the toys only, I saved over $10.
*Took the kids to the Asian Harvest Moon Festival at the Springs Preserve on Saturday.  It was a gorgeous day, entry was free with our family membership.  The kids made paper lanterns, aren't they cute?

*I used the escrow overage money that my mortgage company sent me to get a head start on Christmas gifts.  Bought materials for the handmade gifts I'll be making and other things I needed on Amazon and ordered more than enough for their free shipping.  It's been fun getting packages in the mail all week! This is going to be a simple Christmas as we are flying to Montana so won't have much room for the kids' gifts.
*The kids and I all needed shoes.  I bought the baby's shoes at the Payless BOGO sale.  The cheaper the better for her shoes because her feet are growing so fast.  Austin's feet have slowed down and he is very hard on shoes, so spending $20 on cheap tennis shoes that will wear out in less than 2 months isn't the best plan.  I let him pick from the sale shoes at Zappos, get free shipping, and get high quality shoes that will last more than 6 months.

We are getting excited for the fun October festivities just around the corner!

I know I'm saving but where is my money?

It's one of those months where several additional expenses and some impulse decisions really put a dent in my already dwindling funds and I even got a raise!

Here's how I still managed to save these past few weeks:

-Made breakfast muffins and granola bars
-Worked on feeding more table food with the baby, so don't need to make as much baby food anymore
-Switched to a toddler formula a few weeks ago which is about $8 cheaper than her other formula
-Found some cheap math books to try for school by comparing prices online and got them used-very good for a low price from Barnes and Noble marketplace (it was cheaper than Amazon).
-Made homemade iced pumpkin cookies (I will post this recipe later, it is awesome and I modified it to cut calories)
-Made two pans of lasagna, one for dinner that night and the other to freeze to have a quick meal on hand when I'm too tired to cook
-Took Austin to the free kids workshop at Home Depot
-My mother in law took us out to dinner a few times while Ryan's dad was out of town
-A family from church who raise chickens gave us a dozen eggs.  Made some yummy breakfast burritos last weekend with these!
-A coworker gave me some unopened packages of lunch meat that she didn't use for a class activity
-We combined trips to save on gas.  Dropped my car off to get serviced in Henderson, then picked up awards for the Cub Scouts on the way home.  We had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and the kid's meals were free for their Mondays in September special.
-I've already started comparing prices online for Christmas gifts for the kids.  I bought gifts in October last year, so in December I wasn't broke.  It was really nice!


It takes preparation and discipline to be a savvy saver and I will be the first to admit that I have the occasional splurge or slip-up that puts us off track temporarily.

For example:
-We went the movies twice in the past few weeks and paid full price for our tickets instead of getting them ahead of time at Costco.  We also bought popcorn, soda, and candy.
-I decided to retract my commitment to make all my own breads.  Austin is in the full day kindergarten class now and I will need to make him a sandwich for lunch every day, so we will be going through more bread.  I just can't bake that much and also do the other million things I need to do.

I am continually amazed at how the Lord has provided for us in all sorts of ways so that when we are a few days short of the next paycheck and almost empty, we always seem to get by.  I spent the last of my money on Cub Scout awards (I will get reimbursed eventually), so Ryan put extra money in my account to cover the other bills coming out.  When he got home, he got the mail and there was a check from our mortgage company for the escrow overage.  I am truly grateful for the blessings in my life.

Winco sales this week

After being somewhat crazy and unorganized with my shopping and errands and having to go out to get things I forgot one too many times the past week, I took the time to think everything through that I needed and actually remembered to bring the shopping list to the store.  So now, I'm hoping I can do most of my shopping Friday nights when the stores aren't busy and the kids are asleep from now on.

Winco had some deals worth mentioning tonight:
Quaker cereals (Captain Crunch/Life) $1.48
Capri Suns $1.68
Oscar Meyer lunch meat 9 oz packs $1.68
Pears 78 cents.lb
Gala apples 78 cents/lb
3 pack romaine hearts $1.98
bananas 52 cents/lb
Great Grains bread $1.78
Cascade Pride bread all varieties $1.38

I spend $43.89 for my groceries this week.

Deals and September events

Current Winco deals (prices good as of 8-31-2013, subject to change):
Stock up time for your lunch box staples like Snack Pack puddings 68 cents/4 pack and applesauce cups $1.48 per 6 pack.  Maya's white and wheat tortillas 88 cents for a package of 12.  I love these!
Celery bunch 78 cents,  2 lb carrots 98 cents, pears 98 cents/lb, peaches 68 cents/lb

September Events in NW Las Vegas

Sweet Tomatoes: Kids eat free every Monday in September (one free child per paying adult)

Saturday, Sept 7, 9 am-noon, Free Home Depot Kid's Workshop, Football Ring Toss, register at workshops.homedepot.com

Saturday, Sept 7, 8 am- noon, May Elementary School 6350 W Washburn, Back to School craft fair, free admission, vendors/food/crafts

Saturday, Sept 14, 10 am, Lowe's Build and Grow free kids clinic, Classic Fire Truck, register at lowesbuildandgrow.com

Friday, Sept 20, 7:30 pm Free Movie in the Park, "Rise of the Guardians", Centennial Hills park amphitheatre,  bring blankets/folding chairs

Saturday, Sept 28, 10 am-5 pm, Asian Harvest Moon Festival at the Springs Preserve, general admission cost for locals $10 adults, $5 children, 5 and under free.  Live music, performers, arts/crafts, lantern parade, and food vendors.

Saturday, Sept 28, 11 am-10 pmMix 94.1 Bite of Las Vegas food and music festival, Desert Breeze park, general admission online tickets $17 through Sept 27, $25 at the door, 6 and under free (biteoflasvegas.eventbrite.com)

Every Saturday, 10 am-11:30 (every 30 minutes), Michael's Arts and Crafts kids club activities, $2 per child, register with an associate.  Sept 7 Fall Crafts, Sept 14 Stamptember, Sept 21 Owl Puppet, Sept 28 Silly Monsters

Every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30 pm, Centennial Hills Library story room, free kids activities (ages 6-11)
Sept 4 origami, Sept 11 Lego club, Sept 18 Pirate Day, Sept 25 Craft Fiesta

Centennial Hills library story time schedule:
Baby 0-12 months Thursdays 10:30/1:30
Toddler 1-3 yrs Tuesdays 10:30/11:30/1:30
Preschool 3-5 yrs Wednesdays 10:30/11:30/1:30
Birth-5 yrs Mondays 10:30
Family all ages Saturdays 3:00
School ages K-5th grade Thursdays 4:30
Passes are available at the children's desk 30 minutes prior to start time.

Savings of the week

It was a crazy week getting back to school and figuring out the best pick-up routine for the kids at the end of the day.  I had it down pretty good by Thursday.  It is so nice to get off so early in the afternoon!

My middle sister stayed with us a few nights and helped out with dinners and laundry and watched the baby for us one day.

On Friday, my mother in law watched the kids while Ryan helped his dad with their renovation project.  I met a friend for dinner and spent 3 wonderful hours in Kohls going through all the clearance racks to find some great deals on baby clothes for next spring and summer and some clothes and shoes for myself.  I used my 20% off coupon and earned Kohl's cash for Ryan to go shopping next week.

I went through my clothes and set aside all the pants and tops that are too big to asked a friend if she wanted to go through them.

I took the kids to the Springs Preserve with our family membership on Saturday which has definitely paid for itself this year.

I made granola bars, banana breakfast muffins, and chocolate chip pancakes to freeze for our breakfasts and snacks for the next few weeks.

I made baby food peaches and carrots.

I cooked several chicken breasts in the crockpot and shredded it all.  I bagged and froze some for lunch meat in wraps, set some for making chicken vegetable soup the following day and added BBQ sauce to the rest for sandwiches.  The leftover chicken soup will be pureed for baby food.

I made a key lime yogurt pie for dessert Sunday night.  It was really delcious with only 200 cals per slice!

I made a batch of dishwasher detergent.

Austin will start Taekwondo next week at the city rec center.  I had a credit from a week of classes cancelled when he took it last spring, so I only paid $15 for 8 classes.

72 Hour Emergency Kit

One of my goals this summer was to update my 72 hour emergency kit.  I hadn't realized how long it had been until I pulled out Austin's emergency clothes and they were 2T!!

A well packed emergency kit has all the basic necessities included so that you can grab it and go if you need to evacuate your area at a moment's notice and have food and goods to sustain you for three days.  As hard as it is to fathom a disaster in your area, they do happen, and the more prepared you are, the less stress the situation will be on you and your loved ones.

First, I went through my old kit and kept what was in good condition and bought some additional items at the dollar store to add to my kit.  I wanted to come up with a better system so it will be easier to update in the future.

First, I got an old rolling suitcase and packed all the goods that do not need to be checked or changed out along with a large container of water that is good for several years.  In the event we have to go on foot, this will hopefully be easier to transport.

Next, I packed a backpack with the emergency food that will need to be replaced annually.  I made sure that everything in the kit would last at least a year.  I had to be creative with packing enough food that would adequately sustain us, fit into the backpack, and would also be something the baby could eat.  So I used applesauce cups, Snack Pack puddings, peanut butter, saltine crackers, peanuts, Capri Sun juice pouches and graham crackers.  I also packed foods that are normally in my pantry so that before the emergency food expires I can easily swap it out and it can be consumed before expiration.  I was able to fit a day's worth of food for the four of us with plastic utensils in a gallon Ziploc.  I packed three of these.  The jars of peanut butter didn't fit, so I packed those separately (one jar of PB each day to be spread on the crackers) and then packed the Capri Suns in 3 sets of 4.

Finally, I packed a backpack with an extra change of clothes for each family member and some basic toiletries (cleansing wipes, toothbrush/paste, comb, sunscreen, roll of toilet paper, etc) and little flashlights with extra batteries.  I packed some diapers that are much larger for the baby so they will be good in the emergency kit for a long time.  Also, packing extra clothes with elastic waists (esp for the kids) will account for any growth they might have in the upcoming year.  I also packed long sleeves and long pants rather than shirts and shorts so that it will work for any season (clothes can be cut in the summer or kept long to protect from the sun).  I also packed a little zipper pouch with several $1 bills and a copy of everyone's birth certificate and our marraige license.

The suitcase was labeled and placed in the garage as it won't be affected by temp changes.  The backpacks are stored in my closet so I can easily access them every summer to update them.

Here are some of the things stored in the suitcase:  ax, camp shovel, tarps, blankets, ponchos, emergency blankets, waterproof matches, lighter, emergency candle,  rope, duct tape, water, canteens and iodine tablets, paper/pen, compass, wind-up flashlight, radio, Swiss Army knife, deck of cards, children's book and little toys.

Back to school time! Savings Jackpots this week.

I'm back to the daily grind!  Teachers report for duty tomorrow and students come on Monday.

We enjoyed our last little summer vacation to San Diego ten days ago.  We went to the beach and Sea World with Ryan's parents.  We rode in their car and they paid for gas.  We packed snacks and sandwiches for our beach day and booked our hotel well in advance with my father-in-law's discount.  It had a nice complimentary breakfast so no extra food costs there. We bought our Sea World tickets online which saved about $7 per person.  I order the kids meals when we go to places like this, so that saves us a little money too.

My new goal is to no longer purchase any manufactured bread products.  So over the weekend I made four loaves of french bread (put 3 in the freezer for future) and a loaf of whole wheat bread.  The whole wheat bread is pretty easy to make so I can do a weekly fresh loaf or double the recipe to make some hamburger buns.

I made a granola bars and a batch of banana breakfast muffins to freeze for quick breakfasts/snacks.

Made homemade chocolate pudding pops to freeze in my reusable popsicle molds.

Made a double batch of The Prudent Homemaker's laundry soap so I have plenty stocked up while I'm busy these first few months of school.

I made stir fry the other night so while cutting the vegetables, I cut up some extra to make chicken vegetable soup.  I cooked an extra chicken breast to shred and added it with the vegetables and bouillon mixed with water and various seasonings.  After boiling the soup, I poured it in some quart sized mason jars and put it in the fridge.  This was our dinner for tonight.  The jars could also be frozen if the soup will not be eaten the next day.

Made baby food sweet potatoes and peaches.  Working on trying to get the baby to try more table foods as well.  She's pickier than my son was, so it's going to take some persistance.

I have a wrought iron glider chair on my patio and the seat cushions were torn and faded.  Instead of buying new cushions, I just turned them around to the other side and they look like new!

I combined a trip across town to get awards for the Cub Scouts (I'm the committee chair for our church pack) to also get the baby's first year pictures at Portrait Innovations which is near the Scout office.  I have issues with this place, but they print your pictures in their studio right after the session, so it's worth the headache.  Basically, they take a ton of pictures and then try to get you to order the entire collection for $500 and the photographers are really annoying so you have to speak up to get the backgrounds/props you want.  They always have an ongoing special where you get one pose in a large package for $12.99.  I also had a coupon to get a free photo tote bag, so I used that and got the package of my favorite pose.  The amount of prints you get in the package is still cheaper than if you were to take your own photos and print them at Walmart or Costco.

Light Yogurt pie

 Once a month, I bring a dessert to my in law's house for Sunday dinner.  I was thinking a frozen pie sounded good, so I searched on Pinterest and found an easy recipe on kraft.com that called for 2 containers of yogurt and a tub of Cool Whip in a premade graham cracker crust.  Here is my take on the recipe with a homemade crust.

Light Yogurt Pie

Serves 6-8 (depending on size of slices), when sliced in 6 pieces, yields 180 calories per slice!

For the graham cracker crust:

Crush about 6 sheets, I put them in a Ziploc and pound with a rolling pin

Add 2 tsp sugar to the bag and shake

Add 2 Tbsp melted butter and squish around in the bag

Press in pie pan or 8X8 square pan and bake 350 for about 5-7 minutes until lightly browned

While the crust is baking:

Mix a tub of thawed Fat Free Cool Whip with 2 containers of fruit flavored yogurt (small, individual sized).

I used Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt strawberry

Spread the whipped mixture over the crust when cooled to the touch and freeze for about 4 hours. You can also refrigerate it instead if you want a creamier pie texture.

This pie is so delicious and there are so many flavor possibilities like raspberry, blueberry, key lime, banana cream, orange cream! 

Saving on vacation and catching up at home

We've been home from our Montana vacation for about a week.  It took 3 days to pack for the trip, 2 days to unpack and 4 days to get back into "Viva Mom" mode again.

Here are some of the ways we saved while traveling:

- We booked a cabin on the lake and split the cost with my family.
-We took turns cooking meals and all pitched in to contribute to the food/drinks.
-I packed several items from my pantry to take with us and also put small amounts of baking products/spices that we would need in little Ziploc bags.
-I packed some medicines and essential oils from home which was very helpful with sunburns/upset stomachs.  However, I didn't think of everything as Austin ended up with pink eye so we had to go to the dr and got drops for him.  I had a whole bottle of drops at home already, so now I have put every children's medicine product in a plastic shoebox container so I can just pack the entire container next time!
-I baked banana muffins for our breakfast on the way there
-We packed a cooler full of drinks and stuff for sandwiches along with snacks for the car.  We found a grassy area to have a picnic lunch on the way up.
-We drove straight through both ways which saved on getting a hotel.  We found stopping at a McDonald's playplace for dinner gave the kids a chance to run around and helped with the last leg of the trip.
-We have been wanting to do a few things in the Salt Lake City area, so on the way home, we stopped for a few hours at Temple Square and the University mall.  I was able to find some cute clothes for work and some new undershirts I needed.  I found 3 pairs of navy uniform pants for Austin on clearance at Children's Place for $4 each.
-I packed our blender and freezer trays to continue to make baby food during the week.

In the past week, this is what I have been up to:

-Made a double batch of homemade pancakes to freeze for breakfasts
-Made homemade granola bars.  I found storing them in the refrigerator keeps them moist and together.
-Made my own fruit infused water with lemon and lime in mason jars.  Cutting back to 1 Diet Pepsi a day.
-Doubled my no butter banana bread recipe to make into muffins and freeze to have on hand
-Waxed my eyebrows and facial hair, BTW, there is a $2 off Sally Hansen wax kits active now on coupons.com
-Gave myself a much needed pedicure after being at the lake for a week
-Austin had his last art class at Michael's.  He was able to make 20 projects in 10 classes that I paid $20 for.  The teacher organized a little party for the kids.  We became friends with one of the other "regulars" and her mom.  She invited us to her daughter's birthday party.  We went over the weekend and had a great time swimming and meeting some new people.
-Made homemade whole wheat bread with a new recipe.
-Used my sourdough starter in my first attempt at sourdough, which was an epic FAIL. The bread didn't rise and when I baked it just to see what it would do, it was just heavy and hard.  I think I didn't "activate" the starter before "proofing" it or whatever.  I found another starter recipe so will try again.
-A friend of mine recently moved out of state.  She had several items left over from her garage sale to get rid of so I took several things off her hands including some Tupperware, Christmas dishes, toddler Holiday dresses, and a Little Tikes coaster toy.
-Took Austin to the free Home Depot kids workshop over the weekend
-Ordered some posters on sale at allposters.com for my new classroom at the high school.  I found a coupon code for 30% off my order.  There were some pricey posters not on sale that I liked, so I found some images on the web and made my own version of them on Photoshop to have printed at Costco.  The total for 3 8X10s and 1 16X20 poster cost less than the price of 1 on the website!


My efforts are paying off!
-I was able to pay off all our outstanding medical bills and book our tickets to fly to MT for Christmas.
-Ryan got some of his overtime money from helping with the operations of the fire last month, so we also paid cash for our October Disney trip!


If you are thinking about taking some steps to save money in your own family, the biggest savings I have found have come from making my own bread products and household cleaners and cutting back on eating out.

I have created a new email address for anyone to send questions or comments.  Contact me at vivamomvegas@yahoo.com

Great shopping deals this week and Vegas events!

It's been a few weeks since there has been a good deal worth reporting.  I'm back from vacation and ready to save! We got home on July 29 and I had carefully planned to use up most of my perishables, so I needed to get to Winco ASAP to get some basics.

Winco deals of note this week (Winco prices always subject to change):  Hunts Snack Pack pudding 4 packs 68 cents, broc crowns 88 cents/lb, red grapes 99 cents/lb, celery 78 cents/bunch, pears 98 cents/lb, golden delicious apples 98 cents/lb.

Albertson's Epic Savings Event:
Very rarely do I shop here, but I will be going in for some of these deals.  Basically you buy any 8 select items and save $4.  There is no limit to how many multiples of 8 you can purchase.

Sales price reflects the price when buying multiples of 8, I've only listed ones I think are at least a decent deal

Oreos/Ritz crackers $1.99
Hormel pepperoni $1.99
Nature's Own bread $1.77
Smuckers strawberry jam $1.77
Hunt's Snack Pack pudding 67 cents
Hunt's BBQ sauce 67 cents
Hunt's pasta sauce 67 cents
American beauty pasta 67 cents
Red Vines 4 lb tub $4.99
Jif peanut butter $1.49  (there is a coupon for 55 cents off Jip whipped PB if it is included in the sale)

The following items have additional savings with coupons from coupons.com
Hamburger Helper 99 cents  coupon 80 cents of 4, final price 79 cents/box
General Mills cereals 1.99, coupon $1 off 2, final price 1.49
Fiber One granola bars 2.27, coupon 50 cents off 1, final price 1.77
Garnier Fructis shampoo/conditioner $2, coupon $1 off 1, final price $1
Johnson & Johnson baby products $2.50, coupon $1 off baby shampoo products, final price $1.50

Las Vegas area upcoming family events:
Ward 6 Back to School Fair and Movie, Free, Friday, August 2, 6:30-9:30 pm at Centennial Hills park
Michael's arts and crafts Kids Club $2, Saturday August 3, 10:30-12 every 30 min
Home Depot Kid's Workshop "Load n Go truck" Free, Saturday August 3, 9 am-noon, register online here
Tule Springs/Floyd Lamb Farmers Market, Free (let gate know you are attending), Saturday August 3, 10-2

Savings, Savings, Savings!!

Another great summer week of fun and savings!  Here's what I was up to this week:

Made 8 small loaves of french bread.  Also made my sourdough bread starter.

Made chocolate pudding pops by adding 1/2 container of Cool Whip to homemade chocolate pudding.
Also experimented with the recipe to make vanilla (it still needs some work, but wasn't bad for a first try).

Went to the Springs Preserve with some friends using our annual membership, we have gone enough for it to pay for itself.

Used a $50 gift card to Babies R Us I received to get baby formula and swim diapers.  I found reusable ones that were on sale so I got 2 for the price of one package of the disposable ones.

Found 12 packs of mason jars much cheaper at Winco so I bought half pints for $7.98, pint for $6.98, and quart for $8.98 and returned the ones bought a JoAnn's last week.  I have a multitude of intended uses for these: candle jars, sugar scrub jars, food storage, etc.  I had leftover soup and used the half pint freezer safe jars to store the leftovers in the freezer for a quick lunch.

I got my oil changed for free with my service plan on my vehicle.  My dealership is in Henderson, so we took advantage of the trip south to also visit Hobby Lobby and the Henderson Chuck E Cheese (the one closest to our house had some health code issues a few months ago so I am avoiding it).  Austin had earned a trip there at the end of the school year, so I was finally able to take him.

We didn't eat out for dinner all week, but Austin and I ate out for lunch 3 times.  However, it wasn't very expensive with just the 2 of us.  I needed a break from the extra cooking and cleaning that eating at home all day brings.

I was craving guacamole but I didn't realize we ran out of chips, so I made my own by baking sliced corn tortillas and lightly spraying them with oil and a sprinkle of salt.

I cut my bangs, getting a little more confident at doing this!

Took Austin to the free kids workshop at Home Depot last Saturday, they made Lucy's Car from Despicable Me 2.

We went to the Shark Reef with some teacher friends and their kids Saturday night as it was a free teacher weekend.  The kids had a great time!

Went to a church breakfast and pool party for the 4th of July then Ryan's parents treated us to a matinee movie, BBQ, and fireworks.

Went to Children's Place and got some clothes for next summer for the kids on clearance with an additional 20% off.  Went to Kohl's and got 3 shirts and a pair of capris for $26 by using Kohl's cash and a 15% off coupon.

Made baby food carrots and sweet potatoes.

Austin had quite a stash of coins and had been asking when he could get a new toy.  I learned that Coinstar will not charge a fee if you get a gift certificate, so we got a Toys R Us gift certificate worth $40!  He was able to purchase quite a few items with it.

There's a big fire in the Mt. Charleston area north of Las Vegas.  Ryan was able to pick up overtime hours by helping with the ground transport and other operations through his job with the BLM.

Repurposing with Duct Tape!

Don't you love the cute duct tape designs they have now?  There are several designs at Michael's and using a 40% off coupon can get you a great price.  Duct tape is so fast and easy to work with and can enhance any container!

Here are a few things I have done with duct tape:

1.  Repurposing a Clorox/Lysol wipe container:  You can store plastic grocery bags in your pantry or car.  I use one by my sink to store used Bounce dryer sheets.  I use the dryer sheets to scour my dirty dishes and clean sinks and counter tops.

2.  Decorate an upcycled can:  A stripe of duct tape with some ribbon or raffia tied around it can be a cute gift container for cookies or punch holes in the sides and add wire to make a little bucket.

More ideas to come!  Keep checking vivamomvegas or subscribe for notifications!

Last week's savings jackpots!

We had another fun filled summer week!

Austin went to two classes at Michael's arts and crafts, we went to storytime at the library, swam at the YMCA waterpark, and met up with some friends at the park.

Our friends invited us to their daughter's first birthday party.  We had a nice time and got her a cute bath in a bucket gift using an upcycled can.  (see my post titled "Repurposing with duct tape")

We took Austin to Monster's University and went to the AMC matinee before noon to get the cheaper ticket price.

I made baby food pears, peas, peaches, and squash.

We made no butter banana bread and cookies with red, white and blue M&Ms!

I made 10 handmade cards.

There was a 50% off deal for a painting class.  I used the birthday money from my sister to sign up for 2 spots for the price of 1 and brought her with me.  The painting is a Cabo San Lucas beach scene that I can hang in the new bathroom.  We had a fun night together doing this!

We ate out once this week at Panera Bread which was the night Ryan repainted the master bath!

Here is the finished bathtub!! The final touch will be glass sliding doors that are set to arrive this week.

It took us five months to complete but being able to pay cash as we went and using spare time for Ryan to do all the work himself or with some help from friends and family made it all worth it!

Ryan's parents took us out to Olive Garden on his mom's birthday on Saturday.  I ordered her a gift she really wanted from Etsy awhile back and then got her a cute outdoor rug that says "Nana's House" at JoAnn's using a 40% off coupon plus the 15% off teacher discount.

I also purchased a case of quart size canning jars on sale at JoAnn's for 25% off plus my teacher discount.  The sale goes until July 13, so I'm hoping they will get more in stock as I also want pint/half pint sizes too.

I bought a small amount of black swim fabric to sew an insert into a swimsuit that is a little too low cut in the chest.  It is one of those nice "suck-you-in" suits that would cost at least $50 to replace and it's hard to find cute suits that are appropriate for family swimming situations.

We made strawberry yogurt popsicles with some strawberries that were starting to get too ripe.  They were deliciouse: a handful of strawberries, tsp of sugar, and a few scoops of vanilla yogurt pureed then poured into popsicle molds.  YUMMY!!

Austin enjoying his strawberry yogurt pop!

My husband and I were asked to speak in church last Sunday.  Our topic was on the Blessing of Eternal Marriage.  I joined the LDS church in 2003 and met and married Ryan in 2004.  We were married in the San Diego Temple.  I spent a lot of time last week reflecting on our 8 years of marriage and reading various talks on the subject by our church leaders.  It was a great blessing to not only celebrate how far we've come in our marraige together and the effort we've both made to stay strong, but also to note those things which we need to keep working on (like doing Temple work more often).  To share our stories and these blessings with others was so uplifting.  click here for more information about the church

Las Vegas deals and July 4th events!

Food 4 Less deals this week! If you didn't make it to get the sales with coupons last week, you have another chance with some sales going on at Food 4 Less.  If you don't want to drive all the way to their store, take the ad into Walmart to get the price match.

Food 4 Less buy 10, save $5 sale (prices reflect sale when buying 10 mix and match selected items)
Final price is when coupon from coupons.com is used with the sale!  Many items on sale have coupons!  This rarely happens like this, so take advantage while you can! Prices good til July 4th.
*Capri Sun 10 pack $1.48,  98 cents per box with $1 off 2 coupon
*Kraft BBQ sauce 48 cents, $1 off 2 coupon will make you 2 cents
*Kraft salad dressing $1.48, 98 cents with $1 off 2 coupon
*Kraft shredded cheese $1.98, $1.73 with 50 cents off 2 coupon
*Kraft American singles $1.98,  $1.73 with 50 cents off 2 coupon

Other good sales there: Small avocados 6 for 99 cents, 6 lbs watermelon for 99 cents

You can print 2 of each coupon and all the coupons cover 2 items, so you can buy 4 off each of the above 5 items giving you 20 items.  Your grocery bill would be $10.78!!

Winco sales as of 6-27-13: Broccoli crowns 78 cents/lb, 5 lb potatoes 88 cents, 2 lb carrots 88 cents, red grapes 98 cents/lb, Maya's tortillas still 88 cents/12 pack, Pepsi 18 packs still $2.98, Viva Cottage Cheese $1.68, if your family eats hot dogs they are 58 cents and they have turkey franks for 78 cents.  Whole turkeys 88 cents/lb if you need some cheap meat.  I was in today and since I had my 5 year old with me who wanted everything, I bought a few extra items on my list but still spent only about $34.

Upcoming Vegas area events:
*Michael's Arts and Crafts Kids Club, 4th of July Hat, Saturday June 29th every half hour 10 am-noon, $2 
*Junior Naturalist Day at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, 350 E. Galleria, Saturday June 29th 7-9 am, register online cityofhenderson.com/parks  free for ages 6-12.  This is a neat place!
*Station Casinos 4th of July Fireworks Blast, July 4th 9:00 pm, per their website, the fireworks are going off at Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock Resort (Aliante is no longer with Station, so they aren't doing a show)
*Summerlin Council Patriotic Parade, July 4, 9 am, parade route on Hills Center Drive, starting at Hillpointe and heading south to Trailwood Dr
*Fremont Street Experience, free concert with Three Days Grace, July 4 9:00 pm, 3rd Street Stage 

***Fourth of July event update:  I heard about a NW Las Vegas fireworks display going on in the Providence Master planned community (Hualapi/215 area) Knickerbocker Park 10695 Dorrell Lane 6-9:45 pm on July 4.  Music, food trucks, games.  Fireworks will commence at 9:15 pm.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!  

This week's savings jackpots!

I'm just about at full speed now, so last week I was able to start our summer schedule of activities with the kiddos!

Austin loves art and I had considered signing him up for an art camp that would have cost $90 for three half days.  Instead, I spent $20 to sign him up for 10 Michael's Passport to Imagination classes.  I am taking him and his cousin on Mondays and Fridays.  They started this week and had a great time!

We used our Summer Y pass to go to the waterpark 3 times this week.

We went to the Natural History Museum with some friends and used a coupon to get a discount.  The kids had a really fun tim!

We cooked most meals at home and brought snacks and drinks with us on the go.  I brought Golden Spoon yogurt home one night as a treat on their 2 for 1 day.  Austin wanted the same flavor as me, so I got a larger size and took my half in the lid and gave him the bowl.  They had a new flavor this week, banana.  NW locals, if you text "spoon" to 90210 you will get the text alerts for the 2 for 1 days (usually Saturday) and also any other specials.  You can also like them on FB to get news on specials and new flavors.  We really love this place!

I went to a Relief Society BBQ one night, so Ryan got McDonald's for he and Austin.

I made 12 handmade cards of 3 different designs this week.  I will be using my spare time over summer to make all the cards I'll need for the year.

I made no butter banana bread and applesauce cookies.  I took some of the cookies over to our friends who we had dinner with one night.

Ryan's parents watched the kids so we could go to the Temple this week.

Took Austin to a free Lowe's Kids Clinic.  He had a great time and can now do most of the hammering himself!

Ryan finished with all the tiling on the master bath and the walls adjacent to the tile were textured and primed.  He will be painting and grouting this week!

I went through clothes and toys no longer used/needed to send to donation.  I inventoried the donations in case I need to itemize them for taxes.  When I did, I found some items that I can repurpose instead of buying.  I wanted to get a bin for the kid's bathroom and an under-the-sink storage for mine.  I found a basket and old shoe rack no longer used in a closet so these will work for what I need.  I will have Ryan trim the shoe rack a little shorter so it fits under our sink.

We had a little scare with the baby over the weekend.  I was getting a few things at Dollar Tree, they have those smaller carts with the heavy metal posts on the front.  The baby was sitting in the seat of the cart and Austin stepped up on the front of the cart and it flipped over to the ground in a split second.  The baby hit her head on the floor and had a huge bump.  The cart landed on Austin's legs, but he was fine.  I'm so grateful for the shoppers who heard the crash and came to help us.  One brought a bag of frozen vegetables to ice Amilia's head while I calmed her down.  We left the store and headed straight to the ER, where she was checked out and got a CAT scan of the brain.  Everything was normal (thank God).

Extreme Vegas grocery deals and events this week! June 19-25

This week's grocery ads are in and new coupons are up on coupons.com!  If you don't go to this site, I highly recommend it, there is also an app available to view coupons on your phone and then email the ones you clip to print on your computer.  You can print each coupon twice.  Another good coupon source is through grocerysmarts.com using the code g89clf for the Las Vegas area.

***Winco deals as of today, June 19:  There are several sales that when added to the coupons.com coupon will give you extreme low prices!!
*Kraft BBQ sauce 68 cents each, $1 off 2 coupon, final price 18 cents!!  
*Dole canned pineapple 68 cents a can, 75 cents of 2 coupon, final price 30 cents!!
*Koolaid Koolbursts 10 pack $1.78 each, $1 off 2 coupon, final price $1.38!!

Other good prices now at Winco: celery bunch 98 cents, 5 lb potatoes 88 cents, broccoli crown 88 cents/lb, Maya's tortillas 12 packs 88 cents, Fuji apples 78 cents/lb, Red Del apples 88 cents/lb, 18 pack Pepsi/Diet Pepsi cans $2.98.

There is a coupon for $1 off 2 Capri Sun 10 packs and the boxes are $1.98 at Winco right now, so after the coupon, it's still a decent deal if you want to stock up on drinks for car trips or other summer activities.
I purchased 4 off all the coupon items from above which included 8 boxes of juice pouches, plus a case of diet Pepsi and some produce and other items on my list and spent $34.

Smith's sales this week:  green grapes 99 cents/lb, lettuce 99 cents/head, Buy 4/Save $4 mix and match sale includes select Doritos/Lays chips $1.99, Pirate's Booty $1.49, Hillshire smoked sausage $1.99, and Philly cream cheese 99 cents (with $1 off 2 coupon from coupons.com, final price 49 cents!)
There are also special going on "buy 10, get 5 free items", the ad doesn't list all items, but essentially final cost is 67 cents per item, some include Hunts tomato/pasta sauce, Hunts snack pack puddings.  The store usually has a list at the entrance of all the items included in the special, so this week, a trip to Smith's is definately on the agenda!

Fresh and Easy: red and green grapes 88 cents/lb, 2 day sale Sat/Sun Doritos XXL chips $1.88, DiGiorno frozen pizzas $3.99, Coke 2 liters 88 cents.  In-ad coupon $6 off $30 purchase (F&E sells Burt's Bees products which is what I use for the kids, so I get a bottle or two of it to bump my purchase price so I can spend enough to use the coupon).  This Friday, Sunshine salad mix is free with coupon from their weekly email.  Sign up at freshandeasy.com, they also have a great shopping rewards program, you can print your rewards as you earn them as opposed to other grocery rewards that only come quarterly.

Las Vegas area family events this week:
*Free Movie in the Park, Madagascar 3, Centennial Hills amphitheatre, Friday June 21, 7:30 pm  LV ward 6 website
*Lowe's Build and Grow "Monsters University Chest", Saturday, June 22nd 10 am free  Register online/print waiver here
*Michael's Arts and Crafts Kids Club, Silly Shells project, Saturday June 22nd every half hour 10 am-noon, $2 
*Monster's University comes out in theatres this Friday!  AMC theatres offers $6 tickets to all movies before noon.

No butter, low sugar baking tips and recipes

I'm trying to watch it with the fats as my liver adjusts to life without a gallbladder.  I'm feeling pretty good and hoping this surgery was the right decision.  My sister brought over some huge mouth watering chocolate chunk cookies.  I ate one and a few hours later, it went right through me in the wrong way (if you catch my drift).  So in addition to my applesauce chocolate chip cookies, I have two great variations of popular baked goods.

**Tips for lighter baking:
1.  Replace butter and oils in recipes with equal measurement of applesauce or greek yogurt.  I prefer applesauce because it is a long term pantry storage item, less expensive, and adds sweetness to your recipe that allows you to cut sugar without losing flavor.
2.  Whatever the sugar content of the original recipe is, you can cut it in half and still have good taste.
3.  Experiment with other spices like cinnamon to enhance flavor.
4.  Use egg whites or if a recipe calls for 2 eggs, use one whole and the egg white equivalent of the other.
5.  Substitute all or half of the flour for whole wheat flour.

The following recipes have already applied the above suggestions.

Viva Mom's No Butter Banana Bread

The foundation for this recipe dates back to the 1960s.  It was my Grandma Jean's.  By cutting out a stick of butter, 1/2 of the sugar and using skim milk instead of evaporated milk, this bread packs about 140 calories per slice.  I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter.  A slice of this bread with some Smart Balance light spread is divine!

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup natural applesauce

2 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, mix ingredients in order, pour in sprayed large loaf pan, bake 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the middle.  Cool 5 minutes in pan before turning over on rack.  You can also add some chopped walnuts or chocolate chips if you enjoy that in your bread.

Banana Oat Breakfast Muffins

Found this recipe on Pinterest.  It called for way too much sugar, so I used less.  It also called for greek yogurt.  I used a regular light yogurt (strawberry flavored) to add more flavor and moisture to the muffins.  The recipe yields a dozen, so you can double it if you want more.  I put these in sandwich bags in the freezer and pull them out to thaw in the morning or microwave 15-20 secs for breakfasts on the go.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup yogurt of choice 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

2 1/2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 400, spray muffin pan or line with liners.  Mix ingredients in order.  There are two options here depending on your preferences of texture.  You can blend everything in a processor so the oats are smooth or you can stir everything so that the oats stay whole.  I like to hand mix and have the hearty texture of the oats in my muffins.  Bake 15 minutes and allow to completely cool before removing from the tin.

Stay tuned for more light baking recipes and if you come across one you love, please share!!

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love homemade cookies.  I can easily eat 4-5 without a second thought.  So can my boys!  I have been creating variations of cookie recipes for awhile now, and they are my common go-to these days as I need to really be careful with the butters and oils that I eat.

Now when you exclude butter from your cookies, they are going to puff up and be very "cakey".  However, I think they are more filling that way and my cookie monster still loves them.  At 89 calories each, you really can't go wrong.  If you want a buttery tasting, flat, moist cookie, well sorry that doesn't exist without adding butter.  I also suggest if you are storing these cookies for more than 2 days (is that even possible?) that you freeze them.

Viva Mom's Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients:

1 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs 
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375, mix applesauce with sugars, add soda/eggs/vanilla.  Add flours and mix til smooth.  Stir in chips.  Use ice cream scoop to measure 30 evenly sized mounds on sprayed cookie sheets.  Bake about 12-15 min until golden brown.

Savings for the past two weeks!

My surgery went well!!  The first few days were hard, but each day I got a little stronger and I'm just about back to myself with the exception of pain from my main incision when I sneeze or laugh too hard (which was plenty with time spent with mom and sister this week).  My mom helped with the kids which was awesome and allowed me the energy to work on some of my summer to-do's.

Here's how I saved and got myself organized the past two weeks:

-Made a double batch of laundry soap (theprudenthomemaker.com) and was able to use my Kitchen Aid grater attachment for the first time. The shaft got stuck in the housing and caused severe damage so I am now waiting on replacement parts from the warranty.

-Made a batch of dishwasher detergent.  This time I'm keeping the Epsom Salt separate and just gonna sprinkle a little with the soap in the dispenser because it was causing the powder to harden

-Did my eyebrow/face waxing

-Ryan worked on the master bath tile the past two weekends, it's turned out to be a big job cutting everything to fit around our custom fixtures, fingers crossed it will be done in 2 more weeks

-I cleaned out the mess on my desk and organized my craft items and finally organized what I want to keep in the tote that I got last Christmas.  I put together my order of what I was running low on and what I absolutely wanted to get from Stampin Up.  My friend is a demonstrator and gives me her discounts/free items and she's moving next month, so I was able to get 20% off my order and $40 in free product.

-I worked on some cards and paper crafts this week both at home and at my friend's house.  I also went to a new card club with another Stampin Up demonstrator that I connected with to get my craft on after my friend moves.

-Made granola bars and expirimented with a new banana bread recipe, see my recipe post with some great no butter, low sugar recipes

-Was too tired to make baby food (imagin that), so walked my hubby through the steps so we had enough on hand

-Did a stockup trip at Costco and bought food storage buckets at Winco (lowest prices on food grade buckets/gamma lids I've found so far).  I went through my whole pantry, put items in order of expiration, pulled out items that needed to be used soon.  Winco sells the smaller 2 gallon buckets which are perfect size for my small family.  I got a 5 gallon for my flour.

-We have not eaten out for dinner the past two weeks.  Our church family blessed us with dinners the first three days after my surgery.  We cooked while my mom was here, one night got a take and bake pizza at Costco on sale for $5.99 which fed us dinner and lunch the next day.  My mom also treated us to ice cream and lunch at Burger King.

-Ryan and I went out on a date while mom watched the kids and got to use my free Fill-A-Seat membership to see Seth Grabel, a magician seen on America's Got Talent.  It's playing at the theatre inside the Clarion by the Convention Center (just behind the Riviera).  I recognized the place and after some research, learned it used to be the Greek Isles and before that it was the Debbie Reynolds!!  When I was in HS and we came to Vegas for vacation, we walked all the way from MGM Grand to the Debbie Reynolds so my mom could go to her museum!!  I don't know what it was prior to Debbie owning it, so if any other Vegas history buffs know, I would be very interested!

-We also took advantage of free babysitting another night to see Man of Steel with Costco movie tickets.  There are too many good movies that are worth seeing in the theatre to miss out on!

Super Summer Fun Guide!

Summer break is here!  I've compiled a collection of my favorite family activities around town.  Click on the title to link to the website for additional information.  This is definitely a post to bookmark for those "What are we going to do today?" moments.

1.  YMCA Sizzlin Summer Pass -  4 months access to waterparks, fitness rooms and classes, and day care while you workout for $199 for the whole family!  The waterparks charge $5 per person without a membership.  Our favorite waterpark location is at the Durango Hills YMCA at 3521 N Durango Dr.

2.  Michaels Passport to Imagination  - Every summer, Michaels Arts and Crafts offers arts and crafts classes for kids inspired by countries around the world.  This year they are offering it Mon, Wed, and Fri 10 am-noon for $2 per class.  Pre-registration is required and can be done at your nearest Michael's store.

3.  Artful Potter  - Free paint time with purchase of pottery piece Mondays 5-8 pm and Fridays 6-10 pm.  They offer a "Paint Me a Story" class for kids 3-5, Tues 4 pm and Thurs 10:30 am. Children hear a story and paint a piece of pottery.  $15, pre-registration is required and can be done over the phone.  

2351 N Rainbow Ste 102  (Rainbow/Smoke Ranch) 638-1775

4.  Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics - Free kids clinics on select Saturdays and Sundays.  Create and account and register online at your nearest Lowe's.

5.  Springs Preserve - There is always something new at the Springs Preserve 333 S Valley View.  We have a family membership, it's the best deal in town for $60 a year.  Regular local admission is $10 for adults, $5 kids, under 5 free.  Thursday mornings they have a farmers market 10 am-1 pm and toddler time from 11-11:30 am schedule here

6.  Centennial Hills Library - If you don't live in the NW, you can use this link to other library locations in Clark County.  The library district is sponsoring a Club Read program for kids birth-11.  Every 5 books read or read to give you a book buck for purchasing used books, 20 books earns a prize (varies by age).  Sign up at the Children's desk.  Storytime schedule at Centennial Hills: Mondays 10:30 am 0-5 yrs,  Tuesdays 10:30, 11:30, 1:30 18-36 months, Wednesdays 10:30, 11:30, 1:30 3-5 yrs, Thursdays 10:30, 1:30 0-18 months, Wednesdays 4:30 programs for K-5 kids, Saturdays 3:00 Family storytime.  Get a storytime pass at the Children's Desk 30 min prior to start time.

7.  Regal Summer Movie Express - Starting June 11th, $1 kids movies at Regal Village Square 9400 West Sahara Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 am

8.  Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse - $1 movies, Tuesdays 10 am at Century Santa Fe Station starting June 11.

9.  Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary - A variety of animals to see and interact with 8103 Racel St 9 am- 4pm daily $5 adults, $1 children

10.  Flip N Out Fun Center - Located on Craig road next to the Cannery, trampolines, bounce houses, games, laser tag.

11.  Santa Fe Station Bowling - Sun-Thurs 8 am-12 am, Fri-Sat 8 am-1 am

12.  Discovery Children's Museum - The new children's museum opened just a few months ago!  $12 admission for ages 1 and up.  Summer hours: Mon-Sat 10 am-5 pm, Sun 12-5 pm.  360 Promenade Place

13.  Natural History Museum - Open 9-4 daily 900 Las Vegas Blvd.  Adults $10, kids 3-11 $5, print coupon on website for buy one get one free admission.

14.  Mob Museum  - For older kids or a fun date night!  Fremont St within walking distance.  $10 admission for local adults, $5 to park in the lot right next to the museum.  300 Stewart Ave 10am-7pm Sun-Thurs, 10am-8pm Fri-Sat.

15.  Henderson Bird Preserve - Summer hours 6 am- noon, free admission.  350 E. Galleria Dr.

16.  NW area city parks with water play areas - Free fun for the kids!  Centennial Hills Park Buffalo/Elkhorn, Raptor Play Park Tropical/Durango, Nature Discovery Park NLV Aliante/Deer Springs

17.  King Putt Mini Golf - 7230 W Lake Mead, also a location in Henderson.  Black lighted mini golf course with cute animal obstacles.  Website has $1 off coupon.

We are ready for some summer fun in LV!!

Please comment if you have any other great activities you would like to share!  Have a fun and safe summer!!