one day...

I wanted to share with you the last look at my house
just before I shut down for the evening.

a pile of dirty socks rest on the arm of the couch...

A pile of little people in the hall...

A pile of dirty shoes by the door...

An assorted pile of ponies and stuffed lovey's on my couch...

A pile of dishes, toys and towels near my sink...

It's a mess and I'm leaving it.

Even though I know I will regret it in the morning.

I'm leaving it.

Partially because I am tired and partially because it overwhelms me.

But mostly because I realize that someday the mess will all be gone...

and I will miss it...

...very...


...very...

...very much.

I'm sorry...

Why would I ever go anywhere without you?

You're so much like me.

You're practical and thrifty, you hold extra weight well, you're eco-friendly and at times can be quite fashionable. You get me. I’m sorry that I sometimes take you for granted. If I were a better woman I would take you with me everywhere. But I’m not. I forget you all the time. I have relegated you to one part of my life. To one lonely purpose...hauling groceries.


I love my green bags. You know those fabric bag thingys they sell near the checkout for 99¢ (1.25 if you're fancy). Not only do they satisfy my inner treehugger and end the paper or plastic debate but those babies can haul. I’m pretty sure I could lug a small child around in one if need be. You don’t have to worry about them ripping half way up the steps or make 60+ trips to retrieve plastic bags containing 3 items each.

Oh fabric bag, oh fabric bag how could I ever forget you. Next time I go to Target or the library, the post office or the craft store, please come along. I think we would be good for each other.

Blessed by the mess.

So here I am.

Having a lovely conversation with a dear friend over a cup of coffee.

Our kids are quietly playing in their room.

Not so quiet as to cause concern but not so loud as to prepare me for what I was about to see.

Friend and I were discussing issues of faith and parenthood, questioning our purpose and finding our place in God's plan. I have to admit that I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I feel like something is about to happen but hasn't happened yet. I feel like I want to start getting ready for it but I don't really know what it is. I was wishing that God would show me the road map or give me something to do in the meantime. While we were engrossed in this discussion, my children were doing this:








Oh yes they did! They were calmly and quietly emptying the contents of their room into little buckets and dumping them in the nursery. Notice that I said this was my children. Our lovely friends were quietly playing Polly pockets on the train table.


Question solved. It wasn't exactly the task I was looking for but when life gives you lemons...


After our guests left (no sense in stopping a great playdate), I got out some buckets, spread out the mess and directed the kids to start sorting and filling. Levi was to collect the potato head's and play food. Ruby the clothing, socks, swim suits and underwear-yes they even emptied the shelves/drawers from thier closet. I was getting the books and cars and music stuff. Finn was just supposed to look cute and not eat the minuscule bits and pieces of Ruby's play sets.

Seriously can we talk about this for a second? What is it with these things? I'm not sure if anyone out there has any pull in the toy industry but can somebody please do something about the million piece play sets that are marketed to little girls? Most of them I are even too small to see let alone play with.

They are so small that they are usually unnoticed until we hear the chunk-clink-clink as they are hurled into the canister of the vacuum. At which point tears are shed over such a loved item. Thus causing me to rifle through the filth and find the neglected treasure. In case you have all boys or no idea what I am talking about here is a visual:


I included a dime, you know the original choking hazard, in the picture so you could have a reference for how small these items really are. I love the reality of these sets.

Please notice the tiny hypodermic needles, they came with a mini vet set and are half the size of the doll's arm. How is a doll supposed to administer a shot when the needle is the same size as her arm? I am also in awe of the tiny tea cups. I love that they have handles. As if you could actually use them! You would need to use a tweezers just to hold them up for your tiny dolly to take a sip! Of course all of this logic is lost on my child. She love the stuff. The smaller the better.

Now back to the pile. I'm feeling as though the original picture did not accurately convey the height of the pile. As we began to sort through it, it became to look something like this:


The plus side is that I had been meaning to sort through the toys in their room but was overwhelmed at the thought of starting. I could have been mad. I could have been embarrassed that they did this with company. I could have lost my cool. Or I could just go with it.

This was just the push I needed. I may not have the road map for life I was hoping for but at least I have something to distract me for a couple of days. And the kids room will be organized just in time to make room for new Christmas additions! I'll consider this an unexpected answer to prayer.

Clearly...I've cossed a line.

As a stay-at-home mom I consider it part of my job to be a tightwad.

...uh I mean frugal.

...thrifty?


But some where along the way I crossed a line.

it was subtle...

it was sneeky...

but it was there and apparently, I crossed it.

That line my friend is

Zip-lock bags.


As CEO and CFO of this household I do what I can to make those hard earned dollars s-t-r-e-t-c-h. In order to help me with this task I read a few books by other self-proclaimed thriftsers. Particularly helpful to me were "America's Cheapest Family" and The Tightwad Gazette". Stories by families of 6 and 7 thriving on $35k per year. Thriving! Frugal living at it's finest. Inspirational and encouraging. Surely we should be able to make it with slightly more money and a few less people.

But it was a section in "The Tightwad Gazette" that I couldn't make peace with. An entire section about the care, cleaning and storage of ziplock bags. Gross! I mean they cost like 3¢ each. Can't we just buy more like normal people? I am sure there is a health code violation in there somewhere (even if she did wash them out and pat them dry after each use). Is zip lock bags going to be the end of us? Do we really use that many to make a difference?

I will reduce, reuse, recycle and re-purpose nearly everything in my home. I'm an environmentalist at heart but what got me started on this pursuit was not purely a love a nature. It was thrift. It's typically cheaper to make stuff than buy stuff. Turning off the lights and taking shorter showers saves money. Although I do not recommended showering in the dark. Eventually this lead to recycling and other eco-friendly actions. I'm all for saving the planet as long as it's cheap and easy or saves me money.

I made cookies this weekend. I make cookies a lot. If you are ever in a cookie craving please stop over. We don't have a cookie jar and bugs are rampant in Florida so whenever I make cookies these days, I store them in two (2) quart size zip lock bags. One for James to take to work and one for us at home. When I saw empty bags sitting on the counter top I used to just throw them away. (Because apparently I am the only one who knows where we keep the garbage can.)

This weekend however, as I grabbed the empty bag, I realized it wasn't really garbage. It wasn't really even dirty just a couple of crumbs collected at the bottom. So I shook out the crumbs folded it up and decided I would save it for the next time I make cookies. You know, like tomorrow. I opened the drawer and to my shock I discovered and entire pile of crumb shaken zip lock bags already lived there! How did this happen! Who have I turned into!

Has the economy gotten so bad that I can no longer throw away anything that might be of use someday? My grandmothers both lived through the great depression. I've noticed folded up bread bags and zip locks in both of their cabinets. Are things that bad? I may complain about the current economic downturn and how I can’t afford to go out to eat anymore, but sister this ain’t no depression.

Things have been tight this year and my thriftiness has been put to the test. My creativity has been utilized and simultaneously my sense of ecology has grown. So as horrified as I am, I'm choosing to embrace it. Because, when you grow up in an time where stuff does not come easily you have a hard time letting go of it. You become frugal. You become creative. You use what you have and make what you don’t. You conserve. You entertain easily.

Not such bad traits to pass on to my children.

Play Things

I like to think of myself as a pretty creative person. I can look at something ordinary like old baby food jars and see candle holders, a pickle jar becomes a vase a stack of old magazines, frequently turns it into something like this...




But it’s nothing compared to the creative minds of my children. While playing outside the other day they found this...

A stick. To me it was just a stick. I suppose it could have been a walking stick, or a sword. I suppose it could have been many things but to my children it was a horsey. They kept calling it horsey and took turns riding it around the parking lot that is our back yard.


While my kids were riding their “horsey” around I got to thinking about the upcoming Christmas season. I hadn’t even begun to think about what I was going to get the kids this year. With three weeks left it was probably about time.

Ruby will want anything small and plastic Littlest Pet shop, Ponyville, jungle in my pocket. If it’s small and has a thousand pieces to it she will love it.

Levi will like anything his sister has. In trying to figure out what he enjoys I realize all he does is play with Ruby’s things. Don’t get me wrong he is sweet but he is still a BOY. He pays with her ponies and stuffed animals and polly pockets, groovy girls and dress up clothes but instead of making them all go the dance or matching their shoes with their dresses be protects them from imaginary dragons and “bad guys”. Ruby lines them up Levi defends them. Still there must be something he would like...

Finn, will let’s face it Finn is still a baby. He doesn’t really get it. Finn will be getting the same gift that each od his siblings received on their first Christmas. Just so that I am clear I do not mean he will get the same kind of gift but that he will get the SAME gift. It’s a red rocking horse or I should say rocking moose that each of my other kids played with. I just pull it out of the closet, scrape off the mushed up crusty cheerios put a big red bow on it and present it to the youngest child. He’s little he won’t mind and it lets the other kids know that this gift now belongs to Finny and they are not to play with it.

I will also admit that sometimes I take rarely played with toys from my children and regift them to my children. It doesn't bother them- not yet anyway. We don’t go crazy with our kids at Christmas time. They are spoiled enough by their wonderful grandparents. I have friends who buy their kids each three gifts because that's how many gifts Jesus got (from the wise men). I like this idea. We get each of them one gift from us and a few little things for their stockings.

It's not a lot but when you are creative enough to play with a stick for an entire afternoon, what more to do you really need.