Beebub

Just a short note about my incredibly cute 2 (almost 3) year old.
He has made up a word and he uses it ALL of the time: Beebub.

He says it means "Awesome".

The constant, I'm a 'beebub, your a beebub' chatter is so endearing.

Oh, and I guess I should mention (that it doesn't go missing in his scrapbook!), after about 2 months of potty training, he is about 90% done. He is getting to be such a big boy!!

"Green" by necessity: An interesting article!

Big Families, the New Green

I just read this article linked to by an online friend. I thought you might enjoy it, too!

'Earning $100'

So, this is how I save our family about $100 every 6 weeks or so.Haircuts!

These are sort of a tutorial, so, they are a bit long. But, if you are interested in how insane some tasks are around here, you might enjoy them!

Silly boys

Seamus (10): Mom, Do you remember when you said that you thought you were having a girl because she was 'stealing your beauty'? Well, it looks like boys can make you look that way, too!

Francis (8): Response when being scolded for cheating while playing a sport, "But, Dad, I want to WIN"

Mike (2): "Mom/Dad, My eyes are COLD" (ie. I want to wear goggles/glasses!)

Timmy's words 18 months old:

"oh" (Common response to almost anything we say!), 

Baba (bye bye), Lela (alleluia), Titty (kitty), "boll" (bottle OR book!)

An amusing conversation:

Peter (5) and Mike (2):

Peter: You're not the boss!

Mike: You're not the boss!

Peter: Mom and dad's the boss!

Mike: I'm the boss!

Peter: The REAL dictator of words is GOD.

Frugality in our home: What it looks like.

Well, we have instituted some new frugal measures in the Fifelski household. 

Yes, raising a bunch of boys can be less expensive than raising girls.. when you refer to clothing and personal hygiene products. But, then, they say that boys 'eat you out of house and home". (Wouldn't our house also be our home?) Well, it's true. We only have one teen so far, but, we can see the signs. We see it coming. It won't be long before they all have monstrous appetites! Then, of course, there is the thought of our first child going to COLLEGE in a few years! So, here are some changes we have made:

-Cloth Diapering- yep, I'm back to the cloth diaper world. Yikes! Overall, it isn't going so badly. I like the concept of cloth. It's a little more work. But, 2 babies in diapers costs about $60 a month in disposable or about $200-$300 for the "diapering" life of the babies. Within 4-5 months, the switch will be completely paid off and diapering practically free. 

-Raising our own meat. We will raise meat chickens again this year. We hope to raise about 50 and sell about 20-25. Selling will pay for our own meat, making our chicken free! (Other than the yucky, mucky summertime work!~) We may try to raise a couple of pigs this year too.. but, we are not sure. If not, we will buy meat in bulk again from another farmer.

-Oatmeal. We are eating more oatmeal and less cereal!

- Once a week shopping. We are doing 3 SMALL trips a month and one BIG trip. Cutting out little trips in between really helps with budgeting. 

-Couponing with couponmom.com, coupons.com and smartsource.com. Doing ounce to ounce comparisons, and shopping at Aldi's!

-Hair cuts. I am trying to wait a longer time between cuts. And, I now cut everyone's hair, including James and Patrick. (I haven't cut theirs in a couple of years). See the fun video coming soon!

-Cutting the 'drive-thru' habit. This is a big one! Use the crockpot, plan ahead!

- FInancial Peace University... we are taking classes and using the envelope system. And it's working (mostly!)

Feel free to comment about your own frugal tips!

Come back to see my video in the next day or 2!!