Seriously Considering...

my kids are totally and thoroughly against it.

my home schooling them.

heck, i'm against it 1/2 the time.

but i am seriously considering it.

and then not.

i am begging God to answer me clearly on this one.

i'm afraid it's too late to start.

i am very impatient with my kids.

they are not fast learners.

but.

i feel like my oldest is failing to learn in his current school.

he's getting by,

but not doing as well as i think he could be.

he has a fantastic Godly teacher.

but i just wonder what I could be doing here to help.

and i already spend hours doing homework with him.

what to do, what to do?

but the books/curriculum is definitely not in our budget!

i'm not sure we could swing it financially.

that, of course,  won't be my basis for our decision,

but it does play into it.

my heart is in turmoil back and forth over this.

i *think* i have made up my mind when all of a sudden i change it again.

do any of you have wisdom to share?

success/failures?

i would love to hear how you manage...

either way! 

God Bless,

Mandy

Moved...

i'm tearing up at every little thing.

tender is my heart.

open is my spirit.

can't even handle the blog world, you all make me cry.

no  i'm not pregnant.

or pmsing.

i think sometimes God tenderizes our hearts for His glory.

for compassion.

and love.

lovey doveyness brings me to this...

 i think i may, for about the first time EVER, care about V-day coming on up.

(i wonder if hard core Valentines peeps care that i just called it V-day the way i care about Christmas being shortened to the dreaded X-mas?)

i may even...decorate!

my hubby may hate me. but how could i not with all  this ladies  inspiriation?

by the way, shannan has to be one of the sweetest bloggers in bloggerville.

she is real.

and lovely.

and fun.

go see her, and never leave.

hmmmm....what craft to do first?

Money Monday...

this will be a short post.

i've painted a fence,

 went to 2 different stores,

baked muffins,

cornbread,

made chili.

oh ya,

and 2 kids are pukey.

so i'm tired :)!

anyhoo,

a big suggestion I have is buying in advance.

i'm not talking about  warehouse stores and buying a lifetime supply of paper towels.

i'm talking about if your grocery store has a good sale,

plan ahead!

today i went over my weekly budget a little.

because my local safeway had an unadvertised sale on chicken for .99 a lb.

so i bought 3 packages that weren't on my list,

but i have dinner meat that won't have to be on next weeks budget!

Make up your own rules as you learn.

if i find cereal for less than $2/box

bread less than $1.00 for whole wheat

meat less than $3/lb

coffee less than $6

milk under $2

cheese less than $5 for  2 lbs

etc.,

i buy in advance!

you'll learn as you go where to spot the deals.

before i very rarely noticed when there was a sale,

because i simply bought what sounded good for dinner that night or the next.

now i am much more aware of spotting the deals, and taking full advantage!

by the way, the only pre-boxed/packaged food i buy regularly is boxed macaroni and cheese.

i usually buy Kraft.

today at wal-mart i noticed a new brand, for 38 cents a box!

i'll let you know if the savings was worth it!

God Bless,

Mandy

Blog Addition...

i've added our families weekly menu on the side bar.

seems like a lot of moms i know are always saying they need new recipes and ideas,

feel free to ask for a recipe if something sounds good and i'll post it!

God Bless,

Mandy

Dear Honey...

thank you for your hard work.

thank you for working 16 hour days,

for taking your son out for donuts and one on one time,

for cutting your mama wood all day on your day off,

for building me my white picket fence when what you want to be doing is resting your aching back.

thank you for being you.

for being the man i love and my best friend.

i think you're pretty amazing.

you're my knight in flannel and baseball hat.