Atlanta's Frugal Mom

This was supposed to be the summer of many things. Just like every other previous summer, I started concocting some pretty grand plans for summer 2017 with my kids. I’d planned to work a little bit each day teaching my rising 3rd grader her times tables, using a fun program I used when I was a public school teacher. Instead, I randomly quizzed her verbally. I’d planned to work with my rising kindergartner on learning to tie his shoes, since shoes with laces are mandatory for him. That didn’t happen at all. I’d planned to try out all the cool awesome places around Atlanta I keep hearing about (and -um- some of which I’ve featured here ), but we didn’t.

Tonight I was the very mean mom who wouldn’t help her daughter.  Tonight I let my little girl struggle and get a little frustrated, and I refused to help her or to do for her the task she set out to do.  And we both lived through it. You see, she decided she wanted to change out her shoelaces for these funky Atlanta Hawks laces she got when we visited the Ronald McDonald House a few weeks back.  She pulled out a pair of sneakers, plopped herself down on the den rug, and sat there, staring at her shoes. She looked up at me for …approval? Guidance?  Or both. I told her this was a task she needed to try to do on her own.  I told her upfront I would NOT put those laces in myself, that -at 8 years old- she could do it.   I further told her she may need to keep trying until she figured it out. She looked at me like a helpless puppy, but I stayed over on the couch, folding clothes, and simply offering a watchful eye, and an ear for conversation. She pulled the laces out of one sh...

I originally wrote this almost two years ago, but as I get closer to sending my now SECOND GRADER off to school, and cope with also having a boy in pre-K, there’s still so much of this that rings true.  ….and I still don’t know how to do-it-all.  😉 Last week proved to be quite a week, to say the least.  My family and I spent the first week in August on vacation in Florida, first hitting the beach, then spending some quality time with the grandparents, and a day at Disney. We came back on Saturday, and my oldest was starting Kindergarten on Monday.  Seriously, the summer seemed to have just flown by.  I’m proud to say I held it together quite well, and masked my nervousness and sadness at sending my baby off to Kindergarten, in a school with kids all the way up to 8th grade.  It was the second day, when carpool began, where I nearly lost it – watching her walk away with her cute Ariel backpack.  Such a big shot.  What happened to my little baby?? With start...

I am now the mother of a seven year old girl.  While she will forever be my littlest Peanut, she is certainly growing up.  Like many modern mamas, I posted on my personal FB page, gushing over how amazing she is, and how proud of her I am, and yet, how I wish to hold on to every last piece of her seemingly fleeting childhood. But the truth is, I’m darn proud of the young lady she is becoming.  With each transition to the next stage, I mourn the small and little pieces of her that slip away, while also welcoming the new she brings to our world.  It’s bittersweet, at best, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, in all her squirrely-ness surrounding her birthday, she started telling us a few months beforehand that she’d “never” had a surprise party.  You know, in all of her (almost) seven years of living. Around the same time, I got an invitation from the good folks at All Fired Up to try out one of their locations.  Opportunity knocks, y’all. ...

You may recall, my family and I gave up meat for Lent this year, so I’ve been on the hunt for creative ways to keep dinner lively.  I can’t really say how I came up with the idea for chipotle tofu burritos, other than just to throw together some common ingredients and enjoy.  ….and that’s basically what I did, y’all. Ok, so it really started out when I bought chipotle-flavored tofu because it was BOGO at Publix and because there was a Berry Cart deal for $1 rebate on it.  …and I built a mealtess dinner around that one sale item, based entirely on what I already had in my pantry and fridge. To my delight, every one of my family members ate their dinner, even my picky kiddos.  Ok, so the boy choked his down, but he *did* eat it.  It may or may not have required a little come-to-Jesus convincing, but once he tried it, he decided they “weren’t bad.”  sigh   Chipotle-Flavored Tofu Burritos (1) package Nasoya baked tofu, chipotle flavor – sliced in to...

Part of our family routine includes attending Saturday evening Mass, and this weekend was no exception.  We drove separately, since my husband was going to take our daughter to a dance performance, while I took our son back home.  I came in about 15 minutes late with our son, as he was in the midst of a Prednisone-induced fit when it was time to go.  Sigh. We were all sitting in the back pew, doing our usual Mass thing, and I observed the family in the pew ahead of me – namely because there was a little girl with redhair sitting with them.  I noticed their mom, and likely her parents, with three school-age-ish kids.  The mom and the grandfather sat between the son, while the girls were sitting betwixt the grandparents. I quickly, quietly noticed the son likely had mild special needs.  I also noticed quickly how stressed the mother seemed.  It broke my heart to watch her out of the corner of my eye: I could sense the anxiety she felt.  She was nervous her son may act out, or simpl...

For some reason, today I felt just a little extra whimsical while watching my daughter.  Like many mothers, I’m sure, I catch glimpses of her older self throughout the course of the day, and today -for a fleeting split second- I saw my little girl all grown up.  I’ve already shared my wishlist for her , but here is my collective little nuggets of advice for my daughter. Advice for My 6-year-old Daughter, for the Teen Years and Beyond   Don’t be a mean girl.  Ever.  But don’t be mean back to the mean girls – how else will they learn kindness if it’s not extended to them? Love yourself , on the inside and the outside.  Treat your body with respect now, and it will thank you in kind as you get older.  Learn now how to take care of your whole self. Be kind but firm.