Atlanta's Frugal Mom

All children, young and old, love the idea of hunting for treasure.  This week’s sensory bin plays on that fascination using colorful fake coins and necklaces.  The inspiration for this bin comes from a pirate party game by The Fickle Pickle, and the original post can be found here . Buried Treasure Sensory Bin Supplies needed: Rice (uncooked, of course) Play necklaces Colorful pirate coins Suction cup hooks (optional) Tongs (optional) Plastic bin Tub for sorting Fill the bin about halfway with rice, then add in your necklaces and coins.  That is, if you can get your thrilled-to-death daughter off of the bag of rice. I chose to have the girls use tongs instead of their hands to dig around for treasure, as a way to work on their fine motor skills.  Using their hands works just as well. 🙂 You can give them an additional bin or box at this point to put their found treasures in, or you can take it a step further and use the suction cup hooks for hanging necklaces.  I just stuck them ...

My friend Nancy (she’s an artist, check out her stuffs y’all!) sent me a link to a post about omelets in a bag recently.  I can’t believe I had never heard of them before! Each weekend that I have a day off from events, I try to plan a hands on breakfast that I can make with my kids.  We love omelets, but it’s hard to make 8 of them at once and still manage to eat all together.  I always have two pans going, but even so, by the time I finish cooking, the first two batches have already been gobbled up.  This method allows the kids to customize their own breakfast, and everything can be cooked all at once.  (For another delicious breakfast recipe that’s easy to make with the kids, check out my Biscuit Breakfast Bake post!) Omelets in a bag Directions: 1. Set out your ingredients. 2. Write everyone’s name on a bag (permanent marker). 3. Let everyone pick out their own ingredients. 4. Add a ladle of egg to each bag. 5. Double check everyone’s ba...

This dressing has become one of our favorites, and it’s so easy to make!  It’s much healthier than any of the store bought dressings available, and can be thrown together in a matter of seconds.  If you want to double or triple the recipe, it keeps just fine in the fridge. Quick and Easy Salad Dressing Ingredients: Juice of one lemon 1/4 c. olive oil 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper Whisk all ingredients together and serve immediately over mixed greens.   Variations: -Add red pepper flakes for a little bit of spice -Use half lemon and half orange juice -Add minced red onion -Mix in 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning   Do you make your own salad dressing?  What’s your favorite recipe?

One of our biggest monthly expenses outside of regular household bills is eating out.  I vow every month not to spend so much on eating out at restaurants, but then I get tired, stressed, busy, etc. and always end up getting take out or running in for a “cheap” meal at a local restaurant.  With a family of 8, even eating “cheap” ends up being expensive! Other than the convenience factor, the main reason we eat out is because we are wanting a particular dish that a restaurant offers.  I’m working on learning to prepare similar meals at home so that we can try to really start putting that money into savings.  Below are some of my favorite restaurant meals, with links to copycat recipes that can be prepared at home. 1.  Hibachi Style Fried Rice I love me some fried rice.  I mean, LOVE it!  There is a Japanese place near my house that makes the best rice, and I’m pretty sure it’s because they add in bacon.  Bacon makes everything tasty!  Earlier th...

As I’ve mentioned before, our kitchen just does not have enough storage space for a family of eight.  We only have a few cabinets for pots and pans, and it’s just not been working out too well these past 3 years.  In our previous home, we installed DIY pot rack that was a rod that sat on top of the cabinets on either side of the sink, and used that to hang pots and pans.  I’ve been talking about doing the same thing in this home, and finally got around to it this week. Supplies needed: 1″ dowel rod 36-48 inches long (Less than $4 from Home Depot) 1 package of closet pole sockets ($2-6 at Home Depot depending on the type you purchase) 1 package of pot hooks (I got a dozen for $9 from a local store, but you can get them from Amazon for pretty cheap as well) It’s really quite simple.  You just install the pole sockets on the cabinets above your sink, cut the dowel rod to size and put it in place, and start hanging your cookware! The pots and pans are close en...

A few years ago, momentum began to build for the case of keeping your child rear-facing for longer than the recommended one year.  So, last year when the American Academy of Pediatrics officially updated their official stance, recommending rear-facing car seats at least until the age of two, with the idea that toddlers are more than five times safer when rear-facing . Naturally, many parents glanced at their kids and then glanced at their infant carriers, scratching their heads at how on earth they would be able to adhere to these new guidelines -- after all, their child was already crammed in there, legs squished between the carrier and the seat. Enter: the Graco® SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 !   Comes in two designs: Mena (left) and Moonstruck (right) Thanks, Krystyn of Really, Are You Serious for sharing this pic! I had the opportunity to meet with about a dozen other Atlanta area mom bloggers, and we got an up-close look at this innovative car seat.  Some o...