Name: Janet
Age:    41
Home: Antelope, CA

Family's Names and Ages:
Michael-Son 14
Emily-Daughter 10 1/2
Hailey-Daughter 5

Occupation:
Retail for years.  Now I work from home full time running a childcare center, and also work away P/T as a manicurist Saturdays and a couple evenings each week.

If I had a day to myself...:
Being a single Mom of 3, running two businesses doesn't allow me many days to myself...but if I was to have one, I'd sleep late, read the newspaper from cover to cover while enjoying coffee in bed.  Read a book, work on my scrapbooks, work in my yard.  Maybe try a new recipe...watch a movie.  Recently, my boyfriend took me out of town for a day...no kids.  It took me almost the entire time to settle down and realize I didn't have anyone to "do" for.  He finally said, "you're wearing a path in the carpet!"  He knows me well!

Money Saving Tips:
Because I have my childcare business, I tend to buy in bulk on most food and paper good items from Sam's club.  I try to cook at least double of what I will need when making spaghetti sauce, stew, soups, chili, then freezer bag & label and put the rest in the freezer for other times.  I also cook large quantities of seasoned ground beef and grilled chicken, then freeze.  This works out well when we're busy with sports or didn't plan ahead for a meal.  I remove a bag of already cooked meat, defrost and within minutes have meat for spaghetti, tacos, chicken tacos, enchiladas, etc. 

Bargain Hunting Strategies:
I love to shop Amazon for deals with NO shipping.  I also shop the deals posted here on Mommysavers.  Target and Old Navy for sale items.  I check the weekly adds to see what's on sale at various places and go from there.

Products we can't live without:
All three of my kids are computer savvy...with my teenage son being a pro.  They all love to read, so we have an abundance of books everywhere in our home and van.  Both my girls are very artsy, so anything art related is huge here. For myself, I love my huge stock pot for cooking and my George Foreman grill.

In the Kitchen:
For super picky eaters, try adding a cup of shredded veggies (carrots/squash) to things such as meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, homemade breads, muffins.  Use 1/2 Cup of applesauce in place of 1/2 Cup of oil when baking cakes, muffins, breads.  Don't throw away brown or spotted bananas because your kids won't eat them.  Freeze them in Ziploc bags, still in their peel.  Use them later to add to milkshakes, or to make muffins, bread, cakes.

Organization:
My white board is my life.  It is on our fridge and has everyone's schedule for the week posted on it, including my daycare kids.  We also have an area on it that we use to jot down items we are in need of from Sam's club.  Plastic storage tubs or plastic carts with pull out drawers are great for storing toys, blocks, Polly Pockets, art supplies, hand, me down clothes, holiday decorations, and more.