Stepping Stones Post

IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE MY DOOR: It's a perfect 72 degree-makes-you-have-spring-fever-and-crave-an-adult-beverage kind of day.

IN AM LISTENING: to my boys in their bedroom playing with their friend Jake. I just missed part of what Jake was saying, but it was something about his mom pouring cereal into water, then into milk & I think he said put it in the freezer???? yuck.

I AM WEARING: capri pants even though my legs haven't been shaven in TOO long... spring is here, time to shave daily again! :-)

I AM PONDERING: an email that was sent to me today regarding one of my kids & something that her 1st grade daughter claimed happened & didn't. It's a little upsetting. I don't like my kids having other kids lie about them. I trust my kids. I know they are kids. They make mistakes. They try to get out of trouble, but this is different. I don't like it.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR: my dad & mom. they always put us kids first. today my dad came up, all the way from smallville to put a belt in my dryer. what a great dad! i'm so blessed.

I AM READING: Bleak House by Charles Dickens. It's good, thought I don't love it as much as David Copperfield, but I think I like it more than Great Expectations.

I AM THINKING; that it is 4:51 pm and i have no ideal what I am making for dinner!!!!!

I AM CREATING: well, i started knitting a headband about 2 months ago.... someday I would like to finish it.

I AM LEARNING; that life isn't always fair, but we still have to make the best of it.

I AM PRAYING: for my neice chelsa who has to have a mammogram this week.

AROUND THE HOUSE: as usual, chaos. someday the kids will be grown & gone & it will be clean & lonely.

FROM THE KITCHEN: it's a rough week or two on the budget for food... no idea what to make tonight. perhaps pasta with chicken.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS: the Brookside st. Patrick's day warm-up parade just happened last weekend. it was tough this year though because Patrick had to work so I was on my own with 5 kids.

THIS WEEK: co-op, parks, library, doctor, school, hmmmm am i forgetting anything?

Loveable Liam

He's boisterous, silly, loud. He loves to read, loves to play basketball, loves to wrestle. He is sweet, big-hearted, and easily has his feelings hurt. He makes up comics that are a little bit too-much-boy-humor, but are still sometimes pretty funny. He and I bond over our love of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, more for the two of us, Harry Potter. We have read them aloud, together, 2 or 3 times, separate, even more. He is so sweet. He was the most excited when I told him we were pregnant with ella. he was the most sad when I told him his Papa had died. His heart is so full. I remember looking at him on the way to midnight Mass, Christmas Eve 2001, when he was a mere 7 weeks old, thinking to myself how much completely and utterly in love I was with him. We were sitting in the backseat of the car (we only had 2 kids then and still could fit in a car!), it was nearing midnight and thus DARK. We were driving from Lebo, KS to Emporia, KS since we were spending the night at Grandma & Grandpa's. I just looked at him & felt this enormous amount of love. Not sure why that night stuck out to me, but it did. Perhaps because we were celebrating Christmas, the night of our Savior & a more immense love than even my own for my son. He's now 10 years old & sometimes questions my love for him. I think to myself, how could he doubt how much I love him???? However, he is a kid & we have to butt heads sometimes, either over school or sibling rivalry or following rules. Last week, he was upset because WE were upset on one day because he drank the last of the milk without checking to see if everyone had breakfast. The next day he was upset because he ate the rest of the cereal without checking to see if anyone else wanted any. yes, you read that right: HE WAS UPSET.... he doesnt' understand why I have to get onto him about things like that. He doesn't understand that it is BECAUSE of my immense love for him that I have to correct him when he does wrong, punish him for mistakes, reprimand him for behavior that is inappropriate. He doesn't seem to realize that I KNOW he is a good kid. I know that his heart is good. I know that his intentions are usually good. I know that when he messes up, he doesn't do it out of cruelty or spite. he does it because he is a 10 year old boy. His heart is solid gold. He is worth mroe to me than an enormous pile of gold. I wish he trule knew that. He says he wants 10 kids. I hope he gets them. he will be such a wonderful husband & father. I already see that. He has a lot of growing up to do, but heck, don't we all? I'm 42 and still have a little growing up to do.

I like taking care of my family

I have a husband, 5 kids, 2 cats, 1 dog, and I have lost track of how many fish we currently have. And let's not forget, I also have a SMALL house. My kids are still at that younger age of making messes: a 1 year old who pulls every book off the shelf just for fun, a 5 year old who loves to draw & therefore has about 50 sheets of paper strung out everywhere, an 8 year old who is sadly just kind of messy, and 10 & 12 year old boys who bring in dirt, leaves, sticks, wood, nails, bird feathers, rocks, etc. We do not do a lot of tv, video games, computer time in our house, which, let's face it, is time NOT making messes, except for the popcorn during movies. I am TRYING to teach my children responsibility by making them do chores, helping with laundry, doing dishes (no dishwasher!), just picking up. We have times when it runs smoothly. We have times when it does not. In all honesty, I actually have found that I LIKE doing the dishes and the laundry. The problem is: a) we are busy, I am busy so it does help if the kids can help. and b) it isn't fair if kids 1 & 2 do dishes and then I do dishes for kid 3. So I do struggle to find that schedule that is fair & doable. However, I realized something last night. It was one of those good nights: no activities, everyone just hanging out, no tv on, no one sick. In between playing with the kids, I got up & did the dishes (gasp, it was someone else's turn!), did some of the laundry, picked up SOME of the clutter. All while paying attention to the kids, listening to peaceful playing, drawing, etc. And I felt content. I felt like I was doing what a mom should do: taking care of my family. I thought about what I want my kids to remember when they grow up. Do I want them to remember me nagging them all the time about doing the dishes? Or do I want them to think about me doing the dishes & nurturing their environment? I know, I know, it's a balance. The kids DO need to do some chores. it's good for them. But I did come to a realization last night that I am going to change my strategy. I want them to do some of the dishes because it is good for them, but I want them to know that I am taking care of them & therefore, I am doing most of them. I want them to help with laundry because they need to know how to do it, but I want them to know that mom makes sure there are clean jeans, underwear, and socks (fyi, when i am having them do it, there are times that there are no clean jeans, underwear, or socks). So I am re-evaluating. I am going to change how we do things around here. It means that more of the every day chores (dishes and laundry) will fall on me. But I am hopeful that they will continue to learn & help in many ways and that our house will be more peaceful. I will update later when we see how it goes!

More of Frugal Living

I realized after my rambling post yesterday that tips on living more frugally may be better in small bites. So I am going to try to post more frequently (no REALLY) with a few tips at a time.
SALTINES!!!!! What a wonderful inexpensive snack!!! Ok, I will be honest, I love the GOOD, pricey, fancy crackers... There are so many that I love, my favorites being those rice crackers. Yum. (which you CAN buy a little more cheaply at Trader Joe's). However, when feeding a family of 7, those do not stretch very far. If I buy the generic brand or aldi brand of saltines, I am looking at approximately $1. My kids often will have peanut butter on them (another staple) or I will have Nutella on them (not exactly on my budget-friendly budget items... but I am weak, what can I say). My 1 year old will eat them plain. I even used them in soup last week! Ok, that may not sound like a big deal, however, my family is spoiled. I often make homemade bread with soup. Or if it is a southwestern or Mexican type soup, we will have tortilla chips with it. Growing up, soup meant SALTINES! So I made my kiddos crush some up & put them in their soup. It was a broccoli cheese soup & it was quite tasty. And the saltines S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D the soup a little further. Who knew? (my mother knew, that's who!).
It's funny, when I am doing these frugal things, I see so much of what my mom did when I was growing up. I had no idea she was so good at stretching that grocery budget. Now she is my hero!

Learning to be more Frugal

So we are on an extremely tight budget. I have never been very good at planning menus, sticking to a grocery shopping list, etc. However, I am being forced to be better about it. I find it kind of a fun challenge at times. Last week, I spent $50 on groceries for a family of 7, granted, we had some existing food in the pantry. I thought I would write about some of the things I am learning on my journey to be more frugal.
#1 there are certain things that you should always have on hand.... Flour, sugar, brown sugar, oils/fats/butter, herbs & spices, bouillion cubes... These will go a long way to making a dreary week better.... When I tell the kids, "we are out of fruit until Thursday" they are bummer, but I make them feel better by baking some cookies. No, that isn't as healthy as fruit. However, when you run out of money, there is only so much you can buy. I try to make sure my kdis have at least 1 fruit a day when we are "broke"... when we feel a little more like we are rolling in the dough, they have much more. We LOVE fruit & veggies in our house.
#2 there are more things you should always have in the house: carrots.... these are cheap & a healthy snack. I have 2 kids who love them. 2 kids who don't. 1 who is too little. When we run out of fruit, my 2 who love them are thrilled because my rule on carrots is: you can ALWAYS have a carrot.... "mom, can I have a snack?" me "no, it's bedtime" kid: "how about a carrot?" me"um, ok"...
#3 and more: Onions! you know, those value bags of onions & preferably some dried onion flakes too. The thing about onions, even for folks who do not like onions, they make food taste GREAT! So let's look at something I made last week 1 or 2 days before payday when we were just about out of everything.... I made some soup. I used bouillion cubes (which I prefer to buy the stock/broth, but I was out...), ONION, the tail end of a jar of spagetti sauce, a can or two of tomato sause, some herbs... hmmmm... can't remember, i think i put in just a teeny bit of white wine that I had left (more on wine in a minute). Then I added what veggies we had left & some pasta to it. It was really, really tasty@@@@@ onions helped. and helped a lot of meals last week.
#4: wine.... ok, so when you are on a tight budget, spendign money on things like wine & beer seem like a waste. For that reason, I am SO thankful for Trader Joe's being 5 minutes from my house. Trader Joe's sells wine that is ACTUALLY GOOD that costs $2.99 per bottle... for that, i can buy some to drink AND cook with.... This is coming from someone who knows good wine... No, this will not compare with Terrabianca Campaccio Reserve (my favorite wine of all time).... but it IS drinkable even to the wine snobs out there. And honestly, adding a little wine to any sauce, soup, makes it taste just a little better.
#5: Beans... beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you... ok, you all know that song right? well, beans are cheap. period. and if you take the time to make the dried beans, you never have to starve.... i admit, sometimes i am lazy and buy canned beans. but then when i make some dried, i kick myself when i see how much more you get for your money. you can do so much with beans & they are cheaper than meat.
#6 that brings me to meat/protein.... everyone things they have to have so much meat in their meals... we do NOT need that much meat people!!!! buy what is on sale. period.
#7: whole chickens.... something that my frugal journey has taught me is to buy a whole chicken either every week or every other. i can buy a whole chicken for approx $5. roast it in the crockpot & we have meat for 3-5 meals depending what I make with it.
ok, that's all I have time for right now... we are heading to a fun park day & I have no make up on. But I plan to post more about frugal living later. ciao!

ok, i'm getting this idea from someone else...

so it's been many months since i have posted to this blog. how can i ever, ever achieve my dream of becoming a writer if i never, ever write??? alrighty, so i have seen a couple different mothers with blogs use the following stepping stones to do a quick little blog post... here we go. let's see if it makes me write more often.

IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE MY DOOR: the ground is covered in yellow, brown, red, orange, and gold. there are jack-o-lanterns whose smiles are starting to change. there is one pumpkin that helped a squirrel stock up for winter. and there are 3 boys working on a fort.

I AM LISTENING TO: complete and total silence. baby is sleeping, big girl is in her room playing with dolls. and 3 boys are outside working on a fort.

I AM WEARING: comfy brown pants that are far from figure flattering, cowboy boots, and a garage sale shirt that my mother picked up for me. it's not my style at all, but my mom is always thinking of me. for that i am so grateful.

I'M PONDERING: how to instill kindness in my children. they are usually kind to others. however, within our home, amongst ourselves, i often see them be mean to each other. it makes me sad to see them hurtful to one another. don't get me wrong, they are often all the best of friends. it's those times that they are not that I just wonder how to best teach them all the wonderful virtues that i would likek them to have.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR: a husband who loves me. children who are able to laugh and run and play. parents who have always put their kids first. and God for creating such a beautiful world.

I AM READING: Dickens' Great Expectations. I'm about 1/4 the way through. It's good. However, I have been so tired since I started it. I'm not really "into" it, not like I was with Dickens' David Copperfield which I fell in love with immediately.

I AM THINKING: that I am so full from a yummy lunch of cheese, meat, and crackers.

I AM CREATING: a pinata for Liam's birthday which is themed Harry Potter. The pinata is going to be in the shape of a golden snitch.

I AM LEARNING: along side my children every day....

I AM PRAYING : for many things. one of which is a dear friend whose daughter has a tumor. They are still figuring out what the next step is.

AROUND THE HOUSE: is chaos... it's always chaos. however, today it is more than usual due to the garage sale over the weekend. i need to send the boys down in the basement with the boxes.

FROM THE KITCHEN: tonight will be grilled cheese & tomato soup, the one meal that Liam truly hates... oh well. it's fall & it sounds tasty!!!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS: trader joe's hummus with rice crackers. we had that for a snack today & we all enjoyed it immensely!

THIS WEEK: busy, as usual. planning liam's birthday. planning co-op class. bible study. scouts on two nights. moms' meeting on 3 nights, but will probably only go to one of them. little flowers for ciara. oh yeah, cleaning, school, etc.

A "New" Life and all it's good stuff

My last post was more than a year ago. I had no idea that today I would sit here holding a new life in my arms. Miss Ella Rose joined our family in December. She's a most welcome addition! I'm sitting here, thinking of all the good stuff about a baby. Here are just a few things I love.
I loved hearing her first strong cry as she arrived in that bright cold hospital room, a sign of healthy lungs, a sound that brought both my hubby and myself to tears. I loved the first time I held her, her smell, her sweet sounds, her skin so warm and soft. I loved the first time she breastfed and did it like a champ. I loved the way my other four children looked at her with such love the first time they saw her.
I love to see her smile, every single smile as beautiful and thrilling to see as that first smile she shared with us some time ago. I love to hear her squeal. I love to hear her beautiful laugh. I love how much my big kids want to hold her, hug her, kiss her. I love that very serious look she gets when she is playing in her exercircle. As strange as this sounds, I love the sound & smell of her little gassy gassiness. There's just something so sweet about it. I love her soft hair. I love hearing her soft breaths as she lays on my chest. I love it when she sucks on her thumb.
I love everything about this new life that has improved the old life immensely.