Transition...

I am trying to decide if I should keep this blog. I have been a stay at home mom for a year now and my life has taken a different turn and now has a different vision than it did a year ago. I wanted to be the mom that was a parent helper in class, doing all these neat outdoor activities with my boys, having play dates with moms. I wanted other SAHMs to feel encouraged if they came to this site. And even though these have happened, the biggest thing that has taken place is my desire to homeschool. So I am taking a break for this blog. Now that Nathan is just about done with preschool, I decided to go another direction. I am now blogging from another site call The Homeschool Cottage. Since my life will now be more focused on that, I will blog more about that. I needed an outlet and I think this new phase in our life will help me use my vocal outlet to share how God is moving in our lives. I will also be posting almost daily onto facebook, so if you can click here and like that page, you will see what is going on daily in our homeschool life. My normal facebook page is really to stay connected with friends and family and not really to post about one single thing. So thank you for sticking with me and seeing our family change and grow in these last 6 years.  Enjoy the new site!

Its been a year, and its done

One year. One whole, expensive year. That's how long it took for us to finally complete our living room. A year ago this month we emptied our living room. I mean we stripped it down to the cement foundation and started there and worked our way up. After paying off some major debt (yay!), Joel said I could finally get new floors. The carpet was about 9 years old and after two kids and child care and youth ministry and never having them steam cleaned it was time. And after the floors finally came the whole what is my decorating style? How do I picture a house to look on the inside? I have boys will they handle this new girly touch? You know what I did? Once our floors were done and the walls painted, I picked a wall and started there. Once that wall was done, I picked the next wall, until each wall was decorated just the way I wanted it.

So here is to the one year anniversary of the most expensive thing Joel and I (besides buying a car) have ever (and possibly ever again) spent money on. Our living room remodel is done. I am sure I will switch out a lamp shade here, or a pillow there but the style and color and theme is done. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Enjoy! Each picture is the before (in all its messy glory) and the after taken from the same spot. I love our living room now and all the little details in it.

  

 

 

A little update on our life.

I know I have been remiss in writing and updating about our life, but who knew staying home full time would make life busier?

So what's new? Hmmm, well we bought a couch. This is a big deal because we have never had a "new" couch in our 9 years of marriage. When I left California for Arizona I took my sister's old couches and then we gave those to some one else when we bought an Ikea couch (SO don't recommend). After that couch, Joel's parents gave us their old couches (all 3 of them). Finally, after saving and researching what I wanted with our new living room set up I found one that WE ALL LOVE! They style, color, size and comfort was exactly what I wanted. Don't worry with two boys I paid the extra money for their 10 year warranty. :)

The other big thing in our life is prepping to homeschool Nathan next year for kinder and start Zachary on some basic preschool stuff. We were going to put Zachary in the same preschool Nathan was in but we have no guarantee that he will be potty trained by then and I didn't want to pay the money and realize he wasn't ready. So if he needs to go to preschool the following year, we will send him. I have taken our playroom/guest room and have painted it, sold all the furniture that was in it and have slowly started buying what I want to make this into a classroom/play room/guest room/office. I will do a big reveal probably in July right before we start our first year in there. I am on a budget and I can only buy a couple of things a month. Plus, we have spent a lot of money on our backyard repairing our fence. In June when Nathan is done with preschool, that will become our homeschool budget each month. That is going to help out a lot.

I still need to figure out what to do with these toys and clean out the closet. That is my latest project. I will get there but its all the big toys that don't fit into bins. So they may end up in the boys' room.  The closet just has a lot of junk piled in there. So I have been sorting and throwing away a lot of stuff. Its so freeing to do that. I am not a pack rat but Joel is.

My goal before August is to have the whole year planned out and all the worksheets and activities printed out and ready to go. So I have been working on my lesson plans. I have already decided to do 6 weeks of school and 1 week off. That way we can find time to refresh and not get burned out. It also allows for vacations at times when public schools are not on vacation. We will take 2 weeks off at Christmas as well. I know things will need to be tweaked and added and changed but the basic things can be done and ready to go.

 

Nathan is so excited to start and I have already made some activity books for him. We have been practicing sight words and writing. He is my little learner. May he never out grow it. Zachary will have some things to do as well since I know he will not want to be left out. Its an exciting time for this tiny household.

Until next time...

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!!!