Atlanta's Frugal Mom

Although we still have some warm days ahead, the cold autumn weather is peeking around the corner. The other day, I simply couldn’t get my fingers to warm up, so I knew it was the perfect night for soup! So, to the pantry I headed for inspiration, where I found a box of orzo. Lo and behold, the box had a simple recipe for chicken orzo soup. Naturally, I had to take the recipe and tweak it to make it my own. ….and because it forgot to mention garlic in the ingredients. The best part of this chicken orzo soup? Not only did everyone eat it, but they all said they LIKED it! That’s an extremely rare occurrence these days, so I’m claiming this as a victory, which means I’m sharing it with all y’all!

As a preschool teacher, I’m always looking for ways to spice things up in my classroom, including new and fun sensory table ideas.  Thankfully, an amazing coworker created a master list many moons ago, and shared it with me as I was starting out. Whether you’re a preschool teacher, or a parent of a preschooler, you’ll appreciate the diversity of a good sensory table.  Sensory tables provide an opportunity for preschoolers to experience a wide array of fine motor skills, as well as some gross motor skills, all a sensory-rich environment.  Don’t have a full-blown sensory table for your home or your classroom?  Remember, water/sand tables make great sensory tables, too! Also, the sensory table ideas listed below can be mixed and matched for whole new levels of experience.  Toss in tools to assist in manipulating the items in the table, such as cups and measuring spoons for pouring, tongs/kid-friendly tweezers, and scissors for snipping and cutting.  Also, yo...

Morning car rides can be daunting if you’re not a morning person, and sometimes even if you ARE a morning person.  Although I believe it’s perfectly ok to let your kids be bored, I also believe it’s important to use moments together wisely.  So we tend to spend our morning car ride having conversations, and playing kids car games that help wake them up and keep them on their toes, AND it’s all done sans technology!  Here I delve beyond “Punch-Buggy Charlie” and the license plate game for some good no-tech car games for kids. Car Games for Kids 20 Questions  –  We each take a turn coming up with a person, place, or thing.  Then the other participants take turns asking yes or no questions to figure out what it is.  If we figure it out before the 20th question, we win; if not, then the person answering the questions wins.  This is a good exercise in making deductions and also figuring out good “category” questions.

This post originally appeared as a guest post on another site about two years ago, but that site is no longer around. :/ SO, I’m re-claiming it and adding it to my Picky-Tot Pleasers series.  Lemme know what’cha think!   Call me Popeye.  What can I say?  I love to cook with spinach.  Up until recently, it’s been in just about any dish I made with chicken or ground turkey.  However, I crossed the line the other morning when I (deliberately) baked spinach in to my pancakes.  That’s right, my daughter and I made spinach pancakes.  On purpose.

The holy grail of outdoor kids’ toys these days comes in the form of a water table.  There are many great ways for kids to enjoy the water table with …water.  And sand.  I think we all know that, right? But if you’d like to REALLY get more bang for your buck with these tables, consider alternate uses for the water table. 5+ Ways to Play with a Water Table CARS!   Most water tables have slanted surfaces, with ramps and other road-like twists and turns.  Also, try trains, or any other wheeled hand-held toy. Make it a sensory table .  Fill it with a few cups of rice and beans one day, along with scoopers and small cups. Cotton balls and colored pom-poms the next day with kid-friendly tweezers, as well as big cups to transfer them in to.  For preschoolers ready for scissors, toss in some straws, scrap paper, and kid scissors and let them practice. Play dough .  Seriously, what a great surface to create and mold with little hands.  Toss in the play dough rollers, molders, a...

Explaining death to young children is never a particularly desirable subject, I find, as we wish to preserve their innocence and shield them from anything that may burst their fragile bubble, believing all is always well in their world.  However, death is inevitable.  Some folks lose loved ones later in life, while others experience death of a loved one at a tender, young age.  Following is my story, explaining death to my five-year-old daughter, Carol. My grandmother was fortunate enough to raise her five children, not only to see all eight of her grandchildren grow up, but also see her eight great-grandchildren, AND meet three great-great-grandchildren.  She lived for almost 18 years after my grandaddy passed away, and was the last of her twelve siblings to survive.  She lived through the great depression, and lost her own mother at a very young age.  She was, in every sense of the word, a good Southern woman.  She had the greenest thumb I’ve ever seen, able to revive even the l...

Do you really need reasons to read with your child???  Parents are told constantly to read to their children, or with their children – but perhaps having a little further explanation would help you understand WHY reading with your children is as essential as brushing your teeth twice a day.  This list is from the Georgia Preschool Association Newsletter. Reasons to Read with Your Child Build a lifelong interest in reading.  “Getting children actively involved in the process of reading and having them interact with adults is key in a lifelong interest in reading,” said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in Indiana. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school , according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Reading to children helps them with language and speech development . Reading expands vocabulary and teachers pronunciation . Reading to toddlers prepares them for school , when th...

It’s been almost two and a half years since I potty trained my daughter in four days at 26 months.  Once we finished those four days, she never ever looked back!  With that total success, and with my son (22 mo) on the brink of being ready, I’ve devised and revised some of my favorite potty training tips for other parents. Here’s what I consider potty training essentials  and/or what I’d recommend when undergoing the process: Foam hand soap – it just makes hand washing more fun, and makes hand-washing easier.  You can always check for coupons to print before you head to purchase!  😉 Keep towels for drying hands on counter in reach , if your towel holder is too high; I still keep hand towels on the counter for my now 4.5 year old daughter. Potty seats for the big potty, as well as little portable potty chairs , because you never know what might interest him most!  When you’re on the go , consider a foldable potty seat. Step stools — for the ...

Wowzers!  I wrote this post last year to share what I purchased for my children for Christmas, and to show that it is completely possible to shop for six kids on a $250 budget.  The information I shared is very specific to what I actually did and how I saved.  As of late, this post has become very popular and I want to be sure to share information that is helpful for you as a visitor to my site.  Please check out the 2 posts below some awesome tips that will help your holidays rock even with the smallest budget! 10 tips for planning Christmas on a budget 10 Stocking Stuffers for Whole Family for Under $2 Our family typically doesn’t spend a ton on Christmas gifts, but this year our budget is really tight.  I decided in October that I was going to try to get gifts for all six children for under $300, and I did it!  See what I bought and how I did it below: © Devy | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos How I saved 1.   Earned referral fees from retail sites.   Some of the...

We successfully tackled potty training about a year and a half ago, so when my daughter started preschool last year, her teacher taught the class a song to help with proper hand washing .  To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Wash, wash, wash your hands, Wash them very clean. Wash the fronts and wash the backs, and even in-between.  Yeah!* *My daughter and I added the enthusiastic “yeah!” We would repeat a few times while she washed, and it served as a good way for her to remember to do a complete, proper hand wash.  So, here I find myself teaching my child to brush her teeth through song – along the same -ahem- note, we adapted the song to  brushing teeth : Brush, brush, brush your teeth, Brush them very clean. Brush the tops and brush the bottoms, and even brush your tongue! Do you have any clever songs you use with your kids? What ways do you help your kids learn and maintain good hygiene habits ?

We successfully tackled potty training about a year and a half ago, so when my daughter started preschool last year, her teacher taught the class a song to help with proper hand washing .  To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Wash, wash, wash your hands, Wash them very clean. Wash the fronts and wash the backs, and even in-between.  Yeah!* *My daughter and I added the enthusiastic "yeah!" We would repeat a few times while she washed, and it served as a good way for her to remember to do a complete, proper hand wash.   So, along the same note, we adapted the song to  brushing teeth :  Brush, brush, brush your teeth, Brush them very clean. Brush the tops and brush the bottoms, and even brush your tongue! Do you have any clever songs you use with your kids? What ways do you help your kids learn and maintain good hygiene habits?   Keep on saving!  :o) --Barbara

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 ...

Since my sister is weeks away from welcoming her first in to the world, I can't help but find myself wondering around Amazon and other sites, looking at all the latest and greatest in the world of "baby stuff".  (You know, since MY little guy is approaching his one year birthday...) I recently came across this list of " Newborn Essentials " -- and it claims to be 10 items "You Probably Didn't Know You Needed" While I think much of this is true, I can't help but wonder, if y'all agree or disagree?  What would you add or take off this list?  :o)  I have SEVEN of these items -- and y'all know I think many baby items aren't essential ! Click here:  10 Essential Newborn Items  and come back and tell me what you think!   "Moses Basket": This item made #10 on the list....  Agree or disagree? Keep on saving!  :o) --Barbara

Perhaps knowing that I would one day have a son, I bough gender-neutral “toddler” pullover bibs when my daughter outgrew her “baby” bibs about two years ago.  ( I opted for the Cookie Monster and Elmo combo, similar to these here .) Fast forward to the present, I have baby boy intent on constantly pulling off his “baby” bibs  (basically any velcro or snap-on bib) .  So a few weeks ago, I decided to try putting him in his sister’s old pullover ones.  The problem being, however, those were too long, and resulted in a gaping hole up front, allowing some of most of his food to fall through on to his shirt – thus, defeating the purpose of said bib!  My solution?  I clipped the bib in the back, about an inch away from his neck — and voila!  No more messes! Keep on saving!  :o) –Barbara   **This post may contain affiliate links.**

Rumor has it, when mixed with happy thoughts, this edible, homemade pixie dust will lift your right off the ground.  ;o) Riding the coattails of our trip to Disney World last month, I decided to create homemade (and edible) “pixie dust” for my daughter. It’s an easy thing to add to applesauce, PBJs, sprinkle a little over a plate of fruit — you name it! The best part? Thanks to my friends at NurturMe , it’s got peas and sweet potatoes in it!! Here’s what I did. I used 1 package of NurturMe peas and 1 package of NurturMe sweet potatoes , combined with about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and 1 small tablespoon of sugar.  Voila!  Edible Pixie Dust.   (Note: you’ll need to stir it a little bit before sprinkling on, as it tends to settle after a while.) Keep on saving!  :o) –Barbara **This post may contain affiliate links.**

Perhaps knowing that I would one day have a son, I bough gender-neutral "toddler" pullover bibs when my daughter outgrew her "baby" bibs about two years ago.  ( I opted for the Cookie Monster and Elmo combo, similar to these here .) Fast forward to the present, I have baby boy intent on constantly pulling off his "baby" bibs  (basically any velcro or snap-on bib) .  So a few weeks ago, I decided to try putting him in his sister's old pullover ones.  The problem being, however, those were too long, and resulted in a gaping hole up front, allowing some of most of his food to fall through on to his shirt - thus, defeating the purpose of said bib!  My solution?  I clipped the bib in the back, about an inch away from his neck -- and voila!  No more messes! Keep on saving!  :o) --Barbara  

Rumor has it, when mixed with happy thoughts, this edible, homemade pixie dust will lift your right off the ground.  ;o) Riding the coattails of our trip to Disney World last month, I decided to create homemade (and edible) "pixie dust" for my daughter. It's an easy thing to add to applesauce, PBJs, sprinkle a little over a plate of fruit -- you name it! The best part? Thanks to my friends at NurturMe , it's got peas and sweet potatoes in it!! Here's what I did. I used 1 package of NurturMe peas and 1 package of NurturMe sweet potatoes , combined with about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and 1 small tablespoon of sugar.  Voila!  Edible Pixie Dust.   (Note: you'll need to stir it a little bit before sprinkling on, as it tends to settle after a while.) Keep on saving!  :o) --Barbara

My son frequently turns heads these days when we’re out and about.  And not just from his dashing good looks either!  ….let me back up a little:  I used to spend meals out eating with one hand.  My son’s bottle in the other hand, feeding a hungry baby.  It was miserable.   And then my husband found a solution: the Podee bottle system!  This genius feeding system features a regular bottle, and nipple, but further includes a set of tubes to allow your baby to take the bottle -much like he would a paci- with the bottle free to rest nearby.  For younger babies who can’t yet hold their bottle, and even older babies who may frequently drop, the Podee will allow instant access to the bottle, while freeing caregiver’s hands! In addition, parents of multiples can achieve more productive feedings with the Podee!  Imagine, being able to simultaneously feed two or thee (or more!) babies at once, all while keeping your hands free! My son, enjoying a bottle before noddin...

My son frequently turns heads these days when we're out and about.  And not just from his dashing good looks either!  ....let me back up a little:  I used to spend meals out eating with one hand.  My son's bottle in the other hand, feeding a hungry baby.  It was miserable.   And then my husband found a solution: the Podee bottle system!  This genius feeding system features a regular bottle, and nipple, but further includes a set of tubes to allow your baby to take the bottle -much like he would a paci- with the bottle free to rest nearby.  For younger babies who can't yet hold their bottle, and even older babies who may frequently drop, the Podee will allow instant access to the bottle, while freeing caregiver's hands! In addition, parents of multiples can achieve more productive feedings with the Podee!  Imagine, being able to simultaneously feed two or thee (or more!) babies at once, all while keeping your hands free! My son, enjo...