Bullet Boy- one year aniversary!

I had to post this to remind some of you and maybe new to some of you, that this REALLY did happen to MY child!  This is the week that one year ago, a bullet was swallowed by my son!  Being a mother of boys is really a dose of excitement daily!  Here was my post a year ago!:

Okay, here it is! The bullet boy, aka my little B.B. :) This is proof that the bullet was there! It is no longer in him and lead levels are coming down! (If a sewer explodes somewhere, I'm genuinely sorry!) Call the Today Show and everyone else you know and don't know, to show that a bullet really can go through you without exploding your entire being! We can now laugh because this is now BEHIND us and has PASSED! (No puns intended! Okay, maybe they were intended!) With 7 boys, I'm sure this is the first of many ingestions I will face. I'll chalk this one up for experience!

Ideas for cutting costs

Here are some simple ways I save money:

• use cloth diapers (they ARE NOT what they used to be!  So much better!)www.natureslove.net 
• washable wipes that I make myself out of flannel  (I sell these if you are interested!)
• reuse bread baggies and cereal bags to store other items
• I use extra pasta and less meat in my casseroles since it is more expensive to buy meat
• make my own greeting cards
• make our own gifts
• make things from scratch
• eat lots of soups
• I use 1/4 of what the detergent box says for laundry (Charlie's soap is what I use and it uses very little anyway!  All natural and NO chemicals!)http://www.beyondbeds.com/index.asp?pmc=CharliesSo&PageAction=Custom&ID=155&source=Charlies_Soap_Google&gclid=CKmhoZK7z50CFQjyDAodGDWnsw
• I don't but snack foods.  My kids are not snackers because I never started that habit.  We eat 3 meals a day and that's it!  They don't even think about it!
• We drink lots of water!  Cheap and good for you!
• keep paper products to a minimum!  We don't use paper plates unless on picnics or I get them for free!
• emptied yogurt cups make GREAT cups for serving jello, ice-cream, homemade frozen smoothies, and just plain water to little kids! The kids think it's great they have their own little portion!  They are also great to stick in a baggie that you can just throw away after you use them while on long car trips, the park or grandma's!  (They do wash up great in the dishwasher too!)
• use coupons and LOTS of them!
• holiday and birthday gifts are simple and budgeted!
• I use cash when I shop and I don't bring anything besides cash!
• Don't go to the store to often!  I can't spend if I don't go!  Also saves on gas!
• Buy in quantity when things are on sale
• Make lists, this includes wish lists and priority lists so I can keep things in perspective
• We hardly EVER eat out!!  I do not want to feed fast food to our kids anyway!  I am laying a foundation for them while they are young!  We do have a restaurant in our town where kids eat free on Tuesdays and we have been known to go there but they have healthy food options! 
• We have special meals that we set the table really fancy and get a movie to watch and have family dates in the comfort of our own home!
• I go to discount day old bread stores for some items and can get loaves of bread for $.79! 

These are some things I use.  My grocery bill every two weeks is around $150 for a family of 13.  My extra's such as soaps, shampoos, and other items comes to around $50 monthly.  Sometimes I can even do less than that if I get really good coupon leads!  :)  My kids are healthy and they NEVER go hungry!:)

Hope this helps you and pleeeasssseee if you have any other ideas I could use, leave a comment!   I need advice!:)