What is a Thrifty Homemaker?

I renamed the blog and some of you might wonder why, although the name can give you hints.

Like many people, Andrew and I live paycheck to paycheck. While it is fairly common, it is also quite difficult. Andrew is having a harder time adjusting because he is so used to have smaller bills and extra left, while I am very used to not having extra to spend on haircuts, video games, or anything else.

Thats where the thrifty homemaker comes into play. I am still learning. Andrew works hard for his money and I do too. Stretching our dollars is sooooo important! One of the easiest places that a homemaker can stretch the budget is the grocery bill. If you pay attention like I do, you will notice that the grocery prices lately are rising and it is quite sad. When you pair the higher grocery prices, to lower coupon prices and stricter coupon rules in most stores (Thanks Extreme Couponing!!), it makes it even harder to keep the grocery bill down.


Part of my goal for this blog is now to start blogging about thrifty meals and recipes. Another great way to stretch the grocery budget is to cook from scratch. This is because a pantry full of the basics can make so many amazing things. The sky is the limit.

Remember: Almost anything you can buy in the stores, you can create at home.

The key is figuring out the price to make vs the price to buy. Some people completely don't care about the price to make because they are in it to make sure that their families don't eat the chemicals and that is totally respectable. I try to be the same way, but it doesn't always happen!

Another way to save money is canning! I am so happy to say that I am a beginner in the canning world. I can't wait to start sharing my recipes and experiences with everyone. When canning is going to come into huge play will be next summer when Andrew and I plant our first garden.

Thriftiness is learning how to stretch the budget, but still providing your family with wonderful meals, a beautiful home, and a great life.

I have so many ideas to blog about and I can't wait to show you what goes on in this little mind of mine!

New Blog Name!

Isn't she just getting so big? Its amazing to think that on the 28th of this month, my baby girl will be 16 months old! Holy cow, does time fly!

As some of you will be able to tell, I changed the name of the blog. Why? Because my life has changed, a complete 180 turn, in the better direction. Now, I am beginning the adventure of single motherhood. I think it is going to be wild - just me and my girl, who has a wild soul.

These last few months have been difficult for me, but I never forget that this is also difficult on Caelyn. She is too young to understand why Daddy isn't living at the house and why she doesn't see him everyday. She does understand that she misses him and that she doesn't see him nearly as much as she wants to or as much as I want her to. He is living his own life now and there is no reasoning with him. I wish I could know how she feels. Some days, when she can't stop whining all day and she is desperate for my attention, I wonder if it is her acting out because of how much she misses her father. It is painful for me, but I realize that it will get better. Most days, I don't think she notices.

Summer is here and I have until the end of August to focus on regaining my life. I hope to move soon - out of this home that is where we began our family - and I also can barely afford to live here. I am learning how to pinch pennies because I have to, no longer because I want to. It is a necessity.

My grandfather told me when all of this began that he believed that great things laid ahead of me, and I hold onto that.

I am glad to be back to blogging. It is the perfect outlet for right now. I am very excited for the Flats Challenge happening next week as well! I am looking forward to Saturday - I don't work AND it is finally supposed to stop raining! Caelyn and I are going stir-crazy because of all of this rain! We need some fresh air and sun, especially me because I look like a ghost. My kiddo was lucky because she inherited her father's awesome olive complexion. Girl looks tan all year round.

I hope the weather is better wherever you are!

Baking and Baking

Well.. first, I'm sure to noticed my new little spiffy layout. Its cute, its simple. Whatever, I like it.
I also.. added a new facebook page! Woohoo. I decided that it was time.. Now, I must figure out how to set it all up. But, be a doll and go "like" my page. I have some grand plans for my facebook page and my followers on facebook for the next year! I need someplace also to list all of the yummy recipes I come across!

Ok, so enough with that boring stuff!

I started off the baking marathon. Christmas eve is on Friday! Holy cow!
I normally just don't bake, but with a baby.. come on, Santa needs cookies! So.. today, I baked zucchini bread. Oh man, it was so delicious! I am going to go buy another zucchini and bake one on Friday morning to bring to my aunt's house that night.

I also made oatmeal raisins, but they turned out to be terrible. I have no idea what happened. The batter was oh-so-delicious, but the end result wasn't so good.
I made great sugar cookies! They were so yummy!
And.. I made some glazed cookies, but the icing didn't turn out well thanks to Betty Crocker. Apparently, I had to buy a tip for her bagged icing and didn't. So, not all got iced, but whatever, I tried and they were really really fun to make!
I have to give proper credit where it is due. I can't take credit for these amazing creations.
The idea is of course... The Pioneer Woman! Man, I just love Ree and her creations. It is ingenius and honestly, I can see myself making these on Valentines Day.. Easter.. Every holiday imaginable! All you need is cut outs and you can make these for any holiday or event.

This is from the page with her recipe, but come on, look how awesome they are!

Warning though, the painting with the glaze is time consuming, but its still fun!

Whats your favorite cookie to bake during Christmas?

Benefits of Blogging

I was sitting here at my computer wondering.. what in the world am I going to blog about? Do you ever just have those moments of like "writers block?" I do! They drive me insane. Then.. I began to think.. why do I blog anyway? That just opened a whirlwind in my mind!

I love blogging, just simply for what it is. I love writing out my feelings and being able to say what I want, without having to censor myself because I feel like.. if you, as a reader, don't like what I have to say, then you can exit the page and go find another blog. Thats pretty simple. I tried the whole diary thing, but I always gave up.. I think it was that my hand began to hurt after writing everything I wanted to say. So.. I would do.. like a week when I would diary everyday.. then a month when I never touched it!

I don't think I've missed days like that with blogging.

I love to read everyone elses' blogs. I love to read what you all are going through in your lives - its like we open a part of ourselves to pure strangers and that, in itself, is beautiful.

I opened up that I have PPD and I have received beautiful comments and words of encouragement and I like to do the same for others. We are a community of mothers, and some fathers, that support each other without knowing each other IRL. That, my friends, is something that is truly touching.

Blogging has opened a side of myself I don't think I would have ever found without this - my natural parenting side. Without everyone's support I don't think I would have done cloth diapering. My blog friends provided me with a lot of information that helped and I'm soooo glad I made the decision.

I could continue for pages about why I love blogging, but why do you love to blog?

Blogging + Mommyhood

I love to blog and I love to read blogs. Not only have I found support from women I don't even know IRL, but I enjoy posting blogs for you all to read. I hope maybe you will find something you like, even if it is something to cook for dinner or something you can relate to. That definitely warms up my day when I read your thoughtful comments!

That being said, being a Mommy is hard work and I find sometimes I barely have time everyday to read blogs let alone to type out posts. But, I want to blog - after all, this is going to all be printed out and made into yearly family books, with all of our adventures as a family and personal adventures and learning experiences.
So, whats a Mommy to do?

Thank God for the option to schedule posts!

This blog was actually written on May 3rd, at 11:30 PM. Yup, but you won't read this until May 11th! I generally have up to a week written. This is how I put on recipes and such. This way if I don't have time to post something, one still goes up. I can take the time to read all of yours and leave some comments!
If there are two blogs in a day, it is because I had something else I wanted to put up that happened that day! Otherwise, they are about family and motherhood that doesn't have to go up the day I did it! Also, another reason I schedule is maybe I posted two posts that day and I don't want to put up too many in one day.. so I write it out and schedule it. If i wait until tomorrow? My idea will be gone, definitely!



This is how I balance mommyhood and blogging. How do you do it?

Changes Coming

Well, my dear friends, you will see some changes to my blog, if you haven't already noticed.

I have opened a new page up at the top under "recipes" this link will bring you to a page that is all of my recipes. So, if you are in search of anything yummy to make for dinner, or just want to try something different, search there! I will still continue to post recipes on my main page, with a link to the other page!

Also, soon to come to a town near you.. haha I've always wanted to say that.. on the recipe page, there will SOON be a page on top for "Baby" within this lovely page, you will find a HUGE amount of baby food recipes! I know many mommas out there are making their baby food also, sooooo kuddos to you all! Within this page, I will list all of my yummy baby food recipes!

I am sure there will be more changes to come, but these are the two big ones. I want to expand my blog, but most importantly for myself, I want to document a lot. In a year, on March 30, 2011, I am going to print out my entire blog. I want to have our whole first year, almost, with Caelyn documented along with the recipes that our family loves!

I hope for you all to see some new things coming, possibly some reviews!

My First Award!

I received my first award, well awards! I received my award from...

Hello Sneakers, Goodbye Heels

and

Mommy in the Making

Thank you ladies! You both are awesome bloggers yourselves =)

So, now I get to share 10 random facts about myself to you and then pass this along to 10 of my favorite bloggers!

1. I hateeeeee my feet, in fact, I hate all feet. They plain gross me out.

2. I'm trying to go green, well I am starting to

3. I can spend hours online looking up recipes. Robert thinks I'm insane.

4. I have a fear that my house will burn down because I did not turn my straightener off or any hot item - when I leave I sometimes come back inside to make sure my oven and straightener are off.

5. I really wish that I was more crafty.

6. I love rap music -haha - I love to pretend I can sing it and dance around my house to it. I do like other music like country and rock.

7. I am secretly really afraid that the world will end in 2012 and I will never see my baby grow up

8. I hate almost every kind of vegetable minus corn and even that I will only eat on a rare occassion

9. I love to clean my kitchen, I get satisfication from walking into a sparkling clean kitchen

10. I love history but suck at math so bad!



Now, I'm going to pass this on to 10 of my favorite blogs!

http://breastfeedingmomma.blogspot.com/
http://www.hormonal-imbalances.com/
http://justanightowl.com/
http://goodsonfamilyjourney.blogspot.com/
http://thebusybudgetingmama.blogspot.com/
http://www.mamanotes.com/
http://www.carissagraham.com/
http://365daysofbeing30andamommy.blogspot.com/
http://www.back2basicsblog.com/
http://ashleyrussell726.blogspot.com/

Interview for Followers

I have an idea for my followers. We all want more people to view our blogs - myself included, especially since I am just starting up.
If any of my followers are interested, I would love to do "interviews" the only requirement is that in one of your posts you put the link to our interview on my blog. This brings your followers to me and my followers to you!
If you are interested, please leave a comment with your email address. I will email you questions and you can email me back the answers. It will be up right after I receive the email.
I think this is a fun idea for me to get to know you guys andddddd bring more people to see what you are all about!

The Reason For This

For awhile now, I have been blogging obsessed. Every evening, I take time and read my favorite blogs and search for new coupons. Sadly enough, it tends to be the only time that I have to focus on something that is solely for me. The rest of my day is spent either going to classes or spending time with my lovely daughter, Caelyn. Not that I mind any of this, in fact, if I could, I would probably spend all of my time with Caelyn. But, thats probably not a good thing for either of us.
Anyway, I finally decided that I needed a blog too. Not only because I love to write, but also because it really is the perfect way to document my life.
So, I hope if you are reading this, you will enjoy reading.