a one car family - I laugh, I cry, it's emotional

We have been going Dave Ramsey style around here with our finances for about 4 months now... which has been wonderful yet really hard BUT ultimately full of blessings. Financial Peace is pretty awesome. If you want more info about it you can ask me personally through email or give me a call. Justin and I are pretty excited about it. We weren't huge spenders to begin with but when you really cut back and spend money with just "needs" in mind vs. all of those "wants" it really makes a difference. I haven't bought clothes in a really long time and have cut back to a few coffees out a month which was painful at first but now it's no big deal at all. Change is a hard at first but is now my new norm and really worth it.

In August Justin was at the Steilacoom Library sitting at the stop sign getting ready to turn right onto Steilacoom Blvd when a big ol' truck crashed into the back of him. Long story short, it totalled his truck and we walked away with the money and began the adventure of a one car family. It's been a little rough. I get stir crazy and like to be out of my element...almost daily. I have no choice but to be creative in my own space with the boys. I put more work into crafts for the kids and planning my days better because the option of hopping in the car to retreat to a playground is out of the picture. I am convinced Dave Ramsey would be proud. :) We really don't need two cars right now. I'm a stay at home mom and can grocery shop and run errands the three days Justin is home. It's plenty of time to get stuff done with a vehicle. We are learning to be organized and plan the week out together. My mom has been a saint and comes to rescue us when I just need to get out of this house (like today!). By the way, I really miss that truck. Justin and I have so many great memories in it. He taught me how to drive stick shift in it at Corban University's gym parking lot. Good times. Goodbye Toyota Tacoma - you were so good to us!

With another baby on the way we do want to find another vehicle but want to pay cash for it. We need to wait a little longer but are excited to find something that works great for our family for the next 5 or so years. It has to be a seven seater and not a gas guzzler. I know, I know!...it will probably be a minivan. I really am okay with that. They really are practical and incredibly convenient with loading and unloading a small crew of kids. My pride is out the door. If you see anything great out there holla at me! I looked up some seven seaters and I found some interesting options. They make me laugh and then I imagine the reality of it and want to cry. Justin sends me pictures of seven seaters off the country intranet here and there and the latest was an RV (not a nice one...actually a really creepy brown one from the 70's that was about a thousand bucks). He says things like "how cool would it be to take the whole family to my work and you guys can hangout in the parking lot, eat meals, shower, etc". He is totally joking but with these pregnancy hormones it can send me into a frenzy. Don't mess with me people. So, when you find a good deal keep my pregnancy hormones in mind. Please and thank you. This will give you an idea of what will make me laugh and what will make me cry if you need some examples.

This makes me laugh:




This makes me cry (probably because Justin would think it's half way awesome and I may believe it could be a reality just to save a few bucks...though deep down I know it's not!):




Woohooo and booohooo for car shopping!
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Easy Baked Spaghetti

This is an easy and inexpensive way to feed a crowd. Who doesn't love layers of spaghetti that is then baked?! It almost tasted like lasagna. I didn't put any ground beef in it but you could add layers of that as well! Yumm.

Ingredients: 

Spaghetti Noodles

Spaghetti Sauce

Cream of Mushroom

Cheeses (whatever kind you would like)

Directions:

1. Cook Noodles

 2. Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with noodles

 3. Layer a coat of spaghetti sauce (I like to use Ragu's veggie combo)

 4. Layer with cheese. I used a sharp cheddar and some mozarella.

 5. Layer again with noodles

 6. Layer again with spaghetti sauce

 7. Water down (probably half a cup of water will do) a can of cream of mushroom soup and layer

 8. Put another coat of cheese on top. Here I used mozarella.

9. And then BAKE! Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. So good, so easy. Enjoy!

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My galley kitchen

Here is a little glimpse of my super small galley style kitchen. We have demo plans for the future (probably 3 yrs away still if I'm being realistic). It's super tiny with not much cupboard space but it does it's job just fine. The cupboards are original to the house which was built in the late 60's along with the dishwasher. They both gotta eventually go. The dishwasher hardly does it's job and the drawers are hard to open and shut and shed a fine dusting of wood particles when opening and closing. There are a couple of drawers I can't use. I try and see all the positives in this little space but I'll be honest it's difficult and is sometimes a stretch but I like to see them anyway. The positives: putting away dishes is just an arms reach away from the same standing spot, I can't hoard stuff and have had to simplify, my boys know where everything is and can help themselves to the snack cupboard (eeek) and feeding a crowd gets nice and cozy! You can't see much of the kitchen but you can get the idea...and there really isn't much more to see! ha!

Spoon and Fork: St Vincent DePaul - .99 cents. SCORE! Who goes looking for a spoon and fork and finds them in a junk yard? Yah, that's me! I find the strangest of treasures. They were a dark brown - white spray paint goes a long way. :)

Menu board: IKEA

Bar with organizers: IKEA

Curtain: Burlington Coat Factory (originally a long curtain that I turned sideways!)

Sometimes my counters are occupied by this little dude. I may of been blowing bubbles while trying to cook dinner. You gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure there will be more kitchen posts down the road but I'll leave you at these cute pictures of this cute little Boone man half a year ago!

Isn't he sweet?

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7 years of love

Justin and I celebrated our 7 yr anniversary this summer and the statement above couldn't be anymore true for me. I have a husband that makes me laugh everyday in my marriage (no joke...everyday) and I do find that being a real treat. He even made me laugh hard over breakfast this morning - and he loves that he can do that! Really, that is one of the biggest reasons I married him. A man that loves the Lord and is also funny!?! Yes, please! I'm glad he is all mine and I love that we got to go out and celebrate 7 yrs together by dropping the kids off at Mimi and Poppi's house and spending the day like middle schoolers at Wild Waves on a 90 degree day. We did at least 4 laps on the lazy river together and rode every single ride in that whole park. We loved it. The next day we went out to dinner and did our tradition of re-capping each yr of marriage and the big events of each yr including the highs, lows and what God taught us through it all. I'm looking forward to this next year and what the Lord will teach us in another year of marriage and parenting together! I love you, Justin!

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