Driving Fun...

Wooden ABC and Numbers

This might sound a little strange, but we drive around.  Actually, we drive around a lot. When I say a lot I mean probably a half hour once a week.  It is something that our family does to unwind or just go and do something.  We like to discover parts of our town we did not know existed.

Fly-Swatting

Fly Magnet

Have I said how much I love my husband?!  Because, I do!  Nate makes me laugh more than anyone out there.  I can honestly say I think he is the funniest person in the world.  We have so much fun together.  I think that is the best part about marriage.  You can be yourself and let it all hangout with no regrets from the other person.

My husband and I leave our front door open because our 2-year-old cannot open the door.  So, instead of him getting frustrated or scared not being able to get in or out of the house we just leave it open.

Good-Bye TOYS!

I did this over a week ago, however, I waited to post this to see how it turned out.  Well, my son 'T' did not want to pick his toys up 'AT ALL'.  And, I had had enough of picking up his toys.  It was really getting to me, because I felt like I was not following through on my 'threats'.  So, I followed through on my threat that I would throw his toys away.  I need to add that both of my kids were present during our garage sale and said good-bye to a lot of toys and old things they did not use anymore.  However, 'T' might have said good-bye to the toys but it was not without a cry and break-down.  Honestly, I thought we were going to put him in therapy after the garage-sale, but he was fine.

Letters to God

A long time ago, I started writing letters to God.  I know this is not for everyone, however, it is for me.  Writing letters to God makes me feel like I am giving something to 'My Father'.  I write letters to family and friends and I feel that God deserves them too.  This is something I started when I was really young.  However, when I used to write them I did not feel that God got them until they were ripped up and thrown away.  It was as if the the life of the letter was over and the letter went to Heaven. 

Phone Call Questions...

So, I was standing in the kitchen the other day and the phone rang.  Can you take a wild guess what happened when the phone rang?!  Yup, that's right the kids came into the room and wanted to talk to me.  When I got off of the phone I asked both of the kids what to do when I am on the phone unless it is an emergency.  And, they both said, "Wait Patiently!"  Now, I am going to have to give 'E' some credit on this one, she helped come up with the idea.  Of course it does involve my trusty laminator.

Quallities For You and Friends...

Ok, so the school year is about to start up again and I am kind of on a 'Self Esteem', life changing mission for my daughter 'E'.  We were sitting on the couch talking about God and what type of person we should be for God.  And, then I realized that 'E' does not really 'know' the qualities that she should have or qualities that her friends should have.  So, I got out my trusty laminator, this is something that I do quite often actually.

Building Self Esteem and Emotional Intelligence

I love my kids and one thing that I want them to grow up with is self esteem and emotional intelligence.  Now it has taken me a while to think of something that would be fun.  The other day I was playing with my awesome laminator.  And, it hit me, I tried to find as many 'emotional' and complimenting words that I could possibly find.  I wanted enough to fill at least an entire page to make it worth it.  While I am making this my daughter 'E' was asking me the whole time.  It was fun when I was all done and used 'ticky tac' to stick the papers to the wall in my kitchen. 

Cleaning Blood...

About 13 years ago I gave blood for the first time, while I was in High school.  While I was giving blood the assistant principal of my school was sitting next to me giving blood as well.  Only when the nurse poked him with the larger needle he sprayed blood everywhere.  Now being the assistant principal of a school means ties, and dress shirts.

Cutting Short Hair one length

Conair Barber Shears

Something that I do to save money is to cut my families hair.  And, then I go to the salon to get my hair cut twice a year.  Eventually, I will teach my husband how to cut my hair and I will not have to pay for haircuts at all.  The best part about cutting your kids hair is you are 'allowed' to make mistakes when they are little.  You are able to learn from your mistakes and as they get older you will become better as they get older.  Honestly, I do not cut their hair all the time.  'E' and 'T' do not like their hair cut, so, I cut it as much as I can.  Now, my husband loves it when I cut his hair.  He tells me all the time how much better it feels when his hair cut. 

Please Hear Me

My husband's grandmother is dying and has been on Hospice for months. Now Gram is sleeping in her hospital bed downstairs. Gram has always slept downstairs and watched the television all night. She is definitely a night owl to say the least. And, Paws (Nate's grandfather) sleeps upstairs out of reach of hearing Gram if she needs him.

My 'Handy Dandy' Shop Vac

 

Vacmaster 2.5 Gallon Wet/Dry Vac
Lightweight, powerful and portable

My daughter 'E' lost her first tooth about 2-years-ago.  She was so excited that it was loose.  It was definitely one of those memorable moments...
The tooth had been loose for months.  I personally, cannot look at someone that has a loose tooth, it reminds me of nails on a chalk board. YUCK! 

Fluorescent Light Bulbs

At the beginning of this year we decided that we were going to go 'GREEN' as much as possible.  Now, the first choice we made for 2012 was to change all of the light bulbs in the house to fluorescent light bulbs.  Now, I didn't know that there are different types of fluorescent light bulbs for different rooms of the house.  I am sure that there are a lot of you that already know this.  So, just incase I am not the only one out there that did not know this I am posting it.

Ironing... Money?!

I know, I know sounds crazy right?!  Well, years ago when I was actually ironing clothes I was thinking about the next day at work.  There was a vending machine at my work and it was extremely picky.  If your dollar was not the newest dollar it would spit it back out.  This drove me crazy.  So, as I was ironing my clothes I took my money out of my pocket and ironed my money.

Bacon (The Cheap Way)

I love Bacon, and so does my family.  It tastes amazing, especially, in a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sandwich).  One of the issues I have with bacon is that the texture is a little rough and the kids have a hard time chewing it.  The kids especially, have a hard time when the bacon is in a sandwich form like the BLT. 

Now, this is organic bacon that we buy from a specialty shop in town.  And, let me tell you it's even better the fresher it is.  That is definitely not a lie!

Best Ice Cream Deal in Town

When we are in the mood for ice cream we go to Meijers. This is what I do when I want to do something with the kids, but do not want to spend a lot of money or drive very far. 

Now, if you're real clever you can push the kids in a cart while they will sit there quietly eating their ice cream. This will give you approximately 20 minutes of quiet time if needed. I would recommend NOT doing this every time you go to Meijers. We actually, make a special trip to Meijers for the ice cream. That is the only time the kids will get it. They do not get treats when we go shopping, they are expected to behave during that time and will not get ice cream the next time we decide to get ice cream. 

Change Your Furnace Filters

Now, something that needs to be done on a regular basis is changing your furnace filters.  The Air Conditioning air and the Furnace Air gets ran through this filter.  If the filter is full it will take more energy and your Furnace and A/C will have to work harder to reach the set temperature of the thermostat.  If your Furnace and A/C have to work harder than actually needed they will end up needing to be replaced sooner rather than later.

Fair is Fair

Recently, we have had 2 garage sales. They were definitely needed! When we moved last year in June, we brought a bunch of stuff with us that should have stayed... So, my goal this year was to simplify our lives as much as possible and focus on the things that matter the most to us. God and each other are our number one priorities. Well, with as big as our family is our kids get a lot of 'STUFF'.

Dictionary, Shmictionary...

Fourth Edition of Webster's New
World Pocket Dictionary.

Ok, I personally, love the Dictionary.  I especially, love my dictionary app.  My daughter 'E' is at that age of, "What does that mean?'  It is the age of great wonder and needing to know everything.  I used to carry around a small pocket Dictionary.  (My small group from my Church can tell you all about it.)

Hair De-Tangler

My daughter 'E' has really pretty hair.  It's blond, straight and thick.  However, it does get quite tangled.  'E's hair is especially tangled during the summer.  We just recently ran out of Hair De-Tangler.  So, I used our old family recipe to make some more. 

My visual Blessing 'Owl'

This past year I have had some health issues.  In March I was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), which is the 'world's most painful disease'.  I have had these really bad 'headaches' since I was little.  My first one was when I was in elementary school and it was so bad I was down for the count. When I am having an episode (this is what I call them) there is nothing I am able to do.  This year has been the worst and I just could not take it anymore.

Chiropractic Care

For the last 20 years I have had serious 'headaches' caused by a car accident that I describe a little later.  Well, I decided that it was time that I started going to a Chiropractor, and thank God I did.  After searching for a Chiropractor I found Dr. Boesky's office.  Dr. Boesky, he is an amazing man, and honestly has become more like family than an actual Doctor. He has even adjusted my husband AND my kids. He has made a huge impact on all of us and we will forever be in his debt! We all enjoy going to see Dr. B and the wonderful ladies at the front desk!!

Homemade Fabric Softener

Ok, there are a couple of ways to make homemade fabric softener.  One of them is to use Vinegar in the rinse cycle.  I did use about 1/4 of a cup of Vinegar.  However, hanging my clothes outside and not using the dryer with the fabric softener sheets or, liquid fabric softener my clothes smell like NOTHING...  Not even fresh air.  They literally smell like nothing.  Now, when I use a lot of Vinegar in the rinse cycle my clothes will smell like Vinegar.  I cannot remember where I saw this mixture on the internet when I was searching for homemade fabric softener.  However, I found out all you needed was conditioner and water. 

Happy List :) Sad List :(

The 'Happy List' is laminated
and on her door, in her room!

I just recently posted about my husbands' grandmother 'Gram' that is dying. She has been sick for a long time and my daughter has had this doom-n-gloom perspective on EVERYTHING. It is extremely understandable since 'E' and Gram are so very close. However, the doom-n-gloom attitude has been going on for a while.  And, I do not really understand it since she is such a happy, loving, caring wonderful little girl. 'E' gets in these modes where nothing will make her happy and she cannot think of anything that makes her happy.

Death in the Family

Heaven is For Real

Well, it's that topic that people never want to talk about and that is death.  Currently, we are losing a very close family member.  My husbands' grandmother on his mothers' side is dying.  We all call her Gram.  She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 3 years ago, and was given 6 months, 6 months ago.  It will be anytime now and it breaks all of our hearts.  Gram dying has especially affected our seven-year-old.  Our daughter 'E' is very close to Gram.  We have slowly watched Grams health go down hill for the past 3 years.  So, I figured this would be a great topic for anyone that has a child who is/has lost someone. 

Travel Binders

Escher's Images

My kids have probably a hundred coloring books.  So, when we travel we have a hard time deciding which coloring book to take.  I came up with a pretty good idea the other day when the kids wanted about 5 different coloring books to take.  I ripped out several pages from each coloring book.  Each child got a little bit of every one of them. 

Essential Oils

One of the cleaning recipes in the book Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet by Elizabeth Rogers is 'Essential Oils'.  Now, I called my mom to see if she could find the 'Tea Tree Essential Oil' at the Meijers near her.  Unfortunately, she was unable to find it there. 

Hanging Clothes

Outdoor Umbrella Dryer.

About a year ago when we bought our own home, we became friends with some pretty frugal people (we will call them friend 'S').  'S' had a clothes line that is like an umbrella.  You push a button and it opens, or push the button and it closes.  'S' also cemented in a PVC pipe to put the clothes line in.  The clothesline comes with a plastic container to hold the clothesline in place in the ground.  However, we did what 'S' did and used the PVC pipe.  It's worked GREAT so far!

Swiffer- Wall cleaning!

Easy to assemble Swiffer Sweeper.

Growing up my mom washed the walls of the house at the beginning of the month...  Every month...  Now, I on the other hand take that challenge ONCE A YEAR!  Unless, I see a cobweb then I have to do something about those.  Our house has cathedral ceilings that are 16 feet tall, which are not fun to try to wash.

Water Pipe Insulators

The black tube is the insulator.

My uncle we will call him 'K', came to stay with me a few months ago,  When he took a shower, it took FOREVER for the hot water to reach my shower. Now, I personally do not take showers (I know, I know some people think it's gross).  However, I need to sit in the water to get warm.  If I take a shower it doesn't matter how hot I make the water I am still cold, leading to a lot of water and electricity waste.  Anyway, our basement is not finished yet leaving the entire area open to the cold dampness of down under.  Uncle 'K' suggested that I put Styrofoam covers on the pipes. 

Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop



Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop.

Just the other day, I bought a 'Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop'. I had a coupon for $3 off it was on sale for $20. So, I paid $18.02 with tax. It really bothered me that the 'Swiffer Spray Mop' did not have a detachable cleaning dispenser that I could add my own cleaning solution to.  It also, bothered me that I had to throw away the cleaning pads that attached to the bottom of the mop.