Quit Spending Even More!

Yesterday after I pushed the Publish Post button for THIS post, I had other ideas swarming in my head of things that my family does to save money.  My blogging time was up for the day, so I decided to do a second post today.  I really would love to hear some of your ideas as well, so please....leave me some comment love!!

Do it yourself!


Haircuts- For many, many years I have cut everyone's hair in my family.  When my older girls started making money babysitting they used some of their money for professional hair cuts.  There was also a time when life was completely overwhelming me (having a baby at 44 just might do that to you....or maybe not!) and I took the boys in for hair cuts as well.  Jeff generally goes to a barber now who has a ministry of fostering children, so Jeff feels like he is contributing to that ministry.  Devin pretty much does all four boys hair now and does Kaelan's as well.  You should spend a few bucks to invest in quality hair cutting scissors and trimmer.   Devin and I both get our hair professionally done.  Devin pays for her own and goes every other month or so, while I go 2-3 times a year.

Remodeling-  Jeff has totally gutted and remodeled two of our bathrooms through the years.  For our latest remodel, he did hire plumbers to  put in a new spot for the toilet and custom build and tile the shower.  The cost though, even with that work hired out was only around $3000.

Reduce paper use!


I quit using paper napkins years ago and replaced them with inexpensive cloth napkins and even cute bandanas purchased on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  We generally tie them on the back of the chair to use for the next meal and I toss them into the wash each day.  They are very light and don't take up much space in the wash.

I have also quit using paper towels.  I have found lots of dish towels and clothes on clearance and stock up when I find great prices.  I keep worn-out bath towels to clean up messy spills.

At times I have used cloth diapers for my babies.  I really wanted to go all cloth for Caedmon, but Jeff didn't want to invest that much money into diapers that would most likely only be used for one child.  Caedmon is still in diapers, but is working on potty training and is wearing training pants a good bit of the day.

Bulk cooking!


It is very rare that we prepare food for only one meal at a time.  Last week we grilled steaks (a gift from my mom) for an evening meal.  Monday night I sliced the leftover steaks and we ate them on top of or as a side to our salads from the garden.  We cooked way too much food for our gathering Saturday night, so we were able to take a good bit of it with us as our contribution to a meal with friends on Sunday night and shared some as well with a single young man.  There was still enough for another meal of the grilled chicken, but we were a little tired of it so, into the freezer it went for a meal next week.

Last night we had a meal of beef enchiladas that I simply pulled from the freezer.  In early May we prepared several pans of enchiladas at one time.  I just line up the casserole dishes and assemble.  I only had to use one pan to cook up the meat mixture and one bowl to grate up the cheese for four meals.

Right now I have Jordan grilling out about 30 hamburgers.  Yes, it is still morning, but it will be in the upper nineties when dinner time rolls around.  It is much cooler now to grill and we will have plenty of burgers for tonight's dinner with one or two more hamburger dinners for the freezer.

Devin made a large batch of blueberry biscuits for breakfast this morning.  We ate half and I will freeze the rest for next week.  She regularly mixes up large batches of our favorite chocolate chip cookie dough.  She uses a cookie dough scoop to make small scoops, places them on a cookie sheet, flash freezes them and then bags them up for later use.  Cooking in bulk is a time and money saver!

Cut the cable or satellite on your TV!


We haven't had either for many, many years.   I won't get into the trash, etc that comes in to our homes via TV.

Switch phone plans!


We don't have caller ID and all the other extras on our home phone.  We have even considered dropping the home phone line, but sometimes cell phone coverage out here can be a problem.

I don't have a cell phone for myself.  When I am away from home I borrow either Jordan's or Devin's phone or, if Jeff is home I will take his.  Devin and Jordan each purchased their own phones and pay their portion of the cell phone bill.   Jeff and Devin are both self-employed and their phones and usage are tax deductible.

Re-purpose and re-use!


Re-decorating my home usually means moving one item into another spot or rearranging the furniture.  I generally try to use what I have instead of having to buy something new that will quickly lose its luster in my big, busy household.

Reuse gift bags and tissue paper for Christmas, birthday and baby shower gifts.  My children know to look in the storage cabinet in my bedroom for an assortment of gift bags.  It's fun to see the same bags reappear year after year!

I know I will think of several more ideas as I go through the day, but maybe these tips will inspire you to save some money for your family as well.  Remember our goal is always to be good stewards of the blessings that God has given to us whether it be material blessings, talents and gifts or simply our time!  Please share YOUR favorite ideas for being good stewards of what God has given you.

Wrapping Up the Week

This has been a good week on many levels.  I was able to sit down with Kaelan on Sunday afternoon to go over her school work from last week and make out lesson plans for the next two weeks.  Yesterday we were able to go over everything from this week and with the exception of our science lesson we are on target.    Aaron is also on target for this week with the exception of those dreaded science lessons.  Hopefully today he can finish up his study guide and be ready to take his test on Monday instead of today. Jackson's new math curriculum came in yesterday and he is eager to get started.  We may go ahead and do several pages this morning as it will mainly be review.  Jordan is studying independently with the exception of history that we do together as a family.  Aside from history and literature, most of his studies are interest led.  Thankful that his interests are sound...economics, photography, writing and homesteading.

We have been able to keep up with our Bible and history studies this week which have included beginning several new books.  We read one chapter of Proverbs each morning and one or two chapters of the Psalms.  It is a joy for me to have my children gather in the den and enjoy reading and learning together.  Kaelan's and Aaron's copywork this week has come from our reading in Call of Duty:  The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins.

           -Lee's favorite hymn was How Firm a Foundation (today they will copy all stanzas and last night    we sang it in family worship

           -I would rather see you unlettered and unnoticed, of virtuous in practice as well as theory, than see you the equal in glory to the great Washington.   Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee to his sons

          -You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.  R. E. Lee

          -Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.  R. E. Lee

          -Never marry unless you can do so into a family that will enable your children to feel proud of both sides of the house.  R. E. Lee's advice to J. B. Hood

          -"Charity should begin at home."  So says _.  No, charity should have no beginning or ending.   R.E. Lee

          -Fame which does not result from good actions and achievements for the good of the whole people is not to be desired.  Nero had fame.....Who envies him?   R.E. Lee

          -Hold to your purity and virtue.  They will sustain you in every calamity.  R.E. Lee

This week in the kitchen I was able to put several main dishes in the freezer, made and froze several pounds of butter, learned to make cultured sour cream and mozzarella cheese.  My new canner came in  yesterday and I am eager to learn how to can milk and other foods using the pressure canner.  It's a little intimidating to me!

The weather has warmed up considerably (high's in the upper 80's this weekend) so more plants can go outside.  Hopefully the extra table full of plants in my dining room can be put away this weekend. ; )

Kaelan, Aaron and Jackson worked extra hard on school work yesterday so they wouldn't have as much to do today.  They are planning a tent camping trip with their Dad tonight.  They have made lists, hooked the boat up to the truck, got out tents, sleeping bags, fishing poles and flash lights.  I think all they need now is to load up on food and cooking utensils.  All that to only go 1 1/2 miles from home!  We have a wonderful state park with a lake just around the next bend!  Jordan has decided he prefers his own bed now and will be the "man of the house" while the others enjoy sleeping on the hard ground and cooking over an open fire.

Devin has been painting up a storm and is considering selling some of her canvases.  She made a door hanging for our front door with a "C" on it and has painted many canvases with crosses.  Perhaps I can post pictures of her work later.

Caedmon's potty training has been put on hold as he seems to have a stomach bug this week.  Disposable diapers handle THAT much better than the training pants.  ; )

That pretty much sums up our week around here.  What's been going on in your home?

Homeschooling Update

Yes, we are still homeschooling!!  Even though I (we) have been busy with early gardening and milk production the book learning is continuing.   I thought I would give you a run-down of what is going on in the homeschooling arena at Busy Hands Busy Minds.

Together we are studying the War Between the States.  In our group time we begin the day reading a chapter of Proverbs and a chapter from the Psalms.  We review our Latin or Greek root for the week from English from the Roots Up.  I have then been reading through Facts the Historians Leave Out A Confederate Primer by John S. Tilley.  We finish that up today and will begin Walt Whitman's Civil War Poetry and Prose.  We had started Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, but just couldn't stand it.  I decided it was fine if the children just had a small taste of it and knew the history of this fictional story written by Stowe using second and third party sources.  It is said that upon meeting Stowe in 1863, President Lincoln said, " So, this is the woman that wrote the book that caused this war."  We are also reading Two Little Confederates by Thomas Nelson Page and Call of Duty:  The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins.  We are using All American History Volume 2 by Celeste W. Rakes as our spine for our history studies and hope to finish up our two year stretch of American history this fall.   The older two boys and I are also studying the rather hefty volume The War Between the States:  America's Uncivil War by John J. Dwyer.  This is a fascinating book and has lots of great quotes that you most likely have not read in any other modern day textbook.  Devin (22) is taking the children through A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers by Melissa E. Craig and Maggie S. Hogan.  She meets with them once a week for this and we are supposed to listen to the music selections throughout the week.

Jordan (18) is studying Biblical Economics by R. C. Sproul, Jr. which he is greatly enjoying.  He has edited several programs for The Homeschool Channel on economics and many of R.C. Sproul's talks as well and finds them very interesting and beneficial.  He is also studying American literature through Learning Language Arts through Literature, doing an algebra review using VideoText and is doing lots of research on homesteading topics.  He is pretty much in charge of our gardening endeavors this year and has started hundreds of plants indoors and out and has built all of our raised beds and some planters by himself.  He is quite the handyman.  In addition to his film editing responsibilities at The Homeschool Channel, he spends a few hours a week taking and editing photos of his own.  He also has a huge stack of homesteading, theology and historical works that he is reading through.

Aaron(14)  is plugging through Apologia's Physical Science.  This has been a stretch for me to prepare and keep up with as most of our science studies have previously been through unit studies as a family.  Aaron feels led to study medicine, so we felt he needed to have a more formal science curriculum.  I am interested in looking at other science curriculum to see if I can find a better fit.  He has recently started VideoText algebra with Jeff and is finishing up Learning Language Arts through Literature (green).  He also using Daily Grams for daily grammar review. He is also using Building Thinking Skills Book 3 and doing some spelling review through Natural Speller.   Typing and Quarter Mile math drills are done on the computer.  He does Spanish independently using PowerGlide.  I hope to move him to Rosetta Stone this next year.  He also greatly enjoys reading through the Ballantyne books of world wide adventure stories and is reading some theological works, historical fiction and biographies.  Practicing piano, drawing, painting, chores,  and editing audio programs for his dad's home business round out his days.

Kaelan (11) is studying plants through Answers in Genesis God's Design for Life series.  Jackson is tagging on this study at times. She started a pressed flower collection and will be doing some identification of plants as well.   She is working through Teaching Textbook 6, typing and Quarter Mile math drills on the computer.  She also likes to email extended family members frequently.  ; )  She keeps up with family members all over the world!  She is studying Learning Language Arts through Literature (purple) with Daily Grams for daily grammar review.  Spelling lists come from Natural Speller and she is also using Building Thinking Skills Book 2.  Kaelan also has a tall stack of books that she is reading from based on our history studies, but usually pulls some old favorites from the bookshelves to read as well.  I think she is now reading Little Women...again!

Jackson(6) is finishing up the primer level of Math U See and will be starting MUS Foundations (the old version) as soon as it comes in.  I decided to put him in the older version because we already have the teacher's edition and I have already gone through it myself, ummm, like three other times and it won't be something that I have to relearn. ; )  We are s l o w l y making our way through Alphaphonics.  Little by little, bit by bit, I am seeing progress.  One of the great advantages of  homeschooling is that we can go as slow or as fast as we need to.  Right now, for this child and his phonics studies it is slow going.  And that is OK!!  He is using the Italic Handwriting Series as have all of my children.  I think I like it much more than any of them do.  Jackson participates in most of our group time and usually enjoys coloring a page from a historical Dover coloring book while he listens in.  I am trying to have some time each week where he is listening to audio books like Charlotte's Web or programs such as Your Story Hour or Jonathan Park.  He is read to daily by either me, Jeff or one or more of his siblings and he "reads" books by himself several times a day.  His favorite right now is  David Macaulay's The Way Things Work.


Two year old Caedmon is now enrolled in Potty Training 101.  He is now 2 1/2 (as of tomorrow) and as the weather is warming and he can now go half dressed without getting too chilled, big sister Devin has declared it TIME!.   We have been putting him on the potty for several months before bath time and he has had some success.  We are now going into full mode with training pants (no pull-ups here).  Diapers are still going on at nap and bedtimes.  Caedmon enjoys books, puzzles and most of the activities in his daily boxes.  Some of my favorite resources for this age come from Lauri and Melissa and Doug.   Some of the activity bags and folders have become too easy for him and I need to reorganize his materials.  He is a genius, I tell you, a genius!

So, that is what is going on in the homeschooling department of Busy Hands Busy Minds.  If things weren't so busy around here I would have linked all these wonderful resources so that you could look at them and purchase from my affiliate links, but my children need more time from me than this blog does.  If you have a question about any resource, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you ASAP.    Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Signs of Spring

There are signs of spring here and there and everywhere!

The beds need to be cleaned out, but the perennial herbs are coming back now.

A ride into town shows even more spring colors....lots of daffodils, forsythia, Indian hawthorne and Bradford pear.  Tonight Caedmon thought the Bradford pears had snow on them!

Lemon balm

Peppermint

Thyme

Sage

Daffodils

Hydrangeas are getting ready to leaf.

Devin took the little boys out for some playtime in the sunshine the other day and couldn't resist taking some pictures as well.

Climbing on the monkey bars.

He is getting so very big!

Kissy face or blowing raspberries?

Oh, my precious little guy!

I have no idea how a sheltered little homeschooled six year old boy knows about these hand positions.  How does that happen and why does he do it?

And again!  Where is my sweet little boy?

Oh, here he is!!

He is so big he can climb to the top of the slide with no trouble.

Don't you want to pinch those cheeks?

Beautiful big sister with handsome little brother : )

The last two days have been rainy and much cooler.  We will be glad for some sunshine again!

Around, About and All Over the Place with a Couple of Recipes Thrown In

This weekend I had so much that needed to be done.  It seems that it is utterly impossible to get my to-do list done when Saturday rolls around, especially this Saturday when I discovered that our perishable food items were dwindling severely.   So my to-do list was dropped and Jeff and I headed out to Sam's.   We really like to stock up at Sam's.  Having cabinets and freezers full  of ingredients that we can use to make  good wholesome meals for our family is important to us.  Every time Jeff goes to Sam's with me he comments about how there sure is a lot of food in that one store.  LOL!  I very rarely buy any frozen or instant foods, sticking mainly to single ingredient foods like fresh fruits and vegetables and the HUGE cans of green beans.  I also stock up on toilet paper, oils, yeast, spices, sugars, honey, flours and dairy products.  Oh!  We can't forget the coffee, either!

Thankfully the skies were clear so we were able to put all of our groceries in the back of the truck.  We have a system.  I call home when we  leave Sam's and have the children make sure the kitchen is clean, countertops wiped off and floor swept.  When we pull onto our country road we again call home and have the boys and Kaelan meet us out at the truck with the wagons.  The kids load everything from the back of the truck into the wagons and haul the groceries inside.  I then unload the wagons putting the food either in the cabinets, in the freezer or in the fridge.   Then they take the wagons back out for another load.  This time, however, I wound up missing a large bag of fresh broccoli.  K says she knows it got in the house, but I have  not found it.  Jeff was looking forward to a large batch of my broccoli salad.  One time we found a roll of sausage that had been left in the truck for several days in warm weather.  Thankfully, it did not stink.  I have no idea where that bag of broccoli landed!

Saturday was a beautiful warm day and the children were able to be outside for most of the day.  Jordan has been making more boxes for our raised bed garden.  He has been busy researching and planning for our garden.  It will soon be time to gather seeds, amend the soil and start planting.  He is excited about eating some fresh tomatoes!

While all the younger children were out playing or working Devin decided to get creative.  A few months ago she bought a painted canvas at a small boutique and paid over $30 for it.  She decided she could make another one herself.   She has never really painted before except for school projects, but once she decides to do something, she does it well.  In fact, a friend encouraged her to start drawing when she was in her mid-teens.  We were studying the Civil War and she was inspired to draw a portrait of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson.  Her drawing placed at a local art contest and at a state wide contest.  And we named our next child Thomas Jonathan Jackson Chamblee!!

In case you can't read the scripture:  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, 

in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5: 8

And I tried my hand at making poptarts from scratch.  Although I suppose you can't really call them poptarts, so I'll just say tarts.  Look for the recipe and pictures here.  You must know that I changed the recipe!!  It calls for yogurt and I was out (making some tonight), so I substituted buttermilk.  I used mainly fresh ground whole wheat flour, but next time I will use more all-purpose flour as the crust was a bit heavier than we would prefer.  I wound up making two batches.  One batch was with my homemade strawberry jam.  The second batch I made with my homemade applesauce to which I added some brown sugar and cinnamon.  We sampled them for dessert Saturday night and I got the biggest compliment!  Kaelan declared they are do-overs which means they liked them well enough to want them again!  We had some for breakfast Sunday morning and I froze the rest of them for breakfast another day this week.

I know a lot of you are expecting some very cold weather in the next few days, so I will leave you with a delicious broccoli soup recipe.  You know,  just in case you find my missing bag of broccoli.

Broccoli Cheese Soup


5 cups broccoli florets
6 cups chicken broth  (I use homemade)
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup flour
3 cups finely grated cheddar cheese

Cook broccoli until tender in the chicken broth.  Remove broccoli from broth with a slotted spoon.  Place into your blender.  I can do about half of the broccoli at a time.  Add some of the broth to the blender as well.  Blend until you reach the desired texture.  My kids don't want to see chunks of broccoli, so I pretty much puree it.  Add back to  your pot.  Add milk and flour to your blender and mix well.  Add this to your pot and stir with whisk.  Add 1 t. of salt, freshly grated pepper and any other seasoning you desire.  I've used thyme, red pepper flakes and Spike seasoning at different times.  When soup has thickened add your cheese and continue stirring until melted through.  Serve.  I think a small dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped bacon would be very pretty on this soup.  Sour cream and bacon would probably taste pretty good, too!  LOL!

I have been bagging up the leftovers and freezing them.  I will pull out a bag or two for lunch this week and let you know how it turns out from frozen.  I don't see why it wouldn't be just as good.

A Snowy Morning

We had a little sleet yesterday afternoon and then a whole lot of snow that continued through the evening.  I measured the snow that had accumulated on the picnic table at 4 1/4 inches before we turned in for the night.  This morning Devin measured over 7 inches on her car...which is not a good spot to measure as the hood is slanted!  

Kaelan has had a sore throat for all weekend, but couldn't resist getting out in the snow.  I am afraid she has tonsillitis and will be going to the doctor in the morning.

Two cold girls!

7 inches!

Making snow angels

That's Devin under all those layers.  She said she was actually sweating!

Aaron is toasty in his camo cover ups.

Jackson doesn't believe in wearing a coat apparently.  Last night he ran out several times with bare feet!

Caedmon the red nosed snow toddler!

More pics coming later.  We only have about 100 or so to go!!  Just kidding!!  I won't post them all!

Birthday, Recitals, Gardening and Frugal Shopping All in One Post-Whew!

We have had lots going on since my last post.  Kaelan turned 11 on the 19th.  She had fun with another young lady as an overnight guest.  She made her own birthday cake, a delicious lemon ice box cake.   Kaelan and Devin had decided they wanted a bedroom makeover for their birthdays (Devin's is in June), so for Kaelan's birthday they got new dust ruffles, comforters and pillow shams.  For Devin's birthday they will get matching sheets and window treatments.  That will be the extent of their bedroom makeover. ; )

Kaelan and my sister, Tracy, who shares the same birthday

Kaelan also received three new Homestead Blessing DVDs-sewing, cooking and dairying

Kaelan with her Lemon Ice Box Birthday Cake that she made herself

(all of my girls started making their own cakes after the age of ten---their choice!)

The day after Kaelan's birthday  was the piano recital.  My sister who shares a birthday with Kaelan just happened to be in the area and was able to join us and my mil was here for a few days as well.  Aaron and Kaelan did a terrific job and we enjoyed a late night dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants afterward.

Aaron played two minuets by Bach and did a fantastic job!

The next day was the violin recital for Devin's students.  This was her first recital as a teacher and she did a great job.  Kaelan is one of her students and she did a terrific job.  My children are really turning into great musicians.  All of my former college professors would be proud!!  

Kaelan and Hannah Duley played a duet at the violin recital.  Kaelan had fun getting together to practice with Hannah.

                                  Devin with some of her students.  Not all of them were able to
                                  play in the recital.                                          



Our work in the garden continues.  We have corn and beans up in our 4 x 4 beds.   We are trusting the Square Foot Gardener knows what he is talking about!!

Bush beans coming up.  There are 9 plants in each square foot.  Sounds crazy, but we are hopeful!!

This is one of two raised beds of corn, four plants per square foot.

This past week I was able to get out to do a little shopping.   The Lord truly blessed my grocery shopping efforts on Tuesday.  I came across lots of reduced produce, whole chickens, chicken breasts, buttermilk and milk at Kroger.  At Sam's I got reduced stew meat and a huge roast.  The stew meat was cooked with the reduced mushrooms and made into  fabulous beef tips in mushroom gravy.  Twelve chicken breasts were turned into three meals of seasoned chicken strips for wraps and salads, two quarts of seasoned chicken stock and two quart bags of shredded chicken.  We also did lots of baking this week of our usual homemade bread, pizza, pizza muffins, pesto roll, pizza roll, four chocolate chess pies, two buttermilk pies, three buttermilk pound cakes and two loaves of banana bread.  God gives us so many good things to eat.  My freezer is thankfully VERY full.  Feeling blessed about that!!

Jeff and I had a night out this week and I asked if we could go to Kohl's.  They have great clearance sales at Kohl's and I hadn't gone to check out clearance racks in months.  I needed a good fix and some of the children needed an item or two.  Most of what we purchased was 80 or 90% off with the exception of two nice Ralph Lauren shirts ($12. 50 each) and some much needed shoes for Jeff to wear to the office which unfortunately were not on clearance and were not even on sale. : (    We got over $500 of clothing for around $130.  Chaps dress shirt for Jackson for $5, Van's jeans for Aaron for $4, Chaps dress pants for Aaron for $3.60, various long-sleeve tees for Aaron, a light- weight trench coat for Devin for $8 (which she loved---YEAH for me!!), two summer tops for Kaelan for under $3 each and two sweaters for me for $3 and $4 dollars.  Jeff very rarely goes shopping with me, so he was very impressed with how much we saved.  Of course, we could have saved more had we not gone in the store in the first place, but I really like dressing my children well for very little money.  I have posted before about my clearance rack dressed kids and I am always very thankful for the Lord leading me to find just what is needed and sometimes, like with Devin's trench coat, desired.   I try to check out the clearance racks at several department stores 2 or 3 times a year.  It has been a money-saver for our family.

I am getting way too long here and will share our adventures at a tag sale with pictures later.  Hope you all take time out to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who have given their lives to defend our rights as American citizens.  We will spend time with friends celebrating tomorrow, but tonight we had our grilled burgers and salads and are now preparing to settle in the den and watch Gary Cooper in Sergeant York.