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Homemade Christmas Gifts for Kids – 5 things for $5 or less!

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Posted on 15th September 2008 by Mish in christmas | frugal

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Five gifts for under $5!

1. Homemade Felt Board. I was walking through a trendy toy store once (just once, don’t judge me too harshly) and saw for sale a felt board, with all kinds of television character related accessories. My middle son was enamored with it. Rather than suck up the $32 price tag ($32?!) plus $15 for the different accessory packs, I went to the craft store, bought a pack of felt of different colors and proceeded to wrap a piece of cardboard with felt; then cut out all sorts of different shapes – trees, birds, whatever. I also found felt on a large bolt and was able to pin a large piece up on a wall – creating all sorts of interesting landscapes for the felt shapes. My kids have played with their felt boards for years! And I’ve even made small, portable ones for basketball games and car trips.

2. Crayons. Make new crayons out of old ones! Get old crayons and melt them down (use complimentary colors so they aren’t all brown) and put them in muffin tins or use metal cookie cutters on a cookie sheet to make interesting shapes. Put a bunch together with some neat (possible homemade) paper in a nice basket or box – a great present for a little one!

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Tina Fey as Sarah Palin video

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Posted on 15th September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous

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You’ve probably already seen this – but I hadn’t until this morning…no TV, only Internet! Quite possible the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Even if you’ve seen it, know that I’m putting it on my blog, just so I can keep it forever!

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Zen and the Art of Clutter

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Posted on 14th September 2008 by Mish in large family

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An oldie, but a goodie – I wrote this for my newspaper column in Green Bay way back when…thought you might like it:

Zen and the Art of Clutter:

Learning to let go of perfection as a goal…

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”

-Alice In Wonderland, By Lewis Carroll

Clutter. Disorder. Disarray. I have come to respect these words, in the same way that one enjoys a Lewis Carroll poem.

I have a friend who is an incredible housewife (stay at home mom and domestic engineer). Everything is always in its place: Floors were swept; bathrooms spotless; dishes done after every meal. She has a beautifully landscaped yard, and cooks dinner, from scratch, every night. Her children’s clothes have no holes in the knees, and are always clean, wrinkle-free and put away. Her needlework projects are always finished, and are prominently hung around the house. She is always home when her kids get home. There is always something simmering on the stove and friends are always welcome.

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Josh & Anna Duggar – 09.26.08 wedding day

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Posted on 13th September 2008 by Mish in large family

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Get the first two chapters of Michelle’s new book, A Fine Mess: Living Simply With Children, for free! Michelle is the homeschooling mother of (almost ) 7 children and has lots of humor, tips and hints for living with so many for much less. Want to try it out for nothing? Just email Michelle and put “free chapters” in the subject line.

Josh Duggar got married! Truthfully, I’m a huge fan of the Duggars and wish Josh and Anna all the best – I have no doubt they will be successful and happy!

Discuss Josh and Anna Duggar here.

Yes! Anna Duggar is Pregnant! Read the story…

Is Anna Duggar Pregnant? – the speculation is running wild!

More about the Duggars and Large families here:

NEW! The Duggars: 20 and Counting, a book review

NEW! In Defense of Large Families (again) and the Octuplet Mom…

Large Families, the Duggars, Us and Environmental Responsibility

Zen and the Art of Clutter

The Duggars are very controversial. They seem to equally enrage and delight people of all ages. I’ll just say to you what I said to my husband last night as I watched the show, “I like them. I wouldn’t raise my kids the same way, but they seem to be genuinely kind and lovely people. They are gentle and good-natured and are accepting of all sorts of people. So, just because I wouldn’t want to wear a skirt all the time or because I think it’s OK to date more than one person (heck, I obviously think it’s OK to marry more than one person!), doesn’t mean I think they are hideous because they don’t agree. And I have a feeling they would extend me the same courtesy.”


From Josh and Anna Duggar’s website:

“Meet Josh - Josh was raised in Arkansas, the first child born to Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar. He accepted Christ at the age of seven, was homeschooled and graduated from High School at the age of sixteen. His father entered politics in Arkansas in 1998, serving two terms as a State Legislator in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Josh became interested in politics and now does part-time consulting for elected officials and political candidates with a small company he founded in Arkansas in 2006, Strategic Political Services. In 2003 the Duggar family filmed their first show with the Discovery Health Channel called, “14 Children and Pregnant Again!” after its premiere it became the top rated show for the network. Having now done over 5 documentaries with DHC and TLC (The Learning Channel), the Duggar family is now working on a reality series set to premiere in October dubbed, “17 Kids & Counting!” In 2007, Josh started a pre-owned wholesale car dealership in Northwest Arkansas, Champion Motorcars. He now manages the dealership full time with his brother John. He also pursues other various entrepreneurial adventures as time allows. His parents are releasing the first book about their family in early December entitled, “The Duggar Family: 20 and Counting.” His father is a commercial real estate investor and full-time father of soon to be 18 children. Josh and Anna have a house in Fayetteville where they will reside, once married.


“Meet Anna
– Anna was born in South Florida, her parents relocated to the Gainesville area when she was just 3 years old. Her father took a good job working with a manufacturing company in the area. Anna’s parents began homeschooling her and her siblings and became actively involved in their local church. In 1994, Mr. Keller got called for jury duty. While in the juvenile court, he immediately saw the great need for Christ in the lives of those in trouble with the law. He started volunteering at a local JDC (Juvenile Detention Center) and his heart was instantly burdened for the juveniles. In 1996, Mr. Keller made the decision to leave his good job to work as a full time missionary to the incarcerated. They spent months on deputation and God blessed them with many faithful supporters. Working in juvenile detention centers, county jails, and state correctional facilities he began to see God working in the hearts of those who are locked up. Anna continued her studies at home and she frequently helped teach Sunday school & AWANA in her church. Anna graduated from High School at the age of sixteen, and often goes with her father to minister to the young girls in the Juvenile Detention Center. Anna continued with higher education and in 2008 received a B.A. Degree in Christian Education and currently works with the youth ministry in her church. Anna currently lives in Florida with her parents, and once married will move to Arkansas to join Josh at their Fayetteville home.”


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SKOY eco-friendly cloths instead of paper towels (giveaway) | Crunchy Domestic Goddess

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Posted on 11th September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous

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SKOY eco-friendly cloths instead of paper towels (giveaway) | Crunchy Domestic Goddess.

In keeping with the spirit of the Ditch the Disposables Challenge, I have to tell you about one of my new favorite eco-friendly paper towel replacements – the SKOY cloth. SKOY cloths are reusable, very absorbent, bright and fun, machine washable and microwavable, and at the end of their life, biodegradable. They are non-toxic, chlorine-free and made using water-based colors and inks. According to SKOYcloth.com, “Using one SKOY cloth is the equivalent to using 15 rolls of paper towels in an average home.”

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Passionate Homeschooling

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Posted on 10th September 2008 by Mish in homeschool

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I am a subscriber to several homeschooling magazines – among them The Old Schoolhouse.

I was reading through their email newsletter this morning and found this from their editor, Nancy Carter:

It’s so easy for us to see the absurdity of focusing on teaching a duck to climb instead of encouraging it to swim. But many of us are guilty of being so concerned that our kids are “keeping up” with where the other kids are that we focus more on covering our bases than allowing our children time to explore and develop their interests.”

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Gov. Sarah Palin quote…

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Posted on 8th September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous

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I’m sure I won’t vote for Gov. Palin (oh yeah, and John McCain) but I sure do like her a lot when I hear stuff like this:

“To any critics who say a woman can’t think and work and carry a baby at the same time,” she [Palin] said, “I’d just like to escort that Neanderthal back to the cave.”

I might not agree with her on everything, but on this I most certainly do!

NYT: Palin’s fusion of politics, motherhood – The New York Times- msnbc.com.

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Homemade Christmas Gifts

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Posted on 8th September 2008 by Mish in frugal

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OK – It’s September – and what does that mean around here? It means that I have to start preparing for Christmas! Well, don’t get too annoyed with me, it’s not like I make it a full-time job or anything, but I do, at this time of year, start thinking about and working on my homemade Christmas presents. Also, because I have a lot of kids, I try and start picking up purchased items as well.

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gDiapers Coupons are outta here…

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Posted on 6th September 2008 by Mish in cloth diapers

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Thanks so much for your overwhelming response to my gDiaper coupon offer!

I love gDiapers and am glad I was able to give so many of you a head start on them. While I don’t exclusively use gDiapers – I do love their covers but I often use regular cloth diapers in them. I find them to be a wonderful company, though, and a great transition diaper for those who started in disposables.

Give them a try at gdiapers.com

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Think you’re a bad designer? NSFW | The Next Train

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Posted on 6th September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous

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This isn’t frugal or green – it just made me snort my coffee and I had to share…

Something funny for Saturday night!

Think you’re a bad designer? NSFW | The Next Train.

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