Plan to Eat Black Friday Sale

 

Plan to Eat is having their yearly Black Friday sale. The sale continues throughout the weekend. You can purchase a yearly subscription for only $19.50. I've blogged about Plan to Eat here and here. I love the service!

Quilting Bee

My friend, Candyce has made several quilts and offered to teach me how to make one. I purchased a jelly roll from etsy and set to work.

 

At home I sewed the jelly roll strips into groups of four. Because I was making a baby quilt I only needed 20 strips sewn into 5 groups.

Then I headed to Candyce's house. The kids had a play day and Candyce was my teacher. She help me cut the groups into block and then sew them on top of one another.

She kept showing me how to cut, press, sew, cut, press repeatedly until we had 12 blocks. This was my first attempt at pieced quilting and Candyce proved to be a great teacher!

After I left Candyce I came home and added a border to the top she helped me assemble. I looked online for directions for mitering corners and completed in the border in a short amount of time.

My next step was to put a call out on Facebook for a quilter to finish the top. I found a great lady that lives less than 10 miles from our house. If you have any idea where we live, it's amazing that someone who could provide the exact service I needed lived that close.

I selected a heart pattern and in just a few days received a call that the quilt was ready to be picked up.

 

I love the way all the materials came together and I can't wait to see a little girl wrapped in it.  I can't wait to make another!

We found the tutorial here

Organizing the Freezer

 I shared on Facebook that I was ordering labels to organize the freezer. Several people {all moms LOL} wanted to see the final result.

For the wire shelving I purchased hang tag labels on eBay. The labels attached to the shelving easily and they seem to be very durable. I plan to use the leftovers to organize the wire shelving in our store room as well.

I debated using the printer to make labels  or using chalkboard labels . I don't believe by printer is waterproof so I used a Sharpie to write each description. I didn't want to come back and discover that the moisture in the freezer caused my labels to be unreadable. I decided against the chalkboard because I don't plan to re-label. The wire shelving labels are movable and aren't sized to a standard label size.

 I labeled the doors with normal Avery name badges.  Because these labels are basic paper, I can wet them to remove. They have been on the freezer shelves for a few weeks and haven't come loose so I would say the extreme cold of the deep freeze doesn't affect the adhesive.

I am very fortunate to have two freezers. The newer one is used for all our meats and the other houses veggies and dairy. Nine people consume a lot of food and being able to buy it in bulk saves us a ton of money each year.

Most of our meats are purchased at Sam's by the case. If you have room in a freezer, ground beef and chicken can be purchased at a huge savings over regular prices. In the last year a friend told me about a store called Chicken City. There are several located in our state and their prices provide great savings.

We like green beans and stir fry veggies from Sam's but our other vegetables are purchased when the local grocery store runs a special. I'm the lady in the store with 20-30 bags of peas, carrots, mixed vegetables and beans in her cart. ;)

You are THAT Man!

An acquaintance made a comment a few weeks ago that caused me to realize that to the group we're apart of, I'm "that mom with all those kids". Another person said something that made me realize that in another group of people, I'm "that mom who homeschools". It got me to thinking about how I refer to people. I'll tell Kent a story or event from our day and I'll say "Oh, you know Jane. She's the one that only cooks organic food {or some other identifying factor}."  Then my over worked, and sometimes confusing even to me, thought process caused to me start pondering identities.

There are plenty of good qualities for you or your family to be identified by.

Maybe you're "that family that lives on a farm", "is always neat"  or " always on time" {this one would not pertain to us!}.

Earlier this week I was reading in Ezekiel and verse 49 from chapter 16 jumped out at me.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Even though I knew those sins were there, I wasn't expecting them to be the ones that Ezekiel was prompted to point out. We all know about the "big" sins, Sodomy. Abortion. Murder. Rape. Stealing. When we meet people whose lives are characterized by these sins we tend to refer to them by their sins. "That horrible man that killed those people." "That woman that aborted those twins." Those are the easy sins to point out. Ask any of my children if abortion is ok, or even more revealing, ask them if they would ever support an abortionist, and they would quickly tell you that abortion is wrong. However, in this passage the Lord doesn't point out Sodom's obvious sin. He specifically says their iniquity was pride, fulness of bread, greed and idleness.

WOW! Pride. How many of us are guilty of pride on a daily {or more} basis?  Know anyone that has refused to do or take a job because it was "beneath" them and were happy to depend on others {fulness of bread}?  Let's not forget idleness. There's even a saying that an idle mind is the devil's workshop. Why don't we call these sins out? Why aren't the TV preachers delivering sermons on the sinfulness of covetousness? I'll tell you why. These sins are socially acceptable.

Socially acceptable. That explains a lot. They're palatable. Sure the boaster is annoying but he's not hurting anyone, right? Wrong! Ezekiel lists that as Sodom's first sin.

In my home when my children get to thinking they're smart, they have plenty to eat so their bellies are full and their bodies are strong, and their time isn't structured, they become very difficult to live with. They destroy property, then lie to cover their tracks. They mistreat their brothers and sisters. They balk at responsibility. That sounds an awful lot like our nation.

Sodom was destroyed by God. Abraham couldn't find enough righteous people for the city to be spared. Sodom's root problem wasn't whoredom or sodomy. It was pride and idleness. Lot was embarrassed/ashamed/scared when the men showed up at his home and wanted the angels sent by God. Was he ashamed when pride and covetousness consumed the city? Nope. When Abraham and he decided to divide their camp in order to keep the peace it was Lot who looked over at the well watered plain and the booming cities of Sodom and Gommorah and the lust of his flesh prompted him to go where he thought he could find greener grass. His own lust ended up consuming his entire family save his two youngest daughters. They thought not only Sodom and Gommorah had been destroyed, but the entire world. Their incestous relationship with their drunken father created Ammon and Moab who later became the nations of the Moabites and Ammonites who were a thorn in the side of Israel, Abrahams decendents for generations. Truthfully, the problem began when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees. He was not supposed to have brought Lot along in the first place. Imagine that, in our pride, we get to thinking we know better than God.

Now would be a good time for me to get on my soap box and proclaim that as Christians we should address these sins. Make sure that boaster knows that pride is a sin. Tell the man that refuses to work fast food; to take any job. To that pleasure seeking man, find something productive to do.  Just think of the changes we could bring about! BUT, that isn't what needs to happen.

As Christians, we need to examine our own lives. We need to draw near to God through his Word. We need to fill our minds and lives with good and holy things. We need to stop being doubleminded and quit trying to keep one foot in the world just as Lot tried to do.

Because these sins are socially acceptable, we don't seem to be able to see the danger. The lights of the big city makes it appear glamourous but it is not a wholesome place to hang your hat. When you don't see something as dangerous, it's even more difficult to flee from.

We simply can't be a people who claim faithfulness to God and dabble in the world. It will not work. We will love one and hate the other. Perhaps that's why the songwriter penned the term, "I need thee every hour." I don't need the Lord to stop me from committing murder, or abortion, or sodomy every hour. I do need him to keep me from pride and idleness, and sharpness of tongue every hour.

Lord, please help me to remove the beam from my own eye.

Write Them Upon Thy House

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Deuteronomy 6:9

 

 

A few years ago I heard  a speaker at a homeschool conference give a workshop about being intentional. There was way too much covered in his workshop to go into detail in a single blog post, but one of his points was being intentional in the atmosphere of your home. He spoke of even the decor having a purpose . He and his wife had chosen to display objects on their walls of Biblical or Historical significance. There is nothing wrong with pretty pictures. We have several nice landscapes scenes hanging in our home. :-)

 

His point was that we could display things that were important. The children and myself spend a lot of time looking at our walls. We eat most of our meals here, we attend work/school here. The walls of our home can offer great influence over our thoughts.

 

I wanted to be more proactive in getting scripture into my children's heads. Over the last few years, I have found a few signs here and there that contained scripture which I wanted all of the members of my family to meditate.  If I could find a way to personalize scripture, that would be an even better use of our wall space.

 

Around the first of the year, I saw this verse on a large canvas. It was surrounded by foot prints. I made plans to create one for our home. Shortly after I gathered supplies, I learned we would be welcoming a new little one so I hated to make the canvas when it would be out of date in just a few months. I also realized that because we plan to leave the size of our family completely up to the Lord, I couldn't predict the size of canvas I would need to be able to include each future possible child.

For my birthday, my sister {Robin} created the above canvas with 3rd John 1:4 painted on it. I set to work creating the rest of the display.

I began by painting 8 x 10 canvases in the same blue color. Four of our children's footprints are so large, that an 8 x 10 was necessary. I found a great deal on a package of canvases at WalMart and purchased them there.

Then with Kent's help, I footprinted each child. After the paint was dry I let each kiddo, that could, write their own name.

The finished product was a large wall display with room for more! It's perfect for our growing family.

Because I had already purchased supplies, I wanted to complete another canvas. I also laid a coat of paint as the first step in creating this wall art. Kent and I discussed it and decided that we liked the slightly rustic look and depth that only one coat of paint gave the canvas.

The next step involved using Microsoft Publisher to create a document with the words I wanted to display. I had to play around with the fonts and size to get it to fit just right. After printing, I colored the back of the pages with chalk. Then using a pencil, I traced over each letter. I bought paint pens to do the writing but after a few letters they just weren't working. Instead, I found a fine point brush and painted the letters on. This canvas now hangs in the hall by the front door where our guitars hang.

This post is involved in linky parties on the following sites. Visit them tomorrow to find other great homemaking related posts.

       

School Area Organization

 

I love for things to be neat and tidy. Unfortunately, I have 7 little people who don't feel the same way. ;-) I kept seeing chalkboard labels in various places and decided that they might help me solve my lack of neat and tidy problem. Most of the labels I saw were expensive and had high shipping cost as well. I knew that eventually I would need several so I began researching how to make my own.

 

I began with Avery name badges. I liked the scallop edges on other labels I saw but wouldn't find labels that were already scalloped. I purchased the above label and used an e-xacto knife to remove the brown edge.

Then I got out the big gun. I love this chalkboard spray paint! It covers well. I've made several batches of labels and still have a lot of the can left.

Armed with my labels {with the edges removed} and a cardboard box, I headed outside. Painting, neat and I don't go together! :-)

The labels dried in the sun for a couple of hours and were ready to use.

 

I carefully peeled each one off the back and removed any stray flakes of paint that stuck to the edges. Then I used a chalk pen to write my information on each label and placed them on the containers. I wonder how long before they get thrown back in the school cabinet?!? If I ever need to relabel the containers a wet cloth is all it takes to remove the current writing.

Jewelry Organization and Amazon Mom

One of my favorite places to shop is the discount jewelry store. Of course, frequent shopping also means my costume jewelry collection is rapidly expanding. My sister brought me this shadow box a few years ago from Hobby Lobby.

It does a fabulous job keeping my necklaces and thinner bracelets straight. The shadow box has a foam back in to which I inserted straight pins. The pins hold two - three necklaces with ease. The other nice feature of the shadow box is the hinged lid. This keeps everything covered.

 

The shadow box left me needing something to hold earrings. I recently used a command adhesive hook to hang this 37 compartment jewelry organizer that I purchased from Amazon. It is double sided and I have one pair of earrings in each space. This is also wear I store my watch and bracelets that are too wide for the shadow box. Both the hanging organizer and shadow box live in my semi walk-in closet.

Speaking of Amazon, Have you joined Amazon Mom yet? Right now, all new subscribers can receive $10 off a box of diapers! Amazon will also notify you of special discounts in the baby center. I have used Amazon Mom for the last 2+ years. I order diapers, wipes, shampoo, conditioner, snacks, paper towels, washing machine cleaner, diaper rash cream, detangler spray and lot more items using their subscribe and save program. The subscribe and save program can save you up to 15% off the regular Amazon price. On diapers you can save 20%! The UPS man drops everything off at my door for even less than what WalMart charges. There is also no tax in my state which adds to the savings. {I am not an affiliate for Amazon, I just really, really, really like their program and service!}

Want some more great tips? Head over to We Are That Family and join in the Works For Me Wednesday fun!

You can also checkout Raising Homemakers for some great homemaking tips.

{It seems I am frequently asked how I do various tasks. I'm a member of a wonderful online community and have friend who are always willing to share their successes {and failures}. I plan to share a few of the things that work for me over the next few weeks. Most of my ideas are not original creations, they have morphed from places like Pinterest and Facebook. There is no reason to re-invent the wheel and I'm more than willing to share how I made it work for me. If you would like to know how I do something, leave a comment, send an e-mail, etc. I'll be more than happy to work up a post on the topic. You can e-mail at Stacy at TheresRoomForMore.com .}

These Are a Few of My Favorite Apps

I know the world remained on it's axis and spun at the correct speed before the invention of smartphones. I also know that millions of people have gone and will go their entire lives and never touch one. For me, I'm incredibly thankful for my smart phone. I would like to share a few apps that in some way have made my life a little easier. I do own an Android phone but I'm sure most, if not all, of these apps are available for Apple as well. Most of these apps are free but I did pay for a few of them or upgrade to the pro version.

 

My phone often functions as my brain. I'm sure any busy mom can agree that when children enter the picture, your memory seems to leave. My phone helps me get everyone fed and clothed, keep them warm and dry, and make sure I remember their birthdays {I'm not that bad - yet!}. I thought I'd share a few apps that make my life as a busy, homeschooling, large family mom easier.

 

 

 

So, here they are in no particular order {other than the order the pictures uploaded} . . .

 

 Calengoo

 

I already discussed menu planning here and this app aids with that task. Calengoo was the easiest calendar app to add an iCal link. My menu is on each day. If I open the day, I can then click a link for the recipe. My family doesn't do individual activities so I don't use the color coding feature in it but that would be a great asset if running different schedules. I can link my calendar with Kent's. When I add an activity it shows up on his calendar as well.

 

 

You Version Bible App

 

You Version has an awesome Bible app. I prefer reading from my paper Bible but when I forget to grab it when sitting to nurse {I always have my phone when I nurse - more on that later}, You Version is convenient to look up something or continue my daily Bible reading. The app also has various plans, versions and languages. Several versions do not require an Internet connection. The app has audiobook capabilities. You can search by topic, word or verse.

 

 

Out of Milk 

 

I have been using Out of Milk for about two years now. I love having a shopping list app on my phone. I never leave home without my phone, so now I never leave home without my shopping list. The app allows for multiple lists to be set up. I can keep an ongoing Sam's list, Dollar Tree list, and general list. As soon as I realize I'm out of something I can add it to the list. The lists can be rearranged so that my items are in order based on the store layout. Items are checked off as I go through the store.  You can even keep a running pantry list and create to-do lists.

 

KAIT 8 Weather

 

Every busy mom needs a weather app. If you live in the Mid-South, this app from Channel 8 is great. Multiple cities can be added so the forecast can be found quickly. It has radar, 10-Day and hourly forecasts.

 

 

 Blogger

 

My reasons for liking this app are fairly easy to determine. I don't compose many posts using the Blogger App but I can upload pictures and screenshots from my phone. It's a much easier way to share items from my phone.

 

Evernote 

 

Evernote is an app that gets to be my brain. I like that it can be accessed from anything with an Internet connection. I keep ongoing lists of books the kids would like to have, packing lists for field trips and picnics, and gift lists. This past Christmas I numbered the kids' gifts and kept the code on Evernote.

 

App Lock

 

App Lock's name is pretty explanatory. This app locks any app  I choose or all apps on my phone with a four digit pin. Currently I have any app that can spend money {Play Store, Amazon, etc} locked so that little hands can't order a new wardrobe with the click of a button. I also locked any app with personal information, such as Evernote.

 

 

Flixster

 

Flixster is an app that I don't use often but it's really handy when I do. I have programmed movie theatres close to our home. With a click I can see what movies are currently showing. It has showtimes and trailers. I can even read reviews from multiple sources. If I see something we would like to watch, I can also add it to our Netfix que right from Flixster.

 

Baby ESP (Eat, Sleep, Poop) 

 

This app is the reason I always have my phone when nursing.  It can be used to track nursing time/side, bottles, pumping,  wet/dirty diapers, and sleep. It also has a place to track growth and medicine dosing {with timers!}. When several children are sick, it's easy to forget who had Tylenol when. Baby ESP will even send me a reminder telling me it's time for an antibiotic. You can add custom tracking. If you want to know how much time baby spent in the swing, keep up with it using Baby ESP! At various points I have added 5 of my children and it will still allow me to add more. This a perfect app for a mom with one child or a dozen children.

 

 

 Motivated Moms

 

Motivated Moms is a chore app. Each day I have reminders to do various tasks. Some tasks are assigned daily such as make beds, do laundry, and run/empty dishwasher. There are also tasks that are assigned weekly like vacuum main rooms, wash sheets, mop kitchen. There are even more tasks assigned on a less frequent basis - change AC filter, clean light fixture - living room, etc. I love that I don't have to try to keep up with these things. I just pull out my phone and look at the days list. 

 

A through the Bible in a year reading plan is also part of the app. Each task can be removed or hidden if it isn't something you do {no guest room - block those tasks}. Custom tasks can also be added, these are completely customizable. You can specify room and frequency.

 

Each room is grouped together and completed tasks are moved to the bottom of the list.  Chores can even be assigned to different members of the household. Each member receives their own color {see, all the smart people color code ;-) }and their tasks are separated from the others.  I've been using this app since October and I am slowly getting to all the things I tend to forget, like ceiling fans and cleaning the freezer.

 

 

Amazon

 

I have mentioned in the past my love for Amazon.  This app enables me to check prices quickly and place orders very easily. When making out a shopping list, I look over the weekly ads that come in the paper. Before adding an item to my list, I check the price on Amazon. If Amazon is within a dollar or two, I order the item from Amazon. It gets shipped to my door and I don't have to load up children or drive anywhere. If the price is less than Amazon's price, I add it to my list. The app even has a bar code scanner so I can make sure I'm comparing identical items.

 

All of these apps help me complete my tasks as manager of my home. Frequently my phone acts as my brain and helps me to remember things. It also places information right in my hand. Several of the apps I mentioned also cut down on paper use. It seems my lists always disappear to be discovered after I don't need them along with a pile of clutter. Anything that cuts down on the clutter that 9 people bring to a home is a winner in my book.

 

 

Want some more great tips? Head over to We Are That Family and join in the Works For Me Wednesday fun!

You can also checkout Raising Homemakers and Raising Arrows for some great homemaking tips.

{It sems I am frequently asked how I do various tasks. I'm a member of a wonderful online community and have friend who are always willing to share their successes {and failures}. I plan to share a few of the things that work for me over the next few weeks. Most of my ideas are not original creations, they have morphed from places like Pinterest and Facebook. There is no reason to re-invent the wheel and I'm more than willing to share how I made it work for me. If you would like to know how I do something, leave a comment, send an e-mail, etc. I'll be more than happy to work up a post on the topic. You can e-mail at Stacy at TheresRoomForMore.com .}

Welcome Daniel and Lydia

Today my former {not old :)} college roomate had TWINS!

Daniel and Lydia arrived this morning and we're super excited for this family of 9. Amy's mom wonders if something was in the plumbing in that apartment. LOL

The kids and I loaded up the storms and barely beat the rain. Congratulations, we can't wait to see more pictures.

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Welcome Baby ClaraBeth!

Baby ClaraBeth was due any day before we left. So we had a few projects to finish up. Madisyn and I decided to make a hospital door/welcome home wreath. I have seen the feather boa wreaths and while they are adorable, I wanted something a little different.

Hello Tulle!

I love the way this turned out! ClaraBeth has no choice but to be an Arkansas Razorback fan (Dad's nearly an alumni - just a few months left!) and I thought when the baby stat ribbons were removed it would be a perfect game day decoration. We finished it just in time as ClaraBeth arrived a few days early the day before we left.

(the lighting is a little off - it was more Razorback red than it looks here)

Love and Laundry by Point of Grace

Thanks to Jess for sharing this!