Why I Switched to Cloth Diapers

I'm asking for prayers for my husband's job that more work will come in.  I have 244 followers and would love the prayers to be lifted to heaven.  This economy is not that great and work tends to dip drastically in my husband's field.  I'm praying that God will bless my husband's job with more projects.  His boss is Christian and it's such a blessing for Charles to work there.  Ohhh, I wish our economy would stabilize.

Did you know I switched my babies to cloth diapers?  I spent an hour with a lady (thank you, Rosemary!) I met on Craigslist who was super nice and she had almost every brand of cloth diapers out there.  She showed me each one so I could see the differences.  A lot of it is about preference but there are just some that function better.  Functioning by not leaking!  I wanted to cloth diaper 9 years ago but there wasn't as many options and I hated the constant leaking.  Maybe there was good ones out there but I just wasn't good at finding them. Anyway, the selection is HUGE now and we're lovin' it!  I can afford to buy the disposables but being that I spend $700 a year on the Target brand, lets not even mention the more expensive brands, cloth just makes sense.  

I used the excuse that you have to also use electricity and water and you have to count in that cost.  Well, in just one load I can wash several days worth of cloth diapers.  I have a front loader so even better.  Sweet!  I have been changing diapers nonstop since the year 2000 without even a month break.  Do you know how many diapers that is?  Around 50,000!  Whooooaaa.... You know you love kids when you don't mind changing THAT many diapers.  I wish I could see all the diapers I changed in a big mound to really understand how much I added to our landfill.  That is just me alone that used that many and threw away. Eek.

I made sure to go to Sprouts and buy Country Save which is safe for cloth diapers.  It's 80 loads for 10 bucks.  I asked Rosemary why it was important to use this kind of laundry detergent and she said because regular laundry detergent will break down the material that keeps diapers from leaking.  Okay, I make my own laundry detergent but I might just figure out how to alter it to be able to make it safe for cloth diapers as well.  I've been noticing lately that I have this desire in me to learn how to do everything the hard way.  Not sure why but I just like learning how to make things myself.  What if I couldn't go to the store and by the top brand out there?  Isn't it nice to know your options?  Save money?  To actually know what you need and how to make it?  Maybe it's the frugalness in me, I don't know.  

It really is important to protect your cloth diapers so if you are curious about brands, just click on this link HERE to know which ones are safe and the cost differences.  

By the way, I'm trying THIS next!  Keep one in the shower filled with a mixture of half vinegar and half Dawn dishsoap.  Use it to wipe down the shower while you are in there and your shower will always be clean.

Learning From Bad Mistakes

Click on picture
to order

It's been soooo wonderful with my husband finding a job back in his career field.  I knew he was a hard worker before and he missed working in his field he went to college for.  Seeing him at it again reminds me what an incredibly smart guy I married.  Still, he showed his love to us but working at whatever job he could find while the economy was struggling for the last three years.  Of course before I took the money for granted and threw it around like nothing bad could ever happen.  When his company went under and we saw no one else hiring, that sinking feeling came. It's tempting to live stupid like we did before but, yikes, the last three years were like swimming against the current.  It was hard.  This time I wanted to do it right so I got the book by Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover.  Just reading it makes me so wish I knew this stuff a decade ago.  How could I have been so foolish?  I can't change my past but this time I'm not making the same mistake and will plan the best I can for the future.  I know my future is in God's hands but I can do my best to be a good steward of what He gives us in the meantime.  I will slowly go put away my list of wants.... :D He says in his book, "If you live like no one else, later you'll live like no one else."  Well said!

Ashley napping with Max

Right now I'm having some doggy troubles, as usual, and don't know what to do.  I've lost 3 chickens to my little black dog Max.  I now have one chicken left.  We are so sad! Those chickens were our egg layers.  No only was Max carrying off their eggs but he was also completely beheading the chickens.  I know, to much info.  Max is sooooo cute and I think we should just build a whole separate chicken area that Max can't get too but Charles likes that our chickens can walk around.  He's basically saying it's either the chickens or Max.  Argh...  I want both so I'm trying to convince him it's finally the time to build that chicken house we bought plans for.

I've been going through some serious mind battles about my faith. Actually, I've been going through it for at least six months.  Sitting in church was worse because I would have to hold back my tears through the songs because I would remember when I used to sing for Him.  Then my heart would harden when hearing the sermon.  It got harder and harder to look past people issues and just let things just bounce off me.  I would look around and see the faults of people rather than see that they need God just as much as I did and that's why we are all there.  I met with my pastor and he prayed for me.  That was three days ago.  Just last night during service it dawned on me that the dark cloud that had been over me had lifted.  Then a scripture came into my thoughts,

He who has been forgiven much love much, but he has been forgiven little loves little.  Luke 7:36

I had a hard time with forgiveness because I doubted that God had truly forgiven me.  I tend to lean towards the idea that God is up there just waiting and waiting for me to make a mistake so He can just be done with me forever.  I don't know why I think in such legalistic ways but I do.  I'm not taught that, (more in the past) it's just that my mind goes into this autopilot.  I almost always have to take the wheel and remind myself that God loves me and He has forgiven me like He promised.  People use the excuse to not find a church because "everyone there are just hypocrites."  Well, don't we go because we desperately need God?  Because we need to hear from Him?  Most of us don't come because we have it all together and we need some ear tickling.  We are leaky vessels.  I certainly am so I need a place to worship and hear from God.  

Couponing at Fry's and Big Savings

This week I got 10 inserts from the Sunday paper because there were some really, really good coupons.  See the potential freebies on this page?  If your store doubles coupons then you'll get 10 free toothbrushes and 10 free toothpastes.  There were cereal coupons in there also that would make each box of cereal only cost .69 cents.  Also, there were other potential freebies.  I'm waiting for the items to go on sale.

Okay, so I kind of disappear when I'm planning out a big couponing trip to the store.  I have been keeping up with my newspapers and inserts each week so that has helped a lot.  However, it takes several hours when I study Coupon Sense and find all the internet coupons I want to print out.  Half of the coupons I use are from the internet.  I think I did pretty well.  I only got half my shopping done so tonight is another big trip to the store.  Last night I saved 73%.  I spent $153 but saved $571.  Not bad!

Fry's is having this really neat sale right now so I took advantage of it before it's gone.  Here are my freebies.  I forgot to include some but this is most of it.

This all should have cost $118
I paid $4!

Couponing for a Few of My Favorite Things

Got some great savings at Fry's yesterday!  These savings are good until Wednesday. Remember, I don't just find savings through Sunday paper coupons but also online.  This past week they have been having a Daytona savings where if you buy 10 items (that qualify) you save even more money. Then I added coupons on top of that. Some of these things were less than a dollar but since Fry's makes all coupons worth $1, I was able to apply that overage to other items that I would have paid for otherwise.  I used the overage from the Sun Bird seasoning packets and the Bayer Aspirin to be applied to other items.

Here is what I got...

4 boxes of Hot Pockets, 6 boxes of cereal bars, 7 bottles of Bayer Aspirin, four 12 packs of Diet Dr. Pepper, Coffee-Mate creamer, 9 boxes of Hefty freezer bags, Huggies Swimmers, and 22 packages of Sun Bird Asian seasoning (Bourbon chicken, General, and fried rice seasoning). 

It should have cost $147 total.  

I paid only $9

That's a savings of  94%! 

Surviving in a Tough Economy

Prayers were answered!  My husband has a job back in his field again!  It's been a tough 3 years with him losing his job to the economy.  I had to check my attitude many times when it got really tough.  I didn't have the spending money I used to have but quickly learned how to be frugal.  I didn't know bargain hunting would be so fun!  :D  I learned that saving money and being responsible is important no matter how much money you make.  I also learned to plan for the future rather than think what I have is permanent.

Nothing in this life is guaranteed. The last 3 years he had to find work way out of his field just so we could have something. I was proud of him because instead of wallowing in the mud and refusing to work unless he had THAT pay, he took a pay cut and stuck it out.  Finally, he's back in his career field and back to what he used to make.  In the last 3 years I've learned how incredibly wasteful we were and how to be resourceful.  I feel like God was doing a heart check on me.  Rather than rely on myself, I learned to rely on Him and have faith.  God gives and God can take away.  It's easy to smile when we have everything going for us but what about when that's all taken away?  Can we still praise God?  

My dad and Charles

I never want my husband to work extra hard just so I can have nice things.  I will sacrifice wherever needed to have him home and able to enjoy his family and not have to work his life away.  I know some have to just to survive.  I mean, having the choice, if it meant a smaller house, an apartment, whatever it takes, I'd rather have him home.  Awhile back when I was questioning whether or not to have any more kids.  Could we make it?  How will our finances cover it?  I had all those doubts and a man walked into my husband's office and wanted to talk to him. Without him knowing anything about us he said he felt that God wanted him to share something with Charles about faith.  He said God has a blessing on families and to trust Him.  As God gives us children, he will also make a way.  I believe we had 3 kids at the time.  He wasn't the only stranger that came up to us and shared like that.  We had many incidents like that.  It's amazing how true that's been and how God has always provided.  I've learned on my heart to be very, very frugal.  Whether it's making money online, spending hours each week couponing and looking for deals, or making cut wherever needed, it can be done to save money!  I've even raised chickens and sold them to homes where people wanted to have fresh eggs.  That was pretty fun and I'm thinking about starting that up again.  I thank God He's kept His promise and kept us afloat through the tough times.  I've learned some valuable lessons of not being wasteful that I'm gonna keep with me.

The Basics of Couponing and How to Get Started

Sooo, my blogging friend Sally asked if I'd do a guest post over at her blog about the basics of couponing.  I wrote it out it detail.  She has a fun blog all about reviews, giveaways, and freebies so if you'd like to read on getting the most for your dollar, come check out my post!  :D 

click here:

Saving with Coupons... How To Get The Most for Your Dollar

Raking In Savings from CVS

Yesterday my friend and I went out to CVS to see what kind of deals we could get.  We knew we were gonna pick up 6 bottles of Bayer Aspirin for free but since they were out we just got a rain check.  However, I got some other really good deals like Pantene ProV for only $1 each and pads for .77 cents each.  Here are my favorite deals that I got yesterday



All makeup (except for the Covergirl was 50% off) was 75% off then we used coupons for each item. Should have cost $83.73. Paid $2.90.

Diapers 75% off they should have cost $57.49. Paid $14.90.  Was only $2.49 each.



We love savings and hop on them when we can.  I was already getting low on diapers and once I saw a shelf that said 75% off, you bet I was gonna clear the rest of them out.  Diapers are a constant need around here with two in diapers and one in Pullups at night.  The makeup was a big deal because I was already in need of some.  Paying under $3 total for it was a major score since they had lots of makeup on clearance.  This is why I mostly buy any makeup from CVS or Walgreens (drugstores) because since they keep such a large selection, they tend to clearance them off more.  That's when I take those clearance items, put coupons with them, and rake in major savings.  My nonfood pantry is getting filled up with things we actually use.  It's nice that when we run out we can just go straight to the pantry to get another.  Most items in there were free or at least 75% off after sales and coupons.



Hostility Stores Have for Couponers

I had a horrible experience couponing at Fry's yesterday because I thought I'd give the one by me a shot again but the management made sure to show me their hostility again.  Just like always I stayed very kind to them in response but they really didn't care.  I think that store hates couponers and makes sure to show me even though I always follow the rules.  Other than that, in the last 3 days I saved around $1,000 with my couponing.  We did really well.  On average between the three stores I saved around 75%.  Pretty good!  My favorite deals were the $7 bags of string cheese that I got for only $2.50 apiece so I grabbed about 14 bags of them.  Also, I paid 29 cents for sour cream and 69 cents for cottage cheese.  I got about 80% off of my 7lbs of fresh ground beef at a different store.  Anyway, would take forever to share all the deals.  Basically, couponing works!  I actually found coupons for ground beef which is really, really rare.

I probably should share some of the same problems I get from Fry's when I coupon there.  This is not always at one store but the one by me serves as a good example so I'll share.  First of all, just two days ago I shopped at Fry's and they decided when they saw my cart that they did not want me to separate my items by threes.  The policy states that over three like coupons, they will not double.  I don't really buy in huge bulks as I only buy six of each things.  Unless, I get some online coupons and it's such a fantastic deal I get 10.  Because I only have six items and six coupons, I'll just separate in two different orders.  Well, they decided two days ago that they didn't want me to do that and just have me put it all in one order and all coupons will be made worth $1.  They didn't want the line to back up with customers.  So, I came back yesterday and did the same thing except this time they gave me no warning and the SAME check out lady decided to not tell me till she was scanning my coupons that she would NOT up my coupons after the third item. When there were wrong prices on items she would not stop and check it for me, even though I would ask, and when coupons would be stuck together, when she'd skip over them, she refused to go back and fix it to scan it.  On coupons that legitimately should have doubled up to $1 but didn't, she would ignore me and refuse to fix it.  I would kindly try to ask her to fix these things and she would either huff out loud, get irritated at me, and finally called the manager (that dislikes me very much).  Instead of checking into the right prices, he would just argue and say there is no way that item would be priced that.  When he finally did call back to that department to check the price, the guy wouldn't even know about it or explain why the price tripled overnight even though they said it wasn't supposed to.  The manager talked to me with such a hostility you could cut it with a knife.  Another manager lady came up and made sure some of my coupons wouldn't double.  When I kindly asked if I could just separate the transaction into two so my coupons would double, she once again ignored me and kept scanning.  Once she was done I simply went to customer service and got my money back.  I'm done going to this store, done with being hated because I'm a couponer.  I've never once talked rudely to the management there and have always kept my cool, even made sure I was following policy.  I have called corporate before to report the male manager but in order to cover his tracks he lied and said I was trying to break all the rules.  I keep a policy paper in my coupon book to make sure I know how Fry's works.  As of now I've been having to drive 10 miles out of my way to a Fry's store that has a nice manager.  She doesn't break rules or anything, I just love her because she's always treated me nice and respectfully when explaining things.  I always feel welcome there.

I guess in order to coupon, we're just gonna have to accept that bullying will almost always come with it.  Especially inconsistancy with the policies.  I will just deal with it in order to save money for our family, it just can really be a downer on your day.  I think sometimes it'd be good to send in coupon secret shoppers in order to fix poor customer service issues. 

Couponing at Safeway and Grumpy Store Managers

Last night and today I was doing some major couponing again and didn't get a lot of sleep.  It ended up being around 2am when I got home but sometimes it just works out like that when you can't get out till late at night.  I've been a lot stricter about what I use my coupons on.  The item itself needs to already be on a pretty good sale before I'm willing to use a coupon for it. None of those lame 20 cents off stuff.  So I was checking out Safeway today and was shocked at some of the Friday only sales they were having.  Well, today is Friday, baby, and so I happened on a good day!  So my favorite deals I got were....

EDITED:  Deal at Safeway.  Buy 2 Classico's get 2 pasta's free.  Had coupon $1 off 2 Classico's and another coupon for $1 off 2 pastas.  Should have cost $46, only cost $2.50.  Saved 95%.

These are sooo good! I guy was giving out samples and I loved it.  Then I recognized the picture on the box and thought maybe I might have coupons for it in my book.  I did!  You can't tell in the picture but this is a large family pack.  Normally $11.50 per box, sale Friday only for $5.  Had $1 off coupons.  Should have cost $69 but only cost $24.  Saved 65%.

Another 25 boxes of cereal.  Normally $4.59 a box but on sale for $1.88.  Had $1 off coupons. Should have cost $115 but only cost $25.  Good deal!  Saved 78%.

I have to say though that the store manager at Safeway is very scary and rude to everyone.  Even to his employees.  Either he hates his job or he was a drill sergeant most of his life and still hates life.  He was NOT happy I was couponing.  Even though it's a major sale day and lots of people were there, they had only one lane open.  I'm not a MAJOR couponer where I buy in crates or anything but he made sure I knew he wasn't pleased with me.  I only needed to do two separate transactions but when he found out about it he raised his voice and told me there is no way I'm gonna do it.  He said absolutely not and in his words, "You ARE going to put this all on one transaction and just not get as good of a deal."  I was still very polite to him and said, "Okay, I'll just put some of the stuff back." He sighed really heavy and gruffly told me that this time and ONLY this time I can do two separate transactions.  I was polite to him the whole time.  I'll just be sure to not shop at the one next to my house and drive further out.  My transactions went pretty fast but they thankfully opened up another lane.  They should have done that anyway on a major sale day.

I got some other fantastic deals but these were my favorites that were bought in bulk.  I need to go back and buy some Sure deodorants for $ .50 apiece at Safeway later tonight and then do some price match shopping at Walmart.  Also, need to head to Fry's and get some free beverages and feminine items.  Anyway, trying to get shopping done before baby comes next week.  I'll be going into the doctor's in 5 days to have baby.  I'm super de-duper nervous!  Aaaaaaagh!  I'm trying not to think a lot about it and just get my stuff ready.  I need to just relax and enjoy each day that I have with my family.  New baby coming, new job for hubby (said in faith), and cars getting repaired (also said in faith).  :D  

Easy Peasy Pregnancy at 37 Weeks

Can you believe I had not even bought a pack of diapers for Juliet?  This is how we are.... "Oh, well, we are heading home from the hospital, honey, what do we need?" Then I give my husband a check list.  Well, I took the kids with me to the store today and we purchased some itsy bitsy newborn diapers (with coupons of course).  Even the pack of diapers is so little.  They were all giggling about it.  We can't wait to open it and see how small they are.  You know that I haven't stopped changing diapers since the year 2000?  Not even a one month break.  I love my babies.  I don't even want a baby shower, just send diapers!  I'm a easy mom to please.  :D  You start realizing after your first or second baby that you don't need as many things as you THINK.  

I'm still enjoying being pregnant.  Can you believe I'm saying that at almost 38 weeks pregnant? I'm in no hurry and still loving her inside my tummy with all the beautiful movements.  Now, it was quite different with some of my other kids when they would kick so hard it was truly painful.  It was hard to sleep, eat, or even just sit in a chair.  Juliet is so mellow, all the girls were, that it's no problem.  Lovin' my belly right now and not even my legs hurt.  This is been by far the most pleasant and easy pregnancy.  My seventh one, go figure.

I needed to go more couponing last night so I went with my kids.  They are quickly learning that mommy almost always only puts things in the cart that she has coupons for.  Every now and then of course I have to buy something I wasn't thinking in advance about.  That's when I'll pull out my smartphone and see if I can find coupons through an app that can be loaded onto my store card.  Then when they scan my store card, it automatically comes off.  

I bought 5 Snuggles fabric softeners, 1 relish, 19 Palmolive dish soaps, 1 Pampers wipes, 5 Kool-Aid mixes, and a tupperware set I desperately needed.  Should have cost $100 but only cost me $19!  That's an 80% savings so I'm happy with it. I think I should have done better but I needed this stuff and didn't want to wait longer. 

Extreme Couponing for Cereal!

It's about 1:30am and I started couponing since 2pm the day before.  It takes a lot of work to find coupons all over the internet for the sales happening right now.  After I got all 85 coupons that I needed, it was time to get organized and find out where the sales were happening and which coupons will be used at what store.  I had to get several rain checks since stock seemed to be out so I'll have to wait on some beverages and 10 free Palmolive dish soaps.  Anyway, here is my savings for today.  :)  Cereal is a huge thing with my kids so this is about 2 months worth.  None of these coupons I got were from Sunday papers or in the mail.  I have a wonderful printer that is MADE (in my opinion) for couponing since it only costs $5 to refill ink.  Even though I printed out 85 coupons, it barely touched the ink levels in my printer.  It cost me almost nothing to print out coupons and I go even cheaper than that and choose the option on my printer for economy savings on how much ink it uses.  (Quick Print option).  Even you want to be like me and go even cheaper, since some of these sites only have it to where one coupon uses up a whole paper, after it prints out, I turn the paper around, put the paper back in the printer, and print on the other side.  Also, since you can usually only print 2 of the same coupon from one computer, I print from several computers in the house and we have 5 of them.  Then I found multiple sites to where I could get these exact coupons.  That's how I got the 85 coupons.  Yeah, I have it down to a science.  LOL.

So I got 33 boxes of Cheerios for only $ .49 cents apiece

all (38) General Mills and Post cereals for $1

I could have gotten about 24 more General Mills for $1 apiece but shared the coupons with a friend.  :)  This should have cost me $260 but only cost me $50!  That is over an 80% savings.  I'm super excited!  This should last us about 2 months so I'm happy to have the cereal department taken care of for this family of mine.  :)   We love to save money!

The Busy Life of Large Family Mamas

What happens when you have a mom of six that is nine months (37 weeks) pregnant to boot?  You have one busy mommy!  Between attacking the never ending laundry pile, homeschooling, and always finding ways to save money on things I need, there is not a whole lot of free time.  I'm not complaining because I'm one happy mama.  The craziness of my life brings me joy.  Odd as that might seem, my paycheck doesn't come from a company.  Being with my kids every single day of the year is the biggest payday I could ever have.  Time is so short with them I'm afraid to blink.

My latest challenge is a barrage of insults of people whether in real life or online that absolutely can't stand me because I am having yet ANOTHER kid.  The personal emails I get would shock you for how evil they can be.  Or when I get cornered (literally in a corner) with someone telling me why they think I'm having this many kids.  I just nod and say "surrrrre, THAT'S why."  The more kids I have the more enemies I didn't think was possible to make.  Well, it is possible.  So, if you are not Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, or a large family mama, you are safe.  

Want to know my latest (almost) freebies?  I got 6 Dawn dish washing soaps, 5 tooth pastes, 5 tooth brushes, 8 whole grain Barilla pastas, 3 dill relish, and one pack of Pepsi Next for a total of $3.  Whee!

Michele and I being goofy!

As I was picking up the Dawn liquid soap, a guy pointed out to me that the news had talked about the blue ones yous see in the picture.  They are safe and fantastic to wash your dog with because they kill fleas and ticks.  So, I set those 3 aside for my husband to use on our dogs.  :D  He was happy about that.  I bought some other groceries and saved about 70% off my bill.  :D  I love saving money for my family and my best friend and I really enjoy couponing and shopping together when we get a chance.  

I've been wanting a little dog for quite awhile but haven't had a chance. The last one I had died from injuries and I then dog sat a friend's dog for 5 months in another instance.  I was still waiting for my little dog and finally got the chance.  My kids are major animal lovers too and we are thinking next we might want a pygmy goat.  I might wait for better weather though before getting a goat.  Caleb carries around that chicken like it's his teddy bear.  The chicken doesn't even mind and even follows us around.  Another PLUS is we finally started letting our chickens walk around the yard wherever they want. We always worried that our big dog would kill them but he doesn't even care about then.  I hated having the chickens on the far side of the house where we couldn't see them. Now they just follow us around the yard or the kids while they are playing.

BY THE WAY, come visit my gorgeous niece Hanna's new poetry blog.  She's not just any girl, she was the first to make me an aunt, she just came back from missionary work in South Africa with her family.  She would love for you to pay a visit to her blog and leave a comment.  :)  

  http://whenthebluebirdsing.blogspot.com

My Crazy Coupon Savings of the Week

My friends and I had a girls night out and it felt so good to get out.  My husband is just so awesome about letting me get out with my friends and going kid free.  I think all moms should be able to get out once a week to wherever gives them a breather.  I love either going to a quiet bookstore, the mall.... no, just kidding on that one, or just hanging out at a friend's house while I cut coupons or something.  I can't just sit and do nothing if I'm at my friend's house.  I have to have my hands busy with something. Couponing is actually a hobby so it's not so much work.  

Speaking of couponing....

Last night I bought 12 boxes of cereal, 20 toothpastes (free), 20 toothbrushes (free), 2 whole chickens, 1 Purex detergent, 10 Right Guard deodorants (free), and 1 Angel Soft toilet paper (free).  

This SHOULD have cost me $204 but I only paid $37.  That is a savings of 82%!  Yeehaw!  I saved $167. 

I use coupons for every single thing I buy pretty much so that cereal was just dirt cheap.  Our kids go through at least 1 to 1 1/2 cereal boxes a day if they just eat a bowl in the morning.  This is only about 10 days worth of cereal. My husband was running low on our previous mens deodorant stash so it was time to refill it.  With 8 people in the family toothbrushes go fast.  Toothpaste not so fast.  It lasts quite awhile.  I probably have a 5 or 6 years stash.  Toilet paper?  Well, no need to explain why I needed that freebie.  I don't like to buy detergent since I make it myself for only $3 every 8 months but if I get a crazy deal on it somewhere, I'll buy it just as a back up.  I hate spending money on laundry detergent when it's easier to make than macaroni and cheese.  We were able to get a raincheck since all the Ivory body wash was sold out. We didn't have any coupons for it but if something is a dollar on sale and they are out, we'll get the rain check for future use when we finally do get some coupons. That's what I did with the deodorant so all 10 were free.  

Anyway, that's my fun and crazy deal of the week that I wanted to share.  Michele and I went couponing real late at night and it took about 45 minutes just to check us out.  They had only the self checkout lanes open.  We asked them if they wanted to just open a regular lane but they said no.  They regretted that decision since the machines kept freezing up and there were so many coupons.  The manager told us next time they'll open a lane up just for us.  :D

When the World Shakes Their Fist

Agh!  Sunday was my blogoversary and I spent it in church. It was a great day! :)  This will be my 1,656th post.  Holy cow, that's a lot of posts.  That's how you know you enjoy writing.  I must've only took weekends off from blogging.

I have sooo much to be grateful for in blogging land.  Seriously, it's been a positive thing in my life and I've met some amazing blogging moms.  I love down to earth mamma's that tell it like it is rather than always sugar coat things.  I've met some amazingly smart ones that make me feel pretty "duh" in comparison.  I've met some that amaze me how many kids they have and they have the joy and stand up for what they believe in.  Children are a blessing no matter what the world says.  The world will mock you, spit at you, tell you that you're flat out nuts.  But remember, Jesus was mocked at and called crazy. He was crucified.  However, even His last words were of forgiveness.  So what if I feel "persecuted" by words for what I believe in? Every time I get down for how someone talks to me about my large family I have to remember that the world ISN'T going to agree and THAT'S THAT.  Even when we had to sell everything, move into a tiny apartment, just so I could stay home, the people shook their heads thinking it was nuts.  Why wouldn't I just get a job?  I had only $100 at the best for groceries every month.  No car.  It was a tough time but some of our very BEST memories.  Did the world agree?  Of course not.  But I had my babies and I knew they'd grow up fast.  Can everyone do that and stay home?  Of course not.  

Today I was  thinking about how grateful I am for my own mom that stayed home with us.  I know not everyone can do that.  Some, no matter how hard they try, have to work to make it.  I will never, ever take it for granted though that I was one of the lucky ones.  Every single one of us in this world can find something to be negative about in our pasts, make excuses because of them, find reasons to never trust again, but that's not a great way to live.  Who wants to live like that?  Sadly, a lot.  Bitterness, sadness, hurt, anger is what makes pharmaceutical companies so rich.  I choose to be grateful for the positives, learn from the negatives, and live for the here and now and of course the future.  The world hates a successful story, at least one lived for Christ.  Hollywood is praised but missionaries, working dads supporting their family, firemen, doctors, soldiers seem to be forgotten.  The real heroes.

Blogging has helped me pull out the positives by sharing my stories.  It's helped me to find the humor in tough day. It's been even better to receive encouragement and even reproof from other blogging friends.  Was a fun 6 years of blogging!

Buying New Doesn't Always Make Cents

A few months ago I learned another hard lesson about wasting money and how buying new doesn't always work best for us.  I had been buying used for the kids or shopping clearances for several years now.  I was shopping in the mall a few months ago and decided to do something nice for Ashley and get her a brand new pair of shoes for $20.  The new look lasted all of two weeks and then it looked like they had been thrown under a truck.  I've gone to a thrift store and bought nicer shoes than that for $2. 

$20 new shoes after 2-3 weeks

These shoes were super embarrassing to today I took her to a thrift store and found her several pairs of shoes.  Okay, so it's shocking to know these shoes were used yet they obviously have faired way better that the new pair I had bought.

Shoes already used $2

Guess which ones I kept and which ones I threw out?  I used to be picky but then I realized kids grow soooo fast and I've learned how to be extremely picky instead in the thrift store.  Sure, there are people that just grab anything off the rack but you don't have to shop that way.  Just think, either it looks fantastic or not.  It should look new or pretty darn close to it.  If you try something on and have to talk yourself into buying it, DON'T BUY IT.  That just creates more clutter in your closet because you'll never wear it.  I found Ivy two pairs of shoes and Ashley five pairs.  I'm going through their outgrown shoes tonight and quickly getting rid of them so nothing piles up that we don't need.  As soon as I got home I dumped those pink shoes in the garbage.  Here I bought those pink shoes for $20 new yet I just bought seven new looking pairs from Goodwill for less than that.  Fashion does not have to be sacrificed for the sake of saving money.  

In fact, last night I bought myself two maternity shirts from Ross (a discount store).  I went into the dressing room with six shirts yet only came out with two.  The reason is that four of them I liked but since I stood there trying to talk myself into it, I knew I shouldn't get them.  Two that I tried on made me say "Wow!" so I bought them. I am in need of nothing else so I just checked out and left.  When I got home, I got rid of two items in my closet.  Shirts I didn't like but kept because I didn't have many maternity shirts.  I'm keeping my rules about whatever is brought into the house, that many items need to be taken out. I love my home so I need to keep it clutter free! 

I Think Life is Playing a Prank On Me

What an odd last week it was and then how it spilled into the weekend.  There was good and bad mixed in.  When you work for a school district, you don't get paid when the school is on break.  As least not everyone does.  Since we knew a month was coming where there'd be no paychecks we prepared in advance.  We paid double on our bills and even set money aside for things that might come up.  Well, my husband's car died last week so there went our savings to get the expensive part we needed.  Thankfully, his father is a mechanic (a really good one at that) and fixed the car.  Then, as soon as it was fixed, the tread fell off our van tire while I was driving on the freeway.  So we had to park that.  Luckily, he still had his work car to take back and forth. This weekend him and I took turns going to church since we all can't fit in the car.  He rode the car with 4 kids to church in the morning and I took 4 to the night time service.  I grabbed an extra kid from a friend to take home with us and while heading home I got a flat.  I was able to pull into a nice hotel and park it.  We went inside with 5 kiddos and I made them quietly sit in the nice seats while I made a phone call home.  My husband couldn't come get me because we couldn't drive the van so I had to call a friend. She rescued me and took me home but now our dilemma was figuring out how Charles was gonna get to work.  My mom calls about an hour later asking where I was.  A couple was gonna treat me to eat at a Mexican restaurant after I dropped the kids off but I never showed after church.  Darn!  Whyyyyy?  Of all times to get a flat.  I was gonna get out by myself with my mom and some friends.  She came by, had me take her home, and borrow her car so we can take it to get the new tires we need.  Hopefully tomorrow both of our vehicles will be fixed.  Sigh.  By the way, I got a flat in the car directly across the street from where I had to pull over the van last week. 

On to a more fun and encouraging topic.  Remember all that crazy decluttering thing I went through?  Well, I had really been wanting to focus on hospitality and spending more time with friends since having more time.  My work load has been so much lighter so I've been happy to have friends come visit more. At least I've been much more welcoming to it.  I'm just relaxing and wondering what I'm gonna do with myeasy Saturday when a friend called from out of town. She and the kids (Chaz and Ivy's best friends) wanted to come and visit.  Sure!  They dropped in and while our kids caught up, we got to visit for several hours.  I made some steaks and salad and we had dinner together too.  They headed back out of town around midnight or so.   It felt refreshing to feel so much more open to last minute visitors.  :D  Yay for a decluttered house and more time for family and friends!

Halloween Shopping and Store Hopping

Oh, what an exhausting day.  It's was a good day, just very tiring.  I always forget my limitations being pregnant.  My husband said I'm the energizer bunny but then when I get pregnant I have the energy of a normal person.  Maybe, I don't know....

This morning I ran around with a friend looking for Halloween costumes.  We do go trick or treating with our kids and have costumes but we don't allow them to dress in demonic clothing in any way.  It's just a day we dress up and get candy.  It's the only day of the year we can all dress up and knock on people's door for candy.  Any other day of the year they would call the cops on us so Halloween is our excuse.  Tee hee.  Anyway, we first went to a regular halloween store and it about made me choke because it was really expensive.  I already ordered Ryan's online because it was on sale and had free shipping.  I used a 25% off coupon for Kyle's at the halloween store but we just couldn't find anything else that didn't cost an arm and a leg.  Does anyone else notice that halloween stuff is way overpriced AND poor quality?  Then we head to a thrift shop and it was like we walked into savings heaven.  Tons and tons of new and used costumes.  I ignored the new ones because they were still expensive and found the rest of the costumes for my kids for about $5 a piece.

My friend and I took all 9 kids to run around at McDonalds and try to get their energy out but it did not work at all.  Haha.  I babysat the rest them the rest of the day but had to head out later to the store eventually.  I left my poor husband on his week off with 9 kids but we sorely needed groceries so I had to go.   :(

Sooooo cool......

I originally went to my favorite Fry's because it's right next to my house and it's just gorgeous. Right away though I noticed the bully girl was working the checkout lane so I walked right back out the door and went to another one two miles down the road. It took about 2 hours but finally walked out with a good savings from all the coupons.  This time I had to buy a lot easier stuff to make because my energy level is soooo shot right now.  I've never claimed to be Miss Suzy Homemaker so that's fine with me.  :D  I think we'll all survive for a bit.  Anyway, as I walked with my 2 carts to my car, would you guess who parked right next to me?  The bully girl from the other Fry's!  I guess after she got off work she headed over to the Fry's I was at and was shopping at the same time.  Plus, she walked out the same time and loaded up. That was very awkward.  Especially since things didn't go to well with corporate for her.

Sigh. I hate having to avoid my favorite places. Why do people have to be so mean?  There is just no time in this world for ugly fights and picking on differences. It happens but I don't want to be a cause of it.

Why Buy Used?

Our "new" couch

One of the biggest lessons we've learned since changing careers was how to save money.  At first we made a lot of mistakes being used to a bigger income.  Over time I finally figured out that it's just not possible to spend more than you earn. We paid off our debt 5 years ago and didn't want to go back into credit.  Since everything had to be paid with cash, it was either we have it or we don't.  

We've been waiting and waiting to get a couch that would fit our family.  Our old way would be to go to a furniture store and just put one on credit, bring it home, and make payments.  That's how we got our tables.  By the way, those are the worst tables every that we bought at Mor Furniture.  I'm embarrassed to even tell you what we paid.

Girls in their "new" outfits

We always went to the mall to buy our clothes before and it didn't bother me one bit to drop $40 on one shirt.  Now that makes me cringe.  I've been keeping a list of clothes that are needed in the house and waiting for a half off day at a local thrift store.  So I took my list and headed over with the kids.  We stick to the list to save money and not bring stuff home we don't need.  First we headed to the shoe rack.  Another lady was standing there staring at the shoes.  I just grabbed all the ones that looked new, had my kids try them on and threw them in the cart.  By the time we were finished with that section I had emptied half the rack.  No joke, only the used looking ones were left and that poor lady was still standing there trying to decide on one. :)  We had one cart completely full of just shoes.  

Ivy needed just shirts and tights so we headed there. She has lots of skirts but they needed tights to make them more modest.  Then she needed shirts.  We grabbed about 2 weeks worth of new looking tights and shirts and headed out of that section.  Kyle needed only regular shirts and Chaz and Ryan needed dress shirts.  They also needed belts.  As soon as our list was fulfilled we headed out.

Just as we were heading out we saw the couch we'd been looking for.  It's hard being patient sometimes but patience paid off!  We wanted a couch where we could easily wipe stuff off, was dark, and could fit our whole family.  This was perfect.  We grabbed it for $100!  Before, we would had no problem putting a couple $1000 on credit to get something like this.  Oh, the lessons we learn.  If only we knew this stuff back when we could've bought used and saved the difference.  Now it's out of survival but then we could've saved the difference.  

I think people assume that buying used means you dress poorly and it's real obvious.  Well, it can be obvious if we're not picky of course.  lol.  There has been times where I walked into a used store and could only find one thing that met something on my list and looked new.  Also, there has been times we walked out with nothing.

Lessons learned the hard way I guess but better late than never, right?  :)