Truett Being a one-income home in a two-income society has it's challenges. 2005 was probably the year that I would have sought some sort of part-time income, but then God blessed us with something even better than money-- Baby Julianna. She has been such a joy to our hearts and to our home and we thank God for her almost daily. Still, babies not only bring blessings... those little bundles of joy can be quite expensive. But I wouldn't consider sticking her in a day-care-- not even for a minute. I've always tried my hardest to be a good helper to my husband in the area of finances. By that, I don't mean that I write the checks or pay the bills. I used to do that-- but math has never been my speciality and Cole took over all of that about 7 years ago when he could see that it was really too stressful for me. What I mean by being a financial helper is that I am always looking for ways to be creative, frugal and resourceful. So... I thought that from time to time, I would post creative ideas and/or "good buys" under the subject heading: "Frugal Find." I want you to share all of your good ideas with me too. Frugal Finds for this past month include: 1. Finding beautiful wall-paper for $2/double roll! (In fact, it is the same Waverly print that I hung in my first home's bathroom and it brings back great memories for me too!) Since I saved the wall-paper glue from my last project, it took $6 to wall-paper my entire bathroom! I couldn't have painted for that cheap!! 2. Finding several pairs of 180 Degree brand ear warmers on sale at Dillards for $5/pair. (These regularly sell for $20.) I bought five pair and plan to sell them on eBay for a profit. 3. Making homemade applesauce with a bag of rotting apples. In her kitchen survey, my friend Heartsjoy reminded me of a favorite cook-book (Fix It and Forget It- Slowcooker Cookbook.) My friend Angie gave me this cookbook a couple of years ago and I have gleaned several great recipes from it. Tonight I grabbed it off of the shelf and found a slowcooker recipe for Chunky Applesauce. That will go great with my Cajun Beans and Rice tomorrow night. (Which will be cooking in my OTHER slowcooker.) The best part is-- everything will be cooked and ready to go when I return from Ava's Homeschool Class tomorrow evening. I recently re-checked the Tightwad Gazette from our library. My goal is to find one new idea to try out each month. I'm thinking about making homemade babywipes using Bounty papertowels and some sort of baby-oil and water concoction. I'll let you know if it: a.) works well and b.) saves enough money to make it worth my time. After all, my time is valuable too! “Here is a little mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, to her most tender cares, to her life-long prayers! Oh how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!” ~ Elizabeth Prentiss’ Stepping Heavenward