Compassion and Americans

The simple feeling of compassion often motivates people to go out of their way to help the physical, spiritual, or emotional pains of themselves and others. My favorite definition I once saw was "to love together with". 

Today on all the news programs you will see images, hear coverage and even on some may broadcast a few of the memorial services. Today is a day that will forever be a part of our history. 16 years ago was not long at all, and for so many of it is was like yesterday. 

We talk about this day in our house in detail. We talk about the horror, but we also talk about what came from that day. Sure, we all hate the security at the airports after that day, and we all hate trying to get on any military base now, but think about the way we all came together that day. Think about the news coverage of strangers consoling one another, about the first responders (I'm a bit partial, after that day my husband still joined the fire department and risks his life everyday to save others), about our country. After that day we were all proud to be Americans. We all loved one another.

I love the news coverage about this day, I think we as Americans need to be reminded each year what we went through as a country. I think we need that presence to remind us how we should continue to be. There is so much going on in this country right now. So much conflict, destruction, anger, and why? We all have differences, yes, but aren't we all Americans. Aren't we all proud to be here.

My husband and I were talking during the football game the other night about players sitting on the side while the National Anthem played. This bothers me! I know many of you will not like my opinion and that's OK, it's my opinion. The National Anthem is a symbol of our country, not anything else. It doesn't represent Black lives matter, it doesn't represent white supremacy, it doesn't favor Jews or Christians. The National Anthem represents us as Americans. Those who sit during the National Anthem are doing nothing but undermining our country. The same country who is supporting their team enough to pay them millions of dollars to do something they love! Make sense? Nope not to me! Want to make a statement, be a role model to young Americans, stand proud with your hand on your heart for the National Anthem, tears in your eyes because you are proud to be an American. Proud that so many have sacrificed their lives for you to be here. And then after the game when you go and cash that very large check, put your money where you want to make a statement!!!

So today, we wear our Red, White and Blue, my kids and amazingly brave husband and I will talk about September 11, 2001 and remember all the lives lost. We will pray for everyone who was taken on the horrific day, pray for the families who are still affected by this day and thank God that even after such a terrible act of terrorism we, Americans, still stand tall and proud.

Our country and citizens are pretty amazing. During this time in our country we have fellow Americans still cleaning up in Texas from the hurricane, we have others in Florida who will be waking up to awful conditions from yet another hurricane, we have others who have lost everything to wildfires and yet everywhere you look people are lending a hand. Whether it's sending money or food or essentials or even prayers they are helping. And then there are those awesome role models making a huge difference! JJ Watt (who stands for the National Anthem) challenged Americans after Hurricane Harvey and as last night it was over 30 million! Now if that's not Americans coming together I don't know what is. And if that's not a role model to follow and put on a pedestal I don't know who is! (side note, I have an awesome friend at church whose daughter is the biggest JJ Watt fan you could ever imagine and I think she picked right!!)

So on this day, think about the past, but don't focus on the negative, focus on what came from that day. Focus on the continued love and compassion we show to one another. Focus on the helping hands that continue to outstretch for neighbors and fellow citizens. Continue to praise all those who do the right thing. And most importantly shine the light bright on those who are showing our children what being a compassionate, loving American is!

Prayers for the First Day

I sit here yet again, on the eve of the first day of school. So many thoughts running through my mind! Excitement for my kids and the start of yet another year of growth; anxiousness about all that will come from this school year; sadness about the summer coming to an end and not being with my kids all day; joy for learning and growing.

Last year I wrote about the teachers and the awesome Superheros they are. I will always believe that they are superheros. You can read that post here on my other blog.

This year God is pushing me to write a little different post. This year I have a prayer for everyone. Tonight I share with each of year comfort for the new year.

Teachers, as you begin a new school year, whether it's your 20th or your 1st, I hope you are excited! I know to some it's just a job, but I hope you know that these kid's love you. From the first time they met you to the very last day, they hold a special place in their hearts for you. Whether they are the "trouble maker", the "talkative" one, or the quiet, sweet one; each child in your classroom is there for a reason. Love each one! Find out why God placed that child in your care for the year. Remind yourself often that behind (most) children there are scared, nervous parents who leave that child each and every day in your care for 6 hours. I pray for you that you can look beyond the stress this year of curriculum's and lesson plans and mandatory test results and reports, and be someone special to those special ones in your care for the day. Greet each one with a smile, a hug and look into their eyes and let them know you care. Make this the best year ever!

Parents, the time has come! It's time to push that little one out the door and into the world. It's time to watch them grow, become more independent. It's time to let them become social, make new friends. It's time to let them make mistakes, so they can learn about life. It's time to put a smile on our faces, even when we want to cry, and be joyful and excited about the new journey they are about to embark on. This one is hard for me, I want to cry watching my oldest begin an important year in her high school life. It's junior year and she is prepping for her college application. She's busy with clubs, organizations, sports, AP classes and volunteer hours. She's becoming a young adult, and while I am excited and proud of the young person she is, I miss the baby girl who would climb into my lap and watch tv with me! My youngest daughter is embarking on the hardest journey of her life, thus far. She is starting a new school, walking into 6 different classes by herself, and learning to navigate this "big girl" thing. I look at her with tears in my eyes, with pride in  my smile, missing the baby girl who was excited about rain puddles to jump in and is now worried about her hair and outfit for the day. She will rock this school year, I know she will, but I also know it will be a rough road to navigate. Through anxious smiles and tears of excitement (that's what I tell her) we will get through this together. And my baby boy! He's the only one left in Elementary school this year. He's excited about so much, becoming more independent, making new friends and learning. But he's scared at the same time, his sister is no longer in the same school! He's becoming a little man! So parents, we all have our fears for our kids, anxiety of the school year and most of all sadness that they are growing up. But that's ok, because that all means we are doing our job! We must send them off, share them with the world, with those amazing teachers and show off all the hard work we have put into these little people! And remember, those awesome teachers will love and care for them!

Students, you aren't left out! I pray that you grab this school year with excitement and conquer it! Give it all you have! Walk into every classroom with a smile, greet your teachers with a smile and let them know you are here to learn. Make your parents proud, use your manners (this is important, it gets you far in life and so simple to do). In our house we start each day with a prayer. Each child says a small prayer before they leave the house, it reminds them that God is always with them, all day, each day. Kid's, we as adults expect so much from you this day in age, life is stressful, we parents forget that sometimes. Remind us gently that you are still kids. Remind us that you still want a hug, you want to forget about school sometimes and just hang out. Remind us that you still want to be a kid and sometimes forget about those hours of school work. We parents forget, and that's ok, we are human and make mistakes. But most importantly, be yourself this school year! Don't be anyone else, don't try to act like anyone else. God made you, you yourself, not you like someone else. Embrace your quirks, love your differences and shine like the light God created you to be!

This school year will be amazing. Teachers, Parents and students will rock it the way it should be. Each day will have it's ups and downs but together everyone will make it great. Remember to always shine, smile even when sad, and find the gratitude in everyday. Tonight as I pray for my kids and their first days, I will include teachers and parents every where in hopes that everyone has a great year. Because there's not much we can control in life, but we can control our light, so let's shine this year everyone!!

Goodbye Mommy Guilt, Hello Mommy Gratitude

Summer here is coming to an end! It's so hard to believe. And with the end of summer comes the terrible feeling of Mommy Guilt. All this week I have been trying to ignore it, but I can't! It's right there, front and center, stressing me out.

Every summer I go through the same thing. I begin to think about the limited number of summers I have with my kids, the limited vacations, limited time to make memories. It eats at me! So this summer I am trying hard to think about all the fun things I did and everything I am grateful for, because you see, no matter how much I do with the kids throughout the summer, it will never be enough to tame that ugly old Mommy Guilt.

This summer my oldest got a part time job. Super proud of her! She learned responsibility, how to save money and budget, and most of all, she got up off her bed! She also clocked in some awesome volunteer hours through our lunch program at church, beef up that college application! 

This summer my two youngest accomplished something that many people would just blow past, but for me and in my house, it's big...Independence. This is huge! You see, my youngest daughter doesn't like to do anything by herself. She usually has to have her big sister, me or my husband with her all the time. This summer she went to the amusement park with a friend, she went to the pool with friends and no parents, she had sleepovers and spent large amounts of time away from home, and she scheduled play dates by herself. This is huge! She learned a lot this summer about herself and she has grown personally. And my baby boy, well you see, he's a mama's boy. It's always been me and him, from day 1. And this summer he too has walked himself to friend's houses to play, he uses the phone to call to make plans, he spent evenings with friends playing and having dinner, and he too went to the pool with friends! 

This summer may not of included tons of trips to the beach, vacations or day trips, but it included personal growth and sometimes that's more then anything else. So, yes, I still have the Mommy Guilt that I didn't do enough with my kid's this summer and the terrible thought that they didn't have a good summer; but that's not true! My kid's have had a wonderful summer! I couldn't be more proud of who they are and how much they have grown personally this summer.

"In everything, give thanks" - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

If you are sitting here thinking about the summer, and that horrible unfriendly Mommy Guilt is making you sick, push it away. Because you see, it doesn't matter how much time you spend with your kids, or how many activities you did with them over the summer, that darn Mommy Guilt will always be there! Whether you are a SAHM or a full time working mom, we all have it! And the worse is when you are on Social Media, and begin to compare yourself to all your friends. So stop!!! We are all doing our best in this job of mom. We are all doing it differently based on what is best for our kids. Sit and think about your kids, what is best for them and turn that Mommy Guilt into Mommy Gratitude! The more our kids see us being grateful for things, for them, for the time we spend with them (not necessarily doing activities, but with them) the more they will be grateful! Do we really want to raise a generation of kid's who see their mom's stressed out all the time because of Mommy Guilt? A generation that see's this Mommy Guilt and pass it along? I sure don't want my girl's to deal with Mommy Guilt, because each generation gets worse and worse. I want my girls to be grateful for the times they have with their kids. I want them to have Mommy Gratitude!

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't the only form of Mommy Guilt. I could write a blog post each day of the year about all the different forms of Mommy Guilt, I've dealt with them all. But we have to start somewhere! I'm thinking, blog series! Today I start here. 

As you think back over summer 2017, what are you grateful for? Share with me your Mommy Gratitude and tell me how you told Mommy Guilt goodbye! 

We are all God's children

I've been hesitant to write this, I know many will have things to say. But I feel like I should share, get it off my chest.

For the past few weeks I have been dealing with the school system and school issues and struggling within myself. So here's the back story...my youngest daughter is zoned for a school that is not the most popular in our end of the city. Lots of rumors and opinions about this school. As a parent I have been freaking out about this for a while. Back in the spring I filled about a transfer application for my daughter to attend another school, more favorable. Well, with our luck it got denied.  So for the past 3 weeks I have been stressing about this, talking with people at the admin building and internally struggling with what to do. Then I remembered the words from Proverbs 3: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

So, I sat down with my youngest daughter and we started talking. We discussed the school year, talked about her anxieties and worries. And we both came to the conclusion, what we were so worried about? The classes are the same classes offered at all the middle schools in the city, in fact the teacher's follow the same curriculum. We know personally one of the assistant principals at the school, and she is wonderful. So what are we so worried about?

You see, if you know me at all you know that I am one of "those" parents. You know the one's I am talking about, helicopter, strict, pain in the butt; whatever adjective you want to put in there. I have rules, strict rules and my kids must follow them. I have never in my adult life worried about my kids, I have always taught them to love everyone, no judgement. You see, my belief is, the school's are not raising my kids, I am! Yes, they are there for 6 hours during the day, but I am their mom. From day 1 in kindergarten, I ask that famous question, "How was your day?" and from day 1 I get the answers I want. Of course it takes some additional questions, but once I'm done asking I can tell you who was late to class, who they sat next to and talked about at lunch, what songs they sang at music, books they read at library, how many times someone asked to use the restroom, what happened on the playground; I know everything! By third grade they just give up the information, I ask the magic question and they tell me everything. If my kid's begin to have a bad habit, talking back, anything they may have learned from someone at school, I deal with it at home. They want to begin misbehaving I will show up at school and escort them around. Am I too involved, maybe, but I am their parent, shouldn't I do this thing right? So you see, I can send my kids to any school anywhere and know they will still be my kids at the end of the day. 

I know I will have peers who question me, asking me why I am sending her there. And my answer will be this, we are all God's children. God loves each one of us, he created all of us in his image. God believes we are all equal, we as people have made the judgments. We have taught our kids to judge, and why? There are scriptures throughout the bible that tell us not to judge, so why do we? 

One of the scriptures we use most in our house is Jeremiah 29:11, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" My youngest daughter and I have decided this is going to be her motto for the year. We believe God has placed her at this school for a reason. Maybe it's to share that adorable smile with someone each day, maybe it's to make a friend with someone who just needs a friend, maybe it's to share God's message with someone who needs God in their life, or maybe it's just to prove all the naysayers that yes this school may have the reputation as being "troubled" but she will prosper anyways. 

We as parent's have a voice, a strong one. And I over the years have learned that we tend to use our voice more so for negative then positive. We hear someone say something negative and we run with it. I went through this same problem years ago when other parents thought I was crazy to send my oldest to the high school and not let her choose a magnet high school in our district. Fast forward a few years, my oldest LOVES her school. She has a wonderful group of friends, is top of her class (and taking the same classes, with the same curriculum as her friends at the other high schools), and she has never had a problem since day 1. I can't say the same about the others. 

Many years ago I became a parent. I wasn't ready at all, but God gave me this beautiful baby for a reason. I took this job and have tried my best. I know my parenting isn't the same as everyone else, and I have never said it was. But as parent's we need to own it, we need to commit to raising these little people who will be able to live in this world; is that what we are doing? By running from issues, not talking to our kids, expressing judgments (this school is better then that school; we live here in this town because it is better then that town; you need to go to college to be a lawyer/doctor because it's better then being a farmer) isn't making the world a better place. Many parent's who are the "naysayers" in this life are the ones who can't tell you who their kid's teachers are, they can't name their kid's friends. They don't talk with their kid's, they let the schools raise them, but that's not their job! Our schools are here to teach our kids, teach them math, science, reading and history, not how to live in this world as an adult; that my friends is our job!!!

I know I have rambled through out this post, I never said I was the writer! But I do like to use this blog as my voice, I like to spread positivity. You can get angry with me all day long, but most of the time it's because I have hit a nerve, presented the truth and the truth hurts. We as parent's cannot complain about the world and all the issues going on but continue to raise our kids by running from the issues. We need to discuss these problems with our kids, talk about how we, as God's children, can spread his message and help create a better world. God loves each and every one of us, the good, the bad and the ugly. 

You can continue to talk about me and my crazy parenting and decisions, but I know that my kid's will be able to live in a world that has problems and issues. My kid's will know to face them, try to be the answer and not run from the problem. I will continue to parent my kid's at home, send them to school to learn, talk with them about their days, and continue to talk about good and bad influences in life. Jesus walked this earth loving everyone, my kids and I will continue to strive to be more like him. Loving everyone, and being the good influence in the world. 

Throughout this school year I will continue to update, because I know in my heart that God has some mighty plans for my daughter. She will be the ray of sun, spread His message and be part of the answer to this world that is hurting so much! 

Please only comment with positive notes, all negative comments will be deleted. This is a place for love, not anger or hatred!

Stressed Moms, Stressed kids?

There I was standing in church, no less, complaining again to my sweet friend, the second one of the morning. I caught myself again and thought "oh my, what am I doing". 

You see, I was once again complaining about the hundreds of things I had to get done by a certain time. I have taken on too much once again and I needed to unload my stress. 

So it got me, as I was sitting with my kids on the couch watching another "Harry Potter" weekend. As I watched them trying to keep their eyes open in the middle of the afternoon. 

Are we stressing our kids out? Are we keeping our kids too busy?

You see, we parents, especially moms, have a habit of complaining about being so busy with life. So much we take on and stress us out. In fact, I wrote a post on my other blog about this same thing, you can find it here. 

But what is this doing to our kids? The stress that we have because we are committed to so much. Are they growing up in a world everyone is so stressed, where every conversation begins and ends with complaints about being strained and busy. 

My oldest is a bit of an overachiever. She makes straight A's, she plays travel soccer, she is in a number of clubs at school, youth group president, on a government group at the school board and this year an officer for the SCA. I ask her all the time, do you have time for that? What about a social life? Well, I got caught off guard a couple of weeks ago when she said, "I'm just doing what you would do". Well crap! What have I done!

Then I got to thinking as I was sitting at the table the other day working on a number of things and my son asked me yet again for the 100th time if I would come out and play baseball with him. I told him I couldn't yet, I still had a bunch of things to get done, and once again I got a sharp stab by yet another truth "Mom you promised you would play with me and I've been waiting an hour!" Yet again, I was losing sweet valuable time with my little man working on things I had taken on. 

I love my volunteer positions, I love all the work I do, I love my business, and well that can't go away because it pays bills. But over the past few weeks I have committed to change. If I have to wake up hours before my family then so be it. If I have to start using the word "no" to people then so be it. But something has to change. 

I don't want my kid's to be stressed now because of me, I don't want my kid's growing up believing that rushing around, complaining and being stressed is the way to live life. I want my kid's to enjoy their childhood now, to enjoy life, to enjoy me. 

So, as summer begins to come to a close and school is right around the corner, I will be sitting down with my kids and discussing this. I will be taking the month of August and spending much quality time with them. The emails can wait, the documents can get posted later and well if I miss another meeting I will just have to read the minutes. All the committees, all the emails, all the meetings will go on without me, just like life will too. But I'm not going to miss this time with my kids. I'm not going to have them look at me with stress in their eyes anymore. God gave each of us the job of being a parent for a reason, we must take that job so very important. These little people who are in our care will grow up to be big people. We want to guide them to be the best big people ever, we have to be the best examples we can be. Are you the best example? Or are you the stressed out, too busy example? 

I have a few weeks of summer left with my kids, then I have one starting junior year, middle school and 2nd grade. Before that starts I want to create some happy memories with my kids. I want to smile, laugh and play with them, not worried about the to do list sitting on the counter. What are you going to do? 

Secret of being Happy

Do you Pinterest? You know, sit for hours with your laptop, tablet, phone and scroll through photos of houses we wished were ours, outfits we wished we had in our closets, organized closets, articles about saving money or paying off debt or, my favorites, how to parent! 

Well I do! I scroll before bed most nights, I find it puts me to sleep. I'm not going to knock Pinterest (I actually love some of the articles and blogs on there and I use it as a marketing tool for my business). 

But I find that many people use Pinterest to try and become something they aren't. You see a farmhouse pinned with the most fantastic inside decor, door paint color and amazing landscaping and you start wishing it was yours. That's what's bad! 

I have a Pinterest board that I love (actually a couple of my personal ones I go back to regularly). But the one I am talking about is titled "Signs and Quotes". The other day I pinned a quote and it hasn't left my mind.  

I started this blog by writing about saving money, living on a Firefighter's income. I have friend's who make more money then I would ever know what to do with. They take vacations more times in a year then I could even imagine. They have huge houses, pools, new cars and their kids are always dressed to the T. 

It took me a long time to not compare what I have to my friends.You see, I love our tiny house, my kid's are forced to be with or around me all the time. They talk to me, they don't yell from one end of the house to the other. We love our "new to us" cars, because when my kids do decide to color on the roof with a crayon I don't have to worry about it! We travel, my oldest plays travel soccer and we have learned that turning those weekend trips into tiny small vacations are even more fun then long weeks away. 

You see, our lives are different then our neighbors. Heck, my life is different then my best friends, even my own brothers. And I am ok with that. Life would be so boring if we were all the same! My husband and I devote our lives to others. As a firefighter, he works everyday to save other people's lives. We serve the Lord our God in every aspect of our lives. We know that everything we have is given to us by Him. He provides for us. But it took us a really long time to get to this frame of mind. We struggled like I said. But we are happy now. We are happy with making our everyday lives the best with what we have. It's ok we don't take our kids to the movies or museums all the time, we have a blow up pool, water balloons in the back yard, a fire pit for s'mores and Netflix for family movie nights. And don't get me started on the endless number of board games for Family Game Nights! 

I wrote a post on my other blog that fits so well with this topic, Circle of Happiness. Check it out if you like. 

No one wants to struggle whether internally with yourself or for all of us to see. Be happy with your life, be happy everyday. If you truly can't be happy, then it's time to do something about it so you can get to that place of happiness. Life is a beautiful, fun, crazy journey; it's even better when you have a smile on your face! 

I pray today that each of you are truely happy with who you are and where your life is today!! Enjoy it! And don't forget to smile and share something positive with someone else! 

I'm Back!

Can you believe it's been about 6 years since I have done anything with this blog? Where I have been you ask, well let's see....
My kid's have grown! 

My oldest is driving! What?!? Yes, she is a rising junior and looking at colleges (waste of time since the only school she wants to go to is UVA and she will easily get in there!) She still plays travel soccer which keeps us all very busy. 

My middle one is starting middle school this fall! Oh my! She's not our athlete but she supports her siblings in everything they do. She has found her passion, sign language. She takes private lessons and has learned so much and wants to do this for a living! 


My youngest is now 7, in school full time (going into second grade) and now starting sports this year (we had him in sports, it was too much with 3 kids so he took a year off)

As a family, we have stayed busy. Continue to be a large part of our church, volunteering and staying active in all groups, youth, children and missions. We have started going each summer (this will be our 4th year) as a family along with 25 others from our church to attend a mission in Beverly, Kentucky to Red Bird Missions in August. We love our week serving there and love it! 

So why am I back you ask? Well, Ruffles and Bow Ties is growing. I have started doing the larger craft bazaars in my area, I have opened a second shop which is all my housewares. I have opened a Shopify shop to reach those who don't want to shop on Etsy (can you believe there are some who just don't like Etsy!). I started a blog for the my business, you can visit here. I am never the best at constantly posting on any blog, but I found that while I was posting on my business blog I had so many ideas. I had ideas about posts about kids and parenting, about being a mommy this day in age and how it compares to our moms, about school and our kids, about life and faith and I really could keep going on and on. All these ideas were floating in my head and they just didn't feel the vibe I had going on with that blog. So I thought, well I have another one, lets get that back up and going! I'm back!

I'll be posting regularly now on this blog, more so to clear my head of all my thoughts and opinions. I'll still post some savings tips, still post about my simplest life and even refer to my other blog here and there. 

I'm really excited to be back! I hope you are excited to read more about my nutty life! And I hope you share with your friends, I would love to share with everyone! 

A Big Change in Habits

So my posts on this blog have become very slow...I don't forget about posting I just don't have much to say (if you know me that's very surprising). Over the past couple of months our shopping habits have changed. As many of you know I am a SAHWM who babysits here in the house. Because of this I don't plan to run errands are leave the house during the day. I have been doing this for almost 4 years now, and when I started my habits changed. Over the years I have worked hard trying to find the best solution to grocery shopping while saving as much money as possible. Like most everyone I too change my shopping habits regularly. While I was pregnant and after I had our youngest shopping from home was very convenient. I got almost everything online, many through Amazon.com or through ebates.com. This way I was saving while shopping for convenience. Now that my son is a bit older and the 2older kids are in more activities I tend to head to our Target here in town. I have matched up coupons and saved a bunch. So buying online now is always an after thought. The kid are older, so fighting for the computer time is not something I look forward too! I still have my favorites that I hit up but it's not a regular thing to find awesome deals daily online.
I have also realized I don't shop for clothes very much anymore. I went shopping about a month ago when my MIL was in town and bought the kids a couple things off the clearance rack. My oldest commented about how long it had been since they got new store clothes! We go through their drawers regularly now and get rid of items that are too small or they will never wear. Then we evaluate whether we need to replace those items are there are still enough clothes to choose from. Our family tends to shop for the kids on holidays and buy them clothes. I make most of my youngest daughters clothes now that I have learned to sew. She loves being able to wear new clothes all the time...and they don't cost nearly as much as running to the store and buying them.
I guess I wrote this post to reassure myself it's OK to change my habits, but also to reassure my readers that it's OK to continue to change your habits. Getting in a rut and not being happy is no fun...change up your routine every now and then, especially if your going to save more money in the long run!!! So let me know what you have changed lately!!!

Summer Saving or Spending?

This summer I have taken a break from online shopping and spending...hence my break here on the blog. During the summer we pay for a pool membership and try and use it everyday...therefore, not spending money throughout the summer! All our money goes towards savings for the holidays and back to school spending. I still coupon (another post will be coming about that!) and grocery shop. I still read all the savings blogs but I don't jump on anything because want to save. But I find this is not the case with everyone! When it comes to the summer I find that a lot of people spend A LOT during the summer! Meals and ice cream out regularly, museums and movies, vacations and weekend trips. We do have fun with our kids and take them out more during the summer then normal but we always do it on "Kids Eat Free" nights or we use our budget wisely so we can treat every once in awhile. Like my coupon binder for groceries I also have a binder of coupons for eating out. This stays in the car so it's easier when we decide to go out to dinner randomly. So my main question is what is your summer like? Do you save all year long to spend all summer long? Or do you try and save more during the summer? I have 1 more month of summer with my kids...one more month of saving big time...afternoons at the pool with 10cent freezer pops! So no matter what you choose, remember it's summer and make some memories!!

Swagbucks?

I have seen posts on most of the blogs I read about saving money on Swagbucks. I never have been interested in checking it out until today when I had some extra time (very rare in my house!) on the computer. I headed over there and signed up. I am still learning the ropes and trying to figure out how it all works. I understand that I earn points a ton of different ways and then I can redeem them for ??? My thoughts were that it was a way to save money, but a lot of the ways to earn points is to spend too. I'm not sold on this whole thing yet, but I will continue to work with it for a couple of weeks and keep you posted on my thoughts!

I understand that there are still some other sites out there that work like Swagbucks. Please give me your input, what sites are you using and what do you like or dislike about them? Like most SAHMs I don't get a ton of time to spend in front of a computer. Do you have to be sitting in front of the computer all day trying to earn points? Let's discuss this below!!!

Ruffle and Bow Ties

Once again it has been awhile since I have posted anything to the blog! I find I don't have much time during the day to get on the computer. I am still looking for great deals and using my coupons, so I haven't stopped! I promise I will begin soon and try and keep more up to date with things!

But my time isn't spent on the couch watching TV (show me a SAHM who can spend her days doing just that!). I have been sewing A LOT. I have completed some orders for clothing for friend's and I have even sold a few items online. Yep, that's right I opened a store on etsy.com. I was really reluctant at first but I took the time and set it up. Within a week I got my first order. My store isn't popular yet so I don't have a ton of traffic, but it's there. I post items to the store when I can but most of the things I make are custom orders anyways. I have had a number of people ask me to open a Facebook page so they don't have to deal with the etsy portion of buying items. I have to say I haven't gotten there yet. For friends I will make anything they want, but I don't think I am ready for a bunch of orders at once...which I am scared FB will do. So for right now I am just on etsy.com. So come by and visit, take a look and browse and let me know if you need anything!!

All You magazine

While my family and I were on vacation last month my MIL brought a magazine with her. I was bored the first evening while everyone was playing with the kids that I picked it up and started looking through it. I had heard of this magazine before on coupon blogs but never really thought anything of it. Well this magazine is a coupon freaks heaven! There are pages of coupons and sometimes for free items. It's great. So last night I was on another coupon site (I love to read them) and she had written about the All You magazine. She had commented that she doesn't support buying magazines because it's a waste of money but that she loved this magazine too. She forked out the money and bought a subscription, mainly for the coupons. She stated (and I'm using her because I didn't sit down and add them up myself) you can score $80 to $100 worth of coupons in one magazine! Now that is heaven to me!
So I searched the Internet last night looking for the best deal for the All You magazine subscription. I found that if I use offermatic.com (I just posted something about this!) for the 2% cash back for Amazon, and then purchased a 2 year subscription for $34.00 this was the best deal. I was getting each magazine for $1.42, plus I will get the 2% back on my credit card (which is only $.68 but in the end this brings each magazine down to $1.39 each!).
So I bought the 2 year subscription and I can't wait until my first magazine comes in the mail. I will be cutting out coupons, matching them up and saving even more at the store!!

**For all my "Green" readers, we don't get magazines in the mail. I think they are a waste of paper, so I weighed this decision big time before I bought the magazine. I figured that I would be saving a ton and in the end the magazine will  be in my recycle bin!

My new budget site

So I might be a little late with this one but like I always say better late then never! Last night I was online catching up on a few things and I ran across a site (which I fell in love with!) and she had written about a site called mint.com. I had never heard of this (I know pretty bad since I do have an accounting degree) and thought I would check it out. I am in love with it!! I do our monthly and yearly budget and finances on the computer with Excel. I spend hours weekly working on it, last night I spent 5 minutes typing in accounts and bam within seconds it was done for me on the screen! WOW! I love it! I can even send it to my husbands phone so he has it with him at all times. No more wasting time on the computer typing in and editing everything. I even set up goals for reducing our debt ASAP and saving for college for the kids. The site will email you with different alerts and will definitely hold you accountable for everything! I love it! If you are really into saving money and living on a budget you need to check this site out! Mint.com!

Another Cash Back!

I you follow me or read some of my posts you know that I LOVE ebates! I love that I get money when I have to shop online (and really what SAHM wants to pack up all the kids to run to the store all the time!!). I also love Amazon. I have been upset for years that I can't shop with both! Well I have found a way to! It's called offermatic.com. I wrote a post before about this site. I signed up the one time and never really went back to the site again. The other day I received an email from them about cash back offers. So last night when I wanted to purchase something online from Amazon I ran over to offermatic.com and checked it out. Sure enough I can receive 2% cash back on all my Amazon.com purchases!! YAY!!!I couldn't be more excited. So for all you that are in love with receiving cash back (it's really like getting paid to shop online) check out offermatic.com. And as a bonus for you to go and sign up, you get an introductory offer, like $5 off $10 at Target. So head on over and sign up and enjoy some great offers!

Check in the Mail!

Today has been one of those Mondays...very blah! Nothing too exciting has happened and I haven't really been up to doing anything! Until the mail came and I had a surprise check in the mail for $42 from ebates.com! YAY! I know, it's not very much (especially when my last check was over $100) but it was a surprise that I wasn't expecting!  I haven't really been shopping much lately on the Internet so I wasn't surprised that it was a smaller check, but I was happy it was something. Now I can plan a trip to the bank tomorrow and deposit my check into savings! Did you get your ebates check this week, how did you spend it?

If you want to get checks in the mail too head on over to ebates.com and sign up for free. Hundreds of merchants will give you cash back on your online purchases! It's great...especially if you already shop online for tons of your items! Check it out!

Random thoughts on my mind

I haven't posted much in awhile. I have been slacking none the less. I am back though and going to try and keep up with this blog. But I haven't stopped looking for great deals and saving money! In fact earlier this week I was thinking about how much money I spend on books. My husband (and kids) gave me a NOOK a last Christmas and I love it. I have downloaded a ton of books in that time frame and spend some good money (although they are cheaper then the actual book prices!). The kids give me a gift card for most occasions b/c they think I don't have to pay for the books (but they haven't figured out I pay for the gift cards!) So I was on B&N a couple of months ago adding a new gift card to my account and noticed I can purchase the books online and it will upload directly to my NOOK. I knew this before but just never put two and two together. So today I wanted a new book to start reading, so I headed over to ebates.com and clicked on Barnes and Nobles. By doing this I am now getting 4% back on my book purchase. So now I can add up my savings and take those savings to get me a new gift card!!! YAY saving money!

I also wanted to share a new coupon site I found (actually heard about it on GMA and finally had time to sit and check it out this afternoon, and I know what your thinking "Great another coupon site for me to keep up with!"). Couponsherpa.com is GREAT! They have printable grocery coupons, store coupons, restaurant coupons, as well as coupon codes to use online! It's great! Head on over there and check it out yourself and let me know what you think!

I had a little extra time after church today to get online and print out some Target coupons (they just added some new ones so make sure you check them out!) and it got me thinking. I read on all these coupon sites and money saving blogs their opinions on coupons. I have read many times that some women don't throw away their coupons. If they are about to expire they run out and use it, to them it's like money! Then there are others that say it's OK to throw them away, don't buy something you don't need just to use the coupon. So I wanted to know what is your take on this? I myself throw a ton of coupons away! I only buy items if we desperately need them (and have a coupon most of the time!), if they are on sale and I have a coupon (whether we need it or not!), or if I can stack coupons together and save double. I will never just use a coupon b/c it is expiring. So please, share with me your feelings!

I have started to sew a lot more. I have made some people a few items and come to realize that I can make some extra money on the side! Which I love! I am really enjoying the satisfaction of started from nothing, creating an item and seeing it complete! It is really a wonderful experience! I find that I am more relaxed because I have an outlet during the day, it's really great! When I get some extra time I will post some pictures of some of the creations I have been working on! So check back soon!

OK, so that was a bunch of random thoughts currently going through my mind right now. Thought most of it was relevant, so I wanted to share. I promise in the coming weeks I will begin to post more often. I have come to a deal with myself that I only want to post deals that I am interested in! So I won't be posting everything I see!!! DEAL!?!?

Garage Sale or Thift Store

In my house we have been spring cleaning for about a month now. I have gone through all the girls clothes and gotten rid of the ones that are too small or they don't like. With my oldest clothes, we then sit down our youngest and make her go through and tell us the ones she will wear in the future and which ones she won't . With my youngest, we pack everything she can't wear anymore up and donate it to my best friend who has 3 girls younger then 4. With my son's clothes we are finding a family at church who could use the clothes. I like to know that whoever is getting the clothes is going to use them and appreciate them.

Now I like to clean my closet out A LOT. Most of the time I bag up what I don't want or use anymore and my husband takes it to the thrift store for a quick donation. But as we are simplifying our house I am getting rid of more and more items. In the 5 years that we have lived here we have had 2 yard sales. Both of them somewhat a success but a lot of work! The problem I find with having yard sales is you just move the junk from one spot to a pile and it sits there for awhile till you can plan a sale and you can (hopefully) get rid of it. I never get the price I want for something and I end up wasting my entire weekend. I really hate having yard sales! Can you tell?

I love however, going through a closet, gathering items, putting them in a box and having my husband haul them to the thrift store. The items are gone, they aren't in the way, taking up more space somewhere else and I get to eventually take the donation out on my taxes. So I want to know, what do you do? What do you prefer to do with the items you no longer want in your house?

I started this blog months ago on the basis that we were going to go back to simpler times. Like everything you start with a bang and then it fizzles out. We started big, donating boxes of items to charity. As the months have progressed I find we aren't looking for things to get rid of anymore, just buying more items. What happened? I was really loving how our house was getting to be so organized, I could imagine the end result in my head! Now that school is coming to an end in a few weeks and things will start getting less hectic, I am going to challenge my family again to becoming more simplified!

So like always, share with me your thoughts! Are you trying to become more simplified, and if so what do you do with everything? I love my readers thoughts and comments and can't wait to hear from you!!

Going Green for Easter?

The other day I was standing in a HUGE line at a local store buying shredded grass for my son's Easter basket. I was looking around at everyone in the store with their shopping carts filled to the top with tons of Easter basket items, new Easter baskets, filler grass, plastic eggs, etc. and thought to myself, WOW!

Our family tries hard to be as green as we can, but we also try to be as thrifty as we can. Our Easter traditions don't cost much money at all. We are rather religious and most of our day revolves around Easter service. I have bought the girls dresses in the past, but always on sale and with a coupon! This year I wanted all 3 kids to match, so I bought material (on sale with a coupon!) and made 3 outfits for Easter. The kids got more compliments this year then ever before! The Easter bunny comes to our house but only brings small items that fit in their Easter baskets. This year all 3 kids got a book, our oldest got an iTunes gift card, and the 2 youngest got new toothbrushes and toothpaste (bought on sale with coupons, are you finding a pattern?!) The Easter baskets are pretty nice, I have decorated each one differently and we reuse the grass inside each one every year. We don't let the kids eat much candy, so the Easter bunny (and Santa Claus) bring the kids fruit (organic!) in their basket. And they couldn't be more happier!

Over the years we have somehow collected plastic Easter eggs. I guess we go to different places for egg hunts and have just kept the eggs. We have a big box full of eggs now. In fact this year, the girls went through and got 10 eggs of 3 different colors out to leave for the bunny. Each kids was a different color and the bunny hid them according to their age and difficulty. I haven't bought plastic eggs in years!!

So you see, I don't spend much money on Easter. My question is, do you? On what and why? Wouldn't it be great to buy a nice Easter basket for each kid and pass it through the years, and when they are old enough give it to them. They would have so money memories, and you aren't forking out tons of money each year on a new one! Share with me readers! I am curious!!

My New Favorite Place to Shop AND Save

This morning I went shopping since I wouldn't have time this holiday weekend. I decided to try our grocery shopping at Target. Our Target just got a full fresh grocery section and I thought, what the heck! I printed some Target coupons before I went and took my envelopes full of my regular coupons and headed on out. In addition to our weekly groceries I also needed some shoes for Easter and some more Easter basket fillers.

I have to admit, it was really nice to be able to walk through one store and get everything I needed in one trip out. I was a little overwhelmed walking through the grocery section. I headed to the store on a whim and so I didn't have a shopping list or a sales ad. I was trying to match up store coupons with sales and with coupons I already had, while trying to remember what my husband (he does all the cooking) had written on the list. In the time limit I had to shop, I think I did pretty well. I saved over $50 on everything. I did get a few things that were full price and I didn't have a coupon (which is not like me at all, I guess I was being generous this holiday weekend!).

My trip out this morning was pretty productive. I think I might be switching my stores! I love the atmosphere in Target and how everyone is so friendly. It's clean and very well organized. They have a ton of organic, healthy options that are priced very well. Their coupon policy is amazing! You can use their store coupon along with a manufacturer's coupon. If you have a plan you can get a lot of items free or below a $1! Their website is easy to navigate through and print your store coupons off of. And don't forget (had to add this on Earth Day) you get 15cents off for your reusable bag! I am really liking this place now!

So, my adventure out this morning was a success and it made me (and my husband) very happy in the savings department! Please share your experiences with me, where is your favorite place(s) to shop and how do you save money there?

Back from Vacation and time to save!

I'm back from vacation and spending frivolously on my kids! It's time to get into saving mode again! We did have a blast spending a week at Disney World celebrating my son's first birthday, but it's time to get back to reality! And I know your wondering, did I practice what I preach? YES!! We took all our snacks into the parks and brought most of our drinks. I did buy a few things in the parks, but it was for our son!! We aren't in debt from the trip! A good thing!
Now that Spring is here and Easter, Mother's Day and Memorial Weekend are right around the corner, I know many of you are looking for things to do with the kids! The weather is warmer, so let's get outside and play! I will try to focus many of my postings on outside things and ways to save money for the holidays! Spring and Summer are times we like to spend money! Amusement parks, picnics, vacations, BBQ's, new outside toys, you name it we want to spend money on it! So challenge yourself to be cheap! After awhile it kind of gets addicting!
My husband and I save up all year for this time of year! We spend a lot right now, but in the long run will save a ton of money! We have a pool membership to buy the family, Busch Gardens tickets to buy 3 of us (remember my post about the preschool program!), and a couple more small vacations. So don't feel bad if you have to fork out a bunch of money right now, it will all save you in the end!!
I hope you continue to keep reading, I love all my followers! And don't forget to post your comments, I love learning from you too!!