Money Monday {Quick Cash}

There are times where I want a little "mad money" - for example, when we go to Disney, want a new shirt, etc.  I don't always have extra in my budget for splurging so I've come up with a few ways for you to get some mad money.

• cash in your spare/loose change
• have a yard sale
• sell items on Craigslist or eBay
• check your old purses or jacket pockets (you'd be surprised)

These are certainly not the only ways to get some mad money or extra cash!  How do you get mad money/extra cash?

~CB~

Swing Batter Batter.....

As evidenced by the baseball favicon I have as well as all the baseball stories I have, it's no secret I LOVE BASEBALL !!  My boys LOVE BASEBALL !!  My husband LOVES BASEBALL (and played in college) !  We have friends that play for minor league teams, friends that played in the majors, and friends that played college ball.  We're a baseball-lovin' family.

My boys had an AMAZING season this year on their 8U team !  We had a perfect season with no losses!  The 8U Red Sox were definitely "the team" to beat. 

 They really played well together as a team!

 It was so nice that Carter was able to play "up" this year rather than play t-ball.  He adjusted quite well to only be 6 and playing with mostly 8 year olds.

 My boys!!!

Go Red Sox !

~CB~

Sea World

The kids' last day of school was last Friday, but I wanted to be sure to document a few "school" things, like Nolan's 2nd grade field trip to Sea World.

Several girlfriends and I had a group full of ALL BOYS...but the boys were so good and even though it was HOT HOT HOT they didn't complain at all !

We took in several of the shows at Sea World, but of course, the Shamu show was the favorite!

What a great field trip with great friends!

~CB~

Money Monday {Chicken}

Chicken for Money Monday?  YES.  Chicken.  I wanted to share a HUGE tip with y'all if you are SERIOUS about saving money!

Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE me a good boneless, skinless chicken breast.  That being said, if you are using just chicken breasts in a recipe, feel free to buy whatever type of chicken breast you want.  IF though, you are going to shred your chicken and you could care less about white meat vs dark meat--then you NEED to buy a whole chicken, cook it, and shred it yourself!  It will save you TONS of money.

Trust me.

One of my favorite recipes to use shredded chicken in is called Mexican Chicken.  All you do is take a whole chicken, put it in the crockpot with about 2 packets of taco seasoning mix (and water).  Cook it several hours (until the chicken is done), then shred it.  You can have the shredded chicken with quesadillas, or eat it by itself with some sides like salad or refried beans.

Usually one chicken makes 2 meals for my family!

~CB~

Best of the Best

A few weekends ago (when I was supposed to be at the beach but couldn't go because of the tropical storm) we loaded up the boys and drove about 3 hours south of home to see a big baseball game!

This was a game that had the top 80 high school baseball players in the state of Florida and was more of a showcase type game.  We had a friend playing in the game and we thought it would be relaxed enough for the boys to enjoy.  Not to mention that we had to do something since we weren't at the beach! ha!

 We were able to see some AMAZING pitching, fielding, and batting by 40 of the players!  Amazing baseball players for sure!

 The boys had fun watching the game up close beside the fence at the dugout level.  It was quite hot at the game so we spent some time in the covered stands as well as under a shade tree!

After the big game, we went to eat some good ol' bbq with our friends.  Their son (the baseball player) asked if I took my camera everywhere I went.  I think the fact that I had it in the restaurant was probably his answer.  HA!

The boys did great for the game to be so hot and we all had a fantastic time watching baseball!

~CB~

Bowling

When my weekend full of big plans got ruined by the big tropical storm, my brother and I decided to take our kids bowling!

These four LOVE each other to pieces!  BEST COUSINS!!

My youngest niece won the first game (out of the kids) and Nolan won the second game!  My brother of course beat EVERYONE.

It's always a fun time when my brother and I can get our kids together!  They get along wonderfully and are just the "best" of friends.

I didn't get to go to the beach, but you know what?  I got to spend time with my family and that's what counts--no matter where it was.

~CB

Money Monday {Gift Closet}

I skipped last week's "Money Monday" because it was Memorial Day and we had no Internet anyhow because THE RAINS CAME.  AND THE WIND.  AND THE HAIL.  Otherwise known as Tropical Storm Beryl.

For this week's Money Monday, I want to encourage you to begin a gift closet (or drawer, container, etc.) and start saving for holidays and birthdays!  As I've stated in a prior post on my gift closet, it has saved me HUNDREDS of dollars over time!

If the thought of this overwhelms you, start small!  Just start by making a list of who you have to buy for, for birthdays, holidays, etc. and maybe make a goal of buying for 1 or 2 people this month.  It's JUNE people!  Christmas will be here before you know it!

Do you have a gift closet?

~CB~