Busy...Busy...

I had no clue that I would stay even busier as a stay at home mom than I did when I was working.  Of course, as you know from previous posts, I got 6 chicks and 2 ducklings the weekend after my last day of work.  Since then, my oldest son got 2 chicks that are 11 weeks.  Four bunnies also arrived for Easter.  Unfortunately, three of them had apparently been weened too soon and developed diarrhea.  I contacted a friend of mine from school who is a bunny breeder and she told me what I could do for them.  We were giving them meds by mouth every night and the day we lost the first one, we started also giving them shots.  Unfortunately, none of the sick ones made it. We also started babysitting a puppy for a friend who has a very sick little boy that cannot afford to be around any extra germs right now while he is heeling from surgery.

For those of you who weren't paying attention...a recap...The residents at my home went from myself, my husband, 4 sons, 2 dogs, and a cat to all of those and 8 chickens, two ducks, 1 bunny, and a puppy.

I have also helped my dad and step-mom go through some storage units (they own the business and they had some unpaid units).  I scored clothes for my 21 year old step son, my husband, a friend's son, my cousin's baby girl, another friend's teen daughter, another friend's 3 young daughters, and a friend of mine's baby boy.  I also managed to get a new desk for the little ones' room, a metal baker's rack that I plan to use in our future greenhouse, 2 nice picture frames, plastic drawer set, unopened stockpiled toiletries, a few board games, books for the 7 year old, Christmas ornaments, fold out TV tables, several plastic storage totes, old game system and components, video games, CDs, and DVDs.  And, because my parents were able to get a new bedroom suite from the unit, they are giving us their old one! 

I mentioned the future greenhouse.  That is another score.  A friend delivered us 17 glass doors (formerly sliding glass doors) for $50.  Each are double paned, so when we take them apart, we will have 34 glass panels available to create a greenhouse.  I am not sure when we will have a chance to buy the other supplies and actually get it built.

I have been couponing and I hit up a local meat sale and stocked up the fridge.  I didn't have to grocery shop this weekend though because another wonderful friend of mine just started a very strict diet and gave me everything in her pantry and fridge that she could not eat instead of just throwing it all away.

Another activity I that has kept me busy is hunting for morel mushrooms.  I am sad to say, I have had absolutely no luck!  But, when walking with some friends of mine, I found a very old stacked rock home foundation and not far from it, my friend found a very old and very rusty plow that she was very happy to carry out of the woods.  Yesterday, when I went in some more woods with my 16 year old, we found two very large coral fossils and some wild miniature irises.  The ground was so soft, I was able to get some of the irises up by hand and I planted them temporarily in one of my raised garden beds.

It has been a busy few weeks but it has been a lot of fun and I have managed to get a lot of freebies! 

The Return of Couponing

Years ago, I was a couponer!  In fact, I was one of those crazy coupon ladies with the giant binder that no one wanted to be behind in the check-out line!  I burned myself out on it and my life changed so I stopped having time for it.  With me quitting my job and our rather large family relying solely on my husband's income, it is necessary for me to start couponing again.  This time I am trying a different strategy.  I am not clipping everything and spending hours arranging everything in a binder and hours every time I go to the store but I am definitely using coupons.  The only problem is, I am starting cold.  I don't have a stockpile of coupons or groceries currently.  I have to build those things up so that I can purchase ahead and not have to do any costly need based grocery shopping.  I started my journey yesterday and I didn't do too bad.  I spent about an hour in front of my computer compiling a list, printing coupons (since I don't have many on hand), and updating programs so that everything would work.  At Publix, I spent $110 and saved $108.  This was great considering I got a lot of cereal and laundry detergent on this trip.  I have to say that I have loved the Southern Savers website for years and she didn't fail me yesterday.  I planned the entire trip using Jenny's list.  If you are couponing, her site is a must and it is completely free!!! Check it out at http://www.southernsavers.com/!

Day 1 of My New Life

It is officially day 1 of not going to the job that I had for 18 years!  It feels a bit surreal.  Saturday, we got 6 baby chicks.  Their names are Parmasan, Nugget, Rosemary, Patty, Spicy, and Dumplin'.  And no, I don't plan on eating them.  We just thought we would have fun with their names.

On Sunday, we decided to go back and get 2 ducks as well.  Their names are Lucky and Aflac.  All are doing well and so far, I still feel fine about being home.  Of course, all the ladies hugged me bye Friday and made me cry and I will miss them.  I won't miss that place though! 

This week, the plan is to get to know my chicks and ducklings, get laundry, dishes, and regular housework caught up, get son number 3 an eye exam, go to son number 5's IEP meeting, and save the big projects for next week.  We will see how that goes.