pursuits of heart and home

Pineapple Granola

2012-01-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last night I put together this pineapple granola and we liked it so I thought I would share it here.

Pineapple Granola
9-10 C. old fashioned oats
1 - 20 oz. can pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained with all juice reserved*
(My favorite is Dole Tropical Gold Chunks found at Costco.)
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. vegetable oil**
1/2 C. honey
3/4+ C. reserved pineapple juice (use all the juice drained from the can)
1 T. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 C. dried cranberries
1 C. nuts of your choosing (optional - we opt out as there are multiple allergies in our house)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
In large oven-proof bowl mix oil, honey, pineapple juice, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Heat briefly to melt the sugar. Add in oats and stir well. Remove half of oat mixture to 9x13" glass pan.
Quarter drained pineapple chunks or leave tidbits as is, then place on baking sheet lined with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Place two dishes of granola and sheet of pineapple in the oven. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Stir dried cranberries and nuts (opt.) into granola, turn oven off and leave in oven overnight. Serve and enjoy!

Yield: enough for 2 breakfasts for our family :)

*You could also use dried pineapple from the store, but I'm much more likely to have canned pineapple on hand and the juice nicely flavors the oats.
**I've read of other folks using coconut oil, which I will try if we get the go-ahead from our allergy doctor.

Rethinking My Grocery Goals & January Menu

2012-01-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been feeling the need to simplify my shopping process for groceries. While I like to serve good, wholesome, home-cooked meals, I don't relish the time it takes to procure all the necessary ingredients. So this month I am trying something new for me and gathered all our groceries for the month last weekend and made a menu from those things and what was in our pantry and freezer. My goal is to stay out of the grocery stores as much as possible, only stopping by the milk store when we use up our supply and popping into grocery stores if there are a couple basic items that are really worth stocking up on. I considered participating in a pantry challenge month, but really we did not have a sufficient stockpile with enough variety for that to be a good idea and I don't want our supplies running too low as we are on the countdown to the birth of our baby.

Grocery Goals for 2012

1. Do 1 major grocery gathering per month, shopping at 2-3 stores, with detailed menu plan, shopping list and cash in hand.

2. Keep the grocery budget to $400 (family of 6, going on 7) including household supplies, toiletries & diapers.

3. Supplement as needed for milk, produce and truly good deals in the times between monthly shopping trips.

4. Be realistic in my expectations of myself. I don't have the time, energy or motivation in this season to be a super couponer. Sometimes I will need to just buy bread at the store and not feel guilty for not making it at home. There will be times we will need to order in or want to eat out. It's all okay as long as we are keeping to our grocery budget.

5. Increase our consumption of fruits and vegetables.

6. Plan to practice hospitality and don't let our budget deter me from that.

So here is our menu for the rest of this month, with the meals we've already eaten crossed out.

Dinners/Weekend Lunches

~~Baja chicken sausage, baked fries, oranges~~
~~Loaded baked potatoes, green smoothies~~
~~Chicken caesar salad, oranges~~
~~Lasagna (made enough sauce for 3 additional meals), green beans~~
Broccoli cheddar soup, rolls
Pasta & meat sauce, steamed veggies (x3)
Homemade pizza – pepperoni, ham & pineapple, BBQ chicken (x3)
Chicken black bean burritos (x2)
Whole wheat ham & cheese braid, mixed vegetables
Prime rib (thanks to a gift in the freezer from my in-laws), potatoes, vegetables
French dip sandwiches, baked fries, mixed vegetables
Beef stir fry (broccoli, carrots, onions, red pepper), rice
Chicken noodle soup w/homemade noodles, w.w. rolls
Tangy shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches, baked fries, green beans
Shepherd's pie, smoothies
Colorado white chicken chili, chips
Chili, cornbread
Balsamic chicken, green beans, brown rice
Eggs, bacon, blackberry scones
Chicken, queso & bean rice bowls
Super simple supper: popcorn, apples & oranges, cheese

Lunches - served with fruit, green smoothies and/or vegetables
leftovers
quesadillas
grilled cheese
sandwiches or wraps
macaroni & cheese
snack lunch (any combo of fruit, veg, meat, cheese, popcorn, crackers, etc.)

Breakfasts

Whole wheat waffles, homemade cinnamon syrup, yogurt (x4)
Oatmeal (x8), oranges, yogurt
Steel cut oats, berries (x3)
Cold cereal, yogurt, pears (x3)
Homemade granola, yogurt (x3)
Yogurt/granola/fruit parfaits (x2)
Toast, smoothies or fruit (x5)

Grocery purchases so far for January = $246.96

Albertson's - $14.00
42 lbs. of oranges

Costco - $125.35 *denotes coupon item
*1 box Huggies (148 diapers, size N & 1, 240 wipes)
*24 ct. Activia yogurt, 4 oz. each
8 - 20 oz. cans Dole Tropical Gold pineapple
1 gal. chocolate milk
2 gallons 1% milk
96 oz. honey
3 lbs. bananas
37 oz. Cheerios
*134 oz. Prego sauce
*2 lbs. Hillshire Farm turkey lunchmeat
40 oz. organic corn tortilla chips
*10 - 260ct. boxes Kleenex
10 lbs. organic carrots
18 ct. eggs
2 - 32 oz. loaves OroWheat bread
5.5 lbs. organic apples
6.6 lbs. organic pasta

King Sooper's - $44.41
3 - 2lb. Sargento cheese cubes
6 - 32 oz. yogurt (5 Dannon Pure, 1 Mountain High)
1 red pepper
2 cucumbers
2.3 lbs. bananas
12 ct. double-roll Charmin
3 Secret deodorant
3.1 lbs. organic pears
12 ct. bakery cookies - markdown

Sunflower Market - $50.04
1 head romaine
6 - 6 oz. pkgs. blackberries
1.1 lb. steel cut oats
4 - 32 oz. Cascade Fresh whole milk yogurt - so good!
6 - 6 oz. Brown Cow yogurt
3.1 lb. apples
1.8 lb. broccoli
4.5 lb. brown rice
.7 lb. gummi bears - keeping it real here!
3 grapefruit
4 organic avacados
7 lb. fresh chicken sausage (Baja and Italian varieties)

FarmCrest - $13.16
4 gallons 2% milk

How do you shop and budget for groceries? I'd welcome any time-saving, money-saving, sanity-saving tips!

Project #2 - Small Fabric Bags

2012-01-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

Small Fabric Bags - These are inspired by many I have seen on Pinterest, but easier due to starting with double-sided finished pieces.

Materials:
Placemats (mine were used, being saved from the Goodwill-bound donation pile)
Once again, the weight of the double-sided placemat provides a good weight for these bags and a nice pattern and color contrast if you decide to turn a cuff down without any additional finish work. Truth be told, I'm always looking for shortcuts.
Thread
Ribbon, buttons or other embellishments, if desired

Time: about 1 hour for 4 bags

A few uses:
- corralling remotes and small cords
- a temporary home for lonely socks in your laundry room
- a place to stash trash in your vehicle (maybe attaching a handle would be helpful in that case)
- keeping crayons, markers, pens, small notepads neat & tidy
- keeping a collection of travel-sized toiletries together in a guest bathroom

A New Year of Crafting & Project #1 - Mini Doll Tote

2012-01-05T20:39:00.000-08:00

I've been missing taking the time to be creative lately, so I'm making some simple goals to enjoy the creative process again.

My crafting goals for the year:
1. Complete about 1 project per week.
2. Use supplies I already have or can repurpose from other items.
3. Involve our daughter and teach her how to sew. She is one crafty girl and lights up when she completes a project and amazes us with her resourcefulness (many of her projects start with a trip to the recycle bin to forage for supplies).

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Project #1 - American Girl Mini-Doll Tote / Sleeping Case

This past Christmas we gave our girl an American Girl Mini-Doll which she has really enjoyed. One evening I was motivated to sew and made this little case for her to put the doll in for travel or just storing the doll in.

Materials:
Placemat
scrap of fleece
twill tape or ribbon
thread

Time:
10-20 minutes

Start with a placemat. The stiff nature of a double-sided placemat provides a nice weight and durability for the finished project. I had a placemat in my crafting stash (50 cents or $1.00 on clearance several years ago).

1. Cut the placemat to half its width. You'll only be using one half for this project.
The raw edge that you have created is now the bottom of the tote. Because 3 sides of your placemat piece are finished and fleece does not fray, you'll end up with nice edges without any extra effort.
2. Cut a scrap piece of fleece the width of the placemat piece and about 2 inches shorter than the height of the placemat piece.
3. Turn over a small edge along the width of the fleece and hem, using a decorative stitch if you want.
4. Lay the fleece and pieces together, right sides together. Sew together along the bottom (raw) edge of the placemat.
5. Turn the fleece over so that now the fleece and placemat piece are wrong sides together.
6. Pin your pieces of twill tape or ribbon to each side, sandwiched between the fleece and placemat piece.
7. Sew, from bottom to top, to secure the fleece to the placemat piece, also securing the tie on each side.
8. Mark the center of your tote and sew a vertical line to divide the fleece into two pockets.

9. Put the doll in, tie it up and you're good to go.
This will hold 2 mini-dolls with room to spare.

With the other half of the placemat that I set aside at the beginning of the project I made a potholder by folding over the remaining piece, putting in a couple layers of batting and sewing around the edge of the whole thing, sandwiching the ends of a loop of twill tape inside the seam to create a loop so it could be hung.

1 project down, 51 to go. I'm looking forward to getting back to sewing and crafting.

Hello 2012, Please Hold

2012-01-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hello 2012! I've heard you were here, but I'm just not ready yet. It feels like life has been a little off kilter in recent months so I couldn't even get it together enough to make resolutions and I certainly don't feel like I have a grip or vision on this current year. Tough stuff going on with my family that makes my heart heavy for them. The loss of my dear grandfather less than a month ago. Weariness in the trenches of mothering and homeschooling. Physical tiredness from keeping up with a toddler and 3 big kids and growing the precious girl inside my womb. Celebrating Christmas, but not really "feeling" it this year. Finding it hard to make ends meet and provide what we want to for our family. Turning 35 and wondering who in the world I am and feeling some disappointment that I'm not really the gal I wanted to be, thought I would be by this age.

But this I know, for everything there is season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) and God is with me in whatever season I am in. He sees me. He has compassion and love for me. What a comfort! I serve and worship and rest in the God of grace, not in a god of "Come unto me when you get it together, girl, and then you'll be acceptable and worthy of my attention."

So maybe I am ready for this year after all. Ready for resting in the abundance of God's grace and provision for me, letting His Spirit and Word sustain me.

Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9*)

*read all of Galatians 6 for better context

It's Time to Simplify...Again

2011-12-31T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if it's that after-Christmas "where I am gonna put the new stuff?" feeling or some kind of nesting, but I'm certainly feeling the urge to purge right now. When our home is in order, I just feel so much better, more calm and relaxed, more engaged with my kids rather than focusing on the stuff, and more energetic for accomplishing what needs to be done. Physical clutter greatly contributes to mental clutter for me, so I need to be proactive on this. I made a big list of lots of areas that need a good purge and cleaning. My aim is to do about one item on the list per day and have our home refreshed by the end of January. The list is posted on our fridge so I can cross it off when each area is complete and I'm also noting how many bags or boxes are leaving the house thanks to this effort. Here's my list.

Space to Purge & Clean

DONE - Daughter's room

DONE - Sons' room

Linen cupboards

DONE - Medicines & toiletries

My closet

Husband's closet

Master bathroom

Kids' bathroom

Kitchen upper cabinets

Kitchen lower cabinets

Living room cabinet

Homeschooling shelves

Laundry room

Half bath

Kitchen & living room floors and baseboards

DONE - Christmas decorations

Coat closet

Toys

Creative space

DONE Gift wraps

Bookshelves

File cabinet

Baby clothes / saved children's clothes

Kitchen counters

Primary email account

Items to sell

Vehicles

Garage

Yard & Front Porch

Are you feeling the urge to purge this time of year?

Zesty Cheese Dip

2011-12-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to submit a simple recipe that could be made by our daughter for her American Heritage Girls group Christmas party. This was honestly a bit of challenge since I do so much cooking and baking without recipes or with recipes which are too complicated for a 7-year-old to do mostly on her own. The recipe I submitted for the little cookbook for the girls is below, just made up by me. But we did make it today and it is a keeper at our house. And in this season of an overload of sweets, this bit of savory hits the spot.

Zesty Cheese Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. smoked paprika

1/8 to 1/4 t. cayenne pepper, to taste

1 C. finely grated cheddar cheese

1/2 C. parmesan or asiago cheese, shredded (optional)

In a bowl, mix cream cheese and spices well. Add cheddar cheese and mix. Transfer to a small serving bowl and chill. Or shape into a ball and roll in shredded parmesan or asiago cheese, cover with plastic wrap and chill.

Serve with sturdy crackers or spread on bagels. Enjoy!

Many of My Favorite Things

2011-11-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

As I seek to live more simply and intentionally I have noticed that I have become a bit persnickety about items I select to use, which I'm sure is no delight to my husband as he searches for gifts for me. Sorry, my love. I just don't want to waste my time, money and energy using and maintaining products which don't serve me well. So while it may take me longer to shop for just what I am looking for, I am more often satisfied with what I do choose and keep those things which are non-consumable in use for a good long time.

Anyway, on with the list. These are just things I like to use and think are a good value for the use and enjoyment they see in our home. I'm not being paid for these endorsements, but I would welcome the opportunity. :) Since I don't want to steer you wrong, take this list with a grain of salt and consider that I am budget-and-value-minded, 30-something, family gal seeking a simple life.

Favorite things for the body:
* Kirkland Moisturizing Shampoo - paraben & sulfate free
* Kirkland Natural Citrus Body Wash - paraben & sulfate free
* SmartWool socks
* K.Bell socks - rival SmartWool in my opinion and at a fraction of the cost (2 pairs for $12.99 when Costco has them)
* Glysomed hand cream - The only thing I've really found to remedy my cracking, bleeding hands through dry Colorado winters.
* Keen sandals

Favorite things in the kitchen:
* Bosch Universal mixer and Nutrimill grain mill - The Lord provided an amazing deal on a gently used set 4 years ago and I use these all the time so even if I had to pay full price, I would definitely say it is worth it.
* Pyrex dishes with plastic lids for baking, serving and storing
* bowl scraper by Progressive - This makes managing large quantities of dough so much easier.

Favorite foods & flavors:
* Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Tea - great hot or cold
* World Market Extra Virgin Olive Oil - $6.99 for 1 ltr. in a dark glass bottle
* World Market coffee beans - We are part of their coffee perks program and often use high value coupons to get it even cheaper.
* Kirkland Saigon cinnamon
* Tillamook cheese
* Famous Dave's pickles - My current condition just might be affecting my taste for these. :)
* Jelly Belly jelly beans and most other fruity candies
* Dole Tropical Gold premium canned pineapple - to me it takes like fresh pineapple without all the work and guessing which one to pick in the produce section
* Dr. Pepper - old habits die hard

Favorite things for babies & children:
* Beco baby carrier - This was a big splurge for our fourth child, but I have no regrets. I especially love it for the back carry position when the baby is bigger.
* Hanna Andersson clothes - I've found some sweet and colorful dresses secondhand which have been well-loved by my little girl.
* Robeez slipper shoes
* Britax Blink stroller & Lands' End Little Tripper diaper bag - We were given these for our 4th baby and I've loved them for ease of use and compactness. The Britax B-Nimble model looks very similar to the Blink but is twice the price. Hmm...
* Lands' End hooded coats - I'm counting on these lasting through multiple children, they are well made and the hoods add warmth without keeping track of a hat all the time.
* Other random thoughts on caring for baby can be found in a post from a long while back here.

I'm sure I'll think of more after I hit "publish" but this list is a good start on stuff I like.

What are some of your favorite things?

Countdown to Thanksgiving Menu Plan

2011-11-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving is just around the corner I thought I would plan meals from now til then, hoping to use up what we have on hand.

11/14
L - lunch with my husband, used a BOGO at Pei Wei...yum!
D - beef stew served over mashed potatoes, whole wheat bread
Prep: make batch of bread & cinnamon rolls

11/15
B - cinnamon rolls, yogurt & blackberries
L - turkey cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread
D - beef stew (add chunks of potatoes this time around), garlic cheese buns, ceasar salad

11/16
B - w.w. toast or leftover w.w. waffles, yogurt, fruit
L - mac & cheese, fruit salad, carrots
D - beans & rice w/ leftover taco meat, lettuce, cheese, salsa, etc., apple slices

11/17
B - oatmeal w/berries, yogurt
L - rice bowls with assorted toppings (a hit with the kids and a good way to use leftovers), fruit
D - balsamic chicken, spaghetti squash, green salad

11/18
B - cereal, yogurt
L - soup, bread or sour cream biscuits (made w/plain yogurt)
D - chicken pot pie

11/19
B - "pumpkin" waffles - I'll use butternut squash puree I have in the freezer from this fall.
L - quesadillas, raw veggies
D - date night! It has been months, so when some sweet church friends offered to come watch the kids we didn't hesitate to say yes. I'll leave a prepped pizza assembly line for those here at home.

11/20
B - leftover waffles, yogurt
L - burritos, salad
D - buffalo chicken, baked potatoes, green beans

11/21
B - scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt
L - chicken salad sandwiches, carrots
D - Colorado white chili, chips, sour cream
Prep: make batch of whole wheat bread (2 loaves) & cinnamon rolls(3 pans)

11/22 -
B - cinnamon rolls, berry/banana smoothies
L - birthday lunch
D - birthday dinner .....yes, I'll take full advantage of the day!

11/23
B - yogurt/cereal/fruit parfaits
L - turkey cheese sandwiches or quesadillas, chips
D - leftover buffet

For Thanksgiving Day:
green bean casserole
2 pumpkin pies & whipped cream (I'm gonna let Costco do this for me as they are delicious and big and priced close to what I would spend on ingredients alone.)
2 doz. cinnamon rolls

We have so much to be thankful for! Savor the season and count your blessings!

This Week

2011-10-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Retreating
I'm so exited to be going on to our church's women's retreat at a beautiful spot in the mountains. It has been a few since I last attended and am looking forward to the break from routine and daily responsibility and looking forward to encouragement through the Word and fellowship. Oh, and I'm looking forward to the delicious food that requires no work from me, too. :)

Homeschooling
We are into our 10th week of the school year and I am losing steam. So this week are doing a review of all of our previous weeks of memory work and the kids will carry on with light to moderate work with their independent work. We are not part of a Classical Conversations group, but we are using their resources and we're all enjoying the content and approach.

Planning
I really need to get it together and make may plan of attack for Christmas shopping and for the items I am hoping to make for gifts, as well. I have a start but I am really in need of nice, but economical ideas for teacher gifts. Any ideas?

Cleaning
Really our whole house is need of a deep clean due to some neglect over recent months, but this week I'm going to focus on giving the bathrooms a good scrubbing.

Purchasing
I'm putting in my first order with Zaycon Foods today to order boneless skinless chicken breasts at $1.49/lb. I'm not sure how often they will come to Colorado, so this time I'm ordering 80 lbs. (2 cases). It is always nice for me to have options in my freezer and with our growing family I'm hoping 80 lbs. is a reasonable amount to stock.

Cooking For My Family
We are in a tight season right now so I am trying to get extra creative in feeding us relatively healthfully with what we have. Anyone else feeling the pinch with rising prices and growing kids?
Monday
B - cinnamon rolls, bananas
L - sandwiches & leftovers
D - pulled pork in the crockpot w/ homemade sauce on buns, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes (I bought a box of these at Costco for $9-10 and they are pretty good, especially considering how easy they are and how short the ingredient list is.)
Tuesday
B - cinnamon bread, yogurt, o.j.
L - quesadillas, leftover chili
D - pulled pork, spaghetti squash, green bean casserole
Wednesday
B - scrambled eggs, toast, o.j.
L - grilled turkey cheese sandwiches, leftover green beans & mashed potatoes, apples
D - ham & white bean soup w/veggies (I cooked the ham bone from a dinner last week so I'm starting with a quart of soup base from the freezer), whole wheat bread, chocolate chip cookies
Thursday
B - oatmeal, raspberries, yogurt
L - homemade mac & cheese (make 1 extra pan), peas
D - homemade pizza (large batch)
Friday
B - granola, apple slices
L - tuna cheese melts,
Weekend options for my husband to fix. There is no budget for him to take it easy and take the kids out to eat, so I want to leave lots of ideas and options for him. I'm so thankful that he is a great dad and that he takes such good care of our kiddos. I seriously have no reservations leaving the kids in his care for a weekend.
- leftovers
- burritos (freezer)
- fish sticks & peas (freezer)
- mac & cheese (fridge or freezer)
- pizza & frozen vegetables
- spaghetti w/sauce & maybe a little pepperoni?
- turkey cheese quesadillas or sandwiches
- breakfast items: scrambled eggs, bacon, cereal, toast, oatmeal, granola

Have a great week!

Life is full of surprises....

2011-10-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

...and this is a good one. Surprising, indeed, but it is good. The kids are excited and those we've shared the news with have been excited for us...and maybe if they think we are crazy or aren't thrilled, at least have been kind enough to keep that to themselves. We surely love all the kids God has blessed us with and hey, is being a family of 7 going to be all that much more chaotic than being a family of 6?! God will provide.

I am feeling so much better now at 16 weeks. The first trimester was very difficult, but we all managed to make it through, even though naps were frequent and housekeeping was, well, infrequent. I have the bonus this time of getting to be categorized as Advanced Maternal Age as of next month. Yikes!

Spicy Beans with Sausage

2011-09-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen shared this recipe with me last year and a friend posted a similar one today and I'm so glad since now I know what is for dinner on this busy day.

Spicy Beans & Sausage

1 lb. turkey sausage, cut into small chunks - I'll have to use beef kielbasa today
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can great northern beans
1 1/2 C. corn
1 1/2 C. salsa
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of water (or more to make it more soupy)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin

Combine in slow cooker and cook on high for a few hours or low as long as you want.

I think this recipe is pretty forgiving, or at least I'm hoping it is since I'll may need to sub in some other beans that I have cooked up and frozen from dry and may need to use some frozen mixed peppers. Now I'm off to dig through the freezer and throw this together.

Enjoy this lovely fall day!

Simplifying Meals: Master Menu Plan

2011-08-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've become pretty lax this summer with menu planning, cooking and grocery shopping. As I look to the fall and the demands on our time, I want to make the most of my time in the kitchen and at the grocery store. So, I need a plan that will be a guide with lots of room for flexibility.

We'll see how it goes, but here's what I'm thinking. There will always be a fruit and/or vegetable offered with each meal, and sometimes bread.

Master Menu Plan (I have it in an easier to read chart, but unfortunately it does not transfer with good results.)
Monday
breakfast - oatmeal & fruit
lunch - sandwiches
dinner - cook's choice
prep - make yogurt

Tuesday
breakfast - waffles
lunch - salad
dinner - chicken

Wednesday
breakfast - toast & eggs
lunch - mac & cheese
dinner - pasta or Mexican
prep - baking

Thursday
breakfast - cereal or granola
lunch - snack lunch
dinner - beans & rice, potato bar or leftovers
prep - clean the kitchen

Friday
breakfast - free for all
lunch - quesadillas
dinner - pizza & salad

Saturday
breakfast - muffins & smoothies
lunch - sandwiches or leftovers
dinner - grilling

Sunday
breakfast - scrambled eggs or omelets
lunch - freezer or crockpot meal or dining out
dinner - soup
prep - make bread

Chewy Ginger Cookies

2011-08-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is a new fave at our house. Recipe compliments of my sweet friend Kristel.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Cream together:
3/4 C. shortening (I used Smart Balance sticks)
1 C. sugar
Then mix in:
1 egg
1/4 C. molasses
1 t. vanilla
Then add in:*
2 C. flour (I've used more than half whole wheat with good results)
1 t. cinnamon**
1 t. ginger
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cloves (never added this as I never have it on hand)

When dough is mixed, roll into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place dough balls on cookie sheet (no need to press down as they spread while baking). Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. They will not look done, but as they cool they will firm up. Cool on cooling rack and store in an airtight container. Yield: 3-4 dozen

Enjoy!

*I'm a recipe rebel and have a good mixer so I rarely do the wet bowl/dry bowl thing. I start with the wet ingredients, mix well and add the dry ingredients. If you prefer, do a wet ingredients bowl and a dry ingredients bowl, mix each bowl, then mix together.
**Tip: Costco cinnamon is awesome and economical.

Weary & Worthless

2011-07-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in a funk right now. My messy house mocks me. I'm lacking motivation. Time with my kids seems more difficult than joy-filled and life-giving. The budget is really tight. I'm so not ready to be starting back to schooling in just a few short weeks and fearing that I don't measure up as a teacher. I am fat and feel ugly and I am discouraged that I have always struggled with my weight. I'm really tired. I'm feeling like what is wrong with me that I just can't get it together?! Then I wonder if I'm the only one who feels this way because everyone else seems to be doing fine. And for some reason when all these feelings and circumstances are present I.just.feel.worthless. I've talked with my husband lately about this and he simply said to me, "It sounds like you're not believing the truth." The truth that God loves me. That He sent his own son for me to rescue me from sin and death. That He loves me even when I can't get my act together. Thank you, God, for love and acceptance that is not based on my performance!

...now for some courage to hit "publish".

Busyness is Not a Virtue! {a little rant}

2011-07-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

We hear it so often when we ask another how they are doing. "Oh, we've been so busy!" While sometimes this truly describes their life, it is beginning to rub me the wrong way.

Why has busy come to be equated with good and presented as some kind of statement of self worth?!

Hard work is virtuous.
Serving others is virtuous.
Caring for the needs of your family is virtuous.
"Busy" on its own is not what I see as virtuous.

You can be fully engaged with worthwhile pursuits, consumed with the present workload, enduring great trials or pouring ourselves out in service to others, but the value is in the activity and our faith and character in those moments, not in giving ourselves credit because of all we are doing.

Do you ever want to just shake people who are lamenting that they are too busy? Look, we all have choices! There are times that we all have obligations that can not and should not be avoided, so I'm not saying we should shirk responsibility. There are seasons that are truly demanding. But there are many times we willingly choose to get caught up in running the rat race a little faster by refusing to say "no" to another request for our time that doesn't really work for ourselves or our families (yes, even good things), going with the flow and putting our kids or ourselves into XYZ activities just because that is what everyone else is doing, and working harder to earn enough to keep up with the Joneses, whoever they are.

I want to be engaged in life. I desire to work hard and serve well. But I don't just want to be busy!

Summer to Simplify

2011-07-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

The "Summer to Simplify" is in process at our house, a good time to catch my breath after the homeschooling year and go through the house top to bottom to get rid of the excess and give some thought to how to make things more manageable. With a family of 6, there just tends to be a lot of stuff....books, clothes, shoes, toys, craft supplies, sporting goods and the list goes on.

I want to make the most of what we have been given, including our possessions. What we do own I want to tend well and use and enjoy fully. If we have too much, we don't seem to manage much of it well, so this is my motivation as we make choices about what stays and what goes.

So how are we doing?

On the "stuff" front, I'm about halfway through the house and things are feeling better. I still need to tackle the garage, the basement desk areas and the kitchen. The kitchen is always a challenge with papers and random bits of the comings and goings of life. Our cupboards are quite full which makes putting things away more of a chore than it needs to be. But I do cook a lot so we need the equipment to be able to do that. So I'll tackle the kitchen next and try to find a balance. As we've gone through the rooms, we are selling what we can and donating lots because when I decide I'd like something to leave the house, I want it gone today, not being stored for months to sell for a couple bucks at a garage sale that consumes our family life for the better part of a weekend. Every time we drop a load at Goodwill, return things we've borrowed from others for a season, or sell something on Craigslist it just feels good to have a lighter load of stuff around to manage.

As far as summer activities go, we've also stepped back from activities for the most part. No organized sports this summer. No swimming lessons. No weekly commitments. No big garden. And it has been good. The kids have played and read and been outdoors a lot. We've enjoyed some outings in our area and hope to hit more of the things on our summer fun list before school is in full swing again. We've simply enjoyed a slower pace, with weekends where we are blissfully uncommitted to being at any specific location for any specific activity at any specific time. Ahhhh...it feels good.

Cooking has been rather basic, but we haven't gone hungry. I'm shopping far less and using things from the cupboards and freezer. No chasing down all the deals this summer. Frugality and simplicity seem to collide on the grocery shopping front. While I want to make my pennies scream for the way I stretch them, it requires a ton of effort to buy every single item for life at the lowest possible price. So I've found my happy medium with being content to pay good, not best, prices on basic foods and spend far less time bringing home the goods. I'm hoping we'll have some garden produce to use soon, too. I planted rhubarb, a few tomatoes and a pepper plant and we seem to have some volunteer plants growing, too, potatoes?, zucchini and watermelon. I'm evaluating whether I really plan to go back to the level of couponing I was doing a few years ago. For now, hitting Costco once every couple weeks and a grocery store about every week seems to be working out for us.

The slower pace is also allowing us to work on some things with our kids, namely training them to work diligently and cheerfully. Unfortunately I haven't been very good and patient about involving the kids in everyday household duties, but that is changing for the better. It is a process, but we'll get there. Just today I was encouraged by this post on children and chores and hope to implement many of the ideas. And even with all the unstructured time for play, I am finding a peaceful hour every afternoon when we all retire to our own spots for some quiet times while our little guy is napping. They balked at first, but it really seems to refresh us all.

So, while we may not be experiencing the "lazy days of summer" we are, in fact, enjoying the simple days of summer.

How do you like to spend your summers? What are you working on in this season?

Upcycled Pillow Cover

2011-07-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Start with a button-up shirt. Use your former pillow cover as a guide for how big you'll need to cut the new pieces. Cut through both layers of the shirt. An Olfa ruler and cutter makes it easy to get things nice and straight, but scissors will do. With wrong sides together, sew your pieces together. Turn, push out corners, iron. Sew around your shape again using a bigger seam allowance this time. Turn and push out your corners again and you have a nice French seam. Stuff with your pillow form.

And there you go, a pillow refreshed with a shirt saved from the Goodwill pile.

No cost + 10 minutes of work = my kind of project!
Bonus! I still have enough fabric from the sleeves for another little project.

Yep, I know it is a little too snug on the pillow form. The shirt I was working with was a tad bit small and I only had this big pillow form, but I'll take done over perfect any day.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation...or How to Stay Sane with Your Family in the Car for 53 hours

2011-07-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

We decided on a whim to visit my husband's family in British Columbia earlier this summer. While we love to visit and the destination is gorgeous, getting there is not for the faint of heart. It is about 27 hours of driving each way. Here are some tips for a successful trip.

1. Pack your own food. Having food with you in the car allows you to stop whenever the mood or opportunity strikes rather than waiting for an exit with something you'd like to eat. Instead of spending time trying to find a place to eat and sitting down to eat the meal, we're able to let our kids get out and run and play and then before we buckle up again everyone gets their plate of food to eat while the wheels are rolling to the next stop. For us, this also means that we eat much healthier than eating fast food and we save a ton of money. On the way out, we were able to just clear out a lot of things from our fridge at home and we had a good variety of food to eat along the way. Snacking also provides a little something to do along the way and a motivation for kids to sit tight.

2. Know your travel style and goals. In this season it is actually easier for us to put in really long days and stop overnight fewer times. It is a challenge to get the kids really settled in a hotel room and is actually not all the much fun to stay in hotels right now. As our kids get older we look forward to making stops to see things along the way, but for now putting the pedal to metal just works out better for us.

3. Consider entertainment. We don't want our kids zoned out to videos for hours on end, but keeping them engaged with something is helpful. Our kids love to listen to Adventures in Odyssey and Radio Theatre. They also had books to read and notebooks to draw and color in. And yes, they watched a handful of videos along the way, too. And the grown-ups enjoyed some podcasts also.

4. Pack for your stops. I packed just what we needed for the hotel in a laundry basket so we were not hauling everything in and out of the car for each stop. So helpful!

5. Let them run! Since we try to eat while driving we really encourage active play during our stops. We brought a ball to throw around during stops and did some laps of rest areas and some races. If we are able to tire them out a bit, our kids ride better.

6. Allow for some splurges. Starbucks coffee, Krispy Kreme donuts, and some road trip candy. Why not? :)

7. Travel different routes coming and going. We love the variety and seeing more of the country. And taking a road trip reminds you just how big this country is!

8. Make the most of the miles. In our case, we were able to stop at Wheat Montana to get a couple hundred pounds of wheat that is very reasonably priced and far more difficult for me to source here. What do the areas you are traveling to or through offer uniquely?

9. Leave early. For us the hours before noon are really easy in the car. Some may be able to pull the through the night drives, but that just isn't the way we roll. Use your good times of day to your advantage.

10. Enjoy the ride! Seriously, these moments in family life fly by and before we know it we'll be the empty nesters that can spread the journey out over several days, making many interesting stops along the way. I so enjoyed the time, too, to talk with my husband about our life and goals and plans for the coming months and years. The time in the car certainly was not wasted.

Considering a long trip with your family? Go for it!

Stanley Park 2011

2011-07-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to British Columbia we took a day to enjoy Stanley Park. It is truly a must-see if you are in Vancouver! We hadn't visited since our oldest was 1, almost 8 years ago. We took a walk around part of the sea wall, had a picnic and took in a playground. A delightful day, despite children being disappointed that the splash park wasn't open for the season yet and hearing many complaints from children that they were too tired to walk anymore.

the totem poles

playing on the same fire engine that Grandpa played on when we was a boy

hooray for a moment of brotherly love!

you're never to old to play

so many things to look at!

the mermaid wearing a Canucks jersey....the Canucks being in the Stanley Cup final did, indeed, have something to do with the timing of our visit

this sweet girl loves to explore

a happy photo of us taken after we put our grumpy kids back in the van
...real life still happens on vacation

The Grass is Greener...

2011-06-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

...on our side of the fence, at least this week.

A couple of years ago we started to let our backyard go. It all started with severe watering restrictions. I recall a July when no outdoor watering was allowed in our district. When we were allowed to water again, enough of it had died that we just gave up the fight. Then we were given a trampoline which has proven to be such a blessing for our kids in our small backyard, but surely didn't add anything to the aesthetic.

Before:

But this past fall we decided to reclaim the area with the first step being an automatic sprinkler system installed by my handy father-in-law and youthful husband. This spring we applied some effort and moolah to the situation with new sod, fresh mulch, moving the trampoline and playhouse and one garden bed, removing another garden bed and trashing all the yard clutter that happens so easily with young kids. And now it looks like this.

After:

loving the lilacs we planted our first summer here!

We're really looking forward to enjoying time at home this summer!

Late June Menu

2011-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

We're back from two weeks away so I'm jumping back into domestic life, complete with a trip to the grocery today with my precious kids. I was reminded of why I usually wait until the evening and leave them in the care of Daddy so I can give my full attention to finding good deals and using coupons. And I still need to stop at another store for a few more things. Anyway, here's what I plan to fix for my family in the coming days.

Dinners
Grilled chicken sandwiches w/gouda & havarti on sourdough, bananas
Burgers, baked fries, steamed peas & carrots
Orange chicken, brown rice, broccoli & carrots
Creamy garlic bowties with mesquite chicken, green beans, breadsticks
Mesquite chicken sandwiches, pasta salad w/veggies & cheese
Tacos
Emeril's pulled pork (& lots extra to freeze) on buns, baked fries, peas or other veg
Salad bar (greens, chicken, cheeses, croutons, dressing, peppers, cucumbers, etc.), bread
Brats, chips, big green salad
Macaroni & cheese (make 2 extra to freeze), raw veggie platter
Meat & cheese pockets, broccoli, carrots
Out - likely Chick-Fil-A as we have lots of coupons from a family festival we attended

Lunches
Creamy pasta with grilled chicken, carrot sticks
Ham & cheese paninis, cucumbers
Tuna melts, berries
Leftovers - several times
Quesadillas, fruit or vegetable

Breakfasts
Egg & cheese sandwiches
Oatmeal & yogurt
Steel cut oats, berries & yogurt
Cold cereal & yogurt
Pancakes & peach syrup (time to clean out the freezer for summer fresh produce)
Cinnamon rolls, green smoothies

Burrito-thon

2011-06-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to stay ahead of the hunger of my growing family, but it is getting to be more and more work. Some days it feels like I've spent over half the day in the kitchen and they still come around after dinner saying, "I'm hungry!" While I don't do a lot of freezer cooking, I do like to have meal components (cooked beans, browned meat, grilled and shredded chicken, etc.) and burritos at the ready. Unlike frozen casseroles, you can easily decide how many servings to pull out for baking on the day you need them and they don't take 2+ hours to cook. And they're really handy for my husband to grab to take for lunch at work if we don't have leftovers from the previous night or to take as freezer meals to families in need. I usually freeze them in packages of 5 or 6 burritos (1 meal for our family) and reuse the zip bags from the tortillas. Sometimes I wrap the bunch in foil and then place the foil packet inside the zipper bag so when I bake them I can toss the whole foil packet in the oven which keeps the tortillas softer. I don't use a recipe, but do include some or all of the following on any given batch based on what I have around and what needs to be used.
- ground beef
- taco seasoning
- bell peppers
- Rotel
- corn
- brown rice
- salsa
- cheese
- black or pinto beans
For variation, I'm going to try a meal of these baked in a pan and smothered with enchilada sauce. Here is an enchilada sauce recipe we like.

It only takes a bit more time to make 4-5 meals vs. 1 meal and I save a lot of time on the clean up. And then when I've had a crazy day with other needs, these are a snap to pop in the oven with almost no effort.

What are your favorite meals to prepare ahead?

A Bag Full O'Fun

2011-06-20T20:39:00.001-07:00

I'm always surprised at how creative kids are in making fun out of whatever is around them. A few weeks ago I picked up an order of grain and after transferring it all to storage containers, had the sacks left to recycle or reuse. The kids wasted no time in putting them to good use. A good evening was had by all.

love this freckled girl!

Menu Monday - Putting Food on the Table

2011-05-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have really been lacking in the menu planning department. While we have been eating at home in a reasonably healthy manner, my life just works better if I plan it out. So this weekend I did a lot of prep work which included cooking and portioning two big pots of beans, making a batch of bread that produced 2 pans of buns, 1 loaf of bread and 2 pizzas, cooking meat for 2 meals, making up 2 dozen burritos for the freezer and forming 2 meals of hamburger patties. With that work done, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to stick to the menu until the end of the month and avoid making any more trips to the grocery store. You may notice the menu this time incorporates quite a few beans and regular leftovers, too. We are doing a bit of a staycation over the long weekend so we may eat out a couple times also.
5/23
B – cereal & yogurt
L – french toast, green smoothies
D – Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli, cheese bread, watermelon/ I keep the pasta and soup separate so each person can choose their amount of pasta, and it keeps the leftovers from getting mushy.

5/24

B – blueberry muffins (made w/whole wheat flour & leftover s.c. oats), yogurt
L – leftovers, veggies & dip
D – Colorado White Chili, carrot sticks, chips & sour cream / I think the soup is from this book.

5/25

B – oatmeal, berries, yogurt
L – ham sandwiches, veggies & dip
D – beef & pinto burritos, spinach salad, chips & salsa

5/26

B – cereal & yogurt
L – leftovers or tuna wraps, fresh veggies
D – spaghetti & meat sauce, spinach salad, bread?

5/27

B – w.w. pumpkin waffles, yogurt
L – school's out celebration lunch - out
D – burgers on w.w. buns, chips,veggies

5/28

B – waffles, fruit, yogurt
L- brats, pasta salad with peas/carrots/cheese
D – orange chicken, broccoli, brown rice, rhubarb berry crisp

5/29

B – steel cut oats, berries, yogurt
L – leftovers or out
D – homemade pizzas (buffalo chicken & pepperoni)

5/30

B – cereal & fruit
L – hot dog rolls (make w.w. bread: this meal, cinn. rolls, ham & cheese pockets, 1-2 loaves)
D – pork loin, rice, green beans, rolls

5/31
B – cinnamon rolls, yogurt
L – ham & cheese pockets or out
D – burritos with whatever odds & ends we have left

Seeking Shelter

2011-05-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon the sky grew dim and the wind and rain came. I pulled out the weather radio which had been unused for a season and within 5 minutes the warning came with a tornado warning, one had been spotted on the ground and we were advised to take cover immediately. This threw my children into a frenzy and got this mama's heart pounding as I got us all to the the basement. We had sort of settled into our positions of safety when the phone rang and my husband reported that there was one spotted on the ground at a junction just a little over a mile from our home. We prayed and sang our Bible memory songs and I kept reminding the kids that God is our refuge. It was good to seek shelter, but even better to consider the strength and sovereignty of our God. To be honest, our basement is in a bit of disarray and while we made do, we should give a little more thought to its function as a shelter and clear out some space for that purpose for times like these. And I see an application in my relationship with God. I need to prepare my heart with His word and trust in Him during the calm so when the storms of life rage it is second nature to cling to Him.

April Grocery Check-In

2011-05-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

I've been slow to post this because:
a) I know it is likely boring to anyone who may stumble across this place
b) I've been disorganized and receipts have been left all over the place
c) the recording is getting a bit tedious and I know I'm no extreme super shopper
d) I don't want to face reality that I've spent.too.much yet.again.

Ah, well, moving on.

4/1 - Costco - $76.47
*coupon
24 ct. box Sunchips - individual bags*
32 cans Dr. Pepper - old habits die hard*
1 gallon dill pickle spears
2.5 lb. Tillamook cheddar cheese
2 large bags tortilla chips
6 ct. frozen OJ concentrate - these are larger than the normal size at the grocery store
1 pkg. corn tortillas (100)
48 oz. Ritz crackers *
3 lb. fresh garlic
42 oz. shaved honey ham
3 lb. bananas
36 ct. flour tortilla
4 boneless pork roasts - slightly less than 2 lbs. each, $1.99/lb.
Also purchased on this trip: 6 pk. of socks, 2 pillows.

4/1 - King Soopers - $18.94
3 boxes Rice Krispies
2 boxes Corn Flakes
2 gallons milk
2 packages clear cups (for party)
2 packages foam cups (for party)
4.2 lb. grapes

4/9 - Walmart - $16.47
4 toothbrushes (needed due to packing error...yet another sign that I do not have it together)
1 toothpaste
1 floss
1 box girl stuff
13 jars baby food
6 - 2 pks. baby food (away from home and needed the variety and convenience)

4/12 - King Soopers - $13.80
15.7 lb. organic apples

4/14 - Costco - $89.27
*coupon
25 lb. flour
2 lb. yeast
*2.13 lb. Jarlsberg cheese
2 lb. mozarella cheese
*3 lb. Hebrew National beef franks - might have been 4 lb.
*2 - 96 oz. white grape cherry 100% juice
36 ct. flour tortilla
2 gallons 1 % milk
10 lb. organic carrots
1 lb. organic spinach
3 lb. bananas
*4 - 12 oz. cans Pam cooking spray
2 lbs. croutons
6.5 lb. individually frozen chicken breasts ($2.46/lb. but no waste since they are very well trimmed)

4/14 - King Soopers - $30.31
2 boxes Chex cereal
2 boxes Fiber One bars
1.75 qt. ice cream
4 lbs. 93% lean ground beef patties (markdown)
3 toothbrushes
2 - 55 yd. floss
1 deodorant
2 - 6 oz. blackberries
10 lb. potatoes
1 fresh salad dressing (markdown)
8 ct. donuts - Oh, the perils of shopping with no willpower! The kids were just asking today for donuts, so their wish is granted. (markdown)
1 bunch parsley
3 Oroweat HealthFull bread
3 small packages M&Ms - 1 free w/coupon
2 Dove chocolate bars - free w/ coupon
2 Joint Joice single serve bottles - free w/coupon (markdown)

4/18 - King Soopers - $43.34
2 gallons milk - marked down
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 gallon buttermilk - marked down
1 gallon chocolate milk - marked down
1 single-serve yogurt - marked down
1 loaf french bread - marked down
12 oz. turkey bacon
8 oz. pepperoni
2 large hams (15 lbs. total) at $.99/lb.
9.53 lb. spiral sliced ham at $1.49/lb.

4/20 - Costco - $47.94
1 big bottle Naked juice smoothie
1 really delicious strawberry cheesecake
2 lb. good herb roasted deli turkey
12 ct. croissants
1 big bag Kettle chips
1 lb. organic spring mix
This was definitely a splurge trip. Someone in our home turned the big 3-5 and that was worth celebrating. Also purchased on this trip: lots of CFL light bulbs which were a good buy after the Earth Day promo from the local utility company.

4/23 - Whole Foods - $5.00
2 - 32 oz. organic yogurt
also purchased 2 pizzas with the dining out budget

4/27 - Target - $30.47
6 lbs. Challenge butter - about $2/lb. w/coupons I had
1 qt. coffee creamer
4 big jars baby food
2 2pks. baby food
2 lb. rice
6 ct. English muffins
7 - 4 pks. yogurt

4/28 - Costco - $12.97
2 gallons milk
1 lb. organic spinach
large bottle of Panda Express orange chicken sauce (birthday meal request)

Grand total for April = $384.98
$2.14/person/day

I {think} this is an accurate total, but like I said, I was really disorganized so maybe some receipts have gone missing. This is not bad considering that we had two birthdays this month, traveled a bit, helped host a party, hosted friends for Easter and took a dinner to another family. On the other hand, we were also staying with family for a few days, so that could have reduced our expenses, too. I am not including a big purchase of vitamins for the family. I'm not sure what budget these should be coming from. Where do you put vitamins and supplements in your budget?

How is your grocery budget going?

Upcycled Bibs

2011-04-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes crafting out of need is a good thing. Our little one has had access to lots of great hand-me-downs from his brothers and friends, but the bibs we have left are shot. So I took an hour one night to make some to meet the need.

Materials:
old t-shirt
scraps of thin fleece
random buttons
pattern made from tracing a full coverage big

Getting to work...
One of the finished bibs
While they aren't going to win any baby style points, they are quite functional and the fleece is very stain resistant which is a bonus in my books.

Of course, use your safety common sense with buttons and babies. As they go through the wash, I ensure that the buttons are still fully secured and won't be a choking hazard.

Living Room Mini-Makeover

2011-04-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

After living here for seven years, I'm ready for some simple and inexpensive updates. Last month I wanted to lighten up our living room, so it was out with the old....

and in with the new....

The new curtains are drop cloths I picked up compliments of a Plastic Jungle giveaway I was blessed to win via Half Pint House. I washed them up on hot with lots of fabric softener and sewed casings for the rods to slip through. They are not perfect as the dropcloths were not exactly the same size or the same weight and a couple had flaws, only visible after I had washed them. But I think the change opens up the room and the neutral tone will allow for other little updates down the road. Because at this stage in life, time and money just allow for incremental changes, not whole room makeovers done in a day. Next step: blue accents. Further down the road: one really comfortable couch.

March Grocery Check-In

2011-04-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is not the most riveting post you'll read all day, but I've decided to keep a clear log of my grocery shopping activities in hopes of improving that area of life this year. The last few months have been eye-opening and I hope by the end of the year I will see some progress.

3/4 - Costco - $94.30
5 lbs. organic frozen green beans
1 bucket animal crackers
75 ct. Good Earth tea
3 ct. English cucumbers
1 large can tomato sauce (gallon?)
3 lbs. bananas
4 pk. large jars organic applesauce
8 lbs. butter
1 package deli ham
2 large bags tortilla chips
1 lb. organic spring mix
3 bunches celery
1/2 gallon organic half & half
5 pk. avocados
33 oz. sulfate & paraben-free shampoo - This is the Kirkland brand and I think it has been good for my hair. **

3/5 - King Soopers - $7.74
2 - 24 oz. cartons cottage cheese
1/2 gal. organic whole milk
2 deodorant
1 bodywash
1 toothpaste
8 lbs. sugar

3/5 - Safeway - $30.77
12 boxes of non-sugary cereal
4 boxes Simply Fruit roll-ups
3 lbs. cheese sticks
3 packages breaded fish
2 cartons ice cream

3/5 - Whole Foods - $11.76
1 organic green leaf lettuce
1 carton organic chicken broth
9.5 lbs. organic apples

3/7 - Safeway - $13.27
8 boxes cereal
3 individual size frozen Asian entrees
1 bunch of bananas
32 oz. yogurt
4 100% juice cranberry concentrates
1 individual CPK pizza
1 family size bag chimichangas
2 rolls Mentos (free)
1 box flushable wipes (free)

3/10 - Costco - $15.45
2 gallons milk
18 ct. Yoplait
2 jars pumpkin maple butter

3/12 - Whole Foods - $9.10
organic apples & minneolas - $1/lb
1 bakery cookie - We were on a rare date.

3/15 - Costco - $22.53
4 gallons milk
9 lbs. bananas
18 ct. Yoplait
1 lb. organic spinach

3/17 - Safeway - $19.42
6 boxes cereal
8 boxes simply fruit roll-ups
6 baby food 2-pks.
15 jars baby food
1 canister DHA rice cereal

3/21 - King Soopers - $16.51
12 boxes pasta
1 cherry pie - marked down to $1.49
1 package bakery cookies - marked down to $1.49
4 - 16 oz. cottage cheese - marked down to $.59each
2 - 12 pks. soda - marked down to $1.19 each
3 - 32 oz. yogurt
3 - 4 pk. yogurt

3/21 - Costco - $116.92
all were items were on coupon except for the water bottles & sweet potatoes
96 oz. honey
72. oz. chocolate chips
400 ct. beverage napkin
32 - 14.5 oz. cans organic diced tomatoes - stocking up for the year
40 ct. Rice Krispie treats
212 ct. size 3 diapers
900 ct. baby wipes
3 stainless steel water bottles - $6.97 total
10 lb. sweet potatoes

3/22 - Costco - $16.75 - Having a sick baby necessitated going to the pharmacy for a prescription and finding a quick dinner.
1 rotisserie chicken
2 loaves sourdough bread
2 ct. infant pain reliever

3/26 - Safeway - $32.54
2 bags Doritos
1 hot sauce (free)
2 bags Wheat Thins
1 kleenex hand towel
4 lbs. frozen vegetables
4 Grands biscuits
3 Freschetta pizzas
3.75 lb. green grapes
1 4-pk. yogurt
8 oz. bag pistachios
1 lb. beef franks
3.7 lb. lean ground beef

3/26 - King Soopers - $28.04
5 lb. clementines
3 lb. Smart Balance sticks
39 ct. Band-Aid
3 lb. brown rice
18 boxes pasta - most whole grain, at 49 cents/box this is likely one of the lowest prices of the year so stocking up seemed prudent
1-2ct. Dole fruit crisps
3 - 4ct. yogurt
1 - 24 oz. yogurt
4 - 32 oz. yogurt
1 small pack Skittles

3/27 - FarmCrest -$12.00ish
4 gallons milk

3/30 - World Market - $25.96*
8 - 12 oz. bags whole bean coffee
*This was a one-day sale, otherwise I totally would have delayed this purchase. This amount of coffee will last us a good long while.

total for March = $473.06
$2.54/person/day

A few realizations in reviewing purchases for this month.
1. I'm still shopping too frequently.
2. I need to keep at least a couple easy dinners in the freezer for days when there are sick kids and other extenuating circumstances.
3. I am spending more than I think I really need to because we are budgeting more than the bare minimum. We do use a cash budget for groceries but whatever cash we get out of the bank does get spent. If I want to spend less, I need to have less cold hard cash in my hand when I am shopping, plain and simple.

I'll keep plugging along.
- - - -
**Very much off topic, but I just wanted to mention that as I post about grocery shopping here, that is only a sliver of what is happening frugality-wise in our home. Yes, I spent about $9 for a really big bottle of good shampoo. And yes, I likely could have picked up some acceptable shampoo for pennies if I still played the drugstore game. But I get about 3 haircuts per year at a place like Supercuts, with coupons whenever possible. So I'm spending at most $45/year on haircuts, not $45 for a haircut and style every 6 to 8 weeks. Every person and family needs to go with what works for them in that season and with the resources they have available. So all that said, I won't feel the least bit guilty for that $9 bottle of shampoo.

Steel-cut Oats in the Rice Cooker

2011-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

Recently one of my husband's co-workers shared how she makes steel-cut oats in a rice cooker, so I thought I would pass that along. It makes getting them on the table in the morning a little quicker and easier than fixing them on the stovetop.

In the evening, add to rice cooker:
3 C. cold water
1 1/4 C. steel-cut oats
pinch of salt

Give it a quick stir.

In the morning, start rice cooker on porridge setting. (My rice cooker doesn't have this, so I use the white rice setting.) Let cook for about 20 min. or however long it takes for your rice cooker.

When oats are cooked, add in frozen fruit, maple syrup, honey or brown sugar as desired, and stir.

Makes 3 good servings. I double the recipe for my family. The leftovers are good reheated the next day, too.

I'm happy to get more use out of an appliance that might otherwise only serve one use. What other things have you tried making in a rice cooker?

Early March Menu Plan

2011-03-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

Here's what I'm planning to make in the next week or so.

2/28
D - spaghetti & meat sauce, wheat garlic bread, spinach salad
3/1
B - cereal & yogurt
L - homemade tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches, apples
D - beef stir fry & brown rice
3/2
B- steel cut oats, berries
L - veggie burgers on biscuits, apples & oranges
D - chicken, fries & peas
3/3
B - cereal, yogurt, toast
L - sandwiches, carrots, crackers
D - shepherd's pie, spinach salad, rhubarb-strawberry crisp w/ice cream
3/4
B - oatmeal, berries, yogurt
L - beans & rice w/cheese, sour cream & salsa
D - homemade pizza (make batch of bread - crust, cinnamon rolls, 1 loaf, 1 pan of buns)
3/5
B - cinnamon rolls, fruit
L - macaroni & cheese (freezer), smoked sausage, broccoli
D - mesquite chicken on homemade buns, baked beans, peas
3/6
B - steel cut oats, berries & bananas
L - orange chicken, rice, stir-fry veggies
D - leftovers, popcorn, apples & oranges, cheese
3/7
B - scrambled eggs, toast, fruit
L - soup & bread
D - beef stew, cheddar biscuits

I'm trying to vary breakfast and get my kids out of the expectation of cold cereal each morning. Oatmeal and steel cut oats are much cheaper per serving and I think a lot more filling. I'll share how I do steel cut oats in a future post.

What's on your menu?

February Grocery Check-In

2011-02-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

After January's alarming grocery totals, I knew I needed to get a better handle on that area of ~~our~~ my spending. So I've committed to keeping close track of the numbers in the coming months. I think I did a bit better for February. Typing it all out shows me again where some of the weaknesses are, namely frequency of shopping trips, lack of planning and some impulse or processed food buys.

2/6 - Costco - $15.24
1 take & bake pizza
3 lb. bananas
1 gallon pickles
1 36ct. flour tortillas

2/5 - King Soopers - $37.45
1 ice cream
4 chocolate bars
1 pkg. lunch meat
1 tube toothpaste
2 smoked sausage
2 juice beverages
2 cans Ro-tel
4 cans tomatoes
1 deodorant
1 bottle mustard
1 cookie dough
7 lb. organic apples
4 jars salsa
2 boxes Ritz crackers
4 4-pks. yogurt
2 cans soup
2 pizzas
1 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

2/4 - Safeway - $7.96
4 lbs. cheese

2/6 - Safeway - $58.63
4 2-ltrs. soda
2 jars salsa
4 bags Tostitos
5 cans beans
2 jars peanut butter
6 bags cereal
2 cans soup
1 box baby rice cereal
2 boxes cereal
4 lbs. Tillamook cheese
1 aluminum foil
4 12-pks. soda
2 4-pks. yogurt
2 individual yogurt
1 coffee creamer
2 pkgs. Italian sausage
6 avocados
1 red onion
2 bags pistachios
1 valentine plate - so our youngest could have one as our other children do for the holiday

2/7 - King Soopers - $13.02
8 cans Ro-tel
2 boxes Ritz crackers
1 cottage cheese
5 4-pks yogurt
2 marked-down flower bouquets - One for a friend and one for me which lasted 3 weeks!)

2/11 - King Soopers - $8.71
4 cake mixes
1 tub frosting
2 pkgs. organic blueberries

2/15 - Costco - $8.08
1 lb. organic spinach
2 gal. milk

2/14 - Albertsons - $16.90
5 large canisters oatmeal
1 box pasta
2 bakery breads
1 box of cereal - cheerios for our little one
3 rolls tape (a Valentine treat for our kids...the simplest things make them happy)

2/17 - Target - $50.22
2 12-pks. baby food
2 large boxes baby cereal
1 large box diapers
1 large box wipes
4 pkgs. pasta
2 boxes cereal

2/19 - King Soopers - $9.29
2 pkgs. Rice Krispy treats
2 boxes drink pouches, all for team snacks

2/21 - Target - $16.26
10 lbs. rice
1 lb. brown rice
4 pkgs. valentine candy
bundle of cilantro
5 lb. dry beans

2/21 - Safeway - $6.69
1 can chipotle peppers
5 avocados

2/27 - Farmcrest - $12.00
4 gallons milk

2/28 - King Soopers - $27.45
3 toothpaste
3 boxes zip-lock bags
1 smoothie mix
2 coffee creamers
4 refrigerated biscuits
1 jumbo pack diapers
1 box wipes
1 natural sour cream
3 4-pks yogurt
2 big tubs yogurt
1 box tea
1 box instant coffee packets
1 tub spreadable butter
4 dozen eggs
1 large tub margarine (..sigh...butter is getting so expensive)

2/27 - Safeway - $93.69
1 large box diapers
48 double rolls t.p.
2 boxes kleenex
2 bags coffee
1 box tea
1.5 lb. beef
1 bag french fries
3 bags meal-ready chicken
1 2-pk. individual pizzas
1 vanilla ice cream
2 loaves whole wheat bread
1 pkg. lunch meat
8 lb. oranges
3 4-packs yogurt
1 6-pack yogurt
2 lb. mozarella
1 box zipper bags
1 pkg. flour tortillas
2 pkgs. rice side dish mix
1 pkg. veg. soup mix
4 lb. baby carrots

2/28 Alberstons $0.00 - I used a catalina expiring today to pick up a couple free items.
1 big container yogurt
1 wheat french bread

Grand Total for February = $381.59 or $13.62/day or $2.27 per person/day.

We did also eat a few meals out, both budgeted and thanks to our generous parents.

Kitchen victories for February:
1. Defrosting the deep freeze, taking an inventory and putting some of those items to use.
2. Making several batches of homemade fresh-milled whole wheat bread.
3. Cooking up a 20 lb. turkey, which yielded 2 roast turkey dinners, 4 meals of soup, 8 quarts of homemade stock and at least 4 meals worth of chopped turkey for future meals. While I definitely see that this makes good use of resources from one $7 bird, it is quite time consuming and remains one of my least favorite jobs.
4. Trying out a new recipe, these Barbacoa Chipotle Burritos. Yum! And now that Meredith passed on the tip about dried crushed chipotle pepper in the spice aisle I'll be able to make this with less cost and waste than using a can of chipotle peppers in the future.

What I'll be working on for March:
1. Menu planning.
2. Showing hospitality. We've gotten out of the groove of inviting folks in and this is definitely something we want to get back to. We're created for community, not to be loners.
3. Considering ways we can cut back with groceries.
4. Continuing to work more "normal" foods into our little guys diet so we stop buying baby food completely.
5. Considering going to cloth diapers. I have no good excuse except that I just don't want to mess with it.

Bit by bit, I'm trusting that I'll be able to bring it down.

{Fabric Jingle Ball} project #1 - 2011

2011-02-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

With our little one's birthday quickly approaching I was on the look-out for an idea for a gift for him. All the suitable ideas I was coming up with would be redundant here because of his three older siblings who have left him well supplied with toys and clothing, as well as all the fresh things he has just received at Christmas. Then I remembered a fabric rattle ball that we had seen at a friend's home while visiting at Christmas. A Google search yielded this link (scroll down to the free patterns on the bottom right). I followed the directions, but went my own way on a few things. I used up some scraps of fabric left from other projects and some upcycled denim from baby overalls. I sewed in a piece of cotton batting with each fabric piece to give it a smoother finish when completed and because I had some scraps of that available and was concerned that the stuffing material I had would run short. I also added two 1.5" bells. It has been a hit with all the kids as it is the one ball that is okay to be {gently} thrown about the living room. Out of pocket cost for this gift = $.52 for the bells. All other materials came from my stash of supplies. And the satisfaction of him loving it is icing on the birthday cake!

January Pantry Challenge Wrap...I Can Explain

2011-01-31T21:43:00.001-08:00

For the sake of "keeping it real" here, I thought I'd just quickly post about the second half of my grocery challenge for this month. On January 17th, I had about $10 left to work with. Later that week a friend alerted me to a big grain order that needed to be placed that week. Since I haven't been able to find a good source for grain locally, I jumped at the chance to be part of this order at a co-op in a nearby town. And thus began the lack of motivation to follow through with my grand plans. My shopping opportunities are usually on weekends and I didn't want to wait until February 1st to improve my numbers. Also, there were several coupon match-ups this past week which seemed worth stocking up on for future needs.

Anyway, adding to the $165 from earlier in the month:
1/21 Taste of Life $160.90
150 lb. wheat, 25 lb. corn, 50 lb. oat groats, 1 bucket lid
This supply will last the better part of a year at least.

1/22 Target $9.34
baby food - I do make baby food, too, but for the sake of variety and some ease, we bought some.

1/22 Whole Foods $26.34
bulk oats, 1 pkg. organic whole wheat pasta, 1 bag tortilla chips, 2 amazing* pizzas
*Whole Foods is becoming our favorite place for prepared pizzas. They make them to order for a great price on weekends.

1/24 Target $23.09
3 packs of diapers, 4 lb. dry beans, 1 lb. barley, 1 pkg. pasta, 1 lb. butter, 2 pumpkin pies ($1.07 each after coupons)

1/28 Costco $13.96
4.5 lb. cheese, 3 lb. sour cream

1/29 Safeway $39.04
9 jars pasta sauce, 4 cans soup, large pack of t.p., 9 individual yogurts, 3 4-pks yogurt, 3 small loaves bakery bread & bag of chips (for an easy Saturday lunch), 8.5 lb. boneless skinless chicken

1/29 Albertsons $19.98
4 dozen eggs, 1 bag tortilla chips, 5 boxes cereal, 24-pk bottled water (for team snacks in a few weeks), 2 bottles salad dressing, 1 shave gel, 1 loaf bread

1/29 King Soopers $52.89
9 boxes Kleenex, 4 pkgs. dishwasher detergent, 6 jars salsa, 1 pkg. rice, 1 can Ro-tel, 3 cans tomatoes, 1 yellow pepper, 4 avocados, 2 boxes pasta, 3 pkgs. sliced cheese, 5.5 lb. organic pears, 9 lb. organic apples, 2 tubs yogurt, 4 individual yogurts, 2 lb. organic baby carrots, 2 bottles soda

Grand total $511.17 {She hangs her head in shame.}

So I see it this way.
Stumble: going WAY over what I had planned.
Success: still finding items at their lowest prices.

Stumble: take-out - 2 meals of Chick-Fil-A, 1 meal of Chipotle (Burr-tio deal that fed us for 2 meals), and the 2 Whole Foods pizzas (again, food for 2 meals)
Success: getting through most of the month without boxed cereal or much yogurt for breakfast

Stumble: not planning ahead that made Chick-Fil-A the easiest option on a busy night
Success: cooking up dried beans and a crockpot full of mesquite chicken that made lots of meals

Stumble: not taking a full inventory before I started so I would remember what I had to work with
Success: baking lots of whole wheat bread and zucchini bread

Stumble: needing a better plan to make the most of sales while not going to the store too often...I simply need to plan better.
Success: getting a few meals put away in the freezer for busy nights and delivering a meal to dear friend.

Stumble: lacking contentment when certain items ran low
Success: keeping on keeping on....I'll keep trying.

I think lately we have been right around $400/month for groceries and household needs, but writing it out provides some clarity and motivation to streamline and keep searching for what is going to work for our family in this season.

I think I'll try again for February!

January Pantry Challenge Update

2011-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

The January pantry challenge is going okay, though I have made a few observations.

1. When you make a menu for a month, don't expect to follow it to the letter. We've only eaten about half of the meals I had planned to this date because of leftovers we needed to eat, a couple take-out meals that also yielded leftovers and some poor planning.
2. For a big menu plan, check your stock of all ingredients needed in your meals even if you don't need a lot of them. Ever tried to make a stir-fry without soy sauce?
3. Plan some meals you can get on the table in a matter of minutes. Everyone has days when the time, energy or schedule doesn't allow much for cooking.
4. If you're planning for a long stretch of time, sales may not come when you need them. I'm still waiting on a good sale on pork to make our favorite pulled pork.
5. If you schedule your grocery shopping for a certain day and then can't go on that day and have no opportunities for shopping for the rest of the week, the menu you had planned will likely fall by the wayside.

I've given lots of thought lately to just how much time, energy and stress (shopping with 4 children!) grocery shopping requires and am trying to find a balance between time and money. I don't need to impress anyone with how little I spend on groceries if we have enough to feed our family and have a good balance between being good stewards of both of those resources. I'm no extreme couponer. I think I may have been in the past, and that time may come again, but I really need to spend my time on things that our family values more for this season. I need to shop more strategically and less frequently.

January Grocery Expenses...so far
King Soopers $26.42 - milk, buttermilk, apples, potatoes, avocados, beans, eggs, girl stuff
Costco - $15.62 - lots of lunch meat, bananas, cinnamon
Sunflower Market -$62.06 lots of ground beef & chicken, yogurt, produce, vinegar
Costco - $31.95 bread, cheese, bananas, tortillas, tortilla chips, spinach, celery, snack mix
Farm Crest - $11.96 4 gallons milk
Sam's Club - $17.62 bacon bits, salsa, chips
Grand total - $165.63

So, that leaves me less than $10 for the next 14 days. We'll see how that goes. I still have plenty of options with the food we have in the house, so I'm hoping for the best. But we may need diapers, or t.p., or some other baby things. Listing out the purchases certainly highlights the impulse buys.

Here's the menu plan for this week.
Monday - buffalo chicken meatballs, mashed potatoes, carrot & celery sticks w/dip
Tuesday - Homemade mac & cheese w/a bit of diced chicken breast, steamed veggies
Wednesday - Creamy roasted tomato soup, grilled turkey cheese sandwiches
Thursday - Spinach salad w/chicken, feta, bacon, croutons, etc.
Friday - minestrone, fresh bread
Saturday - cheeseburger pizza, salad
Sunday - taco soup, quesadillas

Are you doing a similar challenge? How is it going? How do you get food on your table economically while maintaining your sanity?

the Me I Want to Be

2011-01-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

I've been mulling over New Year's resolutions for a while now, hence the lateness in getting them posted. But really, is there something magical about setting them on January 1st? I think not. I've been thinking of these goals more in terms of who I want to BE at the end of this year, rather than just what I want to accomplish. So here's my 'be' list for 2011.

Be content with God's provision for us, with all the ups and downs of raising little ones, with my role as a wife/mom/teacher, and with myself - flaws and all, daily cultivating a heart of thankfulness.

Be rooted in God and his Word. Read the Bible through this year and take time through each day to prayer and submit myself anew to Him.

Be engaged. This year I want to invest more heavily in my kids with their hearts and with their formal education and in doing things with and for them for their enjoyment. I want to be a fun mom.

Be healthy. Strive to eat lots of fruits and veggies every day. Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day. Stop taking seconds at meals.

Be lighter. I'm working toward losing at least 27 lbs. this year.

Be active. I've made it my goal to have 300 workouts or highly active days this year.

Be organized and free of household clutter that steals away time and attention from what really matters. I'll be working through this book as a guide to help me along the way.

Be creative. Taking time to sew and craft is good down-time for me for thinking and acts as good therapy. :) I hope to finish a project per week this year.

Be a learner. I'm not sure what this looks like yet, but I do want to take some risks, invest some time and learn some new things this year.

Be resourceful, making the most of the time, energy and money that I have.

January Menu - Pantry Challenge

2011-01-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

With the new year here, I am feeling the need to get back on track with menu planning, tighten the purse strings a bit, and use up some of the items that have been in our pantry for a while. So, here is the menu plan for January. I'm hoping I can stick to it. I've posted it on our fridge for easy reference. For the first couple weeks I planned out breakfasts and lunches, too. But for the remaining weeks we'll just be winging it based on what we still have on hand. We've already started on the plan but I haven't had time to post until now. Forgive the formatting, it looks much better on my word doc.

January Menu

M1/3 D: vegetable beef soup w/ split peas, homemade whole wheat bread

T B: cold cereal, yogurt

L: leftovers (shepherd's pie, pasta w/sauce, soup, pizza, cheese bread, etc.), veggies

D: mashed potato bake (ham/broc/cheese/onion/sour cream), bread & jam, fruit salad

W B: cereal or toast, yogurt

L: green smoothies, tuna melts

D:lasagna (make extra 1 to freeze), garlic bread, spinach salad

Th B: baked french toast, apple slices

L: leftovers & quesadillas, raw veggies & dip

D: beans & rice, sour cream, cheese, avocado, fruit salad

F B: cereal & yogurt

L: snack lunch – crackers, cheese, veggies & dip, turkey

D: beef stir-fry, rice

S B: cranberry whole wheat waffles, fruit, orange juice

L: brats, steamed veggies

D: broccoli cheese soup, crackers or biscuits

S 1/9 B: cinnamon rolls (freezer)

L: company - minestrone, cheese bread, chocolate chunk cookies

D: veggie burgers, corn

M B: steel cut oats, blueberries

*Grocery shopping & prep: make bread (cinnamon rolls, 2 loaves, meat pockets)

L: individual pizzas

D: runzas and ham & cheese pockets, peas

T B: whole wheat cinnamon rolls,

L: mac & cheese, jarred peaches, raw veggies

D: Emeril's pulled pork (make extra to freeze), homemade buns, pickles, veg. side

W B: cereal, yogurt

L: tuna melts, raw veggies

D: caramelized garlic chicken, roasted seasoned potatoes, peas

Th B: banana zucchini bread, yogurt

L: leftovers

D: creamy roasted tomato soup, spinach salad with feta & peppers, grilled cheese sandwiches

F B: oatmeal, raspberries

L: sandwiches, veggies & fruit

D: pepperoni pizza, salad

S B: cereal, yogurt

L: meal on the go – whatever odds and ends we can scrape together

D: lasagna (freezer), garlic bread

S 1/16 B: oatmeal, blueberries

L: out to lunch – gift certificate

D: beef roast, mashed potatoes (make extra for shepherd's pie) & gravy, green beans, biscuits

M D: chili, cornbread

T D: pasta, meat sauce, steamed veggies

W D: BBQ chicken pizza, salad

Th D: leftovers or beans & rice w/ fixings

F D: chicken pot pie, salad

S B: waffles, fruit

L: grilled sandwiches

D: pepperoni pizza, salad

S 1/23 B: egg casserole, toast

L: hamburgers, baked beans, fruit salad

D: shepherd's pie, fruit or veggie

M *Grocery shopping and prep: make bread (2 loaves, focaccia, cinnamon bread)

D: grilled chicken focaccia sandwiches, chips, apples

T D: scrambled eggs, sausage, zucchini bread, fruit

W D: pulled pork (freezer), homemade buns, mixed steamed veggies

Th D: honey crisp baked chicken, rice, green beans

F D: cheeseburger pizza, breadsticks, salad

S L: grilled sandwiches

D: tacos

S 1/30 L:leftovers

D: pasta fagioli soup (Olive Garden recipe), garlic breadsticks

M D: beef & bean burritos, veggies

Goals:

Keep grocery expenditures to $175 – mostly for dairy, produce, meat & excellent deals
Eat well
Use up what we have

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T16:10:00.001-08:00

From my home to yours, Merry Christmas! May the greatest gift this world has known fill you with His peace!

Simple Teacher Gifts

2010-11-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Update: This is what I call a crafting FAIL! I was just using the dish towel I kept for myself and the ink is bleeding and rubbing off. Back to square one...$5 gift cards for each teacher are sounding better and better. I'm hoping to salvage some of the towels by pretreating them and running them through the wash.

This week I've been working on teacher gifts. We love the folks who teach our kids at their homeschool enrichment program, Sunday school, etc. and wanted to give them something they can put to good use without breaking the budget. I'm aiming more and more for giving gifts that don't create clutter in someone's home. This year I opted for nice dish soap (you know, the kind you don't often splurge on for yourself) and a flour sack towel that I sewed with a decorative snowflake stitch and stamped to give it a festive look.

Supplies, cost breakdown and a few notes:
flour sack towels - $1.00 each at Wal-mart
Note: These are not great quality, but should make it through the holidays at least. I prewashed and ironed these before stamping and sewing.

rubber stamp - $5.xx with coupon - will be able to use for other things

red stamp pad - on hand
Updated to add: Do NOT use the kind of ink I used. Crafting FAIL!
Note: I used Color Box pigment ink which may not be the best, but I didn't have time or energy to track down an ink suitable for fabric, so take that into consideration if you're doing something similar. I did try acrylic paint dabbed onto the stamp for one but I didn't like the effect.

2 spools red thread - on hand

Mrs. Meyers Clean Day dish soap - $2.98 at Wal-mart (Score! Coupons were attached to the bottles at the store I went to.)

red yarn for wrapping - on hand

sewing machine - Mine is not the top of the line by any means, but it has some fun decorative stitches.

For under $5 per gift I am rather pleased with the result and I'm happy to give a gift I would gladly receive. In fact, I did receive one. I kept one since I am my kids' teacher and I do 90% of the dishes in this house. :)

Merry Christmas!

The Good Life

2010-10-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today I'm feeling very blessed by........children that are growing up together as the best of friends

...God's grace toward us
...covenant community
...a handsome and hardworking husband

...the privilege of being at home full-time to raise and teach these little ones that are growing up too fast
...a truly delightful baby.

In this season of giving thanks, I really want my heart to say, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what God has done."

Busy Life, Quiet Blog

2010-05-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

It seems like many gals have the gift of keeping up with blogs even with very full lives, but I guess that is not my gifting. And I'm fine with that.

We are getting along quite well and feel adjusted to being a family of six. Our sweet baby is such a delightful little guy as he is full of smiles and laughter and sleeps through the night. We are still plugging away with schooling as we fell several weeks behind during the time he was born and the illness that followed. The summer will be full of lots of little events, but not too many big ones. We're hoping just to enjoy the kids and get out and do some fun things. These years really are flying by with them small.

So I just wanted to check in to let my two readers know that we are doing fine, just busy and blessed.
This photo was at 13 weeks and really doesn't have much to do with what I wrote above, but who can resist a happy baby?!

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

We give thanks for the Resurrection! Thankful for the sacrifice of Christ. Thankful for the hope of the gospel. Thankful for the local body of believers of which we are a part. And thankful for the blessings in this lifetime, too.

Normalizing?!

2010-04-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

in the hospital at 2 weeks old..so difficult!

Well, our baby is nearly 2 months old and we are finally starting to feel like life is getting back to "normal". It has been a much more difficult transition for us than we had anticipated, mainly due to two things for our little one: really poor eating and an illness which caused him to be hospitalized for 5 days when he was 2 weeks old. But God has been so faithful to us and has shown us again and again His love for us in so many ways, especially through the love and support shown to us through the body of Christ. It has been overwhelming, really. We have literally had dozens of meals lovingly made by others and folks have stepped in whenever we have had a need for childcare. My mother-in-law was also able to quickly schedule a visit and came and helped us tirelessly for 2 weeks after Matthew came home from the hospital a second time. And after 7 weeks, he finally caught on to nursing and is gaining well. Such a praise after so many hours invested into bottlefeeding and pumping and attempting to get him to nurse effectively! We have also been to numerous medical appointments to follow up on the condition that led to his infection and now more fully understand what is going on, how to keep him well and we have hope he will outgrow it in time. We are so blessed!

Matthew's Birth Story

2010-02-14T18:41:00.001-08:00

Short Version:
Induced on my due date - very long labor at nearly 21 hours - no signs that I would progress on my own to the finish and we were minutes away from going to the operating room for a C-section - we prayed, God answered in wonderfully merciful ways - Matthew Lewis was born! It was my longest and most difficult labor (all have been induced) even though it was my 4th child.

Longer Version:
I was due on February 9th, so with my history of always going late, my doctor and I were in agreement that an induction was a fine course of action. Arrived at the hospital around 8:00 am. We were starting at 2 cm, maybe 50% effacement and -3 station. Pitocin was begun and increased every 30 minutes. Water was broken at 3:15 and I was still at 2cm. Pitocin continued to increase, and the pain did, too. Pitocin drip reached 30 (I'm not sure of the measurement, but the nurse told me that 10 was most often all that was needed for most women.)

I was doing my best to make it without an epidural (I have the last 2 times) but as we approached midnight I was only at 3 cm and maybe a -2 station and was completely exhausted. I opted for the epidural at midnight. I quickly progressed to 5 cm and although I didn't sleep, the rest was so welcome. At midnight an internal monitoring device was also put in to try to make sense of why labor was not progressing and why he was not shifting down at all. I continued to labor through the night, but at 3:40 was only at 5-6 cm and station had not improved. At this point, my doctor expressed that he was still not able to get a reason for why things were not progressing and baby was not descending. He was recommending a c-section, though we were not at the point that it had to be done right then and there. He graciously gave us 30 minutes to talk it over privately and to pray. We called my parents and asked them to pray, too, and we cried out to God. Not that a c-section would have been awful, it was just that we had come so far and labored so long that it seemed so disappointing and I dreaded the recovery and doubted how I could care for my family if it came to that. We prayed for a safe delivery of our little boy, no matter what means that meant. After 30 minutes we were at peace with the decision to go ahead with the c-section. At that point I was checked again and was at 8 cm. My doctor at that point thought it wise to give it another half hour to see if I could complete. Our little guy was holding strong, but it had been a long day and night for him in the womb, too, and was starting to show signs of stress.

We continued to pray and hope that this could happen without surgery, but surrendered our will to His. A half hour later I had completed and I began pushing. He was born less than 5 contractions later at 5:02am on February 10. To God be the glory! We are so thankful for His favor!

We have so much to give thanks for, as witnessed by the story above, but also in other ways...with a wonderfully skilled and compassionate Christian doctor, with a great staff of nurses who cared for us and encouraged us, for my parents who we felt we could call in the middle of the night to join us in prayer, for an amazingly supportive husband who stood with me through it all. My heart is overflowing with thanks for the way God brought this child into the world.

P.S. - I know some will read this and think that it was because of the induction and the medical intervention that we got to the point we were at considering a c-section. Just know that I realize not all will agree with the way we came to be in that situation, the use of the epidural, etc., but that in those moments, they did seem like the best decisions for us. I get the strong desire for natural childbirth and I have gone that route before. This is not meant to be a divisive post in any way, just an account of Matthew's birth story.

He's Here!

2010-02-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday we welcomed this precious one! We praise God for his safe arrival and that the delivery ended so well after a long day and night of labor without promising progress.

Matthew Lewis
February 10, 2010 @ 5:02am
8 lb. 10 oz. - 20.5 inches

Getting Ready

2010-01-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe we only have 10 more days, give or take, to meet our baby boy. With all the excitement in my heart, there is also a bit of fear. Fears regarding labor and delivery (I feel like I'm out of practice...it has been more than 3 1/2 years), adjusting to life with a newborn, meeting the needs of all my children while maintaining our household and homeschool routine. Wise moms have told me to lower my expectations and most importantly, pray. It feels like I am on the verge of being re-initiated into motherhood. So with the changes just around the corner, I'm trying to prepare my heart and home for what is ahead. The "to do" list is growing by the day while I fluctuate between having lots of physical energy and motivation to take on the whole house and having just enough to manage the bare essentials for the day. This final trimester has also brought a fair bit of pain to this mama-to-be, which I am looking forward to disappearing once I can hold this child in my arms instead of my belly. Still on my to-do list?

- Try to get the whole house clean...this seems almost impossible since we still have 5 people living here and 3 of them are not very tidy.

- Take a bunch of discards to the donation center. It always feels so good to get stuff out of your house that you no longer need.

- Brush up on our Bradley Method book, but honestly, if I run out of time I'm just hoping that the whole labor and delivery experience will just be like riding a bike and come back to me.

- Finish packing the bag for the hospital.

- Fill in more details on the list of things people should know when caring for our children.

- Have some pictures taken by a friend.

- Get a pedicure, or at the very least, paint my own toenails just because that makes me happy.

- Go on a date with my husband! Babysitter is booked and I'm looking forward to an evening out with him!

- Write shower thank you notes. I was SO blessed this week by a group of gals from church who came out to encourage and support me as we are days away from our little one's arrival! We really didn't need much in the way of baby things, but it is so refreshing to have some new things to use this time around instead of exclusively hand-me-downs from his older brothers.

- Take time to rest and exercise.

- Enjoy these moments with just 3 kids on the ground and get out to do at least one thing with them just for the sake of having fun with them.

I know I could really keep adding to this list, but these are the most important so I want keep my expectations in check and enjoy these days as much as possible.

Glimpses of Christmas

2010-01-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Free vintage skis I found this fall and a wreath from years past were easier (and safer!) than putting up outdoor lights
Our humble tree with ornaments collected through the years and made by children...it won't make any decorating magazines or blogs, but it is "our" tree, not "my" tree
A simple display over the fireplace - my favorite part is my grandmother's first Bible under the initial
A window display made by our crafty 5-year-old...it did my heart good to know that she really understands the reason for the season and the initiative to make this was all hers.

Gifts on top of the kitchen cupboards keep the temptation away from young hands and add a festive touch

We really enjoyed taking a day at home for our "family Christmas" before traveling. We enjoyed a fondue meal, gifts and time for the kids to enjoy their new things.

The kids singing carols with Nana playing

All the kids listening to Papa read the Christmas story

In a nutshell, it was a season of simple decorating and celebrations, but rich in memories.

Not pictured:
- A family photo with my living grandparents, parents, siblings and their spouses and children
- My mom's 60th surprise birthday party
- A white winter wonderland thanks to a big blizzard, though too cold and windy to really get out to enjoy
- Gathering near the computer to visit with my husband's family many miles away

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

I've not been feeling that great and have not been really productive with life in general, so unfortunately doing any posting has gone by the wayside entirely. But I just wanted to take a minute to wish you a Merry Christmas! May the season be filled with time to reflect on the reason we celebrate: the Christ-child coming for us! Revel in His grace! Enjoy your families! Take time to give thanks to God for this eternal gift and for all the countless ways He blesses us in the here-and-now, too!

Of the many things I'm thankful for, I give thanks for this family God has given me and for these growing children.

Photos taken by my mom in a "get-r-done for Christmas cards" photo session at their farm over Thanksgiving.

A Few, or 10, Gift Ideas (not that it's all about me)

2009-11-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Not that it's all about me or anything, but here are 10 things or experiences I would love for Christmas or an upcoming birthday. And perhaps this list will prove helpful for the one very near and dear to me. :)

1. In the category of "The-sky-is-the-limit-but-I'm-not-gonna-get-it": a trip to Scotland with my husband, or a trip to PEI. Considering we can't even manage a weekend away, these are "someday" dreams.

2. A new, or nicely used sewing machine. I think I want a basic model Bernina, but yikes! they are expensive. I actually just bought a new machine from Costco but can't decide if I am keeping it. It was a good deal for sure, but I'm torn between a good deal for today and wanting a machine that will last the rest of my life.

3. A winter coat with an attached, fleece-lined, non-pointy hood that is a solid color with a hip-length cut and a non-boxy fit. Even if I can't fully zip it this winter, with my expanding belly, these are top choices in my research so far, though I'm still not sure exactly what I want.

4. A pedicure.

5. A trendy sewing book such as one by Amy Butler or one on sewing aprons.

6. A cheese grater. Perhaps this one by KitchenAid.

7. Grain storage buckets and lids from Pleasant Hill Grain.

8. SmartWool socks.

9. A gift card to one of the following: Hobby Lobby, Panera Bread, Old Chicago, Chipotle, Einstein's, Spicy Pickle, Jason's Deli, Archivers or Pottery Barn.

10. Date nights with my husband which would need to be squeezed into the calendar before mid-February.

Okay, enough about me, I need to move on to tackling that Christmas gift list of things we want to buy for others.

For more 10 on the 10th, visit Life at 7000 Feet.

A Good Day of Grocery Shopping

2009-11-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Last night I wrote about a few things we would do if we faced a loss of income and everything came together this morning for a great savings trip to the grocery store. Combining a big savings event, lots of coupons and careful planning, here is what I brought home.
6 big boxes Kleenex
1 pair cleaning gloves
2 multi-packs of kitchen scrubbers
4 scrub sponges
1 bag Halls
2 boxes hot cocoa mix
3 cans chili (food bank)
4 cans evaporated milk
4 bags frozen veggies (we'll cook these on the stovetop, not in the microwave bags)
1 frozen entree
1 bag chocolate chips
6 multi-packs of yogurt/yogurt smoothies
1 gallon organic milk
1 bottle Sunny D smoothie
1 bag pepperoni
1 tub spreadable butter
1 lb. Challenge butter
1 bag Ruffles
1 bottle salad dressing
2 boxes cheese crackers (will go in Chex Mix at Christmas)

All for the grand total of.....$21.30! My receipt says I saved $98.42. I know that is a relative number, though, since I would never have paid that much for the group of groceries. Keep in mind that this is not all we will be eating this week, but will add to our stockpile and be used over the next several weeks. And if you took the photo at face value you'd think we eat a lot of junk. But that is just part of the bargain method of grocery shopping, buying things at their lowest price and then using then over a longer period of time than if you just made a list of what you need for one week and then went out and bought everything off that list. The task of maximizing savings has been greatly lightened by the ad reviews I read each week on SpringsBargains.

It was a good day and I feel like the effort paid off. And I even had all three kids with me and it was a pretty good trip in that regard, too, which is not something I often say in regards to shopping with children.

Where Would We Go From There?

2009-11-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

With an uncertain economy surrounding and impacting us all, it certainly wouldn't hurt to give some careful thought to how one might respond if some major negative financial impacts became a family reality. (I was inspired by this post over at Frugal VegCafe.)

If my husband was laid off from his job and we found ourselves without an income, then we would be employing whatever methods we could to stay afloat and keep ourselves fed and the roof over our heads. I often feel that we are doing all we can to make ends meet, but in actuality, there are things I could change to better use the resources we have. In the short term, here is what that might look like. In the longer term matters of vocation, location, and education would certainly be addressed, though those things are beyond the scope of this blog....though my husband and I have talked extensively about possibilities if we felt the Lord leading us in any of those directions. Anyway, for the short term.

1. Stop buying ANYTHING beyond food unless it was an absolute need. Easier said than done, but I'm sure if we were pressed, there would be more motivation to just plain stop spending.

2. Menu plan and play the grocery game like never before. I have eased off of intensive coupon-clipping and grocery hunting this year, but I would be returning to those efforts. The goal would be to have no food go to waste while nourishing our family with the highest quality food we could afford. Only the most basic ingredients (like milk, cheese, eggs, grains, produce) would be purchased unless I get items for free or close to free with coupons. Our spice cupboard holds enough right now to provide variety to basic made-from-scratch foods for a long while. I would also be planting a garden again in the late spring.

3. Freeze that credit card in a block of ice or store it in a secure location off-site so on those tiring and discouraging days we would have the additional deterrent of not having easy access to spend without careful thought and planning. We have never carried a balance and have not used it lots in all the years we have had it, but we know that it is easier to use than if you had cold hard cash in your hand that you have to part with when you purchase something. Note: we have our reasons for continuing to have a credit card and my husband are in agreement about it.

4. Rally all our financial resources, and I don't just mean the bank account. Do we have stuff to sell? Sell it! Do we have points accumulated in consumer loyalty programs (airlines, diaper points, credit card points, etc.) that we could convert to gift cards for stores that sell essentials? Are there coins in the couch or money around the house that should be corralled? Do we have gift cards in our wallets or elsewhere that could be put toward meeting basic family needs? Are there rebates to send in to get money back? All of these things may be small, but would hopefully have a positive net effect on not having as much money leaving our savings fund, or at least slowing the rate at which that happens. And then we would go to a cash-basis system for everything except for our mortgage and monthly bills. We go back and forth between using cash well for most everything and then fall back into using debit more. This would be a time for cash only!

5. Utilize utilities more wisely. Time to get back to line or air-drying. Turn the thermostat down (some more) and put more blankets on the beds and wear sweaters or fleece. Shut off lights. Recaulk windows and doors. Unplug unused appliances big and small. Wash the windows to let more solar heat warm the house in the daytime. Consider if we can cut our phone and internet bills.

6. Halt or at least slow gasoline consumption by making more thorough lists and mapping out errands and outings to be combined.

7. Let the non-essentials and niceties go. For us this would include the YMCA membership (unless they could work with us on a reduced or free membership during the unemployed time), going out to eat even with coupons at cheaper places, and the small personal allowances my husband and I have come to enjoy and potentially even the evenings out alone that I enjoy from time to time. Though I rarely spend much while out, the gas for the outing may be a deciding factor.

8. Accept that this will be a season of limited giving, especially of presents for birthdays and Christmas and exchange homemade gifts or skip them altogether. The priority would be a Christmas or birthday gift to our own children during this time, even though it would be something that was inexpensively purchased or homemade. I can see that this would be one of the most humbling areas for us overall in a no-income situation. Hopefully we could still support those missionaries we have committed to and we would need to prayerfully consider that.

9. Consider whether I could supplement our resources by sewing and selling some items from materials I already have on hand. This could also provide some entertainment value since we would not be spending on entertainment at all during this period. My husband's entertainment comes largely in the form of books from the library which we would certainly continue to utilize. Entertainment currently comes in the form of dining out, though not often, so it is not like we have an "entertainment budget" that could be cut.

10. Count the daily blessings and watch God provide for every real need. Just in typing out some of these tactics that we could put into place I am reminded of how incredibly blessed we are, currently, but also even if a job loss did become a reality for us. He is good. He is faithful. He provides.

Even in putting some of the thoughts I have had about this onto paper I am energized to begin implementing a few of these things now, even though they are not in any way forced, just to be better stewards and work on my own character.

What are a few changes you would make to your lifestyle in the event of income loss?

Long Ago on Woodmen Road

2009-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Just remembering our first days in Colorado Springs, more than 9 years ago. :) If you are local and know what Woodmen Road looked like 9 years ago (MUCH less developed than today), you'll be able to envision this all the more.

Long ago on Woodmen Road
walked two young souls a bit forlorn.
New to the area, no knowing a soul,
boxes unloaded and without a car.
To Roscoe's Topsoil and Gravel the truck was returned,
We were at Black Forest Road, we very soon learned!
Six miles from town there arose no clatter,
and no one tell even what was the matter.
We had not a phone, but really who would we call?
We had no clue, no none at all!
Hot July day, eight ounces of water,
in hindsight, we could have been smarter.
So we set out on foot, no transit in sight,
sidewalk on the left, and then on the right.
The sidewalk did end and begin again
on the other side of 4 lanes a movin'.
We walked and we walked and thirsted some more,
feeling quite foolish and lonely for sure.
A mirage in the distance, a lovely gas station,
turned out to be still under construction.
Further along the Golden Arches did call
and we gladly did go into the cool and stall.
Replenished a bit from the heat and the thirst,
we wondered if now the move could go worse.
We finally returned "home" and wondered what was to come.

...and we soon discovered our neighbors had an addiction,
though this is no time to go into that situation.

Fresh Starts

2009-10-22T21:50:00.001-07:00

Even though we are finishing up Week 9 of the school year, I wanted to document for grandmas and others we know who are far off the start of the year for our two students. We now have a kindergartener and a first grader and they are both doing well with their studies at home as well as at a charter school within our district that offers a 1-day-per-week program for home school students. We loved the program we were part of last year, but the distance was becoming an increasing obstacle as I am now trying to meaningfully teach two children and as we expect our fourth child during the school year. For this novice homeschooler, it is assuring to know that there are other teachers investing in my children's education and covering some of gaps I haven't filled in at home yet like music, art, and p.e. and supplementing the language arts and science we are doing here at home. Another benefit is that their primary teacher can provide me with insights into what may be beneficial to their 80% of school time spent at home. It seems like a good balance for us this year. Even though we are 1/4 of the way through the year, I feel I am still working on finding routine and consistency in managing the responsibilities of teaching, homekeeping, mothering, and managing our 3 year old while we are doing school. I have a lot to learn, but I'm thankful for the journey.

Little Boy

2009-10-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

After a long blog silence, just wanted to share that last month we saw that this precious one is healthy. He is an answer to our prayers and our hurting hearts earlier this year. Praise be to God, the giver of life! If the Lord wills, we will welcome him into our arms around Valentine's Day, so I am 24 weeks along now.

If you know us in real life and it is brought to your mind, please pray for this little boy and for our family during this time. Many thanks!

P.S. - The top picture was a bonus from the ultrasound technician as she needed to see more detail and we are happy to see his little features already.

Ten

2009-09-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Who knew what life would hold on that hot July day in the middle of the country 10 years (and a couple months) ago? I can't imagine how different life would be if God had seen fit to suit me for another. But I give many thanks for His will in our lives and the way He has knit us together in so many areas. And the dating years were just the beginning. We both think that our marriage, though not without its trials, keeps getting better with each passing year. Together we have experienced much.

The joy and stress of getting married and establishing our first home.
A first year in a cute little imperfect basement suite surrounded by many friends.
The loss of a grandparent.
A move to Colorado Springs, sight unseen, for a job transfer for my husband at a national coffee chain...we were young and carefree, and have gained a bit of wisdom since that time. :)
A new job for my husband at an organization where he remains today.
Living in a dark apartment under a couple of alcoholics who would fight many evenings into the morning which prompted...
..the purchase of our first home.
The birth of our firstborn and a transition to living on one income.
Joining the church body we have no intention of leaving for as long as we live in this city.
The purchase of our second home.
The birth of our second and third children.
Home and yard improvements.
The loss of another grandparent.
A miscarriage earlier this year.
And the joyful anticipation of another child, if the Lord wills.

While each of these life events are one-liners, they each represent entire seasons of our life together. I am so thankful to have all of this, and so much more with a husband who is faithful, provides for us, supports and loves me unconditionally and with whom I find wonderful friendship and intimacy. And with all that has gone behind us, I am confident that together we will be able to face whatever comes beyond this through the grace of God.

I am incredibly blessed and indeed, a happily married woman!

Budget vs. Life

2009-08-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

We get paid for my husband's hard work.
We give what we feel is right to give.
We pay the mortgage.
We pay utilities and car insurance and budget for gasoline.
We budget a small sum for groceries and a little for dining out (to keep the cook of the house from feeling too deprived).
What little is left gets divided between all other needs and wants, from shoes for the kids to birthday gifts, to a part for a vehicle, to things we need to maintain our home properly.

And nothing is left. I guess that is the goal of zero-based budgeting, spending every dime on paper before you ever really spend it. But we're missing out on some important things. Things like family vacations with our kids, getaways as a couple, date nights, flowers that will fade away but add beauty for a time, day trips to mountains or local points of interest, church community events that would require us to afford childcare, and things of this nature. What we're lacking in one word: fun. Yes, I know there are a million ways to have fun without spending money, but so many experiences do come with a tangible price tag, be it ever so small. And sometimes when you take something free to do and then have to add all the work it takes to prepare one or more meals to take with you or a very long day to avoid paying for a night of lodging it suddenly loses some of the fun for me.

A budget is a tool to bring boundaries and freedom within those boundaries to use the resources you have. But what do you do when it just feels like that budget is covering the necessities only and nothing simply for the sake of enjoyment? If you know me, I'm not saying I want to throw lots of money away on temporary pleasures, just a little on some life-enriching, memory-making experiences.

And then, oh the guilt of even having this pity party in the first place! Don't you know you already live better than 90% of the world! Um, yeah, I remember that. Indeed, we are very blessed. But I still live in these United States and see what others around me are able to spend money on, and more importantly, experience. And I grow tired of saying "no" to our kids for even good and wholesome things they request whether something at the grocery store or a $2 carousel ride.

So maybe it is time to go back to the drawing board to find a better balance between financial responsibility and actually living life to the full.

Lord, give me a contented heart.

Family 4th of July

2009-08-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

We traveled east to see my parents and my siblings and their families over July 4th. It has been been a roller coaster year for our family, but we had a great time nonetheless. The kids splashed in Nana & Papa's backyard, we went to a huge extended family picnic at a lake, we celebrated Smiley's birthday (again), we had a second memorial walk/run to honor my grandmother, we celebrated 10 years of marriage and a whole lot more! It was certainly a jam-packed few days.

A fun nephew joined us for a family picture

A full crowd ready to embark on the memorial walk/run. I'm so thankful for this big family!

10 year anniversary photo....yikes, we've aged! A lot!

Smiley pondering this oh-so-good gift. For some strange reason our kids love to watch our recycling and garbage being picked up and he loves this truck!

Huddling to stay warm while eating homemade ice cream on a chilly July 4th evening

Good times!

Garden Goodness!

2009-08-14T21:29:00.001-07:00

zucchini bigger than a 5-year-old's arm

...or maybe just "Oh, goodness, what are we gonna do with all that zucchini?!"

It seems we are having a bumper crop of zucchini, even though some have fallen victim to what this novice thinks is blossom end rot. Regardless, we've had plenty to consume here and several rounds to share with friends and neighbors. I know I let the ones in the picture get waaay too big, but they were overlooked for a couple days under the huge leaves and the tangle of vines. I should be sending out my gardening assistant to pick any reasonable ones each day, which she would be game to do. Please do send ideas of what to do with it all!

Camping with Young Children - Craziness or Courage?

2009-08-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

We recently went camping for a weekend at a state park nearby with some good friends and their two kids. It was great to get away into God's creation, but "roughing it" comes with some challenges for all of us...less sleep than normal, more fresh air and tiredness, the long process it is to cook anything for a meal. But we came away with some great memories and are hopefully training our kids to handle these situations with more grace each time we go. We especially enjoyed a great family-friendly hike and the kids loved the craft time made possible by my friend who had the foresight to bring along some craft supplies for the kids to enjoy. Oh, and of course the s'mores.

Some Things Just Make Life Brighter

2009-08-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

...like these huge sunflowers in our backyard. Some were planted on purpose and some were the work of children in unexpected places. Either way, they are welcome additions to the landscape.

Expanding My Suburban Garden

2009-07-14T17:46:00.001-07:00

This spring with high hopes of a more bountiful garden, I set out to make an additional raised garden bed. I found easy to follow instructions here and my bed came together like this. The new bed measures 5 x 10'. The cost for materials was about $30, with the same amount needed for suitable fill. I set the new bed pretty much perpendicular to an existing which has made the chore of watering a whole lot easier.

The last two pictures, taken about 2 weeks ago, show the gardens with all their plants which include: zucchini, snap peas, spinach, sunflowers, tomatoes, and bell peppers. We have since enjoyed the spinach and are currently enjoying the snap peas. The tomatoes and sunflowers have grown rapidly in those 14 days and I now see some fruits setting on, so am hopeful we'll actually get some ripe red ones this year before temps cool with many green tomatoes on the vine. It is so satisfying to eat produce from your own garden and I am also glad that at least for now, the garden beds add an element of green to the backyard which is sorely lacking from what should be our lawn area. A lush green lawn in Colorado seems like such a luxury, but I'll just focus on the delight of productive garden this year.

Little Bathroom Project

2009-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

This little project was for a little bathroom in our home. I've been on the hunt for over a year for an inexpensive, but good-looking, cabinet we could install over the toilet for the bare necessities, but had come up with nothing. So I needed to come up with Plan B. In this case, brackets and a shelf for non-concealed storage.

I didn't take a before picture because I think we can all envision just a blank wall. Here is the finished project.

Components:
2 IKEA brackets - $5
pre-cut finish grade board from Lowe's - $8
paint - on hand
hardware - on hand
installation - my good husband

I love projects like this that are finished quickly, cheap and yet provide lots of functionality with a little bit of style. I did resist the urge to first paint the whole bathroom before hanging the shelf. That is a project for another day. Who says beige can't be beautiful?

Because a Girl Just Needs to Accessorize

2009-07-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

A few months a friend sent me a link to this doable Martha Stewart craft that held the promise of corralling all kinds of girlie things for my daughter. We modified to what we had available, but it turned out well and has helped (notice I didn't say "cured") the problem of having these items laying all about the house.

What we used:
unfinished 9 x 12" frame - free from an auction box stash my mom had
wood cutout - $.25
paints - on hand from previous projects
paint applicator - for such a small project, I found that facial foam rounds work well, we had some around but they would be inexpensive in the cosmetics section of Walmart/Target
ribbon - on hand
hot glue and gun to secure ribbon - on hand
good quality hooks - $2 at Walmart for way more than we needed for this

The only unfortunate thing is that she could really fill at least another full frame like this with all the stuff she has.

BIG Summer Trip '09

2009-07-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. 60 Hours Together Enjoying North America's Highways!

Tons of photos ahead, but actual text does follow the images.

In June we took our first ever road trip (with children) to visit my husband's family. The kids did great with most of those 60 hours in the van. We put in 4 long days, partly due to limited vacation time and partly to save lodging and on-the-road dining expenses. But every mile was worth it to be able to visit a few different parts of the family, in the places they call home, and to see old friends from university, too. We were away 2 weeks and logged over 3500 miles. And now the kids seem to really understand just how far it is to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Flying again is looking better and better.

The number of photos in this post could be likened to an infamous vacation slide show, but really, this is just a small sampling. We enjoyed beaches, splash parks, beautiful family gardens, finding ladybugs, reading books, celebrating Smiley's birthday on multiple occasions, going to a great indoor aquatic center, seeing extended family, attending a BBQ at the home of friends, getting out for a date with friends to The Keg, visiting a historic site in the vicinity, croquet, letting the kids run free in the big backyard and visiting friends at their homes, among many other things. Oh, and hauling home 200 lbs. of wheat berries from Wheat Montana in Three Forks, MT.

Some things that helped make this possible:
- Our van's DVD player. We were always the type that resisted them, but when it was included with the van, well, we put it to use. The kids watched 3 movies on the way out and 3 movies on the way home, so the movies weren't on all the time, but something they had to look forward to as the days were dragging on.
- Packing meals for the road on the way to our destination. We crossed the border into British Columbia after 2 days of driving with only $20 of dining out expenses...and that was only because ham sandwiches were getting a bit old. We did not do as well on the way home, but find it is just easier to have food with us and stop at a park or rest area during the time we are not moving forward to let the kids play and refresh all of us. And we had lots of snacks in the car along the way, too.
- Welcoming family who warmly host us in their homes.
- The summer season with lots of daylight to drive by. A trip of this length during the winter would take several more days.

After a shorter trip over a much shorter distance over the 4th of July, we are happily home for the rest of the summer.

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T19:55:00.001-07:00

We squeezed in a little Canadian festivity today in celebration of Canada Day. The kids are loving their new shirts and pinwheels from Grandma and seem to have a good affection toward Canada, as it should be.

The boy on the right cracks me up! He really does live life in a "full speed ahead" mode.
Happy Canada Day!

Already 3!

2009-06-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our baby has already turned 3! The years just keep getting faster and faster it seems. We love this boy to pieces and are so thankful for his own unique personality. Smiley lives life fully and holds nothing back, seems to have no fear, shows lots of love and affection, is ready with a smile most of the time (and sometimes to save himself from a bad situation he has gotten himself into), laughs a lot, loves to sing songs at bedtime, holds his own with his big brother and sister, and is really a pleasant and happy child! We thank God for him and celebrate his 3 full years of life!

We had a party with friends the week before heading out on a big trip. It turned out to be a smaller group than we had planned for, but we enjoyed having time to really catch up with the parents while the kids played in the backyard. We had a lunch of hot dogs and sloppy joes and fixings to match. We sort of had a farm/John Deere theme so I had some green gingham, toy tractors, blue enamelware and fresh flowers to decorate and John Deere fruit snacks to send home with guests. For dessert we had green frosted cupcakes and dirt and worms, the latter being a huge hit, at least with our kids. Who can go wrong with a mixture of candy, cookies, pudding and cool whip? For entertainment, the kids played in the yard with bubbles, on the trampoline and with some outdoor toys. It was a low-key, but fun party.

Year-End School Events

2009-06-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Our family really benefited from the combination of homeschooling and sending Sportster to a charter academy homeschool program a couple times a week this past year. He loved the interaction with his class and his teacher and the fun things that I may neglect or not find feasible in a one-on-one setting here at home.

With the end of the school year, there was a flurry of activity which was great fun. But I also felt relief when the school year was over. Here is a little recap of things that were squeezed into about 2 weeks in May.

Field Trip to a nature center in town
My dear husband took a morning off so I could be one of the drivers and go along with Sportster's class which I really enjoyed.

Field Day with lots of fun activities for the kids

Keeping this young one out of the action was a challenge!

Patriotic Program
Sportster's teacher did a great job of putting this all together and I'm glad he is now familiar with many patriotic songs and parts of speeches and written documents. At the end of the program, his teacher also showed a DVD of photos from the year set to music. I don't think there was a dry eye left by the time that presentation had ended. Next up: a summer of fun and First Grade in the fall.

Where to begin again?

2009-06-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but life has been really busy and I haven't been juggling it all well enough to do even basic posts to keep the grandmas up to date on the kiddos. And now that it has been so long, I don't know where to begin....just leave a huge activity gap and go from the present or work at catching up. It likely doesn't matter to you all, so I do the latter, for the sake of far-off family.

My blogging, or lack thereof, is just a reflection of the state of my life right now. I really need to get it together. But I also don't want to fall into the trap of equating who I am with what I produce. Ah, such a balance!

I hope you have all been well. More to come later!

Celebrating My Girl

2009-05-25T22:30:00.001-07:00

Last month our little girl turned 5. It is at this age when I realize just how fast they grow from tiny babes to active toddlers to young children who think they are ready to take on the world. The years have flown by and I thank God for the privilege of having a little girl to share all things feminine. She is the one in our household that always notices when I fix my hair differently, paint my nails, or set a pretty dinner table. She is the one that is aware of the emotions of others in the home, the one who points out what flowers are blooming in our yard, and the one who is always up for more snuggling. I pray we will raise her well in the fear and admonition of the Lord and that I will raise her well to delight in her femininity and to be a gracious young woman. It is a big task and one I don't take lightly. But I dream of the day when she is grown and excels in her womanly roles and the calling God has given her that we will see unfold in due time. She is a work in process. (And so is her mama!).

To celebrate her birthday this year we had a family dinner with her favorite food, rice, and she was able to open gifts that evening and enjoy cake no. 1. A few days later, we enjoyed a tea party with a few friends and their moms. The the moms had time to catch up while the girls played dress-up and did beading. It was a simple and elegant with fine china, fresh flowers, and a table set especially for the girls. And the girls were all dressed up in pretty dresses and using their best manners.
Some days the challenges of raising this girl overwhelm and exhaust me as I do my best to instruct her how to control her emotions, behave in a ladylike manner and think more of others, but I pray God gives me wisdom and endurance for the journey and a lifelong friendship with this one He has given me the joy of calling "my daughter."

Wondering on Wednesday

2009-05-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering about lots of things lately. Like....

... Should I take a chance and get our vegetable seedlings planted outdoors (protected) before the end of May? I'm getting antsy to get them in the ground because I know the fall frost comes too quickly and they need as many days for the growing season as possible.

How do parents decide, how do WE decide which activities and what activities or educational opportunities are truly beneficial to our kids and manageable for our whole family?
T-ball, American Heritage Girls and Cub Scouts, fall soccer, church children's choir, Pioneer Club, swimming lessons, music lessons, Classical Conversations ... and the list of options goes on and on. At the ages of 5 and 6, how do you know things your child has a natural inclination toward? And with multiple children, how do you maintain the importance of home when you are out of the home more evenings than you are at home together as a family? It seems it is a process of choosing the best over the good...I feel clueless.

Why can't I get my act together to keep my house reasonably clean and orderly? The feeling of peace that comes from a clean and tidy house for me is one of the most refreshing things I experience...though I don't experience it too often. And I'm wishing we had our house had active storage space.

How do moms on a budget find times of refreshment? A day at the spa or a wardrobe or personal makeover ain't gonna happen here. And even on evenings when I am able to get out alone, I don't know what to do with myself, and I still need to cook dinner for my family, which detracts from the notion of a break.

Why do I like junky food? But I am finding that on mornings when I start with a spinach/fruit/protein shake, I crave junk far less. And I am drinking half as much soda as I was last year, so progress is happening, ever so slowly.

And why am I not losing any weight even though I have worked out 105 times this year so far? Oh, non-cooperative metabolism! Yes, my heart is healthier and I am stronger, but the scale is not budging.

How can I simplify shopping so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy or things that need more attention in my home? And without increasing our grocery budget?

How can we free up money in our budget for ordinary things like kids' activities, day trips out and about in this great state, more gardening supplies and the like. Not extravagances, just the costs that come with living a rich family life.

Am I good mom to my kids? What are my primary purposes and priorities in mothering and in the rest of life so that I do the important things well and let the less important things get less time and attention?

So far, none of these questions are really resolved. Hopefully in time many of them will be.

Restoring Order: The Laundry Room

2009-04-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

When I saw that Rebecca and Monica were hosting Restoring Order I thought this was a great time to get to work on my laundry room. It has been out of control for weeks and negatively affecting my motivation to actually do the necessary work in there. When I started on it today I found laundry in all stages, a bunch of clothes which needed to be ironed, cleaning supplies, gifts in hiding (waiting to be wrapped or delivered), outgrown clothes, worn-out clothes, craft supplies, cloth tote bags and curtains, among other things. I really needed to pare down to what is essential to have in the laundry room and purge or put away that which had been dumped there in recent months for one reason or another. Here are the before shots....humbling.

To restore order to this space I did all the laundry and put it away, ironed the pile of things which needed ironing, discarded or stored the unsuitable clothing, wrapped all the gifts for upcoming events and stored them elsewhere, emptied the trash, washed the floor, baseboards and door and washed the adjoining hall and bathroom. I know that tomorrow we will have an abundance of laundry again, but for today I just really needed to hit the reset button so that tomorrow I won't be overwhelmed at the thought of doing a normal task like laundry. Here are the after shots....aaaahhh!

What areas are you working to restore to order today? See what others are doing here.

10 on the 10th

2009-04-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I said I was unplugging, and I am, but wanted to join in on Meredith's 10 on the 10th.

I'm hoping my list will give me better clarity for the time I'm unplugged. So here's my 10 on the 10th: my top 10 priorities for the next 30 days.

1. Potty train our two-year old.

2. Finish the homeschooling year strong.

3. Go on a date with my husband. I wish that this didn't even have to be on my list, but there are many things which keep us from getting out alone regularly and we just really need that time alone, especially right now.

4. Keep laundry manageable, just a load or two done from start to finish every day, instead of letting it pile up and overwhelm.

5. Prepare my garden spaces for planting our vegetables when it is suitable to do so, mid to late May for this area.

6. Complete 4 craft/sewing projects...not sure what they will be yet, but the creative time energizes me and I feel like there is lots of time to think when my hands are busy.

7. Finish revamping my creative space so it is organized and inspiring.

8. Exercise hospitality. It has surely been lacking in recent months.

9. Be a supportive wife in many ways, and specifically doing some ironing for my husband each week.

10. Seek my Savior and the Word daily. My soul is thirsty and longs for his presence and I have not been rising early and finding other quiet times throughout the day to exercise even small amounts of discipline to come to him without distraction.

See you in a few weeks! Enjoy the springtime!

Unplugging

2009-04-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

My heart is full of emotions these days, but my mind is not feeling clear or inspired. So I'll be taking a break for a while....to enjoy being surrounded by family this weekend, to complete tasks and projects that have been left undone for far too long, to gain perspective on priorities and calling, to enjoy the play of my children, and to relish in the never ending love and sacrifice of my Savior and the joy, anticipation and hope His Resurrection brings.

Have a joyous Easter!

Just Finish The Song

2009-04-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

As I have been trying to be diligent to complete my goal of 300 workouts this year, there have been days where I just plain do not feel like working out. On those days I try to at least hit the treadmill for 20 minutes to put forth a minimal effort. And, let's be honest, I want to be able to put that check mark on my chart. But it seems that once I am on that machine, 20 minutes really goes by quickly and I get to the end and think to myself, just finish the song you're on. This usually adds just a few minutes of exercise, but I figure every little bit helps.

The more this has happened, the more I've been thinking of that phrase in my mind, "Just finish the song." And as I ponder, I feel that there are a lot of applications to this in my life to be fully present in the moment instead of just partially there, distracted with something that will need my attention in another hour, day, month or year. Just finishing a commitment that I started. Just finishing folding the end of that load of laundry before moving on to something else. Just finishing the day strong with my kids instead of pulling back when my husband returns from work. Just finishing the task or project now that isn't urgent now, but may be by tomorrow.

And it makes me wonder what other songs are playing in my life and how can I "finish the song" and finish strong?

Mistakes We Hope Not to Make Again

2009-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned recently, we are inching toward our financial goals. My husband and I have never been big spenders, but have often lapsed with being really careful with our resources. We have been okay with our finances since we've been married, but only got really intentional about an "on paper, on purpose" budget 18 months ago when we started going through Financial Peace University Online. It was worth EVERY penny! It was a real eye-opener and highlighted a lot of areas where we had made unwise decisions or needed to be better stewards of the resources we have. It also made us sick to think that if we would have taken this course right when we got married we could have avoided making some less-than-stellar choices than we did end up making. But we live and learn and hope to improve and gain wisdom, which often comes from making mistakes. The things on our mistake list may not be mistakes if you made the same decision, but hindsight being what it is, they were wrong for us.

Top 10 Money Mistakes
10. Cashing out investments (gifts from family..ugh!) and using much of that money to move to and establish ourselves in a city we had never seen before. This is a story for another day. Live and learn.
9. Buying a vehicle with a loan. Even though we had saved a fair amount, we went well over what we had saved when our previous car died. We could have purchased a used Civic outright with the savings at that point instead of forking over our savings AND making payments for the next 18 months (originally a 5 yr. loan). Live and learn.
8. Refinancing our first home less than a year before the move mentioned in #7. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Live and learn.
7. Upgrading from our modest 1000 square foot first home to a much larger home because we couldn't possibly have two kids in a 2-bedroom house. Oh, yes, we could have managed fine with two kids in that space with a can-do perspective, careful furniture selection and some rearranging of rooms. And when property taxes were adjusted on this new home, it really was not a comfortable payment anymore. Live and learn.
6. Living for many years without a savings cushion. During that time, we were seriously about 2 mortgage payments away from losing our home if something major would have happened and we did not or could not have converted retirement investments. We are working on a fully funded emergency fund now and it feels a lot less stressful. Live and learn.
5. Using Visa for purchases when our bank account was running low without a budget. We always paid off the entire balance, but in many ways we were living one month ahead of our means. Not good. Live and learn.
4. Not having a family financial mindset when we were DINKS and thinking to have kids. Choices we made before we had children are still having consequences today, and those consequences cannot be dealt with quite as quickly with one income as they can be with two. Live and learn.
3. Not taking time to soak in the gravity of a home purchase decision and what a large mortgage means and the impact that one payment every month will have on the rest of life. Live and learn.
2. Paying retail and not being careful enough with what we acquire. I have always been a sale shopper and we have always been open to cast-offs from family, but until 2 years ago I did not even consider it an option to by secondhand clothing, furniture, and household items. Even so, the more you have, the more you have to maintain and the more space you feel you need to have to store or keep it. I wish I considered simplicity more seriously early on. Live and learn.
1. Living without a written, on paper-on purpose budget for every pay period of our marriage to tell our money where to go. But I'm glad we started this in year 8 of our marriage instead of year 38!

Live and learn! There may be 10 more big money mistakes we make in the next 10 years, but they hopefully they won't be the same as the ones above.

My Grocery Shopping Method

2009-04-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Warning: long post ahead and it may be blah, blah, blog to you if you don't care about this sort of thing. It is in many ways a brain dump of all my tactics for saving on groceries learned over the last several years.

Recently I explained why I became a bargain hunter. My method has evolved to what it is today, though it is not exactly precise or very neat and tidy. I vary quite a bit in how and where I shop from week to week. In thinking this over, I could simplify my life by just choosing one day or evening to go grocery shopping and make a few stops in that one time frame with a very detailed list. Right now this method works for me, though I will be honest that I would sometimes rather just skip the bargain part entirely and go to SuperTarget and buy everything I need for a given week in one fell swoop. But I know if I did this on a regular basis I would have to spend more. So I'll keep to the bargain method for now.

In general, my method goes something like this.

1. Clip coupons from the Sunday paper and keep them organized in my coupon box. We get the Post because it seems to have better coupons and more coupons than the Gazette. We would love to go local, but the Gazette is so much more expensive than the deal we got on the Post for weekends. We get ONE paper only. I know folks who get multiple copies each week, but I feel for us that would not be worth the extra newspaper expense, time for me spent in clipping and organizing the coupons, additional environmental waste and may lead me into buying multiples of things we really need one or two of at a time. I just clip coupons for categories we will use, so I skip the coupons for supplements, hair color and pet food, for example. I know that some subscribe to services like CouponSense or the Grocery Game, but I'm too cheap to pay for these and think I've figured out a system that works for my family. I organize my coupons by category and take the whole box with me to the store whenever I go, because many times I have benefited from this when I found an unexpected markdown. The box I use now is a metal one with a handle that I got from Hobby Lobby and manila dividers I cut down to size to fit the box.

Using coupons, I rarely pay for:
- toothbrushes and toothpaste
- feminine products
- deodorant
- hair care products
- soap and lotion
And since I'm not paying for these items, I have more available to spend on food. Of course I use coupons for all our food categories, too, but the savings usually don't come to 100% for those food products.

2. Watch the grocery ads that come out on Wednesday in our area. Since we do not get the Gazette, I have to find these online which is a little more work, but worth it to me in planning out what I will buy from a particular store that week and matching up coupons to sales for that shopping trip. I then plan out when I will hit each store. I try to consolidate a grocery stop with our other regular outings so I can go to my preferred King Soopers and Alberstons that are near the gym we go to. Safeway is closer to us, so I feel free to make an exclusive trip there.

3. Make a comprehensive and detailed grocery list based on the sale ad and coupon match-ups. So my list may have a section for Safeway, King Soopers, Target, Costco, Alberstons and Walgreens. I just go to half of these stores, or fewer, on any given week. I want to get good deals, but I want to make good use of time and gasoline, too, so I have to have more than a few items on a list for a particular store to make it worth a stop, in my opinion. From this list and what is already stockpiled in my pantry from previous sales, I make a loose menu plan and fill in the ingredient gaps on the grocery list (for example: Maybe I need dried black beans but don't see those advertised anywhere so I just put it on the list and will pick it up somewhere, even at full price. gasp!)

4. Shop with focus, but with my eyes open to the unexpected. If at all possible, except for a when I have a short list for a particular store, I try to shop without children...for all the obvious reasons. I always check out the reduced meat, dairy, produce and general merchandise sections and sometimes these turn out to be amazing savings, when coupled with my coupons. I find that most dairy products, except milk, will last at least 1-2 weeks past their best before dates without a problem.

5. Shop with care at warehouse clubs. We have a membership to Costco that we utilize, but we are quite careful with what we buy there. There are just too many convenience items that are too enticing: prepared entrees, specialty items (that might be great for parties, but don't fit within our normal grocery budget), or volume packaging that doesn't make sense for our family. The list of things I buy from Costco because they are consistently a good value and can't usually be matched with combining coupons and sales is:
- cheese
- honey
- bananas
- flour tortillas
- organic spinach and spring mix salad
- bags of fresh broccoli & cauliflower
- bags of frozen fruits and vegetables (I will generally only pay around $1/lb for frozen vegetables and a bit more for fruits.)
- large cans of tomato products - diced, sauce, ketchup
- large cans of fruit or applesauce
- big bag of tortilla chips
- white flour
- coffee beans - we've found a couple kinds we like there
- butter - if we need it and I can't find a better coupon/sale match-up that week
- Kirkland batteries, though we are thinking of moving to the rechargeable options
- gasoline - not food, but we'll fill up since we are there anyway

On occasion we also splurge on:
- a fresh prepared entree in lieu of going out to eat
- Einstein's bagels - still much cheaper than going to Einstein's to buy them
- a specialty item like pesto, fancier cheese, or fresh salsa
- convenience items that have current coupons in their coupon book that we get in the mail
- clothing that has been marked down (For example, I recently got a little girls velour princess warm-up suit for $6.00...which is being saved for Christmas.) These deals are not marked in any special way, but if you take a minute to look you may find them.
- a meal at the cafe at the front since the prices are quite reasonable for pizza, hot dogs or a huge cup of fat-free frozen yogurt

6. General tips
A. Be willing to try new brands. You may find that for some products you will be very brand loyal. In other areas, it may be worth it to you to go with the one that comes to you at the lowest cost.
B. Watch for coupon blinkie machines at the grocery store. These may have coupons for items you may want to buy anyway, or sweeten the price of the item on sale you were going to buy anyway. Or take a few coupons for another week when the item will be on sale.
C. Watch for coupon books in displays at the store. I have many times found good coupon books in the produce department of King Soopers that have included coupons for organic products.
D. Focus more on what you spent than on what you saved, according to your receipt. The savings number is states is rather relative because most often, I would never buy the items at their full price.
E. This is a personal choice, but I don't shop at Walmart except for a couple times a year, usually in the spring when I need gardening supplies. It is so big and I inevitably forget something on the other end of the store. And I get too enticed by all the things that don't fall into the category of groceries.
F. You will be able to get an even better value when you combine a store coupon and a manufacturers' coupon for the same product. These opportunities most often present themselves at Target or Safeway. Target has online coupons that you can print each week and occasionally mails you coupons in a booklet. Safeway often has coupons in its weekly ad (just pick it up at the front of the store if you don't get the paper) or in a mailer sent to you. I hear there are some mailers sent out by King Soopers, too, but we must live in the wrong zip code. You can't win them all. :)
G. You can also load eCoupons to your King Soopers and Safeway cards via the Proctor & Gamble eSaver and Shortcuts (for King Soopers only). Go to the grocery store websites to load these. Google it for more information on how these can work with manufacturers' coupons to essentially get a double discount on one product.
H. Only print online coupons that you will use for sure. These can be high value coupons, but if you print them and don't use them it is a real waste of ink and paper.
I. Watch for catalina coupons that print from a machine when your receipt is printed. These are often high value and can sweeten the deal on your future purchases.
J. Decide what items are truly a good value for your family and what items are worth the stockpiling space they will require until you use them. For me, having 10 bottles of toilet cleaner on hand taking up space in my closet doesn't make sense, even if they were free. My home is not a store, but a place for the things that make our life function well or add beauty or comfort to our lives! Ah, thrift and simplicity collide!
K. Use those $5 off $50 Safeway coupons in the back of the Entertainment and Gold C books kids sell each fall. In most situations, King Soopers will accept that as a competitor's coupon.
L. When you get a well-stocked pantry, feel free to take a week off and let your husband stop for that jug of milk to get you through until next week.
M. Accept that you will not be able to snatch up every good deal, so let that notion go.
N. Don't tie up your self-worth in how much you can save. If you are working within whatever budget your family has set and you have purchased the items your family needs, accept that as good enough. It is grocery shopping, not a report card on your value as a person or your resourcefulness. Don't compare to others who may have a different budget, different needs or a different situation.

This is all not rocket science, but it does take time and effort to find your groove. And I by no means have "arrived". I read some blogs where people are spending just $40 a week to feed their families, but I honestly don't want to go that low unless I had to. Some weeks I can, but that is not the norm or even my goal. Good food is one of life's simple pleasures, in my opinion. And since we eat at home for almost every meal I don't want to skimp too far.

If you want insight from the real pros, visit Money Saving Mom or Springs Bargains. Money Saving Mom also has a Walgreens tutorial on the right sidebar, entitled Walgreens 101 that may help you in understanding how to make shopping there work to your advantage.

Wishing you many happy returns on your bargain hunting efforts!

The Joy of Staying Home & a Song for My Children

2009-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love that I am able to stay home with my kids to meet their needs, to teach them and to enjoy the unique people God has created them to be! Yes, there are moments when I am weary and frustrated, discouraged, and longing for a break, but overall, I love just being with them.

Maybe it is just me, but it seems I like to sing things to my kids, especially little songs I make up. I would likely be embarrassed if anyone outside our family heard these little songs, but I'll share this one that I came up with several months ago which seems to have stuck as a family song I sing to the kids each night as I tuck them in. It may seem cheesy, but it is ours.

I'll see you in the morning, morning
I'll see you at the noonday, too
I'll see you in the evening, treasure
And I will always love you!

And when I finish I silently thank God that he has allowed me this privilege to really be present with them throughout the whole day.

Why I Became a Bargain Hunter

2009-04-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Why have I become a bargain hunter? Is it for the thrill of the hunt? Not usually. Is it for the excitement of bringing home bags of stuff for very little money? Sometimes. Is it for the fun of clipping coupons and shopping at multiple stores? Um, no. Is it so our family can survive and inch toward our goals? Absolutely!

When we made plans for me to stay at home fulltime when I was expecting our firstborn we were hit with the reality that things were going to be pretty tight financially. In fact, very tight. For the first time in our marriage, we were taking a really close look at our finances and starting to think about being very intentional with our budget. Some of the areas which needed significant trimming were groceries and dining out. For the dining out category, there was a simple solution...stop eating out so much. The grocery category was not so easy since if you are not dining out, you are cooking at home and cooking at home is going to take ingredients.

So about 7 years ago the I started on the learning curve of bargain grocery shopping that continues to this day. We have needed to raise our grocery & household supplies budget a few times due to our growing family, but still keep it close to a regular $300 a month. To some this may seem high and to others this may seem rather low, but that is where we are for now. Sometimes I wonder if it is all worth it and if it would be better for our family just to add another $100 a month to shop at one store, once a week for every item we need that week. But right now that $100 a month means more to us in other categories. For this season couponing, shopping based on what is on sale, selective purchases at Costco and cooking largely from scratch help us keep to this budget. I know I could do better if I had to, but for now I try to find a good balance between spending time and money.

Keeping the grocery budget modest helps make it possible for me to be with my kids day in and day out and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Welcoming Spring

2009-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had big hopes of welcoming spring with lots of fun activities with the kids, like flying kites, going on a picnic, planting seeds and giving them fun treat baskets (in lieu of doing that at Easter), but things didn't quite work out that way this time. But on the first weekend of spring we did get lots of seeds started indoors so we can plant lots of vegetables and flowers when outdoor temps are suitable. I found tons of seed packets for 10 cents each last fall, so even if they all don't work out, we won't be out much.

See the excitement?!
Our method:
1. Fill a paper cup with good soil. In this case, Miracle-Gro vegetable and flower soil my husband picked up. I wanted to use peat pots, but Lowe's was out of them and I couldn't bring myself to go to Walmart on a Saturday. Paper cups were in our cupboard, were cheap, and will hopefully be a good enough substitute.
2. Plant seeds.
3. Put cups of planted seeds, labelled with a Sharpie in cardboard flats (thanks, Costco) lined with opened up cereal bags (we are out of waxed paper). I figured the cereal bags would keep the moisture in and keep the boxes from getting soggy when we drip while watering.
4. Water well.
5. Set in a sunny window, in an area not likely to be tipped by the activity of young children, watering every day or two to keep moist.
6. Wait.
7. Savor the joy of hearing your children be delighted when a week later they see the first shoots popping up!

So far we are trying to grow two kinds of tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelon, sunflowers, zinnias, and lavender. I did buy more seeds and a couple dozen peat pots, so in the coming week or two, we will plant another round.

Next step: planning and preparing places for all these plants to go when it is time to transplant them!

We live in a tough climate for gardening, but we will keep trying!

Another Easy Baby Gift

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

We had a blizzard last week which for some reason made me want to get some little projects done around here. One thing on my list was to get a baby gift made for some folks from our church. And since I am trying to work through using up my stash of fabrics and wasn't about to leave the house, here is what I came up with. The blanket was made from a solid yellow fleece remnant and this shark print fleece remnant, about a yard of each. Hopefully the print will live beyond babyhood into this little guy's toddlerhood. It is sewn up on 2 sides and fringed on two sides. The finished blanket measures about 30" x 36". With the scrap of print leftover, I cut around one shark and just top-stitched it to the onesie. Cost of this set:
- two remnants, $4.00 max, likely much lower
- one onesie (bought in pack of 5 from Jo-Ann with coupon) $1.25

Total: $5.25 or less

I paired this with a pack of newborn diapers bought with a great coupon keeping the complete cost well under $10. Cute. Easy. Cheap.

Celebrating Childhood Creativity: The Art Board

2009-03-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering for a while how I could handle the constant influx of art and papers from church, the YMCA and school in a better way so they wouldn't just be dumped on the kitchen island and later discarded. But rather to put them out for display to communicate that we enjoy our kids and their creations and are proud of their efforts.

Inspiration struck in the 90% off aisle of Hobby Lobby. This very large frame was marked at $10.00. I'll take it. It was not at all in pristine condition, but I wasn't going to use it as is, so I was fine with that.
We gave it three coats of paint, using "oops" paint and a reused brush from this project. And I even let Sportster help. Can I admit here that I struggle with wanting to include my children in projects but also get them done quickly and with the results I am looking for? Can anybody relate?the painted frameThen I screwed in eye hooks on each side and strung picture wire between the hooks and hung the frame up in our front entryway. We attached the artwork with tiny clothespins. Here Smiley is pointing to his paper plate face.

As more papers come in, we'll choose the best and change some of the current collection out and I'll save in a box or a folder the ones I'll keep for the kids.

One more little step to enjoying the childhood of my children. This new art spot makes me happy!

A Little More Order in the Bathroom

2009-03-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I had some time on my hands and thought I'd try to make some order out of the chaos in one of my bathroom drawers. It began by dumping out all the contents of the drawer and wiping it down with a cloth. Yikes!

I wondered how I could compartmentalize better to keep things in order. Baby wipes tubs were at the ready (free!) and fit the drawer perfectly. One for hair stuff, one for my blowdryer, one (with the lid on to keep clean) for cotton balls, and one for everything else. The depth of those containers keeps things from getting out of place.

And the finished product, which is still orderly after a couple weeks. Success!

This project made possible by the one who looked on while he was supposed to be doing something else. Oh, if only potty training could be as easy as getting that drawer in shape!

Another Take on Wool Dryer Balls

2009-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Last fall I saw a post Monica at The Homespun Heart had done about making wool dryer balls to take the place of fabric softeners. I let the idea sit for a while, then started one ball and quickly ran out of the only wool yarn I had on hand. But a couple months ago I wondered if I could use strips of felted wool knotted together for the same effect. I started with a piece of felted wool that was originally a sweater and later sewn into a decorative pillow cover.

I started with my little ball made from the wool yarn, about 2" in diameter.

Then I cut several strips of the felted wool into a 1" x 11" size. I used my Olfa mat and cutter, but precision is not important to this project so you could easily do this by hand. I ended up using about twenty strips for two of these balls.

Then I just started tying strips snugly around the yarn ball and continued to do that in a random way until all the grey yarn was concealed, with strips overlapping and intertwining with one another, so it wouldn't be likely to unravel in the washer or dryer. I used about 10 of the strips around the grey yarn ball and it ended up like this.

With the remaining strips I just tied them together around the center and each strip ended up with more of an exposed tail. After these were made I just threw them in the wash with a regular load and then into the dryer with that load. Now I just keep them in the dryer all the time as they seem to absorb some of the moisture from the wet laundry to speed drying just a bit. They also seem to add a little more loft to some of the items you launder which can get matted and lumpy with machine laundering. And I haven't noticed any static cling since I started using them. On the first few dryer cycles I did notice more red lint in the lint screen, but that is no longer an issue.

Overall, this was a quick and easy project and I'm pleased with the results. And as an added bonus, it was all free for the doing.

Counting Blessings

2009-03-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Even through our recent loss, we have been so blessed. I'm pausing today to count those blessings. The road ahead will not be easy, but these blessings from the hand of God make the journey easier to bear.

- The love of friends and family expressed to us through meals, childcare, hugs, calls and prayers.

- Our compassionate and kind Christian doctor.

- A very kind and generous unknown lady at Chick-Fil-A who paid for our entire meal as she was in front of my husband in the drive-thru. This was at lunch and we had gotten the bad news earlier that day. I am amazed at the little things God orchestrates to encourage our hurting hearts!

- Grief that our children have not picked up on. Since they are still very young, we are not telling them what has happened.

- A great marriage with open and good communication, a loving and caring and understanding husband.

- Good insurance that will cover the bulk of the care I have received so far. And that my husband has a job right now in this tough economy.

- Happy times with our children and hearing our 2-year-old sing "Our God is an awesome God" again and again last night before bed, complete with actions that are all the sweeter when done with those sweet chubby little hands that are so often otherwise finding mischief.

- Singing the song below in church the last two Sundays. It has touched my heart both times.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord - lyrics found here

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be
'Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

We are blessed people!

Grieving..

2009-03-20T07:26:00.001-07:00

..the loss of one we will not cuddle, the one I will not nurse come autumn, the one who will never know the love and adventure of our other children.

Little One, we loved you though we did not know you. We know the Father has you safe in His care...and that does this Mama's heart good.

At the End of My Cooking Rope

2009-03-11T17:20:00.001-07:00

Well, so much for the menu plan I just posted Monday. My children continue to express distaste for whatever it is I fix. We just finished what I think was a great dinner of beef stew, fresh homemade wheat rolls, and spinach salad dressed with red peppers, banana peppers and red onions. Well, only one of my children ate the entree. This seems to be happening every.single.night and I am sick.of.it. There is nothing wrong with my cooking, but morale in the mess hall is way down. All three of our kids are in a picky streak right now and we have not and will not cave to their desires in this area. They really do not even know how good they have it! But it ruining our mealtimes, so the only topic addressed is the food and not the rest of life that should be shared around our dinner table.

I will not fix two dinners, one for the grown-ups and one for the kids.

I will not serve hot dogs, mac and cheese, corn dogs and petrified pizza on a regular basis.

I will press on.

I will stay strong.

I will not allow my kids' opinions to cause me to feel I am useless mother.

I will rise tomorrow to cook again!

Lord, help me cook and serve with a cheerful heart!

Because Menus Make Life Easier

2009-03-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

One way to take charge of my slump in homekeeping is to get back to menu planning instead of occupying brain power each and every day to think of what we are going to be eating for dinner. (As an aside, I got a chuckle out of an article in the paper yesterday that said Americans are eating out at fast food more because of the economy. I guess we are weird, but we are eating out even less at fast food. When we do the math, even fast food can approach $20 for a meal for our family. Think of all the groceries you can buy with $20 when you are careful!) Thankfully we have lots of ingredients on hand right now so this won't be too difficult. Breakfasts will likely be made up of some of the 30 boxes of cereal (for less than a dollar per box) I bought this weekend, yogurt, and fruit.

I'm always looking for lunch ideas since it seems I lack inspiration for that meal more than any other and always need something quick and hopefully balanced. Do you have any ideas to share?

Monday
L - quesadillas, oranges, leftover rice and orange chicken
D - sausage corn chowder, biscuits, green salad

Tuesday
L - turkey cheese biscuit rolls, apple slices
D - beef roast, mashed potatoes, steamed herbed vegetables

Wednesday - make a batch of bread: 2 loaves, 1 dozen cinnamon rolls, 1 dozen dinner rolls, 1 dozen garlic cheese breadsticks
L - stovetop mac & cheese
D - vegetable beef stew, green salad, whole wheat dinner rolls

Thursday
B - whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fruit
L - canned soup with pasta thown in to bulk it up, dinner rolls
D - rigatoni bake (pasta, meat, sauce, cottage cheese, mozarella), garlic cheese breadsticks

Friday
L - leftovers
D - homemade pizza - maybe one taco and one pepperoni, salad

Saturday
B - oat waffles (with some cottage cheese blended in for more protein), blueberries, yogurt
L - pasta bar: cooked pasta with choices of meat, alfredo and red sauce
D - salsa cheese chicken, spanish rice, corn

Sunday
L - burritos made from last night's leftovers and beans
D - pasta e fagioli soup, bread/biscuits/etc.

Ideas for next week: cook a turkey and use it in lots of different ways, balsamic pork chops, loaded baked potatoes, turkey soup with homemade noodles and homemade broth.

What's cooking at your house this week?

Mundane Monday

2009-03-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

I guess I've not been posting because, well, not much has been happening around here. Just keeping on, keeping on. It's that time of year when there is not much exciting on the horizon for us, though I surely am looking forward to summer. So, here's the mundane we've been up to.

Budgeting:
We're working the plan with our Dave Ramsey babysteps and budgeting. We are behind the pace we had hoped for to achieve our next step, but there is only so much we can do on one income in the savings department without truly eating beans and rice around here regularly. Our grocery budget is limited already and we're not looking to reduce it further unless something major happens. And sadly, the grocery allotment is the only area in which we really have flexibility to control spending. I'm thankful for lots of good grocery deals lately. We were out of cold cereal for a week coming up to payday and that wasn't a lot of fun. The kids like their predictable breakfast of cereal and milk and yogurt and fruit and don't like to branch out much from that. And I don't especially like to start the food fights with breakfast. I don't like to have to think of the financial cost of every action or activity, but this is just the stage we are in. There have been weeks and seasons when we have not been as careful and aware of things, and those times have been to our detriment. I'd say we are frugal by necessity more than by option.

Home Life:
I've not been doing a great job at keeping up with the house and laundry. I feel outnumbered and the messes can be made at 3x the rate that they can be cleaned up. I must work on better training so they can be contributors to the household, each at a level appropriate to their age. It did feel great to get rid of numerous bags of extra things that have been camping in our garage for months waiting for our church's free exchange. I was blessed to find some clothes, canning jars, a sport coat and a great Liz Claiborne purse all for free this past Saturday. The purse wasn't something I needed, but I really like it and it seems like something just fun to refresh the wardrobe. A good, stylish purse that works well for your life is hard to come by and this one for free seems just right.

Fitness:
I have been diligent with my goal to work out 300 times this year. The majority of the workouts happen at home on the treadmill and a couple a week happen in the pool or on a good cardio machine at the YMCA. I thankful for the variety the Y brings. I think I've missed about 9 days since January 1st, so I'm on track to reach the goal. Unfortunately, this increased level of activity has not equated to losing even one pound. But I know I'm healthier even if the number on the scale doesn't reflect that. I'm on my way to being a fit fat girl, and I think I just need to come to terms with that. If I keep the fit part, hopefully things won't get worse.

Home and Garden:
I'm starting to plot and plan to hopefully have a fruitful garden this summer. This is a tough climate for gardening, but I'm up for the challenge. And since our backyard grass is gone and not coming back, I'm craving some green there. I'm also craving spring colors inside our home, but since we've used lots of red and darker neutrals, refreshing the living space would require changing out a lot of curtains and pillows and accessories, and I don't think our budget is moving in that direction. I need to get creative with what we have to change things up, even just a little bit.

Parenting:
We've experienced our share of challenges in this department lately. I don't know how to or really want to elaborate, but parenting is certainly not for the faint of heart. We need to be more prayerful and purposeful. Our kids are such a blessing, but they really do require everything we have to train them for life and godliness. And the task isn't made easier by lacking local family support. This last matter is something we do struggle with a fair bit.

Blessings:
We've been blessed by healthy kids this winter as well as last winter....no doctor visits! We are thankful that my husband still has a job in this tough economy. We find comfort in a God who sees us and provides for us and encourages us and loves us through all of life, the good, the bad and the ugly.

I know this has not been the most positive post, but I'm just keeping it real. We are doing fine, but may have a case of the 'blahs' right now. But spring is around the corner and even today is a new day!

Love, Encouragement & Conviction

2009-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to briefly mention that I have been really encouraged by these sermons recently. It is a big series, but this one, this one and this one have been great food for thought so far.

Thanks to my friend from univeristy, Mindy, for mentioning this series on her blog!

ceramic heart above: after V-day sale at Hobby Lobby last year (maybe 30 cents?) rubbed with red stamp pad because I didn't have red paint, hung with ribbon

Simple Steps to Greener Living

2009-02-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

We are taking some simple steps to living a greener life. So far, it has not been anything too radical, but bit by bit we will get there.

1. SKIPPING the plastic bags and bringing our own, which I also find much easier when I am bringing in and unloading the groceries. (In all honesty, I still get plastic at Target because their bags seem to be heavier than elsewhere and we use those as trash can liners.)

2. MAKING RECYCLING AS EASY AS THROWING AWAY by placing a bin right next to our kitchen trash. I reused a trash bin we had and just used a graphic found online, the Colorado sunshine and a Sharpie to make the visual reminder for us. Our kids love it and have certainly caught the recycling bug! We've been recycling for years, but we now have a service that requires no sorting or hauling to a recycling center so we are trying to do our part to recycle more. This kitchen bin fills up in just a day or two. I think having it handy is working.
3. REDUCING TRASH! We recently changed waste disposal companies, because of the recycling service they offer, and opted for the lowest level of trash pick-up they offer. This is forcing us to recycle more and we will hopefully not even need to fill up the 32 gallon blue bin of trash in months to come. Having a household of 5, with one still in diapers, we are still throwing out less trash than others I notice on our street who have just 2 people per household. I'm not trying to be self-righteous here, but I am just always intrigued that smaller households can generate so much more. And yes, we ourselves could certainly do better. We could switch to cloth diapers full-time or maybe even just get the child potty-trained....working on that.

4. COMPOSTING handles our produce scraps and eggshells well. I got this nice stainless steel bin with a lid for Christmas and we have no odor or fruit flies under our kitchen sink. I line it with a piece of newspaper to make it easier to empty into our outdoor compost bins. This system works for now, but now I would really want this indoor/outdoor worm factory I saw on Meredith's blog last week...maybe when we get to our next step in the Dave Ramsey plan.

5. And last but not least, AIR DRYING. (Photo of my lovely drying rack) We still use our dryer a lot, but I think we are air drying about 40-50% of our laundry right now. If I would stay on top of the process, I think I could air dry much more. But when laundry is stacking up, I just want to catch up as quickly as possible.

How are you greening your home and your life?

It's Baby Season Again!

2009-02-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

A couple friends welcomed new baby girls at year end and although I didn't get something sent to them right away I was able to put together these gifts a few weeks ago, somewhat like the ones I made in November. I always enjoy sewing up these little gifts and I hope the new moms enjoy them, too. This set of flannel and fleece burp cloths was paired with some Gymboree socks.

And this set is a fleece blanket and cotton and fleece burp cloth. I love ribbon and was happy that I had some that coordinated with the fleece. I know this print may be a bit bold for some, but I'm taking a chance that my lively friend will like it.

All gifts were made with love with inexpensive remnants. Both gifts were made in less than 2 hours and cost probably less than $7 total in materials and the purchased socks.

And if they are blessed with little girls who don't actually spit up much, burp cloths can have a few more uses like lining the changing table pad, tucking into the car seat carrier as a mini blankie on mild days, small nursing cover, small blankie (You can never tell which blankie babies will attach to, but wouldn't a small one that they don't drag on the floor be lovely?), or a changing pad when you are out and about. Can you think of any other uses for them?

Simple Valentines

2009-02-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

We had a fun but low-key Valentine's Day weekend. It started out with a few simple decorations being crafted and put out on Friday including this felted wool heart. I made it by cutting out two hearts from a piece of felted wool, formerly part of a garmet. It was a quick 5 minutes of sewing the heart together, adding a hanger made of white twill tape and pinking around the top heart.

Of course, whenever the camera comes out, the kids think they must have their picture taken, even if they are not always cooperative in providing good shots.
We also spent some time making homemade valentines for each other and wrapping up some gifts, using paper supplies and wrappings we had on hand, of course.We enjoyed a Costco entree for our Friday night dinner and had enough leftovers for another easy meal for Valentine's Day lunch, combined with salad, strawberry milk and a festive cake with cherry chips and heart sprinkles. The kids each received a box of conversation hearts, a new pillowcase made by me, and a poster-sized alphabet coloring book I found on clearance last year. They are certainly worth far more than the under $5 gifts they received, but we have more toys and books than we know what to do with and we don't intend to make this a major gift-giving holiday. I think they are just as delighted with a few simple treats as they would be with lots of expensive gifts.

We capped off the day with supper at a nearby burger joint with gift cards from some special folks for the kids, who each enjoyed their own kids meal with ice cream. Now that's a rare treat!

And here's our girl who loves Valentine's Day and delighted in making countless valentines throughout the week and her very own heart doorhanger. (My husband and I both noted how much they are starting to copy what we do within their own capabilities, which is sweet and scary all at once.)

We love our kids to pieces and had a great day together as a family!

Much love from our home to yours!

The Book Nook

2009-01-29T16:02:00.001-08:00

Our living is really short on wall space so I've been keeping an eye out for a tall narrow bookshelf for quite a while. I found one a few weeks ago at a nice secondhand/antiques store. We also have had a cabinet which I picked up at a garage sales a few years ago that was in need of some re-purposing and a makeover. So before the snow flew last week, I got to work painting these. I did this in our kitchen because it was the only place suitable with enough warmth and good lighting to do a decent job. I had recently removed the cupboard doors.I painted both pieces with part of a gallon of Oops Paint in a color called Oriental Silk (Behr), which happens to closely match another piece of furniture in our living room. After allowing plenty of time to dry, my kind husband secured them to the wall with shelf brackets to prevent any tipping accidents.With plenty of room for books, curriculum, puzzles and even tractor parking, the new combo is a hit! I used an extra old bed pillow and made a cover to coordinate with the room with some fabric from my stash.

Costs:
bookshelf - $19
oops paint - $5
shelf brackets - $2
cupboard - $3
Total - $29 for a great new addition to our living room.

Proof of enjoyment:

Small successes make me happy!

$100 January Grocery Challenge - Part 2 - More than 100 bucks

2009-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

Since I had already spent the $100 in the first part of the month, it was unrealistic to think we'd make it out of the month without some further expenses. But I'm not calling this a complete failure because I have been far more selective about needs in these last couple weeks and we have been eating through the pantry and freezer. If times were truly lean, like a loss of income or something really severe like that, you can bet I would be doing better on this. But since we do have funds to buy more, we are not going to go without say, things like milk and cheese and fruit and veggies.

So, here's the oh-so-exciting rundown of the last couple weeks of grocery spending.

Target
2 steaks (These were a splurge for a good Friday night meal. Does anyone else feel like weekend meals should be better than weekday meals?)
Total cost after markdown: $3.45

Safeway
2 lbs. cheese
1/2 gallon organic chocolate milk (marked down = m.d.) - treat for kids
2 gallons milk
1.25 lb. bananas
4 pints organic heavy cream (drastically m.d. to $.49 each - for making ice cream or some such thing)
16 oz. organic sour cream - m.d.
2 jumbo cookies - 1 for a treat, 1 for a friend having a rough week
Total after discounts and coupons, and with about $2 overcharge for them missing some of the markdown stickers...grrr: $14.10
Side note: I hardly want to seem like a problem customer, but I have had this problem many times at this store and am growing tired of it, but really 75 cents here and 75 cents there does add up.

King Soopers
4 pints blueberries
4 avocados
Total after sales: $8.00

Costco
big bag of tortilla chips
big pack of tortillas (My attempts at making these have failed and I was taking a burrito meal to a family.)
Total: $7.00

Safeway
2 gallons organic milk - m.d.
2 pints milk - m.d.
8 oz. sour cream - m.d.
3 lb. baby carrots
7.65 lb bananas
16 gala apples
12 navel oranges
6 grapefruit
3 red bell peppers
2 cans diced tomatoes
Total after sales, markdowns and coupon: $24.59

Expenses as of January 13 = 103.49
+ these expenses = $160.63

Observations & Activities:
- We are now running low on lots of things, but will make it through the month without further purchases.
- We are running low on diapers, which has led me to using our cloth diapers once again while at home. I'm not sure why I just haven't used them more because they are perfectly good and we have never had a leak. I would like to use them a lot more now until Smiley is potty trained.
- For frugal cooking this week I cooked up a big pot of dried black beans and I made yogurt which is much cheaper than buying it. The kids still prefer store-bought yogurt, but will eat this. My most successful method is this: 1. cook milk on stove until bubbles form on top 2. transfer to corningware and cool to 120 degrees 3. add about 1 cup yogurt (the starter), 2 tsp. vanilla and maybe 1/2 cup honey 4. stir well and cover with plastic lid 5. carefully transfer to tight-fitting cooler bag, zip it up and leave it all day 6. transfer to fridge and enjoy the next morning and beyond.
- I'm very thankful for the cheaply acquired stockpile of personal care items as buying those as they have been needed this month would have significantly raised our total for the month.
- Also, if we would have needed to purchase much meat this month, our total would have been higher.
- All our cold cereal is gone so I'm going to have to use the other breakfast options from the original menu I planned. I'll need to allow a bit more time to do this.

To finish up the month, here is the menu for this week.

Monday
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit, yogurt
Lunch: leftovers of beef split pea soup and/or baked rigatoni, bread, baby carrots
Dinner: Homemade macaroni and cheese (using up bits of Velveeta, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream & frozen buns for the breadcrumb topping), mixed vegetables, lime jello

Tuesday
B: oatmeal, bananas & blueberries, yogurt
L: leftovers
D: black beans cooked with red pepper and onion, brown rice, sour cream & cheese, cinnamon ice cream (homemade)

Wednesday
B: cooked millet, applesauce, yogurt
L: canned soup, crackers or biscuits, carrots
D: sloppy joe casserole with biscuit topping, green and yellow beans

Thursday
B: apple/carrot/squash muffins (make a big batch on Wed.),
L: snack lunch: meat, crackers, fruit, carrots
D: pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, vegetable

Friday
B: fruit & milk/yogurt smoothies, muffins
L: I'm drawing a blank...we'll eat something :)
D: company? large turkey pot pie, dutch apple pie, maybe they can bring a salad or veggie?

Saturday
B: waffles (from freezer), fruit
L: pork roast, mashed potatoes (from freezer), glazed carrots
D: shepherd's pie, whole wheat rolls

Sunday
B: cinnamon rolls (prepared on Saturday, baked in the morning), fruit
L: BBQ pork (crockpot) on rolls
D: caramelized garlic chicken, mashed potatoes (if there are any left) or fries, fruit or vegetable

Then we will have one more week of sort of slim pickings before a big stock-up again. It is funny when you start to think of going to Costco or grocery stores and buying all the groceries you want as a real luxury or extravagance, but such is the case for us right now.

For some real menu planning inspiration, visit I'm An Organizing Junkie!

Making the Most of Flex

2009-01-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

We realized in late October that we were running long on our medical and dental flexible spending account. What a blessing to have a year where we didn't need to take our children to the doctor other than for a yearly wellness check! We are blessed also with generally good health with no ongoing expenses for continual prescriptions and medical supplies. But if you know us, we hate to have money lost in an account like this just because we didn't have events which required the use of this money. After gathering and submitting all receipts we could think of we still had a bit more than $100 left.

So I read up on the qualifying expenses for this account and headed out to Target on New Year's Eve to see if I could make use of these funds. Most over-the-counter medications and vitamins are surprisingly not covered. As I was checking out I had the cashier confirm that each item was noted on the receipt as a health item. I ended up with $82 of first aid items (perfect for restocking our first aid kits), a night guard and some orthotics for my bad feet. Since I still wasn't sure if these purchases would qualify, I put the bags away in the closet and had my husband submit the receipts by fax. Then in the event it didn't go through, I could still return the merchandise since the items were not urgent needs. Thankfully these purchases did qualify under our plan so we were able to use up most of what was left in our account for the year. I know I could have gotten closer to the exact dollar amount if I would have added it up more carefully and gotten more for my money if I would have had coupons, chosen the Target brand, etc., but at that point, on the last possible purchase day, in a very busy store with three young children in tow, I was more than satisified with my effort and the outcome.

More and Less in 2009

2009-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I know we are a few weeks into the new year, but I just had some time for reflection and goal-setting this past weekend. Here's what I aspire to in 2009 and some tactics I plan to use to move toward those aspirations.

More of Him, less of me
- being in the Word and praying daily
- memorizing the book of James

More connection, less isolation
- getting together with other women at least once a week for a simple playdate, coffee, etc.
- setting up a schedule and following through with calling friends and family who are far off

More thanksgiving, less comparison
- making a written list that we add to daily of things we give thanks for

More order, less clutter & chaos
- clean and organize one shelf, cupboard or drawer per day
- sell one item or donate one bag of excess stuff each week
- think long and hard before bringing more stuff into the house, and follow the one-in-one-out principle

More moving, less sedentary living
- 300 workouts this year will push me to move more, so far, so good. I'm charting it and have columns for 20, 30, and 45 minute and 1 hour workouts. I've already become good friends with our new treadmill and will use varying incline and speed, and hand and ankle weights to change it up. I also plan on 2 workouts per week in water aerobics classes and getting out for walks or hikes when the weather and schedule allow.

More nutrition, less junk food
- We are a work in process.

More early mornings, less late nights
- to better meet the needs of my family and move in the right direction with these goals

More time spent creating, less time spent in front of this computer screen
- limiting computer time each day
- spending more time each week to do creative things I enjoy like sewing, gardening, etc.

More time engaging with my children, less time chasing deals
- Even though I want to be a great manager of our financial resources, shopping at multiple stores for groceries and personal goods is taking a toll on me so I need to cut back. I hope to choose, based on the sales available, just one grocery store to shop at each week.
- Shopping without my children whenever possible.
- I want to be intentional to spend time reading to and with my kids each week and also spending time snuggling with them on the couch, playing on the floor, baking with them and having fun training them to be contributors to our household.

Here's to a happy, healthy and whole 2009!

Closing the Door on 2008

2009-01-18T19:07:00.001-08:00

After being in British Columbia for Christmas, my parents came to visit us for New Year's. They were able to stay for a while this time and we enjoyed the unhurried visit with plenty of time for building legos, going out for lunch, going to the zoo, playing games, a bit of shopping, reading time with the kids, and games and games of Ticket to Ride after the kids went to bed. And we even lasted until midnight on New Year's Eve and saw the fireworks off of Pikes Peak!

Sister having fun showing us her giraffe tongue at the zoo.

With almost 3 weeks of seeing our kids with both sets of grandparents, we see what we are missing by not living near either set of parents. But it makes the times together all the sweeter.

Smiley is always on the move. This position is indicative of the way he lives, on the edge.

A fun shot with Nana and Papa at the zoo.

Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad!

Worth the Trouble: Closet Makeover

2009-01-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

For months we've had a problem with our boys' closet. Everything was out of order, the space allotted for their clothing was too small which led to overflow, which led to frustration, which led to me not even wanting to bother putting away their clean laundry. In short, the space and system that used to work just wasn't cutting it anymore. So I began to think about what we could do, within our means, to make it functional once again. We needed a dresser to contain all their clothing and also serve as a changing table. So the secondhand search began.

2 weeks + undisclosed # of hours spend on Craigs List + 12 trips to thrift stores + $10 more than the budget + 2 minutes spent cleaning item (no refinishing time!) = 1 dresser and 1 happy mama

What can I say? I am easily pleased and I love order.

Before = chaos

After = order

Enjoying the Great White North

2009-01-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

I think the best gift we got this Christmas was lots of fresh snow in an area not known to have a white Christmas very often. My husband's parents have a beautiful property, though in the 12 years years I have been on the scene, I have never seen it snow-covered like this. The kids had a great time sledding, helping make a giant snowman and just wandering around in the snow. Their parents enjoyed the time outside, too!

These memories, too, are unexpected and precious gifts!