Penny Pincher

I have been contemplating this post for a long time. Seeing how I vowed the other day to stop thinking and start doing I thought it would be a perfect time to share with you all some knowledge I have gained.

In case you didn't notice, times are difficult for lots of people. We are included in those people who have "difficulties" but we have begun the path to overcome this "barrier" and I think that we are doing much better with a few easy adjustments. I fully plan on getting a good budget started and buckling down in order to see an even bigger reward but for now, this is what I have done.

Cable/Satellite:

You  may think I'm crazy on this one, but cancelling our DirecTv was the best thing ever! We hardly watch TV and when we do we kind of get bored with it. We were so dependent upon our DVR that we never watched the news. Now, we watch it if its on when we get home from work. Just getting rid of that silly box we are saving roughly $80 a month! WOWZA! Seriously, amazing. However, we kind of cheat because we have Netflix on our PS3. We stream movies and kid shows all the time. We aren't paying for our subscription because Kevin's brother gave us the disc... but I don't think it is that expensive a month to get Netflix to your PS3 or Wii. Plus, I think not having TV readily available makes both Kevin and I look to do other things around our house besides sit on our bums on the couch and veg out for a couple hours.

Laundry Soap:

Use up the rest of your laundry soap and then never buy store bought ever again! Why? Because you can totally make it for yourself way cheaper and it will last so much longer! I first got this idea from my friend Heather who hosted a Laundry Making part with her friends. I did the same, but didn't take pictures. You can get the "recipe" from the Duggar Website as well. So far, I have been using mine and haven't noticed anything bad about it. I will admit that I add more than it says, but I'm just a weirdo about my clothes being clean I guess. Also, I have been using Vinegar as fabric softener instead of the store bought kind, and Kevin thinks our clothes are just as soft. This is such a simple and easy change! Seriously, you should do it.

Grocery Shopping:

Eating at home saves you money, if you do it right. My friend Andrea did a 4 part tutorial about being prepared in the kitchen and how awesome it is. Check it out here: one, two, three, four. I have found that by planning out meals, making a list, and really focusing only on that list will save you lots of money. Both Kevin and I are impulse buyers and purchase things that we don't necessarily need, which ends up costing us $$$. I also agree that you should set a budget for your groceries and stick to it. It'll help you to be creative and feel accomplished.

Finances:

I am not fully prepared when it comes to budgeting and getting my finances squared away. However, my friend E*Rocka  introduced me to Mint.com. Its a free website that you put all of your accounts into, banking, credit cards, student loans, home loans, vehicle loans, 401K's, everything and it helps you to monitor your spending. It even told me the value of my house. How awesome is that? You can set your budgets on it and it will alert you when your accounts are low, you get charged a finance fee on your credit card, and when your payments post. It really is great, especially if you are into monitoring your accounts online. I suggest you check it out.


That is all I can think of at the moment, but I promise the next post will have pictures of my kiddos and fun adventures that they have experienced in the last week. Hopefully it will be up tonight once I get them in bed.


***If you have any suggestions for household cleaners please send them my way. I'm looking to test those next. ***

Cha Cha Cha Chages...

Ugh! Seriously it has been forever since I have posted on my blog. I would like to offer you a sincere apology because I have been super busy and with out a camera :(

First, lets address this camera issue. When Kevin and I got married we got this super awesome point and shoot camera. It was like our baby. We took it everywhere, recorded videos of our kiddos, used it all the time. Well, One day we cleaned our house. Probably because we had guests coming over or something... and it was misplaced. This happened back in April according to the last picture that was taken on my memory card, which thankfully we still have. So, the only camera I have at the moment is the one that is on my cell phone. Sure, it works great for random picture but no where as good or awesome as our real camera. I am currently on the hunt for a new camera and am seriously considering getting an Elph. I would get a dslr but I think it would be too fancy and I'm scared of breaking something that fancy.

Now... Here is what we have been up to...

I got bangs.

Liked them but wasn't loving them.
So I got my hair cut again.

I am currently LOVING this hair. cut, color, everything = perfection!

I also found these sweet aviators after my children broke all of my sunglasses.

What makes these even better is that Kevin got them on his mission in California 10 years ago. Can you say FREE?!!!

I have also been debating paining my kitchen....

I have decided after a evening of design discussion with my friend Kara that I am going to leave it tan. This kind of depresses me because I really want to paint because I am bored with the tan color that consumes my  house. However, there is no way I can paint my kitchen. I have a weird wall that makes it difficult and it would look silly. I have discovered what inspires me and how I would like to decorate my house. So my new mission is finding the perfect accessories to make it awesome.

Right now I am taking a break from school. Apparently the school I go to costs a lot of money to do summer school and that doesn't really fit our budget at the moment. So, I am taking a break. I did however fair very well this semester!

I currently have a 3.76 GPA. We will see what happens once they factor in my transfer credits. But I am keeping in my goal of a 3.5 GPA. In the fall I am going to be taking 18 credit hours. EEP! Yeah it's a lot but I have to do it in order to graduate in a fair amount of time. I'm currently debating a full week schedule versus a three day a week schedule. Either way we go Kevin and I have decided that daycare is a requirement for our kids. Which, unfortunately, is just another cost to our budge. But, its what is best for our kids and us.

Speaking of the boys, no post would be complete with out pictures of them.

I cannot believe how big they are getting. They will be TWO in September and I am in no way prepared to deal with that. They are so much fun. Cooper loves to drum on any and everything and Aiden loves to sing. He sings along to every TV show that they watch. Just this morning Kevin and I were listening to him sing the theme song to Sesame Street. I love them so much.

I know that there is more that has happened or that is going on but that is all I can process at the moment.

Resolution Check-In

Spring Break is upon us here... only 1 more day of classes then I can "relax" for a week. There will not be much relaxing going on... but I will be excited to have a week off of school and have time to spend with my family for once! :)

Now for the check in of my goal for school:
{To get at least a 3.5 GPA this semester}

I did my final round up of grades with all of my professors today and the concensus is I am getting an A in all of my classes! I'm super proud of myself right now but know that I should be dedicating more time to my studies. Which results in me doing school work over Spring Break to catch up on things that I have kinda slacked on. Also, I am going to reorganize my "desk" so it is more inviting to study at! I'm really excited for what I have accomplished and know that I am completely capable of achieveing at least this goal!

Side Note:

I'm also trying really hard to get organized and have recently fell in love with Google Calendars! I can color code everything, include goals, and see my life a day, week, or month at a time. It has helped me to lay out my assignments, tests, doctor appointments, as well as get my VT time scheduled. If you are a technology person like I am... I would suggest looking into it. I'm in love. Seriously!

{ps} my next post will have pictures of my friends and family... i promise!

Resloution Check-In

In the midst of our crazy busy life... I have decided the best time to organize my house will be during spring break because I will not have ANY school work (hopefully!) I've been looking online for inspiration on how to organize the boys room as well as my closets:

 

from here 

all from here 

The blog that the pictures above are from has all sorts of great organization tips for every room in your house.

 

from Ikea  

Those are all the ones I had time for today but they have definitely helped me get my brain working on what I want to to do with the rooms in my house. I'm excited to have some time to do it!

{Twenty Eight}

{I found this post sitting in my drafts and feel compelled to finish it and to keep up my 365 Days of Gratitude, even if it's not consecutive days in a row.}

Drafted Text:

I love my calling... I'm the YW Secretary and Personal Progress Advisor. At first I was nervous... I didn't know anything about Personal Progress or YW to be honest, but I knew that they had faith in me and that it was the right place I was needed.

Last night we had our New Beginnings Program for Young Womens. We talked about Personal Progress and the importance that it has in helping the girls to develop who they are, build their testimony, prepare for the temple, and to just be amazing young women! Kara and Laurie put in so much work to make it such an amazing night and I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing (I had to leave early to finish my homework). I am so grateful for the church and how much happiness and joy it has brought into my life.

I didn't even have a big part in the program, as the Personal Progress Advisor I was just asked to talk about the new changes that have been made. They have added some really amazing things {which I would link to but my editor is being lame} including a new medallion, a book mark with ribbons that coordinate with the value colors, and a new book that is pink! If the girls weren't motivated before... they are totally motivated now! I mean, I want a super cool bookmark :) But, as I stood before the room of the Young Women, their parents, the amazing women I serve with in the Presidency, and our Bishop I was overwhelmed with the spirit and bawled my eyes out with joy and happiness for my calling. It has been so helpful to me and my progress in building my testimony, having a connection with people in a new area, and making new friends. I am especially thankful for the women I serve with and Louanne. If it wasn't for her I don't know if I would have ended up in YW in the first place. She was the YW President when I got my first calling. They have all been so helpful to me in every way possible! Any time I have felt overwhelmed or lost or just having a bad day I know that if I need their strength or help they are there for me in a minute. I wish that everyone in the world could say that they have people they can turn to in their times of need. For me, I can say it honestly and truthfully. That in itself is enough to be grateful for. However, that is not why I started out writing this post. I started it because I was starting to doubt my calling {I am aware that I shouldn't} and last night I was reminded why I was given my calling. It is where I am suppose to be and with people I should be serving with. I am grateful for the way in which the spirit works and I am humbled by it all the time.

New Year, New You?

Last year I didn't make any Resolutions because I didn't really know what to hope for or to expect in 2009. However, this year I have thought long and hard about what I really want to achieve in 2010.


* Officially change my name
*Develop & Stick to a good "Bed Time" routine for myself.
*Be more Organized & Clean with day to day things like laundry, the kitchen, and bathrooms.
*Keep a 3.5 average in school
*Get in to better shape & work out more often
*Eat Healthier
*Read my Scriptures more often

I think that if I can stick to these goals and accomplish them I will be a better & happier me.

Thanksgiving

{Please bear with me while I play catch up}

This year we went up to Missouri for Thanksgiving, because I wanted to stay home for the babies first "real" Christmas. It's so nice that we have family close enough to spend the holidays with and still feel like we are "getting away." It was my first time going up to Missouri without Kevin. (I went up Tuesday, he came up Wednesday) I was a little nervous at first, but Linda decided to drive up with me and the babies so we could help bake pies and stuff the day before Thanksgiving. It wasn't too bad of a drive, and I've been up there and back so many times I didn't have any problems finding my way! The babies do really good on the ride there and back. It is about 4 1/2 hours long and I generally try to leave around their nap time. They sleep half the way and then we break when they wake up. The last half of our trip was a little bit rougher because they wanted to play and obviously they couldn't so it was rather loud and fussy in our car. Linda tried her best to entertain them, but it was pretty much unsuccessful. We arrived at Kim's house around 630 which was good because we left about 2pm. The boys were super excited to get out and play and they love Siera (Kim's foster baby). After unpacking and settling in we had dinner, bathed the boys, and put them to bed. Then we watched a movie in Kim & Andy's theater room, which was pretty amazing.

Thanksgiving day consisted of yummy food, pies, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Football , and movies. I only made pies this year and they were well loved. I don't think any of them made it past Saturday. Our Friday consisted of shopping, but not early shopping I am no Black Friday fiend. We picked up some really good stuff for the little ones and for ourselves. All of it is to be wrapped and placed under the tree for Christmas day. I bought some awesome tights at TJMAXX and want to wear them so bad, but must wait and it is killing me! Kevin even got a really good deal on a drill and saw set from Home Depot. After the shopping we went over and visited with Kevin's dad and his wife. Its always so nice visiting with them. Karleen always takes lots of pictures and I have her to thank for these ones, because I am terrible at remembering to take them! We ended our night with a trip to Andy's frozen custard! {no springfield trip is complete with out it} Saturday we headed home and spent Sunday recouperating from the busy weekend. I am so thankful that we got to spend some time with our family!

Halloween

Yes this is SUPER LATE, but I finally found the few pictures that were taken on Halloween. I had intentions of retaking our Halloween pictures the following weekend because it was probably one of the most miserable days of my life. Kevin decided to go to work that day and didn't get home until 4:45 and we had to leave at 6. This is not a good time frame for the four of us to get ready in. On top of him being late, he didn't have his phone which left me worrying instead of getting ready. After rushing to get out of the house we had a wonderful evening with friends. We went to church for Trunk or Treat then went to the Bradford's for food and festivities. We even took the babies on a "hayride" around the neighborhood. They loved it and it was so much fun. I'm excited for next year because they will be big enough to collect candy! {i love candy} Here are a few pictures of that day, forgive me for not looking my best.

 

The boys were Thing 1 (Aiden) & Thing 2 (Cooper). Kevin was Brett Michaels and I was a Powder Puff Player (girl football player).

{Twenty Two}

THE RESULTS ARE IN!!!! MY GPA FOR THE SEMESTER IS A 4.0!!! Hurray! I'm so excited that I found out that I passed both of my classes with flying colors. Also, I found out that I was awarded a Grant for school. So, each semester I get some $$money$$ which will be so helpful for our family. Also, my student loans are put on hold for the time being, which is another blessing that I don't have to make that payment each month. I was definitely blessed in knowing that going back to school is the right decision to make! I have been struggling with what do do for school, the whole cosmetology vs education or both idea. Don't get me wrong people I would LOVE to do BOTH! However, financially, that does not seem possible. Cosmetology school cost roughly $15,000!! Holy Cannoli! That is quite a pretty penny which we most definitely do not have, and if we did have it I highly doubt Kevin would let me spend it on cosmetology school. So, ultimately I have made a decision to continue to pursue my degree in Early Childhood Education. I'm going to finish taking some courses at PTC (which is a big joke if you ask me) and then transfer to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. It would be about a 30 - 45 minute drive to school, but thats the same as going to North Little Rock, so I'll take it. Plus, if you have seen where UALR (University of Arkansas Little Rock) is located you would be scared to go there too. Long story short, I'm thankful that our family has been blessed with my ability to go back to school and get a degree, FINALLY!

{Nineteen}

Linear, Stagnant, One Way, Straight Shooter... All of these words may apply to me but when it comes to my thinking and dreams and hopes of the future they do not! I am thankful for the fact that I am an overachiever, someone who has big dreams and thinks that they can achieve all of them. Last night it was brought to my attention when someone asked what I was going to school for, I simply stated "Well, I want to get my teaching degree and go to cosmetology school." I didn't think there was anything wrong with this statement, its what I want to do. I love the joy I get from teaching little kids and I think doing hair and makeup on people is super fun. So, why not have the best of both worlds? Well, I was quickly shaken from my pedestal of thinking when they replied "You better decide quick, you can only do one." WHAT! No way! I have my whole life planned out around both of these careers working together. You see, how I look at is like this: Cosmetology school is roughly 10-12 months here in Arkansas, to get my Associates in Early Childhood Education from PTC (Pulaski Technical College) I have roughly 3 -4 semesters? So roughly 2 years of school maybe 3? So, anyways this is my plan after getting my degrees: I can teach during the school year, do some hair cuts for friends and family on the side, and then in the summer I can work at a salon. Sounds pretty sweet. Especially since I have a tendency to get bored with things I think it would be a great way to keep variety in my life. So, case and point I like variety and I like challenges and I like new adventures. Todays thankfulness is that I was blessed with the ability to handle these types of situations and that I am able to think more than just one way. What a great way to view life! Well, for me anyways.

To Comment... or Not?

I must admit I am addicted to Blogger. If I even skip a day or two I have SO much catching up to do. I think Whitney said it best when she said that "Its Like The Newspaper" and really, thats true. However, in my many days of stalking people I often am to fearful to post a comment. I personally like comments and know that they make me excited when I see that email in my inbox with the subject [The Tuttons]. So, After talking to my friend Camille I have decided to make an effort to muster up the courage to leave comments on peoples blogs that I read. Maybe, just maybe, other people who read my blog and find my life interesting will feel inclined to do the same.

A Little Funky

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since my last post but there is good reasoning. For one, I have been in a bit of a funk. Our lives have become even more hectic and Kevin and I had some really tough decisions to make. Thankfully everything worked out and we are doing better now, but I have just been so unmotivated to do anything. I feel like I have been such a terrible wife and mother for my family. However, TODAY IS THE DAY that all of the craziness stops! My list of things to accomplish today are as follows:

- Laundry
- Vacuum(Kevin did this for me)
- Clean Dishes/Kitchen
- Make curtains for my bathrooms

It is quite a list, but many of these items have been rejected for such a long time I don't even know how my husband put up with me. In his defense, I must say my husband probably understands me more than I understand myself. He knows when I need my alone time, when I'm in a funk, when something is terribly wrong, and when I'm simply stressed out. He also knows how to fix every single one of these problems. My husband is AMAZING and simply the best. I could not have asked for a better partner. In addition to getting things accomplished today... we also have the internet at our house! After over a year of putting it off we have given in to how much we felt we needed it. Which in turn means... MORE BLOGGING! I know you are all so excited. Well, at least I am. So stay tuned for my progress on getting out of my "funk."