Picnic on the Floor

Sometimes, in the midst of a busy schedule, I'm reminded of the fact that my neighbor girls, demanding and difficult though they may be, won't be around forever and I should savor the moments with them. They are delighted by the simplest things! So, when King Jo was gone one evening and I decided to make pancakes for supper since the kids and I love them so much, the neighbor girls begged to be able to eat with us. So, we set up a "picnic" in the kitchen and they had a blast!

Who Says Frugal Has to be Frumpy?

I love that yard sale season is back in full swing! This summer outfit, which Ali loves, was 50 cents!

These little boy shoes, hardly used, were 60 cents.

This Bumpkin bib, brand new, was around 10 cents and is easy to wash after every meal.

Just Like Mama

When Mama was shopping and Daddy was in the bathroom for a minute, Ali pulled my maternity swimsuit out of the clean laundry basket and put it on!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Bread Tips

Tip #1:

I've been using yeast from a 2# bag in my freezer and my loaves weren't raising nearly as high, especially if I made them by hand without using my bread machine. I decided to try leaving the yeast on the counter for a few days. My loaves are sky-high again! I just put about 2 or 3 t. of yeast in a little glass cup at the beginning of the week, tucked back against the counter, uncovered, and when I need to use yeast for bread I have un-thawed yeast ready to go! It's sat out for over a week before and has still worked beautifully.

Tip #2:

Never put your bread machine a few inches from the counter edge! Yesterday the kids and I were greatly startled to hear my bread machine jump off the counter and land upside down on the kitchen floor! It was still plugged in and still spinning the dough even upside down! The lid popped off and the dough got on the floor so I picked it up, cleaned it out and started over. It wasn't broken in any way and made another batch just fine thankfully! I'm glad it wasn't hurt since it's one of my most-used appliances! I know I didn't put it right on the edge of the counter, but it worked itself forward! My new trick is to put a can of nuts or a plastic glass in front of it so that if I hear a cup/container of nuts fall to the floor first, I can run and check on the bread machine and see if it's close to leaping off the counter!

What are Baby Boys Made Of?

It's been 10 days since my views were radically changed from pink to blue and I had to mention on my blog just how happy and thrilled I've been recently. It's amazing how quickly one's mindset can change and how God's plan becomes so clear as what is best! I went through the baby girl clothes I had brought out prematurely to see if there was anything I could give my cousin who is having a girl any day. I originally had thought I would cry as I went through them, seeing all the beautiful Easter dresses and frilly bloomers and bonnets that I won't be using again (at least not anytime soon). It was amazing how much I didn't care! I sorted through them, showing Ali her old dresses, and thought to myself, "If I never have another girl, that's okay! No doubt I will have plenty of nieces (my brother wants to have 12 kids) or even some granddaughters someday to do girly things with!"

I am so happy to be having another little boy that I could care less about the frills and pink! Of course baby girl clothes will always be brighter and more fun than boy clothes, I know that to be a fact, but I have "bonded" with this idea of another son and it's so exciting. I can see now that if God had given me 3 boys, or 3 girls, I could be happy because children are so precious no matter what their gender! One can be content, no matter what God gives! I can see now how our friends with 8 boys and my Grandma with her 5 little boys (before she finally had 1 girl) could love and adore their guys so much without disappointment.

My husband has even been a little easier to deal with regarding names this time around and we've agreed on a first name already within 10 days, which is miraculous for us since we tend to be discussing final name choices while I'm in labor! I am looking forward to meeting my son and I wouldn't trade him for anything! (Now let's just hope the ultrasound was right! If a little girl pops out though, I know I will be equally as thrilled, though I will be in shock!)

De-Clutter and Anti-Procrastinate

Biblicalwomanhood is doing a de-cluttering emphasis this week and so I've been thinking about what projects I need to do or ones that I have been putting off. A huge project I've been putting off forever that I finally tackled this weekend was clearing out my e-mail inbox. I had nearly 800 e-mails just sitting around in there! Talk about clutter! I can now proudly say there are less than 40! Yeah! That feels good!

One project I did a long time ago, but keep procrastinating on posting about is my school drawers. Remember when I said all of our homeschooling/preschool supplies desperately needed a place to go? Well a long time I cleaned out this drawer, which I got last summer at a yard sale for $1.50, and filled it with the school stuff and stuck it between our computer desk and the kid's picnic table in our living room. Top drawer is coloring books and library books, second drawer is playdough, paints, flashcards, foam letters, etc. Third drawer are activity cards and miscellaneous. We had been putting the marker and crayon boxes in there but the kids were just getting into them too much and making messes so those are still on top of the fridge (the highest place in the house and one of the few places they can't reach!)

The leather and craft stuff that used to be in the plastic drawers that now hold school stuff got rotated to a plastic bag for many months. I was tired of the un-organized mass of leather and stuff sitting in bags in my bedroom so I got these plastic tubs and neatly arranged my leather in the bottom one and my beaded-sock/ribbon-sock supplies in the small one on top. So much neater now, hurray!

The other main project I've been procrastinating on that I should tackle this week:
Matching mother/daughter dresses for Ali and I. I was waiting to find out the gender of my baby so that I could make an extra dress to match our baby if it was a girl. Now that I know it's a boy, I need to get going on it before I get too big to even wear the dress! I've been contemplating buying a maternity pattern and making mine a maternity top and skirt instead of a jumper so I can wear it longer.

If you want to get in on the de-cluttering challenge this week, visit www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog to partake in the challenge and be inspired by other women!

Maternity Fashion Show Continued

Lindsey, 23 weeks pregnant with Justus, is wearing a cotton button-up with khaki capris, a perfect lightweight outfit for spring or fall.

Laura looks lovely and comfortable in a stretchy top and skirt at 27 week pregnant with Rebekah. She got this top on clearance for $1 at JC Penney's.
Meredith, 30 weeks pregnant with Simon, looks casual, but not frumpy in her jeans and top.

A bright and cheery shirt makes Shiloh look like a glowing Mama when she's 23 weeks pregnant with Carsen and Kennedy.

It's hard to look good in anything when you're this big, but Lindsey loves her turquoise long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants when she's 9 months pregnant with Jeremiah.

Meredith looks lovely in this light, cool summer t at 36 weeks along with Simon.

In my hunt for cute and comfy maternity clothing for the summer, I have discovered a few really great places to get them for a decent price. I never would have thought http://www.ebay.com/ would have had sooooo many great maternity clothes for so cheap! I ordered a cute t-shirt the other day for $1, plus $3 shipping. Can't beat that price in this town! There are thousands upon thousands of items, so check it out! Try http://www.motherhood.com/ to shop Motherhood Maternity online and they have a HUGE clearance section with tasteful and stylish clothing that is half the price of buying at a discount store like Target or Wal-Mart. Sometimes http://www.oldnavy.com/ has some good clearance stuff too. Cute nursing clothing can be found at http://www.motherwear.com/ and I FINALLY found one site that actually sells long skirts made for a pregnant belly, http://www.littletouchofelegance.com/. Interested in having some clothing made to order? Check out the site http://www.7sisterssewing.com/ for very traditional, modest dresses that are custom made at home.



Of course if you have great stores, outlets, malls, and department stores with great clearances you can also find some good bargains. But for me, living in a state where there isn't much for maternity outfits in the entire county, buying online or hitting a big city seems to be the way to go.

Let the Maternity Fashion Show Begin!!!

Lesley, 18 weeks pregnant with Christian, looks beautiful in a cute maternity top from Target that is in one of her best colors.

Shiloh, 18 weeks pregnant with Carsen and Kennedy, looks ready to go to church or a fancy function is this feminine, gauzy gown.

Lindsey, 5 months pregnant with Jeremiah, stays cool during a hot summer with no A/C in this bright-colored summer top, borrowed from friend, Shiloh.

Meredith, 28 weeks pregnant with Simon, looks classy, but casual in this modern-looking button-up.

Kristin, 32 weeks pregnant with Noah, looks gorgeous in this casual long-sleeved t-shirt and khakis!

More to come.......

Maternity Fashion Show Reminder

I haven't forgotten the Maternity Fashion Show! I just wanted to wait and see if any more ladies wanted to send in photos. Please e-mail me a picture or two of you in your cutest maternity outfit and it will be posted on my blog soon! My e-mail is heyalethia (at) hotmail.

Thanks!

Toddler Funnies

Ali never fails to say funny things. Here are some of her most recent phrases:

"I used to be a baby and Bear-Bear used to be a big boy, but now he's a baby and I'm a big girl!" (Huh?)

"When you were a little girl Mama, I was your Mama, but now I'm a girl and you're the Mama!" (Is our child into re-incarnation or what?)

Another statement that shows us she still doesn't understand the past. "I used to be a little boy but now I'm a little girl!" (Could this be related to the fact that we have a baby boy in utero?)

At the grocery store, to a complete stranger: "I have a baby brudder. This is my baby brudder, and I have anudder brudder too in my mommy's tummy!"

When she was scolded for being wild on the couch and accidentally kicking me, and I said, "We NEVER kick Mommy. No, no, no!" She said, "But the baby in your tummy kicks you!"

She always refers to folks as the color of their shirt. So she'll tell us the Green Lady taught Sunday School (our pastor's wife wearing a bright green coat!). At the park a little boy hit her and she told me later that the Pink Girl's brother hit her and his Green Mom came and told her sorry. She often refers to a teen girl at our church as "The Black Girl" because she wears black a lot!

When doing devotions questions (from My First Book of Questions and Answers) I asked, "What did God make Eve out of?" She replied, "Out of Adam's ribbons!"

I was eating my french toast with my fingers the other day and she chided me, "Eat with your fork Mommy! You need to eat like a lady!"

It's not like I've ever been in an accident with Ali in the car, but you'd think I'd have with the way she treats me as a driver. One day on the drive to a nearby town she said, "Don't fall off the road!" I assured her I wouldn't! A few minutes later she said with a sigh, "I really hope we don't fall off the road."

One night Ali said her bedtime prayers and remembered Uncle Coco (Colter) in Guatemala. She said, "Thank you Lord for Uncle Coco to stay far, far away in Guatemala!"

One day we were at the laundry room and a repairman walked by. She yelled, "There goes a BAD, BAD, BAD man!" I was mortified, though I'm not sure he heard it!

Josiah hadn't shaved in a few days and Ali said, "Daddy, you have ants all over your face!"

Recently, Ali's started calling Jeremiah "Husband" instead of "Daddy" when they play. It used to be "Daddy this" and "Daddy that" but now she's using the term "Husband!"

Mama's Helpers

Ali loved rolling out tortillas for supper last night. We had black bean tacos.
I love this tortilla mix from Wal-Mart (in the Latino food section). All you have to do is add water and it's very inexpensive!

The neighbor girls came over and Ali screamed, "I'm making muffins with my mom! You guys can help!" The girls were all so excited to take turns adding ingredients and stirring.

Yummy oatmeal raisin muffins!

Jer-Bear loves to try and help sweep!

The Coolest Bumper Sticker Ever!

One of our good friends owns the junker that sports this bumper sticker. I would like to know where he got it, so please 'fess up in the comments section and tell us all where we can get one like it!

Not because my car is a junker, but because I want to get one and secretly put it on my mom's car as a practical joke! People have been telling her to get a new car for years, especially since all three of her teens/young adults had nicer cars than herself, and my dad has offered countless times to buy her something nice, but she insists on driving a junker so she can live more simply and give more!

Cleaning Out The Freezer Week....continued...

Cleaning out the freezer has been really good for us. And while it may look like there is still a lot in there, it is mostly hamburger and frozen pumpkin and zuchinni or vegetables or frozen berries. Of course I still need to straighten and organize it so it looks nicer, but at least we're making progress (there used to be about 3 times as much in here!) and were able to eat up a lot of things I had forgotten were there. And the homemade croutons turned out very yummy! Now that the freezer is getting cleaned out it will be time to fill it again! I ordered 5# of delicious frozen peaches from our monthly food order club, and I'll get some more free elk from my Dad. If I have the space, I'd like to freeze some extra loaves of homemade bread too!

One tip I learned: Do not freeze things that you made that were weird or gross cooking experiments, like my quinoa enchilada casserole, just because you are too cheap to throw out food. If you aren't going to eat it now, you won't want to eat it later either! (Unless of course you are bulk cooking and saving meals or portions for future fast meals).

Great Activities for Kids

Little girls especially seem to love these cards which are chock full of girly little crafts!

My aunt got us these cards for Christmas this year and they are so neat! I just wanted to post them so that moms who are looking to stock up on Rainy or Snowy Day activities could know about them. Fortunately in our town, it's finally starting to feel like spring, with yesterday being in the low 70s!
I think these cards cost about $10 a pack new but you may be able to find them for less online. Not sure where she purchased them. On the back of each card are the instructions for how to do the craft/activity pictured on the front.

These cards were a gift from my friend Heather. When I have some "spare time" I plan to color them. Great way to help the kids get their wiggles out and exercise on an afternoon stuck indoors!

Shopping Therapy

What is it about shopping that feels like therapy sometimes? When I was feeling down on Saturday morning about all the little pink and brightly colored dresses that will be going to my cousin's new baby girl now, I hit some yard sales. Thankfully the one sale in town with all the baby and kid stuff had no frilly girl clothes at all, only lots and lots of little boy clothes. Score! I also found a beautiful new scrapbook, complete with some baby stickers and paper and cut-outs that will be perfect for a little guy (yellowish colored) and it was only $1! It's actually the exact same scrapbook I was given as a gift for Ali so now they will have matching books!

The thrift store also had some great deals. All their nice onesies were boy ones and were from Gap and Old Navy and there were even a couple that were brand new with tags still on them for only 25 cents! (And, I have to add, that one was even organic cotton!)

While I don't think it's healthy to look to new things to make you happy or to satisfy you, there was something fun about finding some adorable things for my new baby that I can look forward to giving him in the future, proving to myself that baby boys can be just as fun as baby girls!

Oh, and another reason I'm thrilled to be having a little boy is yesterday one of my best friends found out she is having a little boy too, her very first after two girls! She's due just a couple of weeks after me, and even though she lives far away, our boys can play when we get together for visits! Congratulations Sam and Lesley! See their blog here. (I guess they'll have to change their blog name!)

Seeing Blue in August

On Friday, we got to experience one of the neatest things ever: Our first ever ultrasound! In the past our insurance hasn't covered them and we've wondered about the safety, but I figured that since it's covered this time and everyone has them and their babies seem normal, we decided one wouldn't hurt! Wow! Now I can see why they save lives in pregnancy centers. It is so awesome to see pics of one's little tiny one and know that you aren't imagining being pregnant, there really is a tiny, fully-formed human being in there!

When we found out that our itty-bitty-belly-dweller was a second heir to the family name, to say I was shocked was an understatement! I was SO convinced it was a girl, based on lots of factors: I have NEVER been wrong before with "intuition" and I felt so sure this was a girl, I really wanted another daughter, Ali wanted a sister, the timing of conception, the pregnancy itself (my first and third felt the same; with Jer I lost twice as much weight), the fact that we had only a girl named picked out (from back when I was preggo with Jer) , all of my cousins and friends having girls this year, etc. I know it's absolutely nuts and crazy of me to build such a fantasy on what isn't actual truth, but the sad thing is, that I DID, convincing myself the baby was a daughter! I had the pink cloth diapers (only 4 thankfully) cut out and ready to sew, a nice piece of fuzzy pink blanket material I had dug out of the sewing tub ready to make into a blankie, plans for matching mommy and daughter dresses out of some floral fabric I have, little pink leather shoes in the works for our "baby girl," even the baby announcement ideas going in my head, a girly scrapbook kit I snagged brand-new at a yard sale last summer for hardly anything that would have been perfect for a baby girl's baby book, and some adorable dresses from the thrift store (which will now go to my cousin who's due any day with a girl). I also had this vision in my head of two little girls playing tea party together, giggling and sharing secrets, and wearing matching dresses occasionally. I had this idea of more than one daughter to share life with as a friend someday, going out for Girls' Nights Out and watching them grow into godly young women and get married and have babies of their own, while Jeremiah hangs out with Dad and is his right-hand man. Having never had a sister I think I always wanted for my daughter what I didn't have. Since Alathia is such a strong-willed little thing and full of spunk I was also curious to see if another girl would be more quiet and compliant. If nothing else, I wanted to prove my Dad wrong, who was SO sure that I would be exactly like my mom and have one girl followed by two boys!

Needless to say, a dream, even one formed on false premises, does indeed die hard when it dies! I was dealing with such disappointment throughout the day on Friday, wondering how I could possibly feel this way when others would just be thankful to have ANY baby and knowing in my heart that God is the author of life and HE GAVE US EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED US TO HAVE! I kept telling myself how precious Jeremiah is to me and how I know when I hold this tiny little guy in my arms I wouldn't think of trading him for a dozen girls! I thought of my own brothers and how I wouldn't trade them for a sister for anything and how nice they have grown up to be.

My husband tried to make me feel better by pointing out all the positives of having little boys. Jeremiah is surrounded by a domineering big sis and lots of neighbor girls so he will benefit from having a boy to play with close in age. King Jo reminded me of the darling boys (now grown into young adults) whom he grew up (anyone know the Kangas clan?) and how sweet and kind they are and how much they help out with the family business and the chores. King Jo assured me that we'll probably have another girl somewhere down the line (so my dreams listed above aren't necessarily completely impossible at this point!)

What I learned from this experience is that often we as human beings lay our plans, whether in thought or in action, and we have this idea of how things should go. Sometimes those plans are founded on fantasy and not reality. Sometimes those plans are not God's plans. He has something different, and yes, better, in store for us! He knows what we need better than we do. The gifts He gives are perfect for us, designed with His glory in mind. I have learned that it was foolish of me to put so much stock in a feeling instead of just waiting to see what God had in store for us!

God knows what this little boy will grow up to be. Perhaps he will write a wonderful book, build beautiful homes for people, serve as a missionary or pastor, or save lives in his profession. No doubt, the Lord knows that we need sons since they have such a wonderful and amazing father to model and learn how to be godly men from! And my friends with lots of beautiful little daughters will need to know there are still honorable men left on the earth to marry their girls!

So, even if I felt the sting of "the death of my baby girl dream" I realized that upon the death of one dream, a new one can form. I pulled out the little boy clothes from the shed and have been looking at pictures of a tiny newborn Jeremiah to remind myself how unbelievable and precious little boys can be. As I stared at the profile of my baby's ultrasound photo last night, tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of how healthy and perfect he is and how much I love him in spite of the shock! As I stared at my little toddler son in his crib last night, who woke up calling, "Mama!" in the night and felt his fuzzy little hair, and held his little body, clad in fuzzy blue pajamas, with a Curious George tucked under his arm, I knew that another little son would be every bit as precious as he is to us! And deep in my closet there is a beautiful blue crocheted blanket that I'd started for a cousin several years ago but hadn't finished in time. Once it was done, I tucked it away in my gift stash, waiting for a special family member to have a boy. Now I know a little boy I can give it to, with a Mama's love! (It's pictured above!)

Update: Since I wrote this post a couple of days ago but didn't publish it until all of our family members had been told, my attitude has really lifted and now it seems just natural that we're having another boy. It's funny how you can believe you are having a girl for over 110 days and then 2 days after the shock of finding out SHE is a HE, you are already dreaming of blue little clothes and little brothers that play trucks together and thinking about strapping sons to carry on the family name. Isn't it a good thing we women are so adaptable?

Mothering With Gentleness... Continued...

It's really good for me to have this emphasis and to be accountable to my blog about it. It's such a crucial time for me to learn gentleness as I have two little ones that make endless messes and have endless demands and I'm dealing with the fatigue of pregnancy which can make one very short-tempered. I've had some good days, and then some set-backs. I prided myself on keeping calm when my daughter spilled water all over a birthday check I had received, even though I was tempted to holler and started to. But then the next day when she spilled water all over some new activity cards, after being told not to play with water I was furious and really blew it on the gentleness thing! So, I'm definitely going to need to work on this area for a long time!

One thing that helps me is that even if my kids are tiny and don't always understand, I always apologize and ask their forgiveness when I know I've wronged them (been harsh with them). This is humbling but necessary.

I made a poster for my kitchen, pictured above, as a reminder to work on PATIENCE and GENTLENESS. I try to pray daily for God's help in this area when we do morning devotions and then throughout the day when I feel myself getting tense. I know my husband prays for me a lot too, which is wonderful.

One thing that is hard for me to do, but really DOES help, is to go to bed earlier than normal. Everything seems to go better and I wake up feeling ready to tackle the day with a good attitude instead of feeling like a zombie that was drug up from the grave. I'm sure good nutrition helps play a part in overall good feeling too!

Other things that have helped is consistently sticking with a routine (my binder schedule) so that the kids know what to expect in the day and not being too busy or going too many places so that I'm overwhelmed and stressed and always hurrying them along.

Another HUGE thing that has helped me in my quest to be a Gentle Mother is that every day we go through a rule of this house from our book The 21 Rules of This House by Gregg and Josh Harris. It's pretty hard to tell your kid that our rules include, "When we need to correct someone, we correct them in love" and "We speak kindly and respectfully with one another" and "We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds" and then to break them yourself throughout the day! Helping Ali memorize our household rules has helped ME to remember to follow them too!

It's scary to watch how much toddlers copy us! Especially little girls who want to be just like their Mamas! As I watch Ali interacting with her baby dolls or her little brother, I see her reflecting my actions and words in everything. This is extra motivation for me to be a gentle and loving mother because I want her to treat other with gentleness too!

Eating Up the Freezer Stuff

This week I took a look at my stuffed freezer and realized I don't even have a clue what lurks at the back anymore. So, I determined that we eat up as much as we possibly can this week so that we can have some room in there for any sales that come up. I'd also like to be able to bake bread once a week and freeze a couple of loaves instead of making it every few days.

So, what did I find in the freezer:
* Frozen pumpkin and zucchini from friend's fall harvest
* A few packages of veggies
* Some individual portions of lunches/soups I had been saving for a hectic day
* Lots of chopped peppers (I stocked up on a good sale and chopped them all to have on hand since normally they are way too expensive for our budget)
* Lots of hamburger (some cooked, some not)
*Bread crumbs I have been saving to make homemade croutons out of
* A few popsicles from who knows when! Obviously not the kind my hubby likes since he can eat about 10 popsicles a day in the summer if they are a kind he likes

So, what's the plan?

*I made pepper chicken for my parents on Sunday evening, a yummy dish that used up most of the peppers
*I made 3 big loaves of pumpkin spice bread (good snack for the kids and I can freeze a loaf for fellowship Sunday)
*I'm planning to make croutons today by lightly coating the crumbs with butter and garlic salt and toasting in the oven
* The kids can eat the popsicles outside for snack today (thank the Lord it's getting warm enough for them to play outside!)
*We ate up quite a few of the frozen lunches for lunch in the last couple of days
*The veggies will definitely get used with our suppers this week. It's nice that we have food to use up since this was a slim week budget-wise due to some other expensive things I had to buy: diapers/stamps, etc.
* The cooked hamburger will be added to the spaghetti sauce for spaghetti tonight. We usually eat it meatless, but my husband will consider it a nice treat to have some hamburger in it tonight. The raw hamburger doesn't have to be used up, but I'm thinking that in a week or two we should fire up the grill and have a barbecue with the Mexican neighbors and serve them American food (hamburgers, chips, potato salad, etc.)

What kind of stuff lurks at the back of your freezer?

Project Minivan Update!!!

Exciting news about our minivan project! King Jo's sis is a missionary, currently stationed at headquarters in Texas. She is heading to Asia in early June. Her van, which her folks had given her a couple of years ago, broke down this weekend and is toast. So, she was stranded without a vehicle and called her folks for advice. It would have cost them a lot to travel 18 hours down to TX to help her buy a vehicle, so they just looked online and found one on Craig's List. They saw a lot of cheap deals online, but they worried that these wouldn't be all that reliable. Since they knew we were going to have them purchase us a van in the Twin Cities this summer anyway, they decided to get a really nice one and she can drive it for 2 months and then leave it in MN with them. They will bring it out when they come out to visit us this summer! The great news is that although my father-in-law spent $5,000 on the van, he offered to sell it to us for our target price, which was $3,500!!! Isn't that awesome? Of course, if we don't want this van, my FIL will gladly take it, since they would like to eventually have a minivan again too. We are so excited since we have never had such a nice vehicle and it will be perfect for our growing family. What a fast answer to prayer! We continue to try to save and pray that God would help us raise the money to buy this van. I can't wait to tell my kids the story of how God provided it when we all ride it in together for the first time!

It's a dark blue, Chrysler Town and Country luxury edition van, 2002 model!

Announcing.....Maternity Fashion Show!

Since I've recently been pulling out boxes of maternity clothes from the shed I've noticed that although I have quite a few maternity clothes, they are mostly:

*Drab, ugly colors

*Fall/winter styles (which makes sense considering I've had 2 winter babies so far)

*Not at all in my best colors for my skin/hair coloring

*Overly low-cut and see-through (hand-me-downs from folks)

*Ill-fitting (made for bigger or smaller people)

I do have quite a few nice pair of jeans and khakis for this pregnancy, but I'm anxious to do something about the lack of cute tops and skirts. This is why I'm asking for help from my blog readers! I will be doing a maternity fashion show on here in about a week and I need YOUR pics of you wearing your cutest clothes while pregnant. So, here is your chance to show off those belly shots! If you have ever been pregnant and have between 1-4 photos of really snazzy maternity clothes/outfits, please e-mail them to me at: heyalethia (at) hotmail

They will be featured on my blog, along with your first name and the link to your blog (if you have one). For fun, let me know how preggo you were at the time of each shot. I hope I get a good response so we can all get some ideas of how to be pretty while pregnant!

Whittling Down the Grocery Budget

Anyone else noticed groceries going up dramatically? I usually buy the cheapest box of lasagna at Wal-Mart. It went up from $1 to $1.39! Both grocery stores in town have raised bananas to 69 cents a pound! I'm furious! Even celery went up by about 30%! Since I'm trying to cut out a bit of my grocery budget in order to put it towards our minivan fund, I'm finding that it's taking MORE and MORE effort than ever to whittle down the grocery budget. So here are some of my tips:

*Definitely shop around. Because both grocery stores are within 2 blocks of our home, it's well worth the minimal extra time to shop both stores each week and catch the "Loss Leaders" at each. It even pays off big time to go to Wal-Mart 2 or 3 times a month (30 miles away) because of the way lower prices in food there.

*Plan lower cost meals. I shoot for inexpensive meals, with one or two nice meals per week thrown in. Some of my low-cost favorites include: spaghetti (we like it meatless), Tuna Gravy on homemade biscuits, Roast and potatoes (elk roast free from my dad), Stir fry, Homemade pizza, homemade soups or chilis. For fun I will throw in a more expensive meal, like lasagna, fettuccini alfredo, or Indian tacos for date night or special occasions.

*If something isn't a really good price in your mind, go without. This means planning your weekly menu around the sales and not being too brand loyal to things. I refuse to buy things that are out of my target range. From now on our bananas will come from Wal-Mart (at 48 cents a pound) or we'll buy off the ripened reduced rack (39 cents a pound.) Contrary to what our culture teaches, you DON'T deserve a break today and you SHOULDN'T buy what you don't have money for.

*Splurge on one thing at a time. Every Friday I try to make sure we have something "special" for our in-home movie night together as a couple. Whether it's making sure we have ice-cream (my hubby's favorite snack food) or some peanuts or homemade cookies made up, I like to have a treat for us both to look forward to. However, I have to remind myself that ONE treat is enough. This week I wanted to buy my husband a few of his favorite snack foods and then realized it wasn't in the realm of our budget. So, he got ice-cream this week and he'll get his favorite peanuts next time!

*Quit being lazy. There is no doubt about it, laziness costs money. Our family can live off a lot less if I am making my own bread, which is more nutritious and filling and is great snack food for the kids, rather than loaves at $3 a loaf. Rinsing out cloth diapers may take a few extra minutes but it saves so much on diapers to use cloth during the day! Making your own laundry soap is a breeze and a huge relief to the budget. Being willing to cook my pizza and biscuits, and desserts from scratch and cutting up my own fruit and veggies rather than buying them pre-prepared really does cost a lot less. There are definitely seasons of life where paying extra is worth it (morning sickness or having the flu or having one of "those days") but if laziness is your usual habit, you will find your grocery budget climbing.

*Be creative about snacks. Instead of crackers, pop some popcorn on the stove and lightly salt it for the kids. A bag of raisins in bulk or on clearance makes another good kid snack. Make up a big batch of pancakes or waffles and keep them in the freezer for quick snack fixes. Use Crystal's tips over at moneysavingmom to get snacks/crackers/cereals for free with coupons.

*Plan ahead. Nothing is more tempting than hitting up the drive through if you are shopping away from home with hungry kids or you are headed home from the park and are too tired to think about making lunch. This is why I find it helpful to plan my meals ahead of time, prep for supper early in the morning if possible, and pack snacks and drinks for car trips/park trips and shopping trips out of our town. Eating out can be a fun treat now and then but it's crazy how much one family with only tiny kids can spend on just one lunch out. We prefer not to eat out too often since one meal in a restaurant could buy our family of four nutritious and delicious meals for a few days!

*Have a "Clean Out the Pantry Week." I shop the great deals and clearances to stock our pantry, so when we are having a lean week sometimes it's fun to do a weeklong challenge of trying to use up what we have in our freezer and pantry. Often there are things stuffed at the back of the freezer you have forgotten about or cans growing dusty on the shelf in your pantry.

Little Boys Love Balloons!

The highlight of Jeremiah's week is getting a free balloon at the grocery store on Saturday. I had to post these pics of him enjoying his balloon because they were so animated!

TimeSaver Tip---Taking Meals to Folks

This week I was asked to do a meal for a friend who had a baby. I got to thinking that there was another couple in our church who brought us a nice meal recently and wanted to pay them back and I also remembered that it's about time I give my bachelor brother another home-cooked meal (his b-day gift was 3 or 4 meals delivered throughout the year). So, instead of doing these things on 3 separate occasions, I killed 3 birds with 1 stone and made a huge amount of nacho fixings and divided them into fourths so that there was enough for us and the 3 other families/people. Doing it for 3 is really no harder than doing it for 1 and it's a joy to be able to bless others.

Anyone who is into bulk cooking knows that it's a time and money saver! It's a lot of work all at once, but you reap the benefits of only having to dirty the dishes once and food is often cheaper in bulk quantities.

So, if there are a couple of families you've been meaning to take a meal to, plan to do it all on the same day!

Fry Bread Delights!

This fry bread can be sliced like a bun and taco ingredients fitted inside or just pile the ingredients on top without slicing if you don't mind a thick taco!

Indian tacos are so yummy! Add all of your favorite taco fixings!

Hot and fresh fry bread drizzled with butter and powdered sugar (or honey) is a yummy treat!

If you have ever been to the fair, you have probably seen fry bread (which is sometimes called by other names). It is pricey, but delicious! That's why I was thrilled to learn how to make Fry Bread in my teens when I worked in a Deli. Then when I was in college, I took a little class from a Native Chippewa woman who demonstrated her authentic method of doing it. I was hooked and it is SO EASY and SO GOOD! And very frugal to do it yourself! Treat your family and friends to some Indian Tacos or dessert Fry Bread with this recipe:

4 C. Flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 C. sugar
4 t. baking powder
Blend with a whisk or fork. Make a well in the center of the ingredients and add:
1 C. milk
2 C. warm water

Whisk the liquids in the center of the bowl (in the well) and gradually stir in the dry ingredients from the sides of the bowl. Add more flour as needed to form a dough that can be worked with. Knead with your hands in the bowl a few times and then put a paper towel on top and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Pinch off lumps a little bigger than a golf ball and flatten them, work them, with your hands to resemble pancakes. Put a little hole in the middle as this helps the center cook better. Fry in hot oil (I poured about 20 oz. of vegetable oil in a regular skillet) until brown on both sides. If your oil is too hot, the bread will turn dark brown after only 20 seconds. Ideally, for the bread to cook well and not be doughy, you want to cook it about a minute or two per side. Flip with tongs and then when the fry bread is a nice golden brown, drain on paper towels.
Serve immediately. Leftovers don't taste nearly as good but they can be frozen for future use or stored in a ziploc bag for a day or two. When sliced in half, you can toast them like bagels or eat them like toast.
This recipe makes quite a bit! I think we got about 16 pieces of fry bread out of it.