C.S Lewis Quote On Christmas....

Among the oxen (like an ox I'm slow)
I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox's dullness might at length
Give me an ox's strength.

Among the asses (stubborn I as they)
I see my Saviour where I looked for hay;
So may my beastlike folly learn at least
The patience of a beast

Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)
I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;
Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence
Some woolly innocence!

Please be sure to join me in The January Challenge to save money - click here for details => CLICK

Getting Ready To Save Money - Join Me? 2

Pictures Of My Beautiful Girls At Their Christmas Ball

Last week I invited fellow "want to save money" bloggers and friends to join me in a January Challenge - Feed A Family of Four on $10 a day... The challenge also includes any tips on money savings - stretching the dollar... I am asking for tips, recipes, ideas, and whatever you can contribute to the January Challenge - So far I have a few bloggers ready to share - Also - anything and everything that is submitted will have a link and credit that will go back to the contributor...

I would love your input - Please email any tips, recipes etc to me at Ivebecomemymother@yahoo.com

So what have I done so far??

Yesterday - I created a menu using only the items that I had in my kitchen... So here it is

Breakfast (it's Christmas break so it makes it easier).. Frozen pancakes, Frozen french toast, eggs, cereal (all kinds), and Nutrigrain bars.

Lunch - lunch meat, canned chili, fruit, tuna, boxed pasta, frozen corn dogs, soup, frozen chicken nuggets, egg salad.

Sunday night -Jerk Chicken - Homemade - This is my husband's favorite recipe.. It's easy and really yummy - (I found an old post with this recipe and a video of my youngest making it - I had forgotten about it - nice find.)

Monday night - Ahi Tuna - I bought 2 steaks from Trader Joe's a while back and I keep forgetting to make it - the kids will have Bertolli's Chicken parmigiana - this is surprisingly really good....

Tuesday night - Beef and cheese enchiladas, re-fried beans ( I had 6 cans, really), Spanish rice, and salad. I had bought a couple of cans of Target brand enchilada sauce - I have no idea how it's going to taste - I typically make my own sauce but I was looking for a short cut - I will finally use it - I'll let you know how it tastes.. And the other 5 cans of re-fried beans - they are being donated in a Christmas food drive tomorrow morning at my husband's work...

Wednesday - Mini slider burgers, tater tots, and corn. I am hoping the burgers are still tasty and not too freezer burned... They were purchased a few months ago - I don't have mini buns and I went by Albertson's yesterday and they no longer carry them - we just might have to use regular bread or the we can double up the burgers and put them in a large bun... I'm sure we'll figure it out...

Thursday - Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic toast, and Caesar salad - simple.. I will have to buy lettuce....

Friday - Pork chops, apple sauce, and cheesy potatoes... Last week - I grilled them - I usually bake or fry them... But I have to say the grilled ones were amazing and I'm doing it again...

Saturday is Christmas Eve - We will be celebrating with my mom that night -We are attending service at her church and then take her out to dinner... Looking forward to this...

Sunday is Jesus' Birthday also known as Christmas... Dinner will be at my in-laws... Looking forward to it....

So yesterday- I went to the market for dog food, fresh fruits and veggies and what did I see?? The meat department was having an amazing sale.. So I loaded up on buy 1 get 1 free chicken breasts - 50% off on beef rump roast and lean hamburger at 2.75 per lb - got a few pounds... The prices were good..

Today - I have also cancelled all movie channels as of January 1st.. So glad Dexter's season finale was last night.. ha

Getting Ready To Save Money - Join Me?

The other day I was paying my bills and realized that the last couple of months - We were spending more money than what we were bringing in.... I had a very rude awakening - I realized that I have been extremely foolish with our money - spending too much on things that we don't need - eating out for almost every meal and being just plain irresponsible and it's stopping NOW!

I went through my cupboards and refrigerator looking for areas I could save... I looked at our different bills we pay.... And this is what I came up with....

For the entire month of January I am going to...

Feed A Family of Four on $10 A Day!

So how will this work? This is where I am hopeful that fellow friends and bloggers can send me money saving ideas and recipes - I will post and link back to the contributing site... On January 1st - I will add a linky to every day posts and have a month long hop and I hope we can get some great stuff to help everyone who wants to participate...

Please email me at: ivebecomemymother@yahoo.com - be sure to send recipes with pictures would be awesome - ideas on how you save money - coupons - anything and everything that can save money - send it.. Be sure to add your name and your blog address... If you are not a blogger I will be happy to give you credit too -

This is where I am starting today...

We average $25 a day on eating out... It could be more... I know it's NOT less - No more eating out - January is a NO EAT OUT - time... I have already let the kids know...

We pay $49 a month on movie channels through our cable service - the only show I watch on cable is Dexter... I can wait for it to come on Netflix... January no more movie channels - except Netflix - this is used often and is very inexpensive at $7.99 per month.

I buy the cat and dog food in little bags so it can fit nice and neatly in my box in my office - this is expensive - I noticed yesterday at the store - the size I get is twice the cost per oz then it would be to buy in bulk... January - buy large bag and store big bag in garage and pour into my box in my office for convenience...

I need to stop buying frozen quick foods - frozen french toast - waffles - pancakes - chicken nuggets - I need to organize myself and precook and set up a menu plan... I know that this is a BIG money saver -it's HUGE.. I love the weekly menu planner from $5 Dinners - I will be using many of her recipes in January...

I buy a bunch of crap thinking we're going to eat it.. or I buy stuff with intentions of eating it and it just sits in my pantry and/or fridge... Goal - eat it and then move on...







My last idea for the day - is I am a HUGE diet coke drinker and unfortunately my teenagers have also become addicted to the poison... I pay in upwards of $1.50 for a 2 liter bottle.. If I'm lucky I would hit a sale at $1 per bottle.. January - NO MORE Diet Cokes - I have no doubt that this alone will save us over $3 a day... Instead of diet coke - I will make homemade ice tea - using Target brand tea (tastes the exact same as Lipton for a 1/3 of the cost) and Target brand sweet and low again a huge savings with the exact taste.... This would cost pennies a day....



Would love for you to join me - In this economy every bit helps... If you want to join in on the January Challenge - Say "Count Me In" and if you want to add tips - recipes - anything helpful - Please be sure to email me at ivebecomemymother@yahoo.com..

The Social Media Police Mom

photo by Nate Arnold

When my oldest was ten years old we gave her her first computer... I remember setting it up in her room while she was swimming with friends in the backyard -I wanted to surprise her... It was a cheap bundle desktop - came with everything - Very basic... I set it up so she could go on the Internet for homework and to email her grandparents... This was way before social media became popular - this is before FaceBook... But still I wanted to keep her safe - so I put parental protection through America Online... I believed I was doing my part.... and I was SOOO WRONG...

First off - AOL is only one of many browsers - I had no idea there were more... But my kid knew... So the sites I thought she could not go into - she became an active participant in and I had no idea until she let it slip one day... Because this had been going on for quite awhile and my kid knew what she was doing was wrong - she lost her computer for a while... I gave her several chances as time went on but she kept losing this privilege. When she was 14 - I bought her and her sister both a laptop - the desktop was no longer any good... We as parents explained the rules to both girls - no computer at bedtime... homework time.. no chatrooms etc... They both signed an agreement and I hung it in my home office.... All was good for the most part until.... Facebook came along...

Today - Facebook rules the world... Really.... In the car this morning - my 13 year old was telling me how surprised she was that so many of her friends are on FB during school... And it's true... Just the other day - my high schooler posted a silly status from her Spanish class saying something about her and a friend wearing crazy snow globes at Target.. No idea what she was talking about... typical high school funny stuff - but I did text her and asked her to call me on her first break.... She said the teacher said it was okay... yea sure she did.... It is not unusual for my kids to run to their cellphone - IPod - computer to do a FB status update... Whatever happens - goes on FB... I have to admit - I am often guilty of this too.. It's fun to stay in touch with friends but there have to be boundaries.... for my kids and for me...

My kids will forget about homework and/or sneak onto FB when they are suppose to be studying.. I have caught them many times... Today - I take all their electronic devices away during homework and I have seen an increased improvement on homework and grades.. That's not to say they don't ever sneak on when they are working on an assignment for school on the computer - but it's much better. I no longer allow them access to a computer in their bedrooms - it's all downstairs where I can monitor.. On many days I feel like a police officer and I hate that... but the end result is - I have to be the adult and make boundaries when my kids can't or won't.... I see the big picture.. whereas someday soon I hope they will see it too.. Until then - I am the FB and social media police - this includes texting... On a side note - texting can be just as bad if not worse than FB - I love the fact that I can have parental controls on that too - I can block people - I can create cell usage time frames and I can disable and have only numbers I choose... I hate to put controls on the phones and for the most part I don't have to - I use controls as a last resort if their grades are dropping - they neglect their chores... etc...

The Internet can be so dangerous - it opens the door for unwanted people into your home... bullying.. It can show our kids things that they are not ready for.... Many times I wish my kids did not need to use the Internet but unfortunately it is here to stay and schools expect the kids to have access to a computer at home - many of their assignments are on the computer.. It's crazy.....

Some parents may think I am too controlling and that I should allow my kids to do what they want and not check on their activity... Some think that I should let my kids learn from their mistakes... and they may be right but I need to do what I feel is right for me... and my kids so today - and most likely tomorrow too - I will be The Social Media Police Mom...

This is a scene from Cyber Bully - I have seen best friends turn against their friend on FB and the awful things that can happen..


A mom's biggest fear - and I believe this can happen very easily..... A couple of years ago my oldest met a boy on-line - within 24 hours they were "in-love" - it was a very scary time... Thankfully - my daughter went to her counselor at school and talked about this boy and other life issues.... I think she was lucky... I think we all were....

FML - An Acronym That Drives Me INSANE!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago my oldest was getting ready for a dance.... In the middle of getting ready - I see her Face Book status pop up... It read FML with a sad face... Seriously I had no idea what that meant so I went to my youngest and asked her... She told me that it meant F**K My Life.... I had to scratch my head on that one... What could have happened for my oldest (she's 15) to suddenly post this awful acronym... So I asked her.... You know what her answer was???? She poked herself in the eye with her eyeliner... Yep - that's it... She poked her eye with eyeliner and at that moment she felt inclined to rush to her Face Book to let the world know that her life is F**Ked...

Now that I know what FML means... I often see it on Face Book and more often than not it's an adult making the post and to tell you the truth it really really REALLY bugs me... This is why....

Life is pretty good if you - have your health... healthy children.. a home to live in... food on your plate... heat coming out of your heater.... Life is pretty good if you have loved ones.... people who care about you... Life is pretty much NOT a FML moment if you have any of these.... And for someone to post FML when they are so blessed is kind of a blast to those that are enduring serious tragedies...

Personally - I know two people on Face Book that are grieving the loss of a child... I know many who are enduring the heartbreaking moments of their sick and/or dieing parent (s)... I know many who have been looking for a job and can't afford to pay their mortgage or rent.... There are those without a home... without a meal... without someone who cares about them....

So the next time a person thinks their life is so F**Ked and feels inclined to post it on Face Book - I hope they will take a moment and really looked at their life and if they don't see anything worth while then go ahead and post it....