This is how we spent our morning — designing our own hockey table, and it was so easy! Emily had a blast, and is still planning to devote the rest of the afternoon to table hockey. A few years ago, one of our neighbors had a moving sale and sold this fabulous coffee table to […]
Ribbon Dancer
February 23, 2009 by
I could not believe what a hit this was — so simple and Emily adored it! I was cleaning out a “junk” drawer in the kitchen and came across a plastic spatula that I rarely use. It inspired a day of ribbon dancing. We played some Brazilian music on the stereo, and this little girl could not […]
Frugal Fun with Music
February 20, 2009 by
This afternoon we made musical instruments from recyclables. This was a big hit and Emily is still making lots of new sounds with her drum, guitar, and shaker. We made the drum with an empty oatmeal canister. If you saw this post, you would understand why we have a lot of these! This version of […]
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
February 17, 2009 by
You did not think I paid full price for chocolate covered strawberries, did you? We made them ourselves! These were so easy to make, and so much fun! To cut costs, I waited until strawberries were buy one get one free at the grocery store, and used chocolate from an after-Christmas sale. I buy about […]
Indoor Sandbox
February 15, 2009 by
One of the things Emily misses the most about Spring and Summer is playing outside in her sandbox. I created an indoor version that was a big hit for both of my girls. You might already have an inflatable pool (most likely it is hanging out in the garage for the winter). We brought ours […]
What Valentine’s Day Is Really About…
February 10, 2009 by
This afternoon I took the girls to a retirement community to give the residents there some much needed company this time of year. In return, Emily and Clara received TONS of attention. Emily made a Valentine placemat with some construction paper and stickers, and then proudly showed it off to the residents while they were […]
Frugal Fun Outdoors – Snow Painting
February 6, 2009 by
This afternoon, Emily and I took some spray bottles filled with a few drops of food coloring and some water to do snow painting. This was a big hit! I had to bribe her with some hot cocoa to get her to come back inside. I helped her spell her name out in the snow… […]
Super Bowl Frugal Snack — Make Your Own Pizza
January 31, 2009 by
Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday! I thought it would be fun to post this easy (and very frugal) recipe. Our family enjoys making homemade pizza together so much that we hardly ever order delivery anymore. A bread machine takes all of the labor out of kneading the dough, and I have frequently seen […]
Afternoon Play Date
January 25, 2009 by
Mark worked late almost every night last week, so the girls and I went into “survival mode”. In case you are not familiar with “survival mode”, it goes something like this: 1. Do the bare minimum to get by with housework, laundry, or cooking. 2. Leave piles of dirty dishes on the countertops. 3. Do […]
Frugal Way to Occupy Kids During Football
January 18, 2009 by
Trying to watch the football game on TV and looking for a frugal way to keep the kids entertained? I thought this would be a fun topic, since the Super Bowl is coming up! Thanks to ThriftyCraftMama for posting about this fabulous frugal activity that will keep kids occupied all through the game. (Worked well […]
Enjoying a few good books
January 14, 2009 by
Clara enjoys some quality story time. This morning we lounged around in our pajamas for far too long, but we were busy enjoying some good books. Emily came downstairs and wanted to snuggle with Clara on the couch. She enjoys reading to her little sister, and Clara thought the pictures in this Snow White story […]
Family Drawing Time — Portraits
January 12, 2009 by
Wow! This is my 100th post already!! Want to know how your kids really see you? Try a family portrait day! Each member of the family takes turns drawing everyone else. This makes for some interesting artwork, especially from the little ones. Here are some of Emily’s drawings: From Left to Right: Me (what […]
Homemade Chewy Granola Bars and Sledding Fun
January 11, 2009 by
Mark and I took the girls sledding this afternoon, and everyone had a blast! Afterwards, Emily and I whipped up a batch of these delicious homemade granola bars while Mark visited a friend to watch the football game. We go through several boxes of granola bars every month in our household, so by learning how […]
Family Snow Day
January 10, 2009 by
We are enjoying our first big snow of the season here in the Lehigh Valley! Today we enjoyed some time out in the snow — all bundled up, of course. Snow days make for great frugal entertainment. Emily had a terrific time playing with Mark in the backyard, and afterwards we had some hot cocoa. […]
Family Painting Time
January 6, 2009 by
Looking for some good quality time spent together as a family? Try scheduling family painting time! All of us look forward to this when Mark comes home from work. After dinner, we clear off the kitchen table and spread out the paints, brushes, and paper. Altogether it was about an hour’s worth of creative time […]
8 Frugal New Year’s Activities for Kids
December 31, 2008 by
Waiting for the ball to drop? Don’t know how to keep the kids occupied? Try some of these ideas: Video Game Tournament — For more information on this, be sure to check out my post on 5 Ways to Save Money on Video Games. Coloring Pages — Click here to print out New Year’s Eve […]
Frugal Family Fun — Lehigh Valley
December 28, 2008 by
If you are in the Lehigh Valley, you might want to check out Lights in the Woods at the Flint Hill Farm Educational Center in Coopersburg, PA. Conditions were too muddy to go tonight, but they will have another run Tuesday night, December 30th from 5:30 to 8:30pm. Lights in the Woods includes horse-drawn […]
Frugal Family Activity — Go Caroling!
December 22, 2008 by
Christmas is almost here and it is the perfect time of year to go caroling with friends, family, and neighbors. If you are like me, that sounds fine and dandy, until you realize you might not know all the words to some of the classic Christmas carols! Don’t worry, to help you avoid any embarrassment, […]
