I am a stay at home mom with four wonderful kids. I have been married for over 10 years to my best friend. I am head over heels in love with him. He always supports my crazy "thrifty adventures". We have a lot of fun together.
I was raised on a small dairy farm. Where I learned very young, the value of hard work and how to be thrifty in all areas of life. Growing up our meals were made from scratch. Only on special occasion would we get name brand cereal, chips, or any other fancy treats. Now that I am a Mom with my own budget, the basic foods always comes first. I too make most of our meals from scratch and take pride in feeding my family a well balanced healthy diet.
I enjoy seeing how far I can make our budget stretch, and when I take the time to match sales with coupons I am able to get all those "fun & fancy" items that would other wise be out of my budget. Being thrifty has always been a way of life for me, but it has also become a real joy.
I was up stairs putting laundry away when I hear my oldest son running up the stairs. He busts into my room laughing so hard he can hardly talk. ”Mommy, Maveric is giving himself a bath and doing the dishes.” So I run down stairs as fast as I can ( trying not to kill myself as I dodge the shoes and toys my kids seem to always leave on the stairs). He likes to play in the sink so I thought he had just spilled water all over the place…..
NOPE the little bugger pushed a chair over to the sink, climbed inside as if it was his own little tub (fully dressed I might add) turned the water on and was having a ball! How can you not smile when this is what you see…. Oh this little guy wears me out! Now if I could just get him to really wash the dishes and put them away
One of my goals this year is to teach my children to love service. I do service in many ways almost daily but I do not always involve my kids … or explain to them why we are doing something. If you look for ways to give back or serve you will be surprised how many opportunity’s come your way. Saturday was our families day to help clean our church building that we attend every Sunday. Waking up on the weekend and going to clean is not always my idea of fun, but my kids were super excited that it was our turn again. (Matt was at work so he wasn’t able to come.)
Matt’s Sister came to visit so I had an extra pair of hands to help me get the kids dressed and in the car. We were doing good on time but I did not want to be late. On the drive there I talked to the kids about service, what it means, who we were helping and why we were cleaning the church. Just then I saw a man on the side of the road with his hand is his pockets just standing there with no coat on. My first thought was dumb kid…. where is your coat! Then I realized he didn’t have any shoes on either, and his feet were covered in mud. Back in the field behind him I spotted his SUV up to its axles stuck in the mud.
I was in a hurry to get to the church on time so I drove past thinking I am sure he has called for help and someone is one the way to help him. Plus I am bit leary to stopping to help a total stranger with my kids in the car. But something was different this time, and I quickly turned around to go see if I could help him out. I pulled up and realized this was not a man.. but a teenage boy. I asked him if he had anyone on the way to pick him up, he said no. So I asked him if he wanted to use my cell phone and call someone, once again he said no he just moved here 2 weeks ago to live with his sister and did not have or know anyone to call. I then asked him how long he had been standing in the cold, and he said about 20 minutes. He tried to flag people down to help at first but then just gave up….
My heart sank this poor boy had been out in the cold for 20 minutes and no one had stopped to help him. I teased him a bit about being in his PJ’s and not having shoes. I told him I could give him a ride to his house, but he said then he would be stuck there and still not be able to get his SUV out. I then told him that we were going to clean our church and I was pretty sure we would be able to find someone with a 4×4 to help pull him out. After talking a bit I realized he went to the the same church we did when he lived in Wyoming, so he hopped in my van and off we drove to the church with a muddy stranger aboard. While waiting for help to come he pitched in and helped us clean windows and sweep.
It was a good lesson for me, often we are so busy on our journey to “do good” in this case clean the church that we drive right past opportunities to help others. But I am pretty sure the Lord would rather have me help one of his children in need, instead of having spotless windows at church. Once back in the car on the ride home it felt good to once again talk to my kids and discuss how we were able to do random acts of service. As my little ones would say ” Mom, it was fun picking up that Muddy boy and helping him get out of’ the Mud”
I was busy trying to get dinner done, I told my kids they needed to grab a bag and get all the trash picked up in the toy room before dinner. They had been working on art projects, but it looked more like a paper factory exploded. I heard lots of laughing and so I assumed not much cleaning was being done… but I was not expecting to see this….
If you are a mom you are well aware of the “Get dressed so we can go” routine. It is that fine line between teaching your child to do things for themselves. Or doing it for them just so you can get them out the door and wondering if you are still going to be dressing them for college. It is not uncommon for me to say “Are you ready to go?” … and I hear 4 children reply back “yes”. Only to round the corner and see them like this….
Often half naked, no shoes, legs in one pant leg, shorts in the middle of a snow storm, underwear as a hat, shoes on the wrong feet, or two totally different shoes, hair all jacked up on one side and a pony tail missing on the other. The bunch of them look like they just escaped from a fashion bootcamp gone wrong. Oh but wait… then I say “You can’t go out looking like that!” and they all look at me like I am the over bearing fashion police.
Depending were we are going some days I let them prance out of the house looking like this (only if we are just going to Grandmas or something) … but only at the last minute do they have the “I can’t go out like this meltdown”. I scratch my head thinking really… really… come on I have been telling you to change for over an HOUR and now in the last 30 seconds you realize I mean business?
Yesterday while trying to “herd” my children to the car…. I saw my sons crack when he bent over to put on his shoes. My first thought was good grief the kid is trying to go commando style today. I told him to go get some underwear on, he quickly replies back that he already has them on and proceeds to tug at an elastic waste band. But all I saw was the waste band, no undies…. Not sure how, or why his undies were torn to shreds? But I am sure if underwear could talk they would have a great story to tell. Needless to say we were a few minutes late, as I felt the need to cover his naked bottom before be left the house …lol.
It’s Matt – FYI – that same pair of underwear Matthew was wearing as a whole underwear just that morning. Who knows how it got like that!
Christmas time is my favorite time of year. Even as a little girl I would start thinking of gifts I could make my family months in advance and have them wrapped and waiting. I made my share of homemade hot pads, macaroni necklaces and a whole bunch of other “useless” items. Yet my Mom and Dad would open them with delight and thank me for the wonderful gift. I quickly learned the warmth and joy in the power of giving to others. Sure I was just like other kids and wanted gifts as well…. but also looked forward to giving.
So each year we take our little ones shopping. We have a talk about the meaning of Christmas and tell them to think about what would make the people on their list happy. They buy a gift for Mom, Dad and their siblings. We take them to the dollar store to shop, since they don’t quite grasp the concept of the dollar value of an item. Our main goal is to teach them to forget what they want… and think of others.
It is rather funny to watch their little eyes dart around and store and see what they pick out. We try to help them select a gift but let them make the final choice. It is a great learning tool, as they are not always thinking about why someone would want or need a gift instead…. They just like the way it looks. Like my 4 year old daughter was SURE Daddy need this 4 piece funnel set… but then finally picked out the 150 q-tip box… ” My Daddy woves (loves) to queen (clean) his ears… lets get him this”
It is neat to hear the conversations turn from ” I want” to “lets give”. They come home and wrap their gifts. It is so fun to watch their faces and see they find joy in giving to others.
I am blessed to be able to work from home. But it is also hard some days to get my work done as I still have all the daily tasks or chores to do as any stay at home mom. Much of my work it is done when my kids are taking naps or in bed. But they also see me at my desk a few hours a day. How do you explain to a 1 year old or any child for that matter that Mommy has work to do?
It can be a real challenge making sure that each of my 4 children get enough one on one time. Making sure they know just how precious they are, and the joy they bring me. Sure I tell them to take their dishes to the sink, or to pick up their socks, or change their clothes. But sometimes the more important words or moments fail to find time in our busy everyday life.
Maveric my 1 year old will grab his blanket, and then come push on my legs (or if I am sitting at my desk, push me and my chair across the room) saying Mama, Mama. This is his way of letting me know he needs a little time with me. Yes some days it drives me nuts as I am busy trying to make dinner and the last thing I want is a 1 year old clinging to my leg. But the older I have gotten, I have learned just how fast they grow…. and to snatch them up, love of them (even if it is just a few minutes) and know that in the moment nothing else could be more important. But even I have to remember and make that choice everyday.
I invite you to have a few Mommy Moments this week
Last night was our church Christmas party. We ate, sang Christmas songs, and at the end all the kids got to go meet Santa Claus. All of our kids jumped in line and were so excited. But as soon as it was Matthew’s turn he….
But later after some encouragement from dad… he was able to brave his fears..
Not quite a mommy momments, more like Daddy Duties… Poor Sarah has a pretty good stomach bug, and we were up real late taking care of her.
So we had a request for a snow update for the snow-challenged areas. Today we had our first real snow fall. Little Maveric saw it and started his yelling – Ouuhh – Ouhh.. and then ran to get his jacket. He loves being out side! So I slipped some shoes on him ( I think they are his sisters), and put his jacket on over his pajamas. And off he went! Now just to get him back inside!
This week one of our readers asked to see what our work space looked like. Matt decided to take a photo of our desks and post them to facebook so she could see. It was fun to read the comments and kind words spoken about our home.
Here is Matts desk… pretty right. But what he does not tell you is that he does not sit there much because his PC is broken and so he normally blogs from a laptop (while sitting on the couch, watching tv… yip he likes to multitask) someday we will get his computer fixed.
Here is my desk (where I spend about 10 hours a day)… yes it is beautiful and I feel very blessed to have it. BUT what I am not telling you is… it is never that clean…lol. Normally covered with coupons, ads and random “crud” the kids bring me or drop off.
Our long time readers know we bought an old house built in the 70′s about 2 years ago. We started right into a huge remodel project, took out walls, put in hard wood floors, heated tile… we planned to do most the work ourselves and went to work. But half way into this huge project found out most the sub-floor in the house had to be torn out and replaced. Due to mold we had to tear 2 of the 3 bathrooms all the way down to the studs, we had to rewire much of the house… and last but not least we found out EVERY PIPE in the house had to be taken out…. yip we had to re-plumb our whole house.
With all the extra projects and HUGE bills coming in we soon blew threw our budget. At this point we had a choice to make, finish the house so it would look pretty and be much easier to live in. But the only way to do that was on credit. OR we could start saving again and continue the remodel once we had the means to pay cash for the project. Sure I wanted my kitchen done… but what I wanted and still want more than ever is to live within my means, and be debt free. SO for the last 18 months the “other half of our kitchen” that you do not see in the photos looks like this…..
When I run into friends at the store or even readers they often say… “oh so how are you enjoying your new kitchen”. When I tell them it is not done they are confused because they see photos I post online all the time, and they never show the sheetrock walls or lack of cabinet doors. Instead most of my photos show the few sections of my home that are finished and pretty. Not that I am embarrassed about my unfinished house. I just got tired of answering questions about it so instead I just show photos of the part of my house that is done.
So how many of you saw the first three photos and felt bad that your desk did not look that way? How many times do we do this to ourselves? I personally do it every day…. I compare myself to others, often feeling bad or like I am not good enough. BUT I take the things I struggle with, and compare them to someone else’s strength. But what I may not see is all the other “rooms or areas” in those peoples lives are not perfect either. So this is us “keeping it real” and someday I will show you a finished kitchen…but till then I will keep being thrifty and saving for that dream:)
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I was up stairs putting laundry away when I hear my oldest son running up the stairs. He busts into my room laughing so hard he can hardly talk. ”Mommy, Maveric is giving himself a bath and doing the dishes.” So I run down stairs as fast as I can ( trying not to kill myself as I dodge the shoes and toys my kids seem to always leave on the stairs). He likes to play in the sink so I thought he had just spilled water all over the place…..
Often half naked, no shoes, legs in one pant leg, shorts in the middle of a snow storm, underwear as a hat, shoes on the wrong feet, or two totally different shoes, hair all jacked up on one side and a pony tail missing on the other. The bunch of them look like they just escaped from a fashion bootcamp gone wrong. Oh but wait… then I say “You can’t go out looking like that!” and they all look at me like I am the over bearing fashion police.
This is post here for the 
Oh and the Teddy Bear Tea Cup on a pink plate….
Oh it is all coming together now… I don’t have a problem with mice….
Here is Matts desk… pretty right. But what he does not tell you is that he does not sit there much because his PC is broken and so he normally blogs from a laptop (while sitting on the couch, watching tv… yip he likes to multitask) someday we will get his computer fixed.
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