tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83993095719085201662024-03-12T23:38:00.506-05:00Fostering FrugalityTwo foster parents working together to reduce, reuse, and recycle...and fostering the same ideals in the minds of the children who come through their homeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-26466538318671109672011-02-18T21:13:00.000-06:002011-02-18T21:13:49.782-06:00Have you seen...that kitchenstewardship.com is giving away a free Nutrimill grain mill? I so so so want to win this!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-48476320330224451052010-12-15T19:28:00.001-06:002010-12-15T19:32:10.673-06:00Fun (and inexpensive!) gifts for teachersThis is the first year I've had a child in my home, so though I've been on the receiving end of teacher gifts for years and years, I've never had to be the one planning them. I debated going the easy route and just picking up a starbucks card for each, but Pooh has 4 teachers, so that would be at least $20, even if we only did $5 cards for each. However, with all the great sales this Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-90167982177190087392010-12-14T23:33:00.002-06:002010-12-14T23:38:45.874-06:00My love of couponsSo, I am a cheapskate at heart, I admit it. It's not that I don't want to pay money for things, though. It's that I hate to pay a large amount of money for things that I *know* I can find cheaper! For instance, when P-Daddy calls me on the way home from work and asks me to pick up diapers, I really honestly cannot do it. I cannot walk into a store and pay FULL PRICE for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-62302162642165622972010-10-05T22:37:00.001-05:002010-10-05T22:39:22.945-05:00What does a pigeon say?I have no idea what the *real* answer to this question is, but in our house, it's "Not tired!" This is due to one of Pooh's favorite books, "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late" by Mo Willems.
I'm a big fan of the pigeon books, which i was introduced to by a dear friend in grad school, who had "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" - it was a great book!
Now, this one is one of Pooh's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-2607816689739359532010-10-05T22:08:00.000-05:002010-10-05T22:08:24.568-05:00Bla kiki peas mommySo the other morning, I'm in the kitchen making Pooh his everyday lunch of peanut butter and honey sandwich while P-daddy makes the coffee, and in wanders Pooh. He comes over, stands close, and says "Up, mommy." Trained by now to stop whatever I'm doing and obey his smallest command Unable to resist cuddling up to him for a few short minutes, I pick him up and hold him close, at whichUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-18175867618953608152010-09-30T15:33:00.000-05:002010-09-30T15:33:57.133-05:00juggling lifeIt's been a while since I updated this blog, mostly because things got CRAZY around here! We decided to buy a house, which would put me closer to school and thus in quick driving range if there was a child emergency, so I got busy with packing up the household. It won't be news to anyone who has ever moved their whole family, but packing up myself, my child, and my husband was a LOT Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-74903007845629917812010-08-02T22:37:00.000-05:002010-08-02T22:37:09.751-05:00New lessons being learned...but by Pooh, not by us:
(1) toilet paper goes in the toilet. he demonstrated this knowledge by tossing a new roll of paper in there the other day when I neglected to put the lid down. My lesson: always attach the roll to the paper roll holder. it won't stop him, but it'll take a lot longer for the entire roll to end up in the toilet. and let's be honest - Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-17474602348998970622010-07-26T20:06:00.000-05:002010-07-26T20:06:49.585-05:00and my newest lesson regarding cloth diapering...is that one should always put pants on over velcro fastened pocket diapers when worn by inquisitive almost-two-year-olds. Otherwise, one might check on said toddler later only to find him sitting naked, on a sheet that he has soaked, having thrown said diaper out of his crib. Thankfully Hopefully, there was will be no poop for him to play with!
I was so excited this evening to try Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-24483723905660885842010-07-24T23:19:00.001-05:002010-07-24T23:20:51.968-05:00Why I love Craigslist.orgMore cloth diapers, at awesome prices!
Thanks to a wonderful local cloth diapering mom who is updating her stash and getting rid of lots of cloth diapers, I got an awesome deal today! She advertised the lot on craigslist as 19 pieces, but she counted the inserts as part of the pocket diapers, and then she threw in 2 extra bumgenius pockets that had stains and needed to be sunned. SoUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-71386224574607779752010-07-22T15:37:00.001-05:002010-07-24T23:27:26.771-05:00lessons in cloth diaperingSo we've been cloth diapering for a week or so now, and in my mind (though perhaps not in P-daddy's) I'm committed to trying this for 2 months. Really, in my mind it's that I'll try it until October 1, and if I'm not finding it's working at that time, I'll go back to disposables. But so far, I kind of like it! I've now received all 4 of the covers that I ordered (I'll be postingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-38097296864189293742010-07-17T15:31:00.004-05:002010-07-17T15:37:12.758-05:00Diaper cover reviews: Tiny tushA few days ago, I ordered this Tiny Tush diaper cover in a size large, color rose, with snaps. We put it on him this morning, and so far, it's working fine. As of 3:30pm, no leaks, even through a 2-hour nap, and he seems comfortable and happy in it. One thing I don't love is that it sags a lot in the bottom. Take a look:
I realize that this sagging may be a result of (1) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-60953124127769911902010-07-17T15:08:00.002-05:002010-07-17T15:11:13.854-05:00Cloth diapering...a green choice, but is it really frugal?One frugal choice that we've been unsure about making is whether we want to use cloth diapers. We know they are a greener choice, and they reduce waste in landfills, and that we can re-use them over and over. But, quite frankly, the better-known cloth diaper brands are between $15 and $20 for a single diaper, and when I can get a pack of Luvs at Walmart for about $4.47 ($6.97 - 2.50q)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-89971146611547567262010-07-17T12:19:00.000-05:002010-07-17T12:19:56.313-05:00Is it worth it?A friend asked me this the other day if the process of getting WIC was worth it, and I'll be honest and say I was wondering the same thing myself. For the unitiated, WIC is a nutrition assistance program that provides vouchers for things like milk, eggs, whole grains, cereal, juice, etc for Women, Infants, and Children. Foster children, as dependents of the state, are automatically Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-62421441745373067552010-07-08T18:08:00.001-05:002010-07-08T19:29:28.348-05:00We have a kid!Officially, as of yesterday, P-daddy and I have a foster placement. We knew this was coming, and since the child is Pooh, he's already been in the house for over a week, but it feels so much more official now! We got to meet his CPS worker, our own FYS from our agency, and sign all the papers. I have a WIC appointment on Tuesday to get that going as well.
And since I'm heading Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-39026117067388794402010-07-02T11:08:00.000-05:002010-07-02T11:08:03.071-05:00Things I've learned this week...So on Monday evening, Pooh arrived to start what we hope is his new family life with us. Though we've had him short-term on numerous occasions, this now feels fairly official, as his case should be transferred to us this coming week (we are officially on long-term respite for the moment). Anyway, for most moms, by the time their kids are two, they've learned bit by bit about how to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-44112781458169972892010-06-28T21:05:00.000-05:002010-06-28T21:05:53.385-05:00FINALLY!!Today, I got home from work to find a legal-size envelope in the mail from our foster care agency. I got so excited that I opened it first, even before the free samples and coupon envelopes! Sure enough, it was our official license - yay! This was amusing to me since we have yet to actually talk with our FYS (Family and Youth Specialist) and as a matter of fact, don't even know Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-85898974791207526782010-06-24T07:54:00.000-05:002010-06-24T07:54:09.635-05:00Staying out of the kitchenI mentioned in an earlier post that P-daddy and I spent a couple hours in the kitchen earlier this week in order to avoid having to be there for the rest of the week. So far, that's working pretty well. In the 100 degree heat in Texas, no one wants to heat up the kitchen, and in our little apt with no central air (window units in all rooms *except* the kitchen!) we really don't want Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-50484732851534281212010-06-22T10:18:00.001-05:002010-06-22T10:18:58.181-05:00More menus, and an update!First the update: Last night, P-daddy and I had a lovely talk with the director of our agency, who has to approve all the homestudies. She just had some residual issues to clear up, which we did successfully, and she said she'd approve and pass it on, and we should be licensed by the end of the week if no other issues arrive! Yay - finally!
And now the menus:
Last week, we did.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-1348413830755227932010-06-22T08:07:00.004-05:002010-06-22T10:19:21.296-05:00Sweetness...From the very beginning of our relationship, back before we ever had a real date and when we were trying to figure out if we even wanted to, P-daddy and I talked about foster care and adoption. It seemed that both of us were on the same page in our desires to eventually foster and/or adopt, with each of us individually considering it before we ever even met. I'm not sure how long it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-49679520074702527072010-06-19T10:23:00.003-05:002010-06-22T10:19:55.311-05:00Toddlers, Frat Boys, they're all the same thing...Okay, a friend on FB recently posted this link and it was so hilarious that I had to share it! The comments are almost as funny as the post itself, but here's the original Top Ten reasons why having a toddler is like being at a frat party, from SuburbanSnaphots.com:
10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.
9. There's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-45496380078914823172010-06-16T08:43:00.004-05:002010-06-22T10:20:32.407-05:00baby crib thankfulnessSo a while back, we got this crib on freecycle - it's in decent shape, and it converts from crib to toddler bed to queen-size headboard. Unfortunately, it was missing some hardware:-( Though it has everything it needs for the toddler bed version, it's missing some vital pieces for the drop-down side, which means that it's not usable as a crib. You can see it here, with the side simply Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-43150428620865317542010-06-13T21:02:00.002-05:002010-06-13T21:45:28.091-05:00Menu planningOne area that P-daddy and I do not excel in is planning menus. We both eat pretty simply, and he in particular is happy to grab some fruit and veggies and make a meal of it. I'm much more of a carb-a-holic, so I need bread, rice, etc., so we've been attempting to find meals that cover both our preferences. This week, we decided to try our hand at menu-planning and see how it goes. Luckily, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-52564494391741863562010-06-11T10:08:00.003-05:002010-06-22T10:20:54.158-05:00And the homestudy has been submitted!Earlier this week, we turned in the very last bit of paperwork we still had pending for our foster care license. Yesterday, Kristen, who did our homestudy, emailed to let us know that it had been submitted to our agency. This means that we should be completely ready, and will be licensed ASAP! yay - we are so excited!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-91521006472638267682010-06-07T16:57:00.003-05:002010-06-22T10:21:17.498-05:00Sadness already...So our contact at the foster placement agency called this morning - I thought at first it was to let me know we were still missing something, but then she told me she was really calling to let us know that she is leaving the agency! Oh no! We've really enjoyed working with her, and we've had very little dealings with anyone else, so we are hoping this will not slow us down any. Hopefully, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399309571908520166.post-78993628382925452692010-06-06T15:19:00.002-05:002010-06-06T19:51:57.023-05:00I love my Swagbucks!One way that we've been slowly earning money to use toward larger purchases is using Swagbucks as our search engine. Over the last however long it's been since I signed up, I've earned enough points to get several things free or close to, including 2 huge boxes of Splenda, my mom's 70th birthday gift (this rooster doorbell), part of my dad's gps, and my latest: a carseat for our new fosterkid!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0