A New Adventure for a New Year

Me and my sweetpea

Today marks my first official day as a full time STAY AT HOME MOMMY!! I couldn't be more excited! Last month, we were faced with needing to find yet another babysitter to watch our daughter. This would have made sitter number 4 for the year. We sat down and did a little math and discussed our goals etc and decided that it was better for all involved if I just stayed home. As much as I was excited to do so, I was somewhat unnerved to go tell my boss; it was the first time that I had actually chosen to leave a job that A) didn't make me hate my life and B) that I was not physically moving out of state and therefore could no longer work there. My last day was right before we left for the holidays so it didn't really sink in right away. Today was my husband's first day back to work and so I count today as "day 1". 

Although excited, I was afraid that I would be somewhat stir-crazy as I am used to getting everything done around the house in 3 or 4 days so that I can go to work for my 3 days/wk. So far, nada. Maybe I will get stir-crazy, but I get the feeling that I will have way too much else on my mind to sit around twiddling my thumbs. With staying home comes increased financial stress. While my income didn't contribute much to our overall household budget (aka mine was mainly in excess to our needs), it did cover some costs. Our budget is much tighter now. And tighter means more work for me when it comes to grocery shopping for example. 

Since getting home from my parent's house in NE, I have been pouring over recipes figuring out health and cost benefits. I already have some tasty, inexpensive recipes that I use but wanted to find more. BudgetBytes and Pennies&Pancakes are two sites that I visit often as they both supply yummy, healthy recipes with a cost breakdown per recipe and serving. Laura at HeavenlyHomemakers was my youth minister's wife when I was in high school and now has a flourishing website and COOKBOOK(s), which I was given over the holidays and have been going through and figuring out costs for all the tasty recipes. As I get accustomed to life at home 7 days/week, I will post some of my discoveries when it comes to cost/unit/serving of my favorite recipes so make sure to check back in a couple weeks :) 

This new year not only starts the beginning of my dream job, but it also marks the beginning of some other changes in my family's life. My husband and I have come to the conclusion that we don't want to be tied down anywhere; we want to be free to go where God sends, whenever that may be. We both want to do mission work someday but don't know where yet. We also want to be debt free before we start that so that we are not a burden to those who might support us on the mission field. That being the case, we are sifting through our belongings and selling or giving away things that we don't use. Basically its an early spring cleaning. Clearing house is our first step, and there are many more to follow but I will write on that another day. Our main goal for this year is to be able to listen attentively for God's direction; we know He has a plan for our lives together, but we don't know exactly what that plan looks like yet. 

In honor of the traditional "new year's resolutions", I have chosen goals for the year as the word "goal" means more to me. My personal goals for the year are: adjusting to my new role, learning how to better interact with my husband and daughter, being more intention about how I spend my time (Pinterest, don't worry- our time is sacred ;)), finding ways to grow my etsy business (BoundWithHope), and becoming a master at inexpensive, healthy living. What are some of your goals for this year? Hope you had a happy holiday season, and look forward to spending 2014 with you! 

-Ruth

It keeps falling...

If you have not gotten any snow yet, do not fear: its COMING (well, if I could send it your way, I would). We have had snow fall almost constantly for the last week or so, ranging from light snow to winter storm. It is very pretty, but after a while it gets really old. I'm thankful that the roads are fairly clear (that's a plus to living in a city that expects a lot of snow!); however when its cold and wintry out, and you have young children, there are times when some extra indoor ideas come in handy so that you all don't get cabin fever. 

Maybe you are in the same boat as me with a little one who is still too young to do much activity-wise; we end up playing hide and seek around the corners in the house, or making faces in the mirror, or even "lets climb all over mommy" time. But then again, maybe you have kids who are at the "too cool for you" age. Either way, hopefully these simple winter crafts/activities will help you get through the long days stuck in the house.

Snowmen Mints

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Growing up, my family and I always made these around the holidays. It became my little sister's specialty; even if no one else wanted to make the snowmen, she would make sure a batch was created. They are fairly simple to make and are fun to create different personalities on the snowmen. They are also fun to eat :) As they are not too sweet, it is very easy to eat about 10....hey they're small! :)

Salt Dough Ornaments

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Okay, so your tree is already decorated and you are all ready for Christmas, but maybe you want to add some personal things to the tree to make it more your own. Or maybe your presents are already wrapped but you can't find those gift tags you bought on sale last year. This year I am using salt dough gift tags for my presents. I actually wrapped them all up last night- so excited to see every one's faces when they open their gifts this year! Salt dough is inexpensive and opens the door to let creativity rule! Mine bubbled up funny in the oven when I baked them but it wasn't too bad. I have yet to figure out why that happened as all the tutorials I found showed beautifully flat pieces. One thing I would recommend would be to make sure you work fast as the dough does not like to sit (that might have been my problem). I used holiday cookie cutters and a small round lid to cut my ornaments/gift tags but you can you anything you want. I also used my holiday stamps to make indentations in the dough created some flair. Oh and make sure you remember to use a straw to make the hole for your string or ribbon. Once dried or baked, you can leave them as is or paint them. (Just a note about the linked tutorial- its maybe a little dated looking, but I was very impressed by her ornaments! Much more detailed than mine!)

Homemade Garlands

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I know, I know, your tree is all done- why do I keep telling you about decorations? Well, because I love decorations! Plus- even if your tree is done, that doesn't mean that the rest of your house can't use a little festive decorations :) Also, these would be great to make with your kids. Super easy and super fun as you can make them however you want! You could even venture outside to get some pine cones for one of the garlands, turning it into a scavenger hunt as well as a fun craft. Sadly I have run out of time for making any more decorations this year, but I hope to try these out next holiday season. 

If these don't suit your fancy, I hope you find other fun/family friendly activities that can occupy rambunctious little people. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season! We will be traveling a lot over the next week and a half so I probably won't be posting again until the New Year- so on that note- Happy New Year as well!! 

Until next time- 

Ruth B.