3 tips on baking

I love being able to put my netbook on the counter for recipes! Then I don't have to print anything off!

I LOVE to bake.

However, so not a fan of CLEANING UP !

There are things that I do to make it a little easier on myself though.

1)the GARBAGE BOWL! Thanks to Rachel Ray, I now do this. While baking, I set out a bowl to collect my garbage. That way I don't have to worry about making trips back and forth to the garbage can. I can just make one trip at the end! (:

2) I have a BAKING BOX. Besides all my main ingredients (flour, sugar, brown sugar etc) that are housed in their own containers, everything else goes in one container. Baking powder & soda, extracts, salt, corn starch... It saves me a lot of time to just put everything back in the bucket when I am done. I also save money, because I am not re-buying things I already have (like when we left Guam and I had 3 containers of baking powder!)

3)Do you have an extra set of measuring cups? Leave them in your containers. When it comes time to bake, you don't have to look around for them. You also don't have to wash them!

4) Clean up as you go! Don't just leave everything out on the counter until you are completely done. After the item is out of the oven, you might not feel like cleaning it up! So clean as you go!

With the holidays coming up fast, I am sure that there will be a lot of baking being done! Do you like to bake? What do you do to make it easier on yourself?

Product Review and GIVEAWAY

**I was provided the shirts free of charge from Crazy Dog Tshirts but am not recieving any sort of compensation for my review. Opinions are all mine.**

I told you I would be back fast with another giveaway!

Are you a child of the 80's? OK I am not really, but it doesn't mean I can't love their movies right?

Crazy Dog Tshirts, had some really funny t-shirts that you can't find in stores. It was like a trip down memory lane, looking at the fun 80's (and some early 90's) movie shirts.

The shirts came very fast, were of a high quality material and a good price.

I am kind of **cheap** but I thought these would be a fun gift idea for the men in your life. I mean how hard are guys to shop for right? I was able to get Ben a Hoverboard shirt and he loved it. Wore it all over Legoland! (:

I also found one for my brother that I am so excited to order for him at Christmas! I know he will love it!

If you are interested in looking at some funny t-shirts, head over to CrazyDogT's

But, the generous people from CrazyDogT's have offered a great giveaway for the MarthaWannabe readers!

Enter for a chance to win either:
A free mystery t-shirt (you select size) and you will recieve it in the mail

A $15 g/c to use on their site (a code will be sent to you via email)

Here is all you have to do to enter (and trust me, you have plenty of ways to earn additional entries!)

1st entry: leave me a comment telling me what your favorite 80's movie is!
2nd entry: become a follower of MarthaWannabe
3rd entry: like MarthaWannabe on Facebook
4th entry: become a fan of Crazy Dog Tshirts on Facebook
5th entry:Post a comment on the Crazy Dog Facebook wall, telling what your favorite tee is or asking a question
6th entry: Like one of their products on their website

Giveaway will be ending a week from today on Nov. 6th!

Halloween snack

With only 3 ingredients (if they can really be called that!) you can make a fun, healthy Halloween snack! My kids loved it and gobbled it down. Here is what you need:

1 banana

2 choc. chips

I had mini choc. chips so I used those but you could do either!

Cut the banana in half. Place the choc. chips close together at the pointy end of the banana. Push them gently in to make "eyes" for a ghost!

See wasn't that easy? It just goes to show that you don't have to put a lot of effort into things to make them fun!

Giveaway Winner

I had planned to announce the winner of the giveaway much sooner! I was trying to get the "goody box" of fall/Thanksgiving items put together. I didn't want the winner to have to sit and wait!

Anyway, thanks to Random.Org we have a winner....

#17 Laci Moore! Congrats hon! Please email me your info and I will get it out to you. You can email me on Facebook if you don't have my other one!

If you didn't win, never fear! I have another fun product review and giveaway coming up. I am hoping to get it posted by this weekend. With Halloween it is going to be a busy one so we will see! (:

What's for Lunch?

Harmony had pasta salad, strawberries, chicken and a string cheese. We added a few more things later!

Ethan had bacon, ranch pasta salad, strawberries and chunks of chicken in his lunch.

Connors snack box had strawberries w/ a jack o lantern tooth pick, mini choc. chip muffins, 3 cheese kabobs with owl toothpicks.

Ivan (aka Mr. Kindergarten) had a Lego guy shaped honey and pb sandwich, with a skull head, Halloween shaped cheese and pretzels. This was his snack box.

I missed last week, but I didn't really do anything all that exciting! Can I just tell you that people are AMAZING when it comes to Bentos? I am so impressed by people's ideas and creativity.

My kids lunches are certainly not works of art...but they are works of the HEART. Awww! In all honesty, it is so fun. I am learning as I go and hopefully, before my kids are in college, they will have some cute lunches!

Anyway, this is what was for lunch at our house!

For more FABULOUS bento ideas head over to What's For Lunch!

Hoppin'

I am joining in Feeding Fours blog hop! She has a fun money saving blog, and every week others come and link up. Here is the info from her site:

How to Participate: Follow the hostess - Feeding Four. If you want me to follow you back, please leave a comment letting me know that you are a new follower and leave a link to your blog. Create a new Friendly Wednesday blog post on your own blog and be sure to use the button provided on the side bar. Enter your information into the linkup below. Follow all the other blogs you want. This is a great way to get more followers! Friendly Wednesday will be posted once a week. Your link must be added every week so be sure to come back to linkup!

Make sure if you are now following MarthaWannabe, that you comment and let me know! That way I can come and follow you back!

pizza!

"I only want cheese!"

"Just cheese is boring, lets get pepperoni!"

"No, I like Hawaiian!"

"I don't like peppers, olives, mushrooms..."

When it comes to pizza, everyone has their favorite. When it comes to my kids, no one is ever happy with just one kind. So what is a Mom to do?

Let 'em make their own!!

Although you could make the dough, I just bought Boboli pizza crusts. At my store, they were in a 2 pk.

I got a few different toppings...ham, pineapple, pepperoni, just cheese...

It made for a fun family night, and I got out of making dinner...well kind of! (:

Happy Homemaker Monday

Wow, the week has completely gotten away from me! My inlaws have been visiting and I didn't plan my posts very well.

My sweet hubby leaves for a 7 mo. deployment on Friday, so I am not sure how much I will be posting this week either. Although keeping busy is a good thing during a deployment!

Anyway, here we go:

Weather in my neck of the woods: It's 5 am and still dark outside! But I think it is supposed to be rainy today!

Things that make me happy: naps!

Books I am reading: Sugar and Spice ( a collection of short stories about Christmas)

What is on my tv today: my inlaws are here so whatever they want

On the menu for dinner: chili pie casserole and biscuits

On my to do list: take my inlaws to tour the base, mail a pkg for my husband

New recipe I tried or want to try soon: I swear I have barely been in my kitchen lately :(

In the craft basket: nothing, but getting ready to start my Christmas cards

Looking forward to this week: taking the kiddos to "trunk or treat" since Halloween is on Sunday, our church has a trunk or treat on Saturday

Tips and Tricks: Before taking kids into a gift shop, let them know the amount they can spend. If any! Having a budget planned out makes it easier for them and for your wallet!

Favorite blog post of the week: I have barely posted on my own blog let alone go to others. But I am lovin' all the bento pics and ideas over at Another Lunch

Blog hopping( a new blog I discovered)same as above

No Words Needed: More Legoland fun

Lessons learned in the past few days: sometimes we are the ones that have the ability to serve others, sometimes it is us who need the service. Letting people help us is good for both parties!

On My Mind: D-Day, or in other words Deployment day! My husband leaves on Friday. 7 months on my own :(

Scriptures, devotionals, thoughts: At the moment, I've got nothin'!

I have a GIVEAWAY that is ending TONIGHT! It has low entries. So if you are interested I would love for you to stop by and sign up!

Follow Me Monday!

Follow Me Monday!

Hi All! I am participating in Follow Me Monday over at Be One Fine Day!
I love new followers so leave me a comment letting me know and I will come follow you back!
Also, I am having a great giveaway! So be sure to enter that while you are here!

I love coupons pt.???

I have soooo many reasons why I love coupons. But here is my reason for today...

My inlaws are visiting us this week. They are sleeping in our bedroom because we don't have a guest bedroom. We have a master bath attatched to our bedroom.

I needed a shower and they were still asleep. So...

I headed into the boys bathroom and guess what? I had forgotten to get "my stuff" from my bathroom. Hmmm, as much as I like Axe shower gel and Buzz & Woody shampoo...I had no interest in using them for myself!

So instead of barging in on my inlaws, I went to my handy dandy stockpiles! Shampoo, body wash, bath pouf, razors...and did I mention I was in the BOYS bathroom? Yeah grabbed an air freshener too!

I love being able to simply go to my closet to get those extras that I need! Have you built up your stockpiles yet?

I'm hoppin'

I am joining in Feeding Fours blog hop! She has a fun money saving blog, and every week others come and link up. Here is the info from her site:

How to Participate: Follow the hostess - Feeding Four. If you want me to follow you back, please leave a comment letting me know that you are a new follower and leave a link to your blog. Create a new Friendly Wednesday blog post on your own blog and be sure to use the button provided on the side bar. Enter your information into the linkup below. Follow all the other blogs you want. This is a great way to get more followers! Friendly Wednesday will be posted once a week. Your link must be added every week so be sure to come back to linkup!

Make sure if you are now following MarthaWannabe, that you comment and let me know! That way I can come and follow you back! Also I am having a great giveaway and you can find all of the info here

Follow Me Monday!

Hi All! I am so tire tonight but I am participating in Follow Me Monday over at Be One Fine Day!

I love new followers so leave me a comment letting me know and I will come follow you back!

Also, I am having a great giveaway! So be sure to enter that while you are here!

Happy Homemaker Monday

I can't believe it took so long for me to get this up!! I have been so BUSY today!

My in-laws are coming tomorrow and so I have been grocery shopping, meal planning, cleaning...oh and we just got back from a mini vacation last night! So to say that we are tired and busy is an understatement. Anyway, here goes...

Weather in my neck of the woods: It has been rainy and gloomy all day!!

Things that make me happy: trips to craft stores!

Books that I am reading: OK, this is awful but I can't remember the name! I am reading it on my ipod and so the title doesn't come up! Oh gracious I feel like a dork!

What's on my tv today: the kids had us DVR Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Lost Lake. Did anyone know that Shaggy and Velma are dating?!

On the menu today: I have been busy all afternoon so Dad made cresant dogs for the kiddos!

On my to do list: uhm, it is more like what isn't on there!

New Recipe I have/want to try soon: I have been looking at a ton of bento lunch sites but not many recipe ones! I need to change that!

In the craft basket: honestly, not much. I have been more creative in the kitchen though!

Looking forward to this week: Spending time with family! Ecspecially my dh as he gets ready to deploy soon!

Tips and Tricks: We took a little mini vacation this week and I can't count the number of times that a ziploc bag would have come in handy! I would recommend that you carry some with you in your purse! For used kleenex & baby wipes, snacks that are too small for a doggie bag, wet/soiled clothes, souveniers...

My favorite blog post this week: to be perfectly honest, I have been salivating over bento lunch sites all week. (: I love bento's but am just starting to make them.

Blog Hoppin' ( a new blog discovered) If you are looking for adorable ideas for lunches for your kids, go here

No Words Needed: having fun at Legoland

Lessons Learned in the past few days: patience really is a virtue!

On my mind: upcoming deployment

Scriptures, thoughts and devotionals: Normally, our family doesn't do things on Sundays. I am LDS and so we believe in not participating in activities on Sundays. We made an exception this weekend so that we could use our 2 day Legoland tickets before my husband left. All weekend, my kids kept asking us why we were there on the Sabbath. They couldn't believe that after telling them not to do things, that we were. It just really hit home that our kids do listen to what we tell them. They may not like it but they are listening. So we need to be careful what we say!!

********I am having a giveaway! I would LOVE for you to come and enter! I had an original post and than an updated post. So check out the info here

Halloween front porch

My front door with it's Velcome mat (:

Each side has 2 pumpkins and a pot of fake flowers.

(I have two of those metal signs, one on each side. My son Ethan loves the Witche's To Do List!)

Uhm yeah, thanks to the wind you can't really see my banner.I tried I swear!)

(My Happy Halloween banner was blowing around all over!)

Hmmm, so I am not sure about my Halloween front door decorations this year.

Our house is situated in kind of a funny area and so most people don't even see it.

I never keep anything the same from year to year, so I am sure it will be completely different next year!

Giveway update

I am so SAD!

My GIVEAWAY posted here has no entries. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. None.

Progress Cards are something I think are really beneficial to kids.

Your kids don't have to be dealing with something HUGE (divorce,move, etc) to benefit from these cards.

So I am going to sweeten the pot a little. Not only will the winner recieve a free set of
Progress cards you will also recieve (from me)

** A subscription to one of my favorite magazines, Family Fun.
**A fall/Thanksgiving themed gift basket!

Go here to sign up! I will also be extending the giveaway until the 25th. So good luck!

Mini Vacation pt.1

I have 5 LEGO MANIACS in my home!

My husband was the first and he very quickly recruited 4 followers! I am sure that the youngest will be joining very soon!

So before my husband leaves for his 7 mo. deployment (sniff, sniff) we decided to take the kids to Legoland! It is such a fun place.

Legoland is only 2 hours away. Our tickets are for 2 days, so we decided to make a weekend of it. However, we didn't want to spend a fortune. Here is how we saved/plan to save money!

1)tickets- of course, this was the most expensive part. 6 tickets were not cheap. We were able to buy these through our local military base and got a great discount! However you can always find coupons and discounts through the Lego website.

2) the hotel. We are only staying for one night, but because of our family size, we have to get 2 rooms. When it comes to hotels, we are more Motel 6 kind of people than the Hilton. So I chose an inexpensive hotel with rewards points. We also get a continental breakfast and free wi-fi.

3)food! Feeding 7 people, at an amusement park is certainly not the cheapest thing on the planet but there are ways to make it a little easier on the wallet.

***the kids ate breakfast before we left. No stopping for a Mcbreakfast or doughnuts!

***packing snacks. While the only thing allowed in the park is water, you can/should have snacks in the car. Crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, granola bars etc. are all good because you don't have to worry about them sitting in the sun. It is important to have something to fall back on in those inbetween times.

***water!!If you don't have water in your stockpiles, stop at a store and get some. You can usually get a 24-36 pkg of water on sale for 3.99 or so. Water inside a park can be $1.50 a bottle. Make sure you have your own!

***We did eat one meal at the park. We were going to leave the park but we would have had to pay parking again. It is $12 a pop for parking so we would have to add that onto our lunch bill. Had we had free parking we would have opted to go out of the park.

***Breakfast the next morning was at the hotel. I always look for places with a continental breakfast! Most places have waffle irons, and that is a good filling breakfast.

***On the way home, we used coupons to eat at McD's. Right now if you buy their Trick or Treat booklets for a $1, there are coupons for free apple dippers, cheeseburgers etc. So using those and the snacks we had brought, it worked out well!

4) Souveniers: Oh they are so tempting! Especially to kids. Make a budget BEFORE you go. Make a game plan with your spouse.

***Also depending on where you go, you may be able to find something at home. Disney items can be found at Wal Mart, Target, the $ store etc.Do you have any ideas on how to save money on trips? I would love to hear them!

Friday Follow- blog hop

After participating in Be One Fine Days, Monday blog hop, I found a ton of fun new blogs! So I am happy to be participating in her Friday Follow!

For those who are here from the blog hop, thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment letting me know you are following and I would love to come and follow you back!

Also, I have a giveaway going on. I am so sad because *sniff* I have zero entries!*sniff*sniff! So your chances of winning this great giveaway are very good!

Product Review and GIVEAWAY

( A love note from Mom on the side!)

**This is a sponsored post by Progress Cards. While I was given the product to try for free, all opinions are mine. I am not recieving any payment for this review**

I am very excited to have the chance to review this product! Progress cards were developed by Scott Ertl. Scott is an elementary school counselor who has been helping children since 1996. He came up with Progress Cards as a way to help kids track their behaviors & goals.

Whether it is ways to deal with divorce, moving, making friends, effective routines...you can find a progress card that can help.

This school year started out a little rough for my daughter. We have not lived here very long, and she had not made any friends before she started middle school.

She is a very shy & quiet girl. Even my sister said it is hard to get her to talk! She isn't comfortable in large groups, and doesn't like to call attention to herself. Making friends is rough when you have that kind of personality.

Well, when I was given a chance to review Progress Cards, I asked her which list she would like to try for herself. She chose Friendship Skills. We decided to print hers off in a small size. We then adhered it to a piece of scrapbook paper to cutesy it up just a touch.

She now is working towards her goals and putting her new found skills to the test!

Are you interested in trying out Progress Cards for your child?

Progress Cards is offering a complete set of Progress Cards to one of my readers!! Here is how to enter...

For 1 entry: leave a comment telling me what skills/habits/ situation that you would like to help your child with.

2nd: Follow this blog

3rd: Follow me on Facebook

4th: Post on your blog/facebook about the giveaway (make sure to let me know so that I can come and visit!)

Because I use a random number generator, PLEASE, PLEASE leave a seperate comment for each entry.

Giveaway ends 10/20!

What's for Lunch?

(My youngest son had a mini bagel with cream cheese and turkey. He loves cheese so I cut out one in the shape of a ghost and one as a witch's profile)

(One of my boys' lunches. His was pretty similar to my daughters. His cheese on the kabobs were stars but you can't tell! I also added some Halloween shaped pretzels.)

(My daughters lunch! She has sausage and cheese kabobs, mandarin oranges & raspberries, almonds and banana chips,candy corn and 2 pieces of candy corn salt water taffy. I also added one more piece of cheese for her)

I just found the CUTEST site for bento lunches. Oh my heavens, so much information and good ideas.

Every Wednesday, she hosts What's in Your Lunch? where you can share yours/your childs bentos.

So I have decided to join in the fun!

I call my lunches, "bento-ish" because compared to the others that link up, mine look like my 15 month old made it. lol But you can't get better unless you keep trying right? Anyway, here are my kiddo's lunches for the day.

**My daughter is much more willing to try things than my boys!**

***I love having new followers. If you decide to follow me, please leave a comment so I can come and follow you back!***

**** If you would like to participate or just want to look at some great ideas, you can head over to Bento Lunch

holiday movies

(Images found through a Google search)

We are big movie watchers in this house!!

Every Friday night, our family picks a movie, makes popcorn, gets blankets, pillows and snuggles.

It is so nice at the end of a long week to have some down time.

During the different holidays, we like to buy a few more to add to our collection. However...

We put them away with the decorations!

So every year, not only are my kids excited to see decorations, but they love being able to watch some old/new favorite movies.

Last Friday, I bought a favorite from when I was little...BLACKBEARDS GHOST. The kiddos loved it!

Some of our other favorite Halloween (or "scary")movies:

**Wallace and Grommitt Curse of the WereRabbit

**It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

**Hocus Pocus

**The Haunted Mansion

**Casper

**my daughter loves the Halloweentown series

** any Scooby Doo (:

**Alvin & The Chipmunks Halloween movies

**Garfields Halloween special

** Blackbeards Ghost

Do you have any favorite movies that you watch to get in the MOOD for Halloween?

Pumpkin Patch

I love to celebrate the different seasons with my kids. I love seeing their sweet smiles and enjoy their excited laughs!

Although CA is not the best place to experience fall, it is better than Guam was! (:

On Saturday, we headed down the freeway ( a whole 2 exits) and stopped at the Pumpkin Patch.

This was the first time my two youngest had been to a pumpkin patch (they are 5 & 15 months).

We had a great time picking out pumpkins, playing on the haystack pyramid, and enjoying time together.

What do you like to do to celebrate the season? (With or without kids!)

Monday blog hop

I am participating!!

Come and link up over at Be One Fine Day!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Weather in my neck of the woods: Sunny and warm! The morning was a touch chilly but it's warming up!

Things that make me happy: having a wi-fi connection!!! I have been having tech problems all weekend!

Book I am reading: Big sigh, I haven't read anything for a while. Any good recomendations?

What is on my tv today: My husband is home, so there is HGTV, Planet Green and ESPN

On the menu for dinner tonight: Beefaroni, rolls, salad

On my to do list: filing coupons, dishes and folding laundry

New Recipe I want to try soon or have tried: I have been so busy this week, and have had no internet connection so...yeah nothing. I am so lame today! (:

In the craft basket: Halloween trick or treat bags. You can seem them here

Looking forward to this week: Taking our kiddo's to Legoland!!

Tips & Tricks: I hate paying for juice boxes in my kids lunch boxes. They are expensive and not that nutritious. So my kids have water M-Th, and they get to have a juice box on Fridays. It helps me save money, and makes sure my kids get enough water!

My favorite blog post this week:

A new blog I have discovered: OK yeah no internet connection. It has been a sad week!

No words needed: My husband asleep with the remote grasped FIRMLY in his hand lol

Lessons learned in the past few days: put yourself out there a little more. Learn to trust in others, and not rely soley on yourself.

On my mind:my cute little Connor-bub! He is headed to a specialist today and I am hoping that things turn out ok!

Devotionals, thoughts, scriptures: "Search dilligently, pray always and be believing and all things shall work together for your good."

For more Happy Homemaker Mondays, head on over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom!

*********I love having new followers! If you follow me, please leave me a comment, and I will come and follow you back!**************

Halloween craft

After pulling out Halloween decorations, I realized something.

Trick or Treat buckets take up a lot of room!

I have 4 buckets plus my big candy bowl. So I decided to do something different this year.

I went to Michaels and grabbed their black $1 tote/reusable bags and some glow in the dark fabric paint.

I also got t-shirts for the kids to decorate.

They had a blast decorating their bags. I let them decorate the fronts, but I have a plan for the back. (: Before they get put back in the buckets, I am going to write the year and what costume they wore.

How fun would that be for their children to see? I don't remember anything I dressed up as...hmmm.

This was a fun, relatively inexpensive (glow in the dark paint costs more than regular fabric paint), easy craft.