Homegrown Frugalities Week Beginning 22 March 2015

Helping to make pikelets

Sunday afternoon tea - Ginger commented on how much she liked the tablecloth and china!

Enjoying a library book with all 3 children - the bump is making itself felt!

Harvested potatoes and tomatoes from the garden.  I made the tomatoes into soup using homemade chicken stock, from a chicken I had roasted the week before.

Picked up a handful of useful clearance item:
muffin pans (50c for 50), 
-4 sippy cups for the new baby at half price ($4.50 each) - great because these always go moldy in the straws and need to be tossed
-Children's suncream(has a 2017 expiry)
-2 x 400g honey bottles reduced to $1.34 each!
-Some clearance stationery.  In particular Faber Castell crayons ($2.65), Faber Castell pencils ($1.85) and a 12 pk of oil pastels ($2.50) which the kids have had a blast with.  Actually, I might dig out the pastels again for the kids after preschool today!
-A packet of nursing pads for $2.50 (reduced from $10) - I was excited to find that as I have just started stocking my hospital bag for the baby and this was on the list.  I normally use reusable fabric nursing pads but when I first have a baby I have a lot of milk so they are not an option!

I got a raincheck for pregnancy multi-vitamins which were advertised at half-price but my Woolworths didn't stock.

Made our own ant-rid using a combination of warm water, borax and sugar.  I will post soon about the efficacy of that particular solution (LOL).

Made bread.

Repaired a skirt of Ginger's.

Gratefully received 2 x 500ml bottles of sunscreen.

Took Tom Kitten to a free music time at our library on the day Ginger is at preschool but he is not.

Stumbled across 3 wooden bowls on clearance at the op shop for $1 each.  I have been on the hunt for so long for them to do a water play activity with the kids.  Also found two hand knitted jumpers for the kids (1 each) both priced at $4.

The kids borrowed a supply of DVDs from the library to enjoy while Ginger nursed an ear infection.  The supply of medicine we had to purchase was not so frugal, nor will the referral to see an ENT specialist about having grommets inserted likely prove so!

Mr Provincial and I had a date night to watch The Guns of Navarone also borrowed from the library.

This Past Week's Homegrown Frugalities

I realise I am running two weeks behind with these records, so in an attempt to catch up I will post two Homegrown Frugalities this week and hopefully get on top of it for next week!  Is anyone else the same as me? I have no problem with creating the text for a post...it is downloading the photos and editing them that creates the holdup!

I picked up this mat for $1 at the recent St Vinnie's Warehouse sale - the blocks, Tonka truck and basket are also op-shop finds from over the years!

Yes - $2!  I couldn't quite believe how nice it was, only the plain blue wool was sticking out of the shelf.

 
I picked up a couple of items from the clearance trolley at Woolworths - Licensed Character sandwich boxes marked down to $1.40.  They contained biscuits (made in China and sickly sweet) so I threw the biscuits out and have put the boxes in the present cupboard for Christmas stockings (I will probably fill them with Christmas sweeties).  Also, picked up 6 jars of Jam that were marked down to $2.99; while I know this is not the cheapest jam you can buy these were Australian fruit (and after the recent Hepatitis scare I am being careful).

Made a double batch of Granola and pita bread crisps.  We had the pita bread crisps for a picnic lunch on Saturday along with homemade hummus.

Sold one item on Gumtree.

Finally completed, and sent off, some private health fund and Medicare claims.

Purchased a container of Schleich (and some misc Chinese; though I note Schleich is also now made in China) animals secondhand on Gumtree.  Some of these will be used on birthday cakes in the next month (this idea) and some will be for future presents (yes, I am determined those stockings will not be a labour come December this year!).

Had some success at the local op-shops:
- a $3 piece of Corduroy (unfortunately more dark green - but Beggars are not Choosers!),
- a pair of size 3 Jeans for Tom Kitten ($3)
- a Djeco Mermaid puzzle for Ginger's birthday ($2)
- a flannelette cot flat sheet which I will use for a nightie Ginger wants made since she simply refuses to wear PJs ($1)
- a pink fitted cot sheet ($1) since our others are now in preschool nap bags circulation.
- a beautiful hand-embroidered cot blanket ($2)
- a children's day of the week and weather calendar (50c) - I have wanted one for ages; just need to redo the years as it 'ran out' in 2014!
- a doll's helmet (20c) for Ginger's birthday.

Dehydrated bananas after picking them up at Aldi marked down to $1.50 a kilo.  They were quite bruised so I think they were Cyclone victims (LOL).

Borrowed and watched season 4 of Downton Abbey from the library.

Baby News

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:7

As Pom Pom commented on my last post querying pregnancy, we are expecting another baby at the beginning of June.  A wonderful blessing as we had almost reconciled ourselves to having only two children as it has been a long wait between pregnancies.

This is my most unusual pregnancy so far.  I was two months pregnant before I got a positive test - that was despite five home pregnancy tests in the first month and the GP doing a blood test.  Seriously odd.  Apparently the blood tests are 99 percent accurate so I don't know what was going on as I was well past the stage I should have got a positive result - the GP was very surprised when I came back a month later and said I had had a positive pregnancy test that morning.  Ha ha. What makes it odder is that I had all the pregnancy symptoms in that first month - I was so sick with morning sickness that I thought there must something really wrong with me!  

Anyway, all is well with baby girl.  We will now have a real birthday season in our house.  Ginger will be 5 at the start of April, Tom Kitten 3 at the start of May and new baby due at the start of June.  I better start budgeting now for future years:)

Homegrown Frugalities Week Beginning 15 March 2015

After preschool snacks - fruit skewers.

Tom Kitten helped me make the skewers - he was very proud to tell his sister that!

On Sunday afternoon the children and Mr Provincial made scones.

A small haul from the op-shop all destined for various Christmas stockings - My First Paddington was 50c, Hot Wheels car 20c, Candles 20c (turning 5 and 3 in the next month so the perfect number of candles in the packet), Flower Hook 50c,  finger puppets 50c the pair and Pirate Hoodie Towel was $3.

 
Harvested potatoes and tomatoes from the garden.  Had 3 meals which used these potatoes and chopped and froze the tomatoes for cooking soup when I next make chicken stock.

Mended Tom Kitten's toy rabbit which had stuffing leaking out of it.  My husband repaired three of the children's wooden toys.

We washed and clipped Monty our dog.

Mended 2 pairs of Mr Provincial's work pants.

Watched a season of Downton Abbey borrowed from the library, as well as reading an Inspector Montalbano mystery borrowed there.  

Made chocolate chip muffins to use up some bananas which were past their prime.

Saved stamps off a letter that came unfranked.

Removed stain off one of my handful of maternity tops - I always seem to cop stains on my extended stomach during pregnancy!  I couldn't soak the top this time because it was elasticated fabric so I used my Mum's suggestion of applying stain removing powder directly onto the wet fabric.

Picked up various supermarket specials - Cadbury choc chips at Coles (per Wendy's suggestion), Mayver's peanut butter at Woolworths (only contains peanuts, no added oils) and honey which was half off on the clearance trolley at Woolworths.

Dried all washing on the line.

Attended the annual warehouse sale at St Vinnie's in Canberra.  I was able to purchase a handful of presents for the kids, nieces and nephews for 50c to $1 each.  The presents for our kids will be used for their upcoming birthdays or put away for the christmas stockings.  Also found two single bed girl doona (quilt) covers.  One matched a pillowcase I had already thrifted for Ginger years ago (with fairies on it) so will give her the matching quilt cover for her birthday, the other will be put away for the new baby when she is old enough.  In addition I picked up a 3m panel of green corduroy ($4) and 2m panel of blue corduroy ($3) - both of which I intend to put straight to use for children's winter/birthday outfits.

Had success at our local op-shop with the above haul of children's gifts.

Listed 6 items on Gumtree.

Baked bread.

Made some hair ribbons for Ginger's birthday.

Purchased two crates I had a raincheck for at Woolworths.

Made bread and butter pudding to use up some stale bread rolls and squishy peaches.

Have started putting butter in the butter dish in the pantry again now the weather is cooler - much cheaper than buying buttersoft!