Joelmark, Inc.

Instead of giving Hallmark hundreds of dollars this year, I’ve hired my son Joel to make cards for occasions. And no, Eva, you smarty-pants … I’m NOT paying him extra. I told him it’s part of his measly allowance (part of which goes to savings and some to church, by the way!).

We have 3 First Communions, a bunch of birthdays and a baby shower coming up, and he’s not only saving me money, but he’s saving us a trip to the card store and he feels good knowing he’s making something special for someone.

Your Financial Future

I’m not rich, nor do I desire to be. I guess I just want more of the same … we have enough food, we each have a car, we have a nice home that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We have all the wonderful kids we want and are able to take care of them in every way possible, including educationally.

Aron and I talk about if we ever somehow came into a lot of money (impossible for the most part, since we don’t play the lottery). We’d give most of it away. Well, he says he’d give it ALL away. I say, “Don’t be stupid. Put some in our savings account for an emergency, some in each kid’s saving account and THEN give it away to a worthy cause that you really check out and get to know personally.”

Here’s the offensive question of the day, then:

Financial advisors now tell you to plan for your OWN financial future before putting your kids through college, paying for a costly wedding, etc. To me, this makes total sense. I’ll be old and feeble and will need the money for my hip replacement worse than my spry kids, who can work and pay off their own loans just like their dad and I had to do. Plus I might be taking care of my parents, step-parents and in-laws (in 3 separate shacks in the backyard, mind you).

By the way, let’s not forget about our parents because you may be in the Sandwich Generation (people taking care of their kids and their parents at the same time. You may need to be helping to take care of your parents, also. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spring for a home-health nurse for my parents who gave me LIFE than pay for college for my kids or a $20,000 wedding (with the 50% divorce rate!) for my girls when my kids can so easily take care of themselves.

What do you think? And be NICE! Use your big-girl and big-boy words … ha!

Recycling Juice Pouches

Have you seen the cool purses women are carrying lately that are made out of old juice pouches? They are so cool! And so green.

Ah, the Capri Sun juice pouches that we throw away. We pretty much only buy them for birthday parties and for summer outings since they are so easy, but the trash really adds up with all these kids. I was planning on just getting a gallon jug to take on outings and filling it with Koolaid or juice or water, but then I saw it:

On the Capri Sun box, they have information about recycling the pouches to make MONEY FOR YOUR SCHOOL.

So I figured the Catholic school down the road always needs money. And if I save our used juice pouches, the school gets 2 cents for each pouch we turn in (1 cent for non-Capri Sun pouches). I called the school to let them know about the program, and the secretary said she’d pass on the info to the women who handle their recycling. In the meantime, we’re saving up all the pouches we can get out hands on. I even dug in my sister-in-law’s trash the other night.

Check it out here.

Going Greener by Having Your Coffee at Home

Even though I recycle and have cloth diapered and breastfed for 8 years, I’ve been feeling crappy about how many to-go coffee cups of mine end up in the landfill. I saw something on TV about how those cups are waterproof so they take forever to break down.

So I’ve been making mochas at home … nasty, calorie-laden mochas. Here’s how:

I brew some coffee, any coffee. I dump some powdered creamer into a coffee cup, then a bunch of powdered hot chocolate mix (buy the big ole tub of it!) or chocolate syrup. Then pour in your coffee and stir. If you’re really bad like me, you’ll add some whipped cream to the top! If you want to be a little healthier, put in powdered milk instead of creamer. Oh, and rinse out your Starbuck's cup from yesterday and just re-use it til it gets nasty.

Plus it saves a lot of money, which helps when your 401(k) is totally tanking. Yeah, I know you should live in the moment and all that, but sometimes you have to look to the future and be responsible … as far as the future of our kids and the landfills and as far as your own financial future. But that’s another blog post.

Homeschool Socialization Part 2

Judging by the snotty-ass way the kids act when they walk past our house on their way home from school when Joel goes out to try to say hi and make friends, I’m thinking homeschooling is a good way to go. Often when I’m out in the world people tell me how well-behaved my kids are (except for when Callie’s having an Exorcist tantrum, of course, but then I just act like I don’t know her). In school you are taught to look down on anyone younger or smaller and to be a tattle-tale about any little annoyance. If you aren’t tough, you get bullied. So you are either weak or strong or popular. I speak from 13 years of experience. And yes, you cowards who want to leave Anonymous comments but now can't, my kids ARE perfect and act fabulous all the time and are NEVER snotty (ha!).

These posts aren’t called “homeschooling is for everyone” … because I totally disagree with that (I know women who want to kill their kids just doing homework with them). But let’s respect each other’s choices. I don’t think I’m better than you … I just chose a lifestyle that works for me and for my husband and kids, and I’m blessed enough to be able to follow that path financially and without going insane.

Back to the socialization thing … we go to friends’ houses, we have friends over (for days, not just an hour for a playdate usually), we have a Meals on Wheels route, we used to do babysitting at churches, we go to homeschool events, we go on field trips, we get to see my mom weekly and my dad pretty often, they go to the grocery store and the bank and the post office with me, we go to the pool all summer, to parks, we meet people everywhere we go. Some women in my Catholic homeschool group won’t let their kids play with kids who go to public school. I say even Catholic school kids have issues and so can homeschool kids, so we don’t segregate our kids. They have friends from all walks of life who go to all kinds of schools and churches (or not). They learn to deal with all kinds of people, young and old.

I don’t write much about homeschooling because I’m not sure who’s interested in reading about it (that couldn’t be because this blog has no FOCUS and is all over the place, right?), so if you have any questions (how many hours a day do I homeschool, what curriculum do I use, how much do I spend/save doing homeschooling, what are benefits I see, why did I start doing it), let me know in the Comments section! And Paul, I expect you to weigh in on this one, PLEASE, seeing as how you used to be a schoolteacher!