Buying stuff...or not

I'm planning to do as much of a "no spend" October as possible.  By "no spend", I mean not spending on anything unnecessary.  I will still buy groceries and gas.  We will make one trip to our favorite restaurant an hour and a half away (this is a mental health expenditure as much as a food one...we'd have to be on the verge of bankruptcy to give it up and, fortunately, we're not.)

But, as I'm planning this, I see things coming to derail me.  The little girl is selling stuff for girl scouts and school.  The girls want halloween costumes.  I'm sure some other school stuff will come up.  Birthday party invites.  Stuff like that.  It's amazing how easy it is to get derailed.

Right now, I'll just enjoy the fact that both dogs are asleep on the floor.

Walking

I have been majorly stressed and on edge lately for a variety of reasons.  I know something needs to change for me to improve things for all of us because it's not fair for the girls to have to tolerate my bad moods.  I'm going to try to start walking again.

When we moved back into our home, my parents gave me their treadmill since my dad can't use it anymore.  I used it for a bit right after we moved in and then life got in the way.  I've decided that I really need to figure out a way to make time for it if I want to maintain any sense of sanity.

Life is not quite normal these last two weeks because my parents have been out of town.  As a result, I've left work earlier two days a week and we've been home much earlier since we're not eating at my parents' house.  I like getting home earlier but I'm not so thrilled about not being fed and having to cook myself.  Fortunately, I have the help of the big girl and I do a lot on Sunday to prepare for the week and minimize cooking time on week nights.

Anyway, last night while the girls were eating after tutoring, I came and walked for 30 minutes.  Also, last night, I charge up my fitbit and put it back on my arm.  Today, I walked again for 30 minutes and then, after dinner, we all took the dogs for a walk.  (Romeo needs to be worn out so we can all sleep.)  So far today I've walked 7,907 steps.  I may get a few more but my day is essentially over at this point.

Still, I've felt much calmer this afternoon.  I'm trying to implement a couple of other things to help with the stress - mostly things I'm learning in a series of parenting classes I'm taking - and the little girl and I talked about it this afternoon.  Of course, right now it's all new and fun to practice but hopefully that practice will carry over into the time when it's not so new and fun.

I know I won't have time to walk in the afternoon since we're going to get my parents at the airport after work but I am going to try to walk at lunch.  It's so nice here right now, I think I can just take my tennis shoes and get outside without getting too sweaty and stinky.

We'll see how it keeps going!

Going crazy...must blog

I've got to get back into the habit of journaling or blogging.  I feel like I'm losing my mind and need to deal with life's craziness.

The house is getting better and better.  The girls' bedrooms are completely done.  My bedroom is mostly done.  I haven't found any artwork but there's no rush for that.  The kitchen is completely done.  The living room and dining room are mostly done.  I need a tv for occassional family movies and some artwork.  Also, 3 chairs for the dining table and get the artwork hung.  The sunroom is completely done.  There are a few things in the garage to put away still but very few.  All of this is so much easier when you don't have much stuff.

The girls are in school and it's going great and so-so, depending on the child in question. The little girl had a birthday recently and turned 8.  The big girl will be 14 soon.  We added a new family member at the beginning of September.  His name is Romeo and he's a 1-year-old chug.  I'm not thrilled with his presence currently and he's been much more work than the big girl expected but I know it will get better with time and we will love him to bits.  It has been weird having a dog who can hear!

As I try not to bring more stuff than we really need back into the house, how did we handle the little girl's birthday?  Well, we didn't have a party.  That was for reasons other than minimalism but it helps with that too.  From me and the big girl, she got a dress and a bracelet.  From the grandparents, she got two books and an Elsa hat with a long blond braid.  That's it!  These are all things that 1) don't take up much space, 2) that she will use, and 3) that she loves.

Now I must contemplate the big girl's birthday.  It's coming soon and she never asks for anything so she's much harder to shop for.

4 weeks

Yesterday was 4 weeks home.

We were out of town for a long weekend last weekend so we didn't get anything done around the house.  The only thing we came home with was a Monopoly game and some Christmas ornaments.  There was lots of other stuff I could have bought so I'm glad I just replaced some stuff lost in the fire.  We'll have a full tree by December for sure.

Yesterday, we spent most of the day in the kitchen.  My mom came over in the morning and helped us can tomatoes.  She had previous experience but this was my first time so it was nice to have her input rather than just following a website and hoping for the best.  We ended up with 20 pints of tomatoes.  Yay!  We have a few more tomatoes in the freezer too.  As the last full batch was in the water bath, one of the jars broke open so we had to let everything cool to clean it up.  Fortunately, clean up wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  If these end up tasting good, I may do more next year.

I also made brownie bites for the big girl's back to school pot luck.  It was a new recipe but they turned out well. 

This afternoon, I need to cook a cabbage and potato dish (at the big girl's request) for school lunches later this week and then I'm going to work in the little girl's bedroom until time for the big girl's school pot luck.  There are a couple of boxes in there that need to be unpacked so I can get to the top of her desk to finish painting it.  I need to hurry since school starts soon.

The good news of the new house...the big girl has made her bed every single day and yesterday was the only day I haven't made mine.  She's also kept her room neat (although I haven't looked in her closet.)  In fact, the whole house is pretty neat.  It's easy to do when you haven't been home much but it's nice.

Home

We've been home 2 weeks now.  Two weeks.  It's hard to believe.

There is still a little more unpacking to do but not a ton.
I need to finish painting the little girl's desk.
I need to paint the sunroom floor once it cools off a little.
I need to build the coffee table.
I need to put the sunroom furniture together (planning to do that before the floor gets painted.
I need to hang the artwork we have and see what else I might want to look for.

I am amazed at how quickly this house felt like home again, comfortable and safe, both for me and the girls...mostly for the girls as they were both so nervous about coming back here.

We still have so much less stuff than we had before and I know there are a few things I still want to get (a new alarm clock, drawer dividers for the kitchen drawer) but overall, we have everything we need and want.  It feels great!

The big girl loves her room and has been working hard to keep it neat.  She's made her bed every day!  I'm trying to get into the habit of making my bed too.  With less stuff, it's been easier to keep things picked up so other than the stuff sitting around that we haven't decided where to put, our home has been easy to keep clean.

Izzy, the basset hound, came home and got settled in.  It was nerve-wracking at front because she was rather traumatized by the transition.  She's almost completely deaf and even though she came to the same house, nothing was the same.  She's settled in and is very comfortable now.  We are all annoyed by her barking and so happy to have her back with us!

All in all, WE'RE HOME!!!  It feels great!  I feel like we can live again.  I didn't notice it while we we're out of our home but now that we're back, I can say life was on hold for all of us.  Now we're living again.

Part of that living...the little girl and I are getting up and walking in the morning before work.  The big girl normally runs at the same time but she's at camp right now.

More shopping

While most people spent Easter weekend hunting for eggs, my mom and I took the girls out of town for a shopping trip.  Most of it was house-related shopping but we did surprise the girls with a trip to the American Girl store to replace the stuff lost in the fire.  Oh, the excitement!  I was told so many times that I was the best mom ever and making the best day ever by the little girl.

On the house front, we found some living room chairs and a rug at World Market.  I ordered the chairs tonight.

I found the couch I wanted at Ikea, as well as some shelves with storage to make a sofa table.  The big girl got a metal cart to serve as a bedside table and found a bed and desk at Ikea.  We also picked up some other stuff like another metal shelf for the kitchen and a shelf with a towel rack and toilet paper holder for the bathroom and a few other little things.

It seems like we're almost done but then my mom and I started making a list on the way home on Sunday.  Yikes!  There's still a lot to do.

We need to pick out tile for the back splash and a pedastal sink for the small bath.  There's still beds to buy for the little girl and me plus lots of other little stuff like trash cans and mats for the rolling chairs and bar stools and chairs for the dining table and a coffee table and a tv and, and, and.  It's feeling very overwhelming at this point but I know it will get better and if we move in with some things not yet bought, we'll be fine.

On Saturday, my dad and I are going to work on trimming the neighbor's cedar trees that hang way over the fence into my yard.  They need to be trimmed up so I can have the privacy fence put in when they get to me.

I've also hired a yard service for the first time.  My sweet father has always done it for me but he's having too many problems with his back so it was time to give him a break.  Although I'm not thrilled about the money, I'm kind of glad since I always felt a little guilty having him do it.

Painting started this week at the house.  The second coat went on the trim today.  I'm not sure if they'll start painting walls tomorrow or not.  The kitchen cabinet that was messed up is fixed.  Yay!  Progress is being made.  It just seems like it's going to be forever right now but I know it's not really going to take that long.

Trim and granite

Most of the trim is now up in the house.  Cabinets are mostly in.  Just a couple of small things that need to be corrected in the kitchen.  The pantry needs to be installed but it looks great.  The bench seat is in the dining room.  Paint colors are picked out.  I know today they came and measured for the granite in the kitchen.  My mom and I picked out the lighting on Friday.  (I found a couple of fans for the girls' rooms and the sun room that I LOVED but at $400+ and $700+ apiece, they stayed at the store.  Oh well.)

Progress is being made.  I'm hopeful for another month or so but we'll see how it really plays out.