My Hubby's Got A Blog!

Nate started his own blog about home remodel projects, building projects, anything he does for fun really!  He is a man of many talents.  So for those of you looking for home DIY projects, ways to save money and be frugal while doing projects...this is the blog for you!  Here are a few of the wood building projects he has completed for us:

DVD towers - we have 2.  One for mom and dad movies, the other for kids movies and games. They are awesome!

Our TV stand

A hanging frame for my necklaces - I showed him one out of a Martha Stewart catalog and he made it!

Bunk beds for our boys.  AKA The jungle gym, climbing wall, fort, storage closet, etc.  

He is just starting to blog, so go check it out!!  From reading the title he chose, you know it's going to be enjoyable.  :)

Weekend Projects: That Take Longer Than A Weekend

Blessings,

Late Summer Garage Sales

We haven't been hitting up garage sales as much as we had been earlier this summer, click here to see my previous finds, but this past Saturday, we loaded up again and went hunting!

I love looking for treasures and then actually finding some.  So much fun!

Here is what we found:

I'll admit it: I am a bookaholic.  I love to read and I LOVE to buy books for my kids and for me.  I really dislike paying full price though.  I found these books at one place and only paid $2 for them all.  As my 3 year old would say, "Sweeeeet!"  I got a Hardy Boys novel, 2 easy reader books, a Snoopy comic strip book and Pokemon, of course.  I also got a couple of Sandra Brown novels.  I have never read any, but they got high recommendations after asking around.

We found these at an estate sale.  I do believe it was our first one.  It was fabulous!  It wasn't run by a company, so the prices were awesome.  We got a 6 piece set of glasses, a glass pitches, a vase and a basket all for $4.  We weren't going to buy the basket, but they gave it to us to haul our glasses in.  I made my husband go back to buy the vase.  They only wanted 25 cents, but he just gave them $1 since they threw in the basket for free.  It is so fun getting super deals.  I wish there were garage sales all year round!  

Have you found any great treasures in your garage sale adventures?

Blessings,

Restarting Our Christmas Cactus

This week, I'm going to be posting about the projects we got busy on this weekend!  We finished almost ALL of them!

Weekend Project #1: Saving Our Christmas Cactus

We have a christmas cactus that is well over 100 years old.  We got it from Nate's grandma in Montana.  She has a green thumb, and that is an under statement.  The cactus has been kept alive from cuttings and restarting it.

Our cactus was doing really well in Minnesota.  It was blooming and looking great.  Since the trek down south, it hasn't been looking so hot.  First of all, we didn't have room for it in the house, so I had to keep it outside.  The shock of moving from 70 degrees to 90-100 degrees really affected the plant.  Secondly, we have been getting a lot of rain lately and I have forgotten to pull it under the overhang.  That could have been avoided, if I would have been a little more responsible.  Lastly, there are a lot more insects outside than inside.  Enough said.  :)

Here is what the cactus looks like now:

I'm lucky I got any cuttings off of this at all!  It was completely brown at the stem and the cactus leaves were just falling off.  I was able to get a few cuttings with some branches on them to hopefully get some roots growing.

When I take cuttings, I look for bright green leaves with a "Y" in them.  You can see one clearly in the picture below.  I always take more cuttings than I'll need, to ensure I get at least one or two cuttings with root growth.  I placed my cuttings in a small glass filled with just a little bit of water.  The glass is sitting on my kitchen counter, next to the window so it can get sunlight.  It should take a few days for the roots to start.  I'm hoping to have a positive update for you next week!

Blessings,

Home Decor on a Dime

I am always looking for ways to decorate my home without spending a lot of money.  I want a house that is welcoming, restful, cozy and 'home'.  I don't want it to cost me an arm and a leg though.  It can be done, you just have to be willing to look and sometimes get creative.

I have a lot of pictures in my house.  I have boxes of pictures that aren't even hung because I don't have enough room on my walls!  Here's why I have so many pictures:

I like to take images from cards, calendars, postcards, magazines, books and posters and cut them to the right size and frame them.  I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a framed, matted picture when I can make it myself for pennies.  

This is a card I received in the mail years ago.  I cut it down to fit in a 5x7 picture frame.  (I got this picture frame in high school as a gift.)  I have always loved these Renoir paintings of the dancing couples.  Now I have one framed in my room!

This is a poster I had been admiring at Michael's for quite a while and finally bought when they had them on sale.  I also got the big frame from Michael's when it was on sale also.  They entire picture cost me around $40.  The side "matting" is actually the paper that came inside of the frame.  I actually saw this same picture for sale at Menard's for $249!  I was so excited that mine was 84% cheaper!

I found this black and white photo of a North Dakota farmstead in an old book that had been bought at an estate auction.  I opened up the cover and this treasure was inside!  I framed it in a frame I got as a Christmas gift and have plans to hang it in my kitchen again soon.  For now, it is gracing the top of my bookshelf.

The photos below are actually pictures I cut out of a magazine and framed in 4x6 frames I bought from IKEA.  The tulips are actually a postcard I trimmed down to fit in the frame.  

This picture is one of my favorites.  It is of the Chenonceau castle in France.  My 2010 calendar was titled "France" and I found this picture and a few others in it.  I just framed it in a 8x10 frame I bought on clearance for $2.  

I kinda go overboard cutting out pictures, but I have so many frames that I've been given or bought for SUPER cheap.  I rarely need to buy a frame for a picture I find.  I always have something to switch out when I want to switch up the feel of a room!

Have fun finding new inexpensive treasures!!

Blessings,

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

I got this idea from a friend of mine who makes her own hand soap.  I decided to try it a while ago.  It saves a bunch of money on hand soap and it's much easier for my kids to use than regular soap.  Yes please!

 First step, you need to buy a foaming soap dispenser and use up all the soap inside.  I bought mine for about $6.00 at Target.

  

Once you finish the foaming soap, put 2 tablespoons of liquid hand soap into the dispenser.  Fill with cold water and shake it up a little bit.

And that is it!  Super easy!  I refill my dispensers on average, once a month.  It really does save a lot of money on hand soap.

Saving money and staying clean is every mom's dream come true!

Blessings,

Homeschool Goodies

On Saturday mornings, we pack our family into the van and we head out to find some garage sales.  It's our way of exploring the community and looking for treasures.  I have really had my eyes open for homeschool books, games, activities, etc. and have come away with some goodies!

 

I found a Sight Words Bingo Games and Ready to Read Box at a garage sale that a teacher was having!  I really enjoyed myself at her house.  :)

I got these Paddington books free when I told the teacher having the garage sale that I was going to homeschool.  She told me to take all the books I wanted for free!  So I took all of the preschool activity books shown below as well.  :)  I try not to go overboard, because I don't want to have SO much stuff in my little house.  I found room for these, though.

I also like to look in Bargain Book bins and Clearance racks for anything that I could use for homeschooling.  I found these Discovery Kids books in the bargain bin at the grocery store.  I got Animal World (Discovery Kids) , Discovery Kids: Amazing Places , and Ocean World (Discovery Kids) .  The boys get excited when they look at them!

Target clearance is one of my favorite places to shop.  I found these maps on clearance there.  They are on a shiny, almost plastic/waxy paper so they are sturdier than normal paper.  I just need to find room on my walls to hang them up. 

I have a thin paper map of the United States hanging in the boys room and we have circled in big black marker where Grandmas and Grandpas, aunts and uncles, and friends live.  BG, my 2 year old, will tell Auntie Ashy that we are far, far away in Texas.  :)

My mother-in-law is a Reading Recovery teacher.  I am always getting fun ideas, games, worksheets, and lapbooks from her.  I got these great ABC picture books from her.  They are perfect for working on letters and speech with my 2 year old.

It has been fun finding everything and incorporating them into my planning.  (I'll have an update on that pretty soon too.  It's coming along slowly, since I don't have a printer anymore.)

Get up early this Saturday and get going to some garage sales.  I hope you find some treasures to bring into your home and enrich your homeschooling experience!!  If nothing else, just have some family fun!  :)

Blessings,

Crafting for a Party: The Big Birthday Bash

My baby girl is 1 today!  I know people always say this, but time really does fly.  For my boys' first birthdays, they had multiple parties: one with our friends and then the parties at the grandparents' houses.  Lulu isn't so fortunate.  We are celebrating her birthday with just our little family of 5 and we are going to make it as awesome as we can!

We did some crafting yesterday to save money.  I am always looking for ways to pinch pennies and making our own decorations fit that bill.  Not only is it a money saver, but it also kept the kids busy, out of trouble and not sitting in front of the TV.

Here are our projects:

Painting pictures for Lulu

I dry all of our painting/gluing/out-of-control coloring projects on my homemade drying line.  I tied both ends of a piece of yarn on to the shower curtain rod and added clothes pins to it.  It's easy to slide to the wall, out of the way, when you want to take a shower too!

Coloring paper plates to hang around the house

Pipe Cleaner Balloons and a Glitter Plate

Pipe Cleaner Balloons - I twisted 2 or 3 pipe cleaners into the shape of balloons and then hung them from our kitchen light with some transparent sewing thread.










Coloring Pages - The boys wanted to color My Little Pony pictures for Lulu.  I got all these printable sheets free off of the Hasbro website.

Paper Chains - IF we get all of the coloring pages done, we will make cut some construction paper into strips with our fancy edge scissors and make some 'streamers'.

It's so much fun watching the boys try to sneak the pictures and decorations by Lulu so she won't see.  And my boys will tell me NOT to talk about the party in front of her.  I guess it's a big surprise!  :)

We've got a big day planned: bake and frost a cake, hang up My Little Pony pictures, serve up a special birthday dinner, take lots of pictures, laugh, play and enjoy!

Blessings,

Laundry Soap Update

UPDATE (8/30/17):  I NO longer make my own Laundry soap.  Find out why here:
Why I don't make my own laundry soap anymore

I am still making my own laundry soap.  It has been one year and I'm still loving it!  I just made my 3rd batch last month.  I did adjust my recipe a little: I used only 1/2 a bar of Fels Naptha instead of an entire bar.  (I got lazy while grating it.)  It is a HUGE money saver!  It is $11 for an entire 12 months of laundry soap.  I recommend it for moms out there who do lots of laundry!!

Get the full recipe and pictures here.

Blessings,

Homeschool Planning

Getting Organized: BEFORE

AFTER

Ok, I'll admit it, I am an organizer.  I plan ahead.  I color coordinate my closet (and my husbands!).  But having 3 kids puts a damper on many of my organizing endeavors.  I have accepted that I will always be living in some sort of chaos and that my plans will often get altered.  It's the life of a mom!

With our homeschool year coming to a close, I have started thinking about planning.  I've been reading homeschool blogs and following more homeschooling moms on Twitter.  It has given me a lot of new ideas.

The first of which, is that I'm thinking about making my own curriculum for K.  Scary?  Yes, a little, but I have found a lot of online websites and printables that have given me a pretty good feel for what I will need.  It is going to be work, but planning and organizing get me excited!

Here are a few websites I've found:

The Homeschool Classroom: http://www.hsclassroom.net/2012/02/top-ten-free-online-phonics-resources-for-preschool-kindergarten-and-beyond/

Homeschool Creations: http://www.homeschoolcreations.com/

3 Dinosars: http://3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/free-dinosaur-pack/

Walking by the Way: http://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/?p=716736

The Better Mom: http://www.thebettermom.com/2012/06/helping-your-child-become-a-better-reader/

Mama Jenn: http://www.mamajennblogs.com

CENTSible Homeschooling: http://www.blessedbeyondadoubt.com

Our Goodwin Journey: http://www.ourgoodwinjourney.com/search/label/homeschooling

There are so many more out there!  I've only touched the tip of the iceberg.  Regardless, you catch my drift that making your own curriculum is possible.

Secondly, I've come to the conclusion that I would love a Homeschool Planner.  The thought of one makes me smile.  The actual process of planning an entire school year is daunting.  My online searching has eased my anxiety.  There are a lot of free planners and women who share their secrets of what what worked for them, how they planned their school year, how far in advance they planned, etc.  It has been reassuring and uplifting.  I know I'm not the only one out there!

Some websites to check out as well:

Homeschool Creations:  http://homeschoolcreations.com/Homeschool-Planner.html  (You will have to purchase this planner, but there are great ideas and lots of free printables to add to your planner!)

Mama Jenn: http://www.mamajennblogs.com/2010/08/my-homeschool-planning-docs.html

CENTSible Homeschooling: http://www.blessedbeyondadoubt.com/2012/04/20/free-homeschool-plannersgeneral-homeschooling-centsible-homeschooling/  (Lots of websites to search from here!)

Money Saving Mom: http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/05/free-printable-and-customizable-homeschool-planners.html

Free Homeschool Deals.com: http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/free-monthly-homeschool-planner/

I did not print worksheets/forms off of all of these websites, but I did get valuable information from looking at them.

What a whirlwind!  It is an exciting journey.  I'll be keeping you up to date as I get more and more accomplished.

My next goal: finding ways to keep a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old engaged while teaching my kindergartner.  Oh boy!  :)  But I have a few ideas and have seen some great ones.  More to come!

Blessings,

Laundry soap

UPDATE (8/30/17):  LAUNDRY SOAP UPDATE - I no longer make it. Click here to Find out why.

I've been forgetting to say that I just made my second batch of laundry soap about 3 weeks ago.  I made the first batch in May.  Six months of soap for about $8...and the only thing I had to buy this time was the bar of soap for about $2!  So a years worth of soap for about $10.  That's what I like!

Homemade Laundry Soap

UPDATE (8/30/17): I no longer make my own laundry soap.  Click here to read Why I stopped.

I decided to make my own laundry soap this week.  I first heard about it during the Hearts at Home mom's retreat I attended in November.  I just hadn't actually tried it yet.  This week was the week.  We were almost out of detergent and I didn't have any coupons for detergent, so why not try it!  It is a huge savings in cost.  I got my recipe from www.jillsavage.org.  She was the speaker at the conference that talked about it. 

Here's how I made it:
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 c Borax

1 c Washing Soda

I warmed the grated soap in 4 c water on the stove, until melted.  Then I added it to the dry ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket.  I stirred it and filled the rest of the bucket with water.  Let it sit for 24 hours.  Then I filled an empty detergent bottle 1/2 full with the soap and filled the rest with water.  And it's ready to go!  Just shake it before every use.

The grated soap bar

It has worked great so far!  And it smells really fresh and clean.  The total cost for the ingredients was about $8 and I'm sure it's going to last for a LONG time.  Great for our budget!! 

Mom's The Word

This past weekend, I attended the Hearts at Home conference in Rochester, MN. It is a Christian conference that focuses on the needs and concerns of moms. It was amazing! I didn't know quite what to expect, but found myself soaking in the worship music, the workshop speakers, and the word of God!

It was a weekend filled with music, laughter and tears. Christy Nockels, of the group Watermark, was the worship leader. She was filled with the Spirit. Christ was shining through her songs. She did an amazing job!

The main speaker was Jill Savage. She had such a powerful message. It focused on the Power of Words. We want our words to bring life to people, lift them up and inspire them. Yet, so often we speak the exact opposite. I was forced to look at how I speak to others and really evaluate it. Am I glorifying Christ in all that I say? Am I speaking affirming, accepting, appreciating and apologizing words? It was an eye opener. Jill really asked us to look inside of ourselves and renew our minds. Jill has a list on her website called "God's Truth About You..." and it is filled with God's words that we can use to replace the old thoughts in our minds. Begin the transformation!

As a side note, she spoke during one of the small workshops. It was called Living With Less So My Family Can Have More. It was about living with less stress, less activities and less money so that we can have more to give our relationships. She spoke about attitudes to have: Counter-cultural mindset, Contentment, Sacrifice, Simplicity, Frugality and Faith. She gave a lot of good ideas for frugality. I recommend checking out her website for some ideas. It was great!

One of the other speakers I got the priviledge of listening to was Susie Larson. She was fabulous as well. The workshop I attended was entitled Growing Grateful Kids. It focused on teaching our children to be thankful and have perspective and gratitude. I was struck by one of her opening sentences. "We cannot impart what we do not express (possess)." I had to wonder if I am doing all that I can to become the woman God wants me to be so that I can show my children all he wants them to be. No pressure! Susie presented all of her points in such a real way that I truly felt like I could succeed. The fact that God pursues my children and me, lifts many burdens of motherhood. I will just remember that the pure in heart see God and that nothing is impossible when we humble ourselves to the Lord. Pure and humble; Christ-like.

I took away many ideas and truths from this past weekend. If nothing else, I was reminded that God loves me, despite the flaws and mistakes. I am His chosen treasure. We are all His chosen treasure. Live knowing this and praise God for it!

~Blessings~