Blessings in a Bag

I remember, quite vividly, passing a homeless man who was standing on the side of the road holding a sign asking for help.  I remember welling up with tears and thinking, 'he reminds me of Papaw.'  My grandfather had just passed away a few weeks earlier.  The tears are flowing now as I write.

 

I wanted so bad to help this man but I rarely carry cash, am usually on the wrong side of the road or have screaming babies in the car.  God laid a burden on my heart that I needed to help.

 

Then a few weeks ago in Sunday School, our lesson was centered around Matthew 25: 34-40..."Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father...For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'  The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

 

It was then and there that I decided to always be prepared with something when I meet another unfortunate soul.  Has this ever happened to you?  You see them and know they are in need, but you aren't sure what to do.  Handing them money is not always the best thing, but you can see that they clearly have some needs.  Thirsty?  Chapped lips?  They need help.

I began to scour the internet and thanks to Pinterest and my couponing, I've come up with a list of items to include in my 'Blessings Bag'.  I'm still working on gathering up the materials but once I have them finished there will be more pics.

 

Here's what I will fill: 

Gallon size plastic storage bags 

(I'm going to use the ones with the zip top because it's easier to open/close)

Items for the bag:

comb

 chap stick

band aids

wet wipes

socks 

bar soap

deodorant

gum/mints 

granola bars 

travel size lotion

travel pack of tissues

small notepad and pen 

peanut butter crackers

toothbrush and toothpaste

 note of encouragement

small 8oz. bottles of water

a few dollars in coins (could be used to purchase a food item)

 small Bible/tract (talk to someone at your church about these)

  

This list is only a guide not a list requirements.  Think of items that you would need if you were in their shoes.  Also remember not to include items that would melt, such as chocolate.

 

Once you have everything assembled, line the items around a table and walk around filling the bags.  This would a great way to teach your kids about helping others, or as a project to do with other families.  Each family could bring a few items and combine to help create a lot of Blessings Bags.  Store a few bags in your car so you're prepared to help in a time of need.

Coupons and Craziness

Usually by 10pm, there's no one in the store except me and the cashier, but it seemed like the "crazies" were out in droves last night while I was couponing. There were little cars booming big music and rattling their windows (ghetto sounding), barefoot kids (huge pet peeve) with their parents at almost midnight, weird guys just roaming the isles, girls eating out of take-out boxes, and crackheads.  Yes, it was a circus at Walgreens and CVS last night.

I never seem to get pictures of anything because my OCD wants me to quickly put everything away but I do have a list.

CVS

• 1 Intuition Razor
• 2 bags of Doritos
• 2 jumpo packs Pampers Baby Dry
• 1 bottle Head and Shoulders Shampoo
• 1 box Always Liners
• 1 box Always Pads
• 1 tube Covergirl Lipslicks
• 1 tube Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant
• One 12 roll pack of Scott toiletpaper

Items at normal/sale price without coupons or tax

COST = $75.71

Items with coupons and tax

$50.15

Savings = $25.56

Now, on to WALGREENS

• 2 packs Huggies wipes (184 count)
• 1 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor
• 1 - 24 oz. bottle Jergen's Lotion
• 3 caramels (filler)
• Advil Gel Caplets (100 count)
• 5 Tide travel size packets (filler)
• 1 bottle Aussie Shampoo (will be used in a 31 Gifts give-away)
• 1 bottle Aussie Conditioner (will be used in a 31-Gifts give-away)
• 2 - 10 oz. bottles of Palmolive dish soap
• 2 - packs Starburst (great stocking stuffers)
• 1 Venus Embrace Razor (will be used as a Christmas gift)
• 2 boxes U by Kotex Liners
• 1 Reach Barbie Toothbrush (will be used as a Christmas gift)

 Items at regular/sale price without coupons or taxes:

COST = $70.17

Items with coupons and taxes:

COST = $33.41

Savings = $36.76

* And I ended up with a $2 Reach coupon and the cashier put my $4 Venus razor coupon back in the bag (although it was used)

* This is where I saw the crackheads...they were trying to step on imaginary bugs while walking through the store.

I hope everyone has a great week and happy couponing!

P.S. There's only 132 more shopping days will Christmas - yikes!

Organizing Homelife 31 Gifts Giveaway

I entered to win a great organizing tote from Thirty-One Gifts via Organizing Homelife.  Checkout the cool pics on her website of what awesome things you can do with your tote.  They come in some amazing fabrics. I like anything in polka dots.

Click here to check out their blog and enter the contest.

Too Early

I'm up way too early after staying up way too late.  Why does coverage of the Olympics have to start so late??  I've stayed up till 11pm every night since the opening ceremonies.  This mixed with kiddos who like to wake up around 7:00-7:30am makes mommy a very tired girl.

When the kids go down for their mid-morning nap, I can' hit the couch fast enough. 

Already looking forward to today's nap!

Cleaning Schedule

In an effort to ensure that I know what's going on, when to do something, and stay on top of my "chores", I created a Cleaning Schedule.  It's pretty simple, with various tasks for each day - except Sundays.  I borrowed the idea from some Pinterest articles and then tweaked them to meet my needs. 

Monday is my "take note of what I need to stock pile items" based on the drug store sale papers and coupons I receive on Sunday.  Thursday is my menu planning/grocery shopping day because grocery store sale papers come out on Wednesdays. 

Since the boys still take a long morning nap, that's when I accomplish most of the cooking and cleaning for the day.  I usually put on a load of laundry to wash at night, dry during breakfast and put up whenever I have time.  Towels have been known to sit in the basket for a week...but that's okay.  You have to prioritize and folding up my towels is always going to lose against playing Lego Harry Potter on the Xbox with my husband or reading an extra book at nap time.

I also double up on chores if I'm out.  For example, we went to the Children's Museum on Monday and was so tired at the end of the day that I cleaned nothing - except my children.  So on Tuesday I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, and it still didn't take me more than 45 minutes to do everything.

I typed this up on a Word document and just copied/pasted it here.  I have one printed and on the front of my fridge.  I write in dates of major cleanings. For example, I cleaned the washing machine with bleach and vinegar the other day and will do this 2-3 times per year to clean out all the gunk and smell.  If I don't write it down - I'll forget.

Enjoy and happy cleaning! 

P.S. Here is why I mop every night.

 

Every Day

-        Make up beds

-        Wash dishes

-        Wipe down the counter tops

-        Pick up items on tables

-        Empty baby room trash

-        Do one load of laundry

-        Sweep after every meal and mop at night

-        Take out the kitchen trash

-        Wipe down the stove if used

Monday

-        Take stock of pantry/cleaning items

-        Wipe down door and handles of fridge

-        Clean the inside and outside of microwave

-        Clean the inside and outside of the coffee pot

-        Wash out the water pitcher

-        Refill soap

-        Once every 3 months, completely clean inside of fridge/freezer

Tuesday

-        Clean bathrooms (tub, toilet, sink)

-        Sweep and mop

-        Take out the trash

-        Wipe down mirrors

-        Refill soap

-        Restock toilet paper

-        Once every 3 months, wash shower liners

Wednesday

-        Change bedding

-        Vacuum

-        Organize closets

-        Put up clothes

-        Wipe down and de-cobweb the windows

-        Once every 3 months, wash comforter and blankets

Thursday

-        Plan out menu for next 7-10 days (BLD and snacks)

-        Grocery shopping

-        Errands

-        Sweep off patio and front porch

Friday

-        Sweep and mop entry and living room

-        Dust furniture and electronics

-        Vacuum the living room and play room

-        Every 3 weeks vacuum the couch and chair

Saturday

-        Prepare meals for the week and freeze as needed.

 Sunday - nothing

4th of July

Happy Fourth of July

from all the Carr Grandkids!

Micah, Papaw, Carson, Rachel, Grannie

Elizabeth, Jack and Tedder

All the magic I need is right at home...

So you’ve probably heard about that movie, Magic Mike.

I'm not going to argue with anyone about it because that's just not my style.  The movie isn't worth the effort spent on an argument.  However, I do want to talk about it in light of marriage.  A subject I haven't talked about at all on this blog.

Every Friday on KSBJ, they have movie reviews from Focus on the Family's Plugged in Movie Review.  As the day drew closer for the movie to open, I checked out their website to see what they had to say.  The reviewer for Magic Mike wrote in the sexual content section: "...it's difficult, if not impossible to describe the pornographic nature of these scenes without sounding, well, pornographic. To detail every pawing grab at a leather g-string, every mimicked sexual act and every naked male backside we see would take pages."  He goes on to say the story line is pretty weak because the main theme of the movie is to demonstrate the gratification of lust.  Not to mention the 100+ "f" bombs, "s" words and numerous times God and Jesus' names were used in vain.  How is that entertaining? It makes my heart hurt that people will make money from this.

I could go and see it without asking my husband's permission but I love him and only him.  I want him and only him.  I need him and only him.  If me going to see the movie would dishonor him - I'm not going.

So instead of spending our hard earned money on movies that hurt our relationship, I'd rather spend it on a mini-vacation with MY "magic mike".  I want to strength my marriage and break it down.

I love the way he walks into the kitchen bleary eyed in the morning with his hair sticking out in all directions.  I love the way our kids laugh when he plays with them or listening to him read Dr. Seuss over and over again because they love it.  I love to see his name pop up on my caller-id, and his goofy sense of humor.  I love the way he works hard and provides for our family.  I love that he thinks I'm still pretty cute.  I love how he looks at me and talks to me and holds me close when I need it.

Those guys in the movie?  They offer us nothing of value.

To sum it all up: wives love your husbands, and husbands, be your wife's dream guy.  Apparently by the response to the movie, many wives, sisters, mothers, etc. are looking for a dream guy and if you as husbands or men don't step it up, then they'll have to find "him" in a book or movie.


It’s your choice as to what movies you watch, and how you spend your time and money. But if you’re married, please consider investing in each other, rather than something that’s not real and offers you nothing.