Podcasts!

Hey! I've decided to try to resurface to the bogging world again!

I wish I could say the last few months were full of All these amazing projects that I'll now share with you....but that would be a lie! I just let life be my priority!!
Any of you read young house love? I miss that blog seriously every single day! I looked forward every morning to their new posts..... That is sadly a thing of the past.

However they now have a podcast!!!

You should listen it it! I'm in love!!!!!!

This week has got me motivated to blog and share about myself again. 

On episode 3 they talk about the scrubber vs the the tidier. I am totally the latter. 

I love it when everything has its own place. Greatful my handsome hubby is the cleaner!! He will dust and vacuum and get every thing looking amazing! Honestly I swear we would never have a clean mirror if it wasn't for him!! This however can cause for some less then perfect conflicts.   I would love it if he would "clean the house" and when I get home, he has dusted and cleaned the mirrors, however the kids toys are still all over the place! :D One of thous amazing things about marriage.  Learning about each others differences. 

So you can join in on their poll here on their webpage!

Show them your love and if you haven't read their blog OR books check them out!!!

And now up and on to my finance portion of the blog! :D Check out the HerMoney podcast.  Not my 100% fav one on choosing how to spend money and getting funds taken care of however a great addition to my Dave Ramsey ones.  (conversation for another day)

I went to a woman's meeting at my work and was able to hear from 4 amazing successful women.  I work for a pretty amazing company where the CEO, President, Site manager, and director are all female.  Even though I work in the business of "men" we are a little unique on that front.  That being said many women in today's world are either in charge of the "budget" or make sure that things are there for the family but forget about themselves.  Welcome to being a MOM!!!
This podcast is more about investing and less about the idea of money and spending and saving. I love that it discusses what it is like to be a working woman and how to save for retirement .  Currently I work in retirements and woman are often pushed to the side and defer to their husbands.  I am TOTALLY one of these people and I see that there is not a problem for this to be an open conversation.  However that is not the case.  Women live much longer then men, 7 yr average, and when the husband dies, often the wife will defer to their children, who are from a different generation.  I much prefer planning together.

Well here are my recommendations on what I've been listening too!

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Fire and Life

Sitting by a fire is one of my favorite places to be.  In the winter it is snuggled up inside with a big blanket and a cup of hot tea.  
In the summer it is under a sky full of stars with a cracking fire and a drink in my hand.  Nothing else is needed.

As I write this I am sitting by the latter with boys in a tent about 10 feet away in my back yard, with a fire blazing!
It's been so long since I last posted it feels as thought its almost as if starting a new chapter.  Our house is home.  And with all of its MANY FLAWS!!! Yes there are many and I will get back to sharing them, and how we deal with that soon but for now I think its time to change gears a bit.
I love finance.  It is a sicking disgusting part of our world, but it is also such a 100% necessary evil!  I life in it, thrive in it and love it.  With a PASSION!! that being said I have made all of the financial mistakes we have all be warned of, but It is time to share what I love and also never forget to live the Dream in my DREAM HOUSE!!! Even if i'm house poor!!
One element I did want more than anything in this home was a fire! I wanted one indoors that I could sit by on cold days, and since we have enjoyed this home for just about two years have used it well all winter long.
We had a fire pit from our old house that we didn't use once last year, however this year due to new jobs and busy schedules it is July and we won't have our first, and might possibly ONLY, camping trip until a few weeks from now.  We gotta live it up and have with a fire pit outdoors under the beautiful night sky!

Boys room 1 (Planning)

Since we moved in our house I've been hoping to slowly but steadily put rooms together one by one.  The boys room has been of interest to me for some time.   I have built modboard after board thinking about how to make it perfect!!

Pinterest has also been an asset/curse here!

Shortly after we got into our home I had plans of Ewan sleeping in a big kid bed. Here he is 3 yr old, and well..... 

With no desire to get into the bed. :(

I got the boys bunk beds and they were great when we had my friends little lady sleep over but since then, it's just another place to play! 

Here is the room pre projects!!

   

There are a few things on the wall, but now that mom has control things are gonna change!!!

Here is the mood board up to this point,

Bookcases are for books!

This new fashion of beautiful bookcases has taken over and I love it. Sadly I have way too many books for my bookcase.

I decided since I just beautified the desk time to move onto the bookcase. I took a pic and started with the books and went through them. I was raised in a book family. Books are the stories of life. My parents have been gifting my boys books for years and we are super blessed and love them. Now we just need a good place for them.

Chris has always hated that I had mis NON books on our bookcase. Binders are not books.

I searched pintrest for pin worthy bookcase images however no matter how many I looked at, ideas were great, but I need my bookcases to hold books!!

 

Here is my book case reveal!!! Nothing fancy. But I love that it holds all my books.

I have two small shelf's in the boys room for books and I have many other ideas floating through my head. 

I'm not the style one of the family. Doesn't mean I don't try. For now I don't have any big plans for the  rest of the room. Other then keeping it a beautiful peaceful organized place to keep the work successful and hopefully a new computer in the near future.

I love how even though it really hasn't changed much at ALL, but I LOVE that I went through them and got rid of stuff!! 

Before we know it I might actually have a full fledged organized house! :D lol

DON'T COUNT ON IT! 

Sleeping beauty!

I love to sleep! I have this amazing ability to sleep way more then most! This has both great blessings and curses!! When I did the ultimate health challenge with my sister & others a while ago, I wasn't great about eating well or exercising, however I did win when it comes to sleep!!!

I put a lot of that on my boys! They all sleep for minimums of 8-10 hr a night! And I couldn't tell you the last time I got less then 7.

That being said on my 3 day weekends/ with my Ewan I set an alarm to make sure I'm up and out of bed by 9. Which normally means I have 10 hr of sleep..... This week I decided to be a bit different!

When Chris gets up and takes Liam, I wake up too!

Thursday:
I did a NOT ASHTEN ISM! I mowed the lawn. That might not be a big deal to many, however growing up my daddy hated doing it so he hired someone.  Then we owned a town house, so this is the first time I have a yard. So my second time EVER mowing the lawn and I made it beautiful :S NOT QUITE but I'll pretend.

Then Ewan and I headed out to IKEA! It was quite the JOURNEY! We had a blast and enjoyed running around like crazy people.  He had a blast playing with the kitchen and driving mommy crazy!! I got some lights that I have wanted for a LONG TIME!! They weren't quite what I had expected but the boys love them.

We headed home and stopped by Sherwin Williams.  OMG I LOVE THEIR PAINT!! I am not a painter, but as you can see this new work schedule is giving me a whole new look on life. Then it was nap time. I got panting the boys bed and Ewan took a nice long nap for me

Friday:
I got up super early again.  Ewan and I had an amazing breakfast.

 we went and joined Liam at school for some much needed Jesus!! It's been quite a long time since I last went to church and now with my new work schedule it makes it even more difficult.  Ewan was less than ideal, but Liam loved having us there. Then Ewan and I headed back to the FABRIC STORE!! I got the fabrics for Liam's quilt.

Saturday:
I'm on a roll.  I woke up and was ready to get out of bed around 8:30.  Not early for most but WAY early for me! Considering I normally get up on sat between 10-11 :D
I decided since I haven't gone all year to head down to the farmers market. It was PERFECT!  The weather was nice, the food was amazing, and I just got some good ol mom time.
I got to come home and make my family breakfast from all of the amazing foods I got!

My loot consisted of: peaches, pears, apples, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, corn, cheese, eggplant, squash, and potatoes.  It was wonderful!

I loved that as I brought out the food both boys were ecstatic to see what I got! Liam was so excited that now he will have pears for his lunch and between he and Ewan they downed the raspberries!

I feel so blessed that taking alittle time away from sleep and to change my weekend for the better and getting some more time with my boys!

We went to some fun at Liam's school and had to try to take some selifes with the MOON! 

Baby Boys all growing up!

My baby boy turned 3 last week!! Where does the time go? lol He is happy as can be and I couldn't be happier to have such an incredible little man.

Chris is not a big fan of birthdays, he doesn't like to be the center of attention so I try to make our boys birthdays low key, until they are old enough to decide for themselves.  HOWEVER, lol (isn't that always in my posts).  My parents were here visiting so I had to take advantage of time to have a family party!

A few weeks ago I had a very fun conversation with Ewan.
"What do you want for your birthday?"
"BIRTHDAY!!!"
"Do you want a party"
"BIRTHDAY!!!"
"Who do you want to come to your birthday?"
"HUH?"
"Who do you want to come to your birthday?"
"HUH?"
"Who do you want to come to your birthday?"
"HUH?"
"Do you want to have a party and have people come over?"
"Ya!"
"Who?"
"Tubbies!!!   BIRTHDAY!!!"

Well there we had it!
Now time to plan a teletubbies birthday party!

I don't know about you guys, but Teletubbies have been out of the loop for quite a while.  With the help of all knowing GOOGLE.  Teletubbies first aired in 1997 and was last aired in 2001.  Yes Teletubbies were gone for 11 yr before Ewan was born! Well, that didn't stop grandma and papa from making my little man fall in love!!

So here I am.. Mom on a mission!!  It is IMPOSSIBLE to find anything teletubbies at any party supply place, so I had to build it myself.
I decided the balloons would be the main focus, common 3 yr olds LOVE balloons.  I went with just 1 of each color of the tubbies and then get a few bundles of them.  Then for the Birthday Boy I found a bunch of images online and printing then to hang around the house.

My last min touch was to print come coloring book pages to have something for him (and his cousins) to do.

AND OF COUSE!! What party is complete without the CAKE!!!

Ewan had an ABSOLUTE BALL and I could not have been more happy to see my sons face light up with seeing all his "Friends" at his party!

He was super spoiled with all the love, fun and gifts from the family!  However, Grandma and PAPA stole the show.  Papa has been our ebay king and found a LA LA for our little man.  HE LOVES HER!!!

Dear Ewan,

You have such a sweet spirt! You bring so much joy into my life and I am the luckiest MOM in the world!!! I could not imagine life without you!

Love,
MOMMY

Let's try new things!

I consider myself a pretty outgoing person. I have tried a few things in my time, but now time to try something new.

I know my way around a sewing machine. I've done hand work and wouldn't call myself a novice, however I wouldn't be an expert either.

I made this a few years back. 

However it's been about 3 yr since I last sewn something. 

As I have already posted I want to personalize the boys room so the more I think about that the more ideas go in my head.

I found some nice bedding at home goods a few weeks ago, however at $40 a pop and needing 2, the flame sizzled quickly. 

Full: Landscaping part 5: Decor

Rocking Chairs: I did a whole post about them back a few weeks ago.

Basketball Hoop: Ever since my hubby was a kid he has loved basketball.  Coming from a cute little 5ft 10 in kid his dream lives in a back yard.  So for an early birthday present we got this baby!

We decided to install it our self's.  Which required a 4 ft deep hole by 24in x 24 in and 21 bags 60 lbs of concrete.  It was an experience for sure! Not one I ever want to repeat but so happy to have it!!

Kids House: Ewan's 2nd Birthday Present
Last fall Ewan turned 2! He LOVES to be outside so my sister in law helped me find this cute little play house.  As much as I don't really care about gender spicific stuff, I thought it would be fun for him to have a house that matches mom and dads.  However Liam put the input in for the Red Door!
The paint has NOT held up well, but the boys dont seem to mind.

TIKI

Patio from back porch

Patio from back porch angle 2

Garden with mulch

Garden with mulch

Mothers day Japaneses Maple

Back property Line

Back of house, plants need to grow a bit!

Hose Holder BEST INVESTMENT EVER!

Front with mulch!

Money Breakdown

Tiki Torches: (6) Brought from old house ($120), purchased 1 tiki 2 small and 1 table top ($35):  --$155

Rocking Chairs:  $176

Basket Ball Hoop: Mammoth $1060.00, Concrete  $60, other tools $40:  --1160.00

Kids House: Gift : Spray Paint: $100

Fire Pit: Already owned

Rock Flower beds & Weed Killer: $100
Hose Holders : 2@ $30-- $60
Hose's: 3 100 ft @ 30  1 50ft @ 20 --$110 
Landscape Lights 5 @ $1.50 $10
Back Patio furniture Already owned
Patio Box; Clearance at HD during the winter: $40 
Mulch: $50

All things done: Out of pocket Aprox $2,000

Running Total:  $11,068.00

---Landscaping:  $8,040.00

---Plants and Flowers: $550.00

---Garden : $378.00

---Drip Sprinkler: $100

---Decor:             $2,000

Taysom School

Being the youngest of three meant that EVERYONE got to go to school BUT me!!  :'(

My amazing mother noticed this and did something at home special for me. She called it Taysom School! I have no idea what we ever did. I remember mom talking about that we used to do field trips. I have no memory really of that, but I did remember "Taysom School"

I few days ago when driving home with the boys from daycare I got thinking. Summers are LONG and if I'm not careful we are all gonna forget what we learned in school.

Liams wonderful 1st grade teacher sent him home for the year with math flash cards and books for his reading level. 

I told Liam I would like to do school just like I had from "grandma Connie" (my sweet mother). Liam idolizes her so I knew that would strike a good cord with him. 

He decided we would have school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

I put ewan to bed alittle early and Liam and I got to work. 

We started with flash cards. Those were a bit of a struggle, so I'm gonna look into some fun ideas to do with that. I know Pintrest will deliver.

And yes as ALWAYS!!! I found this site which I love and will use this to help out this summer as well. 

We read one of his books. Practiced handwriting and I ended with starting a new book for my little man. 

The lightening thief 

He wanted to draw a picture and I couldn't be prouder! 

It's amazing how fast he is growing, however I can't wait to see what I can learn to help him prep for 2nd grade!!!

Garden boxes

I have a thumb! ;) actually I have 2 of them!! "SHOCK?!" Lol well at the moment they are a mix between peach and white colored. My goal is to turn them green!! :) we will see if that happens. In our last home we were able to successfully plant and grow some tomatoes and a whole bunch of herbs.  Now that we have our house it's time to try again.

This is our old house Garden! 

Once we do step 2 of our yard next year (pavers and waterfall) We plan to do this, but for now I need Cheap! 

I researched for weeks trying to decide what to use for our boxes. We have a lot of long term plans for our yard, but for now we need something. Cheap.

I went through many choices, and thanks to Pinterest who took my 2 ideas and gave me 100+.

I started with our size. We have 10ft between our house and property line, so not a lot to work with, but enough to make the space requiring a lot of time and energy.

My first idea was 16ft long 4 ft wide by 24 in deep.  On the "property side" and 2-2x4 boxes next to the house. 

During my search I learned some really important things. Wood is Expensive! (Common it grows ok trees!) 

My first choice was a beautiful 2x12x8,which I soon learned costs $12 each.  So for my garden we were looking at a simple 16 boards putting us at $200 in wood!' OUCH!! Gardening isn't cheap!!!

Next we moved to cinder blocks, which would be fine, but each one weighs about 25 lbs and we would only need about 100 of those. Suddenly 2500 lbs of moving and still at about $170 didn't sound too nice.

#1: DIY build your own (wood & stone), #2: buy them, and a few others! 

  

Here are my ideas and costs

Cinder Blocks => 4.6 ft x 18 ft x 8 in  16" x 8" x 8"  34 of them = approx $63 

Wood; => 3 ft x 18 ft x 10 in 5/8" x 5 1/2" x 6'  16 of them: approx $48  (ours ended up costing alot more then this, HOWEVER still the best option, since I did more then originally planed) 
Prebuilt => 4 ft x 8 ft x 8 in BOX = 51.50 (half size of others)  or  4 ft x 16 ft x 8 in = $103

I decided after a lot of time searching and planning, simple cedar wood was the most cost effective and best suited for our garden for now. We need it to last just a few years so seemed like the best option. And the idea of a 6'x5"x1" (approx) at $2.50 was great.

I decided to start with some and work from there. I took the 6' peice and cut it in half for the sides, so a bit smaller then planned. 

Here is what I bought. It took a few days planning, buying, building, and re buying and building.

I made 3 smaller ones and put them all together.  I used

16- Cedar 7/8 in x 5 ½ in x 6ft fence posts  

3- Cedar 7/8x 3 ½ in x 6ft  

2-  2x2x8 

1 box:dry wall screws

-cut 4 (5 ½ in) of them in half at the 3ft mark.

-cut 1 (3 ½ in)in half

-cut 4 (2x2) into 1 ft pieces

-cut 8 (2x2) into 8 in pieces

I chose to put all 3 parts together.  And stacked the 5 ½ in boards on top to make the two sides 10in and the middle piece 13 in.

I also decided to use a spray sealer that is safe for food.  

I chose to use Home Depot links, they are the closest hard ware store to my house and have the best prices!  I am in NO WAY associated or compensated for my ideas or materials!