Being a Stay at Home Mom

I recently read a great article on a blog that I love reading. She expressed so many of my thoughts about being a Stay at Home Mom. So many people think it is easy and we do it because that is all we are qualified to do. Or we do it because our husbands make a lot of money and we do not need to work. We do it because we believe with our whole heart that it is what is best for our child!!

Read the article here at Biblical Womanhood: http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/labels/Mothering.html

funny quote of the day

As we were watching the Olympics the men's diving came on. K.B. looks at the guys in their speedos and says "Why are those boys wearing panties?"

It is never a dull moment around here!

Me time

Lately I have been contemplating "me time." I used to have it, but now I do not. Is it that important for a Mom to have me time?

My children used to go to Mother's Day Out at our church 2 days a week from 9:00 - 2:00. I would spend those days running myself to death. I would either run all over town to get all of my errands taken care of or I would clean my house from top to bottom. Then after I picked my kids up I was either so tired I could not stay awake or I did not want to bring the kids home because I did not want them to mess up the house.

Now my oldest is too old for Mother's Day Out and we have started homeschooling and we moved to the other side of town and I would spend 30 minutes taking and picking up kids.

So in order to have "me time" I would have to put my oldest in school and my two others in Mother's Day Out. But what would this mean for my kids. It would mean that my oldest would be in public school. My husband and I would lose all control over what he is taught. We would lose all control over the influences in his life. It would mean that my two oldest children would not spend as much time together and their friendship would probably suffer. It would mean that my baby would grow up not having his loving brother and sister hovering over him all the time. It would also mean that I would have to pay $36 a week for childcare plus the gas it would cost to get to Mother's Day Out.

Is that worth it for "me time." I do not think so. I was recently reading a book called Passionate Housewives Desperate for Christ. It makes the point that as Christian we no longer own our lives or our time. We are bond servants of Christ and my job for Christ right now is to make sure my children grow up learning all they can about Christ all day long.

So for now I will try to focus on the time I get with my kids while they still want to be around me. And not focus on my toenails that desperately need a pedicure or my gray hair that needs to be covered. I will focus on the beautiful smiles I get to see everyday.

Food Glorious Food

We started our baby on food last night. On Wednesday we went for his 4 month check up. The doctor said we could start him on cereal anytime between now and 6 months. We decided since he was so big we would go ahead and start on cereal now.

I was not sure how he would do, but he has been very interested in food lately. My first child I waited until 6 months for food. My second I waited until about 5 months. So I wondered if he was really ready.

Well he was. He gobbled down that cereal. A lot of what went in his mouth actually stayed in his mouth. I was pretty surprised. I think he actually enjoyed it.

Walgreens great deal

I read this morning on one of my favorite blogs that there is a glitch in the Walgreens RR. The Kelloggs RR are printing out 2. Even though I have a strict policy of not taking my kids to Walgreens, I could not pass up this opportunity. So I loaded up the car and off to Walgreens we went. On the way there the kids got a speech about how we were only buying certain things and to not beg for anything and we were not looking at toys. Well the kids were really good especially when they saw what I was buying. I do not usually buy these kinds of treats. I figure my kids get enough sugar and do not need any sugary treats.

So here is what I bought:
2 boxes of Cheese-Its
2 boxes of Rice Crispy Treats
1 box of Pop tarts
2 boxes of dried cranberries
1 coke

I did not have any coupons, unfortunately.
I spent $14.67 and got back 2 $5 RR.
I was so excited I called my husband and asked him to stop buy and buy so more!

The blog I read about this on is www.moneycommonsense.blogspot.com.

6 years

Our 1st baby is six years old now!! Grant had a birthday on August 2nd. I does not seem like he should be 6. I am learning how important it is to enjoy each day, because before you know it they will be in 1st Grade.

Today we went and ordered books for the new school year. It seems unreal that we are ordering 1st grade books. It seems unreal that he will be able to do all of the things in these books by the end of the year.

So in two weeks, ready or not Grant, we will start 1st grade!!

Recipe flops

I tried some new recipes last night. They did not get quite the praise I was hoping for. Chris and I liked them, but the kids did not. Chris said they may not be keepers because we couldn't get the kids to eat.

This month's issue of Southern living has some recipes for vegetable plates. I thought I would try them because I keep reading that one way to cut your grocery bill is to not have meat every meal. I made Not Yo' Mamma's Mac and Cheese, Squash Casserole, and green beans.

The Mac and Cheese is very rich!! The kids did not like it at all. It makes a big casserole size dish. So with Chris and I being the only one eating it, we have a whole lot of mac and cheese left.

The kids did like the squash casserole, but not the green beans.

We usually eat leftovers every other night, so tonight the kids will have sandwiches with squash casserole. Chris and I will have a whole lot of mac and cheese!