Today's Grocery Trip

As I went to the grocery store today, I was beaten down mentally. It had nothing to do with the grocery store. It was my kids. Payday is today and I went to the bank drive-thru, pulled out grocery money, and promptly headed to the store.

Lo and behold, its spring break and these kids of mine are nightmares! I'm not trying to be mean, but they are those kids who throw a fit at almost anything. If one kid wants a chicken nuggets, the other wants pizza. It's night and day.

My oldest, who just turned 6, sat in the cart as my 4 year old pushed the cart into one of those glass refrigerated doors. Seriously? Usually he is good, sweet, and helpful. Quite the opposite today. Then there's my oldest. She tries to be a people pleaser, but the "do you remember" and "can we get that?" questions are endless. Or how about the 4 year old's mindless questions and "why"? "Why do I need to wash my hands?" "Why do I have to pick up my room?" "Why do I have to match my clothes?" The latter part bugs me. I went into the store looking for 6 items. I came out with over double that.

Ugh! Hubby is gone out of town and with little to no breaks for myself, how can a SAHM stay sane when just going to the grocery store? Granted I could let them watch Netflix on my phone, but going to one store shouldn't require entertaining them.

Luckily we did get everything we needed, plus I found some natural meat on sale at Fresh and Easy today :)  After all, I was NOT taking my kids to another store. Part of today's expensive trip included meat: ground beef and pork.

Ground Beef: $6.99 for 1 lb. Yay! Plus its grass-fed so I don't need to drive all the way to Trader's Joe for 1 pound of decent meat. I usually make this last for two meals and double up on the veggies or rice for filler.

Pork Tenderloin: Regular price: $6.04 on sale for $4.53 for 1.21 lbs This will make 1-2 meals for Taco meat in the crockpot. Goes great with quesadillas, Spanish rice, and refried beans to extend the meat.

Hope this helps and I WILL definitely be grocery shopping solo next time.

Monthly Budget

Budgeting


As you know, we are a one income family. Hubby makes around $63,000 per year. So how do we make it in this golden state? Prayers and patience. Our kids do not get everything they want. Heck, we don’t even have cable, but we are thinking about getting internet in our house. :)

So what does our budget look like? Well,  if you’ve been reading my earlier posts, you already know we spend $400 on good quality natural food.

Bako Depot’s Budget:
Salary            $63,000
Housing         $1,015.00
Car payment $750.00
Car Insurance $74.00
AAA              $0.00
Cell phone     $156.00
Netflix           $9.00
ATT/ Internet $0.00
PG&E           $49.00
Water             $51.00
Gas                 $69.60
Student Loans $156.00
Ret/Life Insur $280.87

CASH
Grocery         $400.00
Gasoline (Auto)
Co-Pay/Medical
DMV/Smog Check
Car Maintenance
Cow
Entertainment
Kids Activities
Household
Home Improve/Tools
Clothing
Hobbies/Toys
Garden
Dining Out
Pets
Gifts
Medical Bills
ATM Withdrawal
TOTAL EXPENSES  $3,010.47

Summary
Salary         $3,430.06
Expenses    $3,010.47
Savings
Leftover Funds $419.59


That $419.59 is the rest of the paycheck to pay for dining out, clothes, tools, medical bills, and absolutely everything else. It’s really not much, is it? Lately, that $400 leftover has been going to $6,000.00 medical bills from hubby and they are still coming. This is why I’m afraid to get the mail! Everytime he goes in, which is often, it usually costs us $300. Granted we have really good insurance, but it takes a plan to get anywhere including out of debt.

Cleaning with the Kids

Son, 3, Mopping

Am I the only one trying to get the house clean every week by myself? To vacuum, mop, shampoo carpets, wash windows, etc. The list goes on and on. So this week, I decided to recruit some help. I can't afford to hire anyone, so I used who I have around all day: the kids.

Daughter, 4, Vacuuming

Did I bribe them? Nope. Reward them with candy? Not a piece. So how did I do it? I asked them nicely. I informed them that mommy can't clean the entire house by herself and mommy can't do any fun stuff until the house is clean. Also, it takes teamwork to get things done faster. For some reason, they listened and were eager to help.

The kids have chore charts that they get stickers on and it was the first time they almost filled it. It was amazing. The kids are only 3 and 4, but really, they can almost do everything I can. They can vacuum, but its too heavy for them to push around. That's quite alright. This is a great way to let them be part of the family and teach them responsibility.

A few things kids can do:
Wash windows (sliding glass doors)
Mop
Dust
Wipe counters/cabinets

Good luck with your new inexpensive hired help. What a great way to get your house clean for Thanksgiving and teach your little ones how to help without yelling or scolding!

Look at all those stickers!

Hot Chocolate with Plant Milk

A nice warm cup of hot chocolate.

As the weather gets colder, hot drinks are in order. Blankets, sweaters, and a nice cup of steaming anything. This is a great time to pull out the slow cooker and warm up a cup of hot chocolate. If you're like me, you have a ton of soup in the freezer and enough hot chocolate packets to feed a third world country.

For Halloween this year, I handed out packets of hot chocolate. Definitely not a big favorite for the kids, but oh well. I don't need to buy candy. I'd rather be different and hand out something different.

When the kids want something warm to drink after a full morning of being outside, they want something warm and sugary. So it's a cup of lukewarm hot chocolate it is (with plant milk of course)!

Trying to convert them to drink plant milk hasn't been easy. So sneaking the soybean milk (meant to buy almond milk-oops) wasn't too bad. They actually enjoyed it!

Carseats vs a Good Wash

Bottom of daughter's carseat. ICKY

Carseats vs a Good Wash

Our kids are still in their carseats- only because the government keeps upping the carseat laws. *rolls eyes* Every time we leave our house to go grocery shopping, to the library, to swimming lessons, or a trip out of town, there are always drinks and snacks in our car. My latest great idea to save money is trail mix. Apparently its great for the wallet, but not great for the car.

Those little fingers dig around the little Ziploc for the blue M&Ms first, knocking sunflower seeds right out of the bag into the nooks and crannies of their clothes, seats, and floor. Ugh. So much for a clean car. At least none of it is sticky, right? M&Ms melt and the craisins have some sort of sticky residue on them. In addition to the kid's food droppings, the dog insists on cleaning the seats for me (although he's not suppose to eat chocolate or raisins).

My son, 3, is potty training and has quite a few accidents compared to his sister at this age. I couldn't stand the smell anymore, so I decided to take the carseats in the house and take them apart to clean them. I would also vacuum the darn car since I could finally fold the seats down to vacuum. YAY!

I scrubbed the spots on the carseats with Fels-Naptha. Some spots came out and others...not so much. I've pretty much given up on trying to make their seats look like new. I've scrubbed to my little heart's content and it didn't hardly convince any part of the stain to come out. Oh well.

Elbow grease.

So I threw the fabric part of the car seats in the washer, take the plastic parts out back to hose off and the dog and chickens come running for the food still on the carseats! They quickly learned that the hose is powerful.

That day had been 103 outside. The kids had nothing to do, so I filled a bucket with soap and water, grabbed two brushes, and had the kids scrub their carseats. "This is like going to the carwash!" My daughter exclaimed. They both were so excited to have a "carseat wash" right there in our backyard. Two birds with one stone- awesome! Two thumbs up for mommy.

Carseat Wash! $5.00 Good scrubbing guaranteed!

When the washer finished, I pulled the carseat supplies out one at a time until one of the straps would not budge. I twisted it, pulled it around in circles, and it would not come loose after fifteen minutes of struggling with it.

The tools I used in addition to elbow grease.

Aggravated, I stormed out to the garage, got some of hubby's tools (I think its called a socket wrench), and took apart the washer like my child had been entangled in it. My daughter asked why I was making so much noise. "Mommy is going to win this fight!" She raised an eyebrow and left.

Taking apart the washer was almost easy. It did take some muscle to get these sturdy plastic pieces off and back on. Beware: muscle needed!

The top piece just pops off. Literally.

The second piece just pops off. Sturdy plastic.

This is the screw holding the circular bottom. All held with just one bolt.

I had to not only find the right size, but also the extension socket. Not an easy task. Good thing the garage door is just a door away from the laundry room.

This is the bolt that connects the middle part to the drum

Finally! No wonder I couldn't get it off earlier. It was knotted!

Glad I didn't call a handyman...

Might as well clean it while its out

Putting it back together, I put the bolt in the socket wrench to keep it upright and somewhat straight.

Make sure you have the washer on it

I found it easier to get on if I screwed the washer on before I put it back on. That way I didn't have to worry about the washer not going all the way back on.

I put everything back together in reverse order and viola! I have my wonder washer back! Now back to laundry...

A clean washer ready for the next wash!

Not all the dirt and grime got out of the carseats. Oh well. Good thing no one else sees them! 
 Thanks for reading!

DIY Woman

Don't you mean handyman? Nope. I can do anything if I am motivated enough.

After 3 years of not having the grout finished in our kitchen under the trash can, I decided it needed done. Hubby asked me to clean the grout lines so he could "finish" it several times and I obligingly did so. Only to find out he was "too tired" or had bigger projects to complete. We had to replace these two tiles due to shorter cabinets in our kitchen remodel.

Sitting on the fridge was the small tub of pre-made grout. Awesome. The rest of the tools were in the garage. A grout float/trowel,  large grout sponge (dish sponges will not work), and bucket with water (to rinse out sponge several times).

To be honest, filling in grout was quite easy.

Tools needed

 Take the spade looking tool and scoop the grout out of your bucket like ice cream.

 Fill in grout lines. Make sure you fill them in well and overfilling is good to do. Just watch out for air bubbles.

This is what you'll end up with after you get your grout in your grout lines. Seriously easy.

 I couldn't touch my camera after this step. Sorry! Take the grout trowel and swipe it sideways at a 45 degree angle. This helps push the grout down and get the air bubbles out. Don't worry about getting the middle of the tiles dirty. This will be cleaned off with your sponge in a few hours.

Wait a few hours (many people say 12-24 hours). I let mine sit for 3-4 hours. I'm very impatient- I wanted it done! You might as well move onto another project for the time being. Me? Laundry is always a huge project in my house.

Since I know you waited your proper length of time, all you have to do is take your sponge and wipe in circles on top of the grout. You will need to rinse your sponge and possibly refill your bucket several times. I had to since my bucket was so small.

After sponging your tiles and grout to the perfected level, stand back and admire your hard work. I know I did!

My phone doesn't take the best pics. This picture was taken one week after I filled in the grout.

Aren't my grout skills magnificent? See- I really can do anything if I put my mind to it. What's next?

I realize the kids could have helped with this project, but I needed to learn how to do it first.  They will definitely help next time!

Week at Home Alone

Once in a blue moon, hubby leaves town on one of his amazing work adventures. This leaves the kids with me 24/7 for the time being. This can be a good or bad thing.

My daughter, 4, being independent hates staying home. I'm the same way, but I'd rather not take the kids to ten stores in one day. Heck, I don't like taking them to one store in a day. Between sitting in the cart or hanging on, they always manage to make trips to store as annoying as possible. Some days they are good, but they have so much pent up energy, that they're boasting to run free.

Our latest venture included my son, 3, has learned to go for what he wants. So as I made an emergency trip to the grocery store, I put our four things on the belt to checkout. Then one, two, three packages of Twinkies fly onto the belt. "Where did those come from?" The guy next in line is laughing that when I see the fourth package of Twinkies fly up, I see my little man's hand. Of course. Trying to teach them candy is really bad for their teeth and tummy is like telling a dog not to eat his bone.

The kids and hubby always want to go out to eat. Hubby claims its saves us from washing dishes and using our household food supply. Ha! Just because they want to go out to eat, does not mean we will. Yesterday I did a bunch of yardwork and scraped together meals for the kids and I all day. We were out working in our yard and before the night was over, we went to say hello. To make a story short, they invited us to stay for dinner (even though I was covered in dirt)! How's that for eating out?

The kids have actually helped me out more this week than ever before. My daughter wants to vacuum and my son wants to mop. They do a pretty decent job out of it. Yesterday, I had to dig up some dirt and move it to one of the front yard flower beds. They opened the two backyard gates for me and made sure the dog stayed in the backyard. It was amazing! Then I gave them a ride in the wheelbarrow!

My daughter had been fighting me at the start of the week and trying to teach her life lessons has really paid off. "Mommy, you don't want us to have any fun!" was Monday's statement. With it being Friday now, she told me, "Mommy, this is fun!"  I'm not one for making chores fun and I want them accomplished correctly. The kids do have their chore list and its mostly filled with stickers this week. I realized I've been pushing them away so I can get my job done faster, but in the long run, that doesn't work. If the sky's the limit, then don't give them boundaries. Include them in everyday chores and you'll be amazed at what they learn. A child needs structure and discipline, but if you're not including them, then they won't learn how to do anything.

Overall, this week was a proven success in getting housework, yardwork, and childwork done. The kids learned many life lessons. I didn't have to cook a huge meal every night and there were no complaints about any meal. The dishes and laundry were washed daily. The house was picked up every night. All without yelling. All without spanking. I'm not saying hubby is a negative influence, but it's hard to maintain a relationship when people and circumstances change.

It has been a good week.
Thanks for reading!

Another Day at the Bako Depot

Another day has come and gone. Still in the lovely fall weather, they are actually talking about an actual thunderstorm tomorrow! We haven't had a good t-storm in a LONG time, so I'm very excited. This cooler weather is making me want to drink hot chocolate already. Living in the midwest for 15+ years, I got use to the snow and do I miss it? I miss looking at it. That's about it. If I want to bundle up, the mountains are about thirty minutes away. Good enough for me!

Today, hubby and I went for a walk in the wee hours of the morning. It wasn't until halfway through that the rooster crowed. He's been later than usual. The kids woke after hubby left for work so I made them some eggs with diced jalapenos (whoops) and then dumped that out so I could cook canned chilies (Anaheims), which instead of opening the can to dump in diced chilies, they turned out to be whole chilies. So I diced them and put them in the skillet with the mushrooms. I can't tell you how much my three year old hates mushrooms. I've showed him a little snippet on YouTube about Mario eating mushrooms and growing biger. It unfortunately didn't work!

After that, I read a book (Little Blue Truck) to the kids and they are actually picking up more and more words. I had them paint on a large piece of paper before they decided it would be more fun to paint each other. Another shower for them...

We baked red velvet cupcakes, brownies, and made grilled a whole chicken for dinner (with other stuff). Plus, we made bread in the machine. Nothing beats homemade bread.

Like I said, the weather has been great, so the kids can go outside and I don't have to worry about sunburns anymore. Now it's climbing trees and fighting with sticks. I'm hoping I get a chance to deflate the pool now that summer is over.

I got more weeds pulled in the garden, filled up the yard waste bin, and found the peppercinis and tomatillos are still producing like crazy! We will definitely be planting more of those next year. I also found I need to put a net over the grapes and tomato plants next year. The birds attacked with a vengeance for my fruit.

Overall, it was a productive day. I still have lots more to finish: laundry, cleaning the kitchen (never-ending), filing (sitting on my table for a month now), and general fall cleaning. Did I mention I want to get a few projects done in case we need to move? I swear the list never ends.

And as for the kids, I've decided I'm going to homeschool Lizzy during her kindergarten year. I'm going to try it and see what she thinks of mommy teaching her. I'm trying my best to stay calm and patient, but I'll write more about that later.

Thanks for reading!

Can preschoolers be grateful?

The kids broke their train table. Apparently it wasn't important enough to take care of it. So my lesson for next week? They will have no toys. They will have no movies, tv, or games. I realize they are only 3 and 4, but I know my daughter will do anything to please her little brother. I'm not here to entertain them 24/7. I've already lost my sanity and cannot wait for the free 8 hour overcrowded babysitting service called public school. Will it work? Will absolutely no toys teach my kids to be grateful for what they have?

I've got a lot of projects going on around the house. Filing, cleaning kitchen cabinets, starting a new diet, keeping the house clean, etc. Plus entertaining children. Why not? Seems like I do this everyday. Nonstop- even when hubby is home. I'm so bored as a SAHM, but I seriously cannot get a job (even with my college degree). So I'm stuck at home with a 3 and 4 year old pulling my hair out and grinding my teeth.

My son pulled out his dresser drawers last week. This week he and his sister broke the train table. This makes me wonder what they will break next week?

They've already gotten into the board games in the living room. At 8am, the living room is spotless (other than needing vacuumed). By noon, the living room is covered in game board pieces. I ask them to pick it up in thirty minutes before lunch. The rule is if they don't pick up, they don't eat. I'm not a clean freak, but after I clean the house, I expect it to stay clean for at least one day. That's apparently too much to ask for. Their thirty minutes fly by and they are wrestling each other on and off the sofa. Without much complaining, there was still some, they marched off to their rooms or at least in that general direction. Without lunch.

I'm not one of those moms who sits on the floor with them and plays with them all morning. I did that for their first two years of life. They aren't babies anymore. They want to get up and move-which is absolutely fine! Go ahead! Go outside and run around! But don't expect me to hold their hands every step of the way. I've got a house to clean, meals to cook, and laundry to wash. They can entertain themselves. I don't have the car most days, so they are usually playing outside (and getting into mommy and daddy's stuff although it is put away) or inside, tearing up the house (after I just cleaned it). My hair is literally starting to fall out by itself around noon everyday.

This morning the kids actually helped me clean. They attempted vacuuming the hallway which was very sweet of them. Then they fought over who's turn it was before they realized it was too heavy to push. My daughter helped me pick up the bathroom floor (since it was mostly her clothes). They helped this morning, then decided to pester mommy for a snack. Why do they think I always have snacks and meals ready to eat whenever they get hungry? You don't know how many times I want to tell them to make something themselves. I can't though. My daughter will literally try to cook something.

Last night they cleaned their room with Daddy, which was fantastic. However, today at naptime, I heard them playing, so I yelled at them to go to sleep. Forty-five minutes later, I hear crack. I get up (filing is today's project) and walk through the house to find both kids in my son's room with his clean socks and underwear all over his floor. He informs me that sister helped him put his socks on. Great. I just hope he doesn't pee all over his clean clothes.

If I could go back in time, I would do a lot of things over. This is not what I wanted to do with my life. I'm so frustrated all the time, I can't get a job anywhere, and have added spanking to my hobbies apparently. That'll look great on my resume. I'm not that great at actually doing anything, let alone being a good mother. I've learned to accept and actually be grateful for what I do have in life. I know my husband and kids love me no matter what and yet I keep trudging through this life because its the only one I'll ever get.

The kids will be in school soon enough and life will get better. I hope next week will teach them to appreciate what they have in this world without toys, movies, or games.

~Thanks for reading this frustrated mom's post~

What to do?

All of my life, I've never wanted to do one thing. I've wanted to do anything, everything, plus travel. I wanted to be a bus driver, an architect, a landlord/property owner, a college instructor, and an author. Have I accomplished any of it? Not one. Life changed for me after high school. Not that I was Ms. Cheerleader, President of Class 2004, or really anything. I met my husband during my senior year of high school and during college (as I changed my degree several times), we got married and had kids. During college.

Would I change any of it? Do I regret the decisions I've made? Just college. I wish I had gotten a more technical degree like I planned to do in the first place, but other than that, nope. Nothing I regret...at least until 7pm- bedtime.

Life never goes the way you plan it to and right now I could be a famous best-selling author or a property owner if I hadn't had kids. Heck, if I really tried and worked at writing, I could write a book. Who knows? The only thing that really matters is family.

I called my grandmother in Oklahoma tonight. She and my grandfather are such an amazing couple. They've been married around thirty years and more or less put up with each other. My brother and I use to stay with them for one week every summer until we turned 17. Its sad to see ourselves growing up and not going back to visit every summer like we use to. Although the grandparents understand us having to pay bills and take care of our own kids, I miss not having to worry about bills and appointments. Hubby and I talk about going back to the Midwest to visit for the past three years now. It's extremely hard to do when all our money goes towards bills. And we aren't extravagant.

Of course moving cross country really doesn't help us to visit family easily, but with Skype, it can be done in seconds. That's one great thing about technology! You can be there without actually being there.

So what am I going to do when the kids start school? I have absolutely no idea. All that I know is that I want to be there to pick them up from school. I know I won't be able to have a six figure income with a part time job, but knowing that my kids and hubby are safe and cared for, then I know my job is complete. I looked into going back to school. I would love to go back to the community college and take some classes, but I'm not sure I know what I want to do still. Additionally, we can't afford to the bill or another loan. We're having a hard enough time trying to pay our car loan. Heck, I'm having a hard time getting the kids to actually go to sleep!

Maybe I'll become one of those extravagant homesteaders that grows all of her family's food. Or make a six figure income writing this blog (highly doubt). All I know right now is I'm a stay at home mom with no real direction for when the kids start school. Maybe just maybe I'll take a couple community classes on photography or write the next Red colored cookbook that everyone has in their kitchens. God is the only one with the answers. I'll just keep trying new things and driving around California until I find the answer.

Thanks for reading!

Photography

I have my own photography business and well, I'm not 100% awesome with the pictures that I take. I never took any classes, but with the help of hubby and the wonderful internet, I'm learning. It's been fun taking pictures of random things including the kids. I would love to actually learn what I'm doing, but every time I look on the internet, it's like a foreign language to me. I'm a hopeless case, but I'll just keep playing around with it.

Let me know if which ones are your favorites!

A Boy & His Dog

Beach Bum

Hello Mr Pig

Mountain Flowers

Tanning Tortoises

The Open Road

Out in the Country

Sandy Shoes

Bakersfield. No a/c until 4:30pm. Day 5

Sorry for posting this so late! I Skyped with mom first thing this morning and then headed to the farmer's market for our groceries. It starts at 9am, so its quite nice to have first pick.

The last day of my no a/c until 4:30pm challenge. I would have to say its been a great success. It got a little hot during the day, but to me, it wasn't intolerable.

We sort of cheated today. Our family had run out of milk and since I have the car for the weekend and next week, I might as well go to the grocery store. We went to Sam's Club since the milk there seems to be the cheapest out of anywhere. Plus with my three year old potty training, the family restroom is a huge bonus while shopping (even though I hate using public restrooms). Another advantage is when it is just me shopping with the kids, I can't pick them up to put them in the cart. They're not fat, they just keep growing! There's a lot less people in the store at 9am so the kids can room to run around and help throw things in the cart.

We returned home and unloaded the groceries. Hubby likes a full fridge, I like an empty fridge-that way I can actually see what is in the fridge and use it. When its full, I can't see anything and when I can't see it, I forget all about it.

Frankie, our English cocker, needed a new dog tag, so I loaded the kids and Frankie into the car to get that replaced. It wouldn't be so bad if he would stay with us. As soon as he sees another animal or person, forget about calling his name. Out of sight, out of mind. Kind of like me! Sort of. The kids had a blast checking out the different animals (mice, gerbils, fish). I swear Petco is a mini zoo. If you can take an animal home, they've got it. Why adopt all those animals when you can just visit them at the store?

I didn't get any dog treats at Sam's like I usually do. So I decided to let the kids pick out one bag of treats for Frankie. I don't think Frankie really cares, he just wants treats! So instead of picking up rawhide bones and dehydrated poultry, the kids pick out wheat gluten-free dog treats. Then they picked out vegetarian treats plus some other health-nut dog treats. I even found yams for dog treats. I'll have to try making those myself. $30 for a bag of dehydrated yams is a little expensive. I might as well buy some healthy alternative dog treat that the kids picked out (even though it was the packaging that did the trick for them). In all honesty, I didn't see any of the dehydrated treats that I usually give my dog at Petco. Very strange. I guess I can enjoy the fact that the dog will now be eating healthier too. Going to Petco is a real treat for the kids. I could care less about seeing animals, but we were there for a good hour looking at things -especially the dog toys.

At home, we ate a mixture of baby spring mix and romaine hearts salad with a few things added in there. I am very grateful that my kids love salad. There has to be dressing on it, but that's easy to make myself.

Starting to get warm at lunch in the house, so we all had some ice water before putting the kids to bed for a nap. We were not going to have the meltdown like last night. No way jose!

After the nap, I noticed the house getting really hot, so I checked the temperature. No wonder it was hot- it was 103 degrees outside! The kids and I drank more ice water and kept the lights and electronics off. They played in their rooms with the ceiling fans going. Thank God for legos, trains, books, and toys in general. They didn't want to go outside, which was fine. I made tater tot casserole using the oven for an hour. It got hot, but I made it after the air kicked on at 4:30. The house pretty much remained hot since our house is set at 78 degrees.

When dinner was eaten I watched a Netflix show on my iPad and the kids decided to go play outside. It wasn't much cooler than anytime earlier. The kids still enjoyed swinging on the swingset and riding on their scooter.

Overall, it wasn't that bad with no a/c until 4:30pm. It is definitely a luxury and an experience I will probably forget within time. It's not as horrible as one might think. We used less electricity and got creative. We didn't change our regular schedule much, but we have been drinking a ton more water.

What's the next challenge?

Managing debt in Bako

As I don’t work in the wonderful world of Bakersfield, CA, I would love to find a part time job where I can work during the kids nap time and school hours. Tall order isn’t it? I don’t exactly have a ton of friends to sell party items to, so those direct selling/MLM companies are out of the question. I have my $0 income photography business, but with us being almost $25,000 in debt, we’re barely staying afloat. 

I’ve learned how to manage the household somehow. The kids eat, are bathed, and clothed. The dishes washed, the floors mopped/vacuumed, and the dog is given food. Just because we have this debt doesn’t exactly mean we do nothing. 

Bakersfield has a few great things to do around town for free. My number one favorite free destination is the Beale Memorial Library on Truxtun. Not only do they have internet/downloadable audiobooks I can load from home, their children’s program is phenomenal.  They have a large selection of books, audiobooks, DVDs, and resources. Plus, if you can’t find the book you want, you can order it through the San Joaquin Valley Library System. There are very few books I have not been able to borrow through their system. They will even pull books off their own shelves for you if you place a hold on it. You don’t know how great that is when you have two young kids with you en route. The library’s hours aren’t the best, but hey, its California- 300% broke and spending more.

Another favorite activities are the sprayparks. I can’t tell you how much the kids use them. NOR just opened Polo Community Park half a mile from us. As soon as the gates opened, we have been walking there 2-3 times per week. Other than the spraypark, there’s numerous sports fields and 3 different playground areas for the kids. One is for 2-5, the other 6-12, and 12+. The only thing that the park is lacking is shade for the play areas. 

Bakersfield’s museums also have free days. The third Thursday of the month is the Buena Vista Natural History museum. If you have kids, you must absolutely go downstairs. The entire downstairs is a learning playground for all ages. It’s a little well-loved, so bring wipes or sanitizer for when you’re done playing/learning.

The third Friday is free admission at the Art Museum. We haven’t been there in awhile, but they have an area where kids can make a postcard and a leaf rubbing. At least that’s what we got to make. It’s a little small, but if you stop at each piece of art and ask the kids what’s going on in the picture, it makes it worth the trip- and don’t forget about the Art Museum’s garden off to the side. There’s a few neat sculptures in it and tons of shade! Who doesn’t love a pretty shade area?

Barnes and Noble also has storytime, but I dread going there with the kids. They see other kids screaming, wanting to pull books off the shelf, and tear up new books. Great if you’re into that sort of thing. I think I’ll stick to the library.

Neighbors. What kid doesn’t love other kids’ toys? Some neighbors even have a pool or a slip in slide. You can’t beat what others have. And it doesn’t cost anything.

As my family is in debt, we still have to live and manage what we have. We, at least I am, are grateful for what we’ve been given and am exhausted of all those advertisements and commercials for every materialistic thing. I’m tired of my kids thinking if we need something, we can just buy it at the store. We didn’t exactly shop ourselves in debt ($20,000 is the car; less than $5,000 is medical/bills). So instead of trying to find a part time job (where I would either never see my family or use ALL of my paycheck for daycare) I’ve decided to manage the household in a completely different manner.

One kid is out of diapers and the other is having a hard time remembering to use the potty. Only when he naps or goes to bed, he gets a diaper. Other than that, he can wear underwear or go nude (some days are just too hot to force clothes on kids). 

Shopping for necessities. Yes, I would love to buy a thinner bathroom rug, but the overly shaggy rug is doing just fine. I’ll just have to look for bugs before I step on it and pray nothing is breeding in it.

I purchase $20 worth of vegetables each week at the farmer’s market. We didn’t have a successful garden this year, so it made it hard to actually get anything from the garden. The birds and worms got to our tomatoes, the cucumbers produce a few too less, and the jalepenos who usually thrive in this weather quit on us. I think it was just way too hot this year for the veggies, hubby says it’s too many weeds. It was also poor planning on both our parts. My goal is to work on the garden this year so I can harvest and live off my garden next year. Little did I know, in zone 9, we can have a winter garden! You don’t know how excited I am about that! 

I buy milk, meat, luxury items, and gas at wholesale stores. I have a membership to both Costco and Sam’s Club. I purchase the two pack milk at Costco since Sam’s stopped carrying milk that way. I’ll buy gas at whichever. I buy only necessities and few luxuries (artichokes, Mac n Cheeese) at Sam’s since I know they carry the items I need year round. It seems like things are hit and miss at Costco for me. I’ve also found that Costco carries more foo-foo (gourmet/healthier) items at a slightly higher price. 

Another new way of managing the household is the diet. Do we really need 10 packages of packaged butter noodles? Ten boxes of Oreos? Absolutely not. So I’ve decided that we are going to eat healthier. Yes, $20 at the Farmer’s Market doesn’t seem like much, but skip the fruit and you can get a week’s worth of veggies. Bargaining also helps-they aren’t set prices. We, at least I, am trying to cut out sugar and carbs. No more fillers. Yes, the kids love PB & Js for lunch. If I make the bread, then they can have them, but no carbs for mommy and daddy. This means two vegetables and one meat at dinner. Period. Still hungry? Eat a salad or if you have some, fruit. Fruit must be in moderation.  My daughter thinks Lucky Charms and M&Ms  are good for you, but after telling her it’s chocked full of sugar, it really hurts her tummy and her teeth.

Speaking of teeth, $1,000 of our debt is I had to have an emergency crown put on one of my back molars. When he put that cap on, you don’t know how bad I wanted to bite my dentist. That sucker hurt not only my mouth, but our finances as well. Since then, I’ve brushed and flossed like there’s no tomorrow. I really don’t want my kids going through that pain.

These may seem drastic, but to tell you the truth, how much do you really need to buy? How much do you really need to eat? I know I don’t exercise, so I need to adjust my intake. We live in a 1,800 square foot home. How much clutter do we need in our life? If there’s a fire or earthquake, we won’t be able to save anything from our house. Life is about what is within yourself, not your house, fridge, or wallet.

Eventually we will get out of debt and someday hubby and I will take our honeymoon. Even if it is eight years late, that’s okay. We have each other and really, that’s all that matters. Yes I become anxious about the finances, but like hubby has told me numerous times, there’s really nothing I can do about them unless I get a job. I want the best for my family and my best is to be there for them.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter? Yes, peanut butter. It's so easy that there's really no reason to buy it ever again.

As I'm committed to decluttering life (and pantry), the kids refuse to give up PB & Js for lunch. That's fine with me since I know what's in them. After making bread with the machine, we pull a can of strawberry jam from the fridge (that mommy made), and an empty jar of peanut butter. No need to fret. All you need are five things.

Peanuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Cashews, Etc. (Any nut will do. Not sure about pistachios though- will have to try)
Canola, grapeseed, olive, or Vege Oil
Food Processor or Blender
Spatula
Jar to store it in (I reuse my old peanut butter jar)

Some people do add 1-2 T honey or brown sugar to sweeten it up, but the kids are already sweet enough. 
You can either buy salted or unsalted nuts. I buy most of my groceries from Winco in the bulk section. Most of the time I don't need to shop in the middle/preservative filled shelves. I purchase the unsalted because the kids really don't need the extra sodium/salt. Make sure they are unshelled- no one likes to eat shells.

Pour your nuts into your food processor or blender. Mix until dry and coarse crumbs. Add 1T oil until smooth and creamy to your liking. I found that if you add a smidgen more oil, it turns out the same texture as store bought peanut butter.

Store it in the fridge. It will be hard when taking it out, so let it warm to room temperature before using. This makes the best peanut butter cookies.

I've found that even the kids can make this themselves. So one thing less for mommy to make! One can never prepare their child enough for the future ;) When they go to college, I'll know they can make their own peanut butter.

Different ingredients (nuts, oils, etc.) can be found here: http://pickyourown.org/howtomakepeanutbutter.htm
For an even fancier recipe: http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/02/homemade-peanut-butter.html

Try this at home with your kids and post your results!

Who knew heavy whipping had so many uses?

Heavy Whipping Cream
Heavy whipping cream isn’t just for coffee and chefs. You can make whipped cream, butter, and buttermilk.

“Butter? Seriously? Why not just buy it?” hubby asked somberly.
“Why not?” I said. “It’s not like I’m buying a cow or anything, but the fresh cream…”
“No.”
“But the neighbors said they would help!”
“No.”

Well, the kids love experiment just as much as mommy and I needed something to entertain them. As I was surfing the web, I came across Free Range Living’s blog on making butter. I knew we just had to try it once I saw how easy it was!

Making butter is very easy and quick. Most people buy butter because heavy whipping cream is just as expensive as butter itself-just no dishes to wash. Another convenient item from the grocery store. Even if you don’t make butter for your daily dishes, it’s a wonderful experience on homemade bread-white, wheat, cinnamon raisin, etc.

You can make butter either by hand or by Kitchenaid. By hand, you will want to check out this YouTube clip: How to Make Butter with Robert Krampf.

Although I haven’t done it by hand, it too looks easy. I knew my kids wouldn’t want to shake it vigorously for so long, so we used the KitchenAid (they never tire of moving the switch). You need: jar with a lid, a marble, a strainer, and salt. Place the cream in the jar, shake vigorously until the cream becomes a solid. It takes awhile. Did I mention vigorous shaking? For at least five minutes. I’ll let you watch the video and determine which course of action you want to take.

For the KitchenAid method, you’ll need: cream, a KitchenAid (paddle attachment), salt, raspberries or garlic (optional).

First step is to let the whipping cream get to room temperature. I’ve made butter when it’s cold, but its better if its room temperature. It also helps if the bowl is cold, but I found it doesn’t matter if it is or not. Some people use the whisk attachment, but to me, that’s one more thing to clean (by hand).

Turn on your KitchenAid (or have your helpers do this). After about 2-5 minutes, you will have whipped cream! No wonder my friend, A, doesn’t buy the can stuff. All those preservatives-yuck! If all I am making with my cream is whipped cream, I use the whisk attachment.

Before buttermilk seperated

If you don’t want/need whipped cream for your fresh berries, cakes, etc., keep mixing! After another 5-10 minutes, you’re whipped cream will turn into a dough-like substance and a few more minutes later, your butter will transform before your eyes! You’ll notice a liquid at the bottom of the bowl. This is buttermilk. You’ll need to take the butter out of the bowl and strain it. You can save the buttermilk for other uses if you want. Otherwise, it goes down the sink.

This is why I don't use the whisk to make butter

People say to squeeze the buttermilk out of the butter, but I’ve never had any luck doing that. Squeeze if you can and rinse the remaining buttermilk out of the butter until you only see clear liquid draining off the butter. Make sure you get most of the water off the butter as well. See-not hard at all so far!

Butter!

Buttermilk

If you want unsalted butter, you’re done! If not, one more step. Wipe your KitchenAid bowl with a paper towel to get the remaining buttermilk. Return the butter to the KitchenAid with paddle (wipe that as well) and add salt. Add a pinch at a time. You do not want to oversalt!  Free Range Living says “add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt for every pound of butter (remembering that 1 quart of cream will yield about a pound).” I make butter out of leftover heavy whipping cream so my amounts always vary. This is also the time to add your optional ingredients (garlic, raspberries, etc).

Put in a container- I use plain ole Tupperware/glad containers, Free Range Living has a French butter bell. Amazon has a bunch of really cute buttersavers for $10+ dollars. What a way to present your homemade butter!

Check out how to make homemade whole wheat bread and enjoy!

You can freeze your butter- just make sure its sealed!



Free Range Living: http://freerangeliving.blogspot.com/2006/11/making-butter.html
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oropJD0CUxI
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com butter bell

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

Over the mountains and to the coast we go! Nothing says coast like a lighthouse. Lighthouses aren't my number one interest, but being from the US Midwest, they are an extremely important aspect of history that isn't explored excessively. Light stations were used to help navigate ships and help prevent ship wrecks along dangerous coastlines.

View from Highway 1

As soon as you get over the mountains retaining the very unpleasant smog, it's a breath of fresh air. It's not quite salty air yet, but its fresh. You'll find hills, trees, orchards, and farms between the mountains and the Pacific and very curvaceous roads. To me, its mesmerizing going from the searing valley desert to freezing Pacific water in just 2-3 hours.

Driving on Highway 1, north of Cambria and Hearst Castle, is a lighthouse. Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, meaning "White Rocks", is owned/managed by the BLM. Its a great place to take the family for a day trip or a weekend. You can't sleep in the lighthouse, but not too far is San Simeon State Park if you're into camping.

Two and a half hours from Bako, the drive is long, but well worth it. As soon as you step out of the car, you'll more than likely need to put your sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt on if you're like me- use to the warm weather (Hubby is well insulated, so he can get away with just a t-shirt). The fresh salty breeze and barking elephant seals is not something you get to see everyday when you live in the valley.

Walking up to the tower you'll notice several buildings surrounding the lighthouse. Some of those buildings are original and some were added in the 1940s by the Coast Guard (who use to operate the lighthouse). 

Inside Stairway Looking Up

There are a few missing buildings such as the carriage house, water tower, the main lightkeeper's house, and a few others, but those will eventually be rebuilt through volunteer hours and donations. A few original buildings do still exist on the property and when taking the guided tour, the staff will explain and show you not only about the light station, but also the elephant seals. You'll be able to hear different light stations' signals, touch four different animal skins, and use binoculars to see elephant seals on the famous "Painted Rock".

The lighthouse isn't the quite the same as when it was first built. A nearby earthquake in 1948 damaged the lighthouse, leaving it un-structurally sound. The actual Piedras Blancas Fresnel Lens is still intact -just not at the actual lighthouse. Cambria, south of the lighthouse on Highway 1, has the Fresnel lens on display on Main St.

It wasn't easy being a light station manager, according to our tour guide. To me, it sounded like taking care of a big baby-waking up all hours of the day and night to maintain it. What a job! However, whenever a new station manager moved in, the government provided everything-furniture, dishes, all the way down to a dustpan. Not many provisions remain at the Light Station since the house was taken down decades ago. A few items are on display in the lighthouse itself, including the dustpan, photographs of the original light station property, the half spiral stairs, a replica of the Fresnel lens, and other lighthouse memorabilia. If they needed food, they had to wait under a government tender brought supplies- three or four times per year. Plus another ship would dock there, but not regularly. Didn't they hear of homesteading? I would have at least raised a cow or chickens!

It might sound like a wonderful job, but it was definitely hard work! Unlike a few of the other light stations, Piedras Blancas had two-story triplex house for three families. At least they had company!

Piedras Blancas Fresnel Lens in Cambria, CA

Don't forget to walk the trail around the lighthouse as well. When the native plants are not in bloom, they convey their coastal exuberance year round. Volunteers put in hundreds of hours replacing invasive coastal plants (ice plant) to the native species (seaside poppies, tree lupine, etc.).

If your lucky and the kids stay quiet, you'll find a variety of insects and animals other than the elephant seal. Every time I go to the light station with the family I see tons of yellow-faced bumble bees. It's usually too windy for the white crowned sparrow to fly in the high winds, so they stay around the trees mostly. You'll also find ground squirrels and western fence lizards if you're lucky. We usually are too busy identifying the flowers to keep quiet with a 2 and 4 year old.

Lighthouse from Side

If you take your kids, the gift shop has a little booklet that contains information and puzzles and identifies the plants and animals. If you have any questions, the tour guides can answer any question you have. I've never gotten a better tour anywhere else. Plus, you're out of the smog!

Make sure you make an appointment, because the property is in a locked and gated area (mostly to protect the native flora and fauna). It's quite easy to miss so set your GPS accordingly.

Here is the contact information: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Information