Novel idea...

I find myself getting so busy with my day-to-day life of being a stay-at-home mom that I sometimes forget the real reason that I am staying home...to be with my kids. To raise them up in a godly home, to train them up the way the Bible instructs, to impart godly characteristics and wisdom into their little minds, to love them and be patient with them unconditionally and to reflect Christ's love to them at all times. Wow! Sounds like a huge job and IT IS! But, thankfully, because this is God's charge to me...He will give me the insight, the strength, the wisdom, the courage and the perseverance to work at this job everyday. To try, try again! His mercies are new every morning and He extends His grace to me every time I ask (and even when I don't ask but need to)! My kiddos are not perfect or even close to it. I am not perfect or close to it. I struggle every day...many times a day with:

1. impatience and pride
2. being curt and demanding
3. not taking the time to listen to my 5 year olds looooong story about why he needed to hit his sister
4. expecting my 2 year old to not spill her drink 6 times a day
5. allowing the "house work" to rob me of my joy of being with my kids

My list of internal struggles could go on and on, but I don't have to dwell on those. I don't have to beat myself up over my mistakes or bad choices. God doesn't beat me up over my sins. He welcomes me with open arms as I draw near to Him. He restores my soul. He builds me up with whispers of encouragement as I lean on Him for strength and wisdom. Hallelujah!

Today, I asked my kids what they wanted to do this morning. I haven't asked them this question in awhile. Normally, I pick what we do based on what chores I need to complete or lessons that need to be taught. However, today I felt a prompting in my spirit to ask them what THEY wanted to do. My son's obvious answer to anyone who knows him was to go play in the backyard with the soccer ball...together. So, that's what we did. :)

CVS Update...have you started CVSing yet?

Are you convinced yet to shop at CVS? If not, then have you read my shopping trip reports from CVS? What will it take to convince you?! Do I get paid to advertise CVS? lol! Those answers might vary but the last one is a NO. However, I can't possibly stop trying to convince you to shop there, especially when you get so many things for FREE or pretty darn close! See this week's trip below and join with me on a natural shopping high...or just join me. :)

2 packages of notebook paper
2 packages of pens
1 package of panty liners
2 boxes of 24 ct pencils
4 Sobe Life waters
2 Memo pads
1 Sunday Double Edition Newspaper

Subtotal: $20.92
Minus Coupons: 6.18
Used $14 in ecb's from last week
OOP total: $0.93 (tax included)--that's a savings of 96%!!!

And, I received $14 more in ecbs for this coming week!

So, I basically got all of those school supplies and snacks for FREE and I paid less than $1 for our normally priced $5 newspaper! If you want more information on how to "do" CVS, then feel free to look at The Thrifty Mama's CVS 101 guide! And, to see actual coupon matchups for the CVS ad visit SouthernSavers or The Thrifty Mama. Both women do an amazing job of posting deals for drug stores, grocery stores and online deals.

Side note: For those of you familiar with ecb's, I just wanted to clarify that I know it should have been $13 in ecb's but the cashier printed an extra ecb and I didn't catch it until my husband got back. He did the shopping for me since he went at midnight on Saturday/Sunday night. What a guy! :)

Ciao,
J

My little man is growing up...

My son lost his very first tooth on Friday! Well, he didn't actually lose it. He finally pulled it out after wiggling on it for two weeks. Now, he's got a gaping hole in the front of his mouth, but he's pretty proud of himself for growing up. Mommy's proud too but a little sad as well. This is just the beginning...


Sarah wanted to show her teeth for the camera too!

Ciao,
J

Homemade Deep Dish Pizza Dough

This homemade pizza recipe is so yummy! It's from my sister-in-law, Beth and she taught me everything I know about it. :) [Editor's Note: this recipe was NOT actually created by Beth. It is adapted from a book called: Breaking Bread with Father Dominic 2 by Father Dominic Garramone, OSB]

It makes 2 large cookie sheet size pizzas. When I make it just for my family of 4, I cook one pizza and refrigerate the other dough for the next night. Then I have two meals prepared! Gotta love that!

1 c. warm water (120-130 degrees F)
1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
2 T sugar
1 c. warm milk
1/2 c olive oil (you can use veg or canola oil)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 T Italian seasoning (can do more or less depending on taste)
1/2 c. corn meal
4-5 c. AP flour

Combine water, yeast, and sugar in large bowl. Stir to dissolve and let stand 5 minutes.



Add warm milk, oil, salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, corn meal and 3 cups of flour. Stir until well blended.



Add 1 cup of flour and mix thoroughly.

By hand: Add additional flour 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time until soft dough is formed that pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead 6-8 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep dough manageable. Dough should end up soft but spring back when pushed.

By mixer: Use your electric mixers' dough hooks and follow manufacturers directions for speed. Add additional flour 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time until dough is smooth, not sticky but tacky, consistent texture, spring backs when pushed etc. This will take a while to do...maybe about 10-15 minutes. Add some flour...go wash some dishes...add some more flour...chat on The Thrifty Mama's chatroom...add some more flour...until the dough is finished. I love using my mixer to knead dough--it frees up my hands to do other things!



Oil the bowl. Place dough in and flip to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and towel. Rise 60-90 minutes until doubled. (I like to turn my oven on to warm, then turn it off and place my dough in to rise. A warm oven makes a wonderful place to rise dough! Make sure it's not too hot, though.)



Second Rise is optional: Punch down dough and rework into a ball and place back in bowl. Rise again for 30-45 minutes.

OR if you are lacking in time, then you can move on to next step.

Divide dough in half to make two pizzas.



Lightly grease a 14 in deep dish pizza pan or a large baking pan for each pizza. Stretch out dough being careful not to tear the dough. Place it in the pan and use your hands to spread the dough to the edges of the pan. If it tears, then just smoosh it back together.



This next step is one of the most important, in my opinion! Let dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Gather up toppings and sauce and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add sauce to dough, place toppings on, smother in cheese. Be creative or use tried and true toppings. Go veggie or meaty. Who cares! It's your pizza. Own it! :)



Bake 12-15 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Cool slightly; cut and munch!



**If you are saving half of the dough for another time, then wrap dough (after first rise) in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 days. Take out of fridge a couple of hours before you want to cook it and let the dough come to room temperature. Then, place in a slightly warm location (like your oven) to warm and rise again. Then proceed with the above directions.**

Have I mentioned how much I love Kroger?

When they have deals...they have good deals! Here's a quick rundown of what I purchased today at Kroger. I forgot to take a picture before I put it all away--we were running late for lunch, so I was focused on getting my kids fed before they had a meltdown!

3 bottles of Sunny D smoothies
4 packages of Yoplait kids yogurt
2 boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
2 packages of Keebler cookies
1 bag of Chex Mix Snacks
2 bottles of Softsoap
2 Speed Stick Deodorants
2 packages of Lender's Bagels
2 Kraft Dressings
1 bag of tortilla chips Kroger brand (these are $1 all the time!)

Subtotal: $48.03
minus coupons and sales: $37.41
Total OOP: $10.62!!
(savings of 77%)

To see great coupon matchups at Kroger for these items and more visit: SouthernSavers.

Baked Mini Corndogs Recipe

My husband loves corndogs, but I don't love the fried aspect of it. Or the nutritional value of frozen ones. However, I found this recipe on The FoodNetwork website and made some changes that work better for me. (Feel free to visit their site to see the true recipe.) My family liked them a lot and I think they'd be a great dish for a football party or appetizer night!

1 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T packed light brown sugar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour;
plus more for kneading (about 1 1/2 c to 2 c)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
9 hot dogs, cut in half
1 large egg, beaten
1 T black sesame seeds (optional)

Heat the milk in the microwave until warmed thoroughly. Pour into a medium bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let soften for about 2 minutes.



Stir in the olive oil, brown sugar, and cornmeal with a spoon. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir thoroughly.



Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Add more flour as needed until the dough is smooth but slightly tacky. (I had to add almost 2 cups of flour so don't be alarmed if you have to keep adding flour.) Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a towel.


Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Cut each hot dog in half. (Side note: this is where the original recipe said to insert a wooden stick or skewer into each hot dog half, but I chose not to use skewers...because...I didn't have any.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 18 equal pieces. I rolled my dough out into a rectangle and then used a pizza cutter to divide into equal slices.



Wrap each piece around a hot dog half, tucking and pressing the edges to seal. Place them on the baking sheet.



Brush the dough-wrapped hot dogs with the beaten egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds (I didn't have any so I just used the egg on mine.)



Bake until golden about 12-15 minutes. (I cooked mine for 13 minutes and it was about a minute too long...the bottoms get easily darkened so watch them.)



I served these with bowls of ketchup and bbq sauce. But, I think they'd be great with a fun sauce. Can anyone think of one? Feel free to leave a suggestion in the comment section.

Ciao,
J

Amazing how a new haircut...

can change someone's look so much! My son's hair was SOOOOO long before I cut it tonight. We weren't trying for a new look or adopting a fad hairstyle. Just laziness on my part and lack of social awareness of my son's. He's only 5, you know! :)

Anyway, here's our before and after pics!


(I love the punk rock look though!)

(And, now he looks like my little boy again...)