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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I am still back

I am still back just going to be spotty until next week. We can't get internet service so we thought up where we are. We have been using our phones but we only get so much per month and it is slow slow slow ( I could just never ever go back to dial up lol). Well someone told me about verizon and they have something called a wifi hot spot that works anywhere, So I am ordering that on Friday and it will be here Monday. See ya ll soon. Michelle

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I am backkkk

I am back back back and happy to be back. I have been busy busy busy. So much to tell. All are doing well. My biggest news is that I sold my house and purchased the homestead that I have always wanted. It was a little more than I had ever planned on spending, But the sale from the house made a nice down payment and I love love love love it. We are now Okies from Oklahoma. My biggest excitement about the place is the downsizing. Our old house was 2200 sqft and this house is .......1300 sqft. It is a 3 bedroom. So the baby is downstairs with us, The 3 boys are up in the big bedroom upstairs and my daughter is upstairs in the reg. size bedroom. My oldest son ( just turned 19 on the 12th) has a 5th wheel he is living in on the property. It is 2 1/2 acres, and beautiful. It is mostly treed with a wonderful open spot for a large garden. The little kids have been so happy since we moved in, lots and lots of room to run and play with no grouchy neighbors. It is so peaceful and quiet here. We live about 15 miles up in them there hills from a rather large city. I am closer to better shopping and that will help with saving money big time!!!! I am just very very very happy right now. I am going to post pics of our new place tomorrow. All the best to all of you and I missed this soo much, I have been keeping up on your blogs so no worries there. Can't wait to post again tomorrow. Michelle

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tipster Tuesday

Tipster Tuesday this week is for me. I really really really need it. Since Jeremiah has been here ( almost 6 months) I have let my household binder go to the wayside. I honestly have not looked at it much since his birth. This has really sent me into a tailspin, disarray and chaos. I am not a naturally organized person. I can get off track extremely easy.....This has happened. I am in extreme need of structure, a schedule and order. So my tip today for me and you is dust off yours and my binders of orderly home papers and get organized and in order. I don't know about you but 3 of my children have decided to take extra curricular activities this year. The twins are doing t-ball and the 15 year old is doing softball. Which I think will be great for them really great. But this is going to throw a wrench into my already disorganized life unless I get control. So tonight when all is quiet and calm (kids are at dad's house and I only have the baby) I am going to sit down with ol' trusty the binder of my life and organize it dust it off and get reacquainted with him. I am going to do my Wednesday good buys on my binder instead, since I did such huge shopping last week there is no need to shop at all this week. I look forward to showing you ol'trusty. Have a great night, Michelle

Manic Monday-pics pics pics

Jeremiah gardening in the great outdoors!!

Hard to tell but that is my oldest sone(18 almost 19) and Jeremiah the baby!!! Sniffle sniffle I still remember when the oldest was that small, it went by so darn fast.
Jeremiah just havin fun in his new (used many many times) walker.
The oldest child Kriztina (20) and the Baby Jeremiah 5 months, I love this picture!!!
My three crazies and the crazy fun that now makes up my days, Matthew 3, Jacob 6, Joshua 6 !!!
Jacob always smiling!!!
Jacob and little brother Matthew at the park playground where they mostly live hahaha
Jeremiah with his summer hat

Kriztina and Jacob sworn BFF'S forever!!! The raised bed garden made with old dressers, leftover pieces of weed and odds and ends!!!

The potato hole that looks more like a gravesite.
We had a ton of this stone in the corner of the yard just sitting there, it made perfect walkways so we don't step in mud.

Kids pics, our piece together raised bed gardens and potato bed that looks like a grave yikes!!! Enjoy the frugalredneck photo album!!! Michelle

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Saving Money Sunday

Today I am going to talk about my garden. I planted my seedling the beginning of March. And they took off. I planted Tomato, Green pepper, Cabbage, Cucumber, Summer squash, Carrots, Celery, Beans, Peas, Cauliflower, Beets, Jalapenos, Red potatoes, Garlic, Red onion, Green onion, Watermelon and a few others that are escaping my memory right now. Everything grew wonderfully. My daughter is helping this year. We have little money but did not do well last year with planting straight into the ground. So this year with little money we are doing raised beds. With the soil and manure taking up most of our funds we had to get creative with the raised beds. We have spent the last year collecting things that could be used to make them. We had several street finds of old dressers and some of our own that were going to be thrown away. We had some old pieces of wood here and there from fixing up the house. Some dog crate pieces and tomorrow she is heading to the Lumber yard to sift through the giveaway pile. She made 2 raised beds today so far. She is taking pictures tomorrow with her phone and that along with some pictures of the little ones will be my Manic Monday post. I was floored when I went out in the back and saw what she had done with so little. I darn near cried. And the plants she got planted looked so happy in their new home and a little more growing room. We are very excited about this year and getting some larger hauls, Fingers crossed. We know it is a learning process, best of all we are having fun and spending time together. One of the twins Joshua did not want to go to his Dad's today instead staying home with me. And he stayed in the backyard the whole day helping her, Just him and her, he loved it and was soo sooooo excited to show me what he had done. It was great. Have a special time with your kids, Plant something...Anything. Have a great week all, Michelle

Survival Saturday

I just got the mother lode of books in from the library here in town. My oh my do I love inter library loan, I can get darn near any book I come across on the Internet. Lots of times I just put a keyword in amazon and then save the books I want to a wish list, print that list off and search the library for them. That way I get to try the book first and see if it is something I need to put money out for and I want or if there are maybe just a few pages I want to copy and then turn it back in without having to purchase the whole book. This is kind of a funny survival Saturday post. My oldest son and I have been bonding lately. I learned long ago with my boys that if I want to spend time with them and bond I have to think boy hahaha. My oldest son loves Survival and end of the world movies. So I added all I could find on Netflix the other day and we had a late night fest on Friday night. I believe I added 11 movies. We only ended up watching 1 all the way through. Most we just watched the first 15 minutes and deemed it lame. Some just made us mad because from what we have already learned they were completely unrealistic. We ended up watching the Final Storm which was just vaguely apocalyptic, But it was a decent movie. I get a kick out of watching things like that with him. T.V. shows like survivor man etc. We feel like we could be ready for anything that we know alot. Although never put in that situation could be a whole lot different. My son wants to be on the T.V. show the Colony to see how it would feel to be in an apocalyptic situation. Not me ty. hahaha. Anyway we had fun and of course he taught many things I did not know about survival. Have a great weekend all Michelle

Friday, April 8, 2011

Frugal Friday

Today I wanted to talk about making your own baby food. This is great for several reasons. First it saves sooooo much money, 2nd it is so much better by 1000% for your baby. I made up Jeremiah's first foods this last weekend. Squash, sweet potatoes, bananas ( I do daily), pears, apples. All you need to purchase is 1 sweet potato, 1 squash ( I bought butternut), 2 pears, 2 apples and 2 bananas will last a week or so. Besides that you need a small food processor ( the small ones that are around $4.99, I bought mine free with register rewards from Walgreen's). And the last thing you need is either small baggies or some small little containers that hold approx 2 tablespoons. Apples or Pears Peel and core cut into pieces Boil in water just covering fruit, Boil just about 5 minutes until tender. Keep liquid in pot until you are done blending. Add your fruit to the processor and puree until all pieces are pureed. If it seems a little too thick add some of your reserved fruit water until right consistency for baby. Add 2 tblspoons to a baggie or small container and freeze until ready to eat. Sweet potato Peel potato, chop into pieces, boil in water just covering potatoes. When fork slides off easily ( Just like making mashed potatoes) add to processor. Keep potato water just like with the fruit, You will need it with the potatoes to thin them out a bit. Puree until all pieces are pureed adding potato water as needed. Package same as fruit. Squash Cut squash in half lengthwise. Pour 2 cups water into baking dish. Scoop out seeds and place squash halves cut side down in water. Place baking dish uncovered in oven at 350 until the skins is bubbly and wrinkly. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. When cooled scoop out meat and place in processor. Again reserve squash liquid from baking dishes to use to thin out squash. Same mixing as above and same packaging as above. Bananas Cut bananas up, Place in processor, puree and add water as needed to get right consistency. Use immediately as these will brown fast. I made all this in about 2 hours while holding the baby and taking care of the little ones. Quite easy. Now I have premade baby food, I just take out a baggie in the morning set in fridge to thaw and Waalaa. The best part about this baby food is it is nothing but the fruit or veggie and water. No complaints from Jeremiah or any of my other children. * Best containers to use are used baby food jars. So if you know a friend who feeds their baby only store bought and they have used clean baby food jars ask if you could have a few and use these to store homemade baby food in. * I would purchase a food processor to be used solely for baby food. So that it does not get contaminated with any foods you don't want baby to have and be vigilant about cleaning it really well. Don't want baby to get any bad bugs. Have a great weekend. Michelle *** I am so sorry I still don't have my camera fixed yet. My son is working on fixing it. As soon as it is fixed I am just going to do a post of pics lol.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Recipe of the week Thursday

This weeks recipe is Pancakes and syrup. If you are not making your own pancake mix then you really should. It is super simple and the pancakes taste just like Ihop or other restaurant pancakes. And syrup is also really simple to make. You could in 1 hour make up enough pancake mix and enough syrup to last months, depending on your family size. We eat pancakes for lunch and for dinner. I have them on my menu at least 7 times in a 2 week period for breakfasts and at least 2 times for a dinner. Pancake syrup 1 cup water 1cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. maple flavoring Put all in a pan heat to boiling, turn heat to medium high and boil until you reach the consistency you like. Longer boiling means thicker syrup. Let syrup cool and store in a mason jar or an old syrup container. I always quadruple this recipe for our size family. Pancakes (Make ahead, big batch) 12 cups flour 4 cups dry milk 3/4 cup baking powder 3/4 cup sugar 2 tbl salt Mix thoroughly and store in airtight container for up to 6 months. I would advise that you freeze your flour for a few hours after you purchase it and you won't have to worry about bugs in your mix. To make pancakes ( This makes about 8 large pancakes) 1 1/2 cups dry pancake mix 1 cup water 1 egg 2 tbl veg. oil Mix all together, Cook pancakes and enjoy!!!! Have a great Friday, Michelle

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Good Buy Wednesday

I have quite a list for this week, There are some really good deals out there and I have not done any really large trips in awhile. So here goes for my local readers or any who have these stores. Save a lot Shank ham .99lb pork roast 1.29lb Maxwell house coffee 4.99 6 roll paper towels 3.99 hilshire farms kielbasa 1.99 dry onion soup mix .89 whipped topping .89 bleach .99 snak sak cookies 1.29 I regularly purchase sausage links, flour, sugar,brown sugar, powdered sugar, choc chips,and flats of veggies, beans and soups at save a lot and will this time too. I would compare save a lot with aldi's myself. Dollar tree is next I need my monthly items from here 10 packages of flour tortillas 10 packages of corn tortillas 10 boxes of ziploc baggies total $30 Marvin's Grocery Store Birds eye veggies and steamers .78 - all the coupons that are out there from Sunday inserts, I hope to purchase at least 20 of these with coupons. Kellogg's cereal $1.78 each plus my coupons Skippy peanut butter is .98 each limit 2 plus my coupons 10lb potatoes 2.99 act 11 popcorn 3 pk 5/5 plus my coupons post cereal 5/10 plus my coupons Betty crocker muffin mixes and pizza crust mixes 3/1 mc cormick vanilla 1.99 plus coupons mc cormick taco,burrito,enchilada,fajita seasoning 2/1 sargento cheese 2/4 plus coupons sunny d 2/3 5 lb ore ida potatoes 4.99 maruchan ramen noodles chicken 4 (6packs) $5 2 bars fels naptha soap Country Mart (Coffeyville, Kansas) libby's fruit 10/10 idahoan potatoes 10/10 mc cormick ranch or spinach mix 10/10 worcestire sauce 10/10 pie filling 10/10 del monte fruit cocktail 10/10 dole pineapple canned 10/10 mc cormick potato seasoning 10/10 kraft salad dressing 10/10 teddy grahams 10/10 armour peperoni 10/10 boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.59lb ( This is a great price for here, I will be buying 25lbs) Rice a roni 2/1 yogurt 20/10 green and red lettuce $1 Kretchmar ham off the bone 4.99lb xtra lean ground beef $2.59 lb (Good ground beef is scarce around here so when It goes on sale at Country Mart here I purchase large quantities, I will be getting 20lbs) Other then a few extras from Walmart that will be it for this week. Looks like our meals this next 2 weeks will consist of Ham dinner, Ham and potato soup,Ham sandwiches, Meatloaf, Spaghetti, Ghoulash,Chicken stir fry, Ranch chicken wraps, Chicken fajitas, Chicken noodle soup with dumplings, BBQ chicken, Pizza 2 times. I don't usually purchase lunch meat ham. But I found a great recipe for the kids to make and it calls for it. Layer in muffin tin One slice of the ham lunch meat, Sprinkle grated cheese and bake 10 minutes at 350. They love to make things themselves and this is easy and simple. Gotta run baby is stirring. Hope we are past the teething for a bit here until the next one comes in, I have missed blogging. Have a great rest of the week all. Michelle

Monday, April 4, 2011

Monday Madness

And yes it is, Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow. My cute little quiet boy has gone nuts!!!!! He will not have anyone else hold him just screams and cries. And he will not sleep unless I am holding him. We are going through a phase here and it is very hard being by myself and having the other little ones running around. Anyway just wanted to touch base with you all and let you know I will be back regular blogging as soon as we get through this. I can't bear to hear him cry I am not a cry it out mother lol Have a great week all and I miss blogging already but can't leave little Miah to himself. Michelle

Friday, April 1, 2011

Frugal Friday

Well hello all I am still here, The baby has been battling his tooth all week and I am exhausted and he is grouchy. Well he is starting to pull out of it today I think....One tooth popped up and I think the other one is right there. Gripe water has been helping but he still seems fairly miserable. Anyway hopefully for tomorrow I wanted to post all my seedlings pics and my plan for planting, that is if it ever stays warm enough here, Just when I think after 4 days of 80 during the day and 50 at night cold hits again and it is 25 at night. I want to get my little plants in the ground, I am anxious this year, plus some seem to be outgrowing their little containers. I planted a bit of everything and I will talk about that tomorrow. Just wanted to update on where I have been this week. So now to my frugal tip of the week.......... I use so many rags, Sometimes I can't believe how many rags I use in one week. I was buying them but seemed not right to take brand new washcloths or whatever else was on sale and use for rags. So I started saving and cutting up everything. Tablecloths that were useless, Old t shirts, old bath towels just about everything. I just got done cleaning out the baby clothes and everything he had accidents on or I could not get the stain out of became rags. This saves money buy not buying new and re purposing. It saves from using paper towels which are expensive. It is environmentally friendly and it just feels good. I don't feel the least bit guilty cleaning up something terribly gross and throwing the rag away, it served it's purpose. Well gotta run baby is hungry and tired. Have a great weekend all. Michelle

Monday, March 28, 2011

Saving Money Sunday

My money saving tip this week is gardening. I know there are a ton and I mean a ton of websites that tout gardening as money saving for growing your own food to supplement the grocery store and this does save a TON of money and I don't deny that. But there are other benefits to gardening that save money. I am not in any sense of the word an outdoor girl, I tell people I am allergic hahaha. But gardening gets me outside and I don't have to supplement with Vitamin D3 I get it naturally and that saves money. It takes time to start your seeds and get them growing you can make this a fun time with your kids or like me I use this as "My Time". I go off by myself and have a few hours of planting my seeds. Free me time!!!! Getting your beds ready for planting is quite strenuous for an indoor girl like me, I use muscles I don't normally use so this is free exercise and takes a day so it is free entertainment ( This I do incorporate the kids and the hubby to help and get their free stuff too)!!! Planting your plants and taking care of them the whole season is an everyday activity. The kids love helping and getting the leaves or the weeds out. Some of the days they can do their swimming while I work in the garden, since I have little ones who have to be watched while they swim I would normally get bored and think of a thousand things I need to take care of in the house other then just sit and watch them. Now I can keep busy and watch them at the same time. Lastly, I get darn right giddy when I get even 1 bean to pick!!!! That is a free satisfaction that no shopping trip can compare to!!!!! Try it big or try it small I promise that if you turn your whole backyard into a growing wonderland or if you have a few small containers on your patio or porch you will love it !!!! Happy Free gardening stuff, Michelle

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Survival Saturday

Today I wanted to finish up the bail out bag or 72 hour kit for my older kids and the adults. Adult ( older child) 1 pair jeans or heavy pants 1 t shirt 1 jacket 2 pair underwear 4 pairs socks bug spray 4 water bottles granola bars, protein bars, snacks first aid kit medicine kit hand warmers hat pocket knife matches solar charger for phones etc (homemade by son) small blanket ( wool army issue bought at supply store) fishing line and hooks We also have one backpack that is just homemade mre's. Also my children have put some extra things for them in each. I have sunscreen and baby sunscreen in mine also and a roll of quarters. I also have a bar of soap and toiletries in mine and a small bottle of homemade laundry soap. I also have steel wool for starting fires. Michelle

Friday, March 25, 2011

Frugal Friday

I loveeee sometimes I think just a bit more then some other people ( in general) saving money. And here it comes the "But" part, sometimes we end up spending money to save money. You have to be really careful with stockpiling, couponing and searching sales. I believe in in all of these things. I could not have some of the things I have without doing these things.
But if you are not careful like I wasn't when first starting out you will spend way more and I mean alot more then you intended and not really save money. I had to learn this the hard way. That leads me to today at Walmart. They had jackets on sale for $2. This is not abnormal for Walmart or other stores to have sales these deep after season. But for many many years I would have bought them, OMG $2 jackets!!!! Now I stop and think and ponder most purchases. Do my boys really need those jackets, How many jackets do they have at home, Do I want any more clothes to wash which will lead to more spending for laundry soap electricity etc. Well my answer today was no way. They have jackets, One for every type of weather. I have 4 boys I would have purchased these jackets for if I did not stop and think. That would have been $8 and tax. I get giddy when I find a coupon while shopping for something I need that someone left behind or is attached to a product I am buying, Giddy over saving $.25 on something I was gonna buy anyway. So I do not want to throw $8 away on something that is not needed.
I love to coupon and sometimes when I see that there are several coupons that will get me free or really cheap items that I would be buying anyway I will purchase 8 copies of that paper. I have to be able to justify that $8, I have to be able to get my money back for the newspapers and still save money or make money. Some weeks I do purchase 8 copies but some weeks I only purchase 1 or none. If you are truly trying to save money or to be frugal which I might add is not a fad, it is most definitely a mind set and a way of life, you have to think about everything you buy.

Michelle

Thursday, March 24, 2011

RECIPE OF THE WEEK THURSDAY

Today's recipe is easy cheater chicken tetrazini

1 box macaroni noodles
1 jar Alfredo sauce
shredded or cubed chicken about 2-3 cups precooked ( cooked in a seasoning of choice I prefer fajita or rotisserie chicken spice)
2 cups of plain potato chips or bread crumbs
4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Cook macaroni noodles drain add to baking dish
cook chicken in a bit of oil and add to macaroni noodles
add jar of Alfredo sauce mix well
In potato chip bag or small baggie crunch up chips and Parmesan and top casserole, Or do the same with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350

I use this for those days of Oh darn I have been so busy I forgot about dinner, dinner!!! Everyone loves it.

Michelle

Good Buy Wednesday

This Wednesday I don't have too much but a few things + a few things I need.

Country Mart ( Coffeyville, Kansas)

Rice a roni 2/1 ( This is a crazy unusual price although I don't have coupons I am going to purchase 18 boxes and that will probably last years)

Nabisco snak snacks 2/3-$2 in coupons = 2/1

Hiland yogurt 2/.89 x10

Philadelphia cooking cremes $1.99-$1.50 coupon x11=11/$5.50

pictsweet steam veggies .99 -.50 x4=4/$2.00

pilgrims pride whole chickens .79lb x10 lbs $7.90


Marvin's grocery (Independence, Kansas)
act 2 popcorn 2/3-$1 coupon x4=8/$8.00

farmland lunch meat 3/5 -$.75 coupon =3/$2.75 x 6=18/16.50

green giant veggies in sauce .99-.40 coupon=.59x10=$5.90

Navel oranges 6/$1x3=18/3

Golden delicious apples .69lbx10lbs=$6.90

tangelos 4/1x4=16/$4

I am still working on my Walgreen's list I will post that separately tomorrow Baby is having a rough night with teething so gotta run soon. Michelle

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tipster Tuesday

Today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite websites, www.stretcher.com. This is a huge huge community for frugalness and stretching a dollar. I have been a member here for a few years. I also recieve the newsletter which I love. The neat part about this website is that they have contests for writing. Quite a few to choose from. I have personally won 2 $25 contests and recieved my checks. I know I could win more if I posted more stories and tips. Another good thing about this website is that you can post any question you have about anything and in just a short amount of time you will get alot of advice and suggestions. Check it out I think you will really like it. Michelle

Manic Monday

Lost my groove.....

The baby is 5 months old and I still have not got my groove back. He is amazingly more demanding then any of the other 6 were by a mile. He prefers to be held and adored and have your complete and total attention!!! Did I say prefer I mean demands hahaha. I really really miss my groove but I love actually love how much attention he wants and that it is my attention he wants and needs. My last one the 3 year old was overly independent, still is. I used to cry because he was not a snuggler. Well I got the snuggler and the I need my mommy one. I just need to find balance and not doing well with it. He won't be a baby for long as I have found out with all the others so I am just going to try and go with it and enjoy it. I will someday again have a clean house, not resort to cereal or oatmeal most mornings, make more elaborate dinner meals, and get out of my jammies before noon hahaha. Have any of you had a clingy or needy baby??? How did that work out for you??? What worked for you to get 10 or 15 minutes alone???

Have a great week all, Michelle

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Stockpiling Sunday

I see I am going to rename Sundays Saving Money Sunday. ( Which will also include stockpiling)

Money saving Ideas-Entertainment

Obviously we do not go out of the house for Entertainment much or rarely I should say. A Mc Donald's trip for my family going cheap is $25. We took a trip to Oklahoma 2 years ago to the Aquarium and it was $100 for us just to get in. We do alot of things that cost nothing or very very little which narrows our list quite a bit. We are very lucky to have in our small town a cute little zoo it is a great walk through it and it takes about an hour and half to walk through slowly. It also has a huge play area with lots of fun equipment for the kids. The little ones never seem to tire of it, so during the spring summer and early fall we take them about 3 or more days a week. We always pack our lunches. We have a swimming center which is huge but I did the math last year and if we went a few times a week it would cost as much as a large swimming pool bought for the backyard. So we bought that and will put it up on June 1st. There is also a huge huge park with lots of jungle gyms and park equipment, it also has a merry go round that they open up on the Weekends and weeknights during the summer and it only costs $.05 a ride. It also has a train that circles the park area which has the same hours and it only costs $.50 a ride. The park also has a huge area where they have several fun things a month that go on, and an amphitheater. We have a huge 4 state rodeo and fair that comes each August to the next town over but it is very very expensive so we have not gone in years. Our little town is famous for Neewollah each year, it lasts I think 7 days and has lots of free things in addition to rides that are quite expensive. We usually save up a small amount for the boys to play some games and for the teen to go with friends on the rides on night. Neewollah is Halloween spelled backwards. We use the public library allllllooootttt. With my oldest daughter working there we never miss any program that the boys would be interested in and their dad takes them at least 1x a week to check out books and a video and to play a bit. My teen in on the teen committee and spends quite a bit of time there. The teen also goes 3x a week to some sort of youth group. There are endless VBS each summer living here in the bible belt. Just goes to show with a little checking of your local city pages you can find tons of free or very cheap things to do for most every holiday too. We have decided to let the(Twins) boys join T-ball this year which is not cheap at all. But the benefits for them with their ADHD to get out and run and play on a team seems worth it.

For at home things we own every game known to man I think which we play alot. We also swear by Netflix. We have a Wii and my oldest son has an xbox. With the Wii hooked up to the main T.V. we can watch movies whenever my kids can watch YouTube videos ( supervised) or the teen can browse the Internet. The YouTube on the Wii works well when I need just a few minutes to do something I can put the 5 month old and the 3 year old to watch a quickie 10 minute show of Baby Einstein.

So there is our idea of entertainment. As far as eating out, We have ethnic nights at home. I have learned from the Top Secret Recipe websites to make favorites from restaurants right here at home that taste just like going out. We frequent Braum's Ice Cream store many times during the summer for a cold treat and we frequent Sonic Many times a week for 1/2 price happy hour where most drinks are half price, I can get all of us a drink for under $3. It pays to sign up for Sonic emails since during the summer they have specials that go on, like bogo malts and shakes. They will have little one day specials for .50 cent corn dogs all day or .50 cent sundaes etc.

Start checking your city pages today for fun things to do this summer it will be here before you know it. Happy Sunday to you all, Michelle

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Survival Saturday

This Saturday I wanted to talk about Bug out bag or 72 hour kits for babies and small children. I personally find this to be the most important of my bags. These are the most important for my sanity. Just going to the grocery store unprepared with children can cause alot of stress I DO NOT want to be in an emergency situation and not be prepared with these little buggers lol

Babies Bug out bag

Diapers
Wet wipes
2 Binkies ( pacifiers) ( you know how you always lose the first one cause it bounces on the floor and lands in the next county over!!!!)
Baby snacks
2 heavy sleepers
2 summer outfits
4 onsies
1 bottle of infant Tylenol
1 bottle of gripe water ( The last thing you want in a shelter or evacuation center is to be packed into a building like sardines and have a colicky or teething baby and noway to settle them or calm them)
A snuggly stuffed animal
1 musical or brightly colored toy to get and keep their attention
A snuggly very warm blankie
A thin receiving blanket
1 bpa free glass bottle ( even though I breast feed, It is just in case of anything)
I have 2 regular water bottles and 1 jug of nursery water
I have an extra baby carrier so I put that in there. ( In case of having to walk long distances this will be invaluable for carrying baby and leaving my hands free for other little ones)
A baby jacket with hood
10 cloth diapers, and pins and covers ( if it were to turn long term you will want these when no diapers can be found anywhere)
1 bottle vitamin drops
10 trial size bottles of baby lotion, baby shampoo, baby powder, baby oil. ( I just think how comforting it could be to smell a fresh baby and snuggle him smelling so good)
I also have 2 baby spoons and two jars of stage 1 baby food

That is my baby's bail out bag. Can you think of anything I might have missed?? I would love to know??

My Toddler and 6 year olds bail out bags Consist of
1 pair of jeans and a T- Shirt for each one
1 pair of shorts, Socks, 2 pairs of undies each.
1 of those add water washcloths sold at $1 tree for each one
4 water bottles each
1 box of the sugar free add to water bottle juice tubes for each
1 bottle of children's Tylenol for each
several snack bags for each ( cookies, chips, crackers, high calorie high protein snack bars)
A blanket for each one
A small pillow for each one ( I plan this year to make quillow pillows for each one)
A small stuffed bear for each one to care for and give comfort
Each one has a small baggie of toys to share with each other ( One has blocks, One has small toys that were from happy meals etc, One has a puzzle)
A color book and crayons for each one
1 bottle children's vitamins + 1 small bottle of vitamin C and Vitamin D3
A hooded jacket for each one
I have some cording in each one so that if we are in a crowded environment or building or walking I can tie a cord to them and to tie them to me to keep them with me and not wandering or getting lost. If I happen to be by myself this will be extremely helpful with 4 of them and only 1 of me.
2 bottles of baby shampoo and baby lotion for each one ( just to keep them clean and smelling nice)

That is their bail out bags, Anything I missed??? Please let me know. I will try by next week to post pictures of the bags so you can see them. Have a Great Saturday all and Stay Safe!!! Michelle

Frugal Friday- Juice and Kool-aid etc.

I wanted to talk about juices and Kool-aid. If your kids are young start now with water down and adding less sugar. They will get used to it now and they will never know the difference plus it is better for them. As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I take the juice bottles I have purchased and pour half into containers I kept and washed out from the trip before. I then fill the bottles back up with water. With Kool-aid I take one packet and add water, The Kool-aid package calls for 1 cup of sugar for 2 quarts eeeeek that is crazy to me. I only add 1/2 cup and they drink it up. I came up with this out of necessity for my boys with ADHD to consume the least amount of sugar possible. I also keep all juices from cans of mandarin oranges or peaches or pears. I have canning jars in the fridge and I do the same fill them half way with the juices from the cans and half water and they looovveee these it is like a treat for them.

What little things do you do to stretch your food items with your children or yourself???
I would love to see what others do and what more I could do to stretch anything!!! Have a great weekend all Michelle

Thursday, March 17, 2011

RECIPE OF THE WEEK THURSDAY-The american frugal housewife

I am going to post a recipe this week but I wanted to sneak in a book I found on Amazon.com. I found this book called The American frugal housewife. It says 1802-1880. I just found myself completely enthralled in this book last night. It reads like a how to for housewives in this era and is absolutely amazing. The knowledge that these women needed about all facets of their jobs was fascinating. I urge you to just take a look at it and read a few pages. You can download a kindle for pc for free from Amazon.com and I just keep searching the free books everyday. I have so far The American frugal housewife, lose weight without dieting, Living rich by spending smart 3 gooseberry cookbooks ( choc chip cookies, meatloaves, mac and cheese) little elf big trouble for the kids. The secret, Mom's ultimate guide to the tween girl world. And that was just 2 days of searching. Anyway take a peek at that book and let me know what you think I am hoping you are as blown away as I was!!!!

Now to the recipe.......
I loveeeee ham loveeeeeeeee ham. So I thought I would show how a ham is dissected in our house. I definitely get my moneys worth I think out of my hams. First thing I do is wait until they are around $1.00 a lb. The last ones I got in January were $1.09lb. I bought 3 which will last until Easter when they go on sale again. ( At Easter I can usually get a ham for around $.89lb).
First I cook the ham in the oven. I go back and forth how I season them. One time I will smother with pineapple jelly or orange marmalade then the next with homemade pancake syrup. I cook it for about 2 hours. (They are precooked I just like to cook it anyway).
So the first night we will usually have ham slices with some rice and a veggie.
That night I will dissect my ham. I cut some really thin slices for ham sandwiches. I will cut enough to get sandwiches for 2 days this week. So for us that would be 12 sandwiches for 2 days. Then I will cut off about 3 thicker slices and chop these up really tiny to make ham and cheese omelets ( my boys loooovvveee these) I will cut enough for (6) 3 egg omelets. This will feed all of us for 2 breakfasts. Next I cut off 4 thicker slices and cube these for ham tetrazini and ham and potato soup. Those go into baggies and are frozen for when I need them. That will make a huge extra large pan of tetrazini and a large stockpot of potato and ham soup. By this time I am way down to the darker meat. this I cut off and dig out around the bones and I will make the next morning ham and beans. The last step I do is take the ham bone out to our dog. This is her big treat of the month. So not one part of my ham goes to waste. I feel quite content with how much I stretch a ham for around $10 but would love to have a few more ways to mix it up every now and then. Do you have any other ways you use up a half ham??? I would love to have some different things to do with it. Thanks a bunch Michelle

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Good Buy Wednesday

I have shopping this week, I saw nothing in the sales ads that I needed or that were a great great price. Plus with the rising cost of gas and me driving a Yukon that guzzles gas, I have to weigh the deals to gas and whether or not I am willing to pay the gas for the product.

This is another great reason for stockpiling. If you have what you need in your house for even just a month or two, You won't have to run out and get things in a no shopping week. But if you do like me need say milk ( I know that a trip to the store for milk will wind up in at least $25 being spent) I send one of my kids to get the milk or you could send your less spendy spouse. Or I have before taken only exactly the amount of the item I had to have and left all money and cards at home. Michelle

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tipster Tuesday

I am trying to think of some tips that you don't run into every blog you go to. So they may seem a little different or off the wall or maybe you have read them 1000 times!!

Today's tip is snack baskets and dish and cup bin. These are tips to help you out if you have children. I take Sunday evenings and take all the leftover pretzels, potato chip bags, half a bowl of cereal bags or and snack leftovers, the two carrots in the bag in the fridge etc. I split these all up into snack baggies. I have 3 baskets that sit on the shelf in the dining room, These are snacks for the kids along side of it is the snack schedule so I don't have to hear is it snack time yet 10 times every day!!! In the fridge I keep a plastic basket on the bottom shelf with the yogurt,carrot sticks, celery with peanut butter, cheese sticks etc. So they can choose a fridge snack or a dining room snack.

They also have all of their kids plates, cups, plastic ware in a bin under the bottom kitchen cupboard. They can set their own place at the table, or get their own cups with lids without climbing on stuff and they can unload the dishwasher of their things and easily put them away. This really works nice for me!!! Good Luck Michelle

Monday, March 14, 2011

Manic Monday

wow oh wow

Jeremiah Thomas almost 5 months old already!!!

Stockpiling Sunday-pics

This is my stockpile, I added a picture of the 10 spring and summer outfits I bought the baby yesterday for $2 each at Dollar General. I also bought toilet paper and used my $5 off $25 mailer. Michelle










































































Saturday, March 12, 2011

Survival Saturday

There a alot of reasons to be prepared for anything. You just never know when bad things are going to happen. Noone wants to go through any of them but they do happen and things are alot easier if you are prepared.
At the very least everyone should have a bail out bag or a 72 hour kit. You should have one for every person in the house including children. I have one for each of us. We had a flood in our area 3 years ago. A really bad flood. Our house did not flood but half the city did. My father in law lost his house. My husband went to get him and they got out just in time. Unfortunatley he had nothing ready for an emergency so he lost everything not one thing was salvageable in the house, Because the flood flooded the refinery and everything was contaminated. It would have been nice if he had just had his important papers some pictures some clothing etc. Luckily he had us to live with but what if we were not there??
There are lots of ways to be prepared. Like I have talked about in a previous post, Stockpiling food and personal and first aid supplies ensure that in a crisis like losing a job or food shortages or rising food costs or worse we are prepared.
In the next few weeks I am going to talk about dehydrating, gardening, canning and other things you should know how to do. Getting back to basics. It is a bit of a fad right now but you can do things long term that will not only be enjoyable but great things you can teach your children. Michelle

Friday, March 11, 2011

FRUGAL FRIDAY

Frugal Friday....

Being frugal seems to come very naturally to some and others not so much. I was the not so much one. It comes easy now but that is after many many many years of training. I took baby steps when I first started. I would try one thing a week for a bit then move up to a couple things. And eventually it came much easier. There were some that stuck and I still do today and there are some that I don't do and prob won't do again. I don't like reusing baggies. I don't use them that much and I hate washing them out and drying them so I don't. I do reuse the baggies that I store chips in because they are never really dirty. Here a few of my favorite frugal things that I actually enjoy doing I get a sort of frugal buzz from!!!

Baby frugalness

1. Using cloth diapers, I don't know why but I feel pride when I use them.
2. Using cloth wet wipes. I don't do the whole premoistend thing, I just have cut up receiving blankets and wet them when needed..no diaper rash here.
3. Making my own baby food and my own baby teething biscuits. This is very very easy. When you have something that is for dinner that would be great for baby just puree it and store it in fridge of freezer. I have already started doing this and freezing for when Jeremiah begins eating.
4. First thing I do when I get some new baby wash I split it up into 2 containers and do a half n half with it. Half wash half water. 1 bottle will usually last 1 year.
5. My newest frugal baby thing is breastfeeding, It makes me ill to think how much I spent on formula with all the other children and how much more I could have given to them. This is my greatest sense of pride.

Hope those help, Have a great weekend frugal friends, Michelle

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

RECIPE OF THE WEEK THURSDAY

Today is Recipe of the week Thursday, Today's recipe is......

Chicken wraps

My kids loveeeee these and so do I.

Everytime I make chicken for a casserole I put some aside for this lunch or dinner.
I would say it is probably equilevant to 2 chicken breasts.
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese
Ranch dressing (homemade is best but bottle will work)
fajita seasoning or rotisserie chicken seasoning or greek seasoning work well.
Flour tortillas

If you are making this from fresh chicken cut your chicken breasts like you would for fajitas. Add a few tbls of oil to pan and cook chicken in seasoning until done.

If using frozen precooked chicken, Defrost and heat up in oil and seasoning.

Shred lettuce and cheese. Make ranch dressing if needed ( My recipe is posted on my blog).

Add chicken, lettuce, cheese and ranch dressing to tortillas and enjoy!!!! Michelle

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Good Buy Wednesday

This is GOOD BUY WEDNESDAY....

I am posting my list for Walgreen's and My town's grocery store deals (Marvins).

This weeks Walgreen's list
First I will purchase the Register Reward items I want or need
Transaction #1
Stouffers easy express skillet meals ( I do not care for these but my daughter does)
2/8 - $2rr
Purchase $10 in these products get $3rr
Tide stain release $3.99
Mr. Clean magic erasers 2/5 I will get 3/7.50( There are more items included but this is what I will purchase)
hefty trash bags 5.99 $1rr
soft soap 2/11 $5rr
lysol healthy touch 11.99 $5 rr
schick disposable razors $5.99 $3rr
always pads $2.99 $2rr
softsoap body wash 2/7 $5rr
Total-$74.50( I will cut this in half with coupons, I did not get around to getting all my coupons matched up yet for this post)
RR total-$26

I will use the $26 in rr's to purchase this for free
Dawn dish soap-$.99-.$50 coupon x4 coupons=4/$2
Coffee mate liquid creamer 2/2.49 - 2 .75 coupons =2/$1
salt and baking soda 2/1 x4= 8/4
mandarin oranges 2/1 3=6/3
arizona 12 pack tea 3/10
6 roll scott natural paper towels $5 - $1q=$4
12 large roll cottonelle toilet paper $5-$1q=$4
total-$28-$26 RR's out of pocket cash $2+tax

Marvins ad

Betty crocker cookie pouches 3/5 -(3).50q's= 3/3.50
Starkist pouches 2/3-(2)$1q's=2/1
Uncle bens rice 3/5-(3).75q's=3/2.75
orville redenbacher popcorn 3/5-(3).40q's=3/3.80
Sanderson farms 100% natural whole fryers .99 x10 lbs=$10
hefty one zip baggies 2.19 bogo free q=2/2.19 x 6=12/7.20
Total-$28.25

Michelle

Tipster Tuesday

A few of my favorite tips.....

1. Once a week put your sponges and the little metal screen sink strainers through the dishwasher. They come out sparkling clean. On this day I usually do the microwave tray and knick knacks from around the house, light covers etc.

2. Before you leave for a day trip or out of town fill a spray bottle with vinegar and spray the whole house. Couches floors curtains etc. You won't have to be there while the vinegar smell dissaptes but when you return your house will be fresh smelling and it kills germs too.

3. Make your own fabric softner. Vinegar in a jug with some essential oil if you like or just plain. You towels come out really fluffy and really clean instead of getting that fabric softner build up.

4. Make your own pledge. Lemon juice and olive oil in a spray bottle. Smells lemony fresh and really polishes up well.

Have a great tip....I love tips!!! Michelle

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Manic Monday

Only 2 days in and I already love the structure. I am a structure girl, I crave structure!!!

Well today is Manic Monday. Today is about spring cleaning. I know I have the bug a bit early. But with 7 kids 6 at home ( although seems like the 20 year old still lives here haha) I have to start a bit earlier than some. I have a master list. It has about 100 things on it, from building some raised beds for gardening to washing up the summer clothes for the kids and everything in between. I make my list by room, then break that down into little 10-20 minute jobs I can do while the baby is napping or the kids are busy doing something. I have the bathroom broken down into 10 minute jobs as this is the amount of time I let the kids play during bath time. I can have my whole bathroom spring cleaned in about 3 bathing sessions. Everything else is written out like:
Livingroom- Clean out and organize bookshelf
Shelf #1
Shelf #2
Shelf #3
or

Diningroom- Clean out and organize Hutch
Top of hutch
hutch shelves and glass
Middle of hutch
Bottom cupboards and 2 drawers
Pledge entire hutch

This is the only way I can function to get anything done and it works so well for me. For 1, I get to see progress by crossing off things I have done and I love seeing scratch marks on my to do lists. For 2, I have alot of 5, or 10 minute down times but never have 30 minute or 1 hour down times.
My spring cleaning happens to coincide with my bi-yearly list so most every inch of the house gets done. Cleaning out fridge and freezers ( I clean these out quickie style every month, but 2 times a year everything comes out and drawers are relined etc.).
Couple of tips:
The smell is bad the first day, But if you clean most everything with vinegar or vinegar and essential oil. The next month will just smell so fresh and you know it is disinfected.
To frugal pledge your wood items use squeezed lemons and a little olive oil, I also use this to shine up my very very very old worn out wood floors twice a year.
Keep some boxes up against a wall at all times in atleast one room or as I have one set on each floor for Throw away, sell, donate or storage. This makes it so much easier to get rid of things when boxes are right there. I also have a box on each level for upstairs it is marked goes downstairs and downstairs is marked upstairs.

Hope these help good luck with your spring cleaning!!!!! I love spring!!!! Michelle

Stockpiling Sunday

I wanted to start today with Stockpiling Sunday. I stockpile, I do not hoard. I think you do have to be careful wether you are stockpiling or hoarding. Stockpiling is not about just getting stuff or just having stuff. I would not stockpile nearly as much as I do if I only had say 2 children. But I have 7 and It makes life so much easier and less expensive for me to stockpile OUR needs. I use coupons and sales (loss leader sales alot) to stockpile. I do not stockpile things we don't use or won't use, unless the item is free and I KNOW someone who will use it. I know alot of people that purchase week after week the free after rebate or RR's ( register rewards) from walgreen's, They get alot of diabetes monitors. I do not have diabetes nor does anyone in my family but the man across the street from me does and has limited income. I got him one 2 years ago for free after coupon and rebates.

There are many reasons to stockpile. I stockpile for several reasons. I have a large family and we go through alot of stuff each month. Shampoo, toilet paper, soap, laundry soap, food. I also stockpile because of cost. If I shopped for this large of a family every week without coupons and did not have my stockpile I can only imagine how much more it would cost me. I stockpile so that I do not have to run to the store more often then needed, This causes me to spend more money than I need to since I always have kids in tow and we know how they can run up a quick trip for bread. I also stockpile because I like the feeling of being prepared. If my income stopped or slowed down I at most times have enough food to last 3-6 months. Lately my stockpiling is helping with the rising cost of food. I see prices soaring on some items and I feel it is only going to get worse. So by having my stockpile at home frees me up to only purchase sale, loss leader items and coupon items. This varies my spending from month to month. Plus I can follow sale trends.

There are many pitfalls you can fall into by stockpiling so you need to watch yourself. Don't purchase things that you won't use or someone you know won't use. If you don't need 30 packs of toilet paper and have no where to store it it is not worth it. I have quite a bit of storage in this house and have a large pantry. The bathroom in our house was a bedroom at one point that was probably converted to a bathroom. It has a large walk in closet. We go through alot of toilet paper and I have a place to store it. We don't get sick much because of homeschooling and we do alot of things at home. So stockpiling large amounts of medicines that are free or free after RR's at walgreens although I have storage for room still just takes up space and is not something we use. What you will find in my stockpile are large quantities of cereal, My kids eat alot of oatmeal and cold cereals. Last month was a great month for cereal coupons and sales. I purchased most of my boxes and bags for less than $1. I purchased roughly 20 boxes and 20 bags. I also had the opportunity to get 20 boxes of ritz crackers for $20. I loveeee ritz crackers as does everyone in my family. I hope this helps a little with explaining why we stockpile and how it benefits us. I am getting my camera back today and I am going to take some pictures of my stockpile. Have a great Sunday, Michelle

Monday, February 28, 2011

My regular bloggers!!!!

I have finally come up with my plans to "Structure my blog". I hope this makes it easier for me to blog because I love doing it. And I also hope it helps get all my thoughts to you better. I have so many things I want to share!!! So I am going to give this a go next week and see how it works.

MONDAY- This will be MANIC MONDAY....This totally describes me haha. Monday's will be a free for all. It might be homeschooling one week or couponing or something frugal or just all around info.

TUESDAY- This will be TIPSTER TUESDAY...... Any new tips I have learned from around the internet or tried and true will be posted on Tuesday's, I also hope to get tips from all of you!!!! I loveeeeee tips!!!

WEDNESDAY- This will be GOOD BUY WEDNESDAY..... I will post my good deals from around town, which are nationwide (Walgreen's, Wal Mart) and local deals. I will include coupon match ups and links to those coupons.

THURSDAY- This will be a frugal RECIPE OF THE WEEK THURSDAY.....Each week I am going to post one of our frugal recipes or a new "Creation" as we call them around here. Cheap but still good for you.

FRIDAY- This will be FRUGAL FRIDAY..... All things frugal, cheap or free on this day.

SATURDAY- This will be SURVIVAL SATURDAY.....This will be about getting through different things like living on less or what you should have in case of scenarios. We live in turbulent and unsure times right now and having what you need in case of is really a great idea. I sleep better at night knowing that I have enough food for an extended period of time. I know how to plant a garden and eat from it. My son has built us up enough solar power to have the basics. And so on.

SUNDAY- This will be STOCKPILE SUDAY.... This will be on stockpiling. Techniques, storage, plans of action on getting your stockpile going and keeping it going.

I hope this works out and I am very excited about it. My 15 year old daughter is going to help me out and work with me on this. She is going to do some of the articles and share some of her recipes and ideas also. I will introduce her here this week and have her share a bit about herself with you all. She will also be helping at my coupon class here in Independence as she is the one who helps me out with my couponing. Thanks to all of you. Michelle

Coupon class

To all of you from around Independence that I have given my blog and info to: My coupon class will be in March. It will be around the 17th. I will announce on my blog here next week the exact time and place and date. The classes will be on couponing and stockpiling. The first class will be free and I will teach the basics of couponing here in the Independence area including how to get the freebies at Walgreens each week. There will be additional classes at $5.00 each class that will delve further into couponing and stockpiling. I want to note that this is not EXTREME COUPONING like on the TLC show. We do not have the grocery store access here to do that kind of couponing. No stores that double coupons and with Marvins and Country Mart not accepting Internet printed coupons it is not possible to get $2000 worth of groceries for $2. But I will teach you how to save 30%-50% off your grocery bill each week. I will also be teaching a class strictly on Walgreens. The first class will give you the basics on couponing in our area. How to find coupons, how to set up a coupon binder, store policies, printing internet coupons and some basic stockpiling. The stockpiling is getting a 3-6 month food supply built up for many reasons. But the greatest reason for stockpiling is that you free yourself from having to major grocery shop after your stockpile. Once your stockpile is up and running you can then shop sale only and loss leader items each week saving you even more money. I look forward to meeting you all at the class and teaching you how to save money here in Independence. With the coming gas prices and rise in food costs I think you will be very happy you learned all this. Michelle

Thursday, February 3, 2011

More structure

I decided last night I need way more structure. I work that way lol. So I am going to take the next few days and structure my life a bit more and structure this blog, I miss blogging alot. I think with structure I could blog alot more and I have so much information roaming in my mind, it would be more productive for me to have certain things on certain days. So that is the plan. I am going to announce what days are what on Sunday and start on Monday. Have a great weekend all. Michelle

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Being positive does not always come easy

Hello everyone. Once again I have missed you all and I just got all caught up on reading everyones blogs. I have not got into my groove yet from having the baby and am looking forward to that day!!!

I have had a hard time the last few months being positive. Life is tough lol. Jeremiah is just the snuggliest baby ever, But I have to admit he is my hardest as far as he is extremely needy, only wants me to hold him and wants me to hold him constantly. I bought a baby carrier so I can atleast get some things done while I hold him. In alot of ways I love it, he is my last baby and I soooo want to enjoy every single milisecond. But having all these kids on my own and not being able to put him down creates challenges. The 6 year olds and the 3 year old seem very jealous, so I have been making the absolute most of my time with them. The twins and the 3 year old have serious cabin fever from these frigid below zero temps we have been having, I pray for an early spring. Just living off child support and a little alimony makes doing things hard. Atleast in the summer we can enjoy the park and the zoo here in town for free. These past few months have depressed me a little. Thank goodness I don't have much free time on my hands so not so much time to be depressed lol.
Things were looking really bleak a few weeks ago. I was sitting one night all kids in bed. Jeremiah was sound asleep on the couch next to me...and I started thinking.....How stinking lucky am I??? I have a house that is paid off.....My car is almost paid off and in good working order.....I was so lucky to have twins I got to exprience that and not everyone does.....I was so lucky to have 7 children who think I am the most awesome. It humbled me and made me cry grateful tears. I made myself a book, just a little one. I took some time to decorate the outside and inside I wrote down all the little things I feel so lucky to have had or experienced......
Having twins
Having 7 children
Having twins and 7 children and never a miscarriage or sickly child
My house paid off
Being best friends with my oldest daughter
Having my 18 year old son still be mommy's boy
Breastfeeding
My kids getting excited over every little thing I decide each week that I know is crazy and I know they think is crazy but supporting me anyway.
and so on. I also put a picture of all them in there. I am going to use this when I get a little down. I think just looking at this will be a great pick me up.
Some things picked up after that. I got $4000 of the tax money and paid off some bills and spent $1500 on clothes for the year for the kids and shoes, I used $1000 of that money to stockpile the house. I spent 2 weeks shopping the sales and now have 6 months of toilet paper and toiletries. 3 months of food, foil, baggies. And a few months of everything else that would be needed to run the house. I also had enough left over to get a much needed new pot and pan set and a few things for myself.
I have also made up my mind from speaking to people in the community and starting in April I am going to hold a coupon and stockpiling class and see how that goes. It is something I really love doing and would love to share that with others. I also am checking into donating a coupon class to the teen pregnancy center so they could learn how to get more for less for their kids. ( I did not even know we had one until I started looking for somewhere to donate Jeremiah's outgrown stuff and all the formula samples I had). This is going to be the best year yet for us!!!! And I hope it is for all of you too!!!! Michelle
Just wanted to let any of the gals around town that I have directed to my blog I will start posting about the coupon class here on my blog end of February.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Years!!!!

Happy New Years!!!! What would a New Years be without some goals for the coming year. I made my master list of all I would like to get done this year. Guidelines to things that need to be done or I would like to do. I hang this up on my bulletin board so that I can see it all year. I don't pressure myself but whenever I have a block of time that is open I almost always can glance at it and get something done off the list.
Somethings on my list for 2011....
Start teaching classes on stockpiling and extreme couponing.
Get some dental work done
Clean out storage areas in house ( Sunroom, closets etc)
Get my yard ready for planting in fall the way I wanted to do it last year but did get done.
Get my seedling started early again this year
Cooking even more from scratch and cutting the food bill of course
Baking more bread than last year

I find if I can see these all the time I have a better chance of gettting them done. I currently have about 50 things on my list. If I only got one done a week I could do it all. Well gotta run today starts our first day back to homeschooling since our December break ( focused on holiday learning instead of regular school). Happy New Year again to all....Michelle