Frugal Friday-Paper Towels

Paper towels are quite handy when it comes to messes and drying hands, but they are consumable. You use them and they go into the trash. Of course you can get good deals on paper towels by buying them on sale and with a coupon. However, I got tired of seeing so much paper towels being used or barely used, then thrown away (my husband was the worst when it came to paper towel use). My solution to save money on paper towels and reduce our use was to hide them. That's right I hide our paper towels. Now, I'm not talking about the hiding like you would do for an Easter egg. I simply put them in the cabinet under the sink-  out of sight, out of mind. I have found that having to go through more of an effort to get the paper towel has forced us to use towels and wash cloths when appropriate. Now, we only use paper towels when it is a paper towel only kind of job. I bought about three big things of paper towels when they were on sale when we first moved here almost 10 months ago and I still haven't used them all. In fact, I won't need to buy paper towels for some time.
So, if you want to save some money on paper towels, put them in a place where it takes more effort to get to. Also, evaluate the "job" you are using them for. Think to yourself, "can I use something reusable instead?" Hiding paper towels can save you money and make less waste in the landfills. It's a win win to me!

Gotta get these feelings out

Yesterday, I took Ellis for her 8 month check up. I was already a little nervous about the visit because I had taken her 5 days before for sickness and she still weighed the same. She weighed the same as she did at her 4 month check up and her 6 month check up. I was concerned at the 6 month check up but the doctor wasn't concerned then because that can be a normal thing but now that after another two months of the same they are concerned. And so am I. She's actually dropped about an ounce. Her length and head circumference hasn't changed either. Now, we are trying to figure out why she is failing to thrive. The doctor ordered all kinds of blood test for blood chemistry, celiac disease, and even cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis! That one freaks me out the most. We have to meet with a pediatric gastroenterologist and a pediatric endycronologist. And if all that doesn't give answers we will see a pediatric cardiologist. The possibilities of what's causing her failure to thrive range from simple to scary. Of course, as a mama it's hard not to think of the worse. It's so hard not to worry. I have to admit that I had a hard time this morning. I couldn't quit thinking about worse case senario. The fears were just pouring from my mind. I know that God is in control. I know that He created Ellis exactly how He planned for her. I know that whatever we face He can handle. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to feel pain. I just kept praying for God to overcome my fears because I couldn't do it.

The doctor wanted me to nurse Ellis at least every 3 hours during the day and increase her solid intake if Ellis would tolerate it. I feel like I have been stuffing her full today. I've been nursing her around every 2 1/2 hours and feeding her as much solids as she would take. We go back to the doctor on Monday to see if she gains any weight from doing this. If she has that will be great but a part of me will feel like this is all my fault. What if everything comes back normal and the whole reason she hasn't grown is because she hasn't eaten enough? Don't get me wrong. I would be so thankful for such an easy solution and compared to the other possibilities this is the best one. But I would still feel like such a failure. How could I have missed her signals that she needed to eat more? She doesn't really cry when she is hungry. I just always end up feeding her when she wakes up. She doesn't eat very long when she eats. It makes me wonder if she is getting the fattening hind milk. Is there something wrong with my milk? Am I producing enough? It is hurtful to think that my milk may not be good enough. This is my second time nursing a child. I nursed Parker for a whole year and he was always around the 95th percentile. She wouldn't even take solid food until a month ago, actually more like 3 weeks ago. I want to be able to breastfeed my child for a whole year, but I want to do what's best for her. If switching to formula is what is best then that is what we will do. But at this point, she refuses to take a bottle. So what am I to do? I know I'm speculating a lot when it will take some time to get some answers, but like the title says I gotta get these feelings out.

Frugal Friday: It Start's with Your Attitude

Photo credit here

You may be disappointed that I'm not starting off with a tip that's going to save you hundreds of dollars. However, I'm going to tell you the key to living frugally. So here it goes, the key to living on a shoe string budget, pinching every penny, saving tons of money is...be content with what you have. I hope you are not too disappointed, but that is where you start. Attitude is everything when it comes to everything.

I am learning (I use the present tense because it is a continual process for me.) to be content. I have to learn to be content with all areas of my life, but it is especially hard when it comes to money. I grew up in a family where saving money was important. It was important because having a good amount of money was important to financial security. So to me, having lots of money saved up made me feel content. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Having little to no money saved up made me feel insecure. I would stress out when I would look at our bank account information. I didn't feel secure. It was unhealthy and a product of my lack of faith and trust in God as provider. God has been working on me to change what makes me feel secure. I quit looking at our bank account. I let Paul do that since he doesn't freak out about it like I do. I'm learning that I can trust in God completely. I'm learning that contentment is a by-product of trust in God.

The apostle Paul explains in best in Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." I'm going to get on a little soapbox here, but it has often bothered me how vicariously people use Philippians 4:13. I say that as someone who has been guilty of just that. I remember praying, "I can do all things through Christ who strenghthens me," as I was getting ready to take a test that I didn't study for well in high school. The ALL THINGS part of that verse is the key. Everything we do, we can do only by and through the authority of Jesus Christ. So "all things" means I can learn to not worry about finances. I can be content with our humble circumstances and actually enjoy it.

So, learning to be content is going to save you hundreds. If you don't have to buy a lot of things to make you feel good, then you will save money by enjoying what you already have. If you learn to be content to make something that you would have normally bought, then you will save money. I could go on. I promise that I will be sharing more concrete ways of frugal living, but like I said before, the key to frugal living is being content.

Introducing Frugal Friday

Photo credit here

I've decided to start a series of posts to share some of the things our family does to save money and live frugally. I really enjoy frugal living. Even if we had a lot of money, I think I would still live frugally. To me, it's important to be good stewards of what God has entrusted us with, and if there is a way to live less wasteful then we should do it. Of course for us, living frugally has come out of neccessity. With the economy the way it is and gas prices soaring, there are a lot of us trying to pinch every penny we can find.
Most of what I share, you may have heard or even do yourself. In fact, a lot of what I do has come about by google searches, reading blogs, and now pinterest. Some of these may be little and some may be big changes. I'll go ahead and put this disclaimer out here. Althoug it's called Frugal Friday, there may be some Fridays that I don't get around to posting. However, I hope you enjoy.

Picnic at the Park

 I can't think of a better way to spend such a beautiful spring day than a picnic at the park with family.

My beautiful niece, Zoe. Isn't she just precious?!

Parker is growing up too fast. I have to admit that watching him repeatedly climb this ladder made me nervous, but he did great.

Hannah and Cayden on the tire swing.

Whoa! Major static hair!

At first, Ellis wasn't too sure about sitting on the ground, but she got over that quickly and decided she wanted to eat the mulch.

Cousins! These two are going to be great friends one day. They are only 10 months apart in age.

So cute!

I took an insane amount of adorable pictures of Ellis since she was the only one of the five kids that stayed still long enough for me to take crazy amounts of pictures.

Parker's favorite park activity...swinging!

I could have posted 100 pictures of Ellis, but I just picked a few.

I tried to get a good picture of Parker and Ellis. Notice I said tried. Parker is past the stage of staying still for me to take pictures of both of them. At least Ellis hasn't learned to crawl or I wouldn't even have this shot.

I love Ellis in this picture. If only Parker hadn't been so interested in the mulch....

Paul Jr.

Let me explain this photo. Paul had been pushing Parker in the swing for about 15 minutes. Apparently, he was getting tired of pushing him, and one of his pushes become a shove and out came Parker out of the swing. Good thing Parker has good protective reflexes and caught himself without getting hurt. Way to go Dad...pick on someone your own size next time. :)

Ellis at 7 Months

So I'm a little late with this one, but better late than never. Here is Ellis at 7 months.

• She's sitting up like a pro. Well, occasionally she will get so involved with slobbering all over some toy that she will topple over.
• She's finally started to eat solids. She took after her brother on this one. After a month and a half of gagging on rice cereal, she decided this eating stuff thing ain't so bad. So far she's tried rice cereal, apples, carrots, bananas, sweet potatoes, and avacadoes. She's like them all except the avacadoes.
• She likes to jump in her jumperoo. I have to admit that it looks quite fun and they need to make an adult version.
• She is extremely attached to me. When she's tired, no one else will do as long as I'm near, not even her daddy.
• She has the cutest little baby voice, and in her jabbering she even says "da da."
• She loves her feet. They are the greatest little can't loose baby toy.
• She LOVES her paci. She's really good at getting her paci into her mouth. It's her absolute favorite toy. If I put several toys in front of her with her paci, she always goes directly for the paci. She chews on it, twirls it in her hands, and talks to it. She better enjoy it while she can because she only has 5 more months with it before it disappears!
• She's down to 2 naps now. She held onto that third nap a little longer than most children.
• She makes some of the cutest faces.
• A couple of days ago I moved her into size 6-9 months clothing. She fits well in the 3-6 months, but I was ready to pull out the new clothes since I was switching everyone's winter to summer clothes. They are a little bit big, but not too bad. It's so weird to have such a little child after having Parker because he was sooo big.
• She's starting to grow a teensy weensy little bit of hair on the front.
• She just gets sweeter and sweeter!

I Can't Complain

"Do all things without complaining or grumbling." Philippians 2:14

I have been saying that verse to myself over and over again lately. I have been praying for the Lord to help me overcome my fleshly desires to complain. I want to complain so badly. I struggle with keeping my prayers from being grumblings about whatever it is that is on my mind. I want to complain to myself, to God, and to anyone who's there (although most of the time it's just me and the kids). I want to complain when Parker's misbehaving, Ellis is unhappy and screaming, and the house can't seem to keep itself clean. I want to complain that we only have one car which means I don't have the freedom to go grocery shopping on the day I want to or just to be able to get out of the house for a little while. I want to complain Paul has to work crazy hours and spends 2 hours driving to and from work everyday so I feel like we don't get to spend much time with him. I could go on.
However, God's working on me just like He always is. One of the Sparkies I work with in Awanas was working on memorizing Philippians 2:14. I needed to hear that verse. Of course, God didn't just stop there. He gave me a way to overcome my fleshly desire to complain. I've been reading in Thessalonians during my personal Bible study time. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." I'm fighting (with the strength from God) the desire to complain with thankfulness. I'm choosing to be thankful that I have two beautiful, healthy children that I can hold in my arms when they cry. I'm choosing to be thankful that I have a Heavenly Father as a example of how to discipline my children in love. I'm choosing to be thankful that we have a place to live and can make the rent payment each month. I'm choosing to be thankful that having a second car is not a need since I have the privilege of staying home with my children. I'm choosing to be thankful that Paul has a job that can provide for us and if we manage our God's money correctly we can still have the means to bless others. I know by the world's standards I would have every "right" to complain, but that is so wrong. Everything that I go through, every struggle I face, every little nuisance is all under the authority of God. Nothing happens that is not according to His plan for my life. Everything I face is only a means for me to grow closer to God and into the image of Christ. Since I have placed my life on the altar of God, I have no rights, including the right to complain. Everything is a blessing, and it is a choice to see things that way.

How Shoe Licking Teaches Me a Lesson in Parenting

For snack time today, Parker and I had leftover pancakes. I fixed his plate and put it on the counter. We were fixing to put our shoes on to go outside so they were nearby. I was already getting my shoes on when I looked up to see Parker place one of his shoes smack dab on top of his syrupy pancakes (He didn't mean to. Since eye level for him is just below the countertop, he really couldn't see the plate.) Then, in horror I watched him look at the bottom of his shoe and lick it. Yes, lick the bottom of a shoe that has been on a toddler foot that has been who knows where! I quickly ran over to him screaming "NOOOOO!!!!" and got the shoe just before he took a second lick. Apparently, syrup is very important to him and he didn't want to waste one drop.
This little incident made me start thinking about how important it is to teach our children. As an adult, I know that licking the bottom of a shoe is gross, possibly dangerous, and just not socially acceptable. However, Parker sees that shoe as something that goes on your foot that has cool sports balls that light up when he walks, and apparently, an eating utensil. I know that licking the bottom of his shoe, while gross, is not all that bad. But, it made me think about how important it is for me to teach my children the ways of the Lord. There is a lot of scripture on this matter. Children just don't know the things they need to know. We have to teach them. We have to teach them the Truth of God's Word. They can learn things from others, but as their parents, we have the most influence on them. The shoe licking incident made me realize that I need to be more diligent about using every moment to teach the Truth, the only Truth, to these precious little beings that God has allowed me the privilege to raise as my own even though they really don't belong to me; they are His. I love how God uses random little things to teach us.