Penny Princess's New Budget

Looking at our budget, we recently realized that we were not doing a good job of being a penny pinching family, and we really needed to make a change.  We have started using Dave Ramsey's envelope system and paying for everything in cash. 

One big place where we've had to really pay attention is in food. We used to spend $150 a week at the grocery store for just two of us. Even then, we would also eat out several times a week. It all added up to us spending wayyyy too much money on food!

Well, now that we are working on our budget and spending, we cannot do either of those things. We budget for one, maybe two times of eating out a month because, let's be honest, things happen. And if we don't use that money in a given month, it's added to our date night find!  And our food budget: $50 a week, plus $50 extra a month to buy meat. 

We cannot afford to eat processed food on that budget, so we are eating pretty much all fresh food.  This gives us the added health benefit of eating healthier. 

I am not a couponer or super deal hunter or any of those things, so we are doing this only using regular sales and regular store prices. 

99% of our shopping is done at Aldi, which has great prices to begin with, so that helps a lot, but we also work hard to stay on budget.

We can't be the only ones in this predicent, so I will be posting all of our grocery trips and meal plans to show how others can do it too! We find most of our recipes on Pinterest, so I'll link when I can! 

I hope I can inspire some of you to cut down your grocery budget as well!

6 Months of Joy: Month 1

I can't believe it, my Little Bird turned 6 months old yesterday! That time has gone by so fast! I just wanted to sit and look at all her old pictures and remember how small she was!

I haven't been good about writing down her accomplishments or dates on pictures or anything, so I figured that now, before I forget it all, I would record my little sweetheart's life so far.  This is the new form of the baby book ;) I have so many pictures, I'm going to divide the posts up by month.   Enjoy the baby pictures!!!

10 Week Clean House: Week One

It's the first week of the Ten Week Challenge! Have you started? If not, feel free to jump on the bandwagon and get your house clean!

Ryan & I started with our first room: the Garage.

10 Week Clean House: The Details

So you've decided to take my challenge? Or maybe you just wanted to learn more.  Either way, I'm excited to share the details with you!

How It Works:

10 Week Clean House: The Challenge

Our family moved 2 months ago from Texas to Oklahoma, but looking at the state of our house, you'd think we moved last week. I could blame it on the baby, but truth be told we are just kinda lazy and used to living with boxes. It would be SOOO nice to have a clean house and feel really moved in.

Who else's house could use some attention? Maybe it's from moving or from several kids or just 20 years of stuff in the house. I'm sure so many people would love a house makeover! 

So I challenge you, join me for the next ten weeks to get your house in order. Just a small amount of time a day, for two and a half months, and you will have the house you always dreamed of, and the habits to keep it clean!

Want to learn more? Click here for the details of how it works!

My Favorite Mommy Moment

I've been a mom for a little over a year. My baby's been in my arms for four and a half months.  I've seen my share of baby smiles, giggles, and squeels of delight. Little Bird has rolled both directions and plays with all sorts of toys. I get to snuggle with her for hours a day, but none of these things compares with my favorite moment as a mom.

When my daughter was less than 18 hours old and ewe were still in the hospital, my favorite moment happened. 

It was early in the morning. Ryan had left to go to a presentation (yes, the day after Little Bird was born) and it was just the two of us in the room.  A student nurse came into the room to take her vitals (as they did a million times while we were there!). She was trying to take her temperature, but Little Bird was crying and upset. She asked if I could help by holding my little girl.  Of course! She handed little girl to me, I gave her a little hug and a kiss, and she immediately calmed down. "Awe, she already loves her mom!" 

You know how in the movie "The Ginch Who Stole Christmas" they say "and his little heart grew 2 sizes that day." That's how I feel with every smile, giggle, and excited wiggle. Well that day, in that moment, my heart grew ten sizes.

That was the moment I knew that I could do this. The moment I knew that no matter how hard it got, I loved this little girl so much that I would do anything for her. My favorite moment as a Mommy.

2 Months!

On Sunday,  my beautiful Little Bird turned 2 months old!

She is such a smart girl! She has already learned to roll over from her belly to her back.  She loves to smile and giggle and squeal in delight! She also loves to "talk", to mom, dad, grandma, and her toys. She has even begun to use consonants, and has, on accident, said "Mama"!!!

She is working on learning to sit up on her own and we think she is even beginning to experience teething.

Of course, we had to have her monthly photo session!  I never posted her 1 month photo, so here's one and two months!

The official One Month Picture

The official Two Month Picture

Runner-Up 2 Month Picture!

 I can't believe how fast she is growing! At her two month appointment today she was