Arts and Craft Day - Pine Cone Bird Feeder

I've been trying to do more arts and crafts with Madisyn more lately. Today's project was making a pine cone bird feeder with the pine cone she found in front of our house.


We started with tying a string onto the pine cone and then spread on the peanut butter. Madi really liked this part and kept eating the PB.







Then we rolled the pine cone in the bird seed and stuck it in the freezer for a few hours to harden up.

Then end result came out really well. Sometimes I don't realize how big our dogs are. I'm not sure how well this will go over with the birds, but at least the dogs liked it!

29th Birthday celebration

The last year of my 20's...

Since I'm 9 months prego, my 29th b-day celebration was quite tame. I spent most of the day playing with Madisyn and when Nathan got home we headed out for some L&L for dinner.

After dinner we met up with the family at Farrell's Ice Cream parlor. I celebrated my 10th birthday at Farrell's Ice Cream, and then they disappeared. It was a fun, loud place where my fun & loud family could be ourselves :)

Bento Box - Attempt #1

My first attempt at a bento box style snack pack for Madisyn. She really liked it and ate it all while we were shopping at Costco.

Free Birthday Deals in So Cal

Free Birthday Deals in So Cal
Applebee’s – Free dessert and song on your birthday.
Bakers Square – Get a free peice of pie on your birthday at Bakers Square.
Baskin Robbins – Baskin Robbins will send you a coupon for a free 2.5 oz scoop of ice cream on your birthday plus other special promotions when you join the Baskin Robbins Birthday Club.
Ben & Jerry’s – Get a free ice cream treat on your birthday when you become a ChunkSpelunker with Ben & Jerry’s.
Benihana - Join “The Chef’s Table” and receive a Benihana Birthday Dinner certificate worth $30 to use during the month of your birthday.
Bennigan’s – Get a buy 1 entree, get 1 entrée free and a free brownie ice cream dessert coupon on your birthday.
Black Angus Steakhouse – Get a free steak dinner on your birthday when you join the BA Prime Club. You also get a complimentary dessert for signing up for the club.
Blimpie – Get a coupon for a free 6” sub on your birthday at Blimpie’s.
Bob’s Big Boy – Get a free hot fudge ice cream on your birthday.
Bob Evans – Sign up your child for their birthday club and they’ll get a free kids’ meal on their birthday at Bob Evans.
Boston Market – Kids 12 and under will receive a birthday coupon good for a free kid’s meal, drink, and dessert at Boston Market.
Buffalo Wild Wings – Get a coupon for a free dessert to celebrate your birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Burger King – Sign up your child to be a member of Club BK so they can get a free kid’s meal on their birthday.
California Pizza Kitchen – Sign up your child (10 and under) for CPKids and they will receive a free CPKids meal during the month of their birthday.
Carrows – Join the Carrows E-Club to get a free dessert on your birthday as well as one for joining.
Chevys – Join Chevys Compadres Club and get a free dessert on your birthday.
Claim Jumper Restaurant – Join the CJ E-Club and get a free dessert on your birthday.
Cold Stone Creamery – Cold Stone Creamery will send you an email with a coupon for a free ice cream creation to enjoy on your birthday. All ages are welcome!
Dairy Queen – Join the Dairy Queen Blizzard Fan Club and get a free ice cream cone on your birthday as well as a coupon for a blizzard when you join.
Dave & Buster’s – Get a free $5 game card credit on your birthday.
Denny’s – Come in and get a free Grand Slam on your birthday.
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor – Sign up for their email list and get a free sundae for your birthday.
Fuddruckers – Join the Fudds Club and gett a free burger on your birthday. (May not be available in all areas.)
Hard Rock Cafe – Come in and get a free dessert on your birthday.
Hometown Buffet – Join the eClub and get a free birthday coupon in the mail.
IHOP – Come on into IHOP and get a free meal (a sundae at some locations) on your birthday. (May not be available in all areas.)
Joe’s Crab Shack – Go to Joe’s Crab Shack on your birthday and get a free piece of cake.
Macaroni Grill – Come on into Macaroni Grill on your birthday and get a free dessert plus a song.
Maggiano’s – Join the Maggiano’s Birthday Club and get a coupon for $10 off your meal purchase.
Marie Callender’s – Join Marie Callender’s E-Club and get a coupon for $5 off your meal and piece of pie when you visit during the month of your birthday.
On the Border – Get a free appetizer on your birthday when you join On the Border’s Club Cantina. When you initially join you will get an instant coupon for a free bowl of queso or empanadas.
Outback – Get a free dessert and a song when you go to Outback on your birthday.
P.F. Changs – Come in and get a free dessert on your birthday.
Red Lobster – Join the Overboard Club and they will email you a suprise for your birthday.
Red Robin – Join the Red Robin eClub and get a coupon for a fee burger on your birthday. This is for all ages!
Rock Bottom – Join the Mug Club and get a free appetizer on your birthday.
Round Table – Get a free personal pizza when you visit on your birthday.
Sephora – Sign up as a Beauty Insider and get a free gift from Sephora on your birthday – valid within two weeks of your birthday.
Sonic – Members of the Wacky Pack Kid’s Birthday Club will receive a coupon for a free Wacky Pack during the week of their birthday.
Taco Bell – Get a free combo meal of your choice on your birthday at Taco Bell. (May not be available in all areas.)
TGI Friday’s – Receive a coupon for a free appetizer to use on your birthday when you sign up for Friday’s E-Club. You also get a coupon for a free appetizer just for signing up! You must be over 21 to get this birthday freebie.
Tony Roma’s – Get a free dinner on your birthday from Tony Roma’s.
Toys ‘R’ Us – Children ages 2 – 10 will receive a birthday card and surprise gift from Geoffrey when you sign them up for Geoffrey’s Birthday Club.

Buca di Beppo AND Zankou

Making more progress on my list - Last week we went to BOTH Buca di Beppo AND Zankou Chicken.

Madisyn really enjoyed her Alfredo :)


At Buca we shared the lasagna, chicken fettucini and jumbo rigatoni. Mmmm...





Tri-Tip and Chicken Kabob Plate @ Zankou. It was delicious.

More couponing genius

Another example of my couponing prowess at work :) Not as stunning as my Walmart trip, but still pretty darn good.

Glade - Free after coupon
Hair dye - Reg. 8.99 on sale for 5.99, plus a 2.00 coupon = 3.99
Solei Razors - On sale 3.99, Buy One Get One Coupon = 8 Razors for 3.99
Hello Kitty Band-aids 0.97 each - $3.00 of 3 band aid products = FREE
Degree (Travel Size) = 0.97 - 1.00 coupon = FREE
Pantene Pro-V = 3.49 - 1.00 Target Coupon - 2.00 Manufacturer Coupon= 0.49

Total for all products before tax = 8.49 :) Not bad.

Martha Stewart Craft Case

OMG I MUST have one of these at some point in my life.

Getting good at couponing

I'm getting the hang of this couponing stuff. We went to Walmart today, and I followed what I had saw on "Hip to Save" blog to a tee. I didn't pre-print some of the coupons, so I couldn't do it all.

I ended up getting all of this stuff for a whopping total of 53 cents before tax and 1.21 out of pocket. I was so impressed with myself today :)