A frugal, screen-free summer

Tomorrow is the last official day of summer break.  It's bittersweet for me.  I really like having all of my kids together and home.  It can be chaotic but it's mostly good.  They love to be together (majority of the time ;) Some parents can't wait for school to start, but I am already looking forward to the first day off of school.


I was feeling like summer slipped away from us and that we didn't do anything exciting but then I remember that the mundane moments together are the best ones.  Fancy vacations don't make up the ideal summer.  Time together does.  Big vacations just aren't something we've chosen to do.  But I would trade almost any vacation for the ability to stay home right now.  I know my husband feels the same.   I realized it was a blessed summer and I wish I could freeze time and stare at my kids: ages 2, 4, and 7.  It's an exhausting season, but I do love their ages.  They don't have a myriad of their own activities yet.  They mostly played in the dirt and read books all summer.  They are entertained easily, make up all sorts of projects and pretend play, and they still like being with me.  I know they won't always want to curl up on the couch with me for endless stories or ask for countless pushes on the swing (I have 2/3 pumping on their own- WIN!).  In between bouts of utter exhaustion I try to soak up the moments.  Albeit they may be short on difficult days, those moments are the gems of parenthood.

I gave up social media this summer. I almost forgot about it actually, except when I'd miss out on some sort of information.  Of course any extra free time I may have had was filled up with my kids  but it has been a nice break. Odd as it may sound, TV is not a part of our day either.  I just feel there are better ways for kids to spend their time if possible.  We do watch shows sometimes (like when de-tangling little sis' hair, getting hair cuts, when Mom is tutoring, or while sick, etc.) or have a movie night occasionally- but not having a TV in our living room helps to not make it a habit. The kids rarely ask. They're too busy building extravagent Lego or Duplo creations, practicing card tricks, reading books, or getting dirty.

We started the summer by turning our garage into an art and craft studio.  Our cars didn't mind being parked in the driveway for a couple weeks in the name of creative play.  Sometimes I planned projects- like this fun frozen paint above.

 Other times, I just let them use random supplies to create random masterpieces.

 It usually involved a lot of string and tape, but they had fun.  We displayed our projects in the garage (not in the house- yay!) all summer.  I am definitely looking forward to doing this again.  It did require losing garage space and bringing out all the craft supplies but it was fun.  I think my toddler will be more able to participate next year.

  

We did the library's reading club to log some hours.  I stopped keeping track at 30 hours for my oldest two.  Littlest one of the fam found a love for Look-and-Finds this summer.  At bedtime she would often request her oldest brother to read to her (Te Te read Elmo?)   

 We did get to spend a few different days at the coast.  We discovered a fun short hike that the boys   could do. 

 Maybe next year Ruby will walk it, but this year she got to ride with Dad.  I think my kids like fresh air almost as much as I do :)

 We got lucky with a beautiful non-windy day at the beach.


There was some slip-n-sliding on the hot days.

One of my fun memories also includes the mini summer homeschool I planned, mostly for my oldest son but the younger participated some days too. I specifically planned this to happen when my toddler had her short nap time.  Sometimes we did structured math, reading in two languages, and writing while other days we'd do fun projects and not mention that they were learning activities.

 Dad read us The Boxcar Children #1 this summer.  Such a great story of siblings taking care of each other and having adventures. I was happy to read wholesome literature like this. We were so inspired that we made our own boxcar diorama complete with rusty paint, fire pit, and waterfall.

I also set up a "Saturday Market" downstairs for school time.  We priced all the food from the play kitchen.  I gave out pretend bills and real coins in a cup and they had to buy things.  Differentiated based on level but it was so fun to see their money skills increase and that they had fun.

I liked spending time at the pool for swim lessons, on bikes, at playgrounds, hosting a backyard VBS, etc...but I also enjoyed just time at home seeing the kids play.  I really am a fan of letting kids have a lot of down time and unstructured play time.  I think kids, in general, are way too busy.  Check out that article I linked from Positive Parenting. So much research is coming out about kids being over scheduled.  So while I liked to plan projects, lessons, and outings, those really took up a small portion of our days.  The rest were filled with dirt from the backyard, books, Legos, markers, and really anything.  It's a nice age because they have never told me, "I'm bored".  Not yet anyways lol.

Summer wasn't 100% peachy.  We had a plethora of things break on us and a lot of $$ in repair costs.  We had a couple fever viruses that interrupted our camping trips.  We are still dealing with some health issues for our youngest. But God is good, all the time. Life is rich. There is beauty in simple things and this summer, God has been teaching me to be content. 

August purging challenge!!

I first heard of this "game" from a friend via facebook.  I didn't really consider doing it as I tend to always be de-cluttering and organizing, etc.  But I needed a project and some motivation to get rid of some things, get organized, and start the new school year fresh. Managing the resources for an entire family can be a big task.  I feel burdened by too much stuff and it's nice have a goal to work toward.

The game came from this website:

http://www.theminimalists.com/game/

Basically, you get rid of one thing on August 1st, two things on August 2nd, three things on Aug. 3rd....all the way until 31 items on August 31st.  So by the end of the month you have gotten rid of 496 items. The website didn't have many ideas or "rules" so we are making up our own and you could, too.

For example- what counts as one item?  That depends on you and your habits.  My husband and I decided not to count recycling junk mail as an item because this is something we do every day just as maintenance organizing.  BUT....if you tend to collect piles of junk mail then you certainly should count this as an item.  We are counting a magazine box of shredding as an item, however, or getting rid of stuff that is filed away (haven't gotten to the filing cabinets yet!).  Getting rid of a puzzle is one item. 

They don't have to be large items.  Could be as simple as expired medicine, old nail polish, expired spices, etc.  Could be larger things like clothing, books, toys, etc. that you don't need or use.  

What do you do with all of these things?  You can donate, sell, recycle, or trash them, We probably won't be selling things this time.  Doing our adoption fundraiser garage sales gave us opportunity to sell anything of real value.  But you could do a garage sale, sell on Craig's List, donate to a thrift store, foster care clothing closet (if it's something nice quality), or give away to a friend.  We've been blessed by a lot of generous hand me downs for kid stuff over the years!

So it's August 2nd.  We started a day early and are on to day 15.  We decided we could work ahead as we have more time. I'm keeping track on a spreadsheet we made.  It will get harder as the day number gets larger.  We have a small storage room that we hope to tackle this month but so far haven't dug deep to purge.  This is our first home and although we have lived here 7 year now- I got all the stuff from my childhood delivered via parents, all my teaching stuff, etc...and just a few months after we moved in we had our first baby.  Three challenging babies later we just never seem to have a big chunk of time lol.

So why do this?

Well as a Jesus follower, especially as an American Jesus follower in a consumerist, materialist culture....I feel I am constantly having to fight against the lie that we need more stuff.  That stuff equals happiness.  That "Keeping up with the Joneses, American dream, Let's get a bigger house" mindset that we so often fall into.  It's definitely a "First World Problem" to have too much stuff but one we still need to address.

Now I'm not saying that I am a hoarder.  My friends would probably say I'm a pretty organized person, content with simple things.  But it's still something I want to be intentional about.  

 Matthew 6:19-21 says this:
 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Also, Proverbs 3:9-10 says  
"Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

and your vats will brim over with new wine."

 

 As a Christian, I believe anything I have is from God and that I should be diligent in using my resources wisely.  Sometimes I dream of going into politics just to help the politicians fix the budgets and use the resources better! Or I dream of working on that show Hoarders or of becoming a professional organizer.  But, alas, right now I have my family of 5 and our 1700 sq. ft home to manage.  Pray I do so wisely!

Will you join us in this purging game?

UPDATE: 10/1/16
We finished August early and decided to do it again in September.  Life happened and we didn't quite finish September yet but we WILL finish...just a little late.  This month takes a little more digging and creativity.  Finding a music teacher at a low income high school who might need that drum practice pad I have had since high school (I'm 33 people!!!).  Getting rid of the art class bag from college (I'm 33!!!)  BuyNothing pages on facebook are nice for finding homes for unique items.  Foster care closet can always use nice kid and youth clothing/blankets in all sizes.  It is rewarding to see how helpful it can be to another family to have the things you no longer use.  No point of hoarding them if we're not using them.  For example we gave away 2 (non expired, nice) car seats to a mom who had just had hers stolen,was low on income, etc.  It was a big help for her and we no longer had them taking up space in our garage.  Why not spread the love?

Homemade liquid laundry detergent!

One of my favorite ways to save a ton of money and take care of my daughter's sensitive skin is to make this homemade liquid laundry detergent!  It is ridiculously inexpensive.  We make a large batch every 3-4 months and it probably costs about $2.50 for the whole thing!! Seriously!  We've been using this recipe for about a year and a half now and that means we spend less than $10 a YEAR on laundry detergent for our family of 5.  It's fabulous.  And it's as natural as you're gonna find! Though we originally tried this recipe at the recommendation of a dear friend to help with my daughter's skin, it is better for us all to have a few less chemicals, ya?

Here is what you'll need:

• Borax
• Super Washing Soda
• Castile soap 

-------------------------------------------------

• 5 gallon bucket
• 7 clean gallon jugs
• cheese grater
• Long spoon or stick to stir
• Funnel
• Ladle to fill jugs

Borax and Washing Soda are both about  $3 per box but you only use a tiny bit each time so they will last for a long time!  The soap is about $1.25 a bar depending on the store.

The Recipe

1.  1 cup Super Washing Soda
2.  1/2 cup Borax
3.  6 ounces Castile Soap

The Directions

1)Grate 6 ounces of castile soap (grated soap will melt much quicker than a whole bar)

2)Melt soap in 4 cups of water over the stove

Grating soap is actually kinda fun ;)

 

3)Meanwhile, fill your 5 gallon bucket HALF full with hot water (using the hose at your sink makes this much easier!)

4)Add your borax and washing soda.  Stir well.

5)Add your soapy water to the bucket once the soap is all melted.  Stir some more!

6)Fill bucket to almost the top with more hot water. It will make a big lather so you may need to wait until bubbles goes down and add hot water in segments.  

The kids love bringing up the milk jugs on detergent making night!

7)Cover with a hand towel and let sit overnight.  I just keep it right in my kitchen sink. That's why overnight is my best option because I am otherwise using the kitchen constantly during the day! 

8)The next morning, the detergent will look a bit papery but not super thick.  You will then fill your milk jugs 2/3 of the way full.  (I measured this once and drew a line with sharpie at the 2/3 mark so I don't have to measure each time).  I use a ladle and a funnel to fill up the jugs to reduce mess.

9) When you are ready to use the detergent- fill one jug (that's 2/3 way full) to the top with hot water and shake a little.  Just fill one jug at a time.  The jugs will have "gelled up" a bit while they are sitting and become thicker.  

Use 1 cup detergent per load (or a little more for super stinky gym clothes.  For these I also add some extra borax for the smell).

I keep the jug and a measuring cup on my dryer.  Just rinse the measuring cup out when you are starting the washing machine and you won't have any mess!

I have a shelf above my dryer in our laundry closet where I store the extra jugs of detergent.  Once I use up a jug I just get a new jug down and fill to the top with hot water and voila!! I have been able to re-use the jugs thus far.

I love this recipe!  It has a neutral clean smell.  If you can't handle laundry that doesn't smell like Tide, opt for a scented fabric softener sheet to balance it out.  :)  I use wool dryer balls for my sensitive little one's clothes for the less chemicals.  I definitely use a scented dryer sheet when drying my hubby's gym clothes, though :)  

Happy laundry washing!! 

Frugal Family Fun: Camping

I love to have fun as a family.  Don't we all?  I just don't think that fun always has to cost a lot of money.  So what do ya do?  For us, we enjoy taking a couple of mini vacations in the summer to the coast for camping adventures.

The hubby enjoys cooking outside.  

We usually stay in yurts which make it a lot simpler for us with limited packing space and little kids.  For us, it's not about proving how much we can "rough it" out there.  It is, after all, our vacation.  We all love being outside every chance we can get and with two little energetic boys it's a dream to live outside for a few days.
 

A typical yurt

 
One thing to consider for reserving a campsite with a yurt or cabin is that you need to plan WAY ahead.  Like 9 months ahead.  So we usually reserve our summer vacations in the fall.  But that also helps us budget for them.  We can get the sites paid for way ahead of time and then save for gas, food, supplies, etc.    You can reserve at this website:  http://www.reserveamerica.com/

Yurts are very economical.  They are about $45/night with plenty of room for most families compared to suite in a hotel room at the beach could be $250/night!! So we can stay a whole 3 day weekend somewhere, with gas, food, etc. for less than the price of one night in a hotel.  And I love having a "backyard" at our site. 

 A few pics of the last yurt we stayed in earlier this summer:

There was plenty of room for all 5 of us to sleep- including the pack-n-play and all our stuff!

Bottom bunk was Mom and Dad's bed (full size mattress).  My sleeping bag is broken but still worked well as a blanket lol.

Our oldest slept on top.

Baby girl's corner and bag storage

Our younger son slept on the futon (which could be opened up for two)

Little heater, light, and table too. We really didn't spend a lot of time inside because the weather was pretty nice but it is nice to have that option!

For our family, I will be honest and say that camping with three young kids is not relaxing.  It's not luxurious. It doesn't always include a ton of sleep. But it's fun, adventurous, and memorable.  And there are moments.  Those moments of bliss just being all together.  Away from distractions, tv, internet, work, chores, laundry etc. Where our sole purpose is to be together.  Or those few minutes around the campfire with the hubby late at night when all the kids are asleep. 

Baby girl loves the great outdoors too!

I would say that most little kids don't really notice or care about fancy stuff.  A friend posted this YouTube video recently that made me laugh but it was also pretty true.  It talked about what kids really want from a vacation: our attention!  Oh I so love leaving "work" behind and being with my little family.

New fav. park.  Will return again :)

 Here are just a few ways we try to simplify and save money camping:

*Make your starter ice- I empty the ice into bags for a few days before camping to avoid having to buy it on our way out.  Of course you'll still have to buy ice while you're gone.

*Simplify meals: hard boil eggs at home, prepare a cold salad, make pancakes to be re-heated,  make a foil meal (our fav is sw potato and ham cooked ahead of time and re-heated over fire or on camp stove), etc.  This is the time when I splurge a tiny bit to buy "convenience" foods like salad kids, canned green beans, and individual applesauce cups to make it fun and relaxing. By packing all or most of the food we'll need we'll save a lot of money on eating out.

*Find free fun like parks, trails, beaches, etc.  Your kids won't know the difference.  We found the coolest park on our last trip that had a little swimming/sand area, an awesome playground, and multiple short hiking trails good for kiddos.

*Start your own traditions- scavenger hunts, banana boats, hikes, campfire family devotions, card games, etc.

This is how we roll.  We have a compact SUV and 3 kids but we have our system.  I "pack" everything and my husband "places" everything.  I actually think his task is harder.  We have an inexpensive flexible roof top carrier that is a lifesaver.  We can fit a ton of stuff up there!

We are constantly learning about the type of contentment God can bring about in our lives and it's always humbling.  There's always the desire for bigger, better, more, nicer, etc.  But sometimes just loving on my little tribe of people and having another day seems more than I could think to ask for.

Hebrews 13:5
Don’t be controlled by love for money. Be happy with what you have..."

Preschool and the younger years Must-Haves

spring, 2014

I love the preschool age.  It is perhaps my favorite.  Though I'm really enjoying the kindergarten age and watching my boy learn to read and write and think creatively.

Regardless of whether you choose to send your kiddos to a traditional preschool (please lets not debate that here!) there can be so much fun to be had at home learning! 

Here are some of my favorite "manipulatives" for learning in the young years!  It has been a pleasure to watch my kids learn alongside each other.  The great thing about preschool is all the PLAYING!  And most things can totally be differentiated to different ages and levels. Sometimes we work on a certain task and sometimes it is just exploring! It always surprises me with the different ways my kids use these materials!

MONEY!!! Most parents don't use cash very often any more so it's nice to have access to some real money to play with.  Obviously you want to make sure your kiddos are past the putting everything in their mouth stage.  For younger preschoolers, sorting the coins can be fun. Kids can learn coin names, study the fronts and backs of the coins, learn about the presidents on them, etc. Providing a variety of fun containers inspires creativity. As they get older they can start counting amounts of change- like my kinder kiddo was doing here.  Good practice for counting by 1s and 10s.

Circle disks. I collected these over time when I was teaching.  They are great for fine motor skills and putting in piggie banks. Sorting options are many as well as pattern opportunities.  The transparent ones are also nice for covering up answers (allowing papers to be reused).  See below:

Beads!! These were actually the beads from my childhood lol.  Put them to good use!  Great for sorting by color, size, shape, texture (I even found some flexible beads in the hair section to add a new attribute), etc.  You can count them, string them (see pic below), scoop them, make patterns with them, etc.  Formula canisters and ice cube trays make fun additions to this station along with scoops and spoons. Don't discount the fine motor skills required to manipulate beads!  Number lines are fun for learning to recognize numbers.

Beans are fun and very inexpensive!  I have 6 different kinds of beans in here that were bought in the bulk bins at WinCo.  They have lasted a long time!  Fun for sensory and fine motor skill play, sorting, counting, patterns, etc. I found starting this station on the ground is better than a table (lay out a big towel or something) so beans are not falling off and flying everywhere.  Set some boundaries.

Pom Poms are just fun!  Soft, squishy, great for many things.  Add child chop sticks and tweezers for added fine motor skill practice.

My button collection needs beefing up but they are fun to sort by attribute, count, string, scoop, put in containers, etc.

Noodles!  Got in the bulk bins at the grocery store.  Different sizes and colors make for fun sorting.  I bought the tube pastas so they could be strung on pipe cleaners.  I prefer pipe cleaners to regular string for younger kids because they hold their shape and it is not as frustrating.

Pattern Blocks are so versatile. This is one thing that I did buy.  I found them at the Math Learning Center and they have been a good investment.  These are great for free play and explorations to build both 3D and 2D creations.  Prekinders.com has some cool templates for free.  Make designs, make patterns, have fun!  Encourage kiddos to think outside the box.  How many different ways can you build a hexagon? (for example) For older kids these can be used for fractions.

 Base 10 pieces are a great way to explore bigger numbers with slightly older kiddos. If you don't have any regular ones (see below for the ones my mom got at a garage sale), you can make your own with popsicle sticks and beans.

Good old flash cards!  Dollar Tree specials.  #Cheaper than printing things!

Books!  We love picking out books at the library and also own a lot of books as well. Library helps save money and space!  I usually rotate which books we keep out. 

Matching games!

Dominos!  Great fun to touch and play with for your littlest preschoolers.  Fun way to practice addition (and other operations) with older kids. 

Dice are fantastic for recognizing patters.  My 3 year old likes flipping all the dice to show the same number..."4" for example.  Plus they can be fun to sort and can be used for adding, subtracting, etc.

 

Really, anything can be used as a preschool manipulative!  I have a ridiculous pen cap collection from my teaching years that the kids enjoy dumping out and playing with.  Bread clips, blocks, legos, duplos, lids, etc.  Anything.  Whether it be formal preschool or just a rainy day activity....
Have fun!! Play, learn!!
If you need some sites on lesson ideas check out...
prekinders.com