Penny Pinching Peach

For the semi crunchy, homeschool friendly and totally frugal!

Tag Archives: parenting


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Frugally Fashionable

Her outfit came from this consignment visit, worn the day she found out the new baby is a SISTER! :)

Her outfit came from this consignment visit, worn the day she found out the new baby is a SISTER! 🙂

Soooo….my children were beginning to look like neglected waifs a lot of days, especially my long legged oldest with her floodwater pants and the many stains on my rough & tumble Bambam’s clothing. I am also finding myself scraping the barrel for clothing options for those times when short pants and stains were just not appropriate (like winter, for the former…LOL), since I wore out so many of my maternity items with my second pregnancy and prolonged recovery. I was pondering the horror of deciding what would actually fit into the budget, knowing I wouldn’t put myself in there, when the phone rang. *RING!!! RING!!!!* It was an auto call from a local consignment shop, informing me of half price days. Whoop, whoop!! Clothes shopping time, y’all!!! 😉

For just $31, at two consignment shops that are beside each other and run sales at the same time, we got a ton of very nice clothing in like new condition!!! For Princess Peachy: 4 pairs of pants, a ruffly skirt with a bow on it, a sparkly purple long sleeved top, a gymnastics/swimming suit and a short sleeved shirt. For Bambam: A jacket, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a pair of footie jammies. For Mommy: 2 shirts, a pair of pjs,  a dress, all of which will work through pregnancy and breastfeeding, both. Just the dress would have cost about $50-$60 new, and it looks brand new.

To save money on clothing while still looking fashionable and fresh, consignment shops and thrift stores are a terrific option! For me, I honestly don’t give a flip what is in style, but I don’t want to look like I got my outfit from a dumpster, either. Even if you care about the latest style, you can often find what you’d like at these places. Dumpster chic is not my thing, and consignment stores and thrift stores don’t leave me with that undesirable look. You can choose to consign your own clothing that is outgrown or just not worn often enough in exchange for money or credit toward clothing your family can actually wear. Half price days at these stores are a great way to save, as well as supporting local business and inadvertently being green in your choice of clothing. What’s not to love? 😉

Of course, this isn’t my only trick. I hit up online sales, piling coupon codes onto clearance and sales prices. I buy the next season’s clothing at the end of the season when everything is seriously marked down. There are countless little tricks that add up to serious savings!

What do you do to clothe your family on a tight budget? Another trick of mine is Schoola Discount Clothes!


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Cloud Dough

So much fun!

So much fun!

Has anyone made their own play dough? I hadn’t, but I was looking for a new project for little miss creative when I saw a recipe for something they called “cloud dough”. It looked so easy, fun and super duper cheap to make, I had to give it a try.

The recipe? Two parts corn starch to one part hair conditioner of choice. I let my little one pick one that was pink and she liked the smell of. Mix until it’s all combined. It will be the roughly consistency of play dough, smell like conditioner, and have a soft fluffy feel to it ( hence the cloud part).

My daughter loves this stuff! She says it is even better than regular

Glittery Dough

Glittery Dough

playdough, because it’s soft and makes her hands smell yummy. We keep it in a Ziploc bag between playing. Our first batch kept for several weeks, then we made a second. It takes very little time or money, and scored high points for Mommy. It has kept her busy for hours, and I even let my little guy play with it some, if I am able to stay by them to watch closely.

A fun change up is one we just tried yesterday. I sprinkled a tiny bit of gold glitter on the table and let her roll the

dough in it, then she squished the glitter all up in it. Now she has sparkly cloud dough, which she calls her sparkly fairy dough. 🙂

Pink Cloud Dough

Pink Cloud Dough

Updating to share yet another twist on this fun dough we make regularly! 🙂 If you’re like me, and don’t keep dyes around on a regular basis, but do

Green Cloud Dough

Green Cloud Dough

keep sugar sprinkles for decorating baked goods, this one is for you! My kiddos had been arguing over what dough was whose, so I was brainstorming for a way to differentiate. I reached for the green and red sugar sprinkles in the spice cabinet and mixed a generous amount into each of their batches separately. My girly girl Princess Peachy wound up with a beautiful pink to make her little heart smile, and my dinosaur loving Bambam got a soul satisfying light green. No more fussing!! 🙂

Who wants to whip up a batch of this stuff? It is super simple, inexpensive and smells wonderful! 🙂


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Tiebreaking Baby!!!

Our Newest Cutiepie

Our Newest Cutiepie

Finally, time for the long awaited tiebreaker announcement! Who is going to be ahead- boys or girls?? First, let me give you a back story.

Tiebreaker!

Tiebreaker!

Our daughter, long before I was actually pregnant with this child, informed me that if we ever had another baby boy, she was trading him for a sister. She already had a baby brother and didn’t need another one of those. Thankfully, she’d decided we would keep the baby regardless of gender before we went in for the revealing ultrasound, since she does love the brother she has and figured she’ll love another one and want to keep him, too. LOL

That being said…

On the way to pick up the kids after our ultrasound, I bought a couple of very gender obvious outfits and a toy and put them in a gender neutral bag. When we arrived, our daughter came running to ask what the baby is and I told her to open the bag and it would tell her whether they were going to get a baby brother or sister. When she opened it, her jaw dropped. It was a priceless moment! 🙂

No trading necessary. As our oldest daughter put it, “God must have heard all my dreams and prayers, because He gave me exactly what I’ve been wishing for for sooooo long…a BABY SISTER!!!!”. 🙂 As you can see from the happy face in the picture, in which I’d just asked her how she felt about getting a new little sister, she is absolutely over the moon with joy!!! We are all happy, but would’ve been happy with either gender. For her, though, this is literally her greatest dream come true. For a five year old, he cup is overflowing with pure joy and wonder that God heard her prayers and the hopes of her heart. My joy in this coming little girl, my baby daughter, is even greater because her big sister is so very, very thrilled.

Sister smiles

Sister smiles

As for our all-boy Bambam, his reaction was priceless in a completely different way. When he found out we were having a little girl and saw her little profile picture from the ultrasound, he said “Me big brudda!” followed by a period of thoughtful silence, apparently pondering on his new duties as a big brother, after which he strongly exclaimed “Mean guys hurt me baby sista, me KICK BUTT!!”. LOL!!! Yep, he’s all boy, and already a super protective big brother! This didn’t come as a surprise, since he’s already very protective of Mommy and is so gentle with little ones, in spite of earning that nickname of Bambam with his roughness and strength. 🙂

Both of my children reacted in totally different ways that reflect their unique personalities, but they are both happy as can be. 🙂

Y’all had it right! In our Baby Bump Clues poll, your votes tallied in at: Girl- 53.33% Boy- 33.33% Well, it’s a baby, anyway! 13.33%. If you go by pregnancy symptoms and something called “the angle of the dangle” that showed in a previous ultrasound (look it up….fascinating, but not dependable enough to go by alone), I’d already suspected she was a girl, but refused to say it, assume it or tell anyone about it. This is confirmation that apparently girls make me really stinkin’ sick during early pregnancy, since with both girls I had horrible, prolonged morning sickness and my sweet son spared me that particular symptom. Thank God, they’re worth it! 🙂

So, the tiebreaker says… GIRLS WIN!!! 😉


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National Preschool Fitness Day

Pretty Day At the Park

Pretty Day At the Park

Jan. 30 is National Preschool Fitness Day. I just learned about this particular day, but I definitely make a point of keeping my kiddos hopping. During nicer days, even if it’s cold outside, we get them outside playing, like this recent photo at a park. When we are stuck inside a lot due to cruddy weather outside, it presents more of a challenge and Mommy has to get creative! My children have to be active or they will go completely nutty, so it’s an absolute necessity to find ways for them to move those little bodies when we’re stranded indoors. I’m sharing the official page about the holiday and their ideas for keeping little ones fit, then some of my own little tricks for burning that energy indoors. 🙂

Fun ideas for helping your preschooler stay fit:

Hubby Training

Free preschool fitness kit.

Bop the balloon. The object of this game is simple: Keep the balloon in the air by bopping it. My 2 1/2 year old and my 5 year old absolutely love this! Just make sure you have extra balloons ready, because they may pop and it won’t be pretty if you don’t have a replacement handy. 🙂

Chacha train. I have my kiddos line up behind me and we do our own version of the chacha in a choochoo train kinda way. It’s weird and wacky, but it leaves them giggling and gets them moving.

Hokey Pokey. We’ve all done this one as kids, right? You can do it with them or just sing the song and do the best you can while doing whatever you’re doing.

Simon Says. Simon Says: Hop like a bunny. Simon Says: Spin around. Simon Says: Do jumping jacks. Everything Simon Says is something active in this version of the game.

Dance party!! I like to put on some music and do crazy dances with my munchkins. If I am not feeling well and don’t feel like dancing myself, I’ll often sing a song and clap for them to dance. They LOVE it!!

The items below look like some really fun resources for physical activities for preschoolers, if you want some help in getting those little hineys moving! 🙂

303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games (SmartFun Activity Books)

Preschoolers and Kindergartners Moving and Learning: A Physical Education Curriculum (Moving & Learning)

Sesame Street: Get Up and Dance

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What kind of activities do you keep your little ones active with during yucky weather?


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Morning Sickness Madness

Tiebreaker!

Tiebreaker!

Oh, the fickle nature of morning sickness! One morning I couldn’t stand even the sight or smell of the food I was fixing for my family for breakfast. The next I’d be scarfing down leftover Mexican food first thing in the morning. One day I wake up feeling like I was hit by a mac truck and spun around in circles 50 times. The next I wake up energized and ready to run. One day my morning is miserable. The next I’m fine all morning and feel like death all afternoon. More often, until the past couple weeks, miserably ill all stinkin’ day long!  Btw, does anyone else feeling punching the guy who called it that right in the stomach, because he got it soooooo wrong and you’d love for him to experience a bit of your agony??? LOL JK Really, though, if you only got it in the morning, you are one lucky gal!!

With my first (our daughter), “morning” sickness was an all day, pull-over-on-the-side-of-the-road-to-throw-up, repulsed by all odors regardless of whether they were pleasant or nasty, frustrating kind of business. With my second (our son), I hardly had any at all, just some occasional and very mild nausea. With my third (which I miscarried) it was a mild all day thing. With this one, it’s been completely neurotic and unpredictable, but for several weeks it was an all day misery of sickness and loss of appetite, resulting in losing five pounds while simultaneously developing a noticeable baby bump (not the same one as I’m sharing below).

Some things I found that helped with nausea a bit were:

Anything with real ginger in it. Real ginger ale. Real ginger tea. Real candied ginger. Real ginger drops (bonus points because holding a piece of hard candy in my mouth also helped some). I’m going to post a link to some real ginger candies at the bottom if you want some. Yum for relief!

Crackers, especially sucking on them. I’d even keep them by my bed to suck on occasionally before I got up to lessen that overpowering wave of nausea when I first stood up in the morning.

I have heard those pressure wrist bands are great for morning sickness, although I’ll admit I didn’t actually try it. Dunno why, except maybe the fog of misery prevented it. Link at the bottom to a cute pink one!

Slowly sipping warm drinks or even broths can be soothing at times, especially safe herbal teas. Do your research before you indulge, because some herbal teas are not recommended during pregnancy. Red raspberry is one of the more popular, but I’ve heard good things about the Earth Mama teas, so I’m including a link to their morning sickness tea below.

Lemon drops and lemon water seemed to help me, but I have absolutely no scientific backing for that. It just did, okayyyyy?? LOL

Was/Is your morning sickness on any kind of pattern? If you have multiple children of both sexes, did you notice worse or milder sickness with the different genders? Any remedies to share? I am so glad my sickness is slowly subsiding! There is nothing fun about “morning” sickness, except maybe accidental weight loss, Read on for the promised handy links to helpful products.

Ginger People Gin-Gins Natural Hard Candy – 3 pack – 3oz Bags – Great for morning sickness and nausea!

Sea-band Mama Acupressure Wristband

Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Morning Wellness Tea, 16 teabags, 2 pack
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National Sanctity of Human Life Day

Sanctity of Human Life and My Right to Choose- Pro life or Pro choice

Ordinarily I steer clear of topics I consider controversial, but this is a celebration I feel strongly about.

I never thought I’d have to think about the sanctity of an unborn life in personal terms, but I wound up having to really think about it at one point.

What choice I would make if it came down to a literal life or death decision? I’m writing this not to judge, but to share my heart about something I’ve not been able to bring myself to really talk about much with anyone at all. First, let me tell you how this particular day came about.

* (Quote) In one of his final actions as president, Bush declared January 18 to be “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.”

“All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection,” the presidential proclamation read. (End Quote)

*Source of quote: http://www.lifenews.com/2009/01/15/nat-4748/

It is easy to say that you are pro life when you never have to face a situation where you are carrying a baby during a health crisis, will be alienated because of your pregnancy, etc.

It’s all RAH-RAH and warm fuzzies when you are not faced with a life or death decision or when you are terrified of the changes & consequences pregnancy means for you. That is when you truly find out how you feel about it. I have trouble judging anyone in extreme circumstances too harshly for the choices they make, although I am 1,000% for saving life whenever possible. For myself, I always had some empathy for the situations some people find themselves in, but having my own personal brush with possibly having to make an extraordinarily difficult decision has given me an even deeper understanding of the emotions and conflicts people can go through.

When I was pregnant with our second child, they found a grapefruit sized mass in my right ovary.

When they finally informed me about it, they had no idea whether it was cancerous or spreading or anything. They began to rush appointments to diagnose exactly what this mass was, stating that it was “almost too late for a choice if you require treatment”. To be translated, if they didn’t find out if I had cancer and needed immediate treatment pretty much right then, I would lose the window of time of being able to abort our baby.

I was floored and terrified.

I knew that delaying treatment if it were aggressive and cancerous could mean my daughter and unborn child could wind up being robbed of their mother. I lost my mom in a short two months after her diagnosis, so I had no illusions about what could happen to me. In that moment, I understood why women in that very situation sometimes do choose abortion. There was never a moment I was willing to kill my child- who was completely healthy and okay at that point in pregnancy- but I understood the gut wrenching conflict for life threatening situations in a way I never had before.

9 Days Old

9 Days Old

When they brought us in for my testing, they rushed the results. As I sat with my husband waiting for the news, I was shaking like a leaf and praying in silence that it would be good news. When they told us that it was a benign dermoid tumor- with no risk of cancer and the ability to delay surgery until our child’s birth- I bawled. They thought I was upset about the news they’d given, but I was just so relieved that I would not have to choose and that the odds were we would both be okay in the end. I didn’t want to choose to possibly die for my baby, but I’d already made that choice. Because of my experience with my mom, I believed that if it were cancer, my babies would very likely not have a mother to grow up with. I would never have allowed them to kill my baby to save myself, though, and was totally at peace with that decision, as horrifying was it was to me.

First Day Home & Meeting

First Day Home & Meeting

My pregnancy and delivery were far from easy.

The complications were pretty major, but it gave me such an appreciation for the gift of life and the sanctity of all human life, especially those who cannot protect or choose for themselves. The day we brought our son home from the NICU and were able to finally introduce him to his big sister is shown above, and that was an amazing feeling.

All of the above pictures, except the last photo, were taken by my sweet friend Ashley Bell with https://www.facebook.com/aBellPhotography/ and she did a wonderful job capturing the precious gift of our son’s life and homecoming (and managed to get a decent picture of him with his mommy who wasn’t doing or looking very well after all the trauma, which is amazing in itself).

Please join me in celebrating and acknowledging the beauty, joy, wonder and sanctity of all human life, no matter how small.

For the story about the miracle of my son, check out the post I published for his first birthday here: My Miracle Man‘s First Birthday/

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For a statement your baby can wear about being prolife, go here: Inktastic Unisex Baby Pro-Life Pink And Blue Ribbon Infant Creeper


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FREE Breast Pads For Nursing!!

♥♥♥Breast is Best!!!♥♥♥

I just ordered from http://www.breastpads.com, and if I can get at least 5 of my friends to order using promo code C88DD6019 (good for $ 35.00 off!), they are going to refund my shipping & handling charges!

We are trying to do things frugally, as usual for me. I breastfed both of our first two children. The fact that it is frugal is an incidental and wonderful side benefit to something so natural, healthy and sweet, honestly. I used disposable nursing pads mostly with my first two because I didn’t know of any decent cheap alternatives and the homemade ones I rigged up just didn’t work out well, either due to lack of properly keeping comfortable or the material irritating me. I needed really good ones, since I made an overabundance of milk both times when it came in, and it just didn’t stop! LOL This time I’m hoping to be able to use a lot more of the reusable kind, since I ordered 10 pairs of these babies. They come in a variety of cute prints. I got six in basic colors like black, nude and light pink, but four are in more cutesy designs. I’m excited to see how these feel when they come in!! 🙂

Anyone else want to try these out? Total charges for this set of 10 pairs wound up being $14.99 shipping with my free code, which seemed pretty reasonable to me. They currently have a special going right now where you can get additional pairs at $2.00 each, if you’d like to try even more.


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The Guilt of a Fertile Myrtle

Tiebreaker!

Tiebreaker!

I always dreamed of being a mommy. By always, I mean from the time that I was able to tote around baby dolls and know what a mommy actually was. My other dreams came, went and changed with my interests, but that dream remained the same: I wanted to be a mommy more than anything in the world, and I wanted more than just two children. By my teens, I was somewhat scared I wouldn’t be able to conceive or carry a child, from watching others struggle with fertility and miscarriages.

When my time came to have my own baby, however, I got pregnant beyond quickly. The second time around, I was expecting within a couple of months of going off of birth control. The third time I conceived I was actually on birth control and went off of it when I realized I might be pregnant, but I sadly lost that baby. This time is my fourth pregnancy, and I was pregnant literally immediately. We joke that all my husband has to do is look at me when I’m not on birth control and I’m pregnant. It’s a blessing, but never stops surprising me, especially now, since they had to remove my right ovary during my son’s emergency c-section due to a huge dermoid cyst that apparently had taken over that ovary’s ability to function long before I was even expecting the first time. I am an unlikely Fertile Myrtle.

That being said, my awareness of the very real struggle and pain of infertility leaves me feeling guilty. I feel guilty that I become pregnant with no effort whatsoever, even though it’s pretty miraculous under the circumstances. I feel guilty that I am expecting my third child while many of my friends are still dreaming of being able to have even one precious child. When it comes time to make a happy announcement or share brags about my babies, I feel guilty and worry that it might hurt my friends who aren’t able to have children so easily. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do feel guilty because of their sadness and my own joy.

Holding Hands On Our Wedding Day

Holding Hands On Our Wedding Day

But then I think…

I expected to marry at a very young age, due to the way I was raised, but I didn’t marry until I was 27. Our first daughter was born two days before my 28th birthday. I remember wondering if I’d ever find someone to share my life with, as I watched my friends find their special someone one by one. I recall hoping I’d be a mommy myself one day, as I saw them welcome their little ones into their lives through birth and adoption. Even now, as I see their mothers doting upon them and their children with such love and pride, I wish with all of my heart that my own mom could have been here to do just that with her grandbabies she’d also dreamed about, because even when she was dying she said missing out on them was her biggest regret.

Did it upset me for them to share the joy of their engagements, weddings and babies, even while wishing for those things for myself? Honestly, no. I was happy to be able to rejoice with them, and loved seeing the pictures and being part of their lives. Do I resent that these mothers and grandmothers are enjoying the next generation while my mom is missing it? Of course not! It sometimes makes me wistful, but I am glad to see that love. What would have been then- and would be now- a much sadder thing is to be left out of all of that happiness just because people didn’t or don’t want to make me feel sad or left out.

With this perspective, do I still feel guilty? Being for real here…yes! However, having that perspective makes me just continue to talk about my children, share their oh-so-adorable pictures, delight in the announcement of a new life and share it with everyone, including those who I so much wish could have these things for themselves, as well. Yep, I feel that twinge of guilt sometimes when I think about it, but I am going to love my little ones and share that joy with all of my friends and family just as if I didn’t feel it. 🙂

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Do you ever feel guilt about something you can’t help because you fear it might hurt someone you care about?

This looks like a good book for those who are struggling with infertility, and for those who are wondering how to reach out to them: Infertility: a Silent Struggle and a God Who Hears

If you don’t have a Kindle, but want to be able to read e-books like the one above, here is a free app that will help you out: Amazon.com – Read eBooks using the FREE Kindle Reading App on Most Devices

To see the youngest member of our family, head on over to my special announcement!


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Just Because Cards

Just Because Card

Just Because Card

This week my daughter wanted to do something to surprise her daddy when he came home, so I helped her make a “just because” card. I like to let her tell me what to write in her cards, and for Father’s Day I just asked her what she thought of and wrote whatever she said as her inside messages on the cards I printed off the internet for her to color for them. Because she just wanted to make her daddy happy, I wrote on the front of her card “I Am Thankful For My Daddy Because…” and let her tell me the great things she was thankful for about him. It was very precious and heartfelt, and absolutely made his day.

You’ve already seen the front of the card, but below is what she had me write inside. The decorations are all her own. 🙂

Who would you make your thankful card on the cheap for?

What she's thankful for Daddy for

What she’s thankful for Daddy for


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Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

 

Upcycled Thanksgiving Turkey

Upcycled Thanksgiving Turkey

For our preschool the other day I decided to make it all about Thanksgiving.

First, I told my daughter the 4 year old comprehensible version of the first Thanksgiving and we had a discussion about the things we are thankful for.

She was especially thankful for her mommy, daddy, baby brudder, all her animals and food. 🙂

Next, I sent her into the yard to gather leaves while I got together craft supplies for her project of the day!

I like re-using random items in our crafts, so I grabbed part of a thing cardboard insert I’d been saving from a box of drinks  (an old cereal box would work) and cut pieces to make a turkey body and head, cut a slit in the neck and chest to be able to stick them together, trimmed an old Reeses’ candy eggs box, then laid them out with her crayons and markers so that she could decorate her turkey however she wanted, and got some googly eyes to glue on when she was finished decorating. She had a blast! When she was through, I couldn’t find any clear tape, so I just used masking tape to tape the cardboard pieces around the box “stand”, put the head on and helped her tape the leaf tail on the backside. It would’ve been prettier with clear, obviously, but Princess Peach is pleased as punch, and that’s what counts. 🙂

Thanks for Turkey?

Thanks for Turkey?

Once the turkey was proudly perched on our windowsill, I wrote out THANKS and TURKEY on two pages, had her point out all of the letters and we talked about the words. Then she did her best to copy the words out. She also made a picture with her two hands traced and the word THANKS at the top later that day, because she enjoyed her Thanksgiving theme so much and didn’t want to be finished with it. 🙂

What kind of fun Thanksgiving themed things do you do with your little ones? Try my Free Printable Thanksgiving Turkey Craft!