Mrs. Makuta!

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Mrs. Makuta! We adopted her from a wonderful woman, LeeAnn, and we are just so thankful for her. She is so beautiful, and her personality is just a perfect match for us. As you can see, we love her already (and sorry for the TV noise in the background, last minute video decision)!

Welcome home Mrs. Makuta!

How Spending $10 Saved Me $60!

Hey now GFFs!

We used to buy and use paper towels for everything. Paper towels and money, rolling into the trash can every week girl! That adds up year after year for our landfills and also for our pockets!

The solution for us: cloth napkins! We got ours at BED BATH & BEYOND, 12 for $8 (using a coupon). I looked at other stores but I needed black and they were the only store near me that carried them. My husband loves Siracha and would have stained any other color.They have held up well, I love them! They usually have a coupon available for 20% off if you sign up for their email list. Cloth napkins cost the same as the average 8 pack of paper towels, and you won't be throwing them away! 

Now, don't get me wrong, we still buy paper towels. We have kids, dogs, chickens, ducks and a cow, some messes you just want to throw away... or hose off! 

The first-day making mud pies this year =)

This has been a very easy transition for our family. Over the past year, we have saved at least $60 plus trash going into our landfills... and that is just in one year! It's the little things in life, right? What are some of the ways you have found to save money or reduce waste around your house?

Purim!

Hi GFFs!

Purim is right around the corner, on March 23rd and 24th and we are so excited! This is a holiday for all who believe in the Bible! You can read all about it in the book of Esther. If you Google the holiday, you will probably find it described as a Jewish holiday. We believe the whole bible is true and the canonized Bible is made up of the Tanakh and the Brit Hadashah, or Old and New Testaments. Our Jewish bothers and sisters do not generally believe in the New Testament. That is one of the differences between the Jewish and Christian religions. I would love to answer (to my best ability) any questions you may have for us in the comments below!

This holiday is really important! The bottom line is, there was a man who wanted to wipe out the Jewish people. If all of the Jewish people were to die, our Savior Yahshua (Jesus), would have never been born! Queen Esther, the brave cousin of Mordecai, stepped up and convinced her husband (the king) to put a stop to this genocide.

We will celebrate by reading the book of Esther with our children... I think this year we will probably let them dress fancy like Queen Esther! Last year was the first year we celebrated and it really blessed our family. We enjoyed a great dinner and wine on our small patio together with our kiddos... Blaxican Style by eating tortas! Lighting a few candles, enjoying the sunset and just being together made the night really special for us! 

Some people choose to celebrate by dropping off gifts to their friends and families or donating to a cause that is close to their hearts. My sister is an illustrator and has a fabulous blog! She has created a coloring sheet of Queen Esther that you and your littles can download and enjoy any day of the year!

We hope you enjoy Purim and that it brings you closer to YHVH!

The Free Stuff Jackpot... Craigslist!

Everyone loves some free stuff! Am I right? Okay... maybe not everyone, but I do!

I frequent the Craigslist classifieds for "Free" stuff at least once a month, because you never know what you are going to find! If we are looking for something specifically, I usually start there. We have found so many free things over the years. For example: a ton of greenhouse glass, wood, and compost. Recently, I feel like I hit the jackpot! I ran across a "Must Take All" ad not too far from my house and was curious, so I texted. About an hour later I walked away with things that were on my "Wants" page in my bullet Journal... for FREE! I cannot believe I walked away with the letter "G" that I've been wanting, from a random craigslist pick up.  I think I saved myself over $200 for home decor in that one trip!

I have been longing for a large wall clock. I wanted one that was around 2 feet and I got it! I googled it and this clock is sold out at $72 on Amazon but you can find it on Ebay for $80 + $40 Shipping. I cant believe I got mine for $FREE.99! I also needed (and got) a large, coffee brown frame with a white mat for the art I want to put behind my coffee bar cart (pictures coming soon). I got a large silver mirror, a real copper hurricane oil lamp, a couple of pretty vases, and a pair of sweet book ends that I really love.

I also received two, round, brown lamps that weren't my favorite. However, I really liked the narrow, oval lampshades. We had two lamps in need of shades. One lamp I received from Chilo's mom about 4 years ago and I think it is feminine and darling and the other is a solid, masculine lamp that we've had for a while too. So the shades now have a permanent home pulling the two mixed-matched lamps together. They are now flanking our bed as our his & her lamp set.

I was able to give the lamps that didn't match our decor to Chilo's Stepmom, as well as a charming hand painted bowl that was in the loot. The other things that do not really fit with us, will soon be dropped off at Goodwill to hopefully find a new forever home.

I urge everyone to be cautious while meeting up with anyone online, be it dating, Craigslist pick up, or whatever. Use common sense. Meet during the day in a public place and let someone know exactly where you are going and any information of the other person that you may have... bring someone with you if possible. If you are uneasy for any reason: ABORT MISSION!

Let me know if you have found any treasures online please! Happy hunting and be safe!

Pee-Pee in the Potty!

One word... Skittles. Don't judge me, it worked. My sister says Lieli potty training in a week is my blessing for nursing for so long and I agree! We have been potty training for 6 days now and accident free for almost 3.

She had been taking off her diapers as soon as she tinkled and saying a form of "barrrat, brrrart, baaarrraat" when she poops. This word can stand in for anything gross though, bugs, mud, poop, trash. If she thinks it is gross she says barrrat. Now when we want her to stay away from something we tell her it is barrrat lol. One day, we were getting pretty low on diapers and I asked Chilo to pick up Pull-Ups for her if he made it to the store. The day got away from him, so I ended up running in after church on Saturday night. We cloth diapered for the first 18 months and after that Chilo has usually bought the diapers and wipes, so I was in shock when I saw the prices of the Pull-Ups! I decided to just go all the way and I bought a pack of like 25 Pull-Ups, a pack of 10 panties and a few plastic covers. That combo was basically the same price as 50 Pull-Ups. When I got in the car, I made a big deal about her big girl panties! She loved them. When we got home I went straight to the washer and threw in a load of clothes with the new undies because I knew tomorrow would be the big day!

The first day was tough, accident after accident right after sitting her down on the potty. I'm not going to lie, I thought about giving up and waiting a while (she's not even 2 yet). By the first night she did not want the plastic pants anymore, only her "manie" as she calls them. She sat on the potty and had her first success and it was awesome!!! I rewarded her with a song and dance (no, I do not plan on recording it for anyone else to see). I realized by her excitement for my awesome dance moves that a reward system was necessary.

I asked Chilo to pick up a bag of Skittles on his way home and we have been pretty much accident free since then. Every time she tinkles she gets one skittle and if it is a poop she gets five. She has actually gotten up from a nap, asked to go potty, used the restroom and went back to her nap. SUCCESS! I have potty trained many kiddos as a nanny and a momma, so I am not naive to the fact that we will have accidents in the future. However, I am looking forward to no more barrrat diapers!

Motivation & Accountability

Almost every Sunday Chilo takes charge of the house and kiddos and I have a day to do whatever I want. I have been taking advantage of it by sleeping in, watching the folks I like on YouTube, prepping for the upcoming school week, and a ton of reading and writing. It has been such a blessing to be able to recharge and get ready for the week. He actually brings me coffee in bed and makes breakfast, lunch and dinner... and lately cleaning up too. Thanks hubby, I am a blessed girl!

All of that being said, I feel like I have to get busy! I think I needed that time for recharging and appreciate it so much but lately I feel like I have been wasting this opportunity. I have so many ideas that I want to explore and things that I want to create and share. We are settled into our home, homeschooling is on track, I have my body back from breast feeding and my hormones have stopped attacking me. I am feeling like myself again. So if you know me at all, you know that means I am on to my next challenge. I have so many plans and I am motivated to start doing them!

I spoke with one of my good friends this week and we decided to get back to being accountability partners. I encourage you to pick one of your close friends to partner with. Then choose a day that works for both of you to send a detailed list of things that you have been wanting to accomplish (I think it is best to start with just a few things and work your way up from there), that you haven't been motivated to accomplish on your own. Then the next week go over your lists together, cross off what is completed and add new goals. When you have to report back what you have accomplished, it is definitely motivation to complete that list! This is my list for the week:

• Drink 3 of my water bottles daily (72oz)
• Research ASL certification and decide the route I want to take
• Organize my writing projects
• Bullet Journal at least twice this week
• Work on Logo
• Workout 3 times this week

This week I am choosing things that I slack a bit on (working out and water), things that I just need off of my list (logo, ASL, writing organized) and keeping up with the work that I have already done to get organized (bullet journal). By the way if you do not have a bullet journal it is worth looking into creating one. ANY notebook will do, which is the best part! I use a large, hard cover, squared, white Moleskine notebook and I love it.

I would love if you would share one thing you would like to accomplish this week in the comments below... cause I'm nosey! 

My YouTube Top 5

As an adult I have had times where I did not own a television. I think it can be a trap and it can keep us from the stuff we really want to do in life. We still limit our TV watching now, and I only have a couple shows that I really care to keep up with. Our kids don't watch TV Monday-Friday unless it is a 30 minute video teaching American Sign Language or Spanish to unwind before bed. Chilo and I are usually on YouTube when we have down time and want to watch something.

I thought I would share some of the YouTube channels that inspire me. *Cough, I rarely miss a video, ahem.*  They are in no particular order:

• At Home With Nikki
• Passion For Truth Ministries
• House of Aqua
• How Jen Does It
• A Farmhouse Full

Each of these channels inspire me for different reasons. Some for motivation, home decor and organization, some for my relationship with God and some for homeschooling and parenting. I usually watch videos on my phone at night while loading the dishwasher. Basically, if it's either the mundane task of dishes or laundry I am usually watching or listening to a video. 

That being said, I do try to be present when my family is around, so I finish what I am doing quickly and put my phone down. Though, they usually know better than to come hang out with me while I am washing dishes or folding clothes because they know I will put them to work! 

I hope you check out these channels and that they inspire you as they have inspired me!