Spring is here. I am so excited the kids can actually play outside. We just moved and the kids love the new place. If it is sunny outside they are out there playing, kicking around the soccer ball, playing catch, rolling in the grass you name it they do it. Trying to find something fun to do on these days is very simple. The weekends are going to be reserved for bike rides and picnics. So I figure during the busy week they are just going to have to use their own imaginations. Which of course children have a ton of.

Try this easy recipe on one of those busy nights

SOUTHWESTERN BEEF AND BEAN BURGER WRAPS
4 servings

What you need:
12 ounces 93%-lean ground beef
1 cup refried beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapenos
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup prepared salsa
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
4 whole-wheat tortillas, warmed (see Tip)
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Directions:
1.Position oven rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray.
2.Gently combine ground beef, beans, cilantro and jalapenos in a medium bowl (do not overmix). Shape into four 5-by-2-inch oblong patties and place on the prepared pan.
3.Broil the patties until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 165°F, 12 to 14 minutes.
4.Meanwhile, mash together avocado, salsa and garlic powder in a small bowl.
5.Place tortillas on a clean work surface. Spread each with the guacamole, then sprinkle with lettuce and cheese. Top each with a burger and roll into a wrap. Serve immediately, with lime wedges
~thanks to eatingwell.com for this amazing recipe

Nutrition
Per serving: 394 calories; 17 g fat (6 g sat, 7 g mono); 67 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 28 g protein; 10 g fiber; 634 mg sodium; 810 mg potassium.

KIDS COOK

There comes a time when you are just not in the mood to cook a lavish dinner for the family, so why don't you have once a week kids choice and cook night. I am lucky enough to have a 9yr old daughter who can cook if I let her, but for those of you who have smaller kids, they can still pick the dinner and help out with the cooking. I love when my kids want to help me cook now cometimes that means I actually work harder, but it is totally worth it for the time I get to spend with my kids, plus you never know I could be helping shape them into some fine chefs someday.

Here is a great kids recipe:

PIGS IN A BLANKET
This is a classic recipe, that I remember making with my mom when I was a kid

What you need:
•1 package hot dogs
•1 package cresent rolls
•4 slices of cheese
•1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Open can of cresent rolls, and roll out each triangle.
3.Place hot dog inside of the triangle, if you want cheese add half slice of cheese and roll dough around the hot dog.
4.Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cresent rolls are browned

Now I know this is not the most elaborate dish, but sometimes we need to have some fun when we cook with the kids, Worry less about how fancy or nice the dinner is and focus more on how much fun and time you spent with the kids doing it.

The Overwhelmed Parent

Being a busy parent is one thing, but being an overwhelmed parent it another. I am sure many of you are overwhelmed right now especially those of you doing the last minute tax filing. grrrr those taxes. So what do we need to do. I say we find a good way to calm down and relax. Now if that means throwing your kids into some project that will occupy them, or even throw in a movie and let them veg while you sit in a quiet corner of the house with a good book, crocheting, knitting, scrapbooking, cruising around on the internet, gardening etc. Every parent needs downtime, but I find it hard to find the time for downtime. So I have started making it a point that during the times my kids are home and i need sanity time, I make them either watch a movie, color in their coloring books, play their video games, espeically the V-smile, something to keep them busy for a good hour, and then I either grab a good book, or put on a fabulous old movie I love and just relax. Its hard to take that time when you are busy, but you need to.


Here is a 30 min. dinner idea

SKILLET LASAGNA
serves 4

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 lb ground beef
1 jar spagetti sauce
3 cups egg noodles
Salt and pepper to taste
16 oz cottage or ricotta cheese
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS:
Brown beef in skillet, then drain. Cook noodles as directed on package.
Pour half the jar of sauce over the beef on medium heat.
Spread with cottage cheese.
Then add noodles.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the noodles and top with mozzarella cheese.
Cover and simmer 10 minutes
~big thanks to parentsconnect.com for this recipe

here are some great deals going on right now

WALMART:
don't forget to check out your local walmart, right now they are clearancing alot of childrens items, for some super cheap deals

TARGET:
$5 licensed kids tshirts
10 for $9 gerber two pack food

AMAZON:
Apples to apples game for only $6.99


One of the things I love to do is browse the amazon outlet, overstock.com, and jcpenney outlets

These are just fun things that I do when I have a little bit of downtiime. I am on a search for some great things to do with the kiddos I am on a mission to save us some dough and time.

No sleep? Here are some suggestions

Its Tuesday but yet I feel like its monday, I am very tired today, long night last night. I know there are many of you out there that have the same problem. This is the greatness of having kids. My son lost his tooth yesterday while munching on a few pieces of his Easter Candy. So you can just imagine how excited he was last night when it came bedtime. Speaking of bedtime this blog is going to be a helpful hint for those of you that have children afraid to go to sleep.

My son from the time he turned 5 would wake up about 5 times a night with nightmares, night terrors, you name it he had it. I was a walking zombie, it got to the point that I was starting to get mad at him, but trying very hard not to show it. I finally decided to talk to him and find out what was going on. Funny thing is he didn't remember getting up 90% of the time. This as you can imagine frustrated me even more.

Here was our solution:
He was afraid of monsters, so we developed a monster spray. He would spray it around the room at night before bed, then when he woke up in the middle of the night scared he would grab the monster spray and shoot it at anything he thought was a monster.
We also had him "protected" by his big superman and dragon pillows
The last thing we did was leave a nite lite on for him. Over the course of a few weeks he actually started sleeping through the night.

Also here is a great idea for those busy sleepless parents:

If you are a coffee drinker,(I am a huge coffee drinker, but they say tea is a better boost for the really tire parent) grab yourself a big cup of coffee and some fresh fruit for breakfast, this will help wake you up

If your not a coffee drinker, grab some tea, or a smoothie, both of those will help jumpstart your day too.

Now when that lag time starts in the middle of the day, grab some raw nuts or veggies these will give you another natural jump to the day.

Hopefully some of these things will help you with those nights full of no sleep intermixed with battling monsters and ghosts.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs everywhere

So Easter came and went. I hope everyone had a fabulouse time. I know we did. The kids woke us up about 7:30am, they were so excited to go easter egg hunting, we ended up locking them in our room with us until we were up and ready to go. Once the hunt was on it didn't take long for them to find them all. After that was over we did the normal going to church and then going to the grandparents for some more Easter egg hunts. I was lucky enought to find the $10 dollar egg. Yep thats right I got $10 hmmm at this moment all I am thinking about is buying some great tasting coffee with that money. LOL Anyways all was great.
This morning i realize I have a ton of leftover hardboiled eggs, which brings me to todays blog.....


After doing much research I have found 8 different ideas for your hard boiled eggs, I hope you can put some of them to use:

1. There is the usual egg salad sandwich

2. The egg salad salad (basically make the egg salad sanwich filling but put it on a bed of lettuce instead of bread

3. Use those eggs for part of cobb salad or any salad

4. you can make deviled eggs

5. potato and egg casserole
•6 medium potatoes, peeled
•1 cup (1/2 pint) sour cream
•1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream chicken soup
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon pepper
•1/4 teaspoon curry powder
•4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
•1/2 cup soft bread crumbs, combined with
•1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Cook potatoes whole in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain. Slice about 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine sour cream, chicken soup, salt, pepper, and curry powder.

Layer bottom of a 2 quart casserole with 1/3 of potato slices, then 1/3 egg slices, then 1/3 cream mixture. Repeat layering 2 more times.

Sprinkle bread crumb/cheese mixture over top. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350° F oven about 30 minutes, or until heated through and browned on top.
Serves 6.
~thansk to inmamakitchen.com for this recipe

6. Eat them plain for Breakfast, or a snack

7. Make potato salad

8. This one is a little different but totally worth a shot
Hard cooked egg cookies
Zest of 1 lemon + 1/2 tsp lemon extract
10 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter
4 hard cooked/boiled eggs, peeled
1 egg
3 cups ap flour
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together lemon zest, lemon extract, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor. Add in hard boiled eggs and process until fully incorporated. Mix in egg. Add flour and pulse until dough just comes together.

At this point you can chill the dough for a bit if your kitchen is very hot, otherwise roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into rounds with a 2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter. Dip the cut cookies into the egg white then dredge in the sugar. Arrange on baking sheet - cookies will not spread - and bake until just beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 4 dozen.
~THanks to bakingbites.com for this unique recipe

Easter is right around the corner

Ok being a busy parent is never easy, but it seems this is the norm for todays families. We are so busy that the realization hit us, the easter egg dying won't be done until Saturday night. Haha. I thought I was going to be getting it done way earlier, but htis time no such luck. So I have one really great suggestion, when you take the time out to dye your eggs turn it into a family time. Get some snacks so after the dying is done you guys can have some family fun. One thing we are going to do, is find some easter movies, then when we are done dying the eggs we will sit and veg with movies and snacks. I have alot of homework to do, but I will make the time to sit with the family and do whats important.

Here is a great dinner idea it can cook while you are dying the eggs

Just make simple soup and sandwiches. Its quick easy and fuss free, There are also many soups that you can just throw into a crockpot and let it simmer all day while you are out doing stuff.


Also don't forget to take advantage of all the great websites out there with printable coloring pages for Easter. This is something to keep the kids busy when you need to get all the egg decorating prep done.

Here are a few great ones
Coloring pages 1

Coloring pages 2

coloring pages 3

3 days until Easter

The Easter countdown is on at our house. I think my kids love Easter almost as much as christmas. My son loves being able to find the eggs he doesn't really even care about what he gets in his basket. The adults love going to the grandparents house, they always host an easter egg hunt that involves money and presents woohoo!!! So here is another idea on how to decorate your easter eggs, but this time it will be using dye.

There are so many ways to dye easter eggs nowadays it can get overwhelming. What we do is buy just the normal egg dye, then we use rubberbands and white or yellow crayons. With the rubberbands, make sure they are thick, you wrap it around the egg and place it in a dark color dye, then when you get the color you want take it out pat it dry, next take the bands off and put the egg in a different color. thats it when you get the look you want take it out and let it dry. The crayon we use to write messages or draw things and the dye won't stick to it.



Here is a no fuss recipe for Ham.....This seems to be the favorite for Easter dinners
~this is a slow cooker recipe, so you will want to put it in as soon as you get up
WHAT YOU NEED:

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 (8 pound) cured, bone-in picnic ham

DIRECTIONS:

Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar on the bottom of the slow cooker crock. Place the ham flat side down into the slow cooker - you might have to trim it a little to make it fit. Use your hands to rub the remaining brown sugar onto the ham. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours.
~ Thanks to Allrecipe.com for this fabulous recipe

Note: if you buy a smaller ham time will need to be adjusted I found that a 3lb ham cooks in about 2 hrs. just keep your eye on it, if you go with a smaller one.

More Easter Ideas

Since it is Wednesday and Easter is just around the corner I thought I would give an idea on decorating your eggs without all the dye and mess. I love the dye and mess myself, but I know there are many parents out there that would prefer not to go that route.

A WAY TO DECORATE WITHOUT DYE

So this is a very simple idea and perfect for those families that don't have alot of down time to be able to dye their eggs.

WHAT YOU NEED:

craft or white glue
paint brush
craft supplies (sprinkles, sequins, buttons, beads, tissue paper, glitter,pompom balls,sticker etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

The easiest way to do this is poor the glue in a bowl, use a paint brush to brush the glue on the egg
Then decorate it, if you are using things like glitter or sequins your best bet is to roll the egg in it.
Then let the egg dry :)

Another thing you could do is put dots of glue on the egg or lines of glue and just cover the glued part with your decorations GO Wild with this


Here is a Quick and Easy Dinner~Takes about 20-30 min Makes 4 servings
CHICKEN LO MEIN

What you need
1 tablespoon oil-sesame or peanut oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin slices
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce or teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or 1 teaspoon powder
1 3-ounce package chicken flavor ramen noodle soup
1 1-lb bag frozen mixed oriental vegetables
1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink.
2. Add vegetables and lid. Cook until vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. In the meantime, cook the noodles (without the flavoring packet) according to package directions. Drain.
4. Add soy sauce, garlic, ginger and seasoning packet to water. Mix well. Pour over chicken and vegetables, add noodles and toss to mix.
~Big thanks to Family.com for this recipe

Easter Ideas day 2

Here we go with day 2 of Easter Ideas. I love Easter, this time of year brings about the best Candy. I would even go so far as to say I think Easter candy is better than Christmas candy. My favorite is the sweet tarts shaped like bunnies and ducks. Don't forge to check your local target, Rite Aid, Fred meyer/Kroger, Walgreens/CVS, Walmart, or Alberstons for great candy deals this week.
Here is a fun Easy Easter Craft

JELLY BEAN CARROTS~you have seen these in stores, but why buy them when you can make them for so much less :)

What You Need:

cellophane cone shaped bags or clear plastic icing bags (these are usually available at Michaels, or sometimes in the cake decorating aisle; in a pinch, you can fashion your own from a rectangular, clear plastic bag of some kind - simply fold the bag diagonally to form a triangular cone then secure the lengthwise seam with transparent tape)

orange and green jelly beans

green tissue paper

green curling ribbon

Instructions:
1. Fill the bag about half full with orange jelly beans. Add a layer of green jelly beans. Prop the bag inside a narrow vase or wine glass to hold it up while you work on the next steps.

2. Cut a strip of folded green tissue paper that is a little wider than the length now available from the top of the green jelly beans to the edge of the bag. Make sure the double-layered tissue paper strip is long enough to roll easily into a loose circle that will fit nicely inside the top of the bag. A generous overlap when you slide the ends of the circle together is fine and will add a little body to the top of the carrot.

3. Roll the tissue paper strip loosely and fit it inside the bag, pushing it down to meet the top layer of green jelly beans.

4. Tie one or two strands of curling ribbon around the bag, just above the green jelly beans, so that the ribbon cinches the bag tightly and holds the tissue paper in place.

Curl the ends of the ribbon.

If you check your local grocery stores many times they will have bulk Jelly Beans, this will make it easier to find the orange and green.
~Thanks to allfreecrafts.com for this great idea.




Here is an easy and quick Easter dessert: These could also make a great gift

BIRD NEST
Ingredients:

Chow mien noodles
chocolate chips or brick chocolate
Jelly beans
candy coated chocolate eggs
marshmallow chicks
peanut butter
wax paper
paper plates (colored plates optional)


Directions:

Place squares of wax paper onto to individual plates. Put chow mien noodles in a large bowl. If using brick chocolate, break into pieces. Melt chocolate chips or pieces in the microwave, or over low heat on stove, just until melted. Pour melted chocolate over chow mien noodles, mix together to coat.

Place mounds of chocolate/chow mien mixture onto several plates (on top of waxed paper). Have children form the mixtures into nests. Be sure the chocolate has cooled, but don't wait too long or it will harden!

Using peanut butter as an adhesive, "glue" down the jelly beans and candy coated chocolate eggs inside the nest cavity. "Glue" marshmallow chick on the edge of or inside of the nest.

These make fun gifts from kids to their friends, teacher and family members. You can also make these nests at birthday parties as a fun and edible take home party favor.
~Thanks to Familycorner.com for this fabulous recipe

Easter Week

Since Easter is this coming weekend, I am going to focus this whole week on fun things to do in preparation for Easter. All of the things I will blog about will be fun and frugal, which is always my favorite. This last weekend went by so fast, I lost track of time. Today is the start of school again, for the my husband, the kids, and myself. The busy life returns :) We will make the best of it as usual. The Friday family fun night will be in full bloom now.

So Here is a great Easter craft idea:
A Rabbit Windsock

What you will need:

white paint
tissue/crate paper (spring colors)
2 liter bottle with top and bottom cut off
string
stapler

Instructions:

Paint the part of the bottle you cut off which would be the middle. Let dry.

Glue on the eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

Staple the tissue/crate paper to the bottom.

Staple the string to the top and hang up.


Here is also a great sweet treat for all the marshmallow lovers out there:

What you need:

Marshmallows
Scissors
Toothpick
Food coloring

How To:
Using scissors, make a diagonal cut in the upper left corner of the marshmallow.

Gently lift the corner and make a snip down the middle.

Use your fingers to separate the ears and angle them outward.

From the point where the first cut was made, snip to the middle of the marshmallow.

Pinch the cut end slightly to form a rounded tail.

For the bunny's face, make an 1/4-inch horizontal cut midway between the base of the ears and the bottom of the marshmallow.

Create the feet by making a diagonal cut in the lower left corner of the marshmallow. Divide the feet as shown.

Using a toothpick dipped in food coloring, draw on the eyes, nose, and whiskers.



Check out this fabulous deal going on at Childrens Place online
Click here for amazing deal

There are so many great deals going on right now especially with Easter around the corner. You will find many stores are right now having great sales on Easter outfits and shoes, don't forget to take advantage of those too.

Friday wooohooo

I love Friday's for one it is the last day of the work week,but for two it is family night here. So of course we are going to have to vote on what we want to do, but my vote is going towards eating dinner out as a family and then bringing home a movie. You have to check out restaurant.com. They offer gift certificates for very great deals. I just had one of my blog readers contact me to tell me she spent $6.40 for 3 $25 gift certificates and 1 $10. The way it works you type in the zipcode or city you are looking for and then it will show what restaurants are in on this program. Almost all the restaurants do have a minimum purchase to use the gift certificates, but its normally min. purchase of $35 for a $25 gift certificate, so you only pay n$10 plus tip. It still ends up being a great deal. Also right now if you type in the code word COOK when checking out it will give you 80% off. Yay!!

Since Easter is right around the corner I will be featuring some different crafts for the kids over the next couple of days:

Supplies:
1 sheet brown construction paper
Contact paper, approximately 13” x 16”
Colorful tissue paper
Scissors

Fold the construction paper in half like a greeting card.

Cut out a cross from the construction paper. Carefully cut out the centers of the cross according to the pattern.

Carefully peel backing off of the contact paper and place it on the work surface, sticky side up.

Open the construction paper cross like a greeting card, there should still be one connecting side.

Place the right side of the cross carefully onto the left side of the contact paper and press down to adhere. The left side of the cross should be laying open like a greeting card, the right side of the contact paper will be needed later.

Tear or cut tissue paper and place all over the cross. Overlap colors as you go so that you do not have any empty spaces.

When all spaces are covered, carefully close the cross like a greeting card, lining up so that it matches up.

Fold the right side of the contact paper onto the cross and press down. Press out any air bubbles.

Use scissors to cut the cross out of the contact paper, trimming close to the edges.

Hang in a window and watch the sun shine through!

Here is a great snack idea:

Strawberries and Yogurt to dip. (Right now Safeway has their Strawberries BOGO)

Day 4 Of Spring Break

Just a quick note, don't forget to check out the new crafts/Deals/and recipes tabs on the top. My favorite section is the deals section, I am going to find great deals and post them their for you all to take advantage of.

Alright so only 3 more days and school starts for all of us. So I better enjoy these next couple of days. Today I want to take my kiddos to the zoo. Here is the trick with the zoo, I know a season pass costs a lot up front, but dang it is worth it. I know price all depends on where you live, but here the Oregon Zoo cost $79. Once that is paid you can go to the zoo year round for free. If you live in this area or are here to visit another great option is to go on Tuesday, they have a discount day. $2 per person is all it will cost for you to be able to take your kids. I love the zoo not only do you get to see all the animals, but you also can watch shows, learn new things, and have a picnic. The whole entire day can be spent at the zoo. At the end of the day, the kids will be so tired and ready for relaxation and bed time.



If you live in an area where there is not a zoo close by, see if there are any sort of children museums,aquariums or any other kid friendly place. Most offer memberships. If you still find there is nothing to do, try going to the Library. I know my kids can spend hours at the Library.



If none of this sounds fun to you or you just don't have the time try this:

dedicate 30 minutes of your time to sitting with your kids and read them their favorite book, but this time be sure to change your voice and facial expressions for the characters. If you are up to it, you could put down the book and act out a story instead. The look on the kiddos faces when you are done is priceless.



Great dinner idea:

Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)

This is a favorite in our household we go all out.



Pancakes or hasbrowns

eggs

sausage/bacon



To make this even more fun, have everyone where their PJs to dinner. This makes it feel even more breakfasty. Then when everyone is done, they are all set for bed time :)

Day 3 of Spring Break

So here we are on Day 3 of our Spring Break. Needless to say the kids are getting a little restless so I need to find something for them to do. Since it is a nice day outside (and we are stuck in an apartment) I think we are going to go outside and have a Rock Band......ok well its us three attempting to make music with a few different sizes of rocks. I have done this once before and it kept us busy for about 2 hours. We each took turns being the music director, the director was in charge of deciding who uses which rocks and what kind of a beat they should make. I loved it just because it was very time consuming, and FREE!!!

If you are not into making a ROCK BAND, here is a great craft idea for the bored kids.

Making Rock Bugs.....

Pick some big and small rocks

Get some craft paint

paint brushes

Once you have all your supplies let the kids have at it, they can paint their rocks to look like bugs or anything they desire, let their imagination run wild.

The best part is if you let them do this while they are outdoors there will be hardly any mess to clean up.

Here is a cheap fun lunch idea

make your childs favorite sandwich then take any shape cookie cutter and cut out their sandwhich.

keep the outer ring of the sandwich, place fruit, crackers,pretzals or any other solid food you serve for lunch.

This makes for a fun lunch with no extra money involved. The best part is many times kids get bored with the same old sandwich,but when you make it look different it somehow becomes a totally different sandwich.

This is the Start

So here I am in a new blogging adventure. I was sitting at the park yesterday thinking about how much I wish I could do this all the time (sit with my kiddos at the park). I am currently on Spring break, so i am making the most of it, sitting there watching my kids play I realized there is no reason why I can't make more time for them and my family. I just have to be creative about it. Money is tight here too so I need to be able to find ways to spend time with my family on a budget. That is when this idea hit me, why not blog about what I am doing to spend the quality time needed with my family. Every family out there needs quality time. So this blog will hopefully help all the busy parents, single parents, even the frugal parents.
A little background on us. My husband works fulltime and goes to school fulltime. I lost my job about 8 months ago, thats when I decided to go back to school and try my hand at starting up my own business. My daughter is 9 almost 10, she loves to cheer for the youth cheerleading program here. My son is 6 and he just loves his video games and soccer. To save money we are going to be moving in May to another state, school, city. My husband will still have his job, but he will be taking public transportation which will save us gas money. The main hope is to find a place just a little bit cheaper than where we are at now.

First idea is a Friday Family Fun night (doesn't have to be on Friday this just happens to be the best time for us). We dedicate every Friday to family time after dad gets off work. We then vote on what we want to do. Many times it is renting some movies and vegging out in front of the tv. Others it is a game night. There are many things you can do, something for every budget. Games, movies, family dinner, craft night, picnic on the living room floor and much much more. We have made it a tradition that every other friday we go out to dinner. Nothing too fancy ever, but it is fun for the kids. The other nights we normally have a family dinner making event. Everyone has a job and the kids love to help cook.

So heres to trying out your hand at a family night, I am telling you even the busiest people have a couple of hours they can dedicate. That is the key though, you have to block that time out as family time or it will never work, something will always come up. Have fun trying this out.

Here is a great dinner idea on the cheap:
Goofy noodles (bowtie, or wagon wheel)
pasta sauce
salad
bread

Its basically spaghetti, but if you can find silly noodles it makes it that much more fun. Its easy quick and cheap.