Alphabet Train Fun

Chugga chugga chugga woo woo!  Ok, I don't know how to spell train noises, but that's my best attempt.  We got the Infantino Alphabet Train from our church's toy exchange and gave it to Li'l Girlie for Christmas.  It's really designed for kids 3-5, but since she's really, really into trains right now, we figured we'd try it out.

Right now Li'l Girlie just enjoys watching us put the train together, making train noises and trying to say what the object is on the top of the train cars when we point to them.  I can see how it will become a really fun way to learn the alphabet as she gets to be a bit older.  This puzzle, along with several other Infantino puzzles, is an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio winner and has suggested games and activities on the top of the box. The whole train is over 5 feet long, so the size of it even appealing for little kids.  Definitely a floor puzzle that can be worked on by more than one person.

The pictures are cute and colorful; the only kind of odd one is the big Jello mold for the letter 'J'.  But then again, how many easily recognizable things begin with J?

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

There are a couple of blogs that I follow to help me be a more frugal mama and a better steward of the time and money that I have.  MoneySavingMom.com is one of my favorites.  She is co-hosting the Eat from the Pantry Challenge for the month of January.  It's not a contest or a competition, but rather an opportunity to challenge yourself to cut back and use up what you have in the fridge, freezer, and pantry.  Especially with a drop in our income (not to mention my husband spending most of 2009 unemployed) and even more so in this economic environment, the creativity to use what you have is a skill that I'd like to develop. 

While my pantry/fridge/freezer stockpiles aren't huge, I'm still going to give it my best shot.  My goal is to have meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) for an entire week without having to shop for any ingredients.  My week will start on Sun, January 10th. Any longer I can go is a bonus. 

Here are my own 'rules' and caveats:

• I will still grocery shop during the challenge week, but only for essential dairy and produce (I do have an almost 2-year old in the house) as well as future food stockpiling.  
• I can't use any of the future stockpile stuff for challenge week meals.   
• No stockpiling purchases can be full price...they must be on sale, and preferably have coupons.
• I have a dinner commitment on Tuesday nights which I will keep; I have to make sure that my husband and daughter have ample leftovers to eat that evening.  
  

At least to me, this venture seems less intimidating when I'm doing it alongside other moms, even if they are online and I can't see them. I've felt inspired to continue to try to save money and have fun doing it.  MoneySavingMom has a FAQ's page with some leads on getting started saving  It's easier than you might think.