Tips for Saving at HEB (and a recipe)

ALL the main ingredients to my favorite fruit salad were on sale today at HEB (the one on Hewitt Dr)...

Strawberries:  $0.99 a lb or $1.98 for two lbs.
Kiwi:  3 for $1
Pineapple:  Small ones 2 for $1!!!  (Large ones were $1.50)

I weighed the pineapple and the small ones were still a better price, though, really, once you remove core and fronds it might be about equal.  (That wasn't the only thing I found where bigger wasn't better/cheaper at HEB today...more about that in a bit, but first, the recipe).

My Favorite Fruit Salad

2 small pineapple or one large one.
1 lb (more or less) of strawberries, minus a few to munch on.
1 - 3 Kiwis
(Optional) 1 Banana
(Optional) 1 Orange

Start with the strawberries so they have time to create a syrup.  Slice strawberries into pieces (whatever size you like).  Stir roughly with a spoon to start the syruping process.  Chop pineapple into slices or squares.  Remove peel from kiwi and slice (I find the best way to peel a kiwi  is to chop off both rounded ends so you can slice the skin off straight down the sides of the kiwi).  Add kiwi and pineapple.  (You can slice up oranges and bannas too to add.  If I include bananas I always add them last so they don't get too mushy).


Savings Tip:  Bulk Isn't Always Better

I mentioned another deal where bulk wasn't better:  today a 3 lb bag of Gala apples was $2.98.  If you buy two that's $6 lb of apples for under $6 while the larger 5 lb bag of Gala apples was $6.47.  Yep, bulk is not always best.


After Easter Sales (Great for Birthday Party Favors Too)!

Also, today is a great day to pick up some after Easter deals (wherever you shop:  Walmart, HEB, Target, etc.)  At HEB all their easter items were 50% off.   You can stock up on things like plastic easter eggs and Easter basket fillers for next year, and,  if you have any kids birthday's coming up, this is a good place to find party favors.  Some of the toys, as well as the specialty shaped "eggs" (like the Doc McStuffins Flower Shaped "Eggs", Iron Man "Eggs", and Basketball "Eggs" pictured above), could absolutely work for other events.  Stuff those "eggs" with candy and stickers and you have yourself a great birthday party favor!

Egg Fillers at the Mayborn Museum Giftstore.

I always have trouble finding things for boys that fill fit in Easter eggs for our Easter egg hunts (other than candy...which I prefer to not go overboard on, since there's already some in their baskets).  I was excited to find some great fillers at the museum the other day...

Rocks!

These little bags, if I remember right, cost $2 or less (or there's a larger bag for $3).  Putting one of these pretty rocks or crystals in each egg I can fill 13 eggs with this!


Mini Subs
I didn't get these, but really considered it.  They had a package of three baking soda propelled submarines for $5 (so, less than $2 per sub...perfect if you have three kids, like me).


Tiny Animals
They had a number of little plastic animals, dinosaurs, and bugs for 50 cents each.  There were larger (but still egg size) ones in their clear bins next to the wind-up toys...but I went for the super tiny ones by the register.

The museum giftshop has lots of other stuff that would be sweet in an Easter basket (even if it wouldn't fit in an egg), like the "hatchable" eggs I mentioned in a previous post.

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My opinions are my own.  I was not payed for this post.

Magic School Bus at the Mayborn

The Magic School Bus Special Exhibit has been at the Mayborn for a few months now, and is only around for a few weeks more (til April 12).   It's all about weather!

There's the bus!  (One of them).

What you see up there are clouds that you could shoot with air
cannons to make them move.

There was a lot of great things to learn from, but unfortunately, a lot of what's there to learn requires reading the little signs next to the exhibits to really get it.  And would my child stay long enough for me to read ANY of them to him?  Nope.  Oh well.

The snowflakes needed no description though.  They used mirrors to
turn one section into a beautiful snowflake.  You could change up the
way the pieces looked.  (I enjoyed this one too!)

My cool weather man, dressed for sun AND snow.

It was a fun exhibit..  If your kids like Magic School Bus they will probably enjoy this.

Learn more here.

5 Alternative Easter Egg Ideas

Here are some egg shaped items to fill an Easter basket, or add some spice to an Easter Egg Hunt.


Hatch an Egg



I saw some of these (or similar) egg hatching kits at the Mayborn Museum Giftshop recently. You can also find lots of types of these on Amazon which will "hatch" into all sorts of animals.  If you have several baskets to fill with these, you can try some of the egg sets I found on Amazon below....

• 12 Dino Eggs for $13.10
• Various Mixed Sets of 3 Animal Planet Grow Eggs for $12.99
• Mixed Set with A Baby Chick, Duck, or Rabbit, Kitten, Frog and Robin for $24.99

Dinosaur Fossil Eggs

We've done dinosaur bone excavation kits before and they are great!  I've been amazed to see my child who doesn't like to play alone for 5 minutes spend HOURS working to unearth a dinosaur bone from a kit similar to this one.  I've seen the kit above in local stores (either HEB or Walmart...can't remember), and they were much cheaper than you can get them on Amazon.  But if you're buying eggs for a bunch, these I found a 6 pack set of dinosaur eggs for under $10 which might be a better deal.

 Egg Shaped Chalk




Walmart has these locally, and though I can't remember the price, it's a lot cheaper than the ones on Amazon (pictured above) which were ridiculously expensive (they're under $5 at Walmart...maybe as low as $2, can't remember).

Egg Shaped Soap

The colorful soap eggs above is made by an Etsy crafter right here in Waco!  (She doesn't allow pick-ups, but at least you know that it will ship quick since it doesn't have far to travel). 

Egg Shaped Bath Fizzies

Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

I haven't seen egg shaped bath fizzies locally this year, but there are some cute ones on Etsy.   My kids love watching them bubble and fizz.

Springtime in the Villiage - Next Week!

Behind the Mayborn Children's Museum, though a little door right after the Indian and Pioneer room, and before the hallway with the butterflies painted on the wall, is the Gov. Bill & Vara Daniel Historic Village.  It's open all the time, but next week, from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, you can experience in a way you can't most of the year.  It will come alive with historical costumed actors who'll give kids a hands on experience of what it was like in Texas in the 1890's.

Here's some of what our kids got to experience last year during this event (and we only got to visit one day).

Cattle Branding 
(Doesn't look like they're doing this again this year)

Sadly, I didn't see this on the schedule of events for this year.

Live Farm Animals

(They're doing this again, though!)

Historic Buildings

Yep, we actually got to go INSIDE the school house and country store,

buildings which are usually closed.  I'm assuming they'll do this again.

They will have different activities each day ...which you can check out below.



Monday, March 16, 2015 - (1-3pm)
Making Cards & Clay Pots

Tuesday, March 17, 2015- (1-3pm):
Sowing and Playing

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 - (1-3pm)
Pressed Flowers & Games

Thursday, March 19, 2015 - (1-3pm)
Natural Sweetners & Hymns

Friday, March 20, 2015 - (1-3pm)
Music by Dick Gimble & Friends and More

YEP, ALL RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL DAY

This was planned for someone's spring break, obviously, but not for Wacoans.  Hrmp!   I feel mixed about this with two boys in school and one homeschooled.  It will be great for my homeschooled son, but I hate for my other children to miss out.    Though, there's also the Round Up March 14th down the street at the Texas Rangers Museum I could take them to in stead.  Looks like a lot of good western fun too.

 Well, at least they did Magic Treehouse stuff during our Spring Break.  Just wish they would have had some of these activities Thursday night, when they're open late.  You can learn more on their website here (scroll to the bottom because they're not advertising this very well...there's a link).

Anyways, all this is included with the regular Mayborn Museum admission prices. It's definately worth going to...maybe even for taking kids out of school early to go to.  I'm still debating that.