I happen to love cold cereal.  Pour me a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for any meal or snack and I’m happy.  Which is why I was pleased to be offered compensation by MyBlogSpark in the form of free cereal coupons, to pass on the following information and coupon link to my readers.

Last Month General Mills announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The General Mills company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain, so reducing sugar is right in line with their goal of providing us healthier ready-to-eat cereal options.

I think that’s a step in the right direction!  Considering that cereals are expensive and I only buy the ones that are on sale, I can’t be picky.  It’s nice to hear that General Mills is making it possible for me to get cereals that are not as sugary even while sticking to my strict $1.25 or less per box of cereal rule, by offering more better-for-you cereals to select from.

I know a lot of people who refuse to let their children eat cereals, and while this is a decision each family should make on their own, I’d like to point out some things maybe you haven’t thought about.

Study’s have found that those who eat ready-to-eat cereals consume less fat and cholesterol than most non-cereal eaters? And they get more fiber, too.  Not only that, but cereals can be a top source of important nutrients in children’s diets by delivering vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients. 

Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including pre-sweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

As busy as many families are these days, it seems that eating breakfast is getting thrown to the curb.  However, cereal is easy, quick, and can be healthy when chosen well.

General Mills is offering a $1 off printable coupon for their cereals here.  You can print 2 per computer by backspacing, or by returning here and clicking the link again. I suggest using these on a buy one get one free sale – like the kind Publix and Winn-Dixie offer every couple of weeks.  You will find yourself scoring cereal for very cheap!

MyBlogSpark and General Mills provided me with 4 free boxes of cereal in exchange for writing a post about this information.  If you have any questions about this please leave a comment .

My sweet baby girl got her braces yesterday.

Her brothers are having a field day with this.  They’re coming up with all sorts of new jokes to poke fun at her.  They’d be in trouble for their antics; however, it was Kait, herself, that taught them the art of teasing. Joe (11) has a couple years of being called Josie under his belt.  He’s earned his wisecracks.

Ben (almost 5) now thinks Kait is part robot.  I inadvertently put that in his head a while back, trying to describe what braces were.  I didn’t correct him.

Whenever Kait walks by Joe he makes a metal detector sound. And Jesse (1) doesn’t know what to think of them.  One minute he wants to touch them, the next minute he looks uncomfortable and turns away from her.

Although she is already looking forward to the day they come off, Kait is pleased with her braces.  She says that, although her teeth feel tender, she really expected to have more discomfort.  She’s liking the band colors, dressing to match. 

Such a good spirited child she is – not taking it all too seriously – and havin’ fun with it.

The last week I haven’t blogged at all. We’ve had sick little ones. Not really sick, just sick enough to keep us at home – and me tired from being up listening to a toddler cough. The coughing toddler, however, never woke up.

So, here’s a quick recap of the last week and a half.

Got a Care Bear for free.
Went over to visit our friends, Don and Ally, and laughed a lot.
Had dinner with Heather and Heath and got mopped out of the restaurant after 4 hours.
Found poop on a book on the bookshelf.
Took Kait to the dentist
Took Kait to the orthodontist.
Made appointment for Kait to get braces.
Received the Swinxs we won in the mail.
Went to the grocery store.
Forgot to buy what I went to the grocery store to buy.
Found a pull-up in the washer.
Saw a really dumb movie.
Saw a really good movie.
Imagined throwing my laptop through the window.
Thought better of it and instead, got up and completed a sewing project.
Had a birthday party for Jesse.
Went to church.
Stayed home from church with sick littles.
Washed my hair. With shampoo. Why is this note worthy?
Swore off cloth diapers forever.
Used cloth diapers again.
Learned what a Shaker was.
Wiped 16 gallons of snot from Sam’s nose.
Allowed my daughter to have 10 of her buddies over for a game day.
Ground a lot of wheat (thanks Marseilles for bringing over your mill!)

Oh, and found out that Jesse is part crab.

[sigh]

Here are a continued list of blogs authored by family, friends, and people I like to pretend I know.  Some of them are updated daily, some not so much.

They are in no particular order. 

Sam’s Family

The Vets Wife

Legacy Of A Writer

Kaitlynology

Jane’s Reviews and Giveaways

Cool Gabe

Joe’s Adventures

In Not Of

Mommyhood Adventures

Book Ponderings

Generation Cedar

Humble Musings

Journey

Semper Fidelis Family

Dusty Books

Kim & Jason

MamaOnABudget

Hyperbole & a Half

A Peaceful Dwelling

Robservations

Perhaps I’m Ridiculous

Newkular Blast

Bearfr’s Wanderings

Tacky Raccoons

Yesterday was Jesse’s 1st birthday.  We have some adorable pictures and video to post about it.

I’ll get right on that.

Kait played piano during our church service for the first time this morning.  She was nervous, and so was I for her.  She did well.
Then, after church my 2 and 4 year old boys were a little out of form.  Knowing they aren’t to run in the church building, they chose to anyway, weaving in and out of chitchatting members.  Twice. 

I hollered out, “Where are your parents?”

We talked with friends, laughed, ate lunch, then came home. It was a ordinary day. 

But this ordinary day was so outside of anything ordinary.  I learned things today that were so sad but an instant later I received equally uplifting news.    

The emotional roller coaster…  We came home exhausted.

We’re watching Facing The Giants and I’m reminded that life’s Goliaths are no match for God’s plans.  Not even in the same league.  The Lord’s will cannot be dented.

Now that today is just about over, I am looking back on this day’s events. I realize that I am changed. Through this church, the people in it, through God, I’m a different person than I was a year ago.

And while it’s not perfect,

I’m 

not perfect, I’m seeing things differently.  My view has less of me in it.

And it’s good.

Does there come a time when we focus so much on the outward appearance of our family that we forget about the hearts of our children?  

All too often Christian parents begin at the wrong side. 

Christianity starts on the inside and works it’s way out.  Nobody comes to Christ through the reciting of a Bible verse.  The Savior isn’t more keen on a person because they dress in modest fashion.  And Yes Ma’am hasn’t ever brought anybody to salvation.

While they are essential in helping one grow in their faith, focusing on those things alone cannot help our children experience what it means to be a Christian.  And using these things as ego builders can only lead to disaster.

I’ve seen it before.  Homeschooled children from respectable families, raised in church, leaving the faith of their father behind when they step out on their own.  I’ve seen young ladies pregnant at 16.  One was a homeschooled teen from a very conservative family who didn’t even have TV.  I knew this family.

Oh.  The heartache the parents must feel.  “Where did we go wrong?”, they plead, desperate for answers.

While these children could spout off Bible verses with the best of them, and argue scripture like a pro, their hearts had gone sour.  They had too long been the center of their parent’s ego trip, biding their time until they could get out of dodge.
They didn’t long for the faith their childhood had been based on.  They had long ago made the realization that they didn’t want that life. 

Parents – Pray. 

Pray for your children. 
Pray for wisdom. 

Pray for your eyes to be open.

That’d be B for budget.

Our main bathroom, no matter where we live, is typically boring and dull.  Since we moved in here 5 months ago I’ve been wanting to do something to make our current bathroom more delightful. However, I’ve found that purchasing traditional bathroom decor is just not in this frugal girl’s budget.

This morning, after I had finished cleaning the bathroom, I looked around, unsatisfied with the bland, undecorated room.  Standing there, I decided I needed to get creative.  I gave myself a $10 budget and went to the local thrift store.  I was successful at pulling together a fun, brightly decorated bathroom in just one afternoon and $12.  Yeah, I was $2 over budget.  It’s okay – I had a gift card from my mom.

The before bathroom is just the way it was when we moved in here.

The blue shower curtain came with the house.  It’s not totally ugly, but it doesn’t have any personality at all. We already had some green bathmats but they were washing at the time I took this picture.

Two hours after I got home I accomplished my goal.  A fun, brightly colored, delightful bathroom.

The shower curtain was my first find – $4.99 at the thrift store.  It looks brand new and the colors were spot on. Although it is a tad bit on the girly side, I got the thumbs up from my husband and was delighted with the cool find. I couldn’t find any cheap fabric to match it, however.  We had to run to Walmart to return something so I decided to see what fabric they had on sale. 

Kait and I spotted matching flower fabric right away.  It wasn’t on sale and was $4.44 a yard – yikes!  I only needed about 1/8 yard so it was pretty cheap.  I picked up 1/4 yard of two fabrics and 1/2 yard of two fabrics.  And some ribbon that I didn’t end up needing.  In the end my fabric purchase was just over $6. 

I cut out the circles and flowers and used wallpaper paste to secure them to the walls.  Wallpaper paste is something I like to keep handy (around $5).  It is so easy to use and all it takes is sponge and water to remove the pieces.  Using fabric to decorate means I can reuse the decorations in another house, too. 
We already had the bathmats, like I said.  The cloths are new, but were a planned household purchase so I didn’t include them in my bathroom decorating budget.  I had expected to get the cheap white ones today but they had these colored ones at 16 for $4, same as the cheap white ones.  Just my price!  I made a matching wet bag with the leftover fabric, using some old PUL I had laying around from a long time ago, as the lining.

The project couldn’t have turned out more in my favor.

Yippee!

My biggest challenge when I started getting serious about saving money was keeping each particular deal organized, and learning prices of everything. I am by no means good at organization, although I long to be like Monk when it comes to having everything in its place.

Tada!  It’s a notebook!!!

It’s about half the size of a regular notebook, with lined pages. It has been laying around with my office supplies for whatever reason. If you don’t have one laying around you can probably find something that will work well at the Dollar Tree.  

This notebook houses my price book – a page that lists what a good price is on the most popular things we buy, and has pockets for coupons I’m ready to use.  I also keep my deals organized, what I’m buying, what it should cost, what coupons I have, what rewards I should receive…

It’s handy. It’s dandy. It’s my handy dandy notebook.

I have been hesitating to write this page because I’m not very good at articulating my faith.  This makes me sad because I feel like I could spread The Gospel better if I could form what I believe in a way that makes sense when it comes out of my mouth.  But I am coming to realise that spreading The Gospel isn’t always done with words. The way we live our faith often says more to people than any words that might come out of our mouths.

So, even though this won’t be a great literary piece of art, it’s a bit about my faith. It is who I am. 

I am a Christian. Reborn. Reformed.

I believe that there is always more to learn.  I’m new to the study of the nature of God and religious belief. And I’m finding huge new concepts that twist my thinking all the time. I have learned that, while it is easy to say I asked Jesus into my heart and I go to church and listen to a Christian radio station and now I’m good, that simply isn’t as biblical as we’d like to think. 

I believe that John 3:16 is a most excellent verse and is just as valuable as every other verse in the Bible, but it was not meant to be the lone ranger. And Romans, read as just one work in the context of the entire Bible, is very different than when it’s read as a book on it’s own.

I believe that saying we believe that God is sovereign is much different than actually believing He is sovereign.  And His sovereignty is so much more than most of us understand.

I believe that John Calvin had a lot of things right.  And Martin Luther was pretty awesome, too.

I believe that God’s view of children is much different than the world’s view.  I believe that view was written across the pages of the Bible from the beginning and has not changed.

I believe that children are a blessing, a gift, and a reward. But I don’t believe that having a lot of children makes you more holy. I do not subscribe to the world’s current definition of quiverfull.  My family is not a part of that movement.

I believe it’s okay to admit that I’ve been wrong, when what I believed was not quite what God meant. And I believe that it’s good, even a relief, to be able to trust my husband even when a biblical idea isn’t making sense to me.

I believe that nobody has it all perfectly correct. And that growth is constant and when we stop growing, stop having aha moments, and start thinking we’ve got it all figured out, something is going wrong.

I believe that being a Christian is a process. It can be a noun or an adjective but should most often be a verb. And I’m not all that good at it. But I’m working on it.

I believe there is so much more to say here. But it will take me a while to get it all out. And then it will change or, more accurately, I’ll change and I’ll have to start again. And I’m okay with that.

I believe that questions and discussion are good for me.  Please leave a comment if you want to discuss, though I can’t promise that I’ll be good at it.  It does help me to have my brain challenged.