Great Weekend to Buy Newspapers!

Usually after a holiday there are great coupons and this weekend is no different. Go HERE to see a preview of the coupons. I have to add that one of my favorite coupons will be coming out on Sunday. Its the high dollar Finish Dishwasher 2.15/1 coupon. It's not as high as it has been in the past but still great. This coupon usually only comes out in January and July. It is a stock up coupon and worth purchasing quite a few papers or buying the coupons on eBay.

Jo-Ann Fabric Kid Classes

You can go HERE to find out what the classes are at your local Jo-Ann Fabric. Just find your location and click on Class Schedule. There may be a small charge for the class.

If you are local to Franklin, TN. Here area the classes offered for kids beginning in January at the Mallory Lane location:

Kids' Sewing 101: Headtime Story
(8+years old)

Sat Jan 7 3:30-6:30pm
Sat Jan 21 3:30-6:30pm
Thu Feb 9 4:30-7:30pm

Kids' Sewing 102: Robo-Pals
(5+years old)

Sun Jan 22 3:00-6:00pm
Fri Jan 27 6:00-9:00pm
Sat Feb 4 2:00-5:00pm
Sun Feb 19 2:00-5:00pm

Kids' Sewing 201: Sew Hip Bag
(8+years old)

Sat Feb 11 3:30-6:30pm
Sat Feb 18 3:30-6:30pm

Kids' Quilting 101: Y'all Sprawl Pillows
(8+years old)

Sat Jan 7 3:30-6:30pm
Sat Jan 21 3:30-6:30pm
Thu Feb 9 4:30-7:30pm

Kids' Knitting 101: Basics
(8+years old)

Sat Jan 14 2:00-5:00pm
Sun Feb 12 2:00-5:00pm

Wilton® Kids' Cake Decorating 101:
Gotta Have Heart
(8+years old)

Sat Jan 14 1:00-3:00pm
Sat Jan 28 1:00-3:00pm

Wilton® Kids' Cake Decorating 201:
Robot Invasion
(8+years old)

Sat Jan 21 1:00-3:00pm
Sun Feb 4 1:00-3:00pm

Lowe's Build and Grow for January 2011

Lowe's will be offering two Build and Grow Clinics for January. The dates for January's Build and Grow are the 14th (Castle) and the 28th (Dinosaur) and begins at 10 am. You must sign up in advance by going HERE.

Each participant receives a free apron, goggles, a project themed patch, and a certification of merit upon completion of their project.

Home Depot Kids Workshop for January

My kids really enjoy going to Home Depot and learning to build different things. On January 7th, Home Depot will be having a workshop that teaches kids to build a "Savings Shed". So basically, not only do you teach your child about saving but you also get to teach him/her how to build their own bank. Very cool.

The workshop is between 9 am and 12 am. This FREE hands-on workshops is designed for children ages 5 - 12 and is offered the 1st Saturday of every month.

Menu Plan Monday 12/26/2011

Monday: Burritos
Tuesday: Crockpot Meatballs & Steamed Vegetables
Wednesday: Turkey Chili
Thursday: Baked Ham & Zucchini
Friday: Pesto Chicken, Mushrooms & Cauliflower
Saturday: Spaghetti
Sunday: Quiche & Pancakes

Link Love: Top Twenty Easiest Appetizers

This is a great site for those of us who are appetizer challenged. Check out Mommytalk's Top Twenty Easiest Appetizers! It's amazing what you can do with a block of cream cheese.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Old Navy Groupon $20 for $10

Right now Groupon is having a great deal where you get a $20 Old Navy voucher for only $10! This means you can get 50% off any in-store purchase. Shop sales and clearance to get the most out of your money! This Groupon is valid from 12/22/11 until 1/28/12.

If you still have stocking stuffers to buy, this is a great deal!

Menu Plan Monday: 12/19/2011

Monday: Sausage Gumbo
Tuesday: Whole Crockpot Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday: Caribbean Chicken Stew
Thursday: Pumpkin Chili
Friday: Baked Sour Cream Tilapia & Steamed Vegetables
Saturday: Family Gathering, I make Cranberry Salad, Red Cabbage
Sunday: Turkey & Leftovers

How to Finger Knit

I was crocheting a scarf at the football field a few months ago. We spent a lot of time there for practices and waiting for games to start. I guess my idea caught on because another preteen girl started to bring some yarn with her to the games/practices. I noticed that she only used her fingers to create something so I googled finger knitting. I am so glad I did.

In the past I have tried to teach crochet to my kids, ages 6, 8, and 10, but it never seemed to connect. Finger knitting on the other hand, does work for this age group. So I watched a few videos on YouTube, made one myself, and then taught the kids. The first one or two were not so pretty but then they really caught on. They turned it into a business and sold some to their friends to give to their parents for Christmas! My eight year old son made one for me in less than an hour one morning while waiting at the pediatrician's office and was with me later in a store when the lady complimented me on it - he was super excited and she was very impressed that he made it. I suppose it is not often that an eight year old boy knows how to knit but all the kids love doing it. He has been begging me for three days to buy more yarn. Just a tip, if you are going to try it, make sure you buy really thick yarn and don't forget your Michael's coupon!

Oh, one more benefit, the kids are really still and quiet while they are doing it! It takes concentration.



For the Pom Poms at the end of the scarf:

Cheap Theraflu at Publix

I was at Publix yesterday and noticed at the pharmacy that there is a Publix pamphlet about colds and flues. Inside this single page folded pamphlet was a $2/1 Publix coupon for Theraflu. If you match that with a manufacturer, you can get Theraflu very cheaply. This is a good thing currently in our house!

Theraflu, about $5.50
-$2/1 Publix Coupon, exp 12/31/2011
-$4/2 Theraflu Products, any - 12-04-11 SS
-$2/1 Theraflu Product, any - 12-04-11 SS
-$3/2 Theraflu products, any - found on product
-$2/1 Theraflu Multi-Symptom Severe Cold With Lipton Green Tea And Honey Lemon Flavors, Any - Bricks
-$3/2 Theraflu Products, Any - Bricks
-$2/1 Theraflu Warming Relief Syrup Or Caplets, Any - Bricks
Final Price: as low as $1.50

For the Locals: Flea Market Weekend!

The Holiday December Flea Market is Friday – Sunday (Dec 16 - 18) at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Hours are 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday. Parking is usually $5, or free if you park on the street.

It's a great place to finish your Christmas shopping! Just fyi, when I was there last month, they had some really cool winter hats like mo-hawks and characters like Angry Birds. There were also some great deals on tools. For you men out there who have no clue what to buy for the ladies in your life, there was a booth in the middle of one of the buildings with Amish ladies selling homemade soap which smelled fantastic and was very reasonably priced. Happy shopping!

Menu Plan Monday: 12/12/2011

Ever have one of those weeks where you know you don't want to cook? This is that week. The cold/flu crud has hit our house hard so I am only making that which requires the minimum of effort! Hope your week is going better than mine.


Monday: Turkey Stroganoff
Tuesday: Crockpot Fifteen Bean Soup
Wednesday: Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
Thursday: Chili
Friday: Crockpot Hawaiian Drumsticks and Vegetables
Saturday: Shepherd's Pie
Sunday: Quiche & Blueberry Muffins

For the Locals: Fort Nashborough Winter Activities Day & Second Harvest Food Fight

The Metropolitan Historical Commission is hosting a living history day on Saturday, December 10 from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at Fort Nashborough on First Avenue North in Nashville.

The event is a celebration of Fort Nashborough’s history and importance to our community. Members of 2nd Company North Carolina Militia, a Tennessee based 18th century reenactment group, will demonstrate daily life at the fort. Living history demonstrations will include cooking, spinning, tanning, trapping, and hunting. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

The event is jointly sponsored by the Metropolitan Historical Commission (MHC), the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation, and Historic Nashville, Inc. For more information, please call the Historical Commission at 862-7970.

Menu Plan Monday: 12/5/11

Monday: Spaghetti
Tuesday: 40 Clove Garlic Chicken
Wednesday: Chili
Thursday: Chicken & Spinach Casserole
Friday: Mexican Vegetarian Casserole
Saturday: Pesto Chicken & Vegetables
Sunday: Quiche & Waffles

Free Christmas Music!

If you are spending your weekend decorating and are in the mood for a new free Christmas playlist for your iPod, then you are in the right place!

Gloria by Snowflake & ccMixter
I Saw Three Ships by James Edwards

Coventry Carol by James Edwards
First Noel by Maya Filipic
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Chance's End
We Three Kings by Chance's End
Winter Night by Little & Ashley
Baby It's Cold Outside - Elle Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan (my favorite!)
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
Silent Night by David Lanz
Snow, Snow & Mistletoe by Shelly Adams
What Child is This? by Denny Jiosa

Amazon's 25 Days of Free Music

Kohl's Coupon Codes

For those of you who like to shop online for Christmas (soooooo much easier), here are some great Kohl's Coupon Codes. Kohl's is having lots of sales right now so when you add these, it's like icing on the cake! You can use two coupon codes for any order so right now you can get 20% off and free shipping.

Just a tip, if you are going to shop at Kohl's in the future, first go to dealigg.com and find out the current codes (use the search tool) and then go through ebates.com to get 4% back. Here's another tip. If you forget to start at ebates and you are at your checkout page, open another page and go to ebates and log in. Find the store you are shopping at and open an ebates connection to that store. Go to checkout and you will usually find everything still there as long as you did not close the original page, AND you still get the money back.

20% off for All Customers
* Online: Use Kohls Coupon Code CON20HH4 or HOLLY20
* In-store: In-store Printable Kohls Coupon [Exp. 12/05]

Free shipping on any order for All Customers
Use Kohls Coupon Code XMASFREE

20% off for Kohls Card Holders [Exp. 12/12]
Use Kohls Coupon Code DECEMBERPYD

15% Off Orders of $100 or more for All Customers
Use Kohls Coupon SAVINGNJ3 or PGO15OFF

Sign up for $5 off $5 your next in-store purchase and 10% off your Kohls.com purchase

Link Love: Snowman Soup!

Time2Save has a great post on making "Snowman Soup." I think this is a great idea for kids to make as gifts to friends and teachers.

For the Locals: Tour the Governor's Mansion

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam have started a new holiday tradition by inviting the public to tour Tennessee's executive residence.

"Tennessee's Home for the Holidays" is a free open house event at the executive residence during the first two weeks in December.

Crissy Haslam actually started planning and choosing decorations back in June. Each live tree was selected by a Tennessee tree farm and is unique to each room.

In Conservation Hall alone, there are 16 trees. Students sent in ornaments based on their favorite children's book.

Self-guided tours of the mansion start next Monday and run daily on the weekdays through December 16.

Those interested should register online at the First Lady's website: www.tn.gov/firstlady