This year, for Christmas, I made a gift for David and Chloe. We take many, many pictures but rarely print them – the curse of the digital camera. So I decided to make a 2011 album as a gift from me to them.

It took many carefully planned hours of sneaking around to finish it. In those hours, with photos spread all over my kitchen … I got to relive 2011. More than once, tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered the many small moments of the past year. I saw beautiful moments between my daughter and husband and remembered the fancy dresses and wild tights Chloe insisted on wearing all last winter. I saw pictures of Chloe’s big haircut and her first day of school. There were pictures of us camping with friends and Chloe at swimming lessons. There were many smiles and silly faces. 2011 was a good year.

I get lost in the moment, in the “what’s next” and planning for things ahead. It’s not bad to do those things – but those things are uncertain, they are guesses. Thinking ahead can cause stress or worry because of the unknown and always living in that mindset is dangerous – keeping your mind on what could be.

Taking a moment to reflect on the past year is good for my soul. Looking back, I can see how blessed I am. There were things I feared that never happened and there were wonderful surprises that I never expected. There were milestones and victories where we celebrated and tearful moments that strengthened my faith. When I look back, all I can feel is grateful and gratitude leads to contentment – a perfectly wonderful way to begin a new year.

Happy New Year, friends! I’m feeling blessed by this past year and looking forward in anticipation to the next. Have you taken time to reflect on 2011?

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe heard dogs howling in the distance and told me they were saying all their vowels.

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I am right in the holiday spirit. I love decorating and I’m already thinking about what I’d like to do this year. Two new ideas I’m looking forward to trying out: Popcorn-Cranberry Garland and a Balsam Door Swag. They aren’t new ideas but they are new for our family because we haven’t tried them yet. I’m excited to!

As far as frugal goes – the popcorn-cranberry garland is only frugal if you don’t care that it is perishable, which I don’t. I have a hot air popcorn popper, so I can make lots of popcorn on the cheap. Cranberries are on sale for $2.50 per bag in the produce section right now. I’m thinking I could make my garland for under $10.

The swag is a great alternative to a wreath. I made a wreath a couple years ago. It came  out nice but it was quite a lot of work. I’m excited to try the easier-looking swag. I’m going to model it after this one from LLBean.

So, do you have any frugal holiday decorating ideas? Share them!

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe was just asking me if we had any pickles in the refrigerator. I told her we had some but they were almost gone. She exclaimed, “We have to get more pickles because we always have them for our feast-es!”

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When Fall rolls around I fall back in love with sweatpants, cuddle blankets, hot tea … and everything else cozy. I gladly set aside my flip flops for my cozy slippers as the floors begin to feel cold in the morning.

All of the snuggling starts to get me in the mood for some knitting and crocheting. I don’t typically do either one during the Spring and Summer months. It’s not a rule or anything, I just usually don’t feel like it. But when Fall rolls around I start searching for my needles and hooks and scrounging whatever yarn is leftover from last winter.

So I did just that last week – found some needles, found some yarn and found a pattern. I wanted to knit a cup cozy, like this one:

Don’t you love it? I had some red yarn and small needles. I tried this pattern. I cuddled under a blanket and was so excited to knit myself a little cozy. I thought I was having a brilliant idea and I would knit a whole bunch for Christmas. Imagine my disappointment when it came out terrible. It was too big and almost stretchy – so it didn’t stay put on the cup. There’s no way I’m showing you a picture of the one I made. I was SO bummed.

Thankfully, it was a small, quick project so I didn’t have too much time invested. It looks like it should have been pretty simple. I’m not really sure what I did wrong. Can anyone help? I’d love to try it again and get it right!

Also, I’m dying to make a cute hat for myself – not a warm winter-y one – a cute one. I stumbled across this one and I think I might try it. It’s a little outside of my realm of comfort but I’m willing to try! What do you think?

Are you working on any projects? Have any tips for me or good patterns? Please share! I can use all the help I can get

Why I do what I do ~ One night we were driving down the road and Chloe spotted something far away. She said, “Do you know why I can see that far? It’s because I ate carrots today.”

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Chloe is now in kindergarten.  What a week and a half it has been. Many of you out there are remembering the first day you sent your first child to school and you’re nodding your knowing nod in my direction.

Starting new things is exciting … and scary. For Chloe – all of this has been exciting. For me, it’s been scary. My house seems quiet while she’s gone and her toys don’t get scattered through our apartment. I miss her constant chatter and wonder what she’s up to many times per day.

I’ve told myself over and over – I won’t be that parent that holds my child so tightly that she can’t blossom, but I have to admit that I’m tempted. She seemed so excited leading up to the first day of school and the knowing mom that I am, I thought, “She’ll panic when she gets there. She’ll get nervous and miss home. I just know they’ll call me because she’s crying.” I kept it to myself, not wanting to instill any fear in her – but I knew. At the last minute, she’d be clinging to my leg.

This is what was running through my mind when I checked with Chloe, just to be sure, “You don’t want to ride the school bus do you? There are big kids on there. I’m happy to bring you to school and pick you up.” My confident 5-year-old replied, “I want to ride the bus.” Over the next few week before school I tried to talk myself into it and I felt near-panic at the thought of my little girl climbing on a bus with all of those older kids. No way. I brought it up multiple times, “Are you sure you want to take the bus? I’d be happy to bring you.” She still wanted to.

All summer I’d been encouraging Chloe to be brave about things and try new things. I urged her at her swimming lessons and with riding a 2-wheel bicycle. Now, here she was wanting to be brave and ride the school bus and I wasn’t ready to let go. I felt hypocritical. I made the arrangements for the bus and held my breath, hoping she’d change her mind.

I was at war within myself – I wanted her to be brave and to succeed independently, but I still wanted her to need me. The first day of school came, and through a mix up on the bus driver’s side, the bus didn’t pick her up. We brought her in to school and walked her to her classroom. She hung up her backpack in her cubby and was about to dart into the classroom without saying goodbye to us. I called to her and she turned around, smiled and ran back to us, giving hugs and kisses. She told us goodbye and love you and ran into the classroom. She didn’t cling to my leg. She didn’t cry. She didn’t even seem nervous. We peered through the door as she giggled and pulled a chair up near another little girl. She seemed fine; more than fine. She seemed happy.

We left the school, wondering if she’d be happy all day and how she’d do. I wondered. I felt nervous. I sat at the bus stop for quite a while that afternoon, waiting, dreading the thought of a tear-stained little girl getting off the bus. 3:00 came and my heart was beating in anticipation. I nearly cried happy tears when I saw my daughter get off the bus with the biggest smile on her face.

Her day was great and she loved everything – even the bus. She chattered on and on about her day and I loved every moment and so it’s been for the last week and a half; me getting used to my new normal, me getting used to her growing up. My life feels completely different and I’m trying to be brave … like Chloe. I never dreamed it would be so hard to start letting go.

Three cheers and tight hugs to the brave moms and dads everywhere. I seriously had no idea what was ahead of me …

Why I do what I do ~ Here’s the funny part of the story. When Chloe got off the bus she had her shoes on the wrong feet, was missing her socks and had her skirt on backwards. We later found out she hadn’t used the bathroom at school one time that day, which begs the question – how did her skirt end up backwards?

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Frugal or not, I’m a fan of home remedies. I’d much rather run to my pantry than wait in a doctor’s office when one of us is sick. I’m not foolish – we make the trip to see the doctor when necessary and I don’t experiment with anything that could possibly be risky. That said. There’s not much that beats snuggling on the couch with a cup of hot tea when you don’t feel well – in my opinion.

The cold and flu season is approaching. My husband was actually sick with a virus of some sort just this week. So I thought we could talk about some home remedies that you recommend or resources where to find them. What do you do when your family gets sick?

I’ve been really fortunate that Chloe doesn’t get sick much. She’s actually never been on an antibiotic before. It’s not because I’m dead set against them, I just don’t run to the doctor every time she gets a fever or cough. I tend to believe that our bodies are resilient and most sicknesses can run their course and heal on their own.

I don’t believe in “grin and bear it” though. There’s no reason to force yourself to feel miserable when there are ways to help ease the discomfort of being sick. Here are some of my favorites for cold and flu:

Hot Tea with Honey

There is absolutely nothing like hot tea on a sore throat. It feels sooooooo good.

A Spoonful Of Honey

For kiddos, like mine, who won’t drink the tea a spoonful of honey is soothing too!

Cool Mist Humidifier

This helps you breathe a little better and sleep a little better.

Vicks® Baby Rub

Maybe this counts as medicine, but I think it works wonders. I like the Baby Rub for adults too because it’s a little more mild.

Ginger/Ginger Ale

For upset bellies. Try adding some ginger to your tea.

I found a cool website recently with home remedies, People’s Pharmacy. I found some cool ideas I’m interested in trying. I’d love to hear yours too. What do you do for home remedies? It doesn’t have to just be for cold and flu. Anything for headache? Dizzyness?

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe asked me a question recently that I didn’t know the answer to so I said, “I’m not sure.” She frowned and said, “I thought you knew a lot.” Not long after, I heard her tell one of her friends that her Daddy is smarter than her Mommy. Man, that was a quick decision. I’ll have to prompt her to ask Daddy a question about health and beauty …

photo credit: ShardsOfBlue

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I’m entering a new era of parenting in September. Chloe is going to kindergarten. Right before my eyes my bright-eyed baby grew up and became a school-aged girl *sniff, sniff*.

So, school shopping. It isn’t as bad for the younger ones – no graphing calculators or 5 subject notebooks – but she still needs school supplies and should probably have some nicer outfits to wear to school (as opposed to the mish-mash of fancy dresses she currently has).

Getting deals on most classroom supplies is not that difficult. I don’t really think you need to read a whole post about shopping for the deals. They are everywhere. Glue, pens, and pencils in huge bins marked for 50¢ aren’t mysteriously hidden in a single store. Common sense reigns here – go and buy enough dirt cheap school supplies for the whole school year in the next month.

I think the more difficult thing is the felt need for a brand new wardrobe when school starts. Every kid wants to wear a new outfit to the first day of school. There’s nothing like the confidence that comes with all new clothes and a sparkling pair of sneakers. But all you’ll find on sale right now are summer clothes – and that’s not what you need, is it?

It’s tough though. You want to send your kids off to school feeling good and fitting in, not wearing last year’s beat up tennis shoes. As with anything else, I think it’s all about balance. I’m not a pro at this, just a beginner, so I’m hoping we can have some conversation about tips and ideas in the comments. I’ll just get the ball rolling. Here’s what I’m doing with Chloe this year.

Checking the Inventory

Chloe was really, really picky about clothes last year and refused to wear jeans almost the entire winter. So she has a whole bunch of nearly brand new jeans – I’m hoping at least a couple pairs still fit her. She may have quite a few long sleeve shirts too. I’ll have her do a fashion show and try on all her fall/winter things and go from there to determine what she needs.

Generate Some Extra Money

Like I said before, Chloe was super picky last winter. The good side of that is that I can sell the clothes she’s grown out of. We have a couple great stores where I live; Once Upon A Child and Plato’s Closet. You can walk in with your used clothes and walk out with cash. They pay you on the spot – no annoying consignment. The catch is that they are a little picky with what they accept. That’s a good thing though – because it’s great to shop there. You may not have these stores near you but there may be something similar. Take advantage of it! Don’t let the clothes that are too small go to waste – get some money for them!

Buy Some Now, Buy Some Later

There are some things that Chloe will need right away. One immediate need is for new sneakers. That isn’t something I’ll be able to buy used. Kids generally wear right through their sneakers. I’m keeping my eyes open for the next month or so and when I run into a deal that I’m happy with I’ll buy them.

For the clothes she needs I’ll probably check out the store I mentioned above to see what I can find. They have good prices for nice, brand-name clothes. That way she’ll still have some nice, new things to start the year. Whatever I don’t find there I will probably wait to buy. There will be much better sales later in the Fall, when everyone’s finished school shopping but Christmas shopping hasn’t kicked in yet. She’ll probably be thrilled to get new clothes again after she’s already been in school for a little while.

That’s it – my grand school shopping plan. OK veteran parents, chime in! How do you get through school shopping on a tight budget and still help your kids feel ready for school?

p.s. Chloe wants to ride the school bus and I’m trying so hard not to freak out about it!

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe: “Do all old people have gray hair?” Me: “Pretty much.” Chloe: “Do they get bumpy skin too?”

photo credit: John Picken

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I can think of so many things I’d rather be doing than cleaning my house in the summertime. Oh the menu planning and cooking? I really just can’t be bothered. I’d so much rather toss something on the grill every night and call it a meal.

Don’t worry, I’m not having a crisis over here – this isn’t my usual state of mind but when it’s beautiful outside I just want to go places and do things and be out in my garden. I don’t think that’s a terrible thing. I’m indoors PLENTY all winter long.

Having said all of that, it can be tough to be frugal in the summer when you’re feeling so carefree. Not planning meals and grocery trips can be a big mistake for me. Is it like that for you too?

To keep costs down during the busy summer I …

Have very simple meals

Nothing fancy is going on around here. Grilled chicken with a veggie and some noodles is gourmet summer at our house.

Keep quick things in the house

I had some frozen ravioli that I pulled out a couple nights ago. Throw on some sauce and I’m a happy girl.

Avoid being out and about during meal times

And if I know I’m going to be, then I try to pack a lunch. Eating out can consume so much of my food budget if I’m not careful. I’d rather eat out on purpose for a date night or something.

I’m enjoying my summer and my gardening and just being out in general. We’ve had a nearly perfect summer weather-wise in the Northeast (with the exception of this crazy heat wave!). I’ve been in and out of town a lot for camp and a wedding. I update Facebook with what I’m doing pretty frequently – especially now that I figured out how to upload photos from my phone If you’re not into Facebook, that’s cool, but if you are then come check out the d¢ Facebook page! I love to chat on there!

Why I do what I do ~ I could post very frequently about Chloe’s hilarious bedtime prayers. Tonight it went like this: “Dear Lord, please help us have a great day tomorrow and keep all the foxes away and just keep them in the forest forever. Amen.” We haven’t had a single conversation about foxes in recent memory … where does she get this stuff?

photo credit: GIANTsqurl

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I was late this year but I decided late was better than not at all.

As many of you know, we’ve moved since last summer and are now renting an apartment. Our apartment is in a building with 4 apartments, situated on about an acre of land out in the country. I feel very fortunate to have found one that so closely meets our needs and wishes. There was already a clothesline in the yard that no one else was using. I asked my landlord if I could have a garden and he said, “Of course!” How lucky am I?

I’ll be honest, starting  a garden from scratch is not much fun. It’s much nicer to plant an established garden spot. It was very hard work turning over the ground and tilling and raking and tilling and raking. My husband did the tilling and I did the raking. I got a little carried away while I was turning over the sod and dug a garden spot that is at least twice as big as the garden I had at our old house. It’s relatively modest in size compared to most, but still the biggest I’ve ever had.

Planting late has some challenges. A big one was that many places were sold out of the plants I was wanting. I checked 3 big box stores and found a few things but wasn’t impressed and didn’t even find enough to fill my garden. Feeling down, I stopped at a family farm that I pass by all the time. They have greenhouses and sell plants. I wish I had gone there first – their plants were hearty-looking and reasonably priced. I’d much rather buy from someone local anyway! Lesson learned.

Wanna know what I planted? Here’s the line-up:

• 1 yellow cherry tomato plant (new for me!)
• 6 regular cherry tomato plants (What can I say – we love to snack on them!)
• 4 Roma tomato plants
• 1 onion set – There must be 30 onions. I didn’t count. (new for me!)
• 6 lettuce plants
• 3 rows of garden beans
• 6 green pepper plants
• 1 pumpkin plant
• 1 yellow squash plant
• 2 zucchini plants
• 1 pickling cucumber plant (new for me!)
• 1 regular cucumber plant
• 1 row of carrots (new for me!)

You notice there are a few plants that are new for me. That would be the up-side to planting late. I ended up getting a few things I might have ordinarily overlooked. Now that I have everything planted I am VERY excited for harvest! It’s only been a week and I already have beans popping up. I love seeing new growth.

Living in the northeast, I know that I’m playing a risky game planting late. If we get an early frost this fall I’ll be in trouble but I LOVE gardening so I think it’s worth it.

So – if you have a garden, what did you plant? Did you try something new? Don’t have a garden? What do you wish you could plant?

Why I do what I do ~ I was driving the other day and Chloe asked me if the space on the other side of the white line on the road is the sidewalk. I told her that it was the shoulder of the road. She asked, “Where’s the arm?”

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I’ve been doing a little sewing lately. Recently I made a dress for Chloe that was quick and easy – a smocked dress. I’ve made them before and it is the perfect project for a beginner so I thought I’d share it here.

Buying the fabric

Smocked fabric is fabric that looks like this on top.

I was able to make this dress for a little over $4. I went to my local fabric store, searching for something else and notice the smocked fabric on sale for 50% off. If you want to make this dress then this is the deal you’re looking for. Ordinarily the fabric is expensive and it’s not as great of a deal. So look for the sale.

Smocked fabric is purchased by the inch rather than the yard, so before you head out to buy it you need to measure the kiddo that you’re sewing it for or bring her with you. Measure around the top of her chest right under her arms. Add one inch to the measurement and buy that much fabric. My tiny girl is 20 inches around so I bought 21 inches. This is one of those cases where it’s useless to buy more than you need.

Making the dress

The first thing you need to do is cut off the bottom. They sell this fabric generously long so I always make the straps out of the contrast print on the bottom. It depends on the size of the contrast print at the bottom and also what size you want your straps. I like the straps a little wide so I cut 4 inches off the bottom.

Now you have a long strip. Cut it exactly in half vertically, so you have 2 pieces that are 4xwhatever. Fold one piece in half horizontally with right sides facing and sew along the long edge. Leave the ends open. Iron it in half to make it easier. I avoid pinning things whenever I can.

Repeat with the other strap. Now you have two inside-out straps with unfinished ends – you need to turn them right side-out. Here’s one inside-out and one right side-out. I accomplish this by putting a safety pin in one end and guiding the pin up through.

You’ll need to iron them after your turn them the right way. I like to top stitch along each edge of the straps because I think it gives a nice, finished look.

Ok, you have two straps done. Now you need to sew the dress. Fold the dress in half and sew it together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Right next to the straight line you sewed, sew a zigzag stitch (See below pic for a visual). Now you need to cut off the fabric just outside the zig-zag stitch. You need to do this so that it doesn’t fray and make a mess every time you wash the dress.

You’re doing great. Now you need to sew a hem on your dress. Leave it inside out and fold the edge up a 1/2 inch and then up again over that, concealing the raw edge. If you have a small decorative edge left at the bottom then you can just go by that. Again, I use the iron here – no crazy pinning for me.

One last step – attach the straps. The length of them is pretty generous so you can place them however you like. I prefer to crisscross them in the back. The best way to do this is have your little girl try on the dress and then pin the straps where you like them. Sew them on the inside and cut off the excess. Here’s the back of the dress:

This is the best I can do for finished pictures. My model wasn’t feeling super cooperative and refused to have any pictures taken without her cardinal, her favorite bird. On top of that, it was a crazy windy day as you can see by her hair

She was in a funny mood

And one more, just for fun …

This dress is easy to throw together – an hour or less, and it’s so, so cute! Give it a try!

p.s. I made my own straps for this dress but if you’re really in a hurry, you could just sew ribbon on for the straps! EVEN easier!

Why I do what I do ~ Recently, Chloe put on a different dress to wear one morning. It was a hand-me-down and the straps were way too big, making the dress hang too low in the front. I told her that if she wanted to wear it, she had to take it off so I could fix the straps. She was upset and asked if I could PLEASE sew the straps while she was still wearing it. I agreed. Chloe stood as still as a statue at the table while I navigated needle and thread dangerously close to her bare skin. My grandmother happened to be visiting and was amazed that Chloe didn’t mind the needle being so close to her. I guess she doesn’t know any better. She’s had things pinned on her and fitted to her since she was a toddler. She probably thinks it’s normal

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Of all the flowers I love, lilacs are definitely in the top three. We moved into our apartment in November, when everything outside is dead. I had no idea what sort of trees or landscaping existed. This spring has been the most wonderful surprise. I have two HUGE lilac bushes right outside my back door and some gladiola bulbs are popping up! I just can’t get enough of their fragrance and I feel so blessed that we happened to rent this apartment!

Here are some things around the web that have caught my interest. They aren’t all recent. I love it when I happen upon a buried treasure post!

How to Make an Easy Dress (For Cheap!) from  Talk2TheTrees. I found this one through StumbleUpon and I can’t wait to try it out!

I’m going to be baking this Peanut Butter Cup Cake from Bakerella for a cake auction this Sunday. I told my husband to bid on it so we can bring it back home.

How To Ruin Date Night from Remodeling This Life struck a chord with me because Dave and I have been needing a date night but money and babysitting get in the way. Date night is about making togetherness a priority, not about eating out or going somewhere.

How To Learn To Cook is from Food Your Way and is a great post. If you can’t cook, don’t whine about it – LEARN!

Thanks so much to Kyle from Rather Be Shopping for featuring me on his blog this week as his Blog Spotlight.

Why I do what I do ~ Even though it’s the end of May, Chloe saw a show on television the other day about April Fools Day. She was trying to explain it to me, but because it’s May it just wasn’t clicking and I had no idea what she was talking about. Later in the day she played a joke on me and said, “Happy April Trick Day Mom!” Then it all made sense

photo credit: «Jessica♥Marie »

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