Gift Giving...

Christmas time is upon us folks! It's an exciting time of year. This year we have decided to take it easy on gifts. We've been blessed throughout the year beyond measure. Our family doesn't go lacking for anything. All of our needs are met and for that we are so thankful.

We have decided to go 'light' on the gift-giving this year. We want to make a point not to shower our child with gifts for Christmas. Christmas isn't about spending money and being self absorbed. It's about helping others, showing love, enjoying family and being thankful for the many blessing that we have. We're going to give Baby Boy one, kinda big thing from Santa and some small things from Mommy and Daddy. We want him to know from an early age the reason we celebrate Christmas.

As for our families we're also scaling back on the gift giving and we're giving part of the money we would normally spend to other families in need. We have adopted the most humble family for Christmas. I've already felt so blessed just to have met them. In the end, we'll be the ones to carry away the blessings.

So I've been racking my brain trying to think of some great homemade gifts for loved ones, like my grandparents. Something that will be from the heart that they can keep. I think Shutterfly is going to be the answer to my prayers. It's not exactly homemade, like a popsicle stick candle holder, haha, but that's probably better, I mean who really uses a popsicle stick candle holder?!

Shutterfly has all kinds of things you can make with your uploaded pictures. I think a calender will be the perfect thing for my grandparents. They'll be able to use it and save it as a keepsake for the photos. It's a win, win. Shutterfly also offers Christmas cards that I'm going to give out to everyone. It's a step beyond the normal card because you actually put time into it and people can keep it because of the pictures.

They're so cute!

I think the whole thing is just doing something more personal -again it's about giving things from the heart. Things that mean something and make your think of the people who you love. You don't have to break the bank to give a gift that really means something.

Finally...

I HAVE MISSED YOU!


I finally have time to catch you all up now and brace yourself because I'm about to unleash it all! Like I said before this Momma has been one busy girl and I've been having loads of fun along the way. So I'm going to share it all with my fellow bloggy Momma's!


Fall has nearly sucked the life outta me. We've had something planned every single weekend and most days during the week. But I'm blessed...it's been a rich & full family filled time.


First we went trick or treating. Oh and yea I know everyone else put up their costume pics 3 weeks ago - oh well.


Since Baby Boy is really too young to choose what he wants to be, I have the liberty of choosing exactly what I know he'll look adorable in! I'm trying to get all the ones I love in before it's all Spiderman, Star Wars stuff, and well you know all the things little boys want to be.


Anywho, I chose a policeman! He rocked the heck outta the po-po costume!

It definitely was a hit! He was arresting people left and right! Well maybe not, but he worked that whistle like a pro. He actually learned how to say trick or treat, which sounded more like 'ticka-teeeet', but it worked and he got tons of candy. In fact, we still  have tons of candy.

That same weekend we hit up a local fall festival. Inflatables, cotton candy, cake walk - it was all there. Baby insisted on getting into the inflatables with the big kids. He screamed for it, so we caved and let him in.....once in the older ones took over (just as Mommy knew would happen) and he cried to get out!

He didn't ask anymore after that. Mother knows best. Ah ha ha ha!

So then the local fair came into town. We have a rather large fair in our area and you have to go every year. It's not an option, it's just understood that you're going. Last year we took Baby Boy, but he was too little to really know what was going on, however this year he was all about it! He did it all. We ate like crazy, played games and rode the rides.

This little gem here costed us $5! I mean seriously, 5 bucks to take one swing?! Total rip-off! He inherited his daddy's 'guns' so of course he hit the bell at the top! He also won a $0.50 hammer....gee thanks!

PS I'm not quite sure what's up with the carnie, skinny jeans & flip flops. Next..........

To sum it up my child had a blast, I got sick riding with him on the Merry-Go-Round and we blew tons of money because everything is highly overpriced! However, he loved it so much he cried when we had to leave - it was totally worth it.

Well these are just a few of the things that have been going on in the last few weeks. I should be back blogging like normal now. What has everyone else been up to? I haven't been keeping up with anyone lately....got lots of reading to do.

Fell off the Planet?!

Yea so, this girl has been super busy! I'm quite possibly the worst blogger right now. It's going on.....3 WEEKS since my last blog.

My excuse?

Life.

This time of the year is apparently quite busy when you have a near 2 year old. The pumpkin patch (which I did squeeze in time to write about), the county fair, trick or treating, festivals galore & photo shoots for Christmas card pictures are just a few of the things we've been up to the past couple of weeks. It's been busy, but I'm not complaining. We've been having a blast and Baby Boy has been enjoying being out and about. He adores being outside!

I have lots of ideas and adventures to share with you guys - so stay tuned!

As for now I'm off to do laundry from the past 3 weeks....yea I said 3 weeks, don't judge!

Pumpkin Patch Love!

This past weekend we went and spent some time at the pumpkin patch. Baby Boy was perfect! He did so good and had a blast! The place we went to has a real pumpkin patch & sunflower fields for picking, along with wagon & train rides, animals and a fresh veggie market.

It's so much fun to pick your own pumpkin. We picked a big one for Daddy, a medium one for Momma and a tiny one for Baby.

My child loved the animals so much, he would have been happy bringing his blankey and parking it there for the night! {Notice the hot hubby reference...hey I can't lie!}

The sunflowers were breathtaking, as always. They let you pick them for free - it's great! We all know how much I adore FREE!

No pumpkin patch is complete without a wagon ride to & from the fields. Of course the youngin' loved this too!

It was a great family day. Nothing beats times like these....memories we'll have forever!

Wordless Wednesday



My coming out party!

This is my coming out party- what ever do you mean, one may ask?

Well, when I started this blog I wanted to connect with other stay at home moms and share my long transition from working mommy to stay at home mommy. Well it's just that - a looooong, annoying, sucking the life outta me transition. Realistically I'm looking at 1 year before I can stay home. Is that good? - yes & no. No because it's ONE YEAR! Yes because I realized this is what I want to do now and I can actually make the changes necessary that will enable me to stay at home. Otherwise we would still be going and spending out the wazoo like we always have.

So, it's good and bad. Now on the the coming out party part. What exactly am I going to share with my readers over this 1 year period. I've cut back the bills and shared that. I cut out frivolous spending and shared that. I came up with great ideas of cheap things to do with the fam and shared that. Cheap crafts, coupons, meals -- there's only so much a girl can share.

I wrote a post last week on the real me. It was cute & fun - but it was just the tip of the iceberg. I've decided to come out and give you guys all {most} of me. I'm going to start opening up a little bit more. Each and every post won't be directly about just now much closer I am to staying home, because there's only so many ways you can say it.

So where is all of this coming from you ask? Blame it on Blair. She's my cup o' coffee in the morning. She's the blog I go to each and every day to see what she, Nate & Harry have been up to. She's my, dare I say...Dooce. {I don't even read Dooce's blog because I have The Heir to Blair, yo!}.

Anywho, so I've been having troubles trying to keep up with telling you guys just how I'm switching to stay at home mommy from 100 different angles. I thought, okay what would Blair do?! It came to me - be me!

I have a muffin top too {that I'm working on eliminating} - I'll tell 'em about that. I have a glass of wine with my chicken pot pie too - they'll want to hear about that!

It all ties back into who I am and my life - which is right now focused on being a stay at home mommy, but currently I am a full time working mommy, who starts a new diet every Monday, has a 20 month old {who I've refer to as Baby Boy} who is currently in the full swing of the terrible two's {it's gonna be a loooooong time til 3!!} that I drag to work with me everyday, and a musician husband who is busy all the freakin' time, a little white dog {named Nala, after the Lion King}, a tiny home that we've been remodeling for 4 years {almost to a stopping point} that stays messy no matter how much I try and keep it clean.

I want to come out and share the real me, so that I may connect with others and maybe even inspire them at the same time.



The Real Me

The point of my blog was to share my transition from working mommy to stay at home mommy. So yea, it still is, but I want my stalkers followers to get to know me a little bit. I almost feel like I've short changed you. I'm more than just a coupon for diapers or a $5 meal - I'm pretty freakin' complex {if you ask my husband}.

You can kinda think of it this as that whole random things about me game, you know the one.

I like loooove lists so we'll go with a list format {kinda}.....

-I'm uptight & kind of a control freak. Yea I said it, I'm super uptight! I can't help it, I like for things to be right and I like to know every facet of everything. I'm not nosey, nor am I annoying {or at least I like to think not} I'm just a girl who knows what she wants and I like to be in control of it. {I have a feeling Hubs is gonna print this off for proof that I actually admitted to it.}

-Some say I'm crafty. Yea my brother-in-law jokes that if you give me a sharpie and a paper clip I can make anything. It's kinda my thing.

-I got married when I was 19 {ahhhhhhh!}............but waited 7 years to have my husband's mini me. Again, I knew what I wanted and I went for it. It's been the best ride ever, wouldn't change a thing.

-I love to paint. Walls, paper, canvases......anything. Before we bought our home, I used to paint every wall in every apartment we ever lived in. {I actually got away with never having to repaint it white and we still always got our deposits back...don't ask me how!}.

-I always wanted to be a career woman, always. Once I graduated from college, I thought I had it all figured out. Even after I had my baby boy it was still in the back of my mind. It wasn't until probably 5 or 6 months ago I finally stopped kidding myself.

-I lived in the big NYC. It was a dream my husband and I always shared. We're were both born and bred in the south, but always, always wanted to make the big move. A couple of years ago we finally did it. After a few months there, we knew it wasn't meant to be, so we packed it up and hauled tail back home, 3 months later I was pregnant - truly the best decision we ever made, but you know I'm so glad we conquered that, otherwise we would have always wondered - what if.

-I don't read books. Haha, yea sorry, I don't. I can't read fiction. I've tried without success. Every time I do it, I'm sitting there thinking of all the things I could be up doing. I can however plant it with a Parenting mag or pregnancy book. I think it's the whole fiction thing that gets me. Sorry to disappoint but, no Twilight lover here. {I could only get through like the 2nd chapter, then it collected dust on my nightstand for months before I finally returned it to my friend.}

-I could {and often times do} eat cereal for every meal of the day. I like it all - the sugar-y kind, the fiber-y kind, the puffy kind. It's all cereal goodness.

-I work in a family business....with my family, that is. Yep it's me, the 'rents, little sissy, and our youngins together all day, everyday. It's alot, but most days it's pretty good. Most days.

-I'm a musician's wife. Yea, yea we have instruments & sheet music galore at our house, but it's so much fun. It's his passion and that makes me smile.

-My car stays messy. At any moment you can probably find enough stuff in my car to survive on for a good week or so - hey you never know when you might get in a tight.

-I want to be a hippie. I haven't quite figured out why, but I do. The hubs don't think I could pull it off. I've always had this thing about hippies. I want the van/camper, the El Camino and the whole enchilada. I have this hippie dance I do....ok we might be getting a little too personal now. Anywho, I heart hippies!

Well that's a little about me - I'm a uptight, messy hippie wannabe who doesn't read books but loves to paint. Haha! If the shoe fits, wear it.

Seasonal Consignments? Yes, please!

If you haven't heard about kids seasonal clothing consignments yet, you are missing out! It's a great way to make tons of money honey and get all of they clothes your babydolls will need for the season. In my town we have two that both hold sales twice a year.

Here's the deal:

-You get your clothes ready for the sale - ironed, priced and hung.

-You take them to the sale and you'll probably be the one to put them on the racks.

-You normally will make around 70% of the selling price for your items.

-Once the sale is over you'll go pick up your items that didn't sale, which will probably be grouped and ready to go.

Now let me paint this picture a little clearer for you. This is not like a garage sale. These are like new clothes and toys, priced about 1/3 of the original price. So if you sale $400 worth of clothes then you'll bring home nearly $300! Believe me, even with the 30% going to the organizer - you'll still make a lot more than if you had a yard sale. I can't remember clearing much more than $200 at any yard sale I've ever had! These consignment sales are a great place to pick up boutique clothes. I always get Baby Boy's smocked outfits from there. (I just CANNOT bring myself to pay $80 for 1 outfit! - There I normally pay between $10-$20.)

Kids Consignment Sales is a great website where you can look up sales by state. I've used this website to see what's going on in my state although I've not yet made it to any sales other than the ones in my town.

Hope everyone checks it out. It's something I always, always  do and it's too good not to pass on!

Oh and don't get me wrong I'm super sentimental and I normally keep everything, but do I really need 25 swaddling blankets, of which we only used 5 sitting in my attic until we have the next one? Probably not, so I sold those suckers! I kept the ones that meant something and sold the ones that I didn't like or we never used - it's a win, win for everyone!



Wordless Wednesday

Fall Wreath Makeover

In keeping with this wonderful thing they call fall, I've been on a decorating rampage! Fall smelling candles, candy apples, mums on the front porch, chili on the stove - it's all been running my life lately and I love it!

I've been loving me some projects lately too so what better project to do then a wreath remake.

I broke out the old drab wreath out of the attic that was sad and in serious need of a makeover. I went to Michaels and spent $7 on new fall duds for the wreath and I think it was a win!

Before

After

Yay for hot glue and Michaels 60% off sales! New wreath = $7...woo!

Candy Apple Madness!

This weekend was glorious, the weather was cool and crisp - fall finally arrived! I wanted to celebrate in a festive way but still stay true to being the Frugal Franny that I am. So what better way to celebrate fall in an inexpensive way then to make candy apples! I got the idea while breezing through Walmart Friday afternoon - while trying to beat the afternoon Walmart craziness rush! Since making candy apples consists of 2 ingredients, I was golden! I snapped up caramel candies and honeycrisp apples (the absolute best apples) and Baby Boy and I were on our way.

Ingredients:

Apples

Caramel



You simply melt the caramel with 2 teaspoons of water and dip your apples.

I had skewers and the ribbon so that was free! I love free.

There you have it, candy (or candied whatever you prefer) apples. I only spent $5.00 on everything. It was such a simple activity but it was great time spent together as a family - Daddy even got in on the fun!

Oh and Daddy had a fab idea for the leftover caramel -

I think I might be turning the whole family into Frugal Frannies!

Chicken Pesto Pizza

We love going out and having a good time. One of our favorite places to go serves an amazing chicken pesto pizza, but going out costs $ and I'm all about saving some moolah these days!

The other night I was thinking, I can totally make that chicken pesto pizza at home. So I decided to go for it. I didn't look up a recipe I just winged it - and it turned out pretty great. The hubby and I loved it. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
-Pre-made pizza crust (because the store was out of the dough - and I don't want it bad enough to make my own!)
-Pre-made pesto (to me it's cheaper & easy just to buy a jar then make it)
-1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast
-Feta cheese
-Sun-dried tomatoes
-Italian Cheese
-Olive Oil
-Artichokes (which I wound up not using)

Drizzle your crust with olive oil.

Cover crust with pesto.

Dice and cook your chicken.



Add chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, feta and italian cheese to your pizza.

Bake for about 15-20 mins at 350 degrees.

Yum! It was so good. It tasted really close to the one we get out. Their crust is better, but I think I can work on that and maybe find a better option out there.

The great thing about it was - I spend about what I'd spend on the one pizza out, but I got everything to make two pizzas and I had enough ingredients left over to throw them in with some pasta and have chicken pesto pasta, which was great too! Ahh, I love saving $$$!

Stalker Saturday!

I'm super excited to be featured in this week's Stalker Saturday!

Stalker Saturday is hosted by Sippy Cup Mom and Stash Mama. They are so thoughful to share the love with us newer bloggers! Thanks Melissa and Candice!

So go check me out! Wooo!

Baby's Ballin' On A Budget

As I prepare for this switch, I've been excited to search for new things for Baby Boy and I to do together. I've been looking for exciting things for us to do, where we can bond, all while remembering that we're (as we refer to it in my house) 'ballin' on a budget'.

He's 19 months now, so he's really getting to the age where he likes to engage in activities and be around others.

Here's some fun things that I've come up with so far that I'm super pumped about that won't break the bank:

*Go to the library/local bookstore for storytime. - This will get us out and about and we'll meet new mommies and little ones. I checked my library and they offer a Tuesday and a Saturday storytime. It will also introduce Baby Boy to the library - Lord knows I haven't been there in 10 years, since I was in high school and I went to check out the Cliff's Notes for a book I was supposed to read! As for the bookstores, I know Barnes & Noble offers storytime in their stores (although mine currently doesn't). - FREE

*Go to the art museum. - I know, I know, I too am  picturing my child running wild up and down the halls while dragging his hands on the clean white walls knocking off all of the priceless art. BUT our local art museum has a little program specifically for toddlers that's all about shapes, colors and textures. - $13

*Have art class at home! - I looked up some super cool art projects for toddlers and I can't wait to try them out. I found a great non-toxic recipe for fingerpaint from Craft Blog. I also want to try the 'toddler stained-glass'. You just take clear contact paper and let your little one stick pieces of construction paper, confetti or whatever to it, then you simply back it with another piece of clear contact paper! - Less than $5!

*Set aside a day to go to the local playground. We do this all the time and Baby Boy (and his cousin Baby Girl) looove it! It's great exercise for us all - the kiddies playing and the mommies chasing after them!

*Join a dance/gymnastics/music class together! I checked my local gymnastics place and they offer a Mommy & Me class on Friday mornings. It's very interactive and again gets us both up and moving. - $30 for 4 sessions

*Check out local parks or gardens. In our town we have a 130 acre park that has playgrounds, an old timey general store, old schoolhouse buildings and churches, a planatarium and nature trails. They're always and forever having events there and I need to put in the time to check it out more often. We also have a botanical gardens, which could be a fun place for a picnic! - Admission to the park Adult/$4, Kids 3 and under/FREE; Admission to the gardens/FREE!

*Get involved in your city/town. - Here we have little festivals and street markets throughout the year. Once it cools down (I live in the dirty south!) it'll be great to take Baby Boy out and stroll him around. - FREE if you bring your own snacks/drinks or $5-$10 for snacks from vendors.

See, now who says you can't have fun while 'ballin' on a budget'!

Morning

As I wake up this morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the sound of my husband in his office flipping through sheet music and clothes in my dryer tumbling away - I'm thankful. So thankful that I have the opportunity to make my life what I want. That I have the freedom to come and go as I please. That I have the choice to say, I want to make the necessary changes to be able to stay home with my beautiful baby boy.

I thank the Lord for blessing me with a husband {who is supportive of any dream I could ever imagine}, a baby {who never ceases to amaze me on a daily basis}, a family {who has always been there for me and always will}, a home {that is the roof over my head and the place where my memories are made}, & a church {that has made me realize so much over the past year}.

I have everything I need or could ask for and I'm so thankful.

Cable {To Have or Not To Have}

I'm still trying to think of ways to save. Still analyzing everything, to see what's important and what's not. So as you know we've cut out ALL eating out and we haven't veered a bit. Well........okay that's a lie, we totally veered for like 2 weeks straight, but we refocused and we're getting back on track. The truth is we've been super busy and since I'm currently still working full time sometimes it's hard to stay completely committed, but we're definitely trying!

So since we totally went crazy and ate out for a solid 2 weeks, yesterday I freaked and began micro-managing the bills again. Okay, I'll admit I kind of enjoy micro-managing the bills.......the hubby, the dog....pretty much anything. However it's not confession time - let me get back my story.

The biggie.....the cable?! My husband, has for a while now, wanted to cut it off. I've been the one that was like, 'Are you kidding me that's not American!' {in a total bratty voice}. I've been throwing the idea around in my head, but I've yet to actually do it. I mean can I actually do without Teen Mom on a weekly basis? Well I came to the realization that since I'm nearly 30 I should probably just suck it up and move on from Teen Mom.

So I did it. I cut back to just basic {pretty much just local channels} cable and internet.

Savings: $75.00/month!

We have Netflix which we can watch through the xBox 360. It's only $8.99/month and it's unlimited streaming for {Wonder Pets and Backyardigans and even Hoarders and Chopped!} and of course DVDs through the mail.

I tweeted about my new accomplishment and was surprised at all the positive feedback I got.

Check it:

It's nice to know we're not alone in this crazy, trying to save, cable free world. I feel good about it. One step closer to my goal.

Pantry Raid!

So Katie {one of my all time FAV blog-Mommies} over at Cleared for Takeoff decided to initiate a pantry raid {not to be confused with panty raid} for us Mommy bloggers!

It's pretty self explanatory, you just take pics of your pantry {empty, full, messy or overly organized} and humiliate yourself by sharing them with the world! Nah, it shouldn't be too bad. I told Katie, I'd participate but that I'd have to (1) go to the store first because we had NO food in the house and (2) organize because it was a jungle in there! She said, no, no we want to see the real you.

Okay Katie, I didn't go to the store {and to my surprise we had plenty of food} but I did clear the jungle a bit and face the labels out {so I could get my product placement $$, of course!}.

Well here goes...

Ahhh!

So you have...syrup on the top left, followed by a baking shelf that might as well not exist other than to hold the tea bags used to make sweet tea

{can't be from the South and not like sweet tea}.

Next you have a heap of spices & herbs...these I use alot.

BabyBoy's shelf is looking pretty bare! You got Enfamil formula they keep sending me in the mail {he's 18 months old people!! he's off the formula - thank heavens! and where were you when we was 6 months and going through a can a day!?}

Moving right along..

Top right, boring...just bread and crackers followed by super fun baskets - YAY! They keep up with all the small stuff.

Now the canned food. So apparently there's been a pumpkin shortage of some sort and Libby's canned pumpkin is selling like hotcakes on eBay for nearly $10/can! Unbelievable! So I read about this yesterday and I found these 2 that had been in my cabinet waiting to be turned into a pumpkin cheesecake for nearly a year. They'll be on eBay by the weekend!

Lastly boxed goods along with my fav - Trader Joe's Soup!

I did it all for you Katie! To see more Momma Pantries check out Katie's Pantry Link Party!

Wordless Wednesday

(Quite possibly the latest Wordless Wednesday ever, none the less it's still Wednesday....I think.)

Labor Day Fun

This weekend we decided to relax and enjoy our 3 day weekend. I put the laundry and dishes on hold (didn't have to twist my arm for this one!) and we headed for the beach! It's only a 90 minute drive for us - the weather was perfect and we were so excited to see how BabyBoy would do in the water.

AHH, look out here comes the Plum Wonderful family!

So when we got there I had plans to take pictures of my gorgeous boy. I had it all planned out. I dressed him in a cute shirt that would surely bring out those beautiful blue eyes, his shorts were casual, his hair would be blowing in the wind....but he had different plans. He didn't want his feet to touch the dry sand. So I only got 1 good picture! It was good enough to frame....

...it kinda looks like an artsy-professional shot...right?

Swim time came and he did amazingly well!

He loved the water!

It was a blast!

We made such wonderful memories! We packed a lunch and just had some good ol' free fun. Can't wait to take him back since he did so good. Fun, fun time!

Why can't every weekend be 3 days!?

Checklist for Life

So I'm having difficulties keeping all the things I want to accomplish, organized in the ol' vault (aka my head). I need some structure...some organization....I need what every woman uses, what my mother lives by....I need a CHECKLIST! I want to make a checklist of the things I need (want) to accomplish within this little transition time I'm going through.

I'm just gonna dive right in.

Checklist for life - well...part life, part just crap that needs to get done!
{in no certain order}:

*Quit my job (Ha! Maybe I should start out with something a tad more reachable in a short amount of time, to get me motivated...though still, it remains on the list)

*Get avocado & salsa verde for the recipe I'm cooking tonight (much more attainable)

*Buy the leather couch I've been eyeing for months (so much for cutbacks that month!)

*Cut off the cable, we just don't use it enough and we're addicted to Netflix through xBox (now I'm back on track)

*Finish painting the windows on the outside of our house

*Make a new bedskirt for our bed

*Get all crafty like Something Old to Something New (Momma needs some new clothes!)

*Try some avenues for extra income (Surveys? I just don't know if I can sit for 2 hrs to make $3. Once, I did one and got $16 for 20 mins...not bad, but I don't think it's very common. - we'll see)

*Finish baby boy's, baby book...he's 18 months old...it's time

*Clean out/organize my laundry room (...it's a hot mess)

*Detail my car, Get the hubs to detail my car

*Organize my recipes

*Scan mine and my hubby's old baby photos (I'm not just trying to think of things now...I've been wanting to do this for a while...weird I know)

*Get artsy with baby boy

*Make a coupon binder (you have to be organized to keep up with couponing)

*Spring clean, in the Fall (sell on eBay what we don't use or need)

*Sign up for Mom & Me dance/music class

*Get our dog, Nala to the vet for her yearly shots (poor baby, she and I both dread it every year)

*Decide what baby boy will be for Halloween (last year his costume was hands down the best ever....going to be hard to top it. Elvis lives!)

Enough with Elvis, back to checklist-land. Well, I guess that wraps up the list for now. It definitely helps clear my mind a little. I live by checklists. There's something about seeing it written out that helps. It'll be fun for me to see what actually gets accomplished, what becomes unimportant and what just sits there.

Time...

I feel discouraged, I feel down. Today I got impatient. In order for me to make this transition to be a stay at home Mom there are alot of changes that we have to make....mainly financially, I guess. We have to get to the point where I can afford to stay home. It's depressing at times. When I know things are going to change, I want change then, but I know that good things come to those who wait.

I talked to my husband about it and he pointed out all of the wonderful changes we've made so far. We've planned things out so that the transition will be in stages, so to speak. Right now I'd say I'm in stage 2 of.......6ish. Hey it could be worse...I mean I could be in stage -1 of 15 or 16 even!

Anyhow, it's not easy, but I'm determined. Determined to make our life happier (debt free in the process) and fuller! I've set my mind to it and it can be done, it just takes time.

Free Download Heaven

I just can't keep a good deal all bottled up in inside! This isn't a giveaway/freebie blog, but if I run across something that makes my life easier and a little more exciting in this journey of cutbacks and cutouts I have to spill the beans and share.

So remember, I told you I made the hubs cut back on the music downloads, right? Well I was searching around online and I came across a free song download on Amazon. I went and checked it out and it was pretty good, so I downloaded it.

Well when I was looking at it, it showed what other customers who downloaded that, also purchased. I checked some of them out and they were mostly full albums, ALL FREE! Most were put out by record companies - promoting their artists.

I love indie music. Music that isn't on everyone's iPod, music that is artistic and full of emotion....ahhh I heart it! So anyways most of these are indie labels, so Momma was in FREE download indie heaven!

Merge Records Digital Sampler was one of the ones I downloaded.

Click here to get your Merge Digital Sampler!

It has a few more popular groups on there. When I say popular I'm not talking about Miley Cyrus or Nickelback....ugh I can't believe I just reference Nickelback on my blog...gag. Anyhow, when your on the Merge download, look on down the page where it says: 'Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought' and there are tons of free albums!

Now go getcha download on!

Let the cutbacks begin...

Well I'm a couple of weeks in and things are moving along nicely. So far we've made some good changes. We've cut back some things we didn't really need, like...... eating out and my tanning package (spray tanning...gave up the beds a while ago...Momma doesn't need anymore help getting wrinkles!)

Oh and the hubs cut his online music purchases in half...so nice of him. He's a musician so it was kinda like his dog died the day he did it, but he got over it!

I also have cut back on the grocery bill and I saved a ton on diapers this month by using the Amazon deal.

So far we're at about $600 in savings for the month. I hope we can keep it up. I've been looking around and making friends with coupon moms and frugal tip moms. The blogs like this are endless. There are tons of tips out there just waiting to be discovered. It's really been fun so far and I haven't missed any of the things I've cut. Now don't get me wrong I don't want to be the crazy frugal family that chooses to live in their camper, eats nothing but Ramen noodles and can't flush the toilet with just tinkle in it! I want a nice balance.

So that's where I am. I'm going to keep trucking along and making this thing a reality! Before you know it I'm gonna be knocked up, doing crafts with baby boy, while cooking dinner in my spotless house...can't wait.

Free Personalized Memo Pad with Free Shipping!

ArtsCow is an online printing site that is offering a FREE customized/personalized memo pad with FREE shipping! Such a great deal! They offer 20,000 per day through September 05, 2010.

Here's the one I made and ordered:

Steps to get your memo pad:

-'Like' them on Facebook by clicking here.
-Once you like them you be give a code on ArtsCow.com, you simply use this code at checkout after you customized your super cute memo pad!

I had to share...hope everyone enjoys!

(Thanks to Heather at Spectacular Savings!)

Amazon Diaper Savings!

I'm sure all of you have heard about the Amazon diaper savings by now, but if not let me fill you in.

Amazon is running a special on diapers through their 'Subscribe and Save' program. When you sign up for Subscribe and Save, through the end of August you'll receive 30% off + free shipping!

You can also use 20% off coupons that are in Parenting and Parents magazines for the August and September issues.  Now the part that makes you want to dance......you can combine more than one of these coupons!

I happened to have August's and September's issues of Parenting and August's issue of Parents - so I had three 20% off coupons and it let me use them ALL + the 30% off and free shipping!

Here's how it went down:

Original Cost of Pampers (156 Count):   $ 40.00
30% Off (Sub/Save):                             - 12.00
20% Off (Parenting Aug)                       -   8.00
20% Off (Parenting Sept)                      -   8.00
20% Off (Parents Aug)                          -   8.00
+ FREE Shipping!                                    0.00
TOTAL                                                $  4.00!!

156 Pampers Max Dry diapers were at my door step in 2 days! I was ecstatic!

The 'Subscribe and Save' program is just an automatic shipment thing that you can unsubscribe to at anytime. After I got my shipment I went in and unsubscribed and got a confirmation within minutes.

$4 bucks and I'm set.........well until my child blows through these and I'm back to square one! But hey I'm good for now!

No more eating out!

Ahh, it feels good to be working towards a goal!

So since this was my first official week of this process, the hubs and I have made some changes.

The first thing we cut out was eating out. We didn't spend 1 cent on eating out this week and it feels good! I cooked all of our meals. For about the past month, we had already been trying to cut back on eating out, but I pulled the check register and added it up and in the past 30 days we had spent $469 eating out! Who knew!! I was shocked. So it's cut -- completely cut out!

I was actually home some this week because my sweet baby was sick, so I had a little extra time that I normally don't. I took the opportunity to make some meals to freeze for the trying moments when I want to say.....

'I really don't want to cook...want to order pizza?'

So I made a homemade Brunswick Stew..YUM! (I'll list the recipe at the bottom.)  The ingredients only cost me $14.70 and it made 3 gallon freezer bags!

That's less than $5.00/night! I'm super excited. Things like this are little changes that I want to make.

We've also set a strict budget for groceries. No more buying junk like drinks or magazines at the check out. I'm going to make a list, shop the sales, use coupons and stick with it - no veering! So far, so good. When I want to be lazy or cave I just think about the goal that I'm working towards and it motivates me. To be able to stay home with my baby is more important then spending $200 at Walmart. It's calming in a way....
 
Brunswick Stew Recipe:
 
1 lb roast beef
1 small whole fryer chicken (or bone in breast = to about 1 - 1/2 lbs.)
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 lb potatoes
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can english peas
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash of worcestershire (I used a BIG dash)
Hot sauce, Salt, Pepper to your liking
 
Bake roast and chicken until fully cooked. Cut up meat and add to about 6 cups of water, boil to pieces. Cut up potatoes, add to pot and cook until nearly soft. Cut up onion and bell pepper, add to pot. Add all 6 cans of vegetables, along with brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30-45 mins.
 
If you're going to freeze, let it cool before adding to freezer bags, otherwise you might have a hot mess!

When you're ready to enjoy, just heat it up in a big ol' pot!

In the beginning...

So I created my super cute Mommy blog. I've been blankly staring at 'No Posts' for over a week now. I'm terribly nervous yet anxious all at the same time to get this process started. So today is the official start of my journey from full time working Momma to super happy, fun, crafty, love myself stay-at-home Momma! YAY!

I've been pondering this dream for a while now. I have been married to my soul mate for 8 years (wow!) and we have an 18 month old baby boy with ridiculously gorgeous blue eyes. I have always worked full time. I have a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and that's okay but for sometime now I've been wanting more. I went back to school and got my real estate license thinking that I was going to conquer the world, but it just wasn't there. My job is good, I don't dread work, I just long to be home with my child - playing with him, teaching him things, making dinner for Daddy, doing projects around the house. So for sometime now I've been searching for my passion. What is going to make my happy. I want to create a life that is full of happiness, love and quality time spent together for my family. I don't want to work forever to pay for frivolous things that in the end don't matter.

I had - as much as I loathe this phrase - my 'ah-ha' moment: I want to be a stay-at-home Mommy!

I want to be the CEO of our cozy little home. I talked with my husband and he fully supports my decision and we both couldn't be happier. Now the hard part....we use nearly every dollar I make on a monthly basis so how on earth am I going to be able to make this dream a reality? We realized we're going to have to make some serious changes. We're going to cut back, cut unnecessary things out, make things stretch, and I'm going to try and find other avenues for income other than a typical 8-5 job. I have made the commitment that I don't want to be a slave to my job and bills and I'm going to make the necessary changes so that I don't have to be. I'm going to try it all on this journey and I'm going to share it all. I know I can succeed at this and I want to shout it from the mountain tops so that other moms can do the same.

Let's go....