Housewarming Party - better late than never!

This weekend we had a housewarming party.......we probably should have called it a "thank-goodness-we-have-finally-finished-all-the-big-projects-and-refinanced-the-house party", but neither Evite or Punchbowl (both free online invitation sites) had any invitations by that name.

So we went with "housewarming", which thoroughly confused some of our friends who couldn't understand why we already "moved again" since we just moved into this house two years ago.  Of course we hadn't, we just had some big projects to tackle first before it was party time!  We did have some little projects left that we'd put off for too long though and we did want to get some of these things done before having the party.  Once we set the date, we got to work.....and it's amazing how much can happen when you have a deadline!

 In about a week my husband and I:

• finished putting up the trim and closet door in the bathroom
• installed the bathroom light (we'd used just the medicine cabinet lights the whole time)
• put up a lovely vinyl stencil my mom got me about a year ago
• fixed the front door trim that was loose
• donated the garage sale leftovers once and for all (instead of saving them for "the next sale")
• cleared and cleaned the front porch
• painted the basement stairway walls (I skipped painting the last stairway going upstairs since I ran out of time)
• repainted our key/purse/library book holder thingy (before and after to come)
• created a fabulous centerpiece for FREE! (picture below -- tutorial to come)
• created a fantastic jewelry organizer {very cheaply} with burlap and a frame (pic below -- tutorial to come)
• ...and of course the standard extra cleaning for a party (which the kids were all so excited about)  ;)

I found a couple recipes via Pinterest that looked amazing, and saved just for this occasion......and oh mylanta, they did not disappoint!!  They were both SO easy and SO yummy -- be sure to check these out!

 {Jalapeno Popper Dip via Closet Cooking}

{Butterfinger Blondies via Six Sisters Stuff}

We had great food, great conversation, and just a great time to celebrate this wonderful house we've been blessed with!  It was a really nice time with friends and family, and gave us great incentive to check things off that way overdue to-do list! 

Here's a sneak peek at the "just for fun" projects we threw into the week......you know, since we had so much extra time on our hands, lol!

{Beautiful Centerpiece that's even better in person, cost $0}

~ Before ~

~ After ~

{Vinyl on Living Room Wall}

{Jewelry Organizer}

I'll be posting the tutorials soon - so check back for those!  Let me know what you think if you try those recipes -- you really should!  I'm going to go do a quick clean up to keep the house this miraculously clean forever.....or at least for a few days!

Whew! I Need a Vacation from Our Vacation!

{my son Lucas and niece, 'kissing Summer goodbye'}

We've just returned home from a 2 1/2 week vacation to visit my husbands family.  It was originally supposed to be a 10-day trip, but since we were having such a good time and my husband is able to work from his computer we extended it.  Overall*, we had a wonderful time......had a hilarious time in the car playing the ABC game with the kids, spent time playing disc golf, flashlight tag and croquet, sang karaoke and celebrated birthdays, listened to Great Grandma tell stories from long ago and looked through old pictures, just spent time together hanging out......ate a lot, talked a lot, played a lot, laughed a lot.  It was a great visit and we all had a fantastic time catching up with the whole family and good friends.
*There was of course the ER visit, the sibling squabbles, and many 'there's-nothing-to-do's', but all in all - great time.  ;)

......but, like almost anyone who's gone on vacation knows.......it's good to be home!  As great as it was to be there, there's just nothing like sleeping in your own bed, putting the baby to sleep in his own crib, cooking in your own kitchen......

Along with the joy of being home though, comes the work!  When I walked in our door in the middle of the night and tucked the kids into bed {stepping around their scattered toys and clothes}, my first thought was "How did we happily survive for almost 3 weeks with a fraction of all of this crap??"  I just recently finished reading a fantastic book about minimalism and living simply......and doing without a lot of what we own only encouraged how much I want to simplify our lives and get rid of "stuff"!

Besides the fresh reminder I have for the need to declutter the house, I also have the post-vacation "chores" to tackle........

 {going through this - freebies, bills, magazines galore!}

 {unpacking and laundering this - and it's only about 1/2 of our bags}

 {packing these -- 1 week til school starts....unbelievable!}

{restocking this - there's only so many meals you can make on half empty tubs of frosting, condiments, and wilty celery}

So, I thought I'd share why I may be a little scarce this next week......I've got my time all planned out for me -- lots to do!  Hoping to fit in some family time too before the kids are off to school.  I'm sure I won't be able to completely stay away from the blog though!  ;)

Are you planning any last-minute fun as the Summer ends?  Did your family go on vacation (or try a stay-cation) this year?  What's your idea of a perfect vacation? 

{Even though we had a great time, my perfect vacation looks a little like this......}  ;)

I've been featured on The Creative Crate blog!!

It's always such an honor to be featured by the bloggers I admire!  I added a few projects (ORB knife block, boys dresser, and Menu board) to the linky party at The Creative Crate last week and I'm so flattered that Stacie picked my dresser to be one of her featured items in her "Project Parade"!  There were so many fantastic crafts, recipes, makeovers and ideas linked up!  Thanks Stacie!  =)

It's a balancing act.......

I'm working on finding a balance between all the hats I wear......motherhood, wife, friend and sister, frugalista, blogger, cook, maid, social media rockstar.....  ;)   I want to do them all well - I want to be a great mom and be there completely for my kids, have a clean home, have a great helpful blog (that ideally will also be able to help with the family's finances), have time to devote to friends and family, while personally working on my relationship with the Lord and taking care of myself physically, and having time for just relaxing and taking care of my sanity......but some days I just feel like everything is vying for my time and I'm being stretched in e.v.e.r.y. direction while not really doing anything well.

I find myself getting frustrated that I don't feel I have the time to keep the blog as up to date as I'd like......frustrated that the kids don't understand why I'm needing to take time to "work" and then frustrated at myself for taking that time away from them......I've been blessed with an amazing family - a wonderful husband and 5 beautiful children that need my care and attention and I treasure that, but don't always show it.
It's easy to get distracted, but I have to remember what the priorities are and not get busy with something only "good" while I should be doing something "great"! 

This season of my life is a busy, sometimes hectic, and "needy" one.   We bought our first house about a year and a half ago.  It was a bank owned home that we've been putting a lot of work into, and now that the weather is getting nice again, we'll be able to restart the siding project that must be completed in a couple months - with a deadline in order to refinance.  My husband's employment has suddenly changed - unexpectedly, but for the better, as he's now able to pursue his interest and gifts in marketing and social media.  He'll be home much more, so we'll be "jockeying" for computer time to work on projects.  ;)

We have a full, fun and crazy family with a 5th, 4th, and 2nd grader, a preschooler and our baby just turned 1.  They're all in different stages and require my attention in different capacities, but need me nonetheless.  As cliche as it sounds, they do grow up so very quickly.  I want to be present in this short time they've been entrusted to me and be responsible to teach and train these tiny treasures and not miss the opportunity.  I often think of a poem we had hanging on the wall growing up, "The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep."  I want to show the kids with my time and actions what's important - never wanting them to feel like blogging or housework or anything is more important than taking care of them.

I wanted to share something about all this so that hopefully you can understand where I'm at with this blog.  I want it to be a great resource for all of you and a way to share my excitement and passion for frugality, but I can't let it monopolize my life and take over all my other responsibilities either.  I don't have a team or even a few other people helping like some amazing bloggers do, it's just me.  Hopefully you're not frustrated when the newest deals aren't posted "on time", but I'm trying to figure out a healthy balance of home and "work".........please bear with me while I work on finding it.

Now that I've spilled all that out, do any of you have any advice or tips?  My fellow mamas, how do you juggle everything?  Any bloggers with tricks on how to balance it all?  Ladies that work outside the home, how do you make time for everything? I'd love to hear from you!

Missing in action.....

Sorry for the lack of posts lately....I've decided to take advantage of the kids Spring Break and take a tiny break myself from the blog while they're home. They are quite a few things on our to-do list that normally get crammed into weekends, that we're trying to accomplish since we have the time together.

Some are not so fun (especially if you ask the kids), like: Spring cleaning, cleaning bedrooms, going through closets and purging outgrown things, catching up on laundry, haircuts, Lucas's 1-year picture (which was not fun if you ask me!), cleaning out the kids art supply organizer, cleaning and organizing the basement together.......

But, we're making sure to fit lots of fun in this week too.....
cooking together, walks outdoors, going to the park, painting dressers and bookshelves (again, fun IMO!), sleepovers, family movie nights, desserts for no reason, video games in the middle of the day, cuddling and hanging out......

I love to post deals and share frugal ideas and fun with all of you, but I think I need to prioritize this week. I'm not completely away from the blog, there will be posts, just not as regular because I'm trying to focus on what's important here at home.
So, if you're missing me (or posts, lol), have no fear. ;) The kids and I are just spending some quality time together, and I'll be back with more very soon.

I'm back.....

Sorry I was "away" for the weekend.  My husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and the weekend flew by!   I'll get some deals up here as soon as I can, but I just wanted to wish my sweet husband and my best friend a happy anniversary!  I love our life together babe!  Thank you for being a great husband and friend, a wonderful provider and an awesome dad to our 5 babies.  I love you!!

(the hubzy and I on our 9th anniversary, 3 years ago - hey one of us is always behind the camera!)

Just a little about me......

I've been married to my best friend for 14 years. God has blessed us with 6 amazing children (ages 1 month - 13 years) and I'm a stay-at-home mom, so of course I'm a chauffeur, nurse, cook, housekeeper, teacher.......the hours are long, but the pay's great!  ;)  Unfortunately, that kind of payment doesn't pay the bills though, so my job at home is also to stretch our one income as far as it will go.  =)

Being frugal comes pretty naturally to me.  I just get a thrill out of getting a good deal.  =)   I *love* to save money and I work hard at finding deals, sales, rebates, and freebies!  My husband and I also love how much easier it is to be generous and bless others with our abundance. We love to give and share but didn't always feel like we had the option to - now we do!  We feel that we are to be good stewards of what God's given us (which is everything!) and spending wisely is an important part of that.

I also enjoy doing things myself to save money and live simply.  You'll find lots of DIY projects here (like laundry detergent, costumes, etc.), as well as before and after furniture projects, crafts, and recipes.

I started this blog in response to many of my friends and family wanting to know more about how I shop and the deals that I get.  I wanted to share what I've been doing for years and help anyone else looking for ways to save, stretch and wisely spend their resources.

So, welcome to my blog, where I share everything I know about how to be a super saver.  =)   If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at supersavingsblog@gmail.com.

Here are some of the reasons I do what I do....... =)