Product Review and a Recipe

You may (or may not) have noticed that I have never posted a recipe on here. There are 3 very good reasons for this- All of the recipes I use: come from a cookbook or someone else, come out of a box, or come out of a frozen package. Obviously I can't post someone else's recipe and you guys can buy your own packaged stuff. I am not a great cook but I do know how to follow directions so that serves me pretty well in the kitchen. However, in all of my new stay-at-home-mom glory I've had time to think about the important things in life like, "what's for dinner?". The other night I got a little creative so I thought I would share.

Disclaimer: Before you think I'm going to share something ground-breaking and solve all of your dinner worries for the next year, take a deep breath and remember Kraft Macaroni is my favorite food ever so my standards are pretty low.

A few weeks ago I bought some of this

I'm not a fan of cream cheese so I wasn't sure if I would like it, but it was buy one get one free and I had a coupon which made it $.25 so I thought I would give it a try.

A couple of weeks later I bought this on sale

I had some frozen broccoli on hand. Add some cooked pasta (I used bow tie and corkscrew because we like to keep things interesting here at the Pruitt's... or maybe I get this weird thrill out of emptying a container and throwing it away.) Put it all together and you have a meal.

Quick, easy, and edible. The Pruitt's give it 2 thumbs up...

When I use this stuff again (notice I didn't say "if") I may add some garlic and some red peppers or carrots because a colorful plate is a pretty plate (and healthier too).

(I'm feeling just a bit like this girl right about now...)

For dessert, (and I add this only to rub it in for all of the coupon-haters) brownie cookies! For the price a non-couponer would pay for a box of brownies ($2.09 not including tax), I could have bought 41 boxes of brownies. Notice I said "could have" not "did". (I only bought 2 boxes; I'm not fulfilling everyone in Aiken's chocolate need.) For all of you mathematically challenged friends out there, (my hand is waving wildly in the air) I paid $.05 for 1 box of brownies. (Thanks Publix for BOGO Free deals and Duncan Hines for coupons!) So critical coupon basher, enjoy your expensive, overpriced brownies. I sure enjoyed my cheap ones!

My Wakeup Call

This is how Lucy decided to wake me up this morning...

"Mommy, I want out. I want out, Mommy, MOMMY!!!"

**This is a reenactment. Yes, Lucy chose her own pj's tonight.**

My 2 year old thinks she's homeless

My conversation with Lucy this evening on the way to Aiken went a little something like this...

Lucy: Where's our home, Mommy.

Me: In Aiken baby; that's where we're going right now.

Lucy: No, I not have a home.

Me: Yes Lucy; you have 2 homes but we won't be staying at the Columbia house anymore. We''ll stay in the Aiken house from now on.

Lucy: With Daddy; all together???

Me: Yep! All together.

Lucy: YAY, YAY, YAY!

Poor kid! I'm hoping she will block these last 4 confusing months out of her memory. As of today, we officially live in Aiken! Finally!

Saying my goodbyes

After what was, by far, one of the absolute most stressful weeks at work, I can finally say goodbye to:

Medicaid- Oh how I hate how you pile up and become that one chore that I seriously dread doing.

Scheduling meetings- I mean really, what in life is more difficult than coordinating 4-10 different people's schedules?

Waking up early- Yes, I know I will now be waking up to work with a 2 year old and we all know 2 year old's don't exactly sleep in, but she is usually still asleep when I leave for work so an extra hour or so will be fantastic.

Eating leftovers. Every day. For 3 years straight.

Being called "Mrs.Pruitt". Even by other teachers. It's just weird.

Middle school drama- I'm sorry, but the girl that you hate because your ex-boyfriend once gave her a pencil having the same shirt as you is just not a big deal. It's just not.

13 year olds walking around like 25 year old "ladies of the evening"- Did their mom's really let them out of the house like that or did they change at school? And how can a 6th grader be more developed, we'll say, than a 26 year old. I don't get it.

8th grade "Graduation"- This really gets on my nerves. Especially when the 8th graders wear cocktail dresses and tuxes and their parents bring flowers and "Class of 2011" balloons. Really people? No wonder young people today (yes, I am 80, thank you very much) don't feel the need to graduate from high school. "I graduated from 8th grade; doesn't that count?" One student even asked, "Where's my diploma?" Hmmmm college, my friend!

And the absolute one thing that I am so glad to get away from...

This is NOT an actual student of mine.

Middle school attitudes! I promise, if you are getting in trouble it's not because I don't like you, I'm picking on you, or I'm just out to get someone today and you were the 1st person I saw. It's probably because you weren't doing what you were supposed to be doing. I know, this is shocking!

Please don't get me wrong. I really did like my job. But these are those annoying little things that come with the territory that I just won't miss.

As for my first week at my new job... FABULOUS!!! Here's what I'm waking up to each day...

Not a bad trade off, I'd say.

Just to make you feel better about the way your house looks right now...

This is my child's playroom...
Looks safe enought, right?

This is my kitchen...

This is my office/sewing room...

In my defense, I had 2 days to unpack a whole house worth of stuff. What's your excuse?

Frequently Asked Questions

When are you moving? Technically, tomorrow. All of our stuff is being taken to the rental house tomorrow. However, Lucy and I are staying with Jeff's parents next week to finish school then we are going to Hilton Head for a week so we won't really be there for good until June 11th.

Have you sold your house? No. We are keeping it on the market through July, then we will consider renting it. We are renting a house in Aiken until it sells.

Have you found a job? Yes. Jeff and Lucy Pruitt.

How do your parents feel about you moving? My parents: If all goes as planned, my parents will be moving to Lexington soon so we will be approximately 50 minutes from them. The same distance we are now. They are happy for us.
Jeff's parents: They know 2 of the ministers at Cedar Creek very well so they couldn't be happier. Well, I suppose they could be happier if we were closer, but they are thrilled nonetheless.

When does school get out? June 4th- 5 days!!!

How old is Lucy now? "2 years" as she likes to say.

What are your plans for the summer? 2 beach vacations, a trip to Charleston, play dates with friends we don't see often, and many days exploring our new town.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Thank you to all of the precious girls who commented on my laundry detergent post. You have no idea how happy I am to know that someone is reading this and I'm glad you are finding my little adventures in frugalhood (no, that's not a real word) helpful. I was talking with a complete stranger at a wedding last Saturday about my new profession as a stay at home mom and she said that she was reading an article that said (and I paraphrase), "You will never remember the outfit you were able to buy because you were working, but you will always cherish the time you spent with your kids." I wish I had a copy of this entire article because that one sentence really says it all and if I need to find creative ways to save some money to make staying at home possible, that's fine by me.

Here's a little tutorial on how to make your own dishwasher detergent. Please note that this is to be used in the dishwasher not in the sink. You can make that kind of dishwashing liquid as well, but you can also get it for next to nothing or free on sale with a coupon so I'm not sure I'll be venturing to that one. This is one of the easiest things to make ever and it will probably take me longer to type the post than for you to actually make the stuff, but I'll continue anyway. Enjoy!

Step 1: Gather your materials.

You will need these...

If you made the laundry detergent, you already have these so it's already a great bargain!

You will also need a little help from this guy...

You'll need to get lemonade Kool-aid. (I'll explain why soon.)

Step 2: Combine your ingredients.

1 cup Baking Soda Washing Powder (Make sure you have Baking Soda WASHING POWDER not just regular baking soda.)

1 cup Borax

1 packet lemonade Kool-aid drink mix (Apparently some people have noticed a cloudy residue on their dishes when they didn't use some sort of acidic material. I searched for options and this was the most readily available and cost effective product I could find to prevent this from occurring. And it provides a light lemon scent during the wash! Some people haven't had this problem, but I used it just in case.)

I put my detergent in a food storage container with a locking lid so I can keep it under the sink and not worry about Lucy getting into it. You could also keep it in a decorative vase or jar or whatever you creative people can come up with. Just shake these 3 items together and use 1-2 tablespoons per load. I usually put 1 tbsp in the main washing compartment and 1/2-1 tbsp in the prewash compartment.

You can add vinegar or lemon juice to the rinse aid compartment. I suppose the lemon juice would help with the cloudy residue as well. That's what I used just because I was out of vinegar and I haven't noticed any issues.

I am pretty obsessive about cleaning my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher (I know, I know; this causes etching. I've done it for years and don't have etched glasses so my OCD will continue). I haven't noticed a difference between this and my old Electrolyte tabs except this cost me about $.40 for a triple batch.

I got this recipe off of a great website that you must visit if you are interested in more homemade recipes or just some good housekeeping tips. I've made the dryer sheets (the cutest ever!) from a recipe on this site, but haven't used them yet. I'll post those directions and the results soon.

Happy washing!!!