PRE-SCHOOL EXCITEMENT

Good morning and welcome to this steamy Sunday edition of the Frugal Mom! How are you this super sunny morning? I'm alright... it was my last day to sleep in and believe me, I took FULL advantage of it! Super excited about school tomorrow! YAY! Today is "put the final touches on everything" and cook and sew day! For me, that's exciting! What do you have planned for today?

I must take a moment to address my mom and her comment yesterday LOL! See, sometimes we should leave well enough alone LOL! Dormouses are best left unknown LOL! As for DD not wearing the shirt, she claimed she did not have the proper undergarments to wear with it... I think she just wanted to wear her squad shirt LOL! Its ok, there are other days to be wearing it LOL. And as for the gift recipient... I don't think she will come to see it. ain't gonna elaborate on that one, but you know what I think LOL! remember only 5 years LOL! Man am I old! As for your yarn and stuff... I'm gonna get it for you tomorrow! LOL... I will go in there since DD didn't!

Alright I found a poll online on Shine from Glamour Magazine and I wanted to bring it here, because I think its very interesting and would LOVE to hear your answers!

Are You Happier When Your Calendar Is Packed or Free? Guess Which Is Better for Health
by Sarah Jio, Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine, on Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:42am PDT

Is your life pretty jam-packed these days--running from one meeting or appointment to the next? That's me! Sometimes I long for the days when I had more time, less commitments. Have you ever wondered if being busy is bad for your health? Researchers have answers ...

On a recent evening after I put the kids to bed, I sat at my desk and looked around. All of my deadlines were complete. I'd already gone for a jog. The laundry was done, the errands were too. I'd grocery shopped, called my friends, even brushed and flossed. It was a rare moment when ... I had nothing to do. Guess what? I didn't like it!

Truth be told, I like being one step behind my to-do list. As much as I complain about my crazy schedule, I secretly love it. That's why I found the latest happiness news really interesting: Turns out, we're happier when our schedules are packed, BlissTree reports.

According to a study published in the journal Psychological Science, full schedules give people a "sense of accomplishment"--not to mention the fact that having a lot do do is stimulating, which can flood the brain with energy and endorphins. Is this busy-happy connection true in your life?

Tell me, are you super busy or less so? Are you happier when you're busy or when your calendar is free?



Isn't this such a thought provoking question? I can answer that... kind of. My calender fluctuates from busy starting in August, to rather slow in January, to stagnant during June and July! While it frustrates me to no end that I am "living on the road", etc. I like being busy. The author, I think, is right. You get a sense of accomplishment when you complete things off a list. And I like that! I live by lists, day planners, etc. I have a dry erase board on the wall by the front door so everyone knows where they and everyone else is going to be, for how long, etc. When you manage a house with 2 ADHD teens, an ADD dad, and an ADHD mom... yea writing everything down is almost a requirement! LOL! Ask my mom, when she was over here helping me declutter and I actually got something DONE... I was very happy and somewhat proud too! I also find that when I have really "nothing" to do, I find things to do to busy myself... be it cooking, sewing, cleaning, window shopping, etc. So yea, I guess I like being busy! LOL... what about you?

Ok so in the spirit of SCHOOL (oh how I love that word LOL), I wanted to bring you a craft today that makes a cute little teacher's gift and is fairly easy to make. Its a cute country decoration the kids can make and give to their favorite teacher to say "Glad to be back", "Thanks for all you do", etc. You could also make this craft using colored felt, foam, or fabric as well... all would be super adorable!



Craft Idea of the Day: Class Act Teacher's Apple

Materials:

brown grocery bag
acrylic paint in brown, barnyard red, and buttermilk
toothbrush
paintbrush
fine tip black marker
pinking shears (or other decorative scissors)
gingham material scrap
decorative buttons with classroom motif (ruler, pencil sharpener, pencil, etc.)
barnyard red medium button
cotton batting (Fiberfil)
white craft glue
craft wire
pencil
raffia

Directions:

Here's a fun and easy Teacher Appreciation gift to make with your child. Their teacher will hang this gift in their classroom with pride!

Lay brown paper bag on flat work surface. Cut out two large sections from the front and back of the bag. Stack those sections, one on top of the other, then cut out and trace around the pattern onto the bags. Cut it out with the pinking shears.

Beginning at the bottom of the apple, use tacky glue to connect the two layers at the seams, stuffing the apple as you go with cotton batting (Fiberfil). Work your way around the edges, carefully stuffing (but not too much!) until apple is completely closed.




When the glue is dry, paint the decorative edges and the stem with brown and the apple with barnyard red (see photo). When dry, dip the bristle tips of a toothbrush into the buttermilk paint. Test your splattering ability on a piece of scrap paper before doing this on your apple. Hold toothbrush horizontally and drag your thumb across the bristles, causing the paint to splatter spots wherever you aim it. When you are comfortable with this method, go ahead and splatter some buttermilk paint on your apple.

When the buttermilk paint is dry, use the fine tip craft pen or marker to write the words "CLASS ACT!" in the center of the apple. Using white craft glue, adhere a square of gingham fabric to the upper right hand corner of the apple. Glue a couple of decorative school themed buttons to the lower left and lower center of the apple.

Cut a piece of craft wire long enough to wrap completely around your apple. This should be enough for your hanger. Find the middle of craft wire, wrap the middle section of the wire around a pencil about 6 or 7 times. Pull the pencil out to create the curl at the top of your hanger. Curve the wire into a hanger shape and poke each end carefully through the sides of the apple as shown in the photo. Use the skinny end of a small paintbrush to curl the ends of the wire that you poked through.

Tie a piece of raffia into a bow out onto the craft wire just before where the top curls begin. Hot glue the barnyard red button to the center of the raffia bow.

Note: It is not necessary to paint the back of the apple, though you may if you like.

Primary colors: If you prefer to use primary colors for your apple, use red for the apple, leave the decorative edges plain, use yellow decorative fabric, and primary colored decorative buttons. Use a white craft pen to write "CLASS ACT!" on your apple.

Alright, now its time to wrap up a delicious week of BODACIOUS BANANAS. Now I know that my mother has been raggin on me that I am gonna put her into a coma with all the sugar in this week's recipes. And I know that I have more diabetic readers out there than just my mother, DB's GF, Dad, basically my whole family LMAO. So today, for us, and for all of you I am closing the week out with some recipes aimed specifically at Diabetics! Yes, today is all about sugar substitutes and super flavors! So even if you aren't diabetic, try them out. Lord knows we could all use a little less in our lives after grabbing that syrupy soda with that fast food combo on our lunch break, or those few sugary sweet donuts in the break room first thing in the morning... you get the idea! So try it out... Eat & Enjoy!



DIABETIC BANANA BREAD

1/4 c. shortening
Sugar substitute equivalent to 1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas, mashed

Cream shortening, sugar substitute and egg. Add flour, soda, salt, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Add bananas. Mix well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes in lightly sprayed or greased pans.



Diabetic Strawberry/Banana Milkshake

Yield: 2 Servings

1 c Frozen whole strawberries
1 Ripe banana
1 c Milk (skim and low fat work fine)
4 pk Sugar substitute (or more to taste)
1/2 ts Vanilla

Place all ingredients in a blender and run the blender on the highest setting. The shake will take longer in the blender than most people will expect because of the frozen strawberries. However, the frozen berries along with the banana provide the smooth thickness of this drink. Remember, this recipe is not a scientific formula. The quantities of each ingredient are very flexible, experiment until you find your favorite.



Oatmeal-Banana Muffins Recipe

Oatmeal-Banana Muffins Recipe from the diabetic recipe collection at InformationAboutDiabetes.com

Ingredients:

3 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup Rolled Oats
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tbsp Sugar
1 Egg
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 cup Lowfat Milk
1 small Banana, cubed
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds, toasted

Preparation:

Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and blend.

Spoon into oiled muffin tins or paper muffin cups.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Makes 12

One Muffin = Calories: 180 Carbohydrates: 29 Protein: 5 Fat: 5
Sodium: 91 Potassium: 221 Cholesterol: 23

Source: Holiday Cookbook, American Diabetes Association, ISBN 0-13-024894-0, by Betty Wedman, M.S.,R.D.



Diabetic Banana Split Pie

Yield: 1 Pie
Ingredients

1 graham cracker crust
1 (4 oz.) pkg. sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
2 c. low-fat milk
2 bananas, sliced
1 (15 oz.) can crushed pineapple
1 c. Cool Whip
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. pecans, chopped

Instructions

Mix pudding with milk and beat until thick, pour into crust
Put bananas over pudding
Squeeze pineapple to remove all juice
Sprinkle on top of bananas
Cover with Cool Whip, sprinkle pecans on top
Chill well

Well everybody, that's it. I am so incredibly out of here! I have tons of last minute things to do before the best day of the year (aside from Christmas) LOL gets here tomorrow! Thanks for joining me and I hope you will come back again tomorrow to see what is in store for the first day of school, a new food theme, and lots of more fun and excitement. So until tomorrow... HUGS!