Laughing At Myself

I'm sitting here thinking about what I want to say here. I have a couple of draft posts that I was working on and those may take longer than I had planned, so my frugal series about Christmas did not make it and the one about vacation is going to be a while in coming, too. The days leading up to Christmas were quite busy for us like everyone else, but more than anything I am trying not to miss the moments that are happening. I can't believe Christmas already came! Can you? It seems like you blink and it is over. I told my husband that somewhere along the way Christmas just seems to happen faster... the years pass faster... you're nineteen years old and then suddenly, you are thirty-seven and where did Christmas go?... as well as, much of life's fleeting moments. The pastor at our old church is always saying, "Life is but a vapor." That is so true. Do you ever feel like you are trying to grab the moments before they slip right through your fingers.... and speaking of fingers I am watching my hands and suddenly in the last few years they look so old! Gracious! And I am getting all those little wrinkles around my eyes and lips... and across my checks! The grays hairs are taking over my head! Seriously, I am just too young for this.... really! ;) Like.... I'm really still just a bit past nineteen, right?! Where did the time go? And ... anyway... back on track... Christmas is past now, yet not. It is still the Christmas season and I am trying to hold onto it a little longer. I always do. I leave the tree up and all the decorations out through the month of January... or until I tire of seeing them. There's no rush to get them down and I really enjoy this time after Christmas when the rushing is over somewhat. We had a great Christmas and I hope you all did, too. I got lots of beautiful cards in the mail although I failed to get mine out. :( I had some technical difficulties with my photo... arghhhhh... sorry to those that may feel cheated. Really, I wanted to send them... even at the last moment, but then some unexpected company came for the evening that I was to work on such things and they stayed the night and through part of the next day. I am thankful for that time with them, but I also had to change some of my plans. And that is the way with life... we have to change the plan many times and be flexible... welcome someone into our home.... take the time to connect to the people that are in front of us at the moment. And so, I just wanted to check in for a moment with you all and see how your Christmas was (leave me a comment) and let you know that I may be on a sort of blogcation somewhat. I have much to do over the next week. I am trying to control some disorder in our schooling area and at the same time grab some time for special family outings while my husband is off work for Christmas break. We are hoping to squeeze in some overnight getaway time, but just don't know where or what we want to do.... craziness... I could vacation everyday of my life, but I also have some matters that are calling my name here, too. Who knows what we will do.... I just don't want the time to pass so quickly! Slooooooooowwwww doooooownnnn! Hope you all finish this year off in a wonderful way and slip into next year with peace in your hearts! I'll blog you next year!!!

Hospitality vs. Judgement

Hospitality..... I love that Rossie and Tara seem to have this on their hearts lately to share. I grew up in a home where my mom never wanted company unless it was in "her plan"... which meant we were always missing out on enjoying company. I have always welcomed company in our little home and now in our bigger home. I must say that in hindsight I can see that I was a terrible host because I never really offered much more than an open door and fellowship. I wish I had realized I needed to be serving them up some drinks and snacks or dinner.... We do now, but I still am probably too laid back about it. I have a "make yourself at home" policy.. if you want a drink feel free to get a drink, etc., but I should be better at offering before waiting until I realize they are thirsting to death. LOL!

The last year has been different though... I have been trying very hard to figure out why... besides the fact that my house is always a mess lately. Our home is "lived" in and I am okay with that, so why do I not want company? I am one of those people that thinks everything has a place and needs to be in it... most of the time. I don't thrive well in chaos, yet chaos is all around me. I want to be calm and cool and collected, but I look around and I can't breath in all the clutter. I want the shelves dusted, but I can't seem to get it done along with all my other "jobs"..... and I could seriously go on forever here about "why" I don't want company like usual, but I think I have finally figured it out. It's not the mess and our chaos.... I have decided to put our kids and homeschooling them first, so the mess and chaos are gonna have to be here awhile... or, at least, until we work out the kinks in the system. My conclusion is....

...judgement...

I just don't want the judgement. I just don't want someone looking at all of it around me and judging me... and I am not just talking about our my mess and dust. I am talking about my decisions.... my decision to homeschool... my decision to limit TV time... my decision to cut back my kid's teen level cartoon consumption... my decision to stand up even against the grandparents for foul language... my decision to not feed more materialism into my kids than they already naturally have (via Santa, via birthdays.. and yes, we still celebrate, but I am trying to lower the expectation)... my decision to turn a "living room" into a room of learning chaos complete with everything we feel like acquiring for the cause.

So, that is it! It's the judgement that I have been avoiding... from everyone... even the friends.... because I am not doing things the way they do things... and not that they say it, but come on... they think we are crazy... or they do it, too; but they do it different... or their kids "do not do that"... We have been TOLD we are trying to "protect our kids from the world"... maybe so, but that is not why we homeschool them. We were trying to protect them before that decision. Every parent tries to protect their children. That is a natural part of parenting. We simply made the decision to spend our TIME with them. The conviction to continue homeschooling came AFTER the process began for us. Now we are under the constant watchful eye of JUDGEMENT. Are our kids well behaved enough? Are they socially traumatized by homeschool? Are we turning "Pentecostal"? (My brother asked that one)... They are all watching for us to BE WEIRD. Yet, ironically my brother-in-law made a comment when he was visiting from California in comparison to the other cousins that our kids were much more enjoyable to be around and interact with because they are more relaxed and confident children. He did not realize the had even said something so important to me. I mean, he thinks we are crazy, too... but he has quit questioning us (at least, voicing it).

Hmmmm... so now that I have that figured out I need to get some cleaning done because this is SO CRAZY, but in figuring that out I think I also figured out that I am letting it be messy and chaotic on purpose! Yikes! If I have a good excuse... like not having time for company, then I don't have to entertain them and be judged by them.... Whoa! Mindblowing!!!

So, ladies... thanks for making me thinking deeper than I sometimes want to. I have been struggling lately with hospitality issues; however, as I have read your recent posts on your blogs about hospitality I have thought, "Okay, now I'm going to figure this out." I enjoyed them and they were GREAT, but I would leave thinking, "well, that part is not my problem, though. So, why do I not WANT people over lately?" You made me think deeper about what is going on with me. In doing so you have helped me get to the bottom of this issue (and I also have enjoyed all the tips, too!).

Frugal Series, Part 6: Vacations

I was planning to post a humorous account of past frugal vacations, but that might be a book all by itself. ;) Since we just went on a short little road trip vacation I thought I would share my favorite frugal tips. I must admit we are NOT being our usual frugal selves on this trip. There are times when we do a lot of picnics (or eating sandwiches as we ride). This time we are making the eating out portion of the trip one of "activities". So, here are my tips for when we are being frugal:

Lodging

1. Look for a hotel based on cleanliness above all things. With that being the first priority all other things can be overlooked. Generally, we are not too picky, but if you are you might be surprised to find that you can find a great room at a bargain price. Search our newly built or newly renovated hotels. A few years ago we took a group family (3 families total)trip to Silverton, Colorado. Two of the families stayed in a little cabins for about $70 a night (and they were well worth it), but we opted to stay in the newly built little motel across the street for $50!!! In the cabins they had kitchenettes, but we had a microwave ane I rationalized that we could just eat cereal for breakfast, sandwiches and midrowaveable meals for lunch, and spend our $20 savings on eating out (at that time there were only four of us).



2. Stay at places that offer a FREE breakfast... and I am NOT talking about a danish or donut. Many motels and hotels offer a free breakfast with a good variety of healthy filling choices with your stay. You might pay a little more for the room, but you save in SEVERAL ways. You save money from not having to eat out breakfast for a family. You save time, energy, and grocery expense bringing and preparing your own breakfast. Many five star hotels are fabulous and frilly, but I have to say I would trade them anyday for a more family friendly environment. For instance, during the homeschool conference we attended in August we opted to stay at a cheaper motel a mile from the conference hotel. Yes, it would have been convenient to stay on-site for access to the conference, but where we stayed our breakfast was provided with a nice dining area to enjoy it in outside our room. We also had a microwave in our room for easy meals or snacks (popcorn, ramen noodles, can soup, or warming meals) and a mini-fridge for food (of course, we always bring a cooler, too). Usually, rooms can be booked for $50-80 depending upon location. Places like Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, etc. are the ones to look for.


3. Use Priceline, Orbitz, etc. to search for a hotel/motel and read the RATINGS and COMMENTS. Sometimes you can get a great bargain from booking through these sites, but always cross search the hotels actual site. Sometimes it is just as cheap or you can join special rewards programs for free to save money or get a free night.


4. If you are going to a conference you must compare the "conference rate" to the hotels regular rate. Often the "conference rate is MORE. If that is the case simply book your room without mentioning the conference. If you are asked if you are attending a special event just state that you are vacationing or something of that sort.

Dining Out

1. Know your bargain options for eating!!! That is the biggest thing. Know the specials and dollar deals for the chain restaurants. Examples are: Jack-In-The-Box has Chicken sandwiches and burgers for $1, as well as, other options. Wendy's has a great $1 menu including bacon cheesburgers and chicken nuggets. Burger King has Whopper Jr. for $1, etc... Subway's $5 foot longs are a great option. Little Ceasar's always has Hot-N-Ready pizzas for $5 each. McDonald's has a little known secret... 10 piece chicken nuggets are a little over $5 a pack, but for about 50 CENTS more you can order a 20 piece (TWENTY!!) For a "classier" restaraunt my BEST and FAV tip is Johnny Carino's on MONDAY nights. The have a special that you can order the Grandissimo portion for the price of a regular entree. We go there and order Chicken Parmesan Grandissimo plus 3 salads (99 cents each) with water to drink and it comes with all their fabulous bread you want. It feeds us all and we sometimes take how leftovers and all for under $20, plus we leave a tip. Also, most restaurants run their best specials on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Tuesday the slowest day of the week for them, so you see a lot of "kids eat free" specials on Tuesdays.


2. Skip the "meal deals" and drink drinks from your cooler or order water which is much healthier. Totally skip the kid's meals (unless you find a special price).


3. Check the hotel phone book for a "coupon section" and use those! That IS what the coupons were meant for... to be used.


4. Pack snacks and a cooler with drinks and EASY foods. I always pack drinks, milk, lunch meats, weiners, jelly, mustard, mayo, favorite snack crackers and chips, animal cookies, and bread. I sometimes pack gogurts, pudding packs, fruit cups, cereal bars, cereal, fruit. Remember the little things like a knife, can opener, plastic ware, disposable bowls and plates, sippy cups, napkins. Along the trip I save my extra napkins an ketchup, etc. more because of the convenience size during travel. Don't forget the fun extras like hot cocoa and marsmallows (big & little).

Route

1. Choose the less popular destinations. If you want to simply go play in the snow, but do not want to ski... then avoid ski resort areas or choose a nearby town... or a smaller ski resort area. If you are a beginner skier try out something like Wolf Creek Ski Area as opposed to Aspen. Avoid the most popular destination locations unless you are wanting that experience... like DisneyWorld... in that case the only way you are going to get DisneyWorld is at DisneyWorld. ;)


2. Be willing to drive a little. You might have to pay $100 a night to be right at your destination, but if you are five minutes away you might pay $75.

Camping

1. Stay in National Forests for FREE... if you are willing to rough it!


2. Choose "Primitive Camping" in a State Park or RV Park... again, only if you are willing to rough it!


3. Choose non-chain locations to save money. Typically, KOA campgrounds (etc.) or much higher than individually owned non-franchise campgrounds.

***And do not make any large purchases... uh-hem... like a BUS when you are on a frugal vacation... LOL! See my next post dedicated to the bus purchase and how that is actually frugal, too!***

Repair to link...

It has been brought to my attention that a link was broken to my last post, so it is "repaired" now.

Frugal Series, Part 5: Getting Debt Free & Car

I just want to clarify this, we are currently NOT debt free and we may never be. It is a goal we have, though. It seems reachable at times... other times... not so much. The only thing we have financed right now is our home and we have had our mortgage for eight years. It is set up for 30 years and we have it down to approximately ten more years with our current amount we choose to pay (that would be a total of 18 years). So, we have it paid down to almost HALF the original term of the loan. That is a huge accomplishment; however, I think if we pay a yearly lump sum (portion of income tax return) we might get it paid off in three years (that would bring it down to a total of 11 years).

Why is this so important? If you don't understand mortgages an interest, then NOW is the time to start! You NEED to acqaint yourself with the massive amount of money you are GIVING AWAY! In Part 1 of this series I told you we only financed ...hmmm... I might have told you wrong.. I am thinking now it was $48, 000. Either way, if we pay out for the full 30 years we would have paid $112,078.80 and that is $64, 078.80 in INTEREST!! That's way more than the amount of the loan.

Here's the thing about getting completely debt free.... If we pay this house off in three years, then it is going to be just in time for a couple of things. One is inevitable and thanks to two hurricanes in a 3 year span it will probably need to be done sooner.... roof replacement. The second is the A/C systems in this home are reaching the end of their life expectancy (although, we are having no problems currently). And the other big thing is my husband's car... it is about to turn 20. Yep, 20 years old!!!! Granted it is a nice car and he only drives about one mile round trip to work it is not going to last forever.

Okay, more about the car because I am sure you are all feeling sorry for my husband now. Don't.... Well, you can a little... ideally he would like to have a Jeep, but I roll my eyes due to the fact that he couldn't even fit us all in it with him! So, what does that say... hmmm... does that mean he wants to be alone... not a chance of that!! He should have lived that fantasy life with the Jeep before this one! LOL!! Okay, about the car. In the time I've known him (age 19-37) he has had a Astro Van (given by parents), Nissan Sentra (purchased 2nd-hand by parents), Saturn (purchased by us new), small Ram truck (purchased by us 2nd-hand as a 2nd hauling vehicle because having two vehicles for him was still way cheaper than a big truck), and the Nissan Maxima (1990, given by my parents). Nothing was wrong with the Saturn, but the Maxima was more of a luxury car and my parents were going to sell it until they realized we wanted it. Seriously, at 15 years old the car was like new with ridiculously low mileage. We no longer needed the truck, so we sold the truck and the Saturn and he still has the Maxima. I drive my 2002 Toyota Sienna Van and both vehicles are paid for.

Homeschool Christmas Parade of Homes

I thought some of you might be interested in getting in on this. You could link to the posts that you have already done and/or do more. It's the "Homeschool Christmas Parade of Homes". Don't forget the Linky thing!

Frugal Series, Part 5: More About Coupons

Remember this... Coupons are a marketing tecnique. It is advertising! You have to remember it is a system that is designed for the seller to make money. Yes, you can save some money sometimes with coupons, but overall you WILL spend more than you save (*with exception to those that buy that item only with a coupon and only when it really is the best deal). The thing is that once you try "that" cereal your kids are going to beg for it everytime. Savannah's fav cereal used to be bran flakes. It was healthy... it was good... we were all happy. Then, that weird little bird starting singing about being "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" and sent out coupons all over the country. Savannah tried them in the store when the sweet lady was giving out "samples and COUPONS". Guess what she had for breakfast this morning?.... and any other time she can get away with. No, we did not buy it with a coupon... nor did I plan to buy them this time and search for a coupon ahead of time. I had two of my kids with me... they begged.... Sierra batted her eyelashes... they won... Yep, coupons will make you "cuckoo".

Again, I will say for those of you with a grocery store that triples and doubles coupons I would do that TO SOME DEGREE. Also, if you have a store that has lower prices for members take the two minutes to fill out the little card. I do that EVEN ON VACATION. Yes, I may never go there again, but would you pass up a dollar bill lying on the sidewalk. NO! Fill out the card because the savings are huge. I have done that all the way from California to Tennessee... NO KIDDING!! I may never use them again, but I saved money that time if nothing else. And no, I don't do it here because my stores don't do that. Fortunately, they just charge "mostly" fair prices. I go to the store and milk is $1.99 or $2.59 or whatever. I don't have to be a member to get that price versus the usual $3.99 like I have seen in a lot of states. There are no buy one for $3.99 or two for $4.99 weird sales (that one is big in New Mexico)... and I have to say I am glad, because I would so feel like I had to do the weird sales thing and get the best bargain.

I am SO going to have to tell you about our frugal vacationing! That will give you all a laugh! It's all about saving on the things that really don't matter to you and spending on the things that do.... uhmmmm.... next time... don't you love it when someone leaves you hanging?! LOL!

Frugal Series, Part 4; Non-Couponing Frugal Me

That's right.... NON-couponing. I used to do the coupon thing. And I used to get all the grocery store sale ads and go to each of the three stores that had the sales and take advantage of the sales. Then, I had kids!!! I am sure that some of you see the value in continuing, but for my sanity I just do not see it. One store is all I can fathom. And just let me say that if you live near one of those stores that triples coupons and such that I would still do that part, but I live in a very rural area and the one store that used to do that stopped several years back. I used to get such a thrill out of getting things for 9 cents (or whatever).

So, what method do I use for saving money? In my town we have a Brookshire Bros. grocery store and a Super Wal-Mart. The neighboring town has an H-E-B store that I will drive to for a really good sale (mostly meat sales are all I am willing to do that for). I still get the circular ads for the two gorcery stores and check them each week and see if there is anything on sale worth my time. Unless it is really good I do not go to those stores. You have to realize that the adverising goal is to get you in the store. If you are going because the tomato sauce is on sale for 10 for a $1, then skip it. Yes, SKIP IT! Once you get there you are going to buy all your other groceries there and many of the items will be at a much higher price. Let's say I go to that sale to take advantage of that tomato sauce sale and I have save a couple of dollars, but I have Ritz Crackers on my list. The gorcery store sales the same box of crackers for almost $4 that I can get at WM for $2.50... and there goes all the savings I went there for to begin with. So, my advice is to find that ONE store that is the best OVERALL bargain for the items YOU shop for. For me it happens to be WM.

Okay, I said "non-couponing", but if I somehow obtain a coupon that is for something I purchase on a regular basis I will try to use it. I do not scavenge the sales paper for coupons or search the internet unless I get a tip-off that there is a significant coupon... I just do not have time to spend searching coupons out and don't want to spend my time, energy, paper, or ink on coupons I mostly will not use. What I will try to get are: diaper coupons, freebie coupons (if I stumble upon it), clothing coupons (Old Navy, The Children's Place, JCPenney), product coupons that come in my food packages, and Pharmacy Specials (New prescriptions get a $25 gift card). I recently did a test run to see if I could save money by searching out coupons and it was such a pain and I could hardly find coupons for the stuff I buy. Most of the time if I liked the items the coupons are for there is a compareable store brand at a cheaper price without bothering with the coupons.

And that brings me to the next strategy for saving... STORE BRANDS!! At least, try them to see if you like them ONE TIME. If you do not like them, then never buy them again. If you do, then you can look forward to saving money from then on out on that product. I am not a brand name person, but there are some things that I MUST have the brand... but that list is short. Really we will try the store brand and usually you can't tell the difference or in many cases we find we like the store brand better. But watch out because sometimes the name brand is cheaper. Rarely, but it does happen (ex. Bama jelly @ WM).

When I shop I look at the cost per ounce and not the total cost. Do not fall into the trap of believing that more is cheaper. Often it is not... more than you may realize it is more expensive to by in large quantity. I do shop at Sam's some, but mostly it is not a significant savings on most things... unless you are name brand type person. I like to get toilet paper there, trash bags, flour sugar, yeast, restaurant quality chicken tenders (without me having to bread them). More than anything I think it is a great place to shop for large purchases (TVs etc...) which I try to avoid doing. ;) Another thing I do is that I do not automatically renew my membership when it comes in the mail. Mine was due for renewal three months ago, but I have not been shopping there. When I go back it can be renew for a year at the register and I will save 3+ months of membership dues. I want be going back until the toilet paper supply is low... Heheehee!

And the number one thing I do to save money is.... NOT EVEN GO TO THE STORE! STAY HOME! If I go I am going to buy stuff and yes, it is good to have food.... but amazingly we do not starve to death when I skip a trip. In the last year I have saved a huge amount by sending my husband on some of those necessity runs because he will go straight to the milk and bread and get out. I will go and buy $50+ of other stuff. I start seeing all the things we could stand to have on hand. LOL!!! I took two of the kids last night with me to get like 10 inexpensive things... I spent $78 !!! ???? Cutesy snowman marshmallows, donuts, individual string cheese, Cocoa cereal..... It's fun to get some of that stuff for them, but if they never see it then it does not exist in their world and you do not have to ever buy it... sad little mini-marshmallow are super cool when they have never seen the others! LOL!!

Avoid pre-package food and learn to cook it. Frozen waffles was something I used to buy. Now I make them. And pancakes are just way more simple than people realize. Pancake mix, biscuit mix, cornbread mix... buy a cookbook (secondhand if you can... LOL!)

So really... evaluate whether that coupon is working for you. Don't just think you are saving money. Know you are if you are going to do it. If you have to have the Pilsbury Biscuits, General Mills cereals, Triscuit crackers, etc. and there is just nothing that will work for you but the name brands and pre-packaged foods, then coupons probably will save you money.

Frugal Series, Part 3: My Daddy

My last two posts have been set up as "scheduled posts", but they did not post... ???? Go figure.. I guess I did something wrong. So here it goes.... more about my frugal side.

So, this one is about my daddy. There is one thing that I wanted to cover that just did not quite fit with my post about my mortgage even though these two things are related. I just thought this needed it's own post and that my daddy's health could use a bit of an update here. What does this have to do with being frugal? Well, no matter how frugal I am I had to weigh what is truly important ten years ago. I chose my dad's health! I would even go in debt to have my daddy in this world and that is what I chose.


You see I mentioned that my little house was built to be added on to. I drew up the "blueprint" myself. It had a drop down living room on a slab with a couple of steps into that room and there was a huge closet off of a new master bedroom and that closet adjoined a laundry/utility room. My existing living room would become the dining room and all these changes would leave us with two smaller bedrooms. I can't remember all the changes, but it was all very well thought out. Something happened one day that would change that plan completely, though. I was at work doing my secretary job (before kids) and I got a phone call from my mother and she said my daddy was at the hospital and they thought he was having a heart attack. I went down to the hospital and he was taken in for an emergency five bypass heart surgery. His main artery into the heart was almost completely blocked, as well as, other blockages. The doctors told us that even if they had him open on the operating table and he had a heart attack before they repaired the blockage that it would be a massive heart attack and they would be unable to save him. They were able to complete the surgery before that happened and he is alive today!



I had to re-evaluate MY plan for that little house. Within a year later I had to make a very difficult decision. I had to decide if I wanted to hang on to that house or my daddy. One day that house might be the only thing left that I had of my daddy, but right then.... I felt I had to make a decision to hang on to him. And that's when I put up the For Sale sign and I never looked back. No matter how frugal we are we have to choose the people and those relationships in our life. I now have a mortgage, but more importantly I have my daddy!! And I will gladly look that mortgage square in the face each month and pay it and never question that decision.



Just to update you a bit about my daddy's health.... well... WOW! It has been some year for me... my daddy's bypass surgery lastest him ten years. This past February he started having chest pains and went to his heart doctor to get checked out. They did the usual stress tests and said he was fine and sent him home. In March he had a some massive pains and went to the Emergency Room where they evaluated him. They could find nothing wrong in all their testing and it was decided that he would have another arteriogram. The arteriogram revealed a blockage and while they were in doing the arteriogram the doctor was able to insert a stint. He had suffered a heart attack, as well. A second time my daddy had survived his heart issues, but not a day passes that I don't panic everytime the phone rings. The spring left me feeling almost incapable of breathing in fear of the next phone call I might get. Early this summer another one of those calls came. My daddy was in the hospital, again. The stint had failed. Apparently, there is a 20% chance of this happening and scar tissue formed around the stint causing it to fail. They were able to put another one in and he has now survived round three. I have dealt with my fears somewhat and had to give them over to God, but I do still wonder everytime the phone rings what that call might bring. My daddy is doing well, but there is a noticeable difference in him to me. He is aging and doesn't seem so invincible to me anymore. I am just thankful to have him longer. God has given him an extra ten years and am hoping and praying for much more than that.



And for you all out there.... If you ever deal with a possible heart issue, I want to pass this information along. Stress tests and all that other stuff can NOT determine what an arteriogram can. INSIST ON and DEMAND and arteriogram! It can be the difference between living and dying. They insert a catheter (large needle thing) into your inner thigh and run dye through your arteries to get a look at the heart.

Frugal Series, Part 2: Mortgage Vs. Utilities

I have got to post some pics with this, but be patient. Just eight years ago when we moved into this house the world was just going digital, so that means that the little house pics are all non-digital and the new/old house may require some digging through the archives! ;)

The next thing I want to touch on is that as lovely as our extremely low mortgage may seem ($311.33) there is more to the big picture. See, I mentioned that the house is 3, 500 square feet. It is also over 100 years old. It was built in a time when central air and heat were nonexistent... the same was true for insulation. All of those things have been added to this house... thank you Lord! The windows are the original glass, though. You know the stuff... very thin and when you look through them things get somewhat distorted at different angles. Fabulous!... and I would not dream of changing them out, but they are not the best thing for low utility bills. And they all need to be resealed around the edges. My husband attempted to seal them when we did the exterior painting, but he just did not know what he was doing. I could do it, but I have always been pregnant or something... hmmm... not pregnant now though. Maybe I need to add that to my to do list. Some off our floors are really cold right now, too. Those are the areas where insulation needs to be added under the pier-and-beam portion of the home. We keep procrastinating about that one because... well, a few reasons... it will be a mojor pain to do because there is not a lot of space to work in under the house... and no one wants to go under there.... I will not do it and my husband doesn't want to either, but he does not want to pay someone to do it either. Like I said previously... he's gotten cheap, too!

Another issue is that there was an add-on to this house about 25 years ago. That portion of the house is on a concrete slab and is the back portion of the home. When they added that portion they added a second central air and heat unit; however, the two units are not really set up properly for the efficiency of this home. Their origial plan was to have the second unit cool and heat the Great Room that they were adding and then there was to be an attic space above that room. When the owners realize how large the attic space was they decided to make it a room instead and have it share off that A/C unit. The other half off the upstairs has a large window unit (we added one with heat a few years back). All that said... we really need to have all the A/C work redone for better efficiency. We are planning to wait until it is absolutely necessary, though. When one of them dies we will handle that then. ;) Two years ago I had someone come out and look at the units and we formulated a plan, but like I said... when it is necessary then we will do it.

All that adds up to this one thing... Much of the time our utilities (gas & electricity combined) are higher than our mortgage. It's a trade off for having a century old home, but one we did not quite realize when we moved in here. We have adjusted to the initial shock of it and now just see it as part of the package. My frugal side tells me that even if we paid a combined $700 a month for our mortgage and utilities, we still are getting off cheaper than most mortgages today, so that is not too shabby!

After the eye of Hurricane Rita came over our house we decided to add a fireplace to offset some of the rising gas costs that resulted. We had to replace water damaged walls in that room and repaint anyway, so we just did a complete remodel of that room. We burn the fireplace through the night in the cold months to save money on our gas bill. So, that's the comparison for the mortgage versus utilities issue here. Most people do not have these type of issues, so they do not realize the reality of an old home, but we love it overall.

And the next post will be about relationships... hmmm... what's that got to do with being frugal? Well, I'll give you one hint. It's about my daddy.... hmmmm, very confusing....

Let It Snow!

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

but the snow is so delightful..."

We were in Houston when it began to snow and Houston is just not the place you want to be if you have to be on the freeways with the possibility of "black ice" (icy roads). With careful consideration we decide to head home much sooner than planned. We drove through the snow, then out of the snow, and then the snow came to us about ten minutes before we got home.

In the spirit of posting about holiday traditions and to go along with my Frugal Series I thought I would post a recent picture of our home. And this is an extremely rare site to see our home with snow falling! Yippee!! Being that our home was built in approximately 1905 I have always wanted to hang simple green wreaths from the windows with red ribbons, so last year I added these to our holiday decor. The top window is missing it's wreath, but it is waiting patiently inside the window [sigh]. Don't you love those little details that get forgotten?! :) If you look close you can see our tree glowing in the back window. We have a traditional GREEN tree with white lights and it is decorated with an assortment of holiday ornaments. Every year my mother buys the kids a special ornament and we hang the breakables on the upper limbs and the nonbreakables on the lower limbs. I also usually buy the kids an ornament or get a family ornament when we have a new addition, but I have done neither this year... and I may not. That is okay because my mother is doing that tradition, too. I don't think the kids will mind if I take the easy road this year. ;) Each year my husband and I (or just me) get the tree up and check the lights (when I feel like venting I will give that topic it's own post... ahem), then the kids help put the ornaments on. If it is cold we have a fire going, possibly have some hot chocolate and/or roast marshmallows in the fireplace... this can vary year to year... we just take it as it comes and do what we feel we can manage. Another fabulously tacky thing I started last year was add SILVER TINSEL all over our tree. My husband was less than excited until he saw the lights come on and the whole tree looked as if it had twinkle lights on it. Now if I can get my hands on that tacky angel hair... hmmm... do you remember that stuff? It makes the lights "glow" and is beautiful with multi-colored lights. Ahhhh... the memories. We did some weird things with our tree as a kid. Back to the topic at hand and maybe I will post about our tree as a child later. I have quite a bit of Christmas decor now, but I put less of it out as time goes by. I tend to favor the more simple things now like green garlands over the interior windows and wreaths throughout the house... faux holly on the lights (another frugal thing we did was replace our candleabra lights with flourescent a few years back... so tacky, but frugal... we say they look like "running lights" on a boat.. it took awhile, but you get used to the strange look... I think..) Hmmmm... funny how doing this post and reflecting on our traditions in our home has made me want to get the rest up.... THANKS TARA & ROSSIE (and others). I needed that! I need to go get all my garlands put up... I have lots! Our icicle lights are not up either... the lights are my favorite thing!!

This funky action shot is Savannah and Sierra building a snowman by the side of the freeway.... sad little snowman, but the kids were thrilled. I convinced my husband to stop and let the kids play awhile just in case we did not get any snow at home. I sat in the van mostly with Sahara while Cody froze outside with the other three kiddos... LOL!

At home we got out our snow wear and this is Caden making a snow angel. I love how they look so cute stuffed in their snowbibs and coats. We are Texans at heart, but hit the road to Colorado every chance we get (hence the snow wear). I would love to live in the valley in Colorado... maybe one day we might.

I Love The Duggar Family

Thanks to all of you that are spreading the word that the Duggar's are in need of prayer! Sadly, there are those out there that will take this time to bash the Duggar's and they already are. I just want to say that I am in awe of them. They are truly a family that has chosen to trust God not only with their family lives, but with every aspect of their lives. They should be treated with honor and not with disrespect.


Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.


In the Bible God is very clear that children are a blessing from the Lord... the more you have the more blessed you are... and you are not to be ashamed for it! God has blessed the Duggars not only with many children, but also with a heart for joyfully raising them up to honor Him with their lives. They are such kind and loving people and we should all aspire to such greatness whether we chose to receive the Lord's "blessings" (children) or not. The Lord's way is far different than the way of the modern world.

Please pray for baby Josie Duggar and the entire Duggar Family, as well as, the doctors and nurses for wisdom and the care of this family.

Frugal Series, Part 1: Being Frugal & My Life

This one's for you Tara! ;) I thought I would give you some laughs! No, really this post is not about any of my frugal tips and such, but rather about why I am so frugal. And no, I do not feel like I have to explain myself. I just feel like sharing... for laughs! LOL!


There is some background foundation I feel is necessary to share for my frugalness to make sense. My parents did it to me! LOL!! Seriously, they both grew up very poor. An example from my mother's upbringing is that when she married and moved out of the home they still did not have an indoor toilet! Yikes! I can not even imagine! They were a small family with only three children, so I am not sure what the circumstance were that lead to their poverty, but I am certain it had a huge impact on my mother's goals for her life. My father came from a family of eight children and grew up in the pulp wood business. He was packing a chainsaw at an age when most of us were still playing with toys. By his Junior year of highschool he was working full time in the pulp wood business to help support the family. Together my parents were some fit!! One thing I am sure of is that neither of them wanted to raise their families in poverty.... and they didn't. What they did do was instill in their children (2) a very clear sense of money and living within your means. They opened a Savings Account for each of us when I was eight years old and taught us to save and not spend everything we got. Our lives were not built on debt. Of course, my mother has mentioned to me before that early on in their marriage they did accumulate some debt and they had to formulate a plan to get out of debt. They still did the normal things like get a loan to buy new cars and such, but my dad worked extra to try to pay those debts off early. They saved money and paid cash and worked hard to build our home. When I was seven years old we moved into the home my daddy built (and without a mortgage). The only thing he contracted out was the brickwork, which they paid cash for. It was your standard 70's era ranch style brick home (3 bedroom, 2 bath, double carport/workshop). My dad was an Operator at Texaco Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. He always said, "Yes" to ANY overtime they offered him and he always worked holidays to get double pay (we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve). When the company would go on strike and my daddy was not working... well, he WAS working. He was never idle and without a job of sorts. He would find somethig to make money while we lived off their savings. I can remember him picking up aluminum cans and selling them for salvage and tearing down buildings just for the lumber. That lumber is the lumber that he built our home with. I remember many days of my daddy hammering the old nails out to prepare the lumber for builing our home. In fact, he had so much left in his barn that I used a portion of it to build and pay cash for my first home. Crazy, huh!? I can't even believe it sometimes. It is surely not of THIS WORLD. We are a spend it before you have it society, aren't we? But I was not raised that way and I pride myself on not becoming that way.

So, when I "came of age" I moved away for awhile, but I came back and started saving and building my first home... while I was a waitress and a bookkeeper. It took me three years!! ... but that was quick really. I mean, I made probably around $12,000 A YEAR. Other than gas money, car insurance, and other necessary expenses I would allow myself a whooping $20 to spend on the weekends. I used a Christmas Account to save throughout the year for gift giving. About half my lumber cost was free due to my daddy's hard work. Poor Cody met me right before I started building the house, so he got to be my free labor! ;)

And about Cody... he is my complete opposite! LOL! ...but he has adjusted and has become quite frugal himself. Poor guy!! We were both in college when we meet, but I couldn't stand college. I would rather work hard and make some money than worry about my grades everyday. Cody would rather chill his way through school and work about nine hours a week (compared to my 50+ hours)... COMPLETE OPPOSITES!! Once upon a time he wanted to be a Pediatrician, but somewhere along the way we decided that he could not handle baby saliva; therefore, he decided to become a teacher. Ha! Little did we know that he would get over that whole baby saliva thing and we would have so many kiddos! We could have saved a ton of money on doctor bills! Hmmm... I could afford to be less frugal. And that brings me to the current day reason I am so frugal.... because I HAVE TO BE! Because I believe in being a stay-at-home mom and because I believe my kids should have great things (nice clothes, fun toys, and fun times). That doesn't mean that I think they should have the best of everything, but they definitely do not want for much and when they do want for something I think it is a blessing. It is one of the best gifts you can give your children... to let them WANT something... to look forward to something... to desire something.... not to be given every desire upon the first request and especially, not to feel "entitled" to getting their requests met all the time. I know people that get their children something everytime they go to the store (~~not bashing anyone here~~) and those children expect it... they feel entitled to it. I just do not want that for my kids.


What I have learned is that my kids don't really care if they have everything new. They get just as excited about what they get as kids that get everything new. Kids adapt well to their surroundings. My kids actually like know that the things they get used have not gone to waste... they like to recycle. Funny really. We have several people that hand down clothing to my girls. Many times the stuff is like new. My kids get so excited because they get to wear "cousin Caitlyn's" or "cousin Ashton's" clothes. And I remember how much I loved to get my older cousins hand-me-down clothes when I was a kid. I never felt like it was second rate because I was so excited. It was fun!


And with toys... well, if we go to a yard sale or thrift store we let them "shop" and they love it. Now that does not mean they don't get new toys... they do... too many in my opinion. And you would be surprised at the new things that you can get secondhand. It is because we live in a time of excessiveness. People have too much to use it all (my family included). People just buy things as gifts to sort of meet a qouta. Grandparents (etc.) want to buy for the kids, but don't spend enough time with the kids to know what they like and just buy a bunch of random "stuff". That "stuff" becomes next months yard sale (at our house, also). A $50 dollar item gets sold in a yard sale for $5 and it is such a waste.... except when we get the bargain! LOL! Like today... I bought my kids three large floor puzzles and a Twister game. I also got a completely new and unused 3D folding paper dinosaur by Milton Bradley for 99 cents. Okay, so I had to through in some of my bargains... (I actually got a lot more, but I will spare you the details, but I get a lot of extra learning things for schooling for really cheap). Actually, it is quite fun, but I really do it to be frugal... to stretch our money out. It all comes back to this... I am a stay-at-home momma to FOUR kids and their daddy is a school teacher. If I want to stay home without an additional income of some sort it REQUIRES being frugal... or in debt. I don't see debt as an option.

And back to the house thing... I am sure you are wondering more about that, so I would like to touch on the high points here. By the time I was 23 (I think) I had built and paid cash for my first house. It was on my parent's land because they had 11 acres. It was small... about the size of an apartment, but it was all mine and all new and very well built... and very cute, if I don't say so myself. It was a one bedroom with one luxury... a walk-in closet! ;) Hey! A girl has to have the important stuff! There were five rooms: the living room was 12x14, the bedroom was 12x12, the kitchen was 12x12, the dining room was 8x12, and then a small bathroom. Anyway, it was about 300 square feet of living area with a six foot porch across the front. It was perfect for a single person or a young couple and it was made to be added on to as life changed. I lived there for a year by myself and then, Cody and I married and he moved in after dating for four years. After about three years we bought (or financed) a piece of land (8 acres) and had the house moved about 30 miles away. Five years after marrying we had our first child and brought her home to live in the little house. The dining room got transformed into her bedroom and we squeezed a dining table into the little kitchen. It was time to add on.... BUT, my daddy had had a five bypass heart surgery shortly after the house was moved and I decided that MY plan would have to change. My daddy was my "builder", but I was not going to risk his life to add on to that little house and we just could not do it without him. We put the house and land up for sale. When Savannah was 8 months old we got a buyer and found a house to buy. We closed on both on the same day. With what we sold the little house for we paid off the land and put $30, 000 cash down on our new (hundred year old) home. Did I mentioned the new home was a foreclosed home (yep, another bargain.... LOL!!)? We got it for almost half what is had sold for ten years prior to us buying it. It had sold for $120, 000 and the bank had it listed for $86, 000. We offered $78, 000 (not expecting them to take it)... they did... we put down our $30, 000 and financed the remaining $48, 000 and that is the ONLY debt we owe currently. I did do one thing that kind of breaks my "cheap rules"... we financed for double the length of time we thought we should on the advice of our realtor (30 years). I am glad we did because it gave us room to have unforeseen "financial breathing room". Our mortgage on a 3, 500 square foot home is ... drumroll please..... $311.33 a month! And yes, we pay more than that. To pay it off in 15 years we would need to pay $425. We vary what we pay because there have been some unforeseen things arise... replacing some rotten wood on the exterior, repainting this massive house, ripping up and replacing the kitchen floor (hidden under 3 layers of flooring), repainting every room, adding a fireplace, and purchased and additional 1/4 acre making our lot 1 full acre and half a city block... most of it NOT necessary, but we wanted to do it. And we have added a few kids to the mix! :) So, we have at times only paid our mortgage amount and at other times sent in an extra $20.... or paid the $425... or made a large payment of several thousand dollars from our income tax return. Now we pay $500 a month and I am dying to see how much income tax we will get back. My goal is to put half of it toward the mortgage and half of it in our savings account. We have a bigger goal.... to pay off the mortgage and be completely debt-free. I think we might be able to do it in the next couple of years and knock that 30 year mortgage down to a little over 10 years! Whooo hooo!! I'll keep you all posted on that one!

Wow! So much to add to this post.. maybe I should give it to you in a series.....

(and that's where I leave you hanging)

Pre-Packaged Ornament Kit Fun

All too often I think that sometimes we forget that it is OKAY to take the easy road sometimes. We don't have to whittle the wood to make homemade ornaments with our kids. And sometimes it is even better to just do it rather than worry about doing it well.... and you won't hear that from me often. I am a perfectionist and it is my worst personality trait. :)

I found this little kit at Michael's for $1 (each kit makes 3, so I used 2 kits). Notice we gave our angels haircuts to make a boy for Caden and left Daddy's bald. We have one angel for each member of our family and I wrote their name and year on the back. Super cute. I did use a glue gun, so this one required a bit of assistance.
These little wooden plaque ornaments are the most fun for the kids, because they do it all without assistance. Well, technically Caden did some scribble on his and Momma colored the rest for him. This was purchased at Michael's for $1 a kit (each kit comes with four wooden plaques with pre-attached string, four markers, two glitter glue tubes... we used 2 kits). Notice the little jingle bell snowman? We did that kit, too. I had to do most of this one because it was small and required hot glue... not a good choice for little kids, but would be great for teens. Kit makes 3.

All those for $5 and I didn't have to pre-cut foam and gather jingle bells, string, or whittle the wood! Love it!

I Luvs A Bargain!

Pardon the grammar! Funny how things work out... After that post yesterday about Luvs diapers I realized that Caden needed some sleeptime diapers. I was out running around and went to Target today and they had a sale on Luvs! When you buy two boxes of Luvs diapers you get a $5 gift card, so I went ahead and picked up another box for Sahara as well. We are stocked up on diapers through the New Year! ... and I already went back and spent the gift card! LOL! We were on our way to a theater production this morning when we got our Luvs bargain, so we had to leave in a rush and did not get to "really" shop. I went back and got some things we needed... and wanted.

Another note is that in there little bargain section up front we were able to get some "copycat" version of some Melissa & Doug type puzzles. Of course, they are note great quality, but worth the $2.50 I paid for them. I got three little boxed wooden puzzles where you "dress the bear" with the puzzle pieces. Also, they had a cute little puzzle with zoo animals where each animal is three piecesand you "build" him (head, body, feet). Great pre-k matching game and great fun to create creatures just for fun for the older ones. When I get them out of the car I will try to get a picture posted.

Wet Wipes

Well, I might as well share my two cents about wet wipes... and no, I do not make my own. Oh the shame I share tonight with all you out there that are going old school in this area. I am so cheap you can't believe it, but diapers and wipes are the best money a Momma can spend! ;)

My favorite wipes are: the store brand at Wal-Mart... I don't even know the brand name! Maybe it's Parent's Choice, but it is the ones in a light blue package and they say, "Real Cloth"on the package. I buy them in a 3-pack bundle. They are the softest and best quality on the market... well, Pampers are good, but I like the price of these better. There are no perfumes or funky baby smells... yes, I said funky! I can't stand that baby product smell. Contrary to what people have come to think, babies were not meant to smell like cheap, powdery, toxic perfume. ;) You know the smell... that Johnson's pink lotion and such... Yeeeeekkkk!

And my least favorite wipes are Huggies... for the life of me I don't understand why a company like Huggies can't make good wipes. They are too thick and seem too just aid in sliding the poop around and I thought the point was to wipe it OFF. The regular Parent's Choice wipes are similar and do the same thing.

One more note: Regarding the good ones... Parent's Choice also has an Organic version and they are just like the ones in the light blue package. I can't tell the difference and I use both. With both you can wash your face with them... no scent, no strange chemical feel, no burning, etc... just feels like water. Target has a comparable version, also in their store brand. They are exactly the same. TRY THEM AND YOU WILLL NEVER BUY ANOTHER BRAND!!

Diapers

I wish I could say that this post is all about cloth diapering, but I just can't bring myself to make the switch. I few times a week I have to clean the poop out of my little boys' "underwears" and I nearly die! And I know that baby poop is much different, but both of mine that wear diapers are past the sweet little baby poop stage (not that there is anything sweet about it). For the record, Caden wears diapers for sleep times (although he should all the time... arghhhh!).

This post is about disposable diapers. Over the last nine years I have tried them all it seems. For tiny babies I loved Pampers with my oldest two. I would use those and the White Cloud diapers and wipes when I could find them. Then, I discovered Huggies and I have used them for the majority of my diapering days. I am a huge Huggies fan, but something happened with my last little darling that made me think they might not be as perfect as I had previously thought. Sahara has been quite petite and slender compared to my other babies. I did not realize this could be part of the reason we were always having "Poop Talent" issues (out the back of the diaper, the sides, under the diaper ??) I even had a couple of friends suggest that I might need to switch diapers, but I just did not think it could be a diaper issue (ya know.. since Huggies is the Holy Grail of diapers in my mind).... until... I was in a crunch and about to run out of diapers. The best option was to go to a small chain store and they had limited diaper options. I skeptically grabbed a box of Luvs. Now the reason I was skeptical was the tab closures on Luvs diapers. I have to admit that I had tried Luvs several times in the past and loved everything about them, BUT the extremely hard tab closures... so hard that they would leave scratches on my babies legs and that is not something I am willing to sacrifice. It had been awhile since I had used Luvs and I was hoping they had changed the closure tabs. Yippee! The DID!! And I have been using them for both of the babies since then. No more saving the Huggies coupons to get a better bargain on them!... Luvs is cheaper without a coupon! And the great news right now is that you go to the Luvs website and sign up on their network they will send you TWO coupons in the mail for $2.50 off of their diapers. So, that is like $5.oo free for something that you (or me)are already gonna buy! Now... one thing I must say is that I still think Huggies is the best diaper for heavy wetters.... especially those nighttime wetters. BUT Luvs is pretty darn good at that, too! If you haven't tried them recently I highly recommend you giving it a try!
***UPDATE: I got my coupons in the mail today (12/14/09), so that was really quick. However, the coupons are different than I posted above. They are: $2 off Luvs diapers; $.50 off Bounty; $1 off Charmin; $1 off Joy; $1 off Aussie. Not quite what I had in mind, but at least I'll save $2 on diapers. I have kind of given up on the whole couponing thing, but I will use them occasionally if it is worth my trouble. ***

As an note, I have tried all the cheap diapers and store brands and for the most part they are just plain cheap. Some of fine for light wetters, but my kids have never been light wetters. They hold it back until they are ready to release a flood! :0 If my memory serves me correctly, the Target brand diapers a pretty good for a cheap diaper.

Songwriting Nine Year Olds

We were adding the Tiny Tim the Turtle song to our Tt week in MFW Kindergarten yesterday and my oldest added her own extra verse. You know the song... :

I had a little turtle.

His name was Tiny Tim.

I put him in the bathtub

to see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water.

He ate up all the soap.

He tried to eat the bathtub,

but it wouldn't go down his throat.

(Savannah added this verse:)

So, I put him in his tank

and let him swim around.

He tried to eat a palm tree

and everything around!

Cute! How amazing it is that a year ago she was just starting to tell and actually get jokes and three months ago she could not add to a song or even comprehend why you would want to. She would look at my us kind of weird when we would make up some crazy song... now she is doing it. Keep in mind this is the child that did not even like music when we began homeschooling and now she is writing her own. Part of it can be attributed to homeschooling at her confidence in her own abilities and part of it is a coming of age thing. I have noticed that around eight it is like some kind of magical thing happens and they are suddenly aware of things they never were aware of before. It fascinates me! And now my little baby girl is NINE YEARS OLD! She just turned nine last week.... and there is a part of me that knows that that baby time is gone and there is just no going back there now... there are only the memories and the most profound realization that the future with her is something that I have to be very aware of how I am molding her for her life's journey.

Sahara's Blog Entry

Sahara is becoming found of my computer:
cvbb bvgf vtrfvtrc
..... I mean, Sahara

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Hmmmm... have you ever wondered why the twelve days of Christmas doesn't make a lot of sense? I have, but just figured it was one of those things that I would never know the explanation, too. So, I was searching for ideas about things to do for the 12 days of Christmas or 25 days of Christmas with my kids.... some sort of Character Qualities Chart or something. I came upon this website that is about the MEANING of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Whether you believe it or not it is quite fascinating. I am not Catholic, but I still like and the only thing that I would not necessarily "teach" my kids would be the "Seven Maids A Milking" since it applies to Catholics. I would teach my kids ABOUT that portion, but we do not do penance and such things (By the way, our religion is Baptist/Christian). I also came across this lapbook about The Twelve Days of Christmas that I found very interesting. If you page down you will see examples and you could do this on your own without ordering the lapbook instructional, if you want to keep it quick and simple. There's always next year for ordering the book and going into great depth with this study. This year I am trying to go simple. Hope you, at least, find this interesting.

Nativity Scene Crafts and WAY More

I was searching for a Nativity Scene that the kids could do this season. I found this site.... Audrey's Christmas Page. Caution: It is idea overload, so skim over it! There is a whole section of nativity Scene set-ups, so I was thrilled with that and towards the end there is another one that I really like (Angel Scene Mural -- under the Bullentin Boards section). I will try to share some photos later of whatever one we choose.

There are lots of great coloring pages, too! And I am ultra picky about coloring pages. I like quality pictures and you will be able to find some on this site and almost all of it is Biblically based Christmas pages!!!Let me know if you find it useful and I would love to see some pics of your versions of the crafts/ornaments, etc. Have fun!

M. I. A. and Ponderings

I have been M.I.A. (Missing In Action)... and I do mean ACTION! In the last month I have packed up (and unpacked) for three trips out of town. Craziness! It has nearly killed me, I think. I have actually considered cancelling the trip we have been trying to plan for Christmas. We have been doing very little of our school and that just makes me feel awful. I try to "prioritze" and, of course, getting school done should be top on the priority list, but two of these trips have been to see out-of-state relatives and that is a high priority, too. We were able to visit with my husband's twin all the way from California and only have to drive the two hours to our in-laws. So much closer than the 20 hour drive to California! [And yes, we drive to get there.] The second visit was with my brother, his wife, and their six year old daughter and again, we only had to drive two hours to my parents house as opposed to the 10 hour drive to Alabama. The last trip was supposed to be a "joy ride" kinda two day getaway to recover from the other travels... let's just say it was not so much!

So, I awake this morning pondering what to do... Originally, I had planned to take the whole month of December off for a Christmas break and do only Christmas related schooling. The thing is we ended up taking off most of the month of November. Well, we did some schooling, but it was such a "half-effort" that I just do not think it was as beneficial as it could have been. I am totally glad that I decided to school year round because we seem to have to take a lot of off time. The recent months have also shown me that I am probably going to want to switch to four day school weeks, so we have day to run errrands, do shopping trips, appointments, visits with friends, Co-op days, "field trips", cleaning, etc. (all those things that still draw for our attention).

Just to throw in something random... I have not done Christmas cards! Not that that is really earth shattering, but I usually do send Christmas cards. Last year I did not do it because I just had made so many changes in my life with having a new baby and switching to homeschooling mid-year and trying to learn what I was doing. I was just "treading water" and trying to survive it all.... uh, same this year, too! LOL! Well, I guess I still have time.... we'll see if I get it done. ;) That is the thing.... if we don't do our "usual" school I could get some of these things done and the kids could be involved in it. Hmmm... and it is only really two weeks that I am talking about because we will be taking the usual time off that our public school takes off [remember my husband is a Teacher]. Anyway, I am just pondering it all and for me this year I have really been pondering how we will make school a "way of life" and life a "way of schooling"... not so much about a curriculum, but with them still learning and achieving the appropriate academics. By the way, I haven't mentioned that we are naming our school! For the most part it is decided that we will call it "Way of Life School". [Reasons for "naming" our school vary, but some of it is for the future when they need highschool transcripts.... some of it is so they can have a "school" to say they attended and not just saying, "I am homeschooled."... some of it is just for FUN!] I pondered a few variations: "Way of Life Academy", but our focus is not purely academic; "Way of Life Christian School", not opposed to that one for sure; "Way of Life School", just like the flow of it and the simplicity of what it says and the profound statement of it even with the simplicity. I obviously stayed away from my first choice with something about Little Things because they will not always be little and therefore, not want to be referred to as such in their teens. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to share my ponderings and let you all know I am out here still... alive and well exhausted!