When eight people live together in a house, it often gets messy very quickly!  Our home is especially susceptible to this on the weekends.  It could be because we are busier and out of our routine or it could be because we don’t want to take the time to pick up after ourselves.  Regardless of why, we sometimes need to have a “Reclaim the House” session, where we all work together as quickly as possible to get the house back under control.

Tonight, while we were “reclaiming”, I was hand washing all of the dishes that wouldn’t fit into the dishwasher, while my 6 year old daughter helped to dry them.  She is normally my slow worker, the one who HATES anything that even resembles a chore.  She usually finds a reason to delay working by saying she’s hungry right as soon as I announce that we need to get busy.  This time was different though.  This time, she was excited, because she was encouraged to work right alongside of mommy.   I was excited because I had the privilege of encouraging her to be a harder worker by complementing her work.  She totally ate it up!  It was a way that I could fill her love tank and help her to enjoy being a hard worker all while bringing us closer.

That had me thinking about a recent quote that I read.  I wish I could find it now, but it went something like this:  ”The more quality time you spend with your children while they’re young, the more they’ll want to be around you when they grow up”.  It’s all about spending quality time.

Do you spend quality time with your children?  I know I’m guilty of spending too much time in front of the computer while they’re off doing something else.  I’m also guilty of sending them away to do a chore, while I’m off doing another chore.  How much more valuable that time would be if we spent it working together.  We could talk about anything important to them, laugh and make it into a fun game.  They will remember their mother as someone who they like to be around.  You will be someone who makes them feel special.  They will grow up wanting to be around you!  I understand that it’s not always possible to be right next to your children when you have them assigned to a job, but I do think that we can make a more conscious effort to do so.

In addition to cleaning together, here are some ideas of how we can spend more time with our children:

• Play a game .
• Read a book
• Do a puzzle
• Take them out for a meal one on one
• Go out for dessert
• Set aside so much time per day to talk (especially important with older children)
• Do a craft
• Cook dinner (rotate in a child to help you each day)
• Volunteer together outside of your home
• Let one child at a time go to the store with you

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We’ve used cloth napkins for years, but they were always kept away in a drawer in the kitchen and had to be gotten out at each meal.  It just wasn’t convenient.

While visiting another large family, I found a solution that has solved even more meal time problems than I knew I had!

Our friends kept brown washcloths in two decorative planters at either end of their long farmhouse table.  I adapted this by putting extra rust and tan washcloths my mom had given us and we hardly ever used in 2 decorative containers I had been using for pencils. Because my containers were much smaller than their planters, I rolled each washcloth.

The problems this solved:

1.  Something quick to grab for spills.

2.  Washable and reusable napkins.

3.  Napkins that my child with sensory issues will use (she hates paper napkins).

4.  Napkins are always on the table.

5.  They even look pretty!

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I like to tear things out of magazines.  Especially decorating tips I’ll more than likely never put into practice.  However, there was a particular Christmas decorating tip I pulled out of a magazine shortly after we were married that always stuck with me as something I was definitely going to do.

A few years later, I got my chance!  At the time we were living in the house that made me smile with its enormous bay windows and lovely front porch.  That Christmas, I was so excited to go shopping for decorations…in the woods!  My secret woodsy decorating tip?  Grapevine!

This year, I once again had a home with a railing perfect for the beautiful Christmas decoration I had once enjoyed all those year ago.  And there was just enough grapevine trailing along our back fence line for me to decorate our back balcony.

After I had looped the huge strands of grapevine in and amongst the spindles and top railing to my satisfaction, I added strings of white Christmas lights.

At the other house, I had also added garland to create a look that dazzled in the daytime as well, but since this is our back balcony, I decided to just garnish with lights.  The result makes me smile…

I absolutely love decorating with grapevine, not only because it has such a wonderful rustic feel to it, but also because it is entirely FREE!  Just make sure you don’t accidentally choose poison ivy!

Do you decorate with grapevine?  I’m thinking about adding some to the inside of my home around my china cabinet with lights as well.  Any other decorating ideas for grapevine and lights?

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As children age, their awareness of money becomes greater.  They begin to notice the adults in their lives paying for things with some form of money, be it cash, checks, or credit/debit cards.

And they begin to want some of their own.

Whether it starts out because they want a certain toy and you say no and they realize if only they had the cold, hard cash to buy it with, then they wouldn’t have to go through you (faulty reasoning though it may be) or whether they begin getting cash for Christmas and birthdays from relatives and realize they can buy their own presents with that money, at some point they become aware of the fact that their WANTS could become their POSSESSIONS if only they had MONEY (again, faulty reasoning, but foolishness IS bound up in the heart of a child).

From this stems the discussion of an allowance and whether or not the children of the home have full reign over their money or do mom and dad still have some control?

And what about chores?  Or odd jobs?  Do you pay for those or are those expected work as part of the household?

This is such a personal discussion and decision, I don’t want to tell you there is one right way, but over the years we have been asked all of these money questions and more from other parents and I thought you might be interested in how we handle the finances of our children.

1.  We do not pay an allowance. Since we are raising adults, we take our reasoning from the adult world.  Most people do not get an allowance.  They work for their living.  Therefore, our children do not get “free money” either.

2.  We do not pay for chores. Again, taken from the adult world…anything that is part of the normal day-to-day operations of the household are not compensated monetarily.  I don’t get paid for cooking the meals and changing dirty diapers and my children do not get paid for washing the dishes and taking out the trash.

3.  We DO pay for jobs that are above and beyond the normal household duties. For instance, we pay for cleaning out the garage, washing the car, babysitting for more than an hour, and doing any job we would have to pay someone else to do.

4.  We pay for any little businesses our children are trying to create. My children give foot massages to their poor achy mama and their daddy pays them for it.  It’s not a booming business, but we feel that if they work hard at something in the effort to make a little money on the side, then that is a noble cause and worth payment.  I also pay them for any blog work that I need done and they are capable of doing.  In the adult world, this is called being a Virtual Assistant and because I would have to pay to have this done, I am willing to pay them.

5.  They are expected to help pay for WANTS. As they reach adulthood, we will ask that they help pitch in with NEEDS, but for now, they are required to pitch in with WANTS.  So, my son’s Space Camp fee (at the most incredible Space Museum on the planet – and who’s CEO is a homeschool dad of 9) is a WANT and something our son must provide half the cost of.  We do allow these types of wants (like my daughter’s new camera) to be given as gifts or gift money to go toward them, but our philosophy is that a WANT means so much more when you had to work to pay for some of it.

6.  They are expected to be generous. Whether that means they pay for an occasional ice cream for little brother or they pitch in with the Samaritan’s Purse shoebox, we expect them to not be tightfisted when it comes to their money.  We want them to be fiscally responsible without being Ebenezer Scrooge.

7.  We hold on to their money until they are 7-ish. When Christmas or Birthday money comes around, we, as parents, take control of that money and store it away for them.  If they want something and that want is reasonable, then we dole the money out accordingly.  We don’t really have a set age when this ceases, I just said 7-ish because my 7 year old does take care of her own money now.  My 5 year old son does not.  The reason we do this is twofold:

1. Young children are notoriously irresponsible.  Piggy banks become something fun to play with around here, so if the parents take charge of the money, we can be assured the money is safe from floor vents and baby’s mouth.
2. Young children need a lot of guidance on what to use their money for.  They seem to be unaware of the fact that they already own a whole truckload of toys.  Mom and Dad know much better where their money needs to go.

8.  When it’s gone, it’s gone.  We don’t do loans. Again, looking to the adult world…we live debt free and it is our belief that teaching children that mom and dad can “float them a loan” teaches them to be impatient and irresponsible.  This kind of thinking leads to Pay Day Loans and bad credit with bills they cannot pay.  Debt is a curse.  Even when you are 10.

9.  Family finances are not a secret. This past summer vacation, we required our son to tally up every single receipt along the way in order to get a grasp of how much it costs for our family of 8 to go on vacation.  We did this in the spirit of TANSTAAFL (see Whatever Happened to Penny Candy for more info on this rather useful acronym that stands for There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch).  It is important our children understand the value of a dollar and just how much their everyday lives cost.  Yep, goes back to that adult world again!

10.  Money is NEVER more important than people. Ty and I have always made an effort to put people before money.  When my father was sick with Alzheimer’s and we lived 3 ½ hours away, my husband was adamant we be available to head back “home” at the drop of a hat.  Many people made fun of our “burning up the road,” but my father was more important than the almighty dollar.  The money to make one more trip was always there.

And that, folks, is my humble $.02.

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My brain is in frugal gear right now, so…

Whenever I think of it, I mention on the Raising Arrows facebook page some of the Walgreen’s deals I use to make free gifts.  I really like the brag books and the 8×10 collage prints that show up fairly regularly for free or free + shipping.  These are really great gifts for grandparents that are low or no cost to you (and Christmas is coming up sooner than you think!).

So, when I saw this deal come through on my email from one of my affiliates, I thought it looked like another great gift idea for only the cost of shipping:

{note: this offer is only good until this Friday}

Another email that came through from this same affiliate really struck my interest as I’m beginning to think about doing our annual clothing switcheroo:

In addition to your first box being free, you also get 30% off any other boxes today (8/24) and tomorrow (8/25) only!  This looks like such a neat program!

On this same thread (pun intended), I have a friend who started up a local swap via facebook.  Apparently, these are the new Craigslist and Freecycle.  If you don’t have one in your area, you might think about starting something like it.  And if you don’t want to do a big full-blown type of list, think homeschool materials, or children’s clothes, or something smaller scale!

And of course, don’t forget my Community Box idea for regifting things you no longer need, but might be a blessing to someone else!

Oh, and don’t forget the Thirty-One Gifts Giveaway ends TONIGHT!  You don’t want to miss this one…so many possibilities!

Have any regifting ideas?  I’d love to hear your creative ways for getting and giving!

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I have a love/hate relationship with children’s books.

I love books.

I hate books that are on their last leg with torn pages, marked up illustrations (courtesy of the current toddler) and broken spines.

But, it is so hard to pitch books.  Especially books with memories attached.  And we all know how easily we {and our children} attach memories to their books.

Well, I ran across a great idea over at The Homeschool Chick the other day and had to try it!

Storybook Placemats!

So, while I had my handy-dandy contact paper out from the assignment card project, I decided to make these!

It was not hard to choose which book needed to be upcycled.

{Look at that price! We might just have to get another one!}

Bear’s Curiosity Book has been with us a long time.  When my oldest son was a tiny little guy, he would pour over that book and pretend he lived within the book’s pages.  Every child after him has done likewise.

And the book had begun to show it’s age.

It was coming apart at the binding.  Pages were torn.  Purposeful toddler hands armed with permanent marker had decorated it’s cover.  It was a sad, sad book, yet we loved it.

When the children were busy in another room, I quickly went to work.  {Yes, dismemberment of favorite books is sometimes best left for a mother to do alone}

This is a large book, so it took a lot of contact paper to do 5 placemats (poor Garin didn’t get one because this was all I could salvage from the book).  The best way to do this is to

1.  Cut a piece of contact paper for both the front and the back.

2.  Peel off the back of one of the pieces of contact paper and lay the pages you want to preserve FACE DOWN. If you are not very, super, extra careful with contact paper, you will end up with bubbles and ridges, so laying the front side out first keeps you from having any of these issues with the side that matters most.  Also, don’t forget to place the books pages in the correct order.  The one in the picture is NOT in the correct order.  The kids noticed right away, but thankfully, it is a section that doesn’t require you to read from left to right and they quickly forgave my faux pas.

3.  Peel backing off the second layer of contact paper and be VERY, EXTRA, SUPER CAREFUL to lay it just right on the back side of the pages. Start in the middle if you can and work your way out, gently pressing out bubbles as you go.  And word of caution, contact paper has static cling, so if you get anywhere near the other piece of contact paper, they will suck together!  There is a little window of opportunity where you can unstick and restick, but not much, so be very, extra, super…well, you get the idea!

4.  Trim edges and enjoy!

It warmed my heart to watch my children sitting at the dining room table tracing the pages of the book, talking about their memories, and laughing over new memories.

All this has me wondering how many placemats a family might need…..

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Our family enjoys fresh herbs.

My husband’s favorite homemade cream of mushroom soup calls for fresh thyme.  My favorite salsa calls for fresh cilantro.

I always prefer to use fresh herbs in my dishes, but I can’t always justify the cost, nor the fact that so much would go to waste because the bundles they were sold in were too big.

That’s when I decided to start a kitchen garden of fresh herbs right on my very own balcony off the dining room!

What a treat!  I have 2 large pots that I grow thyme, oregano, basil, and cilantro in.  These are the 4 herbs I use the most.

It has been so much fun to simply step outside and grab what I need.  No waste!  And no expensive trip to the grocery store!

Looking back, I have no idea why I didn’t start a fresh herb kitchen garden years ago!

Oh, and every time I go out to pick herbs, I come back in singing

Pasley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme…

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{Don’t miss the GIVEAWAY in this post!}

The number one question I get asked when it comes to cloth diapering is:

What is the easiest way to get started?

Which translates into many forms including:

How many diapers do I need?

How can I do this without spending a fortune?

HELP!  I don’t know what I am doing!

This post is my simple answer…

• Prefolds

• Snappis

• Covers

~Prefolds~

Don’t be afraid!  Prefolds are not as hard as you think they are.  These diapers are incredibly versatile and last FOREVER.

Infant size fits until baby is 15 lbs and Premiums can easily last until you potty train. (I prefer Premiums over Regulars because they are more absorbant due to more center layers)

2 dozen in each size is plenty.

{click here to see prefolds from Sweet Little Blessings and here to read my post on using prefolds}

~Snappis~

These little things are Y-shaped blessings!  No more pins!  No more worrying about poking baby!

All you need are 2. (unless you are prone to losing things, then you might want more!)

{click here to see how to use a Snappi}

~Covers~

I’m partial to Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and Mother-ease Air Flows.

You will need 4 per size.

{click here to see Sweet Little Blessings’ diaper cover choices}

This truly is the simplest way to go!

{don’t forget to link up your simple homemaking tips below!}

But first…

Have you figured out yet what this giveaway might be all about?

That’s right!  Coleen from Sweet Little Blessings, long-time advertiser here at Raising Arrows and another mom of many is offering one my readers a

$25 Gift Certificate!

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me whether or not you use cloth diapers.

2. “Like” Sweet Little Blessings Facebook page.

3. Sign up for Sweet Little Blessings mailing list.

4. Facebook this giveaway.

5. Tweet this giveaway.

{leave a comment for each entry!}

As an added bonus, you can receive a

10% OFF COUPON

if you become a Raising Arrows subscriber either by Email or in a Feed Reader.  The code, which expires May 21, will be in the feed footer, so don’t miss it!

This giveaway ends May 19th at 11:59pm.  Winner will be chosen at random by an automated system.

And I just found out my friend Lauren at Mama’s Laundry Talk is doing a 2 week series on Cloth Diaper Care!  Check it out here:

Here’s the link up! {Grab a button if you’d like}

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A few weeks ago our family took a hike together on a lovely Sunday afternoon.  Garin slept peacefully in his fancy mei tai baby carrier, while the rest of the children ran up and down the trail searching for animal tracks and wild violets and unique rocks.

Along the path I began to notice wild onions.  I told Ty about them and he bent over and pulled a bunch from the soft earth.  He called the children over to take a look and smell the pungent odor and next thing I knew, we had a horde of children scavenging for these little yummy jewels!

It was at that moment I remembered.

I remembered who I used to be.  I remembered a younger version of myself learning to live off the land, cook meals from scratch, search out the simple things in life.

And I smiled.

I smiled because that memory is precious to me.  I smiled because I often long for those days once again.

Then I had moment of clarity.

Why must that life be a MEMORY?  What happened to that young mother?  Where did she lose her way and start making everything complicated and overwhelming.

I began to trace pieces of my former self along the chronology of my married life.  My happiest years were spent living life simply.  Every morning, I arose to sit on my front porch and read my Bible.  I taught school to one child as I held his younger sister in my arms.  I spent my afternoons and evenings among nature and friends.  Sundays were truly a day of rest and the garden was full of yummy treats.

My pace was slower and my mind was less cluttered.

And I can tell you precisely where and when my world began to speed up and my steps began to falter, and I have made great strides toward regaining that former life (the jelly, the garden), but sometimes I lack the inspiration.

A while ago, I mentioned on my facebook page my new love of old homemaking books.  Truth be told, this isn’t a NEW love at all, but an old one rekindled.  Recently, I purchased The American Frugal Housewife and A Garden Supper Tonight at our local historical museum.

Talk about inspiration!

Sometimes as homemakers, we need inspiration to keep going forward…or to go back to our roots.  For me, it started with wild onions picked by my family on a Sunday afternoon and served  up on Monday for lunch (cut up as you would green onions and added into our ground beef).  Ahhh!  It’s good to be back!

What or who inspires you to keep going as a homemaker?  How can you be an encouragement to others?   I also want to let you know about a great new series coming in May on Homegrown Mom called Homemaking For Girls.  I’ll be there!

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I’ll be honest with you, sick children scare me.  And when there are fevers in the house, I can do nothing but beg God’s mercy.

That is why this post will not be a light-hearted one.  It hits me too close to home.

What I have to say here will not be some comprehensive list on how to keep children healthy or how to afford healthcare.  It will not be a commentary on the healthcare plan or a laundry list of helpful herbs.  I could do all this, and probably will at some point, but not in this post.

This post is a story.  A story of our family’s choice.  A choice that works for us.  Keeping YOUR children healthy is YOUR business.  There is no ONE right choice.  With that said, I want to share with you how we chose to think outside the box and the blessings that followed.

After years of using traditional insurance and even having insurance through my husband’s job (that we paid a pretty penny for), we felt convicted to leave the world of high premiums and numbers without names.  We were introduced to a company called Christian Healthcare Ministries by some friends of ours.  We liked what we saw and decided to drop our “safe” insurance and go with CHM, a Christian cost-share type program where members “shared” each other’s healthcare costs.

In many ways, it was a leap of faith.

In fact, I was pregnant with Emily at the time.  CHM would not be able to cover the cost of her birth.  I had no idea how we would pay the thousands of dollars it would be to deliver her, but my husband believed this was what we should do.

Leap.

And the Lord provided for her birth.

Then Emily got sick.  As the bills rolled in, I wondered how we would ever pay for all of this.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Doing our part to help reduce the bills, we sent bill after adjusted bill into Christian Healthcare Ministries.  CHM even sent someone in to help us get these bills reduced.  Sometimes we felt as if we were knocking heads with the hospital.  Sometimes we wondered if the money would be there to pay for it all.  After all, we had only been members for a little over a year.  We knew how the program was supposed to work.  But would it?

And then Emily died.

And Christian Healthcare Ministries took over completely.

The hospital bill was reduced and finalized and taken out of our hands.  The money began to come in from CHM and we paid off everything.

Everything.

Since then we have had 2 babies and several hospital stays.  We have nothing but good to say about Christian Healthcare Ministries.  As it turns out, Fox news agrees with us.

If you have ever wondered about cost-share programs or simply wanted a way out of the health insurance cycle, please visit Christian Healthcare Ministries.  Tell them I sent you.  My referral number is 112373.

It is a fact of life that children do get sick.  Christian Healthcare Ministries gives this mama one less thing to worry about.

Affording Kids Series:
Introduction
Feeding Them
Schooling Them
Entertaining Them
Keeping Them Healthy – this post

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