here.we.go.

Well, today is the day I have come to realize that we are in the 99%.  We have come to a place where what we make does not cover our expenses for the month. These figures do not include one night out to eat. AT ALL. not birthday gifts, no girls night out, no fantasy football. These figures are the bare bones of existence for us and we cannot meet those obligations starting in one week. We knew this was coming. We have tried to prepare for it, but I don't think you can be prepared for the moment that you and your husband sit down and see it on paper -
                                                                 you are broke.

 I only share this openly hoping to help others find peace and security in something higher than the check book. I have no idea how this is all going to work, but God provides for us. We can and will get through this. I cried buckets of tears last night realizing that my husband will have to look for work that will take him away from us most of the week, every week. I hate that for me, but more so for him as he will miss a lot of miss M. I would go to work, but then you have daycare costs and diapers (they won't do cloth) and many other expenses that make it stupid to switch to full time work. Then, we looked at decreasing our pay to get on assistance. That doesn't make sense either because I could not take classes back on next semester. My classes help us to pay for all the other stuff like birthdays and trips and some not-so-needed items. I am glad that this moment is finally here. I can grab life by the horns and see how this frugal living will pay off.

                                     Am I scared - yes. very much so.
                                                  Am I sad - yes.
 I have a masters and my husband has a bachelors and we are still in this predicament. My kids have no understanding of what is at stake. We have budgeted their activities in because we want them to keep at em. Gymnastics, piano, and guitar. That adds up. But we will make some sacrifices other places to make that work.

I have always been scared to look at my bank account. I have ran from the reality of credit card balances. This is our year. I said this from day one of the year. It is going to be good. God will rise us up and away from the grips from debt. It just won't be easy. or pretty. And, it may take longer than I would like. But, this is the year.

I hope that none of you face these challenges. But, you may today or someday. I am reading a Psalm and a Proverb daily. These people did not always have it easy. But God prevailed and He still does today. Even in our pocketbooks.

Time for Tipsy Tuesday!!!

Hey Yall!

just got my hospital bill from having little miss m......  (upchuck here)

so, I needed something uplifting!!

So my tips for Tipsy Tuesday this week -

Theme nights for menu planning
        Mine are - Meatless Monday, Crockpot Thursday, and Fiesta Friday 
You can add things like chicken Tuesdays, Italiano Tuesdays, etc. Not only do they sound fun, it makes menu planning VERY easy!!

Use Shaklee to clean everything. It  is inexpensive, safe, potent, and proven. (ask me how to get it)

Give everyone in your house a color. My kids are blue, green, and  pink. Everything for that child is in that color. Towels, dirty clothes hamper, organizers, etc. They even have plates and cups in their colors. That way they (and I) always knows whos stuff is STILL out. :) The bathroom also has an instant decoration theme. the towels are so cute hung on pegs.

I am moving to digital storage of all my childrens hand made things. I will keep some to have out at said holiday, but I cannot keep ALL of it. But I do. and I need a way to cherish them.  I recieved a printer, scanner, fax for Christmas and plan on using it for this awesome project. Kind of like the neat desk, just a lot more work and less money.

I hope that this mini version of a tip tutorial has been fun! I have two sick boys and one cranky baby to handle now. I will have a blog post again tonight. Lots to share!! :)

Time to Prepare for Menu Planning Mondays!

So.......I have a new name for Tuesdays....Tipsy Tuesdays!! No, not THAT tipsy......

In honor of my first, I will start today even though it is Saturday. I hope that anyone coming to Menu Planning Mondays will read this first!

Start gathering your calendar. We can't plan menus if we don't even know what nights we will be home!
We will start with doing three weeks of menus. My goal is to be planning the next week's menu within a month. This way we are always a week ahead and we have back plans.

Be realistic about your family's needs. If they don't like new foods, start basic with everyday favs and we will add a new recipe every couple of weeks. You never know what may become a new family favorite.

Go to United's website and sign up for their weekly ad to come straight to your inbox. You will know what is on sale and what we can plan ahead for. The best way to save money is pair those coupons with store ads to stock up.

Get the Sunday paper!!!  We will use those coupons to help us plan a better budget friendly menu.

Bring your laptop or notebook or binder or what ever you are choosing to help you. If you don't know what works best, yet. bring paper and pencil. :) I will showcase another blog each week that helps with menu planning. Every one is different and we will all have our own way of doing this.

Be ready to fail. We all make mistakes, we all get tired and sometimes we even give up. This is NOT an all or nothing adventure.

See you Monday!!!

Today is the greatest.....

If only I would wake up and say that every single day!!  I have been working on a schedule for molly and I. NOT WORKING.

I do not like to admit defeat, but I feel it right now. Last night I just sat there and cried. ha! I feel better today, just tired.  She is slowly getting on a schedule. I can't believe she is only 3 weeks old today!!

I am hoping to get into the habit of posting on Tuesdays, just in case someone likes to follow me.

I am working on our frugal living habits as well. I have high hopes, don't I!? We are buying our first set of canning supplies today. I started doing Bountiful Baskets this week. I split a 20 pound order of tomatoes, so I thought why not try this out!!  I got out all my yarn and am trying to knit and crochet in my spare time, yes I have spare time! I think we all do, we just don't use it wisely.

I will be hosing a menu planning meeting every Monday at my house. I believe it is possible to eat on very little with a little planning and I hope to help others, too. We will make ahead meals once a month to put in the freezer as a  back up when our well laid plans fail. I want to embrace this time in my life and not let a minute slip by that I could have blessed my family.

I am also purchasing the materials to make our own laundry and dish soap. I think that the up front cost will seem hefty, and then it will pay off. I am trying a couple of recipes to see what I like best. I will be switching to home made tortillas and bread as well. I have a bread maker, why not use it?!  I pray every day for God to bless my heart so that everything is a blessing to me and my family instead of hated chores that I hold against others in my household.

I am doing better with three kids than I thought I would so far. The main problem I see is that someone gets left a little behind, no matter what I am doing. I am trying to make an effort to do something special for the boys each week. I will pick someone and do a little surprise or spend some extra time with them each week. I want to invest my time and energy into my kids and husband. I learned from my other two marriages, that the grass is always green when you water it.

Although this is a short post, it is very personal. I hope I grow as I share. And I hope that you will, too!

Dayspringgirl <><

She is Here!!

Well......little Miss M was born on December 30th! We went into the hospital on the 29th late (i had to catch my office work up) and was born at 1:20 the next morning.   I have been just so in love that I forgot about you! sorry - she is intoxicating. :)

As I write this, it is yet again time to feed again. and time to change another diaper. again.  I am so in love with cloth diapering. It is so sweet and I love pinning. I would read bloggers that would gush about pinning and I would roll my eyes. Guess what?! I am now that blogger!

 Isn't that precious!!


I am also starting our family on a mission to Financially Frugal Living.....Starting today. Friday the 13th. So I will mix both together. I mean, it is our family and our life. So...here is my list of what I have done so far:

Cloth diapers
Cloth napkins
Cloth wipes
Cloth towels (we no longer use paper towels)
Clothes line in the bathroom (hoping to install one outside this summer)
Reusing cans and plastic jars for organization
Switching from liquid soaps for bar soaps in the bathrooms
Built Compost pile


My goals:
Garden
Green house
Homemade laundry soap
Home made granola, snacks, ketchup, bbq sauce, etc.
to have more goals.

I have found a lot of blogs I want to share with you......I will post their buttons/ websites below:

http://bountifulbaskets.org/                                      http://www.fiberfarm.com/




http://littlefarminthebigcity.blogspot.com/2012/01/t-shirt-yarn.html



http://frugallysustainable.com/

http://gnowfglins.com/blog/


so, I am not the best at this blog thing- yet! I hope the websites and the info I share help you on your journey.

I will end with my final thoughts for the day:

I am blessed with all the laundry, I have an active family that dirties them.
I am blessed with all these dirty dishes, We have a growing family and money to feed our family everyday.
I am blessed with this messy house, I have children and a husband that comes home everyday to mess it up.
I am blessed to be this exhausted, my baby is at home and healthy.

I pray that you too, will bless your family as you wash their clothes, cook their food, get up in the middle of the night to care for them.