Viruses

As if feeling poorly myself wasn't enough, the night of my last post we were hit by a virus of another sort. The kind that finds its host not the warm blooded, but in cold, heartless black screens and hard drives. A worm that devours and regurgitates computer systems for supper, had it's feast on mine. And then enjoyed leftovers for the following week.

My computer has not fully recovered yet, and may never be the same. I know I wouldn't be if I were eaten from the inside out.

I figured I might better post something before my computer realizes it is actually working, especially since my last post was written as it was. I wouldn't want you to think I had up and died or something.

We are well. Chilly but well.

In my blogging absence....

~ Panda went and moved further along into boyhood, celebrating his third birthday. He has never once looked back.

~I planted buttercups, grape hyacinths and transplanted irises right in the doorway so that, eventually, you'll have to walk through a flower tunnel just to get in! (What a lovely thought!)

~I started seeds...lots of seeds.

~I cleaned out my potting shed work area. Next stop~the fun part. Making it not just tidy-but MINE.

~I discovered a few random bulbs around the yard that I didn't put there. I'll be digging them up and putting them where they can be seen too.

~Homemade lemonade is now in rotation. Warmer weather MUST be on its way!

~I hosted my first outdoor luncheon of the year, to celebrate my parents' 34th wedding anniversary. Chickens clucked at our feet.

~My sewing machine was returned to me in good working order. Turns out, it just needed cleaning and some minor adjustments made. (Too bad it took four months to finally figure that out... Please. DON'T ASK)

I bet you can guess what I am going to be doing this afternoon......

The Panda turned three

~oh yes. I am VERY clever, aren't I? To include a THREE in the photo. I'm just SURE no one saw THAT one coming....~

He is my brown-eyed, bear-hugging joy.

Tractors and trails and puppy dog tails

Andrew asked for a tractor cake this year, after switching on and off with the notion of an owl cake for about two months. It seems, the cake is a VITAL part of the celebration and needs to be thought about often in order to ensure the PERFECT pick.

I toyed with the options. I could make a 3D shape one, but frosting the dumb thing seemed too----strenuous? I could buy a tractor shaped pan-but that would cost money. Next I thought~I'll decorate the cake with a frontal view of a tractor using icing and then put a cut out photo of Andrew as the driver. But then, I screwed my head on the right way and realized-there just ain't no way I could draw a realistic (or even cartoony) tractor with icing.

So once again. Lazy bones Mama takes the easy way out. I raided the toybox and found one of his toy tractors.

But, plopping a toy tractor on a cake just doesn't give it the proper birthday OOMPH! So I decided to try my hand at fondant.

(I know about fondant now, because one evening while visiting my inlaws, they had the TV on to a show about extreme cakes and oh.my.goodness. I have never seen such amazing craziness in all my life. I left there house wanting. yearning. PINING to try out fondant.)

As I suspected, fondant is super fun to play with. Like edible playdough. Only problem is~I don't much like the taste. It lacks pizazz. Nevertheless, the fun factor makes up for the flavor and without it, I couldn't have created NEARLY as nice a three-dimensional garden as I did! I mean, BEAN teepee?! Try to do THAT with icing!



The insides were carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The soil was cookie crumbs. The grass was green coconut.

And the BOY played with the tractor like he had never seen it before and asked for seconds on vegetables.


We had meatloaf and mashed taters on the patio for dinner under a golden sunset and the children danced and danced while waiting for me to finish the sherbert punch cups I made specially for the celebration.



Papa had to work late so the cake cutting was well-anticipated. Now was about the time my head began to hurt, so that put a kabash on the photos of opening presents. That's ok~present opening doesn't last very long at our house anyway.

My personal favorite of Andrew's gifts was the one wrapped in a tissue and tied with a pink ribbon. It was a piece of coal.

From his sister.

Coal, scouted out and discovered in our basement among gravel fragments, is a real treasure round here. No need to spoil the fun with reality.

a few more from the park

...because, a sunny day is worth celebrating twice.

In bed

...that's where I have been most of the day, and where I am headed to again.

My head feels like it is splitting in two. When I stand and (try to) walk it feels more like 24 pieces. I think it would be pretty comfortable to have a crow come and pluck out my eyeballs right about now.

It is fitting that my last post was about how grown-up Corynn is getting because it was her who made breakfast this morning, helped Andrew get dressed, did animal chores and left a cup of iced tea on my bedside this morning. It was also she who prayed that I'd get feeling better this afternoon at lunch.

What would I do without her?!

Growing Up

I took this picture but wasn't prepared for what I found when I retrieved it from the camera. I took it because the girls had their arms around each other; at that moment, that is all I saw. Buw when I looked closer into this photo, and particularly at my Little Miss, I realized I had gotten a glimpse of what my dear girl is going to look like all growed up as a young lady. The truth is, she is well on her way.

One evening two weeks ago, I was fluttering about the kitchen trying to get dinner on the table when Adele' decided it was her dinnertime too. Too much was happening to stop and nurse her so I asked Corynn to hold her in the kitchen and sway with her, standing up. Standing UP holding the baby is a feat that had not been allowed up until that point. My, how she swelled with pride at being "big enough". The idea was that drastic times call for drastic measures, but in Corynn's mind, if she could do it once and she did it well, she ought to be able to do it again.

I s'pose she's on to something.

Thus the start of her standing up while holding the baby. Still, I feared her walking around with Adele' in case she tripped or something. But eventually, walking happened. At first it was just walking about the living room but slowly THAT evolved into everywhere, even on walks outside. She takes tremendous pride in holding her sister and now asks (incessantly, ugh) to hold her. All the time. Every moment. (Did I mention always?) At some point, I WOULD like to hold my own baby, you know!

She is a perfectly good little Mama, and as inconvenient as her constant requests can be, I wouldn't want it any other way. She shushes, bounces and soothes babies like even the most loving Mama, but now she gets a REAL doll to do it to.

And you know what? The REAL doll will shush for her, laugh at her, and appreciates her love. Adele' has even fallen fast asleep in her arms before!

Now. If only Adele' would do that for ME! ;-)

This here perfectly fits my children...

Glitterfy.com - Photo Flipbooks

I COULD

I *COULD* wait until tomorrow to post this picture...

But I won't.

Because if I don't share the sweetness this very minute, I fear I might explode.

OR, get a cavity.

Fickle March

March was generous this past weekend, with its warmth and sunshine. So much so, bare toesies made their way out of muck boots and footies for a roadside picnic lunch. And snack time, come to think of it.

As you can see, Bitty baby still has that funny little curled toe. Oh my, I do love baby feet. I can't wait to see more of these little piggies about.

I *tried* to get caught up on laundry over the weekend. A broken washing machine for TWO weeks wrecks a bit more havoc than I first realized. I still am not caught up, but close. And besides, being able to hang laundry up outside soothes my temper. Those of you who guessed clothesline the other day...ya'll are smartypants. Matt built me a new clothesline for this home of ours, and built my own design again this time--with an added child line, but with a few alterations. This time I get FOUR lines, and the children have TWO. We are, after all, a growing family! ;-)

Saturday night we had our first patio dinner of the year.

This morning, though, we woke up to falling flakes.

:-(

The Strategy

Yesterday I told you the joys and sorrows we faced when we got out of debt, only to get back in it. I told you the hows and whys of all. And then I told you about the turning point.

The moment eventually came but only after many MORE moments pouring over books, listening to the wisdom of biblical advisers and nights laying in bed talking to Matt about what I had been reading. Dave Ramsey was the guy behind all the books and he really made sense! What I especially liked about one of his books entitled The Total Money Makeover, he shared tons of success stories. People who had royally screwed up and not only had rebuilt their lives (albeit the hard way) but were now thriving with money AND happiness. These poor people had such incredible debt I can not EVEN fathom it. Double and triple the amount of money Matt EARNS in a year. Our one measly credit card balance didn't seem all that terrible compared to THEM, and THEY did it! SURELY, we could get out of debt too!

But I realized, I don't just want to get out of debt. Been there, done that.

I wanted more. I want our family to THRIVE. I didn't ever want to NEED to use a credit card again. I want to think less of the here and now, and more of the future. Can something so radical be done? Can something so radical be done with a family who has what most would consider a very modest single-income? Could something so radical happen to a family who would love nothing more than to have a whole passel of children running about? It certainly could, CAN and WILL--but only with the RIGHT tools and the RIGHT plan.

That plan requires a whole new mindset of us. It takes us out of the defense and puts us in the offense. We are no longer reactionary, but PROACTIVE.

Anyone familiar with Dave Ramsey knows his Seven Steps to Financial Freedom, so I am writing nothing new.

The very first step for ME that was necessary was to recognize the part I played and repent. At the time this all transpired, Matt was making more money than he ever has. We came to that job from years of working jobs that barely paid the rent and years of me struggling to make money stretch in ways it just can't. I remember my sister loaning me money for groceries one day, we were that poor.

When he got that new higher-paying job, we let loose! Oh MAN it felt good! We bought pizza, we went out to eat, we spent money. We earned more than we ever had, and despite getting out of debt, there was nothing to show for it. We had no savings, we weren't PLANNING for the future. Well sure enough--the future comes. I say this because, credit card debt was not the only issue that needed to be worked through. Maybe the credit card was in Matt's wallet and I never touched the thing. That didn't negate me from the situation. That was just the apple on the tree. I needed to get to the root of the problem-to cut down the TRUNK of the tree-which was me. I was the trunk of the tree by foolishly allowing hard earned resources to fly like a brittle fall leaf on the wind.

Letting so much money fly out of our fingertips on foolish things without planning for the future made the meeting not so pleasant when those necessary costs met us head on. There was no fall back, no money set aside because we had used it on pizza or REALLY cheap clothes (but they were only $2.00!!!) I remember working it all out and had I budgeted and dealt with our finances responsibly, we could have saved an unsightly amount of money each year~like LOTS (Matt asked me not to write specific numbers but in this case, I wish I could because. oh my goodness). Realizing that number and seeing what we actually had literally made me sick to my stomach. It took a long time, but I knew I had to actually FORGIVE myself too. The numbers haunted my dreams and I saw very clearly my shortcomings and I beat myself up about it to within an inch of my life. Even now at times, I cringe and what could have been. I try to quickly squash those feelings though, because they are not at all productive.

We established our emergency money right away and began our debt payoff.

I had a lot of trepidation about starting a zero-based budget though, and really did drag my feet in that area. It seemed too hard, too foreign to me. I had never ever done a budget before. I had never ever (even in our poorer than dirt days) accounted for every dollar spent and/or allotted money for different areas. This was all new and terrifying to me and I DID NOT WANT TO DO IT.

But I did do it, knowing that change needed to be made.

I sat sweating, fingers computing and recomputing calculator numbers many a night until I finally figured out just where our money was going and where it NEEDED to go. I filed my debit card away and created envelopes instead, labeled 'em, planned what money needed to stay in the account and what needed to be divvied out. I made revision after revision and note after note.

Now, almost four months later, I realize this is the single most important change in our financial gameplan. Here is why.

A zero-based budget means every single dollar spent is accounted for and divvied out and "spent" (in theory). This means I was IMMEDIATELY required to have self-control, I was FORCED to pay attention to how much I was spending and it was absolutely NECESSARY not to spend more than was allowed. Unless of course, I wanted to pay late and over-drawn fees. Trust me, I don't. I have stories about those, too.

In my zero-based budget, I not only accounted for monthly expenses (rent, utilities, debt reduction, car, etc.) but FUTURE expenses. (See?! PROACTIVE!) I created envelopes (LOTS of 'em!) that would ensure that when the need arose (and it inevitably will) I can have it covered, ELIMINATING the need for any plastic credit card buffer!!! Isn't it a BEAUTIFUL thing?!

Some people make categories and work out the details without using envelopes and that is something that would be wonderful for me to do someday (using envelopes can illicit the most horrifying stares!) but right now, for me, I need the TANGIBLE reminder to stay on target and the touchable proof of improvement as the amount of bills add up. I still need to force myself into financial submission. ;-)

The only money that stays in our account is for tithe, rent, utilities, life insurance, Netflix and debt pay off. Everything else is divvied up into envelopes. These are my cash categories.

Saving
Food
CVS
GAS
Clothing
Medical/Health
Personal
Recreational
Preparedness (food supply, grain mill, garden seeds, etc.)
Homestead (animals, animal feed, tractor equiptment)
Entertaining/Gifts

There are several categories I would like to add, but am waiting until the credit card is paid off and that cash is freed up. One is a homeschooling envelope for curriculum and supplies. Any envelope system fans out there? I'd love to know what's in YOUR wallet?! That is, what categories you have created.

What isn't SPENT in a category simply rolls over until the money is needed. Again, self-control is necessary not to raid envelopes simply because the cash is there. (I am practicing!)

What I love about this system is that I don't FEEL limited in my spending (It's like those diets that promise you can eat all the food you normally do while still losing weight. Only this works! hehe) and I don't feel GUILTY when I go to buy needed shoes for the children. Because the money is already there and had been planned for! I also love the recreational envelope...because that is a really fun one! ;-)

My husband has changed jobs twice since the time of the higher paying (for us) job, and with each move he has taken a drastic pay cut. We are now working with almost half the salary that he had been getting before but you know what? I have never been more EXCITED or at EASE about our finances before.

I am writing all this here in as transparent a way that I am allowed and admitting my own mistakes in PUBLIC (man, I AM insane!), in order to encourage us all to be better stewards with our money and to debunk a few myths even I fell for up until recently.

Myth #1) "If only we made more money, we wouldn't be in this mess..." DEBUNKED. It isn't about the amount of money you make-it's about your mindset.

Myth #2) "If you have are debt-free, who cares about a budget?" DEBUNKED. You still need to know where your money is going.

Myth #3) "If only I were debt-free it would be okay". Being debt-free is NOT enough...you also need to be PREPARING for the future!

Myth #4) "It's all the credit cards fault!" DEBUNKED. We need to stand up and give accountability for our own shortcomings. Nothing can change unless we are honest with ourselves.

Myth #5) "It's impossible to live a happy, luxurious life on a modest single-income with lots of children."

You just keep visiting this blog from time to time and I hope you'll see how untrue that is.

Good thing I'm Limber

I've shared many of my 2009 resolutions with you up until this point, and knowing that money/financial issues are ALWAYS a constant goal of mine, it seems curious that I haven't mentioned anything up until this point. Here it is MARCH, and not a word has been spoken on the subject.

But it has certainly been on my mind, as is evidenced by my Book List readings for January.

During this time, I've come to a certain conclusion.

I can't trust anything that I say!!

As sure as the sun sets, I end up putting my foot in my mouth and feasting on my own words.

So it is this year.

Here is our story...

Nearly two years ago, I addressed, licked and piled up envelopes containing the very last of our debts; piled them in the mailbox and said good riddance (with a smile) to the last of our debt payments. NO more school loans. No more credit card bill. Oh, it was a joyful time! Four years of hard work on Matt's part and mine, and we were free as birds. Unfortunately, it was short-lived.

What was our mistake? I didn't cut that dumb credit card up right then and there.

It wasn't long before gas prices went up, Matt bought an "investment" tractor to rebuild and resell (before, naturally, we moved to a farm and actually NEEDED the thing), and we had to move~creating moving expenses AND requiring obtaining a fridge and a cookstove. In a nutshell, LIFE happened and we were "in the hole". ONCE AGAIN.

Writing this really stinks. Like mind-numbing, heart dropping stinks. But FEELING the disappointment of the situation is far more painful.

Now some people are adamantly opposed to credit cards. "They are from the DEVIL!" they cry. I vividly recall a time during this blogs lifetime that I responded to the battle cry, being all-wise and all-knowing, stating in turn: "Silly people. Credit cards are not of the devil! They are tools that are misused, just as the internet or television can be. They are neither good nor bad, it is how we use them that determines their effect. The weakness of those poor souls who have no control are the ones that give credit cards a bad name."

My views on that haven't changed too awful much....credit cards are still just a tool. Between the time of that writing and now, those handy plastic squares haven't turned into living, breathing, BUYING beings. They are still just little bits of plastic. Nothing there has changed, because blame can not be placed on inanimate objects. We are to accept praise or blame for our actions and no others. The sooner we get our heads around THAT, the better. I will not place blame on something that cannot be blamed. Our weakness is our own. Where my foot chomping has taken place is with the realization that our family doesn't HAVE power over the plastic. Obviously.

(*Please note I did not say credit cards are from the devil. I am speaking not of EVERYONE, but of MY family. If there actually ARE people who can cohabitate with credit and use it wisely, then by all means~ triple cheers for you! You are a stronger person than I! I don't want nasty grams saying I said something I didn't say. Capeesh? winky wink)

Qualifications written: check.

Now~back to the story.

Matt and I are simplistic people. We aren't consumer-driven. We rarely buy new clothes, and only then if they are on deep discount. We don't buy each other expensive anniversary gifts, or Christmas gifts or birthday gifts or anytime gifts. We don't give our children lots of toys, expensive toys, or even TOYS actually. (Slight exaggeration added for humor. Yes, our children have toys.) We don't eat out all the time (waaaahhhh!), have expensive hobbies, pay for 5,000 channels on the tele. I cut coupons, shop CVS and discount stores and make homemade from-scratch dishes from homecanned and gardened goods. We do not feel entitled, in fact, we try to AVOID buying excess in order to declutter our lives. SO how is it, then, that we built debt up again?

I pondered this for quite a while. I had envisioned debt-laden people being clothed in discontent with sores of oozing consumerism all over their body, and only just realized that 'good' people can struggle with it too. I realized too, our game plan just didn't cut it. We needed a new strategy. There simply MUST be a better way.

At Christmastime, I knew something had to change. So I started reading and borrowing books from the library and listening to youtube videos on Dave Ramsey and all that jazz. By January 15th (our first payday of the new year) I had a budget organized and envelopes labeled.

Where our old gameplan had been use the credit card for NECESSARY purchases only and pay off ASAP, we decided our new game plan HAD to be: get an emergency fund and budget the expenses so when they happened, we wouldn't be scrounging for money....or plastic.

How's it working out for us?

I'll tell you...

tomorrow. :-)

Free Entertainment

...is never lacking when you have an adoring older brother and sister.

Ways to use oldish/stale bread

Recently my trips to Aldi have coincided *perfectly* with their bread sales of prices 50% off. That is, 50% off loaves of 12 grain bread that only cost a little over a dollar anyway. The same bread would be over $3.00 at the "regular" grocery store. Included in these sales were wheat bread, 12 grain, english muffins, bagels, etc. To get English muffins and bagels for .40 cents a PIECE? I loaded my cart up with them, fearing the deals would be gone at my next visit.

I stocked my freezer. FULL.

Then on Sunday, a gluten-free family brought in a BOX of breads that their family happened upon but could not use and another family brought more bread than was necessary at the potluck. It was divvied out and I was a large recipient. Who can say no to Rye and Pumperknickel and Marble bread, I ask?!? Surely not I!

But when I got home--I could not squeeze another loaf into the freezer if it would save my life. On the counter it all sat, until something could be done to it because I refuse to waste even a crumb of such delicious bread.

We've had plenty of elegant sandwiches using elegant breads we don't often get (BLTs on marble loaf were my most favorite in college and I ate them every single day---ahhhh, those were the days!), made a nice celebratory batch of rye dip, and took plenty of snitches just to nibble...but even then-it is a race to use it all before it goes bad. After all, these breads were already day-old when THEY first received them!

I've compiled a list of things to do with stale bread; things I have done in the past and things I plan to do in the future.

Make HASTE, not WASTE!

~ Make a strata

~Sliced day-old bread actually does better than fresh in making French toast

~ Smother it with Sausage Gravy (or any kind of gravy really) and you'll never notice!

~Bagels can be made into bagel chips

~English muffins (or bagels) can be turned into pizzas

~ Homemade stuffing will make you never open those sacreligious boxes ever again.

~Croutons

~Bread crumbs

~ Bread pudding. (I've never done this one before, but it would do the trick. I just don't know if it would TASTE good while doing it! hehe)

~Make French Onion Soup and let it swim!

~ Make crispy Garlic bread

~Milk Toast is something (I just learned) Matt grew up with on his SICK days. I had never heard of it before but apparently it does very well for tummy troubles. Make toast and then soak it with warm milk. Eat it with a spoon. Has anyone else heard of this or tried it? I'd love to know more about it...

~~~~~

If you find yourself with just an end piece of bread here and there, don't despair but don't waste it! You can pop it into a freezer bag and continue to do so until the bag is full, then use the frozen bits all at once.

~~~~~

To revive not too-far-gone bread, I often will microwave it for 30 seconds with a wet paper towel overtop of the bread. It warms and softens it, but you need to eat it relatively soon afterward.

GOOD things

It's been an eventful week. So much has been accomplished this past week, which is incredibly remarkable considering that half of the week was spent away from home attending funerals and services. One noteworthy thing that was NOT accomplished was...

Laundry.

That is the up side.

The downside is this: the bathroom door will no longer open because of the Mount Everest pile of clothing. I can hardly walk into my bedroom, too.
And this: My children had to wear the same church clothes to TWO funerals on TWO different days last week. While my sisters' children wore pristine, newly bought MATCHING outfits (*swoon*). Oh my. I am the embarassment of the family, I know. The runt and the reject, that's me.
And this: Adele has no more onesies, long sleeve shirts and only one pair of pants left clean. She has plenty of short sleeve dresses-if only the weather would warm up! Poor girl is soon going to have to be wrapped in swaddling clothes. AGAIN.

On to the actual ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Matt finally got the stubborn tractor running. He bought it last year. Not running. And fixed it. And fixed it. And fixed it. But the stubborn thing never did start. Until this past weekend. A nice new spiffy coat of paint and Matt will be living it large with a real diesel powered tractor!

Yeehaw!

Hm. Matt (again...what?! Wasn't I productive this past week?!?!) also began another project for me this week: any guesses on what project THAT might be? (If anyone guesses right, it will be you Paula!)


But by far, the MOST noteworthy of all accomplishments is this:

WE GOT CHICKENS!

It's actually a funny story. We fixed up our chicken house and were then asked by a family at church who had recently moved to be "chicken sitters" until they built a chicken coop at their NEW home.

SO, we get the beneficial task of starting our poultry raising with actual LAYING hens (instant gratification) and get some eggs WITHOUT buying the grain! We have some chicks coming in May-and then we will have our own herd? Gaggle? Family?

The children are SO loving it. In fact...do I still even HAVE children? The newest game is to gather the WARMEST egg. They practically PULL the things out of the chickens! hehe

It's a good life.

The Henhouse MANSION

This henhouse is approximately the same size as our first two homes.

Maybe bigger.



This is a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL sight to me. Not just because it is dream turned reality, but because of the drastic change it required to GET this way. If you could have seen how it looked before, you'd understand the pride we take in it now. Oh wait. You CAN-just scroll down.

That is, if you dare.

Matt chisled about 5 inches of compact chicken mess out of here before laying fresh sawdust and hay. I wish I would have taken a picture of it before the sawdust and hay. The concrete looked so amazing.

Yes-I just said concrete looked amazing.

He created roosts for the chicken out of some tree branches and limbs. The short one in the corner is for the chicken breed "silkie" who can't fly. wha ha ha ha

He also moved the nesting boxes to the screen so we can see when the chickens have laid eggs on the OTHER side of the pen. See how pristine the wire looks? That was all me, baby!

Our abundant blessings are made so evident with this chickenhouse. Not only did we have an existing structure to work with, it was a large, FANCY tin walled structure. Not only were there workable supplied like nesting boxes-but WOAH! A TEN boxer! Fancy schmancy. We could not have afforded to buy even a FIVE boxer at this point, so I would have been pleased with an awful rusty single box!

We are able to have chickens now, and at only the cost of our sweat!

Matt also used scrapwood from the house projects to build a chicken door and to make them a little runway...which they hate. The finnicky girls, in true girl fashion, like to strut their stuff right out the big PERSON door to make sure EVERYBODY notices them!

This is a view inside the door to the chicken house. Isn't that floor just wonderful!

An amazing difference.

You will be seeing this room more often because this is going to be turned into MY outdoor space. A GARDEN Room! A Potting Shed! An outdoor workroom! (I can't decide which is more romantic to call it...)

More to come on that soon!