A penny here, and a penny there.

Many of the great blogs I visit regularly, and those I follow on Facebook, have had some great ideas for frugal living and have inspired me to share some of our family’s ways with you.

As both the mom of a large brood, and a person who sees much harder times on the horizon, I am always looking for ways to save money, cut monthly expenses, and discover what things I can do myself rather than pay for them to be done.

Some of the ways that we save money:

♥Momma’s barbershop!  I cut everyone’s hair in this house.  Over the years, I have learned how to cut the guys’ hair, as well as trim and even layer the girls’ hair.  It has taken time, but it has been well worth it.  At minimum it is a savings of over $400 per year.

♥I have made laundry detergent for over 4 years now.  I played with the recipe until I got something that cleans like I want, doesn’t leave behind soap residue, and is still super cheap to make it.  I can’t even begin to think how much money that saves us.

♥We grow a lot of our own fruits and vegetables in our garden.  Not only do we save money, but we also know that the food we are eating is not GMO, is not covered with pesticides and chemicals, and we know exactly what was used to fertilize them!

♥I use my dryer as little as possible.  I learned years ago that the dryer can account for 30-40% of our power bill.  Mr. Muscles built a clothes line for me that week, and we have been saving a lot of money ever since.  I was a little skeptical at first, but the proof was in the power bill!

♥I admit it.  I used to use disposable diapers.   That is what our first three children wore.  I was intimidated by the cloth diapers.  The only thing I could picture and understand was the giant square clothes and pins.  Wow, cloth diapers have come a long way!  I have used cloth diapers for the last 5 children, and I have noticed significant savings, earlier successful potty training, much fewer diaper rashes, and an easier time switching to big girl panties.

♥Thrift stores!  I know many of you already have discovered the savings that come with finding treasures in thrift stores.  I am surprised how often we find vintage items in fantastic condition or items with tags still on them.

♥While my choice to nurse our children has been purely for their health and giving them the best start possible, I cannot help but think of how much money we have saved over the years instead of buying formula!

♥Used book stores.  I enjoy going to the library, but sometimes it can be easier to own the book.  I have no interest is paying full price for a book unless I absolutely have to.  The great thing about a used book store is that you can take the books you no longer need there, get store credit, and use that credit to purchase the books you need.

♥Camping.  Yes, I really do mean camping.  Hey, vacations can far too easily cost a great deal of money.  Contrast the price of renting a house or getting a hotel room(s) to the average $20 per night for camping.  We cook our meals at the campsite rather than going out to eat.  We hike, ride bikes, explore, fish, and hang out.  It is a great and inexpensive way to get away and enjoy being with our family.

♥We buy a lot of items in bulk.  I first started shopping at Costco about 19 months ago.  I have not increased the dollar amount that I budget for groceries and household supplies, but I have noticed how much more I bring home for the money spent.  We don’t eat junk food, and Costco offers a lot of the healthier foods that we look for.  We went ahead and paid for the executive membership.  At the end of our first year, we earned enough money that it paid for the next year’s membership AND bought more groceries to put in the pantry!

Now that you have read just some of the ways our family saves money, what does your family do to save money?  What ideas do have to share with the readers here?  I am always on the lookout for new tips!  (If you have written a post about saving money, please put a link to it in your comment.  I would greatly appreciate it!)

Always in God’s mighty hands,

~Rhen

***Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page***

This post is linked up with Raising Homemaker’s Link Up!

With gardening you can cannon ball or toe tip

The great thing about starting a garden is that you can taking a running leap and cannon ball into it, or you can start small and just test the waters with the tip of your toe.

This post is part 1 of a series to answer all of the gardening questions I have received in comments, Facebook posts, and by email.

Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a gardening expert.  I am simply someone who was raised on gardening and has enjoyed growing vegetables and fruits for most of my adult years now.  I enjoy helping others discover gardening.  I am constantly learning new things and new ways.

Heirloom Yellow Pear Tomato

There are going to be times when you really don’t want to  get out to weed and work, BUT if you remain focused on the benefits of your garden, it is a great reminder of why we planted a garden in the first place.

A few of the benefits to keep in mind:

• a garden produces a supply of vegetables and fruits that are at their freshest and healthiest.
• no GMO frankenstein foods!
• there is a great satisfaction in enjoying a meal that you grew.
•  our family’s time in the garden together is always filled with great conversations, laughter, and enjoying being together.  The view of our garden through the children’s eyes is full of new things, amazement, and simple joy.
• not only can you greatly increase the amount of healthy food that you and your family eat, you can also reduce the amount of food you purchase and save money!  The money savings can be extended through the year by freezing, canning, drying, and dehydrating foods harvested from your garden.
• the lessons that children (and adults) can learn in the garden are almost limitless.  To name just a few:  how seeds grow, root systems, beneficial garden bugs, where food comes from, photosynthesis, and so many more.

New bean plants emerging.

The first question to answer when starting a garden is, “Where are you going to put it?”.

The area you choose should be:

• relatively flat, or you will have to build level garden beds to keep your soil, seeds, and plants from being washed away.
• receive at least 6 hours of full sun.
• be in a protected area to guard against either intentional or unintentional harm from animals and children.  Fencing may be necessary.

Next comes choosing what to grow.

• Be realistic.  Some things are just not going to grow in some regions.
• Check to see what zone you are in and what grows best there.
• Choose foods that you know you and/ or your family likes.  Yes, I do recommend growing something that you have not had before, but most of your choices should be ones that you know you will eat.
• Choose foods you are willing to commit the time to.  What does that mean?  While many plants are seasonal, some plants are multi-year investments.  Rhubarb and asparagus are two examples of food that takes a year or more to be ready to harvest.
• Put real thought in where you buy your seeds from.  We only grow heirloom seeds.  Here’s a little info on that.

Ms. Independent (7) harvesting radishes is last summer’s garden.

You have a few decisions to make.  Take a little walk around your yard to determine the best spot for a garden.  Remember, the sun in the summer is in a different place in the sky right now!  What is sunny today may be shaded too much in the summer.

Coming up in part 2:  a few of the different kinds of gardening (which suits you best?) and getting your soil ready.

I have been pinning quite a few garden ideas on Pinterest.  You can follow me and check them out.  You can find me as ContentedRhen or Rhen @Yes, they are all mine.

~Do you have any gardening benefits you would add to the list above?~

Always in God’s hands,

~Rhen

***Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page***

Make Name Sign Art

Wow, we’ve made it to part 4 of 8!  We are halfway through the birthdays!

My goal for each of the children’s birthdays is to create a name sign that they can hang in their rooms with a little bit of their own personality in it.  Who doesn’t love to personalize their space and put their stamp on it?

The first name sign was Ms. Firecracker’s (11).  The concept for hers was displaying her name on a plaque.

The second sign was for Ms. Lovebug (9).  The concept for her name was individual letters hung by beautiful ribbons.

I made a name sign for Young Man (13), but I haven’t yet shared how I did it.  I just realized that.   *whoops*   The challenge was coming up with something that would fit a young man and not be too young.  That post is coming soon.

Today, I am sharing the name sign I created for Ms. Independent’s 7th birthday.  This one is a piece of art, or rather, it was inspired by a piece of art.

What I used:

• an 11×14 art canvas
• a variety of acrylic paints in her favorite colors
• a paint brush
• a 2′ piece of ribbon
• wooden letters
• spray paint
• paper roses
• gemstones
• hot glue gun
• individual leaves

I wanted to achieve a thick and layered look on the canvas, so I painted it first to give it time to dry thoroughly.

I squirted and swirled paint onto the canvas and let my inner artist take over.  Thank goodness I already had an image in my head to aim for, because my inner artist is “arts and crafts” challenged.

I continued to layer and swirl the paint until I was satisfied with the results.

I used some of her favorite colors in this: pink, purple, green, and blue with a touch of white here and there.  I only used a small amount of blue.  You will see why in a moment.

Here is a closer shot to show the texture.

I spray painted the letters of her name her favorite color:  blue!  This is why I only used a small amount of blue on the canvas.  I wanted to tie the letters to the canvas without having so much blue that the letters didn’t stand out.  After all of the paint had dried, I hot glued each letter to the canvas.

Next, I used the gemstones to highlight the curves and lines of each letter.  I also used the leaves and paper roses to decorate a little bit of the canvas around her name.

Last, but not least, I hot glued the ribbon to the back of the canvas to hang it by.  A little dab of glue at the top corners and ,viola, ready to hang!

She was thrilled to get her name as a piece of art!  Seeing their reactions and getting those sweet hugs makes all of the planning and work worth it!

I have a plan in place for Ms. Giggles’ name sign for her 5th birthday, but I am running out of ideas here!  There is still Ms. Serious’ 15th birthday and Ms. Dimples’ 3rd birthday.  As you can see, I am trying to make them all different.  Got any ideas?

Always in God’s mighty hands,

~Rhen

***Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page***

I linked this post up with Growing Home’s Teach Me Tuesday Link-up!  Pop over and check out some of the great blogs that are linked-up.

Sing It Out Sunday

How sweet the sound…

Thank you, dear God, for the unending and unfathomable grace that you have poured out onto us.

Happy Birthday!

We have officially kicked off our winter/spring birthday season this week with Ms. Independent’s 7th birthday.

Woo Hoo!

If you have ever met her, you know that Ms. Independent has earned her nickname, and is constantly reinforcing it on a daily basis.  Don’t get me wrong, she is a love of a child, but she sees no reason why she cannot or is not allowed to do the same things her older siblings and her parents do.

This child was speaking in full sentences at 18 months old, basically potty-trained herself at the same age, and makes sure you know that whatever it is she can do it herself!  Stay out of her way!  She gets every bit of it honestly from her Granny.

What makes her pep, forcefulness, and independence so surprising is her petite stature.  While she is 7 years old, she barely fits into a 5t slim.  Seriously.  Healthy, but tiny.  God packed a lot of oomph into that little package!

I am so thankful that God blessed us with her 7 years ago.  She has definitely added spice to our lives!

Everyone, wave to Ms. Independent as she models her new hat, hair bow, blue feather boa, and wool peacoat for you.  As you know, every girl absolutely needs a feather boa.  What ensemble would be complete without one?  None, I tell you!

Cakes are always a big deal in this house.  I try to be the one to make all of our children’s birthday cakes, and each one is designed just for them.  Her name begins with the letter “O”, so a giant “O” birthday cake was in order!  She, of course, loved it.  The girl is all about leaving her mark.  *grin*

Happy 7th birthday, sweetie!!

Now, onto the how-to’s for this cake.

It is a scratch cake Mr. Muscles made using my 12″ round cake pan.

To make the “0″, I simply chose one of the Pyrex bowls and cut around it.  I trimmed off the top rounded area of the cake before I made the center circle.

The two layers are filled with a generous layer of my homemade buttercream icing before they are stacked.  I like to put a little surprise in that layer.  Sometimes that surprise is fresh strawberries, peaches, blackberries, or blueberries, but this time, I melted dark baker’s chocolate and drizzled it all over the buttercream.

Can you see it poking out on the side a bit?

Next, I dirty-iced the cake and put it in the fridge to allow the buttercream to “set”.  While that was happening, I made tie-dye roses out of fondant to decorate the top of the cake.

Once the buttercream was set, I iced it with a nice outer layer of buttercream and started putting on the roses.  The leaves and piping are from the same buttercream.  I used the Wilton leaf green to color it.  My number 66 leaf tip for the leaves, and I used my number 4 round tip for the piping.

This was my first time doing this kind of piping on the sides.  Hopefully I will get smoother the more I do it.  *grin*

If you have any questions, or if you would like my buttercream recipe, just ask!

Next in our birthday season is Little Man’s FIRST birthday.  Oh my word, how did we get to this already?  It feels like he just made his grand entrance!

Always in God’s hands,

~Rhen

***Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page***

This post is linked up to Marathon Mom’s Thankful Thursday!

Thank you, Pinterest!

I want to thank my lovely readers and Facebook followers for getting me hooked on introducing me to Pinterest.

We have already tried our hand at several craft ideas that I pinned.  The kids are loving it!  So far, Mr. Muscles sees Pinterest as a gigantic project list.  *wink*

I want to share with you the footprint butterflies craft that I did with our youngest 4 girls.

Prepare for a little messiness but a lot of laughter and fun!

What you need:

• A child(ren)
• paints- I recommend acrylic
• canvas(es) -I bought a package of 8×8 flat canvases
• a piece of posterboard
• a washcloth or a few baby wipes
• paintbrush
• black permanent marker
• ribbon
• hot glue gun
• pencil

Lay out your poster board on the floor.  I recommend doing this on a surface that you can wipe, like tile.  :)   Next, squirt whatever combination of colors you would like onto the poster board.

Make sure you only use one- half of the poster board.  You need the other half clean.  Have your child gently put their foot into the paint and move it around a tad.  I really do mean a tad.  You want the paint to coat the foot well but not get too mixed together.

Here is where the clean side of the poster  board comes in.  Have your child gingerly step onto the clean side.  If they step too fast, their foot will come out from underneath them, and they will fall!

Stepping onto the poster board like this will help get off some of the excess paint.  You don’t want it too thick!

Carefully, help you child step onto the canvas and gently push their foot straight down.  Hold the canvas as they lift their foot.  Use the baby wipes or wash cloth to clean their foot.

Make sure you put the right footprint on the left side of the canvas and the left footprint on the right side of the canvas.  You want the butterfly wings to face outward!

This is where I deviated from the original a bit.  Instead of just drawing the outline of the body, I penciled the body outline between the “wings”, and then I filled it in with paint to make it stand out a bit more.

After all of the paint is dry, use a permanent marker to draw a face on the butterfly.  I also used the marker to write their name and the date on the back of the canvas.

Little fingers make great tips for the antennae!

I cut an 8″ strip of ribbon and hot-glued it to the back top corners of the canvases to hang them from the wall.

Beyond the joy of watching the girls revel in getting paint in between their toes, this project gives them a little something of themselves to decorate their walls, and it captures a moment in time.  When they have outgrown these, I will keep them and display them.  I will cherish and remember the afternoon we spent playing in the paint with their toes!

If you do this project with your kids, please share it! I would love to see pictures of your child’s art!  You can share a link in the comments here or on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page.  

Always in God’s hands,

~Rhen

You Capture! ~A look back~

Beth’s You Capture! assignment was one that sounded oh so simple, yet was far from it.

Did you have as hard of a time choosing 10 photos to sum up 2011?

It was a marvelous stroll down memory lane that included many smiles, a few tears, bouts of laughter, and more sighs that I can count.  Another year packed away.

Some of the following pictures have graced my blog, while other have been tucked away in my secret stash.  I hope you enjoy them.

#10.  This photograph of most of our children all lined up is not only one of my favorites from this year, it is also going on my wall and on my header.  This shot was taken at Joe Wheeler State Park during our fall camping trip.

#9.  This is picture of our newest animal addition when he was just a pup.  Many of you read about his tragic start in life, his rescue from the side of the road, the repair of his leg, and his completely spoiled life in our family.    Jericho is huge now, but still thinks he is a lap dog.

#8.  These storm clouds are the ones that produced the deadly tornados that ripped through central Alabama on April 27th, 2011.  Every time I look at this picture it reminds me to be so grateful for God’s hand on our family.  The tornado that destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa passed only a mile away from our house.

#7.  This picture was taken on one of the hikes our family took during our spring camping adventure to DeSoto State Park.  We celebrated Ms. Dimples’ 2nd birthday, made new friends, explored gorgeous trails and waterfalls, fellowshipped with family, and with the help of my Moby Wrap, Little Man (then 2 1/2 mo old) enjoyed his first camping trip.

#6.  The joys of homeschooling!  Field trips to a local goat farm to get hands-on as a family.  We laughed so much that day at the antics of the little baby goats.  Love!  Ms. Giggles (4) doesn’t remember the goats we used to have, but I know she will be crazy about the ones we are getting this spring.

#5.  Summertime fun in the pool.  I believe that Ms. Dimples (2) enjoyed herself more than anyone else.  Then again, if I got to sit in a float and have someone push me around while I relaxed, I would thoroughly enjoy myself!

#4.  First trips to the beach are momentous occasions!  His brother and sisters made sure he had a great time.

#3.  In 2011, Ms. Firecracker (11) competed in her first year of Optional Gymnastics as a level 7.  She has worked so hard  trained diligently to be able to do what she does.   Our whole family, friends, and those who sponsor her are so proud of her.

#2.  This past year, I have watched our oldest (Ms. Serious almost 15) take giant steps forward in her growth as a young lady.  In honor of her Aunt D., who is battling breast cancer, she donated 9+ inches of hair for breast cancer patients.

#1.  The biggest thing to happen to our family this year was the birth of our last child, Little Man.   It seems almost surreal that nearly a year has passed since he joined our family.  Young Man (13) finally has a little brother.  :)

While looking back at 2011 brought back scores of wonderful memories, I am excited to see what 2012 holds for our family.

How about you?

In God’s hands,

~Rhen

Join up or just check out all of the great blogs at I Should Be Folding Laundry’s You Capture! challenge.

Making and using learning trays

Close to the top of the list of my must-have homeschooling tools for my Littles and Middles are my learning trays.

They are a great way of organizing learning games and tools, designating learning “areas”, and making learning mobile.

I have three wooden trays that I purchased from Hobby Lobby.  They have a nice variety of sizes to accommodate your needs.  Personally, I like the two larger sizes.  They give the kids a little more space to spread out.

A blank wooden tray just waiting for some personality!

I painted each of the trays with acrylic paint.  Two of them I splurged on by decorating them a bit, and I the largest one I painted a solid green.  I then coated them with a clear protectant to keep the paint from being chipped off.

After painting, coat each tray with a clear protectant.

I filled the largest tray with sand for our preschooler, Ms. Giggles (4), to practice her letter-writing in.  I draw a letter in the sand, and she copies that letter.  This is one of her favorite ways of practicing her writing skills.

Ms. Giggles practicing her letter "S".

We use the other learning trays with the parts of speech identification and sentence forming exercises…

Ms. Lovebug (9) working with parts of speech.

…learning to identify and count money…

Working with money.

…putting together tangrams…

Ms. Independent (6) learning with tangrams.

…and with fraction circles, just to name a few!

Ms. Lovebug (9) working with fraction circles.

I am always looking for new learning ideas and projects to use the trays for.

Got any?

Always in God’s hands,

~Rhen

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This post is linked up with Hip Homeschool Moms’ Hip Homeschool Hop Linky.  Pop over and check a wide variety of great homeschool posts.  Have a post you want to link up?  Join in!

Out with the old…literally

While many other people were preparing for grand New Year’s Eve parties on Saturday, Mr. Muscles, the kids, and I were working our tushies off cleaning out and organizing our garage.

We lead such a glamorous life.  *wink*

I have shared with you our family’s progress on reaching our purging goal.  Cleaning out the garage was a huge step forward for us to soon reach that goal.  We were determined to do it before the year ended, and Saturday was our last opportunity!

Earlier this year we had cleaned up and claimed a section of the garage for an arts and crafts area.

This was the before:

This is how it looked after we got the area ready to enjoy:

 While the picture shows a nicely organized arts and crafts spot, you cannot see the rest of the garage.  *grin*  Sadly, this area was re-engulfed because of our purging efforts inside.

I did not take a “before” picture on Saturday.  It was that bad.

With all hands on deck we made quick work of emptying everything out of the garage and putting it in the driveway to be sorted.

Huge purging note here!!!!  The best way of doing some serious purging is not to take the items you think you want to get rid of out of the space.  Rather, take everything out of the space and be very choosy of what you deem worthy enough to go back into it.  Donate, freecycle, or chunk what you do not keep.

That is what we did in the garage.  The driveway and parking pad looked like a bomb went off.  Stuff was everywhere.

Just stacking and organizing the newly empty tubs created tons of space.  We also took the time to vacuum and sweep every nook and cranny, and we oiled the wood furniture we have stored in the garage.

Periodically, I find myself  popping my head through the garage door just to appreciate how much better it looks.  Oh, the weight that is lifted!

Now that we can easily traverse the garage, find what we are looking for, and use the areas we have set up, Mr. Muscles is one happy man!

Time to focus my purging attention back to the house, the living room, to be specific.

Is purging one of your New Year’s resolutions?

Always in God’s hands,

~Rhen

***Join us on Yes, They Are All Mine’s FB page***

Thankful for Common Ground

When Mr. Muscles and I married over 17 years ago, we had several interests in common, and we were crazy about each other.  Really crazy about each other.

During that first year of marriage, we were given the sage advice to be careful to grow together instead of apart.  That takes paying attention to how you are growing AND how they are growing.

Today, we are still just as crazy about each other, if not more, and we have a lot more interests in common than ever before.

While I firmly believe that individual hobbies are incredibly important as a means of self-expression, quiet time, and even something that allows us to get out the stresses that build up, more important is the common ground, the things we enjoy doing together, that Mr. Muscles and I share.

We discovered our love of gardening together and eating fruits and vegetables right out of our own garden.  Knowing that you grew that tomato makes your tomato sandwich taste spectacularly wonderful.  Seriously.

We also found a bond in camping and hiking.  When I was a child, my family went backpacking, hiking, and camping all over Europe and the US.  Mr. Muscles?  Not so much.  As a family, we take 3-5 night camping trips at least twice a year.  We love it.

Next to studying our Bibles together and spending time with the kids, our favorite things to do together are hunting and archery.

About 9 years ago I shot my first bow and have been hooked on it ever since.

Mr. Muscles is right there with me.  We practice together as often as we can.  We laugh.  We joke around.  We challenge each other.  It is all good, just as long as we are together.

I am so truly thankful for the common ground that Mr. Muscles and I have, for every moment we laugh together, and every thing we have to share with each other and our children.

What are you thankful for?  Have you written a post or feel like writing one?  Pop over and link up with Brandy @The Marathon Mom!

Always in God’s mighty hands,

~Rhen

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