Summer Snacks

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the decision by the school board last night to shorten the school year, summer break is coming fast. As a side note, why did I never get a shortened school year? I feel slighted now! Anyway, I have already been trying to stock up summer snacks to arm Brian for the hungry,  hungry kids that will begging for snacks as soon as breakfast dishes get in the sink.

My last score was GoGo SqueeZ Applesauce on clearance at Walmart. I admit that I stocked up a bit too much. I had to rearrange a whole shelf in the garage to fit  my new stash of applesauce. oops! That is OK though as it will be gone by the time school starts. I will be looking for some other cracker deals here soon. My other standby snack is yogurt drinks or cheese sticks which the kids love!

With summer coming, it seems that fundraiser season has ended here in this area which is one of my alternate snacks sources. I often find catalogs on the counter at the office or little kids at the front door. I love supporting the kids and hope each time I see them that the fundraiser idea is something our family can use and not more wrapping paper or things to dust! I think we all have our favorite fundraisers to support though. I admit the ones I enjoy the most are the cookie fundraising books! This is something I can always use in a pinch for snack time. Sadly, I am going into summer with none left from the last fundraiser I bought from because I used them for a last minute snack for Brian to take to Bible Study a few weeks ago.

What are your standby summer snacks for the kids? Do you have splurge summer snacks too? Leave us a comment and let us know.

 

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Wordless Wednesday: Mr. Madison and Dolly

May 16, 2012 By 26 Comments

From the Girl Scout trip to Montpelier …

 

Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday is …

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Sesame Street Live “1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends” – Charlottesville, VA #cville

May 15, 2012 By 5 Comments

Sesame Street Live
“1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends”
Charlottesville, VA; John Paul Jones Arena
Saturday, May 26 & Sunday, May 27, 2012

About the show …

Imagine singing and dancing with Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and all your favorite Sesame Street Live friends! It’s as easy as counting “1-2-3 Imagine!” This high-energy musical will transport audiences to far away places as Ernie captains the high seas, Elmo dances to the rhythm of the African rainforest and Bert meets an octopus who has the blues. It’s a story of adventure and fun that teaches children they can be anyone, do anything and go anywhere with the power of imagination.

Details about the Charlottesville, VA shows …

Sesame Street Live is a larger-than-life, musical touring stage production featuring Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie…and more. Each performance is 90 minutes of singing, dancing and audience participation, including a 15-minute intermission. The perfect length for very young children!
• Tickets on-sale at the box office and all Ticketmaster locations.
• To charge by phone, call 800-745-3000.

• Ticket prices: $13, $18, $23, $28 (Gold Circle) & $50 (Sunny Seats).
• Group savings available. Groups 10+ call 434-243-4960.
• Get the ultimate fan experience with Sunny Seats! (The Sunny Seats Package includes a VIP Seat and a pre-show Meet & Greet photo opportunity with two Sesame Street Live friends.)
• Additional fees/surcharges may apply.

Performance Schedule

Saturday, May 26:   10:30 AM & 2 PM

Sunday, May 27:      1 PM & 4:30 PM

We are excited to offer a coupon code to our readers … $3 OFF EACH TICKET!

Sesame Street Live  “1-2-3 Imagine!  with Elmo & Friends ” is playing at the John Paul Jones Arena, May 26 & 27!
Use the passcode ERNIE at Ticketmaster.com to receive the special offer.
(Offer excludes Gold Circle & Sunny Seats. Not valid on previously purchased tickets.  Cannot be combined with any other offer.)

We are also excited to giveaway a 4 pack of ticket vouchers to the Charlottesville, VA performance of your choice (dependent on ticket availability)!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Kids, Promotional, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Yo Gabba Gabba: Super Spies

May 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

Details …

Join the Gabba Land gang as they become super spies, uncover mysteries, explore DJ Lance’s house and more in these move-along, groove-along musical episodes!

Episodes Included are Super spies, A Bad Spy Takes The Gangs Ballons, Mystery, Space, and Big.

Our Thoughts …

My kids love the dancing parts of Yo Gabba Gabba. I love walking into the living room and find all three of them dancing around the room to the silly moves in these shows. If we put this DVD in the van, they will dance in their car seats which is so funny since they see it as a challenge to figure out to dance while in a five point harness car seat! This will be a great get moving DVD for the summer time when it is too hot play outside all day!

You can find this over on Amazon right now to add to your summer DVD collection!

 Do you kids enjoy Yo Gabba Gabba? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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Do you have Peppa Pig fan at your house?

May 4, 2012 By 1 Comment

First, do you live near Charlottesville, VA? If you do, you can get a free ticket to see Sid the Science Kid at the Carmike during the Saturday morning shows! Find details here! Don’t live near Charlottesville? Don’t fret! You can find a local theater near you here!

 

About Sid’s Backyard Campout

Pack some food and bring your backpack because Sid, Gerald, and Dad are gearing up for a big adventure!  They’re setting up tents for a campout in the backyard!  Dad is eager to share his love of nature and demonstrates how to have a great time outside with the simplest of necessities. They look for animals, cook their own dinner, marvel at the stars in the sky, roast marshmallows, and sing songs around the campfire.  Join the adventure and sing along!

 

About Peppa Pig …
Peppa is a loveable, cheeky little piggy who lives with her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. Peppa’s favourite things include playing games, dressing up, days out and jumping in muddy puddles. Her adventures always end happily with loud snorts of laughter.

Peppa Pig: Muddy Puddles and Other Stories shares 12 story vignettes with the Kidtoons family. Each story provides a peek into the world of Peppa as she encounters every day scenarios. As Peppa discovers the world around her, our young audience has many opportunities to learn and grow.

Sophie was sent Peppa Pig gift set with merchandise currently only available in the UK: Peppa DVDs, Peppa plush beanie, My Extra Special Sticker Book, Peppa portrait, Peppa coloring book, Peppa workbook and Peppa First Sleepover.

Sophie seriously loves Peppa Pig. She loves the oink, oink and is often heard saying that after the show. I can say there is a whole selection of Peppa Pig shows recorded to our DVR player for her enjoyment any time of the day! So to say she was happy to have a Peppa Pig DVD and book and other goodies is an understatement for sure! Want to see a happy girl? Here she is ….
Do you love Peppa Pig or Sid the Science Kid at your house? Leave a comment and let us know.
Filed Under: Charlottesville, Kids, Simply Family, Simply Local Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday Favorite: Strawberry Shortcake Magazine

April 13, 2012 By 2 Comments

Friday Favorites is another almost weekly feature here at Simply Budgeted. The whole point of this feature is to share some of our favorite finds. Anything is game. Food. Cleaning supplies. Kid stuff. Garden favorites. Recipes. Anything that I really like and want to randomly post about.

Reminder/Disclaimer/Whatever: Everything in Friday Favorites is something that we use and bought on our own.

 

Strawberry Shortcake Magazine

Details …

Join Strawberry Shortcake and all her friends in her super, fun-filled magazine. Each issue is packed with stories, puzzles, games and educational activities that are designed to encourage the skills needed to succeed in school while having fun with their favorite ‘Berry’ friends. Published 8 times a year for girls 3 to 8.

Our Thoughts …

That picture explains it all, doesn’t it?! Brian picked up this magazine last week when I was sick with strep. He had taken the girls grocery shopping and they saw these at the grocery store. Brian splurged. I have to save that is the one of the best impulse buys ever. Those magazines kept the girls so quiet. Oh my goodness! They worked TOGETHER on them and really loved the activities in there. Plus there are stickers which makes it even better.

After a little looking online, you can subscribe to these magazines! I think this going on Grace’s birthday list for as family member gift idea. She will be so excited and it will be great to have gift that keeps showing up in the mail for her. Plus the added peace while she works on it will be priceless!

You can find the Strawberry Shortcake Magazine subscription on Amazon for a great price!

 

I want to add that we were lucky enough to get a visit in our email from the Fairy Hobmother! You might have seen other bloggers mention this when talking about www.appliancesonline.co.uk. It was a great surprise in our inbox this week for sure!

Filed Under: Friday Favorites, Kids, Memes, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , ,

Are you a Party Planning Mommy?

April 13, 2012 By 2 Comments

It seems that birthday season is landing on us here. I see a lot of questions from friends about planning birthday parties. Do they do the party at home or at a location that does birthday parties? Do they do the super hero party theme or do they go with the gender neutral theme and combine the two kids’ parties into one event?

I have come to realize there are two type of party planning moms out there … ones that plan a birthday party like it is a wedding and ones that plan a birthday party because they need to plan a birthday party. I am more of the later party planning mommy for sure. I am not needing  costume party ideas or crazy themes off Pinterest for the birthday parties we host. I do let the kids pick their theme and we work off that. I generally end up making some half attempt at a cake because I refuse to spend $40-60 on a birthday cake. I thought Grace hit the jackpot last year when not only did we plan a game for her friends but we also made goodie bags.

I do realize the big perks to having a party at a business that hosts parties though. The biggest one is that people are not in your house! No cleaning the bathroom three times to still have your kids mess it up the minute before people arrive. Plus you are generally time boxed into when your party is so you don’t have to worry about the party lasting four hours instead of one hour. The best part though is that the decorations and activities are already built into most of those locations. So you show up with your cake and your are done … well after you pay that bill.

Now that bill is where I cringe and is why we mostly host parties at the house. I am sure that at home parties won’t be cool here soon so I will enjoy it while the kids are happy to have kids play in our backyard or the playroom during their party time! I will also keep enjoying that they think my lame cake attempts are masterpieces. I know they will soon will realize they could do better with that princess cake than I did! But honestly as long as they are happy with the little celebrations that we have, I am thrilled with them.

Now does anyone have any suggestions for a CARS cake? That is the next cake coming up here at our house and that one scares me!

Filed Under: Kids, Simply Family Tagged With: , , ,

Wordless Wednesday – Spring Fun in the Backyard

April 4, 2012 By 6 Comments

Yesterday, I came home from work and found this in the backyard. (No it wasn’t new, it just wasn’t set-up when I left at 6am when everyone else in the house was still asleep!)

Pop Quiz … how many kids are in the picture?

Leave us your link to let us know where your Wordless Wednesday post is …

 

What is in your yard this spring? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Filed Under: Kids, Memes, Simply Family, Wednesday Randoms Tagged With: , , , , , ,

National Craft Month – Dinosaur Train

March 29, 2012 By 5 Comments

The folks at Quilting treasures sent some of their new Dinosaur Train fabric in celebration of National Craft Month!

They put out four craft projects that include a bulletin board, lampshade, picture frames, and book covers.

I decided to work on the bulletin board for Matthew’s big boy room update I am slowly working on! He loves dinosaurs (as much as he loves cars!) so I am combining cars and dinosaurs in his room as I update the decor!

Here are the supplies I needed for the bulletin board:

As a note, I didn’t use the braid the directions stated to use, I just went with a flat ribbon.The directions on the project sheet were really simple to follow so don’t worry about trying to figure out what to do. Oh and this project is no-sew … get out your glue gun and you are set!

Ta-da! Here is the finished bulletin board …

This project only took me about an hour and half (with a four year old “helper”). I was happy it was a short project I could sneak in on a Sunday afternoon when the house was a little quiet. Plus I could get the need to work on a craft out of my system for the week! Now I just need to get Brian to hang it up in Matthew’s room!

NOTE: Fabric is not intended for children’s sleepwear.

What would you make with this fabric? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Filed Under: Kids, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Chuggington: Brewster’s Little Helper

March 27, 2012 By

 

Chuggington: Brewster’s Little Helper

Details …

Honk your horns for this all-new collection showcasing young trainee, Brewster, as he discovers adventure and responsibility in Chuggington. In these six traintastic episodes, Brewster gets some unexpected help from Zephie, cleans up a mess in the recycling yard with Koko, does a sign-reading exercise with pal Wilson, and even meets his hero Action Chugger! Together Brewster and his friends learn valuable lessons about friendship, patience, following instructions, and completing daily tasks. Join the trainees as they ride the rails of life in Brewster’s Little Helper!

Our Thoughts …

Little Dude loved seeing a new Chuggington DVD come in the mail. Besides cars … he love trains. Choo-choo. All you have to say is train and you will hear him say “choo-choo”! I love the part of the Chuggington shows that shows the trains learning to listen. We need a lot of listening practice at this house so it is always great to reenforce that topic in other ways than mom or dad saying it! If you have a train lover at your house, they will love this newest Chuggington DVD for sure!

This DVD is half price at Amazon right now! Head over there and add it to an Easter basket …

We have been given the opportunity to giveaway copy of Chuggington: Brewster’s Little Helper!

 

Details:
This drawing will end Tuesday, April 10th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count.

This giveaway is open to US residents only!

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: Tell me who the train lover is at your house!
Additional Entries:
1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave THREE comments with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a copy of Chuggington: Brewster’s Little Helper @simplybudgeted http://bit.ly/GS7VsR ends 4/10 #giveaway #dvd #chuggington

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave five comments. (worth 5 entries!)
5) Like this post on Facebook (the like icon is up at the top of the post!) Leave three comments (worth 3 entries!)

Filed Under: Giveaways, Kids, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , ,
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