Name: Jennifer
Age:      30
Home: Minnesota
Occupation:  Full-time accounts payable clerk, now SAHM and part-time accounts payable clerk

Family:  David, 31; Paul, 14 months; 2 dogs Sammi, 5; and Shelly, 3.

Hobbies:  As little time that I have, read self help books, groom my dogs, sit with a cup of coffee and enjoy the day, surf the web.

What Funny Things Do Your Kids Do/Say:
My son is at the stage where he gives open mouth kisses and he does this out of the blue.  It's so cute.

The Most Rewarding Thing About Parenting:
That I'm actually there to see him grow and be happy.  I was there when he took his first steps and was there for his first words.  This is what life is all about.

The Most Challenging Thing About Parenting:
You need a lot of patience.  And you need to have an open mind about everything.

Favorites:
We love to go camping.  My in-laws just gave us a pop-up camper for free.  My husband is a "jack of all trades" and he fixed the camper up, got the sink and stove working.  I helped clean it up and get it organized.  It will last forever and it was free. 

My son can not live without his Baby Einstein videos.  He has 6 so far and we check one out at the library. I like to sit a watch with him, its very relaxing.
We also go for walks as a family.  We take the dogs and the stroller and go to the nearest trail and walk. 

Money Saving Tips:
Have a budget and stick with it.  I don't use many coupons, but I watch the ads at my local grocery stores and I do shop at more than one.  I shop at Sam's Club also.   I also shop at Garage Sales.

Best Bargain Ever:
When the K-Mart store closed in our area, I purchased a sundress for myself for $1. My husband and I work at a company that employs 65 people and everybody knows everybody, one day I got a huge plastic bag of boy clothes for free from a nice co-worker,  sizes 18 months to 4T. 

In the Kitchen:
Try to bake/make everything from scratch. When its warm outside, I fry all my hamburger and chicken on the side burner of my grill. In the winter time, I use my bread machine and my oven more.

I will make a turkey on a Sunday and the turkey will last for 4 days in our house.  That's almost 8 meals out of one turkey.  The dogs will get the gravy and drippings and I will make casseroles, soup, sandwiches. 

Organization:
I go through my son's clothes every month and see if the free clothes will fit him and pack the smaller ones away.  I keep all our financial documents close at hand in a plastic file cabinet.