Free Summer Fun

For those of you in the US, every summer Regal cinemas play free movies every Tuesday and Wednesday. All of the movies of G or PG (one of each each week) which makes it something everyone can enjoy. Here the theater is usually not full but there are plenty of moms with kids of all ages including infants (with older siblings). It's completely free, unless of course you hit the concession stand. They are not first run movies of course but most of them are popular, well-known movies like Charlotte's Web.

If you want to see if a theater near you is participating this summer, go to http://www.regmovies.com/freefamilyflicks/ffffresults.jsp , click on REG Free Family Film Festival on the left side of the page then scroll down to your state. You'll get a list of theaters participating in your state as well as what movies their playing and the dates. It seems like most theaters start around June 19 and end around August 20 but it may be different in your area and the movies that are shown do vary somewhat by location.

I am not associated with this chain in anyway. It's just that we really enjoy this program. You can check your local newspapers or your parks association as well because a lot of times there are free outdoor movies during the summer sponsored by different groups.

Slow progress

My little ones kindly shared their colds with me so I haven't been up to doing too much the last few days. I have made some slow progress on blocks for R.'s quilt, which I'll keep slowly plugging away at.

I haven't gotten much of anything else done since dh got back. The bathrooms still need to be painted and I really want to get that done before my sister and her family come up for a visit next week. If I'm really feeling better, I might even try to tackle stripping the wall paper border in the kitchen and getting the upper walls in there painted as well, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Things will get done when they get done.

DH remembered to bring our camera back with him (but he forgot his jacket and didn't realize until he was freezing on the plane) so as soon as time and energy allow I should have pics of works in progress, my "new" glider all painted and recovered and my "new" sewing table which I picked up for $7 at a huge Boy Scout garage sale.

The weekend after next I'm hoping to go to a Quilt show. DH has already promised to watch the kids all day but the last few times I wanted to go out on my own for awhile something has come up-bad weather, sick kid, feeling too morning sick to do much. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing comes up to thwart my plans. I've never been to a quilt show before but I think it will be a fun way to spend a few hours.

I've been in that limbo stage of pregnancy where the only real indicator of being pregnant is weight gain and an expanding waist line, so you just sort of feel fat. (I have never gained less than 36 lbs. per pregnancy no matter what I eat or how much I exercise.) The morning sickness past with the first trimester and until a few days ago, I still hadn't felt the baby moving. But now the baby has started to make its presence known with little flutters every now and then.

I'm debating whether or not to find out the sex of this baby. I usually don't but we got rid of nearly all of the baby clothes when we moved so now I have to stock up again. So, do I stick to neutrals or go ahead and find out so I have can snap up gender specific bargains? I have until mid June to make up my mind when I have the next sonogram.

It's time to get off the computer and get the kids ready to go grocery shopping. We managed to use 2 doz. eggs last week!

To all the Beautiful Women out there

Did you know that it's Beautiful Women Month ?
Well, it is . . . . and that means you and me!

Facts On Figures : There are 3 billion women who don't look like super models and only eight who do.
Did you know Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14? She also did not have good hygiene . . . . . Can you believe that?
If Barbie were a real woman . . . . .she'd have to walk on all FOURS due to her proportions!

The average woman weighs 144 pounds, and wears between a size 12-14 (US sizing - 14-16 English).
One out of every four college-aged women has an eating disorder .
Models in magazines are AIR-BRUSHED - NOT Perfect !!
A psychological study in 1995 found that just 3 minutes looking at a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel DEPRESSED , GUILTY and SHAMEFUL ! RELAX . . . and learn to love who you are You are BEAUTIFUL!!!
20 years ago, models weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, they weigh 23% less . . . . . ~ ~
The Beauty Of A Woman ~ ~ The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, The figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes, Because that is the doorway to her heart, The place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, The passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman With time, only grows . . . . .

An English professor directed his students to punctuate correctly the following words: "WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING" .
The men wrote: "Woman , WITHOUT HER MAN, is nothing."
The women wrote: "WOMAN! WITHOUT HER, man is nothing!"


The Images of Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE My Mummy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either!
16 YEARS OF AGE Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE Before we decide, let's get Mum's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE Wonder what Mum would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE Wish I could talk it over with Mum. . .

Please send this to all the PHENOMENAL WOMEN you know in celebration of Women's History Month.
If you do, something good will happen . . . . .YOU will boost another woman's self-esteem!


I found this on http://ozcountryquiltingmum.blogspot.com/ and just had to share it with everyone out there.

How do kids do these things?

The day before yesterday, S. managed to break the outside door handle on the car! It still boggles my mind how she could possibly execute such a feat. I still haven't had a chance to call the dealer and see how long it will take to get fixed and how much it will cost. I don't think it will take that long but given the fact that it seems like an unusual situation we'll probably have to wait for a new handle to be ordered.

Life's never boring with kids!

Sorry if I bored anyone to tears with my "busy days" post.

Today I've been working a bit on piecing R.'s 1st birthday quilt. You read that right. He's already past his 2nd birthday and I still haven't finished even piecing the quilt yet. Ah, well. It'll get done when it gets done. Being the 2 year old that he is, he's doing an excellent job of making every room in the house look like a mini tornado hit today. He's been up since 5:30 this morning and man has he been busy.

DH comes home Sunday and I still have so much I want to get done before he comes back. I thought I would get a lot more done by now but I've been so tired that I usually fall asleep not long after I get the kids to bed and at least one of them is up soon after I am. Since R. doesn't nap and he sleeps the least of everyone, I haven't been able to get to the bathroom painting or finish the ironing yet. I hate ironing and much prefer letting it build up and do a lot at once rather than a little at a time. Well, I let it sit a little too long this time. I had 21 shirts and several pairs of pants to do. If I'm really luck R. will decide to take a nice long nap since he was up so early and maybe, just maybe I'll get it all finished. Then I can start on the bathrooms tonight.

I was watching Good Morning America this morning and they had on a segment on decorating. Big deal right. Anyone can decorate if they've got lots of $. Well this time they did something interesting. They had a "vanity table" drape in pink fabric. Then they showed that the "table" was an old banged up desk that they picked up cheap. I've seen something similar at the local school district's auction site. I just realized something like that might work pretty well for a sewing table. It's amazing what a little TLC can do for a tired piece of furniture. Once I repainted the glider that I bought, it looked a thousand times better for less than $3 in paint. Now I just have to get the cushions recovered. Hopefully when dh gets back I'll post a picture.

I had decided already that whenever possible I'd rather try and get furniture used rather than buying it new, especially solid pieces like bookshelves or cabinets. I feel like it is a more environmentally friendly option. And most of what people get rid of really only needs a little cosmetic pick-me-up.

Time to go clean up the "tiny tornado" damage.

Question for any who sew clothing out there

I want to make my girls swimsuits this year that are more modest than what you can find outside. I found a website that sells patterns for such suits and it includes the dimensions for each size. Well, I just measured the girls this morning and their measurements would land them in at least a few different sizes. Now this might not be a big deal if I were sewing only tops or only bottoms but their chest sizes are much more narrow than the chest size that matches their waists. What do I do? Would it work to narrow the seams around the chest on the bigger size? I haven't sewn much in the way of clothing so I'm really not sure how hard it would be to get a good fit on a swimsuit.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Busy days

We've had some really busy days lately. DH is off visiting his family and I'm trying to get all kinds of stuff done while he's gone plus other stuff that has just happened to pop up or coincide with his trip. If things keep going as is, from last Sunday until this coming Mon. we will have spent exactly 1 day at home without going anywhere. We've been or will be out and about for a minimum of 3 hours up to 7 all of those days. Now for some people that's the norm but I'm generally a house mouse and prefer to stay close to home. Plus I've got lots of projects I want to work on at home that are begging for my attention as well as necessities like house cleaning and lawn mowing. (Although a very good friend as offered to come this weekend and mow our lawn.) On top of all of this, we just did our annual required proof of progress testing for the kids. I intended to break it up over 2 days but the kids want to go to a local farm/park tomorrow and didn't want to get up early to finish their tests so they completed them after dinner. I'm proud to say that both kids sped through the tests in record time. Safiya only missed 1 out of 100 questions and Mustafa only missed 3 out of 120. Not bad for my very relaxed, eclectic homeschoolers. Zahra was so jealous while they were testing tonight that she insisted I make up a math "homework page" for her to do while they finished. She finished 16 addition and subtraction problems in no time and Safiya graded it for her. (all correct) She was so proud of herself. Now all I have to do is send the tests in for "official" grading and the send a copy of the scores to the superindendent's office. I told the kids, as a reward, they wouldn't have any work to do for 2 weeks.

What have we been doing that's kept us out and about?
-We hit garage sales on Sat. which had the kids all excited since they got to spend up to $2 each however they liked and I scored a gliding rocker with ottoman for $10. It needed a fresh coat of paint and a new cover and the nuts need to be tightened on the ottoman but after buying the spray paint and fabric, it still will cost me less than $35. Not bad since new ones are well over $100. Now I'm on the lookout for a bookshelf for the tv/computer room. We'll hunt for that this Saturday. Their friends came over and played for a few hours in the afternoon and then we went to the masjid/mosque in the evening.
-Big chunks of Sunday are always spent at the masjid where the kids take Quranic Arabic classes followed by running to Wal-mart for various necessities.
-Monday we stayed home but spent more than 4 hours outside while I painted the glider, a mirror frame and the linen closet shelves (easier than covering them in contact paper and cheaper since the paint was left by the previous owners).
-Tuesdays we go to a sewing class where we've been working on quilting for the last several sessions. That's followed by the weekly grocery shopping.
-Today ended up being quite busy with testing in the morning followed by a check visit for Reza, an hour waiting to do a glucose test at my OB's office (You have to drink a soda like drink then wait an hour for your blood to be drawn.) Normally you only do this once in a pregnancy but this OB's office has a policy that if you had a previous baby above 9 lbs. you get to get tested twice so I'll have to do this again around 28 weeks since Reza was 9lbs., 10oz. After that we went to the fabric store where we picked up some swimsuit fabric for the girls. They all want to do swim classes again this year but I don't like most of the suits I've seen for kids. I found one website that sells a pattern for modest swimsuits which I'll attempt to make for them. (www.modest-swimwear.net) Then we hit Baskin-Robbins. They had a special promotion tonight where a scoop was only 31 cents from 5-10 and the proceeds went to help the families of fallen firefighters. We couldn't pass up a deal like that. We ended our trip out with a trip to the gas station where prices rose 8 cents since Sunday.
-Tomorrow it's a trip with other homeschoolers to a local mini-farm that is run by volunteers. This will be followed by a picnic and plenty of playground time. I'm hoping to get the front yard mowed at least in the morning before we go. Mustafa really wants to do it but I'm not sure I'm ready for him to do something that potentially dangerous at 8 years old without heavy supervision which I can't really give him since I have to also keep an eye on Reza at the same time. When we get back, I have some sewing I'd like to get done.
-Friday is one of our favorite events-a semi-annual used book sale at our local library. Tons of great books, most for less than $2. It's always packed but lots of fun.
-Saturday will be more garage sale shopping followed by another promised picnic and a trip to the islamic butchers to stock up on meat. They also have great prices on vegetables, often half what the local supermarkets charge and the quality is usually tons better. Their friends may come over to play for a couple of hours and then it's off to the masjid for a few hours.
-Sunday will be just like last Sunday except I have to throw in a trip to Lowe's for some white trim paint for the bathrooms and some flowers for the yard. I'm hoping to get both the main bathrooms painted next week while DH is gone and if time permits maybe even the kitchen too.

So, as you can see, we're a little busy around here right now. All the activity keeps the kids occupied and not missing DH as much, but man am I going to be tired by the time he comes back. ;) I forgot and sent the cd of pictures with him to give to his family, so once again, there are no pics for the blog. I'm really hoping he doesn't forget to bring our camera back with him.

It's time for me to get this posted, take care of some laundry, either do some ironing or sew up another tote bag for our book sale finds and then head off to bed. Considering it's about midnight, I think I'm going to be in serious need of a nap come tomorrow afternoon. Too bad none of the kids will take naps.

I'll try and post again next week when things might be a bit slower.

No more boring posts

Yes, ladies (and possibly gentlemen) I have finally gotten the pictures on cd! So I thought I'd share a few pics of the new house. I won't show you the front of the house but here are some pics that show-Safiya and Zahra's pink and purple bedroom (alternated walls, when time permits the girls and I will paint free hand hearts in pink and purple on the walls) sorry it's sideways, the much used wood stove, the very large deck and backyard, in reverse order.

A bit of irony from a talking head

First, I'd like to say my thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the VA Tech shootings. I have a feeling the shootings came as a shock to the family of the shooters as it did to everyone else, especially with everything they've said lately about the privacy issues and not informing the family about any of what is going on. I've seen other kids who are/were similar to what the descriptions of this guy have been. I can't help but think if only someone had reached out to him early on-freshman or sophomore year. One or two good friends can make a big difference. One of the guys I knew tried everything to fit in in high school, even becoming the quarterback, but ppl just won't let him get past his previous "geeky" image. I was somewhat friends with him but then moved away. I was told by other friends that he had attempted suicide the year after I moved. No really close friends and no one to talk to can cause teens and college students to internalize so much of what they are going through and think that they are the only ones. Some snap and act out against themselves and unfortunately in cases like Va Tech, they direct their anger at others in a twisted attempt to feel more in control of their social standing. I'm in no way justifying his actions, there is no justification for them, but like most others I can't help wondering, "what if". It's just that sometimes befriending an "outsider" can make a real difference for that person.

During all of the early news coverage of this incident, I was struck by how insistant people were that the school should have let everyone know sooner about the first incident. I think this is really a reflection of how saturated we've become with information and feel an entitlement to know everything "right now!" No one could have predicted that one early morning shooting would lead to the slaughter that took place 2 hours later. It's not fair to insist that they should have known.

And we've become so skewed in our preceptions of how long it takes to evaluate information that we can't stand to wait longer than a 30 second sound bite. At least, one parent has complained that it took until late in the evening to be told about her son's death. I know it must have been excruciating for her to sit and wait but there were 32 people to identify, at least some, probably many without any id on them (Understandably, personal belongs where scattered all over the building.) If he was on of the victims in a hallway it would be difficult to even figure out which class he was supposed to be in, which I'm guessing is how they figured out who some of the victims were. After he was identified then the school would have to pull of the family contact information which would have to be passed on to the local officials and then would in turn have to contact authorities in the family's city. Life is not an hour long crime drama.

All of that is so not what I intended to blog about when I started this post. Here's what I struck me as ironic while listening to the talking heads on Tuesday. One "expert" on campus crime rates was talking about all of the violent crimes and deaths that take place every year on college campuses and he said "We need to socialize our students." Why is this ironic? Those outside the homeschooling community might not find it that ironic but this is one of the main reoccuring assertions about the benefits of public school over homeschooling. "What about socialization?" This questions assumes that kids can only be socialized in a public school setting, while this guy was insisting on the need to socialize predominately public school students. Now I have to agree with him. As a society, over a fair short period of time, we've managed to devalue the role of families, reduce the value of women to sexual object (Look at the label of nearly any female recording artist and compare it to the cover of a male artist. Who's nude or nearly nude? Look at the clothing of male and female runway models. How many men do you see on the beach in a speedo? How many women/girls are in itty bitty bikinis? Women who dress conservatively are lampooned by make-over artists as not being sexy enough. And this thinking filters all they way down to clothing for toddlers. Sexy= female beauty and power.) and we've completely confused the role men should play in relationships and in society at large. How macho is too macho? How sensitive is too much? One group will complain if a man holds a door open and another will complain if he doesn't? I've been as guilty of this as anyone else. Add to this the increasing isolation of individuals and an increasing focus on self and predominate drive for personal satisfaction over any thoughts of the greater good within a family or society. It's no wonder that things have becoming so confused that few people know how to behave socially anymore.

Fortunately, as a homeschooler, I can counter some of these messages. I can "socialize" my children to treat themselves and others with respect and kindness regardless of their age or social background. Now, if only public schools and society could figure out how to answer the question "What about socialization?"

Hello to all who pop in

I'm sure you've noticed the little map on the sidebar with red dots on it. I decided to put it on here a couple of months ago because I was beginning to believe that only one or two people were reading my blog and I was considering just shutting down. Boy was I surprised to see little dots popping up all over. Since I don't get many comments, without that map I'd never know you dropped by.

So, "Hello" to whoever you are from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, England, Denmark, the Slovak Republic, the US and wherever else you might hail from. Thanks for dropping in.

Looking for new authors?

I found this interesting link at a blog called Throwing Marshmallows. You type in an author's name and the site generates a group of other authors that are similar to the first. The closer the name appears to the original, the more their styles have in common.
www.literature-map.com

Enjoy.

Yippy! I'm Back!

It figures! Now that I created a new gmail account this morning straight from the Goggle site bypassing Blogger, Blogger didn't make me give a gmail account address! Whatever!

Ok, for all of those who have been following my not so entertaining life. We are completely moved in now. We absolutely love our new house. There's something for everyone. Plenty of yard for kids to play, long driveway for bike riding, covered deck with locking gate so that if the kids are outside playing I can let Reza play on the deck while I wash dishes or fix food in the kitchen. A wood stove has become a new toy for dh, keeping us nice and toasty when the temps dropped. The neighborhood is so quiet, sometimes I wonder if we even have neighbors.

We've started putting up bookshelves (much needed in this biblophile-rich family) and we scored 2 picnic tables with 2 benches each for a total of $200 at Ikea. One set will be used outside but the other is going to be our dining table. It may not be some people's ideal dining table but the benches are big enough to accomodate all of us plus room for a few more people and I couldn't come close to matching that price anywhere else.

Patty had asked in a comment to my last post whether or not being tired had any special reason. Well, as a matter of fact it does. I'm expecting our fifth baby, due mid-October. But the cooler news is that my best friend from college is expecting for the first time and it's TWINS! She and her husband have been trying for some time to conceive and I couldn't be happier for her. Not only that but her twin sister is pregnant as well! How cool is that! So now I'm sending all my pregnancy vibes to my best friend in TX who is also struggling with infertility. I have renewed hope that good things will happen for her as well!

Sadly still no pictures. I've taken them. I just keep forgetting to take them to be developed! I hope to get it done this week now that things are settling down.

Sheets of white

Well, as with much of the east, we've got plenty of white outside our windows. No, not snow. It's ice. Our area got about 4 inches of sleet rather than double that in snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids and I had fun playing in the snow/sleet mix on Tuesday as the sleet was falling. Fortunately, the temps weren't too bad so it was quite enjoyable. Then Wednesday, DH stayed home and he and the kids shoveled a path through the ice (three rows wide enough for the tires) out of our garage for our two cars and then he took the kids out to sled some more. The kids had a blast because the ice had made the hill super slippery and much faster than the day before. Now, we have bitter cold temps and layers of ice. A kid just stomped across the ice in the common area behind our house and it sounded like someone was hammering. (He also slipped and fell on his backside.) Mustafa noticed one of our neighbors using a hammer this morning to try and break through the ice around his car. The car hadn't been moved since the snow started to fall and they hadn't even tried to shovel anything before now. I really feel for the guy. The schools here have all been shut down since early Tuesday afternoon because so many of the sidewalks are still iced over.

As for me, I'm enjoying the excuse to stay inside because I've been feeling quite tired lately. I prefer to enjoy winter scenes from inside a nice cozy house. I'll definitely be happy when Spring arrives.

The new camera is not cooperating and won't allow me to take any still shots so I've decided that as soon as the new carpet is in, I'll fill up a roll of good old fashion film with house and kid pics and have them put on CD so that I can share. My blogs gotten very boring looking without pictures.

Our house

We've been really busy here this last week. We closed on our house and got right to work picking paint colors, cleaning up, prepping and painting 2 rooms over the weekend. We still need to paint the master bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms, but the master br is first priority since that needs to be done before we put new carpet in. I also started teaching a small group of homeschoolers and their moms how to quilt last week which I will continue today. Needless to say I've been kept on my toes for awhile and there's still plenty to do until we move in. To add to the fun, we had our landlord go ahead and put the for rent sign back up on this house so I get the added fun of having to keep the house show ready just in case. (Although with the temperatures we're having right now, I doubt there are many people out house hunting.) I can't wait until we get everything finished. I've felt very much in transit for the last several months and it will be nice to feel settled again.

I haven't gotten much of my own stuff done lately. It'll all just have to wait until things settle down a bit more. The kids are doing well with the school work and both Mustafa and Safiya have finished most of their lessons for their respective grades since about July. Their working so quickly that I had to spend a good bit of time over the last couple of weeks researching and ordering new books for them. I ended up spending quite a bit more than I'm used to but most of the books can be used for all of the kids so I'm looking at them as a long term investment and it's a whole lot cheaper than private school! It's probably even cheaper than public school when you add in all of the little misc. stuff that comes up over a school year like fund raisers, gym clothes and supplies for projects.

Sorry I still don't have any pictures I can post. We got a new video camera when my dad was here and dh says it has photo capability but I just haven't had a chance to figure it out yet. Hopefully soon.

Snowing

Well, after spending much of the winter so far with way above average temps, like the rest of the country, winter has finally arrived.

It's snowing for the first time this winter and the kids couldn't be happier. Safiya is giving me updates on the progress every 10 min. or so. You'd think the kid had never seen snow before! From the window it looks like it will be a powdery snow, not much good for snow balls but the kids will still enjoy. We're only expecting about an inch, which is a good amount. Enough to keep both parents and kids happy.

I had a wonderful visit with my dad and learned lots about our family history on this side. We have an amazing mix of ancestors including a great, great-grandmother who was Iroquois and had 24 children with her French-Canadian trapper husband to a suffragette who was raised by Jewish adoptive parents because her own parents were murdered (most likely because they were a mixed race couple). There are German and British ancestors as well from his side.

Just think of all the stories those that came before us could tell.

Enjoy your day.

New movie recommendation: A South Korean movie called "The Way Home". It's a very simple movie with a nice message.

Odds and Ends

I've been busy with my dad lately so I haven't had a chance to post much but I figured I'd sneak a few minutes in.

First, I wish I had my camera because Cathy sent me a lovely "Valentine-ish" block ornament. Thank you Cathy. I'll post a picture whenever I eventually get my camera back.

Second, someone had asked in the comments section of the last post what co-sleeping is. Co-sleeping is when your baby sleeps in the same bed as you. There is also the option of having a small railed bed that is open on one side that butts up against your bed where the baby sleeps. As long as mom and dad are not very overweight, smokers, drinkers or drug users and you don't pile the blankets and pillows on the bed, this arrangement is prefectly safe for sleeping arrangement. With the baby in bed with you, you become very sensitive to the rhythms of their breathing and sleeping and some research suggests that it may also reduce the risk of SIDS since the mother's breathing helps the baby regulate its breathing. As a point of reference, this is a practice that women have done around the globe for thousands of years. The practice of segregating an infant in a separate bed and usually a different room is fairly new historically speaking.

Sorry that my last post was so long. It probably should be two separate posts. I just didn't realize I had rambled so much. Although, given the nature of the post, I really do feel that sharing these money savers may help others and I'll likely post more tips from time to time.

Once my dad leaves tomorrow I'll try and get around to everyone's blogs again. I've poked my head in from time to time but haven't had a chance to comment yet.

Money saving tips

A lot of blogs have posted tips on saving money and this is something that I've been meaning to do for awhile now.

I tend to be really frugal on alot of things.
I've never paid for cable or satelite TV. Local free programming and videos/dvds are just fine, thank you.
I don't like to pay more than $10 for a pair of pants for me or any article of clothing for that matter.
When I'm out shopping or running around, I resist buying from vending machines or fast food. Why should I pay $1 for 20-oz soda when I can get 12 -12-oz cans for $2.50 or less? More than $3 for a slice of pizza? No way! 75 cents for a candy bar? Not when I can get 10-12 oz. bags of candy on clearance post holidays for $1.25 or less. (Scored Reese's peanut butter cups for 80 cents a bag last week.)
I own 3 pairs of shoes. One pair of sneakers I bought on sale 2 years ago, one pair of mules that were given to me and one pair of loafers that I got free when I had to buy the kids new shoes 2 years ago. I wore out one pair of shoes while we were in Iran, but I had had them for 4 years.

I think you get the drift.

I splurge on Netflix for about $18/mo. but I average 3-4 rentals/week so each disk is only about $1.50 to rent. I don't go to the movies and I usually don't buy any dvds for myself or dh so I figure it's a reasonable entertainment expediture for the month.

Here are some of my suggestions for saving money, in no particular order. (Some of these I posted as comments on Echo from Green Hills.

Shop clearance clothes racks and try different store locations. One Target here has great deals on clearance clothing. I've gotten dress shirts for less than $4, adult t-shirts for $2 and kids' t-shirts for $1.25. The Target closest to me now has lousy clothing clearance but great prices on linen clearance. I went to Macy's last week and bought 3 pairs of pants on clearance for just over $25. Regular price would have been over $100. If you've got kids, it almost never hurts to buy ahead for next year. I've found clothes from Target and Macy's last better than from anywhere else.

I never bought a changing table. A couple of good changing pads work well anywhere. (You'll need at least 2 if your kids are anything like mine since accidents or extra messy diapers will happen.) I bought a crib for my 1st and kept it through the 3rd but rarely used it after we got used to co-sleeping except for times I needed to keep them safely away from older siblings while I took care of something in another room. A playpen probably would have worked just as well and likely would have been cheaper.

More expensive is not a guarantee of better quality for children's products. Our carseats have been among the cheaper brands but had very good safety ratings. Consumer reports just gave failing grades for safety to 2 of the higher priced carseats on the market.

Detachable infant carseats also make a good seat for early solid food feedings.

Two great sources for used books are library book sales and yard sales. Kids' books are often as little as 10-25 cents. Adult books are usually less than $2. Even better-get and USE a library card. We go to the library about every 2-3 weeks and check out up to 40 books (and a few videos) at a time. We would never be able to buy this many books nor have anywhere to put them. And let's be honest, most books you won't read more than once. I still buy a good number of used books but mostly for reference material, crafts, or from authors that I really enjoy.

If you insist on new books, check out Amazon.com's used listings. Often there will be wholesalers or bookstores selling new copies at a steep discount.

Save plastic food containers like yogurt cups or whipped topping tubs. These are endlessly useful. They can be used for snack cups, water cups for painting, stacking "blocks". The lids make good paint trays as well as excellent frisbees. Keep a small stash on hand and you'll be amazed what your kids will come up with.

Old t-shirts make great bibs or painting smocks.

A cheap shower curtain liner is perfect for putting under a high chair to catch messes. Just cut a few inches out on each side and a foot or so out from the front. At about $1 or 2, this is much cheaper than what you'll find in baby stores but just as durable and effective as long as you don't cut it too small. A vinyl table cloth would work as well and can sometimes be found for the same price.

Here's another trick to coupon use. Combine the coupon with sales. If you have a coupon for $1 off 2 boxes of cereal, if you can, wait for a week when the store has it on sale, say $2/box. $1.50 a box sure beats $3-5.

For picky breakfast eaters, try muffins. Depending on what you add to them, they are very economical and with a bit of practice take less than 10 min. to prep and 20 to bake. We make them with dried fruit, fresh fruit, whole wheat, pumpkin, chocolate chip (1 Tbsp. of mini chips for the batch. This makes a fun add-in to pancakes as well.). Use your imagination and what's on hand. Add dry stuff like whole wheat flour, cocoa or wheat germ with the flour and for everything else just add it in at the end.

Basic mix: Combine 1 2/3 c. flour, 2/3 c. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and a dash of salt. Add 1 egg, 1/4 oil and 1 c. milk. Stir just until combined (will be lumpy). Pour into muffin tins. Bake at 350 F for 17-20 min.

Don't buy ready made gift baskets. I've put together several gift baskets with more and better items for far less than what comes pre-packaged. Generally, it only takes an extra 10 mins. or so of shopping and an ability to look at things in a new light. A wastepaper basket or laundry basket filled with snacks is great for someone heading off to college. Line a small basket with a napkin, add a pretty tea cup, some tea, coffee or hot cocoa and a small package of cookies and you have a great gift for a lady. Hit the dollar store for gift basket items as well. A wicker laundry basket lined with a receiving blanket and filled with washcloths, soap, shampoo and lotion make a nice baby shower gift.

Think about the errands you have to run before you go. If I have multiple places to go, then I try to think about making a circle rather than zigzagging around. A little pre-planning can save you gas and time stuck in traffic.

If you know someone in college or on their way, encourage them to get their books used rather than from the college books store. College texts are expensive but there are alot of really good sources for used books. Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble (bn.com), Half.com just to name a few. All they have to do is go to the bookstore and write down the title and ISBN for all of the required books then hit the internet. For English classes in particular, they should also consider borrowing from the library. Most books will only be used for a few weeks at most in an English course anyway. Don't rely on the school library though, someone else on campus probably has the same idea. Try the community library instead.

These are just some of the things I've done or still do to save money and they all really do pay off. What's the saying? "Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves."

Must See-Go rent Hotel Rwanda!

I've just finished watching this movie and I really have to say I think everyone should see this.

Just as some background: This is a movie about a group of people caught in the violence at the beginning of the genocide in Rwanda.

This movie is so important because it puts a face to the numbers and it is brutally honest about western views towards Africans. Extend that and it highlights just how little concern for people around the world who are not like us. Genocide and ethnic cleansing are as common place now as they have ever been. Isn't that such a sad statement about us as humans!

Genetically we are not so very different. Behaviorly we are not so very different. Even physically we are not so very different. Most people on Earth are born with 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 legs. We all eat, sleep, and poop. We all have the capacity to love and be loved as much as we have the capacity to hate and seek revenge. The differences are essentially superficial yet we give them so much value.

Nearly 1 million people were killed in Rwanda. Nearly half a million have been killed in Sudan so far. By some estimates say more than 655,000 Iraqis have died in the past few years with the numbers rising as more than 1000 attacks occur daily around the country. As of last year more than 160,000 people have died in Chechnya. Anywhere from 100,000-260,000 people died in Bosnia. (Statistics on many more countries around the world both past and present can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_toll#Genocide_and_democide .)

So many dead, but what do a bunch of numbers really mean. Watch Hotel Rwanda and read this article at National Geographic http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0601/feature2/index.html and you will begin to see some of the human faces behind the numbers.

Honestly, I have no idea how to help or stop such violence around the world. All I can do is try to remind myself and my family that we are all so very much alike. And that God made us individuals with slight superficial differences so that we could celebrate our diversity and take pleasure in them. Imagine a garden filled with only one kind of flower in one color only. Now imagine that same garden filled with the variety and uniqueness of a 100 different kinds of flowers in a rainbow of colors. Where would you rather to spend a day?

Please pass these recommendations on to everyone you know so that maybe, just maybe we can all learn to be a bit more accepting of and more open to the variety that God has blessed us with.

Computer woes

Sorry I haven't posted or commented lately. It seems my computer caught a virus or worm and over about a week's time, slowed to a halt. DH had to go through and redo everything. I've only just had time to get back on-line.

The news for this week. I can't remember if I've posted this yet but our contract was accepted and if all goes well, we'll close the end of Jan. We're giving ourselves all of Feb. to paint and get new carpet installed. We'll do the painting ourselves, which should be pretty interesting with 4 kids. 3 of them I'm sure can help to the best of their abilities while I'm sure number 4 will be happy to provide the chaos factor. :)

My Dad is coming to visit in a few weeks. This is great news since he hasn't seen the kids since Mustafa was 2. We can't wait for him to get here.

Other than that all is calm.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a Merry one.

Happenings

So much has been going on in the last couple of weeks.

I went to my first, ever quilters meeting and really enjoyed myself. Even though we won't be in this area much longer (2-3 more months), I plan on joining the group. It's a very nice group of ladies, who made me feel very welcome.

The kids' and I joined a homeschoolers sewing group this week where they learned (and I relearned) how to knit. Next week, I'll begin teaching the girls and moms how to quilt.

We are in final negotiations for a house. It's the nice one on one acre I mentioned previously. Not very close to dh's work but we think the house is worth the extra commute time, especially as it puts us closer to friends and the masjid/mosque we attend.

Quilting is going slowly as I have little time and three projects going at once but they'll all get finished one of these days. ;)

Still no pictures yet. DH's uncle isn't due back from visiting his daughter and brothers in Iran for a couple of more weeks. He hasn't seen them in 3 or 4 years, during which time his mother died, so he's spending a bit of extra time there.

Last weekend we went to the National Aquarium which the kids always love. Each year the Aquarium sets aside one weekend where admission for everyone is just $1. Since we first found out about this event we've tried to make it an annual event. The discount is major since with parking the trip would have cost us $100 this year. I appreciate that they have major expenses in their operation but that's just way more than I can see spending for just 2 or 3 hours of fish sights. But it is tons of fun to go.

I just found out this morning that my dad is going to come for a visit in about a month, God willing. This is wonderful news since he hasn't seen any of the kids since Mustafa's 2nd birthday. Mustafa's now 8. Dad had moved to CA and is now in Arizona so it wasn't exactly easy to go see him. Combine the distance with the cost and logistics of travelling with small children along with the fact that I was finishing my B.A. for the 2 1/2 years prior to going to Iran and you might understand how we never managed a trip out to see him. Keep you fingers crossed for us that nothing goes wrong to keep this trip from happening.

Time to go get busy with all of the other stuff that has to get done today. I hope to get in a bit of quilting time today. I owe Patty a Pay It Forward project. ;)

Update

Things have been busy here lately. We lost out on the red house we are looking at. (A bid was excepted the day we decided to submit a final bid at the sellers counter offer.) So, we've spent at least one day each week driving around to look at other properties or neighborhoods and lots of time online looking. We have a few we are considering. One is nice and a decent size but far out and potentially problematic for DH getting to work. Another is very large and close to a train line dh could take but the house itself didn't appeal to us as much (It seemed to dark and cluttered.) and it's more expensive. A third option is an older house that needs cosmetic work and some updating but it's a bit closer to dh's work near where we used to live.

Fortunately, since this is a buyers market and low season as well, we should have a little time to really consider each of these options as well as any others we come across. I'm drawn to the first house which was very nice, well cared for and had just about a perfect backyard but I'm afraid the commute would be too hard on dh. Even with the closer in house he would be commuting roughly 1 1/2 hours each way. This house would likely add anywhere from 15-30 min. to the commute time. He works from home 2 days a week, so he would only be commuting 3 days/wk but I think that might prove to be too much. Commuting is one of the major challenges of living in this area. DH's commute time is pretty typical since this area covers so many suburbs. DH has even known co-workers who drive from Pennsylvania down to D.C.!

I have started on the leaf quilt. I did the chain piecing of the hsts last night and this morning now I just have to cut and press. Which is what I should be doing now since Reza's asleep and I hate to iron when he's awake. Oh, well. I have a headache and ironing is not exactly my favorite thing to do anyway so I think my progress is pretty much done for the day.

Besides blogging, I also came on-line to submit an application for scoring essays from home. I think this will help me keep my English skills up and give us a cushion if we have to go to the upper end of the mortgage spectrum. If not, then maybe we'll plan a few educational trips with the extra $$. Mustafa wants to go to Egypt, DH wants to go to Malaysia and I have a whole list of places I'd like to visit. It's a good thing we homeschool. This way we have a lot more flexibility for when and where we go. I don't know when I'd find out about the job so keep you fingers crossed for me.

That's about it for now. Time to go make lunch and defrost some meat for kebab tonight.