My Story

Alright, you'd think that at this point in my life, I'd have this all figured out. Or at least kinda. This whole homemaking thing isn't as easy as I thought it was and here I am, 4 years and 2 kids later, still trying to figure out where to start.

This blog IS my start, so bear with me here....

My name is Stefanie. I'm in my (late) 20s living in the South with the love of my life and our boys. My boyfriend of 4 years is Xebus and our two boys are Colt (3 years in April) and Jack Jack (who is due on January 31st-5 weeks away!)...

We have our own home and I am a stay at home mother. Both our mothers live with us due to their income limitations and health.

Over the last 4 years, I've been trying to get the hang of this SAHM thing and I'll be honest, I really suck at it. Xebus says I'm exaggerating, but I really don't think I am. Sure, our son is fed (as much as he'll eat, at least) and clothed, but the house looks like a disaster and, realistically, it's due to my procrastination. I'll free admit that I'm horribly lazy and a procrastinator by nature. We all have our flaws, those are mine and I own them. CHANGING them, however, is proving to be harder than I ever expected. Before my kids, I had no real reason to CARE. Now I want to set a better example and give my boyfriend the girlfriend (and future wife) he deserves. He a damned hard worker and I owe him so much.

So, this blog is my way of holding myself accountable. There are many changes I need to make and I am hoping this helps me do it. I also hope to let others like me know that they aren't alone.

• I need to get my act together in the cleaning department. I've come up with a master plan for cleaning, which I will go into in another post, I just need to DO it. Which is where my flaws come in and wreck my plans...

• I cook dinner and do the grocery shopping for my household of 5 (soon to be 6). Out of those 5 people, my son survives off Chocolate Milk, cereal, bananas and air. Trust me, I'll get into THAT in another post as well, kid has me losing hair from stress already... The Moms, as Xebus and I refer to them as, are the most picky people I've ever known (huh, and my son's eating habits are explained!) and not only rarely like what I make, but what the other makes as well... So it's VERY common for me to be cooking dinner for myself and Xebus, and the moms to be cooking their own for themselves. I REFUSE to cook multiple meals, so if they don't like what I'm making, there is usually 3 different meals being made at once. *sigh*
  
  So, I need to start sticking to the meal plan I make every week. I have a total household budget (food, paper products, misc items) of $500/month. The Moms will buy any extra for themselves, so not every meal I make serves 4. That being said, I do try to make things everyone likes, so I can't dedicate that budget to only feeding 2 people/month. The food plan/shopping from just the ingredients I need for it has helped me reign in my spending in the past. I need to refine it, stick to it and actually cook, instead of random trips to McDonalds. (Yeah, we kinda eat crap. That's next on the list...)

• We (Xebus and I) need to start eating better. We used to eat Paleo, with a few changes. We still ate dairy (not much, mostly cheeses), legumes (as extra protein) and Xebus switched to Pepsi Max, a sugar and calorie free version. I'd rather him cut out the soda entirely, but I'll take what I can get with him. We gave up sugar, corn, carbs like pasta/white potatoes, and fast and processed foods. I lost 20 lbs without exercise and he lost 30 lbs. We are both overweight and need to lose about 90-100 lbs together. Then I got pregnant with Jack Jack and I fell completely off the wagon, taking Xebus with me. I'm not proud of that either, I hate that my choices threw him off too. I've gained almost 30 lbs with this baby and am 5 weeks away. I hope to clean up my eating by the time he arrives.
  
  This all means we need to STOP eating out and start eating better. It'll save money, which is my next point.

• I need to help Xebus by NOT SPENDING. The last few months, our budget imploded. Between birthdays (we have 1 in Oct, 2 in Nov and 1 in Dec), the holidays and preparing for Jack Jack, we overspent. To the tune of almost $4000.... Ouch. BIG ouch.
  
  My plan, seeing as I bring in no income myself, is simple. STOP getting money from him. No eating out (save for dates from are date jar, which I'll probably explain at some point later on), no asking him to spot me for groceries, no extras at all. Sounds easy, but when you're exhausted, 8 months pregnant and don't want to cook (and are addicted to tacos), $20 at Taco Bell is SO tempting and doesn't seem like a big deal... This needs to stop. NOW.

So these are my issues. They will be addressed in their own posts coming soon. Then I'll get to my daily nonsense such as the recipe I made for dinner, what I actually accomplished that day (or what I didn't, seeing as I'm being honest here) and whatever hilarious/aggravating/adorable thing my kid said/did that day...

This blog might not be for you. Hell, there might not even be anyone reading this. It's mostly for me. Writing things out helps my brain handle it better (yep, I'm a list person) and wanting to post holds me accountable. Also, maybe someone IS reading this and actually cares. And if I can help just by struggling right along with them, well, that's worth a lot to me.

Well, off to my next post. Until then, have a great day!

~Stefanie