How to Make the Most of Museums

I had heard from a friend that our local children's museum had just finished some renovations. We haven't been in a few years. We took Sarah once when she was 5 and it was great for her, but the museum itself was looking worn. We took Ella two years ago when she was just over one year and she really wasn't quite old enough. We decided to give it a whirl again, but I went in to shock at the admission prices! YIKES! On a whim I investigated the membership options and found that a year membership (which includes free admission all year) is the same price as two trips to the museum for our entire family.

When we got to the museum they allowed us to pay for the day admission, but we could come back on our way out and apply the admission towards the membership if we wanted. This way I could see how the kids did and if we would be coming back.

The new additions to the museum are fabulous and ALL of us had a fantastic time! I happily paid the balance for the yearly admission. Our membership also includes "Members Only" events and next Friday there is an ice cream social for members after the museum closes. Fun!

Sarah helping Ella paint in the Pre-school area of the museum



Sarah and Daddy in the hurricane simulator


We had drag them out of the kids' radio exhibit -- we definitely have some karaoke queens in the future!

Calling All Nevadans: WE WANT DOUBLE COUPONS!

It seems like every time I read Cathy @ Chief Family Officer's roundup of her favorite blog posts, I find something to make, bake or do! Today she posted this link to a post at A Thrifty Mom on why California and Nevada Albertsons do not have double coupons. Well, we don't have them at ANY store, but I'll take even one! Basically, Albertsons says there is NO DEMAND (I'm guessing that also means there is NO COMPETITION for doubling). Go and read the post (if you live in Nevada or Cali) and then get on your email, phone, or what not and PROTEST! I will probably get a draft email set up and then send it once a week.

Albertsons contact info:

1-877-932-7948

https://shop.albertsons.com/eCommerceWeb/ContactUsAction.do?action=beginContactUs

And if you'd like a chance to win a $100 Gift Card to Albertsons, pop over here to Common Sense with Money and enter (for SoCal and NV residents)! Give away ends today so HURRY!

Popover Perfection

Around two years ago I picked up some popover pans on super duper clearance at a Williams-Sonoma Outlet. I love popovers and had failed miserably at making them. I was sure it was a combination of my muffin tins and high altitude. Then I failed with popover pans at sea level. I put the pans away and haven't tried again since. I decided to give popovers a whirl when I unpacked the pans last week. Much to my surprise and delight -- I SUCCEEDED! And just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I made them again this morning.

It turns out the trick is not to overbeat the batter. I basically mixed it enough to get it combined and left it nice and lumpy. Perfection!

Perfect Popovers
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease your baking dish (popover pan, muffin tin, ramekins, etc).

Beat eggs lightly. Add in rest of ingredients and just barely mix together -- leave it nice and lumpy! Fill popover containers half-full.

Bake popovers at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes (or so). (I'm just learning my new oven so I watched mine carefully!)

Kicking the Diet Soda Habit

One of my "small" pleasures in life is diet soda. I love the stuff and drink way too much of it, especially in the summer. In the past year or so I've tried off and on to eschew my diet soda habit for a number of reasons, mostly dealing with what the aspartame in the stuff is doing to my bones. In the past few months I've flinched a bit at the cost of the stuff. I only buy the store brand (usually Sam's Choice from Wal-Mart) so I'm getting the "cheap" stuff, but still, I'm spending a lot of money on just plain junk.

In Mary Hunt's Everday Cheapskate e-newsletter, Mary discusses the positive affect switching from diet soda to iced tea had on her yearly check up. I can't find a link for the actual newsletter, but there is a post here on her blog on the subject.

So I'm going to do it -- I'm going to kick the diet soda out and replace it with water (which just gets boring) and iced tea. The major issue with the iced tea is simply the time it takes to make it and cool it so I'll be looking for ways to streamline that process. My husband happens to love iced tea and when the two of us are drinking it, it goes quickly!

My favorite iced tea recipe is this one. I double the water, use 9 iced tea bags, but keep the sugar at 3/4 cup and it's just lightly sweetened. Unfortunately, my library does not own the Fred Thompson Iced Tea book Mary recommends, but I'll keep my eyes open for it elsewhere. This recipe looks yummy, too!

I am sure that kicking the diet soda habit is NOT going to be easy (I've tried it a few times already and failed), but I'm also sure that it will be worth the struggle in the long run. And now I have some water to boil...!

You Have to Capture the Memories, Man!

I have some friends with a new baby who asked me where we go to get pictures taken. For the past few years we've gone to Target and been really happy. Lately, however, I've noticed that the sessions feel rushed and I feel the photographers really don't do well with toddlers. When you have a 2-3 year old, you can't pose them. You have to let them play and snap a TON of pictures! The Target photographers just weren't doing that.

So Tuesday we wrangled everyone down to Portrait Innovations, which is quite a hike for us. I've used Portrait Innovations in the past, but felt their prices were a bit much. This time, however, I wanted pictures of all 3 kids together and Ella and Sarah's yearly photos as well. The photographer was fantastic and I have a gazillion pictures for a very good price. Next time we'll make sure to get mom and dad in the pictures! If you are taking pictures of multiple kids, groups or the family, I would check out the package that includes photos from 6 different poses -- it's the best deal we found.

These are a few of my favorites from the 106 photos she took! The CD was included in the package, but just the raw pictures on there. My arm in Ella's photo did not show up on the printed pictures.

Chocolatey Good-ness

Last week sometime Sarah and I had a conversation about Nutella. We both love it, but I had to break the bad news to her that it is VERY unhealthy (might as well eat a stick of butter). Luckily, Cathy at Chief Family Officer posted a link to this high protein chocolate fruit dip. It was a huge hit. In fact, I finally just made a huge batch and threw it in the fridge. Like the original post, I didn't measure anything -- just dumped away until it tasted right. We ate it with strawberries and have been using it for a sandwich spread as well. Not exactly Nutella, but Sarah and I agree that it is a great alternative!

A Fun Fourth!

Aside from food, I made absolutely no plans for the 4th of July yet it turned out to be a wonderful day!


Sarah and Daddy headed out to Home Depot for the Kids Workshop this morning. Isn't she cute?!?! I think she took the apron off for about 10 minutes total today. My husband was very, very impressed with Home Depot, the employees and the workshop.


(Ella holding the caddy Daddy made -- she HAD to have her picture taken, too! And wearing a pink dress she won't take off... sigh.)




I've been planning a shrimp boil for today since shrimp was on sale a month ago. It was delicious! We made way too much food, but it was our first time so now we know! Sarah told me she hopes they have shrimp boils in heaven. Yeah, she liked it! You are supposed to put newspaper on the table and just throw all the goodies on the table, but someone around here has some minor OCD issues. It took major convincing just to get the food all mixed together in one bowl!

Sarah and I also made the Buster Bar Dessert last night and it is to die for! My husband literally exclaimed, "OH MY GOSH" after he took his first bite.

And now I'm home blogging watching really terrible television while the little kids sleep and the older kids went out in search of fireworks.

Hope your celebration was as wonderful as ours!