The blessings of teens

I just want to take a little time to give some props to my two oldest daughters.They are such blessings to me. Not just because they help around the house, because truth be told, with one of them I have get a cattle prod after her to get her to help at times. It is the relationship that we have that is a blessing. It is watching them blossoming into the young ladies that they are now that is a blessing. It is the honor that they bring to our family that is the blessing.

Many times over the years i'd get nervous thinking about parenting during the teenage years. I didn't exactly have the best relationship with my own parents as a teen. They still claim that I am the one that gave them gray hairs. Now I wasn't THAT bad, but it was rough for quite a few years.

With our own children, we have always been told that we have great kids in one sentence, just to be warned in the next that one day they'd be teenagers. Of course every teenager rebels and gives their parents trouble, right? At least it seems that many people think this way.

Scott and I have stayed up many a night talking about this, praying for our children and the wisdom to do what was right in raising them. We wanted it to be different in our family, (what family doesn't)? Not that we don't ever expect them to make a mistake. We just want to maintain a strong enough relationship to guide them through these years that lead to adulthood.

Although we are not all the way through the teen years and we still have many teens left to raise, I just wanted to say that I am really enjoying these years. All the years of training and teaching are really starting to show through.

One of the greatest moments was when I heard one of them repeating something that i'd taught them years ago to the little ones. I immediately thought, "Thankyou, Jesus. They actually were listening!" I am blessed indeed.

I just wanted to share a picture of my family. It is from Mother's day. I am hugely pregnant with Anna still in this picture, but it is all of us.

Menu Planning Monday

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but better late than never! This menu cost me right at about $80.00. My weekly budget is $75.00 for our family of 9. Remember though, I was had to completely buy all new meat due to the hurricane that came through. It's ok though since I still had leftover money from my previous budgets.

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles and fruit

Tuesday: Baked oatmeal

Wednesday: Muffins and sausage

Thursday: Eggs and biscuits

Friday: Pancakes and fruit

Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Grilled hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese, and a veggie

Tuesday: Sandwiches and a veggie

Wednesday: Soup and crackers

Thursday: Fried ham, mashed potatoes, and a veggie

Friday: Baked potatoes and vegetable plate

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Banana bread

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Homemade cookies

Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:

Monday:

Teriyaki chicken

Eggrolls

Fried rice

Tuesday:

Mini meatloaf patties
Braised radishes

Cheesy cauliflower casserole

Wednesday:--->It's supposed to be cooler, I can't wait!

Homemade chili

Cornbread

Thursday:

Crockpot ribs

Mashed potatoes

Corn

Friday:
Homemade pizza

Breadsticks

Saturday:

Smothered pork chops

Rice and gravy

Green beans

Yeast rolls

Sunday:--->Olive Garden night! I got the recipes from copycat recipes. It tastes exactly like the real thing!

Blackened chicken alfredo

Tuscana soup

Breadsticks

Olive Garden alfredo sauce:

Ingredients:

1 pint of Heavy Cream

1 stick of butter

2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese

1/2 - 3/4 C. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Garlic powder

Directions:

In a saucepan combine butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Add the Parmesan cheese and Garlic powder. Simmer this for 15 - 20 minutes on low. You may wish to season with a little salt and pepper. I have done this with half and half, but we prefer the heavy cream. But I wouldn't try it with plain milk.

Olive Garden zuppa tuscana soup:

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian Sausage

2 large Russet Baking Potatoes sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices

1 large Onion, chopped

1/2 package Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits or 6 slices bacon, crumbled

2 cloves garlic minced

2 C. Kale or Swiss chard chopped

2 cans Chicken Broth

1 qt. Water

1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 tsp fennel seed

Directions:

Brown sausage in large pot. Place in bowl and put off to side after done cooking. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, garlic in pot, and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt, and pepper to taste, and fennel seed and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat, add kale and cream. Heat through and serve. Please don't skip the fennel seed. It is what really makes the dish turn out just like the real thing!

For more great menu ideas, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Mondays.

Menu Planning Monday:

I actually planned a menu this week! I don't know if the motivation for it is because I have a class to teach on menu planning and budgeting this week, or if it's because i'm just so ready to get back to normal life again. I normally have a budget of $75.00 per week for my family of 9. This weeks menu cost $100.00 since I was out of so many things.

So maybe this week isn't as frugal as usual but don't worry, i'm still on budget since I had leftover money from previous weeks. I am also still stockpiling a few things that I have coupons for. I have enough bottles of salad dressing to last the rest of the year or more. I was out of anything that wasn't perishable because of the hurricane so that's why it's a bit more this time.

I do have to say that it is so nice to eat cooked food again. We are all so tired of sandwiches here. You just have no clue.

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles and fruit
Tuesday: Baked oatmeal
Wednesday: Muffins and sausage
Thursday: Eggs and biscuits
Friday: Pancakes and fruit
Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Grilled hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese, and a veggie
Tuesday: Sandwiches and a veggie--->sorry kids!
Wednesday: Soup and crackers
Thursday: Fried ham, mashed potatoes, and a veggie
Friday: Baked potatoes and vegetable plate
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Banana bread
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Homemade cookies
Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:
Monday:
Crockpot chicken--->recipe below!

Rice pilaf

Corn on the cob

Tuesday:
Baked tilapia

Butter and garlic green beans

Salad

Wednesday:
Mexican bar night--->we have tacos, burritos, enchiladas, mexican rice, refried beans. Everyone just chooses what they want.

Thursday:
Family syle chicken

Roasted squash and zucchini

Yeast rolls

Friday:

Baked italian sausage and peppers

Green beans

Twisted breadsticks

Saturday:
BLT's

French fries

Sunday:--->one of our favorites! I can give recipes if you'd like.
Mini meatloaf patties with mushroom gravy

Braised radishes

Cheesy cauliflower casserole

One of my easiest recipes that I cook on a busy day is crockpot chicken. It only takes about 5 minutes to get started and everyone here loves it. I used to make it without the thyme and rosemary, but it has made it so much better since we started adding these herbs. We use dried herbs out of our garden, but you can use fresh also if you'd like.

Crockpot Chicken:

1 whole chicken 3-4 lbs

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of water

salt and pepper

garlic powder

Thyme

Rosemary

Directions:

Put chicken in crockpot. Add canned soups and water, mix as well as you can. Season top of chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary. I just eye it. I might use about 1 tsp of each. Cook on high for about 6 hours or until done. I usually debone it after it's done cooking since I have little ones.

For more great menu ideas, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Mondays.

Menu Planning Monday: Using my stockpile!

From doing a bit of stockpiling the last week or two I am able to do this menu almost completely for nothing. I did have to buy a bit of meat(only because my freezer went out and I lost my chicken), and of course fresh fruits, veggies, and milk. This menu was just a little over $30.00. Since my budget is $75.00 a week, that leaves me about $45.00 to stock up even more with all the great grocery sales. You can see a few of the deals i've been getting here.

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles and fruit

Tuesday: Baked oatmeal

Wednesday: Muffins and sausage

Thursday: eggs and biscuits

Friday: Pancakes and fruit

Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Grilled hot dogs, homemade mac & cheese, and a veggie

Tuesday: Sandwiches and a veggie

Wednesday: Grilled chicken salad

Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit

Friday: Baked potatoes and vegetable plate

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Banana bread

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Homemade cookies

Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:

Monday:

Chicken and stuffing

Corn

Yeast rolls

Tuesday:

Sloppy joes

Coleslaw

Wednesday:

Chili cheese enchiladas

Mexican rice

Thursday:

Chicken and stuffing
Corn
Yeast rolls

Friday:
Pizza
Cheese bread

Saturday:

BBQ at my sisters house

Sunday:

Roast

Potatoes and carrots

Salad

For more great menu ideas, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Mondays.

Menu Planning Monday: Building my stockpile!

Life since the baby has come has been full, but I am slowly getting back in the swing of things. I have fianlly been able to take advantage of some of the sales again so I am getting my stockpile back up. Because of that I have only spent about $50.00 on this week's menu.

That still leaves me $25.00 to snatch up any other good deals that I may find to add to that growing stockpile. My goal is to be able to "shop" out of my stockpile and just shop for fresh foods that can't be stored and of course more deals. This is the way to never pay full price for anything again. It's how I am able to keep my food budget so low. Check out this stockpile to see what I'm talking about. Wow!

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles and fruit
Tuesday: Breakfast casserole
Wednesday: Muffins and sausage
Thursday: Homemade cinnamon rolls
Friday: Pancakes and fruit
Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Fried ham, homemade mac & cheese, and a veggie
Tuesday: Sandwiches and a veggie
Wednesday: Grilled chicken salad
Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit
Friday: Baked potatoes and vegetable plate
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Banana bread
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Homemade cookies
Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:
Monday:
Chinese Stirfry

Fried Rice

Eggrolls

Tuesday:
Cheeseburger pie

Green beans

Wednesday:
Mexican bar

Thursday:
Chicken and stuffing

Corn

Yeast rolls

Friday:

Pizza

Cheese bread

Saturday:

BBQ

Sunday:
Rosemary pork tenderloin

Potatoes and baby carrots

Salads

For more great menu ideas, head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Planning Mondays.

A few precious pictures of Anna Sophia to share

I know you've probably heard enough of my sweet baby, but I just had to share a few pictures of her. I'm excited since this is one of the first we've gotten of her since getting home. She has no wires and she actually has clothes on too!

Here's one from when she was in NICU still. Nice change, isn't it?

We're finally home!!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. We are finally home from the hospital. I wanted to give a quick rundown of what happened this week so I am just going to copy and paste what I wrote on my momys board about Anna's stay at the hospital.

It was an amazingly easy birth and I felt great afterwards. Anna did well too, they just told me that she had quite a bit of facial bruising. As an old NICU nurse I wasn't concerned because it happens alot but her face was really purple from the bruising.

About 8 hours later the pediatrician came and checked her out and said that she was perfectly healthy and that the bruising would go away in a few days. Side note: It turns out that it wasn't facial bruising at all.

About 10 minutes after she came in to talk to me she came back, but with another doctor. I didn't recognize him, but it turns out he was a new NICU doc. She then told me that while she was in here that Anna coded and had to be resuscitated. Usually they start resuscitation efforts on newborns well before they have no heartrate, but when they found her in the crib she had no heartrate and of course was not breathing. After working on her awhile they were able to get her heartrate back up to normal and she was breathing on her own. Of course she was immediately transferred to NICU.

I was told that she had a seizure but they weren't sure why. They suspected that she either had a heart defect, that she had bled into her brain or that she had an infection. They ran quite a few tests but all came back normal. The problem was that she kept turning blue. She hasn't had another episode since Monday night. They never have figured out what was causing them, except for some transitional issues, but decided to let her come home.

We possibly still have to go do a 2-D echo of the heart and are going to ask to be set up with an apnea monitor, but we are hoping that everything has resolved. We are thanking God that she is ok and that we got to bring her home. The doctors don't expect there to be any permanent damage, but we of course just have to wait and see. Right now she is acting as if nothing ever went wrong.

The nurses that resuscitated her told me that it was a miracle that they happened to walk by her when they did. Neither of them were supposed to be in there at that time. Another minute later and we might not be holding her right now.

So needless to say I am enjoying my sweet baby girl. I might be MIA for a few more days while I recoup from this week, but i'll be back soon. Again, thanks so much!

We're heading to the hospital!

My water just broke so we're heading off to have a baby! Please pray for us that everything goes ok!

Simple project to pass the time: Making a t-shirt dress!

Ok, since i'm so hugely pregnant and don't feel much like getting out these days, my husband and I thought it might be nice for me to do one fun project a day until baby comes. Today I decided to make matching cute t-shirt dresses for my two youngest girls. They make great play or going out dresses and are so cheap to make.

I thought I would put a tutorial up for those who feel adventurous. I am usually pretty bad about putting pictures up, but I do realize that many people, myself included, are visual. They just need to see it.

All you need is basic sewing skills for this project.

Supplies needed:

• 1 t-shirt (I payed $2.00 each for the tshirts i'm using)
• 1/2 - 1 yd of material (For my 5 yo daughter I am using 1 yd, for the 2 yo I am using 1/2 yd. I bought the material for $1.00 yd.) *If making for a bigger girl you will need to add more fabric. Up to about 2 yds.*
• Matching thread

Step 1:
Put t-shirt on your little one. Mark or measure how many inches right to the belly button. After taking it off, cut it where you marked. You can cut it a little shorter than this if you want, I like the way it falls cut a little shorter so I usually go 1 inch above the belly button.

Step 2:

Fold fabric in half, lengthwise with the selvage edges together. Selvage edges are the edges that have not been cut. *If you are making a dress for a bigger girl, fold fabric in half with the cut edges together instead of the selvage edges. Sew down the long sides.*

Step 3:
Sew sides together to form the skirt. I usally like to make a french seam here, but that's just to keep it from fraying on the inside. If you want to learn how to do a french seam, go here.

Step 4:
Mark the center front and center back of the shirt and skirt with pins.

Step 5:

The skirt will have the right sides facing eachother now. Sew a basting or gathering stitch (which is basically a very wide stitch), at the top of the skirt.

Step 6:

Pull the gathering threads to make the gather of the skirt.

Step 7:

Turn the shirt inside out and put it upside down in skirt. Match center pins of skirt and shirt together and pin. Now adjust your gathers as needed.

Step 8:

Once gathers are adjusted to fit the width of the shirt. Sew the skirt to the t-shirt. I like to go around twice. Once in a zip zag stitch. It is stronger that way. My first few I had to restitch holes because my girls play so hard.

Step 9:

Turn dress right side up now. Try the dress on your little one to see where you want your hem. Pin it and then sew. I like to do a double fold on the bottom of the skirt because it makes the dress fall better at the bottom and it keeps it from fraying. Once I have it pinned around I just take it and fold it inside itself. Then I sew it. Of course, that is just optional.

The finished product!

Optional:

I have added eyelet lace at the bottom before to add a little something. You can also take the leftover t-shirt material and make a matching scrunchie or add ruffles on a sock. I like to crochet a matching ruffle on socks to wear with it. So cute! Maybe that'll be my project for tomorrow!

It really is simple to do and can add to your little girl's wardrobe for not much money. After reading Crystal's Frugal Friday post and Jennifer's comment on my blog, I decided to add that you can make this project even more frugal by using up older t-shirts that your little girl may be outgrowing. Reusing them extends their life and saves money. Have fun!

Summer family project time!

This week is a themed week for Works for me Wednesday. It is the "Mom, i'm bored" edition. This is something that we all dread hearing. After a long summer break i'm sure it's bound to happen at some time. I used to hear it all the time. Of course I always loved coming up with creative ways to make the children stop telling me every five minutes that they were bored. I could always help them not be so bored by scrubbing out the trashcans or by dusting the baseboards. You get the point. It still got to be tiring though, so we changed things up a bit for them.

First thing I want to say is that we homeschool. It is a bit different for us since we don't follow the typical schoolyear schedule. We take off one whole month in the summer (this year we are taking off the month of June), and we take off the whole month of December. I have found that just having a shorter summer break cuts down some on the "Mom, i'm bored" cries.

Now you know it would be too easy if that's all it took, but of course I still used to hear it pretty often. That's when we took it a step further and implemented a few summer changes around here. It has made a huge difference and it's actually quite fun.

First thing to go is the TV. We turn it off every summer, for the whole summer. There is nothing on but reruns anyway, but I find that the kids whine about being bored more if they sit in front of the TV everyday. So, off it goes.

Every year the children also attend one camp. The last three years it has been a music day camp at one of the local churches. It's fun for the kids and it takes care of one week. Plus it's free!

The big thing we do though that has made the most difference is complete a family project together every summer. Last year we built a chicken coop together. If you want to read more about our chickens, you can do so here. This year we have been working on checking off Mom's nesting list. Baby should come at any time now so it's got to get done. We have painted a few rooms in the house, built a loft bed, and we are about to start expanding the chicken run.

Including the children is something we love doing and we never hear, "I'm bored!" It also helps them build skills that will help them later on in life. Most importantly, it helps build our relationship with our kids and it makes great memories. If you don't have any big projects to do, do something small. Build a birdhouse, plant a flower garden. Lets the kids pick. It works for us!

To get more great ideas on how to keep the kids entertained this summer, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Frugal maternity clothes!

My works for me Wednesday post is pregnancy related this week. I also thought this would make a great post for Frugal Friday's at Biblical Womanhood.

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy so it is what is consuming me at the moment. It is also the stage where you are constantly uncomfortable, and nothing fits. Yes, my body is uncomfortable this time, but I can say that my clothes are not.

I have always had to switch sizes at the end or wear the one pair of gouchos that still fit. It is not fun to have to wash and wear the same thing everyday. This time around though, I found a great tip online early on that I thought I would try.

What I did was use an old t-shirt to make my waistbands for my maternity clothes. I guess it would be something like the Bella Band that they sell, except a bit more frugal. Now of course, to make this work you do have to know how to at least operate a sewing machine, or know someone who does, but you do not have to be an expert at it.

I have actually made myself a few biased cut A-line skirts this time and used old t-shirts for the waistbands. You can find the tutorial to make the skirt here. This tutorial is not exactly maternity, but it works well as a maternity skirt.

The great thing that I found out through trial and error is that I could use just the waistband to reconstruct some of my regular wardrobe. I just cut off the bottom of an old t-shirt and stitched it over the normal waistband. I can just remove it after i'm back to my normal size.

For example, I have a demin skirt that I love to wear that no longer fits. It has a side zipper that I left down. I then took the t-shirt I had cut and pulled it to where the zipper ends and stitched it all the way around right over the top of it. There is no need to make the stitches super small. Now the skirt stays up and I can use it all the way through my pregnancy. Which is hopefully only another week or so! :-)

The great thing about the t-shirt waistband is how comfy it is. It is about as comfortable as the waistband in the gouchos I have. Another great thing is that it grows with you all the way through. No more having to buy more than one size. It has been a lifesaver here. It is easy and frugal too!

Menu Planning Monday: Kids choice week!

First off, I just want to say how nice it was to have almost a full week of crockpot meals. I think I have decided to do this every so often. Eventhough I didn't have to leave town, it was still nice to not to have to worry about dinner every night since we've been so busy. It was such a nice break for me.

Now it's back to normal again. This week is kids choice week. It is always a big hit around here. What I do is have each one of the children pick out a meal they would like to eat. We have five children that pick a meal right now, so Mom and Dad get a night too.

Anyways, the older three are responsible for helping me plan the menu, making a grocery list, cooking, and serving the meal. It gets them involved in every aspect of menu planning. My goal is to have their spouses thank me one day. Of course the little ones just help Mom or dad cook and serve the meal.

They all really love to help me in the kitchen. Sometimes a little too much, if you know what I mean. Doing this helps to keep only one child in the kitchen with me at a time. At least for one whole week! It is also a nice one-on-one time for us.

This menu will cost us right at $60.00 for our family of eight. My weekly budget is $75.00 so I plan on spending a little to buy a few staple items i'll be needing soon. Maybe i'll be able to get some really great deals that I can stock up on.

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles and fruit

Tuesday: Breakfast casserole--->just got this recipe from a friend!

Wednesday: Muffins and sausage

Thursday: Homemade cinnamon rolls

Friday: Pancakes and fruit

Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Hot dogs, mac & cheese, and a veggie

Tuesday: Sandwiches and a veggie---> We're going blueberry picking and then having a picnic at the park!

Wednesday: Chicken salad and baked potatoes

Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit

Friday: Soup and crackers

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Amish Friendship bread and milk

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Homemade chocolate oatmeal cookies

Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:

Monday: 10 yo son's pick!

Meat lasagna

Brocolli with homemade cheese sauce to top

Pumpkin rolls

Tuesday: Mom's pick!
Chinese stirfry

Fried rice

Eggrolls

Wednesday: 14 yo daughter's pick! She'll be cooking with Dad since he's the one that makes this.

Crawfish pie

Homegrown green beans--->The first of the year!

Pumpkin pie

Thursday: 12 yo daughter's pick!

Chicken and sausage jambalaya

Corn

Yeast rolls

Friday: 5 yo daughter's pick!

Homemade pizza rolls

Breadsticks and marinara sauce for dipping

Saturday: 3 yo son's pick!

Sloppy joes

French fries--->this counts as a veggie, right?

Sunday: Dad's pick since we didn't make it last week!

Italian sausage and peppers

Corn

Cheese bread

Homemade Pizza rolls:

Ingredients:
Mozarella cheese
A jar of pizza sauce or you can make your own (i'll share my recipe another day)
1 package of egg roll wrappers
oil (for frying)
Whatever toppings you want to go inside of them (we stick to pepperoni that I chop up coarsely, onions, bell peppers, sausage, and ham. Not all at the same time, just whatever we have at the time.)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Place a spoonful or two inside an eggroll wrapper. Fold as you would an eggroll. Bottom up, sides in, and then moisten the top then fold it over to seal it. Fry in your oil till golden brown. You can use a deep fryer if you want or just put at least an inch or two of oil in a frying pan on the stove. I'm sure you could bake them, but I have never done it so i'm not sure how long you would need to cook them.

*for the little ones I will cut an eggroll in half and make mini pizza rolls. These would look more like the pizza rolls you buy in the store, but taste so much better.

Crawfish Pie:

Ingredients:

1 med. to large onion
3 stalks of celery
6 to 8 cloves of garlic
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can light or regular evaporated milk
1 pound of crawfish tails
5 tablespoons of cornstarch
pie crust for 2-crust pie

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sauté onions, celery and garlic in butter or olive oil. Add milk and soup; bring to medium boil. Add crawfish, bring to medium boil again then add corn starch. Lower heat and cook for another 10 minutes or until thick. Grease pie shell w/butter and place pie shell in bottom of pan then add thickened mixture. Put on top shell and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. I have a great recipe for pie crusts, but i'll have to dig it out of my other binder. You can always use a store bought crust, you just have to buy a double one since it covers the top.

For more great menu's, check out Menu Planning Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Natural products to keep in your medicine cabinet

Since I get a few questions on how we afford medical care for our large family I thought this would be a great post for Works for me Wednesday.

Now, I love my children's pediatrician. She is a wonderful doctor. We used to be in her office every other week but now we hardly ever have to see her and that's the way I like it. With 6 children, it would cost me a fortune if they were sick all the time. Because of that, there are a few things I like to keep on hand to try first in my medicine cabinet before we head to pay the doctor a visit.

These are the things I would never be without:

1. Tea Tree Oil

There are many uses for tea tree oil. First, it is an antiseptic. It is great to put a diluted amount on scrapes, cuts, and rashes. It's also great for you cloth diapering moms to add to the diaper pail or when you wash the diapers.

2. Aloe

Of course most of us know to use this on burns. It is very soothing.

3. Ipecac

Those of us who have small children should keep this on hand in case of accidental poisoning. It induces vomiting. Of course, be sure to call the poison control center first. They will let you know whether or not to induce vomiting.

4. Echinacea

Great for cold and flu season. They have a brand that I really like that is made for children. It is called Herbs for Kids. That way I know i'm not overdosing them.

5. Olive Leaf Extract

This is probably one of my favorite natural products to use. It is used during cold and flu season. It is also wonderful for seasonal allergies. It is an antiviral and an immune builder. The brand I use is by Seagate. It is actually a nasal spray. When I have to use it, it works pretty fast.

6. Mullein and garlic oil

This is great for earaches. It helps soothe the pain. Note, if the eardrum is perforated then do not use it.

Of course this is not a complete list of things I have on hand. It is just what we use the most. Ok maybe not the Ipecac, thank the Lord for that, but the others we do. There are so many natural treatments out there that it's hard to know which ones to use for what ailment and to know if they are safe or not. I try, for now, to stick to ones that I know will be safe.

This is just something that I wanted to share that works for our family. For more Works for Me Wednesday topics, head over to Rocks in my dryer.

Menu Planning Monday: Crockpot week!

This week was supposed to be kids choice week, but we received the news that my Grandfather is doing worse than they thought. Eventhough I am in late pregnancy I need to make a trip up there to be with him before he goes. This menu is all tentative and can easily be done by my older children and husband if I need to leave suddenly.

Eventhough I don't feel like making a menu plan right now, I know that we still need to eat. I also know that having a menu will save me from actually having to think much about what we're going to eat this week.

I have deemed this week crockpot week. I might actually cook one or two meals, but I will be using my crockpot as much as possible. I will post recipes later on today for those of you who would like them.

Lots of people still like to know how much I am spending weekly for my food budget. This week will cost me right at $50.00, since I need a few staple items.

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles
Tuesday: Baked oatmeal
Wednesday: Muffins and sausage
Thursday: Homemade cinnamon rolls
Friday: Pancakes and fruit
Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Sandwiches and veggie
Tuesday: Hot dogs, mac & cheese, and a veggie
Wednesday: Salad and baked potatoes
Thursday: Sandwiches and fruit
Friday: Leftovers
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Homemade peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookies
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey
Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:
Monday:
BBQ ribs in crockpot

Green beans

Salad

Tuesday:

Crockpot chicken

Rice

Corn

Wednesday:
Slow cooker salisbury steak
Mashed potatoes
Brocolli and carrots

Thursday:
Italian sausage and peppers

Green beans

Garlic bread

Friday:
Homemade BBQ chicken pizza
Cheese bread

Saturday:
Chicken breasts and potatoes bake in foil

Corn

Yeast rolls

Sunday:
Crockpot roast

Potatoes, onions, and carrots

Salad

Pumpkin rolls

For more great menu's, check out Menu Planning Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know that I have been slacking just a bit with posting, but we are still busy preparing for baby to come in a few weeks. We have painted two rooms, built a loft bed for one of our daughter's, and went through all of the children's clothes. Now this weekend we are still checking off Mom's nesting list by cleaning out toys and bedrooms.



I am working on my next series of posts on how I made my transition from the working world to stay at home mom. I have had many women ask me to write something about this. It can seem an like impossible thing to do, but it isn't! I am hoping that it will encourage and inspire all of you who have that huge desire to come home. I am hoping to get them up this week, so stay tuned!

I did want to write to tell all you Moms out there, "Happy Mother's Day!" I want to encourage you, as mothers, to enjoy your children. I know it's easy to get overwhelmed and exhausted. Remember though, that God has blessed you with those precious children. "Lo, children are a heritage of The Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward." Psalms 127:3

I want to share this video I found. Now, I am not a fan of country music, but I thought that this video serves as a nice reminder to cherish the children we have since there are many who would love the chance to be where we're at. Have a great weekend and make sure you give lots of hugs and kisses to them babies!

What doesn't work for me: Homemade dishwasher soap

This week is a themed week for What Works for me Wednesday. It is, What DOESN'T Work for me. Well, the one thing I have tried unsuccessfully over and over to make work is homemade dishwasher solution. It does not work!

I love saving money. I love using as many chemical free cleaning supplies and I love making my own laundry detergent. You would think that I would love making my own dishwasher soap. Nope! I have tried at least 3 different recipes and none have worked.

The problems I have had, are a thick film left on the dishes, and the solution not cleaning the dishes well at all. I have tried using vinegar as a rinse aid, which is fine, but it does not help. So this frugal, natural kind of momma is sticking with Cascade! If you're thinking about it go ahead, but for me it was a waste of time.

Of course, if you have any tips that I may have looked over on how to get it to work, i'd love to hear about them. And of course for more things people have tried and found does not work for them, visit Rocks in my dryer.

A few wonderful posts to enjoy

Recently I have come across some really great posts from blogs that I frequently read. I just had to share them. Enjoy!

The first post I wanted to share is actually a giveaway post. Mrs. Wilt, from The Sparrow's Nest is teaming up with Crystal Paine, from Money Saving Mom and Biblical Womanhood, to offer a chance to win 2 free Supermarket Savings 101 courses! This is the course that I took that started me on the path to the frugal life I lead today. I have cut my grocery budget by 60% since taking this course! This is a great opportunity you don't want to miss. This is an excerpt taken from Mrs. Wilt's post. In the course you will find:

• Designing a menu plan that really works
  


• Menu planning on a budget
  


• Simple, no-fuss, frugal menu ideas and recipes
  


• Creating a workable grocery budget and how to stick with it
  


• Learning how to find good deals
  


• Time management and efficiency in frugal shopping
  


• The basics of using coupons - where to find them, which coupons to cut, how to organize them
  


• Step-by-step explanations on how to make the most of deals at CVS and Walgreens
  


• A photo tutorial of a typical $35/week grocery shopping trip for our family including some of our favorite $35/week menu ideas
  


• Links to helpful resources and websites to aid you in this money-saving journey
  


• And much more!

Oh, and if you've never read Mrs. Wilt's blog, she is doing a month long series on cheerful thrift right now that i'm sure you would enjoy.

The next post I wanted to share is called Recession Optimism, by June, at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home. I felt went along so well with what I was saying in my post on how to afford a larger family. It's about what's really important in our lives. Hope you enjoy it.

The last post I want to share is on the Blessing of children. It is written by Stacy McDonald, who is the author of Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. I am in the middle of reading this book and I love it so far. Stay tuned because I hope to do a review and giveaway of my own after i'm done reading it. You can visit her blog, Your Sacred Calling, here.

Menu Planning Monday: Using my stockpile!

We have been so busy lately that I just realized that I forgot that it was time to plan my menu and go grocery shopping. I actually have so much stockpiled that I only have to pick up fresh fruit and veggies. I will spend right about $20.00.

This week will be all about easy meals. We are painting my daughter's room and making a bed for her so we will be busy all week. I love having a handyman husband! I'll be sure to post pictures by the end of the week of the end results.

Next week will be kids choice week around here again. The children all pick a favorite meal. The older ones are in charge of menu planning and making a shopping list. All of the children then get to help mom cook and serve their meal. It is something they all look forward to. Be sure to check back!

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles

Tuesday: Baked oatmeal

Wednesday: Muffins and sausage

Thursday: Homemade cinnamon rolls

Friday: Pancakes and fruit

Saturday: Eggs, hashbrowns, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Sandwiches and veggie

Tuesday: Hot dogs, mac & cheese, and a veggie

Wednesday: Salad and baked potatoes

Thursday: Sandwiches and fruit

Friday: Leftovers

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Homemade peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookies

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey

Thursday: Veggie and cheese tray

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> Filled with peanut butter, banana, and/or honey

Dinner:

Monday:

Lasagna

Green beans in butter sauce

Garlic bread

Tuesday:

Crawfish pie
Salad
Corn

Wednesday:

Chinese stirfry

Fried rice

Egg rolls

Thursday:

3 bean chili

Cornbread

Friday:

Homemade pizza rolls

Cheese bread

Saturday:--->Supposed to have last week, but was volunteered to make a crawfish etoufee with leftovers from crawfish boil!

Eggplant parmesan

Sauteed squash and zucchini

Yeast rolls

Sunday:

Mother's Day, mom's night off!

For more great menu's, check out Menu Planning Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

"Family" Oriented

When you hear the words, "family oriented," what do you think about? I have really wondered what people's perception of these words are. It's just one of those things that I ponder about as I lay in my bed wide awake at night.

A few months ago at my church we had a small group expo that I worked. As I sat behind my couponing booth ready to sell myself, I started looking at all of the other booths there. There, to my right, was the "movie" group. In front of me was the "young married" group and the "middle married" group. To the left of me was the "men's" group and the "women's" group.

As I looked at all 25 of the booths there, something hit me. There was not one small group booth for families. I mean, they had something for men, women, and couples....but nothing for families to do together.

My church is what most people would consider a family oriented church. I mean we have a huge children's and youth ministry, a thriving men's and women's ministry. You name it, we have it. Everywhere you look, you see families there, but what about the family as a whole?

I have asked why there isn't something designed for the whole family to participate in together. The response I have gotten is that there isn't enough interest, or that it would be too much work to put together. I say it will never be too much work to encourage and build up the family unit. It is the backbone of our society.

In a world today where both mom and dad work, and the children have a ton of outside commitments, family time has become almost non-existent. Each individual family member has their own interests, with the occasional "family" night thrown in there. The family today has morphed into something that resembles the drive thru lane at McDonald's.

Is the church taking the same direction? Are we catering to each individual piece of the family without ever really ministering to the family as a whole? Is all we are doing as a church body, taking even more time away from the family? Are we encouraging even more outside activities that include parts of the family, but never the family unit as a whole? How can the church encourage family relationships? How can they encourage families to serve together?

Many people that I talk to about families in the church have never given thought to this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Frugal Friday- Build you own washer and dryer pedestal

If you are like me and have a front loader washer and dryer set, then you know how hard it is to reach in and grab clothes out. I am getting closer to the end of my pregnancy so I just cannot bend far enough over anymore to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer. I have resorted to depending on the children to switch them for me.

Now, when they sold us the set they tried to get us to buy the matching pedestal set for another $200.00 each! There was no way I wanted to spend that much more for them. When we got them home it did not take long to see why we might need them.

Well, being the frugal minded people that we are my dear, sweet husband decided to make our own. He was ready to build a platform with 2 pullout drawers. I had to remind him that the drawers would NEVER be used since I would not want to bend over that far. So, he built me just the platform.

We went to the habitat restore and got a large sheet of MDF for $1.00 and then we bought 1- 2x8x8 and 1- 2x8x10 for $10.00. We used paint that we already had, so the total cost to us was $11.00! Much better than the $400 it would have cost us.

Here are the before pics:




Here are some after pics:

We still had a few touch ups to do in the after pic, but you get the picture. It wasn't hard to do and it saves my back, all while saving me a bunch of money. Many home improvement projects can be done yourself for so much less. Make sure you check to see if your city has a Habit for Humanity restore. You can find all sorts of things to spruce up your home for pennies on the dollar.

For more frugal ideas, make sure to visit Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Friday's.

How do you afford all those children? - Part 2

When I am asked how we afford all of the children we have, I always point out how important it is to build up a great relationship with your children rather than buying them everything. I know that sounds like an answer you give when you are struggling to provide for your family. But before you think that my poor children are deprived of anything that would enrich their lives, that's not true. We do selectively let them participate in activities that we feel will be good for them.

Just as I covered the value of relationship within the family last time, I will try to cover a few of the actual logistics of how we can afford a big family on one income. You can read part 1 here. By all means, you do not have to do everything that we do. We try to make living a frugal life fun for our family, not a burden we must carry. We never want to feel as if we are missing out on anything. That is no example to anyone just how wonderful a large family can be.

Lately I have written a few posts on some of the frugal things we do as a family. The first thing I do is to plan a food budget, menu plan, and cook from scratch as often as possible. I have a $300 a month grocery budget but I have coming under that lately. Here are some of the posts that I have written about how we make that $300 work for us. You can also read my grocery budget series here.

1.We have a vegetable garden that we get many seasonal vegetables out of. We do a summer and fall garden. This is a great family project that the children love to help plan and do. You can read my post about our garden here.

2.From the excess in our garden we preserve what we can. We preserve by freezing and canning. It's much easier than you think. Of course I have lots of willing helping hands that make the work lighter. Sometimes I have too many helping hands, if you know what I mean. You can read my post about preserving food here.

3.We have our own chickens that give us eggs and meat. We do not get enough meat to last us the year though although we plan to do more next year. They are so much better tasting than store bought chicken, and way cheaper than what you'd pay for free range, hormone free at the store. This is another great family project. Even the little one loves to go and get eggs for Mommy. You can read my post about our girls here. This was a post that generated alot of response. Have fun reading it.

4. We make our own laundry detergent. Now I was getting my Tide He at CVS for nothing, but my youngest daughter has very sensitive skin and reacts to many different detergents. I found out that people actually made their own detergent so I had to try it. I was pleased that it worked so well and was easy to do. I have tried both the liquid and the powder version. You can read my post for my tutorial on the powdered kind here. I have also had quite a people ask me to post my recipe for my liquid version as well, so I did that.

The next thing we have done is started paying down bills. When I was working it wasn't really necessary to pay down anything. Now that I am home we have made it a goal to have all our extra debt paid off by the end of the year. We are well on our way to doing that. It is much easier to live with less debt. Once we pay off the debt, we will start saving for a house with more land.

Scott has been taking small side jobs painting since I have quit. It was to pay for all the extras and to pay down debt. Now he has actually become quite busy with it. God has blessed him so much, he now has a waiting list. Maybe one day this will become his full time profession, although he does have a great job right now.

There are some good resources out there for paying down debt. Dave Ramsey is the first one that comes to mind. Debt is a ball and chain for many people. With the economy the way it is, it is even more important to get out of debt.

I want to mention here that we live within our means. People are always buying more and more things, or bigger houses, or new cars. Yes, we could go and buy that big country house now, or we could get my husband the truck he's like to have, but would it make us happier? No, because we would have the extra debt that comes with it. Extra debt adds stress. Even if we could manage higher payments now, doesn't mean that we always will be able to. We might have to wait a few years, but those things will come. We are content with what we have right now. Contentment is a good lesson for anyone to learn.

Now, next on the list is clothing. Many people don't see how I can afford clothing for all of my children. Well, to be honest I really don't have to spend much here. We are given clothes from people on it seems a regular basis. Sometimes it is too much, so I pass the blessing on to other people who need it. I think we are first on people's minds when it comes to giving away clothes since we have a large family. People figure that someone in the house will fit in the clothes.

Usually I just have to fill in the gaps seasonally with what we're missing. For my older girls it helps to have young aunts that pass on nice clothes. For my younger girls I sew lots of their clothes and they are given quite a bit. I do sew some of the older girls skirts too. Even my younger son gets clothes passed on to him, thanks Carlie! It's usually my 10 yo son that I have to buy for the most. It seems as if most 10 yo boys are pretty hard on their clothes so nothing is really worth passing on after they're done with them.

Next thing that comes to mind is staying home. We stay home more than the average family. That means I save on gas, I save on food, I save because we're not involved in everything under the sun. Our home is the center of everything. Yes, we go out, but like I said we are home much more than anyone else I know. We manage to stay pretty busy here. Being home most of the time is something foreign to many people. It is a simpler life than most are used to, but it is a full life.

Last thing i'd like to talk about is activities. Our children do participate in a few select activities. They are involved in 4-H, which they all love. We participate in our local homeschool group by going on field trips, playdates, and PE. They are on their puppet team at church. They also participate in Awana. The two oldest girls will also be starting piano lessons in the fall. They are trading out babysitting two hours a week for free lessons. It works out wonderfully. All of these activities are low in cost and either teach the children or give them a chance to serve. The best thing is that it's not overwhelming.

At times it takes a different way of thinking and doing things to make it work in a large family. I can't always explain it well. We are a team. We need everyone on our team. Without one member we just wouldn't function as well. Even the youngest has her part. She is learning to work along side of us in our family. She is only two now, but in a few years even she will participate much more in our daily family life.

One last thought. I have spoken once before on the provision of God in our lives. Sometimes there is no other explanation except that God provides for us and meets all of our needs. While we work hard to make our family run well, we know that He gave us these children to raise so He will meet all of our needs according to His riches and glory.

Graphics courtesy of Allposters.com