Kids Reading: 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss was one of my favorite books as a kid so I was excited to pull out this classic for my son.  Beware that it is a big book so if your child doesn't want to sit through a longer book and doesn't like to take breaks, this might not be the best book for you yet...but it will be!  My son isn't great about letting you start a book and put a book mark in to read the rest later and wants you to start all over the next time again...even if you can't make it through.  I read the beginning of the book and started doing the folding after a few pages.  Then, I read while he colored and decorated.  It is helpful because even though the story is interesting....it is long!!

In this book, Bartholomew Cubbins has a problem.  When Bartholomew visits town to sell cranberries at the market for his parents, the King's procession screeches to a halt in front of him; King Derwin then leans out of his coach, demanding to know why Bartholomew hasn't respectfully removed his hat. "But, Sire, my hat is off." He shows the king the hat in his hands that he's just doffed, but sure enough, another identical one sits atop his head. He takes that hat off only to reveal another... and another, and another, and another. Poor Bartholomew goes through 45 hats, then 136, then 233, as the angry king calls in every expert in the kingdom, from Sir Snipps the haberdasher to the Father of the Father of Nadd. In the end, Bartholomew barely gets away with his head (forget about the hats!)

The best craft to do after reading this is to make a newspaper hat.  It is super easy to use newspaper or any bigger paper to fold into a hat.  Don't remember how to make one.... I didn't either.  I followed these instructions.  It is easy to fold and make out of one page of the newspaper.  I made one and so did my son at the same time.

The kids can decorate it after it is all folded with markers and stickers to make it as unique as they want.  If you have a feather like Bartholomew does, make sure you stick it in there because I am sure that they will be totally into reading this book again with their hat on their head.  I hope that you try this fun book and craft.

Not ready to fold and make paper, you can get these fun visors at the craft stores pretty cheap and the kids can decorate with stickers or gems to also have a fun time.

Hope you have lots of fun with this activity and book and good luck making it through this long and entertaining story!!

Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen Book Review

I was looking through the list of the books that was available through Blogging for Books to find out what I was going to read next.  They sent me an email about one that looked interesting so I was looking around to find more details about it...but then I found another cookbook.  I know that I have a problem because this is my third cookbook recently and I need to get this under control but I really like reading cookbooks and trying out new recipes.  This one spoke to me more because I had seen the show where the author/cook was featured!!  I had to get it right!!!  After a complicated UPS delivery of a pet door that was for the people on the next street over which I had to chase down the truck to give back, the UPS man came back with a  Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen by Francine Bryson which I happily accepted!!  I even cheered when I saw the cover because I was ready to check out some of these yummy southern recipes.

This cookbook was the best kind with lots of reading and helpful hints.  I loved the foreward by Jeff Foxworthy and the back story about how she didn't win the show... which did start me thinking that I needed to figure out who did because I was hoping that she would win (so I think that I decided she did).  The show was great if there is anywhere that you can go back and watch the challenges that they had every week...I know that I wouldn't be able to do it.  

There was a story at the beginning about how she learned to cook with her grandmothers and how she grew up and I was hooked.  It is an ideal way to grow up and I would love for my son to have those memories of cooking but they are only going to be with me since we don't live close to his grandmothers and neither really cook/bake anymore.  I was supposed to be cleaning the house and all my weekend chores but I couldn't put it down.  Her personality came through on the show and it was the same on paper which just makes you feel like you are sitting in a friends kitchen and getting a recipe that they have made and you want to bring home to try yourself.  Here are the chapters so that you can see if this might be the right book for you:

Pies
Cookies and Bars
Cakes Like Granny Made
Cheesecakes
Sunday Go-to-Meeting
Baked Goods to Show Off
Biscuits and Bread
Candy and Truffles

I loved the little note at the beginning of the recipe to give you details about how it relates to her.  The first is a butter crust from one grandmother and the second is the crust from her other grandmother.  There is a tip at the bottom to add vanilla to enhance the flavors in the pie even though it is listed as an optional ingredient so it is nice to know when she uses it.  The second gives a tip that the crust is better with the juicy fruit pies.  There are notes in recipe saying what products she uses like Crisco or White Lily flour.  It is nice to know those details and it adds more to the down home feel that you are getting this recipe straight from her kitchen.  I know that I will be able to read this one over and over again!!

My biggest downside is that many recipes use self rising flour which I don't use.  I prefer to add the baking soda, powder and other ingredients separate so I would have liked a little conversion chart to say use self rising or make your own.  I would also love to see a picture of every single recipe in the book but since this book is jam packed with lots of great recipes, I hope to try to make some for myself.  I know that I want to start with her chocolate chip and peanut butter cookie recipes as well as try a few of her biscuits.  I would love to have a few of her other treats to so I will have to put them on my list for a special occasion.  I hope that you check this out because you will be confused as to whether you should keep it in the kitchen or next to your bed because of the great stories and the great recipes!!  I promise a good read either way whether you are looking for the story or just want great recipes.  I can't wait to have a few of these yummy recipes!

** I was provided a copy of the book through Blogging for Books for my honest review and all opinions here are my own.

Menu Plan Monday 9/22

Monday- Philly Cheese Steak Pasta
Tuesday- Grilled Chicken with chicken rice
Wednesday- Chicken Nugget Wraps with homemade fries
Thursday- Olive Oil Pasta with peasant bread
Friday- Chicken and Rice Casserole
Saturday- Leftovers/ Tortilla Crusted Chicken with Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes
Sunday-Leftovers/Homemade Pizza

Our Monday meal got moved back from Sunday because my husband declared it was time to get a pizza from Little Caesars because we were all sick and no one wanted to clean up.  We are working in some meals this week in hopes that we are all feeling better like grilled chicken seasoned the way that I decide on the day of the meal or what I find around the house to marinate in.  My son's only meat substance is chicken nuggets so we try to work those into the menu plan.  We used to eat a different meal while he was eating those but we have decided to make them into a wrap with cheese and lettuce and we are really happy with the new meal.  My husband puts on hot sauce and I use honey mustard and it tastes like a wrap that we would get at a restaurant almost but much healthier.  Our weekly pasta dish is going to be Olive Oil Pasta and my son eats his plain with butter and garlic salt.  We haven't had the chicken and rice casserole in ages so here is pretending that it is getting cold by the end of the month while I start on the winter meals.  At least I haven't planned soup yet but it is coming!!!  Sunday is a mystery depending on the how the rest of the week turns out and it might be homemade pizza or breakfast for dinner which we also haven't had in ages.  I hope that you have a yummy week planned too!!!Hopefully we will all be feeling better so that I can pull this off!!

All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes Book Review

I picked out this book from my book review process because the main idea sounded interesting and who doesn't like a book about baking....especially with a cupcake on the cover.  YUM!  I was excited when it came in the mail and couldn't wait to start reading it.  I was stuck on my previous book and not making any progress and what pushed me through it was knowing that this book was waiting on the other side.  All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant was a great book to pick up especially as the weather started getting a little colder.  Of course, I love to read cookbooks so this was just an extension with a great recipe in the back to try!!

In this book, Kat Varland is living in the same small town she grew up in Bayou Bend, Louisiana.  At twenty-six years old, she is looking to get out from under her family's shadow being the preachers daughter and working in Aunt's bakery making only chocolate, vanilla and strawberry cupcakes.  She is looking to do lots more baking and expand her world to the big city and have a family.  Her best friend, Lucas Brannen, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off called Cupcake Combat which she loves to watch on TV.  She gets an email that she is accepted and her life changes forever.  She is off to the big city to try out some of her more "weird" cupcake recipes that she loves to hopefully land an internship at a famous bakery in New York City.  Find out what happens in the reality show and her life during the process.  You might be amazed and what happens!!

I really enjoyed the book.  It started off really quickly and got you interested in the characters and invested in what they were going to do.  I read the first four chapters the first night and had trouble putting it down to go to sleep.  I knew that I wasn't going to have any trouble making the deadline to publish my review but I was going to have trouble getting enough sleep if I couldn't put the book down.  I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next and I am already ready to read another book by this author!!  Who doesn't love to watch a good reality TV cooking show... I DO!!!  It was funny to read the behind the camera report in the book and imagine what you miss on the shows you watch on TV.  I hope that you check out this book at your local library or bookstore to see if it is something that you would also enjoy.

** I was provided this book from the publisher for my honest review of the book.  All of the opinions here are my own. 

The First Phone Call from Heaven Book Review

I have always loves Mitch Albom's books so when I saw a new book was coming out.  I put it on my reserve list to get The First Phone Call from Heaven: A Novel by Mitch Albom.  It took a little bit to get to the top of the list but when I did, I was reading too many other books and had to wait.  I did finally make a little bit of time to read it and then I got a surprise few books in that I needed to review so it got put on the back burner again but I was excited to finally get to read it.

This book tells the story of a small town in Coldwater, Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from dead relatives and friends. Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out whether it is a miracle or a hoax. One reporter shows up to find out what is going on but the reports are so popular that many followers show up in town.  The town is crowded with lots of people wanting to hear from their own dead relatives and looking for inspiration from heaven. 

I did enjoy the book but not as much as his other books.  Most of his books are the ones that you put on the shelf and read over and over.  This book was hard for me to get into the beginning but it was well worth trying once I got into it.  I am not sure if it was just a busy time but I didn't make enough time to read this book in big chunks but I find if you don't sit down and get to know the characters.  It makes it hard to remember when there are so many characters in the book as well as the fact that the book goes back and forth in the middle of the chapters to different characters so you have to pay close attention.  The book was interesting with some emotional ups and down but I ended happy that I read it.  I hope that you enjoy it as well.  Make sure you check it out the next time you go to the library or bookstore.  Let me know if you have read it what you think!!

Menu Plan Monday 9/15

Monday- Chicken Stir Fry with green beans on simple fried rice or white rice
Tuesday- Sausage Tortelloni with garlic peasant bread
Wednesday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with homemade rolls and fries
Thursday- Grilled Chicken with herb rice
Friday- ??
Saturday- Chicken Fried Rice/ Burgers and Brats
Sunday- Leftovers/Philly Cheese Steak Pasta with egg noodles

I am going to try the stir fry on Monday with frozen veggies and see how it works.  I have a lot of veggies and I want to use them up and I think that if I cook them frozen that we will still like them and they will be crispy and fresh.  I have a bunch of random things left in the freezer which I still haven't cleaned out so I am hoping to clean up a bunch with this week and try to get it cleaned out this month before the cold winter months hit.  My husband loves fried rice so I am hoping to use the leftover rice from Monday to make some for him with a bunch of veggies and chicken that I have around the house and in the freezer.  I hope that you have a yummy week planned too!!!

Mid Month Budget Update

Can you believe that it is the middle of the month already?  I was hoping to make it to Harris Teeter to get some deals before this weekend so I could post it but I will put that in another post if I make it there.

Giant $1.67 

I used the end of my gift card ($0.70) that I had and I spent $1.67 out of pocket to get a little lunch meat for my husband's lunch.  I knew that this would only last a few days but there was very little on sale and I was looking for a better deal and waiting for my monthly credit from Giant to get my big shopping trip.

Giant $11.19

My son is really into ketchup and there was a coupon for Heinz which is our go to brand so I figured that I better go figure it out where to get it.  I stopped and Giant and the sign said that the big one was on sale for $2.50 so $2 after coupon.  I figured that it was a good deal since I sort of missed the stock up period of the summer BBQs so I grabbed three.  They didn't ring up on sale so the lady went to check the shelf and did an override on the price without any questions because the shelf price wasn't correct and was last week's sale.  I grabbed the ham to make sure that I had enough for my $10 credit if it was going to come off but I thought that they were going to be sending a gift card this month because of changes in the computer system but worth trying so that I didn't mess it up.  Plus the ham was on sale and there was a coupon.  I didn't get the credit but still got some savings.

 

Aldi's $32.35 + $4.60= $36.95

I decided to head to Aldi's but I made it there right around lunch so I got way too much!!  Although we needed lots.  I got turkey, stick margarine, tub margarine, baking soda, vegetable oil, shortening, saltine crackers, oyster crackers, pretzels, nacho cheese chips and salsa chips.  I grabbed a extra bag of pepperoni and container of cheese which I now know that we didn't need, oops!! I did also grab a container of garlic salt which we have not used before but it was like the one that my son likes so I figured it was worth a try for under $1.  Got a lime because they were on sale for $0.29 and they make a yummy dinner with lime tacos and something different then we normally make.  I went back in after putting everything in the car to get more potatoes after thinking about the menu plan for the month cause we like our potatoes!!  Not the end of the world that I got stuff we didn't need because we will use it but a little outside the plan since I try not to get things that we aren't going to use right away but that is what you get for going at lunch time!!

Not so bad for half of the month but I really need to get out and get a few more things like toilet paper, tissues and paper towels.  It is so hard for me to get a great deal on them anymore and I really need to settle for an okay deal soon so that I can get some in the cupboard before we totally run out because then we will be in trouble.

The great news is that I did get my $10 Giant Gift card in the mail so that I can use it for some other deals through the month so even though I already spent a bunch of money at Giant so far, there will be plenty of other deals that I will be able to take advantage of.  I have been baking and cooking a lot so we have had homemade cookies, cupcakes, and quick and yeast breads through the weeks so we have had a little bit of something fun using things that are already in the house.  I am hoping to make a few more things so that we have lots of food to carry us through the month without a bunch more out of pocket to leave room for the other things that we need to get but we will see how it goes.  How it your month going??

Total Retail $82.15

Total Savings $32.34

Total OOP $49.81