Pasta!

Yesterday I went and bought a pasta machine.  You know the manual kind...silver with a little handle that turns.  My mom had one when I was little and I remember making all kinds of pasta and hanging it on drying racks.  My husband even remembers helping to make pasta.  There was something about doing things like that with my mom that made me happy.  I want to make those kinds of memories with my kids.  Of course my teenage son was in his room on the video game the whole time but my little one was right there "helping" to make noodles.  She thought it was neat to eat them afterwards too!  We made a batch of pasta last night and had it for dinner.  It was amazing.  I don't know why we even buy the boxes.  For the ease of it I am sure.  I find that staying home with the kids I am constantly looking for ways to not only save money but also do things that are better for them.  Like rather than buying the name brand crackers with peanut butter in them I will take Ritz crackers or regular saltines and make my own peanut butter sandwiches.  And what about adding a little cocoa powder to the peanut butter for a chocolate treat?  I am also going to make homemade bread again.  Something I did a lot of last year even while being pregnant.  I even invented a muffin recipe last week!  This week I am going to try pumpkin muffins with my own recipe.  So much better for the kids to have those for breakfast than sugary cereal that is three and four dollars a box these days!  I guess I am not only trying to save money but do something better for my kids and spend more time with them doing things they will remember when they have children of their own!