Thrift

January 13, 2013

Today is the thirteenth. I love that number. I was born on a 13 and so was my second boy! It's always been super lucky for me so No fear there at all.

I  went grocery shopping in under an hour (it was crazy in Market Basket)My family will eat this week 3 meals and 2 snacks each day for under 100$. I spent my day setting things up for the week. I baked a bunch of stuff for Sammy's snacks for the week.  I packaged my Bone broth I made in gallon freezer bags (with help from AJ). I made dinner. I made a menu. I am so glad that I have the ability to do this for my family. My husband works so hard to make ends meet, I feel bad sometimes. This is my contribution to our house.

I don't want the kids to ever feel like they miss out on things simply because we don't have a ton of money. So I make it work.

I make my own bread (thank you MMIL for the bread maker)
I make all of our snacks, cookies, cakes, and treats.
I reuse what I can.
I cook in bulk to save me time and energy.
We don't eat a ton of meat in our house. I Love it, don't get me wrong but I think as Americans we tend to go overboard on that stuff.
No one complains really. Though I would really love a good thick juicy steak sometimes.

I work hard to be as thrifty as I am and I really feel like it is one of the gifts God has given me. It makes me feel blessed to be able to bless my family like this.

learning curve

I wanted to post something upbeat and happy  today.  Sammy had an awesome morning, smiles and school YAY. Then he came home with a note that he attacked someone on the bus. Well, I refuse to deal with it this very moment. I already called the school , phone conference tomorrow first thing. So for now, I will still write my happy post damn it! Just try and stop me

I was inspired a bit by my friends list over at Food Good Laundry Bad and I decided I need a list too.

The Things I have learned from Sammy

1. It takes 7 minutes flat to eat three pounds of jelly beans while hiding in a closet

2. Anything can be a weapon,yes even broccoli

3. Large stock pot lids make awesome captain america shields, and the paint comes right off with a scrubbie

4. I have more patience than I ever thought possible

5. It only takes seconds to connect and some days that is all you get.

6. Predictability doesn't always mean the same thing every day, sometimes you only need a fair warning.

7.  When a 5lb bag of flour falls from a 4 foot tall counter the entire room WILL be covered in a fine layer of flour.

8. Action figures melt in a stove that is preheating and that plastic takes forever to come off.

9. Just because something looks "normal" doesn't mean it is

10. Some things in life just happen and that has to be ok

11. If you can think outside the box you will accomplish so much more

12. Just because your expecting something doesn't mean your ready.

13. Sometimes your heart keeps fighting even when the rest of you refuses.

14. It is possible to love so much it hurts, to need so much you can barely think and to cry so hard you can't breath and sometimes that has to be OK.

15. Summer time rain showers can lift anyone's spirits

16. All life is special, yes even ants and worms. they all have a place.

17. Confetti + Sneeze = uncontrollable laughter

18. Butterfly kisses are magical.

19. Little girls aren't the only ones that really love pink glitter

20. Nothing in life is a guarantee so smile more, laugh more and try not to worry so much

Wordless Wednesday

snapshots

Sammy is gorgeous. perhaps it is simply my love for him that makes him so. Often we run into people amazed by how handsome and physically perfect he is. Across the board I find a lot of parents of kids like Sammy are told the same thing. Perhaps it is some sort of survival mechanism for them? Who knows. I take a ton of photos of Sammy, almost daily in fact. I love pictures of Sammy, especially the ones where you catch the fleeting glimps of who he is behind the autism. Every once in a while we get "that" photo. The one where autism lets my son come out and play. I love those photos.

Sammy has started grabbing the camera and taking pictures of his world, his view and his ideas. often it's an unfocused picture of his fingers flying and stimming, or someone's knees, or books out of place. But a few times now he has caught an excellent picture that makes us smile. We are going to encourage this with him. I want him to find something he loves. If that means going off in every possible direction just so he can find his. I am there 100%

picture of grace taken by sammy

drawing boards

Sammy likes to draw pictures. He often sits and colors page after page after page. He loves it so much he has even stopped eating the crayons, which for Sammy is an amazing feat. A  few days ago he began drawing something that resembled a funnel and an ant farm combined. I asked him about it. Turns out my son was drawing a water treatment facility powered by a tornado that made drinking water and filtered out poop. I have no idea where he learned this or figured this out. I was pretty amazed honestly. What have your kids said or done that has amazed you?

Edit ~ I noticed this post has become very popular. How did you find your way here today? drop me a comment or send me an email to let me know silentnight913@yahoo.com