Dress Yourself Nice Living On Less Part II

This has nothing to do with my post topic but I thought it was cute :-) My dad & two of my babies.

When I was single & fancy-free, it was no problem for me to waltz into a clothing store (I liked R.E.I, Old Navy and Gap) & plunk down $100 for some clothing items. Twice, I sported $55 purses (what a waste of money!). Even after getting married & having the first two babies, we weren't wealthy but I could still go for a modest shopping spree here & there. Thankfully, I have never been one to need lots of different clothes, however like any self-respecting woman I enjoyed (and still do) nice, stylish things. There is much to be learned from my current situation regarding attire & listen up because I am going to share a profound discovery with you.........DON'T GO SHOPPING & YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING! I am partially kidding but there is some truth to this slogan. When I took my eldest daughter ice skating a few weeks ago, I had to walk through the mall to get to the rink. I stopped in front of several stores & could feel my mouth start to water because I really desired to go in there, try a few things on & march out looking quite hip & trendy! The Loft, Athleta, & Banana Republic are three stores that hold a special spot in my heart :-) I cannot remember the last time I actually went into one of those stores. But you know what? It's okay. I have managed to get by this long & I am pretty sure that I will continue to do so. However, that doesn't mean I run around in sweat pants, t-shirts & moon boots. I wear hand-me downs. Most of them come from my mother-n-law. Thankfully her style is conservative & she is a size 2 like me. She mostly shops at Gap, Loft & Banana Republic. Every now & again when my wardrobe is getting meager I will ask her if she has gone through her clothes recently. She used to work at Gap & combined with her special discounts, knows how to score the deals at all three of my favorite stores. She & my husband also know that I enjoy receiving something to wear when a birthday or Christmas rolls around. Probably most of you don't have the option of hand-me-downs but there are other avenues for dressing great on the cheap. Close to Mara's school is a little thrift store. It's not big like Good Will but it has really good prices. A few months ago I scored a pair of Lucky Brand jeans for $4. I am due to stop in there real soon so I can try on some more pants. BTW, I don't care for Good Will. If they think an item of clothing is of a "higher brand" they slap a ridiculous price tag on it. I am not paying $8-10 for a Gymboree sweater when I can combine online sales & coupons to buy the same thing for the same price & it's NEW! A third great option is women's resale events like the one my sister puts on once or twice a year called Pick Pocket Molly (next one is in May!). Many of the consignors elect to sell their goods for 50% off on the last day so that is when I have scored my best deals. I am currently wearing a pair of Banana Republic jeans that I purchased for $5 at the last sale. It's cool that Pick Pocket Molly provides dressing rooms because I don't buy clothes unless I can try them on. Some other quick thrift tips: buy expensive shoes (on sale of course) & take care of them with conditioner & in general use. They will last years. I DO NOT buy cheap shoes. I have several expensive European made shoes, that I wear. Buy in neutral colors so that the shoe is versatile. Buying from R.E.I during one of their big sales has worked really well for me because there have been two instances where I returned the shoes several months later for assorted reasons & received my money back, no questions asked. Launder your clothes in super gentle detergent. My clothes are washed in soap nuts. Soap nuts protect color, the integrity of the fabric structure (great for silk & "unwashables") & leave your clothes soft & super clean. Hang dry when you are able. Buy things that can work with other pieces, use caution when buying a skirt that you have no tops to wear with. So, now it's your turn! Share some of your dressing- nice- for- less ideas! Next topic: Dress your kids nice for less :-)

Living On Less- Part I

How can I possibly complain when this pile of dogs are here to brighten my day?

My dad is an ultra thrifty guy. He was raised that way. Growing up there were always debates going on within the house about such subjects of toilet paper usage, hot water consumption, lights being left on & related matter. Somehow some of his thrifty ways rubbed off on me & although I don't reuse Kleenex or wear my under things until they are see through, I do have many "make do, use it up, wear it out or do without" traits running through my blood. They have never served me more than they are serving me, now. With the hubs being in school, to say money is lean would be an understatement. Matthew & I pledged to live without consumer debt & by the grace of God, other than student loans are currently still on track with that goal. To me, the consumer mindedness of the American people has never been as evident as it is, now. I remember being a part of that movement, too. If I wanted new shoes, I bought them, if Matt & I wanted a nice dinner out, we went. New make up from the MAC counter? No problem. Expensive salon hair color coming right up! Living ultra lean has taught me several valuable lessons. 1. Living on less can be a fun challenge. 2. Living on less doesn't make you any less happy than having plenty. 3. God ALWAYS provides. 4. Living on less has been so beneficial, that Matthew & I hope to always lean a little more to the less side than more! There are some draw backs to living on less but I would say they really aren't that bad! Once I sold my two nice cars & realized I didn't need my hair professionally colored anymore, I quickly adjusted and you know what? It's actually kind of cool! When I do actually get a new pair of shoes, I am as exited as a child on Christmas morning! When a new kitchen gadget comes my way, you would think I had been given a diamond ring :-) There are some drawbacks to living on less, mainly necessity-wise. The porcelain implant crowns rapidly breaking down in my mouth need to be replaced. My stash of contacts is almost out & the cost of an eye exam plus new contacts is not cheap per say & there are a lot of natural health treatments & remedies I would like to try but you know what? God is faithful, He provides & I will not be without my needs being met even if that means them not being met in all the ways I think they should be :-) Please feel free to leave your 'living on less" tips in the comment section & stay tuned because there will be another post  about LIVING ON LESS.

Here Is Your Answer, Honey!

We do lots of family-enrichment activities-Hood River

 Gracen feeding a goat buddy

Hiking near Mount Hood

Tegan & baby Finn

Notice Gracen's Crocs!

Mara on a racoon

Beautiful boy

This picture wasn't taken all that long ago....oh how they grow!

Rest In Peace, Bug Ball. March 1998-Septemer 2011

Near Mount Saint Helens

Family outing to Mount Saint Helens

My three babies-love them all the same!

When I first told Matthew, that I was starting a blog, he stopped, looked at me & asked with quite a bit of emotion, "Why?????!". I didn't respond too much, just kind of sat there feeling slightly dejected but three days later I have had plenty of time to mull my answer around & I am going to share it with anyone, who might be curious why I started to blog when I don't have any major events going on like a new baby on the way or a massive sickness. Here are my reasons listed below in no particular order as they are all equally important to me: 1. This woman is an expressive, social being. Many of you have known me all my life or long enough to know that although more introverted (and I'd like to think, socially refined) than I was in my younger days, I enjoy talking & expressing myself. For many years I worked outside the home (part time after the babies started arriving) & was a self-sufficient woman. I could drive 18,000 pound loads, back up with my massive trailer in tight places, drive fork lift, handle customer care & everything else in between. But in the heart of all of that was my favorite; social interaction, the chance to talk with others. That part is what I miss most (other than the paychecks:-) My husband has been in some form of school for well over two years as well as working  & he is gone long hours. He spends most of his days interacting with fellow students, nurses & customers at his dad's shop. When he comes home, I wouldn't say he has the need to visit & socialize quite as much as I do as he took care of that during the day (Plus he is a guy, enough said!) So blogging gives me a chance to "talk", to share with others & to write down some of my thoughts, feelings & ideas. 2. Sharing my family with others is cool to me! No one has to do much looking around on my FB page or blog to know that family is VERY important to me. My husband & children are the light of my life, the main "event" to me. It gives me so much delight & joy to share with others my family! 3. A plant based diet is interesting, delicious & beneficial to your health & I intend to demonstrate that from time to time on this blog through pictures, recipes & fascinating information. 4. Prayer. I hope that those who read my blog will hold my children & family in their prayers. And now here are some pictures!

I'm A Washaholic

I'm a washaholic. Today I will freely admit that. I may or may not when tomorrow comes around, depends on my mood :-). The washing machine is one of my best buddies. Anything & everything in my home, that can be washed in my huge capacity front loading Whirlpool is. Washing machines started to have an appeal to me sometime around the age of 14. Maybe I started to care more about the appearance of my clothes but for whatever reasons, it was at that age that I took over doing the laundry at home. I am pretty sure my mom had no qualms about that :-). It started rather innocently. My socks kept getting washed with blue jeans, things that didn't belong in the dryer went & so on. In my ignorance, I started using fabric softener, being duped into thinking it smelled great & was good for my clothes but more on that in another post. When cross country started, I upped my washing obsession, washing not only my uniform after every meet (there were kids on the bus, whose things smelled so bad that I get a little ill when I recall the aroma) but also my warm ups & every so often, my shoes. When I went away to college, I was neat (don't know what happened) & my dorm room was talked about because of its appearance. My sheets, back pack & of course my towels & clothes were washed regularly & the pleasure I felt when pulling clean laundry out of the dryer became more & more pronounced. Back on the home front, I moved out on my own & for the first year & half, didn't have a washing machine in my unit so I hauled it elsewhere. When I met my husband, I was pleased to discover that he & his mom were also washing machine fanatics & they welcomed me with open arms when I hauled my piles & baskets of laundry to the place they were renting together. It didn't matter to his mom if the washing machine was started at 11 at night. I was in heaven! It was about that time that I discovered using oxiclean & other laundry boosters to enhance the cleaning power of my detergent & my obsession came to a new level. When I finally moved into a townhouse, that had a washer & dryer, I celebrated by putting them both to work. It wasn't until I had to start paying for my water heating use that I became a fan of cold water washes (except for bed linens & whites) & that tradition continues to this very day. Baby clothes & blankets started to find their way into my house a few months before Mara was born & it was at that time that I started learning about detergents & what is in the conventional ones & how the ingredients are a health & environmental hazard. Matthew & I started purchasing expensive natural detergent to wash Mara's things in while switching to unscented for our laundry. When Mara arrived, I was adamant that no baby of mine would use dirty blankets, wear spit up smelling bibs, 
or have soiled looking toys. Her car seat bumper, blankets & soft toys were all washed weekly, more if soiled & her car seat cover went through the machine monthly. By the time Gracen arrived, even pacifier holders went through the machine every week! So here it is January 2012 & my washing machine addiction hasn't abated. Back packs, stuffed animals, coats, sweaters, cosmetic bags, lunch bags, shoes, slippers, dog blankets, floor rugs......they all find their way into the machine.I use a high efficiency machine, mostly wash with cold & use unscented earth friendly detergent, laundry boosters & stain removers. I guess that justifies my washing machine obsession.....or does it?

Kramer Family 101- The Dogs

Sid made himself a nest on one of Finn's blankets

One of our hikes with Sid (Scooter & Finn remained home)

Scooter visits with Finn

I got my love of dogs from this guy :-) Finn is getting a bottle so someone else can feed him.

Scooter in the front, Sidney in the back. Going on a trip.

No bio on the Kramer family would be complete without mentioning the dogs. They have both been with me longer than Matthew or the kids so they deserve a spot on the new blog :-). Scooter is the senior citizen of the family. She was born in June of 1996, before I started high school. That seems so long ago. My mom acquired her when she was six weeks old from the Columbia County Fair in Saint Helens. I was the one who discovered her & brought my mom back to see her. Thrilled would be an understatement to say how I felt when she came home with us that night! Being the animal magnet I am, Scooter bonded with me & we became best friends. When I left to attend college out of state, I missed her so much that I decided when I moved back, she would go wherever I went from there on out. At nearly 16 years old, Scooter has made four moves with me & although slower & not as bright eyed anymore, she is doing remarkably well. Sidney has been with me since the spring of 2002, when I discovered him in Boise, Idaho. I had to have him & he was the best impulse buy I have ever made! It seems appropriate for me to interject that I no longer approve or advocate buying dogs from pet stores or breeders. I will will adopt from here on out & encourage others to do the same. I am pretty certain there will be at least one blog on that subject down the road. Sidney rode home from Boise with my sister & her husband, who happened to be visiting me that weekend. Two weeks later, school ended & we were reunited for good. He has been my "baby boy" from day one, very spoiled & pampered. Today he is working on ten years old & is still as sleek & handsome since the day he came into my life as a pup. He enjoys going on cat patrol & getting into the trash (especially at my mom & dad's because my mom likes to toss meat products into the trash can that sits right out in the open). Acquiring a pet is a lifetime (of the animal) commitment & it's a goal of mine to educate people on the fact that pets are not disposable assets! There will be a post on that at some point so stay tuned!

Kramer Family 101- Finn Emerson

Finn meets Daddy

The day Finn was born

Gracen uses Mommy's tummy for a pillow the day Finn was born

Three weeks before the big event!

Finn, halfway through (20 weeks)

Finn's first zoo trip

Beautiful baby boy

Finn, one month old

Finn, 5 weeks old

Mara carried him everywhere

Another zoo trip

Gracen & Finn sharing a momment

Love those feet!

Hanging out with Daddy

Finn at church

Finn talking with great grandma Betty

Finn goes to Hood River

See what I mean by a beautiful baby?

Finn, 2 months old with Papaw

Finn enjoying the sun on Mount Saint Helens

Finn with Mommy

Finn was our "bonus round" baby, arriving at 40 weeks gestation on July 16th, 2010, weighing just a hair over 7 pounds & being 20.5 inches in length. His birth was a tremendously wonderful experience as it was my first time doing almost all the work of labor in water! From the moment Matthew & I laid eyes on him, we knew he was going to be super special! He had those huge Kramer baby eyes & looked so much like Gracen (in some of their baby pictures, it's hard to tell who is who :-). They both have the same tear drop shaped eyes, beautiful lips & fair skin. Finn has been loved on, doted on, hugged on, kissed on & cared for pretty much non stop since he made his debut. He is very popular with the boys at church & it isn't uncommon to see one of them packing him around. I feel so blessed to be able to share him with others. When the ultrasound tech informed me that my baby had "boy parts", I was at a loss for words. I already had two girls, I had girl clothes, girl toys, I knew what to expect from a girl! I spent the remainder of my pregnancy wondering what I would do with a boy, even wondering if I would feel as attached to him as I had with the girls. I remember scouting the second hand stores for clothes, blankets & other boy related accessories for his care & feeling slighted because the selection wasn't grand like it was for the baby girls. I gained hope, however when I checked out Gymboree & using coupons & online sales combined, started to gather a handsome wardrobe for my little man. The moment I laid eyes on my son, I was hooked! I love him more than I ever dreamed possible :-) These days Finn enjoys spending his time with his family, friends from church, going outside & getting into whatever is within reach. Going to his grandpa's mattress shop & playing in the latex blocks is an exceptional delight for him & I am looking for a pair of rain boots so he can start playing in the mud puddles we have around our place! He isn't a rough & tough type guy but still very much a boy & very much Mommy's cuddle bug. He eats whatever food I happen to make for dinner & is simply a special little guy! He goes by many names including Budgie, Em, Emmy, Little Emerson, Finny & Deet-Doo. Finn loves to hug his sisters, daddy & mommy as well as give loves to the kitties & dogs. We couldn't imagine our family without this precious little guy!

Kramer Family 101- Gracen Quinn

Gracen & Cribby

Two sisters enjoying gelato

                                                                            See what a ham she is?

                                                               Loving each other

                                                                Deer in the headlights expression
 

Gracen gets everyone to play with her!

September 1st 2007 at 12:30 PM a delicate little girl arrived into our world. 40 weeks gestation, 6.13 pounds, 20 inches; Gracen Quinn! From the start Gracen was very different from Mara. She was my earliest social smiler out of all three kids, smiling on purpose at two weeks of age (there are people to back that claim up). She had super fair skin & those same big Kramer baby eyes. Gracen developed colic at 4 weeks of age & it continued until she was three months old. Those were some long evenings, as she started about the same time every night & nothing could console her. Once that ended, she was a social, happy baby with a strong will & it continues to this very day! Gracen loves people, loves her friends & loves her family. She enjoys just being with us, reading books, coloring together or wrestling. She is tinier than Mara was, but not as ladylike but her daddy & I wouldn't have it any other way! She loves lizards, snakes & other reptiles & would wear stretchy pants & a t shirt every day if I let her. Fortunately, she lets me dress her in pretties as well :-) She was my earliest talker, speaking in clear sentences by 15 months old. She follows in her sister's footsteps in that she enjoys learning, crafting & reading. She attends a Christian preschool three 4.5 hour days a week & is socially very well adjusted.She spends hours playing with her stuffed animals & little toys every day & it's such fun to listen in on her imaginary conversations. She is doing well with swim lessons & loves to ride her bike & play outside. We hope she can begin violin lessons this coming fall after she turns 5. She has expressed interest & the discipline she will learn through it will be tremendously valuable. She loves to sing & knows lots of southern Gospel & Gospel Bluegrass songs by heart. She knows what she likes & isn't afraid to express herself. I think one of Gracen's best attributes is her tremendous sense of humor! She is so funny & Matthew & are continually laughing with her. Her laugh is absolutely infectious! Teaching her patience, temperance & gentleness in all things is a work in progress but it is happening, praise God! We are continually working with her & mentoring her to prepare her for life and to be a great light for Jesus!

Kramer Family 101- Mara Jade

 Isn't she sweet with her violin?

Mara meets Finn! Another Daddy look alike kid pic!

She is as sweet as she looks!

 She looks so much like her Daddy's kid pictures here!

Swims like a fish. She puts me to shame!

Isn't she beautiful? So is Finn:-)

Mara arrived at 8:24 AM on July 20th, 2004. She was 6.14 pounds, 20 inches long, 40 weeks one day gestation, absolutely beautiful & she captured our hearts at first glance :-). Mara was born during the heat wave of 2004 & I worked outside on my feet full time up until the time she was born. I think she developed some of my strength & endurance from her time bumping around in my tummy while I worked :-) She lived her first six months in our townhouse in Vernonia until I decided I had had enough of the commuting to work (she went to work with me). We rented a spacious apartment in Fairview, where she lived until she was five when we moved to our current little yellow house in the country. Mara has always been an animal magnet & is exceptionally sweet & gentle. She started carrying around a writing implement when she was 2 and has never had one out of hand since :-). Mara started swim lessons at three years old & swims like a fish! She is swim team material, actually. She started Kindergarten at Portland Adventist Elementary in late summer 2009 & has excelled in every subject since, now being in 2nd grade & reading & writing in the 6th grade level. Mara has had a love for stringed instruments since she was three & shortly after beginning Kindergarten, asked to take violin lessons. Over two years later, violin music continues to fill our home & she is quite the beautiful violinist! Out of our three children, Mara looks the most like me, but she bares a strong resemblance to her daddy, too! Her eyes were intensely blue at birth & like her sibling's eyes, large & beautiful. She has a lean, muscular build & beautiful gold hair with lots of  natural highlights. Her eye lashes are long & dark. I tell her that she won't ever need mascara. When she isn't in school, she enjoys watching I Love Lucy (on DVD), working with her hands, writing stories, drawing & reading. She has a special love of biographies & animal stories. She is a "girlie girl" & tries to get away with wearing jewelry & make up. I enjoy dressing her in dresses & pretty skirts just about as much as she enjoys wearing them! Mara is a spiritually sensitive young lady, often reminding me that we need to stop & pray about something. Mommy & Daddy love you so much, Mara!