Jun 28
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Organic Mama’s 3 Ways to Save in the Summer Heat

By | Money | No Comments

Summer is definitely here and I don’t know about you, but I find myself needing cool refreshment a lot more often. Since I love to hit up my local coffee shops, I have to find ways to save a little extra to afford my regular coffee or tea – hehehe…

Here are some things we do or have done in the past to save money on our regular bills each month.

1. Save on your energy bills by switching to a Time of Use plan.
Both SRP and APS offer savings on energy to customers willing to shift using energy sucking appliance like dishwashers, washers and dryers to off peak hours. APS has several different plans and SRP offers online calculators to help you determine if switching your usage will save you money. Comparing basic usage to the cost savings reveals that basic prices in July are as much as 12.12c a kilowatt hour vs. time of use price of 6.65c per kilowatt hour. Pretty significant when you add it up! It might take some adjusting to get used to a time of use plan, but in the end, it can mean great savings for you.

2. Use water wisely in the summer
Whether you’re gardening or just filling up that pool, avoid unnecessary evaporation by watering in the cooler hours of the day. The University of Arizona’s Master Gardener site also offers great tips for growing healthier plants by watering deeply and more effectively to create drought tolerant plants that need less water.

And, if you want to save money by using less water indoors, do what my mom always did and set guidelines for shorter shower times. With five girls, you can imagine it was a pretty huge cost savings to cut our shower time from 10 minutes each to 2. Yikes! Now that I’ve paid those water bills, I can only imagine those bills!

3. Use a clothesline rather than a dryer
According to Laundry List, drying laundry in the dryer can cost between $0.15 and $0.40 a load. If you’re washing for a family, this adds up! If you switch to line drying you’ll not only save money on the dryer, you’ll save money because your clothes will last longer.

My clothes are currently on the line outside and in this heat, they’ll be dry within an hour. I also have an indoor drying rack in my townhouse and those clothes take a little longer. A word of wisdom about outside line drying…be sure you turn your clothes inside out and dry them in the shade to avoid fading the colors. Unless you’re drying something white. Then, put it in the sun for natural bleaching power!

There you have it. Three ways great ways to save cash toward your savings account or toward a nice cold latte from your favorite local java joint!

Jun 24
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A Bike and A Lesson in Living Now

By | Live NOW | No Comments

Is there such thing as being too frugal? You’d have had a hard time convincing me of it a few months ago. My mother and her mother before her were practiced at sacrificing and saving for their families’ financial welfare. My Grandma Verna survived what we call the “Great Depression” so she had money saving tips that boggle the mind, including washing and reusing bread bags and reusing paper napkins for at least two meals. My mom wasn’t far behind her in practicing frugality and early on I saw the wisdom of their habits. Neither had debt, both paid off their homes and saved for the future.

As a mom, I often find myself giving up something special that I want for the sake of my family’s needs or perceived needs. I prioritize bills against other things we need and push those things further down the list. As we provide (on a single income) for our small children, who eat an astonishing amount of food, I find myself giving up things I need for myself, like attractive clothing, dinners out with friends and even makeup. There have been bigger ones too – like the birthday money I received toward a “real” camera that I had to spend on an unexpected bill. That was three years ago and I still don’t have the camera.

I am circumspect about these choices and recognize them as a necessary part of my decision to trade a more comfortable income with the chance to stay home and enjoy every minute of my children’s preschool experience. And, I can honestly say, I am content.

But, since a rather life changing experience in February when I spent some time in critical condition due to a severe miscarriage hemorrhage, my outlook has changed. For those of you who have read my blog for a while, I don’t want to harp on this excessively, but quite frankly, feeling my life almost seep out between my legs drastically affected my perspective. I emerged with a profound gratitude to be alive and a fierce determination to wring every drop from this intoxicating drink called life. I find myself saying, “Yes!” a lot more and taking every opportunity to connect with people, long time friends and strangers. And, I’m doing things for me that I had previously put off to “someday”.

Before my mom died, she gave me money for a birthday and I told her I couldn’t decided whether to buy a beautiful quilt I loved or get a jump on some other financial obligation.

Mom surprised me by saying, “Sweetie, you know I believe in being frugal. I have spent a lot of my life giving up things I want to support our family and I’ve never regretted it. But, I hope you’ll get that quilt because you need to have a little fun along with the responsibility.”

Like a typical daughter, I listened but I still did what I thought was right. I didn’t get the quilt.

This year, I feel differently. When we had a little extra income a month ago, I did something extravagant. I spent money on ME and bought a bike. A brand new, sparkly, lavender bike. My husband threatened to pick it himself when I teetered on the edge of “No”. I’ve been riding around like a little kid ever since and am relishing the freedom, alone time and exercise it’s brought to me.

Friends, I am not advocating being unwise or thoughtless with your finances. I still believe in saving, making smart choices and shopping at thrift stores (it’s like a treasure hunt!). My purchase didn’t require a credit card or compromising my ability to buy groceries.

But, I discovered that I believe in one pass at this life and I want to find a way to feel it all. I want the beauty along with the ugly, the hope along with the pain. And, in this case, the bike along with helmet (even though that’s a double positive). Taking hold of life does not necessarily require spending more money – but it does require our taking advantage of the moment we’re in and being the fullest version of ourselves.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that you are enjoying every bit of the life you’re leading. If you’re looking for me, I will be riding my bike!

Jun 23
0

The Barbie Party

By | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Now that we’re done philosophizing about present opening at kid’s parties, here’s what we served. I hate to admit I completely forgot to photograph it because I was so stinking busy having fun and running back to my house to let people into the bathroom at my house. (Older townhouse pool = no public bathroom) Oh well. It is kind of a bummer because the food was delicious and we had a wonderful time eating it. Alas! I’ll tell you about it anyway!

We decided to go for a tea party theme, since Barbie is kind of like a princess. Princesses have tea parties all the time, right?

The beautiful barbie cake.  You can see our refreshing drinks in the background!

We served three different tea sandwiches, goat cheese and cucumber, pb and J for the kids, and egg salad (thanks Mom-in-law!). I also ran across a delicious cold orzo salad recipe just a few days before the party that turned out to be a huge hit. It was made with orzo, red onion, bacon, peas, mint and feta and it was incredible! There was also fruit, apple chips, potato chips (hey, everything can’t be a break from tradition!), veggies with dip (thanks sis!) and cup cake cones with home made ice cream. Instead of soda, we served hibiscus tea with lime slices and water chilled overnight with pineapple, ginger and mint in it. It was delicious. And the crowning achievement was a fabulous (seriously, beautiful) Barbie cake decorated by my mother in law. The kids could not wait to taste it!

Cute fruit landscape courtesy of my Mother-in-Law

We decorated with barbie stuff, fresh flowers, balloons and streamers. And instead of plastic toys as party favors, we just gave the flowers to the little princesses. They didn’t seem to notice the difference.

I was pretty excited about how it turned out, especially because it’s the first part of that size I’ve hosted at our townhouse. Well, at the pool anyway. And the kids had a great time even though they had to run back to my house every time they needed to use the bathroom.

Here’s a full length shot of the barbie and the roses we gave to the princesses in attendance.

The best part is that after we came home, my husband sweetly sent me upstairs to take a nap while the girls played with the new toys and he cleaned up the remaining destruction. Could it get any better?

Jun 23
0

Appreciating the Giver, part deux

By | Honest Mothering | No Comments
This weekend, we marked the passing of five years since my oldest daughter’s birth in the only way such an occasion can be marked. We had a Barbie party, of course.

I know, I know. Barbie is not a very strong role model in a household where feminine values of equality, spiritual insight, intellect and strength are celebrated daily. But, those are my hang ups, not my daughter’s. When my daughter sees Barbie, she’s not thinking, “Why are Barbie’s boobs unnaturally large and pointy, like she’s had a boob job?” or “Why do even Barbie’s professional clothes make her look like she’s engaging in some kind of sexy role playing?” Nope. When my daughter sees Barbie, she sees a beautiful princess who likes to wear cool clothes and has long lustrous hair.

Which is exactly what I want to talk about today.

For those of you who read last week’s post about our plan to save gift opening till after the party because we wanted to focus on just having fun with our friends rather than making the party about gifts, here’s an update.
Your comments were supportive and encouraging even if you disagreed, like this friend did.

“I admire you trying to change…let me “share”…from the other side.  …my child, waits in anticipation for gift time to come, so that they can give their friend their carefully chosen gift and see them open the gift that they had chosen for them…the thank you card… is not the same as the joy of seeing someone open your gift.

As I took in the responses, I noticed a pattern. Several moms shared their own feelings of insecurity about giving gifts to their peers or to their children’s peers in a public setting.  I began to realize that this concern about giving an appropriate gift might be more related to our insecurities about “fitting in” as adults and being validated in our choices than it was about our kids’ feelings regarding gifts.

I recognized this, partly, thanks to an antagonist who wrote me a strongly worded email expressing her frank opposition. Her email started similarly to the above message but also shared her concern that doing things too far out of the norm (like not serving hot dogs or not opening gifts at a party) would make my daughter’s party so weird her friends wouldn’t want to come again and that her social life could be permanently skewed (at age 5!). The author finished by saying that it’s really important for kids to “fit in” with their friends at this stage in life.

Those of you who have known me for a while may have started chuckling as you read that last sentence. ‘Cause, you know, I’m just known for doing whatever is necessary to fit into the crowd. Hahaha!! 

It is my highest goal and full intention as a mother to teach my children the opposite of “fitting in”. I pray and hope they will learn to live their lives according to their consciences and our family’s belief system regardless of how far out of the norm that puts them. I don’t want my children to feel they need to mute who they are or what they believe just so they can “fit in”.  

No way.

We are intentionally raising our daughters to be confident, EXTRA-ordinary women who are comfortable in their own skin and in their ability to make wise choices, even if those choices rock the boat a bit. I only hope they will learn to temper their strength with a grace, love and compassion that exceeds what I have shown at various times in my life.

That said, I don’t really think not choosing to open gifts at a party is that big of a “rock the boat” issue.  I mean, I just wanted to try something new because it seemed like it might be a good idea! So, why the strong reaction from both sides?

The truth is, I think the majority of us have been situations where we have felt insecure about whether or not our (or our child’s) gift was “good enough”. And friends, when I say a “majority” of parents, I’m counting myself.

Listening to fellow moms express their fears about whether or not their gift would be appreciated helped me recognize my own feelings of insecurity over whether or not what I have to offer is good enough. But the thing is, if the person receiving the gift loves you or me, they will appreciate our intention. And, regardless of their reaction, we should feel confident that we each have something precious to offer those we love. Fear of rejection should not guide our life decisions.

Which leads me to my final thoughts on this subject. When I realized that the conclusions I’d reached about not opening gifts at my daughter’s party might (!!!) just be more about my hangups than those of the children who would be attending the party, I decided to observe the kids at the party and make my decision based on their interactions not my own insecurities.

Here’s what I saw.

Fun, excited little friends who arrived at the party bearing gifts, dressed for a swim-fest. They jumped in the pool, raced around with their Barbies (well, if they were girls), ate and drank with gusto and clearly had a wonderful time celebrating with each other. Then, as the party neared its end, they all said, “When are you going to open my gift?” Obviously, they considered it the high point in the festivities.
So, we gathered around and with giggles and great excitement, the entire crowd of kids “helped” my daughter open her gifts. They all gasped with pleasure over each gift and she was truly excited with each and every special treasure her friends had carefully chosen, wrapped and presented. A carefully-drawn princess card created by one of her little friends received one of the biggest exclamations of delight of the party. 

Watching the process gave me a new appreciation for my daughter and her ability to make her friends feel loved. And, it taught me a lesson in not projecting my own insecurities on my daughter.

There you have it. I still think it wouldn’t be a big deal not to open presents at a party, especially for a younger crowd (say, 2 or 3 and under). A friend who moved to New Orleans about three years ago says she’s only been to one party in that time where the birthday boy or girl opened gifts. But in this case, I learned a lesson about myself and being confident in who I am and the choices I make about my daughter. I want to make choices that are best for our family, whether or not they fit in with the norm. And, if I realize I am making an issue about something that may not be that big of a deal, I can change my mind without feeling like I’ve “lost face”.

Whew. That’s about enough philosophizing for me today. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the party menu. It was AWESOME.

I love hearing your feedback. Keep it coming!