Just us and Billie Holiday

 

I don't know about you, but I tend to have seasonal music modes. In the summer, I'm eversoslightly addicted to Country. I do the whole window down, driving thru back roads like I'm one of those music video cuties in checkered button-downs who always have that perfectly tousled hair. (Please tell me you know what I'm talking about?) Winter is primarily taken up by Christmas music, then I usually switch over to Classical when the Yuletide time has passed. Spring is a bit of a toss up, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Usually Acoustic Rock of sorts. Hootie and the Blowfish, Jim Croce, etc. But Autumn? Autumn is for Jazz and Swing. And for taking advantage of the first overcast day to get cozy, watch Sweet Boy check himself out in his mirror, heat up leftover coffee, fold laundry, and get you Billie Holiday on.

A Penny Saved, A Penny Earned

 What Operation: Grocery Plan looks like

Before Baby B arrived, I was working part-time as a Nanny and spending the rest of my time keeping house. One of my major duties is the grocery shopping, although let's just be upfront about this: I kind of love grocery shopping. It's a little sick. When I was first home from the hospital and my amazing husband was doing the shopping for us (and doing a terrific job, I might add) I might have missed it a teeny bit.....

I like to think that Husband and I are pretty fiscally responsible, due mostly to the wisdom and experience of the former, the organizational skills of the later, and a little Ramsey thrown in the mix to keep things interesting. So when I first clapped ears on the idea of couponing, menu planning, and the like, it sounded like the perfect fit. I gave it a whirl, and I got a little good at it - for a couple weeks. About the time I would get a good stock of coupons built up, I would lapse for a bit, and by the time I would pick it back up, they would all be expired and I would have to start all over again. Hello, revolving door of coupon mediocrity!

All the couponers I knew were from church or the Internet, and I remember thinking, "Well, they stay at home all day, so they have more time than I do and when I am a stay-at-home Mom, I'll have time to get better too." Ha! Go ahead, judge away, I so totally deserve it.
So here we are three months later, with me totally and completely thrilled to be staying home with my baby, but honestly missing the luxury of a few extra bucks in my pocket. I see all these inspiring bloggy moms who work from home, so I took a quick inventory of my marketable, stay-at-home skills. I taught piano lessons before Baby B came along, and I hope to do so again, but waiting for a baby to develop a routine is like waiting for water to boil. I don't make jewelry, paint, or "craft" (in the professional sense), and my sewing experience is limited to a middle school Home Ec class and a little inherited skill from my Mom. It would be great to make money with this blog someday - but today I have exactly 4 followers (Love y'all, by the way!) and 17 posts. There it is.

And then it hit me. Saving money! Saving money is a marketable skill. If I could shave a few bucks out of my grocery budget each week, that's at least a coffee with girlfriends or thirifting with my sisters, or saving up so Husband doesn't end up buying his own birthday present. Not to mention, the opportunity to live more generously.

My Coupon Center. It may not look like much, but I am a proud Mama.

So here is the mission: Shop sales, use coupons, and waste less. The rules:

1. I will not - okay - I will try to be obsess. This will not be one of the things I beat myself up about. This is just an exercise in good good stewardship and will be treated as such.
2. I will be respectful of cashiers and other shoppers.
3. I will not buy stuff we don't use, like a year supply of food for the dog we don't have (I'm looking at you TLC "Extreme Couponers") unless we can donate it.

So, there it is. Wish me luck!

What are some of the ways your family saves money? Any creative leftover ideas? As always, I love to hear from you!

Lesson Learned, Life Enjoyed

Fathers Day Feast

Good morning Friends! It's almost 11am on a Monday morning, and I'm just beginning to start my day. Don't get me wrong, as the mother of a three-month-old, I've been up for hours (and hours, and hours) but those hours didn't seem to be filled with the things I originally planned. No dishes were put away, no countertops wiped down, no floors vacuumed, no workout done, no junk from the weekend put back where it goes. I did manage to choke down some leftovers and there is a load of B's laundry singing in the dryer, but on a whole the morning could seem like a disappointment.

  

Until I think about what I have been up to. I've been holding, feeding, singing to, and soothing a slightly-crankier-than-usual-because-he's-sick B. I've been accidentally dozing off for some much needed rest after a nightly feeding that turned into a diaper changing, bed re-making incident thanks to a wet diaper that went rouge. And I've been sneaking in some much needed Bible study.

I think like a lot of Proverbs 31 Woman Wannabes (well, at least I hope I'm not the only one), I don't give myself very much grace. I even tend to equate my value as a wife, and maybe even as a woman of God, by the things I can get done, by how clean my house is, by how put together I am. Especially now that I have the awesome privilege of staying home full time, I put even more pressure on myself because I need to be "pulling my weight." Wow, sounds pretty silly when I type it all out like that, but nevertheless, there it is. And it's funny, too because God didn't put that pressure on me. H doesn't put that pressure on me. And as long as B is fed several times a day I'm pretty sure he doesn't care how many chores I mark off my to-do list.

You know what's funny about the Proverbs 31 Woman? She's like a house-keeping, home-making machine, but you know what her crowning achievement is? Her fear of the Lord. See, no one can DO all that by themselves. Mere mortals can only accomplish so much in a day and keep their relationships, not to mention their sanity, stable. It's God who gave me this incredible task of caring for my family and keeping my home, and it's His job to help me tie up the lose ends. If things go undone, then they were meant to go undone. If the dishes sit in the sink for 24 hours, the world will not come crumbling to an end.

Now, I'm not talking about sitting on the couch, eating potato chips, and watching CSI reruns all day. I'm talking about priorities, about reveling in every little moment I get to spend with my baby, about not being exhausted when my Husband gets home, and about doing my very best to get the rest done, and giving myself grace when I can't. Can I get an "Amen" from the other exhausted, perfectionist housewives? Thank you.

You know what? My life basically rocks. I didn't do any housework all weekend except for a few dishes, but you know what I did do? H and I took B to his very first baseball game. We watched movies in our pajamas. We got our Red Robin on with my Family for Fathers Day. H took me to Baskin Robins for my first scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream in about 7 years (Thank you BOGO coupon!). We kissed, and cuddled B and enjoyed all his new 3-month-old tricks. I enjoyed my first Sunday back on the worship team since B's arrival. We traipsed all over town looking for a Mexican grocery store so I could get some Apple Soda (more on this in a later post). I made H his favorite dinner (which is fried salmon patties, cornbread, and veggies, in case you were wondering) for his very first Fathers Day. And you know how many times I wished my dining room table was cleared off? Exactly zero. Case in point.

I'm pretty sure it's not just me out on this ledge, and if you're there with me, I encourage yourself to give yourself a break today. Know what I mean? And for those of you older and wiser than I, what are some of the ways to keep your balance? 

Thanks Friends, enjoy your Monday! I've got me some chubby baby cheeks to nuzzle...

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