Surviving The Holidays Living Paycheck To Paycheck

My family is going through some rough times. I am sad to admit that we are living paycheck to paycheck after so many years of working, planning and saving. We had to take the computer in to get fixed after it crashed last week. I wasn't able to work on my Squidoo or anything else for nearly a week. The icing on the cake was waking up to a fridge full of spoiled food and receiving a $700.00 medical bill in the mail that our insurance doesn't intend to pay.

We have drained our savings account and my husband had to get on the overtime list. I called my mother in desperation.

She was quick to remind me of my blessings "These are hard times, nothing more. Pick your head up and look around. You have three healthy children, snuggled in warm beds in your dream home". She is right!! Many people will be in much worse situations this holiday season.

Here is what I am doing to help our situation:
I am earning gift cards on Swagbucks to use for Christmas I also joined Jingit. It is a website that pays cash for watching videos and scanning products at the grocery store using your smart phone. I am selling most of my winter blouses to a local consignment store.

Squidoo continue to be my obsession! I am finally starting to see a few sells this month. My Minnie Mouse Children's Chairs website seems to be very popular so I plan to keep building more websites with Minnie Mouse. Who new the little mouse would give me so much hope. 

Minnie Mouse Children's Chairs and Room Decor

You Are Beautiful Momma

I woke up before my children and jumped into the shower this morning. I could feel my eyes close as I washed my hair. My body wanted to go back to bed. It is Saturday, I had a rough night and a rough week. I slowly creep to the kitchen and pour a cup of coffee. I'm in a funk and I really can't bring myself to do anything useful this morning.

The computer has been shutting down and won't start up properly, We purchased the Norton antivirus disk with money we don't have. My phone completely gave out  last night and my husband broke the chainsaw. The worst casualty this week was our blackberry. It wouldn't charge but was still covered under warranty. I was horrified when it was returned from repair to realize we didn't  remove the pictures and the videos before we sent it off. They were all gone. Videos from last Christmas and my son's birth. I just wanted to cry.

I feel terrible this morning. I picked a fight with the hubby yesterday. I was frustrated, not at him, just in general. We have been working so hard. I have been working so hard to get back on track. Why does this kind of crap happen to us.

I sat at my desk waiting for the computer to start up for the 10th time when my daughter Sofia walks up the stairs. She is carrying her babies and has on her Dora PJs. I hug her good morning. She squeezes my leg and says" Momma your beautiful". I don't know what she is thinking behind those big, brown eyes but her simple statement nearly brings me to tears.

I am too blesses to let a few materials bring me down. I can't believe I was so angry this week. I kiss her on the forehead and serve her a bowl of cereal. It is a new day. I have so much to be thankful for.

Spending Money Saving Money

Sometimes I am sure that I am spending more money by trying to save money. I hate paying full price for anything now days and it is even harder to pass up a good deal. I set a $75.00 a week grocery budget for my family several months ago. We were doing great until I started to lose steam. It is tough work following the sales ads, clipping coupons and reading money saving blogs. I have been busting our budget for the past two months now.

We made a trip to our local Big Lots this morning. It is relocating. Everything in the store was thirty percent off and I had a coupon for an additional twenty percent off of that. Can you picture me sprinting to the van this morning, three babies in tow?

I slowly browsed every aisle. I only purchased things we will need in the next few weeks. I resisted the urge to stockpile for the next decade. I also picked up a Christmas gift for mom and for the baby. $37.00 well spent.

I decided that today I would clean out the fridge and reorganize the pantry. I have had enough wasting food and wasting money. The holidays are coming up and money is tight. Time to get back on the wagon.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

I woke up ready to conquer the day. I had piles of laundry to do, papers that needed to be filed and well the bathrooms really could use a good scrubbing. I went to work on the laundry. I could here the girls fighting in the other room. They were bored and at each others throats. The baby was fussing and needed my attention.

I couldn't help but think about my mother. Her house was always spotless. She prided herself on always having a clean house. I have learned so much from her about being a mom and housewife but I couldn't help but wonder.... Is Cleanliness next to Godliness?

I don't have memories of playing with my mom or sitting down on the couch and watching a movie. I have memories of her always in the kitchen and scrubbing floors. She was ALWAYS cleaning. I admire her organization and her discipline to keep a clean house but I don't want my children to feel that my house is my priority.My mom had a tough life and a not so great marriage.Sometimes, I think she used her cleaning as a means to escape.

I dressed the kids and took them outside. The girls were covered in dirt when we came back inside. I still had piles of laundry and the paperwork wasn't going to get filed but we had a great day.

I don't have a dirty house by any means but it isn't no where near spotless either. I think making your family happy and enjoying your children is Godlier than cleaning and I'm pretty sure my children would agree.

The Price of Chaos

I got up early and took out my box of coupons. I can't believe I haven't clipped and sorted coupons in over a month. I was doing so well. I was able to get our grocery budget down to $75.00 from $150.00 but I haven't been able to do that lately. I have coupons coming out of my ears. I have been shoving them into my purple coupon box. I would say that nearly 80 percent of my coupons were expired. I am so glad that I still have a friend stationed overseas. The military can use expired coupons up to six months in commissaries overseas.

I laid out my Albertson's flier and made a list of the sales that I could pair with coupons. It only took a few minutes to get into the swing of things. I was excited about all the money I was going to save. I'm not sure why but I decided to double check the date on the sales flier, only to realize that the sales were good until October 2nd. UMMMM what is today's date? GEEZ you have gotta be kidding me. Oh well! I took a stack of coupons and headed to  the grocery store, surely I could do some quick calculations in my head. NOPE! I blew my budget by $35.00. Time to get more organized and get back on track. This chaos is costing me money.

The Body of a Stay at Home Mom

I took a little time for myself today. My husband agreed to watch the kiddos so I could go out and enjoy some fresh air. I told him I was going shopping! He didn't roll his eyes or immediately hide the credit cards. he knows I'm headed to the nearest thrift store in search of  a bargain.

I browesed the rack of jeans and blouses, piling clothes on my arm. I have no idea what size I wear. I haven't bought any clothes since I had my son.

I enter the dressing room and am immediately faced with a three way mirror. I take my clothes off.  I am shocked at the person staring back at me. I recognize the face. My face still looks like a young, bright eyed mom but it is my body that surprises me.

I can clearly see the light stretch marks racing from my hips down my butt. I have a little pootch that sags just over my underware. My breast are large and not so perky.

I didn't get depressed or quickly put my clothes back on. I felt empowered. I was in really good shape when I was in the Army but now I feel like a woman.

My breast are not just for show. I nouished three babies. I am my son's life line. The stretch marks are my battle wounds from the weight of twins and a nine pound baby growing in my belly. I am even okay with my flat butt and my wide hips. I am strong! I am a momma! I walked out of the dressing room with a black sweater and kaki pants but I had such a huge aahaa moment.

I probably could have walked out naked.

Mommy Tip of the Day

I really thought I was going to get the house more organized this month. I am pretty determined and disciplined when I have set a goal for myself. It is funny how you think you need something, when in fact, you need something totally different. I thought I need to scrub the cabinets, clean the washroom and organize the closets.

I woke up today with a list of things to do. I knew exactly what I could accomplish during nap time and in between episodes of sesame street and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

My son's Face Says it all! This is what I needed to do!

Instead the girls and I lounged around in faded T-shirts and shorts. I didn't do their hair. I rolled around on the floor and played with the baby. I danced and shook my booty to the theme song to Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

Mommy tip of the day: Stop reading and blogging about trying to be a better mommy and be one!

Success As A Stay at Home Mom

Today is  day six of my 30 day goal to a more efficient house hold. My husband is on shift and grandma has gone home. I am here alone with the twins and the baby. I'm tired, I have a sink full of dirty dishes and the girls are whining for my attention. I can't help but wonder what makes a successful stay at home mom? Did my children laugh more today than they cried? Did I teach them something? Did I say please and thank you when I spoke to them or did I simply nag them to say it? Did I roll my eyes when the baby cried? It was easy to measure my success as a Soldier. It is much more difficult to know if I am doing a good job as a wife and mother.

It is so easy to take a day for granted but days turn to weeks and weeks to months. My tiny NICU babies are walking, talking opinionated toddlers and my dream of a baby is a the chunky little man sitting on my living room floor.