Rediscovering the bakery outlet!

Oh my goodness.
Today, the boys and I rediscovered bakery outlets!! I remember going to Oroweat when I was a kid but honestly didn't even know we had one in town until this summer.  So I packed up the boys and drove out the one closest to us.  Ours is called: Entenmann's Oroweat Foods Company.  They may go by a variety of names and I'm sure you can look online for an outlet near you.

 

I'm glad I rediscovered the outlet because you can get great quality breads (No HFCS!) that are nearing their "best by" date for ONE DOLLAR!  They have some more expensive items, too, but there was a HUGE amount of bread products for only a dollar.  I ended up spending $13 on thirteen items and also got a couple packs of cookies for some guests that we're hosting this week.

 

I got whole wheat hamburger buns and potato bread hamburger buns

 

I got "real" french bread to make french toast instead of just using the regular bread we make toast with.

I got some high fiber bread (which Mateo really needs...I won't go into detail on here ;)

Plus I got sandwich rolls, some bagels, some hot dog buns, and some potato bread.  Quite a variety.  Now the only draw back with buying bread near it's "best by" date is that you need to either eat it within a couple days or freeze it.  I kept out some dinner rolls to be eaten but froze the rest.  My deep freezer is feeling well loved and full right now!  Full of homemade beans, broth, Yumm sauce, and soups, bread, some marked down meat, and LOTS of strawberries I picked last month. 

  

I was thankful to rediscover yet another way to be frugal and feed my family.  It's a big job for me to do meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, and have dinner ready every day.  Especially with food allergies (did I mention that Aaron can't eat any of the awesome bread that I bought today :(  But there are a couple loaves of Udis (a gluten free bread that actually tastes decent) in the freezer that we ration out for meals. And especially with a skinny picky toddler who needs to gain some weight and has some food restrictions himself.  At least Alex is easy (for now) and will eat any baby food I make for him and still nurses a lot.  Enjoying that stage when feeding him is simple. 

Frugal fun

I've been reading this book: Living with less so your family has more.

 

Basically the authors (Mark and Jill Savage) use lots of scripture and are laying out the biblical way to honor God with your resources.  Not just money, but time too! And in prioritizing to do so, putting your family first.  They lived off one income, below what society said they should, and made it work. I highly recommend this book.  A HUGE amount of family and marital problems are over finances so this would be a great book for any couple- especially engaged or newly marrieds- but really anybody, and especially if you are looking to cut your expenses and dive into budgeting!!

I appreciate this book because a lifestyle that puts your family first and sees the benefits of having a parent at home is not one that is encouraged in our culture, or even in most of our churches.  We are instead encouraged to work more, make more, have more, spend more, be busier, get into more debt, and consequently have more conflict and less time with our loved ones.

One thing that I liked is that they discussed sacrificing costly hobbies.  Mark traded regular golf for Frisbee golf because it was usually free after you have the equipment and this better fit their family budget.  We turn down ski trips, paintball outings, and other events that occur because they are costly, require equipment, and just don't fit into our budget.  They're not bad things of course, but we really are not missing out on anything. 

I began pondering all this after we took the boys to a small amusement park nearby a couple of weeks ago.  Under 3 is free so we only had to pay for ourselves, but those types of outings can be expensive...especially with older kids and also factoring in gas and food.  As the boys get older and get more expensive (I think babies and toddlers are pretty cheap to take care of for the most part)...we need to be proactively planning entertainment/family fun that fits in our budget.

Our new favorite "frugal fun" is exploring all of the elementary schools on our side of town.  There are 5 different elementary schools within a couple of miles.  All have fun play structures, soccer fields, tracks, and trails.  Mateo is at the age where he loves exploring and playing...and really just doing anything that involves us all together outside. So after naps on Sunday afternoon lately we'll load up and drive the short distance to one of these schools (one is walking distance).  We'll play and run around until dinner time and then head home.  I've been trying to plan ahead for Sunday dinners so we don't have to cook much and so we can have more family time.  Sometimes I'll do a double batch on Saturday so we can just heat up some leftovers and keep it simple!

 

Exploring a new school on a sunny Sunday!

 

Joy in getting dirty....

A mama group I'm part of just finished the book Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God that is filled with individual devotions from the author's lessons in motherhood.  I encouraged everyone to write their own "devotion"  Here is mine.  

Devotion # 61: Joy in getting dirty

I want to be a mom....

who dances,

who sings loudly,

who plays on the floor,

who shares my chocolate chip cookie,

who gets dirty,

who draws with side walk chalk,

who goes down slides,

who laughs,

has joy,

loves unconditionally....

The NLT version of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 says this: 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Being a stay-at-home-mom can be exhausting and thankless Downsizing our life to live on one income requires a lot of extra “work” and the demands of motherhood- from diapers, laundry, and cooking, to cleaning, errands, and yard work...... can make the best of us act stressed out and cranky.

But I don't want my kids to look back and remember their mom as a stressed out work horse (and believe me... I do feel like one of those at times). And it's not about me looking “good” to them in their memories, but I want to be an example to them. I want them to look back and remember JOY and GRATITUDE. I want them to see an example of prayer without ceasing, a woman of gratitude who has a thankful heart. They should see me singing in the kitchen and see me thanking people when I appreciate them. They should hear me pray for them every day.

If I truly have a thankful heart I will have more joy. I will see washing endless loads of laundry as a blessing because I am so thankful to have a family that needs their clothes washed and I will be grateful for the memories we made while dirtying said clothes. I will see hour long trips to WinCo and endless hours preparing food and making things from scratch to save money as a blessing because I'm thankful for the food we've been provided with. I will be content with what I have (Hebrews 13:5) and not longing for the next best thing.

I want to be Mary in a Martha world (See Luke 10: 38-42). Diligent and faithful work is important, but I want to show my kids that I value people. Time spent with my family is more precious than diamonds and emeralds and any salary I could have made working full time.

So finish folding that load of laundry and go outside and play. Your kids want YOU!

30 days of intentionality

I saw this idea recently...30 Day Challenge... that challenged you to spend 30 minutes of INTENTIONAL play time with your kid(s) each day.  At first I thought...well I spend all day with my kids...but to be intentionally engaged with them is different.  It's for the month of June but you could surely do it any time.

It's become harder to spend one on one intentional time with Mateo since his baby brother was born.  To be honest, babies can be a drag.   Two year olds are much more fun.  Babies are cute and sweet and precious...but they just can't "do" much.  SO yesterday, when we had a little bit of time in the afternoon when Alex was sleeping (praise Jesus...this teething baby is not liking the sleep lately).... we grabbed a snack and went and ate it in Mateo's new "fort".  Then we spent the next 30-40 minutes swinging the afternoon away.  Underdogs galore.  And one good thing about being pint-sized is that I get to swing, too, haha.   Then, alas, baby brother wakes up and we sadly have to come in. 

What will you do today to intentionally play with your kids?

As a SAHM it's not hard to occasionally (or often) see your precious kiddos as an inconvenience and focus on the things you need to get done...but being intentional and building play time into your "To Do List" is a fun relief....one that will be a treasure in heaven.  I find I spend a lot of time playing with Mateo (can you spend too much time playing?)  I would much rather play than do chores and stuff at home...but it's a crafted balance to spend time with him (and Alex) while also encouraging him to have independent play time while I cook dinner, nurse baby brother, etc.  Since we don't have a TV in the living room he comes up with some pretty interesting games and ways to play.  Most recently he likes me to go to his "work" which is his room. When asked what he does at work, sometimes he answers "I play basketball" or "I cook food" (He has a bball hoop and a mini kitchen in his room).  But whatever it is he does at work on any given day, he is always working "very hard" just like Daddy.

Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Honoring God....Frugal doesn't mean cheap

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9

My miniature testimony about how giving finances to God turned things around comes from my junior year in college.....  Things were tight, as they often are for college kids, and (thankfully) I wasn't receiving any financial aid.  Between my parent's help, my scholarship, and a part time job...ends were being met.  But it was still tight.  And tithing? I couldn't possibly.  Or could I?  Giving my finances over to God was a bit scary at first but very freeing subsequently.  Learning that my stuff is not really my stuff and my money is not really my money is a process.  Living off 90% of my "income" was much, much better than 100%.  I was working at an office on campus at the time, and also taking notes and recording books on tape for disabled students, and making minimum wage.  And once I started faithfully tithing, I did not feel the financial burden that I had just months before...and I was not making any more.  Actually less once I started student teaching.

I truly, truly, believe that when we honor God with our money that he will overflow our "vats" so to speak.  I do not believe in magic prayers or weird stuff about money showing up on your porch.  I also don't think that honoring God will make you rich. But with God in the driver's seat...things will be much better than having Him ride shotgun.  And maybe it's not that you will actually make or have any more, but that you will be more content with less.  Not sure!


It's no secret that I love budgets.  Having and sticking to one helps Aaron and I live within our means and intentionally give.  On FrugalLivingNW's page, a motto I read once said: Be content, Spend wisely, Be Generous. I love that. Frugal doesn't have to mean cheap.  I want being frugal to help us be generous.

My favorite budget category is one we call "Hospitality".  I got the idea from this blogger who I got to hear speak at a conference a couple years ago.   We use our hospitality budget to be able to bring meals to people, pay for hosting expenses, etc.  Our grocery budget is so tight that I really appreciate being able to freely spend some money from this "category" without it feeling at all like a burden.  It's a fun category.  We buy things that we probably wouldn't buy for ourselves, but when it's for other people or for hosting we can justify it. It's not a huge amount, but having it intentionally set in the budget gives hospitality a priority spot in our spending.

What's your favorite budget category?

Bell peppers, my freezer, and grocery bills!!

I went over budget on groceries this month....about $35 over.  I was disappointed.  It's getting harder to stay at $300 a month for our family.  Gluten free stuff is just more expensive.  So are dairy free milk products.  But I'm one determined lady and I haven't given up on trying to figure out new money saving ways while still trying to eat pretty wholesome foods.  It's not the hugest deal if I go a little over because we went under in other categories and I just shifted some money around in the budget.  But I see a day when I have two teenage boys and a full grown man eating and I know it won't get any better.  Now is the time to learn the tricks.

I'm a believer in small things adding up.  I've even calculated that if I use app. 25 reusable grocery bags per month (at 6 cents per bag) I save $18.00 a year just by using my own reusable bags.  And they're more sturdy. (Yes, I'm kind of a math nerd).

One thing I like to do, when possible, is buy extra of something when it's on sale or at my "stock up price" and freeze it.  We do this when our bread goes on sale 4 loaves for $5 at Fred Meyer (though that is just for me and Mateo). Another thing I've started stocking up on is bell peppers. Ever since that one time I paid $2.00 for one bell pepper at regular price at Safeway, I have vowed to only get them when they're on sale for 68 cents at WinCo.

 

I cut all of the peppers into strips to freeze usually (though sometimes I'll dice them up).  They freeze wonderfully and can be pulled out and defrosted easily for pizzas, fajitas, quiches, etc.  It's a big time saver to be able to pull them out of the freezer ready to use for meals.  Throw the bell peppers in a freezer zip loc or a tupperware of your choice and voila!

Gratitute on a Friday

This afternoon, I packed up my big, red, double stroller with my two precious little boys...and we went for a walk to the nearby school for some playtime.  My stroller finally feels a little lighter now that Alex can sit in there without his car seat.  A little bit of weight lifted so to speak.

The sun, the fresh air, the 30 comments from my 2 7/8 year old toddler, and the beating of my out-of shape heart as I pushed 80+ pounds up a fairly steep hill...

We played on the play structures, ran around the track, went down slides, and laughed. It was glorious.

While walking around we passed a portable classroom and through the window I could see a teacher, still at her desk, hard at work.  Oh how I remember those long days.  Never, ever enough time to get work done during the day. Aaron used to drive up to my school after his last college class most Fridays my first and second year of teaching and clean my overhead, my white boards, and help me with whatever I needed in my classroom. He has always had the gift of helping people. I knew he'd be a keeper. There was always something to prep, to grade, to prepare, to clean.....  I know a lot of great, hard-working teachers. They are invaluable. But right now, I am so very thankful that I'm not one of them.  Right now I'm truly grateful that I don't have to be distracted by a job.  I am resolved to not take these days for granted....these days I am home with my boys. Every day, they are growing up right in front of my eyes.

I often blog about ways to save money because that has become a big part of my job.  Making things myself, clipping coupons, being resourceful, etc. So many things I'm learning.  It can be extra work,  but it's worth it.  And today, all of those little things we do to save money were shown to be overwhelmingly worth it.

Despite the fact that we had traumatic beginnings with both of our boys....  Despite that our experience with parenthood has not been typical.....Despite anything that could have worn us down,  I can see how much stronger Aaron and I have grown as a couple through our trials. I love my little family.  I love that I live with all boys.  I love that my boys adore their daddy.  I adore him myself.

I can breathe a little better these days.  I can look back at the first 8 months of our second baby journey with gratitude that we've come out of it loving each other and loving God more than we thought possible.

³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Romans 5:3-5