Unlce Scotty's and Aunt Ashleys'

We went for a visit to my bubby's on Saturday...as always Amanda got really fussy about 1/2 hour before we got there...other than that we got to see my adorable nephew and eat lunch with the family :) It was a great visit and I am glad that I got to spend time with my family even though Rod was working :) We have to work on getting that man a break ;)

Zoo

My mom and I took the kids to Binder Park Zoo this last Friday...Adam says his favorite part was feeding the giraffe's. They charge $1 for a piece of lettuce so I am glad that him and Amanda enjoyed it. When we talked to him about the zoo he would go on and on about the giraffe's and then he would say that the zebra's wouldn't come near him, lol... At least they had fun. My mom got the kids each a giraffe and train to remember the trip and the kids got to ride the carousel. Adam rode the Bengal tiger and Amanda rode the red panda. Overall it was a great experience and hopefully we will be able to do it again ;)

Father's Day

Father's Day was yesterday and it is a very hard time of year for Rod...even though you will never hear him speak of it. It has now been 8 years since Rod's Dad passed away. Don was one of the men who has made Rod who he is as a dad. He has lived on to be exactly or better than what Don would have hoped he would be as a dad. It doesn't take much to be a father...but it takes a lot to be a dad :)

Rod and I started dating almost 1 year to the date after Don passed away...even though we lived right next door to each other...we didn't talk until I finally had the guts to get his number ;) He is my world and I know just from the reaction that the kids give him when he gets home that he is theirs too :)

The kids got Rod a new Char-broil Infared Grill for his father's day present. We let him pick it out because I wanted to make sure he would like it :) I even got him a better price...I loved the fact that we got to spend the whole day with Rod. It doesn't happen as much as he would like. But hopefully after we sell our old house we will be able to make it happen more frequent ;) Yesterday we went to town and took Amanda's old crib, bassinet and changing table to some friends so they can use it for their new baby. Then we went to Lowe's picked up the grill, Sam's and got a mattress and then went to mom and dad's and got my old bed. Came back did some swimming after we got Amanda's "new" bed together and her room situated and then went out to visit Rod's Father for Father's Day. Spent some time back at the camper eating hot dogs and grilling smores.

Much love to all of the Father's and Dad's out there...be the better of the 2 ;)

Living Life

I really hate it that I haven't been able to blog...not that I don't have anything else to do ;) But I like that it keeps a record of life as we know it...I don't keep a journal and maybe I should start...

I have been busy working on our old house...it is now listed for sale through Production Realty and Amy Gilpin has already had 2 people see the house...so we are hopeful to see an offer in the very "near" future ;) It was a lot of time and money spent to get it where we did get it...So hopefully someone will be able to enjoy it as their own :)

Still going to grandma's and taking care of her. I love that my kids get to spend time with their great grandma. She is going to be 88 this year. I can't believe that my grandpa has been gone 11 years already. My kids were only able to see my grandma Sweeney when she wasn't really the grandma I remember so that is hard...because even my grandma Hagemann isn't the woman I remember with the 3 strokes and having to be confined to a wheelchair. But I can still make her smile bringing those kids into the room :) That alone is more precious than anything to me :)

Grocery shopping has been a little more expensive as I have taken on getting things for my grandma as well. I prepare meals that we have and take them there...But the added costs are the separate items such as milk, bread, etc ;) and household items she needs.

I haven't been couponing lately but I am still a price matching machine ;) Which I know saves me both time and money right now with the price of gas...It is back down from the high $4.15/gallon to $3.77 now...but still ridiculous.

Preschool has been great for Adam socially this year and I plan on trying to work with him on letters and numbers along with Amanda over the summer. I have already made copies of color by numbers and other things that are new but that will help him with recognition ;)

Amanda has been becoming such a big girl...she was wanting to do everything by herself...then lately she witnessed an older girls friend of mine getting her mommy to do things for her...so she has "regressed" a little. So we are working on some things again...I am planning on working on potty training again soon as Adam is done with school and we are home more frequent without having to take him to school.

Rod has been working non stop trying to keep the ends met with bills. We are doing good. Would be doing better if a relative that owes us quite a bite of money would pay us back...but apparently we aren't at the top of his mound of debt...So Rod will keep plugging away at our debt. He had someone question us on why I wasn't working not to long ago...I went to speak and he stopped me. His statement was because he doesn't want me to, "it is my choice, my kids are better off in my wife's care than anyone else". I love that he trusts me with his whole world ;) I love the fact that I get to enjoy everyday that the kids ask me to do something with them. I wish everyday was like our Monday. We were busy all day doing things that the kids wanted :) I try to only clean 1 day a week as I hate telling the kids no that I can't do something. I love the smile on Adam's face when i say yes that I can do something with them and Amanda jumping up and down ;) Melts my heart.

More than anything Rod keeps our family together and from falling apart. We both turned 30 over the last month and I have to say I don't feel any different. I feel loved more than anything when I get to spend the days that I know would be very hard if I was working not missing a thing :) We make the things that we do look easy, but without Rod working and me trying to save money where we can...not sure if we would have the things that we do have...Well, hopefully I will be able to keep more on top of this as PTA summer break is here as of tomorrow ;) Take care and hope you are enjoying your summer with your kiddos too!

Busy

I really hate saying that I have been too busy to blog...but I have been too busy :) Working on PTA essays, fundraising, getting quotes for the walking track and the other projects that no one else makes time for along with trying to get the house back that we own and someone won't leave...as well as spend time with my family :)

I have been saving money as I haven't really been shopping in the last month...I went shopping for food for Amanda's party but other than that we have only been getting the necessities ;)

Mainly because there is a lack of money around here with the land contract people who are not paying and owe upwards of $6k...but that is another subject in itself...me being too nice for too long to people who live off of the system...puts that taste in your mouth if you know what I mean...

I plan on getting to the store this week...working on my list as I type and trying to find the sites I use to go to...my computer took a turn for the worst over the last few weeks and I am still trying to load the things I use to use back on it...fun, fun.

Take care and I will keep in touch soon!

Review of homemade detergent/granola

I have to say the homemade detergent for the laundry and dishwasher have been great. My dishwasher seems to love the detergent and the laundry smells great with the Ivory based powdered detergent I made ;)

Rod said the granola I made tastes way better than anything in the store, BONUS :) Rod is not very big on eating healthy but loved this :) AWESOME ;) The kids loved it too!

Homemade Soaps

I just got done making laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent...these were found on Tipnut.com

Powdered Laundry Detergent

2 cups borax

2 cups baking soda

2 bars of Ivory soap finely grated

Shake container well before each use...

2 T per full load

I can't wait to see how it does :)

Dishwasher Detergent

2 cups borax

2 cups baking soda

Fill dispenser...it says that if dishes are cloudy after wash start using vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser...I am going to start doing this after I use up the rinse aid that I bought...that stuff is Super Expensive :)

Took me about 10 minutes to make both of these and that includes grating the soap ;) I used the old box for the dishwasher detergent and used a funnel to fill.

I used an empty plastic container with lid for the laundry detergent and filled 2 T into a small plastic "scoop" and marked it so that it will be easy to measure each time ;)

I am toying around with the no-shampoo aspect of washing your hair...it involves using baking soda paste massaging your scalp and rinsing with vinegar...it says that it makes your hair more manageable/softer...which I need...I hate trying to do anything with my hair as it always frustrates me that nothing stays where I want it to...we will see if I try to attempt this...it may be a summer thing ;)

Homemade Granola

I just got done make homemade granola or cereal ;) Which ever the kids will like the name of better ;) It smells yummy, letting it cool and then storing for breakfasts in the near future :)

Freebies

Last week I went to Target because I had a FREE Coffeemate creamer coupon...I made sure I got the powdered version...because I don't use as much that way ;) It was $4.14 and I didn't have to pay anything except tax ;)

I also bought Powerball Finish Ball Dish washing detergent for FREE with the match up of Target coupon and manufacturer coupon ;) $1 and $1.50...it was only for 20 but that will last us a while (I only run the dishwasher every 3-4 days...

If you have any other items that you have gotten for FREE lately please share your savings ;)

Gingerbread Pancakes

This morning I made Gingerbread Pancakes with the recipe for Bisquick from the previous post...I made the Bisquick and cream soup mixes yesterday so I had them on hand ;)
I used about 1/2 of what I made for the pancakes, it made about 25 extra pancakes...which means I have less work to get around a healthy and full filling breakfast for the kiddos ;) They LOVE pancakes ;) I add some apples, ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg along with eggs, milk and apple butter.

The kids loved them :) End of story ;)

Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy

This is a new book I have been reading :) I love a lot of the ideas, so I wanted to share them with you ;)

One of the websites that she references is one I have not used yet, but it looks very helpful :) www.mygrocerydeals.com All you do is go and sign up with your zip code and it pulls up the sales in your area ;) It even has Polly's listed for you loyal family business shoppers ;)It also has a coupon matching section :) I have to say I think I am really going to enjoy this site!

Another thing that she points out are some helpful recipes to save A LOT of money :) She has recipes for granola for cereal, maple syrup, pot pies, Bisquick mix...etc...a lot of ideas that I will be incorporating. Mainly because I like to know what are in the things that we eat...Amanda has had a facial allergic reaction to things like oatmeal...so I started making it myself...she hasn't broken out since...but she still breaks out with things like ranch dressing, so I will probably try to use the recipe in here to see if that helps.

Bisquick Recipe
8 cups flour
1 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup baking powder
1 T salt
Mix together and then cut in 2 cups of shortening...it should look like cornmeal...store in air tight container up to 6 months.

Spaghetti Herb mix (I love this idea because I can just can my tomatoes this summer and then use this when I need to vs having to make the sauce and then can it)
1/2 Cup garlic powder
1/2 Cup onion powder
1/2 cup dried oregano
3 T dried basil
3 T dried thyme
3 T salt
2 T sugar
Mix together and store in airtight container...use 1/4 cup mix to 16 oz of diced tomatoes.

Overall, there were too many items for me to list on here ;) But if you get time pick up a copy from the library and check it out yourself!

Savings Week 2/18/11

Went to Polly's this week because I had coupons to double and they had great sales for things we needed :)

This is what we got: $34.89

4-2lts pop .73 each
3- apple juice
4- ketchup .70 each w coupon
6- pasta sauce .70 each w coupon
5-cheese 1.25 each
1-ground sausage .99 w coupon
1- sour cream .45 w coupon
1- gallon milk
1 - brown rice 2.49 w coupon
2- 4pks yogart .75 each w coupon
4-tomato soup .12 each w coupon
1- cooking cream cheese 1.25 w coupon
2 cream mushroom soup .80 each forgot coupons :(
1- taco shells $1 w coupon

Overall not too bad...already have the ad for Polly's, Kroger and Meijer for next week and there are going to be some definite savings with coupons...Heading to make my list of things needed for pantry and then getting coupons needed to save more ;)

Please let me know if you have any deals that you would like to point out :)

Savings this week

I haven't even had a chance to go over the ads yet ;) So I will try to do that tonight ,so that I can figure out if I will attempt to go shopping after I pop popcorn on Thursday am :)

We really only need milk, bread, and taco shells as of right now...but I like to stock up on things when they are on sale and I have coupons...it is a double whammy of savings ; p

Valentine's Day

I have to say that Rod is the best thing that has happened to me ;) We were meant for each other...we think the same way, we agree on most things, we rarely fight and hey the sex is really, really phenomenal ;p
A couple of weeks ago I found out that I have to go back into the doctor to have another test done...there is a possibility of nothing and there is a possibility of cancer. I have to say that he melted my heart when I told him about the appointment. Trying to convince me that I needed to make sure I was putting myself 1st when needing to make doctor appointments, because "this just doesn't work without you"...
I have to say there are many things that melt my heart...the way he kisses my hand and tells me he loves me...the way he makes me laugh, even if it isn't out loud ;) That man has a spot in my heart that has brought even more love into it by giving me the gift of children ;) He was the one who comforted me when pregnancy wasn't quick enough or when I had a headache and just couldn't get things done that I wanted to.
I think that I am the luckiest woman in the world. I may be a little partial on that opinion ;) But we wouldn't be where we are today without everything that he does for our family. He has made huge sacrifices to give us the things that he wants us to have. He works long hours so that I can be with our kids and he gave up weekend softball just so that he can spend time with us.
Overall, the luckiest woman on the world wants to tell her husband that you still make her world go round ;) I love you more than words will ever say!

Saves Money, Sign me up ;)

So here are some great cleaner recipes if you are trying to save money and be conscious of what is around your family :) These came from a book I have been reading: Be CentsAble by Chrissy Pate & Kristin MeKee ;)

All purpose Cleaner/ Glass Cleaner
1 part vinegar
1 part water
Essential Oil-optional

Dish washing Detergent
1 part borax
1 part washing soda (aka baking soda)
1 T of each per load We use borax in our pool in the summer so I still have some :)
I am glad I found this because I am almost out...can't wait to see how well it does!

Toilet Cleaner
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
Scrub it, let sit for 1 hour, scrub and flush...

Drain Cleaner
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
Pour both in, let sit for 1/2 hour and then:
1 cup HOT water

Tub Cleaner
3 parts Baking Soda
1 part water
Makes a paste, scrub and rinse be careful with fiberglass inserts as it can scratch...but it works great on the ring in the tub ;)

Furniture Polish
2 T of lemon juice
1 drop Olive Oil
2 cups vinegar

Floor Cleaner
1/4 cup mild dish soap
1 gallon water

Post it Meal planner

Ok, so one of the ideas I read about was making a monthly meal plan and sticking to it...So, we sat down and wrote up things that we enjoy as a family and don't have issues with the kids not eating ;) Maybe this will give you some ideas of things you haven't had in awhile...Our family sure likes cheese, pasta and beef...do you have ideas for changing up these meals or different meal ideas:) I would really appreciate some new ideas ;)
Dinner
Tacos
Sloppy Joes
Lasagna
Lasagna Rolls (stuffed shells)
Spaghetti
Mexican Lasagna
Tuna/chicken Noodle casserole
Shepherd's Pie
Homemade Pot Pies
Burger Mac and Cheese
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Casserole
Pizza/ Taco Pizza
Hot Ham/Turkey and Cheese
Chili
BBQ beef
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Homemade Chicken and Noodles
Meatloaf
Hog Dog wraps
Pasta salads/Macaroni Salads

Breakfast
Pancakes
French Toast
Biscuits and Gravy
Omelets

Week 2/10 Groceries

I can't say I did the best this week but I did pretty good ;) Had to buy some things I don't usually buy ;)

$53.36- It was $69 before coupons, not sure what it was before price matches ;) Over $15 in coupon savings ;)

2 lbs bananas
2 pks pepperoni-$1 each with coupon
6 crescents
6 grands biscuits
1 loaf of bread .45
3 pks chunk cheese $1.49 each
4 pks shredded cheese $1.50 each
2 pks brown sugar $1 each
2 bxs pierogy's $1.66, one of my families favorites ;)
2 pks eggs .99 each
1 pk organic lettuce
6 cans mushrooms .46 each
1 cottage cheese $2
2 jars spaghetti sauce .98 each
2 bottles cold medicine (kids are sick...can't plan that one, too much)
1 pk post its for meal planning idea
2 bottles Welch's juice after coupons .50 each
4 boxes pasta-FREE with coupons/price match!!!
mini Mars valentine candy -FREE with coupons/price match!!!

Make sure you take advantage of price matching!!!
It is a big time saver...I really wish more stores did it...saves us time on not having to go to more than one store...I don't think I will be shopping next week, but we will see what the ad's have.

Grocery Store Trip

I have been trying to use the advice on Extreme Couponing...mind you I usually only spend about $40-50 a week on groceries anyway, with a possible trip to Sam's or Gordon's once in awhile. So this is what I did when trying to use Target's Mfg & Store coupon savings as well as a shopping trip to Walmart to price match and use coupons. Honestly we really could go without shopping for at least 2 months if we used everything in the house ;) But that is why we only spend what we do...stock up and save when you can ;)


The Target Bill was $17....

4 6pks of Pop (Rod drinks a lot of Mt. Dew) (normally he buys this at work out of the vending machine if we don't have it...so this is a BIG savings ;)
2 boxes of Honey Crunch Kellogg cereal
2bxs Wheat Thins
2 pks shredded M. Cheese
2 pks Reese Cups
1 pk deli Meat

Walmart Bill was $31...

3.89 lbs Grapes, 3lbs Apples, 5lbs Bananas, 1 lb Blueberries,Lettuce

3 boxes pasta

toothpaste

2 mustard

hot sauce

miracle whip

cake mix and frosting

4 pks dole fruit cups

Reynold's wrap

slow cooker liners

cool whip

2 loaves of bread

1 gallon of milk

Happy Shopping :) Looking forward to being able to get more for our money in the very near future :) Make sure you take a look at the sites from the other posts :) Very smart cookies out there doing this money saving ;) Might as well use what they have and not waste all of your time doing what they already have ;)

Afullcup.com is where I found a lot of my shopping stuff...they make it easy by listing the store...the deals that are out there with the coupons that are out there and then you just need to pick the things that you know you will use in your household. I am not one for hoarding...so I just buy things that I know we will use in a timely manner ;)

savingthefamilymoney.com

This is a great new site I found :) Along with afullcup.com, sarahsdeals.com...these sites are so informational :) I never realized that some stores take both mfg and their coupons on 1 items ;) That is a big savings that I am going to try to take advantage of. I will let you know how my first planned spending spree goes ;)

Mueller Pasta

In sale this week at Meijer...89 cents...coupon on Mueller website $1 off. :) Happy girl to be paid to take stuff home ;)

Maxed Out

This is another documentary that I just got finished watching on Netflix...It was from 2006, so I can only imagine how much the situation has snowballed since then :(


Credit cards are probably the worst thing on the face of the earth to someone who isn't good with money or uses it to get out of one debt to pay for another :( I understand the cycle, but still don't understand why people feel that they don't need to pay for what they "borrow". I am not saying that the credit card companies deserve the interest rate that they are charging. I honestly feel that we really shouldn't have to pay more than 15% on credit cards. But I have friends that have been technically raped by the credit card companies...Charging them as much as 30%. Why would you want to make someone chose between paying for gas to get to work and paying your payment on time. That is how they ended up in the downward snowball that they have created...miss one payment and it literally "kills you". I wonder how many CEO's at big credit card companies would feel knowing that they have in turn caused more suicides because they needed to pad their paychecks more :( They probably don't even care, which is sad. You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself.

There are several people around me and in my life that use/or abuse credit cards. Rod and I have always used credit cards. But we pay it off when it comes due. Whatever it takes to do that we make sure it happens. I am not saying that if either of us were to end up in the hospital that we wouldn't be riddled with tons of debt. I am just trying to emphasize that we use them and don't "abuse" them. I know that is probably easier said than done in some cases. Everybody always feels they can't tell others "no, can't go out tonight" or "no, can't afford it"...but I would much rather be told that than have them suffer the endless spiral of events that follow with the debt.

How many of you feel that credit cards have hurt or damaged your relationship? How many of you feel that debt is going to be there when you die? I personally have read many Dave Ramsey articles/books along with Suze Orman. These people have helped us maintain where we are today and where we want to be in the future. I am not saying we are ready to retire, just stating that we will make a plan to make it there... Where do you want to be in 10 years?

TheFuelFilm.com

I have to say that this is another interesting documentary and I hope that we will find information in the near future to make us less dependent on other countries :)

It was amazing to see how we have gone back and forth so much with innovation over the years...I guess one step forward and two steps back is a consistant circumstance.

I really hope that you will watch this documentary, it is another interesting viewpoint on the whole Eco system. It is available on Netflix along with several other great documentaries...Food Matters, King Korn, Big River, Food, Inc. and The Future of Food are all very educational. Enjoy ;)

Family

I have to say I am surrounded by wonderful family and friends :) I love that at any moment there is always a hug, kiss, or word of advice always there. For most of you are the reason that I am who I am today :)
I have always been brought up to speak my mind and other's seem to think that I am attacking them when I speak without censorship ;) I am sorry that they feel this way and I wish that you didn't feel that I was attacking you when I say things. But to each their own opinion.
My love and comfort is always found with family. I love that my kids have been able to see my grandma even though she is not who I remember. I love that my mom and dad are so involved and close to be able to help support us when ever we need them. I love that our family and friends are always their for us when we need them :)
For those of you who don't have family and friends that are a mile away...keep in mind we are only a phone call away ;) I do my best to call when I can and hope that you will do the same ;)

Amanda's Potty Training Days

Well, it is going as I expected. It is amazing that my kids are only 17 months apart and you still remember to "forget" how hard it was when you did it the first time ;)

She is still in panties at least 5-6 hours a day. Which still means more laundry but she is starting to understand more and more that she needs to sit on the potty longer. So we have books set next to her potty for her to look at. Other than that she is getting stickers when she does go potty in the potty :) She is doing good for only being 21 months. Hopefully by the spring/summer she will have it perfected ;)

On another note she has been in her daybed/ toddler bed and does stay in her room all night. This is big as she could easily open her door and come into our room if she really wanted ;) Adam still does once in awhile....So she does get 2 stickers and so does Adam for staying in their own rooms all night. Not that Adam needs them but "sissy" always asks for "bubby" to get what she gets ;)

2011

Hello- to any and all who follow this blog ;) I have been busy working on projects and doing things with the family. I have deleted all of my old posts, rather than go private and I am hopefully going to have things that I can upload and share in the very near future. It seems our Internet is so slow that I can't even load pictures anymore :(

Family life is going good. Rod is still employed and that is what helps me be able to stay at home with the kids :) It is good that he works in the summer on roofing as this helps us have extra money when things aren't always great financially.

Adam is in preschool and enjoying it. He still has trouble recognizing his name but he is getting better about working on his school work at home. So hopefully he will progress in these areas and many more soon. He is only 3 and the youngest of all 35 kids, so I expect him to be slower on some things.

Amanda is trying to work on potty training. It is a back and forth type of learning right now, but we will get there ;) She is usually in panties at least 5-6 hours a day whether she has accidents or not I want her to be able to try to go to the potty as needed. She will be turning 2 in April and I can't hardly believe it.

Our old house is being taken care of by a loving family from Jackson. We think that they are really enjoying it and hope they can make it a home as we did.

Budgeting is a big thing that I have been working on lately...seeing where we can save while still trying to support the things that we always have. The library, school and local charities are something that I feel touches so many peoples lives. I wish more people realized that and donated time and funds to keep these things going. Taxes are a form of support that is required but some people think that is enough.

PTA is another thing that I am passionate about because it helps so many kids. I joined this year as Vice President and I hope that things start looking up in the very near future. There are so many decisions that are made by just a handful of parents, I really wish we had more voices to hear what they would like to see done. So I am working on putting a survey together that will hopefully help us get direction on where we need to go :)