The Abundant Wife

Living Abundantly on Less

Freebie Friday! Target, Pond’s, & Burt’s Bees

October 21st, 2011

Jessica

Some of my mail is finally catching up with me, as it bounces from my parents’ house to here. My mom actually mailed me the items below herself. So it ended up being a great week for freebies!

ESPN Magazine (2)
Popular Science Magazine
Make-Up Bag
Target Beautiful Bucks Coupons
Burt’s Bee’s Radiance SPF 15 Day Lotion
Pond’s Wet Cleansing Towelettes
John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo & Conditioner
L’Oreal Youth Code Day/Night Cream
Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner
TRESemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Shampoo, Conditioner, & Hair Serum

Q & A Wednesday: Do you have a Facebook Page?

October 19th, 2011

Jessica

Does The Abundant Wife have a Facebook page? Why yes, I do! Please stop by and “like” my page to get the most recent updates right in your Newsfeed!

I would love to interact with you on-line! If you have any questions or comments you would like me to address, please contact me at my e-mail address, my Facebook page, or in the comments section below. Thanks!

Toddler Tuesday: Sidewalk Chalk Outlines

October 18th, 2011

Jessica

I am constantly being reminded that it doesn’t take a lot to make a toddler happy. You can make a lot of beautiful memories with your childen using the simplest of toys. What matters is that you spend time together, both in quantity and quality.

One of Naomi’s favorite activities is “coloring” with sidewalk chalk. Sometimes we just color. On this day I laid the kids on their backs and outlined their bodies. Then we accessorized them. Naomi loves balloons, so I added some balloons too. (My mom drew the flower for my brother Josh’s friend, Emily.)

How have you spent quantity and/or quality time with your toddler recently?

Frumps to Pumps: The Get Dressed Challenge!

October 17th, 2011

Jessica

I have a confession to make. I have become a frump. I was not always this way. In fact, I was always the one among my siblings who got up and showered EVERY morning before school, and could not imagine going out without taking the time to prepare myself. After Naomi was born, I was still pretty good about getting a shower every day, even if it was a little late in the day. But then, Oliver was born. Oliver likes to be up early, and stay up. There’s no going back to bed for him! So when he gets me up, I stay up all morning, with two busy kids keeping me from getting any more sleep or a shower break.

It gets worse. Last month, my husband’s committee chair’s (a.k.a. his boss’s) wife stopped by in the middle of the day and found me still in my robe and slippers. Worse yet, it happened twice! How embarrassing!

So when I saw that Sarah Mae over at Like A Warm Cup of Coffee was doing a daily devotional called The Get Dressed Challenge, I knew this was for me. If you’re interested in joining her, go ahead and check it out!

I began four days ago. For the first three days, when I heard Oliver crying, I headed straight for the shower. Ten more minutes in the crib wouldn’t hurt him, and then at least one of us was clean and ready! Then this morning I did the unthinkable. I woke up at 5am, even though I had nowhere to go! It took me awhile to get moving, but I had my quiet-time, shower, and was dressed and organizing boxes of the kids’ clothes by the time Naomi called, “Mommy…Poopy!”

I have already noticed a few benefits of this challenge:

1) When Katie & Jamie called at 8:30am this morning to invite me to the park, I was already dressed and ready!

2) I was on time to church yesterday, for the first time in a long time!

3) I feel better about myself when I look nicer all day.

4) It’s wonderful to have my quiet-time and shower in peace without feeling rushed.

5) I feel more productive all day when I can get some things done before the kids are awake.

So, for the next month it is my goal to get up, and get dressed every morning. 🙂

Will you consider joining me?

Free Children’s Music Samplers on Amazon.Com

October 16th, 2011

Jessica

Did you know that you can download FREE Children’s Music Samplers on Amazon.Com? Check it out!

Super Savings Saturday!

October 15th, 2011

Jessica

Today Brad and I had to make a trip out to Wal-mart, so I was excited to use the two coupons I’d printed earlier in the week. I was able to MAKE money on these FREE items.

1. I used the $1/1 Rayovac Facebook Coupon (Printable) to purchase a $1 Flashlight for FREE!

2. I used the $2/1 Listerine Total Care Zero (Printable) to purchase a $1.72 Travel-Sized Listerine for FREE plus overage!

What great deals have you found this week?

Freebie Friday: Shutterfly Holiday Cards House Party!

October 14th, 2011

Jessica

Since we’ve moved I haven’t had many freebies to share, but today I was chosen to host a Shutterfly Holiday Card House Party! I love House Party because it gives me a reason to have friends over, and it gives me lots of free stuff to use and share!

Messy Pancakes

October 14th, 2011

Jessica

Naomi likes to help me cook in the kitchen. In fact, she LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen, and she wants to participate in every aspect of the process. The minute she sees me pulling out pots and pans or gathering ingredients, she runs for a chair, drags it to the counter next to me, and climbs on up. I love my little chef, but at times she drives me crazy! If I’m not watching closely she’ll eat the food I’m trying to prepare, or grab for things that are not safe. I often wonder if I wouldn’t be better off barring her from the kitchen entirely while I prepare meals.

Earlier this week we were making pancakes together. We dumped in the ingredients together. We cracked the eggs together. We stirred together. But I poured the batter on the hot skillet myself. Naomi watched what I was doing, and then grabbed a measuring cup and quickly scooped and dumped a cupful of batter near the stove. “No-no-no-no!” I yelled, afraid for her safety. Then I thought better of it, and scooted her a little closer. I explained the hot skillet, and then holding her hand, we dumped the batter in the pan together.

I’ve never thought much about how I make pancakes. A few circles, and then a few more. I’m usually more concerned about not burning my pancakes, than I am about the shape of them. But Naomi’s pancakes were a MESS. They were lumpy shapes and spots and swirls, unevenly colored and unequally sized. I sighed as I looked at the pile of messy pancakes.

Then I had an epiphany. I’ve recently been looking at The Nesting Place for some creative ideas for our home. One of her favorite sayings is, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” And that’s what I realized as I made messy pancakes with Naomi. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. I was sharing my life with my daughter, teaching her, and delighting in our shared creations. The moment was beautiful, as is our relationship. We might not get it right all the time, but we’re trying our best and we’re learning as we go.

I wonder if our Creator looks at us the same way. Here I am shaking my head and sighing at all my perceived failures, while He sees the beauty in me and in our relationship. I see the mess, and he sees his beautiful creation.

In the end, the pancakes’ appearance didn’t matter at all. In fact, as I watched Naomi devour the pancakes that she had proudly made, I realized that they were the most delicious pancakes I’d had in a long time. 🙂

“The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”. 1 Samuel 16:7

Photo Credit

I Love Being A Mommy

October 13th, 2011

Jessica

I love being a mommy because it gives me permission to be as silly as I can be! My kids make me laugh so often, and they bring out my silly side. My life is so much more creative and colorful with them in it. 🙂

Q & A Wednesday: How can I update my bathtub and shower?

October 12th, 2011

Jessica

When we moved into our new place, the room that needed the most work was the bathroom. The property manager had the toilet repaired and new flooring put in, which meant our friends on committee were not able to get in there to work on the insides of the cabinets, or spackle the walls. Then the toilet leaked, the tub wouldn’t drain, and finally the pipes leaked into the crawl space. Even now, when the shower is on, half of the water runs out of the faucet. So we have low water pressure and run out of hot water very quickly. All of this will be fixed very soon. Anyhow, all this means that we have done the least amount of work on the bathroom.

A few weeks ago, I gathered a scraper, a screwdriver, and some cleaning supplies and gave the bathtub a serious cleaning. I scraped off the worst of the peeling paint and caulk off of the walls, and used the screwdriver to remove the two handicap railings, the extra towel racks, and the metal framing where a sliding door had once been. (Brad had to help me because those screws were not meant to come loose!)

Afterward, I told Brad that I was glad I cleaned and organized the whole thing because it was the most stressful room in the house! Every time we used the bathroom, I would start to feel overwhelmed by how much work there was ahead of us. Although there is still a lot of work to do, I feel a lot better with a clean and uncluttered bathtub.

We also have a new roller blind in the window, and I found all of our bathroom accessories (toothbrush holder, soap dish, tissue box holder, toilet paper holder, trash can, etc) and set them out. Next we hope to paint the insides and outsides of the cabinets/drawers, and paint the walls once they’ve been spackled. We started potty-training Naomi last Wednesday, so we are spending a lot of time in the bathroom these days!

How have you improved on your bathroom? Do you have any suggestions for me?