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.