Thankfulness

Hello my friends, don't think that I have forgotten about you. I am so busy the next couple of weeks, so I will have to make this brief! As most of you know, through prayer Cameron and I have made the decision for me to be a full time mom. So I am training my replacement at work this week and next. It is so hard to train someone when you have a 5 and 1/2 month old burying his head in your chest trying to get his lunch!

I am so thankful for a husband that is not fearful of losing one income. I listen to my husband and I fully believe in following him, so if he were to tell me that I needed to work I would. But when I approached Cameron about my heart aching at the thought of leaving Rhyan, he committed the decision to prayer. We firmly believe that God has told us that he will provide for us and reminded us of all that he has done for us before.

I am so thankful for a God that hears the prayers of a new mother, the prayers of a mother that so desires to be at home to raise her son. I am so thankful for the opportunity to make a home that is open for people to come in and see the work of the Lord. I am thankful for the most amazing husband and sweet little son.

It pays being nice

I decided that I would go online to write several companies that I thought were great and tell them how much I appreciated their products. I went to their online websites and filled out a simple comment page along with my mailing information. I made sure to tell them that not only was I stay at home mom, but one on a budget! I was so surprised to hear back from ALL 4 of them!

1. Newman's Own- Awesome company with a great new organic line. They sent me 3 coupons totaling $20 in savings! I love the fact that Paul Newman has given so much of his profits to many different charities...it makes you feel not that you are only eating quality foods, but that you are helping someone out in the world!

2. Tide- You have to admit, Tide does the job! Really good at stain treatment and my clothes get MUCH cleaner with Tide. They sent me a $1.00 off coupon, which I can add to the $1.50 coupon I got from Good Housekeeping!

3. Purdue Chicken- This is by far my favorite chicken, I only buy this brand. No hormones or preservatives! I told them that I really appreciated their chicken and the quality of it! And they responded by sending me $1.00 off coupon!

4. Scott Tissue- Now I know that some people love to wipe their butts with pillows, and I have to admit that it does make for a more pleasurable bathroom experience. Scott Tissue has made adjustments to one of their tissues and it is so soft. Scott Tissue will last me FOREVER...and my husband loves to use tissue for everything! I can buy a 4-pack and it will last me all month! They were so kind to send me THREE 50 cent off coupons!

See, it does pay to be nice!

In Rhyan news, we are putting him in his crib for the first time tonight! My baby is growing up and I am sad that I won't be able to reach over into his bassinet at night. Now I will have to trudge down the hallway into his room. I am sure that it will be an interesting week for all of us, he loves being close to us, so I hope he will be able to adjust to this without much crying.

I have been placing him in his crib for his naps and some play times. He does a great job of sitting up at 5 months, fairly early for that feat! So I am posting a few pictures from his playtime in his crib. I will let you know how tonight goes. Say some prayers from my not-so-little boy and for my aching heart!

Freezer Cooking and Root Canal

I have done a bit of research on this method of cooking, called freezer cooking. I know you are thinking, "I did not know you could cook in a freezer!", hang on, I will explain.

I follow a few stay at home mom blogs and they all seem to be discussing this method of menu planning at the same time, which peaked my interest in this subject. Basically, you take a 8-10 hour day and prepare all of your meals for the next 30 days. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. *gasp* However, when you start to think about the time you spend each day preparing meals and multiple that by 30 days, wow, you can really save some time here. You are also able to buy in bulk, which can save you quite bit of money. One blog that I follow said that she only spends $130 dollars in groceries per month for her family of 4! My current budget for Cameron and I is $260 a month, if I could slash that in half we could be saving a lot more money each month.

I will keep you guys posted on what my first monthly menu will be. I will implement this for the month of December, so if you guys know of any good recipes let me know! I am really good in the dinner department but I always rack my brain for god breakfast foods that are also healthy for you too!

As far as the root canal, I got it preformed today! Whew...that is some major stuff. It is my second one, but my dentist is so lovely and very encouraging. At one point he came into the room, I was watching TV while sitting in the chair (high class stuff) and he chuckled to himself. I thought, "What is he laughing at?"...then he began to wipe drool off my cheek that was dripping into my hair. Novocaine....

If anyone is looking for a AMAZING dentist, call up Dr. Leeks at New Image Dentistry on Highland Ave. Tell him I sent you.

Great Deals!

As an *almost* stay at home mom (I finish working from home in a month), I am always on the hunt for a good deal. In my opinion you never have to pay full price for anything. There is always a coupon, discount code or promotion that you can save some major dollars with.

While I am new at the coupon clipping, I am a fairly experienced at saving money through the Internet. I used to buy the supplies for my company ranging from basic office supplies, clip art to down loadable music. I never would purchase any of these without first finding a promotion code, which ended up saving us hundreds of dollars each year.

Through my Internet searching I have run across some amazing websites that either offer you great deals or show you how to find these deals. I wanted to share some of them with you:

1. http://www.retailmenot.com/ This is a wonderful site if you are purchasing anything from an online store and you want either a discount or free shipping. I even order pizza and use this site to help save a couple of bucks!

2. http://halfoffdepot.com/ This is a KILLER website that helps you to find gift certificates and gift cards in cities across the United States. Not only do they offer ones for restaurants, but also for gyms, spas, zoo's, museum's and shows! A great tool if you are looking for a cheap night out or if you are going on vacation to on the the cities that is listed.

3. http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ This is a great mom blog, she is a fantastic blogger! She finds great freebies, coupons and deals and gives you step by step instructions on how to access them. She also gives creative ideas on how to save money for the budget conscious family.

4. http://www.citiesonthecheap.com/calendar/ If you go to this site you can click on the city in which you live in. They provide a calendar of events for each day and help you to find cheap things to do in the city. I love this site, because they also let you know of restaurants that are offering a free menu item that day. A great tool to find free things to do, see and eat!

5. http://www.restaurant.com/ I have been using this website for years now. It provides a listing of restaurants near your zip code. You can get either $10 or $25 dollar gift certificates for $3 and $5. Be sure to search for the promo code through Google , as they always have one! You can also register for free with them and they will email you special deals. I have gotten them for as low as $4 dollars before!


Happy savings and deal hunting! With this economy we can still have fun if we search hard enough for great deals! If you know of any that I have not listed here, fill me in!

Jewish Coffee Cake

I love to cook, hate to bake. Cooking is so relaxing to me, to get into the kitchen and only focus on making a meal that will hopefully make everyone feel loved. Cooking is the way that I show love to people, I might not always pick up the phone to have a conversation but I will tell you how much I love you by making sure you are always full of food. Cooking is great because it is not a science, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Is it too salty? Add a dash of sugar to counterbalance it. Don't have any eggs? Use applesauce. I love cooking because it is the grey area, no rights or wrongs, just good food.

Baking on the other hand has been an enemy of mine for many years now. You have to be so precise, exact in all your measurements. Who knew that there was a difference between flour that is sifted and flour that is not? Who wants to use measuring spoon, measuring cups, bake for a certain time at a certain temperature? A CLEAN TOOTH PICK MEANS ITS DONE? What happens when you don't have a toothpick...

This was until my aunt Trisha taught me how to make the best and easiest cake in the world. I was visiting her at her home in Mississippi this summer and she just threw me in there. And she told me the best thing I have ever heard, "Don't worry if it is lumpy". Ahhhh....I have made it 12 times since then.

Jewish Coffee Cake

2 sticks of butter (room temp)
2 eggs
3 cups of sugar
3 cups of flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 16 ounce tub of sour cream (room temp)
3 cups of flour (NOT SIFTED)
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 cup of sugar (mix with cinnamon)
Greased bundt cake pan


1. Mash 2 sticks of butter with 3 cups of sugar, keep it lumpy.
2. Add two eggs, sour cream and vanilla.
3. Add flour one cup at a time until blended, keep it lumpy.
4. Pour a layer into a bundt pan
5. Add half of the cinnamon sugar mixture, use a knife to cut into the cake
6. Another layer of batter
7. Add remaining cinnamon sugar mixture, use a knife to cut into the cake
8. Top with remaining batter. Be sure to cover all of the cinnamon sugar mixture so it won't burn.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool and then turn over onto a plate!!!

Thank you Aunt Trisha, I can bake now!

Genetics

I pray that my son does not share my teeth genes, I have always had problems with my teeth since I was a little girl. I have spent countless dollars, many days in pain and have even had 5 teeth pulled (with no gas, wide awake)! Luckily my husband has fantastic teeth, not one cavity, ever.

Don't get me wrong, I brush my teeth AT LEAST twice a day, usually three times a day. I floss regularly as well as use a mouth rinse. I also try not to drink bottle water so I can get the fluoride from the tap water. But for some reason, my teeth are of poor quality. My dentist told me that because my genetics (parents did not have the best teeth also) and because we grew up on well water (no fluoride in well water), those were the main causes of my tooth problems.

Last night while I was rocking Rhyan to sleep I got a shooting pain on the right side of my mouth (usually when I have had toothaches before they are concentrated in one location). But this seems to be my entire right side of my mouth, making me think that it must be an upper AND lower toothache. Needless to say there was not much sleep last night and I have been in pain all day. The worst part is that it is Saturday, Halloween and my dentist has not yet returned my phone call to the emergency line.

You know when people always ask "If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?". Well, for me it is my teeth. I would cry to be able not to have to worry about having another toothache ever again!

Super Baby Food

I know it has been a long time, but this blogger must be forgiven! It is hard to believe that since I last wrote I went through 10 1/2 months of a long pregnancy and had a healthy baby boy! Rhyan Scott Ford was born on 5/31 at 7:11 a.m. weighing in at a HEFTY 9lbs 7ozs! It was a long labor, but I am so glad he finally came after being 11 days late.

Rhyan will be 5 months on Halloween and I have stared to feed him solid foods. I went to Whole Foods to get organic sweet potato's for his first food. I found organic potato's from a local Georgia Farm that were $2.35 a pound. I got 3 fairly good sized potato's for a total cost of $2.39, just over a pound. When you consider the cost of 1 oz of organic baby food, which was five jars for $3.00 dollars, I got a great deal! I would have had to buy 15 jars for almost 10 dollars to equate to what I was able to get just buying the sweet potato's!

The next day I baked the potato's in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. I simply peeled off the skin and put them in the blender with enough water to make it slide off the spoon while feeding.

I ordered these super sweet food cubes, for 5 dollars a tray. They are much better than regular ice cube trays because they are BPA free and will not leech any chemicals into the food during the freezing process. I filled the cubes up at the 1 oz. mark and then froze!

All I do for his feeding is pop them out of the cube and microwave them in a BPA free feeding bowl! Food for Rhyan!

I have been very interested in organic foods and what is the best to feed not only Rhyan, but our entire family. Being a family on a budget, buying ALL organic is not within our abilities. So with a little research I have discovered that there are 12 things that you SHOULD always buy organic and it would eliminate 90% of pesticide consumption you are eating....these are called the "Dirty Dozen":

1. peaches
2. apples
3. celery
4. peppers
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. lettuce
9. grapes (imported)
10. pears
11. spinach
12. potatoes

So I am going to try to stay away from these and still buy my other produce just like I would have normally bought! I have also considered buying a share in a local organic farm, in which I would pick up our produce each week from a location in downtown Atlanta.

I will keep you informed!