Poor choices...

Kate has loved her picture Bible since she received it on her first Christmas. When I'm working on my Bible study at the kitchen table, she finds her Bible, climbs up in the chair across from me, and "reads" her Bible too - it's a really sweet time for us.

Yesterday afternoon I was writing an email to a friend and I heard her singing across the room from me. She was singing "Jesus loves me" better than I'd ever heard her sing it before while she turned the pages of her Bible. Since we're studying Moses at BSF, in September I helped her learn how to find his story in her Bible. So between renditions of "Jesus loves me" she would turn the pages of the Moses story and tell a two year old version of events - the story usually includes Moses not obeying God, having to sit in the hall, and then having to say he was sorry somewhere in there!

So as I was typing I thought in the back of my mind about how lucky I am to be Kate's mom, about how she's already learning to love God as well as understand that He loves her, and just marveling at my precious girl. Warm, fuzzy feelings were hovering thickly all around me... and then it happened.

I heard a deliberately slow: RRRRrrrriiiippppp...
the fuzzy feelings fell like bricks.

I looked over to see my "precious" girl holding the first page of Genesis all alone in her hand. I don't know why she thought that would be a good idea or what compelled her about the story of the heavens and the earth that made it such an attractive page to take out, but there was absolutely no doubt Kate chose to tear that page out on purpose. She accidentally ripped part of a Bible page last summer when turning too fast and we've talked with her on multiple occasions about how we treat all kinds of books with care (especially library books!) - so there's no question in my mind she knew it was wrong.

But she offered no explanations during my interrogation.
She was incredibly reluctant to apologize.
She glared defiantly at me from her time out spot.

No matter how many Sunday school songs she can belt out and no matter how deep or shallow her understanding of God's love, she's still a sinner - just like me. I still don't know why she chose to tear out a page of her Bible, but the more I tried to search for the reasoning behind her little act, I realized that there are plenty of tearing-a-page-out-of-my-Bible sort of choices I make each day too. I need to more consciously choose not to do those things - both for my own benefit as well as so I can be a better example for Kate. We both have so far to go, but we're both trying hard to get there one day at a time!

There's a time for everything...

Tonight was a night to be commemorated: Kate enjoyed her first beverage from Starbucks! Starbucks is one of the two places she always comments on when she sees the signs out the car window. She usually shouts, "Momma, there's the coffee store! Do we need coffee today?" (In case you're wondering, the other place Kate can't resist shouting about is CVS... I know that's odd, but she's already a budding bargain shopper like her momma - and she has GREAT eyes for spotting CVSes that I don't even know exist!) She's never had the joy of tasting anything from Starbucks other than water in a regular cup with a straw or a cookie here and there, so to be able to have her own drink in a special coffee-type cup with a cool lid like Momma's was sure to be a treat for her.

Tonight is going to be the coldest night of the season so far for us. When we walked outside to head to dinner, the north wind was so strong and cold Kate pulled her own hood up and said her ears were cold. So after dinner I decided it was time to indoctrinate my sweet two year old daughter into one of America's finest and most costly past times - the Starbuckles warm and tasty beverage selection.

I'd been eying those kid sized hot chocolates on their menu for quite a while, and because I wanted to find a way to make tonight special for all of us I decided her first hot chocolate would be a great way to make a special memory with her BeeBee. It's hard to beat the satisfaction that comes from combining the warmth of a tasty beverage with the special warmth of being with people you love! So as we pulled through the drive thru, I ordered each of us a kid's menu hot chocolate to try. They came in the sweetest little cups and were a perfect after dinner treat for only about a dollar a piece.

As you can see from the pictures, Kate thoroughly enjoyed her new treat. If Starbucks ever needed to advertise, I know a little girl who could make people stand in line based on how good she made that hot chocolate look like it tasted to her! I wish I'd taken video of her giggling, laughing, and dancing as she drank - she was as impressed with the warm, liquidy chocolate as I'd hoped she would be.

Though Starbucks can be as expensive as CVS can be bargain filled, I think teaching my daughter to find ways to incorporate both joys into her life helps her to strike a good balance. There are definitely lots of opportunities when it is wise to be frugal, but every once in a while there come times when a girl needs to be able to feel free to bask in the glory of a breathtaking cup of hot chocolate!

Miss Manners' Latest Decree

When Cody and I bought our house in DFW a couple years ago, we tried our best to make the process of fixing it up and moving in as efficient as possible by making well thought out plans. After the stress of painting practically every room in the house, installing new lights and ceiling fans, painting the kitchen cabinets, cleaning blinds, and all the rest of the remodeling process was complete, we thought moving day would be smooth sailing in comparison.

We were so blessed to have so many people willing to come help us move! Because we knew so many were coming we made an effort for everyone to help us stay organized by having all the boxes labeled for which room they should go in - and I taped to the door of each room little drawn out mini-maps of where the furniture in each room should be placed (so after the guys left Cody and I didn't have to struggle to rearrange everything around the boxes). All in all the move went great - no life-threatening injuries, no broken furniture, very quick to get everything out of our apartment and out of our storage facility into the house... until Cody decided to get the guys to help him set up the refrigerator and washer/dryer.

Our "smooth move" was totally obliterated the moment the guys started backing the refrigerator into its spot. It went just fine until about the last foot or so. This would be unfortunate in any spot of a kitchen, but was particularly inconvenient for us because the refrigerator shares a wall with the garage, so if it stuck out just an inch more than it should, the door from the kitchen to the garage would be unopenable.

While I started unpacking our the bathrooms and bedroom boxes I observed the following events take place over the next six or seven hours: removing a pipe that was sticking out from the kitchen cabinets a few inches along the floor and re-plumbing the area, hack-sawing (no other saw available) off a few inches of my FRESHLY painted kitchen cabinets at the top since the cabinets were hanging down too low, removing a light switch panel, rewiring that outlet to work on the other side of the wall (in the garage), spackling the hole where the outlet was, and then the frige was able to be scooted back into its place just far enough that the door to the garage can open and shut as needed. HOWEVER, because of the refrigerator's awkward positioning, the freezer door cannot be opened more than about 45-50 degrees because of its close interaction with our garage door knob. But, that was a compromise I was more than willing to make in order not to have to buy a new refrigerator - especially considering all the work Cody and the other guys had put into getting our proverbially square peg to fit into its a round hole!

So, understandably, space between the refrigerator and the door to the garage is a bit tight. Since Kate has been tall enough to open doors, her favorite thing to do to help me in the mornings is to be my door to the garage operator. She loves to open the door, hold it open for me, and then close it behind us as we go get in the car - and I love her skill because my hands are usually full of my bag, her bag, my coffee, my breakfast, sometimes her breakfast, and any other random thing we might be needing as we head out the door so having a free hand to open and close the door is a welcome luxury.

Yesterday I was running a little late in trying to get us out the door for Bible study. I had Kate corralled in the kitchen and ready to go. As I was picking everything up off the counter I realized that in my morning insanity I'd forgotten to put creamer in my coffee (YUCK), so I rushed to the refrigerator, swung open the door, and stood there for a second to unscrew my coffee holder and pour some creamer in. Meanwhile, Kate took her cue from the various things in my hands that it was time for her most cherished opening the door job, but her precious garage door knob was being held hostage from her by the open refrigerator door and me. I think she may have thought I wasn't going to let her open the door since she could we were in an unusual hurry and I was closer to the door than she was, and those thoughts are most likely what provoked her to try her best to shove her way past my legs and curtly command, "Get out of my way."

WHAT?!? My head started whirling: did she actually say that, that's funny to hear coming out of the mouth of a two year old, no it's not funny, well it's a little funny, have I ever said that to her without realizing it, have I said it to her in my actions even if I haven't said it in so many words, where has she heard that, what time is it, do I have time to deal with this right now, I have to make time whether or not I have time or else this will get worse, let me sit all the stuff I have in my hands back on the counter so I can talk to her, please let her apologize and understand without me having to spank her, okay here goes:

M: Kate, has someone told you to get out of their way like that?
K: (mumbling nonsense words or at least what sounded like no words I know)
M: It isn't kind to say, "Get out of my way" to Momma or to anyone.
K: Why?
M: Because it isn't good manners. You should say, "Excuse me please."
K: That's not what you say.
M: Why not?
K: That's what I say when I burp.
M: (Suppressing a smile) You should say it whether you burp or if someone is in your way.
K: But I didn't burp.
M: I know you didn't burp, but you wanted me to move and so you should say, "Excuse me."
K: (louder this time with more emphasis) But I DIDN'T burp.
M: (Again making great attempts to hold a straight face and trying to figure out how to find an agreeable solution so we could get out the door) Then try saying, "Will you please move?"
K: (Without hesitation) Will you please move?

So I moved out of her way, picked everything back up, juggled it on my way to the car much more easily because of my little door helper, and we made it to Bible study in record time.

Morals of this story: a) though it isn't typically a top 10 home buying detail to consider, always make sure your refrigerator will fit in your new home before moving day by actual measuring rather than just eyeballing it, b) if your refrigerator prevents having much room in your doorway, please find a way not to stand in that crucial space between it and someone who has a tremendous need to open that door, and c) in toddler world, only one phrase of politeness can be tolerated per category of incident so sometimes mommies have to get creative.

Veteran's Day

Kate and I got to spend Veteran's Day with Cody's mom since she had the day off. She took us to Chuck E Cheese and then we went to the mall for more fun. We LOVE Veteran's Day and our special time with Nana Kay!!




Nana Kay and Kate playing games to earn tickets for some fun prizes












Enjoying some YUMMY pizza together :)



















Putting all 278 of my tickets into the Ticket Muncher












Claiming our special prizes: bracelets, suckers, a fun straw, lip gloss, a ring, a comb, and more!












Over at the mall looking at the Rainforest Cafe's fish aquariums











Enjoying a pretzel and some dip as a special treat after Kate's nap -- Kate LOVES dip!!

When we dropped Nana Kay off at her car Kate cried and cried when we said goodbye. There's something so special about the relationship between a Nana and her Kate! I love watching Kate develop relationships with other children as well as other adults - just like different people bring out different sides of my personality when I'm with them, it's interesting to see the different sides of Kate's personality blossom when she's around different people.

Toddler Vitamins

This girl LOVES the vitamins... can you tell?!? A few weeks ago I found a bargain on these vitamins at CVS, so I picked up a bottle for Kate. Lately she's getting a little more finicky about what she's willing to eat (started boycotting vegetables unfortunately). But now that I'm a mommy armed with vitamins, I've started only strongly encouraging her to eat her veggies instead of forcing her - thus eliminating another unnecessary battleground in our lives. Since we transitioned from baby formula I've been concerned about her nutrition and trying to get enough servings of all the food groups into her body each day, but now that she's a vitamin girl I don't feel all that pressure. I still try to feed her healthy meals, but without the stress of if she doesn't get it at this meal she's going to miss it.

The upside of the vitamins is the fact that she LOVES them, but the downside of the vitamins is also that she LOVES them! One of the very first things out of Kate's mouth in the morning is, "Can I please have my diamond?" (She can say vitamin, but most times it comes out sounding just like diamond.) I know that eating a massive amount of vitamins isn't nearly as dangerous as Tylenol or Triaminic, but it still isn't a great idea for her. I'm not worried (right now) about her climbing up on my cabinets and opening the bottle herself, my concern is that she asks about the vitamins so much that Cody and I might BOTH give her one.

We learned a valuable lesson about that this past summer. We had a little tree someone from my BSF group last year had given to us. We planted it and were so glad to have it! This summer seemed particularly hot and dry, so we had to water our tiny tree often to keep it alive. The only problem was we didn't necessarily designate a watering time or a watering person. So, as was bound to happen, one day I gave our little tree a good little drink during the day and when Cody came home from work he gave the tree a nice BIG drink... and the next day our poor little tree's leaves fell off and it died. We talked about it later because we were both so surprised it had died since we had been watering it, we realized that we were both so worried about it getting what it needed there were days we'd BOTH been watering it. Too much of anything isn't good - if it's water in a hot, dry summer or vitamins in a toddler's tummy.

So with this experience tucked under our belt, we made a pact that I will be the only one to give the girl her vitamins and vitamin time is always in the morning with breakfast. We were sad to lose our little tree this summer, but it was a great way for us to learn this lesson when it was just the life of a tree rather than that of our sweet girl being affected! I know I have so much more to learn, but I hope that the bulk of the lessons I need to learn can be at the expense of other free little tree type things rather than Kate or Cody or any other person in my life.

Fall Fun

This is Kate's third fall. She's really in between stages right now... she's still my baby in so many ways, but she's also such a big girl compared to where she started! I love looking back at her pictures from the past few years and seeing how she's grown (especially her hair!).

Fall is probably my favorite seasons -- I absolutely love hot chocolate, fires in the fireplace, jackets, the sound of leaves crunching under my feet, and the excitement of all the holidays buzzing in the air! Fall in the DFW area doesn't seem to last long, but today with the temps in the 60s, wind blowing yellow leaves off the trees, and a peaceful gray sky is a perfect fall day to enjoy. Hope you're able to find a part of the fall season to enjoy today!

Menu

After my grocery receipt post, Singingmommy commented and asked for info on how I turn those sorts of transactions into a menu for the week. I've also been asked that question via email, so I thought it warranted a post on the subject! If you aren't into bargain shopping, please stay tuned for a post with a different topic tomorrow!!

As you saw yesterday, this week I mostly took advantage of the buy 10 get $5 off order deals at Kroger. So my menu mostly reflects items from my stockpiles or that I purchased last week week because a) lack of great food staple deals for our family this week at the store and b) I wanted to use most of my budgeted money this week on things like SHOUT for Kate's clothing stains, health & beauty products at great prices, baggies we needed to help with my stockpiling, and to start compiling things for my holiday treat cooking!

And now, here's what we'll be enjoying this week...

Breakfast:
Weekdays - Poptarts that I stockpiled from Target for FREE in September (deal expired, but explanation), Breakfast bars I stockpiled from Kroger for nearly free in late September, fresh fruit, and English muffins bought this week
Weekend - Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls from Kroger a few weeks ago for about .25 a tube with fruit and the next day we'll have Grand's biscuits from Kroger for same price, bacon, scrambled eggs, and cream gravy

Lunch:
Cody - here's the plan, but may change throughout week if necessary with work needs: 3 days hot dogs from this week's purchase, $1 bag of Cheetos from Target a few weeks ago, 1 day dinner left overs sack lunch from home, off on Fridays
Kate & Amy - Sandwiches when at home or when we go somewhere we can pack a lunch like zoo or picnic at park - lunch meat from Kroger special last week at about $1.50 a pound, cheese slices from this week's deal, PB&J from deals this summer, and Kroger brand wheat bread with $1 Cheeto bag from same Target deal as listed above; quesadillas from cheese and flour tortillas from last week's purchases; leftovers from dinners this weekend; and for lunch time desserts - dried & fresh fruit, granola bars, chex mix bars, instant pudding, or Rice Krispy Treats (all these items from previous deal shopping except fresh fruit from this week); and to be honest, we usually take a break from our bargain shopping and check out ChickFilA or Corner Bakery or something similar one day a week for a treat!

Dinner:
There weren't any spectacular deals on meat this week, so we'll be depending on our freezer stockpile for meat selection. Thankfully it's about to start feeling like fall in Texas this week so we're going to celebrate the colder weather with:
Chicken & Dumplings - Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale last week at Kroger for $1.99lb, so I got a few packages; chicken broth was on sale a couple weeks ago and I had coupons; and I'm going to use the rest of the flour tortillas I have left over from last week's burritos before they go bad; green beans; crescent rolls purchased on same Pillsbury deal previously mentioned; and salad from a head of iceberg lettuce that's usually about $1.29 or so at Kroger
Potato Soup - Last week I bought several pounds of Russet potatoes that were on sale for around .30lb (we made baked potatoes for dinner last week for the cheapest dinner EVER) so we'll use another few of those for this; milk bought this week; butter bought for free at Kroger in September; fry up some fresh bacon from the package I got for our weekend breakfasts; and cheese from last week's Kroger special of 3/$5 on Kroger brand already shredded cheeses left over from our burritos as well as our baked potatoes last week

I'll make enough of both of these dinners to have for at least 2 nights, Wednesday night we usually eat light because of church (sandwiches, hot dogs, mac & cheese, etc), we usually eat out one weekend night, and Sunday night is typically popcorn dinner for us (I keep my eyes open each week for good popcorn sales to combine with coupons... there are always popcorn coupons out there!) with a grilled cheese or PB&J with fruit for Kate.

One of the greatest money saving strategies I've found is to be more mindful of my weekly menu so I can fully use what I buy. Before I started bargain shopping, I'd buy a pack of flour tortillas to make my burritos with and after we were finished with our burritos the rest of the pack would just ruin until I threw it away. But now I buy the big pack of tortillas so each one is cheaper, learned that I can keep them in the frige to last longer, use them for the burritos as originally intended, and then make Kate quesadillas (one of her favorite foods), use them to make dumplings, use instead of a hot dog bun around sausage or hot dogs (Raider Wraps!), and anything else a girl might could think of to use a tortilla.

Also, when I'm thinking of what to cook for the next week I try hard to think about what ingredients I have left over from last week that I can just buy a couple things to go with for this week instead of buying everything each time. Stockpiling things I cook with frequently that are at great prices is also key for reducing my overall grocery bill - especially broths, cream of mushroom or chicken soups, meat, canned or frozen vegetables, pasta, tomato sauce, cheese, rice, etc. If I find a good deal I'll pick two or three up even if it isn't on my menu that week and then be sure it's on the menu for the next week.

Desserts: Cody has a definite sweet tooth so I always need to work in desserts into the menu!
Cherry upside down cake is one of this week's treats -- bought cherry pie filling (part of this week's buy 10 & earn $5 sale) and cake mix both on sale this week, butter from previous deal
Brownies -- Duncan Hines & Betty Crocker always have good mixes available on sale + coupons

Snacks: Goldfish, popcorn, raisins, Chex Mix packs, Rice Krispy treats - or whatever else is in the good ole stockpile

Drinks: Cody loves cokes which can get expensive even when you feel like you're getting it on sale, but I struck gold with this sweet deal at Target back in August (thanks to Amanda E!):
Dr. Pepper, A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Big Red 12-packs are on sale 5 for $15
Buy 5 and use 5 $1/1 Target online printable coupons
Spend $10 out of pocket
Get $5 Target gift card back
$1 per 12-pack after coupons and gift card!!
And I repeated this deal as many times as possible that week, so Cody still has several 12 packs in the garage to work through before we start working coke deals back into our grocery list. In addition to the cokes, I also can at least once a month find great deals on Powerade or Gatorade at CVS or Kroger for him. Kate drinks mostly milk and water, but when I find Juicy Juice on sale I stockpile that with coupons. My main personal splurge is coffee and creamer for the mornings. It's much cheaper than Starbucks, but even with a good sale + coupons it isn't as cheap as water :).

Hope this answers some questions and gives life to how I'm making the $35 to $40 dollar a week grocery budget work for our family. But every family is different and everyone has those special things that are important to them (like coffee and creamer or prepacked hot dogs are to us!) - being frugal definitely doesn't mean being miserable or suffering through beans and rice every night. To us it just means taking more effort to think through purchases, clip coupons, search out good deals, and try to get the most for our money!

Any additional questions or comments are always welcome as always.