And More on Frugality...

Speaking of frugality, my kids have coined a phrase: "Curse your frugal nature, Mother!" Mostly spoken when:

* They want to go to the movies and I say let's wait until it comes out on Redbox.

* They want to go get a haircut and I say then what do we have this awesome haircutting kit for?

* I ask Trevin to make me some laundry soap and he wonders, yet again, if I have ever thought of the grocery store as a source for laundering goods.

* They want to toss tonight's veggies that nobody ate and I say no, I'll put it in some soup which nobody will eat.

* We splurge on fast food and I only buy 3 packs of fries and make everyone split one. I'm told we're the only family where everyone doesn't get their very own pack of fries. Plus, I save the ketchup packets.

But, what can I say? I spring from the loins of someone who washes and saves her disposable plates!

P.S. Other great ways to save money:

Use Groupon deals - sign up for and buy deals now for cities you plan to visit this summer on vacation.

Always go through Ebates to shop online. You'll get cash back on all your purchases at places like Staples, Old Navy, Walmart, and yes, even Groupon!

Make Swagbucks your home page for searching the web. When you search on Swagbucks, you will be randomly awarded points from time to time, and those points can be redeemed for goodies or gift cards to places like Amazon. It's amazing how fast the points add up. Right now I'm using my points to buy diapers on AmazonMom, where shipping is free and I can almost always find a 20% off coupon in those free baby magazines they keep in the doctor's office.

Guest Post

If you have a second, check out my guest post on my go-to website for frugality, MoneySavingMom.com.

Do You Really Need a Written Reminder?

Which one of my children felt the need to post this reminder inside the medicine cabinet in the hall bath? It's been there for three months, I'm not sure what that means.

Maybe...

Grammy and Aunt Kristin came over to visit the other day, and the girls and I noticed that they arrived in separate cars.

"I wonder why they drove separately," I said.

"Well," replied AJ, "maybe one of them stinks."

Thank You, Connie

Thank you, Connie, for the beautiful photos of Alyza. I don't post photos here very often, but here is just a sample of the beautiful work Connie did for me:

I'm going to miss you and your family when you move :(

Organize Thyself

I went to a class on organizing and cleaning at church last night.

I came away with 1 observation and 2 tips:

Observation: Most of the tips people gave for organizing their kitchen began with "I got an insert handy organizational thing here for my pantry."   Note to self: buy house with pantry

A tip I will use: dry dishcloths outside in the sun after using them and they won't get stinky (I hope. Stinky dishcloths are the bane of my existence)

A tip I will not use: clean your toilet brushes in the dishwasher. Um...disgusting.

Old Home Movies

I've been watching some old home movies lately, trying to label them and, you know, be organized. Here are some things I've noticed:

* I wore the same shirt to my son's 8th and 12th birthday parties.

* Short hair is not for me.

* When taping children's sports activities, it's advisable to tape a few moments here and there, rather than the whole, long, entire game. Also, having a steady hand is a plus in a videographer.

* Someone (who shall not be named in this post) taped over my oldest son's first moments of life with an episode of Ellen (the TV show, not the talk show. Like it matters. Either way, I'm completely bitter.).

* My house is always tidy in the videos where company is over for a birthday party, and messy in the videos where I'm just taping the kids playing, as it were, in their natural habitat.

Reasons My Family Can't Be A Reality Show

1. The "Strictest Parents" said not to, and honestly, I'm kind of afraid of them.

2. I'm nervous that I'll be caught on camera picking a wedgie (c'mon, you all do it sometimes. I've seen you).

3. I like to brush my teeth in private because I'm a bit of a messy spitter.

4. The only producers who are interested in us are from National Geographic, and their show is called "Barely Domesticated". It doesn't sound promising.

5. We gossip a lot at the dinner table, so we'd probably lose all our friends.

6. The most interesting thing that's happened to us lately is when my son got his nose stuck in a water bottle.

My So-Called Christmas Card

A Quick Rundown of 2010:

D-Dawg (16) is "driving" his mom and dad to tears. Tears of joy, that is, since he's running all their errands for them. TLC (13) has recently taken a part-time job as a stalker, or at least that's what we have to assume after seeing his photo above. Bananalyn (9) is looking forward to being in double digits soon, and has subscribed to AARP magazine in preparation for the big day. AJ, aka Squinty, (5) begins every day with the same phrase: "Can I invite a friend over?", and ends every day with the equally endearing phrase, "I need a drink." We're planning an intervention. And little Tator Tot (7 weeks) thinks Christmas is totally over-commercialized and refuses to participate.

JByrd recently received a mug for his birthday that says "World's Best Dad". He was surprised because he didn't know the voting had ended, but he wants all you other dads to know that he totally respects you, even though you didn't win. (losers). And I recently saved 15% or more on my car insurance, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Merry Christmas!

My little tator tot

Well, it's been 5 years since I've had a new baby in the house. Of course, I knew before she was born that I had gotten very used to sleeping through the night, to eating dinner without being interrupted by a squalling baby, and to quiet Sundays where the older kids read and the younger ones play together (semi) nicely. I wondered how I was going to handle my plunge back into babydom, the land of ultimate (if forced) unselfishness. Here is how it has been:

Every breath she has taken, every minute that's gone by, every late night feeding and diaper changed - I want it all back, I desperately want it all to quit flying away so fast. Not a day has gone by that I haven't wished I was in the hospital again, that she had just been born, and that I could have every minute of her life to live over again. That's how much I love her.