the DIY movement, Puente style

I love having our nanny, Isabel, help me out four days a week. I've just got too many doctor's visits and safety issues to cut her back, but having full-time help isn't something many families on one income do because it definitely comes at a cost. Over the past year I've been looking at creative ways to save money and have come up with quite a list of crazy things that somehow 'work' for our situation. All of them are a bit of a hassle, but save quite a bit overall because I went for high expenses and quick substitutes.


For example, I had my goal to nurse for one year which I did (and am still doing!) I made my goal and never bought formula! I also don't buy baby food (well, maybe once or twice and we went through it before you could blink), but make everything the babies eat. It would be quite a hassle to chop and cut those fruits and veggies for just one baby, but somehow it seems easy (did I say easy? easiER) to make food for two and the savings add up. I also use old cloth diapers every now and then for about a week. We never hire sitters, but instead do sitter-swaps with friends. For dates we've been going on bike rides and walks and getting movie tickets from Costco. I've made our own yogurt for the babies and as a buttermilk substitute in pancakes and waffles, Ian makes our syrup and for the past few months and I recently went through my closet and started making a few repairs and accessory purchases rather than buying a new post-preggers wardrobe. I'm surprised that once I got it out of my head to solve problems by making a purchase, the world of funky DIY has opened to me. I always see if I can make it myself, recycle something, or use craigslist.
SO, the newest thing I have to add to the list is studio photos. I love having recent, nice photos of my kids and our family. A couple weeks ago I realized I could save on ever paying for a photographer again if I just learned how to use the Nikon D80 camera Ian got me for my birthday awhile back. Then I wouldn't have to make appointments and drive out somewhere and risk multiple meltdowns! I found an online class, which was perfect for me because I didn't have to be anywhere, by Maggie Holmes, a famous scrapbooker and professional photographer. The class was a bit of an investment, but it was equal to or way less than the cost of a location family shoot so I feel like I came out ahead. I just did my first family photo swap too. I took photos for our friends the Taylors and then Justin, who also recently took a photography class, took photos of us. We all came out with so many good shots. I thought they turned out well and look forward to doing another one. I'll try to post more later.


I also finally learned how to use my camera. Let's just say it's embarrassing how little I knew about it. I'm still perfecting a few things, like focus, but I got to practice a lot on my kids and when they got sick of that, on friends in the area. Here are some other shots. I have learned a ton and loved every minute of it! I'll try to post more later, I have quite a few good ones!




Now if I can only figure out how to get myself ready with hair done and makeup on before 7pm at night... wonder if there's a DIY solution for that.