My simple life

I made a yummy batch of scones today. Such a simple recipe SR flour, butter, sugar and milk. They were divine with a bit of strawberry jam and cream. I would rather my girls have a scone with jam and cream or honey rather than pre packaged food full of preservatives.

I wanted to write a bit more about my simple life.

We brought a little old wooden house on a 733sq m block in a small rural town of 500. A bigger town of 18,500 is only a 10 minute drive away so we aren't exactly in the middle of nowhere.

Our house was rather cheap [under $200k] which is cheap these days but very run down. However we wanted to get into the property market so we decided we would slowly do it up. And other than the peeling paint on the outside inside is rather nice and homely. We replaced all the carpet and lino, painted the whole interior, replaced the kitchen [still havem't finished the splash back yet though], built back steps, built a sand pit for the kids. It's going ok so far.

I only work 3 days per week. I have always worked full time even after the births of both of my girls however 12 months ago my anxiety got worse and I needed to cut back and spend precious time with my kids before they grow up too quickly.

My DH only works 2 days a week [sometimes more]. We live on a low income of only $915 a week. Out of this we pay our bills, and all of our living expenses. After bills are paid including mortgage etc we have $376 left over. We sometimes scrape by and other times have money left. Our goal is to have lots of money left.

We don't grow our own vegetables or have chooks [thanks to my rather large dog not liking them] however we only buy food we will eat, never waste any, we use every last drop of everything we have, we have all second hand furniture and appliances and we don't want to 'keep up with the Jones' so to speak.

We live on about $100 a week for groceries, we don't have pay tv, or Iphones and we never buy anything we don't need. I guess we live quite simply.

My goals are to make our own soap and washing powder, hand soap etc.

Last year I stopped shopping for the sake of it. Now I make a quick trip to get groceries and necessities and that is it.

I also started using environmentally friendly home made cleaning products. I use vinegar and water to clean the shower, basin and windows and vinegar and hot water to mop the floors. I scrub with Bi carb soda if I need extra scrubbing. I avoid using the dryer and have cut down our shower times to 3 mins each. I wash up twice a day to save money and only do 1 load of washing every two days.

The kids borrow books from the library and so do I.

I have stopped buying pre packaged food and try and make as many of the kids snacks as possible as well as letting them have plenty of fruit and vegetables. We also cook from scratch where possible.

Other than our motgage we have no debt at all. No credit card debt, nothing which I am proud of. We do have two cars as DH drives for work and I work also but we try and drive my small car more often and other than DH's work days his larger car isn't driven at all.

I am looking back at this thinking my life isn't so simple however I look at friends who have everything and more and are up to their eyeballs in debt and spoiling their kids with plastic toys they don't even play with and then i realise we are quite simple.

Ella goes to the local school which is about a 3 miniute walk away which we try and encourage her to walk [with us of course] rather than drive.

Not only is my life simple this way but IO hate clutter and live clutter free. I get rid of stuff I don't need and keep a clean and organised, clutter free life.

I'd better sign off now as I have an early start tomorrow for work.

Tomorrow I will write more about my routine and how I structure my days :)

Cioa

My home day

What a gorgeous day it is today, just magical. Ella got up early and went fishing with Ty. Mia and I woke up a bit later and I have dropped her down to Ty so she canhave a go in the boat too.
I have already vacuumed the whole house and am about to wash up.
Monday is my home day. I don't usually go anywhere it is a day of catch up and rest. Mia usually spends most of the day in front of the TV when Ella is at school. I know that is not entirely healthy but we lead such a busy life she really doesn't have much time to relax. I am usually ironing and washing, tidying and baking for the week ahead.
When school goes back and I begin to embrace student life as a distance education student at University Mia will go to our local community based preschool on a monday so I can enjoy a full day of study without any interruptions.
I will also need other study opportunities throughout the week however having that 6 hours to myself will be a big help. It will mean changing my routine to not include any housework that day to benefit my study time.
Well I must head off and start my day. Washing to fold and more to hang out. Washing up to do and some dusting and baking, ironing and mopping.
I love looking after m family by providing them a lovely clean, fresh and clutter free home to live in.
Ciao

Fun in the Sun

Another beautiful day in paradise. What a beautiful place in the world we live no wonder why we rarely go away on holidays it is just paradise here.

This morning we took the kids fishing in the boat [a small tinny]. Ella caught two small bream and Mia caught one. Both the girls hooked their own and wound them in with help from Daddy. The water was beautiful and so still and serene. The sun was hot and there were many other boats out with people doing the same as us. I have to admit fishing is actually fun but only when I have someone to bait the hook for me YUK!!!!

It really is true though. The simple things in life are often the best. Fishing cost about $8 which included the fuel for the boat and the bait. The river is a 1 min drive from our place so the car fuel was basically nothing.

After we got home the girls had some lunch and watched a DVD as it was too hot to be outside.

We then bathed our dog Ollie and set up slip and slide for the girls. Admittedly it wastes a bit of water but the girls love it and we only leave it on for a short period of time and the excess waters the garden :)

Afterwards we enjoyed a yummy home made Japanese chicken curry and rice. We then took Ollie for a walk and Mia rode her bike and Ella her scooter.

This year is all about being healthy, fit and active and not spending money to enjoy the simple things in life. We achieved that today with fishing, slip and slide and walking the dog. The girls enjoyed a small ice cream cone after our walk. We totally wore Mia out. She was exhausted and fell asleep within minutes of me reading her her bedtime story.

Ella's still awake but will hopefully drift off soon. She's a night owl like me and even when she is tired she seems to stay up.

I must say I am enjoying only working 3 days per week. This weekend I really feel like I have been on holidays or something as we have actually done things and nothing has cost me any money. Other than the new work shoes I brought on Friday [which may I add were on special and a necessity] I have not spent any other money all weekend other than $3.60 for 2 newspapers. So I am very proud of myself. And most importantly I and the rest of the family have had fun and we have enjoyed family time with the kids which is so so important.

Living simply

Well today was the start of our new life 'Living Simply'. Last year after I cut back from working 5 days a week to 3 days a week to spend more time with the kids we had to start living more simply in order to be able to survive. I stopped buying things we didn't need for the sake of it, started menu planning to save money on groceries, I use everything I have until it is empty where as before I would just chuck it away if there was only a 1\4 left because I couldn't wait to use the new one.

I also stopped wearing a watch on the days I don't work. I used to rely on my watch 24\7 now on my days off I rarely even know the time and enjoy not stressing about it all. I stopped buying magazines. Last New Year I took all the magazines I had brought throughout the year to the local Op Sop. The ladies commented how many I had and I roughly added them up and I had about $500 or more worth. Now all the magazines in my house are hand me downs from my Mum and my SIL.

So this year I am still going to enjoy the finer things in life. I will consume the occasional bottle of wine and head off to the movies every now and again but I also want to appreciate the free and simple things in life like taking the kids to the beach, the park or the library, instead of the movies and McDonalds. I am going to try and save as much money as I can to be able to take the kids on an over seas holiday in about 12 months time. It WILL happen and this blog my dear friend will help me stay motivated.

Today we took the kids to the beach. E ended up seeing a friend from her school who was there with her cousin so the 4 girls enjoyed playing together in the waves. Ty enjoyed fishing and swimming even though he didn't get a bite lol.

It was quality family time and the kids have fallen asleep easily as not only did they breathe in the fresh salty sea air they enjoyed splashing in the waves and tired themselves out running and playing. And it cost us nothing. It is only about a 5 minute drive so the petrol was next to nothing and there was no winging and sooking we normally get when we head out to the shops.

It was a lovely feeling seeing the girls playing and not fighting and enjoying the sunshine and sea air and being amongst nature.
Tomorrow we are going out in the boat to enjoy another day on the water and hopefully the girls will catch a fish with the new bright pink fishing rods.
Wish us luck :)

You sexy Mother

Well it's been a while and honestly I think I will post here more often now. After a horrible year last year [well the first 3 months were] but can't go into it on here. However as hard as it was I also had a few aspects of the year that were good too.
I went to P!NK in July and she was awesome, fantastic, wonderful, inspirational and amazing. Also went to see the Titans play at the Gold Coast which was fun too. As the kids have gotten older it is easier for me to go out and catch a movie which I did a few times as well.
I also managed to read the Twilight series which I totally loved.
Apart from that I really struggled at work. I cut my days down to 3 days but there were still problems at work with bullying and slack work happening with the boss.
When I was offered a job in September I decided to take it and leave the toxic work place. I struggled at first but now have settled in and work so well with such lovely people that actually treat people how they should be treated and it's great.
I had a lot of problems with my neck too for the whole year and my physio believed it was due to stress and funnily enough as soon as I left that workplace my neck has been good so far.


This year though is a NEW YEAR and I have new aspirations and goals. I am going to make the most of everything. I am going to be sexy, and have confidence within my self to pursue all of my life long goals.
I have reapplied for the loan to build the extension so I can run my own successful FDC business and if I get knocked back I am going to apply at another bank until I get what I want.
I am going to give E and M the attention and love they deserve. Not that I don't now but I want to be better and give them more.

I am going to invest more time in E's schooling. I am going to attend more P&C meetings and make more of an effort to go to each assembly etc.
I will do the same with M at her new preschool where possible.

I am about to start studying my Bachelor of Teaching [Birth to Five Years] and I pray that I am smart enough to do this successfully.

I am going to be more romantic with Ty and try and sechedule time for him that is valuable to our relationship. Not that we aren't secure enough but he does miss out.

I am going to create a loving home for my girls with lots more fun and laughter than before.

I am going to live a lot more simply. I am going to do more baking, make my own laundry powder, buy more second hand clothes, eat more fruit and veg and use my slow cooker on my work days. I want to get the girls outside more to be more active.
I want to eat and use more natural and organic produce and steer away from packaged and processed food.

AND I am going to blog more, to keep more of a record of our day to day lives for future reference.

Let's see how I go.
Ciao Bella's.

This time last year

This time last year my gorgeous Pop was still here with us. He wasn't well but he was here. And one week from today he lost his battle at the age of 83. I miss him so much. I don't think a day goes by where I don't think of him, love him, remember him. I always have and always will. I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone and how easily we just keep on going and life goes on. It's sad really that people are here with us and then they are gone and other than a grave site, photos and our memories there is nothing to prove they were ever here with us.
Pop was the first person that I have been close to that I have ever lost in my 26 years so I think I am very blessed.
This next week is going to go so fast yet so slow and on Friday the one year anniversary of losing my beautiful, loving, wonderful Poppy I will be thinking of him with all my heart and keeping his spirit alive.
Love you always Pop!

Life's not about what's better than

Three weeks ago tomorrow I was home sick again with my second bout of tonsilitis [I have since had a third bout], I called work to let them know I would be back in the next day.
They told me A was in a bad car accident and was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries.
Until today we were unsure whether or not she would make it but it looks like she will and she may never be the same but may recover fully. Only time will tell.
I believe people come into our lives for a reason. I believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that what happened to A has made me treasure my life, the people in my life and realise that every single day is a gift.
I now realise that. I now realise that life is not about what's better than. That it doesn't matter if there is a load of washing [or two or three] in the laundry ready to be folded, ironed and put away. That it doesn't matter if my house isn't spotless because in the quick second life can change dramatically. Yes money is precious but it means nothing if you are in hsopital on life support. What matters is family and friends and I have the best of both.
I have the best husband in the world who looks after me and treasures me and our children. I love love love love him soooooooooooooooo much.
I have my own home, gorgeous kids, awesome hubby, great parents .
I am very lucky.
Life's not about what's better than .
Ciao Bella's.