Cha-Ching on a Shoestring™

Living Large on a Limited Budget

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Alternate Title: Angry Birds in the Manger)

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Angry Birds in the Manger

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“Who put the Angry Bird in Jesus’ manger?”

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything.  There was a 4 year old and a 7 year old who had some explaining to do.

I laughed, but in full disclosure…I was a little annoyed.  I had asked the boys to put their angry bird figures away.  This is not exactly what I meant.

My kids somehow missed the memo about angelic behavior being required at Christmas time.

Take for example the other night when we gathered to read by candlelight.  Surely the ambiance of the dimly-lit room and the flickering flame would result in a Norman Rockwell–esque moment this holiday season.

Instead the two little urchins angels spent the majority of the time arguing over which of them was going to blow out the candle when we were done.

Didn’t they know that this was not how Christmas is supposed to be?  For goodness sake, didn’t they know their behavior was not Pinterest-worthy?!

There is something about Christmas that reminds us that we long for perfection.

Well now.  I guess the cat’s out of the bag, all.  We aren’t perfect.  Nope.  Not even close.

What do you long for at Christmas?

A family that doesn’t fight?

A paycheck that stretches further?

Things to return to the “way it used to be”?

__________ (Go ahead.  Fill in the blank.)

This year, more than ever, I think we all long for PEACE on earth.

I look at my Boys,

My Angry Bird Pranksters.

My Candle Light Fighters.

My _________ (fill in the blank with any number of stresses they will cause me through the years.)

I realize something.

This IS how Christmas is supposed to be. 

Messy.  Imperfect.  Full of noise and chaos and sleepless nights and LEGO’s all over the floor and dirt on the rugs and countless moments that don’t make it on Instagram.

Because that is LIFE.

Tonight my oldest re-told the story of Christmas to me.  My favorite part was when he described the barn where Jesus was born.

“It was full of animals and it stinked,” he described emphatically.

This One That I Celebrate – Who was born in a barn – certainly isn’t scared off by my imperfection.  He gives me HOPE.

And I’m pretty sure He can handle that Angry Bird in His manger too.

Dear readers, would you please have yourself a Merry (and Imperfect) Little Christmas?   

And in case you didn’t know – I’m so thankful for you.  I don’t tell you that enough. 

Want to transform your Christmas with us? My Book The Merry Little Christmas Project – Five Words that will Transform your Christmas has helped thousands of women do just that. If you have ever wished that Christmas didn’t have to be so stressful, I wrote this book for you. Click here to learn more and begin simplifying and organizing your Christmas with me! 

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One Way We are Teaching the Value of Money

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Celebrating DQ style.  Love my son’s fake smile!

I mentioned earlier that I’ve been doing a little bit of homeschooling with Griffin for the time being.  I’ve had some fun returning to my former profession–even if it’s without a paycheck this time!

One way that I’ve encouraged Griffin to be attentive during our lessons (it’s not easy for a four year old!) is to offer him ‘Bear Bucks’ when he does well at following our rules.  Bear Bucks are simply little pieces of paper that resemble real money, but have a picture of a bear in the middle.

The Bear Bucks could be turned in for a variety of rewards–but the ULTIMATE reward was going out for ice cream with Mommy and Daddy.

I’m proud to say that Griffin opted to save his ‘money’ for over a month now instead of spending it on smaller prizes.  Last night, his faithfulness finally paid off and we all headed out to Dairy Queen to celebrate.  (And yes, I did use a BOGO coupon that I got for signing up here.)

We may not be ready to give him an allowance yet, but I think this is one great way to teach him the value of saving and planning ahead.  (Plus it’s a fun excuse to go out for ice cream!)

Oh–and why yes–that IS a Yankee’s hat that I’m wearing.  We may live in Phillies territory now, but we are staying true to our home team.  GO, YANKS!

How about you?  I’d love to hear ways that you teach your children the value of money!

Pampers: Free Potty Training Kit

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pampers-potty-training-kit

Those glorious potty training days will be back before we know it with our second born, so I went ahead and signed up for this offer from Pampers.

Go here to request your free Potty Training Kit from Pampers which includes:

  • A free sample of Easy Ups Trainers
  • High-value coupons
  • Fun stickers and coloring pages
  • Step-by-step potty training tips
  • Potty Progress Chart
  • Dora or Diego Training Trophy (Lincoln can add it to his sports trophies collection when he gets older!)

Want more potty training help?  Read my previous post about it here.

Thanks, MoJo Savings!

Guest Post: Boredom Busters

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By Pam from Frugal Catholic Mommy

http://www.clipsahoy.com/webgraphics3/aw4910.htm

With 4 kids at home, I want to be prepared with spontaneous “boredom busters” to fill the days, so I’ve compiled a list to keep my kids (and yours!) busy.

  • Shiny Pennies. Click here to learn how. Even older kids still like to do this!
  • Have the kids act out a story while you video tape it, then hook up your video camera and watch it on TV. Our kids acted out Goldilocks and it was hilarious! And it kept them busy with rehearsal for about an hour, then they watched themselves on TV about 5 times!
  • Make a trash dollhouse (or “Army bunker” for boys)–this can fill up days and days! All you need is a shoebox or other cardboard box and an assortment of caps, little empty bottles, paper clips and other miscellaneous household junk that we all have lying around in a drawer. Click here for the instructions.
  • Finger Weaving Contest. This is great for older kids (8+). Stock up on yarn at the dollar store and Click here for instructions.
  • Add It Up (toss $1.00 in coins out in the yard and have the kids search for the entire $1.00—while Mom takes a coffee break! If you want to be mean and take a LONG coffee break, only toss out $.95 and they will look for the elusive nickel for hours J)
  • Play Battleship. If you don’t have the actual game, you can print out a version here.
  • Make Hot Pretzels. Get creative and roll the dough into names, animals, footballs, a butterfly etc… Click here for an easy recipe.
  • Make a chalk mural on your sidewalk–let each kid (and neighbor kids) each fill up an entire sidewalk square.
  • Make your own pinata. This takes several days from start to finish, so it would be great to start on a Monday and have it ready for a play date on Friday. All ages can help with this one. Instructions here.

For more ideas, read another Boredom Busters post from Pam here.

Potty Training? Here’s help.

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Potty training.  What comes to mind when you hear those two words?  Does fear strike deep in your heart?

I know I felt a bit terrified when starting this process with our firstborn.  I briefly considered waiting until he was in jr. high…but quickly changed my mind when I thought about paying for all those diapers.

Thankfully, we are in that brief hiatus before potty training our second son.  But, I’m feeling a lot more confident this time around.  I thought I’d share some of the (free!) tools that helped make our first go-around a lot smoother than I expected.

  • Sticker charts were a life saver for us.  PottyTrainingConcepts.com offers free printable potty training charts in themes such as Cars, Disney Princess, Thomas & Friends, and Winnie the Pooh.  We used the Chuck E. Cheese printable rewards calendar for Griffin.  (We used our own rewards system, but kids can receive 10 free tokens for taking a completed chart into Chuck E. Cheese.)

  • We also signed up to receive this free potty training DVD from Pull-Ups.  Griffin loved it–he still occasionally asks to watch it!  As I recall, there were also some great Huggies coupons included as well.

  • Huggies also offers a free Pull-Ups sample here, along with a few other tips and tools.

  • Are you a little further along in the process, but still working on night-time?  Wal-mart also has a free sample of Huggies Good-Nites here.

How about you?  I’d love to hear about your tips and tools as well!