5 Things Friday

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Sheila

This week turned out to be extremely busy! I had planned to post at least twice during the week and as you can tell that did not happen. I even have pictures loaded of our spring flowers. The weather is rather screwy right now. We are expecting a hard freeze this weekend and then hopefully on to Summer.
Zach was “Owl Star” in his class this week. He got to take the owl to a lot of different places. This is a privilege which also included extra homework. Zach wrote 3 journal entries about their adventures and complete 3 questions each day for show and tell. My favorite picture of the week is soccer practice.

3. Lily has been preparing all week for the “Story Telling Festival” at her school. She and her friend presented the book 22 times today. The really cool fact is that I participated in the very first “Story Telling Festival” at the Elementary School.

4. Lily is also “Star Titan” this achievement is awarded each month to one student per class. I am very proud to say that all three of the little kids have now been selected this year.

5. As part of being student of the week, Zach filled out a list of questions. His answer to “what makes you special?”— I have 4 sisters
“Who is your hero”– Jesus.

Custom – Kitchen

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Sheila

The factor that started our kitchen remodel was seating for our growing family. At Christmas, I was disappointed that not only could we not all eat in the same room but I was limited in what I could actually prepare because I simply did not have the counter space.

When we made the decision to replace all the cabinets, I knew that we would not be able to afford high end cabinets with all the cool features. I am very pleased to say that we have achieved some really cool features and I honestly feel that we are utilizing every each of space in the kitchen currently.

Today, I want to share the special touches that make our kitchen one of a kind. First is the custom tile work.

This area is behind our stove and I forgot to get a picture after the gout was placed but just look at how cool it looks. Matt and I talked and we really did not want to place full tiles behind the stove. We did go ahead and place the sticky mat until we decided what to do. Zach was watching us work and the idea came to me that he could finish this section of tile using the pieces that we had cut off of other tiles. Zach completed about 3/4 of the area before Lily decided he needed help. The only guidance I gave him was not to place two of the same tile together. This is an awesome custom feature that I am assured will not be repeated anywhere else in the world.

I have already shared about my favorite cabinet. Which is also very custom, here is a reminder picture.

Another feature that is very unique is the electric outlets that are part of the counter top. These were Matt’s suggestion and after a bit of rewiring that we still need to complete, we will be able to plug up and use ALL of my crockpots at that same time as my Kitchen-Aid mixer.

The final custom cabinet is probably the one that took the most time and effort to figure out. It also ended up costing around $50 to complete. But in reality is saves a ton of space and actually allows me to have all the utensils I need within reach. This cabinet is directly beside the stove and is actually a double sided pegboard.

Currently we still need to do some touch up painting and add quarter round to both the back splash and floor. But we are very close to being at a finishing point with this project.

Here is the progress we have made.

The Back Splash

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Sheila

I am super excited because we were able to finish the back splash in one Saturday! I knew it would make a huge difference but I am still surprised at how great it looks.

Just a reminder of what we started with…

Our friends used a mat to complete their kitchen remodel and we decided to copy it was awesome. We first cut and place the double sided sticky mat to the wall.

Next we laid out the tile and cut to fit around things. We started on the bottom and worked our way up.

It took about 4 hours this morning to get all the tile in place.

After Zach’s soccer game, in which he scored his first goal! Our friend came over to help with the gout. I am still amazed and LOVE the way it all turned out.

We will be working on the finishing touches and I will share tomorrow a couple more of the custom features we have included.

Favorite Cabinet

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Sheila

I have several “big” goals for this weekend, both in real life and on-line. We are planning to install the back splash for our kitchen. At that point, we will have completed 3 of the 4 planned steps. (The Plan). The on-line plan is a little bit more complex. I want to share all the wonderful features of the new kitchen in addition to a ton of features and finally have a post with the entire process via links. This post will hopefully be the first in a series.

We order new cabinets prior to removing the old one. I did not realize how badly damages and nasty aka toxic the old lower cabinets were. We literally used a shovel to remove the floor underneath due to mold and mildew. We were not able to find a cabinet to fill the last five inches before the door frame. In addition, I regretted losing my spice cabinet. Then I searched pinterest and found the perfect solution.

Matt was able to construct this cabinet that perfectly fits in and total spent on it was ZERO! He used salvaged wood from several other projects in addition to casters from an old television stand. This is my absolute favorite cabinet.

March in Review

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Sheila

I can honestly say I am not sure about how I feel about this month as a whole. I am excited because we have made huge gains in our kitchen remodel. I plan to share this during the next free days. We are also at a point which means we will be stopping progress most likely until next January, unless something big and exciting happens. March was stressful to say the least, so here is a look at my monthly goals.

Personal-
1. Blogging– Post 20 per month. Fail. This is post number 13, which is even less than last month and I know that most post this month have been pictures. I am going to get better and more consistent!

2.Weight Loss– 175#. Struggling with time for this.

3. Spiritual– Spend at least 5 days a week, reading and studying The Bible. Goal Met. So proud to say that I am continuing with this goal and it is becoming more and more important each day.

1/3 personal goals met. It would appear I am in need of a time make-over.

Financial-

1. Set aside money each month in every budget category. Goal Met- The only category that did not get funded for March was clothing. Today, I have received 3 bags of clothing for the kids. God’s provides!

2. Establish and maintain Emergency Fund- Fail.
3. Groceries: Goal is for $700. SUCCESS- Total spending for the month is $237.14! I did use my earnings from my Costco American Express this month to help but I am still tracking well below budget for the year. I made a list of the meats that we have remaining and a menu for the month of April. We will need to purchase meat for the next several months but we still should be able to maintain the budget!

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month- Fail. Another car repair just a week prior to the ultimate car death forced us over budget yet again

5. Pay off all Credit Card debit by December 2016- Fail. This has been a really expensive month and we have struggled to keep up. I was able to complete a transfer of some money to a no interest account this month which will reduce our overall debit and allow for quicker repayment. Matt does have a couple of potential jobs so hopefully April will find us in a better financial position.

What I Did This Weekend3/27/2016

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Sheila

I can honestly say I am as tired as I ever remember being. I am going to share 3 photos that should explain at least part. Once we get things cleaned up I will get better pictures to share.

Friday night

Saturday

Sunday

Okay so I am sharing this picture to show the new dishwasher and what Matt accomplished on Friday… Excuse the mess

Haley’s Birthday Wordless Wednesday

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Sheila

Monday Menu Post 3/21/2016

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Sheila

I can’t decide if I was excited or fearful when started pulling out food of the freezers for the next couple of weeks. We did realize, we only have 1pound of uncooked ground beef. Fortunately, we still have plenty of pork and quite a bit of chicken left. April will mean that we will need to buy meat to give us a good variety again. We did have to make a couple of changes in our monthly plan for this week but we should still be able to maintain the lower than normal grocery budget for March. I was excited to have time yesterday to re-stock some of our breakfast foods in addition to continuing to use items out of the freezers.

Breakfast– Saturday-Matt was in charge, bacon biscuits, Sunday- Breakfast burritos with leftovers for the week. Monday- Apple muffins or Banana oatmeal cookies, these will also be leftovers. Thursday morning- Strawberries and cream baked oatmeal. Other days choices will include toast, grits, leftovers French toast pop-tarts or grits,

Lunch-I was able to get the kids lunches packed for the three days they will be attending school this week. I have some soup that will be my main lunch meal this week.

Dinner- Saturday- Lunch- Matt was in charge again. Dinner- Shrimp Alfredo
Sunday- Lunch- Taco Soup. Dinner- Grilled cheese sandwiches
Monday- Rice Creole
Tuesday-Grilled Chicken, green beans and squash casserole
Wednesday- Eating out for Haley’s Birthday
Thursday- Slow cooker beef and broccoli
Friday- Left-overs

The kids are out of school starting on Friday for an entire weeks so meals should get interesting!

Saving on Saturday 3/19/2016

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Sheila

The weather has been warm and sunny the last week. This has made Saving a little bit easier for us. We decided to turn off the heat and air around 2 weeks ago and managed a solid 10 days without the use of either until today. I am hopefully that we can again turn it off next weekend. My goal is always to go an entire month without use either which will reduce our electric bill by approximately $100 for the month.

The warmer weather has also got me thinking about our garden. I purchased some new netting and some lawn fabric to use. The netting is specific to square foot garden but is also much cheaper than wire so I am hoping that it will last for several years. I am also trying something new this year. We still have sweet potatoes from our harvest in the fall, so I am trying to start a new crop from the ones we have. The kids enjoying helping with this project. I am not sure if this will give us enough but I am thinking that once I see it working I may start a second batch as well to equal the amount we planted last year.

I read last month that you could grow romaine lettuce using a similar water method. The red cup you see is out second head we have attempted. Last week, Zach and I planted the first one in the garden.

I realize that we may not be able to have a continual harvest and most like will only get a few extra leaves from this but as I have said before, every little bit helps.

Other areas of saving is our grocery budget, so far we have managed to spend $125 out of pocket for the month of March in addition to less than $1000 for the entire year so far. This has been the best and most controlled my grocery budget has ever been. I will admit that monthly meal planning helps but we also are buying on a rotating schedule. Our March spending should remain well below $200 however I will need to purchase meat in April so the budget will again be higher.

Finally, I am attempting to save money by using Swagbucks. My goal for each month is to earn one $25 gift card.

What are your saving secrets?

5 Things Friday-3/18/2016

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Sheila

Amanda purchased a new to her car yesterday, so we should be able to stick to our gas budget for the next several months. Which means paying off the tires on my van and for the last couple repairs on her car that finally died.
I splurged today and got a new color and haircut. I can’t post a picture because my allergies are going haywire and my eyes are swollen.
Matt has made some progress on the kitchen this week, hopefully he will be able to finish up plumbing and we will have our new dishwasher next Friday. My plan is to wait and post pictures once the dishwasher is completely in place. I am also optimistic that with the purchase of the dishwasher and new upper cabinets, we will stop spending for the summer.
I will be travelling to Raleigh tomorrow alone for a workshop on correct documentation. I am sad to be missing Zach’s soccer game but not sad to miss sitting in the rain to watch it.
We will be starting gardening in the next couple of weeks. I have been growing lettuce from scraps and plan to start sweet potatoes from our leftovers on Sunday.

Teens Tots and Everything In Between

Life, Love and Coupons