Family

Happy Face Pancakes

My family’s Sunday ritual: Pancakes for breakfast!!! We can’t let a Sunday pass without spending the first hours of the morning cooking-eating-enjoying the magic flavor and fun of Pancakes. My husband is the pancake maker of our family. He has the talent of pancake making and my kids and I have the hunger to eat them!

A couple of weeks ago, he tried something new (I am so sure someone else have done this before), he made: Happy face pancakes. Here is how to do it:

1)    Use your favorite pancake batter

2)    Hit the frying pan (or pancake pan)

3)    Draw a happy face eyes and mouth (nose optional) with the pancake batter.  

4)  Cook a little teeny tiny bit.

5)    Pour pancake batter around all the features to make a big round pancake face.

6)    Flip the pancake, and there you go, you should have a happy face pancake!

Best serving suggestion: add REAL maple syrup and whipping cream. 

Why use butter when whipped cream can be had?

Enjoy!

Pour the pancake mix to
draw a Happy Face

Fill the circle and flip. Tah-Dah!

Enjoy!

The Magic of Saving Money 

Now that I am a mother of two children, I need to watch how I spend every single nickel! Food goes fast in my house and money comes slow. Re-evaluating how I spend money has helped me to improve my house spending budget.  If I know where the money goes, I can prevent any source of waste. Some ideas that have helped me make my “Little Piggy” get more saving are:

1)    Meal planning: I force myself to buy healthy fresh food that will feed my whole family and keep them happy, and avoid buying cheap unhealthy food.

2)    Carpooling: for kids school and work

3)    Swap goodies.

4)    Buy used items instead of new.

5)    Spend more time outside with my kids in places that are free to the public (library, parks, and public recreation areas)

6)    Year-round memberships at local children museums or zoos and visiting the museums who honor the membership while traveling.

7)    Exchange babysitting time with friends.

8)    Buy toys/gifts for my children only for special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas.

9)    Spend time making arts&crafts with my children with reused/recycled materials.

10) Teach my children how to take care of their stuff.

11) Have a wish list.

12) Have a must have list.

13) Always shop with a list.

14) Save money by Spending Less, not by buying cheap things that you don’t need.

15) Last but not least, be happy with what you have!

My main goal is to save money so we can do the things that we like to do as a family.  By being a smart shopper, I can save a lot of money and feel great by doing it. I want to spend time with my children traveling and learning about the wonderful world outside our home. The only way of doing this is by saving a lot of money!

Carol Flores Hodgman










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