Posted in Motherhood

i am finally finding some time to update the blog! I know, you were all dying to hear that Josiah was here and giving us fits........but he is still residing in my tummy and looking very much comfortable. Much to my dismay, LOL We are 3 weeks away from 40 weeks, so it is literally anyday now.
I loved reading all the comments. It is so nice to know others "get" you and "get" your frustrations. Being a mother, a christian and the other tons of titles I carry (quiverfull, stay at home mom, homeschooler just off the top of my head) can be such a hard road. I often read many blogs or message boards where women are so hard on other women. I find that so sad. I often feel sucked into that whole, 'I am better than that woman!' drama too. I decided last year after going through a particularly hard year (but coming out on top thanks to our glorious Lord!) that I was going to exit the Mommy Wars for good. When I start to feel like I'm getting sucked in, I look inwards and see what I am trying to not think about that I'm doing wrong. Cause 9 times out of 10 if I am focusing on a strangers problems, then its cause I'm not wanting to see my own. That stops me ALOT from the whole 'Oh what she thinking?!?!' attitude I use to have. This blog has let me share my new found joy of just loving being with like minded and even non-like minded people who have also exited the Mommy Wars. It is so encouraging to see us lift each other up and say to each other, I get it! Sometimes just having another mother say to you in your heat of frustration.....'Its ok, I know how you feel' makes the frustration less.........well.......frustrating. Thank you all for reading and letting me a sounding board for each new leg in my life. I hope I can keep up more as the days come before my dear son  enters this world. If I were a smart woman I would let my dear hubby update this when I go to deliver. But because I am the computer geek (internet wise) of this house, that could prove fatal! LOL He fully acknowledges that and is ok with it. Just as I acknowledge I do not know anything about a PSP, Playstation or hard wiring for a network....and I'm ok with that. LOL
Maybe tomorrow I can post up some pictures that are sitting collecting dust on my camera. That would be nice, eh? ~smile~
My time is limited as I suffer from edema right now and can only sit or stand for so long. But I promise to do better at posting!

Posted in Frugality

I had posted to a great blogger , Tammy about how I keep my dish liquid out but attractive. So here is my solution!
It is an olive oil dispenser from Wal Mart. It cost me around $3 and not only does it dress up my dish liquid but it has a hidden feature that I LOVE. It pours very slowly. So, no pouring tons of un-needed dish liquid into the sink from little hands. Attractive, functional and cost saving. Can't beat that! ~smile~

Posted in Frugality

Danielle's food that Grandma brings us comes in that those cute little containers. Never one to throw anything away, I have been keeping them. They were perfect for seving size of strawberries for pancakes or adding to yogurt. I also used them to freeze up serving size for seasoning of sauted celery. Still.....I was swimming in them! So tonight I put them to the best use yet. SPICE containers!!! Check out my new and organized spice rack.

You have to excuse the tag that says "Otehr sesonings". Madison my now 8 yo labeled things for me one day when she was 7, LOL Above that was a tag that said "musuring cups" LOL

Anyways,I think the little containers stack nicely and are in reach better than the hundreds of bottles! So like I said, it works for me!

Posted in Frugality

Ok so life got ahold of me and prevented me from posting pics and details of our grocery system! So sorry about that. I have pics of our pantry  for you, but the lists I will have to type out. We needed to change ours, so the first set has been tossed for a need modified version which has yet to be laminated or even printed out. But you will get our idea when you see our list. ~smile~
Here is the pantry, I labeled the picture to help out....

And here is our list that we are working on as a checklist. This is my 8 yo old DD Madison's job, so that is why it sometimes says, "Ask Mom" or "Ask Dad". ~smile~

Dry Pantry Inventory
Check levels of:
Mashed Taters
Rice
Pasta
Egg Noodles
All Purpose Flour
Wheat Flour
Bread Flour
Powdered Sugar
Brown Sugar
spaghetti
Dry Milk
Dog Food
Pinky Food

8 boxes of Mac n Cheese
2 boxes of Corn Flakes
Case of sliced potatoes
Case of Tomato Sauce
Case of Tomato Paste
Case of Diced Tomatoes
8 cans of evaporated milk
Half can or more of shortening
Half can or more of oats
12 packages of Ramen
4 sleeves of crackers
Half LARGE jar of peanut butter
Two boxes of Onion Soup Mix

One container of paper plates
2 rolls of paper towels
8 rolls of toilet paper
Trash bags (check with Dad)
12 Gallon zipper bags
12 Quart zipper bags
Dishliquid
2 bars of Ivory soap

Baby Shampoo
Shampoo
Conditioner
Bandaids
Perxiode
Rubbing Alcohol
Toothpaste

Have Mom check spices

We are still working on the list, as it's not complete yet. We are trying to shop for 2 weeks at a time. Even though DH gets paid once a week, this helps me have time "off" so to speak. Here is our Cold Pantry Inventory that is also under construction too....

Fridge Inventory

4 bags of Tortillas
6 boxes of butter
1 full container of mayo
2 large containers of yogurt
4 gallons of water
1 container of whipped cream - cool whip
1 flat of eggs

Check:
ketchup
salsa
soy sauce
worchestershire sauce
steak sauce
honey


Freezer Inventory

2 boxes of Fish sticks
2 bags of:
corn
peas
green beans
brocolli
mixed veggies
Ice cream
4 bags of hashbrowns
1 large bag of fries
1 box of hamburger patties

You will notice at times it says "check levels of" or say like "One jar of mayo". This isn't our shopping list. This is merely something to help me and Madison see what we have and what we will need. For the "levels" I took a black perm. marker and marked an 'low' level on those items. If the container is there or lower she knows we need more.
We are still adding items and when it is finalized I will post it. I am sure these amounts and items won't work for everyone. Everyone has their own favorite meals and dishes. Right now we are considering making sure the ingredients to the Duggar Family Ice Cream Cake is ALWAYS on there, LOL Our family loves it and a huge dish would maybe carry us a week for dessert time. Maybe a week, LOL
Hope this can help someone other than us! ~smile~

Posted in Frugality

That is the comment I got from the young cashier tonight at Save A Lot. She was talking about how I shopped. I had to tell her, it was our first trip with the new system. But it was working nicely!
Here is our system, it depends on all the family members for it to work.

Our jobs are as follows:
Mom - List maker and driver
Dad - One who makes the money for said food, occasional driver and large stuff putter awayer! LOL
Christian - Cart pusher, loader, unloader, heavy stuff lift-er
Madison - Inventory control, cart pusher, loader and unloader
Faith - Grocery Store Goffer and baby player with-er! LOL
Danielle - Entertainment!
Josiah (in utero) - Mama's pain in the butt pinch nerve entertainment!

Seriously, here is who is charge of the new system, me and Madison. We are the cooks and shoppers, so this is mainly our project. And here is our new system....
We took a look at the meals we like to have the most often and what they take to make them. From that we made our a pantry/freezer inventory. If these items are on hand at all times then we can make any meal we want without a huge amount of menu planning. I should say it more simply, staples staples staples! As long as the staples are there then whatever meat or produce is on sale will be fine. So, I made out a list of what we need to keep on hand in order for this to work for us. I laminated that list, handed it to Madison who is my pantry person. I stored bulk items in containers and marked them to show a "low" level so she would know when that bulk item needed to be replinshened (sp?). Other single items I put how much we need on hand. She now has her list. Shopping day comes and I send her to the pantry and freezer with her laminated list & dry erase marker. She comes back and shows me what is low or out. I have the list saved on my Word pad on my computer. It is just the items and no amounts. I open up Word pad twice. One I open a "new" doucment, in the other I open up my list. Taking her laminated list, I find the item on mine that is low or out, copy it and paste in the new document and then put in an amount. Takes me all of 5 minutes to make a massive list (our first trip).

Example of things we have on our constant staple list and the amounts:
10 pounds of all purpose flour
10 pounds of wheat flour
10 pounds of bread flour (we make all our breads)
8 pounds of "mama" mixed pasta (I take 2 one pound boxes of the 4 cheapest pasta - mac or rotini) and mix it up)
4 bags of tortillas (girls like turkey roll ups for lunch)

You get the idea. Now it sounds expensive. It's not. We are simple meal eaters. And with us eating leftovers ,soups and sandwiches for only 3 for 4 months out of the year (DH is on 2nd shift at the time and its just me & the girls mostly, so no real dinners) that helps. Right now I spend before this system $100 a week on food. Tonight I did 75% of my shopping for TWO weeks and I spent $63. I hope to spend another $37 and be done.....for 2 week. Even if I spend $150.....that is still $75 a week for us. And our pantry, freezer and fridge is overflowing. Save A Lot allows us to get the cheapest prices on our staples and never have to look for a sale. If you have an Aldi's in your area, it's the same. This free's up the budget for me to get sale meat and fresh produce. Those are the 2 biggest money suckers on a grocery budget anyways. If we eat whats on sale then that saves us. We buy our bulk items such as spices and flours at a local store called funny enough, The Bulk Store. We pay a small bit more but if I need 6 pound of flour I can get it. Also its higher quality of products. For just a few cents more. We use Wal Mart & Alberston's for our leftover items or sale items.
Our system is really good for us, but keep in mind we cook from scratch. The only boxed item you will find at our house is mac n cheese, only cause the girls can make it in the microwave for their lunch while Im chasing a baby. We make our breads in the bread machine. We make our own stuffing with our homemade bread. We make up our own rice and noodle dishes, gravies and so on. Yes, it takes time but its a HUGE money saver for us. Plus almost all of our staples have more than one use. For example the corn flakes is breakfast and coating for a baked chicken tender recipe and so on.
So....there me and the kids were. Cart full of staples at Save A Lot and the 17 year old cashier is looking at our list and our items. Ask us if we were "stocking" up. I gave her a much shorter version than I gave you of our new system. This is what prompted her comment. I then follow it with, "Now I never have to worry whats for dinner! There is always something in there that can be made." and she smiles and nods. And then says, "That works out good, since you have a crap load of kids!" ROFLLLLLLLLL Doh, it was almost a lightbulb moment ......... almost.
Tomorrow afternoon or evening I will post pictures of the pantry and lists! ~smile~

Posted in Motherhood

Let me tell you how pregnant a person can be.
At 32 weeks .......
I get out of breath when I stand up.
I need 2 naps a day.
It is now 7:20 pm and I am falling asleep while the kids play.
Just think.....
8 more weeks to go.
ARGH!

Posted in Family

My good friend Amber posted on her blog about doing a photo a day for January. I think that is an excellent idea! I don't know if I can do one everyday but that is the goal. ~smile~
This is our Danielle, in a boys shirt! LOL She managed to get her pretty outfit dirty and all we had to fit was boys clothes. I seriously need to do some shopping for this child. You can't see it but all of her mass of long curls is up in a bun on top of her head. She has the most beautiful hair you have EVER seen. Just stunning!
This was her Jan.1st after dinner with family. ~smile~

Posted in Homemaking

I wanted to show my table setting for New Years Day dinner. This the new table cloth, chair covers (just did 2 on the end chairs as they were different from the other 6) and black chargers. All for $10.25 from Wal Marts after Christmas sale. Normally would have cost $41! On the menu?

Country Pork Rib in sauerkraut
Mashed potatoes
Homemade yellow rice
black eye peas
Simmered cabbage ( i prefer it to kraut)
Angel eggs
Green Beans
Angel biscuits

Dessert is....
Bananna cake with vanilla icing (making it from scratch here, so Im holding out NO HOPE! LOL)
German Chocolate cake with homemade peanut icing

Enjoy the pics and everyone have a BLESSED new year!

Posted in Family

And I am dying to share I will post here and link to there later when its up!

I got out of the shower and the girls were outside. Dh had given them permission to get on the trampoline. Being the Mommy I am, I checked on them and noticed both had signs taped to their backs. Madison came in the house about that time to get a piece of tape and said, "Did you see our new club Mommy??" She turns around and this is what I see......
For those of you who can't make it out it says.....
"Listen to more Bon Jovi!
50% of people listen to Bon JOvi
We want 95%
1-800-help-jovi"
ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
What have I created?!?!!?
I can't help but wonder.....why only 95%?
~giggling~

Posted in Homemaking

My laundry room has been a sore point for me for some time. Now with me line drying all of our laundry it was way over due for some organization. If Ihad been smart I would have taken some before pictures. But you know, that requires some fore thought. LOL
Let me show you what works for me......
This is the view from the kitchen. The paint has never been finished because I forgot the name of the color we used!!! LOL Ack! This is my sorting table. I mainly use it to hold baskets. It will hold 2 baskets for us. The underneath is where I sort our dirty laundry. Whites/Darks. Dh's uniforms are kept in his truck until he is ready for me to wash then we put them right into the washer. Otherwise he would lose track of them! The door leads out to the side yard where the trash and recycling are kept. The drying rack holds small laundry and it can be easily moved or folded up when not in use. But its ALWAYS in use!


This what you see as you walk through the kitchen door to the right. There was a door here but I had DH take it off. It would cover up half of the washer when it was open. And since we use the garage for other things, it was open all year around. I put a baby gate in front of it to keep our doggie Max from wandering behind it and the washer/dryer. He is a small guy and likes to get into tight spaces and do Lord knows what! LOL  It also keeps my vac, ironing board and such from falling forward and down when little hands do not put them away properly. ~smile~ The washer is closest to the hot water heater. The dryer is to the left. It does not work but serves a purpose anyways. You can see on the shelf above them I have my supplies and some labeled bins. The box to the right is full with household misc. stuff for repairs and what not. We are going to install another shelf above this one that is much higher but it would hold those items more efficently and out of the way of the kids. First I *REALLY* want it painted, LOL As soon as I figure out the color!


Here is a wider shot of the washer and broken dryer. I use the dryer as a place to dry my washed out ziplock bags. And believe it or not, there is ALOT of them. That nifty wooden dowel thingie was from a puppet show I had bought Faithy for Christmas from the children's consignment store. After Christmas she was having a hard time putting the puppets back on there and ask if she could put them in a basket instead. I gave her a basket and gladly took it! I placed a thick bath mat under it and now that is where all my baggies dry. I put them over the dowels to allow the insides to dry. Works SO well! The wooden hangers are mine. I buy them at Dollar Tree a few fora  dollar. It's the cheapest I have found them. I prefer them for clothes, but so far I am the only one who prefers them in the house! LOL The 2 white bins which you can almost see are for "Dish cloths" which we use to wash dishes and clean the house. And the one with holes says, "Paper Products" which is where we keep paper plates, disposable cups, and so on. Recently with my pregnancy getting to be hard we have begun to use foam plates to lighten my load. Plus we use the others for when we have alot of company over. Remember, I am the dishwasher! LOL  But we keep them up higher so the kids don't waste them but they are all contained in one space so that those who set the table (me, dh and ds) know where to find them. ~smile~


This is what the room looks like from the playroom. The door to the kitchen is to the right past the microwave. We keep the large microwave out here cause it would just take almost all of our counter space. It is meant to be installed over a stove but we have a 70's kitchen and it doesn't fit. We got it brand new in the box from a garage sale for $50 about 2 years ago. It's stainless steel with tons of features. So we don't want to part with it for a smaller one. We are just holding out for a house that fits our microwave, LOL The cabinet it sits on was a clearanced item from Target. I think it cost me less than $75. In the drawer we keep all of our trash bags and ziplock bags. In the compartment with the doors we keep dog food and all of our foils, plastic wraps and such. We need a huge palce for that as we purchase them in the commerical size from Sam's. We have been on one roll of plastic wrap now for 2 years and the same with the foil. I think we paid $30 for the 2 of them 2 years ago, so to me its a very good deal! You will notice our trash can is really an outside can. But as our family grows we realized it was not good to be taking out the trash TWICE a day. Lots of bags equals lots of money. We also found the larger bags are cheaper than regular size bags. So we bought the can for $5 at Wal Mart, and now take the trash out every day or day and half. Works much better for us! On top of the microwave is our small recycling bin. That usually needs emptied once a day. Which is fine cause we have 2 HUGE recycling cans provided by the city. So we just empty them outside the side door.


Now, these are the things that work for us. We have 3 of our kids, 1 "borrowed" kid as I like to say LOL and one on the way. We entertain family alot. Friends occasionally. There is more friends than family, LOL
I have had requests to show some ways I organize our smallish house for our "large" family. I will do that in the weeks to come. As there are some areas that need to be tweaked that we are working on. ~smile~ For instance we are working on a few cabinets in the kitchen today. But as those areas are finished I will show you what works for us!

Posted in Homeschool

Ok ok ok, so not for me personally but it is working for Faith! My dear dear exMIL who is a veteran school teacher has listened so many times about my concern of teaching Faith to read. Madison came into homeschooling as an excellent reader. I was so afraid that I could not teach Faith to read, it seemed like a HUGE task. So what did my dear exMIL buy Faith for Christmas? Hooked on Phonics. I was floored, cause it is so expesnsive, but she knew it would calm my worries. And it has! She enjoys doing her flash cards and we feel like we have a sense of direction in her reading. I feel so blessed to know that others hear me, and help me. The Lord continues to work through so many people around us all! ~smile~
Tomorrow I will maybe get a picture or even a small video of her doing her letters. They have a CD and it is so neat to watch her LOVE to learn! ~smile~

Strange title for a post isn't it? But I found my love for my husband connected with something even stranger tonight. Debt free.
Let me back up. On and off our marriage my Dh and I have been debt free. Currently we are not. We owe on our Suburban and a few medical bills. We have a some large sums of money on the horizon from various investments and payouts. We were purposing those as a downpayment on a house. But since then have come to understand the Lord's wish for us to be debt free. So now we are using those items as our sole means to buy a home. By today's standards it is not enough to buy the McMansions the majority of people are buying. And one we wanted to buy for our family. We had a wake up call. God gives us what we need, not what we want. There is a good reason for that! ~wink~
Now on to what happened today. I received the latest Quiverful Digest email in which people were responding to the question of housing size. Oh my. I thought I was crazy to raise 4 or more kids in a 1200 sq. ft house.......there are some with MORE kids and LESS room. The wisdom of their statements re-affrimed our thoughts......God provides us with what we need or need to LEARN. Almost every mother said yes the house was cramped but it forced them to learn to be ORGANIZED, THRIFTY among other things. Lessons I need to learn more of for sure! My spark was re-newed as I shared it with my DH their stories. We both felt encouraged. When my MIL called awhile later to wish us a Merry Christmas I shared with her how I was going to do anything and everything I could to get us debt free. All I could think of was the lifting of the weight off my shoulders. Then she said it.
In a small quiet voice.
In a voice filled with love.
"That just shows how much you love my son. And I love you more for it."
Errrrrrr.......what?!
LOL
She went on to explain that with less or NO debt, my DH is FREE from the rat race. The less bills, the less he has to worry about how many hours he works, where he works on so. I was quiet, cause frankly I never considered that. She told me how she see women rack up credit card bills, leaving their DH's to pay for it all. Adding to his stress. Ack. How right she was!!!!! I had to fess up after that humbing of a back patting said I had not considered that. I had only considered my own stress and the Word of God. She laughed and said, "Well. now what do you think?" I thanked her. I was not raised to lift up my DH, but to put him down. I was not raised in a home that showed me how to honor my DH with all I do. So, I thanked her for showing me another way to honor, love and lift her son up. How blessed I am to have such a wonderful Mother In Love! ~smile~
So, I wanted to share this with you all. Because chances are most of you was raised in the same 1980's home enviroment that I was. Women worked just as hard as men,outside of the home. If men lacked confidence, that was their problem. We were taught that men should be fine with us being in control of things. How wrong that era was and still is!
Those of us from that time sometimes flounder in our walk as Christian Godly women now cause we have to learn the things we should have been taught YEARS ago. Like, build up your DH....not just with compliments. With your work!
So, I will ask you now........before you use that credit card to buy yourself something un-needed......how much do you love your husband? And if your not the one racking up the spending and he is, what are you doing on your end to wipe it out? Powerful questions indeed. I know they were for me. ~smile~
Interesting concept for sure. One that I am embracing whole heartedly! ~smile~
Blessings!

Posted in Family

(**I wrote this about a day after I wrote part one. I think I am less aggravated. But then again, I haven't been anywhere to get anymore comments either! LOL**)

Often I run into people who just assume it's just the same to parent 2 kids as it is to parent 4 or more kids. It's so not the same. There are some differences. For instance,  when you call me at 9 am and say you need to me to come over in an hour, you need to understand that is nearly impossible. Unless of course you are bleeding from your head and in that case, I won't care about who is dressed, who has a clean diaper, who has ate or even who is awake. I will be there! But lets say you want me to come over to.....just hang out/do something together or just general things. Do not hold your breath on me being there in an hour. It ain't happening honeybuns. Understanding that is different is of great service to those around you whom don't fit the norm of societies "family". Just as I don't assume that parenting a special needs child is the same as parenting my non-special needs child. It is worlds apart. I often run into people who don't understand why I can't drop things to come over, do something or do the things they do. They more often than not have just one or two kids. So just for them, here are some instances of our differences....

~ Your choices in what to drive is endless. You basically fit into almost everything except motorcycles and 2 seater sports cars. I am currently one seat and one baby on the way away from being FILLED in my Suburban. My options now are limited.Our choices are a 9 passenger, 12 passenger or 15 passenger van. We are taking the 15 just for good measure! ;)
~ You can go places on a moments notice or often. It is not that easy when you are dressing 4 or more kids. It takes time even for the best organized families. Most of the time, we have to weigh in if it is even worth it to go.
~ Even things that are "free" (going to the park or events that are free) are not free for us. It requires gas in a larger SUV, it may require drinks or food and even if we can get away with a short drive with no snacks or extra drinks.....it still costs us time, patience and enegry. We really have to weigh the odds when we are ask to do those things. We are making decsions for a bunch of little folks and have to keep their needs, not wants, in mind.
~ You most likely don't have a drink 'tub' with cups with people's name written on it on your counter.
~ Shopping at Warehouse clubs is a perk for you. That is my everyday grocery store. Everything I buy, I buy in bulk.
~ If your a stay at home mom with your children chances are you can take them do many things to enrich their minds. We again, have to weigh our options. Gas, time and patience (on the multiple ages of children we have) are factors. While it would be nice if my kids got to play lots of sports, went to different clubs etc. we are learning through this that home really is a nice place to be. We are finding out being home is more than just fun, but it is grounding our children, teaching them the importance of family and family time. I see more rewards to staying home and being family centered than I do signing them up for tons of things. Besides being a large family makes things like tag and hide & go seek alot more fun! :)
~ My house has to be clean. Lots of little folks depend on the cleaniness for security & comfort. It isn't OCD or some anal thought I have. I'm not trying to out do no one or become the next Martha Stewart. It is necessary for it to be clean for our schooling, living and learning to take place. Beside that, more than just me lives here. Asking my family to live with my comfort level of clean is more than just selfish, it's really self centered. So it has to be cleaned to meet the needs of everyone so they can all function. After all this isnt MY house, this is OUR house.
~ We can not eat out often. When we do we can only afford so many places. Please don't invite my family of 7 out to eat at say............the Sushi Shack where it costs about $15 a person.

Never assume since you can complete those things with 2 kids, that others with more than 2 can. Heck, don't assume that anyone with one or two can. It isn't like your so much better at parenting. It is that everyone is different and not getting that can really lead to frustration on the people whom your expectations are being forced upon. Everday people have to live up to the expectation of others. I find it more fitting it I live up to the expectation of our Lord. I don't ask anyone to run their household, parent their kids or be like ME. I am just asking for that same extentsion in kindness. I'm not asking for a pat on the back, a place at the front of the line or an extra helpings of anything just because I have purposely accepted all of the Lord's blessings. I am asking you to treat me the way I treat you. Nothing more, nothing less. ~smile~

Posted in Family

After another day of facing people online, on the phone and in person who comment at the fact I have 3 kids, due any day with #4 and take care of another infant almost full time.....I wanted to shed some light on a 'problem'. Now when I say problem, it's not a problem I have. The number of children I have and raise is not my problem. I love my children and want more. But I have had 2 kids before.....sort of had to do that in order to get the more that I have. And I remember that it was hard sometimes, but I also remember having respect and understanding for those who had more children than me. I am finding very little of that in this world anymore. There is a very stark diffference in the life I have now than the life I had 2 years ago. There is a day and night difference in how I am treated, how my children are treated & viewed and how my family is viewed. And I am here to tell you that I think many many people just don't get what it's like to step outside the box and go against society. I usually mutter under my breath, "walk a mile in my shoes",when I get comments like that. So instead of muttering it under my breath this is for all you 2 child families who don't get it or don't understand.

If you have 2 children you never hear these questions or comments that I have got in the last 6 months....

~ "Your having another ONE?!?!"
Thank you for sticking your nose into the intimate relationship between Dh and I. So to answer your question...yes we had sex, again. How dare us.

~ "You know what causes that, don't you?"
Yes....God.

~ "Better you than me!"
I'm sure my kids feel the same way.

~ "That's about 4 kids too many."
And they say IN FRONT of my kids. Talk about the declining moral values in this country. Every child/human is a blessing from God and their life is of value. I guess some people have to think less of them in order to have abortions, abuse them or molest them. Yes, this one realllllllly ticks me off.

~ "Are you Catholic?"
No, but suddenly my reglious preference is a perfectly nice non-rude question to ask me in the checkout line of Wal Mart. But let me help you out. I'm not Catholic, Pentcoastal, Jewish, Moromon or crazy. I am a Christian.

~ "I don't know how you afford them all?"
I don't. I don't follow the world's view of how much children cost to raise. There are no tons of video games in my house. There is no piles and piles of the latest toys in my house. We do not shop at the Mall. My kids are not raised with the notion that you must FIT in to survive in this world. Most if not all my kids toys, clothes and belongings are used,handed down or earned. So, by your standards your right.....I could never afford them.

~ "Do you get assistance?"
(I got this one today on the phone from a ' well meaning ' person.)
Yes I get assistance, I rely on God all day every day for my needs. He is alot nicer than the HRS or the food stamps office.
Now, seriously, no......we don't get medicaid, food stamps, WIC or even state funded health insurance. And no child support either. We don't get church/charity donations at the holiday time. Nor do we NEED any of that either. We pay for everything all by ourselves. Here is more of a shocker. We don't have credit cards, we don't have to take out loans from friends and family. My Dh works ONE job and I make alittle money on the side taking care of #5 I mentioned above. Whom if you really do the math, costs us what I make in terms of getting her items for her care....i.e. car seat, stroller, food, clothes, diapers. Sure we get some of those things from her Grandma, but its either never enough or not the right size or just not safe. Her Grandma bless her heart is mothering after no babies for 37 years. I like to cut her a break.

Now chances are if you have 1 or 2 kids you have never heard those comments. I get them and more. Here are some that I get that I must must give you some insight on if you say them to me. They are not the obivous rude ones but they tend to get old after the 200th time.....

~ "I don't have the patience."
I don't either. I realize I am human, made of flesh. I ask God everyday to help me. If I waited to have kids when I had more patience, I'd never have anymore. God gives us what we need, when we need it. Trust in Him and He will never forsake you.

~ "I can't afford them! "
Sure, if you listen to what everyone in this world tells you what it costs, I'm sure you can't. But we don't spoil our kids. They don't get upset when they can't have what they want all the time. Sure sometimes we get the occasional upset face when we can't do something they want. But I promise you, you will never see one of my kids over the age of 3 having a melt down over the fact they couldn't have what they have what they wanted or couldn't do something. Not cause I am some super mother either. I just have realized that I can not give into every whim of my children. It's not healthy for them. If your life is centered around pleasing your children and giving them their all their needs and wants.......don't be surprised when they  rip open their gifts in a few days on Christmas and say, "Where is my  (fill in the blank here) that I ask for?" or "Is that all?" Your created that. If I say to my children, "We don't have the money." or just plain old, "No." I don't get a meltdown or grief. My kids are being taught to be content. It helps that I am content with what I have.

~ "We don't have enough room for them."
Yea, I love this one. I use to think that too. But here is what I learned in the last few months. That this whole, "Kids need their own personal space" business is just crap. I think parents need their space FROM their kids, we will cover that in a bit. You know what kids need? Love, discipline and security. I seriously doubt they will grow up with those items and be broken cause they had to share a room with a few of their siblings. For those of you who haven't been to my house....I have a 1200 sq. foot 3 bedroom house, 2 small bathroom and you know what, 4 kids fit just fine. I usually find if I am complaining about space it is because I have not took the time to declutter it or organize it. That's where I am at fault, not the size of the home. God gives you need, not what you want. I wouldn't trade my house today for any McMansion4 bedroom, 2 car garage, living room, dining room, den and study home for anything I have now. It has taken me a long long time to come to appericate what I have and learn to not ask or desire more. Since then, I have been alot happier.

~ "We can't have anymore cause my wife had 2 c-sections."
My Dh got this one. I'm about to get my 2nd c-section. I ask my OB about how many I can have and her answer to this was this...."As many as you want." The only thing that changes is who will take care of you. The more you have, the 'higher' risk you are. My OB told me last week, she just performed the 9th c-section on a patient of hers. They hope to have more! ~smile~ All that aside, God knows my body. He knows where I need protection. I trust in Him.

~ "I'm too old."
Yea, I'm 37 and you know what it says on my chart under 'high risk' for the reason? Advanced Maternal Age. ROFL I died laughing. I am 37 people, not 67.

~ "I'm not cut out to have more kids.I know my limits."
Well I almost always want to ask......how did you figure this out? Did you have 3 and discover it to be too much and gave him/her away? Unless you answered yes to that, then you really don't know what your cut out to handle. God knows, why not trust Him instead? ~smile~

Now we covered the comments, rude remarks and now onto the questions. These are ones that don't bother me but I feel really need to addressed cause people seem to think my life is SO much harder than theirs. The only way it is harder, is when I am lazy. Then your right.......my life sucks lemons my friend. So let's cover this....

~ "You must have a ton of laundry!"
Not really, just a load or two a day, everyday. In a 7 day period I can afford to take 2 days off to keep on this schedule. And keep in mind I don't have a dryer and don't intend on replacing it. Should I get the smelling salts now for some of you?

~ "Your grocery bill must be NUTS!"
$75 - $100 a week. I feed 7 people and we have plently. I am working on cutting it down further. ~smile~

~ "I bet their clothes cost alot!"
I rarely buy new, except for my son since there is no way to hand down to him. He is a big boy. But he wears tshirts, jeans and real basic things. His items aren't designer. If they are then he has saved his money and bought it himself. THe others get clothes handed down, yard sales, thrift stores and consignment stores. They don't look like rag-a-muffins either. We have some basic styles we stick to that are always 'in' and cover them modestly. I can say we probably spend about $500 a year clothing all 3 or them now. Which I think is too much and I am learning to cut that back.

~ "Your dishwasher must run day and night!"
I got this once from a boy at church who was an only child and he was 10. Imagine his surprise when I pointed to my 15 year old son and said, "No....he needs some sleep sometimes!" ~laughs~
We have no dishwasher, no dryer and we get along just fine.

For those of you who have said any of the above to me...I apologize, I really do. I apologize for the lack of patience I have when it comes to strangers/friends and family making assumptions about my life. I should try to be more demure and more meek. God is still working on that part of me. ~smile~ Sometimes it helps to get things off your chest as well. This is what I am doing here.
If you have more than 4 or 5 kids your laughing at me and saying, welcome to my world! I am a new member to this club and find it a bit overwhelming at times the things that are said to me, about me, assumed about me. I will get use to it. In time ~laughs~.
I have never thought 4 or 5 kids was alot. But now in recents months I am seeing it just flies in the face of what the world finds acceptable. And when we go against the norm, step out in faith and out of the box many people feel they have the right to assume, question or comment on us then. Which I find odd cause the same folks who make those comments to me are the first to tell me if I ask the same, "None of your business." Same here buddy, same here.
Part 2 coming soon.....

Cloth diapers that is! After doing the math they come to be roughly $.92 each if I buy them new. I need about 48.
I have 4.....that's not good. LOL
I will keep searching yard sales, thrift stores and consignment stores. But I tried sewing them.
Yea........that was like wrestling a cat! No thanks.
I think if I had a better sewing machine or someone to show me how to work this one I'd be better off. Until then I am buying them.
I wanted to show off our curbside find. My son has a ferret, whom is really becoming restless in her small cage. I wanted so badly to get her a NICE ferret condo for Christmas. Alas even the used ones are just too much for her right now. But look at what we spotted driving home from Wal Mart on Sunday that someone was throwing out....
FREE is always a good price, eh? It saves about $125 in the future. It has some rust on it, but my son worked yesterday to get almost all of it off. The platforms were too rusted and DH is having their machine guy at work make new metal ones from scrap metal up there. FREE, FREE, FREE! All I bought was some rust proof spray paint, plastic gloves and steel wool. $10. I can hardly wait until 'Pinky' checks out her new home. Hopefully it will be in the nest few days. ~smile~ I will post a picture of the new resident once she is moved. I will also post pictures of how we updated my son's room for under $7 then as well! ~smile~
The Lord is so good. My new saying is, Thank you for giving me EYES to SEE. So many times in our walk in life we do not SEE the Lord's blessings, simply cause we are not walking with Him. I find if I am in prayer with Him each day, I SEE more than I would normally have. I have begun asking Him to give me eyes to see when I am out and about. Our recent money 'harships' have left us with very little. And I put the word hardships in quotes because for us, this is not hard. We have been through things that are much harder. And I know this has been easy to endure (as were the other things) because we have cried out to Him. Walked close to Him. And opened our eyes to His lessons for us. We are actually extremely thankful to have been in this 'harship' right now. He has used this to teach us so much about money and stewardship. Without this trial we would never opened our eyes to see what He is asking of us. So we welcome this time in our walk with Him. ~smile~

Posted in Frugality

Maybe I'm nuts. But I think I am going to attempt at sewing my own flat prefold diapers. I think it would be cheaper than buying the flat prefolds for $11 for 12 at Wal Mart. I thought I would use old flannel receiving blankets. As I see them at the children's store all the time for $.25 each. The insert needs to be terry cloth for the soaker strip and the rest flannel. While researching this online I read someone got flannel material from the $1 a yard spot in Wal Mart, I will have to check to see if I can do that as well. Now to figure out how many do I need for a one month old, hmmmmm?

Posted in Frugality

We found a set of bunk beds for the girls rooms. They have been having issues with sleeping and wanted to stay in the same room, but not in the same bed. With money being VERY tight we were happy to find at a new to us Children's Consignment store the beds for $60. We talked down the price since it was missing the twin mattress. We came out of there with a VERY good deal, too good to pass up. Take a look!
The girls had those horse blankets and rugs in storage, they looked really well with the beds so we used them! ~smile~
Like I said it was missing the top bunk mattress and we had no money for it now. So we told the girls they would have to share a bed for now. My son had a sectional couch in his room instead of a bed, his choice not MINE! LOL So with this purchase I made him remove it as it was really worn out and not comfortable. And gave him the girls full size bed. He had linens as well that already fit it, so he was happy. As we made the bottom bunk up I wondered how I could save money on a twin mattress. And then it dawned on me, the cushions from the sectional!! We took the cover off the foam inserts, used a electric carving knife and cut them up to fit on the top bunk. DH is getting a piece of plywood from work today for FREE and we will actually attach the foam to that as her mattress. Since the foam was used on the couch it is very dense, so it doesn't sink in when she lays on it. I used her old flowered full size sheet and wrapped it around the foam to make it look pretty. Topped with the single feather bed from my son's sectional, she said it was like sleeping on a cloud! All from free material, AMEN! Here she is enjoying her new bed. You can tell by the side of the bed how think it is and doesn't give at all when she lays on it.
I have some batting that was given to me in hopes that someday I would make a quilt (not happening! LOL) I have been saving it for something. So when we attach the foam to the plywood today I will wrap batting around it and staple it to make the "cracks" of the foam not noticeable. I am going to take the same flowered flat sheet and use it to upholster it. She can always add a twin sheet on top of to keep her "mattress" clean. ~smile~ All I can say is FREE FREE FREE!!!! The Lord is SO good!
Faithy's bunk came with a thin futon mattress. I put the full size heather bed on top and made it more comfortable, but not too much. After fixing Madison's bed I suggested to DH we could check the 'Curbside Mall' for sofa cushions to eventually make her the same sort of mattress. He agreed that we would keep our eyes open. I am a firm believer children REQUIRE the most comfortable sleep, it helps recharge their batteries for a day filled with new things and learning. So it is so important to me that their beds be the most comfortable it can be. This is why we always look for feather beds and down comforters at yard sales and thrift stores. A good night sleep is important for a growing child. ~smile~ This morning with this in mind I was really racking my brain to figure out a way to make her bed more comfortable when it came to me! We have a full size mattress in the camper for me & DH's bed in the back. It is too firm for us and we have already discussed replacing it asap before we camp out. It will fit her bed! And she really needs it to be firm! When I mentioned to my son this morning we needed to go move that in and we would have to figure out a mattress for the camper later he suggested that we use his mattress we just gave him each time we go camping. What a great idea! He reminded me its not hard to move and then he said, "Plus it saves you the money!" Can I tell you how blessed I am to have these children??? I thank the Lord everyday for them! ~big smile~ Here is Faithy cuddling on her new comfortable bed.....
Even though her bed folds into a couch, there was no need for that. It would require too much of her and Madison to pull it up and down each day. So we just made it up as a full size bed. And I am glad we did because Faith had issues about sleeping alone until her Daddy & I showed her she got a BIG bed to herself. Oh, she is so excited! She even let us turn the light out in the room (with a nightlight on of course! ~smile~)  last night cause she proclaimed, "I have the biggest bed, cause I am a big girl now!" What a blessing that was! No more her being frightened about being 'alone'. She used the potty this morning alone as well, I could not be more proud of her! ~smile~ Funny how a small thing like new beds will bring upon a change in a child, isn't it?
Once we bought the bunk beds and we were out getting a last minute Christmas gift I come to realize that when funds were there, the girls really needed a new computer desk. Their computers are in their room and used alot. They have an iMac each. One was a gift, another we picked up at a church sale for $25 (Amazing!). They also have a big stack of educational games that were gifts. My exMIL is a school teacher, and her school upgraded a few years ago from Macs to PC's. At the time they offered the computers and software for free to the teachers. No one wanted them but my clever exMIL knew it could be of great joy to our children and snatched it all up! So it has given them many many hours of joy to be able to do all the games, reading and such. ~smile~ Anyways, the iMac tends to be bulkly as they do not have a tower. It is all built into the monitor. So I was thinking of how cramped they were sharing a desk. So cramped that a mousepad each could not fit. We had to take one mousepad and cut it half for each girl. As I wandered through Wal Mart looking for the gift I thought, there has to be a way to get them a new desk for either cheap or free. I remembered we had a Rubbermaid extremely sturdy folding banquet table that was sorely under-used. BINGO! I also remembered the top had paint and such on it, that could not be scrubbed off. When I mentioned maybe putting a vinyl tablecloth on it my son suggested we take my staple gun and just cover the top with it! Great idea! But I could not find a tablecloth that would match for any less than $13 in the linen department. I told the girls we would just leave it until we could find one that was matching to their pink theme. I thought maybe we could find some cheap fabric to make due with. So off to the fabric department we went and sure enough in the $1 a yard section was a very pretty pink print! We bought 3 yards of it, grand total $3. I mentioned to my son that maybe we could go to the bath section and find a clear shower curtain for $5. The lady cutting the fabric ask what we needed the shower curtain for and I explained I wanted to make the table wipeable as it will have computers on it, drinks and so on. She went to the marked down bin next to the cutting table and handed me a large roll of upholstery clear plastic! She said it was normally $1.97 a yard but someone had decided they didnt want it after it was cut. There was 3 yards and it was marked down to $2.75!!! So our computer desk re-do now came to a grand total of $5.75! Check it out.....
We had enough fabric leftover to cover the missing backs to their shelves. We use the bottom shelves for clothes and the top shelves for display. Here is the 2 shelves stacked on top of each other (secured to the wall) with the leftover fabric behind it....
I think overall it looks really nice. We have some cute light blue fuzzy curtains and when DH gets home he said he will take down their closet doors and we will replace them with the curtains. I think we will also buy a roller shade for their window for privacy and to keep the sun out. ~smile~ Other than that, we did for next to nothing!!!
I will post more later about my son's room and a great curbsdie find. ~smile~
Blessings!

Posted in Family

I am ask by many of my family *waving to them* and friends what I need for Josiah. I tell them nothing, which for the most part is true. We have truly blessed in the fact that we have had more than enough clothes for him, a bed, linens, stroller, car seat and even a high chair. But today I realized what we need and wanted to share it here, as I know that someone of you are reading this.
DIAPERS!
Yes, we need those pesky cloth diapers. ~smile~ Flat cheap ones will work fine. And plastic panties and pins. I am still out searching out ones used but I know that in my heart that it will not be long before he comes. Sooner than we think I am sure. And I feel like I will not get enough before he arrives. We plan on using disposables for 2 or 3 weeks just for the conveince of them since I will be recovering from a c-section. Then around 1 month we will move to cloth ones. We are doing cloth now for Bogger aka Danielle. We started her exclusively tonight and she did well. ~smile~ I think we should see a marked difference in her bum and legs with her rashes.
So for those complaining I am not leaving anything for you to buy for me or him ~winks at Laurie~ there ya go.....diapers! Any kind will do, no need to be fancy. New, used, fitted, flat.....does not matter. We will take all kinds. We will be diapering 2 babies at the time one newborn and one that just is turning one, so it will all work. ~smile~
I have a wonderufl blessing to share with you all in the AM....well in the later of the AM LOL...that the Lord gave us for FREE last night. It needs some spiffing up , but it is just an amazing blessing! ~Smile~ Pictures and posts in the morning coming your way!

Posted in Frugality

As many of you know Josiah sent us to the ER on Friday night. He has burrowed his way down there, sitting ready to come out. I think someone should let him know, he has about 10 more weeks of "cooking" before its time! LOL I am thankful I am not dilated or having contractions. So for now, he is staying put. :)

In our quest to live very frugal I have found some wonderful new ideas! One of them came from a wonderful Blog named Tammy's Recipes. Her suggestion was to take your old socks and cut them up as cleaning or dishcloths! I had a basket of about hundred mismatched or unwanted socks from my big guys, so I was so happy to find this! I saved the nicer ones that are thicker terry inside, just cut off the cuff part and turned it inside out. Me and the girls Use these as dusting mitts. Works really well. :)
Another area I was trying to save money on was wipes. For personal hygiene reasons me and Faith both use wipes still. I like the clean feeling and she still has issues with wiping. I also use them on the little girl we care for, Danielle who is 9 months old. Right now I was buying a case every 10 days. Which was $7! Even the nicer expensive ones did not last as long. So here is what I did instead, our house was using only white washcloths. So I went to Dollar General and spent $8 on 36 new washcloths in different colors.....two colors for each bathroom. Pink & blue for the kids bathrooms, yellow & green for me & DH's bathroom. Then I took all the white washcloths and found me 2 tall large plastic containers I had got at Wal Mart for $.97 for the 2. These are now our wipes! I folded the washcloths in quarters. Then I mixed up some warm water with baby wash and a drop of baby oil. I poured this over the wipes until they were all soaked. Popped the lid on and put each container in its own bathroom. I took an 5 gallon bucket I had that I wasn't using and put it in the bottom of my bathroom closet. I put in more of my mixture and as well as a couple teaspoons of bleach and filled it half full of water. This where the dirty wipes go. When Josiah gets here I will take out the bleach and we will put his cloth diapers in here as well. When it gets full I just have the girls pull it into the laundry room and I dump it , water and all in the washer. I wash it on very hot water with some detergent and vinegar. I don't dry the cloths as it didn't make sense to me to dry them and then put them in the wipe container to get wet! LOL So I take them from the washer and fold and start again. Since starting to use these on Danielle I notice she has no more issues of diaper rash. She will occasionally get a heat rash on her bum, but I am tending to think its cause those disposable diapers don't breath well. I am thinking of switching her to cloth while she is at my house. I think this will elimnate her heat rash as well. She has very sensitive skin.
Anyways if you do the math, using these cloth saves me about $21 a month. Or here is a better figure.....$255.50 a YEAR. Mind boggling! We are squeezing out funds to buy more white cloths as we know when Josiah gets here we will need to have aleast 3 or 4 containers on hand. I am also looking for baby wash cloths as thrift stores and yard sales, as these are nice on the babies bums as well. If I can get them cheap enough I will add these for our "travel" wipes since they will fit in our saved Huggies travel containers alot better than the bigger wipes. With Danielle right now, I just take some in a gallon zip lock baggie. I have an grocery bag or two in the diaper bag as well for dirty ones. Works really well and it isnt as bulky as those hard wipe containers.
I figure between just those 2 frugal tips I have saved us a bit under $300 over a year. Which is 1/5th of our car insurance for both trucks! I will keep searching out ways to save even more! Any ideas , websites or tips would be greatly appericated! :)

Posted in Family

I should say HE continues to bless us even when our faith is not where it needs to be. Thank you Lord for your constant PROMISE! :)
Here is the newest blessing he has brought into our lives.......
This morning I received an email from our Freecycle local type group called "Garage Sale Loop". A very nice lady said she has a FREE dining table with 2 chairs that need to be picked up TODAY. She was in my area so I responded. Sure enough I was first! AMEN! That NEVER happens BTW, LOL Im never the first person to email. LOL Anyways turns out she is 5 minutes from us. So DH and DS went to get it and is it EVER so nice!!!!!! We were needing a table for awhile for the playroom/schoolroom for the kids to do their work and art at. And this was PERFECT. Can you tell how excited we are? The girls are in heaven. They couldn't wait to sit down and wrap gifts at it this morning........still in their PJ's! ;)
If you can see the cabinet to the left of the last picture. Those are some I got for 75% off at Target last year. They match the table PERFECTLY! Not that I would have cared, but it was just such a blessing.
I will be back in a bit to talk about our late night ER visit and pass on some frugal tips we have been doing in our home to help us save money! :)