I have been neglecting my readers for awhile now. I have been lost in a never ceasing whirlwind of unfortunate events.
Life circumstances sent me into a deep depression, which was joined by severe anxiety triggered by unrelenting stress on top of trauma and the soul numbing attempt to rise above it for my children while trying to use all of my penny pinching skills to stretch financial resources that just were not there to provide even necessities. I am still bone weary, but I was ready to give up on life completely.
I know that I am being vague, but I am still too raw to bare my soul about everything we have been going through and are still enduring. Life is improving, and we are working hard to make it better, but it is not easy by far.
Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
There is light glowing through the fog that has darkened our existence, but I am still struggling. I am constantly reminding myself of one of my favorite quotes, the serenity prayer as seen here: http://amzn.to/2lhk7sb I hope to begin to share my journey and life with y’all again.
I am finding my way back to myself. I hope that my friends here will still want read the things I have to share from my heart and soul about family, creativity, frugal living, homeschooling, homesteading and everything else!
My top three ways to afford a nice Christmas on a tight budget, and how you can, too!
These are my top three tricks to get very nice FREE Christmas presents on a tight budget!
I am always looking for ways to afford Christmas without breaking the bank. I have used each of these for years, so I can vouch for them! I know that these will help you be able to buy gifts for a nice Christmas, too, so I had to share!
This is a quick and easy way to get FREE books, stickers and audio books by doing simple tasks and sharing with friends! You can earn points by answering short quizzes, signing up for the newsletter, reading articles, writing reviews, just sharing the site and referring your friends. I was able to earn enough to order a book (with free shipping) within 10 minutes of signing up!
Use my referral link below to start off with free points!
School Clothing has quality consignments for great prices! 40% of the profits are donated to schools! Follow the referral link below for an immediate $10 credit to order, plus you earn more whenever you refer friends!
Sign up and get a shopping credit you can use immediately, with free shipping. They have tons of pet items, and some goodies for pet parents, too! Join the referral program to get more freebies for pets and pet lovers!
These are definitely not the only programs I use. They are the top three free rewards programs I use with gift items, immediate pay out and quick ways to earn more.
Hunting season is already revving up in the South. This is a hubby approved list of inexpensive goodies! He either has or would love most of these! Share for ideas or hints! 😉
If you are like most women, finding budget friendly gifts for the men in your life is a big challenge! Since I am no exception, but have been married for several years to a man who is an avid hunter, fisherman and all around outdoorsy kinda guy, I thought I’d share a list of some gifts your guy is sure to love without breaking your budget!
All of the gifts I am sharing are less than $20 as of this moment, but prices are subject to change at any time.
Useful gifts for hunters and outdoorsmen.
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
Did you know that today is International Bacon Day*?
Who doesn’t like bacon? I mean, even people who don’t eat pork try to replicate it’s delectable taste with turkey bacon and whatever meat substitutes they use. It’s just like crispy Heaven on a plate!
Wanna celebrate the wonderful day of bacon? Here is some inspiration for you bacon lovers out there!
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
Maternal instinct versus self preservation! Which will win? A mommy’s dilemma!
Has anyone else realized through repeated painful testing that your protective maternal instinct is much stronger than your sense of self preservation?
I slipped on the stairs carrying my baby girl a couple of days ago. My son fell in my room as I was going down, and I was looking back to check on him. I was able to hold my littlest princess high and untouched as I landed full force on my right hiney cheek on the metal post of the shoe rack.
I have spent a couple of days so far with a large bruised lump in an awkward spot and a very sore posterior and back, being reminded how often the people in my household smack my hiney.
I wish this was the first test of maternal instincts versus self preservation I have passed with such painfully obvious results.
Let’s just say that I am a clumsy hiney, usually carrying a kid and I am frequently injured my my own mishaps. My kids come out of 99 percent of these incidents 100% okay.
I guess my kids can rest assured Mommy loves them more than she does herself. 😉 😉 😉
Feeling less than perfect? Obviously, I am far from perfect! I want you to know that even if you are struggling, you are not alone!
A couple of years ago with one of my little riders.
Planning to travel this summer? Have small children? One of your big concerns is probably how to keep the little rascals entertained and happy on the trip to where you’re headed, right? Here are some of my tried and true tips for ways to keep toddlers and preschoolers happy while traveling!
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
Snacks!!!Any parents know to bring something for the kids to munch on, but here are my tips to make this a success. Pack familiar favorites, as well as occasional treats and things they will like, but don’t really get at home. A treat they enjoy plain made in a cool shape can be exciting…
Things have been hectic and hot here! We’re going through some huge transitions, plus our son had an accident a couple of weeks ago that resulted in about 40 stitches and a fractured skull. He is going to be okay, but it’s a long road. Anyway, this heat got me thinking about some of my favorite refreshing drinks. I had to re-share these with y’all! Please share with your friends who could use some cooling off! Happy summer!!
I’ve seen all sorts of blurbs online about this wonderful fad of making infused waters at home. Now, generally I’m not one to jump on the myriad bandwagons of fadhood, but in this case it seemed harmless. Since I need to drink a lot of water, love fruit, and always have mason jars floating around the house, I decided to give this particular fad a try. I have sampled a variety of different flavors, so I’ll tell y’all about it. Prepare yourself! 😉
Blueberry Lemon Infused Water *Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
My first test was blueberry lemon infused water. It was quite pretty, and made a truly refreshing beverage. I just sliced up a lemon, threw in a heaping handful…
What do you do when life is not going the way you planned and you realize you can’t make it go the way you want?
Do you pitch a fit? Keep trying to make life fit your plan? Curl up in a ball and give up? Find another path to take?
We reevaluated our entire situation, and chose a completely new path and lifestyle for our family.
Our dream included our nearly 2,000 square foot home on 8.5 quiet acres with lots of animals, while my husband worked a local fire department and we grew roots in a nice community. My husband was laid off from the job. Things weren’t as dreamy here as we’d hoped, for many reasons. Our finances would never improve with the way things were. We needed a change, but didn’t know what to do. After much prayer and brainstorming, we came up with a solution that seemed workable.
We found a family friendly campground, bought a camper, put our house up for sale and became an unintentional part of the RV and tiny house community!
We lived in a 26 foot camper with a queen bed at one end and triple bunks at the other for two months to start off. Let me tell you, that was a huge challenge with three children (ages 6, 4 and baby)!! I thought I was going to go crazy! It was a nice little camper, and would’ve been wonderful for camping trips. For even close to full time living, it was not all that functional.
We did learn and grow a lot through that experience with no separate spaces for living, so I can’t completely regret it. However, I would advise anyone with children to just start off with something more like what we traded in for last week- a fifth wheel with a bunkroom! After living in a 26X7 foot camper with one pop out, a 33X8 foot fifth wheel with three pop outs seems quite spacious! It is laid out very well, and even has an extra half bath.
If you are looking at spending a lot of time in a tiny home on wheels with kids, here are some of our personal must haves after a couple of months experience of RV living with kids…
A bunk room is an absolute necessity!
We love spending time with our kids, but we need somewhere to send them. They need their own individual space (bunks personally decorated with organization for their special treasures), as well as space for their kids stuff without everyone having to walk over it. Trust me- get the bunk house!
An extra half bath!
This may not be a necessity for everyone, but it was a big deal for us. Risking TMI, but if you have a large family or small children, this feature is a lifesaver. I was literally going at least 3-4 days before being able to…umm….relieve myself, because someone was always shouting they needed to go or bashing in to wash their hands. It was already taking a toll on my health. You can also count on the kids fighting over the bathroom or needing to pee the moment you get in the shower.Get it if you can!
Efficient use of space.
When your space is as a premium, you want every inch to be well utilized in the design of your camper. Think about what you truly need and where you can store it. Storage space under benches, sofas, beds, etc. is your friend!
A stove with an oven.
Not all campers have ovens, and I want to be able to cook just the same as if I were in a full size stationary home.
As a side note, don’t forget to figure in what you are towing with and the weight limits for it. We bought an ultra light model, because it was half ton towable. My husband drives a half ton truck, and an upgrade was not in our budget. Be sure to check the limits for your vehicle before you shop, and consider that it will weigh more fully loaded.
I never thought that I would be living in a camper, and I never thought I could be happy in such a small home with children.
We are learning a whole different way of life and a completely new perspective. I won’t pretend that it is easy. I will say that we are growing through this process. We are more adaptable than we realized, and our children are happy as long as they feel safe and loved wherever they are. Sometimes what you dream of isn’t what is best. Sometimes what is best is something you’d never considered before. I don’t know where this new path will take us, but I am confident that we will get stronger and learn more as we travel along.
Has your life ever taken a completely unexpected turn along a path you never thought to take? How did it turn out?
I had a lot more experience with children than many new moms do starting out.
My experiences ranged from babysitting, volunteering in the nursery and Sunday school and to help moms of young children, and even helping with my cousin who spent a lot of time with our family in his first four years and a foster child we had for about a year. However, even being prepared for most aspects of dealing with young children never prepared me for some of things about the strange and wonderful world of being a mommy!
Before I became a parent, I never imagined…
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
Sitting on the toilet wishing I could use the bathroom in peace, but unable to be angry at being serenaded by sweet faced children belting out Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star at the top of their lungs.
Holding a cranky nursing baby while making an emergency run to the toilet, because setting the baby down would result in screams that would wake up the toddler who finally lost the battle with napping.
Showering at night with a baby in the bath seat splashing behind the water falling because I can’t trust that an older child won’t get back up and mess with the helpless little thing….again.
Driving to Sonic during Happy Hour because I need to get a grumpy kiddo to sleep and I don’t want to wander aimlessly around just because a car ride is his kryptonite. (We won’t mention the fact that separating one more fight or listening to one more whine fest would send me over the deep end. 😉 )
Spending the night camped out on the couch nearest the bathroom with a sick toddler, surrounded by plastic trash bags laid out to protect the floor and furniture while I ran her to the toilet at the first sign of gagging.
Uninterrupted sleep happens once in a blue moon, only when there isn’t an infant under the age of one in the house. I’m waiting another two or three years to expect to sleep fairly well again. 🙂
My things really do grow legs and walk away, especially if they are edible or alluringly shiny, and the legs toting them along firmly believe Mommy’s things are now known as MINE!!!
It takes longer to get in and our of the car to run an errand than to actually run the errand itself.
Being able to shower daily without a thought to how in the world I was going to manage it? That, my friends, was a luxury! I won’t say how long I sometimes go without being able to shower, since I have had two (and now three) children and my husband is a Firefighter Paramedic who works 24-72 hours at a time.
That these little cuties who call me Mommy can drive me to tears, make me laugh until my stomach hurts, have me ready to scream with frustration, feel like I could burst from pride, lose my mind from the incessant question and overflow with feelings of love all in the course of a normal day!
What are some unexpected things you have learned since becoming a parent? Here is something I wrote from the heart in hopes that anyone struggling will never feel alone!
If you are like me, you usually have a few cake mixes on hand from your couponing adventures, just waiting to be made into a quick and easy dessert!
We may wish we could cook from scratch all the time, but the truth is that we all use shortcuts now and then! For those times when you have a sweet craving without the time for a complicated recipe, we’ve got you covered with this roundup of recipes made with cake mix! There is everything from classic cakes to cookies to bars! There’s such a variety of flavors in this list of things to make from cake mix, I’m sure anyone can find something to satisfy their sweet tooth cravings!
The top hunter on my Christmas list- my husband! 
.
.
!
!
.
?
for a tasty celebration!
at the top of their lungs.
, only when there isn’t an infant under the age of one in the house. I’m waiting another two or three years to expect to sleep fairly well again. 🙂
who works 24-72 hours at a time.
Penny Pinching Peach 