Post #500...

Woo hoo! To celebrate I'm recapping the 2009 goals with a how I did in January post, exciting!!!

But the dishwasher is running, the dryer is going & I need a coffee break. I had to go for fasting blood work this morning & I had to wait until 9:30 to get in & then another 45 minutes to get home & put on the pot. But I am finally enjoying my daily caffeine!

I could probably turn this into a medical blog with all the appointments & tests I've had & will be having in the next 2 weeks, getting old sucks, but getting old with NO family medical history really sucks. Also, having nondescript symptoms of a generic nature leading to of all things a colonoscopy (that will be a fun day) really really sucks. I think I have more appointments this month than my 85 year old Grandmother.

Hopefully all will be abnormally normal, just like me!!! I am just happy to be told there is something abnormal, I was starting to think the abnormality was in my head, after 3 years, 3 PCPs I've finally been told I have an issue that warrants further investigation. So Jan & Feb have included or will include two CT scans, a colonoscpy, blood work, dental checkups & a base line mammogram (normal, thankgoodness)and the corresponding follow up appointments with my respective specialists.

It's been hard to focus on being FRUGAL, I'm having a hard enough time keeping mine & the families schedules in line! We are a 1 vehicle family at the moment, with 2 out of the house jobs, part time preschool, dance, swimming, school, where do I need to be, where do the kids need to be, who needs the car at work, AAHHHHH, CRAZINESS.

I have managed to get a little done to get our 2009 finances & house off to a good start.


1. Emergency Fund - I set up auto deposit, not much but it's a start

2. Set up guest bedroom - still clearing it out, and then I have to get the bed back from my sister, who has to clear her room out...LOL!

3. Decorate the house. I haven't done anything in this category yet, still fighting the clutter battle & there's no sense in decorating the clutter!!!

4. Simplify & purge - clutter clutter clutter!

5. We joined our church, now I am fighting with myself to get up out of bed & go. It's much easier to get the 4 of us out the door if Mom isn't in a lot of discomfort!

6. Complete 6 home improvement projects NADA, nothing, haven't done a lick of it!!!
a. Finish painting & hanging bathroom trim
b. Run New ducts upstairs
c. Fix dinning room ceiling
d. Finish The Princess's bedroom ceiling
e. Finish ceiling in kitchen
f. Roof repairs
g. Screening on side porch

7. Work on one sewing project/gift a week. Finish my stack of UFOs. Have a more hand made Christmas in 2009. - I still have to uncover my sewing table & chair. Maybe this afternoon I'll sneak up there & get that done. Sometimes organizing can be a pain, especially when you get interrupted & then forget to go back to it.

8. Still no hair cut, but I've been either at work, a Dr's office or buried under a large pile of laundry, who has time for exterior self maintenance. I shaved what more do you want from me, huh hubby???, huh!

Stumble It!

Today is Purge day

I am continuing with the purge & clear out today. The guest bedroom has become a dump zone, my sewing room was completely upheaved (can't complain I added a piece of storage/furniture), the kitchen is cluttered, the kids rooms are messy...

I have the day off & I intend to make some serious headway! Of course I will have the Princess home in an hour & I have loads of laundry to do on top of everything else!

At least I stopped procrastinating about my annual check up, that was done yesterday. Now I have to keep all the referral appointments I'll have and get the blood work done. Getting older stinks LOL! But my previous Dr.s have always ignored the fact that I have no medical family history, being adopted and all, this one wants baselines in my records so we have a starting place (mammogram, blood work, and because I've been having some issues a pelvic CT scan). My insurance company is going to love me!

TO do
Laundry
4 5 minute room rescues
Fill a box for donation
shovel some snow
52 pick up in the kids rooms & the kitchen, fling & boogie!
Dinner
dust dinning room


Check out other Tackles at 5MFM.





Stumble It!

2009 Goals

1. Continue to work the budget. Fund EF 5% of our income a month.

2. Set up guest bedroom

3. Decorate the house.

4. Simplify & purge

5. Join our church. This one is easy, we've already submitted the paperwork & have a second appointment. WOOT!

6. Complete 6 home improvement projects
a. Finish painting & hanging bathroom trim
b. Run New ducts upstairs
c. Fix dinning room ceiling
d. Finish The Princess's bedroom ceiling
e. Finish ceiling in kitchen
f. Roof repairs
g. Screening on side porch

7. Work on one sewing project/gift a week. Finish my stack of UFOs. Have a more hand made Christmas in 2009.

8. Stop feeling guilty about spending money on things that feel optional, but are really necessary (new work shoes, clothes, hair cuts). I've been a dream of a wife, considering the stats relating to what the average is we women spend on this kind of stuff. I spent $25 in 2008 on a hair cut, felt terrible about it, WHY??? It should be $150 if I had it done every 8 weeks like I should. That's just your basic cut, it would only increase with a style or a wash.

That's good for now! After all it's already the 13th...

Stumble It!

2009 is almost upon us...

I have been thinking & thinking of what I want my goals to be in 2009 & I still haven't narrowed it down to a set list of things that can be accomplished.

To review 2008 -

1. Budget our money better
2. Pay down our debt
3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund.
4. Blog daily.
5. Work on DIY project everyday.
6. Do better with cards for family & friends.
7. Focus on more MYO foods.
8. Eliminate more clutter

Well we didn't do well with a lot of these, like the blog everyday and the cards for family & friends. But I did accomplish one task not on the list, we went back to church! Finally got the hubby to get out the door & decide to go.

We also had to deal with my Mother in law's illness & passing, but we did accomplish some things like MYO food & eating from the pantry. I'm actually stressed because it's looking bare, unless you really like chicken & rice soup (I get tons from my Grandma). We cut our eating out way back. We went from a couple times a week to maybe once a week, or every other.

Organizing & tossing - I did manage to get a lot out, but there is a lot more to go. I'm not sure where it all came from but the guest bedroom became storage & it all has to go!

Paying down our debt was accomplished mostly because we finally cleared up some nagging medical bills. Oh we didn't pay them, we just made out insurance company do their job. I think that & actually paying some bills we were able to clear up about $4800 in debt. Now we need to tackle the other medical bills, from the birth of my now 5 year old. It's going to be difficult, but I'm considering a lawyer. Apparently the insurance company not only didn't insure my daughter from her day of birth (coverage started on Dec 1, she was born Nov 21) the hospital confused my husband with my father in law, somehow on the official paper work. Not sure how, all our paperwork is correct. Of course the hospital has no record & hasn't been able to find any record in the last 2 years. I'm not sure what our recourse will be in the end, but I just can't bring myself to make a payment on something that was supposed to be covered by insurance I was paying for at the time... Confused? I was!








Stumble It!

Adjusting the Frugal Momma's Budget

Things are changing all over. With hurricanes effecting gas prices again I think we are all in the same boat...the dollar just does not go as far as it used to. So what is a Mom to do? Especially one who just got herself a part time out of the house job requiring at least 3 trips a week into the office. Round trip is about 30 miles so that's 1.5 gallons a trip or 4.5 gallons a week. When you are used to hardly driving, it's a challenge!


It leaves you scurrying to find ways to save money on the per gallon cost! This past week I was doing a grocery store run. I stopped at a grocery store I usually only hit once every couple months, but 1% milk was on my list & they had a 20 cents off a gallon if you bought 8 things off a list, well at least 6 of those items were on my shopping list anyways. So I got my discount & filled up. I figured I saved about $1.60. Next time I'll plan ahead & bring the gas can too. Ah for the days of 1999 when I thought $0.99 a gallon was a lot.

The cost of gas has driven everything else up, have you noticed? Of course you have, all you have to do is try to buy ANYTHING!!! It leaves us having to be creative, cutting out things we normally consider staples, also doing things like clipping coupons, buying grocery items at drugstores, maybe going to stores we never thought we would.

Of course, I have "cheap" on the brain today. Looking at the calendar I have preschool tuition and school pictures due on Monday, open house with the book fair on Wednesday, this is after paying for our football fundraiser tickets & sweatshirt order. Yikes! Could be rice & beans this week, LOL!

But on the up cheap side I decided to make pizza Friday instead of take out. I knew we'd be buying food at the football game Saturday so spending $30 on pizza and wings was just not an expense I wanted!

Anywho, our budget is going to be changing a little because of my job. I get paid every other Friday and I think my paycheck will cover our food, gas & household expenses. So as soon as I know what my deductions will be I'll be able to allocate the funds. My goal is to increase my EF funding to $50 a month instead of $25.

Frugal is Green

Help! My Money Scares Me Relax...Breathe...Listen probably the best advice out there, given the tendency to panic at the slightest detail!


Stumble It!

Household Budget

It's time to start analyzing our finances again. I have been avoiding this chore like I avoid weeding on a 90 degree day...

I started going through my receipts for the year so far. I entered all my 2nd quarter numbers into a spread sheet. My categories are Eat Out, Groceries/Household, Kids, Adults, House, Gas.


I am sure the gas and eating out numbers are off, hubby is terrible about keeping receipts. Spreadsheets like this are helpful to me because I can look and see that in May we were spending money 6 out of 14 days, 3 in a row, eek! I am pretty sure we were doing a project on the house, but still, we could have planned our trips a little better!

I am encouraged to see that we only spent $951.29 in the Grocery column. I included all household, toiletry and gift items in here as well. Most of the Kids purchases were baseball related.

I don't have any amounts for the bills we paid yet, that's step 2! Most of them are paid online, so it won't be hard to assemble that data. Then I can combine the numbers and paint a better picture to create a real budget, with a plan and everything!!! I am doing this now because I want to really cut the extras out, so I can start birthday and Christmas shopping.

Some helpful budgeting links:

Free Budget Forms

Simple Debt Free Living

Create a Budget

Kiplinger's Budget Tool

The Day My Personal Financial Statement Talked To Me


Stumble It!

Tuesday Parade of Events

~Summer Rec for boy
~Laundry
~Dishes, sink & dishwasher
~Hamster still MIA - put out fresh food, vacuum boys room (we think evidence was left behind)
~Weed garden if it stops raining long enough
~Pick beans
~Cook dinner - Chicken (last night ended up being steak on the grill, hubby cooked)
~Spend 15 minutes decluttering zone 4 (master bedroom)
~Zone 4 mission - 15 minutes attacking the clothes pile, unfortunately I have one, sigh.
clear off and wipe down counters.
Vacuum up flour (supposed tip to track hamster, now it's just tracking the kids)

Lisa K http://thefrugalmomma.blogspot.com

Tackle it Tuesday #14

Yesterday I tackled the front porch. I didn't take before pictures, but take my word for it, it was bad! We started the morning off with a trip to the Salvation Army to donate the lawn sale leftovers. The only reason it didn't happen the Monday after the sale was because my Mom had promised some stuff to a cat shelter yard sale. Well that fell through, so off it all went.

Once we got back I took EVERYTHING off the porch. All the furniture and decor items. Then I got out the shop vac and swept the porch. It really did need this, all the cracks and crevices had dirt in them and the broom just wasn't able to get it out. I must have looked like a nut, but it worked!
I started to arrange the furniture, my goal was a cozy sitting area, I think I achieved it.
While I was doing this, hubby was firming up the bentwood rockers I have been acquiring at yard sales for the last 8 years! I had 4 but one was beyond repair. Now I have to make cushions for the seats and they will be done.I bought the massive hanging plant at our local green house when they went on sale. It isn't big enough to hide our tenants truck but I think with the screen and my antique copper fire extinguisher it makes a nice view!

Check out other tackles at 5 Minutes for Mom

May Goals Wrap Up

1. Budget our money better We got behind again (just keepin it real). The last paycheck is still lost in the USPS somewhere so we were caught unprepared for that. Plus the added expense of all the baseball stuff. Oh why didn't I have summer children!

2. Pay down our debt We are still on the set schedule so we are -$600 on our loan but still only -$320 on other stuff.

3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. Dh transfered the money from our savings to our checking, we don't know why he just did, so now I have to transfer it back, but when I do I'm sending it straight to the ING account.

4. Blog daily. I haven't been daily but I've been multiple when I do. Which is more annoying?

5. Work on DIY project everyday. We got the hotwater tank switched out, more gardening done, DH is working on our winter supply of wood, we moved the table/island into the kitchen, I think my DIY right now should be more on the decluttering of it all!!!

6. Do better with cards for family & friends. Think I should just toss this one for the year & pick something else!!!

7. Focus on more MYO foods. Living out of the pantry has helped too.

8. Eliminate more clutter Monday is big metal pick up day, we will be putting our stuff out, if the Village doesn't get it some scavenger will.

June will be another interesting month, we have to get caught up, but I also have 2 wedding showers, birthdays, & Father's Day. I am the type of person that usually picks up things on sale for these occasions but DH doesn't so I am constantly at odds with him over it. My gift closet is gone & I know that it is contributing to my current stress level. But then by month's end we should have our stimulus check. I am just hoping to get the 25% squirreled away before it all gets spent.

April Goals wrap up

1. Budget our money better This has become increasingly difficult. I am only getting paid about $2 an hour for the babysitting I do & hubby has taken a huge hour cut, leading to a lay off. Thankfully he can collect unemployment it just takes a week to process & wait.
We haven't eaten out much at all, which is fine but I also have only done basic shopping so my creativity is being stretched!!! With 2 kids (sometimes 4) it isn't easy to make all things kid friendly. But in April we were able to make our scheduled debt payments & keep on top of all the bills. So it isn't nearly as bad as it has been in the past.

2. Pay down our debt We are still on the set schedule so we are -$480 on our loan & -$320 on other stuff.


3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. I haven't followed through on this one as much as I had hoped. But a bulk of it is sitting in the savings account I haven't built it up enough to send it to the ING account.

4. Blog daily. I will get better at this. I can't believe I haven't done much this week. Considering I have so much to write about!

5. Work on DIY project everyday. Well I haven't done a true project a day, but we have made great progress in other things. We have tilled the garden & started to prepare for planting in a couple weeks. The seedlings require constant attention. The bathroom is still in limbo & now thanks to the hidden stimulus rebate delay I say hidden because it never dawned on us that our actual direct deposit payment was rerouted to cover the cost of our filing, duh. So we didn't have a DIRECT deposit... THe check won't go out till June something. Which means that the last couple of purchases we need to make will have to wait. I guess I can't complain after all it's a boost. And money is money, it's just not coming for another month & a half. Not that it isn't already allocated pretty much to the dollar! Of course it does depend on how much comes :D.

6. Do better with cards for family & friends. Think I should just toss this one for the year & pick something else!!!

7. Focus on more MYO foods. I have had some good luck with the sourdough starters I made & the cornbread mix I made has proven to be yummy as a "shake n bake" replacement.

8. Eliminate more clutter Freecycle is so helpful. We also have a couple of local trade boards that I have used. We are also gearing up for big metal trash day, just not sure we have enough for a long haul to a scrap yard. But it's enough that it's getting on my nerves. Although we probably are the only people to have disassembled a washer before junking it...parts anyone. After all the motor, belt & pump were all in perfect condition and you never know when you might need a small HP motor!!!

March recap

1. Budget our money better.
We are keeping up with our bills pretty well, we did have an unplanned car repair this month that threw things out of whack, but not so bad. Thanks to my working for the Easter store at least!

2. Pay down our debt.
We made our $120 loan payment, I'm not sure if we used the other $80 for debt or if it went to Easter baskets. I think that it might have gotten spent on something other than debt, given that I wasn't around much in March!

3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund.
The kids received money from a trust started by their Great Grandparents, apparently the account had stopped earning interest so hubby's parents decided to distribute the money. We will be funding their 529s & their mutual fund accounts with it. Since I was busy for most of the month I didn't really shop much or plan my shopping trips. We mostly went for convenient food & the basics. I don't think we spent as much as usual on stuff, but thanks to my previous months shopping we didn't run out of anything important. Now I can get back to my coupons & CVS trips!

4. Blog daily. I really do need anywhere web access!!!

5. Work on one DIY project everyday.
Sure, I've been struggling just to catch up the laundry! But I have been busy this week clearing out the stuff, so we can do the next project!

6. Do better at cards to friends & family.
Why am I even bothering!!!

7. Focus on MYO (make your own) mixes and grocery items.
I just put together a corn bread mix & have 2 loaves of bread dough in the freezer. I think I missed being in the kitchen, scary.

8. Eliminate more clutter.
I have been decluttering the last couple days. I am still having a hard time with the "letting things go" the "I might need this someday" is winning. But not for long. It is just so overwhelming to have things & you don't know why, so out they are going. Hopefully I will be able to make a dent in this by the end of spring. After all it didn't show up overnight, so I don't expect it to be gone in a poof. It would be nice though!

January Goals Recap

1. Budget our money better. Well we are pretty much caught up on bills for the month, we are only putting off the water until next week's pay check.

2. Pay down our debt. We made the $120 payment, the other $80 went to catch up on the electric bill. So January = $200. But I am left with a -1.33 cash balance in my IRA due to a terrible stock deal (not my doing, reorganization left me with 1/2 a share & I got hit with a $20 fee from TD). We also got my first babysitting $, so that helped!

3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. I have finally received a couple rebate checks (including the one for my stand mixer) We will deposit them into the savings account next time we are at the bank. I also have a stack just waiting for postage.

4. Blog daily. Obviously I haven't been posting daily, but I've blogged a bit!

5. Work on one DIY project everyday. Well it hasn't been EVERY day, but we have been busy! Just installed new ducting to the upstairs. We are on track to be up there by spring.

6. Do better at cards to friends & family.
Not even close, I so stink with this!!!

7. Focus on MYO (make your own) mixes and grocery items. I've done better at this, breads, pie, cookies. The only snacks we bought all month were fruit, crackers & chips. Oh yeah & the Timbits (donut holes) from Tim Horton's. Thanks to my neighbor I am now addicted... I also need to add take out expense into my next project budget. After sanding cutting & installing all day there was no one left to cook! Or I need to plan better & crockpot.

8. Eliminate more clutter., I am doing better with the toys & clothes. I have taken a trash bag or two out of the kids rooms. Plus I have a box for donation. My next tackle is my laundry room/pantry. This will also be prep to re do the floor & paint the walls in there.

2007 Online Earnings

Blogsvertise = $142 (20 posts)
Payperpost = $225.34 (28 posts)
LoudLaunch = $18 (4 posts)
Amazon items = $9.60 (haven't been paid yet, $10 minimum for payment)
Google = $6.69 (haven't been paid yet, waiting for PIN #)

Total received for 2007 = $385.34

All of this has gone on my paypal card & either bought food, coal, gasoline or minutes for my cell phone. My average was $7.40 per post written. I also turned down a bunch of offers to write really irrelevant posts. I figured if I couldn't think of anything worthy to write I'd probably better leave it for someone else!

Organization & me

Understanding Chronic Disorganization

This is so me! It seems like every time I start to put things in order, something happens. Like the house was nice, orderly & organized for the Holidays but now that we are in week 4 of the bathroom redo the kitchen (landing place for all bathroom stuff) looks like a tornado hit it. I am trying to get rid of the clutter, but I swear it multiplies in the dark.

Again I have to remember that there are only 24 hours in a day & I need at least 6 of them for sleep, 4-8 for working, leaving only 10-14 hours for the "other" stuff. Of course I am not the only one living here, but I refuse to play the martyr. We just have too much stuff for our space & there is no getting around that. Plus we have too much going on right now. I am hoping to have the bathroom finished by this weekend, so at least one room will be clean organized & functional. I am trying to get one thing done at a time, that's my new 2008 habit I'm working on. To complete as much of a task as possible in the time allotted. Like after posting I will be off to complete the wallpaper in the bathroom. Then all we'll have left to do it install the trim. We are going to buy a utility cabinet & install a counter but I think that is a weekend project so my job is to make sure that it can be done then!!!

From there we are going to start the small projects needed to move our bedroom upstairs. Heat would be nice :D. So I will be able to get the kitchen & pantry back in order. The desk will be back upstairs & so will all the paper clutter that is on it., not before I toss 75% of it for the junk that it is!

2008 Goals

Goals, resolutions whatever you call them! I was working on these while babysitting 2 8 year old twins, so I may need to tweak them.

1. Budget our money better. Pay bills on time- while our village doesn't report to credit companies, the pay the electric bill every 2 months is starting to drive me batty.

2. Pay down our debt by at least $2400. We have a loan payment of $130 a month so we'll snowball the other $70 into the best place for it. Number 3 was list debts so we know what we have to pay when, but it fits better with #2.

3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund. We had a good start to it last year but it was depleted opening various checking & saving accounts that are more accessible to us. Once we get the direct deposit fixed we'll set up a weekly payment back into the ING account. We want to have at least $1000 in the EF by December 31, 2008

4. Blog daily, I have been neglecting my blogging. Mostly because I work online as well & it is just a lot of sitting in front of the computer.

5. Work on one DIY project everyday. We have a HUGE list of improvements we will be making in 2008 and most are to be done by us. The only thing I won't do is the roof!

6. Do better at cards to friends & family. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I have been really slacking lately.

7. Focus on MYO (make your own) mixes and grocery items. Now that I have the stand mixer of my dreams, and while it still wasn't the "Frugal" thing on my list it was a deal you just couldn't walk away from. The day we bought it the Licorice was available for $259.99, free shipping & a $50 rebate. So we end up only paying $10 more than my Mom did for her Artisan. Plus I have the horse power I need for it to last a very long time.


I mean really, the bread machine I want was $199 and it only took me a year to kill the $50 bread machine I had!!! Plus I will be selling my old stand mixer on ebay sometime after the holidays (last set like mine sold for $102).

8. Eliminate more clutter. As we can replace substandard items with good quality items I need to get rid of the old stuff!!!

We have to be really careful with our money now that we are back to one main income source & we are planning on moving some rooms around again on top of the remodeling & updating.

Of course I am babysitting again. When school is in it's only a couple hours a day, but they are friends with my kiddos so it's nice. And they were here almost everyday while someone else was getting paid to watch them...

So who knows what 2008 will hold, I am going to spend the last few days of 2007 reflecting & celebrating with my family!

Happy New Year!

November Wrap up

1. Teaching Kids about Money - Kids still missing the whole picture, but it's improving!

2. Saving Money - Well, does finding out how to get what you need for less count? Because my savings account has gone backwards (well only to open another account, it will get funded as soon as the direct deposits start going in).

3. Organizing - I am still the pile queen & it's making me nuts... I know better and yet here I am burried under piles of things I need to take care off. My poor piano bench is hidden, I only know it's there. But we did manage to make some head way in the kitchen & I have to have the place spotless before the holidays. I just refuse to do the toss & stash again.

4. Exersice & Weight - Maintaining, going to start swimming with my sister after the holidays.

5. Creative Time - I was able to spend an hour working on my Grandmas Mixer cover, I probably have another hour to go before it's finished, then I can work on my holiday head bands & my sisters tote bag.

6. Bed Time for Princess - 10 of the last 14 nights she has gone to sleep on her own in her own bed. Now if only she will stay there.

7. Emergency Kits - hmmm, knew there was something I was forgetting.

8. Routines - Our morning routines are set, evening still not all there but improving.

September Goals Update

1. Teaching kids about $ - I seem to be making some progress in this area, especially with their birthday's coming up soon. The Prince is trying to ask for things he really wants/needs instead of everything he sees a commercial for. I have been slacking in paying their allowances lately, it's not really fair to them, but it's not like they want for much!

2. Saving $ - Well buying the car has made it impossible to set aside much at all. Thankfully hubby has $ going into his 401K & a Savings account out of his check. Plus back to school expenses, tuition, photos, lunch, etc... My ING account has gone backwards, took some out to fund our new checking account, hopefully now that they are linked I'll be able to put it back & add to it regularly.

3. Organizing - "You can't organize clutter." I keep telling myself that every room I am in! My "foolishness" is starting to shrink (Clean House on Style). We are cleaning out all the "clutter" & trying to only leave what we use, love or need. I am in process of clearing our front room out, we are going to move the table in there after I finish ripping up the carpet. Plus it is a Super Fling month on FlyLady, so we are decluttering in each zone. As soon as I'm done with this article I am off for a 27 Fling Boogie.

4. Exercise & weight - Don't get me started... Still haven't lost a pound, but the clothes are getting looser & looser. Considering trying on a 14W next time I go to the store, just to see.

5. Creative Time - I still have multiple unfinished projects, tooth pillow, mixer cover, tote bag, quilt... I will get them done soon, I will.

6. Bed time for the Princess - We will get back on schedule this week, we have been overwhelmed with the back to school thing & our unseasonably warm weather, the kids have been pushing play time to the limits & soon enough it'll be icky, so we've let them!

7. Emergency kits - I organized the first aid kit & have a list for this weeks shopping trip of medicines & supplies so we will be set for winter weather! I also need to pick up some flashlight batteries & a couple new flashlights (new car, new supplies!).

8. Routines - WE fell into our back to school morning routine easily enough, even with have to get both ready for school 2 days a week. It the before bed we've had problems with, but we'll get it together soon.

I haven't been tracking expenses lately & with hubby buying a lot of our food from work it's been hard to keep track of. All I know is that I have 2 freezers full of food! I am going to clean out the fridge a little at a time this week, lots of scary leftovers in there at the moment...

2007 Goals July update

I said something in July about updating goals, sorry!

1. Teaching my kids about money... We have a system the 7 year old gets $7, the 3 year old gets $3. They give me $2/$1 for their savings accounts. The Prince has already earned $25 & saved $10, the Princess $15 & $5. It is almost time for a trip to the bank to make deposits of their savings. My issue is letting them spend their money. I know it's theirs, but I feel like I should still control it for them. We pay the neighbor's 12 year old to mow our lawn ($10 a mow, he only rides, we have to do all push & detail, he doesn't even pick up) and he usually turns around and buys a 24 pack of pop. It isn't really setting a great example for our kids. I want them to learn that they should get something for their money. Am I just being too uptight? After all until 2 days ago the Prince wouldn't drink pop. The things I think he should spend his money on are the expensive video games he wants, you know, the $50 ones. I do expect that they will use little bits to buy treats, but usually I keep something on hand for them to snack on or treat with.

2. Saving money... It is really hard to "justify" saving money when you have SO MANY expenses. I have been trying to squirrel away a bit with every paycheck but with some major expenses looming it has become hard. Plus since we closed the only checking account we had, I have no way to fund the ING account yet. I am going to go with next weeks paycheck & open an account in town. They have been pushing the FREE checking thing and the account we have our paychecks deposited into doesn't do ACH transfers. Don't ask me what that means or why they don't, but they don't. All I know is that I can't fund the accounts with it.

3. Organizing... I have accomplished a bit of this lately. The living room has been livable for some time. I think I finally found an arrangement that works for us. Plus even with the chaos of replacing a window it isn't too messy. We still need to finish the window, we have to replace all the interior trim because the new vinyl is about 4" thinner than the older wooden one. So bummer we can't reuse the old trim, but we did manage to find a piece we can create a header out of in the attic. now all we need is inside trim & a sill. The bathroom is organized, I probably tossed a garbage bag of stuff from in there. Gross toys, empty bottles, misc junk... Now everything is organized by use; basket of nail stuff, bag of hair accessories, first aid kit, medications, hair brushes & sprays, etc, etc, etc! Small victories, it has managed to stay mostly organized despite it's frequent use! Woohoo.

4. Exercise & weight... Still maintaining the weight thing. Not sure how, but I am. I walk whenever I feel up to it. For some reason I have been extremely tired lately, gonna ask the Dr. to figure out why.

5. Creative time & organized computer time... I haven't been sewing too much, summer not really a good craft time for me.

6. Potty Training is DONE! We have started reading Harry Potter to the kids at bed time in her room, so she will fall asleep & then we tuck the Prince in. She will stay in there for a long time some nights & just a while others. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. Took the Prince until 5 to get it right

7. Emergency kits - Ok, slacker me. I have a picnic basket packed, does that count???

8. Routines - My routines are forming, I am trying to squeeze in more actual housework in the AM, but I still usually end up doing most of it in the afternoon after I get a few hours of work in.

Goodness, where have I been...

I guess I have been more wrapped up in life than I thought. Didn't realize that I had abandoned my blog for this long. Time flies when you are outside!

I have also been busy working almost every day, watering plants, cleaning the house, etc, etc, etc. We did get delayed on the computer because I lost 2 days battling a computer virus. Ewwwww.

My driveway has become the Dayton 500 for the neighborhood. On any given day I can have up to 12 kids riding their bikes around my paved & circular driveway. They have even gone so far as to have qualifying times...

I have several reviews I'm working on. One is my new toy the Neat Receipts Scannilizer. This thing is so awesome. Now that I have it happy with my computer & vice versa things are running smoothly & I should be able to give a detailed report in a week.

I have also been looking over some products from Straight Edge, Inc. They have some great educational "Mom approved" type of stuff. Including this adorable bath tub book that plays Old MacDonald... LOVE IT!

So as soon as all is ready I'll have those out to you!

I'm also over due for a June Goals assessment... procrastination. Starting to feel that overwhelmed feeling again, deep breath & lists, lots of lists! All will come together!

DS has started the summer recreation program. We have started on an allowance (believe I mentioned it last post). So far so good, he keeps asking me about the "other $2" he is supposed to be getting. I had to remind him that as soon as he has enough we'll take it down to the bank & put it in his account. I probably should do it weekly, but once a month will do, then he'll have $8 to put in. He has been doing good at keeping his room straight

DD has been floating around visiting Granny & busily trashing the house when she is here! I have made her start picking up after herself. She has done a fantastic job of keeping he bedroom floor clean & putting the dirty laundry in the hamper, not too bad for 3 1/2!

I'll update more tomorrow, goals, goals, goals!!!

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Anti-Procrastination Wednesday

Another trip to the grocery store... Goodness! I'm not sure how anyone can keep up with 2 constantly hungry children! I'd love to say that I keep them in homemade goodies, but if I did I'd never leave my kitchen. So, I went to Aldi & stocked up on some MORE snack type stuff. Granola Bars, fruit snacks, brownie mix, corn chips, yogurt, and other misc food stuff. I spent about $80. My 2 splurges 100 ct box of splenda packets & a bag of frozen raspberries. I bought a smoothie recipe book when we were yard sale-ing (just for kicks & additive ideas more than recipes) & I can't wait to get blending. I found one that is going to require a trip to the vitamin isle but it sounds so yummy. I'll share it if I like it!

Hubby is bringing home another order of food from work Friday that will cover our much used basics coffee, bread flour, steak, burgers, ground beef... If all goes well, we should be in food for the rest of the month. I am going to give a white bread recipe I found a try & see if I can get away from the store bought stuff. It may only cost $0.58, but what is it doing to my kiddo's insides? It's not like I pack lunches for the Prince & I probably won't this year, with only a couple of weeks left, I doubt they'd get our change of income in time to make any changes to our lunch plan. So maybe we'll replace the store bought white nasty stuff with some homemade white nasty stuff! I really should get them into the whole wheat thing.

I have decided that I live in a useless state & village. I have been informed that before I set up my "Intex" pool that I have had for almost 4 years I will need to pay for a building permit, 48" fence & a surface alarm. We figure it will cost us around $250 to set up our $200 temporary pool, that is 4 years old. I even have to have an electrical inspection. We plug it in with an extension cord, not like it's hard wired... The worst part is ANY POOL over 24" needs this. I'm not sure who was promised what when they let this idiotic piece of legislation through but I hope it was worthwhile. We aren't sure if we are going to comply, set it up anyways & figure the chances of discovery are slim to none, or go out & buy a 23" pool! The Prince will get swim lessons during summer rec (finally, I used to attened swim lessons every summer & I worked them when I was old enough, we've been arguing for them to come back ever since). I was really looking forward to enjoying our pool this year. Now I'm not sure what we'll do. Maybe go buy a 12 foot inflatable water slide...

So what am I anti-procrastinating at today... Not sure I haven't gotten that far yet! I think I am going to go put away my laundry pile. Not sure why my stuff always gets put away last??? But it does!