Welp lil' mamas...it's almost that time of year again. The bittersweet arrival of back-to-school time. For those who have children in traditional school settings, perhaps a sigh of relief ensues as the mama gains more hours in her day. For those of us that homeschool our children, a sigh of a different kind follows the realization that school is upon us yet again...and we prepare to lose a few more hours of our days.

Whichever route of education you have chosen, the time for emptying out the pockets will soon be arriving. Some will use their money for school supplies, some for private- school tuition, and others for spendy curriculum. As with all other areas in our lives, we can explore avenues of purchase that leave us with more dough to pad the savings account. Let's look at some of those ways now, shall we?

• School Clothing
All my little proteges should know this by now...but if you don't know yet...listen up. Buying new or full- priced clothing and shoes is just plain SILLY! We find ourselves being forced to pay full price because we put school shopping off until back-to- school sales begin...which means we think we're getting a good deal because the store runs a 10% off sale!

Girls, girls, girls! Repeat after me, "I only buy clothing off-season!" I have a rule of thumb for clothing purchases...never buy it unless it is 75% off or more.

Buy summer clothing during back-to-school sales, and winter clothing in the spring. Personally, because our family has four boys...we need only buy clothing for our eldest child. We buy off-season for him...paying about $3.00-$5.00 per item for shirts, pants, shorts, etc. We also buy sandals in the fall for all of our boys (if they need them) for about $5.00 for each pair, and winter boots in the spring for about $5.00 per pair. My husband buys his shorts in the fall for about $5.00 per pair, and also jeans/khakis in the spring for $5.00 per pair. Some of the best places I have found for clearance are:

Target

JC Penney's

Kohls

Mervyns

Wal-Mart

Marshall Fields

We also shop garage sales all summer long looking for shoes and clothing for the kids and ourselves. I recently nabbed five super cute shirts at a garage sale for myself at about 50 cents each. Wet Seal, Gap, and Old Navy were some of the brands of the shirts. Very cool!

• School Supplies
Believe it or not...you can find some pretty terrific back-to-school sales on school supplies. But...one caution...note the prices of the items before the sales. You may find that the "sale" is not really all that great.

Dollar stores are also great places to find school supplies. You can conjure up some nice notebooks, pencils, erasers etc. usually in bulk for only $1.00 Bulk packages mean you can take care of the needs for more than one child with one purchase.

If this is your first year of being frugal...don't forget to scam AFTER back-to-school sale clearance! The stores will inevitably have stocked their stores with TOO MUCH STUFF and you will benefit! Now is the time to buy next years school supplies.

• Lunches
We all remember the cafeteria meatloaf...don't we? Oh...and who can forget the hairnets!? ( I was thinking of getting myself one of those stylin' accessories!) Sure, it's easy to send your child with lunch money every week...who will miss a measly $5.00 per week, anyway? Well...for only one child...that adds up to $200.00 per year spent in lunch money. Multiply that cost by the number of children you have attending school, and you've got yourself a nice nest-egg for college savings!

Solution? Pack those lunches! I'm not talking Lunchables here. I'm talking leftovers, I'm talking a celery stalk filled with peanut butter or an apple, a lunchmeat, tuna fish or PB&J sandwich...and a thermos full of 100% fruit juice! Leftovers, of course, being the most economical choice of them all.

My husband has enjoyed leftovers for his lunches at work for 11 years now. As long as I make a good meal...he never complains! If I were not homeschooling my kids...I'd make an extended effort to cook extra food for dinner in order to have leftovers for lunches. They do have microwaves at schools nowadays, don't ya know??!!

• Curriculum
If you are a hip homeschoolin' mama...you know how expensive curriculum can be. Well, the same principle applies to curriculum as clothing...never buy new unless absolutely necessary. Do you know how many homeschool moms I talk to who say they bought this curriculum, and that curriculum but never liked it much. Well, in my area there are used homeschool curriculum sales a few times a year where moms just like that go to sell their stuff...and I'm there to take it off of their hands for about 50%- 75%...sometimes 90% off. Check your local homeschool support group for leads.

I also utilize the many awesome used homechool curriculum sites...my favorite of which I have placed a link below. Basically most sites list a database chock- full of awesome used curriculum and consumables, rating it by condition...at unbelievable prices.

Each state law differs...but in the state of Minnesota...each homeschool student receives $55.00 per year. We use our money to purchase new curriculum for the school year. Which is very nice considering it is much shinier and wonderful than anything I'd ever buy otherwise! We can even buy educational games too. So, check your state laws regarding homeschooling...and try to save some cash!

Miscarriage. Studies reveal that about 1 out of every 5 women who are recognized as pregnant end their pregnancy in miscarriage, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG),. I happen to be one of the 1 out of 5 women.

April 21st represented week 11 of my pregnancy, which meant I was scheduled for my first official doctor’s appointment. My husband and I were extremely excited to see our baby, and to hear its heartbeat. The day was a beautiful Spring day that was full of conversation about what it would be like to see our baby. Our doctor turned down the lights and described the procedures for the ultrasound. We were all silent as we looked intently on the monitor’s screen; we didn’t want to miss hearing anything! However, no matter how quiet we were, there was nothing to be heard. After what felt like a long time, my doctor gently placed her hand on my arm. She spoke with such gentleness, yet the truth of her words brought such sadness to us. As she looked at me with genuine compassion, she said, “I am very concerned.” She then when on to say that she didn’t see any movement on the screen, and that it was very uncommon to hear silence at this point in a pregnancy. Finally, she determined that our baby had died at age 6 weeks.

Although I knew miscarriage happened to some people, I didn’t want to think that I would be one of the 1 out of 5. I say I didn’t want to think about this for a reason. There were definitely days when I felt tormented by the fearful thoughts of a miscarriage. So, I decided to choose to think that I would not be one of the 1 out of 5 women. I chose to live by faith, which told me that it was time for us to have children, and that a healthy and full term baby was what was meant to be. I wanted to focus on what I believed to be true rather than on my own feelings and fears. I would still encourage this for anyone else, and think it was the best way to focus my thoughts, however it left me confused when I found out that what really happened didn’t match what I had hoped would happen. Has this ever happened to you? Whether with a miscarriage or with any other hope or dream you had? Have you ever believed something in the spiritual, faith realm, that didn’t seem to line up with what really happened in the natural, physical realm?

Throughout this painful, yet strengthening process I have learned that I still need to do what I did during my pregnancy. No matter what circumstances say and no matter what distractions arise, I need to choose to think about what I believe to be true. To put this into practice, every day I make the choice to think about being pregnant, one day soon; believing that it will happen. I focus on the vision and wait expectantly for it to occur. I was one of the 1 out of 5, but I am determined that soon I will be on the other side of this statistic!

Surely, my husband cannot be the only man on the planet who is propelled in life by the force of his hunger. This universal tendency toward the love of food must be a testosterone-y design thing. But, one thing I've noticed about my hubby is that the things which satisfy my hunger...chocolate, rice cakes, oatmeal cookies (basically anything with sugar & carbs in the same bite)...have NO effect on my husband and his appetite.

Before I knew I was lactose intolerant (Oh, curse the day!), my husband would ask me to purchase a gallon of ice cream at the grocery store for him. Well, I, as an obedient wife with absolutely no self-centered motives would bring home the ice cream. And, yes, maybe it was in my favorite flavor. And yes, perhaps I would have one little bowl after I unpacked the groceries.

Lo and behold, two days would go by...the ice cream sat silently in the freezer, untouched. So, thinking it was lonely, I would have one measly bowl. Two more days would pass, and the isolated ice cream would call out my name from its frigid cave...and like any empathetic woman...I would bring a bowl of it out and then bring it to my doting lips. This cycle would continue for two weeks...the ice cream needing me, and myself (the self-proclaimed frozen dairy foods philanthropist) would rescue it from its loneliness time and time again like some sick co-dependent. Until at the end of the two weeks, I would hear my husband call from the kitchen, "Who the heck ate all my ice cream?!"

Now, if that had been my ice cream...and I had asked my husband to bring it home for me...it would have been gone in about two days. But not my husband. He can let the stuff ride. He's always been this way. I can shove brownies, M&M's, or banana splits right in his face...and he says, "Not now. I don't feel like it. Maybe later." How does he do it?

Well, although my husband does not have a weakness for sweets and carbs like me...I have found his weakness...MEAT and POTATOES! I have learned that by cooking my husband a well-thought out meal...he feels the same way as I would feel had he given me a wad of cash with a smile saying, "Don't you need a new dress, honey? You should buy it in a smaller size though...it looks like you've been losing weight."

Such a simple thing to do...but we so often look at it as only another daunting task to perform. Let's love our husbands through their tummies this month gals. Sneakily ask him to tell you his favorite meal ever and surprise him with a nice sweat-off- the-brow meal beautifully displayed and served with love. Don't forget to splat flour on your nose and look flushed and pekid...we wouldn't want him to think that hubby tummy love is that easy, now would we?