Each of us has a mother.  Whether we know our own mother or not, we were all given birth to.  I am fortunate to have had a wonderful mother who is a large part of my life and who I am today.  She is the first of many strong women that I know.

My mother is a very strong, intelligent, and beautiful woman.  She has been married to my  father for 40 years, raised two children, and held a full time career. 

As a role model, I have watched her love my father in good times and bad.  I have listened to how she stands her ground during a disagreement and how she concedes when need be.  I have watched up close and from a distance how she loves my father.

She has raised my brother and myself. She disciplined us well and loved us even more.  Now, as a grandmother, I see a renewed love for my brother and I through our children and family.

My mother has been a nurse for over 40 years.  She is primarily in management, but still treats patients.  She shows the same compassion and kindness for her staff as she does for herself and her family.

I only hope to be as strong of a woman as she has been and continues to be today.

Who is a strong woman to you?

In my previous post, I explained how my husband and I are just getting started with couponing after watching TLC’s Extreme Couponing.  Here are some of the sites that we now subscribe to to receive more coupons:

GroceryCouponFree, FreeFlys, Coupons.com, Groupon, Penny Pincher Gazette.  Having these printable coupons can allow you to buy more products and have bigger discounts. 

Caution:  Check with your local retailer to find out their coupon policy.  Some retailers will only double the first coupon for a particular item.  Also, some retailers do not accept printable coupons from websites.  Always read the fine print in the circular/ad.  When in doubt: Call the local store for details….

Have you gotten any items for free yet?

I don’t always know what to give my husband for anniversary gifts and such.  Power tools, clothes, cologne, and movies go so far.  Here is what I did one year for his birthday.

I call it Breakfast in Bed!  I bought a breakfast tray table.   I then went to Target for the Archer Farms pancake/waffle mixes (as a family, we love these).  I also purchased maple syrup, gourmet hot chocolate and a mug.  I wrote in a card that whenever he wanted, I would make him breakfast in bed!

What gifts have you created for your spouse/significant other?

Who send thank you cards anymore?  Using “snail mail” is something most people dread.  It is so much easier to send a quick email, or call on the phone.  My grandmother feels differently and has taught me that as well.

Whenever my grandmother comes to visit, or we take the kids to visit her, she sends a thank you card.  Whether it is to tell us how well the kids were behaved, how she enjoyed the visit, or some other compliment, she always sends us a card.  It feels good to go to the mailbox and find a card that was sent with love verses getting another bill. 

I have learned from her example to send thank you cards as well.  Even for my son’s 3rd birthday, I sent thank you cards to everyone for coming and for gifts.  It is important that I teach this to my children as well so that the art of a thank you card is not lost with my children.

Do you send thank you cards?

As a mother of six, I don’t often have a moment to myself.  It seems like even going to the bathroom, someone is always knocking on the door! I think that all mothers need to have a break,  Mommy time as I call it.  Here are some ideas for mommy time:

- Bubble Bath: after all the kids are down for the night, step into a warm bubble bath and listen to music, enjoy the quiet, or even read a chapter in a book.  I find that the individual facial masks or leg cooling gel give an extra element to relaxation

-Watch a chick flick: after all, when you watch Disney Jr. and Nick Jr. during the week, it’s about time for an adult movie that doesn’t involve Jake and the Neverland Pirates or Dora.

-Read a book:  I find this to be a little challenging, but during reading time for the older kids, sit down and read a chapter in a book of your own choice.

What ideas for Mommy Time do you have?

Another what to do on a rainy day post!  I find keeping the kids entertained can be challenging.  If it rained every weekend for a year, I would surely have to repeat some of the fun things we do on rainy days.  Here is another idea:

Indoor Cave!  Items you will need

• furniture
• sheets/blankets
• music
• imagination

Take the furniture and scatter it around the room.  Cover the furniture so that there are tunnels and cozy spots through out the room, but all is under cover!

Enjoy music and crawling around under the sheets

Have you ever done this with your children?

My husband and I were anticipating the debut of TLC’s Extreme Couponing.  We were shocked to watch it!  How do these people save thousands every year on grocery/health/household supplies?  We watched the show and decided to start out slow to see if we could even save 50% on our groceries.  Here is how we are starting:

1. We started a subscription to the Sunday newspaper
2. We found a binder and put dividers and pockets in it labeled with sections for certain coupons
3. We went through the current ads that we had in the house and cut out all the coupons that we had
4. We arranged the coupons according to section and found coupon websites to print out more
5. We then went through and made a list of what coupons we had for each store’s sales

So far, we have gotten some items for free.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this post to have a list of websites to get you started on couponing!

This year as Easter quickly approaches, I find myself wanting to create a family Easter basket.  I find that going to any supermarket or retail store, there is an abundance of Easter candy in baskets, bunnies, ducks, toys, etc.  The problem is we still have candy from last year’s basket and we have too many toys.  Here is what I have decided to do:

A family Easter basket!  I took a large basket that we already had in the house and filled it with the fake grass that always seems to hang around.  I chose a movie for each of my children and my husband.  I went to EBAY to find the movies and set myself a monetary limit of 10 per movie.  Most of the movies I chose were new releases.

In the basket I put movies, bags of popcorn, and a little candy.  Now we can enjoy the basket as a family!  (We will have the traditional Eater egg hunt in the yard the night before (we have glow in the dark Easter eggs!) and a small one for the younger children before church).

What Easter basket ideas do you have?

I have noticed that several great books have been turned into movies.  There are some downfalls to only watching the movie and never reading the book.  Here is what I have found:

• If you watch the movie, it is generally a shortened version of the book and details are left out
• You don’t have the enjoyment of reading for alone time
• Imagination (using your mind to design what the characters sound like and what they look like)

On the flip side

• Spending time with the family watching movie
• having a date night with your significant other
• saving time

One resolution to this that I have done for my children is having them read the book and then we buy the movie/or go see the movie to enjoy together.  We also then discuss what the difference were between the book/movie and who liked the movie or book better.

What would you rather; read the book or see the movie?

What do you do when you have promised to take the kids on a picnic and mother nature has decided it should rain?  How about an indoor picnic!  All you need are some creative techniques and your picnic supplies.

What I have done is bring the outdoors in.  Items you will need:

• construction paper – green for cutting out grass-yellow for the sun- black for the birds etc.
• picnic basket-filled with all the items you would take to eat
• blanket-to sit on
• books-to read to each other (we don’t allow ball playing in the house)
• bubbles and board games

Pick a room to make your indoor picnic.  Cut out grass and tape along the bottom of the walls or furniture.  Next, hang up the sun to make it bright.  Follow with hanging birds from the ceiling using string.  Somehow, the birds seem to move without the breeze.  Last, put you blanket down and invite the family!

Make the most of the rainy day!  What do you do on rainy days?