A Simple Way To Say Thank You

Last week we were hit hard by a stomach flu, and by hit hard, I mean essentially annihilated.  During that time, two dear friends dropped off some get well supplies for us, so I wanted to find a way to say thank you. 

Fortunately, two of our rose bushes are in bloom, so I put the clippings in jars I saved from candles, & the bouquets came together beautifully.  The notes are Hallmark & I got the box for $0.35 at our scratch & dent store!  They're so cheery & I love the lined coordinating envelopes.

I was pleased that I was able to use things from our home to make such pretty little thank yous, especially for such deserving people. 

Make It Do: Creating a Shaded Child's Wagon

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors, & it has been absolutely wonderful being able to enjoy some sunshine & watch the girls play together.  The only unfortunate thing is our backyard doesn't get much shade, so while I'm hanging laundry & Harper is sitting in our little utility wagon, she's basically roasting in the sun. 

 

Rather than go in search of a more child friendly wagon, I decided to rig up an umbrella on the wagon in a rather ghetto fabulous way.  One rubber band, a large twist tie, & a safety pin later, the umbrella was secure, & the girls had some serious shade in their wagon.

Of course, by the time I got the wagon all arranged, Harper decided she wanted to get out and walk. Oh well, at least it will be ready when the next load needs to be hung! 

Happy 1st Birthday Harper Girl!

Our little Happy turned 1 on the 14th & we had an absolutely wonderful day.  

Harper girl showing she's one, sitting in the rocking chair I had as a child, & wearing a beautiful Baby Gap dress I got at a garage sale for $1-- my idea of a perfect trifecta.

We woke up, went to church, Harper screamed her head off in the nursery (that part was not wonderful), came home & had a lovely party with good friends, my gram, & Aunt Sandra. 

The only problem with having the party immediately after church was Harper was completely exhausted, so while we had pizza, Harper girl snoozed away.   

Eventually she woke up & really enjoyed herself.  She LOVED her cake & played with all of her presents just as soon as Emerson opened them.  

 I made Harper's cake & bear print cupcakes, & was pretty pleased with how they turned out.  Aside from our usual, homemade decorations, I decorated our mantle & china cabinet in the dining room with bears, bear books, & the boxed set of Winnie The Pooh books we gave Harper. 

We gave Harper a "Harper sized" doll &  I knitted it an accompanying doll blanket that matches the blanket I knitted her before she was born (pictured above).

It was a beautiful day to celebrate our happy Harper girl & we are certainly blessed to call her ours!

Tis A Gift To Be Simple

I recently finished knitting a baby blanket for my sister.  I love knitting a baby blanket, with each stitch I pray for a long, happy life, & pour out all my love for that sweet little baby.  I find it so encouraging to think of the baby's future. 

I also feel that covering up homemade gifts, of any kind, with wrapping paper is a crime.  Instead, I prefer a simple ribbon & gift tag; in this case I made the gift tag from the baby shower invitation. 

Straightforward wrappings present the love & craftsmanship that went into the gift.  In my opinion, when the gift is homemade, simple wrappings are definitely the way to go.     

This Week's Frugal Accomplishments

I got the idea for this post from The Prudent Homemaker Blog & I think it's just fabulous.  By the way check out her blog & website, they are so inspiring.

I called Amazon customer service after messing up a subscribe & save purchase & ended up getting $2 off & free 2 day shipping.

Harper has a pair of Wee Squeak shoes I bought from Goodwill that are missing a squeaker.  One phone call & the company is sending me multiple squeakers for FREE!

I redeemed my Beech-Nut free product coupons. (More on this later)

I made up two batches of cloth wipes.

When I ran out of pocket diapers & was too sick to do laundry, I used flat-fold diapers & covers instead of disposables. 

After not knowing what to do with some apple butter my gram canned, I found the perfect recipe, & made delicious apple butter muffins with Emerson. 

I cut some of Emerson's old onesies into undershirts & salvaged the tail for rags

I pulled out a pre-made batch of homemade laundry detergent.

We donated extras from our health & beauty stockpile to a local charity.

I cooked from scratch despite our home being plagued with sick little girls & a sick mama.

While the girls were sick I used free samples of Tylenol from the pediatrician & some cough drops I got as a manufacturer sample.

I sent away for a Olay Regenerist eye cream & a Pedialax sample.

I entered in codes at Kellogg's Family Rewards, Swagbucks, My Coke Rewards, & Pamper's Gifts to Grow.

I resisted the extreme temptation of shopping at our local Growing Kids sale.  I've gone to every sale held since I was pregnant with Emerson, but I looked around the house & we've got plenty for the girls, so I'm just going to rely on what we have or get creative to make the things we have work.  I've had to remind myself of this everyday though.  Sometimes it's not so easy to resist the temptation of bargains. 

What did you do to save money this week?

Spring has Sprung!

We had gorgeous weather today, & our happy Harper girl & I were able to hang the first set of sheets of 2013. 

  

Emerson enjoyed the daffodils on a recent trip to Texas, & back home, our trees & bushes are covered in buds.  I'm thrilled that our lenten season is flying by & my favorite season is so close I can smell it.  Here's hoping spring comes to your neck of the woods shortly!

Valentines Schmalentines

I personally hate Valentines Day.  I think it's a day of unrealistic expectations & consumer hokum.  That said, I'd really rather try to keep my cynicism to myself, so the girls are not jaded about Valentines day at the ripe ages of 3 years & 10 months.  

The girls & I spent the morning at our local library's toddler time, which is totally free (yeah!!), is filled with songs, books, a craft, & snack.   In addition to the regular festivities the library has a puppet show, which Harper loved, & Emerson enjoyed it despite her odd fear of all things mascot-esque.

We then headed to the craft room for delicious treats & the Valentine craft.

                                                Followed by loads of play,

checkers, & a little reading.  

How cute are these Baby Lit board books, by the way?!

After naps, the girls & I went outside & enjoyed the warm weather with some bubbles.

Once J.C. came home we had a  lovely family supper, followed by dancing around to our wedding video.

Not such a bad way to celebrate a holiday I'm not totally wild about.

Little Boxes on the Hillside, Little Boxes Made of Ticky-Tacky

I love a tiny house.  It's a sort of cult movement in which people give up their regular sized homes in favor of smaller, more sustainable dwellings.  MSN recently did a collection of 10 Tiny Homes & they are anything but Ticky-Tacky.  I'm absolutely in love with the above home; if only it were practical for a family of four.

Why I Mend Our Clothes

Back in the day people used to mend their clothes.  Back when people actually made their clothes rather than running down to the big box store to buy imported goods for a little bit of nothing.  My gram sewed, my grandma sewed, & her Amish relatives sure as heck sewed.  It's something that has been done for generations, & I have gotten into the habit of mending our clothes, & I'm not looking back. 

I'm not a great seamstress.  I don't think my skills ever improved past my 8th grade home-ec class, but I'm proficient enough.  I like the little labor of love sewing a button on JC's shirt, or mending the seam on a pair of Emerson's pants. I enjoy doing the same thing that my grandmothers & their grandmothers did for their families.  Our clothes last longer, our money goes further, & we put less in the landfill.  Mending our clothes is a simple act of love; love for my family & love for the Earth.  Simple. 

There is a Season-- Turn, Turn, Turn

 

We've been settling into life as a family of four &this season of our lives has been incredibly busy.  I feel like we're FINALLY inching our way out of the valley of survival to a somewhat serene plateau.

After our Harper girl was born JC's mom & dad came for visits, followed by my parents & sisters.  

We had Harper dedicated at church at the ripe age of 7 days old.

We've attended 3 weddings, drove 2,500 miles between 5 states, & I even drove the girls all the way to Texas by myself.  

It has been a wonderfully busy & challenging summer, but I'll be happy to return to our simple, frugal life at home, shortly. 

She's Here!

Our little precious peach, lovey girl is finally here.  

 

Harper Ruthlynn was born today at 3:13 pm weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz, & 21.5 inches.  

We're doing well & Emerson is LOVING her little sister.  

Thanks be to God for a healthy baby & a smooth delivery!

10 Things We Don't Buy

I was inspired by MoneySavingMom's list of 7 things she doesn't buy & thought I'd compile my own:

• Paper towels/napkins/plates--We use cloth napkins, rags, & real plates at all times. 

• Electric can opener

• Shampoo/Conditioner/Body Wash--I use our stockpile, send away for samples, buy things when they're free with coupons, & use what we receive as gifts.  I haven't spent money on any of these things in years.

• Clothes--I made the commitment not to buy any clothes over a year ago & I've been surprised how little I've needed.  (I did buy 2 maternity shirts when I found out I was pregnant, one for $5 at Goodwill & one for $1 at Target on clearance with a coupon).  JC & I often receive clothing as Christmas presents, & JC spends about $15 every 6 months to get his shirts & pants professionally washed & starched.  It's well worth the money as it helps him feel super professional & keeps him from buying new clothes.  I've also quit buying for Emerson & use what we have on hand unless I can find something for $2 or less brand new. 

• A Minivan--Though it was tempting to upgrade when we found out our family was expanding we decided we just really didn't need a minivan/ accompanying loss of savings or car payment/bad gas mileage.  We're sticking with our 1996 Honda Civic & 2008 Ford Fusion, both of which are paid off, & will use a car topper when necessary for long trips. 

• Professional Hair color--The Troyer's go gray early, so I had to start coloring my hair when I turned 24.  I've been using Loreal at home hair color & with coupons & sales I only pay $3/box. 

• Laundry Detergent/Fabric Softener--I make our own, use vinegar, or we go without fabric softener

• Commercial Cleaners--I was able to get some 7th generation for free after coupons & rebate several years ago, but as that is getting used I simply rely on borax, baking soda, vinegar, & salt to get the job done. 

• Bottled Water--We've got a filtration system in our fridge & fill reusable water bottles.

• Candles/Air fresheners--I use a candle warmer to use up scraps of wax or I make our candles.  Instead of air fresheners we use old body splash that has been sitting around for years.  It works just as well & doesn't include any propellants. 

Things We Hardly Spend Any Money On--Many of these things I thought that we didn't spend any money on, but when I REALLY thought about it, I could find occasional exceptions.

• Cloth Diapers & Wipes--Despite using cloth diapers & cloth wipes that majority of the time, we do use disposable diapers for church & at night & use disposable wipes for nasty number 2s.  It's still a huge savings & it definitely saves on our trash output.  

Dryer--I air dry all of our laundry, but if & when JC does laundry, he does use the dryer.  I'd say we're 95% dryer free, which still seems pretty good to me. 

What do you go without?

Homemade Butter in a Mason Jar

Recently, I purchased some cream for potato soup & while contemplating what to do with the remaining cream, I remembered making homemade butter with my gram when my sisters & I were little.  

Don't mind the crap photo, JC had our camera & I had to use my cell.  Apologies. 

It was SUPER simple & quite satisfying.  I used this tutorial as a rough guide (I didn't wash the butter or salt it), filled two small mason jars halfway, & shook the dickens out of them.  I did the shaking while watching Lord of the Rings & it took me from the beginning of the movie until Frodo was running to Buckleberry Ferry @ The Inn of the Prancing Pony.  For you non-LOTR nerds, I would approximate it was a good 15 minutes of shaking.

The cream separated into butter & a lovely buttermilk, which I poured off & collected for the following morning's pancakes.  Both the pancakes & the butter were delicious & it was such a good use of something that often spoils.  If you've never tried making butter it's a fun arm workout & has tasty results.  Plus, how many people churn their own butter anymore?!  You could be one of just a few!

Happy churning!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm at the tail end of a marathon two day freezer cooking session, in the hopes of filling our freezer with treats before Little Baby arrives.  These muffins are a variation of MoneySavingMom's recipe, but I made them a little more healthful, used sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin, & cooked a double batch. They're delicious, freeze well, & are something that is great any time of the day. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 16 oz pureed pumpkin (sweet potato)
• 3/4 cups oil
• 3/4 cups of applesauce (sweet potato or banana can also be used)
• 2 cups  whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 tablespoon of flax meal
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 package chocolate chips (add a tiny bit of flour to the chips so they don't sink to the bottom)

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and oil until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 24-30 muffins.

Enjoy!


**I lowered the temp to 375 because my first batch came out too dark.  It could be my oven, but if your oven runs hot keep it at 375 rather than the 400 degrees in MSM's recipe.

A Simple Valentine's Day

I've always sort of detested Valentine's Day, but now we celebrate the love we have as a family, which I like much better.  Rather than hire a babysitter & leave Emerson at home, we like to spend the day together.

For JC, I made a card on Tiny Prints several weeks ago & got it for free with a promotional Facebook code.  Emerson then helped decorate the envelope for her daddy.

We used some left-over birthday money to buy Lady & The Tramp for Emerson, & she quite enjoyed eating smarties out of the accompanying Lady & The Tramp bowl.

For the evening, we had a coupon & a gift card to Olive Garden, which made for a rather economical meal; especially considering the leftovers will be eaten for a meal tomorrow.  Our evening's entertainment was watching the Breaking Dawn Part 1 DVD JC bought for my/our present.

After our gift card, coupon, & various birthday/Valentine's presents we only had to spend $4 out of pocket.  Not too shabby!  It was a nice quiet day at home, which is just how we like it. 

Hope your day was filled with happiness & love!