Old Navy Camis

Here's a pretty sweet deal going on at Old Navy. You can print this coupon or just say "Cami 4 me" at checkout while in the store. This deal is running 7/29-7/31.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I love to cook, but I'm not that fond of baking. However, I love to eat baked goods :0 It may be the size of my kitchen, my clumsiness, my impatience but I always make a mess. I'm getting better though at being better organized and making counter space before I begin the baking. All that to say, I baked cookies today. Now cookies are usually pretty easy to whip up, so it was a pleasant baking experience. I tried a recipe that I think I had jotted down several years ago while rummaging through my grandma's larger than life recipe box. They are a white chocolate peanut butter cookie. It's got a light peanut butter flavor, but just enough. I used whole wheat flour so I was a little worried that they may not "set up" as well. On the contrary they formed and set perfectly. Add a cold glass of milk and you're in cookie bliss.

1 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 C. milk
1/2 C. vegetable shortening (I used butter flavored)
1 1/2 C. light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 C. white Choc. morsels

Mix with a mixer the first 6 ingredients and set aside
sift flour, salt, and baking soda
Mix dry ingredients with moist
Stir in chocolate
place on ungreased sheet
bake 6-8 min. at 375 degrees
Makes about 3 dozen

Diaper deal

If you have a little one in diapers, Amazon may have a good deal for you. They have a large selection of diapers and wipes on sale. I often buy the Target box of 82 diapers for about $14 because it is usually cheaper than the sale price of name brands even with coupons. However, I went with this Amazon deal and came out with a better bargain. You can look at deal detector for the breakdown and what steps to take to get your deal. You may have to scroll down the page to find the post.

International Friends

The past few years Luke and I have wanted to participate in NC State's International Friendship Program, but due to procrastination we missed the sign up period. Not this year! I've already completed my applications. The program matches US residents with International students and asks that you get together at least once a month for a meal, coffee, bowling, etc. We've requested a married couple or young family and are looking forward to branching out and learning about another culture as well developing a relationship with them. Check out Alicia's blog to see what new things others are trying.

Harris Teeter Triples Rumor

I would like to apologize for helping to spread the rumor of Harris Teeter running triple coupons this week. My usually reliable source was not correct this time. Hopefully none of you were there early this morning. It could possibly be next week, but I'm not banking on it until I see it directly from the store.

Harris Teeter Triples!

Harris Teeter should be starting triple coupons on Wednesday July 21. You can look for coupon and sale match-ups over at Southern Savers maybe by this weekend.

Tasty Tuesday Dish

I have a great one for you today. I'm not even going to tell you much about it, just try it. It's called crescent zucchini pie, and it's delicious. With the abundance of summer squash and zucchini we already have on hand from our garden and the staple herbs we have in our pantry, it's pretty cheap to make. I used squash and zucchini.

Enjoying our children

I'm back from a 9 day vacation refreshed and relaxed. It was a restful time with family and friends, except for the 1 1/2 days of teething hell that fell in the middle of our week. By the grace of God it only lasted that long! I seriously went to my knees one afternoon asking for God's rest and relief for Nathan's pain, crying, and clinginess. Praise God for his help. Other than that, I enjoyed reading, tanning, napping, sitting in the surf, and being cut off from the internet and normal routines that usually take my attention away from my family. There really is something wonderful about feeling free to do nothing. Now I only need to muster up the motivation to get back on track and get things done.While on vacation, I had time to chew on some thoughts that have been simmering in my mind. One has to do with motherhood. I have to say that I never had really thought about what kind of mother I wanted to be when I had kids. I knew of course that I wanted to set an example of a woman who puts God first and loves them with a patient, passionate, deliberate kind of love. I hadn't thought of how I would handle the daily ins and outs of motherhood. In those early days of motherhood, I read several books about how to set a schedule and routine for your baby, how to make wholesome baby food, etc. I soon found myself a little stressed out (can you say hormones?) about trying to live up to a certain standard and do things the way the books were telling me. While, I have since loosened up a lot, I still have to remind myself often to stop and just enjoy being a mom. In the book I've been reading, A Woman After God's Own Heart, I was reminded of this. God wants us to delight in our children, not just raise them. We need to step back from our expectations of how they are to act, what they are to eat, when they are to develop each skill and simply enjoy God's most precious gift to us. If this means not reading books, blogs, and websites about raising kids, do it. While there is a wealth of information out there, it can sometimes be overwhelming and leave us second guessing everything that we do. I also feel that I've learned a valuable lesson : STOP criticizing how other moms do things and STOP comparing yourself to other moms. God has appointed YOU as the mother of your child. He knows that you are exactly what your precious one needs. Seek his counsel daily (He's way smarter than the authors of those books). I hope any moms that read this will be encouraged in your most privileged role. Now go, enjoy your little ones!

Walmart berries

During a quick trip into Walmart tonight with Luke and Nathan, we found a good deal on strawberries and blueberries. The strawberries were only $1.50 for a pound! The blueberries were $3 for 18oz. That's just barely cheaper than it cost for me to pick them at the berry farm. I like the idea of picking them locally, but I was happy to save some money and sweat. We picked up 3 lbs. of the strawberries to freeze for smoothies and desserts. Yum!

New Adventures

With the extra time I have off from teaching during the summer, I've tried to be proactive in setting little goals for myself. One of those is to try new things that I normally don't feel like I have the time to do. So when I saw this over on Alicia's blog, I decided to hop on board. This week I tried two new things. The first was making blackberry jam. After picking the fresh berries over the weekend, I went to work on Monday to make a batch of jam. I just followed the recipe on the sure-jel pectin box. Now, most jam recipes call for you to give the jars a water bath after the jars are full so that they seal properly. I talked on the phone to my grandma (expert canner), and she told me she never does that for her jam, and they always seal. I had my doubts, but who am I to disagree with grandma? So, I followed her instructions of keeping the lids in hot water on the stove and after filling the jars and putting on the tops, I let them sit. Sure enough, I kept hearing the popping sound of the lids as they sealed. If you are wanting to try making jam but don't have a canning pot, no worries. I didn't use one, and the jam came out great! Just be sure to add the jam to the jars right away after cooking and add the hot lids immediately. I would love to make another batch if I can still get berries after I get back from vacation.

Another new adventure I had was taking Nathan to the Mother Goose story telling time at our local library. The 15 min. program is held twice a week for 1-2 year olds. I went prepared with Cheerios on hand just in case he was less than amused with the activities. I was surprised at how focused he was. He laughed, clapped, and seemed to enjoy it. I was just relieved I didn't have to excuse myself and take the walk of shame out of the library with a crying baby. That said, I think we'll go again.

What about you? Did you try anything new?