New Computer

It has been a while since I blogged. My computer crashed and I lost my bookmark for this blog. Thankfully someone posted a link to start a blog on here and I was able to find it.
The house search is dismal. Dave Ramsey says to only have a house payment that is 25% of your monthly take home pay. WE have looked at every house in our price range and a bit higher. Nothing!! Today we decided that we are going to look into rentals. They are more in our price range and I think it would be the sensible thing to do for a while. WE have been living in an RV for almost 6 months and it is getting a little close. My furniture, kids toys and personal items have been in storage for 1 year. I think I am ready to have a household again. But I do know one thing, I will be going through everything with a fine tooth comb. I know what it is like to only need the essentials and I know we have way to much of everything. I have been taking stuff to the local thrift store but I think I am going to have a big garage sale after we find a place. Who know, that money might just pay for a new washer & dryer. Of all the things I miss that are in storage, I miss my freezer the most. I have a very tiny freezer on top of the fridge and have to turn my ice cube trays sideways because it is to short.
I have a call into a local real estate agent that handles rentals and she has two that I am interested in. I think renting for a while I don't feel so much pressure to find the "right" or "perfect" house. I can concentrate on area and price. And if there is something I don't really like it won't be such a big deal. I can live with it for a while.

Lizard Skin

We have been studying dinosaurs and today we made Lizard Skin. It is just rice crispy candy on steroids. It doesn't look to much like lizard skin unless you squint. It has peanut butter, marshmallows, and green food coloring. But the kids had a great time.
We hit story time at the library last week. It is geared to younger kids but they always do a neat craft so the kids like to go. This past week as the librarian was reading the last book one of the little kids pulled the fire alarm. They made everyone evacuate the building and wouldn't let us back in. I thought it was interesting that we could see the fire department from the library parking lot but no fire truck ever came. After about 20 minutes the librarian told us we would do the craft next week and we all left. I'm glad we weren't really on fire.
I have been getting organized for next years schooling. DD will be in 3rd grade and DS will be in K. I was going though some worksheets that were grade appropriate and realized that in most things DS should be going into first grade. His birthday is in Dec so I have decided to see how he does and if he should be in first grade by his birthday, I will move him up.
We joined the local art museum today. We joined because I found out they do a homeschooling art group once a month. It would be a great way to meet other homeschoolers as well as learn about art. I cannot really find a homeschooling association that is close. There seems to be some great ones in this state but none that are close by. So I am hoping to meet a few people.
I found a great website for unit studies. It has a few unit studies on it that will be great for DS. Unit studies are when you take one subject and learn all about it using any means or methods. For example. If you are studying dinosaurs, you learn all aspects. Out math worksheets involve dinos, our reading, writing, all involve dinosaurs. You use dinos as the subject of everything you teach. This works great for DS because he some things he is very interested in and is willing to learn all about them.

Househunting

We have been out looking at houses the past few days. I talked to a realtor and told him my requirements and he sent me a list of 10 houses in the area. The first 5 were not that great and they wanted $195K for them. Then we headed to a small town about 20 miles North of here. We saw 2 more that were way overpriced. One was over 100 years old and while the house wasn't to bad the location was the drawback. Then we found one that we will probably go back with the realtor and look inside. It is still to high at $190K and has been on the market for over a year. I just don't want a big house payment. I know where we live the cost of living is outrageous but I still don't want to pay over $130K and would prefer to pay even less. The house we are going back to look at is 4/2 and it is a modular. It was factory built, brought to the lot in pieces and assembled.

Kid's Movies

We took our 2 kids to see Meet the Robinsons this weekend. It was okay, but there were previews for a Nancy Drew movie coming out this summer. My daughter has quite a few ND books and has been reading through them. It looked like it would be pretty good. I will have to look more into it before we decide if we will go see it.
Today was an absolutely beautiful day today. At least it was until early afternoon and then the wind started blowing, and blowing and blowing. Had to close the windows it was blowing so hard.
My DD started coughing a few weeks ago and I was finally able to get her in to see our Dr. The Dr told me something I never thought of. She told me to give her vitamin c before letting her go out to play and as soon as she comes inside form playing that she needed to wash her face immediately and this would cut down on the coughing from the allergies. So we are going to try it!
The days are getting much longer now but we are still freezing every night. High 20's and then it gets up to mid 60's during the day.

Winter is Back

We have had such nice weather the past few days. Until last night. Winter is back and it will be in the 20's the next few nights. I can I can pack my shorts away again. The wind was howling and blowing like crazy last night. The forecast called for 25-35 mph wind with gusts up to 50mph. So it got really loud at times with the wind whipping around the house.
So, we had a craft day today. My DD worked on her journal. She has started keeping one and it is really improving her handwriting. My DS and I just read a lot today. I think it is time to go through his books and remove some of them. I think he is getting to old for some of them. Plus we just really don't have the room for them. I have two small bookcases set up in our living room right inside the front door and they are stuffed. I also have their home school workbooks in there as well and I also have two shelves of puzzles that they like to do. I need to reorganize things so we can work better and get more things done.

Finally, the potty is fixed.

We have been having problems with our toilet this past week or so. First it had a small leak and then a large leak and then it stopped up and wouldn't go down. We tried everything and finally just bought a new one. Then we didn't have the right parts to install. So, today I drove DH down to the hardware store and we got the right parts, installed it tonight and DS got to break it in right. I am so thankful it is done. You don't appreciate things like flush toilets until you don't have them. I am so glad we don't have outhouses anymore.
Made some chicken tortilla soup today. It came out okay. It tasted great but I when I usually make it, I use my food processor to chop up the onions, tomatoes and green chilies as small as I can. This way the soup is very smooth and creamy. Since I don't have my food processor right now, I just have to cut things as small as possible. Tastes great but has a different consistency.
We decided to grill outside tonight and got everything ready but the wind was blowing so hard we thought it might be dangerous so I ended up cooking inside. When we lived in Texas we usually only had high wind when it was a storm or front moving through. Here it is an every day thing. We have an awning outside that has some holes in it that you set the height with. It is whistling like crazy because the wind is blowing over the holes and making a weird sound. I actually went looking for the noise because it was so loud.
At the local health food store they have those great heating pads that have rice or beans in them that you heat in the microwave and then lay on them or under them. I have had some before but these are great because they have some great herbs in them. I can smell mint and some kind of cinnamon maybe. It is very soothing and relaxing. i also like them because you can go to sleep with one. Usually with heating pads you aren't supposed to go to sleep with one I guess you could get burned without realizing it.

Long weekend & new recipes

We had a long weekend. DH's plane was supposed to be in Fri pm about 11. Did not happen. Kind of strange, the airline decides to put new tires on his plane before they leave, takes about 4 hours and of course he misses his connecting flight. He was put up in a hotel with no luggage. Arrived about 10am Sat. And then still had no luggage, we had to stay another night to get his luggage. Thankfully they delivered it to the hotel. I'm just glad that nothing was missing.
Got home a day later and have been playing catch up all day today. We have a washer but our dryer doesn't work real well so I wash clothes and then run them down to the laundry where we live and dry them. It does save a bit of money. And much more convenient than washing and drying everything.
I tried some new recipes today. I finally found a potato soup recipe that was pretty good. Even the kids ate it. It was called sour cream potato soup and it was really creamy. Of course we sprinkled bacon and cheese on it. Also made pasta salad. It's not a new recipe to me, I just never made it. I used garden rotini and Italian salad dressing and put in a few sliced olives. My DD like this especially. So, we just had a basic housekeeping day. The kids also did a few crafts. A paint by number and I had found some small wooden birdhouse wind chimes and they painted them as well. They look very cute hanging outside.

Back from the Trip

We had a great time at the zoo. We were able to get quite a few good pictures of some of the animals. My DD is putting together a scrapbook of the trip. The zoo was nice and there was a train that you could buy tickets to that would also take you to an aquarium that you could look at. The train was a little slow and we spent time waiting in line for it that could have been spent elsewhere. If I could do it again. I would just drive to the aquarium.
Got to eat at Outback(my favorite) and Fuddrucker's. I have had to become much more organized and also realized that I still have a ways to go. I was able to get a paper and to look at all of the sale ads before leaving the big city. We hit Michael's and got quite a few craft sets for the kids from the markdown bins. Definately worth it. When homeschooling I always need something to keep one occupied while working with the other one. Hit Sam's for a decent papershredder. I burned the last one up and the paper was starting to stack up. This one shreds credit cards, CD's etc. Also found some preschool workbooks for DS. He is starting to read letters to me now. It is just a matter of time before he can read simple things. He is also reading price tags to me. We also hit several Walgreens looking for all the items they had for free this month. Still do not have the Crest but was able to get everything else. They also had papertowels for .50¢, Puffs for .99¢ and plastic wrap for $1.50. I was also able to use mfg coupons as well. WE use lots of papertowels and puffs here. Now I have a small stockpile and feel better that I didn't have to pay full price.
A few plants are starting to bloom out here and it seems like we might have some allergies flaring up. The symptoms come and go. If the kids stay inside, they seem better, if they play outside they are snarfy that night. We are headed to the health food store to see what they suggest. Our DR is out of town this weekend so I am hoping to get it under control but will probably see her next week to see what she thinks it is.
We stopped at a few new thrift stores while in the big city. They were shopped pretty hard and were a little high. We found new shirts at Dillards marked down to about the same price as the thrift store. So, the only thing we bought was an Emilie Barnes book for DD. It was about cleaning and organizing your bedroom. It's just like her book for adults but at a younger lever and it also had a story to go along with it. For the past few days we have just been playing catch up, laundry, a few craft projects, groceries. And trying to rest up to get rid of the alleries.

We are getting to ready to go to the zoo this weekend. It is a 2 1/2 hr drive from here so we are going for the weekend. Really looking forward to it. With young kids, zoos have always been a favorite of ours. This will be a new zoo for us but we have heard it is nice. I hope we have nice weather for the trip. Where we used to live we bought a zoo membership and it enabled us to get into a few other zoos for free and to get into the Corpus Christ aquarium at half price. We let our membership lapse when we moved last year. We will have to check it out and see how much this one is.
We have been emptying out the fridge over the past few days so because we knew we would be gone. It has made for some interesting meals. Last night we had chicken pot pot, chicken stir fry, a loaf of Italian bread and half a gal of ice cream. This am my DH only had hash browns, scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. He was wondering where the bacon was. It also freezes some of the things in it. If I buy lettuce we have to eat it that night. We go through this because our fridge has a habit of turning itself off about once a week. And sometimes it takes a while to get it going again. It is propane and we think it happens if the wind blows a certain way.
I am struggling to get us all packed today. There are always so many last minute details to attend to. Whoops! Guess I better get off the computer and get going.

An Evening at Home

Casino Royal came out on DVD today. My DH is a big Bond fan so I reserved the new DVD (saved a free rental) so that we could watch it tonite. Since we don't have tv reception we watch quite a few dvd's. The video place has a new thing. If you return a 2 day rental, which are the brand new ones, the next day they will credit $1 to your account. I thought this was a great deal esp because we had a free rental. So, here were are, a Bond Night, the only thing missing is the popcorn.

Good Deals

My dishes and silverware are in storage in another state. And I have been unable to get to them for a while. I haven bee buying paperplates, bowls and plastic silver to eat with. Hoping to hold out until we can go get them. Today I stopped in Walmart and found a very nice set of Corelle w/green trim and ivy on it. It was marked down from $30 to $15. It also included drinking glasses. They also had silverware at 50% off. I was able to find two decent sets for $11 each. After calculating the cost. Even if I can't get my stuff for at least another month. It was cheaper to purchase these and wash them then to keep buying disposable. And I don't like using disposable. Lots to throw away and I can never get the plastic utensils clean. They always look like they aren't clean. We have 2 plastic plates I bought at Target at the Valentine's Day 50% off and the 4 of us fight over those plates. So, it's done. I believe that it will save money and frustration in the long run.
The time change was this past weekend and it is really throwing me off today. 5:30 came awfully early this morning and now it still seems early even though it's not.
I have also been trying to figure out a way to dry clothes. Going to the laundromat is not fun w/2 kids and using the laundromat where we live is sometimes expensive. You can't add a quarter at a time to add time you have to add a $1 at a time. Also, there is not a timer on the dryer so I am always running back and forth. If my dryer stops anyone can take my clothes out and lay them in the laundry room. Anyway, I have a washer but my dryer is kind of a joke. So, while at Walmart today I got about 6 hangers that have the clips on them. When I got home I took all the clothes out and hung as many up as I can. Most of them are already dry. I have looked at several folding racks. The cheap on at Walmart didn't look like it would hold up to well. I found one at Ace but it was $27.99 and I'm not sure I want to spend that much. We are not allowed to hang out clothes outside here. So, I am going to try this for a while. The wind seems to blow here quite a bit. Maybe I could hang some stuff out at night.. Will have to experiment and see what works best without being obvious.

A Little R&R

We had a very relaxing day today. This was the first time that we weren't up and going by 8am. I cooked a big breakfast and an even bigger lunch. This is the first time I have made chicken fried steak in a long time. And my gravy turned out great. Sometimes it's a little thin and sometimes it's to thick. So, what is the secret? I am not sure but I'm just glad it was good today.
When you have home days it's great to try and cook something you have had hanging around for a while. That's why we had CFS w/mashed potatoes, green beans, and Italian bread cooked in the oven. I was able to get a 20 lb bag of potatoes at Smith's a few weeks ago for $1.99 and these are huge potatoes. That's why we have had quite a few meals with potatoes. Very cheap and filling. Hash browns for breakfast are also a favorite.
Since we are living in such a small area I have some of my stuff in storage. I stopped by the other day to get out some of my cookbooks. I am finally able to start cooking again. It is wonderful. I cook breakfast, usually lunch and most times dinner. Occasionally we eat out at lunch and as a treat we eat dinner out. I am hoping to be more organized and cook better things. I got out my Fix It and Forget It (crock pot) and Not Just Beans (frugal cooking)
To be honest I like eating out but with the cost of living here sometimes I wonder why. An average meal for the 4 of us runs $30-$50 and most of the times it's only okay. So, that's why we are spending more times eating at home. This is the one spot in our budget that I am really having to work on. Wish me luck!! I have to be very organized top save money. I have to plan ahead and make sure that I am not running to the store every day. I have a small refrigerator and no room for a freezer so I am having to find alternatives. So far I have made everything fit in the freezer but still have to pass up some items that I find on sale because I just don't have room. I have a freezer but it is in storage in another state. We have not fully moved here. We are trying to figure out a way to bring it here and use it. I hope we can. It would save us a lot more money.

Some thrifty things!

We do not have tv reception where we live. Most people that live around us have satellite. We decided that the money really wasn't worth it. We have the radio to hear weather and local news so we might not hear about everything but sometimes that is the best. We do have a DVD player and do rent DVD's to watch. The local video store has a kids club so for $10 a month we have unlimited kids video rentals and we can have 3 out at a time. This definitely works better for us. We also like not having commercials. My DH and I have slowly been watching television series that we have heard about but never seen. Series we have slowly been watching when we have time. Veronica Mars, Monk, Boston Legal, House, and we tried Lost but had a hard time getting into it. My DH is also a big James Bond fan. I think we own every JB movie made. Sometimes with the weather here, you just don't go out unless you have to. I know it will get better once summer gets here. My understanding is that you can have snow as late as May here. I don't mind the snow, I don't mind the rain, it's the wind that just cuts right through you.
We have been saving bowling coupons off of the back of Banquet frozen dinners. I found potpies for .60¢ each at one of the grocery stores here. The bowling games are $3.50. They are good for a free game and there is a casino about 40 miles from here on one of the reservations that has a bowling alley in it. The bowling is totally separate from the casino. So we go in, bowl our free game. Hit Walgreen's and the two thrift stores in town before we head home. Last weekend, the thrift store had all of their clothing for $1. My DH is having to fly to another state next month for work and can't wear jeans. Of course, that 's all he wears so I was able to pick up a pair of khaki Dockers, tan Ralph Lauren pants and 2 long sleeve dress shirts for a total of $4. I was thrilled. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on clothes that would be worn once and then left in the back of the closet. Was also able to find a wonderful suitcase for him to take. Of course it is black with flowers but the price was right $7 and it looks new. Only a real man can carry a floral suitcase through the airport. At least that's what I keep telling him.*Smile!*

Another Day in the Life

I went to see my acupuncturist last night. She is actually a Dr of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture is a part of her treatment. I never thought that sticking a needle in your skin could help but it does seem to be helping me. I slept the best last night that I had in a while. I was so relaxed while she was doing it I almost went to sleep.. She also does Sacro Cranial ? and that helps as well.
After I got out of her office, since DH had the kids, I went to the grocery store. I was able to concentrate and was able to get out of there without forgetting anything. I also found some good markdowns. Cubesteak to make chicken fried steak. Enough for all of us for under $4. I also found the french break from Pillsbury marked down to $1.54. It is usually $2.59. It is great straight out of the oven with butter. I told DH that I was going to start going to the store after he got home so he could watch the kids. The Cheapest Family in America says you should always shop without your kids so I am going to try it. I know I was able to save over $20 in coupons because I could concentrate on what I was doing.
I started the kids in Tae Kwan Do last week. Where we used to live they were in Karate. Tae is simply the Korean version of Karate which is Japanese. This class isn't as organized at the other but it will do for right now. They have also started taking ice skating lessons Tues so we went to a homeschool skate time Wed and they had a great time. My DS has slept very well the past two nights. They also seem to be calmer in the evenings. I guess making them run laps would have the same result but wouldn't be as fun.
The bed that I sleep in is full size but not extremely comfortable so we went to Target and got one of those down mattress covers. It has made a big difference the only thing is now my sheets pop off of the corners making me crazy. So, I went to our local thrift store. I don't usually find anything there because it is shopped pretty hard but this time I was able to find a queen size sheet set w/pillowcase for $5 and it wraps around the mattress so much better. It was marked $10 but was half price. I also found a few books in great shape. Encyclopedia Brown for .25¢ and an Animorph for .25¢. They had Berenstain Bears book for $1 which is kind of high for a thrift so we left those. I was happy about the sheets because pillowcases can run $7 all by themselves. It is a nice pattern blue and white pansies. We have already washed it up and put is on the bed.
More tomorrow

Haybug's Thought for the Day

I have finally broken down and decided to start a blog. We are now living in a new state and I am unable to see family and friends as often as I would like. I would like to keep in touch better but usually think about calling them when it's not a good time. I am hoping they will be able to keep up with us with a blog.
I have also decided that this will be good for me as well to give me an outlet. We are slowly getting involved in out new community but with homeschooling etc... BUT We don't get out to terribly much!
I do not know if anyone will be interested in what I have to say. But, here goes...

I am a stay at home mom of 2 that we are currently homeschooling. I have quite a few people that have talked to me about homeschooling since moving here. They seem surprised about it but have lots of questions. We moved from an area that had a large homeschooling group, to one that has a small group. We also moved from a medium sized to town to a smaller town. The nearest Walgreens if 40 miles away and the nearest Target is 60. The cost of living here is relatively high and there are no double coupons to speak of.
Our family has worked hard to get out of debt and were able to finally do wo when we sold our house and moved into a small trailer. Quarters are a little cramped at times but the payoff was trememendous. My problem now is to maintain a budget that will also allow us to save money while raising a family. Being in debt places a large burden on you even if you don't realize it. I can't tell you the feeling of relief when we paid the last bill off. It was overwhelming.
I am unable to listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio here but can listen to him online. (Dave Ramsey was very helpful, we got some of his CD's and book so we were ready to get out of debt) It is always helpful to listen to him to keep myself motivated to remain on budget. I have also been reading about the Cheapest Family in America and they are interesting as well. It is always encouraging to read about what others do each day to save money. Especially the small details!
More later