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Creative Homemaking Blog
Friday, March 23rd
Book Review: The Millionaire Next Door
This book should be a reading requirement in high school and/or college. Most of us have grown up with pretty convoluted ideas about how one goes about accumulating wealth, or even becoming self-sufficient for that matter.
The authors of this book surveyed many millionaires and came up with some interesting results. Millionaires are not necessarily people who have high incomes. In fact people with high incomes many times have very little net worth, in other words they spend all they earn. This is not the definition of a wealthy person. A wealthy person is often someone who has lived on a modest income most of their lives. Here are some key characteristics of millionaires, according the the authors:
* They allocate their time, energy, and money in ways that tend to accumulate more wealth.
* They live well beneath their means.
* They value financial independence more than high social status.
* Their parents have not financially supported them as adults.
* Their adult children do not rely on them for financial support.
* They chose the right profession.
The book explores all of these areas in detail, and the results are very interesting. Basically, anyone can become wealthy if they possess the right mindset, and that mindset very much contradicts the lifestyle many Americans value. It's basically a choice of what's more important to you.
The copy of this book that I have is from 1998, so some of the statistics are out of date, but it looks like it was re-published in 2003. You can get a used copy cheap enough it is definitely worth the read.
You can buy the book or read more reviews of "The Millionaire Next Door" by at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/1567315682/creativehomemaki
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.23.07 @ 01:43 PM CST [link]
Thursday, March 22nd
Walmart Clearance Aisle
I've noticed that our Walmart clearance aisle has been slowly expanding over the years. They really have a lot of stuff on clearance sale! My husband always likes to check out the toys. Today we found some Sesame Street pretend dishes and pretend food for $5. Wasn't worth the original price, but definitely worth $5. The boys are loving their Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster dishes 
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.22.07 @ 11:45 PM CST [link]
Shrek Easter Baskets
My boys are on a huge Shrek kick lately. They love watching Shrek II. I found some Shrek Easter baskets at Walmart that are absolutely adorable. They are shaped like Shrek's head and are fuzzy like stuffed animals. They were a little expensive ($10), but the boys are going to flip when they see them. They should get a lot of use out of them even after Easter.
My mother-in-law found some Shrek figurines at the Dollar Store, so that will be perfect to go into the Easter baskets. We decided the boys are still too young for candy, so we are going to put small cookies and fruit snacks in plastic Easter eggs for them to pick up in the yard. I can't wait!
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.22.07 @ 11:43 PM CST [link]
Frogs and Lizards
We found some great inexpensive toys for our boys. They found a small plastic lizard in the yard one day (left by former house owner), and they loved it. They kept fighting over it, so my mother-in-law checked out the Dollar Store and found packages of small plastic lizards and frogs. The boys love them! Pretty cheap entertainment for $2!
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.22.07 @ 11:40 PM CST [link]
Saturday, March 17th
Book Review: Inside My Heart by Robin McGraw
I received a copy of Robin McGraw's first book "Inside My Heart" for Christmas, and I just finished reading it. I found it an enjoyable read, and definitely an inspiration.
It is by no means a "self-help" book like you would expect from her husband, Dr. Phil! It is a book written by a very proud wife, mother, and woman.
Robin tries to get across to women that your life is largely made up of choices, and your choices can affect the outcome of your life, as well as your family's. As for unexpected circumstances, you also have a choice about how you react to curve balls life throws your way. She gives a very intimate look at her family's life and her reliance on God to get her through the hard times.
Robin comes across as very down to earth and like an everyday woman, not a big celebrity like she might be perceived to be. She and Dr. Phil are both very caring, compassionate people and have done so much to help other people. I count them as two of my heroes, for sure!
If you're looking for inspiration in the wife and mother department, this book can definitely give it to you. It is rare in modern day society to see people publicly declaring their commitment to their family...making it more important than anything else. Lots of people talk about it, but few actually follow through with it.
The only thing I thought she could have elaborated on more in the book is her faith...she does mention that she and Dr. Phil attend church, but they give no details on their particular faith. From all appearances, they do seem to have a genuine faith, but for someone who is not a Christian, it would be easy to take away from the book that if you just believe in God that everything will work out okay for you, which is not an accurate assumption. Hopefully, however, her inspiring story will cause unbelievers to seek out a faith for themselves and learn more about what they are missing at a good Bible believing church. I am sure that was her intention, but it would have been nice to hear more of her personal testimony of faith.
You can buy the book or read more reviews of "Inside My Heart" at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/078521836X/creativehomemaki
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.17.07 @ 04:21 PM CST [link]
Friday, March 16th
Daylight Savings Time
I've been really good at keeping my boys on their sleeping schedule. When it's time to change the clocks, though, they have a hard time adjusting! No one wants to go to bed when it's still light outside. I've been letting them stay up a few minutes later because they don't feel like it's time for bed, but now they are sleeping in just a little longer each day. No big deal, just have to decide whether to let them go to bed later or let them sleep longer in the morning! I think putting them in bed at the normal time will win out...my husband and I look forward to our quiet evenings
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.16.07 @ 09:52 PM CST [link]
Wednesday, March 14th
Toddlers Taking Diapers Off
I tried everything to get my boys to keep their diapers on. They are pretty good about it during the day, but as soon as they get into bed, everything they can possible unzip, untape, or unbutton comes off! This got really tiring in a hurry, especially when I was washing their bed sheets and blankets sometimes more than once a day! I tried everything, then stumbled on a solution that really works! I decided that what I really care most about is keeping their diapers on. I don't care if they take their clothes off in bed. I started using packing tape to tape their diapers on, and it really works...it's been working for weeks. You have to tape all the way around the diaper so that they can't find the end of it and press it down really well. This is the only thing I have found to work and bed time has been much more peaceful lately
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.14.07 @ 02:28 PM CST [link]
Tuesday, March 13th
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
My daughter loves it when I send homemade cookies to her at college. I usually throw in some candy bars too She's so skinny you wouldn't believe she eats all that stuff. Anyway, to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies all you have to do is substitute peanut butter for half of the butter it calls for on the chocolate chip package (1/2 c. peanut butter and 1/2 c. butter instead of 1 c. butter). These are my daughter's favorite cookies. I got a jelly roll pan for Christmas. I didn't know that you could make bar cookies in a jelly roll pan, but it suggested it on the package of chocolate chips, so I gave it a try. They turned out great, and easily lifted out of the pan. I hope she likes them! The boys and I went to Yokes to mail the package. They have grocery carts there that have little "cars" in the front for kids to drive. The boys love going there and "driving" the carts.
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.13.07 @ 02:09 PM CST [link]
Play Mat for Boys
We finally got a play mat for the boys...my dad gave it to them for their birthday. It's the one that has roads all over it for them to play with their cars on. Found it at Lowe's for $20. They love it, and it goes well with their new "transportation" wall mural. Will have to take a picture of that (the wall mural) to post.
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.13.07 @ 02:04 PM CST [link]
Organized Toy Storage
I finally found the toy storage I've been looking for. I found it at Target...Walmart and Home Depot didn't have it. It is three shelves with plastic bins set into them. They have primary color bins for boys and pastel colors for girls. These bins are great for storing small toys, and your kids can place the toys in the bins themselves. It was $60, a little more than I wanted to pay, but it is well made and should last a long time. It took me awhile to find it at the store. I looked in the storage section, the toy section, and then finally found it in the "home decor" section where they have bedroom accessories for themed rooms.
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.13.07 @ 02:01 PM CST [link]
Inexpensive Teacher Supplies
My husband and I needed to get out of the house for awhile yesterday, so we took the boys to the Dollar Store. I can't believe all the craft supplies they have there now. They have a lot of scrapbooking stickers and paper, and I noticed they have half an aisle of teacher supplies now. They had all sorts of reward stickers, and a lot of bulletin board cut outs that were packaged by theme. They also had borders to hang on the wall with the cursive alphabet printed on them. These would be great for homeschooling families too. I was surprised at all the supplies they had. Check it out!
Rachel Paxton
Editor/Publisher
CreativeHomemaking.com
Rachel on 03.13.07 @ 01:56 PM CST [link]
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