mom

Life as a mom of 4

  • mom

    Spring and summer decor

    About a month ago, my husband received a giftcard from a customer and I put that giftcard right to work. I headed to Ross and updated my non existent Spring decor. The first thing I wanted were some new throw pillows for the couch. I selected two gray ones that will  work for other seasons and chose a large yellow throw pillow too. I had found another smaller yellow pillow on clearance at Walmart earlier that week so it was perfect! Next I needed a few things to add to the mantle and table behind the couch: I like the sunshiny color of these fake tulips and the little sign…

  • budgeting,  mom

    How to make budgeting work for you

    Different families have different circumstances, budgets and priorities. While my husband works full time, my main job right now is to makes our household run smoothly, take care of our 4 children and stay on budget. In the past 10+ years since working full time, I have helped bring income in by working part time as a preschool teacher, babysat my old coworker and friend’s children and neighbor’s child and tutored Spanish. With a 18 month old, my focus has been to get him on a schedule and I will probably return to tutoring in the evenings this fall. While the following tips and ideas are not by any means…

  • mom

    April Sentence a Day

    4/1 We went shopping downtown (I found a scarf and two purses), had lunch then went hiking with my sister in law and her 2 children. 4/2 We planted some sunflower seeds, a couple tomato plants and some zinnias. 4/3 Had fun at Lakepoint station with the boys. 4/4 and 4/5 Sleepover at one of my best friend’s house. My oldest son has been friends with her son since they were 4. We went on a mural hunt in Athens, GA. 4/6 Nearing the end of our spring break. We walked around downtown for our little town’s BBQ and Brews festival. The boys had Kona Ice and their faces painted.…

  • mom

    Our Pascha basket

    As Orthodox christians the date for Easter (or Pascha) sometimes coincides with western Easter but sometimes it is a week or so later. The date for Pascha is determined as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the spring equinox. This was established in 325 A.D.,  by the Council of Nicaea. This year Pascha or Orthodox Easter falls on April 28. We usually have our Pascha baskets blessed after the night liturgy. This is our Pascha basket this year. Traditionnally, you will place items that you fasted from through lent such as cheese, meats and special sweets. This time, I…

  • mom

    Literacy magnet letters center

    I remember a parent asking me one year at the beginning of the school year how many years I had taught and how many children I had. I guess she was concerned about my youth and wanted to make sure I was the right teacher for her son. While I have not been in the classroom for years now, I do have 6 years of experience in at the elementary level and also taught at the preschool level. I used the following literacy center with my third graders but also with 4 year old too, just using it for different activities. Storage Storage is important: you want your child to…

  • mom

    Favorite board games

    I grew up playing board games with my brothers. I remember playing Monopoly and if I didn’t get Board Walk I would give up! We played Scrabble, Mille Bornes, the Game of Life and a few more games. Once of my favorite games that I wish I could find was a game that had you touring France following different routes: I am hoping to find the game for sale somewhere on my trip but as of right now I don’t see it anywhere for sale. Since I try to limit screen time for my children, when they are not playing outside or reading, I encourage them to play board games.…

  • mom

    Linking up with Sentence a Day

    You can link up and join on Foxy’s Domestic Side as well as others! March 2019 3/1 Been making it to the gym 4-5 times a week, yay! 3/2 Tackling a bit project: the garage! 3/3 Garage makeover finished 3/6 BLOG WENT LIVE! 3/7 1st soccer game for N (5 years old). I am the coach for his team. Lots of fun! 3/8 My oldest was invited to his first middle school party at the roller skating rink. Fun and bruises! 3/9 J. scored 2 goals in soccer. Hubby cleaned a tub of junk in garage and we ended up with $80 in Home Depot store credit for unopened items.…

  • mom

    Investing in experiences

    While buying a new gaming system might sound like fun to your children, treating them to experiencing different things as a family will help build relationships and lasting memories. And it will probably be easier on your wallet too! We do have an old wii sytem that was given to us and the children do get limited time playing on it (we try to limit screen time to 45 min or so a day not including tv time which depends on the day). During weekends and school breaks we like to have some family fun. There might be an initial money investment but in the long run, it is money…

  • budgeting,  mom

    Why I changed the way I grocery shop

    About a year or so  ago, I changed the way I go about making a grocery list. While sticking to a monthly grocery budget (I strive for about $520 a month including our toiletries and paper items), I changed the way I planned my menu and wrote my grocery list. I used to just write my menu then list the ingredients I needed for these meals on my list and then shop typically at Walmart and Aldi. When we moved to a new town, I finally discovered why so many people enjoy shopping at Kroger. While I still do the majority of my shopping at Aldi, these are the steps…

  • budgeting,  mom

    Dining on steak on a budget

    My husband and I love our ribeye steaks. When asked to choose a steak, we will ideally choose a ribeye every time, medium rare. But ribeye steaks are definitely not something too friendly on our budget. A few years ago, the hubby came home with some chuck eye steaks and I was sold! Chuck eye steaks have a very similar taste to ribeyes but the cost per pound is a lot less. We usually can find them for around $6-7/lb versus $13-14/lb for ribeye steaks. Since they can usually only cut two chuck eye steaks from a cow, you may not find many on the beef shelf at the grocery…