It's time to start shopping for Christmas. No, seriously. It really is. And by shopping, of course, I really mean hunting. Kristina shared some really fun ways to get Christmas presents for a LOT less than what most people pay, and yet still be very generous. And what is the secret to those special deals? Starting NOW. Christmas presents and decorations went on sale last week. If you set aside even 5 or 10 dollars a week to watch for things to go one sale starting now, you can be ready for Christmas way before next year's Black Friday.
I, Rachel, think this is going to be particularly important in the coming year. I think this is going to be a lean year for a lot of us, and for me, in particular. My husband was unemployed for the better part of 2010, and I don't see that situation improving significantly in the coming year. But this year we have learned a lot about what it takes to be happy. We have spent time for free fishing and picknicking at the local lake, taking and enjoying each other's company. We have spent a lot of time doing nothing with family. Breaking bread, talking. Sometimes it takes a crisis to find out what really matters.
Think Outside the Bags
Have I started shopping yet? Yes and no. Christmas left us with no extra money afterwards yesterday, so I haven't darkened the door of a retail store since Santa stopped by. But yesterday morning I went outside and found 5 small grocery bags of toys on my front porch - leftovers that our neighbors know I won't say no to. At first I balked at the idea of more toys. Then I snuck them into my van and took them down to Grandma's house. Grandma and I divvied them up and realized that while some of them were in poor condition, some were brand new and some practically so. With a little clean up work, we already have a present stash started for next year. How are you going to start your stash?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
It's Christmas! I think Christmas is more fun when you have kids. At least I enjoy getting things for my little guy and surprising him with them. I also love Christmas Eve services. We didn't get to go to one last year since the church we attended in Germany didn't have one. We also didn't have any family in town for Christmas last year, which was quite weird. We did, however, get to have dinner with some friends of ours in Germany which was very nice. When you're away from family, you have to be willing to create a new family for the holidays. This year we're back in the states and thankful to be surrounded by our family and friends as we welcome another child into the family.
This Christmas was quite thrifty on my part. I bought most of #1's presents at a consignment sale. I only bought one item at Target, yes it was an impulse item, but it was on sale since it was Black Friday. He loves the Chipmunk movie, the first one, and I didn't have anything for his stocking. I did have to order some parts for one of his Christmas gifts, but it still cost less than buying it brand new.
For other people in the family, I made some presents, used some gift cards that came in the mail from the store themselves and shopped clearance MONTHS ago. I love those random cards that stores will send. This year I got 2 Victoria Secret $10 off any purchase, $10 off any purchase to Sports Authority, and two $5 off Hallmark in magazines. Some of them require you to not have to spend a certain amount over the gift card. These are my favorite, needless to say.
I didn't complete all my shopping as early as I'd like and there are people who I wanted to do things for but ran out of energy. That's what happens when you're due right before Christmas. BUT, I'm pretty satisfied with what I got done.
Since I managed to not spend too much and make presents, I found it was easier to separate myself from the commercialness of the season. I really am still struggling with the idea of Santa Claus and the disregard to the real reason for the season. I see nothing wrong with giving gifts to each other, I like doing that. What I do struggle with is that its hard to balance Jesus with the commercialization. It almost seems like you need to do one or the other. We emulate Santa so much in the Christmas season. Anyhow, that can be a long, long post from me if I really get into it, which I don't feel like doing.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Waiting for Baby!
I've been baking and making things to keep myself preoccupied while waiting for #2 to arrive. Every time I get a contraction I think, yay! this is it!! Only to be disappointed that NOTHING more happens. I didn't get any real notice before #1 was born before the 4:30am first contraction of his birthday so I'm not really expecting any forewarning with this one as well. #1 was born at 40 weeks 1 day. I'm 40 weeks tomorrow. I'd love to have her before tomorrow's 40 wk appointment. I really want her to be here for Christmas. I crocheted a cute little Christmas hat for her just in case she comes and dug out #1's first Christmas bib. Right now she seems as happy as a clam (who even made up that ridiculous phrase?!?) inside. I tried to tell her that it was only about 15 degrees cooler on the outside today than on the inside to persuade her to come out, but it didn't work yet.
I've made cute little felt flowers for headbands for her and I pulled up Martha Stewart's baby bootie pattern which if I can get the printer hooked up and the ink still works, I will print out the template and work on those tonight or tomorrow.
I figure I'll go into labor the minute the kitchen sink is piled high with dishes that I don't feel like washing, the carpet is full of crumbs from #1, and the laundry needs to be done desperately. So if all three must come into play, it'll be next week because I just did a TON of laundry the other day.
Going to go eat my pineapple now. The chili that I made wasn't very spicy. I should have made Guy Fieri's instead of Rachael Ray's!! I made Guy's chili in the dorm last year and it was a hit. Even the guy who was practically crying as he ate it got a second helping because it was so good. Ray's chili is pretty good too, but it doesn't have the same Texas kick that Guy's does.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Granola
A friend of mine posted this link to homemade granola. I had some at her house recently and it was quite tasty. I modified the recipe a bit to fit what I had and to make it a bit healthier. Here is the link and my edits.
First off, I halved the recipe, which worked just fine. 8 c of oats plus all those other ingredients is quite a lot on a dry run of a recipe. I also did not have wheat germ or oat bran because I forgot to write them down when I went to the grocery store today. I used almond extract instead of vanilla and only added almonds because, again, I did not have the other nuts. I like my cereals more simple than complex so I think I would have stuck with one nut kind anyhow. Instead of the oil, I used an equal amount of apple sauce. Other than those edits, I followed the recipe. It turned out quite tasty. I baked it for about 5 min longer than the recipe requires because it was still quite soft when I took it out of the oven. It did continue to dry and harden as it cooled though, so this extra 5 minutes may have not been needed. I also just used a non-stick pan instead of lining it with foil. I've found that lining things with foil sometimes causes them to stick even more, so I just rubbed butter on the bottom of the pan and everything came up without any fuss.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Pregnancy Belly Band
Belly bands are awesome. I didn't use any round one, but used one most of the first trimester with this pregnancy. I wish I had pictures of how I made mine, but I'll post some links to blogs that have pictures posted. Basically you need to get a piece of fabric with some stretch in it. I recommend knit or the like.
One for prolonging the life of your regular shirts:
You're aiming for a rectangular tube -keep that in mind.
Measure around the widest part of your stomach, subtract about 2 inches. Then cut out a rectangle that is that measurement by 12-14 inches depending upon how tall you want your tube to be. Make sure that the stretchy part of the fabric is the longer side (so it stretches around your stomach).
Sew the ends together to get a tube, hem the top and bottom. The end. Very easy to do. This will easily cover up the pregnancy band on your maternity jeans and allow you to wear your regular tops a bit longer.
One for prolonging the life of your jeans before biting the bullet and wearing maternity ones:
This requires heavier fabric or doubling up a lighter fabric. Follow directions above, but double the height measurement and fold it in half before you sew it into a tube. Good thing about this one is that you only have one edge to hem.
I'm not sure what fabric I used for mine. Its a cross between knit and Lycra. I got it in France, so I have no idea what I bought beyond it was thick and stretchy.
Here are some links for you visual people:
If you want an even easier way to make one, take a look at this link. She uses a t-shirt that is too small for her.
I recently dug out my bands again for post-baby so I can fit back into my old jeans sooner. Just now I have to find my old jeans.....
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Conair Hair Straightener
I have discovered my new favorite hair product. Its a great time and money saver for moms who have short hair and/or like to straighten their hair. This lovely little straightener has two settings: dry and wet. This thing will dry your hair in about two swipes of the iron. Your hair can't be sopping wet, but if you towel dry it and let it air dry for a few minutes it works just lovely. Depending upon how thick your hair is it may take longer, but for $20 it does two jobs and once and cuts down on the frizz. Definitely a deal in my book. I can get ready for my day in half the time now. I used to only straighten my hair when I needed it to lay all nicely because who has the time every day? Now I feel like I have time to do it every time I wash my hair.
This isn't quite the model that I found at Target, but you get the picture.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Hair Cuts - Your Own
I'm not advocating cutting your own hair. I know there are videos and such on it, but I'm not that crazy, yet....lol. The cheapest hair cut that has been a good hair cut for me cost me about $35, which isn't too bad, but I really hate paying for them! I desperately needed a hair cut before this baby comes so I set out to find a reasonable rate this time. In my search I discovered hair cutting schools. They have to learn on someone, so why not brave and willing citizens of the surrounding area? I chose one close to my in-law's house that I've passed many a time. $9 hair cut. Not a bad deal. I would not recommend this idea to people who are terribly picky or who cry easily if its shorter than you wanted it in the first place. If you're open to potentially not getting quite what you asked for and have an hour or more to spare, than its your place!
I was decently pleased with my hair cut. Because I have such thick hair and the guy/girl (yes I'm really not sure) cut it shorter than I wanted it, my cut took 2 HOURS. They have to check in with the teachers than roam the floor and such so it takes longer than a cut at a non-school. Though usually they say it'll only be an hour. One good thing about this shorter than I really wanted it cut so it started poofing out all over the place, was that I discovered thinning shears. I wanted it slightly undercut to help with the poof, but that idea left the building when the cut wound up above chin length instead of slightly below. So out came the thinning shears in the instructors hands and thankfully he's the one that finished the cut. I've never felt my hair this thin before, but it looks good because it doesn't poof out all over the place like it tends to do when its short. I really wanted longer layers so I could braid it back a bit when the baby comes, but because I lost so much weight in my hair, I can go two days without washing it and its looks fine. Not a bad trade off.
Would I go again to this place? Maybe. I would be willing to try a different student and not the one that did my hair this past time. S/he was very nice, but a bit rough and lacked good communication skills and confidence. I think next time I'll try Toni & Guy since their salons are higher priced and therefore I'm thinking their students perhaps already have had some basic training. I would definitely recommend hair schools for practice runs for up-dos and if you've been to a place before and have liked it, even for up-dos for the actual even, like a prom. Go to a professional for your wedding!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Hair Cuts - Boys!
I really hate paying for hair cuts. Yes, I know its one of those necessary things that have to happen throughout the year, but to get a decent hair cut can be expensive!
My husband goes to a barber which is fine with me because he has to work with people so he needs to look good.
My son, well, I really hate paying $12 every three months or so for his hair cuts. His hair grows very quickly. The good thing is that if we take 4 or 5 months to get it cut, he just looks shaggy. Any longer than that and I think he'd start looking like a girl! I really don't like long hair on my guys. I decided after watching him get his hair cut that I could do it. I mean, how complicated could it be? I got some good, sharp scissors (honeybee craft scissors from Michaels to be exact) from my craft box (don't use regular scissors, you really need small, sharp ones), sat him on a chair in a dry bathtub, grabbed a towel and a spray bottle and got to work. There are quite a few videos on You Tube if you don't know where to begin. I found that because he's only 3, he has a hard time holding his head in the right position. So to remedy that, I sat on the side of the bathtub with my feet in the tub and had him rest his head on my knees depending upon where I was cutting. The first cut took a VERY LONG TIME. I'm not beyond bribery in certain situations and promised him candy or a video if he stuck it out and was patient. That worked for him. Going slowly and methodically around the head worked the best. I recommend finishing up with clippers or the like if your child will stand for it. I also recommend doing it outside! It was quite a mess to sweep up the bathtub.
The second time I cut his hair, which happened to be the other day, it was quite cold outside and I didn't want to spray down his hair when it was in the 40s. So I sat us both down on his kid sized chairs, spread newspaper on the floor and proceeded in much the same fashion as the first time. This time it went a whole lot quicker since I knew the proper length for the back and sides was one finger and the top was two fingers. I'm still learning how to blend the top and sides and do a better job around his ears and sideburns, but this cut took probably half the time and required no bribery.
Parents Magazine had an article on cutting hair in a recent issue.
Some of the methods suggested for the boy's cut like pining the hair back didn't work for me cause my son has very short hair, but I suppose for a kid who likes it longer it would work okay. But it does give you a good framework for cutting their hair.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Saving on Lunches (lunch meat)
Lunch meat is not one of my favorite things to eat. When I’m pregnant and not supposed to eat it, I then, of course, have cravings for it. Lunch meat definitely isn’t the healthiest thing to eat. It’s usually full of nitrates and preservatives and have you ever really sat down to think about what bologna is made out of? The “cheap” stuff I saw at a local grocery store the other day was running about $8 a lb. I don’t even want to know what the good stuff at the Whole Foods store is selling for these days! What are your options besides PB&J when your kids want lunch meat but your pocket book is saying “ouch!!”? There are two ways that I have thought of that will save you money and hopefully get you some smiles from your kids.
First, in the section where they sell the pre-packaged meats you can sometimes find hunks of lunch meat that aren’t cut up already. This is a cheaper option; however, you have to make sure you can actually slice it thin enough to be cost effective. If you see this as a good option, I would invest in a small, counter top meat slicer similar to the ones at the deli.
Second, cook your own lunch meat. I was at said supermarket the other day and decided to browse through the meat clearance section. This section, if offered at your market, is a great way to get meat at up to 50% off. I spied a roast that cost $17.00 (about $4.50/lb) that was discounted 50% since it was only two days from its sell by date. I did the math and figured that if I cooked this for our lunches it would cost about $2.25/lb or about a fourth of what the deli counter was selling their roast beef for. I love roast beef but can hardly ever justify paying $8-9/lb at the deli counter. I took the meat home, cooked it up according to directions and while it was still pretty hot, I took a very sharp knife and cut slices as thinly as possible. Now, if I had a meat slicer I could have used that instead and gotten even smaller slices, but as it was I figured since the slices are a bit thicker than the deli counters’ I would only need to put one layer on a sandwich instead of two or more and therefore I was still probably coming out ahead. I divvied the meat into four freezable containers since I have no idea how much we’ll go through in a week and I certainly don’t want any to go to waste.
If you have a big freezer or a big family, you can really stock up on clearance meat especially after the holidays.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Back!
We finally got our internet set up last week! Yay! So now its back to business until #2 is born and then I'm sure things will get put on the back burner again, but for now I'm full of ideas as long as I can remember what they are!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Over the Table Felt Play House
I so want to make one of these! Its soooo cute and practical if you live in a small space like we do. I think #1 will be getting one for his birthday provided I learn how to balance having two kids with enough time to spare to make one of these play tents. The tent slips over your table and then you just fold it up and store it when its time to eat. Yes I realize you can do this with a sheet, but this looks like you could add activities and detachable pieces and enhance the play (i.e. keep their attention even longer).
Isn't it adorable??? I may do a different theme depending upon what we're into this spring. I may also do one that has a different theme on each long side of the table.
This one, with templates, can be found on: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/
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