Family - Humorous Homemaking

Marriage and Money: His Money and Her Money

It is common practice among married couples to keep separate checking/savings accounts and then separate out the bills in some agreed-upon manner and operate the household finances that way. They’ll divide things up where he pays the mortgage and his car payment, while she pays her car payment, the electricity and the groceries…or something like that. This concept has never made sense to me, but people will fight and argue until they’re blue in the face that this is the right way to operate a household budget. I believe it is a dangerous way to manage your household finances for many reasons. I wanted to use this post to talk about four reasons separate accounts are a bad idea: [Read more…]

Advent 2011

Last year I told y’all about our family Advent Christmas tradition. We LOVE this part of the season. It’s a time for us to enjoy each other without the craziness of the retail shopping world. I’m just not really into hitting up all the stores for great deals on battery operated toys and things I have to dust. That’s not how I roll. Instead, we spend time together and make memories for Annie. In lieu of putting gifts into the pockets of our Advent calendar, we put slips of paper with family activities on them. Barry didn’t use to be the type of person that enjoyed Christmas, but after starting this tradition, he is actually starting to soften up and enjoy the holidays…..it might also have something to do with the goodies I keep around the house. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Amen. [Read more…]

Our Thankful Box

It seems to me as the years pass by, that Thanksgiving is becoming the “forgotten holiday.” Stores put out fall decorations early, but before Halloween is over, they put Christmas stuff out and put “fall” items on clearance – as though the holiday is totally over. This saddens me. That’s one reason I came up with this Thanksgiving tradition of the Thankful Box.

People put their Christmas decorations out as soon as Halloween is over…but, I boycott. I won’t put out Christmas things until after Thanksgiving is over. It’s my way of “sticking it to the Man.” I never want Thanksgiving to be forgotten in the Myers house. By creating Thanksgiving traditions, I am making sure that the holiday has a proper place of importance. Because y’all – it’s important in this life to be thankful. [Read more…]

Powdered Butt Syndrome

There is a disease from which virtually every parent suffers. It is called “Powdered Butt Syndrome.” Simply put, Powdered Butt Syndrome is when your parents have the concept that since they powdered your butt, they don’t want your unsolicited advice about money. I know this is true for two reasons: 1) I have parents and I’ve tried it and 2) I’ve heard about it and seen it before from others. Very scientific of me coming to that conclusion, wasn’t it? I’m commonly asked what you can do if you see your parents misbehaving with money. You’ve probably tried to talk to them about money and offer your advice, and they roll their eyes or glaze over with the look that says, “I’m not listening to you; I still smell the baby powder I put on your butt 35 years ago.” Maybe it’s because you’re totally broke and just think you have all the answers. Or maybe…just maybe…you really do have the answers for your parents’ financial woes! This week, let’s talk about how to handle money with your parents. [Read more…]

Frugal Father’s Day Gifts

In the pattern of all things frugal at Humorous Homemaking, I decided to do a post for you all to give you some frugal ideas for Father’s Day. I looked at tons of websites to see what dads really want…..and are you ready for this? Most of the time, those things aren’t expensive. However, I did find out that most dads do not want a big honking orange tie that says BEST DAD on it. They really don’t….why do you think you find those on the clearance rack? Last year I got Barry a cheesy gift from Annie – a mug with photos on it. He’s still using it….he’s more graceful than I am, so he doesn’t break mugs on a regular basis. This year we decided that we weren’t going to spend money on gifts for each other until we paid off the house. That’s our gift to each other instead – extra house payments. But, here are some ideas for you that will cost little out of pocket for you.

This one popped up everywhere I looked. Dads want clean cars……those Cheerios on the floor that don’t bother you, really bother him. Really. He’s afraid he’ll go to an important meeting with a Cheerio plastered to his rear end. He would really love it if you and the kids would spend some time cleaning his car on the inside and out. This one should be pretty much free if you have car supplies at home – it only costs you time…..which he will really appreciate. Don’t put a flowerdy air freshener in there when you’re done – more like one in the scent of dirt…….or grease. [Read more…]

Baby Steps Toward Healthy Eating

You might recall at that the end of Stacy Goes Storeless I told you all that Barry and I had made a decision to cut out a majority of our processed foods. I was ready to move toward a more Whole Foods diet. We were eating entirely too much crap because I was able to get it cheap. I had never seen that before…..in fact, if you would have asked me, I would have said I didn’t buy many processed foods – I thought I didn’t….I was cooking most of our meals, so I thought I was getting a free pass. However, a month of Toaster Strudels will change anyone’s mind about what they should be eating. It all sounded great in my head. Whole Foods diet. Whole Foods diet. Yep, but was I really ready for that?I’ve made the switch to making all our bread at home, but I still have tons of stuff to get rid of. So, we’re slowly chipping away at that stock. I do not replace it with processed foods. I replace it with healthy stuff. Healthy meaning good for us, not fat free. Heavens to Betsy! Fat free stuff tastes TERRIBLE. Be serious with yourself. That fat free cheese you melted turns into rubber when it cools down….probably because it’s MADE with rubber. BLECH! [Read more…]

Homemade Baby Wipes

When we had our baby shower, we received some really great gifts. One of my favorites was from one of Barry’s family members (Thanks Joy!). Part of her gift was a wonderful tub of homemade wipes. She included the “recipe” because apparently she had heard that I’m really into that. 🙂 Those were my favorite wipes of ALL TIME! They blow store-bought brands out of the water. You’d be amazed at how much poop you can wipe up with those things! After all, Bounty is the quicker picker upper. Bet they didn’t have THAT in mind when they were coming up with a slogan. Anyway, a reader asked me if I’d do a step-by-step for how to make your own wipes. When you read this, you’ll wonder why you’ve not been doing it all along! It’s SO easy and they work great! Let’s use Joy’s recipe and wipe some butts, shall we? [Read more…]

How to Write a Thank You Note

Most people don’t write thank you notes anymore….most younger people anyway. And frankly, I think it’s bleeding over into the older generation as well. It’s very sad…….and lazy. Man, oh man is it lazy. Do you mean to tell me that you’re so busy that you can’t spend 5 minutes writing a thank you note to someone who took the time to send you a gift? Oh please. If that offended you, you probably aren’t writing thank you notes. Yes, I know most people now send thank you emails. That’s great……but it’s not your best work. Just think about how wonderful someone feels to go to the mailbox and get a note from you that says “Thanks for the gift!” Isn’t that worth your time? I think so. Most people don’t know how to write a thank you note, so I did some research and came up with the general guidelines for writing a good one. You can use any type of card that you have – well, almost any type. I wouldn’t send a thank you note on a sympathy or get well card. Use something that’s blank inside…..and it should be sorta small. If you have a big card or big piece of paper you’re going to have to write in really big letters to fill it up so it doesn’t look silly – and then it will still look silly because they’ll wonder why you’re writing in kindergarten script. [Read more…]

Christmas With Annie

We don’t do Santa Claus. That’s not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about the birth of our Savior. It’s about family. It’s about giving. It’s about candy and baked ham. In all seriousness, we want Annie to grow up with a firm knowledge of the meaning of Christmas. Too many kids these days see Christmas as the day when they get tons of toys from some magical figure that scoots down the chimney. They spend months dreaming up a long list of things they can “have.” The older I get, the more I realize that life isn’t about what you have. It’s about bringing glory to God using your life. You can have tons and tons of toys and be totally empty inside. When I go to the mall and see the huge line of kids waiting in line to see Santa, it almost makes me sad. Are they learning what Christmas Is REALLY all about? I don’t ever want to have that doubt with Annie.

Yes, we do give gifts. We aren’t against the idea of gift giving. Just against the idea of telling kids that Santa brings those toys……if they’re GOOD. “If you’re good kids, Santa will bring you tons of toys!” So, instead of being of good character because that’s what God commands, they’re good because of what they want to GET. It’s purely driven by selfishness. The Lord commands us to be servants as He was a servant. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t serve his disciples so He could get the latest in the Harry Potter movie series. Giving gifts is a sign of love……because I love you, I will give you this gift. It has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been good. I want to bless you because I love you. I love you even if you mess up. Isn’t that how Jesus acts with us? Every good and perfect gift is from above James 1:17. It doesn’t say “Every good and perfect gift is from above if you’re good and share your toys.” Thank goodness Jesus isn’t that way with us…..or I’d get a stocking of coal every year. [Read more…]

Family Tradition – Advent

Traditions have always been a big deal to me. I love things that I can look forward to; knowing that they’re going to happen every year. When I was growing up, I always knew that we’d go “Bear Hunting” on Thanksgiving……no, we didn’t have bears. I think my family was just trying to find some way to get all the kids out of the house for a little bit. When you’re little, you’re clueless. Now that I have a child, I want her to have traditions that she looks forward to as well. I wanted to make our own family traditions that we could add to the ones that we already have. For us, this started last year during the Christmas season. We decided to buy an Advent calendar and celebrate yearly by doing something special. Traditionally you get an advent calendar and put a small gift in each pocket. I thought that seemed a little boring……so we decided that we’d do a different family activity together every day instead. We really enjoyed it last year! I’m looking forward to doing the same thing this year. It should be a lot more fun now that Annie can actually participate in some things. So, take a peek into our new family tradition….think about starting one of your own. Your kids will LOVE it! It will be something they’ll always remember – and count on. [Read more…]