thankful for pinterest

There are things that I had never thought of doing myself until pinterest came along and then at first that didn't even make me really want to do them. But you can only pin things for so long before you actually need to start doing them or else let’s face it, you have become a hoarder it’s just with lists ;)
One of the best things on so many levels is making our laundry soap. I have no idea why I never thought to do this until stumbling across recipes on pinterest because not only is it easy but it’s so, so, so cheap. The last batch of it I made was on March 10^th and we just used the last of it September 19^th. This is doing laundry for a family of 6. I just made a new batch the other day but I changed up the recipe a bit. This time I decided to add the fabric softener straight into the soap mixture so that’s gonna stretch it by a good bit plus it gives us the nice smell and the soft feel without having to remember to buy more if we run out, or don’t think to put it in. The whole family, really just the adults, we were kind of leery of it at first but figured what does it hurt to try it. We try it, we don’t like it then we go back to buying detergent. Luckily though for us we all love it, and we really, really love the fact that it’s so cheap and it lasts so long.

        Another thing to add to the list of amazing things I wish I started making sooner are taco seasoning and cream of anything soup mix. OH.EM.GEE
The taco seasoning smells so much better than the premade stuff from the store plus it doesn't have all that junk in it to make it last. It’s just spices who would have thought. As far as cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup or cream of whatever soup I just use one mix for all of those items. Once again super, super cheap and not all that junk that we don’t really know what it is mixed in it. 

Bibles

Ever since last Christmas when we traveled to Ohio and left random gifts for random people at random places we've continued to try to teach the kids about doing things for others. And it’s a little difficult to teach a 3 & 5 year old the reasoning behind doing something for someone else without getting anything in return.  Need to take a quick minute to explain how the kids get their money.

        **We also use a token system in our home for their behavior. They start each week with a certain amount of tokens. They have the ability to lose them based on their attitudes, their mouths and the like, but just the same they have the ability to gain more tokens based on their actions. If they do things without having to be told too, not fighting with each other or mom & dad they can earn even more. Each token is worth .25 cents. Yep, we are a cheap pay system here because in our opinion there are way too many kids that expect entirely too just because. They don’t have to earn it, they get it just because they say they want it or their friend has it and that’s not the way we work in this house.  At the end of the week their tokens are cashed in for money. They can only cash in whole $1’s though. Once the money is figured we start the dividing process. Automatically $1 comes out of whatever they have earned and goes into their tithing envelope then what’s left is split in half between savings and spending. **

        Alright, now since we've been teaching about doing things for others and they really don’t understand what it is to tithe we have kind of made that category for them a little different. We told them that they can take that money and they can give it to the church or they can use it to do something nice for someone else, but that someone else has to be a stranger. (we figured if we didn't put that rule in there they would try to outsmart us and buy things for each other based on the other saying oh I want this toy)
  The other day I was talking with Serenity about her tithing money and what she wanted to do with it and without hesitation she said she wants to buy bibles for people so they can learn about Jesus. It made my heart so happy that instead of buying toys for someone or paying for someone’s lunch she wants to make sure that people have the opportunity to learn about our Lord. We have since sat and talked about praying and asking who he wants us to buy the bibles for. I told her we have to ask if we are to buy them for young or old and if we are to send them far away or keep them near. I’m just so super happy that not only does my girl love Jesus so much she wants to make sure others do to. 

**Last night during bedtime prayers the last thing she said was "Jesus let me know where the bibles need to go." Oh how I love this little girl of mine. She is such a blessing.**

The butterfly

There are definitely some friends that your children have throughout their life that you wish they really didn't have and then there are others that you hope they will always be friends with. One of Serenity's close friends from prek is not in her class this year and she misses that dearly. today as we were walking out of the school we had to pass the car rider line and I pointed and said oh Serenity there is Lacie, she ran right over to her and gave her the biggest hug and as Lacie was hugging her back she said oh I made something for you and handed her a butterfly that she was holding. I said that's sweet but don't you want to take it home and show your mama? (let's face it most kids give to other kids spur of the moment and it's things that they probably really shouldn't) she was adamant that it was made for Serenity. So we said thank you and walked to the car. as we were walking Serenity turned it over and said mom it has my name on it, she wrote my name on it, it really is for me. Lacie is absolutely a little girl that I could see Serenity still having when they are seniors and beyond:)

Flashback Friday

talk about a flashback.
 does anyone else remember when our money had tiny faces? 

September Menu

One of the most productive things I actually accomplish 12 times a year is making a monthly menu. No one else I think really cares how often we eat the same things but I do. Not so much because I get bored eating it or get tired of the taste but more for the fact that I hate always putting the same stuff on the menu. Crazy reason I know, but that’s what it is. I know that some people think I’m nuts when I plan for a month due to the fact that a lot of people struggle at the thought of planning for a week. The biggest thing that helps me is being able to buy things when they are on sale and then having them on hand that way it’s easier for me to make the menu so far in advance. It also helps on those nights were we have gymnastics, dance classes, church or whatever school thing may be going on. If I’m so far prepared it helps make sure on those running around nights something super simple is already planned and whoever happens to be home when it’s time to start dinner can start it because the menu hanging on the fridge tells you what to cook. I have a binder that I keep the needed recipes in that are in plastic sleeves that really help for sitting on the counter while cooking, if a spill happens I just wipe it right off, but my actual point is that in the back of that binder there are over 60 different dinner ideas so that no one can ever say well I don’t know what I would like.
this has helped us out so much and although it’s usually drives me batty for 1-3 days making it in the end it’s so worth it.

September 2013

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
					Hot dogs mac & cheese	Pork chops scalloped potatoes corn Italian blend
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Italian parmesan cube steak pasta green beans	Breaded ranch chicken broccoli bites corn mashed potatoes	Tamale pie salad gym/dance	No peek beef tips buttered noodles corn green beans church	Spaghetti pizza salad	Hot dogs mac & cheese	Taco dip Spanish rice
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Spare ribs ranch potatoes corn on cob peas &mushrooms	Rotisserie chicken mashed potatoes corn brussel sprouts	Pork roast gym/dance	Sausage, egg, biscuit casserole hash browns church	Chicken & hash brown casserole corn green beans	Hot dogs mac & cheese	Cheeseburger & tater tot casserole corn green beans
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
catfish	Chicken tacos Spanish rice corn	Grilled ham & cheese homemade chicken soup gym/dance	Tuna casserole salad church	Autumn noodle bake	Grilled sausage mac salad French fries	Stove top meatloaf fried potatoes green beans corn
29	30
Church picnic	BBQ chicken parmesan potato halves corn cream onions

been quite some time

Where oh where did summer break go? It’s crazy to think that we have already been in school for a month.. The biggest factor I believe to summer break feeling like it went so fast was that it rained at least half of the time. We did get to do some fun things though. We had a couple great Friday evenings at Callaway Gardens to get some nice swimming in. We went to a couple new playgrounds. We had an awesome, awesome time at VBS.  We took an unexpected trip to Ohio and my nephew came down and stayed for a couple weeks. Overall it was a good summer just a really, really quick one.
      As we move into a new school year this means that our little bitty baby girl is now in kindergarten. Yes of course mommy cried it wasn’t as bad as pre-k last year. (Then I actually cried in the middle of the store as we bought her supplies) I was actually quite proud of all of us this year. The only tears that were shed were mine and they once again weren’t a lot.  Xavier did ok for about the first 2.5 hours that she was gone, but after that he was asking if we could go to the school and pick her up. When I told him that it wasn’t time yet he did get upset but he still never cried. By the second day he was pretty much over the fact that she wasn’t there. 
      As if school starting wasn’t crazy enough we’ve also added another item to our schedule. Skip got a job. It’s been a while since he has worked. He went to being a fulltime student and was getting unemployment but that stopped back in February. During this time we have lived off of some savings that we had and the help of Skip’s mom.  The only thing that made us even question if he should take the job was the fact that it’s 2^nd shift. But we prayed about it and we feel that God lead him there even if it’s only for a temporary time while he finishes school.  It is going to be a little tough for Skip & Serenity because those are the 2 people that will see the least of each other. We sat down and explained it to her though and she seems to really understand that this is what the best thing for our family is right now. It’s a big adjustment for me as well because for the bedtime routine I’m back to being to that feeling of a single parent like when Skip drove over the road. But I too know that this will be the best thing for our family in the long run and that there is a reason he is where he is. Somehow this job will play into the big picture God has mapped out for us.
      I too am having a rough time adjusting back into this only Xavier & I time. Most days I just want him to play so I can get things done but then I remind myself of how much time I spent with Serenity with her “high school work” at least that’s what she called it when she was 3. Just simple things like shapes ,colors,  & numbers, but more than that it gives us that 1 on 1 time with each other and that’s what I feel is most important with it.
      Here’s to hoping I can get back into the swing of blogging while everyone is at school and work.