The Year Without a Purchase ~ Book Review

The Year without a Purchase: One Family's Quest to Stop Shopping and Start Connecting

  In January I mentioned giving myself a book challenge to read one book each month. I did great with this challenge in the first few weeks of January, finished my first book on less than a week and started the next one. Then I came down with the flu, along with the rest of the family. Reading was the last thing on my mind. I'm finally starting to feel better, and remembered that I gave myself some goals for the year. It was time to stick to them!

I decided that making a book review on each book I finish would be a good way to keep myself accountable. (Let's see how well I stick to this.)

 

  Book #1 was a super quick read, mainly because it was so real. I love down to earth and real life, and this book hits you in all the feels for that. I audibly laughed out loud on more than one occasion while reading 'The Year Without a Purchase'.(Affiliate link)

  It is about a typical American family ( A husband and wife with two young kids) who decided to go one entire year without making a single purchase, food not included.

  The author breaks the book up with many moments of real life hilarity. Let's be honest, saving money with a no spend challenge can get a little messy from time to time. Especially when we do not do our best to be prepared.

  One of the things that really hit home for me with this book was the fact that this family did not do this challenge out of financial necessity, they did it for their spiritual health. The financial benefit was just a bonus and an exercise in frugality. They felt they had fallen into the habit of spending money without a purpose and wanted to come back to their real purpose in life, their focus on God. 

  They wanted to learn how to be 'In the world but not of it'. (A topic I often ponder and tend to struggle with.)

  They decided to figure out what exactly was a need for them, only on the most extreme level. As a whole, our society is very confused on the topic of need vs want. Too many wants have become needs, while the majority of the world struggles to fulfill their basic daily needs.

  Don't get me wrong, this book was clearly not written to induce guilt. It did however help to shed a light on how to make an impact on your world from where you are right now. It gives hands and feet to the budgeting aspect of giving. It shows you how one family made some small and yet drastic changes to their daily lives to be able to give more to others in need.

  I think the best part of this book was the fact that they were very real and raw about their feelings through the whole process. Dustin and I have done 'no spend' challenges before and it can be very difficult and brings out many unexpected emotions. It is very revealing of who you are as a person.

  If you are looking for a quick and entertaining, yet heart searching book to read, I highly recommend reading 'The Year Without a Purchase'.

~Lyndsay

I think I may have a seed buying problem...

 


  Actually this is what has accumulated over the last few years. Each year we planned to start the garden and it fell through for one reason or another. Yet, each year I purchased a few(or many) in anticipation of starting the garden.
  I grabbed a few today, then came home to gather and sort the rest. There were a few more than I thought. Oops! I'm calling it long term savvy frugal garden preparation. 😉😊😎

I still need a few more though. It's a sickness!🌱

 I grew up on  farm and I guess having sees around is kind of part of who I am. The feeling of running out of seeds to plant is similar to the thought of not having any extra food in the pantry or money in the emergency fund. Yep it's that important.

Now to start laying out the plans for the new beds we need to build. We are open to any and all suggestions in that department. We will be building raised beds, a new things for us. We have also been discussing giving straw bale planting a try, at least for a couple things.

 I already started me medicine and herb garden area last fall. That will be expanded this year as well.

Who else is deep in garden planning?

New Additions! Operation Homestead 2018! *Video at bottom of post*

 At our old house I had attempted to start a homestead of sorts. With so many little ones in the house it quickly became too much for me. I had to let it go for a season.
Now we are more than settled into our new house, our business is under way and the kids aren't all as little as they used to be. It's time to restart 'Operation Homestead'!

 Dustin and I had already been discussing building the garden beds and possibly getting chickens and rabbits this year. Then a fellow homeschool family decided to incubate some eggs for a science project. They live in town and can't keep more than a few chickens, I was more than happy to take them off her hands.  

  The oldest two children remember having chicks and chickens, but the younger two have never experienced it. They are so excited for this brand new experience! We brought them home a few hours ago and the joy is unreal. :)

   Dustin told Anna (2) that we got the chicks so we can have fresh eggs. She has since been telling them to 'Get comfy, cook eggs!' and keeps asking them 'Where's you Mama at?'
She asked me 'Where's their Mama at?' I told her she was their Mama now. She likes that idea. 

  Everyone is very excited to start this new step in our journey. I have missed having 'farm' animals around, gardening and tending to a mini farm/homestead are two things that bring me great joy.

From a homeschooling standpoint, this offers all kinds of opportunities for real life, hands on, science education. It also teaches them the value of hard work and the enjoyment of the rewards of caring for another living thing. 

 

 Plus this has brought a fun new thing to brighten our days after having not so great of a start to the year. Between sickness, cold and snow, it has been a long winter. Everyone was more than ready for a glimpse of life to prove that spring will eventually arrive. This will serve as a wonderful distraction from the greyness outside.
 

~Lyndsay

2017-18 Spring Semester Homeschool Plan

  Yay! We did it! We are half way through the school year!

*Insert shouts of JOY here!*

  We took a longer Winter break than planned, due to sickness.  That was not fun. We had one good week of school, and then more sickness. My hopes and dreams of being out of school 'on time' are quickly slipping from my grasps. *Dramatic crying*

*Then I remember!*

  That's ok. This happens every year, that's why I used my brain powers for good, way back in August, I padded our schedule with time off for the unexpected. Homeschooling comes with many perks, this is one of them. 

*Gives self pat on back, moves forward with life, coffee in hand.☕*

As with every year, we reevaluate at the half way point.

What's working?

What isn't?

What's behind?

What's ahead?

Who's struggling with a certain subject/curriculum?

Who's not happy with their school?

  Yes, I let my children voice their opinion in their education. I always listen, and take action where genuinely warranted.

  This year has been mostly good, the core subjects have been working fairly well. It took a few years to find the ones that work best for us.

  Only one major change needed to take place with the older two, they hated their reading program.   They stuck it out through the first half of the year, upon my request. They really did give it the good homeschooler try. I have spent many years cultivating a love of reading in my children. If they both voice complaints on an ongoing basis, then I listen. I'm not going to push a curriculum on them that might affect their love of learning. (Yes, there are many times they must just do what is difficult. This went beyond something being difficult.) It quickly came to my attention that this reading curriculum was not going to work for us.

A sample of Alex's reading.

   We decided to go back to the guidelines we were following last year. They are working through a comprehension book and reading from various titles pre-approved by me. After each book is finished, they have to give a written book report, make a project to reflect what they have learned or give a narrative to me in great detail. They both love doing reading this way, and I find they retain a lot more of what they are reading. 

  Alex started back to school reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)", Emma is reading Little Women.

  Other than the reading changes, the older two are sticking to what we started with at the beginning of this school year. We are still using Saxon Math, Easy Grammar, Sequential Spelling, and a variety of other curriculums, programs and resources. 

  Alex decided that he wanted to pick up a second science curriculum along with the one he was already using. He is using Abeka science(A half year course) and Apologia Anatomy.

  Emma started her Abeka science and is also studying a second science topic. 

A sample of Emma's reading.

 Addison is doing really well with everything we chose for her this year. She finished her last math curriculum, right before winter break. I know which one I would like to switch to next, but I am waiting until she has done a little more of Life of Fred. We do Life of Fred in spurts at our house. The kids tend to get bored with it after a certain amount of time, then we switch back to a more traditional math curriculum.  I do love how much they grow in their problem solving abilities while using LOF.

She is also having fun playing Prodigy Math.

  Addison also switched away from her reading program, she had a huge jump in her reading abilities and surpassed the level we were using. She is now working her way through the entire Magic Tree House series and reading a large variety of books from our personal library, and the public library. 

She is also doing a daily comprehension book, spelling with site words workbook, science nature study, animal study and a few other items.

(If people are interest in a full comprehensive list of how we structure our school, I would be happy to make another post. :) )

A sample of Addison's work.

  Together, we are doing geography, history, bible, art and a read aloud. Our current read aloud is The Long Winter.

  As I mentioned in another post  I have been known to drop the ball with planning our history curriculum. To save money this school year I decided to put together our own history. It's great when I am on the ball with planning. It's not so great when life happens and I fall behind. (The next time I do this I will plan the entire year, before the year begins. I planned the year almost completely with every other subject. I was leaving some wiggle room with the history, it did not work in my favor.) I am sitting down now to finish planning the rest of the year. No more excuses for this Mama getting behind on that.
Although, even when I am not on the ball the older two kids are always reading at least one nonfiction history book, whether it be a broad overview of time, a biography or a specific subject. (They are really enjoying the Who Was Book Series.)

  I typically use Mystery of History and I might switch back to it next school year. It really is easier for me to be able to fall back on a preset plan. Hence the need for me to plan farther in advance. A friend sent me her study guide for history for her kids. She is one of those rock star moms who has her children's entire education plans written out in great detail. I will probably use that as a loose guideline for us to follow the rest of this school year.

  I am becoming aware of the areas that I am lacking as a educator, and trying to remedy them. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, we just have to learn how to improve upon them, or work around them. Plus I really feel like I need all of my ducks in a row, because high school is coming.

   This strikes great fear in me. Mainly because it is the unknown. Thankfully, I have an amazing group of ladies at co-op who have gone before me. They speak of it like it is no big deal. We will be finding out for ourselves in a couple of years.

 Well, that is where we stand for this half of the year. I'm pleased with our progress in most areas. The kids are happy, yet challenged and life is moving forward.

Spring semester 2018 here we come! 
*Reaches for more coffee, and maybe some chocolate too.* 
**Clearly, homeschooling is not always a good influence on my yearly goals.**

Budget Friendly Minimalist Makeup Routine

Let's talk about makeup! 

Way back before kids, I used to work in the type of job where your looks took you a long way. The hair, nails, makeup and clothes had to be on point. I didn't maintain that job for long, just long enough to know that it wasn't for me.
I am not much of a 'girly girl'. Spending hours on my appearance is not something that brings me joy. 

On the flip side, I do like to look presentable. I may be a busy and sometimes exhausted mother to many, but I don't like to look that way.

While I am blessed to be home with my kids, I do also run a business with my husband and manage our large, homeschooling family. I don't always know where the day may take me. It can start out being a quiet day of school at home, and quickly turn into a day of errands, with a business meeting, doctor appointment, and or playdate. 

I strive to look put together enough to seamlessly transition between whatever life might bring for the day. 

Do I always accomplish this? Nope, but I do like to think I manage to walk around not looking too disorganized. 

Below, you will find my personal thoughts and tips on my budget friendly, minimalist makeup routine. 

Are you ready? Here we go!

The Budget

 I use drug store makeup. It is mid range in quality and price. If I purchase a product of less quality, it breaks my face out. I try to walk the fine line between price and quality. Since I don't wear large quantities of makeup on a daily basis, I can afford to purchase a better quality product.

 I have added up the price for everything currently in my bag. It is roughly $50. (I will list all items with links below.) These items do not need replenished monthly, or all at once. The cost is broken up over the course of the year. I account for it in our monthly grocery budget. It is such a minimal monthly amount, it is barely noticeable.

The Products and Thoughts on My Personal Style

  I go for natural colors with my makeup. I'm not trying to look 'made up'. I just try look presentable and enhance what the good Lord gave me. :) I have a light complexion and colouring; Blue eyes, blonde hair and fair skin. My color choices reflect my personal colouring. I stick with beige, tan, pinks and small pops of color.

  I am not committed to any one brand or product. When I find a product that works for my complexion and budget, I stick with it. I've been using most of these products for at least five years.  

 Face

Loreal Mineral Foundation

Cover Girl Cheekers

 Cover Girl TruBlend Fixstick 

 

Eyes 

 Maybelline NY Nudes Eye shadow

I alternate between a neutral *white, tan, beige* eye shadow and the lavender. 

Why lavender? It makes my eyes pop. ;)  

MaybellineNY Purple Daze Eye shadow

I have only ever owned two eyelash curlers. They are an essential for me, but last forever. They are replaced when they break.
 

Eyelash Curler 

MaybellineNY Mascara 

 

Lips

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Moisturizing Lip Shimmer, Peony

I wear the lip gloss most of the time. The lipstick is for specials occasions, meetings and date night.

     Burt's Bees 100% Natural Moisturizing Lipstick, Ruby Ripple

Burt's Bees lip balm is something I keep around all the time. I have one in my makeup bag, one in my purse, and on my desk. I don't even consider it makeup, It is an essential. Sometimes, I skip both of the items above and just use this.

Burt's Bees 100% Natural Moisturizing Lip Balm, Original Beeswax

Not pictured are 1-2 eyeliner pencils. They are so old I can't even read the labeling anymore. 

 

 

Minimalist Mindset

 

Minimalist tip. Set limits.

This bag is my limit. Your limit may be different. It might be smaller or larger than mine. It might be a drawer in your bathroom, or a set amount of time you allow yourself to get ready. 

For me, it is about space and time. If it doesn't fit in the bag or takes more than three to five minutes to apply...it doesn't fit in my life. It is outside of my personal minimalist limits.

One of the best things about minimalism, you set your own limits. Make it to fit your life and needs. :)  

While it may look like a lot, when I post it product by product, it really isn't that much. It all fits in this bag.

*Don't ask me where the bag is from. It was some freebee from back in my department store, high-end makeup days. I think it is from Clinique? **Shrugs shoulders.** *

   

Tips

 

1.  Black Mascara

 If you are trying to look less tired, use black mascara. It highlights your eyes, making them look more open.  

 2. Waterproof Mascara

If you are a busy active Mom, you need waterproof mascara. It saves you from having racoon eyes! The dark circles around the eyes caused by smeared make up. The point of make up for Moms is to make us appear less tired, and more put together. Trust me, go with the waterproof mascara.

3. Shimmer

I try to find a flattering eye shadow, with a bit of shimmer. It does a lot for your complexion and brightens your eyes. 

4. Nothing Heavy

This is my own personal rule. I don't like the feel of heavy, thick make up. If it feels heavy or thick, I have trouble focusing. Not sure how that is a thing, but it is for me. I do not wear any type of liquid foundation.

5. Ditch the Eyeliner 

 Last year, I stopped wearing eyeliner on a daily basis. It was frequently getting smeared and made my eyes itch. I also started to make me feel too 'made up.' 

6. Pick One

Keeping in lines with minimalism, I only 'go big' on one area at a time. If I do a color on my eyes, I wear lip gloss. If I wear lipstick, my eyes stay more natural. 

7. Hydrate, Eat Well, Rest & Exercise

While it is nice to have these products to help us look our best, it is not a replacement for taking care of yourself. 

Drink plenty of water.

Eat a well rounded, healthy diet. Vegetables, fruits, healthy carbs and protein are your friend.

Find out how much sleep your body needs, and strive to get it most nights. (I am a person who needs a minimum of 7 hours.)

Go for a walk and lift some heavy things! It doesn't take much to maintain good health. It goes a long way in helping you maintain a healthy glow. ;) 

8. Wash it Off

This is a throw back to your grandma's day. Never go to bed with your makeup on. It can be bad for your skin. I will confess that I do sometimes break this rule. I do try to wash it off more often than not. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, there you have it. My budget friendly, minimalist make up routine. 

What's your minimalist make up routine?

7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! The Secrets Homeschoolers Keep, Mom Fail and Random Thoughts!

 It's Friday! We made it! Thank goodness. Because I spent part of the week asking what day it was. It was one of those weird, confusing catch up weeks. I think, mainly because it was our first official week back to life, post holidays and sickness. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights most of the week. 

1. New Year, New Curriculum.

 I am terrible at sticking to some really boring less exciting curriculums. If we get half way in and realize it isn't working for us, we change it. Thankfully, we have most of our core subjects nailed down. It is just a couple that keep getting shifted around. 

 I tried something new with our reading/comprehension at the beginning of the year. The older two did it, but hated it. I got them to stick to it for the first half of the year. When we were prepping to start back they voiced their dislike of that particular area. I mulled it over for about a week and agreed that they shouldn't have to do it, if they hated it that much. They love to read and they do read a good bit. (A large part of their curriculum is independent reading.) I did not want to start making them hate reading. Especially after all the years of encouraging it. Honestly, I should have just left well enough alone this year and stuck with what worked last year.
  
 I also switched Addison back to Life of Fred for math. She finished the math I had for her before Christmas. I know which one she will be switching to, but I feel like we need to take a side road and do some Fred. Fred is awesome. 

We are still struggling in the History department. Why? Because I dropped the ball. (Real life, moment.)  This happens with History and Science, more often than I would like to admit. I have not found a history program that truly fits for us yet. So, I build our own. When I'm on top of it, it is great. I can build a curriculum. I actually enjoy it.

 Then, life happens, and they run out of what I have planned for them, before I am done planning the next section. My goal for this year is to plan the whole year of history in advance. That is how we do most of our subjects. 

We have continued to shift to a more heavy Charlotte Mason approach to our schooling. Below is a small snippet of what they are currently reading. (This is not their full work load.)

Emma

Alex

 

Addison

2. It's not messy, it's 'school mode'!

I was texting my friend Sveta this week, when I should have been doing school with the little one. Yea, I was playing hooky. You caught me. Any-who, we were discussing what we had planned for the day, and what we had accomplished that day. 
I commented that my house was fairly clean (had laundry going, etc, etc, mom stuff). She commented that her house was not clean. Which made me giggle because her house is never dirty. She sends me a picture of her living room as proof. It looked almost exactly like my house, but with different children in it. 
We both agreed that our houses were not exactly dirty at that moment in time. We were just doing school. Once school is finished all of it gets tucked away for the day. Then normal house reappears. 
 We decided to call it 'School Mode'. 

It is almost impossible to homeschool and avoid the daily clutter explosion that happen while school is in session. I refuse to call it messy anymore. Because it is not an accurate representation of our life.

As proof, I'm showing you our house in 'School mode'. It is what it is for about 4-6 hours, then it gets put away for the day. 

 


The cardboard in the background is a project that was in the works. When you live in a little house, school happens everywhere.


3. Jarred Cactus?

 All of the kids were sick for a little over a week. It happened to fall on the first of the month, (When I typically shop for the month.) and during a snow storm with a cold snap of single digits.. I was more or less house bound. Not necessarily because of the snow. Although, I hate driving in the snow. It was because of the kids. 
 I was wondering how I was going to get to the store and manage to get the month worth of groceries with all these sick people.
 Then it occurred to me that between Amazon, Walmart and Sam's Club, I could order 80% of our pantry, household and grocery items without leaving the house. 

Our prime pantry box

I only had to go out once. Dustin brought home pizza on Friday after work. Emma and I loaded up in the van. We picked up our site-to-store order from Sam's, then popped into Aldi. Because of the storm we ended up having to stop at Kroger also. People in our area still function on 'Panic mentality' any time it snows. They buy all the milk, eggs and bread. 

 We were gone maybe 2.5 hours and it was a lot less stress for me.

 Emma and I like to cut up and have fun. We have this rather dry and almost mean sarcastic humor, that I do not allow her (or myself) to use on others. When we go out alone I turn her loose with it. It is very Lorelai and Rory. We even sometimes pick an accent and use it the entire time. 
 We can't help it, it is in our personality. If I don't let her get it out, she uses it at all the wrong times.    So, we came to an agreement that we can use it on each other at certain appointed times. Then we have to turn it off. Plus it teaches her how to control the sarcastic humor that she was born with. Something that I took a long time to learn. 

Something that caught our eye, While looking for a certain type of beans and attempting to use all of the words from different languages that we knew, in one sentence, while speaking in a British accent (I feel the need to mention that I had not had a lot of sleep.)...we found this. It is jarred, pickled? (I assume) cactus?!

I feel the need to try this in the near future! Maybe while we are studying deserts and cacti. Because who doesn't want to read about something rather different (At least to us. We live very far from a desert region. ;) ) and then you get to eat one?!

 


4. The part they don't tell you about homeschooling.

 I'm sure you have heard the jokes about homeschoolers never getting out of their pajamas. There is also the joke about how socially awkward we can be and the media always likes to toss around the 'socialization' scare tactic. 

 What most people don't realize is, we are typically just as busy as the rest of the world.  Between work, the chiropractor, the orthodontist, hair appointments, the dog, basketball, the library and co-op(That is not everywhere we went.) we left the house and were gone basically every day this week. 

We do a lot of 'car schooling'. This is what it looks like. Mom tip, always bring snacks and water! The toddler will act much less like a feral cat. 





5. Speaking of feral cats...

  I think I mentioned co-op started back up this week. We were all so read to go back. I was prepared and excited. Probably more than the kids. 
We get to co-op, unload the car and Anna decides to turn into a thrashing, screaming, psychopath. It was like giving a feral cat a bath most of the day. I have rarely been so embarrassed by one of my toddlers actions. It was terrible. I wasn't even able to help teach my class. We ended up wandering the halls, eating our lunch early, and I spent the better part of the day apologizing to everyone in our path. 
  After she went to bed last night, I was telling Dustin about our day. He pointed out the fact that she was still on steroids and meds. #facepalm Her crazy behavior makes a bit more sense now. Major mom fail. :( 

She isn't usually like that. It was so bad. So, on a positive note. This is how she normally looks and acts.




6. The mug that matches our house perfectly!

While our friend Laura was visiting recently. She told me about a mug that was in the works at our local pottery place.  She said it matched our house and life perfectly. I had to stop in to pick up a special order item that Laura made, later in the week. I happened to see the mug before it went in for its color dip and glaze. I put a hold on it and asked for it in blue and white. Rachel Shepard (I will be doing a feature on her soon.) made this one. She is one heck of a talented potter!  There are so many talented artists housed in this building. It is non profit and they do loads of ministry and work in our community. If you are interested in learning a new craft, supporting a local business and ministry or just purchasing a one of a kind piece of artwork to sip your morning coffee from...go visit The Potter's House!
The kids are taking classes there this month. I'm excited to watch and maybe get my hands dirty as well.

 

7.  Friday thoughts

 I feel like all of this post was about homeschooling and books. That's probably not what you might have been expecting today. This blog is about our lives and our lives encompass a large variety of topics. As life tends to go though, sometimes our lives get more focused on one topic than others. That is how life works. Part of being a part of our blogging life is coming along for the ride with us. We have been focusing on less media, less tv, less electronics etc. Which means more books and more quiet.
We have been doing lots of reading, writing, reflecting and making the right choices in our lives, business and homeschool. It's January, that's what it's all about. 
Dustin is working a lot. Works is going good. When he isn't working, he is spending time with us and or reading his Bible. 
I have been focusing on reading more, making the habit of exercise stick, spending more time with the kids, and making plans for the future of our lives, this blog and our business. We are starting to move into the next season of life with no babies, no debt and the ability to follow our dreams.

We are making the plans and taking the steps now, to make the next ten+ years pretty awesome.  

 Blessings!
~Lyndsay

I'm kicking around the idea of doing a day in the life vlog once  month. As well as some tutorials. There are also plans for a room by room house tour. It has been so long since I vlogged and or even put my face in front of our youtube channel. It is like starting all over again with the butterflies and everything. 
There you go. That's why I haven't vlogged, I get camera shy. Plus the editing takes a while. I don't always have the time to take from my family.  

2018 Goals

  I am not a resolution person. I tried that years ago and it is a pretty quick way to end in failure.

  Instead, I make small goals and build on them each month and even over years.

This life is a journey, and no one said the end goal was perfection. I tried perfection, that doesn't work.

We are working toward being a better version of ourselves and growing in wisdom and closer to Christ.

I am making a small list of things I would like to work toward changing, making better and even building upon from years before.

#1. Read the entire Bible

  We started reading through the Bible as a family in January of 2017. Some of us kept going all year, but all of us got off track. We have kept pushing and will continue until we finish.
  I'm personally a little over 1/3 of the way through. My goal is to finish this year.

#2. Read 12 books

  I love to read! Always have, and probably always will. During certain seasons of my life (a.k.a. When there's a baby in the house.) I don't get to read much. My hands are full and my body is exhausted. The books get put to the side for a while.

  I felt a personal conviction, about 7 years ago, about reading multitudes of fiction (I read Breaking Dawn in 48 hours) but I couldn't finish the Bible? Major conviction. So I made a personal commitment to not read a lot of fiction. At least junky fiction.

  My main focus is non fiction, biblical, budget/financial, minimalist, homeschooling and historical fiction/non fiction. (I'm always open to title recommendations! Tell me in the comments. I'll add it to my list.)

I have read that some of the most successful people in the world read 4 books a month. Wow. 48 books a year! I would love to be there right now. I know myself and I'm starting small. One book a month is a good goal for me for 2018.

*I'll share which titles I read and thoughts on them as well.

#3. Lift 2x & Walk 7 Miles Per Week

  A few years ago I was in very good shape. I may not ever get completely back to there, and I'm ok with that. Being healthy, fit, active and happy is important to me. Not seeing a certain number on the scale or on my jeans.
It falls by the wayside every time I have a baby. Especially after Anna. She is finally settling into being two and becoming independent enough that I can focus back on my own physical health.

 
4. Continue the swap

Over the last couple of years we have started the slow process of switching household items over to healthier options. We have finally turned a corner and I feel like we are getting the upper hand on most of the items.

This year I will be focusing on my make up, the rest of our cleaning products and probably shampoo and conditioner.

When I say it is a slow process I mean it. I research items and only change one item at a time.

5. Sewing and Crafting

I used to do a lot more crafty stuff a few years ago. Life happens and those things got pushed to the side for quite a few seasons. I have been blessed with some pretty amazing and gifted daughters who love to create, craft and get their hands dirty.(Alex enjoys certain aspects of art and crafting as well. Drawing, painting etc. He gets it from his Dad.)
My focus this year is to spend more time being creative with them.

6. Gardening and Spending Time Outside

I do not spend enough time outside, which means it reflects on the kids as well. It's better for all of us to be outside on a regular basis.
  I also love to garden and do yard work. This old house is ready to have the yard be put into it's rightful state. It's going to take a lot of work. But we have many hands to make the work go quickly.
  It has been 6 years since I had a real garden. Dustin promises it is happening this year. I'm praying he has time to help me build the beds. Then the kids and I can do the rest. I've missed gardening. It's one of my joys.

Well, there you have it. Nothing all too life changing, world shattering or shockingly unheard of.
Just a homeschool mom and wife doing her thing. Trying to be a better version of herself.

What are your goals for 2018?

~Lyndsay

7 Quick Takes! A Recap of Life in the Tiny House This Week! Tears Over Ice Cream, The Couch Ate It, And The Surprise Gift Reveal!

 Hi! How was your week?

Ours was good, interesting and different. How's that for an answer?
 

1. Happy January!

 Most of us rang in the New Year sick.(Dustin and I have avoided it thus far.)

 Alex was healthy and took an invitation to stay with friends and ran for his life to get away from us. Can't say I blame him. No one wants this bug that is going around. Jokes on him though,  he came down with is a few days later.

I don't have a lot of pictures from this week. Except for this...

 
Poor Addison. She got my hair. Addison, Anna and myself included are doomed to have their hair look like this from now until March. 


2. Girls Night

I have one cousin by marriage and an ex co-worker that I am close with. LOL It sounds funny when I describe them that way.

 They are a couple of my longest friends and we have been through a lot together. Kara, Julie and I have spent a lot of years, laughter and tears together. Prayed each other through trials, help with a couple of each others weddings, held and gushed over our babies together.

 We try to get together a few times a year. It has gotten so hard to get together with life, family and literal miles. So we started doing sleep overs a few years ago. It gives us more time to truly share and chat after the kids all fall asleep.

 It is extra special when we get together this year. We have a new member to our group. Remember that little baby I asked everyone to pray for a while back. Well here he is... Kara and I fought over him, because he is the last addition to our group. We have ten kiddos between us (4 boys and 6 girls) and baby Owen seems like the perfect one to round things out. 

 



P.S. Kara, he obviously, still loves me more. ;)


 

It also snowed while we were there. It was beautiful..the drive home was not.


3. Forget the dog, the COUCH ate it!

 As much as I have loved our furniture. It was our first matching set and we paid cash for it, brand new. Plus it was made in the U.S.A. It has been through a lot in the last few years, and is slowly starting to show the affects of 4 kids.

We have a Roku and got rid of our cable a while ago. The only issue with the Roku is the remote. It is small and sleek. Something I am sure the designers found appealing. Not so much to a large family with a toddler that likes to hide things. It gets lost ALL THE TIME!

 It went missing Christmas night. I did a major organize and purge on the house the two days following Christmas. It was gone. I searched everywhere short of the trash, because it had already been picked up. We even looked into buying a replacement remote. They aren't cheap people!

 Finally, I did something I had been threatening to do for a year. I flipped the couches over and slit the bottom! I have to say, they weren't as scary inside there as I had feared. Just some napkins and random trash and toys....and this stuff!



 The cable remote that we had to order a replacement for, the TV remote that had been missing for I don't know how long, part of one of our spelling curriculums, a rather expensive flashlight that Dustin had replaced months ago, scissors, and the Roku remote.
 I now wish I had cut the bottoms out of the couches sooner. The plan is to hopefully replace the furniture in there this year. We have one small couch from Home Reserve. We love it for all it is and also what the company stands for. Seriously, go over there and check it out.


4.  Let's move!
  
  Some friends of ours moved back to the area over the weekend. This was their third move in four years and they always seem to move over Christmas week, when it is freezing and usually right after a snow storm. It was cold people...freeze the balls off a brass monkey, kind of cold. (It's a historical term, look it up!) Also known as perfect major construction weather! It is nice to have our friends within a 20 minutes drive now. Compared to an hour before.

 The cool part is the fact that they are renovating a really old house like we did here with our little old house. Her husband has been kind enough to post pictures of the progress. Dustin and I have loved watching the work progress, from the comfort of our almost finished house. I wouldn't take back all the work we put into this place, but I wouldn't want to do it again anytime soon. So we shall live vicariously through them. 

I took a peek around while I was there. They have a lot of work to do on it, but it is one amazing old house! There are fireplaces, and original built ins in all of the downstairs. I can't wait to see what they do with this house! There is something about an old house that's about to be brought back to life that makes me so excited and happy.
 
*I have to say that my friend looked around while I was there the other day and I saw the same look on her face that I had a few times. It was the "What have we gotten ourselves into?!" look. Ah, yes. I know that look well!* It will all be ok though. These old houses are always worth it!
 
5. The broken cat.
 Have you ever seen the videos of the cat that freak our over the cucumbers? They are quite entertaining! While as the girls night mentioned above we were discussing these videos. Kara has a cat now. It took thirty seconds of video and two seconds of us looking around between the three of us and we sprang into action to find the cat and a cucumber. 
After about forty-five minutes(off and on) of us trying to surprise the cat with the cucumber we decided she must be a defective kitty cat, or the fact that she lives in a house with a lot of kids has desensitized her to basically everything. 
Since our cat cucumber video didn't pan out, here is a generic one from youtube..from people with cats that are not broken.

  


6. Ice cream and tears

I think we all can collectively agree that toddlers are confusing. Especially when they are sick. 
On the third day of Anna being sick, her fever spiked up(after being down for most of the day), she was lethargic, her breathing was super heavy, she hadn't been eating or drinking and I was afraid she was getting dehydrated. The doctor squeezed her in for a check.
She was not dehydrated, at least not enough to be too concerned. She tested negative for flu and strep. It was just a really nasty virus. They ended up giving her an oral dose of prednisone in the office. Then sent her home with breathing treatments and instructions to get any and all foods and fluid in here that she would take. 

She went out to play in the snow

 for five minutes.

Later that evening she asked for ice cream. We get her a scoop, present it to her and she fell into a puddle in tears. Because apparently it was all wrong. This is how all of Anna's meals went for the next few days. She would beg for a food item. I would give it to her. She would cry or throw it on the floor and stomp on it..and ask for it again. 

Where I spent most of my week.

This was all likely due to the side effects of the pred and the fact that she had a sore throat. But it still made life rather different...as I have been typing this she keeps coming to the computer, grabbing my face in her hands and asking for a pickle.

 The younger two both ended up with ear infections before the week was out. Thankfully they are both on the mend. The older two caught it a little after the younger two. Emma is holding her own and heading out the other side of it now. Alex is 12 and part fully grown man now..so I am working on his funeral arrangements as we speak. The man flu is strong with that one. 
 
7. The gift reveal!

Remember last week when I told you about the surprise gift that Dustin said was coming? Well, it got stuck in transit due to a snow storm. It finally arrived almost a week late. 
He kept giving me hints and even told me the price and weight of it. I really had no clue what it was. He even told the kids.
Then the package arrived. He told me not to get the mail that day. Well, they delivered it to the house, instead of the box and I saw the box. it was from one of my favorite stores. Christian Book Distributors.
He made me wait all day to open it. He came home, took a shower, ate dinner and then opened it. He hid in our room with it forever. 
When he finally came downstairs, he presented me with a Henry Morris study bible! He got us both matching bibles with our names printed on the fronts. He even wrote a message to me in the front. 
I cried a tiny bit. It is amazing! He might just be a keeper. <3
We have been reading through our bibles together for the last year...we like to sip coffee, read and then share what we learned together. It is one of my favorite parts of the week.
 

 Well, that pretty much sums up our week in a nutshell. I told you it was good, interesting and different. :) That tends to be how we do life around here.
Well, I need to go and make a menu, and grocery list. I found a way to order most of our household and grocery items online. (If it goes well, I will share it in a video or post for you.) I am picking up one of the orders and making a run into Aldi tonight. If I plan it right, I will be going all by myself! Yay!

Happy Friday!

  ~Lyndsay