Pool party

We went to an APX pool party today. They are always fun. The favorite activity is money diving. Nate has a hard time seeing under water with his contacts in, so he only gets a few bucks. Some guys got $40+.

Braden cheating!

It is like putting food in a piranha tank.

Nate's share: $6.50 + .50 that Michaela gave him.

The kids got to do it too.
After it was over they all threw their money back and did it again and again. Tanner kept hiding them even when we got home. I have a feeling we haven't seen the end of it. Fine by me. Easy entertainment. I just have to shout "Ready! Set! Go!" and act excited when he finds his quarters.

$.75 for Tanner.

Handsome Nate.

Can you guess who this is? Only a couple more weeks for Michaela!

Frugal

fru·gal (fro̵̅o̅′gəl) adj

1. not wasteful; not spending freely or unnecessarily; thrifty; economical
2. not costly or luxurious; inexpensive or meager

This is how I am striving to live. More so in the next couple years. I know many of you are in the same boat, so I decided to share some ideas after I had some friends ask what I do. Here are some I am doing or will implement. Most of them are "green" too. I am not an environmentalist (although I think I maybe turning into one); it just so happens that green living can be frugal. I know a lot of these won't save tons of money and could be less convenient. They are mostly just ideas for now. We'll see which ones stick when I start doing them. :) When Nate is a Physical Therapist, most of these could go out the window! Unless I have turned 100% into a environmentalist by then. :)

• Cloth diapering and possibly cloth wipes (I don't mind cloth diapering at all, by the way. I've been doing it for a couple weeks. Takes a little more work, but there is something really satisfying about Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.)
  
• Use plastic grocery bags for all trash cans (My friend does this; hasn't bought trash bags her whole marriage and has no plans to.)
  
• Use fewer products in general (I looked in our shower and I use shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash, shaving cream, and face scrub. Unnecessary!)
  
• Make cleaning products and facial scrub
• Make foods like bread, tortillas, yogurt, and jams from scratch. (Sure if you are buying flour tortillas, white bread, and sugary jams it is cheaper to buy at the store, but if you want whole grains and naturally sweetened foods, they are cheaper to make)
  
• Use reusable containers for Nate's lunches
• Walk everywhere I possibly can. Maybe even get a bike and trailer.
  
• Cloth napkins
• Cloth rags for cleaning instead of paper towels.
  
• Reuse a foaming soap pump with watered down soap. Makes it last much longer.
• Coupon. But only on things I really need. Have you ever noticed how coupons get you to buy stuff you don't need or necessarily want just because you can get them cheap?
• Menu planning
• Fewer trips to the store. I hardly ever stick to my list. I am easily distracted by clearance sales, which are always going on.

What tips do you have?

This makes me happy

I love it when the boys play nice, when they read books. Dallin is at a destructive stage where it tears up books. Most of them have tape in them some where.


It's so sweet to see affection between dad and kids.

And this makes me laugh
Tanner has a hard time dressing himself

"Got it!"

"Wait, no I don't! I am so frustrated!"

"Ok got it this time! Maybe."

"Here we go again."
If at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Gough Family Pictures

Here are the pictures I took for Erin's family. They are so photogenic! She gathered all these props to make it more fun and colorful. Taking pictures of a family just playing on the beach is so much easier than trying to pose them, especially when kids are involved.
Anyone else want their picture taken? It is my favorite thing to do.

Family Pictures

My friend Erin and I took pictures for each other. She took these ones. I will post the ones I did for her later this week. The weather wasn't great; kind of misty and windy. Add uncooperative kids (you will see Tanner running in and out of pictures), and Erin being a little sick, and it makes for difficult picture taking, but she got some good action ones.

Check out Nate's ankle tan line on this one.

Here's the break down

I've had a few people ask more details of cloth diapering. Here is what I am using and approximately what it cost. Not trying to push cloth diapering on anyone. I probably wouldn't bother if it wasn't such a good way to save money during tight times. Wish I would have done it with Tanner though; we have been on a tight budget since he was born too.

Thirsties Duo Wraps: 6 @ $11.50 a wrap.





24 cotton prefold diapers (the kind that most people use for burp cloths): $2 a diaper.
You fold them in thirds and lay them in wrap. The yellow things is a fleece liner.


Fleece liners (to wick away moisture and make poo clean up easier): 26 for $1.80 made from those end of the bolt pieces of fabric that they sell at fabric stores. You can also get biodegradable paper liners to catch the poo. Those you can take out and flush down the toilet. I want to try those sometime. About $8 or so for a roll of 100.

Snappis (alternative to a diaper pin): 4 for $10. Not totally necessary, but thought I might use them sometimes to fold differently.









Wet Bags: To hold dirty diapers in. One to hang on bathroom door, one for diaper bag $27. It is either these or a pail, can cost more or less depending on how cute you want them.

Terry Cloth wipes: when we get back to Idaho I will use these with a spray bottle of a cleaning solution. I will buy a 1/2 yard at fabric store and zigzag edges. $3


Total start up cost: Approximately $160 for this option. Can be much more or a little less. Pretty much the only way to be cheaper would be to use diaper pins, a garbage bag, and old fashioned plastic pants like my mom used. No thanks. Those look so uncomfortable.




Cost to diaper one kid for 2-3 years in disposables: $1,500-$2,250

Ok so there are the energy bills, but at our apartment in Pocatello, utilities are included in our rent! Ok, and there is detergent, but you use only about a tablespoon of detergent to wash them. And you wash them about 2-3 times a week. Two times per load.

Here are 2 of the many sites I looked at to get information. They also sell everything you would need.
http://nickisdiapers.com
http://www.kellyscloset.com

Potty Training and Cloth Diapering

I now have no plans to buy anymore disposable diapers, hopefully ever! Tanner is just about potty trained, and I just started cloth diapering Dallin.

He likes them on backwards so he can see the picture in the front. I don't care, as long as they are on him, I am happy! But once I started laughing at his behind, he wanted to see what was so funny.

He got this guitar from the library for reading 6 books, well, I read them to him. He loves playing air guitar. He's a character. Has lots of quirks, more than the average person I think, but that is a whole other post!

For Dallin I went with Thirsties Duo wraps and prefolds. After doing the math I should save several hundreds of dollars doing it with Dallin, and thousands to use them again on another kid or two. When a family is unemployed and forking out tuition money for 3 years, this just seemed like the thing to do. Cloth diapering just isn't what it used to be, thank goodness.

Thumbs up!

Got Dallin his own sunglasses.

Request

Our time in New Jersey is coming to an end. It is bitter sweet for me. I've made some really great friends and had tons of fun. But I'm also really ready to settle down in one place for a while. For Nate leaving will be all SWEET! This is tough work, but he has done well. Definitely worth it. Mostly he's just excited to do his PT program.

Me and the boys will fly back on August 14th, and Nate will drive on the 16th. We will be setting up house in Pocatello and needing to purchase a few things. We're wondering if anyone knows anyone in Eastern Idaho that has a

• Washer and Dryer
• Microwave (a small one)***Never mind. Matt and Mickie giving us that! Awesome!
  
• Window air conditioner
  
• Dresser (small enough to fit in a closet)
  

for sale. Or some storage space for a love seat and recliner. We are renting a town home that will be smaller than our last apartment.

Thanks!