mom
Life as a mom of 4
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Our Christmas Decor
Let me preface by saying that our Christmas is not really anything fancy and extraordinary. I would describe it as minimal and homey. Most of it has been accumulated over the past few years and I usually add one or those things each year. Last Friday I shared my Nativity scenes so they will not be included in this post. I did decide that I would like to start collecting the pieces of the Willow Tree nativity over the next few years so I am hoping to see if it goes on sale after Christmas to buy my first pieces. The front door decor is simple and understated: a silver…
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Nativity Scenes
Today, I thought that I would share my Nativity scenes with you. I like to put them up at the same time as the rest of my Christmas decor so the boys remember the real reason for this time of celebration. Italy This is my oldest nativity scene. When my son was 16 months old, we traveled to Italy during the Christmas break to visit my younger brother who lived in Rome at the time. It was fun celebrating Christmas in Italy and we had many fun adventures. I found this small clay nativity scene in a village. The star came off last year and I glued it back on.…
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November favorites
Just a reminder that there will be no posts next week! As I write this I am praying my children will not bring any germs home these last 2 days of school before the break! Today, I am sharing some of my favorites for this month of November. It has been a busy month it seems with some outings, family times with the sisters in law and a little bit of shopping. Afternoon outside time If the day is not too cold nor rainy we have spent at least an hour outside in the afternoon. The children play on their scooters or bikes, throw the wifffle ball around or play…
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Friday Ramblings
Today, I am sharing a mish mash of some of my recent thoughts. Budget by Paycheck Workbook My friend tuned me in to the Budget Mom when she tagged me in a giveaway and I am hooked! I always have enjoyed working with my budget to find ways to save but go back and forth with really keeping track of where my money goes. The workbook/planner helps you budget by your paycheck whether that is once a week, biweekly or monthly. By keeping track of where your money goes, you can make adjustements to your categories, assign money to savings or to your debt. Thankfully the only debt we have…
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Friday Favorites
Well, after about 30 days of no shopping, Amazon called my name and I purchased two sweaters this week. I have been bookmarking different sweaters and cardigans in my Amazon shopping cart this past month to purchase in November since that is what I could use more in my closet. I am trying to be more thoughful with my purchases and not buying just to buy. What will I wear? What is a good value? While we just paid off my van, I had to replace the windshield this week and next week, I need to replace the brakes so I need to watch the 1 click feature on Amazon.…
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Fall decor on a budget
Since I am trying to be thrifty this fall, especially for this month of October, I decided to see what I could do to add a little to my fall decor to welcome fall in. I started with the items I already had. My little Target bird and my letter board adorn my mantle. I know sand and seashells are not fall decor but sorry, not sorry, they are a sweet reminder of our summer trip to Spain and France this summer. My buffet table behind the couch displays this fall sign I found last year at Hobby Lobby and a few pumpkins from Target dollar spot (also old). I…
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A day in my life
I always find it interesting to get a glimpse of other people’s life. What do we have in common, what do we do differently? So today I am sharing a typical day in my life. As with travel, vacations and budget, I do like to be organized in my day to day life, so every evening I list what I would like to accomplish the following day such as errands, appointments (we do not have many of those), chores, blog related things as well as foods to make (snacks and dinner). 6:00 Wake up, prep boy #2 and 3 lunches 6:20 Get boy #2 and 3 up, breakfast and to…
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River rafting
One of the things I wanted to do before the weather turns cold is go down the Etowah river with my family. We usually do it a few times a year since one of the drop offs is down the road from our house and it is a fun, free afternoon activity to do as a family. The adventure is a little different every time even though we always do the same stretch of the river. We bought 2 Seahawk 4 rafts last summer on Amazon and haved used them probably 10 times now. It looks like they have gone up in price but we purchased them for $80 each.…
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No spend month: how to be successful
You often see bloggers or Instagrammers mentioning they are doing a no spend or no shopping month. It probably means something slightly different for each individual but this is what it means for me. Mireille’s no spend month Refrain from spending UNECESSARY money: no clothes shopping no fun Amazon shopping no new decor Be thrifty: create budget meals and menu eat in (we actually barely ever eat out unless we are on vacation) make snacks as much as possible Being successful I like to be accountable so I downloaded a calendar app so I can track my spend/no spend days Look at your calendar: what is coming up? Plan accordingly!…
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Lower your bills
After the unhappy surprise of a high water bill (which seems to have been resolved), I was reminded about the need to pay attention to our monthly bills. There are certain things that you can do to lower your utility bills and other bills associated with owning a house. These tips to not including expensive updates to your house such as new insulation, new windows or new AC units which of course can make your house more energy efficient but are costly on the upfront. Trash Depending where you live, you may be able to choose your trash service. That was the case in our old neighborhood: there were 3…