Little Guy Enjoying a Bath

He loves the water!

Little Guy enjoying a bath

He loves the water!

Yumm!

This mornings coffee cake.

Cage-free farm fresh eggs from Uncle Buddies chickens. No antibiotics or hormones and free! The basket was full a couple days ago. Now if I could just find a free source of gasoline!

My little guy has graduated to big boy hot cereal. MMMM...cream of wheat with beaten eggs cooked into the cereal. Quick, easy, healthy & delicious!

And isn't he doing a great job feeding himself? You should have seen him when he was finished eating. What a mess!

No new pictures! I'm so sad.

My wonderfully talented dd1 has misplaced my camera. So I can't take any new pictures for now. I'm so disappointed. Oh well, I guess that gives me more time for homeschooling, sewing, embroidery and knitting. Hurray! Chiropractor has given me the go ahead to start knitting again!!! It's been over 2 months (or is it 3?) I think it's been 2 months since I knit a preemie hat for my niece and another month or 2 before that since I had knit anything. I miss it so much! I will have to post pics after I knit something. That is, as soon as I find my camera.

I forgot about the bandanas for 10 cents each and the necklace dd4 got for 10 cents. It's the blue beaded one on the bottom. So my corrected grand total for the week is $22.84.

Simplifying and Staying Focused

I seriously need to learn some budgeting skills! I am so bad at budgeting my time and my money. I am planning (or at least trying to plan) a schedule that will bring some semblance of order to our lives and allow time for all the things that I need and want to accomplish. I can't decide if I should plan a weekly rotation, daily rotation or what? Here is my to do list:

homeschool
cooking
cleaning
household organizing
sewing & crafts
blogging & other computer stuff
dr's appointments & field trips
grocery shopping & other errands
thrift shopping & yard sales

So how do I organize it all? I am reading tips on scheduling over at http://oldfashionedhomemaking.com/
I am particularly focusing on this post right now http://oldfashionedhomemaking.com/2006/08/23/simplifying-your-life-with-unique-scheduling.aspx
Now I just have to decide which option works best for us. This is the hardest part for me I think. Argh! If I could just pick one already and then stick to it! Ask me where some of my kids get their ADD tendencies from?

Thrift Store Bargains.

I found this craft book at Goodwill for $1 and the zippers and embroidery floss at another local thrift store. The zippers were 25 cents each and the embroidery floss was 10 cents each. I bought all 6 zippers and all 6 embroidery floss. Total cost was $3.10. So that brings this weeks grand total to $22.24. Wow! That seems way too high but it's still a bargain when you consider the cost if I had purchased new full priced items.

Merino wool sweaters for $3.99 at Goodwill. And they're striped, too. I can't wait to felt them and make longies for my sleeping beauty.






Wow! All this yard sale and thrift store shopping has just worn him out.

More Yard Sale Treasures

I love this cute little shelf. I was hesitant to spend $2 on 1 item at a yard sale but it was in good condition and I really liked it. Plus, I was planning to get another shelf soon anyway.





The books were only 60 cents total. So altogether $15.15 this week, I think.

Awesome yard sale finds

Look! I got the Melissa & Doug wooden tool box toy for 25 cents! The stacking/nesting cubes were $2 but I really liked the art work and they would probably cost $10 new. Plus they are in perfect condition. The tool box is missing a few key components, namely the hammer but we already have one at home so it didn't really matter. Plus, at fifteen months old my little guy has just as much fun dumping & refilling the box anyway.






I love this beaded necklace with the butterfly's but when I tried it on I discovered that it is a choker so it will be a gift for someone. I can't stand to have anything remotely constricting around my neck. I don't even wear turtlenecks. The bright and colorful beads are a bracelet and the loose beads were a bracelet. They only cost 10 cents each so I wasn't too upset when the elastic broke. We will recycle the beads for a craft project, probably the denim purses the girls and I are working on.






These are my absolute favorite yard sale find this week! I suppose they were a bit pricey for a yard sale but I am so happy with them. I just love the vintage look they have. And the set of stoneware crocks I got for a $1. It is actually a dip cooler. You put ice in the bottom of the tall one and dip in the little one. Then the little one fits in the top of the taller one. I like it as a utensil crock for now.










This pillow and small quilt were 50 cents each. So my total was $12.55 How on earth does one stick to a $5 per week budget for thrift stores and yard sales?

New Craft Books

These are my new craft books. They just got here so I haven't had time to actually use them yet but I've been enjoying browsing through them.