Today

**No pictures, no kid stories...just me blogging...**

There have been way too many days lately where I've felt really crummy. Today was the first day in the recent past that I've felt GREAT! The kids were both feeling much better today also for the first time in a pretty long time too. So, we celebrated by having a pj day and doing some things that we haven't done in a while. We cooked together, played upstairs together, the kids and Jarrod played outside after work while I cooked dinner...and yes, Elly was still playing in her pjs in the misting rain--and loving every minute of it. All in all, it was a FUN, FUN day--not a day full of "out of the ordinary" memories, but a day to look at and go "this is what life's all about." A day that hopefully my kids will remember in a long line of days like today as the "normal, when we were kids" days.

One of my favorite blogs is Money Saving Mom's blog and I'm on there every day that I get on the computer. She not only posts great deals, she posts financial success stories of her family, she has guest posts, meal planning, her grocery store purchases for the week and my newfound favorite--recipes. The thing that I love is that I relate SO well to her (with the exception that I consider her wonder woman--I could never accomplish half of what she does and stay sane, but I digress)...I love to cook, we have nearly the same number and ages of kids, she is frugal, but not cheap. Everyone who knows me knows that I love a good deal, but part of that is that I would NEVER consider myself cheap. I do not want cheap things, I want good, quality things at GREAT prices--there is a HUGE difference. I have a Dyson vacuum cleaner that I got at a great price, I have an amazing washer and dryer that my husband negotiated for at a phenomenal price, I have a great car that again, my husband negotiated a great deal on. God has blessed us with a home that is above what we dreamed of, that again, he provided for us at an exceptional price. I don't pay full price for anything, really if I can help it. There are some exceptions, but if it is a "desire" item and not something that I see as a "need" chances are its not happening--especially if it is something for myself. I know that I'm in for it when my kids are teenagers and wanting the most popular, now items...but I will scour to find the best deal on those things, I'm sure...

If you've gotten this far, I'm sure you are wondering how in the world this relates to my great day with my kids. Well, last week, Money Saving Mom posted a "baking day" and posted throughout the day what she was making. So, while Elly took her morning nap, Logan and I decided to try a new recipe that MSM had posted--pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Let me assure you that these were/are the best muffins I've ever had. The recipe makes 30 muffins and you can freeze them after they've cooled down to have tasty treats for many days to come. The best part was that I already had all of the ingredients on hand. Well, after this was such a success, I decided to make another recipe that she posted about for dinner tomorrow. She had doubled her recipe and then divided it into thirds to freeze and have for dinners in the future, so I followed her lead and again, was not disappointed--this is a great, easy, inexpensive way to make chicken tetrazinni--and I didn't even miss some of the extra, more expensive ingredients. Plus it only took me 30 minutes to make and I now have 3 meals...fantastic!!! Next on my list to make with Logan (maybe next week) is Whole Wheat Waffles...we love waffles and I often feed the kids Eggos in a hurry, so I'm excited to try these and freeze some for a little healthier alternative on school days.