You want me to eat what??

You want me to eat what?!

Anna went to her four month check up a couple weeks ago. The Dr said she was ready to start eating baby food. I have to be honest, feeding babies solids is one of my favorite things about this stage. The faces, the mess, the excitement. Yes, I am easily entertained and amused.

Apparently the thing to do now (So much has changed since Alex was born ten years ago. Heck, even since Addison was born five years ago!) is to start with green vegetables. We skipped cereal because it is not that nutritious, and if you were too see Anna's thighs, you would agree that she clearly does not need any extra carbs in her diet. They are adorably cute and epic...but still...she does not need the extra carbs from cereal.

So we started with green beans, then sweet peas. She LOVED the green beans! She laughs and MMM Mmm's all the way through it.
The sweet peas were a bit 'Eh' for her. She ate them.

Then I thought I would jump ship and give her bananas. I figured she would enjoy them. The other kids loved them.

Nope! She hates them.

So I figured we would try apples.

Nope! They make her gag and she whines through the whole feeding.

I gave fruit a break and tried sweet potatoes.

Loved them!
(Are you sensing a pattern here?)

After the sweet potatoes we tried Pears.

Nope! Even more gagging!

Carrots?

Serious win!

OK? Seriously?!

Since when does a baby not like fruit?!

This is a new one for me people. I have never seen a baby turn her nose up at fruits.
I'm hoping she gets used to them. Studies show that it can take up to ten times to adjust to a flavor and texture.
So, forward we shall trudge through these tiny jars of fruit.

She serious cracks me up though. She savors every bite of the green beans, sweet potatoes and carrots.(We only tried sweet peas twice , because she had a less than desirable reaction to them. We will be trying those again in a couple weeks.)
However, the moment you give her a bite of fruit she gives you this look of, "Seriously Mom? You expect me to eat this?"
She is such a happy and laid back baby. She takes her dislike of fruits very well. She eats them, gags occasionally and then laughs about it. Then a couple bites later she whines at me about it. Then I tell her, I feel her pain and clearly she is suffering..and she laughs some more.

Have you ever had a baby not like fruit?

I'm curious to see if this carries on into her childhood...

Well it is Friday..which means I have a menu to plan and a grocery list to make. So I had better run...and run fast...because I have been rationing the coffee for the last few days. I literally just drank the last cup! I don't know about you, but that is an emergency level 10 at our house!

I guess I shall loud up the children and trek to Sam's club for a really BIG box of coffee, and some more baby food to torture Anna with. Muahaha. ;)

Happy Friday!

Lyndsay, THHM

How To Save Money On Hair Cuts....

   Not long after we were married, Dustin bought a clipper set on sale at Sears. He had decided to cut his own hair. (He made this decision while standing in front of the sales display in Sears ;).) His first few attempts were less than desirable. The torch was quickly passed to me...because I can actually see the back of his head. hehe.

  Don't get me wrong..I was not exactly a pro at hair or anything..and this was before youtube was a big thing. Sometimes, I was very thankful that he wore hats to work!

  We were flying by the seat of our pants. But it was saving us money. So we pressed forward.

Over time, I got better at cutting hair. I cut Dustin's, trimmed my own and expanded with each new addition to the family.

Am I a professional?...absolutely not.

Have I screwed up everyone's hair at least once? Oh definitely!

Have I accidentally caught the husbands ear in the trimmers? Mmmaayybe...*side glance*

 ...sshhh...I still deny that this happened, even to his face...even though his ear was obviously bleeding. I also may have done this to our son as well. I can't help the fact that the men in this house can not sit still! Anytime I screw up, I am always quick to remind Dustin that I am saving him money and that this was HIS idea about 14 years ago. hehe
 

  Have I saved my family a LOT of money? DEFINITELY! :)  
   
  We have been doing this for over 14 years. I can't even begin to imagine how much it has saved us over the years. At a minimum I would say it saves us $15-30 a month. Between 5 heads of hair, (Babies don't count. At least not my poor, bald headed babies) that's around $180-360 dollars a year. 

  I will occassionally take the kids and get things straightened or refreshed..I did it for myself as well. I do not claim to be a professional, and firmly believe that there is a time and a place to go to a salon. There is something awesome about going and getting your hair done. It feels fresh and crisp afterwards. 

  Recently, I have been going and getting mine cut. Last Fall, I decided to go with a shorter cut..one that requires upkeep. I felt really guilty about the money for a while..then I reminded myself that I'm already saving the family enough money in the hair cutting area....as well as...this is my one thing. I am not high maintenance. Almost all of my clothes are from clearance, or from ebay. I do not wear loads of expensive make up or get my nails done. So I decided my hair is something just for me. :) It even got its own line in the budget. Thank you EveryDollar!

  Last Friday was my scheduled hair appointment. All of my helpers went with me. 
(Have I mentioned how great my hair lady is? She didn't even bat an eye at my crew.) 

   Emma had been on the fence about cutting her hair for months. It was really long and had been that way for over two years. Well, she decided on Friday that 'today was the day' and she couldn't wait another moment to have it gone.
  It had been a long time since I had done a girls short style, and I was nervous! I even tried to talk her into waiting and going to the lady who does my hair. She would not wait. 
  
  So...we cut her hair. Eight inches shorter and lots of layering...and she is happy. I got really worried about half way through with the layers. Once it was washed and dried and I did a little more trimming it was ok. Her hair has a lot more body than it did a few years ago, I was not prepared for that. 
(I am probably going to take her to have it thinned this week. I have thin hair and have never had that problem. LOL We do not have the tools for thinning.)

  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and Emma has been bouncing around like it's Christmas for three days now. ;) You can't deny the wonderfulness of a new hair cut. Even at that age! 
She loves it and I love the fact that we saved some cash. 

  Like I said above...I have absolutely no issues with Salons. I admire the people who do it.
 I dread  cutting hair sometimes...especially in the winter. Hair cuts are so much easier, in the Summer, when you can do it outside. So much less mess! 

  We just feel that this is one of the areas in our lives that we can cut some corners and save a little cash. 

  If you decide to give this a try, there is not much to starting up. 

  The supply list is short.

  -Comb
  -Squirt Bottle With Water
  -Clipper Set (If you have men/boys in the house)
  -Scissors (I usually get a medium priced pair at Walmart)
  -Towel (you should already have that)

 The start up cost is fairly low maybe $30...Then all you need is time, practice and good bit of YouTube!  
This is not for everyone. I know quite a few people who have tried it and it didn't work out. That's OK! There are certain things that I'm not comfortable doing to save money.(Homemade Laundry Detergent, UGH!) It is all in what you feel comfortable doing.

 Do you cut your families hair? 

 If you read this and try it for yourself, I want to hear about it!


Blessings and Happy Money Saving!

Lyndsay..THHM
  
 

 

The Plumbing Disaster

Remember just yesterday, when I was telling you about how cozy and relaxed of a day we were having?

Well...an hour after I posted that post...the main drain in our house backed completely up!

Yep, one minute I am sipping coffee and cuddling the baby after finishing up cleaning the house...the next thing I know, I am watching Dustin cut holes in my utility room floor. *shakes head*

When we got this house..the plumbing was a disaster.

 EVERYTHING was a disaster.

The house before we started.

 That is why we gutted the entire house, including electric and plumbing, and started over. When we were doing the plumbing the main drain looked good. So, we hooked all of our new plumbing to it. Had the septic emptied and checked. Everything looked good.
*Note to self. When the house is that bad, Always tear it all out and start over.*

Then we moved in. We would often hear a gurgling. Dustin looked into it. We kind of figured it was because we had not finished running the vents all the way out of the house yet. We had those finicky vent caps on temporarily. We finished running the vents.

The problem did not go away. It got worse, but kind of came and went. It just wasn't something that screamed 'Serious Problem'. Dustin is a busy man, and it wasn't at the top of his list.

 Until, one day in August, when I was VERY pregnant, the entire thing backed up. The tub was full, both of the sinks, etc.

We called a plumber, because Dustin was stuck at work. They cleaned the main drain from the septic to the house. The 'Brilliant Genius' who update the plumbing,(and the rest of the house before we bought it.) thought it would be a good idea to put the main clean out UNDER the utility room floor.  The plumbers were not very nice gentlemen and seemed to be in a hurry. They didn't bother to come in and check the drains or anything.

They did say that, judging from the amount of build up, it was probably mostly from the last residents. They also suggested that we dig it all up and replace the main drain. I was 36 weeks pregnant. There was no way we were taking that on at that moment in time.

$290 later and we could at least use the toilet again  (Something this pregnant lady was thankful for. ;) )...and things did drain.

Oh, we had the septic emptied also, $125. I was so thankful for our emergency fund that day. 

However, that gurgling never completely went away. It would come and go and Dustin did what he could.

We were trying to avoid tearing up the floor to get to the clean out.  Finding the drain and making an access hatch was on the 'To Do' list...but not until we actually got to finishing the utility room. That room is currently last on the list of rooms to finish.

Then yesterday happened.

We attempted Drano at first, $15.

It did nothing.

Then he started tearing up the flooring.
The stick down tiles that I got on clearance..because it was discontinued. *Facepalm*

Yep.

*Deep Sigh*

He had to cut five holes in the floor before he was able to find the clean out. Then he had to cut a bigger hole to get to the clean out.

 **Deeper Sigh*

AND THEN...he had to go to Lowe's and get one of those BIG electric drain auger snakes, and some very thick and long orange gloves, $430

One very messy hour and $450 later...the drain was officially fixed.

The gurgling is gone. We are pretty sure that the plumbers didn't officially get the problem taken care of to begin with. We are also fairly certain that this was probably an on going issue with the past residents.


 We then did what we always do when this old tiny house throws us for a loop. We laugh about the disaster, give each other a kiss, clean up the mess, praise God for our debt free house and emergency fund...and order pizza for dinner. 


Needless to say, the chilli did not get made yesterday ;) ...and I had to clean the house again today..at least parts of it.

  Dustin filled in the holes in the utility room floor. Thankfully we have a few of the tiles left.
Looks like we will be putting something different in there when we get to finishing that room. ;)
 This crazy house has thrown us for more than one loop along the way. We love it..and we keep moving forward. 
Because...it's worth it.

The tiny house now.

 On the bright day side, the next time we have to clean out a drain...the auger will have paid for itself! ;) 
I don't know about you...but I'm always happy when something pays for itself. LOL

I'm now making the chili, school is finished for the day and the washer is no longer draining into the bathtub...VICTORY!
All is back to Warm and Cozy in the Tiny house. :)

Blessings,
Lyndsay

Winter...

Winter was reluctant to show up in Ohio this year.

The view out of our front door.

Not that I am complaining,
 I'm a warm weather girl.
Winter could stay away until Spring for all I care.
However, if Winter didn't come.... we would miss the absolute best part about this Tiny house of ours.

Our Tiny House Is A Winter House!

The entire time we were tearing down and rebuilding this house we would talk about how wonderful it was going to be on a cold winter day when the snow was flying. We would be all snug in the house not noticing the cold, spending time together, drinking coffee and and watching the snow fly..with a pot of chili on for later in the evening.

 It is just, at its BEST in the Winter.

 It is so warm and cozy in here when the snow is flying outside.
The Winter months are also the cheapest months on our budget, especially the electric...Strange but true. :) We contribute it to the triple insulation, design/layout of the rooms and the super efficient furnace we installed.  
*We put a lot of thought and planning into every aspect of the house, to keep our over all living expenses low and to maximize on every bit of space.

Well, TODAY is the first real Winter day since the house has gotten relatively close to being finished.
The wind is blowing, there is a serious bite to the air and the snow is flying. We are only expecting about an inch...but that's ok.
We are all warm and snug....

See our unfinished dining room walls. Thankfully the dining room is one of the  next rooms to be finished. 

 Including the dog. :)

 The baby is enjoying her Christmas present. (The one I just now got around to putting together for her.)

That is my new 12qt stock pot. It holds so much!

 There are beans on to soak for chili this evening. (I just recently started to make my beans, instead of buying them, for recipes. A post is coming for that shortly.)

 There is coffee and chatting..while the wind blows...and you can't tell because this house is so warm and snug.
*Any other house we lived in, you could tell when it was really cold outside. The house just had a different feel. This house is very different. We planned it that way. No Winter chill is getting into this place. :)

The girls love their new room. It is designed in true tiny house fashion...Lots of storage built in!

And everyone is enjoying their space..in our tiny house.
*The girls room was finished just this week...a post is coming for that as well! Hmm...clearly I have a lot of blogging to do in the very near future. I had better get on it. 


Happy Winter Sunday, from our house to yours!

~Lyndsay

Paleo Cabbage Soup Recipe

 My cousin told me about this recipe.
 In fact she told me about it for over a year before I actually tried it. Because, honestly, just hearing about it over the phone, it didn't sound that great. lol

 I finally agreed to at least just make it to try once.

 I have to admit the first time I made it I was a bit skeptical. Once you put everything in the pot it doesn't look that appetizing. Then it all cooks down.
 The recipe itself is not difficult and the ingredients don't sound all that great together...
But...
Something magical happens once it all cooks down and the cabbage absorbs all the flavors. 
It's absolutely delicious!


This has quickly become a family favorite. Especially with the kids...but what can you expect from kids who eat Brussels Sprouts like they are candy? Addison (5) frequently asks when we are having this soup again...and she is the picky one.
The best thing about this soup..besides the fact that it is delicious, nutritious and fast (about an hour start to finish)..is the fact that is makes a LOT of soup!
  We can eat it for dinner one night, Dustin can take it to work for lunch and the kids and I can eat it two days for lunch. It fills my 12 Quart stock pan almost completely to the brim before it cooks down. Normally, after we have multiple bowls of this for dinner, it is not uncommon to have a gallon of soup for leftovers.

We are not a 'Paleo' family, but I never shy away from a nutritious meal..and Paleo is the place to find a lot of really nutritious, filling meals for my, ever hungry, house full of kids. :)

Paleo Cabbage Soup

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Sausage
1 lb Ground beef
1 Onion chopped
1 heaping TBSP Garlic (minced)
4  15oz cans, Diced Tomatoes (Or two of the big beef steak tomatoes, if you prefer to avoid canned items)
2 1/2-3 cups Carrots(sliced)
2 1/2-3 cups Celery(sliced)
2 cartons Beef Broth
1 medium Green Cabbage (chopped)
1 small Red Cabbage (chopped)

To Prepare

-Brown ground beef and sausage in a skillet, drain.

-While the beef and sausage are browning..chop and slice the onion, carrots, celery and both cabbages. Put all of it into a LARGE stock pot.

-Add the garlic, tomatoes and beef broth to the pot.

-Add the browned meat to the pot as well.

-Bring to a boil, turn heat to medium high and simmer. Let it cook down, stirring frequently, until the carrots and cabbage are cooked through.

Season the soup with pepper and season all salt (Or regular salt)

*We typically serve this with oyster crackers or crescent rolls.

Now that Winter seems to have finally arrived in Ohio, we will be having this in the meal rotation frequently.
One of the reasons I was reluctant to try this recipe, was the cost. It is around $20 to make this soup. However,  we eat on it multiple times..and the nutritional value is fairly high...I feel it is worth the $20.

Enjoy!

~Lyndsay
 THHM