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How I (the mom) Have a Stuffed Stocking

December 1, 2009 by Laura 22 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I actually can’t take complete credit for this idea. It was sort of mutually figured out by my friend Anne and me. And she’s really the smart one.

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One year we were laughing about what our husbands have stuffed into our stockings last minute discussing that our husbands really don’t do a great job of filling our Christmas stockings for us. It’s not because our husbands are not thoughtful…or that they don’t care about us…or that they don’t like to give us gifts.

It just seems that in the big picture of working 50+ hour work weeks to provide for their family and chopping wood for their fireplaces and spending time with their children and helping out with different needs at church…filling our Christmas stockings isn’t very high on our husbands’ radar.

And that’s 100% completely okay with us. 

But we both still think it’s fun to have stuff in our stockings on Christmas morning. Plus, our kids might notice if all the stockings are fat and ours is hanging there all limp and skinny.

So…Anne and I fill each other’s stockings. We’ve been doing this now for about five years.

It is a blast.

I know what Anne likes and needs for her kitchen or for her cold feet or for her school time with her girls. She knows what I like and need for my kitchen or for my dry hands or for my “I love jars” obsession.

It completely takes the pressure off of our husbands and they LOVE IT. 

We make things or find things for each other inexpensively. We’ve never set a price limit on our stocking filling project…because we both think alike when it comes to money and neither of us spends very much. A few dollars at most.

Then we wrap each item individually and hand each other a bag full of goodies sometime before Christmas. Christmas Eve…we each dump our stuff into our stockings to be opened Christmas morning.

I’m telling you…this is always SO much fun!!! 

And did I mention that our husbands love it?

I know that some husbands like filling a stocking for their wives. 

But if yours is one that doesn’t…forward this post to one of your friends and let the fun begin!!!

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Don’t Buy Stuff

May 5, 2009 by Laura 31 Comments

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That’s it. My title is my post. Don’t buy stuff…that’s all I have to say.

 When asked what my favorite frugal tip is…Don’t Buy Stuff is the best thing I can come up with.

When you buy stuff, you have to pay for it with money. And then you have to find a place to put it once you bring it home. And it won’t stay where you put it because someone will get it out and not put it away. And then it will get lost. Or broken. Or forgotten.

Buy food. You need to eat.

Splurge on toilet paper. It’s very useful.

Invest in soap…using soap is good.

But don’t buy stuff.

You’ll save a lot of money.

And…if you didn’t really need it in the first place, you won’t even miss it. ;)

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Which Mop?

March 31, 2009 by Laura 74 Comments

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I need a little help in the mopping arena.

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I won’t show pictures of all the mops that haven’t worked for me…but if I were to do that, there would be a parade of them.

They either work one time and then stop working…or the little top spongy things gets crusty and gross after I’ve mopped with it twice. Or the head falls off after a few uses.

Maybe it’s because I’m buying cheap mops?

Spending lots of money on a mop doesn’t really make me feel joy or excitement.

Wonder what kind of mop June Cleaver used?  Maybe I should wear my high heels when I mop? (I don’t own any high heels.) 

We’ve now chucked all of our mops and begun using a bucket of warm water (sometimes with Basic H) and an old wash rag on our hands and knees. It beats anything else we’ve ever tried.

Except for the “maybe we just won’t clean our floors” idea. That doesn’t seem to work either.

What kind of mop do YOU use? Have you found one that really works for you?! WILL YOU COME OVER AND DEMONSTRATE IT FOR ME on all the levels of my house (every Tuesday)? 

P.S. Most of my house is has hard wood floor if that makes any kind of difference in your advice. Thanks!
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More backwards Works for me Wednesday here.

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Look at What You Did!!

March 3, 2009 by Laura 18 Comments

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Last Monday, at the beginning of the day, our house was a mess. I don’t know how that happened because usually we clean on the weekends so we can start our week off right. But somehow this particular Monday came upon us with messes everywhere.

SO, we got busy. Along with teaching the boys school and feeding everyone…and doing all the other normal things I usually do during the day…the boys and I also spent a lot of time tackling the upstairs bedrooms.

We swept, vacuumed, dusted, rearranged beds, washed sheets, remade beds with clean sheets and put away books and toys. By dinner time, the upstairs looked great! 

After tucking the boys in that night, I came down to the living room and plopped down on the couch…exhausted. I leaned my head back to relax and looked up at the ceiling.

Do you know what was on my ceiling? 

Cobwebs.

The nerve.

I immediately began to feel discouraged about keeping up with everything…or rather with the fact that it is SO HARD to keep up with everything.

Then I was reminded of something my sister-in-law Kari and I visited about a couple of months ago.

Instead of focusing at the end of the day on all the things you didn’t get done…think instead of all the things you DID get done.

As long as you were working hard and being productive all day…there is nothing to feel bad about.

If the laundry isn’t done…but you worked hard and loved on your family, then your priorities are in the right place.

After you get a good night’s sleep you can start to tackle the rest of your undone list tomorrow.

For tonight…rest well knowing you did a good job today. 

So…what DID you get done today?!  (I bet it was a lot!)
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No Sweets for the Sour

February 17, 2009 by Laura 17 Comments

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At our house we allow our kids to have one sweet treat per day (usually a healthier version). That’s been our system for a while and it works pretty well so that our kids don’t feel “dessert deprived” in a world fullllllll of sugar and candy.

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But…sweets at our house are only given to little boys who are sweet. We feel like eating a dessert is a privilege, therefore it’s the first privilege we take away when any of our boys have ugly attitudes or don’t treat one another with kindness.

Occasionally we give them a warning when we see a bad attitude coming on. “Change your attitude to be sweet…or you won’t get a sweet for the day.” Oooh, no one wants to miss out on their dessert. A happy face usually shows up almost immediately. But one warning is all they get. If the ugliness returns…they lose their dessert privilege. And sometimes they don’t get a warning at all. Because, obviously they’ve already been warned that it’s not okay to torture a brother. ;) 

So…that’s one way we discipline our boys that works well for us. I love it because it’s a “punishment that fits the crime”:  If you aren’t sweet, you don’t get sweets.

What have you found that works well for you in regard to “punishment that fits the crime”? What are some privileges you take away from your kids that have been effective?
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Find more helpful tips at Rocks in my Dryer.

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The Better to See You With! Valentine Crafts

February 10, 2009 by Laura 28 Comments

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Take a look at this silly Valentine craft idea! We’ll be making 30 or so pairs of these glasses to give out as Valentines at our homeschool Valentine party Friday.

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On the side of the glasses we’ll write something like, “The better to see you with, My Dear Valentine!” or  “Here’s Looking at You, Valentine!”

The kids insisted that I try them on too. Boy could I whip up some mean Valentine treats in these, oh yes I could.

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You know you all want to have a chance to look like that. (Why do I do this to myself?)

Click here to download the pattern for these glasses. Simply fold a big piece of heavy paper in half and place the pattern along the fold…then trace and cut.

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Now, if we get tired of cutting out the heart shaped spectacles, we’ll spend some time making something a little prettier (and a little chocolatier).

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You’ll find the directions for making this Valentine Flower here.  It’s got a chocolate peppermint pattie in the center…which got me to brainstorming for a clever little Valentine wish to print on the center heart. 

Something like “We were mint to be together, Valentine” or “Have I mintioned how glad I am to be your friend?” Seriously, I got caught up in the momint and laid in bed one night thinking of way too many mint-y puns that just didn’t work for one reason or another. Mostly because I think first graders are too young to make a commitmint. And also because there’s not enough space in that little heart to write something like, “Roses are red, Violets are blue, There’s always lots of merrimint, When I’m with you!” Yes, I almost went mintal on you this time. 

So I settled for boring old, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” What a complete dissapointmint! Ah, but it’s the sentimint that counts.

Okay, I’m done now.

Let’s not mintion this again.

But please feel free to leave a commint. ;)
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Read more Works for me Wednesday posts here. And please stop by JessieLeigh’s and Money Saving Moms to learn more fun Valentine ideas!

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The Not So Tricky…Coat Trick

January 27, 2009 by Laura

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Have you ever seen The Coat Trick? You’ve gotta see the coat trick! It’s the greatest way to help your littlest kids put their coats on all by themselves!!

I’m showing you how my four year old does it…but my kids have done it from the time they’re two…and maybe could have learned earlier.

First…lay down the coat with the outside part of the coat touching the floor. The neck of the coat should be facing your child. The child puts his arms into the sleeve holes of his coat…

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And flips the coat over his head.

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He adjusts his sleeves…or you adjust them for him.

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Then he wipes his nose with his sleeve. (This step is optional.)

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Tada! Coat is on.

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Here’s a video, which is a much easier way to see how the Coat Trick works. Please be sure to admire Malachi’s silly face as he prepares to show you the Coat Trick on video. The silly face part of the Coat Trick is also optional. :)

Have any great tricks up your sleeves?

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Giving Kids an Allowance…or Not

January 20, 2009 by Laura 26 Comments

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I mentioned here that our third son turned seven on Sunday. Turning seven at our house is pretty exciting. Not only do you usually have two front teeth missing, it’s the year you start receiving an allowance.

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I know that not everyone agrees that giving your kids an allowance is a good idea. But let me explain our reasons, and how we handle allowance at our house. Then later, in the comments, I would love for you to share how you handle it (or plan to handle it) with your kids.

Matt and I want to teach our kids how to handle money, how to budget, and how to give. Before the age of about 10, our kids don’t have very many ways to earn money.

On the first day of each month we give our seven and eight year old boys $4 each. Yeah, that’s it. Four bucks a month. I know parents who give five times that per WEEK. Again, this is just something we’re giving them to help them learn a little bit about money.

We decided to give them their allowance monthly because in the “real world” they are likely to only be paid monthly. They need to learn how to manage that.

With their four dollars per month, the boys mostly learn to give and save. They get to figure out (with our help of course) how much goes in the collection plate each Sunday. They get to help buy birthday presents for each other and for their friends. I love watching them pull their money out of their pockets on Sunday morning as the collection plate comes around, or watching them carry their wallet into Wal-mart so they can pick out a hot wheel car for their buddy. They feel ownership – it is their money.

We discourage them to spend their money very often on little toys for themselves when we go to the store. It has surprised us to see that for the most part, the boys hardly ever ask to spend any of their money on a toy or trinket. Occasionally at a garage sale they’ll see something they want. Or sometimes they’ll save up to get something (often pooling their money together to get something they all want). But in general, the money in their wallet just grows.

Now that Asa, our oldest son, is 11, we’ve stopped giving him an allowance. He has had various ways of earning money in the past year or so…and the four dollars a month just isn’t necessary. He has done a great job putting money into a savings account we helped him open last summer. He gives generously each Sunday, and any other time he hears of a mission need or special collection at church. He’s learning to give and save, and we feel like his little four dollar allowance when he was smaller helped him get on the right track. :)

So, now that we are on our third seven year old, we’re finding that this $4/month system really works for us as we’re training our boys.

What works for you? Do you give your kids an allowance? How do you teach your kids at an early age to manage money (or how were you taught)?

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One Room at a Time

January 6, 2009 by Laura 39 Comments

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I mentioned finding my living room again. Now I’m busy at work cleaning out and organizing every room because oh my goodness does my house ever need it.

What IS it about a new year that inspires so many of us to re-organize…re-group…re- re- realize that we have too much stuff hanging out of our drawers and THAT is why they won’t close?!

Here’s a room cleaning organizational tip that my sister-in-law Kari shared with me several years ago:

Start in one room. Stay in that room. If something belongs in another room…just throw it into that room and go back to the room you are working in to begin with.

Otherwise…you’ll start in the living room…notice a dirty plate…take the plate into the kitchen…see all the dirty dishes…start to wash them…stop to pick up some dirty socks on the kitchen floor…take the socks to the laundry room…start sorting the laundry…pick up a stuffed frog sitting on the dirty underwear…take the stuffed frog into the kid’s room to put into the toy box…notice your best scissors on your son’s dresser…take the scissors into the craft room…see the wrapping paper all over the floor…

And you’ll never get to the living room.

It’s called Organizational ADD. I have this disorder if I don’t follow the advice of my sister-in-law and work on ONE room until I finish it entirely.

This method works very well. And it is SO nice to at least have one room clean when you start to tackle the others.

Anybody else out there struggle with Organizational ADD? Anybody else out there cleaning out and re-organizing like CRAZY lately? Anybody else think that January should really come more often so we will be inspired to get organized more often? (ooh, except I don’t want it to be cold more often…

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“Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree! How We Love to EAT You!”

December 9, 2008 by Laura 15 Comments

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That’s the latest Christmas carol we’ve been singing at our house. 

The boys and I have been going a little crazy with our Christmas cookie cutters and oh boy have we had fun. Who says cookie cutters are limited to COOKIES?! My friend Holly (who loves cookie cutters as much as I love jars) even decorated her entire Christmas tree with cookie cutters one year!! What a great idea!

Here are a few of the things we’ve come up with to increase the level of Christmas Festivity around here.

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Christmas Sourdough Biscuits

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Christmas Graham Crackers

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Christmas Pizzas

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Christmas Donuts

The boys also suggested that Christmas Quesadillas and Christmas Grilled Cheese Sandwiches would be good. Sounds good to me!! It’s always fun to eat Santa’s head.  (Yikes, I’ve been hanging around with silly little boys for too long…)

What other ideas have you thought of for using cookie cutters?!
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