What really gets me going...

It was never my intention to be a stay-at-home mom. Not that I ever gave it much thought.

I was 19 when I met my Main Squeeze. 20 when I married him. 21 when I got pregnant and gave birth to our first child.

I'm not one of those women who grew up with a clear picture in my head of all that I hoped I would be as a wife and mother. If anything, I thought I'd be a glamorous mom of one or two, perfectly juggling a great career, marriage, and motherhood.

In reality, I didn't really even get a chance to figure out who I was as an adult before I found myself raising another person.

And here I am, an at-home housewife and mama of five. Sometimes, I'm less than thrilled that this is my job. But, most days, I feel blessed beyond words.

Being home with my darlings is great. But the truth is, we have seven people in this house, living modestly on one income. It may sound like a complete nightmare to some people. (Again, nothing like what I pictured in my head years ago...)

But I've found joy in the challenge of making it all work.

I get high off of bargain hunting. I want to tell everyone I know how much I save when I bag a good deal. I love the buzz I feel when comparing what I could have spent with what I actually did spend.

It's become a game to me. Meal planning is not the chore that it is to some people. Grocery shopping...well, I could say I enjoy it, but I usually have three kids that are 3 & under with me. But grocery-list-making is fun, and the anticipation of grocery shopping is fun. The actual act of shopping with all of the little ones is...not as fun as it could be...but it's still one of my favorite things.

It helps that I also love to cook. I probably try something new 2-3 nights a week. But it's also possible to be a frugal, kitchen-savvy mommy if cooking is something you're learning to love.

If you feel that you are spending more of your family's money than you should be on groceries, take-out, and restaurants, I want to encourage you. It's not as hard as you may think. It may require some thought. It may require some time. But there are ways to customize the process for your family.

I've become a devoted follower of Money Saving Mom. She inspires me and gets me excited about how far my family's dollar can go. She has a lot of great ideas for how to make meal planning and living frugally a top priority.

I haven't been a very devoted blogger lately. But I promise to try and share more of what I'm learning in this journey of raising a lot of people on not a lot of money in the weeks to come.

As a mommy, what do you get excited about? What gets you going?