Saturday, November 17, 2007

CVS deals

Because I know everyone loves to see the savings of CVS I am giving you a breakdown of my savings this week.

Transaction #1: 3 Palmolive dish soaps for $1.49 each - $.40 coupons each
2 Advil Cold and Sinus $5.99 each - $2 manuf. coupons each and $2 CVS coupon
Plus I used a $2 off of $10 coupon - $5 ECB = $2.06 cash + $3 and $5 ECBs

Transaction #2: 1 Palmolive dish soap $1.49 - $.40 coupon
2 Dimetapp kid's medicine $4.99 each - $1.50 coupons
Plus I used a $3 off of $15 coupon - $5 and $3 ECB = $.29 cash + $1 and $5 ECBs

Transaction #3: 1 Gillette Fusion Power Razor $9.99 - $2 coupon
Plus I used a $2/$10 coupon and a $5 ECB = $1.20 cash + $5ECB

Transaction #4: 2 Hershey's Kisses at 2 for $5 - $1.50 CVS coupon
1 Palmolive Dish Soap $1.49 - $.40 coupon
1 Gillette Venus Razor $8.99 - $2 coupon
1 Candy $.88 (My dad had to drop something off and he gave me a dollar to get the kids candy)
Plus I used a $3/ $15 coupon - $5 ECB = $1.46 cash + $4, $1, and a $3 ECBs

All in all I spent $5.01 cash and I still have $9 ECBs for next week.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Frugal Fridays

It's time for Frugal Fridays with Crystal from www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm again. This week I thought I'd talk about homemade curtains. My girl's room is in desprate need of new curtains so I found some old fabric, measured it against the window (making sure to allow for seams) and stitched them to the window size. On the top I made sure to make that loop so that they could hang onto the curtain rod and voila new curtains in about an hour for absolutly no money out of pocket. Sorry I don't have any pictures but I can't find the cord to my digital camera.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

How do you view children?

One thing I've been struggling with lately is the way people react to my five children. And if I mention that I really want more....well I guess that earns me a label of "crazy". BUT I don't care. Children are such blessings. I don't know what I would be without them. Each child, no matter how they came into my life (birth or marriage) is a tremendous gift to me.

 J is an aspiring chef and has such wisdom. Yet he was born when my husband was only 17 years old. I don't care. I wouldn't trade him for anything! (I'm not advicating young unwed parents, but I am saying that children are a blessing and are not reponisble for the actions of their parents, thus they deserve life after having been conceived and can truely be treasures from God as such.)

 And S is such a sweet person who tries to help. She is a bit of a dreamer but also has such fire. She will be able to go so far in life.

 M is a different child. Some would label her a difficult child, but again I don't care. She causes me to think about my parenting skills and constantly revise them to help her best. She loves helping with her younger sibilings and is awesome at Math.

R is another dreamer, but behind that is a very smart person who can do anything. He is a pleaser and wants to help me when I am down. He is also the one who will come and snuggle me or hug me when he senses I am down.

K as the current baby uses this position in life for all it's worth. I think she has not only me and dh but also the 4 older kids wrapped around her little finger. She is a bit of a temper-mental child but I've learned to love these personalities for the wonders they contain.

My heart yearns so much for another child. My dh wants another one too but feels he can't right now due to finances. This is such a hard place for us since we believe children are such blessings. I pray that someday soon God will place relief in our path and we will soon add another baby blessing to our quiverfull of children. I'm not sure who wrote this quote but I love it and it sums up how dh and I feel. In the bible God calls children a blessing and debt a curse, but in our society we apply for curses and reject blessings. Something is wrong with that picture.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Being a Step parent in the modern world.

As you may or may not know, I am the stepmom to 3 beautiful children. So many times I see children who are pushed aside by their step parents or are treated as less than equal to the biological children of that step parent. I wish I could teach those parents to see the beauty of loving that child as if he or she were their own. I may not have given birth to my three stepchildren, but I am like a mother bear with her cubs with them anyway. Another thing that is hard with being a stepmother is knowing when to back down. You must understand that there is another person who should be first in your stepchild's life and that is the mother/father. The way we handle this is we are very open in communication with the mother/father. If sewing is something that the children have never done then I call to ask if it's okay to do with the kids. It is very vital to never say anything demeaning about the other parent. Nobody is going to agree 100% of the time. Yet these are our precious children we are raising and it's so important not to put them in a difficult position. So now I would like to open up the floor and hear any comments from other parents or stepparents.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

How to combat depression?

Lately I've been feeling very depressed. I feel like I am such a good wife and mother and all I want to do is be able to keep doing it. Yet due to financial difficulties it seems that may be in jeporady. Money is so tight right now. Yet I know I need to rest in God and remember that He is caring for me now, even as things seem dark. He is keeping my dh healthy and working. He is blessing my food budget so that I can make food stretch. He has even given me a wonderful business idea if only I can find some money to get it started. I want to do a homemade soap and lotion business. It could also branch out into other items, but for now those are the two things I will start with when I get my capital. Any ideas for earning a few extra dollars? Well anyway, please pray that everything gets better for us soon. Thanks, and God bless!