I've moved!

Sorry to do this to you guys but I've moved my blog!  You can now find it at www.50shousewifeproject.com!  I made an about me type post if you'd like to read it.  Come by and see me! =)

It's November

Finally...  My favorite month of the year is here!  I love everything about November, the sweater weather, curling up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee, the first few snows, and of course Thanksgiving.  It's been my all time favorite holiday since I was a little girl.  I've always loved it more than Christmas...  At the age of 8 I didn't look forward to getting presents on Christmas, I looked forward to my family all coming together at Thanksgiving, sitting around the table and laughing...  Eating turkey, helping my mom bake.  I could go on and on! 

After my mom passed away in 2006 it took me a while to kind of get my groove back so to speak.  When she died, our family all split up and went our separate ways.  The first couple years were rough and sad.  But then I realized, duh.  I've got my OWN family!  Just because things are different doesn't mean they have to be bad!  And since then, it's been better than ever!

It was hard to tell my hubbs family that we wouldn't be going around to their houses anymore on the holidays.  We had usually spent Thanksgiving (and Christmas for that matter) running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  Trying to make it to all the different houses and stuffing ourselves into oblivion to keep everyone happy.  But we stood firm and continue to stand firm every year, we have our own family and are making our own traditions.  We want them to know the same joys that my hubbs and I both grew up with.  All the family coming together around our dining room table and all the noise and chaos.  I think that's the best part!  We sat our feet down about 6 years ago and we've had our holidays in our own home ever since.

At first it was difficult, it was change, nobody likes change.  But we are the only family on my hubbs side that has children.  So we had to set the precedent.  We told everyone they were welcome to come here and have dinner with us if they'd like.  The first year, we had EVERYONE!  I think we had about 15 people which is a lot to me lol.  Especially when I'm used to cooking for four!  But things have settled down since then, now we usually have about 8 every holiday. 

I don't know if you've ever watched the show Reba but one of my all time favorite episodes is the one where it's Thanksgiving and Barbra Jean wants to have dinner at her house but everyone ends up at Reba's anyway.  And BJ gets upset about it and Reba tells her that right now Reba is the turkey and BJ is the gravy, but some day BJ will be the turkey of her own Thanksgiving.  It made so much sense to me!  My mom was always the turkey, but now I get to be the turkey.  It's bittersweet really.  I'd gladly go back to being the gravy if I could but it just doesn't work that way.

Plus I know I won't always be the turkey...  Our children will grow up and have families of their own.  I'll happily be the gravy for them!  Happy November friends!  Eat turkey and be happy!

I've missed this...

So I don't know if you've noticed...  But I haven't written a blog in some time.  I haven't really felt the urge in a while.  But for the past couple of days something has been gnawing at me.  I think it's pretty therapeutic to write out your deepest thoughts every now and again.  The things you wouldn't say to the people that you see in your day to day life.  Private things that you think about when laying in bed at night and you can't sleep...  Let's just get right down to it, shall we?

As many of you already know, I had my oldest son at the ripe old age of 16.  Like I tell him every chance I get, he (and his brother) are the very best thing that ever happened to me.  I've NEVER regretted having my children when I did.  My life wouldn't be what it is now if I had waited.  I could very well have ended up like the rest of my family, on drugs and in jail or worse... 

Although I wouldn't change anything, I did have to make some sacrifices...  All parents do.  One of the things that I had to give up was finishing high school.  It just wasn't possible at the time for me.  Plus, I figured I'd just get my GED later.  I mean, I had plenty of time right?  Well here it is 11 years later and I'm still a high school drop out...

I've given lots of excuses over the years as to why I haven't done it yet but do you want to know the true reason?  The "only admit it to myself at night when everyone else is asleep" reason?  I'm afraid of failure.  I know we all are and it's normal...  But how embarrassing would it be to go take the GED test and fail?  I'd never get the courage to take it a second time.  I know myself well enough to admit that.

So a couple of weeks ago, my oldest started having trouble with school and bullies.  We talked about pulling him out of public school if necessary.  I REFUSE to let my child be one of those poor kids you hear about on the news, parents lived in the dark while the child was bullied for months.  Only to find out about it when they read the suicide note.  I mean if you can earn a college degree online these days, surely you can find middle school classes online right?

Well in doing this research I found that you can get your entire education online these days!  And while we may not be ready to pull our child out of school just yet (we're working the steps and doing what we can to work with the school), it did make me aware of something else.  It was a tiny little spark of an idea at first...  "Hey, it's possible to get your diploma online!  Cool!"

It kept popping up in my mind over the next week or so...  I decided it couldn't hurt to do some research right?  Harmless research.  Nothing wrong with that!  I had some concerns...  Is it legit?  Does it cost a fortune?  Can you get a REAL diploma?  How awesome would it be, to be able to get my high school diploma after all of these years?  What an example could I set for my own children! 

I brought it up to the Hubbs thinking he would tell me to forget it!  Just go get my GED and be happy with that.  He's a very pragmatic man, I figured he wouldn't see the point of all the time and work if I could just take one day, take a test, and be done with it.  But I was pleasantly surprised when he told me to go for it! 

So basically...  Long story short...  I'm going to be a 27 year old high school student.  I'm still not sure how I feel about that statement!  I know that I'll be very proud of myself...  I know that my oldest is already proud of me, I discussed it with him earlier tonight.  He told me that we could help each other with homework lol! 

As most of you know, my childhood family is pretty nonexistent these days.  Everyone has gone their own separate ways and now my family consists of my Hubbs and children.  So the only other people I really have to share this info with is you guys!  Hubbs told me that it's never too late.  I hope he's right...

I am thankful...

Today the Hubbs and I experienced a little bit of a let down, it's a small thing in the grand scheme of things really.  I don't want to go into detail because it's a personal matter but don't worry, it's really not a terrible tragedy.  Just a disappointment. 

Every time I go through any kind of negative thing, the optimist in me immediately starts reminding me of all the wonderful things in my life.  Without even trying, I start automatically going over everything I have to be thankful for.  A part of me wants to sit down and list them out, usually I do that on a sheet of paper but today I decided to write a blog about it.

What am I thankful for?  I'm so glad you asked...

I'm thankful for my Hubbs, he's there for me every single day.  He works so hard to provide for his family and he is the single, steady, constant in my life.  I can always count on him and he will always do his very best to help me however he can. I grew up in a family where everything was chaotic and my father was never there, ever.  The only person that I could really count on to be there was my mom and she's not here anymore.  Without the Hubbs, I would be lost.

I'm thankful for my beautiful bebies.  They do test my patience but they are worth every bit of stress.  They're happy and healthy, they love me unconditionally.  No matter how many times I may snap at them or say "Not right now, I'm busy," they always have a hug and a kiss for their Momma.  I do try my best to not snap or say "Not right now" but I'm not always successful.  They're extremely well behaved, well mannered, understanding, forgiving children!

I'm thankful for our home, where we celebrate all of our holidays, birthdays, and every-days.  It may be a bit of a fixer upper but it keeps us warm and sheltered.  There is plenty of room for all of our family and stuff, we have a wonderful yard for our kiddos and pets to play in.  Growing up in a single wide trailer really helps me appreciate this.  Some people look at our house and see that it needs remodeled (we're in the slow process) but I just look at it and smile.  I know that my mom would have been extremely proud and that makes me proud.

I'm thankful for our fur babies.  They keep me company when the hubbs and kiddos are gone.  They are always there with a wagging tail whenever I'm feeling blue.  They're truly a part of our family and we'll be heart broken whenever they leave us.

I'm thankful for a kitchen stocked well with food.  I often remember that there are so many people going to bed hungry tonight.  So many children dying from starvation.  How can anyone be upset over their own petty problems when they thing about things like that? Every day we have breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks we want in between.  We have sweets for dessert and plenty of different types of drinks.  We many not be eating filet mingnon but at least we're eating!

I'm thankful for amazing friends that we can laugh and cry with.  Your friends are the family that you get to choose.  They are the people that you want to spend time with just because, not because you were born into a relationship with them.  They support you, listen and laugh with you.  I don't have hundreds of friends, but the ones that I do are friends for life.  I appreciate each one of them!  (Gotta give a shout out to my Golden Girls!)

I'm thankful for a strong and healthy body.  I push my body everyday during my workout and sometimes I have to take a break or get frustrated but I keep going.  Because there are people out there who can't work their bodies, there are sick people, people with no legs, people dying with cancer.  How can I sit in my chair like a lump on a log when there are people out there wishing they could push their body to their limits?  Working out is a privilege and I take full advantage of it.  It makes me a healthier and happier person and my whole family benefits from that.

With all of this to be grateful for, it's much easier to smile than it is frown.  I am truly a blessed person!  I'm wondering...  What are you guys thankful for?  Make a list (on paper, mentally, on the computer, on here, anywhere) of all the things you are grateful for.  I promise, it'll make you smile!

Goals for the Week of 01/21/13

Well last weeks goals were kind of a let down...  I really didn't get as many of them done as I would have liked to.  But I don't let myself dwell on that!  I just add them to the new list this week and then I set out with even more determination than I had before.  Here's a recap of last week's list...

My Goals for the Week of 01/14/13

Marriage/Parenting
 - Have family dinner four times.  (This is something we used to do every night but somehow have gotten out of the habit of!) - Sadly we did not accomplish this but will try again this week!
 - Continue Participating in the Love Challenge.  - This is actually called The Love Dare!
 - Have one at home date night.  Grandma took the kiddos and we spent an evening cuddling and watching The Big Bang Theory together...  It was wonderful! =)
 - Spend at least 15 minutes daily per child, just talking with them. (Ongoing)
Homemaking
 - Finalize Cleaning Lists (Daily/Weekly/Monthly) - Still need to finish up monthly!
 - Print & Laminate Cleaning Lists. - Didn't get any of this done >.<
 - Review budget.
Personal
 - Follow my healthy meal plan. (Ongoing) - Failed pretty miserably here, 3 out of 7! >.<
 - Exercise 6 days. - Got 5 out of 6 so we'll call that a win!
 - Continue reading Frumps to Pumps.
 - Continue reading Becoming the 1%: How You Can Instantly Supercharge Your Mornings.

Miscellaneous
 - Edit daily chapter for Hubbs. - Didn't do very well here either...  3 out of 5.
 - Edit Photos (From Christmas - Yikes!) - I marked this off about mid week because I knew I wouldn't get to it.
 - Take down the Christmas tree. (Ornaments one day, lights/garland another, and finally deconstructing the tree) As you know, we decided to keep the tree up!  I did get all of the Christmas ornaments and lights off, we made a few valentines ornaments and some heart garland but have much more to make still.

All in all, I'd say it was a good week!  We did get some things done so I don't feel like it was just a wasted/stagnant week.  We're moving forward no matter the pace...  I'm looking forward to a fantastic week this week though! 


Goals for the Week of 01/21/13

Marriage/Parenting/Family
 - Family dinner 3x/week (starting smaller this week!).
 - Date night 1x/week.
 - Continue The Love Dare - I'm on day 7 out of 40, it's a Monday through Friday project.
 - Spend at least 15 minutes daily with each child, just talking and listening to them. (Ongoing)

Homemaking
 - Finalize monthly cleaning list.
 - Share lists with Facebook and Blog.
 - Print/Laminate cleaning lists.
 - Make more Valentine's tree decorations with kiddos.

Personal
 - Follow weekly meal plan.
 - Exercise 6x/week. 
 - Continue reading Frumps to Pumps. - This is also a Monday through Friday project, on Day 7 out of 20.
 - Finish reading Becoming the 1%: How You Can Instantly Supercharge Your Mornings.

Misc.
 - Edit Hubbs book daily. (Monday through Friday)


A lot of these are repeats and I'm OK with that...  There are a lot of things that will be ongoing through the year and that's a good thing.  When you find something you like or something that works for your family, you have to stick to it.  You can't just do it for a while and then give up!  If there is something that's hard for you or you're new to goal setting (like me!) remember to set manageable goals.  Tiny little bite sized things that you can actually accomplish.  It'll give you a great feeling of pride just doing something small!  Be proud and celebrate your achievements.  =)

Goals for the Week of 01/14/13

Goal setting is a fairly new concept to me, I've only been doing it for about six weeks now.  As I mentioned before, I'm not big on New Years resolutions.  Mostly because I have gotten over zealous with them before and ended up falling flat on my face.  Which makes you feel like a giant lump of dirt and that's just unpleasant.  I had no intentions of making New Years resolutions this year...  I did end up making one, yes just one.  It's pretty simple...  Get into bed by 11:30PM on weekdays and 12:30PM on weekends.

So far, that's been fantastic!  I've stuck with it every single night this year, so 13 days (not counting tonight yet) and going strong!  It's wonderful waking up and not feeling like a mombie.  I'm actually waking up at 5:30 without hitting snooze ten times and then being late.  I'm nicer to my kiddos in the morning because I'm giving myself time to wake up before I get them up.  I'm not taking a nap during the day so I am much more productive.  It's made a lot of positive changes that I didn't see coming.  I'm thankful for that... 

Have you heard of Money Saving Mom?  I recently found her on Facebook and she's been a huge inspiration to me in many aspects of my life.  Mostly in the parenting/marriage aspect.  She's such a wonderful wife and mother!  Well if you've seen her blog before, you may think of her when you read my goals.  She always posts her weekly goals and I love reading them so I've decided to share mine with you!  Let's not waste anymore time...

My Goals for the Week of 01/14/13

Marriage/Parenting
 - Have family dinner four times.  (This is something we used to do every night but somehow have gotten out of the habit of!)
 - Continue Participating in the Love Challenge.
 - Have one at home date night.
 - Spend at least 15 minutes per child, just talking with them. (Ongoing)

Homemaking
 - Finalize Cleaning Lists (Daily/Weekly/Monthly.
 - Print & Laminate Cleaning Lists.
 - Review budget.

Personal
 - Follow my healthy meal plan. (Ongoing)
 - Exercise 6 days.
 - Continue reading Frumps to Pumps.
 - Continue reading Becoming the 1%: How You Can Instantly Supercharge Your Mornings.

Miscellaneous
 - Edit daily chapter for Hubbs.
 - Edit Photos (From Christmas - Yikes!)
 - Take down the Christmas tree. (Ornaments one day, lights/garland another, and finally deconstructing the tree) 

There they are...  My weekly goals!  Do you make daily/weekly/monthly/yearly goals?  Want to share them with us?  Comment here on the blog or come leave a comment on facebook!  I hope you have a super productive week! <3

Oh universe, why?

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems like the universe is out to get you?  Well I did...  Yesterday.  I took our oldest to the dentist for the first time in too long to admit.  I could make excuses about not having dental insurance, but regardless he should have been taken in before.  He has a pretty bad cavity that needs a root canal.  At 10 years old.  It's horrifying.  I've never had anything that extensive done and I just can't believe that I let my child's tooth get that bad.  Ugh. 

But enough guilting... We finally have dental insurance (signed up last month!) so we went in and got him checked out.  The appointment went great, all the ladies in the office loved him, my big brave boy.  He didn't complain or wimp out even though he was nervous.  They told me he needs a root canal, one other filling, and a couple of sealants.  We scheduled our next appointment and then they gave me the bill. 

When I signed up for the insurance I made sure to get the plan with the most coverage I could get.  I bought the most expensive plan because I knew our whole family needs to get some work done.  Only after we'd already been seen did I find out that our dentist isn't in our insurance network.  Every other dentist in the area seems to be, except for ours.  What does that mean?  It means that our insurance company will not pay our dentist.  I pay the dentist and then get reimbursed by the insurance company.  That might not be so bad except Alex's first appointment was nearly $300 and the rest of the work he needs done is going to be over $2000. 

Another kick in the teeth?  No dental plan in our area will cover a root canal unless you've been with the company for over a year.  Apparently people sign up, get their work done, and cancel their policy.  I have no intentions of doing that, as I said before we all need some work done so it's going to be a lifelong policy.

I'm at the point now where I have to decide, do I want to switch dentists or insurance companies?  Honestly I would rather switch insurance companies.  We like our dentist, we don't want to switch.

Even if we do switch insurance companies, they won't cover his root canal.  As I've mentioned before, we don't have any savings.  If we save every extra penny we can and put everything towards the dentist.  It'll take 3-4 months to save up enough.  I'm going to call the dentist today and see if we can work out a payment plan.  I hope that we can because I want to get him all taken care of. 

And aside from all of that, I had to pay $80 down on the cost of his first appointment.  Which was nearly the last of our spending money for the next week and a half.  I'll go over where that went in another post. 

It seems like as soon as you start trying to build up a savings, or get things on the right track, things just pop up and problems happen.  It's like you are knocked down before you can really even get started.  I haven't lost faith though, I believe that this will work out somehow.  I'm not going to throw my hands up in the air and give up.  Even if it takes three months, we will get this taken care of. 

Thank you guys for lending an ear, it helps to get it all out there.  It's funny...  I say things in this blog that I'm feeling, things that I wouldn't ever say aloud to anyone...  Except maybe my hubbs.  He's great about letting me vent to him.  But without this blog, I think I would be a lot more stressed out!  So thank you again, for being there! =)