4 months...not bad :/

So, after I swore I was going to start blogging like I should, it took me 4 months to get to it. Ummm, not bad, right?

I will be dead honest, I am going to try my best to blog, but being as I have no readers, I really think, "What is the use?" then, because I don't blog, I don't have readers....such a vicious, vicious cycle....so, to remedy that, I am going to start blogging during naptime. Which is everyday, so I guess I have no excuse, unless I am not here.

So, on the cloth diapering front, I am trying really hard to find some sort of answer to the problem of having a Human Soaker Hose for a child at night. So far, there is no solution that I have found that works. NONE. He's great during the day with a Gerber prefold and a Thirsties cover, but at night, it's a Wal Mart sposie. Yeah, I know before you even tell me that sposies are the tool of Satan, but I have no other choice. So, for all you who are also going thru this problem, I am going to list every diaper I try and how well they work, so that maybe I can save someone a whole lot of heartache (and MONEY) buying diapers that they can't use.

The first one I am going to try is a Bummis One Size Tot Bot (lime colored) that I was gifted by a friend the other day. It was brand new, so all I had to was prep it by washing it once. I am going to try it tonight and see how it does.
BTW-Cloth diapers ain't all I am going to talk about on this blog, it's just what I am dealing with at the moment. Gardening and canning on the cheap is up for the next post :)

Update again, with a promise to do better :)

I just CANNOT get the hang of blogging. I want to. I need to, as I think I have a lot to share with folks. But for some reason, I can never seem to find the time. So, this morning, while Doodle (my ds) takes his morning kip, I am going to blog a little and share what I do to make it a little cheaper around here :)



I USE CLOTH DIAPERS- I was gifted these by my sweet SIL, and she also bought some for Doodle, so that I didn't even have to buy any. I am hoping to be able to have another baby this summer, so I am looking at buying some for that baby. The ones that I use now are Komfy Kidz (http://www.komfykidz.com/) and they are great!! They are durable, reasonably priced, and the maker of them, Tonya, has always been so helpful when I was having problems with them not absorbing (this was a hard water issue, and when she gave me some tips on prepping them, they have worked like a charm ever since) I make my own detergent for them, so the money I save on this is astounding. This seems to be one of the main issues with parents not wanting to have additional children, is the price of diapers!



I MAKE MOST OF OUR FOOD HOMEMADE- I make all our bread products ( I will post recipes periodically) and I can and freeze and dry stuff from our garden and my fathers garden that I co-work with him. THIS can save tons of money, especially in the winter.



I BUY CLOTHING EXCLUSIVELY FROM THRIFT STORES- this is something I have started recently, especially for myself. I had to by Doodle some long sleeved onesies from Family Dollar the other day (I can never find his size in the thrift stores!) but they were clearanced. I do this especially for ethical reasons, but the added money savings is a bonus.



I HAND WASH DISHES- the dishwasher in my house is an energy hog, and almost as old as me! No sense in wasting electricity when I can wash them better than it can!



I HANG LAUNDRY to dry.



I USE COUPONS AND REBATES for free stuff at grocery stores, and especially Walgreens and CVS....I get free toothpaste, maxi pads ( I use these at the first of my cycle, and then switch to Mama cloth) shampoo, etc.....and sometimes, get paid to purchase!





I will delve more into each of these as I have time... Maybe I will get readers if I actually take the time to blog?? :)

Big Ole Update....It's about time :)

I am starting this blogging thing again, so that as I am trying to successfully save money(and make the standard of living in my home be similar to what it was while I was working full time) maybe something here can help someone else in the same situation.

The last post was in August of 2008. I got pregnant (SURPRISE!!) in October 2008. We had all but given up hope of ever having children, so needless to say this was an answer to many prayers from God. I continued to work thru the month of November, until I started bleeding and was put on bedrest for about the next 2 months. I went back to this job part time from January til April, when my boss decided that I was not the employee she thought I should be (read: pregnant and wanting to make me quit so she could replace me) so I obliged her and quit. My son was born by emergency c-section at the end of June, at 37 weeks. Since then, I have been what I have always dreamed of being: a stay at home mama! I have never been happier, but I will admit, our finances are ZILCH. We have debt from a car that we bought when I was still working full time, and of course the house and other things......But I desperately, more than anything, want to continue to stay home with my son (and hopefully any others that I could have, but my husband says no due to our money situation) until he is in school. I am going to use this blog as a tool to help others as I learn things, so that other mamas who are wanting to stay home with their children can. When I make a mistake, or something doesn't work for me, then I hopefully have saved you a lot of either time, money, heartache, or all three. I will post more tomorrow, as I am tired and going to bed....Until tomorrow :)

Quickly, I will tell you some of the things I am doing that I will be discussing in later blogs:

*cloth diapers and mama pads
*making all my cleaning stuff and laundry stuff homemade
*no more running the dishwasher; only using dryer when absolutely necessary
*making as much of our food homemade (bread, pasta, sauces, etc)
*utilizing free stuff whenever I can find it!

I really want another job...but until then....

I MUST make the best of my situation. God has put me in this place, at this time, for a certain reason. I don't know it yet, or why, and may never know why, but I have got to give this to God or it is going to ruin my life!! I am not going to talk about work anymore in my blogs, as it really brings me down and seems to be all I can focus on, which it should NOT be!!!
I made some apple butter yesterday, and I am so proud of it!!! It is beautiful, and tastes great also! This was the first time I tried this, and it turned out wonderful!! I didn't can it, though, I just put it in clean jars and refrigerated it. There wound up being one full pint jar, a half full pint jar, and then 4 1/2 pint jars. I won't need to make jam/ jelly/ preserves or butters for a whole year....but figs are coming soon, and I really want to make a "butter" from figs to use in homemade fig newtons later!!! My tomatoes have kinda died out, and all the other stuff in the garden,too...but the soil was not the best anyway, and I have got my compost bucket going, and I have three others to make, so next years garden should be going great guns!!!!

Well, I am going to get off of here and get to reading my Bible....

Good night!

Well, today ain't no better.....

I am not even going to go into how tonight was at work....But let's just say it was dreadful, per usual.

Anyway, tonight my husband made mention of the fact that I am sorely needed at church, to help do things, and I am never able to be there, cause I am slaving at the sandwich shop. He asked if I had been looking for another job, and I told him yes that I was and that it would have to be something that I could work and go back to school with. He suggested that we be in prayer about it, and I am really suprised. Usually, he gets that glazed over thing going with his eyes when I talk about how much I hate work, cause he gets so sick of hearing about it. So, that is a plus.
Right now it is 20 after 12, and I am still up, making gallons of tea for a church luncheon tomorrow. I am also going to be getting up at rooster thirty to make deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a Hello Dolly cake. I guess I should be getting into bed, but I just got so much to do, and no time to do it!!!!!

On a brighter note, I am now looking forward to September 27, cause I am going to TN with my husband and my parents for this Hillbilly day thing. Alright!!!!!!! Then we are going to travel to some of my favorite spots while there, so I can live vicariously through all these old homeplaces and farms.........

Well, my tea is starting to boil, so I best go see after it.....If you have a chance to go to a church tomorrow, be happy, and go and fellowship with your brothers and sisters....It always makes me feel so much better and builds my faith and my spirits, which I REALLY need right now!!!!!

Another Day, Another Dollar.....

I have been really wondering about things....and why it never seems that I can find a job that I like. I am, again, in a position of being in a job that I absolutely DREAD going to. My boss treats me as if I am the newest chimp to learn walking upright. I get letters left for me nearly every afternoon about things that I don't do right, or that I didn't do enough of, or that I did too much of...there is NEVER any recognition of the things that I do that aren't asked of me, the times that I put in more than I should, and so on. I am still making what I started at when I took this job 3 months ago, and I am working at what I think is pretty much full capacity at this job. I was told when I interviewed, that when I showed that I was catching on, then I would be given a raise, and then another in a few months, etc...until I made top pay. Well, I haven't even had my first raise and it is looking like I may never get one. I am also the ONLY employee that this woman has that works 6 days a week straight. She is the owner, and she even gets time off. Not me. I have missed only two hours the entire time I have been here, and worked every day. No time off, and when I do request it, I am told that other employees have things that they need off for (even though they are new and she posted a note that they would not be able to ask for time off) and that I may not get the time off.
I hate to sound like I am a whiner, but right now, dern it, I am whining!!!! I ALWAYS get into job situations that let people take advantage of me, cause I never speak up for fear or retaliation or possibly losing my job. God, forgive me, but I just want to be at home....having children and raising them, and putting all my energy into my family and my home. And then, I see folks that have this and either A) hate it and want to get out of the house or B) see it as an opportunity to sit and eat junk food all day and watch cable. Even more of a reason that I feel I should be so stingy with my spending, and what I am willing to lay my "work-life outlay" down for....Is it really worth what I have to do and put up with to waste money on?
Is there anyone out there who has ever had this problem? A spouse who is dead set on you working and brining in as much money as possible, without even listening to other options? If so, how are you coping with this? How do you make your life work? And if God answered your prayer and you are at home now, do you still appreciate the fact that you don't have to work anymore?
I have decided I am not going to spend ANYTHING until I absolutely have to. I don't care if I have to patch clothes or eat peanut butter and jelly....I have GOT to get out of the American rat race. It is killing me slowly, and in the end, I will be like all other American robots.....dying alone in a nursing home with nothing to show for it.

Sorry this post is so dreadful....Maybe tomorrow I will be in a better mood.

So where am I now?

I have fell off the wagon, and now I am wanting to get back on...SO, I am challenging myself again (and let's not all forget that we ALL have done this at some point in time, right?) with some new added challenges....

I am sick and tired of being a lukewarm Christian. I am supposed to be sold out, and I still keep letting things and people get in the way of my relationship with God. So, I am going to add to my "Buy Nothing" challenge, and here is the newest set of rules:

1) No more TV. Period. I spend too much time in front of it, and I am an all or nothing person, so nothing on the TV it shall be.
2) No more secular music....whooooo, boy, this is going to be a toughy. But, I slip into someone that I don't want to be when I listen to it. It is MY choice that I do that, not that it is mandated by a church or anything like that. I really believe that is why Paul stresses to bring our flesh under submission....or it will rule us.
3) ABSOLUTELY NO MORE COMPLAINING AND GOSSIPING!!!! If I can't say something nice and encouraging, my yap is staying closed.
4) Being a true Proverbs 31/Titus 2 wife...instead of using it as a cute label in chatgroups :)

This is going to be so hard, but I believe that God will give me the desires of my heart, and this is what I desire. I want Him to be the most important thing in my life, not me or what I want at the moment.

Please be in prayer and agreement with me on this, as I really need all the support I can get. And let me know if you also are going to try to "put away the old man", and I will be more than happy to encourage you and help where I can. Remember, it ain't all about us anymore, and the sooner we can get our flesh in line, the eaiser it for God to step in and take control.