Now I’m filling up my evening time with whatever I can think to get done so I don’t fall asleep. I need to head out around 11 to start picking up kids at the train station AND the airport. I made some treats with the kids that we will pass out in the next couple of days. I’m not much for baking, but there are some simple treats I like to make and give out.

White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate melts

Old Fashioned Peppermint Sticks

Dip the Peppermints in the melted chocolate (we were using a spatula to get a better coating on each stick)

Add Sprinkles while each stick is still freshly dipped and let dry. Easy!

I’ll add some of these to plates of cookies to give out to friends, neighbors and teachers.

As I’ve written, I’ve realized that I better take a nap until it’s time to go. I’m just too worn out to try to stay up. But I know there will be plenty of energy once I get to the train station and the airport! It’ll be good to have everyone here! Tomorrow JJ will get here in the evening and then we can finally decorate the tree! It’ll finally feel like Christmas is here.

Doing the Dance of the Children-A Little Sleepy, But So Grateful~

And what did I learn from not grocery shopping for all that time? What items should a house always have? What can we live without?

Well, it’s true that the basics are needed! If I hadn’t have had bread or tortillas things would’ve been a lot more difficult. Milk, pasta, beans (I had canned kidney, black and refried stocked on my shelves when I began), butter or oil, frozen chicken, eggs, sugar, oatmeal. These are all the things I really fell back on. It was handy to have a few frozen meals that didn’t take any thought.

I learned that I could live without cheese. We ran out pretty early on and it’s usually added to a good portion of our meals, but things tasted fine without it. I also learned that I could be creative. We made cookies out of the ingredients in the house when we ran out of snack items. There was lots of thought involved, but all the food I prepared was good.

All-in-all, I am patting myself on the back. It’s good to know I can make due and it’s even better to know that my kids weren’t too difficult to please. We spent more time together over food prep. And it’s good to go through and use up what you’ve had stored. BUT…now it’s time to restock. This means BIG shopping trips and more $ put out than normal. I’m wondering if it all balances out. Did I save $ by using what I had when I am ending up needing to replenish it? Hmmm…Let’s look at it as Spring Cleaning of the cupboards, freezer and fridge.

Doing the Dance of the Children With 2 Shopping Carts & Full Cupboards~

I think I was hitting my breaking point and my 18 year old son could hear the, uh, tension in my voice. He broke the day up for me, took on the church cleaning and told me to go do something “fun” with the lil ones. God bless the kiddos who tune into M.O.M.’s human moments!

So I loaded up the 4 youngest and my daughter who needed a ride to work. We dropped her off, sat down with some hot chocolate at Starbucks for a little bit and then were able to go out and catch the last game of the girls’ tournament. Now that they have hit the showers and can take a little time to relax, I think I’ll take the lil ones out to a Holiday Carnival that’s going on nearby.

Hmmm…none of that actually solves ANY of my Christmas decorating or shopping issues, but it did diffuse the tension I was feeling. We have an event this evening, so maybe after we get home I can sit with a glass (or 2) of wine and start addressing those cards. One of these years I think I might just make 1 card, scan it in, post it and wish everyone a Very Merry Holiday Season. Hmmm…

Here’s to kiddos who help M.O.M. and ease a little stress and here’s to remembering what this season is all about. I need to remind myself sometimes!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

Now that Black Friday is over and we are in full, “it’s time to think of gifts for the kids” mode I wanted to share a great gift idea for those looking for a fun and educational idea for their younger kiddos.

Jump Start Pet Rescue for wii! My 3 youngest have been having a blast with it. And I’m truly surprised at the fact that it’s not only fun but educational. It’s recommended for ages 3-6 but my 7yr old and our 8 yr old friend have been enjoying it too.

The kids have been enjoying JumpStart.com for awhile now and getting Pet Rescue was another way for them to have fun and learn with all that the Jump Start family of products has to offer.

Good luck with all the holiday shopping! I hope all your gift choices can be as easy as this one!

Have a great day~

The media and stores work hard to get us to forget all of that! They bring on a HUGE guilt trip if we can’t fulfill our every desire. After-all, it’s the Holiday season, it’s about shopping our pockets inside out.

I’m just trying to keep reminding myself that the important thing about this season that’s upon us is the beauty in our lives, how we live and seeing the blessings in each day. I challenge each of you to keep focused and to enjoy the true spirit of this time.

Have a great day~

Hmmmm…….that blue sky sure is pretty! I think I’ll open the sunroof!  

Whoosh!  In one moment I undid all the happiness and hard work of my 2 year old.  

Good going, M.O.M!

Have a great day~

The key is going to be to take a deep breath, look around and enjoy the artwork from years gone-by and the fact that all my kids will be together by the end of this week. The feeling that this time of year brings can’t be matched but if we let ourselves get overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of all the things that surround this season, we can easily miss the joy and warmth of it.

So, I’m making my lists and getting ready to tie up the loose ends. Wish me luck!

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I warned you! Yesterday I had to go back to the store to replenish the milk and a few other items.

Milk-4 gallons
Cereal-6 boxes
Bagels-2 dozen
Peanut Butter-2 jars
Fruit-various
Bounce Dryer Sheets-1 box

And a couple odds and ends. Bottom line-$75 more spent. Why do I bother budgeting?!

Max poured his own cereal this morning! Linebacker?! Seriously, does any 5 yr. old need THIS much cereal and milk?! He sat there until it was gone.

Have a great day~

A few years ago (4 or 5) we went “all cellular”. When we looked at our phone bills and what kind of calling we were doing, we decided that we didn’t need a land-line and that we would save $ by just having the cell phones. It took a few months of tweaking everything so that our plan fit our usage, but it’s worked well for us for years. Fast forward to 2007…………..now we have 6 cell phones, 1 for each of the 3 oldest kiddos, 1 for Clay, 1 for me and 1 that is the “home phone”. When I got the bill, due for January, I wanted to fall over. We paid almost $200 for texting, alone! I went to the cell phone store and fixed the plan so that it won’t happen that way, again, but it still leaves me with a HEFTY phone bill, right after Christmas. YIKES!

Now, if you were to ask members of the family, under 30, how to pay for the extra large phone bill, you might get answers involving “magic money” or “the money tree”. Ask Clay or me and you’ll hear this; Well the only place to really pull “extra” from would be the food budget. So, the only way to pay for all those SUPER, important texts that HAD to be made, is to shave off of the food budget. So, yesterday I armed myself with pen and paper and sat down to write out meal plans for the next 14 days. Now, breakfast is easy because you can always have hot cereal or cold cereal and everyone feels like they’ve had a choice. And lunch, well PBnJ for 2 weeks will have to do. It’s the dinner-time plan that’s the most challenging. I was able to come up with 9 dinners, using mostly what is in the cupboards and freezer. Now the really challenging part is picking my brain for the other 5 meals and trying to keep it all under $150. Here’s where I get to revisit the past. (memory sequence………………..)

It’s 1994, we’re living in military housing at Camp Pendleton. We have 3 kiddos (and depending on how far into the year we are, we have one on the way) and we are now living on one income and have one vehicle. I suddenly went from working full time to being a full-time stay-at-home mom. We had sat down with the budget the year before and made the decision that putting 3 kiddos into daycare and buying a second car, for me to continue working, would not pay. So, we decided on complete breast-feeding (I was about to deliver Baby #3), cloth diapers, stick with one car and agree to watch the soon-to-be new baby across the street when that mom went back to work. Whew! But the budget was still VERY tight. I had $300 every month for food. The real kicker was that the budget only allowed for the money on the 15th. I couldn’t use ANY of the money from the 1st paycheck of the month for food. I learned by trial and error, what foods could be successfully frozen and how long things kept in the fridge. BTW-don’t freeze oranges. But, I have to say that we were never hungry and our meals weren’t terribly boring (however, looking at old photos, we were all much thinner). Times were simpler. We couldn’t just jump in the car and run errands or pull into a fast-food restaurant because it was easy. I took walks with the kids and they played, happily with what they had. There are times that I miss the way it was (ok, I don’t REALLY want to have to give up Starbucks or putting exciting new foods into the basket, but the simplicity was nice).

So, I feel confident that I can pull from my memory and whip together a few, well-planned, meals. And a couple of weeks of “light” meals won’t hurt any of us (check the pictures!)

Have some great, simple meal ideas? Share them!

Have a great day~

Christmas is around the corner!  This week I talk about getting ready and the importance of making your list before hitting the store.  Remember that it’s the Spirit of the Season that’s important and not how much you can cram into the next few weeks.

Thank you for stopping by the site and I hope you enjoy the show!