Random...

Lizzie has not had her baby or babies yet! I don't have to go back to the chiropractor for a week but am wondering a bit at how I'll do. It still feels so stiff. I need to walk and of course it's 6 p.m windy and a bit chilly and I'm making lentil soup for supper which I could walk away from at this point. It's about the easiest soup I've ever made. I just boiled the ham bone from Easter, added three cans diced tomatoes, two onions, salt, basil, garlic, and a good scoop of lentils, and about 12 cut up carrots. Kevin and a couple kids will really like it. I on the other hand and the rest of the kids will be eating pb and j or something. I will eat some of it :)

Caleb's bike is missing. The kids have searched our whole place for it. I have searched the whole place for it. It was taken out of our yard either Easter Sunday while we were at my mom's for dinner or in the middle of the night. The kids think they had it Monday afternoon, they are positive so that rules out Sunday. It was missing Tuesday sometime so that leaves someone taking Monday night or Tuesday during the day and we were home! I'm frustrated and a little worried. I looked outside last night before I went to bed half expecting someone to be walking around out there. The good thing is most of the stuff we have outside is junk! We've had most things a few years and wear them out well; like the wagons, wheelbarrows, etc. They didn't come in the house or garage as far as we can tell. Again, unless they take my new stainless steel spoons and other new things there isn't much. Caleb's bike was the nicest thing outside that we owned and someone had given it to us last summer and it was real nice. Most of the kids don't have bikes anymore and some have wheels missing so no surprise but it does surprise me. Was someone just driving around and randomly picking places or did they stake us out? We are pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I feel a bit vulnerable for that. We are going to report it just in case other people are having things taken too and then the police can see if there is a pattern here.

Most thieves on shows steal your TV. Well, they can try. It broke this week. It's just that time for us that everything old must go. It isn't even that old. My mom and dad gave it to us for Christmas one year maybe 6-7 years ago. It had a DVD player and VHS in it. It was great for us. We didn't have the box so we couldn't watch any outside TV on it. We could only watch our own movies on it. We used it mostly for school and Friday movie night. It's a bummer to lose the bike and TV in the same week. The plus for the TV is that it is summer soon and we don't hardly have time to watch it but the downside for the bike is that it is summer soon and it would be nice to have. I'll find him another one but what's going on in this world today. What's mine is yours????

Baby goats...

Here are Jane's twins. She gave us twins last year. A lovely surprise when someone went outside yesterday.
Here is Georgiana's baby born today. She had only one. She did not have a baby last year so hasn't been milked in a long while. We won't milk them for awhile to let the babies get strong. It will be hard to wait. We have been without milk, yogurt, etc. since the first week in March.

Now Lizzie needs to have her baby(ies) tomorrow and it will be complete. We are praying for 2-3 baby girls. These are all boys and we are hoping to get a bigger milk herd.

Out with the old and in with the new...

We ended up getting a few things with part of our tax return. We paid off debt mostly but left some to get some tools for our jobs around the house; much used and needed tools.

My eclectic collection of measuring spoons. I have 3 Tablespoon Spoons here, a broken 1 tsp, a 1/2 tsp, 1/8 and a 1/4th. While they all work just fine and I cook mostly by pinches and such it will be nice to have a new set. The stainless steel ones are actually Jordan's. One got into the garbage disposal so that's why it is broken. When we are baking or cooking a meal we can go through quite a few measuring spoons so having more than one of something is handy when using oil and then a powder.

I am getting into stainless steel so I got some new stainless steel measuring spoons. They are sturdy and don't seem like they could come apart like the other ones, all one piece construction. They are beautiful and long! I used them for measuring oregano tonight and they fit nearly all the way into my tall container.

Here again is my eclectic collection of measuring cups. I have two sets. I think the Tupperware set was from when we got married and the 1 cup is broken and we have it taped together and we are missing the 3/4 cup which maybe isn't used much. The other set only has two left and the 1/2 cup (which is used all the time) is cracked all the way across the bottom. Again, we use a couple of each while cooking or baking so it is nice to have extras.

My new stainless steel set. It even has an 1/8 cup and my missing 3/4 cup.

This is my new blender. I didn't get a pic of my old one. It was cracked and leaking all over whenever I used it. I researched a few weeks to pick out the Oster Beehive. You can put a regular mouth canning jar on it and use it that way. It has a glass pitcher and all metal drive. I can't wait to make goat milk yogurt smoothies with strawberries from the garden. I've also wanted to make home made mayonnaise and need a blender to do it.
My old iron. I think Kevin had it before we got married. I can't quite remember, but I'm sure I didn't buy it since. So, it is over 20 years old. It quit heating up. It was sporadic and difficult to do last minute touch-ups as you are running out the door because you are already late!

My new Rowenta! I also researched this and it is also a steam iron, meaning you can steam drapes, dresses, etc. with it by holding it upright like in the picture. It is also a self-cleaning iron, never heard of such a thing. We have used it a few times now. It's nice to have things that work.

We got a new 12 quart stock pot too with pasta insert and steamer basket. Both of my stockpots are only a thin layer and have scorched so many times that they start to scorch earlier and earlier in the cooking process. At first we didn't mind the taste so much but after opening jar after jar of scorched tasting home canned veggie soup we would like to start the canning season with something new. I am going to baby it and make sure it stays nice and clean. It has an encapsulated aluminum ring in between two layers of stainless steel and seems much sturdier than my other ones. It seems all the stuff from when we got married is breaking down. It's hard to spend the money like this but it is also nice to have the proper tools for what we do.

Not so extreme couponing...

I was at my mom's yesterday and she taped a show for me to watch on Extreme Couponing! Wow! My couponing today was not so great as some of theirs. I definitely don't have 60 hours to devote to it like one woman did but she got something like $1200 worth of stuff in one shopping trip for $51 or something like that. I can't remember the exact amounts but that's close. I probably spent $51 today and got about $200 worth. I would love to do more than what I am doing but I live so far from the stores that I can't get there for the weekly deals so I have to be content to do what I can. Plus, some of their purchases are ridiculous. She had 55 years of body wash stocked up and lifetime supplies of other things. You don't need to turn every room of your house into stockpiles for things you may never live to use. It seems a waste of your time and space to do that. She didn't have much of a life outside of couponing. It was a bit of an addiction. I would be content for a year's worth of things at a time. Anything more would be a burden on our household for storage and trying to live a normal life! Whether you eat or whether you drink, whatever you do, do all for the glory of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 OK, so the chips want to be on their side. I got them for $1 a bag! Hornbacher's doubles $0.55 coupons up to $1.

A pretty good deal at CVS pharmacy and Walgreens! If you try the Nexcare bandages they send you back the money you paid on them per style of bandage! I paid $2.99 each and the rebate will come $2.99 X 3. Plus I had $0.55 off each one in a coupon but the rebate will still be the full price so I made $1.65 on this. The Always were a good deal for $6.99, I had a $2 off coupon and they gave me $2 in Extra Care Bucks. I turned around and bought an Infusium Detangler for $4.99 with a $2 coupon and the $2 extra care bucks it was $0.99 (Rebekah recommended I get this one, she has horribly tangly hair). The gum was $0.25 a pack and the toothbrushes were $0.79 each after coupons. I think I got the $2 off 2 Reach toothbrushes on Target or coupons.com if there are any other wanna-be couponers out there.

My really fun Target run. You can do this too or some of it. I got 2 coupons on Target.com for $1 off two greenworks products. Well, today and for awhile longer they have buy 3 cleaning products and get a dishsoap free. I has the $2 off and they were about $5 for all 4. They paid me 3 cents for the floss. They paid me 99 cents for the Carefree (this coupon was in my Sunday paper insert; Target coupon getting them for 1 cent and then a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off), they smell and I don't like them so I'll give them away but they made me money that went off the rest of my receipt so they were worth the time! Right now lightbulbs are on sale for $2.50 a four pack and Target.com has $1.50 off. The Nivea bodywash was $3.04 and I had $3 off each one!!!! Two of them have no dyes in them. Kandoo flushable wipes were $1.42 and I had $1 off. I got hamburger juice all over my arm and thankfully had these wipes in the van. Razors are always easy to find a deal on. The Bic Flex 4 were on sale for $4.99 and I had $3 off each one. You can buy these on ebay (I didn't, got them in my paper again). Coupons.com has $3 off some games. You can use the connect 4 coupon off the travel size and get them for $1.99 (gift idea or AWANA store). The Revlon files for nails were $1.27 each and I had 2- $5 off two. I made $4.92 buying these! This total was $83 before coupons. After coupons it was almost $27. I hate buying anything anymore unless I have a coupon for it. Every item here had one coupon or two.

I went to Hornbacher's before we left town because they had Bird's Eye veggies for $0.68 per bag, limit 4. I had 5 coupons for $1 off 3 and asked the manager if she would let me buy 20 bags but in sets of 4. She agree this time although she said it isn't supposed to be allowed. Each bag ended up costing me $0.43 each! I think normal price is around $2!!! Great fun to have peas and broccoli in the freezer for awhile! I told her about my Target deal and she said that's nice but you probably got a bunch of stuff you won't use. I assured her that wasn't true as you can see from the above picture. You can buy these on ebay too although I didn't have to this time. Just check for the expiration dates before you commit to buy. You don't want them expiring before you get them.

Salve...

The salve I was making in the crockpot was ready to strain today. I used cheesecloth and am squeezing out every last drop. I then heated it on the stove with some beeswax to make the salve. You can leave it like this and use it as massage oil but that sounds oily and messy to me.

Here I poured it into these nifty tins that I got from Bulk Herb Store when I ordered the herb mixture. It should be kept cool and in a dark place. I like how these tins fit right in your hand.

Here is the finished product cooled off and ready to use. Kevin put some on his sore shoulder tonight. It is a muscle salve mix. I started the liver tonic from the herbs I bought from the same place. We had to go into a liquor store tonight and buy vodka for it. I started steeping the tonic when we got home from Church. It takes 3-4 weeks to steep this tonic. Liver tonic is useful for allergy issues, eczema and just overall health. I have a couple girls with eczema again and am hoping this will give them some relief.

Miscellany...

Lena loves to go outside right now. Here she is all dressed up in butterfly water boots, hat, coat and mittens which she takes off usually.
Jordan is holding Lane (new cousin/nephew born last Wednesday). He slept the whole day (Saturday) when we saw him.


Jordan performing in her trio at a hospital. It was her final Symphony performance :( We enjoyed all of the pieces played that day.

Kevin and I were just to the chiropractor again. My neck feels good and I can move it all around now and not feel like I have to hold it in place and baby it so much. I'm going to attempt to clean some in the basement today. We have graduation this year and I try not to let that unnerve me but there is so much I would like to do to get ready for it. We are not going to redo huge parts of the house although painting the outside of the house and new flooring would be my dream, it isn't going to happen so my house will be as it is only very clean (I hope). I have the little things to get ready; like putting pictures in a photo album for Jordan, decluttering and touch-up painting, cleaning out the garage and maybe painting the walls and floor. I had hoped to have a lot of this done during the winter but I decided school was top priority and it is so overwhelming. I do much better on small everyday chores or big outdoor projects. I just can't get rid of stuff. I have too many kids yet and something might get used and I do have the room to store it so why take the chance I have to buy it again. It just looks and feels cluttered! and that's what I can't stand!

I just received my order from Bulk Herb Store and I have Muscle Salve mix steeping in Almond Oil in a crockpot on my counter. I got it for Kevin and his shoulder issue. It is full of great stuff like peppermint, St. John's Wort and Comfrey and more. You steep it in a crockpot for 3 days on low in water, drain it, then melt beeswax with it to make a cream for soothing and healing muscles. One bag is a whole lot so if anyone else wants to try it they sure can. I am doing a small batch in a small jelly jar to see how it goes. Jordan has gotten a couple books from here and is studying herbs and how to make tinctures and creams out them. We ordered some herb seeds and she will grow some of her own this summer!

Shingles, peas and icy roads...

Isaac came down with a nasty case of shingles about a week ago. The rash started after a full day of playing outside so we didn't think much of it and we were leaving for the weekend the next day. It progressively spread and got more painful. It didn't itch as much as there was increasing pain. This picture shows part of it but it goes around to his back. In this picture the blisters are scabbed over and it doesn't look so inflamed but just 4 days ago it was bad for him. I was going to the chiropractor and he is also our expert on all ailments so I took Isaac with and Dr. S. knew what it was immediately by the path it followed along the nerves. He tested him and he is on drops for the virus causing this. We also checked out EarthClinic.com and found how others have dealt with it and after several applications of Apple Cider Vinegar and 4 days on the drops I am happy to say Isaac feels normal. The pain is gone and he can move and function normally. I know shingles can really affect your life and by the stories I read some people deal with them off and on for up to 20 years. Dr. S. said he'd treat Isaac for the next 4-6 months to make sure the virus is under control. Praise the Lord for the knowledge God gives!

Here is a picture of my new ice pack. I guess the trip down the water slide wasn't such a good idea for someone as out of shape as me! I had crunched my neck in the van the week before but when I tried to slow myself down on the water slide by putting my arm up I hit my elbow pretty hard and it compounded the neck injury I already had. I have been to the chiropractor three times this week and have to go next week too! It is progressively getting better but the pain and stiffness is still there. Dr. S. recommended peas because they are cheap and easy when you are out of your home and need to ice something. I love them because they move around my neck unlike the hard ice packs we have at home.

The first adjustment caused me to cry out and sob. I cried for about an hour. Moriah was worried because she hadn't seen me like that before. I have NEVER been in such pain in my life. I've been in two roll-overs (over 200 stitches once), gave birth 8 times and various other bangs and bruises but cannot recall this level of pain. Each time he adjusts me it gets easier to bear. Yesterday, Kevin went along to get an adjustment too and we drove on icy roads and blizzard conditions to get there but it was worth it just to have a little more range of motion. We saw many cars in the ditch and barely made it through the streets of Valley City for the slushy conditions. The people of that town are fighting flood waters and didn't need this hassle.

Thankfully we are on the mend and even though I could do without the disruptions to my week, I saw my older kids fill in the gap and help kids get their school done. Also, thankfully, we are almost done with school so a few unproductive days doesn't hurt right now. I have three kids done with math and 2 almost! Jordan got in some driving practice because she drove a couple times so there were some positives. Hopefully all your weeks were less eventful. Blessings!

Meet my new...

Nephew! His name is Lane Edward and he's only 3 hours old in this picture. My brother, his wife Chris, their kids; Levi, Hunter, Brayden and now Lane!

I got to hold him although I threatened to keep him if I got him in my arms.

He was so snuggled down in his blankets, everytime I tried to pull them away to get a good picture he cried so I'll post another picture after I get him at home.

Weekend get-a-way...

Rebekah and Moriah under the mushroom of water.

Rebekah coming down the water slide. The water park at our hotel.

We went to an Encouragement for the Home School Family Conference. We stayed at a hotel with a water park and the kids had a great time. We got there early Friday so they could swim and it was a good thing we got there when we did. We planned to stay two nights but there was a misunderstanding when I made the reservations. I thought we were getting a two room suite for a certain price and when we got there they had two two-room suites reserved for us because you are only allowed 6 people per 2 room suite. I have to say it was ridiculous. The room was huge!!!! We would have easily fit in the one suite but they would not bend and we had to pay for both but they did allow us to cancel the other night. It was a big disappointment because I made food for all our meals (crock pot meals) and had planned to spend last night swimming and just having a good time for two days.

The water slides were quite large and my kids just climbed the ladder and came down. I was amazed at how Gideon, Moriah and Rebekah went down them over and over. I was especially amazed after I went down the yellow one. I was terrified and do not plan to ever go down a water slide like that again!!!!!

The conference was wonderful and a huge encouragement to us all. Isaac said he wished he would have taken notes at the sessions he went to for young men. I pray my kids and husband and me remember what we learned and implement some changes to help our family become less "me" centered and more "Christ" centered. Check out their website at www.Titus2.com. They have some great materials. Kevin purchased some for our family to enjoy so as we finish each book or CD we could give a review of what we learned from it.

Swimsuit search...

We started the swimsuit search about a month ago. Jordan and Emily both needed a new one. So, we narrowed it down to two choices that the girls would even consider and this is what they have. You might think that THAT isn't a swimsuit, but it is a swimsuit. I bought the pattern from a company in Canada, and the material from ebay. The material is 4-way stretch lycra made especially for swimsuits. They feel like swimsuits. I started cutting out the patterns Monday night and Jordan started sewing Emily's yesterday and finished it today plus started her own today and finished about 10:30 tonight. She made the leggings for them too out of black lycra swimsuit material. I think they are beautiful. Jordan is so talented. She sews so well for someone who has a mother who cannot sew a thing! I'm in awe of her talent. This was her first sewing project following a pattern. She's always made up the pattern for her other projects. I picked out a blue pattern identical to Jordan's suit for myself. We may try to get it sewed up tomorrow. We have need of swimsuits Friday night so it's nice the girls have something now. I don't usually swim when we go somewhere because I haven't had a suit for a few years now. It might be fun if I got to jump in with the kids and I won't be worried about my swimsuit looking low or showing too much flab in one of these! They were so cost effective especially since we bought the pattern. I bought 2 patterns: one size XS, S, M, L, and XL all in one and one for girls size 8,10,12,14. I plan to have Jordan make Riah and Bekah suits too. The older girls suits were about $70-80 cheaper each than buying the suit already made from the website! We saved a lot making them ourselves and buying the material on ebay.

Last concert...

Sigh... I wish it weren't over. Symphony has been very enjoyable for me. The concert today was so good! I'm going to miss the concerts. (A big apology to my parents; I thought I had told them the date of the concert, well, I did in a Jan. email but I really thought I had mentioned it since.) Life is sometimes so busy!!!! This week was an especially busy one in school and in activities. And then Thursday I crunched my head getting in the van to put Lena in her seat and I spent Friday in quite a lot of pain. It crunched my neck real good. I couldn't get into a chiropractor so have had to live with it. I won't be in town until Thurs. I can't wait to get some relief!!!!! Needless to say, I'm not that great on communicating with people. I tend to put it off until later and then I remember at 11 p.m. or later! Can anyone relate? I'm notorious for waiting until the last minute. I sure wish I would have called to check if they had it written down. I made a big assumption! I added some pictures of the girls together and Jordan and her conductor and Emily sitting with her stand partner before the concert. Jordan does have her chamber concert April 14th at noon. She is in a trio and then another larger group. It will be so neat to see her play. She sat in the back this year and while the concerts are enjoyable we don't actually see Jordan playing the songs. April 14th for any who are interested. All I know is that it is at Sanford Health. We don't know where exactly yet but she has one practice before then so we'll find out then.

Coupon madness...

Well, not madness but it might look like that to some. I did some ebay shopping for coupons and found some great ones for Muir Glen Tomatoes ($1 off), Tom's of Maine ($2 off), Seventh Generation ($1 off) and Jimmy Dean Sausages ($1.50 off 2).

Forgive me for boring you. I am a detail person. Now, Newman's Own does have an organic line. These are not part of that. I emailed them and found out what is in each of their sauces looking for MSG and other additives. I couldn't find anything I didn't like except soybean oil (we avoid soybean oil, except for mayo right now). If you go to the website for Newman's own you can find some $0.50 off coupons for any product. I chose to buy the spaghetti sauce because we have been without it for so long. In one Walmart it is $1.88 and in another it is $2.97. I bought 7. It made it a little more affordable to have spaghetti. We ate it for supper last night and for lunch. The tea is only $2.28 a box but with my $1 off each one it makes it a real good deal. My kids really like to drink a cup of tea before bed or when they wake up.

This is my best deal I guess. There aren't many coupons for tomatoes out there so when I got a $1 off in my weekly papers I checked online and found some for sale on ebay. These cans are $1.38 each at Walmart. With the cost of coupons I spent $0.69 on each can. I bought 40 cans yesterday. About 2 weeks ago we used up our last jar of home canned stewed tomatoes so this was good timing. I use 4 quarts of tomatoes to make up chili so I will have to use 8 cans for one pot of chili. Again, my grocery budget doesn't allow for me to buy some things like this very often. I didn't get many tomatoes in my garden last year or else I wouldn't be buying them at all.

I bought 16 packages of Jimmy Dean natural sausage made without MSG or other additives. A local grocery store must have bought these and they didn't sell because they have had them for $2.99 each for several weeks now. I noticed the expiration date is use or freeze by Feb. 2011. Good news for me. I was able to secure 20 ($1.50) off 2 coupons for just $1.25 on ebay hoping to find these All-Natural ones. I was not able to find them in any other store. So, when I went to Econo last night for a package of hamburger I was pleasantly surprised to find them still in stock. I only used 8 coupons because you have to buy 2 for each coupon. I have 12 coupons left. It makes them $2.25 each and the regular sausage is over $4 for one!!!! Crazy! If they continue to have them each week I may buy a few more but I thought 16 was enough for now. My plan is to have them on hand for egg bake since we have chickens now that actually lay eggs :) With our family size we do have to make up two packages each time. It is a special treat because I cannot afford to make two pans of egg bake when it starts out over $8 just for the sausage. I also picked up some little smokies (all-beef, and no MSG). I am planning a cook-for-a-month in a day soon so needed these for a recipe for that. Plus, I had a coupon $1 off the Earthbound Organic lettuce that I got online somewhere!

Tom's of Maine stuff was $2 off each item. I stopped at Swanson's (local vitamin/nutritional store) and found floss for $2.39 (I got three, one already is in my room), 2 deodorants that were on sale (aluminum free), and fluoride free toothpaste. The toothpaste wasn't my first choice in flavor and other ingredients but it was cheap with the $2 off and fluoride free which is a big must for me. The bandaids were only 50 cents off but Target had them on sale for $1.88 and the razors were $2.94 at Walmart for 10 and $2.59 at Target. I got my feet wet buying one at Walmart and found them cheaper at Target. I had a coupon for $2 off each!!! Not a bad deal! The Seventh Generation products which Target carries were $1 off each with a bonus Target coupon for $1 more off. I like to stock up on these when I can get them for so cheap. I also got a fingernail clipper and a tweezer for free at Target again and when I paid the machine spit out two more coupons for $5 off two Revlon products. We'll see how many times I can get that coupon. See, fingernail clippers are only $2.24 and so was the tweezer so I made $0.54 on buying them.

In all yesterday, I spent about $139.00. I saved $92 in coupons which was more like $72 in savings since I had to buy some of the coupons. I did purchase a package of hamburger, two baby wipes containers, copy paper and plastic protector sheets, two packs of notecards, M&M's and crackers plus everything in the pictures. It took several trips to the van to carry it all in! Couponing for us seems to be a necessity. With the debt we incurred when Isaac was sick over 2 years we have to try to cut back so that we don't have to cut back! Does that make sense? We still want to live life. Someday we will be free from that debt-load and I pray our somewhat frugal living will be part of the reason why.