Frugal Friday 491

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Last Thursday night into Friday we had my parents here. They took the kids to Hobby Lobby and purchased a craft kit for each of them. They also treated us to lunch and a Costco haul. Thank you all!

- While they were here we celebrated my dad's birthday. I planned a special dessert for him and we gifted him tickets to two museums that he will be going to while on vacation this summer. We're keeping with our goal to give experiences/time with loved ones vs clutter anytime we can!

- Friday-Sunday the boys headed to Spring Camp with their Scout Troop. Every time Owen comes back more and more manly after each camp - he was thrilled to shoot guns, find animal bones, and to eat non-stop. 

- Annabeth and I enjoyed a Girls' Weekend. She chose thrifting, Mexican food, and 90s movies as her activities. We found a great haul of shirts, skirts, dresses, and more for around $50 after visiting 4 Goodwill stores. I introduced her to one of my very favorite 90s movies: "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"

- Sunday after church we drove down to Charlestown for a birthday party. While there we celebrated three of the Eblings' birthdays. Annabeth had a great time in the bounce house and playing with all of the kids. I enjoyed seeing my bestie in real life but the hours passed too fast! Can't wait to see them soon.

- Sunday evening we dropped our items off at the Here We Grow Again sale. I was glad to get everything quickly set. I am hoping enough to earn money for entry tickets for a vacation spot this summer. 

- Monday night the weather held out and we were able to get a ballgame in for Owen. He's busy juggling ball, scouts, and dance this spring and I am really proud of his hard work at each of them. 

- I hosted our last co-op board meeting of the school year on Tuesday. I did a nacho bar and cookies for dessert. This was an affordable way to serve both our family and a group for dinner that night and lunch the next day. 

- Yesterday was our last day of co-op for the year. We enjoyed an outdoor Field Day and the kids had the BEST time running foot races, doing obstacle courses, and more. I am so grateful for another year of homeschooling alongside friends.

We are hoping the rain is over for the weekend as we have lots of free outdoor fun on the schedule!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 490

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Friday evening after dinner (Owen cooked for us and made pullapart cinnamon bread, bacon, and strawberrries) the boys drove up to Indy to deliver cards from their Boy Scout Fundraiser. They ran a Cards for a Cause with my PaperPie business and earned $1200 profit for the kids in their pack/troop. 

- Annabeth and I cleaned up dinner and then went out to Frozen Paradise. This is the ONE ice cream place in our county that is safe for Annabeth and it's been closed all winter. We were so excited when they reopened last week so I took her for a treat. 

- After the kids went to bed, I got myself organized and entered all the spring/summer items for the Kids' Sale. I have sold quite a bit on Facebook all winter so we only had 80 items but I'd like to make some money from them vs nothing. I did fill a garbage bag to just donate. 

- Saturday morning was the opening of Little League. Mark and Owen went over to the ballpark and then out to lunch. Annabeth and I ran some errands and had lunch together. We knew we had a busy week coming up and tried to be very purposeful with quiet time/time with the kids during the weekend.

- Saturday afternoon was 80, sunny, and gorgeous for O's first ballgame of the season. I love the atmophere of baseball - something about it just feels so "American childhood." Kids eating candy, parents chatting, sun shining, etc I love it!

Opening Day!

This was the shirt I mentioned getting a free one of last week.

I passed the other one along to our coach's wife. 

Baseball Photo 2023

We never actually make it to picture day so I just take our own

and print affordable copies at Walgreens for the family. 

- Sunday after church we went to Mark's mom's for lunch. We helped her watch my niece and nephew while their parents worked and ran an errand. It was so much fun! The kids are 2 and 4 and just so delightful! 

- Since Owen made dinner on Friday, Annabeth did some baking/cooking during the week.She made a grasshopper pie (we were gifted some chopped mints that we needed to use up) and a chicken/shrimp gumbo. The gumbo was a HUGE hit with both kids!

- Mark worked 2nds this week. It was a funky shift for a special operation which made all of our week feel a little off balance. They were able to make over 2 dozen arrests so it was a week well spent. 

- We closed out our Homeschool year with Spring Review. This event was a huge undertaking as we celebrated our school year with our beloved homeschool friends. 

75 Hard Update: I was SO happy to let the water go and feel so much better drinking reasonable amounts of water. I'm still drinking roughly 90 oz/day. I've also been so amazed that I have wanted to, and made time to, work out every day this week. Some days I even did a workout and a walk just like with the program. 

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I stepped down from my Express Tagger position at our local kids' sale. For years, I have tagged for others as well as our family as a way of bringing in extra money. We have always used that money for either summer dance camps or in the fall for vacation and it's made life much easier for those two things. This year, when I looked at the calendar and realized sale week was also in our last weeks of school and Spring Review I decided to let it go. Now, I am so thankful! This week was so busy and the kids and I were able to tag all of our items in around an hour -leaving plenty of time for all of the things we had to do. 

This was my little PSA to be sure to budget your time wisely as well as your money!

Happy Savings to All! 

75 HARD

 In January, I decided that THIS would be the year I did 75 Hard. Over the past couple of years, I have had several friends who have attempted, and some completed, the challenge and I kept making excuses not to join them. "I'm too busy" or "I'll never be able to keep up" or "I could never work out 2x a day!"

In January, my friend Kayla started 75 Hard and was just quietly posting each day on her Instagram and every day I thought more and more "I feel like I could do that"

I shared this secret goal with Mark on January 28, asked Kayla for last minute advice on January 29, and started on January 30. The 30th would have been my dear Leah's 36th birthday. I felt like starting on yet another birthday she didn't live to see would motivate me to live better.

If you aren't familiar with 75 Hard here are the basics...for 75 days, every day, you...

- Do 2 workouts (each have to be at least 45 minutes, more than 3 hours apart, and 1 outside)

- Take a progress picture

- Read 10 Pages of a Non-Fiction book with the goal of improving yourself and/or part of your life

- Drink 1 Gallon of Water

- Follow a Diet (you choose!)

- No cheat meals, alcohol, or soft drinks

If you miss any part, on any day, you must start over. 

Day 1 Thoughts: It's not even 9 AM and I am a workout, reading, and half gallon into today. Staring on Leah's birthday has brought me a great motivation. I think of her always but especially today the fact that I've been given this day, and so many, that she wasn't. How am I am going to live it? In all aspects of my life, I am terrified of failure. This feels no different. I know that if I miss any part of any day that I will have to start over. Which is possible BUT I hate the thought of it. I know I can do HARD things!

Day 25 Thoughts: I'm down inches and excuses. I thought the hardest part would be finding the time to workout 90 minutes a day. I found SO much time that I had been poorly using. The hardest days so far have been while traveling but I've been able to incorporate family and friends into workouts on those days. The hardest part overall? Drinking the gallon of water and still getting out to do errands/workout outdoors without tons of potty breaks. 

Day 50 Thoughts: I'm down even more inches. I woke up still feeling really defeated like not enough is changing fast enough. I looked back on my Day 1 picture and compared to today. Well, that was all the proof I needed! Changes are happening! The biggest one, both Mark and Annabeth commented this week on how happy I have been.

Day 75 Thoughts: I honestly can't believe I am here on the first try. I was outdoors in everything from below zero wind, to snow, to rain, to sunny and 80 today. I cannot believe the difference in my physical self and my mental health! I knew this would stretch me but am honestly shocked by the change! 

Thank you to the many family and friends who joined my outdoor walks, to the kids who yoga'd/danced/etc with my indoors, and to the people on Instagram who liked my "Finished Day..." posts every. single. day.

I'm done with walking in the rain and drinking the gallon of water but other than that here's to great new habits, pants that fit (sizes smaller than when I started), and a spring/summer of continued fitness to look forward to!

Day 75 Smile

Tired but so happy to have done it all. 

Frugal Friday 489

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- We had a long, lovely holiday weekend. Mark was home Friday so we also took the day off school. I was able to get a great deal of computer work done for both businesses and for the co-op I currently help lead.

- I cleaned out my closet and parted ways with a couple dozen items. Mama and Lu took some items and we'll share the rest with a friend who has just gotten a new job. I also passed along a stack of children's books - my sister adds them to her neighborhood's Little Free Library. 

- Sunday morning I completed workout one with a sunrise walk with Mark. It was a really beautiful thing to start in the darkness, we talked about how Mary must have felt that original Easter morning walking in the darkness to the tomb, and watching as the sun rose over town. Those were the last still moments of very busy Easter and I am thankful for them. 

- Sunday we enjoyed helping with the children's Easter event at church, had Mama and Lu up for church and homemade breakfast pizza lunch, an egg hunt from Mama, an egg hunt with the neighbors, and then dinner and egg hunt with the Rileys. I hope in the midst of sugar and egg hunts my children know the real meaning of Easter - the celebration of our Risen Savior. 

Easter Morning

- Sunday evening we brought home a new-to-her bike for Annabeth! Mark's mom had a bike that she was not using and generously shared it with Annabeth. She's spent hours riding this week. I was glad to have it here just in time for perfect spring weather. 

- Monday evening we had Easter Dinner leftovers for dinner. I LOVE a quick, easy dinner especially in the spring when we run in to eat and then go back outdoors.

- Monday night Owen had a 4H meeting. They had a beekeeper come and he learned so much! He also made a seed bomb and got to eat a honey stick. We aren't able to make a honey farm field trip later this spring so I was glad he had this experience.

- A student at the kids' dance studio is doing a blessing bag fundraiser. I donated all of the coloring and activity books that I had on hand from my PaperPie business. I'm always happy to #givebooks and #sharelove 

- I was able to buy three sweatshirts for Annabeth from a friend. Spent $9. Saved: No idea the exact number but I knot it's a lot!

- Yesterday I grabbed coffee and lunch thanks to a birthday giftcard from the Eblings. Thank you friends! 

Let's talk Leftovers. The top 2 things I get messages about are grocery prices and leftovers. I think leftovers must be a dirty word in some household because people often say one of two things: 

1. My husband will never eat leftovers he hates them or 

2. My kids never eat leftovers! How do you get yours to?

My answers...

1. If this is a huge issue for your husband - be respectful of that and serve leftovers at lunch time for yourself and/or the kids. 

2. My kids have never been given the option not to eat leftovers therefore they eat them happily.

Regardless of how you go about it, I think it mostly has to do with your attitude. Don't apologize for serving them. Don't act like it's not as special as any other meal. Do foster a sense of gratitude in your home that you had not only enough food for your meals but that God provided extra! 

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 487

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Owen's baseball team this year is team that isn't very popular where we live. In the past, I've been able to thrift items but was pretty confident that I won't be able to this year. I hopped online and found an item from TeePublic. It came and it was too snug. I debated just keeping it and hoping as I continue to trim down that it would fit better as the season went on. In the end, I messaged the company about exchanging fully prepared to begrudgingly pay shipping to send it back and to pay for a new one to come to me. MUCH to my surprise, their policy is that exchanges/returns are always 100% free! They not only sent me a new shirt in a different size (for free!) they also allowed me to keep the original one. The customer service rep said I was free to pass on or donate that shirt! What an incredible policy!

- Last Friday night we were startled by the tornado sirens a 11:20 pm. We quickly checked our phones to see if it was a Severe Thunderstorm vs Tornado Alert. It was a tornado one so we each grabbed a kid from their beds and put them in the bathtub. We put Oscar in with them. The wind was REALLY strong so we decided to go ahead and grab all of our tornado gear - helmets for each us (we just use the kids' bike helmets as well as some work ones for the adults), shoes on our feet, jackets over our pajamas, we each grabbed a bag and had vital items (glasses, epi-pens, car keys, etc), and made sure that Oscar had his harness and leash on. Our alarms went off at 11:20 with the storm slated to hit at 11:35 and we watched the radar carefully as we ran around grabbing things. We heard at one point that a tornado had touched down southwest of us so we hunkered down after that. The wind whistled eerily through the house, the hail/rain was incredibly loud, and then it was silent. Then loud again. Another tornado touched down just 3 miles north of us. We feel so incredibly blessed to not have any storm damage to our house or property - most of our neighbors were not as fortunate. 

- Mark went out once we got the kids back to bed to help with search and recovery up in Whiteland. Thankfully there were no fatalities! Praise the Lord!

- Saturday evening we went to a birthday party. The kids had the best time with their friends and we enjoyed visiting with our friends too. The birthday boy had a panda themed party so we purchased panda cookies from Hoosier Candy Cupboard as well as a giftcard to go back and buy his choice of treats another time. Happy #6 to our friend O!

- Sunday after church Owen had baseball so he and Mark went there. Annabeth and I took a long afternoon walk. We had Mark's mom over for dinner and served tacos and nachos.

- Tuesday we enjoyed a free performance of The Pout Pout Fish at Butler University. This was an educational, morning showing and it was fantastic! I was pleasantly surprised to find they had the parking garage gates opened so we didn't even have to pay to park! We drove home and ate a late lunch avoiding the cost of picking up food. 

- Yesterday we helped stuff Easter candy bags at church. I'm not one for the Easter bunny or hunts, I feel that it takes away from the real purpose of Easter, celebrating our precious Savior. I also realize that many children only come to church on Easter and Christmas with family and that being able to share the Gospel through song, crafts, etc after the egg hunt was a precious opportunity.

- Last night I hosted a board meeting for a group that we are in. Our family decided to serve the dinner and dessert for the whole group. I really hope it was a blessing for the other moms to not have to cook/serve their own dinner for once. We had black bean enchiladas, rice, veggies, and homemade cookies. 

We are looking forward to Easter morning. We can't wait to worship with our church family as we celebrate our risen savior! 

Happy Savings to All!