Frugal Friday!

Snack box!

Sometimes, time is money... can I get an amen?  

I can't count the times that I've ran around the house looking for snacks to fill my purse for the kids while we go to the grocery store, pool, church, park, etc.  I'm sure a little planning on my part would go a long way, but I am a procrastinator through and through.  

So, when I saw this snack box, I just knew Warrick needed one.

Here are the snacks I chose... but before you think I'm a horrible mom for only feeding my child junk, I have set limits to 2 snacks from this snack box and 2 snacks from one I made in the fridge.  The one in the fridge only has blueberries and strawberries now, but I'm planning on adding carrots and cheese sticks next time I get to the store.  

This one includes: Spiderman fruit snacks, cheez-it snack mix, goldfish crackers, animal crackers, teddy grahams, ziplock bags (the smaller snack size), and a clear tub.  

When the box was complete, I put it on the lowest shelf of the pantry and the fruit/veggie box is on the lowest shelf of the fridge.  Perfect eye-level for my little man.  And he thinks it's so fun to pick out a snack from all of the options.  

Hope you've enjoyed frugal friday!  :)

Photography Therapy

When I was a foster care case worker, one of my job responisbilities was to refer unfit parents to parenting classes.  I asked one of the mothers on my caseload what she was learning in the class.  And she shared with me that day they had received throw-away cameras and they were supposed to spend the next week taking pictures of their children.  The agency would get the film developed and they would make a picture book or scrapbook with the pictures.  The reasoning behind this, was because when parents see pictures of their children (even if they are screaming in the picture) it evokes loving feelings.  Studies show that a person is less likely to be abusive to their children when they look at pictures of them and remember good times.

I was reminded of this today when Warrick decided to climb on a bookshelf at the library and it came crashing down on top of him.  My inital reaction was to embrace him and ask if he was ok, quickly followed by "don't EVER EVER EVER do that again!"  What makes matters worse, is that Warrick was climbing on the dresser in our bedroom just last night with the same result.  Other than a couple of bumps and bruises, he's completely fine.  But I thought for sure he would have learned his lesson.  Then today after the library, I caught him climbing on Tynnley's changing table.


Pair this with my little monkey's daily temper tantrums, endless energy, and constant demands and I'm in need of some serious photography therapy!!!  


So today, I'm taking pictures of my children... lots and lots and LOTS of pictures.

Our Journey: God is moving!

Matt and I got married in 2004, 2 weeks after graduating from MVNU.  We moved to IL and Matt was a youth pastor at Ottawa First Church for 4 years.  What a great 4 years!  During our time there, Matt would attend conferences and learn about church planting and was beginning to feel called to plant a church.  One evening, we decided to meet with Dale and Steph Schaeffer and talk about church planting since they were doing just that!  In the midst of that discussion, we learned that they were wanting to hire an assistant pastor.  Long story short, Matt interviewed, got the job, and we moved to Morton, IL in 2008.  We put our house on the market, prayed like crazy and our house was sold in 7 days!!!  God was moving!   

While at BridgeWay, Matt and I were learning the ins and outs of church planting and began feeling called to the Fishers/Indianapolis area.  We prayed about it, but never told anyone that we were going to plant a church in IN.  That week, Matt had 2 families come to him and say that if he ever left to start a church, they were feeling called to be a part of it!  God was moving!    

Soon after, we put our house on the market and I remember telling people that God was going to sell our house in 6 days this time.  After a stressful 5 months of our house being on the market and after a of couple price-reductions, I began to wander what God was doing.  I was pregnant with Tynnley, Matt had already moved in with Dave and Lori Gama in Indiana and I was staying at our house in IL with our 2 year old son and continuing to work.  At the time, we didn't believe we could survive without my small income.  After about 6 weeks, Matt and I decided that God called our family to IN, not just him and we would have to take a leap of faith and I would quit my job and we would all move in with The Gama's.  God bless The Gama's!  There is no way we could ever repay them for their kindness!  After a couple of months, we found an apartment to move into in Noblesville.  

It's funny how my plans were soooo different than Gods.  I saw this move going VERY differently.  Matt had just completed his masters degree a year before and I was sure that he would find a great paying job in IN to utilize his Strategic Communication and Leadership degree.  God had a different plan for us.  Matt applied for many jobs and we decided that the first job that he was offered, he would take, no matter what the job was.  Not long after, Matt heard about a meter reading job, interviewed, was offered the job and took it.  

After doing some number crunching, we learned that it would take 3 weeks pay to make rent and health insurance.  We would have 1 weeks pay to pay everything else... utilities, car insurance, gas, food, etc.  And I was 6 months pregnant with Tynnley.  I applied for a couple of jobs and never heard anything back, but I think I would have been a hard sell.  I envisioned myself in an interview saying "Oh... and by the way, in 3 months I will need 6 weeks off for the baby."  Ha!  Plus, we didn't have child care for Warrick and when I looked into it, it was CRAZY expensive!!!!  We felt like me finding employment was not going to work for us at that point.

There were many months that I was stressed out and I remember one day Matt and I had a disagreement regarding tithe... he thought we should continue to tithe 10% to the church and I was convinced that we should keep track and "pay God back" when we were better off financially.   Which seems ridiculous to me now, but then it made all the sense in the world.  I've been so blessed to have married such an amazing man of God!  Because I know we would have missed out on a lot of blessings if he would have let me have my way!  We were constantly praying for God's provision and we were trusting that He would pay our bills... because we would not be able to.  Matt contacted our District Superintendent and said that he was available to do pulpit supply on Sunday mornings.  Soon after that, Matt had many lined up.  There was one sunday evening that I will never forget... Matt preached and the church took a love offering for us.  The day before, Matt  and I did our budget for the month and we were going to be $428.76 short for the month to pay our bills.  We didn't tell anyone this and prayed that God would provide.  After the service, a church member handed me an envelope from the love offering.  On the car ride home, I opened the envelop and counted the money as Matt drove.  There was $429 in the envelope and it was everything I could do not to bust out crying that very moment.  God was moving!  

This is just one example... God did this over and over and over again.  There were sooo many times that I would check the mail and there would be $1000 check in a card that would say "I feel God telling me to send you this".  People would send us gas cards and gift cards to grocery stores.  It was unbelievable.  Never in my life had I ever had to live with so much faith.  It was so exciting and left me speechless (which is hard to do).  

As I sit on the other side, I am constantly in awe of what all God did for us during this time.  It wasn't how I prayed or thought it was all going to happen, but God had a much much better plan that involved me growing in ways I wouldn't have otherwise.  And I want to thank all of you who prayed for us, encouraged us, sent us money, invited us to dinner, and everything else you may have thought was "little."  It meant and still means the world to us.  

So today, I am thankful:
I am so thankful for generous people who are sensitive and obedient to God's voice.

I am so thankful for BridgeWay having a Financial Peace University class where Matt and I learned to budget and were able to pay off our cars and credit cards, which helped us to live during the months when we would not be able to pay "non-essential" bills.

I am so thankful for the families that moved here from IL and the amazing ones in IN that have been a part of Second Chance Church

I am so thankful for my amazing husband who puts God above all else

I am so thankful that we tithed 10% in the midst of the hardest finanial time in our life.  Because God has ALWAYS allowed 90% to go further than 100%

God IS moving!

Frugal Friday!

Free summer activities for the kiddos!

Free water fun!
On Wednesday, I took the kids to Splash Pad at Billericay Park.  Warrick had a blast!

Free children's movies!

The Great Escape in Noblesville has free movies on tues and weds mornings in the summer.  I took Warrick last year a couple of times, but have yet to go this year.  But am planning on it before it's over!  Check out the list of movies here.


There are also outdoor family movies at Forest Park in Noblesville (Fishers has some too).
Movies are free and start at dusk beginning july 21
7/21 Dolphin Tale
8/4   Double Feature: Zookeeper and SpyKids 
8/18 Soul Surfer 
9/8   Footloose 

Free Story time!
Our local library and Barnes and Noble have story time for toddlers.  Warrick has a blast listening to the books and participating in a craft afterwards.  What a great way for children to learn to love reading!  

What are some free summer activities that your family participates in?

A Day In The Life

In January, I wrote a blog entitled A Day In The Life.  A blogger that I follow posts a monthly "day in the life" blog that I always find fun and interesting to read. She blogs about what her and her children do all day, hour by hour. She does this because she has many out-of-town relatives who enjoy feeling a part of her everyday life and also as a journal for herself to look back on when her children are older.  I thought it would be fun to do a couple times per year.  So here is yesterday:

3:45am
Warrick came into our bed and said he was "soooooooooooooo hungry" and wanted to watch cartoons.  I told him he could lay in our bed but he's not getting food or tv right now.

4:30am
After being kicked, elbowed, and harassed about food, I decided to cut up an apple and turn on a movie for Warrick.  I told him that he was not allowed back into our room until the movie was over.

5:15am
cant get back to sleep, so I cleaned the kitchen.  It was in desperate  need of cleaning... obviously!

5:45am

devotions

6:15am
Warrick fell asleep and so did I  :)

8am
Tynnley wakes up.  I nurse her while I read, then make banana pancakes.  She eats 2 pancakes then gets cleaned up and dressed for the day.  We played together in her room for a while.

9am
Warrick wakes up, I change him and strip his bed since he peed on it.  Warrick ate pancakes then got dressed.

9:30am
menu planning for the week

10:15-11:45am 

Tynnley napped, I got ready for the day, threw in some laundry and Warrick & I played "spiderman"  which involves running around the house kicking the air and stating "I will web you!" every 5 minutes.  

11:45am lunch

Cheese quesadillas, peas, and mandarin oranges.  

12:30-3pm

ATT tech arrives and we get internet!  No more "borrowing" internet service from our neighbors.  The kids and I read books and play in their rooms after I help the tech search everywhere for a phone jack.  This is what happens when I leave the kids unattended with the game closet open:

4:15pm 

start dinner.  Tynnley takes a short nap and Warrick "plays" monopoly 

5pm 

Matt home, we eat dinner: Talapia, brown rice, and broccoli.  Quick and easy since we were leaving soon.

5:30-10:30pm  

Evening at Camp Camby!  

10:30pm

realize I never put a new sheet on Warrick's bed, nurse Tynnley and go to bed!

Long day, but I think it will be interesting to look back and appreciate the small things in life and "insignificant" days that aren't so insignificant.  

Hope you've enjoyed  :)

Carb Day!

One day we were at Matt's parents house and Matt's dad Bruce was talking about "Carb Day".  If you know me, you know that I LOVE carbs :)   So I was excited to hear that there was an entire day devoted to it.  But it turns out, they were talking about carburetor day, not carbohydrate day.

On Thursday, Tynnley had her 9 month doctor visit.  A nurse weighed her, measured her length and head circumference and put us in a room to wait for the doctor.  A couple minutes later, the nurse came back in and said that she thought she wrote down Tynnley's weight wrong and that she needed to be re-weighed.  She was weighed again and was 15 lbs 5 oz.  This is a problem since at her 6 month appointment, she weighed 15 lbs 12oz.  (sidenote: at home later, I was looking through Warrick's baby book and he weighed 15 lbs at 3 months!)  This is so weird to me because she eats a lot!  And in the past 3 weeks she has just started to crawl, so I'm sure if she had gained weight or stayed the same she probably worked those off in the past 3 weeks crawling around the house.

The doctor said that Tynnley needed to return in 1 month instead of the usual 3 to be re-weighed.  If she hasn't gained weight he wants to put her on suppliments.  I love our pediatrician and agree with 99.9% of what he says, but Tynnley will not be going on suppliments.  I firmly believe she is just a petite little girl.
Anyways, the doctor recommended that Tynnley start whole milk, even though it's usually not allowed until 12 months and increase her carb intake.  And honestly, I'm a little jealous. :)

Here's our official "Carb Day"

Frugal Friday!

Gourmet pizza on a budget!

One of the things that Matt got me for Mother's Day, was a gift card for Half-Priced Books.  We love this bookstore and it's fun to peruse through the gently-used books, dvds, and magazines for a fraction of the price as new.  I went there 2 weeks ago to spend my gift card and was able to get 2 movies, 3 books, 3 Real Simple magazines, and still had money left over.  While looking though one of the Real Simple magazines, I came across a way to make gourmet pizza on a budget.  (October 2011)

This peaked my interest because every friday night, we have "family pizza and movie night" where we get a pizza, rent a redbox or borrow a library dvd and pop popcorn.  Warrick loves this tradition and usually starting wednesday of each week he'll start asking "is tonight family pizza movie night?"  We usually get a take-and-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's but every once in a while I'll make a pizza instead.  So when I saw this article I was excited to try something new.

The article had a couple different recipes.  This is the one I used.

Begin with a frozen cheese pizza (I got a Jack's pizza at Kroger for $2.99)
In a bowl, toss 1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets (I had frozen broccoli in the freezer) together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tsp each salt and pepper.  Scatter over the frozen pizza.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese and bake according to the package directions.  I went to the store to buy goat cheese, which I had never purchased before.  I realized it might be a little more expensive than normal cheese, but it was a lot more than I thought.  I bought a very small amount and it was $4.76 because it was $13.99 lb!  But even with the expensive cheese, I spent a little less than $9 making this which is still less than any gourmet pizza or delivery!

Operation Organization!

Today at the Robinson house is Operation Organization!  I have enlisted my 2 favorite helpers to assist, although I'm not sure the word "assist" can do it justice.

As I was oranizing closets throughout the house, I found my magazine page "inspirations" that I saw in Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living magazines.  I've kept these inspiration photos for years with the mindset that I would achieve these organziational skills sometime in my life.  They made me laugh because now that I see it, it seems so unrealistic... for me at least.

here are the magazine pages:

 pantry

 laundry room

Here's the best I've got:

                                                                pantry organized

 

Matt added a second row of shelving so I could better organize Tynnley's closet

 

And finally... our closet.  This was a complete disaster since we moved, so I've worked on getting this organized today.  

I know these closets won't stay this way for long, but I have better things to do with my time... like spending it with these two :)

And I realized... Martha doesn't have kids or a husband so she has time for her pantry to look amazing and have no one touch it.  And I'm not envious of that life.  I'll take my disheveled and disoraganized life over Martha's any day.

Frugal Friday!

About once a month I make a whole chicken in the crockpot.  This is a great money saver because I can usually find a whole chicken for around $4 at walmart.  We can get 2 meals out of a whole chicken.  This time, I'm planning to make chicken noodles and chicken tacos.

6 months ago, I came across a blog where a lady made chicken broth so I tried it and LOVED the results!  I want to share it with you because it's fun and a money saver!  I took this recipe from http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/

First, Rinse the chicken and place it in a crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick.  There is no need to put any liquid in the pot, just the chicken.  I usually sprinkle the chicken with pepper and paprika.

 isn't she pretty?  :)

Second, place the lid on the crock pot, set on low for 8 hours.  After the chicken has sat and cooled for a bit, I remove all the meat from the bones and shred it.

Do not throw away the liquid in the crock pot.

Third, put the bones back in the crock pot and add about five cups of water.  Set the crock pot on the low setting and cover. Let it cook overnight or 10 hours.  Strain out the bones and you have homemade chicken broth for free!  Not only is it free, it is free from all the preservatives, salt, and other junk you find in some of the store bought chicken broth.

Then put the broth in a container in the fridge to cool.  When the broth has totally cooled a layer of fat will be on the top.  Scrape the fat off with a spoon and the broth is ready to be used or can be stored for up to six months in the freezer.  I got about 50 ounces of broth from one chicken.

Now any time I am in need of chicken broth I have it handy for free!

Recipes I used and cost:

Chicken $7.26   I saw a whole chicken at walmart for $3.82 but decided to go organic for a couple dollars more since I would get 2 meals and chicken broth out of it.

Chicken and Noodles

48 oz of chicken broth  FREE (had it in the freezer from the last time I made a whole chicken)
served over mashed potatoes (2 large potatoes)  $1.76
can of green beans $0.67
1/2 of shredded chicken  (or you could use10 oz can chicken, drained)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced  (had this on hand, but I usually buy a bag of frozen diced onion for $1.50)
garlic powder to taste
12 oz package of extra wide egg noodles, uncooked $1.78

In large pot, combine broth, chicken, butter, onion and seasonings, simmer over medium heat for 10 min or until onion is tender.  Increase heat to boiling, add noodles and cook for 15 to 20 min or until noodles are tender.

  success!  

Chicken tacos:

1/2 of shredded chicken
packet of taco seasoning ($.034 at walmart)
taco shells ($1.12 at walmart)
served with lettuce, sour cream, tomato  ($3ish)

2 meals for under $20... and even closer to $15 if you don't go organic!!!

Frugal Friday!

The past several Friday mornings, I've been garage saling with my friend Tamera.  I've gotten so many great deals!

But the thing I'm most excited about recently is decorating the kids bathroom in our new home all for $19!  I got an entire bathroom set... shower curtain with coordinating hooks, soap dish, toothbrush holder, hand towel, and 3 pictures.  My mom helped me paint, and I love the way it turned out!