Crayon Muffins!

I've been AOL lately from here. Can you believe I have not had INTERNET for a week? And it is still not working as I wish. Very frustrating!

The last time I posted I told you we would do a crayon craft. This one is lots of fun, a little messy, but a great way to use scraps.

First, gather all your old broken crayons.... or even some new ones. Unwrap each crayon and break into little pieces. This is an easy job for little ones to do, but messy with wrappings everywhere! As you break them put them in muffin tins. We decided to sort ours by color, but you could do rainbow ones, or just toss them where ever they land!

Back a moment though. One "recipe" I was following said to cover the muffin tin with aluminum foil and spray it well. That is what we did. I think if I did it again I would just spray my tin well and leave out the aluminum foil. If you've done this... tell us in the comments what worked for you.

OK, so you have all the crayons broken into small pieces and in the tin. Set your oven to 350 and place your crayon muffins in the oven. Don't go off and do anything else. Hang out in your kitchen checking them often. When they look soupy, take them out. Again, I have two options for you. I just let mine set out and cool and then peeled off the foil (which was annoying). The other choice is to place the muffin tin in the freezer until they cool (not using foil) and the "pop" them out to your hand. Don't pop out onto your counter - they may break.

Hand the new crayons over to your children and watch the colors come out in some fun ways!

Simple Coupon Clipping

I always find it interesting that many of the people who most need to save money don't bother to coupon. I've heard a variety of reasons and excuses over the years, but the most frequent is probably that it takes too much time. I'm here to debunk that myth for all you busy moms who would like to find some extra room in your monthly budget. For the last several years, I have spent 20 minutes clipping coupons before heading to the store to save hundreds of dollars each month.

I actually spend less time on my grocery shopping than my own mother, who spends double my grocery budget for a household half our size! However, even if I did spend a few more minutes than most people, the return would be well worth it. I once tracked my money saved & time spent to get an estimate. Coupon clipping netted me about $30/hour. There aren't very many jobs I could find at that rate!

Hopefully by now, I've convinced you that clipping coupons is worth the effort. The next step is learning how to get started. First, you'll need to start collecting coupons. You'll find these primarily in the newspaper each Sunday with printable coupons for added bargains. The task that most people find daunting is finding ways to store all those coupons.

In an effort to keep couponing simple, I actually stopped clipping them several years ago. Instead, I stored the whole inserts and cut coupons only as needed before I went to the store. Date a file folder and slip your inserts into it each week. The coupon database and weekly grocery lists at Inexpensively includes a list of dates & sources so you'll be able to find the coupons you need quickly when the deals arise.

This isn't the way to save the most money, but it is the way that will save you the most time & effort. I'm actually headed back to my old coupon binder in an hopes of lowering our grocery budget even further, but the file folder method has served me well for the last several years. Now, where did I put my scissors?

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This post is part of the Money Saving Monday meme at Inexpensively. Be sure to out this week's coupon storage theme for even more great ideas on storing your coupons!

The Birthday Box

With my older 2 daughters, the "Something you read" portion of our present poem is easy. There is always a series or popular book they are into at any given time. My youngest, however, can't read so it's left to me to decide what she might enjoy. I read several picture books before deciding on The Birthday Box.

It is the story of a little boy who receives a present. After unwrapping the gift, he discovers a big box and becomes excited by the possibilities. Inside the box, is his real gift, of course—a puppy dog. The boy and the puppy play in the box all day long. At bedtime, he climbs into his box, talking about his lucky day. "Today is my birthday, and I got a box."

Not only is the story cute (and entirely accurate), but it opens up enormous possiblities. I decided to give Lorelai this book for her birthday, along with a box from our garage. My hope was that it would entertain her for the afternoon until her sisters returned from school to celebrate with her. She played in the box, watched television in the box and read her new book in the box. She has colored the box, filled the box with books & toys and used the box to hide. Her box has been a table, a boat, a house and a bus.


It has provided hours of entertainment, for days longer than I had anticipated. I know parents all over the world joke about kids enjoying the box more than the gifts themselves, but—seriously—this book provides a real opportunity to give a box as a present. She really didn't need anything more. However, she did receive 2 other items that day (and more at her party later in the week). Still, do you know what she told her grandparents all about when they called to wish her a happy birthday? Yep, the box!

The Birthday Box comes in hardcover, paperback and board book versions, with a stated age range of 1-3. My daughter is 4 and loves the single sentence pages and simplistic illustrations. I love the creativity it sparks. (Not to mention how much money you could save simply by wrapping a giant box and the book.) I would say this book is a good fit all the way up to age 5. Of course, my almost 7-year-old has been playing in the box right along side her little sister. Kids are just full of surprises.

Now that her party is behind us, it's time to box up all her "baby toys" to make room for the rest of her gifts. I just don't think she'll let us use this box!

Dance to the Music

originally posted June 18, 2008

Here is an activity that can be enjoyed out in the sunshine or even inside on a rainy day. And you don't need much, just a radio or set of lungs and your body. Let's dance! With these fun ideas, your children will hop up off the couch, get rid of some of that endless energy and have a great time all at once! Crank up the tunes and let's get started.

Toddlers: No little one can ignore a good beat. Teach them rhythm by clapping along with a song or tapping your toes. Try dancing differently to different songs. Sway to a slow song, and stomp to a faster song.
Preschool: Try acting out songs with these guys. Act like the animals in "Old McDonald" or hop like bunnies for "Little Bunny Foo Foo." Turn on a CD of many different songs and let their little imaginations go to town making up their own movements. Or you could set up a bar with a jump rope, broom or crepe paper streamer and have a limbo contest!

School Age: These older ones can handle a little more of a challenge so why not teach them some of your favorite fun dances like The Macarena or Electric Slide. Know some tap or ballet moves? They will soak up your lessons and attention. Why not crank up some old Southern Rock and have an air guitar contest!

Who knew a little dancing could be so much fun! We would love to see pictures of your little ones getting down so be sure to have your camera ready! Email pictures and ideas to momsmarbles at hotmail dot com!

Recycling Halloween Candy

The Jack-O-Lanterns are out, the costumes are off and the treat buckets are overflowing! Now what? I know my girls have visions of eating candy for breakfast, but I will just not be letting that happen. I'll dole out a piece here and there, until they forget all about it. Eventually, we're still left with tons of candy. Rather than let the leftovers go to waste, I'll put it to work for other purposes.

My youngest daughter turns 4 today, and her birthday party is on Saturday. Her guests will find candy in their goody bags, of course. It would also be great filler for a pinata. You can even freeze it for later use, if your birthday celebrations fall at another time. Maybe Santa can even work with The Great Pumpkin to find a way to use the candy in December!

Candy isn't just for eating, either. Chopped candy bars make a great ice cream topping or milk shake mixer. You can also mix bits into cookies. They'll be perfect for cookie exchanges next month. Don't forget to save some candy to decorate the gingerbread house too! Several dessert recipes call for candy pieces as well. Try this Confetti Caramel Bars recipe from Betty Crocker to use a variety of leftover treats.

If you are just plain sick of eating sweets, pull out the cardstock, glue and glitter and let the kids add candy bits to their crafts. You can even see what kind of variations you can come up with for the Candy Train, using the items you already have on hand. If you decide to try out any of these, send us your pictures—we love to see what our readers are doing!

Photo Credit: Rochelle via Flickr