7 Quick Takes, A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Bathing Olaf, Tater Tot Plants and Why I Am Losing Faith in UPS...

Did we really make it to Friday? 

I don't know about you, but July is always a very busy month for us...Vacation bible school, school prep, and trying to cram all of the summer fun possible into the last few weeks of vacation.This year has proved to be just as crazy with the kids doing cross country and our new business location opening.

Well, we made it through another week.  **Collective cheer and big huge sigh**

We had something to do or somewhere to be almost every day this week...and it is the same through the next few weeks. My plan is to coffee up and hold on for the ride! It is filled with good and great things that I wouldn't give up for anything. God has blessed us so much! I look forward to continuing to share it with you!

Now, onto our week in review for you...It was a good one. :)

1. Bathing Olaf...

Our Vacation Bible School was this week. The theme was Operation Arctic...and the church asked for winter decorations. I asked if they might be interested in an oversized ridiculously tall inflatable Olaf. They were rather excited about it.

He obviously needed cleaned up after being in storage...
(Err well, half in storage. Someone put him on a shelf, in the garage and not into the tote box I had assigned him to. I'm talking to you, Dustin.)

I help the kids set him up. I peek out the window a few minutes later and this is what I see...

 


Doesn't everyone scrub their winter decorations, on a picnic table, right after a thunderstorm, in the middle of July?



2. When I watched my kids babysit...

  My friend Courtney called me up and asked if I would be willing to watch her little man while she and her husband took the older kiddos to see a movie. Since I totally get the struggle of trying to see a movie with toddler in the house...of course I said yes. Plus I owed her one.

  Cannon came over and the kids instantly started fighting over who got to take care of him. He is really easy to watch and just kind of hangs out and observes. They took turns playing with him and passing him around.
Oh, he and Anna also took turns hitting and pushing each other. They have been hanging out in the nursery at church since Cannon was born and that's just what they do. I am sure he is probably making up for all the times Anna was mean to him before he could do anything in return.
 I reminded my children that they didn't need to argue over him because they still had a baby sister at home. They informed me that Cannon was better because he was a newer version.

He is only 6 months younger than Anna...but apparently that is all it takes. Either way...we all love him to pieces and look forward to him visiting again.

Alex can't wait because Cannon is totally mesmerized by his magic tricks!


3. Tater Tot Plants...

 

I was making a quick lunch on Sunday and I honestly really just want to know where I can get tater tot plants!?!
I mean clearly they have this figured out if it goes from field to frozen. I think they are leaving out a few steps...but..I'm not the one marketing these infamous magical tater tots...maybe they have created a tater tot plant?


4. Preteen Boys Are Smarter Than Lawyers...

We had a couple friends spend the night, right in the middle of VBS. So obviously I didn't want them staying up too late. I told them they had to turn the  X Box off at 11:30 and turn out the light. They informed me the next morning that I said they had to turn our the light...I didn't say they had to go to sleep. Apparently, I need to be more specific next time. They stayed up talking until 2am.

Oops!


Talk about finding one heck of a loop hole!

Well played boys...well played...














 5. Operation Arctic...

  This is our second VBS year at our church.  The kids always have a blast and come home on fire for Jesus. The leaders and teachers really love to work with kids. You can see it in everything they do.  The Lord is doing BIG things at this church. I really enjoy watching Him work through everyone there!
There were over 250 kids by the last night and 30 kids accepted Jesus! Plus multiple baptisms.

6.  Why I am Losing Faith in UPS

Our business sometimes requires us to order multiple packages. I have seen some pretty messed up boxes before..but this one takes the cake!
Out of the 6 packages we received this week 3 of them were disasters. One had clearly been opened and taped half shut again. Even the packing slip was missing!

The package pictured below is the absolute worst I have ever seen though. It looked like Big Foot played with it for about 6 hours. Thankfully the item inside was not easily damaged and was still usable. Or some very frustrating phone calls would have had to be made.

7. How Anna and I Did Walmart...

  Anna wasn't feeling so great this week.

 I couldn't say she was sick but I also couldn't say she was feeling good. So she missed two days of VBS. Dustin took her one day...and I stayed with her the second day, because Dustin had to work.

Since I almost never just have one kid with me..I decided to pop into Walmart for a few things.  
We were out of shampoo and conditioner..and that is an emergency def-con 5 in a house with 4 girls...5, if you include the dog. 

  Anna was really not feeling any part of doing anything on this day. In retrospect, I am realizing that Anna was/is cutting more molars. I told her we would go see Daddy, at work..but we missed him. Lots and lots of tears. She cried all the way across town. Alligator tears.  It was ridiculously hot and her sippy cup had went missing. Plus it was around dinner time and I had forgotten to pack a snack.
 I promise I really have been doing this Mom thing for a while. lol It was just one of those days.

So...I did what any totally awesome, tired, and resourceful Mom would do. I took her into Subway and bought us a bag of Cheetos and a cherry Icee to share!

 I didn't realize until we were much farther into the store that she had on a shirt that was getting too small and she was filthy...despite having a bath that morning.(I am fairly certain that the 4th child is born convered in dirt and sticky and stays that way for their first 4-5 years) Her hair was coming out of its pony and she was now covered in orange and red from our snack.

Yep, Anna and I totally classed up Walmart on Wednesday folks!

We had fun though.

We had a snack, walked through the toys and shoes, picked up some sippy cups, and I snagged some school supplies! (EEP! HOMESCHOOL. CHRISTMAS. HAS. ARRIVED!!!) 
 

Well, That was our week in a nutshell...We made it out the other side and had some fun along the way!   
Even though I will not be surprised if we show up on that People of Walmart website in the near future...

Happy Friday! 

~Lyndsay

Matthew 12:36

 But I say unto you, That every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
Matthew 12:36
 
We have been following a certain study in my Sunday school class.

 I have to say that I have been so blessed by the ladies in this class. I am the youngest in the class by at least 25 years, however...I so enjoy the time I spend with these Seasoned Christian Women. We laugh together, cry together and let the Bible step on our toes together.

This particular verse stepped on a lot of toes last weekend.


 I guess I always knew this verse was there...and I guess I knew it's meaning...but it never really truly hit me. So many of my words are idle or unkind or just totally unnecessary. It is a habit..and a hard one to break.

 All of us agreed that we would be standing in line for a very long time when it was our turn to stand in account for all of those idle words we had spoken. Joking aside, the fact of what I will already have to stand to be accounted for already hurts my own heart. I can't imagine how it will be when the Lord recounts them for me. I realize He is a loving and gentle father, but no one likes to be corrected.

 I took this study with me in my mind and my heart this week. I have done my best to apply it to my life, and to my children's lives.


 We all had a long talk about thinking before we speak and also about how they have been treating each other. It had been laid on my heart recently, that I had unintentionally turned a blind eye to some of their bickering. Thinking that they were old enough to start learning to figure out their differences on their own. I was mistaken. The bickering had gotten out of hand.

I had been praying about it, then two things happened.

1.  My Sunday school teacher taught on this verse Sunday.

2.  I read this article that my friend, Jenny, over at Unremarkable Files, wrote.

It really helped me to put into action what I had been feeling, thinking and praying about.

 It will probably take us a while to relearn this lesson and to remember to always speak and act in kindness towards our brothers and sisters... figuratively and literally.

 I have been stepping into many conversations between my children this week. Reminding them and guiding them in their words. Which has also been making me think and work on how I am speaking as well.
 By Thursday evening I was emotionally worn out. It will be worth it. It is all worth it. God is never finished working on us. 
 But that is the whole point, right?

He is still working on us. He isn't giving up on us.

Blessings...

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes, A Recap of This Weeks Life in the Tiny House! Accidental Zucchini Cake, How Dad Does Science and the Clown Car of Waiting Rooms

1 The Clown Car of Waiting Rooms... 

I mentioned last week that modern medicine in not designed for Large families. Another prime example, is this view of the individual patient waiting room at the chiropractor's office. The entire space is maybe 4x4 feet. We see this Dr often. Because almost all of us see him, regularly. He has commented that he looks forward to opening the waiting room door when we visit because apparently we are entertaining. I guess when you cram that many people into that small of a space, it is bound to seem entertaining. There are 5 of us crammed into this tiny space.

Warning, This is probably not wise to attempt if you are claustrophobic. 

2 The Zucchini Bread That Wasn't...



I made what was supposed to be zucchini bread for a homeschool Co-op potluck. It was a new recipe and did not turn out well at all. Total Flop! I tried to salvage the situation with some buttercream icing. Because icing makes everything better...fully planning not to claim it if anyone asked. I labeled it as Zuchini Cake.
Well, my flop went over BIG. 3 people asked for the recipe and a few more stopped to comment on it.
Apparently I invented a new recipe. Yay!
If you want to try making the Accidental Zucchini Cake....You can find it here. One particularly sweet Mom called it Sunshine Cake. ;)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

 Emma also made some desserts. Hers turned out a lot prettier than mine did. That girl is one heck of a little cook.
All of the things we brought disappeared, only 2 small pieces of cake were left.

S'mores

3 Alex's Teeth :(

  Alex is our oldest and the first to get braces. The Husband and I both had them as teenagers. In fact, The Husband had them twice! So, I take full privileged to blame the majority of the childrens' braces needs on him. If I am being honest though, these poor kids don't stand a chance in the pretty teeth pre braces department. They will all need them.
Now, back to Alex... He had a really bad situation going on with his chompers. One to the point that they were talking about pulling it. (That one hurt this Mama a little. Pulling a perfectly good tooth. Not cool).

 Well, through the use of multiple springs and much pain. They were able to keep the tooth.

This week was the day they managed to hook a wire onto it to pull it forward. He has been in so much pain..and rightly so...The pictures below show his tooth before attaching the wire and 24 hours later. This dentist doesn't mess around folks.  OUCH!
I feel bad he is in so much pain, but it will be worth it in the end. He has been a good sport about all this though. Poor kiddo!

4 How to be a Doughboy!! WWI soldier training for kids!

Since we homeschool, I'm always on the hunt for cheap educational fun things to do with the kids. So obviously I jumped at the chance for them to train to be WWI soldiers!  Especially since we are studying US history this coming school year. They signed draft papers, made dog tags, learned to march and wrap bandages, and they even got to try rations! That part was the most entertaining for me.
Toward the end they had a helicopter fly in for people to climb inside and explore.



 

 













5 Baby Owen

 See this adorable little baby boy?!?!!?! This is my long time friend, Julie's newest addition. She lives over an hour away and I am dying to get my hands on him!

However, There is a slightly funny story behind this little guy. You see... My friend tends to have an issue that causes her little ones to come a lit early. So when we found out that she was pregnant we all (there's a handful of us who are close friends) started praying and I mean we prayed hard for this little guy. We prayed for him to stay in until he was fully cooked. He was on prayer chains and prayer lists all over the country.
Well, when it came time for him to come out. He didn't want to. Her typical 2-3 hour labors turned into over 24 HOURS!
We have all collectively joked that he couldn't come out because all of the prayer that was holding him in!

 She is a trooper though. She endured and held true to her non medicated birth plan. That is 3, 100% unmedicated births, this girl is a rock star people! *Love you Julie!<3*

 Thankfully, Mr. Owen and Mommy are safe and sound at home recovering from a slightly long, but not too eventful birth. We are all so thankful and blessed to have them in our lives. My Sunday School class sent up a small cheer when I told them he was here, they had been praying since Winter. 

Oh, this bow tie and the cuteness! It gets you in all the feels!

6 Toddler logic...Why Climb in a Helicopter When You Can Pick up Rocks? 

 Oh the joys of raising a strong willed toddler. While the kids were at Doughboy training, Anna and I had A LOT of time to kill. There were many exhibits set up, so we did a lit of walking around..and talking to history enthusiasts. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy history and attending these events. However, this was a fairly small event..and we made our rounds about three times and chatted with just about everyone in about an hour.
Anna was still being a bit um...rotten....thankfully she didn't lick anything this time. I had given her crackers, even gave her chips and finally decided to take her to an open field and turn her loose.

That probably wasn't the best idea. Because every time I tried to put her back in the stroller she would kick and scream and arch her back with the strength of a gorilla and as many arms and legs as an octopus. Her screaming was so loud that even the people watching the HELICOPTER LAND were turning to watch us. *Mom of the year moment right there* I assured everyone that I was not beating her...and they went back to watching the helicopter land.

**Did I really just type that sentence?**

Once the helicopter landed I figured she would be all over going to see it. Nope, Because didn't you know that rocks are so, So. SO! Much more entertaining than getting to sit in a real live helicopter. She decided she needed to find the perfect rock.
SHE found it! Yay!
I seriously wanted to sit in that helicopter people. :/ 
The kids did get to climb in it later..that is all that matters.

This is as close as I got.

The perfect rock!

 7 This is How Daddy Does Science Experiments.

  The husband is quite smart and good with basically all things. It's annoying.
He is known for coming up with fun (A.K.A slightly dangerous looking) science experiments for the kids. They love it, but I'm pretty sure he loves doing it more than they love watching him do it. I personally, love that he is doing stuff with them, but also stand off to the side with 911 on speed dial and of course...I take pictures. Or better known as, evidence for the police and paramedics. 
To clarify though...he has never caused any bodily harm to himself or anyone else. He actually knows what he is doing. :)
This was a new one for us though. Apparently if you add butane to soapy water...and light the bubbles on fire...it makes HUGE flames..but doesn't burn you hand. 

He of course did not explain any of this to me until AFTER he did this...

The science behind this one was pretty cool...if you go to You Tube and type in Butane Bubbles Flame...it brings up a TON of videos. ..

As always... Kids....Don't try this without an adult!!!


Well, that pretty much wraps up life in the Tiny House for this week!
Now I am about to head outside to help the kids bathe our snowman...more on that next week!


Happy Friday!

~Lyndsay

Accidental Zucchini Cake Recipe

 See this zucchini cake?

Well, I have a story to tell you!
This was supposed to be zucchini bread! It was a new recipe and it was a total flop.
At least for what I was expecting it to be.

Zicchini bread is typically a moist, dense bread. Similar to banana or pumpkin bread.

This turned out more like a coffee cake. It actually tasted a lot like one too, only with zucchini in it. 

Normally, we would just eat it and move on with life...never to be made or spoken of again. I fully planned to throw the recipe away.

Total. fail.

However, I had made the 'bread' for a potluck at our homeschool co-op. There was no time to start over with something else.

So, I decided to try to salvage the disaster and make icing for it. Everything tastes better with icing.

Of course, I was out of powdered sugar. Thankfully, I had a dear friend coming over for coffee and she picked me some up. (Thanks, Courtney!😘)

We stood on the kitchen over this bread turned cake and discussed the options. We finally settled with drizzling the icing over the cake .
 We even did the hardest part and tasted it, multiple times. Just to be sure, don't you know. ;)

I took the 'cake' with me...and seriously considered not labeling it or even admitting to bringing it. But I'm one of 'those moms' that is super concerned about allergies.

So, I labeled it. 

Vowing not to tell anyone I had brought it.

Fully planning to dumb the tray in the trash at the end of the night.

However, my flop of a bread turned cake, went over BIG!
People asked who make it and I really considered not claiming it! It had to be a disastrous mess!

Nope, they wanted to know who made it so they could ask for the recipe. I kept trying to tell them that 'No, no! This was not good. It was a mistake, a mess, an accident.'

However, at least four people asked for the recipe and I had a few others stop by and give it compliments.

I was blown away.
Normally, I'm the person who has the total flop at potlucks, or the person who does OK. But have never been the person who brought something people talked about. Lol

So. I decided to go ahead and claim the recipe for my own. Because I  did change the recipe  and add stuff to it. So technically I invented  a recipe. Right?, Right! I've decided to name it ...it's name shall be...

Accidental Zucchini Cake...

Because that is what it is and we are real here in this space. Plus, didn't some of the greatest recipes and inventions come from total accidents?

Or someone pursuing something else?

Well, here you go, Lyndsay invented something.

 

Never thought I would say that!
(Mentally adds item to bucket list, and checks it off. *Fist Pump!*)

So... without further annoyances
 (We all know the story before the recipe is annoying...and yet, we continue to  write them)

I give you the recipe, that I invented, totally, not on purpose.

Accidental Zucchini Cake
(Although,we all know no one is going to bother calling it by it's first name)

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbs ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted) 
2 cups white sugar
3 tsp vanilla 
2 cups grated zucchini 

Directions

- Grease 9x13 pan Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

- Beat Eggs, butter, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add flour, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into 9x13 pan.

- Bake 40-60 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing and or adding icing.  

7 Quick Takes ~A Recap of This Weeks Life in The Tiny House~

It's Friday! 
Even though it doesn't feel quite that way because of the holiday.

 I thought it might be fun to try something new here on the blog.

7 Quick Takes

Where I give you a small glimpse into the fun and crazy things that happen here in our little piece of the world. The humorous, interesting or down right entertaining things that happened at our house this week.

1. Aris
Emma is VERY into all things Paris. It is much reflected in her room. She has the comforter, the sheets, necklace hanger, bulletin board, clothing, you name it! To help her round out her room, I ordered her a wall decal for her room. It was so pretty. It arrived in January, and we promptly set it on a shelf to be forgotten about. Until this week.
We decided to put it up. I really didn't think it would require any great skill. Much to my dismay, I was terribly mistaken. The Tower 'A' and 'ris' went up without a hitch. The 'P' however...that was a different story all together. It was a beautiful P with swoops and swirls of lettering around it. Quite elegant and girlie.
Yeah...It totally turned into a big ball of snarling sticker the second I started to peel it from its paper.

So, at this moment in time. Emma has a beautiful 'Aris' in place of the supposed 'Paris' decal on her wall. A cousin of ours has the machine to make the wall decals..and has offered to make her a 'P', I specifically asked that she make it a very basic letter...for fear of repeating this weeks events.

2. Addison's Version of How 'Mommy Does The Beach'
We live ever so far from a real beach. I, personally, have never seen an ocean...the kids have not either.  However, we have a lot of fun driving to some of the more local Lakes and State Parks to swim at their version of a 'Beach'. 

 We loaded up the entire family and headed to 'the beach' this week. It was a lot of fun and we took zero pictures. Because, we left our phones in the van. We had a ton of fun. We swam, had a picnic lunch and used our new HUGE umbrella that we recently purchased. This umbrella is amazing. People were stopping to admire it.

 Once we came home, showered and napped(the beach, is exhausting!)...Addison decided to get crafty. She brought me this and proclaimed that this was, in fact, 'Mommy, lounging under an umbrella, at the beach, eating an ice cream cone'
If only that was the way we really did the beach! She must have herself confused with her own self....because this is how Addison does swimming at Grandma's house..


















3. The Lip
 We spent Sunday afternoon at the grandparents house. The kids had a great time swimming and Grandma fed us a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, hotdogs and oriental salad. So good!
  Miss Anna has been quite the precocious little thing, since closing in on the later half of her second year. She has fully embraced her toddlerhood, with great gusto! She has also been making great strides in the pouting department. I have become immune to it. You build up resistance fast with four kids.
  Grandpa and Daddy are not so immune though. Daddy has to shield his face and Grandpa caved in about 3 seconds.. He said he just couldn't tell her no.
I do have to agree that there is great skill in this one. She takes her role as the youngest very seriously.
But, I'll leave it to the readers...could you tell her no?

4. This is How We Dr Office...
Emma had to visit one of her specialists this week. I dread the Dr office. The people are nice and the Dr's are amazing..but modern day medicine is not meant for large families. The waiting rooms rarely have children's areas, the exam rooms are so small, and they put no more than 2 chairs in the room. 2!
  Between the sheer amount of people and Anna being, well, Anna..it is a little stressful. I do come prepared...Snacks, coloring, books, suckers (the holy grail of good, toddler behavior). I smile, I sing songs, I TRY.

 She is just at that age that she would rather open, climb on or lick anything that she shouldn't be. If you object, she throws herself in the floor..because this is in fact the hill she will die on.
She dies on all the hills, people!

 This visit however, there was a nurse. She sees us coming and she prepares. She pulled the paper from the chair onto the floor and across the room, and dumps a pile of crayons next to it. Anna could not believe her eyes and dove right in. The nurse (A.K.A My new BFF) also brought in a matching card game for the older two to do, because the Dr was running behind.

 Thankfully, Emma is doing so well that we do not have to return for a year! Praise the Lord!  This kid is night and day compared to a year or so ago. I'm almost a little sad this was a specialist office and not our regular Dr. That place has it figured out!

5. Sunday Drive
We took a day trip in the mix of the weekend. I have been trying to take more pictures. They are growing up so fast.
I will be the first to tell you that once you have this many it is IMPOSSIBLE to get all of them to look like normal human beings at the same time.
This one is probably going to be one of my favorites though.

6. We don't plan it that way...really
We have been married for over 15 years and together for 18(?) years...the math is a bit fuzzy at this point. Well, you know how they make jokes about couple ending up looking like each other..and dressing alike....yeah, well...apparently we have become those people. These are pictures from two different dates we went on in the last 5 or so months...and we dressed alike. Without consulting each other before hand.  Yes, we are getting old and we have been together forever. We will probably be sharing the same pair of glasses and dentures eventually. *Sigh*

We are both wearing red.

and blue...

7. Fear The Sparklers!
We are not big on fireworks. It just isn't something that we really get into. As a couple, we have been to three fireworks displays. In 17 years of being together. We do get those Snap Poppers and some Sparklers. We must not have gotten the sparklers the last couple of years though, because the kids were kind of afraid of them. Not for long though. By the time we finished the few boxes that we had, the kids were running laps with them...not an activity I recommend for others to try.

Hope you all had a wonderful, and safe, 4th of July week!

Happy Friday!

~Lyndsay

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Kitchen Renovation Update

 Well... A lot has happened around here in the last 11-12 months. It is honestly too much to tell in one post. I'm sure it would exhaust all of us. 
So, I will start from right here, and fill you in when appropriate. Sound good? Good!

 The tiny house renovation has slowly moved forward, sometimes at a shockingly fast speed. Other times it is like pouring molasses in January.
Yesterday was a big day though. We painted the kitchen! 
This poor kitchen has been the most used room since moving in, in September 2014, and sadly it was left for one of the very last rooms.  

 The last room will be the utility room. It has been the most used room since we moved in. Also, it is the most cluttered. It holds everything from the other rooms that are being worked on. This house is also very void of closets...so it holds a lot of stuff. Even though we have a lot less belongings than most Americans...there is still more than we need. 

See that blue? We mixed it ourselves!

Now, onto the kitchen!

 See that ceiling above my head? The husband did that! We helped.
We helped him while he burned the boards. Our job as to put out the fires when they started on the wood. Then we helped hold it in place while he sanded. Lastly he coated them in a stain.
We are very happy with how it turned out.
The wood ceiling was a big improvement over the unfinished drywall and the light bulbs that dangled out of the recessed lighting holes for about 2.5 years. 

Now, onto the paint. 

We do all of this with cash. We live completely debt free. It is a great way to live.(More on that in another post) However, it means being patient and having a budget and a plan and we also choose to pinch all of the pennies! 

On that note, I feel the need to tell you that this color we used...was our own color mixing.
We had some light blue left from the dining room, about half of a gallon. We wanted a blue for the kitchen, just not the same blue. We were feeling especially budget mindful when we went paint shopping on Saturday. We did not need a full gallon to do the kitchen and the thought of buying another full gallon to only use half...just wasn't something we were wanting to do.

We use the slightly more expensive paint, the one that is better for your health. Low fumes, won't damage your lungs. Etc. Also, it is a bit more expensive. Ouch. It is worth it for the knowledge that we know our kids(Especially the asthma ones) aren't breathing the fumes. 

The hubs decided to just get a couple other sample colors to add to it. He is pretty good at mixing paint colors, so I went along with it.

I'm really glad we did it!

We purchased two sample containers. It was the good brand that we like.
One was a sea foam green, the other was a dark blue, almost navy. I never would have picked up the navy, for fear of making it too dark.

However, clearly the husband knew what he was doing.

It turned out great! 

I said a little prayer over the bucket before starting. I asked for enough paint to finish the kitchen...and... a bit left, for touch ups, would be a nice bonus..provided He was feeling generous! 

Well...my friends, there was more than enough paint to paint the entire kitchen. Plus it filled one of the sample containers to the point of overflowing!
What a great blessing!

The kitchen is now painted a beautiful, original, shade of blue for $7!

The husband also worked on the trim yesterday. All of the windows and doors are now trimmed. Next is the wainscotting.  Once he is finished putting it up..then it will be my turn to paint, paint paint.
The dining room paneling took over 12 hours, spread over 2 days. It was exhausting, but so worth it!

All of the trials of this little house have always been more than worth the work. The literal blood, sweat and tears poured into this 100 year old cottage in the woods has been life changing for us. 
  
The uphill struggles we have faced in this house and along our journey to become debt free were not easy. But they also tried, changed and formed us. There is much more taking place in this house than just renovating a house. So much more than making a house a home.

God has changed us here...

I'll be back soon to continue the updates on the family, the tiny house and our homeschool life. 
It is ever changing and it is good. :)

~ Blessings~

Lyndsay
 

$5.21 Large Family Pizza Night!!

I've been on a mission to lower our food budget and to find some new recipes to go along with the new budget. It has been a bit of a challenge..because we LOVE delicious food in our house. We are kind of 'foodies'..and being a foodie doesn't always fit well into a lower priced budget. Plus, we need it to be fairly healthy because we are feeding growing bodies. :)

One of our new recipes is this large family pizza we have been enjoying.
We made 2, 16" pizza's and 1 gallon of lemonade for $10.42
We ended up only eating one pizza and half of the lemonade for the dinner...so we had it for lunch the next day,
It breaks down to $5.21 a meal!!

I don't know about you, but being able to feed my family of 6, pizza and lemonade for less than $6 is a huge win at our house.

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Two tips!

1. Skip the pizza sauce and go for pasta sauce (or better yet, make your own!), it is cheaper and goes a lot farther. Just sprinkle in a little Italian seasoning.

2. Buy the larger block of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself! Those blocks produce so much actual grated cheese, it is unreal! Plus it melts well, and tastes so much better than its partially dehydrated, powdery, shaker filled counter part.

The recipe breakdown is at the end of the video.
The total meal breakdown is as follows..
$4.78/ 1 pizza
$0.43/ 1/2 gallon of lemonade

Happy Baking!

Lyndsay
The Tiny House Homeschool Mom


P.S. If you would like to see more budget friendly meal idea from the Tiny House Homeschool crew..then like, comment, share and subscribe. Just a couple clicks and you are really helping our family out!

 Thanks for watching!

Bulk Freeer Cooking To Save Time & Money!

Hello All!

It has been a while!

We have been focusing on the vlog a lot more than the blog...but I feel like we should have both up and running...so ...I'm back!

We have a lot going on and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The budget has gotten out of hand and I decided it is time to get ahead of the curve.

Part of it was us just wanting different (More expensive) meals..and the other part was getting busy and not having the time/energy to make meals.

How do we counter act that?

We bulk freezer cook!

In the video below we baked muffins, cooked taco meat, and shredded chicken, made lots of sandwiches to freeze and two different types of pancakes to freeze and eat on when we are short on time!!

I will be back with more bulk cooking and freezing..as well as some new budget friendly large family meals!

Thank for stopping by and watching!!!
Please like, share, comment and subscribe..so I know you want more budgeting and money saving ideas!

~Lyndsay