Well after spending $1300 on our expedition's fuel system and Nate totaling our Durango Then searching for a month for a new car, or cars because the expedition had been acting up again- it died.
The transmission blew on Nate's way to work, ugh!
Rental car and marathon car shopping trip this weekend here we come...
Another however long being stuck at home with no car for me...
I've been stuck at home since December really. The expedition had been broken for over a month, and the Durango was also having work done to it, Then we had one vehicle done and Nate went back to work and school with it... Then for a blissful week or two, both vehicles were running and on the road, I could go to target, and run errands and visit friends during the day... pure bliss. But then, My Durango was totaled. One car is doable, not fun. Particularly when Nate heads to work at 5:30 am and he works 40 minutes away, so its not like I could even bring him to work and have the car for the day.
I'm not looking forward to having a car payment again... on the expedition we have a minimal car payment, well secured personal loan, but that will be gone soon.
The plan is (I think) to get another vehicle that fits the whole family, and get the expedition fixed, then we will have a backup. I don't know if we are going to have a car payment on this new family vehicle, but are going to wait until the expedition is paid off (thank God) to get a third, commuter vehicle.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Easy and fast chicken tortilla soup
I rarely use exact recipes for things like soups, preferring to add things to taste or until it looks right. In fact I do most of my cooking that way. This soup is a mish mash from years of trial and error, trying different things.
Chicken, now when I'm in a hurry I use a large can of chicken, drained, but usually I use leftover chicken in it, one chicken breast or so, shredded.
One can of black beans
a carton of chicken broth (for this I use low salt)
half a bag of frozen corn
and a cup or so of salsa (I get the big jar and use half)
a bag of tortilla chips
shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or other cheese)
I add it all to the crock pot (or soup pan if I'm in a hurry) except broth, chips and cheese and stir
then I take the empty can and add a couple cans of water (more if you want it less salty)
then stir it all up and add the chicken broth until it look as 'soupy' as you like it (remember once you add the tortilla chips it will soak up a lot of broth. Heat it until hot on stovetop or in crock pot.
to serve crush tortilla chips in bottom of bowl ladle in soup and add cheese. Enjoy!
When I make it I get to enjoy the whole thing myself usually, well sharing with the baby. M and C (my two younger stepsons) will also eat it if they are here.
Chicken, now when I'm in a hurry I use a large can of chicken, drained, but usually I use leftover chicken in it, one chicken breast or so, shredded.
One can of black beans
a carton of chicken broth (for this I use low salt)
half a bag of frozen corn
and a cup or so of salsa (I get the big jar and use half)
a bag of tortilla chips
shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or other cheese)
I add it all to the crock pot (or soup pan if I'm in a hurry) except broth, chips and cheese and stir
then I take the empty can and add a couple cans of water (more if you want it less salty)
then stir it all up and add the chicken broth until it look as 'soupy' as you like it (remember once you add the tortilla chips it will soak up a lot of broth. Heat it until hot on stovetop or in crock pot.
to serve crush tortilla chips in bottom of bowl ladle in soup and add cheese. Enjoy!
When I make it I get to enjoy the whole thing myself usually, well sharing with the baby. M and C (my two younger stepsons) will also eat it if they are here.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Family Vacation wish list
I LOVE vacations! I love travelling and seeing new places, and trying new things. Nate and I love road trips, and we took our first big one last year with the kids. When you have 5 kids you kind of have to take a road trip wherever you want to go as a family, airplanes are so expensive!
I've read lots of articles about the best places to take a family vacation, but I have my own list. I'll blog about these places as we go.
Boston
6 flags new England
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Wisconsin (to see my family)
dude ranch
Yellowstone
cruise
paradise island
Williamsburg
Disney World FL
Germany (to see where Nate lived)
great American road trip in an RV
I'd love to do an extended Europe trip
Puerto rico
myrtle beach
Indoor water park
Arkansas to see their uncle
I've read lots of articles about the best places to take a family vacation, but I have my own list. I'll blog about these places as we go.
Boston
6 flags new England
Philadelphia
Washington DC
Wisconsin (to see my family)
dude ranch
Yellowstone
cruise
paradise island
Disney World FL
Germany (to see where Nate lived)
great American road trip in an RV
I'd love to do an extended Europe trip
Puerto rico
myrtle beach
Indoor water park
Arkansas to see their uncle
how to decorate a really cool kids room
Find a theme- figure out a theme for the room, there are so many ideas for kids. my boys room is going to be Car/garage, I'd love to do a Paris theme in a girls room, but S doesn't want that. We have a Paris room on the way for our bedroom because I have all these things from our trip to Paris, but an adult room is not as much fun as a kids room.
Pick a color scheme- do you need to paint, if so, figure out what colors for the walls, main decor, and accent colors. Have some fun with it.
Wall decals and diy artwork are great ways to inexpensively accent the room, and to bring your theme in, especially in a kids room theme like.... Ninja turtles, which could get expensive.
Accessories, Diy accessories are the less expensive option for decorating. I'd have the kids help make the accessories then they feel like they are a part of it. If you choose to buy accessories let them come and help pick them out.
Pick a color scheme- do you need to paint, if so, figure out what colors for the walls, main decor, and accent colors. Have some fun with it.
Wall decals and diy artwork are great ways to inexpensively accent the room, and to bring your theme in, especially in a kids room theme like.... Ninja turtles, which could get expensive.
Accessories, Diy accessories are the less expensive option for decorating. I'd have the kids help make the accessories then they feel like they are a part of it. If you choose to buy accessories let them come and help pick them out.
Monday, February 10, 2014
How to never have to sort laundry again
With a family of seven, four being little boys, three wearing similar sizes. sorting laundry can be difficult, tedious, and time consuming especially when the sizes on the tag are worn off.
We do have the kids help fold clothes, and our twelve year old does her own laundry usually. Even still seven people make for a lot of laundry. We found a way to make it easier. we bought a laundry basket for each boy, (well other than the baby), and have them put their dirty clothes in them, when the laundry basket gets a little full we throw all the laundry in the washing machine (using color catchers to prevent colors bleeding), then in the dryer, then back in the laundry basket for the boys to fold and put away completely eliminating sorting.
This method also gives the kids some responsibility in doing laundry, because they give me the basket when its full then, fold and put away their own clothes. As they are tall enough I will also show them how to work the washing machine and dryer.
We do have the kids help fold clothes, and our twelve year old does her own laundry usually. Even still seven people make for a lot of laundry. We found a way to make it easier. we bought a laundry basket for each boy, (well other than the baby), and have them put their dirty clothes in them, when the laundry basket gets a little full we throw all the laundry in the washing machine (using color catchers to prevent colors bleeding), then in the dryer, then back in the laundry basket for the boys to fold and put away completely eliminating sorting.
This method also gives the kids some responsibility in doing laundry, because they give me the basket when its full then, fold and put away their own clothes. As they are tall enough I will also show them how to work the washing machine and dryer.
Ideas for a really cool boy's room
use (like we do) Rolling tool chests as dressers, they are sturdy, roomy, reasonable and very cool looking for a room, especially a boy room with a car or truck or racing theme, they also sometimes come with a warranty and should last so they can be used for actual tool chests as the kids get older.
use a 5 gallon bucket for toy storage, or a hamper. I use a 5 gallon bucket as a hamper for the baby's clothes. this works well because I can fill it up with oxy clean and soak clothes if need be. I also will be adding to the boy's shared room a 5 gallon bucket for toy storage for their trucks (if I let them keep them in their room.) You can find some with pretty cool designs (like the Patriots ones I found at Lowes) you can also get them for free.
A metal trash bin as a hamper works great! its semi decorative, will add to any garage or car themed room, or really any boy themed bedroom. I'd use this for E and M if I wasn't going another route, but when I get to C's bedroom I may give him one of these. I may also use this for the toy room as toy storage, or even in M and E's room as a stuffed animal bin, not that they have many stuffies (maybe 3 each), and they do keep them on their beds now, but this is just such a cool feature and would add so much to their theme.
Car prints can be obtained by taking a trek to a drive in (not the eating kind) and a camera. I can name at least 5 drive ins (or cruise ins) that happen in my area all summer. You can get prints of hot rods, classic muscle cars, antique cars, new high performance cars, and just plain odd cars at these. Its very easy to get pictures of different features of these cars, or taken at different angles can make really cool, different pictures for walls.
Curtains are very easy to make, and you can pick any color and pattern fabric to make them from, all you need is a way to cut it, thread and a sewing machine (and hopefully someone who can sew).
I'm making the boys a lamp for their room, well customizing a lamp shade. I am taking hot wheels of all their dad's favorite cars and making a track around a black (or another color) lampshade using a silver (or another color) sharpie, and gluing the cars onto the track.
I'd love to figure out how to make their closet door look like a garage door, I saw a garage door looking closet door on pinterest and can think of little else since, what a cool idea.
They have interlocking mats at Sams club that look similar to some made for a garage floor, I may use these over the wood floor in the boy's bedroom to keep it from being damaged. Plus, it would look cool.
Glow in the dark stars are a must for any kids room at one point or another. E and M have the wall decal stars on their walls now. They will probably be keeping most of them if not all when we redo, but mostly on the walls and ceiling right by their bed and on their metal bunk bed.
A rug with a race track on it is a great way to cover a floor and add décor. Not very original, but still a great tip, and you can find them very reasonably.
license plates on the wall are a great idea! I even found one in mexico when on vacation, those are going on my boys' wall
a diy painting of a car or gas station symbol. I'll be doing a shell symbol for my boys.
Old fashioned gas pumps are an awesome decoration idea for a car themed room with extra space. I really wish we could do this, but have no space in the boy's bedroom.
Highway signs, or highway sign recreations for the walls. It could be as easy as printing out on paper. I'm thinking of doing a stop sign above the bed, and a yield sign at the hamper
hubcaps are a great thing to put on the wall.
an oil catch pan makes a perfect theme catchall, place on top of the dresser to catch ipod, kindle, Ds, glasses, keys, and anything else.
use a thread spool organizer or a fishing lure organizer (that's what we use) for toy car storage the lure organizer has different length spots so it works for different cars.
use a 5 gallon bucket for toy storage, or a hamper. I use a 5 gallon bucket as a hamper for the baby's clothes. this works well because I can fill it up with oxy clean and soak clothes if need be. I also will be adding to the boy's shared room a 5 gallon bucket for toy storage for their trucks (if I let them keep them in their room.) You can find some with pretty cool designs (like the Patriots ones I found at Lowes) you can also get them for free.
A metal trash bin as a hamper works great! its semi decorative, will add to any garage or car themed room, or really any boy themed bedroom. I'd use this for E and M if I wasn't going another route, but when I get to C's bedroom I may give him one of these. I may also use this for the toy room as toy storage, or even in M and E's room as a stuffed animal bin, not that they have many stuffies (maybe 3 each), and they do keep them on their beds now, but this is just such a cool feature and would add so much to their theme.
Car prints can be obtained by taking a trek to a drive in (not the eating kind) and a camera. I can name at least 5 drive ins (or cruise ins) that happen in my area all summer. You can get prints of hot rods, classic muscle cars, antique cars, new high performance cars, and just plain odd cars at these. Its very easy to get pictures of different features of these cars, or taken at different angles can make really cool, different pictures for walls.
Curtains are very easy to make, and you can pick any color and pattern fabric to make them from, all you need is a way to cut it, thread and a sewing machine (and hopefully someone who can sew).
I'm making the boys a lamp for their room, well customizing a lamp shade. I am taking hot wheels of all their dad's favorite cars and making a track around a black (or another color) lampshade using a silver (or another color) sharpie, and gluing the cars onto the track.
I'd love to figure out how to make their closet door look like a garage door, I saw a garage door looking closet door on pinterest and can think of little else since, what a cool idea.
They have interlocking mats at Sams club that look similar to some made for a garage floor, I may use these over the wood floor in the boy's bedroom to keep it from being damaged. Plus, it would look cool.
Glow in the dark stars are a must for any kids room at one point or another. E and M have the wall decal stars on their walls now. They will probably be keeping most of them if not all when we redo, but mostly on the walls and ceiling right by their bed and on their metal bunk bed.
A rug with a race track on it is a great way to cover a floor and add décor. Not very original, but still a great tip, and you can find them very reasonably.
license plates on the wall are a great idea! I even found one in mexico when on vacation, those are going on my boys' wall
a diy painting of a car or gas station symbol. I'll be doing a shell symbol for my boys.
Old fashioned gas pumps are an awesome decoration idea for a car themed room with extra space. I really wish we could do this, but have no space in the boy's bedroom.
Highway signs, or highway sign recreations for the walls. It could be as easy as printing out on paper. I'm thinking of doing a stop sign above the bed, and a yield sign at the hamper
hubcaps are a great thing to put on the wall.
an oil catch pan makes a perfect theme catchall, place on top of the dresser to catch ipod, kindle, Ds, glasses, keys, and anything else.
use a thread spool organizer or a fishing lure organizer (that's what we use) for toy car storage the lure organizer has different length spots so it works for different cars.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
February challenge
I'm challenging myself in two areas this February. I've posted before about Facebook free February. No Facebook for the entire month, a few of us are doing it. I also will be doing No Soda February. I've been drinking way too much soda lately. A couple friends did this challenge in January and my plan had been to join them. I failed, the very first day! In my defense I had a stomach bug January first, and nothing settles the tummy quite like coke or ginger ale. Anyway, instead of starting late and finishing into February I decided to wait until February to give it up for the whole month. This will be a little tricky, because we have Valentine's day and February Vacation. We always do root beer floats with the kids for Valentines day, and I LOVE Root beer floats, and really just any root beer. Nate and I also go out for dinner for Valentines Day. On this date, because it's special I'd usually get a soda instead of water, I refuse to get coffee out to eat because they charge ridiculous prices for not so great coffee. I'd rather pay $4 for a Starbucks, than $2 out to eat for yucky coffee twice. I very rarely drink anything but soda or water when out to eat. On occasion I will have a glass of wine, or a beer, or a margarita, but that is maybe once a year. That won't change because of my no soda challenge. We also do fun things with the kids over February break. Again one of those things being root beer floats, and another one being out to eat. Usually when the kids get a soda to drink (which is very very rare) I will end up taking a sip or two, and if the family goes out to eat together I'll usually get a soda. I also get soda when we go to eat somewhere I know has yucky water... I think we are going to one of those places tonight.
Signing off... No soda and no facebook for Liz
Signing off... No soda and no facebook for Liz
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