More Garage Sale finds!

So I got all of this for less than $40! Items include: shelving unit, riding toy, books for fun, books for school, tons of clothes, a winter jacket for Aliyah, shoes for Judah,and computer school games!

These I bought at a homeschool sale. I ran out of money and time otherwise I would have bought more! This includes a money game, word blocks for reading, a flip book to help with story writing, and a reading book for Josiah for language arts. I picked up these for less than $8. Not bad when curriculum is expensive!

Sleepover

So our neighbor's daughter and my friend Heidi's daughters all spent the night at once. Here are a few pictures of their sleeping arrangements.

So my boys need some more boy friends :) They are making some through scouts though!

Chatting with Daddy

So this is how we talk with daddy while he is in Afghanistan.

Thank you Skype and technology for such a blessing! Wish we could talk with Frank more often but right now it is only once a week...sometimes once every 2 weeks. We sure do miss him!

Camping Memorial Day

So for Memorial Day, the kids and I went camping with another homeschooled family ...whose dad is in the army, too, and is currently away for training. We had a blast! There were a few incidents: a burnt hand, a bloody knee, a very odd camp host, a freezing night (about 35 degrees), a nice hike, wet shoes, a fun creek for play, and a whole campground to ourselves! We only stayed one night because our friends didn't have good sleeping bags and they froze while we slept comfortable. So the moral of this camping trip is that it is money well spent on a good sleeping bag!

Here the kids are popping some popcorn!

Judah and I hanging out. I'm not sure why he looks like he is about to fall out.

Heidi and 6 of the 7 kids we had with us!

Here are pictures of the boys setting up the tents. Josiah did most of the work....Malachi helped some :)

It was a great time camping with friends!

Nice weather = laundry outside

So it has been awhile since my last post. I've been busy for sure and this is my "down" time believe it or not! I have been taking pictures so I can put on this blog. It is summer time around here and one of my favorite things about summer is fresh warm weather! And with that warm weather I really enjoy hanging my clean clothes out on a line to dry! Here are some towels and cloth diapers drying in the summer air! I love the fresh smell of clothes lined dried clothes...AND it is cheaper (free) because it doesn't use any resources!

And speaking of being frugal, I make my own laundry soap. I have been doing this for a little over a year now and it really works. I did a price comparison for a bible study once on this and found that I pay a mere $.05 a load to wash with my homemade detergent and the other brands (comparisons were done with Walmart/Target prices) ...from the store cheap brand to the more expensive Tide ranged from about $.20-$.35 a load to wash. And with my kids...we go through a lot of laundry thus we are saving money for sure with me making my own laundry soap! And it really does work well too! So here is what I use:

Powdered Version: 1 c. Borax, 1 c. Washing Soda, 2 c. (2 bars) grated ivory soap. Mix well and you get something that looks like this:

It only takes 2 T. of the detergent per wash load. I usually use 3 T. for my cloth diapers but stick to the 2 T. for everything else. I have made a liquid version before but I prefer the powdered because I can easily pack it and take with me on trips! A few more frugal tips....I use about a 1/4. c. of vinegar in a downy ball in the rinse water, 2 dryer balls in the dryer (no need for dryer sheets), and ivory bar soap for my stain remover. As for the stain remover...I wet the clothes and wet the bar and rub it in real good then wash. I have found this to be so much more effective than Shout! Obviously it is also so much cheaper!

My new blender

So my old blender broke the other day. I decided to spend more money and get a good one from a brand that holds up to it's name (Kitchen Aid). So I made fresh smoothies tonight for the kids and oh were they so yummy!

Gardening

Today we planted some plants, flowers, and a garden. The kids really enjoy gardening!