Jan 23, 2018

Funny Things Parents Say To Their Kids




Have you ever said something to your child that made you shake your head? Have you said something that made you think that this is something you never thought you would have to say to another human being? I have done this so many times, especially when it comes to my son.

I asked parents what were some funny things they have said to their children and I got some great responses. I want to share them with you for a good laugh. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!



Don't lick snow off the handrail.

Don't lick your popsicle drips off the gas station floor.

Stop licking your sister!

 
What are you doing behind that tree?! Pull your pants up and get over here now! No, you cannot pee on the tree, you’re a girl for crying out loud!

The IRS does not kill people with *axes*! They require us to pay *TAXES*!

Stop touching your butt!


Don't sit on your baby sister's head.


Is everyone wearing underwear? 


I'll pay you to take a nap.


No, you can't drink toilet water.

 
No, you cant eat soup with a toilet seat around your neck.
 
Is that chocolate or poop? Actually, I really don’t want to know.
 
Don't pick your brother's nose and eat it.
 
Quit putting money in your undies.
 
Don't pee on a random car in Walmart parking lot.



This was a fun post to write up. I had so many people messaging and commenting on all sorts of funny things they have had to say.
What are some funny things you have said to your kids?

Jan 7, 2018

Getting Rid Of Junk


The holidays have long passed but we are still on a homeschool break. I think as moms we don't ever get a break for the holidays. We are busy baking, cooking, wrapping, cleaning, and preparing for all the events that will take place. And once it's all over, we have a mess of things to do.

I don't know about you but my to-do list is long after the holidays. Decorations need to be taken down, new toys need to find a place, and I always try to hit up those 50% off sales after Christmas. After that is all finished, it's time to think about the new year. This is when I go on my cleaning and purging frenzy.

Even though this week has been busy with me getting all these things done, it feels good. I have gotten rid of so many unneeded and unwanted things. My house feels renewed, refresh, and clean.

Speaking of getting rid of things we don't need, how is your heart this new year? I'm not talking about your physical heart but your spiritual heart. Is your heart full of junk? Maybe you have some resentment cluttering up the cabinets, unforgiveness hidden in the back of your closet, anger lurking in the basement, or sadness taking up space under your bed.

Just as we clean out our home, we need to the same with our hearts. Carrying around junk makes it hard to keep things neat and tidy. It also makes it difficult to find room for new things like joy, love, and peace.


We need to take an inventory of what we have going on in our hearts and do some purging. It's a lot of work but once it's done you feel refreshed. So I challenge you to take your heart and all it's junk to the Lord in prayer. Ask him to help you work through the things you might have pushed into the junk drawer through the year. Chances are when you're done, your heart will feel renewed, refresh, and clean.

Jan 5, 2018

Large Family Grocery Shopping



One of the top questions I get asked is how I shop for our family. Many people are shocked when I tell them we feed our family of 7 on $400 a month. I don't use coupons and I stick to two stores, Wal-Mart and a day old bread store.


It's taken me a few years to figure all of this out. I tried couponing, driving to other stores for sales, using apps, and paying attention to flyers. None of those worked for me. I just need to get to the store and get out without having to mess with coupons or apps.

Here is how I do it.

Meal Plan


I start off by planning all our dinners. For our family dinner is the most expensive meal. I can easily plan breakfast and lunch, more on that later. I first figure out how many dinners I need to plan for. So for January, I will need 31 dinners. I grab a notebook and number the lines 1 to 31. I automatically give myself 4 "free" days as I like to call them. These are times we will eat leftovers or go out to dinner. After I do that I finish planning for the rest of the days. I add in my lunches and breakfasts by writing out all the things we will eat. Example: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, leftover dinner, etc. And for breakfast I know we eat oatmeal, eggs, toast, Cheerios, pancakes, yogurt, etc.

Grocery List


After I have my meal plan I go through the list and count up what I need to buy meat wise. I write all of that into my list and try to buy in bulk, if I can. I can later separate and freeze meat when I get home. Once I have all my dinner, lunch, and breakfast grocery list made out I add in snacks. 

Grocery Shopping


I shop at Wal-Mart for almost all of our food. I compare the prices and ingredients and try to make the best choice. After doing this for so many shopping trips you learn what brands to buy for your family. I will also buy things in bulk, like pancake mix. This way I can make up a bunch of pancakes and freeze them. I stick to my list the best I can. For bread, I shop at a local day old bread store. We buy 15 to 20 loafs of bread and freeze them in our deep freezer.


Home Cooking


Throughout the month I will check off the things I have made for my family. I try to plan out what I will make for dinner a week at a time so I stay on track. Of course, through the month we might need milk or other odds and ends we run out of. But the majority of my shopping is done on one day for that month.

Keep Your Lists


Keep your lists. For the following months, I look back at the previous month and plan out that month. I take a few meals out and add in new ones. I take the previous grocery list and work off that for what I need to get for the upcoming month. This saves me so much time.  


What you end up spending on your family on groceries will depend on what you buy and where you live. For our family, I choose to make simple meals and limit the number of processed foods we buy. Because of where we live fresh produce is hard to come by for decent prices, especially in the winter.

I hope you find this helpful. Just remember that what works for my family might not work for yours. It takes time to figure it all out and have a plan in place that works well for you and your family.

What are your tips and tricks for grocery shopping?