Christmas Budgeting

I'm sad Thanksgiving is over, but oh so happy to have a bunch of my sweet husband's turkey soup! Yum!

Along with loving the soup-y goodness, I am now facing dreading how to get gifts for everyone I want to give gifts to, without breaking the bank. In fact, I'd much prefer to spend as little money as possible without being just "cheap".

So far, I have gifts for all the little kids I know what to get. A few kids I know have gotten too big, or are way into more expensive hobbies(like video games or skate boarding)for me to even begin to figure out what to get them that wouldn't take all of my budget. Therefore, they will be getting what I give their parents: baked goods.

I figure making goodies would be a fun gift to give everyone AND it will be very budget friendly. I have to admit: this will be my first year making food for gifts. I am hopeful it doesn't turn into a disaster.

For budget friendly ideas though, baking food is as far as I can get. I have made crafts before for gifts, but still, getting everything you need from the craft store is expensive. Any ideas from other budget conscious people? What are you doing this year to keep from spending too much?

We are pretty lucky the kids are so little, because they won't know that things are tight this year-in fact, they won't even know or care that over half of what they are getting are REALLY AWESOME "hand me down" toys from the older boys across the street.

Our boys won't realize none of it is new, because it will be new for them. And that has really gotten me thinking.

Perhaps our very tight budget this year is really for the good-we can't just go buy new toys for everyone we know. We can't just go get whatever the boys are wanting-and I think that is a good thing. And not that we ever just spent crazy amounts of money at Christmas, but the cost certainly would add up quickly.

I think getting used toys and being grateful and thankful for them, is a value and virtue I want our children to have always, even on years when our budget could be bigger. Because regardless of what all the commercials throw at us all day, Christmas is about being with your family, reflecting on yourself, your character, helping others, and being thankful and humble for the birth of Christ.

None of which, need a huge budget of gifts to be enjoyed.

Happy Thanksgiving

We will be with my awesome in laws, enjoying family and hopefully convincing all the girls to watch Pride and Prejudice with me.

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving; it is exciting that Little Dude is old enough this year to really get into it and have fun. Remember tracing your hand to make turkeys out of construction paper? I can't wait. I'm taking all the stuff to Ed and Patty's so she can have fun watching Little Dude decorate his "turkey". I also made corn pudding, which I LOVE and can't wait to dig into.

I also have a review and contest going on here for some K'NEX blocks, which I am no IN LOVE WITH. Any blocks that let Little Dude build and withstand JR's attempts to knock down are peacemakers in our house!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Chaos

In college, I majored in English. That doesn't mean I am a particularly good writer, or even understand all grammar rules; however, it does mean I have a very deep fondness for the English language-especially alliteration (the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables). When I was trying to come up for a name for my blog I racked my brain trying to think of some catchy title that played on alliteration. Thus Coordinated Chaos came to be.

But I had no idea, back then when I had just one tiny baby, just HOW MUCH chaos would be taking over my house.

Like today. The kids were eating jelly toast when I realized I had not taken the trash to the curb yet-the realization brought on by the sound of the trash truck rumbling down the road. So, out the door I flew.

And in the process of dragging the heavy trash can (super heavy today because our old mail box and post are in it, yes I did that project Sunday)I put a *tiny* scratch in Bill's truck, right near the headlight. It is maybe an inch and really light, but still, I feel retarded. Who can't move a trash can without running into a truck? Only me. Anyways.

In the time it took me to drag the trash and recycling to the curb-which I made it just as the truck stopped to grab my cans-the kids proceeded to cover my floor and table with jam and toast crumbs. When I say covered, I mean COVERED. Yea, I was dumb and left the jam jar on the table, just ENTICING the kids to dump it out and smear it around. I haven't cleaned it up yet because I just don't even know where to start. If I ignore it, the mess will go away, right?

Then, in the time it took me to get the sheets, towels and clothes from my room down to the laundry room for washing, the boys had taken the CLEAN clothes I'd brought up, THROWN them around the living room and dinning room and THEN filled up that laundry basket with my VERY OLD book collection that used to belong to Bill's Grandpa, and Bill's Dad gave to me when he discovered I had actually read (and love) most of the classics.

I finally got all of that cleaned up, only to discover Little Dude and JR had taken all of JR's toys from his room and put them in a huge pile on the closet floor. All. of. the. toys.

So now the kids are watching some TV-and actually sitting still-while I work up the courage to tackle the kitchen mess. And what time is it? 10am? Since it is completely muddy, nasty and cold outside, we won't be leaving the house to burn off energy unless I pay for us to go somewhere OR just go for a walk. Which I think we will do as soon as I finish cleaning the kitchen, if for no other reason than to keep another disaster from happening.

But hey, at least we are all dressed.

Thankful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I am armed with my grocery list. We are going to be spending the holiday with my in-laws; however, I am going to be making the corn pudding and I'm excited because it is THA BOMB. Yes, THA BOMB. Greatest stuff ever that my grandma's grandma always made, on down the line on my Dad's side, and now I get to make. Holidays and growing up are fun like that.

But I digress.

This Thanksgiving is particularly hard for some people to find thankfulness. I have so many friends that still can't find jobs-and have been out of jobs for over a year now. I know a few people that are losing their homes to foreclose, and because I work in the real estate marketing industry, I am constantly reading about how hard the economy is in areas all over the country right now. And it is scary.

But in a way, what is scary is also good. Spending less on things we don't need has made me realize what we do need: just time with friends and family. We need the ability to be thankful for what we have and not dwell on what we want or don't have.

Even in the worst situations, there are things to be thankful for, and the truest way to show thankfulness is to be content with what we have.

Favorite Babywearing Photos

These are some of my favorite babywearing photos:

JR curling up last winter; I love how his big eyes are staring at me.

At the park near our home in Alabama all snuggled up. I think JR was about 5 months here.
My very first carrier-a pouch sling. This was at my cousin's wedding-I think Little Dude was 10 months here.
On our way to Texas. This Mei Tai has become my favorite carrier now that JR is older.
JR watching the fish tank while we pose for a photo. This was in Texas at the Dallas Aquarium. Little Dude's head is down at the bottom.

Those are a few of my favorite babywearing moments. They are starting to get few and far between now that JR has decided he enjoys walking/running after his brother more, but when it is needed, my ring slings and Mei Tai have been a life saver.

Jean Chatzky: Tips For Saving Money

I've been invited to talk with Jean Chatzky and some other very amazing mom bloggers, like Maria Bailey, for a Blogger Audiocast on how to save money in our economy AND how to keep your budget in check for Christmas. She will also be sharing recommendations on how to get your finances back on track after the holidays.

You can submit YOUR questions on how to stretch your money this Christmas by leaving comments here, tweeting me @MicheZ, or tweeting Jean @JeanChatzky.

The audiocast is today from 10am to 11am, EST, so be sure to follow along and check out www.jeanchatzky.com.

I also have a goody bag for one of my readers that includes Jean's new book, "Pay It Down!", focused how families can save, spend and survive in the current economic climate. To win, simply leave me a comment, either suggesting some of your budget keeping tips OR some of your budgeting questions (or both!).

I hope you enjoy! I'm looking forward to your tips and questions!

PS, the book I'm giving away was given to me for the purpose of giving to a reader and I did also get a copy for myself that I'm really excited to read!

Prematurity Awareness Month

JR was considered a preemie, because he came at 35 weeks, right at the border of preemie and "normal".

I've never admitted it, but I do blame myself for the fact my water broke early. Perhaps I carried Little Dude too much, and he was too heavy for me. Perhaps chasing after our way-too-big German Shepard got me too worn out...perhaps I was doing to much, pushing too hard, and taking on too much stress.

Can I tell you I felt horribly stupid, scared, and completely, totally, over run with guilt I was when the doctor said I had a leak in JR's amnio sack, and I couldn't even tell him how long I might have had the leak?

So, of course, the only choice was to induce JR right then and there, since every minute there was a leak increased the chance of JR getting an infection, becoming terribly ill, or worse, dying.

And even though everyone says it wasn't my fault, I still feel like it was. My body failed at the one task is was made to do: provide a place for my baby to grow.
And as of now, the doctor has no idea what could have caused my water to break, but did warn me that I would be closely monitored if and when we have another child, because Little Dude also came early by a few weeks, and we certainly don't want it to be a pattern of having babies earlier and earlier.

But I'm lucky, my child is fine. I have a ton of online friends whose children have not been doing well, are still fighting day by day, or who have lost the fight to live in a world their little bodies weren't ready for yet.

Did you know 1 in 8 babies born in the US are preemies? And even though our medical advancements have grown by leaps and bounds, our numbers of premature births has increased significantly in the last decade?

So what can you do? The March of Dimes does extraordinary work to help preemies develop and grow after birth, and best of all, to help develop research and studies that can help keep babies inside their moms until they reach full term. You can learn more here: http://marchofdimes.com/prematurity/index_about.asp about how your donations can help with research, medical help, cost help, and support for preemies and their families.