Wow! What hasn't happened?

I know its been a while and I think I have a perfectly good reason. I have been busy. Nap time has become my nap time too. Since staying home full time and our daily routine changing I have been worn out. Not more than when I working but just a different kind of worn out. I put more energy and time into my kids than I did my job. Hopefully that's not a surprise to any one. So I end up tired most of the time.

 

Since my last post, we have been to California for vacation, celebrated Nathan's 5th birthday, kept adding to our living room remodel, painted the play room/office/guest room, went to a school carnival, celebrated Halloween, had playdates, family days, celebrated Joel's 33rd birthday, and just tried to run through the day to day activities along with that.

 

I love staying home but I am definitely more busy that ever. I think it has a lot to do with all the things I put off because I was working. And now I make more time to get them done.

Zachary and I are having fun together on days Nathan is at preschool and on Tuesday mornings Joel is home and all day on Thursday. So those are our family times.

We have also decided that next year for Nathan's first year of elementary school, I will home school. So now on top of everything else I am planning for next year and trying to find a way to add a forth name to our 3rd bedroom. We have play room/guest room/office and now CLASSROOM. Thankfully, I am super organized and can turn any room into a multifunctional room! My reason to home school is nothing more than I can so why not? Nathan and I also work well together and I think it will be really good for him. ***Our plan right now is put Zachary in preschool for one year 3 days a week while I get a routine down with Nathan. And then the following year have a Pre-K class for Zachary at home.

Well, that's our life in a nutshell. Stay tuned for more of our daily life at The Flying Zehring Headquarters!

***I reserve my right to change my mind about any and all home school decisions.

Zehring Vacation 2013 fund!

We leave in one week!!!! I am so excited for this time. We have nothing major planned for trip except Disneyland!!!! So here is the final count of our fund. I sold a lot of stuff on an online yard sale site. All thanks to converting the boys room from a nursery to a big boy's room! So here is the update.


Online yard sale: $336
Target Gift Card for buying bulk: $10
Survey site cash out: $10

Total: $356

Grand Total of Fund: $1207.50!! Our goal was $1000.  Yay! We made it and we are going to have a blast!!

Next fund goal. Christmas fund!!!! At least part of it!!!

Vacation Fund Update for June and July

We are one month away from our glorious family vacation. We are headed to California and a trip to Disneyland!!!! Cars Land! I am so excited for Cars Land. We planned on going last year but the opening was postponed so we missed it. But I am really glad for this because Zachary is now really into Cars and will LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

So June came and went and I didn't do any thing about the fund. It was a crazy month with sicknesses, swim lessons, and life. So even if I made some money for our fund that month I didn't record it so I just started in July and wrote down everything.

Let me start by telling you, I have a new hobby. Its such a stay at home mom hobby but I am addicted. I found online yard sales in my area through facebook. They are secure and safe and its with moms in the area. So I am meeting new moms that will be at the same school as Nathan when he starts in a year. And I am making money for our fund!!! Most of the funds I made this month came from cleaning out our house and selling them AWESOME!!!!

So here we go...

• $20 from Mattel (this was awesome because Zachary's bday gift came without a piece and Mattel just refunded us the value of the toy instead of just sending the piece)

• $25 Target Gift Cards for buying in bulk
• $25 Target Gift Cards from survey sites
• $180 from online yard sales.

Total:$230

Grand Total so far: $851.50

Goal by Sept. 5th: $1000

We are almost there! And I have a few more things to sell in August!!!!

The Before and After of the Remodel

Its been a few months since we had our floors redone. And since then I have acquired some new pieces of furniture and decor. Now I am not completely done. But I do believe the difference is evident enough to show you the before and after. I hope you have enjoyed this journey. I have and I am extremely happy with the outcome so far and I am content with where we are at. This has been 7 years in the making and the fact that after only 4 months and one income now we have had a lot done.

 

The kitchen before

  

 After

 

 Looking from the dining area before

  

After

 

 Looking from the front door before

 

 After

 

 Looking from the playroom before

  

 After

 

 Hallway before

 

 After

So things that are left are this..

• Buy a console table for the wall behind the couch
• Buy a mirror or art work for that wall behind the couch
• Move the green lamp to the console table and get rid of that white cabinet that the lamp is on
• Buy a little round pedastal table to go next to the green chair
• Buy a floor lamp for next to the green chair
• Buy the new couch we have our eye on.
• Buy a new ceiling fan for the living room.

Once we have that list done, the living room remodel will be done!!! YAY!!!

Summer is Almost Over...

I have 3 (almost 4) weeks until school starts up. A lot of my teacher friends are already heading into their classrooms, planning, going to meetings and trainings. And I think about the life I chose to leave behind. As a substitute teacher I was gearing up for the new year. "Selling myself" to teachers I guess is the best way to put it. This is about the time that I would start reminding my teacher friends that I was still subbing and not to forget about me when they needed to take a "mental health" day. But now I am not in that place. I purposely discarded the sub renewal email the moment I received it so I wouldn't be tempted to go back to work for the extra cash. I loved subbing. I really did! I enjoy kids, teachers, the education system, and the structure. I loved being a support to those people I know work their butts off to teach kids from all walks of life how to grow well rounded lives and be ready to reach their dreams. But this year is different. I am not subbing next year.

Teachers that I would run into over the summer were asking if I was enjoying being a SAHM now. And to be honest, nothing is different yet. I ended my job when the school year was over. So my summer looks the way it did the last 7 years. Ask me in 4 weeks how I am feeling and I am sure I will have a different answer. Because along with not working, Nathan is going to school on a different schedule. Zachary and I will have 3 mornings together by ourselves. Joel will be home with the whole family twice a week. And I am still learning on how to live with a single income that every other week (when I subbed there was a pay check every week).

But let's forget that school is starting and remember that we have 4 more weeks of summer to enjoy! And let's take a look back at how we spent our summer so far!

Playdates

Children's Museum

Swim lessons

Water park

Boys being boys

 

Still working on the remodel

And some amazing little boy turned 2

Painting the fireplace mantle

If you have been reading this blog you know that we went through a floor remodel. Before the flooring was replaced we had our fireplace redone with a brick border and added a mantle. We have these windows right above our fireplace and there is just a teeny tiny ledge on it. So I wanted a bigger ledge to decorate. Well after the brick was chosen (not my first choice brick) and the mantle was done, we were disappointed in the outcome because of the mess that was left. Mortar all over the bricks. I scrubbed and scrubbed and still could not get it to be as clean as I wanted. But it wasn't the end of the world. I was never over the moon happy with the color of brick we picked. And as we started painting the walls with the new color, the red brick didn't really go anyways. So I painted it the same color as our baseboards. I am extremely happy with how it turned out. But if you do this, beware of what it takes.

I didn't prime it because the paint I had already had primer in it. I also deep cleaned the fireplace just to make sure I didn't get dust and dirt in the paint as I went.  I read some where to use an old cheap brush. THIS IS A MUST! The paint brush will get ruined from the brick. Its just going to get tossed out. So don't use your favorite paint brush. I did use a roller first just to get the first coat on. And that was nice. Also, keep in mind that you will use a lot of paint. I used about a half a gallon on our fireplace and I still missed some spots that I had to go back and get. The brick just sucks up the paint into all the holes and nooks. Let it dry with each layer. Here is the outcome.

The Before

The After

Starting to paint

Done!

With the new wall color

More of an idea with the windows

Mantle is done. Now to add some furniture! That's for a later post.

Our summer...

I have been a stay at home mom full time now for 4 weeks. And it has been interesting.  I started the 1st week helping Nathan's class finish up their last week of preschool. The 2nd week we all had the stomach bug. A nasty one. Then the 3rd and 4th week were filled with swim lessons. Every day out in the sun for an hour or more in 100+ degree weather. LOVELY! But I am tan now so that's nice.

Zachary is almost 2 and we don't like doing parties so we are just getting together with any family that can make it. Nathan is still in swim class. And in between that we have gotten together with friends, went to the Children's Museum here in town, visited a toy train museum and we are headed to a water park in a week.

I am really excited for swim lessons to end so we can get into a good routine of playing, grocery shopping, outings and such. Lessons are right in the middle of the morning so they ruin any outings we may have and both my boys still nap in the afternoon so that makes our days pretty much over after that.

That's the update so far. I am sure I will have more as we get more into the summer.

Zehring Vacation Fund 2013

So for the month of May I have kept track of everything that I have earned towards our vacation fund.  This is going to be a fast update because I have not really been in the mood to blog. We have had stomach flus, remodeling, ending a job (I am staying home full time) and just trying to get into a new routine with my family. So here goes the update...

• 10/12 (I forgot to add this one in) $5 Disney.com gift card. I will use it to buy a gift card for disneyland
• 4/22  $10 Disney gift card from being a part of their movie rewards. I cashed in my points for it
• 4/23 $5 Target gift card for buying cereal in bulk
• 5/22 $20 in Target gift cards for buying sunscreen and other needed toiletries in bulk
• 5/24 $10 in Target gift cards. I went back and bought more sunscreen. With the coupons and gift card deal I had to stock up. I paid about a dollar each for banana boat sunscreen
• 5/30 $10.27 in change
• 5/31 $10 from My Surveys
• 5/31 $5 from EPoll
• 5/31 $10 in Walmart (shhh, don't tell Joel) gift card from Plink

 Total: $85.27

Total Fund : $621.50
My Goal is $1000 by the time we leave in Sept.

I am officially a SAHM

We did it. We finally decided to take the step of faith and trust that the Lord will provide for us so I can stay home full time with my boys. I finished out the school year and decided not to renew my substitute teaching contract for the district. It took us 4 years to get here and I am so excited for this new adventure. I didn't know I wanted to stay home full time until my maternity leave after having my first son was done. My first order of business being back at work was planning, organizing, and going to 2 winter camps and speaking at another one 3 weekends in a row. Which meant leaving my 3 month old at home with Joel and Grammy while I traveled 3 hours away. Lots of calls and lots of restlessness. After the 3rd winter camp, I walked into the office and turned in my resignation. I decided that even though we were not financially ready for me to stay at home I couldn't leave my baby like that again. So I started doing child care at home. That brought in the money we needed. But it gave us no cushion for the summer and I was home every day. I mean stuck at home and not able to run errands or anything. So after a year of that I realized that if I went back to subbing I can make more, work less and still have days at home with my kids. I had some great friends that were willing to watch my boys and not charge me an arm and leg. It worked out fabulously. Joel even switched jobs during all of this so we can bring in more income, pay off some debt and get to where we are today. I am home with my boys and I am so glad. Its hard work and I know there will be days I wish I was some where else, but I love that there is no schedule, no set plan and I can be the one to take care of them day in and day out. I hope that we can financially make this work and I know we lost about $9000 a year in income but that's ok. I coupon, cook at home, shop clearance, and find ways to have fun with the boys for free. We will probably be down to a one car family soon so that will definitely make it easier for me to stay at home more too! I will keep you all posted on my Life As A Stay At Home Mom and also on our Vacation Fund. We are getting there and I think we will reach our goal by Sept.

Zehring Vacation Fund 2013 Update

I know I have been slacking on this update. But with all the remodeling that we have been doing I haven't been keeping track of savings. Sorry. But here is a short update on our fund. I just cashed out my survey sites. So I will break those down for you and add them into our fund.


I am a part of 5 survey sites and 1 site that adds points up for using my debit card at certain stores/restaurants.

So here is the break down:
$10 GC to Target
$70 to PayPal
$10 Amazon GC

Total: $90 added to our fund.

Previous total: $446.23

New Total:  $536.23

Our vacation budget is $1000 by Sept. 2013


Sorry its not a big update because of our house being completely torn up right now. But its something!

Because I can't wait any longer

We have our new floors! I was going to wait until it was painted and refurnished and decorated to show you the final product but I am too excited to wait! We sold everything in our living except for our hand me down couches (that will go to a friend once we find our new couches) so I could have a living room I have dreamed of. Yes, we are saving and buying as we go but I can't buy anything until I find the couch I want and that is proving harder than I thought it would be. So until that big reveal here is our floor remodel.

Last week, the floor guys showed up. They said it would take 2 days but then they saw how many doors we have and how much detail was involved in putting new trim around each door and they quickly said they will be there for 3 days. Bummer because we would have started a day earlier. And also because I had to cancel my sub job to be there on Friday. And 3rd bummer because Joel only took 2 days off of work and I had to keep the boys inside all day Friday and keep them locked in my room or their room the whole day!

So anyways, its done and its LOVELY! Joel took the boys out Wednesday and Thursday from 8am til 5 pm. Lots of zoos, parks, McDonalds, naps in the car, and more parks. I stayed at the house and tried to stay out of the way.

First thing that had to be done was rip out the old, ugly, gross, smelly, carpet and tile. We found under the tile that the owners before us just put tile on top of the vinyl. We also realized that our dining room was originally carpeted because of where the vinyl ended in the kitchen.

 

Once that was done, then the baseboards and door trim was ripped off. Then the cutting of the door frames so the flooring could fit under it. That actually set our smoke alarm off because of all the dust. I am pretty sure I still don't have all the dust cleaned up. After that our exterminator showed up. We have had termites since the day we lived here. Nothing was getting rid of them. So our pest guy said he would like to get under the floor and put the spray into the cracks of our foundation. So we told him when we  would get the carpet ripped up he is free to do all of that. And he did! Once he was gone then it was time to level and fill in the cracks of the foundation.

Then comes my favorite part. The moisture barrier. I love this because once its down the flooring is next! By day one, they actually had about 30% of the floor done. By the 2nd day all the flooring was done and some baseboards. The 3rd day it was ALL DONE!

I love my new flooring. It echos right now because we have no rug or furniture to help and we are careful not to spill. I love that our dining table fits perfectly now and that the boys have a ton of room to play trains, cars, and trucks. I love the color we picked and I am extremely happy with the baseboards and matching door trim. And our fireplace looks great with it (and it will look even better painted).

So next on the remodel is painting and furnishing our living room and touching up our kitchen cupboards! Stay tuned!

 

Fireplace before

Fireplace and flooring after

Before

After

Looking out from the kitchen

Just enjoying the open space. The very first thing to come out after the floors were done

Looking into the kitchen from the sliding door

The kitchen