10 Natural Remedies to Keep on Hand

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March 21, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Every natural remedies cabinet should be well-stocked.

I like to teach my kids how to practice self-care and be proactive about their health. We keep our cabinet well-stocked with natural remedies.

It’s frugal and smart to try to stay healthy year-round with good food, herbs, supplements, teas, and essential oils.

10 natural remedies:

Chamomile

The tea is good ingested and as a humidifier (Put a towel over a steaming bowl and inhale.)

Eucalyptus

Invigorating. Apply diluted oil to chest, back, feet or diffuse. Great as a shower soother.

Melaleuca

Apply diluted tea tree oil topically or diffuse.

Honey

Great to soothe sore throats and if you can get local product, the pollen could help with any seasonal discomfort. (Lemon is great with honey!)

Apple Cider Vinegar

ACV has so many amazing benefits. I take a shot every morning.

Raw Garlic

Will shock anything right on out of your system. (Take with ACV for extra oomph!)

Raw Onion

Place a slice on feet and cover with socks. Great for fevers and other ailments.

Lemon, Lavender, and Peppermint trio

Apply 1 drop of each essential oil diluted with a carrier oil to base of the throat twice a day for allergies, congestion, or sinus irritation.

Inhale on palms or diffuse.

You could also get the fresh herbs and some lemon slices for tea or a cold drink with honey!

Lavender is calming. Lemon and Peppermint are invigorating. This trio smells fresh!

Meat Stock

Add a spoonful of ACV to chicken, turkey, or beef bones to get all the nutrients out. Cover with water. Add veggies like carrot, celery, tomato, aromatics like onions, ginger, garlic, and seasoning like peppercorns and salt and herbs. I often use a slow cooker overnight. Smells and tastes great. Soothing and warm. Freezes well.

Elderberry Syrup

I recommend buying at a health food store rather than foraging. We really like the gummies!

What would you add to this remedy list?

We take supplements and cod liver oil every day.

Make sure you eat well, get good sleep, and drink plenty of water to flush out your system and stay healthy!

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Resources for Fever Blisters

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March 21, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Having a virus doesn’t always mean you have to be miserable.

Some natural remedies can help with the discomfort of fever blisters.

The Herpes virus often causes painful outbreaks of blisters when the virus is active, followed by latent periods.

Both the varicella zoster virus (chicken pox and shingles) and herpes simplex type 1 and 2 virus (causes both oral and genital discomfort) belong to the same viral subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae.

Valnet recommends a blend of lemon and geranium.
Tisserand suggests eucalyptus and bergamot.
Wabner says rose or melissa oil could lead to a complete remission of herpes simplex lesions.

Essential oils recommended that could affect symptoms of facial irritation:

Bergamot
Eucalyptus
Geranium
Myrrh
Peppermint (could relieve itching)
Helichrysum
Clove
Lavender
Rose
Melissa
Lemon
Roman Chamomile
Thieves blend
Ravensara
Sage
Rosemary
Melaleuca quinquenervia (Niaouli)
Sandalwood
Cypress

A lovely topical essential oil blend (diluted):

Geranium oil (8 drops)
Lemon oil (3 drops)
German Chamomile (6 drops)
Melaleuca (8 drops)
Lavender (5 drops)

Dietary supplements that might help:

L-Lysine (could retard growth of the virus) – check out these foods high in lysine
Zinc
Vitamin C
Cumin
Cayenne (capsaicin numbs pain)

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Homemade Lotion

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March 20, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

My initial introduction to essential oils was to help my eldest daughter with her dry skin. It was suggested I help her from the inside out, so we changed our diet. I bought a healthy digestion oil blend and saw instant results.

There are many additives in skin care products and soaps that often exacerbate dry skin conditions. Check your labels!

After trial and error, we had to eliminate many products and get natural personal care products instead.

My natural hand balm can help dry skin.

Dry Skin Remedies | https://www.jenniferalambert.com/

Essential Oils we’ve tried to help with dry skin: Cypress, Copaiba, Frankincense, Lavender, Myrrh, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Geranium

Melaleuca oil blend mixed with coconut oil was our best result for this time and place for our daughter.

Of course, I don’t recommend using all of these oils and products at once! Just start with one or a few and see what helps or smells great to you.

We recently made some hand balm with essential oils.

I made Tori a big jar of melaleuca hand balm since her hands are like sandpaper in our dry Utah winters. She feels special with her own jar of hand cream.

Recipe:

Melt in a mason jar in a pot of jar or double boiler:

1/2 c coconut oil
1/4 c shea butter
1-2 tablespoons of cocoa butter

Then mix in some vitamin E and essential oils before it goes back to a solid. I like my stand mixer to whip it good.

I used melaleuca, frankincense, and lavender but there are many essential oils with benefits for our skin!

You can also whip the melted carrier oils in a stand mixer for a fluffy texture. As they cool down, the lotion will retain the air and feel silky.

Eat your way to healthy skin!

We eat nourishing, healthy proteins and fats like gelatin, collagen, liver, and cod liver oil. I take a supplement for specifically for healthy skin.

We’ve tried limiting wheat and dairy because we’ve learned it can have negative effects on skin, but my husband and Tori don’t have skin issues with it. If they overdo it, their moods are affected.

Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19134433

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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Natural Remedies for Headache

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March 18, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 8 Comments

I love it when the remedy works immediately, like a miracle.

Then there are times when our bodies need time to heal and we wait.

We apply essential oils and we want immediate relief.

I don’t like waiting.

When we pop a pill, we expect instant relief. Because that’s what they often provide. Allopathic medicine often blocks our body’s ability to register the symptom.

I’m not always sure what the problem is…

Whether from hormones, processed food chemicals, not enough rest, poor diet, dehydration…

Or the barometric pressure, crazy fluctuating weather, altitude, the bright sunshine…

or maybe I just need new glasses.

I’ve been having migraines more frequently lately.

I’ve been using supplements and essential oils to help balance myself.

I took Midrin when I suffered from migraines during my pregnancy with my middle daughter.

I went to the hospital last year with pain radiating from my left arm and chest. They did tests and found nothing. The doctors said that was a once in a lifetime bad migraine. It was bad.

It’s probably just stress.

I’ve read that excess estrogen can cause all sorts of problems. I do not take any oral contraceptives or have an IUD any longer.

Natural remedies that may help with headache pain:

essential oils: Pine, Lavender, Fir, Frankincense, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Peppermint, Wintergreen, Chamomile, and certain blends (see below for some favorites!)
staying hydrated
magnesium spray or supplements
exercising regularly
eating well (we like eMeals for simple meal planning!)
sleeping well
balancing hormones (I recommend this book to help with any hormones issues – or find a natural professional)
know your pain triggers and how to prevent them (check out Diagnose Yourself book)
chiropractic care or physical therapy

A Migraine Story:

I slogged through the day.

I did school with my youngest and eldest, but the middle girls just played all day because I didn’t have the energy to go through their work with them.

I did plan and prepare the meals and did the necessary chores.

But close to dinnertime, I was done.

The dull ache had turned into a violent throb and I had to lie down.

I closed all the blinds but it wasn’t dark enough. Every vibration of sound made me more nauseated.

Aaron made me a “pain bomb” capsule with several essential oils.

He rubbed Peppermint and several oil blends and I don’t even remember what else on my feet and the back of my neck.

I drank about a quart of water.

We diffused Pine. It smells heavenly. It immediately opened my stuffy nose and ears.

I especially like an oil blend with Peppermint, Lemon, Balsam fir, Copaiba, Clove, Wintergreen, Helichrysum, Vetiver, and Palo Santo. Super convenient to keep in a roll-on to rub on my neck at the first warning of migraine.

I like Citrus oils and Spearmint in water. A great, tasty way to stay hydrated. But too much citrus often make my lips raw.

I got shaky and nauseated. Like migraines tend to do.

Somewhere between the praying I could puke and die or be able to eat a little dinner and be normal, I slept.

I didn’t get back up until the morning.

I was still a little woozy.

But I was not in pain.

Able to do school with my kids and read aloud and clean up and do all the things mothers need to do.

And it’s my birthday!

Helpful info:

5 types of migraines and how to heal naturally

Foods to avoid if you suffer from migraines.

Supplements and natural help for migraines.

More natural remedies for migraines.

Integrative Pain Management

Easy stretching and strengthening exercises like yoga and pilates are low-impact and help maintain a healthy body so pain isn’t so prevalent.
Chiropractic care helps keep everything in shape and can treat pain triggers.
Eating healthy and making sure to get enough sleep are right choices for anyone.
Limiting stress helps me stay pain-free.
Daily fresh air and exercise are helpful.
I take regular vitamins and supplements to help my body maintain a balanced immune system and handle stress more easily.

All bodies are different. These essential oils often work for me but they might not work for you. pH and all sorts of other factors are involved. Zyto scans are helpful. We use our Higley guide and EODR to help us find oil combinations that work for us.

A great roll-on Essential Oil recipe:

10 drops peppermint essential oil
5 drops frankincense essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops chamomile essential oil
1 ounce of magnesium oil

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22517298
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23196150
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7954745
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987714003077

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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We All Make Mistakes

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March 18, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 4 Comments

I had an awesome mama moment with my son when he was a toddler.

He dropped an egg and, out of fear, he hid it.

He did admit he dropped an egg.

I am glad he told me.

I gathered towels and went to go help clean up the mess. When I couldn’t find a mess, I asked him about it.

He stammered and lied.

I found where he hid the egg. The shell had barely cracked and the membrane was still intact. There was no mess.

He stared at me, wide-eyed in fear, as I held the cracked egg in my hand.

I told him to sit on the sofa for a minute.

He cried.

I threw the egg out.

I pulled out our Child Training Bible and read aloud the verses on lying and we discussed them and prayed, holding hands. I hugged him and told him how much I love him.

I told him I’m not mad and mistakes happen. I thanked him for telling me he broke an egg, and that I will always help him clean up his mistakes.

He is so much more than a broken eggshell.

Leading him in prayer over the sin of lying was so much easier than yelling, shaming, isolating him in a timeout over a hidden broken egg.

I could have cracked his shell, smeared his soul, and spilled his heart out all over the floor.

I did that too often with my firstborn. We’re still rebuilding.

Too often, we as parents are the reason our children lie. They’re afraid of consequences. They don’t feel safe enough to tell the truth.

Do we as adults feel safe enough for truth?

Don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master. Ephesians 6:4

Forgiveness is good.

How many times do I make a mistake and then hide it, pretend it didn’t happen, or even lie about it (even if I only deceive myself)?

Do you have any mistakes you need help cleaning up?

Jesus would love to help.

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What Are You Putting In Your Body?

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March 17, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Recently, a member of our church passed away due to Paracetamol toxicity.

My uncle also died from complications with OTC pain relievers.

Do you know what that scary-sounding condition is?

Paracetamol toxicity is a lethal buildup of acetominophen (Tylenol is a brand name we all know) in the body.

Paracetamol, acetaminophen, or APAP, chemically named N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, is a widely used over-the-counter analgesic (pain reliever) and antipyretic (fever reducer).

Do you have a bottle in your cabinet right now?

Too many of us live in constant pain, and in a desperate desire to alleviate the soreness, aches, and function, we often turn to cheap and easy OTC meds to block the symptoms.

His body could take no more and he collapsed and was then rushed to the hospital. He spent about a week in ICU, in a coma.

Our church prayed and visited and played music for him in his hospital room, while he was attached to a respirator and wires and tubes, in futile attempts to save his life.

A few days ago, he awoke and everyone thought it was a turn for the better, an answer to prayer. But, it was just a an opportunity for loved ones to say goodbye.

His liver and kidneys shut down. The toxicity levels were so high he experienced irreversible brain damage.

He has two teen daughters.

From major medical websites: “Acetaminophen is used in all stages of pregnancy and is the drug of choice for fever and minor pain in pregnant women. Acetaminophen is excreted in breast milk in small quantities. However, acetaminophen use by the nursing mother appears to be safe. The most serious side effect is liver damage due to large doses, chronic use or concomitant use with alcohol or other drugs that also damage the liver.”

There is a study that links ADHD to use of Acetaminophen during pregnancy.

Drugs are telling lies to your body. God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. 1 Corinthians 14:33
Drugs are major cause of serious illness because they confuse the body’s 100 trillion cells so they cannot work in harmony and health any longer. p.46 Healing Oils of the Bible by David Stewart, Ph.D.

It could’ve been me.

Last week, I spoke to our church women’s ministry about essential oils.

It was God’s timing. Many of the women in attendance had never thought about the medicines they take daily.

God moved in that room as I spoke about the dangers of modern medicine and how we’ve moved away from welcoming God and asking for His help for healing. We turn too often to man’s medicines.

After our oils class, I was asked specific questions about how we use oils for this or that. Aaron and I were able to give our testimonies about how we use the oils for our family. We don’t use OTC or prescription medicines and we only use natural cleaners in our home. We also take many natural supplements and eat real foods.

The other day, while purging in preparation for our move, I threw out all the medicines in our cabinet. It took me a year to get to that point.

How much money is all that worth?

I used to give those things to my children without a thought. I followed the dosage on the box or bottle and never prayed. I assumed there was no other way than to treat my kids’ symptoms.

Most of us have been brought up to trust doctors implicitly and to take medicines prescribed without question.

Pharmaceuticals are designed to block receptors and pass false information to your cells to trick your body into giving up symptoms. “Opposing symptoms” is what “allopathic” means. Symptoms are messengers to get our attention so we can deal with the problem. Allopaths mistake the messenger for the problem.

It’s the old adage: “No one loves the messenger who brings bad news.”

While I understand there are times when God uses doctors and modern medicines to help and heal, I think we too quickly jump over God’s guidance and immediately trust a doctor’s worldly wisdom without even allowing God into the equation or asking for a second opinion.

Please be aware what you are putting into your body. Know what you’re giving your children and why and monitor dosage.

This tragedy could have and should have been avoided.

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Mango Homeschool Review

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March 14, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Our family reviewed Mango Homeschool Edition with Mango Languages.

This is the Beta format right now and we’re happy to work with something new and help them develop an amazing product to market to homeschoolers everywhere! We didn’t experience any real glitches and my kids loves the lessons, learning simple conversations in other languages.

We’ve used Mango for free from our local county public library before, so I wondered what the big deal was with a homeschool version. Public libraries usually only have one level of maybe a dozen languages while Mango Homeschool Edition has all levels and all languages (60 to choose from!) and community features like a forum.

My kids were excited to explore and try out a few different languages.

Tori chose to learn a few lessons of Hawaiian. Kate and I looked at Mandarin Chinese and really, really loved it.

Liz and Dad did a few lessons of Arabic.

Then we studiously practiced the German since we’re moving there in a couple months!

Once you login, the course directory lets you choose a language and join that space:

Once you join a space, you have to verify that you do indeed want to login for the lessons:

The lessons jump right in with conversations:

I was not interested in the Club or forum or having my kids use any chat features so I monitored their lessons closely. This might be fine for older students, but not my wee ones. It just wasn’t necessary. I understand they have excellent security in place to keep this a safe environment.

There are not restrictions on the number of languages a student can learn or be part of at any one time. This is great since we each joined about 5 or 6 and practiced each several times a week.

What I love:

Simple conversational lessons with pronunciation and ability to scroll over the words and phrases to see phonetics (good for visual learners)
Doesn’t take much time to complete a lesson
cultural notes about language and dialects and colloquialisms (a particular term for girl in Mandarin is not a nice word to say in some provinces of China)
self-paced. My kids and I could do 1 lesson and walk away or sit and knock out 3-4 lessons. They made it a competition.

What I don’t care for (but I’m sure they’ll improve this soon!):

the narrator was annoying at times. I still don’t understand some of her phrasing (“without sounding inappropriate” “isn’t this easy?”). Just keep it simple and don’t make me feel like an idiot if I don’t think it’s easy.
chat and forum accessible to my young children (we just wouldn’t ever use this)
too much review for advanced language learners. I wanted to see what was ahead. I tested into chapter 2 of German and skipped over lots more of it and drove my husband nuts making the narrator sound like I was channel surfing over her.
only very basic conversational and vacation language so far in our lessons (we’re moving to Germany, so we want to learn more in-depth info right now)
no printables or real assessment in the system (apparently, they have plans for this). For the price, I want a more comprehensive program with etymology, vocabulary lists, writing, history, and culture that I can print out and use
I have to monitor progress and listen in on lessons to check how they’re going. There was no way to assess without asking or listening. My daughters figured out how to use the microphone to test pronunciation, but it doesn’t record for assessment by a teacher.
I just can’t imagine that this could count for any high school credit since it’s just not comprehensive enough for me to consider the few journeys offered as 2 years’ worth of foreign language study

Here is the info for German:

Journey 1

Greetings, Gratitude, Goodbyes
Inquiring About Someone’s Nationality
Asking What Languages Someone Speaks
Names and Introductions
Getting Around
Shopping and Payment
Drinks and Dining
Numbers and Currency
Getting Help
Asking for Clarification

Journey 2

Addressing and Describing People and Animals
Describing Surroundings
Making Small Talk
Accepting and Declining Social Invitations
Dating
Foods, Cooking and Dining
Commenting on the Weather
Using the Bank and Post Office
Planning leisure activities
Sightseeing

Journey 3

Culture, Literature and Art
Discussing Historical Events
Addressing Medical Conditions
Expressing Thoughts and Feelings
Discussing Schools and Education
Names and Their Origins
Talking About Food and Dietary Habits
Physical Descriptions
Making Plans
Sports and Exercise

Course guides in pdf format are available.

What is currently available on the site:
Over 60 different languages
Progress Assessments
Built-in journals, discussions, and wikis
Collaborative learning spaces
eNote messaging /chat rooms
Access to embedded/downloadable content
Support from other community members
Calendars to schedule meetings or study groups
Over the next several months, we’ll be introducing other exciting features like:
Enhanced Tracking and Progress Monitoring – including seat time (for students and parents)
Goals and Personal Lesson Plans (both stand-alone and tied into Mango courses)
Resume and Portfolio Builder

The program is intended for ages 6 through adult. My youngest daughter, Kate, is almost seven and she navigated through this easily on her own.

Introductory pricing for Mango Homeschool:
1 subscription is $18/month or $125/year total
2 subscriptions is $28/month or $175 /year total
3 subscriptions is $38/month or $225/year total
4 subscriptions is $48/month or $275/year total
5 subscriptions is $58/month or $325/year total

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Frugal Birthday Celebration

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March 13, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 3 Comments

I’m decorationally challenged.

I loathe kids’ birthday parties. I am always stressed.

Some of the stress is from growing up, surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins and having rather large gatherings for my birthdays, along with kids from my class at school.

We just don’t have any of that.

I tried. I wasted time and money on Liz’s birthdays for years. Some were rather successful and others flopped miserable, with no one even RSVPing or showing.

My husband didn’t grow up with big birthdays so he didn’t understand any of this.

So we discussed downsizing our idea of birthday expectations.

We’ve been having simple family dinners at home for a few years now.

No pressure. Teaching our kids that they’re special to us and we don’t have to blow a lot of money or impress people to show that.

So I’ve had to dig deep to find ways to make birthdays specials, frugally and without stressing out about it.

Because it’s not about things. I want my kids to learn that and honestly, they’re teaching me that too. They’re better at contentment than I am. And I love this post by my friend, Amber: When You Can’t Give Your Kids Disneyland.

Here is what I did for Tori’s 8th birthday.

I scored this rustic burlap pennant banner at Hobby Lobby.

I printed the letters on teal paper. I found the printable banner letters. I’m not really a fan, but Google to the rescue!

I used the same letters on skewers to decorate the cake with some long skinny blue candles and a cocktail umbrella Kate found in our cupcake drawer.

Tori wanted a white cake with chocolate frosting. This is my grandma’s recipe and it turned out amazing. Is it me, or is there just never enough frosting? I have bald spots on my cake!

What do you think?

I’ve also used this recipe to make 24 cupcakes and I’ve also thrown a half cup of cocoa powder into the cake batter to make a chocolate cake.

It’s almost time to blow the candles out! Dad picked up a lovely bouquet of flowers from the store on his way home from work.

Tori’s favorite meal is Korean BBQ. Now, she’s never actually actually been to a Korean restaurant. She loves the Korean BBQ sauce flavor.

Which is basically a type of teriyaki sauce.

So we buy some nice strip steaks (no bony, fatty kalbi short ribs for her!). The kids don’t like to work for their food.

I plated it rather pretty on our Celebrate plate:

Here’s our happy birthday girl. Eight years old!

I scored a Marie-Grace American Girl doll back in November for $40 on sale on their website and kept it hidden in my closet until now. It’s not the one she was wishing for (Caroline looks more like her and is into fishing!), but it is her first American Girl doll and she’s happy.

Whew!

One birthday down, two more to go this spring. Then Liz’s in the fall.

A great steak marinade:

Korean BBQ Sauce

Cuisine Asian

Servings 1 cups

Ingredients

4 T ground sesame seeds We use a coffee grinder
8 cloves garlic pressed
1.5 c soy sauce We like gluten-free Tamari
4 T sherry
6 T honey
4 T sesame oil
4 T water
4 t fresh ginger grated
4 t red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

Whisk ingredients together in a bowl and store in a plastic squeeze bottle in the fridge for when needed. I like to garnish meat with more sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Our favorite cake:

Easy White Cake

Cuisine cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 2 layers

Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs room temperature
1 t vanilla
1/2 t almond extract
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 c cake flour
1 c milk room temperature

Instructions

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla and almond extract.
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in another bowl.
Alternate milk and flour into butter mixture until just mixed.
Pour evenly into cake pans.
Bake for about 25 minutes at 350*

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Cuisine cake

Servings 2 cups

Ingredients

1.5 c butter (3 sticks), softened or 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening
1 c cocoa powder
5 c powdered sugar
1/2 c milk
1-2 t vanilla
1/4 t espresso powder optional

Instructions

Whisk cocoa to remove lumps.
Cream butter.
Add vanilla and espresso (optional).
Gradually add sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping bowl often.
Add milk until desired consistency.

Linking up: Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, The Life of Jennifer Dawn, 3 Boys and a Dog, Our 4 Kiddos, Kiddie Foodies, Kitchen Fun with My 3 Boys, The Jenny Evolution, Crafty Moms Share,

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Losing Control

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March 12, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 14 Comments

So, we saved almost $1500 in a little over a month.

Wanna know how?

By losing control.

We went down to just one vehicle.

My husband started driving our van to work. We put his truck up for sale on the lot on base since we’re moving out of the country and can only ship one vehicle. And the van is paid for, title in hand.

I have kept a budget in an Excel spreadsheet ever since before we were married. I don’t itemize it as closely as a I should. I have a cell for each bill, many on auto-pay (like our investments and insurance), and others (like utilities, Internet, and cell phones) are generally the same amount each month. Then there’s our food/gas/living expenses cell that fluctuates wildly each pay period. I should have monitored that more carefully. The pay-all-cash, envelope system just doesn’t appeal to my husband or me. We just don’t use ATMs and my husband’s paychecks are direct-deposited. Our bank is really just an online entity.

I’ve been rather proud of being frugal this past year. We’d cut down on our spending pretty drastically. We don’t eat out. That helps a lot.

When I noticed we had all this extra money leftover after a couple paydays, I was rather devastated that I must blow that much cash on errands a few times a week – that it would add up to that much in a month of being stuck at home. I asked my husband to verify the budget and he did some math-y formula stuff and looked at the accounts and numbers.

Then I asked if this could have anything to do with my being stuck at home for almost a month while he took the van to work. He’s been picking up the groceries we need. And we’ve been paying cash for gas.

Light bulb (in the voice of Gru from Despicable Me).

So, how did we save so much money? I didn’t monitor well all the little seeps of using that debit card.

Like, when I poorly plan and we need a single item from the grocery store and then I come home with three bags.

Or grocery shopping too close to meal time and not planning to have a slow cooker dinner ready or lunch leftovers and then picking up a couple of those ready-made pizzas from the deli area.

Or not thawing out meat well enough in advance and having to rush out to pick up some rotisserie chicken or even some fresh meat – and five other items to make the recipe I decided last minute.

Not to mention all the extra gas wasted with the unnecessary running around that could be eliminated with better planning.

With better planning, I could shop for meals monthly or even twice a month, and let that be the end of it.

And all that extra money we’re saving with having one vehicle? So many options! Into our savings account to earn interest. To pay off unsecured debt. To take a vacation en route to our next duty station. To take the kids on fun staycation places before we move.

I wish we had done this sooner. I wish we hadn’t bought into the “need” for two vehicles. This was my selfish demand when we arrived here with our van from our last duty station. I wanted freedom to drive where I wanted, when I wanted. I didn’t even wait to see if we could “survive” with one vehicle.

I didn’t wait on the Lord to provide the perfect vehicle or say NO to me. I pressured my husband to drive the 1.5 hours down to Carmax to purchase a used Jeep Liberty that we owned for a year, then encouraged him to trade that in for a pickup truck that we are now having to sell. And we owe more than it’s worth. (Please pray it sells soon!) And I can imagine even more blessings when we don’t have that extra monthly payment to make!

My husband just mentioned yesterday how simple it is, having only one vehicle, even with having to juggle a couple appointments this week. It makes us appreciate our provision more than ever.

I read blog posts and articles all the time with lists about how to save money, cut costs, be frugal…and they really just all say the same things. They’re good lists, but I haven’t gleaned anything life changing from them.

Eat at home. Combine errands. Don’t use credit cards. Don’t shop online. Reduce. Reuse. Simplify.

I’ve done almost all of that I can do…except sacrifice by having only one vehicle…so there it is.

But I needed to lose control. Of my selfishness. Of my finances. Of my demand. Of that blasted Excel spreadsheet with its numbers and formulas and figures in black and white that don’t necessarily add up to God.

I am amazed and blessed…and shocked.

Check out some other frugal posts by the Review Crew.

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Little Passports Review

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March 11, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

The kids were thrilled to get a certain little green suitcase of goodies from Little Passports!

Here the kids open the Explorer Kit suitcase and check out the map, passport, and other goodies:

The kids were tickled by the Photoshopped image of Sam and Sofia with their scooter. They get to follow the adventures and learn along as Sam and Sofia on their special scooter.

Also included: a letter from Sam and Sofia, a map, a passport, stickers, access to online games activity sheet.

Kate especially loved the Worldwide Adventure Activities worksheet and got out the map to complete the lesson. She does love maps and geography.

On the “Boarding Pass” luggage tag is a code to access online activities. Kate completed those too quickly. Each month, members can earn access to new games. I hope.

Here are the top 3 reasons you should consider a Little Passports Subscription:

1. It is the perfect way to teach your kid about this amazing world we live in. The worksheets are short and sweet, keeping your kids engaged the whole way through. (And a perfect addition to Homeschool curriculum related to history and travel)

2. They have monthly, 6 month and 12 month subscriptions to get your little boy or girl having fun while learning and the packages get shipped to your front door with everything you need. So perfect!

3. Little Passports subscriptions start at just $10.95 / month. (SO worth it to see them learning something valuable).

I love the idea of the kids getting monthly mail to learn about events around the world. There’s geography, culture, and history learning with Little Passports. It’s cross-curricular and perfect for boys and girls in a variety of learning levels. Alex is a bit too young at age four, but Kate is almost seven and loves it! Tori has other interests, but she completes this with encouragement. This is probably good since they’d have to share the passport. If Kate is the only one who loves it, then that’s easier for me.

3 options: World (recommended for 5-10 years old) or USA (recommended for 7-12 years old)! Also Science available!

Each month, the blog has great current events themes, like the Olympics, Black history, Mardi Gras, and Women’s Day.

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