Saving Families Money Since 2007
Have you tried out Listia before? It’s a site where you can list items you have that you no longer need or use and then you can earn free credit that you can cash in for gift cards — including Amazon gift cards!
Read more about how Listia works here.
Have you tried Listia before? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences!
Here are the freebies that showed up in my mailbox this past week:
2 books from PaperBackSwap — I’m so bummed that PaperBackSwap is now going to be charging a small amount per transaction. I had some credit in my account that had built up over the years that I was able to use to cover the cost of an unlimited yearly membership. But after that year expires, I’m not sure that I’ll continue to use them. 🙁
1 free Degree Men’s Dry Spray — Jesse was really excited about this freebie! And it was such a generous size, too!
What freebies have arrived in your mailbox recently?
By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!
Aldi
1 bag Whole Carrots – $0.99
1 bag Red Grapes – $1.98
1 bag Spinach – $1.79
1 carton Mushrooms – $1.49
1 pkg (3 per pack) – Zucchini – $1.49
2 bag Chocolate Chips – $1.59 each
1 can Black Beans – $0.59
1 Frozen Orange Juice – $1.19
1 lb Ground Turkey – $1.89
1 Baking Powder – $0.99
1 Half & Half – $1.89
1 pkg Rice Cakes – $1.29
1 pkg Strawberries – $1.69 (I bought these before I went to Green Acres and saw the marked down strawberries.)
2 Grapefruit – $0.59 each
Total with tax ($1.55): $23.18
Green Acres Market
2 pkg Strawberries – Marked down to $0.99 each
1 pkg Organic SuperGreens – Marked down to $0.99
Total with tax ($0.23): $3.20
Dillons
1 Russel Stover Marshmallow Egg – $0.50, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Juicy Fruit Starburst Gum – $1.29, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon (These free gum coupons are sure coming in handy as rewards for my Awana girls each week!)
1 Dream Blends Milk – $2.25, used $2/1 printable – $0.25 after coupon
0.60 lbs Broccoli – $1.13
0.63 lbs Tomatoes – $0.81
1 gallon Milk – $2.59, used $0.40 Ibotta rebate – $2.19 after rebate
1 Kroger Sandwich Slims – $1.79
1 pkg Corn Tortillas – $1.77
1 Kroger Greek Yogurt – $3.39
1 Kroger Mouthwash – $1.49, used Free mailer coupon – Free after coupon
1 Kroger Spaghetti Sauce – $1
0.93 lbs Asparagus – $1.85
2 Cucumbers – $0.79 each
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
3 Mom’s Best Cereal – $1.50, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $1.33 each after coupon
Total with tax ($1.44) after coupons and rebate: $21.18
Total for all grocery items: $47.66
Cereal x 2
Toast & Eggs x 3
Biscuits & Gravy, Eggs, Orange Juice
10-Minute Stovetop Granola, Fruit
Peanut Butter & Jelly Rice Cake Sandwiches, Tossed Salad x 2
Fruit/Crackers/Cheese/Veggies x 2
Leftovers, Spinach Smoothies
Cheese Quesadillas, Fruit/Veggies
Sautéed Veggies with Spaghetti Sauce
Mexican Lasagna, Steamed Peas, Strawberries
Chicken Pot Pie, Tossed Salad
Veggie and Chicken Stirfry, Oatmeal Muffins
3-Cheese Ziti with Turkey, Steamed Broccoli
Steak Fajita Sandwiches, Grapefruit
Ground Venison Vegetable Soup, Crackers, Cheese Slices
Out to eat
The second to last day in South Africa, we visited the Maubane Community and participated in their children’s church service. There are not words to describe how incredible this experience was.
You see, most of these children live right across the street from this colorful playground (that you helped build!) in little homes — mostly made of cast-off supplies they’ve recycled into building materials. Many of these children don’t have parents or their parents are working in the city so they don’t see them but maybe on the weekends.
The majority of these children know hunger and want as a daily part of their lives. They have very few possessions and very little to look forward to. Despite all that, every Sunday, these children gather with Pastor Norman for an exuberant children’s church service.
To see these children joyfully and enthusiastically clapping and shouting and singing about the goodness of God… it was soul stirring.
I didn’t understand a lot of the words they were saying and shouting and singing at the top of their lungs, but I didn’t need to. Their enthusiasm, their heart, their hope, their happiness all spoke louder than words ever could.
After they were finished with their church service, the toddlers were called over to line up for food. They had a very special treat that day — Walkie Talkies (i.e. chicken feet & chicken beaks). The leaders there told me that it is rare for them to have meat so this was a very special occasion for them. {Take Action Ministries paid for some of the locals to make this for them as a treat because we were going to be there visiting.}
The leaders also told me that they have the toddlers line up first to give the older children a short break from caring for their younger siblings. Since there are so few parents around in this community on a daily basis, the older children often have to look after their younger siblings much of the time.
These older children shoulder a great deal of responsibility and burden and the church leaders try to give them a break as often as they can by having the toddlers all line up and sit down to eat together so the older kids can talk and play together.
We spent some time hanging out with the older kids. Taking pictures, laughing, talking, and even being quite goofy (as those who know me well know I am an expert at!)
I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but pretty soon, different children just randomly started coming up to me and hugging me. From the littlest ones to the teens, they all seemed desperate for love and affection. And the more kids who hugged me, the more the line grew of kids wanting to be hugged.
As more and more children hugged me and held on tightly, my heart began feeling like it just might rip into shreds. I tried to look into each child’s eyes and also speak words of life:
“You are loved.”
“You matter.”
“God has something special for you to do.”
“I love you.”
I felt so overwhelmed by the needs. It wasn’t just the need for food and shelter and clothes and schooling. More than any of that, these children are starving for love. To know that someone cares about them. To know that they have value.
As I found myself surrounded by these beautiful children, I wanted to just weep and laugh at the same time. Because I knew then and there that, going forward, one of my callings in life would be to see to it that none of these children in the Maubane Community go hungry again.
That none of them die from disease. That none of them miss out on an education. But most importantly, that I do all I can to provide opportunities for them to know that they are loved — not only by other people, but by a Heavenly Father who created them and has infused them with gifts and talents and worth.
Right there, on the red dirt of South African soil in that huddle of children, I discovered my happiest place on earth.
Somewhere deep in my soul, I felt right at home. Right where I was supposed to be. Doing what I was created to do. The only that would have made it more complete would have been to have my husband and children by my side experiencing it with me.
When I finally had to say goodbye, I could barely keep back the tears. One boy who was around 13 years old asked me, “Why are you going?”
I thought, “Trust me, child, I’m asking the same thing!”
But instead, I told him: “I will come back.”
And, by the grace of God, I will. I will come back as often as I can. And when I’m not there I will carry the stories and the faces and the hugs with me everywhere I go.
Because I left part of my heart behind in South Africa. And I will never be the same.
P.S. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each of you who have joined me in this cause that I have become fiercely passionate about. I know not everyone has the wiggle room in your budget to give money and not everyone is called to give to this project, but you have no idea how humbly grateful and excited I am that 130 of you have joined Lisa-Jo and me in making a difference in these poor communities in South Africa!
Your partnership in the #TenDollarTribe is going to make a major difference in the lives of all of the children you see pictured in this post plus many more. And it thrills my heart!
Does your area have a Fresh Thyme Market? If so, you must go check them out!
Laurie from Passionate Penny Pincher wrote a post on the amazing deals she got there recently. Read her post here.
Remember my post on 50 Shades of Frustration? Well, guess what? YouTube heard the voices of thousands of parents across the country and is launching a new YouTube Kid’s app.
Here are a few of the features of this new kid-friendly app:
Family-focused content
For years, families have come to YouTube, watching countless hours of videos on all kinds of topics. Now, parents can rest a little easier knowing that videos in the YouTube Kids app are narrowed down to content appropriate for kids.You can browse channels and playlists in four categories: Shows, Music, Learning and Explore. Or search for videos of particular interest to your family, like how to build a model volcano, math tutorials, the amazing (and endless) world of trains—and everything in between
Parental controls
We realize every family is different, so we’ve built options into the app that help you control the experience for your kids:
- Timer: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to. (You’re welcome. 😉 )
- Sound settings: Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet! You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while you catch a breather.
- Search settings: If you’d rather limit your children to just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen, you can turn off search.
- Product feedback: Our goal is to improve YouTube Kids all the time, so we’ve included a space for you to give us your feedback.
This app is available now for Android devices on Google Play, and iOS devices on the Apple App Store.
Thanks, Ashley!
The Creative Recycler shows you 3 Ways to Get Cash for an Unwanted Gift Card. Do you have any suggestions to add to her list?
Psst! Don’t forget to sign up for Swagbucks so you can earn free gift cards, too!
Do you have suggestions on how to motivate you children to help with chores and how to minimize whining? I would greatly appreciate any advice. -Amanda
First off, Amanda, I just want to encourage you: your desire to train and teach your kids to work will be such a gift to them. Truly.
You see, my parents were very committed to instilling in us the value of hard work from an early age. And I’m so grateful!
For as long as I can remember, I had chores that were assigned to me and I was expected to do. When we moved out to the country when I was 10 years old, I was given even more chores and learned more what hard work is all about.
I spent hours when I was in the my early teens working in the garden, watering trees, and mowing our huge yard. At the time, I didn’t necessarily love the chores, but looking back, I’m so grateful my parents taught us the value of hard work and instilled in us a strong work ethic.
In fact, I believe that a strong work ethic is one of the greatest gifts my parents gave me. It well prepared me for the struggles and setbacks I’ve encountered in the years since I’ve moved away from home and has helped me continue to persevere even when I might feel exhausted and ready to quit.
Practically speaking, here are 5 ideas to help minimize whining and encourage your kids to work:
Don’t overwhelm your kids with a bunch of new chores at once. Start your children out with one or two simple chores and then gradually add more as they catch on and improve.
In addition, make sure your children need to know what is expected of them when you assign a chore to them. If you never let them know what you expect of them, it will only result in frustration for you — and for them!
Need some age-appropriate chore ideas? Check out this post with some chore ideas for kids of different ages. (Keep in mind, though, that each child is different. What might be simple for one 4-year-old, could be utterly overwhelming to another.)
Training requires repetition. Don’t expect a child to do a job well at first.
Think about when you first started learning to ride a bike or drive a car. You didn’t automatically know how to do it.
You had to practice. You had to slowly learn. You had to make mistakes.
It often takes a lot of repetitive teaching, gentle correcting, and practice before a child can do a job well. Don’t expect perfection–especially when they are young. What matters is that they are putting forth effort and trying their best.
It’s well be said that, “More is caught than taught”. We can’t expect our children to work hard if they don’t see us working hard.
One great way to encourage them by your example is to have your child work alongside you. Most children love to spend time with Mom, no matter what it is you’re doing. So take advantage of this and enthusiastically invite them to help you with whatever chore you’re working on.
While you’re working together, talk, sing, laugh, and praise them repeatedly for helping you. Let them see you working hard and enjoying it.
Yes, it takes longer, but it’s worth it! I remind myself that my goal as a parent is to work myself out of a job, so the sooner I can teach them to work alongside me, the more help they’ll become as the years go by!
A few ideas:
It’s easy to want to focus on pointing out all the things a child does wrong and where they need to improve.
Instead of dwelling on what they didn’t do right, focus most of your energies on praising those things they did well.
Encouragement and affirmation go a long way. In the same way, criticism and harsh words can do a lot of damage.
Make it a goal to praise 10 times more than you point out areas for improvement. Not only will your words of praise build up your child, but they will motivate and inspire them to continue working hard and developing the character quality of diligence.
Working for a reward is always more motivating! Figure out what motivates your child and then use that as a reward.
Christa at Brown Sugar Toast has a great post up with 4 tips to get great deals on clothes.
Also, don’t forget to sign up for Swagbucks and you can earn free gift cards to use at stores like TJ Maxx and more.
It’s been a rough week for me as a blogger.
While it’s usual for me to get at least a few fairly critical comments and emails on a daily basis, for some weird reason, this past week I was pummeled with criticism and harsh comments.
I was called names. I was told I was a terrible mother. I was told I am disobeying God. I was told I am dishonoring my husband. Even, my kids were called names I can’t repeat.
Most of these comments never made it out of moderation, but I still saw them. And with each one, it was a little like being stabbed with a knife unsuspectingly.
Because here’s the truth: bloggers are people, too.
We aren’t some object to hold up and throw stones at because we don’t have feelings.
As bloggers, we often share personal things on the internet and I know that when we do this we are opening ourselves up for questions and critique. However, this doesn’t mean that we are immune to discouragement or that comments that attack, belittle, or rip us apart aren’t hurtful.
Over time, I have developed fairly thick skin, but this past week, when the comments and emails kept coming from random places over even more random things, I felt beaten up and beaten down.
I questioned why I was doing this in the first place. Wouldn’t it be easier to close up shop? Wouldn’t it be safer and less exhausting to just stop blogging and speaking and writing?
I certainly considered it this past week.
But then I realized that reacting like that would be the epitome of cowardice. Because the definition of a coward is: “One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.”
Anyone can be a coward. Here’s how: You just stick with things so long as there is no danger, pain, or hurt. When anything uncomfortable or hard comes your way, a coward balks and runs.
Yes, it’s simple and easy to be a coward. But there’s little joy or fulfillment. You never get to experience the rewards of hard work. You never get the thrill of jumping outside your comfort zone. You never get to know what it’s like to punch fear in the face.
So instead of cowardice, I’m choosing the exact opposite: I’m choosing courage. I’m seeking to sift out the truth from the lies. I’m continuing to check my comments and read my email and write those blog posts and say “yes!” to those opportunities that are stretching. I’m praying for wisdom and surrounding myself with wise counselors and cheerleaders.
Courage isn’t easy or simple. It means willingly facing the difficulty and danger. It means putting yourself out there. It means that you are risking getting hurt.
But it’s worth the risks for the rewards you’ll reap. Will you join me?
When you want to run away from that thing you fear, choose courage instead.
When you want to back out of that thing that scares you, choose courage instead.
When you want to wimp out of something you know you should do, choose courage instead.
When life feels overwhelming and you just want to give up, choose courage instead.
Choose courage, not cowardice.
{I love his bed head look — and the fact that he came downstairs dressed in a button down shirt. He might not remember to comb his hair, but nine times out of ten, you’ll find him wearing a button down shirt it seems!}
It’s 9:26 p.m. and I am t-i-r-e-d! It was a good day, but a long day and I am ready for bed.
I went to bed early last night because I knew I needed to get up early this morning. Jesse woke me up right before 5:30 as he was getting up and around to leave for the gym.
It took me about 10 minutes to officially wake up and then I was ready to dive into my day! I went downstairs and made some coffee, prayed, and then decided to go ahead and get most of my blogging work done for the morning while it was quiet.
While I was finishing up with blogging/emails/business work, Silas came downstairs ready to eat (he always wakes up so ready to eat!) and Jesse walked in the door right about that time so they made eggs and then I made some sausage and berries and sat down to eat with Silas while I read my Bible and wrote a note of encouragement to a friend.
The girls got up and joined us for breakfast and while they were finishing up, I worked on Math & Language Arts with Silas. And then we all gathered around for our Morning Time together.
I then assigned them their projects/Daily Lists for the day and got started on cleaning up the kitchen.
It wasn’t too bad — mostly breakfast dishes and a few dishes leftover from the night before when Jesse and I had made an Oreo Pie together to take to Dessert Night with friends tonight.
I loaded the dishwasher, swept the floor, and wiped down the counter tops and table.
Before I was finished in the kitchen, I chopped up some apples and peppers to take with me for afternoon snacks.
I also packed some turkey and made some coffee to-go. And then cleaned that up and the kitchen looked as good as new… until the next meal. 😉
Even if it never lasts long, I love a clean kitchen!
I then headed out with my book to the treadmill in the garage to get in a brisk walk. I am still loving this book!
Afterwards, Jesse and I took some time to chat and catch up — talking about a few business and life things and he checking in and encouraging me (I’ve had a few pretty discouraging things happen in my life in the last few days and a few other things I’ve been feeling fairly overwhelmed by. Jesse is always so good to listen, pray for me, and just encourage me!)
And then I hopped in the shower, washed my hair, got ready to go and left to go meet my brand-new assistant at the shared office space. I spent the afternoon teaching her the ropes of some of her new responsibilities and getting in some blog work, too.
Before I knew it, it was almost 5 p.m. and time to run and errand and then head home. Jesse had a yummy soup waiting for dinner for us and we ate dinner and chatted about how our afternoons went. Then, we loaded up the kids to go over to to hang out with friends for a Dessert Night. It was so good to catch up and laugh until we cried.
8 p.m. came all too soon and we said our goodbyes, headed home, cleaned up, made a pot of tea, snuggled with the kids and said our goodnights and now I’m finishing up this post while Jesse finishes up a few projects. And it’s 10 p.m. and our bedtime. So I’m signing off for the night…
I hope you had a great day, too. I’d love to hear about it — tell us in the comments!
Goals from two weeks ago (we were out of town last Monday & Tuesday, so I didn’t get goals set or posted… such is life sometimes!):
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Continue on with our Morning Time routine. Read aloud for at least 20 minutes every day. (I almost hit this goal, but ended up missing a few days while we were out of town.)
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Have a date with Jesse.
4. Write a note of encouragement to one person.Personal Goals
5. Exercise at least 4 times.
6. Finish at least two books.
7. Knit a Cosy Posy Ear Warmer. (I’m over halfway done with this! Yay!)
8. Try two new recipes: Trim Healthy Mama Waffles and Hot Fudge Pie.
Business Goals
9. Shoot a short video for a project I’m working on.
10. Finish up edits on the script/handbook on my soon-to-be-released course.(More details coming soon! I’m SO excited about this and how it’s coming together thanks to a great team who is putting so much heart and effort into it!)
This week’s goals:
Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals
1. Continue on with our Morning Time routine. Read aloud every day.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Have a family movie night.
4. Write a note of encouragement to one person.
Personal Goals
5. Exercise at least 4 times.
6. Finish at least two books.
7. Finish the Cosy Posy Ear Warmer.
8. Try one new recipes.
Business Goals
9. Train my new local assistant.
10. Review/practice script for my new course filming next week. (More details coming soon! I’m SO excited about this and how it’s coming together thanks to a great team who is putting so much heart and effort into it!)
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
It’s Monday and guess what that means? That means it’s time for our weekly deep-cleaning project! Every Monday morning this year, I’ll be assigning us all a deep-cleaning project to tackle (well, that is, if want to join us!)
Today’s project is to deep clean the kitchen. Do as much as you’re able to do — whether that’s a complete deep clean or just getting the dishes down, the countertops wiped off, and the appliances wiped down.
We have a really full week this week. We’re prepping for a big filming project next week that a whole crew of people are flying in from out of town to film/produce (I can’t WAIT to share more about this course we’re designing — I think you’re going to love it!), we’re back to our normal extracurricular activities now that the snow has finally melted, we have multiple get-togethers with friends (which I’m excited about — we were cooped up at home because of the snow for almost all week last week!), Kathrynne has an all-day swim meet one day this week, there’s a film crew coming in for another short film project this week, we have a few different appointments, and I’m training my brand-new local assistant whom I just hired (She starts today — I’m so grateful to have found her!)
So needless to say, I’m making sure to streamline thing, simplify as much as possible, and keep my expectations for this week on the low side. 🙂
With this in mind, I got an early start on today’s project and did some of it this weekend. 🙂 I already cleaned out the fridge and microwave and swept the floor. So this morning, I just need to do the dishes, wipe down the outside of the cupboards, and wipe down the countertops.
This evening, I’ll share a post about how my morning well and give you an update (with pictures) on how my kitchen-cleaning project went.
Need some motivation? Check out my post on 10 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun.
Want to join me? Leave a comment to let us know you’re participating! If you have time, tell us what your morning plan is, too.
