Where has the time gone?

Whew!  Another long, long break!  Between the holidays, another meningitis hospitalization in early December for me, two polar vortex storms of enormous proportions and my husband having a week long stint in the hospital himself, I haven't even thought about this poor, neglected blog.  How many times have I done an update in photos and then promised to come back?  Well I am really working on my organization and prioritizing so I hope I can keep to it this time.  In the meantime....here are the last few months in pictures...

Mama/Daughter Day at the Ballet

Ani & I went to see The Nutcracker and we were able to go backstage and meet the dancers.  Annika was on cloud nine because the girl who danced Clara was named Annika as well (though spelled Anneke).

Christmas Crafting with my bestie & kids

  

The kids painted snowman votive holders and Lea & I painted several winter/Christmas themed wine glasses like the snowmen above.

Christmas Eve

My hubby and I did some very early morning Christmas Eve shopping.  The weather was beautiful!  And then the candlelight service at our church and the tree after the kids went to bed.

Cotton Candy!

The kids gave me a cotton candy maker for Christmas.  Dangerous!

 Sewing!

 Jimmy gave me a sewing machine for Christmas and this pot holder was my very first attempt at sewing.

The Best Birthday Ever!

 In addition to adding to my new Pandora bracelet, Jimmy spoiled me this year on my birthday by getting me the Naked 2 eyeshadow palette by Urban Decay!  And then, my lovely friends surprised me with a small birthday party and cake pops.  I am so blessed!

  

My so called Homemade Life......

In the past week or so, I've read a few different blog posts about how these two families do amazing things with their grocery budgets.  One family, with six members, only spends $200 a month on groceries!  HA!  I had to read her "how to" blog twice to make sure I read it right.  We have a family of four + two (one weekend a month, a week at Christmas, February, Spring break and two weeks a month in the summer) and we spend way more than that.  Try $350-$400 more a month.  Seriously.  Now I must admit, part of that is my own fault.  I make a budget but it's pretty......fluid...if you know what I mean.  

 That being said, hubby & I have talked and agreed to try to cut our grocery budget.  One of the things our Pastor talked about this morning at church was stewardship of the gifts God gives us.  I am a far cry from the horrible spender I was in my early 20's, but I'm far from where I should be in my stewardship.  It's time to change that and I know it can be done.  "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Some of the tips I picked up in my recent blog surfing makes me want to slap my forehead in a big "DUH!" moment.  Things such as the "quick runs" to the store to pick up "one or two" items costs you far more than you planned.  So true.  One blogger literally only goes to the grocery store ONCE a month-amazing!  I actually went back and looked at what I spent solely at Meijer in August and it was over $800!  I went there at least 15 times in one month.  That also doesn't count my stops at Target or Aldi's. I technically have a meal plan that allows me to shop once every two weeks but I am going to try to stretch that.  

Another tip that is sooooo deceptively simple is grocery shopping with cash only.  I never really thought about it but I've always set a grocery budget but when I use my debit card, I don't mind going over because the money is in the account.  That most definitely adds up.  Some weeks I may budget $50 at Meijer but I spend $70 or $80.  I know most of the prices of our every day items so it shouldn't be hard to estimate how much cash to bring with.

A familiar theme in these brilliant budgeting blogs is....wait for it......homemade!  Theoretically I've always known that if you could make several of the items you stock in your pantry regularly, you would save money...but I never had the time or inclination to put it into practice.  Seriously though, if I buy hubby's favorite cinnamon roll oatmeal I will spend $3.00 for 10 small packets.  If I make it, I will spend $2.20 on a big container of quick oats and the rest of the items are already in my pantry.  Do you have any idea how many servings that will make?  I don't.....but I will!  I plan on making a premixed pancake/waffle mix, ranch dressing, taco seasoning, bread, hot dog & hamburger buns, oatmeal and a lot of treat items like fruit snacks (100% real fruit!) and muffins.  I'm even contemplating making my own laundry detergent and household cleaners.  

So over the next few weeks I plan on stocking up on pantry staples and making some basics.  I'm hoping to make my next grocery trip last me 3 weeks instead of 2 with no store stops in between.  I'll post my progress as it goes along.

On a completely unrelated note...I spent Saturday afternoon hitting craft stores with my baby girl.  She's as addicted to Michael's and Hobby Lobby as her mama. 

Here is what we made yesterday:

It's a Thankful Tree.  On the backs of the patterned paper, everyone can write down things that we are thankful for.  It's currently geared towards fall but this is not the only season to be thankful in so I think I will transition it to reflect each season as they come.