Our recent happenings!

Well, we had a good (but busy) weekend. I'm having a hard time keeping up with things around the house what with William teething and being generally fussy. All three kids have been sleeping poorly, so everyone in the house has been dragging a bit with less sleep. Coffee has been my friend lately!

Last week I got a package in the mail from Mountain Rose Herbs. As a (late) Christmas gift, I got to order some stuff for making toiletries and such. Dorothy was really excited when the box came and wanted to make sure that her special "Lambie" got in the picture, too.

I ordered 3 ox beeswax, 1 lb cocoa butter, 1 lb shea butter, 1 gal refined coconut oil, and 16 oz liquid castille soap.

Dorothy liked the wax :)

I already experimented with making some body butter, but I added a bit more cornstarch than I preferred. Nevertheless, it is already helping my cracked, bleeding knuckles. With all the diaper changes, laundry, cleaning, hand washing, and cooking, my hands see a lot of water and soap. They were in dire need of help. I'm using the cream on William's cradle cap as well as redness at diaper changes. The girls love using it on their hands because the cocoa butter has such a sweet smell. I think next time I will try making some lotion bars in ice cube trays. If they turn out well, I will post the recipe. I am also planning on making a homemade shampoo with the castille soap and some other ingredients, as my scalp has been really itchy trying to find the right shampoo and conditioner. I'll be experimenting with using a bit of plain coconut oil in my hair after I shower and see if that moisturizes enough without being too greasy. The great thing about coconut oil is that it's really healthy to cook with, too. Most people recommend cooking with unrefined oil, but it costs a lot more. I feel that the refined is still much better than vegetable oils, so I've made the switch. And it's hard at room temp, so it can also be used as a substitute for butter or shortening in cooking. I still use butter for a lot of my baking, but the coconut oil is working well, too.

Some of our recent food:

A big pot of baked potato soup. Yum!

Two loaves of strawberry blueberry bread. Double yum!

Last night's dinner of muffin tin meat loaf, stuffing, and sauteed spinach. Triple yum!

I also made some to die for brownies on Saturday. I'll post the recipe really soon. They were thick and chewy!

Finals are Finally Finished

Feels fantastic!

But really, I am excited to be done with my classes and delving into some of the projects I've been looking forward to. I went to the store the other night and got all the seeds for my container garden. I also went shopping with my mom for some clothes last night as a celebration for finishing my associate's degree. That was some hard work with pregnancies and illnesses and kids and life, so I didn't hesitate to celebrate. I also made some homemade lotion/body butter/diaper cream the other day. I'll be writing more in detail about these things in the next few days, but I just wanted to write and say that I am still here. And now that finals are over, I will have a bit more time to blog when (if) the kids are all quiet and/or sleeping at the same time.

Yesterday's shopping trip with Dorothy

We switched dinner plans up yesterday since we needed to use up the rest of the sauerkraut on some hot dogs and I was already going to the store for some other things. Dorothy was really excited to come to the grocery store with me after David got home from work yesterday. Most of what we got was from WIC checks, but I did pay cash for a few items.

WIC items
2 doz eggs
3 gal 1% milk
1 frozen grape juice
1 frozen apple juice
1 frozen orange juice
1 lb dried lima beans
1 lb cheddar cheese
1 box Kix
1 box rice krispies
3 cans tuna fish
1 can pink salmon
1 jar crunchy peanut butter
1 loaf whole wheat bread
2 bunches bananas
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 lb spinach
8 jars baby food veggies
8 jars baby food fruits
16 jars baby food meats

Cash items
5 lb bag apples and oranges $4.99
1 jar salsa $1.61
2 boxes butter $4.50
1 pkg beef franks $2.96
total $14.06

Since I paid our $50 dues to Gleaner's this week, our total grocery/household out of pocket for this month so far is $64.06. That's amazing for 10 days into the month! We will need to buy some ground beef and turkey ham pretty soon, so that will eat up a chunk of cash. We'd love to start paying up front for some locally raised meats one of these days, such as buying a 1/4 of a cow for the year. You can get decent prices on meat that you know is going to be healthier for your family when you buy it this way. Plus we'll be supporting local businesses, which is awesome.

Thursday's Tidbits
B: Kix and bananas.
L: The girls had hot dogs and apples with peanut butter. I froze the rest of the soup from the other day, but left out a portion for my lunch. As it already had a bunch of cabbage in it, I added some sauerkraut before I warmed it up. It tasted a lot like borscht that way, so I added a scoop of sour cream to it and ate it with a toasted, buttery whole wheat english muffin. I love me some good soup and bread! Mmmmm....
D: Since we had hot dogs and kraut with green beans last night, we'll be having the potato soup tonight. I'm going to use 1/2 the large bag of mashed potatoes for my base, plus some water to thin it a bit. I'll throw in a diced onion, a couple of sliced carrots and stalks of celery, some diced turkey ham from the freezer, and some chopped red potatoes and simmer it until the veggies are tender. We'll top it with sour cream and cheddar.

Coming up on finals week!

My posting might be a little less frequent in the next week and a half or so as I get ready for finals week. When I'm finished with this term, I will have a lot more time for household things and hopefully more time to take breaks for myself. If I don't take care of me, my whole family suffers for it. I'm learning that as wonderful as it is to be selfless and to serve my family, if I am doing too much, I don't have the energy or good attitude to give them what they need. I'm getting really excited for this break from classes. There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to doing this Spring, especially delving into gardening, which I'll be blogging about along the way.

As for this week, I went to Gleaner's on Monday as planned. March is Count the Value month at Gleaner's. For 4 weeks, we've been asked to write down everything we get and estimate the value for each item, as well as note what we spent on groceries outside of the program. This should be a breeze for me since I'm already writing everything down. David and I were having fun the other night figuring out how much each item was worth since he has a bar code scanner app on his smartphone. We were able to scan and get prices for about half of the items we picked up. I had picked up a pair of Danner boots for David for work (they donate returned boots to Gleaner's) and they were brand new! They were perfect for work, all-black, and even still had the paper stuffed inside them from the shoe store. David looked them up online and they were $160 boots. What a blessing! In the past, we've had to put his work shoes on the credit card and pay interest on them for several months. I'm so thankful that we have been given the opportunity to use this amazing program. It is really changing our way of life. Here's what else we got this week:

Gleaner's trip
18 month jammies for William (still looking for a couple more 12 month jammies)
16 oz sour cream
1 block margarine
16 oz cottage cheese
1 veggie pizza from Pizza Hut
3 pieces of sidewalk chalk for the girls
1 banana cake for the freezer
1 pkg frozen mixed veggies
1 box beef taquitos
9 pieces of whole wheat flatbread
1 box cajun stew mix (just add meat)
1 bag green leaf lettuce
4 artichokes!
1 lg papaya
1 box fruit snacks (for potty training treats)
21 oz. grape tomatoes
1 box snack crackers
30 oz tropical trail mix (special helper item for the month)
1 bag natural veggie stix snacks
1 bag Fritos
1 pkg whole wheat english muffins
6 sesame hoagie rolls
26 oz strained tomatoes
6 sodas
10 doughnuts
1 box Tuxedo crackers
plum pudding
1 can organic cream of celery soup
1 carton Second Nature eggs (mostly whites)

I'll be going to Safeway tonight for WIC things and a few other items. One thing I was really pleased about is that our natural gas bill was about $10 lower this month just from using the new water faucet attachments and taking 5-minute showers. Our electric bill was still up there higher than I would like, but once I figure out the line-drying situation, it should go down by quite a bit.

Tuesday's Tasties
B: Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
L: Veggies with ranch dip, crackers, grapes, and cottage cheese.
D: Chicken vegetable soup with cheese breadsticks from the freezer. The soup turned out really good.



Chicken & Cabbage Soup
1/2 lb cooked, shredded chicken (from freezer)
1 small head purple cabbage, chopped
4 small summer squash, sliced
2 cups frozen carrot & green bean mix
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 med onion, diced
1 can organic diced tomatoes, undrained
3 red potatoes, diced
5-6 tsp better than bouillon chicken base
7 cups water
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried parsley

I threw it all in the pot together and simmered it for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Wolf-it-Down Wednesday
B: Scrambled eggs, sliced oranges, and whole wheat english muffins with butter and honey. When the girls finished their food, we shared some maple bars.
L: Leftover soup with buttered whole wheat flatbread.
D: Ham and baked potato soup topped with cheese and sour cream.

Keys to a Clean & Orderly Kitchen

I'm guest-posting about keeping an orderly kitchen today over at Michele's blog, Frugal Granola. Hop on over there and check it out. And you might try browsing some of her posts while you're at it :0). Thanks, Michele!

Gleaner's trip and William's room

I ended up going to Gleaner's on Wednesday this week since I was just wiped out on Monday. I've just been really tired, so hopefully I can get through my one-credit class this weekend. I'll be volunteering at Gleaner's this afternoon from 3-5, then heading right to class from 6-8:50. Then tomorrow I'll have class again from 9-5. Next week looks to be quite busy as well, so I'm hoping to get at least a bit of rest in there this weekend.

Gleaner's Trip
banana cake for the freezer
1 pkg oatmeal raisin cookies
1 pkg raspberry milano cookies
2 individual bags Doritos
8 sodas
1 bag pirate's booty snack
1 box herb Wheat Thins flatbread crackers
1 lb grape tomatoes
1 lb strawberries
2 lbs red grapes
2 green peppers
3 kohlrabi
1 bag mashed potatoes
2 romaine hearts
1/2 lb sugar snap peas
4 ripe bananas for making bread
6 cheese breadsticks
1 loaf sesame french bread
1 pkg whole wheat bagels
a few frozen chicken breasts
1 pkg tortillas
16 oz sour cream
1 pkg mashed sweet potatoes
1 jar duck sauce
26 oz strained tomatoes
1 asian noodle bowl
1 pkg honey butter cornbread mix
1 can mandarin oranges
1 pair pants for William

My mom came over the other day and brought some things to decorate the kids' rooms. I had a few jungle themed items for William's room, including his crib set, a mobile, a throw pillow (also from mom), and a fleece blanket. Mom brought over some things to hang on the walls and another throw pillow, so I finished decorating. I think it turned out really cute, and the only thing I paid for was the crib set that I bought when I was pregnant!

Here is the view looking directly into his room. I put some of his jungle animals on the shelf mom brought. Under the shelf is a monkey picture frame that I'll put a baby picture in. On the dresser are two baskets-one for his bibs and one for his burp cloths-and a soft book that was made in Africa.

On the right hand wall is his toy chest along with two of the pictures that mom found at a local thrift store. They still had the tags from Target on the back. What a find!

Here is his crib. I had the bedding set custom made by a work-at-home mom I found online. I love it! The quilt is double-sided with a different design on either side. His name is embroidered on the front. The mobile I got on clearance at Babies R Us when I returned a duplicate set of onesies after my baby shower. Mom got William the green pillow for Christmas and found the lion pillow at the thrift store where she got the shelf and the pictures.

Here is his crib from the side, with the other two pictures mom brought.

The fleece blanket on the glider was one that my sister-in-law had for her son and the funny thing is that it is the same exact print that is on his bedding set. It couldn't have been more perfect. The boppy cover I got from my sister, and it just so happens that it matches the blue in the blanket quite well. Don't mind that corner over there ;). There are still a few boxes to sort through from the move. Those are mostly things we need to sell or donate.
Finally, here is the inside of his closet. In the bins are clothes and shoes he is waiting to grow into and on the top shelf are extra blankets and sheets. Our luggage is on the far side of the closet, along with a few more things I'm planning on selling. One of my upcoming projects will be to make actual labels for all the bins that we have. Right now I'm just writing the contents on some duct tape.

So, that is William's room. I'll post some pictures of the girls' room soon, too

Longing for Spring!

March is here and Spring is so close I can't stand it. Spring means Summer is on the way, which means sun and playing outside! The rain and gray skies around here can get to me after a while. I think the kids and I are all ready for some days outside. In thinking about Spring and Summer, there are some things I need (and/or want) to do to get ready.

First of all, I want to get some yard toys for the kids to play with. Dorothy was quick to notice the empty yard when we moved in, so I told her we'd bring over some toys from Grandma's house and maybe try to find some things at a yard sale as the weather gets nicer.

Secondly, I'd like to get an affordable BBQ or grill and some patio furniture. I'm thinking chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill are sounding really good! I'd love to be able to sit outside and enjoy our little back yard this summer.

Third, I want to set up a good sized clothes line to dry on, especially since my indoor rack is broken now. I'm thinking that as long as it's not raining, I can hang the clothes and diapers outside and they'll dry faster. I might just have to read the weather reports more often so I can plan for the (few) dry days we get. I'm still planning on doing some drying indoors once I find a good, durable solution.

Lastly, I am really excited to start reading up on gardening. I want to grow as many veggies as I can, but I've never done it on my own before. I'll be using some containers and possibly a raised bed if the landlords will allow one out front. I'm hoping to start the seeds indoors and transfer them when the time is right. Which, of course, I don't know when that is, so I'll have to learn about that, too. This is something that I want to get the kids involved in, too. They'll really enjoy watching the sprouts grow and change, and I'm sure getting dirty in the mud will be right up Charlotte's alley.

March is our third month using a budget. We should be getting our taxes done soon, with which we hope to get the credit card paid off so we can start working on the car loan. With the rest of it, we are pitching in for a much-needed weekend beach trip in Sept/Oct with David's entire immediate family... his parents, his two brothers, his sister and her husband, their two kids, plus David and I and our three kids. It will be a full house! If there is anything left to work with, I'm wanting to get some stuff to start the garden as well as a grain mill for grinding our own grain for baking. Yum!

For today, I am working on housework. I'm also finishing up decorating the kids' rooms. My mom found some really cute pictures and shelves for both rooms and I can't wait to get them up. William's room will be a real jungle scene when it's done. When David gets home, I'm going to Gleaner's since I was too wiped out to go on Monday. As soon as I get home from that, we're heading out to small group at church. Long, busy day for sure.

Tuesday's Tasties
B: Cereal and peanut butter toast.
L: Chinese noodle stir fry.
D: My mom brought over some rye bread yesterday, so David ran to the store to get some fixins for reuben sandwiches. He even fixed them up for us. What a guy! They tasted great.

Wolf-it-Down Wednesday
B: Cereal, oranges, and peaches.
L: Reuben sandwiches again!
D: I pulled some spanish rice out of the freezer and I'll make some guacamole to go with chips on the side.