I can’t remember exactly…but I think the last time my husband brought me flowers was…

About three years…no…maybe when…no…hmmm…I can’t remember.

It’s just not something we do. We kinda avoid the whole commercialism of Valentines day, and well…

When and if we’re gonna spend money on a gift for each other…we kinda want to make it something worth spending money on that will be useful and not something that’s gonna, well…die in a few days.

And I’m okay with that…because while I love flowers and think they are beautiful…I’m so stinkin’ practical that if I think of the cost of flowers…I’ll start tallying up how many gallons of milk or how many dozen eggs I could have bought with the money someone spent on roses and I just get wierd. 

And I know my husband loves me because he shows it to me everyday in ways that no amount of flowers could ever say. (even pink flowers)

So now that you know how often we don’t buy things around here….

Imagine my surprise and joy to see my husband peek into the kitchen one day this week when he came home for lunch with a sweet little bouquet for me. 

WOW! 

I think I’m still smiling. And getting over the shock. And smiling.

He said he was proud of me and just wanted to do something extra special. That’s all.

Wow.

Well…they are beautiful and of the lily family and of course he picked a pink one to go in the mix because he knows I love pink.

I will treasure them for as long as they live…and I will treasure the memory for a long time after that…

Because I know that I will probably not be greeted at lunchtime with flowers again for quite some time.

And that’s what makes this little splurge on flowers so special.

So my Frugal Friday encouragement is…if you splurge often on things like flowers, or eating out, or a new toy…the splurge loses it’s special-ness. But, if every once in a great while you splurge just a little…it will mean so much. 

So, keep the special things special. You’ll appreciate it so much more.

Having said all that…who do you think had a peach cobbler waiting for him at lunch the day after the flowers? Yeah…now who’s smiling?!

Recently, my two older boys got themselves each an email account…

They have had SO much fun emailing their buddies back and forth  (and then calling each other on the phone right away to let each other know that they just sent an email…)  :)

And sometimes they email our family members… 

What aunt or uncle or grandparent doesn’t love that?!

We’ve decided it’s a super way for our big kids to learn more about computers and to learn to write…you know – complete sentences…equipped with capital letters and punctuation and everything. They don’t even complain about this kind of “writing” like they sometimes do about other writing assignments.

And, my most favorite way to use email with the kids? 

Emailing back and forth with Mom and Dad! 

I’ve had so much fun surprising them with an email letting them know how proud I am of their hard work that day, or how great they did on their math assignment, or whatever.

Here’s my email to my oldest son a couple of days ago…

Asa,

You are SO the  best 10 year old boy EVER!!
 
Thanks for making lunch and helping with everything else while I didn’t feel well.

Love you,

Mom

And here’s his reply:

Hi Mom! You are SO the best 34 year old Mom EVER. HeHe  Asa

Isn’t he “oh, so clever”? 

I should get him started on a blog.

In the meantime…I’ll just enjoy this completely free way to send encouragement to my kids…and this great tool to get my kids writing more!

More on Frugal Fridays…

A couple of months ago, I began babysitting for two extra little ones.

Very part time.

I felt like it was something I could do to help out a little.

At first…I felt like I was working very hard for very little pay…and asked myself…is it worth it?

I certainly didn’t want it to take away from my own family’s needs.

Not for the tiny bit of extra income it provided.

But, now we’re into a nice little routine with it…and my kids take turns helping and playing and chasing the little ones. They are learning more ways to serve…

So that in and of itself has made it worth it.

The families that we are babysitting for have both voiced their satisfaction with the comfort they feel knowing their babies are safe in our care.

And, the amount that I get paid per hour? Well, it all adds up.

I can make that extra cash go a long way at the store.

And I feel so grateful that God always provides…even in these little ways.

It always adds up to big blessings.

More Frugal Fridays here!

Last Friday, our second son Justus turned eight. 

When asked what he wanted for his birthday he had two requests:

Wool Socks and a SwitchFoot CD that is all his own.

Okay first – wool socks? Are we raising this kid to be practical or what? (How cute is HE?)

And second…we already have a SwitchFoot CD…and we just didn’t like the idea of spending $15 for him to have his very own.

SO, I bought a pack of five blank CDs…for $5! and wrapped them up.

When he opened them, we told him that not only could Daddy make him a Switchfoot CD by using our computer to burn it onto one of these blank discs…he could choose four more of his favorite CDs for Daddy to burn. Then he’d have FIVE of his very own CD’s (for way less than the price of one NEW CD).

Justus has had SO much fun with his birthday gift…and Daddy is even teaching him how to “rip” and “burn” the CDs. (Of course, everyone here thinks it’s so cool that these procedures have such awesome names…who wouldn’t want permission to rip and burn things!?)

While I (the lone female of the house) didn’t get into the ripping and burning…I got to do the fun cutesy part of printing out labels for the CDs and covers for the cases. Justus LOVES them!

Ah, I love working together with my family to make inexpensive and SUPER fun gifts! 

And I love that my kids are so thrilled with these gifts! 

And I LOVE that we created 5 CDs for $5!!

(P.S. You know it’s only legal to copy CDs if you bought and own them…right? Hey, we’ve got pirates around here aplenty….but we never pirate anything! Okay, just wanted to clear that up.)

Be sure to go to Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday ideas!

I have a pair of wool socks. They are pink.

I love them and wear them all the time (and I wash them occasionally too).

I only have one pair. 

And I have worn them so much that they have holes in the heels.

They have had a bunch more at Walmart, but I’ve been waiting for them to go on clearance so I don’t have to pay $8 for them.

So,  last week, they were finally on sale. For $4.50. 

So I got another pair.

But I was really hoping they’d be cheaper than $4.50. 

And that’s why I only got one pair.

So, I was telling my husband about my purchase, and he said, “Why did you only get one pair? You wear them all the time. And they were almost half price?”

Huh. Why DID I only get one pair? 

Because I was hoping to only have to pay $2.50 or something else wonderful for my pink wool socks.

And then it occurred to me. I’m not just being frugal, I’m being CHEAP. We’re talking about socks here. Not something frivolous and silly. 

Socks. 

I live in Nebraska where it snows for 13 months out of the year. Wool socks aren’t frivolous or silly. 

And the fact that they’re pink and warm makes me really like this unsilly and unfrivolous item.

So good grief, I’m gonna go back to Walmart and get me some more pink wool socks.

That is, if they have any…because everyone ELSE probably recognized that they were getting a really good deal at $4.50 and snatched them up already!

Anyone else have trouble being cheap when they really mean to only be frugal?

Read about FRUGAL ideas at Biblical Womanhood today.

And thanks for sticking around to read the most uninteresting blog EVER:  The Blog About My Socks.

Brace yourself. Next week, I might just go a little crazy and blog about my bath robe.

P.S. I’ve taken a NO SUGAR Plunge this week!  If you feel like you have a hard time with sugar cravings and want to cut back, jump in with me! Several of us in this together and encouraging each other with this. Come join us!