Sarah and me, France 1992

Today is Sarah’s birthday. We knew one another in college. We spent a year in France together as exchange students. Forever getting herself into hilarious situations, Sarah could make me laugh like no one else as she recounted her mishaps in a humorous, self-effacing way. She had a gift for writing that I could only dream of. I was sure she would write the Great American Novel one day. She was one of the most talented women I ever met — and one of the most truly humble. She never made a big deal out of herself.

Sarah died five years ago, leaving behind her husband and two young children. She was trying to save her daughter from an accident when she herself received a fatal head injury. Today she would have been 38.

I think of Sarah often. I miss her terribly. We didn’t talk on a regular basis; we weren’t “everyday friends.” But when we did get together, it was like a day hadn’t gone by. The richness and depth of friendship was there. We always picked up where we left off. She always encouraged me. She always made me laugh.

Oh, how I miss her.

And my mind goes to the saying my mom had when we were young:

Love one another with a little added tenderness for the days of life are short.  – Author Unknown

Who can YOU call today? Walk down memory lane. Catch up. Laugh.

Couponing is not for everyone.

It is one of those things where you need to measure the return on your investment. Is the money you save worth the time you invest? If your family makes a large income that more than covers your monthly necessities, then maybe your time is better spent in other ways. If you have a home business that generates a good income and that you enjoy doing, then maybe putting in a few extra hours a week can help offset the grocery budget crunch at your home.

But, I have found that 2-4 hours a week spent researching deals, clipping coupons, and shopping saves us at least $100/week on food costs. That’s gaining us at least $25 for my time. Most weeks it’s worth it for us.

On highly stressful weeks when I can hardly see straight, let alone cut a coupon, I’m okay with just buying what I need. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

But, most of the time, couponing really works for our family. If you haven’t started your couponing adventure, but you’re interested in checking it out, you may want to breeze through this series that I did last year:

• 8 Great Ways to Find Coupons
• Coupons: You Gotta Know How to Hold Them – a primer on coupon organization
• Shop Listing – a primer on reading sales flyers, price comparison, and matching up coupons
• Meal Planning From the Sales – how coupons and sales and meal planning join together in a beautiful melody — well, sorta.

That’s the basics of what I do on a semi-weekly basis. I enjoy it — most of the time — there’s a thrill in getting a really good deal. So, you could call it a hobby that benefits us in a number of ways.

Do you coupon? Why or why not?

GIVEAWAY! As a way of encouraging you to start your couponing journey, I’m giving away $20 worth of coupons to five readers. All commenters are entered in this giveaway which will stay open until next Wednesday (St Patrick’s Day) at 8 pm PST. Please make sure you leave an email contact for me to find you when you win. Winners will be selected at random.

‘Twas a full day of library, lunch date with FishPapa and homeschool park day — with a shoe shopping trip thrown in for the kid who left the house with no shoes and we were too far to go home and get them and still be able to do what was planned. I’m beat.

Thankfully, I had the foresight to have pizza night last night so that we could have Sandwich Night tonight. Easy peasy!

And I’m not talking your regular PB&J. Oh no. We love $5 Footlongs with the best of them, but to really feed our family, we need 5 feet of sandwich. Don’t love that price tag! So for less than half that we’re having a feast: turkey on whole grain artisan bread with fresh avocado, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and pepperoncinis. And sweet pineapple on the side.

To top it off we have popcorn and a movie in our future.

What are you doing tonight? How do you best usher in the weekend?

Since I did so much shopping and cooking at the beginning of the month, I’ve got a free pass from shopping this month. Well, almost. I still have made trips out for great deals and for produce and milk. But, it’s so nice not to feel like I have to go anywhere.

This past week we scored on the produce. Both Sprouts and Henry’s had some sweet sales. Highlights?

oranges $.15/pound
brown rice $.69/pound
pineapples $.88 each (used a raincheck from previous sale)
broccoli $.77/pound
caulifower $.99/head
clementines $2.99/5# box – $1 coupon = $1.99/5 #
shrimp $2.99/pound

Also made a trip into Ralphs for milk, canteloupe ($.33/lb) and cabbage ($.25/lb). Pop over to Good Cheap Eats for a chance to win $25 Kroger (and affiliates) gift card.

To see more ways that people are saving money, visit Super Savings Saturday.

Last week I mentioned how I love breakfast in a box. It makes our mornings go so much more smoothly when I serve food that is easy to prepare, easy to clean-up. The kids can actually do it all themselves! Cold cereal and instant oatmeal are the favorites. But, recently they went through one box of instant oatmeal (10 packets) in one morning! So, since I haven’t seen killer deals or coupons on instant oatmeal, my ears perked up when many of my readers said that they make their own mixture.

In addition to the tips they provided and this recipe from The Simple Dollar, I did a little internet searching and came upon a recipe from The Kitchn. All my hunting was so that I could determine whether old fashioned oats would work in this application. I have a ton of old fashioned oats because that is the kind that I like. I had two partial cartons of quick oats. We did some taste testing and came to the conclusion that the kids preferred the quick oats. So I set up my assembly line of baggies, sugar, oats, milk, cinnamon, and salt. I had all the ingredients except the snack bags. Since we used less than half the box, the experiment cost me less than a buck. And since we’re going to reuse the bags for more instant oatmeal, it will cost even less.

For each little bag, I ended up combining:
1/4 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon milk powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Yes, it’s a lot of cinnamon, but the kids like it that way and my aunt gives me boxes of cinnamon every year for Christmas, so it’s all good. And since we don’t like watery oatmeal around here, I only added 6 Tablespoons hot water to the mixture when FishBoy 5 asked for a bedtime snack.

This method of breakfast preparation took some time on the front end, but should save me time in the long run. And at $1.89/box for Walmart-brand instant oatmeal, it should save me some pennies, too.

In case you missed it, Good Cheap Eats is hosting a Build a Frugal Pantry series. This week is all about stocking and using whole grains as a way to save money on food costs. It may prove to be a great frugal way for you, too.

What do YOU do to save money?

Share the permalink to your favorite money saving idea in Mr. Linky below or leave a comment. In the interests of sharing solid frugal advice, please do not post giveaways, deal posts, or affiliate links. Tell us a money saving concept that helps you stay in the black. And please, link back to Lifeasmom.com so that your readers know where to find the party.

Photo source: Tracy Hunter

We love food at our house. My kids are all gluttons, I mean, foodies, like myself. One of their favorite hobbies is sampling exotic foods at the grocery store or club market chain. Recently, I was asked to return to the back of the store after our shopping was done so that we could see if the leg of lamb sample was ready. Knowing that lamb isn’t a regular item on our menu at home (like never), my son wanted to make sure he had a chance to taste it.

And one of the things we love to have for supper are “theme dinners”….

For the rest of the story and a peak into how we celebrate St Patrick, visit this month’s edition of San Diego Family Magazine.

Children learn what they live.

My mom had that on a plaque at our house growing up. And I’m finding it very true in many instances of life, particularly in food choices. You see, my parents did not like oatmeal as children. Or liver. As a result, those are two foods I was never required to eat. Neither of them liked it, so why force their kids to eat it?

Instead they fed us cream of wheat. Which I think is nasty and will never subject my children to. You see, I learned early on not to feed my kids things that I didn’t like. Ha!

Children learn what they live — or they go the other way.

Unlike my parents, I love oatmeal. But, I don’t like oatmeal prepared according to package directions. Too mushy. Too soggy. Too much like what prompted poor Oliver Twist  to say, “Please sir, could I have some more?”

Uh, no thanks.

Instead, I made my oatmeal to be more like rice with very little moisture left behind. If you don’t care for regular oatmeal, you may like it my way.

Bring 1 cup water and a pinch of salt to boil in a pan. Stir in 1 cup old fashioned oats. Do not use quick oats — too mushy! Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes. The oats will absorb all the liquid and be slightly al dente. No mush.

Serve with a spoonful of dark brown sugar and a tablespoon of real cream.

Or if you want to gild the lily, add to those toppings a handful of toasted pecans and a handful of dried cranberries.

The result? A hot breakfast with texture! Something to sink your teeth into.

Please, sir, could I have some more?

This ranks high on my list of whole grain recipes. Whole grains is what we’re adding to the frugal pantry over at Good Cheap Eats. If you haven’t visited already, pop over to learn some basics about grains, grab some whole grain coupons, see some great recipes by my blogging buddies, and learn about whole grain storage.

And if you’ve got a Whole Grain recipe to write home about, share it with us today!

Here’s how to participate in Ultimate Recipe Swap:

1. Post your recipe on your blog. Please mention www.lifeasMOM.com in your post so that your readers know where all the other good recipes are hanging out. Then, come back here to add the link to your post to Mr. Linky below. (Find instructions for Mr. Linky here.)

OR

2. If you don’t have a blog, simply post your recipe or tell us about it in the comments section.

3. Above all, please stick to topic. Today is whole grains. So if your recipe doesn’t include whole grains, it will be deleted. Thanks for understanding.

Have a story to go along with your recipe? We’d love to hear it!

Last week I decided that we needed to get out of the house — all of us. Normally I go shopping by myself. But, it had been off and on raining, and I, personally, was suffering from cabin fever. Plus, I had quizzed everyone on the way to church one Sunday about all the clothes they were missing. It had been one of those mornings when everything appeared stained and worn. Needless to say, I had a list that needed to be shopped.

Rather than go on the weekend when everyone else was off shopping, we went early on Friday when the crowds were non-existent and we were back home in time for lunch and to finish schoolwork.

We caused more than a few raised eyebrows in Old Navy as me and my six little ducklings trooped through the store. It really wasn’t that hard. It helps to have older kids, but even if you don’t, here are some things that I do to survive shopping trips with children in tow.

1. Have a list. And keep it handy! You will have enough to do to keep a smile on your face, don’t try to remember what you need. Write it down.

2. Pack snacks, water, books, and small toys. This will definitely buy you some time when littles start to get fussy.

3. Give a kid the timer. I love the timer on shopping trips. I usually use it when we’re in the Lego aisle, since I want to know that the end is in sight. Last week I gave it to my oldest and let him set the timer on me. (I know, I’m the one in charge. But at the same time, I don’t want to exasperate my children. Our trip through Old Navy was only ten minutes. I let him time me and the kids knew there was an end. Our venture through Target, however, was 1 1/2 hours.

4. Give them the camera. Truly, I did. The camera was in my bag and I figured that was a great opportunity for them to entertain themselves. I am not sure I would have used this trick if the store were crowded, but on a slow day, it worked like a charm.

5. Take lots of deep breaths. There are moments when your patience is tried. Practice those relaxation techniques you learned in childbirth class. You never knew they were to be used for a lifetime, did you?

6. Give each child a job. Kids do best with positive occupation. Since I had my list and we were choosing mostly clothing, it made it easy to assign small tasks and choices to each child.

Go find the ___________.
Help me choose the ____________.

7. Be on the alert for benches, particularly near the checkout. Older children can be sent to the bench with a younger child. This gives their feet a rest and their eyes a new perspective. We do this often to stave off the impatience that is catching while standing in line. Keep your eye on them, but know that for the moment, it’s quiet where you are, and you can focus on the prices being rung up, the change the checker gives you, redeeming coupons, etc.

8. Smile often. One day you’ll be one of those little, old ladies smiling at the young mom tearing her hair out. Childhood passes and you will miss it — even those crazy, crazy shopping daze.

This is what works for me. What works for YOU?

Reading is a way to gain knowledge, to travel to distant times and places, to exercise your reason or your imagination. Reading moves us – to action or to tears. Reading is a means of growing and learning. In fact, reading is a way of life. Words matter and they are everywhere we turn. And it helps our brains and our hearts if we expose ourselves to words that are put together well and that encourage us to walk a good walk.

Since the first of the year it’s been one of my goals to be more purposeful in my reading. One of the ways I thought I could be accountable to reading more was to invite you to come along. It’s been great to hear how you choose good books and how you squeeze time to read into your busy schedules. The fact that so many of us are working to raise children who love books, well, that just makes me smile. And to see your reading plans has been such an encouragement and a source of new books to add to my list! In a way it’s like we’re at a bookstore, hot mochas in hand, talking about good reads in between the pages.

Only without the bookstore and the coffee.

Thanks for joining me on this book reading journey. I can’t wait to see where we go this year through the written word.

So, read any good books lately? I’ve read three! In the first month of this reading challenge I was only able to finish one book, but this month was a regular trifecta. Here’s the lowdown on the books I read this month.

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner illustrates one man’s observations of American Christianity, personal faith, the Church, and Contemporary Christian Music. The book is laid out in vignettes, memories of the author’s childhood, college and young adult years. At many points in the book, I found myself laughing outloud. In a light-hearted way, Turner reveals the inconsistencies that he sees within different denominations and flavors of Christianity. Some people may be offended by his characterization of those observations. I wasn’t, but I realized that some would be shocked by what what he was saying. Regardless, it got me thinking. And that’s always a good thing. My husband and I both read this in less than a week, proof that the writing style is engaging, easy reading. Special thanks to Matthew Paul Turner for sponsoring the Savvy Blogging dinner where I received this complimentary copy.

Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, historical fiction about the Oregon Trail was “assigned reading” for our school. Yet, as is apt to happen, I found myself reading ahead and finished the book by myself before I finished reading it to the boys. (We like to have one kind of read aloud during the week, though the three boys can easily go through several books a day on their own.)

Homeschooling has revealed all sorts of gaps in my own education. I have absolutely no recollection of studying the Oregon Trail, though I’m sure Mr. Schock from 11th grade AP US History would beg to differ. I learn so much alongside my children!

Not only does this book describe the Westward Movement, but it also shows the struggles of a young man, born in Missouri, but raised for many years by an Absaroka tribe. His poignant wrestling with his two cultures and fitting in neither is fascinating.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald was a wonderful trip to another world. If you love Narnia and Middle Earth, then you will enjoy MacDonald’s world as well. He was not only a personal friend of JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis, but an inspiration to them for their classic works. While this is considered a “children’s fantasy,” I beg to differ. This adventure with Princess Irene, Curdie, and the great-great grandmother mirrors the Christian walk and how we follow in faith things that we cannot see. It’s one of those books that envelopes you with a feeling of “there’s something bigger than us, and He’s very, very good”. I’ve already requested the sequel from the library, so you can guess what I’ll be talking about next month.

How ’bout you? What did you read this past month? Have you recently developed a reading plan for the year?

Share your plans, goals, book reviews with us. Either leave a comment or link up your Booking It post below. Please link back to www.lifeasmom.com so your readers know where the book talk is happening.

The doctor said to feed the baby salsa. My eyes popped out, and my husband’s ears perked up. What?! Her reasoning was that babies adopt the tastes of their families. Since their tastes develop most in the first 18 months of life, she continued, that was the time to expose them to as many tastes – our tastes – as possible, salsa included.

I was a little skeptical, but as my husband was a spicy food fan, we gave it a shot….

For the rest of the story, visit this month’s edition of Calgary’s Child.