GUEST Post From Moore Organzied Mayhem

                                    Twenty Minutes with 1/3 of the Mayhem

   The youngest, by one minute, comes into the kitchen this morning and crawls on my desk. She finds a bookmark her big sister made with fall leaves cutout and a clever saying she wrote. “Mom, what does this say?” “It says; ‘Leaf me alone so I can get into a great fall book’.” “Okay.” She plays with it a little while, repeating the word fall and trying to poke her fingers through the leaf cutouts. “What should I write about Mercy?” “A green slide with handles” “You mean a sled?” “Yes, the sled slides down the hill really fast and falls off a cliff into a crocodile lake. But I’m big mom so I beat up the crocodiles and eat them with my sharp teeth. Justie and Marshall aren’t there. I do it all by myself. Then I go back home and watch for cars so they don’t get me. And the snow is tall so I be lost and I can’t find my mom again.” “And then what happens?” “Duh mom, I’m right here.” “Yes! But don’t the crocodiles scare you?” “No mom!” Deep dramatic sigh “I said I’m big.” She then hops down, her pajamas stripped off and she’s running outside in just her purple undies. It’s 40 degrees so I tried to discourage her but she was headed for the trampoline and nothing I could say would slow her down. While on the trampoline she was a sight to see with her arms and legs flailing about. She was doing what looked like old style calisthenics. Cherry picking and windmills, she even did a crab crawl or two. As the husband and I watched from the back deck with our hot cups of coffee and me in my sweater, I was amazed at how she wasn’t freezing. But I’m assuming with all that movement she was staying pretty warm. She jumped for ages, lifting her legs instead of pushing off from the canvas. The results are funny, to say the least. Her body stays in nearly the same place while her legs do all the work. I try to tell her how to use gravity to her advantage but she’ll have none of it. “Not fun mom!” And she’s probably right. Lifting your legs takes more work than using your weight, but watching her gallop and cartwheel the way that she does, it’s so much funnier. And that’s her ultimate goal; to make the observer laugh. She’s there to have fun, but she wants to make sure you’re having fun as well. She finally crawls off and heads our way, breathing heavy and smiling. “Did you see all my tricks? I’m good.” She doesn’t wait for us to respond, she’s confident in her statement and walks inside. I can hear her grab a cup of water and slam it down on the counter when she’s done. She pops her head out the French doors and looks at us and requests her favorite show on Netflix. Thankfully this week the twins agree, so no fighting.
“Mom?” I pause while turning the TV on.
“Yes Baby Girl.”
“Thanks for watching my tricks.”
“Thanks for showing me your tricks.”
“I’m pretty good.”
“Yes you are.”
“You can write about that.”
And so I did. Just twenty minutes into 1/3 of my Mayhem.
Christine C. Moore Moore Organized Mayhem http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com

CLOTH DIAPERS BY: Brittany S Guest Post

                                                         CLOTH DIAPERS

 

 

      Cloth diapers... when I first thought about using cloth diapers over a year ago, I was kind of grossed out. Seriously, poop and pee in a diaper that I have to rinse out and wash? Ew. But I decided “what the heck?” and bought a few and a wet bag. I waited and they arrived... and I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I didn't know a single person who was cding- NOT A SINGLE PERSON! I had no clue. I didn't know there were Facebook groups for help, b/s/t, chatting- not like I know now. I ended up keeping the wet bag for my then two year old to play with and I continued using sposies- even though my little one was prone to diaper rashes.

My best friend has a little boy, almost 3 months younger than my little one, and she started using cloth diapers and took right to it. It took her almost a year to convince me to try again. How could I not? They're so freaking cute- AND less likely to cause rashes!! But it was so overwhelming... expensive brands, cheap brands, AIO, AI2, pockets, prefolds, covers- it goes on and on!! I started with Alva pockets... then got into the b/s/t groups and bought a few used of other brands, sold some of mine... I've tried fitteds and hybrid fitteds, hated them and gone back. Tried Alva, Sunbaby, Kawaii, Happy Flute, bumGenius, a bunch of WAHMs.

I'm ONLY three ½ months into this adventure, my daughter is 20 months old. Our stash is small compared to most, only 28 diapers- 19 bumGenius, 3 hybrid fitteds, 2 Lotus Bumz and 4 Happy Flutes- BUT it gets us through two days (or more, depending) before cd laundry needs to be done.

Oh, my... CD LAUNDRY. What an ordeal. You read all these things online about cloth diapers- do this, don't do that, to bleach, not to bleach, air dry, dryer dry, cd safe detergent vs. not safe, yada yada. I use Tide Ultra powder- cold prerinse, hot wash with detergent and cold rinse, cold rinse. Then I -gasp- dry in the dryer! It works for me. I also bleach all my diaps once a month or so. And I bleach any used diaps I buy. One of my favorite cd groups on Facebook is The Cloth Diaper Compendium, it's full of extremely useful information and they back it all up. It's been a lifesaver when I've had stink issues.

Anyway, that's my cloth diapering story... I. LOVE. CLOTH. DIAPERING. I'm being green, my little one doesn't have diaper rash issues, they're super cute and comfortable (I'd imagine, anyway!) AND it DOES SAVE MONEY! Regardless of what anyone says, there is a way to cloth diaper on a budget. :)

--Brittany S

Guest Post: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going ... to the thrift store.

I don't believe in ghosts or fairy tales, but I do believe in retail therapy.  And when the going gets tough, the tough gets going...to the thrift store.
I had one of those weeks... The car broke down.  (Not enough money for gas anyway.)  All four children at each others throats. The man had a tooth ache and was less than agreeable for days on end.  The washing machine quit working.  And my cough persisted, making sleep damn near impossible.  It was my last week at a second job and everything that could go wrong there, did.  The going was as tough as its ever been.
And then it happened.  My favorite of my only two pairs of jeans, ripped.  Not in the leg, not in the pocket - on the butt.  Right between the panty line and pocket.  ... DISASTER.  These were my work pants, go to the store pants, night on the town pants - my otherwise I would be naked pants.
I shed more than a few tears that week.  But the rip, it was the last straw!  The very next day, in the uncomfortable last pair of jeans I own with only $4.76 in my wallet, I stopped at the local thrift store.  Determined to leave with pants, I made a bee line to the rack carrying my size.
There were seven pairs of jeans my size.  Just seven.  One with a stain, two in styles I wouldn't be caught dead wearing... So four, four possible wins.  Two of the four were five dollars.  TWO... Just TWO possible wins.  ... Wondering who owned them before they arrived here in this the purgatory of retail heaven, thinking about all the others who tried them on before me (shudder) - I stepped into the dressing room for the moment of truth.
TOO BIG.
Listening to the sounds of hangers gliding across the metal racks, shoppers mumbling and laughing and the beeps and chings of the register outside, I stood in that dressing room defeated.  The car won.  The kids won. The cough won.  I hung up the clothes, got dressed and left the dressing room a loser.
Head down, wondering how long before the uncomfortable jeans would meet the same fate as my favorite pair being washed and worn daily - I ran smack dab into a rack as I was leaving the store.  The sign read "25 cents" and right in front of me, a single pair of pants my size!  ... With renewed hope I raced to the dressing room and hurried to remove my pants... unhinged the hanger ... slid the pants on ... IT WAS A FIT!  THEY FIT!  THEY FIT!!!
27 cents, tax and all.  And I left that day a new woman.  What car?  What washing machine?  What kids?  Tired?  ha!  I got the deal of century!  And still with a little bit of money in my pocket!  I floated on cloud nine to the next big disaster with a smile


Written By: Who cares what I think anyways?

True friends are few and far between

What does it mean to be a TRUE friend?
What do you look for in a TRUE friend?

I've had to ask my self these two questions lately. A true friend to me is someone who is there for you no matter what. Who doesn't judge you for the things you say, do or how you act. Is your shoulder to cry on when you are sad for whatever reason and Someone to laugh with when you need a good laugh.Someone you can tell all of your secrets & stories to and trust that they will keep them to their self. I can honestly say I believe people come into your life for a reason. No matter If its for a good reason or bad reason. Some people have gone out of my life as fast as they have come in. Others have stayed in my life for more then half of my life. It's hard that the 2 best friends I have live so far away from me. One in Colorado and the other in Florida.
These two girls totally understand me and are there for me even that they are so far away. I've always tired to be there for Lori & Jen as they have been there for me. I hope you girls know how much I love y'all and want to thank y'all for always being there for me!!

GUESTS POST BY: KELLEY PAINE

Do you hate Grocery Shopping

Sometimes do you feel like your in a daze at the grocery store. Well I do it overwhelms me to see all the products and I end up impulse shopping. My husband would tell me, Kelley make a list of what we need and purchase those items only. He told me this because when I would buy stuff we really didn't need and it would go bad. Produce is the worlds worst to go in the garbage if you don't use it. I have learned over the years to save money and to save food from wasting away. I wanted to do this blog because I wanted people not to throw away there money. Here are some tips that might help you in the long run because it is not fun to feel like your trash can is getting more use than your fridge.

1. Make a menu of dinners for a week if you shop every two weeks then make a two week planner
look in your freezer for all the meat you have and plan dinner around that. You don't want the meat in your freezer to go bad so use it.

2. Make a list
Look in your cabinets and fridge not glance really look and pull out food to use don't waste I promise it will save you money.

3. Coupons
It is always great to have coupons for items you need. Your local paper usually sends a paper on Wednesday for free or you can purchase one once a week for some savings I also have some websites that you can go to.
www.smartsource.com
Coolsavings.com

4. Canning
You can save money in the long run if you make your own sauces and jelly. It is so easy to do these things.

5. Produce
When picking out produce purchase what you need in your menu and hearty fruits like apples and oranges they last awhile.

6. Cheese
When buying cheese you can purchase large bags of shredded cheese you can put half in a qallon zip lock to put in your fridge and the other half you can freeze. I do this all the time and it helps.

7. milk and bread
You can purchase bread at Sams or bakery outlets or even at your local grocery store buy what is on sale and get several loafs because you can freeze both items. Also you can bake your own bread to save money if you like baking.

8. Can goods
Purchase what is necessary you can go over the top with can goods and sometimes they sit forever in your cabinets. I have had can fruit in my cabinet for over 8 years lol. Plus if you get just what you need you can have a well organized cabinet.

9. Pizza
You can buy a pre made pizza and throw it in your freezer or you can make your own pizza dough or buy dough that is $1 and you probably already have cheese and sauce and a can of sauce is 20 cents to 40 cents and it only takes one can to do the job just add what toppings you want.

10. Meat
Buy what is on sale and when you have meat in your freezer you can plan meals for the week sometime when I am shopping for our meals if I see a really good deal on meat I get it for next time then plan dinner on that.

Food is what you make of it and it is up to you how you want save your family some money.
Time and time again my husband would say how much did you spend and I would tell him $200
and then he would say on what then I would get all upset because I knew I was in the wrong. I wasted a lot of money on things that would either go bad or things that were on an impulse. I have a wonderful husband whom has taught me many things on how to save us money. and I have a cabinet that looks like a well organized plan. I can find all the ingredients I need for a fabulous meal.

You to can have all these things I have shared the best advice is to plan ahead it helps me.
So go out there and shop the smart way. Save time and money by making a list of the possible instead of the impossible.

This is what I did this week!


I looked in my cabinet and fridge and freezer. I found we had 2 packages of ground turkey, a roast, thin stir-fry steak and a box of chicken pot pie for the days I know we are busy I do buy a quick meal on the go because I would rather spend $3 dollars instead of $30 for a family of four at a fast food place. I then planned my week because we would only be home Monday though Thursday.
Monday- spaghetti, garlic bread and a salad. I had french bread in my freezer.
Tuesday- beef stir-fry with wonton crisps. I had wontons in my lunch meat drawer
Wednesday-crock pot roast and salad left over from Monday.
Thursday- Easy chicken pot pie

This is one great week of meals I bought lunch meat for sandwiches for the week and my kids like ramen noddles I also have peanut butter and jelly for them to make them sandwiches. We have can tuna and tortilla wraps to change it up a bit. Breakfast is easy around my house cereal or oatmeal and sometimes Eggo waffles.
With this plan I gave you I only spent $25.00 on a weeks worth of food. I used a coupon for a box of cereal. I even made my Hubby happy lol so go check out what is in your freezer because I did and enjoyed doing it and saving money.




THIS POST WAS WRITTING BY MY FRIEND KELLEY PAINE AND HERE IS HER BLOG ADDRESS PLEASE GO TAKE A LOOK AT HERE OTHER POSTS!!!!!!

http://kpaine-whywethinkwearefat.blogspot.com

Back to School !!!!! JJ's first few days of pre k

Well its that time again for all the children to go back to school,  for  some kids they went for the very first time....My son Jackson had his first day of school yesterday. Bryan took off of work so that we could both take him to school. Jackson did really well didnt cry at all. I was alittle worried on how he would be after we left and the teacher  told me he was fine. It was very quite just having Parker at home yesterday morning. Parker kept asking where Bubba was. I would tell him Bubba is at school. So Parker would walk around the house saying Bubba Cool (school). Then when it was time for us to leave to go pick Jackson up from school. I told Parker lets go get Jackson from school Parker was so excited to go bye bye and get his bubba. We had many phone calls from Jackson's Cha Cha and Nana to see how his first day of school was. He was glad to be home. I asked him what he did at school and he said "oh i just ate lunch thats all" and i said well did you read, color and do any work and he said "nope mom just ate lunch". Well he was getting alittle crabby later in the afternoon so he took a nap and then that was a HUGE mistake he didnt want to go to bed until 9pm. when he's bed time is 8pm.

Today he wanted to ride the bus so i let him ride the bus to school with all the other kids from our road. He was a little nervous to get on the bus, once he got on the bus he was fine...He got dropped off at 12:30 from school and he was very happy... and i asked him if you wanted to ride the bus tomorrow and he said "momma im gonna ride the bus every day" I asked him if he was sure then he said OH YES MOMMA...

A Dream, Sometimes seems so far away

Have you ever felt that maybe being a stay at home mom isn't enough?
I've been thinking lately that it might not be enough for me, I love my kids and wouldn't change them for the world. But I'm sure every mom gets frustrated a time or 2. Haha. I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but recently I've wanted to go back to college and take some classes.(maybe)? Or even find something to do from home as far as a job.(im a scentsy consulant).. I've just been thinking alot about life and wondering if something happened to me tomorrow. I don't want people to remember me as not doing anything with my life I know being a wife and mother is doing something with my life persay, but i want something MORE.There are alot of things I want to do.. Or try and do. Thought about writing a book, traveling the world and have my blog get off it's feet! i feel my blogging is helping me express my feeling somewhat better then i can in person...
Sorry if I'm just talking / typing out of nowhere but I needed to get this off my chest... If anyone has ever felt the same way pls leave me a comment!!!!