Loving the Freebies

I'm becoming addicted to freebies. My name is Susan and I love freebies.

It started with blog giveaways... I just kept winning them!

And then I discovered House Party. At www.houseparty.com you sign up for parties - if they choose you, you only have so long to register for that party to lock it in, then they send you a lot of free stuff to keep and hand out to your friends.

Which led me to Coffee-Mate. I was signed up for their newsletter and I received an e-mail asking if I wanted to sign up for a themed party night. They're doing a promotion for Free Flavor Friday. Awesome.

So they sent me a Game Night Kit, with a poker set and Cranium and tons of coupons for free Coffee-Mate creamer. I invited friends over and we got to drink coffee, play games, eat snacks and one lucky person walked away with a brand new poker set. And it was all FREE.

In this economy they're doing that? Coffee-Mate is my new best friend. Not that I wasn't already loving their Coconut creamer.

Coffee-mate Special Edition Coconut Creme, 15-Ounce Units (Pack Of 6)

The moral of this story? Sign up for e-mail newsletters of  your favorite products.

Quiet Time Books (OR Mommy-gets-some-sleep-while-driving-16hrs Books)

 (May take a while to load - is pretty photo intensive)

I cannot take credit for these awesome books.

I mean... I made them. But I didn't originate the idea or even the individual designs.

I found each page from different places all over the web and the full credit goes to those creative moms (and MY THANKS for the sleep I got while driving from Virginia to Arkansas for CHRISTmas).

You'll need:
Felt in multiple colors
Fat Quarter
Velcro
Buttons, shoelace, yarn, embroidery thread...
Hot glue gun


Cover

For the cover, I used fat quarters (on sale for $0.99 at Joann's). Fold it in half lengthwise, right sides together. Sew all the way around, leaving a small opening for turning. Trim corners, turn and slip stitch opening closed.

Slip Stitch Illustration

Image Credit

I was in a hurry when I was doing the covers (the night before our trip, as usual) so the velcro got hot glued on. I would recommend white velcro, but I had already overspent my Joann's budget so I used what I had. : ) Thank the Lord for husbands who budget. I also hot glued the cover to the binding so the girls wouldn't keep "misplacing" it.

Pages

Each page was one sheet of felt - I put a thin line of hot glue around all the edges and folded it in half to seal. 

Book for 2 yr Old

   Stick people (holder hot-glued) 

Can you tell we're Rapunzel fans?

Color Matching (yes, that's supposed to be a palette)

Notebook Coloring page

(has a strap of felt wrapped around notebook, glued to page)

Baby hand not included.

Town with Car Garage

 Barn with Animal Finger Puppets

(was all sewn with a blanket stitch and took FOREVER)

Book for 4 yr Old 

More Stick People

Picnic (velcros on) - the only one I haven't finished - still needs a fork, knife and cup

 

Funny Face Man (already missing some eyes)

velcros on

 Kitchen with Counting Cupcakes

Coloring

Numbers

Purse with Goodies 

(fastens with button, blanket-stitched)

Book for 6 yr Old

Weaving

Tying Shoelaces and Buttoning Flowers

Girl with Dress-up Clothes - just don't look at her face... or hair.

(has several more outfits... somewhere)

More Stick People

(LOVE the colors and eyes Evie did)

Heart Tic-Tac-Toe

 Coloring Page

Girl with Yarn Hair

(in hindsight, should have done full-face girl with hair that could be braided)

Binding

For the binding, I stacked all of the pages together [with all additions (notebook, crayons, car...) inside] and measured for width of binding. I cut this out from a scrap piece of felt. Then I put a line of hot glue down the inside seam of the pages and added them one-by-one to the binding, starting at the very edge. I had a bit of extra binding on one of the books but I just trimmed it off. 

This was one of the most FUN projects I've done and it just didn't get boring because I was always doing something different.

A Hard Truth for the Moms

The highlight of every modern woman's life...

The fully planned calendar.

Hmm...
 

I did an in-depth study of Titus 2 women recently and learned something new.


Titus 2:4-5
 ⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
 ⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 

"Keepers at home" originates from the Greek oikouros. This is a compound word from oikos- house, household, family; and ouros- a guard, be “ware”, guardian, a watcher, a warden. 

 We are meant to make our home our NUMERO UNO PRIORITY. In our husband's absense, we are to watch over it just as he would. Can we do that if we are always over at friend's houses, chatting and gossiping? How about endless playdates? I'm pretty sure they didn't have extra-curricular activities back then either. Every note in every study I'm reading only has the exception: Whenever they are not called out by works of necessity, piety, and mercy.

Now, don't get your panties in a wad yet. I DO think our children need some socializing (though I'm sure our definitions are a little different). But if we're choosing quantity over quality, something is amiss.  A balance should be made here - but with the home as the PRIORITY.


Do you really believe that any home could flourish if it's keeper is not in it?



Here is another gem in Timothy on keeping the house as well...

1 Tim 5:14  
  ¹⁴I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house (oikodespotein), give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Oikos , meaning “house” and depostes, meaning "master" unite to form the word oikodespotes. Now the Apostle Paul makes use of a verb corresponding to this noun oikodespotes, namely, “to master the house,” oikodespotein. He says, 1 Timothy 5:14, “I will that the younger women marry, bear children, oikodespotein, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” The woman has been appointed master over the home. (loosely taken from Katherine Bushnell's study)

Does this mean that a woman is free to master over those IN the house? Nope. Sorry, ladies.

I like to think that this means I have free reign over choosing wall colors and picking out rugs. (shh. don't tell my husband I said that... he likes to have a say in me not getting to "artsy")

What it may ACTUALLY mean, is that we are the Managers. Not the owners or CEO... but the down-in-the-dirt MANAGERS.


We wake up every morning (no off time for us) and punch in as on duty, the second our feet hit the floor. This is our paid-for-by-God sunrise-to-sunset JOB. 

We wipe noses, wash dishes, fold laundry, prepare meals, push swings, teach math, vacuum carpets, spoon baby food, clip coupons, potty train, break up fights... and it's all right there in the job description.  

And I thank God every day that there aren't any Powerpoint slides. = )

I've recently discovered that, if I put tennis shoes on in the house, I actually feel more like getting everything done. I suppose that's akin to people putting on a uniform or suit to go to work. Just a side note.

Welcome to your first day at work...

Today is the Day...

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where people are complaining.

It's SOOOOO easy to complain.

I know, because I'm in that boat too.

I'm tired. The kids are getting into everything. The baby won't stop crying. I have appointments to make. The house won't stay clean. We don't have enough money for new glasses. I can't get my bible study in. The laundry piles are eating me alive!!! 

That's not hard at all. I typed those in about two seconds.

It's even more easy to let the complaints swallow you whole and sink down into the mire of just trying to survive each day. (I'm really picturing the house collapse around me and sink down into the ground)


I was getting swallowed alive by the monotony and the endless struggle I have in racing towards my pillow.

So God started leaving me clues on how to climb out.

First, our pastor talked about Christ's 1000 year reign and how we wouldn't have to struggle with our flesh anymore - it really got me to thinking about how I'm struggling directly against my flesh and the devil every single day.

Then I started coming across verses about my days.


Colossians 4:5 (KJV) Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. (seizing every opportunity)


Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. (the song has been on my mind as well)


James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

 We have only been given ONE life to live. And as Christians, we should WANT (besides being required) to live it FOR God. 


All we have is today. Tomorrow is not a certainty (though eternity is). 


If I don't live this very second for Christ, I can never get it back to do over. All of my seconds before this that were wasted on me are gone now. When I was googling this morning, I was NOT spending time with my kids.

The dishes don't matter. (trust me on this one)

Worrying won't get me anywhere.

What I can do is bring glory to God with my actions.


A little less time on the computer. A little more play time with my children.

A little less time trying to keep the house clean (it just aint gonna stay that way). A little more time praying and reading God's Word.

A little less time watching tv. A little more time teaching my daughters some life skills.

See a pattern here?

Theme the Meals Away

After a VERRA long absence I am finally back.

Feeling a little like Rip Van Winkle in the blog world...

but it's okay - I got a Pioneer Woman cookbook for CHRISTmas! : )



And everything is right in the world.

Anyhoo...

Theming menu plans.

My OCD has been doing something like this:


MONDAY - Mexican (see below)

TUESDAY - Little Prep/Low Cost Meal (see below)

WEDNESDAY - Breakfast for Dinner (see below)

THURSDAY - Stick to Your Ribs Meal (see below)

FRIDAY - Little Prep/Low Cost Meal

SATURDAY - Huge Meal with Enough for Leftovers So I Don't Have to Cook on Sunday (see below)


Mexican (per ME, not my Hispanic husband...)
quesadillas & Spanish rice
P-Dub's Bean & Beef Burritos
burritos/tacos
tostadas
fajitas

LP/LC Meals
canned soup & lunch meat sandwiches
tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches
pizza hoagies
stir fry & steamed rice
hamburgers/sloppy joes & fries/tots
baked potatoes & salad
spaghetti, salad & garlic bread
cheese tortellini, salad & garlic bread
chili cheese dogs
grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
blt's & chips

BFD Meals
bacon, egg & cheese toasters
potato, egg & cheese burritos
muffins
cinnamon rolls
french toast
egg baskets
pancakes
waffles
boiled eggs, bacon & toast
omelettes

StYR Meal
ribs, baked potatoes/potato salad (depending on season) & corn-on-the-cob
mini meatloaves +sides
homemade pizza
colby-bacon chicken sandwiches
sweeper steak +sides
fried chicken, coleslaw & biscuits
buffalo wings +sides
baked chicken +sides
marlboro man sandwiches
meatball subs
lasagna, salad & garlic bread

Leftover Meals (usually with cornbread/french bread)
stew
black-eyed pea gumbo
potato soup
chili
bbq chicken (fam pack of quarters) +sides


This is far from all-inclusive... it's just all I could jot down while my kids were running around like heathens (or what I call blogging time). I can see my OCD adding on Italian Night, Suthuhn Night, Asian Night... these may need to be rotated.

Crafting to CHRISTmas: Personalized Tote Bags

I'm doing homemade gifts for CHRISTmas this year and I'm starting with some canvas bags for my Sunday School class kids and for my own kiddos.

I admit... I took the easy road. I bought the canvas bags. I could have been an Uber-Crafter and made them but, hey, I have TONS of projects lined up. And I'm only human.

So thur she blows.

You'll need:
3-pk multi-colored canvas bags
acrylic craft paint
super cute stencils
spouncers (doesn't that sound funny to you too?)

First, I tried something I saw online somewhere... if you know where it's from, please let me know so I can give them proper credit. The idea was to take a dollar store paper doily and use it as a stencil. And that's precisely what I did.

 

I wasn't entirely happy with this so I got some cute and inexpensive stencils from Wally World.

And this is what happened...

I then did a google image search for embroidery fonts and freehanded names and initials. They're not perfect (I did say freehanded) so don't judge, you silhouette owners.

And then I was getting a little bored with the stencils and did some sort of argyle-ish pattern, made using a ruler to draw the lines and painted with painter's tape as a stencil.

Note: to give the diamonds a worn look, I pressed a strip of tape on each one when they were still wet.

And backed it with some boyish letter stencils. (also inexpensive from Wally World)

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday... a week late.

I was completely without a ball last week. I didn't just drop it... it ran away from me screaming.

 

Head on over to www.orgjunkie.com for more great menu plans!

Monday - flatbread pizza

Tuesday - loaded baked potatoes

Wednesday - muffins

Thursday - soup (canned)

Friday - BLTs and chips

Saturday - potato soup and french bread

Sunday - leftovers

Monday - bean and beef burritos

image credit

Tuesday - steak salad & baked potatoes

Wednesday - potato, egg and cheese breakfast burritos

Thursday - BBQ chicken, steamed rice and vegetables

Friday - hamburgers & fries

Saturday - black eyed-pea gumbo and cornbread

Sunday - leftovers

Special K Challenge Review

Technically speaking, they did not come through on their promise... I cannot fit into my size 6 jeans.

But the Special K Challenge is definitely worth it.

I started out at 142 lbs (6 months after birthing a watermelon)

I was working out for only 30 minutes a day before starting the diet... but that soon fell to the wayside.

I got sluggish and just didn't have the motivation to do much of anything. I've read that this is normal... something to do with detoxing your body and toxins stored up that are releasing into your bloodstream. You'd think we would be rewarded for doing something good... so the diet isn't at fault for that part.

It was hard at times. I considered raiding my kid's snack stash. 

But just as I was hitting my breaking point I got to have another snack or meal. And, hey, the snacks aren't half bad. Then again, I might have eaten cardboard and called it bellissimo.

On the last day of the diet I weighed 136 lbs - for a grand total of 6 lbs lost.

Not too shabby for two weeks.

*shhh... don't tell him I shared this, but I've got my hubs dieting too : )*

So I will NOT be doing the whole diet again - but I AM still eating Special K breakfast cereals and shakes and the snacks. And I'm slowly but surely getting back into the exercise routine.

I'm gonna call this a success and definitely worth the money I saved. 

LOL - YES SAVED...  Special K meals and snacks cost a LOT LESS than all the junk food and carb-full meals I was eating.

A Tricky Subject (pun intended)

For Christians, Halloween is a tricky subject...

Dh and I have decided that we're not just going to turn tail and run from everything that may or may not be an affront to Christianity. What we do is live our lives for God and not spend our lives hiding.

Like one of my Good Morning Girls said... Satan has no right to any day that God has made.

So we celebrate CHRISTmas but we don't celebrate Santa... we celebrate Easter without the bunny... teeth with no tooth fairy... and Halloween without the images of death and evil things.

Man has a bad habit of ruining everything... so let's just do it the right way, shall we? Let's keep Halloween innocent and keep the dark stuff away from the kiddos.

I very much agree with Courtney's post on Halloween here: Women Living Well