Planning Day

Today I started planning for a money saving week. I planned out our menu and cooked a weeks worth of dinners. I made baked ziti, spaghetti and turkey meatballs, chicken fajitas, and chilli. With the leftover fajita meat I'll make sandwiches with soup night, and I'm saving the homemade pizza meal for Friday or Saturday. Now all I need to do is implement a baking day as noted by Money Saving Mom, Crystal. I've always wanted to make homemade bisquits that didn't make dents in the walls if you threw them. Heck, I just want to make them good enough so that no one will want to throw them. The last time I made bisquits from scratch, that is exactly what happened. I'm also thinking about rice pudding or bread pudding, breakfast muffins, and homemade bread.

Also, today I started cutting out my coupons for the Walgreens money savers and beginning to get those organized. I was super excited to receive my copy of Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy in the mail today. I couldn't wait to open it and find ideas. Even though I had a ton of stuff to do, I went over a few chapters anyway. The chapters are short and sweet and that's how I like a book to flow. I'll have more time tomorrow and read a lot more. I'm hoping to find a system for cutting, keeping, and using coupons. The best part is that I got this wonderfully insightful book for .90 cents...I love it!

Sad Sunday

Well, today was a bit of a disappointment for me. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I even slipped in a puddle of water in my bathroom and I think I sprung my knee. All I know is that I heard it pop and it hurt something awful. I hate going to hospitals unless it's life or death, so I didn't go but here we are at least 4 hours later and it still hurts. If it doesn't feel better by the morning, then I'll know where I'll be spending half of the day. To make matters worst, I didn't get to the hospital for baby boy's feeding during first shift. I'm feeling really guilty about that, even though I was able to hobble in for the 2nd shift feeding. The highlight of my day was seeing him and being able to look into his eyes and feel like I have a purpose in this life...being a good mother. He's weighing in at 4lbs 12oz. tonight (quite a jump from the 1lb. 10oz birth weight huh?). I'm proud of him! Yesterday I was so excited that we stayed at the hospital well into this morning, so I didn't get to blog. I was excited because he was moved from the NICU to the Special Care Unit, which is his last stop just before he is able to come home. He's latching on well and begining to feed longer. I'm super excited about that because I never breastfeed any of the other children and vowed that I would if I was blessed to have anymore. It's been a huge struggle to pump throughout the day for the last few months. Many times I just felt like giving up...but I didn't, and now my dream is coming true. Well, it sounds like even though this was a pretty sad Sunday, I have many things to be thankful for. It's good to see how God continues to bless.

Let the Frugality begin!

Today I'm excited! I've been reading an awesome blog called Money Saving Mom, trying to get some tips on using coupons. Ms. Crystal has everything you could ever think of about being frugal on her site and if she doesn't, she links to others that do. I absolutely love her site! She keeps things straight to the point and I like that. Anyway, I've decided to begin my coupon clippin journey this week and I'm giving myself a small budget to work with. I'm going to start with Walgreens and try getting some of the deals that Ms. Crystal outlines on her site. Tomorrow is the final day of the sale, so I may be out of luck on some of the deals but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. I've got the coupons printed and clipped that I'm going to need to maximize my discounts. All I need now is a little courage and my game face. I'm hoping it goes well... wish me luck;)

Also, today I've gotten somewhat of a head start on my plans to slash my families household costs. One of my ideas was to go with a cloth diapering system. It's a greener choice for the environment and I'm hoping that it will keep down on diaper rashes for my little man's delicate skin. I've been checking out the Bum Genius and the Fuzzi Bunz brands...OMGosh, they are so super cute, but expensive! Well, it just so happens that the Green Baby consignment store close by my home put them on sale for 40% off this week. I dropped by to give the diapers a close inspection and bought one, just ONE. The diapers are originally $17.95 which I got for $11.00 with tax. Even though I LOVE this Fuzzi Bunz diaper, I think I'm going to be investigating a much cheaper alternative in the future. But hey, I saved $7.00...right?

Some of the things I've thought of to save money, expecially with the new baby and the new stay at home mom gig: Making homemade bread, babyfood, meals, and preservatives. Also, using coupons, buying everything on sale, taking part in the consignment movement, running errands only once or twice per week, making handmade manipulative for our homeschool, looking for free or dirt cheap field trips and family outing deals, couponing, using Skype instead of cell phone, and handmaking whatever I can...and did I mention COUPONS. We'll see how it goes;)

New Attitude

I've decided to get back to blogging. My old job had me so busy that I could barely find the time to breathe, let alone write. Now I'm home again with the kiddos and doing the homemaker thing so I'd like to get back to a little happiness as well. I've been looking around and reading some other awesome mom blogs and would like to take this blog in a new direction. Give it a whole new look and just talk about life as a mom with a new little one, wife, homeschooler, and frugal domestic engineer. I'd like for this blog to give me a place to be myself and explore my purpose. A place to express who I am as I learn and grow. I hope it's all that I'm praying for.

Science for Preschoolers: Part II

Well now that we've had a few discussions about science, you may agree that it seems a little less intimidating and whole lot more fun! Knowing that your child learns best by engaging in activities that allow some level of independent discovery or observation, asking questions and discovering the answer or maybe having to start over again. One of the most important aspects to remember for science of preschoolers is the following: Please, Please Please follow your preschoolers lead! If you carefully observe what interest your child and provide opportunities for your child to explore it more and find the answers, the more your child will feel confident in his own abilities and the more enthused he will be. You will also find out the different topics that your preschooler is interested in which will carry over into other subjects like reading and math. Allow your preschooler to use real world or household items to explore such as cardboard tubes, rocks, shells, flashlights, small appliances, locks and keys, bugs and magnifying glasses, compasses, whistles, measuring cups, measuring tapes, mirrors, nuts and bolts, screwdriver, seeds and potting soil, cotton balls, aluminum foil, wax paper, sponges and buckets, and old clocks....to name a few. This will provide your child with the "real world" experience and open the door for questions and problem-solving...Hey that's what real scientist's do!

Science In The Great Outdoors!

Have you ever notice how a child lights up when they get outside? When I was a child, going outside was the highlight of the day. What wondrous things out there in the great big world to explore and observe! Speaking of observing... a big part of being a scientist (adult or child-sized) is acquiring observation skills. Observation is a skill because it takes time to learn and to do it well. This means that your child will need plenty of practice going out and observing the world that she lives in. While your child is observing, they may ask you some questions. This is a distinct opportunity to encourage problem-solving and thinking skills. Give your preschooler an opportunity to tell you what she thinks is happening. In general, find out what their answer would be to their own question. After you have an idea of how she processes then you can praise her efforts and provide her with additional information if necessary. The following is an activity that preschoolers enjoy and it will yield their very own nature book after all of their explorations. It's a win-win activity! Rub-it Book Activity What you will need: ~Several thin sheets of paper ~Several crayons ~Flat items found on a nature walk ~Several Ziploc bags ~Hole Punch ~Yarn Directions: 1. The best and first part of this activity is taking your preschooler out for a nature walk. Ask your preschooler to find leaves, flowers, bark, and twigs to collect. Once your preschooler has had a blast finding all sorts of cool things, tell her that she gets to keep her treasures to take home. 2. Once home, have your preschool take out a sheet of thin paper and place it over the first item. 3. Next, use the side of a crayon to rub across the paper and the image of the item will appear. Trust me when I say, your preschooler will be delighted by the effect and eager to continue with the remaining items. 4. After your preschooler has completed her rubbings of all the items, place each item along with it's rubbing in a Ziploc bag. 5. Punch holes in the bags and tie them together with the yarn. Wallah...Preschooler made nature book! Discuss the texture, color, and uniqueness of each item often with your preschooler. Who knows, it may just become her favorite book!

Magnificent Magnets

Preschoolers love science! Nothings more fun than hands-on discovery of new things. One very simple yet exciting object for preschoolers to explore is the magic of a magnet. What could be better than playing with a magnet, how about playing with two magnets! The following are a few science activities using magnets that your preschooler is sure to love. Magnificent Magnets Science Exploration What you will need:

• Two magnets
• Shoe box lid
• Small objects that will stick to the magnet and some that will not
• paper cut out figure (can be characters of a story, such a the Three Pigs)
• Glue
• Paper clips

Now that you have collected all of your items, you are ready to have fun with magnets!

1. First, spread out all of the small objects that you've collected and explain to your preschooler that some of the items on the floor will be "attracted" by the magnet and some will not.

2. Next, have your preschooler experiment with picking up items with the magnet. It may be interesting to hear what your preschoolers hypothesis is on why some items are attracted and some are not. These types of conversations are always fascinating and I encourage you to ask questions. Also, be sure to point out the common denominator of the objects that are being attracted if your preschooler misses this point by sheer excitement.

3. While your preschooler is engrossed in trying to find all of the things that will stick to the magnet, take a few minutes to glue a paper clip to your paper cut out figures. While that dries for a few minutes, ask your preschooler to try to pick up another magnet with there magnet. Discuss the differences between trying to pick-up the other magnet using opposite sides.

4. Now that your paper clips have had time to adhere to the cut-out figures, ask your preschooler to help you put on a magical show. Place your cut-out figures face on top of the shoe box lid (paper clips touching the lid). Next, have your preschooler put there hand underneath the shoe box to move the characters...magic!

I'll be back next week with more on science for preschoolers!