Category: Life At Home

Our New Family (DIY Decorating On A Budget)

family room update on a budget

Ever get an itch to start a new project, but you’re not quite sure where it came from? Well that’s what’s been happening around our home for the past few months.  We’ve been purging – a lot, organizing everything I can get my hands on, and even transforming a few of our rooms.  It all started when our old couch finally bit the dust, luckily we knew it was coming and had been saving for awhile to replace our furniture.  Been when the couch finally went, so did a lot of other pieces around our home.

You see what started as a simple – “oh let’s go buy a new couch!” Ended with us buying a couch, a recliner, and a dining room table.  You’re probably thinking, “That’s not a big transformation, Meredith.” And you’d be right.

BUT…

Getting rid of the couch prompted us to sell…

a desk
an office chair
a full bedroom set – bed, dresser, night stand and all
a dresser
and lamps

It also forced us to throw out…

a coffee cart
broken couch
broken dining room table

We had been using the bedroom set for mainly storage so when we sold it faster than we anticipated it forced us to start using the floor as  a shelf.  That drove me crazy and I needed to find a new home for all these things.  So that’s when I decided to clean out every single closet in our home – J’s, the coat closet, my closet, the linen closet, and the medicine cabinet (the only one I skipped was Dent’s and that’s because I had just done it a few months earlier).

In the end we ended up selling a few items, donating over 15 bags to our local Rescue Mission and throwing out another 10 bags of pure trash.  It felt good.  We decided to make our guest room into a playroom for son and the only thing left was the family room.  But much to my disappointment the couch that was delivered was the wrong one and the dining room table was on back order.

So instead of taking 4-6 weeks, it took over 8 weeks for us to get everything.  I’m not going to lie – I could have hugged the delivery man when he brought in the RIGHT couch that day!

Also, I discovered that we needed to do something with our dog kennel.  It was big and ugly.  The only purpose it served was holding the dogs while we were away.  We have two kennels, this metal one and a plastic one.  We used to keep them in the eat-in part of our kitchen before we got a table, but they wouldn’t fit any longer.  So we had to find a new place.  On Pinterest I noticed a great idea for turning one into a side table.  That led me to go to Home Depot and purchased a piece of plywood and a few pieces of 1″x2″ trim.  I even found a nice associate to cut the pieces to my right measurements (I went late at night when they weren’t that busy).

I glued the trim to the piece of plywood and then used a few brad nails to secure it.  After it was put together I took a few coats of high gloss white paint to it and that’s it.  It sits neatly on top of our kennel and works as the perfect side table.

A few weeks ago I started cleaning up from Christmas and realized that I never showed off our new frugal family room makeover.  I call it frugal because the only new pieces are the couch and recliner, which I mentioned how we saved for already, AND we did purchase one new piece of artwork.  The rest came from other places in our home, hand-me-downs from my mom and a little creativity.

P.S. If you notice Sir Rines III standing in the corner – don’t even ask!  He was a wedding present from my sister and brother-in-law.  J loves him, I hate dusting him and Dent thinks he bites! But he stands guard when no one is around, so I guess we’ll keep him! HA!

Blessed Artwork from Small Wood Home (around $30)

Console Table from Amazon (less than $65)

How To Take Charge Of Your Week

how to take charge of your week

Are you ready to take charge of your week so you can get more done?  Well let’s jump right in!

Since I can remember I have loved having a day planner.  In high school I carried one with me everywhere.  I’m not sure why, it wasn’t like I had a TON to do, but it made me feel important.  In college I opted for an hourly day planner.  I was so busy!

In reality I felt that it made me appear busier than I was – I had arrows drawn, I had a color code that I followed and I made sure to write down every homework assignment that was due in fear of forgetting.

Nowadays my love of planners is still strong.  Every few years I splurge on a nice paper planner, only to have it collect dust just a few short weeks after it’s arrival.  Not that I’m not busy for a planner – in my adult life I desperately need a planner to keep it all straight!  But as a mom I have found that carrying one less thing around in my bag was for the best.  So now I opt for my Google calendar.  I am still an avid fan of color coding, but now I’ve had time blocking to the mix.

When it comes to setting myself up for success it really falls down to just a few steps to take charge of my week.

Step One: My calendar. 

I always take a quick look on Sunday at my week ahead.  I use my calendar for just about everything.  Here’s my list of color codes – work, volunteer organizations I’m involved in, family events, just myself, and blog.

I tend to do a quick glance at my calendar to make sure I know of any appointments the week ahead.  That way if I need to coordinate anything with J then I can go ahead and get it taken care of.

Step Two: My to-do list.

My to-do list is my new baby blanket at this point.  I never leave home without.  It’s called my mom notebook and it’s priceless around here.  Whenever I have a thought pop into my brain it gets written down in my mom notebook.

Then I tend to organize my notebook into a few categories – work, blog, and other.  Other usually consists of family to-dos and groups I’m involved in. Once it’s organized then I use that to pull my top three for the day.

Step Three. Meal planning.

Planning out our weekly dinners and making sure lunches are covered is crucial.  Not only when it comes to time, but also to our budget.  We tend to meal plan for two weeks at a time, which is awesome.  We grab the bulk of our items when we do our heavy grocery shopping every two weeks and then any small items like produce and milk once a week.  It helps us from overspending, helps us from eating out too much (thanks to the no eating out challenge we tried awhile back), and from wasting food we buy.  You can grab my two week meal planner here.

Step Four. Sleep.

Yes, sleep.  On Sunday I tend to go to bed at a decent hour so that I can make sure I’m well rested for the upcoming week.  It’s not always the easiest to go to bed early, especially with a stubborn toddler, but I try.  I have found that going to bed early helps me wake up without hitting the snooze a thousand times and gives me time to get ready before our little man wakes for the day.

Did I Go To College?

what i studied in college and would i do it again

I had some vacation time getting ready to expire at the end of this month… so naturally I’m using them today.  Actually I was home a few days last week.  Nothing like a very long, very overdue weekend for this tired Momma.

We have a lot to work on around the house, but I took yesterday all to myself.  J was gone, I dropped Dent off at the sitter and came home to an empty house (well minus the 3 dogs!).  I cleaned some, I napped, I took a long hot shower and I even watched a chick flick.

It was a great day!

So in the spirit of keeping the mood light, I’m having a little fun today.  I recorded a quick video answering if I went to college, what I studies and would I do it all over again.

You can watch the video online or down below:

10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger

10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger, knew when younger, advice to self, self advice

I wanted to switching things up a bit today.  I am sharing a short video with the top 10 things I wish I knew when I was younger.  Trust me when I say I could have kept going with this list… like whoa!  I have learned a lot, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and I know it’s just the beginning.

Now not all of these things are huge mistakes I’ve made (some are just embarrassing moments), but it’s fun to see how far I’ve come.  So check it out and let me know once one thing you wish you knew when you were younger.  Leave a comment below!

 

Being Sick as an Adult Is…

being sick as an adult, being sick is the worst, commitments when sick

Being sick as an adult is the worst.

Guys, let’s be honest. When you’re a little kid and you get a cold, it’s amazing. You get to skip school, stay at home all day and watch movies! A slight whimper means your mom is on her way with a popsicle. Sure you have the yucky feelings and the doctor visit to put up with, but you know on the way home there will be a milkshake stop and a movie rental.

In college it gets a little harder to be sick because you don’t want to miss out on anything.  You fight being sick with everything you have.  It’s not because you want to go to your classes, but because you want to be with your friends – going out, doing something that you will remember for the rest of your life.

As you get older it gets harder and harder to be sick. Maybe my body doesn’t bounce back like it used to, maybe my patience is running thin. I don’t know. But being sick as an adult is the worst.

Last Friday I stayed home from work with a migraine. I slept ALL DAY. No joke. I woke up for about 2 hours around lunch time and an hour around dinner time. I slept the rest of the day.

I guess should have realized my body was telling me something.

being sick as an adult

During the weekend my body started to break down. My throat started hurting, a cough started, and I could just feel the sickness in my body.

You know the feeling right? Your chest starts feeling constricted, your body starts aching and you know you’re done for.

By Monday I was full blown sick and realized DayQuil was not going to solve my problems. However, I couldn’t get in to see my doctor until Wednesday. Should I have gone to Urgent Care? Probably.

Because here I am, it’s 5:00am on Wednesday morning and I’m wide awake. My fever has spiked a little, my throat feels like I’ve swallowed thousands of tiny razor blades, and my nose won’t stop running.

I missed the end part of Monday at the office because I came home and slept. I missed the middle part of Tuesday for the same reason. And I fear the first part of Wednesday is already lost.

baby playing on picnic blanket, being sick as an adult

But as an adult who has time to be sick? The baby doesn’t understand why Mommy can’t hold him as much or put him to bed like she does every night. He doesn’t understand why at 6pm the past few days Mommy disappears (Daddy is a fun substitute because he takes the little guy outside to go swinging!). But it’s so hard to not be around him as much as I want.

It’s hard to miss work. It’s hard to feel like crap making breakfast, getting dressed, and putting on my makeup just to look as yellow as I did without it.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the doctor gives me the good stuff this morning and I start to feel better fast.  I don’t think I can take a full week of feeling this awful.

Thoughts on Essential Oils

essential oils, how to use essential oils, how to get essentail oils for cheap

Back in January we ordered our first set of essential oils and diffuser. I know, I know, what took us so long?

First – I’m frugal.

Second – it can be overwhelming to know what brands, which oils and how to use them.

We waited until it was just too good to pass up. You see, J used to have a program through his work that he could earn points for. Those points could be spent on products. We ordered his Oakley sunglasses, my Ray-Ban sunglasses, stuff for our son, gifts for family and a golf club through this site. So when the company decided to phase out the program – we decided it was time to use the rest of his points.

He didn’t have a ton so a lot of the items were off limits. But I stumbled upon a diffuser and decided it was time to give it a shot. Our little guy had just gotten over RSV, I was still coughing from a weeks-old cold and we needed help.

They only had one brand to sell and since we could use points instead of money we went with it. I purchased both oils they had – the blended oils and regular oils.  I liked the blended ones so I didn’t have to come up with recipes and combinations by myself.

essential oils, how to use essential oils, how to get essentail oils for cheap

It was a little overwhelming at first to know which oils and  how to use them.  I found a great site from doTerra to help use get started. I know the oils we bought weren’t doTerra brand, but they have some great resources out there.  I also have been following Michelle Cannon on Instagram for awhile.  And I just think she’s great!  She shares different blends and tips every day.  

I think the essential oils have really helped our family.  It puts moisture in the air, but more importantly I feel that it helps detox the air.  With three dogs, a baby, J and I we will take all of the help we can get!

essential oils, how to use essential oils, how to get essentail oils for cheap

Once these run out then I plan on investing in some good essential oils, like doTerra.  I have a feeling these will last me awhile, but who knows I may get tempted to change it up after awhile.  

Do you use essential oils? What are your favorite combinations?  I’m trying to learn all I can!

It’s Okay To Not Have It All Together

it's okay to not have it all together

Oh Instagram how you fool me… Every. Single. Day. With your picture-perfect images of well-behaved children, perfectly dressed moms and women who actually have time to make it to the gym. But that’s just an illusion. Because I can craft a well-lit, no mess picture with the best of them. However, I’m not afraid to show it how it truly is.

A kid up most of the night crying because his teeth hurt. Dogs that bark every time there is a noise in the house that then wakes everyone up. A kitchen that’s clean for about 5 minutes a week. A family room with toys everywhere. Two parents chasing a boy around so he doesn’t try to pick up the never ending tumbleweeds of dog hair or put his hands in their water bowl.

Because no matter how often I sweep, vacuum and steam clean there is still going to be dog hair everywhere. It’s just how our life is. I roll with it.

I wish more people were real online. It would be great to know I’m not only one out there with less than perfect moments. Like not that long ago when Baby Boy was sick. I kept him home for 4 days one week since he was so sick. He was having tummy issues because of the antibiotics he was on, so you can just imagine the lovely messes I was having to deal with.  One afternoon he gave me a doozy, when I finally got him changed into a new diaper and clean clothes, I gently placed him in his crib so I could turn my attention to the disgusting changing pad. I had barely stripped off the cover when Baby Boy started coughing. I turn just in time to see him projectile vomit over everything. Like everything. He got the crib, the wall, himself, the sheets, his toy.

Gross. Of course I was home alone so no calling out for help on this one. I took a towel patted him dry then had to quickly finish cleaning the changing area. Then it was time for a new sleeper (luckily there was one clean one left in the drawer because I was desperately needing to do laundry). Placed him in the floor, stripped the bed (thank God for waterproof mattress covers, am I right?!), and put new sheets on. Then had to completely wipe down his crib and the wall.  Ugh.

It was a workout. I was sweating by the time it was all done.

sleep training your baby, getting your baby to sleep through the night

But of course I didn’t post that… I mean, I probably would have if there wasn’t poop on my phone from the earlier incident. But I did get this cute shot of him earlier that day while he was fighting his naptime. I mean look at this face. Who knew that in just a few short hours he was going to destroy his bedroom so quickly!

I know I’m not the only Mom who faces these struggles. Days where you feel like you’re running in circles. Days where you just can’t seem to get ahead. I can’t be the only one. Please tell me I’m not!

mom life

mom life

I’m not afraid to show it how it is on Instagram.  I’ve been known to show a cute month photo, but then turn around and show how the room actually looked.  It’s usually not very pretty.  Or share my desk at the office and how baby wearing is the only way I can get anything done.

I wish there were more Moms keeping it real online. Blogging and Instagram shouldn’t just be the pretty moments, but all moments. That’s what makes us so relatable, right?

Nothing Worse

nothing worse

You know what stinks? When you’re having a rough day and you need to put your foot down, but don’t have a voice. Like a literal voice, not a figurative voice.

I had an issue with a big insurance company not too long ago and I had this “guy” on the other end of the phone say something that was completely false. It made me mad. Normally I would have raised my voice a little – not yelling, just stern to correct him. Except I’ve been sick. I have no voice. It’s a little rough sounding and I feel like I’m screaming just to get a small sound out.

I wanted to so bad to call this man out on his assumptions. To correct him. But instead I was left holding back tears because I was so mad that nothing would come out. If only I would have talked to him the day before then I would have been able to lay into him like I wanted. If only he would have done his job and returned my call like he said he would then I would have spoken to him before my voice decided to give out on me.

There is absolutely nothing worse than feeling helpless. Feeling like you don’t matter and even if you try hard to get your point across they just don’t want to hear it. He kept cutting me off as if I wasn’t even talking. I know it’s probably a tactic, but it was awful.

Now I sound like a pipsqueak with no authority. Just wait until I get my voice back, buddy. You’ll be sorry.

Your Typical Day {A Day In The Life Post}

typical day for a mom who does it all, day in the life post

Not even a year ago I shared what my day was like. Man! Things have sure changed in such a quick time frame. I knew having our Baby Boy would ramp up our lives, but there is so much more going on these days. I’m working hard to study for the Certified Financial Planner exam this spring, which means night class two days a week, plus studying every day. Not to mention tax season calls for 6-day work weeks.

I wanted to do an update to our typical day. I’m a planner (I know, I’ve said it like a thousand times) so I like to have my days mapped out in my Google Calendar so I know where I need to be at all times. I also input J’s schedule. He can access the calendar from his phone so he always knows what’s going on.

I used to put our meal plan in the calendar, but that got to be too much. I tend to change my mind a lot, so it just became too much of a hassle.

Here’s a typical day for me.

6:30am – Wake up and shower.
6:45am – Prep bottles for the day and make protein smoothie for breakfast.
6:50am – Start doing makeup and do my hair.
7:05am – Finish getting Baby Boy’s diaper bag ready. Prep my lunch and snacks for the day.
7:15am – Baby Boy usually wakes up about this time (sometimes it’s a little earlier and some days he sleeps in). Get him dressed and ready to go.
7:20am – bottle time! I also get dressed last thing so that way if I spill or get dog hair on me it’s not on my work clothes.
7:40am – out the door and headed to the sitter.
7:55am – head to work
8:00-12:00 – work at the office, handling client calls, applications, etc.
12:00-1:00 – lunch, I either go home for lunch (if I didn’t have time to pack food or I go to the gym for a quick workout and then eat lunch at my desk later).
1:00-3:00 – finish up at work, plan any new marketing pieces, etc.
3:00-5:00 – study for the CFP
5:00-7:30 – J and I both have night class on Monday and Wednesday, so those nights he drops Baby Boy off at my parents around 5:30 and I usually have dinner in the slow cooker so we both can eat when we have time. If I don’t have class then I head home, cook dinner, do laundry and play with the baby.
7:30pm – put the baby to bed (usually it’s 7:00 on nights I don’t have class)
8:00pm – clean the family room, pick up toys, watch TV, clean the kitchen
9:00pm – bed

I am useless if I don’t go to bed early. Some nights I might make it to 10:00 before bed, but that’s rare. I also may go to bed at 8:30 some nights like I did last night. I know that I toss and turn a lot, I also check the baby monitor 1,000 times a night. So if I can get to bed at a decent time then I know somewhere in the night I will get a combined 7-8 hours of sleep.

This is my schedule about 6 days a week. On Sundays we take it easy. We sleep in, or try to if the baby will let us. We lounge around and try not to take on too many projects. We may work on laundry, but that’s about as productive as we get. I need Sundays to take it easy and reset myself to get ready for the week ahead.  I know that during the summer my typical day changes quite a bit.  Maybe I’ll do a post to share what those days look like….

How We Saved Money on Floor Installation

How We Saved Money on Floor Installation

Recently J and I had new flooring put down in our family room and hallway. With three dogs, the carpet just didn’t last. The pups are pretty hard on our floors so we knew we wanted something that would last and be easily cleaned for when Baby starts crawling.

We went with a vinyl floor that looks similar to wood. It’s waterproof, which is amazing! You never know when a dog is going to have an accident and with our precious Tiny being such a scaredy-cat, it’s good to have reassurance that our floor wont’ buckle or swell.

How We Saved Money on Floor Installation

We decided to hire someone to install the flooring for a few reasons.

First, we have no idea what we’re doing. Sure we could have figured it out, but how much time would that have taken?!

Second, I didn’t want to mess up. If we purchased flooring then ruined it or miscalculated a cut while installing it then we would be out more money to replace it.

Third, they were able to get it done in less than a day. Which was a huge bonus since we had to move our couch into our kitchen area.

Fourth, they disposed of our old carpet, which was a huge life saver to me.

How To Save Money on Your Floor Installation

How To Save Money on Your Floor Installation

So now you’re probably wondering, “Meredith, how did you save money on floor installation after hiring someone to do it?”

Simple.

We saved money on floor installation by moving our own furniture off the carpet.

We asked how much the install would cost after the guy came out to measure. Then we asked how much it would cost if we moved all of our furniture off the carpet and didn’t expect them to put it back.

There was over a $150 difference!

We saved over $150 by taking care of the furniture ourselves. The night before they came, we moved everything out of the way and it took us less than 45 minutes. Then to put it back took about 45 minutes. So for an hour and half worth of work, we saved $150.

Totally worth it!

How To Save Money on Your Floor Installation

We asked how much savings it would have been if we ripped up the carpet and hauled it off, but it was only $80 worth. That wasn’t worth it to us. So we hired it out to the installers.

They were happy to see that they didn’t have to move furniture around and we were happy to save some money on our floor installation.