Fun with arts and crafts

Yesterday was such a nice day that we took arts and crafts outdoors. Carissa made puppets!

Cutting and creating

Let's get those ears glued on!!!

Finally a puppet!!!

We had fun playing with our puppets. She worked and we talked while I got my Sunday school lesson made up for tomorrow morning. Oh how I love those warm fall days. Even though they are becoming fewer and fewer.

Happy Homemaking

Being Frugal without Being Cheap

Being Frugal without Being Cheap

by Nancy Twigg

Have you ever noticed how frugality is often confused with being cheap? Isn’t it a shame that those who choose to live frugally are sometimes accused of being selfish and stingy?


Although these accusations may be justifiable in rare cases, I’ve found that with most frugal people, quite the opposite is true. The thrifty people I know are very generous; they just choose to give in ways that are different than their spendthrift counterparts. Let's look at some of the differences between being frugal and being cheap.


Being frugal means making smart spending choices.


Let’s say that for your friend’s birthday, you give her a book. You paid only 50 cents for the book at a yard sale, but it was in like-new condition and it is by an author your friend loves. Some would say that it is cheap to only spend 50 cents for a gift, but if it’s something you know the recipient will love, why does it matter how much you spend? Why spend more on a gift if you could get something the person would enjoy just as much for a lot less? This kind of gift giving is not being cheap; it’s just good money management.


Frugality is getting the most for your money.


Suppose you don’t have Internet access or email. Rather than making long distance phone calls to your friends and relatives to stay in touch, you save money by writing letters instead. By doing so, you get more for your money. For the cost of a 37¢ stamp, you could practically write your life history, include pictures, and even send small goodies like a bookmark or comics you’ve clipped from the newspaper. But how many minutes could you talk for 37¢ of long distance charges? Not too many. Besides, a letter is something the recipient can read over and over and enjoy many times. Thus, you get much more value and enjoyment by writing the letter.


Frugality is making your dollars go farther.


Suppose that to save money on your utility bill, you keep your thermostat at 68 degrees during the day in the winter. Your kids complain that it is a little chilly in the house, but you tell them to put on sweaters. Some might feel that this money-saving technique is an example of being cheap. However, making your dollars stretch this way is smart for the whole family. If you spend less on utilities, you’ll have more to spend on other things such as fun outings with your kids.


Frugality is showing you care without spending a lot of money.


Let's say it is Mother’s Day. Instead of buying a gift and greeting card, you use your time and creative talents to make something special for your mom. The gift doesn’t actually cost you much except your time and a few supplies you already had on hand. Some people might think this is being cheap because you didn’t buy your mother anything. However, the frugal person knows that giving of her time and talent is much more valuable than spending a lot of money without giving it much thought.


BYLINE: Nancy Twigg is the editor of Counting the Cost, an ezine about simple and frugal Christian living. She is also the author of two books on the same topic. For more information about how to be frugal without being cheap, visit Nancy online at www.countingthecost.com







Happy Homemaking

Deep condition and hair clarifier

I have naturally curly hair and because of that my hair is naturally dry. If I'm not attentive to it, it will frizz badly. On humid days it's frizzy no matter I do but I do tame it alot,on cold days it lays nice,on rainy days it's extremely curly (lays in locks). If I use products for my hair then I'm able to control it much better. But that gives me some build up on my scalp so I do a clarifier once a week on Friday's when I do my deep conditioning. Here's how I do it.....



Put the shampoo into a small bowl and  add 1 to 2 tablespoons of  baking soda stir to blend well then massage into my scalp really well. I leave it in there for a minute or so and then rinse it out. Your scalp will tingle a little that is normal.


That's it and it helps to remove the build up that the products I use in my hair leave behind.


Now because my hair is naturally dry,conditioner is my best friend. LOL Once a week I do a deep conditioning, it easy and only takes a short time to complete....


wash your hair as usual or if your doing the clarifier then do that first,then add your conditioner,I then use a comb and comb it through my hair to make sure it gets on each and every strand of hair. Then I twist it up into a bun and put a shower cap on. I shower as usual. The heat from the shower will help the conditioner work better. Then before I get out of the shower I remove the cap and rinse my hair well.


That's it,1,2,3 easy. This keeps my hair soft and I love it because I don't have nearly as many tangles as I use to have.






Happy Homemaking

Waste Less Wednesday

I am not a big enviromentalist,but I do,do some things to cut back on waste. My reason's for doing this were mainly to cut our household costs each month.



I don't use many paper towels,I use cloth napkins instead.


For cleaning I don't use paper towels again, I use microfiber cloths that I purchaced at Sam's club in bulk. They clean great even the mirrors and windows.


I recycle,our trash company picks up our recyle bin twice a month. So what plastics and paper and such that I do use gets reused.


I hang out my laundry as much as I can it was not to cut energy consumption but to cut our energy costs but it's doing both and that's a big +


I don't buy water in bottles but I do have a sports bottle that I wash and reuse.


I do paperless billing for as many of the companies we deal with as possible.


I recycle our clothing as much as possible.


I use less toxic cleaners in our home


These are just a few things that I'm doing to save money and consume less waste.


What are you doing? Any tips or trics you would like to share feel free.


I read a quote once that I really liked. It read... Alone we can do very little but together we can achieve great things.




Happy Homemaking

Clutter Cutting Days

We have been busy around here. Busy going through things and getting rid of things. Free up space and freeing up our lives. I have so much to do around here. A little history behind all the clutter we are dealing with. I was going to have a yard sale over the summer. I had so much stuff,I had been going through things and saving the good stuff for the sale. I had bags of clothes,toys,and other household items. Well I started working on the pricing and such and realized I was doing this solo,no one could or would help me. With my condition that made it almost impossible to set the sale up each day and break it down. So that stuff just set in our storage ara and set and set. And anything else I was going to put in there just set there.

Realizing that I will not be having the sale (even though we needed the money) I couldn't take holding onto that stuff any longer. We cleaned out the room that will be our dining room (one of these days),there wasn't a lot of stuff in there just a few things and most of it was bulky stuff. Then we went to storage room and got rid of bags of stuff. My suv is now packed down with stuff ready to go to charity. Today we are making a much needed to stop the charity we donate to on a regular basis The Mustard Seed. They do not charge for those that need clothing and some household items to come and look through and take what they need. So if I am giving the stuff away anyway I don't like do so with the thought that,that free stuff is going to be sold to someone.

Now that I am on a role I am not stopping there. I have already started going through our clothes and have to go through clothes and things we have put up. I am determined to get rid of the extra "stuff" that is cluttering up our lives.

Do you have any clutter cutting sessions you would like to share?

Happy Homemaking

Menu Planning Monday

Monday - breakfast for dinner-pancakes yummy,apple sauce

Tuesday - bbq chicken,fried potatoes,green beans

Wednesday - meatloaf,m.p.gravy,green beans ,peaches

Thursday- spaghetti,rolls/bread

Friday - leftovers

Saturday - baked chicken,noodles,green beans

Sunday - breakfast for dinner-sausage gravy,biscuits,scrambled eggs,fried potatoes,fruit

Although I have assigned days to meals they are not set in stone and can be moved around as needed.

Happy Homemaking

What a season already

The H1N1 virus is hitting every one hard. Even in our little community. We have students in the public school systems going home sick. People diagnosed daily with h1n1. It has even hit close to home. My cousin age 4 was diagnosed yesterday and one of my closest friends from church her daughter was diagnosed a week agao. We have a couple of children out due to h1n1 at my daughters very small christain school.

We are stressing now more than ever the importance of keeping your hands clean,coughing into your arm or tissue and not your hands,to respect others personal space and your own and not get in others faces. I am not going to get the vaccination for me or my family. There are just to many unknown future side effects,so we made the personal choice to not get it.

I think it's so important to keep our communities and country in our prayers each day. This thing can be ugly and it can be mild,it's like a toss up. You don't know how bad your going to get it until you do.

We were all sick a couple of weeks ago but not with the h1n1. Just sick. I am still fighting a cold,which makes me even more cautious. I am taking cold medcine and vitamins and emergen-c. Just seems to want to hang on this year.

Happy Homemaking

Bible Time

John reading God's word to us.

Most every evening we have a bible time. Unless we absolutely can't we do,it's a time where my husband or sometimes another member of the family gets a book and chapter and we read and discuss it as a family. My children have learned so much about God's word doing this. And to tell you the truth I have learned things I have either forgotten or didn't know all together. It's a blessed time and something we all look forward to each evening. It's fun to find out what book in the bible we will be getting into what chapter. And some of the questions our children give us is amazing. It's awesome to see their interest in God's word. They are truely growing in the walks with Christ and that is amazing and awesome to see as a mom. I took the liberty to take a few pictures of our bible time Sunday night. We were discussing Luke chapter 22 - 23 KJV,wow is all I can say. The boys really got into this study and their understanding of just what happened in Jesus's last days is so clear to them. And oh how much more appreciative they are of our Saviour for all he did for us.

                                         

                                            The kids on the couch during bible time.

The kids getting into the discussion. Growing in Christ! It's so awesome!!!!

Happy Homemaking

Making your own cleaning schedule part 5

Welcome to final edition of making your own cleaning schedule.

Lets review what you should have completed.

1.a detailed cleaning list for each room you have in your home. Grouping together rooms like bedroom(s),bathroom(s),family room,living room,den.

2.a daily cleaning schedule

3.your detailed cleaning lists broken down by how often you need to complete each item.

The final touches are just ahead and soon you will have a complete cleaning schedule that fits your home and routine like no other you have ever tried. Why,because it's yours,you made it,with your preferences in mind.

This will take a little while so take your time. There is no rush. As long as you are doing your daily cleaning things should be at least somewhat clean and picked up. If you have started a few things on yourdetailed lists then your home should be looking pretty good.

With new paper or you can do this on the computer (that's how I did it) and type it up and print it off. I prefer this method over pen and paper just for the fact that one it's easier to correct and two it looks so much better in your household notebook.

With papers in hand. Lets just say you are using the computer to complete this task. Take your papers and first type up your daily list,this is to be at the top of your cleaning schedule. I have typed mine up all as one large list. And then broke it down more like I am explaining to you. I would have preferred breaking it down more from the beginning but you live and learn.

Once you have your daily list done. Let's move onto your deep cleaning schedule. What room or set of rooms do you want to assign to Monday,how about Tuesday. Keep going until you have all your rooms assigned to a day. A good rule of thumb is to assign your days Monday - Friday,this way you can take the weekends and enjoy time with your family.

Once you have room(s) assigned to a day,it's time to type them up.

Type up what you will do on a weekly basis first. Then biweekly and so on util you have all the tasks that you have broken down all typed up. Grouped together by how often they are to be completed.

Keep going until you have your cleaning schedule complete.

When you are finished give yourself a pat on the back. You should be proud you now have a personalized cleaning schedule. WTG!!!!!

Happy Homemaking

Creating your own cleaning routine part 1

Creating your own cleaning routine part 2

Creating your own cleaning routine part 3

Creating your own cleaning routine part 4

Menu Plan Monday

Beans n frank,fried potatoes,applesauce

Roasted chicken,mash potatoes,gravy,corn on the cob

Spaghetti,salad,rolls

Chicken n gravy,mash potatoes,biscuits,green beans

Leftover night or pancakes and eggs

pizza

chili and cornbread

Happy Homemaking

Playing Dress Up

Happy Homemaking

What does being frugal mean to you?

What does the term frugal mean to you? What it means to me could be something totally different from you. There are many variables that effect a persons views on what is frugal and what is not. Income is one,if you have more of it you may spend it on things that cost more than someone with less of it. You may not take it to the same levels that someone that is not in your income bracket,but then again you may,who knows.




For me being frugal doesn't mean being cheap. I'm not going to refuse to get something just because I don't want to spend the money. But if we don't have the extra money to spend on it I will refuse it. But just for the sake of being a tightwad with our money,no. If it's something we need or if I have the extra money in our budget to spend on it then that option is open.


Frugality for me is a term referring to being wise with your money and the things you own. For example,you go out and purchase a lovely table,you take your time and look around, you go to several stores,including used stores and find the right table at the right price. How do you know what is the right price well you set a price before you ever leave your home and don't go above it. But that is just one phase of what I believe it means to be frugal.


You take the table home and set it up with a nice lamp and some pictures. You are so proud of your find and that you stayed within your price. But as time goes on here's where frugality takes on another side. How you care for the things you have. If you take care of your things they will last longer and there in saving you money. That's another phase of being frugal. Making the most of what you have.


That not only goes with the big ticket items you get but also every day things,shampoo,soap,laundry soap,dish soap,make it stretch. Food use it up,use up leftovers,get creative. Clothing,keep good clothes for going places and every day clothes for every day. Buy used when you can and shop clearance racks as much as possible. Try your hardest to not pay full price for a single piece of clothing you get. It can be done.


Frugality is all about a mind set. Set your mind that you will not pay full price for anything if at all possible. From Cars to food,it can be done. Wrangle with the car dealer and get the best deal but first you have to do a little research and find out what the best deal is,clothing buy used and shop clearance and sales,furniture same with clothing,shop used and clearance and sales,food shop sales and combine coupons and stock up! I urge your to purchase Terri's book Shop Smart Save More in it she goes into detail about how she shops and how you can do what she does to.


Set your mind today right now that you are going to spend as little as you can without going cheap. Get what your family needs and save the rest for a rainy day or a great great sale.


Times are tough yes they are but there are things that we can do to help our family. Watch what we spend and be diligent about getting our costs down. Talk with your husband and let him in on what you are doing. You may have to show him the benefits of what you doing first,sometimes men need to see something in action before they buy into it.


Lets be frugal together!


Happy Homemaking

Homemade Chili

I made chili last night and it was so good!!!



I use the recipe in Sue Greggs cookbook,Main Dishes.




2 cups dry kidney beans (cook the beans before adding the below ingredients)

add to beans in pot,
2 -8 oz can tomato sauce
1 onion chopped
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp salt


simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors


*I also add 1 lbs of ground beef or turkey.*




Happy Homemaking


I am linked at: Time-Warp Wife

How to make a detailed menu and shopping list

How to make a detailed menu and shopping list.

Tammy Channel

The first thing is to make sure you know what you have on hand. This in itself will save you money. If you don't already ,start an inventory and keep it up to date. Once you know what you have get out a piece of paper and number it for the amount of days you want to fill in, if you are only planning on shopping for a weeks worth of food and such then number to seven if more then keep going. Now, by first using what you have on hand make as many complete meals as you can. A complete meal for each household may differ but for ours it's protein,carbs,vegetables,and/or fruit. I don't do this all the time and lapse in my planning from time to time,especially during specific seasons,it gets rather hectic here. But that is one of my goals for the coming year. Once you have as many meals made up as you can with what you have on hand,get another piece of paper out. Now here's where the fun starts.


One thing that I have and use often is a list of complete meals that I keep in my journal. This has helped me so much,when I'm looking through the sales adds and see the I can get a pork loin for a great price, I then go to my list and check out my pork recipes, I pick one or two and put it on a number for a meal. A little work earlier has saved me loads of time now. With that said if the price is really good I may get two or three and have them cut or leave it whole or both and vacuum seal them in portions appropriate for my family size label them, add this to my inventory list,toss them in the freezer and walk away.
Keep going with this until you have a complete list of meals for your given menu.

Now lets get started on that shopping list. First I take paper and divide it up in sections,dairy,meat,canned goods,seasonings,sweeteners,grains,vegetables,fruits,nonfood items and pet care. I go to day one and right beside it I make a mark by what I need to buy. Let say we are having Chili and spaghetti I know I'm going to need more hamburger or ground turkey. I use 1 lb of meat but I double my recipes so that's 2 lbs per meal in total I know I need 4 lbs of ground meat. I then go to my shopping list paper and put under the meat section ground beef or turkey what ever I'm going to use for that given recipe and I put four slashes to mean 4 lbs it would look something like this lean ground beef - I I I I , when I get that at the store I just mark it off. I keep doing this until I come to the bottom of my menu. I go over it once more to make sure I don't forget anything, it's so easy to forget to get butter, or yeast for baking b/c it's not right in front of you and you don't think of it.  So once you get your list of groceries you will need for the meals on your menu,your not finished yet. You have to make sure you write down any household items or pet care items. Anything you need to get that while your out at the store. Do you need toothpaste,is there a good deal this week on it,and better yet is there a good deal on it and you have a coupon,don't forget to add it to your list. Don't forget snacks,you know how children and husbands love to snack. : ) Once I have my complete list finished, head to the store and do my damage. LOL

 All that planning,list making and careful shopping doesn't do anyone any good if they don't preserve it properly. I put away the groceries that I can and set my meats,fruits and vegetables aside. I get our my freezer bags and vacuum sealer (if needed),and sharpie,my inventory and a pen or pencil. I wash my hands and first I handle the fruits and vegetables, I clean them and put them in the fridge in freezer bags and set some fresh fruits in our fruit basket that I keep on the table for snacks. After I have labeled and dated all bags I put them in the crisper in the fridge and start on the meat. I divide it up into portion size appropriate for my family and if I'm using all of the meat I'm handling at that time I simply put them in freezer bags,label them and toss them in the freezer. Now if I bought extra I vacuum seal them,label them and toss them in the freezer. When I'm done I clean up my mess,wash my hands and walk away, I always make sure that as I'm putting away the items I have bought I add them to my inventory,this way I'm not back tracking later or worse not using up what I already have on hand and in turn wasting money!



Happy Homemaking

Something cute

During our family bible time this evening. We were reading and discussing John 3. My dear husband asked the children "what do you have to do to make it to Heaven?"  Our sweet little girl Carissa anxiously replies "Die" LOL Well yes that is one of the things you must do.

Happy Homemaking

Modesty is more than just your clothes

When a sister in Christ is talking about Modesty,it goes much deeper than clothing. Yes that is a big part of being modest and as a Christian woman you should be dressing modestly. It's our responsibility as sisters in Christ to dress and look and (here's the kicker) behave modestly to help our brothers in Christ from having impure thoughts and/or behaviors. I know that there are times when there's nothing you can do men will do these things and they will have to answer for it,but it's our personal responsibility to ensure that we are not putting them on that path by how we look or behave. 1Corinthians 8:12-13- 12:When you sin against the brethern and wound their weak consience,you sin against Christ 13: Therefore,if food makes my brother to stumble,I will never again eat meat,lest I make my brother stumble. Knowing that what you are wearing or doing is causing a brother in Christ to stumble you are sinning against Christ.


Proverbs 31:26-27: 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom:and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.


The Lord starting working on me with the way that I dress about a year ago. Being raised Pentecostal,dressing modestly and keeping my hair long for covering wasn't new to me. 1 Corinthians 11:15 But if a woman have long hair,it's a glory to her:for her hair is giving her for a covering. But I backslid and for years lived my life in the world. When I came back to the Lord and asked for forgiveness I was still dressing and acting as I always did minus the language and other nasty attributes.


It wasn't until about a year ago I started feeling the calling to re evaluate how I dress. The Lord told me that I was to be an example to others. Once I decided to make the change from jeans to dress,I did it fairly easily. I was dresses only for about 3 months and then slid back into my jeans. I felt a guilt that I have never felt in my life. I was ashamed and felt like a hypocrite.


Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man,neither shall a man put on a woman's garment,for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.


Now I'm back on track after alot of prayer,bible study and talking with my husband. My heart is at peace once again and I know I'm on the path that Lord set before me. Once I got my outer appearance modest then the Lord started working on my behavior.


1Timothy 2:9-10: 9 In like manner also,that women adorn themselves in Modest apparel,with shamefacedness and sobriety,not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array. 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.


I have always been an out spoken women that wouldn't back down from anyone or anything and that is a very ungodly way for a Christian woman to act. The Lord started pulling me back saying meek,discreet. I got my bible out and began to study just how I'm suppose to behave. See I have always been a handful ,even being the Pastor's daughter,I rebelled horribly. After much time with my husband,the Lord and my bible I now get it.


Titus 2:3-5: 3The aged woman,that they be in behavior as becometh holiness,not false accusers,not given to much wine,teachers of good things. 4 That they may teach the younger women to be sober,to love their husbands,to love their children. 5 To be discreet,chaste,keepers at home,good obedient to their own husbands,that the word of God be not blashpemed.


I now know that my actions as well as my dress is the example to others. They will first look upon my outer appearance and then my actions. I can witness to others even if I never really speak to them. That's a wonderful thing sisters to be a witness for Jesus Christ,through dress,behavior and words.

Tammy
Happy Homemaking

Making your own cleaning schedule part 4

By now you should have your detailed lists for each room in your home finished. And you should have your daily cleaning list made as well. It would be a good idea to go ahead and start using your daily list for simple upkeep of your home.

Today's work is going to take you some time so work on as you have time to do so.

Get your lists and a pencil. I say pencil because you can erase if you need to. Now go through each and every list you made (except the daily list) and mark by each item this way.

W for weekly
B for biweekly
M for monthly
Q for quarterly
6 for every six months
and y for yearly

Look at each task you wrote down and determine how often you need to do that task. If it's washing the curtians you may not need to do that on a weekly basis so monthly or even quarterly would be more fitting for that job. Keep going until you have all the tasks you wrote down on all the papers(except for the daily list) edited.

That will be all you will do for today. Set your work aside and we will pick up from there.

Happy Homemaking

Creating your own cleaning routine part 1
Creating your own cleaning routine part 2
Creating your own cleaning routine part 3
Creating your own cleaning routine part 5

Yummy Pizza Crust

Yummy Pizza Crust
Tammy Channel




2 1/4 C warm water


3 tsp yeast
4 tbs olive oil


5 C unbleached white flour or whole wheat flour (or a mixture of both)
1/2 C powedered milk
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar


First place liquids in mixing bowl ( I use my stand mixer but you can do this by hand). Let the yeast set for a few minutes about 3 to 5 to activate it.


Start adding the dry ingredients (NOTE: I mix the dry ingredients up in a mixing bowl and set aside until time to add to the wet ingredients.) Add them a little a time. Start mixing on lowest setting or by hand. Keeping mixing until completely mixed and turn up the setting on the mixer or start kneading it by hand. If using a kitchen aide like I have let it knead for about 3 minutes and if by hand about 5. No need to worry about doing the perfectly it's not like making bread.


Once the kneading is finished I take my pans and spray with canola oil, I then divide my dough into 3 portions and set each portion on a pan so it's there when I am preparing the dough for the oven. It just makes it easier for me and seems to keep things moving along smoothly. I roll the dough out and work with it with my hands. The dough should feel nice a soft and smooshy almost more like biscuit dough than bread dough. Work with it until it's completely covering the pan. I take a fork and poke the dough to prevent air bubbles and place it in an oven that has been preheated to 375*F until the dough is not sticky any longer. I take it out and keep going until all my doughs are prebaked. Now I can dress them or freeze them.




Happy Homemaking

Makng your own cleaning schedule part 3

Welcome to part 3 of making your own cleaning schedule.


By now you should have your rooms written down on paper with rooms like the bedrooms and bathrooms grouped together,meaning you only needed one sheet for those rooms. You should also have a detailed list of things you want to clean written down for each room.


Today I want you to get another sheet of paper and write daily on the top of that paper. Now go around your house and write down all that you would like to clean on a daily basis.To give you an example here is my daily cleaning schedule.


Make all beds



Laundry all to be done daily this means washed,dried,folded and put away.


All floors carpeted or not need to be swept or vacuumed.


All non carpeted floors need to be mopped daily.


Wipe down counters and sink in kitchen.


Make sure all dishes are done (do not allow them to pile up)


Wipe down bathroom counters and sink.


Clean toilet(s).


Sweep porches,front steps and walk.


Clean storm door glass.


Pick up as you go through your day.
 
 
This is simply a list that I have come up with for my home that I like to make sure is done on a regular perferrably a daily basis. Things like sweeping our deck and walk are not done daily due to weather but the other things are. It's just a quick clean up to keep our home looking nice and that is the whole idea of your daily cleaning. Things that need to be cleaned on a daily basis so you don't fall behind and your home looks picked up and ready for guests.
 
Happy Homemaking

Creating your own cleaning routine part 1
Creating your own cleaning routine part 2
Creating your own cleaning routine part 4

Menu Monday

Beans and franks,mac & cheese,corn on the cob

meatloaf,mash potatoes,gravy,green beans,dinner rolls

Chili,cornbread

leftover night

chicken fries,mac & cheese,apple sauce

pork roast,mash potatoes,gravy,corn,sliced peaches

bbq ribs,scalloped potatoes,cucumber salad,cheddar biscuits

Happy Homemaking

Busy day

I am sorry that I never got part 3 of making your own cleaning schedule out. I spent most of my day at the emergency clinic with our oldest son. He has been so sick for the past few days and I took him over to have some tests ran on him. Well that took all day. I will do my best to get it out Monday. Thank you for your patience.


Happy Homemaking

Making your own cleaning schedule part 2

Today's how to is simple at least on my part it is : ) 


Take the papers that you wrote the name of the room(s) at the top of and go to the room that is listed on the first page.


If it's the living room/family room then head to that room(s),take a good long hard look at the room. Look at every corner,under things and on top of things. Look behind things and in hidden spaces. Look at everything. Make a note of problem areas or clutter spots. Those we will talk about later. Start to make you list now.


What do you want done in this room. Be as detailed as you can be. We will worry about the frequency of which you do them later. For right now start with the first room making as detailed of a list as you can humanly and possible make. Once your finished with that room move on the next room(s).


That's it for today,this is going to take you some time or at least it should if you are going as detailed as you can. So go on get started and I will meet you back here tomorrow.


Until then,


Happy Homemaking

Creating your own cleaning routine part 1
Creating your own cleaning routine part 3

Thursday at my house

It's still fairly quiet in the house,only Carissa and Jason are up. Princess our dog is walking around waiting to go outside to potty. Jason is still not feeling well so we kept him home from school again today,Carissa will be starting her school work soon. Then I have to get my day started.

During our bible time we have been reading and discussing Mathew ch. 5 the sermon on the mount. We have had a great time discussing this and our children are each actively participating in it. I am so happy that we started evening bible time with our children,it's so awesome to see the interest in God's word from our children. I love it!

Since I have been sick I have slacked off on some of my duties here at home. One of those duties is teaching my daughter Carissa home duties. Things that she will need to know to run her household when she grows up and gets married. I know my daughter is only 7 but I have started teaching her now,nothing big just helping a little with meals,helping me clean the kitchen and house and helping me with laundry. She loves it and will often come back to me and ask to do more. It's cute.

I am hoping to get the bedding all washed and put back on the beds. And continue my quest of getting this house rid of this virus.

Until next time,

Happy Homemaking

Making your own cleaning schedule part 1

Yesterday I told you that I would go over step by step how to make your own cleaning schedule. One that fits you and your situation. The nice things about having your own cleaning schedule is that you know your needs. You know better than anyone else the things that need to be done at your home. You know roughly how many loads of laundry you do each day, you have an idea of how you want your home to look and what it is going to take to get it there.


The key here is getting those ideas,thoughts,wants and needs down on paper and organized so that it can become a working plan. Something that is easy for you to follow and something that will help make your life a little easier. Making the schedule is one part the hard part comes when you have to start going by your schedule but soon you will a flow and what was a bit overwhelming for you at first will become second nature.


Ok so now onto today's lesson........


 How many rooms do you have in your home? Don't forget the porches,decks and entry ways,ect. All these even though they may not be something you would consider putting on your schedule please do so. They are a part of your home and need attention to. Not only do you want these to look nice and welcome to friends and family and any other visitor you may have but also for you. Here's your assignment for today.


Get a notebook and pencil (no pens),write down the rooms of your home one per piece of paper. You can group together the bedrooms and bathrooms.


Tomorrow I will go into more detail of what to do with these pages.


Until then,


HappyHomemaking 


Make your own cleaning routine part 2

Wednesday at my house

Carissa is working quietly on her math, I have a load of laundry going and thought it was a nice time to sit down and do my daily blog post.

 We have had a nasty virus and cold running through our house. I am still getting over it and still congested. Jason is sick and now Carissa is catching it. I am running around cleaning trying my hardest to get the house virus free and cold free. I am constantly wiping of things and spraying things. I still need to strip the beds and wash all of the bedding, I'm hoping that helps tremendously,we shall see.

Our suv is down yet again and John has work to on it.

But on the bright side at least he can fix it so that will save us a lot of money. I went through my coupons and found a couple of cold medicine coupons for 1.00 off,so I clipped them and soon will be heading out to get some more,as we have used up most of ours. Well my time is up Carissa is calling for my help.

Happy Homemaking

About me

Hello my name is Tammy and I am momma to 3 great children. And wife to my high school sweetheart,the love of my life and my best friend. I am a born again christian and active in our church. I have always felt it to be my calling from God to be home with my family. To care for them and for my home.

I know that is not the norm in today's society. I can't tell you how many times I have heard the phrase "It takes both parents working to make it in today's world",well I am here to tell you that,that is not true. You can choose to stay at home and care for your family and home. I am not perfect by any means have made a truck load of mistakes and have picked myself up and brushed myself off and got back on track. It's human to make mistakes but it's smart to learn from your mistakes. So when you hit a bump in the road don't beat yourself up,get back on track while learning from your mistake.

There are many aspects to homemaking. Cooking,cleaning,caring for our children,budgeting,
shopping,decorating,gardening,baking,entertaining and caring for the needs of our husbands. So to put the term homemaking into one category would be demeaning.

 How you look at your decision to be at home also effects how you do your job. When I first started staying home, I was a little bitter and jealous of my working friends. I would see they had money,things and independent and I felt like I didn't. But once I started praying about it,God opened my eyes to my true calling. To raise my children and keep and healthy happy marriage. Once I started looking at being a homemaker more than just a name and let myself really start to love what I am doing then the blessings started rolling in.

It's my hope to share with you things I have learned and hopefully learn some new things from you. To show you that it's possible to be a homemaker and live on one income in a two income world. To be a blessing to your family and embrace your calling.


Happy Homemaking

New home New Start

After search and searching the net for a place to put my blog I couldn't find one that had all that I was looking for. Sooooo I decided to keep it here but the problem was that Blessings Abundant ran into some problems,things that were on my blog I couldn't remove no matter what I tried. Believe the decision to open a new blog didn't come lightly. I just seen no other way.


 Thanks for you patience and support.

Happy Homemaking