Amazon has a bunch of free Kindle books today. Christmas Dog Healthy Children’s Lunches Money, Possessions, and Eternity Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People Finally, here’s a book for $1.79 that I’ve been wanting to read: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp.  I’ve heard lots of good things about this book from people I...
Read more »

The good news is that no one went to bed hungry.  The bad news is that I broke down and got the butter out to go with the bread and soup for dinner bringing our grand total for the day to just under $3.   Because really, how can you be expected to eat fresh...
Read more »

It is 3PM and I am hungry, which makes dinner feel far away.  I can’t imagine being hungry for hours every day, and even worse, I cannot imagine routinely having hungry kids and not be able to feed them. Breakfast was oatmeal.  I made about 3/4 as much oatmeal as usual, so the serving...
Read more »

One of the most interesting books I ever read is called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. It features photos of families from all over the world surrounded by one week’s worth of food.  Details are given regarding the size of the family and the price of the food purchased, and as you can...
Read more »

I’ve always used cloth diapers at least part of the time with my babies, both for economy and comfort, so I was thrilled when both my expectant daughters said they’d like some cloth diapers for their babies.  I’ve made quite a few all-in-one diapers in the past.  All-in-ones (AIO’s) are multi-layer fitted diapers that...
Read more »

As most of you know, I LOOOVE seeing how far I can stretch my grocery money. Well, I’ve found a challenge that just might get the best of me. Next Thursday, December 8th I am going to see if I can feed my family  on just $2.   All day.  (For comparisons sake, I usually...
Read more »

Every weekend we have all the kids home for dinner and a movie.  Counting our oldest daughters’ husbands and sometimes John’s mom and my parents, that’s 14-17 people.  Our living area is fair sized, about 18×18, and we have three couches and a couple other chairs around the perimeter.  But it has been challenging...
Read more »

I’m usually one of those crazy people who enjoys shopping on Black Friday  (you can read my Black Friday shopping strategies here.)  But this year I’m still on the fence. I’ve got some shopping done already, some other things planned to make, and a variety of things on kids’ lists that don’t seem to...
Read more »

Looking for a fun and affordable Christmas gift for a sister or a friend?  Right now amazon has  A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family bargain-priced at $5.85.   I’m not sure how long the sale lasts–  amazon doesn’t tell authors things like that.  But if you enjoyed the book yourself and want...
Read more »

A couple hours before we gathered for our picture session this weekend, I decided the little girls really needed headbands to complete their outfits. After a foray into my scrap bin and a peek on Pinterest for ideas, I pulled out the sewing machine and the glue gun and got crafting. I went with...
Read more »