From Messy Kid's Desk, to Vanity for Mom

I have wanted a vanity for forever!  I really want one of those beautiful antique wooden vanity's with all the details and the three sided mirror, but who can afford that?  With that in mind and the saying "Fake it till you make it", I figured I would slap me together something at least resembling a vanity.  So I brainstormed a little and realized we had an extra kid's desk in the younger boys' room.  Hmmmm, I came up with a plan.  Apparently, I was really desperate at the time because it looked like this...

I told you it was fresh from the kid's room!  Anyway, I came up with a plan!  I took it into my room and lifted up the glass and laid sheer fabric table clothes over the frame of the desk. I had the table clothes left over from my wedding (so what the hell was I going to do with them?).

 

  Then I put some of my vintage treasures on top after I replaced the glass.  This is what I came up with...

The mirrored tray and the vanity set were actually my grandmother's. She gave them to me last year when I helped her clean out her shed.  I already had the perfume bottles (also given to me).  The jewelry box was a wedding gift and the flowers were the ones I carried when I got married.  We had a Halloween themed wedding.  My entire little vanity area was free.  All put together from things I already had.  

Tea Cart - Before and After

I love vintage stuff; clothes, dishes, hats, decor, furniture...you name it!  I can see potential in so many things people throw away.  It really makes me sick to see it!  So last year, when my step-mom decided to flip a house, I scored a few treasures.  One was a little tea cart.  I know y'all have seen these adorable little brightly colored carts all over Pinterest and wondered where in the hell people were getting them...At least, I know I was wondering. I saw an adorable little red one in an antique shop one time and they wanted a fortune for it. So, when I was walking through the flip house and saw a funky looking brown tea cart with brass colored handles, I could see potential.  They were just about to toss it in the dumpster when I saved it!  

Yeah, I get it, it was freaking ugly!  But I knew it didn't have to be.  I took it home.  It sat in the shed for the last year, and last week, I finally painted it to match my kitchen.  The colors in my kitchen are teal and red and I plan on putting this little cart in front of the sliding glass door (the side that doesn't slide).  So since my curtains are red, I painted it teal with silver handles. 

I think it came out great.  I can't wait to finish it off with some cute little vintage kitchen objects!

Make Your Own Homemade Taco Seasoning

Are you tired of all the additives in store bought taco seasoning?..thinking you have a packet and starting dinner to find out you don't?..having to spend a dollar to season one pound of meat?...If you are tired of any or all of it, you can make your own taco seasoning really easy.  I buy my seasonings in bulk from the Amish, Sam's, or GFS so I already had all the seasoning I needed in my kitchen. 

If you are like me, chances are you have already looked through possible recipes and found that a lot of the ones on Pinterest and other sites are single serve.  Mixing up seasoning every time I need it just seems like a waste of time to me when I could make a batch, put it next to the stove, and scoop it out as needed. 

I was able to find this cute little jar at Goodwill and I decided to put it to use for my taco seasoning needs.  I would love to tell y'all the exact amount this jar holds but I am not sure.  My guess is about three cups.  This recipe fills the jar almost to the top. 

Homemade/DIY Taco Seasoning in Bulk

1-1/4 cup Chili Powder
3 tbs + 1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tbs + 2 tsp Onion Powder
3 tbs + 1 tsp Oregano
3 tbs +1 tsp Paprika
1/2 cup + 2 tbs Ground Cumin
1/4 cup + 2 tbs + 2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbs + 2 tsp Black Pepper

Simply mix all ingredients and store for use.

I recommend 2 tbs for a pound of beef.  You may require slightly more for chicken.  When you add seasoning, add a little water or broth to help absorption just as you would with the store bought packet seasoning.

The Ducklings; an Intro"duck"tion to Frank

 You might remember that a couple days after I quit my job last spring, I got two ducklings.  Over the summer, my son asked for ducks for his 17th birthday because he fell in love with mine.  He wanted a specific breed called Cayuga.  They are black and tend to have a green sheen to their feathers and that is his favorite color.  So what do you think sucker me did?  I bought the kid ducks.

Actually, I ordered 5 ducklings from a hatchery.  When they arrived, we got a call from the post office at 6 in the morning to go pick them up.  We got their and opened our very loud box. We were a little surprised by what we found...

Yeah, your eyes aren't deceiving you; there are more than just 5 ducklings in that box.

There were also 5 baby roosters.  Turns out, the company I ordered from, sends the roosters like packing peanuts to keep the ducklings warm.  I had read that on their site but had assumed that since it was almost July and they were shipping from Texas to Tennessee, extra warmth wouldn't be needed.  I WAS WRONG!  Oh well, I got on Facebook, found a local buy, sell, and trade group and found them a new home.  First crisis averted...

The next crisis came too soon after the first one was averted though.  The adorable little yellow and gray one on the far right (a female Blue Swedish) seemed lethargic all day and died by the next morning.  My son was heart broken.  Three days later, one of the black ones (one of the 2 Cayuga's we ordered) started to act lethargic and passed within 24 hours.  Despite my efforts to locate an avian vet in time to save it (we ordered a boy and a girl Cayuga, not sure which one that was), we could find no one that would help.  A week after we got the babies, the other Cayuga showed signs of the same illness and by this time it was painfully obvious that this baby wasn't growing at the same rate as the other two that were left.  My son and I scoured the internet, talked to duck rescuers in Facebook groups and finally found a vet in the next county over that agreed to see the baby after hours.  We took all three of the remaining ducklings in, just in case the other two needed to be treated.  The vet said it was obvious that they came from the hatchery sick because the sick one was half the size of the other two.  She gave us antibiotics and supplements to give the sick duckling.  In a week, he/she was better, but his legs were beginning to splay.   We took him back to the vet (who was surprised he had even survived) and she put splints on his legs and we worked with him for a few weeks trying to save his legs.  It was of no use.  They were permanently deformed.  The last two ducklings never got sick.  They are Runner ducks, a black one and a fawn and white one.  The little sick baby is now named Frank despite the fact that we don't really know what sex he is.  He lives in the house in a playpen during the day, and a padded clothes basket at night.  My son dotes on that sweet duck and plays with him constantly. 

 This is Frank during his recovery.  We had his legs in splint so he had to be wrapped in towels to keep him from trying to walk. 

This is the other two surviving ducklings when they were little.

This is what Franks legs look like.  He was only about 6 weeks old here.

This is the two healthy ducklings on their first day in the duck run outside.  They are happy and healthy.

This is Frank on his first day in his playpen. 

Simple Lego Decor

I needed more on my sons' walls then just mounted Minifigs.  I looked through the house for other things to use as decor.  I had some old white picture frames laying around so I decided to find some Lego "art" to put in them.  I gathered all the instruction books from the Lego sets we had bought over the years and found two pages that were very similar.  The only problem was that they were too small for the frames. I solved the problem by using some green scrapbook paper that I already had.  This worked out great for me because it is the same shade as the accent wall in the boys' room.  I just used tape to center everything.

Upcycled Lego Decor

My step-sons really wanted a Lego themed room.  We have a million of them around and I was trying to figure out some inexpensive ways to create something for their walls with Legos.  So I went out to the shed in the yard and looked around at the heaps of lovely stuff (junk) everywhere to try to find inspiration.  My eyes fell upon some old bed slats against the wall.  Having boys, we have had plenty of beds that didn't live up to expectations.  Furniture just isn't made to stand up to rowdy boys anymore.  I always keep the bed slats though because the kids always seem to break them.  So I brought them in and painted them a high gloss white (which we already had because it is also the trim color in their room).  I figured up a nice amount of spacing and started gluing Legos to them in varying colors.

I used Loctite to glue the Legos on.  The drilled holes you see are inset screw holes that were already in the slats.  Once I had all my Minifig platforms glued on, I decided to see how they would look.

 

After I figured out where I wanted the Minifigs on each platform, I hung the slats on the wall using the pre-drilled screw holes.  I chose to hang one over the closet door and one over each of the windows because I didn't want the boys taking them down or messing with them.  Many of these Minifigs had been my older son's and he didn't really want them in his room (he is 17) but he didn't want them messed up either.  This turned out to be the perfect storage solution for something we wanted to keep!

Music Themed Art for My Son's Room

My 15 year old loves music so I decided to make some music themed artwork to hang on his wall. I started with a frame I already had. I pulled out all my old CDs and let him pick which bands he wanted.  Then I lined them up.  To cover the gaps, I used black ribbon (the kind you curl on a package at Christmas time).  I just ran the ribbon over the gaps and taped the ends to the back.

Then I figured out where I wanted to hang it on the wall.  I took old records (nothing great, mainly old Christmas records that I didn't want anyway) and used small finishing nails to nail them up through the hole that is already in the center.  Since these records weren't anything "cool" I made sure they overlapped the labels enough so that they wouldn't stand out.  He is really happy with it and, of course, I am too (because it was free!!!).

Yeah, Yeah, I know...I need to get on this blog thing!!!

Alright, so it's been a long time.  I do apologize.  It has been a significantly busy and stressful last few months.  With a house remodel, all the boys home for summer and then getting back into the swing of things, trips, normal crazy life with four kids at home, my college senior year, my son's senior year, and a custody fight revisited for my step-sons; life just didn't slow down for a while.  Now that we are more settled, custody thing has been dropped, and I have a ton of projects that I want to post; it's time to get back into this blogging thing! 

Busy...Busy...

I had no clue that I would stay even busier as a stay at home mom than I did when I was working.  Of course, as you know from previous posts, I got 6 chicks and 2 ducklings the weekend after my last day of work.  Since then, my oldest son got 2 chicks that are 11 weeks.  Four bunnies also arrived for Easter.  Unfortunately, three of them had apparently been weened too soon and developed diarrhea.  I contacted a friend of mine from school who is a bunny breeder and she told me what I could do for them.  We were giving them meds by mouth every night and the day we lost the first one, we started also giving them shots.  Unfortunately, none of the sick ones made it. We also started babysitting a puppy for a friend who has a very sick little boy that cannot afford to be around any extra germs right now while he is heeling from surgery.

For those of you who weren't paying attention...a recap...The residents at my home went from myself, my husband, 4 sons, 2 dogs, and a cat to all of those and 8 chickens, two ducks, 1 bunny, and a puppy.

I have also helped my dad and step-mom go through some storage units (they own the business and they had some unpaid units).  I scored clothes for my 21 year old step son, my husband, a friend's son, my cousin's baby girl, another friend's teen daughter, another friend's 3 young daughters, and a friend of mine's baby boy.  I also managed to get a new desk for the little ones' room, a metal baker's rack that I plan to use in our future greenhouse, 2 nice picture frames, plastic drawer set, unopened stockpiled toiletries, a few board games, books for the 7 year old, Christmas ornaments, fold out TV tables, several plastic storage totes, old game system and components, video games, CDs, and DVDs.  And, because my parents were able to get a new bedroom suite from the unit, they are giving us their old one! 

I mentioned the future greenhouse.  That is another score.  A friend delivered us 17 glass doors (formerly sliding glass doors) for $50.  Each are double paned, so when we take them apart, we will have 34 glass panels available to create a greenhouse.  I am not sure when we will have a chance to buy the other supplies and actually get it built.

I have been couponing and I hit up a local meat sale and stocked up the fridge.  I didn't have to grocery shop this weekend though because another wonderful friend of mine just started a very strict diet and gave me everything in her pantry and fridge that she could not eat instead of just throwing it all away.

Another activity I that has kept me busy is hunting for morel mushrooms.  I am sad to say, I have had absolutely no luck!  But, when walking with some friends of mine, I found a very old stacked rock home foundation and not far from it, my friend found a very old and very rusty plow that she was very happy to carry out of the woods.  Yesterday, when I went in some more woods with my 16 year old, we found two very large coral fossils and some wild miniature irises.  The ground was so soft, I was able to get some of the irises up by hand and I planted them temporarily in one of my raised garden beds.

It has been a busy few weeks but it has been a lot of fun and I have managed to get a lot of freebies! 

The Return of Couponing

Years ago, I was a couponer!  In fact, I was one of those crazy coupon ladies with the giant binder that no one wanted to be behind in the check-out line!  I burned myself out on it and my life changed so I stopped having time for it.  With me quitting my job and our rather large family relying solely on my husband's income, it is necessary for me to start couponing again.  This time I am trying a different strategy.  I am not clipping everything and spending hours arranging everything in a binder and hours every time I go to the store but I am definitely using coupons.  The only problem is, I am starting cold.  I don't have a stockpile of coupons or groceries currently.  I have to build those things up so that I can purchase ahead and not have to do any costly need based grocery shopping.  I started my journey yesterday and I didn't do too bad.  I spent about an hour in front of my computer compiling a list, printing coupons (since I don't have many on hand), and updating programs so that everything would work.  At Publix, I spent $110 and saved $108.  This was great considering I got a lot of cereal and laundry detergent on this trip.  I have to say that I have loved the Southern Savers website for years and she didn't fail me yesterday.  I planned the entire trip using Jenny's list.  If you are couponing, her site is a must and it is completely free!!! Check it out at http://www.southernsavers.com/!

Day 1 of My New Life

It is officially day 1 of not going to the job that I had for 18 years!  It feels a bit surreal.  Saturday, we got 6 baby chicks.  Their names are Parmasan, Nugget, Rosemary, Patty, Spicy, and Dumplin'.  And no, I don't plan on eating them.  We just thought we would have fun with their names.

On Sunday, we decided to go back and get 2 ducks as well.  Their names are Lucky and Aflac.  All are doing well and so far, I still feel fine about being home.  Of course, all the ladies hugged me bye Friday and made me cry and I will miss them.  I won't miss that place though! 

This week, the plan is to get to know my chicks and ducklings, get laundry, dishes, and regular housework caught up, get son number 3 an eye exam, go to son number 5's IEP meeting, and save the big projects for next week.  We will see how that goes. 

5 Tips for Lowering Your Monthly Utility Bills

Before we got custody of the younger children, and before me quitting my job started to look like a necessity, my husband and I had already started to do some things to lower our monthly bills.  The thing is, we are both a little careless with money and I always got a little seasonal layoff in the summer/fall.  This made it hard to budget.  So last year, when we got our income tax return, we decided to use part of it to lower our monthly bills.  Since then, we have found other ways to lower our output every month.  Some things required a little upfront cost and some didn't.  Here are 5tips on how to lower some monthly costs.

1.  Cut your water bill in half.

We replaced both of our toilets, our shower heads, and our dishwasher.  Obviously, this involved a decent chunk of upfront cost.  We replaced our toilets because they were original to our home and were put in around 1985.  At that time, large amounts of water was the main way that toilets were engineered to get rid of everything.  They literally used several gallons of water every time they flushed to push the funk out with force.  Now their are several toilets on the market that use very little water to flush.  Another plus side is the tanks are much smaller.  When we replaced our toilets, it actually made our small bathrooms look bigger because the tanks were several inches smaller than the old ones.  We bought our new toilets at Lowe's and chose a model that only costs about $100 because it had great reviews.  (find it here)  We changed out the shower heads for inexpensive ones as well.  We also found them at Lowe's.  The ones we bought cost under $30 but personal preference will vary greatly in this area.  We also replaced our dishwasher.  Ours was about twenty years old and needed to be replaced anyway.  We didn't go high end in our replacement but we did make sure it was energy star.  The plus here is that it is designed not only to use less water, but less electricity too.  All these changes made our water bill go down by half, from $80 a month to $40. (A $480 savings per year for our then family of 4.)

2.  Get rid of cable.

One day, I saw a commercial for Amazon Fire TV.  It works through your internet to stream shows and movies.  We already pay a yearly fee for Amazon Prime which gives us access to a lot of shows and movies.  The Fire accesses all those free shows and streams them to our TV.  It also recognizes popular streaming apps like Hulu and Netflix.  We figured out that there were only a few shows on TV we really wanted to keep up with regularly. One of these was American Horror Story which doesn't play free with a Prime membership but costs as low as $1.99 per episode.  I don't know about anyone else but paying $8 a month for the one show I really want to watch seems a much better alternative than paying $60 or more per month on cable. Don't forget your kids' game system.  Xbox and PlayStation can both access Hulu and Netflix among others.  You can also hook your laptop up to your TV for free options.

3.  Get your kids off of your phone plan!

If you are not in a situation where you are sharing a plan then you are probably paying way too much for your kids' phone service.  I am a firm believer kids don't need phones until they are in High School but I know I am not in the majority here.  That is fine, we will have to agree to disagree.  Let's face the fact though that it can be impossible to share a data plan with kids who always want to play online games or use other data sucking apps.  So if they are on your plan, look into getting them into a prepaid like Strait Talk.  For a month of Strait Talk, it only costs $45 for unlimited talk, text, and data.  The reason I like this is that I can ground my kid from his phone and I don't have to pay for it.  Or if you have younger children and you just want one phone for them to share when they leave the house or are walking in the neighborhood, it won't break the bank.  If you do share data, get the most out of it.  Make sure your phone is set to pull internet service from your home wifi when available.  If you do this, your phone is not pulling from your data plan. 

4.  Look for unexpected costs in your utilities!

In our rural area, we have a security light in the yard.  This is a pole with a light on it (like a street light) but it is in our yard.  In our case it is in a very inconvenient spot and it is an eye sore.  It is difficult to mow around and nothing will really grow next to it.  It also shines in our home in an irritating way and is on all night using electricity that we pay for.  What really infuriates me is that we pay to have this thing! You got it, we pay like $7 a month ($80 a year) for the privilege of having this big ugly pole in our yard!  What you may not know is that you can have it removed.  Instead, install some motion detection lights that use LEDs outside. They would be cheaper to use and probably alert you in case someone was actually in your yard.  We also purchased a modem from Walmart that was better than the one the cable company provided for us, saving the rental fee of $5 a month ($60 a year) and letting us actually use the speed of internet we were paying for.

5.  Weather seal and lock your windows!

We have replacement windows.  I love them, but I noticed drafts.  So we got simple weather striping  at Walmart and put it on both the bottom ledge and top ledge of all the windows in the house.  Then we locked the windows.  Locking them actually makes them close tighter which closes the gaps better and makes the weather stripping create a good seal.  Remember with double hung windows, you have air leak opportunities at both the top and the bottom of the window because they open in both places!

7 Time Saving Tips from a Working Mom

Since I have been a working mom for so many years, I have figured out a lot of ways to save time.  If I hadn't, I would have went crazy!  So how about I give y'all a list...

1. Share socks if you can.

I have 4 sons still living at home.  Despite the varying ages, we all can share socks.  So we bought a ton of socks online and got a great price.  Now no one runs out of socks and I don't have to send the socks to different bedrooms.  Instead, I use a plastic set of drawers and keep all the socks in the laundry room which happens to double at a mud room in our house.  The plastic drawer set has three drawers in it.  I keep matched every day socks in the top drawer, matched dress socks and winter socks in the second drawer, and unmatched socks in the bottom drawer. 

2.  Don't buy white socks.

Yes, another sock tip.  If you have kids, chances are you already know that white socks don't stay white.  So I don't buy white socks.  Instead, we have black, navy blue, and grey.  We only use ankle socks and these colors work good for us.  The truth is, I figured out, the only whites I had were socks.  So I would have to wait until every sock in the house was dirty to wash a full load and then I would sit for what seemed like forever in sock matching hell.  Now, I through socks in with darks and towels.  This saves a ton of time and we always have socks clean.  It also keeps me from getting overwhelmed with matching since I match a few in every load I do.

3.  Learn how to delegate.

This one isn't what you think.  I have kids on the Autism Spectrum and with ADHD.  Giving them a big task is a huge no-no.  It is way more trouble then it is worth, but I have learned that I can give any of the kids a small task and they usually won't complain and it lightens my load.  I also don't bark orders, this helps prevent getting a bad attitude from them.  If I am busy cooking and one of them comes in the room and I know the trash is full I just say, "Hon, will you bag up that trash for me?"  I learned this technique from my Grandma.  It works great.  There are a million little things a kid will do and not mind when they are asked instead of told and the fact that they are small tasks helps to keep them from feeling overwhelmed or get off track. 

4.  Make a dinner tonight that will change into dinner tomorrow.

I am not talking about traditional left overs.  I am talking about planning ahead so your meat tonight can also be your meat for tomorrow night.  As southerners, our family loves pulled pork.  So when I can find pork picnic marked down, I buy it.  I store them in the freezer and on the weekend, I get one out of the freezer, unwrap it and sprinkle Lowry's Seasoned Salt on it, put in a roasting pan, cover with foil and cook at 300 degrees for 8 hours or so (yes, I cook this from frozen- no thawing out).  It makes the house smell great and dinner is done in the evening without any real effort.  When I pull it out, all I have to do is pull the meat apart with a fork, slap it on a bun and serve with BBQ sauce, hot sauce, or mayo depending on everyone's tastes.  This is a great meal for Saturdays, in the summer, when the family is outside working in the yard or playing.  Serve it with chips, Suddenly Salad, potato salad, or cole slaw on the side.  The next day, take the left over pork, sprinkle with taco seasoning, pour a little broth over it, cover with foil and bake at a low heat for an hour or more.  This gives you the meat for pork tacos with little to no work.  With just a little planning ahead, a lot of recipes can work this way.  Any time you have baked chicken, for instance, make extra and add taco seasoning the next day for super quick chicken tacos.

5.  Use parchment paper.

For some reason, people tend to use parchment paper only when making cookies.  I don't understand that.  It is cheaper than foil and non stick.  If you buy it at Sam's ($5.98 for 205 sq. ft. roll) or a restaurant supply store, you can get it in huge rolls so it lasts.  I use it when I make biscuits, garlic bread, frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets...anything that has to be baked and doesn't produce much grease.  This way, I don't have to scrub a pan (not any pan, but over sized pans that are even more difficult and time consuming). 

6.  Bake everything you can.

I bake all my breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, even link sausage).  Not only does this keep me from having to babysit the meat on the stove top, it allows me to make large amounts while I cook eggs or make pancakes.  It also means that when the meal is done, I won't have a zillion little splatters all over the stove top ( and what ever else is near by).  Another thing you can bake is pancakes.  No, they won't be pretty, round, and fluffy but they will be tasty and filling.  The time will vary depending on the pan you use but the process is easy.  Simply make your pancake batter as always and poor it (not too thick, you aren't making a cake) into the bottom of a large flat pan with edges.  A jelly roll pan works great.  Bake and serve in squares.  Another idea is to cut up link sausage and toss a few in each cup of a muffin pan then pour pancake batter over them and bake until cooked through.  These keep in the fridge well too. 

7.  Microwave your rice.

Every time it comes up in conversation that I microwave my rice, there is at least one person that seems astonished.  I don't have time or desire to make rice on the stove top.  Besides, what usually ends up happening is, I forget about it and it sticks on the bottom.  Then I have to scrub the stupid pan for ten minutes just to get the dried up rice off of it.  Instead, I put a cup of rice and two cups of water in a big microwave safe bowl with a microwave safe lid (or dinner plate) on top of it.  Then I microwave that on high for 5 minutes and on 70% for 20 minutes.  When it comes out it is perfectly fluffy and wonderful!  It cooks while I am doing something else and it doesn't stick to the bowl in a gummy mess!  The instructions are slightly different for different types of rice.  I use plain old cheap white rice when I do this but be sure to check the back of your bag of rice for microwave instructions if you buy something different.

Another Day Closer

I got to spend time with my favorite person today, my Grandma.  She is an amazing woman and although I have my concerns about how life will be when I am done with my job, she made me feel great about it.  She had to work outside the home with 4 young children when she was younger.  She was never given the opportunity that I have now.  She was always my inspiration when I was a single mom and life got tough. 

Although I actually put in my two weeks notice last Monday, March 20th is actually my last day.  I worked last week and I am off this coming week and I work the week after.  I did it this way so I could give two weeks but still be off with all the boys on their spring break which is this coming week. 

It seems that all I do is sit around and think about what I am going to do when I am off.  I am like a kid at the end of a school year.  I can't wait!!!

Living Off of One Income

Obviously, quitting my job is going to bring huge changes to our family.  With four boys at home full time and my husband and myself to feed, money will be tight.  We do have several changes in mind.  We were just able to pay off a storage barn which will save us $150 a month.  We have the money in the bank to pay off my van, which will save us $230 a month.  I am going to go back to couponing (I used to be a pretty heavy couponer years ago during a slow time at work).  I figure I can save at least $300 a month in groceries and household items through couponing and being available to take advantage of sales.  My current job is a 45 minute to 1 hour commute each way.  This means I should be able to save money on gas.  I will also not be passing all those fast food places that tempt me with their yummy breakfasts and I won't have a 30 minute lunch free to eat fast food either.  This should save us quite a bit.  I will also be available to make and send breakfast/lunch with my husband in the mornings so that he is not tempted by fast food either.  We also plan to pay off the couple credit cards we have so we will not have the expense of those payments every month. 

The total still may not make up my income but all of these things will help.  It may not be easy, but I think it is doable! 

And since I am taking y'all (you guessed it, I am a southern girl) on this ride with me, I will post money saving ideas and some DIY projects on the way!

18 Years in One Job to Life as a Stay at Home Mom

So that's it... on Monday, I put my two weeks notice in at a job I have had for 18 years.  Every year since I was 19 years old.  It sounds crazy to most people that at 37 years old, I would have already been at one job for 18 years and to others it sounds crazy that I would quit after 18 years to be a stay at home mom.

The fact is, I have already been a mom for almost 17 years.  My biological sons are about to be 17 and 15.  My youngest has Asperger's and was developmentally delayed and I worked nights when he was younger so that I could shuttle him to and from his doctor's appointments and therapy treatments and keep a job.  So why in the hell would I quit now?

Well, I remarried about a year and a half ago and last fall we got custody of my two step-sons who are 7 and 10.  (I also have a 21 year old step-son that visits here and there.)  It turns out that my youngest step-son needs some therapies and other help.  Meanwhile, we found out fairly recently that my 14 year old needs some therapy for scoliosis.

Of course, I could have went to nights again and taken care of their needs during the day, but a couple years ago I got sick with some auto-immune craziness (like so many moms with kids on the spectrum) so I don't want to put my body through the stress of working night shift again.

You might wonder where my husband is in all of this.  He recently finished college and started working in his desired field so it is important that he keep his job.  In fact, he had an interview last week for a job that would make up for the loss of my income but we don't know anything yet.  As for me, I am completely burned out at my job and I am in the last year of college myself (although I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up).

I am starting this blog to follow my journey into this unknown territory of becoming a stay at home mom.  I know in my heart that it is the best thing for my family but I have major concerns.  What about money, what will I do, will I get bored, will we be able to get by?  I also know that I am not the only one out there facing decisions like this.  So let's see how it goes going from 18 years at a factory to life as a stay at home mom.