Love this site!!  So many ideas and how to!
http://ana-white.com/
Also, http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/

What a cool idea! A DIY bathroom mirror storage case.  This could be a project for 2015!
http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2014/02/bathroom-storage-diy.html

Raised Garden Beds

Out of many hobbies, gardening is one of my favorites.
I signed up for emails on http://mikesbackyardnursery.com.
He always puts up some really great ideas and tips.

This week there was one about raised garden beds and how to make your own. This is awesome!
Double the square foot for those with yards too.

http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/12/build-raised-garden-bed/

What an interesting read indeed!

http://sarahannelawless.com/

Like most of us, sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in emails. Work, home, multiple emails to keep up with. In the midst of all those, sometimes there is a great article like the following one about where to resell your kids outgrown clothes.

Sell Kids Clothes Online

Sites mentioned:
swap.com
moxiejean.com/
flipsize.com
peachybees.com
loobalee.com
thredup.com
 sweetsprouts.com

Enjoy!!

Weeknight Meals - Spaghetti

Our kids love spaghetti, but since regular noodles and sauce are full of phosphates, we have made some modifications.

We used ground turkey instead of beef. Here in Texas beef of any sort is expensive and ground organic well your could buy a whole chicken for that price.  This Gluten free Brown Rice Spaghetti pasta and the organic Tomato Basil Sauce were a hit. Add a slice of our homemade bread and some salad and dinner is server in under 30 minutes.

Salad: 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar, 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1/2 tsp salt, mixed well and tossed with chopped tomatoes and any sliced or chopped lettuce.

Summer is almost here!!!!  We are ready even though we only get the weekend. One of the kids will have a daily summer school through June so July we will get a break.
We have been busy with school ending and other family events. So our creative thrifty family hasn't been creating anything new these days. But we have made a lot of changes in our families diet.

We tried to go Phosphate free. Not as easy to do as one may think. It was much harder than expected with three kids and all the events and school functions and such. Planning is definitely required. Yes, stores sell items that are Phosphate free, but you have to look alot. Read the labels throughout. I don't know about everyone else, but my kids don't maintain for that long in stores. So multiple runs to the grocery store throughout the week became a necessity.
Also, bread was an issue. So making your own from organic flour and yeast became another thing that was almost weekly.

Knowing how hard this transition is for those with kids, errands, jobs, busy schedules, etc, I will start posting simple weeknight meal ideas as they come to us.

Why did we do this? Well google "Phosphate the hidden drug" or check out the following link.
http://www.phosadd.com/mainpage/main33.htm

It is downright frustrating what all kinds of additives and chemicals we consume these days just for things to be cheaper. As well as the side effects these things can cause us. I will say that although the Attention and Defiance issues haven't completely resolved, the bed-wetting is now nil to very infrequent which really cut down on the electric bill by not having to wash so many sheets. Maybe that $$ can be diverted into this new diet and more organic menu.

Not feeling too hot today, but trying to catch up a little. Here is a cool recipe for DIY Hand Sanitizer.
Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer

Now I haven't tried this yet, so I have no reports. If anyone has tried this or tries this first, please write your reviews.

Springtime is HERE!!!!  We have been cleaning and organizing and keeping up with the kids.
Since we haven't been getting many hits on eCrater, we are also trying other non ebay options.

 Etsy for example.Our store there is https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThriftyMota


Also, I have started another blog in hopes of sharing memoirs from my great grandmother and grandmother's Newspaper articles, cards, letters, photos, and other memorabilia.

http://memoirsedgarhubler.blogspot.com/

I set up my store on eCrater, no sales so far and it has been a couple of months.
I also recently tried Etsy.com which has more traffic, but still no sales. The sites are:
http://thriftymota.ecrater.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThriftyMota

Wicker Rocker repair

Johan recently was asked to repair the wicker Rocker as shown in the photos.
Apparently there are not to many places here in this area that sell caning supplies, but we found a place online and the items were just as we ordered and at a great price.

First he sanded the chair:

He then removed the old canning and spline from the chair.

 Then he stained the chair.

Replacing the wicker seat and the new spline around the wicker.

Finished Chair after sanding, staining, replacing the wicker seat and covering with a gloss. 

Glad to getting back to normal! January 11th we took the kids fishing at Rollover. Forgot bait, so we bought some frozen fish. I should have known we weren't going to catch anything, but we went anyway.

Well Sunday I woke up and my left hand and right arm were burning like on fire. By Sunday night I have Johan take me to the ER in Webster. The ER sends me home with an antibiotic and some pain medicine.

Monday I'm no better.
Tuesday no improvments. So off to the doctor I go. Still nothing. The doctor says keep taking the antibiotics.
Wednesday the swelling is going up my arm. The blistering is all over my left top of my hand and right forearm.
Thursday I've had enough. Back to the ER on January 16. They admit me. Take an Xray and a tetanus shot later I'm in a room getting IV antibiotics and pain pills. After cultures for saltwater vibrio came back negative, the Infectious Disease doctor orders a skin biopsy from the dermatologist. The hand surgeon cuts off all the dead skin on the top of my left hand where the blisters were. More cultures and a biopsy to test for Microbacterium Marinum. I had never heard of that so googling yep you bet!

Still no results that were positive. So January 22, I get to go home with a home health to clean my wound so Johan can see what they do. That said I was glad to be home. Over the next two weeks, besides getting the range of motion back in my left hand, I got the results of the biopsies. They basically said no bacteria that was tested for and no allergic reaction.

I was and am glad that this was not something worse, but still wish I knew what the cause was.

Super Laundry Sauce

Recently, I came across this article for Super Laundry Sauce. We made our first batch and I'm proud to say that the results were awesome! Laundry came out clean and fresh. These two jars will last for a while!

Check out the recipe here at this link:
http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/5-minute-no-cook-laundry-detergent-recipe-4075.html

Natural Furniture Cleaners tips

While cleaning out my emails, I ran across the following tips about Natural Furniture Cleaners.

• White Vinegar will clean furniture without destroying the finish. 
• Rub store-brought toothpaste gently over water rings on wood to remove them.
• Use black tea to clean and fill in tiny scratches. Use brown crayon for large scratches.

The water ring idea we will definitely have to try!

While looking for some free printable Certificates for Gavin's completion of the second grade Science and Social Studies classes, I came across the following site. Very neat free printable certificates so I thought I would share.
http://www.squidoo.com/free-printable-award-certificates-for-kids