Can't believe it's only been two weeks...

I've missed a few days, I know, but nothing exciting has happened. Okay, so maybe a few things. We did decide on a house to rent. It's in a decent area and can look decent with a little elbow grease. It's definitely bigger than where we are right now. It has great bones and only one defect - the kitchen. I am so praying for favor in this situation - would be thrilled if the owner decides to replace the cabinets. I didn't bother to look at the stove; I'll just hope it's in great condition or I'll just buy a new one. We have decided to take the advice of Dave Ramsey and rent a "steal of a deal" for a year and pay off debt. With that said, I picked a really convenient time to choose to be a stay-at-home-mom. Like almost every other American out there, we have some debt - the worst being my student loans. After that we owe on our car more than what it's worth and another small bill. We did manage to pay off three credit card debts this past week. Budgeting is going to be of the utmost importance. Our goal is to purchase a house in a year with a decent down payment - with me still being home with the kiddos. No worries, I have a couple ideas that might allow me to help provide some extra income that will help pay down debt and build a deposit. (I'll let you in on that as the idea gets clearer.) Anyway, can't wait to move so I can plant a garden, any ideas as to what will thrive in the hot Florida sun? By the way, my son stated I haven't mentioned him in my blog - allow me to do so now. Ethan, guess who's going to help me with the garden? That's right; you are! Good night all!

I don't even know what day it is...

Wednesday...what a day! I feel so productive although the house does not reflect my productivity. That is typically the case though, isn't it? I have all of Emily's clothes on hangers and ready for the closet. Rylin's would have been but I ran out of hangers. I guess that tells you how backed up my laundry was. Anyway, not only did I tackle some laundry today but I got up and cooked a dozen eggs, a package of bacon, sausage, and biscuits. I made breakfast sandwiches for my husband so we can save money (he likes to stop and get fast-food on his way to work - no fair that his metabolism can take it but I'm not complaining). I let them cool and put them in the freezer. I then washed all of the fruit we bought and divided into snack size portions for my little ones. I even managed to sweep and mop the floor. Like I said before though, my house does not reflect my effort. I so wish I could snap my fingers and have an organized and spotless home. Don't laugh, yu all have thought the exact same thing at some point - if not right now. All that cleaning aside, I need some ideas for griddle-top cooking for dinner. I won't use my stove (that's a blog all on its' own), Any ideas? Aside from grilled cheese, burgers, and hot dogs (they've all been done).

Day 8/9

Okay, so I missed a day. Don't worry, nothing amazing happened. I was feeling a little under the weather and just didn't write anything. Forgive me? It looks as if we may have found a place to live. The house is less money than what we live in right now but the kitchen needs a little work. I told my husband we could move there but he has to be willing to replace the cabinets...for those of you who know me, you know I'm over cruddy kitchens. I know, I know...it's a rental. Why would anybody in their right mind put their own money into someone else's property? Well, that's how I intend to stay in my right mind. I'm resourceful when I need to be - which is all the time now. As far as the adventures within my current home -well, things haven't changed much. I commend those of you who have everything in their place at all times. I don't even know where there is a place for everything in my house. I need a master organizer. I am so going to purge half of the content in this house. Oh, I know what I was going to tell you all. I went grocery shopping "what,what" (that should be said in a higher pitched voice sounding similar to "whu-whut"). Don't get too excited though...I sent my husband with a list because I didn't feel well. Yep, he came back with items not on the list, items definitely not on sale, no BOGO, and off-brands (not the ones okay for using). I can't complain though - at least he went. Our budget was not adhered to either so next week I hope they are okay with ramon noodles. As for coupons? Yeah, I got them but there was nothing, I mean nothing, I could use. Anyway, enough drama for the day. Hopefully we will be settling into something more affordable soon, shopping with coupons, and saving money! Oh, and, toys and laundry will be put away.

The Weekend

Well, the weekend is the same for me as when I was a "working" mom. I still got up, attempted to clean, and went to breakfast with my family (this is one of our budgeted eating out spendings). As I write this I am sitting in church watching my husband practice for Praise & Worship this morning. I'm also watching my younger two and making sure they stay out if trouble before service starts at 10:30. Later today we will hopefully like the house we are going to see. I hope they don't mind us putting in a garden in the back yard - I'd really like to put in a chicken coop....I'll save that idea for later though (hope there's no HOA). Anyway, I still have the same list of stuff to do at home and I need to re-do the floors again. By the way, I am getting a paper with coupons and making my grocery list. I will save money this week! I will not exceed my food budget! (Hopefully, the food budget will help with the extra weight I have allowed). Hey, Kristin Mills, any suggestions for an awesome breakfast sandwich I can prepare in advance for my husband to take on the way to work? For everyone else, Kristin has a great page/blog with lots of money saving hints, amongst other things. I'm on my iPhone right now so I'm not sure the link will come through. Www.honeycombmoms.com Have a blessed rest of the weekend!

Day 5 02/15/2013

Okay, I admit it...by 3:00 PM I become lazy.  It's official.  I have to get up at 5:00 in the morning in order to be somewhat productive, the only problem is, I don't want to leave my sleeping husband in the bed.  One couch is emptied of all the clothes but the other one is completely occupied.  Socks still sit in the basket and toys still adorn the table.  I do not foresee this being done tonight.  The only productive thing done today was getting an application for a charter school for Emily and looking at a couple of houses that will fit into our new budget.  Now that I am on the topic of budgets, I love how my bank tracks all of my purchases and categorizes them showing where I have spent my money.  I have bought one too many sweet teas from Mickey D's.  I will not disclose the amount of money my family has spent on fast food, restaurants, or groceries; however, I will tell you December and January amounts surpassed rent each month.  We are in serious need of a budget - that will be the easy part...sticking to it is going to be tough.  Good-night all!  I'm hoping I wake up full of energy and a desire to put away toys and socks!

Day 4 02/14/2013

Happy Valentine's Day!  My husband did not have a job scheduled for today so we got to spend the day together.  So, it goes without saying but, laundry still claims the couches and toys still have the table.  He and I actually left the house for the day in search of a new house.  The budget is so different now that my salary is taken out of the equation.  Has anyone else made this transition from work to home?  How long before the novelty of it all wore off?  No, I'm not saying it has all wore off...yet.  I just wish I would have worked a little longer so that I could have paid somebody to clean my house when I did decide to stay home.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Day 3 02/13/2013

Where to start...today was a non-productive day in my house.  Good intentions don't do much for you in the way of getting things done.  My table is still full of toys and the sock basket (although full of matching socks) still sits in the living room along with the rest of my families' clothing.  I truly intended to put it all away but then my sister called and said "want to meet up at Target and get lunch?" - how do you turn that down?  My husband would tell you with discipline.  He taught a whole lesson tonight on burning frogs, and yes, it all tied into discipline.  Basically, if you take a frog and stick it in boiling water, it's going to fight to get out of the water; however, if you simply set the water on low heat and put the frog in, he'll hang out for a bit.  You can then gradually increase the heat and the frog doesn't realize his luke warm bath is turning into an inferno of bubbling water...poor frog.  Well, it seems I am that poor frog.  I have gradually allowed my house, meal preparation, laundry and many other things to boil up.  It's time for discipline...I don't even like frog legs.  Anyway, I have this friend, Kristen.  Now Kristen, she is disciplined.  This girl plans out her meals a month in advance, every day holds tasks with checklists in hand. Kristen and her daughter coupon cut and always save a ton of money.  They make their own detergent amongst other things. I'm not saying I want to be Kristen, I  just want some of that discipline.  Kristen and I have been friends for a few years now and I'm sure she wouldn't mind me mentioning her, so don't worry that I might be upsetting someone or hurting someones feelings.  She has traits I admire.  There is nothing wrong with finding out how other people do things if it makes life easier.  Some things I would like to incorporate is menu planning.  I'm not looking to start a whole monthly menu - I'm doing good if I can get three days in a row; however, I am going to discipline myself. This weekend I am actually going to put together a menu for the upcoming week, make a grocery list and actually go shopping---coupons will come later.  My goal this week is still tackling toys and laundry.  So, I end today with a question - how many of you are soaking frogs, like myself?

Disclaimer - No frogs have ever been harmed in our household...

Day 2 - 02/12/13

Okay, so I am up super early this morning.  Coffee in hand, Emily is in school, Rylin is underfoot.  I look at the mound of toys sitting on my dining room table and realize I am not ready  to conquer this.  At work, I was able to delegate.  I could have easily delegated the task of toy organization to one of my employees - too bad I am the only employee in the household at the moment.  Instead of toys, I decide to tackle laundry.  I'm feeling great - all of my laundry is washed and folded -now I need to remove it from the couches and put it away (as I write this, it is still sitting on the couches while my husband sits on the floor).  Part of laundry is what we call the "sock bag" in my house.  I have this giant red bag that I throw all loose socks in, you know, the ones you can never find a match for but you know it's there somewhere.  I have come to terms that I am a hoarder where socks are concerned.  I have mated as many socks as possible but I am still missing a ton.  I know I should just pick them up and throw them out but I can't bring myself to do it - I know the missing are out there.  So, believe it or not, day two was simply laundry day.  Day three has to be putting laundry and toys away and maybe conquering the kitchen... Pretty soon I have to get to the reason why I am staying home to begin with; so far, poor Rylin has learned the art/skill of matching socks.  That counts, right?

Day 1 02/11/13

So, I've made the decision to be a stay at home mom.  After working all day with other peoples children and making sure they were well provided for, by the time I made it home to mine, I was spent.  Cooking dinner?  What's that?  Quite frankly, I'm sick of going out to eat; however, it was the fastest and easiest way for me to get all of my children around the table at the same time and have a full-blown conversation.  Yes, the server may interject here or there, but at least the children were getting a hot meal and undivided attention - and I didn't have to clean up the mess.  The decision to stay home was very difficult for my husband and I to make.  First, I am a tad bit of a control freak.  I had to relinquish control of everything I had built up at work.  Secondly,  we knew financially it would be a strain.  We prayed long and hard about the decision and took a leap of faith.  I almost chickened out (didn't f let up on the control) and took a part-time position so I could still be there and still be home more with my children.  I'll tell yo what though, God wanted nothing to do with that option and shut the door within minutes of me accepting the "new" position.

Anyway,  this blog is just a look into the transition of working outside of the home to working inside the home.  So, here goes:

Day One:

I have conquered the world - well, at least the living room and all of the floors.  I swear my house turned into that of a bachelor pad while I was working.  It took me a whole day to sweep and steam clean the living room, kitchen, dining room, and foyer.   I have picked up all the toys off the floor and under the couches.  I cleaned off the dining room table only to load it up with all the toys I picked up.  Day two goal will be to go through and organize all of these toys while my Toddler runs underfoot.  When I look back at the whole day, I realize not nearly as much as I wanted to accomplish was done today.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.