Tenting It

Well to mix things up this summer, we got out the tent for the boys to sleep in. BUT they wanted to sleep in their room. So they cleaned up their room, and we put the tent in their room. Don't they look cozy.

Sadly The Tree Came Down

So I adore this tree, it keeps the house cool in the summer, and keeps my head wet in the winter. But sadly we know the day we moved it to the house, at some point this tree had to go. So a few things moved us to make this decision now. First we want to expand the house, and this was step one. Two we need to move the play area back and in doing that I want to build a fort the kids can sleep in, during the summer. We can't do anything with this tree in the way. Next, we have a tree in the goat area, it was near dead. It had to come down for safety reasons. So kill both stones at once.

So apparently it is much cheaper to have someone come in and cut them down, and no clean up. So on Wednesday, hubby went to call to make an appointment for Thursday. But they came Wednesday instead. So after I was doing what I had to do, I had to race home and help play clean up. The tree in the goat area, had to be cleaned up ASAP. As the goats were eating the limbs. Too many limbs and the goats will bloat up, and we risk loosing them.

So we worked our tails off and got the back field tree cleaned up. Hubby didn't take photos of the back field tree. But he did take photos of the tree that is right behind our house.

This is the tree up.

Another view.

After

After, from another view.

As of today, we now have EVERYTHING cleaned up. I'm so beyond sore, and tired and hurting. BUT it's DONE! I will try and update with those photos soon. 

Some New Goals

It's been a very crazy year so far. It's time for some new goals. Our lives change nearly daily and it's all we can do to hang on some days.

Well first our medical debt is gone. GONE! At one point topping well over the 40,000 range. I had piles and piles and piles of bills some days. All piles are gone. It has taken four years. For the last year alone I have been working with a local lender and working on our credit report. I seriously had no idea medical bills were attaching themselves to our credit report and dragging down our scores. Now I know medical bills should not really drag down your score. In reality it does drag down your score.

I have had to call and write and pay and beg for them to remove themselves. Now if they can just magically add themselves to our report they should be able to magically remove themselves after we are paid in full. NOT! This alone was a full time job. Something I broke down to taking care of one thing daily. Because it utterly wore you out.

In the past four years hubby has had four surgeries and we have recovered Ethan from Autism. I have three in the house with Celiac. One with full blown Vilitigo.

Life has been really, really tough. It's been a crazy ride of life. And we have crappy insurance. With my job with each commission, we would put the check into the bank we would start paying down our medical bills. We would pay until the money was gone. So last year we did pay a great deal. But it's a hard, hard market and it's hard working a 60 hour job with three kids. So I gave it up. It was hard as I loved my job. But the kids are more important and Autism Sucks!

So we have changed a LOT of things around here.

We have no debt but the house. We now owe more on the house, but thought one bill verses loads of medical bills made more sense. So keep an eye on the right side of the blog. I will put our starting Mortgage amount and our current amount due. One of our biggest goals now is to cut everything and pay down and pay off the house sooner then later.

No you will see we don't owe a whole lot. It is a lot of money to us through. And with all the medical there have been times we worried if we would have to give up the house, or sell the house. Plus Hubby seriously makes next to nothing. But I want to know that we own the house out right. I want to know this is mine and all mine. So a few years of cutting way back for that is do-able.

So we need to cut back even more then we have. I need to grow more, and can more. Our cars have to hold out and with mine leaking all the fluids I worry I will be walking sooner then later.

We need to live on even less. Can we do it? Can I only hit a store twice a month? Can we barter more then we do now?

Some things we have learned along the way, we went to pre-paid cell phones. I spend 30 about every two months or so. Why buy when you can make? I can all I can-can. Coupons, and sales and discounts, and really do you have to buy that? Craigslist has a free section. We have gotten a lot of wood piles and such, those wood piles have built the goat house and two play houses. We look at our bills monthly. We look at our spending daily. We set small goals. Can we build the savings to this or that? I look at our grocery list and ask do we really need this or that.

It's hard, life is hard. And I know I"m being tested daily. And I hope I am passing those tests. Ethan is not doing great right now. School is starting soon and I will be on the road daily. I will now have three in school. Scary. Right now as we are going more green and less toxins I am making snack bags and napkins for school.

Life with Autism is hard. Really, really, really hard. You find family leaves you. You don't get the support you thought you would get. There are days I would give anything for a break. But breaks don't come. There are nights I go to bed crying because of the stress. You hope you are doing right by Ethan. Can he grow to have an everyday job, can he be on his own, can he be OK with life? I find I get much more support from friends. Friends who are in the same boat. It's tiring.

So our newest goals is to live on much, much, much less then we are now.

Pay down and pay off the house sooner then later.

Build up a savings.

Go more greener, less toxins.

Try to slow down a bit more in life. The kids are only this small for so long!

So excited!

Well after many years and many fires and tons of saving, we finally did it. We finally went out and bought a stove. The final thing was one of two burners gave out well hubby was cooking. He didn't like that. Hum? What have I been whining about for months, the burner giving out well cooking.


See for nearly two years we have only had two working burners. My stove has caught fire so many times, that I just stopped counting. You know that joke when you hear the smoke alarm, dinner is done?


With all the cooking and canning I do, I really needed a new stove. Really I did. So Tuesday was the day. Lets go up and look at stoves. And we bought one. Our old one was so bad I don't dare put a photo up. So here is the empty cleaned out spot. We took it out last night in waiting for the new one today.

So it's funny we pay for the stove and decide to go and look at fridges, to check out prices for maybe a year or so down the road. See our fridge is really, really small. It's good for one or two people but the five of us. The handles are broken, shelves are broken. You open the door and stuff goes flying out.


Well they had one on clearance there, dirt cheap, in stainless, BIG and they would throw in free delivery? Hum how could we say no. So here is our old fridge.

Here is our new stove. Aint' it pretty?

New fridge, sooooooooooooooo much bigger. Ain't it pretty?

Now who will break it to hubby we need to repaint the kitchen the yellow just doesn't do it anymore? And the counters look terrible next to my new friends?

Sunday Finds

So I love going to our Goodwill on Sundays when they have dollar tag day. Usually one tag is .99 cents. I got a lot of fabric for very cheap today. I don't think I spent over 5 bucks for everything pictured. I'm excited. Yards and yards and yards. My mind is going.

Produce Bags

So I finally got off my rear and made something today. I have been needing to make Produce Bags. Because it sickens me to use plastic and to bring it home week after week. And because grocery shopping is tomorrow It was time.

Now I go down to Goodwill every Sunday and hit the dollar sale. Where one color tag is .99 cents. So I hit the sheets and usually leave with a few. So I have been saving my sheets for things like this.

These are just some fabric with a matching sheet. I had a plastic produce bag here, I just cut it open and used it as a template. Sewed it all together and it took me seriously 10 minutes per produce bag. I made 6 tonight. Here is my oldest modeling one.

Try, Try, Try Again!

So we took a trip to Costco today to price out cameras. Well it's hard to really debate and know for sure so I wrote down the numbers and came home to research them. As I'm looking up the cameras and the reviews I read someone returned a camera because the lens didn't work, no matter what he did the lens would not work with the camera and it would keep locking up.

It took a minute to hit me, The Lens? could that be the issue here? The Lens? Really? Huh, I took off the lens and went looking for my other lenses. I found my big lens and hooked it up and my camera worked. Are Ya Joking Me? I went hunting for my small lenses, found those and they worked. So my lens died, in turn locking up my camera. Well OK then.

So above is my dead lens. The one I need to go and bury. So I fixed my beloved in time for my son's promotion on Thursday. Stay tuned for those photos.

Sad Day/Week

Well as you can see there are no photos. No current blog posts. Well that is because my beloved has broken. It is refusing to take any photos. I have begged and pleaded, but still nothing. It is refusing to go click, claiming I have over used it and it wants a break. I will continue to beg, and plead and fiddy dink. We may have to take a trip to the repair shop. But my other beloved (cough, laugh) is saying lets look around for a new beloved (camera not him) Maybe it's time to upgrade? Now I have had my beloved (camera) for 7 years now. It goes everywhere with me. It's my side kick, I am not seen without it. I have been so lost without it. So sad. So misable. So as you see it's a sad, sad day here. I want to update babies, I have Ethan's promotion on Thursday...HELP.

My Yard Sale Score

Do you see it? I couldn't believe it. I have been in the market for another mixer. Now if you know me you know I BAKE. And that is an understatement. I BAKE. And daily I am doing something, cleaning the mixer doing something else, cleaning the mixer and doing something else and by the time you have to clean it for the fourth time you just give up.

So here is my newest baby. Yes, it's older and it's the old ugly yellow from back in the days. But for 20 bucks I can't be picky right? Yep, that is right 20 bucks.

SCORE!
All decked out in it's Glory!

Both mixers side by side.

I put them to work tonight doing a few dozen cupcakes. OH HEAVEN.

I'm So Cool!

I think I'm the coolest mom around. How cool is this? I have neighbor kids all around watching us put up the letters and finally they asked what is Gluten? So we got to explain to them why we are gluten free and what Celiac is. Fun stuff. And because I had to jazz things up, I added the red thingy's all over the van.

If this passes the Washington weather test I will be selling these so I keep everyone posted. I'm so excited.

Me jazzing up my van.

Swagbucks?

Does anyone Swag? I'm new to it. Check it out http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Mousemoe
If you sign up say I referred ya, would ya? I seem to be having fun. Seeing how many points I can earn and earn free things. We'll see?