Budget Update!

Okay, so confessions are suppose to make you feel better so here it goes. I want you all to know that I failed misserabley the first week of trying to be more frugal at the grocery store. I think I went to the store 3 times. With that said, I realized that my trips to the grocery store, however, were for perishable items that my kids demolished in days...yogart, cheese, apples, bananas, etc.. Eating healthy is definitely more expensive, but I did manage to stay in my budget this second week. I have to also tell you that I am still buying baby formula for Abigail which runs about $40 a week and diapers and wipes and baby food! Yikes!!! On a side note, here is a wonderful tip for mom's who are bottle feeding now or plan to in the near future. TARGET...yes the most wonderful store on earth, sells their own baby formula which contains the EXACT SAME INGREDIENTS as Enfamil Lipil with Iron. BUT it is LESS THAN 1/2 the price. Enfamil - $25.00 for a 25 oz. can. Target Brand - $11.98 yes...I am telling the truth...only $11.98 for a 25 oz. can! AMAZING!!! I love target! www.target.com Also, hiking up my grocery bill these days are a bottle of wine I slip into the cart for me and the six pack for Guy! Lots of prayer and a little wine make this mommy a lot happier. For now it's staying in the budget! Some other things I have been trying to do are to spend less, but make more meals. Yesterday on Oprah, she had Cristina Ferrare on the show and she demonstrated 3 yummy chicken recipes that do exactly that! Check it out! http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081024_tows_chicken/1

Let me know what you all are doing to cut back on spending in your house!

My kids aren't spoiled, are they?

My oldest daughter Grace is 3 1/2 years old. She is a smart, bright and a charming little girl. She keeps me on my toes to say the least. With that said, here begins my newest saga......

Early last week I made a good old fashioned family favorite for dinner: noodles, ground beef, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Everyone cheered as I put each person's plate in front of them. The table was full of smiles and hungry bellies being satisfied. My dinner was a success! Well, on Wednesday night it was a success. Like always, I can never properly portion pasta so we had enough dinner for leftovers. On Thursday night, I was excited to have another stress free dinner with smiles all around. As I began to pass out plates, loaded with the delicious pasta, I hear my sweet little Grace starting to yell, "OHHHHHhhh NOOOOOooo," as if something horrific had just happened, like her Buzz Light Year doll fell and broke into a million pieces or she realized she'd left her favorite Care Bear in her Sunday school class. You know those screams, right? I of course go to her rescue immediately expecting something horrible. I exclaimed, "Grace, what's wrong?". In the WHINIEST voice you can imagine, she says, with huge alligator tears streaming down her little cheeks, "I can't eat this! We had it for dinner last night! AHHHHHH!". At that moment I wanted to get out the "Do you know that there are children around the world starving, who don't have anything to eat. You are so ungrateful....if you only new how good you have it" speech. I am sure you're familiar. Instead, as calmly as I could, I said, "okay, Grace. You don't have to eat dinner, but you won't be getting anything else this evening." When the moment finally passed Grace decided to eat and we lived happily ever after for the next few hours (until bedtime)!

From that point on, I have been convicted by the amount of food that passes through my house and the amount of money we spend every week. There is a book called Hungry Planet written by Faith D'Aluisio and photographed by Peter Menzel. Each chapter of their book features a portrait of a family, photographed alongside a week's worth of groceries. There's also a detailed list of all the food and the total cost. The pictures alone are shocking.

Between seeing these photographs and the response from my daughter about eating leftovers, I have decided to challenge myself, my family and hopefully many of you to look at our current grocery habits. The United Sates Department of Agriculture puts out every month the Average cost for Food, for Individuals and Families, and breaks it into 4 categories: Thrifty, Low-cost, Moderate-cost and Liberal plan. Currently, I shop in the "they don't have a category for you" category. My challenge is for my family to stay between the Low-cost and moderate-cost budget for the month of October. This means I can spend $150 to $190 on food each week. YIKES! Log onto the USDA website and find out what you can do to lower your monthly food budget.

Grocery prices are rising, people around the world are feeling the pinch! I will keep you all updated and let you know how my budget is doing!

Also, to cut back on costs, I have found a great wellness company online that has ALL NATURAL products for 30%-40% off regular prices. Now I am saving money on household products, bath and body products and nutritional supplements and taking care of the environment too! Check out my website under Smarter Shopping for more information.

I'm the Worst Mom Ever

Have you ever had a plan for your day and your sunny day plans soon turned into a brewing thunderstorm. I am trying with the Lord's help to enjoy the rain and really grasp joy in times of major "Mommy Stress". I find myself on most days looking for the next break, the next nap, the next time I can let my kids watch tv so I can take a breath. Most days, I feel like I am serving my family from the bottom of the barrel instead of the overflow. The constant needs of my children (Grace 3, Jacob, 2, and Abigail 8 months) and the endless time crunches to get things done keep me distracted. My "Mommy Stress" is usually, on a scale of one to ten, an 8. When I feel completely drained, I am irritable, moody and annoyed (my husband's favorite word that I use). I am nowhere close to remembering the tender whispers ..."less of you, more of me(Jesus), this is all FOR THE GOOD, "come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:2-29). When I am not filling my spiritual bucket and staying focused on my goal as a mom (to create an environment of total wellness for my family), I struggle and the "Mommy Stress" takes over. I end up feeling like 'the worst mom ever'. My mind starts flashing horror stories of shopping with little kids. I love it when people stare at me as I drag my toddlers out of a store screaming. I enjoy even more when complete strangers shake their head saying "poor little girl", as my 3 year old erupts like a volcano in aisle six because I won't let her get the chocolate cereal. Or the times that I lock myself in my room for a time out because I can't take the whining and crying...AHHHHHH! These are the times when I have allowed satin to get the best of me. I am opperating in reverse. I let my to-do-lists take the lead instead of my quiet time with God to get refilled for the days activities. I pray that God will continue to show me His divine perspective, reduce my stress and His voice of truths would be shouts instead of whispers. I will continue to work out my "Mommy Stress" so that I can lead my family down the path of spiritual wellness. My 3 year old is also teaching me. When I am frazzled and stressed she says, "Mommy, you need to change your attitude and ask God to forgive you." WOW...Being a mom is the most character building I've been through yet.

Go Green Mom

I am a stay-at-home mom and have 3 little ones who were all under 3 years old not so long ago. As a mom I feel incredibly blessed and know that each day I am working FOR THE GOOD of my husband, my children, my home, my neighborhood, my community, my church....you get the picture. Worry is normal and sleepless nights are common even though technically I should be sleeping through the night...no more infants. The last thing I need to worry about is how the products in my house are contaminating my family and the environment. BPA free bottles? What? I know that my 2 oldest kids drank from clear plastic bottles that I am sure were leaching chemicals into the milk and juice. What are the long term effects? And what about those poisonous bath washes and the laundry detergent that leaches into your skin and the softeners that effect our rivers and streams...Ahhhhhh! As a mom I think it is improtant to always be thinking that what I do everyday should begin with...This is FOR THE GOOD of _______ (...fill in the blank). This is a core value and a way of putting the "treat others as you want to be treated" into practice. It is also a way to be conscious about the environment and take care of this amazing earth. I have made a real effort to rid my home of harsh chemicals and use products that have sustainable, natural ingredients, no caustic chemicals and that keep our waterways clean!!! How are you and your family "GOING GREEN"?