I love how at the Kroc center they let my 4 year old little Ashley rock climb. When we go to the Bass Pro Shop they don't allow it. Ashley is the little one in the brown shirt (2 from left). I really, really thought she would be scared and only go a couple of steps but she really climbs up there fast.
Ashley is so cute and tiny. She likes to help me pack snacks for all the kids whenever we get out. She says she can't wait to be a mommy and have her own family. Yeah, she's four... quite a ways to go for her. Not such a long ways for me because kids grow way too fast.
We had a couple of kids from out of town visiting. Chaz's friend and Ivy's friend. They really are good kids and I love having them every each time. In fact, I beg their mom for extra days because the kids get along great and never fight. Well, of course I wanted to take them to the Kroc with us so they we could all play.
Dexter and Chaz
Ashley, friend Cassidy, Ivy
Here are some pics of the kids rock climbing....
Ashley (4)
Ivy (6)
Ryan (10)
Chaz (11)
From left: Caleb, Kyle, Ryan, Chaz, friend Dexter, Ashley, friend Cassidy, and Ivy
Okay, okay... I'm so embarrassed but I moved Ivy and Ashley into a different room again. I made a playroom for everyone to play in so I moved Ashley and Ivy into the smaller room. Well, no one played in the playroom and it was just left empty every day. Seriously, you could hear the crickets in there. Well, I've had the problem of baby Caleb constantly getting into the stock of food and tearing things open or ripping off labels. Finally, Charles and I decided to take out the playroom, put the girls back in, and make that small room the stock room with a lock on the door. Thank goodness.
Our plan is to buy more shelves, maybe more like the one pictured, maybe not. Then we'll place them around the room. I'm seriously running out of space for everything. That's not picturing all the nonfood stock that we have that's taken over the hallway closet meant for linens. There is absolutely no more room left because it's holding lots and lots of baby wipes, diapers, toilet paper, shampoos, deodorants, toothpastes, detergents, etc. I'm OUT of space with that too. I'm gonna have to put some organization into the stock room so I can free up that linen closet also. Since the boys will be taking drum lessons we might put a drum set right in the middle of the room. We shall see. My husband is a trained drummer so he will be able to help with their lessons. I DON'T want the drum set in the living room if I can help it.
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.
Have you noticed the change in how many kids play outside? I don't see kids outside much anymore. Probably has a lot to do with TV and video games. Makes me sad because I would love to hear kids outside in my neighborhood. When I go places I constantly see parents wiping their kids' hands with sanitizing wipes. I even see parents follow there kid around with them. I was reading this article on Yahoo. 6 secrets of kids who rarely get sick. It's all about constantly washing hands and doing it for at least 30 seconds.
I'm seeing lots of comments where people are saying how germaphobic parents are getting. They freak out if their kids play in the dirt or get dirty at all. I used to spend hours and hours outside getting dirty and would just bathe when I was finished. Man, how times have changed.
At the actual Mighty Mud Mania event
I remember one time I made a mud mania in my back yard and some people were freaking out about it. We let the kids play in the mud and with the hose and some people were saying how dirty that is. Nooooo... duh. It's mud. We have really fun memories from that. Good way to build up immunities naturally. By the way, the moms I see that follow their kids around with sanitizing wipes that I know, their kids are sick a lot. Makes you wonder.... hmmmm...Of course there are times IMPORTANT to wash hands like using the restroom, after using chemicals, before you eat, etc. The article is a bit overboard. But hey, to each their own. You know, we used to get the flu shot and our family would get very, very sick. One year I almost died from it. Since not getting the flu shot, we rarely ever get it and when we do, it's very small and we get over quickly.
I think I'm considered the animal lady on the block because I'll have someone knock on my door with a dog in hand and say, "Would you like to keep my dog?" 80% of the time I say no, unless I feel like the dog needs some caring for help for finding a good home. So yes, dogs do come through here quite often but I always help find them a good home and put prospects through the ringer when they offer. However, I got a cutie the other day. :) The doorbell woke me up and I almost didn't answer it but it was my elderly neighbor. She said she couldn't care for her anymore and asked if I would take her. Would I? Yes! She's adorable and only 4 months old.
My only dilemma I have with my little dogs is they chase my chickens. I know it's in their nature but it's causing a major problem. We love our chickens and the eggs. The black little dog is eating their eggs and I also caught him the other night hurting one of the big chickens. He was on top of her biting her really bad. She's missing feathers and we just nursed her back to health. It's soooo sad. I really want my chickens to walk around the yard but now we might have to keep part of the yard separated to keep the animals apart. Phooey. We loved having our chickens walk right up to our patio door. Does anyone have any ideas about dogs and chickens?
We are thinking about raising chickens again. I'm just wondering if I have the time for it. It's not too hard but when I did it I only had five kids. Back then though I wasn't a couponer either and it truly is like a part time job. I just really miss my tiny little chicks. :( We miss gardening also and having our own fresh vegetables. When the season is right we'll start it back up again with the kids.
I wish there was a way to train my dogs to not chase my chickens. I mean, it is in their nature so I can't be upset about it. My really big Great Dane gets along with them fine. Either that or he's too lazy to chase them. LOL.
Wanna see a chicken that doesn't mind laying on her back and chillin'? Heh heh. Here you go. Goodnight chicken.
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).
We joined this awesome and new community center that opened up and it's waaaay better than the YMCA we always go to. One day we decided just to do a tour and see what they offered and we were blown away. Even MORE, we were blown away that they offer music lessons to kids for a low cost. There are many homeschooling benefits there. My kids can do the sports in August, music lessons, and can swim in the indoor pool all year round no matter the weather. My husband does Muay Thai and although I'm not sure they have that there, they do have boxing and a full boxing ring. :D After seeing everything they had we quickly signed up. Also, they will be offering ballet lessons which the girls have been waiting and waiting for.
I don't know about you but I can't stand cabin fever and ALWAYS being indoors. We need to have an outlet, a place to go to just run off energy, work out, play, and just get our mind off our work. Who doesn't? The gym though is my favorite and if I could, I'd spend at least an hour to maybe two hours a day in there. I love being in the gym, the sound of the weights, and just working out. However, it's not so easy to do that and I haven't been able to go daily like when I was a teen. I miss it though! So, maybe just three times a week for now at the gym.
Being that Juliet is a newborn and I don't want her getting wet, I have to sit out while Charles swims with the kids. Someone has to always be with Caleb and Ashley in the water so I just brought a picnic and happily took pictures. :D Juliet is such a sunshine and my sidekick so we were fine just sitting and watching the kids play.
Getting out doesn't necessarily have to always cost a tons of money, that's why we joined a community center. Usually we are at the YMCA every year but they just didn't have much to offer. It was just a gym and a pool. I'm super excited this place was built because I feel like for such a low monthly fee my large family can just get out and hang out here whenever we want.
Ivy at the top
When I was signing up I asked if there were any other large families that come. I love meeting other moms with lots of kids. They said yes and they had just been in the other day. I said I hoped I would run into them sometime. The guy said, "Yeah, they were here. The kids were all over the stairs and being crazy." Hmmmm... that statement was loaded. I got the hint that he was saying the mom couldn't control them but he wasn't really being rude. I think since large families get watched more, there is a bit of a higher standard. You wouldn't notice as much if one or two kids were just going up and down the stairs. Sure they laugh and make some stomping noises but times that by seven or 10 and it can seem really chaotic and out of control. Imagine a small daycare set loose on the stairs. Therefore, I do get on my kids a bit more about setting an example for other kids. "But mom, that kid is doing it!" I know but that doesn't mean it's okay is the same thing I tell them every time. For awhile there we were hardly ever getting out to save money so when I would take the kids out, it was really tough. We've been having to train our kids and remind them again that in a restaurant you can't talk as loud or be as wiggly as you would at our own dining room table. My older three had lots of training because we went out A LOT with them. My younger three had very little training since we rarely were going out so we've been really working with them. Baby Juliet's job is to just be cute. :) We even write the littlest ones a chore card that says "Be cute". Caleb is turning three pretty soon and he'll be getting his first chore. There first chore at three is always to pick up shoes and put in shoe bin.
Do you ever notice when you are in a restaurant and people are just staring? I don't think it's because they are being rude but more that they are just curious how a large family functions. They want to see how you control your kids, what their manners are like, and how everyone interacts. One time we were in a little pizza joint and a lady kept staring at us. I felt a bit uncomfortable but just tried to ignore it. She was alone and dressed very nice. Well, when we went to go pay for our food the waiter said we were paid for. I asked him how that was possible and he said that lady had paid and wanted us to know we had a nice family. I did notice that she had a sad look on her face and was very quiet. Then I wondered what life was like for her. Was she able to have any children? Does she have children but they are grown and raised? Is her family broken? I had no idea but my heart went out to her because she had sad and longing look on her face.
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.
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
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.
Does anyone find it difficult to do your housework and other duties when your husband is home? In the past when my husband would have a day off from work it was for playtime and fun. Now that he is home every day we just want to play and hang out. I get behind on my housework and laundry. Either he is just THAT much fun to be around or it's a switch in my brain that I can't work around. I like having daddy home and so do the kids.
Well, as much as I love having my husband home he does have another job interview tomorrow. This is my dilemma... Charles had a job offer last week for a really, really good company. The problem is they are slow to hire but then people stay there for a lifetime. It's SUCH a good company to work for. Well, they won't give Charles an answer for 2-3 weeks. The office really works together on who to hire and they have meetings about it. Since some are on vacation, they have to wait till everyone is together to decide. Where does that leave us for 2-3 weeks? Still no income till they decide. However, he has a job interview tomorrow that sounds really interested and could be an immediate hire. The only problem is that it's only a contract job and it will run out after awhile. Do we just take the job because it's an immediate hire or wait for the other? What if we wait and the other doesn't end up hiring? Sigh. If we had the money we would wait but the way the economy is right now you have to just take what you can get. I prayed last night that God's will would be done. I prayed that God would just shut the doors that would need to be shut and open doors where He would want them opened. That took some relief off my tortured mind about this.
Juliet has been smiling a lot and is just a happy baby. She rarely fusses and only does when she's hungry. Ivy was deemed her "buddy" so she is happy to get stuff for her when needed. Caleb is Ryan's buddy and Kyle is Chaz's buddy. It works out good say when we are in public and one has to go to the bathroom then they aren't alone. :) Chaz took this picture of Juliet.
Can you believe this? Man, time has changed! I've always thought the models in the runway were waaaaaay too skinny that it was gross. When I was a teen I would try and drink Ensure shakes because I felt that I was too skinny. It didn't work and I didn't gain any weight. I probably thought like that because I wasn't raised with a TV and didn't read the teen magazines so I didn't feel that pressure to be deathly skinny from Hollyweird. I'm telling you, kids get that vibe from those places. When you are sheltered from that, you don't feel that pressure. Hollywood has really, really twisted our view of what is beautiful. I bet half the women in America would not even worry about dieting if it weren't for the sick view of what's considered beautiful. Of course obesity is unhealthy and that's a reason to diet but I see perfectly healthy women worrying about their weight. I've been frustrated at myself for my weight and I have to keep mentally slapping myself and telling myself that I just had a baby a month ago.
Have you seen this? I love it! I have it printed out for my kids and I'm gonna frame it. Talk about taking it down to where kids can really understand it. I read it to my family with a southern drawl and my husband and kids loved it. Ha ha.
Ashley has been telling me how much she can't wait to be a mommy. I was sitting down talking to Juliet and Ashley came up with her dolly and was copying everything I was saying. Later, Ivy joined with her doll right next to me and they were copying every word. It was so cute. I've been telling Ashley to just enjoy being little but she insists she's gonna grow up, get married, then have lots and lots of babies and she can't wait. Heh heh... Fine with me since that'll make me a happy Grandma. Still, I'm in no hurry for my own babies to grow up.
Oh my gosh, it is so hard to get an available computer around this large family. Ha ha. So I have something important to ask. My husband is currently out of work and he has a second interview with a company tomorrow. He has been out of his field for three years since the economy went down and this is the first time he's been able to find any work in it. Please, please pray for favor for us. This is huge, it's what he went to college for and although he's been able to find some work out of his field, the pay is not so great So Charles getting this job would be huge for us. He's incredibly smart, my man is. Heh heh. I'm so proud of him.
We have been wanting to get out more with our family but it's been so incredibly hot outside we tend to just stay inside. However, we did go to the YMCA yesterday and swim. Of course we brought a friend with us, Ryan's best friend. Usually we bring an extra kid with us when we go places. Not sure why but we just always have. It is fun having adventures with this family. :) If we had to pick between having brand new things or going on more adventures, this family picks adventures every time. Living frugal so we can afford to go out to fun places together or travel has always been our first choice. It's just that our party size is getting bigger. LOL. By the way, we are one short of a group rate.
Yesterday was my 33rd birthday! It started out with a really, really late breakfast at Denny's (since I slept in) and then I went out with my friend for the night. Well, on the way to the mall I got a flat. We were on the freeway and it was just Juliet, Michele, and I. It was extremely hot and I had the baby in the car. I didn't even know if we had a spare but thankfully we did. Phew! This is the second time Michele was with me when I got a flat and we had to figure out how to change a tire together. LOL. It's probably a good experience for us so I'm not stuck when I'm alone. We finally headed off with black hands and nothing to clean them with till we got to the mall. Now I know why mechanics use special soap because we couldn't completely get the black off. Michele and I were super embarrassed when we had to hand a card to the cashier and our hands were dirty looking. Ha ha. We tried scrubbing and scrubbing.
Yesterday when we were out for breakfast with the kids, I was soooo proud of them. It's not easy to have 7 kids and have peace and quiet all the time. However, they were super respectful to the server and talked quietly and stayed in their seats. All the hard work of training becomes more noticeable when we go out like that in public. That's not to say it's always perfect of course. It's just when Charles and I weren't taking our family out very much, there was not a lot of training moments. Now that we are getting out more, it gives us more opportunities to train them on behavior in public. I've had my share of embarrassing moments!
Charles, Chaz, and Ryan at IKEA
We love living nearby an IKEA and it's even cooler that they started doing Kids Eat Free every Tuesday! It's a HUGE store that is two story and you get TONS of exercise just walking half of it. You can get lost really easy but since we've been there so many times we can find our way out. We still haven't learned all the shortcuts though. They have a restaurant on the second floor and it's so cheap to eat there. Well, Tuesday we took our family there and all the kids ate free and Charles and I each got dinner for only $3.99 each. Our favorite is the meatball plate with the sides. Seriously, that is so cheap. Every time I go I get a coffee there but I found out that since I signed up for their card (those cards you take to the store and it gets you money off) I get a free coffee every time I go. SWEET! I get coffee every time I go anyway! Seriously, it cost us $10 to eat there for our family of 9. You can't beat that. I have a feeling we'll be eating there for dinner at least twice a month now. They also have a kid check in area and our kids love it. The kids that are too young or two old to go in the fun kid watch get an ice cream cone. IKEA is one of our favorite hangouts.
It's been tough keeping up on the house lately. I think when I get out of my routine it throws me off big time. I do spend a lot of time feeding Juliet and the summer has kept us busy. I'm a routine person, not by nature, but out of necessity. I tend to just want to play with my kids, hang out, have some adventures and forget about my boring work. :P I don't always sleep very good because I wake up all night with my little princess Juliet. You know you're tired when you go to church with your shirt inside out and never realize it till afterwards. Ummm.... yeah, a little embarrassing but oh well. Ha ha.
Ryan is 10 here in this picture but he is always quick to remind me he'll be 11 in two months. Heh heh.. Then Chaz pipes up and reminds me of his birthday. Then they all want to remind me. That's what happens when you have your kids' birthdays all two weeks apart. It's one birthday and then BAM, another, then another, then another. Before you know it, we've gained 10lbs from all the cakes we've had. LOL. Seven babies in 11 years. Not bad. :D
The girls and I have been working on our "girl huddles". I told them we need to have our own established team now that we have an extra girl in the family. I pick up Juliet and we put our heads together, say something really silly in whispers, then say "one, two, three, break!" When the boys ask what the secret was the girls always tell them. Then the boys laugh because the girls can't keep secrets. Silly girls.
We are trying to decide which homeschool program we want to use this year. My friends and I are attending a conference. Whatever I decide on we stick with for that whole school year rather than skip around. I just want to touch and look through the books that I see rather than take someone's word for it or only see it online. I really hope I make the right decision on one. We shall see. :D
