Update on Life

Things have been sooo busy since we have decided to homeschool Princess.   First I felt extremely overwhelmed, even though I knew it was the right decision for her at this point in time.  The knowledge of everything I'm already trying to do with living frugally, running the household, taking care of the kids and supporting my trucker can be overwhelming in itself.  We've got a pretty good routine that keeps me from going crazy most days, but when things like holidays or birthdays interrupt it, it can take a while to get back on track.  So now we are throwing homeschooling into the mix.  So when we first decided this the overwhelming feeling of everything got the better of me.  I started out by prioritizing and making my list.  Trying only to focus on those few things.  It's getting better but there is still a lot to do. 
My big goal is to try to get enough done ahead of time so that when we are in the first couple months of homeschooling all I will have to focus on is that.  I find that transitions tend to go better if I have everything organized, cleaned, etc. 
One of the things I've tried to do is make my own cards this year.  Some come out better than others, but the more I do it the better I get.  It is also a LOT less expensive to make them myself.  So one of my first goals was to get all the cards I would need through December made.  I've just about accomplished that goal.  I think I've got 1 or 2 cards left to make, but I'm currently lacking inspiration so I'm taking a short break from it.
We have also switched to starting to make our own cleaners.  Not only is it less expensive, but it also makes things a little more allergy friendly for us.  I am hoping to have enough made up ahead of time to last me about 2 months. 
I'd like to have everything deep cleaned before we start our homeschooling year.  When we moved Buddy into his big boy bed and redid the kids room we deep cleaned theirs.  Everything was washed from the walls to the toys and we did everything we could to make it allergy friendly.  It was a lot of work, but I'm really happy with the way it came out.  Our air conditioner was broken and replaced today, so while I've got that corner of our living room ripped apart I am going to start deep cleaning the living room. 
I am still experimenting with freezer meals but I'm hoping to have some good, healthier meals frozen for the start of the school year.  I tend to meal plan in spurts.  It is something I'm hoping to put a little more effort into. 
The big bulk of my time right now I've spent trying to plan some dramatic play options and quiet time options for the kids.  Teachers pay Teachers has had some great options which have really saved me a lot of time and most of them I've gotten for free.  I've also gotten some ideas on Pinterest. 
Things will probably be sporadic as we adjust to our upcoming changes but we will be checking in from time to time.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Things are still pretty busy here.  We are still in the thick of trying to make the right educational decision for Princess.  Who knows, maybe that will be a post in the near future.  However, I'd like to take a moment to pause and do a little reflection, as well as to see where we are going.

Financially:
We started working through the book Your Money Map by Howard Dayton.  We weren't happy where our finances were taking us and have slowly been making some changes.  This book was a gift to us at the right time.
Looking Back:

• We no longer use credit.  If we don't have the cash for it, we don't get it.  For us this has been a very good thing because it takes away the false sense of security that we had. We have been learning to live within our means.
• We have increased our giving dramatically without jeopardizing our budget.  You can read this mini-series here.
• I began to coupon and to combine those coupons with sales whenever possible.  This stretched our budget just over an additional $5100.  (I have learned to never turn my nose up, even to the smallest coupon)
• The Colonel quit smoking.  (This will also appear further down)  On those weeks where the loads weren't the greatest, this made a big difference.  In a year's time (which is fast approaching) that saved us well over $1000.
• We started paying attention to what we do around the house and seeing if there were any small changes that we could make that would help stretch our budget.  Organization was a big part of it.  You can read about the lessons we learned here.  There are also several posts about our story and struggle with organization.  There are so many other ways that we have stretched the dollar!  We will share them as we can on Our Journey to Debt Free Living

Looking Forward:

• The next step in Your Money Map is to begin creating an emergency fund, something I think is essential for those of us that live on an income that isn't consistent.  That will be a big part of our focus this year.
• Looking for more ways to live frugally around our home.  (I've already got a few ideas in mind and some that we are trying that I can't wait to tell you about)

• Re-evaluating our spending habits from last year, and finding ways to improve them for this year.  (Just a sneak peak - some of our big spending areas that need to be addressed are the amount we spend on cards and our habit of overdoing on gifts for the kids.  We will share more on the changes we made in a future post).

Health:
Looking Back:

• The Colonel quit smoking just about a year ago.  This was huge for us.  It has made it easier for him to unload trucks and keep up with the kids.  It also means no more smoke covered clothes coming into our home or smoke on his breath (even though he didn't smoke around the kids or I to begin with).
• I finally had my allergy testing updated.  Much to our dismay we found out that I have a shellfish allergy as well as several other food allergies so we are adjusting to that.
• We are taking baby steps in the area of cleaner eating.  When we do stick to it, I find that my energy levels are much better and it decreases behavior issues with the kids.  So far we have switched to aluminum free baking powder; from fake maple syrup to real; from hot dogs that are loaded with ingredients I can't pronounce to the Oscar Meyer.  I also try to make more things from scratch.  This past year though I found that this tends to be one of my biggest areas of burn out.  

Looking Forward:

• Looking into ways to make our home more allergy friendly.  Right now the biggest area we are looking into is the cleaners.  Between the allergens and the chemical cleaners, cleaning can be quite difficult some days.
• Finding ways to help decrease the burnout while still feeding my family a healthier, less processed option. 

As a Family:
Looking Back:

• The kids have done great having one parent staying home with them.  We plan on continuing this.
• Being with the kids all the time and trying to handle everything while the Colonel is on the road this past year has created burnout for Mom.

Looking Forward:

• We are in the process of finding the right educational option for Princess as she starts Kindergarten.  I am also planning on starting to do some Preschool activities with Buddy this fall.
• I will be trying to make more time for me.  Investing more into myself, as I tend to get so busy trying to make sure everyone else has what they need that many times I have forgotten about myself.
• The Colonel and I continuing to try to find the right balance as we work as a team.

Did you have any major accomplishments last year?  What do you plan on working on this year? 

Truckers Wives are Human Too

Honestly I was hoping that this first post would be more of a year in review/what we are hoping for the new year kind of post.  I will get to that post eventually.
These last couple of weeks have been pretty difficult ones.  We enjoyed our family time with the Colonel being on vacation.  Then the next week there weren't a lot of loads so the Colonel was kind of on vacation but not.  Time that was presented as family time turned into swapping trucks and doing a test.  3 trucks in less than 2 months, but that is a post for the Colonel should he so choose. 
We've been adjusting back to the routine and dealing with the inconsistencies of trucking. 
Last year I did a lot of keeping my mouth shut.  I don't know any other truckers wives and there aren't a lot of people around that I can talk to, even less that actually understand.  Sometimes it would be really nice to not have to explain everything in great detail just so someone can understand what we are going through. 
As a trucker's wife, I've got a lot on my plate.  Not as much as some I'm sure.  But it's my responsibility to handle the kids, keep the household running, often times making decisions alone that under regular circumstances the Colonel should be helping me make, and of course supporting the Colonel.  The new year began and my mind went to overload.  Even with handling one thing one step at a time it still is a lot. 
There is so much pressure from trucking companies and trucker sites for everyone to give the trucker their 100% support, to be extra understanding and all that.  Yours may not be like that, but everything I've come in contact with is.  There is very little support for the actual family that is supposed to be giving all this support plus keep everything going at home. 
We wives are only human.  We cannot accomplish the super human things that are asked of us without some support and understanding ourselves.  We are the ones on the front lines keeping everything running so that you truckers can focus on driving.  We are handling the work of two parents by ourselves.  That in itself is extremely draining.  We are keeping the household running.  And I know in my situation, I do an awful lot for my trucker as well (shopping for his food, keeping his clothes clean, etc.).  The one that gets lost in all of this many times is the wife.  So truckers my only suggestions are don't forget about those that support you.  Do not take them for granted.  Do not just dump on them about the traffic, the truck that doesn't want to work, or whatever else there is going on.  Acknowledge how much they do to make your life easier.  Appreciate them.  Make an effort to connect with them, ask them about their day, something they liked, etc.  When they need you to listen make an effort to do so and really listen and try to connect and talk about whatever it is.  If your wife doesn't know any other trucker's wives chances are you are all she has to really talk to.   We are only human.  We have hearts just like everyone else.  We can only handle so much on our plates and can only handle so much of someone else's troubles before we burn out too. 

Trucker Kids: Our Elf on the Shelf

The Christmas season has been very busy.  One of the highlights for the kids is having Thomas Elf (our elf on the shelf) back to visit.  Here is what he has been up to:

Day 1:

Day 2: Thomas was a very smart elf!  To help keep the kids busy while the lights and garland where put on the big tree, Thomas brought a little tree.  They loved decorating it and it helped keep the stress level down for Mommy and Daddy.

Day 3:  In the excitement of Thomas returning Princess ended up touching him.  So Magic Elf Dust to the rescue.  Thomas also managed to pull together the supplies for an advent wreath craft for the start of advent.

 
Day 4:  Making his Christmas list.

Day 5:  He decorated the refrigerator to look like a snowman and brought out the Christmas magnets the kids were given last year for them to play with.

Day 6:  Thomas brought a toy elf for the kids to cuddle with.  Santa also sent a certificate of health since Princess was a little nervous that Thomas was still under the weather.

Day 7:  Thomas locked himself out.  At least he remembered to wear his scarf!

Day 8: Thomas decided to spend the night in Princess' doll house.  He wanted to straighten it up some more but Princess started to wake up.

Day 9:  He brought a Candy Cane Garden Planting Kit.  Complete with magical dirt, fertilizer and seeds.  The following day 2 large candy canes filled with m-n-ms had grown.

Day 10: Thomas doesn't want the kids to lose focus of the true meaning of Christmas.

Day 11: Reading a Christmas story to the stuffed animals.

Day 12: Elf Kisses to help encourage the kids to be good.

Thanksgiving

And a special thank you to all those who were out on the road today or whose trucker was on the road today.

Trucker Thanksgiving

So it's the beginning of the holiday season.  Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we are waiting for our trucker to get home.  Even though I know better, every time I hear he has that load that will get him home in time to get plenty of rest and cleaned up before the holiday I get my hopes up.  So here we are again.  He was supposed to be home in a few hours.  But in the typical trucker life (at least ours - some of you may experience a better version of trucker life and if so I am really happy for you), the load was switched for one that takes longer to complete.  From this side of it, I always have mixed feelings.  I know freight slows down this time of year so every load he can get is a blessing.  But on the flip side, the kids and I really miss him and enjoy that little bit of extra time with him.  Fortunately, the kids are in a pretty good routine so they won't really notice the time missed because Daddy isn't supposed to be home according to that routine.  In addition to the load being changed, then something usually goes wrong which involves a call to road breakdown.  So that whole process extends the time out that much longer.  I was a little irritated by this point, mostly with myself.  I know better than to plan on him being home before he actually walks through that door.  I'm thinking that he's already been told he doesn't have a load for Friday so we will still have some extra time together.  Next thing I know I'm getting the text saying he has a load for Friday.  So what was supposed to be 3 1/2 days of home time has shrunk to 2.   1 of those days is Thanksgiving so it will be spent with extended family.  So in reality we have about 1 day of time together.   I am thankful for those 2 days and very thankful for the money that the loads will bring in, but I am still feeling that frustration of not getting that time with him. We have spent Thanksgiving apart before as I am sure some of you will be doing and my heart really goes out to you as well.  I am sure that I sound ungrateful to those of you away from your families but that is not my  intent.
What is your typical trucker Thanksgiving?  The frustrations/highlights of it?  The parts of it that you wish the non-trucker families would understand?

Trucker Kids - Our Advent Calendar

I just finished making our advent calendar for this year.  I got the idea on pinterest (Find original idea here).  I decided to incorporate the advent wreath and it's symbolism.  So here is what I came up with.

Materials:
25 toilet paper tubes
3 different patterns of purple 8x11 scrapbook paper (about 3 sheets of each)
1 pattern of pink 8x11 scrapbook paper (2 sheets)
White computer paper (roughly 5 sheets)
black marker
red yarn
green tissue paper (depending on the size of the sheet about 6 sheets)
1 sheet white tissue paper
a cardboard circle to glue everything to
hot glue
strips of paper with age appropriate readings (or stories) and activities printed on them
treats
tape

1.)  Decide what readings or books you are going to use and what activities you would like to do for each day (I keep a master list in a separate place as well)  Type them up and print them out.
2.) Create a label for each week (Hope, Love, Joy, Peace, and we added the Christ "candle" as well).
Print the correct number on the correct color paper (Joy is pink and the Christ one is white).  The first 3 weeks should have 7 each.  Peace I think worked out to be 3.  There is only one for white.
3.) Wrap each toilet paper tube in a quarter sheet of green tissue paper (except for 1 which will be wrapped in the white). Twist and tie with a short piece of the red yarn.  Fill with the slip of paper containing the reading and activity, as well as any treats you want to put it.  Twist and tie off the top.  
4.) Take each label and cut to size and tape into place.  Number accordingly.
5.) Lay out the finished toilet paper tubes on the cardboard circle.  When satisfied with the layout and hot glue into place.
I am going to put it on the table with a centerpiece probably of some fake poinsettias in the center.
Open the tubes on the correct day and enjoy.  :-)