Living on a Dime

I think the best way to save money is just not to spend it. :) That sounds easy and all, but there are some things that are necessary to buy and some things that, as a culture, we deem as necessary. Here are a few ways I have saved money this year.


Library fines
(Who me? Ummm......yeah, the librarians just count on it.)
I pay my library fines by finding fifty cent to $1.00 (no more ever!) movies at yard sales. The librarian will take them in exchange for my humungous fines.

Groceries
I buy groceries at Walmart where I can price match. Before my Walmart price matching frenzies, I use to shop at Maceys. I loved Maceys. I was in Maceys last night and was amazed at how expensive everything seemed to be.
See http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/grocery-shopping-at-half-price.html

Gifts
I buy birthday and Christmas gifts at garage sales, on sale, and at second hand stores. I buy them when I find them so my closet is always off limits because that's where I keep my treasures. I also keep in mind the things that are coming. We have a gift exchange at Christmas time; we have an ugly sweater contest in December; and we have extended family birthday parties once a month. There are always friends and family members having babies. Weddings are just around the corner. I keep my eyes peeled for gifts that look new and are something I wouldn't be ashamed of giving. I find so many things. For example, I found a  newlywed book written by Dr. Lund. He's a leading counselor on family issues. His ideas are great, and his stories are interesting and fun to read. It's a great wedding gift, and it was only fifty cents! For more examples see
http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-example-of-my-garage-sale-deals.html and http://corkyceran.blogspot.com/2013/05/christmas-shopping-in-may-on-tight.html.


School Clothes
Yes, it's that time again, and I have 5 K-12 students this year. I mentioned the other day that as soon as my children's room were clean, I would pull out their school clothes. "What? We have school clothes?" Sure, we do. I have been stacking them on the top shelf of my closet, in order of age, for months now. Are they new? Not most of them, but they sure are nice. AND they were cheap! Again, I've been watching for great deals throughout the year. I was tempted many times to pull them down and give them to the children, but I kept in mind the day they would be so excited to have "new" clothes for the new school year.
There are still things for each child I need to buy. They all need socks and underwear, most of them still need shoes, and my six foot 145 pound Michael is not an easy one to find pants for, so I'll be having to find a tall and slim store for that one! :)

I'm going to be grow up and be a bum!

I first heard of this interesting line of work as a life's goal the first semester some of my children were in American schools. I was trying to convince my daughter to get her homework done when she asked in broken English, "Why you care? This my school."

"I want you to be able to go to college and get a good education so you can get a good job if you need to someday."

"I don't want to go college," she responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh, then how will you get a job if something happens to your husband?"

"I won't."

"Oh? Well, then how will you make money?"

"I'll beg!"

Shocked, I practically hollered, "I didn't bring you all the way to America to be a bum!"

Even more shocked, she shot back, "You just brought me here to work?"

ARG! I was swamped in a losing battle.

Obviously there was more culture shock than I was aware there would be. On both ends. I don't understand the mentality. But you know what? It's what they knew. When we hosted them, we asked them through a translator what they would like to be when they grow up. Christina and Alex had no idea. I've never heard of a child just not knowing what they want to be. Even the children in my preschool class want to be SOMETHING, even if it's a frog Prince. Jake did tell us he wanted to be a police officer. It took a very long time before our other ehildren would ever say what they want to be someday.

Today Christina dreams of serving an LDS mission to Greece, getting married, adopting a child from Africa, and even talks of becoming a pediatrician (after years of college!) She can do it, too. She's a bright girl and she's a girl who has learned how to dream, set goals, work hard, and how to accomplish what she can dream.

As for Alex, he found his dream job when we were in Mexico this past summer and saw a fire-breather on the street. Alex thought he was so cool, but wondered why he was doing it in the middle of the road. I explained that he was waiting for people to throw money to him. His eyes lit up as he almost yelped, "What a GREAT way to earn money!!!"

And Jake? He's going to marry a rich woman who likes to work, so he'll be provided for his whole life.

Luckily, we still have time.

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Preschool Information

Corky's Kids Hands-on Learning Preschool

My name is Corrine Ceran. I started teaching children to read when I was twelve years old and it was my job to help my little sister and her friend learn the basics. I’ve loved it ever since.  My school is Christian based with a focus on reading before Kindergarten. However, I love teaching all subjects and believe in a well-rounded education at all levels. I incorporate basic life skills with all our learning- kindness, helpfulness, listening, and trying again when we mess up as we learn letters and sounds, animals, people and places, math skills and on and on. My classses are small so I can focus on each child at their level. We do crafts that go along with our lessons and science experiements to get the ‘wow’ effect that comes with true learning. Call or text at 801-735-3526 with questions or to tour our little school.

Schedule

3-4 year old class: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 am-12 pm (8 students)

4-5 year old class: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-2:45 pm (10 students)

Classes start on August 20, 2019

Preschool graduation in on May 21, 2020

Prices

Tuition is $60 a month for the 3-4 year old class and $70 for the 4-5 year old class.
(August is half price.)

Registration is $40.00 and is due at the time of registration.
I also require a $13.00 set of 12 books for at-home reading. I will order them & the books are yours!

Class Schedule

AM class (3-4 year olds, 2 hours)

10:00 - 10:05 Greeting, shoes, coats off

10:05 -10:30 Circle time: Prayer, pledge, intro to letter/subject, blending, patterns, songs, etc.

10:30 -10:50 Writing time: Name, shapes, patterns, numbers, words, etc.

10:50 -10:55 Snack: crackers and water

10:55 -11:30 Activity: Create, play-dough, paint, cut, glue, color, science experiments, etc

11:30 - 11:50 Play/Individual reading with me (Half of the children read with me each play time.)

11:50 - 12:00 Clean up and ready to go

PM class (4-5 year olds, 2 hours 15 minutes)

12:30 -12:35 Greeting, shoes, coats off

12:35 -1:00 Circle time: Prayer, pledge, intro to letter/subject, blending, patterns, map, songs, etc.

1:00 - 1:20 Writing time: Name, shapes, patterns, numbers, words, etc.

1:20 - 1:25 Snack: crackers and water

1:25 - 2:00 Activity: Create, play-dough, paint, cut, glue, color, etc.

2:00 - 2:20 Play/Individual reading with me (Half of the children read with me each play time.)

2:20 - 2:35 Circle time review

2:35 - 2:45 Clean up and ready to go

Place

I have a preschool room in my home in Eagle Mountain City Center where each class is held. 

Caleb Ceran Missionary Fundraiser

Caleb is selling this picture he drew to raise money for his LDS mission to Mexico City! Yay!
It is the most loving drawing of President Monson I have ever seen! :)
He has 11x14s or 8x10s for $5.00. He is willing to mail them to you for $3.00 postage for up to five pictures. For each additional five pictures, it will be another $1.00. He would also be happy to arrange for pick-up.

Summer Routine Torture :)

 A summer routine idea is not an easy one for any of my children. They look forward to summer break almost as much as I do. But for my three adopted children, the idea of it is nearly unbearable. You see, Tina and Sir Al were sent to be hosted in Italy every summer because they lived in an orphanage/boarding school that closed down two times a year, one for summer and one for Christmas break. Jauco was sent to a place of "relaxation" called a sanatorium, a place I abhor. Nonetheless, the children were on "break," and "break" meant a break from everything for three full months. I don't share the same sentiment.

I was looking for something that would help decrease the contention level in our home., and with a bunch of teenagers and young adults now, I felt this is what would work well for our family. I require everyone who is home to participate.

(On Monday and Wednesday we start 30 minutes earlier to accommodate cross country.)

8:00 Family Devotional and Breakfast. This includes a song, prayer, and scripture study.

8:30 Learning Rotations. We have three rotations of 20 minutes each, and there are two to three in each group. They are as follows:
1) Piano practicing (whether they are taking lessons or not, and even though Tina told me it's taking up her childhood.)
2) Indexing (finding names from old records so those searching for their ancestors have access to them)
3) Personal Scripture Study

9:30 Chores and Bedroom

Then they are free!!!

Now really, that's not all that bad, is it? : )  : )   (Don't ask my poor poor children.)

An Example of My Garage Sale Deals

I love to check out yard sales and discount stores before going to a "real" store when I need something. This spring I have found two snow shovels from two different sales from people who were moving out of state. I've also found a rake, all sorts of gift wrap, and an easel for my preschool room. These are all great finds, but today I'm really excited about the finds I found for my son's birthday. Oh! I love a great deal!!! Remember I only buy things that are new looking and that I need anyway. Even then, my rule is that when I get home, I have to lose the same amount of stuff I found. :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

 

 

 Jauco's birthday presents looked so cute! All garage sale wrappings. too. And you know what? They were all in the boxes marked as free. (Okay, I know, the tall gift is too Christmassy, and I didn't notice until after the picture.)

 

 

This large stuffed frog, with tags, was one dollar! Jauco loves stuffed animals. He wasn't allowed to sleep with them in the orphanage, so he makes up for it here.

 

 

This craft kit was a nickel. Since Jauco loves crafts and dogs, I thought he'd like it. When he opened it, he said, "Why do I need a doll?!" A doll? Okay, a bit of a bomb-gift, but it was cute. ;)

 

 

I paid $2.00 for this brand new looking game. All of us loved it so much, Jauco finally took it away so it wouldn't get broken, which was disappointing to me because I loved it! :)

We also ventured to a REAL store and got the large dart gun for him he had asked for. He LOVED it! He loved everything, except the "doll." I loved having a nice birthday for under $30!

 







A Letter from Our Son

RED LETTER DAY!

"Dear Mom and Dad
Thank-you for adopting me. I had a wonderfull time with you. You're great parents and wonderfull people. Thank-you for keeping me safe. And trying to keep me happy. Thanks a lot.
your son
Alex"

I can't begin to tell you what this letter meant to Gary and me. It came about a year and a half after we brought our three children home from Ukraine. Those days have been filled with incredible ups and downs that only parents who have adopted older children from that part of the world can even imagine. The dynamics of our lives have changed dramatically, and I would never go back to how life was "before" this adventure started. I look at each of my children at different times and can't imagine life without any of them. I don't WANT to imagine life without them! Each person brings their own challenges with them; they also bring their own unique gifts to build and strengthen our family as a whole.

One day as I was having a  particularly difficult day with Alex, I felt so strongly that I was experiencing this specific time for my benefit, not his. This was a time for me to learn, grow, and develop. It is a kind Father in Heaven who brings people together to benefit from one another. I am not here to "save" Alex, only our Savior Jesus Christ can do that. I am here to help him, and he is here to help me. That's what being a family is all about.

It's wonderful to be part of a family, no matter how it was brought together.