Confessions of a Working Momma

Well, this week has been a roller coaster for us, and Sassy's milk allergy. We had a food challenge and you can read the details HERE . They opened up a Pathmark in our area. I have checked them out. They claim they are cheaper than Giant and Wegman's however, they are not on all products. So I ran in and got a couple of items that were on sale and then headed to Giant for the rest. Check out my totals and total saved. I really did well this week. Pathmark 2 - 1# Strawberries 3.00 22 pk single Potato Chips sacks - 6.49 (-0.55 coupon doubled) 5.39 4 - 12pk Coke 9.98 Pack of Wrigley's Gum 1.19 (Free after coupon) Total OOP 18.87 With coupons and sales I saved a total of 19.15!! Giant Reynolds foil 2.49 (-$1 coupon) 1.49 Whole grain Goldfish carton 8.49 Multi grain Cheerios 3.19 (-$1 coupon) 2.19 2 Ziploc Small Containers 5.58 (-$1.50 coupon) 4.08 Quaker Rice Cakes 2.15 3 pk Sparkle Paper Towels 2.99 (-$1.00 coupon) 1.99 2 Frosted Flakes 4.98 (-$1.00 coupon) 3.98 Bertolli Oliv

This past week has been a real roller coaster. We had Sassy's food challenge on Monday. She did not show and immediate signs of a returning milk allergy. So they sent us home and told us to start increasing her milk intake daily and see how she does. Well Tuesday, Wednesday were great. Thursday she had a "hive" on her face for about 30 min then it disappeared. Friday was fine. Saturday, we went down to my mom's to work on our garden (pictures coming soon) and she developed 3 "hives" not sure if they were hives or bug bites and had a rash over her neck and back, could have been heat rash it was like 89 degrees here, the heat rash eventually diminished. Then Sunday we toured a local farm and had a great time. After Sassy got up from her nap she had a "heat rash" again and had several hives that kept appearing and disappearing all over her arms, face and legs. They would be here and gone with in 30 min. WERID!! So at this point I have NO CLUE what is

Last week was our local semi-annual kids consignment sale. This year was a little different since the limited all the consignors to only 25 items per size. This really limited the amount of clothing to pick from. However, I was still able to walk away with a lot of great stuff. Sassy's stockpile for the spring and summer is awesome and we will not need to be buying anymore clothing till fall. She has a total of 21 outfits, 2 pairs of sneakers and 2 sandals. (I did not buy all of this at the consignment sale. My wonderful sister is a world class bargain shopper , so when ever she sees something that will eventually fit Sassy at a great price, she picks it up.) Aren't Aunts who spoil great sometimes! This is linked to What Works for Me Wednesday

So this week I was finally under budget!!! YEAH!!! Maybe I should take Sassy to the store with me more often, that way I have no time to browse the aisles, I just get in and out. This week is kind of up in the air as we had Sassy's milk food challenge. As of right now she has had NO adverse reactions to milk. We are going increase her milk intake over the next few days and see how she does. We are praying hard that she is no longer allergic. So here is how my grocery run went this week. Also check out the Gayle over at Grocery Cart Challenge to see how everyone else did. Giant Tostitos 3.50 Cottonel Flushable Wipes 2.26 Cottonel Refill Wipes 3.52 Stroehmann Bread 3.59 Organic Celery 2.99 3 # Organic Apples 3.99 Drumsticks 3.49 Kraft Cheese Sticks 4.04 2 Yogurts 1.00 1% Gallon Milk 3.00 2 quarts Whole Milk 1.76 Total OOP 33.14

So I normally don't reach out and ask for prayers for me personally, however, I am going to go against the "norm" today. I need everyone's prayers for tomorrow morning, Sassy has a food challenge at 8am EST. For those who are new to my blog, my wonderful daughter Sassy is allergic to milk (which is different from being lactose intolerent), she has been allergic to milk since birth and this is the first time we are "testing" her. We are going to the doctor's office, so they can watch her in case of an adverse reaction. We will start giving her dairy and see if she is still allergic. We are hoping that she will not be, but you never know. So pray for her and me as I am in the office for ATLEAST 2 hours with a 2 year old. Here is our meal plan for the week to check other plan go to the Organized Junkie Monday : To Die for Crock Pot Roast with Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, and Celery Tuesday : Pasta, Sauce, Bread & Salad Wednesday :Eggs & Toast Thur

So Sassy's crib was recalled. She hasn't been in it in over 6 months and it was packed away in my mom's attic, so off I went to drag it out and send all of the appropriate pieces back to the manufactor in order to get my refund. Well my refund was a vocher to Babies R Us for $241.99 towards a purchase for a new crib. The first one is Sassy's old crib it was just a simple nothing fancy crib. We have an extra queen bedroom set that was Daddy and I's so we have planned for Sassy to get that when she our grows her toddler bed. The second one is the new crib, for the future baby. It is one of those convertable cribs, it goes from a crib to a daybed to a head board and foot board for a double bed. Which is perfect considering we also have an extra double bed that it stored in my mom's attic. (I love the fact that my parents have a full size attic, when I say full size think - 80 feet long x 10 feet high x 20 feet wide) Now as long as we don't have any more than 2

So I am missing my reciept from my big shopping trip this weekend and with no photo to show me all what I bought. I really can't account for it. I can tell you that I spend $45 dollars on it though and I did get some really good deals. So I am wondering how you avoid the sales and only buy what you need for the week. I am struggling with that. I did not need really anything this week but our local grocery store ran their $1 coupon doubler again. So I was enticed by a great deal on Folgers Gourmet Coffee - I bought 2 bags after coupons and grocery deals for 6.75, normally the price of one. Great deal, but again it wasn't a need this week. So please tell me how you avoid the deals and only shop for the needs especially when the deals will eventually be your needs..... I did hit Produce Junction this weekend and I did get a photo of that... Produce Junction 2# Green Beans 2.00 2 heads of Lettuce 1.50 Grape Tomatoes 1.50 Total 5.00 ish

We have lots planned for this week. It is our local semi-annual kids clothing sale. If you live in the Lehigh Valley area of PA Check it out HERE . I am both consigning some clothes and shopping of course. Also this weekend is the weekend before EARTH DAY!! So I am super busy with some different Earth Day events both on Friday nite and Saturday! Hence when the menu is alittle sparse on those days. I was able to fit in a couple of family favorites this week. We love Meatloaf, homemade Chicken Tenders, and Pork Tenderloin in the Crockpot. The meatloaf and chicken tenders are home recipes but you can check out the Pork Tenderloin HERE . Check out everyone else's menu's this week HERE . Monday - Meatloaf & Mixed Veggies & Salad Tuesday - Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders & Homemade Fries Wednesday - Pack for Sassy's Lunch - Soy Cheese for Cheese Burgers Dinner - Eggs & Toast Thursday Pack for Sassy's Lunch - Soy Yogurt & Chicken Nuggets & Bread Dinner - Mea

Okay so if you haven't checked out Free cycle yet. You need to. What is freecycle you ask? It is an online community of people who are getting rid of things for free. Some stuff is truly trash and somethings people just don't want anymore and they don't want it to go to the landfill. So this weekend I hit the Freecycle jackpot... Here is what I got 1 children's plastic picnic table & a box of girls toys (not pictured, but Sassy loves her new table) 1 5 foot wall hanging coat rack 2 wooden chairs okay so the chair need to be reupholstered but that little bit of $ compared to 2 brand new chairs. The cushions are still great. So just need fabric, will have to watch for a great sale/coupon at Joann's This post is linked to What Works for Me Wednesdays

So this week was bad. I did go over my budget, (Hey, I only spent $10 OOP last week) however I did more stocking up. I don't think I will need a lot of the basics for awhile. So I should be good for another couple of weeks. I am not really planning on shopping next weekend so I am hoping this will even me out for the month. Check out how everyone else did this week HERE Giant Multigrain Cheerios - 2.50 (-0.75 coupon double up to $1) 1.50 3 Quaker Granola Bars - 6.00 Quaker Mini Delights - 2.59 - Free Flour Tortiatas - 2.09 2 Frosted Flakes - 6.00 (-$1 coupon/ 2) 5.00 Utz Chips - 2.00 (Keeps Daddy happy) Diet Coke 6 pk - 3.00 (Free) 4 - 12pk of Coke - 12.00 (Not pictured) 2 New England Hazelnut Coffee - 5.59 (BOGO Free) 5# Yams - 2.58 2 Kunzler 1# Bacon - 4.99 (BOGO Free) (-$1 coupon) 3.99 2 Round Roast - 15.34 (BOGO Free) (-$2 coupon) 13.34 2 Chicken Sausage - 9.14 (don't tell Daddy it's chicken) 2 Soybean Margarine - 3.98 (this was on sale and it never goes on sale, so had

Check out what other's are cooking this week HERE Monday Lunch - Homemade Chicken Nuggets & Bananas Dinner - London Broil, Potato & Onions & Salad Tuesday Dinner - Wawa Hoagies Wednesday Pack for Sassy's Lunch - Soy Cheese Sticks & Sliced Soy Cheese for AM & PM Snacks Dinner - Blackberry Pancakes (This is a repeat, last week we actually ended up having eggs & toast) Thursday Pack for Sassy's Lunch - Shredded Soy Cheese for Tacos & Crackers for PM Snack Dinner - Chicken Fajitas on tortillas with peppers, onions, sour cream, cheese Friday Pack for Sassy's Lunch - Soy Yogurt & Butter for Noodles Dinner - Ravioli’s with Sauce and Bread & Salad Saturday Lunch - Leftovers from the freezer - either pizza or tuna noodle casserole Dinner - Pot Roast in the Crock pot with Rice and Salad Sunday Easter Dinner at My mom's house (not sure yet what I am bringing)

Who has those easter egg dying memories with those little colored pelts that fizzed when they hit the water. (Should that have been a sign that they weren't good, for the environment?) With the plastic spoons, cups and egg removers. They are still sell them today and still pretty cheap. I saw some for 0.99 at Target today, which is really tempting for a working mom like me. However, they are they are full of non-recyclable products, chemical dyes and those nice little plastic wrappers with the popular kids cartoon characters. So trying to figure out a green and frugal way to dye eggs. Well here are two solutions.... So want to know how to dye eggs naturally.... “For all dyes, bring the dye mixture to a boil, remove from heat and cool and strain liquid into a medium bowl. Submerge 4 to 6 hard-cooked eggs in dye for up to 30 minutes, depending on how deep you want the color to be. Remove from dye and place on a cooling rack to dry and drain. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Or