Groceries, budgets and what have you....

So i thought i would be totally open and honest here on the blog. i know i told you last week we started the Dave Ramsey class and we sat down and went through our spending and set a budget for the month of may. so i thought i would share here on the blog. 

there are 7 of us 2 adults, a teen (who swims a ton and eats as much as a adult), boys ages 10,9, and almost 6 they are all hearty eaters especially my 10 year old he eats like a adult., and Lilly is 3 she doesn't eat a lot at meal times but she eats often through the day. so for our family we set a budget of $800 for the month of May and $95 for household needs. So $895 should be totally doable i think, it does have to include any eating out which we have cut drastically we will probably do 1-2 times out on the cheap and maybe order pizza once that is kind of my thoughts but we will see...

John went to Costco for somethings he needed for a BBQ at church so i had him get my list for me which saves a TON of money because he sticks to the list exactly unlike me he spent $67. ground beef, bread, watermelon, cantaloupes, milk, cleaning wipes, eggs and avocados. those are pretty much Costco staples for me the prices are good and we don't buy meat anywhere else.

I had went to Costco the day or 2 before for chicken (our freezer and fridge went out 2 weeks ago and all of our meat had to be thrown out so i had to start the month with buying ground beef and chicken normally i buy one each time i go anyway) that day i got chicken, bread for sandwiches (kids lunches), cheese, cumin, avocados (i eat a lot of avocado lately and the ones John got were hard so i don't have to go back next week haha!), a can of tomatoes for salsa and pecans (most mornings i eat a handful of pecans, cottage cheese and tomato for breakfast the bag lasts me a long time i bought the one before in December) i spent $55 this time which i thought was great!

So far for the month i am at 

$122. I will need to go probably at the end of this week for a few other things but this is a great start to the month for me. 

Since moving we spend a lot more on groceries. My kids previously went to a school where all kids ate breakfast free and lunch was $0.40 a day so $1.20 a day fed my 3 boys breakfast and lunch the school they attend now they eat breakfast at home and pack lunch we buy a TON of bread, milk, cheese, peanut butter, and i seem to buy a lot of packaged things like yogurts, pudding, fruit snacks, chips etc. i know not the best choices but i am not sure what else to pack that i know they will eat what do you all send in lunches? 

Dave Ramsey

I bought the book last year, they are in a drawer in my room waiting to be read. 

i have looked as to when the classes were in my area they never worked out...

until now!

last month the church i attend mops at had a special speaker just for a few minutes to introduce the financial peace class that they were getting ready to offer and it was going to be on Sunday nights and they were going to offer childcare PRAISE the LORD hallelujah!!!! i signed us up that day!

So we have been going and last week we finished week 4 of 9 and i LOVE it! John and i spent 7 hours this weekend going through our expenses so we could set a budget for may and we did it! i cant wait to get paid Friday and gety our cash for our envelopes how exciting!! I know it is going to be tough at times and we will mess up but i am so excited to have control over our money instead of the other way around.

i am SO glad we did this before we purchase another home, sitting down and assigning every penny a place made us realize how much we spend on our rent and after that and utilities and how very little is left after those things. and how when we do buy another house we don't want it to own us so that may mean we buy something smaller than what most people think we need for a family of almost 8 (we will have 8 when we buy a house) and it may not be a move in ready dream house but it will be affordable (although we are not buying a house like our last one where we have to redo every single inch haha).

We don't have much debt thank God but we have my car payment and a few medical bills to take care of. i hope i wont have a car payment after this ever again, this is the first time i have had a car payment and i hate it! So i am thinking about documenting here on the blog our progress with spending specifically on groceries/ household budget because that always interests me when i see posts on that. Not sure if i will do that on Fridays or Mondays but most likely one of those days because i tend to go to the grocery stores those days.

have you done the financial peace classes? or read the Dave Ramsey books? do you all love him as much as i do?

real life

i have 5 kids and a 6th on the way. The season i am in {pregnant, toddlers, school age, preteen, teen/high school} is tough. some days i feel like i am in a losing battle there isn't one day that goes by that i am not at my wits end at some point. i know being a mom is tough and when it comes to blogging i have all these posts in my head (and several drafts started) that i just haven't got to i keep telling myself tomorrow you will make time to write, tomorrow you will wake up joyful and go to bed with a smile on your face sure i strive for that of course but it doesn't always help...

i love my life i really do i am so blessed and i know there are women out there who would give there arm to be in my shoes i get it, but there are some days that are really really long days where i wake up late and go to bed praying fervently for my kids and some of the things they are going through. i am thankful my hubby is a rock and my biggest cheerleader we are a good team, he helps me calm down and reminds me its OK . we are in the trenches so to speak when it comes to parenting but it is nice i am not alone. Thanks for listening =).... i hold onto this verse a lot of days i love it

I have so much to share

But i am still not feeling the greatest, this 6th pregnancy is kicking my butt i tell ya

the weather has been great here and i threw a outdoor baby shower for a friend the first weekend in March and it was hot! nice!!! 

it was so warm that day that my kids got in the pool and hot tub.

doesn't Lilly look like a young Kristen Stewart right there? it cracks me up!

speaking of swim

high school swim season has started Liz is off to a great start and having lots of fun!

i used to hate the summer but having so many kids i kind of love it now

i haven't liked sweets at all this pregnancy 

i have literally wanted burgers, steak, bacon etc

i took the 3 big kids to eat and i brought this "piece" of pie home for Johnathan it was literally a whole small pie and it was SO good!!!

Lilly got stung by a bee....

it was traumatic

everything in Lilly's life is traumatic right now

she is so passionate {read: loud, dramatic, emotional} 

i have so much to share

so many changes coming in my life but i seriously am so tired, i don't sleep often and my head hurts a lot. this baby i am growing is sucking all my energy but that's OK HE will be worth it, yes we are having another boy!!!!

talk to you all soon.

Another week

** this should have posted last week weird!

This pregnancy is a little different then my others  hardly anything sounds good but when it does and it doesn't make me sick i eat it all day for example:

a blt sounded good so i had one for breakfast lunch and dinner it was delicious. but now yuck! 

another day it was hot dogs, OK weird because i RARELY will eat a hot dog. in my defense i buy good hot dogs not totally cheap nasty ones but still =)  and that day it had to have mustard, ketchup and sweet relish =)

Lilly and i do this A LOT lay on the couch and watch cartoons

have you seen this show? ohmmmmmgeeeeeee i love. i don't watch TV much at all i usually read instead but my head has been killing me this pregnancy and i cant wear my glasses so i have watched a lot of tv. anyway this show addicting!!!

isn't my daughter beautiful? she went to her first formal last week she had a great time

that's it around here not much to post when you lay on the couch most of the day =) 

Sweet surprises

Well I haven't been around as much as I hoped. I have been kind of holed up at home in my bed. We found out a couple of days before Christmas that we are having a baby! For me: pregnancy = exhaustion. I sleep as much as I can and if I am not asleep I am probably laying on the couch contemplating throwing up or napping it is lovely I know. But I know it all leads to a baby so I can deal with it it's only 31 more weeks right :) here are some pics from my phone I have taken recently:

Well thanks iphone this picture wasn't upside down in my phone and i cant rotate it know weird but you get the jist. i heard the baby's heart beat amazing!!!

i live off hot tea, only lipton with sugar added its the only thing i love right now

we walk Jake to the bus stop everyday, and everyday Lilly asks if she is almost 5 so she can ride the bus

my couch blanket John's great aunt made it i love it! that is Lilly's "kitty" her name is kitty original i know

we color, draw, play blocks, watch TV whatever we have to do so i dont have to leave the house. i am becoming a hermit...

my favorite place on earth right now... my bed.

I am still shocked and saddened over what happened in Connecticut on Friday  I think most of us who are parents especially are taking this so hard it could have been our babies i have a kindergartner, 4th and 5th grader they all go to the same school here in put town it could have been them... I find myself crying tears for those parents who will now spend the week leading to Christmas burying their babies when they should be wrapping presents, baking cookies and celebrating the holidays with them. I am at a loss for words on why things happen like this, it is so easy to blame gun control, video games, movies etc but what it comes down to for me is that we live in a fallen world and horrible like this will happen but we have to keep our eyes on him. I have to just turn to his word. As much as i want to show you all my home, decor, etc today or this week is not the time i want to enjoy life, my kids, my husband we truly dont know how much time we have

 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

fill in the blank friday

On Sunday =) to read more go here

1.  When it comes to holiday shopping, I love to shop, but with a plan! i also love to shop online. we don't buy for a lot of family i have a large family so we decided a few years ago that we would not buy for each other and just get together for a nice meal. for john's family we only buy for our nieces and nephew. We also buy for the grandparents and a few other .

2.  A few things on my Christmas wish list are...  a gold watch (i love the Michael Kors on but Fossil and Guess make a nice one too for much less) a new pair of uggs i have had mine for about 6-7 years and they are no longer cozy they are so wore out, a travel mug for my morning hot tea, and a few other things like a Lisa Leonard necklace. Gifts are my love language i love giving and receiving them    .

3.  An intangible gift I would like to receive is  peace and quiet every day at least a hour.

4. A gift I would like to give this year is    i would love to spoil my husband the way he spoils me every year...

5. My Christmas will be spent  I believe we will be home most of the day! We go to my in-laws Christmas eve and my family usually does a dinner on Christmas day but that is later in the day so we will be home playing all day .

6. My most favorite Christmas gift of all time was   one of the first years we were married John got me this cool outdoor lantern i LOVED it and had it until just a few months ago when it got knocked over by the wind =( John is the BEST gift giver though and i have loved many things he has given me .

7.  The best thing about the holidays is  more time with family friends, baking, seeing my kids faces on Christmas morning .

Oh my goodness

I have been trying to savor the season but holy heck we are BUSY. I want it to slow down and should next week. With selling a house, moving across town, switching the 3 boys school, kids activities  MOPS, a toy drive for MOPS etc etc... The house oh i am.in.love! but it has taken so much time unpacking and decorating for Christmas in basically a two week time. I promise in the next week i am going to show you my new house, my Christmas decor, i have some Christmas ideas as far as gifts in case anyone is last minute Nelly like me this year (i JUST started shopping yesterday YIKES!) life is busy. life is good and full and i am thankful that we have so much fun in our lives we get to participate in a lot =) i will be back....

It's been a while....

But my computer is finally fixed (did i tell you it was broke?) 

• We are moving in 3 days. 3 DAYS. moving 7 people. i may be a little stressed.
• I was sick last weekend and I had no voice, i talk.a.lot. so it wasn't good or fun
• I have been up to my ears in paperwork, phone calls, and errands.
• throw in Thanksgiving coming up, and having a yard sale, selling items on Craigslist, donating TONS of items to goodwill, not cooking much, football ending, volleyball wrapping up and right into basketball, etc etc. There hasn't been much time to catch up on the old blog. 
• I am SO excited for the house we are moving to, we LOVE it so much i cant wait to show you all. gorgeous house, great schools, lovely area we cant wait! 
• I have a list a mile long i am saving up for, does moving make you want to get rid of your stuff and bring in some new stuff? No? just me hmmm... I am getting burnt out on all the red/dark colors i have going on here i will still incorporate red but not so prominent.
• I am looking for a new mattress that is a must, we purchased the bedroom set of the people who currently live in the house (and the fridge since the buyers here asked for ours) we got a GREAT price on both but the bed is king, we have a California king. it worked out OK we hated our mattress and i had planned on returning it (it was practically new) o i did that but now i need a new one again i hate buying mattresses such a big purchase but a good one is a must! 
• so i will be back soon. Probably after we get moved over i have to tell you all about the new house, the kids room redo's, Christmas decorating and we have TONS of fun things going on in the next month or two. 
• i must go to sleep i hope my voice sounds better tomorrow it is my boys last day of school and i want to take pictures and thank their teachers and not sound like i am whispering or squeaking every time i talk ;)

Halloween

I a Scrooge sometimes and I can't seem to get myself to spend money on Halloween costumes. My kids were literally looking for something to wear at 5pm tonight. They all seemed happy with what they chose and heck they just wanted candy so it really didn't matter. Maybe next year I will plan on buying costumes next year.... Maybe ;)

My sweet neighbor mrs.jones brought over smiths cookies for the kids, I love her so and I am going to miss her when we move :(

Our weekend

What a GREAT weekend! 

We had no meetings, no places to be, no football games, nothing to do but spend time with one another!

Lilly's preschool is a drop in childcare center and they offer this special Monday Friday for $25 you can drop off your kids from 5-9 they feed them dinner, snacks, and have activities planned. This week we took advantage of it and took our big kids on a date

We took them out to dinner at a real restaurant and it was so fun we ate outside, talked, played tic tac toe etc. The food was good and it was just a beautiful night! After dinner we went to see here comes the boom oh my goodness it was so funny! we ALL loved it and that is saying a lot because i rarely like kids movies, but this will be one we purchase for sure. After the movie we even had time to take the kids to frozen yogurt and picked up Lilly with 7 minutes to spare =) It was nice to enjoy our big kids and know Lilly was having fun too, we don't do that enough but family date nights can add up we need to be more intentional about finding cost effective things to do other than sit in front of the TV at home...

Saturday i slept until 10 AM! It was so nice! John got up with the kids and i slept in i LOVE sleep i am not one of those moms who spring up at 5am happy as a bird, oh no i like to sleep in and i like my naps. Speaking of naps i tool one at 2 because obviously i didn't sleep in long enough =) I slept until 4 and we didnt make it to church because Liz also took a nap until almost 5. 

John and I got ready and went on a date just the 2 of us, it was SO nice to get away alone. We went to PF Chang's and then to target, we were going to go to a movie but we were tired and came home and watched CSI and crashed before 11 we are getting old!

I thought this ecard was funny, just a random thing for ya =)

today we woke up (didn't sleep in much darn it) and the kids carved pumpkins, Lilly was busy watching cartoons she didn't care about this activity. Other than that we laid around, watched football, i baked a Texas sheet cake and that about it for the day. 

oh i washed dishes by hand because our hot water heater is broken and i needed to boil the water first, seriously what did we do before dishwashers and hot water heaters HA!

tonight i took Liz to youth group while she was there i filled up my car with gas and went and washed it, i am going on a girls trip in the morning for a day to Los Angeles so i will tell you more about that later!

Did you have a low key weekend? 

Fill in the blank Friday

Check it out one of my favorite things to blog 

1.  My favorite feeling in all the world is   waking up with Johnnie on the weekends (since he gets up so early i am usually asleep when he leaves) .

2.  My favorite smell is  So many: pine sol, a great candle depending on the season, my favorite perfumes, my kids after they bathe    .

3.  My favorite taste is  depends but mainly cheese lol, i seriously love cheese =) a great cookie is pretty amazing too!

4. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was   I loved the Caribbean what a gorgeous place i could be there for weeks and never grow old of it. 

5. The best sound ever is  People laughing specifically my people ;)

6. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is  Georgio perfume my mom used to wear it back in the day, also chicken cooked on a open fire grill (my parents owned a restaurant)Christmas tree we always had a real one.

7.  My favorite of all the senses is  oh gosh this has got to be a toss up for me with sound i LOVE to listen to music, talk to people, hear the ocean etc but i love seeing things too seriously dead heat followed obviously by taste because hello i like to eat!

Wednesday Ramblings

It is 5:51 and i have been awake since 4, I am not too much of a early bird so that is strange i was up so early today.   I spent some time in the word and read blogs, i am still in bed and refuse to get up until my normal 6:15 ;) here are some things i have been pondering on 

Have you all ever bought/seen Sanuk shoes? I love them they are so comfortable and you can just toss them in the washer and they look like new. plus they carry size 11 for women, few places do so i take what i can get 

 

this is my friend Fred the skeleton, i got him at Michaels for like $4 after i had to beg the lady to take my coupon, i don't know about where you live but the lady at Rosedale Michaels who i always seem to get never wants to take my coupon for the item i chose, hello the coupon say any item regularly priced grrrr i get so annoyed when cashiers get huffy, like hello giving me the 40% off doesn't mean you have to pay it out of your pay check, i don't understand! anyways Fred was worth him i adore himand his glittery body....

 

these 2 are best buds. Lilly has to make that face in all her pictures, i am not sure where she gets that spunk ;) If we move (still not beleiveing until after the inspection tomorrow becasue anything can come up on these FHA loans these days) so if/when we move i think i am going to let them share a room, we are going to be renting for a year or so so by the time we buy again they will still be little where it wont be weird that they are sharing a room! I dont know what do you think? they just have the most toys and play together so well, and Jake says they can have a princess room since Lilly loves princesses (isnt that sweet? he is the best!)

 
my phone case
i love animal print
i love my phone
i hate google maps, droid WAY outdid apple in that department 

 
The laundry NEVER ends its exhausting  i just said that in my best Taylor Swift  voice HA! if you have no idea what i am talking about sorry that song is on my nerves but i cant get it out of my mind, like hello would anyone tell Jake Gyllenhaal that you are never ever ever getting back together? i think not.....

i generally do about 3 loads a day in my big ol front loaders and that can keep me up on laundry without falling too far behind. This obviously was when i fell behind last week becasue my washer was out for 5 days, FIVE days they were glorious i tell you no washing or drying or putting away oh i hate the putting away. ok off the topic of laudnry....

 

it finally feels like fall here in sunny oh Cali, I mean it was 95 last week here ugh i am over it! Anyway I got this Keurig for free a couple months back but i have this thing about drinking hot drinks when it is hot out seems crazy to me. I am looking forward to hot chocolates and maybe learning to love coffee (i like coffee, but i can take it or leave it) 

 

OK that's it for today