Target Toy Coupons

What a deal! If you are like me and haven't started any Christmas shopping at all yet, then you might be able to use these coupons. I found a couple of 50% off coupons for toys my kids put on their Christmas lists, like the Littlest Pet Shop and $5 off an Easy Bake Oven. Yippee!

Here's the link to the coupons. Target Toy Coupons

You can select the coupons you want and print them out at home. There are 32 pages of coupons, which include everything from toys to food to household items.

**Note -- Some of the coupons expire TODAY (11/24/10) but others are good until the middle of December.

I came across these coupons on another blog I follow that has coupons and hot deals: A Little of This, A Little of That.

Happy shopping to you!

Homemade Pizza

One of the most fun meals my family has made in a while is our own homemade pizzas. I made my own pizza dough for the first time and it was surprisingly simple. It turned out to be just as tasty as any pre-made dough I have bought.

The best part was when the kids helped mix up the dough and roll out their own pizzas. We made little individual pizzas so they could add their own toppings. This works well for us since we have one veggie lover and one cheese & sausage pizza connoisseur.

I found this recipe on a cooking blog called Anna Maria Volpi: A Passion for Cooking. 

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tbs. active dry yeast or 1 oz. brewer's yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

There are pictures and steps on the original website, but basically you just activate the yeast in warm water for 5 minutes, then add the yeast, olive oil and salt to the flour. Mix together, knead and form a ball. Place the ball of dough in a bowl covered with a towel in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Then punch down the dough, roll it out on a flour surface, and top it with your favorite pizza toppings. I baked our pizzas for about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. 

Home Improvements + Kids = Fun

That's right, doing home improvements with your kids can be fun. Believe it or not!

I decided to tackle our small half bathroom near our family room. It was in dire need of a paint job. The kids and I head off to Home Depot to find paint and supplies.

This may be hard to believe but -- they were actually helpful when it came to painting. There is only one little streak of paint on the wooden molding that gives an indication that a four-year-old and six-year-old were part of our paint crew.

This post is participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. 

Photo Gallery (by Emily)

Maybe Emily will grow up to be a photographer. At least once a week I'll pick up the camera to upload pictures and find an interesting array of photos that have the tell-tale signature style of a 6-year-old photo enthusiast.

Here's a photo gallery of her recent "work." Note the Halloween theme. I'm sure I'll be getting a call from a fancy-shmancy New York City art gallery any day now. 

Portrait of the artist -- 
She must have enlisted the help of her assistant (aka little brother Mason) for this one. 

Day 7 of the All About Me in 30 Days meme asks for a photo that makes me smile. This one of Emily definitely qualifies. 

All About Me in 30 Days - Day 6

Day 6: 20 of My Favorite Things

My first thought was that my favorite things are my family and God, but then I realized that they are not things -- duh! I had to debate whether to take this literally as "things" or just aspects of my life that I love. I decided to go with actual things, not people or places (the other types of nouns).

Twenty of my favorite things, in no particular order. I feel like I've left out some meaningful things but this is what I can think of at the moment. Coming up with 20 favorite things is not as easy as it sounds!

1. My bed (Sleep number! Yeah!)
2. Books
3. My computer
4. My family photo albums
5. Internet
6. Facebook
7. Decaf coffee
8. Costco Combo Pizza

9. Diet Coke
10. Music
11. My pink, fluffy bathrobe
12. My wedding photos
13. My kids' scrapbooks
14. McMenamin's cheeseburgers
15. Comfy warm-up pants
16. My bike
17. Sagelands Cabernet
18. My Dodge Caravan
19. DVR

20. My wedding ring