The Clothing Compact- This is Harder Than It Seemed.

Garage Sales on Saturday- I refused to even pick up the ton! of upscale girl's clothes I found at one sale all in my daughter's size. Uncomfortable but I did ok with walking away.

WalMart yesterday- I had to walk by the racks of $6 sun dresses and $4 t-shirts for the kids. I tried not to look too closely.

Goodwill- Had to remind myself as I walked by cute clothes (in my size!) that I was no longer shopping for clothes. Did not touch and moved on quickly. It's getting a little more uncomfortable.

Target- Found myself staring longingly at the pile of clearance kids clothes that the lady behind me was buying. I hope she didn't think I was too weird.

I gave away coupons for Old Navy and Value Village to a friend today so I have no excuse to indulge.

The bonus is that I am trimming out stuff that we just don't need and am spending $20 at each store to get essentials (air filters, hose washers, bread, etc.) instead of extracurricular shopping.

For The Best Guy I Know

Happy Father's Day to my Husband. He was the first one to feed our babies and change their diapers, jumping in eagerly with a smile on his face ready to bond with his children. He wore that snugli with a baby hanging off it more than I did. And he wore it proudly with a smile on his face.
At every holiday or milestone he's ready and willing to take on even the messiest of chores to create joy and memories for our little ones.



He gives me lots of Mommy breaks by taking the kids to do fun stuff like swimming. And he enjoys himself about as much as they do.

He never gives up an opportunity to document the silliness of our children.
He takes me on business trips with him and always makes me feel like I'm his number one. Even when I'm acting like a number 2.

I know I'm a better person for knowing him. There's no other person I'd rather be sharing this parenting journey with. Happy Father's Day Honey. I love you from the bottomiest bottom of my heart.

Garage Sale Finds Today

Tupper Ware Steamer Tray? .50 cents
Sock Organizer .50 cents
Plastic Food Storage Container .50 cents

This is the inside of the Tupperware Steamer thing. If you know what it is please feel free to leave a comment.

More VHS. Ever wonder who buys those vhs tapes for .50 cents from garage sales? That would be me. I love the cheap entertainment factor plus I don't have to worry about the dvd getting scratched up. Not pictured is a copy of Johnny Mnemonic that I slipped into Hubby's father's day bag as a gag gift. Apparently the movie is really bad in funny way.

7 Corelle dishes- all white except for the one on top. Plus, a Pyrex casserole/pie dish. $2.
(I love the corelle patern on top- it's Batik from 1979. I think I'm going to start looking for it to replace my Callaway Ivy (my Wedding China- haha). After 14 years I'm a little sick of it.)

Christmas gifts for my nieces. I have Old Navy and Gymboree rewards to buy them clothes also.
2 new sets $4 total.
This Little People Pirate boat is pretty grimy. That's why it's by the bathroom sink. I'm going to wash it and put it away. Not sure if it's a Christmas present for Little Guy or not yet. $2.
New, large, unfinished shelf- $2. It's a bad picture but the shelf is in really good condition and is going in Big Girl's room after I stain it. I can finally get all of those knick knacks and trophies out of reach. And store extra stuffies.
Stocking stuffers for Big Girl. A new Polly Pocket sticker/stamp book, a Lisa Frank glitter tape set, and a Stuffed Bear that needs a wash. The Plug Ins are for me.
$1.50 for the lot.


You will notice that I did not buy any clothes or decorative houseware items. That part was really challenging. I sat down and made a big list of to-do errands and chores yesterday and that took a load off of my mind. I am ready to start whittling down the list and get back on track.

I've got to go wash and put away gifties before my family comes back from swimming.

Hope to have lots of good progress to report next time I blog. ; )

The camel and the straw

Two hours ago I woke up in a good mood.

And then the list of things that needed to be done around the house and the morning chaos of getting my daughter and husband out of the house for school/work hit me. When I went to get clean clothes out of the dryer some of them stunk. I think I used Sun detergent on them and that stuff doesn't work at all. So, I started another load of laundry. Then I noticed that the curtain my cat(s) frequently scent mark stunk again even after I tied them up and got them off the floor. I took it down to wash and noticed a big old chunk was cut out of the bottom. The cat pee was enough to ruin my morning. The destruction of my pretty curtain put me over the edge.

So, I'm making a list of chores to tackle to make my life easier. What can I eliminate from our life to reduce the chaos and clutter?

I just canceled my subscription to the paper. I have about a month of them piled up in my garage waiting for me to sort through. Right now I can't even think about clipping a coupon.
I saved us a whopping $8 a month but I think getting rid of a chore/clutter is an even better gift.

I haven't returned Sarah to her previous foster Mom yet. The foster Mom called yesterday and left a message asking if we were ready for her to file paperwork on making the adoption permanent. I need to call her back and talk to her. I adore Sarah but I cannot handle the extra work of cleaning up after two cats. Especially when they use urine as a weapon. I wish there was an "Easy" button for this.

Next I'm looking at our Netflix membership to see if I can reduce it anymore. We seem to watch only one dvd a month but we love the streaming.

I've got errands to run and a play date to get to today. So, I'm off to get ready for that. I think you'll read more of me attempting to simplify our lives this summer than what bargains I have purchased. I really do not want any more stuff to take care of right now. Thank You Very Much.

No More New (or Second Hand) Clothes until 2011

That is my goal.

Hubby is getting off the hook for this since his work jeans are tatty and he needs to replace some old work shirts. Plus, he's really picky and won't overbuy anyway.

I want to use what we have instead of making room for more.

This said, I know I cannot stop my Mom from the occasional clothing gift and the kids may get some new clothes from relatives for Christmas. I think we'll appreciate them more when we aren't buying them ourselves.
I'm looking forward to using what we already own.

$2 dress- Priceless Little Girl.

Cinderella dress originally $60

Mystery Can Edition 3

Did I hit frugal pay dirt when I bought this unlabeled ten cent can today?

(also, a jar of what I think is traditional flavored Prego for 75 cents)

Let's find out-

Blech, tamales again. I froze these for my Father-in-law, an omnivorous man of questionable taste (head cheese or blood sausage anyone?). Ten cents of fun for me. Hours of heartburn for him. Win/Win.