Rambling away

The hardest thing about being a stay-at-home mom in a state with no family close by? Being lonely and feeling isolated. And the flat, barren landscape does nothing to improve this feeling. It's not horrible, but there are times I really wish my family was closer, if for nothing else, than to go over and have coffee or lunch with them so the boys can play and get to know their family better. I do pretty good with occupying myself, especially with two crazy little boys that are bundles of energy the minute they get up to the minute they go to bed. That definitely helps a lot. The few friends that we do have down here are in a neighboring town about 90 miles away, so that makes it hard to just go over for a quick visit; it becomes a day trip which wears everyone out. Not that that is a bad thing!

However, the upside to living so far from everyone familiar is that we have learned to be more self-sufficient. Due to this, I have gotten pretty good at making things from scratch and grocery shopping for our family has become a goal to keep the total as close to $300 as possible, which I do most months. What has helped me in this regard is making bread at home with my bread machine, crockpot vanilla yogurt (the boys LOVE that stuff), and contributing to bountiful basket at least once a month for our fresh fruit and veggies at a fraction of the cost! I also use several different rebate/shopping apps that help along with coupons.

All of this helps so much in keeping our budget (and my sanity) low and manageable. I am no Betty Crocker or Dave Ramsey by any means, but I try very hard to keep this family going budget and food-wise and I learn more everyday on how to accomplish my goals reasonably. Making items from scratch and bountiful basket have probably been the best investments I have made so far, and not just for the health benefits, but money-wise as well.

Doing all of this has helped to keep me occupied when I do start to get lonely. Not only that, but most of my family is just a phone call or text message away when I need them. Expecting our third child has also given me more to look forward to with doctors visits and all of the tests that come with it. (Still don't know what the gender is by the way if you were wondering.) Writing this little blog has also helped me to not feel as lonely and I appreciate everyone that reads it, I'm sure I'm not the most interesting person to read about, but I feel more connected to those I miss through it.

I will post how I make my yogurt next time. Trust me, it's worth doing and SOOOO easy! That's what I love the most about my crockpots: just toss it in and wait for the most part!

Until next time....

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