back to school

Free back to School offers from Ibotta!

Abby H.2 Comments

 

Hot damn friends! This deal is incredible. Go to your desktop, log on to Ibotta (sign up here if you already haven’t), and unlock these deals redeemable at Target, HEB, or via Shipt if you are an online/app shopper, or in store at Walmart.  These offers expire on 8/31/2021.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s right: Skippy Peanut Butter, Smucker’s Squeeze Fruit Spread, Ticonderoga #2 pencils, Kleenex, Fruit Cups, 5-star notebook, Pink Pearl Erasers, and Nature’s own bread- All for free after Ibotta rebates.

And don’t forget to save your receipt and scan it on Fetch Rewards to earn more points!

Mabel’s Labels: Back-to-School Sale – 20% off School Labels

Abby H.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I know it’s the beginning of July, but for some kiddos, they go back to school in a few weeks.

Most kiddos are going back to school in person, and that means- STUFF IS GOING TO GET LOST. Seriously. No one wants to paw through the lost and found boxes.

Keep the kiddo’s stuff safe with labels- And save some money. The Ultimate Back-to-School Sale at Mabel’s Labels! Now through July 31st, you can take 20% OFF their best-selling school products.

Features of Mabel’s School Labels:
• Laundry Safe (both the washer and the dryer!)
• Dishwasher Safe
• Waterproof & Weatherproof
• Easy to Apply
• An Adhesive That Stays Stuck
• High-Performance Vinyl, Won’t Rip or Peel
• Personalized & Custom Designs
• Easy to Order
• FREE Shipping on All School Label Orders
• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Teacher Approved!

 

Oh, and if your school is looking for a new, different fundraising idea… Mabel’s Label’s does Fundraising!!

9/28/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

As I posted on Instagram yesterday, the big kid and I hit up Sprouts and Food4less yesterday to pick up produce and a few others things (milk and butter) to round out what we already had on-hand. The free school lunches that our school is providing gives us some yummy stuff the kids like (baby carrots, milk, and apple slices to name a few), and the stuff that they don’t care for or contains meat we share with some of our friends who have kiddos that aren’t able to stop and pick up free lunches.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being. The big kid has lunch at school, so it’s whatever he chooses from the lunch box in the cupboard, plus some fruit and juice or milk. Since the little girl is in the morning cohort at school, she has lunch at home. Buttered noodles, yogurt, apple slices, and a popsicle are her go-to lunch.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Leftover Extravaganza
  • Monday:  Entrees & Salad
  • Tuesday:  Bean, Rice, and Cheese Bowls (I’ll post the recipe this week)
  • Wednesday:  Kofta Meatballs, Rice, Salad, Hummus
  • Thursday: Cheesy Ravioli and Veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner (Probably pancakes, eggs, and fruit salad)

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

9/13/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

 

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

Tomorrow the big kid goes back to physical (in person) school. The Special Education classes are going back first, and they get the entire campus to themselves for about a week. Big Kid is super excited to see his friends and show off his new masks. He has a new hand sanitizer for his backpack too.

I’ve been picking up school/lunch snacks over the past few weeks and hiding them in the back of the cupboard, so we are all set for tomorrow!

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being (Peanut butter sandwiches and baguettes toasted with garlic butter are high on the list as of late). I may make up a cheese pizza and serve that for a few lunches during the week with apple slices (or apple sauce), cheez-its, and milk (as well as some sort of dessert- I picked up a box of Ghiradelli Brownie Mix at Costco a few weeks back, and I’ve been making a pan of brownies once or twice a week. My secret is to use milk and coconut oil instead of water and vegetable oil).

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Sausage & Peppers (in the crockpot)
  • Monday:  Salad and Avocado toast (We have a bunch of avocados)
  • Tuesday:  Bean, Rice, and Cheese Bowls
  • Wednesday:  Chinese takeout (I have coupons)
  • Thursday: Pizza Night (pizza and salad or fruit)
  • Friday: Breakfast for Dinner (Probably pancakes, eggs, and fruit salad)
  • Saturday: leftover fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

8/16/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgI’ve started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays. It’s easier to do it while I’m writing up the weekly calendar/schedule and prepping the snack box for the week.

I’ve been buying snacks in bulk and only putting weeks worth out in the snack box. It keeps us out of the stores, and its healthier. I’ve been doing this for about 2 months, and I’ve gotten really good at hiding the extra snacks.

I took the kids with me to the grocery store today, and while we picked up a few extra things, overall we were good and stayed within our budget. I did forget to buy cat litter, though, so I’ll be off to Target tomorrow morning.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular. recently the Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunches will be whatever the kids want for the time being (Peanut butter sandwiches and baguettes toasted with garlic butter are high on the list as of late). I may make up a cheese pizza and serve that for a few lunches during the week with apple slices (or apple sauce), cheez-its, and milk (as well as some sort of dessert- I made these cookies over the weekend, and they make a good lunch dessert)

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

School starts for us on Wednesday. We are distance learning for the foreseeable future, and while I never imagined I’d be teaching Kindergarten and Special Ed 4th grade at the same time, here we are. The kids are still excited about going back to school, seeing friends via their class Zoom meetings. I am going to try and organize a socially distanced Pokemon hunt with Pokemon Go for some of our classmates and friends who play.

  • Sunday:  Leftovers
  • Monday  Stuffed Peppers, garlic bread, fruit
  • Tuesday: Salad and Sandwiches
  • Wednesday: Stir Fry veggies and chicken
  • Thursday: Pizza Night (pizza and salad or fruit)
  • Friday: Salad and Soup
  • Saturday: leftover fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Dollar Tree has Disposable Masks In Stock!

Abby H.

 

Mask.jpg

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Dollar Tree has masks in-stock, and only available online! I’ve been making masks, but I do keep the disposable masks on hand in our car (in case our reusable/washable masks get sweaty or soiled, or if we happen to forget them when we leave home).

These masks are a great price too!  .50/each, with a minimum of 25 masks.

3-Ply Thermosealed Disposable Face Masks: Made of 3 layers of fluid-resistant, antistatic, hypoallergenic non-woven fabric, these pleated disposable face masks are soft to the touch. The elastic ear loops on either side of the face masks are thermally sealed and help to conform comfortably to adult-sized faces, and the pleats expand to provide coverage of the nose and mouth. The non-woven fabric of these face masks makes them breathable, lightweight, and comfortable to wear. Light blue shade of the face mask may vary slightly.

Orders are limited to 600 units (3 cases) per customer.

In addition to masks, Dollar Tree has started carrying some really great art and craft supplies! I’ve been working on some home decor projects with supplies from Dollar Tree- I’ll be posting pics on Instagram in the next few days.

Free Crayons from TopCashBack!

Abby H.

I’ve shared the awesomeness of TopCashBack before, and if you haven’t taken advantage of their awesome deals before, now is a great time!

Visit Walmart through TopCashback, purchase a Crayola 152 Count Ultimate Crayon Collection for $10.99 and then shop as normal. Within fourteen days $10.99 cashback will post in your TopCashback account.

How to get this freebie:
1. Visit the offer here
2. Create your account with an email and password
3. Click on the “Get Offer” button and it’ll take you to Walmart.
4. Add “Crayola 152 Count Ultimate Crayon Collection” to your cart and shop as you would normally then checkout.
5. This is a Free In-Store Pick Up offer.
6. Once you checkout, in about 14 days $10.99 will post in your TopCashback account.

Congrats on your freebie!
* New TopCashback members with no previous purchases or cashback through TopCashback only. Ends September 30th at 23:59 PST!
Free In-Store Pick Up Offer!
How do you get it?

Who qualifies for it?

This offer is available to TopCashback members with no previous purchases or cashback through TopCashback only. However as TopCashback doesn’t limit accounts to one per household, if you’re an existing member now’s the perfect time to tell your husband or wife, mom or dad, roommate, neighbor or anyone else about TopCashback and perhaps they’ll share their freebie with you.
When do you get your money back?

Within 14 days the $10.99 will turn payable in your TopCashback account and you can choose your payout method at that time.
Is there anything else important to know?
Transactions must contain at least one Crayola 152 Count Ultimate Crayon Collection from Walmart priced at $10.99 to ensure $10.99 cashback is credited to TopCashback accounts. If a different item is purchased under $10.99, the cashback amount awarded will be 1% or less (depending on the item(s) purchased) instead of $10.99.
The deal is:
– open until 23:59 PST on Monday, September 30th
– subject to Walmart’s Stock supplies and availability
– applicable for online sales only, for purchases made directly after clicking through TopCashback.com
Only one:
– TopCashback account is permitted per member

Mabel’s Labels: Early Bird Pricing on School Labels!

Abby H.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Back to School Season… So much money spent on school supplies, backpacks, lunch bags, whatever else they need.

Keeping tabs on all of this stuff can be a pain, so that’s where Mabel’s Labels come into play.

We have the Ultimate Back-to-School Combo Pack, which is great, as there are labels in tons of various sizes for all kinds of needs (including tags to go into shoes- perfect for tap shoes!)- and it includes two tags.

IMG_6867.jpgI’m sure everyone is hip to stranger dangers, but one thing that I see time and again is kids with their names embroidered on the outside of their backpacks. Yes, it’s cute, but it gives strangers more info than they need.

This is another reason that I put the name tags inside of Henry’s backpack and lunch bag.

When we go to Legoland or someplace where he might be easily separated, he has one of the Mabel’s Tags that reads, “Lost & Autistic Call my mom ###-##-####” I attach it to one of the belt loops of his pants.

He is not very good at remembering phone numbers, so this is a perfect solution for us. He knows if he gets separated he is to go to e park employee and show them the tag.

Mabel’s Labels has labels and tags to solve so many issues!

8/19/19 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

Our out of town guests left this morning, so we are back to meal planning! And school starts on Wednesday for the big kid, so I’ll be doing shopping for school lunches this week with part of the grocery budget.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me. The kids will be enjoying free lunches all over the county with free activities and playtime before or after lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup- I found a container of it in the freezer last night and defrosted it! We’ve got leftover fruit salad in the fridge too. I may also make grilled cheese sandwiches too.
  • Tuesday:  Spaghetti with leftover Veggie Loaded Meat Sauce (also found in the freezer), garlic bread, salad
  • Wednesday:  Veggie Korma – I found a Korma Kit at Grocery Outlet not long ago, so I’m making a big batch (there will be enough for at least 1 more meal)
  • Thursday: Breakfast for dinner-Poached Eggs, bacon, fruit salad
  • Friday:  Date Night
  • Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night
  • Sunday: Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

Back to School Deals!

Abby H.

Ok, so as much as I’ve been posting about summer fun and adventures, Back To School is lurking around the corner.

Here are some awesome deals and freebies:

Office Depot has a great selection of $10 backpacks, some of them (like the two above) come with pencil cases, lunch bags, and water bottles too!

Most office supply stores have great deals on markers, crayons, and markers right now too.  Deals are changing weekly.  If you don’t have time to chase deals, I’ve found a couple decent deals. Prices on Amazon change quickly, so I haven’t listed them, but you can click on each link and check them out.

 AmazonBasics Pre-sharpened Wood Cased #2 HB Pencils, 150 Pack
Elmer’s All Purpose School Glue Sticks, Washable, 7 Gram, 30 Count
Crayola Crayons Bulk, 24 Box Classpack, 24 Assorted Colors

If you are a teacher/educator, check out these three freebies:

If your kids are like mine, they lose stuff all the time, so I’ve invested in The back to school pack of label set from Mabel’s Labels.

If you need some help obtaining school supplies for your kiddos, there is help out there for you.

Free Backpacks with School Supplies at Boost Mobile

If you are an East County Area Resident (San Diego County), check out this awesome offer from the Santee Mobilehome Owners Association, INC (SMOAC) is handing out backpacks full of supplies for kids Kindergarten and up. Each backpack has age/grade-appropriate supplies.  This event takes place at the Santee Library from 10 AM until they run out. In addition, there will be free haircuts for girls and boys and many other surprises that day.

Talk Back: If you know of any free school supplies or deal, please share!