Christmas Wrap Up 2015

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Sheila

Amanda was working on Christmas Day so she came over around lunch on Christmas Eve for a gift exchange before we all headed over to Paw Paw’s and Granny’s for the real fun. Amanda purchased all three of the kids’ really cool name wall hangings, a “chip cup” for me and Matt received a Starbuck’s ornament.

We all then headed over to my parents to spend the afternoon and open more gifts. It was an awesome time and the kids played for several hours.

Kendall unfortunately did not want to go to sleep and with the windows open she used ever sound outside to stay awake. She finally fell asleep around 1am and of course was awake prior to 6am. Haley after getting off work came and spent the night with us so she would not miss any of the fun of Christmas morning.

Christmas morning and most of the day was quiet as the kids played with their new toys, Matt sat up the TV in the playroom that Santa brought and we just relaxed. Unfortunately, that all changed because of a fall my mom took. I ended up spending from 4pm to after midnight at the hospital with my parents till my mother shoulder could be relocated. Thankfully after prayer and waiting, her shoulder is back in place and the doctor is fairly confident that she has no other damage.

Thankful Thursday

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Sheila

I have learned that there is no way that I will remember or have time to post each day even on Facebook what I am thankful for, so I am going to attempt a weekly post for the month of November. My list of things I am thankful for this week…..

1. My personal relationship with Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. I am also extremely grateful that he understands that I need reminders that he loves and cares for me and is involved in every part of my life.

2. My husband. We have survived high school twice already so things have to get easier the next three times.

3. My job. I am blessed to be working in the professional field that I love and be able to help support my family. I am also extremely bless to at least work at achieving a work home life balance.

4. My kids… yes all 5 of them. I seriously thought about using them to fill up the rest of my list but decided I could needed to find more things to be thankful for. I am still very blessed and thankful to watch EACH one grow and mature. They are special in very unique ways.

5. My new van. I really enjoying driving a vehicle that I trust to get me to and from where I am going. I am also so grateful for the little extra like sunroof and heated seats that I would never placed on a list but they are awesome.

5 Things Friday- 10/16

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Sheila

1. We are predicted to have our first heavy freeze/frost this weekend. I am rather sad about this. This evening after dinner, we harvested and frozen any green peppers and basil that could be picked. Tomorrow, the kids are looking forward to harvesting the sweet potatoes. I am also planning to bring in as many tomatoes as can be saved.

2.We have currently gone 5 weeks without using our heat or air. This should bring our October and November Electric bills down to around $200. With temperatures to dip below freezing the next couple of nights. I am not sure how much longer we can enjoy this break.

3.I am so excited and proud to say that both the older girls are gainful and legally employed.

4. All three of the “little” kids had dentist appointment yesterday. Both Kendall and Zach came away with no cavities and Lily has two small cavities but since they are both on baby teeth, the dentist suggested that we just wait. Zach has already started getting his permanent teeth and they have enamel. The lack of enamel on most of his baby teeth resulted in $5000 of dental surgery at the age of 2 and we have been anxiously waiting to find out if the permanent teeth would be the same. Zach has the same over crowding issues that both Lily and Kendall have so braces at least once per kid if not twice per kid are in our future.

5.Budget wise for the month we are running fairly close. I have already over spent the grocery budget. Gas prices in our area, during the past week have ranged from $2.09 to $1.99 with no rhyme or reason for the sudden increases or decreases, because of these sudden changes, our gas budget is going to be a close call and may even involve less driving the final week of October.

Water Wordless Wednesday

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Sheila

10 Signs- We are on Vacation

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Sheila

WIth small children, it has been said that vacation is just as much work or more as staying at home. I know for us, our schedule does not change dramatically. This year has been nice with the elimination of nap time and we have been staying up later than normal. So I want to share with you 10 signs that definitely mean we are on vacation.

1. Chocolate/Peanut butter Poptarts and Kool-aid are both consider legitimate breakfast food.
2. Dessert is a requirment and must contain either frozen something or be a donut.
3. Daily trips to the local store “Boulineau’s” always include at least one non food item. Today we purchased a t-shirt, fishing net and shovel.

4. Pajama’s and bathing suits make up the majority of our clothing choices.

5. Daily shell hunting, count as exercise and are much more fun than using a treadmill.

6. Sleeping late, still means 7am but watching the sun rise over the ocean makes it seem ok.

7. Pink hats are not only fashionable but make spotting kids in the ocean much easier.

8. Castle building is cooperative effort that can take all day.

9. Game nights involves food and lots of friends.
10. Blog writing is fun and easy because I have lots of pictures to choose from.

Typical Thursday-08/06/2015

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Sheila

Have you ever thought about or wondered what a “typical” day looks like for other people or how someone spends their day. I do all the time, one of the reasons I prefer to read blogs instead of books these days. So today I thought I would share a “typical” Thursday with you. I must first begin by saying today is not entirely typical because Matt is working at the coliseum all day to help cover the cost of cheerleading. But really is any day the same around here?

I did have a couple of goals in mine for today including washing all the bed stuff, picking up key for our vacation, returning an item to Walmart and doing some last minute shopping for our trip.

This morning prior to leaving to drop Lily off at her science camp which was from 8-12, we washed Zach and Kendall sheets and stuff and Lily was in the washer. Lily’s camp is at her school and they have been sending message about a “book” walk for all ages. Both Kendall and Zach were excited and since the temperature was in the low 70s, we decided to check it out.

We all enjoyed the book “The Curious Gardener” and after reading we decided to hang out on the playground for a bit.

Next stop was the local grocery store “Conrad and Hinkle” to pick up pimento cheese for our trip. Around the corner, was the reality office that I dropped off payment and picked up a keys for vacation. Our next stop was Food Lion, I need to purchase some baby food to use at work. A dash home to unload the groceries, grab a snack and bathroom break and get the first set of sheets on the line. Our bed items went into the washer. Off to Wal-Mart, we headed, I returned an items, grabbed some “Lunchables” and small snacks for the trip. Back home for lunch and hanging out more clothes before we needed to pick up Lily.

Haley wanted to have a new phone placed on her number so she came over to get that arranged. I was so glad she stayed and watched the kids while I got a chance for a Pedicure and Manicure. Do I look beachy?While getting my nails done, a storm came up and with a quick text, Haley and the kids rescued our sheets from the line prior to the storm! THANK YOU HALEY! I stopped at Food Lion again, because we are our of bread flour. This stop at home is a little bit longer as I have to make all the beds and get everyone fed dinner. Finally, Kendall has tumbling from 5:30 to 6:30 and Lily has cheerleading practice from 6-8pm today. Hopefully Matt will meet us so that someone can be home prior to 8:30. A typical day, no wonder I am so tired.

What does your day look like?

MIA

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Sheila

Yes, I have been missing in action for at least the past week. But I do have a good reason, this past Friday and Saturday, our community pool hosted the county wide swim meet. Matt and I both were heavily involved in both the planning and working at the event both days. In fact, I probably spent more hours at the pool in the past week then the entire summer of 2012. I am glad to say that we survived and thrived! To give you an idea of the size, between the two day there were a total of 385 swimmers and I would estimate over 1000 people in attendance. Haley came on Friday morning and spent most of the day, guarding the parking gate and then selling t-shirts and heat sheets. Amanda came after she finished work to help sell t-shirts, heat sheet and then she helped Zach drive the golf cart to shuttle people back to their cars. The temperature was HOT HOT HOT! If you would like a little more information check out the website .

Both Lily and Kendall swam on Saturday which was the day for swimmers younger than 10 years old. The girls both swam their hardest and I am so proud of their efforts. Lily won a heat for freestyle which is no simple task and Kendall placed 6 of 18 girls in the Backstroke and also received an ribbon for 3rd place with her freestyle relay team. My goal is to post everyday to catch up! Lots of fun and interesting things have also been happening!

Disney Budget

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Sheila

This arrived in the mail today, so it makes is seem a little bit more real. Kendall and Zach spent a good 15 minutes “reading” it which meant Zach would see a picture and then Kendall would read what went along with it! I am so looking forward to this trip.

Tonight I am going to give anyone who cares to read the real number for this trip. First I want to give a little explanation about some of the decision we made and then real numbers.

The first Disney trip, we took at a family was in April of 2011. This was our budget trip. We ended up staying off property in a nice house, bringing lunch every day with us and general being very picky about the money we were spending. We had an awesome time and I can’t say that I did not enjoy the trip because we did but it was stressful especially in regards to money. This trip, we have made some major changes and hopefully they will result in a little less stress while we are in the parks.

After talking to several people, researching and looking at prices I have learned several things. The first and most important of which is that you do not save money by booking your trip yourself. The cost of booking yourself and the cost of using a travel agent is the very same. I decided to use the travel agent this trip to save me from attempting to obtain dinning and other reservations myself.

The biggest expense for our trip is lodging. One of the few negative things I can say about Disney is that they really are not “large” family friendly. In order for us to all stay together it automatically means what we have to stay in a more expensive resort or the cabins at Fort Wilderness. I have heard some awesome things about the cabins but I don’t like the idea of being very limited. I talked with Amanda and Matt, and we were able to come up with a plan that works for us. Matt, myself and the 3 little kids, we be staying at the Art of Animation Resort in a Cars suite. Amanda and Haley will be staying at Fort Wilderness in a pop up camper. Another big decision was that I purchased dining plans for the 5 of us. Amanda and Haley will both be responsible for their own food. Amanda is planning to eat at the camper most nights and I am trying to help Haley save enough money to eat on during the trip. Amanda will also be purchasing her own ticket as she is an adult who is working!

Art of Animation for 7 nights with 2 adult 6 day tickets and 3 children 6 day ticket in addition to the dining plan and a memory maker photo pass equals $5383.

Fort Wilderness camping spot for 6 nights (they were already booked for the first night, so I will spring for a hotel room off site) and 2 adult tickets for 5 days equals $1044.

The dining plan offers basically 2 meals a day and a snack so we are going to be taking breakfast items for the majority of the mornings. We do plan on eating a couple of Breakfast out so we are going to be bring snacks to carry with us in the parks. Currently we have 2 days without a plan for a sit down(reservation meal) one of those days is when we will be in Downtown Disney and we most likely will eat there and use a dining credit. The other day is because “Cinderella’s Royal Table”, which is the princess meal uses 2 dining passes.

Some of the ways that we are planning to save money on the trip included not purchasing the Park Hopper Option, leaving one day of the week unpaid, we will not be going inside the Parks. The current plan is to go visit Downtown Disney, enjoy the pools, visit the campground and just a early to bed kind of day in the middle of the week.

Total Budget for the Trip: $7340
Tickets/Lodging/Dinning Plans: $6500
Additional Food including travel and snacks: $500
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique $150
Gas $200

This post is way long so I am going to save the ways we plan to save and fund this trip for next post in regards to Disney.