My 1st attempt at "Extreme Couponing!"

I put "Extreme Couponing" in quotations because we both know I'm no expert when it comes to this stuff...in fact, this was my first attempt, and although I saved a ton of money, I still spent about $20 and I'm sure the pro's could have gotten it all for free! I hope once I get the hang of it all that it will take a lot less of my time and effort. I went to Walgreens first, and just planning that trip alone took like 2 hours. *sigh*

But here's how I did:




These are the products I got today at Walgreens. I started with Walgreens rather than the grocery store because I knew it would be easier.

Basically I matched up items that were already on sale at Walgreens and found coupons that coincide with the sale prices.

For example, Axe Bodywash was $5.49 each, but they were "buy one get one half off," so by purchasing 2 of them, the price was $8.24...BUT I matched that up with a "buy one get one FREE" coupon, which took $5.49 off the price, so I got TWO bottles of Axe for $2.75.
THAT is cool!!!!

I found lots of deals like this today, and eventually only spend $20 at Walgreens....a 73% savings!!!

I continued my shopping to King Soopers for grocery shopping and didn't have AS MUCH success, but I still did well. I saved about $40 on my shopping trip to KS and about $60 at Walgreens, so I saved $100 today!!!

My favorite purchase at King Soopers??

I found a deal where if I bought 4 boxes of cereal I got 2 free gallons of milk...but of course I didn't stop there. I had an online coupon for $.55 off cheerios and $.55 off honey nut cheerios, and also $1 off 2 boxes of cereal (and I used 2 of these coupons since I bought 4 boxes total)....

Final price? $9.00 for 4 boxes of cereal and 2 gallons of milk! AWESOME!!!

I also scored two free packages of dental floss (can't beat free, right?)

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Recently I've really enjoyed finding ways to save money. My biggest excitement so far (besides starting to coupon) has been finding ways to save money on the expensive household items we regularly buy....like laundry soap!

Here's a little math for you:

Buying a container of Gain liquid detergent at Target costs $14.99 and yields 64 loads. This means for each load of laundry costs about $0.23.

With my homemade recipe, you need the following items:

•Borax: $2.50 for 70 oz. Cost per batch: .28 (8 oz needed for recipe)
•Washing Soda: $2.50 for 55 oz. Cost per batch .18.(4 oz needed for recipe)
•Fels Naptha Soap: $.99 Cost per batch: .33 (1 bar of soap needed for recipe)


Cost to make: .79

Yield: 442 oz.

Cost per oz. = .00178

Cost per ½ cup = .007 or rounded to .01 cent per load


YES! That's 1 PENNY per load! That's over a 99% savings for this laundry detergent. And it works and smells amazing! Read reviews online if you're unsure :)

So I'm ready to share the wealth. Here is how to make homemade laundry detergent!

You'll need:

1 - 5 gallon paint bucket with a lid ($2.99 in the paint section at WalMart)
1 box of borax (laundry aisle, about $2)
1 box of washing soda (not to be confused with baking soda...also in the laundry aisle, about $2)
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap (laundry aisle, $1 per bar)

Put a large pot on the stove with about 6 cups of water in it and turn on low. Then grate your Fels Naptha bar of soap with a cheese grater. (It will actually look like cheese cause the soap is yellow!)
Once grated, pour the soap into the pot. On medium heat, heat soap (stirring constantly) until the soap is fully melted in the pot with the water.

In the meantime, fill your paint bucket with about 4.5 gallons of HOT water. Once the soap is melted, pour it into the bucket with the water and stir well. Then add 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Stir again!

You've just made 5 gallons of detergent! Lucky you! It only cost less than $10 and less than 15 minutes :)

The liquid will firm up slightly over the next day or two but it can be used immediately. Soon it will be a nice gel. If it's too thick you can add some hot water and if it's too thin, that's ok...next time you make a batch just add some more of the Fels Naptha.

Let me know how this works for you!

You'll need about 1/2 cup for a regular load and up to 1 cup for heavily soiled loads.

Healthy Toddler Meals

I hate that I give Cale junk food sometimes. He always wants a sip of my drink or a bite of my food and it's not always "toddler worthy." I'm not going to be a total psycho when it comes to his eating habbits, but it is a goal of mine to make sure I raise him to make healthy eating choices. I've been experimenting with some awesome new toddler meal ideas and I wanted to share! Feel free to put your own spin on these recipes...make them your own!

"Spinach Nuggets"

1 16-oz package frozen chopped spinach, cooked.
1 cup Seasoned bread crumbs - (or 3/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup wheat germ or flax meal)
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 Large eggs

Combine all ingredients together and roll into "nuggets."
Add seasonings if you wants, like garlic powder, pepper, etc.
Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil.
Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through baking.

"Pups in a Blanket"

All-Beef or Turkey Dogs (Tofu Dogs work well too)
Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake crescent rolls
Veggies
Cheddar Cheese (shredded)

Wrap the dogs in the dough and add veggies and cheese.
Roll them up like a cigar, until the hot dog is all covered except the ends.
Cut into toddler-friendly sized pieces.
Bake at 375-400F for about 25 minutes or until fluffy and golden brown

"Toddler Quesadillas"

On a flour tortilla or pita bread, put chicken strips or ground turkey, tomato slices, cheese (sliced or shredded) and any other yummy food you want to include.
Top with another tortilla or fold in half. (I like to put corn, beans, and green/red/yellow peppers)
Broil in oven or put in toaster oven until cheese is melted. You can also bake them, but this will cause a crispier tortilla that could be more crumbly. Cut into "pizza" slices and enjoy!

"Chicken Sticks"

*Thinly sliced strips of chicken breast
*Yogurt - plain
*Crushed Cereal - shredded wheat, cheerios, corn flakes, granola, etc...

Roll chicken strips in yogurt then coat with crushed cereal. Bake on lightly greased baking sheet at 400F for 20 minutes or until done. Delicious!
**Tip** You can also put a popsicle stick through the chicken before you bake it so it's easier to eat!

"Cale's Favorite Meatballs"
**These freeze great so I like to make a bunch at a time**

1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
1 cup bread crumbs (I use italian or roasted garlic)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 egg
Spices such as garlic, pepper, basil, thyme, oregano etc

Mix the ground turkey with all the ingredients above. Spice to your liking. You may need more or less bread crumbs depending on the amounts of the other ingredients you use. The goals is to make a good meatball consistency: Sticky, not dry, and able to roll into a ball.
Roll into balls, bake at 375F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden. (They burn easily so watch them closely! You can cover the pan with foil to prevent burning if you'd like.)
**TIP** Use a small baking pan so you can shake and roll the meatballs around to help them cook easily.
Serve or freeze for later!


I hope you try some of these recipes! Notice that none of them have sugar, butter, and very little salt. :)
Let me know which ones you try and how you like them!

<3 Michelle & Cale

This brings me back...

This is the song Nate and I will dance to at our wedding. It's an all-time favorite song of ours and through all the stress, listening to this song brings me right back to where I need to be. ♥

"Mr. & Mrs."

Gah! I can't believe in less than 4 days I will be Mrs. Carlson. I'm so excited, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little sad too. Let me explain... When I first started wedding planning I thought, "Who in the world is crazy enough to plan a wedding in 3 months?!" I thought I was nuts. Now that I've been stressed beyond belief for 3 months straight, I worry that I've really lost all of the "fun" that comes with wedding planning because I've been too obsessed with making every little detail as perfect as possible. Where did all the time go and why didn't I have more fun these last few months?
My best advice to brides-to-be: Plan your entire wedding in 2 weeks. Seriously. The fact is, all brides will get stressed during wedding planning, so why not be stressed for 2 weeks instead of months or YEARS? Before I started wedding planning I thought 3 months was not nearly enough time, but now I realize that a lot of brides do this for A YEAR or more! WWHAT?! No way, no sir. I never intend on being married again, so I won't have a chance for a do-over, but next time a friend of mine gets engaged, THAT will be my advice! Plan it all last minute. Then you have less time to be stressed :)

Oh, and not to mention that we've been battling a bad weather forecast too. The past several days we have experienced intense storms in the afternoon and up until 2 days ago the forecast said my wedding day would be no different...PERFECT for a ceremony and reception held outside in the grass. Dammit! Lucky for us, the forecast has changed, and now it seems like my biggest fear should be the sweltering heat. (Which is a real concern when you are wearing a freakin 30 pound dress!) We've always had a church as a back up venue but it's really ugly and although we have the resources to make is beautiful, I'm really not prepared for that kind of work the day before my wedding. So, whoever reads this, please pray for perfect weather for us!

Anyway, another thing to admit: Nate and I have been at each other's throats this past week. Ugh. I know it's just stress over the last minute planning, not to mention the fact that we are both REALLY burned out at work and so desperately need a vacation. But damn, I never thought my last week as a single woman would be this hard. I honestly can't wait for Saturday, but I also can't wait for Saturday to be over so Nate and I can just relax together, alone, to reconnect after such a stressful few months, and to have 10 days off of work together. We both have to work tomorrow and Thursday, but after that we are off until July 25th!

I'm excited for the party, but I'm more excited about leaving the party together, alone, driving downtown to the Ritz Carlton, enjoying the couple's suite with rose petals on the bed and in the bath tub, breakfast in bed...shall I go on?! BLISS!

It will be our first night leaving Cale though. That's going to be hard.
Anyway, I'm praying I can survive 2 more days of work.

15 months old.

Cale turned 15 months old on Thursday! I can't believe how big my little boy is getting. We went for his check up at the doctor where he weighed in at 21 lbs 10 oz, and was 32 inches tall. His height is average but he's still a skinny kid. He's somewhere between the 5th and 10th percentiles for weight, which I don't understand because he's a bottomless pit. He's anything but a picky eater. In fact, I can't think of a single food he's tried that he won't eat. Although, if vegetables are included in his meal he'll eat EVERYTHING else first. Haha, he's not the biggest fan of vegetables, but mommy makes sure he eats them.

Here are some noteworthy things about Cale at 15 months:

He gets more and more handsome every day. People comment on his gorgeous eyes and blonde hair on a daily basis. He's going to be a heartbreaker!

He runs everywhere. He never slows down. I don't know where he gets all his energy!

He's so smart. He has about a 25 word vocabulary and is such a chatter box....except to strangers. He suddenly gets very quiet when strangers try to talk to him.

He amazes me with the way he picks up on everything we do. For instance, the other day he found a bottle of nose spray on the floor and put it up his nose and sniffed, then switched nostrils and did it again. He learned that just by watching daddy use his allergy nose spray a few times.

He watched a kid program once on TV that had sign language on it, and after watching it just once, he knew the sign language for "down" and everytime he wants down or hears someone say the word 'down,' he does the sign for it.

He has a security blanket. He calls it his "Ny Ny" (baby talk for "night night," since it's the blanket he's slept with since birth.) When he is tired, he says, "ny ny mama," and requests his blanket and to be put to bed. <---- this THRILLS me since he was such a terrible sleeper when he was younger.

He finally started sleeping through the night about 1-2 months ago. He sleeps a full 12 hours and it.is.BLISS.

He gives the BEST kisses. I never even have to ask. He kisses me constantly throughout the day and it just melts my heart.

...and speaking of kisses...sometimes when he does something naughty, I do a little "fake cry" so he understands that what he did hurt mommy's feelings, and he immediately comes over to kiss me all better. He looks so concerned when mommy "cries." Then he squishes his little face into a scowl and fake cries until I give him a kiss! It's our favorite little game, and super funny.

He is still nursing. I still love nursing him, but I'm at the point now where I'm fine if he weans anytime. I think I'm ready to have my body back. He only nurses a couple times a day, but I still think it'll be a while before he gives it up completely. I'll let him make that decision.

He has about a million teeth. He's got his 4 front and bottom teeth, plus 4 molars, and a couple others in there somewhere. Teething has started to hurt him though, so he gets tylenol a lot these days.

He's very polite. He says "please" and "thank you" all the time, ESPECIALLY if he wants something that isn't normally allowed, like sweets. He also is very good at saying, "more? more?" :)

He's learning his body parts. He can point to his belly button, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, ears, toes, and feet.

He LOVES taking a bath. He asks for them all the time. "Baf?"

He's getting very good at telling us what he wants. He says, "all done" when he's done eating, and when he wants to go outside he says, "side? side?" He also requests to go feed the ducks at the park by making duck noises, "whaack whaack whaack" or saying, "poooooool" when he wants to go swimming. It's so cute.

He loves dogs, but instead of imitating a barking sound when he sees one, he pants with his tongue. <3

He is a F.L.I.R.T...ohmygosh. You don't even know. He has a flirty smile that's to die for, and he knows how to use it. He also bats those baby blues and of course he gets what he wants.

Cale is so full of personality. This is my favorite age so far. Sometimes I tear up when he does something that amazes me. It's awesome to see his little brain turning, and so satisfying to watch him figure things out.

Ugh. I LOVE him!