Doug's "Excellent" Trip to DC

This is going to be an excellent adventure!

Doug with his eyes closed!

Having a chat with FDR.

Part of the Platoon

In the bread line.

Doug would be mearly a snack.

Capitol Building

The likeness is amazing.

World War II Memorial

Gathered 'round listening to the radio. 

Doug and Eleanor

Museum of Modern Art...Most confusing.

Bus Troubles...what would a trip be without a good story???

Food storage website

www.canorganizer.com

Organizing our food storage

Steve found these neat can organizers online.  They are made of cardboard and pretty easy to fold and put together.  They make it easy to rotate your cans.

These happen to fit perfectly on our narrow shelves.  It will make it easier to see what we have and what we need to replenish.  I love the fact that it will rotate the cans for you.  It was always a pain to move the stuff to the front and try and put the new stuff in the back.  Plus stacking cans doesn't always work well.  If you have ever had a can drop on your toe...you know what I mean.

We will probably be getting more in the future to store more cans, since we are no where near the amount of food we should have for a family of 6.  Most of these are almost full now.  So we are saving up some pennies to get more boxes.

Some Flash Flooding

Here are some photos of the other day.  Wow we have never seen so much water here and it was moving fast.

It just came up to the chicken run we just completed. I guess we put it in the right place. 

neighbors chicken run flooded.

Headed over the road.

Amazing!  Luckily in a few hours it had gone down.  Now it is just really wet as we continue to get rain each day.  The lawn is loving it! 

I think it is suppose to keep raining until Saturday.  It is gloomy, wet and cool.  Lovely weather!  Hopefully it will let up soon so we can plant the garden.

More Saving Money Tips!

Here are a few more ways that we try and save some money.  Most save little bits at a time, but things do add up.  Every little bit helps.

• Use your public library.  Don't buy books, unless you hit a great sale!  The library can supply you with more than enough reading material.  They usually get new selections and you can request books from other libraries, if they don't have what you are looking for. You can also sign out movies, books on cd or tape, magazines, and a host of other things.  One library we used to go to, you could even sign out art for a month. 
• Check at Goodwill or Salvation Army first.  If you are in need of something check these places first.  Alot of times you don't find what you are looking for but SOMETIMES you get lucky. We have purchased two perfect suits for the boys for church for about $5 each. You can't beat that!
• Limit your wardrobe.  Buy used stuff from the goodwill.  The less clothing you have the easier it is to maintain and keep up with the laundry.

• Make your hobbies useful skills.  My children are learning to sew.  They like it.  It will come in handy and they will have something useful to show for all their effort.
• Limit Toys.  Too many toys can cost a fortune, not to mention all that cleaning up.  I have found too many toys give my children toy/choice overload.  They end up dumping everything and not playing with anything.
• Wait 24 hours before jumping in on big purchases.  This is hard.  Really hard.  But if you do sometimes you change your mind or think of a better way.  Give yourself time to reflect.
• Sometimes...maybe once a week or so... turn off the lights.  Use candles and/or oil lamps in one room of the house.  It will be amazing to watch everyone gravitate together towards the light.  It is fun sitting around telling stories and reading together.  Remember to watch the kiddo's around open flames.

• Use coupons.  This can be a whole post in itself.  Needless to say you can learn to coupon.  Try it out.  My husband is very successful at it.  He has been saving about half off our groceries consistantly.  That adds up!  We have been using our whole budget and getting extra for food storage.
• Make your own cleaning supplies.  There are millions of posts about making your own dish washer detergent or laundry soap.  Try them out.  They literally cost pennies.  Most stuff you can make with baking soda and vinegar. 
• Bake your own bread.  This saves some money...it however has not helped our waist line.  We tend to devour homemade bread.  Learning to do this can help you in a pinch with your budget.  If you are out of money budgeted for groceries but now need bread, you can make some yourself and not have to go to the store.

• Plant a garden.  We do have lots of garden.  You don't have to have a big garden.  Start out small.  Plant things you will eat.  If you have enough room plant some extra to can or put up for the winter.
• Repurpose things.  Use your noggin' before you go shoppin'.  Is there a way you can fill the need you have by using something you already own? 
• If you have the need to buy some decorative item for your house...stop and just rearrange the furniture.  I love to rearrange!  People pick on me because the house is never the same way when they come back.  It makes me happy and it is a new way of looking at the things you have and love.

• Plant some berry bushes if you have the room.  We save so much money on fruit by having our own bushes.  We get tons and we can freeze or can the extra to last us all year. 
• Drink water. It's free.

Do the work yourself. Don't automatically go and hire someone to do something. Go to the library if you need help learning a new skill. Read about it and then try it yourself. Steve is great at this one. He has built decks, club houses, kitchen cabinets, refinished floors, tiled, painted, built furniture etc. If we had to hire someone for all those things we would be broke in no time.

• The hardest one for last...Try and stay organized.  When things get disorganized we forget what we have or where it is, we end up spending money on the same things that we already own.  Keep track of your stuff.

Well I hope this post helps someone, or helps you think about some ways you can save money.  Try some new ideas.  Also, help me out...if you have any new ideas let me know.  We can save together!

Stay at Home Mom and Saving Money How To's

I have been thinking alot about the journey I have been on for many years now.  I started being a stay at home mom about 14 1/2 years ago. My at home experience has long surpassed my work outside the home experience.  Many people in this day and age think it is impossible to stay at home.  It is not.  You can do it if you are willing to make some sacrifices.  Yes I know that isn't a poplular thing.  No one likes to make sacrifices...everyone wants things and wants them now!  But I promise if you evaluate the things that are truly important to you, it can be done.

Here is a picture of my oldest Jacob.  Isn't he a cutie. 

Here are some ways that women before me have taught me to save money.  Like I said it has been over 14 years.  I didn't do these all at once, but added a bit at a time and now most are completely second nature now.  They are part of how we live and aren't a sacrifice any longer.

1. Make a budget.  I love Dave Ramsey.  We buy most everything with cash.  We try...we aren't always perfect.  Now going into debt makes my stomach churn.

2. If you are going to stay at home...stay at home. Don't ram everywhere everyday.  Especially with gas prices going through the roof.  When you go out, you spend.  We have in the past assigned ourselves so much money for gas for the week.  If the tank was on empty on Wed., then we stay home until the next fill.  Make it a game. (of course make sure hubby has enough to go to work :) )

3. Cut the cable.  I know I know...nobody wants to hear this one.  Especially the guys. But it is so expensive.  I find when we cut it we have lots more time for other things.  We can also control what media comes into the house.  The kids are more active and more creative.  Trust me on this one.  It will get worse before it gets better if you turn off the tube.  Kids will whine for a week or two.  They have to learn how to live without something that they have always had.  You must allow time for relearning.  What ever you do...don't vote on whether or not to turn off the cable.  Kids will never give up the tv willingly.  (Hubby does get a vote :) )

4. Look at all your bills.  Can you change phone plans?  Can you just go to cell phones and cancel your landline? Can you get rid of some dept store credit cards, pay them off and cut them up?  Can you get your electric bill on a budget so you pay the same amount each month?  Really really look at the list of things you spend on and write down how much you could save a month if you eliminated some things.  Dance for the kids?  Sports? etc.  I know you don't know how you could do THAT to your kids.  You can.  You will have more time as a family and more money.  You can dance at home and play at home.  Limit the amount of activities you let your children participate in and don't be afraid to say no.

5.  Turn down the heat.  I get lots of grief and jokes made about me for this one. :)  We keep the house cool in the winter.  We layer clothes if we are cold.  I do at least.  I figure it is something you can get used to...the kids really do run around without socks or shoes and in a short sleeve shirt in the winter when the house is set at 64 degrees.  We turn it down lower at night and make sure everyone is dressed warm for bed and lots of blankies on beds.

Well there is five of the easier things that we do to save money.  I will have some more nit picky things later.  Have a great day. 



The Chicken Run is Complete!

Here is the beginning posts.  It is nice to have older boys that can actually help dig holes.

The crew working hard.

Jacob nailing up fencing

Curtis Concentration!

Dad giving a hammering lesson.

Chickens enjoying the outdoors.

The neighbors cows playing King of the Mountain. :)

Doug and Maggie are the best chicken catchers.

So funny, the neighbors chicken came over to take a look.

Happy Girl!

My Maggie

.Today is officially girls day.  Tonight the boys are going on a father/son campout and it will just be us girls!  We have plans...oh yes we do...well I am going to wait and see what she wants to do...I hope it involves eating out!  Usually girls night consists of painting nails and watching princess movies.  We never get to watch girl movies around here.  Boys always take over because we are way out numbered.  I love the fact that I have a girl.  I don't know what I would do without her.  She reminds me of the fact that I have to teach her to be a woman.  Therefore...I need to be a better woman.  If it was just boys around here I would probably just completely morph into a tom boy.  (which is a natural inclination)

Maggie is fun to watch and I don't worry about her too much YET!  She can be sweet as pie and in the next second (if someone does her wrong) she really lets them have it!  She can stand up for herself...well at least with her brothers, which I hope will transfer over at some point. 

I know that things will change here very quickly...she is nine now.  The next few years might be bumpy.  I remember things being bumpy for me.  I hope they aren't bumpy for her...but they probably will be at some point.  I thought babies were hard, teens are hard.  It is hard to watch them go through "stuff."  I just want to protect them from things that hurt them, just like I did when they were small.  Teens usually have to go through it and live through it and find their way. I hate that!

Doug and Steve are having some bonding time in Washington DC.  I hope they are having fun.  I can't wait to see the pictures and hear the stories. 

Well I have a million loads of laundry to fold...ugh!  So I guess I should go and try to get that done before my great girl night out!!  Whoo Hoo! 

Sometimes I like to whine...

A warm wind is blowing. The windows are open...the lawn mower is humming and I feel like throwing everything away...it must be spring.

No matter how much I chuck it seems like stuff just keeps coming in...I really need to muster energy to go through closets again, take out winter wear and make sure everyone has what they need for summer. I need to limit the outfits in the closets so my laundry doesn't overwhelm me. I need to clear out our coat closet, which is overflowing...does everyone need 3 or 4 coats? I need to put some away. We do save coats to pass down to the next kiddo, it is hard to know what size they will be the next year.

Also on the organizing agenda...Christmas stuff. I used to have a big victorian house...long long ago and far away. I used to decorate a ton...but now that we are in our century old farm house and the kids are getting older and I have been simplifying so much of my life, it is time to let some of them go. I perfer simply and organic decorations now. I would rather have a basket of pine cones from the backyard than fake evergreen wreath. So that needs to be hauled out and use the space for something more useful.

Also hubby's tools. They are everywhere, but mostly near and intruding into my laundry area! WE need to orgainize them and find a place where they can be found and put away. By WE I mean him. :)

I can't wait to put up the laundry line again. It is coming soon. It is suppose to rain for at least the next week so I am not going to bother right now. I have a hankering for sun dried sheets and a nice clean bed.

Like I said already the windows are open and I seriously hope it is blowing the dust away as we speak. Sometimes I love cleaning, other times I get resentful and irritated.

I guess I just would like someone to respect the work I do around here, instead of just trashing everything and leaving it for me. Yeah I am complaining. sorry.

Back to spring....and nice things. I also need to rake up the flower beds, plan some sort of back porch/deck/ patio...and hopefully get a chicken run done this year.

Oh yeah and the garden...

Well by the fact that my list gets longer and longer the longer I sit here and think about it...I guess it is time to go!

Thanks for listening.

His Sacred Name - An Easter Declaration

Food Storage

We have been working on our food storage more seriously.  Steve has turned into the coupon king. Like most things...my idea and he follows through.  Sorry this is a bit blurry.  We took a lot of empty canning jars out and put them in a different spot...awaiting goodies later.  We have more things on other shelves but it wasn't picture ready yet.  Promise to post when we get everything cleaned up and in order. 

This picture is a bit clearer.  This is the smallest space in the house and tends to collect the most junk.  Whatever we don't know what to do with...goes here.  We need to break ourselves of this habit, and just keep this a nice organized space.  Here's hoping...

Bedroom redecorating...just a little

I love trees for some reason.  So when I saw these branches I had to have them.  I wish I was more talented and could just draw them on the wall and/or paint them myself, but I don't dare try.  So I will stick to the decales.  I love the little birds sitting on the branches.

I needed some new artwork for my walls.  I love my kids and I love SIMPLE projects.  So I found some fabric and traced their hands.  Jacob's was so big I had to put it sideways in an 8x10 frame.  Geez!  I think they look simple and cute. 

That's all for now until I take more pictures of the rest of the house.  Maggie's room is redone...still need pictures of that.  I will get to it I promise.

It's time to celebrate Spring!

Fresh Flowers always make me happy.

Slipcovers in light colors lighten up the space.

I added a new chair to the mix so our whole family can sit in the living room at the same time. 

I love baskets too.

How do you decorate for Spring?  I am not usually a flower type person, but I think my likes are changing!

So much has happened...

Let's see. Curt had a concert that I video taped and it refuses to upload to my blog! I have been redecorating again and moving furniture. I cleaned the whole house for spring. I love when the house is fresh and clean, of course it didn't stay that way long. I have some pictures from my trip to Virginia to see my parents. They loaded into the computer but I can't find them. Today was so warm,last night we slept with the windows open, it was like heaven! We redid maggie's room again. I did some "artwork" for my room. Oh I am sure more has happened that I am not thinking of... I am learning how to post from my I pod touch, it is weird and going slowly. I hope to do a quick cleaning tomorrow and then get some pictures posted of the things I am talking about. I dont know if I can post pictures from this thing, I will have to try it out. Goodnight.