Heather – Page 3294 – Family Friendly Frugality

Thankful Thursday

I think it’s important to stop and count your blessings on a regular basis. Sometimes reminding yourself of all that you have is enough to pull you out of a funk or put a situation into perspective. Each Thursday I’m going to try and sit down and think of 5 things that I am thankful for. I encourage you to do the same. You can write it in the comments (which I encourage, I’d love to read what others are thankful for!), on your own blog, on a sheet of paper, or just spend some time reflecting on what’s great in your life right now.

1. I am so incredibly thankful for my husband’s support. When he comes home after a long day of work, he doesn’t insist on time for himself but instead hops right in to helping with the kids. He does it because he loves them and he misses them, but he also does it for me because he recognizes that my job as a stay at home mom is every bit as demanding as his desk job. I am so blessed for his support.

2. I am thankful for how different my children are. I swear I really lucked out in the kid department. My kids are polite, well behaved and adorable. They can also ride on my very last nerve. Luckily they tend to do that at different times so it’s not all piled on at once. My daughter has a sweet and gentle personality that balances out her daredevil nature. My son is a ball of energy filled with affection and excitement.

3. I am thankful for my home, not just the 4 walls around me but everything inside of it and everyone inside of it.

4. I am thankful for my family all being in good health at the moment

5. I am thankful for my creativity. I generally don’t consider myself a creative person, but when I sit back and look at some of the things I’ve done in the past few years…well I am creative. Many of my accomplishments stem from my creativity and I’m very proud of that.

What are you thankful for today?

I Learned How To Sew By Teaching Myself!

You Can Learn How To Sew Too!

Did you know? I learned how to sew by teaching myself AND how you can teach yourself how to sew too! Find the resources and beginner projects that make teaching yourself to sew super easy and fun.

Why I Taught Myself How To Sew

When I had my daughter I knew I was in trouble. My first child is a boy. Boys are so easy to shop for. You buy shorts and pants, shirts and shoes. Simple. We found out we were having a girl around 22 weeks into my pregnancy with my daughter.

I still remember the awe I felt the first time I walked into babies r us after learning the news. There was a part of the store I always ignored. The girl part. All those pretty pink clothes and ruffles and bows.

Well now I saw them, and I could not contain my glee. I think my husband had a bit of fear in his eyes, but he seemed excited too.

Luckily, everyone buys clothes for a girl (we got barely any clothes for our boy when he was born? Girl clothes are more fun to buy I guess!).

So we had oodles and oodles of clothes for our daughter until she was around 10-12 months. I didn’t shop much for her during that time since we were barely getting one wear out of all the clothes she had been gifted.

I decided that I wanted her to wear a very special outfit for her 1st birthday party. I went to a boutique and almost cried when I saw a simple appliqued onesie (learn how to applique!) on sale for $30. I looked at some of the cute outfits I’d seen girls wearing around the Mother’s Day Out I taught at. Price tags of $100 and up.

I could not do it. I went home determined that I would make her birthday outfit. I had had several attempts to sew in the past and I simply wasn’t patient enough for it. But this time I was determined.

How I Taught Myself How To Sew

I told myself it was okay if I messed up and that even if I did I had to keep trying. I was determined to learn how to sew and I was adamant about it!

I had a lot of failure. I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of tears and yes…there was even some blood! (have you ever pinned yourself? It’s not fun….)

However, I did it! Success! I had taught myself how to sew and fulfilled my desire to have my daughter wear something special and unique for her birthday. I have made her MANY outfits since then, and even made outfits for others.

I actually started a small business venture (very small!) out of my newfound talent. I took something that I had previously failed at and made failure not an option. And best of all, I excelled at it!

We all have that desire to do something that has tripped us up in the past. Maybe we weren’t patient enough, maybe we didn’t’ have the right materials or the right attitude towards it. With a bit of persistence though, I truly believe that you (and me!) can do anything you set your mind to.

How You Can Teach Yourself To Sew

I have written several articles over learning how to sew, but be sure to check this one out:

Learn How To Sew – Where to Start?

Also, check out these beginner learn to sew projects!

DIY Nap Mats

Upcycling Old Clothes!

How to Make A Peasant Dress

How to Make Basic Wide Leg Pajama/Boutique Pants

How to Sew A Ruffle Dress

How to Applique

Repurpose Old Jeans into Boutique Ruffle Jeans!

The Benefits of Cooking with Your Kids: Baker One Bowl Brownies

Looking for a frugal way to provide some entertainment for your kids? Get them into the kitchen! Kids LOVE to help in the kitchen. It will probably be messy and it will probably require patience, so be sure to do it on a day where you aren’t pressed for time or the house needs to be clean for company. Explore the benefits of cooking with your kids!

Today my 3 year old told me he wanted cupcakes. I told him I wanted some too, could he go make me some? I was joking, but minutes later I found him in the kitchen with these supplies:

Not exactly cupcake making material. Muffins maybe? But upon further investigation I discovered we had no cupcake or muffin liners. I asked if brownies would suffice, and after some hesitation he decided it would.
So we got to work.

When cooking with your kids. Simple is best. Don’t try and make a complicated layer cake with a three year old. One bowl recipes with easy to pour and measure ingredients are probably your best bet.
My favorite recipe to make with my son is Bakers One Bowl Brownies . It really is just one bowl and the simplest of ingredients.

Baker One Bowl Brownies

Ingredients

4 (1 ounce) squares BAKER’S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped PLANTERS Pecans (we omitted this, just not nut fans here)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and pecans; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

Noah really enjoyed himself a lot (as you can tell). The entire pan of brownies couldn’t have cost more than a few dollars. There are many benefits to cooking with your kids, specifically patience because brownies take a long time to bake!

Save Money for You and Your Baby!

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There are many sites out there that offer baby and child apparel and toys for a fraction of the retail price. Many of these sites have the deals up for a very short time and when they are out, they are out. It is a great place to still get the brands you love but without breaking your budget. You kind of have to stalk alot of these sites because if it is a REALLY good deal, it will not last long. Just bookmark all of them and make it a habit to check them daily. Be careful though, some people get sucked in and buy even if their bank account tells them not to, scared the deal won’t come around again. All deals come around again, and if it doesn’t? And you still want it? Budget to pay full price. Somethings are just worth it 😉

Deal A Day Sites for Kids

Totsy– this is an invitation only site. If you click the link it is me inviting you (full disclosure, they do credit you for referrals), so you don’t have to worry about finding a friend or family member that is a member. Most of their sales last around 3 days and they offer a big variety rather than just one product. They are also a very environmentally conscious company and plant a tree for every order!

Kids Woot!– Kids Woot! is a sister (little sister?) site to the popular Woot! It operates the same way. One deal a day and once it is gone it is gone. I’ve seen many repeat deals on this site though. They don’t often have as high end products as many of the others, but they do put up some pretty cool stuff from time to time

MamaBargains– Another one deal a day site. This site has more high end stuff for 60-80% off. They often have a variety of colors and styles and you can actively see how close something is to selling out. They have a forum as well.

Baby Steals– One deal a day. This site resets at 9am MST so even if you are on the west coast you don’t have to worry about staying up late/getting up at the crack of dawn to catch the deal. Kids Steals is their sister site for the older set.

There are many many others out there. These are the most popular and the ones I have personally shopped on and can attest to their customer service and shipping.
Happy Shopping!

About Me

Hi! My name is Heather and clearly I have a passion for savings. I started shopping with strategy a few months ago and very quickly became amazed at my savings. How with just a little planning, a little compromise and a LOT of passion I could save my family over 50% a month on all of our basic (and not so basic!) needs. Most of the time I can save us anywhere from 75%-90%. I am unwilling to compromise on a few things though, I will not buy junk and I will not let the coupons rule my spending.
Coupons are a marketing tool designed to get you to go out and buy a product even though you normally wouldn’t. Have you ever had the desire to save money, bought the sunday paper, cut out the coupons (observing that most of them were for junk food of course) and went to the store determined to save money, when you realized that even with a coupon…the store brand is the better deal? I know I did. The thing is, there is a time and a place for coupons, and it’s generally not the week they come in the paper. With this blog I hope to teach others what I have learned and pass on A Passion for Savings!