With snow in most of the country I thought I would post these recipes and tips for a fun frugal snow day.
I put some pictures of our place too!

Enjoy! Tawra

Snow Ice Cream

You can see the snow ice cream video here.

Snow Ice Cream

½ cup milk or cream

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla

2 cereal bowls fresh clean snow.

Mix milk, sugar and vanilla together. Stir until vanilla is dissolved.  Add fresh snow and stir gently until it is thoroughly mixed.  Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Genuine Kansas Weather Gnome -

The directions say, “If it’s covered in snow, it’s snowing!”

Snow Cones
Crushed Ice
1 pkg. flavored drink mix (flavor of your choice)

Mix drink mix with half as much water as the directions indicate. Chill 1 hour. Just before serving, crush some ice. You can use either a snow cone maker or put some ice cubes in a plastic bag and pound with hammer. Pack ice chips into cups, pour chilled drink mix over the ice and serve. You can also use fruit juice boiled down to half with food coloring added.

Apple juice: green or red food coloring
Grape juice: purple food coloring

Snow And No Sled? No Problem!

We went sledding this weekend and dad and the kids really had a great time! We used some sleds that we bought last year, but there was a time in the past when the snow caught us off guard and we didn’t have anything to use as a sled.

Here are some ideas for alternatives to sleds that we have used or have seen used in case you find yourself caught without one. Some of them work better when the slopes have a smoother, slightly icy surface.

First a stay dry tip: Slip plastic sacks over the kids feet to keep them dry. Put them on over the socks and the put on their shoes. Tie the handles around their legs.

* Baby pool - We actually saw a family using an old baby pool. The one they were using would not slide well since the snow was soft, but they turned it inside out (turning the smooth side out) and it worked great. Their entire family went down together in it and they had great fun. (Of course, if you have to turn it inside out, it probably won’t hold water anymore so make sure it’s a worn out baby pool!

* Lids to large plastic storage containers

* Laundry basket (BJ’s favorite for a couple of years!)

* Vinyl outdoor cushions - We saw some people using them. They worked well and the foam inside made the bumps a little less severe for the kids.

* Cardboard - larger pieces work best. If the snow is soft, bend the front up a little so it doesn’t get stuck.

* An old tarp - These work best with smooth, almost icy surfaces. They will get bogged down in soft snow and will shred quickly if the ice has become sharp edged.

* An old winter coat with plastic coating (I wouldn’t do this with your best coat!) - My husband said that he and his friends (when they were kids occasionally slid down on old coats with the shiny, water resistant coating.

* Smooth hubcaps - (Don’t try it with wire wheels!

* Innertubes - Inflated innertubes work great for sledding! If you have an old innertube that has been punctured, you can cut it open and let the kids sit inside it. Even without air, the rubber still slides well.

* Office chair mat (without the pokey things) - Some mats for office chairs are smooth on one side and don’t have the gripping spikes on the back. If you have one laying around, they make great sleds in a pinch.

If you don’t have a 4-wheeler get out the lawn mower!

Baby Jack’s First Sledding!

Snow Surfing In Kansas. This is how you have fun in the snow with no hills!

From our snow storm 2 weeks ago

Jack’s first time in the snow (with mom not feeling so great

Elly and BJ collecting snow to make igloo bricks. They used a plastic tub to make the snow bricks.

BJ and David working on the igloo

Elly and Mike posing with the final product.

If you tried to get in on the great diaper deal last week and they were sold out, try again. I just checked and they are re-stocked.

I ordered and got mine the NEXT DAY! I think this is one of my new favorite sites! The prices are the same as Walmart and I don’t have to hike to the back of the store to get it! Since I’m feeling like I can’t hike into the kitchen right now (the new meds didn’t work)  that a very good thing for me!

Tawra

Wouldn’t Tithing Less Leave More Room In Your Budget?

Abdeli asks:”I noticed that you give a sizeable amount in tithes. I am a Christian myself and give regularly but I can’t help but worry that perhaps giving less to the church might make your budget more lenient, say for emergencies and the such. I firmly believe that we should all live within our means and that the Lord will provide the rest. However, I also believe that we play an active role in helping ourselves, saving for our children’s education, etc. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning through your articles.”

Many blessings,
Abdeli

Dear Abdeli,

I need to update the budget to reflect the fact that we do keep $500 in savings for emergencies. We won’t set aside more for emergencies until all our debt is gone. We have some debt from Mike’s video equipment that we need to pay off first.

No, I don’t think we should ever stop tithing or lower our tithes to save some money. Here’s why:

First, just because we made some poor financial decisions doesn’t mean that it’s God’s responsibility to fix it for us. He can fix it if he wants, but our debt is the consequence of us trusting in the credit cards and not Him.

Second, reducing our tithe is telling God, “I don’t think you can take care of me.” God gives us everything we have and as recognition for that, he tells us to give 10% back to Him. It’s the least we can do to give him back the 10% to help others.

Interestingly enough, the people I know who reduced their tithes to fund other things found that their finances were no better off when they weren’t tithing.

It’s contradictory to say say “I can’t help but worry” but then turn around and say but we “if we live within our means the Lord will provide the rest”. If you worry, then you aren’t trusting God. The Bible is full of commands for us not to worry. Taking money from God to pay for your kids education (an expense that I don’t believe parents should pay anyway for the most part) or to “help yourself” is not letting him take care of you.

It’s all about trust. We either trust Him or we don’t. In a few weeks, we are going to be coming out with the story of how mom survived on $500 a month. She has a lot of examples of trusting in there and how God did the “impossible”. That doesn’t mean that you go out and eat, put your kids in a bunch of activities, and spend what you want and then expect Him to come through if these things cause a crisis. Most people are more than able to have at least $500-$1000 savings if they really wanted to. Even my mom who lives on about $500 a month has that much saved.

Anyway the point is, God asks that we depend on him and not ourselves.

I’m glad that you enjoy our articles! Thanks for letting us know!
Tawra

Update 2010: We have $1,000 in savings and are debt free except for our house. We are putting everything on it to get it paid off quickly. We hope in 3 years or less.

Here’s a menu and a recipe which would be good for these still cold days. Tawra made some chili the other day that was super good. She said she added a can of V8 to it which would be great if you are having trouble getting veggies down your kids.

Plus most kids love corn dogs and I thought these corn dog muffins were something different.

Jill

Chili
Corn Dog Muffins
Relish dish

Make these muffins early in the day and warm in the oven for a few minutes before serving.

Corn Dog Muffins

2 pkg. (8 1/2 oz. each) corn bread mix
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs
4-5 hot dogs or 6-7 little smokies, sliced or chopped

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in wet ingredients just until moist. Don’t over mix. Batter will be thin. Add hot dogs and pour into paper-lined muffin tins. Fill about half full. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

I was going through our archives yesterday while working on the new website and found this recipe which I thought might be good for Valentine’s Day. This would be a good one to tuck away in your Christmas files too.

Jill

Cherry Delight Cake

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 pkg. (3oz) cherry gelatin
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cups whipped topping
1 can cherry pie filling

Bake cake in a 9×13 pan according to directions on box. Let cool. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Poke holes in cake with toothpick or fork and gently pour gelatin over it. Cool for 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. In bowl beat cream cheese and fold in whipped topping. Carefully spread on cake. Top with pie filling and chill for 2 hours.

I had some people ask about what we decided on an air purifier to help with our allergies.

Well, we haven’t decided yet. I got 2 tabletop Honeywell that we are using in the kids rooms. They seem to be working but are loud.

I then got a Quiet Tower Honeywell for our room. It was ok but then it started to rattle after we used it for about 3 weeks, so I’m taking it back.

Now we are back to square one. I was talking to my dentist while we were there and she said she got an Alpine for her parents and they love it.  The problem with that is that it’s a multi-level marketing company so I just don’t feel right about getting it from a place like that.

All the other ones that I’ve found on-line are several hundred dollars. Mom likes her Shaper Image Ionic Breeze but that doesn’t do cat hair.

So I’m not sure what we will do. I didn’t know air purifiers could be so complicated! If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment!

Tawra

I can’t believe it is time for Valentine’s all ready. I have barely stopped thinking about Christmas.  I guess I had better get in gear and start planning though because it is on it’s way.

Valentine’s doesn’t need to cost a bunch, it just needs to be fun. We are always being asked how to have an inexpensive meal for Valentine’s. I don’t mind coming up with inexpensive menus but it really should be about serving your sweetheart’s favorite food.

I can hear you now ” But he (she) loves steak, cheesecake, gourmet coffee….” so how can I do an inexpensive meal when they have such expensive taste? First of all if things are that tight your sweetie will understand if you can’t do the most expensive meal at this time.

Here are a few things you can do to make it fun and special without a lot of added cost. First if you can’t afford to do the whole meal think about just making one part of it special like their favorite meat or side dish or have their favorite dessert.

Serve an inexpensive meal with candle light, good dishes, hearts everywhere etc. and it will seem special no matter what you are serving.

If your family isn’t used to getting things like homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, cherry pie or even quick breads, bake something like that for them.

Add touches of red and hearts where ever you can:

Add maraschino cherries to everything from your fruit salads, quick breads and muffins to 7 up for a bubbly drink for everyone- of course served in fancy glasses which are set on a heart doily. Don’t forget to use them for garnishes on your platters of other foods.

Instead of throwing rose petals every where for effect cut out hearts from red and pink tissue paper. Just fold a sheet and cut a bunch all at once.

You don’t have to do a lot. It is the little things which count:

Glue a paper heart to the end of a tea bag string instead of making them tea with the usual paper square hanging over the cup. You could even make several of these and place in a cute mug for a little something extra for someone.

Cut out a paper heart and glue a Hershey’s kiss to it and set at each person’s place setting or on their pillow. It isn’t a big thing but even something little like this can mean a lot and have a big impact.

I get the extra large candy bars on sale all the time. My grandkids love them. You could slide the wrapper off and either print your own wrapper for it or hand write your own poem, love message or drawings.

Last but not least get out your heart cookie cutters. If you don’t have one just make a stencil out of cardboard or plastic whipped topping lid. Now cut out everything with it; cookies (of course), biscuits, Jello (red of course), rice crispy treats (with red food coloring added), brownies, toast, quick breads, cheeses (for cheese and cracker tray or in a lunch).  Look at every food you make and think can I make it red or cut it out.

Be sure and check out the web site for more inexpensive Valentine’s ideas.

Jill

Blaming your faults on your nature doesn’t change the nature of your faults.

How often do we say “I know I have a temper, I’m impatient, like to spend money, don’t like to clean, spend too much time on the computer (etc) but…….” as if the fact that we recognize these things makes them ok and so we can keep doing them. I’m not sure which is worse; not seeing when you have a problem or not doing anything about your problem when you see it.

Jill

Sending cake in a lunch can be messy. To prevent the frosting from sticking to everything slice the cake in half horizontally and make a “sandwich” of it with the frosting in the middle.

Better still here is a recipe from Dining on a Dime on how to make cream filled cupcakes like the chocolate Hostess ones and you don’t need to frosting them.

These freeze  well too so you can pull out one or two as you need them. It is also great to make a huge batch right before the summer heat hits and freeze. Boy do they make a tasty frozen treat.

If you have leftover filling you can freeze it separate to thaw and use for your next batch of cupcakes or make a double batch to keep in the freezer for when you need it.

Jill

Cupcake Filling

¼ lb. butter    2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ cup shortening    2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer without stopping for 30 minutes.  With a long pastry tip, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake and fill. Fills one cupcake recipe or makes a good center filling for layer cakes. This is just like the filling in the cupcakes at the store. Kids love to take them in lunches and they freeze well. Eat right from the freezer either thawed or frozen.  Frost cupcakes as desired.  Fills 20-24 cupcakes.

I just had to pass along this great diaper deal today! I was needing some in the next day or two anyway so I just put in my order!

Diapers.com has a great deal on diapers and they are delivered to your door!  This deal is for first time customers only.

Deal Idea:
1.) Go here and place 7 packs Luvs Jumbo Diapers $6.99 each in your cart for a total of $48.93

2.) Your total needs to be over $49 for free shipping and the code, so get a filler item as well – Pampers travel wipes are $1.99. Your new total will be $50.92

3.) Check out - Use referral code: EDIT0705 you will get $10 off!

You will pay $40.92. Shipping is free for orders over $49 and they arrive in 1 – 2 days.

4.) In addition, first time customers also get a $14.97 rebate or a FREE subscription to Parenting Magazine. (This rebate takes ages to come but it will come, get the form and more details HERE.) If you have questions about the rebate at anytime, call Diapers.com.

Thanks to www.mummydeals.org.