Homestead Mommy

Simplifying Part 3...Shoe Organization

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since I updated the Simplifying series. But better late than never, right? I have a feeling this is going to be an on going series for quite some time. A few of these projects have had to wait for the extra cash flow to make them happen.

Be sure to check out the other two parts to the Simplifying series:

Part 1: DVD storage
Part 2: The theory of three

As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, I went around my house and tried to find the places that seemed to be generating their own constant mess. Then decided to find ways to eliminate these problem spots. I do have to say that the last two big changes I have made are still working and, my life is so much easier without all the mess! It saves so much time and the house automatically stays cleaner. Who can complain about that!?

My dear sweet Hubby bought me my next simplifying tool for Christmas. It is a shoe organizer for the front closet.
Before this wonderful shoe rack came into my life, all the shoes were stored in a basket, on the floor of the closet. The basket made it easy to clean up the shoes but not so easy to find shoes. Every time one of the kids would go into the closet looking for a pair of shoes they would end up dragging them all out..which in turn caused a serious traffic jam at the front door.
Granted this mess wasn't nearly as bad as when it was shoes and dvd's. (I am still in love with the zippered organizer for those!)It was still a mess and terribly under foot.

I asked around before I decided which one I wanted. I had some points that had to be covered.

-It had to be up off the floor

-It had to be easy to put the items back (so Sis could continue doing her nightly chore of putting all the shoes away)

-It had to allow for growing room. ;o)

I got some good and some bad recommendations, before deciding on this one A few ladies I questioned regarding this topic recommended this style. It is supposed to hold up better and hold a better variety of sizes.
It was very easy to put together. I was waiting around for Hubby to put it together, but got tired of anxiously waiting. I decided to attempt it myself. It snapped together and didn't require any tools. I consider that a big plus.

Here is my beautiful shoe organizer. Sis is still learning how to use it properly, she likes to hang shoes by their strings instead of actually hooking the shoe on. Honestly though, I am pleased to have them up off the floor. We still have the occasional traffic jam by the front door, but it is no longer every single shoe in the closet.

We keep the boots and Hubbies work shoes in the basket in the closet...when they are not on the front porch. It has been raining a lot here lately and my kids love to trudge through the mud and puddles. :o)

Another issue i had been having lately was deciding where to keep Little Bits shoes. She has acquired quite a few pair and they were forever getting strung through the house and lost. I had been keeping them in a basket on top of the dresser in the family closet, but it became a bother to run up and get them when we were getting ready to go. So I moved some things around and put the basket in the top of the front closet. They are very accessible and there is room for the diaper bag as well.

The extra bonus to all of this? There was room at the top of the shoe rack to hang Hubby's hats. Before now they did not have a permanent home and were getting laid in places they did not belong..where Little Bit would find them and then find very fun hiding places for them. I found it slightly entertaining, mainly because it wasn't my items that were being hidden.

Hubby however, did not find it very funny when he had to be somewhere and couldn't find his hats. ;o) Good thing she is so darn cute!

Blessings!
Homestead Mommy

Dreaming of Spring

2012-01-15T00:00:00.001-08:00

It is the middle of January and the snow is flying. We got our second winter storm for the year.So outside my window looks like this...

Granted it is Ohio and we rarely have any winter storms to be greatly concerned about. I, however, am not a big fan of snow and Winter. I prefer Spring and Summer. So, by January 1st I am usually nose deep in...

these two books with my notebook in hand planning this years garden.

Today is no exception. While we should be doing school right now, I am actually working on my plant and seed list for this Spring and the lay out for the garden this year. If you put a good bit of thought into it now you can focus more on the task at hand during the Spring.

Hubby and I are hoping to try a few new things this year. Last fall we found out about PVC planters. Also I read a book about gardening for all four seasons..and want to switch everything to raised beds. (this is in fact a pipe dream at the moment and will take a good few years to put into place.) Since I know the raised beds are a few years off, I am going to focus on the PVC planters. for this season.
I am also really looking forward to canning again! I haven't gotten to get very much of it done the last two summers because, well one summer I was on bed rest, and this last summer I was sick. So I am really looking forward to a healthy productive summer! Hopefully my pantry will show the fruits and veggies of our labor! ;o)
I am being blessed with another mother to give me a hand in the garden this year. My friend
Emily. lives in town and hasn't done much gardening. She is going to give me a hand. We will share the work, the food, and the good company. I never turn down an opportunity to help someone learn a new skill, or an offer for an extra set of helping hands!

Because as the good book says..Many hands make the work easier! (yes I am paraphrasing and yes I know I am bad at it.)

Blessings!
Homestead Mommy

In My Life This Week

2012-01-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

In my life this week…

There have been, 25 diaper changes, 12 loads of laundry, 15 meals made and cleaned up after, and 12 loads of laundry still waiting to be put away.
In our homeschool this week…

Sis covered lessons 5-8 of Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. Bub learned two new ways to show subtraction.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

We went out to eat at our local Mexican place this week (that counts as social studies, ethnic culture and history right?) We had a very interesting conversation involving sombreros.We also all went to Walmart (a rarity) and did some grocery shopping. Plus we had two playdates with some awesome friends. One of which was spent making a new calender for out school are.(A post on this is to come)

My favorite thing this week was…

watching my children learn together. We made bird feeders last week and watched some birds find and eat the food. I can't imagine them being in separate class rooms and gone away from home most of the day.

Things I’m working on…

Building our curriculum and lesson plans for next year. Going to be using a lot of the Charlotte Mason approach ... Adding in sign language and piano lessons.
I’m reading…

Carrots Love Tomatoes, and Bringing Up Boys. These are actually rereads. You know a book is good when you read it more than once!
I’m cooking…

Today we are having cheesy baked pasta with sausage, cottage cheese and salad.
I’m grateful for… Our propane heater. We have had a small winter storm and the high today is supposed to be 26. Without this wonderful little heater our furnace runs non stop on days like this and our electric bill becomes legendary! Making our homeschool budget disappear!

I’m praying for…

God to show us His will for the many aspects of our lives that may be changing in the near future.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

CALORIES
(noun)
Tiny creatures that live in your closet
and sew your clothes a little bit
tighter each night .

Sincerely,
Homestead Mommy

My Week

2012-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week…We spent this week trying to get everyone back into the swing of things. School, sleep schedules, chores...and some new changes to all of these.

In our homeschool this week…Sis is moving right along with her book, 'Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons'. I love how quickly it moves along. After some prayer and discussion we decided to switch Bub to the same reading program as Sis. He has struggles with all the other 'phonics' programs. After seeing him take off this week with the same program as well..I am sold!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…Phonics does not work for every child! (Be looking for a post from me on this in the future)

I am inspired by… My friend EMILY she helps me to remember that everything really will be OK! Boys will grow into men. Children will eventually learn to read and this in only a season. I am thankful to have been given a few friends to share this journey with.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We try not to run around too much during cold and flu season..but we do make the exception to see some close homeschool friends. We did that this week.

My favorite thing this week was… Watching my 1 yr old drag the Boppy pillow to the recliner and gesture to be put in it for some snuggle time with mama. Melts my heart!

What’s working/not working for us… 'Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons' is WORKING!! All the other phonics 'programs' especially K12...are NOT working!

Questions/thoughts I have… There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiasties 2:18

Things I’m working on… Prayerfully asking God to remind me what my priorities are in this stage in my life.

1 God
2 Hubby
3 Children
4 House
Nothing else needs to be on this list at this point in my life. This is it! I need to write this down and post it somewhere I can see it often!

I’m reading… Large Family Logistics. Love it!

I’m cooking… A lot of crock pot meals. The inspiration is from my friend Emily and my new crock pot. ;o)

I’m grateful for… Hot showers! Also, my amazing husband who supports me in this crazy life we lead while following God's will.

I’m praying for… A dear friend who has suffered a loss. :o(

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

She only has eyes for her Daddy....

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Jean Skirt Made Out Of A Pair Of Jeans

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

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I have been working on this skirt off and on for a few months now. I would get so far and then get preoccupied with other things..or get pulled away by one of the kids. I love re-purposing blue jeans! I have made purses, quilts and even a braided rug (which is not finished yet.) I made Sis one of these skirts back in the fall and she wears it often!

This skirt all started after I had Little Bit. I have lost over 70 lbs since I gave birth to her.(only 30 more to go!) I now weigh less than I did before I got pregnant with her. I went through my closet and threw out a lot of clothes. I only kept the size I was in and the size below that. Which just happened to be the size that had all my favorites that I couldn't bare to part with at the time. Well since these items were my favorites from before it means, I wore them a lot. They already had holes and I just made them worse wearing them more. I decided I couldn't stand to cut them up for a different project so I turned them into a new long jean skirt!

There are tons of tutorials on the net that show you how to make one of these step by step. If you are not much of a seamstress you can always buy one of these pre-made off of etsy.com. I have seen some beautiful ones over there.

What I love about these skirts is that they are all unique! No two are exactly alike. You can do just about anything with them. You can make them so they will fray or tuck all your seams for a more polished look.

Since this pair was already rough around the seams and had a hole in the back that needed patched..I decided to just go with the theme and make the patch and hems so they would fray later. :o) I will not be wearing this one out to dinner or to church. haha

My next one will hopefully be a nicer pair from the thrift store that I can finish nicely and wear to nicer places. But for now I am happy getting a little more life out of my favorite pair of jeans.

How do you re-purpose jeans? Feel free to share a link in the comments below.

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy
------------------------

The Family Closet

2012-01-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

When I first heard about a family closet I wasn't sure what to think about it. It sounded so strange..but then again a lot of things sounded strange to me at first and yet I am doing them now.

Putting everyone's clothes in the same closet? (or room depending on the size of your family) Then I did a little reading, it wasn't too long ago that families always had their clothes in one closet. But as society 'progressed' it became a sign of 'wealth' to have the need for a closet in every bedroom.
When we made the commitment, 4 years ago, to simplify our lives, we made a lot of changes. They were mainly monetary at first. Which then effected out home life. meaning, you spend less, you buy less, you use more of what you have. It then lead me to realize what we really do and don't need. So I started getting rid of things we don't need or don't use regularly. It has been a slow process. I have hit a few speed bumps along the way (Hubby doesn't like to throw things away) Plus it has been a learning experience for me as well. Things I thought I needed and tried to hold onto that have just made my life more of a headache. Well...lets just say I have learned a few lessons along the way. ;o)
One day, not too long after I had Little Bit, I walked into my closet (which was filled beyond comprehension) and decided enough was enough. I threw out everything that wasn't immediately necessary (that included anything that wasn't the size I was currently in and the one size below that.) I gave away 8 BIG trash bags of clothes! It was very refreshing. I thought I would miss it eventually...but I haven't missed a single item that I got rid of. I am even considering getting rid of a little more. Once you get into the process of simplifying and purging stuff that you do not need...it almost becomes an addiction. But for the sake of that sounding bad...We shall call it a good habit instead!

I recently was helping the children clean up their rooms and put away clothes. It occurred to me that having all their clothes in separate rooms was just making more work for me. Um HELLO..who needs that?! Washing the clothes, folding the clothes, having the children take them upstairs. Telling them to put the clothes away..only to find them unfolded in the drawer or stuffed somewhere inappropriate (ei. in a toy box. Oh come on like it has never happened at your house?)
So I decided then and there to combine their closets together and make my life a little easier! Most family closets are located near the laundry room. I considered this, but it is just not going to work with the way our house is laid out. When we add on one day I will be including a family closet in the plans
The best place for our house to have a family closet (at least for all the kids clothes) was in one of the kids' rooms. I actually chose the room with the smaller closet.
I thought the whole process would be difficult but it really wasn't. It was went together in just a couple hours.
I used one large dresser..each child has a dresser, that holds their pajamas, socks, underwear, and pants. The closet has outfits, shirts and dresses. They only have what they are currently wearing available to them.
It has saved me a lot of time! I fold their clothes and take it all to one place and put it all away. They still have to help put their clothes away, but now it is more stream lined.

I have been using the family closet system for almost 2 months now. We have worked out the kinks and gotten used to where everything is and where everything needs to go. I have to say that I only have one regret..I wish I had done it sooner! haha The clothes are so much easier to keep put away and I no longer find clothing items stuffed random places. Also, an added bonus, my laundry room no longer is piled high with clothes that need put away. Everything has a places and is put in it!

I know a few of my readers and friends have been waiting to see these pictures. (yes I am referring to you, Brandi ;o) I hope this helps you with your family closet.)

The entire family closet at our house fits into one regular sized closet and, one three drawer dresser. It surprises me just because before combining everything together it seemed I had issues fitting just Bub's clothes into these two areas. I guess there is a lot to be said for a little bit of downsizing and a lot of organization!

So ...here it is!

This is the dresser that is all fits into. There is a drawer for each child. I also stored Bub's hats and Little Bits shoes on top. The hamper next to the dresser is not for dirty clothes. It is used for clothes that are grown out of..that way items that do not fit can be added in while sorting or when I am searching for something for a child and realize an item will no longer fit. Once it gets full, I sort it into keep, give away and throw away piles. I also make it a point to go through the closet when this hamper is full and make sure I haven't missed anything that no longer fits or need thrown away.

This is a picture of the inside of Little Bits drawer. I set up each childs' drawer the same way. It helps to avoid confusion when the children are helping to put clothes away. The drawers are Socks/under things,pants (and onsies where needed) and pajamas.

Only shirts and dresses get hung up. Except for the occasional outfits that Sis has and of course Little Bits outfits are kept together on hangers as well. I sort the clothes oldest to youngest..and when I have a moment I like to sort them short sleeve to long sleeve as well. This does not happen often. ;o)
The shelf above the clothes is currently being used for extra sheets and blankets and the box is summer clothes that were worn this past year and I know will fit next year.

This is the bottom of the closet. It has two totes of clothes that do not fit yet, and one tote of legos that I do not let Bub have out all the time..they create too much of a mess to be out 24/7. So Bub has to ask permission and his room has to be cleaned up before he gets them out. I do not allow anything else to be stored in this closet. The children are not allowed in the closet or the dresser unless they are getting an item or putting something away. I let them drop their hangers onto the bottom of the closet when they are getting their clothes..it is fun for them and also makes them accessibly when I ask them to gather hangers when we are putting clothes away.

Well, there you have it. Homestead Mommy's version of the family closet.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

~I would love to see all of your family closets as well! Please feel free to add your link in a comment below.

~Gifts From God~

2011-11-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

BABIES ARE A GIFT FROM GOD!

Yes they change our, bodies, lifestyles, finances and our definition of sleep. Sure, sometimes they come at the 'wrong' time, are unexpected. Some people seem to think that the age of the mother or the circumstance should decide weather or not that baby should be considered a blessing or a curse.

However, the last time I checked, the Bible says that babies are a gift from HIM. That, He does not make mistakes and that His timing it perfect! So if these precious babies are a gift and God's timing is perfect, then how can a baby possible be at the 'wrong' time, or be anything less than a reason to celebrate!?

Babies do not chose their parents, the time they are born or even the circumstances they are born into. They just arrive, They are born with a yearning to love those who care for them. They do not understand hate, resentment or anger. All they understand is the need for love. When babies are born they love us unconditionally! And only ask for the same in return.

BABIES are a GIFT and they SHOULD be CELEBRATED!!!

~Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of the warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed be the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.~ Psalms 127: 3-5

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Healthy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

2011-11-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

I have been on the hunt for a healthy pumpkin muffin recipe for a while now. I finally found one. Well actually I made one up..haha. All of the ones I found were not very healthy so I adjusted a recipe I found. The kids really liked it. So it is going into the regular breakfast rotation.

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

you will need:

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup rolled oats (I had quick oats on hand, but you can use either)
2 cups white or wheat flour (or 1 cup of each)
1 1/2 cups sugar. (you can use less. I may only use one cup next time. and will probably experiment with brown sugar)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup applesauce (this was supposed to be oil, but applesauce is better for you)
3 eggs

Mix all ingredients together (the batter will be thick) pour into ,greased, muffin pans (makes 24 muffins)
Bake for 20-25 minutes. (Mine were done after 20 minutes)

Enjoy!

I read on a site a while back that when you bake muffins or bread with oats in it that you shouldn't leave it set in the pan to cool the entire time. Something about moisture making the oats soggy. So I took the muffins out not too long after I removed them from the oven.

Happy Fall!

Homestead Mommy

Making Room

2011-10-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

While I was searching the net to try and find new ways to store items. I came across this site. They are tiny houses! A tiny house is basically a living space with less than 700 sq. ft. Most of these tiny houses are ran by solar energy. Everything about these houses screams green! Plus almost all of them are built to be portable.
Do I want to live in one of these houses? Maybe one day..but for now it has been an inspiration for me. It just proves that it is not what you have but what you do with it. Which in turn has inspired me to find more ways to organize and store things in my own house.
If a family of 3 can comfortably live in 320 sq feet, then this family of 5 can live in 1600 sq ft. The issue with our house is that it was not necessarily planned with a lot of storage in mind. When we built this house we weren't planning on having more than maybe two children so we weren't concerned about it. In fact it didn't even cross our minds. Now that we have 3 children(with the prospect of more), are homeschooling and running a business out of our home, it is becoming a little more challenging.

So I am on a mission to tame the clutter and get every inch of this house organized. I have plans in the near future to make some big changes around here. hoping to instill a family closet and also expanding our pantry storage areas. Plus reorganizing our school areas. So stay tuned for more posts in the future. I have already started making small changes to our lives over the summer.Small things can make a big difference. They save, time, space, energy, and money.
I also found this blog while doing some more searching..it is awonderful family of 11 is living in 1100 sq ft. This mothers organizational skills are just amazing. I hope to acquire just a small amount of her skill in my adventure to maximize the space in my own home.
But first I have a question.. how do you save space in your home?

Blessing!
Homestead Mommy

4 Layer Pumpkin Cake Recipe

2011-10-02T15:26:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have gotten to do very much baking. I enjoy all forms of cooking and baking..and I now have little helpers that are actually old enough to help! YAY!
Sis loves to help me in the kitchen. She loves to bake. Bub likes to help cook more than bake, but always helps me bake apple pies. I love that my kiddo's are old enough to start helping out in the kitchen.

I have been wanting to break out my cake pans and try some new recipes. There is something about Fall that makes me want to bake! It also makes me want to quilt and make apple butter!
Sis and I decided to kick our Fall baking off with something festive..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 Layer Pumpkin Cake

You will need

1 pkg (2 layer size) yellow cake
1 can (15oz) pumpkin, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, divided
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tub cool whip topping, thawed
1/4 cup caramel topping
1/4 cup pecans.

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Beat cake mix, 1 cup of pumpkin, the milk, oil, eggs a,d 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice in large bowl with electric mixer on medium until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 28-30 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Beat cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and remaining pumpkin pie spice, mix well. Stir in the whipped topping.

Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife. Stack layers on serving plate, spreading the filling between the layers. (Do not frost top of cake) Drizzle with caramel topping and pecans.
Store leftover cake in fridge.
Serves 16

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I forgot the cool whip at the store and had to leave it out. I did not add the nuts, so Little Bit could have some too.I also did ice the top of the cake so the pumpkins and corn would stick to it. This was my first 4 layer cake, so it is leaning to the side just a little :o)
I let Sis do the decorating, she likes pumpkins!
It tastes amazing and a millions times better than it looks. haha
Everyone in the family gave it a big thumbs up. I will most definetly be making it again soon!

Fall is such a fun time of year! Later this week Bub will be helping me make an apple pie!

Happy Fall!

Homestead Mommy

Perfection...The real deception.

2011-09-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

We all have done it on more than one occasion...I know I do it. I hate that I do it and wish that I would just get over it and stop doing it.
What am I doing??
Looking at other women or moms or couples and wondering why am I not like that? Why aren't hubby and I like that? Why don't my kids act like that. It is a really bad trap. I leads to a lot of guilt!
My worst trap is when it comes to other moms who seem to have it all put together. Their house is always clean, their children are spotless, and the mother's themselves look like they just came from the spa and a week at the beach...every darn time I see them!
I tried to be one of these moms one time. It lasted for a few months then I got burnt out! I discovered something about some of these moms shortly there after. The whole thing about these moms is that they 'look' put together, they 'appear' to have it all figured out and their children 'seem' to be great. Upon further inspection and actually getting to know some of these moms...they aren't any better than me or any other mom. They are just doing their best to get by. Or worse they have even bigger problems than I do.
The glimpses we get of people when out and about are just that...glimpses.

We don't know what their real lives are like. The mom that looks amazing everyday could be someone who has a lifelong struggle with an eating disorder, and is convinced she will never add up. That other mom who's house is always spotless, does it because her husband is verbally abusive and doesn't want to get yelled at again. Another mom who has absolutely everything..could really be the mom who is terrified because they can't keep up the payments to maintain 'everything'.

It is all about the deception of perfection.

No one is perfect and we all fall short. Maintaining perfection is impossible. I am happier living up front and honest than trying to convince myself and everyone else that I can do it all. I am not super mom. She doesn't exist..is she did she either died of exhaustion or is in a mental institution. (I know of a few people who ended up there because of trying to be 'That MOM') It starts to sound more like an a cult than a perfect being.

But then again I think it is all more of how we look at it.

A lot of women like to talk about striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Have you checked this woman out? She is pretty perfect. She buys lands and sells it, she never worries about the cold months because she has gardened, canned, sheered the sheep and made new clothes for, not only her family but also all her servants.She teaches her children. She cooks, cleans, is the perfect wife and mother.

Now don't get me wrong..I am all for striving for the Biblical example of a perfect wife. However I think people over look something, Proverbs 31 is a glimpse! Just a small glimpse of what this woman is really like. Oh I'm sure she is just as amazing as the Bible describes..But I am rather certain that she is not as perfect as some, of the people who tote her perfectness and try to be like her, realize.

Like I said. it is all about the deception of perfection. I am not saying that I think the Bible is trying to deceive us. I am saying that I think the Bible is offering us the best example of a Godly woman. Not instructing us to be carbon copies of this illusive Proverbs 31 woman.

God doesn't make robots..I am sure this poor exhausted woman on more than one occasion threw up her hands and said let the sheep sheer themselves! Let the children run wild! Plus unless that garden is in her mind..I am more than positive that it had weeds in it from time to time. There had to have been evenings where she said 'Honey, I'm too tired to cook,let's order some mana to go'

Like I said the deception of perfection...

We as mothers all too often strive so hard to be the mother of perfection. Our children see us do it and learn to do the same..Just as most of us watched our own mothers and learned from them..or we watched our mothers and vowed to never be like them. The Perfect mother does not exist. The perfect wife does not exist. The perfect woman does not exist.

However!

God is perfectly perfect in every way. He covers all of our imperfections. In His eyes we are perfectly perfect just the way we are. Yes, He wants us to strive to do our best and to work toward being like that illusive proverbs 31 woman. He knows we will have days where we fail and are less than perfect. He expects it. In fact...that's the way He made us.

I am so thankful that I serve a God who knows I am not perfect and yet loves me anyway!

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

The Cloth Diaper Experiment Part 1

2011-07-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try cloth diapers since Sis was a baby. Hubby had some preconceived notions about it, and it took me this long to talk him into letting me try it out.

To be honest the idea of cloth had always intimidated me. Not so much using them as making them. There was no way I was gonna buy them when I could make them myself and save even more money. So I started researching. To be honest I have been researching since Sis was a baby. There are so many helpful videos and blogs out there!
After doing a lot of reading and talking to a few mama's about their experiences and doing some serious thinking about what would work best for my baby girl...I decided to go with a Pocket Diaper, it is a pocket diaper that you put the absorbent pad inside. I got the pattern free online at this site.

Once I found the pattern it was time to figure out the fabric. There are so man different fabrics and opinions out there. Making cloth diapers can be a cheap or as expensive as your want. I know a gal that used this site to make them out of t shirts without sewing. I have also found ladies who make them out of the top of the line organic hand woven so expensive you can forget college kind of fabric. Plus a multitude of fabrics that fall in between.
So I sat down and ask myself what I really needed and what was important to me.

1. I was doing this to save money, so I wasn't going to go into a great deal of cash making them.

2 I wanted ease of use and did not want excess leaks.

3 I am not a fan of the huge bulky diapers...yes yes I know. That is what most cloth diapers are. But I knew there are other alternative out there.
So once I thought this through and looked at the budget I then began searching for the perfect fabrics that would work.

-I had heard a lot about Minky..some people claim it to be the wonder fabric. Amazingly soft and is supposed to wick moisture very quickly.

- Flannel...who doesn't love flannel?? It is soft and absorbs moisture

-PUL, This amazing plastic coated fabric works great as a middle layer or as an outer layer.. or even made into a cover. It isn't thick at all and does the job of many layers of micro fleece..without the bulk. Plus it comes in some of the cutest patterns I have ever seen. Polka Dots anyone??
It can be a little more expensive but if you wait for a sale or use a coupon it really isn't that bad.

-Micro Fiber Towels. OK. I know you have all seen the commercial for the Sham Wow. It is basically a micro fiber towel. Those suckers can absorb a ton. Plus you can buy them in bulk at almost any super store. Heck you can even find them at Auto Zone.

*Just as a warning, It is not wise to use micro fiber towels directly next to babes skin. It can absorb the moisture out of babies skin and cause a red rash and in some cases even cracking and bleeding.*

There are obviously more fabrics out there. These are the ones that worked with my budget and that I heard good things about.

You will also need a few other items to finish your diapers.

- 1/4 inch elastic for the back and around the legs of the diaper

- Velcro or snaps *I chose velcro, it is cheaper and goes on really quickly. I have heard some people complain that the velcro eventually looses it's sticking power. I have made sure have my velcro tabs closed while washing and drying and haven't had any issues yet. I would eventually like to try the snaps. They require snap pliers or a snap press. They can last longer than velcro..however I have a friend who uses cloth diapers with snaps and she said it is a bit of a hassle getting the diapers snapped on the baby. Velcro is quicker.

a sewing machine and thread is of course necessary.
There are so many ways to make diapers and so many patterns out there. I encourage anyone interested in cloth diapering to look around and see the options out there.

Once I gathered my supplies I got to sewing. I made 9 diapers to start. I was quite please with my products.

Then is was time to try them out....

Simplifying Part 2 The Theory of Three

2011-06-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

(I realize this picture has nothing to do with the topic of the day. I actually forgot to take a picture while going through their rooms.OOPS!)

*****************
I know that I said we would be doing VHS storage next, but I had to be able to get into Bub's room to be able to store the VHS tapes.

I have three children...and enough toys for 10 children. We don't buy toys all that often and I know for a fact that my children have fewer toys than the average child. It still seems like an overwhelming amount of toys.
Bub and Sis are getting a little older now and seem to know what they like. So I invented the Theory of Three. You can use it all throughout your house and life. It works amazingly with toys!

I told both of the kids that they had to choose their three favorite types of toys (barbies, baby dolls, transformers, cars etc.). Once they picked their three, they had to sort all their types of toys and box up the types that they didn't choose. After that task was finished they then had to pick a certain number of each type of toy. Unless the type that they chose either didn't have very many, or had a set number to the set. Such as Sis's My little pony's..she has 5 and a handful of accesories. She got to keep the whole set. However with other items such as baby dolls and transformers. There are enough of them to drive mommy crazy and more than enough for one child to play with at once. So, there is a certain number set on these types of toys...usually a multiply or three..3,6,9...or whatever works for your family.
The rest are boxed or bagged up with the other types of toys.
They are allowed to switch between the types or kind of toys they have out at any time. However..their room needs to be clean when they ask and they have to put another type of toy away before getting another out. Or if they want different transformers or dolls then they first have to chose which ones get put away. It also helped to let them choose because then it wasn't all on Mommy to decide. They got to choose so they were happy with their decision. It couldn't be pinned on mommy later. Just a small lesson in learning responsibility and living with ones choices.

The Theory of three has saved my sanity! Plus their rooms are staying cleaner. Before we went through toys they would pull everything out looking for something and end up with a mess and never playing with anything. Now I can send them upstairs to clean their rooms and it is clean in a matter of 15 minutes..where as before I would send them up there and they would be there for an hour and it would still be a mess.
Now their rooms are clean, my living room is less cluttered and there aren't toys strung throughout my house. They keep them in their rooms or bring them down to play and then have to put them back when they are done.
My living room has breathed a sigh of relief..and so has Mommy.

Since doing this I have had a lot more time on my hands and have also done a lot less yelling about toys. Also...my house is staying cleaner! ;o) YAY!

Our lives are not meant to be filled with clutter and mess. We can't enjoy our lives if we are surrounded by mess and clutter 24 hours a day.

Well I am off to find something else to organize..probably about time to tackle those VHS tapes (aka the thorn in my side) Then there is the sewing corner to organize and the bedroom to redo. It is gonna be a very busy summer.

Until Next Time!

Homestead Mommy

Simplifying Part 1 Dvd Storage

2011-06-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well summer has officially started. There are Popsicle wrappers everywhere and the children are beyond exhausted by 9pm. There are flowers and vegetable plants growing and the sprinkler is perpetually running

After some reflection and a long look at my life and my house. I have decided to make some changes and simplify my life and housework. I noticed that with each child added to our house it is getting harder and harder to keep up with my house and my kids. Considering these things go hand and hand I figured we should get a handle on it now..before we add to both situations. I sat out to do some research..I googled a bunch and also asked some awesome moms over at the large family everyday life group on cafemom. I asked them their secrets to keeping things organized, simplified and just generally cleaned up. I am doing this for my family and myself.
If we have fewer messes to clean up, we have more family time. Mommy does less yelling about messes and more playing in the yard and reading books. Plus I can't take anymore of the constant messes. So I invite you to come along on a journey with me this summer.

A journey in an attempt to simplify our lives and maybe if I am lucky I will find my sanity!

Part 1 DVD storage

Since we decided to not have cable or satellite a few years ago, it has been nice. But we have accumulated a lot more movies in that time. We used to store them on the entertainment center. Then hubby upgraded to a flat screen and we had to get rid of the entertainment center (not something I was too pleased about)Hubby has planned to make an entertainment center to hold the new TV. However he has been so busy with our new ventures that he hasn't had much time for wood work. It has been put on the back burner for some time now. Since we have been waiting to get that done. I had been storing the DVD in a small entryway closet...along with the shoes and coats. As you can imagine it is quite frequently a mess. Someone gets in there to get a movie, pulls out 15 and doesn't put them back. They were getting mixed in with the shoes and getting scratched. Not to mention that this is right in front of the front door. So it was is always a mess!

Also..our DVD player was always covered with DVD cases and DVDs being left out.

I was wracking my brain trying to figure out a different place to put the shelf. I didn't want it out in the open, it would look cluttered all the time and I wanted to avoid even more mess. I couldn't figure out what too do. Then someone on the cafemom group said..(as if everyone knew this)...'you still leave your movies in cases?' Well of course doesn't everyone? Then I was shown this whole new world!

A world without DVD cases or cluttered up shelves! A world without searching for a certain movie only to open it and find the movie missing!

A zippered storage case! At first the slight OCD/hoarding side of me popped up and said 'You can't throw those cases away! What if you need them??!!' Once I asked a few more questions and cleaned up the messy closet a dozen or so more times I was more than ready to toss those plastic cases in the trash!

Then the organized/simplified side of my took over and I have to say...I am in love!

(Can you hear the angels voices? It is magical!)I kept the paper out of the DVD cases I may eventually throw those away as well. Baby steps...lol

All of our DVDs fit into one case with tons of room to spare! It is organized, simplified, and oh so small to store! The DVD case was $29.99 at office max. It was the best deal I could find in my area. Probably could have found a slightly better deal on line. But I was desperate for a solution. I also looked at walmart, they had one. But it was kind of crappy and was even more money. So for once Office max was the better deal. I was extra excited because I had a gift card!

The best part!?!?

This is what I got to throw away!

I may just have to do this with our Cd's and Wii games too!
You may be asking yourself what do we do if the kids are sleeping over at grandmas or we are going somewhere and want to take movies with us. We have a smaller zippered case(a CD case) that we can just throw into our bag. It really has simplified out lives!

How do you save space? how do you simplify?

Until next time!

Homestead Mommy

****Up next? VHS storage.. :o)

Holy Cow!!

2011-04-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

'HOLY COW that's a lot of COW Mommy!'

We finally jumped in and ordered 1/4 of a cow off of a local grower. After watching food inc. we have been increasingly concerned with what is in the food we purchase and feed our kids. The guy that grows and sells these fellas lives about a mile from our house. He even offered to let me come and inspect and pet my cow before he sent it to be butchered. However once he also told me he was taking the last 1/4 that hadn't been claimed yet... I figured we would be good.(We have been trying to find a grower that raises all grass fed cows but have only been able to find grass and grain fed. Considering this is so close to home..we think it is the healthiest choice.)

I picked up our cow on Friday. About 100lbs of it.(He was heavy) I am so excited! (Yes I get excited about buying dead cow ;o) It was cheaper per lb than the cheapest ground beef at W@lm@rt. This being our first cow purchase, I was surprised at the amount of steaks and roasts that came with it. Since this was kind of a delicious learning experience for us..we will probably have fewer roasts and more ground beef next time. We prefer taco's over roast at our house. But Hey you live and you learn and I am not ever going to complain about having too many beef roasts to eat.

Here it is..
This is what is safely tucked away in our deep freeze. We had some steaks on the grill two nights ago and it was def worth the effort and money. Plus we know that we are giving our kids the healthiest meat possible for our money and resources.

Once I got it all in the freezer I discovered that we could have fit a 1/2 of a cow in there if we had wanted to. With our growing family we might need to get 1/2 eventually. Our current deep freeze holds it all well. But we may have to upgrade when I finally get around to raising and butchering our own organic meat chickens. Also if the eggs hatch that Fiona has been setting on then, they will go in there too. She is sitting on 15 right now. That's a lot of roast duck!
Man, I hope non of my readers are members of PETA! ;o)

Blessings!
Homestead Mommy

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T22:19:00.001-07:00

Well Today was my favorite holiday!

EASTER!

1 Because it is the most fun without all the hoop la attached before hand.
2 Because it is Springtime and I love Springtime!
and
3. Well to quote my Dad 'Without Easter, Jesus was just a naked baby in a barn' hehe (Gosh I miss that man! He loved Easter too!) I am so thankful that Jesus died on that cross and rose again on the third day to save us from our sins. Easter is my absolute favorite holiday!

We collectively as a family try to keep all of our holidays simple. Not a lot of running an not a lot of fuss. We just go with the flow. We try our best not to do a lot of running on the holidays. So much less stressful that way. This year was no different than last year..except for one thing...'Little Bit'!

Well I harnessed my professional photographer side today and took a few pics.
I made Sis's skirt and Little Bits Jumper. I think I paid around $2.50 for all of it. Oh and the quilt in the background is Little Bits baby quilt that I finally finished. (four months later..yes I was slacking.)

Bub (almost 6) Sis (3 1/2) Little Bit (4 1/2 months)

I am not sure why but this is the first baby I have ever had that does not like to have her picture taken. She will be all smiles until I pull out the camera and than I get the dirtiest looks. She has done it since right after she was born. Hubby took a pic of her in my arms and she glared at him!

Yep! See there is that face again.

YAY! Finally got a pic without one of those scary faces!

Little Bit and Hubby. She thinks the world revolves around him!

Here is a rare one. I am in it. Don't get used to it. It doesn't happen often. ;o)

Of course after the picture taking is over, I take her outside and she is all smiles. I almost caught it this time! Plus you can see my garden in the background! I am starting to wonder if it is ever going to dry off enough to plant.

This face Cracks me up! I have never had a baby with so many facial expressions at this age. I am so enjoying her!

It has been so rainy here for this time of year. Today wasn't any different than we have had all Spring. We were very blessed though! It rained in the morning then cleared off for the afternoon. long enough to hunt eggs and play outside. Of course after the Easter egg hunt..the kids hunted for the duck eggs that our ducks just randomly lay in the yard. I think they had more fun looking for those!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Homestead Mommy

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Homemade Nightgown for $2.

2011-04-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well I finally found my best friend, and like with all other best friends we picked right back up where we left off.

Now that I seem to be resurfacing from the fog, of a very roughpregnancy and having a newborn in the house, life is starting to get back to normal. I am actually wanting to get back to the normal things that filled my days before life got flipped upside down.

But as with all other times when life goes off from normal it eventually comes back. Maybe not back to the original normal but a new even batter one than before. Probably doesn't matter anyways because by the time we get back to 'normal' we don't remember what the original 'normal' felt like. (can you tell I had caffeine today? ;o)
Any who..all of my frugal crafty readers will be happy to know I am back to spending time with Gus. I missed him and he missed me. We have a very head strong, hot and cold relationship. (His label says he does multiple layers of jeans so darn it he is going to sew multiple layers of jean! But that is for another post.)

Sis, my ever so fashionable tomboy has been asking for skirts and nightgowns. I was waiting to go to town to buy her some and then it occurred to me that 'Hey I know how to sew! Skirts are easy' (That would be one of my not so bright 'Duh' moments..don't forget the fog I mentioned earlier) So i went digging through my stash and found some cute fabrics that have been laying around just waiting for project like this. I just hadn't had the time or energy to use them.

To be honest it took me a few minutes to get back into the sewing frame of mind. it has been a while since I have sewn clothes. I have done quilts recently but it has been forever since I did clothes. Plus I did the most recent ones without patterns. Which makes them even funner but requires a little more thought.

I have a couple more project underway and even have a few more finished but I don't have the pictures on this computer. I will post them really soon.

So here you go.
Sis and her Tinkerbell nightgown.

I am going to have to make some more of them because i have to pry it out of her hands to wash it. Plus if it isn't clean by bedtime I get an ear full. I am glad she likes my handy work.

I have a few more skirts for Sis and also a jumper for Little Bit finished. Plus I am almost finished with Little Bits quilt..it matches Sis's quilt.

Yes life is getting back to a new normal. A normal with one more little mouth to feed and the amazing blessings that come with. Spring has started it wonderful cycle that will all to quickly fade into Summer. We are preparing the ground for this years crops and the projects we have planned for this year. Easter is in a few short days and we will be done with school
This is one of my most favorite times of the year! Enjoying it while it lasts.

Blessings!
Homestead Mommy

Oh I almost forgot to point out that I made the nightgown for less than $2. I caught the fabric on clearance at walmart super cheap. Even had a good bit of fabric leftover. Well probably make Little Bit something to match. Because we are cool like that.

I Misplaced My Best Friend

2011-04-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have misplaced my best friend...my Bible :o(
My Bible is very special to me for more than just the obvious reasons.
1. I read it everyday

2. It has all my notes in it..so just any Bible will not do.

3. Hubby gave it to me for Easter 7 years ago and love it.

4. It has an awesome purple cover on it that has saved it's existence on more than one occasion.

5. It also contains my favorite pen! Hubby and I bought these awesome gel pens a little over a year ago and 'somebody' keeps loosing his and tries to 'borrow' mine and pretend it is his. I am sure you are probably wondering why we don't just buy more pens?? Because it is funner this way! lol

I misplaced it once before and turned the house over twice before finding it again. I have a feeling that this time I didn't so much misplace it as Sis 'helped' put it away. Because the kids' Sunday school lesson book went missing with it.They were last seen together on the dining room table after church two Sundays ago.

Tomorrow morning I will be turning the house upside down (with the assistance of my little helper) until they both resurface..I can only go so long without my Bible.It is like coffee and chocolate. I can only go about 4 days before my head starts to hurt and I can't focus. Probably a good thing for the Bible habit..but not the coffee/chocolate one.

It is amazing how easily we get attached to items in our daily life..the little things that we don't notice until it has gone missing. Such as my bible..I can tell you that the page for Psalms 91 has been ripped in half and taped back in (courtesy of Bub when he was two. I read that passage over and over when my Dad was dying of Cancer.) I can also tell you that if you let it fall open on it's own it will open to Proverbs, my favorite book. I read a chapter everyday. It can really ground you in your life and remind you of what really matters. There is a pen scribble somewhere very close to Psalms 127:5. ;o) you have to read that scripture to understand my humor in the pen scribbling. (my house is becoming full of them and my poor bible is showing it) I am sure, pretty soon LittleBit, will be leaving her mark on it as well.

Well I hear LittleBit stirring...I am off to feed her and to bed myself. I have some Bible hunting to do tomorrow.

So I will leave you with this...

She found her toes! <3 4 months already. It is going too fast.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Preparing For RAIN!

2011-03-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well hubby and I finally decided, after much prayer, to go ahead and build our new garage addition to work toward hubby working from home. Our goal, Lord Willing, is to be up and running full time from home by June.
It has been a crazy ride the last two years since we decided to pray for the Lord's will in our lives. We have had amazing victories, suffered heartbreaking losses and been blessed with some amazing gifts. We praise Him in the good and the bad..especially in the bad. This new path we have ventured on has been so much more than we could have ever dreamed for ourselves.
Our original goal was to hopefully be starting to build this addition in 5 years, well our amazing God has done it in 2! We never dreamed that this would be happening now.

Yes being self employed is going to be rough..but God never said following Him would be easy. He never said we would have everything handed to us, He never promised all the riches in the world.

He did promise, to never give us more than we can handle, to walk with us every step of the way, and to provide for us like He provides for the bird's..they don't ask Him where their next meal is coming from..so why should we? He also promises that if you follow in His will then you will be amazingly Blessed! (Yes I am paraphrasing again, you know me ;o) So why wouldn't we want to take steps to follow what has been revealed to us as His will?

I like to think of us as being similar to Noah..He had no idea what rain was, but when God told him it was coming, he started preparing! So this my friends is us preparing for RAIN!

We are praying for rain at our house!

'Showers of blessings, showers of blessings we need...mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead!'

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

The Laundry Deal..

2011-03-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

OK I have confession to make.. I have not made my detergent in over 8 months! Yes horrible I know. But I got so far behind with the baby that I couldn't keep up and hubby put his foot down and made me buy some Tide. Then one box of Tide turned into two and then three..well you know the drill.

I was planning to go back to making my detergent, really I was...but then I discovered COUPONS! (she says with great joy and exuberance) And I just happened to stumble onto the most awesome deal. I got all of these detergents.....

...for $.99 a bottle. There is enough here to last over a year! I paid $28.40 after tax.

I understand how this little 'hobby' could become addictive for some people. Hubby is already joking that I will end up on that couponing show by next year and then in five years I will be on hoarders! Thanks a bunch hubby..love you too.
But, I really can see how this could be a real problem for some people. I had four $3 off Purex detergent coupons and I stumbled onto the sale at CVS..they had this size bottle for $3.99. Well I used my 4 coupons and later that day when I got home I got to thinking. 'how cool would it be if I had more of those coupons?' Well then I got to googling..(FYI googling can be very dangerous)..and the next thing I know I am on a bidding war with someone on ebay for 15 more of these coupons. (Remember I said I understand how people get hooked on this? This would be why) I ended up winning the auction. Then I had to tell hubby what I did. He was less than thrilled..I don't think it was so much because I got carried away on the auction but because I was bringing home 15 bottles of detergent. He finally came around to the idea. Not that he could really say no..if he did it would just waste the money I had put into the coupons.

The best part is that, when the coupons came she sent me 5 extra. I had 20 coupons! I was like a kid in a candy store. Sadly CVS didn't have enough in stock so they had to order it in for me. I went in today and picked it up.

Is it a little crazy buying a years supply of detergent all at once? Yes, maybe. However I know have a years supply of detergent, it cost less than $30, I don't have to worry about buying detergent again for a whole year and last but not least I don't have to make it ;o) Oh and Purex smells amazing and cleans great.
Now I just have to find room in my closet to store it all. ;o)

Happy Couponing!
Homestead Mommy

Breast Is Best...But Don't Tell The Children!?

2011-03-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Ok I rarely get up on my soap box in here but this homeschooling, homesteading, exclusively breastfeeding mama is fired up today!

The big thing hitting the news and all over facebook this week just happens to be about the new breastfeeding doll.
Apparently people are giving a big thumbs down..I am not too shocked just because this is how our society has become. It is ok to sell a Barbie in a bikini and tattoo's but it isn't ok to sell a baby doll that it designed to do one of the most natural functions in life. It is being reported as being dirty, nasty and that it is too sexual of a toy.
This truly sickens me. It is no wonder that our new mothers are as confused as they are. We push baby dolls at them when they are younger, with bottles and talk of parenting and full time jobs and college. But then when these poor little girls grow up and start their own families they are torn between the childhood expectations and the now same people from younger years pushing at them.. BREAST IS BEST! So these new mothers are now not only seriously confused and floundering around in this always new and challenging world of motherhood. They are also guilt ridden with controversy.

We are truly living in the age of hypocrisy!

Yes, I am sure that right about now some of you are saying..'No That I am taking this too far.' But actually I feel I am not. In case people haven't notice by now children learn what they live.
That is why at our house..my children don't play with pretend credit cards.. they play with pretend money and coupons. Likewise when my daughter sits down beside me while I am nursing her little sister and starts nursing her baby too..I tell her how good of a mommy she is going to be. Yes, I have bottles in my house(for my real infant and Sis's baby dolls) and yes my infants gets a bottle of expressed milk on occasion. To be honest I am probably one of the least extreme in my voicing breastfeeding opinions. I never tell a mother she is wrong for choosing a bottle. I understand that sometimes those circumstances come up and it just isn't going to happen.

In the society we live in today they have taken the most natural most efficient healthy way to feed a baby and turned it into something dirty and expect us (lactating mama's) to be ashamed of choosing to do what is best for our infants.

I refuse to tell my little girl she is not allowed to copy me because it is dirty..because it is not. Also how are we going to look these little girls in the faces when they are older, after telling them not to do it and tell them to do it once they start their own families?! My little girls are more than welcome to choose for themselves when they get older. I hope they will choose breastfeeding.

The society we live in has some serious flaws when it comes to this and many other subjects. I choose to teach my children what is right and will not have them thinking it is bad or dirty or any other number of things that society wants them to believe.

I think history has shown us that the quickest and most efficient way to change the future thinking of society is to change our kids. I am standing up and making a choice to change societies thinking on this subject and I am changing my children's future,one Breastfed baby at a time!

So I ask all of you, my readers...
Is it really ok to tell these little girls that doing this is bad?

Because all these little girls are doing is aspiring to be something all little girls dream of someday becoming...GOOD MOMMIES.

OK I am now stepping down off of my soap box..Thanks for listening.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Homestead Mommy

~WARNING~

2011-03-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

Just thought I should warn you all that I have gotten into couponing. It is my new favorite hobby and I will most definitely be blogging about it!
I started in January and have already saved hundreds of dollars and snagged tons of free stuff!

Also to brighten your day!

Somebody wanted to say hello!

Guess who tried cereal yesterday?!

Have a wonderful day!

Homestead Mommy

Our New Baby Girl!

2011-03-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

Our New Baby Girl made her appearance to the world on December 2nd 2010..@ 5:45pm.

After 11hrs of labor and 4 1/2 minutes of pushing.

6lbs 8oz and 19 1/2 inches long

She is now 4 months old..and is such a joy to have in our lives! She is very laid back and sleeps all night! After a rocky start and some issues with weight gain. she is now nursing like a champ and is chunking up.

She was definitely worth the 37 week of morning sickness and 12 weeks of bed rest. She is such a precious gift to our family.

Sorry I have been gone so long. I am hoping to catch everyone up and stay on top of it from here on out.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy <3

Make it Pink!

2010-08-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

My friend is having her first baby this fall. She is having a girl. I told her I wanted to make her a blanket and asked what she would like. She didn't have a lot of specifics as to what she wanted, but she wanted PINK! Pink is her favorite color and having a girl just let her Pink side loose!
That is Ok with me,I like pink!

I had a baby quilt that someone made for me when I was pregnant with Bub. I liked the pattern but not the colors. So I did what any quilter would do..I changed it!

So here is the new version if the quilt...

I think I accomplished the pink part just fine! LOL

I posted this picture to another site I am on and two people wanted to buy one exactly like it. Heck! I wouldn't even know where to start with selling these things. Especially how much to sell them for.

So for now I will just stick to making gifts for friends and family. Makes life less stressful. And isn't that what it is all about anyways? Enjoying your time and the people in your life the simple way.

From my sewing desk to yours!

Homestead Mommy

The Front Porch (Part One)

2010-08-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

When hubby and I set out to build this house we could never decided on how big to make the front porch. We spent most of the time we dated on my parents front porch swing. I grew up on my parents front porch, it is where life happened at our house. That is how we wanted it at our house. So after much discussion we decided to go BIG!

Since we decided to go big, and we do these things debt free..that means we have to do this a little at a time. So over the last three summers we have built the deck on. But this year! Oh this year, We are covering it!

This is what he had done earlier in the Spring/Summer.The Lord has blessed my husband, he is quite the craftsman! He built the house, garage, playhouse, half the furniture in the house...well you get the idea. But this..

This is going to be his masterpiece!

The goal is to have the porch covered and the shingles on before late fall...

Lord willing it will be done!

Until next time!

Homestead Mommy

Following Daddy's Lead

2010-08-01T03:51:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I have been together for ten years, and married for almost 9.
He is such an amazing man. Yes I know, I poke fun at him sometimes on here. But I wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't here for me and the kids.

Yes, we have our days, of frustration, and even sometimes anger. But that is alright. the Lord never promised that two becoming one would be easy. But I like to think we get closer to it every year.

As much as us women like to think that we are in charge and, know everything we are doing at, all times. LOL There are times quite to often that we must do as the Lord instructs and follow our husbands lead for our families.

When I first became a mother, I read every book known to man about raising kids. I was a "professional", in the book sense. Since I had read all the books and hubby hadn't I just stepped in and took the role of care taker of the family.Because I had to know more than him! Right? I didn't let him do much or have much say.
*Now please let me clarify that I feel the wife should be the main caretaker of the children and house. That is how it instructs in the Bible and I truly and whole follow it, to my best ability.(except for the trash...I am pretty sure it says somewhere in there that all men should take out the trash ;0)

But I found out later that I had made quite a mistake. Sometime after Sis was born. Hubby started stepping in. Not in the sense of changing diapers and the such. But more in the sense of raising them. And I have to say that I like our lives better this way! I am not as up tight and hi-strung about everything now a days. My husband has taught me that there is so much more to life than I was seeing. He can get in the floor and play with them without worrying about anything else in the world. Which is amazing because sometimes I think the man has the whole world on his shoulders.(Maybe he is just a lot better at casting his cares on the Lord than I am.)

He has taught me to just enjoy our children, which I think for a mother is hard to do sometimes. Because it is all to easy to fall into the "have to do" trap. Now mind you I am all for schedules and routines, and hubby is to, to an extent. But he also knows how to just let go and go chase frogs until an hour past bedtime. I used to get so upset when he would do things like this. It threw everything off. Then I realized that this is time that we will never get back.

It is alright... If the children don't go to bed on time every night. If they stay out chasing frogs until 10 pm. If they don't sleep in their beds all night every night. To stay up and watch movies and eat popcorn. To drop everything for the day and spend it running parts with Daddy. To have Daddy declare a do nothing day, or a go out day.

Because all to soon...

when they grow up!

They wont want to do these things with us.We only have these little ones for a short time. Yes, the Lord has instructed us to bring them up in His ways. However, He never said it had to be at home for a certain time everyday! It took me a while to figure this out. I may have never found it out, if my husband hadn't taught me.

I do Bible lessons with the kids quite often and I try to incorporate it into our everyday lives. We also as parents try to live a Godly example for our children. But to tell you the truth I think our children learn the most from their Dad! I can't tell you how many times after baths have been done that I will go looking for the kids and find them piled on the bed with their dad intently listening as he reads to them out of the Bible. It melts my heart. I asked him one time how he knew what to read to keep their interest so. He told he had no idea he just opened it up and read what he felt God wanted him too.

So, Yes, my husband has taught me a lot! He is an amazing dad!He has taught me how to be a better parent. The most baffling part??? He has never read a book on parenting!

Praise God for my amazing man!

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

BOX DAY!!!!

2010-07-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

After much awaited anticipation the day finally arrived..For those of you who homeschool you know of this day as "Box Day"!
It is the day that the every so slow to arrive FedEx/UPS man pulls up in your driveway with all of your school supplies for the year! Cheers ring out from all the children in anticipation of opening them and finding the treasures that await inside!

Well that day for us was today! Part of it came earlier in the week. But the FedEx man brought the big boxes today! Our computer! We decided to go with an online public school for our first official school year. It is a great option for those of you that are worried about the financial strain of homeschooling and also all to complicated "red tape" of homeschooling in your state. It is getting harder and harder to homeschool, and not have the state breathing down your throat.
For those of you who are interested you can check it out at K12.com
So during this time in our life we chose this option. It seems like it is going to be a great fit for us, but then again ask me in 6 months!

Here is Bub with his boxes

Oh the fun we are going to have!

and of course we couldn't leave out Sis!

Oh Happy days of school are finally here again!

Homestead Mommy

Francesca Battistelli - Free To Be Me [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

2010-07-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of my my favorites songs! If I can ever find the song for my playlist it will be on there. But for now I will just post it here.
Enjoy!

Homestead Mommy

* Be sure to pause the music at the bottom of the page before you start the video.

His Will!

2010-07-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hello,
My blogger friends! I am sure you may have wondered where I went..well I have been kind of out of the ebb and flow of life for the last couple months. This baby has really thrown me for a loop!
I had morning sickness to beat the band! I was so sick for about 19 weeks and 1 day.. LOL It is now 19 weeks and 5 days and I am finally starting to feel human again. Praise the LORD!

It never ceases to amaze me how we can make plans and expect things to happen. But the only things that we can really plan and expect to happen in life is what is God's will for our lives. It has been about a year and a half since we started praying for God's will to be done in our lives. And let me tell you there have been some serious changes around here. Some expected and planned for and others...not so much.

For you see my friends you can sit and plan and hope and pray but sometimes the least expected will happen and it will be so much better than you EVER expected.
I had such big plans for this summer. Bigger garden, canning two times as much, adding flower beds, a trip to the beach, taking up my detailing business again.

But God...He has other plans. Sometime these plans frustrate me so..But in the end it is what is best for all of us.
The garden finally got put in but I was too sick to keep up with it. So I sadly after many tears and after many attempts to keep up with it had to let it go.

We are not going to the beach, I get carsick driving to the store.

And it is kind of hard to detail a car when your belly is a little too big to bend over inside the car.

All of these things are ok. I feel so blessed to have this baby on the way.
I am not a fan of admitting defeat... in any aspect of my life. The Lord has been teaching me a lot recently. He has been teaching me to learn to let go, to wait for his timing not mine, and to stop and be still.

I am not a big fan of letting go of things. Not at all. I like to be in control of my life and the things I am in charge of. Sometime you just have to learn to let go of things that seem important at the time.

I have bought a huge box of Tide, made way too many frozen pizza's, started buying store bought bread, and watched way too many movies lately. But all of this is ok!
Because this is a season, in my life that is going to involve a lot of compromises, and just getting by from day to day. My children have clean clothes on, everyone is still well fed, and very happy. The little things that I used to fill my days with that seemed so important are not as important as they used to be right now.
Don't get me wrong I am still very into saving money and making things from scratch, but for this season I am just going to have to focus on what has to be done.

If you all notice a bit of a shift in the nature of the blog for the next 6-12 months don't be alarmed. I will be back to saving money and posting recipes again someday. But for now I am just going to post about our lives and amazing changes God has made while we walk in His will for our lives. Be sure to follow along it is sure to be interesting!

In His timing!
Homestead Mommy

Also I thought you might like to get a peek into our lives as of lately. Since I have gotten so far behind!

Here you go: Summer 2010

Sis, she is growing up so fast! She is my little helper, folding laundry, filling my water glass, feeding the dogs. Always with a smile on her face.

I couple of our new additions! We got turkeys. We had four but our dog decided to eat our turkey dinner. So we now have three. A tom and two hens. We should have bitty's next Spring. Lord Willing!

Bub turned 5! Much to mommy's dismay. He is officially a big boy and is starting kindergarten at home in about three weeks! He has always been my child that worried me. He has an auto immune disorder, that flares up every once in a while. Which praise the Lord is not very often. As much as this young man can frustrate me when he does those things that boys do. I still love every minute of it. Because he is just being a kid and that is what I want most for him!

We ran away for a day to a historical farm a few counties away. They run a farm just like it would have been ran in the 1800's! They have draft horses that are over 7 feet tall. They garden,,can raise animals, thresh wheat. You name it!All the animal breeds they have there are types that would have been found in the 1800's.Our turkeys parents actually came from this farm. It was fun to walk back into the past for the day!

Run Chicken Run!

2010-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well hubby finally found the time to get the chicken run up for me. So I thought I would share some pictures with ya!

So for your viewing pleasure...we have the Chicken Barn!

Here is a picture of the run and my chickens, oh wait never mind those are the kids. We actually discussed closing them in there too. Might make life easier. But decided against it.

Here are my chickens and of course the ducks...I love my ducks.
One of them seems to think of himself as more of a dog than a duck. He wags his tale and blows bubbles in his water dish! Too cute. I think I may have been super lucky the day I randomly picked out my ducks. I think I ended up with a male and female. YAY! One is horribly loud and very annoying. The other is sweet and quiet.

It shocks me how much personality this little boogers can have. The white chicken is Sis's ..she named him "Turkey". Bub has a red one picked out as well. It is red and the only one with white feathers on it's back. He named it "white back feather" Yes, I know very original.

I love watching them in their new run. They are having a blast! I need to get a pool for the ducks...so they will stop swimming in the water bowls.

And an evening in the yard would not be complete without a little frog catching. Bub is afraid to catch them but Sis will pick them right up! Her uncle told her if she kissed it, it would turn into a prince. I took me a while to get her to stop trying to kiss them. Darn brothers...That's ok I will get him back. He has 6 girls, it will not be hard. But that is for another day!

This is Sis scaring Bub with the frog in the garden. She was supposed to be setting him free but was chasing Bub with it instead. Ah, sibling love!

Well I am off to get my veggie plants and probably some flowers as well.

Oh I almost forgot...Grand total for the entire chicken run was less than $50! I found the wire at a discount store and hubby picked up the posts at TSC. Not to much of a savings, well not until the eggs start rolling in!

Happy almost summer everyone!

Homestead Mommy

Unexpected Blessings!!

2010-05-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been gone so long! The Lord has been making BIG changes at our house recently!
As you may have read in one of my previous posts. We lost a baby back in February. Well after much discussion hubby and I decided to not have any more little ones for a while. We prayed about it and ask God for His will in our lives!

Well turns out His will was for us to have a baby! Less than a month after we lost our little one the Lord gave us another one!!

I was considered very high risk and was put on a lot of restrictions and also a few meds. After even more praying and hoping. I went in for my second ultrasound on Monday and there was a very nice heartbeat! The baby looks perfect! The Dr. said he is so confident about this one is going to stick around, that he is lifting my restrictions. I still have to take the meds until after the first trimester is over. But we are in the clear for now!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly and surely the Lord can work in our lives. Even when we least expect it!

So looks like #3 will be here shortly before Christmas. My due date is December 19th.

Thanks to all who have bothered to even check my site even if I am not posting and to all of my recent followers. I haven't been posting because I have been very sick with this one. I am struggling to even keep up with the kids and their schooling. Let alone get my garden in right now!

Slowly but surely it will get done! And I promise to write about it. I actually expanded and moved a bunch of stuff around and can't wait to tell you all about it! We are even getting some other new additions to the homestead sometime this week/weekend! I am not going to tell you what they are! I want to post pics! Let's just say that my homestead is going to the BIRDS!

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Embracing the 'Crunch'!

2010-04-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

I was on cafemom earlier this week and had an invite to a group. They said I would have a lot to bring to the group. I figured I would check it out.
It was a crunchy moms group!

I was flabbergasted! I had no idea that I came off as Crunchy!?!?! I joined the group just out of curiosity. ANd then went to call my friend Betsy..You remember Betsy. Well I was laughing and telling her that some people seemed to think I had crunchy qualities..And what did she say?
Betsy- "Well you do."

Again I was flabbergasted! I had no idea that I was like this!

Me- "When did "I" start acting CRUNCHY???"

Betsy- "Oh, um about a year ago.."

Me- "Why didn't you tell me? I am not Crunchy!"

Betsy- "Well, You kind of are. You make things from scratch and you home school and you garden etc. etc. etc."

Me- "That is just being country not crunchy!

But I got to thinking after some more chatting with her. She pointed out a few more specific qualities, that I thought was just good common since, and turns out makes me crunchy. She got kick out of it..I did not.

I thought I was country!
I think i prefer to be called country/old fashioned or even ferociously frugal..but Crunchy??

But after getting over the shock of finding this out about myself. I got to checking into the group I joined. I have met some very nice and informative women on there! I have also found a bunch of new things to save money on. These ladies are pretty awesome.

I am enjoying my new friends and new found information, but I am not so sure I am ready to embrace The Crunch!

Still "Country" for now!

Homestead Mommy

New additions

2010-03-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

There is a funny noise coming from my laundry room...
And it is not my new dryer.

Yep! It is chickens.
I went and got them last Friday, I had been waiting for TSC to get them in and had been calling all week. I just happened to be nearby there on Friday and stopped in to check. They had just come in that morning! I took these pictures the day we got them..That cute little one in the picture by itself has turned out to be a little bit mean. He may end up in a pot of noodles before the summer is over.

The one all yellow one in the top picture is the one Sis has claimed for herself. She has decided to call it 'Turkey'. Bub likes to look at them from afar. He is 4 and has hit that 'afraid of everything' stage.
I bought a dozen thinking that I would loose a few, but so far everyone is fine. And now I have way too many....

While we were at TSC Bub and Sis fell in love with the ducks... I did not get them because I figured Hubby would shoot me because I was bringing home chickens (I didn't tell him I was getting then) When hubby got up the kids were showing him the chickens. They were talking about how much they wanted ducks. Hubby turned to me and asked why I didn't get ducks. (I never in a million years thought he would ever let me get ducks!)
I went back the next day and got two ducks, but when I went back they had a sign up that said you had to but a minimum of six ducks or chickens. I didn't have my receipt to prove that I had bought a dozen the day before.
So I came home with 2 ducks and 4 more chicks.

So the grand total is now:
16 chicks and 2 ducks

But I think they were worth the extra chicks...

Aren't they cute?!?

I have never really considered raising ducks..but I have been looking into it a bit. Turns out they are just as useful and economical to raise as chickens!
They are a bit messier than the chicks though. They keep swimming in their water!

I am letting the kids think that the ducks are theirs but they are really mine. I am loving them! I have let them out a couple times and they will follow me around the kitchen. They are a lot more personable than chickens. I still like my chickens, but I am loving my ducks!

Hubby says that I am like a little kid when it comes to farm animals. That I am a little farm girl at heart. I just can't help it. Now I want some goats and a pond. Because ducks just have to have a pond!They will probably wind up with a swimming pool, but I can dream can't I?;)

It is so much fun to watch our little homestead growing every year. It is really starting to come together.

From the slightly noisier homestead,

Homestead Mommy

Simplicity

2010-03-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

My hubby made this for me last winter. It was to be a constant reminder for us to remember that we have made a commitment to live our lives simply and without debt.

It has been quite a roller coaster the last year and a half. Actually some days it feels like it has been longer than that.
There is a certain, comfort you take away from your life when you remove credit cards. It is like taking off your imaginary rose colored glasses. There have been moments in the last 18 months were I have turned to my hubby and said "I feel so broke!" When in all actuality we are not broke. Our bills are paid, we have our emergency fund, and slowly growing savings account, we have food, clothes and we are by no means going without. We even have enough left over to enjoy our hobbies.
Then hubby informed me. "We were always "broke" like this. It just didn't feel that way when we had credit cards to use whenever we wanted. Truth be told we are less "broke" now than we have ever been. Because we are no longer paying credit card or car payments every month."
As usual my hubby was right. (Just don't tell him I said so!) We are better off now. But there is still that lack of an imaginary cushion that will catch us if we fall. But in all reality that cushion was always imaginary. Because it was a credit card. Now our cushion, or better known as an emergency fund is there to catch us if we fall. Only this time it is real. It is not just a piece of plastic, with a huge interest attached to it. It is real money, you can see it, touch it, and even smell it if you want. (I wound not recommend smelling it and if you do touch it be sure to wash your hands. Do you have any idea where that has been?)

I guess the point I am trying to make is. It may seem scary out here in the middle of no where, in the world of no debt, but at least it is real.

So every night while I make dinner. I look up at that word sitting in my window sill and I am reminded that life really is better when you live it in simplicity.

Simply,

Homestead Mommy

Hubby has been busy

2010-03-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

My hubby has been busy! With working his full time job, working at home on the side and keeping up with the kids, I don't know how he comes up with the time to work in his wood shop. But he does.
This is the latest addition to the house.

He made this laundry room cabinet out of rough cut oak lumber. My hubby along with everything else he is good at, has been gifted with working with wood. He has made more things than I can count and is quickly filling up this house(that he built) with handmade items. He has even started replacing items. Such as old end tables and beds.
But I think that this cabinet is his finest work yet!
When I get a chance in the near future I will hunt around the house and take some pics of my favorite things he has made.
He will also be busy this Spring (which this includes me too) with finishing putting the roof on the wrap around front porch. It will be so nice to have that project finally finished! It has been a big project and doing it debt free means you have to do what you can with what you have when you have it.But it also makes it all the more enjoyable when it is done.

(Oh I also forgot to point out that my hubby only had about $11.00 in the entire cabinet. I think that is a great price considering it is all solid oak.)

Until next time!

Homestead Mommy

My New Hobby

2010-03-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

I have been sewing for a while now. I usually make clothes and pj's for the kids. Well last summer I had the privilege of becoming close to my hubbies cousin, Kara. She sews also, but she is a whole different breed. She quilts.
You may not think it is that different to sew clothes as it is to quilt. But it is so funny. I have learned a lot from her, and she has learned a good deal from me. You see I had only done clothes and she had only done quilts.
It has been a learning experience. I have learned to use a rotary cutter, How to iron seems the "right" way and how to make sure everything lines up just right.
Now I already knew how to do most of this with clothes but it is a completely different ball game with quilts. It took me awhile but I have decided that I love to quilt!
I have already finished a jean quilt(made from all of our old jeans) Sis's quilt which is pictured below, and two crumb quilt tops for the kids..(Kara is a stickler for everything being square and about had a panic attack when I told her about my crumb quilts.) I am now also working on an Irish chain quilt for mine and hubbies room.
I made the mistake of deciding to hand quilt Sis's quilt and to it took me about 4 months longer than it should have. I wanted to make it special just for her so I painted her hands and feet on it too. I have a friend that has an embroidery machine and she did all the fancy lavender stitching.

My next project is going to be a quilt for Bub. I will do the same with his feet and hands. I am enjoying my new hobby. It is fun and there are tons of ways to save money. And the best part is that the kids don't outgrow handmade quilts as quickly as they do handmade pajamas.

I also like the idea that they will always have these even when they have kids. Kara and I both have quilts that Hubby and Kara's Great grandma made. It is so nice to have a piece of that families heritage. I can only hope that my kids feel the same way about their quilts.

Happy Quilting!

Homestead Mommy

One in Heaven...

2010-03-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

When my world is shaking, Heaven stands. When my heart is breaking, He holds me in His hands...

This song has ment a lot to me the last couple days.Two weeks ago I had a secret that I almost couldn't wait to share. But that secret disappeared in just a moment of time.
I am speaking of a baby. I had #3 on the way. I was 5 1/2 weeks along. Yes I know it wasn't that long but it was long enough for me to fall in love. In love with that tiny being inside.

I have heard of other women and even know a few that have lost babies that early and even a little later. I remember thinking...it can't hurt that much to loose one that early. But I am now here to say that

'YES IT DOES HURT THAT BAD!!'

When I first started to loose the baby I thought OK this happens..I will be fine. I am fine to an extent. I have felt the Lord walking with me through this whole thing.I even felt him preparing me for it before it happened.I told my hubby about three days before it happened that something didn't feel right. He said I was just worrying too much, as usual.
The day it happened. I was almost beyond calm. One of my best friends told me I am strong. I am not strong..But God is amazingly strong!

The pain was worse than I thought it would be. It was kind of surreal..I was laying in bed reading books to my children, all the while knowing that I was loosing one of them. One I would never get the chance to meet.

Later that night. My two yr old ,Sis, crawled into bed with me and snuggled up close. (Hubby had told both of the kids earlier in the day that"mommy wasn't having a baby now")She had clearly been thinking about what she was wanting to ask me about.

Sis hugged me and asked, "Mommy, the baby in your belly did died. right?"
I said "yes sweetie"
Sis. "the baby is in heaven now? How did it get there?"
With out waiting for a answer she added. "Daddy took him right? Daddy took the baby up to heaven and gave him to God and Pap.Now Daddy is at work. He is a good Daddy"
(Pap is my Dad he passed four months before Sis was born. She has seen pictures of him and has heard about him, but we don't talk a great deal about him)
She then hugged me and said "It be Otay. The baby is with Pap and God"

I was a bit shocked at what she had to say. Mainly because I had not said anything to her about any of it. I asked Hubby the next day if he had said any of that to her. He said no that the only thing he had told her was that "Mommy wasn't having a baby now"

I am now a firm believer that God does speak through children. I also believe that children have a very strong connection with God and a very aware feeling of Faith.

It says in the Bible. That we should strive to have faith like a child.
It also says that God gives and also takes away.
(Yes I know I am horrible at quoting scripture)

I rarely question God. I am not angry about the baby. I learned awhile ago that it does absolutely no good to be angry with God. When my father passed a few years ago I remember feeling much like I do right now. Instead of walking my own path..I am being carried. Even in the most quiet times in my relationship with God. I thought He was not around, but I discovered that He was quiet because He was doing more work for me than with me.

I know this pain will get easier in time. I know my life will settle down again soon.
I am just looking forward to Spring. Warm days, green things growing, and the promise of new life...I know I will be fine again.

But while my world it shaking..I will hide in His everlasting hands.

For now,

Homestead Mommy

One of the many reasons Why I don't like Walmart

2010-02-14T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr stock man at walmart who hauled my new eliptical out to my truck today,
Thank you so much for obviously looking me up and down, running over my foot with your cart and then loudly declaring to the cashier and the gentleman in line behind me that You thought I would use it for two weeks and then give up!
Made ...me feel AWESOME!!!
Thumbs up to you Mr. Stock man, thumbs up to you!!!!

Homemade Nursing Pads

2010-02-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I didn't think of this when I was nursing both of my kiddos. Sure would have saved me a bunch of money. I am doing it if we have any more.

I was surfing the net looking for new ways to save money, and also for ideas of things to sew. And i stumbled upon this idea. Homemade nursing pads. Now we all know that breastfeeding is the cheapest and most nutritious way to feed a baby. But taking care of those money savers can cost a pretty penny if you aren't careful. A box of disposable breast pads can cost over $10.00 and half the time they are so thin that you have to double them up to even get descent protection.

You can buy the washable ones but they are over $6.00 a box for 6 pads. So After i looked up how to do it. I broached the subject with my SIL who is currently nursing twins. I said I wonder if you could use clothe burp clothes. She said "Oh I have a brand new pack. You can have them if you make me some"
She was very excited about the idea. Because those suckers are expensive!
SO i took the pack home and got to work.

I had to wash them and dry them so they would shrink..I didn't want her to wind up with cup coasters after she washed them.

I then folded the thinner sides in so I had one long rectangle. I then found my sons old bob the builder dvd that no longer worked. A pencil and my new scissors that i got for Christmas.(Thanks Hubby!!)

I traced the around the dvd and cut out the circle...

I then took them to "GUS" (I really need to introduce him to you) I sewed a straight stitch about 1/4 inch around the edge and then I trimmed the frazzled fabric. I then went back over the edge with a zig-zag stitch.

TADA! You know have homemade bonafied washable nursing pads.
(Silly me forgot to take pics of the finished product. I was in a hurry to get them back to my SIL. BUt I am happy to say that she was very pleased!)

I did a little more research and I found out that some people use old flannel baby blanket, burp clothes, new flannel, I think I even saw someone say something about fleece.(I would think that would repell rather than absorb but that is just my thought.

How much money did we save?

Well a pack of six of the name brand ones are $6.99 that is $1.16 a pad.
You can buy the 12 pack of clothe diapers for $12.99 and you can get 3 pads out of each diaper. That is 36 pads! More than you would ever need. But just for the heck of it lets do the math anyways.

If you use the clothe diapers to make them they would be $0.36 a pad.
That is an $0.80 savings per pad.
So if you were to make all 12 diapers into pads you would only be spending $12.99
But to buy the same amount of the name brand pads, you would be spending $41.92

That is a savings of $28.95!!

That is a huge savings if you consider the idea that you might have more than one child and you use them with each child. And..I didn't even add in the cost of how much it would cost if you used the disposable pads.
So if you think about it this way. You spend the money on the pads with your first child, then technically the second child is free. Of you could then cut the price in half and say you spent $0.18 a piece.
SO.... the more kids you have the more money you save... Hehe that is what I am going to tell Hubby anyways.

Happy Sewing!

Homestead Mommy

Hair highlighter for under $1.00

2010-01-31T11:51:00.000-08:00

I know that everyone at one time or another has said that they hate their hair. But I personally have a love hate relationship with mine.
When it is colored it is great. It lays right and I can go two days without washing it if need be. But when the coloring has worn out it is horrible! It is greasy just hours after I wash it, it is awful.
So I counter act this by having it highlighted. I would prefer not to have it done at all, but I have tried everything imaginable to dry it out. I have even washed it with dish soap. It helps a little but not enough.

I used to go and a lady in town that had a shop but she had since gotten out of the biz. So I looked around and even had a woman do it once but everyone is so expensive anymore that I choose not to afford it.
I tried the buy your own back in the summer and it worked well. but just walking through that aisle at the store gives me hives, at the thought of messing it up and ending up with neon green hair. *chills*

SO I went to my faithful and trusty GOOGLE! I typed in homemade hair highlighter. It came up with tons of responses. Since I am mainly going for the dried out effect I chose a recipe the predicted subtle highlights, it works best with light brown to dirty blond hair and it also cautioned that it could dry out hair...BINGO!!!!

I wrote down the recipe and went to the kitchen to whip it up. It is so simple.

You will need
- a spray bottle
-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ( I used bottled and I didn't have quite a 1/4 cup left.)
-1/3 cup vinegar (just one more wonder use for this stuff)
-1/2 cup water
Put these ingredients in the bottle and shake.

You are then supposed to spray in on your hair and comb it through. Making sure that your entire head of hair is wet. I did this and then wrapped it in a towel and sewed on a quilt for about 15 minutes. It says to leave it on no longer than 15-20 minutes.

Then you should wash your hair thoroughly.
Done!

It was very simple and I didn't feel like I was dying from the fumes. I did get a complaint from hubby who said it smelled bad. He hates the smell of vinegar. He complained even more when I did the store bought stuff so I guess he will have to learn to live with it.

Well here you go before and after shots.

it took me awhile to find a pic of myself. I am constantly taking pics of everyone else but not of myself. This is from when we put up the Christmas tree. It is the most recent.

This is after..

Please ignore the cray lady without make up. I hate taking my own picture.

After it was done. I noticed that my hair was extra soft...and didn't feel greasy at all. The highlights are very subtle, but I didn't leave it on the whole time and I also didn't have the whole amount of lemon juice. So next time I will be sure to try that. I have also heard that if you go out in the sun during the aloted time your hair will get even lighter. I guess it is the lemon juice that does the lightening.
I also read that if you have brown hair that the highlights can have a bit of a redish color to them. How fun!

Well you may be wondering what is the breakdown of the savings.

I am only going to estimate this and it will probably be too high.

lemon juice.. $0.25
vinegar.. $0.35
water... to cheap to even think about.
spray bottle..$0.97.
Which I am not counting the price of this because it will get used multiple times and for more than one type of use. I also use it when I am cutting the kids' hair.

So for $0.60 you can lighten your hair.
Now I know that it is not the drastic results that some people are used to. But I bet if you mess with the recipe and length of time you leave it on that you could get stronger results. It also says you can do it again very frequently to get more highlights.

SO it is simple, safe, fun, effective and super cheap...what more could you ask for in a hair highlighter??

Oh and just to point out the savings... A basic highlighter kit at W*l-M*rt costs around $9.00
So I just saved $8.40.
If I had gone back to the lady in town I would have paid $35.00. So I saved $34.40

I usually get my hair done about four times a year.

That is a savings of $137.60!! Now I call that a savings!!

How do you save money on hair care?

From the now blonder lady on the homestead!

Homestead Mommy

NEW Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe (powder)

2010-01-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

I have been making my own laundry detergent for over a year now and have saved a considerable amount of money. You can read more about that and my original liquid recipe here I liked my liquid recipe, but I have gotten really busy lately and upon occasion I have had my detergent flop..I am not sure why. I don't know it I am not getting it hot enough or if I am adding the different soaps at the wrong time. SO anyways I started looking into powder detergent.

I found a recipe I liked and have been messing around with the ingredients a bit..

Here it is..

1 bar ivory soap grated (or any soap you prefer, so long as it is not too fragrant)
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup purex2(or clorox2 in the powder form)

I am planning to double this recipe whenever I make it again. Also I like to add in some Zote along with my ivory, but I am out. SO in the future my recipe will include a fifth of a block of grated zote.

Put all of these ingredients on a bowl with a lid (mine fit nicely in a butter bowl) and stir...and stir some more. They say to stir for 5 minutes. I personally put the lid on the container and shook it for a little while.

Then you are done!

You only need to put 1 tbsp for regular loads and 2 tbsp for heavily soiled loads.

A few things I have noticed with this powder detergent..

- it is stronger then the liquid so you can use a lot less. You can even use less than the 1 tbsp if you are washing something that is not that soiled.

-It takes up a LOT less space on my dryer.

- It is much easier to mix than the liquid.

-It costs the same as the liquid..SO there is no monetary advantage to using the powder over the liquid..other than the first three points above.

- You also need to be sure to get the bar of soap grated up really well..If you have a food processor put it in there. I don't have one or I would have used it. If you don't get it grated up well it can occasionally have issues with dissolving. But that is mainly if you have big chunks

I like this recipe and am going to stick with it for awhile.

The breakdown... is much like the liquid detergent it comes out to right around $0.03 a load.

I saved well over $100.00 last year in detergent. It makes my life easier not having to buy something else at the grocery store.
And it is fun walking past the detergent aisle at the store and getting to giggle at all the people in there scratching their heads at what to buy.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I love to help people get started in saving money and making things from scratch.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Laundry Room Curtains for $1.00!!

2010-01-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

After I finished the living room curtains . I decided to reuse the panels that were originally in the living room.

All I had to do what split them up the middle and do a little hemming and viola....

Laundry room curtains!

I found the yellow material on the clearance shelf at W*l-M*rt for $1.50 a yard. I only used half of it. I already had the curtain rods just hanging around. I did have to have hubby cut them down for me though.
So there you have it.. Two sets of curtains for under $1.00.

How do you cave money while decorating?

Homestead Mommy

Living Room Curtains

2010-01-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well it was time..
We have been living in this house for over 3 years and it was time to finally make curtains for the living room. I had made panels to cover the windows until I could decide what I was going to do. I even considered buying ready made curtains. But I am too picky and way to frugal to buy them ready made. Especially since we wanted the room darkening ones.

As you can see in this pic..behind those adorable smiling faces..My curtains were lacking in the polished look to say the least.

After talking to a few friends who had done this before..and consulting my Joann fabric ladies. i waited for the darkening material to go on sale.. When it did I swooped in and got everything I needed and was able to make my curtains for the whole room for the price of one pre made one.

So here they are...

I still need to finish the pullbacks...But I was dying to get this on here to show them off.

We also had an issue of what to do with this little window next to our front door. Hubby* made me the curtain rods out of some scrap wood, and we talked about how much privacy we wanted. We have some people who will walk up and not knock and just look in our house to see if we are home. Creeps me out...!

So after some thought I came up with this. It still lets in lots of light and you have to try really hard to see in from outside.

I did two of the big windows, and the door. The room darkening fabric was a little intimidating..It was a lot of fabric and it was kinda heavy. I was a little nervous. It is also one of those projects that you don't want to mess up, cause if you do then you are out a good bit of money.

Have you ever been so proud of a project you wanted to cry when you got it done? Well this is one of those projects for me. I am very proud of them. I think they look as good as the ones you can buy from the Penneys catalog.

The best part is the price...

Here is the breakdown.

I got the cream colored fabric..on the clearance shelf at W*l-m*rt..for $1.50 a yard.. $13.50
The striped fabric I got at the local discount store.. $13.75
The red fabric came from M*l-M*rt... $15.76
The black out material was half off at Jo ann's .... $25.75
The curtain rods were... $ 16.00

SO the grand total comes to... $84.76!!

If I had bought something af the same quality at the store I would have payed roughly $200.00. If not more.
So just by estimation I saved over $131.24.

(this price does not include the little curtain by the window)

Now I consider that a good savings...well worth the wait and the effort put into it.

What do you think??

Thanks for stopping by!

Homestead Mommy

* No husbands were hurt in the making of these curtains...I did want to beat him when he changed the curtain rod pattern at the last minute though.

Homeschool Blessings!

2010-01-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was I was getting dressed for the day and hubby and the kids were just hanging around upstairs talking and joking. When all of sudden Bub started sing Jesus Loves me. I was enjoying his music when all of a sudden it hit me. If we were a "normal family" that sent their kids to public or even Christian school then Bub would not have been home right then singing about how much Jesus loved him...he would have been at school with strangers and a room full of kids. A room full of kids that probably didn't know how much that Jesus loved them.

We have only been officially homeschooling for a few months now, but we have been so blessed from this experience. We are planning to continue right on through high school.The kids have been learning from home since they were born, much like all other children but we have official gotten into letters. It is so much fun to be out at the grocery store and have your 4 yr old be pointing out all the letters and numbers he is seeing there. If we are watching TV "Mommy that is a B and a A and an X" He is learning faster than I am teaching him.

Sis is the same way, she is 2, so I am not "making" her do school but, she is with us when Bub is doing his. She is picking up on a lot. In the last couple months she has learned so much. Shapes and colors and even a couple letters!

I am shocked and so, so thankful that I have been given this amazing blessing to teach my children at home! They get to do school in their pj's and they love learning about the Bible as well. It is so awesome to watch their faces light up when they hear a new Story about Jesus and what he has done. (As I am typing this Sis is climbing into my lap with her Bible story book, saying "Read me my Bibie?" They love the story of Noah. *Ok I am going to read a story*

*Ok I am back!*
Yes there are some downfalls to homeschooling...such as the house stays messier, because we are all in it all the time...I am with the kids 24/7, which is ok but I have to try to make sure I get some occasional me time, which is usually an extra long shower or a trip to the grocery store alone.

Quite a few people ask me if my children are getting enough "socialization"..which I get very annoyed at. Yes my children do get to see and spend a good bit of time with other children. But that is not what children really need. I mean seriously, what idiot decided that the best environment for children to learn was in a room full of 30 other children the exact same age? With one semi educated adult...Yes I know you have to go school for 4 years to be a teacher. But did you know that you don't have to have a 4 yr degree in education to be a teacher?? And even the teachers that have gone to school for education, it doesn't mean they know what they are doing.

Any who... back to what I was talking about, between cousins, and close friends my children have more than enough friends to go around. I feel that the best environment for my children to learn is right at home with me. Right at the moment Bub's best friend is his little sister. They share a room, sit beside each other at all their meals, play games together, pick what video to watch, and learn together. Why do they need that much extra socializing when they have a friend sitting next to them all the time.

This year I will probably enroll Bub in the class or two, maybe karate or soccer. Or maybe even t ball this spring. Sis will probably go with her cousins to tumbling at the YMCA when she is old enough, or gymnastics. What ever my children choose to do we will do, with in reason of course. They will have friends, sports and a good education. But they will also have the extra freedom to follow other venues. Such as getting to pray at their kitchen table every morning before doing their work. Only having to do school for a few hours a day,(Right now it only takes us about 30-40 minutes to do our school and we cover more than most public schools do in two days.) then we have time to do other things. Such as art, playing the wii, going outside and playing in the snow, going to the park, swimming, bathing the dog, helping Daddy in the garage, helping me baking bread, helping plant a garden, feeding the rabbits, watching the birds outside(my kids love this), what ever they choose to do...

This is what works best for us. We love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

Blessings from our laid back homeschooling house to yours!

Homestead Mommy

* I should clarify that I am not saying that some teacher are not capable of teaching. I am just pointing out that in my opinion we should realize that teachers are not all that they are cracked up to be. I feel with the right materials, mothers can do just as good of a job if not a hundred times better. Think of all those kids who slip through the crack of the public school system, due to the "no one left behind" moto they have come to embrace. But that is for another post...

A decision made

2010-01-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Like I said in my last post, Hubby usually started our tomatoes and peppers in the house in January. Well with him working his regular job and working at home on the side. I have been doing homeschool with the kids, helping hubby with the paperwork for his home job, and everything else being a SAHM involves...we have decided that just this once, time saved will win out over money saved...(GASP!) Yes I know I am aweful. But sometimes you just have to say "NO".. Repeat after me "NO!"

We weighed our options with this one. If it was a guaranteed thing. Then yeah we would do it. But last year we started them in the house and lost the whole first batch...100 tomato plants. The second batch did better but after we planted them outside, we lost all but 12 of 100 plants we started. So lets recap 200 plants started 12 survived and we still had to buy some more. So like I said if it was a guarantee that they would make it then yeah we would go ahead and do it. But it is not and we really don't have the time that we did last year to devote to it. So we are going to buy our plants.

To be honest it has created a great sigh of relief for the both of us. We both like to grow them inside but we have been so busy lately we barely have the time to take care of the kids and the animals let alone some very helpless plants.

I am still beyond excited for this years garden! I learned a lot with last years garden. And I mean A LOT! I had some not so good things happen...such as the tomatoes and the cucumber plants that rotted at the ground at the middle of July(I think it was) We had a ton of rain followed by some super hot days and they didn't stand a chance. Lesson learned? The garden tends to hold more water on one side..so don't plant the tomatoes and cucumbers there.
I also had some great things happen...I grew my first rose, thanks to some garlic planted at the base and I had peppers coming out my ears! Which made for some awesome stir-fry and pickled hot peppers.

So I am thankful for the lessons I learned, the good and the bad. I also can't wait to get started again this year.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

Gardening in my mind

2010-01-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

Well while the snow is flying..literally. We have probably 6 inches and it is still coming down. It started snowing on Thursday at noon and it is now Saturday, and has barely stopped since then.

But that is ok because I am in my house and I have my notebook, gardening books and catalogs. In my mind I am already planting my crop for next winter. Oh there are cucumbers for pickles, tomatoes for spaghetti and pizza sauce and salsa, Bell peppers for stir-fry, corn, green beans, carrots, radishes, turnips, onions, leeks, hot peppers, pumpkins, garlic, potatoes, brocolli and all kinds of other items that I haven't come accross in my gurneys catalog yet.

In a couple weeks it will be time to start planting seeds inside to start the plants for the garden. Tomatoes and bell peppers will be first, even though my brother called me today to inform me that I should have already planted my leeks..but upon further discussion I found out that he hasn't even bought his seeds yet. Here he was making me feel so far behind the curve and all, and he was just as far behind as me. Brothers you gotta love them... especially since he has been sharing his potatoes with me this winter. He had an awesome potatoe crop last year, have you ever seen 'Faith Like Potatoes'? They looked alot like that...(that is a really good movie by the way, everyone should watch it)

Hubby usually deals with the indoor planting, it becomes his little obsession for the winter (we don't have cable, got to do something to keep busy. Much like last year when my other brother was tapping maple trees.) He plants them and stores them in a bathroom that rarely gets used, he even has the special "GROW" lightbulbs. I even think I caught him talking to them last year... he is very posessive of him miracle grow too. But all in all it was worth it. We had an awesome tomato garden last year.

I went a little over board with canning spaghetti sauce..I have way too much. But in retrospect..I didn't make enough salsa. SO I will be making more of that this year. I made a little too much pizza sauce, but I still have a few months, SO you never know it might turn out to be just right.

Last years garden was our first real year. It was filled with alot of learning experiences, and alot of good food. So I guess I can't blame myself for dreaming of this years garden.

And the best part about dreaming about a garden...There aren't any weeds!!

What is everyone elses plating in their garden this year?

Happy plant planning!

Homestead Mommy

My budget stretching secrets

2009-12-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my food budget stretchers...

In case you all haven't noticed the price of meat and cheese has gone up a great deal lately... TO the point that we have been buying less of it, and I have been serving smaller portions. Now my Hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of man and it is hard to hide the fact that he is eating less meat and more potatoes...(SO shhh it is a secret. So Don't tell him!)

A few of my favorite dinner stretchers are...

Rice..We love rice at our house.. we add eggs and make it fried rice to go with stir fry, we have it on the side of tacos, pot roast, with chicken and brocolli. I replace it with noodles in soup. We have it with fish..or add herbs and add it to the side of every meal. Then there is the standard...rice and beans. Rice is cheap, filling and almost everyone eats rice..and the more you buy the cheaper it is. I personally have not bought the 50lb bag of it at Sam's Club yet..But I plan to very soon.

Potatoes... We have them mashed, scalloped, french fried, baked and bananad, in pot roast, and as soup. We have potaotes pretty much anytime we don't have rice.

Onions...regular and green.They go with everything! I can hardly think of a meal that I cook that doesn't have onions in it. We love onions at our house. In fact..I have to watch Sis when ever I have them cut up to add to something because she will come by and swipe them and eat them raw.

Carrots... they are cheap if you buy them whole by the pound and much like rice and potatoes.. the more you buy the less they seem to be per pound.I cut them up and add them in with, stir fry, pot roast and by them selves, I also grate them up and add them to sauces like pizza and pasta..Then I don't have to fix a side dish to go with that meal.. The veggie is already in it. Thus saving the cost of adding another dish to that meal.

Bread..You can make it for less than $1.00 a loaf or you can buy the store brands on sale for $1.00 a loaf. It freezes well so we stock up! It can be served as a meal or along with pretty much any meal. There is also the option of sandwiches.. can we say P,B and J?

Beans..I do not use beans as much as I should..But I intend to mess around with some recipes and find some ways to add them into our meals..I will be posting more about this later.

And I few ways that I save money are... I only let the kids have juice once a day and milk twice... They really don't need anymore than that. They know the rules and now ask for water..It is better for them and I am not constantly shelling out tons of money for milk and juice. They are also only allowed to have pop about twice a week. They split one can whenever they have it.

Well there you have it..some of my secrets for stretching your food budget. I am constantly trying to come up with more ways to save more money. Especially with our food budget.

If any one has any tips I would love to hear them!

Happy Budgeting!

Homestead Mommy

Saving Money on Christmas Decorations (Salt Dough Ornaments)

2009-12-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Well I am finally back with a money saving idea for you all...
Salt Dough ornaments! It is super simple and super cheap and it kept the kids occupied for over an hour...We did it right after out school work.
Who doesn't like being able to decorate their tree or make gifts for so little? And I haven't met a Grandma yet who didn't love getting homemade gifts from their grand babies!
Here is what you do need: (It is do simple you wont even need to write it down)

1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water (maybe a little more)

Other items you may want:

table clothe or wax paper to contain any mess. (It really isn't all that messy but with my kids anything can be messy)
rolling pin (to roll out dough and beat hubby with if he makes fun of your creation.
cookie cutters
non sharp knife
straw for poking holes to ribbon to hang, or paper clips or ornament hangers. (I poked mine in before I dried them.

Now you also need know that you can air dry these or speed it up be putting them in the oven. I put mine in the oven at 175 degrees for two hours...and they still aren't done..So they are just going to have to air dry the rest of the way.

Ok we are ready to start!

Here are the ingredients...

put them in a flour and salt in bowl and mix well, add water and mix until dough forms. You may need to add more water or salt..it should not be too sticky and not too dry.

It should look like this...

Now you are ready to create...Now all you need is a couple helpers...
Here are mine...

Now let your imagination run wild..you can roll and use cookies cutters, you can just create...we did snowman and angels...and Sis claims she did a Barbie, Bub said one of his was Optimus Prime. As you finish them transfer them to a cookie sheet.
When you are done it should look something like this...only minus the dirty pots and pans

Now you can put them in the oven or let them air dry...be sure to flip them so they dry evenly and don't curl..
Now you can use them like they are or you can paint them..The dollar store sells paint super cheap.

And there you have it...You have created ornaments for your tree and or Christmas presents for you loved ones...We are going to paint ours and include the date..So we can always know when you little creations where crafted.

Now I am thinking of having them do it again only we are going to make a nativity scene..and paint it when we are done. Then maybe I can put the other one away for a few years...until Sis is out of her seek and destroy age..but by then i will probably have another seek and destroyer..Maybe I should put it up for awhile!

Happy Crafting!

Homestead Mommy

He's still working on me...Thank Goodness!

2009-12-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

Ok...after my last post I decided to take some time to get my life in order a bit. The holidays are hard..but I am learning through the grace of God to cope with these things.

While on my little break(down) I decided to take some time and get some new traditions started with the kids. We have made buckeyes, read the Christmas story more than once, watched the santa clause 1,2 and 3, (I love those movies), made sugar cookies and snicker doodles, and are getting ready to make cinnamon applesauce ornaments (I am excited to try these! I will take pics and post the recipe here shortly)

I have also discovered that idle hands make for bad attitudes..so I have been doing alot of crocheting. I notice I always have a better out look on life when I am working on a project. That must be why the Proverbs 31 woman is always busy...she has it figured out! LOL.. and since almost all of my friends and family have been adding to their families lately, I have been in need of baby blankets to give out. ( I actually have a really awesome pattern that everyone seems to love. I am working on one now and will post it when it is done)

I have also gotten the kids going with their school..which I will post about soon also..they are loving it. God is so wonderful to make is possible for me to be home to teach them.

I have done some reading in my Bible and alot of Praying...and I have decided that

1. I can not mend these broken peices of my heart on my own it is through God that these things are fixed,
2. One of the best ways to prevent this holiday dread is to start new traditions(which we did.)
3. Family is very precious and you should spend as much time as possible with them. Especially the few I have left.

This is something I am going to have to work on...Thank goodness He IS still working on me!! To make me what I ought to be....

God has promised to not give us anymore than we can handle...but he never promised not to test us.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

OH and I finally found my tree skirt! and the nativity people have all been glued back together and you can't even tell... Thank goodness for a Hubby who understands and loves me...who can climb up to the top shelf to get the last box of Christmas supplies, and is really good with the super glue!

*stay tuned for posts about... cinnamon ornaments, buckeyes, and saving money on homeschool curriculums..and suplies..

So this is Christmas...?

2009-12-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

Poor nativity set..that little camel never saw it coming..and the angel..tisk,tisk..So sad. Apparently those wise men weren't so wise.

But then again is anything safe when a two yr old is around? How can a little girl break the heads off of ceramic toys? The box said Childs nativity play set. Apparently they haven't met a child named Sis! I managed to rescue baby Jesus!

Thankfully hubby is a wonder with the super glue! Now I have to try to find the ornaments that went missing....
I let the kids decorate the tree all by themselves this year. Bub had to group the ornaments on each limb...Such as, the charlie brown ones on one limb, the tractor ones on another. And the whole thing is decorated on only the bottom half. Hubby let Sis put the angel on top and it toppled over backwards and about crashed to the floor. Mommy sucked all the air out of the room on that one! I can't find the tree skirt..and Sis keeps playing hide and seek with the ornaments...preferably the snowman ones that were a collectors gift from our wedding.

I know it is Christmas time and I know the kids are excited, but I have yet to catch the Christmas mood this year. I could probably pack the tree back up and wait another month and then start all over again. Am I the only one that feels this way. Is it the weather... I am missing the sun and warm weather. After last years snow storm, I am no longer a fan of winter... Is it the economy? The crazy people at Walmart or the people on every blog/message sight asking for Zhu zhu pets?? (I still have no idea what these are) And I have to ask will it really matter a month after Christmas if their children don't get these toys? (and if they really needed them why didn't they go out and get them before the Christmas rush. Is it funner this way?)
I guess I am just a little bummed out this year. My father has been gone for a few years. There isn't much left of my family. I am learning that the older you get the fewer people you can trust. I am very blessed to have a husband who is very caring and loving and two wonderful children. But I miss the family that used to be around..the get togethers and the secret gifts. I just feel that there is nothing to look forward to this year. Aside from the kids and Santa coming. It just feels so different.... I don't even want to think about blogging to save money. So if you find me missing don't worry I will be back. I guess I just need a break... and some sun.

For Now,
Homestead Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you all have a great turkey day!

Love and Prayers,
Homestead Mommy

The New Dryer

2009-11-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

I don't like to get rid of anything if I isn't broken, has holes worn in it, or is beyond repair. But I had to make an exception with my old dryer. It was over 8 yrs old. I had to run it at least twice to get it to dry a load. It also tore and put burn spots on our clothes. It wasn't technically broken. and much to my trying would not break. So i sadly had to break down and but a new one.

Oh, I had fun looking at the really nice ones with all the bells and whistles! I even got caught up in the hype for a couple days. But I eventually came back around to the fact that all I really needed was a dryer that dried our clothes, that didn't tear or burn them and that was hopefully a little bigger than the last one.

I had some money saved up so, Off we went to Lowes. I had check prices in my area and Lowes is pretty cheap and we have always had good luck with them. I searched far and hide among the rows of washers and dryers. And i finally settled on a Roper. What? you have never heard of a roper. Well my friend, a Roper is the off brand to a Whirlpool. It has all the Whirlpool part, only with less of the bells and whistles. I went with a 6.5 cu foot one. It was more than big enough for all the jobs at our house. And it has a few cycles but not alot. But to be honest. i only really use one cycle for our dryer. So, as long as it has hich heat for cottons. I am happy.

It also costs considerably less than the regular Whirlpool. I was able to get the whole thing tax included for less that $298.00! They also offered free next day shipping and free haul away for our old machine. I was pleased.
When it came home. It was bigger than the last one. I didn't realize how much bigger until they put it into place. But oh well i can now dry comforters without having to stuff it in there.
Oh and the drying!!! It dries a whole load os towels in less than a full cycles. ~*can we say CHEAPER ELECTRIC BILLS?*~

I still hang up about half of our laundry to dry. But Hubby is a little picky. He doesn't like line dried towels or jeans. Well actually he doesn't like for anything to be line dried. So I dry all of his clothes. But most of mine and the kids' clothes get hung up. I have already seen a drop in our electric bill! (Well with the new insulation in the attic, I can't say I am surprised)But that was the whole point. To save money on our electric bill. And well... not have wholes ripped our clothes. I think we do enough of that on our own.

Well I am off to fold some laundry.

Homestead Mommy

I also noticed that my laundry is getting done so much more quickly that I am actually staying caught up on it. Which is nice because I was starting to wonder why I couldn't seem to get it done. Now I know that it wasn't me! YAY! I am not going insane.. atleast not yet!

What is it about Tuesdays??

2009-11-11T05:18:00.000-08:00

My day was so interesting yesterday that I thought that I would share it with you!
I got to do a couple things that I hardly ever get to do. I went to the doctor alone. Which never happens. I have decided that I officially like going to the ob/gyn, because it is the only time I get to go somewhere alone. I enjoyed getting out alone so much I might even consider having my yearly twice a year....will maybe not that much.
But it was so nice! I got to get out and I stopped a Sam's to pick up a toy(for Christmas) that was cheaper than anywhere else. Bub is very into transformers right now and I saved $17.00 buying them in a four pack and not individually! So if you have children that are into transformers, you should definately check it out!
Well after Sam's I went to the doctors appointment. It was fun I got to sit in a waiting room and I didn't have to chase a toddler or entertain a preschooler! The nurse announced that the doctor was running behind and people started complaining... I however sent up a silent prayer of thanks and picked up another magazine!
After the doctor I headed home. Once I got home, well that is when the other thing that hardly ever happens, happened. Did I mention that Daddy watched the kids. My hubby is great with the kids. But for some reason no matter what state I leave the children in....they are always stripped down to their diaper/underwear when I get home. well anyways I walked in the house and I got the usual "I am so happy you are home!" speach. And of course the usual... "how do you do this everyday" speach.. HEHE I should go away more often.
After I got settled in Hubby decided to go and get a little nap in before he went to work.(he works nights) After he went to bed, and Bub was down for a nap..I quickly snuck outside to get the present out of the car. Well what I didn't know was that, my daughter had learned to LOCK the SCREEN DOOR!!! (which ironically she can't seem to unlock)
I tried to get back in and she was standing there laughing! I beat on the door and she beat back. I didn't have my keys or my cell on me! I tried all of the other doors and of all days for them all to be locked today was the day!
SO here I am locked out of my own house, my hubby and son are asleep and my toddler is running through the house, in only a diaper!
I kept telling her to go and wake up Daddy. She would run up but then come right back down the stairs and say "Daddy sweepin!"
So I quickly ran down to my brothers house. I called my house which was no use. Because hubby can't hear it in the bedroom. So I then ran into the driveway and picked up a hand full of rocks. AND THREW THEM AT HIS WINDOW. Well ten rocks later he finally looks out.
He finds this sooo funny. He almost forgets to let me back in the house! After he lets me back in, he says..."I wondered why Sis kept beating on my door and saying "Mommy needs you!"

Well I learned a few things today.
Going to the ob/gyn is fun because I get to go alone.
Transformers are cheaper if you buy them in the four pack.
Toddlers always wind up naked if you leave them home with Daddy.
And last but not least. When you get locked out of the house...throwing rocks gets you back in much more quickly!

Blessing!
Homestead Mommy

Making Appler Butter

2009-11-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

Well I figured I should get to using the rest of those apples.

I have never tried to make apple butter but I had heard that is was fairly easy.

So I got out my Ball Blue Book of canning and preserving and looked it up. Making apple butter is easy and fun! It is also something that everyone seems to really like. Before I even had it made and finished canning, my brother was calling asking when he could come and get his jar. I have also managed to get three more jars called for...Good thing I made a dozen!

OK here we go!

To make apple butter you need 4lbs(approx 16) apples...

check!

You have to peel core,cut up and put in a pan with 2 cups water...

check!

Then you cook it until it is soft (as if you were making applesauce) Then you put it into a blender or food processor and blend or process. Be sure not to liquify!

Then return to pan and add 4 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Then you continue cooking on medium low until it has gotten thick enough to mound up on a spoon. Be sure to stir frequently to avoid burning.

CHECK!
(I was on the phone while I was doing the last few steps and forgot to take pics...OOPS!)

After it has cooked down you would then transfer you apple butter to your jars and put the lids and rings on and tighten and then process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Check!

Check!

Or you can be like me and not have your jars seal the first time and have to process them twice..

Tadu! You have homemade canned apple butter! YOU can then gift if for Christmas or hoard it for yourself and wait until January to open it up.... Yum Yum!
It was fun and easy to make, it tastes yummy, and it saves money. Just one of the reasons I love to can!

SO to keep you up dated... I have made 4 1/2 quarts of apples sauce, one apple pie, eaten numerous amounts, and made 12 jars of apple butter. Not to mention that we have also made applesauce just to eat about 4 times.
And I still have apples left! Now if you ask me that is $16.00 well spent!

Now what should I make next??

The possibilities are applootly endless!

TTFN!
Homestead Mommy

That's what best friends are for!!

2009-10-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

I love to thrift shop! Especially for the kids.
My kids tend to grow out of clothes pretty fast. But the problem with my kids is that they are also very hard on clothes. So a good bit of their clothes are bought at the thrift store.
Bub has worn the knees out of all but one of his pairs of jeans, and Sis seems to think it is her personal mission to roll in the mud every time she goes outside.

I have been shopping at thrift stores for sometime now, but I hadn't tried trading in clothes until just a few weeks ago. Now I am aware that the clothes need to be in good or better condition. So I packed up a box of clothes that they had either never worn or that were from when they were smaller, back when they didn't destroy clothes so fast. Some of it was name brand and a few of them were never worn.

Well I took it to the nicest place in town and dropped it off. The lady wasn't very nice and told me to come back in about an hour. So I go to my friend Betsy's house You can read about her here
I let the kids play for a a while and then go back over to the thrift store. Well I walk in and the owner has left for the day. The girl behind the counter tells me that she chose a few items and that they would give me $2.25 for them (they were the brand new name brand items that had never been worn or washed).
I said "Well why didn't she take any more of it?"

She said that "It wasn't the "style" that they were looking for."

I then asked if i could get it back and she said 'No that it was already ready to go on the racks." (Which I found out later that that isn't legal. They can't deny you your clothes back if you change your mind)
She then asked me if I wanted cash or store credit. I said "Cash because you don't have the "style" I am looking for." I take the money and leave very upset.

I then call my friend Betsy, to ask her if that was a good deal or not. Well Betsy begins to get a little upset. She tells me that she has had trouble with this place before and that I should go back in and get my money back.

I said "No because I was already on my way home and I was too upset to deal with it."

She then says "Let me call you back. I am going to call and TALK to them!!"

A few minutes later she calls me back and says
"Well this is the short of it.We had words, some of them were very colorful.... They are giving you your clothes back. I will go in and get it for you...... Oh and by the way we aren't allowed back in her store. But who wants to go in there anyways she rips people off?"

I said "True thanks alot. What would I do without a friend like you!"

She said "That's what best friends are for!"

She then asked if she could buy the two outfits off of me that she picked up at the store for me. (Did I mentions that Betsy has 4 kids ranging from 8 months to 6 yrs.) I say sure. Why not.

I then took my box of clothes to the other not so nice thrift store in town. They took almost all of the clothes I brought in and gave me $11.00 for it. I was able to purchase almost all of Bubs winter shirts and some new shoes for Sis and I only had to throw in about $2.00.

So lets recap...
Fancy thrift store with mean owner= Not worth my time
Not so fancy thrift store that took most of my clothes= very worth it
Buying a lot of sons winter clothes for $13.00= great deal
Best Friend who is willing to get thrown out of a thrift store for you?= PRICELESS!!

Thanks Betsy!

Happy Thrifting!

Homestead Mommy

Johnny Appleseed would be proud of me!

2009-10-28T08:09:00.001-07:00

Bet you can't guess what I have been up to??

I will give you one hint....

You guessed it. I am canning applesauce. My brother went to the apple orchard over the weekend and brought me back a bushel of apples.

So I have been making and canning applesauce.

And while I was at it, I made a pie too.

One of my goals is to eventually have my own orchard with apple, pear and cherry trees, but until then I just go to the orchard and ask to purchase their seconds. It is alot cheaper. They aren't always as pretty as the first choice ones but I am just turning them into sauce. And in the end they all taste the same. I purchase a whole bushel of apples for $16.00 and I have only used half of them.

So far I have made 4 1/2 quarts of applesauce, we have eaten numerous amounts of them, I have made applesauce to go with dinner a few times and I have made an apple pie! I would say that that is a good deal. Now I just have to decide what to do with the other half bushel of apples. I am thinking canned apple pie filling!! Yum!!

Now my next project is to see if i can grow a tree from these seeds. It can't be that hard. Johnny Appleseed did it!

Wish me luck!

Have a happy fall!

Homestead Mommy

Porta Potties at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hubby had to go on a small trip the other day to order some parts, so we went with him. It is a short trip about 2hrs each way. We decided to stop at a pumpkin patch on the way there. It is a fun place with an all you can carry pumpkin patch, make your own scarecrow, and goat milk fudge... that sort of place. A real mom and pop sort of place. I have been going there since I was a little kid.
Well on this particular day, Bub had been complaining that he was tired. He had cough and runny nose, but I didn't think too much about it. But what I forgot is that Bub has a very weak stomach.
Well when we get to said pumpkin patch. Hubby and Sis get out and Sis starts running through the isles yelling "Pumpkies! Pumpkies!" Bub on the other hand tells us that he doesn't want to get out.
Which is very odd behavior for him, he is a very happy go lucky kid, who loves an adventure.
I decided to stay in the car with him... mean while Hubby and Sis are checking out the pumpkins and deciding which one to get. Bub is sitting in the car trying to tell hubby which one he wants. I said "Ok, you are getting out. If you sit in here you will be complaining later that you didn't get the one that you wanted."
He looks at me in a very sad voice and says "I can't get out."
I said "Why?"
He said "Because I just pooped in my pants."
*Please let me clarify that Bub is 4 and fully potty trained, this is diarrhea*
To which I responded ever so motheringly "Are you kidding me!?"
Well since this was just supposed to be a short little trip, I didn't pack extra clothes, but thankfully I did pack extra diapers.
We get out and I walk him inside and ask where the bathroom is. The friendly cashier says they are around back (Which should have been my first clue as to how this bathroom trip was going to go)
We get around back and what did we find?? Porta Potties!! Oh yes you heard me Porta Potties aka. portable germ stations with poo thrown in for good measure!
Well I have no choice but to get in and change Bub, so we climb in. There isn't much room because lets face it, those things are good to be 2ft square. No sooner do I get Bub in there and get the wipes out and lift the lid, he starts gagging.! I said "Are you ok? Are you going to get sick?"
He just stands there covering his mouth looking at me. (Why do kids do this, if they are sick they just stand there dumb founded until Yes you guessed it.. they puke) Two seconds later he starts getting sick. While helping him i am texting hubby *HELP!!!* to which he never responds
So lets recap... me, Bub(with diarrhea in his pants and puking), diaper bag, 2ft square germ covered poop station....
Once he finished..ahum..getting sick. I then had to go about getting him cleaned up. Thankfully he didn't get sick on himself. But I do have to strip him naked and clean him up. Poor guy he took it well.. except he was mad at me for throwing away his Lightning McQueen underwear, and that he had to put on a diaper. He didn't seem too upset however that I had to put his pants back on him.
After we get out of afor said germ mobile, I go inside to ask if I can wash my hands in a sink. I go up to the cashier and ask to wash my hands. She looks at me questioningly and I say with an ever so sweet smile... "My son just puked in your porta potty, I was nice enough to clean it up...can I please wash my hands in a sink?"
And of course by this time, like all children this age after they get sick, Bub is running around picking out a pumpkin acting perfectly fine! I looked at her pleadingly. "He really did get sick, and I really need to wash my hands" She finally obliged.
Well three pumpkins, no pics, approx. 5 billion germs and one less pair of underwear later we are back in the car and I am setting Bub up with a grocery sack with napkins, just in case. We make the rest of our trip basically uneventfully.
Once we get to the place where hubby has to be to order his parts, we sit in the car and wait. A few minutes later Bub says "Mom? I just did it again"
We did just happen to be a few miles from the in laws house. So after hubby finished ordering we went over to their house.
By this time I am out of wipes and down to my last diaper. When we get there I usher Bub into the bathroom, and clean him up. He ends up having to wear a diaper and his jacket on his bottom half. Hubby called him a caveman.
My Father in law must think we are a walking circus side show. We come in long enough to change the 4 yr old and leave with a jacket tied around his butt.
Once we finally get home 2 hrs later... I marched Bub into the bathroom and scrubbed him down, and then I took a shower. Because you know the rule with porta potties, it is like at the doctors office, if you aren't sick when you go in there you will be when you leave.

Well it has been a few days now and Bub is better, and the pumpkins look real cute on the front porch.

I told my sis in law about what happened, she laughed and said that I get extra super mom points. I take this as a compliment coming from a woman who is about to have 6 kids under 5! (one 4 yr old, 2 yr old triplets, and twins on the way in two weeks all girls) She can tell you some horror stories! She also said that I get even more points for not getting sick also...I think she is right.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

*Just another day on the life...and I wouldn't trade it for anything! But I did stock up on germ x and clorox wipes!*

Oreo's,Toddlers and Tuesdays

2009-10-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that I will never understand toddlers.
After lunch today I gave the kids one Oreo a piece. Sis came to me a few minutes later complaining that Bub had taken her cookie. I gave her another, she then proceeded to set it on the dining room floor and stomp it with her foot. She then picked it up and happily walked off proclaiming..." It yummy mommy!" with an ever so knowing nod of her head.
Because didn't you know that all cookies taste better when you stomp them with your foot first?

Another thing I do not understand is why toddlers go through a stage where they have to take everything out of their mouths and examine it before redepositing it into their mouths and eating it.

Sis also went through a VERY short lived stage of begging for a snack (such as cheese) and then she would immediately turn around and throw it in the trash. Me, being the frugal person that I am, about crapped myself the first time that I saw her do this! Have you seen the price of cheddar lately?? You have to take out a small loan just to make mac-n-cheese from scratch!

Bub never had any really weird food things when he was little he just (and still) eats everything coming and going. I can feed him 3 pancakes and 4 sausage links and then take him to his aunts for and hour and he will eat 2 pieces of toast, 1 banana, and 3 packages of fruit snacks! And still come home hungry!! He can eat all of this and he looks like he came from Ethiopia! If I do not watch him, he can slaughter our entire two week food budget in all of an hour.

He has started a new thing lately though, he has become picky. Oh don't think that he is eating less! Oh NO! He is just being picky about what he eats. Like last week he ate three packs of fruit snacks. Then the next day he decided that he didn't like them anymore. Or more correctly "I only like them if they have orange ones in it. Does that one have alot of orange ones in it? Open it and check and then I will decide if I want to eat it."

I don't have much trouble getting the kids to eat veggies either... My big problem this summer was getting Sis to stop eating the vegetables out of the garden! As I was planting, weeding and picking ....."SIS Stop eating the tomatoes!!" "Don't eat the bell peppers!" "Stop eating the onions"
I could not keep her out of the onions! If she even walked past the onion patch she had to pick some and eat. If i asked her if she was eating them she would say "noooooo" with that ever so innocent look on her face. But her breath would give her away everytime.

She did stop grabbing stop after one certain incident though. She was hanging in the garden with me and I was pick peppers. She comes to me screaming, "Spicy!" Did I mention that I was picking hot peppers? She had bitten into a jalepeno pepepr! After that she didn't eat much without asking me first.

I truely will never understand toddlers and I guess that this is just one of those subjects I can only watch and observe and wonder. Hubby likes to try to speculate about these things.
Such as the Oreo incident...he ponders weither or not she stomped on it to get to the "stuff" in the middle. It's her favorite.
We may never know for sure why toddlers do this, but it is always fun to watch and wonder! And probably best if we don't ask why.

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Homestead Mommy

I'm Back!!!

2009-10-17T06:58:00.001-07:00

Well I am finally back for real this time! Both of our laptops had taken a dive and I was being content using the dinodesktop but it decided that it really didn't like me. Very sad and aggravating, so I took the hi road for about a week and decided to boycott my computer. But thankfully we have one laptop up and running so Here I am!

DID you miss me?? Even with my ranting and raving about technology, I have to admit that I did miss blogging even if it seems no one reads it.

The break also helped me get the kids started with school and get some fun stuff done around here that i might not normally do. Such as.... sort out the spice cabinet! Woohoo! Can't get much more fun and wild than that.

Since I have been gone for so long I figured I should catch you all up as to what we have been up to around the homestead. TO be honest the homestead stuff has taken a slow down recently because hubby has been really busy fixing everyone else' cars.
But believe me we have been busy. Well here... just let me show you.(I will post full blogs about how much all of this all saved us in the long run)

While hubby was on vacation we decided to insulate the attic (yes we have lived in the house for the last three years without it being insulated. Sometimes these things happen) We have already noticed a difference in the house. I can't wait to see how much cheaper our electric bill is. Anything is better than the $350.00 we paid last February! (note to self never listen to hubby when he says he doesn't reckon something is going to make a mess)

Now that it is getting cold outside it is time to start my winter projects!! YAY I have been dreaming of this since July 1st! Hubbies cousin is very into quilting so i figured I would give it a try. It is going well for now. I started with a small one for Sis.

School started at our house last week. I stocked up on some school supplies while it was on sale. But I still had a ton of broken crayons, and I quiet Thursday night. So I melted down the old ones and made new ones. I didn't have candy molds but disposable cups worked just fine. I enlisted the help of Bub for taking the papers off of them. (I didn't have to do it all and he got to stay up late. Seems like a far trade to me)

Well that has been our crazy life lately, minus the trips to the store while avoiding the H1N1 buggies. Trying to track down flu shots for the kids, occasionally watching my brother and sis in laws kids so she can go to the doctor. They have a 4 yr old, 3 two yr olds and the twins are due in about 2-3 weeks.(All six of them are girls) They live next door. It is like one continual tea party over there! I love it and so do my kids. (more on them later) Oh I also had a pampered chef party, went thrift store shopping and got thrown out! (note to self don't have best friends yell at store owner ever again) and went Christmas shopping.

Sounds about right for us though. It is fall and things are crazy! Things will slow down A LOT after Christmas. That is when we start looking for things to do. Which means that is when the real fun starts. (for some reason me and both of my brothers are like this, last year my brother decided to collect sap and make maple syrup. * he only ended up with enough for one pancake*Anything to keep busy.)

Well I am off to do some laundry and clean the bathrooms. Sometimes the glamor of my life frightens me.

Until next time!

Homestead Mommy

Hello! Long lost friends!

2009-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been gone for so long...
My computer is in the shop so I have had to use the desktop and it sadly has some issues. It doesn't like to stay connected to the internet so I kicks me off every so often just to remind me that it doesn't like to surf.
Well in my absence I have been a little busy. Hubby was on vaca for about a week. We don't vacation like most people, our vacations go something like this..... Make plans to finish the outdoor projects that were started earlier in the Spring, and wake up the first morning of vacation to a down poor the lasts for four days. Get fed up after the third day and go shopping to kill some time. Go to cousins house for pizza, insulate attic, clean up dust from insulating attic, clean up more dust, go to Columbus to eat out at favorite (but expensive) restaurant, go to pampered chef party, clean up more dust, clean bathrooms, do laundry, pick more bell peppers, eat humble pie, curse at the dust I am cleaning up from insulating the attic, babysit nieces, and of course just for good measure we decided to sleep train our daughter over the course of said vacation.
Now we are tired and in need of a vacation. Hubby starts back to work tonight.

It was a very productive couple weeks. Our daughter now sleeps in her own bed and if she wakes up she puts herself back to bed, with out getting up and screaming. Our attic is finally insulated! If you ever decide to have the paper blown in insulation, after you are already living in the house, make sure that the hose is long enough to put the hopper outside. If not, then your house will look like mine. It looked like that backside of a cabinet that had been put up against a wall for about 6 yrs and never swept behind. Everything was and still is covered in dust.(Hubby says well atleast I will be warm while I am cleaning up the dust all winter)We also went o eat at our favorite restaurant, we save up for ever to go, but is so worth it! Oh Hubby also got to do some wood working. He has finished one of a set of two of my bar stools. I promise to post pics of all of our missadventures as soon as we get our computer back from the shop.
Well I am off to do some more laundry! *Oh look some more dust*

From somewhere in a cloud of dust.

Homestead Mommy

Birthday Party on a budget

2009-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 2 last week! So to celebrate we had a party.
Well a party on the homestead goes something like this.

Call up the kin,

bake a cake(this one was compliments of hubbies cousin, she is a whiz with cakes!)

throw around some balloons and party til the cows come home....

or until the birthday girl falls asleep.(In Grandpa's arms)

We try to keep our parties simple and non stress. And not so surprisingly when you go that route it usually ends up being alot cheaper too. This whole party cost $25.00! We fed roughly 27 people.

Want to know how? Read below...

Homestead Mommies Birthday Party Secrets

1. Bake your own cake, or have a cousin do it for you. A cake mix costs less than $2.00 and you can make your icing dirt cheap.(I can garantee it wont taste like dirt)
And if your child is dead set on a certain character, you can buy the figurines to go on top at your local grocers bakery. For Bub's last birthday I borrowed, some of his CARS characters from his collection for his cake.(Just be sure to wash them first)

2. Don't feed them a meal. Just put out some chips and dip, veggies, fruit, pretzels, it doesn't matter what you put out. What ever is on sale at the store or you have hanging out in your fridge, freezer,pantry, or garden will do. People aren't expecting food they are just lookin for something to munch on while they chat. (I put out chips, and pretzels.)

3. Don't buy pop! It is too expensive. I just make a pitcher of sweet iced tea, and lemonade.

4 Don't buy party favors, yes it is fun to have something to give out to everyone, but it is not necessary. I just buy a couple $1.00 packages of balloons and blow them up and set them around the floor. The kids have a blast playing with them and they can take one home with them at the end of the evening.

5.Don't go overboard on the cake. Do you really want to be eating cake for a week after the party? I don't! So I go with a smaller cake and make a batch or two of brownies. You can even use a cookie cutter to cut the brownies into to fun shapes! (I used a butterfly shape for Sis's party to match the cake.

6. Don't stress! You don't have to do games, you don't have to 'entertain'.Just set everything up, blow out the candles, cut the cake, open the presents and then relax. Have a good time. Cause if your lives are getting to be anything like ours are, You don't get all of these people in one room very often anymore.

And that is how we party hearty at the Homestead!

TTFN!

Homestead Mommy

Success At The Farmers Market

2009-09-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well as the summer is winding down, my friends at the farmers market, have been allowing arts and crafts in to sell. Which has been a pretty big hit. There has been everything from marmalade preserves to henna body art.
After we lost most of our plants to the rain and heat this year I didn't really get to go much. But since I seem to have an abundance of hot peppers, I pickled some extras, and took them on down.
I also took, oatmeal raisin cookies, snickerdoodles, choco chip cookies, some wood work that hubby did and a couple of my crocheted items. I took both of the kids with me this time, they of course had a blast. Telling everyone hi and playing in the gravel.

I usually park next to my friends from Idyll Wind Farm, you can learn more about them at www.idyllwindfarm.com
They have log furniture, tons of animals, and are working on an amphitheater, and cabin rentals, you should also check out their music. Definitely something you should not miss!!
They are the farm that sponsors the farmers market. They are also known for making some awesome goats milk cheese and fudge!! YUMM!!

My biggest hit of today was the oatmeal-raisin cookies. They were made with these special Irish steel cut oats, people were coming back asking for more. I will have to make extras of those next week. The second item of interest was the pickled hot peppers, I dressed them up a bit with some fabric.

All in all it was a good day. We are going back the rest of the month and are hoping to sell some more. But even if i don't make enough to cover the gas money that it takes to get there. It is nice to know that we are helping the local farmers out.
I have said it before and i will say it again...
Please Support Your Local Farmers!
They are the future of our country, they supply food, clothing, meat and dairy. They help keep our country running! It also helps that those hard working farmers turn out to be some pretty awesome friends. The kind that you know you can count on and trust.

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

2009-09-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share with you, one of our little secrets....
We haven't bought hand soap in over a year, but surprisingly, we always have foaming hand soap in our bathrooms.
"How?" do you ask?
Well let me tell you a little story.

My hubby bless his little heart, hates regular soap. I made the mistake of buying the foaming hand soap ONE time and he just had to have it after that. Well if you are the type that checks the prices of this stuff it is expensive! So back in the winter I had to tell him that either we stop buying it or we find an alternative. Since my hubby is the resourceful fellow that he is, he figured out how to make it using dish soap.
SO here it is....

TO make homemade fowming hand soap you will need.

1 foaming hand soap container
Some dish soap(I prefer Dawn)
And water to fill the container

Start with your empty hand soap container...

Put enough dish soap in there to cover the bottom...

Then fill with water.

Replace the lid and wash hands.

How cool is that? and it cost just pennies!!!! Actually it is so cheap that it is useless to even do the math, but OH OK!
I bought the BIG 28oz bottle of dish soap for $1.49, and lets just say that I use 1oz of it to make the soap.(that is not accurate, I actually use less than that)
Then it would cost....less than 5 cents to make foaming hand soap!!!
Now that my friends is something to write home and tell your Mama about!
Especially since one bottle of the hand soap at Walmart can cost as much as $1.50!
So that is at least a $1.45 savings! You could rent a movie for that!
But the cool thing is that these savings add up.
Lets say that you went threw two of those bottles from the store a year that is $36.00.. and if you make it at home for a year it would cost you less than $1.20. Now I consider that a big savings. And you aren't throwing away that empty bottle every two weeks.
So what are you going to do with your extra $34.80 a year?

Happy hand washing!

Homestead Mommy

~ If you try this or something else out on my blog, please let me know. I love feed back and I love to know that I have helped others save money!~

To Pickle A Peck Of Pickling Peppers

2009-09-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well the canning season is winding down now... But there are still a few things to take care of.(I mentioned before that it has been a year for peppers) Such as this big basket of HOT Peppers. Hubby is crazy for pickled hot peppers. So he planted enough to keep the entire neighborhood covered up in pickled peppers for the whole winter.
But with our family I don't know. We took out a whole quart jar of them over a couple pizzas while, the in- laws were over on Monday.(Labor Day) They had never tried them and were skeptical until I opened the jar...
Since we are going threw them faster than I can pickle them I figured I should get some more done before we run out and the riot starts.
Are you ready to pickle a peck of pickling peppers?

Here we go!

First you will need a bunch of peppers.

Second you need to wash and sterilize your jars. Wash your peppers and start your brine.

Here is the recipe for the brine, It is very simple. There are some much more complicated recipes out there and I am sure they are delicious but I prefer the simple kind.

Pickling brine:

6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic

bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes, they say to remove the garlic after it simmers but I leave it in there.
(This recipe will do 5 pints, I had to triple it for the amount I did today)

Once you get your brine started,start stuffing the jars. And I mean stuff!

You want it to be tight so that there isn't too much air in there when you are done. Have fun with it! You are going to have to look at these in your pantry for the rest of the year it might as well look good. You can also give them away as gifts. You are done when they look something like this...

Now you need to heat your lids and add your brine to your jars. Be sure to distribute it evenly so if you run short you can just add some vinegar,(and it will taste the same) to top them off. After you fill them be sure to get the bubbles out. Then add your lids and rings. Tighten down and wait for them to pop. I love to be in my house and hear them pop! it is like they are telling me I did a good job. I do a little dance whenever they seal. (Yes it is still my first year, I am hoping that this excitement will wear off eventually. I doubt it though :0)
After they are sealed they should look something like this.

Don't forget to label them with the date and the contents.

This is so easy even a beginner like me can do it. I even impressed my mother in law while I was at it! Have fun with it. You are saving money and feeding your family all at the same time. And for you health nuts, It is even Organic!! WOOHOO!

Happy Pickling!

Homestead Mommy

Gone Fishing

2009-09-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we decided to spend some much needed family time. That was totally disconnected from everyday life. Meaning no cell phones, home phones, or people dropping by.
So we loaded up the car and headed to our local state park, with the huge lake!
We had fun, Bub caught his first fish. Sis kept trying to rip the worms in half and 'feed the fisheys'
And since it has been forever since I have had the chance to fish we were sharing hubbies pole.
It was nice to get out and not have to hear the phone ring. And to listen to the birds and the water. But the best part was watching my kids with my husband. He is not what you would call an outdoors kind of guy. He doesn't get into sports or hunting. He likes to fish, but is new to it. He is pretty good at it though. But the one thing he is really good at is being a DADDY!
And I think the picture says it all... There isn't a day when he doesn't start walking with the two if them at his heels, hoping to come along and 'help'
They have lost his tools, broken his laptop, and hidden his favorite hat, but he doesn't care. He loves to wrestle with the kids, he plays the wii with Bub and is always available to rock Sis to sleep. He reads out of the Bible for Bub before bedtime, and would bend over backwards to make Sis smile. He does things with them that I don't always have the patience for. He is a whiz at toddler language. And is so good at understanding Bub. (I think it is the boy factor though)
I love to watch the three of them together. He reminds me of my Dad. I have to wonder. What makes him so good at being a Dad? Are some men just better at it? Is it because he is a strong man of God? Does he still remember what it was like to be a child? Did he read a book when I wasn't looking? I am just not sure. But one thing is for sure.
He is a pretty awesome Daddy!
I can't wait to watch him with them as they get older.
Stay tuned I am sure I will be writing about it. Especially since he turned to me a while back and informed me that we needed more. When I asked how many? He said 'oh two or so'.

But first we have to get our next BIG project underway. Lord willing, I will be able to post pics in the next couple weeks. We are making some big changes that will hopefully help us to be... Totally Debt FREE!!!!

Stay Tuned!!

Homestead Mommy

A Rose is a Rose!

2009-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally did it!! I grew roses!

Ok rewind and let me explain. We have lived in this house for 3 years now and I have killed 5 rose plants. Even the ones that are "garanteed" to grow. I thought for sure that I was going to be rose challenged for the rest of my life.

My friends mom has given me 4 starts off of her bush that she herself has started numerous other bushes from, and i guess she got her start for her bush from Florida! Oh but yes I killed all of those too!

But a friend of mine told me a secret, you are supposed to plant garlic at the base of the rose plant. I guess it is supposed to help it grow. Now I dont know for sure if this is true. I have also heard that you are supposed to put a banana peeling in the hole when you plant them. But anyways back to the garlic thing. I dont know if it is true but these are the very first two roses that I have managed to keep alive, and these are the only two plants that I planted garlic at the base.

The friends that told me this has rose bushes all around her house and they are gorgeous! And next to every rose bush is a huge garlic stalk. ( is it called a stalk, maybe it is stem, or plant..hmm I am not sure I will have to look into that)

But either way I am very excited! I just planted this one this year and it has bloomed three times now. There where 3 big blooms on it this morning.

And the other one that I have out there bloomed once this year. But it is one of those old fashioned ones that has been passed on from friends to friends for years. My brother gave me a start. It is nice to sit and think about the people who probably start the mother plant that you got your start off of.

Like the old fashioned one, it came from an old family friend, who lived down the road. We used to attend church with her and her family. She loved to exchange recipes and help start rose gardens. She also fuiled my love for crochet. She passed on about 8 years ago, but anytime I want to remember her I just have to look in my front yard at my rose bush, that started with her so many years ago.

Well my friend, do you have any 'secret' tricks for growing your roses? OR any memorable stories behind your plants?

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy

The Value Of A Dollar

2009-09-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

We realized awhile back that our son (Bub) seems to think that money, "comes out of those machines that make it when you want it" (ATMS) SO we decided right then and there that it was time to start teaching our children about making and saving money. ANd it also didn't help that I was constantly being asked " will you buy that for me?" "I want this right now".

So to nip that in the bud we starting having Bub(who is 4) do odd jobs aroung the house. Such as... helping pick trash up out of the yard, washing windows, washing walls, helping give the dog a bath,sweeping Dad's garage, he even helped take up our rock sidewalk. (they were small rocks) We do not pay for regular family type chores, such as cleaning up his room, cleaning up toys, or being nice to his sister. (even though he insists that that is a chore) He is not forced to do those extra chores but when he does do them correctly(to the best of his ability for his age) he gets paid. After he gets paid he puts it in his "PIG" (personal investment gadget)

It has been so nice not to constantly hear him asking for things. We do still buy him the occasional toy, just for the heck of it. But we encouraged him to pick an item that he really wanted and to work for it. Bub picked the Cars movie. He has been saving for two months now. He finally has enough money. But the strangest thing occured at our house today. He changed his mind! He decided that he has worked so hard for his money that he is going to buy a transformer instead. When he asked if he could buy that instead I said " Well son it is your hard earned money so you can buy anything you want with it" His face lit up and he has been talking about it all day. We are going to go and get it tomorrow.

I know that our children are learning the value of a dollar, and that he will remember what it is like to work for something. We are doing our best to raise hard working, God fearing, down to earth kids. Who wont be expecting something for nothing when their time comes to go out into the world as adults.

We wont our children to know the value of a Hard Earned Dollar.

How do you teach your children to value hard work and well earned money?

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy

In Case Of Emergency

2009-08-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Do you keep an emergency fund?
No I don't mean a credit card. We choose to no longer have credit cards. ( they are very dangerous items to keep around, you can read more about that from my friend Sis over at www.reclaimsimplicity.com )
But we do have an emergency fund. A just incase something goes wrong fund. An emergeny fund can be as little or as much as you think it should be. We prefer to keep it closer to the $1000.00 mark. But that is up to you.
You also have to decide what is considered an emergency, or better yet what isn't an emergency.
In our house an emergency is not... hubby wants a new saw, I want a new piano, or the kids need new shoes.
The emergency fund in our house includes but is not always limited to.. car break downs, house repairs( such as furnace, broken windows, the stuff that you have to fix) death in the family, temporary loss of income.
We have been doing the emergency fund for about 9 months now and we have just now had to use it. SO here for you today is a really life use of an emergency fund.
My husbands Great Grandfather died about three weeks ago. He was 91 years old. We had to go to the funeral and the viewing. We were under the impression that hubby would get berevment pay. Apparently we were wrong. I guess that it only counts for immediate family and Great Grand parents aren't considered immediate family.
Hubbies work didn't bother to tell us about this either. SO when he got paid he only got about half the amount that he should have. So instead of us panicing or borrowing money or the dreaded...(dun dun dun) Credit Cards.. We simply tightened the belt a bit, just for good measure, and dipped into our emergency fund.
It is a very reassuring feeling to know that you are covered if something goes wrong.
We are still learning to live without credit cards of course, but like all things, such as living without satelite tv, you get used to it. And eventually get to love it. Such as when we treat ourselves to the occasional night out. It is completely on cash and it is very refreshing to know that.
So I encourae all of you to take a step out of the credit card mess and come on out and join us over here. It is alot less stressful! And everyone could use a little less stress! Especially when those stressful emergency situations do pop up.

So I ask again... Do you have an emergency fund?

God Bless!

Homestead Mommy

Humble Pie

2009-08-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Peppers, peppers, peppers!
This has been a year for peppers.
I purchased what was supposed to be a whole bunch of bell pepper plants, assorted colors, and what did i end up with. Three green bell pepper plants, and 9 sweet banana plants. I didn't even plan on having sweet banana peppers! But apparently the plants were labeled wrong, or God thought it would be funny to see what we could do with so many banana peppers.
We have so many pepper growing on these plants that they are bending the plants over!

Well I guess we have nothing else to do but go with the old adage....
When life give you peppers make stir-fry! Yes I have been cutting and freezing these puppies for this winter so i can toss it in the skillet to have stir fry, fajitas, or the classic, add it with onions and mushrooms and top a steak with it.
I am not a fan of sweet banana peppers but i guess by the end of this winter i will grow to love them, or really Not like them.

Maybe God was just reminding me that he didn't say he will give us everything we want but he did say he will provide for us. So I guess I should get down on my knees and thank Him, for everything He provides us with... and then go eat some humble pie or in my case stir-fry.

Humbly His,

Homestead Mommy

A tisket a tasket tomatoes in a basket

2009-08-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

A tisket a tasket tomatoes in a basket.
Well it is that time if year when the garden runneth over with more food than you could ever hope to eat. SO....let's make spaghetti sauce!( these pictures loaded backward so bare with my, I am still learning how all this blogging works:) I am also using dial up..grr)
TO be honest I am not the master sauce maker in the house, that would be my hubby, yes ladies not only can he build anything out of wood and fix anything on a car or semi, he can cook!! ( this is the onion and garlic 'getting all happy' in the skillet)
Of course I had to do all the dirty work, such as pick, wash, boil the skins off, remove the seeds, and
turn it into sauce..(and not to mention growing the things) but it is all worth it in the end! Hubby doesn't get to cook very often because he works so much but when he does it is always Awesome! So long as I am there to tell him were everything is. You see, he built this wonderful house that we live in and he has been so busy since then that he has only really cooked in the kitchen probably four times.
As I was waiting for the sauce to finish simmering, so I could can it (OH by the way I figured out how to Pressure can on my glass top stove!! Yes it really was an awesome day!) My friends/sister(D or to my kids Aunt D) stopped by and as soon as she walk in the door she said " Wow it smells like an Italian restaurant in here! Has your hubby been cooking??"
But really it doesn't matter who makes the sauce as long as everyone has fun and it eventually gets in the jar, because it will always taste awesome come January, on a cold, snowy day.

The fun thing about my hubby is that he has this secret recipe when it come to spaghetti sauce and he wont tell me what it is. It has been almost 8 yrs and I still haven't gotten it out of him. One of these days though I will get it out of him.....

Well I am off to unplug the shower drain and try to tackle to laundry monster, who has slowly been creeping out of the laundry room! ( hey I have been canning, the laundry can wait but the tomatoes will rot...tehe)

Happy Saucing!

Homestead Mommy

Using your hobby to save money

2009-08-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

sewin
A while back I decided to take up a hobby, and since I am big on saving money I decided that it had to benefit our family in some way..or at least look that way ;0)
Well I decided to take up sewing, I make most of the kids' PJ's and most of my daughters dresses. But here is one of her outfits that I am especially proud of.
When I was putting this one on her today i realized that it would be her last time wearing it. So I took a pic, and of course if you take her picture she(Sis) has to give that rotten grin.
As sad as i a to see this outfit go, it makes me feel good to know that i made it and that it was much cheaper than if I had bought it. The total cost of this outfit was no more than $5.00! I try to find my fabric on clearance or at discount stores. and I find my patterns on Sale for $1.00. I also try to catch the sales on thread too.
Sewing has become a fun and rewarding hobby. I was afraid people world notice that her clothes were homemade. But then the first time that someone asked me where i got her outfit at so they could go get one too, I was very proud. And Sis loves wearing them too. And i love that i can shop around and find fabrics that match her personality.
I am anxious for this Fall and Winter to arrive, i currently have my Winter hobby (sewing) put away because of our Summer hobbies, gardening and canning and all those fun summer things.
But just recently me and my hubby were talking of how we were dreaming of Winter and being able to slow down and take up our Winter hobbies ( my hubbies Winter hobby is wood working).
I personally am wanting to try a quilt this year. If I get it down I will be sure to post pics. Oh and another project for this year is footie PJ's. Those things look hard. But I will have all Winter.
Well I have to go pick some carrots and of course MORE tomatoes...

Dreaming of Winter,

Homestead Mommy

The Little Things In Life

2009-08-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

So when I was washing dishes a while back I lifted up a pan and this is what I found...
I had to laugh because the funniest things in life pop up a the most unique times..
This made me smile so I hope it make you SMILE too!!
If we didn't have this simpler life I probably wouldn't have noticed this on my counter.

Blessings!

Homestead Mommy

pressure canners, granite pots and glass top stoves OH MY!!!!

2009-08-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well I have been canning all summer with out a canner. Waterbath or pressure canner. Which wasnt a problem until I ran out of pint sized jars. Well I have long since ran out of pint sized jars, and I dont have a pot big enough to water bath quart sized jars.
I didnt want to spend the money on a pressure cann this year, since it was my first year and all. So I went to the store to get a waterbath canner or a really big pot.
Well I gat to the store and I find the canner isle. Well the waterbath canner is made of Granite... well you see I have a glass flat top stove and apparently you are not supposed to use a granite pot on a glass cook top. So with that idea shot out of the water... I go hunting for a really big pot. Well the only pot that they had that would work was $53.00!! ANd I am sorry but I would not spend that much on a pot when I could get a pressure canner that "claimed" on the box to do waterbath canning. SO I buy the pressure cann and head home.
Well once I get home and take said pressure canner out of the box it say that it will waterbath all jars EXCEPT QUARTS! Well I couple choice words later. I pack the things back up.
Hubby tells me to keep it and that we will figure out the other prob later.( I was really mad and he was trying to ake me happy. Have I mentioned how much I love my hubby?)
Well when all was said and done I ended up keeping the canner and I found out that you can pressure can all of the things that they say you should water bath... THank goodness!
ANd I had read that you werent supposed to use a pressure canner on a glass top range but, on the box it said that it was designed for flat top ranges..... So I called the company and she said that she was confident that i coudl use it. But that I should contact my stoves manufacturer for more infromation... GRRRRRRRR.......
Well I say forget it, I am going to use it and see what happens. Well I guess I should probably call the manufacturer andask first and then give them a piece of my mind about the fact that they dont inform you about the fact that you cant use all of this crap on it!! I mean come on!!

I personally love my stove put if I had known what I know now i probably wouldnt have bought it.... Well I will be contacting the manufacturer tomorrow.
So for all of you out there thinking about canning or getting a new stove... I would thik twice about a glass flat top range.
OK I am done venting now. If you stuck with me this far God Bless you!!
Blessings to you!
Homestead Mommy

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2009-08-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well I am proud to announce that last night I made our first pasta dinner with Homemade canned spaghetti sauce!! It was a very good feeling knowing that we had grown and picked and processed the whole thing!
I was concerned that we might not like the mix that I used ( yes i used a mix, this is my first year so I needed it to be as stupid proof as possible) But my hubby tasted it and claimed it to be delicious! Which for my hubby to say that means he really,really likes it.
So I am here to say that if I can do it then ANYONE can do it! It is fun, the first time you do the water bathing process it can be a little nerve wracking but it isn't so bad after the first batch.
I have also canned pizza sauce and salsa. We have tried the pizza sauce yet, but my hubby said the salsa was good but not hot enough. Which I don't really take as a negative because he likes his salsa hot, hot, hot.
Well I am off to pick some tomatoes and zuchinni for the mail lady. And then later today I am making pizza with the new sauce...
Later today I will try to get back on here to tell you about my ever so fun Pressure canner misshap!
Until later!

Homestead Mommy

The Rabbit Hutch

2009-08-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

SO here is our rabbit hutch....

Some friends of ours are giving us the rabbits.... and my "Dad" gave me the hutch.
The only problem is that the hutch was occupied when we got it... oh no, not with fuzzy little bunnies, but with BEE's... Wasps to be precise! There were four big nests of them in there and everytime we would think we had them all there would be more....
Well once we finally got all of the bees out. My hubby got out the powerwasher... You see my hubby doesnt normally let me run "machinery" (for some reason or another my hubby seems to believe that women arent supposed to run "machinery". WHich includes but is not limited too.... tractors, lawn mowers, tillers, and or course power washers and come to think of it, anything with the word power in it. I personally think that he justs likes playing with these items so much that he doesnt like to share.)
But on this perticular day I got to use it... and let me just say that I love to power wash... Especially when he pusts the super jet stream nozzel on it! SO I got the cage clean and while I was at it I went ahead and removed most of the paint too! I am not a big fan of white and was planning to repaint it anyways...I am thinkin Red to match the chicken barn...

Well now that it is clean I have to wait for hubby to repair the cage floor.... it has a couple holes in it. But all in all I think it is going to be a nice addition to our homestead. We are still trying to decide where to put it however. Cause you have to consider the sonlight in the summer and the wind in the winter and of course the smell from the "droppings". I hope we decide soon because we are supposed to be going to get these fuzzy creatures tomorrow.
We are getting the bunnies mainly to raise and eat but we will probably be breeding them for the county fairs, and if i have anything to do with it.... this little hutch will just be the begining! I eventually want a big rabbit barn! ( JUst don't tell the hubby ;0) He gets a little jumpy when ever I mention alot of animals, oh and he practically got hives when I mentioned goats.. but he is coming around. I have to slowly ease him into these new members of the family. And I havent even started on the pig subject yet! I should probably have a medic on call that day..hehe)
Well i need to go and bleach afor said rabbit hutch so we are ready for our new additions tomorrow... I am very, very excited!
Happy day to you!
Homestead Mommy

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2009-08-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

I am pasting this recipe from my cafemom site... there are two different ones and I am combining them. So here you go..

THis one was posted in January of 2009

Well do to the rising price of everything, and the fact that my daughter has allergies to everything except TIDE ($$$$), I have decided to try to make my own laundry detergent. It is suppposed to be super cheap and very effective and non allergenic. I typed homemade laundry detergent into google and got a ton of recipes. All of them had three main ingredients: bar soap, borax, and washing powder.
So, I went to Walmart hunting my supplies, Obviously bar soap was easy and Borax i found in my grocers detergent isle.... washing soda however was a little harder to find. I went to every store in town and no one had it. i ended up having to order it off the net. And waiting for it to arrive was worse than waiting for Christmas.
Well it finally arrived today and I have mixed the strange mixture and am waiting for it to "gel".
However, i have been waiting for this stuff to get here for 4 days and haven't been able to do any laundry while I have been waiting so, I have decided that I can't wait 24 hours for it to Gel.

So i have started a load of towels, and am anxiously awaiting for the load to finish.

I am really hoping this is going to work..... I have done the math and it is costing me less than $3.00 to do a batch which is supposed to do about 64 loads. Which is roughly 3 cents a load.Compared to Tide which is over $25.00 for less than that many loads.
So wish me luck....if this goes well i will be trying homemade dishwasher detergent next.

This one was posted in February of 2009

I have been working with my detergent recipe along with one of my friends. and we have come up with an awesome recipe.

Super stain remover laundry detergent:

You will need,

One container with a lid that can hold 3 gallons of water.

large pot that can hold 2 gallons of water

2 gallons of hot tap water

1 cup washing soda

1 1/2 cups borax

1 1/2 cups powder Clorox2 ( or store brand equivalant) if you use liquid it doesnt mix together right.

1 bar Ivory soap ( or what ever soap you prefer, just nothing too scented)

In large pot 1 1/2 inches of water and grate bar soap in. Heat until melted then slowly add the washing soda, borax , and the Clorox2 and stir until dissolved. keep over medium heat until it just starts to boil, if it boils it will over flow! I learned this from experiance, my stove has never been cleaner!

Stir and let stand with the lid off over night or until gelled. Use approximately 1/4 - 1/3 a cup of detergent to a load of laundry. It works almost as good as Tide with bleach!! And it costs less than $6.00 to make 96 loads.

Oh and another laundry secret...... if you hubby works around grease and grime?or you little ones get super dirty? add about 1/4 cup of Dawn dish detergent to the wash when you add the laundry detergent.

I used to have to do this when i used store brand detergent and with my first batch of homemade laundry detergent. But since I have made this super batch I havent needed it. My hubby is a mechanic and he gets pretty dirty too.

* Well it is now August of 2009 and I have made probably a dozen batches of this stuff ( A dozen because I have been teaching my friends to make it) and I am still pleezed as punch with it!! And many of my friends have passed the recipe on to their friends and family and I have continued to get very happy reports.

One other plus I have noticed with this detergent as opposed to store bought is that, the clothes arent staticy at all, ( well unless it is fleece) I rarely use dryer sheets. And when I do it is for the extra scent and not the static removal ( fleece not included).

And so far this year i have saved approximately $100.00 in laundry detergent! That is not mentioning the amount I have saved on dryer sheets and the electricity to dry it all... I can now line dry over half of my laundry without having the staticy issues from before!

And one more laundry tip just for good measure... if you have a toddler who is potty training, or if you happen to get towels or clothes with mildew, just add about a 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the wash and your problem smells will be long gone by the spin cycle.

Well that is all for today. I have a to do list waiting for me( more on this subject later) and crescent rolls raising on the stove.

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy

Simple Money Saving

2009-08-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

From time to time you will probably see me on here ranting and raving about the cost of paper towels, or the cost of milk.. and dont even get me started about the electric company!
But my mission in life ( besides being a christian mom and wife to the best of my ability) is to save MONEY the SIMPLE WAY. and to STAY OUT OF DEBT. Which surprisingly those two tend to go hand in hand!
I will talk more about the debt another day but today I am going to talk about saving money the simple way. ANd believe me if it is not simple then I dont do it.

Some of the things we do at our house are very simple.. such as:

- I make our laundry detergent from scratch. It costs less than $4.00 to make 96 loads. ( and yes it gets our clothes clean, my hubby is a mechanic and my kids like to get DIRTY. We have truely put this stuff to the test at our house.)

- I hang up half our laundry to dry instead of using the dryer. ( it has dropped our electric bill considerably) I also combine the some of loads in the dryer, after I have hung half of it up to dry.

- I garden, (it is fun) and I am learning to can ( I am still learning to do this, but am enjoying it, the kids like to help)

- I make our own foaming soap ( actually my hubby came up with it, not me.)

- We do not have hi speed internet, satelite dish, or outrageous cell phone accouts. We live within our means.

-We conserve on all non reusable items, such as toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, and soap. I personally loathe these items, because I know as soon as I put them in my cart thet they are going home to be put down the drain of thrown away in a very short time.

- I cut my hubby and childrens hair. Which saves about $15.00 a cut. If I could figure out how to cut my own I would save even more.

- I condense my trips to the store or town, to save money on gas.

There are virtually hundreds of ways to save money. But you see I am a stickler, I have to know that it is actually saving me money to be doing something or i wont do it.. So from time to time I will post about my latest money saving venture, along with how much money you can actually save. I have tried a great many items and found that they dont always work for our family.
Dont worry I will tell you about those too. Because most of them ended in a rather messy sort of fashion.
Well I hate to run but my to do list is calling, and I have a ton of tomatoes to sauce today. I am canning pizza sauce tomorrow.

So I encourage all of you to look around your house and see how you can save money the SIMPLE way!

Sincerely,

Homestead Mommy :)

Little boys and ear infections

2009-08-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well my son was watching tv last night and all of a sudden he starts rubbing his ear and says "OH! I wish my ear would start working again!" And I look at him a bit concerned and say.." Well son when did your ear 'stop' working?"
He then proceeds to say..." Well it kinda stopped working at church I think (which would mean Sunday, that was four days ago!) and it has kinda been hurting" I said "OK well we will call the doctor tomorrow.
This young man of mine I do not know what to do with him. We took him to the doctor today and turns out he has a double ear infection in his right ear and his left ear is full of fluid ( that would explain the "not working right")
He barely said a word to me about it hurting and when I asked him why he didnt tell me... He said "Well i recon I just forgot" The doctor said he had to be in pain but because he has had so many ear infections in his all of 4 yrs that he has built up a very hi tolerance to the pain. And I laughed and said well I wish he would buid up a hi tolerance for other things such a getting his nails trimmed. That boy howls like I am cutting his toes off.
Oh well, Just another day in the life!

Well I am off to pick some tomatoes and make some pizza sauce to can.
Sincerely,
Himestead Mommy

Farmers Market

2009-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

I went to the farmers market today. I had some extra hot peppers and what not so i packed up the truck and my dear daughter and headed on down..
Well $6.00 earned and $7.00 spent. I unloaded my peppers and what not and came home with some heirloom gourds, an heirloom zuchinni, some goat cheese, and a cabbage ( I didnt need the cabbage but i was bartering to get rid of those last 7 hot peppers....
I also stopped by my "parents" house and picked up a rabbit hutch and 3 dozen eggs.
ALl in all I would say a productive day..I also got some business connection for another market during the week.
THere is nothing better then talking farming with a bunch of men from the biz for the morning. They are really willing to give out info if you talk their language and tote a very social toddler with pigtails and a rotten grin. and if you get on their good side they are really good about giving out heirloom seeds...which is a better pay off then trying to make money selling produce.
I do however thinnk that next week I will be taking baked goods instead of produce.. it seemed to be selling better..
So I encourage all of you to go to your local farmers market instead of your super market this week. It is a very good place to get organic veggies and some good old fashioned conversation.
Farming is a dying art, and more people need to take an interest before all the good ones are gone and all of their know how goes with them..
Sincerely,
Homestead Mommy

Homestead Mommy

Simplifying Part 3...Shoe Organization

Dreaming of Spring

In My Life This Week

My Week

Jean Skirt Made Out Of A Pair Of Jeans

The Family Closet

~Gifts From God~

Healthy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Making Room

4 Layer Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Perfection...The real deception.

The Cloth Diaper Experiment *Part 1*

Simplifying Part 2 The Theory of Three

Simplifying Part 1 Dvd Storage

Holy Cow!!

Easter 2011

Homemade Nightgown for $2.

I Misplaced My Best Friend

Preparing For RAIN!

The Laundry Deal..

Breast Is Best...But Don't Tell The Children!?

~WARNING~

Our New Baby Girl!

Make it Pink!

The Front Porch (Part One)

Following Daddy's Lead

BOX DAY!!!!

Francesca Battistelli - Free To Be Me [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

His Will!

Run Chicken Run!

Unexpected Blessings!!

Embracing the 'Crunch'!

New additions

Simplicity

Hubby has been busy

My New Hobby

One in Heaven...

One of the many reasons Why I don't like Walmart

Homemade Nursing Pads

Hair highlighter for under $1.00

NEW Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe (powder)

Laundry Room Curtains for $1.00!!

Living Room Curtains

Homeschool Blessings!

A decision made

Gardening in my mind

My budget stretching secrets

Saving Money on Christmas Decorations (Salt Dough Ornaments)

He's still working on me...Thank Goodness!

So this is Christmas...?

Poor nativity set..that little camel never saw it coming..and the angel..tisk,tisk..So sad. Apparently those wise men weren't so wise.

But then again is anything safe when a two yr old is around? How can a little girl break the heads off of ceramic toys? The box said Childs nativity play set. Apparently they haven't met a child named Sis! I managed to rescue baby Jesus!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The New Dryer

What is it about Tuesdays??

Making Appler Butter

That's what best friends are for!!

Johnny Appleseed would be proud of me!

Porta Potties at the Pumpkin Patch

Oreo's,Toddlers and Tuesdays

I'm Back!!!

Hello! Long lost friends!

Birthday Party on a budget

Success At The Farmers Market

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

To Pickle A Peck Of Pickling Peppers

Gone Fishing

A Rose is a Rose!

The Value Of A Dollar

In Case Of Emergency

Humble Pie

A tisket a tasket tomatoes in a basket

Using your hobby to save money

The Little Things In Life

pressure canners, granite pots and glass top stoves OH MY!!!!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

The Rabbit Hutch

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Simple Money Saving

The Cloth Diaper Experiment Part 1