Hillbilly Shopping

Today I went grocery shopping with a two week menu and a list that had only what I absolutely needed on it... AHHH!

I actually didn't do too bad. I went to our local Aldi's and then to Walmart. Oh if only Walmart were as cheap as Aldi's! I did awesome at Aldi's. I got an overflowing cart for a little under my budget. But then when I went to Walmart to get the few things that were unavailable at Aldi's I blew the rest of my budget and more! It's so frustrating! And I didn't even buy diapers!!!

The menu was taken off of a website I found. www.hillbillyhousewife.com.

It was the menu under the $70 list. I think I did pretty good considering I couldn't find everything at the prices she does! One thing I have completely taken out of our menu is cereal. It is overpriced! And pretty unhealthy! So we will be replacing our breakfast meals with eggs, bacon, toast, oatmeal, pancakes, hot rice and anything else I can think of that doesn't involve sugar coated grains in a cardboard box!

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Well if you haven't figured it out yet. My blog is sort of shifting gears a bit. I found it hard to keep up with the blog on any kind of regular basis. But I have been having a bit of a transformation myself. So I thought I would document it.

Organizing and cleaning of the house is coming along. Although it does take some doing since the kids go back behind me and basically mess it all up! Laundry is a never ending task. And I seem to be cooking a lot. Especially since I have started making EVERYTHING we eat from scratch. I don't even buy bread from the store anymore. I am trying to honor Pete and frugally spend the money he works hard to earn. By doing that I am trying to find new and better ways to cook and save money on groceries. I have also started to sew a lot of my own clothes and intend to sew a bunch for the kids as well.

I like my new found enjoyment in homemaking. Taking care of my kids and awesome husband is a much better job than I had originally thought!

Rising with the chickens

In the last few weeks I have really been studying how I can be a better homemaker. A woman, wife and mother that God wants me to be.

It isn't easy! Especially with little ones. I haven't yet figured out how I am going to be able to get all I want to get done around my home, teach the kiddos and still have time for myself.

One goal I have had and am trying hard to stick to is not to be on the internet so much. When I am on the internet I am actually searching out ways to schedule our family, to clean my home, or just other little tidbits on home keeping and family raising. So in my mind I try to justify it that way! But it still takes up a lot of my time.

I have been trying to work on getting up when Pete gets up and be showered, quiet time done and ready to start my day when Emma wakes at 7am. But it is so hard when I am up late with Abby and I don't get a whole nights sleep! I do admit that on the days I am successful at getting up and ready before 7am I accomplish so much more. I feel so much more productive. The first week I did this I did so well. I got up when Pete got up and showered, dressed and prayed with Pete before he left for work. Then after he left I did my own quiet time and bible study before the kids woke up. That was three weeks ago. Now I am slowly slipping back into bad habits! I don't want to get up! I am so sleepy and I just want to go back to sleep! Last night there were thunderstorms all night that caused me not to sleep very well. So as it stands right now it is almost 9am and I am still in my jammies!

I have to go back to getting up diligently at 5:30 every day because I need to! I often find myself thinking that I shouldn't have to get up that early because I don't have a job to go to. But that isn't true! Raising my kids and caring for my home and family is my job and I shouldn't be late for that any more than I would be late for a job outside of my home.

I am going to start to try and get up again. To fill my mornings with bible reading and prayer. Because when I do this my days go by so much better.

My to do list for today:

-Finish the laundry.
-Finish sewing my skirt.
-Start making lists for packing for our vacation.
-Get dinner started.
-Change our sheets.
-Work on my schedule some more.

Proverbs 31:15 "She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meant to her household, and a portion to her maidens."

Just call me Miss Susie Homemaker

I have totally lost track of all time. Three kids is surely an adventure! I have spent the last month or so trying to create and improve upon a type of schedule or a routine that will make all of our lives much easier!

This can't be a long post because it is actually the kids bedtime. But a comment from Caren caused me to realize that I have sorely neglected my blog! I have decided there is going to be a bit of a difference to my blog. But it is going to take some time to get it like that!

The Lord has really been convicting me to become an even better wife and mother than I have been. I have been studying Proverbs 31 and will be moving on to Titus 2 when I am done. I have not always found joy in the life that God has chosen to give me. God called a woman to be something very important I believe and I think that is the job of being a wife and a mother. Sadly many young girls aren't trained as they should be in how to keep a home, husband and family. How best to take care of them and run a household. More value is put on where that daughter should go to college or what she should do in her life before marriage! Now don't get me wrong. There is a time and a place for everything. And an education can go a long way! But a girl should also be taught the art of homemaking and mothering because it is truly an art.

I plan on working on my own homemaking and mothering skills so as to better equip my own daughters in this before their dad and I entrust them with the man that God has saved for them.

Lastly... A list of new websites that I am finding very interesting and informative.

www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com
www.noblewomanhood.com
www.makinghome.blogspot.com
myblessedhome.blogspot.com
susangodfrey.blogspot.com
www.avirtuouswoman.com
homeliving.blogspot.com
www.thenewhomemaker.com
www.aboverubies.org
www.nogreaterjoy.com
www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com
www.cmomb.com

(Sorry about the links not working. I will have to work on that. In the mean time feel free to cut and paste!)

Enjoy!