Clothes, Clothes, Clothes!

We are in the midst of growth spurt city around here! It seems as if ALL 7 kids have outgrown their clothes! I was putting off the dreded task of sorting out the clothes that didn't fit any longer. It seems like such a HUGE task to me...they have to try things on...we have to try to figure out if it is worth saving for the next person and so on. Last night I took the plunge! I sorted all 7 of the kids' clothes and made a detailed list of the needs that we have. As you can see in the picture I started folding the ill fitting clothing...then gave up and started to make a messy pile..LOL.. The great thing about this pile is that we didn't pay for any of those clothes! Those were all handed down from other people we know! God's provision is so amazing! We don't have a lot of extra money...living off one income (I do babysit...but don't make much at all...and sometimes I don't get paid) can be tight! I was rejoicing in the fact that God is such a loving God and provides for us in such a great way!! Not pictured is the clothes already put away waiting for others to grow into them...two other bags to give away. Some of these will be put away, given away, or used for rags. On Saturday (after we put the first coat of primer on our kitchen cupboards!!) Hubby is taking us to the thrift store to get the things on my list of needs :0)

My Favorite Vision

My favorite vision this weekend was a pile of sleds at the bottom of the sledding hill :0) The kids had such fun in the snow this weekend! We played and played and played!!! Hubby would pull them around in the sleds...big ones would hold on to little ones as they whizzed down the hill. I cherished the moments of watching the littlest ones try to climb their way to the top of the hill dragging their sleds along. I hope my mind can hold onto the sound of their giggles and hoots & hollers all through the week. We have plenty of time to play during the school week...but not just "us"...there are always extras or some missing...which is fine too....but I look forward to "family time" too! I am blessed, indeed!

Click-n-Pull!!

We fell out of the habit of going to Sam's Club over the holiday's...not a good thing! Since November I have been going grocery shopping weekly at Wal-Mart....and hating every moment of it! Then it dawned on me to go back to Sam's Club to get a month worth of food in one swoop :0) A few days before we were going to go, I read a lady's blog and she mentioned "Click-n-Pull"...light bulb moment!! I went on the site...and clicked on all the stuff I wanted and we simply went and picked it up! I was SO AWESOME! I spent less as well :0) When we started going to Sam's Club I would spend between $400-$500...by the time we stopped going I was spending around $800!!! WAY to salty for us! Yesterday I spent $342 at Sam's Club...then had hubby stop at Aldi for a few things...spent another $40. For a month worth of food (minus fresh produce, milk & bread) I spent $382! YEAH! Now, I just need to make it last! It doesn't get better than that....shopping at home...then driving to the store just to pick it up! Sam's Club is an hour drive from our house...so when we would all go in and shop we would be gone from home for about 4 hours or more...so we would always end up eating out. A trip to pizza hut for us is around $80 or so! This time we were so fast...only gone for 2.5 hours...we left after breakfast and were home for lunch! Saving more money :0)

Frugal Friday

This week was a good one for being frugal! I didn't do anything amazing...but I didn't spend either :0) I made homemade lunchables....for 9 people....so that saved us about $14. I switched from cleaning with paper towels to rags. This was a hard one for me as the kids do a lot of cleaning in chore time, so it was easier for them to use paper towels...but not as frugal...so now we use rags. I keep them in a cute container that the kids can easily get at. I did a few "make-do" things....like; I needed ice cube trays to make colored ice (the preschoolers are doing an ice theme this week, and we are going to paint with colored ice today!)...my freezer makes ice cubes, so we didn't have any, I used an egg carton. I needed crackers or cornflakes for my meatloaf...instead....I took 5 minutes and ran about a billion heel pieces of bread through my food processor and now have enough bread crumbs to use instead of cracker/cereal crumbs for a long time! I have simplified my meals by far...they are healthier and way less variety! What I mean by this is...if I buy 3 different kinds of crackers...and they eat all but a few in the bag...then we have odds and ends of crackers...but say I only buy "x" amount of the same kind of cracker...then there will be less waste and less for me to try to decide. We LOVE Ritz crackers...they work for many different kinds of treats...you can put pb on them...jelly on them...tuna, cheese...lots of different variety in ONE cracker! We also are eating fruit and veggies with every meal. To me...in my mushy mind, this is way more simple! I have been cooking more of the meals...where breakfast used to be cereal...I now cook on most days. this is more simple and frugal...and it keeps them full until lunch...hence cutting out another snack...frugal and simple! I am lovin' this! :0)

This and That

This Post is just a mish mash...LOL...I am feeling the winter blah's...so I needed to do a few things to make it more fun for myself and the kids! I love making special foods for the kids, but hate paying a lot of money for them...sometimes even making a new recipe is too much for me..LOL...so yesterday I made homemade "lunchables" for lunch! My husband takes the snack sized lunchables to work for a snack between breakfast and lunch. The kids thought this was cool...and it was so much cheaper than buying them :0) Add some cheese and fruit, and there you go!! Another thing I did to boost myself was to organize a drawer in my china cupboard. I used this drawer to hold "stuff"...aka...garbage! It took me 5 mins to clear it all out, clean it...5 mins to sort the "stuff" (throw most of it away)..and then I decided to put my cookbooks and aprons in the drawer. I think it turned out pretty nicely :0) I feel like everywhere I look there is a mess! I LOVE organizing and cleaning things, so I am looking forward to keeping things going!!

One More Step Done!

Yesterday we received 3 out of the 5 new birth certificates!! We are so happy to have one more thing done :0) We are still needing to get new SS numbers for the kids. We have gotten all the new insurance stuff done, the names on the Dr. records changed, and them trained to use their new names....the little ones didn't even know they had a last name! How sad. Two of the little girls thought their birth mothers were Disney Princesses. They had no picture memory of what their birth mother looked like....although they show "scars" of the abuse she put them through. The older kids had a hard time using their new names as they were used to the old ones. this has been an interesting journey that is nowhere near over. The oldest adopted child is really having a hard time...she is grieving her "lost" family and can't understand why they hurt her...it's a long painful story. But, I am seeing this....getting the birth certificates....as just one more step closer to closure to the past, to the abuse, to the pain....and one SMALL step closer to a normal and happy life.

Sick....Again!

We are sick....again! This is the 3rd time in 3 months that we have had sickness run it's course through our home. Sad times, for sure. hope all is well at your homes :0)