Beckys Blog

Another week into October, and another week of being frugal....sort of.  After 2 weeks in a row of spending less then $50 on food for a family of 6, we are bound to eventually spend more.  For week 3, I actually spent all but $20 of our normal weekly budget, however, that included $40 worth of new jars!  We were given about 120 lbs (my estimate by comparing the boxes to Titus) of free apples, and I only had a few empty jars left, so I had to buy more.  Even though that isn't technically food, it comes out of the food budget.  If you look at just food, we spent $60 this week + jars = $100.  On just food (not diapers or jars or canning supplies) we have spent $120 in the last 3 weeks.  If I include the diapers and canning supplies, we are still $150 below budget for this point in the month!  Yay!  So I went shopping! I have never been very good at holding onto money when I have extra available to me.  Since we had extra, we agreed to buy...

I don't want to forget to blog about the kids!  When we have a new baby, I love to be able to look back and see how their growth and milestones compare to their siblings! Annabelle is 11 weeks old today.  She had her 2 month check up last week.  We are battling thrush again just like we did with the first 3.  She does NOT nurse well (still),  but I haven't had to go to formula yet.  Every day, feeding her is a struggle and it feels like a long uphill battle. Her 2 month stats - Height - 23.75" Weight - 12 lbs 8 oz She is way ahead on her social milestones.  She already imitates me and will track objects and turn her head to keep following them when they go out of her line of sight. She doesn't tolerate tummy time very well though, so she hasn't built up as much strength as her oldest sibling had by this age.  She is still right on track with what is normal though.  I don't have her paper in front of me now, but she is right about 7...

We made it through last week with no supplemental grocery runs!  Once again, I made a meal plan for the week.  I took inventory of the pantry and freezer before making it.  I made a very specific list with very specific meals in mind, and then went shopping.  I spent $45 for this weeks groceries, and that included a bag of diapers.  (Bell has a rash so I had to get disposables for until it clears up, then back to cloth.)  So far, for 2 weeks of groceries, I am $141 below our normal budget!  I rewarded myself for staying on track with a new shirt off the clearance rack at Fred Meyer ($10), so that makes our actual savings so far $131. It is interesting to see how much better we ate last week too!  Because I had a meal plan, I knew what was for dinner first thing in the morning instead of standing in front of the fridge with a blank stare at 5:30 PM.  We ate beef stew, tacos, spaghetti, chicken and dumplings...all with very little effort beca...

This month, I am trying to do a better job utilizing what God provides instead of buying so much.  This week, I have an over abundance of tomatoes and I don't have time to can them.  I have so many they are starting to go bad before I can get to them.  So last night, we had spaghetti for dinner.  I made our sauce from scratch with the tomatoes in my garden.  To make my sauce as inexpensive as possible, I only used 1 lb of meat (usually use 2) and added grated zucchini as a filler (also from my garden).  It turned out absolutely delicious.  We ate it with home canned cherries and home canned carrots.  So I spent no money on dinner tonight.  Everything was either in my garden, freezer, or pantry.  (Technically we did buy 1/4 of a cow back in July to put in the freezer, that is why I don't have to buy meat each week.)   That only utilized about 1/3 of the tomatoes I had, so today I am making beef stew.  I usually put 1 jar ...

For the month of October I have created a challenge for myself.  That challenge is to spend as little as possible on food without sacrificing balance and nutrition.  The goal is for me to be more on top of meal planning and more creative with inexpensive meals, as well as getting better at utilizing our pantry and freezer foods.  It is not uncommon for me to plan meals for a week without even looking to see what we might already have in the pantry. In a typical month, we spend between $450 and $500 on food for my family of 6 (5 who actually eat).  I'm excited to try to spend LESS!  I just finished grocery planning and shopping for the first week of October, and spent $38 for the week.  There are some things like milk and bananas that just don't keep in the pantry, along with some baking necessities that we needed.  Here is my plan for the week: Breakfast - oatmeal, cheerios, or smoothies.  We have lots of frozen cherries and blueberries from u...

I've really enjoyed going back and reading my old blog posts from when the kids were younger lately.  I've decided I want to try to use this blog as a daily journal (or almost daily).  I will post thoughts, what we are doing, Bible verses, and all sorts of things along with the occasional picture.  For my first post in my new journal / blog, I wanted to post my typical daily schedule.  That way, if I post what I have done in a particular day, I don't have to post EVERYTHING every day. The alarm goes off in the morning at 7 AM.  Usually, Annabelle is already nursing when it goes off, so I am already awake.  She typically falls back asleep nursing.  Around 7:15 I am done feeding her and get up and get dressed.  After taking all my pills that have to be taken on an empty stomach (thyroid, fish oil, etc) I pump any leftover milk for Kezzy.  Annabelle typically wakes back up at around 7:45 at which point I change her diaper and get her dressed f...

Annabelle Katelyn 9 lbs 0 oz 21" long 14 1/2 inch head Born at 7:01 PM on July 26, 2011 After 2 weeks of start and stop "prodominal" labor, Annabelle was finally born!  I got up at about 8:30 Tuesday morning as Thad left for work.  I got Titus his breakfast, took my thyroid, and then right at 9 had a very strong contraction.  I had been having stop and start strings of contractions for 2 weeks, so at first I didn't think anything of it.  I continued about my morning, but just a few min later, I was hit with another one, and these were painful enough right from the start that I found myself telling the kids to leave me alone.  At 9:30, I called and gave Thad the heads up that if contractions stuck, I might be calling him home in an hour.  At 9:45, I called him back and said Come home NOW, followed by a call to my midwife, and a text to my friend Trudie who would be watching the kids.  Several people had predicted that with this being my 4th baby, ...

No, not the newest baby.  Here are some newborn pictures of the first 3.  They all 3 look so different, yet they look alike at the same time.  I can't help wondering if Annabelle will look like one of her siblings when she is born.  Raquelle - 2 weeks old Titus - 1 day old Keziah - 1 day old

This last week, I've been trying to start getting things ready around here.  Ready for a new baby, and also ready for next school year.  I am just about done picking out curriculum for Raquelle and Titus.  Titus surprised us and started sounding out simple words.  He is doing very well in the Kindergarten Hooked On Phonics workbook.  After not ever wanting to do any preschool, suddenly he is asking every day to do school...and when we finish, he asks if he can do more.  He is counting quite well with minimal help all the way to 100!  So I decided to start him in Kindergarten in the fall.  I already have the Abeka kindergarten readers from Raquelle and the Bob books.  We were given Horizon kindergarten math for him and he will share Raquelle's science and history books. Raquelle's schooling is tricky.  After reading a book to my mom, my mom informed me that her reading fluency is about on a 5th grade level.  However, she hasn't had...

Though I had good intentions to keep this blog active and post a couple times every month, the reality is that at 35 weeks pregnant, with 3 kids of my own plus daycare, it isn't exactly at the top of my agenda.  Things are starting to wind down now and the reality of how close Annabelle's birth is is starting to set in.  2 of my daycare kids are gone for the summer now.  I have a week and a half left with the other one and then I am off for 2 months.  Awana is done for the summer, this last swimming lesson session is done, Bible study is done and life is starting to slow down for the summer.  It's nice to have things a little slower paced, especially since I am moving at a little slower pace these days. I am amazed at this pregnancy.  I thought the end would be really hard because I had a hard time from about 26 to 30 weeks pregnant.  I had hip pain, sacroiliac issues, SPD, fatigue, etc.  However, now at 35 weeks pregnant, I actually feel better...

Friendshipping - the stage in a relationship where both parties are mutually interested in the other, and know of each others interest in each other, but no official dating relationship has begun yet. This phase is what Thad and I were in from April 15th 2001 to August 26th.  Although the intention was to still be just friends, the reality is that things are different when you know you are both interested in each other.  We had just short of a month together before summer break and we spent literally every spare minute together!  We had classes together, did homework together, worked the same shifts together, studied for finals together, and hung out together when we had free time.  We had a lot of fun and it was during this time that I believe we really went from friends, to best friends. We had agreed that we couldn't hold hands until we were officially dating, so we linked arms instead as we walked to class and such.  I asked Thad if there was anything du...

4 years ago today, the cutest baby boy I have ever seen was born. He was born slightly on the large side (8 lbs 12 oz) and from there, grew at record pace!  By a month old, he was above the 100th percentile in both height and weight. Titus at 2 months old His stature was not the only thing that grew! I could tell from the start that we were in for a wild ride with this one!  By 18 months old, he could take apart the child proof door knob covers, toss them on the floor, and open the door and go into the room we were trying to keep him out of.  If he wanted past the baby gate, he would unhook it, take it down, and go right through. It's amazing how fast time flies!  At 4 years old, he is mischievous and funny and incredibly energetic.  His problem solving skills are way ahead for his age.  He loves to take things apart and put them back together.  He has already successfully worked his first 100 pi...

We got back to campus on Sunday afternoon just in time to change and go to work in the cafeteria.  Thad and I both worked this shift together, however, I was working out front and he was in the dish room, so our responsibilities did not over lap much.  I noticed something during the work shift though.  Thad was very quiet.  He kept to himself washing dishes and didn't talk to me really at all.  I spent most of the shift wondering what was wrong and debating on if I should say something.  We had just had a great weekend and (in my opinion) an even better drive back...and now he wasn't speaking to me...or anyone for that matter.  I decided I wasn't ok with the silent treatment (which is what I interpreted this to be at that time), so I decided we were going to have to talk. Since I was working out front, I got off work first.  Once I was off, I stopped in the dish room and said, "Hey Thad, we need to talk!"  He stopped what he was doing and w...

It was about a month from when I realized I was going to marry Thad to when things started happening.  During that month, I tried not to let on that I was interested in him, and I noticed absolutely everything about him!  I noticed him give up his seat when a room was full.  I noticed him step in to help in the cafeteria when it wasn't his shift and they were busy.  I noticed him consistently putting others needs ahead of his own.  Most importantly, I noticed that his Bible knowledge rivaled mine!  Not to be proud or anything, but being a pastors kid, raised in a Christian home, Christian school, and home school, I was kind of shocked at how much my friends at this Christian college didn't know!  For example, on the first day of Bible survey class, the professor had all the students stand up and recite the books of the Bible in order...with our eyes closed, and sit down when we missed one.  At the end, out of a class of 40 or 50, there were 3 of u...

10 years ago tomorrow was the hike that started mine and Thad's relationship.  Before I get into that, I need to share the background leading up to it. Thad and I met in fall of 2000.  We had a lot of classes together but weren't really friends.  He sat in the front row of class, was cocky, and thought he knew everything...to the point of arguing with the professors.  He was so sure that he was right and they were wrong!  I sat in the back row with a couple of my friends, passing notes and laughing about the kid in the front row arguing with the professors. Over the course of fall semester, somehow Thad ended up hanging out with my group of friends.  I really had no interest in him yet, but without having any control over things, we were always together.  We worked several of the same shifts in the cafeteria together, had classes together, and he had become friends with my friends so he was always around.  During this time, the primary way tha...

~I did 5 loads of laundry yesterday, but one of the kids had an accident so there is more to do today. ~I cleaned the kitchen, but then I made lunch...and snack. ~I picked up the kids toys, but they got them out again. ~I swept the floor, but they spilt their cereal. ~I cleaned the bathroom, but then my toddler used it...enough said. ~I changed a diaper, they pooped again. ~I vacuumed, but they tracked dirt in from playing outside. ~I fed them, they are hungry again. ~I put away clean laundry, then they dug through their dressers looking for their favorite outfit...clean laundry is now on the bedroom floors. So, when you come to my house (or any mothers house) and see toys on the floor, food under the table, laundry on the couch, or dishes on the counter, don't assume it's because I've done nothing...because I have also... ~Kissed an owie, then I kissed it again, and again, and again, because apparently once isn't enough. ~Read them their favorite book...5 ...

A family couldn't have asked for a better dog. Max, our first baby, died today.  He was 7 years old when we adopted him from the humane society about a year after we got married.  We were told that because he was already a "senior dog" that we should expect him to live maybe 2 or 3 years.  That was 7 years ago.  In the 7 years that he was in our home, he was the most patient and wonderful dog anyone could have asked for. He came to us like an old, very large puppy.  He had been neglected and did not even know the command "sit".  We taught him to come, sit, stay, dance, give hugs, shake, heal, and were even able to take him on off leash walks because he was so eager to please.  Some memorable things in our life with Max... Max hasn't noticed the kitten behind him yet. On Max's original adoption papers, it said "not good with cats."  Being 120 lbs when we adopted him, we assumed that meant he would kill or severely maim any cat that he ...

A conversation between a 5 yr old and an almost 4 year old.  Raquelle is talking abut hell and singing a very sweet angelic sounding song about people dieing and going to hell.  Titus interrupts, "When I was a baby, I went to hell once."  I tell him, "No you didn't.  Only people who die and don't believe in Jesus go to hell." Titus - "I believe in Jesus" Me - "Who is Jesus?" Titus - "Jesus is God!" Me - "What did He do?" Titus - "He died on the cross for our sins!" Me - "Did he stay dead?" Titus - "No, he came back to life again!" Me - "So how do you go to heaven?" Titus - "Believe in Jesus" Raquelle - "No, you have to ask him to forgive your sins and come into your heart too." Titus - "Oh." Raquelle - "Are you going to do that now?" Titus - "No, I going to sing my song first." - Titus pounds on the toy keyboard an...

I can't believe my last post was announcing that I am pregnant, and now I am half way done!  Well, not really half way done, because I expect to go past my due date.  I am really looking forward to a different birth experience this time.  Instead of going to a hospital again, and repeating the previous birth experience I have had (you can read those in the archives...March 2006, April 2007, and Oct 2008), I am delivering at Bella Vie this time.  It is a midwife run water birth center just west of Salem.  It is beautiful out there.  The birth suites are amazing and it is right by a vineyard and an orchard.  If I am in labor long enough, these will make great scenery for a walk to keep things going. In other news, we are out growing our house.  Once again, I am glad we are renting.  That means we only have to give 30 days notice to move to a bigger house, and not try to find someone to buy the place with the current market!  We have deci...