Saturday, February 27, 2010

I Am So Ready...




To go to some yard sales!

I got a little taste this morning and now I have the fever.

A parish located in our town was having an indoor rummage sale, so I decided to check it out and am I so glad I did.

I totally scored at least "I" think I did. Here is what I found:

1 wooden shelf with three pegs (we painted it this afternoon and will be put in my kitchen to hold the kids chore charts)

1 strip of wood with five hooks on them (painting it this evening, it will be hung in our bedroom for necklaces and/or purses)

3 off brand Tupperware style containers w/ lids

1 Tupperware brand butter holder

3 little barn houses for my farmer son's train set

1 lamp (painted this afternoon and is in our famiy room looking all pretty)

1 lamp shade

1 food scale

1 set of five off brand Tupperware style bowls - very sturdy and deep

1 Scrabble game

1 very old Parker Brothers Spill and Spell game.

My grand total.......



$3.50 Oh man..come on spring, I am sooooo ready!


Thursday, February 25, 2010

The WII, Biggest Loser, The Ring and Me Update 02/25/10

I can't believe I didn't post this week yet... well it looks like I am...


Down a pound!!

I am going for a bigger number next week...


Monday, February 22, 2010

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Friday I had to take my youngest to the doctor. It was for a long over due check up.

When I arrived for my appointment, surprisingly early, I noticed there were quite a few in front of me. So we sat or at least I sat - she played. I waited.


And waited.


Some us were starting to get agitated that we were still waiting. Yes, I said "us", because I too, was among those getting annoyed. I was worried that I would be late picking up my older three children from school if he didn't start calling people back to be seen.

Finally, a mother with her baby comes out - when that happens you know that someone would be called next. Except there something unusual about this duo or at least the baby.

He was so tiny.

So adorable, but so tiny.

Someone who had been among those waiting, asked what we were all wanting to know.

"He is so tiny, how old is he?"

"Two months" was the reply. You could hear very muffled "awes" all around the room.

"Oh, he was a preemie?"

"Actually, he is what is considered a micro-preemie. His due date isn't even until March 11th. He weighed only 2.5 lbs."

"Aww - so did he come naturally?" - Ok, honestly, had I been "brave" enough to ask any questions, I certainly would have already stopped. But... I am glad this lady asked on.

"Yes, he was born naturally. However, I am his adoptive mom. His birth mother had cancer. She has sinced passed away."


You could have heard a pin drop.


At that moment, I think every mom in the waiting room, whether they were there with there older child, toddler or new baby held on to them a little tighter.

As I sat there waiting for us to be called back, no longer agitated in the least, I couldn't stop thinking about this woman.

In my mind I thought about all the scenarios that led to this child being an orphan.

I imagined this young vibrant woman who just found out she was expecting, maybe a bit unexpected, maybe alone. I imagined that once she was over the initial shock or maybe there was no shock, she was very excited. She was anxiously waiting for her first doctor's appointment, wishing they didn't make her wait so long before they would see her.

That day comes. Maybe she was surprised at all the blood work they do when you find out you are pregnant, maybe not though.

I am sure though, she was surprised the day she received the call from the doctor, telling her that something came back abnormal. I am sure she was shocked the day they told her she had cancer.

I imagine the doctors telling her she needed to abort this baby, so that she could receive treatment. Maybe she even had loved ones that begged of her to please do what the doctors say..save yourself. Maybe they told her that her life is more important than the life she carried inside of her.

I imagine her telling them all NO.

I imagine her thinking this baby is a life, not a choice. I imagine her knowing that Jesus made the same decision for her, for us, on a hill called Calvary. I imagine her finding peace in her decision.



While I obviously do not know how the above scenario played out for the woman above, I couldn't help but imagine. It brought me to a place of such gratitude. Gratitude not just for the health of my children, but for the health of Brian and I. I cannot imagine not seeing my children grow up.

However, it also gave me a glimpse, a very human glimpse of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for each and every one of us. It is so hard to wrap my mind around that ultimate sacrifice, but thankfully I do not have wrap my mind around it, I just have to wrap my heart around it.




Friday, February 19, 2010

Personal Chefs???

Since we are working on being more diligent with our money, we have decided to make eating out a luxery of sorts. Not just because of the money, but healthy eating is hard to come by dining out.

The problem?

I am a sucker for convenience when it comes to food. I like fast food -whether it be at a fast food restaurant or frozen food that I can pop in the oven or microwave. Neither of which are good for you.

I am convinced that my kids could eat pizza for every meal, every day - they love pizza..I, on the other hand, have to be in the mood for it. Having said that my kids know that Little Ceasars pizzas are only $5...see where I am going with this? When they remind me of that all too often, I would give in..geesh it is only $5 and I know they will eat it.

The problem?

It takes more than one pizza to feed my family and you can't have Little Ceasars pizza without Little Ceasars breadsticks and remember I have to be in the mood for pizza, so if pizza it is, then I need Little Ceasars chicken wings. At the end of it all, we have spent more than $5 and we committed the sin of gluttony. Yikes!

The Solution?

Get your own personal chef.

The problem?

A personal chef is not in our budget for sure, but really, we moms are responsible for three meals a day, seven days a week.. that is alot of cooking! Not even counting snacks!

The solution?

My three oldest children - 11, 7 & 5. They are always wanting to help out in the kitchen anyway, so why not utilize that desire to its fullest.

I presented this to them...

One day a week they were in charge of dinner, it could be whatever they wanted within reason. I would be there to supervise, but ultimately it was there job from start to finish, from the main dish on.

They were excited.

We grabbed out my cookbooks and they began their search.

My oldest who actually had her own cookbook to use, decided on something simple, but is a fave for her..that is breakfast for dinner.

My seven year old got her idea from what they have served before at school..it is called a straw hat, basically it is chips with taco meat & cheese. That was her choice, although she broadened it and had all the fixings for tacos.

My 5 year old son, who LOVES to cook, chose lasagna, salad and rolls. I am printing this post out to show his future wife so she can forever be grateful to me that I taught him cooking skills!! Who doesn't love a man that can cook?!

They all did an outstanging job and I am so proud. They have all been thinking about their menu choice for next week, I am anxious to see what their final decision is.

All in all I think that having not 1, not 2, but 3 personal chefs is an absolute finer thing!!

And in case you missed it, we also have our own personal hairdresser too.

Look around you will be surprised at what you really do have!

Check out more finer things at Amy's Finer Things.


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Free Fresco Taco

Go here for a free fresco taco from Taco Bell.

I heart free...especially food that is ok to eat on my diet!!

Enjoy!

Thanks to Cha Ching On A Shoestring

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

I Like This Post..

By Crystal at Money Saving Mom comparing the training of Olympians to financial success.

I will soon be sharing with you our family's journey to becoming debt free (cars and home included).

For now though, check out the above link..it is a great comparison!





The WII, Biggest Loser, The Ring and Me Update 02/17/10

You thought I forgot didn't you?

Well, I didn't...

I lost the other half of that pound I lost last week... while I would have loved to see more, it was Valentine's Day weekend and my neice's birthday party.

Brian and I were able to actually go out for dinner this year thanks to my mother in law, who not only provided babysitting for us, but also paid for our dinner..I am so blessed!!

My neice, who shares a birthday with Cupid's favorite day, had a birthday party thrown by her mother. My sister who seems to throw the best parties had all kinds of goodies that I just could not resist..

However, I did step it up a notch on my exercise and I am proud to say that I actually have muscles in my calves that I can now feel....yeah me!!!


Thursday, February 11, 2010

Umm...We Have Mice...

and I think I want to eat one!!!



And I bet you want to eat one now too... cute, huh?!

These are the Valentine's Day treat that are going to my son's kindergarten class and what we will be making as a craft in my daughter's second grade class!

Easy peasy, I tell ya!

You need:
2 Hershey Kisses (take the paper out of one)
1 heart cut out
1 tiny pom pom
Pair of googly eyes



You will glue the heart in between the two Kisses. The Kiss that you took the paper out of will be the face, the paper on the other Kiss will be the tail.
Glue your pom pom to the tip for a nose and then glue on the googly eyes! You're done!! Very simple craft for your little ones...

Happy Friday!







Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The WII, The Biggest Loser, The Ring and Me..Update 02/09/2010

Hmmm... So my weigh in today is not one to write home about...I lost a little more than a half a pound.. oh well, a half pound lost is better than any gain.

I did exercise more this week than I had been, however, my eating choices weren't always the best. I had run out of my healthy snacks and didn't get to the store till this past weekend to restock. I also know that I need to be drinking more water.


**Confession** After my weigh in this morning, Brian and I took the kids (they were off school due to the weather) to Denny's to take advantage of the free Grand Slam breakfast. I am confident that I ate all of my calories for the day at breakfast..oh well, it was a great family time and we enjoyed it! I will just get my water out and carrot sticks to eat for the rest of the day..

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

What Happens When Your Two Year Old..

Discovers that scissors can pretty much cut anything and that glue is not just for gluing objects..

So the pictures do not really show very well what exactly she did to her hair. In different places she cut her hair. With her hair being so fine, it really is hard to see where it is cut. Apparently at the same time as feeling that she needed a haircut, she must have found some sort of glue like substance that she mistaken for hair gel, thus we have the matted hair look in a couple of spots...








After many a hair washing this morning and absolutely no luck, my only option left was to cut it out. Since my haircutting abilities are about as good as my two year old's abilities, I figured it was best to let the professionals cut it out for me.

Since this would be her first haircut professional haircut, I really thought that she would be sitting on my lap, therefore I did not even bring my camera. However, being the lil' Miss Independent that she is, she sat in the styling chair all by herself. (Sniff, Sniff, my baby is growing up so fast!!)

Anyway, here are the after pics...I think she pulls off the cut quite well...



In this picture of the back, see where it looks thinner, that would be one place she cut..





And because I want to save my reputation as a mommy and because I know that you would like to know how she happened upon a pair of scissors as well as a glue like substance, I am going to go ahead and shift the blame right where it belongs... on her older sisters and brother. I am sure one of them left out their art and craft set they got for Christmas. *I* would never leave anything of that sort out in her reach - OK, OK, I **may** have been blogging when all this went down, maybe she knew I was going to need some new writing material!!!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The WII, Biggest Loser, The Ring and Me Update 02/02/10

I did better better this week than I did last week, so color me happy!!!


I lost 2 lbs...bringing my total to 11 lbs. Yeah!!

I did want to show you a new snack I found that are so yummy. The two flavors that I purchased range from 130-140 in calories. I boght the cheddar cheese filling and the garlic herb filling. So if you are having a little carb craving, you have to try Ritz Crackerfuls...



If only they would compensate me for this plug....


Monday, February 1, 2010

I Had To, I Just Had To...

Make a skirt for my daughter's American Girl doll that matches the skirt I made her (remember? You just read it about it here!)

Aren't they adorable!! Ok, Ok, I am a little bias...





Happy Monday everyone!!


Repurposing...

I really have become a fan of those who repurpose things that no longer are used for their original intent (did that make any sense???)

Anyway, I want to share with you a couple of blogs that I love to check out that deal with alot of repurposing:

Sutton Grace - check out this entertainment center turned play kitchen...How creative can you be!!!
Before....

After....


and another is Tea Rose Home. I linked it to One Shirt Three Projects Another incredibly talented woman!


So I decided to attempt my first real repurposing... I had a pair of jeans (that I did not take a before pic of) that were too big for me (yeah!!) OK, I can't get too excited about that because they were given to me and a little big from the start, although the little weight loss I have had has made them no longer useful to me. What once was a pair of jeans, is now a jean skirt for my daughter...

Please know that I am a novice seamstress. Actually using "I" and "seamstress" in the same sentence almost seems sacrilegious to those who really are great seamstresses. But Brian always tells me..it takes practice, practice, practice and he is right. Anyway... be kind in your thoughts about my sewing skills or lack of!!!








See that Goodwill bag hanging there.. it holds another repurposing project that I plan on doing - it is not clothing, it will involve though, Mod Podge (big smile on my face!) you will have to check back later!!!


I figure repurposing in the end helps me cut costs.. here's how.

By repurposing items for decoration, I get the satisfaction of having a new look without spending a lot of money, maybe just spray paint or fabric...

By repurposing clothes that we no longer wear, I am able to practice my sewing skills and even make clothes for my kiddos without spending money on fabric!

I love it!!!