Cost Break Down:Frozen Chicken: With Bones or Without?

This cost break down comes to you courtesy of Shawn.  Since I broke my foot he has been doing the grocery shopping, which I admit has been fabulous!  I do not miss that as an item on my to do list. But….he does it differently than me!  I sent him to the store to buy chicken breasts and he came home with  a bag of bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, which I would never buy.  But, he insisted, it’s a lot cheaper!! No, I said, not after you figure for the weight of the bones And skin you are paying for but will only throw away!!

Well, we never miss a chance to have a calculator fight, so once we were done tossing them at each other ( just kidding) we did some actual math.  Shawn deboned and skinned the chicken and weighed the waste bones and skin, roughly a third of the bag was waste.  After weighing the actual meat, we calculated that the 2Kg bag cost $0.98 per 100g of actual chicken meat.  The bag of frozen deboned, skinned chicken works out to…. drum roll please…  $1.09 per 100g. 

Okay, so if you can wield a knife well enough to debone frozen chicken ( I can’t but that’s where Shawn comes in handy), and you don’t mind investing that bit of extra time, you can save a whopping ten cents per 100g?  I guess I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth it or not at your house… as for me? I think I’ll skip the extra step.  That is, unless my awesome husband wants to continue doing all the grocery shopping, in which case the answer is he can buy whatever chicken he wants !



PS:  As an unrelated side note, I got my cast off this week and am feeling great and just a bit stiff .  Love being able to drive again!!

Breaking News!

I haven’t blogged in a long time.  I couldn’t find a way to fit it into the packed schedule our family has had this year, but suddenly I find myself with a lot of time…

Because I broke my foot!

I fell going down some stairs. After I got over my first feelings of embarrassment and hope that no one saw me, I knew right away that the crack I heard was indeed some bone in my foot.  I was getting my daughter dressed for her dance recital at the time, so I got her off to the staging area and sat down.  I knew shock would carry me for a few minutes.  God’s timing is great!  My other daughter asked to go to the bathroom, and my mom brought her out into the lobby.  I was able to send a message to Shawn that I had fallen and broken my foot.

I tried not to draw attention to myself, but that was hard to do and eventually I had a whole group of people rushing to help me.  The building staff got a wheelchair and the dance studio staff got me ice packs.  I was so thankful there was a side door and I did not have to be carried out through the lobby! We were out of the building just as shock wore off.  My mom took the kids home and Shawn took me to Emergency.

So now, I am all casted up and taking up residence on my couch.  Other than the physical pain, and embarrassment, the worst part is mourning the summer plans I will not see come true anymore.  I had imagined a whole summer of playing in the local pool with my kids and endless playground days.  It’s my right foot that is broken, so I can’t even drive them to these places.  I can’t lift my baby, and I definitely can’t walk around with him on my shoulder.  We are still going to attempt our planned camping trip, since my parents will be there and help us supervise kids.

I have known for a long time that I tend to feel too much of my value from productivity.  God has been teaching me to let go of that.  Certain times during my pregnancies I would be too tired to do much and I would really struggle with it.  I have often said “ I wish I knew how to ignore what needs to get done and just relax and play with the kids more often.”  Well, Shawn so lovingly pointed out… now I get that chance!  God has put me in a place where I must let go of control, and where I cannot feel proud of all that I can get done.  I cannot be a super mom, managing laundry, cooking,cleaning,teaching and playing with ease.  Right now, it’s hard to manage to get myself into the bathroom!!

I have a great group of friends, and I know that in the weeks ( months?) to come, I will have to ask for a lot of help.  I tend to struggle with this too.  About a year ago, a friend of mine broke her foot.  I remember thinking at the time that I was glad that was not me, as I would never want to ask for help like she did.  Guess who the first person I phoned was? Haha!!  Her tip?  Keep a stroller in the house so you can put the baby in it and hop around if you need to, and accept all offers of help!!

My mom cleaned my house before she left, and I had just bought two weeks worth of groceries.  Friends are bringing meals all this week, so I am set for a bit.  I have an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon next week, and then I will likely be fit with a “boot” cast and know more about how long I will need it.  I’m warned that the very best case is 6, probably 10 weeks.  I tend to be a slow healer, so I am not going to set my hopes on the speedy recovery and risk being disappointed. 

Until then, my kids are enjoying coloring on my bulky knee to toes fiberglass cast while I get used to accepting help instead of offering it.  I’m going to have to slow down and just sit more.  And, I’m going to have to let Shawn pack for camping!!!

What Grade Are You In, Dear?

By far, the funniest side effect of home schooling is that Colleena has NO IDEA what grade she is “in”.  As she looks old enough to be in school now, people often ask her, and she looks at me helplessly as if she hasn’t the faintest clue of what to say.  Baden, having spent a few years at school, understands the importance of this question and answers much more naturally with “ grade 2”.

I never noticed before, but this is our culturally normal way of finding out how old children are.  It becomes a moot point after high school, but until then, it’s the way we gauge a child’s age, likely interests and areas of learning. We might say “ Oh, you’re in grade 3?  That must mean you are learning cursive in school… do you like it?”  

I kept coaching her to say “ I’m in Kindergarten this year”.  This is what people expect, and from that they can deduce that she is 5 or 6.  She refused, however, and one day I pressed her to find out why.  “ I thought I was in Grade 1 and 2!” she said.  It was cute, and it made me laugh, but honestly, I can understand her confusion.  None of her workbooks are for Kindergarten.  The thing about homeschooling is that children learn whatever they need to understand next, and this is different from the public system .

Neither Baden nor Colleena does many workbooks in “their grade”.  Many homeschooling materials come with no grade, suggested grade windows, or are very different than the province where we live.  Language Arts Through Literature has different colors of workbooks that you progress through, with suggested grade equivalents.  Colleena is doing the “blue” level, which is “about grade 1”, and Baden the “red”.  Although “red” is marked for grade 2, in our province, they wouldn’t study the topics in it until grade 3, maybe grade 4 if they are in French Immersion.  Their Math books are graded, and each child is ahead by one year, besides, this curriculum is again further ahead than the province’s stated levels for their years.  They are both doing grade 2 Bible, as it was easier for me to have them do the same one, and their science books are “grades 4-6”.  In French I am sure they are behind where they would be in school, as I have really dropped the ball there and am having a hard time finding enough materials.

So, you can understand Colleena’s confusion.  She has no idea why people expect her to be in Kindergarten.  Homeschooling has made me realize that I have to stop lumping all kids of the same grade together as having similar interests, abilities or areas of study.  Just in case you’re wondering, I am not going to be teaching cursive to Baden next year in “grade 3”.  I can’t read his printing a lot of the time, and I am not moving on to a potentially messier style until he is neater at this one.  He is not going to be hurt by another year of printing, he’s an 8 year old boy and this is just where he is at. I for one am going to simply ask how old a kid is from now on.

Colleena’s Beauty Salon

I remember hearing a story once about a famous artist.  As a child, he took the ink well and drew pictures all over the walls.  His mom, instead of freaking out, saw that he had talent and encouraged him to draw, but on paper.  I always liked to imagine she had to count to 12 thousand before responding, because that is what I would have done to avoid going bananas.  Oh, and I’m sure she made him clean it up too…

I always wanted to be that mom, the one who doesn’t mind the inconvenience of cleaning up after some great exploration or learning opportunity.  The one who kept her cool, and encouraged her kids to explore their interests.  Sometimes I am.  My kids ( and often my friend’s kids) are always doing some crazy thing at my house.  They play with tubs of water on the kitchen floor ( and get in them), I tape paper on walls to let them paint it, I let them paint windows, I fill the bathtub with snow, I give them puffed wheat to “cook” with in the play kitchen and I have even filled up a paddling pool on my deck in early spring so they could splash in their bathing suits.  It’s often said “ only at your house!”

I was pretty cool when I discovered that Colleena had cut herself some bangs…She did a pretty good job, and only minor touch ups were needed at the hairdresser’s.  But last week, I really blew it.  Colleena snuck downstairs and gave haircuts to her Barbies, their clothes, and horses.  When I discovered the pieces, she lied to cover it up.  I won’t lie, I was mad.  Some of the things she cut where mine from childhood.  In that moment, I was thinking “ I am NOT going to have a kid with a scissor issue, I have to put a stop to this right now!”.  It was a big angry fight, ruining an other wise great day.

After I had some time to cool off, I got to thinking… why not let her cut hair?  Can I make an appropriate venue for this?   So I made a little plan, and today I got to put it into action.

I went to Value Village, and for only a few dollars, I bought a small scrubs shirt as a smock, a dolly that none of us had any attachment to, and a bib to be the “client’s” cover.

Colleena got out all the tools

She wanted to use, washed and combed out the hair and set to work.




Lily wanted to play too, but she wasn’t allowed to have real scissors, so she was just a stylist tonight…








Colleena was so thrilled!  We had a lot of fun, and told her that we would allow her to keep certain dollies for hair cutting.  This also came with a stern warning that she was not to cut hair, whether real or dolly, without mom or dad, and that we would only play this game in the kitchen.



So, tonight ended on a much happier note.  Colleena got to try something she has been interested in, and mommy didn’t lose her cool.  And apparently, Dolly was pleased with the new ‘do…

How Long Should You Store Hand Me Downs?

This question is on my mind again this week.  With the girls, it’s not really an issue.  Colleena is petite, and Lily is average, so even though there are three years between the girls, there is only one size in between them.  Shirts generally go straight from one to the other, and I have one diaper box of pants in their closet. ( Have I mentioned how much I LOVE diaper boxes for storage?!)

Now… the boys… There are 7 years in between my boys, and although Bremen is bigger at weigh ins than Baden was at the same age, and even though I just broke out the size 24 month t shirts for an 8 month old, he isn’t likely to make up THAT much ground! ( yes, seriously.. he is almost 25 pounds, so while he isn’t tall enough to need the 24 months/size 2 stuff, he needs them for width. hahah!  He could probably make due with 18 months stuff, but I don’t have much left, and I do have a lot of that next size, so I figured I’d move him up a bit early and things could be a tad bit big)  When we weren’t sure if we wanted to have more than two kids, I pared down the baby clothes, figuring there was no sense in keeping boxes and boxes of clothes, not to mention the fact that there weren’t that many clothes to hand down from Baden, he wrecked most of them.  I had to buy new ( used) boy clothes after Bremen was born, since I hadn’t kept enough to avoid having to buy more.

And then, we had two more kids, hahah!  Right now, girls clothes can go as soon as Lily out grows them.  Baby toys, seats, swings and the like are leaving as soon as Bremen is too big for them ( he weighted out of these types of items!). I have been keeping, boxing and labeling boys clothes in each size as my oldest, Baden out grew them.  I tried to keep mostly things that are timeless, selling or giving away items with “in” characters or styles that were likely to be dated too soon.

Besides my own in house generated hand me downs, I recently got several huge rubbermaid containers full from a mom with two boys and way better taste in clothes than me.  I know her mom and she just wanted them out of her house, so she boxed them all up and her mom brought them over.  Everything two kids could wear in sizes 18 months to 5.  Gorgeous, really cool clothes.  I keep them in that crawl space behind my wall over the stairs where we have our tv mounted.  Today, as we were emptying that space to do some work up there, the kids were playing in there having a great time, and I started wondering… should I really be keeping all these clothes?

Big items seem like a no brainer to me.  Snow suits, winter boots, shoes… all have large bins in my garage and are worth saving.  What do you think about the hand me downs?  How much is worth storing in boxes for up to seven years? How much work re-sorting, re-organizing and moving around these boxes is worth it? What will still be good?  I have noticed that some of Baden’s old outfits that I pulled out of bins smelled old even after I washed them for Bremen.  Sometimes shirts with that plasticy printing are all stuck together and gummy after sitting in a bin.  Elastics in socks seem to be brittle.  Should I put a time limit on it, as in I will keep what he could wear in the next two years?  I could sell or give away the rest.  Are boys jeans that manage to make it through without holes in the knees worth keeping for seven years?  Five?  Two?  The cheap ,ahem, frugal, part of me wants to keep them all, since it’s such a good way to save, make due with what I’ve got and a great feeling of being prepared for years to come, but is it really worth it?  How long would you store hand me downs?

Mortgage Statements Are Nauseating!

My annual mortgage statement came in the mail today.  Most years, I have thrown them out with out even opening them ( I know, I am so ba-a-a-d!).  But this year, for some unknown yet apparently sadistic reason, I decided to open it. 

Over the past 12 months, we have paid only $1949 dollars off of the principal, and a whopping $12,948 in interest.  Oh but wait… the good news is… there is only 36 years and 4 months left of the amortization!  To further disgust Shawn and I, I figured out how many hours Shawn had to work to earn that $13,000… you don’t even wanna know… I wish I didn’t!!

Paying off our mortgage in record time hasn’t been on our list of financial goals, but now I am starting to wonder…  After we pay off the debt ( still making good progress!!), and start saving on a more regular basis, will I increase our mortgage payments and try to blast that huge beast?  Or will I want to relax a bit more by then? 

I can’t say for sure.  Just thinking about what else I would rather do with $13,000 has re-stoked the fire under my butt, and makes me want to buckle down even more.  Our lovely January vacation is over ( and paid for, yay!!) so now it’s time to get back to kicking that credit card !

New Year, New Budget

As this year drew to a close, my husband and I sat down to evaluate our finances and see what needs adjusting.  We’ve come to see that our budgets have been like a pendulum, swinging back and forth with equal energy between spending and extra debt payments. 

We always seemed to manage one or maybe two really strict low spending months, but then a catch up month would follow.  We can eat out of the cupboards and freezer for a month, keeping the groceries under $400, but inevitably the next month we’d be out of paper towels, toilet paper, flour, sugar, rice , potatoes, diapers and just about every other imaginable household item.  Other budget categories had the same problem.  We had no regular line for clothes, which is ok until Shawn needs new winter work boots, which come in over $200, or someone needs snow-pants or socks or whatever.  We can wear out or entire wardrobe but the stock up at the end of it is a big bill!

Shawn received a raise late this fall, so our income has changed slightly.  We sat down to work out a new basic budget, the one that we start out with each month then plan any new items we know are coming up.  We start with the same basic amounts, and then adjust for each month’s unique needs.  We wanted to make a budget that was a bit more balanced, creating a more even pace.

Our first major goal this year is to increase our donation to the church and reach a full tithe by the end of the year.  Since I blogged all about it already (Read about that here)  I won’t do more than mention it today, except to say that I will be tracking more closely the portion of Shawn’s income that is variable and working on a system to make sure I am tithing on things like overtime and bonuses.

We added planned amounts for home maintenance, vehicle maintenance and clothes.  Instead of these things being added as an “ other expense we know of” in a month when a need popped up, we will now have a planned amount.  Unused portions will be transferred into savings, still ear marked for that category and used when bigger-than-this-month’s-allotment expenses come up.

We’ve decided to save a small amount each month, instead of using all extra funds as debt payment.  We will still be paying about 10% of our income onto debt payments each month.  We have decided that the “Dave Ramsey” method of an insane pace sprinting until the finish line isn’t working for us.  We are opting instead for a marginally smaller speed, which will leave us with different options.  The small savings number will help when we want to take a summer camping trip, or pay for something like soccer or ballet.  We can spread these items out over the year instead of the month or two before they are due.

We’ll continue our renovations at a slow pace.  Saving ahead and paying for each stage will set the speed.

It is still our main debt related goal to pay off our Master Card by October when our mortgage will be up for renewal.  After that, we attack our credit line.  Recently, when regular interest rates where changed at the bank, the fees on our credit line doubled.  This will make it harder to pay off extra principal, and we are even more determined to pay off this giant mistake from our past!!

We will start paying our children allowances again.  We have tried different ideas off and on without much success this year and are still looking for a system that is the right fit for our family.  We’ve decided that it’s purpose will be to let our children practice making decisions about how to save and spend money.  They won’t be “earning” it per se with chores, but there will, in the future, be a list of extras they could do if they would like to earn more money for a goal they have.

I have gotten really slack about planning and tracking each month, and I want to make a new excel sheet to get us back on track in this area.

That about sums up my financial resolutions for the up coming year.  What are your goals this year?

Tithe

Tithe… on it’s own it’s an old word meaning a tenth, but the fuller meaning is to give back the tenth to God.  Do you tithe?

When Shawn and I started attending church, we’d toss the occasional “offering” into the plate.  Oh, we’d feel all good and generous about tossing in the odd $20.  But really, compared to the amount we were earning/spending/wasting, it was nothing.  Unlike the widow Jesus praises in the temple, it didn’t really cost us anything.

As our faith and commitment to Christ grew, so too did my conviction that this was not enough.  We began hearing a lot about this word, tithe, and it floored me.  “ What? People give that much to a church?!”.  I spoke to a lot of Christians that I knew and began exploring this idea.  Really, it’s a recognition that God gives you everything you have, including your salary, and that He asks you to return the “first fruits”, 10 %, back to Him. 

I began to question… 10 % of what though?  We talked to a lot of people about what they would consider income to tithe on.  Your pay? Definitely.  Child tax? Some say yes, others no.  That birthday check your parents gave you?  Probably not.  If you received a gift instead, you wouldn’t calculate the value and pay 10 % of that to a church.  Some do, though. Tax refund?  Again divided… if you’ve tithed only on your take home pay, this is income you haven’t yet tithed on, but if you tithe based on your gross pay, you have. That leads to my biggest question… tithe on your net pay, or gross??

Many years ago now, Shawn and I both felt that God was telling us to tithe and watch how he would bless us.  We worked up to tithing on his take home pay, my child tax and our tax refunds.  This was our personal decision and goal, and I am by no means telling you what to do, but I would also have to say that this is a very direct Biblical standard. I think this is something that each of us has to take to God, and not set our standards based on others or what they tell us.  If you feel an inkling that you should take this area of your life to God, pray about it and see what He tells you.

So, for several years, we have loved the fact that our church will direct withdraw the same amount from our account each month.  I figured out what an average month’s take home pay with everything included is and set an amount.  I don’t even have to remember to write a check!  I have, however, realized that when Shawn earns overtime, we are not great at calculating what more we should be tithing.  Slowly, an idea has been settling in my heart that we are not quite being faithful to this principle.    When I looked at the total gross income to this house, and looked at our total amount given to the church, I realized that it was under 5%, not the 10% we thought we were doing. 

Recently God has used several things to get my attention about this. Some excellent sermons at church, as well as that inner voice.  Next was a book I read called “ The Generosity Ladder”.  The author makes this point:  It’s called first fruits for a reason.  You are supposed to give this 10% first, before anything or anyone else is paid from what you make. Tithing on your take home pay is technically giving the first part of your income to the government, and giving God 10% of the left overs.  It’s not the first portion. 

As often happens when it’s a “God thing”, Shawn’s been thinking and feeling the same things.  We’ve talked it over and are in agreement.  It is our goal to work up to tithing a full 10%. 

I admit, this feels a little scary.  In a time where there is not a lot of wiggle room in our budget, working up to double what we are currently doing seems impossible. Part of me, the selfish and doubty part, would rather use this amount to pay down debt, or save or increase our monthly budgeted amounts for certain categories. However, I can look back and see how God has blessed our first efforts at this, and how I have never regretted it.  Not even once.  I can trust that He will also bless us as we seek to follow his command to give the full 10% back to Him.  This isn’t money just laying around looking for a budget column though, so we didn’t feel able to get there instantly, we need to change a lot of numbers to accomplish this.  We’ll be increasing once right away in the New Year, and then making it our goal to increase again, reaching the 10% mid way through this year.

Instead of focusing on how scary this feels, I am going to trust in God and look forward to seeing what He is going to do in my life this year.

A Lovely Little Guilt Trip

This year, I have not been able to stop feeling guilty about  Christmas presents.

Did I over spend? Nope.  I got some awesome deals, and was able to get what I wanted at prices I wanted to spend.

Am I doing some things to help those for whom Christmas can be a difficult season?  Yes. 

Have I focused our home on the true meaning of CHRISTmas?  YES.  We are enjoying celebrating advent with a Jesse Tree going through the Bible to see how it all builds towards Christ’s birth.   

So what do I have to feel guilty about?  I’ll try to put it into words.

I LOVE to give gifts.  I love to watch my children with joy on their faces as they see that they have gotten that much hoped for toy.  I enjoy giving them both toys and opportunities to do something as gifts.  This year, I have a huge pile of things that will delight them awaiting wrapping paper in my hiding spot.  Shawn is building the girls a Barbie house.  Which, to those of you who know him should read : He has another  project on the go, when it’s finished it will be huge and beautiful.  It won’t cost much, though since he can build it mostly out of pieces he has in the garage… which to those of you who know him is a whole other story!

In years past, I have restricted gifts to one for each child from us, one from “Santa”, the stocking, and one from the other siblings combined.  But you know what?  I hated that.  It put a lot of pressure on me to make sure that the gift was “the” thing they were hoping for.  If you’re only giving one, it had better be the biggest item of the wish list!  They still got piles of presents from grandparents, friends and other family members, and the pile looked huge enough! I usually ended up thinking “ Why should the grandparents get all the fun of being the ones who got the awesome toys?”.  I just felt this was the thing to do to keep Christmas from being too much about the presents, so I kept planning this way anyway. 

This year, I did not even attempt such a limit.  We have saved ahead, bought items over time and made room in the budget for several large and dreamed about items for each kid. I bought a lot of the items used, and we planned which things we could make ourselves. We even ended up with several for Bremen, who at just six months will have no idea what is going on!  We weren’t going to do much, but still, there has to be something to write in the baby book as the item he received from us for his first Christmas, and the kids would notice if Santa didn’t leave Bremen a gift and stocking.   Then they insisted they wanted to pick out something to give him too!  Now, we have many gifts for each of them.

But, as I looked at it, I wondered: Is this too much?  So many people have so little, or are not able to feel peace and joy at Christmas.  Why do I feel bad that I can give my children good gifts? 

As much as I want them to enjoy the surprise of all those gifts, I also don’t want them to think they need those things to be happy, at this or any time of year.  I don’t want them to be materialistic, always wanting more or bigger things.  I want them to happy with the simple things, enjoying what they do have.  I don’t want them to forget about the real reasons for all the traditions, but I still want to give them the gifts! Can I have it both ways?

Should I feel bad that we will celebrate an idyllic holiday complete with a turkey and piles of presents? Is giving them a pile of presents more about me wanting to be proud of what I’ve given them?  I don’t think so, but still I can’t help feeling that this year, they have way more than they need.

The mom side of me also had a panic attack when I realized I would have to find homes for all these things!!!

I want to be able to just relax and enjoy the fact that all my planning, hard work and bargain hunting have led us to a year that will delight them all.  But I keep stumbling over my own feeling that the amount of money, though it may not be large in some people’s opinions, really could have been spent more wisely.  That I could have done more for others instead. That my kids don’t need more things! And that maybe the truth is, in the end it would have been better to put the money on debt and pay it off faster, something that no doubt would have paid dividends much longer than the Littlest Pet Shop set out in the garage.  I just can’t help feeling that when it comes down to it, I have chosen the lesser thing.

How to I find balance between my desire to lavish my kiddos with gifts they are going to love and my feeling that it has all become too much?

Switch Gears or Stay the Course?

What do I know about choosing curriculum for my kids?  Apparently, not much!  As we are approaching Christmas, I have been evaluating what is working, what isn’t, what the kids like, and what they don’t.

One thing is unanimous, they love Apologia science, right now we’re using the Astronomy book with Junior notebooking journals.  I can’t say enough good things about it. Love it! Fun!

So far, mixed reviews on Learning Language Arts Through Literature.  I like the concept of this set.  I like that it’s all in one big book, but in reality, it’s not working that well for us.  The big book is hard to work in, directions are sometimes unclear.  There isn’t the right continuity for us.  Spelling words are given at the beginning of the week, and not reviewed.  Then, they suddenly pop up a week later, as in “ which of last week’s vocabulary words fill in this blank?”.  It’s frustratingly slow for Colleena’s age level, and I find myself skipping most of the activities. We already bumped her from the kindergarten set to the grade one set based on her ability. Yes, that is the beauty of home schooling, but if I am skipping all of it, what is the point?  I find myself admitting that I won’t use that level again unless I happened to have a child who was still really struggling with what sounds the letters make by grade one.  Time required is very inconsistent.  Some days they need an hour, some days 10 minutes! 

And, mixed reviews on the ABeka math.  Baden finds it distracting that the pages are colourful.  They tend to put questions where they can fit them on a page, and it’s not always linear or consistent. Baden keeps missing questions because he just didn’t see where they were.  He doesn’t feel there is enough teaching sections.  Colleena loves her math book and is flying through it, but doesn’t seem to retain enough of it.  She is able to kind of float along and answer the questions without really understanding enough of the concepts. That could just be her fear of being "put on the spot" though.  She tends to freeze when she is afraid you're testing her and she might be wring.  I  add extra activities to make sure she really is getting the concepts.

They love the Bible course from Alpha Omega, but I am frustrated at the use of the King James Version.  It’s just not functional for us, so we have to reference a more familiar version.  Not a huge problem, and they are really learning some neat stuff that they retain well.

So, I am now asking myself… switch gears or stay the course with what I’ve got?   Baden has requested a plain math text with more questions and less pictures. Seriously buddy?  So, he looked at Saxon Math and loved the samples.  I tested him with their placement test, and he flew through grade 3 and into grade 4.  Do I make him finish the grade 2 that we have now?  I also looked into “Christian Light” math.  It appeals to me, especially with the smaller books, but it may be distracting to him still.

I also like the look of the Bible, Reading and Language Arts programs from “Christian Light”.  I am torn about just what my kids should study for “English”.  Do they need grammar rules already?  Spelling lists and practice?  Comprehension activities?  Read alouds?  All of the above? 

French is still the most difficult issue.  The Easy French Junior level is good for Colleena, but far too easy for Baden who does already speak French well.  I did find today the set the school uses to teach in Kindergarten and grade one at the Carrefour Fransaskois and I am able to borrow it for the year.  I think I'll begin using that on top of what we have.  They also had awesome games, books and cd's to borrow.  love the local French library.  I also want to find some activities and work sheets that would be the equivalent of Language Arts in French.  Still looking into a few recommendations I got.  It's hard to know what should be taught in which order.  Anyone know what they should be learning in grade 2 for French?  Is it still just vocabulary building?

I know this is my first year, and I knew that I would have a lot to learn as we went this year, but I really thought I knew my kids and their learning styles better!  Have any of you had to switch gears mid year?  Was it a positive change, or did you regret it?  Have you used Saxon or Christian Light programs?

Let It Begin, Let It Begin!!

You know that little hamster from “Bolt”, anxious to begin the adventure?  Well that is how I have been feeling about our kitchen reno.  Now that I have accepted the fact that I will be living, cooking, and schooling amidst drywall dust and paint samples, I want to just get started already!!!  It’s killing me that my much loved new lino is still sitting in a roll in my garage.  We have a few things that have to get done before it can go in, but every time I wash this ( much despised) white floor, I get irked!

So, this week as I sat staring at hideous green wallpaper, I thought “ This is it, I have had ENOUGH! I am tearing that down TODAY!”.  But then it occurred to me that Shawn might resent that.  He might feel as if I was forcing him to move the kitchen things up in priority on the to-do list.  We’ve been feeling so overwhelmed, over scheduled and over committed lately.  So I emailed him at work, wanting to gage his reaction before doing anything.

“Hypothetically speaking… If you came home and I had ripped the “chair rail” off the wall, your reaction would be: A) HAZAAA!!  An item crossed off my to-do list  OR  B) What the happening?!?”" ( Which by the way is Lily’s way of exclaiming and it makes us all laugh).

Ahh, but my hubby knows me well, so he replied: “ Based on the fact that you are asking me, I am assuming you’ve already done it, soooo… A”

After swearing to him that I had not yet started anything and that I genuinely wanted his permission, he assured me he would still choose “HAZAA!!”.

I wasted no time, boy!  I hate this ugly faux chair rail that was really just baseboards haphazardly nailed half way up the wall and the green wallpaper.  The kids thought this was the funniest job on earth! “ You mean we can rip it all off?”  They gleefully helped pull off all the paper.  Then Baden manned the steamer and we got the glue and backing off without much effort at all.  It was awesome to see it come down!!

Then, we painted a couple of color samples and are test driving them for a few days before I commit to painting my whole wall a very dark rust.




Also coming together are the plans for the built in bench!!

And, I did remember to take some “before” pictures a couple weeks ago.  This is as clean as it ever gets around here, I was going to REALLY clean it, but then I figured that most of you have seen my house in it’s real state  (much much worse than this!) anyway… Haha!  Plus, I figured, why lie?  This is what it looked like!

Is It Supper or Dinner?

You know, that meal you eat at the end of the day, the one that tends to be the biggest one of the day?  Around here, we’ve always called it supper.  Unless you’re eating at a restaurant, and then it’s going out for dinner.  Semantics aside, soon we will be enjoying this meal at lunch!

It occurred to me yesterday, “ Why am I trying to cook a large meal at the most stressful time of the day?!”.  I couldn’t come up with a real answer, besides, of course, that is what we’ve always done.  In our families, and probably most of yours too, the big meal is the one at the end of the day.

This wasn’t always the norm, though.  People haven’t always eaten a quick breakfast, dashed off to their days, stopping for a quick break mid day and returning home to the large meal.  For long amounts of time, breakfast, or the noon meal was the largest.

Our family is going to give this shot, and here’s why I think it will work for us.  Firstly, Shawn comes home for lunch anyway, so we’re all here.  We’ll be consuming our calories before we need them, especially Shawn who burns a gazillion calories working a labour job outside year round.  Instead of loading up our systems at the end of the day and then feeling stuffed at night, we’ll use the energy we get from the food.  I can cook and do chores first thing in the morning, when no one around here is alert enough to want to concentrate on anything anyway.  Then, after a nice meal, the two little ones can have a nap, and we’ll settle in to some school work.  I’ll be able to concentrate on lessons, because the work for day will be done, and I won’t be distracted by having to make a meal.  I won’t have to juggle tired kids and cooking at that hour that always seems to be the most stressful around here – 4:30.  When Shawn gets home, we can have a smaller meal, which for us was usually left overs anyway.  If he’s late, we won’t have over-tired and over-hungry kids melting down.  When we have evening activities, we won’t be in as much of a rush, since the quick meal takes less prep and less clean up.  When the evening activity is sports, the kids won’t have to run ( or dance) around on very full tummies.  I think we’ll end up feeling as though we have more family time in the evenings to do something together.

I’m sure it’s going to take a while to get used to not having the large meal at night, and we may feel really snackish the first couple days.  I’ve stocked up on lots of healthy finger foods to help us top up if we feel hungry.

Well, this is what I think is going to happen.  I’m trying to find ways to re-order my day to feel calmer and help me get things accomplished.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Cloth Diapers Again??

Every time I have had to buy diapers lately, I’ve set off on a huge rant.  The rapidly rising cost has got me thinking… is it time to consider going back to cloth?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I did all kinds of reading about how to choose between cloth and disposable.  I know, I know, but I have warned you all before that I am a nerd!  Plus, I had tons more time then, and the decision seemed so important.  We chose cloth, despite taking a lot of teasing about it and hearing lots of predictions of our future failure at it.

My mom sewed me several sets in different sizes.  They look just like disposable ones, except they have velcro at the waist.  I found great breathable diaper covers and a really cool “diaper pail” bag.  Instead of a big pail, there are these neat bags in various sizes.  You literally just dump the whole thing into the washer and toss the bag in too.  I loved it. 

You know, I really liked cloth diapers.  I packed them with us and took them when we went on trips.  I used the flushable liners to make clean up easier.  I used small baby cloths to wash instead of wipes.  I hung them on our clothes line and enjoyed the look of them in the breeze while the sun naturally bleached out all the stains.

I eventually topped up the pile my mom had made me with some store bought ones.  When our second child was born, I decided to use disposables through the new born period.  We then switched to cloth, and continued with cloth diapers for both kids.  But then, we started going out and about more often.  Workers in the playroom during church or play groups didn’t really know how to deal with them, or really want to change cloth.  It became easier to put them in disposables if we were leaving the house.  When I was having trouble with my kids waking up a lot at night, another cloth diapering friend of mine was surprised that I was using cloth through the night.  She used disposables at night, she said, because then they weren’t being woken up by a cold wet diaper.

Then, my oldest was mostly potty trained and we were home so little.  Our daughter might only use three or four cloth ones over two days.  You couldn’t leave the diapers longer than that, and we had to run a full laundry cycle for just those few diapers.  The conviction that cloth was better softened and before we knew it, we were using disposables exclusively.

With our third child, we never even got them out of the bin.  I have to be honest, I didn’t plan to use them now with our fourth either, I just left the bin in the storage room.  But rising cost has got me thinking about this again.  A year ago, the regular cost of a box of 140 sz4 huggies (our fav brand) was $29.  They were $32 when the store pumped up the prices for a busy check weekend, however there were sales on a regular basis where you could snag a limit of four boxes at $20 each.  I would just wait patiently for a sale and stock up.  In the last few months, the price has risen steadily and the sales are no more.  Regular price is now $39, and today was the first time I have seen them marked down in about six months.  I was O-U-T of diapers and had to buy them no matter what they cost. $32 is the sale price now.

I did muse about going back to cloth a few months ago and Shawn just laughed.  He can’t see going back to the extra washing and the small changes in planning for outings etc.  However, my disgust at the cost of a box of diapers, as well as what I see was highway robbery for a box of wipes makes me want to consider it.

Here is what I personally see as the pros and cons of each.

Cloth Pros:

Better for the environment.
   It just is.  No manufacturing, no untreated waste in the landfill. 



Free… almost.  I already own them, so now there is no real cost.  Washing a load of diapers might add up to about 70 cents in cost, which is less than buying three diapers.  As long as I am washing more than that, it’s cheaper.

Can never really be out of diapers. No realizing that you are out of diapers and the stores close in ten minutes.  You always have them there.

Some say it helps potty train earlier.  First, let me say, this was not the case for me at all!  But some say that the feeling of being wet will encourage kids to train earlier.  It also helps with the recognition that poop belongs in the potty as they will see you emptying it out of their diaper and into the toilet.

Disposable Pros:

EASY.  Change bum, throw out diaper, forget about it.  Easy to take in diaper bag, easier to dispose of while out and about.  Others that may care for your child are comfortable with them. 

Everyone else has them too. If you run out while at a friend’s house, they probably have one you can borrow.  For a long time, a lot of our friends all had kids wearing the same size diaper, it was like an awesome safety net, someone always had a size 4!

 

Cloth Cons:

Can be more work.  You do have to wash them, which is adding another thing to the to do list. Changing #2 diapers can be more work to clean out before you toss the diaper in the wash pail. 

Not always easy to use in public places.  You can’t just chuck them in the nearest garbage pail, so you need a plan for changing in public spaces, like a bag within your diaper bag.  Others who care for your child, in the church nursery or at a play group for example, may not want to deal with cloth diapers. 

Baby feels wet. Even if baby only has a little tinkle, they are going to feel the wet against themselves and will need to be changed sooner.  If you use disposables, you can delay changing baby until they have filled the diaper more.  This, however, could also be a pro as older children may want to potty train sooner.

Clothes don’t fit. Ok, it’s silly, but it is something to consider.  Because cloth diapers are bulkier, not all clothes fit your baby as well.  I did have to search out clothes that were cut wider to fit my little man, who was quite a moose even without diapers!

Disposable Cons:

Expensive.  You are literally throwing away money each time you change your baby.

Can be used up.  Last night was not the first time we were running around the house saying “ check the diaper bag, there must be two or three in there!!”.  I find it easy to forget that I have opened the last clip in a box and be completely out of diapers at the worst times.  But don’t worry, I always have those cloth ones I can grab in an emergency!

Sooooo?
I know that there are many more things that could be added to this list, but I think this gives a pretty balanced idea of what is in my head.  While I am not quite ready to go back full time to cloth, I’m not certain I won’t either.   Paying $26 for a box of wipes that last us around a month is the most galling to me right now.  I may have to make a point of using the little baby cloths and warm water when we are at home. In the mean time, I will just continue to rant and rave about the cost of disposables !

If You Were At My House Today…

You’d have seen me dancing around, giddy happy and laughing like a crazy frenchman, mwahahahahahah! Hee hee hee!! All because of this:

 

That’s right, it’s my new lino arriving at my house in the back of my brother in law’s truck!!!

                                    

 

                                    Right now, the floor looks like this:

                             But very very soon, it’s all going to look like this!!!!!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…

…Everywhere you go!  Just kidding, I’m sure the snow is not that far off but I don’t want to think about that yet!!!  It is, however, the time of year that I start planning for my favourite holiday, which just also happens to have the potential to be a real budget wrecker!

I really enjoy giving hand made gifts at Christmas time.  I have always enjoyed planning them out and working on them.  I get the kids involved, which requires a lot of prep time on my part.  So this fall, I’ve been dreaming about this neat little sewing project.  I had planned to take the one idea and make basically the same item for all the kids on my list.  I began to plan out the pattern and was setting out to acquire the material when it dawned on me:  I don’t have time for this!

Who am I kidding?!?  When on earth am I going to sew, make hand made ornaments, and make a pile of gifts?  Our fall has felt so busy with activities, schooling, appointments and life in general.  How can I squeeze more in?  The answer is, I can’t.  Not without being a frazzled mess and getting frustrated while trying to work on the things with the kids.

So, I am facing the reality this year that I cannot make presents as I usually do.  Another change this year has been that I wasn’t out garage sale-ing this summer.  Most years I stock up on small, neat gifts at garage sales.  I’ve used these as stocking stuffers and gifts for the kid’s friends etc.    This year, though, because of Bremen being so new and little, and Shawn working so much, I wasn’t able to get out there.  I may have to plan a bit more budget for stocking items this year.  I have managed to accumulate a pile of presents from the consignment sale the mom’s group had and from a few good catalogue toy sales.  I’ve been ordering the odd thing here and there to put away.  I have a pretty good start on the presents this year, but I still have a few biggies left to plan for.

I think for the annual grand-parent gift of ornaments from the kids, I will buy a kit.  I still want the kids to make something, but I can’t put the time in to find an ornament idea and prep and pre cut all the steps.  I’m going to make it easier on myself and head to the craft store to choose a simple kit.  A brand new Michael's just opened in our city…which might just be the biggest budget busting temptation of all!!

Warning…Renos Ahead!

  This is the first in a new series of posts that I plan on using to chronicle our attempts to renovate on a budget.  I am at the same time excited and dreading starting this process.

I’m no stranger to renovating, we’ve done this before.  In our last house, we spent the entire six years we owned it slowly renovating.  Now, I don’t regret doing it, we made a lot of money off our house when we sold, since we had done all the labour ourselves.  Buuuut this means I am not ignorant of how annoying and challenging it can be to live in an on-going construction zone.  I had no fronts on my kitchen cupboards for over a year ( yep, a whole year, really) last time.  And, I had a nine month old when we started, so you can imagine the mess!  Baden loved to pull everything out of the cupboards, and there was really no way to stop him.  So, to save my own sanity, I stopped trying.  I left all the dishes and pans where he last played with them, walked around them, and just washed them again as I needed to use them. 

When we moved, this house we moved to was finished.  I wanted it that way, it was our deal, see.  I made Shawn promise me that we would have a finished house, even if I hated every colour in the house, for five years.  After we moved in, we painted only the bedrooms and decided to ignore the green everywhere else.  And I mean literally EVERYWHERE else.  This house was painted the same shade of hideous green in every single room, except the guest room.  Every piece of trim, every window frame, even the doors are painted the same green.  I think they bought one giant can, then mixed it with white in some places so they could have three different shades of the same green.  They painted everything that would hold paint.  The door bell cover, the thermostat, the towel rails in the bathroom… all GREEN!  You know that shade of green that went with peach in the ‘80s… kind of a “dusty” green… well that’s the one!  I used to like green, and maybe it’s not the worst shade ever ( could be lime green afterall) but the overwhelming reality of the same green everywhere is what makes me hate this colour. 

And the lino! What was she thinking??  I know for a fact they had three kids when they chose to install it.  Every lino in the house is the same… WHITE!  No pattern, no squares, just all white, in the kitchen, in the PORCH and even both bathrooms.  I seriously hate this floor, I have cursed it since we moved in.  Not only does it show every single speck of anything, the finish is all worn off so it always looks gross.  Their grandson, over for a visit one day, decided to attack the floor by pounding a butter knife into it… so there are tiny stab marks all over which collect dirt.  Where Shawn had to peel back a bit to install the dishwasher, it cracked… another spot collecting dirt!  Recently, Shawn set down an oven rack he believed to be cool on it… but it was hot and melted into it.

Despite our agreement, the reality is that after three years of living in this house with (now) four kids and the dog ( up until this month, she’s gone now), the house is showing signs of wear.  We took out two built in bookshelves to wall mount a tv and never finished the drywall.  A piece of baseboard was under a leaky window and needed to be removed.  The wiring for said tv is draped across the curtain rods ( yes Shawn does work for the cable company but the last thing he wants to do when he gets home is more wiring!).  I cracked the moulding when I took it off to paint our room.  We ripped out the carpet because of the dog ( a whole other post about that here ).  We scabbed together the railing after Lily fell through it.  Water leaked into the downstairs bathroom ceiling and made a paint bubble.  The upstairs bathroom needs a total overhaul. The porch addition wasn’t done properly and doesn’t have heat, so it freezes in the winter. This is only a partial list, but you get the idea.  It’s just time to stop ignoring the list.

So, as much as there are difficulties to living in a reno, we’ve decided it’s time to start.  It means that we may not be making as much progress on paying down the debt, because some funds will have to be allocated to the renos.  We’ll have to do it slowly, piece by piece to avoid going into any more debt.  The good thing about having done this before is that I know the end result will be worth it.

We’re starting in our kitchen.  It’s the room that annoys us the most, and now that we are homeschooling we are in it even more.  It’s not large, so we have to make the best use of space that we can.  So far, here is our plan:

#1: REPLACE LINO!!!! : Because it will make me so much happier, I placed this at the top priority.  Funds are going to this first.

#2: Build banquette seating around table.  We only own five chairs.  We bought the kids some really cool adjustable chairs from Stokke, but they are expensive and we don’t want to invest in another one.  However, we now have 6 people in our family… and Bremen needs to start eating soon.  The Stokke chairs can be made into a high chair, but that would leave someone without one.  For the same cost as one chair, Shawn can build the entire bench.  We decided on the bench, and it will include storage for things like our hot tub towels ( door to hot tub is beside table area) and homeschool supplies.  I am already gathering materials for this project and plan a post on it by itself when we reach that stage.

#3: Install pocket door at the end of the hallway where it meets the kitchen.  This will cut down on noise when kids are sleeping, and let us visit with company in the kitchen more often.  The downside is, we need to remove all the drywall off one wall to install it.  We’ll have to repaint almost the whole house to finish the work.  We were originally going to attempt this project on it’s own but realized we couldn’t until we were ready to start a full out reno.

#4: Repaint.

#5: Refinish kitchen hutch and cupboards.  This project scares me the most, since I remember all too well living without cupboard fronts last time.  I can’t afford to replace them though, so we are just going to have to fix them up.  At least they are oak and so a great starting point!

#6: New Countertops ( new sink and taps at this stage).  The counter was peeling and separating when we moved in.  The previous owners apparently did not know what a cutting board was for, and the entire counter top is marked with years of knife cuts.  It’s lifting at both corners ( it’s a U-shaped counter) where they seamed the top.  Very gross.  Then, I added my own mark to it when I accidentally set a mini torch on top of it.  I thought it had an automatic off , but it didn’t and it burned a hole through the back.   That is a whole other story though…

That about sums up my plan for the kitchen.  Right now, I have money set aside for the floor and the bench.  We already have the supplies for the door, bought when we first started thinking about that project.  Hopefully I will be able to squeeze enough out of my money for paint too.  That way the kitchen will feel mostly finished as we save for the counter tops!

I’m scared and excited all at the same time!!

Wrap Style Baby Carrier

Ok, I have to start off by saying that this is not my favourite picture of me, but it does have a funny story which I will tell you first and then get to the point.

I was at our local museum with our homeschool group and decided that it would be much easier to carry Bremen in the wrap than attempt to get a stroller around.  There was also a press conference going on that day, and the local politicians were all there.  As I was walking by, our mayor stopped me and grabbed my camera.  “ I remember when I was a parent, there are never any pictures of moms with their kids, let me take a picture for you!”  I later found out that Jim Scarrow is a real photo bug, but it totally surprised me that he would take time out of his day to take my picture with Bremen.  I was talking to Darrel Hickie, our local MLA at the time.  Bremen was trying so hard to see what was going on that he looks like his neck is twisted!  Anyway, that is the story of this picture…Now I’ll tell you about the wrap itself!

I happened upon an article on a blog I’ve been just loving lately (Raising Arrows) about making your own wrap style carrier.  I LOVE snuggling babies, and it seemed like a great carrier for me.  It allows me to have two free hands, and it’s become a must have for grocery shopping, fussy days and outings.  Haha, not that happy Bremmie has had many fussy days, but you get the point.  After reading her super simple directions ( trust me, read the article.. ridiculously simple!) I set out to get material to make a wrap.  I bought a cotton that is made for sewing pyjamas, so it only stretches one way.  There are lots of cute patterns, and it won’t sag when baby gets heavier like a jersey knit would.  This is important to me, since my babies get big fast, in this picture Bremen is 3 1/2 months and just under 20 pounds already!

So, to make one, you buy 5-7 yards of material ( depending on your height), and cut it to about 20 inches wide.  Off of one piece of fabric, you should get 3 wraps.  I bought this on sale for about $50, so the wraps only cost about $17 each.  That’s way less than buying one!  If you want to, you can seam or serge the edges.  I just did a quick zigzag stitch.  There are lots of videos on YouTube and articles all over the net about different ways to tie the carrier.  Once you try it a couple of times, it’s really easy!

The wrap is so comfy, it feels just like baby is cuddled up against you for a nap.  The material I used is breathable cotton, so it doesn’t get too hot.  I tucked a diaper and wipes into one of the layers so I didn’t have to carry anything with me at all.  When baby is older, there are even ways to carry them on your back with it!

The first time I wore this, Bremen was just a day or so old, and we went on our epic grocery shopping trip.  Everyone kept remarking on it ( they still do) and how sweet he looked all cuddled up comfortably against me.  I ran into my sister-in-law who at that time was still pregnant ( our boys are just 7 days apart).  “Oh wow” she said" “you bought a wrap, I was looking at those, but I don’t think we can afford one!”.  “Really!?” I replied, “ Well, I made this one, and I can give you one too!”.  It felt really great to be able to give it away!  I still have the third one here, ready to be a gift to the next person who needs it!

These make a quick and easy gifts that anyone can make, even if they don’t sew. You may not have need of a baby carrier anymore, but you could always make some up to give as baby shower gifts! 

Getting Everything Done

Well, the first month of Homeschooling is done now, and I have been evaluating whether or not there are some things I need to tweak in our schedule/routines.

If I were to list all the things I need to juggle, it would be exhausting, not to mention boring to read!  As a mom with four kids to care for, a wife, and a homeowner there are just lots of tasks even without the homeschooling.  I’ve been coasting along for a while now, not quite getting everything done.  I have a new baby! It’s summer!  But realistically, I can’t let it all go forever, so I need to find ways to make it a bit more manageable around here.

We have fallen into a routine of when we get certain tasks and subjects done each day, and being flexible is working quite well for us.  We have made progress that we are all satisfied with in all the subjects.  I have to admit that the schooling is taking more time of each day than I thought it would.  Because each child has their own separate material for most subjects, I am having to spend more time at it than I had planned.  I make the school time a priority, so it’s the other things that I need to figure out!

I badly neglected my yard work this year ( see above excuses), so I am kind of glad that gardening season is over.  Soon enough, snow will come and cover up my weed filled flower beds and I will have successfully put off that problem until next spring… when I am sure I will regret having left myself such a mess.

Bremen is about to be 4 months old, and I have yet to go for my “six week” post partum check up… I know, I know.  I’m just not sure how to get that organized with four kids in tow!  I’ll have to ship them off to a friend’s I think.

I thought I had been doing a good job of getting my kids in to the dentist, until I realized that one of them was a year over due for a check up… oops!  Oh well, we are up to date now!  Baden has had three appointments in the last three weeks, with one more in two weeks from now, to have a lot of work done.  Despite being opposed to using electronics as a babysitter, I took the laptop to the office with me so the girls could watch a movie while we waited.  Occupying three kids including a 4 month old for over an hour is hard in a dental office!  I’m just doing whatever it takes to get it done right now!

I’m working on getting Bremen settled into more of a daily routine too.  Some of the other areas will settle into more of a pattern if he is having predictable naps.  I hate this stage of parenting… sleep training.  I have never liked letting my babies cry even the littlest bit, but have regretted it more when I haven’t.

Mommy time has been non existent, or spent prepping things for school.  This is the reason my blog posts have been so sporadic.  I’ve been managing ok, but I do need to figure out some time for me to relax too!

The main thing I want to change up right now is my chore/laundry system.  Growing up, my mom always cleaned the house end to end in one day while doing laundry. At the end of the day, it felt wonderful to have the whole place feeling so clean and fresh.  This is what I did when I worked, and probably up until we had two kids.  Now, this is just impossible!  I am trying to figure out a system that will work because lately our house has just been getting messier and messier!  I need to find a system of routines that will help me keep up not only on the day to day stuff, but the weekly cleaning as well as things that should be done monthly or yearly.  It’s time to start “fall cleaning” but I haven’t finished “spring cleaning” yet.  Maybe I’ll just start with the rooms I never go to in the spring?

Right now, I’ve been trying to clean a room a day.  I have to admit, it’s not really working.  I am always a day behind, or more, and end up doing the last half of yesterday’s chores, then some of today’s etc.  We keep talking about having a tidy up time each day so that things don’t get so far behind, but we haven’t been consistent on implementing it. 

I try to do at least two loads of laundry each day.  It keeps me from getting swamped under mountains of dirty laundry, but it’s not really working too great either.  Sometimes it’s piled all over my couch because I folded it while the littles were sleeping and didn’t want to wake them up going into the rooms to put it away.  Sometimes, I got it through the machines, but didn’t get it folded, so several baskets of clean clothes were piled up waiting to be folded.  Sometimes, I went through all that work only to find it bunched behind the clothes in the closet because I gave to the kids to put away.

I can never keep caught up on dishes either!  My idea was to do at least one sink full during the day and then the rest after putting kids to bed when Shawn could help me.  Except that Shawn has hardly been home because of working so much and I don’t want to spend my only time with him washing dishes!  Now, my fingers are getting dry and sore with eczema again ( a regular winter phenomenon ) so I can’t wash dishes or risk split and bleeding fingertips.  Those of you who know Shawn should know what this means: I have to wait for Shawn to wash dishes… and wash floors.

Ok, so that’s my belly aching about what hasn’t been working, but now I want to move on to what I want to do about it!

I can’t do much about the dishes, other than wear gloves and wash the few that I can. 

Laundry wise, I am wondering… do you have one day where you tackle it all, or do you try to do a set amount of loads each day?  Do you keep on top of putting it away as you fold each load, or wait until the day’s laundry is done and put it away all at once?

I know that many tasks would go smoother if we found a good time, or two, in the day to have a tidy up time.  Having a daily chores time and keeping on top of toys and “stuff” that is left out would make cleaning a lot easier.  Anyone have tidy up at a time that they have kept up?  Wondering when in our day this could stick?

One of the ideas I read on a blog is to set a task for each day, instead of a room.  For example, dust all rooms Monday, vacuum Tuesday, etc instead of clean kitchen on Monday, the playroom on Tuesday.  I’m wondering if that would work better for us?  Does anyone manage their cleaning this way?  How do you find that?

Lastly, how to manage those chores that only need doing monthly, or annually?  Do you keep a binder or notebook, jotting down when that filter needs to be replaced? 

What systems are working for you?

What is the Deal With Extreme Couponing?

Ok, just caught part of that show on extreme couponers.  I have to say, I don't get it!  What is the point of having a two year stock pile of junk anyway?

It looks to me like these people are just super organized hoarders.  Doesn't most of that stuff expire before they can make use of it?  Doesn't that mean it's just a huge waste?  What I noticed was that most of the "groceries" they are getting aren't real food.  "vitamin" water, candy, salad dressings, enough toilet paper to last 20 years... it's not actually food.

And the time that goes into that! Seriously, it's a full time job finding and organizing the coupons, then planning the trip itself.  I'm all for saving money, but I just can't see myself doing this.

As Shawn and I were discussing this idea, it occurred to us that even if we wanted to, it would be hard to attempt this here.  We don't really have coupons.  There aren't coupon flyers that come with the paper, like the places in the show, and our stores don't have double coupon days.  Oh sure, Superstore has that wall of coupons for some of their brand's items, but that's not really the same thing.

Where do they get the millions of coupons that they are sorting and filing so carefully anyway?  I saw one lady dumpster diving for them, another knocking on her neighbor's doors.  Do they have websites that they get them from?  Do they pay for that?

So, I'm curious, have any of you ever set out to coupon like crazy?  How do you do it? 

Guest Post–By Shawn

i don;t konsw wjkskN  

 

shift+enter starts a new paragraph

i love you!!    

SD

I have been having trouble getting Live Writer to work, i just couldn’t figure out how to start a new paragraph and the old short cut key wasn’t working.  Shawn obviously updated it for me.  When I opened my computer this morning, this is the cute note I found!

Love you too hunney!!