1500 oz

I am a milk machine! So far I have pumped at least 1500 oz of milk since Coop was born!!! Wohoo!!! This is very exciting considering around this time last year I was crying because I didn't produce enough for Eden (that is Coop's fault). Anywho, it is true what they say about breastfeeding going better with your second than your first. I am not in love with breastfeeding but will keep trucking along!

More vomit than one mama can handle...

So, the sickness in our house continues (sort of) and it all can be found in one little girl. I am pretty sure I have figured out what she has - a urinary tract infection. She threw up on Wednesday at the dinner table and has just been a little off since with no huge red flags of illness (no fever or vomiting). Eden has been a little sluggish and hasn't been eating well at all (and when you only weigh 21 lbs, not eating or drinking much fluid is not a good thing) and has had some other random discomforts that I am sure she will one day be glad that I did not share. But on the other hand she is playing like crazy and for the most part in a good mood!

But I do have share some things that I have learned about toddlers and vomit.

1) Leather furniture is a must and we will one day own some.

2) I love my Bissle Little Green more than I ever thought possible.

3) Fabric covered kitchen chairs might look pretty but they are not fun to clean.

4) Some things are not worth cleaning and it is okay to just throw them away.

5) Soaking a booster chair in the bath tub for half a day in detergent gets the vomit smell out of the straps.

6) Never assume your child is done throwing up - ever.

7) Laugh because life with children is crazy.

8) And even though your child is covered in puke, it is okay to go ahead and hold them close and comfort them even though you are getting their grossness all over you in the process.

Long overdue!

We have had a house full of random sickness the past couple of weeks, so my motivation to write a post had dwindled. But alas, here I am!

I said I was going to post about ways our family saves money. So here I go full force:-)

One of the ways we saved money was by cutting our internet and cable package. We decided to do this when we got a bill from Mediacom that was twice as much as we expected (our one-year fee was up and since we were not "new" clients we got charged full price). This was just not in the budget.

At first we decided that we would just cut our cable down to basic cable since that HAD to be cheaper than even the introductory price. WRONG! It was actually going to cost us more than we had been paying before to get 20 channels. I then called and cancelled our cable with them all together but we were still paying a lot for internet. So I did some research and we decided to go with Qwest (I think that is what it was) and lower our MBPS. I called Mediacom back up and explained that we found cheaper internet and would no longer need their service. They asked me the price I would be paying through the other service and I told them $35/month. Some how magically they said they could lower our price to match that for as long as we are clients of theirs (this also meant no hassle for me to have some guy come and set up the internet).

I was always told to call places like these because they WANT you to stay with their service and WILL lower their prices. Lo and behold, that really is the truth. We did have to still lower our MBPS but we honestly did not notice a difference in how fast our internet works. And instead of paying $65/month for internet we are now paying $35/month. We don't have cable but that is a personal choice of ours that has actually been a good thing. There is a lot less mindless tv watching in the evenings and a lot more quality time spent together after Eden and Cooper are in bed. I do miss the Food Network but hey, you can find most of that online anyway...

I am a frugalista!

Since marrying my husband it has been my life's goal to save us money. Well, maybe not my life's goal but it is something that I felt like I should do since we want to be responsible stewards of the riches God has provided. I have been asked by a couple of people what I do to save money and I thought that my blog would be a great way to start sharing those crazy ideas I have tried and since today is a sick day at our house, why put off 'til tomorrow what can be done today.

One thing I have learned since marrying my best friend is that we are rich! We truly are! I am talking about being rich in Jesus' love and God's grace AND also financially rich. Now, some of you might say that that is a pretty bold statement and pretty arrogant but it has to be said because it is true. We learned in church a few weeks ago that we (Americans) really, truly are some of the richest people in the world and we, personally, have never made millions. This has humbled us and as we look around our house and see all the "stuff" we have and the fact that we have multiple rooms in our home and clothes that fill our closet and a car we can drive and groceries to eat, we realize just how rich we are.

Once we realized just how rich we are, we decided that a goal for our family would be to try and save money so we can give it away and help those who really are financially poor and struggling. It hasn't always been easy but I am always up for trying new ways to stretch a dollar and I figure why not share them with others?

Frugal abundant living is our motto and I hope that this can be a reminder to myself of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

Sincerely,

Frugie - The frugalicious mama:-)

Trick or Treat!